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THE
HISTORY OF
DUTCHESS COUNTY
NEW YORK
Edited by
FRANK HASBROUCK
Puhluhed hy
S. A. MATTH lEU
POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.
1 909
THEA.V.HAICHTDI).
PRINTEHS
roUCHKEEPSie
HEW YORK
PREFACE.
The year of the tercentennial celebration of the discovery of the
Hudson River seems an eminently fit time for the publication of a
history of one of the most important counties whose shores are washed
by its waters.
The early establishment of trading posts, at its mouth, Manhattan
(New York), at the head of navigation, Fort Orange (Albany), and
at the mouth of the Rondout, half way between these two places,
Esopus (Kingston), determined the first locations along the river's
banks for permanent settlements, but as immigrants came in larger
numbers it was not long before they were attracted by the water
powers of the Fishliill, Wappingers, Caspers Kill, Fallkill, Crum
Elbow, Landsman's Kill and Roeliff Jansen's Kill, and the fine farm-
ing lands in the valleys of these streams, to seek new homes and begin
the settlement of our county.
Along the river, naturally, the predominant race of the original
settlers was Dutch, with a sprinkling of French Huguenots, while
later a considerable number of Palatines were settled in the northern
part of the county.
The early settlement of the eastern part of the county through the
length of the Harlem Valley was made by people from the New Eng-
land Colonies, aU that part of New York State being originally
claimed as belonging to and embraced within the New England grants
of land.
The Quakers, forming a large element in the settlement of the east-
ern and northeastern bounds of the county, were among those who
came from New England, seeking to escape the intolerance of their
narrow minded neighbors, and to secure freedom for religious opinion
and expression and practice, insistence upon which has been a noted
characteristic of the Dutch people for centuries.
It win be seen also from the pages of this history that there was
an infusion of the Irish Catholic element into the county long before
the time of the great Irish famine, to which period, to be sure, most
of the Irish Catholic immigration must be assigned, for it appears
10 PREFACE.
that there were many Irish Catholic soldiers in the armies of the
Revolution quartered in this vicinity, some of whom, with their fam-
ilies, settled here at the end of the war.
It will appear from the Church history, which has been most care-
fully compiled for this work, that in early times there were even more
creeds and denominations in the county than there were different
nationalities; and it will be quite apparent to the thoughtful student
that while certain settlements along the river, as particularly Pough-
keepsie, at the earliest dates, were somewhat homogeneous in race
and religion, and might have been truly designated as Dutch settle-
ments, the county as a whole, started as a cosmopolitan community.
Dutchess County does not present a virgin field for the historian.
It has already been cultivated to a considerable extent.
In 1877 Philip H. Smith, of PawHng, N. Y., published a "General
History of Dutchess County from 1609 to 1876 inclusive." His book,
which is now somewhat rare, shows an immense amount of work of
investigation, a great fund of general information and tradition
gathered by its author, and it has preserved many valuable facts and
documents relating to the history of the county.
Frequent use has been made in the preparation of the present work
of the material gathered by Mr. Smith in his history, and due rec-
ognition is made to him for the same.
Mr. Smith has also written several of the chapters on the different
towns, and no one in the community is as well qualified as he to do
the work that he has contributed to this volume.
In 1882 there was published by D. Mason & Company, of Syracuse,
a "History of Dutchess County, New York, with illustrations and
biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers," by
James H. Smith; and in 1897 there was published by J. H. Beers &
Company, of Chicago (no author) a "Commemorative Biographical
Record of Dutchess County, N. Y., containing Biographical Sketches
of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early
settled families." The latter was merely a compilation of sketches,
mostly autobiographical. The historical matter of James H. Smith's
book was taken mostly from Philip H. Smith's history.
There have been published too, several histories of localities or
towns.
In 1874 John W. Spaight, publisher of the Fishkilt Standard,
PREFACE. 11
printed a little book entitled "Local Tales and Historical Sketches"
by Henry D. B. Bailey.
This is merely a compilation of a few old woman tales and local
traditions of no historical value.
Mr. Bailey, in his preface, stated that "he intended to write a
history," but he never did.
Prior to this in 1866, Dean & Spaight published for T. VanWyck
Brinkerhoof, a "Historical Sketch of the Town of Fishkill," which is
quite rare, but is full of accurate and interesting information.
In 1875, DeLacey & Wiley, printers at Amenia, published an
*'Early History of Amenia" by Newton Reed, containing much
genealogical and historical information well worth preservation.
In 1897, Charles Walsh & Company, printers at Amenia, published
Volume 1 of a "History of Little Nine Partners of Northeast Pre-
cinct and Pine Plains, New York, Dutchess Coufety," by Isaac Huntt-
ing. Pine Plains, N. Y.
This is said by its author to be "A compilation and revision of
sketches published in the Amenia Times, Dutchess Farmer, Pough-
heepsie Telegraph and Pine Plains Register."
There are many documents of the early times published and pre-
served in this valuable work, and a great deal of accurate historical
information concerning the early history and families of the locality,
mixed with some tradition.
The author very modestly prints as a prefatory motto, "A little
preserved is better than all lost."
Unfortunately, as we are informed, his book did not meet with such
appreciation as its author seemed to think that it deserved, and as it
really did deserve, and so in a fit of pique, he is reported to have
burned a large part of the edition which was left upon his hands.
Volume II never appeared.
In 1881, Edward M. Smith, as author, published a "Documentary
History of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, N. Y., embracing Biographical
Sketches and Genealogical Records of our First Families and First
Settlers, with a History of its Churches and other Public Institu-
tions." This is a creditable and useful work, worthy of the historical
importance of Rhinebeck Precinct.
Only last year the eminent lawyer, Howard H. Morse, now of Tarry-
town, N. Y., formerly of Rhinebeck, published a volume entitled "His-
12 PREFACE.
toric Old Rhinebeck," which is a handsome book, full of interesting
information concerning his old home town and its people.
Richard Francis Maher, the Town Clerk of Dover, has recently
privately published a pamphlet entitled "Historic Dover."
The historical matter contained therein has been made the basis of
the chapter on the Town of Dover, written by Mr. Maher.
AH of these previous works, both county histories and town his-
tories, have been freely laid under tribute in the preparation of the
present work, due credit in all cases being given ; and the editor desires
to acknowledge his obligation to their authors and publishers.
He desires to say, however, that all matters of tradition have been
ahnost wholly ignored, for it is his experience, gained in long years \
of historical and genealogical research, that tradition is mostly in- .
accurate, if not wholly false.
It has been his intention in the preparation of this history to go
only to authentic sources and to publish only facts, backed up in all
possible cases by documentary evidence. For that purpose not only
have the records of the County Clerk's office been searched, but those
of the office of the Secretary of State, the War Office at Washington,
and the collections of the Historical Society of New York in an en-
deavor to publish a true history.
The desire and purpose have been to make and to present through
this history a veracious record of the people and of the events of the
past, showing the very earliest settlements, the various patents and
grants, who were the pioneers, who were the earliest inhabitants, who
began the settlement and cultivation of the county, who fought the
battles of their country in the Colonial, the Revolutionary and later
periods, who were prominent in civil life and took part in the govern-
ment of the county and management of town affairs and controlled
the policies of their times, as the actors in the religious, military,
political and business affairs of the county.
It is to be hoped that the book will prove a useful reference work
for all who wish to trace back their lineage to earlier times and to
learn of the doings of their ancestors.
A new map of the county has been prepared from the most authen-
tic sources of government surveys upon which, through the kind
assistance of Mr. Adrian C. Rapelje, County Engineer, all the main
improved highways, mostly State roads, are shown.
PREFACE. 13
It will be interesting to compare the showing of roads upon this latest
map with the plates of CoUes' road map published in 1789 which,
through the kindness and courtesy of Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, the pub-
lisher of this history has been allowed to reproduce.
The chapter translating from the French original the account of
the early travels of the Marquis de Chastellux through our county,
down the Harlem Valley and up along the Hudson, made in 1780 and
1782, should be interesting as giving the views of a keen observer in
that early time of the beauties and possibilities of our lovely county,
which have materialized even beyond the most optimistic prophesies
of this observant and far-seeing French sympathizer with our new
country.
The special articles in the history on the various towns, on the
bench and bar, on the medical profession, on the churches, on Free-
masonry and on the Quakers, have been entrusted to and written by
the men in each case most eminently fitted for the task.
For their interest and assistance they are entitled to and have the
sincere thanks of both publisher and editor.
Accuracy and veracity have been the constant aim of the editor,
and he desires to express his appreciation of his invariably pleasant
relations with the publisher, Mr. Samuel A. Matthieu, who, in the
most liberal spirit, has met and fully satisfied all the demands and
requirements made upon him by the editor, to the attainment of that
end.
No doubt a better history could be made, but this work is put forth
with the confident expectation that the subscribers and readers will
confirm the sincere belief that the conscientious and faithful efforts of
its publisher have produced the best history of the County of Dutchess
up to the present time.
Frank Hasbrotjck.
Poughkeepsie, July 26, 1909.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
Exploration of Hudson's River 17
CHAPTER II.
The Aboriginal People 24
CHAPTER III.
Topography and Geology 38
CHAPTER IV.
Indian Deeds. Land Patents 33
CHAPTER V.
Pioneer Settlements and Early Inhabitants 44
CHAPTER VI.
Civil Organizations and Divisions 57
CHAPTER VII.
Dutchess County Civil List 67
CHAPTER VIII.
Colonial Military Organizations 80
CHAPTER IX.
The Revolutionary War 93
CHAPTER X.
The Revolutionary War. Continental Line 120
CHAPTER XI.
The Revolutionary War. Muster Rolls 136
CHAPTER XII.
The Revolutionary War. Local Events 171
CHAPTER XIII.
De Chastellux's Travels Through Dutchess County 181
CHAPTER XIV.
Dutchess County in the Rebellion jgo
Contents. 15
Chapter xv. page
Tofliof and City of Poughkeepsie, By Edmund Piatt 199
CHAPTER XVI.
TlW Town of Amenia By S. R. Free 258
CHAPTER XVII.
Tto Town Of Beekman 367
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Town of Clinton 272
CHAPTER XIX.
The Town of Dover By Richard F. Maher 278
CHAPTER XX.
The Town of East Fishkill 293
CHAPTER XXI.
The Town of Fishkill By William E. Verplanek 299
CHAPTER XXII.
The Town of Hyde Park By Rev. Amos T. Ashton, D. D 353
CHAPTER XXIII.
TJte Town of La Grange 363
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Towniof Milan 369
CHAPTER XXV.
The Town of Northeast By PhiUp H. Smith 374
CHAPTER XXVI.
'm^.^Bwa of Pawling By Philip H. Smith 389
CHAPTER XXVII.
Tki-^sm of Pine Plains By Philip H. Smith 405
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Town of Pleasant Valley 419
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Town of Red Hook 426
CHAPTER XXX.
'me Tt)wn of Rhlnebeck 437
16 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXI. 'AOE
The Town of Stanford By PhiUp H. Smith 4S1
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Town of Union Vale By Philip H. Smith 460
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Town of Wappinger By CUnton W. Clapp 465
CHAPTER XXXIV,
The Town of Washington By Rev. John Edward Lyall 476
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Bench and Bar of Dutchess County. .By Frank B. Lown 498
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The Medical Profession By Guy Carleton Bayley 538
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The Masonic Fraternity ..•• 597
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Catholic Church 608
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Friends' Meetings in Dutchess County. . . .By John Cox, Jr 661
APPENDIX.
The Milton Ferry By Captain C. M. Woolsey 659
The Clinton House in the Revolution 665
Persons Registering Brand Marks in Poughkeepsie Precinct. 668
A Surrey of the Roads of the United States of America, 1789.
By Christopher CoUes 670
PART II.
Biographical and Genealogical 681
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS
CHAPTER I.
EXPLORATION OF HUDSON'S RIVER.
FROM an account given by John de Verazzano, a Florentine, sail-
ing in the service of France, it is believed he entered the harbor
of New York in 1524. No results followecyhis voyage, and it is
not known that New York was again visited by Europea,ns till 1609*
when Henry Hudson, an Enghshman by birth, set sail from Amsterdam,
Holland, April 4th, 1609, under the auspices of the Dutch East India
Company, with a commission to discover the Northwest Passage, or to
verify the dream of geographers of that period of a short cut between
Europe and China. His vessel, a yacht of eighty tons burden called
"Halve Maan," the "Half Moon," was manned by a crew of twenty sail-
ors, partly Dutch and partly English. In the month of July Hudson
reached Newfoundland, and passing to the coast of Maine, spent some
days in repairing his ship, which had been shattered in a storm. Sail-
ing thence southward, he touched at Cape Cod, and by the middle of
August found himself as far south as the Chesapeake. Again he
turned to the north, determined to examine the coast more closely, and
on the 28th of the month anchored in Delaware Bay. From thence he
proceeded northward, and appears to have crossed the bar now called
Sandy Hook on the third day of September. He remained in the bay
several days making surveys and trafficking with the Indians. 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 re-
turn, for some unexplained reason, were attacked by the natives in two
canoes, and John Colman, who had accompanied Hudson in his Polar
explorations, was killed by an arrow shot in his throat, and two of his
companions were wounded. Colman was buried at Sandy Hook, and
18 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Colman's Point, where his remains were interred, perpetuates the mem-
ory of the first European victim of the natives in these waters.^ On
the eighth Hudson permitted two Indians to board his vessel, whom he
detained and dressed in red coats. The following day he moved cau-
tiously through the Narrows, and anchored In New York harbor on
the eleventh. September 12th he commenced the memorable journey
up the picturesque river which bears his name. In the journal m
which he recorded his daily doings, are found the following interesting
notes of his voyage and his intercourse with the natives.^
"The thirteenth, faire weather, the wind northly. At seven of the clocke in the
morning, as the floode came wee weighed, and turned four miles into the river.
The tide being done wee anchored. Then there came four canoes aboord, but we
suffered none of them to come into our ship. They brought great stores of very
good oysters which wee bought for trifles. In the night I set the variation Of the
compasse and found it to be thirteen degrees. In the afternoone wee weighed and
turned in with the floode two leagues, two leagues and a half further we anchored
all night, and had five fathoms of soft ozie ground, and had a high point of land
which showed out to us bearing north by east five leagues of us.
"The fourteenth, in the morning being very faire weather, the wind southwest,
we sailed up the river twelve leagues, and had five fathoms and five fathoms and a
quarter lesse and came to a straight between two points, and had eight, nine and
ten fathoms, and it trended northwest by north one league, and we had twelve,
thirteen and fourteen fathoms. The river is a mile broad; there is very high land
on both sides. Then wee went up northwest a league and a halfe, deepe water,
then northwest by north five miles, then northwest by north two leagues and an-
chored. The land grew very high and moimtainous. The river is full of fish.
"The fifteenth, in the morning was misty until the stmne arose; then it cleared.
So wee weighed with the wind at south and ran up the river twentie leagues passing
by high mountains. Wee had a very good depth, as six, seven, eight, nine, twelve
and thirteen fathoms, and great store of salmons in the river. This morning our
two savages got out of a port and swam away. After wee were under saGl they
called to us in scome. At night wee came to other mountains which lie from the
river's side. There wee found very loving people and very old men, where wee were
well used. Our boat went to fish and caught great store of very good fish.
"The sixteenth faire and very hot weather. In the morning our boat went again
to fishing, but could catch but few by reason their canoes had been there all night.
This morning the people came aboord and brought us ears of Indian come and
pompions and tobacco, which we bought for trifles. Wee rode still all day and
filled fresh water, at night wee weighed and went two leagues higher and had
shoaled iwater so wee anchored all day.
1. History of New Netherlands, Tol. I, S6.
2. The Jaurnal of Hudson's voyage up the North River, will be found In N. Y. Biat
*8oc. Trans. I, IK.
EXPLORATION OF HUDSON'S RIVER. 19
"The seventeenth, faire sunshining weather and very hot. In the morning as
soon as the sun was up, wee set sail and run up six leagues higher and found shoals
in the middle of the channel and small islands, but seven fathoms water on both
sides. Towards night wee borrowed^ so near the shore that wee grounded, so we
layed out our small anchor and heaved off againe. Then wee borrowed on the bank
in the channel and came aground againe. While the flood ran wee hoved off and
anchored all night.
"The eighteenth in the morning was faire weather, and wee rode still. In the
afternoone our master's mate went on land with an old savage, a governor of the
countrie, who carried him to his house and made him good cheere.
"The nineteenth was faire and hot weather. At the floode, being near eleven of
the clocke, wee weighed and ran higher up two leagues above the shoals, and had
no lesse water than five. Wee anchored and rode in eight fathoms. The people
of the countrie came flocking aboord and brought us grapes and pompions which
we bought for trifles. And many brought us bever skinnes and otter skinnes which
wee bought for beades, knives and hatchets. So we rode there all night.
"The twentieth in the morning was faire weather. Our master's mate with four
men more went up with our boat to sound the river, and found two leagues above
us but two fathoms water and the channel very narrow, and above that place be-
tween seven or eight fathoms. Toward night they returned and wee rode still all
night.
"The one-and-twentieth was faire weather and the wind all southerly. We de-
termined yet once more to go further up into the river, to try what depth and
breadth it did beare, but much people resorted aboord, so we went not this day.
Our carpenter went on land and made a foreyard, and our master and mate de-
termined to try some of the chief men of the countrie whether they had any
treacherie in them. So they took them down into the cabin and gave them as much
wine and aqua-vitae that they were all merrie, and one of them had his .wife with him
who sat as modestly as any of our countrie-women would do in a strange place.
In the end one of them was drunke which had been aboord of our ship all the time
we had been there; and that was strange to them for they could not tell how to
take it. The canoes and folks went all on 'shore, but some of them came again
and brought stropes of beades, some had six, seven, eight, nine, ten, and gave him.
So he slept all night quietly.
"The two-and-twentieth was faire weather. In the morning our master's mate
and foure more of our companie, went up with our boat to sound the river higher
up. The people of the countrie came not aboord tiU noone, but when they came
and saw the savages well they were glad. So at three of the clock in the aften-
noone they came aboord and brought tobacco and more beades, and gave them to
our master, and an oration, and showed him the countrie all around about. Then
they sent one of their companie on land, who presently returned, and brought a great
platter full of venison, dressed by themselves, and they caused him to eat with
Ihem. Then they made him reverence and departed, all save the old man that lay
1. Borrow, — nautical term, "take shelter." To approach either land or the wind closely.
Century Dictionary.
20 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
aboord. This night at ten of the clocke our boat returned in a shower of raine,
from sounding Of the river, and found it to be at an end for shipping to goe in.
For they had been up eight or nine leagues and found but seven foot water and un-
constant soundings.
"The three-and-twentieth faire weather; at twelve of the clocke wee weighed and
went down two leagues, to a shoal that had two channels, one on one side and an-
other on the other, and had little wind, whereby the tide layed us upon it. So there
wee sat on the ground the space of an hour, till the floode came. Then we had a
little gale of vidnd at the west. So wee got our ship into deepe water and rode all
night very well.
"The four-and-twentieth was faire weather and the wind at the northwestj wee
weighed and went down the river seven or eight leagues, and at hal^e ebb wee
came on ground on a bank of oze in the middle of the river, and sate there tUl the
floode. Then wee went on Vaad and gathered good store of chestnuts. At ten of
^:he clocke wee came off into deepe water and anchored.
"The five-and-twentieth was faire weather, and the wind at south a stiffe gale.
Wee rode stiU and went on land to walke of the west side of the river, and found
good ground for corne and other garden herbs, with a great store of goodly oakes,
and walnut-trees, and chestnut-trees, ewe-trees and trees of sweet wood in great
abundance, and great store of slate for houses and other good stones.
"The sixth-and-twentieth was faire weather, and the wind at the south a stifFe
gale. Wee rode stiU. In the morning our carpenter went on land with the master's
mate, and foure more of our companie, to Cut wood. This morning two canoes
came up the river from the place wee first found loving people, and in one of them
was the old man that had layen aboord of us at the other place. He brought an-
other old man with him, which brought more stropes of beades, and gave them to
our master, and showed him all the countrie thereabout, as though it were at his
command. So he made the two old men dine with him, and the old man's wife^
for they brought two old women and two young maidens of the age of sixteen or
seventeene yeares with them, who behaved themselves very modestly. Our master
gave one of the old men a knife, and they gave him and us tobacco. And at one
of the clocke they departed down the river, making signes that wee should come
down to them, for wee were within two leagues of the place where they dwelt.
"At seven-and-twentieth in the morning was faire weather, but much wind at
north; wee weighed and set our foretop sayle, and our ship would not flot, but
ran on the ozie bank at halfe ebbe. Wee layed out anchor to heave her off but
could not, so we sate from halfe ebbe to halfe floode; then wee set our fore sayle
and main top sayle and got down six leagues. The old man came aboord and
would have had us anchor and go on land to eat with him, but the wind being
faire wee would not yield to his request, so he left us being very sorrowful for our
departure. At five of the clocke in the afternoone the wind came to the south-
south-west. So wee made a board or two and anchored in fourteen fathoms water
Then our boat went on shore to fish, right against the ship. Our master's mate
,and boat swaine and three more of the companie went on land to fish, but could
EXPLORATION OF HUDSON'S RIVER. 21
not find a good place. They tooke four or five and twenty Mullets, Breames,
Bases and Barbils, and returned in an hour. Wee rode still all night.
"The eight-and-twentieth being faire weather, as soon as the day was light, wee
weighed at halfe ebbe and turned down two leagues bylowe water. At three of the
clocke in the afternoone wee weighed, and turned down three leagues until it was
dark; then wee anchored.
"The nine-and-twentieth was dry, close weather, the wind at south and south by
west; wee weighed early in the morning and turned down three leagues by lowe
water and anchored at the lower end of the long reach,i for it is six leagues long.
Then there came certain Indians in a canoe to us but would not come aboord. Af-
ter dinner there came the canoe with other men, whereof three came aboord us.
They brought Indian wheat which wee bought for trifles. At three of the clocke
in the afternoon wee weighed as soon as the ebbe came, and turned downe to the
edge of the mountains and anchored, because the high land hath many points, and
a narrow channel, and hath many eddie winds. So wee rode quietly all night in
seven fathoms water.
"The thirtieth was faire weather and the wind at southeast a stiffe gale between
the mountains. Wee rode still the afternoone. The people of the countrie came
aboord us and brought some small skinnes with them which wee bought for knives
and trifles. This is a very pleasant place to build a towne on. The road is very
near and very goode for all winds, save an east-north-east wind. The mountaynes
look as if some metal or mineral were in them. For the trees that grow on them
were all blasted, and some of them barren with a few or no trees on them. The
people brought a stone aboord like to emery (a stone used by glasiers to cut glass),
it would cut iron or steel. Yet being bruised small and water put to it, it made a
colour like blackeleade glistening. It is also good for painters colours. At three
of the clocke they departed and wee rode still all night.
"The first of October faire weather, the wind variable between the west and
north. In the morning wee weighed at seven of the clocke with the ebbe arid got
downe below the mountaynes which was seven leagues. Then it fell calme and the
flood was come, and wee anchored at twelve of the clocke. The people of the
mountaynes came aboord us, wondering at our ships and weapons. Wee bought
some small skinnes of them for trifles. This afternoone one canoe kept hangjing
under our sterne with one man in it, which wee could not keep from thence, who
got Up by our rudder to the cabin window and stole out my pillow and two shirts
and two bandeleeres. Our master's mate shot at him and strooke him on the brest
and killed him. Whereupon all the rest fled away, some in their canoes arid some
leapt out of them into the water.
"Wee manned our boat and got our things againe. Then one of them that
Swamme got hold of our boat, tUnking to overthrow it. But our cooke took a
1. The stretches of current between the ditferent points and bends of the shore of the
Hudson, were named "reaches" or in the Dutch Vernacular "racks." The Long Reach —
also termed Fisher's (Vischer's) Reach — extended from the northern gate of the High-
lands to Crom Elbow, a distance of about twenty miles. This, undoubtedly, is the earliest
reference to the reaches of this river that occurs in any European language. [Editoe.]
22 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
sword and cut one of his hands, and he was drowned. By this time the ebbe was
come, and wee weighed and got downe two leagues, by that time it was dark, so
we anchoijed io foftr fathoms water and rode well. '
"The seconde, f aire weather, at break of day wee weighed the wind being at
northwest and gqtr flown seven leagues; then the flood was come strong so wee
anchored. Then came one of the salvages that swamme away from us at our going
up: the river, with, piany other, thinking to betray us, but wee perceived their in-
tent and suffered none of them to enter our ship. Whereupon two canoes full of
men with their bowes and arrow's shot at us after our steme; in recompence where-
of wee discharged; sdx musketsi and killed two or three of them, then about an
hundted of themcame to a point of land to shoot at us. There I shot a falcon at
them and killed ;tSTO of them, whereupon the rest fled into the woods. Yet they
m^un^d off another .canoe, with nine or ten men which came to meet us. So I shot
at it also a f alcott, and shot it through and killed one of them. Then our men with
Itoir, muskets killed, three or four more of them so they went their w^y within a
while after wee got downe two leagues beyond that place, and anchored in a bay,
oleere from all danger of them, on the other side of the river -where wee saw a very
good, piece of ground, and hard by it there was a cliffe, that looked of the colour
of a white green as; though it were either copper or silver mayne, and I think it to
be ope, of them by the trees that grow upon it for they be all burned, and the other
places; are greene a? grasse, it is on that side of the river that is called Manna-hatta.
There wee saw no people to trouble, us, and rode quietly all night; but had much
wind and rains.
"The third was very stonnie; the wind at east-north-east. In the morning in a
gust of wind and ralne, our anchor came home, and wee drove on ground; but it was
ozie. - Then as , we were about to have out an anchor, the wind came to the north-
northwest and drove us off agajnct Then wee shot an anchor and let it fall in
foure fathoms water and weighed the other. Wee had much wind and raine, with
thick weather, so wee rode still, all night.
"The fourth, was faire weather, and the wind at north-northwest, wee weighed
and came out of the river into which wee had runne so farre. Within a while
after. \vee came out also of the great mouth of the great river that runneth up to
the. northwest,; borrowing upon the norther side of the same, thinking to have deepe
water;,, for wee had sounded a great way with our boat at our first going in, and
found seveuj six, and five fathoms. So wee came out that way but wee were- de-
ceived,, for wee had but eight foot and a half water, and so to three fathoms and a
halfe. And then three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten fathom's. And
by, twelve of the clocke wee were cleere of all the inlet. Then wee tooke in our
boat and set our main sayle and sprit sayle and our top sayles, and steered away
east southea^st and southeast by east, off into the mayne Isea; and the land on the
souther side of the bay did beare at noone west and south foure leagues from us.
"The,. fifth wa)s faire weather and the wind variable between the north and the
east. Wee held on our course southeast by east. At noone I observed and found
our height to be thirty-nine degrees thirty minutes. Our compasse varied six de-
grees to the west.
EXPLORATION OF HUDSON'S RIVER. 23
"Wee continued our course toward England, without seeing any land by the way,
all the rest of this month of October. And on the seventh day of November, stilo
nouv, being Saturday by the grace of God, wee safely arrived in the range of Dart-
mouth, in Devonshire, in the yeere 1609."
In 1610 a second vessel was sent over by the shrewd merchants of
Amsterdam, and a successful trade was opened with the natives along
the river.^ Other vessels followed in the three succeeding years, all of
which returned with rich cargoes of furs. In 1614 the States General
of Holland granted a charter to the merchants engaged in these ex-
peditions under the title of United New Netherlands Company, giving
exclusive privileges of trade for four years. Foremost in these busi-
ness ventures were Captains Hendrick Christiansen, John DeWitt,
Adrian Block and Cornelius Jacobsen Mey. Block and Mey directed
their explorations along the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey,
while Captain DeWitt sailed up the North River and gave his name to
one of the Islands near Red Hook. Hendrick Christiansen ascended
the stream to Castle Island where he established a trading post. At
the expiration of their charter so profitable had the fur trade become,
that the States General refused to renew it, giving instead a temporary
license for its continuance.
The energies of the Dutch were directed more to commerce than
colonization, and up to 1628 no systematic attempt at colonizing was
made. Settlements commenced at New Amsterdam, Paulus Hook and
adjacent neighborhoods resulted in conflicts and massacres. These
hostilities, however, have no direct reference to this County, which had
not a single white settler during the whole period of Dutch occupancy.
1. This river was called by the Iroquois the Cohatatea, while the Mohicans and the
Lenapes called it the Mahioanituk. The Dutch gave it the name of Mauritius river, as
earl; as 1611, in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau. The English, in recognition of the
work of the explorer, conferred the title of Hudson's River.
24 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER H.
THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE.
WHEN European explorers penetrated into the valley of the
Hudson, they found it peopled by sub-tribes of the great
Algonquin nation. The Mohicans occupied the country
along the east bank of the Hudson, from a site opposite Albany down
to the Tappan Sea, and eastward a distance of ten or fifteen miles
along the streams wich formed the pathways of aboriginal commerce.
They were, says Rev. John Heckewelder, who spent forty years among
the Indians as a Moravian missionary, a branch of the Lenni Lenape
or Delaware family, who occupied the west side of the Hudson from
its mouth up as far as the CatskiU, and westward to the headwaters of
the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers.
The territory of the Wappingers,^ a tribal division of the Mo-
hicans, covered the major portion of Dutchess County. Their govern-
ment scarcely differed from that of the Mohicans and other branches
of the Delawares. Each tribe had its sachem and counsellorsj who
made their own laws, treaties, etc. These, says Loskiel, "were either
experienced warriors or aged and respectable fathers of families."
Likewise each had its specific device or totem denoting original con-
sanguinity. Although the prevailing totem of all the Hudson River
cantons was the Wolf, borne alike by Minsis, Wappingers and Mo-
hicans," the particular symbol of the Wappingers was the opossum,
tatooed on the person of the Indian, and often rudely painted on the
gable-end of his cabin. I
The Wappingers were a peaceful tribe, and manifested a friendly
feeling toward the white settlers at Rondout in Ulster County, whom
they visited frequently, their canoes ladened with fish and venison
1. A corruption of wabun, east and ocfti^ land, which as applied hy the Indians them-
selves, may be rendered Eastlanders. The Dutch historians are responsible for Wwfpina-
ers, perhaps from their rendering of the sound of the original word, and perhaps as
expressing the fact that they were, In the Dutch language, wapen, or half-armed Indians.
IniUan Tribes of Hudson's River, SlO-Sni.
,2. Indian Tribes of Hudson's River, 50.
THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE. 25
which they traded for powder, lead and brandy. They took no gen-
eral part in the Esopus wars, except to act as mediators, and to as-
sist in effecting a satisfactory exchange of prisoners between the
Dutch and the Esopus Indians.
Of the chief sachems of this tribe four names appear in
official documents. One is that of Goethals, who was present
at a treaty of peace concluded with certain tribes of River Indians,
March 6, 1660, by Peter Stuyvesant. At the last treaty con-
cluded by Stuyvesant with the Indians, May 16, 1664, Tseessaghgaw,
a chief of the Wappingers participated in behalf of that tribe. The
name of Megriesken, sachem of the Wappinger Indians, appears in an
Indian deed, dated August 8, 1683, for lands embraced in the Rom-
bout Patent, while Daniel Ninham, who was made chief sachem of the
Wappingers in 1740, distinguished himself not l^s by his persistent
effort to recover lands included in the Philipse Patent, of which his
tribe were defrauded, than by his tragic death at the battle of Court-
land Ridge, Westchester County where he and some forty of his fol-
lowers, including his son, were killed or wounded August 31, 1778, by
the Britishj against whom they had espoused the cause of the Colonists.^
The location of the principal village of the Wappingers tribe is not
positively known, but presumably near the falls on the creek which
perpetuates their name. Van der Doncks map locates three of their
villages on the south side of this stream. From Kregier's Journal of
the "Second Esopus War" (1663), it is learned that they had a castle
in the vicinity of Low Point, and that they maintained a crossing place
to Dans Kamer Point. Tradition locates other villages in various
parts of the country.
Their burying ground is a familiar spot to many of the residents of
Wappingers Falls. It was just south of the Episcopal church, known
as the "gravel bank," the property of the Garner Company. In this
bank was recently found a ball of clay containing nine flint spear
heads, four of which are in possession of the Roy brothers of that
village.
Of the possessions of the Wappingers on the Hudson there is but one
"perfect title on record," says Ruttenber, that being for the land in-
cluded in the Rombout Patent, dated 1683. This deed, however, covers
1. Simcoe's Military Journal.
26 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
a tract of land secured from the Indians by Arnout Viele in 1680, men-
tion of which appears in a subsequent chapter. The Indians pa,rted
with their lands for a small, yet an apparently satisfactory, consider-
ation, but did not immediately vacate the premises. They continued
to hunt and fish, and the squaws to till their fields of com and beans
for at least fifty years after the above deeds had been recorded. Their
numbers were gradually diminished in consequence of the introduction
of spirituous liquors among them. They became scattered and addict-
ed to wandering, removing to different parts, mingling with other
nations.
Remnants of difi'erent clans chose a hunting ground in the vicinity
of the present hamlet of Shekomeko,^ and it was on this spot that the
evangelization of the aborigines in Dutchess county was begun in
1740, by that zealous Moravian missionary. Christian Henry Rauch.^
Arriving August 16th of that year, he was received by the Indian
chiefs Tschoop and Shabash, whom he had previously met in New
York. They announced him as the man they had appointed to be their
teacher, and he addressed them on the subject of his mission, and the
means of redemption, to which they listened "with great attention."
In subsequent exhortations he perceived that his words excited deri-
sion, and finally, they "openly laughed him to scorn." He persevered
in his eflForts, however, and at length his zeal and devotion was re-
warded by the conversion of Tschoop, "the greatest drunkard among
them." Shabash was soon after awakened "and the labor of the Holy
Spirit became remarkably evident in the hearts of these two savages."
Such was the success of this missionary that many Indians not only
in Shekomeko but other neighboring settlements became convinced of
the truth of the gospel.
In January, 1742, Gottlob Buttner, another Moravian missionary,
joined Ranch, as the spiritual harvest at Shekomeko demanded more
laborers; In the summer of the same year Count Zinzendorf visited the
mission, baptized a number of converts, and here formed the first con-
gregation of Indians estabhshed by the Moravians in North America.
Other brethren who subsequently arrived to engage in the work were
1. She com eko from she "great' and oomaco "house," "the great lodge or -village"
Dr. Trumbull.
2. See writings of George Henry Loskiel, and Eev. Sheldon Davis, concerning Morayian
•Missions in New York.
THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE. 27
Martiii Mack, Joseph Shaw, Christopher Pyrlaens, Gottlob Senseman
and Christian Frederick Post. At the close of the year 174.3, the
congregation of baptized Indians consisted of sixty-three persons.
The success and peace of the Shekomeko mission was disturbed in 174i4i
by grave difficulties. Malevolent white settlers who had been accus-
tomed to make the dissolute life of the Indians, especially their love for
liquor, subservient to their advantage, branded the missionaries as
papists and enemies of the English colonists. The civil authorities were
urged to interfere. After several examinations before a court in
"Pickipsi" the missionaries showed clearly that they had no affihation
with papacy. Thereupon a law was passed by the Assembly, Sep-
tember 21st, 1744), forbidding any person "to reside amongst the In-
dians under the pretense of bringing them over to the Christian faith,
without the license of the Governor and consent of the council," No-
vember 27th, 174)4, the Governor, directed the Deputy Clerk of the
council to write to the sheriffs of the counties of Albany, Dutchess and
Ulster, "to give notice to the several Moravian and vagrant teachers
among the Indians in their respective counties * * * * to .de-
sist from further teaching or preaching, and to depart this Province."^
December 15th of the same year the sheriff and three justices arrived
at Shekomeko, and commanded the missionaries to . again appear be-
fore the court at "Pickipsi," where they were edified by the reading of
the act in question. The brethem decided to remove to Bethlehem,
Penn., — all but Buttner, whose health had become impaired. He died
February 23rd, 174*5, in the presence of the Indian converts, and was
buried at Shekomeko. A monument erected by the Moravian Histori-
cal Society, July 11th, 1859, marks the grave of this martyr to the
cause of aboriginal salvation.
After the burial of Buttner, although the Indians were without a
missionary, they continued for a time to meet as usual. They oc-
casionally visited Bethlehem, and ten families comprising forty-four
persons finally removed there. Others formed a settlement on the east
border of Indian Pond in the town of Sharon, Conn. It seems a harsh
condition that the Indian was thus driven from his country, where he
had ever been hospitable and friendly to the white pioners.
1. Doe. Biat. III. 1019-1020.
28 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER III.
TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.
THE County of Dutchess, in the State of New York, lies upon the
east bank of the Hudson along which it extends for a distance
of about forty-five miles, thence eastward to the Connecticut
line. It is bounded on the north by Columbia county, and on the south
by the County of Putnam. The area included in these limits is 4<74!,68S
acres.
The surface of the county is generally hilly, presenting in the
southern and eastern portions a battlement of mountainous elevations.
The Fishkill mountains upon the south border, form the northern ex-
tremity of the Highlands, and extend across the southern part of the
county. The highest summits. Old Beacon, and North Beacon or
Grand Sachem, are respectively 1471 and 1685 feet above tide, and
are intimately identified with the military history of the country.
They derive their names from beacons placed upon their summits dur-
ing the revolution, to flash intelligence to the patriots, and warn them
of the approach of the British. A break in the southeast part of
these mountains, opening toward the south, is known as Wiccopee Pass,
a name applied to a settlement of the Highland Indians. This pass
was guarded in revolutionary times to protect military supplies at
Fishkill.
The Taconic or Taghkanic mountains, occupy the eastern border
of the county. They rise from three hundred to six hundred feet above
the valleys, and from one thousand to thirteen hundred feet above
tide. These elevations, like the Fishkill mountains, are in many
places rocky and precipitous. Other lofty peaks are Clove Mountain
in the town of Union Vale, 1,403 feet high; Stissing Mountain in the
town of Pine Plains, with a height of 1,380 feet; and Dennis iJill in
the town of Dover, rising 1,365 feet above tide. These, with other
hills, will be noticed more particularly in the town histories.
• In the western part of the county, between the streams, are rolling
TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 29
ridges which terminate abruptly on the river, and form a series of
bluffs, from one hundred to two hundred feet in height.
The principal streams of the county, in the drainage arrangement
are the FishkiU, Wappinger, Casper, Fall Kill, Crom Elbow, Lands-
man and Saw Kill, tributaries of the Hudson, all flowing in a south-
westerly direction. Ten Mile riyer, near the eastern border of the
county, receives Swamp river from the south, and discharges its waters
into the Housatonic. Croton river has its source in the southeast part
of the county, and Roeliff Jansen's Kill flows for a short distance with-
in the northern border. There are a great variety of smaller streams,
tributaries of those above mentioned, which rise in springs upon the
miountain slopes.
FishkiU Creek. The headwaters of this stream^ for the most part,
drain the western slope of Chestnut Ridge mountains. From a cen-
tral point in the town of Beekman, it flows in a southwesterly 'direction
through the towns of East FishkiU and FishkiU, emptying into the
Hudson, near the south border of the latter town. It is rapid in the
upper and lower parts of its course, but sluggish through the Fish-
kiU plains. Between FishkiU Village and the Landing, a distance of
five miles, it makes a descent of nearly two hundred feet, over slate
and limestone ledges, thus affording valuable hydraulic power. In its
course it receives many small streams, the principal of which is Sprout
Creek, which forms the boundary between East FishkiU and Wap-
pinger.
Wappinger Creek, a highly picturesque stream, and the largest
in Dutchess, rises in Stissing Pond, in the town of Pine Plains, at an
elevation of eight hundred feet above tide, and traverses the county
for a distance of about thirty-five miles, in a southerly direction. It
passes diagonally through the towns of Stanford and Pleasant Valley,
thence it forms the boundary between the towns of Poughkeepsie, La-
Grange and Wappinger, flowing into the Hudson at New Ham-
burgh. It receives several branches that water the rich agricultural
region through which it passes.
Casper Creek. This stream has its source in the southeastern cor-
ner of the town of Hyde Park. It flows southerly, through the cen-
tral portion of the town of Poughkeepsie, reaching the Hudson some
two miles north of the viUage of New Hamburgh. In early documents
30 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
it bears a variety of Indian names, and is identified by the statement :
"Knowne by the Christians for Jan Casperses Creek."
The Fall Kill Creek rises in the southwest corner of the town of
CHnton. In its upper course, for a distance of six miles, it flows rap-
idly over a gravel bed, between high and rocky hills, thence passing
through swampy and low meadow lands in the town of Hyde Park, it
winds its way to the Hudson, through an improved channel within the
limits of the city of Poughkeepsie.
Crom Elbow Creek is a crooked stream, some nine miles in length,
rising among the hills at the intersection of the towns of Milan, Clinton
and Rhinebeck. It flows in a southwesterly direction, forming the bound-
ary between Rhinebeck and Clinton. At East Park, it turns in an
abrupt elbow to the west, uniting with the Hudson, near the village
of Hyde Park.
Landsman Kill which at one time propelled several valuable mills,
rises in the northwest part of the town of Rhinebeck. At Fritz mill
pond it is joined by the Rhinebeck creek. Just below this junction,
the stream descends over a rocky precipice some sixty feet, forming a
beautiful cascade, known as Beechwood Falls. It empties into the
Hudson at Vanderberg Cove.
The Saw Kill flows through the centre of the town of Red Hook,
from Spring Lake or Long Pond, whence it has its source in the
northeast corner of the town, reaching the Hudson at South Bay.
Ten Mile River rises by several branches in the east part of tKe
county, and flows south through the towns of Amenia and Dover, to
the village of South Dover, where it txirns eastward, emptying into the
Housatonic between Schaghticoke mountain and Ten Mile hill. Its
principal tributaries are Swamp River, Wassaic and Webatuck Creeks.
In the central and eastern portions of the county are numerous little
lakes, of which Whaley Pond, in the town of Pawling, and Sylvan Lake
in the town of Beekman, are the largest.
A mere outKne of the rock groundwork underlying the county so
far as it necessarily bears upon the economic interests and historical
associations, is all that properly seenis to come within the scope of
this work.^
In the Highland region, and in a narrow belt along the east bor-
1. Authorities consalted.: Professor William W. Mather, and Heinrlch Rles.
TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 31
der of the countjj the metamorphic rocks of the Primary system obtain.
Extending thence westerly to Hudson's River and beyond it, are classed
the rocks of the Champlain division of the New York system, consist-
ing of a series of slates, shales, grits, limestones and siliceous and
calcareous breccias and conglomerates. The rocks of the Hudson
River group composed mostly of dark brown, blue and black slates
and shales, and bluish-grey thick-bedded grits, are remarkably well
developed in the county. Together with those of the Champlain di-
vision they range through the towns of Red Hook, Milan, Rhinebeck,
Clinton, Hyde Park, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, LaGrange and
Wappinger.
The prevailing types of crystalUne rock composing the strata of
the Fishkill and Taconic mountains are gneisse^ granites, granulyte,.
quartz-syenite and mica-schist. The varieties under these heads are
very numerous, since the constituent minerals are present in so vary-
ing proportions.
The ore deposits are in two principal ranges and limestone valleys-
First, the Fishkill-Clove belt, stretching northeast from the High-
lands of the Hudson across the towns of Fishkill, East Fishkill, Beek-
man and Union Vale; second, the north-south valley, traversed by
New York and Harlem Railroad. The limonite, or hematite ore, is
found in small pockets of irregular shape, and also in large deposits,
which are associated with ochreous clays, and in some cases, with a
gray carbonate of iron, in beds underlying it. These ore bodies are
wholly in the limestone or between the limestone and the adjacent slate
or schist formations. Near Fishkill and at Shenandoah, the deposits
are at the border of the Cambrian sandstone and at the foot of the
Archaean ridges.^
The limestones in the eastern part of the county are a continuation
of those found in Westchester county, while those found in the central
and western portions of the county are a continuation of the Orange
county Cambro-Silurian limestone belts. The former are meta-
morphosed limestones and partake of the nature of marble, being
highly crystalline, while the latter are not. Although there are out-
crops of the limestone at a number of points in the valley followed by
the Harlem Railroad, only two large openings have been made. These
are at Dover Plains and South Dover.
1. 1898 Report Nevfr York State Museum, Vol. IV, 220.
32 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The limestones in the western part of the county, are usually a hard
fine grained bluish-gray rock, containing less magnesia than the whiter
phases to the southeast and east. It has been used for lime, but on
the whole is so silicious that the resulting lime would be lean. The
western belt has been quarried in large quantities at Clinton Point, two
miles north of New Hamburgh.
"The great mass of the limestone," says Professor W. B. Dwight,^
"along the Wappinger Creek from Willow Brook to New Hamburgh
appears to be calciferous and shows its fossils in many places all along
this line. The Trenton rock and fossils are much more limited in their
exposures, and yet there are long stretches of this formation usually
lying on the eastern side of the limestone ridges. A little Trenton
crops out at a quarry, near Salt Point, ten miles northeast of Pough-
keepsie. It appears largely at Pleasant Valley, then at Rochdale, and
for about one mile south of that place. Fossiliferous Trenton forms
the eastern edge of the limestone ridge from this point, for at least
three miles south. It also appears in the parallel ridges to the west
of Cliffdale, and further south."
Extensive and important clay formations occur in southern Dutchess,
along the bank of the Hudson. The clay is chiefly blue, but where
the overlying sand is wanting or is of slight thickness, it is weathered
to yellow, this weathering sometimes extending to a depth of twelve
feet below the surface. At some localities the layers of the clay are
very thin, and alternate with equally thin layers of sandy clay.
Several brick manufacturers having yards near Dutchess Junction
obtain their clay from the escarpment of an eighty foot terrace. The
clay has a fairly uniform thickness, the upper four to eiglit feet are
yellow, the rest blue. The greatest thickness of clay known, for this
locality, is at Aldridge Brothers' yards, where a well was sunk sixtv-
five feet through the clay, which added to the height of the bank
(sixty-five feet) gave a total thickness of one hundred and thirty feet
at this point.
The varied character of the soil of this county, adapts it to mixed
farming, and all of the branches of agriculture, possible in the climate
have been more or less followed. Stock raising has also received con-
siderable attention. In more recent years dairying has increased in
many of the interior towns, and has been followed with much success
1. Transactions Vassar Brothers' Institute 1883-'84, Vol. II, 149.
' A^Mn-f-thieti. PtitiLsHsir
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS. 33
CHAPTER IV.
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS.
THE early divisions of the territory embraced within the limits
of Dutchess county, and other lands in this vicinity, pos-
sessed many peculiarities, and led to uncommon experiences
by the pioneers. While the Dutch authorities sometimes made land
grants to colonists regardless of the Indian rights, the English after
they came into power adopted a different policy, and first aimed to
extinguish the Indian title by treaty. When the Province of New
Netherlands was surrendered to the English, September, 1664, the
third article of the terms of capitulation stipulated that "All people
shall continue free Denizens, and shall enjoy their Lands, Houses, and
goods, wheresoever they are within the country, and dispose of them
as they please." Many of the old Dutch grants were upheld by con-
firmatory English grants, issued previous to 1674, when English
possession was forever established by the treaty signed at West-
minster. In June of that year the Duke of York, obtained a new
grant of the same territory included in that of ten years earlier. The
duke through his appointed governor of the province, made many
grants in fee, and after his accession to the throne continued their
issue under seal of the province through authority given to the gov-
ernors, who acted under instructions from the crown. In only two
instances were grants of land made under the seal of Great Britain.
Purchases made from the Indians were held not to give legal title, the
King only being considered the true source of title. Governor Tryon
in his report to the Captain General and Governor-in-Chief of the
Province of New York, in 1774, says, "Purchases from the Indian
natives, as of their aboriginal right, have never been held to be a legal
title in this province, 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."
Colonial grants were broad in their terms, indefinite in their boun-
34 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
daries, and a common condition was the payment of an annual quit-
rent, sometimes in money but more frequently in furs, grain or some
other article that merely represented the acknowledgment of indebted-
ness.
Following the division of the Province of New York into counties
in 1683 all the lands in Dutchess county were taken up in large tracts,
less than a dozen in number, by men of influence or capital who under-
took "to settle, build up and cultivate the new county" and let them
whoUy or in part for a term of years, at a nominal rent, or merely for
the payment of taxes.
Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck took the initial step in
securing the immense tract embraced in the Rombout Patent, granted
October 17, 1685. This was followed by the patent granted to Robert
Sanders and Myndert Harmense October 24, 1686. Schuyler's Patent,
in two tracts, one near Red Hook and one south of Poughkeepsie,
June 2, 1688. On the same date a patent was granted to Artsen and
Co. for a small tract. The Nine Partners' Patent (Great or Lower)
May 27, 1697. Rhinebeck and Beekman Patents June 25, 1703.
Little or Upper Nine Partners' Patent, April 10, 1706. The Oblong
Patent, covering a narrow strip along the east borders of Dutchess,
Putnam and Westchester counties, was ceded to the State of New
York by Connecticut, May 14, 1731. These patents, with the excep-
tion of the Oblong, were granted under Colonial Governors, Dongan,
Fletcher and Cornbury.
The Rombout Patent covered a tract of 85,000 acres, which em-
braced the present towns of FishkiU, East Fishkill and Wappinger,
the westerly part of LaGrange, and nine thousand acres within the
southern limits of the town of Poughkeepsie.
A license to purchase the above named tract of the Wappinger
Indians, was given to Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck by
Governor Thomas Dongan, February 8, 1682. The purchase was
consummated and the native title extinguished August 8, 1683 and
a patent issued therefor October 17, 1685, but prior to the latter
date Verplanck died, hence Stephanus Van Courtlandt became asso-
ciated with Rombout, and Jacobus Kipp became the representative of
Verplanck's children.
In 1708, by authorization of the Supreme Court, a partition was
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS. 35
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 Catherine, wife of Roger Brett, daughter and sole heir of Francis
Rombout, and the intermediate third to the children of Gulian Ver-
planck.
The patentees were required to pay to the governor for this im-
mense tract "six bushels of good and merchantable winter wheat every
year." The Indian deed for this purchase is an interesting document,
recorded on page 72, volume V, Book of Patents, in the Secretary of
State's office, an exact copy of which follows:
"To AU CHRISTIAN PEOPLE To Whom This Present Writeing ShaU Come,
Sackoraghkigh for himselfe, and in the name of Megriesken, Sachem of the Wap-
pinger Indians, Queghsijehapaein, Niessjawejahos, Queghout, Asotews, Wappege-
reck, Nathindaeniw, Wappappee, Ketaghkainis, Meakhaghoghkan, Mierham, Pea-
pightapeieuw, Queghitaeuw, Minesawogh, Katariogh, Kightapiuhogh, Rearowogh,
Meggrek, Sejay, Wienangeck Maenemanew, and Ginghstyerem, true and Lawful
Owners 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 ScheduU hereunto Annexed Per-
ticularly Menconed and Expressed to them the said Indians, in Hand Payed by
Mr. ffrancis Rumbouts and Gulyne Ver Planke, both of the Citty of New York,
Merchants, the Receipt whereof they, the said Indians, Doe hereby Acknowledge,
and herewith ownes themselves to be fully payed. Contented and Sattisfied, 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 As-
signes, have Given, Granted, Bargained, Sold, Aliened, Enfoeffed, and Confirmed,
and by these Presents Doe fully Cleerly and Absolutely Give, Grant, Bargaine,
Sell and Alien, Enfeoffe, and Conflrme unto the said Francis Rinnbout and Gulyne
Ver Planke, All that Tract or Parcel of Land Scituate, Lyeing and being 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 Northward along said Hudson's River five hund Rodd bejond the
Great Wappins Kill, caUed by the Indians Mawenawasigh, being the Northerly
Bounds, and from thence into the Woods fouer Houers goeing, always Keeping
five hund Rodd Distant from North side of said Wapinges Creeke, however it
Rimns, 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« including
aU 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 end of the fouer Houers Goeing or Line Drawne att the North side of the
36 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
five hund Rodd Bejoyond the Greate Wappinger Creek or Kill called Mawenawasigh,
together with all the Lands, Soyles, Meadows, both fresh and Salt, Pastures, Com-
mons, "Wood Land, Marshes, Rivers, Rivoletts, Streames, Creekes, Waters, Lakes,
and whatsoever else to the said Tract or Parcell of Land within the Bomids and
Limitts aforesaid is Belonging, or any wise Appurteining, without any Reservation
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 Appurtennces, and all the Estate, Right, Title, Interest, Clayme
and Demand of them the said Indian proprietors and each and every of them, of,
in, and to, the same, and Every Parte thereof, unto them the said ffrancis Rumbout
and Gulyne Ver Planke, their Heires and Assigns, to the Sole and only Proper
use, Benefitt and Behoofe of them, the feaid ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver
Planke, their Heires and Assignes, to the Sole and only Proper use. Benefit and
Behooffe of them, the said ffrancis Rumbout and Gulyne Ver Planke, their Heires
and Assignes for Ever, And they thes 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
henceforth for ever Lawfully, Peacably, and Quietly have, hold, Possesse, and En-
joy the said Tract or ParceU of Land, and all and Singuler other the Primisses,
with their Appertences without any Lett, Hindrance, or Interrupeon whatsoever
of or by them, the said Indians, Proprieters or their Heires, or of any other
Person or Persons whatsoever clayming or that hereafter shall or may Clayme by,
from, or imder them, or Either of them. And that they shall and wiU, upon Rea-
sonable Request and Demand made by the said Francis Rumbouts and Gulyne
Ver Planke, Give and Deliver Peaceably and Quiettly Possession of the said Tract
or ParceU 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 Kumbout and
Gulyne Ver Planke, shall be Appointed to Receive the same. In witness whereof,
the said Sackoraghkigh, for himselfe and in the Name of Megriskar, Sachem of
Wappinger Indians, Queghsjehapeieuw, Niesjawehos, Queghout, Asotewes, Wap-
pergereck, Nathindaew, Wappape, Ketaghkanns, Meakaghoghkan, Mierham, Pea-
pithapaeuw, Queghhitaeuw, Memesawogh, Katariogh, Kightapinkog,; Rearawogh,
Meggiech, Sejay, Wienangeck, Maenemaeuw, Guighstierm, the Indian Owners and
Proprietors aforesaid, have here unto sett their Hands and Seals in N. Yorke the
Eighth Day of August, in the 36th Yeare of his Maties Reigne, Anno Dom, 1683.
"The marke of X SAKORAGHUCK, (L. S.)
"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 Inter. (Verite.)
"The marke of X MERHAM, (L. S.)
"The marke of X PEAPIGHTAPAEW, (L. S.)
^"Siiir
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS. 37
"The marke of X QUEGHHITABMm (L. S.)
"The marke of X MBINESAWOGH, (L. S.)
"The marke of X KOTARIOGH, (L. S.)
"The marke of X KIGHTAPINKOJH, (L. S.)
"The marke of X REAROWOGH, (L. S.)
"The marke of X MEGGENKSEJAY, (L. S.)
"The marke of X WIENARGECK, (L. S.)
"The Marke of X MAENEMANEW, (L. S.)
"The marke of X GUIGHSTJEREM, (L. S.)
"The marke of X KETAGHKANNES, (L. S.)
"The marke of X MEAKHAJH, (L. S.)
"The marke of X OGHKAN, (L. S.)
"The marke of X NIESSJAWEJAHOS, (L. S.)
"The marke of X QUEJHOUT, (L. S.)
"The marke of X SJOTEWES, (L. S.)
"The marke of X WAPPEGERECK, (L. St)
"The marke of X NATHINDAEUW, (L. S.)
"The marke of X WAPPAPE, (L. S.)
"A Schedull or Perticuler of Money, Wampum and other goods Paid by ffrands
Rumbout and Gulyne "Ver Planke for the purchase of the Land in the Deed here-
unto annexed.
"One hund Royalls, One hund Pound Powder, Two hund fathom of Wirite Wam-
pum, one hund Barrs of Lead, One hundred fathom of Black Wampum, thirty
tobacco boxes ten holl adges, thirty Gunns, twenty Blankets, forty fathom of
Duffills, twenty fathom of stroudwater Cloth, thirty Kittles, forty Hatchets, forty
Homes, forty Shirts, forty p stockins, twelve coattis of R. B. & b. C, ten Drawing
Knives, forty earthen Juggs, forty Bottles, forty Knives, fouer ankers rum, ten
halfe fatts Beere, Two hund tobacco Pipe?. &c.. Eighty Pound Tobacco.
"New York, -August the 8th, 1683.
"The above Perticulers were Delivered to the Indians in the Bill of Sale Men-
coned in the psence of us
"Antho. Brockhalls,
"P. V. Courtlandt,
"John West.
"I do hereby certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the Original Record, com-
pared therewith by me.
"Lewis A. Scott, Secretary."
There is, however, another Indian deed which antedates the above,
and covers a portion of the same tract.^ It conveys land consisting of
three flats, to Arnout Cornelissen Viele, as a present, by the Indian
owners Kashepan alias Calkoen, Waspacheek alias Spek, and Phil-
lipuwas, having power of attorney from Awannis, one of the owners,
1. Colonial Hist. N. T. XIII. 545.
38 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
and bears date of June 15, 1680. Through this land flows the
Wynachkee'^ "opposite Danskammer," which is none other than Wap-
pinger Creek.^ The tract includes the woodland adjoining this stream,
from the river to Matapan fall, "and stretching about two English
miles to the North and one mile to the South." It wiU be noticed there
is no similarity in the names of the Indian owners of this tract and
those appearing in the Rombout purchase, executed nearly three years
later.
Viele in 1704 petitioned Governor Cornbury for a patent covering
this land. Although it had been patented to others, the reverse side
of his petition bears the following minute : "Read in council 15 April,
1704, ordered to lay on the table 4th May, 1704, granted."
The boundaries of the land conveyed to Robert Sanders and Myn-
dert Harmense, known as the Minnisinck Patent, dated October 24,
1686, are very indefinite. Beginning at a point on the Hudson "north
of the land of Sovryn aHas Called the Baker with the arable and Wood
Land Marshes with the Creeke Called Wynachkee with Trees Stones
(or Tones) and further Range or out Drift for Cattle and the fall of
Watters Called Pondanickrien and another marsh to the north of the
fall of Watters Called Wareskeechen."
Schuyler's Patent, dated June 2, 1688, grants to Col. Peter Schuy-
ler two tracts, the boundaries of which are thus defined:
First tract "Situate, lying and being on the east side of Hudson's
river in Duchess county, over against Magdalene Island, beginning
at a certain creek called Metambesem (now the Sawkill) ; thence run-
ning 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 Waraughkameek ; 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 Metam-
besem."
Second tract, "Scituate, Lying and being on ye East side of Hud-
son's River in Dutchess county at A Certaine Place Caled ye Long
Reach Slenting Over Against JufFrow's Hook, At a Placed Called
1. "Wynogkee, Wynachkee and Winnakee are," says Euttenber. "record forms of the
na&e of a district of country, from which it was extended to streams. The derivatives
are Winne 'good, flna, pleasant,' and acM 'land'."
Z History of Poughheepaie, 11.
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS. 39
the Rust Plaest. Runs from Thence East Ward into the wood to A
Creek Caled by The Indians Pietawickquasick Knowne by the Chris-
tians for Jan Casperses Creek Northwarde to a Water fall where the
Saw Mill belonging to Myndert Harmense Stands Upon and so South-
warde Alongst Hudson's River Aforesaid to said Rust Plaest.'"
In 1689 Col. Schuyler sold to Harme Gansevoort, a brewer, of
Albany, one-half of what he estimated to be one-fourth of the former
tract. He also conveyed August 30, 1699, to Messrs. Sanders and
Harmense all the land embraced in the second tract. The uncertain
boundaries and ambiguous descriptions of land patents in the vicinity
of Poughkeepsie evidently caused much confusion for Sanders and
Harmense had prepared for settlement a portion of the land included
in Schuyler's patent at least two years previous to the above trans-
fer. It also led to the practice of fraud, evidenced by the granting
of the so-called Poughkeepsie Patent, May 7, 1697, to Henry Ten
Eyck and eight associates, by Governor Fletcher. The grant in-
cluded the greater portion of the town, and proved to be fraudulent,
as the land was covered by previous patents. This could hardly have
been the result of ignorance, inasmuch as Governor Fletcher was re-
garded as one of the most corrupt officials the Province ever had.
Lord Bellamont complains of him, that he made grants to persons of
no merit.
The patent granted Gerrit Artsen, Arie Rosa and Jan Elton, June
2, 1688, covered twelve hundred acres in the southwest part of the
present town of Rhinebeck. The Indian title was extinguished by
deed dated June 8, 1686. This patent was granted with the under-
standing that adjoining lands deeded to Hendrick Kip by the Indians,
July 28, 1688, were to be covered by the same Royal Patent.
The Pawling patent granted to Neiltie, widow of Henry Pawling,
and her seven children. May 11, 1696, contained four thousand acres
north and west of Crom Elbow Creek.
The forming of associations to obtain large grants was a frequent
occurrence in different counties, often composed mainly of those hold-
ing official positions under the government. The men composing the
co-partnership of the Nine Partners' Patent (Great or Lower) were:
Caleb Heathcote, Major Augustus Graham, James Emott, Lieut.
Col. Henry Filkins, David Jamison, Hendryck Ten Eyck, John Aar-
1. Dutchess County Deeds. Liber A, p. 276.
40 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
etson, William Creed, and Jarvis Marshall. Governor Fletcher granted
this patent May 27, 1697, described by the following boundaries : "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 pauling (Including the said Creeke) and the Land of Myn-
dert Harmensen & Company then Bounded southerly by the Land of
the said Myndert Harmense and company as far as their bounds goes
westerly by the Land of the said Harmense and until a southerly line
runs so far south until 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 covered that portion of the present town of Hyde Park,
south and east of Crom Elbow creek, the greater portion of the towns
of Clinton and Stanford, the entire towns of Pleasant Valley and
Washington, and that part of Amenia and the southern section of
North East not included in the Oblong. This great tract was divided
into thirty-six principal lots, and nine "water lots," the latter front-
ing upon the Hudson.
The "Calendar of Land Papers" says that in 1695, Henry Beek-
man, the son of William, petitioned the government for a patent for
land in Dutchess county, lying opposite Esopus Creek. He obtained
the patent April 22, 1697, and also secured a grant of all the land
east of Rombout's Patent to the Connecticut line. These are known
as the Rhinebeck and Beekman Patents. For each of these tracts
he was to pay an annual rental of forty shillings to the crown of
England. Concerning the grants Lord Bellamont writes Secretary
Popple July 7, 1698, as follows: "One Henry Beekman, a Lieut.
CoU, in the Militia, has a vast tract of land as large as the Midline
county of England, for which he gave Fletcher a hundred dollars
abgut twenty-five pounds in English, and I am told he values his pur-
chase at £6,000."
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS. 41
As the boundaries of the first tract were not as definite as Mr. Beek-
man desired he obtained another patent in its place granted June 25,
1703, which sets forth the boundaries as follows: "All that tract of
land in Dutchess County aforesaid, situate, lying and being on the
east side of Hudson's river, beginning at a place called by the Indians
Quaningquious, over against the Klyne Sopus Effly, being the north
bounds of the lands called Pawling'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 south-
erly bounds of the land of Colonel Peter Schuyler; from thence so far
east as to reach a certain pond called by the Indians Warangh-
keemeek; and from thence extending southerly by a hue parallel to
Hudson's river aforesaid until a line run from the place where it first
began easterly into the woods does meet the said parallel hne, and
southerly by the line drawn from the place where it was first begun,
and meeting the said parallel line, which is the northern bounds of
the said land before called Pawling's Purchase."
Mr. Beekman also surrendered the grant for land east of Rombout's
Patent, receiving a new patent therefore granted June Si5, 1703. It
embraced the northeast half of the present town of LaGrange, all of
the towns of Union Vale and Beekman (except a few hundred acres
in the southern angle of Beekman), about 8000 acres of the northwest
portion of Pawling, and the western part of Dover. A strip one
and three-eights of a mile wide along the east side of the two latter
towns formed a portion of the Oblong.
Little or Upper Nine Partners' Patent, granted to Broughton &
Company, April 10, 1706, 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 comer 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 pur-
chased by John Spragg &c. at Owissetanuck thence westerly by the
said purchase as it runs to the south-west corner thereof thence to
the Manor 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
42 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
patent of Coll. Beekman 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 comprised the present towns of Milan and Pine Plains,
the north half of North East, and the small portions of Clinton and
Stanford not included in the Great Nine Partners' Patent. It was
confirmed September 25, 1708, by Queen Anne to the following
patentees: Samson Broughton, Rip Van Dam, Thomas Wenham,
Roger Mompesson, Peter Fauconier, Augustus Graham, Richard
Sackett, and Robert Lurting. A law authorizing its partition was
passed by the Colonial Assembly in 1734.
The Oblong Patent, termed in Colonial documents "Equivalent
Land," led to much controversy between the States of New York and
Connecticut. It covers a narrow strip along the east borders of
Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, containing 61,440 acres.
It was in dispute between the officials of New Netherland and the
United English Colonies. An effort to adjust the difficulty was made
at Hartford, September 19, 1650, by representatives of both govern-
ments, but agreements then arrived at were not adhered to. When
the English superseded the Dutch in 1664, commissioners were ap-
pointed by Charles II of England, who determined on a line parallel
with the Hudson and twenty miles distant from it on the east. This
Hue gave rise to a dispute respecting the right of government over
the towns of Rye and Bedford in Westchester County. Another
agreement was concluded in 1683, and these towns were adjudged to
be subject to New York government, and confirmed by the Crown
March 28, 1700. "Nineteen years afterward" says Smith in his His-
tory of New York "a probationory act was passed, empowering the
Governor 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 confirmation
of this act, totis 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 agreement re-
lating to the method of performing the work. The survey was im-
mediately after executed in part, the report being dated on the 12th
or May, 1725, but the complete settlement was not made till the 14th
. DIAGRAM
Sluwdn^theTdaliscposiiinii aCvaninKline!*
re/bred' ta fn the'
, REPORT OFTHECOMMISSIONERSONTHE
NEWYORK& CONNECTICUT BOUNDARY. , ^
Lhu'.'ti-mibySurvtyuiyin.lfi&l
niidTvmn!v(!^<dliiK'nimiii8sinii
ors nilT2S. C. D.E & L .D.
TiUHIsSlu.'viyt'Jliyfninnriwiion .
«cs&»SHrvBynES mlBO. E.F.G.
M F.B e
:^ M ^yr
»IJE ]R S E X
INDIAN DEEDS. LAND PATENTS. 43
of May, 1731, when indentures, certifying the execution of the agree-
ment 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 equivalent for the lands near the Sound, the
peaceable possession of which Connecticut had enjoyed during all the
intervening years."
Further disputes arose in regard to surveying the boundary and
jmarking it with suitable monuments. Finally a survey was made in
1860 which was subsequently agreed to by both States.
The Oblong was annexed to the contiguous counties in this State
May 31, 1733, and December 17, 1743, the Precincts of South, Beek-
mans, Crom Elbow and North were extended across the tract to the
Connecticut line. To facilitate the collection of quitrents, the patent
was divided into lower, middle and upper districts.
A patent conveying the Oblong to Sir Joseph Eyles & Company
was granted in London May 15, 1731. The Colonial government,
however, patented the greater part of the same tract to Thomas Haw-
ley and others, June 8, 1731. The consequent htigation was termi-
nated by the Revolutionay war, the American patentees maintaining
possession.
44 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER V.
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS.
WITH the extinguishment of the native title to lands des-
cribed in the foregoing chapter, the settlement of Dutch-
ess coimty began. Nicholas Emigh is credited in previous
County Histories with being the first pioneer. Authorities differ as to
the date of his settlement at the mouth of Fishkill creek, but it is gener-
ally conceded that he was here in 1685. He came to America with
Robert Livingston in 1683. On the ocean voyage he courted and
married a Dutch lass from Holstein, and the couple remained for a
time on the Livingston domain. Becoming dissatisfied, they went
to Fort Orange, intending to settle on an island in the Hudson which
constituted a part of the Manor of Rensselaerwyck. Here they had
the misfortune to be drowned out by a Mohawk flood, and young
Emigh and his wife removed to the site of Fishkill. He bargained
with the Indians for a large tract of land, only to learn that it had
been recently covered by the Rombout Patent. He then purchased
of the patentees, lands in the Clove district where he subsequently
removed.
While living at Fishkill, they became the parents of a daughter,
the first white child born in the county. She received the name of
Katrina, and at maturity married a young Hollander named Peter
Lasink,^ who located in the county previous to 1700.* The young
couple settled in the town of East Fishkill where four sons and four
daughters were born to them.
The next settler near the mouth of the Fishkill, according td Bai-
ley's Historical Sketches, published in 1874, was Peche Dewall who
1. Peter Laslnck is the ancestor of a numerous family In Dutchess County, different
branches of which spell their name variously, Lasslng, Lossing, Lawson, etc. He is sup-
posed to have heen a son of Peter (Pleterse) Lasslngh, who migrated from Holland about
1658, and settled at Albany, where he died 1695.
2.^ Mr. Edmund Piatt Is of the opinion that Lasini located in the county as early
Bmlgh. He is unquestionably the same Peter Lansing, or his son, to whom Arnout Vlele
sold his land near the mouth of Wappinger Creek.
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS. 45
arrived in the Spring of 1688. He evidently did not remain long as
his name does not appear in subsequent records.
The settlements in Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck were nearly, if not
quite contemporaneous with those in Fishkill. In the grant of 1686
to Sanders and Harmense reference is made to the land of "Sovryin,
alias called the Baker," but there is no evidence that he settled here,
nor is the name of record as a patentee. The names of Jan Smeedes,
Peter Lansing and Gerret Lansing, are quoted in early documents
pertaining to land in the vicinity of Poughkeepsie, and apparently
they had begun a settlement previous to 1690. The Kips were the
first to build and settle in what is now the town of Rhinebeck. On the
east side of the stone house, built on Hendrick Kip's south lot, were
inscribed the figures "1700."
Inasmuch as Dutchess county was for some years provisionally at-
tached to Ulster, on account of the paucity of its inhabitants, a de-
tached census was not made until 1714. The total number of souls
was four hundred and forty-five of whom twenty-nine were slaves.
The list of sixty-seven heads of families then resident in the county
contains the following names :
Abraham Beuys
John Beuys
Roger Brett
John Breines
hendrick bretsiert
Andreis Daivedes
Peter De Boyes
John De Grave
Frans De Langen
Peck De Wit
Roelif Duijtser
Catrine Lasink Wedo
Peter Lasink
Frans Le Roy
Lenar Le Roy
Lenard Lewis
Aret Hasten
Gysbert Oosterhout
Whilliam Ostrander
Lowrans Ostrout
John Ostrow
William Outen
Johanis Dyckman Sienjer Maghell Pallmatir
Johannis Dyckman Jim j or Peter Palmater
Aenderis Gerdener
Isaac Hendricks
Bartolumus Hoogenboom
Jacob Hoghtelingh
James Husey
Jacob Kip
John Kip
Harmen Knickerbacker
Hendrick Pells
Tunis Pieterse
Jacob Plowgh
Harmen Binders
Thomas Sanders
WiUem Schot
ey Scouten
henderck Sissum
Louwerens knickerbacker .».Matieis Slejt
Cellitie kool Johannis Spoor
Mellen Springsteen
Jeurey Springsten
Johnes Terbots
WiUiam Tetsort
Adaam Van alsted
Elias Van Bunchoten
Elena Van De Bogart
Meindert Van Den Bogart
Henry Van Der Burgh
Abraham Van Dusen
Balthus Van Kleck
Barent Van Kleck
Johanes Van Kleck
Garatt Van Vleit
Evert Van Wagenen
Swart Van Wagenen
Abraham Vosburgh
Jacob Vosburgh
Peter Vely
Dirck Wesselse
Willem Wijt
46 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
This census further enumerates the total number of male persons
above sixty years of age, 11 ; male persons from sixteen to sixty years
of age, 89; male persons under sixteen, 120; number of females over
sixty, 1 ; females from sixteen to sixty, 97 ; females under sixteen, 98 ;
slaves, 29.
In the original tax roU^ of 1718 the total assessed valuation of
property in the county was *1300, divided among one hundred and
twenty-nine tax payers as follows:
The Inhabetents Residents Sojorners and frieholders of Dutchess County are
Rated & assesed By ye assesors Chosen for ye Same the Day of Janury the 17,
1717/18
for ye North Ward Viz
Wedwen Van Harmen Kneckerbaker
Lowerens Knickerbaker
Adam Van Alstyn
Barent Van Benthuyse
Jacob Jacobse
Jacob hooghtylingh
Jurrie Loonart
Phillip Loonart
Hans Jacob Denkes
Arent ffinhout
Necolas Rou
Fallentyn Penner
Phillip ffeller
Johanis Risdorph
Barent NoU
Jureie Toefelt
Lowerence hendereik
Barent Sieperell
Ananieas Tie! Wagener
Frederick Mayer
Karel Neaher
Jurreye Teder
Hans meigel wegele
Hans Jurrie priegell
Hans Adam freherick
1. The First Book of the Superrlsors and Aseessors, 1718-1722, printed for Vassar
Brotbers' Institute (1908), from which much new data for this History has been obtained
was unearthed In the County Clerk's Office by Edmund Piatt, In his search for orlelnai
material tot the History of Pougbkeepsle (1905).
L
L
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d
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00
18
9
10
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10
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS. 47
L L s d
Henderick Scheerman 3 00 1 IO54
Wednwe Van Jacob Kapontsier 4 00 3 9
Johanis Backtis 5 00 4 814
Andris Contreman 1 00 0 11J4
Jureian Saltman 3 00 1 lOj^
Hans feelten Woleven S 00 4 8J4
Peiter Wouleben 6 00 6 7}4
Anthony Cremere 5 00 4 854
Frans Kelder 6 00 5 7j4
Joosep Reykert 8 00 7 6
Hendrick Shever 7 00 6 6
Peiter Van oosterande 6 00 5 7j4
De wedn marritie oosterande 3 00 3 10
Wellem Trophage 13 00 11 3J^
Jacob Kip 60 02 16 3
Hendrick Kip * 13 00 11 Sj^
i/kathys Sleight IS 00 14
Jan Van Gelder 3 00 1 IO54
Evert Van Wagenen 30 00 5 0
Hendriccus Heermans 7 00 6 8
Goose Van Wagene 8 00 7 6
Lourens Oosterhout 7 00 6 8
HenriciiB Beekman 40 01 17 6
Jacob ploegh 3 00 3 10
Tunis Pear 6 00 5 7j4
Louwerens Tedder 3 00 1 lOj^
Peiter TypeU 3 00 3 10
Albartus Schriver 4 00 3 9
Necolas Eemeig 5 00 4 854
Hendrick Ohle 4 00 3 9
Carel Ohle 3 00 1 10j4
Adam Eykert 7 00 6 8
Hans Lambert 7 00 6 8
Stefan fredrich 5 00 4 S%
Marttyn Bock 3 00 3 10
Peiter dob S 00 4 8J4
Johanis Dob 1 00 0 llj^
June De Mont 3 00 1 10j4
Martyn Whitman 3 00 1 lOy^
Calculated to lid 1 far Pr pound
Janury the 30 Annoq 1717/18
Henricus Beekman Asesor
Hendrick Kip Asesor
L436 L19 19 4^^
48 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Inhabeteiits Residents Sojorners and frieholders of Dntchis County are
Rated & assesed by ye assessores Chosen for ye Same the Day of 1717/18 for ye
meedel Ward Viz
Thomas Sanders
Elias Van Bunchoote
Zacharias Flegelar
Hendrick Van Der Burgh
Jacob Titsort
Josias Crego
Evert Van Wagene
Johannes Van Kleck
Myndert Van Den bogert
Harmon Rynderse
Jan Ostrom
Baranet Van Kleck
Fransoy Le Roy
Lowarance Van Kleck
Jacobus Van Den Bogart
Damon Palmater
De Weden Van Baltus Van Kleck
De Weden Van Myndert harmese
Jan De Graef
Bartholomous Hoogeboom
Leonard Lewis
De Weden Van Jan Keep
Pieter Vielee
Hendrick Pels
Willem Titsoor
Magiel Palmetier Junr
Magiel Palmetier Siniur
Pieter Palmetier
Hendrick Buys
John Egerton
Thomas Lewis
Thomas Shadwick
^onas Slodt
Richard Sackett
As Wettniss our hands SS4 33 09 6iA
Henry V D Burgh assr
Johanes Van Kleck assor
Lowerens Van Cleeck assor
Jymes hussey
Jacobes Van Den boogert assor
H V Dr Burgh Clk
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dfefwifc-. i-
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS. 49
The Inhabetents Residents Sojorners and
Rated & assesed By the assessores Chosen
Ward Viz
Juerien Springhsteen
Jacobus Cranckheit
Lodewick De Dnytser
John Brions
Hendrick De Duytser
Isack Hendricks
De Weden Van Mr Roger Breet Decsd
Pieter De Boys
Rober Dengon
James Hussie
Johnnes Terbo'ss
Jan Buyes
Johnnes Buyes
Abram Buyes
Johnnes Metteler
Everhert Jonge
De Widive Van Simon Schoute
John Scouten
Pieter Lasselng
Richard Cook .
Isack Lassink
Jan De Langen
Frans De Langen
Andries Frederick Pech
Johnnes Devensher
Gerret Van Vlied
Markus Van Bomeln
Aart Hasten
Peter Teackselar
Jacob Cooun.
Hendrick Sweteslar
Henry Van Derburgh
Johnnes Van Kleeck
James Hussey
Lowrance Van Kleeck
Jacobus Van Den Bogart
assTS
free Holders of Dutchis County are
for the day of 1717/18 For ye South
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Tottall L330 L19
The county tax list of December 1722 contains one hundred and
eighty-three names with a total assessment of ^2243. A year later
50
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the population of the county, including forty-three slaves, was 1,083.
For many years the progress of settlement was slow, and up to 1731
Dutchess was the least populous county in the Province, its inhabi-
tants then numbering only 1,727 of whom one hundred and twelve
were "blacks." In 1740 the list of freeholders numbered two hundred
and thirty-five, certified by "Ja. Wilson Sheriff." Many of these
names are perpetuated to the present generation. For convenience
they are here arranged alphabetically, but the original orthography,
as in preceding lists, has been adhered to:
Ackert, Jury
Auchmoty, James
Backus, Johannis
Baily, John
Beekman, Henry
Berringer, Coeuradt
Bloome, Ephraime
Bogardus, Cornelius
Bonesteel, Nicholas
Boss, Daniell
Brinckerhoff, George
Brinckerhoff, Isaac
Brinckerhoff, Jacob
Brinckerhoff, John
Britt, Robert
Britt Francis
Calkin, John, Junr.
Carman, John
Cole, William
Concklin, John
Cook, John
Cool, Jacob
Creed, Augustine
Crego, Josias
Crego, Stephen
Davinport, Thomas
De Dutcher, David
De Graafl, Mosis
De Graeff, Abraham
DeWitt, Jacob
De Yeo, Jacobus
Drake, William
Di%m, Jacob
Dollson, Johannis
Dollson, Issac
Du Bois, Christian
Du Bois, Mathys
Du Bois, Lewis
Du Bois, Peter, Jr.
Du Bois, Jacob
Du Bois, Jonathan
Du Bois, Mathew, Jr.
De Peyster, Jacobus
Karnest, Mathys
Ellsworth, George
Emigh, Nicholas
Emons, John
Feder, Jury
FeUer, Philip
Filkin, Henry
Filkin, Issac
Filkin, Frans
Flegelaer, Simon
Flewellen, John
Foelandt, Philip
Freer, William
Freer, Teunils
Freer, Simon
Freer, Abarham, Jr.
Frelick, Stephen
Gamble, John
Gay, John
Gerbrantz, Lowrance
Germain, Issac
Germain, Issac, Jr.
Gonselesduck, Manuell
Gtiffen, Joshua
Griggs, Alexander
Haber, Zacharias
Hagaman, Francis
HaUstead, Samuel
Hasbrook, Benjamin
Heermans, Hendrickus
Hendrick, Godfreed
Hendrickse, Arie
Hermans, Andries
Heyner, Hans
Hoff, Jacob
Hoff, Lowrance
Hoffman, Martinus
Hoffman, Nicholas
Humphreys, William
Kidney, Robert
Kip, Abraham
Kip, Jacob
Kip, Hendrick
Kip, Issac
Kip, Johannis
Kip, Roeloff
Knickerbacker, Evert
Knickerbacker, Lowrenc*
Koens, Nicholas
Kool, Simon
La Count, Bowdewine
Lambert, Hans
Langdon, Thomas
Lassing, Peter
Lassing, Isaac
Lassing, William
La Roy, Frans
La Roy, Simon
Lewis, Thomas
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS. 51
Londen, Philip
Lossee, John
Lossee, Cornelis
Lossee, Lowrence
Low, Jacob
Marshall, Nathaniel
Mathews, Samuel
Middelaer, Johannis
Montross, John
More, Philip
Mowl, Jacob
Mufford, Hendrick
MufFord, Peter
Nauthrop, Mosis
Neker, Fran
Nellson, Francis
Oosterhout, Lowrence
Ostrander, Adam
Ostrander, Peter
Ostrander, Maes
Ostrander, Arent
Ostrom, Jan
Ostrom, RoelofF
Ostrom, Hendrick
Outwater, Peter
Owl, Hendrick
Palmer, Joshua
Palmer, Joseph
Palmer, Peter
Palmer, Samuel
Palmer, William
Palmatier, Peter
Peelen, Gybsert
Pells, Magiel
Philip, Hendrick
Polver, Michael
Polver, Wendal
Richart, David
Rtfsekrans, Hendrick
Rosekrans, John
Ross, Josias
Row, Nicholas
Runnels, Issac
Runnels, Issac, Jr.
Runnels, Nehmiah
Runnels, John
Rykert, Joseph
Sackett, Richard
Schutt, WilUam
Scott, William
Secundus, William Smith
Sheffer, Hendrick
Sheffer, Hans felte
Shoe, Martinus
Shonk, Martin
Shriver, Albartus
Simon, William
Simpson, Peter
Sipperly, Fredricke
Sipperly, Michael
_St6ght, Mathys
Smith, Zacharias
Snyder, Johannis P.
Snyder, Christophell
Soefelt, Jury
Soefelt, Jury Adam
Spaller, Johannis
Swartwoudt, Rudolphus
Swartwoudt, Bamardus
Swartwoudt, Abraham
Swartwout, Jdcobiis
Syfer, William
Tappon, Johannis
Ter Boss, Jacobus
Ter Boss, Hendrick
Ter Boss, Johannis
Tiel, Martin
Tiel, Lowrance
Tietsort, Isaac
Tippell, Peter
Trever, Basteaan
Van Amburgh, Isaac
Van Benthuysen Jan
Van Benthuysen, Johannis
Van Benthuysen, Barent
Van Bomell, Christaphell
Van Bomell, Jacobus
Van Bomell, Marcus
Van Buntschoten, Elias
Van Buntskoten, Teimis
Van Campen, Jacob
Van den Bogart, Jacobus
Vandenbogart, Myndert
Vandenburgh, Henry
Van Dyck, Frans
Van Etten, Peter
Van Etten, Jacobus, Jr.
Van Keuren, Mathewis
Van Kleeck, Baltus B.
Van Kleeck, Baltus J.
Van Kleeck, Ahaswarus
Van Kleek, Lowrence
Van Kleek, Barent
Van Kleek, Johannis
Van Steenberg, Benjamin
\San Tesell, Hendrick
Van Vliet, Arie
Van Vliet, Tunis
Van Voorhees, Johannis
Van Voorhees, Johannis
Van Voorhees, Coert
Van Vreedingburgh,
William, Jr.
Van Vreedingburgh,
William
Van Wagenen, Goese
Van Wagenen, Jacob
Van Wagenen, Evert
Van Wajgenen, Nicholas
Van Wagenen, Gerret E.
Van Wyck, Corneliis
Van Wyck, Theodorus
Veile, Peter
Viele, Arnont
Ver Planck, William
Ver Veelen, Gideon
Weaver, Johannis
Westfall, Gysbert
Widerwox, Andries
WUlsie, Hendrick
Willsie, Johannis
Willsie, Cornelis
WoUever, Hans felte
Yager, Wendell
Yomens, Daniel
52 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
From 1749 to 1756 the county increased rapidly in population,
exceeding, in the latter year, that of any other county in the Prov-
ince, except Albany, as shown by the following table:
Whites Blacks Whites Blacks
New York X0,768 2,272 Westchester 11,919 1,338
Albany 14,805 2,619 Kings 1,863 845
Ulster 6,605 1,500 Queens 8,617 2,169
Dutchess 13,289 859 Suffolk 9,345 1,045
Orange 4,446 430 Richmond 1,667 465
It is interesting to note a description of the county in 1756, which
then included Putnam, by Judge William Smith, the New York his-
torian.
"The south part of the county 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. Englishmen,
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 sudden, and commenced but a few years ago. Within the
memory of persons now living, it did not contain above twelve fami-
lies; and, according to the late returns of the militia, it will furnish
at present, above two thousand five hundred fighting men."
In what is now the town of Germantown, which was a part of
Dutchess, until 1717, when it was annexed to Albany county (now
Columbia), was planted in 1710 a colony of German refugees, from
the Palatinate, on the Rhine, numbering 1194. Their villages, which
were nothing more than a series of small lodges or temporary huts,
were located on a tract of six thousand acres, covered with a growth
of pine timber, especially adapted to the industry in which it was
proposed to give them employment, that of raising hemp and making
tar pitch and resin for the English Navy.^ A similar colony was
located on the west side of the river, in the town of Saugerties, Ulster
1. At a council between the Governor and deputies representing the Palatines at the
Manor of Livingston, the deputies "told his excellency that they would rather lose their
lives than remain where they are, that they are cheated hy the contract, It not being the
same read to them In England. That seven years after they had had forty acres given
to^hem, they were to repay the Queen by hemp, mast-trees, tar and pitch or anything else
so that it may be no damage to any man or his family
See letters of Hunter to Lords of Trade, Col. Hist., Vol. V.
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS. 53
county, and the two settlements were designated respectively East
Camp and West Camp. Their affairs were managed by a board of
commissioners, composed of Robert Livingston, Richard Sackett,
John Cast, Godfrey Walsen, Andrew Bagger and Henry Schureman.
These Palatines, however, soon became restive under the restraints
imposed on them, and many removed to the Mohawk and Schoharie
valleys. Others located at Rhinebeck about 1715, where they were
known as the "High Butchers." They occupied the land of Henry
Beekman north of the Hog Ridge and about the old German Re-
formed Church at Pink's Corner, and the name of Ryn Beek was con-
fined to these lands until the organization of the Precinct in 1734.
The sheriff's list of landowners in the county in 1740, does not
cpntain the names of the Quakers who formed a little community
at Quaker Hill in the present town of Pawling, begun in 1730. Ben-
jamin Ferris and Nathan Birdsall were here as early as 1728, coming
from the town of Rye, Westchester county. Between the years 1730
and 1740, the tide of emigration was brisk to this fertile section of the
county. Among those who arrived at that period are found the
names of Aiken, Irish, Wing, Taber, Osbom, Briggs, Hoag, Dakin,
Toffey, Merritt, Russell. Many of these settlers came from Massa-
chusetts and Rhode Island, although John Cox, Jr., Librarian of
the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, says "the records do
not show in any direct way where the members came from." Follow-
ing a Colonial act passed February 19, 1755, relative to regulating
the militia, an enrollment was made of the Friends or Quakers in the
county who claimed exemption from military duty. They are thus
recorded with their locations and occupations.
Joshua Shearman,
Beekman Precinct,
Shoemaker.
Moses Shearman,
do.
Laborer.
Daniel Shearman,
do.
do.
Joseph Doty,
do.
Blacksmith,
John Wing,
do.
Farmer.
Zebulon Ferris,
(Oblong) do.
do.
Joseph Smith, son
of Richard,
do.
Laborer.
Robert Whiteley,
Oblong,
Farmer.
Elijah Doty,
Oblong House,
Carpenter.
Philip Allen,
Oblong,
Weaver.
Richard Smith
do.
Farmer.
James Aiken,
do.
Blacksmith.
54
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Abraham Chase, son of Henry,
David Hoeg,
John Hoeg,
Jonathan Hoeg,
Amos Hoeg, son of John,
William Hoeg, son of David,
John Hoeg, son of John,
Ezekiel . Hoeg,
Judah Smith,
Mathew Wing,
Timothy Dakin,
Jonathan Dakin,
Samuel Russell,
John Fish,
Reed Ferriss,
Benjamin Ferris, Junr.,
Joseph Akin,
Israel Howland,
Elisha Akin,
Isaac Haviland,
Nathan Soule, son of George,
James Birdsall,
Daniel Chase,
Silas Mossher, Oswego in
WiUiam Mosher
Silvester Richmond,
Jesse Irish,
David Irish,
WiUiam Irish,
Josiah Bull,
Josiah Bull, Junr.,
Allen Moore,
Andrew Moore,
William GifFord,
Nathaniel Yeomans,
Eliab Yeomans,
William Parks,
Oblong
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
da
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Beekman Precinct,
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Farmer.
Parmer.
Blacksmith.
Laborer.
Farmer.
Laborer.
Tailor.
Farmer.
Laborer.
do.
Farmer.
Shoemaker.
Laborer.
Blacksmith.
Farmer.
do.
Blacksmith.
Farmer.
Laborer.
Farmer.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Rev. Warren H. Wilson of Brooklyn, published in 1907, a socio-
logical study entitled "Quaker Hill," in which he gives a list of the
heads of families in the Oblong Meeting of 1760; also those who had
accounts at the store of Daniel Merritt, on Quaker Hill, in 1771, as
the jiames appeared in his Ledger. These names, with those above
quoted, practically include all the families who formed this interesting
PIONEER SETTLEMENTS AND EARLY INHABITANTS. 55
community, an account of which appears in the town history of Paw-
ling.
A summary of the population by towns according to the first Fed-
eral census, taken in 1790, and published in 1908 by the U. S. Census
Bureau, places the total number of inhabitants in the county at 45,266,
thus classified:
TOWNS.
Amenia
Beekman
Clinton
FishkiU
Frederickstown
North East ..
Pawling
Pbilipstown . . .
Poughkeepsie .
Rhinebeck
South East . . .
Washington . .
VI
».«w
tS«-l
o
o E o
So
o
II
white males
ars and upwa
ding heads
lies!
H
it
"4i
£
Sid
s
11
oes-:
oS
0 93
og
>
III
*
%i
s
09
440
768
780
1449
29
52
510
847
951
1682
11
106
696
1173
1112
2115
31
176
88S
1366
1290
2643
41
601
914
1437
1540
2851
41
63
600
839
863
1597
22
80
676
1031
1068
2098
91
42
331
517
593
942
2
25
371
617
573
1092
48
199
514
875
756
1544
66
421
141
231
241
433
3
13
740
1267
1295
2494
20940
55
78
6718
10968
11062
440
1856
e
3078
3597
4607
5941
5932
3401
4330
2079
2539
366S /
921
5189
45260
Details of settlements are remanded to the histories of the towns
in which they came to be included, a sufficient number of persons hav-
ing been named who wrought the evolution of the county in the pioneer
era.
Fortunately these pioneers were not harassed by Indian wars which
desolated other counties, but their herds and flocks did not enjoy equal
immunity from the savage denizens of the forest. In 1726 and 1728
laws were passed by the State Legislature for the destruction of wolves
in Albany, Dutchess and Orange counties. Again in 1741 an act
was passed "to encourage the destroying of wolves and panthers in
Dutchess county."
56 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Contrary to the unfavorable opinion entertained of lands in the
western portion of the county, which certain Dutch burghers from
Ulster county reported were not worth crossing the river for, the soil
possessed a fertihty unknown to the lands in many portions of the
State, responding generously to the exertions of the pioneers.
dpc-c^ c:P<^
'^
S. ^.y^^z///.. i^u. /'''': hhs/! a
CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS AND DIVISIONS. 57
CHAPTER VI.
CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS AND DIVISIONS.
WHEN Col. Thomas Dongan was appointed Governor of
the province in 1682, he was instructed to organize a
Council, to be composed of not exceeding ten of "the
most eminent inhabitants," and to issue writs to the proper officers
for the election of "a general assembly of all th* freeholders by the
persons who they shall choose to represent them," in order to consult
with him and his council "what laws are fit and necessary to be made
and established" for the good government of the province "and all
the inhabitants thereof." On the t7th of October, 1683, the assembly
thus authorized met at Fort James in New York. It was composed
of delegates from all parts of the province, and during its session
of three weeks passed fourteen several acts, which were assented to
by the Governor and his Council. Among these laws was one "To
Divide the Province and Dependencys into Shires and Countyes,"
passed November 1st. Twelve counties were erected as follows: Al-
bany, Cornwall, Duke's, Dutchess, Kings, New York, Orange, Queens,
Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. The county of Corn-
wall consisted of what was known as the district of Penaquid (now
in Maine), and Duke's county consisted of several islands on the coast
of Massachusetts. These counties wtjre included in the patent to the
Duke of York. They were detached on the reorganization of the
government in 1691.
The boundaries of Dutchess were thus defined: "to be from the
bounds of the County of Westchester on the South Side of the High-
lands along the east side of Hudson's River as far as Roelof Jansens
Creeke and eastward into the woods twenty miles." This territory
included the present county of Putnam and the towns of Clermont
and Germantown in Columbia County. The latter were a part of
Livingston's Manor and were annexed to Albany county May 27,
58 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1717. Putnam was constituted a separate county June 12, 1812.
Although thus organized in 1683 it was only a county in name, — a
district in the wilderness with boundaries upon paper; supposed to
be uninhabited by white men ; and October 18, 1701, "having very few
inhabitants," was provisionally annexed to Ulster county, where its
freeholders were entitled to vote. It retained that connection until
October 23, 1713, when having increased in population, a provincial
act empowered the Justices of the Peace to issue warrants for an
election to be held "at any time before the first Tuesday in Septem-
ber next (1714), to make choice of one Free-holder to be supervisor,
one Treasurer, two Assessors and two Collectors," for each ward.
Although no records can be found of such election, it appears to have
been held within the specified time, as evidenced by the following
receipt, which names the collectors in the south ward.^
New Yorke 13 Augts: 1715.
Then Received off John D: graeff & John Schouten Col-
lectors off ye South ward In Dutchess County on ye Tenn
thousand pound Tax the Summe off Seventeen pounds three
pence halfe penny & Eight Shillings Eight pence halfe
penny for ye Treasurers Salary I say Receved by ye hands
of Mr. Richd: Saccatt.
A. D. Peyster treasur
Further indication of civil organization in the county at that period,
is apparent from the fact that the name of Leonard Lewis is men-
tioned in the civil list, as representing the County of Dutchess in the
Fifteenth Assembly, 1713-1714; and Capt. Richard Sackett was ap-
pointed the first county clerk in 1715. Lewis was a resident of Pough-
keepsie and received the first appointment of the Court of Common
Pleas in the county. Sackett, the pioneer settler of Amenia, lived in
New York City until 1704. In 1711-12 he was assisting in the man-
agement of the affairs of the Palatines at East Camp, and was prob-
ably living in Amenia at the time he became county clerk.
Records appear of elections held at Poughkeepsie the first Tuesday
in A|)ril, 1718 and 1719, at which there was but one Supervisor chosen
1. First Book of the Supervisors, 1718-1722.
CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS AND DIVISIONS. 59
— Henry van Der Burgh — presumably for the Middle ward. Various
other officers were elected for the three wards. In the election re-
turns of April 5, 1720, the officers for each ward are thus given :^
Att an Ellection held at Pocapsing the first Tusday In April It being on the
Sth of the Same Instant for the Year 1720 These are Officers Chosen for
Dutchis County In Every Ward
For the Middel Ward Pocapesing are Chousen
Henry Van Der Burgh Supervisor
Coll Leonard Lewis Treasurer
Johannes Van Den Bogart Constable & Collector
Johannes Van Kleck & Thomas Lewis Assessors.
Fransoy Van Den Bogart Over Sere of the Kings High Way
Peter Veley & Hendrick pels Survayors of the fencess
For the South Ward the fSsh Kill are Chosen •
James Hustey Constaple & Collector
Johannes buys & Johannes Terbos Juner Assessors
Johannes TerbosS Supervisor
Robert Dingen Oversere of the Kings High Way
Frans De Lange Oversere of the Way for pagquaick
Gerrett Van Vledt & Jan Buys Survayors of the ffences
For the North Ward are Chosen
Jurie Priegel Constable & Collector
Lourens Knickerbacker & Falentyn benner Assessors
William Trophage Supervisor
Tunnes Pier Oversere of the Kings High Way.
William Trophage & Tunnes Pier Survayors of the ffences
Ponnder for ofending beasts Jacob Ploeg
Colonial act of June 24, 1719, legalized the division of the county
into the Southern, Middle and Northern Wards and defined their
boundaries. From the receipt previously quoted, and from the tax
list given in a preceding chapter it is evident this division existed as
early as 1715. The South Ward extended from the southern border
of the county below the Highlands north to Wappinger Creek; the
Middle Ward thence to Cline Sopus Island (Esopus Island opposite
the central portion of the town of Hyde Park) and the North Ward
thence to RoelaiF Jansens Kill. Although no eastern boundaries are
stated, these wards probably extended to the Connecticut line.
Each ward was entitled to one supervisor, chosen annually, of
which the following is a complete list:
1. First Book of the Supervisors, 1718-1722.
60
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
'■1720
Johannes Terboss
1729
Jacobus Du Poyster
1721
Peter Du Boys
1730
do do
1722
Jacobus Swartwout
1731
do do
1723
do do
1732
James Hussey
SOUTH.
1724
do do
1733
do do
1725
James Hussey
1734
do do
1726
Peter Du Boyes
1735
do do
1727
Jacobus Swartwout
1736
Cornelius Van Wyck
1728
Abraham Brinckorhoif
1737
do do
1719
Henry Van Der Burgh
1729
Isaac Titsoort
1720
do do do
1730
do do
1721
do do do
1731
do do
J 723
Barent Van Kleeck
1732
Frans Filkins
^Tr\T>T f?
1723
do do
1733
do do
l.l.UULdlU<
1724
Jacobus Van Den Bogert
1734
do do
1725
Johannes Van Kleeck
1735
do do
1726
Myndert Van Den Bogert
1736
do do
1727
Peter Parmantor
1737
do do
1728
Hendrick Pells
-1720
William Trophage
1729
Hendricus Heermanse
1721
do do
1730
do do
1722
Hendricus Beekman
1731
do do
1723
do do
1732
Barent Van Benthuysen
NORTH'
1724
Barent Van Wagenen
1733
do do
1725
do do
1734
Hendricus Heermanse
1726
Barent Van Benthuysen
1735
do do
1727
Hendricus Heermanse
1736
do do
1728
do do
1737
do do
By Colonial act of December 16, 1737, Dutchess county was divided
into seven Precincts — designated Beekman, Crom Elbow, North,
Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Rombout and South, with municipal regu-
lations similar to those of towns. Beekman's covered a tract nearly
corresponding with the boundaries of that patent. Crom Elbow cov-
ered a portion of the Great Nine Partners grant and continued its
existence until 1762, when it was divided into the precincts of Char-
lotte and Amenia. North comprised the Little Nine Partners tract,
and in 1746 was designated North East after its extension across the
Oblong. Poughkeepsie corresponded with the present town of that
nam% Rhinebeck included the towns of Red Hook, Rhinebeck and
the northern half of Hyde Park. Rombout comprised the territory
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CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS AND DIVISIONS. 61
of the Rombout patent; and South extended below the Highlands to
the southern border of the county.
A reorganization of South in 1772, created the precincts of Philipse,
Frederickstown and South East within the present limits of Putnam
county. Other divisions of the original precincts were North East,
December 16, 1746, comprising the territory of the present towns
of Milan, Pine Plains and North East; Pawling, set off from the east-
ern half of Beekman's, December 31, 1768, including the present
towns of Pawling and Dover; Charlotte, March 20, 1762, consist-
ing of the western portion of the Great Nine Partners tract ; Amenia,
March 20, 1762, consisting of nine of the easternmost lots of the Great
Nine Partners tract and of that part of the Oblong between these lots
and the Connecticut line.
By the act of 1737 the inhabitants of the Precincts were required
to elect annually supervisors, assessors, collectors, etc., but Precinct
clerks were not authorized until 1741. They neglected, however, to
report a record of elections, and in 1748, Arnout Viele, Justice of the
Peace, holding Court of General Sessions at Poughkeepsie, "ordered
that all and every precinct clerk in this county * » * * make
due return of the election of their respective precincts of the officers
chosen * * * * unto the clerk of the peace, under penalty of
thirty shillings to be paid by every such precinct or town clerk omit-
ting." Whether the clerks in all precincts complied with this order
cannot be ascertained. The earher records, which undoubtedly would
contain much of historical interest, have, through the frequent changes
of officials and their removal from place to place, been lost or destroyed,
and those records now in possession of the towns, with a few excep-
tions, are fragmentary and disconnected.
The first record of Precinct Officers in the County Clerk's office be-
gins with the year 1754. Officers of Poughkeepsie Precinct are com-
plete from 1742, and the record book is preserved in the Adriance
Memorial Library.
From the records of Supervisors' Meetings beginning with the year
1738, a hst of the Supervisors who were present appears as follows:
1738 Francis Filkin, Hendricus Heermanse, Francis de Lange, Isack Filkin, John
Montross.
1739 Johannes Van Kleeck, Hendricus Heermanse, John Montross, Isack Filkin,
John Carman.
62
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESSv
1740 Henry Heermans, John Van Kleeck, John Montross, John Carman, Henry
Filkin, Francis Nellson.
1741 Henry Heermans, John "Van Kleeck, Francis Nellson, John Carman, Henry
Filkin, John BrinckerhofF.
1742 Henry Heermans, John Van Kleeck, Francis Nellson, John Carman, Henry
Filkin, John Brinckerhoff.
1743 John Van Kleeck, Henry Heermans, Henry Filkin, Francis Nellson, John
BrinckerhofF, George Ellsworth.
1744 John Van Kleeck, Francis Nellson, Henry Filkin, Jacob Rutsen, John
Brinckerhoff, Thomas Barker.
1745 John Van Kleeck, Henry Brinckerhoff, Samuel Field, Jacob Rutsen, Henry
Filkin, Isaiah Ross, Thomas Barker.
1746 John Van Kleeck, Henry Filkin, Samuel Field, Henry Ter Boss, Jacob Rut-
sen, John Carman.
1747 John Van Kleeck, Samuel Field, Henry Filkin, Henry Terboss, James Dun-
can, Arnout Viele, Martin Hoffman.
1748 John Van Kleeck, Henry Filkin, Samuel Field, James Dunean, Martin
Hoffman, Arnout Viele.
With the exception of Poughkeepsie and Rhinebeck Precincts, the
supervisors for the years 1749, '50, '51, '52 and 53 cannot be given, as
diligent search and inquiry fails to locate the "Fourth Book of the
Supervisors" covering that period. The following list classifies the
supervisors according to Precincts:
RHINEBECK.
1763— '65
Caleb Smith
1749— 'SI
John Van Dense
1766
Elisha Colven
I7S2— '56
Gerrett Van Benthuysen
1767- '69
Andrus Bostwick
1756— '58
Petrus De Witt
1770
James Attwater
1759- '60
Gerret Van Benthuysen
1771— '74
Morris Graham
1761
Petrus De Witt
1775— '76
Israel Thompson
1762
Peter Van Benthuysen
1777— '78
Hugh Rea
1763— '66
Peter Ten Brook
1779— '81
Lewis Graham
1767— '71
John Van Ess
1782
Hugh Rea
1772— '74
James Smith
1783
Uriah Lawrence
1775
John Van Ness
1784
Lewis Graham
1776— '80
Peter De Witt
1785— '87
John White
1781— '85
Anthony Hoffman
CROM ELBOW.
1786— '87
Peter Contine
1754— '55
Isaac Germond
NORTH EAST.
1756— '58
William Doughty
17S4r-'55
Arnont Viele
1759— '61
Charles Crooke
1756— '60
James I. Ross
Divided into Precincts of Amenii
1761 •
No record given
and Charlotte, 1762.
1762
James I. Ross
CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS AND DIVISIONS.
63
AMENIA.
1762 Capt. Stephen Hopkins
1763 Edmund Perlee
1764— '66 Stephen Hopkins
1767 Edmund Perlee
1768— '75 Ephraim Paine
1776 Silas Marsh
1777— '78 Roswell Hopkins
1779— '80 Dr. John Chamberlain
1781 Colbe Chamberlain
1783— '83 Ephrlam Paine
1784 — '86 Isaac Darrow
1787 Barnabus Paine
CHARLOTTE.
1762— '67 Tobias Stoutenburgh
1768— '70 James Smith
1771 No record given
1773 Lewis Barton
1773 Cornelius Humfrey
1774 Jonathan Lewis
1775 Cornelius Humfrey
1776— '80 James Smith
1781— '82 James Talmage
1783 No record given
1784— '85 Isaac Bloom
Divided into Precincts of Washington
and Clinton, 1786.
WASHINGTON.
1786 James Talmage
1787 No record given
CLINTON.
1786 Cornelius Humphrey
1787 Richard Cantillon
POUGHKEEPSIE.
1742— '52 John Van Kleeck
1753— '58 Lawrence Van Kleeck
1759 Capt. Teimis Tappen
1760 Gabriel H. Ludlow
1761— '67 Leonard Van Kleeck
1768 Richard Snedeker
1769 Gilbert Livingston
1770— '71 Richard Snedeker
1772_'76 Zephaniah Piatt
1777_'79 Samuel Dodge
1780— '82
John Bailey, Junr.
1783
Peter Tappen
1784
Gilbert Livingston
1785
Lewis Du Boice
1786
Lewis Duboys
1787
John Van Kleeck
BEEKMAN.
1754— '58
John Carman
1759— '60
No record given
1761— '62
Bartholomew Noxon
1763
William Humfrey
1764— '69
Bartholomew Noxon
1770— '74
Joshua Carman
1775— '79
James Van Der Burgh
1780— '83
Jonathan Dennis
1784— '86
Ebenezer Cary
1787
Jonathan Dennis
ROMBOUT.
1754 — '55 Thomas Langdon
1756— '58 Dirck BrinckerhofF
1759 — '60 No record given
1761— '67 Dirck Brinckerhoff
1768 — ^'73 Henry Rosekrans, Junr.
1774 — '75 Jacobus Swartwout
1776 Daniel Ter Boss,
1777— '79 Abraham Brinckerhoff
1780 Martin WUsie
1781— '86 Abraham Brinckerhoff
1787 William B. Alger
SOUTHERN.
1754— '56 Samuel Fields
1757- '59 Petrus Du Boys
1760— '62 PhiUp PhiUpse
1763— '65 Beverly Robinson
1766 Philip Philipse
1767— '69 Beverly Robinson
1770— '71 TertuUus Dickenson
Divided into Philipse, Fredricksburgh,
and Southeast in 1772.
PHILIPSE.
1772 Beverly Robinson
1773 Moses Dusenberry
1774 Beverly Robinson
64
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
177S
Joshua Nellson
1773
Joseph Crane, Jr.
1776— '85
No record given
1774— '78
John Field
1786
George Lane
1779— '80
William Mott
1787
John Hyalt
1781
Joseph Crane
FREDRICKSBURGH.
1772— '75 TertnUus Dickenson
1776— '78 Henry Ludington
1779— 'S4 Ruben Ferris
1782
1783— '87
1770
Isaac Crosby
Joseph Crane
PAWLING.
Nathan Pearce
1785
No record given
1771— '73
John Kane
1786
Capt. John Drake
1774— '75
Andrew Morehouse
1787
Ruben Ferris
1776— '80
Jeremiah French
SOUTH EAST.
1781— '83
1783— '86
Isaac Talman
William Pearse
1773
No record given
1787
No record given
The following assessment table shows the relative wealth of pre-
cincts at different periods:
PRECINCTS.
1747
1757
1767
1771
Southern
£ 742
£ 813
£1,113
£1,377
Rombout
1,970
2,441
3,027
1,888
Beekman
931
1,490
1,834
786
Poughkeepsie
895
933
801
808
Crom Elbow
891
2,175
Charlotte
1,807
1,908
Amenia
840
816
Rhinebeck
2,366
2,893
3,303
1,971
North East
106
436
485
547
Pawlings
923
Total
7,791
11,180
11,109
11,024
A general organization act passed March 7, 1788, divided the State
into fourteen counties, which were subdivided into townships instead of
Precincts. Dutchess then comprised the following towns: Amenia,
Beekman, Clinton, (formed March 13, 1786, from portions of Char-
lotte and Rhinebeck Precincts) Fishkill, North East, Pawling, Pough-
keepsie, Rhinebeck and Washington. The towns of Kent, Philipstown
and South East, now in Putnam county, were also qrected by this act.
Towns were formed by the Legislature until 1849, when power was
given to the several Boards of Supervisors (except in New York
County) to divide or erect new towns when such division does not place
CIVIL ORGANIZATIONS AND DIVISIONS. 65
parts of the same town in more than one assembly district. Towns
'erected subsequent to the general organization act are: Stanford,
March 12, 1793; Carmel and Patterson (now in Putnam) March 17,
1796; Dover February 20, 1807; Red Hook, June 2, 1812; Milan,
March 10, 1818; Hyde Park, January 20, 1821; Pleasant Valley,
January 26, 1821 ; La Grange (formerly Freedom) February 9,
1821; Pine Plains, March 26, 1823; Union Vale, March 1, 1827;
East Fishkill, November 29, 1849; W^appinger, May 20, 1875. A
list of Town Supervisors will be found in connection with the various
town histories.
The construction of a county house and prison in Dutchess county
was authorized by an act of the General Assembly passed July 21,
1715. It directed the freeholders to elect two ^of their number to
supervise its erection at such "place as to them shall be meet and con-
venient, for the most ease and benefit of the Inhabitants of the said
County." It further directed that a tax be levied on the county not to
exceed "the Sum of Two hundred and fifty Ounces of good Mexico,
PiUar or Sevill Plate," to defray the expense ; and that the building be
constructed "within two years after the publication thereof." Ap-
parently no action was taken by the freeholders at that time, and a
second act passed May 27, 1717, directed the construction and com-
pletion of the building within three years "at or near the most con-
venient place at Poughkeepsie." Pursuant to the latter act the free-
holders met at Poughkeepsie, June 22, 1717, near the house of Leon-
ard Lewis, and chose "by plurallety of Voyses Capt. Bareendt Van
Kleeck & Mr. Jacobes Van Den Bogert Tow Be the Supervisors and
Direcktors for building & finisching the County house and presin att
pochkeepsen." Subsequent records^ indicate that the first court house
and jail were completed within the required time, and not in 1745 as
stated in French's State Gazetteer. Taxes were collected in 1718 and
1720 towards payment of the cost of this building, and the report of
County proceedings in 1722, state that meetings were held in the court
house. Colonial act passed December 17, 1743, authorized "the
Justices of the Peace in Dutchess County to build a Court House &
Goal or to enlarge and Repair the old one." This building was erected
in 1746 ; the assessment of $18,000 being distributed among the vari-
1. First and Second Books of the Supervisors and Assessors.
66 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ous precincts according to their population and valuation. The pre-
cinct of Rhinebeck and Rombout paid one half of this assessment. The
money was received and disbursed by Mr. Henry Livingston, chief of
the Board of Commissioners, appointed to supervise its construction.
It was in this Structure that the Legislature frequently held Sessions
during the Revolution. Early in 1785 the building was destroyed
by fire, and April 4th the Sheriff was directed to transfer his prisoners
to the Ulster county jail. April ll, 1785, the sum of £1^500 was ap-
propriated for its reconstructi6n,,and in 1786 arid 1787 a further tax
amounting to £3,300, was levied.
In 1788 the Legislature resumed its session in the new Court House.
This building was also doomed to destruction by fire, which originated
in one of : the lower apartments of. the jail, the night of September
35th, 1806. Despite these fires, it is noteworthy that the public docu-
ments were saved. Prepafa^tions for rebuilding were soon begun, and
by act of March 24j 1809, $12,000 was set aside for that purpose;
this sum was supplemented in 1810 by an additional $13,000. The
building was erected on the same site, although many favored rebuild-
ing in a new location. This court house and jail was succeeded in
1902, ,by;the construction of the present commodious building, which
the growth of the county necessitated.
On the east side of this edifice a tablet was erected, in 1904), by the
Daughters of theAmerican Revolution, in commemoration of the con-
stitutionar convention of 1788, inscribed as follows:
THE PEOPLE
Of The
STATE OF NEW YORK
By Their Convention
Assembled In a Former
Court House
Which Stood
On This Ground
RATIFIED
The Constitution
Of The
United States of America
July 36, A. D. 1788.
Asi account of this most important event in the history of the State
of New York, will be found in Chapter XII.
GEN. JOHN HENRY KETCHAM.
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
67
CHAPTER VII.
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
1713-1909.
Represeittatives iir Colonial Assembly,
1713-'14 Leonard Lewis 1737-'43
1715 Leonard Lewis
Baltus Van Kleeck 174,3-'S1
1716-'26 Leonard Lewis
Baltus Van Kleeck 1752-'S8
Johannis Terbosch
Henry Beekman 17S9-'68
1726-'37 Henry Beekman
Johannis Van Kleeck 1768-'7S
Henry Beekman
Jacobus TerBoss
Henry ^eekman
Johannis Tappen
Henry Beekman
Henry Filkin
Robert Livingston
Henry Livingston
Leonard Van Kleeck
Dirck Brinckerhoff
COUKCIL OF THE CoLOlfT OF NeW YobK.
One member from Dutchess, John Johnson, 1716-1722.
Delegates to PaoviifCLAL Conventiok, 177S.
Egbert Benson, Morris Graham, Robert R. Livingston.
Deputies to Pboviitcial Congbesses. .
First Congress, 177S.
Dirck Brinckerhoff
Anthony Hoffman
Zephaniah Piatt
Richard Montgomerie
Ephraim Paine
Gilbert Livingston
Jonathan Landon X
Gysbert Schenck r
Melancton Smith
Nathaniel Sackett
Second Congress, 177S-'76.
Petrus Ten Broeck
Beverly Robinson
Cornelius Humphreys
Henry Schenck ■^
Gilbert Livingston
John Kaine
Jacob Everson
Morris Graham
Robert G. Livingston
Third Congress, 1776.
Robert R. Livingstdn
James Livingston
Gilbert Livingston
Jonathan Landon
Morris Graham
Henry Schenck ^
Theodorus Van Wyck
John Schenck "^
Anthony Hoffman
Paul Schenck /
Nathaniel Sackett
Cornelius Humphreys
Zephaniah Piatt
James Vanderburgh
Benjamin Delavergne
John Field
Fourth Congress, 177e-'77.
Zephaniah Piatt
Nathaniel Sackett
Gilbert Civingston
Doctor Crane
Henry Schenck
James Livingston
John Schenck /
Anthony Hoffman
Robert R. Livingston
Jonathan Landon
68 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
First Council of Safety.
May to September, 1777, Zephaniah Piatt.
Second Cousrcii, or Safety.
October 8, 1777, to January 7, 1778, Egbert Benson, Jonathan Landon.
Council of Appointment.
Zephaniah Piatt, appointed October 17, 1778, re-appointed October 25, 1781.
Ephraim Paine, September 11, 1780.1 Jacobus Swartwout, January 31, 1784,
re-appointed January 19, 1786. Anthony Hoffman, January 18, 17S8. Thomas
Tillotson, January 14, 1791. Abraham SchencKf January 7, 1796. Abraham
Adriance, February 7, 1804. Robert Williams, January 31, 1810. Peter R.
Livingston, January 31, 1810. Stephen Barnum, February 3, 1819.
FEDERAL OFFICERS.
Sechetahies of War.
John Armstrong, appointed by President MadisoA 1813; Daniel S. Lamont,
appointed by President Cleveland 1893.
Secretaries op the Navt.
Smith Thompson, appointed November 9, 1818.
James K. Paulding, appointed June 35, 1838.
VlCE-PfiESmENT or THE UNITED StATES.
Levi 'P. Morton, 1889-1893.
Judge op the Supreme Court op the United States.
Smith Thompson, appointed September 21, 1833.
Judge of the United States Circuit Court.
Egbert Benson, appointed February 30, 1804.
Minister Plenipotentiary to France.
John Armstrong, appointed June 30, 1804.
Commissioner of the District of Columbia.
John Henry Ketcham, appointed by President Grant 1874-1877.
United States Senators.
John Armstrong, appointed November, 1800. Theodorus Bailey, 1803. Nathan-
iel P. Tallmadge, 1833, re-appointed 1840.
Representatives in Congress.
1789-'93 Egbert Benson 1817-'19 James TaUmadge, Jr.
1793-'97 Theodorus Bailey 1819-'21 RandaU S. Street
1797-'99 David Brooks 1821-'2S WilUam W. Van Wyek
1799-'03 Theodorus Bailey 1835-'27 Bartow White
1803-'— Isaac Bloom 1827-'29 Thomas Taber
1803-'09 Daniel C. Verplancka 1839-'31 Abraham Bockee
1809-'13 James Bmott 1831-'33 Edward H. Pendleton
1813-'15 Thomas J. Oakley 1833-'37 Abraham Bockee
•1815-'17 Abraham H. Schenck^ 1837-'39 Obadiah Titus
1. Vacated by expulsion from the Senate, Marcb 15, 1781.
2. Blected October 8, vice Bloom, deceased.
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST. 69
1839-'41 Charles Johnson 1863-'65 Homer A. Nelson
1841-'4S Richard D. Davis 186S-'73 John H. Ketcham
184,S-'4,7 William W. Woodruff ].873-'7T John O, Whitehouse
18S1-'S1 Gilbert Dean 1877-'91 John H. Ketcham
1854-'S5 James Teller 1897-'05 John H. Ketcham
18S7-'S9 John Thompson 1906-'08 Samuel P. McMillan
1861-'63 Stephen Baker 1909-'— Hamilton Fish
STATE OFFICERS.
JtrDOE OP THE Court of Appeals.
Charles H. Ruggles, elected June 7, 1847, re-elected November 8, 18S3.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Smith Thompson, appointed February 3, 1814.
Puisne Justices op the Supreme Court.
Morgan Lewis, appointed December 24, 1792; Egbert Benson, appointed Janu-
ary 39, 1794; Smith Thompson, appointed January 8, li03.
Circuit Judges (Secoxtd Circuit).
James Emott, appointed February 21, 1827; Charles H. Ruggles, appointed
appointed March 9, 1831; Seward Barculo, appointed April 4, 1846.
Justice of the General Term of the Supreme Court.
Joseph F. Barnard (Second Dept.), appointed December 25, 1870.
Justices of the Supreme Court.
Seward Barculo, elected June 7, 1847; Gilbert Dean, appointed June 26, 18S4;
James Emott, elected November 6, 1855; Joseph F. Barnard, elected November
3, 1863, re-elected 1871 and 1885, retired 1893; Joseph Morschauser, elected
1906, term expires 1920.
Governors.
Morgan Lewis, elected April 1804; Levi P. Morton, elected November 6, 1894,
Lieutenant-Governobs.
James Tallmadge, elected November 1, 1834; Peter R. Livingston, elected
February 16, 1828; Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, elected November 6, 1906.
Adjutant General op the State.
J. WatiSs de Peyster, appointed January 1, 1855.
Secretaries of State.
Thomas Tillotson, appointed August 10, 1801, re-appointed February 16, 1807;
Robert R. Tillotson, appointed February 12, 1816; Homer A. Nelson, elected
November 5, 1867.
Treasurers of the State.
Joseph Howland, elected November 5, 1865; James Mackin, elected November
6, 1877.
Attorneys-General.
Egbert Benson, appointed May 8, 1777; Morgan Lewis, elected November 8,
1791; Thomas J. Oakley, elected July 8, 1819.
70
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
State Tax Cosimibsiod'ebs.
James L. WiUiams, appointed April 18, 1883; William H. Wood, appointed
January 10, 1893; Martin Heermance, appointed January 20, 1896.
Caxal Commissioners.
James Hooker, appointed February 8, 1842.
Fbisos' Inspector.
James Teller, appointed April 1, 1811, re-appointed March 7, 1815 and Feb-
ruary 24, 1821.
Board of Regents.
First Board, Anthony Hoffman, Cornelius Humphrey; Second Board, Gilbert
Livingston; under system adopted 1787, Smith Thompson, appointed March
13, 1813.
Commissioners State Board of Charities.
Harvey G. Eastman, appointed June 17, 1867, re-appointed March 19, 1873;
James Roosevelt, appointed February 12, 1879; Sarah M. Carpenter, appointed
January 21, 1880.
Ptrntic Service Commissioner.
James E. Sague, appointed 1907; re-appointed 1909.
DELEGATES TO STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
1788 — Jonathan Atkins, John De Witt, Gilbert Livingston, Zephaniah Piatt, Mel-
ancton Smith, Jacobus Swartwout, Ezra Thompson.^
1801 — Jonathan Akin, Isaac Bloom, Caleb Hazen, Peter Huested, Edmund Farlee,
Smith Thompson, Joseph Thorn, John Van Benthuysen, .Theodorus Van
Wyck, Ithamer Weed.
1821 — EUsha Barlow, Isaac Hunting, Peter R. Livingston, Abrahai^ H. Schenck,
James Tallmadge.
1846 — Peter K. DuBois, Charles H. Ruggles, James TaUmadge.
1867— B. Piatt Carpenter, Wilson B. Sheldon, Homer A. Nelson.2
1894--Charles W. H. Arnold.
State Senators.
1777-'79 Jonathan Landon
1777-'83 Zephaniah Piatt
1779-'81 Ephraim Paine
1782-'8S Ephraim Paine
1784-'95 Jacobus Swartvifout
1787-'89 Cornelius Humfrey
1788-'90 Anthony Hoffman
1791-'99 Thomas Tillotson'
1796-'99 Abraham Schenck
1798-'01 Peter Cantine, Jr.
1800-'02 Isaac Bloom
1801-'02 David Van Ness
1803-'06 Abraham Adriance
1804-'07 Robert Johnston
1808-'ll Robert Williams
1811-'1S Morgan Lewis
1812-'1S William M. Taber
1816-'22 Peter R. Livingston
1818-'21 Stephen Barnum
1826-'29 Peter R. Livingston
1." Atkins and Swartwout voted against the Constitution. Thompson did not vote.
2. Dele(?ate-at-Iarge.
5 (b
Cu^iaJIo^
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
71
1830-'33 Nathaniel P. Tallmadge
1834-'37 Leonard Maison
1838-'41 Henry A. Livingston
1842-'4S Abraham Bockee
1848-'49 Alexander J. Coffin
18S2-'S3 John H. Otis
1856-'S7 William Kelly
1860-'61 John H. Ketcham
1864-'6S John B. Dutcher
1868-'69 Abiah W. Pahner
1870-'71 George Morgan
1873-'73 Abiah W. Palmer
1876-'77 B. Piatt Carpenter
1882-'83 Homer A. Nelson
1884-'85 Thomas Newbold
1892-'93 Edward B. Osborne
1909-'— John F. Schlosser
MEMBERS OP ASSEMBLY.
1777-'78 Egbert Benson
Dirck Brinckerhoff
Anthony Hoffman
Gilbert Livingston
Andrew Moorhouse
John Schenck
Jacobus Swartwbut
1778-'79 Egbert Benson
Dirck Brinckerhoff
Joseph Crane, Jr.
Samuel Dodge
Anthony Hoffman
Andrew Moorhouse
Jacobus Swartwout
1779-'80 Egbert Benson
Dirck Brinckerhoff
Annanias Cooper
Samuel Dodge
Henry Ludenton
Brinton Paine
Nathaniel Sackett
1780-'81 Egbert Benson
Ebenezer Cary
Samuel Dodge
Henry Ludenton
Brinton Paine
Guisbert Schenck
Jacobus Swartwout
1781-'82 Dirck Brinckerhoff
Jonathan Dennis
Cornelius Humfrey
Ebenezer Husted
Abraham Paine
Thomas Storm
Jacobus Swartwout
1782-'83 Benjamin Birdsall
Jonathan Dennis
Corneliuls Humfrey
Ebenezer Husted
Matthew Patterson
Thomas Storm
Jacobus Swartwout
1784 Dirck Brinckerhoff
Jonathan Dennis
Anthony Hoffman
Cornelius Humfrey
Ebenezer Husted
Matthew Patterson
Thomas Storm
1784-'85 Adam Brinckerhoff
Dirck Brinckerhoff
Ebenezer Cary
Cornelius Humfrey
Brinton Paine
Matthew Patterson
James Tallmadge
1786 Dirck Brinckerhoff
John De Witt
Lewis Duboys
Jacob Griffin
Henry Ludenton
Brinton Paine
Matthew Patterson
1787 Dirck Brinckerhoff
John De Witt, Jr.
Lewis Duboys
Jacob Griffin
Henry Ludenton
Brinton Paine
Matthew Patterson
72
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1788 Egbert Benson
Isaac Bloom
Peter Cantine, Jr.
John De Witt, Jr.
Morris Graham
Matthew Patterson
Thomas Tillotson
1788-'89 Jonathan Akin
Samuel A. Barker
Isaac Bloom
John De Witt
Jacob Griffin
Gilbert Livingston
Matthew Patterson
1789-'90 Samuel A. Barker
Isaac Bloom
Joseph Crane, Jr.
Jacob Griffin
Ebenezer Husted
Isaac J. Talman
Thomas Tillotson
1791 Jonathan Akin
Samuel A. Barker
Isaac Bloom
James Kent
Henry Schenck
James Tallmadge
David Van Ness
179S Jonathan Akin
Samual A. Barker
Isaac Bloom
Daniel Graham
Morgan Lewis
Matthew Patterson
James Tallmadge
1792-'93 Jonathan Akin
Josiah Holly
James Kent
Ebenezer Mott
Matthew Patterson
Barnabas Payen
WUliam Raddift
1794 Samuel A. Barker
James Bockee
David Brooks
John De Witt
Jesse Oakley
Jacob Radclift
Isaac Van Wyck
1795 Samuel A. Barker
Jacob Brockee
David Brooks
Jesse Oakley
Jacob Radclift
Jacob Smith
Isaac Van Wyck
1796 David Brooks
Richard Davis
Jesse Oakley
Jacob Smith
Solomon Sutherland
Jesse Thompson
Isaac Van Wyck
1796-'97 Samuel A. Barker
Jacob Bockee
Joseph Crane, Jr.
Richard Davis
Jesse Oakley
William Pearce
Jacob Smith
Jesse Thompson
William B. Verplanck
William Wheeler
1798 WilUam Barker
Lemuel Clift
Luther Holly
Joseph Potter
Philip J. Schuyler
Jacob Smith
John Thomas
Jesse Thompson
Samuel Towner
WUliam B. Verplanck
1798-'99 Abraham Adriance
Lemuel Clift
Henry Dodge
Robert Johnston
Ebenezer Mott
William Pearce
Piatt Smith
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
73
Jonathan Soule
William Taber
John van Benthuysen
1800 Abraham Adriance
William Barker
William Emott
Joseph C. Field
Robert Johnston
Ebenezer Mott
Isaac Sherwood
William Taber
Samuel Towner
John Van Benthuysen
1800-'01 Abraham Adriance
Benjamin Akin
EUsha Barlow
Nichtdas H. Emlgh
Robert Johnston
Ebenezer Mott
Zalman Sanford
Isaac Sherwood
Smith Thompson
John M. Thurston
1803 Abraham Adriance
Benjamin Akin
Theodorus Bailey
Elisha Barlow
Nicholas H. Emigh
Harry Garrison
Alexander Spencer
John Thompson
John M. Thurston
1803 Joseph C. Field
John Jewett
John Martin
Thomas Mitchell
Philip Spenoer, Jr.
Theodorus R. Van Wyck
James Winchell
1804 Joseph E. HafF
John Martin
Thomas Mitchell
Zaimon Sanford
Wiliam Taber
Benajah Thompson
Theo. R. Van Wyck
1804-'05 Job Crawford
Isaac Hunting
John Patterson
tCbraham H. Schenck
Isaac Sherwood
John Van Benthuysen
John M. Thurston
1806 Barnabas Carver
Joseph C. Field
Benjamin Herrick
Abraham H. Schenck
Jno. Van Benthuysen
William D. Williams
Veniah Wooley
1807 John Haight
Aaron Hazen
Theron*Rudd
John Storm
TobiaS L. Stoutenburgh
Martin E. Winchel
Veniah Wooley
1808 Albro Akin
Devoue Bailey
George Casey
Cyrenus Crosby
John Haight
Tobias L. Stoutenburgh
Martin E. Winchel
1808-'09 Samuel A. Barker
George Bloom
Derick A. Brinckerhoff
Ebenezer Haight
Benajah Thompson
Jesse. Thompson,
1810 David Brooks
Lemuel Clift
Koert Dubois
Ebenezer Haight
Alexander Neely
Isaac Van Wyck
1811 Samuel A. Barker
Lemuel Clift
Koert Dubois
Alexander Neely
Shadrach Sherman
Isaac Van Wyck
74
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1813 Joseph Arnold
Cyrus Benjamin
Isaac Bryan
Henry Dodge
John Warren
Robert Weeks
1812-'13 Joseph Arnold
John Beadle
Cyrus Benjamin
Isaac Bryan
Henry Dodge
John Warren
1814 William A. Duer
James Emott
Samuel Mott
Joseph Potter
Jesse Thompson
1814-'15 John Beadle
Joel Benton
William A. Duer
James Emott
James Grant
1816 William A. Duer
Zachariah HofPman
Thomas J. Oakley
Isaac Smith
John B. Van Wyck
1816-'17 Joel Benton
WUliam A. Duer
James Emott
Nathaniel Pendleton
Abiel Sherman
1818 Benjamin Haxton
Thomas J. Oakley
Andrew Pray
Jehiel Sackett
John W. Wheeler
1819 John Beadle
James Ketchum
Thomas J. Oakley
Jesse Thompson
Dayid Tomilinson
1830 Abraham Bockee
Jacob Doughty
Matthew Mesier
Thomas J. Oakley
John W. Wheeler
1830-'21 Albro Akin
Benjamin H. Conklin
Coert Dubois
Israel Harris
Joseph I. Jackson
1833 John Cox
Daniel Northrup
Philo Buggies
Benjamin Sherman
George Vandenburgh
1833 Wheeler Gilbert
Prince Hoag
Peter R. Livingston
Samuel M. Thurston
1834 John Klapp
Alfred S. Pell
James Tallmadge
Gilbert Thome
1835 Eli Angevine
John Armstrong, Jr.
Enos Hopkins
Gilbert Thome
1836 Isaac R. Adriance
Daniel D. Akin
Martin Lawrence
Thomas Tabor
1837 Egbert Cary
Jacob C. Elmendorf
Samuel B. Halsey
Henry A. Livingston
1838 Taber Belding
Francis A. Livingston
George W. Slocum
Nathan P. Tallmadge
1839 Elijah Baker, Jr.
Stoddard Judd
Tobias Teller
Stephen D. Van Wyck
1830 James Hughson
George P. Oakley
Jacob Van Ness
Philo M. Winchell
1831 Joel Benton
Samuel B. Halsey'
William Hooker
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
75
]832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1843
1844
184S
John E. Townsend
Robert Coffin
Eli Hamblin
1846
Michael S. Martin
Israel Shadbolt
Daniel D. Akin
1847
Joel Brown
Henry Conklin
George LambSrt
1848 1st
Theo. V. W. Anthony
2d
Wm. H. Bostwick
3d
Henry Conklin
1849 list
James Mabbett
3d
Theodore V. W. Anthony
3d
David BarneJs, Jr.
1850 1st
Stoddard Jndd
2d
Stephen Thorn
3d
Abijah Benedict
1851 1st
Cornelius H. Cornell
3d
WiUiam Eno
3d
Stoddard Judd
1852 1st
Taber Belding
3d
John R. Myer
3d
David Sheldon
1853 1st
Cornelius Dubois
2d
Freeborn Garretson
3d
Jacob Sisson
1854 1st
Henry Conklin
3d
Jacob Sisson
3d
Daniel Toffey
1855 1st
Amos Bryan
3d
Henry Conklin
3d
Daniel Toffey
1856 1st
Jonathan Akin
3d
Edmund Elmendorf
3d
John Thompson
1857 1st
Peter K. Dubois
3d
John M. Ketchara
3d
Richard C. Van Wyck
1858 1st
Gilbert Bentley
3d
John Elseffer
1859 1st
John M. Ketcham
2d
Alexander H. Coffin
1860 1st
John K. Mead
2d
Ambrose L. Pinney
1861 1st
Epenetus Crosby
2d
Freeborn Garretson
Walter Sherman
Elnathan Haxton
George T. Pierce
Daniel Sherwood
Epenetus Crosby
Walter Sherman
Aves I. Vanderbilt
Edgar Vincent
David Collins, Jr.
James Hammond
Edgar Vincent
Wesley Butts
James Hammond
Charles Robinson
Minor^C. Story
Stephen Haight
Charleis Robinson
Howland R. Sherman
William H. FeDer
John S. Emans
John M. Keese
Augustus Martin
John S. Emans
James H. Weeks
Augustus Martin
Peter P. Montfoort
George W. Sterling
Wm. H. Bostwick
Albert Emans
Joseph E. Allen
Ambrose Wager
John H. Ketcham
Daniel O. Ward
Jacob B. Carpenter
John H. Ketcham
Franklin Dudley
Cornelius N. Campbell
Albert Emans
Ambrose Wager
James Mackin
Samuel J. Farnum
Abiah W. Palmer
Richard J. Garretson
John B. Dutcher
Samuel J. Farnum
76
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1862 1st
3d
1863 1st
3d
1864 1st
3d
1865 1st
3d
1866 1st
3d
1867 Ist
3d
1868 1st
2d
1869 1st
3d
1870 1st
3d
1871 1st
2d
1872 1st
2d
1873 1st
2d
1874 1st
3d
1875 1st
3d
1876 1st
2d
1877 1st
2d
1878 1st
2d
1879 1st
2d
1880 1st
3d
1881 1st
3d
1882 1st
3d
1883 1st
3d
1884 Isl;
John B. Dutcher
1885 1st
Edmund Green
2d
Luther S. Dutcher
1886 1st
Joseph C. Doughty-
2d
James Howard
1887 1st
John N. Cramer
2d
James Howard
1888 1st
Mark D. Wilber
2d
Abiah W. Palmer
1889 1st
Mark D. Wilber
3d
Joshua Smith
1890 1st
George C. Gibbs
3d
Augustus A. Brush-.
1891 1st
Alfred T. Ackert.
3d
David R. Gould
1893 1st
Wm. W. Hegeman
3d
James A. Seward
1893 1st
David H. Mulford
3d
Jam^s A. Seward
1894 list
David H. Mulford
2d
Edward M. Goring
1895 1st
Harvey G.. Eastman
2d
James Mackin
1896 1st
Jacob B. Carpenter
2d
James Mackin
1897 1st
Harvey G. Eastman
3d
James Mackin
1898 1st
Benjamin S. Broas
2d
Thomas Hammond
1899 1st
De Witt Webb
2d
Thomas 'Hammond
1900 1st
De Witt Webb
3d
Obed Wheeler
1901 1st
Peter Hulme
3d
Obed Wheeler
1902 1st
Cornelius Pitcher
2d
Isaac S. Carpenter
1903 1st
Cornelius Pitcher
2d
Isaac S. Carpenter
1904 Ist
James E. Dutcher
3d
Alfred Bonney
1905 1st
John O'Brien
2d
Storm Emans
1906 1st
Edgar A. Briggs
2d
James Kent, Jr.
1907 1st
Edward B. Osborne
2d
Joseph H. Storm
Edward B. Osborne
Joseph H. Storm
John I. Piatt
Willard H. Mase
John I. Piatt
Willard H. Maise
John I. Piatt
WiUard H. Mase
Johnston L. De Peyster
Willard H. Mase
Johnston L. De Peyster
Willard H. Mase
Edward B. Osborne
Obed Wheeler
John A. Vandewater
E. H. Thompson
John A. Vandewater
E. H. Thompson
Augustus B. Gray
E. H. Thompson
Augustus B. Gray
John A. Hanna
Augustus B. Gray
John A. Hanna
Augustus B. Gray
John A. Hanna
William A. Tripp
John T. Smith
William A. Tripp
John T. Smith
William A. Tripp
John T. Smith
Francis G. Landon
John T. Smith
Francis G. Landon
John T. Smith
Francis G. Landon
John T. Smith
Robert W. Chanler
John T. Smith
Augustus B. Gray
Myron Smith
Augustus B. Gray
Myron Smith
Fred. Northrup
C5 ^^COx^^^^-'^^^^^^i^le.^.-.^^ .
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
77
19081st :
Myroft Smith
1909 1st
Myron Smith
3d
Fred. Northrup
2d
Everett H. Travis
COUNTY
OFFICERS.
Judges.
1813
Philo Ruggles
1716
Leonard Lewis
1815
Derrick B. Stockholm
1739
Jacob Terboss
1819
John Brush
1749
Martinus Hoffman
1831
Ebenezer Nye
17SS
Jacobus Terboss
1838
James Hooker
1769
Beverly Robinson
1840
Robert Wilkinson
1778
Bphraim Paine
1844
Virgil D. Bonesteel
1781
Zephaniah Flatt
1847
John P. H. Tallman
1795
David Brooks
1855
Edgar Thorn
1807
John Johnstone
1860
Peter Dorland
1817
James Emott
1866
Milton A. Fowler
1823
Maturin Livingston
1873
Pet^ Dorland
1838
Daniel C. Ver Planck
1878
Collins Sheldon
1830
Edmund H. Pendleton
1884
Horace D. Hufcut
1840
Joseph I. Jackson
1890
Cyrenus P. Dorland
1845
Seward Barculo
1896
Cyrenus P. Dorland
1846
Abraham Bockee
1903
Willet E. Hoysradt
1846
John Rowleyi
1908
Charles A. Hopkins
1847
John Rowley
DiSTHICT
Attobhets.
1851
lEgbert Q. Eldridge
1796
Jacob Radcliff
1855
Homer A. Nelson
1801
Smith Thompson
1859
Homer A. Nelson
1810
Randall S. Street
1863
Charles Wheaton^
1813
Randall S^ Street
1866
Allard Anthony
1815
George Bloom
1873
Henry M. Taylor
1818
George Bloom
1878
B. Piatt Carpenter
1819
Philo Ruggles
1884
Daniel W. Guernsey
1821
Francis A. Livingston
1890
Daniel W. Gue'rnsey
1836
Stephen Cleveland
1896
Samuel K. Phillips
1836
George A. Schufeldt
1903
Samuel K. Phillips
1843
E. M. Swift
1908
Frank Hasbrouck
1845
William Eno
StibrogAtes.
1847
Joseph T. Lee
1778
Gilbert Livingston
1849
James Eraott, Jr. a
1785
Anthony Hoffman
1849
Thomas C. CampbeU
1787
■Gilbert Livingston
1855
Silas WodeU
1804
James Tallmadge, Jr.
1858
B. Piatt Carpenter
1810
James J. Oakley
1860
Allard Anthony*
1811
George Bloom
1865
Allard Anthony
1. OfiBce made' elective in 1846.
2. Appointed vice Nelson resigned.
3. Appointed vice Lee deceased.
4. Appointed vice Carpenter resigned, elected in 1861.
78
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1868
William I. Thorn
1822
1871
Tristram CofiSn
1825
1874
James L. Williams
1828
1877
William R. Woodin
1831
1880
William R. Woodin
1834
isas
John Harkett
1837
1886
John Hackett
1840
1889
Martin Heermance
1843
1892
Horace D. Hufcut
1846
1895
George Wood
1849
1898
George Wood
1852
1901
William R. Lee
1855
1904
William R. Lee
1858
1907
John E. Mact
1861
SSEHIFFS.
1864
1721
J. Van de Voert
1867
1731
William Squire
1870
1737
James Wilson
1873
1743
Henry FiUdn
1876
1748
William Barnes
1877
1749
Isaac Brinckerhoff
1880
1754
Clear Everit
1883
1761
James G. Livingston
1886
1769
Henry Rosecrans, Jr.
1889
1772
Philip J. Livingston
1892
1777
Melancton Smith
1895
1781
Lewis Dubois
1898
1785
Harmon Hoffman
1901
1789
John De Witt
1904
1793
John Van Benthuysen
1907
1794
John De Witt
Couirrsr
1797
WiUiam Radcliff
1715
1801
Robert Williams
1721
1805
Joseph Thorn
1742
1807
John Van Benthuysen
1777
1808
Joseph C. Field
1789
1810
John Van Benthuysen
1804
1811
Joseph C. Field
1807
1812
D. A. Brinckerhoff
1809
1813
John Radcliff
1810
1817
William Griffin
1811
1819
Gilbert Ketchum
1813
1819
R. C. Van Wyck
1815
1821
William Griffin
1815
William Griffin
John A. Wood
Obadiah Titus
Abraham Myers
Thomas N. Perry
S. D. Van Wyck
Thomas N. Perry
Alonzo H. Mory
David N. Seaman
Alonzo H. Mory
Henry Rikert
Moses C. Sands
James Hammond
Judah Swift
George Lamoree
Richard Kenworthy
Cornelius Pitcher
John G. Halstead
David Warneri
James E. Dutcher
Sylvester H. Mase
James E. Dutcher
Charles W. Belding
J. W. Van TasseU
William H. Bartlett
J. S. Pearce
Myron Smith
Allan H. Hoffman
James H. Kipp
Robert W. Chanler
Clerks.
Richard Sackett
Henry Vanderburgh
Henry Livingston
Henry Livingston
Robert H. Livingston
Gilbert Livingston
David Brooks
Philip Spencer, Jr.
David Brooks
Philip Spencer, Jr.
David Brooks
Philip Spencer, Jr.
Jacob Van Ness
1. Appointed March 7, vice Halstead, deceased.
DUTCHESS COUNTY CIVIL LIST.
79
1819 John Van Benthuysen
1820 John Johnston
1831 Jacob Van Ness
1833 Jacob Van Nessi
1836 Clapp Raymond
1829 Henry S. Traver
1838 Daniel W. Beadle
1841 Robert Mitchell
1847 Joseph T. Adriance
1853 George H. Tompkins
1859 Wilson B. Sheldon
1865 Edgar Vincent
1871 John W. Vincent
1874 Andrew C. Warren
1877 William A. Fanning
1880 Wilson B. Sheldon
1883 William A. Fanning
1886 Edward B. Osborne
1889 Theodore A. Hoffman
1892 Storm Emans
1895 Theodore A. Hoffman
1898 Theodore A. Hoffman
1901 Frederick Bostwick
1904 Frederick Bostwick
1907 John M. Ham
COUKTY TaEASTTBEBS.
1738 John Tappen
1745 Henry Livingston
1771 Robert Hoffman
1795 William Emotta
1848 Albert Van Kleeck
1851 Leonard B. Sackett
1854 James H. Seaman
1860 John F. HuU
1863 Joseph C. Harris
1866 Joseph C. Harris
1869 Walter S. Fonda
1872 Walter S. Fonda
1875 Frederick W. Davis
1878 Seneca V. Halloway
1881 Seneca V. Halloway
1882 Georgfe W. Chases
1883 George W. Chase
1886 George W. Chase
1889 Isaac W. Sherrill
1892 Isaac W. Sherrill
1896 William Haubennestel
1898 William Haubennestel
1901 William Haubennestel
1904 William Haubennestel
1907 Charles H. Slocum.
1. Office made elective.
2. Served until 1811, from whicli year tbe records are missing until 1848, the office
becoming elective under the Constitution of 1846.
3. Appointed January 19, 1882^ vice Halloway, who failed to qualify ; elected Novem-
ber, 1882, for full term.
80
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER Vni.
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
AS early as 1715, according to the military records in Colonial
Archives (Vol. LX, page 78) in the possession of the State
Library, Dutchess County, with a total population of less
than five hundred, had a military force of sixty-three men, as follows:
Dutchess County 1715 Novemb 21
A List of the Military Fooiises V'l
Capt Barend Z Van Kleeck
Lt Johannes Ter Boss
Ens Jacobes Van den Bogard
Sar'ts Johannes Van Kleek
pieter Lasseng
Corp'r Harmon Ryndert
John Schoute
.pieter Van Kleek
Lowrens Van Kleek
Myndert VandenBogrt
John I Van den Bogert
fransois Van den Bogert
John De Graef
goose Van Wagene
frans La Roy
Hendrick oostrom
Roelef oosterom
Pieter fielee
Jonas Slodt
Hendrick pels
Jacob Fit soor
Isaac Fit soor
Damen Falmetier
Magiel palmetier
Pieler palmetier
Willem Lasseng
Jacob Schoute
Timon Schouten
Andries Schouten
Johannes Bos
Jacobes Bos
Johannes Buys
Abraham Buys
Johannes Hussie
John Montras
Hendrick Buys
Thomas Shadwick
Lowrens Oosterhout
Evert Van Wagene
Matias Slecht -J
Hendrick Kyp
Isaac Kyp
pieter Ostrander
William Ostrander
William Trophage
peeck Dewitt
Jacob Kool
adam Bresie
Corneleus Knickerbacker
Jacob Hooghteling
Evert Aersen
Hendrick Vandeburg
Isaac Lasseng
William Schudz
Aert Masten
frans De Langen
pieter Du Boy
Roger Britt
Isaac Hendrickse
John Brion
Jurean Springsteen
Jacobes Harckse
Joseph Crieger
Judge Henky Beekmak. Col. Henby Beekman, Jr.
Gen. Richard Montgomery. Chancellor Livingston.
Edward Livingston Gen. Morgan Lewis.
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
81
In the Archives for the year 1737 (Vol. LXXII, page 35) appear
the names of the oiScers for each of the eight Companies! from this
county, and the number of enlisted men, but the names of the latter
are not of record.
In the same Volume (page 146) appear the names of the regi-
mental officers arranged according to Precincts, but the names of the
privates in these regiments are also missing.
Further reference to the records (Vol. LXXXI, pages 74 and 94)
furnish a complete enrollment of the men under command of Captain
Peter Van Denburgh, in 1755, contained in the muster rolls of July
11th and August 4th.
A List of the Militie Ofpicees &c &c : of Dutchess County Viz
TO 21 Dece'r 1737
Henry Beekman, CoUo
Bar"! Vancleek x Lu't Coll
Gilb't Livingston, Major
Elias Van Bnntshote, x Capt
1 Lowrens "Van Cleek, Lut
Baltiis Van Cleek, Ins
This Comp'y Cons't of 60 Mn
Evert Van Wagen, x Capt
Jacob Kipp, Lut
Gerrit Van Wagen, Ins'n
Henry Heermans, Capt
Larance Knickerbacker, x Lut
John Van Benthuyse, Ins
Frances De Lang, Capt
John Montross, Lut
Frances Brit, Ins'n
Lowrens Oosterhout, x Capt
James Van Etten, Lut
Wouter Westfaal, remov'd x Ins'n
Frances La Roy, Capt
Micheel Van Cleek, Lut
Abraham Swartwout, Ins'n
James Hussey Dece'd x Capt
Hendrick Ter Bos, Lut
Lowrans Lossey, Ins'n
Jacob Van Campen, Capt
Jacob De Witt, Lut
John Oosterhout, Ins'il
Do.
49
Do.
Do.
.100
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
63
70
64
51
82 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
These with this x marke will not sairve any longer and are dead or
removed — By the best information I could get this being a true State
Henkt Beekman.
List op the Militaey Oeficees or Dutchess Cottnty, 17S9.
Gilb't Livingston, Lut Coll, In the room of Lu't Coll, Bar't: Van Cleck, who
declins
Elias Van Buntschote, Maj'r, In the Room of Gilb't Livingston.
1st Compa' of the Regiment of Beekman Precinct
Johannes Dolsen, Lut. In the Room of John Montross under Capt Frans De
Lange. In Beekman Precinct George Elsworth Ensign.
Rynebeek 2d Compa' of the Regiment.
Gisbert Westfale Ens. In the Room of Wouter Westfale who is moeved under
Capt Lowrens Osterhowt. In Rhynbeek Preoeinct.
All Remain as they are in Rhynbeek Preceinct.
Abraham Swartwout, Lieut't in the Roomie of Meigle Van Cleck Dece'd, under
Capt Frans La Roy. In Poghkeepsie Preceinct Symon Frere, Insign under Do.
All Remaine as they are — In Beekman Preceinct
6th Compa' of Regiment
LowernS Van Cleek, Captain, in the Room of Elias Buntschote pret'd to be Maj'r.
In Poghkeepsie Preceinct >
Baltes Van Cleck, Lut Barent Luis, Ensign.
7th (Co) of Regiment
Jacob kip Captain In the Rome of Evert Van Wagen who dedins by Reason
of his adge.
In Rynbeck Preceinct
Gerit Van Wagen Lu't't Aart Van Wagen Ens'n
8th & 9th Companys, by this distinguished
Hendrick Terbos In the Roome of James Hussey Dece'd
In Rombout Preceinct
Lowerens Loosey, Lut't John Brinckerhof Ens'n
Frances Brit, Capt. Robert Brit, Lut Tunis Buntschote, Ens
In Crom Elbow Preceinct. A New Company
Isaac Tietsoort, Capt Henry ffilkins, Lut, Astyn Creed, Ens'n
Martinus Hoof man Adjutant for the Reg't of Dutchess County.
This last Dat'd 1st Nov'r the rest the 24th 1739.
Mtistee Roll Captain Peteb. Van Denburgh's Company.
July 11th, 1755.
A List of a Company of Foot Raised in Dutchess County under the
Command of
Peter Van Denburgh Captain
• Joshua Champlin iirst Lieuten't
Zebulon Mead Second Lieu't
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
83
Jacob Weaver
Simeon Bowlen
Eliphalet Stevens
Johan Hendrick Specer
Stephen HuU
Lewis Bennet
Amos Bennet
Joseph Parish
Jonathan PoUey
Stephen Mead
William Mills
James Carrel
Thomas Ingerson
John Clemens
John Wieler
John Wood
John Franklin,, Jun'r
Simeon Oosterhout
Increase Win •
James Morey
John Lewis
Nathaniel Dunham, Jun'r
Michael Walter
William Steenbergh
Joseph Steel
Greorge Bondy
PRIVATE SIEK
Edward Hall
John Ryan
Ebenesar Merreck, Jun'r
Ezra Kenny
Daniel Davison
Ebenezer Owen
Samuel Reed
Joseph Reed,
Nathaniel Chapwell
Jacob Brill
Simeon Terbos — Clerk
James Green — Serjeant
Jacob Sutton
William Johnston
James Weeks
Daniel Aldrich
Timothy Larkin
Michael Brown
Ichabod Stockwell
Elijah Harvey
William Moore
Michel McDannel
Edward Dunfy
John Roberts
Daniel Lane
Silas Bobbet
Elijah Curry
John Gellit
Richard Nicholson
Peter Caswell
John HefFy, Jun'r
Fletcher Smith
John Crooke
John Herrick
Elkanah Cook
Jeffery Nees
Philip Whelply
Robert Cook
Jeremiah Binckham
Francis Sawwood
James Finly
Samuel Johnson
Thomas Champlin
John Mass
Jeames Dowle
Roelif Sherrer
Johannes Coenraetkerl
Benjamin Utter
Patrick Quin
Jedediah Wells
Nathaniel Rennie
Henry Lewis
Att a Muster of a Company at Poghkeepsie in Dutchess County
on Friday the Eleventh day of July One Thousand Seven Hundred
and Fifty Five, Raised by Capt. Peter Vanderburgh in Dutchess
County Wee Mathew Dubois and Louwerins Van Kleek Two of his
Majesties Judges of the Court of Comon Pleas for said County and
Nicholas De Lavergne and Bartholomew Noxon Two of his Majesties
Justices of the peace for said County Doe Certifie that the Men whose
names are above written amounting to Seventy Eight Affective men,
appeared at said Muster in our presence, who are all Inlisted' in the
Company to be the said Vanderburgh as Captain thereof, as by the
Certificates taken before and produced by severall Justices of the
peace for County may appear In Testimony whereof we have hereunto
set our Hands the day & year above written.
Matthew Duboys
LouwEEENs Van Kleeck
Nicholas De Laveegne
Baetho. Noxon
84
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
List op Each Opficee and Sotjldtek Inlisted in Cap't Petek Van-
DENBUEGH COMPANY EKOM JuLY 11 TO JtTI-Y 31 InCLUSEE 1755.
Capt.
Lieuts.
Corprils
ils )
Peter Vanderburgh^
Joshua Champlin
Zebulon Mead
Peter Casley
S. Ebenezer Merrick
Daniel Lane
f Jacob Brill
! James Green
Sargants ^ j^^^^^^^ p„Uey
i John Lewis
Drummor, Silas Mather
James Tinley
timothy Larkin
James Weaks
James Dowdel
WiUiam Gonson
Jeremiah bringham
John moss
Jeremiah Wells
Daniel holdredg
JefFiy Nase
Joseph Reed
Ebanezar owin
Mikel Walter
Halimass' Stealbark
Elisha Haruey
WiUiam Moore
Stephen meed
Kain McKinney
Mikel Brown
Flitcher Smith
Hazakiah Kinney
Richard Balis
Nathaniel Rappel
Deserded July 35 Day
1755 and Carried of
all his Cloaths
Elkany Cook
John herrick
John Ryne
John Gillit
Eliga Currey
James Carrel
Stephen Hull
Patrick Quin
John Wheeler
John Wood
Wait Weeks
John Franklin
Simon Ousterhouse
Increse Winn
Philip Welsee
Thomas Ingerson
John Clemmans
Joseph Steal
George Bunday
Thomas Champlin
Simon Terbush
Samuel Read
Fransis Sawwood
John Andrews (carpenter)
Edward Dunfee
Mike McDaniel
John Roberts
Thomas Green
Ichabod Stockwell
John Hendrick (spicer)
Joseph Parrish
William Mills
James mory
Henry Lewis
Nathaniel Dunham
Jacob Weauour
Simeon broughling
Elifelet Stephens
Amos Bennett
John maburey
Nathaniel Tinney
Chisher Wandle
John Ha£Fey
Roulf Sherred
Johanis Coonrot Karel
John Thompson
Jonathan Linsey
Richard Nichoson
Robert Cook
Ben j amine Tidd
Nathaniel Lane
Daniel Dauison
John Smith
Silas Bobbet
1. Captain Tanderturgh died AuguBt 21, 1755.
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
85
MusTEE Roll of a Company of Peovincials in ye Pay of ye Peov-
iNCE OF New Yoek foe Dutchess County Commanded
BY Joseph Ceane Esa'E (1758)^
Captain
Joseph Crane, Esq'r
Lieutenants
Richard Ray
Philip Paddock
Non Commission'd Officers
Benjamen Higgins
John Cannon
Simon Calkins
Jonathan Vickry
John McCrerey
Eleazer Baker
Stephen Fenton
Eliphalet Whefeler
John Bennett
Phineas Woodward
John Frankland
Samuel Cogswell
James Pingry
Thomas Inckly
James Lovelace
Charles Barsleys
Andrew Cowley
Michal Tenry
George Clasen
David Hodges
George Dickenson
Caleb HiU
Gilbert Clap
David Vickry
Eneos Nicholson
Asa Cummins
Joshua Barnum
Jacob Ellis
Bennoraia Graj
Daniel Townsend
David Sturdyvent*
Corporals
John House
Joseph Parish
Nathaniel Green
Drum
Nathaniel Wescoat
PBIVATES
William Allen
WiUiam Earl*
Rossel Frankland
Mathew Standish*
Abner Edie
Zachariah Huntington
Edward Popple
Stephen Hull
John Martin
Samuel Blackman'
Simon Scouten"
John Willm Loudenburgh
Samuel Brewster*
Cornielus Fuller
Joseph Barlow*
Noah Jelett
Joseph HoUester
Joseph Philips
Amos Allen
Moses Allen
Daniel Allen
Jeddiah Carley
Samuel Boynton
John Ashton ,
Daniel Atwood
Matthew fuller
Ruben Rapeljea
Bethual Baker
John Gray
William Calkins*
Stephen March
Ebenezer Gage
Enoch Seers
Rowland Rosall
Azariah Parish
Daniel Cash
Abel Sherwood
Thomas Cole
Jezediah Frost
John Perry
John Franklin
Jacob Leonard
Henry Gray
Thomas Evans*
Benjamen Harringtoa
Benjamen Shaw
Isaac Harrington*
John Barber
John D. Pew
Conrad Sarenbergh*
Philip Pear
Andrew Silvernail*
Reuben Crosby*
In the above Company of Provincials the birthplace given In the records Is Great
Britain or Ireland, excepting the names followed by an asterisk (•) which Indicates native
of Dutchess County.
1. Colonial Archives Vol. LXXXV. p. 132.
86
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
MxJSTEE Roll of the Men Rais'd in ye County of Dutchess and
Pass'd foe Capt Peter Hareis's Company May ye 1 : 1760
Captain Peter Harris
Joseph Power
Isaac Conclin
Lieut'ts
Bartho'lo Hoogeboom
Marcus Snyder
Thimoty Hewmans
Tobias Steenbergh
Capt Peter Harris
Peter Cole
John Buys
John Tompkins
Samuel Matthews
Asa Perkins
Natha'U Washburn
Myndert V.D. Bogert
Isaac Parmetier
Richard Memyon
-John Van Denbogert
Dannlel Moore
Isaac German
Elisah Ballard
Moses Prindle
John House
Samuel Benedict
Amos Turner
Jeremiah Steanburgh
Jeremiah Wood
Benjamin PhUlips
William Buys
Henry Buys
Peter Ostrander
Joseph Lott
John Wording
John Stone
Isaac Beazel
Benjamin North
Christopher Smith
Solomon Seaman
FBIVATES
William Pangborn
Jacob Ladew
Nucomb Smith
A'braham Vredinborgh
John Murry
Leonard Hunold
Jacob Shever
Robert Cane
Martin Simon
Major Pawling
Stephen Crons
Garritt Van Ness
Jacob Mare
Peter Freden Burgh
Anthoney Turtr
Benj: Freden Burgh
Daniel Welts
George EUiout
John Ferguson
WUliam Tompkins
WiUhelmus Steenbergh
Israel Chllson
Henry Rundel Indian
Zacharias Snyder
John Lassen
Martin bush
Peter Johnson
Gedion Turner
Abra'm Swartwout
Isaac Burnet
William Corkeren
John Dandey
James Webb
Abraham Burrows
James Allsworth
Elisiah Powel
Timity Harris
Samuel Hoges
Abraham Van Amborgh
Darmon Bartley
John Benndigen
George Nease
Joseph Hegman
John ' Hickey
Tunis Cole
Peter Simson
Jacob Jones
Isaac Wanson
John Graham
John Lake
WiUiam Conaly
John Lake Jur
Peter Wasfall
Comb Wood
Andrew Myers
John Vredingbourgh
Cyrenivs Newcomb
Fransis Mathitt
Peter Van Nallen
Peack DeWitt
Peter Cammell
Al'abartis Sickner
James Hobs
Peter Lowdlwick
John Ostrander
Jacob Boice
William Shilly
Mattaves Freden Burgh
Peter Weaver
Jacobus Keep
Fielx Layster
The above Contains one Captain two Lieutts : & one hundred & four
privates Musterd by me Barthow : Le Roux Muster Mastr of Dutchess
County.
^J^tim^,
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
87
Capt John Van Ness His Mustek Roll, May 1760
Capt John Vi
in Ness Samuel
Simeon
Whelpley ) ^ . ,
Barber } ^leuts.
PIIIVATES
Oliver Ecker'^
Simeon Barber Lieut
John Sharp
Moses Barber
Samuel Wheeler
Isaack Betherton
Roswell Nettleton
Philip Johnson
Jacob Miller
Leonard Farguson
Teznis Cover
Benjamin Streater
John Daly
Peter Buckle
Abraham Johnson
John Sharp Junr
Elisha Blin
Nicholas Luyk Junr
John Joshling
Samuel Richards
Nicholas Cramer
Daniel Fenny
William Willeby
Jacob Cline
MikeU Bnrk
James Hurd
Henry Kiefer
John Gray
Caleb Reynolds
Isaac Cole Jun'r
Eli Runnels
Charles McCarty
^Nicholas Huygh
John Richardson
Michael Stilwel
Michael Lush
David Sturdiwint
Jacob Miller
Jacobus Ostrander
Isaack Betherton Jun
Benjamin Brownel
Adam Ostrander
John Paddock
Enos Ferguson
Philip Tuff
Jacob Spaner Bergh
Henny Joshling
Benedick Frits
Johannes Lones
William Ferris
Elija Buttles
Jseph Cooe
Solomon Kinery
William Powell
Robert Willess
Ebenezer AUwater
Domeny Digers
John Williams
John Wilman
Miles Grissil
Adam Wolferron
Silvanus Willibus
Hendrick Ostrander
John Morris
Samuel Moore
Adam Slouter
The above Contains one Captain two Lieut'ts and sixty five privates
Mustered by me Bartho'w Le Roux Muster Mast'r of Dutchess County.
A Muster Roll of the Men Rais'd in the County or Dutchess
AND Pass'd Muster eob Capt Rich'd Rea's Company
May ye 1 : 1760
Captain Richard (Rea)
John Cannon
Samuel Terry
Lieutenants
Oliver Fox
Jeramiah Parmer
Tilton Eastman
James Richards
Joshua Hill
Capt. Rich'd Rea
Samuel Terry Lieut't
Solomon Cole
Joseph Flee
Natha'U Earl
Thimoty Pierce
Benjamin Franklen
George Bundy
Joseph Odel
Benjamin Beamus
Daniel Allen
Thomas Wilcoks
Joshua Loveless
88
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Stephen Hull
Ebenezar Balie
David Cash
Asa Cummings
Jesse Fairchild
Austin Wright
Benjam'n Higgens
Natha'Il Green
Lamuel Hopkins
David Vlckrey
Joseph Robins
Cumfort Loudinton
Obadiah Chace
James Lovelace
Ephaiiam Jones
Isaac Wllcocks
Caleb Worden
John Sunderling
Simon Covel
Samuel Spalding
Elamuel Fuller
John Dean
James Shaw
Elijah Hamlen
Stephen Fenton
Natha'U HoUester
Plagley Sprague
Mahn Daggett
John Barber Junr
Ebenezer Robertson
William Day
John Canndn Lieut't
William Eastman
Samuel Dalie
Isaac Ter Busch Lieut't
Joseph Beavans
Josiah Hall
James Covee
Benjamin Bennett
Daniel Parks
Samuel CoKwell
Ephraim Darling
Ichabud Parmiter
Zeth Covel
Wmiam Stephens
Phineas Woodward
James McNeal
Joseph Ashcraft
Abr'm Hartwell
Theodoras Crosbie
George Guage
John Frost
Richard Murch
John Roberts
Abner Doughty
Thomas Merrick
Benjamin Hopkins
James Cowen
Asa Loudinton
Isaac Craw
Jacob Pepper
Abner Goodspeed
John House
John Bennet
Jacob Burges
Samuel Fox
Gideon Hollester
Zephaniah Little
Jeradiah Davis
Jonathan Lawrence
John Hlames
James Ravel je
Lazures Ellis
Andrew Atwood
Samuel Nelson
John Nelson
Samuel Dimmuck
William Roe
The above Contains one Captain two Lieut'ts and Ninety three pri-
vates mustered by me Bartho'w LeRoux Muster Master for Dutchess.
Muster Roll of Men Rais'd in the County op Dutchess and Pass'd
FOB Capt. Jacobus Swabtwout's Company May ye 1st 1760
Capt Jacobus Swartwout
Nicho's Emanuel Gabriel I
Shadrack Baker
John Schouten
Henry Wright
Joshua Barker
Anthony CofiSn
Henry Gray
Daniel Nettleton
William Prichett
Amos \llen
William Clark
Isaac T'r Bush
PEIVATE3
f
Lieut'ts
Samuel Clark
Benjamin Cummins
Hans Jere Weatman
Oliver Cromwell
Solomon Schouten
William Green
Wm. Woodford
Robt. Shearer
James Plckket
Stephen Bedford
Philip Smith
Thomas Frost
Zebulon Hosier
Ezekel Gee
John Conet
Benjamin Hedger
Nath'U Brock
Edward Rose
Henry V. Heynen
Gedion Fitshoudt
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
89
Ruben Mentor Junr
Ebenezar Burliegh
John Jordan
Adam Miller
William Ingram
Joseph Mesner
WiUiam Branderkin
William Lent
Capt. Jacobus Swart-
wout
John Weys Indian
Comelus Willsie
William MeMunnser
Jacob Penner
Esekiah Brown
John Holms
Jerediah Grare
Benjamin Dailef
John Thurston
John Smawling
John Johnson
Simeon Schouten
Jacob Schouten
George Hicks
Joseph Hornett
James Bennit
Thos. Coffin
Joseph Mclntoch
James Draper
Ebeneazer Cummins
John Adam Wert
James brooks
Ephariam Bartley
Haramanus House
Henry Wiltsie
Evert Valker
Mingo Lango
Thomas Meridet
Peter Storm
William Camble
Patrick Mitchel
Azariah Parish
Daniel Mead
Lewis Mead
David Richards
William More
Joseph Tucker
James Doudle
Danel Calagohun
John Bradshaw
Herculus Stanley-
Benjamin Darling Jun
Dennis Christie
Hans Jere Hoftgood
Thomas Carskaden
Benjamin Post
John Ames
Lieut't Gabriel Eman-
uel &
Nicholas Myer
David Carlie
Bzecial Spicer
B»rnabus Chapman
Mathew Strait
John Lougy
Ga;shem Jones
Jefferey Nearce
Timity Barke
Elkenney Cooke
James Grees
The above Contains one Captain two Lieut'ts and Ninety Eight
privates Mustered by me
Bartho'w Le Roux
Muster Mast'r for Dutchess County
A Mttstee RoLii OF THE Men Raised and Pass'd in the County of
Dutchess for Captain Isaac Tee Bush Company,
21st June 1761
Isaac Ter Bush Captain
Tunis Corsa 1
Samuel Whelpley f Lieutenants
Nehemiah Smith
Edward Coffin
Abraham Eynman
Andries Schouten
Robert Shearer
Henry Wright
Jonas Parks
Christopher Stevens
Phenias Woodard
Joseph Langdon
Isaac Craw
Matthew Wineter
William Fergison
Benjamin Hedger
Joseph Sutten
David Young
Francis Miller
Robert Cain
Nicholas Wager
James Mansfield
James Louden
90
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
William Lant
Elijah Dowee
Thomas Knap
Samuel Richards
James Dowdle
Daniel Hogan
Ebebneizer Allien
Andrew Ross
William Watson
Adam Miller
Hugh Gamble
Benjamin Cahoon
Thorn's Green
Peter Osterout
John Kennedy
Jeremiah Ness
John McKenney
Peter Avery
Volentine Earnest
George Scutt
Moses Gee
Robert Wier
William Delaway
John Schouten
John Langdon
William Cummings
William Barken
David Hammans
David Smith
Elijah Crosby
Henry Webber
Abraham Walker
Jacob Van Tassel
Christopher Stevens
De Owen Le Flower
Matthew Felix
Peter Ostrander
David Cash
Daniel Sheepherd
EUis Vinson
Daniel Willcocks
Martin Dowee
Elisha Pain
George Anderson
John Jackson
Anthony Sheniew
Loudawick Creeles
Myer Earn
Jonathan Woodard
Andrew Myers
Daniel Callahon
Abraham Johnson
Peter Miller
Joseph Worden
John Burke
Laurance Schael
Gabriel Menter
Robert Menter
The above being one Captain two Lieutenants and Seventy nine men
where Mustered and approved off for Capt Isaac Ter Bush's Company
in the County of Dutchess
Geo'e: Brewerton jun'r Coll.
While the militia of Dutchess were called on to render services dur-
ing the Colonial Period, the county was not the scene of active military
operations. During the French and English war (1744 to 1748) the
colonists of these respective nations were involved in these hostilities.
A letter from Col. Beekman to Colonial Governor George Clinton was
laid before the Council May SO, 1746, relative to the raising of men
in Dutchess. The Governor was advised by that body to engage two
hundred men from this county and to recommend the Assembly to pro-
vide ammunition pay and subsistence for them. Nothing more than a
petty warfare, however, followed the arrangements for the reduction
of Canada. The war was terminated by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle
in 1748, and the disbandment of the provincial forces followed in Sep-
tember of that year.
But peace was of short continuance, a final struggle between France
and England for colonial supremacy in America was inevitable. In
this conflict, begun in 1755, and known as the French and Indian war.
COLONIAL MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 91
the military forces of Dutchess were again called into requisition, and
continued in the service until the final overthrow of the power of
France in Canada in 1760.
The forts at Oswego were surrendered to a French force under Gen.
Montcahn, August 14, 1756, and September 6th of the same year,
Gov. Hardy directed the Colonels of the militia of Dutchess and Ulster
counties to repair immediately with their regiments to Albany, and
thence to co-operate with Lord Loudon at Lake George. This cam-
paign served as a training school for many who were destined to take
a prominent part in the struggle then impending for colonial inde-
pendence.
The so-called "Anti-Rent War," of 1766 which distressed the in-
habitants of Dutchess and other counties in the Hudson Valley, and
necessitated the presence of the British troops ^28th Regiment) at
Poughkeepsie and Pawling in July of that year, may be appropriately
introduced in this chapter.
The source of this insurrection was the granting of large tracts of
land at the beginning of the century to favored persons, so that actual
settlers could not become owners but only tenants. Popular discon-
tent was emphasized in the armed refusal of settlers to pay the rents
exacted.
William Pendergast, who hved about a mile south of the village of
Pawling, on the farm now occupied by William H. Arnold, was the
leader of the insurgents in this county. The assemblying of his fol-
lowers on Quaker HiU was so formidable that the grenadiers at Pough-
keepsie waited for reinforcements of two hundred troopers and two
field pieces from New York before proceeding against him. After a
skirmish Prendergast surrendered, and with several others, was brought
a prisoner to Poughkeepsie to be tried for high treason. So great
was local excitement that to forestall an attempt to rescue, he was
speedily removed to New York. Two companies of the regiment re-
mained in Poughkeepsie "to guard the prison and prevent further
commotions until the prisoners are tried."
Prendergast was returned to Poughkeepsie for trial which occurred
the first fortnight in August. Although ably assisted in his defense
by his wife (nee Mehitabel Wing) treason was proved, and the prisoner
was convicted and sentenced to be hanged in six weeks. Then the ef-
forts of his valiant wife became more determined. She obtained an
92 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
audience with Gov. Moore, and returned about the first of September
with a reprieve. Her arrival was timely, for a company of fifty
mounted men had ridden across the county to rescue her husband from
jail. She convinced them of the folly of their contemplated act, and
turned to the task of procuring a pardon from the King. In a letter
dated October 11, 1766, from Governor Moore to the Earl of Shel-
burne, the pardon of Prendergast is recommended, and George HI
granted it in December of the same year.
Prendergast finally acquired title to his farm, as is shown by a deed
now in possession of Thomas J. Arnold, bearing date of 1771, by which
the land was conveyed to him by the heirs of Frederick Philipse. He
later sold this property to Humphrey Slocum and removed to the
western part of the State. His son James settled, with other Prender-
gasts, near Chautauqua Lake, and became the founder of Jamestown,
where his family, now extinct there, presented a library to the city.
DANIEL VAX DE BOGART.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 93
CHAPTER IX.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
THE War of American Independence was an event of vast imo-
ment, affecting the destines of all nations. The question de-
cided by the conflict was this: Whether the English colonies
in America, becoming sovereign, should govern themselves or be ruled
as dependencies of a European Monarchy. The decisTon was rendered
in favor of separation and independence.
The immediate cause of the Revolution was the passage by Parlia-
ment of a number of acts destructive of colonial liberty. England de-
manded that the people of the Colonies should be taxed to defray, in
part at least, the expenses of the French and Indian War, which had
been concluded by the signing of the Treaty of Paris February 16,
1763. To this end a tariff was imposed on teas imported by the Col-
onists. This was followed in March of 1765 by the odious Stamp Act,
which required, after the first day of November of the same year, that
every note, bond, deed, mortgage, lease, license and legal document of
whatever sort used in the colonies, be executed on paper bearing an
English stamp. This paper, furnished by the British government,
cost from three pence to six pounds according to the nature of the doc-
ument. Every colonial pamphlet, almanac and newspaper was required
to be printed on paper of the same sort for which the value of the
stamps ranged from a half-penny to four pence. The news of this
act was received in America with indignation, and the day it went into
effect ten boxes of the stamped paper were seized by the people of New
York and openly destroyed. The act was repealed March 18, 1766,
and in June 1767 an act was passed imposing a duty on glass, paper,
painters colors and teas, imported into the colonies. Various other acts
of Parliament affecting more particularly the people of Massachus-
setts, aggravated the antagonism toward the Mother country, and in
the Colonial Congress assembled at Philadelphia September 1774, it
was unanimously agreed to sustain Massachusetts in her conflict with
94 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
a wicked ministry. The people of New York, however, were eminently
conservative and hopeful of a peaceful solution of the pending con-
troversy, though not less earnest in their convictions. That the in-
habitants of Dutchess inclined toward a peaceful adjustment of colonial
grievances is shown by the following extracts from resolutions adopted
at a meeting, held in Poughkeepsie August 10th, 1774: "That letters
of instruction be directed to the Members of the General Assembly for
the County of Dutchess, desiring that at the next meeting of the Gen-
eral Assembly for the Province of New York, they will lay before that
honourable House the dangerous consequences flowing from several
late Acts of the British Parliament imposing duties and taxes on the
British Colonies in America, for the sole purpose of raising a revenue,
and that they use their influence in the said House, and with the several
branches of the Legislature, to lay before his Majesty an humble
Petition and Remonstrance, setting forth the state of our several griev-
ances, and praying his Royal interposition for a repeal of the said
Acts."
"That they ought, and are willing to bear and pay such part and
proportion of the national expenses as their circumstances will admit
of."
"That like sentiments, adopted by the Legislature of other Colonies,
will have a tendency to conciliate the affections of the Mother country
and the colonies, upon which their mutual happiness, we conceive,
principally depends."
In March 1775, the "Committee of Sixty," composed of the inhabi-
tants of the city and county of New York invited a meeting 'of dele-
gates from the counties of the Province, to serve in Provincial Conven-
tion to be held in New York City, April 20, 1775, for the purpose of
choosing delegates to represent the colony in the Continental Congress.
Dutchess County was represented in its deliberations by Egbert
Benson, Morris Graham and Robert R. Livingston. The following
delegates were appointed to represent the Province of New York in
the Congress at Philadelphia May 10th, 1775 : John Alsop, Simon Boe-
rum, George Chnton, James Duane, William Floyd, John Jay, Francis
Lewis, Philip Livingston, Robert R. Livingston, Col. Lewis Morris,
Col. Philip Schuyler, and Henry Wisner .
The Convention adjourned April 22nd, and the day following New
York learned of the battle of Lexington. The people of this province
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 95
were then thoroughly aroused. The "Committee of Sixty" was in-
creased to a "Committee of One Hundred," and April 29, 1775, "the
freeman, freeholders and inhabitants of the city and county of New
York," met and formulated "Articles of Association" sometimes called
the "Revolutionary Pledge." A call was issued for a new Provincial
Convention or Congress and in volume I of the Calendar of Revolution-
ary Papers in the Secretary of State's Office appears the following,
relative to Dutchess County :
"At a county meeting in consequence of notifications for that pur-
pose on the 16th of May, Dirck BrinckerhofF, Anthony Hoffman, Zep-
haniah Piatt, Richard Montgomery, Ephraim Paine, Gilbert Living-
ston and Jonathan Landon Esqurs., and Messrs. Gysbert Schenck,
Melancthon Smith and Nathaniel Sackett were by a majority of voices
Elected Deputies for the term of Six months to represent the county
of Dutchess in the Provincial convention to be held at the city of New
York on the 22nd instant."
One of the first acts of the Provincial Congress, to which the above
delegates were elected, was the endorsement of the "Articles of Asso-
ciation" and copies of the documents were placed in the hands of com-
mittees to circulate through the counties for signatures. The pri-
mary purpose of this "Pledge" was to bring the people up to the point
of associated effort, and had no direct reference to an appeal to arms
and separation from the English government. The "Pledge" itself
reads :
"Persuaded that the salvation of the rights and liberties of America
depend, under God, on the firm union of its inhabitants in a vigorous
prosecution of the measures necessary for its safety, and convinced of
the necessity of preventing anarchy and confusion which attend a dis-
solution of the powers of government. We, the Freeman, Freeholders,
and Inhabitants of Dutchess, being greatly alarmed at the avowed de-
sign of the Ministry to raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the
bloody scene 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 whatsoever measures may be recommended by
the Continental Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Con-
vention, for the purpose of preserving our constitution and of opposing
the several arbitrary acts of the British Parliament, until a reconcilia-
96
UNTY OF DUTCHESS.
tion beween 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 pur-
poses aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order and the
safety of individuals and property."
In Dutchess County there were 1820 signers, and 964 persons who
refused to sign. Some qualified their signatures by certain restric-
tions. Lists were recorded of those who signed and of those who re-
fused to sign, and are preserved in the American Archives. They show
a radical difference in the views even of members of the same family,
and in some of the Precincts, almost an equal division in numbers. For
convenient reference the lists of signers and non-signers are now intro-
duced, arranged alphabetically:
AMENIA PRECINCT.
The signers to the "Articles of Association," June and July, 177S.
Adams, Elisha
Adams, Abraham
Adams, Williams
Adams, Abraham, Jr.
Adams, Jonas
Adams, Joseph
AUen, James
Allerton, Jonathan
Alsworth, William
Ailey, Thomas
Armstrong, Solomon
Atherton, Corns
Atwater, Levi
Atwater, John
Backus, Joseph
Barnet, John, Jr.
Barnet, James
Barker, James
Barker, William
Barnes, Henry
Barnes, Jonah
Barry, John
Barry, Henry
Barlow, Nathan
BaAow, Moses
Bartow, John
Beadle, James
Beard, Elibu, Jr.
Bennet, John
Benedict, Samuel
Benedict, John
Besse, Ellas
Besse, Ephraim
Betts, James
Blaksly, Daniel
Blust, William
Bosse, Ebenezer
Boyd, John
Brace, Jared
Brack, Jonathan
Bramball, Edmund
Brown, Benjamin
Brown, David,
Brown, Moses
Brown, Zedekiah
Brunson, John
Bruster, David
Brunson, John, Jr.
Brush, Lemuel
Brush, Richard
Brush, William
Bryan, Ezra
Buck, Israel
Buck, Zadock
Buel, Grover, Jr.
Bull, Grover
Burton, Isaac, Jr.
Burton, Isaac
Burton, Eli
Burton, Judah
Carter, Ebenezer
Cariow, Elisha
Castle, Daniel
Castle, Gideon
Chamberlain, William
Chamberlain, John
Chamberlain, Colbe
Chapman, James
Charts, Ledyard J.
Child, Increase
Cleaveland Josiah
Cleaveland, Ezra
Cline, John
Cook, Simeon
Cook, Simeon, Jr.
Cook, Jacob
TU^i^ ^LLCnyyi^eA^ fkh^d.i%
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
97
Cook, Nathaniel
Cole, Barnabas
Collin, David
Collins, John
Connor, John
Cornwell, Thomas
Cornwell, William
Cornwell, Samuel
Coy, John
Crofoot, Benjamin
Crosby, Enoch
Crippin, Jabez
Crippen, Benjamin
Curry, John
Daily, Elijah
Davis, Squire
Davison, Daniel
Dakin, Caleb
Darrow, Isaac
DeLavergne, Joseph
DeLavergne, Lewis
DeLametter, John
DeLamater, Isaac
Delamater, Martin
Delane, Benjamin
Delano, Stephen
Denton, John
Denton, Benjamin, Jr.
Denton, Joel
Denny, John, Jr.
Dickson, Gabriel
Dickson, James
Dickinson, Versal
Dodge, Samuel
Doty, Joseph
Doty, Reuben
Doty, David
Doty, Reuben
Douglass, John
Drake, John
Dunham, Nehemiah
Dunham, Samuel
Dunham, Seth
Elliot, Jacob
Elow.th, James, Jr.
Farr, Archibald
Farr, John
Finch, William
Fish, Jonathan
Ford, William
Ford, John
Ford, James
Ford, Ephraim
Fort, Asa
Foster, Nathaniel
Fouler, Benjamin
Fowler, Joseph
Freeman, John
Freeman, Robert
Freehart, Robert
Freeman, Elijah
French, Abraham
Ganong, Thomas
Gamsey, Daniel
Gates, Nathan
Gates, Gerardus
Gates, Nathaniel
Gillet, Abner
Gillet, David
Gillet, Gardner
Gillet, Moses
Gillet, Joseph
GQlet, Barnabas
Gilson, Eleazer
Gray, Samuel
Gray, Jeduthau
Grey, Joseph
Green, Timothy
Handley, Sylvester
Hammond, Jason
Hall, William
Harris, Moses, Jr.
Harvey, Obed
Harvey, Obed, Jr.
Harvey, Daniel
Hebbard, James
Hebbard, Abel
Hebard, Robert
Hellsy, Simson
Herrick, Rufus
Herrick, Samuel
Herrick, Nathan
Herrick, Benjamin
Herrick, Stephen
Herrick, Stephen, Jr.
Hinns, Ebenezer
Hinns, Elijah
Holmes, Elijah
Holmes, Benjamin
Holmes, Ichabod
Holmes, Abner
Holmes, John
Holmes, Samuel
Hollifer, Elisha
Hollister, Benjamin
Hopkins, Noah
Hopkins, Roswell
Howard, John
Himt, William
Hunter, Jonathan
Hewson, Alexander
Jarvls, Samuel
Johnson, Robert
Johnson, Samuel
Johnson, Ezekiel
Johnson, Paul
Johns, Benjamin
Jones, John
Jones, Eben
Judson, Samuel
Kelly, Seth
Ketcham, Joel
King, Samuel, Jr.
King, William
King, Samuel
Kinne, Jesse
Klyn, Peter
Knapp, Zadoc
Knapp, William
Lamb, Isaac
98
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Lamb, Thiel
LaTiabe, Richard
Larrabe, Ebenezer
Latimore, Elisha
Latimer, Ebenezer
Lathrop, Walter
Lawrence, Thomas
Levitli Lot
Lloyd, John
Lockwood, Theoph
Losd, Joshua
McCoIlough, William
McNeil, John
Marks, Isaac
Marsh, Josiah
Marsh, Silas
Mathews, Obadiah
May, Daniel
Mayhew, Levi
Maxam, Benjamin
Mead, Job
Mead, King
Mead, John
Mead, Isaiah
Mead, John
Mead, James
Mears, John
Merchant, John
Minns, Stephen
Mitchell, William
Morse, Peter
Morey, Thomas
Mordack, John
Morton, Eleazer
Mott, Abiah
Monlton, William
Mygatt, Thomas
Nye, Sylvannus
Osborne, John
Osbum, Isaac
Orton, Levi
Paine, Ichabod
Paine, Barnabas, Jr.
Paine, Ichabod, Jr.
Paine, Abraham
Paine, Elihu
Paine, Brinton
Paine, Barnabas
Payne, David
Palmer, James
Palmer, Samuel
Palmer, Nathan
Parks, Isaac
Park, Ebenezer
Patrick, Robert
Penoyer, Joseph
Penoyer, Amos
Perlee, Edward
Pike, Jonathan
Pinney, Nathaniel
Porter, Elijah
Power, Joest
Power, Jacob
Purdy, Moumouth
Putney, Thorn
Randle, David
Reed, Ezra
Reed, Elijah
Reed, James
Reed, C^roham
Reed, Simeon
Reed, EliaMm, Jr.
Reynolds, Stephen
Reynolds, William
Reynolds, Jacob
Roe, Silas
Roe, Elijah
Rogers, Jehea
Rogers, Ichabod, Jr.
Row, Nicholas
Rowe, James B.
Rudd, Zebulon
Rudd, Barzillai
Rundel, Jared
Rundel, David
Sackett, Ezekiel
Sackett, Jolui
Sackett, John, Jr.
Sage, Benjamin
Sage, Daniel •
Seymour, John
Shabalier, Abner
Shavilier, Elias
Shavelean, Solomon
Sherwood, Parrock
Sherwood, Asahel
Shepherd, Samuel, Jr.
Shepherd, Daniel
Shepherd, Jonathan
Sheppherd, Israel
Shirtliff, Lemuel
Slason, Bower
Slavebean, Peter
Slocum, Abraham
Smith, Joseph
Smith, Elijah
Smith, Jesse, Jr.
Smith, Thomas
Smith, Elijah
Smith, Piatt
Smith, James, Jr.
Sniter, Samuel
Southworth, Samuel
Somburgh, George
Sornburgh, Frederick
Spalding, Elnathan
Spuer, Nathan
Spuer, Jacob
Stevens, Mathew
Stephens, Andrew
Stephens, Elkanah
St. Johns, Ezra
Swift, Nathaniel
Swift, Samuel
Scott, John
Talcut, Joshua
Thayer, John
Thompson, Samuel
Thompson, Sam'l
Thomas, Thomas
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
99
Thomas, Beriah
Thurston, Ezra
Thurston, John
Thurston, Joel
Tilson, Timothy
Torner, John
Trusde!, David
Trowbridge, Seelye
Tubbs, Adin
Tyler, Shulel
Vendeusen, Mathew
Vaun, Benjamin
Wanning, Thed
Ways, Ebenezer
Waters, Samuel
Waters, David
Washburn, Joel
Warren, Stephen
Webster, Daniel
Webb, Josiah
West, Samuel
Welch, Thomas
Wilk, Job
Willeman, Weight
Wilson, Reuben
Wilson, Robert
Wilson, Justus
Wiltsie, Laurence
Wilsey, William
Winegar, Conrad
Winegar, Garrett
Winegar, Henry
Winegar, Asahel
Willett, GUbert
Wood, BUjah
Wood, Robert
Wheeler, Seth
Wheeler, Solomon
Wheeler Noah
Wyants, William, Jr.
Young, William
AMENIA PRECINCT.
A list of the persons who refused to sign.
Barlow, Nathan
Benson, Joseph
Benson, John
Briggs, Ellis
Bump, Edward
Dorman, Jacob
Dunham, John
Dunham, Samuel, Sr.
Finch, Albert
Gates, John
Gates, Stephen
Green, Joseph
Hamilton, Richard
Heart, Samuel
Mays, Elisha
Marchant, Abell
Reed, Silas
Roberts, William
Row, Garret
Sackett, Richard
Seeton, Rufus
Swift, Judah
Swift, Seth
Washburn, Daniel
Williams, Joseph
Winegar, Samuel
Winegar, Henry
WWtcomb, Simon
Woodworth, Dier
RoswELi, Hopkins, Chairman.
Silas Marsh,
Samuel King, Assistants.
BEEKMAN PRECINCT.
The signers to the "Articles of Association," July, 1775.
Abbet, David Amey, Nuklus Barber, William
Acker, Johannes v' Andrews, John Beam, John
Adriance, Albert Arnold, John Beckwith, Matthew
Alger, William B. Gently, William, Jr.
Alger, Jonathan Baker, Thomas Bently, William
Alley, EUas Bailey, Henry Bently, Taber
100
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Bently, John
Bentiy, Tillinghest
Birdsell, Henry
Birdsell, Benjamin
Bockus, Addom
Bouler, Joseph
Brewer, William
Brown, Zephaniah
Brown, David
Brill, David
Bull, Peter
Bush, Judiath J.
Bullock, Thomas
Burcfa, Joshua
Calton, Isaac
Carman, Andrew
Carman, Joseph
Carman, Joshua
Carman, Joshua, Jr.
Cartwright, Peter
Cary, Ebenezer
Cary, Nathaniel
Carr, Joseph
Carr, Joseph
Champlin, Joshua
Champlin, Elisha
Champlin, William
Champlies, Joshua, Jr.
Clark, William
Clark, Thomas
Clements, Tobias
Cash, David
Cash, Sylvanus
Cockrane, Andrew
Conger, John
Coon, Mathew
Cooper, Obadiah, Jr.
Compter, John
Cornell, Henry
Cornell, Martin
Cornell, Thomas
Comwell, Samuel
Crandel, Samuel
Crandell, Amos
Greedy, James M.
Cronkkill, George
Dakin, Woos
Delong, Johannes
Denne, Joseph
Denne, Abraham
Dennis, Jonathan
Dennis, Isaac
Doxie, Thomas
Eagles, John
Eastwood, James
Edget, Joel
Eldredge, Casy, Jr.
Edwards, Salmay
Esmond, Jacob
Everett, Clear
Ewery, Samuel
Fish, Daniel
Fish, John
Fish, Pardon
Flagler, Zachariah
Force, Timothy
Force, Solomon
Force, Benjamin
Forgason, Benjamin
Forgason, Elijah
Forgason, Elijah, Jr.
Forgoson, Stephen
Forguson, John
/Gardner, Samuel
' Green, Job
Hall, Gideon
HaU, WiUiam
Hall, Benjamin
Halloway, Joseph
Harris, Peter
Harris, Peter
Harris, Myndert
Heayelton, Charles
Hegeman, John
Hicks, John
Hm, John
Hopins, John
Howard, Edward
Hubbard, Ezekiel
Huling, Walton
HuUng, John
Humphrey, William
Humphrey, Wm., Jr.
Humfrey, James
Hutchins, Jacob, Jr.
Hyatt, Abraham
IngersoU, Josiah
Jenkens, Judiah
Jenkins, John
Jenkins, Jonathan
Jenkins, Jonathan, Jr„
Johnson, Stephen
KeUey, WiUiam
Kelley, John
Kimmee, Digmus
Koons, Nicholas
Lamb, John
Lain, Jacob
Lawless, Joseph, Jr.
Lain, Johannes
Lawrence, Daniel
Leavens, Peter
Lester, Nehemiah
Lewis, Samuel
Ley, Thomas
Losse, Francis
Losse, George
Losse, John
Lossing, Johannes
McClus, Peter
McDowell, William
McLees, James
McNeal, William
Markes, Aholyab
Maynard, Cornelius
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
101
Mackrill, Richard
Melony, John
Miller, Jacob
M'CoUom, James
Mill, Garret
Moon, John
Mowry, Joshua
Mowery, Stephen
Mosher, Abraham
Nethaway, Thomas
Newton, Charles
Noxon, Benjamin
Noxon, Peter
Oakley, Jesse
Oats, John
Parker, Abel
Parkes, "Whiten
Parks, Jonathan
Pamer, David
Pearsall, Henry
Piatt, Charles
Pleas, Morris
Potter, Nicholas
Randall, Amos
Reinsoner, John
Reynolds, Joseph
Reynolds, GrifBn
Reynolds, Arnold
Rogers, Ezekiel
Rogers, Hezekiah
Ross, Zebnlon
Rogers, Nathaniel
Rouse, Jacob
Rush, Benjamin J.
Adams, Edward
Akerbry, John
Atherton, Jonathan
Ball, John
Rush, Isaac J.
Shear, Henry
Shear, Peter
Shear, Peter, Jr.
Simpson, Abel
Smith, Henry
Smith, Ezekiel
Smith, Nathaniel
Smith, William
Smith, Maurice
Smith, John
Smith, Seth
Shear, Lewis
Shear, WiUiam
Shearman, Job
Sol, Ebenezer
Sol, Nathaniel
Spargue, Seth
Spencer, Benjamin
Spencer, Jabez
Spencer, Thomas
Spencer, William
Stevenson, Nathaniel
Stafford, Rowland
Storm Peter
Storm, David
Storm, David, Jr.
Sweet, Benoni
Sweet, John
Sweet, Samuel
Sweet, David
Sweet, Theophilus
Sweet, John, Jr.
Sweet, Lodrick
Sweet, George
Sweet, Nathaniel
Tabor, William
Tanner, Job
Tanner, James
Taylor, Joseph
Thorn, Gershom
Tomson, Samuel
Totten, GUbert
Townsend, Stephen
Townsend, Caleb
Tredwell, Edward
Tripp, Nial
Uhl, Daniel
Vail, Isaac
Vail, Israel
Van Wyck, Cornelius
Vincent, Philip
Vinton, John
Vosburgh, James
Wait, Christopher
Weaver, John
Weaver, Edward
West, F.
West, Jonathan
Wells, James
Whikmon, Henry
Whitman, Samuel
Wicks, Nathaniel
Wiltse, James
WUtse, France
Wightman, John
Wooley, John
Yerrington, Isaac
Youmans, Elial
Young, Samuel
BEEKMAN PRECINCT.
A list of the persons who refused to sign.
Beadle, Daniel Brundage, Thomas
Booker, William
Bowman, Ichabod
Brill, Jacob
Brown, John
BuU, Josiah, Jr.
Burtice, James
Burtis, Garret
Burnit, John
102
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Buyce, Peter, Lieut.
Buyce, Peter, Jr.
Buyce, Abraham
Byce, Abraham, Jr.
Chatterton, Peter
Cole, Myndert
Collins, Hey, Lieut.
Cornell, Richard
Cornell, Richardus
Crandle, Samuel
Crandle, Samuel, Jr.
Davis, Charles
Dayton, Comberry
Dearstine, John
Dean, Stephen
Deeyo, Peter
Delong, Francis
Delong, Arey.
Dope, Peter
Easterly, Martine
Emory, Rowland
Emory, Rowland
Emigh, Yerry, Captain
Emigh, Lawrence
Emigh Philip
Emigh, Nicholas (ison of
of Philip)
Emigh, Hendrick
Emigh, Peter
Ferris, Daniel
Ferguson, Jacob
Flagler, Philip
Fish, Preserved,
Fullmore, Jasper
Gaslin. James
Gidley, Henry
Giles, William
Gifford, William, Jr.
Gifford, WilDam
Golder, John
•
Harris, William
Harris, Joseph, Capt.
Hasver, Jacob
Haxstum, Jeremiah
Hegeman, Cornelius
Heliker, Richard
Hoag, Nathan
Hogoboom, Peter
Horton, Ephraim
Hunt, Steph., Ensign
Hutchings, Thomas
Hyatt, Nathan
Johnson, Peter
Kedney, Peter
Kenyon, Benjamin
Ketcham, Abijah
Klyn, Hendrick
Lake, Crapo
Langdon, Thomas
Lasey, Aaron
Levins, Peter St.
Leuderbeck, Jeremiah
Lockwood, Stephen
Lossing, Yerry
Losee, Laurence
Losee, Joseph
McDonald, John
Miller, Philip
Miller, Johannes
Moon, Robert
Morey, Roger
Mosher, Nicholas
Moyer, Christopher
Noxon, James
Noxon, Barthol, Jr,
Overhaiser, Causper
Overaker, Martine
Paley, Peter
Palmer, Elias
Pettet, James
Pine, Amos
Richmond, Sylvester
Rossell, Peter
Shear, Johannes
Shearman, Michal
Shapher, Frederick
Simson, Peter
Skidmore, Andrew
Sleeves, William
Smith, Samuel
Smith, John
Stover, "Valentine
Striker, James
Stringham, Samuel
Thomas, Charles
Thorn, Gilbert
Thorn, Jesse
Thorn, Robert
Thorn, Jonathan
Tripp, Richard
Tripp, Richard, Jr.
Tripp, Israel
Tripp, Smighting
Titus, James
Titus, Israel
Valentine, Mathias
Valey, Byndert
Veal, Isaac
Veily, Baultis
Veily, Barnt, Ensign
Vincent, Charles
Vincent, Richard
Vincent, Michael, Capt.
Waterman, Oliver
Way, Daniel
Whipple, Samuel
Wilkenson, John
Woolf, Michel
Woolf, William
Wood, Bartholomew
Worden, Ebenezer
DiRCE G. BEiis'CKEttHorp, Chairman.
THE DUTCH CHURCH, FISHKILL VILLAGE.
Erected in 1731. Provincial Convention met liere in
1776. Militarj' Prison during the Revolution.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
103
NORTHEAST PRECINCT.
The signers
Atwater, Stephen
Atwater, Benjamin
Atwater, James
Atwood, Nathan
Ashley, Alden
Avery, Edward
Avery, John
Baker, Daniel
Bartel, John
Beach, Ebenezer
Bishop, Ebenezer
Bishop, Asa
Bostwick, John
Brown, John
Brownell, Jeremiah
Bulkley, David
Bullock, Asa
Bull, John
Burnett, John
Buttolph, John
Calkin, Elijah
Calkin, David
Calkin, Moses
Calkin, Seth
Carter, Jared
Carpenter, John
Campbell, Christian
Casey, John
Case, Seth, Jr.
Case, Ichabod
Case, Seth
Clapp, Gilbert
Close, Jonathan
Coan, Ebenezer
Colpland, John
Colvin, John
Colver, Elisha
Conger, Samuel
Conger, Benjamin
Cornall, Jesse
Covel, James
to the "Articles of Association," July, 1776.
Flnke, Wilhelm
Foster, Joseph
Foster, Vinant
Fuller, Cornelius
Fulton, John
Covey, Benjamin
Crandell, Samuel
Crandle, John
Crandell, Joseph
Crandell, John
Crandell, Samuel, Jr.
Crandell, Samuel
Crandel, Benjamin
Crary, Joseph
Craw, Ebenezer, Jr.
Crosby, Thomas
Crosby, ThomaiSi Sr.
Crosby, Benjamin
Cuthbert, Benjamin
Dakin, Simon
Dakin, Joshua
Darling, Aaron
Delamater, Cornelius
Delis, Claudius
Denton, Samuel
Denton, Richard
Dolph, Jonathan
Dolph, Moses
Dusenberry, Gabriel
Edsed, Edward
Edget, Stephen
Edget, George, Jr.
Egelston, Samuel R.
Eggelston, Benjamin
Egelston, Samuel
Enery, Robert
Estes, Richard
Far, John
Ferris, Jesse
Ferguson, Orra
Field, Michaelmas
Fish, Moses
Fish, Seth
Fish, David
Finch, Caleb
Gifford, Jeremiah
Gifford, Simeon
Gray, Richard
Graham, Morris
Graham, Augustine
Graham, Charles
Grenell, Jonathan
Hartwell, Abraham
Hartwell, Ebenezer
Harvey, David
Hamblin, Joshua
Hamblin, Joshua, Jr.
Hagen, William
Hayes, John
Hawley, Luther
Hawley, Josiah
Hamblin, David
Head, George
Head, John
Hedding, James
Hedding, Marcus
Hibbard, John
Hill, Thomas
Hitt, James
Hoff, John
Holmes, Sheubel
Holmes, John
Hommel, Petrus
Horton, Peleg
Housdell, John
How, Libbens
How, Charles
Husted, John
Jackson, Abner
Jackson, Joseph
104
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Jofanston, Archabel
Jones, EphTaim, Jr.
Ketchum, Hezekiah
Ketchuin, Joseph
Ketchum, Joseph, Jr.
King, Ebenezer
Knapp, Thomas
Knickerbacker, Benj.
Knickerbacker, John
Knickerbacker, Benj., Jr.
Knickerbacker, James
Knickerbacker, Lawrence
Knickerbacker, Peter
Knickerbacker, Peter, Jr.
Lamb, Isaac
Lake, Elijah
Latton, John
Lawrence, David
Lawrence, Jonathan
Lawrence, Uriah
Lesh, Jacob
Lennon, John
Leggat, Joseph
Lewis, Jonathan
Link, John
Love, David
Lothrop, Nathaniel
Lot, Philip
Louinbery, Nathan
Louisber}'', Epanetus
May, John
Mansfield, "William
Mapes, Jonathan
Mead, Titus
Mead, Jonathan
Mead, Nathaniel
Mead, Elisha
Mead, Jahiel
Merritt, Ebenezer
Merritt, Thomas
Merritt, Stephen
Melham, John
Miller, Samuel
Morehouse, George
Mott, Samuel
Myer, Simeon J.
More, Samuel
McDaniel, Cornelius
McMuUin, Alexander
Neely, Samuel
Nehr, Carel
Newcomb, James
Norton, Caleb
Norton, Winthrop
Orr, David
Orr, John
Orr, Hugh
Orr, Matthew
Orr, Robert
Orr, William
Ostrim, Barnard
Owenell, Asahel
Palmer, Joseph, Jr.
Palmer, Daniel
Palmetor, John
Parks, Daniel
Parks, William
Peck, Joseph
Perry, Seth
Perry, Benjamin
Perry, Josiah
Perry, William H. C.
Piatt, Eliphalep
Porter, John
Quick, Andrew
Rawlee, Levi
Ralston, Janus
Randall, Joseph
Rea, William
Rea, Hugh
Reed, Lemuel
Reynolds, Joseph, Jr.
Reynolds, Caleb
Rice, Phineas, Jr.
Rice, Phineas
RUe, Ezekiel
Robins, David
Robins, William
Robins, John
Robinson, Wheaton
Robertson, George
Rouse, John
Rouse, Casper
Rogers, Isaac
Rogers, Joseph
Row, Samuel
Row, Samuel L.
Row, Bastain
Row, John
Row, Michael, Jr.
Salisbury, Gideon
Sarlsbuiy, Joseph
Schermerhorn, John
Schneyder, George
Seeton, Reuel
Seeton, Willard
Seton, John
Sherburne, Henry
Shaw, Jeremiah
Sharer, John
Sliter, Godwin
Smith, Samuel
Smith, Isaac
Smith, Peter
Smith, Peter, Jr.
Smith, William
Smith, Philip
Smith, William, Jr.
Smith, Jonathan
Simmonsi J.
Simmons, Smith
Sinunons, Ensley
Snider, Adam
Soaper, Timothy
Soule, Daniel
Soule, Benjamin
Southard, Benjamin
Spencer, Philip
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
105
St. John, David
Stickle, Andrus
Stuart, John
Stalker, Levi
Stalker, Joseph
Stalker, Comfort
Stickles, Frederick
Stephens, James
Stewart, William
Stuart, James
Stevens, Adam
Ter Bush, Benj'n
Thompson, Israel
Tovrasend, Thomas
Trowbridge, Absalom
Truesdall, Charles
Truesdel, Stephen
Vandusen, Peter
Vanery, Anthoe
Van Luven, Peter
Viller, Cornelius
Wadleigh, Theophilus
Wells, Cornelius
Weaver, Jacob
Winans, Ira
WUtse, Motsie
Wilkes, John
Wiltsie, John
Winchell, James
Winchell, Lemuel
WincheU, James, Jr.
Wilcox, Abner
WUcox, Josiah
Williams, John
Williams, Lemuel
Wood, Isaac
Woodward, Caleb
Wager, James
WeUdien, Benoni
Wilson, James
Wilson, James, Jr.
Wilson, John
WUson, Robert
Wilson, Daniel
Winans, Isaac
Winans, William
Young, Isaac
Young, Ebenezer
Young, James
NORTHEAST PRECINCT.
A list of the persons who refused to sign.
Allen, Isaac
Allen, Peter
Austin, Oliver
Aveiy, Amos
Amos, Nemiah
Backer, John
Bassoin, Peter
Bathridk, Jonathan
Bathrick, WiUiam
Bearry, John
Bill, Casper
Bous, John
Bous, Peter
Brown, Asa
Brimstool, Jacob
Brjan, James
Buttolph, Daniel
Clark, Cornelius
Clum, Philip
Clum, William
Colbox, Andrew
CoUson, Andrew
Colony, Michael
Couse, Hontise
Couse, Jacob
Couse, Peter
CrandeU, Laban
Ciilver, Elisha
Destin, Frederick
Davis, Elisha
Davis, William
Deuell, Jonathan
Doucher, Jacob
Drum, Jacob
Drum, John, Jr.
Drum, John
Eastis, Philip
Eavery, Richard
Embury, Robert
Emet, Valentine
Feeler, Leenes
Fendik, Dirck
Ferguson, Elijah
Ferguson, Jeremiah
Fillips, John
Frothingham, George
Gray, Thomas
Green, William
GifFord, Obadiah
Gri£Sn, Jonathan
Hapeman, John
H^rtuf, John
Hawley, John
Herrick, John G.
Holsop, Gerret
Honk, Andrus
Hoffman, Hendrick
Hom, Frederick
Honk, John
Houghtaling, John
Houghtaling, Isaac
Houghtaling, Jacob
Hover, Jacob
106
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Keefer, Hendrick
Kiefer, Yerre
Kilmer, Simeon, St.
Knapp, Peter
Kresser, Marts
Krister, John
Lindsey, Darby-
Link, John
Loucks, Jacob
Loiike, Jacob
Mead, Daniel
Melious, Jacob, Jr.
Melious, William
Melham, Coonrod
Merrifield, WUliam
Miner, George
Mills, WiUiam
Mott, Joseph
Mortain, Greorge
Miltmore, Jacob
McAlpine, John
McAlpine, Daniel
McAlpine, Walter
McConnely, Daniel
Mcintosh, Lockland
Mcintosh, Alexander
Mcintosh, William
McQueen,
Niles, Nathaniel
North, Daniel
North, Robert
Ostrander, Abraham
Philips, Zachariah
Pitcher, Adam
Pitcher, Peter
Pitcher, John
Pulver, Andrus
Pulver, John
Pulver, Wandel
Rector, WiUiam
■Row, Motice
Row, Michel, Sr.
Row, Hendrick
Row, John P.
Row, John
Row, Nicholas
Row, Jacob
Row, Hendrick Yost
Scouten, Abraham
Shaw, Aaron
Shauer, Honeyfelt
Sheridan, John
Shaver, Jacob
Silvemail, Nicholas
Simmons, Michael
Smith, John
Smith, Tice
Smith, Michel
Smith, Nicholas
Smith, Hontice
Smith, Hontice, Jr.
Smith, Leonard
Snyder, Philip
Stickle, John
Stickle, Frederick
Teal, Christopher
Tiets, Henry
Tiets, Zachariah
Vanbramer, Jacob
Van Kamp, John
Vanleuvan, Benjamin
Vanleuven, Isaac
Weaver, John
Weaver, Harvey
Weaver, Peter
Weaver,) Wanant
White, John
Wilbur, Benjamin
Wilsey, Tice
WUde, John
Wildci Richard
Winter, Matthew
Younkhaus, Hendrick
Charles Gbaham,
HeKBY SHEBBmtlTE,
George Morehouse,
WiLUAM Stewart,
J. SiHUOira,
Nathaxiel Meau,
Joseph Ketchum,
Uriah Lawrence,
Peter Kniceerbacker,
JoHAirms Reiveitberoer,
Daxiel Wilson,
Hugh Orr,
> Committee.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
107
POUGHKEEPSIE PRECINCT.
The signers to the "Articles of Association," June and July, 177S.
Ackerman, Geleyn
Adams, Ephraim
Anneley, William
Ashford, Nathaniel
Bailey, John, Jr.
Baily, John, Jr.
Banlay, Abraham
Bartley, Simon
Bartly, Isaiah
Beckwith, Silvanus
Benschoten, Jacob V.
Berner, Hans
Billings, Andrew
Bliss, Henry
Boyce, Gideon
Bout, Thomas
Briener, John
Brooks, George
Brisby, James
Brisleen, James
Burnett, Matthew
Burnett, Thomas
Burnett, William
Bush, Hendrick
Bush, Martin
Bush, Christian
Burwell, Zachariah
Carmen, Caleb
Carmen, Caleb, Jr.
Chaucer, Alex.
Cooper, Ezekiah
Cooper, Ezekiel
Conner, Dorthir, Jr.
Conlding, Matthew
Conkling, John
Conklin, Nathaniel
Corey, Samuel
Cooke, Samuel
Davis, Richard
Davis, John
Denburgh, Richard, V.
Denburgh, Jacob V.
Dodge, Samuel
Dodge, Henry
Dubois, Lewis
Dubois, John
Dubois, Nathaniel
Dubois, Jeremiah
Dubois, Matthew
Dubois, Joel
Duteher, David
Elderkin, James
ElUs, Henry
Everitt, Richard
Ferden, Abraham
Ferris, Jacob
Ferris, Omar
Forman, William
Fort, Abraham
Fort, Joharmus
Freer, John
Freer, Jacobus
Freer, Jacobus, Jr.
Freer, Simon
Freer, Elias
Greatwaks, Sylvanus
Grigs, Alexander
Haire, Alexander
Hannes, Tunis
Hegeman, Henry
Hemsted, Nathaniel
Hendrickson, Stephen
Hill, John C.
Hoefman, Carel
Hoff, Henry
Hoffman, Robert
Holmes, Thomas
Horn, Peter
Howell, Lemuel
Jacockes, Thomas
Jaycock, Francis
Jaycock, Benjamin
Johnson, Jonathan
Johnson, John
Jones, William
KeUey, William
Kelley, Jones
Kidney, Johannes
Kingsland, John C.
Kip, Henry
Kip, Benoni
Kornine, Isaac Jr.
Lansing, Peter, Andes
Lawson, William D.
Lawson, William Jr.
Leroy, Simon
Leroy, Simon, Jr.
Lewis, James
Lewis, Barent
Livingston, Henry, Jr.
Livingston, James
Livingston, Henry
Lossing, Peter
Lossing, Simon W.
Lossing, Lariline, Jr.
Low, Peter
Low, Peter, Jr.
Low, Jacob
Luckey, James
Luckey, Samuel
Maxfield, John
Mott, John
Moss, Joshua
Mullin, Peter
Noa, Robert
Noble, Cornelius
108
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
North, Robert
Pells, Hendrick
Pells, Hendrick, Jr.
Pilgrit, John
Pitt, Abraham
Piatt, Zephaniah
Ploegh, Wilhelmus
Poole, Isaac
Poole, Thomas
Reed, Aaron
Reed, John
Read, £11
Read, James
Ringland, John C.
Roach, Wmiam
Roades, Jacobus
Robinson, John
Romyne, John
Rowse, Thomas
Sands, George
Saunders, John
Sawckes, William
/Schenck, John, Jr.
^chenck, Paul
Schryrer, Jacob
Seabury, John
Seabury, John, Jr.
Shanhan, George
Sharp, Mathias
Smith, Samuel
Shedeker, Richard
Storm, Ck)rus
Swartwout, Johannes
Swartwout, Bamadus
Swartwout, Minnard
Swartwout, John
Swartwout, Abraham
Symmonds, Edward
Sypher, Lodovick
Tappan, Peter
Tappen, Tennis
Tappen, John
Terry, William
Ter Bush, John
Townsend, John
Tray, Nathan
Travis, Thomas
Van Bunschten, E. V.
Van Bunschoten, J.
Van Bunschoten, E.
Van Blercome, Henry
Van Denbogart, M.
Van Denbogart, PI.
Van Den Bogart, Jac.
Van Denburgh, S.
Van Dewater, Peter
Van Keuren, M.
Van Keuren, Abraham
Van Keureij, Mat., Jr.
Van Kleeck, Myndert
Van Kleeck, Jac.
Van Kleeck, John
Van Kleeck, Law
Van Kleeck, Pieter
Van Kleeck, P. B.
Van Kleeck, L. J.
Van Kleeck, J. L.
Van Kleeck, John T.
Van Kleeck, Leonard
Van Vliet, Gerrit
Van Voorhees, S.
Van VUet, Frederick
Van Vliet, Peter
Valleau, Peter F.
Vielie, Cornelius
Van Wagenen, Garrit
Waddel, Hobert
Waterman, John
Wattles, Andrew
Warner, Richard
Westervelt, Casperos
Westervelt, C. R.
Westervelt, C. B.
Weeks, Andrew
WaterveU, Albo
Westervelt, Enyamen
Westervelt, Cornelius
WUlsie, Henry
Willsie, John
WUsey, William
Winchester, Azariah
Winens, James
Yerry, Michael
POUGHKEEPSIE PRECINCT.
A list of the persons who refused to sign.
Ame, George
Babcock, Nathaniel
Badger, Ebinezer
Baldwin, George
Baldwin, Isaac
Baldwin^ Isaac, Jr.
Barnes, Henry
Barnes, William
Beyex, Henry
Bogart, John V. D.
Boman, John
Byndirs, Myndert
Chaddirdon, Joseph
Chiirehell, Robert
Coopman, John
Crannell, B.
Crud, Axistin
De Graff, John
Douglass, James
Dubois, Jeremiah
Dubois, Peter
JOHN I. PLATT.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
109
Emons, Eli
Emons, John
Emmott, William
Ferdon, John
Ferdon, Jacob
Ferdon, Esguire
Ferdon, Zachary
Frair, Abraham
Frair, Abraham, Jr.
Frair, Simon, Jr.
Freer, Thomas
Hull, Samuel
Himt, John
Kelly, James
Kidney, Jacobus
Kidney, Myndert
Kidney, Robert
Kipp, Matthew
Laroy, Peter
Lassing, Isaac J.
Lassing, William
Lasting, James
Lewis, Felix
Lewis, Melancthon
Low, John
Low, WUliam
Meddlarj Arie
Miller, Hendrick
Miller, John
Morey, Jonathan
Noxen, B.
Noxon, Simon
Olmstead, Aaron
Palmitear, Francis
Palmitear, John
Pelts, Evert
Pelts, Francis
Pelts, Michel
Pinckney, Ezekiel
Pinckney, John
Pinkney, Thomas
Pinckney, Samuel
Polmatier, Jacob
Read, Eli
Rutsen, Michael J.
Steenburgh, Flenmiing
Thompson, Elias
Van Deburgh, John
Van Deburgh, H. J,
Van Deburgh, Peter
Van Denburgh, H.
Van Denburgh, H.,Jr,
Van Kleeck, Baltus
•Van Kleeck, Peter P.
Veal, Nehemiah
Wellding, Michael
Williamson, Tunis
Wood, James
Yelverton, Gail
RHINEBECK PRECINCT.
The signers to the "Articles of Association," June and July, 1775.
Adams, James
Backer, Zacharias
Backer, Petrus
Backer, Jonnes
Backer, Christeaun
Balist, John
Bates, Uriah
Beam, William
Beekman, Henry
Bemiger, William
Berniger, Conrad
Bemiger, Isaac, Jr.
Berniger, Jacob
Bender, John
Berrger, Herrick
Benson, Egbert
Banks, John
Benner, Frederick
Benner, Johannes
Benner, Henrich
Benner, Johannes
Benner, Jacob
Binestal, Nicholas
Binestal, Philip, Jr.
Blair, John
Bogardus, Benjamin
Bouastcal, Philip
Bovardee, Everardus
Bowan, Andrew
Brown, Peter
Bull, George
Bull, Henry
Bunscoten, S. V.
Burger, Martines
Burgess, Henry, Jr.
Campbell, Alexander
Carney, William
Chember, Joshua
Coel, Simon, Jr.
Cole, Peter
Cole, John
Cole, Isaac
Cole, Abraham
Cooper, Ananias
Cowles, John
Deninarh, Christ
Dennes, John
Demond, Cornelius
De Witt, Peter
Dillman, William
Douglass, James
Duncan, Herman
no
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Blemendorph, Jacob
Elmendorpfa, Jan
Elmendorph, Corn^
ElmendoTuh, Samuel
Ellsworth, Joseph
Ensell, Lodowick
Everett, James
Fero, Christian
Fisher, Jacob
Fitch, Christopher
Fradenburgfa, V.
Freligh, Henry, Jr.
Folant, Jacob
Fuller, Philip
Garrison, John
Gay, Godfrey
Gisselbergh, Henry
Green, Samuel
Gruber, Paul
Greves, Thomas
Haass, John
Haberlan, Casper
Haines, Samuel
Hannule, Johannes
Harrison, William
Hebart, Joseph
Hendrick, Godfrey
Hermanse, Jacoc
Hermanse, Andrias
Hermanse, Peter
Hermanse, Nicholas
Hermanse, Jacob
Hermanse, John
Hermanse, Plulip
Hermanse, Evart
Hermanse, John
Hermans, Reyer
Heermanse, Helmes
Hinneon, Elias
Hoffman, Herman
Hoffman, Zacharias
Hoffman, Zacharias, Jr.
Hoffman, Nicholas
Hoffman, Peter
Hoffman, Martine
Hogan, Patt
Huffman, John
Humphry, Thomas
Jones, Levi
Kierstead, Hans
Kipp, Isaac
Kipp, Jacob J.
Kip, Jacob
Kip, Jacob A.
Kip, Jacobus
Kip, R. J.
Kip, Abraham
Klum, William
Klum, Henry, Jr.
Klum, John
Knickerbocker, H. I.
Kod, Simon
Lawrence, Joseph
Ledervyck, Peter
L«scher, Coenradt
Lewis, John
Lewis, Thomas
Lewis, Jacob
Lewis, James
Litmer, Henry
Livey, Hendrick
Livingston, P. G.
McClure, William
McFort, John
Mardin, Goetlieb
Mardin, Hendrick
Martin, David
Mares, John
Mares, Isaac
Maul, Jacob
Meyer, Jeab
Miller, Hendrick
Miller, Christeaun
Miller, Johannes
MUler, Cornelius
Michel, Andres
Mitchell, John
MUlham, Simon
Millham, Jacob
Millham, Laurence
Mulford, Lemuel
Mulford, David
Mohr, Christian
More, Jacob, Jr.
Moore, John
Moore, Philip J.
Moul, Frederick
Moul, Jacob Sen.
Moon, Henderick
Neer, Zach
Ogden, Daniel
Osterhoudt, C.
Osterhoudt, Benjamin
Ostrander, James
Pawling, John
Pitcher, William
Pitcher, William, Jr.
Pitcher, Wilhelmus
Pitcher, Petrus
Powell, Solomon
Powell, William
Radcliff, Peter
Radcliff, William
Reystorf, George
Richter, Johannes
Rogers, Joseph
Rogers, John
Root, Zacharias
Rydders, Everhart
Sater, John
Schermerhorn, Reyer
Schermerhorn, Jacob
Schermerhorn, C.
Schermerhorn, John
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Ill
Schneyd, Christoff
Schatzel, Michael
Schultzs, William
Schoot, Simon, Jr.
Schoot, William, Jr.
Scoot, Peter
Scoot, Jonathan
Scott, Abraham
Scriver, Jacob N.
Scutt, Johannes
Sears, Stephen
Sharp, George
Sheldon, George
Sheffel, Michael
Shop, Henry
Shopf, Peter
Shiiltz, Jacob
Sickner, Albartus
Sickner, Jacob
Sickner, Jacob, Jr.
Simon, Andrew
Skepmus, William
Slaats, Philip
Smith, Wilhelmus
Smith, Johannes
Sole, Simon C.
Staats, John
Staats, Peter
Stetling, George
Stickle, Nicholas
Stickle, Nicholas, Jr.
Swart, Cornelius
TeU, John
Teter, Hendrick
Ten Broeck, Petrus
Thomas, Jacob
Traver, Peter
Tremper, Jacob
Tremper, John
Troophage, William
Tuttle, WiUiam
Turck, Johannes
Van Fradenburgh, P.
Van Keuron, Johns
Van Keuron, Tobias
Van Nauker, Peter
Van Ness, John
Van Ness, David
Van Steenburgh, B.
Van Vredenburgh, B.
Van Vredenburgh, W.
Vhoevanburgb, R.
Vosburgh, Evart
Vosburg, Jeab
Waldron, WiUiam
Wagenen, Barent V.
Weaver, John, Jr.
Weir, Frederick
Wenneberger, C.
Westfall, Abraham
Wood, Johannes P. V.
Walwork, Isaac
Waterman, Henry, Jr.
Waterman, Jeab
Wagner, Evert V.
Wagener, Art. V.
Waldom, William
Waldorn, Stoffle
Waldorph, H., Jr.
Weaver, Christopher
Westfall, Simon
Westfall, Peter, Jr.
Whitbeck, Harmen
Wheeler, Edward
Whiteman, Zacharias
White, John, Jr.
Williams, John
Younck, Joseph
RHINEBECK PRECINCT.
A list of the persons who refused to sign.
Allemten, John
AUemten, John F.
Anderson, George
Asher, Adam
Asher, John
Bander, John, Jr.
Banmias, Coenradt
Bargh, Christian
Bargh, Christian, Jr.
Barker, Johannes
Barker, Martner
Barker, Laurence
Bennet, George
Boutcher, Tunis
Boutcher, Casper
Bruce, Michael
Bruce, Christian
Brown, John
Briant, Thomas
Burgh, Adam
Burger, Stephanus
Bunchoten, Egbert
Bunchoten, Harmanus
CarneU, John
Chafer, Jacob
Cole, Jacob
Cole, John J. .
Cram, Petrus
Cramer, Zacharias
Cramer, Johannes
Dedrick, Gerrit
Dederlck, Christian
Dericks, John
Doom, Zacharias
Doughty, Timothy
Ecker, Adam
Ecker, Peter
Ecker, Johannes
112
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Ecker, Adam, Juiy
Ecker, Hendk. Jr.
Elen, Jacob
Elkenbergh, Peter
Elshaver, Lodowick
Evans, Jacob
Fero, Petnis
Fradenburgh, Peter
Fraver, Johannes
Freligh, Peter
Freligh, Stephanus
Freligh, Peter
Frusam, Peter
Fuller, Corns., Jr.
Fuller, William
Fynhout, Cornelius
Hallick, Zebulon
Hallock, John
Heermans, Hendrick
Hendericks, Joseph, Jr.
Holmes, John
Hoffman, Juery
Hoffman, Nicholas
Kelder, Jacob
Kattyman, John
Kip, Jacobus, Jr.
Kip, Jacob S.
Kip, Jacobus
Kip, John
Kip, John B.
Kip, Abraham
Kip, Peter
Kipp, Arent
Kiselbargh, Jacob
Lament, George
Landen, Hugh
Leister, Mordecai
Lewis, Gradus
Lewis, Henry
Livingston, Phil. S.
Loune, Philip
Loune, Bashan
Loune, Anderis
Loune, Jacob
town, David
Lown, Johannes, Jr.
Lown, Jacob
Luych, Andris
Mackay, William
Marguet, John
Marguet, George
Meyer, Hendrick
Miller, Jacob
Miller, John G.
Neer, Jose
Nehis, Francis
Nehis, Charles
Nehis, Francis, Jr.
Nile, Peter
Pawling, Henry
Pelts, Hendrick
Pihek, Philip
Pinek, John
Pinek, Philip, Jr.
Polver, Conradt
Presses, Peter
Prongh, Peter
Prough, Powlis
Puis, Michael
Puis, David
Puis, Christuffal
Puis, Daniel
Puis, George
Puis, Michael
Richart, Henry
Richart, Dowie
Richart, PhUip
Richart, Johannes
Righpenbergh, John
Righpenbergh, Petrus
Ring, Christopher
Ring, George
Ring, Johannes
Ring, David
Rysdorf, Johannes
Rysdorf, Petrus
Rysdorf, Laurence
Sager, Johannes
Schryver, Peter, Esq.
Schryver, Hendk. A.
Schryver, Marthen
Schryver, Marthynes
Schryver, John
Schryver, David
Schever, Joest
Schever, Frederick
Schever, Henry
Scriver, Peter
Seeman, Jeremiah, Jr.
Seeman, Michael
Seeman, Abraham
Seeman, Jacob
Seeman, John
Seeman, Jacob, Jr.
Seeman, David, Jr.
Shook, Hendrick
Shook, Christian
Shook, Cobus
Shook, George
Shomaker, Jacob
Shaver, David
Shever, Adam
Shults, Christian
Shults, John
Shufelt, Jury A.
Shewfelt, Laurence
Sickner, John
Shewfelt, Petrus
Shewfelt, Adam
Slays, Frederick
Smith, Jacob
Streght, Lodowick
Stover, George
Strant, Anthony
Stienburgh, Benj., Jr.
Steenburgh, John V.
Ted, Martha
Teel, Laurence, Jr.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
113
Tennis, John
Threecarter, Martin
Tibbie, Adam
Tibbie, Jacob
Tile, John
Traver, Philip
Traver, Bastian
Traver, Peter
Traver, John
Traver, John
Traver, Peter H.
Traver, John H.
Traver, Frederick
Traver, Jacob
Van Alen, Peter
Van Benthysen, B.
Van Benthuysen, P. Sr.
Van Benthuysen, J.
Van Benschoten, T.
Van Benschoten, E.
Van E'sten, Jacob
Van Esten, Johan, Jr.
Van Etter, Matthew
Van Eter, Cobus
Van Etter, Isaac
Van Etten, Benjamin
Van Etten, Jacobus B.
Van Etten, Jacobus
Van Etten, Jacobus J,
Van Etten, Abraham
Van Etten, Benj., Jrj
Van Etten, John
Van Etten, Jacob
Van Wagoner, Johan ,
Van Wagoner, Barent
Vradenburgh, B. V.
Vradenburgh, Jacobus
Vradenburgh, Jacs., Jr.
Wallace, William
Wallace, Henry
Waldron, William
Wagor, Bashan
Wagor, Powlis
Wederwaks, Henry
Wederwacks, Abraham
Wels, John J.
Wels, Benjamin
Westfall, Benjamin
Westfall, Peter
Witterwax, Bastian
Yager, Jacob
Zipperley, Hans
Egbert Bexsox, Chairman.
ROMBOUT PRECINCT.
The signers to the "Articles of Association," June and July, 1775.
Ackerman, John
Adriance, Isaac
Adriance, Ham J.
Adriance, John
Adriance, George
Adriance, Cornelius
Akerly, Moses
Anning, James
Anning, Daniel
Appleye, Coewradd
Ardem, William
Atwater, Benjamin
Avery, Richard
Barnes, James
Barry, John
Barber, Moses
Balding, Jacob
Bedell, Moses
Bedell, Jease
Belding, Joseph
Bailey, Nathan
Baker, Jesse
Baker, William
Bailey, Nathan, Jr.
Baker, John
Barker, William
Bates, Stephen
Backer, Jacob
BedeU, Jeremiah
Bennitt, John
Bennitt, David
Bell, Henry
Bishop, Joshua
Bise, Simon
Boss, Zachariah
Beourem, Hendrick
Bogert, Adriance
Boss, Johannes
Bogart, Peter
Bogardus, John
Bogardus, Peter, Jr.
Bennaway, Garret
Bloom, George
Bloodgood, John
Brower, Nicholas, Jr.
Brewer, Charles
Brower, Adolphus
Brower, Jacob
Brinckerhoff, Johannes
Briggs, Caleb
Brinckerhoff, Dirck
Brett, Theo.
Brinckerhoff, John
Branckerhoff, D. G.
Brinckerhoff, Abm.
Brinckerhoff, J. A.
Brinckerhoff, J. G.
Brinckerhoff, George
Brinckerhoff, Stephen
Brinckerhoff, Jacob
Brinckerhoff, G. J.
Brinckerhoff, Corns.
114
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Brower, David
Brower, Cornelius
Brown, Aaron
Brown, James
Brett, Robert
Brown, Aaron, Jr.
Brock, William
Brocks, William, Jr,
Bush, John, Jr.
Bump, George
Bump, Thomas
Bump, Thomas, Jr.
Bump, George
Buys, Henry
Buys, Jacob, Jr.
Burhanse, Henry
Bloom, George
Bums, Nathan
Cauniff, Johannes
Canfield, Daniel
Carley, Albert
Carpenter, Henry
Cease, Abraham
Churchill, Edward
Chase, Seth
Climip, Peter
Clump, Peter, Jr.
Clark, Ebenezer
Cospman, Jacob
ComweU, Clement
Cornell, Caleb
Cornell, Jesse
Conklin, Lawrence
Conklin, Elias
Conner, Hugh
Cooper, James
Cooper, John
Cooper, John, Jr.
Cooper, Obadiah
Cooper, Myndert
Coopeo, O. W.
Cooper, O. J.
Cooper, Myndert, Jr.
Co£Bn, John
Comfort, Richard
Cole, Jacob
Cole, Isaac
Culver, James
Culver, Dennis
Culver, James, Jr.
Culbert, John
Cushman, WiUiam
Cronckheit, Abraham
Dates, Adam
Darlon, John
Davison, James
Davis, John
David, Daniel
Du Bois, Jacob, Jr.
Du Bois, Tunis
Deets, Peter
Depung, Peter
Devoe, John
De Graef, Jacobus
De Groff, Jacobus
De Groff, Jacobus, Jr.
De GrofF, Moses
De Grout, John
De Foreest, Abm.
De Witt, Johanns, Jr.
De Witt, Abraham
Dewitt, Johanns
D'oxey, Stephen
Du Bois, Elesa
Du Bois, Tunis, Jr.
Duncan, James
Dutcher, David
Dutcher, Barent
Duryee, Abraham
Earls, WiUiam
Ellsworth, George
Elsworth, Charles
Emans, Jacobus
Emmitt, Elihu
Fairchild, Nathaniel
Fitzmonns, Peter
Fowler, Joseph
Fowler, Austin
Fowler, Austin, Jr.
Fowler, William
Gabriel, N. E.
Gershom, Martine
Godwin, Henry
Golph, Moses
Gosline, Samuel
Gray, John, Jr.
Gray, Abraham
Graham, Dimcan
Green, James
Green, James, Jr.
GriflSn, Jacob
GrifFen, Joseph
Griffin, Richard
Griffin, Cornelius
Griffin, William ,
Griffin, Joshua
Griffin, John
Griffin, Isaac
Gulnack, Caustine
Halstead, Josiah
Hardenburgh, Hendk.
Hardenburgh, Dirck
Hardenburgh, Garret
Haines, Henry
Haight, Jonathan
Haskin, William
Hegeman, Isaac
Hegeman, Francis
Hegerman, Dirck
Heyer, Walter
HefF, Lawrence
Hevan, Godfrey
Hicks, Joshua
Hill, Andrew
Higby, Hemming
Horton, Jacob
Horton, Joseph
Horton, Peter
Horton, Mathias
Howard, James
Horton, David
Holmes, WiUiam
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
115
Holmes, Isaac
Hoffman, Jurrie
Hoffman, Michael
Houghteling, J.
Hogelandt, William
Hogland, Dei-iah
Hogeboom, Barthol
Hulst, Peter
Hutchins, John
Hutchins, Isaac
Hutchins, Jacob
Innes, James
Jackson, Richard
Jewell, John
Jewell, Isaac
Jewell, Isaac, Jr.
Jewell, John, Jr.
Jewell, Richard
Jewdl, George
Johnson, Daniel
Johnson, Peter, Jr.
Johnson, John
Johnson, Thomas
Jones, Jeremiah
Killboume, James
King, Richard
King, Jacob
KnifBn, Israel
Kniffln, Daniel
Kniffin, Jnoathan
Kip, John
Langdon, John
Langdon, Jonathan
Lane, William
Lane, William, Jr.
Lane, Jacob
Lane, Gilbert
Ladn, Abraham
Laughin, Hugh
Lawrence, A. J.
Lawrence, John
Lawrence, Lawrence
Lee, Joseph
Lent, Abraham A.
Lent, Peter
Leroy, Francis
Leroy, John
Leroy, John, Jr.
Leroy, Simon
Lewis, Thomas
Leyster, John
Losee, Abm. L.
Losee, John L.
Lounsberry, Nathan
Lyons, David
Mabie, Tobias
Marten, Henry
Martin, Jeremiah, Jr.
Main, Sabure
May, Francis, Jr.
Mayer, John
Maynema, John
Mead, Ezra
Mead, Jeremiah
Meyer, Peter
Miller, James
Miller, James, Jr.
Moody, Walter, Jr.
Morris, Harvey M.
Morrell, Abraham
Monfort, Peter
Monfort, Peter JJ
Monfort, Deminicus
Monstress, Peter
Mount, Timothy
Moury, David
Munfort, Elbert
McBride, John
McCord, Joseph
McCutchin, Robert
McKeeby, Edward
McSheeby, Dennis
Nan Voorhis, Jerome
Nettlaton, Amos
Niffer, Jacob
Nichkilson, Robert
Noorstrant, Peter
Noorstrant, John
Ostrander, Corns
Ostrander, Thomas
Ostrom, John
Ostrom, Andrew
Osboi-ne, Cornelius
Osborne, Stephen
Osborne, Richard
Osburn, James
Odgen, Joseph
Outwater, Peter
Outwater, Daniel
farks, John
Parker, Joseph
Patterson, Alijah
Pellet, David
Pelts, Henry
Pendy, Stephen
Piatt, Eliphelat
Pine, Philip
Pine, Silvinus
Pine, Silvinus, Jr.
Philip, John
Phillips, Ralf
Phillips, John, Jr.
Pinkney, Thomas
Pudney, Thome
Pudney, Francis
Pudney, John
PuUick, John
Purdy, Jesse
Polmetier, Peter
PiiUick, John, Jr.
Ranny, Jeremia
Raun, Christopher
Rathbun, Andrew
Renvells, Andrew
Reyner, Daniel
Reynolds, James
Reynolds, James, Jr.
Roberts, Samuel
116
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Robinson, Peter
Rosekrans, Frederick
Rosekrans, James
Rosekrans, Henry
Rosekrans, Benjamin
RoseKrans, John
RoseKrans, John, Jr.
Roe, Benjamin
Rosekrans, H., Jr.
Rogers, Robert
Rogers, Flatt
Runnels, John
Rmmels, John, Jr.
Rynden, James
Rynden, Herman
Saikryder, Timothy
Saikryder, Moses
Saikryder, Solomon
■Schenck, Abraham
Schenck, Martin
Schendc, Roelef
Schoonhore, Peter
Scenck, Daniel
■Schenck, Henry
Schultz, Christopher, Jr.
Schnltz, Christopher
Schultz, Abraham
Scouten, John
Scouten, J. (son of Jerry)
Scouten, William, Jr.
Scouten, Simon S.
Scutt, Frederick
Sebring, Cornelius
-Sebring, Isaac
■Sebring, Cornelius, Jr.
Sherburne, Henry
Shaw, Daniel
Shaw, Moses
Shear, Abraham
Sharrie, Johannes
Simonton, Thomas
Shute, Aaron
■Sleght, Abraham
ISleghV John H.
Sleght, Jacobus
Smith, Joshua
Smith, Samson
Smith, John
Smith, Cornelius
Smith, Isaac
Smith, Martin
Snyder, Peter
Snider, Isaac
Somes, Nathan
Somes, Samuel
Soaper, Timothy
Somerdike, William
Southard, Isaac
Southard, Jonas
Southard, John
Southard, Zebulon
Stanton, William
Stienbergh, Peter
Storm, Isaac
Storm, Thomas
Storm, Gores
Storm, Garret
Swartwout, Jacob
Swartwout, Samuel
Swartwout, John
Swartwout, Jacob
Swartwout, William, Jr.
Swartwout, Cornelius
Swartwout, Dalf
Swartwout, James
Swartwout, Jacs.
Snediker, James
Swart, Evart T.
Skeet, Tunis
Tappen, John
Talmagee, Jonathan
Talman, Timothy
Ter Boos, Luke
Ter Boss, Daniel
Ter Boss, Isaac
Ter Boss, Abraham
Ter Bush, John
Ter Bush, Peter
Ter Bush, Isaac H.
Ter Bush, Simon
Ter Bush, John, Jr.
Ter Bush, C.
Terum, Albert
Terry, Jonathan
Teatsort, William
Thaiker, Stephen
Thurston, James
Tirhum, John
Tirhum, Daniel
Tisdale, William
Tood, Robert
Tooten, Joseph
Todd, Samuel
Turner, Alexander
Van Amburgh, Abm.
Van Amburgh, A. H.
Van Benschoten, L. E.
Van Benschoten, M.
Van Benschoten, J.
Van Benschoten, P.
Van Benschoten, T.
Van Bunschoten, J.
Van Bunschoten, E. E.
Van Deursen, Peter
Van Dewater, Peter
Van Dewater, Francis
Van Dewater, James
Van Devort, P., Jr.
Van Devoort, Jacob
Vandevoort, John
Van Kleek, B. J.
Van Kleek, Peter, Jr.
Van Kleek, Baltus
Van Kleek, Barent
Van Kleek, Sevaris
Van Keuren, Charreik
Van Voorhis, J., Jr.
Van Voorhis, Henry
Van Voorhis, Jacob
Van Voorhis, Stephen
Van Voorhis, Zach., Jr.
Van Voorhis, Daniel
Van Tyne, Abram
Van Voorhees, Z.
Van Voorhis, Abm.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
117
Van Voorhls, J., Jr.
Van TjTie, Abm.
Van Wyck, Theods.
Van Wyck, Richard
Van Wyck, William
Van Wyck, T., Jr.
Van Wyck, T., Jr.
Van Wyck, Abram
Van Wyck, Isaac
Van Tyne, WiUiam
Van Werkeren, George
Van Wackere, Abm.
Van Hyning, Andrew
Van Tasel, Jacob
Van Sulen, John
Ver Velon, Gideon
Var Velen, Jeremiah
Ver Valin, John
Vanelin, Moses
Verrie, Cornelius
Vlaikren, Merinus
Vermillie, John
Veal, Isaac
Ward, William
Ward, Daniel
Walters, John
Watts, John
Way, Gideon
Way, Thomas
Way, Francis
Weeks, James
Westervelt, Abm.
Westervelt, Jost.
Wiltse, Johannes
Wiltse, Martin
Wiltse, Cornelius
Wiltsey, Henry T.
Wilsen, Teunis
Wildee, James
Wilde, Isaiah
Winslow, William
Wright, John
Wright, Daniel G., Jr.
Wright, William
Wright, Thomas
Wright, Daniel
Yeumans, Thomas
yurkse, John
ROMBOUT PRECINCT.
A list of the persons who refused to sign.
Capt. Heganan'g Co,
Baker, William
Burhans, Peter
Cailen, Henry
Cock, Michas
Cole, Daniel
Crandle, John
Medagh, Jas.
Middagh, Jores
Monfoort, Albert
Rogers, William
Snider, John J.
Tarpanning, John
Terwilger, Urean
Van Kleek, Barent A.
Capt. 8. Brinkerhoofs Co.
Baker, Jessey, Jr.
Baker, Thomas
Boss, Peter
Brown, Silas
Carman, Thomas
Cure, William
Devoe, Johannis
Doty, Benjamin
Ellis, Benjamin
Ferinton, Joseph
Goodfellow, William
Gray, Zebulon
Haasbroock, Daniel
Halsted, Joseph
Hoisted, John, Lieut.
Kranchite, Tunis
Lee, Jonathan
Losee, Semeon
Main, Ezekel
Martin, Thomas
Merritt, Joseph
Miller, John
Morss, Joseph
Morss, Philip
Peck, Oliver
PeUit, Ebenezer
Robison, Joseph
Roe, David
Roens, Philips
Smith, Joseph
Snyder, Benjamin
Stolker, Stephen
Storm, Johannes
Odle, Joshua
Ogden, Richard
Winter, Christopher
Winter, Levi
Winter, Joseph
Wright, Isaac
Wright, Jacob
Yeats, Richard
Ca^t. Southard's Co.
Adams, Neliah
Bogardus, Robert
Britt, Francis R.
Brogardus, Peter
Cooper, Jeremiah
Covert, John
Gibson, Thomas
Green, Jeremiah
Green, Joseph
Halsted, Jonas
Miller, Thomas
Mills, Henry
Mills, Increase
118
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Mills, Robert
Mills, Samuel
Munger, Benjamin
Nostrand Gerret
FhUps, Abraham
Philps, Henry
Philps, Jacobus
Philps, Peter
Poyer, Thomas
Purdy, Jesse
Rider, Jacob
Shoaf, Philip
Southard, Daniel
Southard, Gilbert
Southard, Thomas
Southard, Richard
Southard, Richard, Jr.
Sprage, Thomas
Van Voorhees, EUas
Vealey, Isaac
Voorhees, Johannes
Ca^t. John BedWi Co.
Aulgelt, John
Bailey, Sutten
Bedele, John, Capt.
Bounds, Gessom
Brown, Samuel
Buis, Matthew
Burroughs, Joseph
Carey, John, Jr.
Carey, Joseph
Carey, John, Sr.
Caunef, John
Craft, Thomas
Cure, Matthews
Cure, Samuel
Daily, Lawrence
Dubois, Peter
Gerox, Benjamin
Gerroson, Reuben
Gerrison, Abraham
Gildersleeve, Nathaniel
Giou, Isaac
Goslin, William
Hasbrouck, Benjamin
Hasbrook, F., Lieut.
Hett, Jeremiah
Kichim, Samuel
Laduex, Nathaniel
Laine, Joseph
Lating, Ambrose
LangdoD, John S.
Larduex, Oliver
I^core, Isaac
Linabeck, John
Light, Henry
Lisk, Benjamin
Lisk, John
Mabee, Simeon
Maley, Abraham
Nefuss, Abraham
Nefuss, George
Peck, John
Post, Joseph
Purdy, Abraham
Purdy, Enoch
Rowland, Marvin
Schutt, John, Lieut.
Schutt, Jacobus J
Schouten, Andrew J.
Schouten, John J.
Scouten, Ephraim
Sloot, John
Storm, Peter
Storm, Nicholas
Swartwout, Johannes
Swartwout, Thomas
Thomkins, Gabriel
Travis, Abraham
Van Hyning, Abraham
Van Nostrand, George
Van Vlaren, M. J.
Venson, Charles
Way, James F.
Weekes, Stephen
Winn, William
Winn, Joseph
Wood, Joseph
Wood, Isaac
Wood, John
Wood, Thomas
Wood, John J.
Washboum, Isaac
Young, Abraham
Capt. Matthias Lyster't
Co.
Barnes, Gilbert
Bancker, Stephen
Besship, Joshua
/Brogardus, Francis
Buchout, John
Burch, Andrew
Carnell, John
Churchill, John
Cook, John
Dubois, Johannes
Dubois, Jacob J.
Duryee, Stephen
Duryee, Abraham
Haboun, John
Harremens, Will H.
Herremans, A., Lieut.
Herremans, Andr., Jr.
Herremans, John
Hicks, James
Hoff, Peter
Hogeland, Abraham
Hudson, John
Huff, John
Huson, Walter
Keniff, John
Lent, Abraham
Livingston, Samuel
Lyster, Matthias, Capt.
Lyster, Dirck
Lyster, Cornelius
Lyster, Gerret
Manfort, Adrian
Manfort, John
Monfoort, Albert
Morgan, James
Nostrand, Cornelius
Ses, John
Somes, Timothy
Strong, Gilbert
Strong, Undrel
Tichout, Gideon
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
119
Thorne, John
Thome, Stephen
Theale, Joseph
Vanbrare, Thomas
Vanderbilt, A., Ensign
Van Cramer, Peter
Van Sickler, Cornel
Van Vleck, Hendrick
Capt. Horton'g Co.
Aulgett, Adam
Brevoort, John
Brush, Joseph
Clapp, Benjamin
Clapp, John
Clapp, Thomas
Delany, Peter
Depue, Peter
Depue, Abraham
Duly, Joshua
Hoff, Paule
Hougen, Edward
Huff, Abraham
Jewill, Jacob
Juell, William
Lent, Isaac
Lewis, Jacob
McCrade, Chas.
Snedeker, John
Van Vlaeron
Vermilyer, David
Vermilyer, Gerradus
Weel, John
Wilddey, John
Wiltsee, John
Capt. Griffin's Ce.
Ackerly, Benjamin
Anderson, Joseph
Bloom, Benjamin
Bishop, Caleb
Churchill, John
Covenhoven, Adrian
Dubois, Peter
Griffin, Thomas
Jay, John
Miller, Philip
Nostrand, George
Obriant, Matthew
Philps, Henry C.
Purdy, Joshua
Schouten, Andrew
Thurston, Benjamin
Thurston, Joseph
Underwood, Henry
Van Tessel, Henry, Jr.
Verplanck, Philip
Ward, Daniel
Ward, James
Ward, Jacob
Woods, Solomon
"FishkiU, August 23, 177S.
Sir; Enclosed is the return of the persons who have signed the Association,
and of those who have refused. In the latter you find many erasures, occasioned
by their signing afterwards. This affair has been delayed thus long on account of
pursuing lenient measures.
I am by the order of the Committee, your most obedient servant,
DiBCK G. Beinckerhoff, Chairman."
The list of non-signers in Rombout Precinct is composed solely of
members of military companies in the service of the Crown of England,
and their signatures to the "Revolutionary Pledge" would have been
a treasonable offence.
120 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER X.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Continental Line.
THE first Provincial Congress of New York met May 22, 1775,
in New York City, to devise measures for the general safety,
and to authorize the recruiting of men. County Committees
of Safety were formed and their duties were numerous and important.
The following gentlemen composed the Dutchess Committee: Egbert
Benson (Chairman), John Collen, Samuel Dodge, Elnathan Gregory,
Jacob Grifiin, Herman Hoffman, Frederick Jay, Nathan Pearce, James
Weeks. Precinct Committees were also formed, and one of their first
duties was to visit the Tories in the county, and request in a friendly
manner that they surrender their firearms for the use of the Con-
tinental forces, at a reasonable price. In case of refusal the firearms
were taken forcibly. A considerable number of guns were thus ob-
tained, a total of 431 being delivered to the State by the Committee
of Rombout Precinct alone, in 1776-'77.
The Provincial authorities of New York in 1775, authorized the
organization of four regiments, known as the Continental Line, to
serve for six months, and thus designated: First New York, Second
Albany, Third Ulster, Fourth Dutchess. The regiments were com-
manded respectively by Alexander McDougal, Goose Van Schaick,
James Clinton, and James Holmes. Zephaniah Piatt, Gilbert Liv-
ingston and Melancthon Smith constituted the Military Committee for
Dutchess county, and received the warrants for raising men for the
Fourth or Dutchess regiment, which, when organized, June 30th,
1775, had the following field and company officers:
James Holmes, Col. (from Westchester dounty) ; Philip Court-
landt, Lieut. Col.; Barnabas Tuthill, Major; Benjamin Chapman,
Quarter-Master.^
1. C<4. Holmes and Major Tuthill became diaaatisfled with the arrangement In the
rank of field officers of the four regiments and resigned. Col. Holmes joined the Tories.
He was succeeded in command of the Fourth by Henry B. Livingston.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 121
Captains — Henry B. Livingston, Jonathan Piatt, Rufus Herrick,
Daniel Mills, Ambrose Horton, Nathaniel Woodward, John R. Liv-
ingston, Henry G. Livingston, Jacobus WynKoop, Joseph Benedict,
Jr.
First Lieutenants — Jacob Thomas, David Daw, Charles Graham,
Elijah Hunter, David Palmer, Abraham Ricker, Leonard Ten Broeck,
Samuel Van Vechten, Anthony Welch.
The organizations composing the Continental Line were under pay
of the Continental Congress, and in the service as the regular army
and liable to duty in any part of the country, while the militia as such
could not be taken outside of the States in which they resided. Wash-
ington learned very early in the war that the militia was not a force
which could be relied upon — ^that there must be a regularly consti-
tuted army. For the making of an army no better material was ever
found than the men drawn from the Militia of Dutchess. The follow-
ing officers and privates composed the Fourth Regiment (Dutchess)
of the Line, at various times during the whole period of the war:
Colonel James Holmes Quarter-Master James Barrett
Colonel Henry B. Livingston Quarter-Master Nememiah Carpenter
Lieut. Col. Pierre Regnier Quarter-Master Gelston
Lieut. Col. Frederick Weissenfels Quarter-Master Job Mulford
Lieut. Col. Frederick Wiessenfels Quarter-Master Peter Vonk
Major John Davis Paymaster John Franks
Major Benjamin Ledyard Chaplain John P. Testard
Major Joseph McCracken Surgeon Caleb Sweet
Adjutant Peter Sacket Surgeon John Francis Vache
Adjutant Samuel Tallmadge Surgeon John F. Vasher
Adjutant John Tuthill Surgeon John Francis Vasher
Captains — Joseph Benedict, John Davis, Henry Dodge, Edward Dunscome, Peter
Elsworth, Theodorus Fowler, Silas Gray, Eufus Herrick, Ambrose Horton, William
Jackson, Benjamin Marvin, Daniel Mills, Nathaniel Norton, David Palmer, Jona-
than Pearsee, Jonathan Perry, Jonathan Piatt, Reeve, Daniel Roe, James
Rosekrans, Samuel Sacket, Israel Smith, Nathan Strong, Nathaniel Strong, Jona-
than Titus, Benjamin Walker, Nathaniel Woodard.
LiEUTEiTAifTs — ^William B. Alger, James Barrett, Cornelius Becker, Ben-
jamin, Leonard Bleecker, Gould Boughten, Henry Brewster, Brush, Man-
ning Bull, Peter Bunshoten, Edward Conklin, Sylvanus Conkling, William Crane, David
Dan, Daniel E. Deniston, Daniel Denniston, Henry Dodge, James Dow, Peter Elsworth,
Peter C. Elsworth, William Theodosious Fowler, Joseph Frilick, Charles Graham,
William Havens, Thomas Hunt, Elijah Himter, Abraham Hyatt, 'John Lawrence,
Thomas Lee, John Lloyd, William Matthewman, Miles Oakley, Isaac Paddock,
122
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Samuel Tredwell Pell, AbTaham Riker, Isaac A. Rosa,
Sayer, George Smith,
Isaac Springer, Gilbert Strang, Jacob Thomas, Jesse Thompson, Daniel Topping,
William Troop, Robert Troup, Azariah Tuthill, John Van Antwerp, Peter Van
Bunschoten, Rudolph Van Hoevenbargh, Isaac Vanwart, Roswell Wilcocks,
Yoimgh.
EusiSifs — John Barr, Caleb Bruister, Simon Cregier, Simon Crygier, Samuel
Dodge, Joseph Froilick, Stephen Griffin, Joseph Morrill, John Punderson, Samuel
Talmadge, Ephraim Woodruff.
Acker, Henry •^
Acker, Jacob /
Ackerson, C.
Adams, Daniel
Adams, Ebenezer
Adams, James
Adams, Jesse
Adams, Major
Adorns, Samuel
Adurns, Thomas
AUen, Samuel
Allison, Richard
Allport, John
Alport, John
Amberman, Cornelius
Ambler, Benjamin
Ambler, Stephen
Ammerman, Cornelius
Anderson, James
Andress, Joseph
Anson, James
Anthony, Simon
Antone, John
Armstrong, Jonathan
Ashford, Nathaniel
Ashley, William
Aston, Benoni
Atkins, Robert
Atwater, John
Austin, Holmes
Austin, Lockwood
Avery, Nehemiah
Avout, Philip
Aymes, Francis
Backus, Jacob
Bailey, Elias
ENLISTED MEN.
Baker, Anthony
Baker, Benjamin
Baker, Elijah
Baker, Henry
Baker, John
Baker, Joshua
Baker, Pierce
Balding, Jehial
Balding, Nathaniel
Baley, Jonathan
Baley, Leonard
Ball, Samuel
Banker, Jacob
Banker, William
Baptist, John
Barber, Reuben
Baremore, Edward
Barkens, William
Barker, Jonathan
Barlow, Nathan
Bamhart, David
Barnhart, Jeremiah
Barns, Glean
Barns, John
Barns, Peter
Barrows, James
Barry, Charles
Barlley, Andrew
Barto, John
Bartoe, Morris
Basely, Cornelius
Bassett, William
Biayless, Richard
Bayley, Daniel
Beaty, Hugh
Bebee, Benorger
Becker, Peter
Beckwith, Silas
Beebe, Bonarges
Beedle, WiUiam
Beel, Matthew
Bellamy, Silas
Benedict, Ambrose
Benjamin, David
Benjamin, Stephen
Bennadict, Benjamin
Bennadict, Nathan
Bennadict, Peter
Bennet, James
Bennet, William
Bennett, Jacob
Bennett, Timothy
Benschoten, Elias
Bentley, William
Begordus, Peter
-^Berrnard, Samuel
Berry, Charles
Berry, Jabez
Berry, James
Berry, John
Bertley, Andrew
Betson, Thomas
Betts, Nehemiah
Bingham, Abisha
Bishop, Ebenezer
Black, David
Black, Richard
Black, William
Blank, Jasper
Blaze, Christopher
Blendberry, Elijah
Blonck, J.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
123
Blonk, Jesper
Bockus, Jacob
Bodley, Andrew
Bogardus, Henry
Bogg, John
Bogurdus, Nung
Boice, James
Boiles, James
Boncher, William
Bond, John
Bonker, William
Houghton, Moses
Boughton, Simeon
Bourne, William
B'outen Samuel
Bouton, Joseph
Bouton, Joseph, Jr.
Bower
Bowers, Isaac
Bowers, James
Bowman, Bacchus
Bowne, Rodman
Boyles, James
Bradt, John
Brady, John
Bragame, John
Brainerd, Ruben
Braney, Lowring
Brant, John
Brant, William
Brewer, Jeremiah
Brewland, Johiel
Briggs, Jacob
Briggs, Jeremiah
Brock, Robert
Brooks, Daniel
Brooks, Jedlah
Brooks, John
Brooks, Robert
Brooks, Thomas
Brown, David
Brown, Deliverance
Brown, Eliphelet
Brown, Hubbard
Brown, John
Brown, Joseph
Brown, Samuel
Brown, Stephen
Brown, William
Brown, Zephanlah
Brundage, Nathan
Brunson, Samuel
Brush, Selah
Brush, Simeon F.
Brustler, Daniell
Bruton, Arthur
Bryan, Thomas
Buchannan, Samuel
Buckingham, Stephen
Buckleman, Henry
Budd, John
Budin, Francis
Budine, Francis
Bump, Joseph
Sunday, Jeremiah
Bunker, William
Burch, Henry
Burch, Jonathan
Burd, Jeremiah
Burdick, EUsha
Surges, Stephen
Burgess, Archibold
Surget, Mlllbury
Surhans, Fjerrick
Burhans, John
Surhans, Thirh
Surhans, Yerlck
Surkstaff, David
Burnet, Ebenezer
Surnet, Squire
Bumham, William
Surnhart, David
Burns, Edward
Burr, DanieU
Burrance, John
Surrit, William
Burrows, James
Surrows, Samuel
Bush, Simon T-
Sussing, John
Bustee, Peter
Camby, James
Cammerson, Alexander
Camp, Asa
Campbell, Andrew
Campbell, Jacob
Campbell, James
Campbell, John
Canaday, John
Canady, James
Canby, James
Canfield, Amon
Canfield, Daniel
Cankhert, Henry
Carby, Richard
CarU
Carney, Barny
Carney, William
Cskny, Thomas
Captenter, James
Carr, Anthony
Carr, James
Carrey, John
Carrion, Green
Case, Ichabod
Casey, James
Cashan, William
Cashln, William
Cato
Cato, Tunis
Gavins, Patrick
Chapman, Daniel
Chappel, Benjamin
Chappel, Benjamin, Jr.
Charlesworth, John Miles
Chase, Isaac
Chatterton, James
Cherry, John
Chesley, John
Chevalier, John
Chlnander, John
Chrlstee, J.
Christen, Peter
Cisco, Dick
Clackson, George
Clark, Barnabas
Clark, Cornelius
Clark, David
124
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Clark, Ephraim
Clark, James
Clark, John
Clark, Joseph, Jr.
Clark, Peter
Clarke, Joshua
Clements, John
Cliff, Joseph
Clift, Joseph
Close, Christopher
Closs, Peter
Closser, Christopher
Coats, Joseph
Coe, Benjamin
Cole, Aaron
Cole, Abraham
Cole, Barnabas
Cole, Oliver
Cole, William
Coleman, Samuel
CoUins, Edward
Collins, John
Colly, Henry
Colver, Joseph
Colvin, James
Conden, Philip
Conington, Joseph
Conkling, Daniel
Conkling, Edward
Conkling, Nathan
Conkling, William
Conkright, Henry
Conn, William
Conner, Joseph
Connerly, Dennis
Connoly, James
Connor, James
Connor, John
Connor, Patrick
Connor, Timothy
Constable, Garret
Converse, Samuel
Cook
Cook, Alexander
Cook, Hanas
Cook, George
Cook, Moses
Cook, Nathan
Cook, Nathaniel
Cook, Obadiah
Coon, Jacob
Coon, Peter
Cooper, David
Cooper, John
Copinger, Walter
Coppenger, John
Corkangs, Eli
Cornell, Caleb
Cornwall, Caleb
CornweU, Thomas
Cortright, Henry
Corwine, Edward
Corwine, Gersham
Cossington, John
CottreU, Richard
Couchoover, William
Couray, Michael
Cowan, Isaac
Cox, John
Cox, Simon
Cozard, Richard
Craft, Nathaniel
Craig, John
Crane, Josiah
Crannell, Isaac
Crawford, John
Crawford, Thomas
Cregear, John
Crissler, John
Gristle, William
Cronch, James
Cronk, Hendrick
Cronk, Timothy
Crosby, Enock
Crosby, Isaac
Crosby, Thomas
Grossman, Dan '
Cross, John
Grossman, Daniel
Growfot, Nehemiah
Cummers, Jonathan
Cunningham, Archibald
Cunningham, Henry
Cunningham, John
Cunningham, Shubal
Curaw, Michael
Curby, John
Cure, William
Curry, Elijah
Gurry, Michael
Cursor, Tunis
Curtis, Naniad
Curtis, Niard
Curtis, Solomon
Gurwin, Edward
Curwin, Gersham
Gurwine, Gersham
Cuzard, Richard
Daggett, Mahew
Dale, Richard
Daley, John
Dalton, Walter
Dan, Abijah
Dan, Jonathan
Danavan, Peter
Daniels, John
Dannolds, John
David, Isaac
Davids, William
Davies, Chapman
Davies, Joseph
Davis, Caleb
Davis, Chapman
Davis, Henry
Davis, John
Davis, Joseph
Davis, Joshua
Davis, Patrick
Davis, Peter
Davis, Richard
Davis, Thomas
Davison, John
Dawson, John
Day, Aaron
Day, Isaac
Day, Jonathan
Day, Lewis
Dalley, John
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
125
Dayton, Bennet
Dayton, Samuel
Dayton, Samuel, Jr.
D'Bushe, Anthony
Dean, Abram
Deaton, Frederick
Decker, George
Decker, Jacobus
Decker, James B.
Decker, John
Decker, Jonathan
Decker, Michael
Decker, Yerry
Deen, Isaac
Deen, John
Deen, William
DeFrees, Ebenzer
DeFrees, Reuben
Delaney, Dennis
Demerest, John
Demerest, Nicholas
Demorest, John
Demott, Peter
Deniereft, Nicholas
Dennis, Mydert
Dennison, Thomas
Denniss, Miner
Denniston, Thomas
Denny, Peter
Depont, Bosteon
Depue, George
Derby, Thomas
De Rusha, Anthony
Desert, John
Dew, Francis
Dick, Henry
Dick, Thomas
Dickerson, Abraham
Dickerson, Benjamin
Dickerson, David
Dickerson, Jeduthan
Dickerson, John
Dickson, Andrew
Dickson, Gabriel
Dickson, Nathan
Dickson, Richard
Dickson, William
Dieson, John
Dieson, Nathan
Dimond, Jonathan
Dodge, Samuel, Jr.
Dodge, Stephen
Dole, John M.
Dollaway, Andrew
Dolph, Jonathan
Donnalds, John
Dose, Richard
Doty, John
Dougherty, Mark
Doughty, Elias
Doughty, George
Dowd, Isaac
Downing, Andrew
Doxey, Stephen
Doyle, Hugh
Doyle, John
Drake, Benoni
Drean, Patrick
Drenning, Hamilton
Duall, Samuel
Ducher, Adam
Duff, Peter
Duguid, John
Dunbar, William
Duncan, Thomas
Dunk, Henry
Dunmore, Caesar
Dunnavan, John
Dunnavun, Peter
Dunnivan, John
Dunscomb, Edward
Dupont, Bosteon
Duran, Francis
Dutcher, Bornt
Dutcher, John
Dwire, Simon
Eaddy, James
Earl, John
Easton, Henry
Eastwood, Benjamin
Edgit, George
Edwards, David
Egberts, John
Elker, Emmer
Elliot, John
Elliot, John, Jr.
Elliott, Archibald
EUis, John
EUison, Isaac
EUison, Richard
Ellison, Thomas
Elsworth, Ezekel
Elsworth, John
English, John
Ennls, Peter
Ephram, Ebenezer
Epton, Benjamin
Erwin, John
Esmond, Isaiah
Esmond, James
Essmond, John
Evalt, Philip
Evens, William
Everit, Francis
Every, Nehemiah
Fairly, William
Fansher, John
Fardon, Samuel
Farrier, Thomas
Fegan, Timothy
Ferbush, Simon
Ferdon, A.
Ferdon, Thomas
Ferdone, Samuel
Ferguson, Samuel
Ferris, John
Ferris, Jonah
Ferris, Joseph
Ferris, Ludowick
Ferris, Samuel
Fichett, Abraham
Filer, Thomas
Finch, Eliatham
Finch, Elnathan
Finch, William
Finton, Amos
Fish, Ebner
Fisher, James
126
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Fitch, James
Fitzgerald, Christ" r Mille
Flemming, Patrick
Fletcher, Lawrence
Flinn, John
Flood, Cilas
Forbush, Alexander
Ford, William
Forgison, Jeremiah
Forsey, Josh.
Fosburgh, Peter
FosdidE, Samuel
Foster, John
Foster, Nathaniel
Foster, Vincent
Foster, William
Fountain, Stephen
Fowler, Philip
Foy, Edward
Fralick, John
Francis, John
Franke, Michel
Franke, Peter
Franks, Michael
Frasier, Jeremiah
Frayer, Simon
Fredenbergh, James
Freeman, Nathaniel
Freeman, Robert
Fross, Stephen
Frye, Benjamin
Fuller, Josiah
Fulre, Thomas
Furdon, Thomas
Furman, Samuel
Galasby, James
Gantly, Patrick
Gardner, Jesse
Gardon, Andrew
Garrisson, Abraham
Garrisson, Peter
Gates, Nathaniel
Gee,. David
Gee, Ezekiel
Gee, John
Geers, Benjamin
Gibbons, John
Gibson, John
Gibson, Robert
GUchrist, WiUiam
Gillaspy, James
Gillcrist, John
Gillcrist, William
Gillet, Joseph
Glover, Thomas
Gold, William
Gdlden, Isaiah
Golden, Thomas
Croldsmith, Ezra
Goldsmith, John
Croodin, George
Croodspeed, Hosia
Goodwin, George
Gordon, WUliam
Gorman, Richard
Gosper, John
Gosper, Peter
Graham, Alexander
Graham, John
Granger, John
Graves, Josiah
Graves, Seldon
Gray, Benjamin
Gray, James
Gray, Samuel
Greatman, John
Green, Ebenezer
Green, James
Greer, David
Gregeer, John
Gregory, Jehiel
Grey, Robert
GrifSn, Barney
Gri£Sn, Benjamin
Grinnel, Amasa
Grumman, Ephraim
Guin, Michael
Guy, Edward
Guyre, Luke
Haight, Jager
Hains, Joseph
Hains, Saunders
Halenbeek, Abraham
Hall, Isaac
Hall, James
Hallet, Jonathan
Halsey, Abraham
Halsey, Ethan
Halsey, Job
Halsey, Stephen
Halsey, Thomas
Hambleton, John
Hanmion, Shason
Hammon, Isaac
Hand, Joseph
Hanley, James
Hanmore, Jabez
Hannah, James
Hannevan, Rice
Hanries, William
Happer, John
Hardy, David
Harmancy, John
Harner, Nicholas
Harper, William
Harris, Abijah
Harris, Cilas
Harris, David
Harris, Evans
Harris, Moses
Harris, William
Harris, Zach
Hartness, Andrew
Hartnys, Andrew
Hartshorne, John
Harvey, David
Hatt, Frederick
Haukins, Samuel
Hawkins, David
Hawkins, Noah
Hawkins, Zachariah
Hawkins, Zopher
Haynes, Joseph
Hazard, James
Heartness, Andrew
Hedges, Nathan
Helmer, John
Henderson, Alexander
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
127
Hennesey, John
Henry, David
Hermance, John
Hermans, Edward
Hermanse, Edward
Herrick, Amos
Herrick, Samuel
Herrick, William
Herrington, John
Hicks, Jacob
Higby, Samuel
Higgins, Moses
High, Benjamin
Hike, John
Hill, Asse
Hill, Thomas
Hill, William
Himes, Joseph
Hinkley, Thomas
Hissam, John
Hitchcock, John
Hodges, Joseph
Hoff, Bastian
Hoff, Henry H.
Hoff, William
Hogarty, Bernard
Hoit, Job
Hoit, Silvanus
Holloway, Joseph
Holly, John
Holly, Samuel
Holmes, Asa
Holmes, Becker
Holmes, Daniel, Jr.
Holmes, James
Holmes, John
Holmes, Nathan
Holmes, Thomas
Homan, John
Hooker, John
Hopkins, Eli
Hopkins, James
Hopper, John
Hopper, Samuel
Horsford, Ithamer
Horton, David
Horton, Frederick
Hosport, Samuel
House, Jacob
House, Zachariah
How, Libeous
Howe, John
Howe, Silas
Howell
Howell, George
Howell, Jehiel
Howell, Seth
Hoyt, Thomas, Jr.
Hubbard
Hubbard, Abel
Hubbard, John
Hubbard, Kzekiel
Huber, Jacob
Hubert, John
Hudman, Charles
Hudson
Huff, WilUam
Huffman, John
Hufman, Gabriel
Hughes, John
Hughson, WiUiam
Humphrey, John
Humphrey, Samuel
Hunt, David
Hunt, Solomon
Hunt, Theophilus
Hunter, Benjamin
Hunter, Ezekiel
Hunter, Jonathan
Huson, William
Hutchings, Gabriel;
Hyatt, Abraham
Hymes, Joseph
Hyser, Henry
Ice, Daniel
Impson, Elias
Impson, Robert
Indian, Thomas
Ingalls, Elihu
Inglish, John
Israel, Aaron
Jacklin, Samuel
Jackson, Thomas
Jamerson, WilUam
James, Ebenezer
James, Richard
Jane, Jotham
Jarman, David
Jarvis, Nathaniel
Jarvis, Thomas
Jay, David
Jay, John
Jeffries, John
Jeyne, WiUiam
Jillet, Joseph
Jillon, P.
Johns, Silas
Johns, Thomas
Johnson, Davis
Johnson, Isaac
Johnson, James
Johnson, John
Johnson, Joseph
Johnson, Samuel
Johnson, Uriah
Johnson, William
Johnston, Benjamin
Johnston, Samuel
Jones, David
Jones, Evans
Jones, Jacob
Jones, James
Jones, John
Jones, Sguire
Jones, Thomas
Joy, Samuel
June, Stephen
Kader, Adam
Kader, John
Keaffer, WiUiam
Keder, Stephen
Keefe, Arthur
Keefer, William
Keeler, David
Keeler,j Ebenezer
KeUey, Dennis
KeUey, Isaac
KeUey, Robert
128
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Keljy, Maurice
Kelly, Morris
KeUy, Robert
Kennedy, John
Kenner, Jonathan
Kenney, Charles
Kenney, Jese
Kenny, Charles
Ketcham, John
Ketcham,, Samuel
Keynon, Robert
Kiff, John
Kilsey, John
King, William
Kinner, Jonathan
Kinney, Charles
Kinney, Elijah
Kuffen„ James
Ladoo, John
Ladow, John
Lamb, Isaac
Lamb, Joshua
Lambert, Cornelius
Lambert, Joseph
Lane, Jeremiah
Lansing, John
Larable, Elias
Laraby, Elisha
Lashier, Abraham
Latham, John
Lawrence, John
Lawrence, Uriah
Lawrence, W.
Leak, J.
Leawrance, Richard
Lee, James
Lee, Japath
Lee, Seth
Lee, William
Lent, Hendrick
Lent, Jacob
Leonard, David
Leonard, Edward
Leopard, John
Lepper, John
Leveraga, Samuel
Leverage, William
Levey, Jacob
Lewis, Henry
Lewis, Jabez
Lewis, Samuel
Lhommedieu, Mulford
Light, John
Light, Lemuel
LUey, John
Linch, John
Lincfa, Laurence
Lines, Hosea
Link, Henry
Lion, Hosea
Liscomb, Isaac
Liscomb, Samuel
Little, William
Livingston, Dick
Livingston, Richard
Lloyd, James
Loanis, John,
Lock, John
Lockwood, Azariah
Lockwood, Hezekiah
Lodcwood, Israel
Lockwood, Jonathan
Lockwood, Nathan
Lockwood, Reuben
Lodovick, Peter
Loeson, Laurence
Longworth, Isaac
Looper, James
Loper, Abraham
Love, John
Love, Waiiam
Love joy, Andrew
Lovelis, George
Lovelis, Jeremiah
Lownsberry, Nathaniel
Lowree, William
Ludliun, Daniel
Ludlum, John
Lufberry, Jonathan
Lupton
Lusee, E.
Lusk, Jacob
Lusk, Michael
Lusk, William
Lwinas, Herry
Mabee, Tobias
McAlester, William
Macaulay, Charles
McCaffety, James
McCarty, Dennis
McCauley, Charles
McCharlesworth, John
McCIain, John
McClarien, David
McCIean, Neal
McClow, Joseph
McColister, WiUiam
McCollem, John
McCollum^ Malcom
McColum, John
McCracken, John
McCuIlough, Andrew
McDaniel, John
McDole, John
McDoll, John
McDonald, John
McDonald, Michael
McDougall, D.
McDowal, WiUiam
McDowel, John
McElley, John
McEntach, WiUiam
McEvers, John
McFairley, WiUiam
McFaU, David
McGUles, Hugh
McGUori, Fergus
McGowin, Duncan
McGready, James
Mcintosh, WiUiam
McKee, Michael
McKiel, Adam
MackrUl, Richard
McLain, Hugh
McMannuss WilMam
McMicken, Ebenezer
McNeal, Charles
McNeil, Charles
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
129
McNeil, Thomas
McOlister, Alexander
McPherson, Lawrence
McWhorster, John
Mahane, Patrick
Mahone, James
Mahony, Cornelius
Main, Robert
Makraback, Dyke
Maloy, John
Mapes, John
Marchant, Able
Mark, G.
Marks, Aholiab
Marling, Deliverance
Marr, James
Marray, Warren
Marsh, Benjamin
Marshal, Amon
Marshall, James
Martin, Archibald
Martin, James
Martin, Michael
Martin, Samuel
Marvin, Stephen
Mason, Francis
Mason, Thomas
Masson, Francis
Masters, Jonathan
Matthews, Henry
Mattlson, Aaron
Maxwell, ComeUus
Mead, David
Meaker, Daniel
Medler, Chri'stian
Medler, Christopher
Meed, Ezekeel
Meeker, TJzual
Meesy, Benjamin
Merrill, Joseph
Merrit, Ebenezer
Merrit, Luke
Merry, Benjamin
Metzger, John
Midler, Christ'r
MiUer, Benjamin
Millar, John
Miller, Frederick
Miller, George
Miller, Jesse
Miler, Jack
MiUer, John
MiiUer, Justus
Miller, Lewis
Miller, Peleg
Miller, Peter
Miller, William
Miler, Zephaniah
Milles, Jesse
Mills, Andrew
Mills, James
Mingos, Haronlmus
Mink, Johannes
Minks, John
Mires, John
Mitchel, Greorge
Mitchel, Samuel
Mitchel, William
Money, WilUam
Moody, James
Mooney, William
Moore, Frederick
Moore, John
Moore, Joseph
Moore, Robert
Moore, Thomas
More, Martin
More, Robert
More, Thomas
Moreign, Alex
Morpeth, William
Morrel, James
Morrel, Jesse
Morrel, John
Morrell, WiUiam
Morris, Edward
Morris, Robert
Morrison, Dimcan
Morse, John
Mosher, John
Moss, David
Moulton, Cato
Moulton, Josiah
Moulton, WiUIam
Mount, Thomas
Mow, James
Mucklow, Joseph
Mulford, Samuel
Mulliner, Moses
Munday, James
Munn, Benjamin
Munroe, Peter
Murfe, John
Murn, Muhel
Murphy, Daniel
Murphy, James
Myer, Christ'r G.
•Myers, David
Myers, Zach
Nail, Henry
Neal, Henry
Neder, John
Neelson, W.
Neilson, Thomas
Nelson, Thomas
Neves, W.
Newman, Abraham
Newman, Jeremiah
Newman, Joshua
Nevraian, N.
Nichols, James
Nickols, Isaac
Nicols, Simon
Nipper, John
Nogert, John
Norstrandt, James
Norton, Abel
Norton, Calvin
Norton, George
Norton, Sible
Nostrander, James
Nostrant, George
Notingham, Lewiis
Nucom, Thomas
O'Brien, James
O'Brion, Paul
Ogden, David
Ogden, John
130
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Ogden, Jonathan
Ogilsvie, John
OgstrandeT, Peter
O'Kie, A.
Olden, Daniel
Onderdunck, Abraham
O'Neal, Thomas
Orr, William
Orsor, Abraham
Orsor, Edward
Osbom, Abraham
Osborne, Henry
Osburn, D.
Osterout, Gilbert
Ostrander, Henry
Ostrander, James
Ostrander, Peter
Owen, Moses
Owens, Ameziah
Owens, Elisha
Owens, Terrence
Pain, Silas
Palmer, Amaziah
Palmer, Isaac
Palmer, James
Palmer, Jonathan
Palmer, Silas
Palmiteir, John
Pangbourn, John
Fangbourn, William
Pangbum, John
Pangburn, William
Pardy, Nathaniel
Parent, Nathaniel
Parisoneous, J.
Park, John
Park, Robert
Parker, Ebenezer
Parker, Joseph
Parks, John
Parks, WiUiam
Parsells, Matthew
Parshall, James
Parsong, Charles
Paterson, Simon
Paid, Joseph
Peck, Nathan
Peirce, Thomas
Peirson
Pell, John
Pembrook, W.
Pemderson, John
Pendle, Jonathan
Pennear, Peter
Penney, John
Pennoyer, Jesse
Penoyer, Israel
Penton, Amos
Perkins, Thomas
Perlee, Edmond
Perry, David
Pershall, James
Persons, John
Peterson, Simeon
Pettit, Abraham
Pettit; Daniel
Pettit, Samuel
Phillips, David
PhUlips, Jonathan
Pickle, Henry
Pickle, John Henry
Pierce, Thomas
Pierson
Piggs, Richard
Pinyard, WiUiam
Place, Christopher
Place, James
Plank, Nicholas
Plass, Michel
Plans, Peter
PUmley, William
Plosser, Peter
Plumb, Stephen
Poimer, Peter
Polamater, John
Pollard, Thomas
Pdlly, Hugh
Pond, Samuel
Post
Post, Samuel
Potter, George
Potter, William
Poular, John
Powd, Vinson
Presher, Abraham
Presher, WUliam
Preston, Benjamin
Pride, J.
Prim, Azariah
Prime, Peter
Primm, Peter
Prior, Abner William
Futman, William
Quant, Henry
Quinded, David
Quinn, Thomas
Racket
Racket, Noah
Raigins, William
Raimond, Benjamin
Rainey, Jeremiah
Ramis, James
Randall Nathaniel
Randle, Moses
Randle, Seith
Raney, John
Ransier, George
Ray, Charles
Raymond, James
Raynor, Ichabod
Reader, Jacob
Reed, Gceorge
Reed, James
Reed, John
Reeve, Luther
Reeves, Israel
Reives, Nathaniel
Renny, Jesse
Reymond, lisaac
Reynolds, Briggs
Reynolds, David
Reynolds, Ebenezer
Reynolds, Eli
Reynolds, James
Reynolds, John
Rejmolds, Timothy
Rice, Ezekiel
Rice, Samuel
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
131
Rich, Henry
Richards, David
Richards, John
Riggs, Daniel
Ritchie, Alexander
Ritchie, Isaac
Roader, Jacob
Roads, Jacob
Roberds, Edmun
Roberts, Amos
Roberts, John
Robertson, James
Robins, Evans
Robinson, Andrew
Robinson, D.
Robinson, James
Robinson, Matthias
Robinson, Peter
Rockwell, Ebenezer
Rodgers, Own
Roe, John
Roe, Lemon
Roe, SiUeman
Roe, Simon
Rofft, Aaron
Rogers, John, Sr.
Rogers, John, Jr.
Rogers, Owen
Rogers, William
Romer, Benjamin
Romer, Peter
Roome, Benjamin
Roomer, Hendrick
Rose, Andrew
Rose, Jonathan
Rosman, Adam
Rosman, Henry
Rosman, Philip
Ross, Aaron
Ross, Nathaniel
Ross, Waiiam
Rossell, Thomas
Rough, Conrade
Row, John
Row, Simon
Rowland, Philip
Rowland, Thomas
Ruland, Jehiel
Rundle, David
Runnels, Abijah
Runnels, Joseph
Russsell, Jonathan
Russigue, Abraham
Russle, W.
Sage, Allen
Sagor, John
St. Lawrence, George
Salmon
Salmon, Absalom
Salyer, Zaccheus
Sanderson, James
Sandford, Daniel
Sandford, John
Sanford, Daniel
Sattally, Richard
Saxton, Gilbert
Sayrs, Nathaniel
Scantling, Jeremiah
Scates, James
Schofleld, Samuel
Schofleld, Silas
Schofleld, Smith
Schouten, Henry
Schouten, John
Schriver, Jacob N.
Schut, Frederick
Schui^ James
Schut, Tennis
Scott, Alexander
Scott, Elijah
Scott, Henry
Scott, James
Scott, John
Scott, "William
Sloulen, H.
Scriver, Christian
Scriver, Henry
Scutt, William
Sealey, Joseph
Seaman, Moses
Seaton, Rufus
Seeds, George
Seers, Joseph
Seward, John
Shannon, Robert
Shatton, David
Shaw, John
Shaw, Michael
Shaw, Peleg
Shay, M.
Shea, Philip
Shear, Lodiwick
Shelp, Joseph
Sherkeys, J.
Sherwood, Micajah
Shevalier, John
Sibbio, Thomas
•Sickler, Coonradt
Sickler, Mitthias
Sicknar, Jacob
Simmons, Caleb
Simmons, E.
Simmons, John
Simmons, Joshua
Simmons, Samuel
Sinnott, Patrick
Sisco, Dick
Sisco, Philip
Sitzer, Barrant
Size, Gilbert V.
Slason, Stephen
Slosson, Ambs
Slutt, A.
Slutt, M.
Slutt, W.
Sly, William
SmaUy, Timothy
Smith, Benjamin
Smith, Caleb
Smith, David
Smith, Ebenezer B.
Smith, Ebner B.
Smith, Ezekiel
Smith, Gersham
Smith, Gideon
Smith, liSaac
Smith, James
Smith, John
132
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Smith, Joseph
Smith, Josiah
Smith, Moses
Smith, Nathan
Smith, Nathaniel
Smith, Obediah
Smitd, R.
Smith, Samuel
Smith, Solomon
Smith, Thaddeus
Smith, WiUlam
Snadiker, Moses
Snedeker, Moses
Snowden, John
Snyder, Peter
Southerland, James
Speed, George
Speed, Henry
Spicer, Jacob
Sprage, Alexander
Spring, Nathaniel
Springer, Isaac
Springston, Jacob
Squire, Jacob
SquirreU, Jacob
Stagg, Adam
Stagg, John
Stalker, S.
Standish, Amos
Stanford, John
Stanley, Daniel
Staples, Nathan
Stebbins, Lewis
Steen, William
Steenborgh, Peter
Steeples, Nathan
Stephans, Jessee
Stephens, John
Stephens, Justice
Stephens, Thomas
Stewart, John
Still, James
Still, John
Stitt, iohn
Stokes, William
Stone, Asa
Stone, David
Storms, Abraham
Stratten, Samuel
Streat, H.
Streat, W.
Stringham, Henry
Strong, John
Strong, William
Stuard, John
Sturdifent, Jonathan
Suckinut, John
Suffrin, George
Suitt, William
Sullivan, James
Swan, Robert
Swartwout, Henry
Swartwout, John
Swartwout, William
Sweed, William
Sweet, Amos
Sweet, Benoni
Sweet, George
Sweet, John
Sweet, John, Jr.
Sweet, Nathan
Sweet, Robert
Swift, Ambrose
Talmadge, John
Talmage, Joseph
Tappen, Daniel
Tappen, N.
Tarrent, Thomas
Tattenton, Jeptha
Taylor, Jasper
Taylor, Joseph
Taylor, Oliver
Taylor, William
Teatter, John
Teller, J.
Ter Boss, J.
Terboss, Simon
Terbush, C.
Terbush, Simon
Terry, Elijah
Terry James
Terry, Samuel
Thaire, J.
Thomas, G.
Thomas, John
Thomas, Richard
Thompson, Benjamin
Thompson, EUas
Thompson, James
Thompson, John
Thompson, Richard
Thompson, WiMiam
Thomson, Zebulon
Thorp, Peter
Tice, John
Tice, Joseph
Tieman, Peter
Tinkler, Henry
Titus, Isaac
Titus, James
Titus, Jonathan
Tompkins, Edward
Tompkins, Nathaniel
Tool, John
Topping, Daniel
Town, Jacob
Townsend, Absolom
Toy, Samuel
Traver, Francis
Traver, Nicholas
Travess, Jacob
Travis, Silvanus
Travis, Robert
Trewilleger, J.
Trim, Azariah
Trowbridge, James
Tubbs, Stephen
Tubee, John
Tucker, John
Tucker, Joishua
Tucker, Samuel
Turn, David
Tuman, David
Tuman, Peter
Tuman, Peter, Jr.
Turner, Joseph
Turrel, Jones
Tuthill, James
THE REVOLUTIONAHY WAK.
133
Tuttle, Moses
Tyler, Shuble
Underdunk, T.
Unter, Josiah
Upton, Benjamin
Utley, Ase
Utter, Joseph
Utter, William
"Vail, Thomas
Vallentlne, Gab'r
Valts, Coonrod
Van Allen, J.
Vanarter, James
Van Benscoten, Elias
Vandebogart, John
Van Debogart, Minard
Van DeBogart, Myndert
Vandemark, G
Vandervort, Jacob
Vandevour, John
Vandu'Sen, Peter
Van Etten, Peter
Van Gelder, Isaac
Vanhoosen, Rinier
Van Hooser, Rynier
Van Horn, John
Van Houten, John
Van Hoven, Ryner
Vanlene, R.
Vanline, J.
Van North, John
Vancore, Philip
Van Size, Gilbert
Van Steenbergh, Peter
Vantassellj Isaac
Van tassell, John
Van Volkenborgh,
Francis
Van Wicklen, Fred-
erick
Vanworma, Cornelius
Vanna, Vincent
Venier, Peter
Vise, Daniel
Voh, Peter
Vonck, Henry
Vredenburgh, James
Wade, Elia
Wait, Christopher
Walker, Edward
Walker, Mathew
Walker, Matthias
Wall, John
Wallace, Benjamin
Wallice, Uriah
Waner, KiUean
Ward, Abijah
Ward, Jadoc
Ward, Robert
Ward, Zedock
Warden, Benard
Waring, Newman
Warner, Martin
Warson, Thomas
Washburn, Joel
Waterbury, Ely
Watkins, William
Watson, Thomas
Watson, William
Wattaker, Edward
Wattles, William
Weaver, John
Webb, Ebenezer
Webb, Silvanus
Webster, Joseph
Weed, Abijah
Weed, Gilbert
Weed, John Drew
Weed, Nathan
Weed, S.
Weeks, James
Weeks, John
Weeks, Jonathan, Jr.
Weeks, Macejah
Weiss, Daniel
Welch, Elijah
Welch, Ephraim
Welch, Henry
Welch, Isaac
Welch, James
Welch, John
Welch, Joseph
Welch, Luke
Welch, Thomas
Welch, William
Wells, Calvin
Wells, Elijah
Wells, P.
WeUs, William
Wentworth, James
West, Ase
West, Jacob
West, Joseph
West, William
Westfall, Levi
Whaley, Samuel
Whaley, Timothy
Wheeler, James
*Wheeler, John
Wheeler, S.
Wheeler, Thomas
Whipple, Nathan
White, Ephraim
White, George
White, Henry
White, John
White, Samuel Curran
White, Stephen
White, Thomas
Whitehead, Aaron
Whitehead, Isaiah
Whitehead, William
Whitman, John
Whitney, Jacob
Wickham, Stephen
Wicks, James
Wicks, Jonathan
Wiggins, WiUiam
Wilcout, W.
Wildley, Edward
Wiley, Edward
Wilkinson, Robert
Wilks, Willis
Williams, Aaron
Williams, Abiah
Williams, Adam
Williams, Charles
Williams, David
134
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Willams, John
Williams, Peter
Williamson, James
Willis, Abraham
Willis, David
Willis, W.
WiUis, J.
Wilsee, H.
Wilson, John
WUson, Michael
Wilson, Nathaniel
Wilson, Samuel
WUson, W.
WUson, Walter
WOtice, Joseph
Winass, Silas
Winchall, Samuel
WincheU, James
Witteker, Edward
Wood, Jacob
Wood, John
Wood, Matthew
Wood, Nathan
Wood, Samuel
Wood, William
Wood, Zopher
Woodruff, David
Woodruff, Jeremiah
Woodruff, Joshua
Woodruff, William
Word, Abijah
Worden, Darious
Worden, James
Wordin, Shubel
Worpeth, WiUiam
Wright, John
Wyer, Jeremiah
Yarrington, WiUiam
Yeoman, EUezer
Youmans, Eleazer
Youmans, Jonas
Youmans, Jones
Young, Isaac
Young, John
Young, Thomas
Yurks, Harmanus
Zedmond, Bartho'w
The four regiments composing the Continental Line were brigaded
under that gallant officer, General Richard Montgomery of Rhine-
beck, and in September of '75 marched away to Canada with orders
to secure possession of the Canadian government. After capturing
St. John and Montreal, Montgomery garrisoned the conquered towns,
and proceeded with his regiment, now reduced to three hundred men,
against Quebec. On the march he was reinforced by the troops lead
by Col. Benedict Arnold. Montgomery assumed command of the
whole force, which did not exceed nine hundred eifective soldiers. For
three weeks he besieged the town with his handful of men. Before
daybreak on the 31st of December, 1776, he determined to stake every-
thing on an assault. Dividing his little army into four columns, he
led the first division in an attack on the Lower Town in the neighbor-
hood of the citadel. A battery lay just before, and it was thought
the gimners had not discovered the assailants. "Men of New York,"
said the brave Montgomery, "you wiU not fear to follow where your
General leads ! Forward !" As the Americans rushed forward, the
battery burst forth with a storm of grape-shot. Montgomery and
both his aids fell dead. The men, heartbroken at the death of their
beloved General, staggered a moment, then fell back, and returned to
Wolfe's Cove, above the city.
Arnold who attacked the town on the north was also severely
wounded. Of the men from Dutchess who lost their Hves in this cam-
paign there is, of course, no record. The worst calamity was the
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 135
death of General Richard Montgomery. Even in England it was men-
tioned with sorrow. Born of an illustrious Irish family, he became a
soldier in his boyhood. He had shared the toils and the triumph of
Wolfe. To the enthusiasm of a warm and affectionate nature he joined
the highest order of mihtary talents and the virtues of an exalted
character. In July, 1773, he married Janet, eldest daughter of Rob-
ert R. and Margaret (Beekman) Livingston of Rhinebeck.
Some years after the death of Gen. Montgomery, his widow erected
a mansion just south of Annandale in the town of Red Hook, and, in
1818, from a portico of this building she watched the remains of her
husband, which had been disinterred and borne from Canada under a
mihtary escort, conveyed by the steamboat Richmond, to the final
resting place beneath the chancel of St. Paul's Church in New York
City.
136 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XI.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
MtrsTEB, R01.1.S.
ACCORDING to the rolls of the State, Dutchess county had
seven regiments during the war, which included a regiment
of "Minute Men," under command of Col. Jacobus Swart-
wout. Ezekiel Cooper also commanded a company of sixty-six men,
known as Cooper's Rangers.
The militia was called out when wanted, kept as long as wanted, and
the soldiers then sent to their homes. Sometimes a regiment would be
called out half a dozen times in the course of a year, and for half a
dozen days at a time, and again it might not be needed in the entire
year. The regiment of Minute Men and the Sixth Regiment, com-
manded respectively by Colonels Jacobus Swartwout and Morris Gra-
ham, took part in the battles of White Plains and Harlem.
Officers and men seem to have often served in different organiza-
tions. A change in the arrangement of the miUtia caused many
transfers of officers of the regiments and in their companies during
the two years following the original organization in 1775; numerous
resignations followed. This has led to much confusion in the records.
The names of the officers and enlisted men of the regiments raised
in Dutchess as they stand on the pubhshed roll in "New York in the
Revolution," follows — except the privates in Col. Frear's regiment, of
which no record can be found. These names were compiled by the
State from that highest of sources, the original muster and pay-rolls,
and are the same as have been transcribed and placed in the records
of the War Department at Washington. The orthography in the
original manuscript has been adhered to, and a blank line inserted
where uie letters were undecipherable.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
137
REGIMENT OF MINUTE MEN, JACOBUS SWARTWOUT, COLONEL.
Captains — Stephen Duryee, Henry Goodwin, George Lane, Comfort Ludington,
William Mott, William Perce, Abraham Schenck, Barnardus Swartwont, Israel
Veal, Cornelius Van Wyck. " ^ ^
LiEUTEifANTs — Henry Bailey, John Berry, Nathaniel Butler, William Colkin, Jon-
athan Crane, Benjamin Elliot, Joseph Garrisqn, Abraham Hiat, Jacob Horton,
John Langdon, Andrew Lawrence, John Manroe, Henry Mott, Thomas Ostrander,.
Charles Piatt, Nathaniel Smith, Isaac Townsend, Peter Van Bunschoten, John T.
Van Kleak.
Adoms, Jesse
Adreanse, Thead
VAkerby, Benjamin
Allen, Jorge
Anderson, eth
Appleyee, Coonraad
Ashbe, Zebulon
Askin, WiUiam
Aslen, Abm.
Aubley, William
Babcock, eph
Bailey, Daniel
Bailey, Ebenezer
Bailey, Elias
Baker, Eleazer
Baker, Elisha
Baker, Joshua
Baker, Francis
Ball, Elephalet
Barker, Richard
Barkins, avid
Barnes, Henry
Bamhard
Barns, Will
Barse, Zebulen
Bartley, hall Pels
Baxter, Thomas
Bell, Henry
Bennet, Elihu
Benny, John
Bently, Joseph
Berger, Andrew
Berry
Beugus, Thomas
Billings, John
EKLISTED MEN.
Birdall, Jacob
Bishop, Joshua
Bishop, Livy
Boga — —, Peter
Bokardus, Lewis
Bolt, Moses
Bonker, Dolf
Boyd, mes
Boyington, Solomon
Bozworth, Hezekiah
Bradley, Nathan
Branah, James
Brill, Jacob, Jr.
Brinckerhoff, Hen
Brisbend, James
Brock, William
Brower, Charles
Brower, Hindrick
Brower, Lazareth
Brower, Rodolphus
Brown, Stephen
Brumsfleld, James
Brustead, William
Bimschout, Elias C.
Burbanks, Noah
Burch, David
Burch, Jeremiah
' Burch, Silas
Burdsill, Jacob
Burges, Thomas
Burlonon, Feamot
Burnet, Isaac
Burnett, Peter
Byington, Solomon
Camfield, James
Carl, Joseph
Carman
Carman, John
Champenois, Daniel
Champlin
^hamplin, Joshua, Jr.
Chapman, Enoch
Chapman, Samuel
Chase, Seth
Christian, Zechariah
Christie, John
Clapp, Benjamin
Clark, Joshua
Clark, Stephen
Cole, Andrew
Colkens, Eli
Conner, John
Cornell, Samuel
Cornwell, Sylvenus
Corsa, Abrah
Corsa, Isaac
Courtright, John
Craft, Caleb
Crane, Ira
Croft, Jacob
Crowfoot, William
Crumwell, Aac
Currer, Elijah
Curtis, Andrew
Dart, Hozell
Davids, John
Davis, David
Davison, James
Davison, John
Dean, Stephen
138
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Degrote, John
Dervoort, Sam L.
Dimmick, Shubal
Disbrow, David
Dodge, Will
Dollaway, Jerem
DoUaway, WiUiam
Downen, Cornelius
Doxey, Amos
Draper, John
Draper, Joseph
Drew, WiUiam
Dmiekin, John
Dutcher, David
Edams, Joseah
Ede, Joshua
Edget, John
Egelston, James
Elderkin, James
Eldige, Jonathan
Eldridge, Elisha
Eldridge, Michael
EUembatz, Eman'l
Elliott, Abn.
ElweU, Ezra
ElweU, Jabes, Jr.
Emegh, Jeremiah
Evens, John
Evens, Thomas
Fairchild, Nathaniel
Fetch, Jerry
Fileow, Enoch
Fileow, Phineas
Finch, Ruben
Force, Timothy
Forgason, Abram
Forguson, Samuel
Foster, David
Poster, John
Foster, Thomas
Fowler, Austin
Fowler, Isaac
Frear, raham, Jr.
Frear, Thomas
Frost, *rhomas, Jr.
Frost, William
Fuller, Isaac
Fullmore, Jasper
Garrison, Abraham
Gedeons, Joseph
Gee, John
Gielwack, Michel
Gifford, Samuel
GifFord, William
Goldin, Rob
GoodfeUow, Wffl
Griffen, Isaac
GrifFen, William
Giigory, Daniel
Grigory, Josiah
Halsted, Thomas
Halsted, WiU
Harris, Peter
Harriss, Mendt
Hawkins, James
Hawkins, Samuel
Hayburn, John
Heacock, John
Hempstead, Nathaniel
Henkly, Josiah
Hervy, Peter
Heucldy, Isaac
Hicks, Jacob
Hicks, Nathaniel
Higbee, William
Hill, Antiney
Hill, ^bert
Hitchcock, Joseph
Hoeg, Nathan
HofF, Abraham
HojEFman, Charles
Hopkins, Thacher
Howe, William
Howes, Moody
Hoyt, Michael
Hubbard, Joseph
Huff, Gamaliel
Huling, Walter
Hunt, Jessee
Hunt, William
Hutchings, John
Hyatt, Steve
Ingersol, ^pheus
Jewet, John
Johnson, James
Johnson, Sabin
Jones, Jeremiah
Jones, ^lias
Jones, Nathan
Jordan, John
Judd, Ebenezer
Keating, Isaac
Keelar, Ezra, Jr.
KeUy, Shubal
King, Jacob
King, Richard
Kipp, Hanry
Kipp, Matthew
Kipp, Pater
Kirkem, Seth
Koonts, Nicholas, Jr.
KsnifSn, Amos
Laine, Jacob
Lake, Benjamin
Lamb, Joseph
Lane
Latson, James, Jr.
LaughUn, Hugh
Lawrance, John
Lawson, Isaac
Leggett, Abraham
Lent, Ab'm
Lent, Abraham A.
Lent, James
Lent, Peter
Lewis, Thomas
Lossen, And
Lossen, Richard
Lossing, Pater Q.
Loveless, Joseph
Ludington, Stephen
Lyons, James
McCavey, Edward
McChucking, Thomas
McColm, ^mes
McCreedy, James, Jr.
McCullough, And
McCutchen, Rob
EDWARD M. GORING.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
139
McGragor, unian
McLoud, Alexander
McNeil, ry
Malties, — ^m'l
Manrow, Justice
Maston, Ezekiel
Mathews, Justice
Merrick, Done
Merritt, David
Miles, John
Miles, Noah
Miller, Godfrey
Miller, John
Miller, Solomon
Mitchell, George
Moe, Isaac
Morehouse, John
Morehouse, Samuel
Morehouse, Stephen
Morey, Lotrip
Morfort, Peter
Morgain, James
Morgan, Reuben
Morison, ^bald
Morse, Phil
Moure, David
Murray, James
Nelson, Paul
Nichels, Epraim
Nickerson, Eliphalet
Nickerson, Mulfort
Nicolls, Thomas
Nikeson, Thomas
Noortshant, Peter
Noortsrant, George
Nostrant, Johanes
Oats, James
Ockerman, Casparus
Olmstead, Ebenezer
Ornes, George
Osborn, Peter
Ouslin, Thorn
Parker, Nathaniel
Parks, Andrew
Parks, John
Parks, John ye 2d
Parrash, Azariah
Parrish, Silas
Peacock,
Peet, Abraham
Pelse, hn
Pelse, oen
Perce, "William, Jr.
Persons, Moses
Philipse, Hen
Pindle, Jonathan
Plugh, Ihamus
Point
Polhamus, dan
Polmeteer, Peter
Pooler, Joseph
Post, Absolom
Potter, Gilbert
Potter, Samuel
Pudney, Francis
Purdy, Abraham
Rainey, John
Recorde, Wetmore
Reed, Aaron
Reed, ohn
Reynolds, hardson
Reynolds, Jesse
Rhynhart, Johanes
Richards, James
Robbards, Benjamin
Roberts, Peter
Robinson, Andrew
Robinson, John
Robinson, Jones
Robinson, Lewis
Robison, Andrew
Roe, Benjamin, Jr.
Romer, , Jr.
Romyne as
Roschrans, Peter
Runals, David
RuneUs, James
Runnels, Jonathan
Rush, Frederick
Rynders, James
Sabin, Elijah
Saminds. Jacob
Saris, Nathaniel
Saunders, John
Schonover, Peter
Schonter, Andrew
Scott, Timothy
Serherve, John
Shapprong, Jan
Shared, William
Shaw, Daniel
Shaw, James
Shear, Henry B.
Shear, Lodwich
Sherwood, Nathan
Shutt, Fradrick
Shutt, Simes
Sickle, Fard C.
• Sickler, George
Simkins, Daniel
SJack, ^ile
»''^iecht, Ab
SmaUee, James
Smith, David
Smith, Eph
Smith, John
Smith, John, Jr.
Smith, Joseph, Jr.
Smith, Joshua
Smith, Nemiah
Smith, Samson
Smith, William
Snedeker, James
Snedeker, John
Snider, Isaac
Snyder, ^hn
Soatpard, Benjamin
Somes, Nathaniel
Storm, Jacob
Strickland, Samuel
Surrine, Charles
Swartout, Jacobus C.
Swartout, Cornelius
Sweet, John
Sweet, Robert
Talmen, ^kim
Tanner, John
Taylor, Gamiliel
140
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Taylor, John
Ter Boss, Simon
Terbus, Peter
Tevinis, John
Thomas, Daniel
Thompson, Thomas
Thorn, horn
Totten, ^mes
Townend, Joseph
Townsend, Daniel
Townsend, James
Travis, Abrm.
Travis, Silvanus
Tripp, Othenial
Underwood, Hen
Utter, Amos
Van Cleck, Bardard P.
Van De Burg
Van Deburgh, Henry I.
Van De Burgh, Stephen
Van Der Bogert, Peter
Van Der Vort, Paul
Van Devaters, Jacobus
Van Devaters, James
Van Stern Bergh,
Simeon
Van Tassel, John
Van Vlerken, Benja-
min
Van Wagenar, John
Varmiliah, John
Vasdawl, Disak
Virmilyan, William
Wagoner, Tobias
Wait, Christopher
Ward, Daniel
Ward, Samuel
Wareing, Thadeus
Waron, Tedes
Way, Giddeon
Weaver, Edward
Weaver, Peter
Weaver, William
Webb, Henry
Weddle, Robert
Weeks, Abraham
Weeks, Micajah
Western, John
Westervelt, Benjamin
Westervett, Caspau-
rac C.
White, Daniel
Whitney, Josiah
Wickson, Solomon
Wilis, Reuben
Willcocks, Stephen
WiUcox, Barnabas
Willis, Thomas
WilUss, Hen
Wilsee, Grandus
Winstead, Charles
Wood, eph
Wood, Solomon
Wood, Timothy
Woodard, Ephraim
Woodard, Samuel
Wooden, John
Worden, Shuble
Wester, William
Wright, Daniel
Wright, Gabriel, Jr.
Wright, John
Wright, Thomas
Yames, Reuben
Yeomans, John
Yeomans, Jonas
Young, Jacob
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— SECOND REGIMENT.
Colonel Abraham Brinckerhoff
Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Griffen
Major Andrew HiU
Major Richard Van Wyck
Adjutant Jacob Brinkerhoff
Quarter Master William GoseUne
Quarter Master Uriah Hill
Quarter Master Isaac Sebring
Quarter Master Cornelius Van Wyck
Captais-s — George Brinkerhoff, George G. Brinkerhoff, John G. Brinkerhoff,
Nicholas Brower, Joseph Horton, Abraham Lent, John Schutt, Thomas Storm,
Evert W. Swart, James R. Swartwout, John Van Bunschoten, Matthew Van Bun-
schoten, Isaac Van Wyck.
Lieutenants — Cornelius Adriance, Robert Brett, John Cooper, Johannes Dewitt,
Christian Dubois, Stephen Osborne, Benjamin Rosekrans, Jacobus Scautt, Abraham
Schultz, William Swartwout, Robert Todd, Barent Van Claeck, Isaac Van Cleef,
Barent Van Kleeck, Abraham Van Wyck, Francis Way, Johannes Wiltsie.
Ensigns — ^Moses Barber, Jacob Bisse, Lawrence Haff, Charles Hoffman, Abra-
ham Hageland, Abraham Ladue, Daniel Schenck, Jacob S. Swartwout, Jacobus
Swartwout, James P. Swartwout.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
141
Ackarman, John
Adriance, Cornelius
Adriance, George
Adriance, Isaac
Adriance, John
Adriance, Ram., Jr.
Adriance, Rem
Adriance, Theodorus
Aldyck, John
Algatt, WilUam
Atgelt, John
Algelt, William
Altgelt, WiUiam
Ammerman, Albert
Annin, Daniel
Annin, James
Appelge, Coenrad
Appilye
Applee, Coenradt
Atgelt, John
Avery, John
Backer, Jacob
Bailey, John
Bailey, Nathan
BaUey, Sutton
Baker, James
Baker, Jesse
Baker, Peter
Baker, Thomas
Baker, William
Baldwin, Joseph
Barber, John ^
Barber, Moises
Barber, Stephen
Barker, John
Barker, Samuel
Barkins, David
Barnard, Thomas
Barnes, Solomon
Barnes, William
Barns, John
Bates, Stephen
Bedel, Jesse
Bedle, Jesse
Beedle, John
EITLISTED MEN.
Bell, Henry
Bell, John
Benjamin, Chester
Bennet, Joseph
Berkinis, David
Bernard, Thomas
Berry, Nicholas
Berry, Peter
Bigbey, Christopher
Bise, Simon
Biship, Levi
Bishop, Caleb
Bishop, Joshua
Bisse, Jacob
Bloom, Benjamin
Bloom, Sylvester
Bocker, Adolph
Boerum, Hendrick
Boerum, Nicholas
Boerum, William
Bogardus, Cornelius
Bogardiis, Francis
Bogardus, Mathew
Bogardus, Peter
Bogardus, Shibboleth
Bogart, Daniel
Bogart, Ort
Bogart, Peter
Boice, Henry
Boice, Simon
Bomp, Joseph
Boncker, Nathaniel
Boncker, Stephen
Bower, Daniel
Bown, Joseph
Brandage, James
Brannah, James
Brett, Francis B.
Brett, Rambout
Brett, Robert
Brett, Theodorus
Brewer, Charles
Briggs, Caleb
Brinckerho, Abraham J.
Brinckerhoff, Abraham
Brinckerhoff, Abra-
ham I.
Brinckerhoff, Abra-
ham J.
Brinckerhoif, Daniel
BrinckerhofP, DerickJ.
Brinckerhoff, Dirck
BrinckerhofP, Dirck, Jr.
Brinckerhoff, Dirck T.
Brinckerhoff, George
Brinckerhoff, Henry
Brinckerhoff, Isaac
Brinckerhoff, Jacob
Brinckerhoff, John S.
• Brock, Francis
Brooks, William
Brower, Daniel
Brower, David
Brower, Garret
Brower, William
Brown, Aron
Brown, Jacob
Brown, James
Brown, Samuel
Brown, Stephen
Bruck
Bruer, Wilam
Brumfield, James
Brush
Budd, John
Bump, Jacob
Burhans, Peter
Burlyson, Ferenot
Burnet, Isaac
Burroughs, James
Bush, John
Bush, Peter
Bush, Zachariah
Bussing, Abraham
Butcher, Robert
Byce, Henry
Canfield, Daniel
Canfield, James
Canfield, Titus
Canniff, John
142
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Canniff, Levi
Carman, John
Carman, Thomas
Carpenter, Henry
CaT7, John
Cary, Joseph
Chatfidd, WUUam
Chnrchill, Edward
Churchill, Isaac
Churchill, Jacob
Churchill, John
Churchill, Jonas
Churchill, Joseph
Clapp, John
Clark, Samuel
Clarke, Matthew
Cleyland, William
Cochran, William
CofSn, John
Cole, Aaron
Cole, Jacob
Cole, Aron
Comfort, Richard
Compton, John
Concklin, Elias
Concklin, John
Concklin, Lawrence
Concklin, Matthew
Concklin, William
Connor, James
Connor, John
Connover, Benjamin
Cook, John
Cook, William
Coons, Philip
Cooper, Cornelius
Cooper, Cornelius, J.
Cooper, Jacob
Cooper, John
Cooper, Minderd
Cooper, Obadiah
Cooper, Obadiah I.
Cooper, Obadiah J.
CoOpma)!, Jacob
Coopper, Doct
Cooper, Obadiah
Corker, John Rynas
Cornell, John
ComweU, Clement
ComweU, Silvester
Covenhoven, Adrian
Covert, John
Covint, John
Cowenhoven, Benjamin
Cowinhoverd, Adrjian
Craft, Thomas
Crandel, Abraham
Crawford, William
Crinck, Abraham
Cronck, Abraham
Cronck, Lawrence
Cronk, Valam
Cuer, Nathaniel
Cuer, Samuel
Cuer, William
Culver, Dennis
Cure, Matthew
Currie, Archibald
Currie, John
Cushman, William
Dannels, James
Darlon, Jacobus
Dates, John
Datin, Corrinbary
David, Henry
Davis, John
Davison, James
Dayton, Hezekiah
Dean, Stephen
Deboisi Christian
Deets, John
Degraff, Moses
Degraff, Simeon
Degrutia, Elias
Delamater, William
Delaway, Jeremiah
Demilt, Garret
Demilt, Isaac
Demitt, Garret
Depue, Peter
Devine, Asher
Devoort, Samuel
Dewitt, John
Dewitt, Peter
Dickinson, John H.
Diness, Mynard
DoUoway, Jeremiah
Donalds, James
Doxey, Stephen
Dubois, Cornelius
Dubois, Gideon
Dubois, Jacob
Dubois, Koert
Dubois, Peter
Dubois, Tennis
Dubois, Thomas
Duboys, Jacob T.
Durtwater, Daniel
Duryce, Abraham, Jrj.
Duryee, Charles
Duryer* Abraham
Dutcher, Barnt
Dutcher, David
Dycker, David
Eldred, William
Ellis, Henry
Elsworth, Ahasserus
Eleworth, Alexander
Emans, Jacobus
Enness, James
Every, John
Farington, Joseph
Parrel, Daniel
Fawlor, Austin
Ferhone, John
Ferrington, Joseph
Fitchout, John
Flegler, Zachariah
Flowers, Benjamin
Flynn, Patrick
Forbes, John
Forguson, Samuel
Fowlar, Joseph
Garrison, Reuben
Gault, Matthew
Gauslin, William
Gee, Jno.
Gerow, Benjamin
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
143
Gerow, Daniel
GUdersleeve, James
Gildersleeve, Joseph
GUdersleeve, Nathaniel
Giles, WiUiam
Godfellow, WiUiam
Golnack, Michael
Goodfellow, William
GoTsline, Samuel
GorsUne, WiUiam
GosUng, Samuel
GosUng, WiUiam
Green, Ezekiel
Green, Gilbert
Green, Isaac
Green, James
Green, James, Jr.
Green, Jeremiah
Green, John
Green, Joseph
Green, Joseph, Sr.
Green, Joseph, Jr.
Green, Stephen
GrifiSn, Cornelius
Griffin, Isaac
Griffin, Jacob
Griffin, John
Griffin, Joseph
Griffin, Joshua
Griffin, Peter
Gue, Isaac
Gulnack, Jacob
Gulnecfc, Michael
Haasner, Jacob
Hageman, Francis
Hageman, Jeremiah
Hageman, Peter
Haines, John
Hair, Amos
Hallett, R.
Halstead, Thomas
Halstead, William
Halsted, Josiah
Hames, John F.
Hanly, Matthew
Hanson, Aurt
Hanson, John
Hardenbergh, Dirck
Hardenbergh, Garret
Harris, Minderd
Harsincise, Isaac
Hart, Michal
Hasbrook, Jacob
Haskins, WiUiam
Hasner, Jacob
Hawk, John Baron
Hayburn, John
Heeremans, Henry
Heermans, John
Hegamen, Peter
HeUker, John
Hicks, John
Hicks, Joshua
Higbee, Flemming
Higbee, Lemuel
Higby, FlimmewiU
Higby, Lemuel
HUl
Hilton, Joseph
Hodge, Abraham
Hoffman, Daniel
Hogjaboom, Bartholo-
mew
Hogan, Edward
Hoghtalen, John
Holmes, Issac
Holmes, William
Homes, WiUiam
Honson, John
Hoogeboom, Barthol-
omew
Hoogland, Derick
Hoogland, William
Hoogtalen, John
Horsuer, Jacob
Horton, Gilbert
Horton, Joseph
Horton, Joseph P.
Horton, Joshua
Horton, Matthias J.
Horton, Peter
Hosher, Stephen
Howard, Joseph
Huff, Angel
Huff, Lawrence
Huffman, Daniel
Hughson, Gabriel
Hughson, John
Hughson, WiUiam
Hulst, Peter
Humfrey, Henry
Hutchings, Jacob
Hutchins, Benjamin
Hyer, Walter
Innes, James
Innis, Peter
•Isaac, Burnet
Jackson, Joseph
Jarepenning, John
Jarow, Daniel
Jarowe, Benjamin
JerwiUinger, Jerean
JeweU, Abraham
JeweU, George
JeweU, John
Johnson, James
Johnson, Thomas
Johnson, Robert
Jones, David
Kappelye, Issac
KeUy, WiUiam
Kennedy, Henry
KerriUy, Daniel
Kershon, Isaac
Ketcham, Titus
King, WUliam
Kip, John
Kipp, Abraham
Klump, Zachariah
Knapp, Shadrack
Kniffen, Jonathan
Kniver, Jacob
Kronk, James
Ladeau, Daniel
Ladeu, Nathaniel
Ladeu, Oliver
Ladew, Abraham
144
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Ladua, William
Ladue, Peter
Lane, Gilbert
Lane, Gilbert, Jr.
Lane, Jacob
Lane, Jesse
Lane, Joseph
Lane, Joshua
Lane, William
Lane, WiUiam, Jr.
Landgon, Jonathan
Lany, William, Jr.
Larry, Jno.
Lattemore, Thomas
Lattin, Ambrose
Lawrence, John
Lean, Joseph
Lieavy, John
Ledeau, William, Sr.
Ledue, Daniel
Lee, Jonathan
Leghtatn, John
Lent, Abraham, Jr.
Lequiere, Abraham
Leroy, Francis
Leroy, Peter
Leroy, Simon
Lerye, WiUiam
Light, William
Light, Woilsey
Linderbeck, John
Lisk, Benjamin
Losee, Abraham
Losee, Abraham L.
Losee, Jacob
Losee, John A.
Losee, Simeon
Low, Jno.
Low, John
Luckey, Samuel
Ludenton, Steapen
Ludington, Stephen
Luord, Josiah
Luyste^ Dirck
Luyster, Peter
Lyster, Garret
McBride, John
McCaby, Edward
MacCrady, James
McCredy, James
McCudgeon, Robert
McKaby, Dennis
McKeeby, Darius
McKeeby, WiUiam
McKeely, Edward
McKeUy, WUliam
MeManness, Michael
McNeal, Henry
Major, James
Mannery, WiUiam
Marcius, C.
Marston, Aurt
Marten, Aert
Marten, Peter
Martense, Adrian
Martin, Ezekiah
Martin, Gershom
Martin, Jeremiah
Martin, Thomas
Masten, Aert
Mastin, Ezechiel
Maxfield, James
Mead, David
Meddagh, Aurt
Medew, Lewis
Meed, Jeremiah
Meger, WilUam
Menema, John
Meritt, Joseph
Mestin, Aurt
Meyer, Abraham
Meyer, James
Meyer, Peter
Middagfa, Aurt
Middagh, James
Miels, Bennajah
Miels, Noah
Miles, John
Miles, Noah
MiUer, Ezra
MiUer, James
Miller, PhiUp
Mills, Benajah
MUls, Robert
Mogar, Caleb
Moger, William
Monfoort, Albert
Monfoort, Domenicus
Monfoort, Elbert, Jr.
Monfoort, John
Monfoort, John C.
Monfoort, Peter
Monfort, Elbert
Monfort, John P.
Monger, William
Monson, George
Montanye, Benjamin
Morse, Joseph
Mortisa, Adriaan
Munfort, Adrian
Myer, Abraham
Myer, Adolph
Myer, Jacob
Myer, John
Myer, John, Jr.
Myer, John Dikman
Meyer, Peter
Myer, William
Myers, Abraham
Naddue, Lewis
NeaUy, Samuel
Neeley, Rolette
Neepes, Abraham
Nelson, Paul
Nettleton, Amos
Newton, Charles
Nifer, Jacob
Noorstrant, John
Noorstrant, Peter
Norstrand, Cornelius
Norstrand, Jacobus
Norton, Peter
Nostrand, George
OdiMa, WiUiam
Oestrande, Cornells
Ogden, Benjamin
Ogden, Joseph
Osbern, Richard
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
145
Osborn, Doct
Osborn, James
Osborn, Peter
Osborn, Richard
Osborn, Samuel
Ostram, John, Jr.
Ostrander, Cornelius
Ostrander, Henry
Ostrom, John
Outwater, Daniel
Paddock, Peter
Palen, Hendriek
Palen, Peter
Paling, Peter
Palm, Hendriek
Palmetier, Petrus
Pardon, Thomas
Parker, Joseph
Parker, Nathaniel
Pating, Hennery
Patterson, Abijah
Peck, Joseph
Peck, Oliver
Petet, Ebenezer
Pettit, David
Phlips, James
Philips, Ralph, Jr.
Philips, Roelof
Philips, William
Philips, WiUiam C.
Phillips, Abraham
Phillips, David
Phillips, Henry
Phillips, Jacobus
Pierce, Richard
Pine, Philip
Pine, Robert
Pine, Silvanus
Pine, Thomas
Pollock, William
PoUom, Tice
Post, Joseph
Potten, Danel
Pudney, Cornelius
Pudney, Francis
Pudney, John
PuUick, John
PuUick, William
Purdy, Elisha
Purdy, Gilbert
Purdy, Joseph
Purdy, Nathaniel
Quan, John
Rantsier, Andrew
Rapalgee, John
Rapelsee, Isaac
Rayer, Daniel
Raynor, Daniel
Reynolds, Andrew
Right, Daniel
Robinson, Jonas
Roe, Benjamin
Roe, Daniel
Roe, David
Rogers, Joseph
Rogers, Micah
Rogers, Michael
Rogers, Piatt
Rogers, Robert
Rogers, Uriah
RoU, Henry
Romer, John
Rosekrans, Benjamin
Rosekrans, John
Rosekrans, Peter
Rosekrans, Thomas;
Roukrans, Dirck
Rowland, Mai^n
Runnels, Andrew
Ryce, Peter
Rycel, Peter
Ryder, Caleb
Ryer, Tunis
Ryndass, John
Ryness, Abraham
Ryness, Andrew
Ryness, John
Sackett, Ananias
Santon, William
Schenck, Daniel
Schenck, Philip
Schenck, Roeloff
Schounhover, Peter
Schouten, CorneUus
Schouten, Ephraim
Schouten, John
Schouten, Simon
Schouten, William
Schouter, Cornelius
Schutt, Abraham
Schutt, James
Schutt, John, Jr.
Schutt, Joseph
Schutt, Stephen
Schutt, Tennis
Scofield, Silvanus
Scot, Walter
Scouten, Andrew
Scouten, Andris
Scouten, Ephraim
Scouten, Johannes
Scouten, John
Scouten, Simon
Scouten,William
Scutt, Dennis,
Scutt, Joseph
Sebring, Cornelius
Sebring, Isaac
Secord, Isaac
Secord, Josiah
Seton, Heskieh
Shaff, Frederick
Shear, Abraham
Sherer, James
Shevling, John
Shults, Christopher
Shute, Aron
Sickles, John, Jr.
Skutt, Teunjs
Slack, William
-Sleight, Abraham
^Sleight, John
flight, Abraham, Jr.
Sloot, John
Smith, Isaac
Smith, Jacob
Smith, John
Smith, Joseph
146
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Smith, Joseph, Jr.
Smith, Joshua
Smith, Martin
Smith, Maurice
Smith, Morris
Smith, Richard
Smith, Sylvester
Smith, WilUam
Snider, George
Snider, Moses
Sodem, John
Soden, John
Somendyke, Jacob
Somemdike, William
Somes, Nathaniel
Somes, Richard
Somes, Stephen
Southard, Gilbert
Southard, Henry
Southard, Isaac
Southard, John
Southard, John, Jr.
Southard, Richard
Southard, Thomas
Southerd, Jones
Spence, John
Spencer, John
Stanton, William
Storm, Isaac
Storm, John
Sutton, Joseph
Swartwort, James
Swartwout, Cornelius
Swartwout, John
Swartwout, Richard
Swartwout, Samuel
Swartwout, Thomas
TaUman, Timothy
Tanner, Zopher
Tarpennye, John
Taylor, Stephen
Teller, Oliver
Terbosh, Abraham
TerBush, Luke
Tercoss, William
Terhune, John
Terhune, Daniel
Terpanning, John
Terwilger, Juryan
Thatcher, Stephen
Theal, Joseph
Thomas, Johnson
Thompson, Ezra
Thorn, Gershom
Thurston, Benjamin
Thurston, James
Totten, Daniel
Traverse, Nathaniel
Tremper, Michael
Turhune, Abraham
Turhune, John
Turner, Alexander
Turner, Elljck
Vail, Isaac
VaU, Jesse
Van Amburgh, Abra-
ham
Van Banech, Jacob
Van Benchoten, , James
Van Bomal, Christo-
pher
Van Bomelj Peter
Van Bonnel, Christ-
offel
Van Bosnel, Peter
Vanbumble, Stuffl
Van Bumbler, Peter
Van Bunchoten, Jacob
Van Bunchoten, Tennis
Van Bunchoten, Teu-
nis, Jr.
Vanclackren, Mari-
nus T.
Van Cleck, Boltis B.
Van Cleef, Michael
Van Cots, John
Van Cott, Daniel
Van Crob, Abraham
Vancuran, Casparus
Vandeburgh, Abram
Van Der BUt, Aart
Van Derbilt, P.
Vandervoort, Jacobus
Vandervoort, John
Van Der Voort, Sam-
uel
Vander Water, John
Vande Water, Adolph
Vandewater, Harman
Van Dewater, James
Vandewort, Peter
Van Duwnter, John
Vand Water, James
Vandworter, Jacobus
Van Erway, Jacob
Van Every, Edde
Van Every, Jacob
Van Flack, Henry
Van Kerse, John
Van Keuren, Matthew
Van Kleack, Bar-
rant B.
Van Kleeck, Baltus
Van Kleeck, Barent A.
Van Kleeck, Barn-
ard C.
Van Kleeck, Bamet
Van Kleeck, Michael
Van Kuren, Caspowres
Van Leyse, I.
Van Norstrant, John
Van Nortstrant, Cor-
nelus
Van Siclen, John
Van Steenberger, Cor-
nelius
Van Steenbergh, Cor-
nelius
Vantassel, Henry
Vantassil Jacob
Van Tassill, John
Vantiers, William
Vantine, Abraham
Vantine, Cornelius
Van Tine, William
Van Valen, Daniel
Van Valen, Jeremiah
Van Valen, John
JOHN P. RIDER.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
147
Van Valer, Moses
Van Velen, Ede
Van Veler, Daniel
Van Vlack, Baient
Van Vlack, John H.
Van Vlack, Merinus
Van Vleck, John
Van Vleck, Merine
Van Vleckren, Abra-
ham
Van Vleckren, George
Van Vleckren, Henry
Vanvleckren, Marinus
Van Vleckren, Marin-
us T.
Van Voorhees, Stephen
Van Vooheis, Jero-
nimus
Van Voorhis, Abraham
Van Voorhis, Jacob
Van Voorhis, Jero-
mus
Van Voorhis, John
Van Voorhis, Zacha-
riah
Van Wey, Cornelius
Van Wyck, Abraham
Van Wyck, Cornelius
Van Wyck, John
Van Wyck, John B.
Van Wyck, Theodorus
Vandle, James
Vermilier, Benjamin
Vermilya, John
Vermuly, David
Vermuly, Geraduis
Vervalin, Daniel
Vervalin, Jermiah
Vervalin, John
Vervalin, Moses
Vestervals, John
Voorhis, Jerom
Waldron, Benjamin
Waldron, Daniel
Waldron, David
Waldron, John
Waldron, John P.
Waldron, Peter
Ward, Daniel
Ward, James
Ward, William
Washburn, Isaac
Waters, John
Watts, John
Way, Frederick
Way, George
Way, Gideon
Way James
Way, John
Way, Joost
Webard, John
Weed, John
Wenn, William
Westervalt, Albert
Wesftervalt, John
Westervelt, Elbert
Westervelt, George
Westervelt, Jacobus
Westervelt, John
Wibard, John
Wille, James
Wilsee, William
Wiltse, Cornelius
Wiltse, Joseph
Watse, Peter
Wiltsee, Hendrick
Wiltsey, Geradus
Wiltsie, WiUiam
Wiltzee, Harmery
Winn, Johnson
Winn, Joseph
Winslow, Samuel
Wood, Isaac
Wood, Jesse
Wood, John
Wood, Joseph
Wood, Solomon
Wood, Thomas
Wool, Joseph
Worshboum, Isaac
Wright, Daniel
Wright, Daniel, Jr.
Wright John
Wright, Thomas
Wyckoff, John
Yeomans, John
Yerks, John
Young, Abraham
Young, John
Zachrider, Moses
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— THIRD REGIMENT.
Colonel John Field
Colonel Andrew Morehouse
Major Jonathan Paddock
Major Isaac TaUman
Adjutant Solomon Crane
Quarter Master Reuben Crosby
Surgeon Joseph Crane, Jr.
Captains — Azor Barnum, William Calkin, William Chamberlain, Peter Coon,
Joseph Dykeman, David Hecock, James Marten, William Pearce, William Pine,
Ichabod Ward.
148
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Lieutenants — Joshua Crosby, Daniel Doane, Elijah Oakley, Uriah Parrish, Ed-
ward Penny, Thomas Sears, Valentine Wheeler, Luke Woolcut
Ensiox — Nathan Green.
Additional names on state treasurer's pay hooks.
Lieut. Joseph Chandler, Lieut. Asa Haines, Ensign Benjamin Slocum.
Anow, WiUiam
Ashhy, Anthony
Baker, Elisha
Bald-win, David
Barleson, Joel
Bamum, Eliakum
Barnum, Jonah
Bamum, Noah
Barnum, Stephen
Benedict, Ebenezer
Benedict, Stephen
Benit, Amasa
Bennet, Amacy
Benson, William
Birdsall, Elemuel
Birdsall, Thomas
Birlisson, Joel
Bishnite, Frances
Bradshaw, John
Brewster, Pdatiah
Brewster, PeU
Brown, Israel
Brown, Moses
Bruster, Samuel
Bumpus, James
Burch, George
Burch, Josiah, Sr.
Burch, Josiah, Jr.
Burch, Silas
BuTJes, Thomas
Burkler, Jabez
Burlasand, Joel
Burleson, Joel
Burling, Gilead
Burtch, Benjamin
Cable, Piatt
Calkin* Elias
ENLISTED MEN.
Campbell, Robert
Cannon, Abraham
Carle, John
Carter, Jabez
Chamberlain, John
Chapman, Enoch
Chapman, Thomas
Chase, Bary
Chase, Seth
Chase, Thomas
Clark, John
Clinton, WiUiam
Closson, Wilber
Closson, William
Codsshuer, Jonas
Cole, Benjamin
Cole, Sylvenus
Concklin, John
Cook, Moses, Sr.
Cook, Moses, Jr.
Coon, Jacob
Coon, John
Cornwell, David
Covey, Joseph
Covey, Walter
Crandle, Jeremiah
Crane, Ira
Crane, William
Croker, Timothy
Crosby, Abner
Crosby, David, Jr.
Crosby, Elemuel
Crosby, Elezer
Crosby, Eli
Crosby, James
Crosby, John
Crosby, Joseph
Crosby, Josah
Crosby, Lemuel
Crosby, Moses
Crosby, Obadiah
Crosby, Reuben
Crosby, Samuel
Davis, Paul
Dean, Elijah
Dehnarter, Marting
Doane, Elnatban
Dyckman, Benjamin
Ellis, Elijah
EUis, Thomas
Ellwell, Ezra
Elwell, Jabez
Elwell, John
Elwell, Tabis, Jr.
Evans, Thomas, Sr.
Evens, Thomas
Evens, Thomas, Jr.
Ferris, Justus
Field, Jesse
Foster, David
Foster, James
Foster, John
Foster, Samuel
Fister, Seth
Fox, Oliver, Jr.
Franklin, Nathaniel
Fuller, Jesse
Gage, Alden
Gage, Anthony
Gage, Justus
Gage, Mark
Gage, Moses
Gage, Silvanus
Gay, Jason
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
149
Gilchrist, Samuel
Gilchrist, Thomas
Goodshed, Abner
Grajr, Samuel
Grean, John
Green, Caleb
Green, Isaac
Green, Jeams
Griffith, Done
Hains, Asa
HaU, Benaijah
Hall, Benjamin
Hall, Jesse
HaU, John
Hall, Martin
Hall, Morten
Hall, Samuel
Hayden, Alpheus
Hazard, Samuel
Heaveland, John
Hecock, Noah
Hecocks, John
Hempsted, Nathaniel
Henman, Zachariah
Heverland, John
Higgins, Thomas, Jr.
Hinckley, Elkanah
Hinckley, Reuben
Hinkley, Josiah
Hoecee, Tademas
Holladay, John
HoUaway, Joseph
Holley, Joseph
Holliday, John
Holliday, Simeon
Holms, Joseph
Honeyall, Mathias
Hopkins, Berry
Hopkins, John
How, Garret
Hunewill, Mathew
Hunt, Thomas
Johnston, Joseph
Jones, Ebenezer
Jones, Elias
Jones, Ephraim
Jones, Isaac
Jones, Joseph
Jones, Levi
Jones, Nehemiah
Jones, Samuel
Jones, Thomas
Kelley, David
Kelley, Shoubel
Kelly, Jonathan
Kelly, Reuben
Kelly, Sylvenus
Kent, Moses
Ketcham, Daniel
Killey, Reuben
Killey, Silvenas
King, Caleb
King, Myrick
King, Nathaniel
KUne, John
Lincoln, Isaiah
Lindsay, David
Lockwood, Henry
Lockwood, Solomon
Marks, Holiab
Marsee, Andrew
Marsh, Elnathan
Mash, Elnathan
Mash, John
Massy, Andrew
Merick, Benjamin
Merjerson, Thomas
Mills, Benijah
MiUs, WilUam C.
Mirit, Gilburt
Morehouse, Stephen
Morrell, Abraham
Mosh, John
Mosiher, Johial
Moshoell, Isaac
Mott, Jacob
Mott, Joseph
Mott, Thomas
Mott, William, Jr.
Murch, George
Murch, William
Myrrick, Benjamin
Nash, David
Nicholsone, James
Nickerson, James
Nickerson, Thomas
Nickerson, Thomas, Jr.
Notter, William
Nubery, Joseph
Gates, James
Olmstead, Ebenezer
Osborn, Ezekiel
Osterhout, Gideon
Paddock, Nathan
Palmer, Nickelous
Palmer, William
Penney, Ammiel
Penney, John
Penney, William
Perkins, Elijah
Perry, Samuel
Perry, Simeon
Petson, Andrew
Philips, Joseph
Philips, Joshua
Pitcher, Benjamin
Ragon, Thomas
Raymond, Uriah
Reed, Jacob
Richardson, Isaac
Rider, Christopher
Rider, David
Rider, John
Rider, Simeon
Rider, Simeon, Jr.
Rinnalds, David
Robert, Benjamin, Jr.
Roberts, Benjamin
Rockwell, Stephen
Runnels, David
Russel, Roland
Ryder, Zenous
Sabens, Billings
Sackett, John
St. John, Thomas
Sampson, Abner
Sealy, William
Sears, Benjamin
150
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Sears, Enoch
Sears, Peter
Sears, Seth
Sears, Seth, Jr.
Sears, Stephen
Shaw, Ichahod
Sherman, Darius
Slocum, Benjamin
Slocmn, George
Smith, Alpheus
Smith, Jonathan
Smith, Joseph
Snider, Samuel
Snow, William
Spencer, Samuel
Stark, Aamos
Stark, Aaron
Stark, John
Starke, Henry
Start, Aaron
Stevens, Thomas
Stone, David
Stow, William
Termillear, Phillip
Thomas, Thomas
Thompson, Daniel
Thompson, Thomas
Thornton, Thomas
Townsend, Isaac
Townsend, John
Townsend, Solomon
Tubbs, Benajah
Twitchel, Benoni
Utter, Aamos
Utter, Ebenezer
Vickrey, Thomas
Wairing, John
Webb, Noah
Weed, John
Wickson, Elijah
Wickson, Elijah, Jr.
WJkson* Ebenezer
Willcocks, Rosel
Willis, Charles
Willis, Thomas
Wilson, John
Winger, Hendrick
Winger, Samuel
Wixon, Elijah
Wixson, Isaac
Wposter, William
Wright, Edmund
Young, Elkany
Young, Shaw
Youngs, Samuel
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— FOURTH REGIMENT.
Colonel John Frear
Captaiits — Isaac Conklin.
-Hageman, Elijah Herrick,
Low, David Ostrand, Samuel Smith, Luke Stoutenburgh,
nardus Swarthouse, Hugh Van Kleeck, John Van Kleeck
LiEUTENAifTs — Abraham Fort, Jonas Weeks.
EirsiGNS — Alexander Furman, (Reuben) Spencer.
(No Enlisted Men Found.)
— Kilsey,
Straight, Ber-
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— FIFTH REGIMENT.
Colonel William Humfrey. Adjutant John Budd.
Colonel James Vandeburgh. Adjutant Jeremiah Clerk
Major Benjamin Birdsall. Quarter Master Henry Bailey.
Major William Clerk. Quarter Master James Ellsworth.
Captains — Caleb Bentley, John Boyd, Josiah Burton, Joshua Champlin, William
Clark, John Clum, Jonathan Dennis, Abraham Hartwill, David Hecock, Job Mead,
Joseph Rurnids, John Scut, Barardus Swartwout, Is Vail, Francis West, Valen-
tine Wheeler.
LnEUTENANTS— Stephen Akins, Silas Anson, Tabor Bentley, Tilling Bentley,
Jacob Blatner, Joseph Chandler, Andrew Heermance, Jacob J. Heermance, AH
Houghland, Daniel Hule, James Humfrey, McClees , Peter Magee, Roger
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
151
Morey, Jr., Theoph Sweet, Brt. Van Kleeck, Moses Van Vranka, Solomon Wheeler,
Gilbert Wording.
Ensigns — David Tmsdal, Abraham Van Curah, Peter Van Valklnburgh.
Abbet, David
^Acker, Adam
Adams, Ebenezer
Allin, Thomas
Alsworth, William
Ames, I.
Anen
Asseltine, Jacob
Atwearter, Benjamin
Andriance, J.
Aulandorph, Christian
Babcock, David
Babcock, Enoch
Babcock, John
Babcock, John (1)
Babcock, John (3)
Backer, John
Bailey, Elias
Bailey, Elisha
Baker, Elnathan
Baker, J.
Baker, Jonathan
Baker, William
Ballim, Matthew
Bannam, James
Barger
Barkman, George
Bamnm, Bethuel
Barnnm, William
Barringar, Conradt
Barringar, William
Bartlee, Abraham
Bartlee, Jacob
Bartlett, Jacob
Bayley, S.
Beckett, Sylos
Bell, Robert
Benjamin, Cyres
Bennet, Timothy
Bentley, Joseph
ENLISTED MEN.
Bently, John
Benton, Moses
Berry, Nicholas
Berry, P.
Bigraft, George
Bigraft, Jonathan
BiUings, Increase
Billings, John
Birdsall, Daniel
Birdsall, Jeremiah
Bishop,
Borgordis
Bosehonce, Isaac
Bouker, Thomas
Brenkroff,
Brewer, D.
Brewer, V.
Brill, Solomon
Brinkorff, I.
Brown, Jonathan
Brown, Peter
Brows, Zepheniah
Brnmfleld, J.
Brnster, Peltias
Buck, Zadock
Budd, Undril
Bugbee, George
Bump, I.
Bump, Joseph
Bumbler, P'h
Bunsehoten, Solomon
Bunt, Leasero
Burley, Elijah
Cady, Elisha
Cahoon, Ben
Carle, Andrew
Carley, John
Carley, Peter
Carman, Andrew
Cary, Stephen
Cash, Jonathan
Celey, WiUiam
Chadwick, WiUiam
Chahart, Jacob
Champlin, Thomas
Champlin, William
Chapman, Josiah
Chase, Berry
Chavilear, Peter
Christian, Cornelius
Clark, J. P.
Coberstine, John
Cole, Benjamin
Cole, Jacob
Cole Moses
Colerell, Henry
Coller, Norres
Coltman, William
Conroo, Darling
Conroo, William
Coock, I.
Coock, W.
Cook, Jere
Cook, John
Cook, Mathew
Coon, Alexander
Cooper, William
Corkins, Joel
Cornell, Benjamin
Cornell, John
Cornell, Lewis
Cornell, Samuel
Cornwill, Caleb
Comwill, Sylvan's
CorwiU, Benjam
Cott, D.
Cranfoot, James
Crankite, Frederick
Crankite, Herciilus
Crankite, John
152
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Creed, Austin
Crook, Waiiam
Crosby, Eliezer
Crosby, Obediah
Cudbuth, William
Cunningham, John
Curry, Elisha
Daggitt, Mayhue
Dannels, J.
Darling, Peter
David, I.
Davis, George
Davis, Squire
Davison, Alverson
Davison, Daniel
Debons, Math'w
Delong, Richard
Demsey, Thomas
Denney, Charles
Devow, John
Dewkine, I.
Dickson, I. Hanse
Dimond, Math'w
Dodg , I.
Douty, Elias
Dowing, I.
Downing, Andrew
Doxey, Thomas
Draper, John
Draper, Joseph
Dumon, Cornelius
Duteher, D.
Dutcher, Simon
Eda, Joshua
Egail, Jo'n
Eldred, William
Ellott, Christian
Elwell, Jabez
Ennis, P.
Estrus, Benjamin
Evans, John
Everit, Clear
Evins, Amos
Evins, Oliver
FUlow, En
Pillow, Fimus
Finch, Comfort
Fish, Joseph
Flinn, David
Fonda, Cornelius
Forbus, John
Forbush, William
Force, Benjamin
Forgerson, Gllb't
Forgerson, Jeremiah
Foster, Seth
Fox, Jonathan
Freeh, John
Frier, Peter
Frier, Simeon
Gage, Elihu
Gage, Moses
Gale, Nob
Gardner, Simeon
Gewel, I.
Gewel, T.
Gibson, John
Gideon, Joseph
GUbert, Ep'm
GUbert, Thad
Gillitt, Barny
Gones, Seth
Gooden, Robert
Goodfeller, W.
Goodwin, I.
Green, Caleb
Green, E.
Greves, Thomas
Grey, John
Griflfin, Barney
GrifSth, Solomon
Hale, John
Hall, Benjamin
Hall, Gideon
Hamlin, Epraim
Haner, John
Hanes, I.
Hangedoren, John
Hannaburgh, Christ-
yaun
Haping, David
Harrick, Joseph
Harrington, William
Harris, Noah
Hartwill, Ebenezer
Hassiem, Jdhn
Hatch, Cradius
Heermance, Jacob
Helmes, John
Hendrickson, Jacob
Henry, Elick
Heracer, Emanuel
Herrick, Isriel
Hewit, Edmond
Hewit, Gidion
Hicks, Nathaniel
Hicks, W.
Hoard, Isaac
Hodge, K.
Hoffman, Patrus
Hightailing, Abraham
Holmes, Alkany
Holmes, Ben
Holmes, John
Honssinger, Frank
Horton, D.
Hoisher, Thomas
Houck, William
Howard, Jonathan
Howlin, Obediah
Hudson, Asa
Huff, I.
Hulin, John
Hull, Justus
Humfrey, Thonias
Hutchens, A.
Hutchings, Jacob
Irish, BenjamSn
Irish, Isaac
Jaycocks, Thomas
Jinkins, Jerry
Johnson, Alexander
Johnson, Joseph
Johnson, Nehemiah
Johnstones, I.
Jones, Isaac
Jones, Nathan
Jones, Robert
CHARLES M. WOLCOTT.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
153
Jones, Roger
Jones, Rufus
Jones, Seth
Judard, H.
Kelly, Jonathan
Klme, Lourance
King, Hezeklah
King, Nathaniel
Kip
Kipp, Prank
Knognard, John
Kool, Isaac
Koons, Adam
Koonts, Nicholas
Lake, Henry
Lake, Stephen
Lamb, Daniel
Lamb, David
Lane, J.
Lane, John
Lanson, Garrlt
Lant, Jurry
Laroy, John
Lawrence, Isaac
Lawrence, Oliver
Lawrence, Riichard
Lawsin, Mathew
Lawsin, Peter
Lean, John
Lerue, I.
Levy, Jacob
Lewis, Felix
Lewis, Gil
Linn, Aaron
Loop, Peter, Jr.
Losie, Francis
Luis, Grawdus
Luke, John
Lus, Miehal
Lus, William
McCreedy, Charles
McCreedy, James
Mackeny, I.
McKiney, Joseph
McLees,< James
McLees, Peter
McNeel, Henry
Marchant, Abel
Marchel, Benjamin
Marta, David
Martin, Elemuel
Mason, Francis
Mathews, Justice
Mayhue, Ebenezer
Mayhue, Levi
Mead, King
Mead, Zebulin
Miller, Jacob
Moon, John
Moor, Nicholas
Moore, Poulis
Moran, William
Mordock, Zimri
Mott, Jacob
MuUer, Stephen
Mumford, P.
Myer, Benjamin
Myer, Henrey
Near, Charles
Nelson, Frank
Neutun, John
NewlU, Joseph
Newman, Joshua
Nichols, Silas
Norton, Richard
Noxon, Benj amin
O'Cane, Edward
Odell, Crershom
Odell, Jonas
Odle, Abiather
Okla, Thomas
Olmsted, Elijah
Orborn, John
Orsborn, Com'l
Ostrander, Henrey
Ostrum, Gilbert
Owen, Anenias
Owens, Robert
Pack, I.
Paddock, Peter
Padock, Henry
Palmer, Sylvanus
Patterson, Ab'm
Pelts, Evert
Perce, John
Pettitt, Jacob
Phillip, Adam
Phillip, Christyan
Plass, Hendrick
Post, J.
Potter, Rowland
Prope, George
Prust, Martin
Randel, I.
Reesoner, David
Reise, Jonas
Reynolds, Era
Riccord, George
Richardson, Isaac
Richardson, William
Rines, I.
Robinson, Andrew
Robinson, Stephen
Rogers, Ezekiel
Rolitts, John
Romer, Aron
Rosacrance, I,
Row, D.
Rowlee, Daniel
Rowley, Nathan
Rumm, George
Runnels, I.
Ryder^ John
Ryley, Phillip
Sabins, Joshua
Sage, Selah
Sarmerhorn, Cor-
nelius
Saxton, Ebenezer
Schoulen,
Schouten, E.
Schryver, Bartle
Seberry, John
Sharks, Thomas
Sharts, David
154
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Shaw, Benjamin
Shede, George
Sheer, William
Shephier, Isreal
ShoS, Andrew
Shuter, Samuel
Shuts, Ab'm
Shnttis, John
Sickler, Coonrod
Siekler, George
Sickle^ Mathias
Simmons, John
Sitcher, Andrew
'^laght, T.
Slut, John
Smith, Daniel
Smith, Ephraim
Smith, Ezekiel
Smith, Henry
Smith, John
Smith, Phillip
Smith, Thomas
Soper, Bart'n
Soper, Henry
Soper, Timothy
Server, Peter
Sparker, Andrew
Spencer, Abner
Spencer, Jabus
Spencer, James
Spencer, Rufus
Spencer, William
Springer, John
Stanton, Thomas
Stark, Aaron
Stark, Nathan
Steed, Richard
Stinebergh^ Grandus
Stockhohn, D.
Stone, David
Stubbelbane, Michal
Swartout, T.
Sweet, Amos
Swider, M.
Swortout, C.
Swortont, I.
Talor, Gamal
Talor, John
Tamph, Frederick
Tanner
Taylor, Gamalial
Taylor, Joseph
Thompson, John
Thompson, Thomas
Thorington, Thomas
Thorn, Benjamin
Toboys, C.
Tolks, John
Tommes, Benjamin
Torboss, L.
Tott, James
Townsend, Able
Turhoon, I.
Tyler, John
Umphey, William
Uree, John
Valentine, Benjamin
Van Cleak, John
Van Cott, John
Vanderhoof, Jacob
Vanderhyder, Abraham
Vandevort, John
Vandevort,! S/
Van Dusan, John
Van Dusan, London
Van Loan, Peter
Van Luvan, Zacharias
Van Nette, Isaac
Van Slyck, Tunas
Van Tasel, J.
Van Valkenburgh,
Peter
Vanvlack, H.
Van Voris, L
Van Wicke
Van Wogner, John
Vel^, Peter
Vermillia, S.
Vessher, Christopher
Vincent, Philip
Vradenburgh, Abraham
Vradenburgh,' Peter
Walker, John
Ward, David
Ward, Eben
Warner, Richard
Warreuj Samuel
Weeks, William
Weiley, William
Welch, Thomas
WeUer, Amos
WeUer, William
Wells, Silas
Wesee, Abraham
Welsey, I.
West, Daniel
West, Elijah
Whiper, I.
Whipple, Nath
Whitcomb, Simon
White, John
White, Solomon
Whitmarch, Ezra
Wickson, Elijah
Wilcox, John
Wilcox, Stephen
Willey, Thomas
Willkason, Jon
Wistiveltt, James
Wolven, William
Wood, Silas
Young, Benjamin
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
155
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— SIXTH REGIMENT.
Colonel Morris Graham.
Colonel Roswell Hopkins.
Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Griffin.
Major Peter Fell
Major Jonathan Landon.
Major Brinton Paine.
Adjutant John Graham.
Adjutant David Hunt.
Adjutant Daniel Shepherd.
Quarter Master John Else.
Quarter Master Nathan Fish.
Quarter Master Ezra Payne.
Quarter Master Abraham Van Wart.
Pay Master Edmtmd Perlee.
Surgeon William Adams.
Surgeon Roswell Hopkins, Jr.
Captaixs — Sybert Acker, John Barnes, Azor Barnum, John Bell, John Brad-
rick, George Brinkerhoff, Charles Brodhead, Moses Cantine, Colbe Chamberlain,
John Drake, Andries Heermans, Elijah Herrick, Henry Humfrey, John Klum,
George Lane. Daniel Martin, William Pearce, William Radclift, John Rouse, Rich-
ard Sackett, Frederick Strait, Smith Sutherland, James Tallmadge, Elijah Town-
send, John Van Benschoten, David Van Ness, Samuel Waters, Noah Wheeler,
Daniel Williams.
LxEUTENAS-TS — Stephen Adsit, Frederick Benner, John Berry, Phillipp Bowne,
Wright Carpenter, Samuel Crandle, Daniel Delavan, Christian Dubois, Abner Gil-
lett, Abraham Smith Hadden, Stephen Haight, Philliph Harimanse, Andries Har-
mans, Joel Haskins, John Heermanse, Adam Helmer, Abram Hogeland, Solomon
Hopkins, Stephen Hunt, Elihu Ingalls, William Martine, William Mattemen,
Mead, James Moore, Francis Nelson, Elijah Park, Jonas Parks, Bezaleel Rudd,
Abraham Schultz, John Smith, Frederick Stevenson, William Swartwout, Teunis
Talman, Isaac Townsend, Jacob Trimper, Resolvent Van Houton, Wright White,
Zophar WiAes, Robert Wood.
Eirsieirs — William Becker, John More.
Abbett, David
Abboth, Abiel
Abler, James
Acker, Abraham
Ackerman, Arie
Ackerman, John
Adair, William
Adams, John
Adams, Major
Adsit, George
Adsit, Silas
Aldridge, Jonathan
Allen, Asa
Allen, Caleb [
Allen, Jonathan
EITLISIED MEX.
Allendorph, Hendridk
Allsworth, Thomas
Ambler, Charles
Ambler, James
Andres, George
Annes, Peter
Anson, James
Armstrong, Benjamin
Armstrong, Gabril
Armstrong, Robert
Arnold, Peleg
Asten, Robert
Aston, Martin
Aulomdorph, Hendrick
AusoT, Nicholas
Austin, Robert
Babcock, James
Backer, John
Badeau, Jacob
Bader, Michael
Baker, Jesse
Baker, Joshua
Baker, Judah
Baker, Richard
Bailey, Elias
Banker, Stephen
Barber, Nathan
Barber, Reuben
Barber, Solomon
Barber, Thomas
156
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Barker, James
Barnhard, Henry
Barns, Jacob
Barniim, Noah
Bariinger, Conradt
Barringer, David
Barringer, William
Barton, Gilbert
Bartow, John
Bates, Daniel
Bates, Hickey
Bayley, Samuel
Beaty, John
Becker, John
Beecher, Nathan
Bell, Jacob
BeU, WiUiam R.
BeU, William W.
Benner, Hendrick, Jr.
Berger, John
Beringer, ^acob, Jr.
Berry, Jabez
Berry, John
Berry, Peter
Berry, Samuel
Betts, Gideon
Bishop, John
Blaau, Henry
Blaurelt^ Ckimelius
Blauvelt, Isaac
Bodsee, Jacob
Bogardus, Egbert
Bogardus, Henry
Bogardus, Peter
Bogart, Hendrick
Bogart, Jacob
Bonasteal, Nicholas
Bonker, Stephen
Bonnell, Jonathan
Booth, Isaiah
Bouton, Moses
Boyce, John
Boyd Robert
Boyd, Samuel
Bradshaw, William
Brewer, William
Brewster, John
Brickell, George
Briggs, Casparus
Briggs, Lawrence
Brinckerhoff, Daniel
Brinckerhoff, Isaac
Brinckerhoff, John S.
Brink, Cornelius C.
Brinkerhoff, John
Broadwell, Moses
Brodhead, Samuel
Brooks, John
Brower,^ Samuel
Brower, William
Brown, Cornelius
Brown, Deliverance
Brown, James
Brown, James H.
Brown, John
Brown, Noah
Brown, Noah, Jr.
Brown, Peter
Brown, Stephen
Brown, Tower
Bruce, Robert
Bruster, David
Buck, Israel
Buck, Israel, Jr.
Buckhout, John
Buel, Samuel
Bugbe, Samuel
Bugbee, John
Buill, John
Bullis, Peter
Bun, John
Bunschoten, John
Burel, Jesse
Burgh, Jonathan
Burley, Ebenezer
Burling,
Burlinsonj Fearnot
Burlinson, Joel
Burlsona, Grover
Burns, Edward
Burtis, James
Bush, Peter
Bush, Tryertar
Butler, Stephen
Byce, Abraham
Byce, John
Byington, Nathaniel
Cable, Piatt
Cakbel, Plat
Calkins, Eli
Calkins, John
Calkins, Moses
Camberlin, Thomas
Gamble, Charles
Campbell, James
Campbell, Robert
Canfield, Aaron
Canfidd, Amos
Canfield, Titus
Canniff, Levi
Carle, John
Carlee, Jonathan
Carpenter, Clark
Carson, Samuel
Carter, John
Carver, Barnabes
Cash, David
Casher, William
Castle, Daniel
Castle, Lemuel
Chambers, Thomas
Champanois, Harman
Chandler, Jonathan
Chapman, Samuel
Chapman, Stephen
Chapman, Thomas
Charpanard, Simon
Chase, Elijah
Chase, Gedaliah
Chase, Richard
Chase, Robert
Christman, John
Church, Medad
Churchill,j Edward
Clapp, Joseph
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
157
Clark, John
Clark, Othaniel
Clason, Wilber
Clawater, Jacob
Clement, Charles
Clement, James
Close, Caesar
Closson, Wilber
Cocktel, Timothy
Coe, Samuel
Coenhoven, WiUiam
Cohler, Leonard
Cokler, Leonard
Colbreath, Thomas
Cole, Abraham
Cole Joseph
Collard, Abraham
Collins, Solomon
CoUins, William
Colly, Matthew
Colwell, James
Cone, Ben j amis (col-
ored)
Conel
Conklin, Abraham
Conklin, John
Conklin, Matthew
Conklin, Nathan
Conkling, Jacob
Conly, Charles
Conner, Patrick
Conory, John
Conroy, John
Converse, James
Cook, Darius
Cook, James
Cook, Job
Cook, John
Cook, Simeon
Cooke, Benjamin
Cooke, Samuel
Cooper, Cornelius
Cooper, Garret
Cooper, Jacob
Cooper, Nicholas
Cornell, James
Cornwell, Clement
Cott, John
Cowen, Isaac
Craft, Caleb
Craig, Francis
Craw, John
Crawford, Nathan
Crompton, John
Cronk, Abraham
Crosby, Lemuel
Crosby, Samuel
Crouch, David
Cuch, Phillip
Cudbeth, Benjamin
Cuff, William
Cumfort, Josiah
Cunnin, John
Cunningham, James
Cunningham, John
Curry, Charles
Cushman, William
Dagaettjun, Mayhugh
Dagget, Mahu
Dannells, Thomas
Daten, Cornelius
Daton, Cornbary
Daton, Jonah
Daton, Joseph
Davids, William
Davies, Nathan
Deal, George
Dean, John
Deboise, Peter
Debuy, Peter
Decker, Reuben
Declark, James
Decoine, Edward
De Graff, Moses
Degrove, William
Delamatter, Jacob
Demmon, Samuel
Denemark, Stoffel
Denham, Samuel
Deniston, John
Denney, Charls
Denney, Richard
Denton, Isaac
Depue, Abraham
De Pue, Peter
Derue, William
Deuce, William
Devoe, William
Dewit, John
Dicker, Ephraim
Diel, Samuel
Dill, John
Dimmick, Samuel
Dimmick, Shubell
Disbey, Andrew
Disbrow, Andrew
Dixson, Thaddeus
Dodge, Stephen
Dolf, John
DoUoway, Jeremiah
Douey, Samuel
Dowling, Andrew
Drake, William
Dubois, Cornelius
Dubois, Jacob
Dubois, Jacob J.
Duel, Wilber
Dun, Coenradt
Duncan, John
Dunham, Joseph
Dusenbery, Charles
Dutcher, Abraham
Dutcher, Jacob
Dutcher, John .
Edinger, Christopher
Elmendorph, Samuel
Elseworth, Philip
Esters, Benjamin
Fairchild, Amos
FairchUd, Oliver
Fanbramer, Peter
Farnell, Danel
Ferguson, John
Feriss, John
Feriss, Silvanus
158
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Ferrell, Daniel
Ferris, Seth
FerriSj William
Field, Jesse
Field, Nathan
Fields,. Thomas
Finch, Amos
Pinch, Comfort
Finch, Elithan
Finch, Gilbert
Finch, John
Finch, Jonathan
Finch, Philip
Finch, SUvanus
Finch, Sj-c
Finchout, Aurent
Finchout, Cornelius
Finton, Amos
Fish, Joseph
Fish, Levi
Fish, Moses
Fish, Pardon
Fish, Seaburjr
Fisher, Daniel
Fisher, Daniel, Jr.
Fisher, Jacob
Flagler, David
Flagler, John
Flanders, James
Foot, John
Foot, Samuel
Forbosh, Abraham
Forbus, Samuel
Ford, James
Forgeson, John
Forster, Joseph
Foster, Thomas
Fowler, Caleb
Fowler, Caleb, Jr.
Fox, Xenophon
FrankUn, Benjamin
Frantz, Jacob
Frederick, Charles
Fuller, David
Furma^, Cato
Furman, Samuel
Fjler, Seasor
Gage, Mark
Gale, Samuel
Gambell, Allexander
Ganong, Marcus
Gardner, David
Garret, Benjamin
Garrett, Isaack
Gatty, John
Gaul, Stephen
Gay, Daniel
Geaty, Robert
Gedawale, Elisha
Gegory, Rusel
Geray, Allexander
Germain, David
German, James
Germond, Peter
Gero, Daniel
Gifford, Elisha
GifPord, Samuel
Gilcrease, Thomas
Gildersleeve, Joseph
Gillaspy, Greorge
GiUaspy, James
Gillaspy, William
Gillet, Charles
Gillit, Barnabes
Goetchins, John
Gold, Elijah
Golnack, Michal
Goodrich, Elisha
Gordon, Cornelius
Gorum, Jeams
Gould, Elijah
Graham, James
Graham, Jonathan
Gray, Jeduthun
Greek James
Green, Caleb
Green, Ezekiel
Green, Henry
Green, Joseph
Green, Samuel
Green, Tobias
Grefes, Thomas
Gregory, Joshua
Gregory, Roswell
Griffen, Joseph
Griffen, Peter
GrifiSn, John
Griffin, Michael
Grigeory, R.
Guin, Michel
Gulneck, Michael
Haborn, John
Hadley, Greorge
Hadley, WiUiam
Haff, Jacob
Haff, John
Haight, Samuel
Haight^ Samuel, Jr.
Haines, Samuel
Hall, John
Hallister, Elisha
Hanna, William
Hansen, Jacob
Hardenburgh, Derick
Harper, Godfrey
Harris, Joseph
Harris, Squire
Harris, William
Hase, John
Havenner, John
Hawkins, James
Hawkins, Samuel
Hawley, Henry
Hebard, Reuben
Heermana, Andries
Heermana, John
Heermance, Andrew C.
Heermance, Evans
Heermance, Evert
Heermance, John
Helmer, John
Helmer, Peter
Heltz, Lawrence
Henry, Robert
Hermans, Simen
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
159
Herrick, Jonathan
Herrington, James
Herrington, John
Hess, Christian
Hess, Christopher
Hibbard, Reuben
Hicks, Benjamin
Higgins, Ebenezer
Higgines, Joseph
Hill, Isaac
Hill, John
Hill, William
Hiltz, Laurence
Hinkley, Elkanah
Hinman, Zachariiah
Hiser, Martinus
Hitchis, Benjamin
Hoffman, Daniel
Hoffman, Jacobus
Hoffman, Nicholas
Hogaboom, Barthol-
ama
Hogan, Edward
Hogan, Path
Hogins, Edward
Holems, John
Holkins, Samuel
Holley, Henry-
Holmes, Elkanah
Holmes, James
Holmes, Joseph
Holmes, Nathan
Hopkins, Benjamin
Hopkins, Frederick
Horton, David
Horton, George
Horton, Joseph
Horton, Peleg
Horton, Samuel
House, John
How, John
How, Thomas
Howard, Joseph
Howard, Richard
Howel, Frederick
Howel, WiUiam
Howes, John
Howes, Thomas
Hoy, William
Hoyt, Abijah
Hoyt, Enoch
Hubbard, Ezekiel
Huffman, Daniel
Hume, William
Humfrey, William
Humphreys, James
Hunsdon, John
Husted, Peter
Hutchens, Benjamin
Hutchons, Absalom
Hutton, John
Hyatt, Eben
Hyatt, Elias
Idare, William
Ittig, Coenradt
Ittig, George
Jackson, George
Jacobs, Abraham
Jacobs, Cornelius
Jakways, Daniel
Jansen, Benjamin
Jero, Daniel
Jewel, Ezekiel
Jewell, George
Jewell, Herman
Jewitt, John
Johnson, James
Johnson, John
Johnson, Josiah
Johnson, Paul
Johnson, Robert
Johnson, Samuel
Johnson, Thomas
Johnson, Timothy
Johnston, Robert
Jones, Isaac
Jones, Levi
Jones, Ransom
Joslin, Anthony
Julaf, Zachariah
Keator, Benjamin F.
Keator, John
Keator, William
Keeler, Ezra
Kellee, Jeremiah
Kelley, Jonathan
Keltz, Coenradt
Kenney, Henery
Kern, John
Kershaw, John
Kesler, Nicholas
Kickam, Solomon
Kill, Christopher
Killey, Jaramiah
Kilpatrick, Samuel
(Kimmans, John
Kip, Abraham
Kip, Abraham R.
Kip, Aurent
Kip, Igness
Kip, John
Kip, Petrus
Kip, Racliph
Kirkun, Solomon
Klyne, Jacob
Knapp, Jeremiah
Knapp, Joel
Knapp, Nathaniel
Knickerbacker, John
Knickerbacker, Law-
rence
Kniffen, John
Koch, Andrew
Kohler, Leonard
Kolb, John
Kole, Jacob P.
Kole, Simon P.
Kool, Abraham
Kool, Elias
Kool, Jacob
Kool, Simon
Kremer, John
Krum, Peter
Ladue, WUliam
Lamb, David
160
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Laml^ Jehial
Lamberts, Cornelius
Lane, Joseph
Lane, Thomas
Lane, William
Langin, Benjam
Lanphier, John
Laquire, Abraham
Larcy, John
Larrejr, J.
Lason, Joseph
Lasure, Samuel
Lawrence, Samuel
Learry, John
Lee, Jonathan
Legget, WUliam
Leonard, Robert
Lepper, Frederick
Lesher, Conradt
Levy, Henderick
Lewis, Hendrick
Lewis, James
Lewis, Lewis
Linderman, Cornelius
Linningt»n, Timothy
Litfle, James
Lockard, David
Locknnt, John
Lockwood, Daniel
Lockwood, David
Lockwood^ Ebenezer
Losee, John
Losee, John A.
Loux, William
Loveless, Elisha
Loveless, Joshua
Lucas, Israel
Luddington, Elisha
Ludenton, Elisha, Jr.
Luquer, Abraham
Luther, Eseek
Lyttle, William ,
MeCabe, Benjamin
McCoy, Daniel
McCreary, Robert
McCutchen, Robert
McDonald, Cornelius
McDonald, John
McDonnals, Thomas
McGuire, Hugh
Machan, Robert
Machoney, James
McKiel, John
McKlennen, Andrew
McKlue, James
McNight, Robert
McNitt, Alexander
McPherson, Daniel
MafFet, John
Maffite, John
Maher, Levy
Marchant, Abel
Markell, Henry
Marshall, William
Marshill, Josiah
Marta, David
Martin, John
Martin, Robert
Martin, Roledt
Masten, Ezekiel
Mayer, Henry
Mayer, John
Mayer, Joseph
Maxsam, Benjamin
Mead, Ezekiel
Mead, Isaiah
Mead, Marshal
Meashurcall, Cornelius
Melangdon, Benjamin
Menoma, John
Merrick, Ben j amin
Merrinan, Titus
Merrit, Ebnezer
Merritt, Luke
Mestan, Ezekiel
Meyer, Benjamin
Middagh, Art
Middledough, Aert
Miels, Noah
Mildun, Daniel
Miller, Christyann
Miller, David
Miller, Henderick
Miller, John
Miller, William
MUIs, James
MiUs, John
Mingo, WiUiam
Minner, James
Moe, Abraham
Money, Absolum
Monfoort, Peter
Monfoort, Peter, Jr.
Mongomire, Elijah
Mooney, Absalom
Moor, Jacob
Moor, PhUlip
Moore, John
Moore, Martin
Mopes, Frederick
More, Abraham
Morehouse, Isaac
Morehouse, Stephen
Morris, Elijah
Morris, John
Morris, Peter
Mosier, WUliam
Mott, William
Mouer, Henderick
Moul, Jacob, Jr.
Mount, Andrew
Mountain, Andrew
Mumford, James
Munrow, Justice
Murphy, Thomas
Myer, Abraham
Myer, Benjamin
Myles, Benajah
Myles, John
Nairn, James
Neer, Charles
Neer, Jost
Neer, Zacharies
Nelson, Absolum
Nelson, M.
HENRY WINTHROP SARGENT.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
161
Nelson, Paul
Newcomb, Daniel
Newcorab, James
Newcomb, Thomas
Newel, Joseph
Newnon, Zebulun
Nickerson, Isachar
Nickerson, Joshua
Nickerson, Justia
Nogard, John
Nooney, Zebulun
Nootnagle, Frederick
Northrop, Stephen
Norton, Peter
Nostragel, Frederick
Oakley, Cornelius
Odle, Aaron
Ogden, Richard
Olmsted, Ebenezer
Onderdonk, Garret
Onderdonk, Thomas
Orchard, John
Orim, Robert
Orsor, Nicholas
Osborn, Peter
Ostrander, Jacobus
Ostrom, Gilbert
Otterson, Andrew
Paine, Ichabod, Jr.
Paine, Samuel
Palmer, Benjamin
Palmer, James
Palmer, Jesse
Palmer, John
Palmer, Nicholas
Pangnut, John
Pardee, Thomas
Pardy, Samuel
Parish, Daniel
Park, Joseph
Parker, Joseph
Parker, Nathaniel
Parks, Nathaniel
Parks, Samuel
Parrish, Azariah
Parrish, Cypria
Parrish, Daniel
Pattison, Michael
Paul, James
Paulding, John
Pawling, Henry
Peck, Joseph
Pelham, Elisha
Pellam, Frances
Pellum, Abijah
Penfold, William
Penny, John
Penoyer, Amos
Perry, James
Perry, John
Perry, Abadiah
Perry, Samuel
Petcher, Peter
Peters, John
Pettit, David
Phelps, Abner
Phelps, David
Phenton, Amos
Phillips, David
PhuUick, David
Pifer, Adam
Pike, Ezra
Pike, Jarvis
Pike, Jesse
Pine, Thomas
Pink, Jacob
Piatt, Caleb
Piatt, Eliphalet
Plymit, Benoni
Polhemus, Theodorus
Pollock, William
Post, Wilhalmis
Powell, Abraham
Price, Ebenezer
Pullock, William
Punderson, John
Purdy, James
Purdy, Jonathan
Purdy, Josiah
Purdy, Samuel
Purdy, Stephen
Quackinbush, Abraham
Randals, Hugh
Ray, Isaac
Ray, Zachariah
Read, David
Reanolds, Jacob
Reed, James
Reed, Samuel
Reed, Simon
Reguaw, Abraham
Rema, Jacob
Reynolds, Abijah
Reynolds, Benoni
Reynolds, Caleb
Reynolds, David
Reynolds, Elias
Reynolds, Ezra
Reynolds, Joel
Reynolds, Shubel
Rhaad, Richard
Rhodes, Richard
Rhyne, Timothy
RiaU, Peter
Richard, Moses
Richards, Jacob
Richards, Moses, Jr.
Richter, Hendrick
Rider, Christopher
Rip, Rulef
Robins, Ebenezer
Robinson, Ebenezer
Robison, Ebenezer
Rockwil, Enos
Roe, Benjamin
Roe, William
Rogers, Piatt
Rogers, Reuben
Romer, Henry
Romer, James
Roola, Jacob, Jr.
Roosa, Aldert
Roosa, John
Rose, James
Rosekrans, Thomas
162
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Rosekrans, John
Rowley, Weeks
Rundel, Abraham
Riumels, Ezra
Runnels, Joseph
Rusel, James
Rycel, Peter
Rysedorph, George
Salkeld, Isaac
Sammon, Cornelius
Sauffield, John
Sayers, Benjamin
Schermerhorn Cornelius
Schofield, Henry
Schofield, Smith
Schoonmaker, John
Schouten, Cornelius
Schouten, John
Schouten, Simon
Schultz, Abraham
Schutt, Joseph
Schutt, Stephen
Scott, John
Scott, Thomas
Scott, WilUam
Sciyver, Albartus
Scutt, Abraham
Scutt, Joseph
Scutt, Stephen
Seacord, Andrew
Seacraft, William
Seaman, Jacob
Seaman, John
Seaman, Willett
Sears, Stephen
Sedore, Isaac
See, David
Seelee, Lodwick
Seely, James
Seely, Sylvanus
Selvester, John
Servine, James
Servis, John
Shampinway, Honnay
Sharwood, Abraham
Shavellar, William
Shaw, James
Shaw, John
Shaw, Joshua
Shay, V.
Shea, Lodowick
Shear, Lodewick
Shearman, William
Sherman, William
Sherwood, Isaac
Sherwood, Lucam
Sherwood, Samuel
Sherwood, Thomas
Shidler, John
Shoemaker, Christopher
Shomper, Horrima
Shorter, John
Shults, Jacob
Simma, Willet
Simmons, Aaron
Simons, Insolo
Simons, Willet
Simpkins, Reuben
Simpson, Andrew
Simpson, John
Sinkin, Reuben
SitutseU, Michel
Slason, Amos
Slason, Ebenezer
Sleight, Abraham
^^Ught, Abraham, Jr.
Small, Isaac
Small, James
Smith, Abraham
Smith, Alpheous
Smith, Asa
Smith, Daniel
Smith, Garret
Smith, Isaac
Smith, Israel
Smith, James
Smith, John
Smith, Joseph
Smith, Joshua
Smith, Martin
Smith, Michael
Smith, Philip
Smith, Samuel
Smith, Stephen
Smith, Thomas
Smith, Zackerias
Sniffen, Shubel
Sniffen, James
Sniffin, John
Snyder, John
Sodon, John
Somerndike, Jacob
Sonamet, Isaac
Soper, Burtis
Southard, John
Southard, Richard
Spalding, Olirer
Sparks, Robert
Spencer, John
Spicer, Jeremiah
Springsteen, James
Springsteen, amuel
Stagg, John
Stanton, William
Start, Nathan
Stauts, Peter
Stauts, Philip
Stebbins, Lewis
Steenberg, Cornelius
Stephend, Timothy
Stevens, Edward
Stevens, John
Stevens, Peter
Steverson, Frederick
Stewart, Thomas
Stockam, Reuben
Stokum, Jonathan
Stokum, William
Storm, Abraham
Storms, Closs
Stuart, John
Sturdefant, Jonathan
Sturdivent, David
Surine, James
Suthard, John
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
163
Suthard, Jonas
Suthard, Richard
Sutherland, Joseph
Sutherland, Solomon
Swart, Isaac
Swinnerton, James
Talman, Abraham
Talman, Douwe
Tarbill, Salvanus
Tater, John
Tayler, John
Taylor, Oliver
Teller, Oliver
Terpanning, John
Terwilleger, Abr'm
Terwilleger, James Phenix
TerwUleger, Matthew
Teunis, John
Tharston, Josiah
Thomas, Beriah
Thomas, John
Thomas, Thomas
Thompson, Caleb
Thompson, Joel
Thompson, Joseph
Thomson, James, Sr.
Thomson, James, Jr.
Thomson, Richard
Thomson, Samuel
Tobias, John
Townsend, Charles
Townsend, James
Townsend, Zephaniah
Trapp, James
Travis, William
Trim, Ezra
Tul, Hendrick
Tunis, Peter
Turner, Alexander
Turner, Stephen
Twitchell, Benoni
Yail, John
Van Benthuysin, Abraham
Van Bomel, Peter
Van Camp, Isaac
Van Cleef, Garret
Van Cock, Boltis R.
Vandeburgh, John
Vandemark, Solomon
Vanderbilt, Derrick
Vanderdunch, Garret
Vanderdunch, Thomas
Vander Vort, Garret
Vandewater, Adolph
Van Dewater, Herman
Vandewater, Jaeobus
Van Dewater, Joseph
Van Etten, Jacobus
Vanflacken, Alexander
Van Houten, Abraham
Van Houten, John
Van Houten, John R.
Van Keuren, Matthew
Van Kleek, Baltus
Van North, John
Vanocker, Peter
Van Orden, Andrew
Van Orden, Henry
Vatiosdol, James
Vanscoy, Abel
Van Scoy, Henry
Vansickle, Peter
Van Steenbergh Cornelius
Van Steenbergh Gradus
Vantasel, Benjamin
Van Tassel, Cornelius
Van Tassel, Isaac
Van Tassel, John
Van assel, Stephen
Van Vleckren, Abraham
Van Voorhis, Abraham
Van Voorhis, Daniel
Vanvoorhis, Henry
Van Voorhis, Jeromus
Van Vradenburgh, Petrus
Van Wagenen, Barrant
Van Wagenen, Garret
Van Wart, Garret
Var Wart, William
Vanwort, Benjamin
Van Wyck, John
Van Wyck, John B.
Van Wyck, Theodorus
Varnel, Daniel
Veal, George
Veal, John
Verber, John
Vermillier, David
Vermillier, Isaac
Vermilya, David
Vickrey, Ichibod
Vom Brocklin, James
Voorhis, Jeromus
Vorchase, Abraham
Vradenburgh, Abraham
Vradenburgh, Jacob
Vradenburgh, William
Wade, Morris
Waggoner, George
Waisemillar, Hendrick
Walalter, Benjamin
Walbridge, Elijah
Waldorph, Hendrick
Waldradt, Adolph
Walron, Simeon
Walsh, Samuel
Ward, Israel
Ward, Joshua
Waren, Theodorus
Waring, Michael
Warman, Phinas
Warters, Benjamin
Wasfalle, Gilbart
Waters, Cornelius
Waters, Isaac
Way, Frederick
Way, John
Weaver, Adam
Weaver, George
Weaver, George M.
Weaver, Jacob
Webb, David
Webber, Oliver
Webber, William
Webbers, Isaac
164
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Weed, Gideon
Weed, Jonathan
Weeks, Nathaniel
Welch, David
Westervalt, George
Westfall, Abraham
Westfall, Benjamin
WestfaU, GiUbet
WestfaU, Levi
Wheaton, Benjamin
Wheaton, Isaac
Wheeler, Ezra
Whily, Matthew
Whjtaker, Abraham
Whitcom, Simon
White, John
White, Nathaniel
Whitney, Ezekel
Wickes, Silas
Wickham, Benjamin
Wickham, Benjamin, Jr.
Wickham, Daniel
Wickson, Ebenezer
Wilbert, John
Wilcox, Isaac
Wilde, Bartholomew
Wile, Nathan
Wilkinson, John
Wilkinson, Thomas
Willcox, Aaron
Williams, David
Williams, Stephen
Williams, Thomas
Williams, Warren
Williamson, Nicholas
WUlson, Amos
Wilson, Andrew
Wilson, John
Wiltse, Cornelius
Wiltse, WilUam
Wiltsee, Matthew
Winans, Silas
Winegar, Henry
Winslow, Samuel
Winston, Joseph
Winter, Moses
Withbeck, Harmon
Wolson, Simeon
Wood, Henry
Wood, Jesse
Wood, John
Wood, Samuel
Wood, Solomon
Wood, Thomas
Woods, EU
Woods, Jotham
Woolsey, Nathan
Word, Israel
Workman, Phineas
Worth, Richard
Wright, Joseph
Yarns, Nathan
Yoemans, Jonas
Yerkes, Aaron
Young, Abraham
Young, Benjamin
Yoimg, Elkanah
Young, Garret
Young, John
Young, John Christian
Young, Jonas
Young, Robert
Young, Thomas
Youngs, John
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— SEVENTH REGIMENT.
Colonel Henry Ludenton
Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Ferris
Major Ebenezer Robinson
Major Wyckoff
Adjutant Elijah Townsend
Quarter Master Elezer Baker
Captains — Edmund Baker, Noah Bouton, Calken, John Crane, Du-
senbury, Haight, Alexander Kidd, Israel Knapp, George Lane, David
Marick, Hezekiah Mead, Joel Mead,
Richard Sackett, Nathaniel Scribner,
Morton, Joshua Myrick,
Ward, David Waterbury,
Pierce,
Winne.
LiBtJTEifANTS — Jonas Auser, John Berry, Charles CuUin, Timothy Delevan,
Elliott, Ellijah Fuller, Josiah Gregory, Solomon Hopkins, David Porter, John
Robinson, Thomas Russell, Elliah Sears, David Smith, Isaac Townsend, Israel
Vail, Abram Van Wert, Danil Willee.
EnsiGirs— Josiah Baker, William Calkin, James Egelston, Joseph Gregory, Caleb
Hazen,*Jacob Mead.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
165
A
^cker, Abram
Adams, Gilbert
Adams, John
Adams, William
Addems, John
Addems, Major
Addems, Thomas
Adriance, George
Aliet, Elijah J.
Angevine, Joseph
Anim, Azra
Armstrong, Gabriel
Armstrong, Jacob
Armstrong, Jacob, Jr.
Armstrong, John
Arnold, Peleg
Arnold, Seymour
Astin, Joab
Astin, John
Astin, Smith
Astin, Robert
Auser, Abram
Austin, Job
Austin, Robert
Austin, Smith
Auston, John
Baker, Joshua
Baker, Stephen
Baldwin, Elisha
Baldwin, Henry-
Baldwin, James
Baley, Elias
Ballard, Caleb
Ballard, Peleg
Ballard, Tracy
Baly, Joseph
Banker, Nicholas
Barber, Samuel
Barber, Stephen
Barger, Peter
Barit, John
Barret, Isaac, Jr.
Barret, Samuel
Barret, William
EXLISTED MEir
Barrett, Isaac
Barrett, Justus
Barton, Aijdrew
Barton, Elisha
Barton, Gilbert
Bartow, Andrus
Basby, Olirer
Baset, Edmund
Bashford, James
Bayley, Peleg
Begal, Stephen
Bemy, Samuel
Benjamin, Darius
Benjamin, Elijah
Bennet, Isiah
Berry, Jabez
Berry, Jabez, Jr.
Berry, Samuel
Beyea, Isaac
Bice, John
Binton, Samuel
Birdsall, John
Bisbey, Oliver
Blackman, Ephraim
Bolding, Elisha
Bolding, Henry
Bolding^ James
Bonker, Jacob
Bostwick, John
Boughten, Samuel
Boyd, Isaac
Brewer, Hendrick
Brooks, William
Brown, Cornelius
Brown, Deliverance
Brown, Ebenezer
Brown, Josiah
Bruce, Robert
Brundage, Jeremiah
Brundage, John
Bruster, John
Bruster, Samuel
Buckbee, Sylvester
Buckout, John
Buckley, Jabez
Bugbee, Ezekiel
Bugbee, Silvester
Bulkley, Jabez
Burdick, Amos
Burdick, Caleb
Byington, Samuel
Byington, Solomon
Calwell, James
Calwell, William
Cambell, James
Carey, John
Carle, Jonas
Carley, John
Carly, Abert
Carver, Barnabas
Carver, Timothy
Caton, Isaac
Cayton, Isaac
Certain, James
Chadwick, Comfort
Charlick, Henry
Chase, Jabez
Chase, John
Chase, Judah
Chase, Obadiah
Chase, Robert
Christian, Charles
Christian, George
Christian, John
Christian, Richard, Jr.
Christian, Ritchard
Christian, William
Clason, William
Closson, William
Colberth, Thomas
Colberth, Thomas G.
Cole, Daniel
Cole, Ebenezer
Cole, Elisha
jCole, Elisha, Jr.
''I Cole, Joseph
"Cole, Reuben
^ Colly, John
166
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Colwell, Joseph
Conklin, Nathan
Conklin, Samuel
Cornelius, Ever
Cornwell, Daniel
Covart, Silvenus
Covey, Walter
Cowen, Isaac
Cowin, David
Crab, John
Praft, Caleb
Craft, Charles
Crane, Samuel
Crosby, Enoch
Crosby, Solomon
Crosby, Thody
Culbreth, Thomas
Cushman, Consider
Daily, Lawrence
DaJdn, Elisha
Dakln, Johnson
Dan, Thadus
Daniels, James
Dann, William
Davis, Albert
Davis, John
Davis, Samuel
Davis, William
Dean, Benjamin
Dean, Caleb
Dean, Ezekiel
Dean, John
Dean, Joseph
Delanay, Abram
Delevan, Timothy, Jr.
Delivan, Abraham
Demerce, David
Deusenberry, Moses
Deusenbery, WiUiam
Deyenbeg, Jarvis
Dian, Joseph
Dickson, James
Dickson, Theodorus
Dimmic^, Shubel
Din jab, Elijah
Disbrow, Andrew
Disbrow, David
Disbrow, Nathan
Disbrow, Nathan, Jr.
Dixson, James
Donmee, David
Doten, William
Downer, Israel
Drake, John
Drew, Gilbert
Drew, Isaac
Drew, Samuel
Drew, William
Dusenbnry, Charles
Dusenbury, Jarvis
Dutcher, Abram
Dutcher, Jacob
Dykeman, Hezekiah
Eakly, Benjamin
Edy, Joshua
Egelston, James
EUwell, Jabez
Elsworth, John
Evans, Samuel
Evens, Thomas
Everitt, George
Everitt, Isaac
Ferguson, John
Ferguson, Thomas
Ferris, Ezra
Ferris, Jonathan
Finch, Jonathan
Finch, Nathaniel
Finch, Reuben
Finch, Silvanus
Piniche, Reuben
Fish, Nathan
Fisher, Nathaniel
Porgason, John
Porgason, Thomis, Jr.
Forman, Joseph
Fostor, David
Frost, David
Fuller, David
Fuller, Isaac
Fuller, Robert
Furman, Joseph
Furman, Samuel
Gage, Ebenezer
Gage, Moses
Gage, Nathaniel
Ganog, Markus
Ganong, Isaac
Ganong, John
Ganoung, Jacob
Ganung, Reuben
Gaul, Stephen
GifFord, Elisha
GifFord, Samuel
Golding, Amoss
Goodfellow, William
Gomey, John
Green, Thomas
Gregory, Daniel
Gregory, Ezra
Gregory, Joshua
Gregory, Rusel
Gregory, Samuel
Gregory, Thomas
Gregory, Timothy
Griffet, Lazarus
Griffeth, Wiliam
GrifSth, Joshua
Hadley, Moses
Hadley, William
Hadley, William, Jr.
Hager, Robert
Hager, Thomas
Haight, Samuel
HaU
Hall, Elisha
Hall, John
HaU, Thomas
Hambler, Benjamin
Hankkey, Richard
Harris, William
Hasen, Aron
Haul, Elisha
Hawkins, James
Hawkins, Joseph
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
167
Hawkins, Samuel
Hays, William
Hazelton, David
Hazen, Caleb
Hazen, Eleazer
Hazen, Hoses
Heazeltine, David
Heazelton, Daniel
Hedger, Joseph
Heger, Robert
Higgins, Ebenezer
Hill, Thomas
Hill, William
Holley, Daniel
Holmes, David
Holmes, Joseph
Hopkins, Ely
Hopkins, Isaiah
Hopkins, Jeremiah
Hopkins, Jonathan
Hopkins, Jonathan, Jr.
Hopkins, Joseph
Hopkins, Thatcher
Hopkins, Thomas
Horten, Thomas
Horton, Thomas, Jr.
How, Jesse
How, John
Howes, Daniel
Howes, Job
Howes, Moodey, Jr.
Hughson, Jeremiah
Hunt, Jesse
Huson, Aron
Huson, Robert
Hyatt, Alvan
Hyatt, Elias
Hyatt, Minan
Hyatt, Sminah
Hyattjj Stephen
Jean, John
Jedd, Jonathan
Jenkins, Nathaniel
Jenkins, Samuel
Jenkins, Solomon
Johnston, Thomas
Jones, Amos
Jones, Ananias
Jones, Nehemiah
Jones, William
June, Ezra
Kane, John
Keifl, Andrew
Keley, Jonathan A.
Kelley, John
KeUey, Judah
Kelley, Silvanus
Kerley, Albert
Kickem, Solomon
Killey, John
Killey, Judah
Killey, Silvenus
Killey, Zebedee
King, Barzilla
KingJ Bazley
King, David
King, Heman
King, Heman, Jr.
King, Obadiah
King, Stephen
Kircum, Solomon
Knap, Gabriel
Knapp, Benjamin
Knapp, Danniel
Kniffen, Amos
Kniffen, Samuel
Knott, Nathaniel
Lake, Stephen
Lambert, Connelius
Lane, Nathan
Langdon, Benjamin
Lasher, Samuel
Lawdue, Ambres
Leddoo, Ambros
Leonard, Robert
Light, Henry
Lockwood, Ebenezer
Lockwood, Peter
Lorens, Isaac
Loveless, William
Ludinton, Comfort
Lupuye, John
McCabe, Benjamin
McCale, Benjamin
McCormick, Haxel
McFadden, James
Mclntyre, Jaims
McLean, John
McShosen, Peter
McTassel, Peter
Maybee, Peter
Maconth, Arlen
Mahoon, James
Maibe, Tobias
Maker, Solomon
- Mane, Sebeus
Maner, Salvus
Marchous, Elijah
Marick, Isaac
Martine, James
Martine, Samuel
Mason, Jerred
Mazer, Abraham
Mead, Abner
Mead, Bille
Mead, Eli
Mead, Isaac
Mead, James
Mead, Moses
Merick, John
Merrick, Isaac
Merrick, Seth
Miller, Ebenetus
Millerd, Solomon
Mills, Titus
Moes, William
More, William
Moris, Eliga
Morse, William
Morten, Samuel
Myrick, John
Myrick, Seth
Nelson, Absalom
Nelson, Elijah
Newman, Jeremiah
168
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHElSS.
Newman, Joseph
Nickerson, Aron
Nickerson, Isaachar
Nickerson, Thomas
Nickerson, Uriah
Noriis, Ezra
Nott, Nathaniel
Oakley, Robert
Oakley, Timothy
Odal, John
Odall, Amors
Odel, Amos
Odell, Isaac
OdeU, John
Odle, Isaac
Ogden, Benjamin
Osborn, Denvis
Owens, Jesse
Paddock, David
Paddock, Judah
Paddock, Peter
Paddock, Seth
Paddock, Stephen
Parce, Daniel
Park, John
Parrish, Daniel
Parrish, Silas
Parse, Daniel
Paulding, John
Peace, Isaac
Pearce, Isaac
Pell, Philip
Pelton, PhiUip
Perse, Isaac
Petton, Philip
Pinfold, Waiiam
Pinkney, Frederick
Pinkney, Isariel
Pinkney, Jonathan
Pinkney, Luis
Piper, Isaac
Piatt, John
Piatt, Richard
Porter, David
Post, llennery
Price, Ebenezer
Price, James
Purdy, James
Ransier, Gieorge
Raymond, Eben
Raymond, Ebenezar
Raymond, Thadeus
Raynolds, Moses
Read, Jacob
Reed, Frederick
Reed, John
Reed, Samuel
Requa, James
Requa, James, Jr.
Requa, Joseph
Rewel, James
Rhead, Jacob
Rhoad, Richard
Rhoades, Isaac
Rhoads, Isaac, Jr.
Rhodes, John
Rhodes, Richard
Rice, Edward
Rice, Samuel
Richards, David
Richards, Ezra
Richards, Moses
Richards, Thomas
Rider, John
Rill, Samuel
Robenson, Asakar
Roberts, Peter
Robinson, Issachar
Robinson, Peter
Rods, John
Roe, William
Romer, Henry
Rorcom, Solomon
Runald, Moses
Russel James
Russel, Robert
Russel, John
Rush, John
Sackett, John
Sackett, Solomon
Sampson, George
Same, Jolel
Scofield, Ezra
Scribner, Nathaniel
Scutt, Peter
Sears, Willard
Shaddick, Comfor
Shadrick, Comfort
Sharpenard, Simon
Shaw
Shaw, Joshua
Sherwood, William
Simkins, John
Simkins, John, Jr.
Simkins, Robard
Simkins, Robert
Simmons, Jonathan
Simons, Aron
Simpkins, John
Slrrine, Isaac
Sloot, Isaac
Sloot, John
Slut, Isaac
Slut, John
Small, James
Small, James, Jr.
Smally, James
Smally, Zachariah
Smith, Abraham
Smith, Asa
Smith, Bennajah
Smith, David
Smith, Edward
Smith, Elisha
Smith, Gideon
Smith, Gilbert
Smith, James
Smith, Jeremiah
Smith, Jesse
Smith, John
Smith, Nehemiah
Smith, Phaiip
Smith, Richard
Smith, Samuel
Smith, Seth
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
169
Smith, Solomon
Smith, Thomas
Sniffen, Sam., Jr.
Sniflen, Amos
Soddore, Frederick
Soddore, Isaac
Sorine, Charles
Sorine, Israel
Sprage, Elijah
Sprage, Jaben
Sprage, John
Sprague, Jeremiah
Spreg, Jeremiah
Stats, John
Steward, George
Stirdevent, Richard
Storm, James
Swift, Isaiah
Tannors, John
Taylor, Daniel
Terry, Samuel
Tiler, Ezekial
Tomkins, Cornelius
Tomkins, Cornelius, Jr.
Tomkins, James
Tomkins, Jeremiah
Tomkins, Stephen
Tounesend, Levi
Townsend, Amos
Townsend, Charles
Townsend, Charles, Jr.
Townsend, Daniel
Townsend, Daniel, 3d
Townsend, Eber
Townsend, Isaac
Townsend, James
Townsend, John
Townsend, Zephaniah
Travis, George
Travis, James
Travis, Titus
Travis, William
Tucker, Samuel
Turner, Elisha
Turner, John
Turner, Nathan
Turner, Stephen
Utter, William
Vail, John
Vanpett, Henry
Vanpett, John
Van Scoy, Abel
Van Scoy, Jacob
Van Wert, William
Veal, John
Vermilya, William
Vermilyea, John
Walter, Daniel
Ward, Finnes
Waring, Thaddeus
Waterbury, David
Waterbury, Enos
Weeks, Jonathan
Weeks, Stephen
Whaley, James
White, Stephen
Willcox, Stephen
Williams, Ichabod
Williams, Thomas
Wilsie, Daniel
Wilson, Daniel
Wilson, Thomas
Wiman, Jeduthan
Wixsom, Daniel
Wixsom, John
Wood, Israel
Wood, John
Wooden, John
Wright, William
Wright, Zebulon
Yarnes, Nathan
Young, John
DUTCHESS COUNTY MILITIA— COOPER'S RANGERS.
Capt. Ezekiel Cooper, Lieut. Jasper Fulmore, Lieut. Martin Ray.
Ammerman Dirick
Baily, John
Bakehorn, Jacob
Bogg, John
Boyce, Hendrick
Boyce, James
Bunt, Lodewick
Clink, Frederick
Cooper, James
Curry, Samuel
Darling, John
ENLISTED MES".
Davison, John
Delong, Jonas
Depew, Abraham
Depew, Peter
Doty, Jacob
Ferguson, James
Ferguson, Jeremiah
Frayer, Thomas
Hart, James
Hicks, Jacob
Hinckom, Eliga
Honse, Tunis
Horton, Matthias
Hurly, James
Jackson, Hyland
Jackson, James
Jackson, Robert
Kinscom, Elisha
Knifer, Jacob
Lemon, John
Lent, Hercules
Lent, Moses
170
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Love joy, Andrew
Love joy, Nathan
Mandigo, Jeremiah
Medlar, Aure
Messenger, Andrew
Nichols, Isaac
Norris, Henry
Norton, Ahel
Norton, Sebe
Scott, James
Sickler
Simpson, Garret
Smith, Deliverance
Smith, Israel
Smith, Philip
Spencer, Amos
Stark, James
Steenbark, Peter
Stork, James
Straghan, John
Taylor, Gamaliel
Van Hoosen, Francis
Van Kleek, Jeremiah
Van Steenbergh, Peter
Van Valkenburgh, Levi
Vermillia, Benjamin
Vorce, David
Welding, Jeremiah
Wheeler, William
Williams, Richard
Willis, Henry
Wilsey, WUliam
Wood, Isaac
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 171
CHAPTER XII.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Local Events.
THE second and third Provincial Congresses convened in the
city of New York, the former November 14, 1775, and the
latter May 14, 1776. The fourth Provincial Congress met
at White Plains, July 9, 1776, in consequence of the British having
possession of New York, and in the forenoon of that day a letter
enclosing the Declaration of Independence which had been adopted
by the Continental Congress on the fourth, was received from New
York's delegates in that body, and unanimously approved. On the
day following, July 10th, it was "resolved and ordered that the style
and title of this house be changed from that of the 'Provincial Con-
gress of the Colony of New York' to that of 'The Convention of the
Representatives of the State of New York.'"
But the situation of affairs had become too alarming for a lengthy
deliberation. The seat of war had been transferred to New York,
and the "Convention" — afterwards so called — was occupied in raising
troops and supplies and providing for the immediate public wel-
fare. British ships of war were anchored off Tarrytown, within
six miles of where they were then sitting. July 27th they found it
necessary to move to Harlem, thence to King's Bridge, and August
29, 1776, the Convention removed to Fishkill, where it held sessions at
different times, first in the Episcopal church and later in the Dutch
church until February 11, 1777, when it adjourned to Kingston.
During the recesses of the Convention the government powers were
exercised by the Committee of Safety, which held its sessions at Fish-
kill, at intervals, from September 2, 1776, to February 14, 1777.
Nathaniel Sackett, a resident of Fishkill, and secretary of the Com-
mittee, was authorized by that body, January 3, 1777, "to employ
such detachments of the militia of Dutchess County as are not in
172 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
actual services, as he may deem expedient, for inquiring into, detect-
ing and defeating all conspiracies which may be found against the
Liberties of America."
Although Dutchess County was not invaded by the British, it never-
theless became of paramount importance during the Revolution. In
population and taxable wealth it exceeded the other counties of the
State. In addition to the large numbers of troops as evidenced by
the lengthy muster roUs of Dutchess regiments, it furnished a very
large proportion of army provisions.
Early in the spring of 1776 materials arrived at Poughkeepsie for
the construction of the frigates Congress and Montgomery for the
Continental navy. They were staunch vessels of good model, the for-
mer of twenty-eight and the latter of twenty-four guns. The fate of
these frigates is contained in a letter dated October 9th, 1777, from
Gov. CUnton to Gen. Washington which reads:
"I have to add that by some fataUty the two Continental frigates
were lost, they having been ordered down by General Putnam to the
defence of the chain; but being badly manned, they could not be got
ofF in time, though I ordered the ship Congress to proceed to Fort
Constitution (opposite West Point) the day before the attack, lest
she should meet with a disaster; and the ship Montgomery, which lay
near the chain, having neither anchor nor cables to secure her, it
being the ebb of tide and the wind failing, fell down so near the chain,
that Captain Hodge was constrained to set her on fire to prevent her
from falling into the hands of the enemy. The Congress, unfor-
tunately getting aground on the flat near Fort Constitution, shared
the same fate."
Fire rafts were also built at Poughkeepsie, fourteen of which were
launched in July, 1776.
Immediately following the adoption of the State Constitution at
Kingston April 20, 1777, one of the secretaries was directed to pro-
ceed to Fishkill and have printed 500 copies of the Constitution with
the preamble, and 2,500 copies without. The document was printed
by Samuel Loudon, a whig printer of New York, who set up his press
in Fishkill, when Washington's army evacuated the city.
Fishkill, from its secure position at the head of the Highlands, was se-
lected at an early period of the war, as the natural depot of supplies for
this section, being on a direct route of communication with the New
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 173
England States. Large quantities of stores from Dutchess and adjacent
counties, as well as from the eastern States, were there accumulated
for the use of the Continental army. A sergeant and fourteen men
from each regiment within the county were detailed to erect barracks
there. They were located on the level plateau southeast of Fishkill
village. Frequently large bodies of troops were stationed there. The
officers' quarters were at the "Wharton House," made memorable by
its association with the hero of Cooper's story of "The Spy." These
barracks became the retreat for wounded and naked soldiers. After
the battle of White Plains, the wounded were conveyed to Fishkill
where, in addition to the barracks hospitals, the churches were used
for that purpose. Of the many who died, it is asserted, their bodies
were piled up as high as cord wood in places between the Dutch and
Episcopal churches. Near the base of the mouiftain a short distance
south of the village is the soldiers' burial ground, where moulder the
remains of hundreds of patriots, whose devotion and blood helped to se-
cure for us the inestimable boon of liberty. Small-pox which broke out in
the camp added the bodies of many more. The sufferings and priva-
tions of those heroic men, who, wrote Washington, ate at one time
every kind of horse food but hay, and whose clothing was patched
until nearly every substance of originality was lost, is further em-
phasized by the Marquis de Chastellux, who remarks that they "were
not even covered with rags." Gen. Washington made his head-
quarters in Fishkill village for brief periods, stopping at the house of
Col. John Brinckerhoff. /''
The town of Pawling is also made memorable by its revolutionary
associations. In the fall of 1778 a portion of the Continental army
was cantoned within its borders on the slopes of Purgatory Hill.
Washington spent several weeks with these troops. On his arrival
September 19th, he was entertained for six days at the house of Reed
Ferris, about two miles southeast of the present village of Pawling.
He then moved a few miles southwest to the place designated as his
Headquarters on his maps by Erskine. His letters written during his
residence here are all dated from "Fredericksburgh," the name at
that time of the western and older part of the town of Patterson.
Washington's general officers were quartered in the homes of various
residents of the neighborhood. The Oblong Meeting House the larg-
est available building was appropriated by the army officers for a hos-
174 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
pital, and so utilized for about four months. The only oflScial record,
says Mr. Lewis S. Patrick in "Washington Headquarters at Fred-
ricksburgh," is that of Washington's order of October 20th, "No more
sick to be sent to the Hospital at Quaker Hill, without first inquiring
of the Chief Surgeon there whether they can be received, as it is already
full." The Quakers were not in sympathy with their Meeting House
being used for a hospital and literally "froze out" the doctors and
soldiers by leaving them alone in the bitter winter and let-
ting them starve. Dr. James Fallon, physician-in-chief of the
sick who were left on Quaker Hill after the departure of the
Continental army, wrote Gov. Clinton that he could hire no one to
draw wood to the hospital; that he could buy no milk without paying
in Continental money, six for one, and denounced most of the residents
as Tories. Many of the soldiers who lay sick are said to have died,
but Dr. Fallon's letter to Gov. Clinton furnishes the only account
known to' exist: "Out of the 100 sick, Providence took but three of my
people off since my arrival."
The Ferris House in PawUng is further made notable by the trial
there October 1, 1778, of Gen. Philip Schuyler, by courtmartial, on
the general charge of neglect of duty while in command of the North-
ern Department in 1777, especially for his absence at the capture of
Ticonderoga July 6th of that year. Gen. Schuyler was honorably
acquitted and pending the action of Congress on the verdict of the
court, he was appointed to that body by the Legislature of New York,
then in session at the court house in Poughkeepsie.
October 4, 1777, Sir Henry Clinton, then in command of the
British troops in New York started a force, estimated to number 4000,
up the Hudson, presumably to co-operate with Burgoyne, who was
■struggling with Generals Schuyler and Gates for the supremacy of
the upper Hudson. Arriving at the Highlands the superior numbers and
generalship of the British quickly captured Forts Montgomery and
Clinton in the afternoon of October 6th. These forts were more strictly
batteries for the defence of the famous chain which had been stretched
across the Hudson from Fort Montgomery. The batteries taken the
chain amounted to nothing. The second obstruction to navigation, the
chevq,ux-de-frise from Nicoll's Point proved more formidable and the
English fleet was detained here several days. They passed up the
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THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 175
river on the 15th, firing several shots at Fishkill and Poughkeepsie,
and on the 16th, destroyed Kingston.
The defence of the Hudson on the east shore was entrusted to the
ineflScient General Israel Putnam. Encamped at Peekskill with 600
regulars and several companies of militia, he retreated to the stronger
Highlands before an insignificant force sent by Sir Henry CHnton to
conceal the advance of his forces on the west side of the river. Oc-
tober 7th he wrote to Gates who was opposing Burgoyne in the north:
"I cannot prevent the enemy's advancing; prepare for the worst."
Following the English fleet he led his army northward as far as Red
Hook, arriving too late to prevent the burning of many buildings at
this place, as well as at Rhinebeck, by a detachment of British soldiers.
The presence of his army, on the eastern shore, however, prevented
the further destruction of villages and property* along the river in
Dutchess County, by the English as they sailed down on the 24th.
Shortly after the burning of Kingston, the newly formed State
government was removed to Poughkeepsie. December 15th^^JJ.77,
Gov. George Clinton issued his proclamation summoning the Senate
and Assembly to meet at Poughkeepsie, Monday the 5th day of Jan-
uary 1778. Three sessions were held here that year and the winter
session of 1779. After that it met at irregular intervals at Kingston,
Albany and Poughkeepsie; the subsequent Poughkeepsie sessions con-
vening September 7th to October 10th, 1780 ; June 15th to July 1st,
and October 10th to November 3rd, 1781; February 23rd to April
14th, and July 8th to 25th, 1782; January 11th to March 22nd,
1788; December 11th, 1788 to March 3, 1789; and January 6th to
IMh, 1795.
Hundreds of Gov. Clinton's letters were written in Poughkeepsie
indicating that he made his home here for several years, but there is
;no positive evidence what house was the gubernatorial Mansion. The
«tone house built by Clear Everitt, who was sheriff of the county from
1754 to 1761, was used for important purposes during the Revolu-
tion, and it is quite probable that Clinton occupied it for a time as his
residence. Through the efforts of members of Mawenawasigh Chap-
ter, Daughters of the American Revolutibn, the State in 1900 appro-
priated $5,000 for the purchase of this building, and it is now in the
custody of this society and known as the Gov. Clinton House, where is
maintained a Museum.
176 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In December 1778, General McDougall in command of the High-
lands was greatly in need of shelter for his troops of the Continental
army. Two regiments were in tents at Fishkill, and some four hun-
dred men occupied the hospitals. He accordingly ordered a regi-
ment of two hundred men to Poughkeepsie where they could be pro-
tected from the storms of rain and snow. Gov. Clinton at first was
opposed to the Continentals being stationed here, fearing they might
interfere with the Legislature, whose members were afforded but in-
different accommodation. However, in February of '79, when the
regiment was about to be withdrawn, he wrote that the troops had be-
haved in a most orderly manner ; had repaired their barracks, and laid
in ample firewood to make their quarters very comfortable.
When the struggle for American independence was virtually termi-
nated by the surrender of Comwallis at Yorktown, October 19, 1781,
the Legislature was in session at Pougkeepsie and, according to local
historians, on receipt of this joyful news, both houses, with the Gov-
ernor, proceeded to the Dutch Church and there offered thanksgiving
to God for the great deliverance.
The crowning event of historical interest to the citizens of Dutchess
was the ratification, in their court house, of the Constitution of the
United States, by the State of New York. The State Convention as-
sembled at Poughkeepsie, June 17th, 1788, to consider and act on the
proposed Constitution recommended by the General Convention at
Philadelphia, September 17th, 1787. The State delegates elected to
attend, numbered sixty-five, of whom sixty are recorded as present
and voting.^ Governor Clinton, who was one of the delegates from
Ulster County, was unanimously elected president, and it soon de-
veloped that he was opposed to ratification, and that a large majority
of the delegates shared his opinion. In fact Clinton is said to have
been "the bitterest hater of the Constitution that could be found any-
Iwhere in the thirteen States." Other conspicuous leaders in opposi-
tion were Melancton Smith of Dutchess, and Robert Yates and John
Lansing.
Robert R. Livingston, then chancellor of the State of New York,
and afterwards Minister to France, led the majority in favor of ratifi-
cation. Warmly supporting him were John Jay, who became the first
•
1. For delegates from DntchesB and their vote, see Civil List, Chapter VII.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 177
Chief Justice of the United States, and "foremost of all, Alexander
Hamilton, whose name alone is his best eulogy."
Among the arguments advanced by Melancton Smith was, that no
power worth speaking of, would remain to the Legislatures of the
States, and that it was impracticable to govern a country so widely
extended as this, by the plan proposed. To these and all other ob-
jections, Hamilton and his coadjutors replied with sohd reasoning and
consummate tact. For many days the discussion continued, the spec-
tators enjoying a mental feast, and it is safe to say, that in no State
was the Constitution more powerfully opposed, and more ably defended.
Of local interest is the following letter written in Poughkeepsie, un-
der date of July 1st, 1788, by Hon. Isaac Roosevelt, a member of the
Convention, to Hon. Richard Varick of New York:
"I wish it was in my Power to inform you that our Convention had
agreed to adopt the Constitution or Even what the Propable Event
will be
Our oponents keep themselves much at a distance from us and we
Cant Collect any of their Sentiments Either out or in Doors by any
means whatever
In our discussions on the Constitution we have got only to the 8th
Section of the first Article.
The time is mostly taken up in reasoning on the impropriety of
their Proposed amendments.
I now only Can sugest that the Event of Verginia may influence their
determination, should they reject I think it Propable our Convention
•will, but should they adopt, I am not Clear ours will, they may then
Propose an Adjournment to Collect the Scence of their respective
Constituents, Tho all will depend on their Leaders, Hope shall be able
to Write you more by Saturday next."
"While the logic of discussion was thus going on," says the Rev. A. P.
Van Gieson, D. D., in an address delivered January 30th, 1895, in Vassar
Brothers' Institute, "there intruded into it the logic of events. The
plan was, that when the Constitution should have been ratified by nine
States, it should go into effect. When the Convention of the State
of New York met, eight of the States had already ratified and the Con-
ventions of New Hampshire and Virginia were in session. On Thurs-
day the 24th of June a courier arrived at Poughkeepsie from the Cap-
178 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
itol of New Hampshire, bringing to Mr. Hamilton the welcome news
that the Convention of that State had ratified. This made the re-
quisite nine States, and seriously changed the face of affairs. The
question for the remaining States was not whether they would con-
tribute to the forming of it, but whether they would enter into or stay
out of a Union already formed. But by the opposition in the New
York Convention, the accession of New Hampshire was not deemed
decisive. It was a border State, and consisted mostly of a wilderness
with no population except that of bears and panthers. Virginia, the
foremost of all the States still held out, and without her and New York
the new Union could not be a success. Mr. Smith spoke not only for
himself but for his party when he said, on the day after the news came
from New Hampshire, that the change in circumstances made no
change in his views."
July 2nd a courier arrived at Poughkeepsie with a package con-
taining a despatch from the president of the Virginia Convention at
Richmond, and a letter from Madison to Hamilton, announcing that
Virginia had, on the 26th day of June, unconditionally ratified the
constitution. The accession of Virginia caused great enthusiasm
among the Federalists in the Convention, and proved a severe blowl to
the opponents of ratification, who, however, continued to stubbornly
contest their ground, insisting that the Constitution was radically de-
fective. After many days of lengthy debate and eloquent speeches,
which won over several of the Anti-Federalists, Saturday July 26th,
was appointed for the final vote, which stood SO to 2T for uncon-
ditional ratification. By the small majority of three. New York de-
cided to become a member of the American Union. The final ratifi-
cation might have been unanimous had Governor Clinton consented to
vote for the Constitution.
It seems to the Editor that the great credit rightly given Hamilton
for his brilliant and persistent fight in the Constitutional Convention
in favor of its adoption has partially eclipsed the credit that should
be given to Clinton and his followers, and that history has made scant
acknowledgement of the true patriotism and far-seeing statemanship
that actuated Clinton in his opposition.
Besides the criticism justly made that in certain regards the consti-
tution did not give proper recognition to the great State of New York
as compared with smaller and less important states, was the objection
JOHN PETER SCHENCK, M. D.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 179
based upon the fact that in other respects the constitution was crude,
and failed to guarantee proper protection to both personal rights and
to State rights. This latter fact was recognized even by those who
favored the adoption of the constitution as proposed. The oppon-
ents finally insisted that the constitution should be adopted only upon
the expressed condition of the immediate adoption of necessary amend-
ments. This course was seen to be impracticable, and finally the op-
ponents patriotically agreed to the adoption with only an implied
promise, or a tacit understanding, that these amendments should be
adopted as soon as possible.
The sequel of events justified their action, for at the first Congress
held at the City of New York on the 4th of March, 1789, there were
proposed ten articles of amendments, and thejj were subsequently
adopted by the requisite number of States.
These articles were called the American "Bill of Rights" and prop-
erly so, for they safe-guard the most valuable rights of person and of
property :
Such as freedom of religion; freedom of speech and of press; the
right of assembly and petition; the right of the people to keep and
bear arms; the prohibition of quartering troops on house-holders in
time of peace, or in time of war, "but in a manner to be prescribed by
law" ; the right of the people to be secure in their persons and property
against unreasonable searches and seizures and from arrest without
warrant supported by oath; the right not to be held for trial for a
felony unless on indictment of a grand jury, and not to be put in jeop-
ardy of life or limb twice for the same offense ; not to be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against oneself, nor to be de-
prived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor to
have one's property taken for public use without just compensation;
the right of the accused in all criminal prosecutions to a speedy and
public trial, by an impartial jury of his locality, and to be informed
of the nature and cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the
witnesses against him, and to have compulsory process for obtaining
witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his de-
fense.
It was prescribed that excessive bail should not be required nor ex-
cessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article nine of the amendments provided:
180 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
"The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
The right of trial by jury was preserved in suits at conunon law,
where the value in controversy should exceed $20.
Finally, regarding States' rights, as distinguished from personal
rights, article ten of the amendments provided that:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respec-
tively or to the people."
In the working out of our history as a Nation under the Constitution
it has been found that the provisions of this Bill of Rights have been
the bulwarks of the liberties of the people. They were worth con-
tending for and insisting upon, and the men who contended for and in-
sisted upon them are worthy of all honor and of all praise by the suc-
ceeding generations of a free people living under the constitution, as
amended; for we would in no sense have been a free people without
these amendments, and the sufferings and struggles of the Revolu-
tionary patriots in behalf of liberty might have been in vain.
By their success in the aAitrament of arms, the American patriots
had sustained their contention that "taxation without representation"
was oppression; and they had justified their Declaration that "these
united colonies are, and of right ought to be jree and independent
states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown,
and that all political connection between them and the State of Great
Britain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved."
They were, moreover, heritors of all the rights of the people of
Great Britain — all that had been won through battle and bloodshed,
wrested from King John and guaranteed by Magna Charta ; all that
had been claimed in the original Enghsh "BiU of Rights" and secured
through the "glorious Revolution" in England, the infringement of
which had cost Charles I his head, and James H his crown; and the
wise men of this new nation, who had vivid memories of the struggles
of the past and clear foresight for the dangers of the future, and who
insisted that these hard won rights should be guaranteed to the people
by the government about to be formed, should have all honor and glory.
TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS COUNTY. 181
CHAPTER XIII.
De CHASTELLUX'S TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS
COUNTY.
IN the year 1786 there was published at Paris in two volumes the
"Voyage De M. Le Marquis De Chastellux, Dans L'Amerique
Septentrionale, Dans les annes 1780, 1781 and 1782," the
"Travels of the Marquis of Chastellux in North America in the years
1780, 1781 and 1782." *
By the kind permission of Mr. Reginald W. Rives, the editor of this
work has been allowed to examine and have translations made from
the rare original books in French, owned by him.
The Marquis was a French general officer under Rochambeau and
one of that group of French noblemen, sympathizers with the Ameri-
can cause, who took such an active interest and gave such valuable
assistance in our struggle for liberty during the Revolutionary period.
Having landed at Newport, R. I., in July 1780, he was detained
there some time by reason of the presence of the English fleet before
that place. Admiral Rodney, however, having undertaken nothing
up to the beginning of October, and the season being far advanced,
after the Marquis had seen the troops properly installed in winter
quarters, on the 11th of November, he started upon a "long tour upon
the Continent." He was accompanied by two Aides de Camp, M.
Linch and M. de Montesquieu, each of whom had a servant. The
Marquis had three, one of whom looked after a led horse and another
drove a little cart upon which was carried his baggage.
It was very cold and snow covered the land.
Proceeding across Connecticut and stopping at various places, on
the 19th of November he left Litchfield and pursued his journey, trav-
elling through the mountains; passing Washington, whose name "de-
clars its recent origin," and New Milford, he found himself "upon
the bank of the Housatonic, otherwise called the river of Stratford. It
is not necessary to remark that the first name is the true one, that
182 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
is to say, the one given to it by the Savages, the ancient inhabitants
of the country."
We shall proceed to quote the Marquis's own words of the narrative
of his further journey, as he enters and proceeds through Dutchess
Comity, translating them literally:
"That river (the Housatonic) is not navigable, and you cross it easily at a ford
near the forges of Mr. BuU (Bvdl's Iron Works). You turn next toward the left,
and follow its banks; but if you are sensible to beautiful nature, if you have
learned in looking at the pictures of Vernet and of Robert, to admire examples
of it, you will pause, you will forget yourself in looking at the charming country
which forms the surroundings of the forges, the water fall which serves to work
them and the accessories of trees and of rocks with which that picturesque scene
is embellished.
Scarcely have you gone a mile, when you cross again the same river, but upon
a wooden bridge; you find another soon, which etapties itself into it, called Ten
Miles River. You follow that for the space of two or three miles and see next
many pleasant houses which form part of the district called the Oblong. It is
a long and straight tract of land ceded by Connecticut to the State of New York
in consequence of an exchange made between those two States. The Inn where I
was going is in the Oblong, but two miles further along. It is kept by Colonel
Moorhouse; for in America nothing is more common than to see a Colonel an
Inn keeper. They are for the most part Colonels of Militia, chosen by the Militia
itself, which rarely fails to intrust the command to the most honest and best
accredited citizens. I urged my horses and hastened to arrive to get ahead of a
traveller on horse-back, who had joined me on the road, and who would have
had the same right as myself for lodging, if we had arrived there together. I had
the satisfaction to see him continue on his way; but soon afterwards I had the
misfortune to learn that the fair sized Inn, where I had counted upon passing the
night, was occupied by thirteen farmers and two hundred and iif ty cattle, which
had come from New Hampshire. The cattle were the least troublesome of the
whole company. They had driven them some distance from there into a meadow,
where they left them free at their own will, without leaving any guard with them, not
even that of a dog; but the farmers, their horses and their dogs were the possessors of
the Inn. I informed myself of the reason which caused them to journey thus, and
I learned that they were conducting to the Army a part of the contingent of
subsistance which New Hampshire furnished it. That contingent is a kind of tax
which is divided among all the inhabitants, who are taxed, some at the rate of
150, others at 100 or 80 pounds of meat according to their means, so that they
agree among themselves to furnish a steer, more or less heavy, it makes no differ-
ence, because each animal is weighed. The driving of the herd is then intrusted
to several farmers and servants. The farmers have a little more than a dollar a
day; tmd their expenses as well as that of the herd are repaid them upon their
return according to the receipts which they have taken care to get from all the
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TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS COUNTY. 183
Inns where they stop. They pay ordinarily from 6 to 10 French sols for each of
the cattle for one night; the supper is in proportion. I informed myself of these
details while my men sought lodging for me, hut all the rooms, all the beds were
occupied by the drovers of the cattle, and I found myself in the greatest distress,
when a large and fat man, the leader among them, having learned who I was, came
to me and told me that neither he nor his companions would ever suffer that a
French General Officer should want a bed, and rather than consent to that they
would all sleep upon the floor, which they were accustomed to, and that that would
not cause them the least discomfort. I answered them that I was a soldier and
was just as accustomed as they to have the ground for my bed. A grand debate
of politeness upon that point; on their part rough but cordial and more touching
than the best turned compliments. The result was that I had a room and two
beds for myself and for my Aides de Camp. But our acquaintance did not rest
there. After we had separated each for his own affairs, I to fix myself up and to
rest, they to continue to drink of grog and of cider, I saw them re-enter my room.
I was then occupied in verifying my route upon a map* of the country. That
map excited their curiosity. They saw there with surprise and satisfaction the
routes by which they had come. They asked me if they knew them in Europe,
and if it was not in that part of the world that I had bought my maps. They
appeared very much pleased when I assured them that we knew America as well
as the countries that were nearest neighbors to us; but their joy had no bounds
when they saw on my map New Hampshire, their country.
They immediately called those of their companions who had remained in the
other room and mine found itself full of huge men, the most strong and most
robust which I have yet seen in America. I expressed surprise at their height and
their stature. They told me that the inhabitants of New Hampshire were strong
and vigorous; that that came from several reasons, because the air there was
excellent and because agriculture was their sole occupation, and especially because
their blood was not mixed, that country being inhabited by the families of the
original emigrants who came from England. We separated very good friends,
touching, or rather shaking, hands in the English manner, and they told me that
they were happy to have had occasion 'to shake hands with a French Greneral.'
The horse that carried my baggage having failed to travel as quickly as myself,
did not join me until the next morning. Therefore on that day, which was the
20th of November, I was not able to start until ten o'clock. Three miles from
Moorhouse Tavern you find a very high mountain, you next descend, but a little
less than you ascend; then you follow the road upon an elevated plain, leaving
the high mountains upon the left. The cotmtry is well cultivated, and you see
there some beautiful farms and some mills and notwithstanding the war they are
building there again, especially at 'HopeV township, principally settled by the
Hollanders, as for the most part the State of New York is, that State having be-
longed to the Republic of Holland, which exchanged it afterwards for Surinam.
My intention was to sleep five miles this side of FishkiU at a tavern of Colonel
Griffin. I found him cutting and shaping wood to make fences. He assured me
that his house was full which I did not hesitate to believe because it was very
small. I continued then my journey and arrived at FishkiU toward four o'clock
184 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
in the afternoon. That village where you count scarcely more than fifty houses
in the space of two miles, has for a long time been the principal depot of the
American Army. It is there that they have placed the magazines, the hospitals,
the work-shops, &c., but all these establishments form a village by itself, composed
of fine and large barracks which they have constructed in the woods at the foot
of the mountains; because the Americans, like the Romans in many regards, have
for their winter quarters only these villages of wood or barrack camps, which one
can compare to those which the Romans called Hiemalia.
As to the position of Fishkill, the results of the campaign of 1777 have proved
how important it was to occupy it. It was dear that the plan of the English had
been, and could again be, to get possession of the whole course of the North River,
and to separate thus tne States of the east from those of the west and the south.
It was necessary to make sure of a post on this river. They chose West Point as
the most important to fortify, and Fishkill as the most convenient place to es-
tablish the principle depot of provisions, ammunition, etc.; these two positions are
connected. I will speak presently of that of West Point; but I will observe here
that Fishkill has all the necessary conditions for a place for a depot, because that
village is situated on the main road from Connecticut, and near the North River,
and because at the same time it is protected by a chain of inaccessible mountains,
which occupy a space of more than twenty miles between the Croton river and
that of Fishkill.
The approach of Winter quarters and the movements of the troops that this
circumstances occasioned rendered lodgings hard to find; I had trouble enough to
find any; but finally I established myself in a mediocre Inn, kept by an old Madam
Egremont. The house had not the cleanliness that one commonly finds in America;
but the greatest inconvenience was that several panes of glass were lacking. In-
deed, of all repairs, those to the windows are the most difficult, in a country where,
the houses being so scattered and separated from one another, it is necessary some-
times to send twenty miles to get a glasier. We used everything which came to
hand to fill up to the best of our ability the cracks, and we made a good fire. A
moment afterward, the doctor of the hospital, who had seen me pass, and who had
recognized me as a French General Officer, came with much politeness to find out
if I had need of anything, and to offer me everything which he could supply. I
am using the English word "Doctor" because the distinction between Surgeon and
Doctor of medicine is no more known in the army of Washington than in that of
Agamemnon. One reads in Homer, that the Doctor Macon himself dressed all
the wounds; but our Doctors, who are not Greeks, are not willing to follow this
example. The Americans conform to the ancient usage, and are well pleased with
it; they are well satisfied with their Doctors, for whom they show the greatest
consideration. Doctor Graig, whom I knew at Newport, is the intimate friend of
General Washington; and lately M. Lafayette had for Aide de Camp Colonel
MacHenry, who, the past year, acted as Doctor in the same army.
The 21st, at 9 o'clock in the morning, the Quarter-master of Fishkill, who had
come in the evening watch with all possible politeness, to offer me his services
and fo place two sentinels at my door, an honor that I refused in spite of all his
insistence, came to my house; and after having partaken of tea, according to cus-
TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS COUNTY. 185
torn, he conducted me to the barracks where I saw the quarters, the magazines and
the work-shops of the different workmen attached to the service of the army.
These barracks are in fact houses of wood, well constructed, well covered, and
having garre^^to store grain and even cellars; of such a kind that one gets a
very false idea, if one judges of them by those which one sees in our army, when
we put our troops in barracks. The Americans make them sometimes more like
ours, but only to put the soldiers under cover, when they are more in reach of
the enemy. They give to these latter the name of huts, and they are very clever
in constructing both kinds. It takes only three days to construct the firsi^ count-
ing from the moment when they commence to cut down the trees; the others are
finished in twenty-four hours. They consist of low walls, made of piled up stones,
the chinks of which are filled with earth mixed with water, or simply with mud; some
planks form the roof; but that which makes them very warm, is that the chimney is
on the outside and one enters only by a little side door, practically at the side
of that chimney. The army has passed whole winters under such huts without
suffering and without sickness. As to the barracks, or ^rather as to the little
military village of Fishkill, they have so well provided for all which the service and
discipline of the army can need, that they have constructed there a Provost house
and a prison which are surrounded with palisades. There is only one door by
which to enter into the enclosure of the Provost and before that door they have
placed a body-guard. Through the bars with which the windows of the prison
are guarded, I distinguished several prisoners wearing the English uniform; these
were a band of thirty soldiers or enlisted Tories. These wretched men had fol-
lowed the Savages in an invasion that they had just made by Lake Ontario and
the Mohavdi River. They had burned more than 300 houses, killed the horses and
cows, and destroyed more than 10,000 bushels of wheat. The gallows ought to be
the price of such exploits; but the enemy having also made several prisoners, they
feared retaliation and contented themselves vrith guarding these robbers in a close
and narrow prison.
After having passed some time in visiting these different establishments, I
mounted my horse, and conducted by a guide of the State that the Quarter-master
had given me, I pushed on into the wood and followed the road to West Point,
where I wished to arrive in time for dinner. Pour or five miles from Fishkill, I
saw several trees cut down and a clearing in the wood; having approached nearer,
I perceived it was a camp, or rather Isome huts inhabited by several hundred
invalid soldiers. These invalids were all in very good health; but one must know
that in the American Army one calls all those soldiers invalids who are not in a
condition to do service, or those who have been sent to the rear, because their
uniforms are in truth 'invalid.' These honest people, for I will not say these un-
happy ones (they know too well how to suffer abd suffer for a cause too noble)
have not in fact coverings, not even rags; but their assured mien, their arms in
good condition, seem to cover their nakedness, and allow one to see only their
courage and their patience. It was near this camp that I met Major Liman, Aide
de Camp of General Heath, whom I had known very well at Newport, and M. de
ViUefranche, a French ofScer, serving at West Point, in the rank of an engineer.
General Heath had been informed of my arrival by a dispatch that the Quarter-
186 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
master of Fishkill had sent him on my arrival, and he had sent these two ofBcers
to meet me. I continued my way through the wood and on a road shut in on two
sides by some very steep mountains, which seemed made expressly for bears to live
in and where in truth they make frequent excursions during the Winter. One
profits by a pass where the mountains are a little lower to turn toward the west
and approach the river; but one does not see it yet. I descended these mountains
slowly, when all at once at a turn of the road, my eyes were struck with the most
magnificent view that I have seen in all my life; it was that which the North River
presents, flovidng in a deep gap formed by the mountains through which it had
long ages ago forced a passage.
The fort of West Point and the formidable batteries with which it is defended
fixed the attention on the west side of the river; but if one raises one's eyes, one
sees on all sides lofty summits bristling with redoubts and batteries. I leap down from my
horse and remain a long time looking through my spy-glass, the only means which
one can use to comprehend the whole of the fortifications with which this important
post is surrounded. Two high summits, on each of which they have cons,tructed
a great redoubt, protect the river on the east. These two works have not received
any names except those of the 'North Redoubt' and 'South Redoubt'; but from the
fort of West Point properly speaking, which is on the bank of the river, up to the
top of the mountain, at the foot of which it has been built, one counts six different
forts all in an amphitheatre and protected by one another. They induced me to
leave that place, where I would willingly have passed the entire day; and I had
not gone a mile before I saw why they had urged me to come. In fact I per-
ceived a body of infantry, more than two thousand five hundred men, very near,
which was in battle array on the bank of the river. They had just crossed it to
march at once toward Kings Bridge, and to cover a grand foraging raid that they
were proposing to make toward the White Plains and up to the very gates of
New York. General Starke, he who whipped the English at Bennington, com-
manded these troops, and General Heath was at their head; he wished to have
me see the troops before they set out on the march. I passed before their ranks,
saluted by all the ofScers with their swords, and the drums beating 'to the field,'
an honor that they show in America to Major Generals, whose rank is the highest
in the Army, although it corresponds only to that of Marshal of the camp. The
troops were badly dressed, but they made a good appearance; as for the officers,
they left nothing to desire, either in respect to their appearance or their manner
pi marching and commanding. After I had passed down the front of the line it
broke, and marched before me and continued on its way.
General Heath conducted me to the river bank, where his barge awaited him to
carry me to the other side. It was then that a new scene opened to my view, not
less sublime than the first. We descended, our faces turned toward the north; in
that side one saw an island covered with rocks which seemed to close the channel
of the river; but soon across the kind of opening that its bed had formed in
separating the immense mountains, one perceived that it flowed obliquely from the
west »nd made a sudden turn around West Point, to open a passage and hasten to
rejoin the sea, without making from there on the slightest detour. One's glance
turning towards the north above Constitution Island (this is the island of which
TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS COUNTY. 187
I have just been speaking) sees again the river, distinguishing New Windsor on
its left bank, then resting on different amphitheatres formed by the Appalachians,
the furthest summits of which close the scene and are more than ten leagues away.
We embark in the barge and cross the river which is nearly a mile wide. As we
approach the opposite bank, the fort of West Point which, seen from the east
bank appeared situated low down at the foot of the mountain, lifted itself up
before our eyes and seemed to be the summit of a steep rock; this rock was how-
ever on the bank of the river. When I had not remarked that the openings which
pierced it in different places were not else than embrasures for cannon and for
formidable batteries, I had my attention drawn to them by thirteen shots of 241-
pound cannon, fired one after the other. This was a military salute, with which
General Heath wished to honor me, in the name of the thirteen states. Never had
honor been more imposing or more majestic; each shot of the cannon, after a long
interval, was reechoed from the opposite bank with a noise almost equal to that
of the discharge itself. If one remembers that two years ago. West Point was a
wilderness almost inaccessible, that this wilderness has been covered with fort-
resses and artillery, by a people who, six years before, had never seen a cannon;
if one reflects that the fate of the thirteen states has depended on this important
post, and that a horse trader changed into a general, or rather become a hero,
always intrepid, always victorious, but buying victory always at the price of his
blood; that this extraordinary man, at the same time the honor and disgrace of his
country, had sold and thought to deliver to the English this Palladium of American
liberty; if finally one groups together so many wonders, both of the physical and
of the moral world, one would easily believe that my thoughts were indeed fully
occupied and that 1 was not bored by my journey. On landing, or rather on
climbing up the rocks which rose on the border of the river, and the feet of. which
the river wa«hed, we were received by Colonel Lamb and Major Bowman, both
artillery ofBcers, by Major Fish, a young man of fine figure, refined and in-
teUeetual, and by Major Frank, formerly Aide de Camp to General Arnold."
After a visit to Philadelphia, the Marquis returned in December,
1780, and stopping at Newburg, was entertained over night by Gen-
eral Washington at his headquarters at that place.
After an interesting account of this visit the Marquis proceeds:
"I greatly wished that it were possible for me to yield to the importunities
which he (General Washington) made me to agree to pass some days with him.
I had made at Philadelphia a solemn engagement with the Vicomte de Noailles
and his travelling companions to arrive twenty-four hours after them at the head-
quarters, if they should stop there or at Albany, if they should go straight on.
We wished to see StiU-water and Saratoga. It would have been difficult for us to
make a proper observation of that country if we should not be together, because
we counted upon General Schuyler, who should not have to make two trips to
satisfy our curiosity. I had been faithful to my promise, because I had arrived at
New Windsor the same day that they had left West Point. I hoped that I should
accompany them to Albany and General Washington seeing that he could not
188 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
detain me, wished to conduct me himself in his barge to the other side of the
river. We landed at 'Fishkill Landing Place,' to take the road on the east which
travellers prefer to that on thBJ west. Arriving at the river bank, I parted from
the Greneral, but he insisted that" Colonel Smith should accompany me as far as
'Pokepsie.' The road which leads to that village passes sufficiently near to Fish-
kill, which you leave upon your right. From there you travel upon the high
land, where the view is beautiful and extended; and traversing the township which
they call 'Middlebrook,' you arrive at the Creek and the 'Fall' of 'Wapping.' There
I stopped some moments to take in, under different points of view, the charming
landscape which that stream forms, as much by its cascade, which Is rushing and
picturesque, as by the groups of trees and of rocks, which united with the saw
mills and other mills made a picture most pleasing and agreeable.
It was not yet half past three o'clock when I arrived at Pokepsie. Although
I had the intention to sleep there, yet having found that the Court of Sessions
was assembled there and that all the taverns were full, I took advantage of the
little of the day that remained for me to reach an Inn, which someone told me of,
three miles further on.
Colonel Smith who had business at Pokepsie stayed there and I thought
myself very happy to find myself again that night with my two Aides de Camp.
In truth it was always a new pleasure for me, when free by ourselves, and in per-
fect liberty, we could render to ourselves a mutual account of the impressions
which so many different objects had left upon us.
I regretted only not to have seen Governor Clinton, for whom I had some let-
ters of introduction. He is a man who governs with all the vigor and firmness
possible, inexorable toward the Tories, whom he makes tremble although they are
in great number. He has been able to maintain in loyalty that vast province of
which one end borders on Canada and the other the City of New York. He was
then at Pokepsie, but occupied by the Court of Sessions. Besides, Saratoga and
the different fields of battle of Burgoyne were henceforth the sole object of my
trip. I tried always to advance in the hope that the snows would not prevent
me and render the roads impracticable. Arriving at 'Pride's Tavern, I put some
questions to my host upon the probable signs which he found for the continuation
of good weather, and perceiving that he was a good farmer I asked him about
agricvflture and I learned the following details. The land is very fertile in the
County of the Duchesse ('Dutchess County'), of which Pokepsie is the capital,
as much so as in the State of New York; but they let it remain fallow one out
of two or three years, less from necessity than because they have always more
land than they can cultivate. They sow upon an acre of land only a bushel of
wheat, at the most, and the sowing yields 20 and 25 for one. Certain farmers
sow oats, on the land which has borne corn the year before, but more often that
kind of grain is reserved for land newly cleared.
Flax is also a quite considerable object of culture. They plough with horses,
and they harness three or four to one plough, sometimes even a greater number,
when it is necessary to break up new ground, or that which has for a long time
lain fallow.
Mr. Pride informed me of these details, and made me hope for good weather
TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS COUNTY. 189
for the next day. I went to bed perfectly satisfied with him, and his prognosti-
cations. Nevertheless in the morning when I awoke I saw the land already all
white with snow, which continued to fall in abundance, mixed with hail. What
should 1 do under such circumstances? That for which I decided without hesita-
tion. It was to continue my journey, as if it were pleasant, and only to breakfast
little more heartily than I would have done otherwise. That which caused the
most annoyance was the £^ow, or rather the hail, which struck me in the eyes, and
prevented me from seeing the country. As far as I was able to judge, I found it
beautiful and well cultivated. After I had gone nearly ten miles, I crossed the
township of 'Straabourg,' which the inhabitants of the country called '8trattt-
borough.' That township is five or six miles long, yet the houses are not at a
distance from each other. When I saw one sufficiently fair looking and attractive,
the proprietor came out, without doubt from curiosity, and asked me in French,
if I would dismount from my horse, enter his house and dine with him. Nothing
was more tempting, because of the bad weather, than such a proposition, but also
nothing is more cruel when one has taken shelter than tojeave a second time the
corner of the fire, to expose oneself anew to the cold and to the snow. I there-
fore refused the dinner which the polite man offered me, but I did not refuse to
answer the questions which he put to me. On my side 1 asked him if he had seen
some French officers pass. I would speak of the Yicomte de Noailles, Comte de
Damas and Chevalier de Mauduit, who having with them three or four servants
and six or seven horses would have been remarked upon the road. My Hollander,
for 1 have since learned that he was called Mr. LeRoy and that he was a Hol-
lander, born in Europe and knew France, where he had lived some time^— My
Hollander answered then as a man who knew France and who spoke French:
'Monsieur, it is very true that M. le Prince de Conty has passed here this after-
noon with two other officers going to Albany.' I did not know whether it should
be to the Vicomte de Noailles or to the Comte de Dames that I should pay my
respects for his Princeship, but as they are both my cousins, I answered very
truly that my cousin having wished to take the advance, I was glad to know at
what hour he had passed and when I should be able to join him; so that, if Mr.
LeRoy consulted his Almanach, as I have no doubt he did, he will conclude that
I was the Duke of Orleans or the Duke of Chartres, that which would seem all
the more probable, as I had nine horses with me, while the Prince de Conty, a
little further removed from the Crown, had only seven. As soon as you leave
Strasbourg, you enter the township of 'Rhynbeck.' It is useless to remark that all
these names disclose the German origin. At Rhynbeck, no one leaves his house to
ask me to dinner, but the snow mixed with hail was so cold, and I was so fatigued
keeping up my horse upon the ice, that I should have stopped at that place even
if I had not been invited by the good appearance of the Inn, called 'Thomas'
fnn.' Although it was only half past two o'clock, seeing that I had so far made
twenty-three miles, that the house was good, the fire well lighted and the pro-
prietor a big man of good mien, a hunter, a horse merchant and disposed to talk,
I decided, according to the English expression, to 'dispense with' the rest of my
journey.
190 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Here is all that I learned from the most interesting part of my conversation
with Mr. Thomas:
In time of peace he carried on a large trade in horses, which he bought in Canada
and which he sent to New York to transport them to the West Indies. It is nearly
nnbelievable with what ease one carries on that trade in Winter. He assured me
that at one time he had taken only fifteen days to go to Montreal and in driving
back seventy-five horses which he had bought. The reason is that one travels
straight across Lake Greorge upon the ice, and the wilderness which is between that
lake and Montreal upon the snow. The horses of Canada travel usually eighteen
or twenty hours a day, and two or three moimted men are enough to drive a
hundred before them. 'I am the man,' added Mr. Thomas, 'who made, or rather
who reestablished the fortunes of that scoundrel Arnold. He had badly conducted
his affairs in the small business that he had carried on in New Haven. I per-
suaded him to buy some horses in Canada and to go and sell them himself in
Jamaica. That one speculation sufficed to pay his debts and to put him afloat.'
After we had talked commerce, we talked agriculture. He told me that all the
land about Rhynbeck was of extreme fertility, and that for one bushel of wheat
that is sown, they gather thirty and forty bushels. The wheat is so abundant that
they did not take the trouble to reap it, but they mowed it like hay. Certain
dogs of a beautiful breed, which were running about revived my passion for the
chase. I asked Mr. Thomas what use he made of them. He told me that they
were used only to chase the fox. That roebucks, deer and bears were sufficiently
common in the country, but that they killed them only in Winter, either by follow-
ing their tracks in the snow or by drawing the woods. Every American conver-
sation is apt to finish with politics. The politics of Mr. Thomas were a little bit
doubtfuL He was very rich and he complained too much about the supplies of
flour he had to furnish for the Army, for him to appear to me to be a good
Whig. Nevertheless he held himself out as such; but I observed that he was very
much attached to an opinion which I have found spread throughout the State of
New York. It is that there is no expedition more useful and more easy than the
conquest of Canada. The reason of it is that their country is so fertile and so
happily placed for commerce that they are sure to become rich, provided they
have nothing to fear from the savages, but the savages are only redoubtable be-
cause they are backed up and inspired by the English.
The 23rd (December, 1780,) I left the Thomas Inn at eight o'clock in the morn-
ing and travelled for three hours, always in the district of Livingston (Livingston
Manor). The road is beautiful and the country rich and well cultivated. You go
through many quite considerable hamlets. The houses are fine and commodious,
and everything there announces prosperity. In leaving that district you enter
into that of Claverack, where you descend the mountains and approach the Hud-
son River."
Two years afterwards, in 1782, the Marquis, on his way from
Mas^chusetts to Pennsylvania, again passed through the lower part
of the County of Dutchess. He says :
TRAVELS THROUGH DUTCHESS COUNTY. 191
"The 4ith (December) I departed (from Litchfield, Connecticut,) at half past
eight in the morning. I stopped at Washington, after I had admired once again
the picturesque tableau which the two falls and the two mills presented, which you
find half way on the road between Litchfield and Washington. It was not with-
out much pleasure that I observed the great change which two years had pro-
duced in a country that before was wild and savage.
When I passed that way two years ago there was only a bad public-house. At
the present time one can choose between four or five Inns, all fit and habitable.
That of 'Morgan' passed for the present for the better, but a mistake caused me
to alight at another, which I think was not less good. This is so because the war,
by stopping the growth of commerce, has been advantageous to the interior of the
country. It has not only forced many traders to leave the coasts and to seek
peaceful habitations among the mountains, but it has forced commerce to resort
to land transportation, and to frequent the roads, which before people made only
a little use of.
I arrived at 'Moor House'i Tavern' about five o'clocl^ in the afternoon. This
time, as I crossed the river at 'Bull's Works' stopping again to behold that beau-
tiful scene, I was convinced that I had not made too great an eulogy upon it in
my first journal.
The river, which was swollen from the thaw, was itself more imposing in its
cataract, but they had let a charcoal pit tumble down, and that made the view of
the mills less pleasing. On this occasion, I had no reason to praise the Inn of
Moor House. The Colonel, who had given it his name, kept it no longer, but had
conveyed it to his son, who was absent, so that there were only some women in the
house. M. DiUon, who had gone a little in advance, had all the trouble in the
world to make them kill some chickens. Our supper was poor, and after it weu
finished and we had withdrawn to the chimney corner, we saw the women, to the
nimiber of four, seat themselves at the table in our places, and eat the rest of our
supper, with an American dragoon, who was stationed there. This caused us
some anxiety on account of our men. We learned afterwards that the women had
left them only a very little portion of the supper."
Two of the women in the house were young girls, refugees from the
Wyoming massacre, and they gave to the Marquis of Chastellux a
very interesting account of their escape, all of which he sets forth in his
journal.
"On the Sth, I leave at 9 o'clock, and go straight to Fishkill, where I arrive at
half past two, after I had made twenty-four miles over very bad roads.
I alighted at the Tavern of Mr. 'Boerbm,' which I recognized was the same where
I had lodged two years before, and which was kept then by Madam Egremont.
I found the house changed to its advantage, and had a, very good dinner. I crossed
the North River at night-fall and arrived at six o'clock in 'Newborough' where I
found Madame Washington, Colonel Tighman, Colonel Humphreys and Major
Walker.
192 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The headquarters at Newborough consist of a single house, and that house is
constructed in the Holland style. It is neither large nor commodious. The larg-
est room which it contains is that where the family of the proprietor lives and
which General Washington made his dining room. It is, to be sure, sufficiently
Spacious, but it has seven doors and only one window. The chimney, or to speak
more correctly, the back of the chimney, is against the wall, so that there is in
fact only a flue of a cMmney, and the fire is in the room itself. On arriving 1
found the company assembled in a rather small room which served for a parlor."
The Marquis goes on to recount a very pleasant visit with Wash-
ington and the officers whom he met at the Colonel Jonathan Has-
brouck house, Washington Headquarters at Newburgh.
On the 7th of December, 1782, he took his leave of Washington and
proceeded on his journey to Philadelphia.
SAMi!ff/i>,!u. nihUiAe
DUTCHESS COUNTY IN THE REBELLION. 193
CHAPTER XIV.
DUTCHESS COUNTY IN THE REBELLION,
IN the Civil war of 1861-'65 the people of this county proved them-
selves worthy representatives of a heroic ancestry. In all the
larger towns meetings were held immediately upon the fall of
Fort Sumter. Men and money were freely tendered for the defense
of the Union. Enlistments commenced forthwith, and the action of
the citizens was everywhere prompt and enthusiastic. At a later
period when it became necessary to raise large sums to fill the several
quotas, these were voted without hesitation.
On the 16th of April, 1861, meetings of the officers of the 21st
Regiment and the American Citizens' Corps were held to put those
organizations on a war footing and prepare them for any emergency.
Within a few days from the issuance of the Governor's call on the
18th of April, companies were raised and organized in many of the
towns of the county, and united with various regimental organizations.
Many joined the 20th Regiment, which was raised at Kingston. Com-
pany A of this Regiment, commanded by Captain James Smith, was
raised in Poughkeepsie. Theodore Van Kleeck was sergeant-major
of this Regiment, and Dr. Robert K. Tuthill went as assistant sur-
geon. Others imited with the SOth Regiment, forming Company E,
commanded by Captain Harrison Holliday. Eleven battlefields wit-
nessed the devotion to the Union of the SOth Regiment. In the battle
at Gainesville and second Bull Run, the Poughkeepsie company lost its
captain, and the Regiment its colonel.
Company I of the 74th Regiment was raised in Poughkeepsie in
the summer of 1861, by Captain Arthur Wilkinson; and in Septem-
ber of the same year 135 men were enlisted in the county by Lieut.
Broom for Col. Ramsey's Regiment, then stationed at Dobb's Ferry.
About the same time,^ Edward Titus, of Little Rest, in the town of
Washington, was authorized by Col. De Forest to recruit a company
of cavalry; fifty-five men, mostly from the interior and eastern part
194 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
of the town, were accepted, and joined the Ira Harris Guard then
rendezvoused in New York. August 19, 1861, Pawling sent six young
men to the "People's Elsworth Regiment" at Albany. In the same
month a company was raised at Fishkill Landing to join the 19th
Regiment, whose headquarters were then at Newburgh. Nearly an
entire company of the Washington Greys, recruited from the towns
of Stanford, Pine Plains and Chnton, under command of Col. Henry
Moore, joined the 47th Regiment in New York the latter part of
August. In September, 1861, a recruiting office was opened at the
comer of Main and Bridge Streets, Poughkeepsie, by Captain Charles
Bohrer, who recruited twenty-eight men for the Morgan Rifles, com-
posed entirely of Germans, and commanded by Col. Andrew Leutz.
Thirty men were enlisted by William H. Wheeler for Captain Crom-
well's company of the First New York State Cavalry. They left
Poughkeepsie for the encampment at Troy on the 24th of September.
Thus the bone and sinew of the yeomanry of Dutchess County were
represented in detached fragments in these and various other military
organizations, exceeding in the aggregate a thousand men, who re-
sponded to the President's first call for troops.
The prospects of an early peace in the spring of 1862 induced the
government to suspend the organization of new regiments; but on
the 2d of July of that year, the President realizing the severe losses
sustained by the federal armies in recent campaigns, issued a call for
an additional 300,000 men, to serve for three years or during the war.
New York's quota was 59,705 men, and to facilitate the labor of rais-
ing them the State was divided into military districts corresponding
with the senatorial districts. Dutchess and Columbia counties formed
the 11th district, in which the raising of a regiment was authorized,
and TivoH was designated as the regimental camp. Hon. William
Kelly of Rhinebeck was appointed chairman of a joint committee
from the two counties, which met at Poughkeepsie July 17, 1862, when
it was resolved to request the Governor to change the camp for this
district from Tivoli to Hudson. The change was authorized July 25,
1862. Early in August more than a thousand men were rendesvoused
in Camp Kelly at Hudson, and the organization of the district regi-
ment, designated the 128th, was soon completed, with the following
officwrs from Dutchess: Lt. Col. James Smith, Poughkeepsie; Quar-
termaster, Alexander Annan, Fishkill; First Asst. Surgeon, C. H.
DUTCHESS COUNTY IN THE REBELLION. 195
Andrus, Poughkeepsie ; Commissary Sergeant, E. Augustus Brett,
Fishkill; Quartermaster Sergeant, George S. Drake, Amenia; Ordi-
nance Sergeant, John Matthews, Jr., Matteawan; Color Sergeant,
James M. Braley, Rhinebeck. Companies B, C, D, F, H, and I were
raised in this county. September 4, 1862, the regiment was mus-
tered for three years.
The 128th bore a conspicuous part in the movements in Louisiana,
comprising a part of the second brigade of Sherman's division. In
the assault on the rebel works at Port Hudson, near Baton Rouge,
May 27, 1863, this regiment lost twenty in killed, and seventy-nine
in wounded. In 1864 the regiment was sent to the Shenandoah Val-
ley, participating in the brilliant engagements which distinguished
their intrepid commander, Sheridan. ^
The 128th was mustered out in Savannah, July 12, 1865, and sent
to Albany to be paid off. The regiment went out with 993 men and
returned with only five hundred. Their return was appropriately
welcomed by the towns from which the several companies went.
THE DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIMENT— 150th.^
In response to a resolution passed by the district war committee,
the Board of Supervisors met August 22nd, 1862, and adopted meas-
ures for the raising of a Dutchess County Regiment, so that the
county's full quota of troops could be raised without a draft. After
obtaining the required permission from the Governor, the war com-
mittee on the 26th of August, selected Hon. John H. Ketcham for
Colonel of this regiment, Alfred B. Smith for Major, George R. Gay-
lord for Quartermaster and William Thompson for Adjutant. The
regiment was designated the 150th, and recruiting offices were opened
by Joseph H. Cogswell, Robert McConnell, Henry A. Gildersleeve,
William R. Woodin, Andrus Brant, John Green, Edward Wickes,
Edward Crummey, Benjamin S. Broas and John S. Schofield. As
soon as eighty men were enrolled by any one of these gentlemen, he
went to Albany and received his commission as Captain ; the com-
panies receiving their alphabetical designation, commencing with A
in the order in which their respective Captains were commissioned.
1. A history of the Dutchess County Regiment, edited by S. G. Cook, M. D., an4 Charles
E. Benton, published In 1907, contains a detailed and interesting account ot the organiza-
tion of the 150th, and Its participation in the various campaigns ; also a complete roster
of the regiment.
196 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Platte M. Thorne of Company H filled the place of Edward Crummey,
who had recruited the company for him. The regimental camp was
located at Poughkeepsie, just north of the old Alms House farm, and
was named "Camp Dutchess." At this camp on Saturday, October
11th, 1862, the 150th was mustered into the service of the United
States for three years, and that night left for Baltimore, where the
regiment was stationed until June 25th, 1863.
The part borne by the 150th in the battle of Gettysburg may be
briefly told. It arrived on the field of Gettysburg between 4 and 5
o'clock on the morning of July 2d, 1863, and was assigned to the
2d brigade, first division, of the 12th corps. It was held in reserve
until the afternoon of that day, when, with the first division of its
corps, it was marched to the support of Gen. Sickles, who had in-
judiciously posted his forces in an untenable position and was forced
back with the loss of half his troops to the position originally de-
signed for him by Gen. Meade. The 150th returned during the night
to the position of the 12th corps, on the extreme 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 possession of Little Round Top was in
progress, Ewell, who had discovered that Gulp's HiU 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 entrenchment, but
was dislodged at the point of the bayonet early the next morning.
This was the first actual fighting in which the 150th regiment en-
gaged. Its casualties were 8 killed and 23 wounded. Some 200 of
the rebels surrendered to it.
The regiment then joined in Meade's pursuit of Lee's army, march-
ing and countermarching until August 1st, when it crossed the
Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, and supported as skirmishers the
cavalry, who drove the enemy. During the month of August the
regiment lay in camp and many of the men were sick with acchmating
fever. There were 250 cases in the hospital with typhoid and malarial
fever.
Late in September the 150th was transferred to the army of the
Cumberland. In April of '64 it participated in the battle of Resaca,
where one ofllcer and eight men were wounded. During the Atlanta
DUTCHESS COUNTY IN THE REBELLION. 197
campaign, in which it was next engaged, the casualties of the 150th
where 1 officer and 18 men killed; 4 officers and 83 men wounded. In
Sherman's memorable march from Atlanta to the sea, the Dutchess
County Regiment was a part of the first division of the 20th Army-
Corps. They left Atlanta November 15th, 1864, and arrived at
Savannah just one month later. In a skirmish on Argyle Island,
near Savannah, December 20th, 1864, Col. Ketcham was seriously
wounded, and was unable to join his command again in active cam-
paign service. While at Atlanta, he had been promoted to be
Brigadier-General by Brevet, and subsequently for conspicuous
bravery, to the rank of Brevet Major-General.
The 150th was discharged from the United States service, June
8, 1865, near Washington, D. C, and June 12tji was formally wel-
comed home by a public celebration in Poughkeepsie.
The following is a list of the forty-seven members of the Dutchess
County Regiment who were killed in battle, or died from wounds re-
ceived in battle, arranged by companies and in order of occurrence.
In addition to this list of fatal casualties, sixty-one deaths occurred
from disease.
Company A — John Van Alstyne, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. Charles
Howgate, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. Levi Rust, killed at Gettysburg,
Pa., July 3, 1863. John P. Wing, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. Henry
L. Stone, killed near Marietta, Ga., June 11, 1864. Henry C. Winans, wounded
near Pine Hills, Ga., June 11, 1864, and died in Nashville Hospital July 12, 1864.
First Lieutenant Henry Gridley, kiUed in action at Gulp's Farm, Ga., June 32,
1864. John Hart, killed on picket near Marietta, Ga., June 24, 1864. WiUis D.
Chamberlain, kiUed in front of Atlanta, Ga., August 23, 1864. John Cass, killed
at Averasboro, N. C, March 17, 1865.
CoMPAiTT B — Stephen Simmons, killed at Peach Tree Creek, Ga., July 20, 1864.
Folsom Richardson, died of wounds, Cumberland Hospital, Nashville, Tenn., Au-
gust 8, 1864. Wounded at Resaca, Ga., June IS, 1864. James M. Chambers, wound-
ed before Atlanta, Ga., August 2, 1864. Died in hospital, Jeffersonville, Ind.,
December 28, 1864. William J. Wallin, killed on skirmish line near Averasboro,
N. C, March 17, 1865.
CoMPANT C — TaUmage Wood, woimded at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Died of
wotmds, July 14, 1863, at Baltimore, Md. George Lovelace, killed by Guerillas
between Mulberry and TuUahoma, Tenn., February 11, 1864. Henry W. Story,
killed in action at Dallas, Ga., May 25, 1864. William A. Palmatier, killed in
action at Savannah, Ga., December 20, 1864.
198 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Company D — Daniel Glancey, wounded in action, June 16, 1864. Died at Pine
Knob, Ga., June 17, 1864. James Todd, wounded in action, June 22, 1864, at
Gulp's Farm, Ga. Died at Nashville, Tenn., July 26, 1864.
CoMPAiTT E— Judd Murphy, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. James
Elliott, killed in action at Dallas, Ga., May 25, 1864. Samuel Myers, killed in
action at Dallas, Ga., May 25, 1864. Isaac I. Blauvelt, wounded in action May
25, 1864. Died May 27, 1864, at Dallas Ga. John Sweetman, wounded in action
at Gulp's Farm, Ga., June 22, 1864. Died at Ghattapooga, Tenn., July 3, 1864.
James E. Davidson, wounded in action at Gulp's Farm, Ga., June 22, 1864. Died
at Ghattanooga, Tenn., July 10, 1864. Bernard Gonnolly, killed in action at
Peach Tree Creek, Ga., July 20, 1864.
CoMPAirr F — John E. Odell, kiUed by guerillas between Mvilberry and TuUa-
homa, Tenn., February 11, 1864. Isaac Smith, wounded at Dallas, Ga., May 25,
1864. Died at Peach Tree Greek, Ga., June 4, 1864. Henry Sigler, killed on
picket near Marietta, Ga., June 16, 1864. Cornelius G. Sparks, killed in action
at Golgotha, Ga., Jime 16, 1864. Nathan C. Hedden, wounded in action before
Atlanta, Ga., July 20, 1864. Died at Cumberland Hospital, Tenn., September 2,
1864. John E. Pultz, wounded in action at Peach Tree Greek, Ga,, July 20, 1864.
Died September 20, 1864. John Simon, wounded in action at Gulp's Farm, Ga.,
June 22, 1864. Died at Ghattanooga Hospital, July 9, 1864.
GoMPAUT G — Barnard G. Burnett, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863.
Thomas Burnett, wounded in action, July 20, 1864, at Peach Tree Greek and died
July 30, 1864, near Atlanta. James Horton, wounded in action at Peach Tree
Greek, Ga., July 20, 1864. Died August 9, 1864. Thomas W. Wright, wounded in
action in Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864. Died at Atlanta Hospital, October 22, 1864.
Benj. A. Harp, wounded in action at Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864. Died Septem-
ber 7, 1864.
Company H — John Grad, killed in action at Dallas, Ga., May 25, 1864. Noah
Wixon, killed in action near Savannah, Ga., December 20, 1864.
Company I — Henry Barnes, wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. Died
July 4, 1863. Charles LeClaire, killed at Dallas, Ga., May 25, 1864. William R.
Phelps, killed in action at Golgotha, Ga., June 16, 1864. Henry Dykeman, wounded
at Peach Tree Greek, Ga., July 20, 1864. Died at Ghattanooga Hospital, Septem-
ber . 13, 1864. First Lieutenant David B. Sleight, killed in action at Averasboro,
N. G., March 16, 1865.
Company K — Richard Hyde, wounded in action in front of Atlanta, Ga., July
23, 1864. Died July 25, 1864.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 199
CHAPTER XV.
TOWN AND CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
By Edmund Platt.
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
A few words in regard to the arrangement of tl^s chapter on Pough-
keepsie are perhaps necessary. The chief events which go to make
up the history of the town, village and city of Poughkeepsie are car-
ried down chronologically from the earliest settlements to very nearly
the present time. Following this comes the history of the churches,
of the schools, of the manufacturing and other industries, of the banks
and financial institutions, of the "newspapers, politics and public men,"
each under its own heading, with something about the development of
each institution from its beginnings to the present. The institutions
which are thus treated under separate headings are not referred to in
the main story, except where something in their development was of
great importance in the history of the town or city. The military
history of the County of Dutchess is to be found in chapters by itself,
elsewhere in this book, and therefore I have made but brief references
to the enlistments of men or to the regiments that served either in the
Revolution or in the Civil War. As the bench and bar are also given
a separate chapter, I have said no more than is necessary about the
lawyers. In the history of the churches only brief reference is made
to the Catholics because a separate chapter is also devoted to them.
The short history of Poughkeepsie contained in this volume is not a
mere synopsis of my History of Poughkeepsie. Certain problems
which could not be solved at the time that book was written have been
re-examined from the records, some of them have been solved and con-
siderable new matter has been obtained.
Edmund Platt.
March, 1909.
200 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
THE towns of Poughkeepsie, Fishkill and Rhinebeck are the
three oldest political divisions of the County of Dutchess,
dating back at least to 1717, as the first book of the Super-
visors and Assessors shows, though the division does not seem to
have been definitely authorized by colonial law until June 24<, 1719.
That act refers in its first clause to a previous act of the "Twelfth
year of the reign of the late Queen Anne," evidently the act of October
23, 1713, directing "the freeholders and inhabitants in the respective
precincts thereof to assemble and meet at the most convenient place"
to elect a supervisor, treasurer, two assessors and two collectors.
Probably when these officers had been elected they made the first
division of the county themselves for convenience, calling the sections
wards. The record shows that the middle ward was called "Pockep-
sing" as early as 1718 and the lower ward Fishkill, while the northern
a little later came to be called Kipsburg. In the act of 1719 the word
"ward" is not used, but they are called merely divisions, and the mid-
dle division was given practically the same boundaries along the river
as the present town of Poughkeepsie, namely, from Wappingers Creek
to Esopus Island. The next division into a greater number of towns
or precincts was made in 1737, when the Poughkeepsie precinct had
a small slice taken off its northern end and was given a definite east-
ern boundary. It included "All the lands to the northwest of Wap-
pingers Kill, or Creek, from the mouth thereof and up along the said
kill or creek and Hudson's River until it meets the patent granted to
Heathcote and Company, called the Lower Nine Partners." The
creation of the towns of Clinton and of Hyde Park made only a slight
change in this northern boundary, for the Lower Nine Partners Pat-
ent extended to the Wareskeechen, the stream which crosses the Post
Road this side of Teller Hill, and the present boundary is only a mile
or so further south.
The name Poughkeepsie dates far back of definite political divisions.
It is first found in an Indian deed, dated May 5, 1683, still on file in
the Fort Orange records at Albany, granting to Pieter Lansingh and
Jan Smeedes each a farm and to the latter "also a waterfall near the
bank of the river to build a mill thereon. The waterfall is called
PooghJcepesingh and the land Mmnismgh, situate on the east side of
POUGHKEEPSIE. 201
the river." This word "Pooghkepesingh," according to authorities
on Indian nomenclature, means "where the water breaks through or
falls over." In this deed it plainly refers to the fall at the mouth of
the Fall Kill. The first grant of land in the town of Poughkeepsie
is dated October 24, 1686, and refers to an Indian deed dated one
year earlier. This was made to Robert Sanders and Myndert Har-
mans. It contains no mention of Poughkeepsie, though the land is
called Minnisink, but in 1697 Sanders and Harmans conveyed to Bal-
tus VanKleeck a tract of land called by the Indians "Mennisink and
Poghkepesing." This appears to be the last use of the word "Minni-
sink" in local records, but Poughkeepsie, with a great variety of spell-
ings, soon came into general use to describe the neighborhood.
Just who the very first white settler in the limits of the town of
Poughkeepsie was remains unknown, but the first deed dated June 15,
1680, was of land between the mouth of Wappingers Creek and the
Caspar Kill, granted by five Indians to Arnout Cornelissen Viele, a
well-known interpreter of Indian languages. As a general thing some
one was usually already living, camping or squatting in a neighbor-
hood for which the warrant of a title to land was sought, and prob-
ably Viele or someone else was living near the Caspar Kill at that
time. Two years later, in 1682, there is record of a "bond and mort-
gage given by a Highland Indian, Tapias, to Laurence van Ale and
Gerrit Lansing, secured by his land, situate upon Hudsftn's River on
the east side, nearly opposite Danskammer, * * * where Arnout
Cornelissen's land ends." This gives strong ground for the suppo-
sition that several families had been living near the mouth of the Wap-
pingers for some time. The land granted to Viele soon afterwards
came into the possession of Pieter Lansing, or Lassing, and some of
his descendants lived there for many years. In fact, we may say that
some of them are still living there, for the Lawsons, of New Ham-
burg, are undoubtedly the same family, as Lauson was one of the
early variations of the spelling of the name.
With the granting of the Sanders-Harmans patent the site of the
City of Poughkeepsie began to acquire settlers enough to determine
the location of a center or hamlet. By 1697 there were at least six
families here. The first settler, who is merely referred to in a deed
as "Sovryn the Baker," was on the ground as early as 1686, and the
others were Myndert Harmans, the patentee, Balthazer Barnse, Hen-
202 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
drick Ostrom, Simon Scoute and Baltus VanKleeck. These with oth-
ers who came soon afterwards formed a small Dutch village com-
munity. Their deeds from the patentees included the right to cut
wood in 'the forests and the right to pasturage in common lands. A
saw mill may have. been built by Jan Smeedes at the Pooghkepesingh
waterfall as early as 1683, when he obtained his deed from the Indians,
though no further record of Smeedes has been found. A miU, at any
rate, had been built there by 1699, for it is mentioned in a deed from
Col. Peter Schuyler, the ^second patentee, to Sanders and Harman^.
This deed conveyed land between the Rust Plaest, the stream that flows
through the Poughkeepsie Bural Cemetery, and the Fall Kill, and was
probably given to straighten titles and make more definite boundaries
between the two patents. Schuyler's patent, granted in 1688, con-
veyed land "Bounded on the north by the lands of Robert Sanders and
Myndert Harmense," and "on the south by a certain creek that runs
into Hudson's River on the north side of a certain house now in the
possession and occupation of one Pieter the Brewer." The "certain
creek" was the Caispar Kill and Peter the Brewer was undoubtedly the
Peter Lansing above referred to. Schuyler's land included, therefore,
almost the whole town of Poughkeepsie south of the city limits.
The settlement of the town proceeded slowly. There was good
lands along the streams and a comparatively level tableland stretching
north and south for some distance in the neighborhood of the present
city limits. Probably some of the land along the Fall Kill as well as
along the Wappingers and the Caspar Kill was natural meadow land,
free from trees, only occasionally flooded and very fertile. By 1703,
when the first Post Road act was passed, settlements in the County of
Dutchess had not yet warranted the Legislature^ in requiring the in-
habitants to "clear or maintain any other path or highway than for
horse and man only," but by 1712 there was reference in a deed to
"the waggon path leading to Pokepsink," and the highway law of
1713 provided that "If the commissioners for the County of Orange
and Dutchess County see cause to have any roads laid out for a
waggon road, the inhabitants of said counties shall be hereby obliged
to clear the same." This act named Barent VanKleeck, Jacob Vos-
burg and Johannes Busch commissioners for Dutchess.
1. "Tlie Sanders-Harmans and the Schuyler grants covered nearly all of the town of
Poughkeepsie, except a strip included In the Rombout patent along the Wappingers
Kill. Later grants were made but declared fraudulent.
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POUGHKEEPSIE. 203
It is impossible to tell where the original line of the Post Road, or
King's Road, was, but in Poughkeepsie it must have been about where
it is now by 1716, when the first church, the Dutch Church, was or-
ganized, for the land then conveyed by Jacobus Van den Bogert to
the trustees of the church is still owned by the church and was de-
scribed by the deed, December 26, 1716, as "butted and boundett,
Vz., on the Nort side to the Rood that runs to the Eastward to the
fore said Captain Barent VanKleeck's and on the west along the Rood
that runs to the Sout." That was clearly the southeast corner of
Main and Market streets, and on the opposite side of the road that
runs to the south the first court house was built by 1720. The
Legislature first made provision for the building of a county house
and prison in Dutchess County by an act, July 21, 1715, but did not
indicate where the building was to be located. A second act, passed
May 27, 1717, provided for its location "at or near the most con-
venient place at Poghkepse."
As a county seat, therefore, Poughkeepsie dates from May 27,
1717, and there is evidence that general county meetings previous to
that time had usually been held here. A court house and a church
and a blacksmith shop make a good nucleus for a village any-
where, but Poughkeepsie grew with rather more than true Dutch de-
liberation and it was not until about eighty years after the building
of the first court house that the place had become large enough to
necessitate incorporation as a village. It should be noted that, like
Fishkill and Rhinebeck, Poughkeepsie made its early growth, not on
the river bank, but on the King's Road, or Post Road. The river, of
course, must have been the great highway to the outer world during
most of the year, but the road was undoubtedly the chief avenue of
intercourse between scattered settlements and was doubtless available
also for longer horseback journeys. As early as June 30, 1717, a
payment of six shillings is recorded "for carrying an express to Fish-
kill for his Magesty's sarvis," and "To James Hussey for ye same
Express as fare as Croten River." Evidently the road was in use
all the way to New York, despite the statement in some histories that
Lord Loudon opened it through the Highlands when he marched his
troops northward during the French and Indian War.
There must have been some kind of a road to a landing place at the
river and also a road leading to the eastward before 1716, but there
204 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
is no indication in the early records as to how far it extended and no
evidence of the appointment of an overseer or pathmaster for it for
a considerable number of years. The first Book of the Supervisors
and Assessors, bringing the records down to 1722, mentions only
overseers of the King's Road, but in 1730 the Second Book of the
Supervisors contains an account of an election for the middle ward of
an assessor and a collector, Arrye Rosa and Richard Sackett, Jr.,
for Dover and pochquayeck, and also the election of Hendrick Neess
"surveyor of ye road from Dover, and Arrye CooU surveyor of ye
road from Pochquayeck." It seems that these roads both ran to
Poughkeepsie. The first mention I have found in the records of a
road leading to the river is the 'following:
And Whereas we the hereafter Named Commissioners of pooghkeepsing and the
Neighborhood of Wassayck Called Dover at the Request of Many persons free-
holders and Inhabitants of said County & Two Neighborhoods have on the fourth
day of November 1736
Concluded & agreed that the Bridge where it Now Stands Erected over the
Wappingers Creek is the most Convenient place for the passing and Repassing
for Travelers; and the Road is to Contineu from Said Bridge as it Now Goes to
a Swinging Gate of Mr. Franc Filkins Land Now in the Tenure of Mr. Johannes
Lewis from thence Straight over the land of Mr. Moses De Graeff till it meets
with the Road that Leads through the Land of Mr. Johannes Van Cleeck and so
through the same Land as it Now Goes quite Down to the Landing at Pooghkeep-
sinck as the said Road Now Leeds.
A considerable number of new roads were laid out after the pas-
sage of an act in 1732 "for the better clearing and further laying out
public high roads in Dutchess County," and in 1738 it is stated that
the commissioners "have viewed a road that leads from Pokeepsinck
Church to Mr. Johannes Van Kleeck's," etc., and found the same very
inconvenient and proceeded to alter said road as follows: "From Po-
keepsinck Church eastward along the fence now in the possession of
Mr. Francis Filkins until the end of the Lane and so along to the street
line of the west end of the Lane of Col. Barent Van Kleeck's land, and
so along the line as the same now is to the end thereof by Hendrick
Ostrom's, then along the road as is there used to the end of the fence of
Myndert Van Den Bogart. * * « And we said commissioners
hope this may be conformable and agreeable to law and that this road
be tfce King's High way or road from said Church at Pokeepsinck
until the Wappingers Creek by the bridge aforesaid and no other, and
POUGHKEEPSIE. 205
also that there be a publick high way from the said Church as the
road now goes until Hudson's River at a place called the Call Rugh
Landing." This mention in 1738 is the first mention I have seen of
the Kaal Rock landing, which appears many times, however, in the
later records of the precinct or town of Poughkeepsie. It is almost
impossible to tell from the early surveys just where the old roads ran,
but the road above mentioned was apparently the main road to the
eastward from the Kaal Rock landing, passing by the Poughkeepsie
Church (that is the Dutch Church) and so out across Wappingers
Creek. The records of elections for the precinct of Poughkeepsie
begin in 1742 and the first page mentions four roads, as follows:
Barent Lewis, overseer of ye road to ye northward.
Benjamin Van Keuren, do to ye southward.
John Tappen, do to ye eastward.
John Maxfield, do to ye northeast.
The next year the roads to the eastward and to the northeast come
out and in their places are the "road to DuBois's," and "road to ye
Nine Partners." In 1744 the last mentioned road becomes the "road
to Filkintown," while the road to the eastward, or to DuBois's, becomes
"from Lewis DuBois's to Callrugh," and a new road is mentioned
"from Lassing's to Du Bois's mill." In 1745 the roads are simply,
"Post Road North," "Post Road South," "Filkintown," "Simeon
LeRoy," "Lewis Du Bois." Now where did Simeon LeRoy and Lewis
DuBois live? In 1751 these roads are designated as "DuBois's
Bridge," and "LeRoy's Bridge," while another is mentioned "from
Perdon's to P. Lansing's." LeRoy's Bridge, sometimes called Simeon
LeRoy's Bridge, comes aU the way down the records to 1755, when a
pathmaster is appointed for a road "from Callrugh to Simeon Le-
Roy's Bridge," and in 1754 we find the following in the record: "It
was voted that the men from Boudewyn Lacount's, himself included,
to Johannes VanKleeck's, himself included, shall work upon the road
leading from the Callrugh landing to Simeon LeRoy's Bridge, and
likewise those living at Crary Fly." This road running from the
river to Wappingers Creek is evidently the same one mentioned in the
earlier 1738 record. ^Simeon LeRoy had purchased land on the east
1. Simeon LeBoy was a son of Frans, or Francois LeRoy, who came to Poughkeepsie
as early as 1719. He was the ancestor of the LeRoy family in Dutchess County and Is
the only French Huguenot, so far as I know, who came to this neighborhood hy way
of Canada. He hought land In the neighborhood of Smith Street on the Fallkill.
206 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
side of Wappingers Creek, about in the neighborhood later known
as Titusville, not far from the time these road records began. The
puzzling thing about the town of Poughkeepsie records is that they
seem to indicate that Lewis DuBois lived in the same neighborhood
and, in fact, we have maps showing that at a later period he did live
on this side of the Creek opposite the site of Titusville. It is not
easy to conclude, however, that DuBois's Bridge and LeRoy's Bridge
were the same, because they occur together in the same records in
1751. Matthew, Mathys or Matthias DuBois bought a tract of some
1,S00 acres of land on this side of the Wappingers, opposite Titus-
ville, in 1730, and his descendants lived there for a long time. The
county records show that a road was laid out "from Lassen's to
Mathys Du Boys mill" in 174(3, and this record also mentioned Lewis
DuBois, which proves that he was living somewhere in the same neigh-
borhood along the Wappingers. Li 1771 the Matthew DuBois estate
was settled by Peter DuBois, Edward Schoonmaker and Zephaniah
Piatt, who made a map of the property. This shows a bridge across
the stream, just back of the house now owned by Hon. A. B. Gray,
and it appears from this and subsequent maps that Mr. Gray's house
was built certainly as far back as 1771 and was the mansion of the
various owners of the property for many years. The ^place was
called "Anne's Field" in the early days, but by 1791 had become
"Greenvale," the name it still bears. The neighborhood was evidently
a center of some importance, the main road to the eastward crossing
the stream there, and another road passing on to the southeast, marked
on the maps of 1791 as "the road to Fishkill." It is possible that
there were as early as 1750 two bridges across Wappingers Creek in
that neighborhood, one near Mr. Gray's house and the old Titusville
mill and the other near or at the site of the present Red Oak Mills.
If so, one of them was doubtless LeRoy's Bridge and the other Du-
Bois's Bridge. The road laid out in 1743 and mentioned in the
Poughkeepsie town records in 1744 as "from Lassing's to DuBois's
mill" probably indicates the present Spackenkill Road, for it comes
down in the records finally as "the road to Van Keuren's" and some-
times as "the road to Anthony's," evidently referring to the neighbor-
1. *hiB house and property belonged to several well known-men. Including James Des
Brosses In 1771, Francis Ingram, Abraham Adrlance (1813) and John E. Varick (1833).
POUGHKEEPSIE. 207
hood of the old ^Milton Ferry, where Captain Van Keuren and
Theopilus Anthony lived before the Revolution. The ferry crossing
the river there may have been established as early as 17.50.
It should be stated that the road from Kaal Rock Landing past the
Dutch Reformed Church and so on to Wappingers Creek and to the
eastward did not follow the present Main street from the Post Road
westward. Main street was not put through to the river until 1800.
The road wound up the hill, crossing the lines of the present North
Clover and Mill streets, reaching the Post Road to the north west-
ward of the Dutch Church, then following Main street out to the
neighborhood of Arlington, where it turned to the southward, following
nearly the lines of the present Raymond avenue and winding around
over the limestone ridge, called the Hornberg, and so on to Dubois's
place and the bridge over the Wappingers. Additional evidence that
this was the case is found in a statement in one of the surveys of this
road where the "Fountaine KilHtie" is mentioned. This was ap-
parently the "spring brook" that flows through Vassar College
Lake. The earliest road to the northeast apparently branched off
from this road at Arlington and was probably the same as that now
called the Back Road to Pleasant Valley. A little later, certainly
before 1771, another road branched where the Manchester Road now
leads off and went around into the Wappingers valley, crossing the
stream at the Zephaniah Piatt (now Frank DeGarmo) place. The
bridge at this location may possibly have been one of the very early
ones. It seems as if it should have been the LeRoy's bridge referred
to above, but all the evidence I have found is to the contrary. The
existence of several old stone houses on the road east of the Wapping-
ers suggests that the bridge may possibly have been built before the
present line of the turnpike across the flats on the west side of the
stream. The short cut over the swamp and the brickyard hill was
laid out by the Turnpike Company at the time of its organization
in 1802, when the road to Pleasant Valley was taken over and much
improved. This short cut is not shown in the town map made in 1798,
nor is the Manchester road. The latter appears to have been put
through about 1811.
1. The ferry at Milton was not only a very old one, but it was the last on the river
to run a horseboat, the old boat remaining in service till about the time of the Civil War.
See Appendix for history of this ferry by C. M. Woolsey, of Marlborough.
208 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Neither the county, nor the town of Poughkeepsie, grew very much
until about 1740, when there was a continuous immigration from the
south, much of it from Long Island. In 1745 a new and more commo-
dious court house was built and in 1756 the English population had
so much increased as to call for the occasional services of a missionary
of the Church of England. The river trade gradually increased in
importance as the farms were cleared and settled and a storehouse
was built about 1761 at the foot of Pine street, and a few years later
at the foot of Union street. The last named street or road was laid
out by the town authorities in 1767 on petition of John DeGraff and
his son-in-law, James Winans. It was in part an old road then, how-
ever, but is not mentioned as requiring the services of a pathmaster
before the Revolution. There was doubtless also a very early road to
the mill at the mouth of the Fall Kill. Pine street was for a long time
known as Richard Davis's Road, or the road to Richard Davis's land-
ing, and was apparently a private road until nearly the close of the
century. The "Caulrugh" road was still the only one in the limits
of the City of Poughkeepsie mentioned in the records and even that is
not distinctly shown on the map made in 1770 by WiU Cockburn. In
that year there were some fifty or sixty houses in Poughkeepsie within
the pi'esent city limits, twenty-five or thirty of which were on the main
roads, iiot far from the center. A good deal of the land adjacent to
these roads had already been divided into lots so small as to suggest
that their occupants could not have been depending wholly upon farm-
ing for their living. Though scarcely deserving the name of village
in 1756, by 1776 the town had become one of some importance.
In colonial times the houses of this neighborhood belonging to peo-
ple of wealth were many of them stone houses, not handsome but of
great durability. Few of them, however, remain, only two in the City
of Poughkeepsie — ^the house on Main street now known as the Grov.
George Clinton House and probably one of the residences of Clinton
while in Poughkeepsie, and the old Noxon House on the east side of
Market street. The last mentioned has been remodeled at the present
time with a brick front and does not look like an old house, but it
probably dates fnfem the neighborhood of 1741. Of the houses along
the Post Road the only ones remaining in good preservation in the
town of Poughkeepsie are the Davies House, opposite the Spackenkill
Road, and the Abraham Fort House, about five miles below the city,
GEORGE M. HINE.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 209
near the Caspar Kill. This house has been much altered and en-
larged by the present owner. The old Judge Piatt place, now occu-
pied by Frank DeGarmo, near the Wappingers Creek above Man-
chester, is perhaps more nearly than any of the other stone houses in
the town in its original condition. Another house, probably older, is
that occupied by A. B. Gray and referred to in the discussion of the
roads leading to LeRoy's Bridge and DuBois's Bridge. The Theoph-
ilus Anthony House, later the Gill House, on the river front at the
mouth of the Spackenkill, is another notable house of colonial days.
DUaiNG THE REVOLUTION.
The leading people of the town of Poughkeepsie were conservative
and not inclined at first to take much part in the agitation over the
stamp act and tea taxes that so greatly aroused the dwellers in some
of the seaport cities. The agitators worked very systematically to
stir up the country, sending letters far and wide, asking the people
everywhere to call meetings, pass resolutions, appoint committees, etc.
In response to a letter from Isaac Low, chairman of the committee
of correspondence in New York City, a meeting was held in Pough-
keepsie, August 10, 1774, a report of which has been handed down.
The people decided not to comply with the request of Mr. Low to
appoint a committee, but adopted resolutions stating that they "agree
fully in opinion with the many respectable bodies who have already
published their sentiments in declaring that the unlimited right claimed
by the British Parliament, in which we neither are or can be repre-
sented, of making laws of every kind to be binding on the colonies,
particularly of imposing taxes, whatever may be the name or form
under which they are attempted to be introduced, is contrary to the
spirit of the British Constitution and consequently inconsistent with
the liberty which we as British subjects have a right to claim." The
only action this meeting would take in the matter, however, was to
instruct its members of the General Assembly to urge the Legislature
"to lay before his Majesty an humble Petition and Remonstrance,
setting forth the state of our several grievances and praying his royal
interposition for a repeal of the said Acts." The resolutions also cited
that "In the opinion of this meeting they ought and are willing to
bear and pay such part and proportion of the national expenses as
their circumstances will admit of, in such manner and form as the
General Assembly of this Province shall think proper."
210 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
This was the legal, orderly way to go to work to have grievances
redressed, but the General Assembly of the Province of New York was
not in sympathy with the revolutionary spirit of the times and noth-
ing could be immediately expected from an appeal to it. Other meet-
ings, perhaps held elsewhere in the county, did appoint correspon-
dence committees and chose delegates to the Continental Congress at
about this time. Certain leading Poughkeepsians, most of them mem-
bers of the English Church (now Christ Church) refused to consider
the acts of the First Continetal Congress binding and called them-
selves "Friends of Constitutional Liberty." As the spirit of resent-
ment against the mother country grew and as the revolutionary or-
ganizations became more aggressive, these Friends of Constitutional
Liberty were considerably harassed and a few were finally driven out
of the county. They were strong enough in March, 1775, neverthe-
less, with the aid of the Tory sheriff, "a judge of the inferior court,
two of His Majesty's justices of the peace and a constable" to cut
down a liberty pole erected near the house of John Bailey, two or three
miles from Poughkeepsie. The Poughkeepsie precinct early in April
refused to elect delegates to the Second Continental Congress, but only
a few weeks later, when the news of the battles of Lexington and Con-
cord reached here, the people became thoroughly aroused and the rep-
resentatives sent to the Provincial Congress to meet in New York May
22, included Gilbert Livingston and Zephaniah Piatt, of the Pough-
keepsie precinct. This Provincial Congress promulgated the "Pledge
of Association," which aU citizens were asked to sign In support of
the measures of the Continental Congress. There were 207 signers
and eighty who refused to sign in this town or precinct. The latter
included some of the most substantial people. Some forty or fifty
of these adhered so strongly to the king that their personal property
was confiscated and sold, probably after they had fled from their
homes, and Bartholomew Crannell's farm, wholly within what is now
a closely built up part of the City of Poughkeepsie, was also con-
fiscated and sold. Crannell street perpetuates his name and is a little
west of the center of his farm of 102% acres. He entered the Brit-
ish army and afterwards settled in Canada. Two of his daughters,
however, married leaders of the Revolutionary party, Gilbert Liv-
ingsfbn and Peter Tappen, and broke with their father. The Eng-
lish Church suspended services when the Declaration of Independence
POUGHEEEPSIE. 211
was promulgated and the rector, Rev. John Beardsley, entered the
British service as chaplain of Beverly Robinson's regiment of Loyal
Americans, the same regiment that Crannell had entered.
When the war was fairly under way Poughkeepsie became a center
:^r the meeting of committees arranging for the defense of the Hud-
son River, for furnishing provisions for the army and for recruiting
service. Here were built the two frigates assigned to the State of
New York for the American navy, and here was forged much of the
great iron chain stretched across the River from Fort Montgomery,
at the lower entrance of the Highlands. The frigates were launched
in the autumn of 17T6, but never got to sea, for both had been sent
to the defense of Fort Montgomery and they were destroyed during
the raid of Vaughn and Wallace, in October, 177J. It may be well
to repeat here that the chain stretched across the river at West Point
at a later period was not made at Poughkeepsie but in Orange County.
Poughkeepsie had its only actual taste of war at the time of
Vaughn's raid. The British sent about thirty ships up the river,
most of them gunboats, but some transports filled with troops. As
they passed the town they fired a few shots, one of which went through
the house of Henry Livingston, a house still standing, and another of
which buried itself in the neighborhood between North Bridge stteet
and Vassar street. The British are said also to have fired at the
storehouse of James Winans, near the foot of Pine street. Nd con-
temporary account of these incidents has been found, excepting as
they are referred to in the letters of Gov. George Clinton and of General
Israel Putnam. There were apparently but two companies or
bodies of mihtia here at the time, one commanded by Col. Jacobus
Freer of 171 men and the other by Col. Zephaniah Piatt of 120 men.
It is said that they fired at the ships and had a cannon which was used
from what we now call Reynolds HiU. This is probably true, but
there is no evidence to show whether the firing was during the ad-
vance or retreat of Vaughn or at both times. There was great alarm
throughout the whole neighborhood at this time and Gov. Clinton
sent his wife out to the neighborhood of Pleasant Valley for safe keep-
ing. Gen. Israel Putnam followed the ships with a considerable body
of Continentals by the Post Road, and it was probably knowledge of
the fact that kept the British from attempting any serious depreda-
tions on this side of the river.
212 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
After the destruction of the forts that guarded the Highlands and
the wanton destruction of Kingston (Oct. 16, 1777), Poughkeepsie
became much more than ever before the center of revolutionary
activity. The newly formed state government had scarcely organized
in Kingston when the enemy arrived. After the retreat of the British,
Gov. CHnton came to Poughkeepsie and the Council of Safety soon
followed. Accommodations in the little town were scanty, but were
the best to be had in any reasonably safe neighborhood and a number
of pretty good houses belonging to ^Tories, who had been driven
away, were available as residences, while the court house and perhaps
the two churches could be used for legislative sittings. By proclama-
tion dated December 15, 1777, Gov. Clinton called the Legislature to
meet in Poughkeepsie on January 5, 1778. The first laws of the State
of New York were passed here, and though the Legislature held two
sessions in Kingston a few years later and two in Albany, most of its
sessions were held here until after the evacuation of New York. A
very large number of Gov. Clinton's letters are dated Poughkeepsie
and show that the state offices were fixed here and that his residence
remained here even when the Legislature met elsewhere. John Holt's
paper, which had been removed from New York to Kingston and from
Kingston to Poughkeepsie, contained the following notice. May S,
1778 : ' "The Court of Probate of the State of New York is now open
at Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, and the office kept at the house
of Captain Ezekiel Cooper, of that place." This is signed, "Thomas
Treadwell, Judge of the said Court." In the winter of 1778-1779
a regiment of Continentals was quartered in Poughkeepsie and bar-
racks were erected on the south side of the village.
An interesting matter concerning Poughkeepsie's connection with
the Revolution was the fact that the first American flag used in battle
after the adoption of the stars and stripes, at the defense of Fort
Stanwix or Schuyler in the summer of 1777, was made in part from
a blue coat belonging to Captain Abraham Swartwout, of Pough-
keepsie, the rest of the flag having been made also from such similar
materials as could be obtained from the soldiers. This statement is
substantiated by the following letter:
1. Becord bas recently been found in Holt's Journal for June 19tb, 1780. of tbe In-
dictment of Richard Everltt along with Bartholemew Crannell, Key. John Beardsley,
Bamuft Finknej, Isaac T. Lasslng and others for "adhering to tbe enemies of this State,"
■0 It Is certain that Everltt's bouse as well as Crannell's was available for Governor Clin-
ton's use.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 213
Poughkeepsie, 39 Aug. 1777.
Colonel Peter Gansevort, Fort Schuyler.
Dear Sir; — The great distance which your duty calls us apart obliges me at this
time to give you this trouble which otherwise I would not — ^You may remember,
agreeable to your promise, I was to have an order for eight yards of broadcloth
on the commissary for clothing of this state in lieu of my blue cloak which was
used for colors at Fort Schuyler. An opportunity now presenting itself, I beg
you to send me an order enclosed to Mr. Jeremiah Renseler, pay master at Albany,
to Mr. Henry Van Vaughter, Albany, where I will receive it, and you will oblige
me, who will always acknowledge the same with true gratitude. Please make my
compts to the other officers of the regiment.
I am, dear sir.
Your Hble. servt.,
Ab&aham Swabtwotjt,
Captain.
•
Until the capture of Stony Point by General Wayne, in July, 1779,
and the transfer of the seat of war to the south there were frequent
rumors that the British were planning another raid up the Hudson
and the authorities at Poughkeepsie were constantly on the alert, with
an eye upon the Fishkill beacons, where it was expected that a big
fire would notify them of impending invasion. At the commissary
headquarters in Poughkeepsie there was great activity in collecting
and forwarding stores and ammunition to the army and there was
also a storehouse at Wappingers Falls. During the severe winter of
1779-1780, when New York harbor became frozen over and all the mill
streams of Dutchess froze solid, it was only with the greatest difficulty
that enough provisions could be gathered to keep the garrison at
West Point from starving. In September, 1780, the treason of Ar-
nold created another scare along the Hudson and at the same time the
constant depreciation of the Continental currency made the purchase
of supplies and, indeed, the carrying on of any business more difficult
than ever. The newspapers of the day, including both John Holt's
Journal, published in Poughkeepsie from May, 1778, to November,
1783, and Loudon's New York PacTcet, published in Fishkill, were
filled with reports of meetings and discussions over the best means of
regulating prices and preventing further depreciation of the currency.
The Legislature was in session at Poughkeepsie when the news of
the surrender of Cornwallis was received, in October, 1781, and both
Houses immediately adjourned and went over to the Dutch Church,
where a service of thanksgiving was conducted by Rev. John H. Liv-
214 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ingston. The following account of this celebration is given in John
Holt's Journal for November S, 1781:
"On Monday, the 39 ultimo, when the first certain intelligence of the above
glorious event (capture of the British army) arrived here, his Excellency, the
Governor, the members of the Senate and Assembly, and many other persons, at-
tended divine service in the Dutch Church, where the Revd. Dr. Livingston officiated
in a solemn manner, to express their joy and gratitude to the Almighty for this
signal interposition in our favor. The members of the Legislature then waited on
his Excellency the Governor at his house with their congratulations and the voice
of the cannon 13 times proclaimed the general joy, spreading the happy tidings;
at night all the houses in and near the town were beautifully illuminated, a large
bonfire was lighted, 13 skyrockets and other fireworks were played off and the
evening concluded with social mirth and every decent demonstration of joy."
Poughkeepsie received considerable renown and some growth from
the Revolution and became a rendezvous and place of residence for
a good many famous men. It attracted particularly young men who
wished to study law, and among the first of these was James Kent,
afterwards the famous chancellor and the author of Kent's Commen-
taries. He entered the law office of Egbert Benson, the first State
Attorney General, in November, 1781, and was admitted to the bar
in 1785. He married a Poughkeepsie girl, Elizabeth Bailey, and lived
here, practicing law and studying, until 1793. He hved in "a snug
and endearing little cottage and cultivated an excellent garden," as
he tells us in his Memoirs, located about where the Morgan House
now stands. He was a law partner of Gilbert Livingston, who Hved
in the next house to the east, while across the street, on the comer
of what is now Academy street, lived Andrew Billings, the well-known
silversmith of the day, who did work for Washington, Lord Sterling
and other famous men. Kent was a strong Federalist and supporter
of Hamilton and Jay, and though once elected to the Legislature, he
was defeated for Congress in 1793 by his brother-in-law, Theodorus
Bailey, and thereupon removed to New York. Other men afterwards
distinguished, who were law students in Poughkeepsie or began their
careers here soon after the Revolution, were James Tallmadge, Jr.,
James Emott, the elder, CadwaUader D. Colden, Thomas J. Oakley
and Jonas Piatt.
EATIFYING THE CONSTITUTION.
The only really great event that has taken place in Poughkeepsie
was the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. It was
POUGHKEEPSIE. 215
a great event because New York's ratification was essential to the
success of the nation, and also because ratification was obtained only
after a memorable forensic struggle in which such great men as Ham-
ilton, Jay, George Chnton, and Chancellor Livingston took part. The
court house in which the Legislature had met during the Revolution
was burned in the spring of 1785 and a new one was built in 1787.
The Legislature, after a long absence, returned in 1788 to hold its
winter session in Poughkeepsie and appointed this place for the con-
vention to act upon the Constitution. Gov. Clinton was very stropgly
opposed to ratification and his influence determined the election of a
large majority of the delegates against it. In ability, however, the
majority was no match for the minority, which included Hamilton,
Jay and Livingston. The delegates assembled June 17th and elected
Gov. Clinton chairman. The debates dragged on until Virginia, the
eighth state, and New Hampshire, the ninth, had ratified, and finally
on July 15th Melancthon Smith, of this county, partly convinced by
the eloquence and reasoning of Hamilton and Jay, moved that the
Constitution should be ratified upon condition that a new convention
of the states should be called to pass amendments. A ratification
"upon condition" would not have been really a ratification at all, and
Hamilton devoted all his energies to obtaining a change in the form of
Smith's motion. At length Samuel Jones, of Queens County, one of
the anti-federal members, was prevailed upon to move to substitute
the words "in full confidence" for "upon condition." Melancthon
Smith and Zephaniah Piatt agreed to and spoke in favor of this
change and the victory was won, though only by the nairowest kind
of a majority, the vote upon the ^ Jones motion being thirty-one to
1. The delegates who yoted for Mr. Jones's motion, and they were practically the
eame as those who voted for the final ratification, were John Jay, Richard Morris, John
Sloss Hobart, Alexander Hamilton, Robert R. Livingston, Isaac Roosevelt, James Duane,
Richard Harrison and Nicholas Low, comprising the complete delegation of the County
of New York; Henry Scudder, Jonathan N. Havens, John Smith, of Suffolk; Samuel
Jones, John Schenck, Nathaniel Lawrence and Stephen Carmen, the complete delegation
from the County of Queens; Peter Lefferts, Peter Vandervoort, the delegates from Kings;
Abraham Bancker and Gozen Ryerss, of Richmond ; Lewis Morris, Philip Livingston, Rich-
ard Hatfield, Philip Van Cortland, Thaddeus Crane and Lott W. Saris, of Westchester;
Zephaniah Piatt, Melancthon Smith, Gilbert Livingston and John DeWitt, of Dutchess,
and John Williams, one of the delegates from Washington and Clinton Counties. Those
who voted in the negative were Robert Yates, John Lansing, Jr., Israel Thompson, An-
thony Ten Byck, of Albany; Thomas Tredwell, of Suffolk; George Clinton, John Cantine,
George C. Schoonmaker, Ebenezer Clark, James Clinton, Dirck Wynkoop, the complete
delegation from Ulster; John Haring, Jesse WoodhuU, Henry Wisner and John Wood, of
Orange; Jacobus Swartwout, Jonathan Akins, of Dutchess; William Harper, Christopher
216 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
twenty-nine. The final vote was thirty to twenty-seven. Smith,
Piatt and Gilbert Livingston, of Dutchess County, the last two
of Poughkeepsie, saved the day. The story of the convention has
been fully told in an address delivered by the late John I. Piatt at
the centennial of the ratification, June 26, 1888, and in an address
by the late Rev. A. P. VanGieson, which has been published. The
Journal of the Convention has also been recently republished by Vas-
sars Brothers' Institute in fac simile form, of the original printed re-
port of "The Debates and Proceedings of the Convention," in 1788.
After the notable men of the convention had departed to their homes
the little village of Poughkeepsie continued to reach out and grow. A
map made in 1790 shows that some twenty houses in the central sec-
tion were built between 1770 and 1790. The town of Poughkeepsie,
also, must have been by that time pretty well settled and probably the
area of cleared land was almost as great as it is at present. The
limekilns at Barnegat were beginning to flourish certainly at this
time. C. M. Woolsey's history of Marlborough publishes a map
made in 1797 by Dr. Benjamin Ely, which shows limekilns on this side
of the river at Barnegat and also at the mouth of the Wappingers.
New Hamburg, first called the Hook Landing, afterwards Wap-
pingers Landing, had made some progress and there was certainly by
1789, and probably much earlier, a ferry at Captain VanKeuren's, or
Theophilus Anthony's, about three miles below the village, at the
neighborhood that was later called Milton ferry and still later Came-
lot. It is called "Lewis's Ferry" in one of the early maps. (The
present Camelot railroad station, it should be remembered, was moved
from its old location a few years ago to Barnegat, where it now
stands.)
The ferry at the village of Poughkeepsie was regularly established
by 1798 and had probably been running irregularly for a long time
before that. Poughkeepsie's first real home newspaper, first called
the Covmtry Journal and Poughkeepsie Advertiser, a name soon
p. Tates, John Frey, John Winn^ Volkert Veeder and Henry Staring, of Montgomery;
Ichahod Parker, David Hopkins and Albert Baker, of Washington and Clinton ; Peter
Van Ness, John Bay, Matthew Adgate, of Columbia.
It cannot be said that the eflCorts of George Clinton, John Lansing, Melancthon Smith
and the other Anti-Federalists In the convention were without important results, for they
may be said to have succeeded, in spite of the final form of New York's latlflcation, In
forcingt upon the states the first series of amendments to the Constitution which em-
bodied the bill of rights.
THE "CLINTON HOUSE."
Owned and preserved by the State as a Revolutionary Memorial, in the care and
cnstody of Mawenawasigh Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
The top picture shows the hiiilding before alteration. Copyrighted lf)04 hy Helmus W.
Barrett.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 217
changed to the Poughkeepsie Journal, was established by Nicholas
Power in 1785. It is still published, one hundred and fourteen years
later, as the Poughkeepsie Eagle. It became at an early date a Fed-
eralist newspaper, supporting Washington and Hamilton, and toward
the close of the century opposition papers made their appearance,
though all were very short Uved until the establishment of the Political
Barometer, in 1802. Isaac Mitchell, a writer of some note, was the
editor of this paper for several years and author of the popular novel,
"Alonzo and Melissa," which was published first in its columns as a
continued story in 1804.
THE VILLAGE OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
March 27, 1799, Poughkeepsie was incorporated as a^ village, the
charter providing for a board of five trustees to be elected on the third
Tuesday in May. That, however, was only for the first election, all
subsequent elections for many years coming in April. The boundaries
of the village as then fixed remain the limits of the City of Pough-
keepsie to-day. The first trustees were James S. Smith, Valentine
Baker, Andrew BiUings, Ebenezer Badger and Thomas Nelson. The
extant records of the village begin in 1803, when Andrew BiUings
was president. The village then had something like 1,500 inhabitants
and the population of the whole town in 1800 was 3,246. In 1810
the town had 4,669 inhabitants and the village 2,981. In 1855, when
the city had been taken out, the town had left but 3,110 people. The
town added population very slowly down to 1900, when the growth
of one of the suburbs of the city, called Bull's Head, East Pough-
keepsie and more recently Arlington, had made much progress, chiefly
because of the growth of Vassar College. ChanjiingviUe, that part of
Wappingers Falls north of the creek, accounts for several hundred of
the town's population.
The earliest recorded act of the trustees authorized the digging of
wells for a village water supply. There was already a fire company
in existence with a fire engine. The citizens were required to turn out
to fires and and assist in extinguishing them by forming bucket hues
and passing water from the nearest well or other source of supply to
the engine. The buckets were the property of the people individually
and after each fire were collected at the dourt house where their owners
came to pick them out. The most notable fire of the early village
days was the burning of the court house, September 25, 1806, and
218 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
on that occasion the difficulty of procuring water was a subject of
comment. A new court house, the one torn down in 1903, was built
in 1809 and the village trustees at a meeting held May 25th of that
year warned the commissioners who had the work of construction in
charge that "they do not build the said public building further east-
ward on Market street than the ground in range of the houses of Joseph
Nelson, John Forbes and Valentine Baker, situate on said Market
street — also that the said company of commissioners be notified not
to put unslacked lime adjacent to the market so as to cause injury
to the village." The market at that time stood in the middle of Mar-
ket street, at the junction with Main. It was frequently the subject
of controversy and stood for a while adjacent to the Dutch Burying
Ground — ^that is on the corner north of the present building of Smith
Brothers. The graveyard remained there until 1830, when the prop-
erty was leased for a hundred years and the Brewster block, still
standing, was erected By 1830 the village had begun to grow very
rapidly and land was considered too valuable to allow a burying
ground on its most prominent comer. It is perhaps rather too bad
that this open space in the center of the city could not have been pre-
served, and it is certainly to be regretted that the court house was not
built in the center of the square, between Main, Market and Washing-
ton streets, where the land in 1809 was worth little. Washington
street, I think, had not at that time been extended through to Union,
and on the plot where the City Hall stands was the residence of
Ebenezer Badger. West of the court house on Union street there
was only a small frame building or two, one of which was the fire
engine house. The village market remained in the center of Market
street for a number of years after the construction of the court house,
but had been removed for some time when the new market building,
now the City Hall, was erected in 1831. The new market building,
the upper floor of which was used as a village hall and the lower floor
as a market, cost $7,200. Before the time of the Civil War its use
as a market had been given up and it was rented to the United States
Government for a postoffice during the early years of the war. The
postoffice remained there until the present government building was
erected in 1886 under the first postmastership of Robert H. Hunter,
^mong the memorable events in Poughkeepsie during the early part
of the nineteenth century was the visit of General LaFayette, Septem-
POUGHKEEPSIE. 219
ber 16, 1824. Many people must have stayed up all night to greet
the famous Frenchman, for the steamboat James Kent on which he was
a passenger arrived at about 2:30 A. M., and was welcomed by a great
bonfire and a military salute from the Kaal Rock. LaFayette landed
early and was greeted with an address of welcome at the Forbus House
(on the site of the Nelson House) by Col. Henry A. Livingston, who
compared the occasion to the visits of Washington to the village and
to the ratification of the Constitution. Gen. LaFayette in reply re-
ferred to his own former visits to Poughkeepsie and to the "great and
astonishing changes" he beheld in the place. An official breakfast,
for which the village trustees appropriated sixty-five doUars, was held
at the Poughkeepsie Hotel, then called the Myers Hotel, and the
breakfast room had been elaborately decorated foB the occasion by a
committee of ladies. George P. Oakley described it as an apartment
of "Portraits and Banners and Emblems and Evergreens and Flowers
and Festoons and Garlands and Temples and Plate and Porcelain and
Arches and Mottoes."
Ten years later, or July 3, 1834, the village mourned the death of
LaFayette. There were public services, a gun was fired every half
hour all day from "Pine's HiU on Mansion Square," while a long pro-
cession wound through the village and the bells were tolled.
An important event was the establishment of the first central village
water supply by the building of the reservoir on top of Cannon street
hill in 1836, at a cost of $30,000. Water was pumped from the
Fall Kill and was used only for fire extinguishing purposes, pipes being
laid only on the main streets. The reservoir happened to be empty
on May 12, 1836, when Poughkeepsie was visited by the greatest fire
in its history, a fire which burned nearly all the buildings on the south
side of Main street, between Liberty and Academy streets. At one
time the destruction of a very large section of the village seemed in-
evitable, as buildings on the north side of the street were several times
on fire, but the force pump which supplied water to the reservoir had
been started and water came down through the pipes at the critical
time, so that the flames were controlled.
Between 1830 and 1837 the village grew rapidly and a remarkable
real estate boom was inaugurated by the Poughkeepsie Improvement
Party, which included such men as Paraclete Potter, editor of the
Poughkeepsie Journal, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, United States Sena-
220 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
tor, Matthew Vassar, Walter Ctinningham, George P. Oakley and
Gideon P. Hewitt. Many acres of land were plotted and sold in lots,
two chief centers of development being around Mansion Square and
the old French farm, south of the English Burying Ground, that is,
south of the present location of Christ Church. The industries and
schools estabhshed by these enterprising men are described under spe-
cial headings. Some of their enterprises were daring in the extreme.
Among them may be noted here a locomotive factory, started long
before there was any railroad in the neighborhood. They did much
more than establish enterprises ; they made Poughkeepsie an up-to-
date, model village according to the light of the times. The streets in
the central section were aU paved with cobblestones and the sidewalks
paved with brick. Trees were planted and efforts were made to make
the town as attractive as possible. In the lower part of the town
Delafield street was expected to become a leading residence street and
land was sold under the restriction that all houses should be placed
fifty feet back from the street, which was named after John Dela-
field, a New York capitalist who backed many of the local financial
enterprises. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge built there his own mansion, a
fine house, still standing. The real estate boom was so notable as to
attract considerable attention in New York and it is mentioned in
many contemporary letters, particularly in those published by Free-
man Hunt, who says, under date September 25, 1835, "Lots which
were sold eighteen months ago for $600 have been sold for $4,000.
A plot of fourteen acres in the suburbs of the village which was pur-
chased ten months since for $4,000 was recently sold for $14,000.
Another plot which could have been purchased nine months ago for
$10,000 was sold a few days ago for $24,000." The many buildings
still standing about town, ornamented by Grecian columns and por-
ticos, all date from this period. The panic of 1837 ruined nearly all
the members of the improvement party, except Matthew Vassar, who
was able to buy what others had to sell and is believed to have made
substantial additions to his fortune by doing so. Several of the lead-
ing men of the time went west after the panic to retrieve their for-
tunes. Senator Tallmadge was appointed Governor of the territory
of Wisconsin in 1844 and Paraclete Potter had been made registrar
of the United States Land Office in Milwaukee in 1841. Gideon P.
Hewitt and Henry Conkhn were among others who went to Wisconsin.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 221
The collapse of the real estate boom and of several enterprises es-
tablished by the improvement party retarded the growth of the vil-
lage only temporarily, for the schools founded at this time continued
to flourish and gave the place a wide reputation. In 1830 the village
population was 5,0S3, in 1840 it was 7,710, in 1856, after incorpora-
tion as a city, it was 12,763. The rate of growth was evidently not
less after 1841 than between 1830 and 1840.
The Hudson River Railroad was built through from New York to
Poughkeepsie in 1849, and for a time trains ran to the lower part
of the city, where passengers were transferred to steamboats, the
heavy rock cutting beyond that point proving a source of delay. The
first train, however, came through to the station on January 4, 1850.
The Hudson River Railroad was distinctly a Poughkeepsie enterprise.
Isaac Piatt had been advocating it for a long time in the Eagle and
had taken a great deal of interest in obtaining subscriptions for the
stock. In March, 1842, a convention of delegates from river towns
was brought together at the village hall in Poughkeepsie, and though
there were not very many outsiders present, the meeting ajppointed a
central executive finance and correspondence committee, made up
whoUy of Poughkeepsians, Matthew Vassar, Thomas L. Davies, Isaac
Piatt and E. B. Killey; and the Poughkeepsie Telegraph in describ-
ing the completion of the enterprise in 1850, gives the chief credit to
this committee, which as early as 1842 opened subscription books and
raised $1,450 for preliminary expenses of obtaining a complete sur-
vey and a charter. New York City was very much inclined to oppose
the railroad at first and took little interest in it until after it had
been practically assured. When the charter was passed its enemies
succeeded in incorporating in it a requirement that $3,000,000 must
be subscribed before March 1, 1847, with ten per cent paid in. The
newspapers of the day contained urgent appeals to the people to "save
the charter," and the Eagle on February 27 printed the announce-
ment that the amount had been raised, together with a historical sketch
of the progress of the enterprise and the difficulties encountered by
the original promoters. So rejoiced were the people at the announce-
ment that bonfires were lighted and salutes were fired and there was a
formal celebration with a splendid spread at the Poughkeepsie Hotel,
of which Mr. Rutzer was then the landlord. While the efl'orts to
222 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
raise money for the railroad were in progress the first ^telegraph office
in Foughkeepsie was opened, October 19, 1846. This office was of
peculiar interest to the people of Foughkeepsie because Frof. Samuel
F. B. Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, lived in the town of Fough-
keepsie, only two or three mUes south of the village, in the place now
owned by William H. Young. Frof. Morse was known to every resi-
dent of the village and was an officer in the Fresbyterian Church. In
1850, besides its first railroad, the village also had its first gas lights
and 1852 saw the establishment of its first daily newspaper, the Press.
THE CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
The City of Foughkeepsie was incorporated by the act of the Legis-
lature, March 28, 1854, and the first city election was held the follow-
ing April, when James Emott, Jr., became the first Mayor. He re-
signed in 1856 to become a Justice of the Supreme Court, as his
father had been before him. One of the early aldermen was Henry
W. Shaw (Josh Billings). The second mayor was Charles W. Swift.
Apart from some notable political meetings on Forbus Hill, the space
which remained open for many years between Union and Church streets,
back of the Forbus House, nothing of great importance took place
in Foughkeepsie down to the Civil War. In October, 1856, fifteen
steamboats ran excursions to bring people to a great Democratic rally
on Forbus Hill. In the same month a cavalcade of eight hundred
horsemen came into town to attend a Republican rally. The cam-
paign of 1860 was even more memorable, when the Wide Awakes and
Little Giants paraded the town night after night.
The outbreak of the Civil War, of course, caused intense excitement
in Foughkeepsie and there were many war meetings to aid the re-
cruiting. After the first companies had gone and the enthusiasm to
volunteer had worn away the city voted large sums of money and in-
curred considerable debt for bounties. The story of the regiments is
told elsewhere in the military history of the county. During the war
a scarcity of small change occurred in this city, as elsewhere, and the
1. The telegraph line was laid from Buffalo to Foughkeepsie before It was extended
to New York City, as Is shown from the following Item found In a Foughkeepsie paper of
the date of May 1, 1850, by Theodore W. Davis : "The office of the Magnetic Telegraph will
be removed this day from Its former location In Garden street to rooms over the store of
Mr. Adam Henderson, corner of Main and Market streets. Wires are now stretched from
Buffalo to this place and will soon be completed to New York. Mr. Curtlss Is the op-
erator." It Is said that messages were sent from Buffalo to Foughkeepsie for a. while
and were here put Into the mall for New York.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 223
city issued its own shinplasters, as did also a number of business firms,
until they were forbidden to do so by law. One of the leading events
of the war years was a Sanitary Fair, held at 178-180 Main street,
then an unoccupied building owned by Matthew Vassar, March 15 to
19, 1865. The whole city was interested in it and the net proceeds
were more than $16,000. The close of the war brought celebrations
over the return of the soldiers and a great throng of students to East-
man College, which added much to the prosperity of the city. Harvey
G. Eastman soon became a leading citizen and in 1865 purchased and
beautified the property which became known as Eastman Park and has
just been purchased (February, 1909,) by the city to become a per-
manent city park. Vassar College, opened in September, 1865,
brought at first but 853 students, but was destinednto become a most
important factor in the life of the city. It had grown to 1,000 soon
after the close of the century. More will be found about these insti-
tutions under the heading of "Schools."
Before 1870 the second great period of growth, comparable to that
of the days of the old improvement party between 1830 and 1837, was
in fuU sway. This later period of improvement included the building
of the new water works, pumping from the Hudson river with sand
filtration, the installation of a complete sewerage system, the Fall-
kill improvement by which the old mill ponds on the kill were abohshed
and the stream was walled in, the Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad,
the building of the city railroad and the beginning of the Pough-
keepsie Bridge. Harvey G. Eastman, George Innis, Mark D. Wilbur
and George P. Pelton were leaders in this latter improvement era.
The Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad had been long advocated by the
Eagle and at one time, just before the war, there seemed a chance of
its construction. Whatever chance there was, however, was destroyed
by the panic of 1857 and the project was not again taken up until
after the war. The railroad was finished to the Connecticut hne in
1872, but the difficulty of procuring capital was so great that it could
not be completed until the city had added $600,000 to its own in-
debtedness to push the work through. The waterworks and the Fall-
kill improvement together with the P. & E. bonds and the bounty bonds
increased the debt of the city to about two million dollars, which at
seven per cent interest imposed a burden so great that almost a quar-
ter of a century was to elapse before the people felt free to go ahead
with needed improvements again.
224 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The sand filter beds installed with the new water system in 1872
were the first successfiil sand filters in the country and are still in use,
though rebuilt and much enlarged.
The most important and far reaching enterprise of the period suc-
ceeding the Civil War was the Poughkeepsie Bridge, and it stands
to-day a monument to the energy and perseverance of Harvey G.
Eastman and John I. Piatt. In the earlier movement Eastman was
the leader. He was both mayor and member of Assembly and ob-
tained the legislation necessary to allow the placing of piers in the
river. John I. Piatt obtained from tlie Pennsylvania Railroad presi-
dent, J. Edgar Thompson, the necessary financial backing and the
cornerstone was laid with great ceremony December 17, 1873. The
panic of that year had already occurred, however, and the death of
Mr. Thompson caused the Pennsylvania Railroad to repudiate its
subscription. After that nothing could be done for a long period but
keep the charter alive and wait for better times, and meanwhile, in
1878, Mr. Eastman died. The bulk of the work then fell upon Mr. Piatt,
who became member of Assembly in 1886. He obtained the charter
extensions necessary and succeeded in defeating the rival Storm King
project, and also in enlisting new financial support from New Eng-
land and from Philadelphia. A group of Philadelphia capitalists
finally financed the enterprise to completion and the first train crossed
the bridge in December, 1888. The ideas of its promoters, however,
that it was to become a great link between the coal fields of Pennsyl-
vania and the factories of New England and that it would make a
large city of Poughkeepsie, hardly began to be realized for another
twenty years.
The capitalists who furnished the money for the building of the
bridge were unable to make satisfactory arrangements for the pur-
chase of the Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad and consequently built
a line paralleling it and connecting with the Hartford & Connecticut
Western Railroad. On the west side of the river a railroad was built
to Campbell Hall, where it made connections with the Ontario & West-
ern and the Erie, and soon afterwards a connection was made there
also with the Lehigh. After several financial vissicitudes and re-
organizations the bridge and its connecting railroads, against which
the irunk lines of the country seemed to combine, became known as
the Central New England system, and in 1904< came into possession
POUGHKEEPSIE, 22?
of the powerful New York, New Haven & Hartford system. Mean-
time, soon after the completion of the bridge a railroad was built from
Poughkeepsie to Hopewell Junction, connecting the bridge with the
Highland division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford, pre-
viously the New York and New England Railroad. It is this branch
which now carries the bulk of the business. One of the first results
of the consoUdation with the New Haven road was the running of the
Highland division passenger trains to Poughkeepsie instead of Fish-
kill Landing, and the abandonment of the car ferry freight transfer
at Fishkill Landing followed. In 1907, the old Poughkeepsie & East-
ern having passed through a number of bankruptcies, was purchased
by the New York, New Haven & Hartford and joined with the Central
New England, a system which now includes all railroads reaching
the Hudson from the east in Dutchess County. In 1907 the bridge
was strengthened by the addition of a central girder, which in-
volved almost a rebuilding. The first indication of increased business
came in 1908, when a large amount of freight, previously trans-
ferred by car ferry through the East River and New York Harbor,
was routed, by the New Haven road via the Poughkeepsie Bridge.
Plans were then made to double track the railroad from Hope-
well Junction to Poughkeepsie and from Poughkeepsie westward to
Campbell HaU, and the work is now (March, 1909,) actively in prog-
ress. Meanwhile, the bridge lines have already furnished locations
for most of the new factories that have been brought to Poughkeepsie
and have taken all but one or two of the lumber and coal firms away
from the river front. Largely through the efforts of an active
Chamber of Commerce, the city appears to be entering upon a new
period of growth and the bridge furnishes the central impetus. The
prediction of Eastman that we should some time have a population of
fifty thousand seems likely to be verified.
The expansion of municipal activity incident to the improvements
inaugurated before 1873 and the great debt accumulated led to an
important revision of the City Charter in 1874, by which the present
system of government by boards was fully established, with a common
council having supervisory power over all expenditures through sub-
mission to it of the estimates of each board. This Charter also
abolished the spring election, which had been in existence from the
time the village of Poughkeepsie was incorporated. The revision of
226 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1874 was made as the result of a number of meetings organized by
a committee from the wards, appointed by Judge Barnard and Judge
Taylor, and the Charter itself was largely the work of John I. Piatt
and Allard Anthony. The city boards were aU elected by the people
until 1883, when the mayor was given power to appoint the water
board and also a police board, then created. In 1896 the water board
was abolished and a board of public works was created to have charge
of the streets and parks as well as the water and sewer systems. Its
members were elected until 1901, when the centralization of all power
in the hands of the mayor was completed and he was given authority
to appoint aU boards and executive officers. In 1902 the offices of
recorder and justice of the peace were abolished and a city court was
established with Joseph Morschauser as its first judge. Since that
time the only important Charter change was one made in 1906, giving
authority to place all wires under ground on the main streets.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.
In view of the fact that Poughkeepsie has so long been known as a
city of schools it is interesting to record that the first state law "for
the encouragement of schools" was passed in 1796 at a legislative
session held in Poughkeepsie. This act was passed in response to a
recommendation from Gov. George Clinton and became the foundation
of the state system of aid to schools and of the state regents. It did
not give rise at once to a pubhc school system in the modern sense,
meaning free schools, and aid was extended mostly to incorporated
schools or academies, though there were also a few schools of lower
grade that may have received aid. The Dutchess County Academy
was already well established in Poughkeepsie when the act was passed.
This long famous institution had been originally founded at Fishkill
and it is said that the frame work of the building was removed to
Poughkeepsie in 1792, when it was erected on the southwest comer
of Cannon and Academy streets, giving Academy street its name. The
lot, 130% feet on Academy street and 112% on Cannon, extended
westward to that on which the Young Women's Christian Association
building now stands. The old building is still in part in existence, as
it was removed in 1837 to the northeast corner of North Clinton and
Thompson streets, where it still remains, though much altered from its
original appearance. A large new building had been erected in 1836
on South Hamilton street, corner of Montgomery, the same building
POUGHKEEPSIE. 227
which is now the Old Ladies' Home. Many well-known men and women
obtained their education in the Dutchess County Academy. Its sec-
ond record book, beginning with 1840 is preserved in the Adriance
Memorial Library and begins with a report of the trustees to the
regents for the year ending October 9, 1839. The first pages con-
tain a description of the new building and property, which was valued
as follows:
Value of lot for Academy Building $ 2,000.00
" " building thereon 11,128.15
library 169.00
Philosophical Apparatus 167.60
" Academy Furniture 800.00
cc ei
(C «
•
Total $13,758.65
There was a debt of $5,540.51 for the payment of which, with in-
terest and insurance, a fund of $400 was set apart from the receipts
each year, while the balance went to the principal, who paid from it
the assistant teachers. That the principal made no great fortune
from the arrangement is evident from the statement that the receipts
for the year amounted to $1,514.12. There were all together five
teachers during the year, but only four at any one time. R. E. Rob-
erts, a graduate of the University of Cambridge, England, taught
languages. For the first three months he received $66. "For the
next six months his compensation was $200 for five hours' service each
day. About two weeks from the close of the term Mr. Roberts was
removed from the Academy by his death in the twenty-seventh year
of his age. He had been a teacher about two years." Ansel H. Tobey,
aged thirty-one, taught penmanship and natural sciences. He re-
ceived $125 per term of twenty-two weeks and had been a teacher
about five years. Darwin Canfield, aged twenty-two, taught English
and Arithmetic and received $400 a year. Luther Northrup, forty-
three, taught history and geography and was paid $400 a year for
teaching one-half of the hours. William Jenney, the principal, was a
graduate of New York University, twenty-nine years of age, and of
fours years experience. He was the first principal in the new build-
ing. One of the last in the old building was Eliphas Fay and he and
William MacGeorge were perhaps the most notable of the principals
228 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
of the Academy. Fay afterwards conducted a private school in Union
street. Following were the rates of tuition in the Academy in 1839-
1840, per quarter:
The Common Branches, including reading, spelling, writing, gram-
mar and arithmetic $4.50
The Common Branches with history 5.00
The above with chemistry, book keeping, philosophy and Algebra 6.00
The higher branches of Mathematics 7-00
Greek and Latin 8.00
French and Drawing, extra per quarter 5.00
The terms were of twenty-three weeks and began the first Wednes-
days of May and November, each preceded by a vacation of three
weeks. Board in the family of the principal, including stationery and
aU necessary expenses, was $90 a term, and it was stated that good
board in families in the vicinity of the Academy could be obtained at
$3.00 a week. The report was adopted by A. G. Storm, John Brush,
Alexander Forbus, Thomas L. Davies, Richard D. Davis, Peter P.
Hayes, Frederick Barnard and Leonard Maison, trustees. The
Academy finally had to be given up on account of the progress made
by the High School. In 1866 the Academy building was rented to
the city, and the High School, after having been discontinued a year,
was re-opened there. It is a matter of some regret that the city
authorities did not see fit to continue it in the old building, but a more
central location was demanded and in 1870 the building was sold
to Jonathan Warner, founder of the Old Ladies' Home, and the money
received was donated by the Academy trustees to the Board of Edu-
cation to be used in the construction of the present High School.
The reputation of being "the City of Schools" came to Pough-
keepsie mostly through the institutions founded during the improve-
ment party's best days, and the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School,
founded in 1835, was the greatest of them and has left the most con-
spicuous monument — the Grecian temple which still crowns College
Hill. This school was opened in 1836 with Charles Bartlett as prin-
cipal and it was soon attracting boys from aU parts of the state and
nation. Mr. Bartlett ranked as a leading educator of his time
and, the Collegiate School was regarded in its day as quite as impor-
tant and quite as much an object of local pride as Vassar College is
POUGHKEEPSIE. 229
to-day. Charles Bartlett died in 1857 and the school was continued
by Otis Bisbee and Charles B. Warring, who had been among his lead-
ing teachers. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil War Mr. Bisbee
and Mr. Warring dissolved partnership and the latter erected a build-
ing on Smith street and opened the Poughkeepsie Military Institute,
the first military school in Poughkeepsie. Mr. Bisbee introduced the
military drill on College Hill a year or two later and remained there
until 1867, when the property was sold to settle the estate of Charles
Bartlett. He then erected the present Riverview Academy in the
southwest part of the town and it has continued an excellent and popu-
lar school under the management of his son, Joseph Bartlett Bisbee.
The Warring School continued for a considerable number of years
and its building is now a public school. R,iver\Bew is the only sur-
vivor of the institutions of the Improvement Party, but Lyndon Hall
dates almost to their time. It was organized in 1848 as the Pough-
keepsie Female Collegiate Institute by Dr. Charles H. P. McCleUan,
who conducted it for about ten years. His successor was Rev. C. D.
Rice. Prof. G. W. Cook bought the property in 1870 when the school
became known as Cook's Collegiate Institute, a name which it retained
until purchased by its present principal, Samuel Wells Buck, who
christened it Lyndon Hall.
The Poughkeepsie Female Academy, one of the most important in-
stitutions of the improvement party, erected the large building on
Cannon street, now owned by the Women's Christian Temperance
Union. This academy was founded in 1836 and was for many years
the largest of the boarding schools for girls in the city. The last
principal was Rev. D. G. Wright, who discontinued the school in 1885.
There have been probably not less than fifty private schools at
various times in Poughkeepsie, some of them rather large institutions.
The Cottage Hill Seminary, on the east side of Garden street where
the Shwartz block now stands, was an important school for girls for
many years and the building was last used as a boys' school under
the principalship of John Miley for a few years in the early eighties.
Lydia Booth, a step niece of Matthew Vassar, was one of the early
proprietors of the girls' school there. A school of some renown was
conducted by the Friends for a number of years in a building still
standing on Mansion Square. It was one of the places visited by
Henry Clay when he came to Poughkeepsie in 1839. The present
230 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Putnam Hall School for girls occupies a building erected soon after
the war by Mr. and Mrs. Edward White. It was for a long time
known as Brooks Seminary. Space will permit only mere mention of
other private schools long since gone, like the Pelham Institute, Bish-
op's or Leslie's for boys. Miss Bosworth's School, Butler's and
Bockee's for girls and the Quincy, the latter only recently given up.
An institution of much importance for a time was the "State and
National Law School," brought to Poughkeepsie from Ballston in
December, 1852. Its president was John W. Fowler, a man of con-
siderable prominence as a lecturer, and was located in the building
at 233-235 Main street. A good many lawyers of wide reputation
were educated there, including several who became prominent on the
bench. Judge Conklin, of Utica, father of Roscoe Conklin, Judge
Henry Booth, of Chicago, and Matthew Hale were for a time among
its professors. This institution was crippled by the Civil War and
soon closed.
Eastman College was started in a very small way by Harvey G.
Eastman in the autumn of 1859. Its first quarters were in the same
Main street building, then called the Library Building, where the law
school was located. Eastman was a wonderfully clever advertiser and
soon drew students, although he had almost no equipment. He made
a specialty of reaching the young men whose terms of enlistment were
expiring in the army and at the close of the Civil War so many of
them had come here that they taxed his abihty and the resources of
the city to care for them. Two or three old churches, the upper
floor of the City Hall and all the unoccupied rooms that could be ob-
tained were rented and fitted with desks, and the 1,800 students were
scattered all over town wherever they could find a place to board.
Though his equipment was scanty, Eastman infused some of his own
energy into his students and brought the most eminent men of the
day here to lecture to them. The number of students never again
approached the crowd that came here following the war, but the
college has always been a most important institution and seldom has
less than four or five hundred students. After Mr. Eastman's death
it was conducted by Ezra White, who erected the present college build-
ing on Washington street. Clement Carrington Gaines has been the
president since 1884 and has considerably widened the course of study.
Away back before 1830 Poughkeepsie had a Lyceum Association
POUGHKEEPSIE. 231
and a Mechanics' Literary and Benevolent Association. The latter
had a library of about 270 volumes and a cabinet of minerals. These
Associations were united and incorporated in 1838 as the Pough-
keepsie Lyceum of Literature, Science and Mechanic Arts." The Ly-
ceum Association was for many years a very active and important
educational force. It did not attempt to make money and the price
of the lectures was put so low as to be in the reach of nearly every-
body, but it brought here many of the leading men of the times. It
is still in existence, though its lecture course was given up in 1889
and its annual income, now about $126, is devoted to the purchase of
books for the City Library.
The Public Library, which brought together the books of this older
Association and of earlier circulating libraries, was moved into what
was called the Library Building, already mentioned, 23S-235 Main
street, early in December, 1852. The Library had been formed under
the school district library law in 1835. With the exception of a year
or two in the court house, it remained there until the Library and
High School building was erected in 1872 and gradually grew to be
a large library. In October, 1898, it was removed to the beautiful
Adriance Memorial Library building, which had been erected and pre-
sented to the city by the children of John P. Adriance as a memorial
to their father and mother. The Library soon afterwards was taken
out of the control of the board of education and given to a board of
library trustees, first appointed in 1899. In 1872 the Library con-
tained not quite 5,000 volumes and the number of books loaned was
less than 20,000 per year. In 1908 the number of volumes was 44,577
and the number loaned about 112,000.
The public schools are now, of course, the schools in which the citi-
zens are most interested, but they were not among the first. There
was a school of some kind in Poughkeepsie certainly as early as the
Revolution, and on a map made in 1790 the Church street lot, on
which public school No. 2 now stands, is marked "the school house
lot." A school building has been located there ever since. It was the
site for many years of the Lancaster School, founded in 1811, a
school which in a sense was the forerunner of our present public school
system, though it was only partly a free school. A few free pupils
were educated in the Dutchess County Academy and in the other
incorporated schools and there were at an early date what were
232 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
called "common schools," partly supported by subscription. The free
public schools of Poughkeepsie, entirely supported by taxation, date
from 184S, when the first board of education was created by act of
the Legislature. David L. Starr, Ira Armstrong, Thomas Austin,
Benjamin Gile, Isaac Piatt, Egbert B. KiUey, George C. Marshall,
Bamett Hawkins, James Reynolds, Jr., William P. Gibbons, Christo-
pher Appleton and Matthew J. Myers constituted the first board.
They were given authority to borrow $12,000 and to raise $6,000 by
taxation. On January 29th, 1844, the first grammar school for boys
was finished and opened on the corner of Mill and Bridge streets.
Josiah I. Underbill was its principal. The public school system de-
veloped slowly, the private schools and academies receiving for many
years most of the patronage of those who were able to pay. Until
the incorporation of the city in 1854 the village constituted only a
single school district and received but small share of the state money.
The collection of school taxes up to that time remained with the
town authorities. Under the city administration the High School
made a beginning in 1859, but it was moved about to several locations
until the sale of the Dutchess County Academy when the present High
School building was erected in 1872. The central Grammar School
addition was made to the building in 1899. New school buildings
have since been erected on Lincoln avenue, on Delafield street and in
place of the old No. 1 school on Mill street. Important improve-
ments have been made in the courses of study and the High School
some years ago was made a college preparatory school.
A few words should be said about what was widely known as the
"Poughkeepsie plan." This had reference to two school buildings
erected by the Roman Catholics for parochial schools. They were
taken by the city at nominal rental. The teachers in them were nearly
all members of religious orders, but were paid by the city. Outside
of school hours the buildings were used for religious services. The
plan worked well enough during most of the long and able pastorate
of the Rev. James Nilan at St. Peter's Church, but was finally given
up in 1898, at a time when there was much turmoil in the school
board. For a few years after this one of the buildings was rented
to the city for $1,000, but has recently again been made a parochial
school.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 233
VASSAE COLLEGE.
Vassar College, the first of woman's colleges, founded by Matthew
Vassar, was chartered by the Legislature, January 18, 1861. There
were twenty-eight trustees, of whom about half were residents of
Poughkeepsie. Benson J. Lossing and others have so fully written
the history of the college that it is unnecessary to go into details
here. Matthew Vassar at the beginning gave the site, about two hun-
dred acres of land, part of which had once been a race track, and he
added some $400,000. James Renwlck, Jr., was the architect of the
main building and William Harloe, of Poughkeepsie, the contractor.
As the work of construction was done during the war, at constantly
rising prices, Mr. Harloe lost heavily by his venture. The college
was opened in September, 1865, with 353 students. There were no
college preparatory schools for girls at that time and these first
students were of all grades, a few of them pretty well advanced, but
by far the greater number not qualified to enter according to the
present standards. It took most of the first year to clasify them,
and when the second catalogue came out, 1866-1867, four had been
found fit to rank as seniors and they constituted the class of 1867,
the first class to graduate at Vassar. Even in that catalogue seventy-
eight students were put down as unclassified and 189 as "specials."
During that year, however, the preparatory department was organ-
ized and it numbered seventy-five students in the third catalogue. The
fact that Vassar maintained a preparatory department won her the
enmity for a number of years of all the proprietors of higher grade
collegiate and classical schools for girls. It was deemed necessary,
however, to maintain the department and it was not abolished until
1887, the year after President James M. Taylor took charge. Under
his vigorous management the growth of the college has been con-
tinuous, until in 1905 the trustees found it necessary to limit the
number of students for a term of five years to one thousand. That
number has been several times slightly exceeded. The college has
been almost completly transformed, so that the early graduates hardly
know it when they return to reunions. Five new dormitories, a chapel,
library, recitation hall, infirmary and two science buildings have been
erected during Dr. Taylor's term. The death of Matthew Vassar
occurred in June, 1868, when he was addressing an annual meeting of
the trustees. His nephews, Matthew Vassar, Jr., and John Guy Vas-
234 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
sar, continued his interest in the institution. The former died in 1881
and the latter in 1888. Both left the college considerable sums of
money and John Guy Vassar made it one of his residuary legatees.
His estate was in litigation until 1891, when the college obtained a
large addition to its endowment. Others came forward to take the
place of the Vassars, and John D. Rockefeller and Frederick F.
Thompson have been large benefactors. The new chapel, erected in
1904, was the gift of two graduates, Mrs. Mary Thaw Thompson,
'77, and Mrs. Mary Morris Pratt, '80. The magnificent library is
the gift of the widow of Frederick F. Thompson, the infirmary of
Mrs. Edward S. Atwater, of Poughkeepsie, the New England Build-
ing of the New England Alvmmae and the latest building completed in
February, 1909, is the Sanders Memorial Laboratory for Chemistry,
given by Henry M. Sanders, one of the trustees, in memory of his wife.
TEADING AND KANUFACTUEING.
Soon after the incorporation of the Village of Poughkeepsie there
was considerable activity on the part of the town authorities in laying
out new roads and streets. Main street was extended through to the
river "at or near the place commonly called Caul Rock Landing."
Li 1800, and in 1802 the eastern end of the street, beginning at the
court house, was surveyed as a part of the new Dutchess Turnpike,
leading to the eastern boundary of the county. The maps made by
the turnpike surveyors are still in existence. About 1806 the Post
Road north and south was re-surveyed and its location changed in
many places as the Highland Turnpike. It continued as a turnpike
until 1838 and there was once a toUgate on the South Road, about
at the present city limits. The Dutchess Turnpike became at once
a most important stage route from Connecticut, bringing much trade
to Poughkeepsie. Great loads of country produce were brought here
for shipment to New York and the freighting business on the river
made much progress. In 1813 eight sloops were sailing weekly to
New York from Poughkeepsie and three steamboats also landed each
week at the foot of Main street. In 1814 Poughkeepsie became a
steamboat terminal, the Firefly, the smallest boat of the Fulton and
Livingston fleet, sailing three times a week from "Pardee's dock" at
the foot of Main street. The Main street landing seems to have been
called by several names, but most of the land around it had been pur-
POUGHKEEPSIE. 235
chased in 1800 by William Davies. The upper landing had been the
site of a mill since the first settlements, as we have seen, and the ferry-
was estabUshed there as early as 1798. A group of industries grew
up about the neighborhood soon after 1800. The Oakley, Hoffman,
Reynolds and Innis famihes were engaged in freighting, milling and
manufacturing there and the mills afterwards became the Gifford,
Sherman and Innis Dyewood Mills, one of the most important of the
city's industries, but discontinued some fifteen years ago. The Ferry
Company was incorporated in 1819 and at that time the old periauger,
or sail ferry, was superseded by a "team ferry," or horse boat, which
in turn gave place to a steamboat in 1830. The ferry landing was
moved to Main street in 1879, by which time the upper landing had
lost most of its business. Two of the old Dyewood,buildings remain,
one of them in use as a chair factory. The mill itself was sold to the
railroad company and was torn down. The old wooden building,
originally Oakley's nail factory and afterwards for many years Ar-
nold's chair factory, was burned in 1908 and replaced by a brick
building. The power house of the electric lighting company was
erected on the site of one of the old upper landing storehouses in 1894.
The lower landing, foot of Pine street, and the Union landing, foot
of Union street, were for many years very busy places, particularly
the former, and there was also in early days a landing still further
south, in the neighborhood of the Separator Works, called John Reed's
Landing and later Holthuysen's. Sloops ran from all of these for the
first quarter of the nineteenth century, when they began to be super-
seded by "towboats," or barges, towed to New York by steamboats.
The New York and Albany steamboats selected Main street as their
point of call from the first and gradually drew business from the other
landings. As time went on, however, lines of steamboats were es-
tablished with their headquarters at the upper, lower and Main street
landings, and there was at one time also a steamboat from the foot
of Union street. The lower landing was abandoned as a terminus in
1872 and the upper landing in 1873 by a consolidation of the various
local freighting interests. The Union street landing in 1848 had
passed into the hands of the Poughkeepsie Iron Company, when the
first local blast furnace was erected there. William Bushnell, Joseph
Tuckerman and Edward Beck were early proprietors of this furnace,
with Albert E. Tower as superintendent. The ores were brought
236 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
from Sylvan Lake, in Dutchess County, and fluxed with Barnegat
limestone. Mr. Tower afterwards became owner of the furnace, which
was long called the Lower Furnace. The Upper Furnace, still stand-
ing, was built in 1859, near the old Whale Docks. The lower fur-
nace was dismantled in 1885 and the Poughkeepsie Yacht Club House
now stands on its once busy wharf, in old times piled high with coal,
limestone and pig iron.
The Fall Kill for many years was an important factor in the
business development of Poughkeepsie. The first large mill pond was
that above Smith street, known as the Red Mill pond, and known in later
years as Winnikee Pond. Possibly the first dam was constructed
there as early as 1730 by Frans LeRoy, though there seems to be no
definite record of it until it came under the ownership of Bartholomew
CranneU, as shown on a map made in 1770. There was a small mill
pond above the falls, near the mouth of the stream before 1800, but
the first large storage reservoir there was built by George Booth about
1803. This was later known as Pelton's Pond and was the last sur-
vivor of the Fall Kill mill ponds. This dam was finally taken down
in 1899. Booth is said to have brought from England the first wool
carding machinery used in this country. He conducted a woolen fac-
tory also near Wappingers Falls. Not far above Booth's pond on the
Fall Kill a cotton factory was established about 1811 by David and
Benjamin Arnold, and just beyond the Post Road bridge was Ellison's
miU, afterwards Parker's. There were a number of cotton and woolen
factories in the town of Poughkeepsie down to the close of the war
of 1812, but most of them were ruined by the period of free trade that
followed the declaration of peace, in 1815. Spafford's Gazateer says
that there were also fifty looms in families producing 20,000 yards
of cloth, and says there were fourteen ^grain mills in the town at that
time. Not more than four or five of these mills could have been in the
village. One Was at the mouth of the Spacken Kill and is still stand-
ing; several were on the Caspar Kill and most of the rest probably
on the Wappingers, though very small streams like the one flowing
through Vassar College Lake turned mills in those days.
1. Spafford speaks of the success of Dutchess County agriculture as due largely to the
fact that this county was one of the first to use gypsum as a fertilizer. Old residents
say.that the gypsum was Imported In rock form from Nova Scotia and ground in the
same mills that ground grain, the mills grinding the rock for "land plaster" part of the
year, then cleaning out and grinding grain later In the season.
JOHN E. MACK.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 237
There was an iron foundry in Poughkeepsie as early as 1814,
located on the corner of Main and Washington streets, and opposite,
on the west corner, was Ebenezer Badger's tannery. Later foundries
were established from time to time further up Main street, and one
of them, started in 1831 by Solomon B. Frost and Benjamin Vail,
survives to-day as the Poughkeepsie Foundry and Machine Company,
with a large new plant north of the Central New England Railroad.
The first Vassar Brewery was built about 1802 by James Vassar
and was burned in 1811. A larger building took its place and the
management fell to James Vassar's son, Matthew Vassar. This brew-
ery was on the site of Vassar Institute, but extending through to
Bridge street. By 1830 it had become a very profitable industry,
occupying a group of buildings, and in 1836 the brewery at the river,
still standing, was erected. It was here that most of the fortune was
accumulated that went to the founding of Vassar College. The for-
tunes of Matthew Vassar, Jr., and John Guy Vassar, nephews of
Matthew Vassar, were only partly made in the brewing business, most
of them resulting from fortunate investments in outside enterprises.
The improvement party founded a number of large industries, most
important of which were the whaling companies and the silk factory.
The Poughkeepsie Whaling Company was incorporated in 1832 and
the Dutchess Whaling Company a year later. James Hooker was
president and Alexander Forbus treasurer of the former and Isaac
Merritt and George P. Oakley held similar ofllces in the latter. These
two companies in 1841 owned as many as seven ships, which went on
long cruises, some of them almost around the world. They brought
men here from New Bedford, Mass., and other New England whaling
ports, built ships, storehouses, cooperages, candle factories, etc. The
Dutchess Company located at the neighborhood still sometimes called
the Whale Dock, foot of Dutchess avenue, and had the largest estab-
lishment. Apparently the losses of ships as well as the increasing
scarcity of whales caused the failure of these companies. Other towns
on the river, notably Hudson, were engaged in the whaling industry
at about the same time. The Poughkeepsie Glass Works, started in
1879, occupies the site of the Dutchess Whaling Company's buildings.
Just north of the whale dock the improvement party started an
enterprise that might have been of great importance, if it had not
been so far ahead of the times. It was a locomotive factory, founded
238 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
just after the panic of 1837, but twelve years before there was any
railroad in this neighborhood. It was described by Benson J. Loss-
ing, who made a woodcut of the building for the FamAy Magazvne,
as "Much the most extensive of the kind in America," and is said to
have cost almost $100,000. One locomotive was built there and was
shipped away by boat. It should be said that a railroad across the
county was projected at that time, but the project was little more
than a dream until after the Civil War. The locomotive factory
building was used as a chemical factory for a while, but stood empty
much of the time and was torn down in 1859, when the upper furnace
was built. The silk factory, above mentioned, incorporated in 1835,
erected the building on lower Mill street, which in 1850 came into the
possession of Charles M. Pelton and was used for many years as a
carpet factory. The promoters of the silk factory purchased several
farms on which it is said they intended to raise silk worms. The enter-
prise proved an early failure. Carpet manufacturing and also pin
making were carried on in 1840 by several firms in Poughkeepsie.
Among the industries that flourished for many years was ship build-
ing, which was conducted at several points along the water front,
notably at the Whale Dock, after the abandonment of the whaling
business. Several large steamboats, including the Reliance and the
propeller Joseph F. Barnard, were built here before the war. Wagon
and carriage manufacturing were carried on by several firms until
recent times. The tanning industry flourished from an early date up
to the last quarter of the nineteenth century and brought several well-
known families to Poughkeepsie, including the Southwicks and Boyds.
The manufacturing industry by which Poughkeepsie is best known
to-day, that of the Adriance harvesting machinery, had its beginnings
somewhere about 1850, when John Adriance became interested in the
inventions of mowing machines. He had been in the iron foundry
and hardware business and had begun to build on a small scale a mow-
ing machine called the Forbush. His son, John P. Adriance, who was
in the hardware business in New York, saw the possibilities of the new
machines and investigated several of them, spending a number of years
in Worcester, Mass., where he was interested in the manufactureing
of one of them. In 1859 he returned to Poughkeepsie and leased the
factory buildings at the Red Mills, comer of Smith and Mill streets,
having accumulated patents and rights to use the essential features of
POUGHKEEPSIE. 239
a successful mower, the Adriance Buckeye. Thomas S. Brown had
been associated with Mr. Adriance before this and had much to do
with the development of the machine. In 1865 the company removed
to its present location on the river, where it has continued to expand
year by year. In 1892 the general offices of the company were
brought here from New York and since then several large buildings
have been added to the plant. A recent improvement was the in-
stallation of a factory railroad, connecting all buildings and depart-
ments. A complete machine is turned out now every five minutes. The
factory of Adriance, Piatt & Company is the largest and most im-
portant in the city, but the DeLaval Separator plant is a close second.
This is a branch of an industry whose original factory was in Stock-
holm, Sweden, and was brought here in 1892 by offer of a subscrip-
tion of ten thousand dollars from the citizens fo? the purchase of a
site. The investment was a good one. The first shop occupied less
than half an acre, now the factories of the company have five acres
of floor space and half a mile of water front has been purchased. The
property now extends to the foot of Pine street, once the site of ex-
tensive lumber, coal and freighting business. The DeLaval employs
about seven hundred men in the busy season.
Several large industries were started soon after the war, includ-
ing the Eureka Mowing Machine Works, which was not very suc-
cessful and moved away, the Rolhng Mill, which after a time passed
into the hands of the Phoenix Horseshoe Company, and Whitehouse's
Shoe Factory. The latter was very successful for many years, but
failed in 1891 and its buildings are now used as a cigar factory. The
Dutchess Manufacturing Company, making trousers, is a large and
growing concern, built up under the management of the late J. Frank
Hull. It was originally a consolidation of several smaller clothing
factories established not long after the war. The present location was
purchased in 1888. Several underwear factories have recently been
located in Poughkeepsie by the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce,
and the Seneca Button Works was brought here in 1907 from Seneca
Falls. The Anchor Bolt and Nut Company, originally established as
the Chapinville Wheel Company, on Mill street, has a good sized plant
on Parker avenue nearly opposite the Central New England Railroad.
The cooperage business, which was built up to considerable propor-
tions at the time of the whaling companies, still continues, though on
240 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
a somewhat smaller scale. This industry brought the Lown family
to Foughkeepsie. There is one brewery, that of V. Frank's Sons, in
successful operation.
BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
The first chartered bank in Foughkeepsie was a branch of the
Manhattan Bank of New York, established at least as early as 1811.
In that year an act was passed in Albany chartering the Middle Dis-
trict Bank, which had its main banking house in Foughkeepsie and a
branch in Kingston. Fourteen of the trustees were required to be
i-esidents of Dutchess and seven of Ulster. Levi McKean, one of its
first presidents, was postmaster of Foughkeepsie from 1802 to 1819.
He was at one time also a private banker, probably before the Middle
District Bank was opened. Henry Davis conducted a private bank,
which he called the Exchange Bank, in 1819, and two or thiee notes
signed by him as president and Walter Cunningham, cashier, are
stiU in existence. Davis became the first president and Cunningham
the first cashier of the Dutchess County Bank, chartered April 12,
1825. This bank occupied the same site as the Merchants' Bank, the
present cashier of which is Walter Cunningham Fonda. The Dutchess
County Bank was placed in liquidation at the expiration of its char-
ter in 1845 and the Merchants' Bank was organized to take its place.
The old bank had a capital of $600,000, three timies larger than the
capital of any bank since that organized in Foughkeepsie. Matthew
J. Myers was the first president of the Merchants' Bank and James
H. Fonda, cashier. The Middle District Bank failed in 1829 and was
the only bank that has ever failed in Foughkeepsie. It had a capital
of $600,000, a majority of which was controlled by Feter Everitt, son
of Richard Everitt. Note holders and depositors were paid almost
in full after a long period of liquidation.
The Foughkeepsie Bank was organized in 1830 with a capital of
$100,000. Thomas L. Davies was its first president and Reuben
North was for many years its cashier. The solid old bank building
with its portico of heavy plastered columns was built the same year
and stood until 1906, when it was torn down to give place to the build-
ing of the Foughkeepsie Trust Company, into which the Fough-
keepsie Bank and the City Bank had previously been merged. The
Farmers' and Manufacturers' Bank began business in its present
building, February, 1835. James Hooker was the first president, but
THE FOURTH COURT HOUSE, POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.
Built in 1809, replaced by present building in 1903. The old "Lawyers' Row"
of wooden buildings beyond was demolished in 1885 to make room for the present
Post Office.
Photograph taken about 1870.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 241
served only during the organization and when business began Matthew
Vassar was elected president. James Grant, Jr., was the first cashier,
but Fred W. Davis served in that capacity longer than anyone else.
The Poughkeepsie Savings Bank was chartered in 1831 and began
business in 1833 in what was known as the Burritt Building on Main
street. Col. Henry A. Livingston was its first president and served
until 1856. His successors have been John B. Forbus, Henry D.
Varick, David C. Foster and Edward Elsworth. The Savings Bank
building was erected in 1871. This bank now has deposits of almost
twelve million dollars. The Fallkill National Bank began business
in 1852 in its present building with William C. Sterhng as its first
president and John F, Hull, cashier. The City Bank was organized
in 1860 and Joseph F. Barnard, afterwards for so many years justice
of the Supreme Court, was its first president. The name generally
associated with this bank is that of Hudson Taylor, who was elected
president in 1879 and served until the consolidation with the Pough-
keepsie Bank, prior to the organization of the Trust Company. The
First National Bank, the last started, owes its name to the fact that
it was the first bank organized under the national bank act in 1864.
The older state banks reorganized as national banks about a year
later, when the law had been amended so that they could retain their
original names. Harvey G. Eastman and John P. Adriance were
early directors of this bank. Zebulon Rudd and Frank E. Whipple
served long terms as cashier and Jacob Corlies as president.
The Dutchess Insurance Company dates back to 1836, when it was
chartered as the Dutchess Mutual Insurance Company. James Em-
mott, father of the first mayor, was its first president. It is one of
the few old mutuals that have survived all changes and disasters, hav-
ing been made at comparatively recent period a stock company. Its
present building was first occupied in 1855.
POLITICS NEWSPAPEKS PUBLIC MEN.
As soon as there were political parties in the United States it is
safe to say that there were parties in the town of Poughkeepsie. As
nearly as one can tell from the scanty records of early election returns
and from the names in the civil list. Gov. Clinton controlled the town
down to the time of the convention which ratified the Constitution in
1788. Clinton was first an Anti-Federalist and then a Jefi'ersonian
Republican. Soon after the Constitutional Convention, at which the
242 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
delegates broke away from his influence, there is evidence that Feder-
alists were occasionally elected members of Assembly, though the
Anti-Federalists seem generally to have been successful in electing
Congressmen and returned Theodorus Bailey, of Poughkeepsie, to the
National House of Representatives several times. He became a
United States Senator in 1803, but soon afterwards resigned with De-
Witt Clinton and became postmaster of New York City. In 1798
John Jay, Federalist candidate for Governor, carried the town of
Poughkeepsie by ninety to eighty-two votes and from that time the
Federahsts appear to have been generally successful. William Emott,
father of the elder Judge James Emott, Jessie Oakley, James Kent
and David Brooks were among the prominent Federalists of the day.
Zephaniah Piatt and Gilbert Livingston were leading Repubhcans and
continued to be supporters of Clinton, although they voted for the
ratification of the Constitution. Piatt was judge of the Court of
Common Pleas, corresponding to our present county court, and left
Poughkeepsie about 1795 with his brothers to take up lands on Lake
Champlain, where they became the founders of Plattsburg.
The first distinctly local paper, the Poughkeepsie Journal, was es-
tablished in the spring of 1785 by Nicholas Power, who became the
first postmaster of Poughkeepsie in 1792. Early copies of the Journal
do not quite give clear evidence of any particular political leanings,
as communications of all shades of opinion were published, but Power
appears to have been a Federalist and efforts were made to estabKsh
opposition papers, evidently in the interest of the party of Jefferson,
before 1800. The first to obtain a real foothold, as already stated,
was the Political Barometer, under the able editorship of Isaac Mitch-
ell. The Barometer, though a pretty good paper, led a rather pre-
carious existence and changed hands many times. It was sold in 1806 to
Thomas Nelson and son and again sold in 1811, when its name was
changed to the Republican Herald. In 1812 Michell returned from Albany
and re-purchased it, changing the name to the Northern Politician.
He died a few months later and it became the Republican Herald
again. There were many factions in the politics of the state of New
York in the first few years of the nineteenth century and the Republi-
can Herald represented one of them, and evidently the losing one. It
wa» in opposition to James Tallmadge, Jr., one of the strongest men
of the day, and was discontinued in 1823. In 1806 Paraclete Potter
POUGHKEEPSIE. 243
obtained an interest in the Poughkeepsie Journal and remained for
many years the leading editor and one of the leading men of the town
and county. He conducted a considerable book and job printing es-
tablishment and also a book store which was long the rallying place
of the literary lights of the town. In 1815 Charles P. Barnum and
Richard Nelson established the Dutchess Observer as an organ of one
of the factions of the Republican (later Democratic) party, and in
1824 another paper, the Republican Telegraph, was established with
WiUiam Sands and Isaac Piatt in charge. The Observer and the
Telegraph were combined in 1828 and the paper has come down to
the present times as the News-Telegraph, absorbing all rivals repre-
senting the same party until a recent period.
The year 1828 was a most important one in the pt)litics of the state.
It was the first real presidential election, that is, the first election at
which the people of this state had a right to vote directly for electors,
and it was the election at which Andrew Jackson, the popular idol,
was the leading candidate. The Poughkeepsie Journal came out in
support of Jackson, even before the Telegraph did, and carried most
of the Federalists with it. That marked the final collapse and break-
up of the old parties. There were, however, many supporters of John
Quincy Adams in Dutchess, who believed he should be re-elected, and
they, of course, needed a newspaper. The result was the establishment
of the Dutchess Intelligencer, with Isaac Piatt as editor. This paper
had hard sledding for a number of years, as nearly everywhere the
people were shouting for Jackson. The Adams men, however, were
strengthened locally somewhat by the fact that Judge Smith Thomp-
son, whose home was where the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery is now
located, was their candidate for Governor. He was beaten by Martin
VanBuren, partly because of the outbreak of the anti-Masonic agita-
tion in the western part of the state. It is hardly necessary to name
all of the short lived newspapers of the day, but the opposition to
Van Buren's Albany regency rule caused the establishment of the
Dutchess Republican, 1831, by Thomas S. Ranney, and the anti-
Masons had a paper for a few years called, first, the Dutchess In-
quirer and afterwards the Anti-Mason. In 1833 Messrs. Piatt and
Ranney united their papers and finding the Intelligencer-Republican
too awkward a title, changed it in 1834 to the Poughkeepsie Eagle.
By that time the opponents of Jackson, who had been calling them-
244 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
selves National Republicans, were beginning to call themselves Whigs
under the leadership of Henry Clay, and the Eagle at once came to.
the front as the organ of the new party, while the Journal had drifted
into a secondary position as a Democratic organ and did not fully
support all of Jackson's policies. Egbert B. Killey and Aaron Low
were publishing the Telegraph at this time, but in 1835 Benson J.
Lossing bought Mr. Low's interest and became prominent as an editor.
Leaders among public men of the early part of the century were Gen.
James TaUmadge, Randall S. Street, James Emott and Thomas J.
Oakley. Of these the greatest was Gen. TaUmadge, who lived in a
house which stood on the comer of Garden and Main streets. He was
a man of national reputation and it was he who offered in the House
of Representatives in 1819 an amendment to the act for the admission
to the Union of the State of Missouri prohibiting "the further intro-
duction of slavery" there. This amendment was adopted by the
House, but rejected by the Senate and led to the famous Missouri
Compromise.
A little later Smith Thompson and Nathaniel P. TaUmadge became
prominent. The latter was not only a United States Senator but be-
came widely known as the leader of the Conservatives, a faction of the
Democratic party that opposed Jackson's bank poUcy. The Pough-
keepsie Journal supported him and as his attitude gradually led him
into full union with the Whig party, the Journal became a Whig or-
gan. Nathaniel P. TaUmadge was much talked of as a candidate for
Vice President in 1838, and iii 1839 he actually was offered the nomi-
nation with William Henry Harrison. He had by that time become
so warm a friend of Henry Clay that he declined because Clay had
not received the nomination for President. Thus TaUmadge lost his
chance of becoming President. Walter Cunningham, already many
times mentioned, was a prominent Whig leader, particularly active in
conventions and is frequently referred to in Thurlow Weed's Auto-
biography. Richard D. Davis was one of the most prominent Demo-
crats and was elected to Congress in 1840 and in 1842. After
Nathaniel P. TaUmadge had come into the Whig ranks there were
two Whig papers in Poughkeepsie and it was natural that they should
combine. Joseph H. Jackson and William Schram were then pub-
UsMng the Journal and in 1844 Jackson retired and Mr. Schram
formed a partnership with Isaac Piatt, of the Eagle. The double
POUGHKEEPSIE. 245
title, "Journal and Eagle," was retained until 1850, when the name
Journal was dropped. Mr. Schram continued a partner in the Eagle
firm until 1865, when he was succeeded by Mr. Piatt's eldest son,
John I. Piatt. Another son, James B. Piatt, came into the firm in
1869. The paper is now in control of a third generation of the same
family.
In 1839 both Henry Clay and Martin VanBuren visited Pough-
keepsie. VanBuren lived in Columbia County and had many times
stopped in Poughkeepsie and his visit in 1839 was chiefly significant
because he was President at that time and was accorded a big recep-
tion. Judge Charles H. Buggies, Gen. Leonard Maison and Col.
Henry Pine were among the prominent local Democrats who welcomed
him. Henry Clay's visit was only about a month later In the same
summer. He made an address to the people from* the veranda of the
Poughkeepsie Hotel, and then was taken to see the sights of the town,
including College Hill. In 1845 Daniel Webster spent several days
in Poughkeepsie trying a law case. His summing up was referred
to in the local papers as a masterpiece of, oratory.
As every important cause had to have its newspaper, the Temper-
ance movement of the early forties brought out the Temperance Safe-
guard, edited by G. K. Lyman, and in 1845 the Native American, or
Know Nothing movement gave rise to the Poughkeepsie American.
The last mentioned paper came into the hands successively of Isaac
Thompkins and of Edward B. Osborne and was made an organ of the
"hard shell" branch of the Democratic party. Its name was changed
to the Dutchess Democrat and it was absorbed by the Telegraph, Mr.
Osborne becoming a partner of Egbert B. Killey, Jr., in 1856. Al-
bert S. Pease, who edited the Telegraph for a while, purchased the
Press, the first Poughkeepsie daily, at about the same time. He con-
tinued it until 1863, when Mr. Osborne brought the Telegraph and
Press together. The Press had been a morning paper up to Decem-
ber, 1860, when the Daily Eagle was started, but soon afterwards
changed to an afternoon paper and so remained until 1883, when
James W. Hinkley purchased both the Telegraph and the Press and
combined them with the News. This brings us down to recent times.
The News had been estabUshed in 1868 as a morning paper by Thomas
G. Nichols. It had a short career as an independent, then as a Demo-
cratic paper, and was purchased in 1872 by John O. Whitehouse to
246 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
support his campaign for Congress. In that year Mr. Nichols es-
tablished his third paper, the Swnday Courier, now one of the leading
papers of the city. The Enterprise was started in 1883 after Mr.
Hinkley had consolidated the Press with the News, leaving the field
open for an afternoon paper. W. C. Lansing, Edward Van Keuren
and Derrick Brown were its founders, the two former having pre-
viously purchased the Dutchess Farmer, an agricultural paper, which
became the Weekly Enterprise. This paper was independent, with
Democratic leanings, until about a year ago, when it was purchased
by a stock company of which Edward E. Perkins is president, and
was made the oiBcial Democratic organ. The Evening Star dates
from 1889, but was for a short time called Poughleeepsie. It has
been independent in politics until the past two or three years, when its
present editor^ A. A. Parks, made it Republican.
When the anti-slavery agitation, before the war, brought forth
the new Republican party, the Eagle at once became its exponent in
Dutchess County, a position in which it has remained. There were
some pretty warm times during the progress of the anti-slavery agita-
tion and Matthew Vassar, Jr., in his diary teUs of the breaking up of
two meetings at which abolitionists were speakers. The year the Re-
publican party was organized in Dutchess brought out John Thomp-
son, of Poughkeepsie, as successful candidate for Congress. B. Piatt
Carpenter's career began only a year or two later. In the campaign
of 1860, which has already been referred to as a memorable one, Ste-
phen Baker was elected to Congress and such men as Alfred B. Smith
and John I. Piatt were making their first political speeches. Albert
VanKleeck was political manager of the day. Homer A. Nelson had
been elected county judge by the Democrats in 1855 and was elected
to Congress in 1862, Charles Wheaton taking his place as county
judge. James Bowne and George Innis were mayors of Poughkeepsie
during the war, the latter serving three terms. Of H. G. Eastman's
career as a political leader enough has perhaps been said elsewhere.
The most notable political campaign in Poughkeepsie was the White-
house campaign in 1872, when Eastman was a candidate for mayor,
and John H. Ketcham candidate for Congress against Whitehouse.
Stories are still told of the fabulous sums expended in that campaign,
which is said to have nearly ruined Mr. Whitehouse, althou^ he was
successful. He carried Poughkeepsie by 379 majority and the city
GEORGE H. WILLIAMS.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 247
came within eleven votes of giving Horace Greely for President a
majority. This is the nearest the Democrats ever came to carrying
the city for a presidential candidate. George Morgan was the first
Democratic mayor of the city, elected in 1869. There have been but four
since that time — William Harloe, Edward Elsworth, William M.
Ketcham and John K. Sague. ^,
CHUKCHilS OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
The first church in Poughkeepsie was, of course, the Dutch Church,
which was organized October 10, 1716, by Rev. Petrus Vas, pastor
of the Church at Kingstpn, who installed Michael Parmenter and
Pieter DuBoise as elders and Elias VanBenschoten and Peter Par-
menter as deacons. The history of this church has been pretty fully
written by the late Dr. A. P. Van Gieson, who translated many of the
Dutch records.^ No complete list of baptismal and marriage records,
however, has ever been published. Subscription books for the first
church building were circulated in 1717 and the church was finished
in 1723 and is said to have been of stone. There are some records
that make it appear that it was not continliously occupied and was
allowed to fall considerably out of repair. The first deed in Liber A
in the Dutchess County Clerk's office is that which conveys the title
to the lot on which it was built from Jacobus VandenBogert to Cap-
tain Barendt VanKleeck, Myndert VandenBogert, Peter Velie and
Johannes VanKleeck. It is dated December 26, 1716, and is copied
in full in Dr. Van Gieson's book. The ^ first minister was Rev. Cor-
nelius Van Schie, who came from Hffl:and in 1731 to take charge of
the congregation both at Fishkill and Poughkeepsie for the princely
salary of £70 (about $175) of New York money. He was, however,
furnished also with firewood for summer and winter and was presented
with a brown horse, which cost £4 and 10 shillings, also a house,
"three morgens of pasture" and a garden suitably fenced. Dominie
Van Schie was free to locate either at Poughkeepsie or Fishkill and
chose Poughkeepsie, and the two congregations jointly purchased the
land on which the present church stands and built the first parsonage
about 1732. The first church was located on the southeast corner
of Main and Market streets and the land around it was used as a
burying ground and continued to be so used, as is stated in another
1. First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie. Rev. A. P. Van Gieson, D.D., 1893.
248 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
part of this chapter, until 1830. Meanwhile, however, the second
church was built, somewhere about 1760, land having been purchased
for it from Gale Yelverton on the north side of East Lane, as Main
street was then called, opposite the end of Market street. Around
this church also burials were made and a considerable number of stones
Are still standing there, in the rear of the Nelson House Annex. The
church just previous to the erection of the second building had been
badly divided between the Coetus and Conferentie parties, the first of
which held that ministers could be ordained in America, while the sec-
ond maintained that the only authority was in Holland. The fourth
pastor of the church. Dominie Henricus Schoonmaker, was a member
of the Coetus party and on his arrival here, in 1764, for ordination,
he found the church in possession of the opposite party and the ser-
vices of ordination took place under a tree not far from where the
present church is located, the officiating minister, Rev. John H. Goet-
schius, standing in a wagon. The Conferentie party called another
minister. Rev. Isaac Rysdick, from Holland, and from 1765 to 1772
the churches had two pastors. Dr. Rysdick left Poughkeepsie to take
charge of the Fishkill, Hopewell, and New Hackensack churches in
1773, after which time the Poughkeepsie church always had a pastor
of its own, separate from Fishkill. Dr. Van Gieson notes that Mr.
Schoonmaker, who was a most eloquent preacher in the Dutch lan-
guage, left Poughkeepsie in 1774 chiefly because he could not preach
well in English. There had been occasional preaching in the Eng-
lish language in the church ever since 1740, and from that time the
Dutch lost ground while the English continued to gain. The Dutch
language was not officially given up until pretty nearly 1800, and its
long continuance was the cause of considerable losses of the younger
element in the church. In 1789 the church was incorporated, with
Henry Hegeman, Peter Tappen, Isaac Romine, John Frear, Myndert
VanKleeck, Henry Livingston, Jr., Abraham Fort and Benjamin
Westervelt as elders and deacons. During and just after the Revo-
lution the church was in charge of Rev. John H. Livingston, after-
wards president of Rutgers College. At the close of his pastorate
there was a period of interregnum and there appears to have been a
time, while the atheistic agitators of the French Revolution were at
theif height, when religion in America was at a rather low ebb and all
the churches had some difficulty in maintaining themselves. After
POUGHKEEPSIE, 249
the Dutch language had been officially given up the church seems to
have tried to hold as many of the English speaking people not affiliated
with the Episcopal Church together as possible and an effort was made
even to drop the Dutch name, which, however, did not succeed fully
until much later. The Dutch Church appears to have taken the place
of the Presbyterian Church in Poughkeepsie, however, for a consider-
able period. In 1822 the church on the north side of Main street was
abandoned and a new building was erected upon the site of the pres-
ent church, then a part of the parsonage lot. A part of the church
property on the north side of Main street had long before been sold
and the Poughkeepsie Hotel had been built upon it. The rest was
then leased for a long term and the Main street frontage was held by
the church until 1908, when the two properties occupied by Robert
KnOx's Sons and Drislane as grocery stores were sold and the money
applied to the purchase of the present parsonage on Mill street. Ill
1830 the property on the south side of Main street, corner of Market,
known then as the Dutch Church Cemetery, was leased for one hun-
dred years, and the Brewster Block was erected. This block has been
somewhat altered so that the roof lines and fronts do not exactly cor-
respond as they formerly did, but it is still possible to trace from the
general character of the buildings the extent of the church property.
The building of the third church and the leasing of the property on
Main street for long terms was all done under the able pastorate of
Rev. Cornelius C. Cuyler one of the notable ministers of the church,
1809-1833. Another notable minister of the church was Rev. A, L.
Mann, under whose pastorate, in 1847, the congregation had so in-
creased that the accommodations of the spacious building appeared to
be too small and a second church was organized with Tunis Brincker-
hoff, Charles P. Adriance, Abraham G. Storm and Joseph H. Jack-
son as elders and James W. Bogardus, Casper D. Smith, Albert Brett
and John P. Flagler as deacons. They erected the present Second
Reformed Church on the corner of Mill and Catharine streets and it
was dedicated on Washington's Birthday in 1849. Its first pastor
was Rev. Charles Whitehead, installed October 2, 1849. On Sunday,
January 18, 1857, the first Dutch Church was burned and the fire
was one of the most memorable events in the history of Poughkeepsie.
The thermometer, it is stated, was thirteen degrees below zero at noon
and a strong north wind was blowing which forced it down to twenty
250 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
degrees before dark, when a fierce snow storm had set in. The fire
started in the roof of the church just at the close of the Rev. Dr.
Mann's morning sermon, and was discovered soon after the dismissal
of the congregation. There are still living a few old firemen who re-
member the event and they agree in declaring that water froze in the
air as it left the hose pipes. It is certain that hydrants were frozen
and that one or two of the old piano box fire engines froze up so that
they could not be used. The burning of the steeple, according to the
account in the Poughleeepsie Eagle of the day, "presented a fearful
column of fire ascending far up toward the clouds." After it had
fallen the mass of burning material was so great that the entire space
inside the walls seemed filled with flame until ten o'clock at night, in
spite of the water the hand engines could pour upon it. The present
church was erected soon after the fire and was dedicated September
7, 1858. It had originally a lofty spire, which was condemned and
taken down in 1878. One of the most notable pastorates of the
church was that of Rev. Dr. Acmon P. Van Gieson, which began in
1867 and continued until his deatliSin the spring of 1906.
The first English Church in Poughkeepsie, the Presbyterian Church,
was organized as early as 174<9, but failed to maintain itself on a per-
manent basis or to erect a building. Services were conducted first
in connection with Fishkill and afterwards in connection with Char-
lotte precinct, which included Washington Hollow and Pleasant Val-
ley. After 1772 there appears to have been only occasional sermons
until some time in the nineteenth century.
The Church of England, the predecessor of the present Episcopal
Church, owes its beginning to the missionary work of Rev. Samuel
Seabury, who occasionally visited Poughkeepsie as early as 1755,
preaching to the people who belonged to his faith. The church started
with a vigorous organization in 1766 and erected its first building on
the corner of Church and Market streets, where the Armory now
stands. The first church building remained standing until 1883, when
the old Christ Church, still well remembered, was erected. During
the Revolution most of the prominent members of Christ Church, in-
cluding its minister. Rev. John Beardsley, who had come here from
Groton, Conn., remained loyal to the king and the feeling against
them»was so great that the church for a time was closed. Mr. Beards-
ley originally had charge of the Fishkill church as well as the Pough-
POUGHKEEPSIE. 251
keepsie church, but like the Dutch dominie, he elected to make his home
here, and eighty-seven acres of land were purchased for him on th^
Filkintown road, where the old Glebe House, now generally known as
the Fricker House, still stands. A royal charter was granted the
church March 3, 1773, by King George III and a grant of two hun-
dred acres of what had previously been regarded as common land was
added to the Glebe. This land afterwards caused the church consid-
erable htigation and an attempt was made to confiscate it during the
Revolution. After the prejudices of the Revolutionary times had
somewhat softened, the church was reopened and a new rector, bear-
ing the Dutch name Henry VanDyke, came to take charge m. 1787.
In 1797 Trinity Church, of New York, assisted it with a gift of five
hundred pounds for a parsonage house and two years later the house
still standing on the southeast corner of Cannon and Academy streets
was purchased for that purpose and used for a short time. The prop-
erty on Montgomery and Academy streets, where the present church
stands, and so long known as the old English Burying Ground, was
purchased in 1828 and remained a cemetery until 1871, when the
common council forbade further interments there. By that time it
had grown up into a forest and was for a long time much neglected.
A high picket fence surrounded the property, but did not prevent the
small boys in the neighborhood from getting in and creating a cer-
tain amount of damage to tombstones and the railings which sur-
rounded many of the plots. When the present beautiful new church
was built all this was cleared up, many of the graves were removed
to the Rural Cemetery and the smaller stones which used to be studded
thickly throughout the whole plot have been mostly laid flat on the
ground so as not to interfere with the running of a mowing machine.
The cornerstone of the new church was laid September 25, 1887, and
it was consecrated May 15, 1888, by Bishop Scarborough, who had
been the first rector of the Church of the Holy Comforter. Albert
Tower, proprietor of the iron furnaces which for so many years were
a leading Poughkeepsie industry, contributed more than half of the
total cost of the building, which has been stated at $120,000. This
was during the notable rectorship of Rev. Henry L. Ziegenfuss, who
served the church from 1874 to 1894.
The second Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie, St. Paul's, w;as or-
ganized in August, 1835, and was built originally of wood in Grecian
252 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Doric style, in 1837. It was built by the real estate boomers of the
day as one of the attractions of Mansion Square neighborhood. The
present church was finished and opened in May, 1872, during the
rectorship of Rev. S. H. Synnott.
The Church of the Holy Comforter owes its existence to WiUiam
A. Davies, who inherited from his father, William Davies, a large
amount of land, including a part of the Main street dock property.
He resided in the house nearly opposite the railroad station, after-
wards the home of Hon. George Innis. William A. and Thomas L.
Davies gave the church a lot 125 feet square, May 10, 1859, and the
church was consecrated October 25, 1860, Rev. John Scarborough be-
coming the first rector. He remained until 1867, when he was suc-
ceeded by Rev. Robert Fulton Crary, who remained in active service
until 1907.
The first new denomination to organize in Poughkeepsie after the
Revolution was the Methodist. Rev. Freeborn Garettson preached
the first Methodist sermon hete in 1796 in the Dutch Church. The
Methodists organized in 1804 and by 1805 were strong enough to
build their first church, which was located on the east side of Jefferson
street, a few hundred feet south of Church street, the plot being stiU
open and one of the oldest of several little abandond graveyards in
the city. This church, we are told in "Vincent's Methodism in Pough-
keepsie," was about fifty by forty feet, with galleries, but was left un-
plastered above the galleries until 1814, when Poughkeepsie became a
Methodist station with a settled minister, Rev. J. M. Smith. In 1826
they had outgrown the Jefferson street church and purchased for $650
a lot on Washington street, where Eastman College now stands, and
a new church was dedicated on December 27th of that year. It is
stated that the Methodists at that time had but 182 members and were
$900 in debt on their old church, but by 1837 they had increased to
616 and in 1840 they decided to form a second congregation, which
five years later built the Cannon street Methodist Church at a cost of
$8,650. This church long remained one of the most prominent in
the city and the congregation continued to grow until a new building
became necessary, and in 1892, in the pastorate of Rev. C. H. Gregory,
the present Trinity Church was dedicated on the corner of South Ham-
ilton street and Hooker avenue, the old church having been sold to
the Masons, who extended its front out to the sidewalk and remodeled
GEORGE V. L. SPRATT.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 253
it into the present Masonic Temple. Meanwhile, in 1847, a German
Methodist Church had been organized under Rev. Daniel Duerstein
and the first building was dedicated September 22, 1850, on the site
of the present German Methodist Church in South Bridge street. The
present Washington street Methodist Church, on the corner of Mill
street, was built in 1858, and a few years later the old church was
purchased by H. G. Eastman for his growing commercial college. In
1843 the members of the colored Methodist Church, who had separated
from the congregation of the first church in 1837, erected a building
on the site of their present church in Catharine street, and in 1853
the Methodists sent out still another congregation, when the Hedding
Church was erected.
The Quakers, it is said, had established a meeting house somewhere
on Clover street not long after 1800. The Quakef families had been
numerous in Dutchess County for some time and had gradually come
in and settled in the village, many of them becoming very prominent
citizens. In 1820 they erected a new meeting house on the rear of a
deep Washington street lot, a part of which is still occupied by the
Hicksite meeting house, built in 1894, now fronting on Lafayette
Place. The old meeting house building is still in existence, but has
been altered into a double dwelling. After the separation of the
Hicksite and Orthodox Friends the later purchased a lot on the north
side of Mill street, not far above Garden, and there built a meeting
house, which was used for a number of years, but finally also was con-
verted into a dwelling house and now stands on Conklin street. The
Montgomery street meeting house was built by the Orthodox Friends
in 1863, being the only church in the city built during the war. It
has since been enlarged somewhat and considerably changed in ap-
pearance.
The Baptists organized in 1807 and their records are complete and
well preserved, a short, well-written history of the church having been
published by Rev. Rufus Babcock in 1841. The first building was
erected on Mill street, not long after the organization, on the site of
the present Baptist Church, the lot having been donated by Col. James
Tallmadge, one of the prominent citizens of the day. In 1839 the
Lafiayette street Baptist Church, now the Polish Catholic, was built
at a cost of $20,000, one-half of which was donated by Matthew Vas-
sar, and the old church in Mill street was rented to the new Methodist
254 THE COTJNTY OF DUTCHESS.
congregation which afterwards erected the Cannon street church. The
building of this Lafayette street church was one of the causes of a
division in the congregation, one of the branches returning to the old
Mill street church. These remained apart until 1867, when they came
together in the Lafayette street church until the building of the pres-
ent church in Mill street in 1879, when the Lafayette street church
was abandoned. John Guy and Matthew Vassar, Jr., were leading
contributors to the new building, as their uncle had been to the one
abandoned, and the church was at the time very much the finest in
the city. The colored people who had maintained a Baptist congre-
gation in Poughkeepsie for some ten years erected a building on the
comer of Winnikee avenue and Smith street, about two years ago,
known as the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
The Presbyterians, as we have seen, organized the first English
speaking congregation in Poughkeepsie long before the Revolution,
but were unable to maintain themselves. Apparently Scotch inuni-
gration and immigration from the north of Ireland was mostly into
the interior of the county rather than to the river towns. It was
not until 1817 that the Presbyterians were able to form a permanent
organization in Poughkeepsie, and not until 1826 that they purchased
the property next west of the original Dutchess County Academy, on
Cannon street, and built their first church on the lot where now stands
the Young Women's Christian Association building. There were then
eighteen members, and Joseph Allen, David Hibbard, William Wil-
hams and Marquis de Lafayette Phillips were chosen as ruling elders.
This church stood for a long time and was used for many purposes.
The Presbyterians gave it up in 1850 and built a new church on the
corner of Cannon and Hamilton streets in the pastorate of Rev. Henry
G. Ludlow. This second building in turn, has been superseded by the
finest and most costly church in the city, dedicated April 5, 1908.
This beautiful new building cost, with its memorial windows, organ
and equipment, pretty nearly $200,000, a large part of which was
donated by William W. Smith and a considerable sum also by Mrs.
John F. Winslow. At the time the first church was built the contro-
versy which a few years later divided the denomination into a New
School and Old School was raging and resulted in 1831 in the or-
ganijation of the Second Presbyterian Church, which erected a build-
ing on the corner of Mill and Vassar streets, now the Jewish Syna-
POUGHKEEPSIE. 255
gogue. When the Presbyterians built on the corner of Cannon and
Hamilton streets the original church on Cannon street was sold to the
Universalists, who maintained services in Poughkeepsie for a number
of years, but were never very strong. They rented the building as
a sort of village hall for lectures and entertainments for a considerable
number of years and later it became and remained for a number of
years St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. The history of the Catho-
hc Churches is written in a separate chapter, so need not be further
referred to here, except to say that St. Peter's congregation was the
first organized and dates from about 1839.
German immigration became important enough to require occa-
sional services in that language about 1840. The first German church
organized, as has been already stated, was the Methodist, and the
Lutherans were not organized until 1856, nor able* to own a place of
worship until 1858, when they purchased and fitted up what is prob-
ably the oldest building in town, the old Noxon House, on the east
side of Market street near the corner of Noxon. The German
Lutheran Church in Grand street was the first church in the city built
after the war and was dedicated in 1866. In 1901, so many of the
second generation of Germans had begun to prefer the English lan-
guage and were drifting into other churches that an English Lutheran
Church was organized and purchased property at 176 Church street
in 1903.
The Congregational Church, an outgrowth of the Second Presby-
terian Church, was organized in 1837, and for a time made use of the
building on the comer of Vassar and Mill streets.. The present Con-
gregational Church, on Mill street, below Garden, was dedicated June
5, 1860, and the old church was sold to the Hebrews, who had main-
tained an organization here under the name of the Children of Israel
since 1848. A second Hebrew congregation was organized a number
of years ago with a place of worship on Noxon street.
T. M. C. A. AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS.
The Young Men's Christiaa Association was organized August 21,
1863, with John H. Matthews, president; James S. Case, vice presi-
dent; Frank L. Stephens, corresponding secretary; John I. Piatt, re-
cording secretary, and William B. Fox, treasurer. It was an out-
growth, however, of an older association, organized in 1856, called the
Young Men's Christian Union, the president of which was Alfred B.
256 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Smith. The Association held meetings in a room over the City Bank,
on the corner of Main and Market streets, until in 1872 it felt itself
strong enough to purchase the present building, then the great place
of lectures and amusements in the city known as Pine Hall. The build-
ing was remodelled and has from time to time been improved, until
last year it was decided to abandon it, as Mr. William W. Smith had
offered to erect a new building on the site of the old Hooker House on
Market street. The cornerstone of the new building was laid Novem-
ber 16th 1908, after the building had already been partly erected.
It will probably cost in the neighborhood of $200,000. Mr. Smith
was also the chief donor of the new building for the Young Women's
Christian Association, erected in 1904, on Cannon street on the site of
the old church building which served so many denominations. The
Young Woman's Association was organized in 1881 and incorporated
in 1884. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union also has a build-
ing on Cannon street, the old Poughkeepsie Female Academy, pur-
chased in 1889. This organization was founded in 1873 in aid of
the Woman's Crusade, then in progress in Ohio.
The Union Rescue Mission was organized in 1894 and started in
what was formerly an old saloon at 42 North Clover street. The
cornerstone of the present building was laid in October, 1896. This
work has been, since started, under the superintendence of Charles
H. Madison. During the past year the local board of trustees handed
it over to the Federation of Rescue Missions, which is now in control.
CHAEITABLE INSTITUTIONS.
Poughkeepsie is unusually well provided wjth charitable institutions.
The oldest of these is the Women's Union Bible and Tract Society,
which dates back at least to 1840, when its first president was Mrs.
Frederick W. Hatch, wife of the rector of St. Paul's Church, and it
seems to have been the successor of organizations formed in the early
part of the century. It has no building, but employs regular visitors
who go into the homes of the poor and ascertain their needs.
The Home for the Friendless on the corner of South Hamilton and
Franklin streets, was built in 1887, the result of the work of a society
organized earlier, known originally as the Poughkeepsie Female Guar-
dian Society. The building of this orphanage has been considerably
enlarged and it provided a home in 1908 for about fifty children.
The Old Ladies' Home was founded by Jonathan Warner, who pur-
DR. H. F. CLARK.
POUGHKEEPSIE. 257
chased, in 1870, the building originally erected by the Dutchess
County Academy. William W. Smith, about 1905, considerably en-
larged this building and it has been made a very attractive and cheer-
ful place for those who spend their dechning years there.
The Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged Men, which occupies the site
of the residence of Matthew Vassar, corner of Main and Vassar streets,
was erected by John Guy Vassar and Matthew Vassar, Jr., in 1880.
This was one of the many benefactions of the Vassar brothers, another
of which was the Vassar Brothers' Institute, also located on Vassar
street on the site of the early Vassar Brewery. The Institute has an
endowment fund and carries on popular lectures and class work in
arts and crafts, mechanical drawing, etc., during each winter. The
building was erected in 1882 to provide a home for |wo local societies,
the Poughkeepsie Literary Club and the Poughkeepsie Society of
Natural Science, which had been in existence for a number of years
and had been very successful. They have now, however, practically
ceased to exist as separate organizations. A second home for old
men, the Pringle Home, designed for men of literary tastes, was
founded in 1900 on Academy street in a house formerly the residence
of Col. O. T. Beard.
Vassar Brothers' Hospital was founded by Matthew Vassar, Jr.,
and the main building was erected in 1884 in the south part of the
city overlooking the river. It was made one of the residuary lega-
tees of the estate of John Guy Vassar and thereby came into the pos-
session of a large endowment. Additions nearly doubling its capacity
were built a few years ago and a library and laboratory building was
erected in 1899.
There had been an earlier hospital, known as the St. Barnabas,
using a building on North Clinton street. The St. Barnabas fund is
still in existence and used for home relief, and there is now talk of
building with it a new St. Barnabas Hospital for tuberculosis patients.
The House of Industry was an outgrowth of the Woman's Re-
lief Associations formed during the Civil War. It was organized in
the fall of 1865 with Mary Ferris as president. In 1873 it purchased
its present home on Liberty street. Its aim is to furnish work to
women who need it.
Note — See Appendix for list of the farmers and land owners of the town of
Poughkeepsie who registered cattle brands under the colonial law, and also list of
Supervisors from 1788 to 1854. Ward and Precinct Supervisors in Chapter "VI.
258 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE TOWN OF AMENIA.
By S. R. Fbee.
THE township in Dutchess County tnown as Amenia, embraces
something over forty square miles. This territory comprises
a part of the eastern portion of the tract of land originally
owned by the Great Nine Partners, and lots numbers 43 to 72 of the
Oblong.
It lies on the extreme eastern border of the county, and has for its
northern limit the town of North East; for the southern, the town
of Dover; for the western, the towns of Stanford and Washington;
for the eastern, the towns of Sharon and Kent, in Connecticut.
Stretching along the entire eastern border of the town are the Ta-
conic mountains. Near the middle of the town is a broken range
of hills that extend southward to the Fishkill mountains.
The valleys skirting these elevations are very fertile and well
adapted to grain and grass culture. The production of milk is prob-
ably the largest industry in the town. The principal streams of
water are Ten Mile River, often called the Weebutook, which was
the Indian name; the Wassaic Creek; West Brook and their tribu-
taries.
For many years the mining of iron ore has been extensively carried
on in several parts of the town. At this writing, the mines are all
silent; but interested parties say that the old mine near the village
of Amenia wiU soon be operated again.
History and tradition appear to agree in making Richard Sackett
the first white settler in the Town of Amenia. The old records show
that on March 11th, 1703, Richard Sackett petitioned the Colonial
Government for a license to purchase a tract of land in Dutchess
Coflnty, east of the Hudson River, called "Washiack," now softened
into Wassaic.
TOWN OF AMENIA. 259
The same records tell us that the petition was granted in October
of the same year. The precise date of Mr. Sackett's entry upon his
vast domain is not known, but there is tradition to show that within
three or four years of the above date he built a house near the place
which has been known since the days of the Revolutionary War as
the Steel Works, where he lived and died. The old records also show
that Mr. Sackett was not able to make good his title to said lands, as
the British sovereign was not willing his possessions in the New World
should be disposed of without his consent.
The unfortunate Mr. Sackett died in poverty in 1746, and was
buried not far from the house he built. Mr. Newton Reed, in his
valuable history of Amenia, quotes from a manuscript of Barnabas
Payne, in which the author says he has "several times visited the grave
of Mr. Sackett at the Steel Works, but at this writing no stone re-
mains by which the grave can be identified."
The order of succession by which the town was settled has not been
well preserved. From about the middle of the eighteenth century
the town began to fill up rapidly. Mr. Reed has furnished a long
list of early settlers, which includes the following names : Uldrick
Winegar and his son Captain Garrett Winegar, Lieut. Samuel Sny-
der, Henry Nase, Captain Isaac Delamater, Baltus Lot, Adam Show-
erman, the families of Knickerbocker and Van Deusen, Hezekiah King,
Abraham Paine, Stephen Kinny, Benjamin Hollister, Peter Klein
(Cline), Justus Powers, Elijah Park, Joel and Abner GiUett, Cap-
tain Stephen Hopkins, Abraham Bockee, Captain Thomas Wheeler,
Col. William Barker, Deacon Moses Barlow and his brother Nathan,
Daniel C. Bartlett, Zera Beach, Caleb Benton, Silas Belden, Captain
John Boyd, Lemuel and William Brush, Judah Burton, Ezra Bryan,
Benjamin Carpenter, Joseph Chamberlain, James Reed, Judah Swift,
Jeremiah Ingraham, Nathan Conklin, David Collin, Rev. John Corn-
wall, Jacob Evartson, John Gamsey, Roger Gale, Deacon Asa Hol-
lister, Samuel Jarvis, Thomas Mygatt and John Balis.
The sturdy German came from the early settlements along the
upper Hudson; and the Dutch came from their "New Amsterdam"
(New York) ; arid the stern Puritan came from Connecticut and Rhode
Island. A blending of these vigorous elements made up the early
society of Amenia.
The Colonial boundaries of the Precinct of Amenia embraced a
260 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
large part of the present town of North East. The Amenia of to-day
was determined in the year 1823.
There are in the town six villages. Amenia, the largest, a station
on the Harlem railroad has above a hundred dwelling houses. Wassaic,
the next in size, has above eighty dwellings. Smithfield, Amenia
Union, South Amenia and LeedsviUe are small, pleasant villages.
Amenia and Wassaic have both lost and gained since the publication
of the last history of Dutchess County. From Amenia Village have
gone the old historic Seminary and the Methodist Episcopal Church;
but in the place of the Seminary is a well furnished and officered High
School, with an average attendance of 175 pupils. For the loss of the
Church there appears to be no substitute. There remain, however,
three Churches, Presbyterian,, Baptist and Roman Cathohc, with ample
sittings and a cordial welcome for all who desire to attend religious
services.
In a commercial way Amenia has made very substantial gains in the
last forty years.
We note first the Willson & Eaton Company, organized in 1878,
wholesale and retail dealers in lumber, coal, lime, cement, all kinds of
grain and stock foods. An extensive manufacture of bricks, and a
wood working plant, well fitted with the most improved machinery for
the most elaborate architectural designs. When this company was
organized thirty years ago it did a business amounting to about
$75,000 a year. Its sales at this writing reach the enormous sum of
a million five hundred thousand dollars annually. The company em-
ploys in its varied departments upwards of eighty men.
Next in the order comes the Iron Foundry, owned and operated by
Mr. B. H. Fry, a native of Amenia, furnishing employment for forty
men.
For the next we have the Shefiield Farms Slosson Decker Company
for the production of caseine, requiring for the process something
above ten thousand quarts of milk per day. This enterprising com-
pany has factories scattered along the Harlem railroad from Hills-
dale to Patterson.
Last but not least is the Harlem Valley Brick and Supply Com-
pany, located here in 1906, for the manufacture of ornamental brick.
The stiff mud process is used, and the product is a very superior
article. The present drying capacity is 30,000 brick per day. The
TOWN OF AMENIA. 261
main office of the company is located at White Plains, where a large
business is carried on in the sale of sewer pipe, paving brick, fire
brick, and ornamental building brick.
Amenia Village may also boast of a complete water system with
hydrants located on the principal streets, a well organized fire and
hose company, an acetylene gas plant which furnishes Hght for the
streets, the dwellings and the churches, and an imposing granite foun-
tain, the gift of Mrs. Joseph Guernsey, in memory of her husband,
who was a native of Amenia.
Wassaic has lost the old Gridley furnace and the Pendelton sash
and blind factory, but has gained the Borden condensed milk factory,
employing about seventy-five men. The village has a graded school,
and a Presbyterian Church. .
A modest hamlet lying about three quarters of a mile southeast
from Wassaic, long known as the Steel Works, demands some notice
here. A half dozen houses make up the hamlet, yet it can boast a
carriage making and general repair shop, a sale and exchange stable,
with all sorts of horse furnishings, and the Smith Stevens & Benton
Motor Company. So the old historic Steel Works, which maintained
a forge and worked pig iron into steel for the use of the Colonial
army, in the war for liberty and independence, bids fair, after the
sleep of the century, to be heard from again. The villages of South
Amenia, Amenia Union, Leedsville and Smithfield appear to the casual
visitor to change but little as the years go by. The inhabitants
change, but the stately residences, well preserved and set in the midst
of charming landscapes, seem almost as enduring as the hills that
surround them.
Leedsville, once the conunercial center of the township of Amenia,
is now a quiet hamlet, much appreciated by those who would find
relief in summer from the noise and heat of the great cities.
Nestled in a sweeping curve of the Weebotuck, are the vine em-
bowered cottages once occupied by the Bentons, long famed as poets
and lovers of art. The Bentons are not there, but the moral and
intellectual atmosphere which they created still lingers about the
place and gives it an air of distinction. As late as 1832, when a
seminary for Amenia was seriously under consideration, many of the
influential citizens of the town favored Leedsville as the most suitable
262 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
location. From an address given in Amenia in 1875 by George W.
Ingraham (now deceased) we quote the following:
"In 1832 this commvmity became enthusiastic on the subject of education, and
resolved to have a seminary located somewhere in the town. The three prominent
places named were Amenia, Leedsville and Amenia Union. For beauty of situa-
tion Leedsville stood first, and a power was brought in favor of that place which
was hard to overcome. Two full years were spent in fruitless controversy. How-
ever, in the month of May, 1834, a committee was appointed, with Rev. Phineas
Rice as chairman, to determine the location of the prospective seminary. In
early June the committee rendered a sealed verdict, which was not to be opened for
twenty-four hours after the conmiittee had left the place. The following day the
seal was broken, the verdict read, when to the surprise of some and the joy of
others. Cook's Hill in the Village of Amenia, was named as the favored spot.
The most active in this new educational movement were George Ingraham, J.
Williams, Dr. L. W. Stanton of Amenia, Selah North, Joseph D. Hunt and William
A. Benton of Leedsville, and the whole community of Amenia Union. Work
was immediately begun on Cook's HiU to construct a foundation for the new
edifice. This was accomplished by cutting down the Hill some sixteen feet and
grading the grounds to their present proportions. In the summer of 1835 the
seminary was built and the school opened in the autumn of that year, with Rev.
C. K. True as principal."
In the year 1888 the Amenia Seminary closed its remarkable his-
tory. During its existence of fifty-three years students were enrolled
from every State in the Union, and at one time there were students
from the island of Cuba and South America. The advent of the
graded schools rendered the existence of such an institution as the
seminary unnecessary. The vacant and time-worn buildings still stand
on Cook's HiU, but the halls and class rooms no longer echo with the
footsteps of young men and maidens in the pursuit of knowledge.
To the multitude who knew and loved the old seminary there is a
feeling that the head should be uncovered, and the footsteps be made
soft and slow, as one passes over these historic remains.
In the early part of the year 1906 some of the old students ex-
pressed a desire for a reunion of the Alumni of the once famous insti-
tution. The 22d day of August, 1906, was the day appointed for
the event. The day was sultry and threatening, but in spite of heat
and clouds, fully a thousand people gathered to celebrate the occasion.
Several persons came who attended the seminary at its opening (1835),
Tlie exercises opened with an address by the venerable Bishop Cyrus
D, Foss of Philadelphia, who was an early pupil of the seminary, and
TOWN OF AMENIA. 263
later was principal. He was followed by the Hon. G. G. Reynolds
of Brooklyn, a native of Amenia, in a felicitous address. An original
poem and short address by Joel Benton, another of Amenia's sons,
now of Poughkeepsie ; a paper by R. B. Taylor of Brooklyn, and a
short address by Rev. D. H. Hanaburgh of Carmel, constituted the
afternoon programme.
The evening exercises consisted of an address by Prof. S. T. Frost,
of Mount Vernon, N. Y. Address by Mrs. Mary Mead Clark of
Amenia. Address by Rev. A. K. Sanford, D. D., Pleasantville, N. Y.
The Rev. Denis Wortman, D. D., of East Orange, N. J., and The
Hon. H. C. M. Ingraham were also on the programme, but the hours
took wings and would not fold them even for our pleasure, New-
man's orchestra and two soloists. Miss Carrie Newman and Mrs. A.
F. Conklin added a delightful feature to the occasion. The above
outlined programme with the addition of two or three extempore
speeches by Dr. S. G. Cook and Rev. C. S. Harrower, D. D, both of
New York city made an occasion long to be remembered by the citi-
zens of Amenia.
The first movements in the direction of religious organization in
Amenia are much involved in obscurity. Mr. Reed says, the first
Church was organized near the center of the town in 1748, and was
named Carmel in the Nine Partners. Ten years later we discover a
more distinct historic trail in the erection of the old "Red Meeting
House." We have a very complete record of this early institution to-
gether with a hst of its membership and the cost of the house of wor-
ship. Reliable tradition determines the exact spot where the old his-
toric church was erected. About fifteen rods north of the "Old
iBurying Ground," on land now owned by Mrs. Cora Morgan once
stood the famous old "Red Meeting House."
This church organization appears to have been undenominational.
Men and women of all faiths made up its membership; and preachers
from the several protestant denominations at various times dispensed
the gospel message. Tradition says that the celebrated George
Whitefield preached in the old "Red Meeting House" in the summer
of 1770 to a vast crowd gathered from all parts of the country.
The great war which was waged to decide the liberty of the Colon-
ists drew sharp lines of distinction in the social order. Men who had
264 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
fought and suffered for liberty could not easily tolerate those who had
been lukewarm and indifferent.
Then too, as the spirit of personal liberty increased among the
people, dogmatic questions of a religious character soon began to
agitate the popular mind.
In 1790 the Baptists organized a separate society, and about the
same time the Methodists took up the same role.
The Baptist people erected their house of worship nearly opposite
the Red Meeting House, on land now belonging to John Haskins, and
the Methodists built further north on land then belonging to Thomas
Ingraham, now best known as the Frost estate. The building was
erected almost directly opposite the dwelling now owned and occupied
by Mr. I. N. Bristol. Some fragment of broken brick and mortar
stiU remain to mark the site of the first Methodist Episcopal Church
in Amenia.
The separation of the Baptists and Methodists from the parent
society greatly weakened it ; but there is evidence to show that regular
services were maintained in the old Red Meeting House for some
years thereafter.
In the year 18S3 the Presbyterian element in the Society of the Red
Meeting House built a house of worship on east Main street in the
village of Amenia. Between thirty and forty years later the society found
a generous friend in the Hon. A. W. Palmer, who donated a beautiful
site for a church and parsonage on North street. On this site the
society built and dedicated their new house of worship in the month
of June, 1867. This society has of late found a friend in the person
of Mrs. H. S. Chapman, formerly of Amenia now of Glen Ridge, N. J.,
who in the summer of 1903 sent her check of several hundred! dollars
to be used in the building of an addition to the lecture room.
In the year 1851 the Baptist society pulled down the old structure
that stood about a mile north of the village, and converted whatever
was useful into a new church building which they located on South
street. This house has been repaired, enlarged and beautified from
time to time, and is today, with the adjoining parsonage, one of the
attractive features of the village.
The Methodists also came down from the north, and worked the old
ma^rial into a new church, which they located on west Main street in
the year 1845. For many years this church was very prosperous, but
TOWN OF AMENIA. 265
with the decline of the Seminary its mission seemed to be ended. The
property was finally sold, and the few remaining members united with
other churches, or were removed by that power that shapes all human
ends.
If one inclines to country hfe Amenia offers as many attractive
features as any town in the county. In the first place the land is
very fertile and the scenery is unsurpassed. The drive from Amenia
village around the mountain via. Wassaic, South Amenia, Amenia
Union and Leedsville, a distance of ten miles, can hardly be equaled
in the Harlem valley. In summer the fields are strikingly green, the
streams clear and pebbly, and the air, fresh from the mountains, very
invigorating. Another highway is Ukewise noteworthy, viz. from
Amenia village over De Lavergne Hill and thence to Wassaic via.
^'Turkey Hollow." This drive, for wildness of iScenery is not sur-
passed by anything we have seen in the far-famed Berkshire Hills of
Mass. The highway follows a stream that leaps and plunges, roars
and dashes, foams and splashes like Southey's cataract that came
down so mightily from Lodore. Good roads also add greatly to the
comfort of country life.
The roads in Amenia are not perfect, but they are being much im-
proved and are likely to be much more improved in the near future.
A movement has been recently inaugurated to put down stone or con-
crete sidewalks in the village of Amenia, and a considerable sum of
money has already been secured for this purpose.
Amenia has its full complement of stores, a hve weekly newspaper,
a National bank,^ and two first-class hotels. These together with an
enterprising and intelligent people should insure future prosperity.
The names of the Precinct Supervisors wiU be found in Chapter
iVI, The succession of Town Supervisors since its organization in
1788 has been as follows :
1T87— '93
Barnabas Paine
1809
Isaac Smith
1794r- '97
Edmund Perlee
1810
Benajah Thompson
1798— 1800
Cyrenus Crosby-
1811— '18 Elisha Barlow
1801— '02
Philip Spencer, Jr.
1819
Abraham Bockee
1803
Elisha Barlow
1820
Joel Benton, Jr.
1804
Benjamin Herrick
1821
Thomas Barlow
1805— '08
Benajah Thompson
1822
Abraham Bockee
See Part II of this work.
266
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1833
Joel Benton
1865
John H. Cline
1824
David Nye
1866—
'67
Milo F. Winchester
1825—
'27
Tabor Belden
1868
Isaac H. Conklin
18S8
Joel Brown
1869
Charles M. Benjamin
1829
Joseph D. Hunt
1870
Isaac H. Conklin
1830—
'31
Philo Cline
1871
Charles M. Benjamin
1832
Walter Perlee
1872—
'73
Hiram Cooper
1833—
'35
Philo Cline
1874—
'75
George Williams
1836—
'37
William A. Benton
1876
Ambrose Mygatt
1838—
'40
Philo Cline
1877—
•78
John W. Putnam
1841
John K. Mead
1879
Milo P. Winchester
1842—
'43
William N. Merritt
1880
John W. Putnam
1844^
'45
Hiram VaU
1881—
'82
MUo F. Winchester
1846—
'47
Noah Gridley
1883—
'84
William H. Tanner
1848—
'49
John H. Perlee
1885—
'86
Albert Cline
18S0
Philo CUne
1887—
'88
Isaac H. Conklin
1851—
'52
George H. Swift
1889—
'90
William H. Bartlett
1853—
'54
John C. Paine
1891
William H. Tanner
1855—
'56
Robert Grant
1892
James S. Chaffee
1857—
•58
Judah Swift
1893
William B. Nelson
1859-
'60
Walter P. Perlee
1894—
'96
William A. Sherman
1861
MUo F. Winchester
1896—
•97
James S. Chaffee
1862
Charles E. Bostwick
1898—
•05
Miles K. Lewis
1863
William H. Grant
1906—
•09
Henry N. Winchester
1864
Benj. F. Carpenter
Mr. Newton Reed published in 1875 an excellent little local history of Amenia
containing much valuable information respecting the early history of the town and
of its people, the original settlers and their descendants.
It is not within the scope of this History of Dutchess Coimty to go into the
local histories of the various towns with the particularity that in a special town
history would be appropriate and expected.
If one desires more intimate information of Amenia and its people than can be
found in the foregoing article, he is referred to "Early History of Amenia by
Newton Reed, Amenia, DeLacey & Wiley, Printers, 1876."
The book can be found in the public library of Poughkeepsie in the Adriance
Memorial Library Building. — (EniroB.)
TOWN OF BEEKMAN. 267
CHAPTER XVII.
THE TOWN OF BEEKMAN.
THIS is one of the southern tier towns of Dutchess, its southern
angle extending almost to the north line of Putnam county.
It is bounded on the north by Union Vale; on the east by
Pawling and Dover; on the west by East Fishkill, and for a short
distance on the northwest by La Grange. The present area is placed
at 18,162 acres.
The surface of the town is generally hilly and in the southern
angle mountainous. In the central portion is a good agricultural
region, and directly northward are found extensive deposits of hema-
tite ore, which have been mined considerably. The streams are mere
creeks, tributaries to the Fishkill which flows southwesterly through
the center of the town. Near the western border is Sylvan Lake, a
beautiful sheet of water, covering over one hundred acres.
The name of the town is derived from Col. Henry Beekman, who,
in 1697, obtained a grant of all the land east of Rombout's Patent
to the Oblong. This embraced the present towns of Beekman, Union
Vale, a portion of La Grange, and nearly aU of Pawling and Dover
with the exception of a strip along their eastern border. For this
grant Col. Beekman was obliged to pay to the Crown of England an
annual rental of forty shillings. He therefore surrendered the patent
and petitioned for a new grant to the same property on more favor-
able terms. The new patent was issued June 26, 1703.
By Colonial Act of December 16, 1737, Beekman's Precinct was
formed, the territory corresponding with that embraced in the patent.
An act was passed May 20, 1769, by which Beekman's was divided
into two precincts, the second to be called Pawling's, which included
the present towns of Pawling and Dover. March 7, 1788, Beek-
man became one of the original eight towns in the county. This was
practically a continuation of the precinct^ the territory remaining
268 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the same until 1821, when the town of Freedom (now La Grange) was
set off. Beekman was further reduced in 1827 by the erection of
the town of Union Vale.
Settlements within the present town limits are supposed to have
been made early in the eighteenth century, but records relating thereto
have been lost or destroyed. A man by the name of De Long is
credited with keeping an inn near the present village of Green Haven
as early as 1725, but his name does not appear in the list of free-
holders of 1740. The location of the tavern on Colles map of 1789
places it about a mile and a half southeast(tof Sylvan Lake. James
De Long, who was town clerk in 1802-'03, is said to have been a
descendant of the settler of that name. The families of Carman,
Brill, Noxon, Baker, Pleas, Uhls from Germany, Cary, Dennis, Hax-
tun. Sweet and Gardner, were among the earliest known settlers. John
Carman represented the precinct at Supervisors' meetings from 1739
to '42. His name appears in the official record of Supervisors in
1754, and that of Bartholomew Noxon in 1761. William Humphrey
held this office in 1763.
The town records contain proceedings of precinct meetings from
April 7, 1772, to the formation of the town in 1788. The following
officers were elected in 1772: Joshua Carman, Supervisor; Maurice
Pleas, Town Clerk; Samuel Dorland, James Vanderburgh, Assessors;
Simeon Noxon, Constable and Collector; Thomas Clements and
Maurice Pleas, Lispectors of Litestate Estates.
Additional records of Beekman Precinct will be found in Chapter
VI.
The Highland Division of the N. Y., N. H. & H. Railroad, run-
ning east and west through the central part of the town, has stations
at Green Haven and Poughquag.
The Clove Branch Railroad Company was chartered November
21, 1868, with a capital of $150,000, to construct a road from Clove
Branch Junction, on the Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut Rail-
road, to Sylvan Lake, a distance of 4.25 miles, which was built and
opened in 1869. April 28, 1870, the company was allowed to extend
its road by a branch to any of the iron mines in the surrounding
towns. A branch was accordingly opened in 1877, from Sylvan
Lake«to Clove Valley, a distance of 4.01 miles. This enterprise in-
creased mining operations in northern Beekman, but with the abandon-
CHARLES H. SLOCUM.
TOWN OF BEEKMAN. 269'
ment of the mines in 1883, the railroad service in the course of a few
years also ceased.
There are no incorporated villages in the town. Poughquag, Green
Haven, Clove Valley and Beekmanville are hamlets.
Poughquag, which derives its name from "A-po-qua-gue," the Indian
name for Sylvan Lake, is a pretty little village with a population of
about two hundred. It contains a Methodist church, a district school,
and the stores of Charles Brill and GrifBn Miller. Mr. Miller is the
present postmaster, succeeding, in 1908, John H. Draper, who was
appointed in 1894. Other merchants of this village in times past,,
were Hamilton ColweU, F. S. Merwin, Charles F. RasseU and Charles
H. Slocum, the present County Treasurer, Nearby is the grist mill
of William A. Murphy, town clerk, who bought the, property in 1898,
effecting many improvements.
The edifice of the Methodist Society here was erected in 1839, and
dedicated January 15, 1840, the Rev. Mr. Cochran officiating. The
present pastor is Rev. Charles Sager.
A short distance northeast of Poughquag was the home of Col.
Vanderburgh, an officer of some prominence in the Revolution. He
enjoyed the friendship and confidence of Washington, who in his diary
mentions stopping with him to take dinner, when on a hasty visit to
Hartford.
The village of Green Haven, near the southwestern border, con-
tains the store of Irving Dutcher, who is also postmaster and Super-
visor. In Revolutionary times there was a grist mill here conducted
by one Vincent. The Bogarts from Holland were among the early
settlers in this neighborhood, and in precinct records is found the
name of Richmore Bogart, Justice of the Peace.
At Clove Valley is the store and creamery of David V. Moore, who
has held the office of postmaster since 1895. In 1831 the firm of
Elisha Sterling & Co. built here a charcoal furnace, and the locality
is famiHarly known as "Beekman Furnace." The charcoal furnace
had a capacity of about twelve tons per day, and the iron made wa&
of superior quality. The Clove Spring Iron Works was organized in
1873. This company, in addition to operating the charcoal fur-
nace, erected an anthracite furnace, with a capacity of some twenty-
five tons per day. The industry gave employment to many men, and
for several years Clove Valley had a population exceeding two hun-
270 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
dred; but the enterprise did not prove a financial success and in 1883
was discontinued.
At the hamlet of Beekmanville is located the Baptist church, which
was bmlt in 1839, and dedicated December 25th of that jear, by
Rev. Daniel T. HiU, who remained as its pastor three years. The
edifice cost $3,000 and was paid for largely through the efiForts of
Nicholas German and Abner Osbom. The pulpit is now supplied
from Pawling.
May 11th, 1861, Beekmanville was the scene of a large gathering
of patriotic citizens who assembled to formulate plans for the enlist-
ment of volunteers in defense of the Union cause. The meeting was
addressed by District Attorney Allard Anthony of Poughkeepsie,
Rev. Mr. King of Yonkers, and Mr. Benson J. Lossing, who was a
native of the town, and whose speech on this occasion was prophetic
of the ultimate triumph of the Union arms. During the Rebellion
the town of Beekman raised and expended nearly $35,000 for volun-
teers and substitutes.
The Beekman Iron Mine in this neighborhood was discovered in
1846 by William E. Haxtun. It was opened in 1869 by Albert Tower,
who owned and operated it for many years, giving employment to
thirty hands.
Another ore mine nearby, owned by the Sylvan Lake Ore and Iron
Company, was also extensively worked, but these mines, like the fur-
naces at Clove Valley, have long been abandoned.
Dr. Clark A. Nicholson, for several decades the only resident phy-
sician of the town, located in Beekmanville in 1847, and became largely
interested in the development and sale of the adjoining iron mines.
He died in 1885, and was succeeded by Dr. D. C. Tripp.
Roman Catholic churches are situated at Sylvan Lake and Clove
Valley, an account of which appears in another chapter.
The Supervisors from the organization of the town in 1788, have
been as follows :
1788— '91
Jonathan Dennis
1830
John Wilkinson
1793— '96
Jesse Oakley
1831— '32
Egbert Gary
1797— '04
Ebenezer Gary
1833— '34
Thomas Lee
1805— '13
Samuel A. Barker
1825— '36
Egbert Gary
181«
Thomas Flagler
1827— '38
John Gooper
181S
Samuel A. Barker
1829— '31
Egbert Gary
1816— '19
Egbert Gary
1832— '33
James De Long
TOWN OF BEEKMAN.
271
1834.
Egbert Gary
1869
William W. Haxtun
1836— '39
Elnathan Haxtun
1870— '72
George T. Doughty
1840
Egbert Gary
1873— '74
James E. Dutcher
1841— '42
James H. Denton
1876
David Ludington
1843
Egbert Gary
1876— '77
John H. Draper
1844
Gilbert B.^Noxon
1878
Edwin L. Williams
1845
Joseph C. Doughty
1879— '80
Joseph H. Storm
1846
Gilbert B. Noxon
1881
Isaac "Vail
1847
Joseph C. Doughty
1882
Daniel Luddington
1848— "49
Wilson B. Sheldon
1883— '84
John Jones
18S0— 'SI
William A. Holmes
1885
Gharles H. Slocum
1862— '53
James F. Dakin
1886
John Van Wyck
1864r-'56
Elnathan Haxtun
1887— '88
Daniel Luddington
1866— '67
Wilson B. Sheldon
1889
James H. Russell
1858— '69
Smith Gronk
1890— '91
Kromline Andrews
I860— '61
De Witt C. Gary
1892— '93
David*V. Moore
1862— '66
Jeremiah Sheldon
1894— '96
Wilson B. Storm
1866— '67
WiUiam W. Haxtun
1896— '06
David V. Moore
1868
George Tabor
1906— '09
Irving Dutcher
272 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XVni.
THE TOWN OF CLINTON.
THIS town, which was named for Governor George Clinton,
originally extended westward to the Hudson, and as far south
as the northern boundaries of the present towns of Pough-
keepsie and La Grange, comprising over 66,000 acres, with a popu-
lation according to the Federal Census of 1790, of 4,607.
The division of the county into precincts in 1737, created Crom
Elbow, which passed into Charlotte in 1762. Clinton was formed
from the precincts of Charlotte and Rhinebeck, on the 13th day of
March, 1786, two years prior to the civil reorganization of the
county, whereby precincts became towns. Cornelius Humphrey, who
had served as Supervisor of Charlotte in 1773 and '75, was elected
Supervisor of the new town, and in 1787 was succeeded by Richard de
Cantillon.
The territory of Clinton was reduced January 26, 1821, by the cre-
ation of the towns of Hyde Park and Pleasant Valley, to its present
area of 23,4!87 acres, bounded as follows: On the north by Milan;
east by Stanford and Washington; south by Pleasant Valley, and
west by Rhinebeck and Hyde Park.
There are four small lakes within its borders, of which Long Pond
is the largest. Little Wappinger creek flows southerly through the
center of the town. Schultz Mountain, the principal elevation, rises
780 feet above the tide. The town contains no village of commercial
importance. Clinton Comers, Clinton Hollow, Schultzville and Pleas-
ant Plains are hamlets.
The precinct records shed some light upon the names of the first
dwellers in the original town. Among those recorded from 1748 to
1756 are Nathan Bull, Moses Harris, Isaac Germond, Dirck Van
Vliet, Jacob Spricor, John Earll, Lieut. Lewis, Jonathan Lyon, Isaiah
Sherman. The earliest settlers within the present town limits were the
families of Van Vliet, Schultz, Sleight, Garrison, Cookingham and
TOWN OF CLINTON. 273
Traver, some of whose descendants reside upon the ancestral acres.
Further reference to these families will be found in Part II of this work.
Inscribed on field stones in the old cemetery near the Presbyterian
Church at Pleasant Plains have been deciphered the names of Geritj^e
Masten Van Vliet, wife of Aurie Van Vliet, and Capt. Joost Garrison
and Magdalena his wife, buried in the year 1779.
"^^ Henry Sleight, a native of Long Island, is credited with being the
first innkeeper. He built his tavern, which is still standing, about
the year 1768, on the A. C. Briggs farm.
Another early innkeeper and merchant was Abel Peters of Clinton
Corners. His tavern and store were erected during the Revolution,
and in 1792 he built a brick residence ; the brick was manufactured on
the premises, the materials being thrown togethw in a mass, and
mixed by means of oxen treading in it.
The grist mill at Pleasant Plains, which has been operated by water
power over one hundred and thirty years, is an interesting landmark.
It was built in 1775 by John De Witt, son of Captain Petrus and
Rachel (Radclifi^) De Witt. It later became the property of John
LeRoy, who with his son Abraham, ran it for upwards of forty years.
It was afterwards owned by George Cookingham, Harris & LeRoy,
Frost & Cookinghom, and since 1877 by J. Z. Frost. It is a frame
building S5 by 55 feet, three stories high, and cost about $8,000.
John De Witt was a prominent man in the official affairs of Dutchess
County. He was a member of the State Convention which adopted the
Federal Constitution in 1788 ; and Sheriff of the county from 1785
to '89 and from 1794 to '97. He also represented the county in the
Assembly in 1786 '88 and '89, and again in 1793 and '94.
Clinton has sent many of her townsmen to the Assembly, including
Isaac Bloom, Morgan Lewis, Ebenezer Mott, John M. Thurston, Wil-
liam D. Williams, Tobias L. Stoutenburgh, John Beadle, Samuel Mott,
Israel Shadboldt, Gilbert Bentley and Wesley Butts. Their years of
service will be found in Chapter VII, devoted to the Civil List.
Hon. John H. Otis of Clinton Corners was also a resident of the
town during his term of office in the State Senate, 1852 and '53.
The earliest physician in the town was Dr. Nathaniel Marvin, who
located at Pleasant Plains in 1794. He was succeeded by Dr. John
Dodge about 1820. A sketch of Dr. Edwin Barnes^ who began prac-
274 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
tice here in 1866, and was active in the councils of the Medical Society,
wiU be found elsewhere in this work.
A landmark of pioneer times is the Quaker Meeting House at CUn-
ton Comers, built in 1777, in which year the Society was organized.
Among the first members are found the names of George Harris, Isaac
HaUock and Paul Upton. A separation in the Society occurred
in 1828, owing to the dissension of EUas Hicks. Those who. did not
adhere to him were termed Orthodox Quakers. They formed a new
Society, and in 1829 built a church nearby the original stone meeting
house.
In the "Book of Records of the Trustees for Providence Society,
in Charlotte Precinct," is found the earliest recorded effort for the
establishment and maintenance of religious worship within the origi-
nal town. A deed bearing date of September 15, 1784, reads
in part: "In consideration 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 Dutchess County, for the
encouragement of reUgion and vital piety, and for the encouragement
of education, Richard Alsop, of Newtown, Queens County, New York,
gave, granted, conveyed and confirmed unto Timothy Doughty, Henry
Humphrey, and John De Witt, Trustees for a Society of the Reformed
Church of Holland, as now constituted in America, or, agreeably, 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 premises — a certain parcel of land, being part of said Lot No.
4, to contain two acres."
Over a year elapsed before any definite action was taken by the
above mentioned trustees to avail themselves of the provision of Mr.
Alsop. At a meeting held December 5, 1785, an organization was
formed to be known as "The Trustees of the Presbyterian Society,"
of which the following persons were elected trustees: John Lawrence,
Cornelius Van Vliet, David Knapp, John De Witt, Jesse Bell and
Timothy Doughty.
Some difficulty was encountered in securing from the County Pres-
bytery a stated supply for one quarter of his time. It was not until
1787 that an arrangement was made' whereby the Rev. Wheeler Case
TOWN OF CLINTON. 275
was to devote one-^third of his time to this Society, beginning July
1st of that year, in consideration of the annual payment of £23, 7s.
The Society evidently did not prosper and was terminated, according
tb the. records, in October, 1789.
Divine services were continued, however, at the residence of John
LeRoy and' in the school house, then on the site of the present Pres-
byterian Church, as often as a supply could be obtained.
The recordfe in connection with the present church state that 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
Van Keuren, John Piatt, William Odell, Stephen LeRoy, Thomas De-
Witt LeRoy, Hannah LeRoy, Gertrude Van Keuren, Malinda LeRoy,
Welthy LeRoy, Jane M. Odtell and Phebe Ann McAvery. These per-
sons were formerly members of the Presbyterian Church of Pleasant
Valley.
The church began its organization with twenty-one members, and
secured Rev. William N. Sayre for its first stated supply. The present
building was erected in 1837 and enlarged in 1859. The parsonage
was built in 1866. The Rev. Sherman Hoyt was the first' settled pas-
tor. He was called in 1843, and remained eighteen years. His min-
istry is represented as having been one of great power, and the mem-
bership of the church rapidly increased.
At Schultzville is located the First Christian Church of Clinton,
organized in the spring of 1863. Christian services were held in the
hamlet as early as 1846, at which the Rev. Philetus Roberts officiated.
David H. Schultz, Benjamin Conger, Dr. Peter Denny, Edward Pultz
and Smith J. Gildersleeve were active members of the congregation.
In 1866 the present church building was erected on land donated by
Theodore A. Schultz, who also contributed $3^000 towards the cost
of the edifice. In 1869, during the pastorate of Rev. J. Q. Evans,
the parsonage was built.
Theodore A. Schultz also donated funds for the purpose of pur-
chasing a site and erecting a hall at Schultzville for Warren Lodge,
F. & A. M. This is one of the oldest lodges in the State, an interest-
ing account of which appears in the chapter devoted to the Masonic
fraternity.
Extensive slate deposits in Schultz Mountain, a short distance west
276
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
of SchultzvLUe, have at diflFerent times afforded considerable industrial
activity. In 1798 slate was quarried here for roofing the house of
Mrs. Richard Montgomery of Rhinebeck. Operations were continued
successfully for about twenty-five years, when it was discovered that
the grade of slate was too heavy for durable roofing purposes, and the
quarries were abandoned. Slate from this mountain which had been'
placed on the roof of the cotton mill at Pleasant Valley in 1815, had
to be removed in 1845, and the building recovered with Vermont slate.
In 1866 the industry was revived by a Mr. Smith from Vermont. Sev-
eral buildings were erected, and about thirty men given employment.
Efforts were made to utilize the product both for roofing and mantel
purposes, but in neither instance was the result satisfactory, and since
1874 these quarries have been in idleness.
The official records of the town have been carefully preserved, and
are in the possession of the town clerk, together with some of the pre-
cinct records, beginning with the year 1771, at which time Wilham
Doughty was clerk. Subsequent clerks were Peter Germond, 1772;
John Allen, 1792; David Traver, 1796; Jonathan Owen, 1799 to
1805; Koert Dubois, 1808 and '09, and Henry Vanderburgh, 1811 to
'1'5. John De Witt was Supervisor from 1800 to 1802.
The succession of Supervisors since the organization of the town
in 1821 has been as follows:^
1821— '32
John F. Schultz
1850
Stephen H. Smith
182a— '25
John Dodge
1851
Fred C. Filkins
1826— '27
John Wooley
1852
Gilbert Bentley
1828— '29
John Dodge
1853— '54
Robert D. Cornell
1830
John Wooley
1856— '56
Jonathan P. Sheldon
1831— '33
Welcome Arnold
1857— '58
John G. Halstead
1834— '35
Alanson Wildey
1859— '60
Fred B. Schultz
1836— '38
Alfred Duell
1861
Wilson Hicks
1839— '40
Daniel H. Schtdtz
1862— '63
John S. Wing
1841— '42
Daniel Sands
1864
Egbert C. Butler
1843
David Curtis
1865
J. F. S. Stoutenburgh
1844— '45
Isaac I. Piatt
1866
Philip Cookingham
1846
TiUey Grouse
1867— '69
David B. Haight
1847
EInathan Gazley
1870— '71
Jacob Z. Frost
1848
Wesley Butts
1872— '73
Henry R. Van Vliet
1849
Daniel H. Schultz
1874— '76
John H. Otis ;
ir Obtained through Mr. George S. Tan VUet of Pleasant Plains, together with many
other Interesting facts concerning the town's history.
TOWN OF CLINTON,
27.7
1877
Mandeville Burger
1878
Timothyr'G. Palmer
1879
Duane Story
1880
Smith Sherman
1881
Duane Story
1882
Henry R. Van Vliet
1883
Charles B. Doughty
1884
Hiram Stoutenburgh
1885— '87
Rowland W. Hicks
1888 John J. Rymph
1889— '90 Edward Herrick
1891— '92 Llewellyn Lent
1893 Jacob Z. Frost
1894— '97 Pedro Sweet
1898— '99 Duane Story
1900— '01 George B. Welch
1902— '07 Charles W. Carpenter
1908— '09 Charles "W. Wright
278 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE TOWN OF DOVER.
By Richakd Fkancis Mahek.
THE Town of Dover lies on the southeastern border of the
county. It is bounded on the north by Amenia and Wash-
ington ; 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 hiUs almost mountainous in their dimensions, while the center
forms a valley, some four hundred feet above tidewater, containing
thrifty farms and pleasant villages. The principle streams are Ten
Mile River and Swamp River.
Dover was formed as a town from Pawling, February 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's River. Among the early
home makers in this region we find the old Dutch names of Ouster-
hout, Van Dusen, Dutcher and Knickerbocker. It is said that the
first named — ^the Ousterhouts — and the Wilcoxes, Dutchers and Ben-
sons 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 considerable 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 pleasant valley. The inscriptions, nearly obliterated,
read:
"In memory of Mr. John Ousterhout, who died Jan'y 39, 1759. . 55 years."
"In memory of Denton Woolsey, who died May 30, 1777, in the 36th year of
his age."
"^p memory of Deborah, wife to Nathaniel Gray, died June 13, 1770, . 31."
"In memory of Ephriam Wheeler, who departed this life May 10, 1808, in the
100th year of Ws age."
RICHARD F. MAKER.
TOWN OF DOVER. 279
"Capt. Valentine Wheeler, died Aug. 11, 1T82. 43 years."
"Matthew Van Dusen, died Sept. S, 1806. 65."
*♦ Jemima Burlinggame, wife of Benjamin Burlinggame, died June 8, 1790, in the
*lst year of her age."
"Hanna:h, wife of William Taber, died June 9tl), 1792. 81."
"Hannah, wife of Job Tabor, died May 1, 1800. 57."
"Silas Balding, died April 6, 1786. 69."
"Elizabeth, wife of Gabriel Dutcher, died April 23, 1793, 73."
"In memory of Mrs. Hannah French, wife of Mr. Jeremiah French, who de-
parted this life Oct. 39, 1776. 61."
Other early settlers were: Hans Hufcut and Martin Preston, who
settled on what is known as Preston Mountain, and the latter is said
to have been the first settler on the "Equivalent Land," or the Ob-
long. Thomas and Alice Casey, from Rhode Island, emigrated here
about 1750, and located on what is now known as Chestnut Ridge.
Derrick Dutcher and Jacob VanCamp came here previous to 1731,
and located near Plymouth Hill.
One^pf the first mills in this section of the country was that known
as the Preston Mill, which in early days had an extensive reputation.
" The original 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 oi^e is now owned by William A. Sheldon, at South Dover.
Previous to the erection of the town the annual meetings were held in
the tfivern of Jackson Wing, grandfather to Sheldon Wing. The
name of Dover was given to the town at the Wing Tavern in 1807.
DovEH Plains: This village is the most important settlement of
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 visitors. 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 Qhurch." 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 fantastic and suggestive shapes.
It is claimed, however, that the conformation is due wholly to the
280 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
action of water, which, even now, in a goodly stream courses down the
gully. History tells us that Sassacus, sachem of the Pequod tribe,
with many of his followers, found refuge in this watery cavern when
he encountered a band of Mohegan hunters upon the site of the village
of Dover Plains. He had fled from Connecticut, following the defeat
of his army by English troops under command of Captain Mason.
In 1802 the village contained less than a dozen buildings, and
among the few residents at that time were Cornelius Dutcher, Jona-
than Mabbett and James Ketcham. Among the first merchants in
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 HiU, upon
which they erected a store and blacksmith shop. For this ground
they paid a yearly rental of forty shillings, their lease — ^which was
dated April 1, 1790 — ^to continue five years. From this place they
removed and commenced business in Pawlingstown, 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 EUas, moved to Sand Lake, Rensselaer
County.
Luther HoUey succeeded the Gregorys in the business, and for
some years was a successful merchant. 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 Holley's store, where for eight years they did a prosperous
business.
James Ketcham was for many years a prominent man of the town.
He was bom July 31, 1777, at Little Rest, in the town of Washing-
ton, this county. In his infancy his parents removed to Hunting,
L. I., where his father kept a small country store. In 1789, the famih'
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 expressed a wish to have him engage in mercantile pur-
suits. His uncles, Titus and Jonathan Mabbett, were merchants.
TOWN OF DOVER. 281
fl,nd built the house now owned by Walter Haight, in which they had
a store. Justus and Uriah Gregory had a store near Lawrence Bel-
ding'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 purchased the interest of Titus Mab-
bett, — and James Ketcham became one of the firm of Lawrence Bel-
ding & Co. In 1797 he married Lois Belding, and on May 6, 1799,
Lawrence Belding bought from Luther HoUey the house and store at
Dover Plains, to which they removed their stock, and where a pros-
perous business was done up to 1806. Afterwards Jonathan Mab-
bett purchased with James Ketcham the interest of the Beldings, and
the firm became Mabbett & Ketcham, remaining ag such to 1810. In
that year John Mabbett retired from 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 post-
master, and held the oflSce for thirty successive years. Under the
administration of Polk he was removed, and Joshua Rodgers was ap-
pointed in his stead, holding the office four years. Mr. Ketcham
afterward held the office four years. He was a soldier in the war of
1812, supervisor of the town five years, and a member of the State
Legislature in 1814. He was a merchant up to 1827. He died Sat-
urday, November 11, 1871.
General John H. Ketcham, late Member of Congress from this
district, was a grandson of James Ketcham. General Ketcham died
in 1907. William S. Ketcham, the old Democratic war horse of east-
«m Dutchess, is another grandson.
The Dover Plains Hotel was built by Belden Dutcher about 1848,
by whom it was kept a number of years. The present proprietor is
William T. Elliott. Preston's Hotel was also built in 1848 by George
Robson. The property is now owned by the heirs of George H. Losee,
who died November 25, 1881. WiUiam Whalen is the proprietor.
Reed's Block (Masonic Hall Building) was built by Mrs. David B.
Reed, of New York, in 1868.
David Maher, the proprietor of the Dover Plains Marble Works,
282 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
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 sur-
geon in the war of 1812. He died in Port Huron, Mich., in ]\Iay,
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., began to practice here in 1844, and con-
tinued in the profession until 1869, when he entered the mercantile
business, in which he remained three years. He then resumed his
medical practice, which he continued three years, and again entered
the mercantile business under the firm name of Belding & Hammond.
The physicians now practicing are Dr. C. F. Roberts, Dr. Cook and
Dr. C. L. Fletcher.
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.
Horace D. Hufcut, a native of Dover, was born October 12, 18S6.
He received his education at Poughkeepsie and in the Amenia Semi-
nary, studied law with his father, George Hufcut, and was admitted
to the bar in 1860. He died in 190S.
The village had one newspaper, the Dover Press, which was es-
tablished by S. B. Shaw, editor and proprietor, in 1878. The first
number was issued November 29th of that year. It was a weekly,
pubUshed every Friday for a year or two.
Seth Deacon started a paper here ten years ago, the "Dover Plains.
Review." It only ran about a year.
The Dover Plains Bank was organized in 1857 as a State Bank.
The officers were: David L. Belding, President; John H. Ketcham,
Vice President; 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;
Edward Vincent, Vice President ; E. J. Reynolds, Cashier. The capi-
tal of the bank is $100,000; surplus $35,000. The bank building
was erected in 1867.
The Military School at Dover Plains was established by Arthur E.
Bangs in 1880.
"CM' 4|M«4.
--<«»> 1
4
H ^
'^
"STONE CHURCH," DOVER PLAINS, N. Y.
Hiding place of Sassacus, Sachem of the Pequod tribe, 1637.
TOWN OF DOVER. 283
The Dover Plains Library was established ten years ago and is in
a prosperous condition. About one thousand volumes are on its
shelves, comprising historical works, classical works, and fiction. The
entertainments given from time to time are the social events in this
section. Mr. Seeley A. Johnson is the Librarian. The officers are:
Mrs. A. H. Cook, President ; Mrs. D. B. Haight, Vice President ; Mrs.
Irving Wheeler, Secretary ; Miss Rebecca Chapman, Treasurer. The
Trustees: George B. Chapman, M.D., Richard F. Maher, Mrs. Hora-
tio Benson, Mrs. Seeley Johnson. Book Committee: Mrs. A. H. Cook,
Mrs. H. S. Benson, Richard F. Maher, Seeley A. Johnson.
A new Union Free School at Dover Plains was established March
19, 1908. The building will cost about $10,000 and the land, pur-
chased from Mr. Hanna and Mr. Wing, about $1200, with $1500
voted for furnishing. In naming the members of the Board of Edu-
cation, we take the following from the impartial columns of the
Amenia Times:
The members of the board are well known, and as they will go down in town history
as the first Board of Education established in Dover Plains we give a short notice
of each member. George B. Chapman, M.D., was Dover's leading physician until
a few years ago, when he retired and took up scientific farming. He owns the
Midfield Dairy Farm, one of the most successful certified milk plants in the State.
Dr. Chapman was recently appointed health officer of the town. Mr. Edward
G. Reynolds, cashier of the Dover Plains Bank, is a native of Amenia and al-
though a new member of the community, his friends recognize in him sound, prac-
tical business ideas. Mr. David Maher, proprietor .of the marble and granite
works, is a lifelong resident of Dover, and his election to the board was conceded
to he a compliment to his ability, honesty and fitness to serve the interests of the
public. Mr. John Dutcher is a retired locomotive engineer, and at all times a
kindly, affable, pleasant gentleman, who has the welfare of the village at heart.
Mr. John A. Hanna is as widely known as any man in Dutchess 'County, and his
varied experience in the Assembly, Board of Supervisors, and as postmaster and
merchant makes him a valuable member of the educational board. Mr. Charles
Wyman, owner of the electric light plant and the coal and feed business, is re-
garded as a thorough and satisfactory business man and upright in all dealings.
Mr. Thomas P. Whalen is well known locally, having held town office for upward
of twenty years. He is the present Commissioner of Highways and takes a deep
interest in the success of the town. Dr. Chapman recently resigned and Mr. J.
Edwin Benson was appointed in his place. Professor H. S. Benson is Principal.
The J. H. Ketcham Hose Co. was organized July 20, 190S, and
the following were the first officers: J. A. Hanna, Chief; Edward
Blanshan, Foreman ; G. W. Polhemus, First Assistant Foreman ;
284 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
George T. Record, Second Assistant Foreman; Horatio S. Benson,
Secretary ; R. P. Ketcham, Treasurer ; Charles Wyman, Steward. The
company comprises about sixty, members ; they are uniformed and
have a fine meeting room.
The McDermott Milk Co. have a large factory here, handling about
100 cans of milk per day.
Hall & Ferguson's large cold storage plant is located here. Dur-
ing the warm months of summer the machinery at this plant is covered
with a white frost. They have a capacity of 15,000 barrels of fruit.
Mr. George W. PoUiemus is the buyer of the fruit and also general
manager of the building and refrigerating plant.
The Elm Stock Farm, located about one-half mile east of Dover
Plains, is owned by Horatio N. Bain, proprietor of the Nelson House,
Poughkeepsie. The farm consists of 250 acres of land and the build-
ings are commodious and extensive. Mr. Bain has 100 head on this
farm, comprising trotters, pacers, brood mares and colts.
The Dover Plains Lodge, F. & A. M., was organized August 13th,
1867. It has a membership, according to the last report, of 116.
The Dover Plains Lodge, I. O. G. T., was organized November
17, 1881. The Lodge disbanded a few years ago.
Dover Plains contains four churches, the Baptist, Methodist, Catho-
lic, and Episcopal, 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 organized 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."
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 earliest 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
Patelingstown, now known as the South Dover, or First Dover Church:
Edward Southworth, David Simmons, Joseph Belding, Benjamin Allis,
TOWN OF DOVER. 285
Moses Haight, Reuben Allen, Caleb Barnum, Mary Talman, Freelove
Crandell, Mary Haight, Eliphalet Belding, Dorcas Gregory, Lydia
Benson, Jerusha Simmonds, Samuel Elliott, Alse Casey, Elizabeth
Koon, Hannah Benson, Jerusha Woolcut, Susanna Benson, Catie
ElHott.
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 Revolution for the Dutch Reformers, and by them deserted 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 dc^wn and converted
into a blacksmith and wheelwright shop, now standing on Mill street
in this village.
On the 17th of December, 1832, a subscription paper was circu-
lated to raise $2,500 with which to build a suitable church edifice.
The desired amount was raised, and James Ketcham, 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 internal dissensions, he resigned the pas-
torate, and was succeeded by Elder P. Roberts. Elder Roberts' min-
istry lasted but one year. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Ringrose.
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. Talhnan, Will 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 convenient parsonage,
costing about $2,500, is owned by the church, and the entire property
is free from debt.
A sketch of the Roman Catholic Church will be found in another
chapter.
286 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
St. James' Episcoparl Church was built in 1904. Previous to the
erection of the church the EpiscopaUans held their meetings in the
hall. Rev. Alexander Hamilton was the rector who built the church.
The present pastor is the Rev. William Harris. Other ministers who
have been in charge of the mission were as follows: Rev. Albert Bur-
dick, Rev. Mr. Wayne and Rev. Mr. Ashton. The congregation
numbers about forty.
Three miles west of Dover Plains, on an elevation known as Chest-
nut Ridge, is another Methodist Church, which was organized some
years previous to 184J91 The church edifice was erected in that year.
Among the early members were Robert Van Wyck and wife, James
McCord and wife, Catharine Shears (now White) , George Van Wyck
and wife, Mariette Hustus, Catharine Tompkins, Isaac Benton. The
pastors, as a rule, have ministered to this church from Verbank and
Dover Plains.
Chestnut Ridge was also the home of Benson J. Lossing, the his-
torian, who owned here an excellent farm of some three hundred' and
fifty acres. Mr. Lossing was a native of Beekman, born February
12, 181S. 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 watchmaker, and in 1833 en-
tered into • partnership in that business with his former employer. But
the mind of Mr. Lossing was bent in a different direction. He had
early imbibed a taste for literature, a taste gleaned from stolen inter-
views with a scanty stock of books ; and in 1835 he became part owner
of the "Poughkeepsie Telegraph," and entered upon his career as a
literary man. The next year, in company with E. B. Killey, he began
the publication of a semi-monthly paper, more in unison 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.
In 1838 he became editor of the "Family Magazine," the first illus-
trated work of that kind ever published in this country. His first
historical venture was "An Outline History 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. The works on
which his fame chiefly rests are the "Field-book of the Revolution"
SHELDON WING.
TOWN OF DOVER. 287
and "Our Country." The former was published in series by Harper
& Bros., from June 1, 1850, to December, 1852, and had an extensive
sale. Mr. Lossing died in 1891.
Dover Furnace: To the south of Dover Plains, on the Harlem
Railroad, lies the station of Dover Furnace. Here are located the
ruins of the works of the South Boston Iron Company, established in
February, 1881. The buildings of the company were erected in the
summer of that year, and the principal business done was the manu-
facture of iron for government cannon.
Wm. B. Cutler is the only merchant. He conducts a general store
that was built by Preston & Coyle, 1881. Edwin Vincent, the largest
land owner in the town, resides at Dover Furnace. His son, Charles
W. Vincent, is a graduate of Columbia School of I^ines and a mem-
ber of the present town board. Other old residents of Dover Furnace
are Charles Cutler, Frank Cutler, Gilbert Tabor, Eleazer Cutler.
Shapparoon Lake, noted for pike,, perch and pickerel, is west of the
station.
South Dover: The hamlet of South Dover lies in the southern
part of the town, on the Harlem Raili-oad. 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 established about 1852. The merchants are
J. S. Wing, and Oscar Hasbrouck, of whom further notice will be
found in Part H of this work.
The hotel at Wingdale was built in 1858 by John Cornwell, who
died in 1864. It is now conducted by Egbert Slocum.
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. John Ragan is the pro-
prietor of a grist mill and the only merchant is George Trowbridge,
who has been in business here three years. He had previously been
engaged in business at Webatuck six years.
Webatuck, or, as it is often spelled, Webotuck, is a small settlement
about three miles distant from Wingdale. William C. Camp con-
ducted a store here for several years, and in 1881 was appointed post-
master. Cleveland Titus was his successor from 1885 to 1906, when
the postoffice was discontinued.
288 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Jacob Harrington, it is said, was about the first settler in the
locality 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 fifty 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 the Methodist Epis-
copal. 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 pas-
tors previous to 1854 is unknown.
The First Baptist Church of Dover was organized in 1757, and is
the oldest church in the town. On the 9th of November, 1757, Mr.
William Marsh, from the Philadelphia Baptist Association, visited
South Dover, by request, 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 con-
stituted into a church. On the first of December, 1757, Ebenezer
Cole was chosen as clerk of the church. On the 4th of January, 1758,
Samuel Waldo was chosen as pastor and was ordained by Elders
Marsh and Willard. At a conference meeting held September 3, 1758,
it was voted to build a meeting house thirty by forty feet. To see
to the accomplishment of this work, Peletiah Ward, Manasseh Martin,
Benjamin Seeley, Ebenezer Cole and Eliab Wilcox were appointed a
building committee. That building was for many years the only place
of worship in the town of Dover. From 1757 to 1794, during the
pastorate of Elder Waldo, there were about 250 members admitted by
letter and baptism. From 1794 to 1885 other pastors were Elders
Freeman Hopkins, Detherick Elisha Booth, Job Foss, Elijah Baldwin,
Nehemiah Johnson, Johnson Howard, John Howard, T. W. Jones,
William G. Hoben, G. F. Hendrickson, William P. Decker, Rev. Isaac
N.»HiIl and Rev. Edward S. Merwin. Rev. J. G. Dyer is the present
pastor.
TOWN OF DOVER. 289
The march of progress, aided by natural decay, is fast sweeping
away all architectural traces of our forefathers, whose pioneer homes
in this locality were constructed first of logs, and later when it became
possible, of rough timber and boards, which could be had for the
cutting.
Foremost of the noted hostelries in the county during the Revolu-
tion was the "Morehouse Tavern" at Webatuck. It was located on
the then chief highway from Hartford to Fishkill. Under its roof
many of the general officers of the Continental army slept. There
Washington, Putnam, Arnold, LaFayette and other distinguished
leaders have been entertained, and there Rochambeau and his officers
have lodged. An interesting account of the sojourn of the Marquis
de ChasteUaux at this tavern will be found in Chapter XIII, Bene-
dict Arnold had his last friendly talk with his Commander-in-Chief at
the Morehouse Tavern before he attempted to betray the American
cause.
The Red Lion Inn, another notable tavern, was located at Weba-
tuck, and part of the original building still stands.
The old house north of Phihp Hoag's was built in 1751, as shown
by date on chimney, by Hendrick Dutcher. When Washington evacu-
ated Boston he passed with a portion of his command, so tradition
says, by the road leading west from Wing's Station. His troops
encamped for the night on the hill across the brook, west from Philip
Hoag's, on both sides of the road. Washington took up his head-
quarters in the old house just mentioned. Elder Waldo, a Baptist
preacher, lived at that time where the Misses Hoag now reside. He
carried all the milk produced by several cows into camp, together with
other provisions, and distributed the articles among the soldiers. He
invited them to come to his house and get whatever they wanted to
eat. Many of them did so and partook of his generosity, and, to
their credit be it said, nothing about the premises was in the least
disturbed by them. A family by the name of Elliott lived on the
place now occupied by Frank Hoag. They were less free with their
provisions than Waldo and went to the officers with the request that
the soldiers be entirely kept off their grounds. The result was that
not a chicken or scarcely any other eatable was left about the premises,
the troops making a clean sweep of everything the Elliotts possessed,
and, notwithstanding their earnest entreaties, the officers paid no heed
to their complaints.
290
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS,
In the year 1821 the New York and Sharon Canal was projected.
Many enterprising men took a lively interest in it, though some looked
upon it as a visionary scheme. The canal was proposed to be con-
structed from Sharon Valley down by the Ten Mile River, and by the
Swamp River to the sources of the Croton in Pawling, and by the
Croton either to the Hudson or to the Harlem River. The pre-
liminary survey was made and sixty thousand dollars contributed.
The money was deposited with a broker in New York, who failed, and
the project was abandoned. In 1826 the project was renewed and a
report of the Canal Commissioners was made to the Legislature. The
estimated cost of the canal to the Hudson was $599,232, and by the
route to the Harlem it was $1,232,169. This included the whole ex-
pense of locks, excavation, aqueducts, . bridges and everything essen-
tial to the completion of the work. There is no record of the project
after this. The projectors were': Cyrus Swan of Sharon, Joel Ben-
ton and Thomas Barlow of Amenia, William Tabor of Pawhng, and
Mark Spencer of Amenia.
The Harlem Railroad, which traverses very nearly the proposed
canal route, was built through the town of Dover in 1849.
VaUey View Cemetery was dedicated October 7th, 1871. It con-
sists of twenty acres of beautiful, undulating meadow. The grounds
were laid out by Mr. J. I. Wanzer. The first directors: John H.
Ketcham, G. T. Belding, J. K. Mabbett, George, Allerton, Thomas
Hammond, M. D., Joseph Belden and Horace D. Hufcut.
The succession of Supervisors from the erection of the town in
1807,, are as follows:
1840 John M. Ketcham
1841 Egbert Sheldon
1842 William Hooker
1843 J. W. Bowdish
1844— '45 David Vincent
1846— '47 Edgar Vincent
1848 Ebenezer A. Preston
1849 S. Wheeler
1850— 'SI Edward B. Somers
1852 John M. Tabor
1853 George Hufcut, Jr.
1854— '55 John H. Ketcham
1856 WiUiam Hufcut
1857 John B. Dutcher
1807
George Crary
1808— '10
Andrew Pray
1811— 'IS
James Ketcham
1816— '30
James Grant
1821
William Hooker
1822
James Grant
1823— '28
Absalom Vincent
1829
William Hooker
1830— '33
John M. Ketcham
1834
William Hooker
1835
Joel Hoag
1836— '37
John M. Ketcham
1888
Absalom Vincent
1839
Egbert Sheldon
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TOWN OF DOVER.
291
18S8
Thomas Hammond, Jr.
1880
Edwin Vincent
1S59
Wm. S. Ketcham
1881
Andris Brant
1860
AUen H. Dutcher
1883— '83
Albert Fry
1861— '63
Obed Wing
1884
George T. Belding
1863
Baldwin Stevens
188S
Ebenezer Preston
1864— '65
Edwin Vincent
1886
Geo. T. Belding
1866— '67
Wm. S. Ketcham
1887
Charles W. Vincent
1868
Cyrus Stark
1888
William Record
1869
Horace D. Hufcut
1889— '90
Sheldon Wing
1870
George W. Ketcham
1891
John A. Hanna
1871
Edwin Vincent
1893— '93
Theo. Buckingham
1873
Obed Wing
1894— '95
John A. Hanna
1873
Myron Edmunds
1896— '97
Roselle Mead
1874
Cyrus Stark
1898— '99
Myron Edmonds
187&— '76
Myron Edmonds
1900
Wilson Sheldon
1877
Andris Brant
1901— '03
Edward A^ Brush
1878
William H. Boyce
1904— '07
George V. Benson
1879
George T. Belding
1908— '09
Edward A. Brush
292 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XX.
THE TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL.
THE historical account of the early settlement of the land and
of the title to the soil now included in the town of East Fish-
kiU is embodied in the succeeding chapter devoted to Fishkill,
of which this town was originally a part, and from which it was set
off as a separate town.
The division was effected November 29, 1849, by act passed by the
Board of Supervisors, under authority of a previous act of the Legis-
lature. The survey of the new town was made by Elnathan Hasten
of Beekman, and John Ferris of Pawling. Benjamin H. Strang,
Janjes A. Emans, Garrett Deboise and Hasbrook Deboise were chain
and flag-bearers. J. Wesley Stark of Pawling, Wilson B. Sheldon of
Beekm9,n, and Alexander Hasbrook of Fishkill, Supervisors of the three
towns, were a committee to superintend the survey. The land set off
embraced about 33,000 acres, and formed the second largest town
territorially in the county, being exceeded only by the town of Wash-
ington. It is bounded on the north by La Grange ; east by Beekman ;
south by Putnam County, and west by Fishkill and Wappinger.
The first town meeting was held at the house of Jacob Tompkins, in
Stormville, on the last Tuesday in March, 1850, at which the follow-
ing officers were elected: Supervisor, Benjamin Hopkins; Clerk, Wil-
liam Hasbrook; Justice, Morgan Emigh, John S. Emans, Rushmore
G. Horton and William Homan; Collector, Orry N. Sprague; Com-
missioners of Highways, John Anderson, Charles Ogden and George
Van Nostram; Assessor, Lewis Seaman; Sealer, Jacob Wiltsie; Over-
seers of the Poor, Abraham Pullings and Abraham Adriance; Con-
stables, Daniel Weeks, Jacob Wiltsie, John Van Vlack; Inspectors of
Election, David Knapp, Orson H. Tappan, John K. Vermilyea, Peter
Adriance, William B. Ashley and Abraham S. Storm.
, Hopewell Junction is the only village of importance in the town.
About the middle of the eighteenth century, Aaron Stockholm, a native
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL, 293
of Long Island, settled on a farm in this neighborhood, and previous
to the Revolution built a grist mill at Hopewell. Thomas Storm, one
of the county's leading business men, was for many years engaged in
trade here. He was a member of the Precinct Committee of Safety
in 1777, and in 1781-'82-'83 and '84 was elected to the Assembly,
When the railroad extending from Dutchess Junction to Pine Plains
was completed in 1869, a hamlet sprang up near Hopewell station,
and when the New England road was built, intersecting the Dutchess &
Connecticut at this point, the hamlet was called Hopewell Junction,
As a natural consequence the Junction has become the business center
of the town. A coal and lumber yard was established in 1869 by R.
C. Horton, and the following year Lawrence C. Rapelje built a hotel,
which he leased to Edward Lasher, The village cfntains several
stores, mechanical shops, and the Borden creamery.
Settlement at Stormville, a hamlet near the east border of the town,
was begun as early as 17S9. Derick Storm was the first to take up
land here, and was soon followed by Isaac, George and Thomas Storm,
whose descendants are stiU to be found upon the lands thus early pur-
chased. The Carmans and Arkles settled near them, about the year
1758, and to the north, Isaac Adriance, "of Nassau Island, Queens
County," purchased two hundred and fifty acres of land in May, 1743,
and shortly thereafter George and Abraham Adriance purchased and
settled.
During the Revolution an American force was encamped for a short
time just north of Stormville, This force was one of many that was
posted back of the river to oppose the suspected inland march of the
British to the upper Hudson,
Theodorus Van Wyck was an early purchaser of land now included
in this township, settling at Fishkill Hook, He was a true patriot,
and being greatly molested by Tory neighbors, he removed, in 1775,
to New York, where he was elected a delegate to the Second Pro-
vincial Congress, As the patriots became more aggressive, he re-
turned to his farm in the early part of 1776, and was again elected
to Congress in that year from Dutchess County. In 1801 he was one
of the ten delegates representing Dutchess in the State Constitutional
Convention.
Aaron Van Vlackren was the pioneer settler in the neighborhood of
Gayhead. He was a native of Holland and removed to this county
294 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
from Long Island, purchasing several hundred acres from Madam
Brett. His son, Tunis Van Vlackren, built the first mill at Gayhead
about 1768. Like all grist mills of that period, it lacked a "bolting
cloth," and the ingenuity of the housewife was taxed to separate the
flour from the bran, which was done, in a new country, by either a
fine splitit sieve, or a very coarse cloth, through which the flour was
pressed by the hand.
The Emans family were early settlers in this town, and several of
their descendants have been identified with public affairs of the county.
James Emans obtained a grant of 137 acres of land from Madam
Brett, near the present hamlet of East Fishkill. His grandson, John
S. Emans, who was born in 1824, represented the town repeatedly in
the county board of Supervisors. Li political views he was a Demo-
crat, and was elected to the State Legislature in 1852 and '53. Al-
bert Emans was elected to the Assembly in 1855, and again in 1858.
Storm Emans was also elected Member of Assembly in 1883, and from
1891 to 1894 held the office of Clerk of Dutchess County.
In the list of iijhabitants of the county in 1740 are found the names
of Jacobus, Rudolphus, Barnardus and Abraham Swartwout. This
family was the first to settle in the vicinity of Johnsvillej and was con-
spicuous in the early days of this county from an official point of
view. Jacobus was Member of Assembly from 1777 to '83, and State
Senator from 1784 to '95.
Johnsville was the birthplace and home of Henry D. B. Bailey,
author of "Historical Sketches of Dutchess County." He was bom
in 1813, and commenced his literary labors in 1855. His grandfather,
Nathan Bailey, was bom in Fishkill in 1738, a son of John Bailey,
a native of Westchester County.
The Montfort family were early settlers in the vicinity of Fishkill
Plains. In the preciact records from 1738 to 1760, the name bears
a variety of spelling. Peter Montfort bought 370 acres of land here
in 1735. His son, Peter, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and
the family was active in the establishment of the Reformed Churches'
at Hackensack and Hopewell.
The oldest monument to the faith and energy of the pioneer settlers
in this town is the Reformed organization of Hopewell, which dates
back to the year 1757. They had previously attended divine service
at Fishkill and Poughkeepsie. For seven years the new church had
S A.M'atrii isu. I^ubli^A bj-.
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL. 295
no building for public worship, and no settled pastor. Services were
held in private houses and in the large barn of Jacob Monfort, says
the Rev. Addison C. Bird, the present pastor, to whose researches
We are indebted for the historical data concerning this organization.
In 1762 the congregation decided to build a church, and Garrett
Storm, Johannes Wiltsie, Isaac Lent, Henry Rosecrans, Joseph Har-
ris and Aaron Van Vlackren were appointed a building committee.
Mr. Lent declined to serve, and Johannes Schult filled his place. The
first church building, which was partly on the present site, was a
wooden structure 40 by 50 feet. Seats were made by placing boards
upon the ends of timbers around the church. Services were held twice
on Sabbath, with only a half hour's intermission. Singing was con-
ducted by the clerk, and this office was filled for mqjiy years by Isaac
Adriance, father of CoL Isaac Adriance. Cornelius Van Wyck was
also clerk for several years. Interments were usually made to the
east and southeast of the church. Near the east wall, in 1768, were
laid the remains of Englebert Huff, a Norwegian, who was once a
member of the life guard of William Prince of Orange, King William
III of England. During his residence in Rombout Precinct, he be-
came identified with the Fishkill church. He died at the advanced
age of 128 years.
A few years after the erection of the church edifice, pews and gal-
leries were built in. Among the pew holders are found the names of
Stockholm, Luyster, Montfort, Flagler, Rapelje, Bogardus, and Col.
Derick BrinckerhofF. Col. Brinckerhoff' was a member of the Colonial
Assembly and of the First Provincial Congress.
This organization was the recipient of several bequests in early
times, one of which was ten acres of land, from Samuel Verplanck,
bearing date of March 23, 1779.
A congregational meeting to consider the erection of a new house
of worship was held February 12, 1833. Jacob Swartwout was called
to the chair, and John Storm was appointed secretary. It was re-
solved that a substantial brick building be erected, and that the com-
mittee for that purpose consist of the following gentlemen: H. D.
Stockholm, Abram Adriance, Abram D. Van Wyck, Jacob Horton and
Jacob Montfort. The building was finished in 1834! during the pas-
torate of Rev. Charles B. Whitehead, and is the dignified church edifice
of the present day.
296 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In 1765 Hopewell church received its first pastor, the Rev. Isaac
Rysdyck. He came from HoUand to take charge of the congrega-
tions of Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, New Hackensack and Hopewell. He
was a thorough scholar, an able theologian, and a very effective
preacher. It was said that he could write in Greek and Latin equally
AS well as in his native Dutch; and with Hebrew he was as much at
liome as in his mother tongue. He kept the records of Hopewell church
an Dutch exclusively until 1781, and exclusively in English after 1784.
He was probably the first Dutch minister to begin using the English
language. During the greater part of his ministry he hved in Fish-
kill, but later he moved to New Hackensack. In 1790 he resigned
from the pastorate on account of the infirmities of old age. In about
a year he died, and was buried beneath the New Hackensack church.
The Rev. Isaac Blauvelt, who assisted Dr. Rysdyck in the last few
years of his ministry, became the second pastor at Hopewell. It
was under his pastorate that the church was incorporated according
to the laws of the State of New York. Rev. Blauvelt remained but
a short time, accepting a call to another field.
The church was without a pastor for one year ; then it called the
Rev. Nicholas Van Vranken. As he spoke Dutch and English fluently,
preaching was conducted in both languages. He died in 1804, after
a pastorate of only thirteen years. He was the last pastor of the
associated churches. The classis dissolved the relationship, and Fish-
kill became a separate charge.
Rev. John Barkalo succeeded the Rev. Van Vranken. He resigned
after a pastorate of five years.
In 1812 the Rev. Dr. Thomas De Witt was called to the charge of
Hopewell and New Hackensack churches. During his pastorate these
churches, in 1825, became separate and independent congregations.
For fifteen years he continued his ministrations at Hopewell, during
which time the recently sold parsonage was built. Dr. De Witt re-
moved to New York City in response to a call from the Middle Colle-
giate Church. He was elected a trustee of Rutgers College in 1840;
and for twelve years was editor of the Christian Intelligencer. He
died May 18, 1874.
From 1828 to 1835, Rev. Charles B. Whitehead was pastor of this
church; and from 1835 to 1857, the Rev. Abraham PoUiemus, D.D.,
officiated. Both pastors were much beloved by their congregations.
CHARLES A. HOPKINS.
TOWN OF EAST FISHKILL. 297
Rev. Dr. Oliver Cobb was then called, and remained fifteen years.
He was followed by the Rev. Graham Taylor, who left Hopewell in
1880, and is now Professor of Sociology in Chicago University. He
is also the founder and resident warden of the social settlement known
as the Chicago Commons.
Rev. Cornelius H. Polhemus, who was called in 1881, continued ten
years. A call was then extended to the Rev. Ernest Clapp, who re-
mained until 1903.
The present cemetery of the Reformed Church of Hopewell is not
as ancient as the church. Neighborhood burying grounds were in use
before the church was organized. The oldest tombstone inscription
in the present cemetery is in Dutch, and reads as follows:
"Heir Leydt Begraven Her Lichhaam Van Lutisha Van \C*yck huis Vrouw, Van
Isaac Adriance, Oveleden Den 6. Dagh Van December Anno Dom 1763. Oudt
Zynde 33 laar 10 Maande en 37 Daagen."
Other early burials here are those of Cornelia, relict of Benjamin
Moore, Sr., died June 8th, 1781 ; Catharine, wife of John Boughbum,
died 1785; Francis Hasbrook, died 1789; Tunis Brinkerhoof and
Gorus Storm, died 1790 ; Abraham Hasbrook and John Adriance, died
1792 ; Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth Walden, died 1794 ; Sarah,
wife of Thomas Humphrey, died 1794 ; Anna Montfort John M. Shear
and Rem Adriance, died 1795; Jacob Horton, died 1793; George
Brinkerhoof, died December, 1797, aged 71 years; Isaac Adriance,
died 1797, aged 76 years; Gilbert, son of Francis Hasbrook, died
April 15th, 1798; Burgune Van Alst, died 1803; Catharine Herren,
died 1807, aged 78 years ; Nicholas Bogart and his wife Alida Ritz-
ma, daughter of Rev. Johannis Ritzma. Nicholas was born in New
York in 1729, and died in 1811. Alida was born in Holland in 1742,
and died in 1813.
Another early church organization in the town was the Baptist
Church of Fishkill Plains, which bears the date of 1782. It was an
offshoot of the Pleasant Valley Church, and early in the nineteenth
century had a live and earnest working congregation. The pulpit
was supplied for a long term of years by Pleasant Valley and Beek-
man. As most of the families of the early settlers were strict adher-
ents to the Reformed faith, the growth of this church was retarded.
Services were finally discontinued and the church property sold some
fifteen years ago.
298
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Methodist Church of Johnsville was organized in 1826, through
the labors of James Taylor, William, Samuel, Jacob and Oliver Ladue
and Cornelius Ostrander. Its first pastors were Revs. Hunt, Selleck
and Collins. In this locality, as in other sections of the country, the
Methodists were very active in promulgating the Gospel, through the
mcessant labors of their "circuit riders" and local preachers, and the
Johnsville Church has accordingly prospered.
The Bethel Baptist Church at Shenandoah, over which the Rev. Mr.
Bastain has presided for the past five years, was dedicated in Decem-
ber, 1835, and the church duly incorporated in 1837. Elder George
Horton was in charge of the services from 1835 to '41. The records
contain no account of the cost of erecting the building, but Abram
Pulling and Isaac Knapp are given credit for contributing generously.
The Episcopal Church at Hopewell Junction was built in 1888.
There is also a Roman Catholic and a Pentecostal Church in this
village. Stormville and Fishkill Plains contain chapels.
The following list contains the names of those who have been elected
to the office of Supervisor:
1850— 'SI
Benjamin Hopkins
1878
Charles W. Horton
18S3— 'S3
John V. Storm
1879
Peter A. Baldwin
18S4^'SS
Nicholas H. Stripple
1880
Charles W. Horton
1856
Benjamin Seaman
1881— '82
Storm Emans
18S7
Edmund Luyster
1883
Leonard V. Pierce
1858
John V. Storm
1884r-'8S
Lawrence C. Rapelje
1859— '60
Benjamin Hopkins
1886— '87
Storm Bmans
1861— '62
Lawrence C. Rapelje
1888
Francis S. Van Nostrand
1863— '64
John S. Emans
1889— '90
Isaac S. Genung
186S— '67
Benjamin Hopkins
1891— '92
Lawrence C. Rapelje
1868— '69
Nicholas H. Stripple
1893
Adriance Barton
1870
John S. Emans
1894— '97
J. Wesley Van Tassell
1871— '73
Charles W. Horton
] 898— '03
Prank Fowler
1874— '7S
Peter A. Baldwin
1904— '09
Lewis H. Wright
1876— '77
John S. Emans
TOWN OF nSHKILL. 299
CHAPTER XXL
THE TOWN OF FISHKH^L.
By William E. Vekplanck.
THE Town of Fishkill as constituted to-day is situated at the
southwesterly corner of the county, ajd extends along the
river northward from the tunnel at Breakneck mountain to
a point about half a mile south of the village of Chelsea^ — ^the southerly
boundary of the present town of Wappinger; thence the township
extends eastward to the westerly boundary of the town of East Fish-
kill; and it is bounded on the south by Putnam County.
At one time the town of Fishkill included the towns of Wappinger
and East Fishkill, or in other words the whole of the territory cov-
ered by the Romboudt Patent. This territory was called Romboudt
Precinct, as the towns of the State were formerly known.
The area of the town was afterwards enlarged when Putnam County
was established, in 1812, by cutting off all that part of the township
of Philhpstown which lay north of Breakneck and west of the moun-
tains and adding it to FishkiU. This change of territory in the
vicinity of what is now Dutchess Junction, was made for the con-
venience of the early settlers — Van Amburgh, Du Bois, Cromwell,
B'rinckerhoff and other families.
The title to such land south of the Romboudt Patent, in the town of
Fishkill, was derived from deeds made by the Commissioners of For-
feiture in the proceedings against Col. Beverly Robinson, whose wife
was one of the heirs of the Phillipse Patent. Samuel Dodge and Daniel
Graham were such Commissioners for the "Middle District," appointed
in pursuance of an act of the Legislature of the said State, entitled,
"an act for the forfeiture and sale of the estates of persons who have
adhered to the enemies of this State and for declaring the sovereignty
of the people of this State in respect to all property within the same."
In 1788 an act was passed by the State of New York for dividing
300 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the counties of the State into towns. Under this act Romboudt Pre-
cinct became known as the town of Fishkill. This was really the re-
vival of the old Dutch name, and of this we have evidence from an old
tombstone in the yard of the Dutch Church at Fishkill. The inscrip-
tion is on the tombstone of the Rev. Jacobus Van Neste, who was the
pastor until his death, April 10th, 1761, and reads as follows :
"Hier Leydt Her Lighaam Van Jacobus Van Neste Bedienaar Des Heylige
Evangelum Op Pochkeepsie En De Viskil In Dutches Comity Zynde In De Heere
Geiust de 10 April 1761— Oudt Zynde 26 Jaar 2 Maad En 3 Daage."
The Romboudt Patent above mentioned was a grant made by James
n, in 1685, confirming the deed of the land made to Francis Rom-
boudt and Gulian Verplanck by the Wappinger Indians in 1683.
At the time of the cession of New Netherland by the Dutch to the
English in 1664, aU the land hereabouts was in the possession of the
Wappinger Indians. This tribe was part of the confederacy of the
Five Nations, and had its home along the east bank of the Hudson,
extending from RoelofF Jansen's creek (now in Columbia County) as
far south as Manhattan Island, and eastward to what is now Con-
necticut. Throughout this region the Wappingers roamed and hunted
unmolested, so that all that the Dutch government actually ceded to
the English was the bare sovereignty. Dutchess County and other
political divisions were yet to be.
Not long after the English occupation, Francis Romboudt, or Rom-
bout,^ as the Dutch and English called him, a man of French extrac-
tion, who was a merchant in New Amsterdam, with his partner, Gulian
Verplanck, who were engaged in fur trading, conceived the idea of
getting possession of land, for many people of influence with the Eng-
lish, governors were taking up land freely, and on easy terms. Rom-
boudt and Verplanck, following the law of the colony, obtained from
the government, a license to purchase from the Indians (the original
of which is still preserved among the State Archives at Albany), with
a view of obtaining a patent from the Crown confirming the same.
Whereupon the partners met the Indian Chiefs and came to an agree-
ment with them as to the value of the land, and obtained a deed of
conveyance, in 1683, which the chiefs signed and sealed, or at least
1. He signed his name Francois Bombouts.
JOHN PETER DE WINT.
TOWN OF FISHKILL.
301
they affixed their totem marks to it/ A copy of this document which
sets forth the consideration, boundaries, etc., will be found in Chap-
ter IV.
Before the patent was issued in 1685, Verplanck had died and Jaco-
bus Kip married his widow, and became co-patentee with Francis Rom-
boudt and Stephanus Van Cortlandt. Van Cortlandt had advanced
one-third of the consideration money given to the Indians, and was
therefore entitled in equity to one-third interest.
The territory comprised in the patent was to a great extent a for-
est, as an old map drawn on parchment, in the possession of the writer
shows. Indeed it was looked upon by its owners as merely a place for
trapping beavers and other fur bearing animals, and it was many
years before- it was opened to settlers. The trappers were Indians,
whose huts could be found in the neighborhood of Stormville until
comparatively recent times. The above mentioned map was made in
1689 by one Holwell, a surveyor and his affidavit" made before one of
the aldermen in New York, in 1689, indorsed on the original map,
establishes the identity of the old document beyond question.
The only white man living on the patent at the time was "Ye French-
man" whose house, according to the old map, stood near the mouth of
Wappinger creek. Local historians assert that this man was either
Nicholas Emigh or Amout Viele.
By authorization of the Supreme Court a partition was made, in
1708, of the lands embraced in the Rombout patent lying between
the Fishkill and Wappinger creeks. While this lands to the north and
1. Facslmilies of the signa-
tures of Verplanck and Eomlioudt
on the deed from the Wappinger
Indians to them In 1683.
2. "New Tort, 20th day of April, 1689. Then appeared hefore me Paiilus Richard
Alderman, Mr. Jno. Holwell Surveyor who took Oath upon the Holy Evangelists
that this Map or Draught on the other Side is according to his hest Skill and Capacity
ye true Draught or Map of a certain tract of Land, lying on ye East side of Hudson's
Elver above ye High Lands so as ye same is described ( ?) • and sett forth in a Patent
granted by ye late Governor Coll. Thomas Dongan to Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Francis
Kombouts and Jacobus Kipp trustee etc. ^Dated October 17th ye first year of His
Majestys Eeign being ye year of our Lord 1685.
•This word is not entirely legible.
Paul Richard, Al'dn."
302 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
south of these streams respectively were left to be held in common by
the patentees or their representatives or heirs. In this division the
southern third fell to the lot of Catharine, wife of Roger Brett, the
daughter and only child of Francis Romboudt; the intermediate third
to the children of Guhan Verplanck; and the northern third to Ger'
trude, widow of Stephanus Van Cortlandt.
In 1709 Roger Brett and his wife built the house now standing
in Matteawan on the south side of Main street, since known as the
Teller House, and now occupied by their descendants. Dr. and Mrs.
Robert Fulton Crary. Not long after building this house Roger
Brett was drowned from a sloop. He was buried in a small cemetery
at BymesviUe, near the Newhn homestead. He left the entire care
of his estate consisting of many thousand acres to his widow, who
subsequently became known as "Madam Brett." She proved equal to
the task, and set about establishing mills, and inviting settlers from
Long Island and elsewhere, to come upon her land and develop it.
Madam Brett had three sons, Francis, Robert and Rivery. Rivery
was named from the fact that he was bom on the river while his mother
was on the way from New York on the sloop. He died at the age of
seventeen.
Madam Brett died at an advanced age and her body lies buried
under the pulpit of the Dutch Church at Fishkill. A few years ago
a beautiful stained glass window, made by Tiffany & Co., of New York,
was placed in her memory in the church by the Brett family and others
interested in the history of Fishkill.
Madam Brett's will was proved before the Court of Common Pleas
of Dutchess County, March I*, 1763. She bequeathed to her eldest
son, Francis, the major portion of her estate, including the Frank-
ford storehouse and five farms containing two hundred acres each. To
her son Robert's five children she bequeathed each a farm of two hun-
dred acres.
Among the families that came in response to Madam Brett's invita-
tion to settlers were the Van Wyck, Brinckerhoff, Swartwout, Wiltse,
Hasbrouck, Ter Bos (Terbush), Adriance (originally Adriaense),
Van Voorhis and DuBois. Madam Brett also established the first
mill — a grist mill. It stood near the mouth of the Fishkill creek,
aboul^ on the site now occupied by the Tompkins Hat Factory at
Tioronda.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 303
In 1743 the farming and milling industries of the precinct having
largely increased, Madam Brett in company with about twenty other
persons, entered into an agreement for the building of what after-
wards became known as the Frankfort Store House, which stood close
to the water at what was formerly known as the "Lower Landing,"
north of Denning's Point, where the old Wiltse houses are now stand-
ing. This was the origin of river freighting.
The old contract or agreement between Madam Brett and her asso-
ciates is in the possession of one of her descendants. Miss Kathleen
MacKinnon of New York, and is in a fair state of preservation. A
facsimile of the signatures to the document appears on a subsequent
page. The contract reads as follows:
"To all Christian people to whome tlus present Writing %aU or may Concern,
Catharine Brett, James Duncan, Theodorus VanWydi, Cornelis Van Wyck, Cor-
nells Wiltse, John Brinkerhof, John Carman, Joshua Carman, Jun'r, Benjamin
Haesbrook, Theodorus Van Wyck Son of Cornelis, Abraham Blom, Hendrik Ter-
bush, Isaac Brinkerhof, Lawrence Locy, Jacob Brinckerhof, Joris Adriaense, John
Van Vlockeren, Abraham Adriaense and Isaac Adriaense, all of Dutchess County
in ye province of New York, Abraham Van Wyck and Joris Brinkerhof of the
Citty of New York and Thomas Storm of West Chester County and Province afore-
^id. Sends Greeting, Whereas the persons above Named have Jointly purchased
from Francis Brett a Certain Lott or parcell of Land Scituate on the East Side
of Hudsons River Adjoining to other Land of ye said Brett between Johanis Van
Voorhees and Mathewes DuBois in w'ch purchase Every mans Share & proportion
thereof is particularly Expressed, as by the deed of Conveyance may fully and at
Large appear on which said Land the partners above named have built & Erected
a Com'ys Store house and Dwelling house and for the better Convenience of all the
parties Concerned they have agreed & Concluded to Divide the Same into Twenty
Separate rooms or Divisions Equall to the rights and Number of whole Shares, for
which there were Lotts fairly drawn. * * * At all times for Ever here-
after. The, major part of the owners & Possessors of the Said Lands & prem-
ises according to the Number of their Severall rights & Shares, Shall have the
power to manage order & direct all the affairs relating to the Same (so as not
Designedly to hurt or Damage any one of the partys Concerned) and to make &
Establish such rules & Regulations as they Shall Judge beneficial for using &
Improving the Same, And When Ever the Said Majority Shall Judge it proper &
beneficial to make further Division or to Sell & Dispose of any part thereof, We
do hereby Give & Grant unto them full power so to do. And Such Division or
Divisions, or Deed of Conveyance by them made & Lawfully Executed, Shall be
good and Valid in the law to all Intents and purposes whatsoever. And we &
Each of us our heirs and assigns Shall be thereof & Therefrom for Ever Debarred
& Excluded, and the moneys arising by such Sale to be accounted for when re-
quired. And it is further Agreed that in all Cases the Majority of Votes Shall be
304 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
reconed According to Each of their Several rights and Shares in ye Lands & prem-
ises aforesaid that is to say that Every one who hath or hereafter shall have one
two or more Whole Shares Shall have as many Votes, those who have one Share to
have one Vote & where two or more are Joined or Concerned in one Share, Each
of their Votes to be reconed according to their Several rights; and if it so happen
that any of the partners be at a great Distance when any Vote or Regulation is
to be made Every Such absent person Shall be allowed to give his Vote in Writing
& the same with all other Transactions shall be Entered into a book to be kept for
that purpose which Vote so given in Writing Shall be taken & allowed as good as
if the person was there present
In addition to the above document there is preserved a small account
book giving the transactions of the company from its organization in
1743 up to 1790. The business was then being conducted as usual,
but how much longer it lasted cannot now be ascertained. The first
part of the book is given up to financial transactions with the share-
holders, the rest of it with the records of the annual meetings. Here
are the minutes of an annual meeting in 1763 :
"January ye 14th, then chose Abraham Adriance for Clarck for Franckfords
store at the meeting at Richard Van Wyck's for the insuing year. Daniel ter
Bush boatman for the year sixty three tiU the first of may in the year sixty four
at twelve pounds and keep the Store House, Dock and Dwelling House in sufficient
Repair, and the said Daniel ter Bush is to fence the orchard land and bringh in
a, just account and the said Bush is to receive his pay out of the Rent Don by
major voat, and the said Bush is to frate as useyd and find salt as useyel Chosen
managers for the Insuing year — ^Theodores Van Wyck and Col. John Brincker-
hoff to manige and rectiphy all affairs, and to Demand the Land that peter Bo-
gardus has in possession. By major voat. The meeting to be at Richard Van
Wyck the first day of January if Sunday then the next Day."
There are no minutes of the proprietors between January S, 1776,
and January 1, 1781, as there were probably no meetings because
of the interruption of business and the disturbed conditions due to the
Revolutionary War, although at the annual meeting in January, 1776,
the proprietors resolved to meet in the following year after having ap-
pointed Richard Van Wyck, clerk, and Daniel Ter Boss, boatman for
the ensuing year. The following is a transcript of the meeting in
1781:
"Dutchess County, Jan? 1st, 1781. "Att a Meeting of the Majority of the
proprietors of Frankfort Store House — ^Voted that Theod" Van Wyck be Clerk of
sA Meeting. Voted also That Major Terbos Continue in possession of said Estate
to "the first of May 1783 att Twenty pounds p" Annum, Voted also that Major
Terbos pay for the Said Estate from the year 1777 to the year 1780 Sixteen
w ''6iu!i''^^^ "^^;'--
r/^./'-^^:^:;^'';^'^:.)
c^^
1^^ Jori^ti/0^4^
-m
(^jtu^t^i
'^%'
.%s:ti in
^.
JmcrfJrr^fyC^.
•9091
t^ aruiVaf^S^f;^
h^<!rej '
FACSIMILE OF THE SIGNATURES TO THE CONTRACT FOR BUILDING
THE FRANKFORT STORE HOUSE, FISHKILL, 1743.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 305
pounds pr yeaiv-Voted also that Theod™ Van Wyck and John Adriance be a
Committee from this Meeting to go to Major Terbos's and settle all the Accompts
appertaining to the said Estate up to this day, and if said Committee should
judge and Repairs Necessary, they are hereby authorised, to Employ persons to
do the same & the proprietors to be accountable to pay the Cost thereof. Voted
also that the next meeting be on the iirst day Jany next, or the next if the first
day be a Sunday at the House of Col. Griffin."
The Revolutionary War had closed when the annual meeting of the
"Proprietors of the Frankford Store House" was held on January 1,
1788. It was then
"Voted that Major Daniel Terbos continue in possession of said estate until the
first day of May, which wUl be in the year 1784, at £30 per annum, in case there
is a peace concluded between America and Great Britain by the first day of next
June, and on the contrary, that no peace takes place by thaijt day, the said Terbos
to pay £20 pr. annum."
The prices for freighting may be interesting to some readers. At
the meeting in 1784 it was voted that
"The said Terboss shall freight for the said proprietors after the following man-
ner: Flour at 9 pence per cask; pork or beef at one shilling per barrel; salt at
3 pence per bushel; wheat or other grain at 3 pence per bushel; a passenger at
3 shillings and six pence, and all other things in proportion."
The Frankfort Store House stood until 1826 and the business re-
mained in the descendants of Madam Brett, conducted by the Brett
and Wiltse families. The first Martin Wiltse was a Swede, who came
to this country before the death of Madam Brett. He married a Miss
Humphrey of New York and built the old homestead which is still
standing at the "Lower Landing." Their children were James, Mar-
tin, William, and Mary who married Theodorus Brett, the grand-
father of Mrs. James W. Andrews, late of Matteawan, who has con-
tributed much valuable information concerning the early history of
the town. James Wiltse, the youngest son, succeeded his father at
the Frankfort Store House. He sailed one of the packet sloops which
then pUed from the adjacent wharf. He married a Miss Van Voorhis.
Martin, the other son married twice — ^namely the two daughters of
Henrx_§chenck, and built the house now standing at the Upper Land-
ing, at the foot of Main street. Martin Wiltse, the elder son, estab-
lished a ferry to the opposite shore and about this time there were
three such enterprises, one from the Lower Landing to New Windsor
by a periauger. (A periauger by the way was a two-masted vessel with-
306 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
out a bowsprit or head-sail; in other words, a schooner without a jib.)
The word is probably a corruption of the French pirogite. Later
Martin, Jr., put on a ferry boat propelled by horse power, which he
ran from the Upper Landings, and this lasted until 1819. The third
ferry was from the Long Dock and was established by one Lawrence.
He, however, failed after spending upwards of $20,000 in building the
Long Dock. The house where Mr. Lawrence lived is still standing
(much altered) on North Avenue opposite the old entrance to the De-
Wint homestead, now known as Tompkins avenue. Mr. Lawrence
married a Bogardus, who was a descendant of the famous Anneke
Jans, whose descendants unsuccessfully claimed aU the land now owned
by Trinity Church in New York, and gave rise to a great lawsuit
which vexed the courts for many years.
As the population of the Rombout Patent increased, communica-
tion with Newburgh on the opposite bank became more frequent, so
that other ferries naturally sprung up. Accordingly Alexander
Colden, of the same family as CadwaUader Golden, who was at one
time Surveyor General of the Province of New York, and afterwards
Lieutenant Governor, secured a patent for land from George H in
the year 1743, covering the site of the present City of Newburgh,
and as an appurtenance thereto, he obtained the privilege to establish
a ferry. The land covered by the patent was then in Ulster County,
for Orange County did not then extend so far northward on the river
as it now does, its northern boundary then being Quassaick creek.
Colden street in Newburgh still perpetuates the name of the patentee.
From old documents in the possession of the descendants of Martin
Wiltse the following extracts are taken, being the recitals in an old
deed, and quoted in the opinion of Thomas Addis Emmett, referred to
below. They are as follows:
"Whereas Oeorge the gecond formerly King of Great Britain, did, by certain
Letters Patent duly issued under the Great Seal of the (late) Province of New
York, bearing date on the twenty fifth day of June in the year One thousEind seven
hundred and forty-three, and Recorded in the ofSce of the Secretary of the State
of New York, in Lib: Pat: No. 12 Page 221 &c. and made to Alexander Colden
then of Ulster County in said Province, Gentlemen, grant, ratify and confirm unto
said Alexander Colden (among other things). All the Ground of Hudsons River
lying and being under the water of the same river One hundred feet into the same
from high-water mark. The whole length of the land held by said Alexander Col-
den in a certain tract of Two thousand One hundred and ninety acres of Land
TOWN OF nSHKILL. 307
in Ulster County, formerly gmnted to Andries Volk and Jacob Webbers and
known as the New Burgh Patent; Beginning on the North side of Quassaic Creek
and extending Northerly up Hudsons river upon a straight line Two hwndred and
nineteen Ghainf, together with all and singular the benefits, liberties, ways, waters,
easements, hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise
appertaining, or that are necessary or convenient to be had, used or enjoyed there-
with. And also the sole and full liberty and power of setting up, establishing,
keeping, using and employing at all times forever thereafter, a good and sufScient
Ferry to be duly kept and attended for the conveniency of passing and repassing
with passengers, horses, cattle and all manner of goods, wares and merchandises
whatsoever from any part of the aforesaid patented Lands to said Volk and
Webber lying and being in Ulster County aforesaid then commonly called New
Burgh Patent, to any part of the Easterly side of said River, the length of Two
hundred and nineteen chains along the said liver and so opposite to said Land so
granted to said Volk and Webbers, that is to say, from such place on the Easterly
side of said River where a due East course from the North«slde of Quasaick Creek
across the said River, shall strike the Easterly side thereof, the length of Two
hundred and nineteen Chains Northerly up the said river; and from the Easterly
side of said river to any part of the said patented Lands to said Volk and Web-
bers and to and from and between any and every the places aforesaid; and also the
full and free liberty to ask demand and take for ferriage at and for such fer-
riage certain fees therein mentioned and epecifled. *****
And whereas said Leonard Carpenter and Jacob Carpenter for themselves, their
heirs and assigns by deed bearing date on the eighth day of February One Thou-
sand and eight hundred and five, made and executed by and between said Leonard
and Jacob Carpenter of one part, and said party of the first part and Peter Bo-
gardus of the second part, granted and conveyed unto said party of the first part
(by said name and style of Martin Wiltse Junior) and to said Peter Bogardus,
their heirs and assigns forever, a full liberty at all times thereafter, to land with
their Ferry-Boats, and the goods brought therein, on any of the wharves or ferry-
stairs of said Leonard and Jacob Carpenter their heirs or Assigns, at said town of
New-Burgh without and hindrance or molestation whatever. And in consideration
thereof said part of the first part and said Peter Bogardus, granted and conveyed
the same liberty to said Leonard and Jacob Carpenter their heirs and assigns for-
ever, and it was thereby mutually covenanted (amongst other things) that no new
Ferry should be established from Fishkill Landing to said New Burgh as by said
Deed will, reference thereto being had, more fully appear."
The Quassaick Creek, wMch was the southern boundary of the pat-
ent, empties into the Hudson between Newburgh and New Windsor,
and it is at that point whence the 219 chains were to be measured north-
ward, as well as from the point on the opposite shore, i. e., the end of
Denning's Point. Within that space of about two miles no other
ferry might be set up. By reference to the Patent we learn that the
ferry charges were as follows :
308 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
"And also full & free liberty to ask, demand & take for ferriage at & for such
ferriage as aforesaid, the several & respective fees hereinafter mentioned & so
approved of by our said Council as aforesaid, to wit: for every man & Horse Two
shillings and six pence, but if three or more together for each man & horse two
shillings; for a single Person only one shilling for each footman, if three or more
together nine pence; for every single Horse or Beast one shilling & Six pence,
but if three or more together for each one shilling & three pence; for every Calf
or Hog six pence, for every Sheep or Lamb four pence, for every full Barrell one
shilling, for every pail of Butter three pence, for every firkin or Tub of Butter
six pence, for every BusheU of Salt or Grain three pence, for every hundred
weight of Iron, Lead &c., nine pence, for every chaise, Hilterin or Sleigh four
shillings; for every waggon or Cart six shillings, & so in proportion for all other
things for which no Provision is hereby made, according to their Bulk or weight."
By the Constitution of 1777 — ^the first one ratified by the State of
New York — all royal charters were recognized and continued in force.
The Colden ferry charter, however, had been operated so irregularly
and at such long intervals that it was the opinion of some lawyers that
it had lapsed by non-user.
About the year 1812, John Peter DeWint, having built the Long
Dock for his business of freighting on the river, took out a Hcense
from the County Court, then called the Court of Common Pleas, to
operate a ferry to and from his wharf and Newburgh, whereupon
Martin Wiltse, who claimed the exclusive right under the Colden
charter to ferriage from the Fishkill shore, consulted Thomas Addis
Emmet, a celebrated member of the New York Bar at that time, as
to his rights and the remedy. The opinion of Emmet, with his
autograph attached is still well preserved. It is dated New York,
Sept. 16, 1816, and reads as follows:
"Opinion to Martin Wiltse, Jr., of Fishkill Landing on the rights to the Ferry
from Fishkill shore to Newburgh.
Case.-^SSth June, 1743, Alexander Colden obtained a Patent for the sole and
full liberty to keep a ferry from the West to the East and from the East to the
West side of the River opposite Newburgh. This right by some conveyances for
» valuable consideration became vested in Jacob & Leonard Carpenter, of New-
burgh.
Under the allegation of non-user under the Patent and of long continued pos-
session in themselves, Peter Bogardus & Mr. Wiltse contested the Patent right to
the ferry on the East side, and by way of strengthening their title took «. license
for a. Ferry from the Court of Common Pleas of Dutchess County (vid 2 N. Rev.
laws 210).
Thffe controversy was compromised and on the 8th Feby 1805 Articles of Agrees
ment were made between the Carpenters of the first part, Martin Wiltse Junr &
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 309
Peter Bogardus of Fiahkill Landing of the 2nd part granted and conveyed to the
parties of the 2nd part in fee a full liberty to land with their ferry boats &cc. on
any of their wharves or ferrystairs at Newburgh — & the Parties of the 2nd part
granted & conveyed in fee the same liberty to the parties of the first. It was by
the said articles agreed between the parties that no new ferry should be set up or
established at the said Fishkill landings to any part of the said Newburgh, by
either of the parties to the said agreement, and that none of the ferries from the
said Fishkill landing should take any ferriage from the wharves of Newburgh
without consent of the Carpenters — & that no ferryboat from Newburgh should
take ferriage from any of the landings or wharves of the said Fishkills landings.
On the 28th August, 180S, a deed of conveyance was made between the Carpen-
ters of the first part and Martin Wiltse & Martin Wiltse, Junr. & Peter Bogardus
of the town of FishkiU of the second part. By it the parties of the first part
bargained, sold & conveyed to the parties of the second part in fee all their right,
title, interest & claim to the ferry on the E. side of the Hudson River which was
granted to Colden, they the parties of the 2nd part for eter after fulfilling and
performing the duties required by the grant. They have ever since been regularly
performed and Mr. Wiltse and Bogardus kept a ferry from Wiltses landing.
John P. DeWint having made a new and long wharf on the Fishkill side, he and
Thomas Lawrence set up a, ferry from it in 1812; having applied to the Court of
Common Pleas of Dutchess County for a license under the existing law (2N. Rev.
Laws 210) which was granted; but without intending to prejudice the patent.
DeWint and Lawrence in order to strengthen themselves have contrived to asso-
ciate with them the Carpenters & as it is supposed Peter Bogardus — and the new
Team Boat set up by them runs not only under the license, but also imder the
title of the ferrying from DeWints long wharf — ^while Mr. Wiltse stiU ferries from
his old accustomed Wharf, but is materially injured by the competition. Ques-
tion— Has Mr. Wiltse any remedy for the injury he is suffering and what, and
against whom?"
Then follows the argument, which being quite long and technical,
is here omitted. The conclusion reached by Emmet was that Martin
Wiltse was virtually without remedy.
Not long afterwards Thomas PoweU of Newburgh acquired all the
adverse claims to the Colden ferry charter and other rights to fer-
riage, thereby obtaining complete title to the ferry, which he operated
until his death. Afterwards his son-in-law, Homer Ramsdell, Esq.,
operated the same in connection with John Peter DeWint, owner of
the Long Dock, Fishkill, and on his death in 1870, it was sold to Mr.
Ramsdell.
The following has been recently supplied through the courtesy of
the Ramsdell estate.
The charter for the Ferry was granted May 24th, 1743, by Hon.
George Clark, Lieutenant Governor of the Province and the Council
310 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
to Alexander Golden. This charter was sold by the heirs of the
patentee December 15, 1802, to Leonard Carpenter. The ownership
passed through the Carpenters (Leonard and Jacob), the Wiltses and
Bogardus to Isaac R. Carpenter, who sold a half interest to J. P.
DeWint in 1832, and in 1833 Mr. Carpenter became sole owner by
purchase. On May 1, 1835 the Ferry was sold to Mr. DeWint and
on the 30th of May, same year, DeWint sold the whole to Thomas
Powell, who deeded it to his daughter, Mrs. Frances E. L. RamsdeU,
ip October, 1850. The interests of the Wiltses were all bought up
by the Carpenters and DeWint prior to the sale in 1835 to Mr. De-
Wint.
FARMS OF THE VERPLANCK FAMILY.
It may not be out of place to devote some space to this topic, since
this family for over a century was by far the largest landowner in
the township, if not in the county; and also because its partitions or
sales are the source of title of many thousands of acres of separate
farms into which the original family holdings are now cut up. The
development of the property was quite different from that of the two
other families, Brett and Van Cortlandt, which owned the other two-
thirds of the township.
Owing to minorities in two successive generations none of the family
seems to have come to live or build on that part of the patent set
off to them, until about 1730, when Gulian, grandson of the patentee,
having obtained by partition with his sisters one-third of the original
third set off to himself and his cousins, that is to say one-ninth of
the entire patent consisting of more than 10,000 acres, built the house
subsequently knoT^n as Mount Gulian, which is still standing and now
owned and occupied by WiUiam E. VjBrplapck. There is no record
as to when the house was built. It ig hardly likely, however, that
it was prior to 1730. That the house was in existence as early as
1760 we know through the will of Gulian, which was proved in New
York County in March, 1752, the year following his death, which oc-
curred in his 54th year.
The will provided:
"I give, devise and bequeath to my son Samuel and his heirs forever All that
farAi in dutches Ck>unty called Mount Gulian with all the Buildings thereon erected
and all and every the slaves, stock, household furniture, farming utensils &c."
WILLIAM S. VBRPLANCK.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 311
To Samuel is also given all the testator's other lands in Dutchess
County. Both devises to Samuel are on condition that he lives to the
age of twenty-one or has lawful issue; failing which the two proper-
ties shall go to the daughter, Aryentie, for life, and on her death to
the heirs of her body. Several of the life-leases made by Gulian and
his son Samuel of their lands in the Rombout Patent are still in ex-
istence and in the possession of the writer. They were carefully drawn
on printed blanks. For an illustration, the lease made by Gulian to
"Henry Philips and his present wife Deborah," May 1, 1751, may be
taken. The lot consisted of two hundred acres from which "£6 and
two couples of fowles" were reserved as annual rent, to be paid May
1st, besides the payment of all taxes. For the first six years, how-
ever, there was to be no rent, and for this privilege the tenant agreed
to build "one framed or stone dwelhng. house of at ieast eighteen foot
square with a Lento on one end thereof, with one framed Barn, all to
be well shingled." Within the first year, also, the tenant agreed "to
set up stone land marks at the corners of the Lott," and to further,
"once a year thereafter in Easter week carry his children (if he hath
any, otherwise his white servants or four of his nearest Neighbours)
and show them the land marks." The tenant also agreed to make "a
nursery of fruit trees, to be some Apels, Pears, Cherries & Peaches
* * * of forty foot square" and to set out an "orchard of at
least One Hundred Aple Trees" and to prune them or graft the trees,
"provided the grafts or inoculations be furnished by the landlord."
The landlord was to have the fruit of three trees. The tenant agreed
not to cut or dispose of the wood, timber, stone or dung made on the
premises; also to "keep six acres in meadow for grass and hay," and
to "stand Bound to work with a Team of cattle or Horses and wag-
gon or Cart one day annually" * * * as required by the land-
lord.
It was largely through such leases as these that the Verplanck
property was developed. In other words their policy was quite diifer-
ent from that of Madam Brett, who owned one-third of the Patent to
the south, and from that of the Van Cortlandts, who owned the other
one-third to the north. It was the policy of these latter to sell out-
right to settlers; the result being that large industrial towns have
grown up along the Fishkill and Wappinger Creeks, while the Ver-
planck property still remains largely agricultural, owing to their
312 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
reluctance to sell. This state of affairs continued until the death in
1834 of Daniel C. Verplanck, who, as sole heir of Samuel above men-
tioned, was the largest land owner in Dutchess County. He had been
County Judge for several years prior to 1812 and subsequently was a
Member of Congress for several terms. He was the first of the family
to make his permanent home at Mount Guhan at Fishkill, and as he
had a large family, he enlarged the house in 1804 by building an
addition to the north. The Mount Gulian farm at that time con-
sisted of upwards of three hundred acres extending along the river
for nearly two miles and thence eastward to the homestead farm of
Garret Brinckerhoff, who was another large land owner in the neigh-
borhood. _
In addition to his homestead farm, Daniel Crommelin Verplanck had
several thousand acres in the county, which were divided into farms of
about two hundred and fifty acres each. After his death the land was
"actually" partitioned. The Rev. John Brown, of St. George's
Church, Newburgh, Robert Gill, and Dr. Bartow White, of Fishkill,
were the commissioners. The notes of Dr. Brown are now in my pos-
session by gift from John Brown Kerr, Esq., of New York, a grand-
son of Dr. Brown. From these notes the following facts are gathered :
The commissioners were chosen by the parties to make partition of
all the Dutchess County property except that of Mount GuUan. The
first "view" was made on the 10th of November, 1836. Soon after
a heavy snowstorm interfered with the work, which the commissioners
were not able to take up again, owing to the severity of the ensuing
winter, until the 23d of May of the following year. The whole num-
ber of farms viewed was thirty-five, besides two commons, in all,
6,475 87-100 acres, which were appraised at $320,913.39, or $45,-
844.77 for each of the seven heirs, after deducting the widow's dower
and the value of the life leases which were running on most of the
farms. On the 6th of July the commissioners completed their appraise-
ments, and in August, 1836, the partition deeds were recorded. The
names of the heirs were James deLancey, Elizabeth V. P. Knevels,
William Walton, Gulian C, Samuel, Anne Louise and Mary Anna.
Daniel C. Verplanck was one of the directors and a principal share-
holder in the Middle District Bank of Poughkeepsie. In 1830 this
bank failed, Daniel C. losing heavily. He deemed that the credit of
the bank had been to a great extent dependent on his name, and he
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 313
made good out of his own funds the losses sustained by the depositors
and other creditors. He died suddenly March 29, 1834.
His son, Gulian C, spent the greater part of his life in the city of
New York where he was active in political life. He represented the
city in Congress for several terms, and was influential in securing the
enactment of copyright laws. As State Senator he sat in the old
Court of Errors and Appeals, where he rendered several opinions in
important commercial and financial disputes. He edited an edition
of Shakespeare which took high rank with scholars. He died in New
York at the age of eighty-four, and was buried in Trinity church-
yard, Fishkill Village.
James de Lancey and William S., son and grandson of Daniel C.
Verplanck, continued to live on the family property until they died,
the former in 1881, and the latter in 1885.
Wilham S. Verplanck, though educated for the bar, soon dropped
this calling to take up agriculture. About ten years after his mar-
riage with Miss Anna Newlin, he built "New Place," overlooking the
Hudson. He was one of the founders of the Mechanics Savings Bank,
on its incorporation in 1866, and on the retirement of General How-
land in 1868, he became president. He was also one of the incor-
porators, and until his death in 1885, a director of the First National
Bank of FishkiU Landing.
Mount Gulian, owned by WiUiam E. Verplanck, is the only one
now standing of three old homesteads^ built in the early part of the
eighteenth century on the land set off to the heirs of Gulian Ver-
planck. The old part is of stone, and stuccoed; over it is a curved
roof with dormer windows. This house was for a time the head-
quarters of Baron Steuben during the Revolution, and under its roof
was instituted, in May, 1783, the Society of the Cmcmmati, of which
Washington was the first president, an ofiice he retained until his death.
A singular and interesting character who lived for many years in
Fishkill, was James F. Brown, born a slave in Maryland in 1783. At
the age of thirty years he escaped and came north, and from 1829 to
1. The two others were the Lawrence Lawrence, and the John Van Voorheea houses.
Lawrence was a nephew of Gulian Verplanck. His house stood on the river alwut a
mile south of Low Point, and was later the home of Garrett Brinckerhoff. The Van
Voorhees stood on the Poughkeepsie road, about two miles north of Fishkill Landing, on
a tract of land of nearly 3000 acres, sold to him early In the eighteenth century by
Philip Verplanck.
314 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1864 was the gardener at Mount GuiKan. During this period he kept
a diary, in which he made a record not only of the weather, the con-
dition of the garden, etc., but also of the visitors to the house, local
news and items of more than family interests When his whereabouts
were discovered by his southern master, his freedom was purchased,
and he was soon joined by his wife Julia, whom he had married in
Baltimore in 1826. Brown died in 1868, and Juha made her home
in the village until her death in 1890.
FisHKELL-ON-HuDsoN. This village has grown up around the
original Five Corners, and become a place of importance within the
last thirty years. In 1864! it was incorporated under the Act of
1847, the first general act for the incorporation of villages through-
out the State, and was given the name of Fishkill Landing. Samuel
Bogardus was chosen its first president. In 1878 the village was
reincorporated in accordance with the Act of 1870, under the pro-
visions of which it still continues.
In 1804 a postoffice was established imder the name of Fishkill Land-
ing, and Egbert Bogardus appointed first postmaster. Five years
later he was succeeded by Peter Folsom. During the Civil War, when
Nehemiah Place was postmaster, the name of the postoffice was changed
to FishkiU-on-the-Hudson. The early impetus of the village was
largely due to the enterprises of John Peter DeWint,^ a man of great
energy and activity. His operations were not confined to this side of
the river alone, but he was a property owner and interested in the
industries of Newburgh. He had a shipyard on the river bank just
'south of the Long Dock, and was interested in the freighting business
which for many years was conducted by sloops from the Long Dock,
as well as from the Lower and Upper Landings. Towards the end
of his life he was thought to be rather indifferent to the growth of
the village, and was, as I think, unjustly criticised for standing in
the way of further improvements in the village. He died in 1870,
appointing for his executors the late William S. Verplanck, J. De-
Wint Hook and James Mackin. Mr. Mackin was a prominent man in
Fishkill; he was President of the National Bank from 1870 to 1886;
chairman of the Railroad Committee of the Assembly for several terms,
and State Treasurer. He was also a close friend of Mr. Tilden, and
1. For biographical sketch of Mr. DeWlnt, see Fait II.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 315
had Tilden been inaugurated there is every reason to believe that Mr.
Mackin would have received an appointment of distinction in the
federal government.
Under the direction of the will, Mr. DeWint's executors began to
Settle the estate, and by judicious sales made throughout the village,
which were mutually advantageous both to the estate and the pur-
chasers, and largely through the co-operation of the late Lewis Tomp-
kins,^ who built several hat factories and houses here, the village be-
gan to grow rapidly. Mr. Tompkins not only built a fine residence
for himself, but he also laid out that part of the village through which
Dutchess Terrace and other streets and avenues now run, in a judi-
cious and tasteful manner, making this part of the village both
attractive and valuable. Spy Hill about the same J;ime had been laid
out and several handsome houses built by the Hon. John T. Smith,
Mr. W. A. Jones and others. In consequence of this the village was
greatly improved in its general appearance, and ceased to have the
somewhat squalid appearance which it had in former times.
Before the advent of the railroad, the river was largely used as a
means of reaching points north and south, sloops being employed for
this purpose. Travel between Albany and New York by stagecoach,
which passed through Fishkill, was wearisome. It took from ten to
twelve hours to make the trip from Fishkill to New York. Much
pleasanter was travel by sloops. They were fitted up as packets, and
many of them had accommodations for twenty-five passengers. They
made the run to or from New York and Fishkill inside of twelve hours,
and now and then a great run was made. For instance, the sloop
"Caroline," owned by John P. DeWint and named for his daughter,
Mrs. Monell, sailed from the Battery to the Long Dock in five hours.
After the introduction of steamboats by Fulton, a disaster which
afFected Fishkill was the burning of the "Henry Clay" in 1852. She
was racing with the "Armenia" and when a short distance north of
Spuyten Duyvil she took fire. Several of the passengers who were in
the stem were either burned or drowned. Among the number was the
wife of John Peter Dewint, and his son-in-law, Andrew J. Dowjiing.
From Mr. John Place, treasurer of the Fishkill Savings Bank, I
learn that in 1857 he went into the freighting business with the late
1. For biographical sketch of Mr. Tompkins, see Part II.
316 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Walter Brett and Joseph Cromwell. This firm had the barge "Inde-
pendence," which was towed to New York by the Kingston steam-
boats. At one time the steamboat "William Young" of which Charles
Adriance, of Low Point, was captain called at the Long Dock
and took its freight. This was the genial "Captain Charley," who
succeeded to the old freighting business formerly done from Low
Point by sloops. One of them was the famous "Matteawan," which
was built on the shipyard at Low Point, belonging to Cornelius Car-
man. Two trips a week were made. On the death of Joseph Crom-
well, the firm of Brett & Matthews was formed, which ran the steamer
"Walter Brett." Later the firm built the "River Queen." She was
the old "Mary Benton," which was rebuilt at a cost of $60,000, being
fitted up with staterooms, saloons, etc. She proved too expensive for
the business and was sold at a great loss to Garner & Company of
Wappingers Falls and Newburgh, who ran her in connection with
their factories. At this time Captain Walter Brett retired, and the
firm of Brundage & Place was organized. They made an arrange-
ment with the late Homer Ramsdell of Newburgh to carry their
freight on the steamboats owned by him, and for that purpose the
firm employed a small barge to run between Dutchess Junction, the
Long Dock and Newburgh, where the freight was transferred to the
RamsdeU boats. Now all this freighting business has passed under
the control of the Central Hudson Steamboat Company.
The Hudson River Railroad in early days felt the competition of
the steamboats, and made every effort to meet it, sharp rivalry exist-
ing between the two enterprises for many years. After the com-
pletion of the Hudson River Railroad in 1851, no other railroad enter-
prises were started until after the Civil War. In 1866 the Dutchess &
Columbia Railroad Company was organized for the purpose of build-
ing a line from a point at the mouth of the Fishkill Creek northeasterly
through the county to the village of Millerton on the Harlem Rail-
road, in the town of Northeast. This company was largely promoted
by the firm of Brown Brothers, bankers in New York, who had large
interests in the town of Washington. Several towns along the pro-
posed line, FishkiU among them, bonded themselves in aid of the con-
struction of the railroad, and the road was accordingly built and fin-
ished in 1868, Mr. Oliver W. Barnes being its chief engineer. It was
unprofitable and soon passed into the hands of its bondholders. Ten
years later the lower end of the road from Hopewell Junction to
LEWIS TOMPKINS,
TOWN OF nSHKILL.
317
Dutchess Junction was purchased by the New York & New England
Railroad Company, and has since been absorbed by the Central New
England.
The house now occupied by Dr. Kittridge, on Ferry street, was for-
merly owned by A. King Chandler, who built the house and laid out
the adjacent grounds, all in a somewhat pretentious style. It was a
conspicuous object from the river, with peaks and gables and many
outbuildings. All the land in front was open as far as Beekman
street, then a mere country road, and generally called the Old Plank
Road. Mr. Chandler kept a large dry goods and variety shop in
Newburgh, somewhat on the order of the department store of to-day,
and did a profitable business for many years.
PiiANK Road. The certificate of the FishkiU ancj Beekman Plank
Road Company was filed August 22, 1851. The company was or-
ganized by about seventy-five persons, with a capital stock of $30,000,
divided into shares of $50 each. The subscribers each took from
Railroad Co., the successor of the original Boston, Hartford & Erie
Railroad.
FishkiU
John S. Thayer
John B. Rosa
Samuel A. Hayt
Jacob G. "Van Wyck
Guernsey Smith
Bartow White
Lewis B. White
H. F. Walcott
James B. Brinckerhoff
Walter Brett
Catherine E. Kapalje
James B. Vandervoort
Chauncey DeLavan
Richard B. Horton
Wm. HasBrook
Alfred Storm
Isaac Sherwood
Abraham Brinckerhoff
Peter H. Schenck-^
D. S. Ackerman
W. B. Sheldon
Charles Davies
Louis Meyer
James E. Member
S. A. Benson
New York
East FishkiU
Matteawan
Beekman
FishkiU Landing
5 shares
10
3
10
5
10
318 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
It was proposed to build a line from Fishkill Landing to Storm-
viUe, via Matteawan, Fishkill ViUagey Johnsville, Gay Head and
CourtlandviUe, a distance of fifteen miles. The two roads leading to
the river through Fishkill Landing were considered too steep for such
a line, and a new road was laid out over the lands of J. P. DeWint,
Martin Wiltse, Louis Meyer, Russell Dart and others. This is now
Beekman street. The company also occupied an extension of Main
street by continuing it straight to Matteawan over the low and
swampy lands of the Teller estate instead of following the Old Road
to Fishkin Village, which still passes over the higher ground to the
north, where now are St. John's Church and the Methodist cemetery.
The company thereupon began building the road and extended the
same for about seven miles eastward into the township, setting up toll-
gates at certain intervals in pursuance of the charter, the most east-
erly one being at BrinckerhoffviUe. The company failed, however,
to complete the road and otherwise comply with the terms of its char-
ter. The road, too, was never kept in good order or repair and the
people became exasperated and annoyed at the condition of things.
The people, too, were used to the free road laid out by Madam Brett
over her property from the river eastward to the limits of her lands,
that is the road now in use through Matteawan, Glenham and Fish-
kill Village along the west side of the creek, and they looked upon the
Plank Road Company as an attempt to pervert the ancient highway
of Fishkill.
Litigation ensued, and according to tradition, on one occasion a
mob, made up of many of the respectable people of the neighborhood,
assembled on a certain night and smashed the toUgates and otherwise
put an end to the further exaction of toU along the road so far as the
same was built. Thereafter the road again became free.
When the electric railroad was being built over the line of Beekman
street in Fishkill Landing many of the old planks were brought to the
surface. The late Samuel A. Hayt of Fishkill was president of the
Plank Road Company at one time and meetings were held at his store,
and Augustus Hughson was secretary. Later A. J. Vandewater of
Matteawan, who had been an original subscriber to the Stock, became
president, and made unsuccessful attempts to revive the project.
^Matteawan. The name of this village was originally restricted
to the mills. It was incorporated in 1886,^ and now includes within
1. WiUard H. Mase was the first president of the village.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 319
its limits Byrnesville, Wiccopee and Tioronda. Local names fot other
neighborhoods were Glory Hill, where the Sargent Industrial School
now stands, and Pancake HoUow on the east side of the creek oppo-
site the railroad station.
The first factory in Matteawan was established in 1814! by
Philip Hone (at one time Mayor of New York), and Eetfer A.
Schenck, who had married Margaret Brett, granddaughter of
Matfam Brett. Hone and Schenck built the mill now belonging to the
Matteawan Manufacturing Company. It was a cotton mill. Peter
A. Schenck built the house now owned by the Green Fuel Economizer
Co., formerly the Larch house and earlier the Joseph Blossom house.
He left no children. His brother, UeMg^: -Schenck, married and lived
in what is now known as the Teller house, built by Roger Brett in
1709. Henry Schenck bought this house, together with a large tract
of land adjacent, from his brother-in-law, Theodorus Brett.
Joseph Blossom came to Matteawan from New York, and married
Emerette, daughter of Henry .Schenck, and granddaughter of the
Henry Schenck above mentioned. Joseph Blossom made a fortune
in the lumber trade in the South before the war. Peter H. Schenck
was a nephew of Peter A. Schenck, and succeeded his uncle to the
ownership and management of the miU. Peter H. Schenck married a
Miss Courtney of Philadelphia. Their son, the late John P. Schenck,
M.D., built the house now occupied by the Sargent Industrial School.
He was a famous physician of southern Dutchess, and his professional
record appears in the Medical chapter in this book.
Byrnesville. This district of Fishkill is now better known as
Tioronda. From the county records it appears that William Byrnes
bought a tract of land comprising 274 acres, from Isaac DePeyster
Teller, in June, 1792, and soon after entered into a partner-
ship as millers with Cyrus Newlin, to whom, in September of the same
year, he conveyed an undivided half interest. The deed described the
property as beginning at "Fishkill Bay, adjoining the land of William
AUen" (who then lived on Denning's Point) and running up the Fish-
kill on each side about half a mile, together with the mills and other
water rights. In 1811, the partnership seems to have been dissolved,
for in that year the property was partitioned between its two owners,
Cyrus Newhn taking the lower mill property with fifty-one acres and
320 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
other land adjoining consisting of forty-seven acres more, excepting
a small lot of one-half an acre reserved by the Tellers for a burial
place. Cyrus Newhn, in the deed, is described as "of the county of
Newcastle and State of Delaware." He never lived in Fishldll, though
he often came there to visit his son Robert, who was the manager of
his interest in the partnership and succeeded him after Cyrus died
in 1824..
Both WiUiam Byrnes and Cyrus Newlin were of the "Society of
Friends," commonly known as Quakers. The house where Cyrus New-
lin's sons Robert and Isaac made their home was built by Madam Brett
for her sister who married a DePeyster. The Newlins enlarged the
house, each brother with his family having separate apartments, and
there they lived until Isaac died. Robert Newlin's daughter Anna
married the late William S. Verplanck.. The Newlin homestead with
the adjoining land passed temporarily into the possession of the Bos-
ton, Hartford & Erie Railroad, a company which was organized soon
after the Civil War. A deep cut was made across the property close
to the house, making it undesirable for a residence. This company
failed before rails were laid to Denning's Paint, and later was re-
organized under the name of the New York & New England Railroad
Co. and the terminus changed to Fishkill Landing.
WiccoPEE is an adjoining neighborhood. The name was applied to
the district along the creek between Wolcott bridge and Tioronda.
Daniel Annan, a lieutenant in the War of the Revolution, bought a
tract of land from the Brett estate. His purchase extended east of
the creek from a point opposite the present Tioronda bridge, north-
easterly along the creek to a point near the railroad station in Mat-
teawan, thence it extended eastward into the mountains to "Solomon's
Bergh" (North Beacon), thence southerly to a point in range with
Tioronda — ^in all a tract of about 750 acres. The Daniel Annan home-
stead stood on the road leading to Cold Spring, east of the residence
of the late Joseph Howland. The house afterwards fell into ruin, and
there was built on its site the house known as "Mountain Rest," where
the Misses Wagner had a boarding school for girls for a number of
years, and which was discontinued about twenty years ago. Daniel
Annan was buried in the cemetery of the Presbyterian Church at
Buinckerhoffville. Lieutenant Annan's first wife was a Miss Van
Wyck. By his second wife. Miss Allen of Quaker Hill in the town of
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 321
Pawling, he had a son, Daniel Annan, Jr., who married Margaret,
daughter of Theodorus Brett. This Daniel Annan was a surgeon in
the War of 1812, and he was buried in what is now St. Luke's ceme-
tery, Matteawan. Their children were: Mrs. James W. Andrews,
Mrs. Samson Adolphus Benson, and two sons,. William and Alexander,
the latter a captain in the Civil War.
The Oil Groimds. The district lying between the villages of Mat-
teawan and Fishkill-on-Hudson known as the Oil Grounds takes its
name from the circumstance that about 1865 petroleum oil was found
flowing on the surface of the swampy land then quite extensive here.
Oil and mining schemes were then rife all over the country, so it was
not surprising that the people of Fishkill should become seized with
the craze. An examination of the oil proved that it was the genuine
article. The land was soon sold and a company Organized, and there-
upon pumping operations begun. The result was a complete failure.
Investigation showed that the genuine petroleum had been surrepti-
tiously brought to the spot in cans and sunk into the ground. The
result was such that when prospectors walked about or ran poles down
here and there, oil would constantly rise to the surface. The person
who actually did this became known as the "Swamp Angel." He con-
fessed in order to secure exemption from prosecution. A few people
of prominence were implicated and several reputations suffered, but
no one seems to have been sent to prison.
The house now occupied by Mr. Winthrop Sargent, known as
Wodenethe, was begun by Robertson Rodgers of New York, who sold
the property, before the house was fuUy completed, to Mr. Henry
Elliott of New York. He had married a sister of Samuel Whittemore,
mentioned below. In 1840 Mr. Elliott sold the property to the late
Henry Winthrop Sargent, who enlarged the house and greatly em-
bellished the grounds, which when he bought the property were a rough,
somewhat sterile piece of land partially covered by a poor growth of
trees. The opportunities of the place were obvious to a person of
Mr. Sargent's discernment. Although an amateur, he may justly be
called the originator of landscape architecture in the United States.
He was a friend of Andrew J. Downing, who lived at Newburgh, where
he wrote several books that made an impression in connection with the
development of landscape gardening and horticulture in this country,
and where he conducted numerous experiments in horticulture and
322 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
floriculture. An ingenious feature of the laying out of Wodenethe
is tlie concealment of the boundary line, thus giving the effect of
much larger area. The river, too, although nearly a haK mile distant,
seems to reach the grounds. Vistas were made through- the trees
giving superb views of the Highlands and the river.
A neighbor of the late Henry Winthrop Sargent, whose place, Rose-
neath, also has superb views of mountain and river was the late Charles
Moseley Wolcott, born 1816. He married first, Mary, daughter of
Samuel C. Goodrich, who died without issue. He married second,
Catharine, daughter of Henry A. Rankin, a merchant of New York.
Mr. Wolcott had extensive real estate holdings in Fishkill, includ-
ing farms and village property, as well as interests in rnanufacturing,
in which he was at one time associated with Robert G. Raitkin, who
also lived at Fishkill some years and built there. Mr. Wolcott, by
his second marriage, had three children who lived to maturity. His
son, Henry Goodrich, married Julia, daughter of the late Waldo
HutchMns ; and his daughter, Katherine, married Samuel Verplanck
and they now occupy Roseneath. This house was built by Lieutenant
Ward of the United States Navy about seventy-five years ago. His
wife was a sister of Samuel Whittemore, who married Louisa, daugh-
ter of John Peter DeWint, and Hved in the Wren's Nest, a cottage
with attractive grounds on the river a short distance south of the Long
Dock. The place had two entrances, whence the name.
Nearby were the homes of the brothers, Davies- — ^Henry E. at one
time Judge of the Court of Appeals of this State, and Charles, a dis-
tinguished professor of mathematics at West Point and iafteirwards at
Columbia College. The houses built by them are both standing, Prof.
Davies's house being now occupied by the Wilson School, and Judge
Davies's house by Daniel W. Bumham.
The house now occupied by Mrs. Douglass W. Burnham was for-
merly the home of William Kent, many years Judge of the Supreme
Court of this State. Jiidge Kent was the son of Chancellor Kent.
He died in 1861 and is buried near his father in St. Luke's Cemetery.
Other former residents of Fishkill were the preacher, Henry Ward
Beecher, Dr. De LaMontague and Dr. James Sykes Rumsey.
The Denning family occupied the old house on Denning's Point,
built by WiUiam Allen about a century ago. He had married Maria,
the daughter of Gulian Verplanck, who had purchased the property
JOHN T. SMITH.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 323
from the DePeyster family. This property wa» then known as the
"Island in Fishkill Bay," as the records at Poughkeepaie attest. From
this it can be inferred that ori^nally the Pwit had been an island.
It is probable that it was the Denniags who built a causeway, thus
converting the island into a point, for tli*ey gave it the name "Pres-
quile" (almost an island). The Denmngs rem^tined nt the Point until
the death of Miss Jane Denning atout fifteen years ago.
Joseph Howland, who married Ehza N. Woolsey, came to Fishkill
about 1855. He bought the Freeland property of over a hundred
acres lying on the slope of the mountains east of the creek, where he
built the house "Tioronda." On the breaking out of the Civil War
Mr. Howland went to the frent, where he soon attained distinc-
tion and rose to the r9,nk of General. He was much interested in the
development and improvement of the two neighbering villages, par-
ticularly Matteawan, where he established a library which bears his
name. He also took an active part in the establishment of the
National Bank at Fishkill-on-Hudson, as well as the Savings Bank.
Smith T. Van Buren, a son of the President, lived at Fishkill for
many years. Mr. Van Buren had been Secretary of Legation under
Washington Irving when he was Minister to Spain.
GiiENHAM takes its name from Rocky Glen, a wild and picturesque
part of the creek between Matteawan and Fishkill Village, where the
water rushes through a gorge. It was here that the factories were
built about 1811, and a village sprang up which soon absorbed the
little hamlet of Red Rock nearby.
An interesting and well-known character of days past, who lived
here, was Joe Tom, a coal black negro, a fish peddler through the
week, and on Sunday a preacher. He had a stentorian voice, and
possessed a fund of anecdotes, humorous as well as pathetic. Joe
was an expert in smoking hams and herrings.
The AUard Anthony house on the east side of the road between
Glenham and Fishkill Village, now known as the Knapp house, was
built by Heinrich Knapp in 1737. The initials "H. K." could at one
time be deciphered on the gable of the house. This house and adjoin-
ing farm afterwards came into the possession of the late Frederick
Sc®field, the uncle of Mrs. Charles Bartow. Miles Scofield, one of
three brothers, came from Stamford, Conn., soon after the Revolu-
tionary War, and settled in the Highlands below Fishkill Village.
324 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Another brother, Lebeus, the ancestor of Mrs. Bartow, bought this
land near Glenham.
FisHKii,!, Village dates from a period long prior to the Revolu-
tionary War, and it sprang up like many of the old villages of New
England, from houses being built along a thoroughfare near a cross
road. Though picturesque with its old churches and houses of past
days, its two broad, slanting streets, shaded by overhanging trees, and
uniting near the Dutch Church, it lacks the "Green" of a New Eng^
land town. But this want is more than offset by its proximity to
the mountains, its situation at the north gate of the Highlands,
through the narrow defiles of which the old turnpike passes between
Albany and New York. This road was laid out two centuries ago and
foUows the line of the old Indian trail. Along it the stage coaches
rumbled in years long past, by the old mile stones, some of which are
still standing. To the west is the "Green Fly" (Dutch Vly), a large
swamp, although it is much reduced in size since the days of the early
settlers. In former times the line of the Post Road to Albany, via
Wappinger's Falls and Poughkeepsie, was carried over high ground,
once known as Osbom's Hill, to avoid the swamp, and it is this hill
which shelters the village from the westerly winds, — cold in winter,
dry and hot in summer.
Just beyond Trinity Church, the road through the village branches-
in two, one eastward toward Brinckerhoff and Johnsville, passing sev-
eral old homesteads, and the other, the Post Road, southward through
the Highlands, past the Rapelje homestead, soon to cross the Put-
nam County line.
The village has always been quiet and secluded, the creek even lend-
ing itself to such repose. Rapid and impetuous, above and below,
yet so slow and placid is this stream as it passes through the village
that it lacks the energy to turn the wheel for a mill. The coming of
the Dutchess & Columbia Railroad forty years ago roused the old
place from its slumbers and a few factories sprang up, but they soon
languished and finally gave up the ghost. In 1876 a great fire rav-
aged the town, destroying many of the old style wooden buildings,
which have since been replaced by brick ones. Fifty years ago Ben-
jamin Aymar, Judge Jackson and other families from the city of
New York spent the summer months at the village. Later the Aymar
plac* was occupied by the distinguished engineer, Oliver W. Barnes,
until his death.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 325
Other residents of two or three generations back were : J. W. Oppie,
counsellor-at-law, and Miss Oppie ; Mrs. Chatterton ; Hon. J. L. Jack-
son, whose house was on the corner of the Post Road where it turns
west ; C. A. Jackson lived further down the road leading to Matteawan
and the river; I. E. Cotheal lived in the Rapelje house of his ances-
tors, now owned by Mr. W. T. Blodgett. There was a boarding
school for girls, and another for boys. Dr. Lewis H. White was prac-
ticing medicine, and J. E. Van Steenburgh was cashier of the bank,
then a prosperous concern. Samuel Hajrt was a wool dealer with a
large county business, and Charles Burnham was a carriage maker.
Baxtertown is a small hamlet on a by-road two miles to the west
of Fishkill Village. It is mostly occupied by negroes, in whom flows
blood of the Wappinger Indians, As the settlters came in and
occupied the best of the land the Indians were relegated to the poorer
land of the interior, for they did not take to agriculture, and inter-
marrying with the negroes who were originally brought into the
country as slaves they merged with them, and thus lost their identity.
Many of the Fishkill negroes bear Indian features and some of them
Indian traits. The Catskill family of Baxtertown is an illustration
of this — old Harry was a well-built and handsome man with straight
hair and almost no negro features. Harry would work on the farm
for a few days in the "hay and harvest," then the blood of the old
Wappinger would begin to stir, and he was off to stream and forest
with rod and gun, leaving his wife Maria as the bread winner to do
cooking in the kitchens of some of the old families.
About two miles south of Fishkill Village on the old Post Road is
a monument, erected October 14, 1897, by the Melzingah Chapter
Daughters American Revolution, to mark the spot where were buried
the soldiers who died in large numbers, of diseases, while in camp here
during the Revolution. The tablet on the monument reads as follows :
1776-1783
IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE BRAVE MEN
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY
DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
AND WHOSE REMAINS REPOSE IN THE ADJOINING FIELD.
Washington expected that the British would force their way north-
ward through the Highlands, so he reinforced himself strongly against
them in this neighborhood. A short distance below, on the Post Road,
326 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
where the valley is narrow, earth-works were thrown up against the
enemy's advance. They, too, have been marked by an appropriate
tablet, viz. :
ON THE HILLS BACK OF THIS STONE STOOD THREE
BATTERIES GUARDING THIS PASS
1776-1783
MELZINGAH CHAPTER
DAUGHTERS AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1903.
The "Battle of Fishkill" never took place, however, and other places
reaped the glory in the achievement of our independence.
West of this road, on the mountains, is the monument on North
Beacon to commemorate the burning of signal fires on North and
South Beacons during the War of the Revolution, erected by Melzin-
gah Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, July 4!ti[, 1900.
Beinckeuhopf. About two miles northeast of Fishkill Village is
the hamlet of Brinckerhoff, named from the family which had two
homesteads in the neighborhood, that of Derrick being near the old
Pitfesbyterian Church and the Star Mills, while John BrinckerhofF's
was further up the Fishkill near its confluence with the Sprout.
At the gate of the Derrick Brinckerhoff homestead, now owned by
his descendant, Mr. Frank BrinckerhofF, formerly stood the Presby-
terian Church, built in the eighteenth century. It was here that
Chancellor Kent's father used to preach frequently on his way from
his home in Putnam County to Poughkeepsie. The church in those
days, and until it was destroyed by fire about forty years ago, had a
considerable congregation, but with its destruction the congregation
scattered among other churches in the neighborhood and no new build-
ing was erected. The adjacent grJaveyard, now known as the Rom-
bout cemetery, contains the old graves of early settlers of the neigh-
borhood.
In 1902 Melzingah Chapter, D. A. R., erected a tablet with an in-
scription as follows:
ON THE KNOLL STOOD THE "MIDDLE CHURCH" (PRESBYTERIAN)
. BUILT 1747— RE-BUILT 1830— BURNED 1866. USED
AS A MILITARY HOSPITAL DURING
THE JlMERICAN REVOLUTION.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 327
The same chapter of D. A. K.., in June, 1905, erected a tablet to
preserve the story of the old mills, which reads :
STAR MILLS.
BUILT BY ABRAM BRINCKERHOFP
BURNED ABOUT 1777 AND RE-BUILT BY THE ORDER
OF GENERAL WASHINGTON WHILE THE TROOPS
WERE ENCAMPED AT FISHKILL.
Near the graveyard is a monument erected May 30th, 1898, by the
Lafayette Post, N. Y. G. A. R., to commemorate Lafayette's illness
and sojourn during the Revolution when he was the guest of Colonel
BrinckerhoflF. General Daniel Butterfield and Henry Tremain, Esq.,
made addresses on the occasion of the dedication.
CHURCHES.
The Dutch Church, Fishkill Village. According to the late T.
Van Wyck BrinckerhofF, the Dutch Church at Foughkeepsie was the
first church that was built in Dutchess County. The exact year of
building is not so apparent. Probably about 1720. The writer adds
that the church at Fishkill was built in 1731. "The petition to his
excellency, John Montgomery, Esq., states 'that the members of said
congfej^ation have agreed amongst themselves to erect and Iniild a
convenient church, to the public worship of God, nigh the said Fish-
kill Creek.' The glebe land for the first church at Fishkill, which by
the way was the first church built on the Romboudt Patent, was given
by Madam Brett and by Johannis Terboss. For twenty years it was
the only church in the Patent. It was attended on alternate Sabba,th
mornings, by people living far in the interior beyond Hopewell and
Hackensack. For, beside Poughkeepsie, there was no other church,
at that day on the east side of the Hudson, above the Highlander unless
in the vicinity of Albany. Whenever, therefore, the preacher lifted
his voice at Fishkill, it was the only voice, the only open pulpit in all
that land. Rev. Cornelius Van Schie was the first pastor of the
churches of Fishkill and Poughkeepsie. He was duly iinstalkd over
this field of labor on the 4th of October, 1781. He removed to Albany
in 1788. He was succeeded by the Rev< Benjamin Meinema^ the sec-
ond pastor of the two churches. * * * Mr. Meinema was suc-
ceeded by Rev. Mr. Van Nist, in November, 1758. But little is known
of Mr. Van Nist. He only lived to retain his charge three years, and
328 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS,
died in early manhood in 1761. He was buried in the ground adjoin-
ing the church." Rev. Reginald Duffield is the present pastor.
A dominie of the Dutch Church, FishkiU, of the eighteenth century,
who should not be forgotten was Dr. Rysdyck (or Rysdike) ; he was
pastor of the church there from 1772 to 1790. BrinckerhoiF says of
him:
"About this time Dr. Rysdike discontinued his charge over the Poughkeepsle
congregation, devoting his tinie to Fishkill, Hopewell and New Hackensack. He
died in 1790, and was buried under the spire of the church at New Hackensack,
the floor being removed for that purpose. He was considered in his day one of
the most accomplished preachers and scholars in America. The classics were as
familiar to him as his own Holland tongue, and he was, also, a thorough Oriental
Hebrew scholar. Educated in the best universities abroad, the accomplishments
of the gentleman and the scholar were so blended as to be inseparable. His affa-
bility and address are to this day spoken of, and his appearance is said to have
been very • imposing. In person the Doctor was rather stoutly made, and, as was
the custom of that day, rode through his charge on horseback. He always wore
a cocked hat and wig, and invariably lifted his hat from his head in passing any-
one, and gave them a friendly salutation. Upon Sabbath mornings he would ride
to the church door and dismount, handing his horse to the sexton, who stood in
readiness waiting his coming."
From the tablet on the Dutch Church, placed on the occasion of the
one hundred and sevienty-fifth anniversary, we learn that it was or-
ganized in 1716 — Building erected in 1731 — Provincial Convention
met here 1776' — Mihtary Prison during the Revolution — ^Enlarged
1786— Remodeled 1806-'20-'54-'82.
The graveyard of the Dutch Church contains many interesting
tombstones. The inscription on the earHer ones are in old Dutch.
They mark the graves of the families of Van Voorhis, Brinckerhoff
and others. Here, too, lies the bodies of the Rapelje, Swartwout,
Verplanck, DuBoiis and Mesier and other early settlers of the Town-
ship. The late Elias Van Voorhis, in his family history, has written
on this graveyard, and later Miss Laura Rosa of Fishkill also pub-
lished a valuable article on the same subject. Many of the inscrip-
tions on the early Brinckerhoff gravestones, tending to become ruinous
were placed on the walls inside the church by the late Abram DuBois,
a noted physician of New York. Dr. DuBois was a native of Fish-
kiU *and much interested in its history and development. He was a
libera] donor in aid of the Rural Cemetery.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 329
Trinity CHtrncH, Fishkill Village.^ To find the origin of this par-
ish we must go back to the year 1756, when this State was a province
under the sovereignty of Great Britain. At that time the Rev. Sam-
uel Seabury was one of the Missionaries of the Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel (a body estabhshed in this country by the Church
of England). He had settled at Hempstead, Long Island, for more
than ten years when he rode on horseback up into Dutchess County to
found the church in this region. He had been a student at Yale, but
ended by taking his degree at Harvard in 1724, and in August, 1780,
he was ordained a priest by the Bishop of London. After staying in
England two years he went by appointment to New London, Connecti-
cut, his native place, there he remained ten years before taking up his
charge at St. George's Church, Hempstead. Ow^g to the acrimony
which existed on Long Island at that time between the various sects,
in which Dr. Seabury took no part whatever, he decided to leave that
part of the country and become a missionary.
Dutchess County in 1756 had a population of 14!,157 people, and
included within its boundaries all of Putnam and a good part of
Columbia counties. On Dr. Seabury's arrival he was entertained
for several days at the house of Judge Terbos, and afterwards by the
courtesy of the Dutch minister and the deacons he held services in
their church. As many as three hundred people attended, coming
from many miles away, several of whom offered to aid Dr. Seabury
in the purchase of a glebe and the erection of a church. An unfor-
tunate dispute arose with the churchmen at Poughkeepsie over the
right to use these subscriptions. It was settled, however, in favor of
FishkiU, whereupon the building which is now standing was erected.
The land on wMch the church stands was given in September, 1767,
and pledges for the erection of a church were not fully completed
until 1769.
The tablet placed on Trinity Church on the occasion of the one
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its foundation tells us: Founded
by Samuel Seabury in communion with the Church of England, 1756
— Building erected about 1760— Rev. John Beardsley, first rector,
October 26, 1776. Occupied by New York Provincial Convention
which removed from White Plains, September 3, 1776.— Used as a
Hospital by the Army of Washington until disbanded, June 2, 1783.
1. Extracts from an historical address by Rev. Joaepli Ivle, a former rector.
330 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
At a vestry meeting of Trinity Church, Fishkill, held November 2,
1796, the following vestrymen were present: Jeremiah Green, Ben-
jamin Snider, John F. Carman, John Southard, Greenlief Street,
Francis Peyer, Daniel C. Verplanck. The present rector is the Rev.
Clinton Durant Drumm.
The Reformed Dutch Chubgh at Fishkill-on-Hudson, was estab-
lished in 1813, as an offshoot of the present church at Fishkill Village,
which the growth of population on the river warranted. Among the
principal donors of land and money was John Peter DeWint, also the
Wiltse, Brett, Van Vliet, Verplanck, CromweH, Bogardus, Crosby,
Brinckerhoff, Purdy and other families.
The name of the first pastor does not appear on the recordis, but the
Rev. Cornelius Westbrook was in charge from 1819 to 1823. His
successors were Rev. William S. Heyer, 1823-''51 ; Rev. J. Howard
Suydam, 1852-'63; Rev. Joseph Kimball, 18e3-'65; Rev. Martin L.
Berger, 1865-'70; Rev. Charles W. Fritts, 18Tl-'99; Rev. Edward A.
MacCuUum, 1899 .
In 1860 the old church was replaced by the present building, during
the pastorate of the Rev. J. H. Suydam, who was very active during
the Civil War in arousing the patriotism of the people of this neigh-
borhood, and instrumental in organizing relief societies of various
kinds.
Within the past year a tablet has been placed in the church in mem-
ory of Dr. Fritts, testifying to his long, useful and honored services
both for his church and the community.
Methodist Episcopal Churches. The following review of the
Methodist Episcopal Society in Matteawan and Fishkill Landing was
furnished by the Rev. Arthur Thompson, recently pastor at the for-
mer place.
In 1819 a surveyor, afterward editor of the Poughheepsie Eagle,
found Methodist societies of considerable strength along the eastern
border of Fishkill, and in the adjoining towns of Kent and Patterson
in Putnam County. Already a large camp-meeting had been estab-
lished in the vicinity.
For several years prior to 1819, meetings were usually held in the
Tillbtt and Ketchum neighborhood, a short distance from Matteawan,
on the east side of the creek. An old stone house, formerly occupied
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 331
by the family of John Tillott, was appropriated to that purpose. Ser-
vices were held occasionally at the house or barn on the farm of Mr.
Ketchum, now owned by Mr. John R. Maddock.
In 1819 the usual meeting place was changed to the school house
west of the creek, and located on the old road about midway between
Matteawan aiid the Landing near the old Methodist cemetery.
During the earlier years this field was included in the Dutchess
Circuit, which required a six weeks' journey of its pastors in order to
cover the field. In 1819 it was changed to a four weeks' appoint-
ment. On the opening of the new road or Main street, a site was
selected for a church edifice.
On March 29th, 1824, a meeting was held in the school house, and
a boai^d of trustees was elected for the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Fishkill, consisting of Gerardiiis De Forest, John Tillott, Henry
McDonald, Jacob Cooper, and William Doughty.
The building was erected and dedicated in the fall of 1824i. On the
day of dedication sermons were preached by Rev. Mr. Washburn of
Poughkeepsie ; Rev. Mr. Cochran, one of the circuit preachers, and
Rev. William S. Hyer, pastor of the Reformed Church. The con-
sistory of this society closed their own church for this occasion.
In the spring of 1825 this appointment was made a station. Ser-
vices were held in the Main street church until after the division of
the society in 1860. The last service was held Sunday, February Srd,
1861. The building was sold to Horatio N. Swift, and used as a
public hall for many years. It was while occupied by the Roman
Cathohcs and known as St. John's Church that it burned, February
12, 1890.
Previous to the division of the church in 1860, the society came to
be known as the Matteawan Methodist Church. The Fishkill Land-
ing portion of the divided society purchased a Presbyterian Church
which was to be sold at foreclosure, and improved it for their church
home. The Matteawan people secured a lot where the Newburgh,
Dutchess & Connecticut station now stands. The corner stone was
laid October 13, I860, and the building dedicated January 16, 1862.
This was a brick structure seating four hundred persons in the audi-
torium, having lecture and class rooms below, and cost $7,000. The
new Matteawan society began with a rdll of 115 members. In 1869
the building of the N. D. & C. railroad compelled the abandonment of
332 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the church building, which was sold to the company. St. Anna's
Episcopal Church building was then purchased and torn down.
The comer stone of the present structure was laid August 3, 1869.
The building was completed at a cost of $37,000 and dedicated May
7, 1870. Toward the cost of the property $10,000 net proceeds from
the sale of the former church was apphed. Nearly $10,000 was
pledged on the day of dedication. A substantial reduction was made
in the indebtedness during the pastorate of Rev. Thomas Loge (1871-
'72). There yet remained a mortgage of $12,000, when Rev. J. J.
Dean began the securing of pledges October 16, 1878. The whole
amount was finally secured and the mortgage was paid under the
pastorate of Rev. C. R. North, August 18, 1880.
The parsonage is located on North street, and is free of aU in-
debtedness. The church building on Main street is one pf the finest
specimens of semi-Gothic architecture along the Hudson river. The
membership numbers about three hundred and seventy.
The Pkesbyterian Chuech, Matteawan. In August, 1907, this
church celebrated its "Diamond Jubilee." On this occasion a historic
address was delivered by the Rev. Paul Stratton, and Mr. Joseph N.
Badeau wrote a historic sketch, both of which were published in the
Fishkill Standard soon afterwards. From these sources the following
information is gathered:
Seventy-five years ago the Presbyterian Church began when the
"Presbytery of North River" met in the little schoolroom over the Mat-
teawan store. The existence of the society goes back much further
than this for it appears, according to the early records, that "a num-
ber of the inhabitants of Matteawan and its vicinity met and formed
a society by the name of the First Presbyterian Society at Mattea-
wan." On this occasion twenty-four persons signed their names to
the roll and these became charter members. They continued to meet
in the upper part of the old Matteawan store and were first preached
to by the Rev. Mr. Armstrong. These quarters soon proving too
small, "the Presbytery of North River" met on the 27th of August,
1833, and organized the first Presbyterian Church in Mattewan, and
thereupon, in response to a petition which was subscribed by a great
number of people, a building was erected on the same ground on which
the present building now stands — a building which stood for thirty-
eight years thereafter.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 333
About 1870 it became evident that the old building was no longer
large enough to suit the increased size of the congregation and steps
were thereupon taken for the erection of another building. Plans were
prepared by the celebrated architect, Richard M. Hunt, of New York.
The committee to raise the funds consisted of Miss Violet Gordon,
Messrs. James M. Taylor, Robert Gordon, William H. Laurens and
Mrs. Thomas J. Way. The result was that on the 17th day of July,
1872, the building was completed and dedicated.
Among those who subscribed hberally to the fund were Gen. Joseph
Rowland, Robert H. Halgin and WiUard H. Mase. The last pastor
of the old church was the late Dr. F. R. Masters, who, however, to
the regret of all was never able to preach in the new church. The first
minister who officiated there was the Rev. J. L. Sgott. The Rev. Dr.
Wickham was the first pastor ; Dr. Irenaeus Prime was pastor for one
year, being followed by the Rev. Sylvester Eaton. Then came Dr.
Van Zandt, who was followed by the Rev. James Harkness, D.D., and
later Mr. Davies and Dr. Carver.
Mr. Theodore Van Vliet was a trustee of the church for thirty-four
years.
On the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the church the
Rev. Thomas Reeves was then pastor, when the occasion was appro-
priately recognized by services in the church. The Rev. Frank M.
Carson succeeded Mr. Reeves, remaining for five years. The Rev.
Plato T. Jones succeeded him, remaining for eleven years, and he in
turn was succeeded by the Rev. Paul Stratton.
The Rev. Mr. Carr has recently become pastor of the church-
Si. Luke's Church, Matteawan. The church of the parish which
is now known as St. Luke's was built in June, 1870, under the rector-
ship of the Rev. Henry E. Duncan. The land consisting of twelve
acres was given by Judge Henry E. Davies, in memory of his son.
Colonel C. T. Davies, and the ground for the building was broken on
the 10th of August, 1868. On the 17th of October of the same year
a corner stone was laid by the Rev. Dr. J. J. Robertson, a former
rector of the parish, when it was known as St. Anna's, and on the 16th
of December of the following year the church bell was first rung.
The architecture of the church and the laying out of the grounds
were intrusted to the late Henry W. Sargent, to whose good taste and
judgment the parishioners readily deferred. The late Frederick C.
334 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Withers, whose first wife was Miss Emily DeWint, was selected as the
architect. Owing to the great cost of the church a large debt was
carried for several years; but during the rectorship of Dr. Bartlett
these incumbrances were discharged so that on the 17th of October,
1879, the church was consecrated by Bishop Potter.
On the completion of the church in 1870 the officers were: Rev.
Henry E. Duncan, Rector; James S. Rumsfey and John B. Seaman,
Wardens; Cornelius Van Tine, John J. Monell, John VanderBurgh,
Adrian V. Knevels, Henry Slack, James Wade, Smith T. Van Buren
and Winthrop Sargent, Vestrymen, During this year a school house
and rectory also were built on the new grounds. In 1887 the new
rectory was burned and the rector, Rev. Henry Bedinger, and his
family barely escaped with their lives. A great part of the parish
records and other property were lost in this fire. It followed imme-
diately after the great affliction which the rector was compelled to
suffer in the death of two of his children within a few days of each
other.
On the 9th day of June, 1895, the parish appropriately commemo-
rated the twenty-fifth anniversary of completion of the church. As
a matter of fact, however, the parish was then nearly sixty-three years
old, for St. Luke's is but the successor to, or rather the same as, St.
Anna's parish, for when the vestry of the latter church determined to
move from the center of the village in Matteawan, owing to the build-
ing of the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad, it seemed wise to give a
new name to the parish. When St. Anna's was torn down and St.
Luke's was built no other change took place in the parish or among
the communicants. St. Anna's stood on the site of the present Metho-
(Kst Church. It was built of brick and about sixty-five feet long and
thirty-six feet wide. It was in the Grecian temple style of archi-
tecture, with six white coliimns on the front, and faced north.
The new parish of St. Anna's was one of the daughters of old Trin-
ity, at Fishkill Village, and the work of establishing this parish was
begun before 1832 by Miss Hannah Teller and her sister Margaret,
who afterwards married Robert Van Kleeck, the first rector. These
good women lived in tlieir ancestral home, the Brett house, and there
had a Sunday-school, which afterwards assembled over the Matteawan
st^re. Services were soon held there. Mr. Robert Van Kleeck was
the lay reader for the new parish and he continued with them until
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TOWN OF FISHKILL. 335
October, 1832. During the succeeding winter Professor Hackley, of
West Point, took his place. Mr, Van Kleeck was afterwards ordained
and became the first rector. The present rector is the Rev. George
Herbert Toop.
St. Andeew's Church, Fishkill-on-Hudson. "The beginning of
the movement which resulted in the establishment of this church," says
Rev. Mr. George A. Green, the present rector, "takes one back to the
year 1870, when the Rev. Henry E. Duncan, rector of St. Luke's
Church, Matteawan, held a service over the First National Bank, on
January 6th. May 15th, 1870, saw the formation of a Sunday-school
which became incorporated under the name of the 'Teachers' Associ-
ation of Fishkill Landing.' This organization developed into a self
supporting parish. The Sunday-school, under the direction of the
late George A. Seaman, was most successful, the books at times con-
taining the names of 170 scholars and 16 teachers. The Sunday-
school removed from the bank building in October of 1875, to what
became known as the DeWint street chapel. Nineteen years later the
property on South avenue between Main and Beacon streets, with a
building thereon, was purchased for $3,500, and the first service held
December 2, 1894. During the occupancy of both these buildings
the work (of a 'mission' sort) was conducted under the oversight of
the rectors of St. Luke's."
"In 1898 definite efforts were made to organize an independent
parish, and in the spring of 1899, St. Andrew's Church obtained its
charter from the State. July 3rd its first vestry was elected. Church
Wardens, James M. DeGarmo, George H. Williams, M.D. ; Vestry-
men, John P. Rider, Ralph S. Tompkins, John F. VanTine, Charles
H. Seaman, Ferris C. Shahan, Andrew Bleakley. Its first rector.
Rev. Joseph Cameron, entered upon his duties September 21st of the
same year. Almost immediately steps were taken looking to the erec-
tion of a church, and May 4th, 1900, the first sod for its foundation
was turned. January 6th, 1901, the new church was opened for
divine service. Through the kindness of Mr. John P. Rider, a rec-
tory became possible and was built in 1903, adjoining the church.
The whole property represents an outlay of $27,000."
An historical sketch of the CathoUc churches wiU be found in an-
other chapter.
336 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
INDUSTEIES OF FISHXIIiIi.
Mention has already been made passim of the various enterprises
of the town since the days of Madam Brett, who may justly be called
the founder of them. It is now proposed to give a brief history of
the other and later industries, banks, etc., that have tended to develop
the town.
Matteawan and Fishkill Landing are now supplied by water from
the mountains, the ponds, dams, pipes and plant generally, having
been purchased by the village of Matteawan about five or six years
ago, when the private enterprise failed. This was the Fishkill and
Matteawan Water Company, which about fifteen years ago began
operations in the vaUey south of the North Beacon, by building reser-
voirs on the stream which passes into the river over the beautiful cas-
cade and glen known as Melzingah. A few years afterwards, the
company acquired land on the mountains on the north slope of the
North Beacon and there impounded a considerable body of water on
the stream which passes through Matteawan under the name of Dry
Brook. When the village of Matteawan took over both these prop-
erties, an arrangement was made with the village of Fishkill Landing
to take part of the water and purvey it to the inhabitants at cost.
On the whole the scheme has worked well, and when the contemplated
improvements are made to the entire plant there wiU be a satisfactory
solution of the water question, and a most important one it has be-
come, owing to the system of sewers which the two villages have re-
cently installed. Events of this kind are tending to bring them to-
gether, and many years will not elapse before they are consolidated
into one municipality.
The gas and electric light works are operated by private capital.
Principally through the enterprise and activity of the Hon. John T.
Smith an electric railroad was opened about ten years ago, connecting
the ferry at Fishkill-on-the-Hudson with Matteawan and Fishkill Vil-
lage. The power is taken from the creek, supplemented by steam.
The electric light plant, which is also largely due to Mr. Smith, has
since been consolidated with the electric railway and the combined
companies furnish power to several of the industries of the neighbor-
hood.
The historic beacons of the Fishkill mountains have recently been
made easily accessible by the building of an inclined railway, such as
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 337
has been in successful operation on the Catskill mountains for several
years past. The construction of commodious buildings for a summer
pleasure resort has brought large numbers of tourists to the moun-
tains and also enabled them to be readily enjoyed by the inhabitants
of the town, and the increase in the number of tourists has warranted
the opening of a firstclass hotel within the past year. For the incep-
tion and successful operation of this enterprise the town is indebted
to Mr. Weldon F. Weston, his brother, the late W. H. Weston of
Newburgh, and to Mr. Eugene S. Whitney and some others from New
Hampshire.
The following historical review of the industries, banks and trans-
portation is from the pen of Mr. Theodore Brinck&rhoff, president of
the Matteawan National Bank.
The first mill was erected by Madam Brett near the mouth of the
Fishkill Creek. This mill served not only all the inhabitants of the
Rombout Patent, but also a portion of Orange County, grain being
brought across the river in boats to be ground at that mill.
The next mill was erected on the BrinckerhofF lands a few miles east
of Fishkill Village. Two brothers of that name came from Long
Island in 1718, and purchased two thousand acres of land of Madam
Brett. During the Revolutionary W^r this mill was owned and oper-
ated by Derick BrinckerhofF, who was very prominent in organizing
and supplying the Continental troops with provisions and forage.
Washington, in passing to and from the department of the east, made
his house his stopping place, and LaFayette was confined to his hos-
pitable mansion by illness for six weeks. The room which he occupied
was kept intact when the rest of the house was torn down to make
room for a more commodious mansion. This incident has been com-
memorated by the erection of a monument on the lawn by Lafayette
Post, G. A. R., of New York, who dedicated it with appropriate cere-
monies on Decoration Day, 1898.
It is said that Colonel Derick became somewhat inquisitive in regard
to the movements of the troops, when Washington asked him "if he
could keep a secret." On being assured that he could, Washington
repKed that he also could. This mill was burned during the war and
tradition relates it was rebuilt by the soldiers stationed near Fishkill,
338 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
for the purpose of supplying flour for the troops. This mill is stiD
in esistence, and is owned and occupied by Alexander Dudley.
Colonel Derick Brinckerhoff, like all others of the name in America,
was a descendant of Joris Brinckerhoff and Susannah, his wife, who
came from Flushing, Holland, and settled at Newton, L. I., in 1638.
Five hundred acres of this purchase of the Brinckerhoffs still remain
in the family, being owned and occupied by Frank Brinckerhoff'.
Another of the old Brinckerhoff houses was the homestead of Colonel
John Brinckerhoff, now owned and occupied by Myers Brownell. Its
date of erection as indicated by large iron letters inserted in a stone
inj3i6 wall, was 1738.
r^ The ;iext mill was the Schenck mill, erected by Abraham H. Schesack
in the year 1800.) This mill did a large business grinding grain, and
much of its product in early days was shipped to New York. It is
still, in existence, near the railroad station.
Later, Joseph Byrnes and Robert Newlin erected a mill on the navi-
gable waters of the Fishkill Creek. They dug a canal from the old
Madam Brett dam, nearly a quarter of a mile, to convey water to their
wheel. This mill burned in the late thirties. Messrs. Byrnes and
Newlin dissolved partnership and each built a brick structure, Mr.
Newlin continuing in the milling business and Mr. Byrnes' miU being
used for the manufacture of white lead.
The presidential campaign of 1840 was carried on with great zeal
and earnestness, the principal dividing hne being the tariff, the Whigs
advocating a. high protective tariff and the Democrats one for revenue
only. The Whigs had nominated General William Henry Harrison
for President, mainly on account of his popularity as an Indian
fighter. He had subdued Tecumseh, the ablest Indian of his genera-
tion, at the battle of Tippecanoe, and for that reason the admirers of
Harrison had given him the name of that battle. The country rang
with the plaudits of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and from the fact
that General Harrison was bom or supposed to have been born in a
log cabin, that was made the emblem of the party. The Whigs of
Fishkill had erected their log cabin and had met to dedicate it. Speak-
ers and music (and it was said hard cider too) were provided in
abundance, but a little incident occurred that placed a damper on
thfir enthusiasm. Some one, supposed to be of the opposite political
party, had procured the bladder of a skunk and placed it in the cabin,
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 339
and whea it was stepped on, aAyane acquainted with the pungency,
aril perTadingism and pePsisteiicy of that perfume caU imagine the deep
disgust and indignation of the partisans in and aroUnd that cabin.
The Whigs won that election, and as they had been for twelve long
years outside the breastworks, they hastened to carry out their prin-
ciples.
A high tariff was soon enacted and then came a wild tush to get
into manufacturing, largely the spinning and weaving of cotton
goodtS. New mills were erected wherever water power could be pTo-
cured, as steam had not as yet been used to any extent oU lafld as a
source of power. Flouring mills were dismantled and cotton machin-
ery installed. Both the Newlin and Byrnes mills underwent this ti^ari'S-
formation, George Pine and associates in the one, and John BroWn
and Epenetus Crosby in the other. They had hardly got in opera-
tion when the Democrats came into power in 1844 and with them the
reduction of the rates of duty. This fact, together with the over-
production, drove many of these new ventures to the wall and among
them the Pine and Brown mills. They were again stripped of their
machinery and laid idle for a number of years, when Mr. Sleight
fitted them up as fliouring mills. He brought his Wheat frtoi the West
in canal boats and elevated it directly into the mills, as the raising
of wheat had been largely discontinued in the Hudson Valley, having
followed the Star of Empire, and Rochester was the largest producer
of flour in the United States, the magnificent water poWer of the
Genesee River being used for this purpose. Mr. Sleight's enterprise
did not prove a success and he was succeeded by Mr. Coleman. Dur-
ing his occupancy, which was not a long one, the mills burned, Sep-
tember 9th, 1862, and have never been rebuilt.
During the cotton craze of 1841 and '42 Robert G. Rankin and Mr.
Freeland, his brother-in-law, erected a dam and factory at Wiccopee,
about a quarter of a mile south of the Matteawan Works. During
the' collapse of the cotton spinning business this factory was turned
over to Charles M. Wolcott. He sold it in 1858 to the New York
Rubber Company. This coftcern was organized in 1852 for the pur-
pose of making rubber belting and toys, under the Goodyear patents,
and removed to this point from Staten Island. It has been excellently
managed, has paid good dividends to its stockholders, and been very
liberal to its employees. Mr. John P. Rider is president of the com-
pany.
340 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Glenham mill was organized by Peter H. Schenck, John Jacob
Astor, Philip Hone, Dr. Bartow White and others in the year 1822.
They built a factory for the manufacture of woolen goods. Mr.
Schenck was its first president and was succeeded by his son-in-law,
Russell Dart, Sr., and he in turn was succeeded by his son, Russell
Dart, Jr. The company operated their factory with varied success
until the breaking out of the Civil War, when the demand for indigo
blue goods to clothe the army became so great that the company were
compelled to enlarge their mill to many times its former capacity. In
addition many tenements were built during the inflated period. Be-
tween 1862-18T3 or soon after the latter date, the company having
expended a large share of their profits in brick and mortar and costly
machinery, was unable to stand the shock of the financial panic and
the general drop of prices in rough material and finished goods and
was compelled to make an assignment September 29th, 1873, with
liabihties of $700,000, assets $300,000 in stock and material. B.
Piatt Carpenter, a lawyer of Poughkeepsie, was the asignee, but sub-
sequently a commissioner in bankruptcy was appointed, and under his
direction the property was sold to A. T. Stewart, the noted New York
dry goods man, for $190,000 — only a portion of its cost. This sale
included not only the original Glenham factory, about one hundred
tenements and a farm on the east side of the creek, but also the site
of the former Rocky Glen Cotton Mills which had been acquired from
Gamer & Co. by the Glenham Company, and also several smaller fac-
tories at GroveviUe. Mr. Stewart kept the mills in operation and also
built at GroveviUe in 1876 large and costly factories for the manu-
facture of carpets.
These buildings were equipped with the best and most modem ma-
chinery that money could buy. They had hardly got in successful
operation when by the death of Mr. Stewart the property by some
means came into the possession of Judge Hilton & Sons. Soon after the
Hilton blight fell on, all this property, the original factory at Glen-
ham was allowed to fall into ruins, the machinery sold for junk, and
where was once heard the whirl of the looms and the voices of hun-
dreds of operatives earning their daily bread, is now heard nothing
but the crash of falling ruins and the roar of the waters of the creek
as ihey pass on unused and unutilized.
The GroveviUe mills, owing to their newness and strength, have sO'
JAMES G. MEYER.
TOWN OF nSHKILL. 341
far escaped a similar fate. They ceased operations in the fall of 1893
and have never resumed; the machinery for the most part has been
sold for junk. How long, O men, how long is this Dog in the Manger
policy to be continued? How long are these natural resources of the
town to be wasted and the splendid property which A. T. Stewart
built up allowed to go to decay and ruin?
The Matteawan Company, organized in 1812 by Peter H. Schenck,
J. J. Astor, Philip Hone and others, erected the stone cotton mill in
1814, as attested by the inscription in the wall. The company was
reorganized in 1826, and shortly thereafter they built the machine
shop and foundry on the east side of the creek, devoted largely to the
production of cotton machinery. In 1848 and '49 they built two
locomotives for the Hudson River Railroad Company. The company
made an assignment to Robert G. Rankin and Robert Carver. The
property and assets were sold in the same year by John A. C. Gray,
the receiver, to the Matteawan Manufacturing and Machine Co., of
which Samuel B. Schenck was president and manager. The property
on the east side of the creek was sold under a mortgage held by
Charles M. Wolcott, and purchased by him. This sale was set aside
by the court in justice to the creditors. At a second sale Mr. Wol-
cott purchased the stone cotton mill and the property known as the
Clay mill farther up the creek, together with several outbuildings.
Mr. Wolcott disposed of the property to John Falconer, who operated
it under the name of the Seamless Clothing Manufacturing Co., in
which he was associated with Mr. William Carroll. The company
failed in 1876, and the concern subsequently resumed business under
the name of William Carroll & Co. Mr. Carroll was obliged to sus-
pend payment in 1883, but a few years later liquidated all claims at
one hundred cents on the dollar, and has since continued successfully
in the manufacture of wool and straw hats.
The Rothery File Works was established in 1835 by John Rothery,
who came from Yorkshire, England. Mr. Rothery was the first to
manufacture new files in America. After the business had outgrown
several shops, Mr. Rothery, in company with his sons John and Wil-
liam, purchased property in Tioronda avenue, and erected a commo-
dious plant. In 1873 they erected another large building, which was
destroyed by fire October 28, 1886. It was rebuilt and leased by the
Rotherys to Messrs. Rockwell & Son for a silk factory. The Roth-
342 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
erys had no faith in machine-made files, and refused tp thus equip
their plant. They were eventug,Ily compelled to give up the business,
as they could not compete in price with the machine-made file.
The Fishkill Landing Machine Co. was incorporated February 17,
1853, to engage in the manufacture of stationary and marine engines,
and a general machine business. The original capital was $25,000.
The company was composed of some seventeen individuals, mostly resi-
dents of Matteawan, who had been employed by the Matteawan Co. as
irpn workers.
The Matteawan Manufacturing Co. was organized in 1864!, with a
capital of $150,000, for the manufacture of fine wool hats. This in-
dustry is one of the largest of its kind in the State, and is fully
described in Part II of this work, together with various other indusT
tries of the town, including the New York Rubber Co., the Green
Fuel Economizer Co., the Fishkill Landing Machine Co., the Dutchess
Hat Works, the Dutchess Tool Works, and the A. V. Rockwell Silk
Mills.
The Fishkill and Matteawan Water Works was organized in 1885,
the late Wm. H. Van Vliet being its promoter, and Taintor & Holt,
bankers of New York City, its financial agents. They purchased
twenty acres of land of Catherine and Theodore Brinckerhofi^, and
built a dam across the Melzingah stream nearly four hundred feet
above tidewater, laid mains to the villages and two years later con-
structed another dam farther up the stream. These two reservoirs
not being sufficient to meet the growing necessities of the villages,
another one was constructed on the east side of Mt. Beacon with an
independent outlet. Qn the morning of the 14th day of July, 1897,
about 2 A. M., after several days of rain, a cloudburst struck the upper
dam at Melzingah and tore a great hole in it. The imprisoned
waters rushed down the gorge, breaking through the lower dam and
carrying everything before it — rocks weighing ten tons that had laid
iq the ravine since the glacial period were hurled like pebbles before
the rush of waters to a distance of five hundred feet. Bridges were
carried away, and at TimoneyviUe tenements were wrecked and seven
persons drowned. This disaster crippled the company, and after re-
pairing the lower dam they pfi'ered it for sale, and it was purchased
fey ,4a syndicate in the name of Eugene Whitney, and was subsequently
turned over to the villages.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 343
BEICK INDUSTBIES.
In the late thirties of the nineteenth century John Gillies and Henry
Churchill of Breakneck, Isaac Brinckerhoff of what is now Dutchess
Junction, and John Gowdy on the Wiltse property at Fishkill Land-
ing, established brick yards. These men were the pioneers in a busi-
ness which has since grown to great proportions and has been a source
of employment for many and of great profit to the town. They used
the circular pit and wheel for mixing the materials and a hand press
for moulding the brick. Previous to that time the clay and sand
were mixed by driving oxen through it and moulding it by hand—a
slow and laborious process. In the early forties Mr. Adams invented
a machine, that bore his name, which was used in connection with the
circular pit and wheel for many years, and which mixed and moulded
the brick in one operation. On the advent of the Hudson River Rail-
road in 1847 the Gillies, Churchill and Brinckerhoff yards were dis-
continued, the railroad running through them. Mr. Gowdy continued
to operate his yard and on his retirement was succeeded by Mr.
Joseph Lomas, who, in connection with Stephen Saunters, rented and
afterwards purchased the property from a concern who had acquired
it for the purpose of installing a Chambers machine. This machine
mixed the materials and ran it through a die in a continuous stream
and the brick was cut off the right length by a knife on a large wheel.
During the hard times succeeding the panic of 1873 Mr. Lomas be-
came financially involved and the property was acquired by Mr. Wel-
ler of Newburgh, who sold it to the New York & New England Rail-
road Company and the plant was discontinued. In 1852 Thomas
Aldridge, a shrewd and successful manufacturer, purchased of John
Van Vliet and Isaac Brinckerhoff forty-six acres of clay property and
established a small yard thereon. This has been gradually enlarged
and now has a daily capacity of four hundred and eighty thousand
brick. The property is all operated under leaseholds under control
of the Aldridge Brothers Company.
About 18S5 Joshua Jones, of the noted insurance family of that
name, purchased of Peter C. DuBois forty acres of what was known
as Plum Point. Mr. Jones estabhshed a yard and at his death it was
344 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
acquired by Daniel R. Weed and was afterwards purchased by George
H. Brown for a terminal for the Dutchess & Columbia Railroad. That
part of the property not used by the railroad was rented and after-
wards purchased by W. D. Budd, and at his death the property de-
scended to his two daughters, who have successfully operated and
enlarged it. It has a daily capacity of about one hundred and ten
thousand brick. The Misses Budd were the first to introduce elec-
tricity as a mode of conveying power from the engine to the machines.
About 1856 Daniel Gurnee and relatives purchased of Isaac Brinck-
erhoff thirty-six acres of clay adjoining the Aldridge property and
built a yard. This plant has been run by different tenants with varied
success and is now operated by William K. Hammond, with a daily
capacity of ninety-six thousand. This was one of the properties
purchased by the American Brick Company and on the failure of
that scheme reverted to its original owners to their large profit.
About 1870 George Wade and the Van Amburgh family built a
yard on their premises adjoining the Gurnee yard, and after operat-
ing a year or two, sold it to a syndicate of New Yorkers who had a
contract for furnishing brick for the Fourth Avenue Tunnel. In
consequence of the depreciation in the price of brick and by mis-
management the company failed and it was acquired by Samuel R.
Piatt, of the Buckeye Mowing Machine Company of Poughkeepsie, which
had large claims on the company. At his death the property was
purchased by Francis Timoney, whose heirs stiU own it. The daily
capacity is about two hundred and twenty thousand.
In the late fifties William H. Van Vliet started a small brick plant
in connection with his saw miU on the tide water of the Fishldll Creek.
Mr. Van Vliet was one, if not the very first, to attempt drying brick
by artificial heat. He used hot air. It was not a success, and owing
to the distance from the main channel of the Hudson River and the
absence of harbor tugs, the yard was discontinued. Mr. Van Vliet
was the first to use wheel trucks for conveying brick from the machines
to the drying yard. By this means one man carried from thirty to
forty brick, while by the old way one boy or man carried only five.
In the late fifties Benjamin Gardner built a yard on the Rumsey
property at Fishkill Landing. This yard was run by different ten-
ante until the New York & New England Railroad was built in front
of it, when it was discontinued.
m
*^
WHK^ttB^^^tk
^j^
A. H. BLACKBURN.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 345
In the early eighties Alexander McLane built for Mr. Homer Rams-
dell a yard on the John Wiltse property near Denning's Point. This
property, together with a part of Denning's Point, the Newlin Mills
and the Newlin homestead, had been acquired by Mr. Ramsdell by
virtue of a mortgage which the Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad
Company had given him to secure the purchase price of his ferry and
some Newburgh property. On the failure of the company, Mr. Rams-
dell came into possession of the whole. This yard has been enlarged
at different times and now has a capacity of about two hundred and
fifty thousand per day.
In the late nineties Messrs. Hammond & Freeman established a yard
next south of the Timoney plant, with a daily capacity of about ninety
thousand brick. «
In the late fifties Mr. Gilbert CoUins built a yard on his property
near Chelsea, then known as Low Point. At his death it was pur-
chased by Thomas Aldridge, who afterwards sold the property to
James V. Mead, who operated it until the clay at a workable distance
from the surface was exhausted, when the yard was abandoned.
In the eighties Charles Griggs built a yard on the Hunt property
at Chelsea. It has since been run by different tenants. It has a
capacity of about seventy thousand.
The Brockway Brick Company, about half way between Chelsea
and Fishkill Landing, occupies the site of the seventy-acre property
formerly the country seat of the late William Y. Mortimer, from
whom Edwin Brockway bought it in 1886. By extensive filling in
along the front the yard has become the largest in output on the
east bank of Newburgh Bay.
The death of William S. Verplanck in 1885 brought several addi-
tional yards into existence which have been operated under leases and
are adjacent to the Brockway Brick Company. Among the tenants
were O'Brien & Vaughey, William Lahey, Clayton C. Bourne, Thomas
Dinan, WiUiam H. Aldridge and John Paye. Part of these clay prop-
erties were incorporated under the name of the Verplanck Brick Com-
pany. All together they have a daily capacity of over 400,000 bricks.
BANKS.
The First National Bank of Fishkill Landing was organized August
10, 1863, with a capital of $50,000, which was increased in 1864 to
346 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
$100,000, and in 1872 to $150,000. July 1, 1876, the capital was
reduced to $100,000, at which figure it has since remained. This
hank was among the very earliest to organize under the National Bank
Act, as evidenced by its charter number, 35. Captain Walter Brett
was its first president, and Conrad N. Jordan its first cashier. Janu-
ary 1, 1870, Mr. Brett was succeeded by James Mackin, who con-
tinued at the head of this institution until 1886, when the Hon. John
T. Smith was chosen president and has held that office to the present
time. Mr. Thomas Aldridge, for many years paying teller, has re^
cently become cashier, through the death of Mr. Milton E. Curtiss,
wlio had been cashier for upwards of thirty-five years.
The Mechanics' Savings Bank of Fishkill Landing, of which the
Hon. John T. Smith has been president since 1883, was chartered
March 5, 1866. Joseph Howland was elected its first president, and
was succeeded in 1868 by WiUiam S. Verplanck. Silas G. Smith
accepted the presidency in 1873, holding the office until his death in
1883,
The Matteawan Savings Bank was chartered March 21, 1871, with
twenty-one trustees. It opened for business in April of that year in
the office of the National Felt Works. David Davis was its first
president and was succeeded by Willard H. Mase. For the past
fifteen years the Hon. Samuel K. Phillips has been at the head of
this institution.
The Matteawan National Bank was organized in 1893, with eapi-'
tal of $100,000. It opened its doors for business on the 23d of
May of that year. Mr. Theodore BrinckerholF was chosen president,
and Mr. David Graham cashier, both of whom still hold these positions.
The Bank of Fishkill was incorporated June 1, 1850, with a capi-
tal of $120,000. Samuel A. Hayt was its principal promoter, and
for several years its president. April 1, 1863, it was converted to
a national bank and the capital was increased to $200,000. In 1877
the bank was obliged to close its doors on account of extravagant
loans made to unscrupulous business adventurers. The failure in-
volved the Itoss of the capital, $200,000, and an assessment of seventy
per cent on each share.
Fishkill Institute for Savings was incorporated February 25, 1857.
The "first officers were: Alexander Hasbrouck, president; James E.
Van Steenbergh, treasurer; Samuel H. Mead, secretary. Mr. Has-
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 347
brouck removed to Poughkeepsie in 1861, in which year he resigned
from the office of president, and was succeeded by T. V. W. Brincker-
hoff. In 1869 James E. Dean was elected president, aild held the
office twenty-two years, when he resigned and was chosen treasurer,
resigning the latter office in 1904. During the period of litigation
with the receiver of the National Bank of Fishkill the business of the
Savings Institute suffered considerably from loss of confidence, but
passed through the crisis triumphantly, and now stands on a firm foun-
dation. Its present officers are: Franklin R. Benjamin, president,
and Charles R. Montfort, treasurer.
TRANSPORTATION.
Martin Wiltse & Son succeeded the Frankfort Association at the
lower Fishkill lan<&g. They ran a line of sloops to New York, carry-
ing freight and passengers. Sometimes these vessels would make the
trip in less than twenty-four hours ; at other times with high adverse
winds they might be nearly a week on the passage. The passengers
furnished their own bedding and provisions. One of these vessels,
the "Hope," Captain George Wiltse, being struck with a sudden
squall at the mouth of the Highlands, capsized, a-nd some of the pas-
sengers were drowned. This accident created a profound sensation
in that rural community, who were not yet satiated by the daily press
with steamboat, railroad and automobile accidents throughout the
civilized world.
The Wiltses, in addition to the New York route, conducted a ferry
to Newburgh by means of a row boat and a piragua, a two-masted
vessel without a jib. Quam, a negro slave, was the ferry man. The
darkey loved his New England rum and was deathly afraid of being
kidnapped and sent south, so when he ventured to the village after
nightfall in pursuit of his favorite tipple, the practical jokers of that
time were sure to bring up the doings of the kidnappers, and, to im-
press it on his mind, would pursue him in a lonely piece of road be-
tween the village and the landing. The tracks that darkey would
make made the sprinters of that day turn green with envy.
A few years later, after the Matteawan factory was started, Mar-
tin Wiltse, the son of the first Martin, started a freighting establish^
ment at the Upper Landing, and being a brother-in-law of Peter H.
Schenck, the principal man in the Matteawan enterprise, he received
348 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
all their freight, which had become of considerable importance. Both
of these concerns were in operation until John Peter DeWindt had
completed the long wharf to the main channel of the Hudson, in
1816. Peter Brett, Epenetus Crosby and John MacKinnon placed
the steamboat "Norfolk" on the New York route. This boat was
very staunch and very slow, and it was a common joke among the
boatmen that with a head wind and tide the Norfolk would race for
hours with Pollipel's Island.
Messrs. Brett & Crosby were succeeded by James Rankin, W. H.
Van Wagenen and John McKinnon. They made improvements on
the Norfolk by placing staterooms on the upper deck, as previously
most of the sleeping accommodations were below deck the same as on
the sloops. After a year or two Mr. Rankin assumed the whole busi-
ness and carried it on for a time alone, when the troubles in the
Matteawan factory and the competition of the railroad and the con-
sequent loss of freight compelled him to suspend. The Norfolk was
sold and went to that graveyard of steamboats, Rondout Creek. He
was succeeded by Walter Brett and Joseph Cromwell, under the name
of Brett & Cromwell. They ran the barge "Independence," and Mr.
Cromwell having died, Captain Brett associated with him Mr.
Matthews. They purchased the steamboat "Ansonia," renamed her
the William Kent, and soon after, the war having broken out, re-
ceived a very lucrative charter and afterwards sold her to the govern-
ment at a greatly increased price. This boat, under another name,
is still running to an up-river port.
Mr. Matthews having retired, Captain Brett associated with him
Captain C. W. Brundage and John Place, under the firm name of
Walter Brett & Co. They purchased the steamboat "Mary Benton"
from the government, the war having closed, renamed her the "Walter
Brett," enlarged her and placed her on the New York route. This
venture was not a success and the boat was sold. Captain Brett hav-
ing retired, Messrs. Brundage and Place carried on the business by
means of a transfer barge by which their freight was carried to New-
burgh and placed on the Ramsdell line of barges and steamers. This
arrangement continued for several years, when Mr. Place retired and
Captain Brundage carried on the business alone. Mr. Ramsdell in the
mealitime had purchased the Long Dock, and on the death of Captain
Brundage his concern assumed the whole control. On the completion
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 349
of the Long Wharf, Messrs. Carpenter, Lawrence and DeWindt built a
horse boat for the Newburgh ferry from that point. This boat was
sixty-two feet long and forty-two feet wide, probably a catamaran, as
that was the usual style of ferry boat of the period, that is, two hulls
joined together at their decks with a wheel between the hulls. This
boat was named the Moses Rogers, in honor of the Captain who took
the first steamship — the Savannah — across the Atlantic. The ferry-
boat was propelled by eight horses on "sweeps" and was said to have
been capable of carrying ten loaded teams and made the distance of
one mile in ten or twelve minutes.
It was soon after the advent of the horse boat in 1828, that
Thomas Powell, a successful and energetic steamboat man of New-
burgh, bought up all the ferry rights of the Wiltsies and DeWindts
and placed a steam ferry boat on the route. The first boat of which
the writer has any knowledge was named the Goldhunter. She ran
many years and the business becoming so great on account of the
Newburgh ferry and the Cochecton Turnpike being the favorite route
to the southern tier of counties of New York and Northern Pennsyl-
vania, the Erie Railroad and Delaware & Hudson Canal not yet being
constructed, Mr. Powell was compelled to get a larger boat to accom-
modate the traffic. The Williamsburgh was placed on the route, and
after her the Union, which was burned, and the Fishkill-on-Hudson
and City of Newburgh. This ferry has always been the most impor-
tant one between New York and Albany and has been a mint of money
to its owners, the Ramsdell family, Mr. Ramsdell, Sr., being a son-in-
law of its original proprietor, Thomas Powell.
During the early days vast droves of cattle and sheep were driven
down the Cochecton Turnpike and across this ferry to be fattened
on the rich pastures of Dutchess and Westchester Counties, and the
valleys of the Housatonic and Connecticut rivers.
In the fall of 1849 the Hudson River Railroad was completed. It
was considered by most of the inhabitants of the Hudson River towns
a wild and chimerical project, and prognostications of its fibtiancial
failure were abundant. It was thought to be the height of madness to
lay rails along the shore of the magnificent Hudson, the only river
which penetrated the Appalachian chain of mountains on the whole
Atlantic Coast with tide water from the sea.
Previous to the completion of the railroad an efi'ort was made to
35G THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
keep na^'igation open during the winter months. The steamer Utiea
was furnished with a false bow, which enabled her to fun upon and
erush the ice with her weight. This was partially successful, and
a year or two later the Highlander of Newburgh and Norwich of
Rondout were fitted out in a similar manner. They were successful
in keeping the river open as far as Newburgh, where they connected
with stages on both sides of the river. By this arrangement a pas-
senger could leave New York in the morning and be in Albally the
following morning. The Norwich at this time gained a reputation as
an ice breaker, which she has ever since retained.
The Dutchess & Columbia Railroad, opened for traffic between Pine
Plains and Dutchess Junction in 1869, was operated for a time by the
Boston, Hartford & Erie Railroad. On the failure of that company, the
Dutchess & Columbia Company used its own rolling stock and operated
the road themselves. It placed a ferry boat on the route to Newburgh
in 1871, and also car floats to the same place. The Dutchess & Colum-
bia was reorganized in 1877 as the Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut
Railroad. It was sold to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail-
road July 1, 1905, for one million dollars.
The New York & New England Railroad, the successor of Boston,
Hartford & Erie, opened from Waterbury, Conn., to Hopewell Junc-
tion December 12, 1881, leased trackage from the Newburgh, Dutchess
& Connecticut to Wiccopee and built a spur from that point to Fish-
kill Landing. It established a car ferry from that point to New-
burgh, and carried large quantities of freight from the Erie, Ontario
& Western and West Shore Railroads. Later it was absorbed by the
New York, New Haven & Hartford, and the car ferry was discon-
tinued
THE PRESS.
The New York Packet, the initial number of which was issued at
Fishkill Village, October 1, 1776, was the first newspaper pubhshed
in Dutchess County. Samuel Louden, its editor, came out boldly as
an uncompromising patriot. He fled from New York with his press
and material when that city came into the possession of the British.
While in Fishkill he printed the journals of the Legislature, and also
the erders for the army while it lay at Newburgh, In 1777 he was
instructed to print three thousand copies of the State Constitution.
Shortly after the close of the war he returned to New York.
WELDON F. WESTON.
TOWN OF FISHKILL. 351
The first distinctly local newsjmper was the Free Ftess, established
in 1841 at Fishkill Village by Fred W, Ritter. A year later it was
removed to Poughkeepsie. The next paper published at the village
was the Fishkill Journal, started in 1863 by H. A. Guild, and dis-
CQutiniied in 1855. It was followed in 1857 by the Dutchess Covmty
Timea, of which J. Carpenter Milfe was editoir. Alfred W. Lomas
soon succeeded Mr, MiUs, and changed the name of the paper to the
FishhUl Journal. In 1860 it passed into the hands of Caleb M. Hotal-
ing, and in 1862 into thoise of Charles S. Wilber, who s«)ld it that
year to James E. Dean and Milton A. Fowler. In August, 1865,
George W. Owen became its publisher, and continued the paper in the
village until 1882, when he removed the plant to Matteawan. In
November of the same year the Fishkill Weekly Times was established
by the Fishkill Printing Association, which was subsequently absorbed
by James E. Dean. His son, Herman Dean, has edited the paper
since 1888. It is a hve, four-page, eight-column sheet, independent
in politics.
The Fishkill Standard. This paper was started at Fishkill Land-
ing about the time the Free Press was discontinued at Fishkill Village.
It is the oldest paper in the town, and although it has frequently
changed ownership, its title remains the same. The first number was
issued August 2, 1842, by William R. Addington, who published it
imtil 1860. A Vanderwerker & Co. and Reed & Vanderwerker con-
ducted it until 1862, when it passed into the hands of John W.
Spaight, who continued it until 1907. It is now published by his son,
Charles E. Spaight.
The Matteawan Evening Journal is a live, democratic paper, edited
by Morgan H. Hoyt. There have been frequent changes in the press
of Matteawan since the time of the Daily Herald, which was started in
1869 by Charles G. Coutant. It was soon changed to a weekly, and
in 1872 was succeeded by the Matteawan Enterprise, published by
James H. Woolhiser. The plant was destroyed by fire in 1875. The
Matteawan Observer was started in the fall of 1876 by Peter H. Vos-
burgh, who sold it in '77 to George W. Owen. Mr. Owen conducted
the plant as a job printing office in connection with the Journal, which
he published at Fishkill Village. He combined the two establishments
at Matteawan in 1882, and in 1885 started the Daily Journal.
The Fishkill Daily Herald was established at Fishkill Landing in
352
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1892, by Adams & Still. In less than a year it was sold to Thomas
Pendell, who continued the paper until July 1, 1897. It was then
bought by George F. Donoghue, the present editor.
Records of the meetings of precinct and town boards were de-
stroyed by fire in 1876. A list of the Supervisors of the South Ward
and of Rombout Precinct from 1720 to 1787 will be found in Chapter
VI. The following is the succession of town Supervisors from 1848:
1848— '49
Alexander Hasbrook
1875
Lyman Robinson
1850— 'S3
Henry Mesier
1876-'77
Charles W. Tompkins
1860
John Jaycox
1878— '79
Sylvester H. Mase
1861
John R. Phillips
1880
John F. Gerow
1863
James Markin
1881
Thomas S. Judson
1863
John R. Phillips
1883— '85
John T. Smith
1864
John Rothery
1886— '87
John P. Rider
1865— '66
Augustus Hughson
1888
William H. Wood
186T— '68
James E. Shurter
1889
Samuel H. Sanford
1869
James Mapkin
1890
Samuel B. Rogers
1870— '71
Edward M. Goring
1891
Frank G. Rikert
1873— '73
Lyman Robinson
1893— '01
James E. Mtmger
1874
Henry H. Hustis
1903— '09
B. Frank Greene
REV. AMOS T. ASHTON, D. D.
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 353
CHAPTER XXII.
THE TOWN OF HYDE PARK.
By Rev. Amos T. Ashton, D.D.
THE Town of Hyde Park occupies a central position upon the
west border of the county. It is bounded on the north by
town of Rhinebeck; east, by Clinton and Pleasant Valley;
south, by the town of Poughkeepsie, and west by^the Hudson river.
It has an area of 22,295 acres, principally rolling and hilly upland,
the highest point being Lloyd Hill in the northeast part of the town,
which has an elevation of 608 feet above tide.
Crum Elbow and Fallkill creeks flow through the town in a south-
westerly direction. The former reaches the Hudson near the village
of Hyde Park, where it makes a sudden beiid between rocky bluffs
and in a narrow channel. On this account the Dutch called the stream
Krom Elebogue, — ^crooked elbow.
The town was formed from the western section of Clinton, by an
act passed January 26, 1821, which after defining the boundaries,
states that it "shall be known and distinguished as a separate town
by the name of Hyde Park, arid that the fitst town meeting * * *
shall be held at the house of Philip Bogardus on the first Tuesday of
April next."
Title to a portion of the soil dates back to a gra:nt made "by cer-
tain letters patent bearing dsite of April 18th, 1705, to Jacob Re-
quier, Peter Faueonier, Benjamin Ask, Bame Cousens and John Per-
sons." Peter Faueonier who was one of the Little Nine Partner
patentees, became sole Owner of this grant. The names of the others
were doubtless added to evade the law prohibiting grants of more than
one thousand acres to one person.
Faueonier was a Frenchman who left France on account of religious
persecution. He became the private secretary of Sir Edward Hyde,
Governor of the Province of New York at the beginning of the eigh-
teenth century. He named his patent "Hyde Pafk," which was
354 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
bounded on the north by the Pauling or Staatsburg patent, the line
corresponding with the present north boundary of Mr. F. G. Lan-
don's property ; on the east and south by Crum Elbow creek, and west
by the Hudson river.
About 17S5, Jacob Stoutenburgh, a Hollander and trader from
Westchester, became interested in lands now comprised within the
bounds of this town. He purchased the ninth "water lot" of the Nine
Partners patent, on which the village of Hyde Park is now situated.
This land he gave to his son Luke in 1758.
Dr. John Bard,^ the earliest physician in this locality, bought out
the heirs of Fauconier, of whom his wife was a descendant. Crum
Elbow creek formed a natural division between the property of the
Bards on the north, and the Stoutenburghs on the south. In early
times there was much trouble over water privileges, and June 4th,
1789, Dr. Samuel Bard deeded four small parcels of land to Richard
de Cantillon and James Stoutenburgh, which may have settled the
matter.
At this time the familiar designations of the settlements were the
Upper and Lower Comers, of which the latter had more business.
The Stoutenburgh store was the pioneer trading place, built on the
site now occupied by Hopkins's drug store. Another store stood at
the south comer of the road leading east (north of Albert Jones'
house) kept by Ambrose Cook a Quaker, who carried on a large busi-
ness in pork. He was succeeded by Ephriam Stevens and John Cas-
well. Other early merchants in the south part of the town were Henry
Gale and Hiram Nelson. Here were situated the houses of Luke and
John Stoutenburgh. On the east side of the post road, on a ledge of
rocks, was built a district school house. Nearly opposite was the
house of Andrew Phillipe, built early in the century. Of the buildings
mentioned there alone remain to-day the one owned by Mr. Dickenson.
The old Red Reformed Dutch Church stood just south of the grave-
yard. Northward were the houses of Henry Bush, wagon-maker, and
Samuel Upton, who carried on a carding mill, while a fulling mill was
conducted by Henry Dusenbury at the Mill pond. Flax dressing was
also carried on here.
On the northwest corner of the post road and the road crossing it
1. Biographical sketches of Dr. John Bard and his son, Samuel Bard, M.D., appear-
In the chapter devoted to the medical profession of the County.
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 355
from the Upper Landing, stood the village inn. Joseph Carpenter
was the first landlord. His successor was an Englishman named
Miller, who put up a sign which read "Hyde Park Hotel." It was
probably the first time the name of Hyde Tark was used south of Crum
Elbow creek, and it incurred the displeasure of Dr. Bard, who wished
the name to be applied to his country seat only. He remonstrated
and offered to buy the sign, but Miller was obdurate. When a post-
office was established. Miller was the means of having it called Hyde
Park. A few years later when the town of Clinton was divided, the
name was given, in 1821, to the new town. Philip Bogardus was then
the landlord, and the first town election was held in this building, April
24th of that year, which resulted as follows: James Duane Livings-
ton, Supervisor; Reuben Spencer, Town Clerk; Tobias L. Stouten-
burgh, Peter A. Schryver, Christopher Hughes, Assessors ; Isaac Beld-
ing. Collector.
At a meeting of the town officers May 19th, 1821, Charles A. Shaw
was appointed "a discreet and proper person" to take the census. He
returned the following statistics : Population, 2,300 ; electors, 431 ;
taxable property, $547,106.
An extensive freighting business was done at the Lower Landing
(near the present freight house of the Hudson River Railroad) about
the close of the eighteenth century. Jonathan Owen operated two
sloops between this point and New York ; one sailed by Captain David
Braman, and the other by Captain David Wickes. After 1807 James
Wilson succeeded Owen in this business.
Richard de Cantillon gave his name to the Upper Landing. His
sloops sailed as far south as the West Indies, to which he shipped
great quantities of corn in exchange for sugar and rum. In 1770
he married Mary, daughter of Tobias, the eldest son of the first
Jacobus Stoutenburgh.
Peter de Reimer and his son-in-law, Robert Gilbert Livingston, suc-
ceeded de Cantillon in business at the Upper Landing. Later William
Ellsworth and Miles Fletcher operated the line. The barge "Lex-
ington," made weekly trips to New York, from 1840 until the rail-
road was built.
The eastern part of the town adjoining Pleasant Valley and Clin-
ton was settled at an early day by Quakers from New England and
Long Island. Among them were the Marshalls, Bakers, Briggs,
356 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Hoags, Halsteads, Moshers, Stringhams, Waiters, Lamorees, Nel-
sons and Williams. The Friends' house of worship here was for many
years called the "Crom Elbow Meeting House," erected about the
year 1774. The early members have long since passed away, leaving
their descendants to unite with and to conform to the manners and
discipline of other sects.
On the west border of the town, overlooking the Hudson, are sev-
eral magnificent country seats of families prominent in the social and
business world. The most southern of these is the residence of John
A. Roosevelt, a descendant of James Roosevelt, who owned Mount
Hope, now the property of the Hudson River State Hospital. Near
Teller HiU was the house of Moses S. Beach, now owned by Mr. Weben-
dorfer. Further north are the estates of Mrs. James Roosevelt and
J. R. Roosevelt, the latter also a descendant of James Roosevelt of
Mount Hope.
"Belfield," now the home of Hon. Thomas Newbold, originally be-
longed to the Crook family, descendants of one of the original Nine
Partners. It was subsequently in possession of the Kneelands, Judge
Johnston, and his grandson. Dr. F. U. Johnston. North of "Belfield"
is an estate which has been in the possession of Mr. Archibald Rogers
for the past twenty years. In 1842 it was owned by Elias Butler
who gave the place the name of "Crumwold." The houses of Dudley
B. FuUer and General James J. Jones now form part of this immense
estate. The Miller and HoflFman families also lived on this property.
Adjoining Hyde Park village on the north is the country seat of
Mr. F. W. Vanderbilt, who purchased this property in 1895. This is
the estate to which the name of "Hyde Park" originally applied, and
which was^for many years the home of Dr. John Bard and his son
Samuel, both of whom erected dwellings on the premises. In 1827
the estate of Hyde Park was purchased by Dr. David Hosack, an
eminent New York physician, who greatly improved the property,
planting many rare and beautiful trees. He built the "Farm House,"
long the home of John A. De GrafF; also the bridge on the drive from
the south entrance to the place. Dr. Hosack died in 1835, and the
estate was sold to Walter Langdon, Sr. His wife, Dorothea, was a
daughter of John Jacob Astor. Their son Walter inherited and occu-
pied "the estate to the time of his death, September 17, 1894). Mr.
Vanderbilt, the present owner, removed the Langdon house, and built
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 357
a stone mansion, considered the finest example of Italian renaissance
in this country.
Nathaniel Pendleton, a native of Virginia, married Susan, daughter
of John Bard, and built a residence north of the Bard place, known as
"Placentia." Their eldest son, Edward H., inherited the property.
He was elected to Congress, and was County Judge. "Placentia"
was long the home of James K. Paulding, a name intimately associated
with that of Washington Irving. It was also the home of N. Pendle-
ton Rogers. It is now owned by J. S. Huyler.
Cyrus Braman bought lots 2 and 3 of the Hyde Park patent. The
estate was known as "Belgrove." This property was subsequently
conveyed to William Ellsworth, who married Ruth, daughter of Cyrus
Braman. After the death of Mr. Ellsworth, it passed into the hands
of Mr. N. P. Rogers.
The Rymph family have been landowners in this section for a longer
period than any other except the Bards. November 10th, 1768, John
Bard sold to George Rymph lot No. 5 of the Hyde Park patent, con-
taining 215 acres. It is now the property of James Rymph, grand-
son of George ; the latter died in 1791, leaving a wife and ten children.
The Broughtons were the original settlers of the Inwood property.
The will of Francis Broughton, dated October 22, 1790, leaves the
place to his son Joseph. In 1809 Joseph Broughton sold that part of
his farm west of the post road to Rev. John McVickar. The Mc-
Vickars sold "Inwood" to Alfred L. Pell, who in turn sold it to Rob-
ert M. Livingston. The place finally passed into the hands of Alex-
ander H. Wickes. It is now owned by Hon. Francis G. Landon.
Staatsbtjrgh, a village in the northern part of the town, derives its
name from the Staats family, who settled here about 1720. Other
early settlers were the Hughes, Mulford and Russell families. Here
was the residence of General Morgan Lewis, the second son of Francis
Lewis, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He
was born in New York city in 1754, and graduated from Princeton
in '73. During the Revolutionary War young Lewis was Major of
a company of volunteers which entered the Continental service as the
Second New York. He was appointed Quarter-master General of the
Northern Department of the Army, and was mentioned in reports for
bravery at Bemis Heights. In 1778 and '80 he was with General Clin-
ton. At the close of the war he was admitted to the bar. He repre-
358 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
sented New York City in the Assembly, and soon after Dutchess Coun-
ty, to which he had removed. He was next elected Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas, and in 1791 was appointed Attorney General of the
State. In 1792 he was raised to the Bench of the Supreme Court,
and next year became Chief Justice. In 1804 he was elected Gover-
nor of the State of New York. During the War of 1812 he was made
a Major General and served throughout the campaign on the Canadian
frontier.
General Morgan Lewis, in 1779, married Gertrude, daughter of
Robert Livingston. He died in 1844! in the ninetieth year of his age.
For many years he was one of the wardens of St. James' Church, Hyde
Park, and is buried in the churchyard. His estate at Staatsburgh is
now owned by his great-granddaughter, Mrs. Ogden MiUs. Among
his descendants still resident at Staatsburgh is the family of the late
Lydig M. Hoyt.
North, of this property is "The Locusts," the estate of the late Wil-
liam B. Dinsmore, now owned by his widow and children. Since 1857
this estate has been under the general supervision of Timothy Herrick,
who at diffierent times has served the town as Supervisor.
In the village of Staatsburgh is situated St. Margaret's Church.
This was formerly a mission, or rather a part of the Parish of St.
James, and not until the rectorship of Dr. Cady did it become an
independent parish. A Methodist Church and St. Paul's Roman
Catholic Church are also situated here.
In 1858 Mr. J. H. Bodenstein established in Staatsburgh a shop
for the manufacture of ice cutting implements. The plant has been
enlarged at different times, and is now conducted by his son, John G.
Bodenstein.
ScHOpxSy In 1806 Captain David Braman taught school in the
stone h(We opposite the gateway of D. S. Miller. The first district
school was built soon after this time, nearly opposite the house of
Andrew Phillips. The teacher was WiUiam Prince Williams. A
larger building was erected in 1829 on the corner of Albany and Al-
bertson streets. In 1869 a two-story brick school house was built in
front of the old one.
Benjamin Allen, LL.D., was long at the head of a classical school
at this place which he opened about 1815. A few years later Miss
AletBa Gibbs opened a boarding and day school for girls, which was
RICHARD A. SCHOUTEN.
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 359
considered as being one of the best of that day, and with Dr. Allen's
nearby, gave Hyde Park an enviable reputation for educational ad-
vantages.
Others who had private schools here in later years were Miss Emily
Nelson, Joel Nelson, Evan T. Griffiths, Wesley Doughty, Miss Anna
Phillips, Miss Ellen Wallace, Miss Catharine A. Cooly.
The Bard Infant School was founded according to the provisions
of the will of Miss Susan Mary Bard, dated August 4th, 1831. She left
the interest of $4,000 in trust for its maintenance. The trustees
bought a lot from the heirs of Joshua Laurence, and erected a frame
building, and the school was conducted successfully for many years,
the income being sufficient inducement for a competent teacher. After
the school was discontinued the room was used foj St. James' Guild.
A public reading room and library was established by the Guild and
is now supported by the parish.
Chueches. In 1780 there was formed in Hyde Park the Stouts-
burgh Religious Association. Its members were composed of ad-
herents of the Church of England, and of the Reformed Protestant
Dutch Church. An agreement was made to this effect, that any min-
ister of any orthodox church whose services could be procured should
be allowed to preach before the association and friends, and that when-
ever either Dutch or Enghsh felt that they alone could support a
minister of their own persuasion, that party was to receive the church
building and all other property belonging to the association, and a
church should be established and worship continued according to the
rites and forms of the prevailing party.
The old Reformed Dutch Church stood south of the graveyard where
now stands the chapel of the Reformed Church. It was a frame
building painted red, and looked very much like a bam. A great
sounding board was over the pulpit. There were no buildings between
the church and the East Road. Among Dutchess County deeds is
found this record: "Monday, December 21st, 1789, Election at the
Church of Stoutsburgh in the County of Dutchess of Trustees for the
Society called the Stoutsburgh Religious Society, — ^Elected: John
Stoutenburgh, Sr., Isaac Conklin, Thomas Banker, Joshua Nelson,
Jacob Schryver, John A. Lee." The Society continued until the
early part of the nineteenth century, when the Dutch organized a
church and received, as per agreement, the church edifice and all other
360 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
church property. The present building was erected in 1826. The
list of pastors is as follows : Cornelius Brower, of Poughkeepsie, sup-
plied the church from 1794-1812, and was in full charge from 1812-
1815. Peter S. Wynkoop officiated from 1817-'20, and had charge
of Hyde Park, and Pleasant Plains 1820-'22. Ferdinand H. Van Der
Veer, 1823-'29. William Cahoone, 1829-'3S. Simon D. Westfall,
1834-'37. He was the first one to Uve in the present parsonage,
which was built in 1833. Next came John C. Cruikshank, 1837-'43.
Anthony Ehnendorf, 1843-'48. William H. Ten Eyck, 1848-'53.
Henry Dater, 1853-'77. George R. Garrettson was installed Feb-
ruary 19, 1878, and was succeeded by Rev. Cornelius R. Blauvelt,
1880-'83. Rev. Frank E. Kavanagh, September 26, 1883-'84. He
was of Irish extraction and was at first intended for the priesthood.
He married a niece of Bishop Niles and became a member of the Epis-
copal Church, then a Presbyterian minister, and then Reformed Dutch.
His ministry here, owing to his eccentricities, was very brief. Rev.
John F. Shaw was installed November 11, 1885. He resigned Feb-
ruary 1st, 1893. Rev. John F. Harris was installed June 27, 1893,
and served imtil 1898. Soon after he died. The Rev. Mr. Hamlin
served from 1898 to 1908, and was succeeded by the present pastor,
the Rev. Mr. Ficken.
In 1811 there were some fifty members of the Episcopal Church
living in Hyde Park. It was decided to build a house of worship.
Dr. Samuel Bard gave the central part of the present churchyard for
the purpose. The church was erected in 1811 by subscription. The
Bard family were the largest contributors. Other contributors were
the following: Gov. Morgan Lewis, who contributed, besides money,
a "Pew" in St. Paul's Church, New York; John McVicker, William
Bard, John Johnston, Sarah Barton, Magdalen Murisson, T. de Can-
tillon, Jacob Bush, Jotham Post, Samuel Mead, Hunting Sherrill,
Richard de Cantillon, Tobias Stoutenburgh, L. Ring, Timothy Steven-
son, Titus Dutton, Reuben Spencer, N. Pendleton, Baron S. Hutchins,
Isaac Russell, Cyrus Braman, George Gillespie, James Duane Livings-
ton, Christopher Hughes, David Mulford, Lemuel Hyde and others.
The edifice was built of brick and stone. It had a short, square tower
at the west end. Inside, the ceiling, walls and woodwork were white.
On^the wall was a tablet to the memory of Dr. John Bard. Later
were added tablets to the memory of Dr. Samuel and Mrs. Mary Bard,
and Nathaniel Pendleton.
TOWN OF HYDE PARK. 361
At a meeting of the congregation held on the 30th day of March,
1812, the rector, Rev. John McVicker, presiding, the following per-
sons were unanimously elected as wardens and vestrymen of the par-
ish: Wardens, Dr. Samuel Bard and Morgan Lewis; vestrymen,
Joha Johnston, Nathaniel Pendleton, WilUam Broome, William Bard,
Christopher Hughes, James D. Liviiigston, Titus Dutton, William
Duer. At this meeting it was resolved that St. James' Church at
Hyde Park, should be the name by which the church should be known.
About 184)3 it was found that the church needed a new roof, and
that other repairs were necessary. A committee appointed advised
taking down the church and rebuilding it. This plan was adopted and
in 1844 a new church, but substantially the old chujch, was rebuilt on
the same site. During the time that changes ware made services were
held in the rectory, on the north side of the church, which had been
built in 1836. The mural tablets were replaced, and two others, to
the memory of Morgan Lewis and William Bard, were added. Dr.
Daniel Hosack increased the churchyard by giving land on the south
end. In 1873 Mr. Walter Langdon gave a large addition on the
east.
The rectors of St. James' Church from its organization in 1811,
when the parish was received into union with the diocese of New York,
have been as follows : Rev. John McVicker, D.D., Rev. David Brown,
Rev. Samuel Roosevelt Johnson, Rev. Reuben Sherwood, D.D., Rev.
Horace Stringfellow, D.D., Rev. James S. Purdy, D.D., Rev. Phi-
lander K. Cady, D.D., Rev. R. H. Gesner, Rev. A. T. Ashton, D.D.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1833, upon ground
given by John Albertson, Sr. The first Board of Trustees was com-
posed of Joseph Williams John Giles, WiUiam Armstrong, Alonzo F.
Selleck and Henry S. Backus. Mr. A. F. Selleck, a local preacher,
held services here in 1829, and continued until 1834. He afterward
became a useful member of the New York Conference. In 1835 Rev.
Denton Keeler occupied the pulpit of this church. In 1840 John Al-
bertson, Jr., presented the trustees of the church a lot adjoining it,
for a parsonage. The building which cost $2,200 was not erected
until 1856, at which time Rev. A. C. Fields was pastor. In 1896,
during the pastorate of Rev. E. Miles, the old church was removed
and the present edifice built.
A sketch of the Roman Catholic Church, which is in charge of Rev.
J. P. Lonergan, will be found in a subsequent chapter.
362
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Baptist Chuech was organized at the house of Garret P.
Lansing, April 18, 1844, and the church built in 1846. Mrs. Susan
Van Wagner was a large contributor. Rev. David Morris was the
first pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. Charles Van Loon of the
First Baptist Church of Poughkeepsie, who officiated as "a supply."
Services were held very unfrequently, as many of the active members
moved away. Some years ago Mr. John S. Huyler purchased the
building and fitted it up as a gymnasium under the auspices of the
Methodist Church.
The following is the list of Supervisors elected In the town and the
date of serving:
1891— '2S
James D. Livingston
1861— '62
John M. Friss
1826— '28
John Johnston
1863
Elias Tompkins
1829
James D. Livingston
1864
John Russell, Jr.
1830— '31
Elijah Baker
1865— '66
Joel N. De Graff
1832
James D. Livingston
1867
Elias Tompkins
1833
David Barnes
1868
David H. Mulford
1834n-'37
Luke S. Stoutenburgh
1869— '70
Albert S. Schryver
1838
William W. Woodworth
1871— '72
James Roosevelt
1839— '40
James Russell
1873— '74
Timothy Herrick
1841
William W. Woodvcorth
1876— '76
John A. Marshall
1842— '43
Nelson Andrews
1877— '79
Henry K. WUber
1844
James Russell
1880— '81
Edward H. Marshall
1845
Elias Tompldns
David CollinA
1882
Edgar A. Briggs
1846— '47
1883
Henry K. Wilber
1848
TsRac Mosher
1884^'85
Casper Westervdt
1849— 'SO
Louis T. Mosher
1886— '87
Timothy Herrick
1851
Henry Green
1888— '92
David E. Howatt
1852— '53
Elias Tompkins
1893
Lount Lattin
1854— '55
David H. Mulford
1894— '97
Henry M. Barker
1856
Brooks Hughes
1898— '99
Henry K. Wilber
1857— '58
Morris G. Lloyd
1900— '03
H. Fremont Vandewater
1859
A. V. W. Tompkins
1904— '05
Fred Bodenstein
1860
Morris G. Lloyd
1906— '09
Harry Arnold
^^^'^M^yCi^^^^^^
S .A..MbtiAieu ^uif/isJit/jr.
TOWN OF LA GRANGE. 363
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE TOWN OF LA GRANGE.
THE territory comprising the town of La Grange was formed
from portions of the towns of Fishkill and Beekman, Feb-
ruary 9, 1821, under the name of Freedom. A strip of about
five thousand acres was taken from it March 1, 1827, to form part of
the town of Union Vale.
. The town is bounded on the north by Pleasant Valley ; east by Union
Vale and Beekman; south by Wappinger and East Fishkill, and on
the west by the town of Poughkeepsie, from which it is separated by
Wappinger Creek. The area thus embraced comprises 25,443 acres,
mainly devoted to agriculture. The original description of the bounds
reads as follows:
"That part of the town of Fishkill, lying north of a line commencing at the
fording place on the Wappingers Creek, nigh the honse of the late Samuel Thome,
deceased, from thence rvmning 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 Une commencing at the point on the division line between
Fishkill and Beekman, where the east and west line aforesaid in Fishkill will inter-
sect said division line of Beekman and Fishkill, rvmning 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 Blisha
C. Barlow, if not, thence commencing at the point 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."
The act authorizing the erection of the town, directed that the first
town meeting be held at the house of William Wolven, on the first
Tuesday in April, 1821, at which the following ofiicers were elected:
John Wilkinson, 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,
364 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Overseers of the Poor; Baltus Velie, Elias Vale and Henry Dates,
Commissioners of Highways; Ezekiel Velie, John D. Brown and John
G. Dunkin, Commissioners of Schools ; James Congdon, John G. Dun-
kin, Samuel Petit, Henry D. Sleight, Thomas H. Potter, and Avery
L. Herrick, Inspectors of Common Schools; Jacob Culver, Daniel
StiUweU, James Coles and Peter Hageman, Constables.
The name of Freedom was given to the town by Enoch Dorland, a
Quaker preacher. As this name caused confusion in the delivery of
mail, it was changed in 1829, by the Board of Supervisors, to La
Grange, after the ancestral estate in France of the Marquis d' La-
fayette.
Settlement in the southern part of the town began as early as 1754!,
and the names of Shear, Clapp, Brundage, Swade, Dean, Weeks, and
Townsend are recorded among the pioneers. Arthursburg and
"Morey's Comers," now La Grangeville, were early neighborhoods.
The families of Ver VaUn, De Groff, Sleight, Nelson and Cornell set-
tled in the western part of the town previous to the Revolution.
The following is the inscription on a field stone in La Grange
Rural Cemetery, near Manchester: "I. V. Died Dbr. 12, 1762." This
is the earliest known grave in this cemetery, and is supposed to mark
the burial place of Isaack Ver VaKn, as other members of the family
are buried nearby. A mile north of the cemetery stands the Sleight
homestead, built in 1798 by James Sleight, son of Abram and Ariantj
(Ehnendorf) Sleight, and now occupied by their descendants. James
Sleight was a soldier in the Revolution, served through three cam-
paigns, and took part in several of the battles of that struggle. Reu-
ben Nelson, Jr., was an innkeeper at Manchester. His hotel was
located on the property now owned by the Van Wyck family, de-
scendants of Theodorus Van Wyck, of FishkiU, an active patriot in
the Revolution, and prominent in the oiEcial afiFairs of the county at
that period.
Grist mills and fuUing mills were in operation within the present
town limits before the close of the eighteenth century. Moses De Groff
owned the miU at Manchester ; Stephen Moore operated one at Moore's
Mills, and John and Daniel Hosier built another at Morey's Corners.
Jacob Morey, from whom the hamlet received its name, was a black-
smith by trade; he also conducted a tavern for several years. Upon
the meadow just south of Morey's Comers, during the Revolution,
TOWN OF LA GRANGE.
365
was an encampment of a Tory band, which took part in the raid upon
Washington Hollow in the summer of 1777. This field has since been
known as the "Camp lot."
In the latter part of the eighteenth century, Jonah Coshire and
his squaw, Lydia, two pure blooded Schaghticoke Indians, a branch
of the once powerful Pequod tribe, settled on a ridge in the north
part of the town. This couple and their children, Steve and Han-
nah, became known as "the Jonahs," and their few acres of rough land
was termed "Jonah's Manor."
HANNAH COSHIRE OR "JONAH,"
Last of the Schaghticoke Indians in Dutchess County.
366 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Steve lived here until his death, after which Hannah lived many
years, having a home with one of the families of the neighborhood, her
services being much in demand as a nurse in sickness throughout the
surrounding country. The Jonahs possessed, or claimed to possess,
knowledge of an herb that was a certain antidote to the poison from
the fangs of the copperhead and rattlesnake, but nothing could ever
induce them to divulge the secret, which was carried to the grave
about thirty years ago, with the remains of Hannah Jonah, the last
of the Schaghticokes of Dutchess County.
We are indebted to Mrs. Sarah Chatterton, of Newburgh, N. Y.,
for the accompanying portrait of Hannah Jonah. Mrs. Chatterton
had knowledge of Hannah for many years, and can vouch for the
photograph as being authentic.
The oldest religious organization in the town is that of the Society
of Friends of Arthursburg. At this place was built a Friends meet-
ing house, and Oswego monthly meetings were held here as early as
1761. Samuel Dorland and wife, Allen Moore and wife and Andrew
Moore are recorded as being present at this meeting. Several Quaker
families resided in this vicinity. Following the division in the Society
in 1828 the Hicksites built a meeting house at Moore's Mills, where
meetings are regularly held.
The Methodists were next in the field in missionary work, but the
Presbyterians were first in organizing a church, which they did at
Freedom Plains in 1828.
The records of the Presbyterian Church of Freedom Plains state
that "On the 26th of July, 1827, sundry persons of Freedom did meet
at the house of Mary Nelson and chose the following trustees: Ben-
jamin H. Conklin, Baltus Overacker, Eleazer Taylor, 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, appointed by the Presbytery of the North
River, viz. : Messrs. John Clark, James P. Ostrom and Alonzo Welton.
The organization took place in the barn of Baltus Overacker, with
thirty-nine members. Benjamin H. Conklin, Baltus Overacker, Abram
S. Storm and Samuel Thurston were elected elders, and Eleazer Tay-
lor and Henry Disbrow, deacons. Services were held in the barn dur-
ing the most of that year, and the church edifice was completed in the
TOWN OF LA GRANGE.
367
latter part of 1828, and dedicated on New Year's Day, 1829, the
original cost of which was $2,169.38. In 1831, twelve acres of land
were purchased from Baltus Velie, for $650, and a parsonage erected
thereon.
The church has been the recipient of several bequests including
$500.00 from Mrs. Celia Taylor in 1842, and $200.00 from Adrian
Montfort in 1871.
The first pastor was the Rev. Milton Buttolph. He was succeeded
in 1838 by the Rev. Sumner MandeviUe, who continued in his pastoral
office twenty-three years. At present there is no settled pastor, ser-
vices being conducted by a supply.
The organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church of La Grange
was eflFected July 14, 1849. Previous to this date meetings were held
occasionally in different neighborhoods by "circuit riders," and the
inhabitants of the Morey vicinity attended chiefly at Potter's Hollow,
where the first church edifice was built, and from which it was removed
to Morey 's in 1866, and called the "Trinity Church of La Grange."
The minutes of the society contain no records of the early pastors,
except for the year 1851, when Rev. Loren Clarke officiated.
Union Chapel at Manchester Bridge was originally situated at
TitusviUe, and moved to its present location in 1884. Services are
conducted regularly by ministers of various denominations.
At the outbreak of the Civil War several meetings were held in the
town to stimulate interest in enlistments. Addresses were made by
Albert Emans and Gilbert Dean. The town furnished seventy-seven
men for the army, and thirty-five men enlisted in the navy. Most of
the volunteers joined the 128th Regiment of Infantry, and did ser-
vice in Louisiana.
The following has been the succession of Supervisors since the or-
ganization of the town :
1821— '23
John Wilkinson
1834^'3S
William Storm
1823
John Clapp
1836— '37
Treadwell Townsend
1824— '25
Jonathan Lockwood
1838— '39
E. T. Van Benschoten
1826
John Wilkinson
1840— '42
Gideon Van Valin
1827
John Clapp
1843
Tunis BrinckerhofF
182&— '29
Jonathan Lockwood
1844— '45
Joseph Wicks
1830
B. T. "Van Benschoten
1846— '47
Silas Sweet
1831
Jonathan Lockwood
1848— '49
Treadwell Townsend
1832— '33
E. T. Van Benschoten
1850— '51
Albert Emans
368
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
18S2— '63
John G. Pells
1877— '78
John W. Storm
18S4
James Howard
1879— '80
Stephen H. Moore
1855— '56
Jacob Velie
1881
John D. Howard
1857— '58
Abraham W. Storm
1883
Charles Cole
1859
James Howard
^^83— '84
Alexander W. Sleight
1860
Hemy Van Benschoten
1885
Henry R. Hoyt
1861
John S. Brown
1886— '87
Albert Emans
1863— '63
Albert Emans
1888— '90
William H. Austin
1864— '67
John W. Storm
1891— '93
Towsend Cole
1868
George Ayrault
1894^'9S
Alexander W. Sleight
4869— '70
Alexander W. Sleight
1896— '97
Joseph Van Wycfc
1871— '72
James A. Stringham
1898— '03
John E. Townsend
1873— '74
John D. Howard
1904.-'06
Alexander W. Sleight
1875— '76
Alexander W. Sleight
1906— '09
Clark Barmore
JOHN E. TOWNSEND.
TOWN OF MILAN. 369
M'
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE TOWN OF MILAN.
ILAN was formed from the town of Northeast, March 6, 1818.
Stissing Mountain was a barrier to any communication east
by highways, and it was reasonable and right that Milan
should be set off from the parent town. The division seems to have
been anticipated for two years or more, and hSghway work mean-
while came to a comparative standstill.
The town lies on the northern border of Dutchess County, and
comprises the western portion of that tract of land originally em-
braced in the Little Nine Partner' patent. It is bounded northerly
by Columbia County; east by Pine Plains; south by Clinton and
Stanford; and west by Red Hook and Rhinebeck. It covers an area
of 22,452 acres, with an assessed valuation of real and personal prop-
erty placed by the Board of Supervisors in 1907 at $369,324. La-
fayetteviUe, Milan and Rock City are hamlets.
In the year 1760, Johannes Rowe, a German by birth, located in
this town north of what is now LafayetteviUe, on nine hundred and
eleven acres of land which he purchased of Chancellor Robert R.
Livingston. For this land he paid £750, on which, in 1766, he built
a stone homestead. Much of the land is still in possession of the
Rowe family. 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 and Mark, who
settled around on the land of their father's purchase, and to each
of whom he gave a farm. The sons built the Methodist Church there,
and were generous supporters of local enterprises. Philip had a son,
William P. Rowe, who served as a soldier in the war of 1812.
Other early settlers at LafayetteviUe were Maltiah and Macy Bow-
man (Bowerman) who came from Connecticut to Dover in 1780, and
to Milan in 1790. Maltiah is the ancestor of the Milan families of
that name. He had three sons — Joseph, Otis E., and Sands. Otis
370 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
E. was a surveyor, and for twenty years a lawyer of some note. The
Wilburs, Briggs, Whites, Pells, Hicks, Martins and Motts settled
near the east part, while the Links, Holsopples, Rhyfenburghs, KiU-
mans, Fultons, Stalls, Fellers, Hopemans, Philips, Teats and Fra-
ziers took up land in the north part of the town. A description of the
town and some statistics pubUshed in Spaffords Gazetteer of 1824!,
six years ^fter the division from Northeast, says in part:
"It is a good Township of land, though considerably uneven, but with rich arable
sweUs, hills and ridges, and some flats. The soil is principally a warm productive
loam. The inhabitants are principally farmers, and there are no villages, as yet,
to demand the application of a, microscope, or tire a topographer's patience. Its
streams are some small head branches of Wappingers creek, and a, short distance
of Ancram creek, with a branch that puts into it, but the town is well supplied
with miUs. There are plenty of roads. The centre, always meant, when I speak
of distances in this way, is about 8 miles E. of the Hudson, at Red Hook. Popu-
lation, 1797: 358 farmers, 77 mechanics, 3 traders, 49 free blacks, 18 slaves; tax-
able property, $370,794; 11 schools; 15,392 acres of improved land; 1834 cattle,
679 horses, 3618 sheep, 17,866 yards of cloth made in the household way; 7 grist
mills, 4 saw mills; 1 JFuUing mill, 1 carding machine; 1 trip hammer, and one dis-
tillery."
The oldest miU in the town was built by Robert Thorne some two
miles west of LafayetteviUe. This hamlet was on the post road from
Northeast to Rhinebeck, and before the birth of railroads in northern
Dutchess was a place of some business importance. Wilham Walter-
mier conceived the idea of building a hotel here for the accommodation
of the travelKng public. He conducted it successfully for ten years,
when he disposed of the property to Jacob Knickerbacker.
The hamlet of Milan, also on the old post route near the center of
the town, was originally called "West Northeast." In the Dutchess
Observer of September 2, 1818, this notice appears: "The name of
the postoffice heretofore called 'West Northeast' in this county, of
which Stephen Thorne, Esq., is Post Master, has been changed to
Milan. Persons directing that office will notice alterations for the
future."
The first town meeting for Milan was held at the house of Stephen
Thome on the first Tuesday in April, 1818. Apart from the election
of the following officers, the proceedings of this meeting relate to the
raising of money for the support of the poor, and for building and
repairing bridges.
TOWN OF MILAN. 371
Supervisor, Stephen Thorne; Town Clerk, John F. Bartlett; Asses-
sors, Jonas Wildey, John Fulton, Jr., John Stall; Commissioners of
Highways, Everet N. Van Trogner, Daniel Morehouse, James Tur-
ner; Commissioners of Schools, Henry Peck, John Thome, Jr., Jeptha
Wilbur; Overseers of Poor, Jacob Shook, James I. Stewart; Inspec-
tors of Common Schools, Joshua CoUeres, John Darling, James Adams,
John R. Heermance, Peter Snyder; Constable and Collector, Philip
Rider; Constable, Henry Witherwax; Fence Viewers, Tobias Green,
in the southern neighborhood, Obediah Quimby in the northeast, and
Jacob Bachman in the northwest.
The poor was the principal matter in common to the two towns to
be settled. Northeast took ten persons, Milan twelve, and three were
left to be supported by both towns jointly in prdportion to the tax
list. Northeast to pay at the ratio of seven to five. The next year a
general settlement was made.
In the summer of 1818 new bridges were built over a stream at
Mount Ross and at Hoffman's Mill, which cost $195 and $185 re-
spectively.
In the War of the Rebellion the town of Milan not only responded
generously to the call for volunteers, but kept a complete and interest-
ing record of its proceedings, relating to enhstments, in a manner
greatly above the average towns.
At the first meeting to raise a war fund held at the house of Nelson
Motts, November 29, 1862, it was
"Resolved, That the sum of $3,265.66 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 enlisted previous to the 36th of August, 1862, the said $900.00 to
be paid to John Ferris, Alonzo CarroU and Philo Sherwood, to be kept by them
for the benefit of the volunteers who enlisted previous as above stated."
August 9, 1864, a special town meeting was held at the house of
Ambrose L. Smith at which it was
"Resolved, That the Supervisor of the town shall have the power to borrow
money on the credit of the said town sufBcient to pay 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 volunteer 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 the present call shall
be paid, as a bounty from this town, the sum of $400.00."
372
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
A further resolution appointed Supervisor Lewis M. Smith and H.
B. Sherwood to procure volunteers, for which they were allowed three
dollars per day and expenses.
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, following the call of the President December 19, 1864,
for 300,000 men.
In the record of enhstments seventeen men served in the 128th
Regiment; twelve in the 150th; seven in the 20th; five in the 91st;
three in the 159th; three in the 4i7th; two each in the 32nd and 87th
Regiments, with a scattering of seven others.
The Methodist Society here was organized mainly through the
efforts of the Rowes, who built the first house of worship on their farm
near LafayetteviUe about the year 1800. This was succeeded in 1838
by a substantial structure near the site of the old building, and was
erected chiefly through the generosity of John Rowe, who also built
the parsonage. His home had been the stopping place of all the
itinerant Methodist preachers.
The "Christian Denomination" originated from three of the more
popular sects, the Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists, about the
beginning of the nineteenth century. Among the first to break this
denominational ground in the town were Levi Hathaway and Daniel
Call, who organized the First Christian Church in Milan in the autumn
of 1820. Elder John L. Peavey of New England was called to the
oversight of the church. His circuit of labor embraced this and three
other congregations, located in Stanford, Union Vale and Beekman.
His friends assisted him in purchasing a home near Rock City, and
Elder Peavey divided his time between pastoral work and itinerant
labors. He was not only a talented man, but a kind and successful
pastor. Other early pastors of the Christian Church were Dr. Abner
Jones, Rev. Joseph Marsh and Rev. John N. Spoor.
The following has been the succession of Supervisors since the or-
ganization of the town:
1818— '30
Stephen Thome
1839
Stephen Thorne
1821— '33
Jacob Shook
1830
Ephraim Fulton
1824— '35
Richard Thorne
1831
Stephen Thorne
1886— '37
Stephen Thorne
1833— '34
Ephraim Herrick, Jr.
1838
Henry Pulton
1835— '36
Leonard Rowe
TOWN OF MILAN.
373
1837-
-'38
John Thome
1871
1839-
-'40
John P. Teats
1873
1841-
-'42
George White
1873
1843-
-'44
Stephen Thorne
1874
1845-
-'46
Clinton W. Conger
1875
1847
Otis E. Bowman
1876
1848
Leonard Rowe
1877— '78
1849
John Ferris
1879— '80
1850— 'SI
Rensselaer Case
1881— '83
1852-
-'63
Benjamin S. Thorne
1883
18S4— '55
William Ferris
1884— '85
1856-
-'57
John Teats, Jr.
1896— '87
1858
Rensselear Case
1888— '89
1859-
-•60
Alexander Best
1890
1861-
-'63
Herrick Thorne
1891
1863
Peter Rissebbrack
1893— '93
1864
Lewis M. Smith
1894
1865
John W. Stickle
1895
1866
Alexander Best
1896— '97
1867
Herrick Thome
1898— '01
1868
Heniy A. Fellers
1903— '07
1869-
-'70
Harmon B. Sherwood
1908— '09
Horatio Rowe
Albert Bowman
Nicholas PhUlips
Ezra L. Morehouse
William E. Shoemaker
James Herrick
Uriah Teator
Horatio Rowe
John W. Stickle
Adelbert Husted
James Herrick
Adelbert Husted
John W. Stickle
Cyrus F. Morehouse
Irving B. Crouse
Cyrus ^. Morehouse
Irving B. Crouse
Uriah Teator
Cyrus F. Morehouse
George A. Boice
Cyrus F. Morehouse
Charles B. Simmons
374 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXV.
TOWN OF NORTHEAST.
By Philip H. Smith.
THE Little Nine Partner Patent granted in 1706, the North-
east Precinct, constituted in 1746, and Northeast Town,
erected in 1788, and the present towns of Northeast, Pine
Plains and Milan, taken collectively, comprised approximately the
same territorial limits. Huntting says that this section of the county,
originally embraced in a single town, was by creation separated into
three geographical divisions before a surveyor was thought of or
needed. The Winchell Mountain is a barrier between the Harlem
Valley and Stissing Basin, while Stissing Mountain divides the latter
from the valley of Milan. Thus are situate the three towns side by
side, each occupying a natural basin, with mountain ridges for boun-
daries.
In 1818 Milan was set off by itself. Until 1823 letters addressed
to Northeast were received at what is now Pine Plains. Some of the
pioneers who settled in Salisbury, Conn., died in the State of New
York on the same farms they cleared. A man from Westchester
bought a farm in the town of Northeast. His brother some years
later visited him on this identical farm in the town of Milan.
These paradoxical statements are made possible by reason of the
changes in the town and state boundaries. The Harlem Railroad,
when first built, ran through a corner of Massachusetts. Now the
trains pass a half mile west of the state line — Massachusetts having
receded that distance — ^but this will be told of more fully elsewhere.
In 1823, Northeast was shorn of Pine Plains, but had annexed a
liberal slice of Amenia to its southern border at the same time, thus
preserving its equilibrium among its sister towns by this compensa-
tion in wealth and population.
Before the town of Northeast was divided, all Northeast and Milan,
as towns now stand, went to the Stissing House in Pine Plains to vote.
TOWN OF NORTHEAST. 375
The town records of the present Northeast previous to 1823 were
kept in the Town Clerk's office at Pine Plains. Under these circum-
stances it is not always easy to make historical statements clear to
the reader.
Northeast received its name from its geographical position in the
county. A tongue of land approximately two miles in width, extends
along the Connecticut border into the town of Ancram, Columbia
County, about four miles beyond the remaining portion of the town.
Northeast is bounded on the north by Columbia County, east by
Litchfield County in Connecticut, south by Amenia and west by Stan-
ford and Pine Plains.
A lofty range of the Taconic Mountains extends along the eastern
border, with the Winchell Mountain on the west. Rudd Pond and
Indian Pond are the principal bodies of water, 'the latter lying for
the most part, in the State of Connecticut. The "Ten Mile" River,
some eighteen miles in length, runs south through the eastern part
of the town, through Amenia and into Dover, where it forms a con-
fluence with the Housatonic. The Shekomeko runs in a northerly di-
rection through its western portion.
The first town meeting in Northeast as at present constituted was
held at Northeast Center. The following is the earliest record: Pur-
suant to an act of the Legislature of the State of New York, passed
March 9,6, 182S, for dividing the towns of Amenia and Northeast in
the County of Dutchess, and erecting a new town therefrom by the
name of Northeast, and directing the first town meeting to be held at
the house of Alexander Neeley in said town.
A town meeting was held at the house of the aforesaid Alexander
Neeley, on the first day of April, 1823; the above act was read; Enos
Hopkins was chosen Moderator, Charles Perry and Alanson Pulver,
Clerks. Among the regulations, or town laws, passed for the town
of Northeast at this meeting are these: Voted, that a fence, to be
considered lawful, shall be four feet and a half high ; that the materi-
als shall be laid no more than five inches apart for two feet above the
ground. Voted, that no hogs shall be suffered to roam in the high-
ways after three months old without a ring in their nose. Voted, that
proper persons shall be employed to run the line between the towns of
Amenia and Northeast.
At the annual town meeting of Northeast on the 6th of April, 1824,
376 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
John H. Wilson, Alexander Colver and Eli Mills were elected Com-
missioners of Common Schools; Charles Perry, Peter Mills and John
Buttolph, Inspectors of Schools. Each town, by this system, was the
supreme judge of the requisite qualities of the teachers, and the sole
arbiter of the curriculum of the schools.
At the annual town meeting in 1824, Voted, that the town raise
the sum of six hundred dollars for the support of the poor. In con-
nection with the preceding, the following entry explains itself: "We,
Joel Benton, Supervisor and Solomon Cook and Joel Brown, Over-
seers of the Poor of the town of Amenia, and Philo M. Winchell, Super-
visor, and Eben Wheeler and Enos Howkins, Overseers of the town
of Northeast, being convened for the purpose of dividing the poor
and money of the town of Amenia."
It will be recollected that Northeast had just annexed a part of
Amenia, and the territory annexed carried with it its quota of the
poor of the entire town. Those early legislatures could not agree
as to what would be a proper division, and public feeling was aroused
to such an extent that the matter was taken to the Court of General
Sessions at Poughkeepsie for adjudication. By direction of the court
eighteen persons (named in the record) were by these town officials,
assigned to Amenia and twelve others allotted to Northeast.
At this time each town was required to take care of its own poor,
and the officials sometimes were not proof against the temptation to
be rid of objectionable citizens at the expense of other towns. The
question was a continual source of bitter jealousy and wrangling until
the state passed a law which mitigated the condition. The follow-
ing is among the entries: "We have set to the town of Pine Plains
(naming fifteen persons), and set to the town of Northeast (naming
six persons), and there are still six persons that are not divided, and
are a subject of future arrangement."
There were other sources of friction, owing to the changes in town
lines, such as the division of school and highway moneys, and the
settlement of quit rents, the latter having reluctantly been permitted
to survive until about 1823, when this vestige of English manorial
customs was banished from American soil.
The earliest settlements in Northeast were made in the Oblong tract.
One jeason for this was that better titles could be given to the prop-
erty, which were guaranteed by the state; and, being contiguous to
TOWN OF NORTHEAST. 377
New England where most of the early settlers came from, these prob-
ably located at the first desirable place they came to; the iron mines
were another and perhaps stronger attraction.
Spencers Corners or "Clearing" was among the oldest settled parts
of the Oblong. The history of the Baptist Church built here in 1777,
during the Revolutionary War, is given on other pages. Their church
edifice in Northeast stood near the present cemetery, opposite the
brick house now occupied by Walter Wilcoxson. The well used by
those early Baptist worshipers still supplies the sweetest and purest
water for miles, and is located in the Wilcoxson yard. This well was
originally partially enclosed in a "well house," and was provided with
seats around the sides. The farmers came from distance, on Sunday
mornings, with their families in wagons drawn hy oxen, remaining all
day and listening to the sermons, and adjourning to the "well house"
for their noonday repast.
North of Spencers Corners a short mile, stands the old-fashioned,
rambhng, small-windowed, many-roomed dwelling house of the Dakins.
Orville Dakin, the ancestor of the Dakins, and owner of the mine and
furnace adjacent, built this house when the country was a wilderness.
There was a line of ore beds from here to Boston Corners and beyond,
of which the Dakins were either sole or part owners. To the west of
this line, at Irondale, are the buildings of the Millerton Iron Com-
pany, now sadly fallen to ruin. This was once a busy hamlet, having
a mill employing over one hundred hands, with grist mill, store and
postofllce. Now nothing but a school and a few families remain.
In fact the digging and smelting of ore constituted the leading in-
dustry of this part of Northeast for the better part of a century.
During this early period other lines of business occupied their neigh-
bors over the mountain, in the southwest part of the town. The fol-
lowing advertisement shows the nature of the business referred to, and
tells of its decadence:
"MILL FOR SALE.— The subscriber offers for sale his mills, situate in Amenia
(now Northeast), four miles north from the Federal Store. The neighborhood
consists of wealthy farmers, and the surrounding country very productive of wheat.
The machinery of the grist mill and fulling mills are in tolerable good order, and
the stream which supplies them very durable. There is adjoining fourteen acres
of good wheat land, and a comfortable dwelling house, garden, &. The terms of
payment will be made easy. A good title and possession given inmiediately by
applying to the subscriber living near the premises.
May 4, 1807. Matthias Row."
378 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
At one time the "Federal Store" referred to was a busy place. Some
years previously a stock company had made this point a nucleus for
general exchange and merchandising in this vicinity, their shipping
point being Poughkeepsie. This Association was called the Federal
Company, and the store the Federal Store. There was also a grist
mill, a carding machine and fulling mill; also a factory for the manu-
facture of farm implements. The store ceased as a place of business
before 1850.
The invasion of the Harlem Railroad into the vicinity about 1852
wrought a great change in the town. Carding machines, fulling miUs
and family looms are things of the past, and the shipping of milk to
the New York markets has become the great industry of Northeast.
In the early years of our local history the system of carrying the
mails was very inadequate and unsatisfactory. Oftentimes letters
would be trusted to a friend, who happened to be traveling to the
vicinity of the letter's destination. Important messages usually were
sent by special carrier. In old documents the person who is deputed
to be the bearer of the communication is frequently mentioned by
name. Some fifteen or twenty years after the close of the Revolution,
private parties undertook the carrying of letters and papers on their
own account, the sender or receiver of the letter paying the carrier
therefor. In 1796 Alexander Neeley, of Northeast Center, started a
post route in the upper part of the county, and it is said that for
several years after the war of 1812 with England, he carried the gov-
ernment mails from Pine Plains to Sharon. At first the postman
took for his own all the income of the business; later, after the route
was established, the government assumed its control, reimbursing the
carrier for his interest. Spencers Corners was early a postofEce; an-
other was Northeast Center, where, in 1823, Alexander Neeley was
both postmaster and merchant.
At the outbreak of the Revolution there was a great demand for
lead for bullets. An Indian used to bring quantities of lead to Ezra
Clark at about this time; he said he got it on Indian Mountain, but
would not teU where. No one was ever able to find the place. The
requirements of the new governments also called for sulphur and flint.
Near the present hamlet of Shekomeko, in the southwestern part of
th»town, one John McDonald, a miner from Scotland, under instruc-
tions from the Provincial Congress, began to excavate where a mine
TOWN OF NORTHEAST. 379
had been worked some quarter of a century before by some Hollanders.
McDonald was directed to open the pits or shafts which Van Hook
and Tiebout formerly worked, doing the labor with only four assist-
ants, and await further orders from Congress, at whose expense the
mining was to be done. In the first pit a small quantity of lead was
discovered in three places, but not in a continued vein. The second
pit contained lead in several places, but not in an unbroken vein. The
bottom was void of the appearance of ore. He next cleared a pit
about fifty feet in depth. These pits were on the hill or knoll near the
present railroad depot.
Ezra Thompson, who then resided at the "Federal Square," was
superintendent, and furnished the necessary tools to McDonald, and
also advanced money to prospect the mining ojperations. Not meet-
ing with ore deposits in paying quantities they abandoned working in
pits and commenced at the northeast end of the 'hill near the highway
bridge, where they dug a trench "eighteen foot length and about three
foot deep." Making further excavations, during which they "opened
thirty feet in length and in some place digged three feet deep, and in
other places have sunk six foot, in there discovered a vein about two
or three inches in breadth, and raised about fifteen hundred weight of
ore."
October 16, 1776, McDonald entered into a further contract with
the Committee of the Provincial Congress to sink the lead mine which
he had lately opened, "twelve feet in depth from its present state, and
extend the same thirty feet in length in such direction as he shall think
best, and deliver the ore to the order of this convention." He was to
furnish everything, and was to receive ten pounds for every six feet
in depth, six feet in length and three feet in breadth, which he should
sink in said mine. At the final settlement it was found that McDonald
had dug six hundred and ninety cubic feet, which at the rate of ten
pounds for every one hundred and eight, amounted to sixty-three
pounds, seven shillings and nine pence, which the Provincial Congress
paid, and discontinued the mining operations.
That the McDonalds were a wealthy and important family is evi-
dent, as there is a spacious burial ground north of Shekomeko, oppo-
site the schoolhouse, where many of that name are buried. The
grounds have been walled in at considerable expense, the stones com-
posing the fence having been hauled from the vicinity of The Square.
380 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The McDonalds were slave owners, but would not consent to their
slaves being buried inside the enclosure where there was ample room,
but were content to have them placed in graves contiguous to the
tombs of their masters, so long as they were outside the walls.
For a period of nearly three-fourths of a century the lead mines at
Shekomeko were unmolested, but in 1853 attention was again drawn
in their direction. On the 29th of August of that year W. H. Hughes
of New York secured a mineral lease of the mine hill, and mining was
again resumed. The lease was given by Ward W. Bryan (grand-
father of the present owner of the farm), and was to remain in force
for a period of twelve years with the privilege of renewal. It read
in part: "If no mineral or fossil substance be mined within the period
of eight months from the present, or any time afterwards in eight
months, then these presents and everything contained therein shall
cease and be free."
Hughes for a time worked the mines under this lease and then sud-
denly left. The reason of his action was subsequently explained. Hughes
had been operating as agent for a company, and he struck a vein
of ore of uncommon richness. The lease terminated by its own con-
ditions, for eight months elapsed during which no mineral was raised.
At the expiration of that time Hughes put in an appearance and made
application for a new lease from Bryan in his own name; but he died
suddenly before the business was consummated. The rich "find" was
not disclosed until after his death, and its location, if such there was,
is not now known. Experts claim that indications point to a rich
vein of ore somewhere in this range of mountains.
In 1862 the Bryan farm was again leased, this time to Gust. A.
Sacchi, who represented a mining company in New York with a capi-
tal of $600,000. Heretofore the work had been done by hand labor,
drainage of the pits being affected by drifts or tunnels from the loca-
tion. But this new company did the work of pumping and hoisting
by steam. The company bought a farm nearby, on which was wood
for fuel and a building for a boarding house. At one place a shaft
was sunk seventy-five feet with lateral tunnels at the bottom. After
some $300,000 of stock was sold work was stopped and the farm re-
verted back to the owners, Calvin C. and Ehhu W. Bryan, father and
uncl9 of the present owner.
Ezra Bryan emigrated to Shekomeko from the Connecticut or New
TOWN OF NORTHEAST. 381
Haven Colony. The family came from the same branch as did Hon.
William Jennings Bryan, to whom the early Shekomeko emigrants
bear a family resemblance, it is said. The Bryans for three-fourths
of a century furnished Dutchess County and adjacent territory with
fanning mills ; a part of their factory is still in existence, and is now
a wagon house in the hamlet of Shekomeko.
The history of the Baptist Church of Northeast dates back to the
first day of May, 1773, when the first covenant meeting in this Pre-
cinct was held at Brother Dakin's house near Spencers Clearing; and
in 1777, on land in the vicinity of the old graveyard at Spencers Cor-
ners, their house of worship was erected.
A dissension having arisen in relation to some matters of church
government, a council was called, composed of Elders Waldo, Drake,
Gano, Moss, Kellogg and Ferris, who advised the release of the dis-
senting members. Then successively follow the names of Eastman,
Hopkins, Allerton, Winchell, Buttolph, Thompson, La Grange and
others, beloved and consecrated elders of the church, serving well and
faithfully their pastorships while the church grew and prospered.
In 1829 a new and commodious house of worship was dedicated.
It was of brick, and cost about $5,000, of which James Winchell con-
tributed $1,700. Rev. Thomas Winter preached the dedicatory ser-
mon. Dr. Rufus Babcock assisting at the services.
About the close of the Civil War the society voted to sell the old
brick church at Spencers Corners, purchase a new site in the growing
village of Millerton, and build another house of worship nearer the
business center of the town. In pursuance of this decision, on the
4th of November, 1867, the church met to lay the cornerstone of its
new house of worship.
The edifice is situated at the head of the main village street, and
the church is prospering under the pastoral care of Rev. George C.
Kiernan.
Congregational Chuech, Northeast. The first meeting to con-
sider the question of building a Congregational House of Worship in
the town of Northeast was held at the house of Nicholas Holbrook at
Northeast Center, October 17, 1827. A resolution was adopted in
favor of building such a house, and a committee of five was appointed
to solicit subscriptions. December 2nd, a building committee was
named to proceed with the work. During the summer of 1828 the
382 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
house was built, and on December 2Srd was formally delivered to the
society by the committee. The cost of the building in money, aside
from the labor contributed and the site given by Mr. Holbrook, was
$2100.
January 15th, 1829, the house was dedicated and the church con-
stituted. There were nine members, as follows: Ehhu Payne, Ezra L.
Barrett, Rhode Barrett, Philip J. Jenks, Julia Ann Jenks, John I.
Douglass, Elizabeth Clark, Mary Hotchkiss and Myra Coleman. The
society was incorporated in June, 1829.
The first pastor to minister to this church was Rev. Thomas Fletcher,
who was installed January 14, 1830. At the end of his pastorate
three years later, the church had on its roUs about one hundred mem-
bers.
In 1873 this church was affiliated vdth the Presbyterian denomina-
tion.
In 1866, $4000 was subscribed to tear down the church building at
Northeast Center and rebuild at Millerton. The second house of wor-
ship was dedicated February 17th, 1867. The entire cost of this
building was $10,473.79.
November 8, 1904, a meeting was held to consider the remodelling
of the church or the building of a new one. After repeated sessions,
the trustees in September, 1905, voted to build a new church, award-
ing the contract to the local builders, Beers and TrafFord, for the
sum of $7,800, not including the leaded glass windows, seats, light,
heat, or any of the furniture. An oflFer of $500 for the old church
building was accepted, and a subscription list of about $7,200 re-
ported.
The cornerstone of this, the third house of worship of the society,
was laid on Thanksgiving Day, November 30, 1905, the pastors of
sister churches. Revs. H. Y. Murklaiid and E. F. Charles, participat-
ing in the service.
Methodist Episcopal Church or Northeast. The Methodists
were the first to hold religious services here after the departure of the
Moravian Missionaries, but records of the church are very meagre.
The first record of which anything is known bears date of 1842, in
part as follows: "The subscribers, being appointed judges by a
majority of the members present do find that Daniel Lee, John I.
Hull and Nathaniel Gridley were elected by a plurality of voice to
TOWN OF NORTHEAST. 383
serve as trustees of the Northeast Center Methodist Church in the town
of Northeast, Dutchess County, N. Y., in witness whereof we have
hereunto set our hands and sedls this seventh day of February, 1842.
Daniel Lee, Jr., (L, S.)
LoBEN^o Gilbert, (L. S.)
The second quarterly meeting for the conference year 1847, for
Salisbury and Northeast, was held at the church at Northeast Center,
February 23. Presiding Elder, Denton Keeler; Preacher in Charge,
D. C. Benjamin; Clerk, J. S. Caulkins. At a quarterly meeting in
1850, Rev. Phineas Rice, Presiding Elder, a committee having been
appointed to estimate the table expenses of the preacher for North-
east, Rev. J. L. Dickerson, they allowed him $100 and his fuel. At
a quarterly conference held at the M. E. Churcn, Northeast Center,
Rev. J. Z. Nichols, Presiding Elder, the subject of a district associa-
tion was proposed. In 1855 Rev. P. C. Oakley is mentioned as Pre-
siding Elder, and Rev. A. H. Ferguson as Preacher in Charge.
An important change in the society was made about this time.
At a meeting of the male members of the Methodist Church and society
of Northeast, held at the hall at Millerton, that being the regular
place of worship of said society, March 2nd, 1857, for the purpose of
electing sworn trustees for the incorporating of said society, the
meeting was called to order by Rev. W. G. Browning, when the follow-
ing trustees were elected: Nathaniel Gridley, Alexander W. Trow-
bridge, Nicholas D. Eggleston, John S. Caulkins, Horace S. Kelsey,
Douglass Clark, Jr., and Perry Vroman. A certifiaate was duly
signed and recorded in the County Clerk's office, and thus a second
Methodist Society was constituted and located at the growing village
of Millerton. The preacher in charge at the later place also held ser-
vices at the Center for a time, but these were finally discontinued.
Under date of April 2nd, 1859, is found the following : "The trus-
tees 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."
March 23rd, 1861, conference was held at Northeast Center, and
again in July of that year at Millerton, indicating that both com-
munities were enjoying church privileges.
The society is now meeting in a commodious house of worship, of
384 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
an attractive and modem design, and are enjoying the ministrations
of Rev. Angelo Ostrander.
The village of Millerton^ was incorporated June 30, 1875, with N.
C. Beach, President; O. Wakeman, H. B. Eggleston, W. B. Grey,
Trustees; J. M. Benedict, Treasurer.
At a public meeting held at the Nickel Plate Rink, January 19,
1891, it was voted to raise money to procure a water supply for the
village of Millerton, authorizing the bonding of the village for a sum
not to exceed $15,000. Previous to this the Village Board had met
and organized a Board of Water Commissioners as follows: E. H.
Thompson, President; J. W. Pulver, P. N. Paine and Nicholas Best,
Trustees. In the following year the village was bonded for $18,000,
and a fire department was organized, with spacious quarters and
adequate apparatus.
The Millerton Telegraph, a weekly publication, was started Novem-
ber 1, 1876, by Cooley James, who sold it to Van Scriver and Deacon
after conducting it about three months ; subsequently Colvin Card pur-
chased Van Scriver's interest, later assuming the sole proprietorship,
continuing its publication until his death. Its present proprietor is
W. L. Loupe.
The Millerton National Bank was organized in 1882. G. S. Frink
was its first President, and W. M. Dales its first Cashier. The pres-
ent bank building was erected in 1903, and is equipped with modern
vault and safe deposit boxes. The Bank has a capital stock of $50,-
000, with individual deposits according to the statement of February
14, 1908, of over $299,000. Its present officers are Frank A. Hotch-
kiss, President, and W. C. Denny, Vice President and Cashier.
There is a natural phenomenon connected with the lofty range of
the Taconic Mountains, forming the border line between Northeast
and the State of Connecticut, that has aroused the wonder of scientific
minds, and the inhabitants who spend their lives in the valley at its
foot are by this strange happening often put to their wits end.
High up among the crags, says Landon, is the hatching place of
great wiads. With this high mountain range lying along the east
side for miles, the valley would seem to be the best protected region
1., This Tillage derived Its name from Sidney G. Miller, one of the contractors and
builders of the extension of the New Tork & Harlem Railroad from Dover Plains to
Chatham.
TOWN OF NORTHEAST. 385
from easterly gales that could be imagined. There are more east
winds of typhoon power right here than in any other place this side
the Rocky Mountains — and that is what puzzles those who are ever
trying to explain the weather.
Hours before the gales reach the vaUey their roar is heard on the
mountain top, not unlike the moan of the ocean heard at a distance.
Gradually they work down the mountain side, their voice becoming
more menacing as they gather momentum in their descent; then
the beholder notes the forest trees bending and swaying before an
unseen force upon the mountain side, while at its foot the leaves hang
motionless. And when the winds at the moment of their greatest fury
reach the mountain's base, and rush howling and screaming across
the narrow valley, it behooves man and beast Jo seek shelter. In-
stances have been recorded of passenger trains, with their load of
human freight, being lifted from the rails.
When the survey of the Massachusetts State boundaries were made,
a comer of that commonwealth extended over the Taconic range to
the west. This corner comprised about four hundred acres of arable
land, and some fifteen hundred of mountain land, and was completely
isolated from the rest of the state by a practicably impassable moun-
tain. By traversing a roundabout way some twelve to fifteen miles in
another state one might get from this fragment of nowhere into Mas-
sachusetts.
Here for years lived and prospered a little community, a virtual
Republic. They paid no taxes to the State, went to no polling place
to vote, but governed themselves, supported a school, kept up religious
services, and had they been left to themselves, there had been no blot
on their escutcheon.
One day an enterprising Yankee came and opened an inn. Then
a stranger came and took lodgings, and soon went away. Soon
others appeared, were entertained, and presently departed, without
making their business known. Then the people of Boston Corners be-
gan to open their eyes. These transient guests were refugees from
the constables of the three commonwealths, whose territory joined
near this point, who were wanted for chicken stealing, or some other
local offenses.
Also the eyes of law-breakers from the outside world were drawn
to this haven of criminals. In 1811 John Armstrong fought a duel
386 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
here, where he was immune from the enforcement of the laws of either
state against dueling. While a Massachusetts constable might have
made an arrest, the moment he stepped into New York or Connecticut
with his prisoner he would lose jurisdiction, and there was neither
judge nor jail at Boston Comers,
For half a century things went on, when an event occurred which
led to concerted action being taken by New York, Massachusetts, and
the National Government.
October 12, 1852, a heavily loaded train from New York City dis-
charged its load at Boston Comers, a station on the newly completed
railroad. Other train loads from Albany and Troy were dumped off
at the same point, as rough a set of rowdies as ever set foot on any
soil. People from the country came in wagons, until the crowd was
immense.
Two men seemed to be the center of attraction. One was forty-one
years of age, and looked old enough to be the father of the other who
was twenty-two, but was three inches taller, looking hke a giant be-
side the older man. The latter was Yankee Sullivan, long the cham-
pion prize-fighter of America, while the giant was John Morrisey,
just then on the threshold of his world-wide notoriety. Morrisey's
seconds were Tom O'Donnell and "Awful" Gardiner ; Sullivan was es-
corted by Billy Wilson and another friend. The purse was $2,000 a
side.
Forcibly pre-empting the first convenient dwelling house, the prin-
cipals were quickly dressed for the battle. In an adjacent field was
an abandoned brickyard. In a large level plot, that had been care-
fully prepared for the drying of the bricks years before, the grounds
were selected, and the ropes of the arena drawn, while hundreds of
spectators looked on from points of vantage.
Thirty-seven bloody rounds were fought with bare fists. Sullivan
seemed to have the better of his opponent all through the fight until
the last round, when he was thrown violently against the ropes, and
failed to recover before time was called. Morrisey, who had never
left his place, was proclaimed victor. But the point of interest for
the people of Northeast, and one reason for the introduction of the
event in this chapter, is the raid of the hungry hordes on Millerton
after the battle was over. This was then a mere hamlet, and was
tight-shut when the invasion came. But locks were nothing; the pri-
TOWN OF NORTHEAST.
387
vacy of pantries was not respected; nothing was respected that came
between the invaders and anything that could be eaten. Hogs were
killed and roasted in the highway. MiUerton never forgot that prize
fight at Boston Corners.
This event broke the independent spirit of the Boston Corners "Re-
public." The people clamored to be annexed to some civil authority
able to cope with the powers of evil, to the end that never should such
scenes be repeated. Massachusetts, in May of the year following the
fight, ceded the triangle to New York; the concession was accepted
by New York July 21, 1853; the transfer was confirmed by Act of
Congress January 3d, 1855. The soil of Boston Corners has been
respected ever since.
The following has been the succession of Supervisors from 1775 to
1908: *
177S— '76
Israel Thompson
1839-
-'31
Douglass Clark
1777— '78
Hugh Rea
1833
Alanson Colver
1779— '81
Lewis Graham
1833— '34
Eli Mills
1782
Hugh Rea
1835— '36
David Seldon
1783
Uriah Lawrence
1837-
-'38
John H. Conklin
1784
Lewis Graham
1839-
-'40
Moses Clark
1785— '87
John White
1841-
-'42
Eben Wheeler
1788— '93
Josiah Holly
1843
Jeduthan Roe
1793
Ebenezer Dibblee
1844— '45
Hiram Wheeler
1794— '96
Josiah HoUy
1846
Abraham Bockee
1797— '98
Ebenezer Dibblee
1847
James Hammond
1799— '00
Peter Husted
1848
Abner Brown
1801
(No record of this year.)
1849
George Douglass
1802— '03
Isaac Sherwood
1850
Geo. R. Winchell
1804— '05
Martin B. Winchell
1851
Gerard Pitcher
1806
Jonathan Deuel
1852
John Winchell
1807
Benj. R. Bostwick
1853
Edgar Clark
1808— '09
Jonathan Deuel
1854
Jeremiah W. Paine
1810— '11
Enos Hopkins
1855
Piatt A. Paine
1812— '13
Isaac Sherwood
1856
Hiram Rogers
1814— 'IS
Uri Judd
1857
Edw'd W. Simmons
1816— '17
Martin Lawrence
1858
John F. Wheeler
1818— '19
Fyler Dibblee
1859
Phoenix Bodiee
1820— '21
Philo M. Winchell
1860
Greorge Clark
1823
Israel Harri?
1861
David Bryan
1833
Philo M. WincheU
1862
John Campbell
1834— '35
David Seldon
1863
George F. More
1836
Amos Bryan
1864— '67
Edw'd W. Simmons
1827— '28
Abraham Booker
1868
William H. Barton
388
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1869
WilUam L. Pratt
1885
Wm. Angevine
1870
James Collins
1886— '87
John Scutt
1871— '72
James Collins
1888— '89
John W. Pulver
1873
George Dakin
1890
John Scutt
1874— '75
Daniel McElwell
1891
Hoffman Sweet
1876
Michael Rowe
1892
Edward H. Thompson
1877
Jeremiah W. Paine
1893
Daniel B. McElwee
1878
Hiram Rogers
1894— '97
Charles A. Cline
1879
James M. Winchell
1898— '99
Frank A. Hotchkiss
1880
George E. Crane
1900— '01
Charles A. Cline
1881— '83
Wheeler Rowe
1903— '07
Lorin J. Eggleston
1883— '84
George WiUiams
1908— '09
Gideon M. Slee
TOWN OF PAWLING. 389
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE TOWN OF PAWLING.
By Philip H. Smith.
THE Town of Pawling is universally described as the southeast
corner town in Dutchess County. A range of high hiUs, which
range is locally known as Quaker Hill, ^tends along the east
border. Another range known as the West Mountain occupies the
west part. A broad and fertile valley runs through the central por-
tion. Swamp and Croton Rivers take their rise here, the former
flowing north into the Housatonic, the latter south into the Hudson.
Pawling is bounded north by Dover, east by the town of Sherman
in Connecticut, south by Patterson in Putnam County, and west by
the town of Beekman. Pawling Precinct was taken from Beekman
Precinct by an act passed December 31, 1768, and erected into a
town in 1788, when the State government was subjected to general
revision in many of its details ; the town limits were then greater than
at present, as Dover was taken off and made into a separate town-
ship in 1807. The ancient Pawling town records, which covered a
period previous to the division of the town, were destroyed by the
fire of 1869.
There are four considerable natural bodies of water in the town,
the dimensions of most of them having been considerably increased
by artificial means. These are known as Whaley Pond, Lake Nor-
ton, Green Mountain Lake and Lake Hammersley. All these lakes
aff'ord excellent fishing, having been stocked from various hatcheries,
and provided with boats and fishing appliances. In summer the
islands and shores of these picturesque inland water basins are dotted
with the tents of city campers.
Many authorities have described the limits of the town as being
included in the patent granted to Henry Beekman June 26, 1703.
This is only partly true, as the south line of the Beekman Patent was
390 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
approximately that which was afterwards known as the Willis Line,
or the line advocated by some for the division line when Putnam
County was taken off in 1812. This hne was run through what is
now the incorporated limits of the village of Pawling, and is thus
described: "Beginning on the Oblong line at a large heap of stones
set up which bears north 25 degrees, west 38 links from a large rock
on which are cut the letters H. B., B. B,-, and P. P. ; a new house
built by Adam Chase bears the same course that the rock does. From
thence due west, the hne runs about 12 feet south of WiUiam Hunt's
spring, where Col. Henry Beekman made the letters H. B. on the
rock out of which) the water of the spring runs. Said hne also crosses
a pretty large pond in the mountains a Httle south of the middle. On
the east shore a monument is set up about two chains south of one
Baker's house situated in a hoUow." Now as to the location of these
monuments. The large rock, with the letters cut in, may be seen in
the meadow north of Martin Leach's residence as described in the
colonial records, with the exception that the initials "B. R." have
been torn away by a blast set off by some workmen who did not
know the rock was a monument of the ancient patent line divisions.
The house built by Adam Chase referred to was the one destroyed by
fire one winter's night many years ago, and occupied the present site
of Martin Leach's dwelling. William Hunt owned land on which
PawHng village stands, and "Hunt's Spring" is the one in rear of
H. S. Wanger's residence.
The large pond in the mountains is Whaley Pond. This line can
be traced by the remains of an old wall leading over the south end
of Purgatory, and also by the stone and rail fence extending along
the southern declivity of Mount Tom.
This rock at Martin Leach's was the southeast corner of the Beek-
man Patent, and this monument until 1731 was in the boundary line
between Connecticut and New York, at which time the Oblong strip
was taken off, and the New York State hne established nearly two
miles further to the eastward.
The territory comprised in Putnam County was by some styled
Philipsburgh Manor from the fact that its proprietor, Adolph Philipse,
was granted certain manorial rights and privileges. It bounds the
town'bf Pawling on the south.
Thus we have a wedge-shaped piece of land extending from the
TOWN OF PAWLING. 391
Beekman Patent line to the Patterson line, the head of the wedge,
nearly three miles across, abutting against the Connecticut line, with
the point marked by a clump of bushes on the Hudson, known as
"Plum Point." This wedge comprised a mere bagatell of territory,
say fifteen thousand acres, more or less, that had been overlooked in
the allottment of lands to the original patentees. Starting from the
same point on the Hudson, the lines were run, without chain or com-
pass, "four hours' going into the woods," diverging more and more
the further the lines were extended.
The Beekman and the Philipse heirs both laid claim to territory
within this "gore," which lay outside their lines; and its division was
the subject of bitter controversy for many years. The dispute was
finally settled in 1771, and two ancient deeds of land in this town
bear that date, given by the Philipse heirs, one to Reed Ferris and
one to William Prendergast — the Dodge- Arnold farm and the Arnold
homestead.
Fredericksburgh was at the time of the Revolution a village, after-
wards called "The City," located near the present residence of Dr.
Banks in Patterson. The appellation of this village gave the name
to a large extent of territory, the residence of John Kane being within
it. Among the old documents. Pawling is referred to by the name of
Kingston.
The road leading south from Pawling village, now called the State
Road, was originally laid out in 1745, and is described as running
from Beekman's Patent into Westchester. The road running diag-
onally up the hill toward Mr. Conger's was first built as a turnpike,
and known as the Philipstown turnpike. The road from Patterson
through Reynoldsville was called the FIshkill turnpike.
Spafford's Gazateer, published in 1813, gave the number of looms
for the weaving of cloth in private families in Pawling as one hundred
and two. In fact, at a much later date, nearly everything used by
the farmers was made in town. Abram Thomas made the nails that
went into the construction of the Hicksite Meeting House. Hiram
Sherman made coffins and wagons. John Hays was a tailor. Isaac
Ingersoll carried on the tannery business. Jeptha Sabin was a sad-
dler and harness maker; and that the most essential needs of the
ladies should have due recognition, Peter Field, the silversmith, opened
a shop. John TofFey and Joseph Seely were hatters, while Amos
392 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Osborn made jugs. Stephen Briggs was a shoemaker, and there is
the tradition of a forge on the glen stream on Quaker Hill. Miss
Alicia H. Taber, in "Glimpses of the Past," from which some of the
foregoing are quotations, says revolving hay rakes were first made
in this town. There were two carding machines, one at Cole's MiUs
and the other at the Cyrus Tweedy mill. The Lattimer Iron Foun-
dry was built later, but was washed away in a freshet. It stood on
the stream north of Cole's Mill.
The population of the town in 1810 was 1756. Outside of the vil-
lages it must have been more thickly inhabited than now. About
20,000 yards of cloth were produced from the family looms in the
town that year. Patterson had a fuUing mill, two carding machines
and a distillery of grain and fruit spirits.
The fattening of cattle, says Miss Taber, constituted the chief
business of most farmers in this vicinity. Live cattle were the only
produce that did not have to go to the river to reach the market.
The road through Pawling was the main thoroughfare from points
as far north as Vermont. Monday was the market day in the city,
and all started in time to reach their destination by Saturday. The
cattle were started from Pawling on Thursday, taking the better part
of three days to reach the city. It used to be remarked by cattle
dealers that they could teU what the Monday's market would be by
taking note of the droves that passed through Pawling on Thursday.
The cattle were purchased by drovers, and by them disposed of in the
city. The drover was something of a personage in those days. Inns
or taverns were kept, located every few miles along the route, for the
cattle required feeding every few miles. There was John Preston's,
near Dover plains ; the Morehouse tavern at South Dover ; there was
a stopping place at Hurds Comers; next the hostelry at Gideon Slo-
cum's in Pawling; next an inn at Akins Comers, and another at
Benjamin V. Haviland's, and so on to the city. The books of the
latter tavern show that in one year there had been kept 27,784 cattle,
30,000 sheep and 700 mules; and it is said there would at times be
as many as 2,000 head between this and the tavern at John Preston's.
It is many years since public whippings were practiced in this
vicinity, although in one instance the post itself remains. This par-
ticular post is the Sycamore tree near the residence of Charles Rob-
erts, on the John Kane place. This was the one used by Washington
TOWN OF PAWLING. 393
for military punishments, and was probably used for the civil as well.
It was the army custom to administer one-half the number of blows
ordered, say fifty or so, then wait two or three days until the wounds
had festered, and then deUver the remainder. Some economic writers
aver that public whipping was the best antidote for petty thieving of
any invention of man; but pubHc sentiment could no longer brook
the cruelty of the practice, even if chicken roosts were the oftener
looted.
Another custom, the "Putting out of the Poor," is happily dis-
continued. This was no less than selling the unfortunate indigent
into slavery, at times as abject as ever fell to the lot of the negro
on a southern plantation. The poor people would be delivered into
the custody of the lowest bidder, and he in turn would compensate
himself by getting the most work out of his subjects with the least
outlay of food and clothing. It is intimated that the officials of the
different towns were not above ridding themselves of their own poor
at the expense of their neighbor. At any rate a state law was passed
forbidding the renting of a house to any person from another town
without the consent of the Overseers of the Poor.
The first attempt to provide public transportation was the survey-
ing of a route for a canal through the Harlem Valley; it is said the
project was abandoned because some of its professed friends mis-
appropriated the funds. The section of the Harlem railroad from
Croton Falls to Dover Plains was opened December 31, 1849, teams
being used to haul the train over a short stretch of road to its des-
tination in order to meet the requirements of the charter.
Wilson, in his "Quaker Hill," has given some curious items culled
from the ledger of the John TofFey store. The principal goods kept
in stock in those primitive times were cloth, indigo, thread, cambric,
penknives, "nittenneedles," plaster, fine salt, rum, molasses, tea, apple
trees, nutmegs and shad. There was hardly an entry of goods sold
without the item of "rum" was included. During the years 1814!-'16,
owing to war prices, molasses sold for $2 a gallon ; "tobago" at $2.75
the pound; flour $18, boots $9, and tea at $2.75 per pound. Ten
years later molasses sold at 35 cents a gallon, and tobacco at 63 cents
the pound.
Pawling has suffered from many conflagrations. Two church edi-
fices have been burned, and the corner now occupied by the Ferris
394 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Block has twice been devastated. The first fire on the corner occurred
in 1859, when E. I. Hurd kept a general store there ; the next took
place in October of 1&92, when the feed store, of Ehnore Ferris, the
Pawhng Journal printing office, and six other buildings were de-
stroyed.
The principal industry of Pawling now is that of the milk business.
There are three milk factories, so-called, — ^the Sheffield Farms, Woody-
crest and the Mutual, — at each of which the milk is received from
the farmers, bottled for shipment or sent in cans to the metropohs.
The normal output of the three institutions is about five hundred cans
daily. Pawling lays claim to being the largest milk receiving station
in the county. As the commodity is brought into the town in the
early morning, the streets present a busy appearance with the multi-
tude of loaded wagons from the country and the groups of happy
children going to school.
Pawling village, incorporated in 1893, has about 800 inhabitants.
Quaker Hill, Reynoldsville or Holmes, and West Pawling are hamlets.
The high elevations of Quaker HiU and the West Mountain were
probably settled long before the lands in the valley between were
occupied. The "Swamp fevers" were greatly feared by the pioneer
settlers, and they avoided setthng on the low grounds. Three brothers
named Moshier emigrated to America long before the Revolution;
one died soon after; another ran a mill in the town of Stanford, while
a third settled somewhere on the West Mountain. That the west
part of the town was at one time thickly inhabited is evident from
the numbers of old cellars that one meets with here, during a day's ramble,
each with tumble-down chinmey, its old well, remains of garden walls
and beds of "tansy" to fortify against the Swamp fever. Not unfre-
quently one comes unexpectedly upon neglected burial places in the
forest, and there is not a tradition of the people buried there. On the
other hand it is said there was no house on the post road between
Alfred Wing's and the Taber homestead; thus Pawling and Hurds
Corners were not even in embryo. Among the settlers on the east
side we find the names of Sherman, Merrit, Birdsall, Irish, Akin,
Craft, Chase and Osborn. Of the valley there occur Shaw, Cary,
Hunt, Sabin, Salmon, Pearce and Slocum. On the west there once
dwelt the ancestors of the families by the name of Worden, Moshier,
Dentory, Dibble, Davis and Turner. It is said there was quite an
TOWN OF PAWLING. 395
influx into the town, about 1740. As these who immigrated here were
not of the "Standing Order," rehgiously speaking, that is to say,
they were Baptists and Methodists, and came from the east, it may be
presumed they were attracted here by the promise of freedom of church
worship. This however, hardly accords with tradition which says
these early settlers were addicted to drinking, gaming, horse racing,
cockfighting and wrestling.
As the military history of the town is embodied in the general his-
tory of the county, more than a few local incidents of that time would
be out of place here.
The official Headquarters of General Washington during his so-
journ with his army in Pawling in 1778, were at the house of John
Kane, now the site of the Roberts residence. In September, 1905, a
copper tablet with an historical inscription was affixed to a large
sycamore tree near by the house, and was unveiled with interesting
and appropriate ceremonies. Mr. L. S. Patrick, of Marinette, Wis.,
delivered the historical address. The tablet was draped in the folds
of a Union Jack intermingled with the Stars and Stripes, and Mrs.
Laura Sherwood, 97 years of age, officiated at the ceremony of un-
veiling. Mrs. Van Rensseleer Schuyler, of Sharon, Conn., a descend-
ant of John Kane, was present by invitation to represent the former
owner of the soil. Mr. Wilson followed Mr. Patrick's address in some
remarks on the life and character of John Kane. This gentleman
was a man owning considerable landed property in this vicinity. His
sympathies were decidedly in favor of the patriots; but, having little
faith in the ultimate success of their cause, was moved by considera-
tions of self interest to side with the loyalists. He, however, took
occasion to speak favorably of the Whigs on all public occasions,
which greatly incensed the friends of the King. So when his estate
was confiscated by the patriot authorities, he petitioned the King to
reimburse him for his loss, but was met with the charge, "You talked
too well of the King's rebellious subjects to receive favors at 'his
hands." Disowned by both sides he was dispossessed of all his prop-
erty,— ^the officers even stripping the pillows and blankets from a
cradle in which his youngest child lay critically iU with pneumonia,
and was drummed out of town. The shock and exposure proved fatal
to the sick child, while the family suffered all the indignities that could
be inflicted on the bitterest Tory. The good words he had spoken
396 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
for them had been forgotten by the patriots, so inflamed they were
by passion. The Arctic explorer of that name was a descendant of
this same John Kane. The following is the inscription on the tablet:
THE RESIDENCE OF JOHN KANE
ON THIS SITE
WAS HEADQUARTERS OF WASHINGTON
FROM SEPTEMBER TWELFTH
TO NOVEMBER TWENTY-SEVENTH, 1778,
WHILE THE SECOND LINE
OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY
WAS ENCAMPED ON QUAKER HILL
AND IN THE VALLEY NEAR.
The residence of a Quaker by the name of Birch in the south end
of Quaker Hill was robbed during the Autumn of 1778, by some sol-
diers. On his promise not to follow them that night, they offered him
no bodily harm. This promise, though made under duress, he kept
on the honor of a Quaker, but at the hour the time hmit expired he
was on their track with a posse. He traced them to the army lines,
where he recognized the villains, and identified his property on the
person of one of them. The evidence was so conclusive, that the cul-
prit was convicted before court-martial, and hung despite the pro-
tests of Birch, who had no desire to push the matter to that extremity.
Nathan Pearce, Jun., who lived in the house standing, at the time
of the Revolution, but since razed, on the bank nearly opposite the
residence of O. A. Dykeman, was collector of military fines, — an
office that was as distasteful to the public as could well be imagined.
One night some robbers broke into the house, struck him with the
butt of a musket, beat and kicked him into insensibihty, and finally
suspended him, lacerated and bleeding, by his thumbs to the chamber
floor. Then after rummaging the house, they left him to be rescued
by the family. He never saw a well moment thereafter, and survived
the ordeal but six weeks. Some nights subsequent to this, his brother,
Capt. William Pearce, with some followers, surprised this robber gang
at their rendezvous in a cave on Quaker Hill. The robber chief,
Vaughn by name, had on his person the clothes taken from his brother
Nathan, and William had the satisfaction of running a sword through
the body of his enemy in revenge for the murder of his brother.
Benjamin Sherman came from Massachusetts to Pawling in 1764!,
TOWN OF PAWLING. 397
and probably lived in the tenant house on the Dodge- Arnold farm at
the foot of Quaker Hill. The Shermans were proverbially wagon
makers and drovers as well as farmers. The "Sherman wagon, the
box of which was rounded up at both ends, with paneled side boards,
and half as high again in rear as in front," as I well remember, was
built by Benjamin. This tenant house has somehow escaped the
notice of local antiquarians, which is the more singular as it has a
"room with six doors and one window," lacking only a single door to
be on a par with its illustrious rival at Newburgh. In this house
some of Sherman's children were born. No taint of Toryism, or even
neutrality, ever attached to Sherman or his sons, three of whom were
in the Continental service. I am inclined to the opinion that Benja-
min Sherman was Magistrate Sherman of whom, Dr. Fallon speaks
of so highly in his letter to Governor Chnton. It is a tradition that
Vaughn and his night riders on one occasion, under cover of dark-
ness, paid this family a visit, but found the old gentleman and his
sons so well prepared to receive them that they were glad to depart
after exchanging a few shots. The Shermans had a keg of gun-
powder arranged with a train, in readiness to be fired in case they
were overpowered, with the view to launch friend and foe alike into
eternity, preferring death to falling into the hands of these "minions
of the moon."
The money then in circulation was mostly gold sovereigns. As a
place of security Sherman bored holes in the bottom of his bedposts,
into which the sovereigns were dropped until the holes were nearly
full, then a plug would be nicely fitted into each hole, and the bedr
stead returned to its place.
The family afterwards removed to the farm at present owned by
Mr. Georgfe Ketchum. On a rising knoll to the north of the house is
a monument marking the last resting place of Benjamin Sherman and
Deborah his wife, erected to their memory by their appreciative grand-
son, David H. Sherman.
Pawling Baptist Church. There is a tradition of a log church
once standing near the Camp Meeting woods. There are evidences of a
burial place on the west side of the road at the point, and a marble
slab with the name, "Sarah, wife of Nathan Cary," may yet be seen
on the farm. This confirms the supposition that Elder Henry Cary
preached in this log structure, and that the dead of this community
were buried in the graveyard contiguous to it. From the record of a
398 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
marriage ceremony solemnized by Elder Gary in 1766, it is presumable
this was the period of his residence in this vicinity.
Elder John Lawrence began preaching here in 1770, and was pas-
tor of a church organized before the Revolution. In 1775 he was
succeeded by Elder Phineas Clark. One of Elder Lawrence's con-
verts was Nehemiah Johnson ; the latter was ordain&l and commenced
preaching when Elder Clark left, and served the Pawling church as
its minister fifty-three consecutive years. The pastorate of Elder
Johnson is not more remarkable for its length than for the peace
and harmony that prevailed over the entire period. The writer of
this chapter remembers the deep veneration with which the people of
this vicinity regarded this sainted man. He had never enjoyed the
advantages of a hberal education, and his language might not have
been always grammatical, as measured by modem rules, but "he could
remember nothing he said after announcing his text, and at the close
of the sermon his audience Was frequently found in tears." During
the period of his ministry he labored with his own hands for his tem-
poral support while administering to the spiritual needs of his people.
The earliest meeting house of this society was at the top of the
West Mountain, where the Dug Way road intersects the Penny road
that follows the crest of the mountain into the town of Dover. This
was always known as the Johnson Meeting House, and is still remem-
bered by some of our oldest citizens. Large congregations were ac-
customed to gather there, and "they found it easy breathing in prayer
on that high ground where they worshiped." The church at this
time had a membership of ninety. Azariah CrandeU was chosen deacon
at its formation, holding the office until his death in 1808. In 1842
Benjamin Burr and Elijah Booth were deacons. In August, 1841,
Elders Johnson and Kirby were required to revise the church records
up to that date, and ascertain how many of those whose names were
on the church books ought to be considered under the care of the
church. Unfortunately those records cannot now be found.
At this period the society were holding meetings half the time in
the Union Meeting House (the church "over the swamp" as spoken
of in the Methodist records), that edifice having been completed about
the year 1839. July 10th, 1841, at a service in this building. Elder
Johnson gave a summary of his ministerial labors and asked the society
to relieve him and appoint Elder Seth Higby as his successor.
The minutes of this church record that meetings were held in two
TOWN OF PAWLING. 399
neighborhoods in the spring of 1842 "with evident token of Divine
Approbation." The first in the Reynolds school house in March;
the next a month later "near Elder Higby's." The Elder at this time
lived on the Daniel Dodge "home farm," in the big yellow house after-
ward torn down. The meetings were held in the upper part of a
wagon house on the premises. I well remember the seats of rough
planks supported on pieces of logs sawed to the right length, and
stood on end. A large accession to the church was made during these
meetings, the baptisms taking place in the mill-pond near Willet
Ferris, who, together with his wife and daughter, were among those
baptized.
In the Spring of 1852i Elder J. W. Jones began to preach in the
Temperance Hall (now the residence of Mrs. ^aulding) over the
store of Robert Wetts, a hotel being conducted in the other end of
the building. That same year a second church in Pawling was or-
ganized, to be known as the Central Baptist Church of Pawling.
Elder Jones agreed to preach for the term of one year on the stipu-
lated guarantee of Richard Haynes of $50, with use of house as a
parsonage. That same year Daniel Dodge, Alex Allen, Jr., and
Orwin Theall were appointed a building committee to buijd a house
of worship. In the foEowing year the church edifice was dedicated.
Jones served as pastor two years in the new church; he was suc-
ceeded by Reverends A. W. Valentine," S. L. Holman, G. W. Barnes,
and D. T. Hill; Elder Hill began his pastorate in 1870. In the fol-
lowing year the second Son, David J. Hill (now U. S. Minister to
Berlin), was licensed to preach the gospel. In 1876 the church edi-
fice was removed to a central location within the village, and re-
dedicated. In 1879 this meeting house was destroyed by fire, and in
1880 the present beautiful edifice was completed on the site of the
former church. At the present time the society is prosperous and
enjoying the ministry of Rev. W. W. Barker, formerly of New York.
Methodist Episcopal, Chuech. The first entry on the minutes is
of a Quarterly Conference on Pawlingville Circuit held at the church
in New Fairfield, July 7, 1838. Here the names of Sanford and
Reynolds first appear. Pawlingville Circuit had recently been taken
off the Courtlandt Circuit, which included Carmel, and other "classes"
below. That there was a constant change in boundaries and jurisdic-
tions is evident from the fact that Archibald Campbell was at one
time chosen to attend a District Steward's Meeting at Jbhnsville;
400 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
later Jesse Scudder was appointed to represent the Pawlingville Cir-
cuit at a similar meeting in Poughkeepsie ; and again James Holmes
and D. C. Green were sent for a like purpose to Pleasantville. Note,
too, the change in the names of localities and stations. Pawlingville
was then the hamlet now known as Hurds Corners. That quaint little
square structure, standing on a hill, without a gable, the four sides of
the roof coming to a point in the center, filled the double office of
a place of secular and of religious instruction for the community, and
was known far and wide as the "Bellcona." In it the Quarterly
Conference Meetings dated at Pawlingville were held, and it was
sacred to the memory of a Rice, a Reynolds, a Martindale and
a host of pioneer Methodists. What is now Pawling was called Cen-
terville, and later Pawling Center. Then there was the church "Over
the Swamp," later known as the Union Church, now used as a bam;
there was also the old Methodist Church standing on the corner be-
low the village, its erection having been begun about 1813, but never
completed. The station at Reynoldsville was designated as Fishkill
Turnpike. There were meetings held at private houses, making in
all quite a number of stations, at which the "preacher in charge" was
expected to hold religious services.
The following were the official members on Pawling's Circuit, July
27, 1844. Ministers: William Jewett, Presiding Elder; George C.
Bancroft, Preacher in Charge; Uriah Mead, Local Preacher; Archi-
bald Campbell, 8d, recommended to travel. Jesse Scudder, Abraham
Brown and Henry Ward, Stewards ; Theodorus B. Sheldon, John Nick-
erson, Isaac Scudder, Talmon Meade, B. S. Trowbridge, Nelson Por-
ter and John Jewett, Exhorters; Warren Cary, Stephen P. Sher-
wood, John Adams, Montgomery S. Piatt, William St. John, Heze-
kiel Wildman, Amos R. Stevens and Enoch Wheeler, Class Leaders.
About this time the question of repairing the old Methodist Church
was brought up, and a plan voted on, but the project fell through.
The next we learn of a committee, composed of Cushing Green and
Stephen P. Sherwood, being appointed to sell the building. I am in-
formed that the committee were put to a deal of trouble in giving title,
but it was finally disposed of to parties in Patterson. Since 1889
the Methodists had ceased to make use of the old Meeting House, and
thgir services were held in the church Over the Swamp, which is desig-
nated in their minutes as the "New Church," and indicates the time
of its erection. About the year 1853 the society built a church at
OBLONG MEETING HOUSE. QUAKER HILL, TOWN OF PAWLING, N. Y.
MEMORIAL STONE AND TABLET.
TOWN OF PAWLING. 401
"Pawling Centei-," as the minutes termed the village about the depot.
At a Quarterly held March 25, 1865, the Trustees at Pawling report
that they have sold the old church, receiving $1,176 net therefor, and
have applied the proceeds toward building a new church at a cost of
$6,809. The last entry in this book is a record of a Quarterly Con-
ference held June 26, 1869, at South Dover, Presiding Elder A. M.
Osbom in chair. Revs. Culver J. Burch and M. R. Lent, Preachers in
Charge.
These old records show the interest taken by the early Methodist
denomination in the education of the young. At every Conference
Meeting the question was brought up : Has the rule concerning the in-
struction of children been faithfully attended to? and this duty must
have formed no small part of work of those upon* whom it devolved.
After the year 1855 the minutes are silent on this subject; which seems
to indicate that the present public school system had become so per-
fected as to provide for the secular instruction of the young. At a
Conference in March, 1866, Brothers Henry Ward's and Archibald
Campbell's claims for house rent were taken up; Ward's for $19,
Campbell's for $50. Each gave up his claim, and exonerated thie:
Circuit. February 28, 1862, Benjamin H. Burch, age 24, not iii
debt; Phineas R. Hawxhurst, age 24, not in debt, were examined and
recommended to travel. The present pastor is' Rev. Robert L. Ross.
The church has recently renovated and decorated the interior of their
house of worship, and installed a new church organ.
The unveiling of the copper tablet commemorating the events which
have served to render the Oblong Meeting House notable took place
on the grounds in front of the edifice in September, 1904. A huge
boulder of gneiss had been removed to the church grounds from a
farm in Connecticut, and fixed to this stone was the memorial tablet
containing these words :
OBLONG MEETING HOUSE
Of The Society Of Friends
Erected in 1742 South of This Road.
Present Meeting House Erected in 1760.
First Effective Action Against Slavery Taken Here in 1767.
Occupied As Hospital in 1778
By Revolutionary Soldiers
Many of Whom Are Buried South of This Road.
Meeting Divided in 1828.
Meetings Discontinued in This House 1885.
402 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The address was delivered by Mrs. Phebe T. Wanzer, herself a
member of the society who last held meetings in the old meeting house.
A large concourse of people were present on the occasion, the cere-
mony having in it an especial interest.
Akin Hall Association, founded by Albert John Akin,^ was consti-
tuted under the laws of the State of New York, the Certificate of
Incorporation being filed August 10th, 1882. The objects of the
society are the "promotion of benevolence, charity, literature, science
and mutual improvement in rehgion and all kindred cultivation and
knowledge and the providing and maintaining of a place or places of
education, moral training and worship." The number of trustees shall
be sixteen, its place of business and principal office at Quaker Hill,
with power to fill vacancies. August 15th, 1892, a reorganization
was efi'ected, adopting all the aforesaid features of the Association,
except that the number of trustees to manage the business affairs of
the organization be hmited to five members. It was further provided
that when sufficient means shall have come into their hands, the trus-
tees were authorized to construct, in addition to the Hall, a free
hbrary and provide for its maintenance. This Hbrary is now com-
pleted, and a librarian is present stated days of the week. The Asso-
ciation holds real estates as follows : Akin Hall and Manse, the Library
Building, Mizzen Top Hotel and cottages adjacent. A liberal en-
dowment has been provided for the maintenance of the various objects
of the Association. The official board is now composed as follows:
Albro Akin, President; George W. Chase, Treasurer; William H. Os-
born, Secretary.
The Bank of Pawling was constituted under the laws of New York
State in 1849. Its chief originator was Albert J. Akin, who for
forty-four consecutive years held the office of President. In 1865
it was changed from a State to a National Bank, with the name
National Bank of Pawhng. The present officers are : John B. Dutcher,
President; Theron M. Green, Vice President; J. Gerow Dutcher, Sec-
ond Vice President; George W. Chase, Cashier; Joseph F. Haight,
Assistant Cashier.
The Pawling Savings Bank was incorporated in 1870, receiving its
first deposit in 1871. The first President was David R. Gould, who
was conspicuous in its organization, and was indefatigable In his
1. See Part II of this work for Wograplcal sketch of Mr, Akin.
TOWN OF PAWT^ING. 403
fendeavors for its advancement. William J. Merwin was the first
Treasurer, who was succeeded by H. A. Holmes. Its present officers
are: William H. Taber, President; George A. Daniels, Treasurer;
Benjamin F. Burr, Secretary.
Pawhng has a fine water system, the construction of which was be-
gun in 1895. The reservoir is some two miles distant, located on a
hill about 220 feet above the village level, and gives a pressure of
120 pounds to the square inch. The viUage was bonded for its con-
struction to the amount of $45,000, to be paid in yearly installments,
all to be liquidated in 1927. Not only is water furnished for house-
hold purposes, but the fine pressure is made serviceable in the driving
of water motors and for other mechanical uses, and also for supply-
ing the locomotives of the New York Central Railroad. Eight of the
bonds have now (1908) been paid off. The annual income to the
village from the system is about $2,200, of which the New York Cen-
tral pays $1,000. A fire company is maintained, with a hose house
well equipped for the fighting of fire.
Publication of the Pawling Pioneer was begun in 1870 by Philip H.
Smith, and by him sold to George W. Tice in 1882. Subsequently
it was purchased by William Downing, then by Horace Sague, Jr.,
afterward coming into the possession of Dr. F. M. Robinson, when
the name was changed to the Pawling Journal. It was destroyed
in the fire which burned the block on which the Ferris Building now
stands. In 1891 publication of the Harlem Valley Chronicle was
commenced by Philip H. Smith, sold to William T. Chapman in 1894,
who conducted it one year, changing the name to the Pawling Chroni-
£le, and sold the business to Charles Walsh, who is still its proprietor.
The public school districts of the town, originally ten in number,
have been reduced to eight; one having been discontinued, the school
house sold, and the territory divided among districts contiguous to
it ; and another having been merged into that of the High School at
Pawling. Two outlying districts — Hurds Corners and Quaker Hill —
have modern buildings ; the others have school houses more or less par-
taking of the architecture of the past.
The books in the office of the town clerk contain no records of
yearly elections previous to 1854. Many valuable records relating to
the early days of the town and precinct were destroyed by fire on the
404
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
night of May 4th, 1859. The succession of Supervisors from 1854
to 1909 has been as follows:
1854
Sherman Howard
1877— '78
William J. Mervin
1855
James Craft
1879— '83
Albert W. Corbin
1856
Sherman Howard
1884
Edwin B. Dodge
1857
WilUam H. Taber
1885
James S. Pearce
1858
Theron M. Green
1886
Edwin B. Dodge
1859
James Craft
1887— '88
Jeremiah S. Pearce
1860
Asa B. Corbin
1889
Albert W. Corbin
1861-
-'63
Samuel A. Barnum
1890
George F. Lee
186S— '65
David R. Gould
1891— '93
Jeremiah Mead
1866
J. Wesley Stark
1894— '95
Morton Haynes
1867-
-'68
John J. Vanderburgh
1896— '98
William R. Lee
1869— '70
J. Wesley Stark
1899— '04
Henry A. Holmes
1871-
-'72
John B. Dutcher
1905— '06
William Downing
1873— '74
William B. Ross
1907— '09
Charles C. Stark
1875— '76
Jedediah I. Wanzer
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 405
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE TOWN OF PINE PLAINS.
By Philip H. Smith.
THE town of Pine Plains is one of the northern tier of towns
in Dutchess, bordering the county of Columbia. It is
bounded on the east by Northeast; on the west by Milan; on
the south by Stanford and Northeast. Extensive plains originally
covered by pine forests gave the town its name.
The territory was included in the Little ,Nine Partners' Patent;
together with Milan and a portion of present Northeast it was in
1788 erected into a town, the three being known as Northeast. Milan
was taken ofiF in 1818, and Pine Plains was erected into a separate
township in 1823. Before these townships were divided the seat of
government was at the present village of Pine Plains; here the town
records were kept; hither the voters from Spencer's Corners and
Northeast Center had to come over the "West Mountain, which is a
high ridge of fertile country, well inhabited, stretching from north
to south, steep in ascent and descent, and is about three miles over;"
in short, the people of the vicinity of MiUerton had to traverse about
fifteen miles to reach the place of their annual town meetings, with
the result that this duty was almost whoUy neglected. The farmers
of Milan, on their part, were obliged to pass over Stissing Mountain
to and from the polls, and to transact other necessary business ; hence
the division of the towns was resolved upon as a matter of general
convenience.
The "house of Israel Reynolds" (Stissing House) was designated
in the early records as the place where town business was transacted,
and where the first town meeting for Pine Plains was held.
In the western part is Stissing Mountain, rising to the height of
nearly a thousand feet above the adjacent valleys. At its foot on
the east are Thompson's, Stissing and Halcyon Lakes; the principal
streams are the Wappingers, flowing south, and the Shekomeko, flow-
406 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ing north. Roeliff Jansen's Kill crosses the extreme northwest cor-
ner of the town.
As indicated by the nomenclature of its mountains and streams,
the territory was occupied by remnants of Indian tribes when the first
white people settled here. By reason of inability to secure a good
title to lands, the settlement of Pine Plains was retarded for years;
when, therefore, in 1744, or thereabouts, the territory of the Little
Nine Partners was surveyed, and divided among the several proprie-
tors, so that titles could be legally conveyed, the rights of the Red
man to the soil were scarcely recognized. In fact, there is no record
in the early deeds of lands in Pine Plains of Indian titles having been
first extinguished as a preliminary to the conveyance of property —
a specification so frequently met with in the deeds of other parts of
the county. In short, the vices and greed of the white man had con-
spired to obliterate all traces of the rightful owners of the soil.
Among the early settlers are the names familiar at the present
time — ^Winans, Smith, Harris, Reynolds, Hoffman, Pulver, Deuel,
Dibblee, Husted, Stevenson, Rau (Rowe), Seldon and others. The
eastern portion of Pine Plains was settled by the Palatines, remnants
of a colony of German religious refugees, who had sought the pro-
tection of England, and by that power had been given over into the
tender hands of land monopolists, who transported them to the vicinity
of Rhinebeck and the Catskills, and there set them to work to make
tar, pitch, turpentine and resin from the pitchless, dwarfed white
pines on Livingston's land grants. Of course the poor Palatines could
not create what did not exist, and left to themselves to provide for
themselves, they scattered to various points, some seeking homes in
Pine Plains.
About 1760 a settler moved into this toiwi and built a cabin on the
north side of Little Stissing, near a spring still known as "Hubbell
Spring." This was on the road to Mount Ross. When the Tories
from the west of Stissing Mountain raided Pine Plains through this
pass, Hubbell's cabin was a rallying point for beating them off. His
was said to have been an important frontier post, and he had many an
exciting chase after the Tories.
When Hubbell came he brought with him, on a sled, a cannon which
housed with effect against the armed Tory lads, and which for half
a century was on every Fourth of July utilized in all patriotic cele-
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 407
brations. It was finally taken to the Hotchkiss foundry at Sharon
Valley and exchanged for a smaller one, which has long since gone.
It was not until the close of the Revolution that immigration to Pine ,
Plains set in to any great extent, when settlers began to flock in from
the Oblong, Dover, Amenia, Pawling, and from other points. There
were Lutherans and Dutch Reformed from the vicinity of the Hud-
son ; there were Baptists and Methodists from the Oblong ; there were
Episcopalians and Congregationalists from the Connecticut Colonies;
then the society of Quakers was established and a house of worship
erected; and later the denomination of Christians organized a church
and held stated worship; in a word, nearly every Protestant organi-
zation is now, or has been, represented in the religious history of the
town.
At first one house of worship might sufiice for more than one de-
nomination, where the congregations would be composed of members
of distinct societies, who would listen in turn to the exjponents of
diverse creeds. This did not always tend to unity of heart and belief,
and as soon as was practicable, each sect worshiped in its own church
with a stated pastor.
The prosperity of Pine Plains has been retarded by an adherence
to that relic of England's custom of land tenures, that is to say, life
lease-holds. The stranger on his first stop at the village of Pine
Plains is sure to be impressed with the sight of a prosperous village
built on one side of the principal street. On account of lease-hold
tenure the land on the other side was not available for building lots.
Happily that condition of things is no more, and the abnormal growth
of the town to one side will in time be remedied.
At the first town election of Pine Plains, Tuesday, April 1, 1823,
Israel Harris was elected Supervisor, Reuben W. Bostwick, Town
Clerk; Samuel Russell and Isaac Sherwood, Overseers of the Poor.
The company business of the town of Pine Plains and Northeast-
was settled as far as could be before the spring elections. The Legis-
lative act authorizing their separation provided for the disposition of
the highway money, leaving the school money and the division of the
town paupers and the poor fund to be determined by the towns inter-
ested. Those constituting the board for the settlement of the latter-
question were: for Pine Plains, Israel Harris, Supervisor; Samuel
Russell and Isaac Sherwood, Overseers; for Northeast, Philo M/
408 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Winchell, Supervisor; Eben Wheeler and Enos Hopkins, Overseers.
The settlement was based upon the tax list of the territory before the
division.
The early settlers of Pine Plains, such as were of the Lutheran and
German Reformed creed, were perforce required to attend service at
points on the Hudson, whither they went in primitive fashion, twenty
miles and more, on horseback, with a child in front and one or more
seated behind. Once a settler from Carman's Mill, in fording the
Shekomeko, met with a mishap, and a child intended for baptism at
the distant church, fell into the stream and was drowned. Under
such difficulties were church relations kept up until about the year
1746, when the "Old Round Top," so named from the shape of its
roof, was built at what is now "Bethel." This was at one time a
business center; here is located the oldest cemetery in the town, where
the forefathers of the hamlet sleep. Here stood the "bark church,"
built by the Moravians, and where those early self-sacrificing preach-
ers ministered to the Indians — ^when permitted to do so by the Sheriflp
of the County. To this mission people often came from Rhinebeck to
hear these missionaries, and the audiences often numbered two hundred.
The deed for the land on which the "Old Round Top" was erected,
granted in 1769, twenty-three years after the edifice was built, states
that the building was designed "for the worship of Almighty God as
practiced by the Lutheran Evangelical Churches." At the dedica-
tion in 1840 of the Union Bethel Church, which stands near the site
of the old building, the Rev. A. Wackerhagen, a Lutheran, was pres-
ent, and said: "We are on interesting ground; a hundred years ago
a church was erected to Almighty God on this spot, and to-day, after
the passing of a century, we have dedicated another to His Most
Holy Name."
The road now runs through the land described by this deed, and
makes two cemeteries; that west of the road being used for a general
burying ground. The old church site was in the cemetery on the
east side, where the present monument to William A. Rowe — a de-
scendant of one of the grantees in the deed — is erected.
In 1753, Abraham Reinke, a Moravian, was sent to preach to the
white people at Sharon, at their urgent request. He preached at
Sali|bury, at Oblong (Amenia Union), in the Round Top at Nine
Partners (Bethel), and at Livingston Manor.
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 409
In its day Round Top was widely known. It is now ascertained
that Dr. Quitman of Rhinebeck preached here in the years previous
to 1816, at which time the Presbyterian church at Pine Plains was
completed; then he preached in the latter church, the Lutherans hav-
ing one-fourth interest in the building. This drew away the interest
in Round Top as a special center. The old second church was never
completed inside; benches were used for seats; after a time repairs
were needed, and money for that purpose was subscribed, but the re-
pairs were never made. The next year the clapboards were torn off
and the frame sold at auction. The business of the town had drifted
to Pine Plains, where was afterward to be the religious center as well.
The old Red 'Church at Pulvers is of interest in this connection.
As has been stated, the Lutheran and German. Reformed elements
came into Pine Plains with the Palatine settlers. At first both used
the Round Top church. In 1772 the Reformed church built a meet-
ing house on the present Herman Pulver farm, which was painted
red, and was known far and wide as the Red Church. Rev. G. D.
Koch was the first preacher in this building, hence it was called
"Koch's Meeting House." Like Round Top, it was never finished
inside ; beside, it was also ,distant from the religious and commercial
center of the town; which contributed towards hastening the end of
the old Red Church. This building ceased to be about the year
1823.
The chief mover in the establishment of the Society of Friends, or
Quakers, as they were more commonly called, was Charles Hoag, who
settled on a farm near Bethel, on which a Quaker church was after-
wards built. Quite a number of associate Quakers living within go-to-
meeting distance of each other were "allowed" to hold meeting twice a
week at the house of Charles Hoag. The parent society that exercised
ecclesiastical jurisdiction over "The Northeast Society of Friends,"
— as the meeting at Charles Hoag's was officially termed — ^was located
at Stanfordville. A committee had been appointed by the "Quarterly
Meeting" at Nine Partners to attend the meeting "allowed" at Hoag's,
which committee reported to the ecclesiastical head that they felt
"freedom to propose a continuance of the same, under the care of a
suitable committee." They were therefore allowed to hold meetings
on the "first' and "fourth" days of the week, except monthly prepara-
tion and quarterly meeting weeks.
410 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In due time they set about building a meeting house. On the "19th
of the fourth month," 1806, a building committee advised that a
house be built "30 by 20 feet, and 10 feet posts," which was com-
pleted by the 20th of June following. Ezra Bryan, one of the early
members of the Society, was its builder — a plain building with long
steep roof and high gables. There were two doors for entrance, the
right for "mankind," the left for "womankind." There were long
seats with comfortable back rails, the distinguishing feature being the
high wood partition running through the center to "hide the women
from the men and the girls from the boys." A small raised platform
was at the rear and with seats facing the audience; these were for
the oiBcials and preachers. It was about this time that Elias Hicks
appeared on the arena; but the doctrine he advanced, which rent the
society in twain finally, did not do its full work until some years later.
Thomas Ellison was a prominent Quaker preacher here. There
was a pleasing melody in his voice, and this together with that jpeculiar
"chaunt" in the Quaker preacher's custom of speaking in meeting,
made him popular with the public. This manner of speaking is de-
scribed as a kind of singing oratory, so natural to some people, and
hence pleasant to listen to.
In 1812 Charles Hoag opened a boarding school for boys and
girls at his own dwelling. Jacob Willett and his wife, Deborah Rog-
ers, were employed by him as teachers. These instructors afterward
became prominent in the county as leaders in education; the Nine
Partners School is still spoken of with the highest esteem; Willett's
Arithmetic had a high place in the curriculum of the schools of
that day.
As has been said, there were not, among the various adherents of
the several rehgious denominations, in early Pine Plains, enough of
any one sect to biiild and support a church; hence, "Articles of Asso-
ciation for the building of- the Union Meeting House on Pine Plains"
were entered into. A lot was purchased at the price of one hundred
and fifty dollars on which to build it. Silas Harris and William
Woodin were chosen to go to Catskills to purchase lumber and material,
for which purpose they were on February 13, 1815, paid $222.
Great was the enthusiasm over the building of the church; it was the
special enterprise of that year.
The building was begun in April. Ten steps were required to get
JACOB S. HINSDALE.
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 411
into the high pulpit. A •window was in the rear of this to facilitate
the reading of the scripture and the written sermon. This window
was removed, as it was unpleasant for the pew-sitters to gaze at the
preacher in its glare. As was then the custom, there was a gallery
on three sides, and the heating was by stoves. The pews were offered
at public sale February 14<, 1816, and the proceeds amounted to over
$4,000. In March of that year a meeting was called, at which the
following was passed:
Resolved, That the ministers hereafter to be employed to preach in
this meeting house shall be selected either from the Presbyterian
Society, from the Dutch Reformed Church, from the German Lutheran
Church, or from the Episcopal Church, and no other.
This exclusiveness was subsequently relaxed, inasmuch as a min-
ister of any denomination was allowed to preach in this house, but
the "preached to" must pay the preacher.
In 1836 the first church bell in Pine Plains was hung in the square
belfry of this church. It was rung on all occasions of celebration,
and tolled the age of each citizen at his death, in addition to the
call for church services. Previous to 1840 a church organ was pur-
chased at $400 ; this organ is still doing service after the lapse of over
half a century.
The church underwent extensive repairs in 1879. Huntting says
there were mingled feelings of regret and joy, at the last service in
the old edifice. Its antique internal architecture, hallowed by asso-
ciations of more than a generation, was to be marred by vandal hands ;
something "modern" in structure and convenience was to take its
place. Dr. Bevan of New York preached the sermon at its rededica-
tion. The drift of his discourse was to the effect that the building
was no longer a union meeting house; that it was to be thereafter
strictly a Presbyterian Church.
In June, 1833, William N. Sayre and Sarah A. Marshall were
married. Shortly after he was ordained to preach by the North
River Presbytery. On the way to fill an appointment he stopped at
the Stissing House, where he learned there was no stated preaching
in this church. He made an appointment for Pine Plains, with the
result that in September of 1833 he preached the first sermon of an
unbroken pastorate of fifty years.
When Mr. Sayre first came the building was used by four denomi-
412 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
nations, so he occupied the pulpit but one Sunday in each month,
unless a vacancy occurred. In 1847 the resolution was passed "that
Rev. W. N. Sayre occupy the pulpit of the Pine Plains church state(My
every Sabbath." June 24th, 1883, Mr. Sayre preached his fiftieth
annual sermon, when he resigned.
In this, his semi-centennial sermon, he said that during his min-
istry he had united in wedlock 700 persons, and conducted service at
800 funerals. In three houses on adjoining farms in Ancram he had
attended 21 funerals. Three-fourths of the village had been built
since he began to preach. The greater part of his congregations
of the first years of his ministry have died or removed. Two heads of
families only survive who were here in 1833< The church now enjoys
the ministrations of Rev. C. E. Doane.
It was through the influence of Freeborn Garretson that Methodism
received its first impetus in Pine Plains and adjoining towns. Meet-
ings in these early years were held in farm houses and in groves, in
the old Round Top Church, and wherever opportunity offered.
Their prayers were none the less pleasing to their Maker because they
had no church home. They had no privileges in the Union Meeting
House. "So they took to the school houses and work shops in winter,
and to the groves in summer, where they could have camp-meetings,
free air, a free gospel, free grace and a free shout."
In 1835, with thirteen members, the building of a Methodist church
in Pine Plains was commenced. The house was dedicated in 1837.
In 1891 the building was repaired and enlarged, and an excellent
pipe organ placed in the choir gallery. The present pastor is Rev.
W. C. Oliver.
The meeting for constituting the Baptist Society of Pine Plains
was held in a log building, then the home of Alfred Brush, May 4th,
1836. Some early Baptists who had been identified with the church
at Spencers Corners (near present Millerton), having removed to
Pine Plains in the earlier years of that century, united with some
others in establishing a society of Baptists. These brethren con-
tributed to the erection of the "Union Meeting House," — now Presby-
terian— ^with the understanding that they were to occupy it one-
fourth of the time. Elder John Buttolph, of Spencers Corners,
serv«d the church some two years, Rev. R. G. Armstrong, of the Pres-
byterian Society, also preaching from the same pulpit one-fourth of the
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 413
time. In those days the diverse church doctrines were plied with
vigor, and the advocacy of immersion and sprinkling from the same
pulpit is probably one of the causes which led to the withdrawal of
the Baptists. Elder Luman Burtch succeeded Buttolph, and came up
from Bangall once in four weeks.
At this time the Baptists set about building a house of worship. A
lot was purchased for six hundred dollars, the frame of the edifice was
put up and enclosed, the roof and belfry nearly completed, when late one
Saturday afternoon in June a cyclone passed through Pine Plains
leaving destruction in its wake. The new church edifice was directly
in its path, and when the storm had passed those early worshipers
beheld thie work of their hands leveled with the ground.
This was disheartening to the struggling SQciety. In this ex-
tremity Elder Burtch came to their assistance. Through his influ-
ence the churches of the county contributed liberally of their means
towards rebuilding. -^
The Baptist churches at Bangall, Spencers Comers, Amenia, Dover,
Stanford, Fishkill and Pleasant Valley each sent substantial tokens
of their good will, and after persistent effort the building was com-
pleted, and in May of 18S8 was formally dedicated.
Next year Elder Nathan D. Benedict, of Connecticut, accepted a
call from the church, and became its first settled pastor. His salary
was three hundred and fifty dollars a year and house rent.
Up to this period the society had been considered as a sort of
branch of the Stanford church. But in May of this year the neigh-
boring Baptist- organizations were convened in ecclesiastical council
and the Baptist church of Pine Plains was organized with twenty-six
constituent members. Since that time ,the church has supported a
number of able and self-sacrificing ministers, and maintained during
the succeeding years religious services that have led to the saving of
souls.
The primitive Episcopal Society of Pine Plains is closely identified
with the Dibblee (Dibble) family, who were among the staunch pioneer
settlers. The Episcopalians at first aflSliated with the church in
Sharon, Conn., whither they w^ent twenty miles to enjoy religious ser-
vices in accordance with their belief. They, too, held a part interest
in the "Union Meeting House" so frequently referred to in the pre-
ceding pages, and they maintained service there. Their number hav-
414 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ing suffered depletion by the death of some and the removal of others,
Episcopal services in the town nearly ceased for a considerable time.
Mainly through the efforts of Theron Wilber, who moved into the
town about 1850, the dormant society was revived. In this work
he was assisted by Rev. Sheldon Davis, a missionary of the county.
Rev. Homer Wheaton, of Lithgow, held services for a time in the
Union Bethel Church, followed by Rev. Frederick Sill, of Red Hook.
On the evening of July 9, 1858, Dr. Potter visited this place, when
three persons received the rite of confirmation — ^the first solemnization
of this rite in the town of Pine Plains. Owing, doubtless, to jealousy,
the "Union" church doors then were closed to them; but the seed was
kept aUve, and a Parish was organized according to statute in No-
vember of 1859, the title to be the Church of the Regeneration.
In May, 1860, subscriptions were first sohcited for a church build-
ing, and the edifice was completed in the spring of the following year.
At the laying of the corner stone a paper was deposited, bearing
among other interesting matters the following chronological facts:
"At the time of the laying of this corner stone James Buchanan is
President of the United States, and Edwin D. Morgan is Governor of
New York. The Right Rev. Thomas Church Brownell, D.D., LL.D.,
is the presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States of America ; the Right Rev. Benj amin Tredwell Onder-
donk, D.D., is Bishop of the Diocese of New York, and the Right Rev.
Horatio Potter, D.D., LL.D., is provisional Bishop of the same." Rev.
Henry L. Ziegenfuss was among the Rectors who have been in author-
ity over this church. The present incumbent is Rev. Thomas Burrows.
The Bethel Church was built on the old Round Top property, less
than ten miles below the village of Pine Plains, a few years after the
old meeting house was removed. It was in 1838 that the first tan-
gible effort was made towards the erection of the new. In March,
1840, the church was ready for dedication. Although undenomina-
tional in its avowed purposes, it was deemed altogether appropriate
that a Lutheran should dedicate it, because of the associations with
old Round Top, whose rightful successor it was. Rev. J. Berger, of
Mellenville, Columbia County, accepted an invitation to conduct the
services. Religious affairs moved smoothly for some twenty years
v/heft the disadvantages of a "Union Church" were made unpleasantly
manifest. Friends and families were estranged over questions un-
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS. 415
worthy of notice, and the church, instead of constituting itself a
mental and moral "uplift" to the community, may have been rather
a vehicle of harm.
As previously stated the present village of Pine Plains was the seat
of government of the original town of Northeast. It had an oiBcial
name as a postoffice a few years prior to its organization as a town,
Dr. Israel Reynolds receiving the appointment of postmaster in 1818.
Dr. Reynolds was instrumental in establishing a post route, in 1796,
from Rhinebeck to Sharon, passing through the hamlets of Pine
Plains and North Amenia. In 1830 a direct stage route twice a
week was established from Poughkeepsie to Pine Plains, by way of
Pleasant Valley. Since the construction of the Newburgh, Dutchess
& Connecticut railroad, in 1869, the mail has bee^ carried by steam.
One of the institutions in which Pine Plains takes a pardonable pride
is the Seymour Smith Academy. This school was established in 1877,
and a building erected capable of accommodating forty boarding
pupils. Rev. Abraham Mattice, A.M., was the first and only prin-
cipal, and conducted the school successfully seventeen years. The
higher standards attained by our Union Free Schools have placed the
old time Academy in the background, and the Seymour Smith Acad-
emy, as such, was forced to close its doors. The trustees have placed
the building under charge of the State Board of Regents, and a Union
Free School with an academic department is now conducted in it, with
Mr. Emery Ricart as principal.
The Seymour Smith Academy was erected through the generosity
of Seymour Smith, a former resident of the town, who left his entire
estate to the town of Pine Plains for that purpose. A special act of
Legislature was necessary to make the bequest available. Mr. Smith
was a bachelor. He raised a company in the War of 1812, and was
stationed at Staten Island. His subsequent life was spent as a far-
mer. He died November 26, 1863, and was buried in Evergreen
cemetery.
As stated in the chapter on Northeast the family of Bryans were
the original makers of fanning mills, and supplied the demand for
them within a radius of many miles. In like manner the Harris fam-
ily were the originators of the famous Harris scythe. Strange to say,
the factories of these two pioneer industries were located at the same
place at the same time, at, or near, Shekomeko station. John Harris,
416 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the founder of the scythe industry, commenced making scythes here
by hand on an anvil. He learned the art from a mulatto slave be-
longing to his uncle.
John afterward married and removed to the vicinity of Fort Ann,
N. Y. In constant fear of Indians, some special alarm caused him to
place what household goods he could collect on an ox sled and start
for Dutchess County. He was not out of sight of his house when
he saw the savages had already applied the torch to his doomed dwell-
ing. He had taken the precaution to send away hfs wife and two
daughters a day or two before.
On his return John Harris resumed the business of scythe making,
taking others into partnership with him. The iron which finally be-
came the component factor of his scythes was carted in pigs from
Livingston's Ancram Furnace to the Steel Works at Wassaic, and the
refined steel conveyed from thence to Hammertown, near Pine Plains
village, where the business was carried on for many years.
In 1814! the business was left to Seth Harris and his two sons, John
and Silas. Two years later a stove shop was built and a second finish-
ing trip hammer added to the plant. The works had an annual out-
put of about five hundred dozen. The Harris Scythe Works long
since went into decay. Stones from the crumbling walls do duty in
adjacent foundations.
Pine Plains has a public library of nearly 3,000 volumes. A meet-
ing for its establishment was held at the Stissing House December 14,
1797. Subscription papers were drawn up and circulated. The
shares were estimated at two dollars and a half. Forty-seven shares
were taken, the library was incorporated under the laws of the State,
trustees were chosen, by-laws passed, and the institution fully estab-
lished. This was in the eighteenth century. Now, in the twentieth
century, the library continues on its mission of enlightment, spreading
its benefits among all who come within its influence.
The first meeting for the organization of the Pine Plains Bank was
held at the Stissing House February 15, 1839. Aaron E. Winchell
was Chairman, and F. I. Curtis, Secretary. Seventeen directors were
named. In March articles of association were adopted. Reuben W.
Bostwick was the first President; William Eno, Vice President; F. W.
Davis, Cashier, at one thousand dollars salary and house rent. It
began with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. This bank
TOWN OF PINE PLAINS.
417
closed business in 1857j voluntarily, but maintained its good name to
the last. ;
May 29tli of the followiiyg year the Stissing Bank was organized,
capital stock to be one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, Justus
Boothe, President, and Reuben Bostwick, Cashier. In 1865 it was
changed to the National Bank and the stock reduced to eighty thou-
sand dollars. Reuben Bostwick was cashier until his death in 1870,
when his son Frederick was chosen as his successor. The bank at
present has a capital stock of $45,000, and individual deposits of
more than $115,000. The present officers are: President, Wm. Bost-
wick; Vice President, Edward Bryan; Cashier, J. H. Bostwick.
Mount Ross received its appelation from a resident of that name.
The splendid water power afforded by the Roeliff <|^ansen at this place
made it a point much sought after by those desiring to locate mills.
Saw miUs, grist mills, carding machines, and cloth-weaving and full-
ing mills were established there at different times. Huntting mentions
a weaver there named Matthew Winter who sued a dehnquent customer
for weaving forty-four yards of cloth at eight pence a yard. This
was in 1788. Early in 1800 Stephen Carroll was a blacksmith here,
and Isaac Parsons hooped barrels and casks.
The following has been the succession of Supervisors since the or-
ganization of the town:
1833
Israel Harris
1853— '54
Anthony Pulver
1824— '25
Reuben W. Bostwick
1855
Walter Herrick
1826— '27
Israel Harris
1856
John Righter /
1828
Ely Hamblin
1857
John H. Hosier
1829
Samuel RusseU
1858
Harman W/Pulver
1830— '33
Reuben W. Bostwick
1859— '60
Eli Knapp
1RS3
Daniel Sherwood
1861
John Thompson
1834
Edward Huntting
1862— '63
Cornelius Pitcher
183S
William H. Bostwick
1864
Walter W. Husted
1836
Daniel Sherwood
1865
Cornelius Pitcher
1837
William H. Bostwick
1866— '67
A. D. MiUer
1838— '39
Abraham Dibble
1868— '70
Caleb H. Reynolds.
1840
Backus Culver
1871
John A. Herrick
1841— '42
Henry R. Hammond
1872
Phoenix N. Deuel
1843
Frederick T. Ham
1873
John A. Herrick
1844.-'46
William Eno '
1874
Henry H. Ham
1847— '49
John H. Mosher
1875— '77
William Toms
18S0— '52
Edward Huntting
1878— '80
William B. Jordan
418
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1881— '83
James T. Germain
1892
Ja«ob S. Bowman
1884
Isaac P. Carman
1893
Jacob S. Hinsdale
1885— '87
John A. Herrlck
1894— '96
Isaac P. Carman
1888
Albert Bowman
1897— '02
William B. Jordan
1889- '90
John A. Herrick
1903— '09
Jacob S. Hinsdale
1891
Albert Bowman
In 1897 Isaac Huntting published a compilation and rcTision of sketches that
had been printed on different occasions in the Amenia Times, the Dutchess Far-
mer, the Poughkeepsie Telegram and the Pine Plains Register.
He states in his preface that "A little preserved is better than all lost," and
he did some excellent work in preserving and publishing various documentary
evidence and maps, as well as many traditions of the neighborhood of Northeast
and Pine Plains.
His book is entitled "History of Little Nine Partners of North East Precinct
and Pine Plains, New York, Dutchess County. By Isaac Huntting, Pine Plains,
N. Y. Vol. I. Amenia. Chas. Walsh & Co., Printers, 1897."
It can be found in the public library of Poughkeepsie in the Adriance Memorial
Library Building. — (Eduob.)
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY. 419
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY.
THE town of Pleasant Valley, as a separate municipality, dates
from 1821, when the Legislature took territory from Clinton
and formed the new town. The town of Clinton being Ifirge,
and political objects and interests becoming weightier, it was con-
sidered advisable by the citizens of the villages of Pleasant Valley and
Hyde Park, in union with those in the y^cinity of each, to petition for
the division of the town. Accordingly upon the 26th day of January,
1821, a bill was passed by the State Legislature creating the towns
of Hyde Park and Pleasant Valley, which, after defining the bounda-
ries of the former town, reads :
"And be it further enacted that the remaining part of the said town of Clinton
shall be divided into two separate towns by the fojlowing division line to, wit:
Beginning on the west line of the town of Washii^gton in the corner made by
lots nmnber five and six in the great division of the Nine Partners Patent and
running westerly along said lot line until it intersects the 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 south of the two last men-
tioned towns shall be known by the name of Pleasant VaUey, and that the first
town meeting in said town last mentioned shall b? held at the house qf Cyrus
Berry, on the first Tuesday of April next."
The surface of the town is a rolling and hilly upland, covering
20,255 acres. This territory is almost equally divided by Wapping-
er's Creek, which flows in a southwesterly direction. The town is
bounded on the north by Clinton; east by Washington; south by La-
Grange; west by Hyde Park, and for a short distance on the south-
west by the town of Poughkeepsie.
The village of Pleasant Valley, with a population of about seven
hundred, is the commercial center of the town. Salt Point and Wash-
ington Hollow are hamlets.
The settlement of Pleasant Valley took place during the time it was
a part of Crom Elbow precinct^l737-1762. Among the pioneers
420 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
who located in the vicinity of Washington Hollow were the New-
combs, FiUdns, Humphreys, Halls and Jacksons. These families
were Presbyterians, and in IT*? erected a substantial meeting house
at the Hollow, which during the Revolution became the headquarters
of numerous bands of Tories.
The next settlement of importance within the town was near the
village of Pleasant Valley, about the year 174>0, by both Presbyterians
and Quakers. Among the earhest names recorded were the Aliens,
Flaglers, Formans, MarshaUs, Beadles, Deans, Sellecks and Abbotts,
who began to make use, in a primitive way, of the mill privileges
afforded by the Wappinger creek. The famihes of Van Voorhees,
Harris and Frost settled in the north part of the town in 1765.
A fulling mill east of the village of Pleasant Valley was built by
John Kenyon in 1808. It was later operated by Wilham Buckley.
The carding mill of Thomas Carpenter and the woolen miU of George
Evarson were erected in 1809. The same year Robert Abbott estab-
lished a cotton factory near the bridge. He erected two buildings, one
a grist and cotton miU, the other for mechanical shops. Both buildings
were destroyed by fire in 1815. They were immediately rebuilt by De-
lavergne & Thwing, who, either as owners of the property, or building
contractors, failed. The property was purchased in 1820 by Gib-
bons & Evartson, and. from that time to the purchase by Garner &
Company it oscUlated from individual to stock control. The cloth
manufactured here compared favorably with other American products
of the kind. It was printed at Wappingers Falls. For several years
the plant has been in idleness, which somewhat retarded the growth of
the village. In the spring of 1909 it was reopened, and the 3,500
spindles again set in motion.
The village becoming quite a manufacturing center, and increasing
in population, the inhabitants in 1818 petitioned the government for
a postoffice, which was granted. Another petition went to the Legis-
lature for an act of incorporation. By this act the following village
trustees were appointed: John Robert Abbott, John Beadle, Israel
Dean, Hubby Adee and Joshua Ward, to serve until the second Tues-
day of May, 1815.
Apparently httle attention was given to the official affairs of the
village following its incorporation, as there is no record of elections
until May 9, 1843, when William Thorne, Franklin Dudley, Zachariah
»?■'■'
jb -'--^^B^i
r^#%
' ' '^'^'HHI^^^^IrP!^!
1
GEORGE LAMOREE.
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY. 421
S. Flagler, Gilbert Noxon and Joel Terrill were elected trustees. A
meeting of the freeholders was called in 1844! for the election of vil-
lage officers. The attendance was so small that the election was
postponed.
When the excise law was passed in 1862, it required that "special
proceedings should be taken in incorporated villages." Zachariah
Flagler was then the only member left of the 1843 board. He called
a meeting, and the following were duly elected: David L. Jackson,
William Patton, Joel O. Hohnes, John C. Vehe and George W. For-
man. The next election was held May 13, 1863, when the excise law
was acted upon. John B. Duncan was chosen village president and
Albert Devine, clerk.
The village was re-incorporated March 21, 1903.» Charles L. Cole
was elected president, and Wright Devine and Edward C. Drake trus-
tees. Isaac J. Noxon is now village president.
A free hbrary was organized July 1, 1903, as a voluntary associa-
tion. A site for a new building at the corner of Main street and the
South road has been donated, and the village has voted the removal of
the old No. 4 school building to this location for the purpose of a
library hall.
A number of farms in the neighborhood of the village, containing
limestone from which cement can be made, have recently been pur-
chased by the American Cement Company. A force of one hundred
men will be required to quarry the rock, which will be shipped to
Poughkeepsie to be ground.
s,
CHURCHES.
Among the ancient religious associations in the county was the
"Pittsburgh Church" at Washington Hollow. This edifice was
erected in 1747, pursuant to the following resolution:
"Crom Elbow Precinct in Dutchess County, September 19th, 1746, we the sub-
scribers do Covenant and Promise for ourselves Heirs and Assigns to pay towards
Building and Erecting of a Presbyterian meeting house the sum or sums annexed
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 Fil-
kins Sherifi and said money is to be paid to Mr. Jacob HaU, Capt. Samuel Jack-
son, Joseph Barber, Esqr. Henry Lott and Thomas New Court who being a com-
mitty 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 accord-
422 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ing to the acceptance of the said committy and Said Committy are Obliged to
Render a true account of their disbursements of the money to a committy which
shall be hereafter chosen."
No record can be found of the early pastors, but there is evidence
that one Deliverance Smith ministered to this congregation previous
to 1763, in which year Joseph Hoff was chosen "Clark to Keep the
Records of the Society's Proceedings." At a meeting of the trustees
held August 30, 1769, it was agreed that John Piatt, John Carpenter
and Melancthon Smith "be chosen to carry on, seat and repair said
meeting house, and that after said work be accomplished the seats be
sold at PubUc Vendue to the highest bidder." Among those who pur-
chased pews at the sale held in December following were Simon Flag-
ler, £5, 10s; Frederick Ham, £6; Israel Piatt and Wilmott Oakley,
£4, 10s ; William Beedle, £4 ; William Allen, £4 ; Eliphalet Piatt and
Jacob Everson, £4, and Samuel and Melancthon Smith, £3, 15s. The
building was again repaired in 1805, and with that year the records
close. Shortly thereafter the society united with the Presbyterian
Church at Pleasant VaUey. The old building stood Until the year
1858, when it was taken down, and the Methodist Society purchased
the property.
It was in this church building that a band of Tories, in the summer
of 1777, assembled. They numbered about four hundred, and came
principally from the southern part of the county. Parties were sent
to the bordering settlements to intimidate the patriots, and obtain
supplies for the British army. While the Tories were thus showing
authority, they were surprised by a company of American soldiers
from Sharon, Connecticut. Upon their attempt to escape, the
Yankees gave them a broadside and killed several. About thirty in
iluiiiber were captured and marched to Sharon, from whence they were
taken to New Hampshire and held until the close of the war.
PK.ESBYTEEIAN Chuech OF Pleasant Valley. This organization
dates from 1765, and is an outgrowth of the "Pittsburgh Church" at
Washington Hollow, and the one that absorbed it, through the village
becoming the business ceiiter. Their edifice, which was a wooden struc-
ture, was not erected until 1770. The church site and ground for
burial purposes was deeded to the society, April 10, 1770, in consid-
eration of ten shillings, by Jacob Everson and his wife, neither of
Whom appear to have been members of this congregation at the time.
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY. 423
The society was incorporated under the name of the "Presbyterian
Congregation of Pleasant Valley," January 28, 1785, and Cornelius
Humphrey, Eliphalet Piatt, Lemuel Conklin, John M. Thurston,
John Everson and Joshua Ward were chosen trustees. In 1812 the
first house of worship was enlarged and improved at a cost of $2,500.
The present brick edifice was erected in 1848. The congregation
secured a parsonage with about twenty acres of land attached, in
1801, and in 1840, a new parsonage was built on the site of the old
one. This farm was sold in 1870, and in the same year the present
parsonage near the church was erected at a cost of $4,500.
Upon the organization of the society in 1765, the Rev. Wheeler
Case was installed as pastor. His labors with this congregation
extended over a period of twenty-six years, u^til his death, which
Occurred August 31, 1791.
Succeeding pastors were: Reverends Methusaleh Baldwin, 1792-
'99; John Clark, 1800-'29; Benjamin F. Wile, 1829-'67; Henry J.
Acker, 1868-'73; William Whittaker, 1873-'79; Augustus B. Pritch-
ard, 1800-'87; Edgar Beckwith, 1887-'01 ; George T. Galbraith,
stated supply, 1901-'04 ; Frank W. Townsend, 1904-'08 ; Rev. R. H.
Steams, 1908.
The Baptist Chukch. The settlers in the vicinity of Salt Point
were principally of the Baptist faith, and organized a society previous
to the Revolution. It was not until 1790 that their first house of
worship was built, on a half acre of ground given by John Van Voor-
hees. The records begin with the year 1793, and Elder John Dodge
became the first pastor. He continued until 1813, and was followed
by Elder Roberts, who officiated seven years at difi'erent periods. The
membership has dwindled and with the exception of a few years the
pulpit has been filled by "supplies."
The Methodist Episcopal Church. It is not known when Meth-
odism was introduced in Pleasant Valley, but probably about 1788,
the year the Dutchess drcuit was formed. Meetings were held for
several years in a school house on the hill one mile east of the village.
In 1825 the society bought of James Odell for $150.00, one acre of
land situated on the "Dutchess Turnpike" and proceeded at once to
build a church. In 1845 the edifice was removed from the hill to the
village, during the pastorate of Rev. Jeremiah Ham. Tliis church
424
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
and the Methodist Church at Washington Hollow are now supplied by
the Rev. Mr. Hawley, of Poughkeepsie.
St. Paul's Chuech, Pleasant Valley. This society was organized
through the efforts of Rev. F. W. Hatch, Mr. Homer Wheaton and
Bishop Onderdonk in 1837. A lot was obtained from James Odell
and John Newcomb in 1842, and a church edifice erected, which was
consecrated January 25, 1843. Up to this time the Rev. Mr. Hatch
was in charge of the parish. He was succeeded in 1842 by the Rev.
Sheldon Davis, who remained until 1862. He held services in various
parts of the county, and left to this parish a rectory and $600 in
trust. The church has been repaired and improved under the rector-
ship of the Rev. Dr. Richard Russell Upjohn, who has been in charge
since 1903.
The Westminster Pkesbtteman Chukch at Salt Point was or-
ganized December 20, 1860, by seventeen members of the Presbyterian
Church at Pleasant Valley, who had requested their dismissal from
the parent society for that purpose.
A church site was donated by Mr. Charles Brown, and the edifice
erected in 1862. Rev. A. C. Frissell was installed the first pastor.
The church is now prospering under the care of the Rev. J. A. Mac-
Growan.
According to the Friends' records which occupy a chapter in this
work, the Quaker meeting house at Pleasant Valley was erected in
1802. Among the early members were the Deans, Flaglers, Drakes,
Stringhams, Hicks and Farringtons. Regular meetings were dis-
continued in 1856.
The following have been the successive Supervisors of the town since
1824:
1824— '25 Samuel M. Thurston
1826— '27 Peter K. Du Bois
1828— '32 Anthony Badgley
1833 — '34 Robert Laurence
1835 Charles Brown
1836 Thomas Welling
1837— '39 Charles Brown
1840— '41 John H. Newcomb
1842 — '43 Isaac Van Wagner
1844 — '46 OUver Devine
1846 • Daniel O. Ward
1847— '48 George Holmes
1849— '50 Franklin Dudley
1851— '62 Isaac P. Smith
1853— '54 Isaac Van Wagner
1855 Isaac P. Marshall
1856— '58 (Records lost)
1859 William H«rrick
1860 Gteorge Lamoree
1861— '62 John W. Lattin
1863— '64 V. M. Townsend
1865 Thomas Alley
TOWN OF PLEASANT VALLEY.
425
1866
V. M. Townsend
1888— '89
John W. Edwards
1867
Dewitt Webb
1890— '91
E. Wright Vail
1868— '70
Isaac P. Marshall
1893
Edward C. Drake
1871— '73
George E. Brower
1893
Calvin Coon
1873
Anthony Briggs
1894
Anthony Briggs
1874— '78
John M. Bowman
189fi
Samuel Lynch
1879— '80
Abram Devine
1896— '97
William H. Bower
1881— '83
Prank L. Akerley
1898— '99
Benjamin Van Wagner
1883— '84
Theron H. Marshall
1900— '03
Joseph Doty
1886— '86
Edward C. Drake
1904— '05
William G. Lary
1887
Theron Marshall
1906— '09
Charles L. Cole
426 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE TOWN OF RED HOOK."
THE town of Red Hook was formed from Rhinebeck, June 2,
1812, and its early history is more or less blended in that
of the latter town.
It lies in the extreme northwest comer of Dutchess, bordering
Columbia County, which forms its northern boundary. It is bounded
on the east by Milan; on the south by Rhinebeck; while along the
western border flows the matchless Hudson.
The surface of the town is a rolling upland, and the soil chiefly a
gravelly loam, except in the broad and fertile valleys of the Sawkill
and Stony creek, where it is clayey. Spring Lake, in the eastern
part, formerly called Long Pond, is the largest body of water in the
town, and forms the source of the Sawkill.
Overlooking the Hudson are several beautiful country seats of
historic interest; while the interior of the town is devoted principally
to agriculture and the cultivation of fruits.
The town has changed but little since the publication of the last
history of Dutchess County. The villages of Red Hook and Tivoli-
Madalin continue to be the chief centers of population, and Barry-
town maintains its importance as a railroad depot for the surround-
ing country.
Tradition relates, and has been supported by some evidence, that
about the year 1700 an aboriginal battle was fought on Magdalen,
now Cruger's Island, between fifty chosen warriors of each of the
tribes composing the "Six Nations," namely, the Oneidas, Onondagas,
Mowhawks, Cayugas, Senecas and the Tuscaroras. It was arranged
that but one man from each tribe should enter the conflict at a time.
1. We are Indebted to Mr. John N. Lewis, of Annandale, for tlie greater portion of the
material embodied In thia chapter.
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 427
At its close there were only a few of the Mohawks and Tuscaroras
left, with the advantage in favor of the latter. The Mohawks fled in
their canoes to the island about a mile north, then called Shpsteen,
now Goat Island. There they lighted their camp fires and spread
their blankets over sticks of wood and stones, expecting the visitors
to fall upon them during the night. As they imagined, the vic-
torious Tuscaroras came and proceeded to attack, as they supposed,
their sleeping enemies. But they sprang from their hiding places
behind the rocks, and in turn vanquished the Tuscaroras. The Mo-
hawks thus went home victorious, and held the supremacy of the Six
Nations, over which the dispute had arisen.
The last accounts of Indians located in this vicinity were of those
in the Northwest portion of the town facing the North Cove. There
they remained long after it was settled by the white people. In some
of the deeds of the early settlers the lands are described as bounded on
the north and west by the Red Man's Corners, and from this, it is
presumed, originated the name of Red Hook. The land they occu-
pied being hook shaped, and in possession of the red men, the Dutch
settlers called it Roed Hoek.
In 1688 Col. Peter Schuyler obtained from Governor Dongan a
patent to lands in this neighborhood, the boundaries of which are
defined iii Chapter IV. The following year Schuyler disposed of a
portion of his patent to Harme Gansevoort, who in turn sold it to
the Knickerbacker family in 1704. Other divisions of the patent
Col. Schuyler sold to Tierk De Witt of Ulster County, Joachem
Staats of the manor of Rensselaerswick, and Barent Van Benthuysen
of Dutchess County, in 1719.
The reservation of mill sites on the SaWkill, which was found to
[have three falls of water, and the right to cut and haul timber there-
for over any of the adjoining lands, all of which is clearly set forth
in the deeds, would indicate that there were no mills in this vicinity
in 1720, nor highways, except the Post Road.
Magdalen Island (now CrUger's), which was included in the Schuy-
ler grant,' was sold to the Van Benthuysens. When Hudson sailed
up the river, in the Hali Moon, he anchored oflF the north end of the
island aild passed the night there. Dr. John Masten, of Kingston,
purchased the island from the Van Benthuysens. He built a house
at the south end and gave himself up to a life of ease and luxury on
428 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
this island until 1835, when he removed to Buffalo, where his sons were
engaged in the practice of law.
Mr. John C. Cruger then purchased the island, but did not spend
much of his time there for the first few years, though his father, Mr.
Peter Cruger, was there most of the time. The Crugers were a noted
New York family. In 1739 John Cruger was Mayor of New York
City, and his son subsequently was also Mayor. Another son was a
colleague of the celebrated Edmund Burke, a representative in Parlia-
ment for the city of Bristol, England. Mr. John C. Cruger died in
New York, November 16, 1879, a few days after his return with his
family from Europe, beloved and lamented by everyone. His wife,
the daughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer of Albany, died April 27,
1888, and was buried beside her husband, beneath Trinity Church,
New York.
The mills that were built subsequent to 1725 on the Sawkill and the
White Clay Kill (now Stony creek) were a prominent feature of the
earlier times. On the former stream at one time stood Judge Livings-
ton's mill at the river; General Armstrong's mill at Cedar HiU; Van
Benthuysen's mill, and a woolen factory in the same place; the Chan-
cellor's mill, in the interior, and Robert G. Livingston's miU on the
Rock City branch.
At the mouth of Stony creek was the miU of Jannetje Bradt, Park's
mill at Myersville (MadaUn), Cook's factory, and Zachariah Hoff-
man's mill. Several of the above mentioned mills and adjoining build-
ings were burned by a detachment of British troops immediately after
the destruction of Kingston in 1777. The only dwelling spared was
the home of Gilbert Robert Livingston, who remained loyal to the
crown during the Revolutionary War.
A large portion of the land about what is now known as Tivoli was
owned by the Hoffmans, who built the Hoffman mills northeast of
Tivoh, nearly a century and a half ago. They were freighters, store-
keepers, and millers before and after the Revolution.
Nicholas Bonesteel and Anna Margretha Kuhn, his wife, with some
of their children, were among the early settlers. A portion of the
village of Red Hook is now on the easterly part of their farm. Of
their descendants, Philip N. Bonesteel was a merchant, magistrate and
postaaster in Red Hook for many years. His son, Virgil D., was
Surrogate of Dutchess County in 1844.
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 429
Peter Contine and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Jacob Heermance
of Kingston, lived at Upper Red Hook previous to the Revolution.
In 1791 he kept a store at what is now Barrytown Landing.
John, James, Daniel and Robert Wilson, four brothers, settled in
the vicinity of Upper Red Hook before 1770, and engaged in farm-
ing. The two eldest married the Kuhn sisters, daughters of Simon
Kuhn.
Another early resident of the town was Hendrick Weidman, after-
wards written Whiteman. He came from Zurich, Switzerland, about
1736, and ten years later settled on a farm here, acting as land agent.
His son Jacob, in 1796, purchased the fee of the farm. Both father
and son warmly supported the cause of the Colonists during the
Revolution, and the night of October 15, 1777 ,» a band of Tories
attacked the Whiteman homestead, but were effectually repulsed.
The history of the fine old estates bordering the Hudson is linked
with prominent families of revolutionary days. The Montgomery
place, which is identified, in a measure, with our national history, was
the home of the widow of General Richard Montgomery, as well as
of Edward Livingston. Shortly after Montgomery married Miss
Janet Livingston, he settled on his wife's estate, "Grasmere," near
Rhinebeck. When hostilities commenced between England and the
colonies he warmly espoused our cause. When he was ordered to join
Arnold at Ticonderoga and proceed to Canada, his wife accompanied
ihim as far as Lake Champlain. His last words in bidding her good-
bye were: "You shall never blush for your Montgomery." She was
never permitted to see him again, for he fell within a few weeks while
leading the advance on Quebec. His widow then bought of Abram
Van Benthuysen the estate now called "Montgomery Place." She im-
mediately built the house at present occupied by Carleton Hunt,
Esq., and sisters, where she spent the rest of her days in quiet and
comparative seclusion. She died in 1828, leaving the place by will
to her youngest brother, Edward Livingston, who at that time was in
the United, States Senate. He had previously served two terms in
Congress, and in 1801 was elected Mayor of New York.
Almont was built by General John Armstrong, who helped to cap-
ture Burgoyne at the battle of Saratoga. The mansion was destroyed
by fire thirty years ago, and the beautiful and extensive forest of
giant white oaks and chestnuts will soon be converted into timber for
430 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the New York market. A corporation, in 1908, paid $10,000 for the
lumber rights of this property.
The estate was purchased from General Armstrong about 1800 by
Col, Andrew De Vaux, a native of South Carohna. After the death
of Col. De Vaux in 1812 his widow and her two daughters resided at
Almont until 1816, when the place was purchased by John C. Stevens
for his brother-in-law, Robert Swift Livingston, who held the prop-
erty tmtil his death. It then passed to his two sons, Frank and
and Clarence. They sold it in partition to Gen. James H. Van Alen,
but the transaction was not completed and Almont remained in the
Livingston family, and finally passed to the two sons of Frank Liv-
ingston, Robert and Charles, who sold it a year ago to Cord A.
Meyer, of Brooklyn, the present owner.
The estate known as "Rokeby," now owned by Mrs. Richard Al^
drich, and containing some three hundred acres, was first established
under the name of "La Bergerie" by General John Armstrong, who
built the house and so named the place after he returned from France,
where he was American Ambassador, 1804-1811. Mrs. Armstrong
was the daughter of Robert Livingston, of Clermont, in Columbia
County, and a grand-daughter of Henry Beekman, of Rhinebeck.
General Armstrong employed to build the house a Scotch carpenter,
named Warner Richards, whom he moved from Cedar Hill to a cot-
tage near the site. There was a quantity of panelling in the ample
halls and many of the twenty rooms, all of which this skillful work-
man made and placed, besides being the master builder. No archi-
tect's name has been connected with the plans, but there is a tradition
that one or more French country houses were freely copied by the
General. Letters and bills of lading relating to the material, which
came in sloops, are in the house; but the records are incomplete; it is
impossible to arrive at any conclusion as to the relative cost of build-
ing then and now.
The War of 1812, during which General Armstrong was Secretary
of War, his two grown sons being engaged upon the Canadian fron-
tier, delayed the building, and placed the responsibiHty of its slow
progress upon Mrs. Armstrong, who received many letters concern-
ing flooring and beams, cellars and farm buildings, from her absent
husband. On March 18, in 1816, General Armstrong wrote to Judge
Ambrose Spencer:
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 431
"I have bpen entirely occupied devising ways and means to make my family
comfortable in their new quarters. We were driven out of our old ones rather
prematurely, and with a loss, the extent of which every day makes us better ac-
quainted with. Of my papers all were saved excepting one box brought from
France. Most of its contents was literary lumber, but my memorials of conver-
sation with French functionaries, some of which were very curious, and might have
been useful in illustrating the character of Buonaparte and his Ministers, are lost,
and no exertion of memory can now replace them. We are tolerably lodged in the
new house, and have the music of saws and hammers to wake us at daybreak, and
to keep us awake through the day. In another month we shall have the additional
felicity of mortar within and without."
As the name La Bergerie implies, this plaqe was designed to be a
sheep-fold. The Armstrongs imported merinos from France, on the
advice of Napoleon, and sheep of this breed brougjht good prices in
the hands of a lady who understood them, for Mrs. Armstrong sold
five for fifteen hundred dollars.
It is commonplace in the talk of the neighborhood that the Erie
Canal ruined the husbandry of Bed Hook. Once the central part of
the State could reach New York's market, a rich and more virgin
soil produced better crops, animials and fruit. The peach crop, long
very successful, lost its security of ripening, whether owing to
changes in the soil, as it was longer under , constant cultivation, or
to changes in the climate, is not certain, but after this last staple
passed from the neighborhood the estates ceased to be productive, and
have been sold by all who could not afford to run them without employ-
ing labor regardless of what its return might be.
General and Mrs. Armstrong were the parents of five sons and one
daughter. The latter married William B. Astor, and in 1836 the
house and grounds of "La Bergerie" were sold to Mr. Astor, the
French Empire furniture which it contained, as well as the price,
being reserved for the brothers.
In 1813 was pubhshed Sir Walter Scott's poem of Rokeby. Just
when a resemblance between the scenery of this poem and that of "La
Bergerie" was first fancied, we do not know, but because of such re-
semblance the name was changed to Rokeby. Mr. and Mrs. Astor
lived to enjoy their inheritance until after their golden wedding, Mr.
Astqr dying in 1875, three years later than his wife. Rokeby was
bequeathed by him to the child of their long-deceased eldest daughter
Emily, wife of Samuel Ward, Esq,, namely to Margaret Astor Chan-
432 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ler. Mrs. Chanler only outKved her grandfather a few weeks. In
December, 1875, her ten children, among them the present owner,
inherited Rokeby, and there lived during a long minority. The place
was again a sheep-fold.
It was at Rokeby that Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, formerly Lieu-
tenant-Governor of the State of New York, and brother of Mrs.
Aldrich, received the official notification of his nomination by the
Democratic party in 1908, for the high office of Grovemor of this
State, and it was here that he delivered his speech of acceptance.
Others members of this family who have been prominent in public
affairs of the State and Nation are WiUiam Astor Chanler, formerly
Congressman from New York City, who, during the Spanish-American
war presented the United States Government with a mountain battery,
fully equipped, for use in the Philippine army; and Robert Winthrop
Chanler, member of the State Legislature in 1904, and the present
Sheriff of Dutchess County. Mrs. Aldrich (Margaret Astor Chanler)
rendered faithful service to her country as an army nurse in the Cuban
campaign. Her sister, Elizabeth, is the wife of John Jay Chapman.
Their country seat, "Sylvania," occupies a portion of the Rokeby estate.
The chateau of Tivoli, now occupied by Mrs. J. L. de Peyster, was
built shortly after the Revolution by a Frenchman who spelled his
name Delabegarre, but tradition says this was an Americanism for
L'Abbe de Seguard, which would indicate that he was a waif of the
French Revolution. He was ambitious, and in 1795 laid out his farm
of sixty acres into lots for a proposed city. His enwalled dwelling
was styled "Le Chateau de Tivoli," and from this chateau and illusory
town, the name of the present village was derived.
This old home in time came into the possession of Col. Johnston
Livingston de Peyster, who remodeled it so that merely the original
octagon center remains.
The CaUendar House was built by Henry Gilbert Livingston, who,
in October, 1795, sold it to Philip Henry Livingston. Mr. Livings-
ton and his wife called this seat "Simning Hill," and occupied it until
18S8, when it was purchased by Robert Tillotson, who sold it to
Richard T. Auchmuty in 1835. It passed into the hands of William
E. Toler in 1854, and ten years later into those of Jacob R. LeRoy,
who presented it to his daughter, the wife of the Rev. Henry de Koven.
In 1860 it became the property of Mr. Johnston Livingston, who,
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 433
with his son-in-law, Mr. Geraldwyn Redmond, at present occupy it.
A portion of the homestead at Annandale now occupied by Mr.
Jolin N. Lewis, president of the First National Bank of Red Hook,
was built by his grandfather, Thomas Lewis, in 1754<, who occupied
it until his death. It then passed to his son Peter, who married Mary
Neher, the parents of John N. Lewis.
Blithewood, the country seat of Captain Andrew C. Zabriskie, was
formerly the property of Mr. John Bard. After the death of Mr.
Bard the estate was sold to St. Stephen's College. Li 1904 Captain
Zabriskie purchased the property, and the old house was replaced by
the present mansion.
Annandale was originally only the name of Mr. Bard's estate. It
has now come to designate the site of St. Steph^'s College and the
immediate neighborhood.
The College grew out of the Church of the Holy Innocents and its
parish school, of which the Rev. George F. Seymour was the rector
in 1855. In connection with his parochial work he gave instruction
to several young men who were preparing themselves to enter the
General Theological Seminary. Through the interest and financial
aid of Mr. and Mrs. Bard it became possible to make this class the
nucleus of a training school, where young men looking forward to
Holy Orders might obtain their preparation for the study of theology
at a minimum cost, and amidst healthful surroundings. The need
of such an institution had been keenly felt by both Bishop Wainwright
and Bishop Potter.
Mr. Bard agreed to convey to the proposed college the Holy Inno-
cents Church which he had erected, the parish school house, some
eighteen acres of land, and other property, valued in all at sixty
thousand dollars, and to pay an annual subscription of one thousand
dollars during his hfe and ability. In recognition of this gift the
Diocese of New York, assembled in convention in 1859, adopted reso-
lutions recognizing the training school as a Diocesan institution, and
tendering the thanks of the Church to Mr. Bard.
March 20, 1860, the Hon. John V. L. Pruyn, LL.D., obtained from
the Legislature a charter which conferred upon the trustees of St.
Stephen's College full collegiate powers and privileges. The trustees
organized under the charter April 11, 1860, and appointed the Rev.
George F. Seymour warden. He was succeeded in 1861 by the Rev.
434 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Thomas Richey. Two years later the Rev. Robert B. Fairbairn,
who had been professor of mathematics and natural philosophy the
previous year, was chosen as his successor. During his able warden-
ship of thirty-five years, the college increased in numbers and influ-
ence. Valuable buildings were erected, endowments were secured, and
students were attracted to the college from all parts of the country.
He was succeeded in 1899 by the Rev. Laurence T. Cole, Ph.D., who
resigned in the summer of 1903, and was followed by the Rev. Thomas
R. Harris, D.D., who held the wardenship for three years and a half.
The Rev. George B. Hopson, D.D., D.C.L., professor of the Latin
language and literature, became acting warden until the spring of
1909, when Rev. Dr. Rogers was elected warden.
CHUaCHES.
Methodist Episcopai, Chukch. Red Hook was originally an
appointment on the Milan circuit, supplied with only occasional
preaching. In the year 1840 this appointment was made a station,
and was called the Red Hook Mission. The church edifice was erected
in 1849. Among the earliest and most active members were Samuel
Fancher, Mrs. Christian Mowl and Mrs. Jane Nicks. The first min-
ister stationed here was Albert Nash. He was succeeded in 1841 by
Rev. Bartholomew Creagh, who drew to the church some of the wealth-
ier and aristocratic families of the neighborhood and town, including
Mrs. William B. Astor and Mrs. Col. Armstrong and daughter. Mr.
Creagh's labors were also blessed with a revival, and this favorable
combination of circumstances gave the church a standing which it has
since maintained. The Rev. W. T. Brush is the present minister.
St. Paul's Evangelical Church is an butgrowth from the old
"Pink's Corner" Church, which was the parent body and was German
Reformed. The baptismal record runs back to 1730. About the
year 1800 a new church was built at Lower Red Hook village, and
its members being largely affiliated with the Lutherans by association
and intermarriage, it became a Lutheran church, during the pastorate
of the Rev. Dr. N. W. Goertner. The present pastor is the Rev.
George Hipsley.
Christ Church, The edifice of the Episcopal society was erected
in J854 during the rectorship of the Rev. Henry de Koven, who was
in charge of St. Paul's Church at Tivoli. The building was conse-
S.^-.M'art/'.ie^z. /-''"&? (s A. iir
TOWN OF RED HOOK. 435
crated July 21, 1855, under the name of Christ Church, Lower Red
Hook, by Bishop Potter. The Rev. Frederick Sill was appointed
Dr. de Koven's assistant, and was succeeded in 1861 by the Rev. John
W. Moore. In 1867 Dr. de Koven, who was sole trustee of the church
property, resigned his trust and deeded the same to the following
trustees: Rev. John W. Moore, Hon. John W. Chanler, William
Chamberlain, Henry Astor, Andrew Crane, John H. Lord, and Dr.
John Bates. Rev. R. V. K. Harris is the present rector.
St. Paul's Chtjech, Tivoh. This church was admitted into the
Union of the Protestant Episcopal Church, October 21, 1817. It
was until 1820 under the charge of Rev. Henry Anthon, afterwards
rector of St. Mark's, New York City. On the 27th of May, 1819,
St. Paul's was consecrated by Bishop Hobart, <tand was the second
Episcopal congregation organized in Dutchess County; that of St.
James of Hyde Park, being the first.
The first church building was an unpretending structure of wood,
and was replaced in 1868 by, the present substantial stone edifice.
Rev. Richard D. Pope, who was appointed rector of St. Paul's in
1903, also has charge of Trinity parish at Madalin.
Methodist Episcopal Chuech, Tivoli. The earliest members of
this society, which was organized in 1842, were George Gleason, Jacob
Van Steenburgh and wife, James Kent and wife, and R. Gleason. The
society belonged to the Lower Red Hook charge. A meeting house
was built in 1843, on land given by Eugene Livingston. This in
time became too small, and in 1860 the present edifice was erected.
The society is in a flourishing condition to-day.
A sketch of the Roman Catholic Church at Barrytown will be found
in another chapter.
The records of the town have been carefully preserved and are in
possession of the present town clerk, Mr. John Troy. The first an-
nual town meeting was held at the house of Henry Watter, the first
Tuesday in April, 1813, when the following persons were duly elected
town officers for the ensuing year: David Van Ness, Supervisor;
Matthias Row, Town Clerk; Peter Contine, Nicholas Allendorpt,
George Shook, Henry Cooper, Jacob C. Miller, Assessors; Philip N.
Bonisteel, Jacob Stall, Overseers of the Poor; Simon Hermanse, Col-
lector.
The succession of Supervisors from 1814 is as follows:
436
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1814— 'IS
Peter T. B. Myer
1858— '59
1816
Philip N. Bonisteel
I860— '61
1817
Peter T. B. Myer
1863— '63
1818
Cornelius J. Elmondorph
1864
1819— '20
Peter Van Allen
1865— '68
1821— '35
Nathan Beekwith
1869— '70
182fr— '28
George Shook
1871
1839— '30
Henry Staats
1872
1831— '34
Jacob Benner
1873
1835— '36
Heniy Staats
1874— '76
1837— '38
Philip H. Knickerbacker
1877
1839— '40
Henry Lambert
1878
1841
John V. A. Lyle
1879
1842
Philip H. Lasher
1880
1843— '44
John V. A. Lyle
1881— '83
1845— '46
James Outwater
1883
1847
John Bates
1884
1848— '49
Augustln Martin
1885— '87
1850— '51
Jeremiah Hendricks
1888— '89
1853— '53
Cornelius E. Elmondorf
1890— '91
1854
Henry Staats
1893— '01
1855
Egbert Staats
1903— '03
1856
Edmund Green
1904— '09
1857
Egbert Staats
Uriah Fuller
Peter H. Fraleigh
George Shoemaker
Thomas Elmendorf
Edward Salpaugh
Lewis Salpaugh
James A. Stoutenburgh
Peter G. Fraleigh
James A. Stoutenburgh
Edward Feller
Edgar L. Traver
Charles E. Sands
Philip H. Stickle
Thomas J. Barton
Frank S. Ormsbee
Fred E. Ackerman
W. S. Beekwith
Henry E. Miller
Clinton J. Rockfeller
Edward Sturgess
Clinton J. Rockfeller
Daniel Van de Bogart
Lewis S. Chanler
Egbert Benson.
Jacob Radclipfe.
Levi P. Morton.
Col. p. J. Schuyler.
Robert Schell.
Col. John Jacob Astor.
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 437
CHAPTER XXX.
THE TOWN OF RHINEBECK^
THE territorial limits of the present town of Shinebeck embrace
18,94!6 acres in the northwestern part of the county border-
ing the Hudson River. The town is bounded on the north
by Red Hook; on the east by Milan and Clinton; and on the south
by Hyde Park.
Landsman Kill, the principal stream, was so named by Casper
Landsman, who explored its course in search of miU sites. It flows in
a southwesterly direction to the Hudson, and receives several smaller
streams, notably KipskiU, or Rhinebeck creek. At Buttermilk Falls
these waters pour over a precipice some sixty feet in height.
Rhinebeck was formed as a town, March 17, 1788. Red Hook was
taken off and formed into a separate township in 1812. These two
towns comprised the greater part of Rynbeck precinct, organized De-
cember 16, 17S7, which contained
"all the lands purchased of the Widow Pawling and her children, by Dr. Samuel
Staats, deceased; all the land granted to Adria Koosa and company. That land
patented to Col. Henry Beekman, deceased, and the lands granted by patent to
Col. Peter Schuyler, commonly called Magdalen's Island purchase."
The first deed for lands described in Rynbeck precinct bears date
of June 8, 1686, and is recorded in Book AA, Ulster County Clerk's
office, in Kingston, N. Y. It is a transfer on the part of Aran Kee,
Kreme Much, and Korra Kee, young Indians, to Gerritt Artsen, Arie
Rosa and Jan Elton, of
"a certain parcell of land, lying upon the east shore, right over against the mouth
of Redout Creek, bounded between a small creek and the river, the which said creek
is sold to the purchasers."
The considerations of this purchase were a variety of articles useful
to the Indians, and included blankets, kettles, guns, powder, axes and
knives.
1. The materials for this chapter are drawn mainly from SistoHe Old RMnebeek, by
Howard H. Morse, 1908. We are also indebted to Mr. Morse for the use of several copy-
righted illustrations.
438 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Another Indian deed for land in this vicinity, conveys to Hendrick
Kip, of Kingston,
"a parcel of land lying over against the Redout Kill, on the north side of Arie
Rosa, on the river."
It bears the marks of the owners, Ankony, Anamaton and Calycoon,
Esopus Indians. This deed, not of record, is dated July 28, 1686.
It is written in English, and is in the possession of Henry Spies Kip.
It states no consideration or boundaries.
Confirming these sales a patent was issued by King James II on
the 2d day of June, 1688. The patentees, Gerritt Artsen, Arie
Roosa, Jan Elton, Hendrick Kip and Jacob Kip, divided the lands
into five equal portions, made up of eight separate parcels to cover
their individual shares, and deeds thereto were recorded in Ulster
County, May 26, 1702. The whole tract containing about 2,200
acres, received the name of "Kipsbergen," which it retained until the
organization of Rynbeck Precinct in 1737.
The lands thus patented lie between Landsman and Rhinbeck
creeks and the river, and extend from Vanderburgh's Cove north to
a line drawn directly west from the Hog Bridge to the Hudson. The
patent, which is of parchment, has been carefully preserved and is
now in the possession of Hon. Levi P. Morton. It was originally in
the hands of the Roosa family, and was subsequently owned by Hon.
John N. Cramer, a descendant, and later by the Hon. William Kelly.
The Beekman patent, granted to Henry Beekman, April 22, 1697,
covered only a small frontage on the river between the Kip and
Schuyler lands. Beekman was not satisfied with his grant and ob-
tained another patent in 1703, which covered all of Kipsbergen and
pkrt of the Schuyler tract, the boundaries of which are described in
Chapter IV. Schuyler crowded Beekman down from the Sawkill to
"Steen Valet je," the small brook which divides the present towns of
Rhinebeck and Red Hook. August 9, 1715, Beekman's son, Col.
Henry, bought of Peek De Witt and Maritje, his wife, then owners,
6,541 acres of the Col. Schuyler land to the north of the Beekman
patent. This gave the Beekmans title to all the land in the present
town of Rhinebeck, except the 2,200 acres patented to Artsen, Roosa,
Eltcwi and Kip, and it is not known whether Beekman, senior, ever
asserted any claim to this tract; but on March 9, 1726, Col. Henry
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 439
executed a formal release and quit claim of his paper title to Kips-
bergen.
Following the grant of the patent covering Kipsbergen, the paten-
tees engaged in clearing their lands and preparing it for occupancy,
but we have no evidence of a settlement in the town previous to the
year 1700, when Hendrick Kip built a small stone house on his south
lot. It is still standing, and is now known as the "Heermance House."
On the east side is a stone lintel with this inscription distinctly cut:
"Ao 1700 H K A K," evidently the initials of the owner and his wife.
In 1728 this house was the residence of Col. Henry Beekman, who
enlarged, improved and occupied it until his death in 1776.
Jacob Kip, the other patentee, built in 1708, on the west side of his
lot, a stone house which is also standing.
Gerrit Artsen, with a family of ten children, came to live upon and
cultivate his land in 1702. One of Artsen's daughters married Hen-
drickus Heermance, and another Jacob Vradenburgh. Both sons-in-
law located on the Artsen land.
The Boos a tracts were occupied by Laurens Osterhout, a son-in-law
of Captain Roosa; and also by a Van Etten and an Ostrander, each
related to the Captain by the marriage of sons.
Jan Elton had four sons-in-law, Newkirk, Wynkoop, Paulding and
DuBois, among whom the Elton portion of the patent was partitioned.
The elder Beekman early sought settlers for his lands. He foresaw
the necessity and advantage of a grist and saw mill near the river,
accessible from the settlements on the Artsen, Roosa, Elton and Kip's
lands, and below. A mill site convenient to the settlers was very im-
portant; these numbered in 1709 about thirty famihes. Beekman
bought land of Captain Roosa in 1710, built a dam on his land adjoin-
ing, and a saw and grist mill on the Roosa land, utilizing the water
of Landsman creek to turn the wheels. These mills were among the
earliest in Dutchess County.
In 1715 Beekman induced many Palatine families, then living at
East Camp on Livingston Manor, to locate on his lands, which he had
laid out for these "High Butchers," principally in the vicinity of the
old German Church. Along the King's highway north and south of the
church, the Neher, Bearinger, Teder, Polver, Drum, Zipperley, Hainor,
Stickell, Shever and other families took up land under life leases, re-
quiring them to make all improvements and to "pay an annual rent of
440 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
a schepel of wheat to the acre," and to lose the fruit of their toil at
the expiration of their leases. Others who entered upon land in the
south end of the patent, under the same conditions, were the families
of Froelick (Fraleigh), Hegeman, Schryver, Ostrom, Ackert, Bergh,
Schultz and Uhl. To the east, skirting and on the Wurtemburgh hills,
early leases were held on farms by Cookingham, Eighmie, Lown, Mar-
kel, Moore, Marquart, Progue, Pier, Teal, Westfall and others.
Judge Henry Beekman succeeded in scattering these settlers well
over his land. In the erection of mills and the development of his
property, he had brought to his aid two sturdy, capable men, who
proved valuable acquisitions to the neighborhood. One was William
Traphagen, who planned and built the miUs; the other was Casper
Landsman, soon installed as the miller.
Traphagen purchased of Beekman, in 1711, a large tract described
in the deed as "plain." It was about a mile in length, extending
northward from the junction of Landsman and Rhinebeck creeks; the
easterly boundary was along the post road. Traphagen called his
purchase "the flatts," by which name it has been known for more than
a century. He settled upon it four or five years before he got his
deed, and built in 1709 a stone house on the north side of the Sepasco
trail or path, now West Market street, and between Garden and Oak
streets, in the village. This house, which served many years as a
tavern, was torn down in 1882.
Judge Beekman apphed the name Ryn Beck to his patent as early
as 1713, and in a deed dated November 29, 1714, conveying 124 acres
of his land to Peter and William Ostrander, of Esopus, he says that
the land is in "Ryn Beck." John Beatty, a surveyor, on a map
which he made of these lands in 1714, spelled it "Rieneback." It has
been generally supposed that the origin of the name Rhinebeck was
a combination of "Rhine" in honor of the river of that name, and
"Beek," for the owner of the land. The Palatines are reputed spon-
sors for this derivation. Mr. H. H. Morse, author of Historic Old
Rhinebeck, declares the name can be traced to a more certain source.
He says :
"The name most likely Intended, and, in fact, given the locality, is 'Rheinbach.'
This is the name of a small village in Rhenish-Prussia, about fifty miles south of
the nq|t:ed city of Cologne, and some eight miles back of the river Rhine. It is in
the Palatinate. Several of the early settlers came from this locality. Karl Neher,
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 441
a list master, was one of them. He was a leader and had considerable following."
"Judge Beekman may have had this in mind in laying out the land for the
'high Dutchers.' Spelling it Ryn Beck did not change the actual name."
The county was divided into three wards in 1714, and the territory
between Crom Elbow creek and Roelaff Jansen's Kill comprised the
North ward. The list of taxpayers in this ward, in 1718, numbered
sixty-four persons, with the total assessed valuation of property placed
&t £426. Their names and the amount of individual assessment will
be found in Chapter V.
William Traphagen (Wellem Trophage) was one of the largest
taxpayers. He opened a blacksmith shop adjacent to his tavern, and
«arly craftsmen found the locality convenient for their trades. This
formed the nucleus of the present village of Rhinebeck. Nearby was
a grist mill, operated by Schut. By 1722 the neighborhood had de-
veloped in a marked degree. The assessor's list of that year numer-
ates ninety-six taxpayers, most of whom lived within the present town
limits. In 1730 it was decided to have a church in the immediate
vicinity, which was erected on the site of the present "Old Dutch
Church." Simon Cole (Kool), son of Isaac and Geesje (Tropage)
Kool, was the first merchant in the town. He was a grandson of
WiUiam Traphagen. John Kip was a carpenter; Ananias Teel, a
wheelwright; Laurence Teder, a mason; Henry Shop, a harnessmaker ;
■Jacob Van Ostrander, a hnen weaver.
The erection of several grist, saw and woolen mills on the Lands-
man KjU, were potent factors in the early development of Rhinebeck.
The Beekman miU, built in 1710, near the river, was followed in 1715
by the Beekman-Livingston mills, below "the flatts." The Rutsen
mills, on the turnpike east of "the flatts," were built in 1742, and the
Traphagen mill in 1750. The General Montgomery and the Gov-
ernor Lewis mills were built in 1774 and 1800, respectively.
The establishment of ferry service at Rhinebeck in 1752, brought
the inhabitants in closer connection with Rondout. The charter was
granted to Abraham Kip on the east side of the river, and to Moses
Contine on the west side
"to run a feny across the Hudson between the landing place of said Kip on the
•east shore of said river, and the landing place of said Contine on the west shore
of said river, exclusive of all others within the space of two miles below the said
landings, and to take toUs."
442 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The grant was perpetual on condition that two sufficient ferry boats
were to be kept, one on each side of the river. The Kips owned it
until 1790, when it passed into the hands of the Elmendorfs, who sold
it in 1851 to the present company. The earlier ferry boats were
operated with oars and sails. Captain Elmendorf introduced first the
open horse boat, and later the steam ferry boat.
Before the close of the eighteenth century the little village at the
intersection of the King's highway with the Sepasco road to the river,
was fast becoming a business center. Evardus Bogardus had suc-
ceeded the Traphagens, father and son, in the ownership of the tavern.
Koert and Henry Du Bois were merchants. Asa Potter was post-
master, and occupied the "red store on the corner," the property of
John T. Schryver and Tunis Conklin. Dr. Ananias Cooper and Dr.
Hans Kiersted administered to the sick of the town. Henry B. Liv-
ingston and William A. Duer were early legal practitioners.
The village of Rhinebeck was incorporated April 23, 1834, and a
month later the following officers were elected: Trustees, EHphalet
Piatt, Peter Pultz, John Drury, John I. Smith, John T. Schryver,
Jacob Heermance, John Jennings ; Assessors, John A. Drum, Theophi-
lus Nelson, Stephen McCarty; Treasurer, Nicholas Drury. John T.
Schryver was chosen president of the Board of Trustees. The act of
incorporation was amended in 1867, and the village limits extended.
One half of the business section of the village was destroyed by fire
May 8, 1864. It was soon rebuilt with substantial brick structures.
The Bank of Rhinebeck was organized in 1853, with a capital of
$125,000. Henry De Lamater was elected president; Wilham B.
Piatt, vice-president; DeWitt C. Marshall, cashier. This institution
was one of two banks in the State of New York that did not suspend
specie payment during the great panic of 1857. It became a national
bank in 1865, following the enactment of that banking law. The list
of presidents from its organization to the present time have been as
as follows: Henry De Lamater, 1853 to 1868; William B. Piatt,
1868 to 1880 ; Edwin Hill, 1880 to 1895 ; John D. Judson, 1895.
The Rhinebeck Savings Bank was organized in 1862. Joshua C.
Bowne was its first president, and Simon Welch its treasurer. These
offices are now filled respectively by Augustus M. and Thaddeus A.
Traver. July 1, 1908, its resources were $826,913.42. Its surplus-
$39,430.73. It had on deposit $774,117.62.
444 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Starr Institute is a gift to the people from Mrs. Mary R.
Miller, as a memorial to her husband, the Hon. William Starr Miller,
a prominent citizen of New York, who died in 1854. The building
was erected and furnished in 1862, at a cost of $15,000. It contains
a reference and circulating library, and a large hall for public pur-
poses. The building was enlarged in 1907, to meet the requirements
of a branch of the Young Men's Christian Association, then organized.
In 1805, the district school system was introduced, and one district
followed another to meet the demand of population. There are now
twelve school districts in the town. In 1869, after much controversy,
a Union Free School was erected, now the Rhinebeck High School.
It was enlarged in 1901. The RhineclifF school is the second largest
in the town.
The Rhinebeck Academy, incorporated in 1840, was the successor
of Rev. Samuel Bell's Classical School, which had existed for several
years. The property was purchased in 1860, by James E. De Garmo,
who continued the educational institution until 1890, when he removed
to Fishkill-on-Hudson.
The Memorial Building at Rhinechff contains a library, a reading
room, and an auditorium. It is a spacious structure, and was erected
in 1907 by Hon. Levi P. Morton, as a memorial to his deceased daugh-
ter. It is the only public building in Rhinechff.
CHURCHES.
The first church in Rhinebeck, and one of the earHest in the county,
was the Old German Church, which stood until the year 1800, on the
post road, three miles north of the present village of Rhinebeck. It
was erected by the Palatines in 1716, on the land of Judge Beekman.
It was a union church, because these settlers were both Lutherans and
Calvinists. December 10, 1729, the Lutheran people sold out to the
Reformers, receiving for their interest in the church and four acres
of ground, "twenty-five pounds current money of New York."
During the period it was a union church. Rev. John Frederick
Hager, a Calvinist, and Rev. Johannes SpaUer, a Lutheran, ministered
there. The Calvinists then secured the services of the Rev. George
Michael Weiss. The records are in his handwriting from 1734 to
174g. He was followed by Rev. Casper L. Schnorr, who remained
until 1756. Rev. Johan C. Rubel was the next pastor. During his
pastorate of four years he baptized two hundred and twenty children.
TOWN OF RHINEBECK, 445
and added eighty members to the church. The next settled pastor was
Rev. Gerhard Daniel Koock, who came to America in 1763, and at once
took charge of this church. His pastorate here covered an unbroken
period of twenty-eight years. He baptized one thousand eight hun-
dred and nineteen children. Rev. Koock died in 1790, and is buried
at Germantown, Columbia County, N. Y. He was succeeded by Rev.
Johan Daniel Schefer. Prior to 1801 the German society built a new
church in Red Hook village, and the "Old German Church" passed out
of existence.
The Lutheean (Stone) Church. When the Lutherans disposed
of their interest in the German church, they applied to Gilbert Liv-
ingston for a lot for a church and cemetery near the German church.
Mr. Livingston granted their request, and the .edifice was built in
1730. In the cemetery is the gravestone of Carl Neher, which gives
the date of his death as the 26th of January, 1733. The original
building was replaced shortly before the Revolution by the present
"Stone Church," which was remodelled and enlarged in 1824. The
parsonage was built in 1798, and is well preserved. Among the
pastors from 1730 to 1850 were Reverends SpaUer, Hagadorn, Hart-
wig, Berkemeyer, Reis, Pfeiffer, Quitman, Eyer, Goertner, and Schaef-
fer. Subsequent pastors were WiUiam D. Strobel, F. M. Bird, G. W.
Schumacker, Charles Koerner, S. G. Finkle, J. A. Earnest, Chester H.
Traver, C. L. Barringer and D. W. Laurence.
The Refoemed Dutch Chuech, on the "Flatts," had practically
its origin in 1730, when Henry Beekman presented to Laurence Oster-
hout, Jacob Kip and William Traphagen "and the rest of the inhabi-
tants of the North Ward" a deed for two pieces of land, one contain-
ing two acres, and the other forty-four acres, for church and burial
purposes. With the exception of the Catholic church property on
the corner of East Market and Mulberry streets, aU of the village of
Rhinebeck lying east of Mulberry street and south of Chestnut street,
is built on the church land. The lots have all been sold under leases,
subject to a yearly rent. There are over one hundred houses on this
land, from which the church collects rent.
The church was built before 1733, as required by the terms of the
deed. It was in charge of Rev. Petrus Vas, of Kingston, until 1742,
when it found itself "in quality" to support a minister in connection
with the German church, a few miles north.
446 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Rev. George Michael Weiss served it until 1746. From that year
until 1760 there was no settled dominie. Then Eggo Toukens Van
Hovenburg came into the pastorate and remained until 1763. Until
1769 the church was served at intervals by Dominie Koock of the
German church. March 26, 1769, Rev. Warmaldus Kuypers came
into the pastorate and remained until September, 1771. He added
fifty members to the church. For nearly five years the church was
again without a settled pastor. On the 2d of June, 1776, Rev.
Stephen Van Vorhees, the first candidate licensed by the American
Synod, was called. He remained until December, 1786. His records
of the church are in the English language. Dominie Petrus De Witt
was the next pastor. During his pastorate the church became a body
■corporate by an act of the State Legislature, passed March 7, 1788.
It took the name of The Reformed Protestamt Dutch Church of Rhyn-
beck Flats. John Broadhead Romeyn succeeded De Witt in 1799,
and was followed in 1804 by Rev. Jacob Broadhead. During his min-
istry the present church edifice was built in 1808. The largest sub-
scriptions to the building fund came from the heirs of Col. Henry
Beekman, the children of his only child and daughter Margaret.
Dominie Broadhead had William McMurry for his successor in
1812. Then came David Parker in 1820; then the eminent divine,
■George W. Bethune, in 1827. The present parsonage was built for
Dr. Bethune. He laid out the grounds, planted the trees, and directed
the interior arrangement of the house. He kept a span of good horses,
and a colored groom to care for them. He took no one's dust when
out driving. He was an eloquent preacher, and well hked by the
people. After him Rev. James B. Hardenburgh served from 1830 to
1836. Then Dr. James Lillie from 1837 to 1841. He was a gradu-
ate of Edinburgh University, a profound scholar, and a magnetic
speaker. Subsequent pastors were Brogan HofF, Peter Stryker, W.
A. Miller, H. R. Timlow, Goyn Talmage, brother of the famous
Brooklyn clergyman, Alonzo Peake, L. Walter Lott, J. Romeyn
Berry, Dr. J. Howard Suydam, and the present incumbent, Charles
G. Mallery, who is continuing the good work of his predecessors.
St. Paul's op Wurtembeegh. By 1759 the residents of that por-
tion of the precinct then called "Whitaberger Land," and now Wur-
temburgh, applied to Col. Beekman for permission to build a church,
and for a gift of the land required, which Beekman willingly granted.
TOWN OF RHINEBECK. 447
The church edifice was erected, and the Rev. J. F. Ries installed as
pastor. The records begin with a baptism under date of October 22,
1760. Rev. Ries served this church until 1785. He was followed by
George H. Pefifer, who remained until 1794. Dr. Frederick H. Quit-
man supplied the pastorate from 1798 to 1825 in conjunction with the
Lutheran Stone church. Toward the close of his ministry he became
very feeble, and had to be carried to the pulpit and retained his seat
while preaching. William J. Eyer was his successor, and remained
until September, 1839. He preached in the English language and
ministered exclusively to the Wurtemburgh church. The succession
of pastors from 1839 are A. T. Geissenhainer, Charles A. Smith, W.
N. SchoU, George Neff, Joseph G. GriflSth, John Kling, George W.
Fortney, C. W. Deifendorf and Roscoe C. Wrigfet. The Rev. John
Kling was recalled February 1, 1908, and is now the pastor.
A new church building was erected in 1802. It was thoroughly
repaired and improved in 1832, and in 1861 was enlarged and re-
modeled into its present condition.
The Methodist Chuech. This sect was introduced in Rhinebeck
in 1792 by Rev. Freeborn Garretson of Maryland, then on a visit to
his friend, Dr. Thomas Tillotson, at "Linwood." He married Mar-
garet, daughter of Judge Robert R. and Margaret (Beekman) Liv-
ingston, in 1793, and became a resident of Rhinebeck.
A map made in 1797 shows a Methodist church on a hiU facing the
road to Milan. It was near the home of the Garretsons, but no rec-
ords can be found pertaining to it. The first record of a Methodist
organization in the town is contained in a deed from Mrs. Janet Mont-
gomery to Rev. Freeborn Garretson and others, trustees of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church at Rhinebeck Flatts, dated August 1, 1801,
covering a lot on the east side of what is now Centre street, between
East Market and South streets. Tradition relates that the church
on the road to Milan was taken down and rebuilt on this lot. The
lot on which the present church edifice stands was also a gift of Mrs.
Janet Montgomery, in 1822, in which year the edifice was completed.
The parsonage was built in 1829, on a lot presented to the church
by Hon. Edward Livingston. The church edifice was enlarged in
1863, and the parsonage reconstructed in 1871. The church build-
ing was destroyed by fire originating in a defective furnace flue, Feb-
448 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ruary 12, 1899. Within a year it was rebuilt at a cost of $16,200.
The records were also burned in the fire of 1899.
The Methodists had so increased in numbers by 1855 that chapels
were erected at Rhinecllff and HiUside. The churches are now served
jointly by Rev. John Wesley Bohlmann.
The Baptist Church. This society was founded in the town by
Rev. Robert Scott in 1821. It had no local habitation until 1825,
when a "small, convenient house was made ready," on ground donated
by Mrs. Janet Montgomery. The society struggled along until 1841,
when the Hon. William Kelly became a resident of Rhinebeck. He
was a Baptist and wealthy, and his support gave the church new
life. In 1869 he purchased land adjoining the church, and added
it, a gift to the church lot. In 1890 the present modern and sub-
stantial church building was erected, largely through the efforts of
the Reed family. Dr. George Fuller of Baltimore, Dr. William R.
Williams of New York, Dr. Martin B. Anderson, president of the
University of Rochester, and Dr. Kendrick, professor of Greek in
the same, have preached from the pulpit of this church.
The Village Luthekan Chtjech was founded by Rev. Charles A.
Smith, a former pastor of the Wurtemburgh church. The edifice
was built in 1842, on a lot, the gift of John T. Schryver. In 1876
important alterations were made in the interior of the church. Rev.
Smith ministered to this society until 1851. L. D. Wells, the present
pastor, began his labors in 1899.
The Episcopal Church. Episcopal services were held in Rhine-
beck as early as 1846, first in the Methodist and Baptist churches,
once a month, and later in the "Baker building." In 1852 the society
was incorporated and a church building erected on ground given by
Mr. Rutsen Suckley. The church was consecrated October 6, 1856,
by the Right Rev. Horatio Potter, D. D., provisional bishop of the
diocese. The Rev. Richard S. Adams was the first rector. He was
followed in 1854 by Rev. ,G. H. Walsh, who remained until 1866. The
lecture room and the chapel at Rhinecliff were built, and the rectory
purchased during Mr. Walsh's term. The Rev. A. F. Olmstead was
the next rector, continuing his duties here until his death in 1895,
when Rev. E. C. Saunders, the present incumbent, was called.
In 1895 the vestry purchased the Schell property for a new church
site, and a year later the present massive edifice — Church op the
TOWN OF RHINEBECK.
449
Messiah — ^was erected thereon. The building costs $70,000. It con-
tains several appropriate and expensive memorial windows: one to
William Astor, in his lifetime a liberal supporter of the church; one to
Susan Watts Street, daughter of Mrs. Levi P. Morton; one to Flor-
ence Adele Kip-Humbert; one to Rev. Aaron F. Olmsted, for thirty
years rector of the parish; one to Miss Julia Ann Traver. The
pulpit was a memorial gift of Mrs. William Astor to the memory of
her husband. A new organ was placed in the church in 1908, by
Hon. Levi P. Morton and Mrs. Morton, as a memorial to their
daughter.
The following persons have been large contributors to the support
of the church: Mrs. Mary R. Miller, Mrs. Franklin Delano, Miss
Elizabeth Jones, Horatio Miller, Edward Jones, William Astor, Lewis
Livingston, Ambrose Wager, John Jacob Astor, Levi P. Morton,
George N. Miller, Ernest H. Crosby, Douglas Merritt and Robert B.
Suckley.
A sketch of the Catholic churches at Rhinecliff and Rhinebect will
be found in another chapter.
A list of Ward and Precinct Supervisors, beginning with the year
1720, appears in Chapter IV. The following is the succession of
town Supervisors:
1788
Peter Contine
1845
Moses Ring
1789— '91
William RadcUff
1846— '47
Tunis Workman
1792— '94
David Van Ness
1848
James Montfort
179S— '97
Peter Contine, Jr.
1849
Isaac I. Piatt
1798— '00
Isaac Stoutenburgh
1850
Jacob G. Lambert
1801— '03
Andrew Heermance
1851
Ambrose Wager
1804— 'OS
Peter Contine, Jr.
1853
James C. McCarty
1806— '08
David "Van Ness
1853
James Montfort
1808— '18
John Cox, Jr.
1854--'5S
John H. Cramer
1819— '30
Koert Da Boise
1856
Richard R. Sylands
1821— '24
Christian Schell
185Y
Theophilns Nelson
1825— '29
Garret Van Keuren
1858— '59
Richard J. Garrettson
1830— '33
Isaac F. Russell
I860— '61
James C. MeCa,rty
1833— '34
Frederick I. Pultz
1863— '63
Andrew J. Heermance
1835— '36
Henry S. Quitman
1864— '65
Ambrose Wager
1837— '39
Conrad Ring
1866
Smith Quick
1840
John Armstrong, Jr.
1867
William M. Sayer
1841— '43
J. A. A. Cowles
1868
Robert L. Garrettson
1844
N. B. Van Steenburgh
1869— '73
Virgil C. Traver
450
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1873
John G. Ostrom
1886— '87
Jolm C. Milroy
1874— '76
Joseph H. Baldwin
1888— '89
George Esselstyn
1877— '78
James H. Kip
1890— '91
John C. Milrof
1879— '80
William B. Kip
1892— '97
John A. Traver
1881— '83
Martin Heermance
1898— '03
James H. Kipp
1883— '84
Andrew J. Odell
1904^'09
Mandeville S. Frost
1885
James H. Kipp
There was published in 1881, by Edward M. Smith, n Documentarj History of
Rhinebeck, which includes genealogical records of the early settlers. In 1908
Howard H. Morse published "Historic Old Rhinebeck." For more particulars than
can be found in the foregoing article, the reader ii referred to these excellent his-
tories of Rhinebeck, which can be found in the libraries of the Starr Institute,
Rhinebeck, N. Y., and of the City of Foughkeepsie in the Adriance Memorial
Library Building. — Editor.
THE RHINEBECK HOTEL.
Erected by Arent Traphagen, about 1766.
TOWN OF STANFORD. 451
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE TOWN OF STANFORD.
By Philip H. Smith.
THIS town is included in the Great Nine Partners tract, granted
in 1697 to Caleb Heathcote and others, and was formed
from Washington, March 12, 1793. It is bounded on the
north by Milan and Pine Plains; east by Northeast and Amenia;
south by Washington, and west by Clinton. It hes a little north and
east of the center of the county. Its surface Is a broken and hilly
upland; Carpenter HiU, in the northeast corner, is the highest point.
Thompson's Pond (Hunn's Lake) and Upton's Lake are the prin-
cipal bodies of water, and Wappingers creek the principal stream.
The soil is a good quality of gravelly and slaty loam.
Among the pioneers was Paul Upton, who came from Massachu-
setts and settled in the southwest part of the town, near the lake
which still bears his name. He was a Quaker, and as he Uved near
the meeting house, and was noted for his hospitality, his home was
thronged at the time of quarterly meetings.
Christopher Dibble, the ancestor of that family in this vicinity,
came from Long Island and settled in the north part of the town,
building a house on what was later the Titus farm, about the year
1782. In the old family burial ground this is recorded: "In memory
of Christopher Dibble, who died May 27, 1804, in the 63d year of his
age." Also, "In memory of Elizabeth Dibble (wife of Christopher),
who died December 1, 1803, AE 70 yrs."
Three brothers, Samuel, Amos and Enos Thompson, great grand-
sons of Anthony Thompson, original planter in the New Haven
Colony, came into Dutchess County about 1750. Samuel and Amos
had been connected with the Goshen, Conn, settlement. Enos came
direct from New Haven. Tradition says they acquired 2,800 acres
between them, around the shores of the beautiful sheet of water long
known as Thompson's Pond.
Samuel Thompson was the grandfather of Judge Smith Thompson.
452 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
He was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New York in 1814,
Secretary of the Navy from November 9, 1818, to March 5, 1823,
under the presidency of Martin Van Beuren, and Associate Judge of
the Supreme Court of the United States from this time until his death,
December 18, 1843.
A grandson of Enos Thompson, Enos Thompson Throop, was Gov-
ernor of the State of New York, 1829-'33. A later Governor of
New York State connected with this family was John Thompson
Hoffman, who occupied the executive chair in the early seventies.
Many members of this family filled responsible positions in political
and military life. Owing to the allurements of western emigration a
large number left their native section, and the name has almost died
out in places where it was once a power. The inland body of water
once bearing the name has been called Hunn's Lake, which antiqua-
rians consider an unfortunate change, since the old name perpetuates
the courage and ability of a worthy band of settlers of the old New
England stock, and the original owners of the soil.
Bangall, Stanfordville, Stissing, Mclntyre, Hull's Mills and Bare
Market are villages of varying size and importance. Bangall is a
village, much of whose growth is the result of its being a railroad sta-
tion. There is a fine level highway leading to Stanfordville, nearly
a mile distant, along which are strewn fine residences, so that the two
places might be called one village. The history of Stanfordville is
the old story of the decadence of small inland manufacturing towns
throughout the county. Facilities of transportation from different
points, the growth of competition, together with the adoption of new
and superior methods, have caused the patronage of the little shops
to flow into the insatiate maw of the immense manufactories in the
large cities. Hence, along the banks of the Wappingers, where stood
the busy factories, that stream is no longer harnessed to turn wheels
and spindles. The foundations alone mark the spot from which the
buildings have been removed, and the water flows unrestrained in its
course.
In 1843 Silas Rogers founded the wagon axle manufacturing busi-
ness, which was carried on extensively until the western competition
became too strong. He began first in a little shop by manufacturing
wagons and edged tools. A cotton mill had a brief existence here.
A paper mill was established some time previous to 1840, and in 1844
was burned down. The mill was rebuilt by a man named Gildersleeve,
TOWN OF STANFORD. 453
who began the manufacture of wrapping paper, and in 1865 the mill
was again burned. He immediately rebuilt the mill, but the business
was subsequently abandoned and the building and machinery removed.
The grist mill was established about the middle of the last century
by Seaman & Northrop; afterward it came into the possession of
George T. Pierce, and was by him transferred to other parties. In
the great freshet of 1865 the dam was swept away, and the property
came into possession of the City National Bank of Poughkeepsie. The
mortgagees rebuilt the dam and disposed of the property to Alonzo
DueU. It is now conducted by H. Haight & Co. Buckwheat flour is
a staple product of this miU.
The early church history of Stanford is replete with material such
as is ever a delight to the antiquarian. It is a* compendium of the
early struggles of the pioneers in the wilderness; of a striving for
religious liberty, while denying that right to a neighbor of a differ-
ent creed; a record of bitter jealousies and heart burnings, when all
should have joined shoulder to shoulder in the labor of settling a new
country. Yet these early pioneers were loyal to their principles;
they believed they were truly serving God when they persecuted those
who dissented from the established rules of faith. Nothing in their
eyes was more to be despised and feared than a heretic. The day of
true religious liberty had not yet dawned.
In the year 1755, so reads the record, a few brethren of the Baptist
faith, residing in the wilderness, agreed to meet for prayer, which
they continued to do for four years. Others joined them, and in
October, 1759, they were constituted into a branch church by the
Baptist church of Swanzey, Massachusetts Bay. Ephraim and
Comer BuUock were chosen to administer the church ordinances, and
Richard Bullock to serve as deacon. There is no further record until
1771, when a serious trouble occurred. At this time the mother
church at Swanzey adopted the singing of Watt's Hymns in their ser-
vices. This singing "by rule" was to the Stanford church "a great
grief," and they labored to convince the Swanzey church of their
error. Their efforts were of no avail, so they withdrew from fellow-
ship. Soon the Stanford church became divided on the question of
Watt's Hymns, Elder Comer Bullock siding with the mother church,
and Elder Ephraim and others dissenting, and withdrawing from
church attendance. Comer Bullock remained faithful to his charge
4S4 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
until his death in 1804. He is said to have baptized one thousand
persons during his ministry.
Elder Luman Burtch was ordained their minister in 1806. The
ministers in those days were styled Elders. They had not the ad-
vantages of a liberal education ; their graces of oratory may not have
been what would pass at the present time; but such sainted men as
Elder Burtch of Bangall, Elder Waldo of Dover, and Elder Johnson
of Pawling, found a ready means to reach the hearts of their hearers,
as evidenced by the religious awakenings under their preaching.
These men labored with their hands for the support of their families,
and we read of them absenting themselves from home for weeks to-
gether, travelling on horseback with their belongings in a saddle-
bag, carrying the Gospel to distant points.
To go back in our records of events — on October 17, 1779, a letter
was received from Kinderhook, asking help. The church at Bangall
sent Elder Comer Bullock in response, who preached to them and
administered the ordinance of baptism. The day "was remarkable
for the convicting power manifested, and which was visible to the
entire auditory."
The self-denial of the pioneer preachers is evident from the follow-
ing entry in the minutes wherein it is stated a member called upon
the Elder to bring in an account of his expenses, amounting to over
six pounds, which he had expended of his own money.
April 28, 1780, "one of the brethren gave his new discovery of
duty, which was to plough, plant and hoe the Elder's corn, mow and
secure his hay, plough and prepare the fallow ground for sowing
wheat for him, judging it most convenient for us, in our low circum-
stances, to redeem what time we can in order that the Elder might
use such redeemed time to his ministerial functions." The idea of a
salaried minister at this time was entirely foreign to the minds of
those early worshipers.
In response to the request of the brethren at Dover and places
adjacent, "Elder Bullock and messengers of the Bangall church visited
those quarters," preaching the Gospel, baptizing both men and women.
Li June, 1782, in response to an earnest request from brethren at
Little Hoosic to come to them. Elder Bullock journeyed there and
bajAized four persons, receiving two others ; the six were taken under
the watch and care of the church at Bangall.
TOWN OF STANFORD. 455
In September, 1787, an invitation came frpm the neighborhood of
Mabbettsville. The Elder and some brethren went to them, heard
their experiences ; nearly forty of them were baptized, and by their
request were constituted into a branch of the Bangall church.
In June, 1790, some candidates "residing at a place called Hud-
son" sent a messenger — there were no adequate postal facilities in
those days — asking for Elder Bullock to come and administer the Gos-
pel ordinances. "August 26, 1791, being the first day of the week,
a great number of people came together, when the Elder preached the
Word with great boldness and engagedness." After which he bap-
tized a number, who were added to the church.
December 29, 1790, at a regular meeting of the church at Bangall,
Deacon Canfield expressed a desire that the bretjiren would consider
the Elder in his present needful circumstances in respect to bread and
wood, when the church agreed to relieve his wants. Such a decision,
says the chronicler of those days, was a just one, in Adew of the fact
that he had fed so many, and provided fuel for the people to be com-
fortable so many winters when assembled at his house, the church
being too cold, especially as we do not find it on record that he ever
received a penny as a salary.
In August, 1790, the church voted to send Elder Bullock to preach
at Oswego once a month for one year. And later that he should
preach at home three Sabbaths, and the fourth to the people at Mab-
betsville, and where there were five Sundays he could go where he liked.
In the next entry we learn that the Elder, in a response to a call from
Rhinebeck, had gone thither to preach and baptize. The last record
of this exemplary man is that he presided at a church meeting in his
own house February 29, 1804.
Thus for fifty years did Elder Comer Bullock serve the church at
Bangall. During this time he had established branches at Kinder-
hook, Mabbettsville, Oswego, Dover, Noble Town, Rhinebeck, and
assisted at other places, without compensation. At one time he was
tendered a contribution, which he accepted, and for so doing was called
hireling. As elsewhere stated, his successor was Elder Luman Burtch,
who was ordained June 15, 1806, in a grove near where the first meet-
ing house stood. For another period of fifty years, like his prede-
cessor, Elder Burtch served the church at Bangall. The two were
the only pastors for a century, from 1755 to 1865, at which latter
456 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
date Elder Burtch was struck down with paky. He died two years
afterwards at the age of 81.
The present house of worship was dedicated May 26, 1869. The
house is located one-half mile south of the first church, and one-fourth
mile south of the second building; this being the third edifice the
society has built in its history of upwards of a century and a half.
In the second house, the Dutchess Baptist Association was organized,
the first meeting being held in 1835.
In 1843 the Methodist society erected their house of worship. Pre-
vious to that year their gatherings were held at schoolhouses, or in
some of the more roomy dwellings. Their first preacher was a Rev.
Mr. Thatcher, who assisted in the organization of the church. The
meeting was held for this purpose at the residence of B. P. Meyers.
Leonard Winans gave the timber for the frame of the new church.
During the first twenty years or so of its existence, this society was
under one pastorate with the Methodist church at Pine Plains ; but
was subsequently for many years united with the society at Milan.
The present pastor is Rev. W. B. Sleep.
There is a neat Catholic church in the village of Bangall, at which
regular services are held. This is an outlying mission of the church
at Milbrook, and the services are conducted by the resident priest of
that parish.
The Quaker Society was organized very early in the history of the
town. They have a substantial house of worship, and services are
held with good attendance. The pulpit is supplied by Rev. A. G.
Shepard, of the Society of Friends at Clinton Corners. The Friends
burying ground is at a little distance from the church, and the number
of marble slabs betokens that the membership during the century of
its history must have been considerable. The Wings, the Hulls, the
Guernseys and Uptons were members of this church. The present
house of worship was built by the orthodox faction after the "Sepa-
ration" in 1828, and stands on a commanding knoll on the banks of
the Wappingers, in the village of Stanfordville.
The Christian church of Stanfordville was established some time
previous to 1840. The parent church was at Milan, whose pastor,
Rev. Joseph Marsh, did mission work here, finally organizing the
church. Mrs. Abigail Hoag Roberts administered to the spiritual
and temporal wants of the people throughout this and adjacent locali-
TOWN OF STANFORD, 457
ties. Her son, Rev. Philetus Roberts, was pastor of this church for
thirty years.
Among its first members were Amos Knapp, and a Mr. Sherrill, the
former giving the land on which the church was built, to be used by
them whenever they chose, and when not in use by them the church
could be used by any denomination, and In the event of the Christian
denomination ceasing to exist, then the property should revert to him
or to his heirs. Rev. Mr. Butler of Poughkeepsie supplies the pulpit.
The Christian Biblical Institute at Stanfordville was formed at a
session of the American Christian Convention held at Marshall, Mich.,
in 1866. The school was first opened at Starkey, Yates County, N.
Y., and in 1872 was removed to Stanfordville, or rather to a location
on the avenue between the villages of Stanfordsville and BangaU. The
Institute was incorporated in 1868. The property consists of a farm
of sixty acres, on which are farm buildings, a house for the president
of the school, and several houses for the students, and the building
called the Christian Biblical Institute. The latter was a gift in 1874
from the Hon. David Clark of Hartford, Conn.
The school was dedicated to the free instruction of Christian men
and women, of suitable capacity and recommendation, and whose
chosen life work was the Gospel ministry, without restriction as to
denomination. Another institution of similar purpose also being con-
ducted in a western city under the supervision of the American Chris-
tian Convention, it was deemed best to consolidate the two colleges,
and Stanford regretfully saw the school closed. The buildings and
farm are now on the market.
Families by the names of Thompson, Hunn, and Pugsley were for-
merly great land owners in the eastern part of the town. This sec-
tion furnishes some of the best land in the State, and their holdings
were valuable and productive. Now by reason of deaths and removal
there is scarcely a trace, by name at least, of those families, and the
farms are managed by tenant farmers.
The Carpenters, another leading family, still retain their property
in their own name, their business being managed by Mr. Wilson Car-
penter. Of this numerous family born in ancestral homes, may be
mentioned B. Piatt Carpenter, ex-County Judge and at one time Terri-
torial Governor of Montana, Jacob B, Carpenter, ex-Mayor of Pough-
458
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
keepsie, and Isaac S. Carpenter, three brothers, natives of the town,
and all achieving distinction.
Congressman Sherwood, of Ohio, frequently mentioned in Con-
gressional reports, is a native of this town.
Daniel and Stephen Guernsey were in their boyhood playing ball
and chasing cows barefooted over their pastures of Stanford. The
Butts family were among the ancient settlers of the town. Allison
Butts can tell you, if he wiU, of the cold spring on the ancestral farm,
where he quaffed the purest water at many a noontide, and from which
runs a stream large enough to turn a mill.
Upton's Lake was at one time quite a pleasure resort for Pough-
keepsians, fostered by the managers of the Poughkeepsie & Eastern
Railroad.
There are two grist mills at Bangall, one being run by John Knoed-
ler, and the other by William Haight. A mill near the Separate is
run by a Mr. Mosher; another at the outlet of Hunn's Lake is man-
aged by one Schmidt.
The Bordens have a plant at Bangall, established a few years ago,
which is doing a thriving business.
There are three stores at Bangall. G. E. Pulse conducts a general
merchandise store, as also do Andrew C. Smith and C. Couse & Son,
the latter having added a feed department. The postmaster here is
Samuel Cox.
Almon M. Harrison is a merchant at Stanfordville, and is also post-
master, having received his first appointment under Grover Cleveland
in May, 1894.
The Case Brothers are merchants also, doing business at Stanford-
ville.
There is a store and postoffice at Stissing, Charles Arnold, post-
master.
The following is the list of Supervisors of the town of Stanford from
its organization to the present time:
1795
Ezra Thompson
1816— '17
Jehiel Sherril
1796
Joseph Carpenter
1818— '20
Leonard Barton
1797— '02
Zachariah Mosher
1821— '23
Gilbert Thorne
1803— '04
Isaac Huntling
1824
Leonard Thompson
1905-S-'06
John Thompson
182S— '26
Jonathan Haight
1807— '16
Jeremiah Sherril
1827— '28
Jacob Sisson
TOWN OF STANFORD,
459
1829— '30
Leonard Barton
1863
WiUiam H. Tripp
1831— '33
Gilbert Thorne
1864
George Peck
1833
Isaac Thompson
1865
Mulford ConkUn
1834r-'3S
Benjamin Conger
1866— '67
Andrew C. Warren
1836
Morgan Huntting
1868— '69
William H. Tripp
1837— '38
John Thompson
1870
Mulford Conklin
1839— '40
William H. Stewart
1871— '73
Andrew C. Warren
1841
Harris Smith
1874
Silas W. Germond
1842— '43
Egbert Austin
1875
Silas O. Rogers
1844
Rufus Smith
1876
OUver K. Smith
1845
Stephen G. Guernsey
1877— '79
Isaac Carpenter
1846— '47
John H. Otis
1880— '83
John W. Butts
1848— '49
OrriUe Sackett
1883
Andrew C. Warren
1850
Amos B. Knapp
188*-'86
Charles H. Humphrey
1851
Alfred Mosher
1887— '88
Smith Knapp
Charles H. Humphrey
1852
Henry Rikert
1889— '90
1853— '64
Ezra Bryan
1891
Smith Knapp
1855
Jacob B. Carpenter
1893
George E. Rodgers
1856
C. N. CampbeU
1893-'99
Edwin Knickerbocker
1857- '58
E. M. Vanderburgh
1900— '03
Creorge H. Kinney
1859
Isaac S. Carpenter
1904— 'OS
Edwin Coflto
1860
C. N. Campbell
1906— '07
William Stewart
1861— '63
Isaac G. Sands
1908— '09
Willett Hicks
460 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXXn.
THE TOWN OF UNION VALE.
Bt Philip H. Smith.
THE town of Union Vale was erected March 1, 1827, and in-
cludes territory formerly comprised in the towns of Beek-
man and "Freedom," now La Grange. Its surface is a hilly
upland, intersected by a broad valley extending north and south.
This valley is known far and wide as "The Clove," its limits extending
beyond the town borders, and was an important landmark in the early
history of the region.
The Clove Kill is a tributary of the Fishkill, flowing southwesterly
through the town. This territory was a portion of the Beekman
Patent, and settlement is supposed to have begun about the year 1716.
Oswego and Verbank are hamlets. Among the early settlers we find
the names of Livingston, Potter, Abel, Morey, Reed, Uhl, Cline and
Wilkinson.
William Coe and Peter Emigh settled on adjoining farms here in
1740. In that year the stone house was built, now standing, on the
Emigh homestead, at present iu possession of a grandson of William.
Many people every season make a pilgrimage to this relic of by-gone
days. It is a large, two-story structure, in good repair notwithstand-
ing its age. It was built when slaves were employed on the farm. In
front of this house, exactly eight feet distant, stood the slave house,
with doors opposite. In this latter the slaves lived. A peculiarity
of this building was, that although it was the home of the farm slaves,
there was not a window in it.
On the farm is the Emigh family burying ground, in the center of
a large cultivated field, with walls broken down, and monument stones
of slate slabs taken from tjie fields, and names and dates rudely
chiseled thereon. In a comer of the same field was the burial place
of the slaves, but now all evidence of graves has disappeared. The
descendants are many of the pioneer Emigh, who redeemed this farm
TOWN OF UNION VALE. 461
from the wilderness, whose broad acres are now owned by William V.
Coe, grandson of the pioneer settler of the farm adjoining.
William Coe, the neighbor of Peter Emigh, was a tan currier, who
had a tannery near David Moore's hotel, and marketed his sides of
leather (which took months of soaking in his vats to prepare, instead
of a few hours of preparation as at present) in New York, driving
over the country to Poughkeepsie or Low Point, and shipping by
sloop.
On this Emigh homestead is the far-famed Clove Spring. This is
a natural fountain of the purest water, from which flows a stream
equivalent to an ordinary mill-race. The spring itself is seventy-
five feet across.
The Clove Spring Trout Company, an association of New York
gentlemen, have utilized the waters of this spring in the construction
of ten ponds, each fourteen by sixty feet, in which are twenty-two
thousand trout, assorted into five sizes; the last pond containing two
thousand two-pound trout. These are soon to be let loose in the ad-
jacent streams, to be angled for when the "law is up." About eighty
pounds of fresh beef is ground up daily for their consumption.
The Clove Valley Rod and Gun Club is another association of
wealthy gentlemen of sportsman taste, as the name implies. They
have leased the old ore mine property for a term of years, and erected
a large club house, where they are at liberty to come at pleasure. By
a payment of a small annual fee to the farmers they have secured the
right to hunt and fish over miles of adjacent territory. The com-
pany has lately invested thousands of dollars in the acquisition of
rights and in erecting buildings for the use of the club.
The Watts de Peyster Home for Invalid Children is located three
and one-half miles east of Verbank. The property of one hundred
acres and a large brick and stone building with capacity for fifty
children was given by the late General John Watts de Peyster. The
Home is open to all children eligible to admission, regardless of race,
color, or religious belief. Children between two and twelve years of
age having any ailment that is not acute, contagious, or infectious,
may be received. Boys may remain until fourteen years of age, girls
until eighteen.
The property is held in trust, and the work is mnged by deacon-
esses of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is supported by volun-
tary contributions.
462 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Patrons of Husbandry of the town have a commodious hall,
and the society is growing in numbers and strength.
The Ebenezer Methodist Church was built in 1837, the original
cost, exclusive of labor, being about $800.00. William Coe, Peter
G. Emigh and Jonathan G. Vincent were the original trustees. From
the date of the erection of the church edifice to the present time, up-
wards of seventy years, the society has enjoyed unbroken services.
The pulpit is now supplied by Rev. N. O. Lent, of Lagrangeville.
South of this is a Catholic church, its attendants forming an out-
lying mission of the Sylvan Lake Church. Meetings are held here at
stated intervals.
The "Old Union Church" at Green Haven, frequently referred to
in the ecclesiastical documents of the county, and which was called the
"Old Union" as early as 1820, when there was not a house of worship
in the present town limits of Union Vale, is described to the writer as
a large building for the time, with a gallery at one end, a high pulpit
with seven or eight steps leading up to it, and a sounding board poised
over the preacher's head. In later years it was used only for enter-
tainments. Another "Old Union" stood on the Amos Denton farm,
perhaps older than the one at Green Haven. The materials of this
were removed to the farm of Vincent Williams, and converted into a
bam, where it still stands, good to battle with the storms of a half
century to come.
Li the early twenties of the last century a great revival occurred
in the old church at Green Haven. Farmers took their families a
distance of eight and ten miles. The religious enthusiasm reached
all over the town of Union Vale. This finally culminated in the erec-
tion of the first house of worship in the town, which was of the Chris-
tian denomination, and was erected in the field east of the residence
of William V. Coe, the site now marked by a gravestone laid flat on
the ground. The house was completed in the fall of 1824. About
this time a large class of believers had been organized under what they
termed the "Christian Liberty Departure," holding their meetings in
the "Old Union," just mentioned. Abigail Hoag Roberts came into
the vicinity; she was a preacher and a comforter; crowds came to
hear her, and calls for her services came from every quarter. Her
woTJt also contributed to the religious awakening throughout the
region.
TOWN OF UNION VALE. 463
Soon after the Civil War some of the members of the Clove Ceme-
tery Association began to discuss the expediency of having a church
edifice at the entrance to the cemetery. It was not convenient in bad
weather to hold funeral services two or three miles from the place of
burial. They therefore made the proposal that the Christian church
be taken down and removed some three miles south to its present loca-
tion. This was favorably considered by the church people, and in
1871 or '72 the removal was affected.
The Clove Cemetery is one of the neatest of rural cemeteries. There
are several fine monuments, and the walks and flowering plants are
kept in fine condition. A miniature lake is included within it.
Some score or more years ago a little chapel stood in the bend of
the road leading from Gardner Hollow to Beeknaan Furnace. This
unpretending house of worship was first erected, I am told, in the
town of Beekman. It was moved to this locality where it was used
for some time by some people of the Quaker denomination, and was
called the little Quaker church. It afterward passed into the hands
of another denomination, and was then known as the Union Cuyler
Mission. The edifice is now doing duty as an ordinary out-building,
"fallen from its high estate."
There are two ore mines here, neither of which is now being
operated. One is what is locally known as the "Brown Ore Mine,"
now a part of the estate of Frederick Mills, of Copake. This was
first opened in 1856 by Jeremiah and William Emigh. The other
mine is under the management of the Towers of Poughkeepsie when
in operation. Only a few years ago a hundred tons of ore were un-
earthed daily at these mines. Now, rusted machinery and buildings
falling rapidly into decay mark a spot once resonant with the hum
of industry.
The Factory Woods were so named because of a factory that once
stood on the stream above the Furnace Ford, where carding and
spinning were done; a fulling mill was established here at the same
time.
Verbank Station is a pretty little village that has sprung up on
the line of railroad, with its stores, residences, church and cemetery.
The old village lies a short distance from the station on the verdant
banks of the stream ; hence its name, Verbank. Formerly a cotton
mill and a paper mill were operated here ; the stream is now harnessed
to mills of another sort.
464
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Some years ago Quaker City, or Oswego, was the home of a fine
school for boys and girls. This was subsequent to the closing of the
boarding school at Nine Partners. The school was managed by the
Quakers; and a church of that denomination flourished here also.
The following is a Ust of Supervisors of the town of Union Vale
from its organization to the present time:
18S8
John WiUdnson
1863— '66
David D. Vincent
1829
Wmiam D. Wmiams
1867— '70
Joseph M. Cutler
1830— '31
Allen Butler
1871
Edward Congdon
1833— '34
Stoddard Judd
1873— '73
Weslejr Butts
1835— '36
Richard Vincent
1874r-'75
Henry L. Campbell
1837
John D. Snedecor
1876
Henry Bostwick
1838— '39
Leonard Vincent
1877
John U. Abel
1840— '41
James Uhle
1878
Frederick Hicks
1843
Andrew Northrop
1879
John U. Abel
1843
Richard Vincent
1880— '83
Isaac P. Vincent
1844— '45
David D. Vincent
1883
John W. Ross
1846
Isaac Vail
1884
Samuel D. Brownell
1847— '48
Jarvis Hall
1885
Chauncey P. Colwell
1849
Reuben L. Coe
188ft— '87
Prank T. Hall
1850
Robert Bennett
1888— '89
Heniy Bostwick
1861
Leonard Vincent
1890— '91
John U. Abel
1853
William W. Abd
1892— '93
Rutsen S. Hall
1853
Joseph M. Cutler
1894— '95
David B. Knapp
1854
David D. Vincent
1896— '98
Edwin G. Vail
1855— '56
Wilson Hawley
1899— '03
Elsworth L. Winans
1857
Lewis S. Davis
1903— '06
Frank F. Oakley
1858— '60
Daniel W. Odell
1907— '09
George H. Barlow
1861— '62
WiUiam R. Bagley
CLINTON W. CLAPP.
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 465
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE TOWN OF WAPPINGER.
By Clinton W. Clapp.
THE town of Wappinger, originally a part of the town of Fish-
kill, was erected May 20, 1875, and lies wholly within the
limits of the Rombout patent granted in 1685. It is bounded
on the north by LaGrange; east by Sprout creek, which separates it
from East FishkiU; south by Fishkill, and on the west by Wappinger
creek and the Hudson river.
Territorially it is the smallest town in Dutchess County, covering
16,025 acres, but in point of population and industrial activity it is
one of the most important.
Wappingers Falls, the principal village. in the town, is situated at
the head of navigation on Wappinger creek, about two miles above
its confluence with the Hudson, and the same distance from New Ham-
burgh, a station on the N. Y. C. & H. R. railroad, with which it is
connected by stage. An ielectric railway connects the village with
the city of Poughkeepsie.
The village lies on both sides of the creek, having been made to
include the village of Channingville, in the town of Poughkeepsie, by
its incorporation, September 22, 1871. The first board of trustees
was composed of Samuel Brown, Joseph D. Harcourt and R. W. Nel-
son. Matthew Cottam was chosen the first village president.
The locality of the first projected settlement in the county was at
the mouth of the Wappinger creek in the year 1659, and, had it been
successful, would doubtless have changed the preponderant character
of the pioneers. In that year 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 juris-
diction." With a view to locating this grant, an exploring party
466 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
proceeded during the summer to Beverwyck (Albany), and after ex-
amining the east bank of the Hudson, they announced their intention
to establish a village near the mouth of the Wappinger creek. As
this spot was difficult of access overland from the settled parts of
New England, the projectors applied to the Dutch authorities solicit-
ing the right of passage through the Hudson. Director Stuyvesant,
forseeing the injury which such settlement would work on the Dutch
interests in New Netherland, declined the right of free passage, and
the New Englanders, after a wordy encounter, abandoned the project.
Among the earliest land-holders within the present town limits were
the Van Benschotens, who located in the neighborhood of New Hacken-
sack. The name of "Elias Van Benschoten" appears in the list of
inhabitants in the county in 1714. An early land transfer in the
northeast part of the town bears date of August 15, 1728, wherein
Gulian, Mary and Anne Verplanck, in right of their deceased father,
conveyed a tract of three hundred acres to "John Muntross" of Dutch-
ess County, the consideration being £83. In the same year Stephen
Van Rensselaer, a son-in-law of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, who was one
of the partners of the Rombout purchase, sold to Gideon Ver Valin
745 acres of land north of the Verplanck tract. Johannes Schurrie
was another early settler in the north part of the town. He came,
about 1740, from Hackensack, N. J., from which the hamlet of New
Hackensack derives its name. He settled on the land which subse-
quently became the Diddle, Rowe and Wicks farms, and built three
stone houses. The Diddle farmhouse is standing to-day, on which are
inscribed the figures 1753.
Others who settled on the Van Cortlandt and Verplanck tracts
about the middle of the eighteenth century were Adolphus and Nicho-
las Brewer, John Schuyler, Peter Teller, Samuel Bayard, Samuel
Thorn and Joseph Vail. Later arrivals were Peter Mesier, John
Hughson and the Rev. William Seward.
The Mesier family were natives of France and fled to Holland to
escape religious persecution. Pierre Mesier came to New Amster-
dam in 1659. His descendants, Adam and Peter Mesier, were mer-
chants in New York City, and accumulated much wealth during the
Revolution. They were ardent Tories and gave much aid to the
British army. Peter came to Wappinger in 1777, and through
Malthew Van Benschoten purchased 422 acres of land of Nicholas
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 467
Brewer, which included the house now known as the Mesier home-
stead in the village park at Wappingers Falls. The land was con-
veyed to Van Benschoten April 14th, and May 1st, 1777, was trans-
ferred to Mesier. When the American army regained possession of
New York City, the Mesier property in Barclay and Cortlandt
streets was confiscated, and shortly thereafter the Mesier family made
their home at Wappinger, where Peter maintained his thrift and added
to his estate by other purchases, including the "Yellow' and the "Red"
mills on the east side of Wappinger creek with 160 acres of land.
He died in 1805, and left his property to his three sons, Mathew,
Abram and Peter, Jr., with the provision that they give to each of
their five sisters $6,000. Mesier Park and Mesier Avenue perpetuate
the name in the village. •
Adolphus Brewer was a miller and millwright from Holland. He
built the "Yellow" mill at Wappingers Falls, which had a capacity of
one hundred barrels of flour per day, and also erected several dwell-
ing. He died in early life. His brother, Nicholas, built the Mesier
homestead and the old hbrary building. The latter was a large two-
story house, and had the appearance of a hotel. It was partially de-
stroyed by fire and was replaced by what is now known as the "Smith
Block." Nicholas also built the "Red" mill and dock at the head of
tide water. Vessels drawing six feet of water could come to this dock.
Nicholas Brewer died in 1787. His sons, John D. and Nicholas, Jr.,
came into possession of his property. Nicholas, Jr., and Henry Ter
Boss were shipbuilders and had a shipyard near the present plant of
the Gas Company. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of water could come
up to this shipyard. Mathew Mesier had a sloop built there for the
shipment of flour, and a number of gunboats were built at this yard
in 1812 for the United States Government.
February 28, 1819, a freshet of extraordinary force destroyed
many mills on the banks of the Wappinger, and carried away every
bridge from Salt Point to the Hudson. The Main street bridge at
Wappingers Falls was immediately rebuilt. It was a covered struc-
ture with windows on each side. It was replaced in 1852 by a stone
bridge thirty feet wide, which in 1884 was widened to sixty feet.
Another serious freshet occurred January 3, 1841. It swept away
Given's cotton mill, the print works dam, and a house below the foun-
dry. The bridges, however, remained intact.
468 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In 1832, Mr. James Ingham, a native of Manchester, England,
established at "the Falls," a plant for calico printing, now known as
the Dutchess Print Works. In 1835 the business was sold to the
"Dutchess Company," in which Thomas Gamer, who had been Mr.
Ingham's agent, was the principal owner. Mr. Garner's associates
were D. R. Mangam and L. M. Thorn. In 1866 Mangam & Thorn
withdrew and were succeeded by S. W. Johnson. Shortly afterwards
Mr. Garner died, and his real estate and business interests were trans-
ferred by will to his son, William T. Gamer, who was drowned by the
capsizing of his yacht in June, 1876. The same year William Bogle
assimied the management of the plant, and later became superintendent
of all of Garner & Company's interests in Wappinger. In 1898 Mr.
Bogle died, and the management of the business has since been in the
hands of his son, John Bogle.
The industry has become one of the most important and extensive
in Dutchess County. The business received a great impetus with the
invention of machines for printing from copper rollers. Originally
occupying but a single building of small dimensions, the plant now
covers many acres of ground, and new buildings have been repeatedly
erected in response to the increased demands for the productions of
this concern. Over one thousand persons are given employment, and
the daily output averages from twenty-five to thirty tons of calicoes
and ahittings.
The Franklindale Cotton Company, whose plant was destroyed by
fire in 1885, was also the property of Messrs. Gamer & Co., by whom
it was purchased in 184)4, The site and water power was first utilized
by Benjamin Clapp, who bought the site from the Mesiers and erected
a building, the lower floor of which he occupied in the manufacture of
mahogany veneering. The second floor was rented to Cook & Low,
who were engaged in the manufacture of combs, while the upper story
was used as a drying room foi* the print works.
The cotton mill operated 10,000 spindles, and produced 250,000
yards of cloth per week. It gave employment to about 126 persons.
Peter MeKinley was the first agent after the mill came into the hands
of the Franklindale Company, and his brother, Daiiiel, was superin-
tendent. Peter died in 1869, and was succeeded by Matthew Cottam.
The plant was under the management of William Bogle at the time of
its destruction.
THOMSON E. GORING.
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 469
The Clinton Company was organized in 1846 with a capital of
$100,000, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton goods. Thomas
Garner was the principal stockholder. A three-story stone building,
50 by 210 feet, was erected on the site of the "Yellow" flour mill. The
capacity of the plant was about the same as that of the Franklindale
Company. It was burned June 19, 1855, and never rebuilt. The
name, however, exists in the supervision of all the tenement property
of Gamer & Co., numbering several hundred buildings, which are
rented mainly to the operators in the print works.
The Independent Comb Company, composed of Levi Cook and
Emery Low, was formed in 1828. The business was later conducted
by James Shields, Israel T. Nichols, and E. D. Sweet. They em-
ployed at one time about three hundred hands, and tjie industry became
quite lucrative. In 1854 the partnership was dissolved, and the mem-
bers of the firm retired. The business finally passed into the hands of
Elias Brown, who erected a new building for it ^t the comer of Fulton
and Prospect streets. It was burned in 1868, and immediately re-
built. Brown was succeeded by his sons, James and Samuel. Upon
the repeal of the tariff during Cleveland's second administration they
found that they could not compete with the German-made combs, and
the business was discontinued.
The R. J. Stuart Foundry, north of Drake's drawbridge on the
Wappinger creek, was originally located at Hughsonville. The in-
dustry was established by William Taylor, and has changed owner-
ship several times since it was sold to Hunt & Disbrow in 1852. The
plant was removed to its present location in 1873.
Sweet, Orr & Company. This firm was founded by James Orr, who
was the pioneer of the overall business. He commenced making over-
alls in California in 1849, and in 1871, came east and started a small
factory at Wappinger's Falls in company with his nephews, Clayton
E. and Clinton W. Sweet. The original factory was enlarged in
1876. There were then 250 employees, and a weekly product of
1,000 dozen pairs.
In 1880 there was need of greater faciHties for manufacturing, and
the firm decided to start an additional and larger factory in New-
burgh. Factories were subsequently opened in New York, Brooklyn,
Philadelphia, Port Jervis and Joliet, HI. Main ofiices and warerooms
of the company are situated in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
470 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The product now includes coats, trousers, and flannel and outing
shirts. Mr. T. E. Goring, formerly superintendent of the Wappinger
plant, is now manager of the Baanufacturing department. Mr. Orr
died in 1899, and Mr. Clayton E. Sweet died in 1909. The firm name
is still carried on as originally adopted.
The village of Chelsea, formerly known as Low Point or Carthage
Landing postoffice, had at one time a shipyard owned by Cornelius
Carman, where sloops and steamboats were launched. Its importance
as a place of river commerce was equal to that of the two landings, or
docks, at Fishkill, but it could not withstand the competition with
FishkiU Landing after John Peter De Wint had completed the Long
Dock, about 1815, with facilities for the shipment of produce from
the back country, notwithstanding Chelsea's deep water and other
advantages.
In the County Clerk's office at Poughkeepsie there is a map made
in 1812, entitled "A map of Carthage, in Dutchess County, at a place
called Low Point, on the Hudson, or North River." It shows the
plottings of a proposed village with several streets, including Liberty,
Spring, Union, Market, and North; also a Broadway.
Captain Charles P. Adriance, Solomon P. Hopkins and Gilbert S.
Hopkins conducted a freighting business from Low Point until 1856.
A large flour miU, operated by the late Starr B. Knox, stood on
the dock. The business proved unsuccessful, and the mill was allowed
to fall to ruin. Later an industry for the maniifactiire of cement,
for use in the first Poughkeepsie bridge, was started here. The busi-
ness was discontinued with the failure of the first bridge project in
1873.
Among the early residents of the neighborhood was Jacob Sebring,
who lived in a large white house overlooking the river, and built a
dock where he kept a yacht. He died about 1860. His widow, who
was formerly Miss Margaret Ackerman, survived him many years,
and gave the house and land to her nephew, Sebring Ackerman.
Another large house in the village was Gilbert Budd's, a cousin of
Underbill Budd, whose farm lay in the vicinity. Gilbert Budd had a
lumber yard, and was interested in the freighting business.
Starr B. Knox, the miller and Justice of the Peace, married for his
first wife the daughter of Benjamin Hopkins, of StormviUe, and his
second wife was Amy B., the daughter of John L. CoUyer. One of
their sons is now a mechanical engineer, and the other a clergyman.
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TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 471
recently appointed chaplain of Columbia University. The house now
owned by Captain Moses CoUyer was formerly the rectory of St.
Mark's Church, and stands on the site of the old one destroyed by fire.
CHUECHES.
The Rbpoemed Chuech or New Hackensack was organized in
1768. For several years services were held in private houses. In
1766 there were thirty-three members in full communion, and a wooden
church edifice built. This building was taken down in 1834, when the
present brick church was erected.
The first settled pastor was the Rev. Isaac Rysdyck, who served the
church from 1765 to 1789. He also ministered to the congregations
at Poughkeepsie, Fishkill and Hopewell. Dr. Rygdyck died in 1791,
and was buried beneath this church. In 1834 his remains were re-
moved to a plot in the adjoining graveyard.
The next pastor was the Rev. Nicholas Van Vraken, who was called
in 1791 and remained until 1804. He was followed by Rev. John
Barkalo, 1805-1810; Thomas De Witt, 1812-1826; W. W. Dwight,
1826-1833; Cornelius Van Cleef, 1833-1866; Henry Ward, 1867-
1887 ; William A. Dumont, 1888, who continues his labors to the pres-
ent time.
In the winter of 1900 Ellessdie Chapel, situated two miles north of
New Hamburg, on the river road, and which was built by Mr. James
Lenox in 1840, was taken down and removed to New Hackensack as
an auxiliary building to the Reformed Church. It was re-dedicated
to its present use October 21, 1901, the services being conducted by
the Rev. J. K. Wight, who for many years had supplied the pulpit of
Ellessdie at its former location.
Methodist Episcopai. Chuech of Wappingee's Falls. In 1824
preachers in the Dutchess circuit held Methodist services at the house
of Joseph G. Smith, near Middlebush. February 21, 1830, the "Mid-
dlebush M. E. Church" was organized, and Matthias Randolph, James
S. Green and John Finch were elected trustees. A lot with a build-
ing thereon suitable for a meeting house was purchased from William
B. and Caroline Phillips. For several years the pulpit was supplied
by circuit preachers.
In 1845 a Methodist Episcopal Society was organized at Wap-
pinger's Falls, and a small edifice erected on the west side of the creek
in what was then the village of Channingville.
472 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
It was decided in 1867 to consolidate the Middlebush and Wapping-
er's Falls churches. The former was too far from the rapidly grow-
ing village, and that at Channingville not large enough to meet the
demands of both. Accordingly, in April of the following year, the
lot now occupied by the Wappinger's Falls Methodist Episcopal
Church was purchased from the estate of Margaret Reese, for
$902.50, and the present church building erected at a cost of $14,-
866.83, the funds for which were mainly raised by the exertions of
Rev. A. C. Morehouse, who was appointed to the circuit in the spring
of 1869. Rev. F. A. Coons is the present pastor.
ZioN Peotestant Episcopal CHtracH. This church was estab-
lished at Wappinger's Falls in 1833, through the efforts of Rev.
Greorge B. Andrews, Matthew Mesier and Benjamin Clapp. The
corner stone of the edifice was laid November 15, 1834, and the church
consecrated by Bishop Onderdonk, of New York, May 6, 1836. Mat-
thew Mesier and Benjamin Clapp were chosen wardens; the vestry-
men were: Dr.J'eter D. Schenck^ Henry Mesier, William I, Hugh-
son, James Ingham, Daniel S. jGox, Emory Low and E. D. Sweet.
Rev. George B. Andrews, the first rector, served this church for a
period of forty-one years. He died August 20, 1874, and was buried
in the Wappinger's Falls cemetery. Subsequent rectors were H. Y.
Satterlee, J. N. Steele, Prescott Evarts and Rev. Dr. Pott.
The Pbesbyteeian Chtjuch at Wappinger's Falls owes its existence
and for many years much of its support, to Mrs. John Fisher Sheafe,
whose country seat was near New Hamburgh. She instructed the
Rev. John D. Wells, who was then preaching at Ellessdie Chapel, to
investigate the field at Wappingers and see if there was a call for a
church. This resulted in the organization of a Presbyterian Society
in 1848, and in the same year a church edifice was built for the con-
gregation by Mrs. Sheafe, on Fulton street. She also built the par-
sonage, gave it rent free, with $200.00 a year in addition toward the
support of the pastor. During the pastorate of Rev. O. A. Kings-
bury— 1870 to '73 — the property on Fulton street was sold, and the
present brick edifice on South avenue erected, to the expense of which
Mrs. Sheafe contributed generously. The new church was dedicated
July 25, 1872. Rev. William Parker is the present pastor.
T^E Baptist Church was organized at Wappinger's Falls in 1838.
Samuel Cushman, John Hodge and Peter Laurence were elected dea-
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 473
cons, and Benjamin Clapp, clerk. Mr. Clapp, who was formerly a
warden in Zion Episcopal Church, became converted to the Baptist
faith. He supplied a building for the use of the society, in which
services were held for nine years. The first pastor was the Rev. John
Johns. In 1846 the society decided to erect an edifice, and Mr. Clapp
donated a lot at the corner of South avenue and Prospect street. The
church was dedicated December 5, 1847, at which time Rev. Nathan
A. Reed was pastor. Mr. Clapp died in 1872, and bequeathed to the
church $2,500.00 for a parsonage. Mr. Clapp's heirs added $2,000
to the bequest, and the parsonage was built in 1873. Extensive im-
provements were made to the church building in 1883. The present
pastor. Rev. Charles S. Hutchinson, was installed May 1, 1907.
Ths Methodist Episcopal Chttrch at Chelsea. This society was
organized in 1823, and erected a house of worship in 1833, at a cost
of $950.00, at which time the following trustees were in office: Elijah
Budd, John H. Brinckerhoff, Felix Shurter, Henry I. Brinckerhoff
and Garret B. Brinckerhoff. In 1870, under the pastorate of Rev.
Samuel MacCutcheon, about $1,600.00 was expended on improvements
to the church building. The parw)nage was built and furnished in
1890, at a cost of $2,200. Rev. Samuel P. Gallaway is the present
pastor.
St. Makk's Chtiech, Chelsea, was built about 1867, and consecrated
soon after by the late Horatio Potter, Bishop of New York. The
church owes its origin to the efforts of Mr. William Henry Merritt,
who met an untimely death, together with his wife {nee Scrysmer),
and his sister, when passengers on the Steamship Atlantic in 1873.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Hart, Mrs. Gilbert Collins and her daugh-
ters, Mr. and Mrs. William S. Verplanck and daughters, Mr. Samuel
Verplanck, Captain Charles Adriance and his daughters, Mr and Mrs.
John Shurter, Mr. and Mrs. TapHn and daughters, the Misses Hop-
kins, the family of Captain John L. CoUyer, Mr. Starr B. Knox, Miss
Pauline MacKinnon and others also took prominent parts in estab-
lishing the church.
Dr. Frederick W. Shelton was the first resident rector, and he con-
tinued such until his death in 1881. Dr. Shelton was a graduate of
Princeton, and soon became a writer of distinction. His "Up River
Letters," "Salander and the Dragon," and several poems, are among
his noteworthy works. The church has lost support and attendance
474 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
during the past fifteen years, owing to the removal or death of many
of its former parishioners, and it is now a mission under the arch-
deaconary of Dutchess County.
The Pbesbtteeian Chuech at Hughsonville. In 1840 the Rev.
Eliphalet Price, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at New Ham-
burgh, built a meeting house at Hughsonville, to be used as a mission
in connection with the New Hamburgh church. Services were con-
ducted by supplies from various churches until 1892, when the Rev.
Calvin Wright was installed as pastor, and new life given to the
church. The Rev. Mr. Dowerty supplied the pulpit from October,
1908, to March, 1909, when he was installed as pastor.
A sketch of the Roman Catholic Church at Wappinger's Falls will
be found in a subsequent chapter.
The Geinnell Libeaey Association. The Griimell Library is a
local institution in which the people of Wappinger's Falls deservedly
take much pride. This beautiful Swiss-chalet like library building
crowning Main street hiU at the entrance to the village park, was the
joint gift of Mr. and Mrs. Irving Grinnell to the people of Wap-
pinger's Falls.
For some years Mr. Grinnell maintained a library and reading room
in the old Mesier residence at the comer of Main and Market streets.
Mrs. E. A. Howarth was its librarian, and its limited accommodations
were soon outgrown. In 1887 Mr. Grinnell built the present build-
ing, and April ^(^,- 1888, transferred to the trustees of the Grinnell
Library Association the control and management of the library, to be
held by them in trust for the village. The original board of trustees
consisted of the following: Hon. John Thompson, Francis R. Rives,
Dr. Clarence Satterlee, William Henry Reese, Samuel Mansfield, Elias
Brown, William Bogle, Clinton W. Clapp, James Marlor, William
Halliwell, John Brennan, Hugh B. Dougherty, William K. Roy and
Arminius W. Armstrong. A charter, approved by Justice Joseph
F. Barnard, had been granted under the laws of the State of New
York on January SO, 1888. The board organized by electing the
Hon. Francis R. Rives, president; Arminus W. Armstrong, vice-
president; William Bogle, treasurer, and Wilham K. Roy, secretary.
Dr. Clarence Satterlee was chairman of the Library Committee, and
WiHiam Halliwell, chairman of the Real Estate Committee. Mrs. E.
A. Howarth was appointed librarian, and the Hbrary, well organized
WALTER P. MILLARD.
TOWN OF WAPPINGER. 475
and equipped, started on its career of ever increasing prosperity and
usefulness.
It is a subscription library, with the price of tickets placed at a
nominal sum. The library is entirely self-supporting, and according
to its last quarterly report, had 323 subscribers. There were 7,769
volumes on its shelves. The total circulation of the three months was
3,000. The present officers are: W. Henry Reese, president; Wil-
liam Halliwell, vice-president; William A. Brewster, treasurer, and
William K. Roy, secretary.
The Wappingers Savings Bank was incorporated April 23, 1869,
with the following officers: Samuel W. Johnson, president; Israel T.
Nichols and Dennis Sheehan, vice-presidents; Clayton E. Sweet, sec-
retary and treasurer. Of the original board of trustees, Irving Grin-
nell and William B. Millard are the only two now living. Mr. James
S. Roy is president of the institution, and William A. Brewster is the
treasurer.
The Wappinger's Falls National Bank, incorporated February 1,
1909, with a capital of $25,000, is a great accommodation to the
citizens of Wappinger's Falls and vicinity. Mr. John C. DuBois is
president, and William Tanner, cashier.
The following is the succession of Supervisors for the thirty-four
years of the town's existence:
1875— '77
James A. Seward
1889— '90
George Wood
1877— '79
James W. P. Lawson
1891
William A. Brewster
1880
Elias Brown
1893
William J. Brown
1881— '84
Isaac O. Norris
189S— '95
William A. Parker
188S— '86
Clinton W. Clapp
1896— '99
James R. Barlow
1887
John P. Monfort
1900— '01
Reginald W. Rives
1888
William H. H. Stoutenburgh
1903— '09
John O. Farrell
[The sketches of the village of Chelsea and of St. Mark's Church were con-
tributed by William E. Verplanck, Fishkill-on-the-Hudson.]
476 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE TOWN OF WASHINGTON.
By Rev. John Edwaed Ltall.
LOCATION. The town of Washington has a central position in the
county. Its territory belonged to the tract known as the Lower,
or Great Nine Partners' Patent, which was granted by royal
charter to Col. Caleb Heathcote, James Emmott, Henry Filkins, Hen-
drick Ten Eyck, Augustus Graham, William Creed, John Aertson,
David Marshall and David Jameson.
This fact is stated on page 409 in the first book of deeds, in the
County Clerk's office, as follows: "Whereas, by letters patent under
the broad seal of the Province of New York, being dated May 27, in
the year of our Lord 1697, remaining of record in the Secretary's
office in the City of New York, his late Majesty, King William III, did
grant and confirm unto Col. Caleb Heathcote and eight other persons
in the same letters patent mentioned, all that certain tract of vacant
land situate and lying on the Hudson River," then follows a descrip-
tion of the tract.
A map of the tract, dated 1734, is also to be seen there, together with
a blue copy of it. Both show the divisions into mile-wide strips east
and west (and the sub-divisions of each strip), extending from the
boundary liae between the Province of New York and the Colony of
Connecticut, to and including "Fishe Creeke" (now known as Crum
Elbow Creek). Then, of course, must be added the nine narrow
"water lots" which extend to the river shore, below the mouth of the
creek.
At the first organization of Dutchess County by the provincial gov-
ernment on November 1, 1683, its divisions were called precincts, and
contained much more territory than our towns. This town, with
St^ford, Clinton and Pleasant Valley, was constituted a precinct just
previous to the Revolution, and was named Charlotte Precinct, after
Charlotte of Mecklenburg, who became queen to George III.
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 477
The name Washington was given on March 7, 1788, by the State
Legislature when the State was reorganized into twelve counties, one
of which retained the name of Dutchess (which then included Putnam).
The county was divided into twelve towns and here is the description
of Washington:
"All that part of the County of Dutchess bounded southerly by the town of
Beekman, westerly by Poughkeepsie and Clinton (now Pleasant Valley), northerly
by the north bounds of a tract of land called the Lower or Great Nine Partners,
easterly by the easternmost line of lots of the general division heretofore made of
the said tract of land called the Lower or Great Nine Partners, shall be and hereby
is erected into a town by the name of Washington."
The origin of the name is obviouSj but it is not certain that Wash-
ington was ever in the town, though the writer has been told many
times that he spent a night in a house in Washmgton Hollow, as he
was crossing from some point on the Hudson to his headquarters on
Quaker Hill. The town was reduced to its present limits when by an
act of the Legislature, March 12, 1798, the northern part was erected
into the town of Stanford.
The Pkesent Limits. According to the latest survey, Washing-
ton contains a little less than sixty square miles, 36,256 acres, being
about eight and a half miles east and west and seven miles north and
south. Its general average elevation, from six to eight hundred feet,
and the absence of any considerable body of water, give healthfulness,
comparative freedom from a humid atmosphere, and render it one of
the healthiest sections anywhere to be found. A study of vital sta-
tistics has shown a much smaller mortality among children than obtains
elsewhere, and indicates a greater average longevity.
Elevation. There are many hills 1000 feet above tide-water, some
1100, 1200 and 1300 feet, and one elevation east of Little Rest 1344
feet high.
Industby. The industry of the town is almost entirely agricultural,
and many of the farms within a few miles of the railroads have daries,
carrying their milk daily to the condensing factories or shipping it to
the city.
Land. Some of the land is rough, with the underlying slate very
near the surface and cropping out in barren ridges, yet many are the
broad valleys and rich plateaus where the soil is equal to any in the
county. In the western half of the town the Dutchess slate loam pre-
vails, while in the eastern half the Dutchess silt loam is more abundant.
478 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
At Little Rest and again east of Lithgow there are many acres of
Merrimac gravelly or sandy loam, and the same conditions occur both
north and south of Washington Hollow. While in the valley of Wash-
ington Hollow and extending in a narrow strip so as to include much
of the land of John Ham, is the Huntington silt loam. This is almost
the only land of this character in the whole town. There is one other
patch (say 150 acres) in the extreme northeast of the town, and it
occurs along the banks of some streams in narrow strips.
Roads. Washington has 121 miles of public roads which have a
good reputation among those who visit the town, and have for a long
time been the just pride of its citizens.
The old Dutchess Turnpike, which was chartered in 1805, crosses
the town from Washington Hollow to the east, dividing near Wash-
ington HoUow into its north and' south branches, the former leading
to Amenia and Sharon, and the latter through Little Rest, Dover
Plains and on to Kent, Conn.
In 1888, soon after the great blizzard of March 12, the corporation
surrendered its charter, gave to the town a deed of its property within
the town limits, and its sixteen miles became part of the public sys-
tem. The town is also crossed from north to south by the Newburgh,
Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad, which was built and equipped in
1869 by the enterprise of George Hunter Brown, whose coming
brought so many other things for the development and enlightenment
of this and surroimding towns.
Streams — ^Wateb. Powee. A small but noteworthy stream crosses
the town, rising in the hills near Little Rest, where it has an elevation
of nearly 800 feet and where there is a gristmill on the farm of Stephen
Deuel. (There were formerly two mills in Little Rest.) This ndll is
one of the oldest buildings in the county, having stood for about two
hundred years, and its giant oak posts and floor timbers of the same
size, more than a foot thick and wider still, may stand for two hundred
years more, so solid is the entire structure.
The stream flows northeasterly toward MabbetsviUe, crossing the
Sharon turnpike, where for years was the Warner miU, thence to Mill-
brook, where are five dams within a distance of a mile, one to form a
lake on the estate of Mr. Charles F. Deitrich, another just below it
but«not now in use as a water power, a third at the fine modem mill
built by Mr. Deitrich, a fourth at the milk condenser, and a fifth at
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 479
/
the mill of the late R. S. Haight. From here the direction is westerly
until it leaves the town near the old Bloomvale cotton mills (now in
ruins) at an elevation of only 275 feet. This stream, with its 500
feet of fall, once attracted greater enterprises than at present, and
now that water power can be transferred,, it awaits the genius and
enterprise of someone who will use it to furnish electric power to pro-
pel electric cars through our town, should we feel the need of such a
convenience to connect us with our neighboring State, and with our
county seat.
In 1813 there was a fulling mill at Hartsville, built by Philip Hart,
who owned 1000 acres and gave existence and his name to the village.
Near the same point in 1820 came a plant for cutting dyewoods, owned
and managed by the firm of Gifford, Sherman &^Innis. About 1837
the firm of Merrit & Haviland bought the water power at Hartsville
and built three large cotton mills. Later a silk mill flourished here
also, and a spoke factory.
Another manufactory of the town was established in 184!5 by Beriah
Swift, just south of the Millbrook Inn, for manufacturing coffee mills.
This plant afterward came into the possession of John and Wilham
Lane, who did a large business, shipping these mills to all parts of the
world. They added to the output of their factory, wheel rakes, door
rollers, wagon jacks, plow shares and other small castings, and were
doing a large business when they moved their plant to Poughkeepsie
and soon after sold the house and farm connected with it to the Mill-
brook Inn Co. In 1890 this company soon reconstructed the old
house, and with the large additions, transformed it into one of the
finest inns to be found anywhere in the country.
Town Recokss. It is not to the praise of those who had the man-
agement of public affairs that no records have been kept, back of 1866.
There is not a road survey, nor even a list of the town officers, nor any
statement of the part which the town took in County, State or National
affairs. Any facts of early town history depend upon tradition or
must be verified by records of the County, or public documents of the
State or Nation.
In 1778 an army of British soldiers, more than 5000 in number,
marched across our town as prisoners of war. They were the troops
of General Burgoyne, who surrendered to General Gates at the battle
of Saratoga in October, 1777. - The terms of surrender were that
y
480 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
these troops were to embark from Boston to England, under a prom-
ise not to serve the King "against the United States during this war."
Greneral Gates sent his report to Congress, instead of to Washing-
ton, and Congress did not ratify the terms made by Gates. After a
while, therefore, the prisoners were marched from Boston to Charlott-
ville, Va:;, where the most of them were held as prisoners until the
close of the war. It was necessary in sending such a number of men
across the country to keep them within the lines of the American
army, and to do this they must be taken across the Hudson River
above the Highlands.
General Washington had distributed his army after the battle of
Monmouth along the south side of the Highlands from the Hudson
to Daiibury, Conn., and at a corresponding latitude on the west
side of the river and the prisoners were conducted across Dutchess
County, through Amenia, MabbettsviUe, Little Rest, Verbank, Ar-
thursburgh, Hopewell Junction, and crossed the Hudson River at
Fishkill Landing to Newburgh.
Stephen Deuell remembers hearing his grandmother say that she
saw them pass through Little Rest, and that they were Hessians.
Probably some of them were, as General Burgoyne was assisted by
Baron Riedesel and General Specht, who commanded the German
troops. Madam Riedesel was among the prisoners, and her diary
mentions the principal places through which the captives marched.
In 1866 George Hunter Brown was elected Supervisor, and George
Lawton, Town Clerk, and a sense of the value of records seems to
have been born with their advent.
Alms House. The town is also the seat of the County Alms
House. When it was thought wise to separate the poor of Pough-
keepsie from the paupers of the townships, David S. Tallman,
John Ferris and Albert Emans were appointed by the State Legis-
lature on April 7, 1863, to take the whole matter in hahd. They
sold the old Alms House near Poughkeepsie, bought the present poor
farm of Daniel H. Lyons and his wife Hannah, built and furnished an
Alms House and transferred the towns' poor to it October 3, 1864.
This was a frame structure and served well the purpose for forty
years, when the present house was built of brick, with all the modern
conveniences, at a cost of more than $60,000, in 1903.
The first Superintendent of County Poor was Edgar M. Vande-
JOHN M. HAM.
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 481
burgh, who held the office for six years, his successors and their terms
of office being as follows ; Walter Woddell, six years ; Charles LaDue,
three years; D. S. Tallman, three years; James Russell, six years;
Myron Smith, nine years; Isaac N. Carman, twelve years.
Villages — Hartsville. The villages that are, and have been, are
Hartsville, now a part of Millbrook, where is the greatest fall in the
brook, before mentioned, and where the manufacturing interests of
the town chiefly centered. There is a picturesque gorge here, not
easily seen from the highway, which is well worth a visit both below
and above the Daheim mills.
Mabbettsville was at first called Filkintown, after one of the Nine
Partners, because, it has been said by a former historian, he presented
the inhabitants with a barrel of rum. Its present name was from
one of the most prominent families of early times. If history's trage-
dies could teach temperance, MabbettsviUe would have a history worth
preserving. The late John Comstock, when an old man, once told the
writer that he had recalled the young men, whose lives had been
blighted and destroyed by strong drink in connection with the Mab-
bettsville tavern and the cider press which long thrived there, and
said, "I can count more than three hundred young men whose lives
have come to a sad end before they had lived out half their days."
Truly "Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging and whoso is
deceived thereby is not wise." No wonder John Comstock was a
strong advocate and liberal supporter of the temperance cause.
But Mabbettsville has had better things. Here a union Sabbath
School was formed in 1867, which prospered to such an extent that
through the liberal gifts of the inhabitants and the large benevolence
of George Hunter Brown, a beautiful chapel was built at a cost of
more than $11,000. It was a branch work of the Millbrook Re-
formed Church, and continued for years to be an uplifting influence
to all that region until the rise of Millbrook so near to it, and the
establishing of several churches there, when it seemed unnecessary to
continue the services longer, and the chapel was removed, with the
intention of having it do duty to a better advantage elsewhere.
Little Rest probably owes its name to the fact that in the days
which antedated railroads, when there was a very large passenger and
produce traffic by wagon between the Hudson River and Connecticut,
the wagons and stages which had no accommodations at this point for
482 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
spending the night, were accustomed to stop here briefly to water and
rest the horses and oxen.
LiTHGOw probably owes its name to some Scotchman, whose memo-
ries took him back to his ancestral heath. It is a small hamlet near
the eastern line of the town, and contains a Methodist Church, and a
Protestant Episcopal Church which is one of the oldest churches of
that denomination in the State. It antedates the organization of the
diocese of New York and existed under royal charter, and its first
services were held in private houses.
One of the Nine Partners gave the land upon which the first
church building was erected, in 1834, which was burned on March
22, 1880. A new building was consecrated August 4, 1881. A rec-
tory stands by the church, in which the clergyman lived, who also had
charge of the work in MiUbrook, until Grace Church in that village
became the far more important part of his parochial duties.
A short distance east of Lithgow is the home of Isaac Smith Whea-
ton, which is interesting because of its age, its construction and some
items in its history. It was built about 1760 by David Johnston, a
Scotchman, who had attained success in business and eminence in
public affairs. The ceilings of the lower story of the house are twelve
feet high and quite in contrast with all American houses of that period.
Johnston was a slave holder, and there is tradition that he owned
thirty slaves.
Isaac Smith bought the property in 1813. He was also a slave
holder, at least his father's will, dated Jime 26, 1794, contains the
following: "I do give to my sons, Piatt Smith and Isaac Smith, to
be divided equally between them, all my real estate * * * also
all my negroes." In 1821 Homer Wheaton, just graduated from
Hamilton College, came to Lithgow as tutor to the children of Isaac
Smith, and afterward married his daughter Louisa in 1830. They
were the parents of the late Judge Charles Wheaton, who was the
father of the present owner of the place. Homer Wheaton became a
priest of the Episcopal Church. He was rector of St. Peter's, also of
Christ Church, Poughkeepsie ; later he became a member of the Roman
Catholic Communion.
Washington Hollow (in earliest times known as Pittsburg), is on
the. line dividing Washington from Pleasant Valley and will more
properly be spoken of in the history of that town, though it has
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 483
been associated in thought with Washington, whose citizens have had
a large part in all that pertained to the business and the public func-
tions of that hamlet.
The Dutchess County Agricultural Society was founded at Emigh's
Hotel — ^the building is now used as a residence by George Badgely —
in 1841, where a meeting was called by the County Clerk and the
first officers were elected. President, Henry Staats, of Red Hook;
Vice-presidents, John Wilkinson, Union Vale; Thomas Swift, Amenia;
Stephen Thorn, Fishkill; Treasurer, George Wilkinson; Secretaries,
Obediah Titus, Washington, and Edgar Sleight, Fishkill. In 1852
the Society permanently located its grounds in Washington Hollow,
and spent $2,000 in buildings and other improvements.
Very near to Washington Hollow is the spacious residence of John
Ham, at the present writing Clerk of Dutchess County, who, with his
cousin, Eugene Ham, is a descendant of Conrad Ham, one of the
earliest settlers in this town. The old house, built by his great-
great-grandfather, still stands on a lot adjoining the present home of
the family.
South MiiiiiBROOK was formerly known as "The Four Comers,"
and "Washington Four Corners" was one of the earliest hamlets of
the town. It became Washington, N. Y., in 1869, when the United
States postoffice was moved to that point from Mechanic, which lies
about half a mile east of it on the turnpike.
This name wrought great confusion in the minds of many postal
clerks apparently. The writer has seen in the postoffice here, letters
addressed to President Cleveland, in the days of his administration,
and to his sister. Rose Cleveland, because some careless clerk had read
"D. C." as Dutchess County instead of District of Columbia in the
address. Mail for many another "Washington" often came to this
office. When, therefore, some of the patrons of the office, in or about
1892, petitioned the Postoffice Department to change the name to
South Millbrook there was a ready compliance.
Here the MiUbrook Reformed Church had its beginnings in a Sun-
day School, sta;rted by George Hunter Brown, in October, 1864. The
Sunday School was first held in the district school house; then in the
house of Samuel Briggs, the village blacksmith.
A public circulating library was soon established which numbered,
with additions, about five hundred volumes.
484 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Early in January, 1865, a meeting was called to consdder the sug-
gestion of Mr. Brown that a church be erected. Plans of a building
were presented at an adjourned meeting, which were afterwards
adopted. Frankhn Sutton, present at the meeting, gave an acre of
land, and on April 1, 1865, ground was broken and the work of build-
ing begun under the superintendence of Samuel Thorne. The corner
stone was laid in early June.
In October, 1865, an evening school was organized which was well
attended and gave opportunities to some who had passed the school
age, to further train their minds.
A lecture course was also estabhshed and some of the first lecturers
of the times came to speak, among them Bayard Taylor. Rev. J. L.
Zabriskie, who came on invitation at the beginning of the work, and
who laid the corner stone, resigned in November, 1865, and Rev. H.
N. Cobb followed as stated supply until October, 1866, when he was
installed pastor of the church.
The church was dedicated June 20, 1866. July 84, those who had
thus far been a part of this religious enterprise were organized into a
church by the Classis of Poughkeepsie, and became a part of the Re-
formed Church in America with fourteen charter members.
For a long time this church furnished, in its basement, the only
pubhc hall in the vicinity, and was the center of every active effort
for reUgious, educational and moral betterment.
Dr. Henry Cobb remained pastor until May, 1881, when ill health
caused him to resign. Rev. J. E. Lyall accepted a call and was in-
stalled pastor November 11 of the same year and has continued until
the present writing.
The charter members of this church were George Hunter Brown
and Rachel his wife, John Swezy and Sally Ann his wife, John S. Gil-
bert and Maria Louise Stockholm his wife, Matilda E. Van Zandt,
wife of Rev. H. N. Cobb, Andrew J. Ketcham and Sarah his wife,
David Dickson and Agnes his wife, Elizabeth Germond, Anna Maria
Wright, Jane T. Haviland.
This church carried on active and efficient work at Mabbettsville
as above stated, and at Bloomvale, where a beautiful chapel was built,
to care for the employees of the Bloomvale cotton factory. Captain
B. F. Pond, who was an elder in the church, began with a Sunday
School, which grew to such an extent that a chapel was necessary.
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 485
Then George H. Brown came to the front and with characteristic
generosity gave more than $10,000 to build and furnish a house of
worship. The land was donated by Mr. Pond, who was superinten-
dent of the school. The corner stone was laid in October, 1868, and
it was dedicated June 24, 1869. The first communion service was
held on Sunday afternoon, July 4, 1869, when eleven persons were
received as members of the Millbrook church. At this time the work
was so enlarged as to require an assistant for the pastor, and an invita-
tion was extended to Rev. A. P. Stockwell to take up the work. Again
Mr. Brown came forward and generously met aU the extra expense
for salary and for a residence for the assistant pastor. Mr. Stock-
well remained until 1872, and was succeeded by Rev. J. Hill, who
remained until 1876. ,
Another branch of the South Millbrook church was started at Lit-
tle Rest. This was a union effort, but whatever has been done has
been chiefly by the pastors of the Reformed Church.
Early in 1893 Halcyon Hall was built as a summer hotel by H. J.
Davison, Jr., and his wife Marie Weed Alden, a granddaughter of
Thurlow Weed. This beautiful building, complete in all its appoint-
ments, was used as a summer hotel for eight years, but not succeeding
as a financial proposition, it stood vacant until 1907, when the prop-
erty was purchased by Miss May F. Bennett, who has remodeled its
interior and moved into it her school for girls. This school was
founded at Irvington, N. Y., in 1890, and has been a gradual develop-
ment. Last year its pupils were one hundred and eighteen in number
and represented nearly every State in the Union.
The school has an executive staff of sixteen and the faculty num-
bers twenty-one. It offers thorough physical as weU as mental training
carefully adapted to the individual, and seeks to inculcate high ethical
ideals, a sense of personal responsibility and love of truth.
The course of study covers a period of six years, the first four cor-
responding to the ordinary high school course, no student being ad-
mitted to the two higher classes who is not a graduate from a good
preparatory school. One-third of those who enter the school are in
this course, which offers unusually fine opportunities for the study of
music, art, literature, history, economics, ethics, domestic arts and
sciences. This fine school adds much to the life and pleasure of the
community in many ways and promises to become more and more a
real, a vital part of our historic development.
486 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Mechanic, which is now no more than a name, was for a long time
the busiest place in the town and a mart for a much larger territory.
Now most of the houses have been torn down. No store has been
there for more than forty years. When it received the name of
Mechanic is not certain, and the reason for it is only surmised by those
who say it was because of the blacksmith, wagon maker and carpenter
shops there situated and the number of skilled workmen who lived
there. Be that as it may there is much more to remember about
Mechanic. This was one of the earliest settlements in this part of the
county. Between 1724 and 1750 this was the center of a settlement
of "Friends." Hither came the Thornes and the Tituses from Long
Island; from Nantucket came those bearing the names CofBn, Mitchell
and Pinkham; from Westchester County, Rhode Island and other
parts came the Comstocksj Aliens, Rogers, Hulls, Colemans, Willetts,
Congdons, Haights, Havilands and Talcotts. Most of these names
are yet here, many of them having numerous representatives.
Until 1774 the Dutchess County Friends belonged to the Purchase
monthly meeting, in Westchester County. Then the Oblong monthly
meeting was established and meetings were held alternately at Ob-
long and Nine Partners. In 1769 Nine Partners was set oflF as a
separate monthly meeting, which has continued for one hundred and
forty years.
The Friends in this settlement had their own local meeting at a
much earlier date, and erected a log meeting house upon the spot
where the present building stands. This first building was destroyed
by fire December 27, 1778. A committee was appointed on April 16,
of the following year, to prepare plans for a less perishable building
40 by 50 feet at an estimated cost of £600. The result was that
in 1780 a large brick meeting house was built and stands today a
monument to the thoroughness and skill of those who did the work.
The brick were made a short distance directly south of the building
on the farm now known as Altamont Stock Farm, which is the prop-
erty of G. Howard Davison. The bricks are said to be very hard,
and the mortar in which they are laid is harder still.
Li this building for more than a century and a quarter the Friends
have met on the first and fifth day of each week to commune with
God* and help one another in the struggle against evil. Throngs once
gathered there and filled the entire space of floor and gallery, but at
the present time only one side of the lower floor is used.
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TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 487
At Mechanic for a long time was the only postoffice in the town
and it was called "Washington." About 1760, Samuel Mabbett, a
Friend, came to Mechanic, opened a small store and an inn to accom-
modate the many passing travelers who went to and fro between New
Fngland and the Hudson River. In 1762 he bought ten acres of
land of Isaac Thome, built a large house 4sO by 60 feet, two stories
high, formed a stock company of which he was manager and prin-
cipal owner. The building served as store, inn and dwelling and was
called the finest building in this part of the State. He did a large
business. While the postoffice here was Washington, and the village
at that time may have been called Mechanic, and the Friends' Society
was known as Nine Partners, the store was known as "Mabbett's," and
was so prominent a part of the life of the settlement as to threaten
supplanting the other names, and this has led some to confuse it with
Mabbettsville, which probably received its name later.
Mr. Mabbett was a Tory and belonged to the band who had for
their motto "Loyal and Determined." He was not always as safe from
violence as one might suppose he would have been in a Friends' settle-
ment. However, many travelers were passing through and it is said
he had reasons to hide himself at times in an excavation made for the
purpose which was entered by a trap door. At the close of the Revo-
lution, Samuel Mabbett moved to Lansingburgh, N. Y., and his son,
Joseph, took the property and continued the business until 1795.
William Thorne, great-great-grandfather of the present owner of
Thorndale, was one of the first settlers at Nine Partners and was a
merchant and large landholder. He became successor to the business
of Mabbett though his store was on the south side of the turnpike, and
he and his brother Isaac were probably competitors with Mabbett be-
fore 1795. From that date this store became a noted depot of
supplies for all the country round about.
Mr. Thome is said to have been very thrifty, with good business
judgment, of sterling integrity and having a keen sense of humor.
Beginning of the Famous Nine Partneks Boakding Schoox.
Joseph Mabbett sold his store and two acres of land to a committee
appointed by the Friends' Yearly Meeting. This committee consisted
of Isaac Thome, Tripp Mosher and Joseph Talcott, and the purpose
was to establish a boarding school. The building was altered and
enlarged to ninety-nine feet in length and a school was opened in the
488 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
autumn of 1796, with Tripp Mosher as superintendent, and Jonathan
Talcott as principal/ The school gave a thorough academic course
and usually had about one hundred pupils. Land was added from
time to time; a $10,000 endowment fund was secured, and the school
greatly prospered until 1828, when the unfortunate separation took
place on account of differing religious opinion in the Friends' Society.
One of its first pupils was Jacob Willetts, who became principal at
the age of nineteen, and made it famous by reason of his teaching
abilities, and by the text books of which he was the unproud but famous
author. Willetts' arithmetic passed through many editions and was
widely used in the schools of the country. Older men and women in
all walks of life wiU remember some of its quaintly expressed prob-
lems. One is selected from a httle leaflet recently issued by Joel Ben-
ton:
No. 16. When first the marriage knot was tjr'd
Between my wife and me
My age was to that of my bride
As three times three to three.
But now, when ten and half ten years
We man and wife have been.
Her age to mine exactly bears
As eight is to sixteen.
Now tell, I pray, from what I've said,
What were our ages when we wed?
Ans. Thy age when married must have been
Just forty-five— thy wife's fifteen.
He also pubUshed a geography and atlas which is said to have
been more accurate than any which preceded it. Joel Benton states
that this geography passed through at least thirteen editions, which
fact speaks of the favor in which his method of teaching geography
was held, and of the length of time it held friendly place in the edu-
1. The following extract will be of Interest and is taken from the journal of Martha
Routh, a Quakeress minister from Manchester, Blng., formerly teacher of a girls' select
school In Nottingham, Eng. :
"15th of 6th mo., 1796. Attended the monthly meeting at Nine Partners. Next morn-
ing we sat with a committee appointed to have care of a boarding school In that yearly
meeting, for which purpose Friends have purchased a large houae.
Feeling interested in the undertaking, I offered to return and render any assistance in
my power, which seemed to be gladly accepted.
18th of 6th mo. — On Seventh Day morning we returned to Nine Partners. Spent about
four Hburs with Friends, in reviewing the house before mentioned, and making such re-
marks as occurred, which were taken down for further consideration. We left them in
the evening with unfeigned desires for the prosperity of the school."
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 489
cational world. Chronological cards for teaching facts of history and
the times of their occurrence was another device of Jacob Willetts for
attracting the attention of the pupil, and instructing him and amus-
ing him at the same time. Mr. Willetts' wife was scarcely less famous
than her husband. She was born in Marshfield, Mass., August 23,
1788, and was a lineal descendant of John Rogers of early colonial
fame.
She came to the school at sixteen, and after two years' study was
thought capable, and was made principal of the girls' department
when only eighteen years old. She was a famous mathematician and
once successfully calculated an eclipse. Jacob Willets married Debora
Rogers in 1812. The winter after their marriage they taught a private
school near Pine Plains and the next year assume4 their old positions
as principals in the Mechanic boarding school. They were inducedj
says Mr. Benton, by an attractive offer to go to Nantucket for three
years in 1819, but again came back to Nine Partners, where they re-
mained until the separation, when he built a school of his own near
Mechanic.
At the separation in 1828 he and his wife were sympathizers with
what was called the "Hicksite" branch. It so happened that the
school board belonged to the Orthodox, while the principal leaders in
the meeting house were Hicksites. In the separation, therefore, it was
quietly permitted that the "Orthodox" take the school and some of
the land, and they afterward built a meeting house for themselves,
while the "Hicksites" continued in the brick meeting house and took
a portion of the land, including the cemetery .'^ The orthodox school,
1. This meeting house Is without adornments within and without. No paint was ever
put on the Inside and the columns which support the galleries show the marks of the
axes by which they scored and hewed the logs. The wooden benches, with straight hacks,
show plainly by the many initials and names cut on them that boys in early days knew
how to amuse themselves with a Jackknlfe when not Interested in the speaker or his mes-
sage. The same box stoves with wrought iron legs, which were put up in 1780, seem to
be doing good duty yet and stand on brick foundations in the middle of the room. There
were until a few years ago many foot stoves, which were filled with live coals from the
stoves and then placed under the feet, for the sake of warmth and support. The build-
ing and land, including the cemetery, were transferred by deed on December 29, 1897, to
the Nine Partners Burial Ground Association for the purpose of improving, extending and
preserving this property so closely connected with the history of the town. It was a
law of the Friends Society that no monument nor headstone over twelve inches high
should be placed at the graves, and many bodies which have slept long are without any
mark as to their resting place. The Burial Association has an endowment which pro-
vides an Income for the care of the grounds. The president, Mr. C. V. Wlntringham,
and other officers have been efficient in bringing the fund to respectable proportions and
the whole property into a fine state of order.
490 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
however, did not prosper as it had done and requested Jacob Willetts
and his wife to assume control again. He accepted the invitation
for two years and then went back to his own school, where he con-
tinued until 1856, when he gave up teaching and resigned to take the
rest earned by an active and pre-eminently useful life.
Mr. Willetts' house was for a time a station of the "Underground
Railway," which furnished transportation for slaves who had escaped
from bondage in the Southland. His daughter, Mrs. F. T. Carpen-
ter, told the writer recently that she remembered that a slave was kept
over night in her father's house and was carried next day to the home
of David Irish on Quaker Hill.
Stephen Haight was a more active helper of fugitive slaves. His
daughter, now Mrs. Susan Merritt, states that slaves frequently were
brought to her father's house (sometimes one, and oftentimes two or
three at once) where they were sure to find safe hiding, food to eat and
money to assist them. They were sometimes hidden through a day
in a barn. When the darkness of night fell, they were taken to Val-'
entine Hallock's home, on the Hudson River, south of Poughkeepsie.
This good "Friend" kept them through another day, rowed them
across the river next night and forwarded them to the next station
en route for Canada via Buffalo. These fugitives carried written
directions of friends, somewhere in their clothing, which gave warning
also of suspected danger.
The "Orthodox" school went on with varying success until 1850.
The yearly meeting then made the mistake of voting to "exclude non-
members." From this date its usefulness was greatly impaired until
it finally closed in 1863, and two years later the property was sold
to John D. Wing. The endowment fund was transferred to the Union
Springs Academy, which had been established in 1857, and this school
now known as Oakwood Seminary, is the successor of Nine Partners
school.
Among the pupils of this once so famous school were Lucretia Mott,
whose maiden name was Coffin, and Gould Brown, the grammarian.
Others who gained their education at this school, who are still with
us, are F. C. Tompkins and his daughter, Mrs. Clark Haight, Wil-
liam Henry Tompkins, George Titus, Mrs. Joseph Sisson, John H.
Clement, David Stringham, Cromline Dean, and many others whose
names have not come to the writer's ears. A catalogue of 1853 states
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 491
that the cost of attending the school was $2.00 per week, which in-
cluded tuition, board, lodging and laundry work, and provision was
made for free education of those unable to pay for themselves. When
Mr. Wing (who had been a pupil in the school) bought the property
he modeled it into a country residence.
He afterwards moved this house to a hilltop overlooking the village
of MiUbrook, and a wide expanse of hills, vales and mountains, and
with additions on every side and many touches of architectural beauty
it is expanded into a mansion which, with 'its acres of gardens, lawns
and farmland, has the appropriate name Sandanona, which is the
Indian for sunshine.
Millbrook is the youngest village in the town, but is already larger
and busier than all the others combined. It owes it* birth to the build-
ing of the railroad in 1869 and the placing of the station. Its name
was taken from the name given to the station, which the railroad
ofScials chose as a compliment to Mr. Brown, whose energy brought
the road to completion and who had named his estate Millbrook Farms.
Millbrook became an incorporated village December 31, 1895. It
has about 1,100 inhabitants, four churches — ^Roman Catholic, Friends,
Methodist and Protestant Episcopal.
It has two school buildings, a bank, a public library housed in a
beautiful building, forty business places, including grocers, plumbers,
barbers, butchers, hardware, jewelers, druggists dry goods, etc., etc.
It has a Masonic and Knights of Pythias lodge. Knights of Columbus
and Millbrook Club, Junior Order American Mechanics, a Women's
Christian Temperance Union and a weekly newspaper.
Geace Episcopai, Chukch, now under the guidance of Rev. Charles
K. Gilbert, was a mission of St. Peter's Church, Lithgow, from 1863,
when Rev. E. C. Pattison, its rector, began regular service on Sunday
afternoon, September 6, 1863. He organized a parish September 13,
1866. The corner stone was laid and in 1867 the building was con-
secrated. This building, which was burned September 28, 1870, was
situated in or near HartsviUe. A new lot was secured in Millbrook,
a new building erected at a cost of $6,000, which was consecrated by
the Right Rev. Horatio Potter November 3, 1871. Li 1901 this
property was sold and a new site having been given by John D. Wing,
a new church was built, the corner stone of which was laid September
492 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS,
16, 1901, and the completed building was consecrated October 15,
1902. Soon after a rectory was built adjoining the church; both are
beautifully situated at the head of the main street of the village.
The rectors have presided in the following order: Revs. E. C.
Pattison, B. F. MiUer, J. C. S. Weills, J. H. Nimo, J. C. WeiUs,
Charles Pickells, John Tunis, C. H. Duncan, J. C. Rodgers, Charles K.
Gilbert.
Methodist. The Methodist Church was a gradual growth, origi-
nating in the heart of some consecrated Christians, growing into
meetings held in private houses, consisting of class meetings under
some fervent leaders, and prayer meetings, held by good "Mothers
in Israel," until the pastors from Lithgow and Verbank were appointed
by the conference to do such work as might be possible. Public meet-
ings were first held in a wagonmaker's shop in Hartsville. A village
hall was built in Hart's Village in 1843, where meetings were held
occasionally. The first mention of MiUbrook in the minutes of confer-
ence is in 1872 when Rev. Robert Kay was in charge of Lithgow and
Verbank. In 1877 Rev. J. W. Felous secured and partly paid for a
lot. Other ministers, Revs. W. Sweetman and George B. Mead, con-
tinued the spirit and work in connection with their conference appoint-
ments. In 1886 Rev. Percy I. Fenn was appointed, and he succeeded
in building a church, by persistent canvassing with his subscription
book.
Rev. H. L. Heroy followed Mr. Fenn, and after him Rev. S. P.
Cadman, who has since given himself world-wide fame. He was fol-
lowed by Revs. W. R. Evans, L. D. Robbins, C. H. Grubb, C. C. H.
Adams, W. T. Otterson, W. W. Wilcox, U. G. Warren and the present
pastor, Rev. William L. Cadman. Under Mr. Warren's regime an
addition was made to the church for a Sunday School room and a
pastor's study. A parsonage was built under the pastorate of Rev.
S. P. Cadman.
Fbiends. The Friends Society, which is known as the "Orthodox"
branch, dates back to 1828. At least that was the date when at one
of the quarterly meetings in the brick meeting house, after an un-
usually earnest discussion a large number rose in a body and left
the meeting. These "Friends" soon built a frame structure on a lot
adjoining the brick meeting house, where all who beheved themselves
more true to the teachings of George Fox and of the New Testament,
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 493
might gather for worship. Very many on both sides deeply felt the
misfortune of the separation, but each went on, conscientiously believ-
ing that truth was best conserved by parting. The orthodox Friends
maintained their meetings in Mechanic until 1882. They then
moved their building to Millbrook, using much of the old frame, but
in reaHty making a new structure. The first service in this location
was held Sunday, December 3, 1882. They have a flourishing Sunday
School, a vigorous Christian Endeavor Society, and are doing aggres-
sive Christian work.
School. The Millbrook public school is a union of the school dis-
tricts which formerly had buildings, one at South Millbrook and the
other at Hartsville. It now has two large buildings in the village
and has been for twelve years under the able management of Prin-
cipal William Roe Anderson, who has eleven other teachers to assist
in the instruction of the pupils. This school is a worthy successor of
Nine Partners' School in its palmiest days. It gives preparation for
college and for practical life, and its pupils have gone to Cornell,
Brown, Princeton, Amherst, Rutgers, University of Illinois, Troy
Polytechnic, West Point Military Academy, and Vassar, and have
taken good positions in these colleges.
For the high school building the village is indebted to the generous
spirit, the careful planning, and the wise supervision of Mr. Samuel
Thorne, who associated with himself his brothers and sister and built
it and equipped it as a memorial to his father and mother, Jonathan
and Lydia A. Thorne, in 1894. The building is of white brick with
marble trimmings, and is situated at the head of the main street on a
commanding site. The northerly end of the building is a beautiful
auditorium for lectures, concerts and other public entertainments.
The school has an ample endowment, which by deed of gift, may not
be used for teachers' salaries but for the care of the building and
grounds, for free lectures and concerts, and for providing such special
courses as in the estimation of the donors will best equip for prac-
tical life, and a portion is used for prizes. This fine building, with
its land, large horse sheds, furniture and endowment, was deeded to
the village trustees at a meeting held September 18, 1896, at 4 :30 p. m.
The part of the building designed for the school has three recita-
tion rooms on the first floor and three recitation rooms and a large
assembly room on the second floor. In the basement are two play-
494 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
rooms for boys and girls. On the third floor are living rooms for the
janitor. The heating is eflFected by hot air furnaces and the ventila-
tion is after the most approved modern method.
The primary school is a two-story brick building with two recita-
tion rooms on each floor. This was built by taxation, and is modem
in all its appointments.
LiBEAUY. One of the latest additions to the village is a beautiful
public library building, the gift of Mrs. R. S. Hayes, a memorial to
her husband, the late Captain Richard Sommer Hayes. This timely
and generous gift is centrally located and admirably adapted to the
needs of a growing village. Previously to the occupancy of this
building our library was housed in a room in Thome Memorial School,
but the room was inadequate for the enlarging library, and was needed
for the growing school. In this dilemma Mrs. Hayes came to the
rescue with her most generous proposal and the transfer of the books
was made to the completed building in December, 1908.
The Bank. The Bank of Millbrook, which was organized May 18,
1891, bought the brick building used formerly as an office of the N. D.
& C. R. R. It has a capital of $50,000. The first president, John J.
Donaldson, an old New York banker, who made his home in the village,
inaugurated the bank and brought it to success. His successors have
been Richard J. Scoles, and the present official, James Reardon.
The Club. The MiUbrook Club was incorporated in 1902. Its
first officers were: President, Oakleigh Thome; vice-president, F. W.
Hallock; secretary, R. T. Monfort; treasurer, Henry Shaw; steward,
Myron Smith. This club built its present house. The incorporators
other than the officers above named were Dr. J. O. Pingry, W. E.
Smith, S. H. Cutler, E. S. Hallock, Dr. S. I. Jacobs, Dr. S. Henry,
Smith L. De Garmo, J. J. Donaldson, H. S. Van Derburgh, Thomas
Smith and J. Haight.
Golf. The Golf Club was established in 1900, when it bought land
and built the club house on a sightly hiU, and laid out links and con-
structed tennis courts. Its first officers were: President and treas-
urer, H. R. McLane; vice-president, John Morgan Wing; secretary,
G. Howard Davison.
Business. The pioneer business house in Millbrook was Tompkins
& "Smith, who opened a general store in 1870. They continued until
1884, when George P. Tompkins, the senior member, died. From this
TOWN OF WASHINGTON. 495
date W. E. Smith took entire charge and became so much a favorite
and so large a part of the Kfe of the place that he has been called
the "father" of the village.
In everything for the good of the village he was interested and
became a liberal supporter, and was called to fill many a place of im-
portance. He was wise in his advice, faithful in every position he was
called upon to fill, the confidant of many who were in trouble or in
need, "the trusted man" of the community, and his death in January,
1909, was regretted deeply by all.
PosTOFriCE. The Millbrook Postoffice began with the life of the
village and has been a third-class office for about seventeen years.
The present postmaster, F. W. Hallock, was appointed by President
McKinley in 1896, and by Theodore Roosevelt in 4902, and again in
1906.
Jail, With the growth of the village came, as is always the case,
some "undesirable citizens," and because of such, police became need-
ful and a jail, which was built in the autumn of 1902.
Gas. Millbrook also has the benefit of an acetylene gas plant,
which was incorporated in 1898 and built and equipped for service in
1899. The chief man in this enterprise is Mr. Charles F. Deitrich,
who has been the father of the acetylene gas business in the United
States. This plant furnishes gas for our streets, churches, public
halls, business places and many of the homes in the village, and to
the outlying residences of most of the New York gentlemen who have
made homes here.
W. C. T. U. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was or-
ganized in 1878. Its first president, Mrs. Rhoda Swift, held that
office for twenty years, when «he asked to be released, and Mrs. Gurdon
Swift was elected to succeed her and has held the position for eleven
years.
Their hall was built in 1882, and entirely remodeled in 1887. It
furnished rooms for the society and a public hall for concerts, lec-
tures, etc., until Memorial Hall was available in 1894. This Union
of Christian ladies has done more for the village than is now usually
credited to them. They have consistently advocated and ably abetted
the cause of temperance. They furnished, year after year, a course
of lectures for the uplift of the community. They established and
cared for a circulating library, which has now grown to our present
496 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
library association, with its beautiful building, and its doors open
six days in the week. They have constantly done what they could
to influence the town in favor of the no-license policy, and on every
election day they have furnished lunch and hot tea and coffee for all
who wished for this refreshment. They maintain a weekly prayer
meeting on Thursday afternoons.
Millbrook also has a fire company, which with a large chemical
engine and an organized bucket brigade, has done good work already
and is hoping shortly to have a building in which to properly care
for such apparatus as they have or may obtain.
The MiLLBaooK Round Table was founded by W. L. Swift, and
its first number was issued August 20, 1892. For seventeen years it
has made its weekly appearance. When W. L. Swift, through ill
health, was constrained to lay down the responsibility of publication,
the Round Table was managed by H. W. Higgins, who a few years
ago sold the plant to William Tyldsley, who is now editor and pro-
prietor.
The town of Washington is fortunate in the men who have come
to make homes within its hmits in recent years.
Samuel Thome, who has returned where his ancestors have been for
generations connected with all that is best in the history of the past,
perpetuates their Christian character and broad minded philanthropy.
Oakleigh Thorne, who occupies "Thorndale," the old homestead
made famous by the horses bred by his father, Edwin Thorne, and
more so by the herd of short-horn cattle, bred by his uncle, Samuel,
which were widely known on both sides of the Atlantic, has given his
name prominence by the large and successful financial institutions
which he has inaugurated and conducted.
John D. Wing has also returned to the scenes of his boyhood days,
after having attained great success in other parts of the world.
Charles F. Dietrich, whose estate is the most extensive and with its
many beautiful features is worth a long journey to see; the late
H. J. Davison, who built Altamont; and the late and much lamented
Col. Daniel S. Lamont, so widely known in pubhc affairs, both in this
State and in the Nation; Roswell P. Miller, of the Chicago^ Mil-
waukee & St. Paul railroad, who has built a fine "Colonial" mansion;
if. R. McLane, a Brooklyn gentleman of Uterary and artistic taste;
Harry Harkness Flagler, whose interest and co-operation in local
TOWN OF WASHINGTON.
497
affairs has been constant, and who is a member of the Board of
Education, an active trustee of the Library Association, president
and chief promoter of the Millbrook Choral Society, and a supporter
of everything that pertains to the general good of the community ; the
late Captain R. S. Hayes, in whose memory the library was erected;
Miss Mary Lenox Kennedy, whose mother was a member of that fine
old family so identified with the rehgious, literary, educational, philan-
thropic and civic Ufe of New York City; Charles Chnton Marshall,
whose ancestors have been in Dutchess County since Revolutionary
days; G. Howard Davison, whose stock farm is famous for its horses,
cattle and sheep ; — these are some of the "Millbrook Colony" to whom
the town has proved attractive on account of its healthy climate and
scenic beauty.
The following is the succession of Supervisors from 1866:
1866
Greorge H. Brown
1883
John Tompkins
1867-
-'69
George Titus
1884— '86
Andrew B. Hammond
1870
Walter Woodin
1887— '88
Stephen H. Cutler
1971
John P. Anderson
1889— '91
Lewis D. Giermond
1873
James B. Sisson
1892
Oakleigh Thome
1873
John P. Anderson
1893— '95
John M. Ham
1974
Timothy W. Preston
1896— '01
Stephen Robinson
1875
James Deming
1902— '07
Stephen H. Cutler
1876-
-'78
George P. Tompkins
1908— '09
Minot D. Andrews
1879-
-'82
Lewis D. Germond
498 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE BENCH AND BAR OF DUTCHESS COUNTY.
By Frank B. Lown.
IN the accompanying series of sketches nothing more is intended
than to briefly set down the names of lawyers, dead and living,
who have at one time or another practiced in the courts of
Dutchess County, and have filled judicial or other offices necessarily
filled by lawyers.^ Time marches rapidly, and the lawyers of one gen-
eration, except they be of remarkable ability and achievement, are for-
gotten by the next. The distinguished and great need no historians.
Their lives and deeds pass from father to son, their names and reputa-
tions never sufi'ering in the telling. It is hoped by the following
lists and sketches to perpetuate and keep in mind not only the dis-
tinguished lawyers who have adorned, and now adorn the county bar,
but the much greater class who have filled, and are filling worthily
and well, the ranks of the' legal profession, each doing his quota of
good in the enforcement of the legal rights and remedies, which are
our common heritage.
QUE COUNTY COUKT.
In 1691 a general assembly of freeholders of the then Province of
New York was held, which assembly abolished all courts then existing,
and took measures for the judicial reorganization of the Province. It
created a county court, among others giving it a jurisdiction described
in the quaint language of those days as follows:
"County Court. The County Court for Common Pleas hath cognizance of Civil
Accons to any value, excepting what concerns the title to land, and noe Accon can
be removed from this Court, if the damage be under twenty pounds."
This court was re-established in 1777, and was again continued by
the constitution of 1821. Down to the time of the enactment of the
1. The names of the County Judges, Surrogates and District Attorneys, with their yeara
of service, will be found on page 77.
■S" yl <^/'jiiJ .:' su... I^LLh U^hci:
BENCH AND BAR. 499
constitution of 1846, the presiding official was styled "Judge of the
County Court," and was appointed by the governor. He seems in
many instances to have been a layman, and not a lawyer, it being
deemed sufficient to have a man of practical sagacity and sense in the
ordinary pursuits of life. The disputes which arose and which were
triable in the county courts of that day, or which came before them
for review on appeals from the judgments of Justices of the Peace
were petty in character, involving but small amounts, and were such
as arose between members of an agricultural community; and hence
the anomaly of a layman acting as judge in a court of law.
THE EAULIEU LAWYERS.
Among the earlier lawyers residing and practicing in our county,
who, if not known to men yet living are yet fresh in their memories,
James Kent, the great Chancellor, of course stands preeminent. He
was admitted to the bar in 1785, and shortly afterwards commenced
the practice of law in a hainlet in Dutchess County. Tradition has
it that so little was he and other lawyers valued at the time that a
committee of citizens one day made him a visit, informed him that the
people regarded lawyers as destructive of the peace and good order
of the town, and requested him to leave. Whether on account of this
interview or not, he soon came to Poughkeepsie and entered into part-
nership with General Livingston, then Surrogate. The same year, he
then being twenty-one years of age, married Elizabeth Bailey, aged
sixteen. The chancellor speaking of his life immediately after mar-
riage, in his memoirs, says:
"I owned one acre of ground, and fitted up in neat style for that day, a isnug
and endearing little cottage, and I cultivated an excellent little garden; and my
income by practice did not exceed $500 per year. I studied in my little cottage
mornings, and devoted one hour to Greek and another to Latin. I soon increased
it to two for each tongue in the twenty-four hours."
The cottage and garden referred to were at or near where the Mor-
gan House now stands, on the north side of Main street, then called
the Filkintown road, and the cottage was firmly anchored to the soil
by a mortgage for $335.00, which is recorded in the Clerk's office.
"Great oaks from little acorns grow."
Judge Beekman, Col. Henry Beekman, Gouvernor TlUottson, Ed-
ward Livingston, Charles Ten Broeck, Francis A. Livingston and
500 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Henry B. Livingston were all practitioners in our courts in the early
days, but we know little of them save that they were men of reputa-
tion and standing, and well skilled in their profession. Undoubtedly
they loomed large in their day, and one of them, Francis A. Livings-
ton, was District Attorney of the county from 1821 to 1829. He
was located at Rhinebeck, and it was in his office that John Thomp-
son and other later and distinguished lawers studied.
A little later Augustus Schell, afterwards prominent in railroad
enterprises, and Walter W. Schell practiced in the upper part of our
county.
One of the most useful lawyers that our county has produced was
James Hooker, who was born in 1792, and died in 1858. He was
elected Surrogate in 1824, and retained the office until 1840. He
lived in, the old building on the west side of Market street, recently
torn down to give place to the new building of the Young Men's
Christian Association. He was very fond of flowers and sylvan sur-
roundings, and in the rear of his residence was a large garden, with
shady walks and beautiful shrubs, and trees of every nature, which was
kept up until a comparatively recent date. One of his daughters mar-
ried a John W. Hammersley, who was also a lawyer, and his grandson,
J. Hooker Hammersley, now deceased (also a lawyer), is well remem-
bered by many of the present generation. Mr. Hooker was a great
believer in real estate and its value as an investment, and considerable
tracts of land in this city are still held and owned by his descendants.
Mr. Hooker had among his co-temporaries many men of training
and ability as lawyers. Among them were John Cleveland, John
Brush, Ulysses Cole, Philo Ruggles, Samuel B. Ruggles, Charles H.
Ruggles, David V. N. Radcliffe, William Radcliffe and Jacob Rad-
cliffe, and many other men who might be named all "good men and
true."
In passing upon the merits of this earlier group of men the reader
should bear in mind the difficulties under which they labored. Law
reporting had not become the fine art it now is. Blackstone's and
Kent's Commentaries, Chitty's Pleadings, a dozen or fifteen text-books,
Caine's Cases and a shelf or two more of similar books constituted
the working library of the average lawyer.
The lawyer of to-day only has to find the law. It is already made
Bench and bar. 501
and established, and it is but a matter of industry and research and
comprehension of legal principles for him to ascertain what has
already been laid down as the law on almost every subject. The
ancient lawyer — and by ancient is meant the lawyer who practiced
only a generation or two ago — ^had few of these aids which are avail-
able to the lawyer of to-day. He could but determine the legal prin-
ciple involved, and then reason out in his own mind what ought to be
the law of his particular case.
This naturally involved an independence of thought, and a couraige
in advancing new and undetermined propositions not called in play
by the practice of this day; and the mental eifort involved had the
effect of strengthening and broadening the mind, so that our prede-
cessors were in fact better and more forceful rdtisoners than we of
the later generation.
So, too, with the adjuncts of the best regulated office. Even a steel
pen was unknown, much less the ever present typewriter. A stenog-
rapher, even to report cases upon trial, had not yet been dreamed of.
Pitman had not yet invented his marvellous art. The Judge, with his
quill pen, scratched down brief minutes of the proceedings before him..
Every one of the interminable pleadings and proceedings required by
the practice of that day had to be written out by hand by the prac-
titioner, and then laboriously duplicated by him or his clerks.
The writer well remembers, even as late as 1870, when there was no
method of duplicating law papers except by hand copying. Finally
some daring innovator introduced press copies on necessarily very
thin paper. The courts naturally and properly objected, and would
have none of them. Then that genius, Edison, invented what was
called an electric pen, which was nothing more or less than a miniature
electric engine, run from a battery, and which held in the hand and
guided on the paper, produced a stencil which, rubbed over with an
inked roller duplicated the writing on the sheet beneath. Cumbrous
and awkward as the machine was, it was the first step toward escaping
the thraldom which bound the average lawyer in preparing his plead-
ings and papers.
And then along came the typewriter, the greatest of all boons to
the lawyer, with its accompanying typist. Last of all the combined
stenographer and typist, who has lifted the burden of drudgery from
the shoulders of the profession. For long, long after the writer com-
502 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
menced his studies (1870) not an office in the city had a stenographer,
and now an office without one could hardly be conceived or found.
These innovations and improved adjuncts which we now enjoy, as
has been said before, were unknown to the older lawyer, and their lack
emphasizes the difficulties under which they labored, and aid us in
forming an estimate as to their powers and abilities.
Another contemporary of Mr. Hooker was Nathaniel P. Tallmadge,
one of the most brilliant and versatile of men. Besides occupying a
prominent position at the bar he was largely interested in business
pursuits, being one of the chief organizers in what in the early thirties
was known as the "Improvement party," and which was engaged in
various enterprises, such as the sending out of whaling vessels from
what is still known as the "whale dock," and the rearing and propa-
gation of silk worms, under the name of the Poughkeepsie Silk Com-
pany. Both of said enterprises came to grief, the world's production
of silk and oil not being greatly augmented by either.
In the boom days of the Silk Company, Delafield street was laid out
as the "Court" street of the town, and Mr. Tallmadge built the resi-
dence stiU standing on the west side of the street, and for very many
years owned and occupied by the Elting family.
Mr. Tallmadge was elected United States Senator, and subsequently
resigned and became the Territorial Governor of Wisconsin. He at
one time was a partner of Mr. Hooker, and during his life was very
prominent in all matters.
James Emott, whose life was closely entwined with the County of
Dutchess, and particularly with the city of Poughkeepsie, was bom
in the year 1823, his father being James Emott, a resident of the city,
and for many years a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Judge Emott the younger was born in the building known as No.
46 Market street, and early won distinction at the bar. He was mar-
ried to Mary Crooke, daughter of Charles Crooke, whom old inhabi-
tants win remember as being engaged in business as a freighter at the
Lower Landing. He was the first Mayor of the city of Poughkeepsie,
and during his whole life took the warmest interest in its affairs. He
was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court in 1856, and served as
sucK until 1864. During the later years of his term he sat in the
Court of Appeals. After he left the bench he formed a copartnership
BENCH AND BAR. 503
with Henry M. Taylor, which copartnership continued until he was
attracted to the city of New York. There he continued to practice
until his death in 1884!.
One of the strongest personalities and most acute lawyers of his
time was Henry Swift, universally known as "Harry" Swift. He
was bom in 1784, studied law in Poughkeepsie with Van Ness and
Livingston, and was admitted to practice in 1807.
In 1816 he commenced the practice of law in Poughkeepsie, and
continued in the most active practice until his death in 1866. His
office and residence were in the three-story brick building, still stand-
ing on the west side of Market street, opposite the Farmers' and
Manufacturers' Bank. Mr. Swift's ability was great, and his industry
and energy enormous. Measured by volume of business and by his
success, he was perhaps the foremost lawyer in the county. For
many years before his death he lived in the house on the south side of
Cannon street, of late years occupied by Rev. A. P. Van Gieson. He
had two sons, Charles Wells Swift, who was for many years engaged
in business with his father in Poughkeepsie, and who died in 1877, and
George H. Swift, who removed to and practiced law in Amenia in
this county, until his death, which occurred in 1908.
Both Charles W. and George H. Swift, and their uncle, Eleazor
Morton Swift, brother of their father, were lawyers of recognized
standing and ability. They did not have, or did not exercise the gift
of eloquence so generously bestowed upon Harry Swift, and did not
have the combative nature of the latter; but each was the trusted
adviser and counsel of a large circle of clients.
Seward Barculo, born September 22, 1808, was the son of Rev.
George Barculo, who was a clergyman at New Hackensack. He
studied law with Stephen Cleveland at Poughkeepsie, and was admitted
to the bar in 1834, at once forming a copartnership with Mr. Cleve-
land.
In 1845 he was appointed Judge of the County Court by the Gov-
ernor, and the next year was appointed Circuit Judge. In 1847 he
was elected Justice of the Supreme Court, and served over six years.
He was an extensive reader, possessed of fine literary taste, and was
an ardent horticulturist. In June, 1854, being upon his return from
Europe, he died in New York City. He was an able lawyer and in-
corruptible jurist.
504 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
One of his daughters, Caroline T., married Charles Wheaton, who
afterwards became County Judge. Mrs, Wheaton died in 1908, leav-
ing a son, Isaac S. Wheaton, also an attorney.
Henry Angevine will long be remembered by the older of the pres-
ent generation of lawyers. He was a precise, quaint old man, and
during the latter years of his life occupied an oflSce with Judge
Wheaton on Market street. He was notable for always exacting the
proper and legal fee for performing the act of a Notary Public, whereas
among lawyers generally the office is taken and held mainly as a matter
of convenience and accommodation, and without any thought of real
remuneration. But with Mr. Angevine the person who subscribed an
affidavit, or acknowledged the execution of an instrument was ex-
pected to pay on the nail the ten or twenty-five cents the notary's due.
But if there was any dissatisfaction at his course of doing business,
it ceased when upon a trial of an important cause where the fact of
the due execution of an important paper and the attendant circum-
stances connected therewith became of vital importance, it was made
known by the evidence of Mr. Angevine that in each case of taking
an affidavit or acknowledgment he entered upon his books a careful
record of the event and its date, so that in case of necessity the trans-
action did not depend upon uncertain memory. Mr. Angevine died
in 1881.
Gilbert Dean was bom in Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, on
August 14, 1819, and died in the city of Poughkeepsie on the 12th
day of October, 1870. He practiced for a number of years in Pough-
keepsie and was a member of Congress in 1851-1853. He was ap-
pointed a Justice of the Supreme Court and for a part of his term
acted as Judge of the Court of Appeals.
He owned a beautiful place on South avenue, immediately south of
Eastman Terrace, where he resided. He was a brilliant young lawyer,
and after he left Poughkeepsie practiced in the city of New York
until his death.
He was counsel for Miss Cunningham in the Burdell murder trial,
and won great fame and credit by his successful defense of her.
John Thompson was bom in the town of Rhinebeck in 1809, and
studied law in the office of Francis A. Livingston, then District At-
torney of the county. Upon being licensed to practice he entered
JOSEPH MORSCHAUSER.
BENCH AND BAR. 505
the office of Hooker and Tallmadge at Poughkeepsie, and later went
into partnership with Mr. Hooker. Subsequently he entered in co-
partnership with James H. Weeks, which partnership continued until
1878, when the writer of this article entered the firm, which continued
under the name of Thompson, Weeks & Lown until 1887, when Mr.
Weeks died, Mr. Thompson following in 1890.
Mr. Thompson was a brilliant advocate, and a man of much learn-
ing in his profession. He dearly loved the turmoil of a lawsuit, and
it is not too much to say that he was in practically every important
trial from 1845 until his retirement. Mr. Weeks, his partner, was his
opposite in this respect. Like Mr. Thompson, he was a great reader
and possessed fine scholarly tastes, having at his death probably the
best chosen and most complete private hbrary in the city. But Mr.
Weeks disliked the combative air of the court room, and rarely could
be induced to take an active part in trials. He was perhaps the best
and safest office lawyer and general adviser at the bar, and with his
partner to supply the eloquence and pyrotechnics, the firm of Thomp-
son & Weeks was deservedly pre-eminent in the legal history of
Dutchess County.
One of Mr. Thompson's daughters married Allard Anthony, Dis-
trict Attorney, and afterwards County Judge, and, with another
daughter and his widow, is still living. Mr. Weeks had no sons, but
left a widow, now dead, and two daughters, both of whom reside out-
side of Dutchess County,,
The writer in closing this brief sketch of his two dead partners
regrets that the space at his disposal and the purpose of this publi-
cation prevent placing on record some of the affectionate memories
of these two just and good men, thronging to his mind.
William Wilkinson was an attorney in active practice, and was the
son of Robert Wilkinson, also a lawyer. He studied law with his
father, and after admission associated himself with William I. Street,
under the firm name of Street & Wilkinson. He married Mary E.
Trowbridge, daughter of Stephen B. Trowbridge, an old resident of
the city, and died in 1864. He left five children, one of whom was
Robert E. Wilkinson, one of the most brilliant and versatile of men,
and a most excellent lawyer. Mr. Wilkinson participated in the War
of the Rebellion and was in some of the most hotly contested engage-
ments. He was very badly wounded at the battle of Cedar Creek in
506 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1864, but after recovery he reentered the army and remained until
mustered out with the rank of colonel.
Colonel Wilkinson was admitted to the bar in 1866, and at once
assumed a high rank in his profession. He was Recorder of the city
of Poughkeepsie for four years, and held other offices of honor or
trust. He was a man of great information and of the highest culture.
He died in the year 1908, leaving among other children, two sons,
Gifford Wilkinson and Robert Wilkinson, both of whom are practic-
ing attorneys.
John P. H. TaUman died so recently that he is remembered by most
of the members of the present bar. He was born in Dutchess County
in 1820, and commenced the study of law first in the office of James
Hooker, and afterwards that of Virgil D. Bonesteel, a lawyer of
repute. He was admitted to practice in 1840, and in 1847 was elected
Surrogate, defeating John Thompson, who was his opponent.
Upon retiring from the office he formed a partnership first with
Gilbert Dean, and afterwards with Charles Powers, George W. Payne
and George W. Lord. Subsequently he entered into partnership with
Walter Farrington, who is still engaged in practice. Mr. Tallman
died in 1895, leaving four children, of whom one, John Francis TaU-
man, was educated as a lawyer and admitted to practice, but at pres-
ent fills a responsible position in insurance circles in the city of New
York.
A mention of the lawyers of these days would be incomplete without
the names of Le Grand Dodge, Henry D. Varick, Joseph H. Jackson,
Edgar Thorn and Egbert Q. Eldridge.
Mr. Dodge was never a trial lawer, but was a safe, wise counsellor
and a most estimable man. He died in 1892.
Mr. Varick and Mr. Eldridge were copartners in business for many
years, and down to the death of the former, which occurred in the
year 1877. During their long association they were the attorneys
for the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, and had their offices in the Bank
building.
Mr. Varick was born in 1811, and held no public office that the
writ^ recalls. Upon his death he left several children, one of whom,
DeWitt, was a lawyer. He has since deceased.
Mr. Eldridge (born in 1815) besides being a good lawyer was a
BENCH AND BAR. 507
genial, companionable man. He was elected County Judge in 1852,
and was long a member of the Board of Education, having always
entertained a great interest in educational matters. He died in 1899.
Joseph H. Jackson always appeared to the writer like a character
who had stepped out of one of Dickens' novels. He was a lawyer and
gentleman of the old school, and down to the time of his retirement
wore the claw hammer coat of the preceding generation. He was
formal and precise in his manner and habits, but withal a sound, care-
ful lawyer. He died about the year 1880, leaving a son, Joseph I.
Jackson, also a lawyer practicing here, who has since deceased.
Edgar Thorn (born in 1805) was elected Surrogate in 1856, and
after the expiration of his term practiced law in» Poughkeepsie until
his death, which occurred in 1890.
The group of lawyers next mentioned undoubtedly embraces the
most brilliant and powerful advocates that have ever adorned the
Dutchess County bar. The Barnard Brothers (Joseph F., George
G., Frederick and Robert), Homer A. Nelson, Charles Wheaton,
Allard Anthony and William I. Thorn. Their names are all fresh in
the memories of the present generation, and mouldy tradition does
not have to be resorted to to pass judgment upon their abilities and
achievements. The present bar hears with interest the many stories
of their doings and proceedings in their early days, when business
was duU and clients were scarce, but the legal battles fought between
these trained legal gladiators in later years are recalled with interest
and excitement by many of the present bar who remember well the
many magnificent contests of which they were spectators. It is hard
to tell where the palm of supremacy should go. Each excelled the
other in some quality, but each was a forceful, resourceful and elo-
quent trial lawyer.
Joseph F. Barnard, the oldest of the Barnard brothers, was born
at Poughkeepsie. He studied law with Stephen Cleveland, and was
admitted to practice in 1845. He was elected a Justice of the Supreme
Court in 1863, and remained on the bench — an ornament to it — ^until
retired by the age limit in 1893. Subsequently he was designated by
the Governor of the State, and continued to exercise and perform cer-
tain powers and functions of a Supreme Court Justice until the ex-
508 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
piration of his elective term, when he finally retired from the bench.
He died in 1904, leaving a son, Frederic, who is now engaged in active
practice in Poughkeepsie.
Judge Barnard was incomparably the greatest legal character that
Dutchess County has ever produced. A fine scholar, a trained lawyer,
an incorruptible and fearless man, he had all the tools necessary and
proper for use in his life work, and he used them, if not to perfection,
at least so as to earn and receive the respect and reverence not only
of the bar, but of the people of the entire judicial district. Austere
in his appearance, quick and impetuous in his language, he had under
his brusque demeanor the heart of a child. Impatient of the fetters
of legal procedure, caring little or nothing for precedent, his whole
aim was to do justice in each particular case. He was particularly
helpful to young and inexperienced practitioners, and particularly
to the young men whom he saw studying in the surrounding offices ;
and it was a chilly day for the veteran when one of these verdant
practictioners appeared in Judge Barnard's court against him.
The writer well remembers when late one very hot afternoon he was
directed by his legal preceptor to go down to the Judge's house and
secure his signature to some papers. During his few weeks in a law
office he had seen the Judge only upon the bench engaged in his judicial
duties, stern and preoccupied, and apparently as far removed from a
green law student as the planet Mars. Neither was he in any way
made to feel comfortable when he was told not to mind it if the Judge
showed any irritation upon being disturbed at his home.
Upon reaching the Judge's house the writer was shown in the
library, the servant stating that she would call the Judge, who was
somewhere around the grounds. Looking from the library window
the servant could be seen walking down the steep hill to the end of the
lot, almost to Market street, and giving the message to the Judge, who
commenced to climb the hiU in the heat and glare of a July sun. If
ever the writer thought he was going to catch it, it was when the
Judge, hot and breathless, stalked into the room with an impatient
"What do you want.'" "I have some papers which Mr. Baker wants
signed," was the stammering answer. "Give them to me;" and with
two steps he was at the table, and the wonderful hieroglyphics which
to the initiated meant "J. F. Barnard" were attached and the papers
handed back. The writer realizing that as yet no casualty had
BENCH AND BAR. 509
occurred thought it proper and wise to endeavor to palliate his act,
and commenced hesitatingly to apologize for the trouble he had in-
flicted, but the Judge would have none of it. "It is my business to
sign orders at any time of the night or day, and you don't want to be
afraid to come at any hour, late or early," and with a pleasant and
reassuring word or two he dismissed him.
The story is but a trivial one, but the same spirit which led him to
reassure and set at ease scared students, led him to care for those
same students in other ways, when timid and inexperienced, they com-
menced to assume and perform the duties of their profession.
George G. Barnard became Recorder of the City of New York, and
then Judge of the Supreme Court. Frederic and Robert Barnard
removed to California, and there engaged in the pi'actice of their pro-
fession.
Charles Wheaton was born at Lithgow, in Dutchess County, in
1834. He studied law in the office of Thompson & Weeks, and upon
his admission to the bar, he became assistant to Silas Wodell, then Dis-
trict Attorney. In 1863 he was elected County Judge, and after the
expiration of his term he commenced the practice of law, and con-
tinued until his death, which occurred in 1886. He left him surviving
one son, Isaac S. Wheaton, who was educated as a lawyer, and now
lives on the old homestead at Lithgow.
Judge Wheaton was of an entirely different type from Judge Bar-
nard, although during their lives they were the closest friends. He
was quiet and amiable in his manners, and possessed, or at all events
showed, none of the impetuosity and brusquerie shown by his friend.
His sense of humor was singularly keen, and whether in the court room,
or in his own, or a fellow lawyer's office, it constantly cropped out in
epigram «Cnd anecdote. He was an extremely good, sound lawyer, and
one of the most ingenious and plausible advocates that ever practiced
at our bar.
Homer A. Nelson was born in 1829, and at his death, which occurred
in 1891, was fitly characterized by one of the Poughkeepsie journals
as "the first citizen of the city and county." He was admitted to
practice at the age of twenty-one, and in 1855, when but twenty-six
years of age, was elected County Judge, being the youngest man ever
510 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
elected to that ofBce. He was re-elected in 1861 and served two years
of his term, resigning in 1863. In 1867 he was elected Secretary of
State, to which office he was re-elected two years later.
During his business career he was at different times associated as
partner with Henry F. Pultz, who died in 1883; with Gilbert Dean,
with William I. Thorn, and with Orlando D. M. Baker.
After his retirement from the office of Secretary of State in 1871,
he removed his law office to the City of New York, retaining his resi-
dence, however, in the city of Poughkeepsie. In 1881 he was elected
State Senator and served his term as chairman of the Senate Judici-
ary Committee.
After his death a friend, in writing a short biographical sketch,
said:
"With the young men of his time, and especially with the then struggling law
student or newly fledged attorney. Judge Nelson's memory wUl be ever held in
kindly reverence. To these he was always considerate and helpful, encouraging
and affable, and none ever came to him for advice and counsel that was not cheer-
fully given. He was possessed of an extremely generous heart, was charitable to
all deserving causes, and the poor at all times had his counsel without money and
without price. Physically he was a man of fine presence handsome, standing six
feet in height, and well built in proportion. He was fond of sport, ever boyish
in his tastes and enjoyments, and delighted to join with children in their games
and sports."
He left him surviving a widow, still living, and two brothers, one
of whom, John, was a practicing lawyer here, now deceased.
Judge Nelson was, all in all, the most formidable jury lawyer of the
group in question. He lacked some qualities which shone pre-eminent
in Barnard, Wheaton, Anthony and Thorn, but he possessed the price-
less gift of common "horse" sense, and his speeches to the jury always
went to them and never over their heads. In terse, powerful state-
ment he was not the equal of Barnard. In polished Ciceronian elo-
quence he was excelled by Wheaton and Anthony. In some respects
Thorn was his equal, if not his superior, but in getting a verdict,
which is the supreme test, he beat them all. His love for his home
and his friends was the mainspring and the joy of his Ufe, and as he
often said when in the tide of success in the great metropolis, he
waited impatiently for Friday night to come that he might get back
to •them. Alas! within a few weeks after he had removed from the
turmoil of that great city and had come back to his home and friends.
SAMUEL K. PHILLIPS.
BENCH AND BAR. 611
expecting to pass the evening of his days in comfort and happiness,
he was stricken with a mortal ailment, and died almost without warn-
ing.
Allard Anthony, another of this coterie of brilliant men, was born
in the year 1838, was elected District Attorney in 1861, and served
as such for six years. He was then elected County Judge, and at the
expiration of his term went back to private practice. Speaking from
the standpoint of well chosen diction and pure eloquence, his eiforts
have never been equalled by any practitioner at the local bar within
the memory of the present generation of lawyers. Of slight form,
and yet commanding presence, with deep set eyes, and a brow like
Webster's, it was a treat to listen to him in his forensic combats with
the legal giants who surrounded him. *
He married a daughter of John Thompson, and died in 1877 at the
early age of thirty-nine, leaving her surviving him. Had he lived,
his fame would have been not local, but national.
And William I. Thorn, known to his friends and the community as
"Billy I.," what affectionate memories come back to all at the men-
tion of his familiar name! Bulky in body, with the smooth, round
face of a baby, what treasures of humor, wit and eloquence lay be-
hind that rosy, smiling countenance!
Alas! poor Yorick!
A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."
He was bom in the year 1837, and died at Poughkeepsie in 1890.
May the earth rest lightly over one who was not only valuable to the
community as a lawyer, but whose cheerful countenance, and whole-
some, merry conversation added brightness to the lives of his asso-
ciates.
Many stories might be told of the sayings and doings of these
men, some of which would look well in cold print, and some would not.
They were intense, virile persons, living in a generation more primitive
and less artificial than the present one. Their jokes and escapades
were but the natural expression of the youth and energy flowing in
their veins. Some of them might in this day seem of questionable
taste and propriety, but they undoubtedly added much to the savour
of life forty or fifty years ago. They were pitiless in the practical
jokes they played upon one another.
612 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
All lawyers in those days, even the busiest and most eminent, were
frequently called upon to go out in the country towns and try causes
before Justices of the Peace. Judge Barnard, then but a struggling
lawyer, was one day out upon such a mission, and upon his return
found a new tenant in possession of his office. Taking advantage of
his absence, and of a wandering and homeless mule, a band of con-
spirators had driven the beast in the back room and tied him to the
leg of the circular table which constituted the sole desk of the office.
The appearance of the office the next morning can be imagined if not
described.
A short time afterwards Judge Wheaton was called out of town on
some errand. Omitting to lock his office, or probably unable to do
so — for half of the law offices were always open and unlocked night
and day — an opportunity was offered to sufferers at his hands to get
even. He was then in the old building where the postoffice now stands,
the sidewalk in front being of unusual width. All of his furniture,
desks, bookcases, books and all the paraphernalia of a law office were
carefully removed to the sidewalk and covered with a red flag bearing
the legend "Auction Sale."
On rainy days, when clients were scanty and business "nil," they
would gather in their back rooms and play profane games with cards
— ^not bridge, and not pinochle. In one of the games, the name of
which does not occur to the writer, an article or emblem known as a
"Buck," and having a certain agreed monetary value, was put in
circulation by one of the party who was a prominent jeweler on Main
street. It turned out to be a watch, left for repair by Bishop Hed-
ding of the M. E. Church, one of the godliest and most saintly of
men. Needing an extra "buck," the movement was slipped from its
case, and the two objects, sanctified by their association, were circu-
lated by those graceless reprobates during the vicissitudes of a long,
rainy afternoon. In after years, when the ranks had been thinned by
death, the writer has often heard the "Bishop's Buck" referred to by
the distinguished survivors.
In those days the "growler" was unknown as such, but men's tastes
and men's thirsts were the same as now. When the machinery needed
lubricating, one of their number would be sent out for a pail full of
thfe necessary lubricant, which was then the renowned Vassar ale.
The emissary, on one particular occasion, was one who subse-
BENCH AND BAR. 513
quently became an ornament to the bar and to the city, one of the
most lovable of men. Unsuspicious of evil, he accepted a counterfeit
dollar which was given him to make the purchase, and his mortifica-
tion and rage at the incidents which closed the transaction were de-
picted with great glee by his associates for years afterwards.
In the upper part of the old building where the postoffice now
stands, and which was on the ground floor entirely occupied by law
offices, was a huge, open garret. This was occupied by Barnard,
Wheaton, Nelson and their contemporaries as a lodge room for a
wonderful and mysterious organization known as the Knights of Malta.
Each of the persons named was high in the councils of the order, the
apparent purpose of which was to cast ridicule upon the Masonic or-
ganization, against which at that time a populai^ clamor was being
' made, and incidentally by bombastic rituals, and by indescribable uni-
forms, regalia and accessories to shock and terrify unlucky novices
who sought to penetrate this inner arcanum.
The regalias and accessories, ragged and moth eaten, were in trunks
in this old garret as late as the early seventies, and a description of
them would be interesting to the reader if added hereto. And so,
hard working lawyers, profound students, and distinguished jurists, as
they were known to the outside world, it is interesting to know that
these men possessed the same instincts and foibles, and were actuated
by the same wishes and desires common to aU healthy minded beings.
Jacob W. Elseffer, for over half a century a prominent lawyer of
Dutchess County, was born at Red Hook, N. Y., September 6, 1822,
and died November 16, 1907 He was a son of former Assemblyman
John ElseflFer. His mother's maiden name was Katharine Whiteman.
His ancestors were among the early settlers in this county, and for a
hundred and fifty years prominent in local history.
Mr. Elseffer took up the study of law in the office of Judge Row-
ley at Upper Red Hook. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, and
the fact that his earliest clients, as well as their descendants, adhered
to him throughout his long and successful career is proof sufficient of
his ability and integrity. He was largely instrumental in the organ-
ization of the First National Bank of Red Hook, in 1865, and was
elected its first president. He continued as a director and attorney
for this institution for many years, and much credit was awarded to
him for the favorable condition of its affairs.
514 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Mr. Elseffer was united in marriage October 17, 1847, with Miss
Delia Eliza Bonesteel of Clermont, N. Y., by whom survive their son,
John H. Elseffer, of San Diego, Cal., and a daughter, Katharine,
wife of William P. Adams, of Cohoes, N. Y., and two granddaughters,
Elizabeth Piatt Adams and Katharine Elseffer Adams.
Mr. Elseffer was a man of intellectual power, brilliant in conversa-
tion, courteous in manner, and one who made friends and kept them.
Ambrose Wager, a prominent member of the local bar, was born in
1816, and died in 1883. He resided and maintained an office at
Rhinebeck, and left him surviving a son, A. Lee Wager, at present
practicing in the same place.
Jacob B. Jewett, bom in 1826, was a lawyer in active practice, and
resided on Mansion Square, at the comer of Mansion street. His
practice was largely in the care and management of estates, and he
was a man of probity and strong character. He died in 1876.
Cyrus Swan was one of the most picturesque lawyers of the city
in the early days of the war and afterwards. With his flowing white
beard, and his blue cloak, he was noticeable wherever seen. Impetuous
and irascible, he was a man of extremely broad culture, and one of
the most genial and charming of companions.
He was an ardent politician, and in 1872, at the request of the Hon.
John O. Whitehouse, then candidate for Congress, he temporarily for-
sook the law, and for a number of years edited with great ability the
local organ of the Democratic party. He was bom in 1820, and died
at Poughkeepsie in the year 1900. ,
Henry M. Taylor was born in 1828, and in his earlier years prac-
ticed his profession, first in Hudson, and afterwards in Rhinebeck.
He finally came to Poughkeepsie and associated himself with Hon.
James Emott, under the firm name of Emott & Taylor, which partner-
ship continued until Judge Emott removed his office to New York
City. Mr. Taylor was elected County Judge in 1872, serving six
years. He was a man of extensive reading, and of no mean literary
attainments, as well as a safe, prudent counsellor and able trial law-
yer. Reserved and quiet outside of his own circle, within it he was
one of the most genial and lovable of men. He died in 1908 re-
gretted and mourned by all.
BENCH AND BAR. 516
Another Poughkeepsie lawyer who is held in affectionate remem-
brance by most of the lawyers of to-day was Robert E. Taylor, who
was born in 18SS, and died suddenly in this city in 1896. He was a
contemporary and companion of Judge Barnard, Nelson and Whea-
ton during his whole career at the bar, and was a valued member of the
inner circle before referred to. He was Recorder of the city for
many years, the attorney for the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, and was
justly esteemed and admired, both as a lawyer and as a man.
This sketch would also be incomplete without mention of William
Stewart Eno, who for many years was an attorney in active practice
at Pine Plains in this county, and who was the son of William Eno,
also located at the same place, and who was among the very ablest of
the older lawyers. Mr. Eno, the younger, was jjom in 1827, and
died in 1902.
Gerome WiUiams was born in 1823, and was in practice from about
1850 to the time of his death in 1894. He had in his prime perhaps
as large a volume of litigated business as any companion at the bar.
He was a natural trial lawyer, and although without the advantage of
a liberal education, and without any bent for the higher branches of
legal lorCj was yet one of the most formidable of opponents before a
jury in a cause dependant upon issues of fact.
He was able to gauge the mind of the average juryman to a
nicety, had great powers of sarcasm and invective, and with a never
faiUng fund of common sense and experience to draw from was always
able to hold his own with whomever might oppose him.
He left surviving a son, George H. Williams, a lawyer now in active
practice here, and was pre-deceased by another son, Eugene Williams,
also a lawyer.
J. Spencer Van Cleef was born in 1831, and all his life resided and
practiced law in the city of Poughkeepsie. His specialty was office
practice, and he worthily filled a useful place in the profession. He
was greatly interested in educational matters, and for many years was
a member of the Board of Education in Poughkeepsie. He died in
1901, leaving him surviving a widow and children, of whom one, Harry
H. Van Cleef, is a practicing lawyer,
Daniel W. Guernsey was bom in 1834, admitted to the bar in 1856,
and commenced the practice of law in Leavenworth, Kansas. He en-
616 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
listed as a private in the War of the Rebellion, was present in many
engagements, and was mustered out a captain. He was elected County
Judge in 1884, and served two terms until 1896. He died in 1902,
leaving a widow and children.
Alfred B. Smith and Leonard B. Sackett were in business as part-
ners from the close of the war until the firm was dissolved by death.
Mr. Smith was born in 18.25, studied law with Judge Emott, was ad-
mitted in 1855, and formed a copartnership with the Hon. Matthew
Hale, afterwards a very distinguished lawyer at Albany.
At the outbreak of the Civil War Mr. Smith went to the front as
major of the 150th Regiment of New York State Volunteers, and
served gallantly until the segiment was mustered out in 1865, he then
having received the rank of brevet brigadier general. He was an
ardent Republican, and held many offices of pubHc trust and con-
fidence. He died in 1896, leaving one child, a son.
Leonard B. Sackett was born in 1822, and died in 1906, leaving two
daughters surviving. He was a ripe lawyer, and one of the most
kindly of men ; and the firm of which he was a member was prominent
in legal circles during its continuance.
Silas Wodell was of Rhode Island ancestry. His grandfather,
Silas Wodell, was bom in Rhode Island in 1760, and married there
Ruth Borden, the daughter of John Borden. They came to Dutchess
County soon after the War of the Revolution, and settled not far
from Lithgow, this county, where their son, Joseph Wodell, was bom
January 2, 1788.
In 1797, Silas Wodell purchased from Philip Hart the farm which
became the homestead place, which is located not far from Mabbetts-
ville, on the south side of the road, and which still remains in the
family. Here Silas Wodell erected a handsome residence and hved
until he died, in January, 1849. He led a useful and honorable career,
serving as Justice of the Peace for many successive terms. He un-
doubtedly was possessed of considerable means when he came to
Dutchess County, and later on acquired the land on the north side of
the road, leaving to his son, Joseph, at the time of his death, some-
where about six hundred acres of land.
His son, Joseph, lived in the old homestead until that and almost
all of the old buildings were destroyed by fire in the early fall of
JOHN HACKETT.
BENCH AND BAR. 517
1876, when Joseph Wodell was in his eighty-ninth year. He died in
Millbrook in 1878.
Silas Wodell, the subject of this sketch, was born in the homestead
near Mabbettsville, on January 2, 1826. He first attended Little
Nine Partners' School, near Mechanics, then under the charge of
Jacob Willetts. From there he went to the Amenia Seminary, where
he was prepared for Yale College, and entered, in September, 184)5,
the class of 1849. After his graduation he came to Poughkeepsie to
study law, and was admitted to the Dutchess County Bar July 8,
1861. He settled as a lawyer in Poughkeepsie in partnership with
James Emott, Jr., Esq., in 1855, when Mr. Emott was elected to the
Supreme Court bench and Mr. Wodell was elected District Attorney
of Dutchess County.
He married, June 1, 1853, Anna Hall, the daughter of Dr. Asahel
Hall and Catherine Rutzen VanderBurgh. He died at the early age
of thirty-five, on February 18, 1861, leaving him surviving his widow
and four children. Miss Katharine Hall Wodell, who lives in Pough-
keepsie, and occupies the old homestead at the corner of Noxon and
Academy streets; Joseph Wodell, the eldest son, married Alice F.
Clark, of Boston, and he died February 12, 1903. His widow sur-
vives him. Henrietta Wodell married Lewis Hotchkiss English, and
resides in New Haven, Connecticut, and has two daughters. Silas
Wodell, a member of the Dutchess County Bar, the youngest of the
four children, married Marion Ruthven Adriance, the daughter of
John P. Adriance and Mary J. R. Piatt. They occupy the Adriance
homestead on the corner of Academy and Livingston streets, Pough-
keepsie, with their two children, one daughter, Katharine Wodell, and
son, Ruthven Adriance Wodell, now a member of the Junior Academic
Class of 1910, Yale University.
Peter Dorland, one of the most useful and efficient of surrogates in
our county, was born in 1815, and in 1860 was elected a surrogate.
He was re-elected, and thus served a continuous term of eight years.
In 1872 he was again elected, and served six years more. He was
a man of experience, possessing a fund of common sense, and his ad-
ministration of the office was satisfactory both to the lawyers and
the people.
He died in 1890, and left him surviving two sons, Cyrenue P. and
618 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
John M., both of whom are attorneys, having offices in the city of
Poughkeepsie.
Horace D. Hufcut was also a useful and efficient surrogate. He
was the son of George Hufcut, who for many years practiced law at,
or near Dover, and who was a man of substance and reputation, and
a great favorite with the lawyers of his day. He died in 1881, aged
76 years. Horace D. entered into partnership with his father until
1884, when he was elected surrogate.
In 1891 he was elected District Attorney and served a term of
three years. He was deservedly liked by the profession, and dis-
charged his official duties to the satisfaction of all. He died in 1905,
leaving a widow and two children.
Edward Crummey, bom in 1827, was in his day a well-known attor-
ney. He was of pronounced temperance proclivities, and much of his
time and efforts were expended in advocating total abstinence. He
died in 1894, at the age of about 67, leaving a widow and two sons,
one of whom is a practicing lawyer in New York.
John Z. Storrs was a contemporary of Mr. Crummey, and a co-
worker with him. He was born in 1828, and died in 1887.
One of the most serious losses sustained by the bar was the death,
in 1896, of Charles B. Herrick. He was only fifty years of age, and
had a career of much promise apparently before him. He studied
law in the office of Thompson & Weeks, and in 1876 formed a partner-
ship with Col. Henry E. Losey, which continued until his death. He
was a lawyer of much ability and integrity, and had achieved an hon-
orable standing in his profession.
Henry H. Hustis, Edmund S. Phillips and J. Hervey Cook, all prac-
titioners residing at Matteawan or Fishkill Landing, were active in
professional circles. Mr. Hustis was an exceedingly accurate lawyer,
and was engaged in many prominent causes. He was bom in 1829,
and died in 1896, leaving a wife and children.
Edmund S. Phillips, bom in 1836, was the first lawyer to locate at
Matteawan, and continued to practice there until his death, which
occurred in 1898. He left two sons, Samuel K. Phillips, afterward
County Judge of Dutchess County, and Sherwood Phillips, also an
attorney. Both the sons are still engaged in practice at Matteawan.
BENCH AND BAR. 519
J. Hervey Cook, the third of the three named, was a quaint and
thoroughly likeable character. He possessed great literary tastes,
iand was a well read lawyer and a charming companion. He was born
in 1837 and died in 1905.
The writer entertains very pleasant and affectionate memories of
Orlando D. M. Baker, at one time a member of the firm of Nelson &
Baker, and a lawyer of very large practice and in whose ofBce the
writer entered as a student in 1870. Mr. Baker was born in 1842
and died, a young man, in 1890, leaving a widow and two daughters.
In all matters concerning practice, concerning the machinery of
the law, Mr. Baker was far and away the ablest man at the bar. Not
that he was not a good, sound, all around lawyer, but in all matters
of legal procedure, in knowing just how to enforce legal rights, he
knew more than all the rest of the bar put together. He was a man
of the most prodigious industry and capacity for work, and was an
invaluable aid to Judge Nelson during their copartnership. Re-
served, and, in fact, unsocial outside of his own particular circle, he
possessed the kindest of hearts, and was a model husband, father and
citizen.
Collins Sheldon will be well remembered by those doing business in
the surrogate's court from '78 to '84. He was born in 1839, and was
elected surrogate in 1877. He practiced law in MiUerton, where he
died a few years ago.
Peter Edgar Ackert was the attorney for the city of Poughkeepsie
in 1895-'96, and died in 1902.
William R. Woodin has been dead so few years that he will be well
remembered by everyone. He was a gallant soldier during the war,
and upon his return commenced practice in the city of Poughkeepsie,
where he continued until his death.
He was elected District Attorney in 1877, and served his term,
giving satisfaction to aU. He was possessed of infinite wit and power
of repartee, and was one of the readiest of speakers on all social or
other occasions. He died in 1903, and left a widow and two daughters.
The two Bakers, Ransom and Lewis, were notable characters in
their day.
520 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Ransom Baker, or Squire Baker as he was more generally known,
was a Justice of the Peace in this city for many years. He was bom
in 1822, and was a man of many virtues and great force of character.
He died in 1894, leaving a son, Seward, who is now a distinguished
member of the bar, practicing in the Borough of the Bronx.
Lewis Baker, in no way akin to Ransom, studied law in the office of
Gerome Williams, and was admitted to practice in the year 1871, after
which time he followed his profession in the city of Poughkeepsie until
his death, which occurred in 1896. He was a genial, kindly person,
and was highly esteemed for his engaging personal quaUties by all his
brethren at the bar.
He presented himself for admission to the bar at Brooklyn in 1871
with the writer of this article, then and always his intimate friend.
The examinations were at that time entirely oral, and largely pre-
functory. So modest was he, and so distrustful of his own powers
and abilities, that it was difficult for him to summon up the requisite
courage to present himself before the Board of Examiners. Finally
he started with the writer, taking an immense old-fashioned carpet
bag, which seemed to contain nothing but a well-thumbed copy of the
then Civil Code. On the steam road to New York, on the horse cars
to the hotel, and late that night our friend pored over that fateful
book, as if all the legal lore extant was embraced within its green
covers.
The next morning Baker, the writer, the carpet bag, and the Code,
started for Brooklyn where the examination was to be held. On the
way to the court house his courage again oozed out, and it was only
by the arrangement of an elaborate code of signals through which the
writer was to help him in answering knotty questions, that he con-
sented to go in the class room. All of the expected aid on the part of
the writer could of course be exercised only by sitting next to the per-
son undergoing examination. But, alas ! when the examiners were
ready the chief one arose, and stated that for the purpose of con-
venience the candidates would be arranged in alphabetical order.
"Baker," and the first name shot out Uke a stone from a catapult.
"Lew" gave one despairing glance at his companion, one at the door
by which he had entered, one at the head of the room, and for an
instant it was doubtful which route he would pursue. Finally, with
an air of desperation, he grabbed his carpet bag, and with his ever
BENCH AND BAR. 521
ready code in his hand, started for the front seat. The class was a
large one of over fifty, and, of course, the writer was three or four
rows in the rear, unable in any way, to aid his comrade in. distress.
When the entire class was arranged and settled, the examiner called
out, "Mr. Baker, what are the Courts of this State?" Now in this
self-same Code the very first section enumerated aU of these courts,
commencing with "Courts for the trial of Impeachments" and ending
with "PoHce Courts." No Hving man could have been expected to
name them in full, much less in order, but this was our friend's, oppor-
tunity. Like a horse galloping down a rocky road, he commenced
with the head and went clickety-clack down to the end, not missing a
one, and putting each in its regular order as it appeared in the sec-
tion. So unusual, so apparently impossible was ''the answer, so glib
and ready it was, that upon its completion the Board of Examiners,
and the whole room of students, broke into a roar of laughter and
applause, and the apphcant won his spurs and received his coveted
diploma on this one question and answer.
Perhaps no member of the bar was better known or more highly
esteemed than James L. Williams, who died only last year. He was
born in 1846, and was a nephew of Judge Dean, in this sketch before
mentioned. He entered into partnership with Peter Dorland, and in
1873 was elected District Attorney. In 1884 he entered into partner-
ship with John Hackett, which association continued down to the
time of his death. He was an excellent lawyer, and possessed of the
most charming social qualities.
John W. Bartram, Webster Haight, Henry H. Bowne, William
Brewer, Caspar L. Odell and Robert N. Palmer wiU each be remem-
bered by the present generation of lawyers. Mr. Bartram lived and
practiced at Wappinger Falls, Webster Haight at Verbank, and Rob-
ert N. Palmer at the city of Poughkeepsie. Each died a few years
ago, the dates of death and birth not being accessible to the writer.
Mr. Odell was elected a Recorder of the city of Poughkeepsie in
1889.
Mr. Bowne studied law in the office of Thompson & Weeks and sub-
sequently removed to Jacksonville, Florida, where he practiced until
he died.
622 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS,
Albert M. Card and John H. Millard are also fresh in the memories
of the present bar.
Mr. Card was born in 184!3, and died in 1905, most of the time main-
taining an office and practicing in the city of New York, though fre-
quently engaged in the trial of cases at the Dutchess terms.
Mr. Millard was bom in 1851, studied law in the office of Thompson
& Weeks, and died unmarried in 1904.
Peter Hulme and NicoU Floyd Elmendorf, two young men of ex-
ceptionable ability, died the first in 1901, and the other a few years
earlier.
Robert Sanford was born in 1831, and lived the greater part of his
life in Poughkeepsie. He was never engaged in active practice here,
but lived in dignified retirement. He was a genial, warm-hearted
man, and particularly fond 'jof children. For many years he was
actively interested in the public schools of this city. He died in 1908,
leaving him surviving several children, of whom one, Henry G. San-
ford, is a practicing lawyer in New York.
James C. McCarty, one of the oldest and most respected of the
country practitioners, and for many years a member of the firm of
Esselstyn & McCarty, at Rhinebeck, went over to the majority during
the last year. He had attained the ripe age of eighty-four.
The last death to be recorded by your chronicler is that of Kieran
J. Lawler, an amiable member of the bar, at one time City Chamber-
lain, who died at Poughkeepsie during the present year.
These sketches would be incomplete, however, without some refer-
ence to the most unique and interesting character that ever trod the
halls of Justice in our county, often and familiarly known as the
Irish barrister — John Moore.
No one ever knew the date of his birth, but no one after seeing and
hearing him ever doubted his birthplace. Short and spare of frame,
with a keen, intellectual face, and an inimitable brogue, he was a
picturesque character of the bar during the writer's early life. Origi-
nally he was a gardener in the employ of John Thompson, in this
article often mentioned. In some way he got admitted to the bar»
ALLISON BUTTS.
BENCH AND BAR. 523
though apparently without any steady course of study or attendance
in a law office. At all events, in 1870, he was quite a practitioner,
and had numerous clients who availed themselves of his peculiar talents.
In later years he became very poor, cUents dropped away from him,
and the world went wrong with the aged lawyer, but at long inter-
vals he would reappear and exhibit flashes of his former wit and elo-
quence. These appearances became more and more rare, and finally
after a few years he was run over at a railroad crossing, and the poor,
battered, unsuccessful huUt drifted into port.
It was a treat to hear the barrister in his palmy days try a cause.
With a hazy idea of the more intricate paths of law, he had naturally
a keen intellect, and this coupled with native Irish wit, made him an
effective trial lawyer where the issues were of fact only. The writer
does not remember ever seeing or hearing him laugh, and his rare
smiles were always wintry. He would utter the most witty sayings,
and forge an epigram which was humor boiled down, with a face as
impassive as a sphinx.
The writer weU remembers a time in the early seventies when light-
ning rods were greatly in vogue, and the country was infested with
lightning rod agents, who thrust their wares upon the farmers almost
against their will and knowledge. Moore was defending a case of
this kind where the victim refused to pay, and in his summing up,
wishing to crush the poor agent so faj- as words could do it, character-
ized him as an "I-tin-e-rant bu-r-rd of prey." This characterization,
flung at the plaintiff in Moore's high falsetto voice, was irresistibly
ludicrous, and a verdict for the defendant followed.
On another occasion when he was defending some one, on the last
day of the term before the late Justice Gilbert, who resided in Brook-
lyn, not having much of a defense upon the merits, he made a motion
for a non-suit at the completion of the plaintiff's case, which happened
to be about three o'clock in the afternoon. The Judge hesitated,
and was dehberating on the motion, when Moore in his coaxing,
wheedling manner said: "Your honor's train wiU be going at three
thirty, and you will have just time to catch it."
In his later years, when poverty was oppressing him, he was argu-
ing a cause before Justice Barnard one warm spring day, wearing
an overcoat buttoned up to his chin. The room was hot, and the
counsellor was earnest, and the perspiration began to flow down his
524 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
face. The court said, "Mr. Moore, take it easy. Why don't you
remove your coat?" "I have raysons," said the advocate, shirtless,
no doubt, and continued his efforts.
Another memorable occasion was when he had been sued by a liquor
dealer for luireturned collections, and had interposed a counter claim
for services rendered to an amount considerably greater than the col-
lections. The cause came on trial, the attorney for the plaintiff
being the late Joseph H. Jackson, one of the most formal and precise
lawyers of the old school. Opposed to him the Irish barrister, de-
fendant and defendant's attorney in person.
When it came to the defence Moore took the stand and gravely
commenced to question himself. He had an old, greasy, battered stiff
hat which was the repository of all the law papers and exhibits con-
nected with the case. This hat with its precious contents he care-
fully deposited on the end of the judicial bench, almost under the nose
of the Justice presiding.
He insisted on reading all the correspondence between him and the
plaintiff, with a view, of course, to show the number and variety of
the delinquents he was pursuing, and the extent of his labors, and
the measure of proper remuneration. As each paper was needed he
would solemnly rise on the witness stand and fish in the hat for it.
Then he would read it, and comment upon its contents. In fifteen
minutes he had the court, the jury, and the entire court room con-
vulsed with laughter. Jackson was powerless to restrain him, the
court seemed unwiUing to, and the poor plaintiff was laughed out of
court with a verdict against him.
At Mr. Moore's death the bar erected a neat tablet and placed it
over his remains. It bears the inscription:
JOHN MOORE.
Counsellor at Law.
Died Oct. 30, 1903,
Age 70 years.
Erected by his friends.
Since this book commenced to go to press, the members of the local
Bar have learned with regret of the decease of Mr. William R. Lee,
which occurred at his home in Pawling on the 6th day of June, 1909.
Mr*. Lee was a careful and efficient lawyer and was elected District
Attorney, serving the term immediately preceding the term of the
BENCH AND BAR. 525
present incumbent. He was a man of the strictest personal and pro-
fessional integrity, and endeared himself to all who came in contact
with him.
At a session of the Supreme Court held a few days after his death
in the City of Poughkeepsie the proceedings were suspended and Mr.
Lee's professional friends all joined in feeling and touching tributes,
expressing their appreciation of him as a man and as a brother lawyer.
Judge Tompkins, presiding, joined in these expressions of regret and
respect, and ordered the entire proceeding to be spread in full upon
the minutes of the court.
In writing the foregoing sketches the writer feels that he has said
little where much might be said. An experience of over thirty years
at the local bar has brought him into personal Contact and associa-
tion with most of the men named. He feels that he has done but scant
justice to the professional ability and private qualifications of his
dead associates, but he feels that they will long be remembered by what
they were, and what they did, and not by any brief record that can at
this time be made.
He has prepared a list of other deceased lawyers who at one time
or another have practiced at the local bar, and who havt not been
specially mentioned in the foregoing part of this article.
While such hst extends beyond the personal recollection of the older
members of the bar now living, it is necessarily imperfect and incom-
plete, embracing but comparatively few of the earlier practitioners.
No attempt has been made to arrange the names chronologically,
but only to the extent that the later generation of lawyers appear at
the end of each grouping. Possibly some of these last may still be
living in some place outside of this county or State.
Ashurst, John Golden, Cadwallader De Lacy, William L.
Armstrong John, Jr. Cowles, Edward E.
Akerley, Frank T. Crooke, Philip S. Ellison,
Ackert, Alfred T. Conger, Moses Emigh, Ward
Cole, Andrew
Bonney, B. W. Forbus, Alexander
Buttolph, Edward A. Davis, Richard, II.
Bonesteel, Virgil D. Duer, William A. Greenthal, Robert
Brundage, Chester B. Davies, John W. Gray, Frank H.
Baum, Peter M. Doty, John V. W. Gillender, Augustus T.
Beard, Oliver L. Dearin, Samuel L. Guernsey, Joseph R.
526
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Hayes, Peter P.
Hoffmann, Murray
Hoffman, Fr. R.
Hammond, Burton
Hitchcock, Cyrus
Haviland, Hiram S.
Hughes, J. Wade
Hoff, Charles L.
Haight, Silas E.
Heermance, De Witt
Hill Gideon
HuU, Walter C.
Ingraham, George
Johnston, Charles
Kipp, William Bergh
Lyle, John V. A.
Lewis, Morgan
Liston, John K.
Lord, Greorge W.
Lawton, Isaac
Maison, Leonard
Morse, John
McCarty, Andrew Z.
McWilliam, John S.
Martin, Joseph
Mitchell, J. Grant
MoneU, John J.
Nelson, William B.
Oppe, James H.
Oakley, Thomas J.
Piatt, Jonas
Piatt, John H.
Paine, George W.
Peck, Richard
Post, J. Edward
Rusk, John
Rusk, Elisha
Rose, Homer A.
Reed, Thomas, Jr.
Smith, Melancthon
Shufeldt, George A.
Smith, James
Stoutenburgh, John A.
Schouten, William K.
Schryver, Matthew V. B.
Simmons, E. A.
Smalley Charles M.
Thayer,
Townsend, Robert
Thompson, Smith
Tucker, Gideon J.
Tallmadge, James, Jr.
Thorn, Samuel
Thompson, Walter L.
Townsend, John M.
Van Ness, Jacob
Van Benthuysen, Jacob
Van Keuren, Frank T.
Woodworth, W. W.
Williams, Charles
Weeks, Z.
Wilkinson, Arthur L.
Wolcott, Henry G.
Except as may be found in the biographical sketches contained in
Part H of this History, the records of living and practicing lawyers
are not given.
It seems well, however, as a matter of convenience to future his-
torians that there should be appended to this article a list of the
names and the present residences of all the members of the Dutchess
County Bar now living.
The list as printed in the Calendar for June, 1909, Trial Term of
the Supreme Court, follows:
DUTCHESS COUNTY BAB.
Ackerman, Fred E., Poughkeepsie
Albro, William C, Poughkeepsie
Arnold, C. W. H., Poughkeepsie
Arnold, Harry, Poughkeepsie
Atwater, Edward S., Poughkeepsie
Ball, aJohn B., Poughkeepsie
Barker, Harry C, Poughkeepsie
Barnard, Frederick, Poughkeepsie
Bingham, Isaac E., Poughkeepsie
Bolin, Gains C, Poughkeepsie
Brevoort, Benjamin H., Poughkeepsie
Briggs, Homer E., Poughkeepsie
Brown, Samuel H., Poughkeepsie
Butts, Allison, Poughkeepsie
Butts, Ralph P., Poughkeepsie
Card, George, Poughkeepsie
BENCH AND BAR.
527
Carroll, James E., Poughkeepsie
Connolly, Frank J., Poughkeepsie
Conklin, Fred L., Millerton
Cossum, Charles F., Poughkeepsie
Conger, Edward A., Poughkeepsie
Daughton, Jos. A., Poughkeepsie
Daley, Annie G. W., Poughkeepsie
Donnelly, John J., Matteawan
Dorland, Cyrenus P., Poughkeepsie
Dorland, John M., Poughkeepsie
Douw, Alexander, Poughkeepsie
Doughty, Robert W., Fishkill Landing
Downing, William, Pawling
Drake, Clarence J., Pleasant Valley
Dugan, Daniel A., Fishkill Landing
Dwight, James S., Poughkeepsie
Elting, Irving, Poughkeepsie
Eno, Frank, Pine Plains
Esselstyn, George, Rhinebeck
Farrington, Walter, Poughkeepsie
Fowler, Milton A., Poughkeepsie
Fowler, Benjamin M., Poughkeepsie
Gardinier, Samuel H., Poughkeepsie
Gurney, Herbert R., Poughkeepsie
Gleason, Daniel J., Millerton
Guernsey, Stephen G., Poughkeepsie
Grubb, John B., Poughkeepsie
Hackett, John, Poughkeepsie
Hackett, John M., Poughkeepsie
Haight, Adelbert, Poughkeepsie
Harris, Harry C, Poughkeepsie
Hasbrouck, Frank, Poughkeepsie
Hasbrouck, Webster D., Poughkeepsie
Heermance, Martin, Poughkeepsie
Hopkins, Charles A., Poughkeepsie
Hoysradt, Willet E., Poughkeepsie
Hunter, Robert H., Poughkeepsie
Husted, Chester, Poughkeepsie
Horan, Joseph, Poughkeepsie
Ingal, J. Malcolm, Pouglikeepsie
Keech, John R., Poughkeepsie
Kelly, John A., Poughkeepsie
Kent, William, FishkiU Landing
KeUy, John T., Jr., Matteawan
Kelly, Frank H., Poughkeepsie
Lawson, Welcome H., Poughkeepsie
Lee, W. Morgan, Poughkeepsie
Loope, Warren L., Matteawan
Losey, Henry E., Poughkeepsie
Lown, Frank B., Pouglikeepsie
Mayer, Edward D., Amenia
Mattice, Leonard, Red Hook
McCann, Charles L., Poughkeepsie
McCarty, Charles E., Rhinebeck
Meyer, James G., Matteawan
Mack, John B., Poughkeepsie
Morgan, Guy H., Pouglikeepsie
Morschauser, Charles, Poughkeepsie
Morschauser, Joseph, Poughkeepsie
Mylod, John J., •Poughkeepsie
Ormsbee, Frank S., Madalin
Overocker, George, Poughkeepsie
Perkins, Edward E., Poughkeepsie
Pliillips, Samuel K., Matteawan
Phillips, Sherwood, Matteawan
Phillips, George W., Hughsonville
Piatt, Isaac, Poughkeepsie
Rikert, Frank G., Matteawan
Ringwood, John F., Pouglikeepsie
Rogers, Samuel B., FishkiU Landing
Russell, Elijah T., Millbrook
Reynolds, Allen S., Poughkeepsie
Schlosser, John F., Fishkill Landing
Sherrill, Wilfrid H., Poughkeepsie
Sickley, John C, Poughkeepsie
Slee, Samuel, Poughkeepsie
Slee, R. Burton, Poughkeepsie
Spratt, George V. L., Pouglikeepsie
Tice, William G., Pawling
Travis, Everett H., Pouglikeepsie
Van Cleef, Henry H., Poughkeepsie
Van Wyck, S. Miller, FishkiU Landing
Wager, A. Lee, Rhinebeck
Wilkinson, Robert, Poughkeepsie
Williams, George H., Poughkeepsie
Wood, George, Pouglikeepsie
WorraU, George, Poughkeepsie
Whittaker, Theodore, Poughkeepsie
Note. — The writer desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to the editors of the
History of Dutchess County, and of the History of the City of Poughkeepsie for
much valuable data.
528 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Bt Guy Caeleton Bayley.
The Medical Society of Dutchess County.
ON March 23rd, 1797, the Legislature passed a law to regu-
late the practice of physic and surgery in this State, which
in substance required that every person practicing medicine
should file a copy of his diploma, or license to practice, with
the Clerk of the County in which he lived. If he had no diploma
he had to take a responsible person who knew him personally,
before a Judge of a Court of Record to vouch for his re-
spectability, and to the fact that he had practiced medicine in his
present place of residence for at least two years previous. On his
showing this, the judge gave him a license to practice. Two of these
licenses which have historical interest, have been examined by the
writer: One was issued to Cyrenus Crosby, of the Town of Amenia,
by Gilbert Livingston, Master in Chancery, March 23rd, 1797. The
second was issued to Isaac DeLavergne, of the Town of Washington,
by Jacob C. Bloom, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, December
8th, 1797. If a man could do neither of these two things, he had to
stop practicing, under certain penalties. This law was good, but
whose duty was it to enforce it.'' And through what channel could
it be done? It proved ineflFective, and the law passed April 4th, 1806,
entitled "An Act to incorporate Medical Societies for the purpose of
regulating the practice of Physic and Surgery in this State," was a
natural result. This made the medical men of each county, in an asso-
ciation legally constituted, the judges of the fitness of those desirous
of engaging in practice, the censors of the morals and character of
its own members, also enabling and constraining this body to
enforce the laws of the State against illegal practitioners. It is in-
teresting to note here that there had been voluntary associations and
GUY CARLETON BAYLEY, M. D.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 529
societies of doctors before this, not only in the large cities of New
York, Philadelphia and Boston, but as seen by the following adver-
tisement, the doctors in the country towns associated themselves to-
gether in societies to discuss medical aiFairs. This notice is in the
New York Packet and the American Advertiser, published at Fish-
kill, and dated May 22nd, 1783 ;
"This is to notify the members of the First Medical Society in the thirteen
United States of America since their Independence. That a meeting will be holden
at the house of Dr. Phineas Smith in Sharon on the second Tuesday of June next,
at 10 o'clock A. M., certified per. Oliver Fuller, Clerk."
This meeting was to be at Sharon, but the notice was given at Fish-
kiU. The lines between New York and Connecticut were at that time
very illy-defined, and Sharon may well have been «onsidered in New
York State. In any event the doctors of Dutchess were expected to
take notice and respond to the call.
Up to the passage of the act of 1797 the practice of medicine had
been in a chaotic state. Many of those calling themselves doctors had
no qualifications whatever. The possession of some popular treatise on the
treatment of simple ailments, a knowledge of the use of simples, often
gained by intercourse with the Indians, were their only credentials. There
were a few adventurous spirits from Europe, who had qualified them-
selves for practice at one of the great schools ; a few Americans who
went to the universities in the old countries and gained their diplomas;
more who went to England, or Edinburgh, and took a single course
of lectures ; but the great number, after serving an apprenticeship
with a doctor, without further advantages, launched their craft,
spread their sails to the breeze, fuU fledged doctors. As the country
became more thickly populated, and as collections of cabins grew
into towns and villages, this confusion and uncertainty as to a doc-
tor's standing and quahfications became intolerable, till the people, led
by the better educated of the doctors, demanded order and higher
standards, and these laws resulted.
In the Poughkeepsie Journal of August 12th, 1806, appeared the
following notice:
"The Physicians of Dutchess having omitted to organize themselves into a
society according to an act passed at the last session of the Legislature, they are
requested to meet at Cunningham's Hotel, Poughkeepsie, on Saturday, the 30th
of September, at 3 o'clock p. m. It is necessary that as large a number convene
as possible."
530 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In the same paper on August 26th there appeared the following
communication — (it is verbose, and the sentences are badly con-
structed, but we get the writer's meaning) :
"To the Physicians of Dutchess County:
A distinguished writer has remarked 'That enjoying a state of health we want
little else.' A position which every man's progress through life can iUnstrate very
clearly. But we do not trust to an exception and a recovery from disease, only
to a, strong and regular organization of our frame. Ill health wiU approach-^it
may advance with an insidious step, or it may assail with violence: and having
commenced its attack, more than common skill may be necessaiy to resist it. For
this purpose, in nursery language, you must call in the physician. It is of conse-
quence, then, that he with whom a sick person is to be intrusted should be fitted
to answer the purpose for which he is sent, coming on an errand, too, on which
perhaps, is suspended the happiness of a family and of a community: — ^What
Horace, with exuberant praise, asserts of the muse, is emphatically appropriate to
the well-educated and skillful physician. — Digmma Virmn Vetat Mori.
There can be no question that the practice of medicine involves the best interests
of society; nor, can any one deny that they are also shamefuDy neglected. To
remedy this evil, in some measure, a law was passed at the last session of the
legislature, authorizing the physicians of the several counties to imite into socie-
ties, which should have the power of regulating a number of things appertaining
to their profession. With a. spirit that reflects lustre on the medical character
societies of this kind have been formed in most of the coimties of the State. In
Dutchess, from apathy, indolence, or ignorance that a new law relating to the
practice of physic and surgery was in existence, no society has been formed. Still
it is not too late to fulfill the intention of the act, a provision having been made
for those counties which should omit to avail themselves of its privileges. In
reference to this provision is the notice to physicians in last week's paper. It
may be observed that this notice ought to be attended to — ^because the law, — ^which
regulates the practice of physic and surgery at present, will expire on the first of
next month, after which time imtil the forming of a society according to the late
law the practice wiU be absolutely at loose ends, or at no ends at all, unless the
rotten limbs of the profession — the fag ends of it — ^may be called one of the ends
of our science. To be serious, after the first of September, until the evil here
spoken of be guarded against, any man may exalt himself in our county into a
guardian of health, without examination or license. It is within the writer's knowl-
edge, that three persons have appeared with the intention of settling down as
doctors, on the strength of a belief that the present law was abrogated. It follows
from these observations, that not only a sense of duty which actuates physicians,
considered as members of the community, but that of interest should induce those
of our county of Dutchess to form a corporate and medical association which may
embrace their district. And the motive of interest is strengthened by another
consideration. The wording of the provision in the law regulating the practice of
physic which I have mentioned makes it necessary to convene a majority of the
physicians of the country to institute a society where they have omitted to meet
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 531
on the first Tuesday of July. It runs thus: 'And be it further enacted, that if
the physicians and surgeons of any county or counties of this State shall not meet
and organize themselves at such times and places as is required by this act, it
shall be lawful for them to meet at such other time as a majority of them shall
think proper, and their proceedings shall be as valid as if their meeting had been
at the time provided for in this act.' Here it is plain that a majority of the
physicians of the county is necessary now even in the initiatory steps to organize
themselves into a society. Nor is the case without difficulty. In the first place it
cannot be ascertained at once what number of physicians constitutes a majority:
and in the next it seems quite improbable that a majority will assemble at the
time appointed, or at any other time. A sufficient number of physicians can con-
vene, however, if they please. Let me ask them, then, with the utmost earnestness
by all means to endeavor to come to town on the 30th of September, so as to have as
many collected as possible. The solicitude which marks this request is not magni-
fying the trifles in matters of moment; for I am pleading at^the bar of the faculty
to effect what I deem a most important end. I have in view the happiness of
mankind, and the satisfaction and comfort of my fellow practitioners in the dis-
charge of the duties of their profession.
A Physiciait.
N. B. — ^Measures are taking to obtain a list of all the practitioners of medicine
in the county. If it be procured, comparing it with the number of physicians who
may meet on the 20th of next month, it can be ascertainedi'T^ther there be a
majority as pointed out in the law.
Poughkeepsie, August 3Sth, 1806."
Agreeable to public notice a meeting of the Physicians of Dutchess
County was held at Cunningham's Hotel, September 20th, 1806, viz. :
Doctors Benjamin DeLavergne and William Lathrop of Washing-
ton; Ezekiel H. Gurnsey, Amasa Buckman and Richard Bartlett of
Stanford ; James Thome, John Pinckney, Abraham Halsey and Bartow
White of FishkiU; David Delavan and James Scovel of Pawling; John
Chamberlain, Charles Waldo, Baltus Livingston Va'n Kleeck, Caled
Child, John Thomas and James Livingston Van Kleeck of Pough-
keepsie; Thomas Quinlan, James Downs, George W. Cook, Cyrus
Berry and William Ely of Clinton ; John M. Smith of Amenia ; Joseph
Rogers of Fishkill (Wappingers) ; David Tomlinson and William
Wheeler of Rhinebeck; Uri Judd of Northeast; Ebenezer Cary and
Thomas Saffen of Beekman.
Resolved, That these present do form themselves into a society pur-
suant "to an act to incorporate medical societies for the purpose of
regulating the practice of physic and surgery in this State, passed
the 4.th of April, 1806."
Whereupon the following were chosen officers of the society: Presi-
532 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
dent, Samuel Bard, M. D. ; Vice-president, Benjamin DeLavergne;
Treasurer, Robert Noxon; Secretary, James L. Van Kleeck, M. D.
Benjamin DeLaveegne, Chairman.
Abuaham Halsey, Secretary.
The society being organized, Dr. DeLavergne in the chair, the fol-
lowing were elected censors: Ebenezer Cary of Beekman, John
Thomas of Poughkeepsie, William Lathrop, M. D., of Washington,
Daniel Tomlinson of Rhinebeck, Abraham Halsey of FishkiU. Dr.
WiUiam Wheeler was appointed delegate to the State Society. Drs.
Thomas, White, Saffen, Ely and J. L. Van Kleeck were appointed a
committee to draft a code of by-laws. When we consider that the
state of the roads was such that travehng was largely done on horse-
back, the distance traveled, and the time taken, this was a goodly
meeting of representative men, well conducted, of admirable results.
We may note four things. Dr. Samuel Bard of Hyde Park, the Presi-
dent elect, was not present; Dr. Cyrus Berry, though present and
taking part in this and other meetings up to May 11th, 1807, without
objection, on that date applied for admission and was rejected, no
reason being given; also that there were but three of the ten officers
elected who had the degree of doctor of medicine, and that must have
been a large proportion for any meeting of medical men in those days-
And again that Dr. WTieeler, the delegate to the State Society, was
at the organization of that body, in 1807, appointed a censor, an
honor for old Dutchess.
I have been so very fortunate as to find Dr. Bard's inaugural ad-
dress. As it is not printed among any collections of his writings,
and gives a very good idea of his style in writing, and of the great
interest he had in medical education, it has a special interest for us
to-day.
Address — ^Delivered before the Medicai, Society op Dutchess
County at their Anniversary Meeting on the 2nd Tuesday
OF THE PRESENT MONTH (NOVEMBER, 1806), BY DoCTOR SaMUEL
Bard, President of the Society.
Gentlemen:
At all times and in all countries, the healing art has been considered of the first
iid|)ortance to the happiness of mankind; and accordingly, the means of instruc-
tion in it, and the regulation of its practice, have ever been thought objects worthy
MEDICAI. PROFESSION. 533
the attention of most civilized nations and of the wisest governments. In the
first, great progress has been made, and the theory and practice of medicine, upon
the most solid principles, and the most extensive and philosophic plan, are in the
present day not only taught in all the learned nations of Europe, but in this
comparatively new country learned institutions for teaching all the various
branches of science, which are connected with, and necessary to the most thorough
knowledge of our profession have been founded, and brought to a degree of per-
fection which already vies with the most ancient. But to regulate the practice
of medicine so as to avoid the fatal blunders of ignorance, and to prevent the
frauds of deception, has been found a more difBcult task; and notwithstanding the
extensive powers which have been conferred on colleges and other medical institu-
tions; and the penalties with which ignorance and quackery have been threatened,
we daily see every city and almost every village in almost all countries, deluged
with advertisements and nostroms, and the money, the health, and the lives of the
people sacrificed to the most open and bare-faced imposture. In the institution
imder which we now meet, the Legislature of this State ha# made a new attempt,
and upon a plan, which I believe, more extensive than has hitherto been thought
of in any country; she has committed the care of guarding the honor of the heal-
ing art, of promoting its real usefulness, and of protecting our fellow citizens from
the dangers of ignorance and of imposture, to the profession at large. Where
confidence is reposed fidelity is a debt; and I sincerely hope that in the zeal and
disinterestedness of the practitioners of medicine throughout the State, the Legis-
lature may find reason to applaud the wisdom of her design. All human institu-
tions are defective, and time and experience are necessary to bring them to any
tolerable degree of perfection, from this conviction, the Medical Society of the
State, which is formed of delegates from that of every county, and which meets
at the seat of government, has been instituted, that the Legislature may, from time
to time, receive the necessary information for correcting and perfecting its plan.
From this, therefore, we are ultimately to receive many of the laws and regulations
by which we are to be governed, and for this reason the fewer laws and regulations
which are entered into by the county societies the better, especially in the be-
ginning, that we may not contravene each other and that uniformity of conduct
may be preserved, which is essential to success in any extensive design; for it
is very plain to see, that if in this institution the physicians and surgeons throughout
the State, are not actuated by one uniform, liberal and disinterested spirit, but
oppose one another with jealous and contradictory designs, the whole will soon
crumble into nothing. To incorporate the professors of an art so extensively
diffused as that of medicine, so as to give imiformity to their plans and operations,
is a delicate trust, and we must not expect but what the Legislature will contem-
plate our conduct with some degree of diffidence. If, therefore, we find her listen-
ing to our proposals with caution, and slowly granting the privileges we may think
necessary to the completion of her own design, we must be prepared to wait with
patience, until we can convince her of the liberality, utility, and disinterestedness
of our intentions. It is evident from the use to which the Legislature has appro-
priated the annual contributions of the county societies, that she has had in view
not only to legislate for the practice, but to promote the knowledge of medicine;
634 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the necessily and usefulness of this part of the plan Is apparent, and the sooner we
make a heginning the better, but although I heartily subscribe to the collection of
books, I think that the more they are read, the more general will be the conviction,
that a good medical education although it may be commenced, can never be prop-
erly finished in the country, where opportunities for the study of many of the most
useful branches of our profession are not to be obtained, where many rare and
important diseases seldom occur, where few young men can see a capital operation
in surgery, and where none can attend the dissection of a whole body. One great
advantage therefor which I hope to see flow from this institution is the encourage-
ment of our public medical schools by a practice which has not hitherto prevailed
so generally as from its usefulness and great importance it unquestionably ought;
1 mean that of sending young men at least to finish their medical education at
New York, where a botanic garden, a chemical laboratory, an anatomatical theatre,
a well regulated hospital, and learned professors, offer them every means of im-
provement; and will do more in one season to promote their knowledge
and to give them just, liberal and extensive use of their profession than many
years spent in the coimtry. I am confident that in this decided preference which
I have given to the opportunities afforded by a medical education at a well regu-
lated and amply furnished school which we possess in New York, I meet the
hearty concurrence of every medical man of liberal mind in this or any other
county of the State. They too well know the diflSculties they have to contend with
in instructing their pupUs, too justly appreciate the excellent opportunities of our
public seminary and too conscientiously feel their duty, to hesitate in a matter so
apparent and so important. I know too the difficulties and obstacles which
obstruct their wishes, the reluctance, and in too many instances the impossibilities
of parents supplying the necessary expenses, and too frequently the impatience and
confidence of young men. But would it not be a less evil, that those who either
will not or cannot afford the necessary expenses of time and money to obtain a,
good medical education, should turn their thoughts to some other profession, than
that the health and lives of our fellow citizens should be committed to the care
of such as are confessedly unqualified for so delicate and important a task. I
have nothing further, gentlemen, to add at present, but to thank you for the honor
you have done me in appointing me your president to recommend ' to you a
unanimity, zeal, and public spirit in the conduct of this institution, and to promise
you my hearty concurrence and faithful exertions in carrying into effect such
useful regulations as you may think proper to adopt.
Samuel Baud.
November 11th, 1806.
At the meeting in which Dr. Berry was refused fellowship, the law
against illegal practitioners was first put in motion, information
being laid against a ^James Cavel for illegal practice. In this, the
first, as well as in all future cases of proposed discipline and enforce-
ment of the rules, we find that there are members doubting the power
1. James Cavel was admitted to membership in 1819.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 536
of the society to do anything in the way of discipline. This question
of power is never raised outside, or by the defendant, but always by a
member, and in most instances it has been overruled. It is a curious
manifestation of the desire to be in the opposition which crops up so
continually among men in all conditions in life. On January 22nd,
1808, a seal and a form for a diploma were adopted. It is very much
to be regretted that all traces of this seal have been lost. In 1873,
when I was secretary, I instituted a search among the famihes of for-
mer secretaries, but could find no trace of it. The society then
authorized the secretary to procure a new seal, and one was obtained
of an uninteresting, conventional design, which had no special signifi-
cance. In the centennial year of the society I found several impres-
sions of the old seal, which is most characteristic and original, and at
the anniversary meeting of the society I recommended that the old
seal reproduced from the impressions there shown, be the official seal
of the society for the future.
The seal as shown has a profile of Dr. John Bard, the father of our
first president, who lived both in New York and Dutchess Counties;
the inscription "Couny N York. John Bard M. D. Med^ S^ Dut^«'"
and the billet of wood ( I tried hard to make it out, the staff dt
Aesculapius), with a serpent rising up, is all very good. An inaccu^
racy (it was a common fault in those times) is shown in placing M. D.
after John Bard's name. He had no degree; his prehminary and
professional education were both very scant, though he made the most
of his opportunities, and by his perseverance and natural abih'ty rose
superior to the difficulties that prevented his obtaining a college edu-
cation. Let us by aU means have the old seal as it was.
The first evidence of real public spirit was shown by the society in
1812, when a committee of three was appointed to publish such infor-
mation as it may be able to obtain in regard to the nature and, method
of treatment of the prevailing epidemic. This is very laudable, but
if they had only gratified the curiosity of future generations by tell-
ing what the epidemic was it would have been more satisfactory.^
1. This epidemic was one of Cerebo-spinal Meningitis, or Spotted Fever. In a letter
written by Captain Fonda, the grandfather of the present cashier of the Merchants'
Bank, to Dr. William Thomas, then in the army and stationed at Baton Kouge, he de-
scribes the scourge, and says that there had been forty deaths already from it in the
town. Foughkeepsle at that time bad less than three thousand Inhabitants, and forty
deaths was a high percentage of mortality.
536 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
It was at this meeting the deaths of Drs. William Lathrop and
George W. Cook were announced, and it was resolved to wear crape
on the left arm for twenty days in testimony of their regard for their
deceased brethren, the first of the members to pass on. This custom
was kept up, sometimes wearing the crape on the right arm, until
1836, when Dr. David Hosack, an honorary member, was the last so
honored. On November 10th, 1831, Dr. Bard resigned the presi-
dency of the society, which he had held since its organization, and the
thanks of the society were voted him for his services as president.
His resignation was occasioned by his appointment to the presidency
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He
was then in his 71st year. He seems to have been a father to, as well
as president of, the society. The most distinguished medical man of
his time in this country, the society was most fortunate in having such
a one to lead in its councils at its birth. He was an eloquent speaker,
an interesting, instructive writer, loved and respected by his associ-
ates, giving freely of his time and of his talents to the society, it is
no wonder that it prospered under his leadership.
In the third generation there was another president with many of
Dr. Bard's qualifications, whose service was longer, and whose reign,
for he was a sovereign in the best sense while he served — was more
beneficent than that of the first. I speak of Dr. Lewis H. White,
whose memory we all revere, and of whom I shall say more later.
From May 19th, 1815, up to the present time the society has suf-
fered from a chronic trouble for which no treatment that has been
proposed has proved even palliative; it seems to have reached its
climacteric in 1841, when a lawyer was employed to consult with the
doctors and to direct the treatment, even to the extent of prosecuting
delinquents, though the treatment never was carried so far. The
collection of dues has caused endless trouble, and this was largely
occasioned by the law which then compelled each physician practicing
in the county to pay the society one dollar each year, whether he
was a member or not. This law could never be enforced and was re-
pealed.
From 1808 to 1816 the society was given the privilege of nominat-
ing a student of medicine each year to attend one course of lectures
free at both the medical colleges in New York City. Seven young
men were given and availed themselves of this opportunity. On
ALFRED HASBROUCK, M. D.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 537
November 12th, 1816, the society made a new departure, and ordered
that one hundred dollars be spent for instruments for the use of
members of the society.
In 1817 two sets of amputating, and two sets of trephining instru-
ments having been bought, it was ordered that one of each should be
kept by the treasurer at Poughkeepsie, and one of each by Dr. Ricket-
son at Beekman, for the use of the members. Afterwards a set of
obstetrical instruments was bought, and the nucleus of a library
formed, but for reasons not stated this venture proved a failure, and
the instruments and books were sold to individual members in 1826.
In 1817 the first standard of prices for ordinary practice was adopted
in great detail, even giving the price of medicines by the dose or
larger quantity. The charges vary but little ftrom the fees of the
present time.
From 1836 to 1838 the society was greatly exercised by the ques-
tion of granting a diploma to a Joel Devine. Feeling ran high; with
the slight knowledge we have it is impossible to judge of the merits
of the case. The court intervened, a mandamus was issued requiring
the society to show cause why a diploma should not be given. It was
decided at last, at a meeting slimly attended, to grant the diploma.^
The late Dr. Pine in an historical sketch read before the society in
1875, gives this unfortunate episode as the cause of the gradual loss
of interest shown by the members from about this time, which culmi-
nated in 1845. Then after a meeting, where officers were elected, and
new members admitted, and for no apparent reason, there was no fur-
ther meeting till 1854. The society was passing through parlous
times, and its life was only saved by an accident. At a meeting of
the physicians of Dutchess County, held at Washington Hollow, Oc-
tober, 1854, there were present Drs. Hillis, Hughson, Thorn, Dodge,
Hasbrouck, Losee, Pine, Harvey, Bell, Campbell, and Bockee. A
1. The young man applied for examination by tlie society for a iicense to practice.
The examination was held and he was given a certiflcate which had to be signed by the
President. This, Dr. John Cooper, the President, refused to do, on account of the moral
character of the applicant. The case was taken to the court, a mandamus to show
cause was issued, the parties to appear at Utlca. Lawyers were retained, and expense
incurred. Dr. Varick was elected President and signed the certiflcate, and that part of the
trouble was settled, but the Mils were still to be paid, and it was^ this financial end of
the affair which so nearly disrupted the society. Smith, in his History of Dutchess
County, says that "The future course of the young man more than justified Dr. Cooper's
action."
538 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
motion was made to organize a new society, not connected with the
Dutchess County Medical Society. Motion lost. Just think of it!
If that motion had prevailed we should not be here to-day, there would
have been no centennial, and this honorable, useful organization would
have passed into innocuous desuetude.
On motion it was resolved to reorganize the Dutchess County Medi-
cal Society, and Drs. Hughson, Pine and Bockee were appointed to
revise the by-laws. On November 4th, 1854, a meeting of the society
was held at Dr. Pine's office, in MiU street, the president elected in
1845, Dr. Calvert Canfield, in the chair. New members were elected,
the by-laws revised, and the name of the society changed, and called
"The Medical Society of Dutchess County." On August 9th, 1859,
the next meeting was held, no reason being given for the long interval.
The only business of importance was the reception of Dr. Edward H.
Parker as a member. There was a meeting in 1861, and then another
break till 1866. In 1867 Dr. Lewis H. White was elected president
of the society, and a new era of enlarged usefulness and increasing
prosperity opened out for it. The meetings were regularly held, the
annual in Poughkeepsie, the semi-annual in one of the country vil-
lages. The numbers in attendance increased. The papers read were
carefully prepared and full of interest. The discussions were intelli-
gent and instructive. This change was due to the earnest efforts
of one man, whose sincerity of manner, whose fatherly interest in the
welfare and care of the individual interests of each member, caused
him to be loved and universally respected. There were fourteen mem-
bers present at the meeting when he was elected president, there were
thirty-two present at the meeting in 1877 when he refused a renomina-
tion, which he thought was for the best interest of the society. At
one semi-annual meeting in Fishkill there were forty-four members
present, the largest number noted. It is truly said that blessed is
the country that has no liistory, for history is largely the record of
war and discord. And so with our society. From 1867 to 1877 the
record is one of peace and prosperity. Important action was taken
in 1879 which had far-reaching results on the rank of the medical
staff in the navy. The army medical staff had already received
justice at the hands of the government, though it was only about
181© that a medical man had any rank, and when rank was conferred
Dr. WilUam Thomas, of our society, who was then in the service, being
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 539
given the rank of colonel, he received letters sent him in derision by
the officers addressed to Colonel Thomas. The navy and army staffs
had never been equalized, the navy remaining at a standstill. A
grave injustice done an assistant surgeon, Dr. Charles L. Green,
brought matters to a head. He was court martialed, and found guilty
of treating with contempt his superior officer, in that he refused to
report for duty a seaman who was on the sick list, and who in Dr.
Green's opinion was unfit for duty. He was discharged from the
navy. The society resolved that this was degrading to the profession,
and that the attention of our Congressman, Ketcham, be called to
the matter, and that he be urged to influence legislation on the sub-
ject. Dr. De Witt Webb took the matter in charge for the society,
and Mr. John O. Whitehouse having succeeded Mr. Ketcham in Con-
gress, Dr. Webb urged the matter on his attention until in 1875,
through Mr. Whitehouse's efforts a law was passed removing the dis-
abilities of the surgeons in the navy, and giving them commensurate
rank with those in the army. The thanks of the society were voted
to Mr. Whitehouse for his successful efforts for the cause of equality
and justice. The subject of medical education was also considered,
and the efforts of the American Medical Association to raise the
standards and make them uniform was urged upon the Legislature.
On November 12th, 1872, the meeting was not held for a very unique
reason. There was a distemper prevailing among the horses through-
out the country which threw them all out of commission; the older
members can well remember the inconvenience and confusion that re-
sulted from business having to be attended to on foot. The State
Society at its meeting in 1882 repealed the code of ethics of the Ameri-
can Medical Association. The delegates present were Drs. Tuthill
and Barnes. They were seated side by side when the vote was taken,
the former voting aye, the latter no. In 1883 the question of rescind-
ing this action was to come up at the meeting of the State Society,
and the delegates, Drs. Barnes and Hasbrouck (the latter protest-
ing), were instructed to vote for the restoration of the old code by a
vote of 18 to 9. At the annual meeting in 1884 the code question was
the prominent issue, and the society was greatly agitated. Dr. Has-
brouck had served one year as president; by courtesy he should have
been elected again. Every member of the society would gladly have
voted for him, but the code question overshadowed all other considera-
540 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
tions. Dr. Barnes was elected president, and Drs, Slack and Bayley
delegates to the State Society, all being favorable to the restoration
of the old code. From this time on the story of the society's life is
too recent to be treated as history. The membership has increased
largely and includes several practitioners of homeopathy.
The work of the society is only the collective results of the labors of
its members. Where the activities of such an association has made a
record of its work valuable, a knowledge of the lives and personal
attributes of its members will always add to the interest and help to
an understanding of its history. To-day we cannot even mention the
names of all of the 885 men and women who at some time during the
last century have been members, but in this, as in every institution, there
are some men, hke the mountain peaks in a diversified landscape, whose
lives stand out so prominently before us, have been so rounded out by
activities, and high achievement, that we are forced to give them the
praise and recognition which their good works merit. Of this class
our first president is easily at the head.
Samuel Baud, M.D., LL.D. By far the most illustrious member
of our society and its first president, was of French descent. He was
bom in Philadelphia, April 1st, 1742, and came with his father to
New York in 1746. He attended an excellent preparatory school,
and entering King's (now Columbia) College, he graduated when 19
years of age. In the same year he sailed for England, but the vessel
was taken by the French, and he spent five months in France, a pris-
oner on parole. On reaching London he entered Dr. Russell's office
and pursued the study of medicine. In 1762 he went to Edinburgh;
here he received a medal in botany, and took his degree in 1765. In
1770 he returned to New York and engaged in general practice and
lecturing on medicine, and in efforts to buUd a hospital. In 1791
this latter work was accomplished, and Dr. Bard was the first physi-
cian appointed to the New York Hospital. During the war he lived
with his father at the latter's residence at Hyde Park. Afterwards,
when President Washington was living in New York, Dr. Bard was his
family physician. Dr. Bard did not have the surgical temperament;
after his first surgical operation he fainted away, and his second and
last was only accomplished after a sleepless night. In 1805 he took
Dr.'Hossick into partnership, and in the same year retired to his
country place at Hyde Park. In 1813 he was elected President of the
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 541
College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. The degree of
LL.D. was conferred soon after by Princeton. He died at Hyde Park,
May 8,4ith, 1821, surviving his wife less than twenty-four hours.
They were buried in a common grave in the family yard.^ It is told
of Dr. Bard that he regarded his talents and education as a sacred
trust, held for the use of those who asked for their aid, and that after
his retirement to the country he never refused the call of any one who
sought his advice. A man of great talent, disciplined by education
and experience, he was an ornament to our profession.
De. John Thomas, one of the founders of our society, and second
only in prominence to the president, was born at Plymouth, Mass.,
April 1st, 1758. His father, Dr. William Thomas, was the surgeon
of the troops which went from Plymouth in the French and Indian
war, in the expedition against Louisburgh. He took a very zealous
part in the disputes with the Mother country that resulted finally in
the independence of her colonies. After the first blow was struck at
the battle of Lexington, 1776, he immediately joined himself and his
four sons, viz. : Joshua, Joseph, John and Nathaniel, to the first
formed revolutionary corps. Joseph and John continued in the ser-
vice throughout the war, Joseph as Captain of Artillery, and John on
the Medical Staff. Dr. Wilham Thomas, on joining the army, was
appointed Regimental Surgeon, and ;his son John, then seventeen
years of age, accompanied his father, as surgeon's mate. They joined
the army at Cambridge in the spring of 1775. Dr. John Thomas, on
the resignation of his father in 1776, on account of ill health, was
promoted to the rank of Regimental Surgeon. He was commissioned
Surgeon of "Wesson's" 9th Mass. Regiment, January 1st, 1777,
and was transferred to the 8th Mass. in 1783. He served on General
Washington's staff, was often a guest at his table, and was with him
all through the winter at Valley Forge. Soon after the conclusion
of peace. Dr. Thomas settled in the town of Poughkeepsie, where he
remained in the reputable and successful practice of his profession
until his death in 1819. He is buried in the cemetery at Pough-
keepsie. He was one of the original members of the society of the
Cincinnati. Endowed with considerable powers of mind and devoting
1. The bodies of Dr. Bard and his wife were moved to St. James churchyard, Hyde
Park.
542 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
himself to his official duties, Dr. Thomas overcame the difficulties and
inexperience of his youth, and maintained a high professional respecta-
bility. La all his conduct he was honorable, just and benevolent;
for wit and humor he was unrivaled. Such was the fecundity and dis-
position of his mind, that on all occasions he was furnished with an
inexhaustible fund of anecdote and song, which made him a welcome
guest in every place. There was considerable originality in the dis-
play of his talents, which with the courteousness of his manner, won
the esteem of gentlemen of the highest rank ; and on one occasion at
the table of Washington, he excited an unusual degree of merriment
and pleasantry. He is said to have made General Washington laugh
the only time he was seen to do so at Valley Forge. There is an
invitation to Dr. Thomas to dine with General Washington hanging
framed on the wall of Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh.
Db. John Baknes was bom on the Barnes farm, northeast of the
present city limits, December 11th, 1790. He was a man of feeble
constitution, but he accomplished a prodigious amount of work. He
accompanied the troops from this section to Long Island in the war
of 1812. He was easily the leading surgeon of his time for this and
surrounding counties. This position attracted to him many students
of medicine, and some of the leading physicians of the next genera-
tion laid the foundations of their success under his wise supervision.
It is to be regretted that the facts necessary for a more extended
notice are not available. He died at his home. No. 45 Market
street, August 29th, 1850, of dysentery. After his death his family
were in straitened circumstances; bills were found on his books
amounting to $30,000 which were uncoUectable. He is buried in the
cemetery on the post road, just north of the city.
De. Richaed a. Vaeick was born in New York City, April 24th,
1806. His preliminary education was liberal and thorough; he grad-
uated at the Rutgers Medical College in New York City in 1827. The
practice of his profession was begun with Dr. John Barnes, and at
the latter's death Dr. Varick succeeded to the business. His taste
led him to the practice of medicine rather than to surgery, and his
skiU and kindly manner led to his being largely sought in obstetric
worj^. He was one of the last of the old time doctors to ride in a
chaise. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Dr.
Varick died August 10th, 1871.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 543
Dr. Walter Hughson. While Dr. Barnes' sun was setting, a new
planet was pushing above the horizon. Dr. Hughson joined this
society in 1837. He was well educated, active, nervous, ambitious,
wrapped up in his profession, devoted to his work. Born at Hughson-
ville, October 31st, 1816, he married a daughter of Dr. Cooper, and
this, of course, brought him in close connection with the Coopers,
father and son. There was a strong rivalry between Drs. Barnes and
Cooper, and the families in which they practiced were zealous friends
of their respective doctors. Dr. Hughson was a surgeon naturally,
by education and from choice, and his success was far beyond that of
any of his predecessors. North, south, east and west he went, far
beyond the county lines, in consultation and for operations. His
death from consumption, on December 9th, 1857^ was all too early,
and left a great gap in the profession here.
Dr. Lewis H. White was bom at Somers, Westchester County,
March 17th, 1807. His grandfather, father and himself had each
two brothers besides themselves who were physicians. The doctor at-
tended lectures at the New Haven Medical College, and afterwards
received an honorary degree from the Medical University of New
York. For several years he practiced at Johnsville, removing to
Fishkill, succeeding his uncle. Dr. Bartow White. He practiced
medicine actively for fifty-eight years, dying September 24th, 1886-
During the latter years of his life his time was taken up largely with
consultations with his brother doctors, his opinion being sought and
valued most highly. He was for eleven years president of this society,
and what he did for its welfare and success is a matter of record, for
which we feel deep gratitude and give all praise. In all Dr. White's
long and more than usually useful life he gave no offence, made no
enemies. Every man who knew him was his friend, and was the better
for his friendship.
Dr. Alfred Hasbrouck was born in Ulster County, N. Y., July
17, 1820. His father was a great grandson of Abram Hasbrouck,
and his mother was the great-great granddaughter of Jean Hasbrouck,
two brothers who came to America before the close of the 17th cen-
tury, and were two of the twelve patentees and original settlers of
New Paltz.
Dr. Hasbrouck received his preliminary education at Kingston
544 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Academy, and was graduated from Yale with the degree of A. B. in
1844. He then came to Poughkeepsie to study medicine with Dr.
John Barnes, and graduated from the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons of New York, in 1848. He actively pursued the practice of his
profession in Poughkeepsie for over fifty years with skiU and fidehty.
He had an exalted idea of the honor and dignity, as well as the
duties and obligations of the medical profession, and while he sacredly
observed these obligations on his part, he exactingly required the re-
spect due the noble art of healing on the part of others — as well
fellow physicians as patients. He was quiet and unassuming in his
ways, and possessed a generous nature, which was ever open to the
appeals of the needy and distressed.
For many years in his younger days he was Alms House physician.
He was Health Officer of the city for some time, and for a long time
after the Civil War he was Medical Examiner for this district under
the United States Pension Bureau.
During the whole of his useful career he was one of the medical
staff of St. Barnabas Hospital, and for a number of years he was vice-
president of the medical corps of Vassar Hospital. In 1883-'84 he
was president of the Dutchess County Medical Society.
Dr. Hasbrouck died May 9, 190S, aged 83 years.
Dk. Edwaed Hazen Parkek, son of Hon. Isaac and Sarah (Ains-
worth) Parker, was bom in the city of Boston, Mass., in 1823. Dr.
Parker graduated from Dartmouth CoUege in 1846, and received his
medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1848. In the same
year he was appointed lecturer on anatomy and physiology at Bow-
doin Medical CoUege, and for the following nine years was editor of
the New Hampshire Medical Jourrud. In 1853 Dr. Parker was called
to the chair of Physiology and Pathology in the New York Medical
College, and associated himself in practice with Dr. Fordyce Barker
in New York City. He at this time established the New York Medical
Monthly, which he continued to edit personally for many years with
great abiUty and success. In 1854 he received the degree of A.M.
from Trinity CoUege. In 1858, as the result of overwork. Dr. Par-
ker had serious trouble with his eyes, necessitating his removal from
the city, and in the outdoor Ufe of a country practice to seek the
recovery of his health. He came to Poughkeepsie, where, as a general
practitioner and consultant, he practiced his profession for nearly
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 545
forty years. He was elected president of the New York State Medi-
cal Society in 1862, and in the same year, and in the succeeding one,
went to the front as a volunteer surgeon in the service of New York
State. The doctor was one of the trustees of, and visiting surgeons
to St. Barnabas Hospital from its opening until it was closed in 1877.
In 1877 he was appointed visiting surgeon to Vassar Brothers' Hos-
pital, and elected president of the medical board. Dr. Parker died
November 10th, 1896. He was twice married, his first wife, Sarah
(Heyderk), died in 1880, leaving three daughters and one son, Dr.
Harry Parker, all of whom are living. In 1883 he married Jennie C.
Wright, who, with one son, survives her husband. Dr. Parker was a
physician of signal competency and skill, and as a surgeon he had few
superiors. He was a man of very fine fibre, of unusual cultivation,
and of high scholarly attainments.
Db. Joseph Manning Cleaveland was born in Newbury, Mass.,
in July, 1824. He came from a family which had many members of
the medical profession, his grandfathers on both sides being doctors.
He graduated from Princeton University at an early age, and then
began the study of medicine in the New York Medical School under
Drs. Gordon Buck and Joseph M. Smith, who at that time were at
the head of the profession. He was then appointed to the New York
Hospital, on Broadway, where he spent three years as resident phy-
sician. After leaving this institution he joined his friend. Dr. Cor-
nelius P. Agnew in the medical care of over twelve hundred miners,
at the Great Cliff Mine on Lake Superior. Later he went to Utica
as first assistant to Dr. Gray, the superintendent of that Asylum,
where he remained for several years. While there he acted as editor
of the American Journal of Insanity.
At this period of his career the needs of the eastern part of the
State of New York for greater provision for the insane impressed
themselves so strongly on his mind that he prepared the biU for the
Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane, and carried it through
the Legislature. This was the first time the term "hospital" was
used in this connection as opposed to the old term "asylum."
A committee was appointed to secure a site for the building. The
business of selecting and deciding upon the same was practically left
to him, and after a thorough investigation of them all, he fixed upon
Poughkeepsie. His choice was ratified by the committee. His labors
546 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
for many years in arranging the multifarious details of the buildings,
laying out the roads, water works, sewers, the planting of trees, etc.,
speak for themselves.
Dr. Cleaveland remained at the head of this institution for over a
quarter of a century, and in 1893 retired from the service of the State,
which he had served so faithfully and well, a martyr to political inter-
ference.
At a meeting of the Dutchess County Medical Club held in Pough-
keepsie February 25, 1907, Dr. James E. Sadlier paid a deserved
tribute to the memory of Dr. Cleaveland. In closing his remarks he
said: "Dr. Cleaveland died January 21, 1907, aged 83 years. He
is dead, but he has left us a heritage of greater value than gold or
precious stones, — ^the example of a noble life well spent."
Db. Edwin Baenes was bom in Troy, July 28th, 1844, though his
family had lived in this county for generations. Before completing
his course at the Albany Medical College, he in 1864 entered the army
as a medical cadet, and his degree was given him while in the service.
In 1866 he began practice in Pleasant Plains, where he continued
until his death, January 22nd, 1904. He had been active in the coun-
cils of this society, and was on the consulting staff of Vassar Broth-
ers' Hospital.
Robert K. Tuthill, who at the time of his death, June 9, 1909,
was the oldest practicing physician in Poughkeepsie, was born in New-
burgh January 18, 1835, a son of Dr. Samuel TuthiU. Dr. Tuthill
came to Poughkeepsie with his father in 1848. He studied medicine
in the New York Medical College, from which he graduated in 1859,
and began the practice of his profession in Poughkeepsie.
In 1861 he volunteered as a surgeon in the Union army, and served
his country with distinction through the Civil War. He had charge
of the hospital at Fredericksburg in 1862.
Dr. Tuthill was made a member of the medical staff of St. Barnabas
Hospital at the opening of that institution, continuing in that capacity
until the hospital closed in 1884. He was selected as one of the sur-
geons of Vassar Brothers' Hospital by the founders of that institution.
Dr. TuthiU was blessed with a sense of humor, and his innate wit
played with scintillating effect through all his work. To have known
him as a family physician is to have felt the influence of good cheer
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 547
and constant hope in the sick-room. His presence brought confi-
dence and relief like a benediction to the sufferer. He was for almost
a generation among the busiest of men to be found in the community.
He numbered his patients among the rich and the poor, and he gave,
in fullest measure, all his splendid gifts to every case with which he
had anything to do. His skill was acknowledged wherever he was
known, and his kindly expressions endeared him to his patients and
their friends.
HisTOEicAL Sketch, 1740-1908.
The first evidence of a doctor practicing in Dutchess County is
found in the Assessor's book for 1740, in the County Clerk's office:
It reads, "The doctor of Rhinebeck" (giving the amount assessed).
These Assessors did not keep their books with a view to enlightening
future searchers of the past, but only to designate a certain individual
for the purpose of assessment, and this designation of "the doctor"
would be sufiicient if there was but one doctor, as there was here.
Then, as the affair develops, the doctor had a hard name to spell;
they make four efforts to accomplish this, and we can only judge by
the evidence which of the spellings is correct. In 1748 the assessment
is made against "Doctor Guselbruht" for five pounds one shilling.
In 1750 it is "Doctor Guselbright." In 1754 it is "Doctor Kesel-
brught." In 1755 it is "Doctor Kisolbright." As during the years
1740 to 1755 there is no other doctor mentioned in Rhinebeck Pre-
cinct, and but one other (Dr. Nicholas De LaVergne) in the whole
county, we may well beheve that "the doctor of Rhinebeck" and "Doc-
tor Kesolbright" are the same. The two letters given below bear
directly on this subject, and also tend to show that there was a doctor
at Rhinebeck before there was one at Kingston, which proves the
opposite of the theory which has • so often been advanced that there
were doctors in Ulster County long before there were any in Dutchess
County, because Ulster had the larger population at that time.
Kingston ye Sth march, 1741/3
Loving Son
I wrote to you before that your Sister Hannah was the Same day you went,
taken with Spitting of blood, and black StufF like Corroded blood and fevourish,
and is so weeke with it that wee have two Girles Every night to sit up, by her.
She Spitts no more blood but is very week your mother is better but sill vertf
week has no Stomach to her victuals. If Philip more has Recorded a deed which
548 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
he had of Capt. Barent van Benthuysen Send or bring me a Copy of it. the River
wiU be passable here soon with a Cannoe Yesterday the Rondout Creek was open
from the Dock to the middle of the Rivr, alida went home last Wednesday.
Remain with our Love yr affet father
Gil: Livurogioir
To Henry Livingston Bsqr Clarke of the peace of Dutchess County at Mr Yel-
vertons.
Kingston ye 7th march 1741/3
Loving Son
I wrote you that yr Sister Hannah was taken ill the same day you left this
place and She groes dayly weaker and Cant hold it Long unles it please God to
give a Change William Cool Came over Just by Lowrence hendrick this morning
who is to Returne with the doctor to morrow morning, and I believe that one Can
goe over at van wagenen with a cannoe. I want a Copy of a deed from Barent
Benthuysen to plulip more if it is Recorded. I Remain yor Loving father
Gn.: LiviNGSTOir
P. S. Your mother is still very week.
To Henry Livingston Esqr at Poghkeepsinck.
Here it is shown, that waiting for the ice to go out of the river,
these letters were sent over the river in a canoe by a messenger to
Rhinebeck who would bring the doctor back with him to see the sick
girl. In the records of the Reformed Church of Kingston, there is a
baptism of a child of Godfried Geisselbracht and wife, February 7th,
1742, and in the record of the Reformed Church of Rhinebeck there
is the record of the baptism of a child of the same parents, Sept. 11th,
1743. The last mention that we can find of this doctor in Rhine-
beck is in 1755, and about 1760 we find there was "A German, G.
Gyselbricht, Surgeon and Practitioner in Physic," in New York City.
It would seem reasonable to suppose that he left Rhinebeck for New
York between those dates.
Du. CoBNEMus OsBOBNE, of Poughkeepsie, is the second physician
whom we find to have been practicing in the county, and fortunately
we can give of him quite a full and accurate account. There was a
Francis Filkins living in Poughkeepsie in those days, and he is known
and made celebrated by an account book which he kept, and which has
been preserved for our enlightenment. In this book is found the
following memorandum: "1745, September 1st. Dr. Cornelius Ras-
bun agreed with me for twenty shillings per year to doctor my family.
He has due one pound." In the Assessor's book for 1757 we find Dr.
Cornelius Osborne assessed for one pound one shilline at Pouehkeeosie.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 549
Now we know that this Dr. Osborne was born in England, July 13th,
1723, that he practiced at Poughkeepsie up to the Revolutionary
War, that he joined the American Army as a surgeon, and served in
the war, and died about one-half mile above Fishkill, at Osborne Hill,
on August 23rd, 1782. He left three sons, all doctors, and all dying
bachelors at the homestead. They were James, born August 13th,
1748; Peter, born March 4th, 1769; Thomas, born July 27th, 1764.
There was a daughter who had a son. Dr. Cornelius Remson. He was
born at Newton, L. I., February 14th, 1789. He came to Fishkill,
September 7th, 1804, studied medicine with his uncles, and with Dr.
Bartow White, he was licensed to practice by the society in 1810, and
served as a surgeon in the army during the war of 1812. Dr. Rem-
sen practiced medicine at Wappingers Falls and liispd there until his
death, December 4th, 1883.
Dr. William Mooee. We are fortunate in having quite a detailed
account of Dr. Moore, who was assessed for land in the Middle Pre-
cinct, now the Town of Beekman, as early as 1735, although he was
not a resident of the county at that time. Dr. Moore was born at
Antrim, Ireland, February 12th, 1705, and received his medical edu-
cation before emigrating. He married Mary Palmer, of Stonington,
Conn., June 4th, 1729, and was in Union Vale in 1745, but had real
estate in Westchester County, where he spent part of the time. He
must have settled at his home in Union Vale about 1746. His wife
joined the Society of Friends before coming to this county, and he
became an active member also, and a noted preacher of the society.
He tells us that while he was practicing his professions here (for he
preached, practiced law and medicine), after 1745 the roads through
Dutchess County were only trails through the woods, marked by blazed
treesi impassible for wagons, all traveling being on horseback, with
wolves and Indians constantly about. Dr. Moore was killed in the
woods, his horse returning home without him while he was making a
professional visit on November 25th, 1752. His son, Allan Moore,
built the mill which has named the postoffice Moore's Mills.
In 1741 there lived in the "Gore," a strip of land between the Great
and Little Nine Partners, now called Shekomeko, a "Christian Henry
Ranch," a Moravian missionary, teacher and physician. He did not
call himself doctor, but he treated the sick for miles around acceptably.
550 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Dk. Nicholas De La Vekgne was bom in France in 1703, and
tradition says came to this country in 1720 on a French man-of-war,
as a surgeon. He is first found in this county at the Oblong, where
he owned a large tract of land. In 1747 he was on his farm, which
now forms part of Mr. Oakleigh Thome's place, in the Town of
Washington, and in the Supervisors' books for that year he is allowed
one pound, one shilling for pasturing twelve horses and serving the
Assessors. He was a man of affairs, a Justice of the Peace, and a
Probate Judge. He speculated in land and practiced his profession
and was a man of substance, being assessed in 1748 for thirteen pounds
ten shillings, a large sum for those days. He was known through-
out the county as the French doctor, and a dam which he built is
known as the French doctor's dam to this day. He died in 1783.
Dr. Benjamin De La Vergne was his son.
Dtt. Theodorus Van Wyck was born at JohnsviUe (now Wicopee)
in 1730. He may have commenced practice about 1762, certainly
the earliest doctor in Fishkill. He was a delegate to the Second Pro-
vincial Congress in 1775 from New York, where he had been com-
pelled to move on account of his outspoken patriotism. He was
elected to the Third Congress in 1776 from Fishkill, and was a mem-
ber of the Committee of Safety during the Revolution. He served
in the Second Dutchess Regiment, and afterwards in the Sixth. Dr.
Van Wyck practiced medicine actively, and had a fine temper of his
own. He died in 1797 and is buried in Rombout cemetery.
These were the first physicians practicing in the county. The
names of many who followed them are given alphabetically. They
have been gathered from files of old newspapers, local histories and
family records, by tramping through cemeteries, churchyards and
family burying grounds. The data of several living members of the
profession are absent because they did not answer letters of inquiry
sent them.
AcKEKT, William S. Born Rhinebeck, December 18th, 1865;
graduated Albany, 1891; Rensselaer, 1892-1900; Poughkeepsie and
Society, 1901.
.Adams, Elijah. Bom February 15th, 1754 ; army surgeon during
the Revolution; died Pine Plains, April 14th, 1837; buried Vedder
Church, Gallatin.
J. WILSON POUCHER, M.D,
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 551
Allaboen, Ezka W. Born April 18th, 1820; died Upper Red
Hook, December 11th, 1863.
Allerton, Cornelius. Born Amenia, July 23rd, 1779. Son of
Dr. Reuben Allerton. He studied medicine at New Haven, beginning
practice at Amenia in 1803. He was a successful physician, and es-
teemed by all for his charity and kindness of heart. He died at Pine
Plains, April 26th, 1855.
ALiiERTON, Cornelius. Born Pine Plains, May 19th, 1819. A
son of Dr. Cornelius Allerton. He was a man of good natural abili-
ties, but erratic and indolent. He died suddenly at Dover Plains,
January 15th, 1867.
Allerton, Reuben. Born Canterbury, Conn., December 25th,
1763. He was unusually well educated for those times, and studied
medicine with Dr. Fitch, of New Haven, and surgery with Dr. Spaul-
ding, of Norwich. He moved to Amenia, and entering the army as a
surgeon he was present at the battle of Saratoga and the surrender
of Burgoyne. He was in Col. Hopkins' Regiment, 1777. Died
Amenia, October 13th, 1808.
Allison, Henry E. Born Concord, N. H., December 1st, 1851;
graduated A. B. Dartmouth, 1875 ; M. D. Dartmouth, 1878 ; Super-
intendent Asylum for Insane Criminals at Auburn, N. Y., July 1st,
1889; Superintendent Matteawan State Hospital, 1882; Society 1893.
A man whose honesty of purpose and force of character was so plainly
marked in every line of his face as to give him great influence over
the unfortunates committed to his care. Eminent in his specialty.
Author of many monographs on insanity. Died November 12th, 1904.
Andrews, Nelson. Bom about 1803; Hyde Park and Society,
1835. A peculiar character, penurious, accumulating a large prop-
erty. Never married. Died at Poughkeepsie, July 27th, 1873.
Andrews, Robert Wesley. Bom Rochdale, N. Y., September 9th,
1869; graduated Albany, 1898; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1898;
active service as Assistant Surgeon U. S. A. in the Philippines, 1899-
1902 ; Poughkeepsie, 1902.
Andrus, CiiARLES Hawley. Born October 13th, 1823; graduated
552 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
P. & S., 1845; perceptor, Dr. E. R. Grant; Poughkeepsie, 1845; So-
ciety, 1854 ; Assistant Surgeon 128th N. Y. V. I., 1862 ; Medical In-
spector, 1864 ; died Metuchen, N J., August 13th, 1905.
Annan, Daniel D. Born Fishkill, June 11th, 1792; Surgeon in
war of 1812 ; Society, 1821 ; died Matteawan, November 28d, 1834.
Anthony, Theodoee V. W. Bom Fishkill, May 31st, 1801; So-
ciety, 1825; member of State Legislature, 1834; died Glenham, April
15th, 1868.
Atwood, John W. Born Marion, N. Y., September 14th, 1862;
graduated Jefferson, 1888; Marion, 1888-96; FishldU-on-Hudson and
Society, 1905.
Baker, Benjamin N. Bom Montgomery County, Pa., October
2d, 1833; graduated Pennsylvania Medical College, 1857; Surgeon
U. S. A., 1862-3; Rhinebeck, 1868; Society, 1878.
Baldwin, Lesteb. Cass. Born Jewett, N. Y., December 14th, 1850 ;
New York University, 1879 ; TivoH, 1879.
Bami'obd, Thomas E. Born New York City, November 11th,
1867; graduated N. Y. University, 1889; H. R. S. H., 1893-1904;
Society, 1894.
Baud, John. Bom Burhngton, N. J., February 20th, 1716; died
Hyde Park, N. Y., April 1st, 1799 ; buried St. James' Churchyard.
Baunes, John Henuy. Bom Poughkeepsie, March 22nd, 1818.
Son of Dr. John Barnes. Office in Garden street, 1852. Died New
York City, February 8th, 1880.
Barnes, Peter. Born Poughkeepsie, October 8th, 1808. A half
brother of Dr. John Barnes; graduated P. and S., 1835; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1835; died December 5th, 1870.
Barnum, Henry Weston. Born Bridgeville, N. Y., January 19th,
1859; Jefferson, 1890; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1890.
Barton, Leonard. Bom Stanford, N. Y., 1769; Society, 1829;
died, 1841. A man of more than usual intelligence.
Barton, Lewis. Bom, 1724; practiced in the Town of Stanford,
1770-1801 ; died, 1813. Father of Dr. Leonard Barton.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 553
Baeton, Thomas Jefferson. Born Valatia, N. Y., 1830; gradu-
ated Albany, 1855; Madalin, 1856; Society, 1878; died Tivoli, Sep-
tember ISth, 1903. A well read man; a writer of verses; served in
Civil War.
Basch, Samuel H. Graduated Albany, 1903; Rhinebeck and So-
ciety, 1904.
Bates, John. Born November a6th, 1812 ; Lower Red Hook, suc-
ceeding Dr. Benedict ; Society, 1841 ; died June 8th, 1877.
Bates, Xyeis T. Born Lebanon Springs, August 11th, 1839;
graduated A. B., Yale, 1862; M. D., Albany, 1867; Rotunda Hos-
pital, Dublin, 1871; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1890; died Pough-
keepsie, January 2nd, 1899.
Bayley, Guy Caeleton. Bom Eden Hill, Poughkeepsie, October
16th, 1850; grandson of Dr. Guy Carleton Bayley and great-grand-
son of Dr. Richard Bayley, of New York City; student of Dr. H. B.
Sands; graduate P. and S., 1872; Poughkeepsie, 1872; physician St.
Barnabas Hospital and Orphan House; Assistant Surgeon Woman's
Hospital, New York City; Surgeon-in-Chief Vassar Brothers' Hos-
pital; Society, 1873.
Baxtek, William. Born Delhi, N. Y., 1805; graduated A. B.,
Union College ; M. D., P. and S., 1831 ; practiced New York City and
Wappingers Falls; died July 3d, 1875.
Beadle, Edwaed L. Born Pleasant Valley, N. Y., July 12th,
1807; graduated P. and S., 1829; Society, 1829; practiced Hyde
Park, 1834, New York City, 1859 ; retired, his wife inheriting a large
property; Poughkeepsie, 1862; died April 5th, 1882; Vice-president
College P. and S. ; trustee of many public and charitable institutions ;
also held many civil offices. A man of high character, very popular,
and greatly respected.
Beckwith, Geoege S. Born Litchfield, Conn., 1841; graduated
Yale ; practiced at Ballston, N. Y., Pine Plains, 1868 ; died about 1890.
Beees, Villeeoy. Born, 1789; Society, 1817; died Poughkeepsie,
February 28th, 1846.
554 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Belden, Samuel. Supposed to have settled at Pleasant Valley
about 1770. Moved to New York City in 1815, where he died June
4th, 1830, at an advanced age.
Belding, Sii^s T. Born Town of Washington, January 6th, 1795.
Practiced at Poughkeepsie and Dover, where he died, January 2nd,
1859.
Bell, William P. Born Gettysburg, Penn., February 25th, 1822 ;
Fishkill Landing, 1850 ; Society, 1854 ; died December 4th, 1869.
Benedict, Abijah G. Born Salem, N. Y., 1790; student of Dr.
James Downs of Pleasant Valley; licensed by Dutchess County So-
ciety, 1816 ; Society, 1816 ; member of the State Legislature, 1835-6 ;
Lower Red Hook, 1816; died October 3rd, 1862.
Benedict, Abijah G. Bom, 1833; P. and S., 1855; Assistant
Surgeon 125th N. Y. V. I.; discharged November 18th, 1862; died
Red Hook, April 15th, 1873.
Beeky, Chaeles H. Born Mahopac, N. Y., 1842 ; graduated Uni-
versity Michigan, 1868 ; Dover Plains, 1868 ; Society, 1869.
Beeky, Cyeus. Society, 1806; Pleasant Valley after Dr. Ely.
BiED, J. Steeling. Bom Winchester, Conn., August 29th, 1836;
graduated P. and S., 1863; Hyde Park, 1865; Society, 1866; died
April 3d, 1900.
BiED, W. Langdon. Born Middletown, Conn., 1867; New York
University, 1893; Matteawan S. H. ; Society, 1894.
Bliss, Willl^m A. Born Nassau, May 5th, 1841 ; graduated Al-
bany, 1866 ; practiced Brooklyn till 1892, when he retired and lived at
Spy Hill, Matteawan.
BocKEE, Jacob. Born Northeast, 1814; graduated Union M. A.,
1836; M. D., University Pennsylvania; Society, 1840; in the drug
business in Poughkeepsie and Chicago; Brigade Surgeon of Volun-
teers, 1862; in charge of the Marine Hospital, New Orleans, 1866;
died November 26th, 1885. A scholarly man of retiring disposition.
* Bolton, Edward Clay. Born April 25th, 1818; in the drug
business in New Orleans and Poughkeepsie; Society, 1867; died Oc-
tober 19th, 1892.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 555
BoBBT, Nelson. Bom Cobleskill, N. Y., January 8th, 1867; grad-
uated P. and S., 1889; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1890.
BoTTsroBD, Chables. Bom Connecticut; Wappingers Falls, 1840-
1861, about; Society, 1842; died in Connecticut of consumption.
BoYCE, J. Newton. Born Pine Plains, August 11th, 1873 ; gradu-
uated P. and S., 1895; Contract Surgeon U. S. A., 1900-02; Society,
1898; Stanfordville, 1902.
BaowN, Lewis Henby. Born Amrath, South Wales, September
25th, 1860; Guy's Hospital, London, England, 1887; New York
City, 1901 ; Pine Plains and Society, 1905.
Beown, Samuel Hebman. Born New York*City, August 4th,
1860 ; A. B. St. Stephens, 1881 ; M. D. Wurzburg, 1885 ; son of Dr.
S. H. Brown; Madalin, 1885; Tivoli, 1899.
Bbttsh, Nehemiah. Bom August 20th, 1787; died September Sd.
1843; buried at New Hackensack.
BiTCKNUM, Amasa. Born England, 1768; graduated Oxford Uni-
versity; Society, 1806; Stanford; in 1854 he was attacked with gan-
grene of the foot; he amputated the toes himself; died June 15th,
1856, and is buried at the Bear Market. A man of unusual attain-
ments, and of a cheerful disposition.
Btjfpington, Chables E. Graduated Albany, 1874; Troy, 1892;
Pawling and Society, 1894.
Btjgbee, HeNby G. Graduated Columbia, 1903; Superintendent
and Surgeon-in-Chief Vassar Brothers' Hospital, 1906; Society,
1907.
Bttbns, Edwabd M. Born Bulls Head, N. Y., May 19th, 1871;
graduated Cornell, A. B. ; M. D., P. and S., 1894 ; Poughkeepsie and
Society, 1895.
Bush, William. Madalin. A surgeon in the army in 1863, where
he lost his life.
Cady. Rombout Patent, 1779.
Calkins. At the Oblong before 1750.
556 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Caed, John Ailing. Bom Poughkeepsie, May 20th, 1876 ; gradu-
ated N. Y. University, 1898 ; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1898.
Campbeli, Cornelius Naue. Born July 7th, 1825, at Amenia;
student of Dr. Eastman of Dover Plains ; graduated N. Y. University,
1849; Pawling, 1850; Society, 1854-; Stanford to 1862; Surgeon
150th Regiment; Medical Inspector 20th Corps, 1865; Poughkeepsie,
1865; died of pneumonia, December 21st, 1888. A happy, kind-
hearted man, keeping no accounts, and never worrying over business
troubles.
Canfield, Calvert. Born 1793; Pleasant Valley and Society,
1817; died August 11th, I860.
Carroll, Robert J. Bom Ohio, 1843; graduated Jefferson, 1867;
Red Hook, 1876; Society, 1878.
Cary, Ebenezer. Bom at Providence, R. I., February 22d, 1745.
He is said to have been educated at Brown University. He was a
taxpayer in Beekman in 1767, and probably settled there about that
time; his house, which he built is still standing at Gardner's HoUow.
During the Revolutionary War he served as Adjutant of the Fifth
Regiment, Dutchess County MiHtia, 1775-1779, the regiment gar-,
risoning the forts in the Highland, and taking part in the battle of
White Plains. He was a member of Beekman Precinct Committee,
1776-78. In civil life he served as a member of the State Legislature
at the fourth and eighth sessions, 1780-1 and 1784-5. He was prom-
inent in his profession and active in the affairs of the community
where he lived. He died at Beekman, May 10th, 1815.
Gary, Eobert. Born Beekman, April 12th, 1789; a son of Dr.
Ebenezer Cary. He studied medicine with his father and attended
lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was licensed
to practice by the Dutchess County Medical Society in 1810. In
1812 he was commissioned Surgeon's Mate of the Fourth Regiment,
New York State Cavalry, and in 1818 Surgeon of the same. He
served in civil offices in his town, and in 1827 as a member of the State
Legislature. Dr. Cary died May 1st, 1862, and is buried in the Rural
Cemetery at Poughkeepsie.
Case, Ephraim. Clinton Corners; died 1876.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 557
Cavanaugh, William J. Born Bath, N. Y., June 4th, 1874;
graduated Albany, 1899; H. R. S. H. and Society, 1902.
Chabtee, Jeeome Stewaet. Born Amenia, N. Y. ; A. B., Yale;
M. D., University Pennsylvania, 1897 ; U. S. A. Medical School, Wash-
ington ; Amenia Union and Society, 1898 ; in active service in the U, S.
Army and Navy; Sharon, Conn., 1903.
Chambeelain, John. Poughkeepsie and Society, 1806; died Mil-
lerton, 187S.
Chambeelain, Willia.m Young. Boi-n 1815; Northeast, 1850;
died August 26th, 1863.
Chapman, Geoege B. Born Dover, May 20th, 1849; graduated
Medical Department, Yale, 1875; Amenia Union and Society, 1876-
88, when he retired on account of ill health.
Chase, Benjamin. Amenia, 1765.
Childs, Heney F. Born 1811 ; graduated Fairfield Medical Col-
lege, 1835; Washington and Society, 1835; died Lithgow, January
1st, 1867. A man with a peculiar individuality ; never married ; buried
at Lithgow, but the body was removed.
Chtjechill, J. H. Graduated Harvard, 1867; Pawling, 1890.
Claek, Allen. Bom 1808; died Stone Church, July 21st, 1882.
Claek, Feedeeick T. Born Granville, Mass., March 27th, 1874;
graduated Albany, 1896; H. R. S. H., 1897-1900; Society, 1898.
Claek, Philo Winchell. Born Millerton, December 18th, 1831;
graduated P. and S., 1867; died Millerton, of pneumonia, November
23d, 1880.
Claek, Theodoee F. H. R. S. H. and Society, 1900.
Claek, Waltee M. Born Belleville, N. Y., July 10th, 1875 ; grad-
uated Albany, 1896 ; Matteawan S. H., 1897 ; Society, 1902.
Claekson, Feedeeick Veemeule. Born New York City; gradu-
ated P. and S., 1852; Northeast, 1865; died Asbury Park, N. J.,
February 9th, 1902.
558 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Codding, Geobge H. Bom Egremont, Mass., August 1st, 1857;
graduated P. and S., 1881 ; Amenia and Society, 1882.
Cole, Chaei^s Edwin. Born Pine Plains, January 29th, 1850;
graduated Bellevue, 1872; Jackson Comers, 1872; Pine Plains,
1876-84; died July 23d, 1884.
Cole, Peteb S. Bora Febmary 2d, 1812 ; Pine Plains from 1844-
68; died at Jackson Comers, November 4th, 1870.
CoitiNs, Geobge Milton. Born Fishkill about 1814; University
Pennsylvania, 1838-9 ; died about 1841, aged 27.
CoNKLiN, William James. Bom Cornwall, N. Y., January 28th,
1846; son of Dr. Peter Elting Conklin; graduated University New
York, 1870; Fishkill Village and Society, 1870.
Cook, Albert Heemon. Bom Napanee, Ontario, Canada; gradu-
ated Trinity Medical College, Toronto, 1900; Dover Plains and So-
ciety, 1904.
Cook, Geoege W. Clinton and Society, 1806.
Cook, James S. Born March 17th, 1788; Clinton and Society,
1811 ; died July 23d, 1869, at Verbank. Deranged for several years
before his death from an injury to his head.
Cook, Samuel. Poughkeepsie, 1767.
CooKiNGHAM, Habbis L. Bom Hyde Park, N. Y., 1860; gradu-
ated Albany, 1871 ; Staatsburg and Society, 1872 ; Red Hook, 1873.
CooPEB, Ananias. The doctors Cooper were all descendants of
John Cooper, of Olriey, Buckinghamshire, England, who came to
America in the ship Hopewell, in 1635, and settled at Lyim, Mass.
We first find Dr. Ananias at Bridge Hampton, L. I., in 1766. In
1767 he lived in the Cooper house, on the west side of the Post Road,
one mile above Rhinebeck. In 1769 he charged the county ten shil-
lings for doctoring a soldier, the first charge made by a doctor against
the county for professional work done. This soldier must have been
in the French and Indian War. He was a member of Assembly, 1779-
86. He died April 4th, 1797. He had a son, Dr. Charles De Kay
Cooper, of Albany.
W. J. CONKIJN, M. D.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 559
Cooper, Jeremiah. Fishkill, 1759. A brother of Ananias Cooper,
and probably the father of Dr. John Cooper.
CooPEE, John. Born Fishkill, June 6th, 1786. Student of Dr.
Bartow White; graduated P. and S., about 1808. He practiced in
Poughkeepsie until the war of 1812, when he entered the service as
surgeon, and was stationed at Fort Dearborn until the close of the
war, when he returned to Poughkeepsie and remained in active prac-
tice until his death, which was in 1863. He was a man of strong
character, high principles, and of positive convictions. A contem-
porary of Dr. John Barnes ; they were rivals in business. Dr. Barnes,
giving undivided attention to his work, had the advaaitage. Dr.
Cooper had a strain of sporting blood, which led him to keep a stable
of thoroughbred horses, which he ran on the old Dutchess track, at
East Poughkeepsie, with considerable success in winnings, though they
proved an expensive amusement.
CoopEE, John Reed. Born Poughkeepsie, January 25th, 1828;
son of Dr. John Cooper. He studied medicine with his father, and
attended lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the
years 1848-50. He practiced one year at Wappingers Falls with Dr.
Van Duser, when he moved to Poughkeepsie and continued there until
his death. In 1861 Dr. Cooper was appointed Surgeon of the Fifth
New York Cavalry; he served fourteen months, when he resigned.
During their last illness, Drs. Hughson, the elder Cooper, and Varick
threw their influence in Dr. Cooper's favor; this, with his positive
manner and strong character, gave him a commanding position in the
profession, and for years he did a large proportion of the surgery in
the county. In his practice he trusted to his practical experience,
and had no use for theories, and but little for books. He died April
8th, 1887, and is buried at Greenwood.
Cornelius, La Willa Mott. Born Lafayetteville, N. Y., October
10th, 1858 ; graduated Bellevue, 1891 ; Staatsburg and Society, 1894 ;
New York City, 1896; Brooklyn, 1906.
Cornell, Isaac M. Born Defreetsville, N. Y., April 26th, 1851;
student of Dr. S. S. Green of La Grangeville; graduated University
New York, 1877; N6w Hamburgh, Wappingers and Society, 1878.
Corning, J. Leonard. Graduate University of Wurzburg, 1878;
H. R. S. H., 1878-82.
560 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CoETELTOu, Laueance V. Born Brooklyn, 1846; graduated A.M.,
Yale; M. D., Bellevue, 1864; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1873-88;
died August 5tli, 1896. A man of very eccentric conduct ; never prac-
ticed actively.
CoTTEE, John H. Born Pleasant Valley, April 6th, 1851 ; gradu-
ated Albany, 1878; Mount Ross to 1880; Jackson Corners to 1894;
Society, 1893, and Poughkeepsie.
Cotter, John H., Jb. Graduated Albany, 1894; Jackson Cor-
ners and Society, 1895; Pine Plains, 1899-05.
Cbamee, William. Bom Poughkeepsie, June 1st, 1860; gradu-
ated A. B., Rutgers, 1879; M. D., P. and S., 1883; Poughkeepsie
and Society, 1883; physician to Orphan Home. A modest, reticent
man of studious habits. Died April 4th, 1899.
Ceonk, James M. Bom Suydam, N. Y., 1867 ; graduated Albany,
1898 ; Hyde Park and Society, 1898.
Ceook, Chaeles. "Lately married at Poughkeepsie, Dr. Charles
Crook to the amiable Miss PoUy Marsh of that place ;" November 7th,
1786. "The house, instruments, &c., of the late Dr. Charles Crook,
to be sold at auction, the house in Poughkeepsie near the English
Church;" November 4th, 1788. It is regrettable that no further in-
formation can be had of this representative of one of the oldest and
most respectable of the county families. Their burial plot, on the
west side of the Post Road, midway between Teller's HiU and the
village of Hyde Park, is a scene of desecration and desolation.
Ceosby, Cteenus. Born April 22nd, 1762; practiced Amenia
Union about 1806; Society, 1813; died Amenia, December 22d, 1832.
Cettse, Thomas K. Born Baltimore, March 3d, 1849; graduated
A. M., College City of New York, 1868; M. D., Bellevue, 1870; Wap-
pingers Falls, 1875; Society, 1876.
Ctjck, Daniel. Born August 1st, 1777; Upper Red Hook; died
November 1st, 1829.
Davis, Jacob H. Born 1795 at Pine Plains; student of Drs.
Gruemsey and Wilber ; Mount Ross, 1821 ; Pine Plains and Society,
1834; died 1857 or '61.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 561
Dayton, Daniel. Poughkeepsie and Society, 1806.
De Lamatek, Abraham. Born 1771; Poughkeepsie and Society,
1807 ; died Rhinebeck, February 16th, 184-1.
Delavan, David. Pawling and Society, 1806; Dover Plains pre-
vious to 1824.
De La Vekgne, Benjamin. Born August 18th, 1742, on his
father's farm in the Town of Washington. He studied medicine with
his father, and was practicing when the war of the Revolution called
him to take an active part. On October 7th, 1775, he was commis-
sioned Captain of the Seventh Company of the Sixth Regiment of
Dutchess County Troops, and was soon after given a Majority. He
served seven years in the army, and in 1776 was a delegate to the
third Provincial Congress in New York City. He was a forceful, en-
terprising man, a leader among his fellows, taking an active part in
all the aflFairs of life, a successful business man, as well as a prominent
physician. Dr. De La Vergne was the presiding officer of the meet-
ing at which the Dutchess County Medical Society was organized,
elected its first vice-president, and its second president. He died June
25th, 1830, and is buried at Washington Hollow.
De La Vergne, Isaac. Born Town of Washington, August 11th,
1771 ; a son of Dr. Benjamin De La Vergne. His license to practice
was issued by Jacob C. Bloom, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas,
December 8th, 1797. He was of a quiet, retiring disposition, and
did not take an active part in affairs, or even in his profession. He
died November 1st, 1822, and lies buried with his father at Washing-
ton Hollow.
Denny, James. Bom Clinton about 1790; practiced at Pine Plains.
Denny, James, Jr. Born October 30th, 1824; practiced at Milan
and died there March 3d, 1905.
Denny, Peter. Born June 9th, 1818. Brother of James, Jr.
Died February 18th, 1888.
Devine, Joel. Born Pleasant Valley, 1810; licensed Dutchess
County Medical Society, 1841; practiced Poughkeepsie, 1841-4;
Pleasant Valley, 1844-8. Shot a neighbor in a dispute over a line
562 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
fence. At his trial his father testified: "He is my youngest son, and
has never been controlled, but has always had his own way and done
as he pleased." He cut his throat in jail while waiting for a second
trial, November 26th, 1848.
Deyo, Elvy. Born New Paltz, 1815 ; Poughkeepsie ; having a drug
store, 137 Main; died April 29th, 1879.
DiNGMAN, John Henry. Bom, 1876; graduated Albany, 1901;
Stuyvesant Falls; Tivoli, 1902; Madalin and Society, 1903.
DoBsoN, Waltham H. Born Amherst, Nova Scotia, August 27th,
1858; graduated New York University, 1881; Poughkeepsie, 1890;
Society, 1894; Opth. and Aural Surgeon, Vassar Brothers' Hospital;
Opth. Surgeon, H. R. S. H.
Dodge, Daniel L. Society, 1817; Hyde Park, 1861.
Dodge, Samuel. Born 1820; graduated Albany, 1847; Wash-
ington and Society, 1854; died Poughkeepsie, June 29th, 1863.
DoRLAND, Elias T. Bom East Hamburgh, N. Y., April 12th,
1830; La Grangeville, 1854-66; died Buffalo, N. Y., 1902.
Doughty, John H. Bom La Grangeville, 1832 ; graduated A. B.,
Williams College, 1858; M. D., Michigan University, 1863; entered
army as an Assistant Surgeon, resigning in 1865 as Medical Direc-
tor ; Society, 1890 ; Matteawan, 1866 ; died January 28th, 1905.
Doughty, Phoebe V. V. Matteawan and Society, 1904. Daugh-
ter of Dr. J. H. Doughty.
Doughty, Thomas J. Born May 5th, 1865 ; graduated University
Michigan, 1896; Matteawan and Society, 1897; died August 2d,
1898 ; son of Dr. J. H. Doughty.
DowE, Harry P. New York University, 1886; Pawling, 1899.
Downs, James. Clinton and Society, 1806; Pleasant Valley with
and after Dr. Ely.
Du Bois, Henry K. Graduated Bellevue, 1870; Bangall, 1884.
DwAN, John M. Born August 25th, 1833, in Orange County;
graduated Albany, 1861; Pleasant Valley, 1861; died March 26th,
1884.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 563
Ebstein, Ludwig. Born Germany, 1818; graduated University
of Berlin; Poughkeepsie, 1850; Surgeon N. Y. S. V., 1863; Society,
1869; returned to Germany, 1867, and died at Breslau, March 17th,
1886.
Eddy, Casper W. Rhinebeck and Society, 1817.
Ely, William. Clinton and Society, 1806. Had at one time a
large practice, but neglected his work, and died in the alms house.
Ensign, Lee. Graduated P. and S., 1844; Clinton and Society,
1841.
EssELSTYNE, RiCHARD. Society, 1820. In the cemetery of Stone
Church, just north of Rhinebeck, there is a well-kept lot and a stone
with this inscription: "Friends of the late Dr. Richard Esselstyne,
feeling that some insignia commemorative of his worth and services is
justly due to him, have placed this stone and epitaph over his grave.
Born in 1795, he died February 12th, 1868, in his 73d year. Of him
it may be truly said, he was a Christian and philanthropist, and pro-
fessionally self-sacrificing in the extreme; for neither inclemency of
weather nor calls at unseasonable hours, or even the certainty of ser-
vices illy repaid, ever deterred him from performing his duty to his
fellow-man; and thus he left to the world, at least, this proof of his
love for his Creator."
Everett, Thomas J. Poughkeepsie and Society, 1832.
Farewell, Gertrude. Graduated Woman's Medical College,
New York City, 1878; Vassar College, 1891.
Fink, Austin T. Born Westchester County, November 16th, 1843 ;
graduated New York University, 1869; Freedom Plains, 1869; So-
ciety, 1870.
Flemming, Mark L. Born Townsburg, N. J., June 12th, 1880;
graduated Cornell, 1901 ; H. R. S. H. and Society, 1904.
Fletcher, Charles L. Born Milton, Vt., 1851 ; graduated Ver-
mont University, 1873; South Dover, 1881; Society, 1883; Wing's
Station, 1906.
Foreman, James H. Born Kent, N. Y., April 19th, 1852 ; gradu-
ated University N. Y., 1877 ; Hopewell, 1877 ; Society, 1878 ; moved
to New York City.
564 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Fowler, Benjamin Maltby. Born Northford, Conn., January
2d, 1821 ; studied with Dr. L. W. Stanton, 1842, and with Dr. N. B.
Ives in New Haven; graduated Yale, 1845; practiced first at Dur-
ham, Conn., and removed to Poughkeepsie, 1856. He was fast build-
ing up a large and successful practice at the time of his death, Sep-
tember 8th, 1858.
FaisBY, Joseph. Born 1787; Society, 1813; died Rhinebeck, Au-
gust 11th, 1814.
Gains, Josiah. There is in the Fisher Library at Yasser Brothers'
Hospital a small book entitled "Arostittis Compleat and Experienced
Midwife, London, n, d, 10th Edition." On the fly leaf is written
"Josiah Gains, Man Midwife. His Book, 1755. Man Midwife at
Poughkeepsie." And here we have our first specialist, though it does
not appear that he claimed the title of doctor.
Geeow, Elizabeth H. Born Plattekill, N. Y. ; graduated Univer-
sity Michigan, 1875 ; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1875.
GiLBEBT, Wheelee. Bom 1791 ; Beekman and Society, 1811 ; a
Member of the Legislature and a County Judge; died June 10th,
1847.
Gill, Robeet Thomas. Bom Camelot, July 6th, 1821 ; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1854 ; died July 1st, 1873 ; he took a more active
interest in his farm than in his profession; graduated A. B., Yale,
1842 ; M. D., Jefferson, 1846.
Geant, Edmttnd F. Licentiate of the Sullivan County Society;
Poughkeepsie and Society, 1837; at "Eden Hill;" lost with steamship
Arctic in 1853.
Geant, James Peeston. Bom New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Oc-
tober 31st, 1872 ; graduated McGill, 1895 ; L. R. C. P., 1900 ; M. R.
C. S., London; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1902.
Geeene, Feedeeick H. Bom Otsego County, N. Y., 1872; grad-
uated Albany, 1897; New Paltz, 1898; Poughkeepsie and Society,
1907.
Geeen, Stephen S. Born Starksboro, Vt., January 9th, 1839;
graduated New York University, 1864; Assistant Surgeon U. S. N.,
1864; La Grangeville and Society, 1867; Buffalo, 1875.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 665
Guernsey, Calvin P. Born 1811, Clinton; died December 3d,
1855.
Guernsey, Desault. Born Milan, June 13th, 1830; student of
Dr. Willard Parker ; graduated P. and S., 1850 ; Assistant Physician
at Quarantine. In 1862 Surgeon N. Y. S. V. His horse fell on him
at Port Hudson, necessitating his resignation; Amenia and Society,
1866 ; Vice-president New York State Medical Association at the time
of his death, December 9th, 1885.
Guernsey, Ezekiel H. Born Amenia, April 12th, 1775; Stan-
ford and Society, 1806 ; Doctors Calvin P. and Peter B. were his sons ;
died September 17th, 1853.
Guernsey, Peter Bennett. Born February 7th, 1804; Clinton
and Society, 1826; licensed by the State Society, 1831; New York
City, forty years; died November 26th, 1873.
Gribbon, Henry Alexanber. Born Passaic, N. J., January 24th,
1877; graduated University and Bellevue, 1899; Poughkeepsie and
Society, 1902.
Haidlaue, Joseph. Born Hohenzollern, Germany, June 19th,
1825; graduated Wurzburg, 1860; New York University, 1882;
Poughkeepsie and Society, 1882; died October 28th, 1894.
Haight, Charles. Born June 15th, 1806, in Town of Washing-
ton; Society, 1828; practiced Four Corners till 1845; died Pough-
keepsie, September 26th, 1891.
Hammond, Thomas, Jr. New York University, 1845 ; Dover,
1845-85 ; Millerton and Society, 1888.
Hammond, Thomas. Surgeon in war of 1812; Dover and Society,
1821-69 ; died Port Huron, Mich., May, 1880.
Harkness, James Rev. Born Roxburyshire, Scotland, March 3d,
1803 ; graduated University Edinburgh. A Presbyterian minister at
Fishkill Landing, who practiced medicine among his congregation;
died July, 1878.
Harley, Mary. Graduated W. M. College, New York, 1892 ; Vas-
sar College, 1904.
566 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Harkis, Isham G. Born Paris, Texas, February 23d, 1867; grad-
uated New York University, 1890; H. R. S. H., 1891 ; Society, 1893.
Hart, Henry A. Born New Britain, Conn., 1828; graduated
P. and S., 1854; Millerton, 1874.
Harvey, Albert B. Born Middlesex County, Massachusetts,
March 2d', 1817; graduated Woodstock, Vt., about 1842; Pough-
keepsie, 1844; Society, 1854; Physician St. Barnabas Hospital; an
earnest, kindly man, of simple, unassuming life ; died July 5th, 1882.
Harvey, Clarence. Born Manchester, N. H., October 2d, 1849;
graduated New York University, 1880; Poughkeepsie and Society,
1881 ; a nephew of Dr. A. B. Harvey ; died December 26th, 1883.
Hasbrotjck, Stephen. Born April 24th, 1794 ; A. B., Union Col-
lege, 1815; student of Dr. B. White, M. D., P. and S., 1817; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1820-23; New York City to 1864; Jersey City,
where he died December 28th, 1881. Decided in his convictions, tem-
perate in his habits, upright in all his ways, he commanded respect
among all who knew him. He was a scholar of more than ordinary
attainments, and took an active editorial part in the Christian Ivr
teUigencer.
Hastings, William J. Born February 5th, 1843; Pleasant Val-
ley; died June 1st, 1875.
Hayt, Ralph Augustus. Bom Fishkill, N. Y., November 11th,
1877 ; graduated P. and S., 1900 ; Fishkill and Society, 1902.
Hazeltine, Hermon E. Matteawan S. H., 1904, and U. S. A.
Heaton, Adna. Born New Haven, Conn., May 22d, 1762 ; student
of Dr. Perry; Amenia, 1784; removed to Plattekill, 1800; died April
24th, 1827. A minister of the Society of Friends and a successful
practitioner.
Hennessey, Frank A. Graduated Albany, 1896; Society and
New Hackensack, 1898.
• Herrick, Walter. Born Milan, 1820; graduated Berkshire,
1849; Pine Plains, 1850; Milanville about 1866; Society, 1879.
ISHAM G. HARRIS, M. D.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 567
Hicks, Robert L. Society, 1817. On June 2d, 1819, Dr. Hicks
moved to just below the Poughkeepsie Hotel on Main street.
HiLus, James Grove. Born October 4th, 1825; U. S. M. Acad-
emy, West Point. On Gen. Scott's Staff during the Mexican war.
Received two medals for personal bravery. Poughkeepsie and So-
ciety, 1854 ; died January 19th, 1861.
HoAG, Arthur F. Bom Northeast, November 11th, 1856; gradu-
ated P. and S., 1879 ; Amenia and Society, 1879 ; Millerton.
H01.BR00E, Mellen R. Born New Hampshire, February 7th,
1824; graduated Woodstock, 1850; Poughkeepsie, 1861; Society,
1866.
HoLDEN, Edwin. Union Vale and Society, 1833-61.
Hooker, William. Society, 1822; Dover about 1830.
Hopkins, William H. Bom Carmel, N. Y., 1814; Yale, 1837;
Society, 1839; Sprout Creek, purchasing the place and practice of
Dr. Sleight; died Hyde Park, May 22d, 1890.
HosACK, David. Bom New York City, August 31st, 1769; grad-
uated A. B., Princeton, 1789; student of Dr. Richard Bayley; Medi-
cal College, Philadelphia, 1791 ; Edinburgh, 1794 ; Union College,
L.L. D., F. R. S., London; F. R. S., Edinburgh; Society, Hon., Hyde
Park ; died New York City, December 22d, 1835.
HoYT, Daniel James. Born Galway, N. Y., January 29th, 1872;
A. B.J Union University, 1899; M. D., University Vermont, 1902;
Poughkeepsie and Society, 1903.
HoTT, Edwin S. Bom Pleasant Plains, N. Y., April 5th, 1845;
graduated Albany, 1874 ; Society, 1875 ; SchultzviUe, 1899.
HuGHSON, Benjamin. Bom Hughsonville, January 2d, 1799;
Fishkill and Society, 1822 ; died February 9th, 1856.
Hull, William Bird. Born Pine Plains, June 26th, 1852; gradu-
ated P. and S., 1874 ; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1874 ; retired, 1880.
Hunting, Edward. Was married May 20th, 1790. Dr. Bartow
White bought his home and practice at Fishkill in 1805.
568 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Hunting, Isaac M. Graduated University Pennsylvania, 1841 ;
Stanford and Society, 1871 ; died 1893.
Huntington, Geokge. Born East Hampton, April 9th, 1850 ; son
of Dr. George Lee Huntington, and grandson of Dr. Abel Hunting-
ton; graduated P. and S., 1871; practiced East Hampton to 1874;
LaGrange and Society, 1874. Dr. Huntington first described a pecu-
liar form of hereditary chorea, which is known as "Huntington's
Chorea." HopeweU Junction, 1906.
HuBD, CuKTis J. MiUerton and Society, 1823; moved to Manlius,
N. Y., 1837 ; dying there.
HuED, Dabwin E. Son of Dr. Curtis J.; Northeast, 1833; Mil-
lerton.
HuRD, George F. Born 1808; graduated Pittsfield, 1829; Pleas-
ant Valley, 1831-41; Society, 1833; Fayettville, 1841-54; died
Rochester, December 1st, 1854.
HuRD, MiLo. Northeast and Society, 1816.
HuRLBERT, p. R. Born 1781 ; Poughkeepsie to 1855 ; died Troy,
N. Y., April 4th, 1855.
HusTED, Frank A. Born LaFayetteville, N. Y., May 3d, 1876;
graduated Albany, 1892; Wassaic and Amsterdam, 1898.
IvE, Charles William. Graduated A. B., St. Stephens, 1880; A.
M., Columbia University ; M. D., P. and S., 1898 ; Hyde Park and So-
ciety, 1900.
Johnson, George Quinct. Born Hillsdale, December 5th, 1859 ;
graduated P. and S., 1882; Pine Plains, 1885-95; Society, 1893;
Ardsley, 1906.
JuDD, Stoddard. Born Sharon, Conn., May 23d, 1797; Stanford,
Dutchess County, 1798; Union Vale and Society, 1819; LaGrange
previous to and after 1832; Member of Legislature, 1836; 1850 at
Waushaba, Wis. A nephew of Dr. Uri Judd.
JuDD, Uri. Born Waterbui'y, Conn., 1775. Grandson of Dr.
Benjamin Judd, a noted doctor of Connecticut; Northeast and So-
ciety, 1806; Milo, Yates County, 1831; Penn Yan, N. Y., 1850. A
very prominent man professionally.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 569
Julian, John M. Bom Hoboken, April 25th, 1854; son of Dr.
John M. Julian; graduate L. I. C. Hospital, 1880; Moore's Mills,
1880-92; Society, 1885; Pleasant Valley, 1906; died 1907.
Kellogg, Abnee Otis. Born Colchester, Conn., April 24th, 1820;
graduated Berkshire, 1844; P. and S., Canada, 1849; H. R. S. H.,
1871-84; Society, 1873; died Kentland, Ind., September 21, 1888. A
student of Shakespeare, whom he quoted aptly and dramatically in his
papers, which were scholarly and instructive and always most accepta-
ble to the Society.
Kellogg, Theodoee H. Graduated BeUevue, 1865; H. R. S. H.,
1888-91; Society, 1891; private hospital, Riverdale, 1897-1906.
KiEESTEAD, Hans. Born Kingston, N. Y., 1743; Rhinebeck, 1769;
died September 29th, 1811.
Kimball, Geace N. Graduated W. M. C. of New York City,
1892; Poughkeepsie, 1899; Society, 1900.
Kinkead, John. Born Lexington, Ky., December 30th, 1848;
graduated BeUevue, 1872 ; New York City to 1879 ; Poughkeepsie and
Society, 1879; retired 1890; Opthal. and Aural Surgeon Vassar
Brothers' Hospital; died June 29, 1909.
KiPF, Isaac. Born 1733; Rhinebeck, 1760; died January 11th,
1815.
KiTTEEDGE, Chaeles M. Bom Mt. Vernon, N. H., 1838; gradu-
ated A. B., Amherst, 1862; M. D., Harvard, 1867; Line Officer
1862-5 in Civil War; Hyde Park; FishkiU-on-Hudson, 1870; So-
ciety, 1875 ; died August 19th, 1896.
Knapp, David A. Born New Fairfield, Conn., June 13th, 1820;
student of Dr. Ezra P. Bennett, of Danbury, Conn.; graduated New
York University, 1845; North Clove, 1846; Society, 1866; died Sep-
tember 22d, 1907.
Knickeebackee, Philip H. Born 1804 ; student of Dr. Broadhead,
of Clermont; Upper Red Hook and Society, 1828; died April 9th,
1864.
La Geange, John H. Albany, 1871 ; Glenham and Society, 1882
to 1894.
570 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Lamb, Joseph T. Born New York City, July 9th, 1834; gradu-
ated Bellevue, 1867; New York City and Hudson till 1880; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1880; retired, 1888.
Lamb, Robert B. Bom Jamestown, N. Y., August 1st, 1869;
graduated Albany, 1891 ; Matteawan S. H. and Society, 1893 ; Medi-
cal Superintendent Matteawan S. H., 1906.
La Mont, Austin. Born Charlotteville, N. Y., 1837; graduated
University Michigan, 1861; Hyde Park and Society, 1861-76; Car-
mel, 1906.
Landon, Waltee R. Born 1790; died Rhinebeck June 11th,
1855.
Langdon, Chakles Heney. Born New York City, May 22d, 1853;
P. and S., 1874 ; H. R. S. H. and Society, 1876-1905 ; died November
15th, 1905.
Lathkop, William. Born 1760 ; Washington about 1785 ; Society,
1806; died April 18th, 1812. A well educated, successful physician,
with the degree of M. D.
Lape, Fredeeick Thomas. Born Athens, N. Y., December 21st,
1873; graduated P. and S., Baltimore, 1896; Poughkeepsie and So-
ciety, 1898; died Athens, September 4th, 1905.
Latson, John Rodney. Born Rhinebeck, 1838 ; graduated Castle-
ton, Vt. ; Acting Assistant Surgeon U. S. N. ; died 1900.
Leach, Geoege W. Graduated P. and S., 1833; A. M., Hon.
Wesleyan, 1846; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1833.
Leonard, Alpheus. Amenia Union about 1806; died 1829.
Le Roy, Irving Deyo. Born Highland, N. Y., April 18th, 1859 ;
graduated Albany, 1883; Pleasant Valley and Society, 1884. A de-
scendant of Frans Le Roy, who came to Poughkeepsie as early as
1719, and bought land in the neighborhood of Smith street on the Fall-
kill.
Lewis, James M. Graduated University Buffalo, 1880; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1888.
MEDICAL PROFESSION, 571
Lewis, Jonathan, "The Tory." Practiced at Pine Plains before
the Revolution. He had to move to Nova Scotia till the end of the
war. On returning his life was made so uijhappy for him by his patri-
otic neighbors, that he hung himself in the attic of his house, the
Dibble-Booth house, in 1783.
LiNSLY, WiiiLiAM B. Born New York City, 1840. Son of Dr.
Jared Linsly. Graduated P. and S., 1864. During the Civil War
was Assistant Surgeon for eighteen months; Pawling, 1880; Society,
1882; died June 10th, 1890.
LosEE, Edwin Knickeebockee. Born Upper Red Hook, May 16th,
1863 ; graduated A. B., Rutgers, 1885 ; M. D., P. and S., 1888 ; Upper
Red Hook, 1890.
LosEE, Elmoee. Bom Saratoga County, May 23d, 1821 ; gradu-
ated Castleton, 1846 ; Red Hook, 1850 ; Bangall, 1852 ; Society, 1854 ;
died September 2d, 1904.
LosEE, Haevey. Born Upper Red Hook, March 30th, 1867 ; grad-
uated New York University, 1878; Upper Red Hook, 1902-4.
LosEE, John E. Born Washington, September 18th, 1826 ; gradu-
ated Albany, 1852; Red Hook, 1853; Society, 1878; died December
20th, 1900.
LowN, Maecus M. Graduated Albany, 1877; Rhinebeck and So-
ciety.
Mackenzie, David Hugh. Bom Nova Scotia, April 24th. 1860;
graduated New York University, 1889; Mabbettsville and Society,
1899; MiUbrook.
MacNichol, B. W. Graduated Jefferson, Pa., 1884; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1884 ; Westchester County, 1899 ; died June 22d,
1900.
Mann, Feedeeick J. Born Utica, N. Y., October 13th, 1870;
graduated Buffalo University, 1893 ; H. R. S. H. and Society, 1896 ;
Poughkeepsie, 1899.
Maeill, JoAftuiM. Born Havana, Cuba, December 21stt, 1841.
Assistant Surgeon Volunteer Infantry, 1861. Taken prisoner at Bull
572 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Run; in Libby prison till 1864. Discharged from service, 1865.
Spanish army in Cuba, 1866-70. Highland till 1874; Poughkeepsie
and Society, 1875. Died January 14th, 1908.
Maeks, Louis Heney. Born Auburn, N. Y., September 17th,
1872; graduated Trinity, Toronto, 1896; Poughkeepsie and Society,
1902.
Maeschesseault, W. Wilfkid. Graduated Harvard, 1888; Mat-
teawan, 1902.
Mathews, Adelbeet C. Born Little France, N. Y., July 12th,
1875 ; graduated Baltimore, 1903 ; H. R. S. H., 1905.
McCabe, V. V. Graduated Baltimore Medical College, 1901. In
practice at Worcester, N. Y., and New York City until May 1, 1908,
when he located at Pleasant Valley. Society 1909.
McCambeidge, Chaeles J. Born Kingston, September 25th,
1875; graduated Queens, Canada, 1898; Poughkeepsie and Society,
1900.
McClacey, Abeam. Born Kortright, N. Y., February 4th, 1821;
Cairo till 1876 ; Pleasant Valley ; died January 13th, 1897.
McCi/EI-lan, Chaeles H. P. Born Gorham, Me., June, 1803;
Poughkeepsie, 1836 ; died April 2d, 1862. A gentleman and a scholar.
Retired and opened a school for girls, which was successful.
McFaeland, Waeeen C. Born Brooklyn, N. Y., November 6th,
1865 ; graduated Yale, 1887 ; Matteawan and Society, 1893.
McGeath, E. C. Poughkeepsie; office 126 Main street, 1861.
Meap, Isaac Newton. Born Amenia, September 13th, 1840;
graduated P. and S., 1866; a student of Dr. L. P. Wood of Miller-
ton. Entered the army in 1862 as a private; promoted to be Assist-
ant Surgeon and mustered out in 1865 ; Society, 1867 ; Amenia, 1869.
MiLLEE, Geoege Noeton. Bom Rhinebeck, September 27th,
1857; graduated A. B., Harvard, 1879; M. D., Harvard, 1882;
Vienna and Heidelberg, 1882-4 ; Rhinebeck ; never practiced.
Mills, John D. Born Dover, N. J., December 6th, 1811 ; Pough-
keepsie, 1884; Society, 1889; died Pleasant Valley, December, 1893.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 573
MiTCHELii, FuEDEEicK De Vine. Born Millbrook, June 22cl, 1859;
graduated Bellevue, 1880 ; Pawling, 1899.
MoiTH, Julius Edgar. Born Fishkill Landing, September a*u,
1855; graduated P. and S., 1879; Matteawan and Society, 1879.
MuanocK, Geobge W. P. and S., 1867; Assistant Surgeon U. S.
v., 1865 ; Cold Spring, Putnam County ; Society, 1894.
MuEPHY, Fbanklyn N. Born Williamsburg, N. Y., June 14th,
1876; graduated L. I. C. Hospital, 1899; Staatsburg and Society,
1902; New York, 1909.
Myek, Elizabeth R. G. W. M. C, New York City, 1877 ; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1890; Turner, N. Y., 1905. ,
Nelson, Theopelus. Born October 17th, 1798; Pleasant Valley
and Society, 1823. A partner of Dr. Piatt of Rhinebeck, and the
surgeon of that section. Died April 4th, 1872.
Newcomb, Zaccheus. Born July 22d, 1767; Pleasant Valley;
died August 30th, 1831.
Nicholson, Claekson A. Born South East, Putnam County, De-
cember 29th, 1821 ; graduated University New York, 1847 ; Beekman,
1847; Society, 1859. Died Sylvan Lake, January 14th, 1886.
NoRTHKOP, Mortimer C. Graduated New York Medical College,
1857; Northeast previous to 1864; South Dover and Society, 1867;
Pleasant Valley, 1902.
NoxoN, Robert. Born Poughkeepsie, July 31st, 1750; student
of Dr. Robert Thorn; lived at 83 Market street, Poughkeepsie and
Society, 1806.
O'RiELLY, Miles J. Albany, 1874; Fishkill-on-Hudson, 1900.
Orton, Henry Tudor, Born Woodbury, Conn., August 17th,
1782. A son of Dr. Samuel Orton ; Hart's Village and Society, 1828.
He spent a long and useful life in the practice of his profession. In
later years he was remarkable for his custom of always making his calls
on horseback. Summer and winter, rain and shine. Dr. Orton could
be seen any day jogging along the country roads on his trotting
574 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
horse, with his saddlebags filled with medicine any time up to 1864.
He had a wide circuit to ride, and attended to business faithfully. He
was greatly beloved and respected. He died in 1864, leaving a con-
siderable fortune, and is buried by the side of his father in Woodbury
Cemetery, Conn.
Owsley, Henky F. Bom in Ohio, 1870; graduated P. and S., N.
Y., 1896; practiced in New York until removal to Green Haven, 1908.
Pain, Babnabas. Bom Canterbury, Conn., 1738; practiced in
Amenia as early as 1767, and died there June 6th, 1822. He was a
man of pecuHar and decided views.
Pain, Ichabod B. Born Amenia, 1790; licensed by the State So-
ciety, 1812. The Doctors Paine and Payne are all descendants of
the Rev. Solomon Pain, of Canterbury, Conn. He died August 1st,
1819. Society, 1817.
Pain, Ichabod Spaebow. Born Canterbury, Conn., September
11th, 1736. The seventh son and ninth child in a family of fifteen.
Crum Elbow, 1759; died at or near Amenia before 1774.
Payne, John Chestee. Bom Amenia, April 3d, 1819; graduated
Berkshire, 1848; Amenia and Society, 1854; Poughkeepsie, 1858.
Dr. Payne was ship's surgeon on the "Dreadnaught" under Captain
Samuels for several voyages, and visited the hospitals of London and
Paris while waiting between trips. He was a man of gentle manner,
kind hearted, and had an inexhaustible fund of anecdote which made
him popular with young and old. Physician to St. Barnabas and
Vassar Brothers' Hospitals. Died April 10th, 1899.
Peaece, Geoege Staek. Bom Pawling, N. Y., October 28th,
1872. Son of Dr. Henry Pearce. Pawling, 1895; Dover Plains,
1902; graduated P. and S., 1895.
Peaece, Heney. Bom Pawling, N. Y., March 1st, 1833; gradu-
ated University Michigan, 1857 ; Assistant Surgeon 150th Regiment,
N. Y. S. V. While On the march to Lookout Mountain his horse fell
on him, crushing his left leg, necessitating its amputation above the
knse. Continued practice at JPawling until his death, December 30th,
1905.
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MEDICAL PROFESSION. 575
Peck, Geoege. Born Town of Milan, April 8th, 1813; practiced
and died in Town of Stanford, October ISth, 1873.
Peeky, John. Born 1770; Pine Plains and Society, 1824; died
April 22d, 1852, at Perry's Corners.
Phillips, Paul A. Born Orangeburg, S. C, May 20th, 1869;
graduated Bellevue, 1891 ; H. R. S. H., 1894-6.
Phinney, Lorenzo N. Born Sugar Hill, N. Y., January 1st, 1841 ;
graduated Geneva, 1866; Assistant Surgeon, 193d Regiment, N. Y.
S. V. ; Wappingers Falls, 1902.
Phinney, Sturgis. Born March 26th, 1789 ; died November ISth,
1841 ; in the drug business many years in Pough^eepsie.
Pilgrim, Charles W. Born Monroe, N. Y., March 27th, 1855;
graduated Bellevue, 1880; studied in Munich and Vienna, 1885; 1890,
Superintendent Willard S. H. ; 1893, Superintendent of H. R. S. H. ;
Society, 1893.
Pine, Per Lee. Born 269 Mill street, Poughkeepsie, March 14th,
1809. His preceptor was Dr. Delafield, of New York City, and he
graduated from P. and S., 1834. After two years spent in study in
London and Paris he began the practice of medicine in Poughkeepsie,
where he remained until his death. An unfortunate circumstance
occurring soon after his return from Europe cast a shadow over his
professional life. A cousin of Dr. Pine's was on trial for murder and
Dr. Pine testified that there was insanity in his family, and that he
realized this in his own case. Dr. Pine was a modest, unassuming,
Christian gentleman. He brought into the practice of his profession
an intelligence, zeal, industry and perseverance worthy of the largest
measure of success, which was denied him. His work was among the
poor, giving them the best he had, never shirking the call of duty, or
humanity. He was known among his associates for his integrity,
ability and courtesy. Dr. Pine never owned a horse, or drove, from
choice, but made visits six miles from home on foot. He died of pneu-
monia. May 13th, 1882, in the house in which he was born.
PiNGRY, James O. Born Fishkill, July 21st, 1843 ; graduated Uni-
versity New York, A. B., 1862; M. D., P. and S., 1868; Mabbetts-
ville and Society, 1871 ; Millbrook.
576 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Platt, Euphalet. Born June 6th, 1797; Rhinebeck and Society,
1818; M. D. Hon. State Board of Regents, 1848; died May 16th,
1868. A prominent member of the profession, and in civil life; a
scholar, reading his Bible regularly in the Greek text up to the last
week of his life.
PoKTEOUs, James G. Born Moriah, N. Y., January 3d, 1839;
M. D., Harvard, 1865; Surgeon in the Civil War; Luzerne, N. Y.,
fifteen years; Poughkeepsie, 1880; Society, 1882; died suddenly July
11th, 1895.
PoucHEK, J. Wilson. Born Claverack, N. Y., July 24th, 1859;
Albany, 1879; Modena; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1887; Surgical
Staff, Vassar Brothers' Hospital, 1887 to 1898.
Powell, Hokace Rennie. Born February 16th, 1860 at Coey-
mans, N. Y. ; graduated Albany, 1882; Poughkeepsie and Society,
1883.
Pbichabd, Chuechill a. Born December 5th, 1862, at Aylmer,
Ontario, Canada ; graduated Bellevue, 1890 ; Tivoli and Society, 1891.
Pkoal, William H. Born 1821 ; Wappingers Falls, 1847 ; Chan-
ningville and Society, 1854; died July 16th, 1858.
PuLTZ, Monroe Teavee. Born Rhinebeck, July 17th, 1843;
graduated P. .and S., 1868; Stanfordville, 1868; Society, 1871.
Found dead in his bedroom under the most distressing circumstances,
September 9th, 1902.
Quitman, William F. Born 1787. Stone Church. Died Decem-
ber 4th, 1834.
Radclifp, Petee Augustus. Born Rhinebeck, 1807; Society,
1830; died July 7th, 1831.
Reynolds, Iseael. Lincense to practice issued by Judge Isaac
Bloom, 1797; Pine Plains, 1795; died March 28, 1824.
RicKETSON, Shadeack. Bom 1768; New York City, 1808, where
he wrote a book entitled "Means of Preserving Health and Prevent-
ing Disease," published in New York City, September 1st, 1806; So-
ciety, 1815. A member of the Society of Friends. He never mar-
ried. Died Beekman, March 3d, 1839.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 577
Ring, Lewis. Born 1785; Pleasant Valley and Society, 1810;
died Hyde Parkj August SOth, 1867.
Roberts, Chaki-es Fkedeeick. Born Lebanon, August 5tli, 1860;
graduated P. and S., 1883; Dover Plains, 1902; Society, 1903.
RocKWEii,, Lyman E. Bom Stockbridge, N. Y., January 12th,
1846; graduated New York University, 1873; Amenia and Society,
1878.
Rogeks, Joseph. Bom Connecticut, October 31st, 1776; Fish-
kill and Society, 1806; died March 16th, 1814.
Roof, Francis H. Bom Cooperstown, N. Y., 1842; graduated
P. and S., 1863; Assistant Surgeon N. Y. S. V.,*1865; Rhinebeck,
1876.
Ross, John Philip B. Bom Germany, January 28th, 1764; died
Red Hook, January 22d, 1814. A Palatine.
Roosevelt, Isaac. Bom New York City, April 21st, 1790; grad-
uated A. B., Princeton, 1808; M. D., P. and S., 1812; pupil of Dr.
David Hosack, Hyde Park, 1820; died October 23d, 1863. Though
well educated in his profession and fond of its literature, its practice
was distasteful to him, and being removed from the necessity of prac-
tice, he never engaged in it, choosing rural enjoyments and agricul-
tural pursuits. He was of a delicate constitution, with refined tastes,
a gentleman of the old school.
RuMSEY, James Sykes. Bom July 9th, 1800; educated in France;
Fishkill Landing, 1846, until his death, November 1st, 1872.
Russell, Selwyn A. Bom Jay, N. Y., 1851 ; graduated Albany,
1877 ; practiced Albany, 1888 ; Attending Physician St. Peter's Hos-
pital; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1892; died January 10th, 1906.
RirssELL, William Logi. Bom Chatham, N. B., Canada, July 24th,
1863; graduated New York University, 1885; Poughkeepsie, 1904;
Medical Inspector of Institutions for the Insane of New York State.
Sackett, James. On November 24th, 1791, advertisement of
claims against the estate of, late of Frederickstown, Dutchess County.
578 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Sadliek, James Edgak. Born Walden, N. Y., March 28th, 1866 ;
graduated Albany, 1887; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1889; Medical
Staff of Vassar Brothers' Hospital, 1890 to 1898.
Sabten, Thomas. Born February 22d, 1768; Beekman and So-
ciety, 1806; died July 21st, 1810.
ScHENCK, John P. Born Matteawan, February 2d, 1798; gradu-
ated P. and S., 1819 ; Society, 1820 ; died September 7th, 1872.
ScHENCK, John P., Jk. Born Matteawan, February ISth, 1843;
graduated P. and S., 1864; in army as Assistant Surgeon one year;
Matteawan, 1864; Society, 1866; died December 14th, 1886.
ScHENCK Peteb, D. Bom 1793 ; pupil of Dr. Bartow White ; Fish-
kill and Society, 1817; died Wappingers Falls, April 29th, 1837.
Segeb, Charles E. Born April 8th, 1842; graduated Albany,
1863 ; Stockbridge, nine years ; Albany, nine years ; New Hackensack,
1886 ; Society, 1891 ; died December 10th, 1896.
Sheedy, Daniei, M. Bom Norwalk, Conn. ; graduated New York
University, 1888; Poughkeepsie, 1888; Society, 1889.
Sheppaed, John M. Poughkeepsie and Society, 1892.
Sheeeill, Hunting. Born April 3d, 1783; licensed State Society,
1809; Clinton and Society, 1809; Hyde Park. Author of "A Re-
view of the Diseases of Dutchess County from 1809-1825," published
1826. Also "An Essay on Epidemics as they Appeared in Dutchess
County," 1809-1825, pubHshed 1832. Died New York City, Janu-
ary 16th, 1866.
Shook, Ueiah. Born February 16th, 1816: died Red Hook, July
27th, 1842.
Slack, Heney. Bom Albany, June 10th, 1826; A. M., Yale,
1848 ; M. D., Albany, 1851 ; two years in Paris ; nine years in New
York City; Fishkill Landing, 1865; Society, 1873; died December
10th, 1886.
Slocum, Claeence J. Bom Richmond, R. I., 1878; graduated
Albany, 1897; H. R. S. H., 1897-1900; Society, 1900; Pleasantville,
N. Y., 1906.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 579
Smith, Steowbeidge. Born March 18th, 1825; graduated New
York Medical College, 1851 ; Surgeon Civil War, 1868 ; Wappingers
Falls and Society, 1874 ; died June 9th, 1876.
Snyder, Peter. Born 1772 ; died Northeast, near the Slate Quar-
ry, 18£6. Said to have been a good doctor. He had an apple brandy
distillery near his house and he patronized it liberally. He abjured
all religion, and that he might not be buried in a churchyard, set
apart an acre of ground on his farm for his burial place. There is
no evidence of a grave, and the place is desolate.
Stackhottse, Oswald D. Born St. Andrews, Quebec, 1874; Mc-
Gill, 1896; H. R. S. H. and Society, 1899; Niaga^ra Falls, 1900.
Stanton, Ltjke W. Born Huntington, Mass., 1806; M. D., Bow-
doin ; Pine Plains with Dr. Davis, afterward at Amenia ; Society, 1867.
He was a man of more than usual ability and prominence, and many
students were attracted to his office. He visited Europe, and kept
abreast of the times professionally. Died Amenia, February 6th,
1869.
Stevenson, William George. Bom Cambridge, N. Y., 1843; son
of Dr. WiUiam Stevenson; graduated P. and S., 1865; Poughkeepsie,
1873; Society, 1874. Of an active, inquiring mind, without the dis-
cipline of a classical education. Died July 81st, 1890.
Stillman, D. E. Graduated Vermont Medical College, 1851;
Pine Plains, 1862-76; Society, 1871; died Baltimore about 1900.
Stillman, Sidney. Born Litchfield, Conn., 1814; student of Dr.
Benj. Welch of Norfolk; graduated Berkshire, 1837; Northeast, 1846;
Millerton, 1888; Society, 1867.
Sutherland, Douglass Rudd. Born Bangall, November 9th, 1860 ;
graduated P. and S., 1874; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1874; died
Morris, Minn.
Sutton, George Lemuel. Born Louisville, N. Y. ; graduated Cas-
tleton, 1858; P. and S., 1859; Army as Assistant Surgeon, 1862;
Ret. 1865 as Lieut-Col. Brevet; East Fishkill and Society, 1866;
died Louisville, September 6th, 1888.
580 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Sutton, Leslie A. Bom Louisville, N. Y., June 10th, 1866; a
nephew of Dr. G. L. Sutton; graduated New York University, 1889;
East Fishkill and Society, 1889 ; Brewster, N. Y., 1905.
Tabee, James Russell. Bom Milton, N. Y., December 18th,
1851 ; graduated P. and S., 1874 ; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1874 ;
Brooklyn, 1896.
Tanneu, William H. Born Amenia, September 12th, 1836 ; grad-
uated New York University, 1860; Assistant Surgeon N. Y. S. V.,
1861; Surgeon, 1865; never active in civil practice.
Tappen, Peteb. Born July 3d, 1748; Poughkeepsie, 1772; living
on north side of Main street between Catharine and Crannell. Very
active during the Revolutionary War; one of the committee on cor-
respondence; a First Lieutenant of D. Co., Dutchess Co. Mil., 1775;
died September 3d, 1792.
Tappen, Peteb C. Bom April 13th, 1790 ; son of Dr. Peter Tap-
pen; had a school on the north side of Main street between Academy
and Hamilton; died July 9th, 1836.
Tapping, Elisha C. Born 1789; Society, 1828; house southeast
corner Mill and Washington streets; died September 6th, 1849.
Thelbebg, Elizabeth B. Graduated Woman's Medical College,
New York City, 1884; Physician at Vassar College, 1889; Society,
1895.
Thomas, William. Born Plymouth, Mass., 1786. He came to
Poughkeepsie to study medicine with his uncle. Dr. John Thomas,
about 1804. He was licensed to practice by the Society in 1808. Dr.
Thomas entered the army about 1810 as a surgeon, and served through
the war, resigning about 1816. After the close of the war, the troops
with which he was serving were ordered from Baton Rouge to Buffalo,
and were marched on foot that distance, proceding along the coast
to New York, and from there via. the Post Road through Pough-
keepsie. Died December 18th, 1860.
, Thompson, Chaeles Henet. Born Freehold, N. J., August
1843; graduated P. and S., 1868; Fishkill and Society, 1868; Bel-
mar, N. J., 1906.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 581
Thoen, Benjamin S. Born November 9th, 1814; brother of Dr.
J. S. Thorn, Milan; died March 5th, 1877.
Thorn, James. Born New Hackensack, N. Y., June 21st, 1763;
Society, 1806. As a commentary on the changes in social customs, it
may be noted that at Dr. Thome's funeral the best families were repre-
sented, and the bearers were leading men socially and professionally.
They were so drunk that the burial was delayed two hours for them
to sober up suiBciently to be able to carry the body from the house.
Died New Hackensack, June 26th, 1816.
Thoene, John S. Born Milan, August 14th, 1821 ; graduated
Castleton, Vt., 1843; practiced Bangall, Stanfordville and Millbrook;
Society, 1854 ; died November 11th, 1879.
Thobne, Rosert. Poughkeepsie. In 1795 the first charge for
treating prisoners at the jail in this county was made by Dr. Thorn.
He was prominent socially and professionally.
Thorn, Stephen. Bom 1737; died October 16th, 1795. Dr.
Thorn's charge book is still in existence, and shows very clearly the
condition of the practice of medicine at that period. He did but
three things, a puke, a purge, and a bleed, and the charge for each
was two shillings. His medical library consisted of but one book,
pubUshed at Montpelier in 1660, and a very curious book it is. He
built the red brick house at New Hackensack on the farm adjoining
the church on the north, now owned by Dr. Bayley, in 1772.
TiCE, Leon. Bom Brooklyn, N. Y., November 13th, 1864; grad-
uated L. I. C. Hospital, 1885 ; Rhinebeck and Society, 1895 ; died Oc-
tober 19th, 1899.
ToMMNsoN, David. Born 1772; Rhinebeck and Society, 1806;
Member of Assembly, 1819 ; died New York City, April 25th, 1841 ;
buried Rhinebeck.
Traver, Isaac H. Born August 2d, 1814; graduated P. and S.,
1836; Pleasant Valley and Society, 1837; died June 8th, 1892.
Treadway, Alfred. Bom Colchester, Conn., September 1st, 1781;
educated at Plainfield Academy ; studied with Dr. Lathrop, settled, at
South Dover till 1810 ; in 1811 at Hart's Village, succeeding Dr. La-
582 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
throp, and having Dr. Orton as assistant. He was an excellent busi-
ness man, slender, tall, with a bright, pleasant face, and courteous
manners, and interesting in conversation. Died April 26th, 1826.
Teipp, Chaeies H. Bom Town of Washington, December £5th,
1855 ; graduated Bellevue, 1881 ; Washington and Society, 1882 ;
Clinton Comers, 1884.
Teipp, Delmae C. Born Ithaca, N. Y., July 6th, 1848 ; gradu-
ated BellevTze, 1875; Beekmanville, 1885; Society, 1886; succeeding
Dr. Nicholson.
Tkivett, ; Elias C. Bom England, March 24th, 1790 ; licensed
Society, 1814; State Society, 1836; Society, 1828. Had drug store
288 Main street. Died April 12th, 1866.
Undeehh/X, Anthony. Born Westchester County, November 12th,
1818; son of Dr. Joshua B. Underbill; graduated Bowdoin, 1845;
New Hackensack, 1845; Society, 1869; died September 4th, 1889.
Upton Geoege. Bom Valatia, Columbia County, April 26th,
1811; graduated Jefferson, 1833; LaGrange and Society, 1834-61;
served in Civil War ; died January 10th, 1878.
Van Deebuegh, Fedeeal Beekman. Bom May 11th, 1788 ; Beek-
man and Society, 1810 ; removed, 1812 ; died January 23d, 1868.
Vandeehofp, Thomas P. Bom 1805; died Rhinebeck, December
3d, 1838.
Van Dusee, Amos Edwaed. Bom 1835; graduated P. and S.,
1859 ; Assistant Surgeon Civil War ; Medical Staff of St. Barnabas
Hospital; lost his business from neglect, and died July 19th, 1892.
Van Dusee, Nathaniel M. Born Cornwall, N. Y., 1820; gradu-
ated P. and S., 1852; Hughsonville, 1854; Society, 1859; Wapping-
ers Falls, 1873; retired, 1885.
Van Etten, Coenelius S. Bora Pike County, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tecaber 13th, 1846 ; graduated University Pennsylvania, 1873 ; Rhine-
beck, 1876; Society, 1905.
GKORGE R. FINTON.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 583
Van Kleeck, Baltus Livingston. Born 1774. Son of Dr. Law-
rence Van Kleeck, a physician of New York City, who moved to Pough-
keepsie, where he died before 1783. Dr. Van Kleeck, after practic-
ing in Poughkeepsie for some years, removed to Newburgh, where he
was a busy and honored practitioner until his death. May 9th, 1843.
Van Kleeck, James Livingston, Brother of Baltus ; and M. D. ;
died Poughkeepsie, 1816. The brothers joined the Society 1806.
Van Vliet, Isaac Fisk. Born 1822; graduated P. and S., 1844;
Rhinebeck and Society, 1866 ; died February 23d, 1876.
Van Wagnek, Geoege H. Bom Lloyd, N. Y., July 1st, 1851 ;
graduated Albany, 1881 ; Schoharie, 1881-6 ; Wappingers Falls and
Society, 1887. *
Van Wyck, David Baenes. Born LaGrange, April 24th, 1852;
graduated Bellevue, 1889; LaGrangeville, Manchester Bridge; So-
ciety, 1890.
Van Wyck, Edmund. Born New Hamburgh, 1850; student of Dr.
N. M. Van Duser; graduated P. and S., 1873; New Hamburgh and
Society, 1875 ; Wappingers FaUs, 1876 ; died February 23d, 1885.
Van Wyck, Richard C. Born East FishkiU, December 30th, 1843 ;
graduated P. and S., 1867; practiced in Denver, in Virginia and
Hopewell Junction and joined the Society 1883. Thrown from his
carriage in his door-yard and killed January 28th, 1896.
Veemilyea, John R. Bom October 17th, 1796; Fishkill and So-
ciety, 1830-61 ; died June 7th, 1871.
Veumilyea, Valentine Mott. Born LaGrange, 1818; graduated
P. and S., 1844 ; Fishkill Landing, 1844-54 ; died Sandwich, HI., May
7th, 1906. : ■ ' i' ij-i^iy
ViGEANT, Joseph E. Born Lee, Mass., 1872; graduated Albany,
1896; Red Hook and Society, 1904.
VON Tiling, Johannes H. M. A. Born Dillmarshaf, Russia,
1875 ; graduated Bonn, 1901 ; Poughkeepsie, 1904 ; Society, 1905.
Waed, David Boyd. Born Pleasant Valley, N. Y., March 13th,
1853; A. B., Hamilton College, 1873; student of Dr. E. H. Parker;
584 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
graduated P. and S., 1876; Wheeling, W. V., till 1879; Poughkeep-
sie and Society, 1879 ; Medical Staff of Vassar Brothers' Hospital and
St. Barnabas Hospital; died 1908.
Ward, Jonathan. Born 1780; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1807;
his office was at No. 266 Main street; died typhoid fever, September
13th, 1813.
Watt, James. Graduated University Maryland, 1863; Pough-
keepsie and Society, 1867 ; Union Bridge, Md., 1900.
Weavee, Feedekick B. Born Galatinville, N. Y., 1875; gradu-
ated Albany, 1898 ; Hyde Park and Society, 1901.
Webb, DeWitt. Born Chnton, N. Y., December 19th, 1838;
graduated P. and S., 1863; Chnton and Society, 1866; Poughkeepsie
in the drug business at 339 Main street; Member of Assembly, 1887-
8 ; St. Augustme, Fla., 1906.
Webstee, Helen W. Born, 1837; graduated Woman's Medical
College, Boston; Vassar College and Society, 1875; died New Bed-
ford, Mass., July 19th, 1904. A woman of unusual professional
ability and good common sense.
Wellman, Geokge Makvin. Born Springfield, Mass., February 24,
1837 ; graduated Amherst A. B., 1861 ; M. D., Georgetown, N. C,
1868 ; Dover Plains, 1869 ; Society, 1871 ; died January 13th, 1902.
WheeI/Ee, Gamelial. Born January 20th, 1786; Rhinebeck and
Society, 1828; Upper Red Hook; died March 20th, 1859.
Wheelee, William. Born August 12th, 1763 ; Rhinebeck and So-
ciety, 1806 ; Upper Red Hook ; died April 14th, 1810.
White, Baetow. Born Yorktown, Westchester County, N. Y.,
November 7th, 1776. A student of his father. Dr. Ebenezer White.
He commenced the practice of his profession at Fishkill, succeeding
Dr. Edward Hunting in 1800. Dr. White was not only an active,
useful practitioner of medicine for forty-five years, but also a leader in
all the useful activities of the community in which he hved so long.
His*success brought many students to his office, some of whom attained
high rank in their profession. Among them were Dr. Cornelius De
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 585
Pew and Stephen Rapalje, Surgeons in the Navy, and Dr. John
Cooper and Isaac Van Voorhis, who served in the army. Others were
scattered through various parts of the State. In 1824< Dr. White
was chosen to represent this district in Congress, and in 1840 he was
a Presidential Elector. He received the honorary degree of M. D.
from the Regents of the University in 1845. He was a strictly tem-
perate man, of mild manners, making and keeping many valuable
friends, who cheered and brightened his last days, which were passed
amid an unusually happy environment. He died December 12th, 1862.
White, Henky D. Born Brooklyn, N. Y., February 8th, 1866;
great grandson of Dr. Ebenezer White, grandson of Dr. Bartow
White ; graduated P. and S., 1887 ; Hopewell JuncJ^ion, 1896 ; Society,
1897.
White, Howell. Born Fishkill, N. Y., 1856 ; student of Dr. Oli-
ver White ; graduated Bellevue, 1879 ; son of Dr. L. H. White ; Fish-
kill, 1879 ; Society, 1880.
Whitewell, William Scollay. Graduated Harvard, 1872;
Fishkill-on-Hudson, 1901.
WiLBEB, Benjamin S. Born July 22d, 1795; student of Dr. Uri
Judd; Pine Plains and Society, 1822; died June 26th, 1871.
WiLBER, Henry Clay. Born Pine Plains, 1845 ; graduated Belle-
vue, 1867 ; Society, 1871 ; son of Dr. B. S. Wilber.
Wilcox, Jekemiah. Amenia, 1784.
Williams, George H. Born Johnstown, N. Y., May 30th, 1860;
L. R. C. P. Edinburgh, 1883; M. R. C. S., London, 1884; M. D.,
Yale, 1890; FishkiU, 1894; Society, 1895.
WiLLLVMs, Phebe Thorne. Born Millbrook, N. Y. ; daughter of
Dr. J. S. Thorne; graduated Woman's Medical College, New York
City, 1878 ; Millbrook and Society, 1878 ; Poughkeepsie.
Wilson, Henry C. Bom Derby, Vt., 1837; M. D., University
Vermont, 1863; Acting Assistant Surgeon, Civil War; Matteawan,
1867.
Wilson, John Powell. Born Hobart, N. Y., January 27th, 1845 ;
graduated P. and S., 1870 ; Stanford, 1871 ; Pleasant Valley to 1879 ;
Society, 1872; Poughkeepsie, 1906.
586 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
WixsoN, John S. Bom Stuyvesant, N. Y., January 10th, 1865;
graduated P. and S., 1887; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1888; Phy-
sician to Orphans' Home.
WiMPELBEKG, Samuel. Bom Poughkeepsie, March 27th, 1861;
graduated Jefferson, 1883; Poughkeepsie and Society, 1884); re-
signed; died July 12, 1907.
Wood, Lottis C. Born New York City, July 24th, 1856; gradu-
ated BeUevue, 1881; Wappingers Falls and Society, 1886; Pough-
keepsie, 1899.
WoETMAN, Dennis. Born Brooklyn, February 21st, 1796; East
Fishkill and Society, 1817 ; died May 3d, 1864.
Young, John. Bom Port Glenone, Ireland, April 16th, 1822;
America, 1826 ; graduated P. and S., 1844 ; New York City to 1867 ;
Fishkill; died September 2d, 1893.
MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.
Hudson Riveb State Hospital. The erection of a State Hospital
for the Insane somewhere along the Hudson River was authorized by
the Legislature in 1866, but its location was left to a Commission,
with power to obtain the most advantageous terms from the rival
counties. It was brought to Poughkeepsie only after a considerable
struggle on the part of the enterprising men of the day. When the
Dutchess County Supervisors met in November the contest had nar-
rowed down to Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. The site most favorably
considered comprised two hundred acres belonging to James Roosevelt,
about a mile north of the city. The city and county were asked to
pay $30,000 towards its purchase, and on November 18th a paper,
signed by Mayor Innis, the aldermen and a committee of citizens who
pledged themselves to raise this amount, was submitted to the Super-
visors, who were asked to issue county bonds for two-fifths of the
amount. The aldermen who signed this paper were S. B. Wheeler,
Sidney Fowler, Daniel Clifford, Robert Slee, Oscar A. Fowler, William
Shields, Joseph H. Marshall, E. P. Bogardus, P. G. Beneway and
Samuel TuthiU, and the citizens Cornelius DuBois, B. J. Lossing,
George Corhes, E. L. Beadle, J. P. H. TaUman and George Innis.
The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution December 4th, to
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 587
issue $12,000 of county bonds, but Orange County raised its offer,
and after overcoming considerable opposition from Fishkill and other
towns whose Supervisors did not see how their sections could be bene-
fitted, the board reconsidered its action and voted to issue bonds for
two-fifths of the amount needed, "said two-fifths not to exceed
$34,000." The expenses of the site were stated to be $80,000. By
the time it had been definitely ascertained that the required amount
would be raised it was too late on Saturday afternoon, December 29th,
to catch a train for Newburgh, where the commission was in session,
and about to decide the question of location. Nothing daunted, a
telegram was sent asking the commission to wait for the arrival of a
committee from Poughkeepsie. George Morgan brought out two of
his "quick steppers," and a two-seated sleigh, aild with John P. H.
Tallman, Alderman Slee and George W. Davids, began at 6. p. m. a
memorable drive to Newburgh. Mr. Davids, describing it a day or
two later wrote: "The night was a terrible one, the wind blowing a
perfect hurricane and the snow drifting heavily. Twice we got off
the road, the snow blinding us in such a manner, and the track blown
so full, that it was utterly impossible in some places to find the way."
Reaching Fishkill Landing after 9 o'clock they found that the ferry
had ceased its regular trips and was only running occasionally to keep
the ice from blocking it. The captain was at length found and in-
formed the party that he would probably start in about an hour.
"He was persuaded to go at once." Mr. Davids does not mention the
persuasive force, but the story afterwards told placed it at $50. The
commission had about given up the Poughkeepsie committee when they
finally arrived, and after a conference lasting until 1 a. m. at the
Orange Hotel, Poughkeepsie secured the prize.
Work began at the hospital site the following summer, and in 1871
sixty patients were admitted and a large amount of work was in
progress. The State Hospital has been constantly increased in size
until now it has a population of nearly 3,000 patients. The money
disbursed to laboring men in its construction has been a factor of
importance in local business, and its large force of physicians, nurses
and attendants, numbering more than six hundred, add much to the
life of the city. Dr. Joseph M. Cleaveland was made the superin-
tendent at the opening and remained until May 1, 1893, when he was
succeeded by Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim. The first board of managers.
588 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
in 1867, was Dr. Charles P. Agnew and Dr. A. Cook Hull, of New
York; State Treasurer WiUiam A. Howland, of Matteawan; Mayor
George Clark, of Newburgh; Hon. A. W. Palmer, of Amenia; Dr.
Beadle and Cornelius DuBois, of Poughkeepsie. The architects were
Vaux, Withers & Co., of New York.
Matteawan State Hospital. In 1846 a law was enacted which
permitted officers of the State prison to transfer to the Utica Asylum
any convict who became insane while serving sentence. These lunatics
were so vicious and troublesome to the Utica management that eight
years later it succeeded in convincing the Legislature that it would
be a good plan to build a separate institution for this class of patients.
Funds were appropriated and is 1856 work was commenced. This
building was located at Auburn Prison, but had an independent and
distinct administration, wholly apart from the prison proper. It
was opened for patients February 2, 1859, and was the first institution
of its kind in the world, so far as is known. At the beginning it
cared for the convict class only and was known as the State Asylum
for Insane Convicts. Some ten years after its opening the name was
changed to the State Asylum for Insane Criminals and the Courts were
given power to commit to its care criminals brought before them
whose insanity was evident at the time of the commission of the crimi-
nal act. The institution increased in size until finally the Auburn
buildings became too small for their population. In 1886, largely
through the efforts of Dr. Carlos F. Macdonald, a commission was
appointed to determine the best method of caring for the criminal
insane. This step had a cordial public and press support. The com-
mission, after much consideration of the subject, advocated the pur-
chase of the Dutchess County site and the erection thereon of the
buildings now known as the Matteawan State Hospital. In April,
1892, the first patients were received by transfer from the abandoned
Auburn institution. The initial population was 261. In five years it
had practically trebled. The convict part of the population were
taken to Dannemora in 1900. So that the hospital now serves prin-
cipally as an adjunct to the Courts, detaining patients under the
following conditions: First — Those simply charged with crime. Sec-
onds—Those accused of crime and awaiting indictment. Third — ■
Those under indictment and awaiting trial. Fourth — Those acquitted
on ground of insanity.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 589
In addition to the foregoing, all committed by the Courts directly,
the hospital receives from penal and reformatory institutions all female
inmates evincing insanity, as well as male patients held on simple mis-
demeanor charges. The present population is about seven hundred
and fifty. To provide for this number, a new group of buildings is
in course of erection. When these shall be complete the capacity of
the hospital will be about a thousand beds. At the time of the open-
ing of the Matteawan buildings, Dr. Henry E. Allison was the Medi-
cal Superintendent. He died in November, 1904, and was succeeded
by Dr. Robert B. Lamb, who directs the hospital management at the
present time.
St, Baknabas Hospital, incorporated March 16, 1871, was started
by Dr. Edward H. Parker. The first trustees were Rev. P. K. Cady,
rector of Christ's Church; Rev. R. F. Crary, of the Church of the
Holy Comforter; Rev. S. H. Synnott, of St. Paul's Church; WiUiam
A. Davis, S. M. Buckingham, Robert Sanford, Dr. E. H. Parker,
Benjamin Van Loon, and Winthrop Atwell. The Hospital was first
opened in Garden street, then in 1873 was transferred to 108 North
Chnton street, which was purchased for $5,200. Although St. Bar-
nabas Hospital was abandoned when Vassar Hospital was opened,
the St. Barnabas fund is stiU in existence, and there is now a prospect
of using this money toward the erection of a new St. Barnabas Hos-
pital.
Vassar Beothees' Hospital was founded in 1882 by Matthew Vas-
sar, Jr., under the name of Vassar Hospital. Following the further
endowment of the institution by his brother, John Guy Vassar, the
name was changed to Vassar Brothers' Hospital.
The original board of trustees were John Guy Vassar, Irene B. Vas-
sar, Oliver H. Booth, James H. Weeks, Stephen M. Buckingham,
Henry L. Young and Joseph M. Cleaveland, M. D.
The hospital located above the banks of the Hudson, on the out-
skirts of the city, surrounded by seventeen acres of open grounds, is
admirably situated for the care of the sick.
Additions have been made from time to time to the original build-
ing, these additions being required by the constantly increasing work
of the hospital. A library building including modern laboratories was
erected in 1898, and four years later additions were made to the main
590 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
wards and new private rooms opened. At present there are fifty-two
ward beds and eleven private rooms. Two years ago the re-equipment
of the entire hospital was begun and has been continued to the present
time. During these two years an isolated building for the care of
contagious diseases arising in the hospital, has been erected.
Dr. Guy Carleton Bayley was surgeon-in-chief and superintendent
of the hospital from its opening until 1906, when he was succeeded by
Dr. Henry Greenwood Bugbee. The present officers and board of
trustees is composed of Frank Van Kleeck, President; Guilford Dud-
ley, Vice-president; Henry Booth, Treasurer; Benjamin M. Fowler,
Secretary and Assistant Treasurer; Floy M. Johnston, William F.
Booth, William T. Reynolds and James Hyde Young.
Highland Hospital, Town of FishkiU. This institution was
founded May 1, 1871, as the result of a meeting held at the house of
Henry Slack, M. D., January 19, 1871, at which were present Gen.
Joseph Howland, Judge J. J. MoneU, Rev. Dr. Masters, Rev. H. E.
Duncan and Dr. Slack. Gen Howland offered for use as a hospital
for one year, a house owned by him in the village of Matteawan
The first trustees and the incorporators were Joseph Howland,
Silas G. Smith, Francis R. Masters, John J. MoneU, Rev. Henry E.
Duncan, Walter Brett, Henry Slack, M. D., Lyman Robinson and
Smith T. Van Buren, none of whom survive.
The house, the use of which was given by Gen. Howland, continued to
be so occupied until May, 1874, when it was deeded to the Hospital
Association by Gen. Howland and his wife, as a free gift. In 1876 an
addition was erected which nearly doubled the capacity of the institu-
tion. In 1887 the need of new and larger quarters became apparent,
but it was not until August 15, 1901, that ground was broken for the
present spacious building, which was ready for occupancy May 1,
1902.
The officers of this hospital are Winthrop Sargent, President;
William T. Blodgett, Vice-president; Mrs. Samuel Verplanck, Secre-
tary; Samuel K. Phillips, Treasurer.
It was a source of great satisfaction to the editor of this history that Dr. Guy
Carleton Bayley consented to write the foregoing chapter, for there is no one as
thqfoughly equipped with information and as well qualified for the task as he.
In 1906 he prepared "An Historical Address delivered before the Dutchess
County Medical Society at its Centennial Meeting at Vassar Institute, January
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 591
lOthj 1906, with a Record of the Medical Profession of Dutchess County from
1740 to 1906."
This address was privately printed by its author.
It is an exceedingly interesting record of the medical profession of our county
and bears evidence of an immense amount of careful investigation. Not only the
medical profession, but aU students of local history, are under obligations to Dr.
Bayley for his pains-taking work — ^wholly a labor of love for his honored pro-
fession.
For the information concerning the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane
and the Matteawan State Hospital acknowledgment is given to the Superintend-
ents of said Institutions, Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim and Dr. Robert B. Lamb. — ^Enrroa.
THE HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY OF DUTCHESS COUNTY. »
IN 1860, the subject of the organization of a flounty Medical So-
ciety was pressed upon the attention of the homeopathic physi-
cians of Dutchess County by Horace M. Paine, M. D., secretary
of the State Homeopathic Medical Society. The following year Dr.
J. F. Merritt published in the two weekly papers in Poughkeepsie, a
card to homeopathic physicians, naming a time and place of meeting
of those favoring an immediate organization. Accordingly a meet-
ing was held at the Gregory House in Poughkeepsie, November 27,
1861, at which the Homeopathic Medical Society of Dutchess County
was formed and the following officers chosen: Federal Vanderburg,
Rhinebeck, President; Ephraim Case, Clinton Corners, Vice-president;
Ernst F. Hoifman, Poughkeepsie, Secretary and Treasurer. The
Censors were: John Hornby, Poughkeepsie; Stephen G. Cook, Stan-
fordville, and Jesse F. Merritt, Pleasant Plains. A constitution and
bylaws 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 homeo-
pathic maxim, svmilia similibus curantur, eligible to membership on a
majority vote of the members present at a regular meeting."
Under an act of the Legislature, passed April 17, 1862, a reorgani-
zation of the State Society was effected whereby county societies then
existing became auxihary to the State Society, and the next year it
was formally inaugurated.
At the second meeting of the Society of this county, February,
1862, Dr. Vanderburg read a paper on the "Problem of Life," which
1. We are Indebted to John C. Otis, M. D., for the historical review of this society.
592 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
was deposited in the archives for future discussion. Accounts of in-
teresting cases in practice were given verbally by Doctors Cook, Mer-
ritt and Hornby.
At the third meeting, held in May, 1862, Doctors G. Lorrillard, G.
C. Lansing and Benjamin Lansing, all of Rhinebeck, were proposed
for membership. The Society seal was received and attached to the
by-laws, and the Secretary was ordered to deposit them with the
Coxmty Clerk, in accordance with the laws of the State.
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 influence
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."
October 6, 1868, it was resolved: "That the code of medical ethics
adopted by the American Institute of Homeopathy, at their 21st
annual session, held in St. Louis in June, 1868, be the standard of
professional behavior among the members of the Society."
At the meeting held October, 1871, the Society was reported to be
in a flourishing condition, and the Homeopathic Dispensary which
had been established in Poughkeepsie, to be achieving excellent re-
sults. No succeeding reports of the annual meetings, however, were
recorded until 1874, when the following officers were chosen: Ephraim
Case, President; John Hornby, Vice-president; John C. Otis, Secre-
tary and Treasurer. In subsequent meetings there appears to have
been a gradual decrease of interest — often no quorum — and in 1891,
the organization is termed by the State Society, "Moribund."
In 1893 the Society was reorganized, and the following officers
elected : John C. Otis, President ; W. R. Case, Vice-president ; Anna
C. Howland, Secretary and Treasurer. Doctors C. E. Lane, F. A.
Faust, J. G. Dawson, J. F. Goodell, S. I. Jacobus and Milton Angell
were elected members. A committee was appointed to write a new
constitution and by-laws. Meetings were held regularly from Octo-
ber, 1900, to October, 1906, and the following year the members united
with the Dutchess County Medical Society.
A history of homeopathy in Dutchess County must necessarily be
intomplete from the fact that all records were burned on February
19, 1900, necessitating recourse to memory alone.
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 593
The first homeopathic physician of Dutchess County was, probably,
Dr. Federal Vanderburg, a New York City practitioner, who had a
country home at Rhinebeck about 1820. Dr. Vanderburg was a
native of Beekman, Dutchess County, N. Y. He studied medicine with
Dr. Stephen Smith, a leading physician of New Milford, Conn., and
must have graduated about 1808. He commenced practice at Geneva,
N. Y., remaining there for twenty years, and returned to New York
about 1830. He obtained his knowledge of homeopathy from Dr.
Gram, who was among the first homeopathic physicians in this coun-
try. After giving up practice in New York City, Dr. Vanderburg
did a great deal of work in the vicinity of Rhinebeck, mostly in con-
sultation. During his residence in Rhinebeck he persuaded Dr. Mar-
tin Freligh, who was then in practice at Sauge*ties, to remove to
Rhinebeck, and for many years he was the local physician in that
town.
About 1843 Dr. Vanderburg induced Dr. Asahal Hall, of Fishkill,
to adopt the new method of treatment. Dr. Hall soon after removed
from Fishkill to Hart's Village, in the vicinity of the present Mill-
brook, where he practiced for a number of years, finally removing to
Rhinebeck; he remained there only about a year or two, and some-
where about 1850 came to Poughkeepsie, where he practiced until his
death, which occurred in 1878.
Probably the next homeopathic physician of Dutchess County was
Dr. Charles Haight, who was bom in the town of Washington, June
6, 1806. After obtaining a good, common school education, he went
to New York and studied medicine, returning to Dutchess County
and practicing at Clinton Corners. He removed from there to
Hart's Village, where he practiced for several years, finally going
to Poughkeepsie in 1845, where he enjoyed a large practice until the
time of his d^ath, September 26, 1891.
Dr. Haight was succeeded at Clinton Corners by Dr. Ephraim
Case. Dr. Case was born in Milan, Dutchess County, in the year
1809, and remained at Clinton Corners until his death in 1880.
"^'le next homeopathic physician in this county was Dr. Jesse F.
■itt, of Pleasant Plains. Dr. Merritt was a student of Dr. Van-
iirg's, a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and
594 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
practiced at that place from 1860 to the time of his death, which was
in 1870.
About 1858 Dr. William Baxter located at Wappingers Falls, where
he practiced for a number of years, and at his death, in 1873, he was
succeeded by his son, Dr. William Baxter, Jr., who still is in practice
at Wappingers Falls.
About 1860 Dr. G. C. Lansing commenced practice at Rhinebeck,
and was succeeded by his nephew. Dr. Benjamin Lansing, who had
been in practice at Hyde Park for a short time, and who died at
Rhinebeck in 1888.
Li 1860 Dr. Ernst HoflFman, a German, came to Poughkeepsie,
and for a time was associated with Dr. Hall. He was active in all
pertaining to the homeopathic profession, and was a member of the
Dutchess County Homeopathic Medical Society.
Dr. Stephen G. Cook was in practice at Stanfordville for two or
three years, removing from there to New York City, where he became
a police surgeon, and died in 1900.
Dr. George Lorillard was in practice at Red Hook about 1863.
Dr. John Hornby located in Poughkeepsie in the early 60's, after
having served seventeen years in the British army in India. He was
a voluminous writer, very active in the Medical Society, and in the
latter part of his residence in Poughkeepsie made a specialty of the
diseases of women. His failing health compelled him to remove to
Bermuda, where after a residence of about two years, he died, about
1887.
Dr. Levi Hubbard practiced homeopathy in Poughkeepsie from '65
to '75. He was followed by Dr. I. S. P. Lord. Dr. I. S. P. Lord
succeeded Dr. Ernst Hoffman in practice in the city of Poughkeepsie,
and was active in medical, temperance and reUgious circles. In 1872
he removed to California, where he lived until about two or three years
ago, dying at the advanced age of 92 years.
Dr. Walter R. Case, son of Dr. Ephraim Case, was graduated from
tlie New York Homeopathic Medical College in 1865 and commenced
practice at Hart's Village, where he remained until 1868, when he
MEDICAL PROFESSION. 595
removed to Salt Paint ; he practiced there until 1885, and then came
to Poughkeepsie, in partnership with Dr. John C. Otis, until 1887.
He then carried on practice by himself until his death, in 1904.
Dr. Henry N. Avery came to Poughkeepsie in 1865 and remained
until '71, when he was succeeded by his brother. Dr. Edward W. Avery,
Henry Avery removing to Minnesota. After a year or two Dr. Ed-
ward Avery removed to Brooklyn, where he is still in practice.
In 1868 Dr. Anna C. Howland, a graduate of the Women's Homeo-
pathic Medical College of New York, a lady from Maine, opened an
office in Poughkeepsie, where she remained in active practice until her
death, in 1902.
Dr. John C. Otis was graduated from the New York Homeopathic
Medical College, and the Medical Department of the University of
Vermont, Allopathy, in 1868, and in October of that year located at
Hart's Village, succeeding Dr. Case, where he remained until Janu-
ary, 1871, when he removed to Poughkeepsie in partnership with Dr.
A. Hall. After two years of partnership with Dr. Hall, he commenced
practice by himself, and in 1878, took into partnership Dr. Taylor
Lansing, a brother of Dr. Benjamin Lansing, of Rhinebeck. Dr.
Lansing remained with him until his death in 1880. Dr. Otis is still
in active practice in Poughkeepsie. Dr. Otis was succeeded at Mill-
brook by Dr. P. A. Banker, who practiced there for three years and
then removed to Rhinebeck. Dr. Banker was succeeded at Millbrook
by Dr. J. F. Goodell, who removed to Rhinebeck, and was succeeded
at Millbrook by Dr. S. I. Jacobus, who after spending a year in post
graduate study, located at Millbrook in the spring of 1888, where he
is still in active practice.
Dr. Taylor Lansing was a graduate of the Philadelphia Homeo-
pathic Medical College. He was born near Fonda, N. Y., and came
to Poughkeepsie in 1877.
Dr. G. B. I. Mitchell located in Fishkill in 1869, and practiced there
until 1876, when he removed to New Jersey and practiced with his
brother. Dr. John J. Mitchell.
. Frederick A. Faust was graduated from the New York Homeo-
c Medical College in 1886. After having practiced in Bern,
596 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Albany County, for one year, he located in Poughkeepsie, where he
remained until 1898, when continued ill health compelled him to remove
to Colorado Springs, where he still is in practice.
Dr. Charles E. Lane was graduated from the New York Homeo-
pathic Medical College in 1883. After practicing in Clove, Dutchess
County, for a year or two he removed to Poughkeepsie, where he is
still in practice.
Dr. Charles E. Lane was graduated from the New York Homeo-
Dr. F. Reed Hawley was graduated in 1892 at the New York
Homeopathic Medical College. Practiced in Brooklyn and Washing-
ton, D. C, and removed to Staatsburgh, N. Y., in 1896.
Dr. J. G. Dawson practiced at Fishkill and Matteawan for three
years, removing to New Jersey about 1905.
Dr. Augustus Angell was graduated at the New York Homeopathic
Medical College. He practiced at Salt Point for two years, and then
removed to Hartford, Conn., where he is still in practice as an eye
and ear speciahst. He was followed at Salt Point by his brother. Dr.
Milton Angell, who still remains there.
Dr. John H. Otis was graduated at the New York Homeopathic
Medical College in 1894, and immediately commenced practice in
Poughkeepsie, where he remained until his death, June 30, 1907.
Dr. A. L. Peckham was graduated at the Hahnemann Medical Col-
lege, Philadelphia, in 1899. He immediately commenced practice in
Poughkeepsie, where he still remains.
Dr. C. Knight Deyo was graduated at the New York Homeopathic
Medical College in 1905. After a hospital course he came to Pough-
keepsie in 1907.
DERRICK BROWN.
MASONIC FRATERNITY, 597
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.'
Ancient Ceaft Masonry.
THE earliest authentic record of masonry in New York, or, in
fact, in the American colonies, is the deputation appointing
Daniel Coxe, of New Jersey, to be provincial grand master
of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, signed by the Duke of
Norfolk, grand master of the grand lodge of England, and dated
"this fifth day of June, 1730, and of Masonry 5730."
From that date and until 1781 there were five different masonic
deputations granted to provincial grand masters for New York, by
the grand lodge of England.
During this period there were two provincial grand lodges in the
State of New York, organized at different periods by authority of
rival grand lodges in England, which were termed the "Moderns"
and "Ancients." In 1813 these two grand bodies united into what
is now the "United Grand Lodge of England."
The provincial grand lodge authorized by the Atholl warrant,
dated September 5, 1781, existed from December 5, 1782, lo Septem-
ber 19, 1783, when the British troops evacuated New York City,
and as the grand lodge was essentially a royalist institution, and a
majority of its ofllcers and members were connected with the evacuat-
ing army, the brethren were in a quandry, the solution of which we
find in the minutes of a grand lodge of emergency, held on the nine-
teenth of September, 1783, when "The propriety of leaving the grand
warrant by which this lodge is established in the province of New
York, being fully discussed, it was resolved that the same should be
left and remain in the care of such brethren as may hereafter be
appointed to succeed the present grand officers, the most of whom
being under the necessity of leaving New York upon the removal of
1. We are indebted to Bight Worshipful Derrick Brown for the greater portion of the
material embodied in this chapter.
598 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
his majesty's troops." This necessitated the election of a complete
new set of officers, which was immediately done.
The lodges throughout the State which had received charters from
the "Modern" provincial grand lodge, in the interim between the dis-
solution of that body and the organization of the "Ancient" pro-
vincial grand lodge, had pursued an independent existence, and,
naturally, under their existing conditions, were loath to surrender
their warrants to the new body; therefore it was a number of years
before all the lodges were brought under the control of the new grand
lodge. This provincial grand lodge, so far as existing records show,
made no returns to the parent grand body, and in all matters acted
as an independent grand lodge.
This state of affairs caused some of the lodges to question the
legality of its proceedings, and the propriety of paying grand lodge
dues. This question was settled for all time on the 6th of June, 1787,
by the grand lodge adopting the report of a committee which re-
ported :
"Your committee appointed at the last quarterly communication, in consequence
of certain resolutions of St. John's lodge, respecting the warrant under which the
grand lodge isi established, report their opinion as foUows, viz: That the grand
lodge of this State is established, according to ancient and universal usages of
masonry, upon a constitution formed by the representatives of the regular lodges,
convened under a legal warrant from the grand lodge of England, dated the fifth
day of September, in the year of masonry five thousand seven hundred and
eighty-one, the most noble Prince John the Third, Duke of Atholl, being the
then grand master. And your committee further beg leave to report that in their
opinion, nothing is necessary or essential in the future proceedings of the grand
lodge upon the subject matter referred to them, but that a committee be appointed
to prepare a draft of the style of warrant to be hereafter granted by the grand
lodge, conformable to the said constitution. All of which is, nevertheless, most
respectfully submitted to the wisdom of the most worshipful grand lodge."
In this manner the grand lodge declared itself an independent grand
body, supreme within its own jurisdiction. The date of transition of
the grand lodge from a provincial to an independent State masonic
organization might be a subject of difference of opinion, but the
grand lodge, however, numbers its annual communications from the
earlier date, viz., 1781, under the charter issued by the "Ancients."
• At different times the grand lodge has been disrupted by internal
strife and schisms which continued several years, but since June,
MASONIC FRATERNITY. 599
1858, peace and harmony have prevailed among the fraternity. The
severest trial that freemasonry has had to endure was the anti-
masonic crusade that began in 1826, which assailed the fraternity
throughout the land and resulted in many of the lodges having their
charters forfeited.
A political party was founded at the tjme on prejudice and hatred.
Politicians mounted the whirlwind, and rode into power on the storm.
Fanatics in the forum, at the bar and in the pulpit inflamed the pas-
sions of men, and aroused the bitterest enmity against freemasonry.
Men of the highest social and masonic standing were threatened with
poHtical ostracism; to be a mason was to be an object of suspicion,
and often of persecution; the lodge rooms were deserted, charters
were surrendered, and the craft became disheartenifd at the situation.
Some members of the fraternity openly declared their withdrawal,
and were known as "seceding masons" in the community. After ten
years of bitter feeling and hatred against the society of Free and
Accepted Masons, the storm of persecution began to subside; the
calmer and better judgment of men prevailed ; the craft took courage,
and masonic lodges again opened their doors and resumed labor.
Wabeen Lodge, No. 32. The first Masonic lodge organized in
Dutchess County, now in existence, was Warren Lodge, No. 32,
located at Schultzville in the town of Clinton. It is one of the oldest
lodges in this section of the State, and one of the few that did not
succumb to the anti-masonic storm of 1826.
The records of the Grand Lodge say that on the 10th of June,
1807, a dispensation was issued to certain members of the order
living at Pine Plains, which was then a part of the Northeast town-
ship, authorizing them to establish a lodge of Free Masons at that
point. Under that dispensation from the Hon. De Witt Clinton, who
was then a Grand Master, the lodge was constituted and dedicated on
the 24th of January, 1808. At its constitution the following mem-
bers of the order acted as grand lodge officers: Worshipful Brother
Samuel Edmonds of St. Tammany Lodge, Grand Master; S. Carol,
Deputy Grand Master; I Pierson, Grand Senior Warden; Samuel
Owen, Grand Junior Warden; Enos Hopkins, Grand Secretary;
Aaron E. Winchell, Grand Treasurer; Peter Mills, Grand Senior
Deacon ; Jonathan Reynolds, Grand Junior Deacon.
On this occasion the following named brethren were installed as
600 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
officers of Warren Lodge, No. 157: Martin Lawrence, Worshipful
Master; Ezra L. Barrett, Senior Warden; Leonard Barton, Junior
Warden; Benjamin R. Bostwick, Secretary; Israel Harris, Treas-
urer; Joshua Culver, Senior Deacon; Thomas Stevenson, Junior
Deacon. At this communication Benjamin Lewis was proposed for
membership, and he was initiated as Entered Apprentice on March
8th, 1808.
During the time that the lodge was located at Pine Plains, the
meetings were held in a room which might be rented in a private house,
and for various reasons the place of meeting was changed almost
every year. The meetings were usually held at four o'clock in the
afternoon on Tuesday preceding a full moon, but changes in the day
and hour were very frequent until 1812, when the first Tuesday on
or after a full moon was adopted, and still later the time was changed
to Thursday on or preceding a full moon, and the third Saturday
following.
In those days it was the custom of the fraternity to celebrate the
anniversary of St. John the Evangelist on the 24th of June, and
Warren Lodge observed the anniversary either by inviting other
lodges to be their guests, or they being the guests of some sister
lodge. There were four lodges that celebrated this festival together
quite frequently; they were Temple, Lafayette, Hiram and Washing-
ton, and they must have been located not very far apart as late as the
year 1812. In 1817 Temple Lodge extended an invitation to cele-
brate the occasion with them at the house of S. Dakin in the town
of Northeast, of which town the village of Pine Plains forms part,
but whether Temple Lodge was at that time located in the village of
Northeast, it is difficult to say.
In 1823 these lodges and Widow's Son Lodge, located at Clermont ;
Montgomery, located at Salisbury, Conn., and Montgomery, located
at Rhinebeck, celebrated the festival on the invitation of Warren
Lodge.
In 1824! a lodge named Columbia is mentioned, and in that same
year Warren Lodge was invited to celebrate St. John's Day with
Solomon's Lodge, which was located at Poughkeepsie.
In celebrating these festivals the lodges would meet early in the
dgijr, have a parade with a band of music composed of clarionets, bas-
soons and drums, and then listen to a sermon, or an address, by a
MASONIC FRATERNITY. 601
minister, to be followed by a dinner. Such a band of music in those
days cost $25.00, and as the ministers were not expected to preach
for nothing, they received about $20.00 each for their addresses.
It is recorded that in 1826 the lodge met as early as five o'clock in
the morning In order to enable it to celebrate the festival with Mont-
gomery Lodge at Rhinebeck.
In 184tl an invitation was accepted to celebrate with a lodge in the
City of Hudson, wMch was probably Hudson Lodge, No. 7. In 1844
Warren Lodge extended an invitation to all the regular lodges be-
tween Troy and New York City to celebrate the anniversary of St.
John the Evangelist.
With the exception of three, all of the lodges mentioned have be-
come extinct and others have replaced them. Wfcile a lodge existed
at Pine Plains village, candidates were received from Ancram, Gala-
tia, Stanford, Milan and Clinton, and the record shows that one was
received from Connecticut, and another from Kingston.
It is to be noted that originally Warren Lodge was No. 157, and
it held that number until 1839, when on June 7th, the Grand Lodge
ordered that this lodge No. 157 should be reorganized as No. 32.
This certificate is in existence, and it is signed and sealed January 1,
1840.
While located at Pine Plains the original charter was lost, and
application was made to the Grand Master for a substitute, and he
being absent from the State, the Deputy Grand Master, John L.
Lewis, Sr., granted a dispensation for the lodge to continue its work,
the dispensation to be in force until the close of the session of the
Grand Lodge, when Warren Lodge could be present and present a
petition for a new warrant. Accordingly, on the 8th of May, 1856,
a new warrant was issued, and Brother Lewis having been elected
Grand Master, signed the substitute charter.
Warren Lodge was located at the village of Pine Plains until 1861,
when it was allowed to change its place of meeting to Lafayetteville
in the town of Milan, and that continued to be its location until 1864,
when a masonic hall was built at Schultzville, and in this hall it has
since held its communications. The hall was erected on a site be-
queathed by the will of Theodore Schultz, who was a devoted member
of the lodge, and who died in 1862. He also left the sum of $2,000
for the erection of a building, which with the contributions of the
602 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
members, enabled the lodge to complete the building and furnish the
lodge room.
In order that the lodge might receive the bequest of Brother Schultz
it was necessary that the Legislature should pass an act to enable
Warren Lodge to hold real and personal property. To secure this
legislative action Benjamin Thorne and Peter Denny, members of the
lodge, were appointed a committee to make an effort to get a special
act passed by the Legislature. The enactment was passed, and this
secured the validity of the bequest, which was never afterward ques-
tioned. It is hardly possible that Warren Lodge was the first to be
the beneficiary under a will, yet at that time there was no law on the
statute books enabling a lodge to hold real and personal property,
which seemed to have been necessary in this instance, so that Warren
Lodge may be credited with being the pioneer in this movement, which
in 1896 was made general by the Legislature of this State, the act
being known as the Benevolent Orders Act.
From its constitution in 1808 until 1856 the lodge was opened and
closed on what was then called "The First Step in Masonry." About
1824 the word step was expunged and degree inserted. ^All^ lodge
business was regularly transacted in the Entered Apprentice Degree.
The Fellow Craft and Master Mason Degrees were simply for the
purpose of passing the candidates on. This form must have been
proper at the time, for it is on record that on an official visit of the
Grand Visitor he presided in the East and the lodge was conducted
in this manner.
In the year 1856 the method was changed. The lodge was opened
on the Master Mason Degree, business was transacted in that degree,
and the lodge was closed upon it. Candidates were proposed in
open lodge by the members, and on a motion that must be made and
carried. Then the name would be placed upon the minutes, and an
investigating committee appointed, sometimes consisting of as many
as six members. This was regulated by the maker of the motion.
In the course of time a motion would be made that the committee
report, and if the committee reported favorably, a motion would then
be made that the candidate be balloted for, and, if elected, a motion
would then be made that the candidate be initiated. Being an initi-
ated Entered Apprentice he could be present at the opening of the
MASONIC FRATERNITY. 603
lodge^ and on motion he could be passed to the order of Fellow Craft,
or passed to the sublime degree of Master Mason.
At a communication held in 1856 the petitions of twelve candidates
were presented. This is notable on account of the large number pre-
sented at one time. They were all elected. The first record of a
printed petition being used by the candidate was in the year 1823.
The Grand Lodge honors have been bestowed upon Warren Lodge
only once. Brother EHas Hicks filled the position of Grand Secre-
tary to Grand Lodge in 1822 and 1824.
Royal Aech Masonky. Royal Arch Masonry in Dutchess County
is represented by Foughkeepsie Chapter, No. 172, which is located and
holds its regular convocations in the City of Foughkeepsie. This
chapter was organized under a dispensation from#the Grand Chapter
to Royal Arch Masons in the State of New York, and its first con-
vocation was held on the 11th day of June in the year 1860. At the
following annual convocation of the Grand Chapter, held in the City
of Albany in February, 1861, a charter was issued bearing date Feb-
ruary 7, 1861. The officers of the Grand Chapter at that time were:
James M. Austin, Grand High Friest; Sylvester Gilbert, Deputy
High Friest ; Augustus Willard, Grand King ; George N. Williams,
Grand Scribe, and John O. Cole, Grand Secretary.
The charter members of Foughkeepsie Chapter were John Trow-
bridge, John Hamlin, Elias G. Hopkins, Albert H. Champlin, William
C. Arnold, Lemuel A. Chichester, Oliver W. Doty, John Freeman,
Feter B. -Lawson. The Council oflScers were: John Trowbridge,
High Friest; John Hamlin, King; Elias G. Hopkins, Scribe.
The Chapter has been fairly well represented in the Grand Chapter.
The first appointment from its members was made in 1877, when
Grand High Friest George Van Vliet appointed William Morgan
Lee to the position of Grand Frincipal Sojourner in the Grand Chap-
ter. In 1899 Grand High Friest John W. Palmer appointed Derrick
Brown to the position of Grand Royal Arch Captain. He held that
position for two terms, and then was regularly advanced through the
different chairs of the Grand Chapter, and was its Grand High Friest
in 1906. He served in that station one year.
William S. Ackert, of this Chapter, was appointed Assistant Grand
Lecturer in 1908, and served in that position for two years.
That the Chapter has done efficient work is shown by the fact that
604
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
at the beginning of the year 1909 its membership was 274, and that
there are but twenty-one Chapters in the State with a larger member-
ship.
Up to June 8, 1909, there had been registered 568 members, classi-
fied as follows: Charter members, 9; affiliated members, 31; exalted
members, 523.
CnYPTic Masoney. Cryptic Masonry in this county is represented
by King Solomon Council, No. 31, R. and S. M., which is located in
the city of Poughkeepsie and holds its stated assemblies in that city.
Its charter, dated February 4, 1868, permits it to hold assemblies in
Poughkeepsie or Newburgh, and in its early life it held them at New-
burgh. For a quarter of a century or more, preceding the date of
this record, its assemblies have been held in the city of Poughkeepsie.
It has a membership of 141, and holds its assemblies once in each month.
Chivalkic Masoney. Chivalric Masonry is represented in this
county by Poughkeepsie Commandery, No. 43, Knights Templar. It
was organized October 16, 1867, and worked under dispensation until
October 7, 1868, when a charter was granted by the Grand Com-
mandery in annual conclave at New York City.
Sir Knight John Hamlin was the Commander under dispensation,
as well as the first Commander under the charter, and the organization
began its "history" with the following charter members :
Oliver S. Atkins, of Lafayette, No. 7.
William Baird, "
Albert H. Champlin, "
James H. Cronk, "
John Hamlin, "
Elias G. Hopkins, "
George Lyon "
Edward B. Parker, "
Thomas S. Parker, "
Samuel H. Paulding, "
James Smith "
John Schickle, «
Edward Blankenhorn, Hudson River, No. 35.
John C. Chatterton, "
Herman King, "
John H. Lindley
MASONIC FRATERNITY. 606
The commandery has appeared in pubhc on many occasions and
has made a number of notable pilgrimages.
On the 24th of June, 1871, it participated in the ceremonies of
laying the corner stone of the State Capitol at Albany.
It also acted as escort to the Grand Lodge at the laying of the
corner stone of the Poughkeepsie Bridge on the 17th of December,
1873, and at the laying of the corner stone of Eastman College in
July, 1883.
Perhaps the most memorable pilgrimage of the commandery was
that to Washington in 1889, on the occasion of the conclave of the
Grand Encampment in that city.
The Grand Commandery of New York met in Poughkeepsie in
October, 1881, and was entertained by the local commandery.
The membership at the close of the year 1908 was 171.
PoUGHKEEPSLE LoDGE, No. 266, was Organized at Poughkeepsie
May 12, 1852, with nine charter members. The first officers Were:
A. M. Sweet, W. M. ; John Broas, S. W. ; Samuel Chichester, J. W. ;
John E. Eisel, Treasurer; Isaac F. Russell, Secretary. The lodge,
January 1, 1909, reported 321 members.
Beacon Lodge, No. 283. This lodge is located at Fishkill-on-
Hudson, and was opened under dispensation October 12, 1852, and
was consecrated and officers elected March 8, 1853, Rev. Isaac Fran-
cis being the first W. M. About 460 persons have been members of
this lodge by initiation and affiliation. July 1, 1909, there were 170
members. The semi-centennial anniversary of the lodge was cele-
brated in October, 1903.
Monumentai. Lodge, No. 374. This lodge is located at Tivoli,
and was organized July 8, 1855. The charter bears date of July 6,
and contains the following names as charter officers: Rev. John A.
Edmonds, Master; Simon Van Namee, S. W. ; Benjamin F. Gedney,
J. W. Charter members: Samuel Nelson, William Whitting, N. P.
Tylar. The lodge was incorporated in 1878.
Rhinebeck Lodge, No. 432, was organized on the 9th day of
July, 1857. The charter members were: Smith Quick, James Hogan,
De Witt C. Marshall, Richard R. Sylands, Ambrose Wager and
Henry M. Taylor.
The lodge celebrated its fiftieth anniversary July 9, 1907, and its
first W. M., Smith Quick, then over eighty years of age, presided.
606 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Shekomeeo Lodge, No. 468, was organized at Mabbettsville. The
charter is dated June 20, 1858, and its semi-centennial was observed
with fitting ceremonies. John S. Parker was chosen the first W. M.
David TaUman, of South Millbrook, is the only living charter member.
The lodge was removed to Washington Hollow in 1868. January
1, 1909, there were 111 members.
Webotuck Lodge, No. 480, was instituted at Millerton in 1859,
and received its charter June 19, 1860. The officers at that time
were as follows : L. P. Woods, W. M. ; S. L. Bagley, S. W. ; I. C.
Smith, J. W. ; Wm. Kelsey, Treasurer ; C. Patterson, Secretary ; P. C.
Trowbridge, J. D. ; W. N. Knight, S. D. ; L S. Colgrove and John
Scutt, Masters of Ceremony; Horace Jenks, Tyler. The lodge in
1909 has a membership of 80.
Stissing Lodge, No. 615, was organized at Pine Plains in 1866,
and held its first meeting under a dispensation, July 2d of that
year, in the hotel then kept by Mrs. Jones. The room set apart for
the meeting was formerly utilized by old Warren Lodge. The first
officers were : Lewis D. Huntting, W. M. ; William H. Scutt, S. W. ;
Clark Guernsey, J. W. ; Isaiah Dibble, Secretary ; Mulford Conkhn,
Treasurer ; CorneUus Pitcher, S. D. ; Fred Dibble, J. D. ; William
Carskaddan, Tyler. The lodge moved to their room over the harness
shop of the late R. D. Hicks in 1868.
Wappinger's Lodge, No. 671, was instituted September 25, 1867,
the first W. M. being Mr. John Hunter, who was also a charter mem-
ber. All the other charter members are dead, with the exception of
Mr. Thomas W. Goring, now living in Chicago. There have been
twenty-six Masters of the lodge, eight of whom have passed away.
This lodge in 1909 has a membership of 90. The elective officers for
1909 are as follows: James Hunter, W. M. ; Myatt E. Goring, S.
W. ; I. Raymond Macaulay, J. W. ; J. W. Cornell, Treasurer ; Jos.
D. Thompson, Secretary; John Bogle, John Hunter, William Halli-
well, Trustees.
DovEa Plains Lodge, No. 666, was organized August 13, 1867.
The charter officers were : Andrew B. Hammond, W. M. ; Andris
Brant, S. W. ; Isaac G. Sherman, J. W. ; George Hufcut, Treasurer;
Horace D. Hufcut, Secretary ; Thomas Hammond, Jr., S. D. ; Robert
C. Swift, J. D. ; p,ev. A. P. Lyon, Chaplain; Isaac A. Morse, Tyler.
It has a membership, according to the last report, of 116.
MASONIC FRATERNITY. 607
Amenia Lodge, No. 672. This lodge is located in Amenia village,
and was organized January 11, 1868, with the following charter
members: John H. Thompson, Isaac N. Mead, James T. Upington,
W. C. Payne, William Reed, A. B. Vedder, J. G. Husted, E. H. N.
Warner, Henry S. Chapman, John J. Capron, Peter W. Husted, Ros-
well B. Taylor, Abiah W. Palmer, Allen Wiley,
Teiune Lodge, No. 782, was organized at Poughkeepsie Febru-
ary 6, 1879, with thirteen charter members. The charter is dated
June 7, 1879. The first officers were : William Morgan Lee, W. M. ;
Henry Hasbrouck, S. W. ; Charles D. Johnson, J. W. ; Ohver S. At-
kins, Treasurer; Samuel K. Rupley, Secretary. The lodge, January
1, 1909, had 34.7 members.
Harlem Valley Lodge, No. 827, was organizedi at Pawling April
4, 1898, with twenty-four charter members. The membership in 1909
is 103. C. L. Fletcher was the first W. M.
Halcyon Lodge, No. 832, was instituted at MiUbrook, May 9,
1900, with twenty-one charter members. There are, in 1909, 63
members. John H. Allen held the office of W. M. for the first three
years.
Hendrick Hudson Lodge. This lodge is located at Red Hook
and is the youngest in the county. It was instituted W. D. June 22,
1909, by Right Worthy George H. Sherman of Poughkeepsie. The
thirty-one charter members were nearly all affiliated with Monumental
Lodge of Tivoli. The dispensation was granted to Frank E. Bur-
nett, W. M.
608 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.'
THE first Catholic missionary who came to Manhattan Island
and who traveled through the State of New York, was the
Rev. Isaac Jogues, a member of the Society of Jesus. On
one of his missionary trips among the Indians, in 1642, he was taken
prisoner and during his captivity they tore oif his finger-nails and
cut oflF the thumb of his right hand. Four years later, in 1646, he
was again captured and kiUed by the Indians.
In 1786, St. Peter's Church — the first Catholic Church in the dio-
cese of New York — ^was erected in New York City, on the corner of
Barclay and Church streets. In 1809 the corner stone of St. Pat-
rick's Cathedral, on Mott street, was laid, and the church consecrated
in 1815 by Right Rev. Bishop Cheverus, of Boston.
The priest principally connected with the early missions in New
York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey was Ferdinand Farmer. He was
born in South Germany in 1720, and having entered the Society of
Jesus, was sent to Maryland in 1752. His real name was Steenmeyer,
but on coming to this country he changed it to one more easily pro-
nounced by the English speaking people. He was learned and zealous
and for many years performed priestly duties in Pennsylvania and in
New Jersey, and seems to have been the first priest to visit Dutchess
County. This visit appears to have been about October 5, 6 and 7,
1. For the Interesting bistorlcal matter with reference to the presence and Bettle-
ment In the County of Dutchess of Catholics, as well as for the account of St. Peter's
Church, the Marlsts Brothers, St. Andrew's Novitiate, and other general information, the
editor wishes to acknowledge his Indebtedness to John J. Mylod, Esq., of Poughkeepsie,
whose careful researches have unearthed much new and interesting material not gen-
erally known.
Acknowledgment is also made to the Very Rev. Patrick Daly, V. F., for the account
of St. Mary's Church, as well as for his interest and assistance In the preparation of
tbis^ chapter.
Other acknowledgments of obligation are specifically made under the different headings,
with reference to the various churches mentioned in the chapter.
VERY REV. PATRICK DALY, V. F.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 609
1781, as appears from the records of The American Catholic His-
torical Society, Vol. 11, page 305.
In Shea's "Life and Times of Archbishop Carroll," at page 202,
there appears an account of one of Father Farmer's missionary trips
and of a visit by him to Dutchess County :
"In June and July he was again at Philadelphia and in lower Jersey; then in
September, crossing to Greenwich, N. J., he made his way to Mount Hope, Green-
wood Lake, Ringwood, and hearing of Canadian and Acadian Catholics at Fishkill,
passed through the valley by a well-known route. We can conceive the joy of
these forlorn Catholics at the sudden appearance of a priest. He records the bap-
tism of fourteen near FishldU, in New York, with names like Monly, Merlet, Por-
teau, Ferriole, Bouvet, Lafleur, PoUin, Constantin, Feniole, Varley, Guilmet. Carry-
ing his chapel service as he did, we may infer that he said mass, at this time,
October, 1781, in the Canadian camp near Fishkill."
In "Catholics and the American Revolution," by Martin I. J. Griffin,
published by the author in 1907, Volume 1st, pages ll*, et seq., we
find some interesting and valuable information as to the presence in
Dutchess County during the Revolutionary War of Catholics in the
military service:
"When in the fall of 1775, the Americans under Generals Schuyler, Montgomery
and Arnold invaded Canada with the purpose of holding it by conquest or to
insure its neutrality, the great body of the Canadian people, undoubtedly, welcomed
the 'Rebels,' aided by the ready sale of supplies, though of course, all increased
prices as a more active demand had arisen, and also co-operated in various ways
In helpfulness to those who had, though as an armed body, come to their country.
This spirit of good wiU was in a short time destroyed by the course of conduct
of the Americans and by the Canadians, the expected failure of the expeditions.
"However while the good will spirit existed and many were joining the several
corps as volunteers. Congress resolved, on January 30, 1776, to organize two regi-
ments of Canadians. As they were not to be attached to any of the States they
became known as Congress' Own regiments. The First was organized by Colonel
James Livingston. Though one of the well-known Livingston family of New York
he was by birth a Canadian. He was born in 1747 and died at Saratoga, New
York, November 30, 1833. » * * *
"General Richard Montgomery had married into the Livingston family of New
York. When he was preparing for the invasion of Canada, James Livingston,
then at Montreal, succeeded in enlisting the services of over three hundred
Canadians in and about Montreal. These he hurried to New York, when they
joined Montgomery's army.
"This band of refugee recruits greatly aided Montgomery in the capture of
Montreal, St. John and other points along the St. Lawrence River, and were with
Montgomery in the assault on Quebec. December 31, 1775.
610 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
"General Montgomery appointed Livingston a Colonel. On August IS, 1775,
Congress confirmed the appointment and directed that a commission should be
given him as Colonel, with authority to enlist as many Canadians as desired to
engage in the service. » * * *
"On November 7, 1775, Congress ordered commissions to be sent General Schuy-
ler for all officers of Livingston's regiment who served in Canada.
"Major Henry Livingston enlisted a company at or near Rhinebeck, New Yoric,
and on August 8, 1775, reported the completion of his quota to the New York
Congress, where it was on August 13, 1775, read. Here are a few Irish names
among those he enlisted — ^possibly some were Catholics or ought to be so: John
Rogers (corporal), John Moody, M. M'DonneU (drummer), John Rogers, Jr.,
Ephraim Welsh, James Sullivan, John Flinn, John Casey, Thomas Quinn, Michael
W. Carter, David Bums, John Bradie, William Kearney. * » * *
"The Major did so well in Canada that on December 11, 1775, the Continental
Congress ordered 'a Sword, of the value of one himdred dollars be presented to
Captain Henry B. Livingston as a testimony of their sense of his services to this
country and that they will embrace the first opportimity of promoting him in the
Army.'
"On April 15, 1776, the time of about two hundred of Livingston's Canadians
expired. 'Few if any will reengage,' wrote Colonel Hazen to General Schuyler,
April 1.
"Congress, August 21, 1776. A Petition from Preudhomme La Jeunesse was pre-
sented and read and referred to the Board of War. It is in Papers of Congress
No. 41, IV, p. 376.
"The Board reported That the Petition be granted and a Commission be given
him to be B, Captain of a Company of Canadians, Acadians and French to belong
to Colonel Livingston's Regiment and to join the army at Ticonderoga as soon as
may be. * * * *
"At this time also had Colonel Moses Hazen, Commander of the Second Canadian
Regiment, as well as Colonel Livingston, authority of Congress to enlist men in any
of the States. Livingston and Hazen, endeavoring to recruit in New York, inter-
ferred with the filling of the five Battalions at Albany and neighborhood so that
the Provincial Congress informed Washington that it was owing to this that the
delay in completing New York's quota was due.
"Colonel Livingston and his Canadians were at this time in service under Gen-
eral Montgomery.
"On September 28, 1775, General Montgomery wrote Gieneral Schuyler: 'Livings-
ton has a considerable body of Canadians in arms; is very active and they have
great confidence in him, I believe. I wish to have him taken notice of by Congress,
in a manner suitable to his services and the risk he runs.'
"After the defeat of Montgomery, Congress on January 20, 1776, resolved to
raise two regiments of Canadians. That appears to have meant that all the
Canadians now in the service should be the nucleus of two regiments under Liv-
ingston and Hazen, who already were Colonels, and that endeavors should be made
to fill up the quota of four battalions in each regiment.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 611
"Colonel Livingston and his Canadians retreated from Canada with the American
forces. So many of the Canadians seeing that their country was being abandoned
deserted and remained at home.
"Livingston, and such Canadians as remained, came to Northern New York.
New recruits were obtained wherever possible.
"In August, 1780, Livingston's regiment was on duty along the Hudson, pro-
tecting the passes of King's Perry and Verplanck's Point. Washington from
Peekskill on August 3, 1780, directed 'Colonel James Livingston to garrison the
redoubts at Stony and Verplanck's Point.' * • • •
"The Second Regiment of Canadians was commanded by Colonel Moses Hazen.
It was formed in pursuance of the authority of Congress, January 20th, 1776,
though under way prior to that date. On January 33nd, 1776, Congress elected
Hazen Colonel and Edward Antill Lieutenant Colonel.
"Nearly five hundred Canadians had enlisted under Hazen and did good service
at Chambly and St. John's, at which many Canadians w^re taken prisoners. On
the evacuation of Canada the regiment had so much decreased that on its arrival
at Albany, in August, 1776, it had been reduced to about one hundred men — ^yet
'calling it a regiment,' Hazen and AntiU came to Congress, sitting at Philadel-
phia, and reported the condition of the command. It was agreed to continue the
'regiment' on its old foundation, but to enlist recruits from any State. Colonel
Hazen theron engaged in recruiting service in New York State, while Lieutenant
Colonel Antill did like duty throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and
Virginia.
"Colonel Moses Hazen, April 1, 1776, wrote General Schuyler;
'On ISth April the Soldiers who wintered in this Country will be free and in my
opinion, neither art, craft or money will prevail on many to reenlist to serve in
Canada.'
'Colonel Livingston's regiment consisting of about two hundred Canadians will
be free on the same day. Very few of them will reengage.'
"Hazen wrote: 'Of my intended regiment I have about 350.'"
The two Canadian regiments, known as "Congress' Own'" — ^those
of Colonel James Livingston and Colonel Moses Hazen — after the re-
treat of the Americans from Canada, operated in New York, along
the Hudson River. The battle of White Plains was fought October
29, 1776. On November 12, 1776, the Canadian Corps is noted as
being at Fishkill, N. Y., where a priest, whose name is not given,
1. "The soiaiers of 'Congress' Own," the two Canadian regiments and their families,
were left at the close of the war In great distress. Many of them, with other Canadian
refugees, gathered near Fishkill till the State of New York set apart lands for them near
Jiake Champlaln. The general government provided transportation, and In the summer of
1786 two hundred and fifty were conveyed to their new homes In Chazy and Coopers-
viUe. They were thus within access of the Catholic clergy In Canada, but In that prov-
ince the ban of excommunication rested on them. Hence they were long without a priest,
and though they assembled to say mass, prayers and sing their old hymns, many In time
were lost to the faith" (pp. 268-269, "Life of Archbishop Carroll").
612 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
attended the wounded and dying Maryland and Pennsylvania Catholic
soldiers. This had been no other than Fr. Lotbinier. Congress on
August 10th, 1776, had confirmed his appointment as Chaplain, made
January 26th, 1776, by General Arnold at Montreal.
From Martin I. J. Griffin's "Catholics and the American Revolu-
tion," Vol. 1, page 67:
"Undoubtedly many of "these French Canadian and Acadian soldiers remained
in the army and were encamped at Fishkill Landing during the long period of
inactivity in the Continental armies after campaigning had ceased and while nego-
tiations for peace were going on."
As proof of this assertion we quote again from "Catholics and the
American Revolution" at pages 125 and 126:
"On October 6, 6 and 7, 1781, Father Ferdinand Farmer, of Philadelphia, was
at Fishkill, New York. During these days he baptized fourteen 'children and
infants.' He also blessed the marriages of 'a son of Joseph and Mary Ursula
(Enbair) Chartier and Mary, daughter of James and Mary Frances (Chandron)
Robinet, and Francis Guilmet and Mary Frances Chandron.' (Registers at St.
Joseph's Records, A. C. H. S., p. 305.)
"These were undoubtedly Canadians of the encampment of 'Congress' Own.' The
Marquis de Chastellux visited Fishkill, December 21, 1780. He relates that four or
five miles away in the woods was » camp of 'some hundreds of invalid soldiers' —
but 'it was their clothes were truly invalid. These honest fellows were not covered
even with rags; but their steady countenances and their arms in good order seemed
to supply the defects of clothes and to display nothing but their courage and
their patience.' "
In the autumn of 1783 Fr. Farmer again made his way to Fishkill
Landing where he remained from the last day of October to the 4th
of November. (Page 202, "Life of Archbishop Carroll.") Fr. Far-
mer died at Philadelphia, August 17, 1786.
The following is taken from a Souvenir of the 36th Anniversary of
the Solemn Dedication of St. Joachim's Church, Matteawan, New
York, August 22, 1907:
"According to the earliest and most authentic records, the first mass in this
vicinity was celebrated in Fishkill Landing some time during the Revolutionary
War by a French clergyman from Rhode Island. He visited the Continental
Troops then stationed at New Windsor, Orange County, N. Y., having admin-
istered to the spiritual wants of the Catholic soldiers, he crossed the river to pay
a vigjt of courtesy to Baron Steuben, who occupied the well-known Verplanck
mansion, and it was on this occasion that the Holy Sacrifice was offered for the
first time. At the successful termination of the war, the troops returned to their
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 613
homes and a few Catholics remaining in this neighborhood were subjected to many
and grave inconveniences in order that they might comply with their religious
obligations."
In a note-book kept by Bishop Connolly of the date of October 22,
1817, is the following note : "I addressed a letter to Rev. Arthur Lang-
dill at New Burg, empowering him to celebrate mass, administer the
sacraments and perform all priestly duties that do not require the
Episcopal character throughout this diocese of New York (excepting
the Districts of New York and Albany, unless with the consent of the
clergy serving those two districts), until further orders or until I
consider it necessary to recall said power."
Again, on January 29, 1818, he notes: "I answered the Rev Ar-
thur Langdill's three letters and sent him said jndult (for the ensu-
ing Lent) and addressed the letters to the care of Mr. M'Intire, New
Burg."
While no record is found of Rev. Arthur Langdill having visited
Dutchess County, there can be but little doubt that he did so, as at
that time it was the custom for the priests to visit many sections of
the country in their vicinity, and as he was stationed at New Burg
from 1817 to 1818, it is fair to assume that he did visit Dutchess
County.
In the Catholic Almanac for 1822, the following is a Ust of the
clergy of the diocese:
Rev. Dr. John Connolly, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York.
Rev. Michael O'Gorman, St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York.
Rev. Charles French, St. Peter's, New York.
Rev. John Power, St. Peter's, New York.
Rev. Mr. Bulger, Patterson.
Rev. Michael Carroll, Albany and vicinify.
Rev. John Faman, Utica and vicinity.
Rev. Patrick Kelly, Auburn, Rochester and other districts in the western part
of the State.
Rev. Philip Larissy, attends regularly at Staten Island and different other con-
gregations along the Hudson River.
Fr. Philip Larissy is said to have said the first mass in Patterson,
N. J., and in 1822 was commissioned to look after the missions on the
Hudson River. He was a native of Cork, Ireland, and was a member
of the Augustinian Order and was said to have been a man of abun-
dant energy, zealous and untiring. He built St. Augustine's Church
614 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
in Boston. He died April 6, 1824, at the house of his order, the
Augustinian, in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Rev. Philip O'Rielly, a member of the Order of St. Dominick,
was in 1830, authorized by Right Rev. John Du Bois, Bishop of New
York, to form missions and build churches on the banks of the Hudson
River. He was born in Scab' ', County Cavan, Ireland, and was edu-
cated in Bologna, Italy. It said he had come to New York about
1818. Father O'Rielly was for some years Chaplain to the Duke of
Norfolk, a position of ease and honor. The duties of this office were,
however, not enough for the restless and untiring spirit of Fr. O'Rielly
and so, when less than thirty years of age he left Europe to seek
sterner duties in this country.
He first erected at Cold Spring, on a rock overlooking the Hudson
River, the romantic church of "Our Lady of Loretto," which was dedi-
cated September, 1834, by Bishop Du Bois. At this time Fr. O'Rielly
was doing missionary work along the river, holding religious ser-
vices in various private dwellings, and we find in the Poughkeepsie
Telegraph of July 2, 1834, that a letter was advertised for Rev. Fr.
O'Rielly, this being some evidence that he visited Poughkeepsie during
this time.
He was pastor of St. John's Church, Patterson, N. J., from 1837
to 1844, from which place he went to West Troy, finally becoming
pastor of St. Bridget's Church in New York, and remained as such
until the 7th of December, 1854, when he died in his sixty-second year
His remains were interred on the 9th day of the same month in St.
Patrick's Cathedral, the funeral being attended by a large concourse
of admiring and sorrowing friends, both clergy and laity.
In the year 1832 and during Fr. O'Rielly's time there were a num-
ber of Catholic families in the City of Poughkeepsie, and they had
been here for some time prior to that. In the book No. 1 of the
Declaration of Intention of persons intending to become citizens of
this country, on file in the Dutchess County Clerk's office, it would
appear that, commencing perhaps about the year 1820, the Irish
Catholic people were beginning to settle in Dutchess County, as a
reference to said book will more fully disclose. A number of Catho-
lics, many of them residing in the City of Poughkeepsie, on October
14th>, 1832, organized themselves into what was called the Catholic
Association. The object of this Association was to raise a fund to
JOHN J. MYLOD.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 615
be used for the erection of a church, each member agreeing to con-
tribute a certain amount each month. The following is a list of the
names of those who were charter members of this Association:
William Williams George Belton
Thomas Kane Robert Belton
John Quinn Thomas Ryan
William Belton Peter Mullhollan
John Gile James Mullhollan
Patrick Mullhollan Thomas T. Baker
Roger Fitzpatrick James Eagan
Bernard Manion Patrick Terriel
John McCaUin John Atchinson
Thomas Mahoney Michael Murtiguh
James Quinn Peter Mahoney
John Madden John Shields *
Lawrence Murphy Patrick Gallagher
Patrick Cox Martin Welch
Subsequently the following became members of this Association and
paid their monthly dues for the purpose for which the Association was
organized :
William Duffey Daniel Dorran i
Michael Felvey William Brown
Robert Anderson Peter Kennedy
James Dorran Edward Black
Joseph O'Hare James Tomey
James Carson Pat. Ward
Patrick Bahret William Cunningham
James Beck David O'Connor
Neil Brosnel Andrew Key
James ShofFrey John Crilly
Patrick Butler Pat. Hopkins
Michael O'Rielly Joseph Donaghue
Maurice Pendegrast Finton Shelar
William Fibes Andrew Murtaugh
James Gilligan Hugh Hart
Hugh Mullhollan Patrick O'Mara
Among those whose names are mentioned above, the following were
residents of Hyde Park:
William Cunningham Pat. Butler
James Shoffrey David O'Connor
Pat. O'Mara Michael O'Rielly
Finton Shelar Andrew Key
616 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
On August 8, 1835, a deed was executed by John Delafield and
Harriet Delafield his wife, to the Rev. John Du Bois, Catholic Bishop
of New York. This deed was recorded May 21, 18S6, in the
Dutchess County Clerk's office in Liber 59 of Deeds, at page 263.
Consideration, $1.
This deed conveyed a lot on Mill street and it was given to the
Catholics by Mr. Delafield "to have and to hold the same and every
part and parcel thereof unto the said party of the second part and
his successors in office as Catholic Bishop of New York, forever;
nevertheless upon the following express conditions: That the erection
of a Catholic church be commenced on said premises within a con-
venient time and be completed within two years from this date and
that the said premises be occupied forever for Catholic worship and
for no other purpose whatever, and in case said church shall not be
erected and completed after said two years, and in case the premises
shall at any time be used for any other purpose than that of a
Catholic church, then and in that case the estate hereby granted shall
cease and determine and shall revert to the grantor, his heirs and
assigns as fuUy and as amply as same would have been held by him or
them in case this conveyance had never been made."
This was the first property obtained by the church authorities, and
it was on this lot that the first church in Dutchess County was erected.
This edifice was small in comparison to the. present building. It now
forms the rear portion of the present church. It extended east and
west, instead of north and south and stood well back from the street.
The front of the little church faced the river, and the entrance was
through the alley which now runs parallel with the modern church
and between it and the rectory.
Subsequently the church authorities purchased a number of other
lots of land adjacent to the above, upon which the rectory and the
old building known as the "Library Building" are built.
Fr. Philip O'Rielly was succeeded by Rev. Patrick DufFey (1837)
who became pastor at Cold Spring. His missionary field extended to
Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Saugerties. Towards the end of this
year, Newburgh was made a separate mission, and Fr. Duffey was
appointed its pastor. It was at the termination of his brief adminis-
tration that St. Peter's Church was dedicated, viz: November 26,
1837, by Bishop Du Bois, assisted by Rev. William Quarter and
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 617
Bev. Patrick Duffey. Towards the end of this year Poughkeepsie
was made a separate parish, with Saugerties and Rondout as its
dependencies. Fr. DufFey died at Newburgh June 20th, 1863, in the
fifty-ninth years of his age.
The Rev. John McGinnis was, about No/ember 24, 1837, appointed
by Bishop Du Bois, pastor of Poughkeepsie, Saugerties and Rondout,
as appears by the following letter, a copy of which is to be found in
the church records:
"November 24, 1837, New York:
A copy of the letter of the Right Rev. John Du Bois appointing me to the
pastorate of Poughkeepsie, Rondout and Saugerties.
'The Rev. John McGinnis, in whose prudence and zeal I can rely, is authorized
by me to attend as Pastor, the three congregations of Poughkeepsie, Rondout and
Saugerties if they wiU all concur, to the best of their abilifies to contribute to his
decent support. I leave to his prudence to distribute his services among these
three so that they each shall be attended at least once a month.'
Signed,
John, Bishop or New York."
About the end of 1839 he was transferred to New York City. There
he built the Church of St. John the Evangelist and was made pastor
•of St. Andrew's, New York, and subsequently transferred to Jamaica,
Long Island.
Following Fr. McGinnis January, 1839, came the Rev. John N.
Smith, who became pastor of Poughkeepsie, Saugerties and Rondout.
He was bom in County Tyrone, Ireland. He came to the United
States in early youth, in 1818, and was ordained in about 1828. In
1833 to 1837 he did service in Alexandria, District of Columbia. He was
assistant at St. Peter's, New York, in 1838 to Rev. Dr. Power, V. G. He
was an energetic and charitable priest. He erected a small frame church
at Rondout. In 1842 he was sent from the Poughkeepsie pastorate
to St. James's Church, New York, where he remained as pastor until
1848. He died February 16th, 1848, a martyr to charity, having
contracted ship fever at the dying bed of Fr. Frank Murphy, then at
the quarantine station of Staten Island, taking care of the immi-
grants. He was buried under the Cathedral.
His successor as pastor of Poughkeepsie, Saugerties and Rondout
was the Rev. Myles Maxwell, who was bom in Ireland, educated for
"the priesthood at LaFargeviUe, N. Y., and at St. Joseph's Seminary,
Fordham, ordained by Bishop Hughes January 5, 1841. Fr. Max-
618 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
well became pastor at Poughkeepsie about July, 1842, succeeding Fr.
John N. Smith, and remained until about September, 1844. Fr. Max-
well was noted for his zeal, learning and fidelity to duty, as well as for
his candor and winning simplicity. He was pastor also at Rondout.
He died August 31st, 1849.
Following Fr. Maxwell, about May, 1844, came Rev. Joseph P.
Burke, who remained until about September, 1844, when Rev. Michael
Riordan became pastor of St. Peter's Church, Poughkeepsie.
Rev. Michael Riordan was born in Kilfennane, County Limerick,
Ireland, Christmas Day, 1821. He came to this country when young
and entered Fordham. He was ordained a priest April 14, 1844, by
most Rev. John Hughes, and was by him assigned to Poughkeepsie.
He came here about September, 1844, where he remained until his
death, June 13, 1870. Fr. Riordan has been practically regarded as
the founder of the church. His pastorate of twenty-six years was
one of faithful and useful work. When he came to Poughkeepsie the
number of Catholics was small and a strong prejudice existed against
them in the community. Fr. Riordan, by his benevolent work and his
upright life, succeeded in overcoming this prejudice almost entirely,
and though he was not a man of broad and liberal habit of thought
as have been some of his successors, he was universally respected and
esteemed, and his death was sincerely mourned by many outside his
own communion.
During his administration the church was enlarged. In 1850 the
house and lot. No. 15 Mansion street, was sold at auction and Mr.
Peter Thielman, a German member of the church, bought it for the
parish for a rectory, the deed being executed to Archbishop Hughes
of New York. It continued to be used as a rectory until 1860, when
the present house adjoining the church on the west was built and the
property on Mansion street was sold to Peter Shields. In 1852-3 the
church was enlarged to nearly its present size and shape. The old
building was remodeled so as to form the transept, and the main
body of the church, or nave, was built. It was dedicated in 1853,
and its completion was the beginning of a new era in the history of
the Catholic Church in Poughkeepsie. Its construction was due
almost entirely to the persevering efforts of Fr. Riordan, who also
succeeded, during his long term of service, in erecting the rectory
above referred to, a library connected with the church and the two
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 619
large commodious parochial schools now being used, together with the
house occupied by the Sisters, on North Clover street. During his
whole term, the church continued to grow and prosper, increasing in
numbers, means and influence. He performed his work well. He was
a power for good. He aimed to be of service, spiritually and materi-
ally, to his people. He worked for the cause of education, for a
loftier civilization and a higher grade of citizenship. He was a strong
advocate of Christian education. On May 1st, 1860, he purchased
the property upon which the girls' school is erected, on North Clover
street, and on April 7, 1868, he purchased the property on the south
side of Mill street upon which the boys' school is situated. Prior to
the opening of these schools he provided teachers for the education of
his children, and the old library and the basem^t of St. Peter's
Church were used as school-rooms. Fr. Riordan, during the early
days of the Rebellion showed his patriotism and sympathy for the
Northern cause by his speech at the flag raising on Market street.
May 28, 1861. He also presided at a flag raising at St. Peter's
Church, Saturday evening. May 18, 1861. The PougKkeepsie Daily
Eagle of that time said that Fr. Riordan's address was "a sound and
eloquent appeal to the patriotism of his auditors and well worthy his
reputation as a man and a scholar."
He was a strong advocate of temperance, and during his pastorate
St. Peter's Temperance Society was organized, and upon the occasion
when he presented the Temperance Society with the American Flag,
November 2, 1867, he said: "Take this and in my heart I know that
none of my children will ever dishonor it." During his time the ceme-
tery on East Mansion street was enlarged by purchases of land adjoin-
ing. The first lot had been purchased in 1841 ; the cemetery on the
Salt Point Road was purchased by him December 30, 1854. In this
cemetery a handsome monument is erected to his memory, and on
March 22, 1908, a handsome memorial window was placed in St.
Peter's Church. The funeral of Fr. Riordan was one of the largest
ever held in Poughkeepsie, and was attended by all classes of people.
After the death of Fr. Riordan, Rev. Francis Caro, of Cold Spring,
was sent to St. Peter's as its pastor, and he remained at Poughkeepsie
a little more than a year. Fr. Caro was bom in Italy. During his
pastorate, one of the finest celebrations of St. Patrick's Day ever held
in Poughkeepsie took place, Friday, March 17, 1871. The day was
620 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
observed by four masses at St. Peter's Church and by a parade in the
afternoon of the various societies attached to the church, the parade
being reviewed by Mayor Eastman and the Common Council from the
stoop of the old Poughkeepsie Hotel. Succeeding Fr. Caro, came
Rev. Patrick Francis McSweeney, D. D., in February, 1872. He was
bom in Ireland in 1838. He came to this country with his father
when he was about eleven years of age and the ship on which they
made the voyage was wrecked off the coast of Delaware and the two
barely escaped with their lives and were compelled to walk forty miles
afoot to the Delaware River, where they got a boat to take
them to Philadelphia. In 1862 Fr. McSweeney was ordained
a priest at Rome. He was appointed to the Church of St. Joseph,
Sixth avenue. New York, and from there he went to the old Cathedral
Church on.Mott street. New York. In January, 1871, he was ap-
pointed pastor at Peekskill, N. Y. Subsequently he was transferred
to Poughkeepsie in February, 1872, and remained until November,
1877, when he went to St. Bridget's Church, New York City. Dur-
ing his term he transferred the control of the two parochial schools
to the Board of Education of Poughkeepsie, so that the same could
be used as a part of the regular pubhc school system. At the time
they had an average attendance of about seven hundred scholars.
This was known as "The Poughkeepsie Plan" and it worked well for
many, years. It was during this time that the Church of St. Mary
was organized (1873) but not incorporated until 1879. It was also
during his time that the Church of St. Peter was incorporated, the
certificate of incorporation being dated April 19, 1875, and recorded
in the Dutchess County Clerk's office May 1st, 1875, the first trus-
tees being the Most Rev. John McCloskey, Archbishop ; the Very Rev.
William Quinn, Vicar-General; Rev. Patrick F. McSweeney, D. D.,
pastor; John Kelly and John Hart. The beautiful painting back of
the altar, which came from Rome, was presented to the church by Fr.
McSweeney just about the time he was leaving. From Poughkeepsie
Fr. McSweeney went to St. Bridget's, New York, as pastor, where he
remained until he died, February 24th, 1907.^
1. The star of the Sea Council, C. W. B. L., has placed In St. Peter's Church as a
memorial to Rer. Patrick F. McSweeney a handsome painting called "The Angel of the
tfesurrectlon." It was presented to the church In September, 1908.
Dr. Edward McSweeney, In August, 1908, arranged for a permanent scholarship at
St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodle, N. T., for St. Peter's parish, In memory of the late
REV. JOHN H. BRIODY.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 621
Following Fr. McSweeney came Rev. James Nilan. Fr. Nilan was
born at Castle Daly, County of Galway, Ireland, September 27, 1838.
At the age of fourteen his uncle. Rev. John Ryan, brought him to this
country and placed him at St. John's College, Fordham, N. Y., from
which he graduated in 1860 as one of the honor men of his class.
After graduating he entered the Diocesan Theological Seminary at
Fordham, where he remained a year and then, with Rev. Dr. Morrow,
he went to Rome. At the American College there he completed his
theological course, and had the distinction of being the first priest
ordained in it for New York. In the same class was ordained the
late Archbishop Corrigan for the diocese of Newark. The ceremony
was performed in the Basilica of St. John Lateran by His Eminence
Cardinal Patrizzi, on the 19th of September, 1863. « Upon his return
to this country in 1864, his first mission was to the Church of the
Holy Cross, New York City, where for four years, August 21st, 1864,
to August 7, 1868, he labored with all the zeal of a newly ordained
priest. He was then promoted to the pastorate at Port Jervis. Here
a new church edifice and an orphan asylum are monuments to his
labors. At that time Port Jervis had ten out-stations and all these
it was the duty of Fr. Nilan to attend. It was at Port Jervis that the
system by which the parish schools were placed under the direction of
the Board of Education was originated. Later it was tried success-
fully by Dr. McSweeney, as before mentioned in our own St. Peter's
schools here in Poughkeepsie. Fr. Nilan became pastor of St. Peter's
Church, Poughkeepsie, November 16, 1877. His untiring labor in
this part of God's vineyard has brought it to where it now is, a model
parish spiritually, intellectually and socially. In season and out of
season he strove to lift his fold to his plane of sanctity. He was
most attentive to the sick. Day or night, rain or shine, he answered
to the call of duty. During his pastorate many important changes
and improvements were made in St. Peter's Church. He had the four
beautiful paintings placed in the sanctuary, representing "The giving
Eev. Patrick F. McSweeney. In speaking of the scholarship, Dr. McSweeney said: "My
brother wanted this scholarship established, and I had it placed in St. Peter's parish
here, because, although my brother had been away from Poughkeepsie thirty years when
he died, I am sure that his heart was here and that he loved St. Peter's. I therefore
wanted to have his monument here, such a monument as will be better than brass or
stone."
The scholarship will be for a boy from St. Peter's, who can pass the required ex-
aminations.
622 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
of the key to St. Peter," "The restoration of sight to St. Paul, after
his conversion," "St. John, the beloved Disciple," and "St. James."
He had the church enlarged. New stained glass windows, new sta-
tions, a new marble altar, new heating system, the frescoing of the
interior of the church and the acquiring of adjacent property and
other things might be mentioned in connection with the fact that prior
to the time of his death he paid oflF the debt on the church and left it
clear and unincumbered. No one who has had the privilege of close
contact with Fr. Nilan can question his wide range of subjects, the
wonderful accuracy and ripeness of his knowledge. As a theologian,
he stood in front rank. As a linguist, there were few to excel him.
He spoke Italian fluently, being the spiritual director of the Italian
Benevolent Society. He numbered German also among his linguistic
acquirements. As a citizen he was ever ready to further any project
for the city's advancement. Many civic societies had his name on the
list of members. He was well known as an advocate of temperance,
believing, and truly, that much of life's misery is caused directly or
indirectly by intemperance. It would be impossible to condense into
the short space here allowed, a life history crowded with events worthy
of record. Fr. Nilan's life and deeds are indelibly impressed on the
hearts and souls of a loving people. Toward the close of his twenty-
fifth year as pastor of St. Peter's a most elaborate program to cele-
brate worthily the glorious event was being prepared by a committee
organized for such purpose. Suddenly, in the middle of the arrange-
ments, Fr. Nilan became sick and died ; Saturday, November 16, 1902.
His body lay in state tiU the morning of the 18th of November, when
the solemn High Mass of Requiem was sung. Rev. Patrick F. Mc-
Sweeney was Celebrant, Rev. Henry F. Brann, D. D., Deacon, and
Rev. Gallus Bruder, Sub-Deacon. A panegyric was delivered by his
life long friend. Very Rev. R. L. Burtsell, D. D. The mass was at-
tended by His Grace Most Rev. John M. Farley, Archbishop of New
York, who pronounced the absolution at its close. Among those pres-
ent were Archbishop Ireland of St. Paul, Bishop Quiglev of Buffalo,
Monsignor Mooney and Monsignor Edwards of New York, Monsig-
nor Cannon of Lock Port, Monsignor Kennedy of the American Col-
lege at Rome, Monsignor Nugent of Liverpool, Eng., and upwards
of one hundred and fifty priests. The funeral was one of the most
imposing, if not the most imposing the City of Poughkeepsie has ever
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 623
witnessed. A number of reKgious societies of St. Peter's and other
parishes walked in procession to the grave. The funeral cortege was
over a mile in length, and both sides of the street were crowded with
people, whose tear bedimmed eyes gave proof of the affection they
bore to him whose remains were passing to their last resting place in
St. Peter's Cemetery. The thought has occurred to many, how
strange it was that the Angel of Death should call him away on the
eve of the day upon which he was to celebrate his jubilee. God knew
best. He wished Fr. Nilan to celebrate his jubilee with Him in heaven.
The pall bearers were Dr. Edward M. Bums, Dr. John H. Cotter,
Patrick C. Doherty, Thomas J. Furlong, William J. Leahey, Hugh
Lavery, John J. Mylod and John Nevins.
Fr. Nilan was chaplain of Florentine Council, ^o. 304, Knights
of Columbus.
His parishioners have erected to his memory a handsome monument
in the cemetery on the Salt Point Road, and on July 12, 1908, they
also placed in St. Peter's Church a handsome memorial window.
After Fr. Nilan's death Rev. William Livingston was, on Wednes-
day, December 31st, 1902, appointed pastor of St. Peter's Church by
Right Rev. Archbishop Farley. Fr. Livingston is a native of Ire-
land, having been bom in County Monohan in 1867. At the age of
fifteen years he came to this country and entered the dry goods house
of A. T. Stewart as a cash boy. He was advanced while in the employ
of Mr. Stewart, but notwithstanding this, he did not remain. He
then in succession worked in an importing house, a drug store, and
as a newspaper reporter. He was not satisfied in any of these posi-
tions but assumed them that he might eventually be able to enter
college and prepare himself for a more holy and elevated life. In
1880 his desire was gratified when he entered the college of St. Francis
Xavier in New York City. So zealously did he apply himself to his
studies and so great was his capacity for mental exertion and hard
work, that at the time of graduation he was conceded to be one of
the most promising young men that had ever been graduated from the
college. In September of the same year Fr. Livingston went to Troy,
N. Y., and entered the Seminary there. Here he continued until his
ordination to the priesthood. That took place in 1887. He was,
shortly after being ordained, assigned to St. Stephen's Church, New
York City. In 1889 he was made rector pro tern of the church of
624 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
White Plains. In September of the same year he was appointed
director of St. Joseph's Seminary at Troy, remaining there in that
capacity until the Seminary was closed, in 1896. He was then trans-
ferred to the Seminary at Dunwoodie, Yonkers, N. Y., where he be-
came professor of Church History and Liturgy. A year later he
became Chaplain of the House of Good Shepherd in New York, and
in 1900 he was assigned as pastor of St. Mary's Church at New-
burgh, N. Y. While there he succeeded in enlisting the co-operation
of his parishioners to a most remarkable degree and was able to pay
$9,000 of the church debt. Fr. Livingston is one of the brightest
and ablest priests of the State. He is a true gentleman of culture
and refinement and has attained a prominence in ecclesiastical circles
that is remarkable in so young a man. He is a lecturer of wide repu-
tation, and his services as such are earnestly sought after. In many
important stations filled by Fr. Livingston since his ordination he has
been an energetic and indefatigable worker. He has shown wisdom
and discretion and rare administrative power and is a man of pro-
gressive ideas.
He is a man of frank, honest disposition, one who combines in an
admirable manner dignity with cordiality, and one to whom people
are drawn irresistably.
Fr. Livingston, while in Poughkeepsie, was a prominent member of
Florentine Council, No. 304, Knights of Columbus. He was Chap-
lain of the Council, and laid the corner stone of Columbus Institute
on Washington street, on October 12th, 1904.
During his administration of the affairs of St. Peter's Church, Fr.
Livingston made it a point to keep his people in thorough touch with
his plans. He was an eloquent preacher and interpreted the lessons
of Christ's life in a manner interesting and instructive, and explained
the Gospel so clearly that he never failed to make a vivid impression
on his hearers. He had the happy faculty of interesting in various
phases of his work all classes of his parishioners. He took particular
interest in the young people, and as a consequence he was idolized by
the boys, with whom, at times, he was most strict, and by the mem-
bers of the young ladies' societies. While in Poughkeepsie, he proved
himself a good, true priest, kind, benevolent, and sympathetic, an
id^al administrator of the material matters that must be looked after
by a rector, a citizen, loyal, patriotic and public spirited. Through
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 625
Fr. Livingston's efforts, a monument was erected to the memory of
Samuel Neilson, the Irish patriot, who died in exile at the home of a
friend in Poughkeepsie, August 29, 1803. The monument was erected
in the Rural Cemetery on the one hundred and second anniversary of
the death of Neilson. The inscription on the monument is as follows :
"Sacred to the memory of Samuel Neilson, an Irish Patriot of 1798, one of the
founders of the United Irishmen, who sacrificed his fortune and his life in the
cause of his country. Born in County Down, Ireland, in September, 1761. Died
in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., August 38, 1803. Erected by the Ancient Order of Hiber-
nians, Division No. 3, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., August 29, 1905."
The oration on the occasion was delivered by Fr. Livingston. In
January, 1906, Fr. Livingston was appointed pastor of St. Gabriel's
Church, New York City. *
Succeeeding Fr. Livingston came Rev. Joseph F. Sheahan. Fr.
Sheahan was born in Lowell, Mass., July 22, 1861. He graduated
from St. Francis Xavier's College, New York City, in 1882, and was
ordained at St. Joseph's Provincial Seminary at Troy in December,
1886. After his ordination he was sent as assistant to the Church of
the Natiirity on Second avenue. New York City. He was also assist-
ant at St. Agnes's Church on East 4<3rd street,' New York City.
From this church he was sent as pastor to the Church of the Magda-
lene at Pocantico Hills, Westchester County, N. Y. From here he
was sent to St. Peter's Church, Poughkeepsie, as its pastor, March
24, 1906. During his brief pastorate he has made many improve-
ments to the church. It has been repainted and redecorated, and he
has also improved the boys' school. He was very active in raising
the funds for the memorial windows for Fr. Riordan and Fr. Nilan.
Since he became pastor he has brought the Marists Brothers to St.
Peter's for the purpose of teaching the boys in his parish, using the
Mill Street school for that purpose. Fr. Sheahan has also greatly im-
proved the cemetery belonging to St. Peter's Church. He is deeply
interested in the various societies within his parish. The Aquinas
Club, which is in St. Peter's parish, under Fr. Sheahan's assistant, the
Rev. Wm. J. B. Daly, has become noted for the literary advancement
made by its members.
Fr. Sheahan is noted for his kind and sympathetic nature and his
genial and affable manner has won for him a host of friends among
all classes, who admire him for his many noble qualities and especially
626 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
because of his priestly character and zeal. His love and care for
souls marks a beautiful trait in his priestly career.
The lay trustees of St. Peter's Church since its incorporation were
John Hart, John Kelly, Peter Shields, WiUiam Maher, Hugh Lavery
and John Nevins.
The present lay trustees are Peter Shields and John Nevins.
At the time of the Civil War many Catholic immigrants, or sons of
immigrants, sprang bravely forward from the two parishes then in
Poughkeepsie, to defend the Stars and Stripes. Many of them never
returned to their homes, and of those who did return many are now
buried in St. Peter's cemeteries. In a recent article in the May, 1907,
Fraternal News, by Mr. Andrew G. Corcoran, it is stated that at least
seventy-one graves in St. Peter's cemetery are those of Catholic sol-
diers.
In the year 1808 Pope Pius the Vllth cut oiF from the See of Balti-
more, which then embraced the entire portion of the United States
lying east of the Mississippi River, the four Sees of Bardstown, (Ky.),
Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. The Centennial celebration of
the diocese of New York was celebrated in Poughkeepsie on Sunday,
April 26, 1908. The celebration consisted of a parade in the after-
noon in which all the Catholic societies in Poughkeepsie took part.
After the parade, a public meeting was held in Columbus Institute,
which was presided over by Hon. Joseph Morschauser, Justice of
the Supreme Court. The speakers on the occasion were: Hon. Lewis
S. Chanler, Lieutenant Governor of New York State; Hon. John S.
Whalen, Secretary of State; Hon. John K. Sague, Mayor of the City
of Poughkeepsie; Dr. John G. Coyle, of New York; Rev. Francis
Donnelly, S. J., of St. Andrew's, and Richard E. Connell, editor
Poughkeepsie News-Press.
The committee in charge of the celebration were: Rev. Dean Pat-
rick Daly, chairman; John J. Mylod, treasurer; James A. Tolland,
secretary; Rev. Joseph F. Sheahan, Rev. Gallus Bruder, Rev. Charles
Galuska, Rev. Nicolas Pavone, James A. Lavery, John Nevins, Pat-
rick C. Doherty, Thomas A. Waters, Dr. John E. Patterson, John
J. Hogan, Richard E. Connell, James H. Mullen, Peter Miller, John
B. Wermuth, L. L. Herles, Nicola Manna, P. A. Tesone, S. Gawli-
ko^ski, A. Wierzhoski, Frank Zenkier, T. Dettmer.
The churches in Poughkeepsie on this date were St. Peter's, Nativity
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 627
(German), St. Mary's, and St. Joseph's (Polish). The Church of
"Our Lady of Mount Carmel" (Italian) is about to be organized.
The Chuech of St. MAey. During the time that Rev. Patrick F.
McSweeney was pastor of St. Peter's Church, he purchased from the
Universalist Society their church property on the south side of Cannon
street, near Academy street, for the sum of $10,000. This property
is now owned by the Young Women's Christian Association. On
July 20, 1873, the church was dedicated by Most Rev. John Mc-
Closkey, Archbishop of New York. The ceremony of dedication com-
menced with the celebration of a solemn high mass, the Rev. Dr. Pat-
rick F. McSweeney, pastor of St. Peter's Church, acting as celebrant;
Rev. Dr. R. L. Burtsell, pastor of the Church of the Epiphany, New
York, Deacon; Rev. P. S. Rigney, of St. Peter's}> Sub-Deacon, and
Rev. John M. Farley, Secretary to the Archbishop (now Archbishop),
Master of Ceremonies. The sermon on the occasion being delivered
by the Most Rev. John McCloskey, Archbishop. At the evening ser-
vice the Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn, pastor of St. Stephen's Church,
New York, delivered the sermon.
Dr. Edward McSweeney, brother of Rev. Patrick F. McSweeney, was
appointed pastor, and thus began the Church of St. Mary. Rev.
Edward McSweeney, S. T. D., was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1843.
He came to New York in 1850 ; graduated from St. Francis Xavier's
College, in New York, in 1862; went to Propaganda, Rome, where he
remained for five years and where he was ordained a priest in 1867.
Returning to New York, he was stationed at St. Stephen's, afterward
at Newburgh, and came to Poughkeepsie in 1873.
St. Mary's Church was incorported by certificate of incorporation,
dated March 12, 1879, and filed and recorded in the Dutchess County
Clerk's office, March 18, 1879, the trustees named therein being John
McCloskey, Archbishop; William Quinn, Vicar-General; Edward Mc-
Sweeney, Pastor, and James Mulrein and John Coghill, Lay Trustees.
During his (Dr. McSweeny's) pastorate of St. Mary's Church, the
funds to purchase the school property and build the school house and
for the purchase of the priest's house, on the northwest comer of
Cannon and South Hamilton streets, were raised.
In 1880 Dr. McSweeney made a trip to Europe, and during his
absence. Rev. Michael M. J. McSwiggan was acting pastor, and it was
during this time that St. Mary's parochial school, on South Hamilton
628 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Street, was built. Fr. McSwiggan remained until November 15, 1880.
Fr. McSwiggan was born in Ireland and died while pastor of St.
Joachim's Church, Matteawan, N. Y. The Poughkeepsie News-Press,
in speaking of him said:
"Fr. McSwiggan was one of the finest specimens of manhood in Dutchess County.
He was of massive frame and giant strength. He was a man of studious habits
and of an aggressive temperament that made him a conspicuous priest in the
diocese. He was a man of positive opinion and fearless in opposing and attack-
ing that which he deemed it his duty to oppose. He was above all things, »
priest, and his life and best energies were devoted entirely to the discharging of
his duties as a priest and pastor. His church and his people were the sole objects
of his care. He held aloof from all association outside of his parish and at times
seemed rigid in his exactness. But to know Rev. Michael J. McSwiggan was to
know a giant in heart and kindness as well as in structure. One grasp of his great
hand left a memory for a lifetime. He loved the poor and sought them out while
he was able. He was a temperance man of the truest type and by precept and
the example of his own life did much good work for his people. His sermons were
plain statements of truth, and while he made no pretentions to oratory, he always
had something edifying and instructive to say, and the courage to say it."
On January 7, 1881, Rev. John B. Creedan was appointed assist-
ant to Fr. McSweeney. In 1883 Dr. Edward McSweeney left Pough-
keepsie and went to teach philosophy and theology at Mt. St. Mary's
College, Maryland, but continued as pastor until January 2, 1885,
when he resigned.
Fr. McSweeney, while pastor of St. Mary's, was always very solici-
tous for the flock committed to his care. Every member was dear to
him, and he took a lively interest in each one's concerns, temporal as
well as spiritual. They were all his chidren. No father's heart ever
warmed with more generous aiFection or overflowed with more tender
solicitude. He was noted for his culture of mind, soundness of judg-
ment, knowledge of men, tact and afFability of manner. It was there-
fore not surprising to those who knew him that his fitness and ability
were recognized and that he was chosen as Professor of Philosophy
and Theology at Mt. St. Mary's College, Md., the second oldest
Catholic coUege in the United States.
During the absence of Fr. McSweeney at Mt. St. Mary's, Rev. John
B. Creedan was the acting pastor and continued as such until Febru-
ary 2, 1885. Fr. Creedan was educated at Manhattan College and
ordained at Troy Seminary in 1881. He began his mission as assist-
ant at St. Mary's Church, where he remained eight years. He was
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 629
then appointed, by Archbishop Corrigan, pastor at Warwick and
Florida, Orange County, N, Y. From there he was transferred to
Ossining, N. Y., where he became widely known through his adminis-
tration as Chaplain of Sing Sing prison. Fr. Creedan was noted for
his kindly nature, and he was beloved by the people of St. Mary's
parish. He died at Ossining, N. Y., January 4, 1903. He was a
member of Ossining Council Knights of Columbus.
On February 2, 1885, Rev. Cornelius Donovan was appointed pastor
of St. Mary's Church and remained as such until May 18, 1886, when
he was transferred to the Mortuary Chapel at Calvary Cemetery, N.
Y. Previous to coming to Poughkeepsie he was assistant at the
Cathedral, New York City. He died in Montreal the latter part of
September, 1887. •
On May 18, 1886, Rev. Terence J. Earley was appointed pastor of
St. Mary's Church. Fr. Earley was bom in Drumshambo, County
Leitrim, Ireland, in 1843. He came to this country in 1860 and
entered St. Francis Xavier's College, New York City, remaining two
years, and then went to St. Mary's College, Emmitsburgh, Md. Owing
to the Civil War, he returned to St. Francis Xavier's College in Sep-
tember, 1863, where he graduated July 5, 1864, with the highest hon-
ors of the College. He completed his theological studies at St.
Joseph's Seminary, Troy, N. Y., and was ordained a priest December
21st, 1867, and was sent immediately as assistant to St. Stephen's
Church of New York City. He was also assistant at St. Bridget's
Church, New York City. Cardinal McCloskey recognized the zeal
and industry of Fr. Earley and appointed him rector at West Point
and Highland, where he remained for sixteen years. During Fr.
Farley's pastorate at St. Mary's. Church the property was purchased
upon which the present church is built. The corner stone of the new
St. Mary's was blessed September 10th, 1888, by the Most Rev.
Michael A. Corrigan, Archbishop. The Rev. Dean Mooney, of St.
Patrick's, Newburgh, preached the sermon for the occasion. Among
the large concourse of people present was the Common Council and
acting Mayor F. J. Nesbitt. The stone came from Poughkeepsie
Bridge, Pier No. 2, one which had been removed. The Bridge Com-
pany presented it to the church. All the various Catholic Societies
in the city took part in the ceremony. The committee in charge of
the affair was Peter B. Cusack, Pierce J. Hayden, Owen Cook, Thomas
630 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
A. Waters, George Hughes, John GafFney, John Fitzpatrick, Timothy
Shay, and William J. Talbot, secretary. About May 1st, 1891, Fr.
Earley was appointed by Archbishop Corrigan to the rectorship of
the parish of St. Peter's at New Brighton, Staten Island. Fr. Earley
is now pastor at Irvington, N. Y. He is a member of the Knights
of Columbus.
Succeeding Fr. Earley came Rev. Edward J. Conroy. Fr. Conroy
was born in New York, July 10, 1853. He was educated in the New
York schools, and in 1866 he entered St. Francis Xavier's College. He
graduated with honor in 1873, and in 1875 sailed for Europe and in
the same year entered the American College at Rome. He was or-
dained to the priesthood in 1877. Fr. Conroy was first assigned to
do missionary work in New York. Subsequently he was made assist-
ant to Rev. Arthur J. Donnelly at St. Michael's Church, New York.
After a lapse of three years he was transferred to St. Monica's. His
first charge as pastor was ten years later when he completed the
Church of St. Francis Assisi, at Mt. Kisco. From there he was trans-
ferred to St. Joseph's Church, Kingston, N. Y., where he served as
pastor for three years. He was appointed pastor of St. Mary's
Church, Poughkeepsie, April 23, 1891. During Fr. Conroy's admin-
istration of the afi'airs of St. Mary's Church the new Church of
St. Mary's was dedicated, October 22, 1893, the ceremony of dedica-
tion being unusually grand and imposing. People professing ad-
herence to all Christian denominations crowded the edifice. In the
absence of Archbishop Corrigan the church was blessed by Bishop
Silas Chatard, of Vincennes, Ind., formerly director of the American
College at Rome. The Chaplains to the Bishop were Mgrs. Calasrini
and Raimondi. Masters of Ceremony, Rev. James J. Connelly, secre-
tary to Archbishop Corrigan, and Rev. John J. Barrett. In the even-
ing Pontifical Vespers was held and a sermon delivered by Very Rev.
Joseph F. Mooney, V. G. Rev. Edward McSweeney was the Officiant,
and Rev. Edwin M. Sweeney, Deacon. During the evening services
the following cablegram was received from Rome:
Rome, October 22, 1893.
Rev. E. J. Conroy, Pastor,
Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
VoT the inauguration of your Church the Holy Father sends to you the Apostolic
Benediction. MaZzollibti,
Papal Secretary.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 631
Fr. Conroy died at St. Vincent's Hospital, New York, Tuesday,
February 14, 1899. Fr. Conroy was a member of Florentine Council,
No. 304, Knights of Columbus.
After the death of Fr. Conroy, Fr. Patrick Daly was appointed
pastor of St. Mary's Church. The Very Rev. Patrick Daly, V. F.,
was appointed rector of St. Mary's Church March 3, 1899. He was
bom in Ireland, November 12, 1859. As a boy he attended the dis-
trict schools of his native place. In 1876 he became a student at
St. Brendan's College, Killarney, from which he graduated in 1878.
In September, 1878, he entered St. Patrick's College, Maynooth,
where, at the end of a seven-year course of training, he was ordained
a priest June 29, 1885. He served as curate in St. John's Church,
Glasgow, Scotland, from November, 1885, to JOne, 1889. With a
promise from Archbishop Corrigan of an assignment in the Arch-
diocese of New York, he came to America August, 1889. On his
arrival he was appointed as one of the assistants to the rector of St.
Patrick's Cathedral, Ne^ York City. He held this position until his
appointment as rector of St. Mary's, Poughkeepsie.
Upon the promotion of Fr. Livingston to St. Gabriel's, New York,
Fr. Daly was appointed Dean of the Counties of Dutchess and Putnam.
In this capacity it is his duty to make periodical visits of inspection
to the Catholic churches of these counties, and to report to the Arch-
bishop the conditions which such visits disclose. Under Fr. Daly's
wise and careful administration, he reduced the debt of St. Mary's
$30,000, notwithstanding the fact that during the same period he
expended for improvements and repairs the sum of $25,000.
The Centenary Celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the
New York diocese was celebrated in Poughkeepsie by a monster parade
of Catholic men and a mass meeting in Columbus Institute, and this
celebration was carried out under Fr. Daly's direction.
Fr. Daly is chaplain of Florentine Council, No. 304, Knights of
Columbus.
The Sisters of St. Dominic have charge of St. Mary's parochial school
and have a convent at No. 32 South Hamilton street. The lay trus-
tees of St. Mary's Church since its organization have been James
Mulrein, John Coghill, Michael Lawler, John J. McCann, John Colle-
ton, John Talbot, Timothy G. Kelly, James H. Mullen and Dr. Daniel
632 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
M. Sheedy, James H. Mullen and Dr. Daniel M. Sheedy being the
present lay trustees.
The Chuech of the Nativity.'^ Fifty years ago the German
Catholics in Poughkeepsie depended upon priests from New York City
for holding their church services. Fr. Joseph Schaefler was among
the first to officiate. The Irish Catholic rector, Fr. Riordan, allowed
them to use St. Peter's Church for this purpose. Fr. Schaefler en-
couraged them to form a society under the leadership* of Frank Heng-
stebeck, which they called St. Michael's, and soon raised funds enough
to purchase the property on Union street on which the church, school
and rectory now stand.
In 1852, after paying $991.00 for the land, they erected a frame
building twenty-five by fifty feet, which was for both school and
church purposes. This served as a place of worship imtil 1859, when
the increase in numbers necessitated a new building which was erected
at a cost of $4500.
Most important changes took place during the pastorate of Father
Metzler from 1864 to 1873. A fine building with two school rooms
and dwelling for the teachers of the parochial school was added. The
Right Rev. Franz Joseph Hundhausen, who was next in charge,
brought the Franciscan Sisters from Peekskill to serve as teachers in
this school.
During the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Schraeder a rectory was added.
The Right Rev. Gallus Rruder was appointed rector, July 20,
1879. At this time a church cemetery was purchased, an organ placed
in the church, and later the steeple and additions were completed. A
fire on the 9th of January, 1894, injured the interior of the church
to such an extent that new altars had to be built. A chime of bells
and new chahce were consecrated September 8th, 1895, by Arch-
bishop Corrigan of New York.
The parochial school had increased so that in 1895 an addition to
the building became necessary.
The prosperous condition of this church is largely due to the inter-
est taken by the older as well as the younger members of the many
flourishing societies connected with it, whose contributions so
greatly assist in carrying out the plans for continued improvement.
The Right Rev. Gallus Rruder, to whose zeal and encouragement the
1. Translated from the German by Amalla Halght.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHXIRCH. 633
church owes its strength and prosperity, is the leader and organizer
of these.
The St. Elizabeth Society, composed mostly of mothers, numbers
about 150, and is one of the most helpful institutions. The Ladies'
Auxiliary and the Cecehan Choir are the next important factors in
the work of the church. The Society of St. Philip is composed mostly
of young men under twenty-one years of age, and is the so-called
kindergarten of the church. St. Michael's Society, the oldest, in-
cludes aU the men, and is most interesting, not only on account of its
starting with the pioneers of the church, but also that it has a military
company in its organization which saw actual service in our Civil
War. The Knights of St. George, who held their first regular meet-
ing September 4, 1883 — ^twenty-six in number — ^has, since grown into
a strong company, finely uniformed and of great importance to the
church. Beside the German societies, there are three Slavish organi-
zations, numbering nearly one hundred members.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the pastorate of the Right Rev.
Gallus Bruder and the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the
Church of the Nativity were celebrated with great ceremony in 1903.
This church is now one of the most influential and attractive ecclesi-
astical edifices in Poughkeepsie.
The vestrymen are Elias Spross, John B. Wermuth, L. L. Herles,
Florian Hall, Martin Heller, Aloys MuUer.
The Pomsh Church, Poughkeepsie.^ The Poles came to the
friendly and beautiful city of Poughkeepsie in the year 1887. After
finding work here, they induced others of their nationality to immi-
grate, so that their numbers increased rapidly. In 1893 they founded
a society which they called Josephsverein and united with the German
Catholic Church, as many of them were able to understand German.
Various circumstances and diiFerences of opinion induced some to
separate from the Josephsverein in 1897, and to form a second society
to which they gave the name of Maria von Czenstochan Verein.
The members of the Josephsverein remained with the German
Catholic Church, while the new society joined the Cathohc St. Peter's
Church.
In the year 1900 both societies took measures to found a church
for the fast Increasing population of Poles, and presented to the
1. Translated from the German by Amalia Halght.
634 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Right Rev. Archbishop Michael Corrigan a petition to send them a
priest. He granted their request, and commissioned Father Franz
Fabian, pastor of the Polish Church of Rondout, to take up the work
of organization.
The Poles bought the hall of the Germania Singing Society on Lafay-
ette Place, which originally had been used as a place of worship by the
Baptists, and rebuilt it for their use as a church.
Father Fabian held the first service there March 17th, 1901. In
the following year, on the 12th of October, the church was solemnly
consecrated by the Right Rev. Archbishop John M. Farley, the suc-
cessor of the deceased Archbishop Michael Corrigan. Father Carl
Galuska, who had been assisting Father Fabian in Rondout and
Poughkeepsie, was appointed by the Right Rev. John M. Farley as
the permanent pastor.
During his pastorate, the rectory on Lafayette Place was pur-
chased; a vestry room, new transept, organ, and two new side altars
were added to the church.
To this congregation belong one hundred and ten Polish families,
and about one hundred unmarried persons, making in all about eight
hundred members.
The trustees are Stanislaus Garlikorski and Peter Koralski.
The Catholic Chubch in the Town of Fishkill.^ The follow-
ing facts concerning this church are gathered from a historical sketch
made by the Rev. T. F. Kelly, formerly pastor of St. Joachim's
Church, Matteawan, and printed in 1897. He says:
"According to the earliest and most authentic records, the first Mass In this-
vicinity was celebrated in Fishkill Landing some time during the Revolutionary
War, by a French clergyman from Rhode Island. This priest visited the conti-
nental troops, then stationed at New Windsor, Orange Coimty, New York. Having
administered to the spiritual wants of the Catholic soldiers, he crossed the river
to pay a visit of courtesy to Baron Steuben, who occupied the well-known Ver-
planck mansion, and it was on this occasion that the ' Holy Sacrifice was offered
here for the first time. At the successful termination of the war the troops re-
turned to their homes, and the few Catholics remaining in this neighborhood were
subjected to many and grave inconveniences in order that they might comply with
their religious obligations. In the year 1836, however, a resident pastor was ap-
pointed to Poughkeepsie, whose parish included all of Dutchess County. But two
yeajs had elapsed when St. Patrick's parish, Newburgh, was organized under the
1. Contributed by Rev. J. H. Briody.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 635
pastoral care of the Rev. Patrick Duffy, and although the Catholic residents on
this side of the river were stiU members of St. Peter's Church, Poughkeepsie, they
frequently attended Mass and received the Sacraments in Newburgh, and as a
matter of convenience. Father Duffy vi^as often called upon to minister to the sick
and dying, though no reliable mention is made of his having said Mass here."
The writer tells us that in the year 1845 Father Sullivan was ap-
pointed pastor of Wappingers Falls, from which sprung, five years
later, the nucleus of what later became St. Joachim's Church. This
Mission was successful principally through the efforts of the late Mr.
and Mrs. Michael Toohey and others. The building used in this
Mission was situated on the corner of Main and Cliff streets. The
Rev. George R. Brophy was the pastor in charge at this time. Not
long after the Rev. Denis Sheahan succeeded to the pastorate of
Wappingers Falls, which included Matteawan and Fishkill as mission
stations, and finding the building incapable of accommodating the
rapidly increasing congregation, he sold the property and thereupon
purchased the site of the present church from the late Mathias
Toohey, and gradually began the erection of the new church, which
was called St. Mary's. In the fall of 1860 the Rev. James Coyle was
appointed the first resident pastor of Matteawan, which also included
Fishkill Landing, Low Point and Fishkill Village. The continued
growth of the parish led to the purchase of additional property.
Soon after the church was completed, and on the 18th day of August,
1861, the new building was dedicated under the name of St. Joachim's
by Archbishop Hughes. A short time after the dedication of the
church wherein the congregation worshipped for several years, there
was opened a parochial school under the tutorship of Mr, James Mac-
Hugk,"who also provided here and at Glenham a night school for such
young men as could not attend during the day. To Fr. Coyle also
belongs the credit of having erected St. Mary's Church, Fishkill Vil-
lage, which was dedicated in October, 1864. He also purchased land
in Matteawan for the cemetery. Soon after his death, which occurred
suddenly in the City of New York, the Rev. C. H. Farrell became
the pastor, which was in the year 1867. "His eloquent preaching
quickly increased the size of his congregation, and induced many
persons who had been careless for a long time to return to the prac-
tice of their rehgious duties * * * the young men and women
of the parish were also carefully looked after ; dramatic societies were
established to keep them from evil associations ; they were carefully
636 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
instructed regarding their reading, and advised as to the books which
should prove entertaining and profitable. The material wants of the
aged poor were also provided for, but so secretly that it was only
after his death that Fr. Farrell's extensive charities became known."
The health of Fr. Farrell having become seriously impaired, he found
it necessary to resign and go to Europe. It happened that the Rev.
Peter McCourt, who became Fr. Farrell's successor, was on board the
same steamer and devoted himself in caring for his dying friend. Fr.
McCourt was succeeded by the Rev. John C. Henry in May, 1877,
and he in turn by the Rev. Michael McSwiggan, a native of Ireland,
who officiated for the first time September 15, 1884. During his
pastorate Archbishop Corrigan visited the parish and blessed the new
bell. During these past twenty years or more the large building had
been kept in the best order, and improvements and embellishments of
various kinds owing to the hberahty of the members were being made
from time to time. On the 16th of August, 1891, the parish cele-
brated the thirtieth anniversary of its dedication. Fr. McSwiggan
died in Belgium, October 25, 1890, and as if anticipating his death,
one of his last acts was the purchase of additional ground for the
cemetery. His funeral, which took place on the 22d of November
following, was attended by a large number of the clergy and the
laity. On this occasion Mr. James Forrestal acted as grand marshal
of the procession which acted as an escort, bearing the body of the
dead priest from the railroad station to the cemetery.
The next pastor of the parish was the Rev. Terence P. Kelly, who
was installed on the 1st day of December, 1890. During his pas-
torate the parish continued to expand and the number of the faith-
ful having so increased in the town of Fishkill that it was decided to
establish a new parish. Accordingly on the 26th day of April, 1891,
the corner stone of St. John's Church was laid in the Village of Fish-
kill-on-the-Hudson. The Rev. T. F. Kelly having been transferred
to Villa Nova he was succeeded by the Rev. J. H. Briody, who is pas-
tor of the church now.
The following information concerning St. John's Church, Fishkill,
appeared in St. John's Fair Journal, printed December 5th, 1891,
signed "One of St. John's Members."
"This parish was established by his grace. Archbishop Corrigan, of New York,
and the first pastor, Rev. John A. Hurley, was appointed December 12th, 1887.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 637
The formation of the new parish from a part of the old parish of St. Joachim's,
Matteawan, was brought about by the men who lived in Fishkill-on-Hudson call-
ing meetings and debating the advantages to be gained by having a church in the
village here, instead of going two or three miles to Matteawan to attend divine
service.
Those meetings were held during September, 1887, and committees appointed
to learn facts as to the number of famiUes belonging to the Catholic Church in
FishkiU-on-Hudson. Mr. William A. Toohey was chairman of those meetings and
Mr. James Peattie, secretary. The committee on census, Messrs. Andrew Kane
and John McManus, reported two hundred Catholic families in the village. Of
this nimiber one hundred and seventy-five families joined the new parish and
twenty-five families remained attached to the old one.
The committee on suitable building, Messrs. "William A. Toohey and John Crea-
gan, reported that Swift's Hall, on Main street, could be leased for a period of
five years or could be purchased for $4,000.
Mr. William A. Toohey received a letter from the Archbishop a few weeks later,
saying that our petition for a new parish had been granted and a pastor would
be appointed in the course of a few weeks. Our building committee had learned
in the meantime that the owner of Swift's Hall would not lease it. This gentle-
man, Mr. David Graham, asked $4,000 for the property and very generously
offered to donate $200 to a fund for our new church. His terms were $400 cash,
$1200 at end of four months and balance on mortgage for five years. His terms
were accepted, and carpenters and others set to work to fit the old hall for use
for a church.
Rev. John A. Hurley arrived at Fishkill-on-Hudson December 13, 1887, and at
once took charge of the new parish. He approved of all the work and plans the
committee had arranged and all being in readiness, on Christmas Day, Sunday,
1887, the first Mass was celebrated in the new church. A small organ had been
engaged and a choir had prepared suitable music for the opening occasion.
On October 21, 1888, Rev. Archbishop Corrigan visited Fishkill-on-Hudson and
dedicated St. John's Church.
On February 11, 1890, the old Swift's Hall, or St. John's Church as it was now
known, was burned to the ground, also all its contents, excepting the many sets
of vestments and boys' suits belonging to the parish, which alone were saved.
The old 'Elm Tree' property was then purchased from Mr. Lewis Tompkins at
a cost of $3,500 and plans were drawn for a new church.
On December 1, 1890, Rev. J. A. Hurley was moved to Williamsbridge, N. Y.,
and Rev. John J. McGrath, of Croton Falls, N. Y., was appointed second pastor
of St. John's parish.
The difficulties which beset this gentleman's path from his first assuming charge
until he had a church erected, were numerous and most discouraging. However,
by untiring zeal, the great help which he received from many of his people, and
from numerous friends in town and God's blessing over all, he and we had the
happiness of seeing our church completed on November 22, 1891. The corner stone
was laid April 26, 1891.
638 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
DovEB AND Pawling Chueches/ Usually men of experience ad-
mit in friendly conversation that wherever the Church of the Apostles,
the Church of Ages, has held sway, the precepts of her wise and salu-
tary teachings have been a factor indeed, both potential and influen-
tial for the moral, religious and intellectual good of all classes of
people. In the region covered by the churches of St. John the Evan-
gelist at Pawling, and St. Charles Borromeo at Dover Plains, much
has been done, and a great good has been accomphshed. Yet it can-
not be said that the people were affluent; quite the reverse has been
the case. Still, out of their Uttle they gave much, and the grand joint
parish of St. John's and St. Charles is to-day the result — a monu-
ment for all time to the steadfast faith of the Catholic.
The first priest to visit Pawling and Dover Plains was of French-
Canadian birth, by name Fr. Cheveau, about 184!8, the year the Har-
lem railroad was built to South Dover. So it happened, when he
visited Pawling and Dover, bulletins were posted announcing the
coming of the missionary priest, for the first time, the following Sun-
day. The place of worship selected for the reKgious exercises at
Pawhng was at the Le Grande Hall Hotel and opposite the old rail-
road depot ; and at Dover Plains, the old Union Church that stood
near the Brown vault in the present Valley View Cemetery. Prior to
that time, and at long intervals, Catholics, for miles around, had
been compelled to go afoot to Danbury, Conn., a journey both ways
of thirty-two miles, to hear Mass. With no church in either of the
missions (excepting the Union Church at Dover) the sturdy people
of that abiding day were compelled, from their limited means, to have
recourse to barns and dwelling houses to hear Mass. Still they, their
children and their children's children, have by trials and many priva-
tions, proved themselves equal to the task of keeping alive and spread-
ing the faith for God's greater glory and their own spiritual welfare.
Owing to the dearth of priests at that time in this and other sections
of the country, Catholicity was somewhat impeded in its advancement.
The next priest to come into this section was Fr. Riordan, who had
succeeded Fr. Duffy, the founder of the first Catholic Church in
Poughkeepsie, and who was also pastor of all Dutchess County. Fr. Rior-
daii came to Dover Pla,ins in 1852, and afterward ministered to the peo-
ple tof Dover Plains and Pawling at long intervals. He was succeeded
1. Contributed by Richard F. Maber, Dover Plains, N. Y.
REV. CHARLES SLE\aN.
REV. D. J. McCORMACK.
REV. JOSEPH A. MAHER.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 639
by the pious and learned Fr. Sheahan, who was installed as pastor of
Wappingers Falls in 1854. During Fr. Sheahan's administration
Mass was celebrated once a month, and in turn at the house of Messrs.
Connell and Maher at Dover Plains, and Begley and Hopper at Paw-
ling. While the best was being done for the people spiritually, other
arrangements were being made for closer relationship between priest
and people, until, finally, news began to spread that a resident priest
would shortly be appointed, and in 1859, Archbishop Hughes ap-
pointed the Rev. Charles Slevin, Dover Plains being centrally
located was chosen as the parish, about which encircled the missions
of Pawhng, Amenia, Millbrook, Beekman and Millerton, in which
places there were as yet no churches. The extensive territory em-
bracing the missions running north and south covered something over
fifty miles by about twenty-five miles east and west. On taking charge
of the parish in 1859 Fr. Slevin set to work to secure, by purchase,
a site for the church. He met with disappointment in buying, and
William Maher presented the present site to him, on which he erected
a handsome frame edifice, and dedicated it to God in the name of the
pious St. Charles Borroraeo, the patron and protector of young men
preparing for the priesthood. South and east of the church, in the
same lot, ground was surveyed and marked off for the burial of those
dying in the Lord. Prominent among the active workers in build-
ing and paying off the indebtedness may be mentioned, with credit,
Mr. Jeremiah Whalen, Mr. Michael Maher, Mr. Patrick Wetheral,
and Mr. Terrence Connell, at whose homes Mass was said frequently
prior to the erection of the church. Fr. Slevin remained in charge
five or six years. During his pastorate the Civil War broke out and
he was drafted; but his congregation made up the sum of $300 to
release him and furnish a substitute. He left Dover Plains in 1864.
The next priest to take charge of the parish was the Rev. John
Arsenigo. He lived at Purdy's Station, but used to come up Saturday
nights, and Sundays, after Mass, David Maher would drive him one
Sunday to say Mass in the Union Church at Hartsville, near Mill-
brook, and the next Sunday to Amenia to say Mass in Gilroy's house.
Fr. Arsenigo gave the beautiful oil painting of St. Charles Borromeo
that hangs over the altar at Dover Plains. Worn out by the strain
endured by the care and laborious work of the distant missions, Fr.
Arsenigo was obliged to resign in 1866. Soon after, in 1866, Rev.
640 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Fr. Tandy was sent from New York to Amenia, becoming resident
pastor of that town. Dover Plains, Pawling, Millerton, Millbrook
and Beekman were connected as out missions from that point. Fr.
Tandy secured the present site of the church at Pawling from Mr.
A. Arnold. He built the Catholic Church in 1869. In 1872 the
church was totally destroyed by fire, and it was practically proven
that the fire was of incendiary origin. Not to be dismayed, however,
by the severe tests of poverty and the machinations of men, he set to
work and erected another and handsomer church edifice. The indebt-
edness assumed amounted to $7,500. Fr. Tandy, sufi'ering greatly
from the strain of mind and body, was replaced in 1872 by the Rev.
Father Healy, who for the first time became the resident pastor of
the newly established parish of St. John the Evangelist in Pawling,
with Dover Plains and Beekman as outlying missions. In 1872 the
country was in bad shape financially, owing to the noted failure of
Jay Cooke & Co. Hard times were the result of the panic. People
everywhere suffered by the stringency of money. Along with others,
Fr. Healy was found unable to meet the demands made upon him.
Defeated in a lawsuit over the boundary of church grounds at Dover
Plains, overwhelmed with the new church at Pawling, burdened by
great debt, and unable to meet payments, Fr. Healy resigned. At
this change of affairs the parish of Pawling again became a mission
church and reverted to the care of Fr. Tandy, the pastor of Amenia,
who shortly applied to his superiors for an assistant to help him in
his labors. His request was granted. The Rev. Michael J. Mc-
Swiggan was appointed pastor of PawUng, Dover Plains and Sylvan
Lake in 1877. Under the good management of Fr. McSwiggan's
rectorship, the Rev. Joseph A. Maher, the first and only boy from
the parish of Dover Plains who ever embraced the priesthood, came
home from Rome. Father Maher received his early education at
Fordham University, graduating in the class of 1876. Taking a post-
graduate course he received the degree of A. M. in 1877. He spent
four years in Rome, where he was ordained priest at the Church of
St. John Lateran, by His Eminence, Cardinal Monaco La Valetta, on
June 3, 1882. Fr. Maher died September 14, 1886, and is buried
in the Maher plot at Dover Plains. Succeeding Fr. McSwiggan came
Fb. William Murphy and Fr. McMullen in 1883. In 1884 the Rev.
Daniel J. McCormick took charge of the parish of Dover and Paw-
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 641
ling. With no rectory or residence he was obKged to board at the
Dutcher house (the Doctor Gammage School), Pawling. Fr. Mc-
Cormick bought the present rectory at Pawling for $7,200 in 1886,
from the estate of Alexander Allen. He also bought the new ceme-
tery at Dover Plains, in 1888, paying $900 for it. Fr. McCormick
was a good business man, and during his pastorate the parish and
surrounding missions prospered greatly to the satisfaction of all. The
next pastor was the Rev. Edward Sweeney, appointed by His Grace
Archbishop Corrigan in 1889. Father Sweeney stayed about two
years and made many improvements. He paid off a floating debt of
$300, and built St. John's Lyceum (the parish hall) at Pawling.
Fr. Donhn succeeded Fr. Sweeney in 1891. Fr. Donlin did good
work in the parish. He beautified the churches at Pawling and
Dover Plains by placing stained glass memorial windows in them.
After remaining as rector for ten years he was succeeded by the Rev.
Eugene Shine, in 1901, who was the former pastor of Sylvan Lake,
N. Y. Fr. Shine, in the first six years of his pastorate, paid off the
entire parish debt.
iMMActriiATE Conception Pakish, Amenia.^ In the year 1847
there were several Catholic families living in Amenia, and a number
of Catholic men were employed in the iron ore beds of Sharon Station
in Amenia. The first priest tradition makes mention of as minister-
ing to the Cathohcs of this section is Fr. Kelly, of Connecticut. As
often as this zealous priest visited Sharon, CathoHcs gathered from
far and near to hear Mass and have their children baptized. On
rare occasions, such as Christmas and Easter, the people attended
Mass at St. Peter's, Poughkeepsie, their parish church. Fr. Riordan,
pastor of St. Peter's, learning that a number of Catholics had settled
in Amenia visited this distant portion of his vineyard, and was the
first priest to celebrate Mass in Amenia. The Holy Sacrifice was
offered in the house of Thomas McEnroe, at the Ore Bed, about 1852.
Fr. Riordan visited Amenia semi-annually until the appointment in
1859 of Rev. Charles Slevin as pastor of Dover Plains and its out-
lying missions, including Amenia, Millerton, Millbrook, etc. Fr.
Slevin celebrated Mass in the house of Daniel Gilroy. In 1864 Fr.
Slevin was transferred to Yonkers, and his church at Dover, with its
missions, became attached to Croton Falls. Rev. John Arsenigo,
1. Contributed by the Rev. Francis E. LaTelle, Amenia, N. T.
642 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
pastor of Croton Falls, succeeded Fr. Slevin, and at his direction the
first Catholic Church in Amenia was built in 1866-'67, and also the
Catholic Church at Millerton in 1867. The Rev. Patrick W. Tandy
succeeded Fr. Arsenigo, and was the first resident priest of the Amenia
parish. He assumed charge October 15, 1868. The churches in
Amenia and Millerton begun by Fr. Arsenigo were finished by Fr.
Tandy. He also purchased ground for a Catholic cemetery in
Amenia. Fr. Tandy was succeeded by Rev. Daniel J. Corkery, in
June, 1880. In September, 1881, Fr. Corkery established a Catholic
school with sixty pupils in attendance. On July 29, 1886, while Fr.
Corkery was pastor, the Amenia church was destroyed by lightning,
and on June 12, 1887, the comer stone of a new church was laid by
Archbishop Corrigan. The sermon on the occasion was preached by
Rev. Charles Corley.
Fr. Corkery was succeeded by Rev. Anthony Molloy, 1888-1894.
Rev. James McEntyre, 1894-1899. Rev. Dennis F. Coyle, 1899-1907.
The present rector is Rev. Francis E. Lavelle, who assumed charge
April 28, 1907. The parish has a population of six hundred.
Catholic Mission, Millekton. It may be said that the founder
of the Catholic Mission in Millerton was the good priest, Fr. Riordan,
of the First Catholic Church, Poughkeepsie, and who was some fifty
years ago pastor of all Dutchess County. In 1859 Archbishop
Hughes appointed Fr. Charles Slevin pastor of the Dover Plains par-
ish, of which Millerton was one of the outlying missions. During
Slevin's pastorate this society prospered greatly, and when in 1864
he was retired on account of ill health, the office of that pastorate was
filled by Rev. Fr. Arsenigo, of Croton Falls parish. The strain of
attending to so many outlying stations proved too great, and he was
compelled to resign. He was succeeded by Rev. Father Tandy, resi-
dent pastor of Amenia.
When Fr. Arsenigo first visited Millerton the people of that mission
held services in private houses. Under his ministration the people
took heart, and a church edifice was begun. It was left for Fr. Tandy
to continue the work of building, and about 1866 the house was com-
pleted. Fr. E. F. Lavelle succeeded Fr. Tandy, and with the care of
the spiritual interest of his parishioners was the burden of the church
deb* of $2,000. To meet the interest of this indebtedness was really
a severe tax on the congregation of the struggling Millerton mission.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 643
This was the more apparent as the membership had been diminished
by the closing of neighboring mines and furnaces.
It was left to the pastorate of Rev. Fr. Coyle, the present incum-
bent, to be signalized by the removal of this source of anxiety to the
Millerton parish. Fr. Coyle one day remarked to some of his parish-
ioners that if a sum could be paid towards liquidating the mortgage,
it would prove very pleasing. "Why not make it $1,000," suggested
Martin Griffin, "wouldn't that be better still.?" The result of the
interview was that Mr. Griffin was authorized to raise what amount
he could, in his own way, which he proceeded to do in a very unique
fashion. He set down and penned polite notes to the county officials,
stating the needs of the mission, and that any sum they might give
would be very thankfully received. From County Treasurer Hauben-
nestel. Surrogate Hoysradt, and County Judge PhilKps he received
substantial cheques by return mail, as well as another from Assembly-
man Smith. Doctors Wilbur and Cotter, of Pine Plains, responded
handsomely. Robert Chanler sent in a handsome remembrance, as did
John Campbell, of Lagrange, Illinois. John M. Garvin, of Rock
River, Alabama, sent a prompt answer, enclosing cheque for $50.00.
These gifts were mostly from non-residents of Millerton with whom
Mr. Griffin had an acquaintance; but they were interested in the
prosperity of the town, and were pleased at the opportunity to help
the struggling mission. This was about the year 1905. At this
time an entertainment was given for the church's benefit. The net
proceeds of the collection and the entertainment amounted to over
$1,300.00, which Mr. Griffin had the pleasure of presenting to the
mission as the result of his proposition to raise $1,000.00 for the pur-
pose. It is needless to add that he was warmly congratulated for the
splendid result of his efforts by Fr. Coyle, who declared that he
had looked upon Mr. Griffin's proposition to raise $1,000.00 as vision-
ary. The next year the church debt was lifted, and the mission now
has a house free from encumbrance, with grounds and cemetery en-
closed in a neat iron fence.
Paeish of Saint Denis, Sylvan Lake, Town of Beekman.^ The
Church of St. Denis was built in June, 1859 — ^just fifty years ago.
It was then a mission of Wappingers Falls. Fr. Powers was the
rector.
1. Contributed by the Bev. William Patrick Eagen.
644 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In 1874 it was made a parish. Rev. P. J. Healy was the first rec-
tor. He was succeeded by Rev. M. J. McSwiggan, who had two
assistants, Revs. W. H. Murphy and Charles McMullen, because of
the missions at Pawling and Dover, then under Sylvan Lake. Fr.
McMullen succeeded Fr. McSwiggan as rector. In 1891 Rev. E. J.
Byrnes took charge and was succeeded by Rev. John McAvoy in 1903.
In July, 1905, the present rector, Rev. William Patrick Eagen, took
charge.
The parish originally embraced all the territory east of Wapping-
ers Falls to the Connecticut line, and meeting the parishes of Mattea-
wan on the south, and Amenia on the north, some six hundred square
miles of territory. At present it has four hundred square miles, and
three churches, viz: Sylvan Lake, Hopewell Junction, and Clove,
as well as stations at Moore's Mills and Poughquag.
There are about three hundred souls, Hopewell Junction having
seventy-five of that number.
St. Maby's Chuuch, Wappingers Falls. Previous to 1850 there
was no resident pastor at Wappingers Falls. In that year the Rev.
Fr. Brophy assumed control of this parish, and held services in the
old frame building which stood near the entrance to the old cemetery.
He was succeeded in 1853 by Rev. Dennis Sheahan, who remained pas-
tor until his death in 1875. Fr. Sheahan enlarged, at various times,
the original church edifice. He was succeeded by Rev. Charles M.
O'Keefe, who remained until January, 1885. He built the new church,
the corner stone of which was laid September 27, 1877, by Cardinal
McCloskey, this being the first ceremony of the kind performed by
him since he was created Cardinal, three years previous. The sermon
was preached by his private secretary, the Rev. J. M. Farley. After
the Cardinal touched the stone, it was laid in place. The clergymen
present were Rev. Dr. E. F. McSweeney and Rev. P. F. McSweeney,
of Poughkeepsie ; Rev. M. Fitzsimmons, of Rhinebeck; Rev. James
Doherty, of Kingston; Rev. A. J. Canary, of Matteawan; Rev. Fr.
Coghlin, of Brooklyn; Rev. Fr. Hogan, of St. Paul's Cathedral, New
York, and the Rev. A. Lings, of Yonkers. The church edifice is built
of stone, and is of English Gothic style, with a seating capacity of
abouti one thousand. It cost about $30,000. The bell was blessed by
Vicar-General Quinn, November 30, 1879.
Rev. Cornelius B. Mahony assumed control of the parish in 1885.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 645
Under his pastorate the school building was erected, the convent pur-
chased, and grounds comprising twelve acres on the banks of Wap-
pingers Lake secured for a new cemetery.
The Rev. Charles F. Reid succeeded Fr. Mahony in January, 1903.
The following year he erected a convent for the Sisters of Charity,
who are instructors in the parochial school. Fr. Reid has eifected
many improvements in the church edifice and other buildings belong-
ing to the parish.
Among the various societies of the parish may be mentioned the
Holy Name Society, for all men; St. Aloysius' Society, for boys; the
Sodality of the Blessed Virgin, for single young ladies; the Society
of the Holy Angels, which was organized about 1882, and is under
the charge of the Sisters ; and the Lyceum Society for young men.
St. Joseph's Parish, Rhinebck. This parish includes St. Joseph's
Church at Rhinecliff and the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rhine-
beck village.
Previous to 1862 the Catholics in this neighborhood attended ser-
vice at Rondout. In that year the Rev. Michael Scully came to the
village to organize a parish. It was at first decided to build a church
in the village and a lot was purchased at the corner of Livingston
and Mulberry streets, but the parishioners at Rhinechff were strong
in numbers and objected to the village location. This lot was then
sold and a church edifice erected at Rhinecliff in 1864, on land deeded
to Fr. Scully by George Rogers of Tivoli. Upon the death of Fr.
Scully in 1872, the Rev. James Fitzsimmons was appointed rector.
During his pastorate of seventeen years the church made substantial
progress." He built the rectory and organized other churches in the
parish which then extended as far north as the Columbia County line.
Subsequent rectors were Revs. William O'Neil, Terrence Kelly, M. J.
Murray, James B. Curry, James S. Finton, James D. Lennon and
M. F. Aylward, the present rector.
In 1901 the Episcopal Church property in Rhinebeck village was
purchased, repaired and improved, and the Church of the Good Shep-
herd established. Rev. M. F. Aylward is also in charge here.
Church of the Sacred Heart, Barrttown. This society was in-
corporated November 17, 1876. Originally Barrytown was a mission
attended from Rhineclifi', until September 1, 1886, when the entire
township of Red Hook was set off as a new parish, and Rev. William
646 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
J. McClure appointed resident rector. He was succeeded in 1893 by
Rev. Daniel J. Cronin, who remained until June 27, 1899. The Rev.
Hugh P. Cullum then became resident rector, and was followed in 1901
by Rev. Matthew J. F. Scanlon, the present incumbent.
The church edifice, which is a frame structure, was erected in 1875,
during the pastorate of Rev. James Fitzsimmons, of Rhinechff, on
land donated by the Donaldson family, who also deeded to the church
land for a rectory and for a cemetery. The rectory was built in 1887.
When Fr. Scanlon was appointed, in 1901, the church was struggUng
under a debt of $2,400. Through his efforts and those of the lay
trustees, Messrs. Daniel O'Connell and James Baxter, Sr., the parish
was thoroughly canvassed and this indebtedness was wiped out.
St. Sylvia's Chubch, Tivom. In 1852 the Rev. Michael C. Power
was appointed by the Bishop of Albany to the pastorate of Sauger-
ties, Ulster County. He administered the Sacrament to the Catholics
in Tivoli and neighboring districts, and was succeeded in the work of
soul saving by the Rev. Michael Scully, who was stationed at Rhine-
cliff. Then came the Rev. James Fitzsimmons, who succeeded Fr.
Scully at Rhinecliff. He built the first Catholic Church in Tivoli,
and with his assistants, served the entire eastern shore of the Hudson
from Albany to Poughkeepsie.
In 1886 Rev. W. J. McClure took possession of Barrytown parish,
with Tivoli as a mission, and February 18, 1890 Tivoli was elevated
to the rank of an independent parish, with the Rev. J. S. Finton its
first rector. Subsequent rectors were Revs. Michael Reinhart, P. F.
Maughan, Francis C. Lenes, J. H. Dooley, and Rev. C. J. Parks, who
has had charge of the parish since 1906.
Just previous to the appointment of Fr. Dooley, September 28,
1902, the late Archbishop Corrigan had arranged with the Countess
de Laugier-Villars and her sister, Mrs. Geraldyn Redmond, for the
erection and equipment of the present beautiful church edifice and
rectory as a tribute to the memory of their mother, Mrs. Johnston
Livingston. The church was consecrated June 28, 1903, by the Most
Rev. John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
A convent school adjoining the church was established in 1888,
and is under the direction of Sister M. Geronimo, assisted by Sister
Rose Monico and Sister Frances de Chantal. A thorough religious
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 647
and secular education is imparted to an average attendance of thirty-
five pupils.
St. Joseph's Chuech, Millbuook, was at first a mission cared for
by the parish at Amenia, but now has developed into a large and im-
portant church, with two resident priests, and ministers to the spirit-
ual needs of a large number of souls. This parish, St. Joseph's, con-
ducts a mission at Clinton Corners, where a chapel has been erected.
In MiUbrook there is a large church edifice, a house for the priest's
home, and a hall in which can be held social gatherings of all kinds.
Lately a large number of Italians have made homes for themselves in
MiUbrook, and have become a part of this parish, which is prosper-
ing under the care of Fr. Weir.
The Roman Cathomc Chuech, Hyde Pakk. This church was
built in 1863 and '64, at the expense of Mrs. Mortimer Livingston
and her daughter, Mrs. Drayton, who married for her second husband
Mr. Kirkpatrick. The name of the church is inscribed on the front
of the building, Ecclesia Reg'vrm Cceli. It is a neat building of brick
and brown stone on Harvey street, nearly opposite the termination of
Park Place. In a vault under the nave of the church are buried mem-
bers of the Livingston and Drayton families. A rectory adjoins the
church edifice. The Rev. Tobias M. Fitzpatrick was the first resident
priest. His successors have been: Rev. John Parker, 1883; Rev.
Michael Murray, 1884; Rev. Fr. Leahy, 1888; Rev. Terence F. Kelly,
1890 ; Rev. R. J. Burns, 1893-99. Since 1899 the Rev. John De La
Peer Lonargan has officiated.
Fr. Lonargan also serves St. Paul's Church, Staatsburgh, which
was founded May 8, 1888, by Rev. Terence F. Kelly. The previous
chapel was located on Clay Hill, on ground donated by William Em-
met, cousin of the patriot Thomas.
Chuech of Oue Lady of Mt. Caemel (Italian Catholic). The
church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was incorporated by certificate
of incorporation dated February 19, 1908, and recorded in the
Dutchess County Clerk's office, February 24, 1908. The trustees
named in the certificate being His Grace, Right Rev. John M. Farley,
Archbishop of New York; Joseph F. Mooney, Vicar-General; Nicolas
Pavone, Pastor; Pasquale Antonio Tesone and Nicola Manna, Lay
Trustees.
648 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The congregation of this church, at present and for some time
past, has held its services in St. Peter's Church. The corporation,
June, 1909, purchased the John I. Piatt property on the west side of
Cataract Place and it is intended to erect thereon, very shortly, a
new church, rectory and school.
Rev. Fr. Nicolas Pavone, pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Church, was born at Trivento, Province of Campobasso, Italy, Au-
gust 18, 1878. In 1886 he went to the Seminary at Trivento and was
ordained priest by Right Rev. Bishop Mgr. Carlo Pietropaoli, Decem-
ber 23, 1901. In 1902 he studied in La Minerva University of the
Dominican Fathers at Rome. In 1903 he returned to Trivento and
was the secretary of the bishop and chaplain of the Holy Cross Church.
In 1904 he was a teacher in the Seminary of Larino, and in 1905 he
returned again to Trivento. At that time Bishop Pietropaoli, by
request of Mgr. Proweduto of Rome, sent him to America. He
arrived in New York December 20, 1905, and was received by Most
Rev. Archbishop J. M. Farley and assigned to St. Peter's Church in
Poughkeepsie, by request of Rev. Fr. Wm. Livingston, December 22,
1905.
The MAaisT Beothees. The institution of "The Little Brothers
of Mary," generally known as "The Marist Brothers," is a teaching
order, founded nearly a century ago in Lyons, France, by the Ven-
erable Champagnat. The object of the order is the Christian educa-
tion of young men. They take great care to develop the will as well
as the intellect. They give their whole lives to the work of education.
The Holy See gave many signal proofs of its satisfaction at the rapid
development of this educational order and definitely recognized and
approved of it by a decree January 9, 1863. This order has estab-
lishments in many countries. In fact they are spread all over the
world. They came to the United States in 1885 and a few years
later opened a boarding school in New York City, with the approba-
tion of His Grace, Archbishop Corrigan.
On February 28, 1905, the Marist Brothers purchased the Mac-
Pherson place on the Hyde Park Road, just above Poughkeepsie, and
subsequently on August 29, 1908, they purchased that part of the
"Beck" property lying on the west side of the Hyde Park Road. The
house on the MacPherson property is known as "St. Ann's Hermitage"
and has been chosen as the Mother House of the order for the United
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 649
States. These properties are to be used for a training school and a
junior and senior novitiate.
On Sunday, July 26, 1908, nine young men were admitted to the
"Marist Brothers" order at St. Ann's Hermitage, this being the
first reception of novices to their order in Dutchess County.
Novitiate op St. Andrew-on-the-Hudson. The Novitiate of St.
Andrew is one of the colleges erected by the Society of Jesus, more
generally known as the Jesuit Society. The society purchased the
Stuyvesant property on the Hyde Park Road, in the town of Hyde
Park, on July 13, 1899. Since this time other farms adjoining have
also been purchased. Since the purchase of the property the society
has erected its college building upon the Stuyvesant property. On
January 15, 1908, the Jesuit Novitiate, which had been at Frederick,
Md., since 18S3, moved to St. Andrew.
On November 19, 1907, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament was
consecrated by His Grace, Archbishop John M. Farley. This chapel
is the gift of Mrs. Thomas F. Ryan to St. Andrew. The chapel was
built by the late Thomas F. Brennan and cost $80,000.
Since the Jesuits came to Dutchess County four chapels or churches
have been built in this vicinity, viz: One at Pleasant Valley called
*'St. Stanislaus," another called "The Chapel of Our Lady of the
Wayside," the gift of the late Mr. P. J. Kennedy of New York City,
to serve for the benefit of the Catholics living near the Novitiate, and
two other churches, that of St. Joseph and of Our Lady, erected on
the grounds of the Hudson River State Hospital. All the above
named churches, together with the Marist Brothers' Chapel, are
attended by priests from St. Andrew.
The Novitiate of St. Andrew-on-the-Hudson occupies a charming
site on the east bank of the river, some three miles north of Pough-
keepsie. Here young men wishing to offer themselves to the ser-
vice of God in the Society of Jesus, either as priests or coadjutor
brothers, enter upon their long period of probation and training as
novices. For two years they devote themselves exclusively to religious
occupation such as the practice of mental prayer, obedience, humilia-
tion and systematic spiritual exercises which may train them to solid
and elevated virtue. After the two years of novitiate, the candidates
are admitted to simple vows, and are professed members of the
society; those who are to be priests pass to another wing of the
650 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
building to spend from one to three years, according to their pre-
vious proficiency in reviewing or extending their classical and other
college studies. This is only the beginning of a long and arduous
course of study, to be continued in institutions of still higher grade.
In addition to the novices and junior scholastics above referred
to, St. Andrew's also shelters the Tertian Fathers, or priests
undergoing the third year of probation. These are the young
priests who having finished their studies and received Holy Orders,
return to the Novitiate for the space of another year, to temper their
souls anew in the fire of spiritual exercises before entering finally upon
their life battle in the cause of Christ. During this year they have
also practice in giving missions in the city and country churches.
Still another purpose aimed at in the Novitiate is to afford a place
of retreat to persons, either priest or layman, desiring to spend some
time in contemplation, and in the regular course of exercises devised
by St. Ignatius Loyola for the reformation of life and the advancement
of the soul. At all times during the year, particularly during the
summer months, laymen and clergy, zealous for the better gifts, are
seen in retirement at St. Andrew engaged in meditation, prayer and
penance under the direction of some Father of the community. With-
in the sacred walls of the chapel and in the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament, the Novice or Tertian spends long periods of rapt con-
templation. He attends the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and re-
ceives in Holy Communion the Bread of Life, which is to sustain him
in his mortification, labors and entire conflict.
The whole purpose of this community is the promotion and develop-
ment of the higher life. It is to be a center of spiritual energy which
may moderate or diminish, in Catholics at least, the danger of absorp-
tion in the fierce struggle of the material forces that are focussed so
intensely in this part of the country. It is an attempt to teach men
to emulate, in their fight for heaven, the sacrifices which men make who
are fighting for wealth and power. It is a school for training young"
Jesuits to imitate, and if possible surpass, the exploits of their prede-
cessors, who achieved so much amid difficulties and hardships and
trials, which in these easy-going days are hard to fully realize.
FRIENDS' MEETINGS.
651
CHAPTER XXXIX.
FRIENDS' MEETINGS IN DUTCHESS COUNTY.
By John Cox, Jr., Custodian of Feiends' Recoeds,
New York.
THIS county has had more Friends' meetings in it than any
other in the State. The first settlement of* Friends was on
the ridge of Quaker Hill, and the first to settle there were
probably Benjamin Ferriss and Nathan Birdsall, in 1728. Others soon
followed, and by 1742 the first meeting was well established.
The "Enrollment of the People Called Quakers Persuant an act of
General Assembly of this province passed the 19th of February, 1755,
Entitled an Act for Regulating the Militia of the Colony of New
York," gives a list of forty-nine heads of families for Dutchess County
with their locations and occupations.
This list appears in Chapter V, page 63, and it is interesting to
compare it with the following "List of the Heads of FamiKes" in Ob-
long Monthly Meeting in 1761.
1st at ITEW MUfOBD.
Dobson Wheeler & his Wife
Aaron Benedick & his Wife
Joseph Ferriss
Gains Talcott
James McKenney
Lydia Norton
Anna Philips
3in> AT cBLoiro.
John Bull & his Wife
Wing Kelley & his Wife
Oliver Tryon & his Wife
John Wing & his Wife
John Hoag ye 2d & Wife
Benjam Hoag & his Wife
Abner Hoag & Wife
Benjam Hoag Senr & Wife
Philip Allen & Wife
Moses Hoag & Wife
George Soule & Wife
Wm. Russell & Wife
David Hoag & Wife
Ebenezer Peaslee & Wife
tfehemiah Merritt & Wife
Nehemiah Merritt Jnr & Wife
Elijah Doty & Wife
Henry Chase & Wife
Abraham Chase & Wife
Benjamin Ferriss & Wife
Timothy Dakin & Wife
Elisha Akin's Children
652
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Reed Ferriss & Wife
Zebulon Ferriss & Wife
John Hoag Senr & Wife
John Hoag Jur & Wife
Jedidiah Wing & Wife
Josiah Akin & Wife
Stephen Hoag & Wife
James Hunt & Wife
Prince Howland & Wife
Isaac Haviland & Wife
Nathn BirdsaU & Wife
Nathn Birdsall Jnr & Wife
Daniel Chase & Wife
Edward Wing & Wife
Abraham Wing & Wife
Israel Howland & Wife
David Atkin & Wife
Jonathan Akin & Wife
Joseph Jinnins & Wife
Robert Whitely & Wife
Nathanael Stevenson
Joseph Hoag
Abraham Thomas
Isaac Bull
Patience AMn
Desire Chase
Mary Allen Widdow
Mersey Fish
Margaret Akin
Margery Woolman
Dinah Gifford Widdow
Elizab Hunt Widdow
Abigail Gifford
Phebe Boudy
Ann Hepbern
Sarah Davis
Ann Corban
Hannah BirdsaU
SdLT at mXE PABTKEBS.
Peter Hallock & Wife
Moses Haight & Wife
Aaron Haight & Wife
Joshua Haight & Wife
George Soule & Wife
William Palmer & Wife
Reuben Palmer & Wife
Nehemiah Reynolds & Wife
Peter Palmer & Wife
Aaron Vail & Wife
Joseph Haight & Wife
John Lapham & Wife
Jonathan Holmes & Wife
Jonathan Hoag & Wife
Israel Devil & his Wife
John Kees & Wife
Nathaniel Brown & Wife
Anthony Arnold & Wife
Caleb Norton & Wife
Micah GrifBn & Wife
Jacob Haight & Wife
John Haight & Wife
Stephen Haight & Wife
Micah Palmer & Wife
Andrew White & Wife
Stephen Hicks & Wife
Daniel Tobias & Wife
Ezekiel Hoag & Wife
William Haight
Joseph Reynolds
Obadiah Griflin
Solomon Haight
Ben jam White
John Hallock
David Arnold
Nathan Bull
Hannah Thorn
Hannah Tripp
Margaret AUen
Rose Barton
Sarah Collins
Bersheba Southerlin
Sarah Jacocks
Ruth Mabbit
Patience Green
4thlt at osweoo.
Samuel Dorland & Wife
Richard Smith & Wife
Joseph Smith & Wife
Samuel Hall & Wife
Allen Moore & Wife
FRIENDS' MEETINGS.
653
John Thomas & Wife
Lot Tripp & Wife
Ebenezer Shearman & Wife
Joshua Sherman & Wife
Daniel Shepherd & Wife
John Thomas & Wife
Josiah Bull
Zebulon Hoxsie
Ichabod Bowerman
David Irish
Andrew Moore
Joseph Waters
Eliab Youmans
Othniel Allen
John Carman
Jesse Irish
Deborah Reed
Martha Gifford
Abigail Adams
Mary Moore
Catharine Leaven
Maiy Youman
Mehetable Devil
Sthlt ax peach ponds.
Samuel Field & Wife
Elias Palmer & Wife
David Pahner & Wife
Samuel Coe & Wife
Stephen Field & Wife
Solomon Field & Wife
These Friends were partly from Westchester County and Long
Island, but largely from the New England meetings.
The Documentary history of the meetings in this county is found
in the records of these meetings and of earher meetings to the south-
ward. These records, and those of all meetings throughout the State,
have been brought together at Fifteenth Street meeting house. New
York City, by a joint committee of the two New York Yearly Meet-
ings, of which the writer is chairman. Over a thousand volumes are
already collected, and many additional volumes are coming in every
year. The writer earnestly requests all having such records in their
possession to communicate with him.
Purchase Monthly Meeting in the lower part of Westchester
County, was the first one on the main land of this province, and its
jurisdiction extended over Friends to the northward till 1744. The
receipt of certificates from Dartmouth, Mass., shows the movement
from the east, ' but the earliest mention of a meeting in Dutchess
County appears First Month, 1, 1742, when a certificate from Dart-
mouth in New England was received for George Soul and wife, "being
settled at the nine partners." At the same meeting Benjamin Ferriss,
WilHam Russell, Jam^s Clement and Thomas Franklin were appointed
"to Conclude the dementions of a meeting house to be build on the
Oblong" and to build it. In Fourth Month Overseers were appointed
for the meetings at Oblong and at New Milford, Conn., where a meet-
ing had been established as early as 1739, and where Friends had been
654 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
settled as early as 17S3, as proved by the Purchase minutes. Sixth
Month 12, 1742, "The request of Sundry friends living at Crumelbow
or the Nine Partners to have a meeting Settled Amongst them was
read at this meeting and Approved." Seventh Month 9, 1742, the
Monthly Meeting decided "that theire be a preparative meeting held
at the Oblong the week before each monthly Meeting, for themselves
and the adjacent meetings."
Fourth Month 14, 1744, the Yearly Meeting having approved. Ob-
long Monthly Meeting was set up "at the Oblong and the nine part-
ners to be held at each place by turns on the 3d fifth day of every
month ;" and no further reference to Dutchess County Friends appears
in the Purchase minutes, except, — and this is important as showing
the strength of the new Monthly Meeting — Oblong Monthly Meeting
recommended to the consideration of Purchase Monthly Meeting the
establishment of a Quarterly Meeting "on this side." The Yearly
Meeting granted the request and Purchase Quarterly Meeting was
established 6th Month 3, 1745, to be held at Oblong and Purchase.
The men's minutes of Oblong Monthly Meeting from Fourth Month,
1744, to Seventh Month, 1757, are missing. A note on the first page
of the next volume states that "the Preceeding Minutes hereon depend-
ing are in Manuscript. As also all ye former MSnutes from 1744:
when first this Monthly Meeting was Settled." The inference is that
the minutes were then on loose sheets. In 1760 the meeting directed
Joshua Haight to record the minutes from 1744 to 1757 in a book.
He may have done so, and if this volume can be found it will be of
great historical value. The men's minutes are complete from 1757 to
1828, and of the Hicksite branch to 1884, when the meeting was laid
down, and of the Orthodox branch fairly complete from 1828. Sev-
eral volumes of women's minutes are missing, but it is hoped they will
yet be found.
The Oblong meeting house, built in 1742 as above noted, was re-
placed in 1764 by the present venerable building on Quaker Hill in the
town of Pawling. It is very strongly built with unusual framing and
bracing. While Washington's army was located in this region this
was used as an hospital. Loopholes cut at that time through the
plank siding of the gables can still be seen in the attic. The first
house seems to have been on the south side of the road, nearly opposite
the present one. At the Separation of 1828 the house was retained
FRIENDS' MEETINGS. 655
by the Hicksite branch and the Orthodox built the house still used
on the Ridge road near the old house. Oswego meeting at Moore's
Mills in the present town of LaGrange was allowed as early as 1750,
and was made a Preparative Meeting in 1758. New Milford meeting,
in the town of New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut, was not
made a Preparative Meeting until 1777. It was laid down in 1828
by the Hicksites, and later by the Orthodox.
Poughquaig (sometimes called Appoughguague) meeting, in the
town of Beekman, was allowed in 1771, and made a Preparative Meet-
ing in 1773. Peach Pond meeting was allowed in 1760. The Pre-
parative Meeting was established in 1779 and laid down in 1792. The
meeting house is still standing at Peach Lake in the town of Salem,
Westchester County, and one large meeting each ^nraier has been for
a quarter of a century a local event of the year. Valley meeting, in
the town of Patterson, was allowed in 1776, first at Elijah Doty's and
then at Daniel Haviland's. It was made a Preparative Meeting in
1785. The Orthodox branch laid this down in 1828, and the Hicks-
ite branch in 1866.
Cornwall meeting. There was a meeting of this name, allowed as
a part of Valley Preparative Meeting. It was laid down in 1801.
Oblong Monthly Meeting also allowed several other meetings outside
of the County, one at Salisbury (probably in Rensselaer or Washing-
ton County) in 1766, though they had held a "Visitation" Meeting
there twice a year since 1746, one at Queensbury, near Glens Falls in
1767, and one at West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1800, the latter
becoming a Monthly Meeting in 1805.
In 1769 the second Monthly Meeting in the county and the third
on the mainland was established at Nine Partners. It comprised at
first the Preparative Meeting of Nine Partners and Oswego, and the
meetings at Salisbury and Queensbury. The old brick meeting house of
Nine Partners, near Millbrook, still used by the Hicksite branch, is
the second house built there. After the Separation the Orthodox
built their house in Millbrook. Other meetings were soon allowed.
In 1771 Friends "over the Creek" desired a meeting which was
granted, at the house of Jonathan Hoag. In 1775 a committee was
appointed to "pitch upon a place" for the meeting house, which was
soon built in the present town of Clinton, and a Preparative meeting
established the following year. Easton Meeting in Washington
County and East Hoosack Meeting at Adams, Mass., were allowed in
656 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1774, and both made Preparative Meetings in 1776. These two
meetings, together with White Creek meeting, allowed in 1777 in
Washington County, and the Queensbury Meeting above referred to,
were set off in 1778 to form Easton Monthly Meeting.
Meetings at New Cornwall, Orange County, and New Marlborough,
Ulster County, were allowed in 1773 and 1776. These, with Creek
Preparative Meeting and New Britain Meeting in Columbia County,
the latter allowed in 1771, comprised Creek Monthly Meeting, set off
from Nine Partners in 1782.
By 1783 the journey to Quarterly Meeting, held at Purchase and
Oblong, was too great for those to the northward, and Nine Partners
Quarterly Meeting was estabhshed, comprising the Monthly Meet-
ings of Nine Partners and Creek in this county, Easton Monthly
Meeting in Washington County, and East Hoosack Monthly Meeting
at Adams, Mass. Ten years later Easton Quarterly Meeting was
established with the two last meetings, and Oblong Monthly Meeting
was transferred to Nine Partners Quarterly Meeting.
By 1798 the wave of Quaker immigration had reached up into
Canada, and Adolphus Town Preparative Meeting was then estab-
lished by a committee of the Yearly Meeting to be a part of Nine
Partners Monthly Meeting. In 1801 it was set off as a Monthly
Meeting, a part of Nine Partners Quarterly Meeting.
Chestnut Ridge Meeting, in the town of Dover, was allowed in
1790 at the house of Rachel Hustis, and a Preparative Meeting estab-
lished in 1799. It was laid down in 1828 by the Orthodox and in
1854< by the Hicksites. Canaan meeting, in the town of Canaan,
Litchfield County, Conn., was allowed in 1807 and established as a
Preparative Meeting in 1820. Laid down by the Orthodox in 1828
and by the Hicksites in 1839.
In 1788 Cornwall and Marlborough Preparative Meetings were set
off from Creek Monthly Meeting to form Cornwall Monthly Meeting,
in Orange and Ulster Counties, which was a part of Nine Partners
Quarterly Meeting until Cornwall Quarterly Meeting was established
in 1816.
In 1793 Hudson Monthly Meeting was set off from Creek with the
Preparative meetings of Hudson in the City of Hudson, Columbia
County, Coeymans in the town of Coeymans, Albany County, and the
meeting at Klinakill (now Ghent), Columbia County. The dates at
which these meetings were allowed and established cannot be exactly
FRIENDS' MEETINGS. 657
determined, as the early minutes of Creek Monthly Meeting were pre-
sumably burned, either in the house of Smith Upton or Shotwell
Powell, clerks respectively of the Orthodox and Hicksite meetings.
Crum Elbow Meeting in the town of Hyde Park was allowed in 1778
by Nine Partners Monthly Meeting and the Preparative Meeting
established in 1797 by Creek Monthly Meeting.
Stanford Monthly Meeting was set off from Creek about 1800, with
the Preparative Meetings of Stanford, in the present village of Stan-
fordville, established in 1795, and Little Nine Partners established
1800, in the town of Washington. Northeast Preparative Meeting,
in the town of Northeast, was established by Stanford Monthly Meet-
ing in 1810, having been a meeting for worship since 1803.
Oswego Monthly Meeting was set off from Oblong in 1799 with the
one Preparative Meeting of Oswego, above referred to. The Hicks-
ite branch still maintains Oswego meeting near Moore's Mills, but the
Orthodox laid down their meeting in 1861, and changed the name and
place of their Monthly Meeting to Poughkeepsie. West Branch Pre-
parative Meeting was established in 1800, a meeting for worship hav-
ing been allowed in 1792 by Oblong Monthly Meeting, at Stephen
Dean's in the Town of Freedom (now LaGrange). The Orthodox
branch of this was laid down in 1828 and the Hicksite branch in 1849.
Poughquaig Preparative Meeting, in the town of Beekman, was trans-
ferred from Oblong to this Monthly Meeting in 1803. The Ortho-
dox have had no meeting here since 1828, but the Hicksites main-
tained one till 1874. Pleasant Valley Meeting, in the southeast
corner of the town of that name, was allowed in 1802 and the Prepara-
tive Meeting established in 1806. It was laid down by the Orthodox
in 1828, and by the Hicksites in 1881. Poughkeepsie meeting was
allowed in 1811 and the Preparative Meeting established in 1819.
Meetings are still maintained by both branches. Beekman Meeting,
in the town of that name, was allowed in 1803 at Samuel Dorland's,
and the Preparative Meeting established in 1819. This was laid down
in 1828 by the Hicksites, but the Orthodox, who retained the old
ihouse still standing at Arthursburg, maintained a meeting until re-
cently. Of these meetings, Stanford Preparative Meeting was laid
down in 1871 by the Hicksites, but a meeting is still maintained there
by the Orthodox. Little Nine Partners was laid down in 1855 by the
Hicksites, and Northeast laid down in 1828. They have also been
laid down by the Orthodox.
658 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
A day school was maintained by Nine Partners Preparative Meet-
ing from 1794< to 1809 or later.
Nine Partners Boarding School was established by the Yearly
Meeting in 1795, at the Separation was retained by the Orthodox
branch, and was discontinued by the Yearly Meeting in 1852. It
was thereafter leased for a school till 1863, and sold in 1865. Oak-
wood Seminary at Union Springs, Cayuga County, is the successor
of this Boarding School.
In 1800 Stanford Quarterly Meeting was established, including the
Monthly Meetings of Stanford and Creek in this county, and Hudson
and Coeymans in Columbia and Albany Counties.
In the list of members of the Yearly Meeting made in 1828 by the
Orthodox branch, and containing about 20,000 names, the Friends in
this county were divided among the Preparative Meetings as to the
Separation as follows :
ORTHODOX HICK3ITE TOTAL
Oblong 25 95 120
Branch IS 35 SO
Valley 1 S8 59
Nine Partners 105 201 306
Ridge 9 42 51
Canaan 1 33 24
Oswego , 26 59 85
Beekman 68 89 157
Poughkeepsie 84 258 342
Creek 88 168 256
Little Nine Partners 40 45 gs
Crum Elbow 0 204 204
Stanford 63 186 349
Northeast 34 15 49
Totals 559 1478 2037
West Branch and Pleasant Valley Preparative Meetings do not
appear in the above list and may have been included as part of Pough-
keepsie and Beekman Preparative Meetings.
The Separation of 1828 was an unfortunate blunder, and of the
meetings, which tiU then had been steadily increasing in number and
members, few have recovered from the depressing effects of that bitter
p^od.
John Cox, Jb.,
156 Fifth Ave., New York.
APPENDIX.
THE MILTON FERRY.
By Captain C. M. Woolsey.
Editor's Note. — C. M. Woolsey, Esq., who has recently published an excellent
town history of Marlborough, Ulster Cpunty, has kindly qpntributed the following
article on the Ferries which in former times were operated between Milton, Ulster
County, and what was once known as Milton Ferry, in Dutchess County, near the
Gill Mill and Barnegat.
The article is interesting, as well for the history of the old Ferries, as for its
account of the one time importance of Barnegat, which at the present day has
almost wholly ceased to exist, there being now but a, single old house at the place
where once was a busy little manufacturing hamlet.
The early history of this ferry is all tradition. About 1740, or a
few years previous, there was a ferry established across the Hudson
River from a point on the west side a quarter of a mile or more south
of what is the present steamboat landing at Milton to some point at
or near what is now the Gill place, or at what was Barnegat.
What kind of vessel was then used can not now be determined, but
it is supposed to have been a row, or sail, boat of some kind. It was
adequate to carry wagons, teams, cattle, etc.
The country that now comprises the towns of Marlborough and
Plattekill, in Ulster County, and some lands on the south, was early
settled by English people who had previously settled in what is now
Westchester County and Long Island, and by children of such settlers.
After 1730 and up to Revolutionary times, large numbers of settlers
poured into this part of the county. They brought their families,
teams, cattle and all their worldly goods with them. They crossed
from the east side to the west side of the river by means of this ferry.
They also kept up intercourse for many years with those they had
left behind. This, I think, is the reason the ferry was established so
early. A means of crossing was needed, so they provided some rude
vessel that would answer the purpose.
660 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
After this early means of crossing was in operation, people natur-
ally came here to use the ferry for miles up and down the river on
either side. My great-great-grandfather, Richard Woolsey, was
among these early settlers. He was bom at Bedford, Westchester
County, in 1697, came here when a young man and purchased an
original patent of land, granted by Queen Anne, of many hundred
acres lying adjoining this ferry on the south, parts of which lands are
now owned by me. He and his descendants left numerous traditions
about this ferry-boat. It was in use, and used by Richard Woolsey
up to the time of his death in 1777 ; and at that time lime was burned
at Bamegat and brought over by this ferry.
Nicholas Hallock, the oldest man in the town of Marlborough, says
he well remembers, when a child, hearing his great uncle, Edward
Hallock, and his grandfather Hull tell about using this ferry, and
how it was built, the way it was entered, etc.
I can not find any charter for it, or who was the first owner. In
our ancient records of road districts for the year 1779, I find as
follows: "Nathaniel Harker's District No. 3. Beginning at Major
DuBois's north Une runs to Zadock Lewis's house at the cross road
leading to the ferry." And also, "William Woolsey's District No. 5.
Beginning at Lattemores ferry at the river, south of Jeremiah Bea-
gle's in Latting Town." Benoni Lattemore owned the ferry at this
time and had been the owner for some years previous. Afterwards
and some time prior to 1789 Elijah Lewis owned it. He had a dock
and also carried on business there. It was claimed at one time that
Theopolis Anthony owned it, and before him one VanKeuren. These
last two owners resided on the east side of the river.
On an ancient map dated 1797, made from the surveys and field book
of Dr. Benjamin Eley by Henry Livingston, of Poughkeepsie, for
Stephen Nottingham, Supervisor of the town of Marlborough, it is
set down as Powell's dock and ferry.
Jacob and Thomas Powell, who had a store and tavern, ran this
ferry, and also a line of sloops to New York City that carried wood,
produce, etc., for the farmers for a wide extent of country, and
brought back their supplies. The Powells were here several years.
Thomas Powell afterward, about 1800, moved to Newburgh, became
very successful and acquired a large fortune. The steamers Thomas
Powell and Mary Powell were named after him and his wife. It has
APPENDIX. 661
been claimed that his first money was made here by the ferry and his
other enterprises.
At a later date Benjamin Townsend ran this ferry and carried on
business. I can find no mention of it after about 1810, and presume
it was then discontinued, as none of the old inhabitants of this neigh-
borhood can remember this original ferry, though they all have heard
about it from their parents and grandparents.
A ferry had been established at Poughkeepsie about 1800, and by
1810 the Barnegat lime business commenced to decline and emigration
from Westchester County and Long Island had ceased, so a great
part of the usefulness of the ferry had ceased by 1810.
People journeyed by means of this ferry from Massachusetts and
Connecticut to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the "West. During the
Revolution Continental soldiers crossed here to and from the eastern
States ; specie, currency and provisions for the army were also carried.
Washington with his guard is supposed to have crossed on one or
more occasions.
All the description of the boat or vessel used as the ferry, that we
have, is that it was a rude scow or barge of some kind with sails and
oars which ran most of the time on signals. It could carry teams,
cattle and passengers ; and it was said that at times horses were tied
behind and swam over. It was said to have been the same kind of a
boat as the boat then running at Troy. It must have been a strong
boat, for it made trips in stormy weather, but not during the season
when ice was in the river. The sides could be let down, and it was
entered in this way. There is no tradition that there ever was an
accident or loss of life by means of it.
To be sure there must have been different boats at different times
as the old ones wore out, but the description of all was about the
same. Very little, if any, shelter was provided and it was only tem-
porary when it was. In heavy storms the vessel lay at its dock.
The landing on the east side of the river must have been in the
vicinity of Barnegat, for the ferry carried quantities of lime and lime
rock to this side. This was one of the supports of the ferry. The
lime business at Barnegat was commenced soon after the close of the
Revolution, and it is claimed lime was burned there during the war or
even before, as people used lime from somewhere before that time all
about here and the surrounding country.
662 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
At least soon after the war we had lime kilns on the west side, and
they must have been started soon after those at Bamegat, as there
has never been lime rocks about here, and the rock was brought over
and burned here.
I find in our ancient records in the laying out of a road, as follows :
"A Return of an Open Publick Road as Follow: We the Commissioners for the
Town of Marlborough in the year 1790 in the Month of June. By a. Petition
from the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Said Town for a Publick Road or High-
way from Latting Town to Hudson River have laid it out as follows: » * •
Said Road is to Extend four Rods Down the hill from the upper Side of the
Road as it now Runs Down to Lewis Lime KUn: the Said Road to go Either Side
of Said Elijah Lewis Dwelling house whereever it Shall be thought most Con-
venient for the good of the Public Down to Low Water Mark to Extend four
Rods up and four Rods down the River from the Lime Kiln * * *."
The Powells also had hme kilns at Quimby and presumably others.
The stones for these kilns came from Bamegat. By the map of Dr.
Benjamin Eley and Henry Livingston above referred to, there are
designated on the map twenty lime kilns at Barnegat. I can not find
that a company owned them.
Bamegat at one time had a store, a school house and a church, or
else preaching was held in the school house. A Methodist exhorter
from here held services there.
In an ancient Gazetteer of the State, I find as follows: "Marl-
borough, a small township in the southeast corner of Ulster County,
on the west shore of the Hudson opposite Bamegat." There was
maintained there at one time an efficient company of militia. There
were some men from Marlborough belonging to it.
It was said that during navigation there was hardly a time that
one or more sloops were not there loading hme ; and at one time a line
of sloops carried the lime rock from there to New Brunswick, New
Jersey, to burn there. Tom Gill and his father burned lime there.
One kiln was near their house.
There is a tradition here about the Gills. It is that when Vaughn
went up the river, a corporal and two of the men went ashore in a row
boat to burn the mill on the site of the present mill. The then owner
begged them to spare the miU, and said to the corporal, whose name
turned out to be Gill, that if he would not burn the mill he could come
and marry his daughter after the war, at the same time pointing out
APPENDIX. 663
a pretty girl. The mill was spared and the corporal afterward re-
turned, married the girl and became the owner of the property. It
is claimed to this day that he was the father of Tom GiU.
There were two roads leading to Bamegat, one from a southerly
direction and one from an easterly or northeasterly direction, which
were used as such years before any roads about there were regularly
laid out. When a child I heard old men about here telling of having
worked at these kilns and crossing with the ferry when they were
young. They received one dollar a day, which at that time was con-
sidered princely pay, and such work was then sought for; farm labor-
ers then receiving fifty cents or less a day.
Lime carried by this ferry was drawn and used not only in the towns
of Marlborough and PlattekiU, but in the towns of Paltz, Shawan-
gunk and what is now Gardiner. Numerous houses all over these
towns are still standing that were built with Barnegat lime. The
tradition is that the lime was considered a very superior quality, but
the rock was either worked out or a better article was found elsewhere,
as for many years no lime has been produced there.
The roads on both sides of the river were used as highways at least
fifty years before they were laid out and recorded by the highway
commissioners. There is a tradition about another ferry which I
cannot reconcile. It is that in 1777, when Gen. Vaughn's expedition
went up the river, Samuel HaUock, the old Quaker minister, went out
in a row boat to meet the fleet, and when taken on the flagship said
to Vaughn that he was a non-combatant, a Quaker, and was opposed
to the war, and at the same time pointed out to the General his ferry-
boat along the shore, and asked that it be not burned. Vaughn gave
orders not to disturb the Quaker or his boat, and the vessel was saved.
But HaUock may have had the ferry, as this was in 1777, and we have
seen that Lattimer had the ferry in 1779. It is possible that it may
have been a boat used for some other purpose, but was always spoken
of as a ferry-boat in the traditions. HaUock at this time owned
Brushe's Landing, afterward Sands' Dock, and he most likely carried
on business from there.
At the dock from which the ferry ran there was an ancient stone
[house, almost a fort, as the walls were so thick and strong. It was
used for a store, tavern, freight house, etc. It was being built in
1777 when Vaughn went up, and was fired at. It was torn down when
664 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
the West Shore Railroad took the land. There was quite a history
and many traditions about this old house. There had previously been
a house on the same site and other buildings about there.
In March, 184!9, another Milton ferry was established by Captain
Sears. It ran from just above the Powell dock at Milton to the Gill
dock. Sears ran the ferry for three years and then sold out to Jacob
Handley, who conducted it until about 1862, when it was discontinued.
The boat used had for its motive power four mules, who turned a
tread-mill for the power. It ran regularly and was a great convenience
to the entire neighborhood, and for miles back in the country on this
side. It was the regular route to Milton Ferry, the station on the
Hudson River road, and to Poughkeepsie. It also carried the mails.
At one time the Gills, through whose lands the road leading from the
ferry and the railroad station to the post road lead, attempted to
close it, claiming it was a private road, but it was afterward arranged
by them or the town authorities, so that it was continued as a public
road.
After the horse-boat ferry was discontinued, Caleb Wood carried
the mail and passengers to the Hudson River Railroad station by
means of a large row boat that could carry a dozen or more passen-
gers, and when he arrived on this side he carried the mails back and
forth from the Milton postoffice. This continued up to the time when
the West Shore Railroad was built, and during this time William
Wood ran a large row boat from Milton to Poughkeepsie to carry
passengers, freight, etc. This also ceased soon after the railroad was
built.
It would appear that the ancient precinct of New Marlborough had
means of crossing the Hudson River for fifty and perhaps sixty years
before there was an established ferry at Poughkeepsie, and people
from there came this roundabout way across this ferry to get to Paltz
and the surrounding country in case they wanted to cross with a
horse, cattle, etc. — ^in fact, to have all necessary intercourse that could
not be had with a row boat or sloop.
APPENDIX. 665
THE CLINTON HOUSE IN THE REVOLUTION.
The Evidence as to Wheke Gov. Clinton Lived While Making
POUGHKEEPSIE HiS OfFICLAI, RESIDENCE.
I have been asked to summarize again the evidence as to the house
or houses Gov. George Clinton occupied during the Revolution, when
his official residence was in Poughkeepsie, then practically the capital
of the State. He lived here from the, fall of 1777 until after the
evacuation of New York. His wife was the sister of Dr. Peter Tap-
pan, of Poughkeepsie, and he had other relatives and many friends
here even before he came here to live. Gov. Clinton's home was in
New Windsor, then in Ulster, now in Orange Coianty. His removal
to Poughkeepsie was made after the burning of Kingston, before the
first session of the Legislature here. A number of well-to-do resi-
dents of Poughkeepsie had adhered to the cause of the King and their
houses and property had been either confiscated or temporarily taken
possession of by the Revolutionary committee. Among these houses
was that belonging to Bartholoidew Crannell, located on the south
side of Main street about opposite Smith. It is practically cer-
tain that Gov. Clinton occupied this house during a part of
his residence here because it is so marked on a little map (History
of Poughkeepsie, p. 65) made in 1790, the authenticity of which is
proved by deeds referring to it. The Clinton papers also show that
the State spent money in repairing this house. It was destroyed,
however, a long time ago, just when, nobody seems to know. It was
probably a frame house and was very likely burned early in the 19th
century.
Another house, which has been purchased by the State and is now
known as the Governor Clinton House, has been pointed out for many
years as Gov. Clinton's residence and, I believe, justly, though the
evidence as to his occupancy of it is not contemporaneous or docu-
mentary. The evidence tending to show that Clinton lived in this
house, the Everitt House, has been very ably stated in a letter by Mr.
Tristram Coffin, published in the Poughkeepsie Eagle, February 22,
1904!. Mr. Coffin cites in his letter the passage from Smith's History
of Dutchess County, published in 1877, page 34.2, as follows:
666 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
"Another historic building is the Clear Everitt house. Everitt was at one time
sheriff of the county. He built the ancient stone house standing on Main street,
a little east of Whitehouse's shoe factory, and now called the Washington Hotel.
When the flying New York Legislature left Kingston and opened its sessions at
the VanKleeck House, Gov. Clinton took up his residence in the Everitt man-
sion from time to time during the war and afterwards. There Lafayette was
entertained early in 1778 and there Gov. Clinton was visited by Gen. Washington,
who attended a session of u. Masonic Lodge in Poughkeepsie."
On page 345 of Smith's History is a quotation from the New York
Gazette of July 4, 1781, referring to an alleged attempt to kidnap
Gov. Clinton, in which this statement occurs:
"Mr. Clinton, the titular Governor, has fortified his hut against a sudden sur-
prise and the rebel slaves of Poughkeepsie guard it every night."
Smith in this quotation inserted after the word "hut," in paren-
theses, "the fine stone mansion of Clear Everitt." Mr. Coffin makes
several other quotations from Smith and then proceeds to show that
there was a strong tradition pointing to the occupancy of the Everitt
mansion by Gov. Clinton before Smith's History was written. He
shows, for instance, from letters that the Governor lived a little way
out of town, that the house was sometimes called the "old fort," that
the Governor was urged to keep a body guard because of its out-of-
town location, which exposed him to possible attacks of kidnappers.
Mr. Coffin traces the descent of the property from Clear Everitt to his
son, Richard Everitt, and its sale by Peter Everitt, son of the latter,
and James Emott, executors, to Edmund Morris in 1830. He quotes
Mr. Morris's daughter, Mrs. Susan Bradley (eighty-eight years of
age at the time Mr. Coffin published his letter), as saying that she
recalled distinctly hearing the house spoken of when she first went to
live there, at the age of fourteen, as having been Gov. Clinton's home
at the time of the Revolution. Richard Everitt had then but recently
died.
"It was only forty-seven years after the dose of the war and people were still
living all about who were grown men and women when it occurred. There can-
not well be any more authentic tradition than that furnished by the memory of
this venerable and highly respected woman."
]\Jr. Coffin interviewed Mrs. Jones, a sister of Mrs. Bradley, then
eighty-four years of age, who stated that she had heard the old house
APPENDIX. 667
called the Heardquarters House in her girlhood, and he quotes from
a statement by Miss Jackson, great-granddaughter of Richard
Everitt, to the effect that she had often been told that "Governor
Clinton had been entertained there." Mr. Coffin says that his own
interest
"in this historic structure was first arrested by having it pointed out to him as
the old Executive Mansion by a former member of the State Legislature, whose
father had also been a member of that body early in the last century."
He also refers to a tradition that the house was built for use as
a prison and says that an inspection of it will quickly dispel that
delusion. It is entirely likely, however, that it was used as a prison,
as headquarters and also as Gov. Clinton's resideijce.
Since Mr. Coffin's letter was written the only new evidence that
has been discovered on the subject was definite evidence that Richard
Everitt, who appears to have owned the house during the Revolution,
was under indictment for giving aid and comfort to the enemy and
was absent from the city. It does not seem to be quite so certain
that Clear Everitt, Richard Everitt's father, was a Tory, though he
was undoubtedly suspected of friendship for the British. It seems
likely also that Richard Everitt and not Clear Everitt built the house,
and it may be said to be certain that the house was seized by the
Revolutionary committees and made use of as a residence for the lead-
ing men who had to be housed in the little village, which during the
sessions of the Legislature was overcrowded, and at times probably
also was used as a prison. My own opinion that Gov. Clinton prob-
ably occupied the house during some part of his residence' here has
been somewhat strengthened by a re-examination of the evidence and
by the discovery of the record of Richard Everitt's indictment as a
Tory.
Edmund Platt.
668
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
PERSONS REGISTERING BRAND MARKS IN POUGH-
KEEPSIE PRECINCT.
By \drtue of an act of General Assembly, passed November, 1741,
brand marks of cattle were to be entered in the respective precincts
in the county.
Tn Poughkeepsie precinct, as appears from the record book in the
County Clerk's office, those who registered brand marks were as
follows :
Abraham Lasslng, April 4, 1749
Heniy Livingston, July 1, 1749
Johannes Palmantier
Peter Van Bomell, Feb. IS, 1761
Jacob Bunschoten, April 30, 17S2
John Burnet, Oct. 2, 1752
James J. Livingston, Feb. 23, 1754
Cornelius Osbom, Nov. 19, 1754
Gabriel Henry Ludlow, April 15, 1756
James Lake, Dec. 8, 1756
HisMa DuBoys, June 3, 1757
Johannes Hoghtyling
Nathan Freer, Dec. 26, 1758
Richard Snedeker, April 1, 1761
Cornelius Velie, Dec. 30, 1762
Zephaniah Piatt, June 2, 1763
Myndert Frans VanDenbogert, Dec. 8,
1764
Johannes Freer, May 20, 1765
Jacob Low, Jr., March 4, 1770
Peter Luyster, April 10, 1771
John Davis, May 26, 1773
Eli Emons, Oct. 6, 1773
Peter DuBois, May 4, 1749
Samuel Shearman
Lowrence Lassing
Clare Everitt, Sept. 7, 1751
Elias VanBimschoten, May 12, 1752
Petrus LeRoy, Feb. 18, 1754
Teunis Tappan, April IS, 17S4
Jacobus Palmetier, June 6, 1755
Robert Matthews, Nov. 29, 1756
Anthony Yelverton, May 26, 1757
Abraham Freer, June 4, 1757
Jacobus Freer, Dec. 6, 1758
Jeremiah Duboys, Jan. 21, 17S9
Cornelius Van Keuren, May IS, 1761
Abraham Freer, Dec. 30, 1762
Gale Yelverton, July 25, 1763
Johannes Fort, March 25, 1766
Matthew J. Dubooys, May 38, 1765
Johannes Swartwout, June 2, 1770
Peter R. VanKleeck, March 26, 1773
William Forman, Sept. IS, 1773
John Emons, Oct. 6, 1773
Rev. John Beardsley, May 26, 177S
Margerit, widow of William VanDe
Burgh, Oct 24, 1778
John Hunt, Feb. S, 1780
Christian Newcomb, April 16, 1793
Theophilus Anthony, May 13, 1794
The Wido of James Rogers, May 6,
1796
Samuel Pinckney, July 11, 1797
Meter Deremer, Nov. 16, 1797
Thomas P. Gay, June 9, 1802
Isaac Ketcham, May 29, 1806
George W. Clinton, May 28, 1811
William Davis, Oct. 24, 1825
Francis Pells, Jan. 26, 1778
John T. Vemont, June 17, 1791
Abraham Fort
Nathaniel Bosworth, April 14, 1796
Richard Everitt, May 6, 1796
Joseph Thorn, July 11, 1797
Thomas Carr, March 25, 1799
Barent Fraer, April 13, 1803
John Brush, July 26, 1810
Nicholas Anthony, May 27, 1820
APPENDIX.
669
SUPERVISORS OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
From the year 1788 to the incorporation of the city in 1854.
See also pages 60 and 63,
1788— '89
Lewis Duboys
1827— '39
James Fort
1790— '92
Peter Tappen
1830
Henry A. Livingston
1793
Richard Davis
1831— '33
James Fort
1794
John Bailey
1833
Henry Tompkins
1796
Elias Van Benschoten
1834
Henry A. Livingston
1796
John Thomas
1835
Peter P. Hays
1797— '98
Isaac Balding
1836
Henry A. Livingston
1799
Richard Everitt
1837
Henry Conklin
1800
Thomas MitcheU
1838
GUbert Wilkinson
1801— '04
Henry Dodge
1839— '40
Isaac I. Balding
1805
David Carpenter
1841— '43
James*R. Gary
1806— '09
Richard Everitt
1844
Richard A. Varick
1810
George B. Evertson
1845— '46
Cornelius DuBois
1811
Richard Everitt
1847
Charles H. Swift
1812— 'IS
Henry A. Livingston
1848— 'SO
Edgar Thorn
1816
Abraham Adriance
1851— '52
Howland E. Sherman
1817— '20
Henry A. Livingston
1853
Cornelius DuBois
1831- '23
Jacobus Freer
1854
Morgan Carpenter
1834— '26
Heniy A. Livingston
670 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
"A SURVEY OF THE ROADS OF THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA."
By CHEisTOPHEa Colles,^ 1789.
The reproductions of these plates were obtained through the cour-
tesy of Mr. Stuyvesant Fish, of New York, who is in possession of
the originals.
Maps Nos. 11, 12, 13, 14., 21 and 22, show the Albany Post Road
from a point below PeekskiU to the northern bounds of Dutchess
County.
Maps Nos. 17, 18, 19 and 20, show parts of the road from Strat-
ford, Conn., to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., beginning at a point east of
Danbury, and entering New York State near the Croton river, in
what is now Putnam County. The road continues through the pres-
ent towns of Pawling, Beekman, La Grange and Poughkeepsie. Its
termination appears on Map No. 14.
Colles evidently was in error in designating in his References the
Dutch Churches as Presbyterian Churches.
REFERENCES.
Emsco^al Churc/i. .tl?avcm f
Pfxst>^lcpieut Dd. %BlaeksnMh Me^ J\,
'RlMtHtMSc ABtidqis nym
vuTiHcusc ..jttiSm^w merkJd. Pif ^
^iii (firGtist) Except yR.ma cutting iht River. .^
jUlwrtdst nuctk'd 4&Gcu>l **
xfceitc q etu. •JUa.U.
}.li«ii«lllllll«l(r|' fNII,liiiiiimii7irt
1. Christopher Colles, an Irish engineer, was horn in 1738, and came to America In
1765. He lectured In New Tork on pneumatics, gunnery and inland lock navigation. He
was among the first to propose n. water supply system for New York. In 1784 he pre-
sented a plan to the Legislature to connect Lake Ontario with the Hudson Elver by
canals and the natural channels, and to that end made a survey of the Mohawk River.
In ^789 he published In hook form a series of road maps, after a tour through New
York and Pennsylvania. He died in New York in 1821.
APPENDIX.
671
f^r4fm J^w Tbrh in) to 'Poug-hAc^e
\rMeadt
!
672 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
FrQfrL^ewyhrk UtltaPou^hkeepste
VaitH^refc*
APPENDIX. 673
^ttSjftri^
674 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
APPENDIX. 675
From Fput^^k€ej^re(^l} to tAlhnny,
676
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
.*-^*^ ■ - \\ g I J »■ I 111 •*» LijMHt. nu <t u 1 < ■
APPENDIX.
677
■Mm
678 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
FromSiratford A 18 ) torou^gftfcn*'pfre
APPENDIX.
679
wM«ii«M(HMMii
680 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
\*«rtu,„utii^ ^'P'^M* f^
PART II.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND
GENEALOGICAL.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 683
BIOGRAPHICAL AND
GENEALOGICAL.
JOHN P. ADRIANCE, founder of the widely known firm of Adriance, Piatt &
Company, maniifacturers of ADRIANCE farm machinery, was bom in Pough-
keepsie, N. Y., March 4th, 1825, and died June 18, 1891.
Mr. Adriance was a direct descendant of Adriaen Reyersz, from whom the family
name is derived, who came from Holland to America in 1646, settling at Flatbush,
L. I. Of his more immediate ancestors, three brothers, Jqris, Abraham and Isaac
Adriance were among the early settlers in Dutchess County, their names appearing
on a contract dated 1743, with Madam Brett, for the building of the Frankfort
Store House at Fishkill. Abraham Adriance married Femmetje Van Kleef ; their
son Abraham, bom 1766, married Anna Storm; their son John, our subject's father,
bom in 1795, married Sarah Ely Harris.
Mr. Adriance was educated in the schools of his native city, and in 1845 Messrs.
Walsh & Mallory, hardware merchants of New York, placed him in charge of their
store in Manchester, N. H., to which business he eventually succeeded. In 1852
he returned to New York and engaged in the wholesale hardware trade with Samuel
P. Piatt, and Samuel W. Sears, tmder the firm name of Sears, Adriance & Piatt.
About this time he became interested in some experiments which his father was
making with the Forbush mower, and concluded to engage in this branch of manu-
facturing. In 1854' the firm purchased the patents of the Manny mower for the
New England States, and began making the machines at Worcester, Mass., the
business there being conducted under the name of Mr. Adriance. In 1857, at a
great field trial of mowers and reapers held at Syracuse, N. Y., tmder the auspices
of the United States Agricultural Society, Mr. Adriance became impressed with the
merits of a mower patented by Atdtman & Miller, of Canton, Ohio, which received
the first premium. He eventually acquired the patent rights, and began the mau-
ufactture of a new machine in Worcester, Mass., giving it the name "Buckeye" be-
cause of its Ohio origin. In 1859 the factory was transferred to the old "Red Mills"
at Poughkeepsie, but the business increased so rapidly as to necessitate the btiild-
ing of more commodious quarters, in 1864, on the banks of the Hudson, extensive
additions and improvements having since been made from time to time. In 1863
the firm of Sears, Adriance & Piatt was dissolved, Mr. Sears retaining the hardware
business, and a new firm for the manttfacture of mowers and reapers was formed,
under the firm name of Adriance, Piatt & Co., incorporated in 1882 as a stock com-
pany, with the following officers: John P. Adriance, president; S. R. Piatt, vice-
president; and I. S. Piatt, treasurer. Mr. Adriance continued his connections with
the business until his death.
684 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ALBERT JOHN AKIN who died in his hundredth year, in January, 1903, was
the eldest son of Albro and Pauline (Vander Burgh) Akin. He was bom at Quaker
HiU, town of PawUng, Dutchess County, N. Y., August 14, 1803. At the age of
nineteen years he went to New York City, where he remained several years and was
successful in business ventures. Ill health caused him to return to his native home,
and in 1849 when the Harlem Valley Railroad was projected Mr. Akin was one of
the committee appointed to raise $100,000 for the enterprise. In 1849 he organ-
ized the Pawling National Bank and was elected president of the institution. This
position he held until January 1895, when he resigned on account of his advanced
age. He was a director in various railroads, and his enterprise and foresight have
done much for Quaker Hill. He built Akin Hall; endowed the Akin Hall Associa-
tion with $160,000, and erected the "Mizzentop Hotel", and made himself a party
to every pubUc interest.
AKIN OR AIKEN FAMILY. The original settler, John Akin was bom in 1663
in Scotland. He came to this country from Aberdeen in 1680 and settled in Dart-
mouth, Bristol County, Mass. He married twice, first Hannah Briggs and had
fifteen children. He died June 13, 1746.
(2) David was the oldest son of John and Hannah Akin. He was bom in Dart-
mouth, Mass., Sept. 12, 1687. He married Sarah Allen by whom he had ten chil-
dren. He moved to Quaker Hill, Dutchess County, N. Y. between 1730 and 1740
and settled south of the Birdsall Place.
(3) Jonathan was the youngest son of David Akin and Sarah Allen. He was
bom on Quaker Hill July 26, 1737. He married LiUian Ferris July 26, 1757.
Jonathan was a man of aflfairs. (See Civil list) . Hfe was a member of New York
State Assembly as representative of Dutchess County 1788-'91 and 1792. Also
delegate from Dutchess County to State Constitutional Convention, 1801.
(4) Benjamin Akin was a son of Jonathan and Lillian Akin; born at Quaker
Hill, Sept. 19, 1762; married Martha Pahner, 1783. She was bom Jan. 11, 1768,
and was a daughter of John Palmer and Hope Thomas. He moved to Greenbush,
N. Y. in i8lb and until his home was ready for occupancy lived at "Port Crailo"
the famous old Van Rensselaer Manor. He represented Dutchess County in As-
sembly 1800, '01, '02. He was drowned Dec. 13, 1831.
(5) Aaron Burr Akin was a son of Benjamin and Martha Akin. He married
Caroline Williamson March 6, 1830.
(6) Richard Akin married Carohne, daughter of Robert Thom. They had a
daughter bom April 27, 1835.
(7) Catherine T. Akin.
WILLIAM CLARK ALBRO, attorney, was bom August 16, 1848. He attended
Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham. Mass., and Cornell University and Columbia
College Law School, receiving at the latter institution the degree of LL. B. He
was admitted to the New York Bar in 1874, and has since resided in Poughkeepsie
engaged in the practice of his profession. He is deeply interested in the public
schools and has served several years as a member of the Poughkeepsie Board of
Education.
WILLIAM C. ALBRO.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 685
Mr. Albro is the eighth generation in descent from John Albro, a native of Eng-
land, who came to America in 1634, and became a Major in the Colonial Militia;
he died at Portsmouth, R. I., December 14, 1712.
THOMAS ALDRIDGE, brick manufacturer, Fishkill, N. Y. was born in Orange
county in 1818, and died August 17, 1892. He settled in Dutchess county in 1851,
and built up one of the most extensive brick industries in the Hudson valley, which
is now continued by his son Aaron E., under the firm name of Aldridge Bros. & Co.
The entire Aldridge yards have a capacity of 50,000,000 brick annually. Half of
this property is leased to other brick makers.
Mr. Aaron E. Aldridge was born in 1851 and has been engaged in the brick busi-
ness since 1877. His brother Thomas, now cashier of the First National Bank of
Fishkill Landing has been connected with this institution since his boyhood, serving
twenty-five years as teller.
JOHN P. AMBLER, was born at Stanford, Dutchess County, N. Y., June 26,
1841, a son of the Rev. Silas and Eunice D. (Olmsted) Ambler. Mr. Ambler came
to Poughkeepsie in 1860, and after a course at Eastman's Business College, entered
the book store of J. H. Hickok as book-keeper, where he continued seven years.
He was stricken with a severe illness and before fully recovering he secured the
long established news business at 9 Market street, which was the. nucleus of the-;
present extensive book and stationery house of J. P. Ambler Co. He made a spec-
ialty of school books and held the bulk of the public school trade until the city de-
cided to furnish the text books.
Mr. Ambler married in 1870, Mary A., daughter of Hon. Guy Tracy of Shelbourne,.
Vt. They had one child, Donna Louise. In political belief he was a Democrat, and
in a public capacity had served on the Board of Health, the Civil Service Commis-
sion, and the Public Library Board.
Socially he was a member of the Amrita Club, serving one year as president. He
was a member of the Royal Arcanum of Poughkeepsie and of the Reform Club of"
New York City. He died suddenly February 6, 1901.
Mr. Ambler's early ancestor was Richard Ambler who was bom in Somersetshire,
England in 1609, and who was one of twenty-four men to organize the town of
Waterbury, Conn, taking deed from the Indians. His grandfather, Peter Ambler,
bom in Danbury, Conn, in 1759, was owner of a large parcel of the land on which
Danbury now stands. During the Revolutionary War he served in the Colonial .
army, and later took a prominent part in public afEairs.
WILLIAM R. ANDERSON, the subject of this sketch was born and reared on a
farm. Excepting the time when he was seeking an education elsewhere, he has
spent his life in his home community. He is a classical graduate of the Oneonta
Normal School and he has done summer school work at New York University. He
taught the district school formerly located at South Millbrook for three years. He
served as school commissioner for six years and in the second election he ran far-
ahead of his ticket. For the past twelve years he has been principal of Millbrook-^
686 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Memorial School. In all of these positions he has been uniformly successful. He
owes his present position of honor to close appUcation to work which has always
characterized his life. He is exacting in his school requirements, but he demands
nothing of others which he does not require of himself.
He is recognized as an able school administrator, a strong teacher, and master
of the details of school organization. His school programs articulate with clock-
like precision. The Chief of Inspections Division of the Education Department
recently wrote — "In conclusion let me s^y for your personal benefit that it is rare
to find a case where the schedule of recitations shows such good evidence of intelli-
gent supervision as the one which you have sent me".
During his service at Millbrook, he has had several offers from other schools
among which was the position of Superintendent of the Training Department in
the Oneonta Normal School. He has steadfastly declined them all that he might
continue his work in the place of his birth where he has the confidence of the com-
munity to a remarkable degree. Of his work at Millbrook a Regents Inspector
wrote — "Principal Anderson, quiet and gentlemanly, thorough in his scholarship
and instruction, is doing a work here that deserves a cordial recognition and ap-
preciation".
Mr. Anderson is one of the original directors of the Bank of Millbrook and a
member of the finance committee. He is also one of the original trustees of the
Millbrook Free Library, and he is a member of the Consistory of the Reformed
Chvirch.
MINOT D. ANDREWS, Supervisor of the town of Washington, Dutchess County
N. Y. is a native of the adjoining town of Amenia. His parents removed to
Washin^on when he was a boy, and it was here he received his education. Mr.
Andrews served twelve years as an employee of the New York Post Office depart-
ment ; and was engaged in the commission business in New York City for a period
of eight years. He is at present interested in the apple trade, his shipments exceed-
ing 4,000 barrels annually.
In political belief Mr. Andrews is a Democrat and in November 1907, was elected
a member of the County Board of Supervisors. Socially he is affiliated with Hal-
cyon Lodge No. 832, F. & A. M.
ROBERT WESLEY ANDREWS, M. D., was born in the town of Poughkeepsie,
N. Y., September 9. 1869. After graduating from the Northfield High School in
1887, he entered the employ of A. M. Doty, druggist, Poughkeepsie. He pursued
his medical studies at the Albany Medical College from which he was graduated in
1898. He took up his residence in Brooklyn, N. Y. and shortly thereafter was ap-
pointed acting assistant surgeon of the U. S. Army, and was stationed at Chicka-
mauga Park, Ga., and then transferred to the San Juan Hospital, Porto Rico. He
returned to Poughkeepsie in 1899, and in August of the same year was appointed
first lieutenant and assistant surgeon U. S. V., and assigned to the 46th Infantry,
which was ordered to the Philippines. Dr. Andrews remained there twenty months,
participating in numerous engagements. He resumed practice in Poughkeepsie
in 1901.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 687
Dr. Andrews is a former president of the Medical Society of Dutchess County,
being the second youngest physician to occupy this office in the 103 years of the
society's existence. He is also a member of theN. Y. State Medical Society; the
American Medical Association; Poughkeepsie Lodge No. 266, F. & A. M.; Pough-
keepsie Chapter R. A. M. ; King Solomon's Council; a past grand Odd Fellow, and
a member of the Elks.
Politically he is a Democrat, and in 1906, was elected to the ofBce of Coroner.
He is Bacteriologist for the Poughkeepsie Board of Health.
In 1898 Dr. Andrews married Minnie M. daughter of Dr. Marill. They have
two children, Robert Carlyle and Helen Germain.
MILTON H. ANGELL, M. D., son of Stephen T. and Hannah E. (Ham) Angell,
was born at Salt Point, N. Y., October 8, 1856. He obtained his preliminary edu-
cation at the Military Academy, Poughkeepsie, and at the De Garmo Institute,
Rhinebeck, N. Y. He graduated from the New York &)meopathic Medical Col-
lege in 1882, and then began the practice of his profession in Dutchess county, first
at Wappingers Falls, then at Stanfordville, and in 1890 succeeded his brother. Dr.
Augustus Angell at Salt Point, where he enjoys a large and lucrative practice.
October 13, 1886, Dr. Angell married Frances, daughter of Robert McKay, a
native of Brooklyn, N. Y. Two children have been born to them, Evelyn and Mil-
ton.
CHARLES W. H. ARNOLD, was born in New York city, May 6, 1860, a son of
Henry and Margaret (Hemstreet) Arnold, both of German families, his father
having been born in Germany and his mother in this country.
Mr. Arnold attended the common schools and for a brief period Claverack In-
stitute. He studied law with the late J. Spencer Van Cleef, at Poughkeepsie; was
admitted to the bar in Brooklyn, December 13, 1883, and since that time has prac-
ticed his profession at Poughkeepsie and also in New York city. He was a member
of the Constitutional Convention of 1894, and while active in politics has never held
any other elective office. From 1902 to 1908 he served as a member of the Board
of Public Works in the city of Poughkeepsie. He was one of the first referees in
bankruptcy appointed under the United States Bankrupt Law of 1898, and has
been referee continuously since that time. In addition to his duties as referee in
bankruptcy he is frequently selected as referee to hear and determine causes. Mr.
Arnold was one of the organizers of the Poughkeepsie Trust Company and has been
its secretary and attorney since its organization.
WILLIAM H. BADEAU, now a resident of Matteawan, N. Y. is of French
Huguenot descent. His ancestors were among those who left La Rochelle, France,
and founded New Rochelle, a suburb of New York City. Elie Badeau, on his ar-
rival here in 1708, purchased a valuable estate, including 120 acres of land, still a
family holding.
Two generations later, John Badeau, (descendant of Elie), acquired a large tract
of land in what is now Putnam County, N. Y., and in 1775 located at Mahopac
688 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Falls. One of the sons of John Badeau was Isaac Badeau, Sr. His son, Isaac
Badeau, Jr., married Elizabeth Hart, also of Mahopac Falls. Their children were:
Gilbert H. (deceased), William H. (our subject), Matilda S., and Joseph N. They
located in Dutchess County in 1846.
W. H. Badeau when a young man was employed for seven years in the wholesale
fancy dry-goods house of G. S. Ely of New York City. He then became connected
with E. & H. T. Anthony & Co. of New York, manufacturers and wholesale dealers
in photographic requisites. He was admitted to the firm and became the represen-
tative of the house in Europe. He continued with this Company fifteen years, and
having acquired a competency, retired from the firm. Mr. Badeau has many in-
terests in the West. He is a member of the Board of directors, and Vice-President
of the First National Bank of Glidden, Iowa.
AMOS T. BAKER, M. D., first assistant physician of the Matteawan State Hos-
pital, Matteawan, N. Y., was bom in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1874. After finishing his
preliminary studies at the public and high schools of his native place he entered the
medical department of the University of Buffalo, from which he was graduated with
the degree of M. D. in 1897. His medical training was supplemented by one year's
experience as house physician and surgeon at the Buffalo General Hospital. He
then accepted an appointment on the medical staff at the Dannemora State insti-
tution, and in October, 1906, accepted his present position at Matteawan. Dr.
Baker is a member of the Dutchess County Medical Society, and the New York
State Medical Society.
W. H. BAKER, manufacturer of chocolate and cocoa, at Red Hook, N. Y., con-
ducts one of the most important industries in the town of Red Hook. This factory
was established at Annandale in 1896, and a new factory was erected in the village
of Red Hook in 1904. The plant covers over two acres of ground, and gives em-
ployment to upwards of one hundred persons.
JOHN B. BALL, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was bom in Milton, Ulster County,
N. Y., June 29, 1878. He was educated at Claverack College, Columbia county,
and the New York Law School. He also read law in the office of Hon. Edward E.
Perkins of Poughkeepsie, and was admitted to the Bar in 1902. He is a member of
the Poughkeepsie Club, the Ulster County RepubUcan Club, and the Central Com-
mittee.
DR. JAMES LENOX BANKS was born in New York City on May 11, 1832. He
was the son of William Banks, a shipping and commission merchant of that city and
of Isabella H, Lenox, the daughter of Robert Lenox. He received his early education
in his native city, was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in
1857, and then studied abroad for two years. In 1859 he began the practice of his
profession in New York City and continued it there until his death.
Dr. Banks held many important offices in his life time and at the time of his death
was a trustee of the College of Physicians & Surgeons; consulting physician of the
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
Presbyterian Hospital; Trustee of the Lenox Library, and a manager of the Ameri-
can Bible Society.
On March 14, 1855, he was married in New York City to Isabella Mozier, the
only child of Joseph Mozier, the American Sculptor, of Rome, Italy. Dr. Banks
died June 3, 1883, leaving a widow and eight children: Isabella, wife of Dr. Thomas
E. Satterthwaite, of New York City; William B., of Superior, Wisconsin; Joseph-
ine Mozier, wife of Charles H. Marshall, of New York City; James Lenox, of New
York City; Henry Lenox, of Buffalo, N. Y. ; Maria, wife of Walter C. Taylor, of
New York City; John Fisher Sheaf e and Lenox, of New Hamburgh, N. Y.
"The Cedars" situated two miles north of New Hamburgh on the River Road
is on a high point overlooking the river and commands one of the finest views of the
Hudson and neighboring mountains. It was purchased by Dr. James Lenox
Banks, in May, 1869 from Mrs. Louisa Sheafe Freeman who had received the pro-
perty under the will of her grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Sheafe.
For many years "The Cedars" was the Summer residence of Dr. Banks and his
family and is now the home of his widow and youngest son*
HARRY C. BARKER, attorney, was born at Antrim, N. H., March 31, 1870,
a son of Henry M. and Mary J. (Colbum) Barker. When a boy his parents removed
to Dutchess county, and Harry C. was educated in the De Garmo Institute at
Rhinebeck, N. Y. He pursued his law studies in the office of Frank B. Lown, Esq.,
and was admitted to the Bar in 1894.
Mr. Barker resides at Staatsburgh, N. Y., and maintains an office in the city of
Poughkeepsie. In January, 1909, he was appointed attorney for the Hudson
River State Hospital. His father, Henry M. Barker, was also a native of Antrim,
N. H. He came to Dutchess county in 1878, and for many years, and up to the
time of his death, Decenber 7, 1908, he was superintendent of the estate now the
property of Mr. Odgen Mills, at Staatsburgh, N. Y. Politically Mr. Barker was a
RepubUcan, and in 1904 represented the town of Hyde Park in the Board of Super-
visors, and was appointed Chairman of the Board. November, 1864, he married
Mary J. Colbum of New Boston, N. H., and three sons were bom to them: Herbert.
L., a practicing physician of Woodside, L. I.; Harry C, and Fred M.
OLIVER WELDON BARNES, civil engineer, was a well known resident of the
village of Fishkill, having settled there in 1867 while he was engaged in the con-
stmction of the Dutchess & Columbia Railroad, of which he was the chief engineer.
His ancestors came from England in the seventeenth century, settling in Boston,
and later generations resided in Marlboro, Mass., where his father, Henry Barnes,
was bom in 1790. His mother, Marilla (Weldon) was a native of Hartford County
in 1796. In 1825 they moved to Philadelphia.
Mr. Barnes was bom in the town of Berlin, Conn., May 15, 1823, and died in New
York City November 14th, 1908. At sixteen years of age he was sent to Burlington
(Allege, Burlington, N. J., and he subsequently went to Europe to complete his
engineering studies. On his return in 1847 he was appointed an assistant engineer
in the first corps sent out from Philadelphia to survey the Western Division of the.
690 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Pennsylvania Railroad, extending from the summit of the Alleghany Mountains
to Pittsbtirg. He became the principal engineer in charge of the field parties, and
made the final location on the bold lines that distinguished that division as the first
engineering work on this continent at that time, and remained in charge of his divi-
sion until its construction was completed in 1854. He was then appointed chief
engineer of the Pittsburg & Connellsville Railroad, and remained on that work imtil
1857, when he took charge of the construction of the last eighty-four miles of the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad and completed it to Chicago in Decem-
ber, 1858. He then returned to Philadelphia and built some branch lines for the
Pennsylvania Railroad.
In 1866 he came to Dutchess County, surveyed, located, and constructed the
Dutchess & Columbia Railroad. Subsequently he was chief engineer on the sur-
'veys for the extension of the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railroad, from Waterbury.
Conn, to Fishkill, superintending the construction of the work near the river termi-
nal until the suspension of operations consequent upon the financial difficulties of
that company in 1869. Leaving the service of the Boston, Hartford & Erie Rail-
road Co. in 1870 he became the promoter and chief engineer of the Connecticut
Western Railroad Company, the surveys and location of that line from Hartford to
New York, near Millerton, being made under his personal supervision, and the work
was subsequently constructed under his charge in 1870 and 1871.
He then became the president and chief engineer of the New York Central Under-
ground Railroad Company. In 1882 Mr. Barnes was appointed chief engineer of
the proposed Southern Pennsylvania Railroad, the completion of which was finally
.abandoned. In 1884 Mr. Barnes was appointed the chief engineer of the New York,
Lake Erie & Western Railroad and Coal Company, and built a line of railroad from
the Erie Railroad to the Company's lands in Elk and Jefferson Counties, Pa. It
was a work of great engineering difficulty, for the most part in the Alleghany
Mountain range; On it was constructed the celebrated Kinzua Viaduct, a steel
structure 2, 240 feet in length and 301 feet high. On completion of this work Mr.
Barnes became the chief engineer of several other lines in Maryland and Virginia,
which he prepared for further construction. In 1885 he was appointed Commis-
rsioner of the new Croton Aqueduct and chairman of the construction Committee.
"This position he held until 1887. Mr. Barnes was chosen in the same year as chief
•engineer of the New York & Long Island Railroad Company, a corporation charter-
ed by the State with authority to construct a double-track tunnel railway from the
West side of the city of New York to Long Island City and thence to Brooklyn.
He was also chief engineer of the New York Connecting Railroad Company from
Long Island City to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and other
lines in and near Port Morris.
Mr. Barnes was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Union
League Club of New York, the New England Society, also the Engineers' Club
■of Philadelphia, and his distinguished abilities and high character as a man won for
him an enviable standard wherever he was known.
«
RICHARD H. BARNES, highway commissioner of the town of East Fishkill,
N. Y. was bom at Gayhead, Dutchess county in 1871, a son of Oliver S. and Mary E.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 69i
(Wilde) Barnes. He attended the district schools and Eastman Business College
and then assisted his father for a time in the cultivation of the homestead farm near
Gayhead, Later he moved to Hopewell Junction, where he has been continuously
engaged in operating his farm of 165 acres, and in addition superintends an ad-
joining farm.
Mr. Barnes has served two terms as school trustee. Socially he is a member of
the I. O. O. P.
He was united in marriage with Jennie Townsend, and they are the' parents of
one son, Preston T.
E. P. BARRETT, a prominent agriculturist of the town of Northeast, was born
in this township in 1858, a son of Oliver and Catherine (Hornfager) Barrett. Prev-
ious to engaging in the cultivation of his farm, which comprises 200 acres in the
Harlem Valley, Mr. Barrett was employed as station agent at Coleman's Station,
on the Harlem Valley Railroad, for a period of twelve years* In political belief he
is a Democrat, and takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare
of that party. Socially he is a member of Webotuck Lodge, P. & A. M., Pough-
keepsie Chapter and Poughkeepsie Commandery.
He was united in marriage with Alice, daughter of Philo Clark, and they are the
parents of eight children.
R. R. BARRETT, a retired citizen of Glenham, N. Y., was bom in Kent, Putnam
County, in 1838. His early life was spent on a farm, and in 1859 he engaged in the
mercantile business in his native town, which he continued for a period of thirty-
two years. . .
Mr. Barrett took an active part in public affairs of Putnam County, serving as
Supervisor and other offices for several terms. In 1892 he was elected to the office
of Sheriff of Putnam County and at the expiration of his term bought a pleasant
home at Glenham, Dutchess County whence he removed in 1896, retiring from
business and public life.
In 1863 Mr. Barrett was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Drew of Hunt-
ington, Conn.
DAVID P. BARRY, manager of the Willson & Eaton Company, Amenia, N. Y.,
is a native of this town. He was educated in the public schools and Amenia Sem-
inary, and was for a time employed as book-keeper to the Manhattan Mining Com-
pany at Sharon Station. He then accepted a similar position with the Willson &
Eaton Company in October, 1882. In 1903 he was made secretary and assistant
manager. In 1909 he resigned as secretary, and the position is now held by his son
Edward P. Mr. Barry is president and a director of the Acetylene Gas Company of
Amenia; a director and vice-president of the Eaton & Kelly Company, with offices
in eastern Dutchess and Westchester counties, and foreman of the local fire com-
pany. He has held the office of town clerk for one year, town collector for a like
period, and secretary of the school board for four years. He has also served four
years as Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus
692 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Mr. Baxry was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Powers, and they are the
parents of five children.
WILLIAM H. BARTLETT, Postmaster, Amenia, N. Y., was born in the town
of Amenia, February 14, 1839. He received his education in the schools of his
native place, and in Amenia Seminary. After finishing his education he spent two
years in Brooklyn as a clerk. In 1862 Mr. Bartlett enlisted in Co. A of the 150th
N. Y. Volunteers, and was promoted from time to time until he became Adjutant.
He was wounded at Peachtree Creek, in front of Atlanta. At the close of the war
he returned to Amenia and engaged in general mercantile business, which he con-
tinued until 1888, when he established a brick yard under the firm name of the
Amenia Brick Company.
Mr. Bartlett has served two terms as Supervisor of his native town, and from
1892 to 1895 was Sherifi of Dutchess county. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and the B. P. O. E.
October 30, 1867 he was united in marriage with Miss Lavinia Culver of Amenia.
ISAAC E. BINGHAM, was bom at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., January 22, 1865. He
attended Riverview Academy, and graduated from Harvard University in 1889
with the degree of A. B. He studied law in the office of Col. Henry E. Losey, with
whom he began practice after his admission to the Bar in 1891. Mr. Bingham
served as assistant district attorney under Horace D. Hufcut (1892-1895). He
also served as counsel to the local Excise Board, and was elected a member of the
Board of Alderman from the first ward, Poughkeepsie. He is a member of the Apo-
keepsing Boat Club, Golf Club and the Dutchess Horticultural Society.
A. H. BLACKBURN, secretary and treasurer of the Green Fuel Economizer Co.,
Matteawan, N. Y., is a native of England, and has been manager of this extensive
industry since its establishment in 1891.
The product of the Company consists of an apparatus for utilizing wasted gases
passing from steam boilers, and for reheating water, thus affording a great saving
in coal. The apparatus is now used almost universally in steam boiler plants in
England, and very generally in Europe, the United States and other parts of the
world. The Matteawan plant covers about twelve acres of ground and gives em-
plojrment to four hundred persons. Fans, blowers, and heating systems for schools
are also manufactiured by the Company.
Mr. Blackburn is a vestryman of St. Luke's Church ; a member of the masonic
fraternity, and of the Southern Dutchess Cotmtry Club.
He was united in marriage with Miss Emily Bever, and they are the parents of
two sons, Charles H., and Godfrey C.
JAMES BLAIR was bom in Ireland, January 29, 1853. He came to America in
1888, and three years later located at Staatsbtirgh, Dutchess cotmty, accepting a
posftion of gardener at the country seat of Mr. Ogden Mills, which position he has
held continuously.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 693
Mr. Blair was united in marriage with Eliza Lloyd of Shropshire, England, and
they are the parents of the following children: David, Agnes, William, Hilda, Rob-
ert and Alice.
JOHN GEORGE BODENSTEIN, manufacturer of ice tools, planers, etc., at
Staatsburgh, N. Y., was born in Nesselreden, Germany, June 20, 1850, a son of
John H. and Dorothea (Doerner) Bodenstein, natives of the same place. By trade
his father was a blacksmith, which occupation he followed after coming alone to
America in 1858, the family following the next year. They located in Rockland
county, N. Y., where they remained until 1862. In 1863 Mr. Bodenstein, St., went
to Staatsburgh, where he was employed by the Eagle Ice Company. He subse-
quently opened a shop for the manufacture of ice tools and general blacksmith,
continuing in this business until his death in 1875. He made many improvements
in ice tools, but did not take out any patents. He was the father of the following
children: Eliza Catherine; John George; Henry; Frederick; Sophia; AmeUa and
Charles. The mother died November 25, 1891. *
The subject of this sketch followed his father's trade, and from 1866 to 1868
worked as journeyman at Marlborough and other places. He started a shop for
his father at Staatsburgh, on the site that his brother Henry now carries on the
grocery business, and had charge of the business until two years after his father's
death. Forming a partnership with his brother Henry tmder the firm name of J.
G. & H. Bodenstein they engaged in the manufacture of ice tools until March 22,
1890, when this partnership was dissolved. Mr. J. G. Bodenstein then established
his present shop, which has been enlarged from time to time to supply the demand
of his improved ice tools, several of which are patented.
In 1873 Mr. Bodenstein was united in marriage with Louisa, daughter of John G.
Hess of Staatsburgh, and two children have been bom to them: Fred and John G.
In political belief Mr. Bodenstein is a Republican. He is a member of Rhinebeck
Lodge, F. &. A. .M., and is aflSliated with the Episcopal Church at Staatsburgh, of
which he has been a vestryman and warden since its incorporation.
THEODORE BRINCKERHOFF, president of the Matteawan Nationa,! Bank,
Matteawan, N. Y., was born in 1833 on the homestead farm three miles south of
Fishkill Village, where three generations of his maternal ancestors had preceded
him. So highly did our subject appreciate the healthfulness and scenic beauty of
this place that he has continuously resided there. Mr. Brinckerhoff has been en-
gaged in farming, milUng, manufacture of brick, and in financial aflEairs of his
native town, and in each enterprise has performed his duties faithfully and assid-
uously.
He was united in marriage with Sarah O. La Fourette, and to them have been
born three children: Adeline, Ralph and Emma. This family they have reared
in habits of industry and honesty, and now as the shadows lengthen, and the cords
of life are loosening, Mr. Brinckerhoff has no regret that the prayer of the sage of
old has been meted out to him: "Give me neither riches nor poverty: the former is
vanity; the latter humiliation and vexation of spirit and body."
694 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
JOHN W. BROWN, Supervisor of the Seventh Ward, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.,
was bom in this city March 20, 1877. After finishing his studies at Eastman's
Business College he served an apprenticeship as carpenter under C. L. Cannon, and
in the spring of 1906 he engaged in business as a contractor and builder. January,
1907, he was appointed Supervisor to fill a vacancy, and in November, 1908, was
elected to the same office. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Knights of
Pythias, Rondout Valley Lodge, and the Trade and Labor Council.
WILLIAM D. BUDD, deceased, a prominent brick manufacturer of Dutchess
Junction, Dutchess county, was born in Putnam county. During his childhood bis
parents removed to Matteawan, and his education was acquired in the schools of
that village. Mr. Budd as a young man was engaged in the real estate business,
and in 1868 formed a partnership with Charles Griggs and began the manufacture
of brick. Four years later he purchased Mr. Griggs' interest, and continued the
brick business alone, enlarging his yard from time to time.
He was for many years a trustee of the Fishkill Savings Bank.
Mr. Budd was married to Miss Anne Rogers, and two daughters were bom to
them: Elizabeth K. and Ella, who since their father's death have successfully con-
tinued the business established by him.
ALLISON BUTTS, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was bom in the town of Stanford,
Dutchess county, October 2, 1852. After acquiring his preliminary education he
taught school for a time, and in 1874 came to Poughkeepsie to accept a clerkship
with Andrew C. Warren, then County Clerk of Dutchess county. He was later
appointed Deputy Clerk, which office he held until 1889, when he resigned. Mean-
time he had been admitted to the Bar, and has since been continuously engaged in
the practice of his profession.
Mr. Butts has served two terms as Police Commissioner in the city of Poughkeep-
sie, and from 1887 to 1890 was a member of the Board of Education. In July,
1900 he was appointed by the Board of Managers of the Hudson River State Hos-
pital to the office of treasurer of that institution. In 1906 he was the Democratic
nominee for Justice of the Supreme Cotirt of the Ninth Judicial District.
Mr. Butts was united in marriage with Phebe D. Mosher, of the town of Stanford,
Dutchess county. She died December 16, 1882, leaving one son, Ralph, now one
of Poughkeepsie's prominent young attorneys, and associated with his father in
the practice of his profession. Mr. Butts was again married, September 16, 1885,
to Arrie E. Mosher, and three children have been bom to this tmion: Norman C,
Allison, Jr., and Wilbur K.
ISAAC P. CARMAN was bora in the town of Pine Plains, N. Y., in 1853. As a
young man he was for a time employed by the Newburgh, Dutchess & Columbia
Railroad, and later purchased a farm in Pine Plains.
Politically Mr. Carman is a Republican, and in 1884 was elected Supervisor of his
native town; he was re-elected in 1894, and served two terms. In 1897 he was
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 695
elected County Superintendent of the Poor, which office he holds to the present
time.
Mr. Carman was united in marriage with Miss Violet McLellan of Pine Plains,
and they are the parents of two children : Belle and William.
OTIS JAMESON CASE, M. D., was born at Salt Point, Dutchess county, August
15, 1882. His education at Riverview Military Academy was supplemented by a
course at Brown University. He then entered the New York Homeopathic Medi-
cal College, from which he was graduated in 1907 with the degree of M. D., and was
appointed a member of the staff of Flower Hospital. He was later appointed
physician and surgeon of the National Home Hospital at Washington, D. C, and
April 3, 1909 received an appointment from President Taft as surgeon on the U. S.
Ship "Gedney," of the geodetic survey of the Pacific Coast.
WALTER R. CASE, M. D., was born near Clinton Corners, Dutchess county,
February 19, 1864. He was the son of Dr. Ephraim Case* one of the best known
physicians of his day. He attended the Amenia Seminary, and studied medicine
under both systems, taking the allopathic course at the University of Vermont,
and finishing his medical studies in the New York Homeopathic College. He began
the practice of his profession at Millbrook, and in 1870 removed to Salt Point to
take his father's practice. He came to Poughkeepsie in 1884 and entered into
partnership with his brother-in-law, Dr. John C. Otis, with whom he was associated
several years.
Politically he was a Democrat, and served as Commissioner of the first Board of
Public Works of the city of Poughkeepsie. He was also a member of the Board of
Police Commissioners for several years, and took a deep interest in public improve-
ments.
September 20, 1865 Dr. Case was tinited in marriage to Mary Ann Otis, and she,
with one son, Otis Jameson, survive.
ROBERT CASS, a leading resident of eastern Dutchess was born April 23, 1848
at Danville, Illinois, and became a resident of Pawling, N. Y. in 1868, where he was
telegraph operator for a time and also at Dover Plains; he lived in Pawling until
his death April 28, 1902.
He received his education at Danville and at the High School at Homer, 111,
The professional work of Mr. Cass as an educator covered a period of over a quarter of
a century. He was a man of culture and literary ability, and used his pen very
effectively. He was for several years principal of the Pawling School, and at one
time held the Teacher's Examinations for eastern Dutchess in Pawling. He al-
ways took an active interest in political and public affairs and contributed fre-
quently to the columns of The American Agriculturist and New Milford Gazette.
He was active in Church work, and was Sunday School Superintendent for over
20 years. In politics Mr. Cass always supported the Republican party.
Although he was reared in the faith of the Methodist Church, after removing to
Pawling he joined with his wife and two daughters the Congregational Church of
696 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Sherman, Conn. His life was the career of one who quietly and conscientiously
performed his duties to the best of his ability, and with fideUty discharged the
trust reposed in him.
JAMES STUART CHAFFEE, son of Jerome Sejrmour and Aritta (Stuart)
Chaffee, was bom at Sharon, Conn., October 3, 1846. He was educated at Wesley-
an Academy, Wilbraham, Mass. With the exception of four years in which he was
engaged in the flour, feed and lumber trade at Wassaic, N. Y. Mr. Chaffee's entire
business life has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, his dairy farm at South
Amenia, N. Y. covering 250 acres. Mr. Chaffee is a director of the First National
Bank of Amenia; and takes an active interest in public affairs of his adopted town
in which he has resided fifty-four years. He was a member of the Board of Super-
visors of Dutchess County in 1893, 1896-'97, and has served as Justice of the Peace
twenty-two years.
Mr. Chaffee, in 1872, married Lydia A. Judd, and they became the parents of five
children.
LEWIS STUYVESANT CHANLER was bom in Newport, R. I., on September
24, 1869, and is the son of John Winthrop Chanler and Margaret Astor Ward Chan-
ler, the latter a daughter of Samuel Ward and granddaughter of William B. Astor,
Other prominent members of his family are his brothers William Astor Chanler and
Robert Winthrop Chanler and his sister, Margaret Livingston Chanler Aldrich.
His father, John Winthrop Chanler held the office of Sachem in Tammany Hall and
represented a New York district in Congress for several terms, while his grand-
father, Samuel Ward, was also a distinguished statesman of his time.
Mr. Chanler's early life was passed on the family estate, Rokeby, situated at Bar-
r3rtown, Dutchess County, N. Y. Being in delicate health he received his prelimi-
nary education wholly from private tutors, and at the age of nineteen, entered
Colimibia college to study law, having previously served an apprenticeship in the
oflBce of J. W. Elseffer of Red Hook. After his graduation and admission to the
Bar, Mr. Chanler went abroad and while there took a course in international law and
jurisprudence at Cambridge University, England. He was also elected to the pres-
idency of the Cambridge University Union, being the first American to receive this
honor.
Returning to this country, Mr. Chanler entered into the practice of criminal law.
In 1896 Mr. Chanler retired from the practise in the criminal courts and while
abroad in the winter of 1897, he became identified with the Pamellite Party in
Ireland and participated for the next four years in the strenuous campaigns of
that party.
He was one of the founders of the Irish Independent League, which succeeded the
Land League, and was for two years a director of the " Irish Independent " the
organ of the League. In 1900 Mr. Chanler resumed the practise of law in New
York City and retains an office there to the present day.
In i.890, Mr. Chanler married Miss AUce Chamberlain of Red Hook, N. Y., and
is now the father of three children, L. S. Chanler, Jr., W. A. Chanler, 2d, and AHda
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 697
Chanler. He is a member of the leading clubs of New York, among the list being
the Manhattan, Democratic, Knickerbocker, Brook, Union, Racquet and Tennis,
Tuxedo, Church, New York Yacht, Bar Association, St. Nicholas Society and
Dutchess County Society. He is also prominent in Masonic circles, being Master
of Holland Lodge No. 8, F. & A. M., and a committeeman of the Grand Lodge of
the State of New York.
In 1891 he made his debut in politics and organized the Chanler Democratic
Club in his home town of Red Hook and in the same year he was chosen a member of
the County Committee. In 1896 he was a delegate to the Democratic State Con-
vention and a member of the sub-committee on platform.
At the November election of 1903, he was elected to the Board of Supervisors of
Dutchess county, from Red Hook, and has been continuously reelected a
member of the Board.
In the fall of 1906, Mr. Chanler was elected Lieutenant-Governor for the State of
New York and assumed that office on January 1, 1907.
In 1908 Mr. Chanler was the unanimous choice of the Democratic Party for Gov-
ernor, and conducted a gallant but unsuccessful fight against Gov. Charles E.
Hughes.
CLINTON W. CLAPP, a retired citizen of Wappingers Falls, N. Y., was bom in
that village May 28, 1831. He is a descendant of Thomas Clapp, who was bom
in Weymouth, England, in 1597, and a son of Benjamin and Ruth (Houghton)
Clapp, who located at Wappingers Palls in 1828. Benjamin Clapp acqtdred exten-
sive real estate holdings in his adopted village, and erected a large stone factory
which was used for the manufacture of combs and for calico printing. He effected
many improvements in the village, and became one of Dutchess county's represen-
tative citizens. Clinton W. Clapp supplemented his preliminary education with a
course at the New York Mechanical Institute. He has been interested in various
enterprises of his native place, and conforming to his mechanical taste constructed
a steam yacht and a pipe organ.
May 23, 1854 Mr. Clapp married Catherine J. Samons, and they became the par-
ents of the following children : Benjamin F., deceased; GeorgeM.; Warren H., de-
ceased; Charles L.; Walter C, and Jason E. Mrs. Clapp died January 13, 1871.
For his second wife Mr. Clapp chose Nettie Ecroyd; she died April 17, 1889. July
1, 1890, Mr. Clapp married Charlotte Crosier, and two children were born to them:
Irving, and Rhoda May. Mrs. Clapp, 3rd, died August 4, 1897.
Mr. Clapp has taken an active interest in public affairs and was twice elected a
member of the Board of Supervisors. He was also elected Justice of the Peace,
and served two terms as Chief of the Fire Department. For four years he was
president of the Wappingers Falls Cemetery Association, and is now treasurer of
the same. He is a charter member and trastee of the Grinnell Library Association.
In religious belief Mr. Clapp is a Baptist, and has always been active in the affairs
of this church. He has been a student of local history, and the Town of Wappinger
of this publication is from his pen.
698 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
HENRY D. CLARK, a leading citizen of the town of Northeast, Dutchess coun-
ty, was bom June 28, 1850, a son of Hiram and Mary (Richter) Clark, and a great
grandson of Ezra Clark a native of Plainfield, Conn., who purchased 200 acres in
the north east part of Dutchess county in 1795. The family for four generations
have been prominent in business, political and social affairs of that locality.
Hiram Clark, a son of Douglas and Elizabeth (Wiggins) Clark, was bom in 1824.
He was engaged for some years in the breeding of fine horses. Among other enter-
prises in which he was interested was the fotonding of the Millerton National Bank>
His eldest son, Henry D. was educated at Amenia Seminary and at Marlboro,
Mass. Politically he is a Democrat and for many years has been a leader in the
afiairs of that party in his native town. With his brother John W. he inherited the
homestead farm of 400 acres, and conducts an extensive dairy business.
COL. HENRY F. CLARK, the recognized dean of the dental profession of
Dutchess County, and widely famous for his many inventions, for his expert mark-
manship with the rifle, and for his long and useful career as a National Guardsman,
was bom in the town of Hyde Park in 1839. As a boy his favorite studies were
natural philosophy and mathematics.
In a spirit of adventure he went to New York at the age of seventeen, and became
an apprentice in a drug store. In 1859 he began the study of dentistry in Pough-
keepsie, and in 1863 Dr. Clark opened an ofHce in this city for the practice of his
chosen profession. His career may be easily traced by the medals and diplomas
awardied to him for the splendid specimens of his dental handiwork sent to various
national exhibitions.
To-day Dr. Clark takes the same pride in pursuing his private practice in this,
city as he ever did, and continues foremost in devising further improvement and
development.
In 1862 he became a member of Company A, 21st Regiment, was soon elected a
Lieutenant, and steadily arose through the intermediate grades to the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel in 1876. He resigned in 1878 in order that he might devote
more time to long range rifle practice. He became an expert and an authority on
the rifle, and was selected by the National Rifle Association of America in 1880 to
represent it at Dollymount, Ireland, in the great international rifle match, in which
bis success made him famous as a rifle shot throughout the world.
In 1886 he was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General with the rank of
Colonel, by Governor Hill. During the same year he went to Europe to represent
the company which had been named to exploit his inventions.
He resumed the practice of his profession in Poughkeepsie in 1896.
Dr. Clark's success is easily attributable to his indomitable perseverance, to his-
piasterly knowledge of his profession, together with a genius for improving upon
everything that comes under hjs hand.
GEORGE H. CODDINGTGN, M. D., of Amenia, N. Y., was born at Egremont,
Mass. in 1854. After graduating from Egremont Academy he taught school for
two years, and then took up the study of medicine with Dr. Henry M. Knight, in
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 699
lipu with Dr. John C. Shaw. He graduated from the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of New York in 1881. After spending some months in the King's County
Hospital at Platbush as assistant physician, and also at the King's County Insane
Asylum, he took up his residence at Amenia in 1882, where he has since been ac-
tively engaged in the practice of his profession.
March 23, 1883 Dr. Coddington-Vas united in marriage with Miss Irene H. Warn-
er of Southbury, Conn., and to them have been born two children; Joel H. and De-
sault Guernsey.
EDWARD A. CONGER, Assistant District Attorney of Dutchess county, was
born at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and educated in St. Mary's School and the Poughkeep-
sie High School. After completing his legal studies at the New York Law School
he was admitted to the Bar, June, 1904. Mr. Conger was appointed to his present
office, January 1, 1907. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Pough-
keepsie Club, and treasurer of the Poughkeepsie High School Alumni Association
which was formed for the ptirpose of assisting graduates throtigh college.
FREDERICK L. CONKLIN, attorney, of Millerton, N. Y., was born at Copaac
Lake, January 12, 1879. He was educated in the public schools of his native place
and at Claverack College, graduating from the New York University in 1902. The
same year he was admitted to the Bar, and took up his residence at Millerton April'
1, 1903.
Politically Mr. Conklin is a Democrat and the leader of that party in a Republican
stronghold of the town of Northeast. Socially he is affiliated with the Masonic
fraternity.
WILLIAM JAMES CONKLIN, M. D. was born at Cornwall, N. Y., January 28,
1846. His father was Dr. Peter Elting Conklin, who practiced medicine in Corn-
wall for more than a quarter of a century. His mother was Sarah M. Slater, bom
in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. in 1808, the daughter of James Slater, Sr., who was bom at
Lynn, England in 1764 and Elizabeth Perkins, bom at Spalding, Lincolnshire, Eng--
land.
They lived in Poughkeepsie for many years, were prominent members of the
Baptist Church and died there in 1828. His grandfather, David Conklin was a
leading resident of Cornwall. He married Ann Roe, whose ancestor John Roe
settled in Long Island in 1655. The Roe family were prominently associated with
the history of Cornwall for many years.
Dr. William James Conklin's early education was obtained in the public schools
of Comwall and at the Cornwall Collegiate Institute and for two years at Madison
now Colgate University at Hamilton, N. Y. He took a course in Eastman's Busi-
ness College, Poughkeepsie, and followed mercantile pursuits for a time but in 1867
began the study of medicine and in 1870 graduated from the Medical department
of the University of the City of New York. Since March 17, 1870 he has practiced
medicine in Fishkill, N. Y. He has been a permanent member of the New York
State Medical Society for twenty years and is President of the Medical Society of
700 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Dutchess Cotinty of which he has been a member for thirty-seven years. He has
held various oflBces in Fishkill, outside of his profession, viz., president of the Board
of Education, of which he was a member for eighteen years, director of the First
National Bank of Fishkill Landing for fifteen years, Health Officer of the Town of
Fishkill, and for six years one of the Coronors of the County. He is a member of
Beacon Lodge No. 283, F. and A. M.
His sympathies and influence have always been on the side of progress. He was
■one of the incorporators of the Fishkill Electric R. R. ; is a director and is Vice-
President of the company. He is also largely interested in the Citizens Railroad
Light and Power Co., and the Southern Dutchess Gas and Electric Co., of which he
is a director.
For many years he has been and is now, one of the Examiners for the Board of
Pensions of Dutchess County and Health Officer for the Village of Fishkill.
In 1875, he married Barbara Etta Walcott, whose father, Halsey Foster Walcott
has been prominently associated with the interests of Fishkill since 1845. He is
ninety- two years of age and is still deeply interested, not only in the affairs of his
own township, but in the current events of the world as recorded in the daily papers
which he always reads. He is the oldest member of Beacon Lodge F. & A. M. which
he joined in 1853; he was Justice of the Peace in Fishkill for twenty years and has
held many public offices in Fishkill. Her mother, Jane H., was the daughter of
Joseph Bogardus and both were well known residents of Fishkill from 1833 until
their death in that place; — the former in 1894-^the latter in 1859.
The three sons of Doctor and Barbara E. W. Conklin are Foster Walcott, who died
in early childhood; William Elting, a Civil Engineer, graduated from Cornell Uni-
versity, who has spent the past five years as assistant Engineer in the construction
of street railways and other public works in the Philippine Islands, and Clarence
Joseph, who is Chief Clerk in the Overcharge division of the New York Central
R. R. Freight Claim department.
ELIAS COOKINGHAM, a prominent agriculturist residing in Staatsburgh, N. Y.
was bom July 28, 1869, and was educated in the public schools of the town of Hyde
Park, which was supplemented by a course in an educational institution at Hacketts-
town. In public affairs Mr. Cookingham has held the office of Road Commissioner
two terms, and has served as a member of the Staatsburgh Board of Education for
a period of five years.
JACOB CORLIES, for fifteen years president of the First National Bank of
Poughkeepsie, is the only son of the late George Corlies, who was very active in the
development of what is now the leading residential section of Poughkeepsie.
Jacob Corlies was bom April 4, 1830, and received his education at the Friends'
Boarding School, kept by Samuel Smith on Mansion Square. He then went to
New York, and was for a time engaged in the hosiery business. Mr. Corlies returned
to Poughkeepsie in 1854, and was associated with his father in the development and
management of his extensive real estate interests. At the sale of the Worral
property in 1869 he and Andrew King purchased a tract of forty-two acres on the
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 701
north side of Main street, and George Innis purchased a similar tract adjoining to
the eastward. Innis Avenue was laid out between the two, and Corlies Avenue
Maple Street and King Street on the first tract mentioned. This property is now
being rapidly built up.
In 1867 Mr. Corlies became a director of the First National Bank, and in 1894
succeeded Robert Slee as president of this institution. He has been a trustee of
the Savings Bank since 1887.
In public life Mr. Corlies has served the city in the capacity of Alderman, and al-
so as a member of the Alms House Board and the Board of Education.
September 6, 1855, Mr. Corlies married Edith W. Haines of New York, and four
children were born to them; Franklin H., Eliza, George and Walter.
ISAAC MARTENSE CORNELL, physician and surgeon; was born at Defreest-
ville, Rensselaer Co. N. Y., April 26, 1851, a son of Rev. William Augustus and Helen
Maria (Wyckoff) Cornell. His mother was a daughter of Jacob and EKzabeth
(Van Deventer) WyckoflE of New Brunswick, N. J. His father was a son of Isaac
Cornell and his wife Elizabeth Hoffman, who was a daughter of William and De-
borah (Le Roy) Hoffman and a grandson of Pieter Cornel, who married Maria
(Meserole) Martense, widow of Isaac Martense, and a daughter of Jacob and
Jannetije (Stryker) Meserole, and a granddaughter of Pieter and Jannetije (Mar-
tense) Stryker. Shortly after the American Revolution Pieter Cornel and his wife-
came from Long Island to Dutchess County, N. Y., and settled in the Town of La-
grange, where he bought a farm of 400 acres. The Cornell family has been long
resident in America and connected with many of the foremost families of the Col-
onial period. Dr. Cornell was educated at Carey and Pelham Institutes, Pough-
keepsie, and then began the study of medicine with Dr. Stephen S. Green of La-
grangeville, Dutchess Cotmty (who later moved to Buffalo, N. Y.). In 1873 he
entered the Medical Department of New York University, being graduated as M. D.,
in 1877. After his graduation he went to Buffalo, N. Y., and for sometime practiced
with his preceptor Dr. Green; then resided at New Hamburg, N. Y., and in the
spring of 1878 settled at Wappingers Falls. He was health officer of the Town of
Poughkeepsie, 1878; and health officer of the Town of Wappingers, 1883-86. Dr..
Cornell is a member of the Dutchess County Medical Society, the Medical Society
of the State of New York, the American Medical Association, the General Alumni
Society of New York University, and of Wappingers Masonic Lodge, and is also a
trustee of the Wappinger Savings Bank. He is a RepubKcan in politics and a
Presbyterian in his religious affiliation. Dr. Cornell has been twice married, first
October 30, 1878, to Kate E. Dorland daughter of Hon. Peter Dorland and his wife
Catharine E. Miller of Poughkeepsie, who died July 29, 1880, and second June 6,
1883, to Elizabeth Woolsey Harcourt daughter of Joseph D. Harcourt and his wife-
Mary Ellen Woolsey of Wappingers Falls, by whom he has one son, Martense.
Harcourt Cornell (bom December 26, 1884).
J. M. CRONK, M. D., was born in Suydam, Columbia county, August 8, 1867
After finishing his studies at Claverack College he took up the study of medicine at
702 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Columbia University, graduating in the year 1888, and has since been engaged in
practice at Hyde Park, N. Y.
In 1893 Dr. Cronk was united in marriage with Miss Nellie Palmer of Matteawan,
N. Y.
He is a member of the American Medical Association; the New York State Medi-
cal Society; the Dutchess County Medical Society and the Dutchess Club. He is
also a member of the Board of Health of Hyde Park, and Health OflBcer of the town.
MILTON E. CURTISS was born in the village of Kendall, Orleans County, N. Y.,
November 15, 1837, but the greater part of his Ufe was spent in Dutchess County.
He was educated in the schools of western New York, and after a course in a Pough-
keepsie business college, he became teller in the Poughkeepsie National Bank (now
the Poughkeepsie Trust Co.) and from there in 1869, he came, with the highest
recommendations, to the First National Bank of Fishkill Landing.
Early and late he continued for thirty-nine years his duties at this institution,
respected by every one with whom he came in contact. His services as Cashier
proved what a vast stock of knowledge and good common sense he possessed. He
was well versed in the banking business and the present high standard of the local
institution is in a great measure due to his good judgment.
In the fall of 1889 Mr. Curtiss was stricken with nervous prostration. He was
benefited by a trip abroad, and upon his return continued his work at the bank tm-
til his recent death. Only those who had the privilege of knowing Mr. Ctui;iss in-
timately could fully appreciate his finer qualities. He was a man of the greatest
conscientiousness. Never robust in health, he did not allow physical weakness to
hinder him from doing his duty. In his hours of relaxation he greatly enjoyed
reading the best and noblest books. He was in sympathy with whatever tended to
uplift humanity.
Mr. Curtiss was an officer in the Dutch Reformed Chtirch for over thirty years,
and a teacher in its Sunday-school for much of that time. For thirty-six years he
was a member of Beacon Lodge, No. 283, P. & A. M.
We quote, in part, an appreciation of Mr. Curtiss from the pen of his friend, Joel
Benton: "The death of Mr. Curtiss would have been startling from the deep sense
of loss that it awakened, even if it had not been so sudden and unlooked for. For
he had filled for nearly forty years in Fishkill a large position, and one of uncommon
responsibility, with rare success and discretion. He had come, in factj to know its
needs and difiiculties in a way, and with a thoroughness that was remarkable and
almost unexampled. Its duties were to him, indeed, paramount; not to be care-
les,sly disposed of, or in the slightest way neglected : but to be conscientiously weigh-
ed and enlarged rather than lightened. He held his place to be a holy trust, and
gave his entire strength and high purpose to see that the institution that he so well
served should have no detriment, but should reward its promoters and founders
while giving a liberal and proper accommodation to those who had business to trans-
act with it."
JOSEPH A. DAUGHTON, attorney, was born in the city of Poughkeepsie,
February 5, 1872. After graduating from the Poughkeepsie High School in 1888
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 703
he began the study of law in. the office of Judge Henry M. Taylor, completing his
studies in the law offices of Hackett & Williams. He was admitted to the Bar in
1894, and is still associated with the latter firm.
Politically Mr. Daughton is a Democrat, and has represented the fourth ward of
his native city in the Board of Aldermen.
Mr. Daughton was for two terms Exalted Ruler of the Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks, and is now a life member of this organization. He is also a member
of the Dutchess Club and the Poughkeepsie Fire Department. September 6, 1903
he was united in marriage with Lillian Cavanaugh of Poughkeepsie.
ANNA G. WINSLOW DAYLEY, was born in the city of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess
County, N. Y. She was educated at St. Mary's private school on South Hamilton
St. and the Poughkeepsie High School (where she took the first Cornell Scholarship)
and Eastman National Business College, from which institutions she was graduated.
She afterward took a State University Extension Course in History and Literature.
After leaving Eastman College Miss Dayley entered the law^pffice of Colonel Robert
F. Wilkinson where she became managing clerk of the office. While serving as
clerk in Mr. Wilkinson's office Miss Dayley was appointed reporter of the Special
Terms of the Supreme Court, being the first woman in the County to hold that posi-
tion. After the new Ninth District was formed she was assigned to the terms of
the County Court under Judge Samuel K. Phillips and Judge Frank Hasbrouck.
Miss Dayley was for three terms President of the Alumni Association of the
Poughkeepsie High School and is now a Trustee of the Association. She is a mem-
ber of the Women's Bar Association, Portia Club, The New Yorkers and the Wm.
Lloyd Garrison Association, all of New York City and of the Daughters of Isabella
of Poughkeepsie.
She was admitted to the Bar May 9, 1905, being the only woman at that time
sworn in in the Second Judicial District, and is at present the only woman practic-
ing law in Dutchess County, and the first woman native of the City of Poughkeepsie
to be admitted to the Bar.
ROBERT E. DEAN builder of granite, marble and bronze cemetery memorials,
at Fishkill, N. Y. was bom April 3, 1873, a son of James E. and Jerusha P. (Hilliker)
Dean. He attended the schools of his native town; is a graduate of the New York
Nautical School and spent two years at sea. Mr. Dean was engaged with the New
York Water Supply Co., for a year, and was interested in the same work in Fishkill.
In August 1903, Mr. Dean purchased his present monument business, which is one
of the most extensive in the county.
Mr. Dean is a trustee and treasurer of the Fishkill Rural Cemetery; and has
served as Chief of the local fire department four years. Socially he is a member of
Beacon Lodge No. 283, F. & A. M.
In 1897 Mr. Dean married Mary E., daughter of James and Sarah Adriance, and
they are the parents of two children, Helena Adriance, and James E. Dean, 2d.
THE DELAVAL SEPARATOR COMPANY of which Mr. Oscar Bemstrom is
the efficient manager, was established at Bloomfield, N. J. in 1891, but soon remov-
704 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ed to Poughkeepsie, N. Y., where the works were started in June 1892, with a force
of fifty employees. The separator is a mechanical device constructed for the pur-
pose of separating the cream from the milk when still warm and as it leaves the
cow. It is the invention of Dr. DeLaval of Stockholm, — the same master genius
who has produced the turbine.
The business of the company has increased rapidly, and the plant has been en-
larged from time to time. Over five hundred men are now employed in producing
these separators, which have found a ready market in all parts of the country.
ALEXANDER DE LA VERGNE was born at Poughkeepsie, November 25,
1854. When he was three years of age his parents removed to Salt Point, where
Alexander was educated in the public schools and worked on the farm with his
father many years. In 1900 he removed to Pleasant Plains, and in 1907 returned
to Salt Point, and engaged in the butcher business. In September, 1908, he piu'-
chased a general mercantile business of Calvin Coons, which he conducts at the
present time.
Mr. de la Vergne was united in marriage with Abigail Coons in 1877, and two
children have been bom to them: Charles T., born May 10, 1881, who is now asso-
ciated with his father in business, and Paul E., bom in August, 1887, who married
in 1907 Winifred Horsfield of Brooklyn, N. Y., and one son has been bom to them,
Paul Mason
Mr. de la Vergne has held the office of Justice of the Peace since 1906. Socially
he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity.
COL. JOHNSTON LIVINGSTON DE PEYSTER, youngest son of Gen. John
Watts de Peyster was bom at Tivoli, N. Y., Jime 14, 1846; a descendant in the
eighth generation from Johannes de Peyster who emigrated to New Amsterdam,
bringing with him family plate and pictures, with the intention of founding a fam-
ily in America; and on his mother's side, a descendant in the seventh generation
from Robert Livingston, first Lord of the Manor of Livingston.
At the age of sixteen in 1862 he recruited over fifty men for Company C, 128th
N. Y. v., afterwards not mustered in, owing to his youth. He joined the 7th N.
Y. Regiment and served during the draft riots in New York. In May 1864 he was
mustered into the United States Service as Lieutenant in 13th Art. N. Y. V. and
served with his Regiment at Base Cliff. He was subsequently appointed aid-de-
camp on the StafiE of Brigadier-General George F. Shepley, was transferred with
his General to the Staff of Major General G. Godfrey Weitzel, and entered Rich-
mond April 3rd, 1865
He raised the first American flag over Richmond. Col. de Peyster was elected
to the New York State Assembly of 1889 and 1890 from the 2nd District of Dutchess
County. He succeeded his grandfather Frederic de Peyster on 1883 as Trastee of
the New York Society Library and in 1898 became its president.
Col. de Peyster belonged to many social clubs, including the Union, Knickerbock-
er, %tropolitan of New York, also the St. Nicholas, Holland, Historical, and Hu-
guenot Societies. He was one of the oldest members of the military order of the
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 705
Royal Legion, having been elected in April, 1866. He was a member of Societies of
the War of 1812 and Colonial Wars. He joined the Grand Army of the Republic
in 1870 and held many prominent positions in the order. For many years he was
a member of the Executive Committee of the Republican League of the State of
New York from Dutchess County. He died May 27, 1903 at Tivoli.
WRIGHT DEVINE, merchant and representative citizen of the village of Pleas-
ant Valley, N. Y., was born in that locality December 13, 1838; a son of Jonathan
and Catherine (Van Vlack) Devine, and a grandson of Abram Devine who was
born in New Jersey and died at the Pleasant Valley homestead in 1850.
Wright Devine finished his studies at the Nine Partners School, and for a time
was engaged in teaching. In 1867 in connection with his brother Albert he pur-
chased his present store, and after a partnership of two years became sole proprietor.
Mr. Devine is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and in 1893-94, was master
of Shekomeko Lodge No. 458; he has also served as treasurer of that Lodge.
Mr. Devine was married in 1866 to Julia M., daughter of James Way. Two chil-
dren were bom to them, Grace E. and Seward W.
JOHN PETER DEWINT, for many years prominently identified with the develop-
ment of Fishldll Landing, N. Y., was a son of John DeWint, who came from Holland
and settled on the island of St. Thomas in the West Indies, and there married Eliza-
beth Groebe. In 1874 he and his wife came to New York, where Mr. DeWint was
engaged in trade with the West Indies. He bought a tract of land near Tappan, N. Y.,
where he lived with his wife and one son, John Peter, the subject of this review, who
was bom in 1787. The DeWint homestead at Tappan has been purchased by the
State of New York as it was one of Washington's headquarters during the Revolution.
Later John DeWint bought, further up the river, on the opposite east shore, a tract
of about 2000 acres of land and gave it to his son, John Peter. On this land the vil-
lage of FishkiU-on-Hudson was built. September 11, 1814 John Peter DeWint mar-
ried, at Quincy, Mass., Caroline Amelia Smith, grand-daughter of John Adams, the
second president of the United States. To them were bom the following children:
Caroline Elizabeth (Mrs. J. J. Monell) ; Julia (Mrs. W. A. Van Wagenen) ; Elizabeth
(Mrs. C. P. Cranch); Anna Maria; John; William Stephens Smith; Isabella Adams
(Mrs. Gabriel Furman) ; Emily Augusta (Mrs. Frederick Withers) ; Arthur; Francis
Adams; Mary Catherine (Mrs. George Seaman). The homestead of Mr. DeWint
stood on the bank of the river, a short distance north of the village of FishkiU-on-Hud-
son. It was totally destroyed by fire in 1862, and was never rebuilt. Besides the
management of over a thousand acres of land Mr. DeWint had the care and mainte-
nance of the ferry at Newburgh, and other business on the river and in New York.
His life was very active and hospitable. He gave the land on which the Dutch par-
sonage and burial ground stands; also to the Methodist church he gave a tract of
land on Main street, on the site now occupied by Sherman Brothers. He also gave
the land for a public school on the site now occupied by the Dutchess Tool Works.
Mr. DeWint died November 18, 1870. His wife perished in the disaster which re-
sulted from the burning of the steamer "Henry Clay," while racing with the steamboat
"Armenia."
706 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
JOHN J. DONNELLY, attorney, Fishkill-on-Hudson, was bom at Matteawan, N.
Y., August 19, 1876. After graduating from the Matteawan High School in 1900. he
pursued the studies for the legal profession at the Columbia University Law School,
and in the office of former Cotmty Judge Samuel K. Phillips. He was admitted to
the Bar in 1905. Mr. Donnelly holds the office of Justice of the Peace of the town of
Fishldll, and is Corporation Counsel for the village of Matteawan.
CYRENUS P. DORLAND, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was bom February 28,
1848, at Matteawan, N. Y. After finishing his studies in the schools of his native
town and the Dutchess County Academy he entered the law office of his father,
Peter Dorland, who was then Surrogate of Dutchess county. He was admitted
to the Bar in 1875. In 1879 Mr. Dorland was elected one of the Justices of the
Peace of the city of Poughkeepsie, and re-elected to that office, serving, in all, seven
years. In 1886 he was elected City Recorder, and at the expiration of his term was
elected to the office of Surrogate of Dutchess county, to which he was re-elected in
1896.
In 1872 Mr. Dorland was united in marriage with Catherine S. Cary of Pough-
keepsie, and to them have been bom three children: Leslie C, Clarence, and Mary
W.
JOSEPH H. DOUGHTY was born at Salt Point, Dutchess county, April 18, 1854.
After finishing his education in the public schools, he learned the carpenter tradie
with his father, and was for a time employed in Brooklyn, N. Y. In 1903 he re-
turned to his native county and engaged in farming, on the old Perkins' homestead
in the town of Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Doughty was married September 13, 1882 to Amelia E. Perkins. They are
the parents of one daughter — Esther.
ROBERT W. DOUGHTY, attorney, at FishkiU-on-the-Hudson, was bom at
Matteawan, N. Y., December 13, 1869. He received his preliminary education in
the schools of Matteawan, and was graduated from the University of Michigan in
1892 with the degree of B. A. He then entered the law office of his brother, Edward
M. Doughty of Fishkill Landing, and was admitted to the Bar in 1901. He is trus-
tee of the Fishkill Savings Institution; vice-president of the Citizens' Land Improve-
ment Company of Fishkill Landing; trustee and deacon of the Pilgrim Baptist
Church of Matteawan, and president of the Hudson River Central Sunday School
Convention.
In 1896 Mr. Doughty was married to Grace Gobel of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and
the following children were born to them: EUzabeth G., Edna R., Grace R., and
Thomas J.
CLARENCE J. DRAKE, was born at the town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess
•County, New York, on the 24th day of June, 1874, a;nd is the son of Edward C. and
Anilie E. Drake. He was educated at the Poughkeepsie Military Institute and the
De Garmo Institute, of Fishkill-on-Hudson, N. Y., and in 1898 entered the law
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 707
offices of JHon. Martin Heermance and Hon. C. W. H. Arnold, and later studied in
the office of Charles F. Cossum, Esq., from whose office he was admitted to practice
in the year 1902. He is still engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Mr. Drake is active in Republican politics and has held
several offices in his town and county. He belongs to the Masonic and other fra-
ternal orders and clubs.
JOHN C. DUBOIS, a merchant at Wappingers Palls, was born in this village
in 1857. He obtained his education in the public schools. He began life as a
clerk in his father's store, and has been engaged in business for himself since 1878.
Mr. DuBois is president of the National Bank of Wappingers Falls, which was or-
ganized and opened for business February 1, 1909. He has served as trustee of
the village of Wappingers Falls, and also as village president.
DR. THEODORE WELD DUBOIS, the oldest practitioner of dentistry in the
city of Poughkeepsie is the only surviving son of the late P#ter P. duBois and Caro-
line Dean duBois of Pleasant Valley; Mrs. duBois having been a sister of the late
Judge Dean of Poughkeepsie.
Dr. duBois' father was a direct descendant of Jacques duBois, who with his
brother Louis duBois of New Paltz first brought the ancient name of "duBois" to
the new world in 1660 and they wrote their name as it was invariably written six
himdred years previously, with a small "d" and a capital "B" thus "duBois".
In constdting the oldest genealogical authors and books of heraldry in the Bib-
liothique National at Paris, only one name is now extant of equal antiquity — ^that
is the name of Pierrepont — which like that of "duBois" has come down for many
centuries unaltered in a single letter.
In the heraldic records preserved in the "Royal Library" of Paris, under the head
of "duBois" it is expressly said "that this name is one of the oldest of the noble
families of contention in Normandy; that genealogy beginning with the name of
Geoffroi duBois, a knight under William the Conqueror, whom he accompanied to
the Conquest of England in 1066.
Dr. duBois' great, great, great grandfather, Peter duBois was the first elder
of the 1st Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, while his brother Louis duBois was
the 1st Elder of the Reformed Church of New Paltz in Ulster County.
Dr. duBois has in his possession an heirloom which has come down to him from
his forefathers (in fact was brought with them when they fled to America to escape
Popish bigotry, tyranny, and persecution) in the shape of an old Dutch Bible
printed in 1690, nearly a foot in thickness and perhaps eighteen inches square.
This sacred volume is still well preserved, with heavy brass clasps and bindings, and
is a daily reminder of his Huguenot ancestors — ^bold and fearless upholders of civil
and religious liberty — Louis duBois of Ulster County and Jacques duBois of Dutch-
ess County.
Dr. duBois was a student at the old Dutchess County Academy, under the late
Wm. McGeorge, a noted instructor. He studied his profession with Dr. Clarke of
Albany, N. Y. and began his practice in Poughkeepsie in 1860. Dental Colleges
708 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
were comparatively unknown at that time, but Dr. duBois soon attained such pro-
ficiency as an operator, that he was unanimously chosen by President Ra3rmond
and the Board of Trustees of Vassar College to act as dentist to that institution,
retaining that position for a decade or more.
Dr. duBois was married in 1861 to Mary C. Perkins of Philadelphia, Pa. One
daughter, Mrs. P. S. Swain of New York City being their only surviving child. In
1889 Dr. duBois was again married to Cornelia M. Baldwin of Patterson, Putnam
Co., N. Y., she being a lineal descendant of Elder Wm. Brewster who came over in
the Mayflower. Theodore Weld duBois, Jr. is the only child of this marriage.
DANIEL A. DUGAN was born at Brinckerhoff, Dutchess County, N. Y., on
August 31, 1880. He is the son of Mary and the late Charles Dugan, who was bom
near Bantry, County Cork, Ireland where his ancestors had resided for over two
hundred years, and which is still the family home. They were engaged in agricul-
tural ptirsuits and took active interest in local affairs. John Dugan, the grand-
father of our sketch, had ten children of whom Charles was the oldest. He came
to this country in 1855 and located on Staten Island where he resided for two years.
He then came to Fishkill, N. Y., and engaged in farming in which occupation he
continued until his death 1901. Three other brothers, Timothy, Stephen and Dan-
iel came to this country ; Daniel served as a volunteer in the Civil War and Stephen
who had just graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, came to this country to enlist
but the war was over when he arrived. Timothy still resides on Staten Island
Charles Dugan was the father of ten children — ^Annie, John, Charles (who died in
infancy) Stephen, Francis, May, Charles, Daniel, Edward and William.
Daniel A. Dugan attended the district school at Swartwoutville, and then entered
the Fishkill Union School at Fishkill Village, from which he graduated after two
years. He taught school for two years in Dutchess County and for four years
near Carmel, Putnam County, N. Y., after which he entered the Albany Law
School and graduated with the degree of L. L. B. after a two years' course. He was
admitted to the Bar and opened a law o£Bce at Fishkill-on- Hudson where he is now
practicing. He is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. In politics Mr. Dugan
is a Democrat taking active interest in local affairs and in the advancement of the
success of his party. He is a member of Trinity Council, Knights of Columbus,
Brotherhood of Elks, Poughkeepsie Lodge, Fishkill Eyrie of Eagles, Protection
Engine Company No. 1 of Fishkill, and an honorary member of Tompkins Hose
Company of Fishkill Landing.
JOHN PETER DUGAN, president of Fishkill Village, N. Y., bom at Brinck-
erhoff, Dutchess county, July 20, 1862. He was educated in the public schools of
his native town, and in 1880 began his apprenticeship as a blacksmith and horse-
shoer with Peattie Bros, of Fishkill Landing. After learning his trade he followed
this calling throughout the Eastern and Middle States for several years, finally em-
barking in business for himself in Newark, N. J. In the spring of 1890 he built a
shop at Brinckerhoff, N. Y., which he conducted for nine years, and in 1898 purchas-
ed the property and blacksmith business of Jeremiah Wilbur at Fishkill, in which
he is at present engaged.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 709
For several years Mr. Dugan has taken an active interest in local public affairs,
and in 1905 was elected a member of the Board of Trustees of Pishkill Village, and
was re-elected in 1907. In March, 1909, Mr. Dugan was elected to the office of
president of the village. Socially he is a member of Trinity Council No. 445,
Knights of Columbus, and is also affiliated with the Order of Eagles.
June 20, 1884 Mr. Dugan was united in marriage with Miss Josephine Purcell of
Wappingers Falls, N. Y.
IRVING DUTCHER, Supervisor of the town of Beekman, was born in the town
of La Grange June 7, 1860, where he obtained his education in the district- schools.
At the age of twenty he engaged in the mercantile business at Billings. From 1887
to 1895 Mr. Dutcher resided in the State of Texas, and upon his return to Dutchess
county in 1895 he opened a general store at Green Haven, N. Y.
Politically Mr. Dutcher is a Republican, and from 1898 to 1906 held the office of
town cleris of the town of Beekman, and in 1906 was elected,p, member of the Board
of County Supervisors. He is a charter member of Acme Lodge No. 219, Knights
of Pythias, of which he is also Past Master.
JOHN BOWDISH DUTCHER has been long and successfully associated with
finance, agriculture, stock raising and the railroad industry.
His ancestors were among the staunch band of French Huguenots who fled to
Holland after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, many of whom came later to
this country. The Dutcher family was founded here early in the seventeenth century
by Ruloff Dutcher and his wife Jannette Brussy. Gabrial Dutcher, their son,
married Elizabeth Knickerbocker, granddaughter of Horman Janse van Wye
Knickerbocker, of Dutchess County, New York. Their grandson Parcefor Carr
Dutcher, married Johanna Low Frinck, daughter of Stephen Princk and Anna Low
both of whom were of distinguished Holland stock. Among Mrs. P. C. Dutcher's
ancestors was Conrad Ten Eyck, who, coming from Holland in 1650, became the
owner of what is now known as Coenties Slip in New York. Her maternal grand-
father was the Revolutionary officer. Captain Peter Low.
John B. Dutcher was horn at Dover, N. Y., on the 13th of February, 1830, the
son of David and Amy Bowdish Dutcher. He early followed his father's pursuit
of farming, at first in his native place and later in the adjoining town of Pawling.
He has, indeed, never entirely relinquished his farming operations, despite the ex-
tent of his financial and railroad interests.
Politically he is a Republican, and was a member of the State Assembly in 1861
and 1862, and of the State Senate in 1864 and 1865. In 1864, he was a delegate to
the National Convention which renominated Lincoln, and in 1880 he was sent to
the Convention that placed Garfield's name at the head of the ticket.
Mr. Dutcher's long association with railways commenced in 1864 when he became
a director of the New York & Harlem, a position he still retains. In the following
year he became the General Live Stock Agent of the New York and Hudson River
Raih-oad. He has occupied that position ever since, holding the same relations also
with the New York and Harlem, the West Shore, the Fall Brook and all of the New
710 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
York Central System East of Btiffalo. Of the New York and Harlem, and the
Spuyten Duyvil & Port Morris Railroad he is a director.
On the 22d of May, 1860, he married Christina Dodge, of Pawling. Their son,
John Gerow Dutcher, was born on the 18th of September, 1865, married Helen
Willets in St. Thomas's Church. He is also a member of the Union League Club,
is a graduate of Yale in the class of 1885, and has a New York residence at 504
Fifth Avenue. The home of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Dutcher, "Maplecroft," is at Pawl-
ing and has been occupied ever since the year following their marriage.
Mr. Dutcher has been a member of the Union League Club since 1868. His
name is on the rolls of the Saint Nicholas and Dutchess County Societies the
New York Produce Exchange and the New York Chamber of Commerce;
DUTCHESS FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. Among the earUest of the
mutual fire insurance companies organized in the State of New York, few bore a
more excellent reputation in the insiu-ance world than the Dutchess County Mutual
Insurance Co., of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., which was incorporated May 14, 1836. For,
more than sixty-f ovir years, it operated without interruption and with a satisfactory
measvire of success as a mutual company. To conform to the changed conditions
under which the modem insurance business is conducted, it was reorganized July
1, 1900, as a stock company, and under the efficient administration of president
Lewis H. Vail, it has become a prosperous and growing corporation. The other
oflScers of the Company are: M. A. Fowler, vice-president; J. J. Graham, Secre-
tary; F. L. Vail, assistant secretary.
DUTCHESS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, manufacturers of "Dutchess
Trousers" in the city of Poughkeepsie. The business of this company, which is
national in scope, has been built up through more than a quarter of a centtiry of in-
telligent and progressive management. It was founded by the late Hon. J. Frank
Hull, and was conducted by him until his death in July, 1907. "Dutchess Trous-
ers" have always been distinctively a Poughkeepsie product, carrying the name ex-
tensively to every city in the United States. The present officers are : W. J. Leahey
president; Mrs. J. Frank Hull, first vice-president; C. Vail, second vice-president,
and C. B. Palmer, secretary and treasurer. The policies incorporated by Mr. Hull
for the management of the business have been successfully continued by the
present officers.
DUTCHESS TOOL COMPANY ,THE, Fishkill, N. Y. began business in April,
1886, in a very small way; in the following October, the Rothery Factory in Mattea-
wan, in which they were located, was entirely destroyed by fire. They secured oth-
er quarters, however, and again began the business, which was the manufacture of
a Baker's Oven Illuminator. After the re-building of the Rothery Factory, they
again moved into it and continued the business there tmtil the Fall of 1891, when
they^oved into the old Public School building at Fishkill Landing, which had been
abandoned for school purposes and which the Company purchased and refitted for
their factory. They have continued business at this location ever since, having
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 711
enlarged the premises very much. Their business is devoted to the manufacture
of Bakers' Machinery, which is sold in all parts of the United States.
JACOB W. ELSEPFER, for over half a century a prominent lawyer of Dutchess
county, was bom at Red Hook, N. Y. September 6, 1822, and died November 15,
1907. He was a son of former Assemblyman John Elseffer. His mother's maiden
name was Katharine Whiteman. His ancestors were among the early settlers in
this county, and for a hundred and fifty years prominent in local history.
Mr. ElseflEer's preliminary education was obtained at Claverack Institute. He
then entered Williams College, but instead of pursuing a college course, he took up
the study of law in the oflSce of Judge Rowley at Upper Red Hook. He was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1845 and at once began the practice of his profession. The
fact that his earliest clients as well as their descendants adhered to him throughout
his long and successful career, is proof sufficient of his ability and integrity.
In 1865, Mr. Elseffer was largely instrumental in the organization of the First
National Bank of Red Hook, of which he was elected its fS:st President. He con-
tinued as a director and attorney for this institution for many years, and much
credit was awarded to him for the favorable condition of its affairs.
Mr. Elseffer was united in marriage October 17, 1847, with Miss Delia Eliza
Bonesteel of Clermont, N. Y., by whom survive their son John H. Elseffer of San
Diego, Cal., and a daughter Katharine, wife of William P. Adams of Cohoes, N. Y.,
and two grand-daughters, Elizabeth Piatt Adams and Katharine Elseffer Adams.
Mrs. Elseffer died October 20, 1888, and November 11, 1890, Mr, Elseffer mar-
ried Harriet E., daughter of the late Frederick Mesick of Claverack, who died in
April, 1907.
While he never held public office, Mr. Elseffer was nevertheless a representative
man in the affairs of the Democratic party.
Socially, Mr. Elseffer was a Senior Past Master of Monumental Lodge No. 374 P.
& A. M., and at the time of his death its oldest member. When this Lodge was at
low ebb during the Civil War, it was through his timely advice and action that its
charter was not surrendered, but instead removed to Tivoli where it has since
prospered.
Mr. Elseffer was a man of intellectual power, brilliant in conversation, courteous
in manner, and one who made friends and kept them.
THOMAS EMERSON was bom at Thorn Hill, Scotland, December 25, 1842.
He received his education in the public schools of his native place, and then gave his
attention to floriculture and landscape gardening, being employed on several
large estates of his native land. In 1870 he came to America and accepted a posi-
tion of gardener on the country estate of WilUam B. Dinsmore, Staatsburgh, N. Y.
He has held the position of head gardener with Mr. Dinsmore since 1871.
FRANK ENO, attorney, at Pine Plains, N. Y., was bora November 4, 1845. He
finished his academic schooling at the College Hill institution, Poughkeepsie, and
then began the study of law in the office of his father, the late William Eno; he
712 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
was admitted to the Bar in 1868. Mr. Eno is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
and was Master of Stissing Lodge for sixteen years. He has one son, Frank, who
after finishing his preliminary studies at the Poughkeepsie High School, took up
the study of law in the law department of Syracuse University and at the New York
Law School. He was admitted to practice in 1908.
WALTER FARRINGTON, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was bom in the town of La
Grange, Dutchess county, in 1829. He obtained his education in the public schools
and by private tutor, and began the study of law in the office of Judge Homer A.
Nelson. He was admitted to practice at the general term of the Second Judicial
Department held in Brooklyn December, 1867, and with the exception of his first
four years as an attorney, during which time he was .located at Milton, Ulster coun-
ty, he has practiced continually in the city of Poughkeepsie, and at the present time
is the oldest member of the Dutchess County Bar. During Judge Nelson's term in
Congress, 1863-'64, Mr. Farrington had charge of his law business, and occupied
offices with him until 1866, when he formed a partnership with the late John P. H.
TaUman, which existed until 1893. Mr. Farrington has since continued alone in
private practice.
In 1865-'66 he was one of the representatives of the city of Poughkeepsie in the
Board of County Supervisors.
In 1858 Mr. Farrington was united in marriage with Sarah E. Kay of Pleasant
Valley, N. Y., and to them have been born two daughters, Cora E., now the wife
of Thaddeus N. Benjamin, a druggist of Riverhead, L. I., and Jennie H., who re-
sides with her father in Poughkeepsie.
GEORGE R. FINTON, steward of the Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeep-
sie, was bom at Ovid, Seneca County, N. Y., December 23, 1867. He received a
high school and business college education and graduated from Fairfield Military
Academy in 1887. He served two years as telegrapher for the Lehigh Valley Rail-
road Company, and from 1889 to 1903 was in the service of New York State at
Willard State Hospital, Willard, N. Y. as stenographer and telegrapher. From
1903 to August 6, 1906, he held the position of head book-keeper at the Hudson
River State Hospital, when he received the appointment of steward.
Mr. Finton is a member of the Dutchess Club; Dutchess County Society; Dutch-
ess County Horticultural Society; and the Knights of the Maccabees.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF AMENIA: This institution was organized in
1864 with five directors; namely: Thomas L. Harris, Gail Borden, Desault Guern-
sey, James A. Requa and Charles B. Gallegher. The following were the officers:
Thomas L. Harris, president; Gail Borden, vice president ; James A. Requa, cash-
ier. The Board of Directors, July 1, 1909, was composed of the following gentle-
men: George G. Stevenson, Newton Hebard Roland S. Pahner, James S. Chaflfee.
Lewis Jf. Eaton, Frank B. Stevenson, Charles H. Davis of Amenia, N. Y., and Gil
bert L. Smith, of Sharon, Conn.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 713
The following are the officers for 1909: George G. Stevenson, president; Newton
Hebard, vice president; Charles H. Davis, Jr., cs.shier.
The capital of the bank is $100,000; the undivided profits and surplus, $35,000.
The conservative management of this institution has gained for it an enviable re-
putation.
THE FISHKILL LANDING MACHINE COMPANY was organized February
1853 by Mr. Milo Sage and others, with a capital of $25,000, increased to $35,000
in January 1858, and again increased to $100,000 in 1902.
Mr. Sage continued as President until his death in 1880, and he was succeeded by
Mr. Robert Halgin, The concern under the management of Messrs. Sage and Hal-
gin has been very successful. They manufacture largely the Corlis Steam Engine,
employ 75 to 100 men, and the work they turn out is known throughout the
United States for its excellency.
JOHN B. FLEMING, who is engaged in the woolen busAess at New Hamburgh,
N. Y., was bom October 20, 1850, and received his education in the public schools
of Yonkers, N. Y. He then became associated with Mr. Alexander Smith in the
woolen business. In 1897 he came to New Hamburgh, and has since been suc-
cessfully engaged in his present establishment.
In religious belief Mr. Fleming is a member and an elder of the Presbyterian
church of New Hamburgh.
BENJAMIN MALTBY FOWLER, attorney, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born at
Durham, Conn., April 27, 1854. After graduating from the Poughkeepsie High
School he took a special course at Riverview Military Academy, and then entered the
law office of Thompson & Weeks, Poughkeepsie, finishing his clerkship in the ofiBces
of Anthony & Losee and Robert E. Taylor. He was admitted to the Bar May 13,
1875, and has since been engaged in the practice of his profession.
December 15, 1851, Mr. Fowler married Ada M., daughter of the late M. S. Doug-
lass of New York City. Mrs. Fowler died October 4, 1906, and is survived by her
husband and three sons: Douglass P., Maltby S., and Benjamin M., Jr.
JACOB Z. FROST, manufacturer, was bom at Pleasant Plains, town of Clinton,
Dutchess county, February 28, 1843, and was educated in the schools of his native
place, and in a seminary conducted by Rev. Sherman Hoyt at Pleasant Plains.
Until 1871 he was engaged in farming, when he purchased at auction the old mill
property which was established by John C. DeWitt and which he has operated con-
tinuously, the product consisting of flour, feed and grain.
January 4, 1845 Mr. Frost was united in marriage with Marietta Cookingham,
and they are the parents of the following children: Lillian, now the wife of Dr.
Hawley of Pleasant Plains; R. Nita, now the wife of Robert Knox, Jr., of Pough-
keepsie.
SAMUEL H. GARDENIER, attorney, was bom at Matteawan, N. Y. in 1870.
After graduating from the Poughkeepsie High School in 1888 he entered the law
714 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
pflSce of Edward Cnimmey of Poughkeepsie, where he remained one year. He
then accepted a clerkship in the Poughkeepsie postofEce under Postmaster Ketch-
am. In 1891 Mr. Gardenier resumed the study of law with Stephen G. Guernsey,
and was admitted to the Bar in 1893. He is at present engaged in general practice
in Poughkeepsie.
GARRISON geneahgy. Captain Joost Garrison, son of Jonas and ComeUa (De
Grott) Garrison, settled, between 1750 and 1760, on the North end of the 700 acre
lot on the road leading from Pleasant Plains to LeRoy's miUs, where Fred M.
Barker now resides. His wife was Magdalena Van Dyke. Their children were:
Mary, bom 1737, married Philip Kane; Margaret, born 1740, married Joseph Ford;
Jemimah, bom 1742, married Charles Traver; Ehzabeth, bom 1744, married Ed-
ward Talbot; Amy, born 1748, married Jonathan Alger; Jonas, bom 1752; Corne-
lius, bom 1752; Rachel, born 1754, married Cornelius Ostrom; Helena, born 1757,
married Comelius Van Vhet; Levi, born 1759; Nemah, bora 1763, married Jesse
Smith. This family is now extinct.
CONRAD C. GINDRA, a leading florist in the city of Poughkeepsie, was bom in
Boston in 1863. The same year his parents removed to Dutchess coimty. After
acquiring his education in the public schools of Poughkeepsie he engaged with his
father, who had charge of the Beach property on the Hyde Park road, and it was
here Mr. Gindra received his training in gardening and floriculture. May 23, 1908,
Mr. Gindra purchased the old floral property, on upper Main street, from Isaac
Fricker, which he has greatly enlarged and remodeled.
May 8, 1906, Mr. Gindra was united in marriage with Margaret P. Ryan of Pough-
keepsie.
EDWARD MORRIS GORING was bom in Manchester, England, April 20, 1828.
He was the eldest son of John M. Goring and Martha Heald. At the age of eight
years he came to the United States of America with his parents, completing his
education, begun in England, in the schools of Wappingers Falls, N. Y.
In 1845 he was apprenticed to the trade of engraving in calico printing, serving
under his father. This he followed until 1860. During the following nine years
Mr. Goring was engaged in the coal business. In 1869 he became a member of the
firm of Disbrow & Goring, iron founders.
In 1872 he went into the insurance and real estate business; built Goring Hall,
and opened a drug store in that building. He sold much property of the Mesier
Estate which resulted in the opening of a number of important streets in Wap-
pingers Falls, and in the erection of business places and houses. He carried on his
real estate and drug business until 1890, when he retired.
In 1850 Mr. Goring married Miss Jane Eliza Thomson, daughter of Alexander
Thomson of Pleasant Valley. Four children were bom to them — Thomson Ed-
ward, General Manufacturing Manager of Sweet, Orr & Co. ; Maria Jane, deceased,
wife di Ashley S. Worsley, Electrical Engineer at Washington in the Government
employ; Prescott Crosier, a printer: Adah Mary, ■Bjho died in childhood.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 715
It was as a staunch Republican in politics and as a public man that Mr. Goring
became so well and widely known. He was a member of the old Whig Party and
came over to the RepubUcan ranks when that party was formed ; in fact, he can be
called one of the organizers of the party. He has held a number of important poli-
tical offices in this county, among them being Collector of the town of Pishkill,
1862; Deputy Collector of internal revenue, 1865-1867; Assistant U. S. Assessor
of internal revenue, 1867-1871. He was the first Republican supervisor elected in
the township of Pishkill in ten years, and was re-elected by a large majority. Mr,'
Goring was a member of the New York Assembly in 1871, and a colleague of Hon.
Hamilton Fish and the late Hon. Harvey G. Eastman, rendering the latter valuable
assistance in bringing through the bill authorizing the building of the Poughkeepsie
Bridge. He was Sergeant-at-Arras in the Assembly in 1872. He was President
of the village of Wappingers Falls in 1879, and afterwards police justice, — the only
man in Wappingers Palls ever occupying that office.
In 1883 he was appointed Postmaster by President Arthur, holding office four
years, and he lived long enough to have the satisfaction of ^eing his grandson hold
the same position under President Roosevelt.
Prom 1902-1908 Mr. Goring held his last political office, that of Coroner of South-
ern Dutchess. As Coroner he accomplished some of his best work for the people at
large and for the safety of railroad employees, and saved the county much expense.
In this office Mr. Goring had an opportunity to show some of his judicial powers and
lawyer-like qualities, as were proven by some very important verdicts in reference
to murder and railroad accidents.
Mr. Goring had always at heart the best interest of the community and was active
in bringing about many changes and improvements. He was the initiator and pro-
moter in creating the town of Wappinger from the town of Pishkill; in the incor-
poration of the Wappingers Falls Savings Bank and the Bank of Wappingers; in
the incorporation of Wappingers Falls as a village; in the laying out of the road to
New Hamburg along the lower creek as a pubUc instead of a toll road, as chartered
by the legislature; in the law authorizing the erection of the public school building
and in other like enterprises. Mr. Goring was a trustee of the Wappingers ceme-
tery, and for 40 years was an active member of the Grinnell Library Association.
Mr. Goring died at the age of nearly 81, — a great-grandfather. His death was
due to general weakness, after some months illness, and occurred at his home in
Wappingers Falls, January 8, 1909.
Mr. Goring was a remarkably versatile man, a writer of ability, and a good
speaker and conversationalist. He was a familiar figure at the Republican con
ventions.
?: THOMSON EDWARD GORING, eldest son of Hon. E. M. Goring, was born
in Wappingers Falls, September 27, 1852.
He was educated in the public schools of that place, and later became associated
with his father in the drug and stationery business.
In 1878 Mr. Goring became associated with Sweet, Orr & Co., entering the employ
of that firm when it was yet in its infancy. After attaining his majority of twenty-
716 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
one years service with the Company, he was presented with a testimonial of good
faith by the employees of the Wappingers plant in consideration of his efiEorts to
promote and keep the agreeable relations between employee and employer, and in
appreciation of his great activity in increasing the business of the home factory,
and of Sweet, Orr & Co. as a whole.
In 1901 Mr. Goring was appointed manager of the manufacturing department of
Sweet, Orr & Co. ; a very great advance having been made in the business there was
necessity for such an office. He was also made a member of the board of direc-
tors.
In 1905 Mr. Goring was elected vice president of the Garment Manufacturers
Association of America, and has since been reelected, holding that office at the
present time.
In 1877 Mr. Goring married Miss Mary Jane Myatt, daughter of Mr. James Myatt,
of Bridgeport, Ct. Of this union three children were bom, Myatt Edward, — now
postmaster at Wappingers Falls, — Maud Adah, who died in childhood, and Ethel
Mary. Mrs. Goring died March, 1885. Mr. Goring's second wife was Miss Martha
Nelson, daughter of Reuben Nelson and Mary PhilUps. This marriage took place
in 1894.
Although a very busy man, Mr. Goring has always been prominently identified
with the RepubUcan party, and is an active member of the County committee.
Mr. Goring is also connected with a number of clubs and orders, — among them
are the following: the Amrita, Dutchess County Golf Club, and Lincoln Club, of
Poughkeepsie, and the Aldine Association, of New York City. He is a thirty-sec-
ond degree Mason, and belongs to the following lodges: Past Master of Wappingers
Lodge No. 671, F. & A. M., Past Warden of Poughkeepsie Commandery No. 43,
Poughkeepsie Chapter No. 170, R. A. M., and King Solomon's Council No. 31, R. &
S. M., also to the Mystic Shrine, Mecca Temple, Lodge of Perfection, New York
City, Council of the Princess of Jerusalem, New York City, Chapter of Rose Croix,
New York City, and New York Consistory. He is a member of Lafayette Lodge,
I. O. O. F.,and Lafayette Encampment; Evening Star Lodge, K. of P. ; Masonic
Veteran's Association, of Newburgh, N. Y. ; W. H. Weston Shrine Association, of
Newburgh, the Newburgh City Club, and B. P. O. E., of Poughkeepsie. He is a
member of the Dutchess Co. Horticultural Society and of the Wappingers Falls
and New England Dahlia Societies.
Mr. Goring is interested in charitable and church work, and is a vestryman of
Zion P. E. Church. He is an active and prominent citizen of his county, and a
member of the Dutchess County Society of New York City. He has succeeded in
making Sweet, Orr and Go's factory an attractive spot in the center of the business
section of Wappingers Palls. It has rather the appearance of a municipal bidlding,
or large school, with its creeping vines and window boxes with flowers and ferns,
than an overall factory.
MYATT E. GORING, P. D., pharmacist at Wappingers Palls, N. Y., was born in
that tggm on April 7, 1878, He received his preliminary education in the district
school of his birth place, supplemented by a course in the High Schools of Providence,
R. I. and Washington, D. C.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 717
It was while at school in the latter city that the war with Spain was declared and
being a member of the Morton Cadets (so named in honor of Ex- Vice-President Levi
P. Morton) a drill company in the National Guard of the District of Columbia, he was
mustered into the service of Co. G. 1st D. C. Vols., and participated in the siege,
bombardment and surrender of Santiago under Gen. Shafter.
Mr. Goring entered the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy 1899, graduated in 1900
and took up the duties of a pharmacist in Pittsburg, Pa.
In 1904 Mr. Goring purchased the drug business originally established by his grand-
father, Hon. E. M. Goring. Mr. Goring is a fraternity man and is a member of the
following lo(}ges: Wappingers Lodge P. & A. M., Poughkeepsie Chapter R. A. M„
King Solomon's Council, Poughkeepsie Commandery, Poughkeepsie Lodge B. P. O. E„
Victory Council Jr. O. U. A. M., The Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba and
Camp Sague U. S. W. V.
In 1908 Mr. Goring was appointed Postmaster at Wappingers Falls by President
Roosevelt.
Mr. Goring was united in marriage February 3, 1904 with«Miss Edith J. Smith of
Shippensburg, Pa. They have two children, Marian T. and Edward M.
LE GRAND GRAHAM of Clinton Hollow, was born in the town of Ghent, Colum-
bia county. May 14, 1847. He received his education in the schools of his native
place, and also at Clinton, Dutchess county. For some time he taught school, and
for a year and a half was engaged in mercantile business at Clinton Hollow. In
1864 he enlisted in the First New York Mounted Rifles, and at the close of the war
was mustered out of service at Richmond, Va. In the spring of 1867 he engaged
in farming and merchandising in Dutchess county, and in 1871 began operating a
saw-mill in a building which has stood over a century and a half. In 1873 he pur-
chased the property, and has continuously conducted this business.
In 1872 Mr. Graham became a member of Warren Lodge, F, & A. M., and has
held the office of secretary of that lodge for over fifteen years; and is also Past Mas-
ter of this organization. Mr. Graham has taken an active interest in the public
affairs of his adopted town, occup3ring various elective offices.
June 26, 1873 he was united in marriage with Jane M. Lattin of Clinton. She
died January 19, 1878, leaving one daughter, Bertha. December 24, 1879 Mr.
Graham chose for his second wife Ella Smith of Clinton, and two children are the
result of this union : Prank and Florence.
ROBERT GRANT GRAHAM was bom in Poughkeepsie, September 27, 1875.
He received his early education in the public schools here, graduating from the
High School in 1894. He then took up a course at Eastman's Business College from
which he was graduated in 1895. In 1896 he was appointed Dutchess County
Court Stemographer, by Judge Samuel K. Phillips, and served in that capacity until
1907, when he was appointed Supreme Court Stenographer, by Justice Joseph
Morschauser, which office he now fills.
Mr. Graham enlisted as a private in Co. K. 1st N. Y. Vol. Inf., and served during
the Spanish-American war. He is a member of Triune Lodge 782 F. & A .M.;
718 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Fallkill Lodge I. O. O. F., and of the Poughkeepsie, Euterpe Glee and Apokeepsing
Boat Clubs. Mr. Graham has been a baritone singer in Christ Church choir since
1904.
THERON M. GREEN, of Pawling, N. Y., was bom in that town October 29,
1829. His education was obtained in the public schools of his native place, and at
Amenia Seminary, Amenia, N. Y. After completing his studies he taught school
for a time, and then engaged in farming, which he has since successfully continued.
Mr. Green has held the office of Justice of the Peace in Pawling for over twenty
years, and was a member of the Board of Supervisors in 1858. He is vice-president
■of the Pawling National Bank, and his son, Merrick D., is one of its trustees.
JOHN B. GRUBB, attorney, was bom March 8, 1879, at Clay Center, Kansas.
At the age of three years his parents removed to Poughkeepsie, where our subject
acquired his education, graduating from the Poughkeepsie High School in 1898.
He piu:sued his professional studies in the law office of Frank B. Lown, which was
supplemented by a course in the New York Law School. He was admitted to the
Bar in January, 1907.
EGBERT GUERNSEY, M. D. L. L. D., was bom at Litchfield, Conn., July 8.
1823, a son of Noah and Amanda (Crosby) Guernsey, and died at his country seat,
Fishkill-on- Hudson, N. Y., September 19, 1903. His remote ancestors were Eng-
lish, the more prominent of which were strongly imbued with the spirit of civil and
religious liberty.
The first of the name that came to this country was John Guernsey, a native of
the Isle of Guernsey. Our subject was the twelfth generation from him. This John
Guernsey came to America in 1638, and was one of the one hundred and eighty
sturdy Puritans that removed from Boston to found the colony of New Haven.
His descendants took an active part in the settlement of New England and the sub-
sequent struggle for Independence, no less than thirteen of them having served in
.the Revolutionary Army.
John Guernsey's great grand-son, by the same name, was born at Woodbiuy,
Conn., and removed to Amenia, Dutchess County, N. Y.
Young Egbert was prepared for college at Phillip's Academy, Andover, Mass.,
whence he entered the scientific department at Yale. Before completing his col-
lege course, however, he determined to devote himself to medicine, and accordingly
entered the office of the celebrated Dr. Valentine Mott, as a student. Soon after
he became a student in the Medical College of New York University, of which Dr.
Mott was one of the Professors, and in 1846, was graduated with the degree of M. D.
He received the degree of Doctor of Laws, from the College of St. Francis Xavier.
Dr. Guernsey began the practice of medicine in Williamsburg, 1846, and soon af-
-ter was appointed city physician. In 1850, he removed to Fishkill-on-Hudson
for a year or two, and then returned to New York City, where he built up a large
,an5 lucrative practice and acquired a strong and influential following.
At about this time Dr. Guernsey became acquainted with Dr. John F. Gray and
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 719
other physicians who were infected with the medical heresies of Hahnemann and
was quick to imbibe some of the doctrines of that sage, who was then in his zenith,
and the methods of Homeopathy. He also became a teacher of the new faith,
being for six years Professor of Materia Medica and Theory and Practice in the
New York Homeopathic Medical College, of which he was one of the founders. He
was also one of the founders and the first president of the Western Dispensary,
afterward united with the Hahnemann Hospital, with which he was associated. He
was instrumental in having the Inebriates' Asylum on Ward's Island converted
into a general hospital under the direction of the Department of Charities, and plac-
ed in the hands of the Homeopathic school of practice. From 1877 to the time of
his death, he was President of the Medical StaflE of the Metropolitan Hospital. Dr.
Guernsey was one of the founders of the State Hospital for the Insane at Middle-
town, N. Y., and was for nineteen years a trustee and four years Vice-President of
it. Prom this position he was dropped by the late Governor Flower, the good
governor being misled by the devices of envious wire-pulling rivals. He was the
founder also of the Training School for Nurses at the Hahn%mann and Metropolitan
Hospitals. He has been President of the New York State and County Medical
Societies, and from 1864 to 1868 was Surgeon of the Sixth Regiment of the National
Guard of the State of New York.
Dr. Guernsey, before his graduation from the University Medical College was
City Editor of The Evening Mirror, being thus associated with Nathaniel Parker
Willis and George P. Morris. He founded The Brooklyn Daily Times in 1848, and
for two years was its editor. In 1852 he was one of the editors of Jahr's Manual,
and in 1872 he founded The Medical Union, which was ultimately merged into the
New York Medical Times, of which he was for many years the senior editor. Early
in his professional career he wrote a school history of the United States, which long
ranked as a standard text book. His Domestic Practice, published in 1855, has
passed through many editions and been translated into several languages. His
miscellaneous contributions to medical literature have been voluminous.
Dr. Guernsey was one of the founders of the Union Leagfue Club of New York, of
which he was a member at his death. He was a life member of the New York
Geographical and Historical Societies, and the Academy of Science, and belonged
to various other scientific and literary organizations.
Dr. Guernsey was married in 1848 to Sarah Lefferts Schenck, a descendant of
Edgar de Schenken. Five children were the fruits of this union, of whom but one,
Florence, survives. Dr. Egbert Guernsey, Jr., dying in early manhood, the other
three, in infancy.
HOMER W. GUERNSEY, the subject of this sketch was bom in Poughkeepsie
in the year 1880. He attended the pubUc schools of Poughkeepsie and Riverview
Military Academy and was graduated from there latter in 1899. He was with
Daniel Birdsall & Company, real estate brokers of New York City, for a year; he
then entered Brown University at Providence, Rhode Island. During his college
days he was a well known athlete being a leading base ball and tennis player. He
accepted a position with the Poughkeepsie Trust Company in 1903 where he re-
720 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
mained for three years, resigning in December 1906 to accept the appointment of
. City Treasurer of Poughkeepsie under Mayor John K. Sague. When he took office
Mr. Guernsey was the youngest City Treasurer that had ever held office in the city.
He was reappointed City Treasurer upon the re-election of the Mayor. Mr. Guern-
sey besides being City Treasurer is a real estate broker with offices in the Pough-
keepsie Trust Company Building. He is a son of Stephen G. Guernsey, the we
known lawyer and President of the Poughkeepsie Trust Company. He is a brother
of Raymond G. Guernsey a lawyer of New York City and Louis G. Guernsey who
is on the reportorial staff of the Los Angeles Record of Los Angeles, California.
Mr. Guernsey belongs to several clubs. Among them are the Alpha Delta Phi Club,
Brown University Club and the Dutchess County Society of New York City; also
several prominent orders and social clubs in the city of Poughkeepsie. In politics
he is a Democrat.
STEPHEN GANG GUERNSEY, lawyer, was bom in Stanford, Dutchess Coun-
ty, April 22, 1848, son of Stephen Gano Guernsey and Elenor (Rogers) Guernsey,
of that place. He was educated in the common schools and at Fort Edward In-
stitute. In 1870 he came to Poughkeepsie and read law in the offices of Judge
Charles Wheaton, and also with his brother. Judge Daniel W. Guernsey, being ad-
mitted to the bar in 1872. In 1872 he commenced the practice of law in Poughkeep-
sie and has so continued up to the present time. In politics he is a Democrat. He
was elected president of the Poughkeepsie National Bank in 1892, and of the
Poughkeepsie Trust Company in 1901, which position he now holds.
Mr. Guernsey was married April 18, 1877, to Miss Marianna Hicks, of Pough-
keepsie, and has four children, Raymond G., Homer W., Louis G. and Emeline.
JOHN HACKETT was born in Ireland June 8, 1845, and came to America with
his parents in 1852, settling at Hyde Park, N. Y. His early education was such as
he could obtain in the district school of his town, and he also attended Eastman
Business College from which he was graduated in 1863. He then read law in the
office of Charles Brundage at Poughkeepsie and was admitted to the bar in 1866,
and at once began the practice of his profession. He served as assistant District
Attorney in 1873 under the late James L. Williams; in 1884 he was elected District
Attorney of Dutchess County and was reelected to that office in 1887. In 1876 the
firm of Hackett & Williams was formed and was continued imtil the death of Mr.
Williams in 1908.
Mr. Hackett married Harriet V., daughter of the Hon. David H. Mulford, April
10, 1880. He has two children; John M. Hackett, a graduate of the Albany Law
School, now practicing his profession in his father's office at Poughkeepsie, and
Henry T. Hackett, who was graduated from Harvard University in June 1909.
Mr. Hackett's ability as a lawyer is only exceeded by his modesty as a man, and
therefore the editor of this work desires to add to the foregoing brief information,
furnished by Mr. Hackett, a few words of his own.
Tlfe career of John Hackett offers to young lawyers an example worthy of their
emulation. With absolutely no advantages of birth, position, wealth or education
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 721
to start with, he is a self made, better still a self educated man, and is a living exam-
ple of the opportunities presented in this country to all youths possessed of charac-
ter and intelligence, who are willing to work, to study and to persevere.
Those of us who remember Mr. Hackett in the days of his active practice in ligitat-
ed cases and recall his pleas before Juries cannot forget the absolute devotion that
he always showed to the interests of his client, and the bulldog tenacity with which
he stuck to every point which he thought he could justify by either reason or pre-
cedent.
As District Attorney he was an unrelenting prosecutor of crime and did his full
duty always, conscientiously, without regard to any consideration of policy or of
popularity.
Through many years of hard fighting, during all of which time he was handi-
capped by physical weakness, which would have overcome many of less resolute
character, but which he overcame by the force of his will, Mr. Hackett has estab-
lished himself in the community as the safe counsellor and trusted adviser of clients
who seldom require his participation in the fierce strugglfes of the Court room.
While still in active practice he has won that secure place of a leader at the bar
where he can choose such legal business as shall be congenial to him, and escape the
annoyance and turmoil of vexatious litigation; but on the rare occasions that he
does appear in Court it is seen that his old time fires of advocacy are not yet quench-
ed.
Mr. Hackett lives in the summer time at his home in Hyde Park, he passes his
winters at his residence in Poughkeepsie.
May he live long to enjoy the respect of the whole community and the afifection
of all of his friends which he has so worthily won, and so well deserves.
ADELBERT HAIGHT, attorney of Poughkeepsie and Pine Plains, was born
in the town of Stanford in 1869, a son of Isaac D. and Elvira (Preston) Haight.
After finishing his preUminary education he accepted a position as operator with
the N. D. & C. R. R. Co., and agent for the C. N. E. Railroad Co. at Pine Plains,
where he remained several years, and while thus employed pursued a course in high
school studies, passing the Regent's Examination. He was later employed as
Railroad agent at Bangall. He then took up the study of law in the office of Mor-
schauser & Wood, and was admitted to the Bar in 1903. He supplemented his law
studies with a correspondence course in the Chicago School of Law.
Mr. Haight is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Triumph Lodge ; Triune Lodge
Poughkeepsie, F. & A. M. He is also identified with the Pine Plains Grange and
the I. O. O. F., No. 21, of Poughkeepsie. In religious belief he is affiliated with
the Methodist Episcopal church, and a member of the official board. He is also a
member of the Y. M. C. A.
He was united in marriage with Anna, daughter of Samuel T. Hoag, editor of
the Pine. Plains Herald. They are the parents of two children, Revilla Harold
and Adelbert, Jr.
ALBERT HAIGHT, who is engaged in farming in the town of Washington, N. Y.,^
was born in Putnam county in 1847. In 1897 he removed to Fishkill Village and
722 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ptirchased the fann formerly occupied by the Southards. September 25 of the same
year Mr. Haight was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Cook, and they are the
parents of one daughter and one son, deceased.
Mr. A. V. HAIGHT is a native New Yorker, bom at Ellenville, Ulster County,
February 4, 1842. At an early age he entered the printing oflSce of the Ellenville
Journal, and later the Rondout Courier office. In 1860 and 1861, up to the break-
ing out of the war, he was employed in New York, where he enlisted in the Ninth
Regiment, N. Y. S. M. : subsequently was transferred to the Twentieth Regiment
and at the expiration of his three months' service he re-enlisted in the Fourth New
York Cavalry, being honorably discharged from service in 1863. Afterward he
went to California, where he worked in the CcM office, San Francisco, and subse-
quently, in 1865-6, had charge of the job printing department in the State printing
office at Sacramento. In 1868 he formed a co-partnership for the publication of
the Ellenville Jottmal, and in 1874 he took the position of superintendent of the
Rondout Freeman, and became a stockholder, with control of the business manage-
ment as secretary and treasurer. In 1878 Mr. Haight severed his connection with
the Freeman office and started in business on his own accoimt, at Poughkeepsie, on
the Hudson, where he purchased the job printing establishment of the Poughkeep-
sie Daily Eagle and made many improvements to the plant.
On the first of January, 1903, a corporation was formed under the name of the
A. V. Haight Company, for the purpose of carrying on the printing and bookbind-
ing business, capitalized at $50,000 with the following officers: A. V. Haight, Presi-
dent; Wm. T. Ward, Treasurer; Wm. D. Haight, Secretary; and L. L. Slater,
Superintendent.
The company's plant now occupies the entire building at 10 and 12 Liberty
Street, consisting of three stories and basement. They have all the latest and most
improved machinery and appliances throughout the various branches of the busi-
ness, and are prepared to undertake large contracts and execute them promptly.
In 1886 Mr. Haight was officially called to Washington by the Public Printer to
give expert opinion on matters relating to the Government Printing office.
Mr. Haight has always been strongly Republican in politics, and served several
years as Alderman and Supervisor of the City of Poughkeepsie. He is a Past Mas-
ter of Triune Lodge, 782, Free and Accepted Masons; Past High Priest of Pough-
keepsie Chapter, 172, Royal Arch Masons; and Past Eminent Commander of
Poughkeepsie Commandery Knights Templar. He is also Past Commander of
David B. Sleight Post, No. 331 G. A. R.
J. CORNELIUS HAIGHT was born in the town of Fishkill, N. Y., July 16, 1835.
He acquired his education at Phillipstown and the academy at Fishkill Village,
which was supplemented by a course at the English Classical School, conducted by
the Rev. Dr. Pingree, at Roseville, N. J. He taught school for a time at Davenport
Comers, Putnam county, and has been engaged for many years in both mercantile
and agricultural pursuits. In 1895 he purchased a tract of land at Fishkill-on-the-
Hudson, and erected his present home, where he resides with his family.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 723
DR. ASAHEL HALL was born at Wallingford, Connecticut, April 6, 1792. He
was the son of Aaron Hall and Elizabeth Cook.
Aaron Hall served in the War of the Revolution, engaging throughout the New
Jersey campaign with Washington's Army; wintering at Valley Forge, and parti-
cipating in the storming of Stony Point. He was mustered out of service when
Washington's Army was disbanded at Newburgh, receiving his commission as
Captain. Leaving Newburgh he walked across the hills to this native place,
Wallingford.
Dr. Hall's grandfather, Asahel Hall, served in the French and Indian Wars, and
received a commission as Ensign, and later as Captain of a Company or Train-band
in the Town of Wallingford.
Dr. Hall began the study of medicine about 1810, and received his diploma from
the Litchfield County Medical Society at the age of twenty-one years.
He seems to have inherited the true patriotic spirit from his father and grand-
father as he served in the War of 1812. On the 20th day*bf April 1815, he received
a commission as Surgeon's Mate in the Thirty-seventh Regiment of Infantry; this
reads "To rank as such from the 19, day of September 1813". He was stationed
for some time at Fort Griswold, near New London, Connecticut, and subsequently
transferred to the Seventh Regiment of Infantry.
Later on Dr. Hall retired from the Army and came to Beekman, this County, and
entered upon the practice of his profession. There he met Catherine Rutzen Van-
derBurgh Toffey, the widow of George Tofiey, whom he married in 1818, and by
whom he had four children. His wife was a daughter of William VanderBurgh and
Sarah Van Wyck, and a granddaughter of Col. James VanderBurgh and of Captain
Cornelius Van Wyck, both officers in the Revolutionary Army.
After a few years Dr. Hall returned to his native State, Connectiuct, where two
of his children were bom. Returning to this County about the year 1827, he pur-
chased a farm near to Hart's Village; he moved thence to Fishkill Village, where
his youngest son was bom in 1831. After living in Fishkill Village about twelve
years he moved to Rhinebeck, and bought a farm adjoining that of Mrs. Miller, the
latter now being owned and occupied by her nephew. Dr. George N. Miller.
While in Rhinebeck he had opportunity to meet more frequently Dr. Federal
VanderBurgh, his wife's uncle, and it was while living in Rhinebeck that he opened
an office in Poughkeepsie soon after 1840, moving permanently to Poughkeepsie in
1846.
From Dr. Vander Burgh he acquired his first knowledge and description of the
action of homeopathic remedies, as Dr. VanderBurgh was then practicing medicine
in New York City, but had a summer place at Rhinebeck. After investigation
and trial he tinreservedly gave his adherence to the new practice, and from that
time he became one of its recognized exponents.
Dr. Hall loved the profession of medicine for the means it provided for contri-
buting to the happiness and comfort of others. Devotion to the welfare of his
patients was one of his strongest characteristics, many personal sacrifices in their
behalf often being made by him.
He was a type of the courtly gentlemen; by nature and birth a man of great re-
finement. He died at the advanced age of eighty-five years, on the 25th day of
724 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
July 1877, leaving him surviving four children. His eldest son, Henry Clay Hall,
was for more than twenty-five years in the Consular and Diplomatic Services.
His daughter, Anna Hall, married Silas Wodell of Poughkeepsie, former District
Attorney of Dutchess County, who died in the early sixties, and two of their
children are still residents of the city of Poughkeepsie.
EUGENE HAM, a prominent agriculturist in the town of Washington, Dutchess
county, was bom here 1850. He is a descendant of Conradt Ham mentioned below.
Mr. Ham was educated in the public schools of his native place and Riverview
Academy, Poughkeepsie, and has since been engaged in the supervision of his farm
at Verbank Station, N. Y.
Mr. Ham married Mary K. Sleight of La Grange, N. Y., and to them have been
bom one daughter and two sons: Mary Irene, Edward S., and Eugene W.
JOHN M. HAM, County Clerk was bom in the town of Washington, Dutchess
county, N. Y., April 14, 1861 at "Lynfeld" which has been the homestead of the
Ham family since 1746 when the larger part of the present estate was ptu-chased by
Frederick Ham, the great-grandfather of the present owner.
In 1885 he married Rhoda, daughter of James Edwin and Fran^ (Titus) Sleight,
and has four children, Mildred, Alice Titus, Mijton C6nrad and John Frederick.-
His first American ancestor was Conradt Ham, who came to America in 1710,
with two of his brothers with the Second ''Palatine Colony, settling in Columbia
county; and his son Frederick bom in 1720 married Catherine Straight. Conradt
son of Frederick, bom in 1767 married Elizabeth Haight. Milton son of Conradt
and father of the subject of this sketch was bom in 1802, and married Phebe Ferriss
a descendant in the seventh generation from John Ferriss who came from Reding,
England in 1650. The original family name was "de Ferriers" descended from
Henry de Ferriers, a Norman who in the latter part of the eleventh century received
from William the Conqueror large grants of land in the counties of Staffordshire,
Derbyshire and Leicestershire, on account of the services rendered by his father
Gaulchelm de Ferriers who served as Master of Horse at the Battle of Hastings for
the Duke of Normandy.
Mr. Ham received his early education at home in the common schools, at the
Poughkeepsie Military Institute and later pursued a special course in engineering
at Lafayette College.
As a breeder and handler of live stock his experience has been, it might be said,
life long. When only eighteen years old he was entrusted with the selection and
purchase of stock cattle and sheep, the business at that time being the feeding of cat-
tle and sheep for the New York markets, which in later years was succeeded by the
dairy business, and for over twenty years he has maintained at "Lynfeld" a herd
of pure bred Holstein Friesian cattle. As a breeder of horses Mr. Ham established
the first breeding stud of registered Percheron horses in the eastern part of the State.
As a Ijreeder of Berkshire swine he has a wide reputation, and was one of the early
breeders in America of Dorest Horn sheep, and one of the organizers of the registry
association for that breed. In addition to the local business in pure bred live stock.
■mill ■ • , •• II n ■ •■■.•/ ■, •.•//,ff SUB,
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BENJAMIN HAMMOND
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 725
shipments have been made from "Lynfeld" in the last few years into every eastern
and middle State, Canada, South America and the West Indies.
He is a member of the Dutchess, Millbrook and Poughkeepsie Clubs; is Master
of Washington Grange, and Master of the Dutchess County Pomona Grange; a
member of Shekemeko Lodge F. & A. Masons, and The Poughkeepsie Lodge of
Elks, and a member of the Dutchess County Society of New York City; the Ameri-
can Percheron Horse Breeder Association; the Holstein Friesian Association of
America, and American Dorset Horn Sheep Breeders Association.
In politics he has always been a liberal and active member of the Democratic
party, serving his town as Supervisor for several years, and in 1906 he was elected
to the office of County Clerk, being the first Democrat elected to that office in fif-
teen years.
BENJAMIN HAMMOND, manufacturer and wholesale dealer in paints, oils and
chemicals, Pishkill Landing, N. Y., was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire,
England, July 12, 1849 ; a son of Benjamin and Mar)* (Twemlow) Hammond. In
1855 his parents came to America, locating in New York.
From 1873 to 1884 Mr. Hammond was engaged in the drug business with Charles
S. Ware at Mt. Kisco. He then removed to Fishkill and founded his present estab-
lishment. His products are exported to Great Britain and Canada.
In public Ufe Mr. Hammond has ably filled the following offices: Member of the
Fishkill Board of Education, 1889; president of the village 1891, '92, '93 and 1898;
town auditor 1891 and 1904 to 1909; town Excise Commissioner 1894-'95. He is
a trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank, the Highland Hospital and the Fishkill
Rural Cemetery.
Mr. Hammond was married in Brooklyn, in 1875, by Rev. Charles W. Baird of
Rye, N. Y. to Isabella, daughter of the late Rev. George Monilaws of Somers, N. Y.
from which union three daughters were bom, Marion Isabella, Grace Twemlow and
Elsie. Mrs. Hammond died May 28, 1892, and is buried in the Fishkill Rural
Cemetery. In 1897 Mr. Hammond was united in marriage with Miss Laura Antho-
ny, of Rye, N. Y. by the Rev. Charles W. Fritts, D. D. of Pishkill Landing, N. Y.
JOHN A. HANNA, merchant, of Dover Plains, N. Y., was born in New York
City in October, 1859. He was educated in the public schools and at a private
seminary at Dover Plains. In 1875, in connection with Mr. W. H. Preston, he
established a general mercantile business at Dover Plains. In public life Mr.
Hanna has been elected to a number of important offices on the Democratic ticket.
In the years 1891-'94-'95 he represented the town of Dover in the Board of Super-
visors, and in 1896-'97-'98 he was elected a Member of Assembly. He was ap-
pointed Postmaster at Dover Plains by President Harrison, and re-appointed by
President McKinley and President Roosevelt.
Mr. Hanna married Miss Ada Preston, and they have one daughter, Julia E.
HARRY C. HARRIS, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was bom in this city April 4,
1872. He was educated in the pubUc schools, and at Riverview Military Academy.
726 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
He read law in the office of Allison Butts, and was admitted to the Bar in 1897.
He was appointed by Surrogate Hopkins, Transfer Tax Clerk, in January, 1908.
Mr. Harris is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and represented Lady Washing-
ton Hose Company No. 3 in Poughkeepsie at the Associated Firemen's Convention.
ISHAM G. HARRIS, M. D. was bom February 23, 1867, in Lamar county, Texas,
and received his prelipiinary education in the public schools of Texas and Tennes-
see. He pursued his studies at the University of Virginia, and also spent two years
in the medical department of that university. He was graduated with the degree
of M. D., in 1890, from the medical department of the University of the city of New
York. Dr. Harris was appointed resident physician of the New York Infant Hos-
pital at Mount Vernon, in December 1889, and a year later received the appoint-
ment of Junior resident physician in the New York City Asylum for the Insane at
Blackwells Island. He resigned in November 1891 to accept the position of resi-
dent physician at the Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeepsie, and in 1904 was
promoted to the position of First Assistant Physician of that institution. In May
1906 Dr. Harris was appointed Acting Superintendent of the Hudson River State
Hospital, and ably filled that oflBce during the year that Dr. Pilgrim, the Superin-
tendent, served as president of the State Commission in Lunacy.
Dr. Harris is a member of the County and State Medical Societies; the American
Medical Association; the American Me<iico-Psychological Association; the Amrita
and Dutchess clubs; Dutchess County Society, and a Mystic Shriner in the Masonic
fraternity.
ALMON M. HARRISON, who is engaged in general mercantile business at Stan-
fordville, Dutchess county, was born at Cornwall Hollow, Litchfield county. Conn.
He came to Dutchess county in 1861, where he taught school at BangaU and in ad-
joining towns for six years. Mr. Harrison was appointed postmaster by President
Cleveland in 1894, and also received the same appointment from President Roose-
velt in 1908. He has served twelve years as Justice of the Peace of the town of
Stanford.
He was united in marriage with Ida B. Robinson of Stanfordville, and they are
the parents of one son, Stanley F.
DR. ALFRED HASBROUCK was bom on the 17th day of July, 1820, on the
banks of the Wallkill in the town of Gardiner, Ulster County, New York, on lands
of the Guilford Patent that had been in his family since about the year 1700.
He sprang from that sterling Huguenot stock which sought asylum in this coun-
try from religious intolerance and persecution in France. His father was the great-
grandson of Abraham Hasbrouck, and his mother was the great-great-grand-
daughter of Jean Hasbrouck, two brothers who came to America, the latter in 1672,
and the former in 1675, and who were two of the twelve patentees and original set-
tlers of New Paltz, in 1677.
His father and all his ancestors were men of wealth, prominence and position,
and held many offices of public trust, both civil and military, in colonial times, and
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 727
during and after the Revolutionary War. He was the fourth of a family of eight
children, seven boys and one girl, of which family five boys attained manhood.
After the usual introductory studies he was sent away from home to finish his
preparatory studies at the Kingston Academy, at the time a noted classical school.
Here he fitted for college. He entered Yale and was graduated a Bachelor of Arts
with the class of 1844. After graduation he came to Poughkeepsie to study his
chosen profession of medicine with Dr. John Barnes. He also attended the course
of medical lectures of the college of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York, from
which institution he was graduated a Doctor of Medicine in 1848. He then settled
at Poughkeepsie and engaged in the practice of his profession, which he actively
pursued for over fifty years, with skill and fidelity.
Beginning his professional career with a thorough preparation of the best educa-
tion, both general and technical of his time, he was always a student and kept in
step with the progress of the day.
He had an exalted idea of the honor and dignity, as well as of the duties and obli-
gations of the medical profession; and while he sacredly observed these obligations
on his part, he exactingly required the respect due the noble art of healing on the
part of others — as well fellow physicians, as patients.
He felt strongly and clung to his convictions with tenacity, and was firm in up-
holding what he believed was right.
He was quiet and unassuming in his ways and possessed a generous nature which
was ever open to the appeals of the needy and distressed.
His was a well rounded character which exemplified itself in a life without blem-
ish or reproach, and he was worthy, in every respect, of the regard and esteem in
which he was held.
He was a man of fine figure and commanding presence, tall and erect.
Dr. Hasbrouck was one of the original members of the Republican party, having
voted for John C. Fremont. He remained loyal to his party afiiliation all his life,
having always been a strong partisan, although he never sought or held political
office. For many years in his younger days he was Alms House Physician and for
several terms Health OflScer of the city and for a long time after the War of the Re-
bellion he was Medical Examiner for this District under the United States Pension
Bureau. During the whole of his useful career he was one of the medical staff of
St. Barnabas' Hospital, and for a number of years he was Vice-President of the
Medical Board of Vassar Hospital, and in 1883-84 President of the Dutchess Coun-
ty Medical Society.
In 1848, he married Margaret Ann Manning, a descendant of Hugo Freer, one of
the twelve New Paltz patentees, and of Baltus VanKleeck the original settler of
Poughkeepsie. After more than forty years of married life she died in 1889.
There were eight children the issue of this marriage— four sons and four daugh-
ters: County Judge Frank Hasbrouck, Major Alfred Hasbrouck, U. S. A., Manning
Hasbrouck, Louis P. Hasbrouck, Jane Hasbrouck, widow of John K. MandeviUe,
Sarah Louise Hasbrouck, widow of Peter Hulme, Alice Hasbrouck, wife of David
K. Jackman, and Laura Hasbrouck.
Dr. Hasbrouck died May 9th, 1903, aged eighty-three years.
728 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
He was survived by all of his children, except Laura, who died a few years before
him.
FRANK HASBROUCK was bom at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. January 4th, 1852.
His ancestry is French Huguenot, he being a descendant, through his paternal
grandfather of Abraham Hasbrouck, one of the twelve New Paltz patentees, and,
through his paternal grandmother, of Jaen Hasbrouck, brother of Abraham, another
of the New Paltz patentees.
He is a son of the late Dr. Alfred Hasbrouck of Poughkeepsie and of Margaret
Ann Manning, a descendant of Hugo Freer, one of the New Paltz Patentees, and of
Baltus Van Kleeck an original settler of Poughkeepsie. His early education was
obtained at the public schools of Poughkeepsie and at the old Dutchess County Aca-
demy. He entered Harvard in 1868 and was graduated from there, a Bachelor of
Arts, in 1872. In the fall of 1872, he began the study of law at the city of Pough-
keepsie, in the office of the late Orlando D. M. Baker, and was admitted to practice
at the May General Term of the Supreme Court, at Poughkeepsie, in 1875. For
several years he remained with his former preceptor, Mr. Baker, as managing clerk
of his office, and then set up for the practice of law by himself, and has continued to
practice his profession at Poughkeepsie until the present time.
He has always been an active and influential member of the Democratic party
of his county, and has been the unsuccessful candidate of his party in overwhelm-
ingly Republican years for the offices of Recorder of the city of Poughkeepsie, City
Attorney, District Attorney, and County Treasurer. To the last named office his
opponent was declared elected by one majority on the face of th'e returns.
In the spring of 1875 he was appointed a member of the Board of Health of the
city of Poughkeepsie, and by the Board elected its secretary. He was reappointed
and reelected secretary in 1870 and served two years as a member and Secretary of
the Board. In the fall of 1876 he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace of
the city of Poughkeepsie by a majority of about 120, all the rest of the city going
Republican by majorities varying from 300 to 500. He served as Justice of the
Peace from January 1, 1877 to December 31, 1880. He was treasurer of the city of
Poughkeepsie by appointment of Mayor Elsworth for the two years 1887-1888. He
was postmaster of the city of Poughkeepsie by appointment of President Cleveland
for four years from April 1st, 1895 to March 31st, 1899. He was corporation Counsel
of the city of Poughkeepsie by appointment of Mayor Sague during the year 1907.
He was elected County Judge of Dutchess County in November 1907, and entered
upon the duties of that office January 1, 1908.
He has always been active and prominent in the social life of Poughkeepsie. He
was one of the founders and for twenty-four years President of the Apokeepsing
Boat Club; was one of the founders and first secretary of the Amrita Club; was one
of the charter members of the Dutchess Club; is a member of the Poughkeepsie
Club; and is a member and President of the Euterpe Glee Club.
He has for a long time been a member and trustee of the Holland Society of New
York,^nd was its President during the year 1907-1908; is a member of the Sons of
the Revolution of New York; and is a member of the University Club of New York.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 729
He was married to Esther, daughter of David K. and Serephina Ross Jackman at
Bath, N. K. October 10, 1876. He has four children: Ross Hasbrouck, graduate
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a civil engineer at present en-
gaged with the Pennsylvania Railroad in the construction of its new terminal at
Long Island City; Alfred Hasbrouck, who left Harvard College at the end of his
sophomore year and went as a volunteer officer in the Spanish War to the Phillip-
pines, and was afterwards appointed to the regular army, and is now Captain in the
Coast Artillery, U. S. A. ; Olga Hasbrouck, who was graduated from Vassar College
in 1905: and Elsa Hasbrouck who was graduated from Vassar College in 1909.
OSCAR HASBROUCK who is engaged in a general mercantile business at Wing-
dale, town of Dover, N. Y. is a son of Oscar and Rachel (Hait) Hasbrouck, residents
of Modena, Ulster County, N. Y. He is a lineal descendant of Abraham Hasbrouck,
one of the New Paltz patentees, who was conspicuous both in the civil and ecclesias-
tical affairs of that early period.
Mr. Hasbrouck married Margaret McKinsry, also a nStive of Ulster county, and
they are the parents of four children; Don, Kathryn, Thadeus and Jacob H.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM HASBROOK was bom at Cortlandville, Dutchess Coun-
ty, November 12, 1822. He was engaged in mercantile business for some time after
attaining manhood. In 1857 he became captain of the steamer "Wyoming"
which he ran for twelve years. From 1869 to 1872 he followed the freighting busi-
ness at New Hamburg, and then for five years was captain of the "Walter Brett",
a steamboat running between New Hamburg and New York. He then resumed
the freighting business which he continued until his death, December 18, 1893.
He was a Republican in politics, served some time as clerk of the town of East Fish-
kill, and held the office of postmaster. August 17, 1843 he.married Maria Storm,
daughter of Gory and Anna (Boice) Storm. She died June 28, 1876, leaving three
children, Charles F., Emily who died April 9, 1852 and George A.
At the death of Captain Hasbrook his two sons Charles F. and George A. con-
tinued the freighting business under the firm name of Captain William Hasbrook's
Sons until the consolidation of the Central Hudson Steamboat Co., on April 26,
1899, when the old firm merged into the new one, and the sons of Captain Hasbrook
have since acted as agents for the Central Hudson Steamboat Company.
F. REED HAWLEY, M. D., of Frost's Mills, town of Clinton, Dutchess county,
was bom in Nevada in 1868. He acquired his education in New York City, where
he also studied medicine in the New York Homeopathic Medical College, from which
he was graduated in 1892. He practiced his profession in the cities of Brooklyn
and Washington, and also in the village of Staatsburgh, from 1896 to 1901, when ill
health caused him to retire from active practice, and he purchased his present farm
at Frost's Mills.
NEWTON HEBARD, vice-president of the First National Bank of Amenia, N.
Y., was bom in the city of Poughkeepsie, October 14, 1837. He acquired his edu-
730 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
cation in the public schools of Brookl)^, N. Y., and also the Brooklyn Academy,
after which he returned to Dutchess county, and in 1862 located in Amenia. ^ Jan-
uary 15, 1868, he was made book-keeper of the First National Bank of Amenia, and
in 1872 was promoted to the office of cashier. He was further promoted to his
present position November 20, 1908.
JOHN W. HEDGES was bom at Gallatinville, Columbia county, N. Y., Decem-
ber 20, 1864. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native place
and at Seymour Smith Academy at Pine Plains, N. Y. Up to the year 1894 he was
engaged in farm work, when he purchased the general mercantile business of C. M.
Patrie. In 1901 he bought the adjoining property, in which is located the post-
office. Mr. Hedges has served one term as assessor, and January 22, 1909, he re-
ceived the appointment of postmaster of Pine Plains village.
In 1888 he married Minnie Hapenin of Columbia county, and they are the parents
of two children: Phebe and Charles.
TIMOTHY HERRICK was born October 19th, 1836, at Antrim, Hillsboro
cotmty. New Hampshire, and acqiured his education at the public schools of his
native place.
For over half a century Mr. Herrick has been a citizen of Dutchess coimty, ar-
riving at Staatsburgh, April 2nd, 1857, to accept the position of Superintendent of
the magnificent country estate of Mr. William B. Dinsmore, which position he has
held continuously.
For many years Mr. Herrick has taken an active interest in the public aSairs of
the town of Hyde Park, and in 1873 — 74 held the office of Supervisor, to which he
was re-elected in 1886.
October 2nd, 1858 Mr. Herrick was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Mul-
doon of New York City and to them have been bom four sons and two daughters,
namely: George A. bom July 20th, 1859; Mary Elizabeth born July 16th, 1861;
William Elmer born February 10th, 1863, died July 26th, 1863; Luella Jane bom
August 26th, 1864; John James bom April 5th, 1866; Albert Elmer bom January
19th, 1869.
Socially Mr. Herrick is a member of Rhinebeck Lodge No. 432 F. and A. M.,
Mount Horeb Chapter No. 75, Kingston, and Knights Templar of Poughkeepsie.
His father, Nathaniel B. was bom in Beverly, Mass., April 23, 1813, and died
September 1, 1877. He married November 6, 1835, Elvira Simonds who was born
in Antrim, N. H., October 19, 1816, and died April 1, 1904.
WILLET HICKS was born in the town of Stanford, Dutchess county, January 4,
1853, and obtained his preliminary education in the district schools of his native
place. He began life as a school teacher in Dutchess county, which profession he
followed for a period of ten years, and was subsequently engaged in farming.
In political belief Mr. Hicks is a staunch Democrat and has rendered faithful
service*to his county. For two decades he has served as Justice of the Peace, and
in 1908 was elected to the office of town Supervisor.
Mr. Hicks was united in marriage with Miss Alice Welch of Rhinebeck, N. Y.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 731
GEORGE M. HINE, shoe mantifacturer and representative citizen of the city of
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born at Appleton, Wis., in 1850. During his infancy his
parents removed to New Haven, Conn., and it was there he received his education,
and acquired his preliminary knowledge in the manufacture of boots and shoes.
In 1877 Mr. Hine came to Poughkeepsie to accept a position in the shoe factory
of the late Hon. J. O. Whitehouse. Following the death of Mr. Whitehouse in
1881, Mr. Hine became superintendent of the plant, and continued in that capacity
tmtil 1889, when the firm of Hine & Lynch, which still exists, succeeded to the own-
ership of the business.
Politically Mr. Hine is a staunch Republican, and it is as a painstaking public
official that he is most widely known. As president of the Alms House Board;
Alderman of the sixth ward, and thrice Mayor of Poughkeepsie, — 1900 to 1906 —
he has rendered faithful and efficient service to his adopted city.
Mr. Hine is a member of the Board of Governors of the Hudson River State
Hospital for the Insane. In 1909, by order of the Supreme Court, he was appointed
president of the Orange County Board of Water Commisaoners for the Catskill
Aqueduct, New York Water Supply. He is first vice-president of the League of
American Municipalities, of which ex-Mayor Dunne of Chicago is president.
In financial affairs Mr. Hine has served eight years as a director of the First
National Bank of Poughkeepsie, and he is now vice-president of the Poughkeepsie
Trust Company.
Mr. Hine has taken the various chairs in Masonry, including the Mecca Mystic
Shrine. He is also identified with the Order of Elks, Odd Fellows and other fra-
ternal organizations and social clubs. In 1871 he was united in marriage with
Nellie Hazell of Brooklyn, N. Y., and the following children were born; Lewis C,
Emily H., and George M. Jr., deceased. ^
JACOB S. HINSDALE, a representative citizen of the town of Pine Plains, and
a leader in Democratic circles in Dutchess county, was bom January 8, 1859, at
Gallatin, Columbia county, and died at his home in 1909. After finishing his studies
at the Hudson Academy, Hudson, N. Y., he located in Dutchess county in 1880 and
engaged in farming, contintiing this occupation until the time of his death. He
held the office of Supervisor of the town of Pine Plains in 1893, and was re-elected
to this office in 1897, serving continuously until 1909, and holding the position of
chairman of the Board during the last year of his service.
Mr. Hinsdale was united in marriage with Emily Smith, and to them have been
born three children: Egbert, John W., and Grace.
NICHOLAS HOFFMAN, deceased, was bom in Germany February 28, 1832. He
learned the shoemaker's trade, and in 1851 came to America. For several years he
was engaged in business at Whiteport, Ulster county, N. Y. and in 1868 came to
Poughkeepsie. He purchased the building at the comer of Main and Hamilton
street in 1872, where he conducted the Hoffman House up to the time of his death,
and which has since been continued by his son Frank.
Mr. Hoffman was a Democrat in politics, and in religious beUef a member of the
German Catholic Church.
732 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHARLES A. HOPKINS, Surrogate of Dutchess county, was born at Stormville,
N. Y., October 20, 1864, the son of Benjamin and Margeret (Lasher) Hopkins. He
attended the district schools of his native place, and, in 1882, graduated from East-
man's Business College. Mr. Hopkins pursued his legal studies in the law oflBce of
Hackett & Williams, and was admitted to the bar, at the general term at Brooklyn,
in September, 1885. He continued in the office of his preceptors, as managing clerk
■until 1889, and has since been engaged in the active practice of law at Poughkeepsie
for himself.
Politically Mr. Hopkins is a Democrat, and has served one term as Justice of the
Peace for the city of Poughkeepsie. In 1907 he was elected to the office of Surro-
■gate.
October 18, 1888, Mr. Hopkins was united in marriage with Mary Eno, daughter
of Walter Stewart of the town of Clinton, Dutchess county. By this union there
■are two children, Frank Stewart and Ralph Adriance.
JOSEPH F. HORAN, attorney, was born in the city of Poughkeepsie, July 4,
1868, where he attended the public schools, graduating from the Poughkeepsie
High School in 1886. He studied law in the office of Hackett & Williams, and was
admitted to the Bar in 1890. Mr. Horan practiced his profession in the city of New
York from 1892 to 1901, when he resumed practice in his native city.
FRED C. HORNBECK, Supervisor of the town of Poughkeepsie, was born at
"Wawarsing, Ulster county, N. Y., December 4, 1868. He located in Dutchess
■county in 1883, and engaged in the grocery business in Poughkeepsie, continuing
the same for a period of thirteen years. He then purchased his present farm on
the Dutchess Turnpike, four miles East of the court house, where he has since re-
sided. Politically Mr. Hornbeck is a Democrat. He was elected a member of the
■County Board of Supervisors in 1905, and re-elected in 1907. He is a member of
Tritme Lodge, No. 782, F. & A. M.; the Royal Arcanum, No. 391, and the Pough-
Iceepsie Grange.
In 1895 Mr. Hornbeck was united in marriage with EUura Bedell of Clinton
Corners, N. Y., and they are the parents of one son.
Following the death of Jacob Hinsdale in 1909, chairman of the Board of Super-
visors, Mr. Hornbeck was appointed his successor.
CHARLES W. HORTON, merchant, of Stormville, N. Y., was born in the town
of Kent, Putnam county, where he acquired his education in the district schools.
In 1861 he moved to the town of East Fishkill, and engaged in general mercantile
business which he has successfully continued to the present time. Mr. Horton
was elected to the office of Supervisor of the town of East Fishkill, 1871-'73, and
again in 1880. He has also served several terms as Postmaster.
Mr. Horton has been twice married. His first wife was Mary Ann Fox. For
his^econd wife he chose Sarah J. Brevoort. His children are: Mary, Charles and
Grace.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL, 73*
GEN. JOSEPH ROWLAND, patriot and philanthropist, was born in the city of
New York December 3, 1834 a, lineal decendent of John Rowland, who signed the
memorable compact in the cabin of the "Mayflower," November, 1620, before the
landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. His father, Samuel Shaw Rowland,
was one of the well known firm of Rowland & Aspinwall, shipping merchants of
New York. His mother was Joanna Esther, daughter of John Hone, and neice of
Philip Rone, one of the eariiest mayors of New York City, and largely identified
with and one of the founders of the Matteawan and Glenham factories.
Mr . Rowland was never a rugged man, and yet he accomplished more than most
of his contemporaries.
At the age of twenty-one he married Miss Eliza Newton Woolsey, which mar-
riage by reason of their similarity of tastes and aims in life was unusually congenial
and happy. In 1859 he purchased the Tioronda farm and soon made it a place of
beauty and good taste, but hardly had he become settled in his new home when the
Civil War broke out, and he enlisted as an Adjutant of the Sixteenth Regiment of
New York State Volunteers. Later he became Adjutant-General and Chief of the
Brigade under the command of General Slocum. Subsequently, on the promotion
of General Davies, the Colonel of the Sixteenth New York, Major Howland was un-
animously chosen to succeed him at the battle of Gaines Mills where he was seriously
wounded. For his gallantry on this occasion he was breveted Brigadier-General.
His feeble constitution compelled him to retire from the army, but his whole soul
was in the country's cause, and he sent a man of more rugged mould, at his own ex-
pense, to represent him in the ranks of the army.
In 1865 General Howland was elected Treasurer of the State of New York, and
discharged the duties of the ofiice, for two years, with honor to himself, and satis-
faction to the people of the State. General Howland was largely interested in the
organizing and building of the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane, and was
one of the managers of that institution, to which he gave, for fifteen years, contin-
uous service.
To the people of Fishkill and vicinity General Howland has been a blessing, not
only for his benefactions in the shape of the beautiful Tioronda school building;
the Highland Hospital, of which he was the principal founder, and to which he gave
a home, the Howland Library which he erected and perpetually endowed. General
Howland was also the promotor of the Mechanics Savings Bank and was its first
president, but it was not his benefactions alone that endeared him to the people of
Fishkill. Re gave them an example of an unselfish and heroic life. He was in-
tent on aiding his fellowmen, whether in high or low estate.
General Howland on account of his failing health was compelled to seek a more
genial climate, and at Mentone, in southern France, he took up his residence for a
time. Here his noble spirit left his frail body to join those around the great white
throne, for the pure in spirit they shall see God.
J. L. HUGHES, former president of the village of Wappingers Falls, was bom in.
this village in 1869, and as a young man was employed in his father's grocery store..
From 1888 to 1893 he was associated with his brother in the grocery business at
734 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Paterson, N. J., and with the exception of the years he attended military duty, he
has always been engaged in the grocery trade, succeeding to his father's business
in December, 1904.
During the Spanish American War in 1898 Mr. Hughes enlisted in the Morris
Guards, attached to the Fourth New Jersey Regiment. He was mustered out as
Corporal, April 6, 1899, at Camp Wetherill, S. C. He subsequently served three
years in the hospital corps, and was made acting hospital steward. He was trans-
ferred to the Philippines, where he served eighteen months. He returned in 1902
to Fort Constitution, N. H., serving one year as steward in the hospital corps, and
was mustered out January 12, 1903. July 27, 1903, he returned to the hospital
corps, and was sent to Fort Wingate, New Mexico, where he remained until May 5,
1904.
In public life Mr. Hughes was elected clerk" of the town of Wappinger in 1906,
holding the oflSce until 1908. He was also elected president of the village of Wap-
pingers Falls in 1906, and re-elected 1907-'08.
MILES HUGHES for forty years merchant in Staatsburg, N. Y., was bom at
the old family homestead there April 8, 1836. His father, Christopher Hughes,
was one of the first supervisors of the town of Hyde Park, and also Cavalry Captain
in State Militia. He married Sarah Lamoree, daughter of John Lamoree, and they
had four children, viz.. Miles, Edgar, Sarah and Lucinda.
Miles Hughes received his early education at district school, and afterward fin-
ished his studies at an academy in Hinsdale, Mass. He then returned home and
taught school for six months, followed by seven years of farm work with his father.
He next went into partnership with Joseph Wood, and they conducted a general
store for seven years until the death of Mr. Wood. Mr. Hughes then took over the
business and ran it himself until his death. He served two terms as Postmaster,
being appointed in 1863, and again in 1903. He was also Justice of the Peace two
terms.
In 1865 he married Emily Maria, daughter of Benjamin Seymour Pier of Upper
Red Hook, N. Y. Of their five children two only survive, Marion, wife of Harry C.
Barker, and Edwin B. Hughes. His second wife Minnie Pier, survives him, and
his son Edwin B. was appointed Postmaster at his death.
Mr. Hughes was a life long member of the Episcopal Church, and was for many
years warden in St. Margaret's.
The store business which he left is now conducted by his estate, and is managed
by his son and H. C. Barker as Administrators.
J. FRANK HULL was the son of John F. Hull, for many years cashier of the Fall-
kill National Bank. He was born in Pine Plains, and was educated at College Hill
School and Riverview. His business experience was as a clerk in the Fallkill Bank,
but this work was not to his taste, and in 1879 he purchased an interest in the
Dut^ess Manufacturing Company, and became a member of the firm of Lasher &
Hull. He subsequently bought out Mr. Lasher's interest and established the plant
of the Dutchess Manufacturing Company in the present location on Crannell street.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 735
The co-operative system found a strong advocate in Mr. Hull and he organized
his factory on the profit sharing plan. There is probably no industrial enterprise
anywhere that reflects in every department so strong a spirit of loyalty to the head
as this Poughkeepsie factory, which is a momunent of Mr. Hull's genius and energy.
Mr. HuU was a member of the Second Reformed Church, but in a more general
way he accepted the spirit rather than the letter of Christianity and all denomina-
tions found in him a sympathteic and generous friend. He took much interest in
Florentine Council, Knights of Columbus, and furnished a room in the Columbus
Institute building.
For a time Mr. Hull was interested in local politics. He was elected Mayor of
Poughkeepsie in 1896 on the Republican ticket, and as such proved himself to be
an able and efficient factor in the cause of good government. He was a charter
member of the Amrita Club.
Mr, Hull died July 5, 1907.
ROBERT HURD, of Pawling, N. Y., was born in this town October 5, 1869, on
tlie Hurd homestead. He attended the public schools of his native place, and the
select schools of Dover and Pawling. At an early age he entered into partnership
with a Mr. Smith, and they became engaged in the ptu-chasing of cattle, on an ex-
tensive scale, in the West, disposing of them in the eastern market. Mr. Hurd
has also been engaged in the cultivation of the farm where he resides. He has been
prominent in political circles, and has been a delegate to various district, county
and State Conventions.
CHESTER HUSTED, attorney, was born at Pleasant Valley, N. Y., April 12,
1883. He received his education in the district schools of his native town, and
graduated from the Poughkeepsie High School in 1902. He then entered the law
office of Hackett & Williams, and after serving a clerkship was admitted to the Bar
in January, 1907. Mr. Husted engaged in the practice of his profession in Pough-
keepsie with the firm of Hackett & Butts.
EDWIN B. HUSTED was bom August 26, 1843 on a farm near the village of
Pleasant Valley. He was one of seven children — six sons and one daughter — of
Nathaniel Husted and Elmira Btirhans. He attended the schools of his native
town later attending the State Normal college at Albany graduating in 1863. He
also attended Bryant & Stratton Commercial college for one year. At the age of
19 he began to teach in the public schools at Chapel Corners, Dutchess county, and
New Paltz, Ulster County. From 1866 to 1882 he served as Deputy Clerk of the
United States Supreme Court at Brooklyn— a Court having a wide jurisdiction and
extensive business presided over in part by a Justice of the Supreme Court and in
which William M. Evarts, Joseph H. Choate and others like them frequently pleaded
their cases. This position he resigned in 1882 preferring country life, and settled
in the village of Pleasant Valley.
In 1882 he married Emily Conover of Pleasant Valley and of this union six chil-
dren were born: Chester, Edna, Raymond, Lucy, Stanley and Albert. The sub-
736 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
ject of this sketch is active in the religious and educational welfare of the community
in which he lives and for many years has been an Elder and an active worker in
the Presbyterian church of that village.
THE JOHNSTONE OR JOHNSTON FAMILY ' is associated with Lithgow,
Hyde Park and Annandale. Lithgow, in the Town of Washington, is named after
the home of the Jamisons in Scotland ; and Annandale, in the Town of Red Hood,
is named after the home of the Johnstones in Scotland.
Dr. John Johnstone sailed from Leith, Scotland, in the bark "Henry and
Francis" and landed at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in December 1685. He was
member of the New Jersey Provincial Assembly from 1709 to 1722, Speaker for
ten years. Mayor of New York City from 1714 to 1718, and a Member of the Gov-
ernor's Council of New York from 1720 to 1722. He died the 7th of September,
1732, and was buried at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. On the 18th of April, 1686, he
married Eupham Scot, the only daughter of George Scot, Laird of Pitlockie.
George Scot was the son of Sir John Scot, of Scotstarvet.
One of their sons, John Johnstone, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, born there the
7th of May, 1691, died the 6th of September, 1731, a large landed proprietor of
Monmouth County, New Jersey, married on the 19th of May, 1717, Elizabeth, the
daughter of David Jamison, one of the Great Nine Partners, who was Secretary of
State of the Colony of New York, Warden of Trinity Church, Chief Justice of the
Colony of New Jersey in 1711, and Attorney -General of the Colony of New York
in 1720.
One of their sons, David Johnstone, was born at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the
3rd of January, 1724, and died at Nine Partners, New York, the 12th of January,
1809. On the 27th of May, 1753, he married Magdalen Walton, a daughter of
Jacob Walton, of New York, whose father was an Admiral in the British Navy.
David Johnstone was a member of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce of
New York that waited on General Washington on his triumphal entrance into New
York City. He was President of the St. Andrew's Society in 1774-1775 and also
in 1784-1785. He was one of the signers of a call for a New York Provincial Con-
gress, which was dated the 26th of April, 1775. From his mother, who was a daugh-
ter of David Jamison, one of the Great Nine Partners, he inherited large tracts of
land in Dutchess County. The estate on which he resides he maned "Lithgow",
after the ancestral home of his grandfather, David Jamison. From the estate of
David Johnstone, the present post-office and hamlet of Lithgow derived its name.
One of their sons, Judge John Johnstone, who was bom at Lithgow, the 13th of
June, 1762 . , died at Hyde Park, the 29th of August, 1850. He married on the 23d
of May, 1792, Susannah, daughter of Dr. Samuel Bard. He was presiding Judge
of the Court of Common Pleas of Dutchess County, and his grave and tombstone
are in the cemetery of St. James' Church, Hyde Park. The Johnstone family for
several generations after that were identified with Hyde Park, and even at the pres-
ent time the Johnstones bury their dead in the old cemetery of St. James' Church.
One of their sons. Dr. Francis Upton Johnstone, was bom at Hyde Park, the 4th
IThe name is spelled differently through a number of generations.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 737
of September, 1796, and died at New York City the 7th of January, 1858. He was a
graduate of the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. On the 7th of May,
1822, he married Mary, daughter of Captain John Williamson, of Charleston, S. C,
who was an original member of the Order of the Cincinnati.
One of their sons, Dr. Francis Upton Johnstone, (bom at New York City, the 8th
of April, 1826, died the 20th of November, 1892,) graduated at the College of Phy-
sicians and Surgeons. He married on the 8th of February, 1853, Margaret Antoin-
ette, daughter of John Cortlandt Babcock, of New York City. Dr. Johnstone is
survived by his widow and seven children.
Mary Williamson, a daughter of Dr. Francis Upton Johnstone, who was bom the
26th of July, 1824 and died the 21st of November, 1894, married on the 29th of
March, 1864, the Rev. George Bailey Hopson, D. D. After her marriage, Mrs.
Hopson resided at Annandale, Dutchess County, where Dr. Hopson has been Pro-
fessor in Latin of St. Stephen's College for a period of over forty-five years. Mrs.
Hopson is survived by her husband and two sons, Francig Johnstone Hopson, a
lawyer practising in New York City, and William Oliver Hopson, a resident of San
Francisco.
JOHN R. KEECH, attorney, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born in this city August
12, 1870. After completing his preUminary studies in the public schools he studied
law in the oflSce of Charles Morschauser, and was admitted to the Bar December 15,
1892, and has since been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession in
his native city.
BERNHARD KEINE, Supervisor of the Fourth Ward, and a member of the
Board of Public Works of the city of Poughkeepsie, was bom in this city in 1866.
After graduating from the public schools of his native place he entered the employ
of the Poughkeepsie Cracker Company. Upon the consolidation of the various
cracker manufacturies throughout the country, under the name of the National
Biscuit Company, in 1890, Mr. Keine was made cashier of the new company, and
still holds such position.
Politically Mr. Keine is a Democrat, and in 1907 was elected Supervisor of the
Fourth Ward of Poughkeepsie, and in 1909 received the appointment from Mayor
Sague as Commissioner of Public Works. Socially he is a member of Poughkeepsie
Lodge, No. 266, F. & A. M. He is also affiliated with the I. O. O. F.
FRANK H. KELLY, attorney, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born in Herkimer, N.
Y., April 5, 1881. He was educated in the pubUc schools of Poughkeepsie, graduat-
ing from the Poughkeepsie High School. Mr. Kelly studied law in the offices of C.
W. H. Arnold, George Wood and Alexander Dow. From 1903 to 1905 he attended
the New York Law School, and was admitted to the Bar in January, 1907. Mr.
Kelly is a member of Co. K, 10th National Guards of New York, and in reUgious be-
lief is affiliated with the Baptist church.
JOHN A. KELLY, Deputy County Clerk of Dutchess county, was born January
22, 1879, and was educated in the public and high schools of Poughkeepsie, grad-
738 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
uating from the latter institution in 1896. He read law in the office of Frank B.
Lown, and after a course in the New York Law School was admitted to the Bar in
June, 1900. Mr. Kelly was associated in practice with the late Robert F. Wilkin-
son until his death in 1893, and has since been connected with the office of Robert
Wilkinson, who succeeded his father as local counsel to the New York Central Rail-
road Company. Mr. Kelly was appointed Deputy County Clerk in 1898, succeeding
the late Edward M. Stillman. He is a member of the Poughkeepsie Club, the Apo-
keepsing Boat Club, the Dutchess County Horticultural Society, and the CathoUc
Society of New York.
JOHN T. KELLY, attorney, Matteawan, N. Y., was born in this village March 3,
1881, where he obtained his education at the public schools. He read law in the
office of James G. Meyer, Esq., and was admitted to the Bar, May 1, 1903.
Mr. Kelly was united in marriage in 1905 with Miss Anna Van Voort of Mattea-
wan, N. Y.
Socially Mr. Kelly is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
GEN. JOHN H. KETCHAM represented the people of Dutchess County in the
National House of Representatives for thirty-six years, a longer period than any
other Congressman since the Federal Legislature was established. Nor was this
the result of chance or fortuituous circumstance. It was due primarily to honesty,
fidelity and the devotion to the interest of his constituency on the 'part of the re-
preseiitative; and to an appreciation on the part of the constituency of the efforts
which their representative was continuously exerting in its behalf.
Mr. Ketcham was a native of Dutchess County, as were his parents before him.
He was bom at Dover Plains on December 31st, 1832, the second son of John M.
and EUza (Stevens) Ketcham. The family is descended from old English stock,
and the first authentic record of the name in the days of the colonies is of John
Ketcham, who emigrated to this country from England with the Pilgrim Fathers,
and whose descendants subsequently settled in Connecticut and on the shores of
Long Island, and somewhat later took up their abode in the beautiful Harlem
VaUey.
James Ketcham, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was the pioneer
of the family in the Harlem Valley. Before the end of the eighteenth century he
had settled at Dover Plains, and had become one of the prominent and influential
men of the place.
James Ketcham's son, John M. Ketcham, was a farmer in very moderate circum-
stances, and John Henry Ketcham was one of a family embracing nine children,
five of whom are still living. All his boyhood and young manhood was spent on
the farm ; he attended the District School in the winter and in his spare time as-
sisted in the ordinary farm work. But the boy's father fully realized and ap-
preciated the advantages of giving his children the best educational advantages
that he could afford, and John H. Ketcham was for a time a student at the Amenia
Seminary, a noted school in its day, and later was in attendance at the Suffield Acad-
emy, Suffield, Conn, for one year, and one year at the Worcester Seminary, Wor-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 739
cester, Mass. Upon leaving the Worcester Academy, and before he had attained
his majority, John H. Ketcham's father died, leaving the care of his mother and a
numerous family to the resources of John Henry Ketcham and his older brother,
William. The two older brothers acquired the farm in common and began its cul-
tivation. Very soon there was located a marble quarry on their property and the
two brothers, working hard, developed a prosperous and pairing industry from this
quarry, which continued for a number of years.
His neighbors and townsfolk early recognized in John J. Ketcham qualities of
industry and capacity for leadership, which later were so remarkably developed,
and in 1853, before the subject of this sketch had attained his majority, they elected
him a member of the Board of Supervisors to represent his town at the County
seat. So well and so faithfully did he acquit himself in this, his first public office
that in the following year he was re-elected for a second term as the representative
of the town of Dover in the County Board. While still a member of this body he
was chosen a member of the State Legislature and was r&elected in the following
year.
When only 25 years of age in 1857 he was chosen a member of the State Senate,
being one of the youngest men who had ever been chosen a member of it. In 1859
he was unanimously renominated and re-elected by a handsome plurality.
Upon the expiration of his term as a state Legislator, Mr. Ketcham returned to
Dover Plains and resumed the care of his marble interests, and it was while thus
engaged that the call to arms for the preservation of the Union arose.
Upon the second call of President Lincoln for volunteers John H. Ketcham, in
conjunction with Benson J. Lossing, the noted historian, and the Hon. James P.
Emott, then a Justice of the New York Supreme Court, was appointed by Edwin D.
Morgan, War Governor of the State of New York, a member of the War Committee
for the counties of Dutchess and Columbia. Throughout the summer of 1862 John
H. Ketcham worked both night and day in an effort to recruit a regiment of the
"Sons of Dutchess", which would be representative of the best citizenship in Dutch-
ess County and by the fall of that year he had completed his quota. It was in re-
cognition of the untiring efforts in recruiting this regiment, (a further account of
which will be found in Chapter XIV of this work) that the choice unanimously fell
upon him to lead it, and he was chosen its Colonel.
At Savannah Gen. Ketcham was made Brigadier-General by Brevet, and sub-
sequently a Major-General by the same token. Upon being finally mustered out of
service it was with the full rank of Brigadier-General in the Volunteer Service.
It was while at the front with his command that the people of his district, as if in
grateful recognition of his military service, nominated him as its representative in
the 38th Congress, and he was elected to that body by a large majority. Gen. Ketch-
am was subsequently unanimously renominated and re-elected to the 39th, 40th
and 42nd Congresses and received the unanimous nomination of his party for mem-
bership in the 43rd Congress, in which election he was defeated. This was the
'famous campaign of 1872 an account of which will be found on page 246.
Gen. Grant, who throughout his whole public life entertained the warmest regard
for Gen. Ketcham, at this time offered the General a Commissionership of the Dis-
trict of Columbia. General Ketcham accepted this post andJgave to it the same
740 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
careful, painstaking and intelligent service which he had displayed in every position
of trust. His colleagues at that time were former Gov. Dennison of Ohio, and the
Hon. Henry T. Blow of Missouri. The city of Washington was then a primitive
city, but Gen. Ketcham was quick to see its possibilities, and it was largely through
his efforts that the Nation's capital has become what it is to-day — one of the most
beautiful cities in all the world. At the conclusion of his four years of service the
broad streets had been largely repaved with asphalt, dozens of parks had been laid
out, and the local government, which was then in the nature of an experiment, had
been placed on a sure and firm foundation. That his work for the benefit of Wash-
ington was appreciated by her citizens was evidenced by the many letters of com-
mendation and regard which Gen. Ketcham received at the expiration of his term
of office; and he was the guest of honor at a banquet tendered by the citizens of
Washington in commemoration of his faithful and intelligent efforts to serve the
District.
The people of Dutchess County were not content, however, to allow him to re-
tire from public life, and they elected him as their representative in the 45th
Congress ; and he was subsequently re-elected to the 46th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 60th,
51st and 52nd Congresses and was the unanimous choice of his Party for a nomina-
tion to the 53rd Congress, when owing to impaired health he was obliged to decline
a further nomination.
In 1894, after four years of retirement, he again yielded to the solicitation of his
constituents and was elected to the 55th, 56th, 57th, 58th and 59th Congresses, and
while lying on his bed in what proved to be his last illness, the Convention, well
knowing that it was doubtful whether he would survive, unanimously chose him as
their representative in the 60th Congress. Death came as the result of successive
apopletic strokes on the morning of Sunday, November 4th, 1906. No other mem-
ber of Congress, either in the Senate or in the Lower House, had represented his
people for so long a time as Gen. Ketcham. He was the dean of both branches of
the Federal Legislature. In the memorial serivces which followed warm tributes
of admiration and respect were tendered by many of his colleagues, including
Speaker Cannon, Representative (now Vice-President) James S. Sherman, and
Senator Chauncey M. Depew.
During his long Congressional career if there was one service more than another
in which Gen. Ketcham took an interest it was the Postal Service of the National
Government, and for many years he was a member of the Committee on Post Offices
and Post Roads in the National House. He also took a warm personal interest in
the government employees in the Postal Service, and it was largely through his
efforts, aided by the late Representative S. S. Cox of Ohio, that the law was passed
giving each employee in the Postal Service a yearly vacation of fifteen days with
pay. Another subject to which Gen. Ketcham gave much time and thought was
the establishment of Rural Free Delivery Routes, now indispensable in the various
Rural Districts throughout the length and breath of this land.
Very few men in the history of the State of New York have been so signally
honofed as Gen. Ketcham, and in these honors the people of Dutchess County have
taken a just pride. As was so happily said by Senator Depew in his memorial ad-
dress before the United States Senate, General Ketcham was one of the Country's
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 741
best products — manly, courageous and faithful in all the various relations of life,
and one who in his entire public service always deported himself with modesty,
dignity and propriety. The people of Dutchess County will find his place impossible
to fill, and, as the years go on, his loss will be felt more and more keenly.'
Gen. Ketcham was married on February 4th, 1858, to Augusta A., daughter to
William H. and Sarah A. Belden of New York City. From this marriage four chil-
dren were born: Augusta A., Henry B., Charles B. and Ethel B., of whom the three
latter, together with Mrs. Ketcham, survive.
Henry B. Ketcham was married on September 12th, 1889, to Sallie Gray Holman,
daughter of the late Samuel K. Holman, of Englewood, N. J., and they have three
children: Henry H., Katherine H. and John B.
Charles B. Ketcham was married in 1900 to Suzanne Brightson, daughter of
George E. Brightson, Esq., of Cold Spring Harbor, L. I., and they have two chil-
dren: Howard and Vernon.
WILLIAM S. KETCHAM, of Dover Plains, N. Y., a lead* of the Democratic party
in the Harlem Valley, was bom March 10, 1830, son of John M. and Elizabeth A.
(Stevens) Ketcham, both natives of Dover Plains. After finishing his education at
the public schools he was on the homestead farm for a time, and then was engaged in
the marble qtiarries for about twenty years with his brother John. His present farms '
which are devoted largely to dairying, comprise over 350 acres, with a stock of 60
head of cattle. Mr. Ketcham is a stockholder in the National Bank of Pawling, and
is interested in various other enterprises. He served his town as Supervisor in the
years 1859, 1866 and 1867.
Mr. Ketcham married Emily, daughter of Obediah Titus, and three sons were bom
to them, one of whom, William M., is now living, and was a former Mayor of Pough-
keepsie, and also held the office of Postmaster in the same city.
GEORGE W. KIDDER, coal and lumber dealer, of Staatsburg, N. Y., was bom
at East Alstead, Cheshire County, N. H., April 10, 1845, and received his education
in a school at the same place. He remained at the homestead until he reached his
majority, when he purchased a Kalf-interest in a machine shop at Alstead, taking
the name of Roob & Kidder for two years. In 1869 he sold out his interest and lo-
cated at Staatsburg, where he became a member of the firm of Herrick & Kidder
dealers in lumber and building material. This partnership was dissolved in April,
1875. Mr. Kidder then went to New York City, where he was engaged for ten
years by the Mutual Benefit Ice Company. In 1887 he purchased the coal business
of James Roach of Staatsburg, to which he added a stock of lumber and building
material. In 1888 he established a planing and sawmill, in which he has since
continued very successfully.
In December, 1874, Mr. Kidder was married to Julia, daughter of William H.
Rersley, of Staatsburg, and to them have been bom one son and one daughter.
Bertha M. and George Nelson.
Politically, Mr. Kidder is a Democrat of the old school. Socially, he is identified
with the Rhinebeck Lodge, No. 432, F. & A. M.
742 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
JOHN P. KIERNAN, Pawling, N. Y., was born in the town of Patterson, Put-
nam county, October 31, 1867. His parents removed to Pawling in 1869, where
the subject of this review acquired his education in the public schools. He was
then employed by Mr. G. S. Lee in the bottling of soda, with whom he remained for
over thirteen years, and in 1895 he purchased and has successfully continued the
business.
Mr. Kiernan has been active in the affairs of the Democratic party, and now holds
the office of Committeeman.
GEORGE M. KNAPP, Coroner of Dutchess county, was bom August 1, 1856, at
Highland, Ulster county, N. Y. After finishing his studies at the public schools of
his native place he was employed by Louis Leroy in the grocery business at Pleasant,
Plains, and then removed to Poughkeepsie to enter the employ of John A. Bailey
dealer in leather and shoe findings. From 1878 to 1882 Mr. Knapp was associated
with OHvet Brothers at FishkiU Landing in the meat business, and then estabhshed
a meat market for himself, in which he has since been successfully engaged. Mr.
Knapp in political belief is a Democrat, and has held the office of Collector of the town
of FishkiU for two terms; was trustee of the village of Fishkill Landing for one term,
and in 1906 was elected to the office of Coroner.
In 1867 he was united in marriage with Idella Elmendorf, and two children have
been bom to them : EUa and Grace.
Socially Mr. Knapp is a member of the Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias.
EUGENE M. LADUE, of East Fishkill, Dutchess county, was born November
17, 1852. Since finishing his studies at the Dutchess Academy he has been engaged
in the occupation of farming, and now conducts one of the most productive farms
in the town of East Fishkill.
Mr. Ladue was united in marriage with Miss Larina Smith.
W. WARD LADUE, of East Fishkill, Dutchess county, was bom October 1,
1861. He obtained his education in the public schools, later attended the Seymour
Academy at Pine Plains, and has since been occupied in the cultivation of his farm,
which has been in the Ladue family for four generations.
Mr. Ladue married Luella, daughter of the Rev. George R. and Susan Jane Shaw.
GEORGE LAMOREE, deceased, was bom December 8, 1819, on the Lamoree
homestead, in the town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess county, N. Y. After finishing
his studies at the New Paltz Academy he engaged successfully in farming in his native
town. Mr. Lamoree was an active member of the RepubUcan party and held several
elective offices, including Justice of the Peace, Town Supervisor, and Sheriff of Dutch-
ess county. He was appointed by President Lincoln internal revenue collector of
his district. Mr. Lamoree was one of the founders of the Poughkeepsie City Bank,
and a member of the board of directors during its existence.
In flie year 1864 he was united in marriage with Miss Jane Pells, a native of Rhine-
beck, N. Y., and four children were bom to them. Franklin Lamoree, the second
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 743
child, was born at Pleasant Valley, May 19, 1847. He finished his studies at the
Dutchess County Academy, and succeeded his father in the management of the home-
stead farm. He married Miss Kate Conover, and they are the parents of the following
children: Frederick, who married Lena Adams of East Park, N. Y.; Alice M., and
Grace, the latter now Mrs. Cooper Vanderwater of Salt Point.
WILLIAM G. LARY, Salt Point, N. Y., formerly Supervisor of the town of
Pleasant Valley, N. Y., was born September 21, 1857. In 1889 he engaged in the
wholesale butcher business which he has successfully continued to the present time,
his weekly shipments to New York exceeding four tons of dressed meats.
Mr. Lary was elected Supervisor in 1904; served as collector of the town of
Pleasant Valley for two terms; was Deputy Sheriff for sixteen years, and Post-
master of Salt Point for seven years.
LOUNT LATTIN, a prominent agriculturist residing at Staatsburgh, in the town
of Hyde Park, N. Y., was bom at Albion, Orleans county, and came to Dutchess
county in 1868, where he has since been engaged in farming. Mr. Lattin has taken
an active interest in the public affairs of his adopted town, and in 1893 was elected
to the office of Supervisor.
Mr. Lattin married Rosilla Morehouse of Hyde Park, N. Y., and the following
children were bom to them: Austin S., Bertha, Ezra M., Nathaniel T. and Justin I.
In religious beUef Mr. Lattin is aflSliated with the Presbyterian church of Pleasant
Plains.
WILLIAM J. LEAHEY, president of the Dutchess Manufacturing Company,
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born in this city, July 12, 1863. He was educated at St.
Peter's School, and also at the Poughkeepsie High School. He began.his business
life as a boy in the employ of the Dutchess Manufacturing Company at $2.00 a
week. Thorough and efficient in all his duties, Mr. Leahey made his services in-
valuable to his employers, and upon the death of Hon. J. Frank Hull in 1907 he
succeeded him as president of this company.
FREDERICK W. LEE, coal and lumber merchant, of Red Hook, N. Y., was bom
in the city of Poughkeepsie in 1873, a son of W. Morgan Lee, a prominent attorney
of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He was educated in the pubKc schools of his native city,
and in 1901 succeeded to the business of D. W. Wilbur, who had conducted a coal
and lumber business at Red Hook for twenty-two years. Mr. Lee also handles an
extensive line of building material.
He was united in marriage with Anna R. Hendricks of Red Hook.
Socially Mr. Lee is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
DAVIS C. LENT, manager of the Ramsdell brick yards, Fishkill, N. Y., was born
at Naugautuck, Conn., October 31, 1854, a son of Robert and Catherine (ConkUn)
Lent. He has a thorough knowledge of the various details of brick-making and was
the first to attempt the burning of brick with anthracite Coal, which he successfully
accomplished at his father's brickyard at Glasco, N. Y.
744 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In 1898 Mr. Lent took charge of the Ramsdell yard, which at that time was
operated with six machines, having an average output of 18,000 bricks per ma-
. chine daily. In 1905 three machines and an electric plant were added to the
equipment, and the yard now has a capacity of 27,000,000 brick per annum.
October 18, 1878, Mr. Lent married Mary E. Seaman of Ulster County, and the
following children were bom to them; Grace E. (deceased) Mabel May and Ward S.
JERRY LINEHAN, a prominent citizen of the town of Dover, was bom in this
town March 8, 1876. After acquiring his education in the public schools he engaged
in the occupation of farming for six years, and then engaged in the blacksmith busi-
ness for a period of twelve years. He is now conducting a hotel and livery business
at Wingdale, N. Y.
FRANK B. LOWN was bom at the village of Red Hook, Dutchess county, N. Y.
Jantiary 1, 1849. He is the son of David and Jane M. Lown, and with his parents
removed to the city of Poughkeepsie in 1857, where he has since resided. Mr.
Lown was educated at the public schools of Poughkeepsie, and in 1871 entered the
law ofifice of Nelson & Baker as a law student. After being admitted to the Bar
he became a clerk in the office of Thompson & Weeks, then the oldest firm of
practitioners in the county. In 1878 the firm of Thompson, Weeks & Lown was
formed, and upon the death of James H. Weeks, in 1887, and of John Thompson,
in 1891, Mr. Lown became the sole survivor. He is still engaged in the practice of
his profession in the city of Poughkeepsie.
MICHAEL J. LYNCH, deceased, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was bom in Ireland
June 8, 1846. When eighteen years of age he accompanied his mother to America
and at once entered the employ of a florist on Staten Island, and was so engaged
until 1868, when he accepted a position with WiUiam B. Dinsmore as head gardener
of "The Locusts," Staatsburgh, N. Y. In 1871 Mr. Lynch came to Poughkeepsie
and established the present seed and floral business, which is continued by his widow
and son. "Lynch's Tested Seed" is known throughout Dutchess and adjoining
counties, and the demand for their plants and cut flowers exceeds that of any in this
section of the State.
In 1870 Mr. Lynch married Catherine Powers of Rhinebeck, and to them have
been bom the following children: Thomas M., John M., Mary, Maggie, James E.
and Catherine.
JAMES E, McCAMBRIDGE, M. D., was bom at Kingston, Ontario, in 1881.
After graduating from the Kingston Collegiate Institute in 1899 he took a course in
Regiopolis College. His medical education was acquired at the Queen's Medical Col-
lege, Canada, from which he graduated in 1903. He then entered the New York
State Hospital for the Insane at Ward's Island, where he served as interne from April
1903 to August of the same year, and from that time until June 1, 1906, pursued his
specialty of eye and ear surgeon at the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital; he was ap-
pointed assistant surgeon to this institution, which office he still retains. He located
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 745
in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., January 1, 1906, where he has since been engaged in the
practice of his profession. He is a member of the Medical Society of Dutchess Coun-
ty; the New York State Medical Society, and the Manhattan Alumni.
Dr. McCambridge was united in marriage with Miss Isabella Milford of St. Louis,
Mo., in 1908.
JOHN E. MACK, District Attorney of Dutchess County, was born in Pough-
keepsie June 10, 1874. He received his preliminary education in St. Mary's Paro-
chial school and the Poughkeepsie High School. He then began the study of law
in the offices of Hackett & WilKams, and Allison Butts. He was admitted to the
bar in January, 1896.
Politically, Mr. Mack is a Democrat, and in November 1899, was elected a Jus-
tice of the Peace of the town of Poughkeepsie. So impartially did he administer
the duties of his office during his first term that in the fall of 1903 the Republicans
unanimously endorsed his nomination for re-electionfor the ensuing four years' term.
In 1907 Mr. Mack was elected to the office of district attorney, and is today dili-
gently and ably performing the duties of that office.
Mr. Mack is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and of St. Mary's Catholic
Church. October 25, 1899, he was united in marriage with WiUielminia B., daugh-
ter of Theodore and Mary Imrriekus, of Poughkeepsie. They have three children,
Margaret M., John and Frances.
D. H. MACKENZIE, M. D., was bom in Nova Scotia in 1860. He received his
academic education at Dalhousie University, Halifax, and pursued his medical
studies at the University of the City of New York, graduating in 1889. He located
in the village of Mabbettsville, Dutchess county, in 1890, and removed to Millbrook
in 1900. Dr. MacKenzie served as Health Officer of the town of Washington for
fifteen years. He is a trustee of the Millbrook library, and Past Master of Halcyon
Lodge, P. & A. M.
In 1893 Dr. MacKenzie was united in marriage with Helen Coffin, and the fol-
lowing children were bom to them : Hugh ; Gilbert Coffin ; Edwin Gordon.
THE MAHER FAMILY came to America from MuUinahbne, County of Tipper-
ary, Ireland, where they were residents for centuries, and the old homestead in the
county mentioned is stiU in the hands of relatives. In Irelartd they were engaged
in the wheat grinding business. John Maher, grandfather of David, and great
grandfather of Richard F., was married in 1720 to Anastatia O'Brien, and to this
union were born seven children, as follows: Michael, John, Thomas, Richard, Mary
Alice and Margaret. Michael Maher married Catherine Meagher, and they became
the parents of nine children: John B., Anna, EUza, Richard, Thomas, Ellen, David,
Mary and Joseph A. Michael Maher came to this country in 1849 and settled on
Quaker Hill and in 1856 moved to the town of Dover. John B. married Mary Or-
mond of Putnam county; they had one son, Richard Francis Maher. Thomas
married Isabella Bennett of New York City; Eliza married John Costin; Ellen died
in infancy; Joseph A. studied for the'priesthood, and was ordained at St. John
746 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Lateran's, Rome, Italy, in 1882; David F., Richard, Anna and Mary never married.
Richard F. Maher, the present town clerk and collector of the town of Dover, is
one of the Democratic political leaders in the Harlem Valley. He is engaged with
his uncle in the marble business at Dover Plains. Mr. Maher is of a literary turn of
mind, and is the author of the history of the Town of Dover, which is a part of this
pubUcation. He is also the author of Historic Dover, and a trustee of the Dover
Plains Ubrary.
ARCHIBALD M. MARONEY who is engaged in the farm produce business in
the town of Poughkeepsie, is a native of Orange county, N. Y., and was for many
years engaged in the cattle business at Washingtonville, N. Y. He was for a time
interested in the hotel and livery business at Cornwall, N. Y., and then spent four
years in Chicago and Wisconsin dealing in horses and cattle.
Since 1906 Mr. Maroney and his family have made their home in Dutchess county.
GEORGE E. MASTEN, town clerk of the town of Pleasant Valley, N. Y., was
bom August 26, 1873. After graduating from Eastman's Business College he was
engaged in farming for a time, operating a steam-thresher. In 1903 he estab-
lished his present feed store, under the name of Hasten & R3rmph, and in 1906
Mr. Hasten purchased the interest of his partner. He served as member of the
Board of Election Inspectors from 1899 to 1907, and was Justice of the Peace from
1903 to 1907. Socially he is a member of the Hasonic fraternity, the Grange,
and the Pleasant Valley Fire Company.
In 1900 he married Rose E. Hyers of East Park, and they are the parents of one
son, Floyd Edward, born Harch 8, 1906.
EDWARD D. MAYER, attorney, Matteawan, N. Y., was born at Kingston, N.
Y., September 30, 1879, where he obtained his education in the pubUc schools and
Kingston Academy. This was supplemented by a course in Muhlenberg College
at AUentown, Pa., from which he graduated in 1900 with the degree of A. B. He
then entered the New York Law School, from which he graduated in 1904. Hr.
Hayer was employed for a time in the office of Judge G. D. B. Hasbrouck, New York
City, and was admitted to the Bar in 1905.
March 9, 1905 he married Amelia C. VanVliet, and they are the parents of one
son, Lloyd Van Vliet.
MORRIS PHILIP HEADE of Wingdale, N. Y., was born November 14, 1882, a
son of Roselle and Martha W. (Hoag) Meade. After finishing his studies in the
Poughkeepsie High School and the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass., he
engaged in his present vocation of farming. In addition to cultivating his own farm
of 196 acres, he leases the adjoining farm of 200 acres.
Mr. Meade was united in marriage with Jennie S. Paulson of Catskill, N. Y., and
theyjiave one child, Marion A.
Roselle Meade, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Kent,
Putnam county, in 1847, and died April 25, 1898. In 1868 he purchased the home-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 747
stead farm in the town of Wingdale, where he resided until his death. He held
the office of Assessor for twelve consecutive years prior to 1897, when he was elected
Supervisor.
In 1875 he married Martha, daughter of Philip Hoag, and they became the par-
ents of six children, of whom four are now living.
JAMES G. MEYER, attorney, was born at Fishkill Landing, N. Y., in 1864. He
was educated in the public schools of Fishkill Landing, and at Rutgers College,from
which he graduated in 1884 with the degree of A. B., and in 1887 took the degree of
A. M. He studied law in the office of Judge S. K. Phillips at Matteawan, N. Y.,
and was counsel to the town and village boards of Fishkill Landing and Matteawan.
He has planned and put through nearly all the improvements which the villages
now enjoy.
Mr. Meyer was married to Annie, daughter of William and Elizabeth Rothery of
Matteawan, and to them have been bom one son and one daughter: Charles A., a
student at Wilson's School, Matteawan, and Marion R., a student at Wells College,
Aurora, N. Y.
Mr. Meyer is a member of the F. & A. M. ; also the Hudson River Commandery.
WALTER P. MILLARD a retired lumber merchant residing at New Ham-
burgh, N. Y., was bom in this village October 8th, 1840, where he attended the
district schools, finishing his studies at Hamilton Collegiate Institute, White Plains,
and at Bryant and Stratton's Mercantile College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
From 1858 to '66 he was employed by his father in the lumber trade at New Ham-
burgh. They then removed to Tarrytown, where for five years they continued the
same business under the firm name of W. P. & W. Millard. Our subject then be-
came associated with his brother Justice E. in the lumber business at Yonkers,
under the firm name of J. E. & W. P. Millard. In 1877 he returned to New Ham-
burgh where he has since resided.
Mr. Millard was united in marriage November 17, 1868, with Emma, daughter of
James D. and Eliza (Hoffman) Bishop. One child Mary Eliza was bom to them
May 11, 1870. She is now the wife of Frank B. Drake of New Hamburgh, who are
the parents of Walter Millard, bom March 30, 1897, and Edna Frances, born July
24, 1900.
Mr. Millard is a member of the following Masonic organizations: Solomons
Lodge No. 196 Tarrytown; Poughkeepsie Chapter R. A. M. No. 172; King Solomon
Council No. 31; R. & S. M. Poughkeepsie; and Poughkeepsie Commandery No. 43.
He is also identified with other fratemal orders. In religious belief he is affiliated
with the Presbyterian Church.
The paternal ancestors of Mr. Millard were from New England. His great-grand-
father, John was bom in Massachussetts, January 15, 1736, and died November
22, 1812. He married Christina Rust, June 17, 1831. They had the following chil-
dren: Charles, Rufus, Philo, Ira, Russell, Sarah, Jerasha, Clove, Diantha, of whom
Charles, grandfather of our subject was bom in Cornwall, Conn., Febmary 19, 1763.
He served in the Revolutionary Army, and was stationed at Newburgh under Gen-
748 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
eral Washington, at the time Benedict Arnold betrayed his country, and fled from
West Point. August 13, 1788, he married Lidia, daughter of John and Magdaline
Pride, who conducted the notable hostelry "Pride's Tavern" on the post road three
miles north of Poughkeepsie. It was at this Inn that the Marqiiis de Chastellux
lodged in 1781, on his journey through Dutchess County, and account of which ap-
pears in Chapter XIII.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Millard lived on a farm in what is now the town of Hyde
Park, until 1792, when he moved to Poughkeepsie, and engaged in the manufacture
of lumber in Walter Livingston's mill. In 1796 he moved to Marlborough, N. Y.
and continued the same business. To this couple were bom the following children :
John, a merchant in Brooklyn, N. Y., James, a lumber merchant in Catskill, N. Y.,
Charles, a merchant in New Orleans, La., and WiUiam a gentleman of means who
travelled extensively; Walter (our subject's father) was associated in business with
bis father; Cornelia who married Heckaliah Purdy; Catherine married Elam Dun-
bar, and Caroline remained single. Mrs. Millard died June 17, 1816, and October
22, 1818, Mr. Millard married Sarah Miller, by whom he had two children, Mar-
geret C. who became the wife of Justice E. Earl, and Franklin who married Fannie
VanZant. Walter Millard, our subject's father, was bom in Marlborough, Ulster,
County, N. Y. on February 27, 1802, and remained there until the removal of his
family to New Hamburgh in 1824, where he was engaged in the lumber business.
In 1834 he also became interested in freighting and built the barge "Lexington"
which plied between New York and New Hamburgh. In 1844 he purchased the
steamboat "Splendid" and carried freight and passengers from New Hamburgh
and Marlborough to New York. About 1855 he disposed of this line of business to
give his attention to dealing in lumber and coal, which he continued until his
death August 20, 1880.
Mr. Walter Millard was married November 14, 1834, to Martha Hyer Bull of
New York City. She died June 14, 1896. The following children were bom to
them: William B., Sarah A., Walter P., Justice E., Fenwick T., Howard C. and
Charles.
ALFRED MOORE, deceased, a native of Dutchess county was born at Verbank,
and always lived in the town of Lagrange. He was a son of Stephen and Ruth
Clark Moore. Stephen Moore came from Plattsburg, N. Y. early in the nineteenth
centvary and owned and operated the mill at Moore's Mill from which the village
derived its name. This mill was built in 1812 and has been in the possession of the
family for nearly a century. On maintaining manhood he engaged in fanning and
also operated the mill. He was a Quaker in faith and a devoted friend to liberty,
his house having been a station on the "Underground railroad" by which so many
slaves made their way to freedom. His wife, Charlotte Haviland, was a daughter
of Isaac Haviland, of Quaker Hill, and both lived to a ripe old age, Mr. Moore de-
parting this life at the age of eighty-eight and his wife at the age of eighty-nine.
They .had seven children: Lydia, the wife of Daniel Willets of Jericho, L. I.;
Ruth (Mrs. P. A. Skidmore) ; Susan who resides at Moore's Mill and Alfred H. who
is in the employ of the United States Government, at ElUs Island and also con-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 749
ducts a stock farm at Moore's Mill. Three children, Charlotte, Andrew and Annie
are deceased. Miss Susan Moore is the proprietor of "Floral Home", a delightful
summer boarding house at Moore's Mill.
. FREDERICK N. MORGAN, cashier of the First National Bank, Poughkeepsie,
N. Y., was bom in this city October 3, 1870. He received his education in private
schools and at Riverview Academy, from which he was graduated in 1889, and the
same year he secvtred a position as correspondence clerk in the Merchants National
Bank, Poughkeepsie, continuing as such until 1893, when he was made teller of
the First National Bank. In July 1907 he was appointed assistant cashier of this
institution, and in 1908 was further promoted to the position of cashier upon the
resignation of Mr. Whipple.
Mr. Morgan is a grandson of Mr. Reuben North, a former cashier of the Pough-
keepsie National Bank, who died October 26, 1880, at the advanced age of 73 years.
Mr. North was a native of Goshen, Conn., and since 1833 had been a resident of
Poughkeepsie. In 1876 he was chosen teller of the Poufhkeepsie Bank, and in
1844 was appointed cashier, which position he filled with signal ability.
In 1837 he was united in marriage with Helen Wood of Poughkeepsie, and the
following children were bom to them: Rebecca O., who married Joseph G. Frost;
Sarah F., who became the wife of Walter S. Morgan, parents of the subject of this
review; May H., who married Isaac Newlin, and John W.
JOSEPH MORSCHAUSER, Justice of the Supreme Court, in the Ninth Judicial
District, State of New York, was bom in the town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County,
New York, March 30th, 1863.
His parents were natives of Germany, his father being Joseph Morschauser, who^
with his family, settled in the town of Hyde Park in 1850. He attended the public
schools of his native town and removed in his youth to Poughkeepsie, where he
studied law with the late Judge Charles Wheaton and Daniel W. Guernsey and was
privately tutored for two years by Miss Helen Mary Everett, who had been a teacher
for thirty years in our public schools and retired in 1878.
Miss Everett was regarded as one of the most remarkable teachers the city ever
had and many well known men have testified to her ability to impart information
and leave a lasting impression. She was an exceptionally intelligent and indepen-
dent woman.
He was admitted to the bar in 1884. He at once began the practice of law in
Poughkeepsie, where two years later he was appointed justice of the peace, and was
twice thereafter elected to that office, which he filled for six years.
In 1898 he was elected on the Republican ticket recorder of the city of Pough-
keepsie. In 1902, a city court was created for the city of Poughkeepsie, and Judge
Morschauser was appointed by the mayor to be judge of that court. His term of
four years expired December 31, 1905, when he was re-appointed for another term.
During the twenty-one years in which he practiced law. Judge Morschauser was
prominently and successfully connected with many important cases at the Dutchess.
County Bar.
750 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
When, in 1906, the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland and
Orange were separated from the second judicial district and embodied in the new
Ninth Judicial District by act of the Legislature, the Republican party selected
Judge Morschauser to be one of three nominees for the new judgeships provided for
the district, the other nominees being Mr. Justice Isaac N. Mills of Westchester and
Mr. Justice Arthur S. Tompkins of Rockland. The Republican nominees were
elected by large majorities and began the duties of the court on January 1st, 1907.
Although the work of the court requires his attendance in Westchester and the
other counties outside of Dutchess nearly half of his time, Mr. Justice Morschauser
makes his home in Poughkeepsie, his house being at 310 Mill Street, and when not
engaged by assignment in other parts of the district he is almost always to be found
in the Supreme Court Chambers in the Dutchess County Court House, following
the practice pursued for so many years by the late Judge Barnard of making him-
self available at all times to lawyers and litigants having business before the Court.
He was married in 1889 to Miss Katherine W. Bauer, daughter of the late Joseph
Bauer of Poughkeepsie. They have one son, Joseph Morschasuer, Jr., bom 1895,
who is a student at Riverview Military Academy.
JAMES H. MULLEN was born December 4, 1853 at what is now 693 Main Street,
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In 1867 his parents removed to 585 Main Street, conducting
a small grocery until 1873, when they erected the Mullen building at the corner of
East Mansion Street. In the same year James H. Mullen imdertook the manage-
ment of the business and has continued it successfully since.
Mr. Mullen was associated for years with the Retail Merchants Association and
latterly with the Chamber of Commerce. He has given considerable time to poli-
tics as a Democrat, and from 1890-92 served as Alderman of the fifth ward, Pough-
keepsie. In 1895 he was elected supervisor of the seventh ward and re-elected in
1897-'98;: 1899-1900, and again in 1905. He resigned January 1, 1907, to accept
the appointment of city assessor, to which office he was re-appointed in 1909 by
Mayor Sague.
Mr. Mullen was married May 31, 1883 to Miss Mary Hayes of Poughkeepsie.
They became the parents of three sons and two daughters.
J. W. MULLEN, president of the village of Wappingers Falls, is a native of Ire-
land, and came to America at the age of seven years. He has been a resident of
Wappingers Palls for forty years, of which he spent twenty-six years in the employ
of the Dutchess Print Works. Nineteen years ago he acquired his present hotel.
In public life Mr. Mullen has served two years as village assessor and two years as
village trustee. He was elected president of the village in March 1909.
Mr. Mullen married Annie Dowling, and eight children were bom to them, of
whom Katherine V. is a teacher in a Poughkeepsie school; Thomas and John are
engaged in business in New York City, and the remaining children reside with their
parents.
WILLIAM A. MURPHY who conducts a grist and saw mill near the village of
Poughquag, in the town of Beekman, Dutchess county, was born at Arthtirsburg
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 761
in the adjoining town of La Grange. He was educated in the public schools of his
native place, and soon became interested in the niilling business, in which he has
been continuously engaged, purchasing his present property in 1898.
Mr. Murphy has served as school trustee, and has held the office of town clerk of
the town of Beekman for four years. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F.
EZRA MUSSELMAN, Superintendent of the Seneca Button factory, Poughkeep-
sie, N. Y., was bom in Ontario, Canada, January 23, 1867. Early in life he entered
the employ of the Seneca Button Company at Seneca Palls, N. Y., and by diligent
effort has worked his way up to the present position. When the plant was removed
to Dutchess county in 1907 Mr. Musselman was instrumental in establishing the
business here. The capacity of this plant exceeds 75,000 gross and gives employ-
ment to about 300 hands.
Mr. Musselman is a member of the Masonic fraternity, including the Blue Lodge,
Chapter and Commandery. He was united in marriage (Ksith Annie Gillies of On-
tario, Canada.
GEORGE NAGENGAST, the efficient and popular chief of the Pire Department,
was bom in Poughkeepsie, June 10, 1852, the son of Charles Nagengast who came
from Bavaria, Germany to this city in 1840, and who was foreman for the blasting
furnace located here.
Mr. Nagengast at the age of eleven years entered the cigar factory remaining at
that calling until early in 1883, when he embarked in the meat business for a short
time. He then returned to his trade remaining until October of the same year.
He began life as a hotel keep^ in what is now known as the Hudson River House.
He conducted the same for eight years when he purchased the International at
435 Main Street, where he remained over five years, and then purchased The Globe,
403 Main Street. He has been very successful in business and in real estate in-
vestments and is the owner of a number of valuable properties in Poughkeepsie.
He is a public spirited citizen and ever ready and foremost to promote the real
welfare and prosperity of his native city.
Politics he has never sought, nor accepted offices of any kind, but has always de-
voted all his spare time to the interest of the fire department. He joined the
Niagara Engine Company when only eighteen years of age and has been its foreman
and treasurer four years, later resigning and joining O. H. Booth Hose as active and
has been its treasurer, and is at present the same. He has also been treasurer for
several tournaments held by the department.
He has been chief since 1901 and is now rounding out his thirty-ninth year of
active service as a fire fighter, having a record for both work and achievement un-
equalled by any other citizen of Poughkeepsie, or probably of any other city in
the country.
Mr. Nagengast was married November 2, 1878, to Miss CaroKne L. Swartout,
daughter of WiUiam and Adeline (Martin) "Swartout, to whom was born, two
daughters, Araminta H. and Lillian M.
752 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
HORATIO NELSON was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 15, 1863. He obtained
his education at Cheshire Academy, Cheshire, Conn., and Trinity College, Hartford.
After travelling extensively abroad for a period of two years, he became connected
with the Jersey City stock yards. He then engaged in farming at Dover Plains un-
til 1893, when he purchased a country place on the South Road in the town of
Poughkeepsie, known as "The Farms," where he now maintains his residence.
THE NELSON HOUSE. In 1874 the old Forbus House, on Market street, was
purchased by Judge Nelson for his sister, Mrs. E. P. Taylor. The year following
the structure was torn down, with the exception of the three story brick addition,
which was built several years earUer, and now forms the southern part of the present
Nelson House. The new hotel, the Nelson House, was formally opened, with a
banquet, on May 19, 1876, by Peter Foland, who came here from Albany. Shortly
thereafter Captain A. P. Black purchased Foland's interest, leased the property
for a term of years, and conducted the hotel for a time. During the existence of
his lease several proprietors occupied the hotel for short periods until May 1, 1884,
when the present proprietor, Horatio N. Bain, took possession, and has conducted
it continuously to the present time.
The Poughkeepsie Hotel, another of the city's old landmarks, has several times
been partially destroyed by fire. After its partial destruction by fire while under
the management of Isaac N. Seaman, the property came into the possession of
Richard P. Morgan, Jr., as guardian of the grandchildren of John H. Rutzer. Mr.
Morgan altered the building in 1877-78 by removing the lower veranda. In the
spring of 1878 the hotel was leased to Milton Bain, who died in the spring of 1883
and was succeeded by his son, Horatio N. Bain, who conducted it until 1884, when
Mr. Bain sold it to Edward D. Morgan, son of Richard P. Morgan, Jr., who ran the
hotel for a time, became involved, and made an assignment. He was succeeded
by Mrs. Isaac N. Seaman and her son Fred. This property was then sold at
auction — ^partition sale— and was purchased by the Hon. Homer A. Nelson, April
1, 1886. In the meantime Horatio N. Bain had purchased the furniture and fix-
tures from O. D. M. Baker, assignee for E. D. Morgan. Mr. Bain conducted the
hotel for a short time prior to the time Judge Nelson removed the balconies, and
constructed an entirely new front, as it appears to-day. Mr. Bain was the last
actual proprietor of the Poughkeepsie Hotel. Since 1886 the property has been
occupied by Horatio N. Bain as an annex to the Nelson House.
THE NEW YORK RUBBER COMPANY was organized under the original
Mining and Manufacturing Act of 1848, to manufacture articles under the Good-
year patent. Messrs. Benjamin F. Lee ,W. D. Judson, John Greacen of New York,
and others, being the charter members. The company first began operations on
Staten Island, and in 1857 they bought the water power of what was then known
as the Wiccopee Mills, in the town of Fishkill, which was then making "jeans," or
cotton goods of blue or slate color. The New York Rubber Co. on taking posses-
sion enlarged the mill, but did not at first put in steam as the water power was con-
sidered sufficient. The capital which was then $75,000. has been increased from
JOHN V. O'FARRELL.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 753
time to time, so that it is now $300,000. Steam was introduced six years ago, and
the business had grown to nearly a million dollars in 1907. Previous to that time
the company had built a new dam just below what is known as Wolcott Bridge, and
this gave rise to a long litigation with the Rotherys, who had operated file works
on the creek above for many years. The dispute was finally adjusted.
Mr. John P. Rider, president of the company, became connected with the indus-
try in 1863, holding the office of Secretary, with headquarters in New York until
1883, when, after the death of Henry A. Alden, he was made Vice-president, and
manager of the works at Fishkill.
The other officers are John Acken, Vice-president, Henry Montgomery, 2d Vice-
President, Rxifus A. Brown, Secretary and Treasurer.
The plant gives employment to 250 persons.
DANIEL O'CONNELL, a prominent citizen residing at Barrjrtown, N. Y., was
born in the town of Red Hook in 1860, and attended the sckools of his native place.
He served four years as an operator for the New York Central Railroad, and in 1883
was appointed station agent at Barrytown. He has also held the office of Postmaster
at Barrytown since Cleveland's second administration, and has taken an active part
in all matters pertaining to the welfare of this village. Mr. O'Connell is a trustee of
the Sacred Heart Church, and a member of Florentine Council, Knights of Columbus.
JOHN V. O'FARRELL was bom in the county of Waterford, Ireland, March 2,
1845. In 1848 his parents came to America, locating at Wappingers Palls, N. Y.,.
where he received his education in the public schools. At an early age he was em-
ployed in the Print Works of that village, and in August, 1864, he enlisted in the
Third New York Calvary, and served until the end of the Civil War, being mustered
out at Suffolk, Va. He then returned to Wappingers Falls and learned the carpen-
ters trade and began business for himself as contractor and builder, which occupa-
tion he filled continuously for thirty years.
Mr. O'Farrell was for a time also interested in the ice business. In 1906 he re-
tired from an active business career. At the present time he is vice-president of
the Wappingers Palls National Bank.
Politically Mr. O'Farrell has always been a consistent Republican, and has taken
an active part in the affairs of that party in Dutchess county. He has served two
terms as assessor of the town of Poughkeepsie, and nine years as trustee of the vil-
lage of Wappingers Falls, and is now serving his fourth term as Supervisor of the
town of Wappingers. He is a former chief of the village fire department.
In 1867 he was united in marriage with Mary A. Downey, and to them have been
bom six children: Vincent, Leo, Joseph, Raymond, Marie and Emmet.
FRANK S. ORMSBEE, attorney, of Madalin, N. Y., was born in the town of
Windham, Greene county, N. Y., March 20, 1844. He obtained his preUminary
education at Ashland Collegiate Institute, Windham, and studied law in the office
of D. K. Olney of Catskill, graduating in the year 1865 from the Albany Law School,
when he was admitted to the Bar. In 1869 Mr. Ormsbee took up his residence at
754 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Madalin, Dutchess county, where he has continuously made his home. Politically
he is a Republican, and has held the ofBce of Supervisor of the town of Red Hook
for two consecutive terms, — 1881-'82. The last term he was chairman of the Board.
In 1877 Mr. Ormsbee was united in marriage with Mary C. Wagner of Columbia
county, N. Y.
DR. JOHN HAVILAND OTIS was bom at Harts Village, Dutchess County
New York, July 27th, 1871, son of Dr. John C. and Catharine Haviland Otis. He
with his parents removed to Poughkeepsie, January 1, 1872. Educated at private
schools he graduated at Riverview Military Academy in 1888, and immediately
took up the study of medicine entering the New York Homeopathic Medical Col-
lege in that year, and was graduated in 1892. He commenced practice with his
father at Poughkeepsie immediately after graduating. In October 1894 he married
Miss Louise N. Smith also of Poughkeepsie, and she with three children, Anna
Smith, aged 10, John Hunting, aged 7, and Catharine Haviland, aged 5, survive
"him. During his absorbing professional career he gave special attention to diseases
of children. Almost every year he took a course in Post Graduate in New York.
He was a member of New York State Homeopathic Medical Society, President of
the Dutchess County Homeopathic Medical Society, member of the Tri-County
Homeopathic Medical Society of Dutchess, Orange and Ulster Counties, and the
Alumni Society of the New York Homeopathic Medical College. He was also a
Mason and Knight of Phythias. For several years he was attending physician at
the City Home, and at the time of his death one of the Charity Commissioners.
Repeated attacks of rheumatism finally produced valvular heart disease which he
bravely combatted for several years, but finally in 1905 he began to first show
•signs of serious trouble. He continued the practice of his profession with slight in-
terruptions up to the first part of January 1907, when a severe attack of La Grippe
disabled him, and he went south for several weeks, but the unprecedented heat
there greatly weakened him, and on his return home serious liver and kidney com-
plications supervened from which he partially rallied, but the onset of extreme hot
weather gradually reduced his strength, heart stimulants failed, and in the early
morning of June 30, 1907 the end came. His labors ceased, and he is at rest.
GEORGE OVEROCKER, attorney, was bom in the town of Poughkeepsie,
November 28, 1875. He finished his academic studies in the Poughkeepsie High
School and St. Stephen's College, Annandale, N. Y. He read law in the ofiice of
Stephen G. Guernsey, Poughkeepsie, and was admitted to the Bar June 1894.
Politically Mr. Overocker is a Republican, and held the office of Justice of the Peace
in Poughkeepsie for two years; he was deputy County Clerk for Dutchess county
from 1901 to 1906. He is a member of the Amrita and Dutchess Clubs.
HENRY F. OWSLEY, M. D. was bom in Ohio in 1870, and educated in the
■school^of his native State, including the Rayne School at Youngstown, O. He
piursued his medical studies at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York,
from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D., and received an appoint-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 755
ment as interne surgeon to Bellevue Hospital, 1897 to 1899. He was engaged in
the practice of his profession in New York City until 1908, when he removed to
Green Haven, Dutchess county. Dr. Owsley is a member of the Medical Society
of Dutchess county; the New York State Medical Society, and the Alumni of
Bellevue Hospital.
Socially he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of the New
York Yacht Club.
CHARLES B. PALMER was bom in the town of Thurman, Warren county, N.
Y., September 16, 1868. After finishing his studies at Fort Edward Institute he
came to Dutchess county (July, 1891) to accept a position, as book-keeper with the
Dutchess Mantifacturing Company. He was made credit manager of this concern
in 1896, and June 1, 1907, was elected a member of the board of trustees. The
same year he was appointed secretary and treasurer of the company.
Mr. Palmer was united in marriage with Miss Nellis M. Caijtnon of Poughkeepsie
in 1889, and they are the parents of two children: Julia Evelyn and Charles B., Jr.
Socially Mr. Palmer is a member of Triune Lodge, No. 782, F. & A. M. ; Lodge
No. 275, B. P. O. E. He is a member of the Amrita Club, Poughkeepsie; the New
York Athletic Club, and in religious belief is affiUated with the Congregational
church.
EDWA.RD E. PERKINS, attorney, and chairman of the Dutchess County Demo-
cratic Committee, was bom in the town of Poughkeepsie February 4, 1863. He
acquired his early education in the schools of his native town, and at the age of
fifteen entered the Pelham Institute, Poughkeepsie. After finishing his prelim-
inary studies he read law in the office of O. D. M. Baker, and was admitted to the
Bar in 1886; he began the practice of his profession in Poughkeepsie. In 1887
Mr. Perkins was one of the organizers of the Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad Co.,
and was elected its first president and treasurer. In 1890 he went to Texas and
engaged in reorganizing and building an extension of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande
Railroad from Comanche to Brownwood. He then became associated with Mr. T.
L. MassaUs of Dallas, Texas, in the completion and extension of the Dallas & Oak
Cliff Railroad, and later in the building of the West Dallas Railroad, of which Mr.
Perkins became president. While residing in Dallas he was elected president of
the American Savings Bank and Trust Company, and was selected by the Travellers'
Insurance Company of Hartford, Conn., for their financial and loan representative
of the State of Texas. In 1893 he organized the American National Bank, of which
he held the office of vice-president. The same year he returned to his native town
and resumed the practice of his profession. In 1909 Mr. Perkins was chosen pres-
ident of the First National Bank of Poughkeepsie. He is also president of the
Enterprise Publishing Co.
June 23, 1891 he was united in marriage with Mary D. Beard of Poughkeepsie,
and three children have been born to them: OUve E., Jeannie Marie and Argenta.
EDMUND SCHOFIELD PHILLIPS, deceased, the first lawyer to locate at
Matteawan, N. Y., was born in the town of Wappinger, (then Pishkill) December 6,
756 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
1836, and was educated in the public schools of Dutchess county. In 1862 he set-
tled at Matteawan, and resided there until his death, July 23, 1898.
Mr. Phillips held the office of Justice of the Peace in Matteawan from 1863 to
1867, when he was admitted to the Bar and began the practice of his profession.
He was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Onderdonk of Matteawan, and the
following children were born to them: William O. who died in infancy; Samuel K..
Eleanor; Sherwood, and Eveline Gertrude (Bishop).
JARVIS S. PHILLIPS, farmer and auctioneer, residing near Hopewell Junction,
N. Y., was bom in the town of East Fishkill March 21, 1853, a son of William W. and
Mary M. Phillips. Besides cultivating his farm of 120 acres, Mr. Phillips has de-
voted considerable time to pubUc afEairs. He has served three years as Commis-
sioner of Highways, and has also held the ofBce of Postmaster. He was one of the
organizers of the East Fishkill Telephone Co.
March 3, 1875 he married Susan E. Brackett of the town of Greenfield, Saratoga
county, N. Y., and two children were bom to them,: Joseph W. and Ella A.
SAMUEL K. PHILLIPS, former Judge of Dutchess County, was bom in Brook-
lyn, N. Y., Feb. 12, 1858. Since the age of four years he has had his home in the
village of Matteawan, his father, Edmund S. Phillips, being the first lawyer to locate
in that village.
Judge Phillips received his education in private and public schools of the Town
of Fishkill, and at an early age began his professional studies in his father's ofiice.
He was admitted to the Bar in 1879 and immediately engaged in practice. He has
been retained as counsel in nearly all the cases of note in southern Dutchess during
the last twenty-five years. He was engaged by the state of New York to take
charge of the legal matters in connection with the location of the State Hospital at
Matteawan, and later was employed by the state to acquire a right of way for a
sewer from that institution to the Hudson River. He is the legal adviser of many
of the leading enterprises of the town of Fishkill. He is President of and attorney
for the Matteawan Savings Bank, attorney for The Mechanic's Savings Bank of
FishkiU Landing, a director of the Matteawan National Bank, and of the Fishkill
Railway system. He is a trustee and treasurer of the Highland Hospital, and for
over a quarter of a century has been prominently identified with the affairs of the
Methodist Episcopal Church at Matteawan.
Judge Phillips possesses the qualities which insure success in pubhc hfe, and for
many years hcis been a leader of the Republican party of Dutchess County. In
1895 he was elected to the office of County Judge, and was re-elected at the expira-
tion of his first term in 1901, having no opponent.
Judge Phillips is a Past Master of Beacon Lodge F. & A. M., a Royal Arch
Mason, a Masonic Knight Templar, and a member of the Mystic Shrine.
In October 1885 he married Henrietta, daughter of Luke and Abagail (Darling)
Re5d, of Hudson, N. Y. They have one son, Samuel Vincent Phillips, a student
of Blair Academy, Blairstown, N. J.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 757
CHARLES W. PILGRIM, M. D., was born at Monroe, Orange County, N. Y.,
March 27, 1855, a son of Roe C. and Prances Wilkes Pilgrim. He was educated at
Monroe Institute, N. Y. ; also largely by private tutors and in the academic depart-
ment of the New York University, from which institution he graduated in medicine
in 1881. He also studied in Europe.
Dr. Pilgrim was house physician, Bellevue Hospital, 1881-82; assistant physician
Utica State Hospital, 1881-89, with an intermission of two years in Europe, which
time was mostly spent at the Universities of Munich and Vienna; resident physi-
cian Frauenklinik, Munich, Bavaria, 1885; medical superintendent, Willard State
Hospital, 1889-93; medical superintendent, Hudson River State Hospital, Pough-
keepsie, 1893; appointed President of State Commission in Lunacy by Gov. Hig-
gins April, 1906, and served until May 1, 1907, when he resigned for the purpose of
returning to his old position as Superintendent of the Hudson River State Hospi-
tal. He is Vice President of the Poughkeepsie Trust Co. ; also a director in several
corporations; fellow New York Academy of Medicine; Secretary of the American
Medico-Psychological Association; member of the State Medical Society, Medical
Society of the County of Dutchess, Bellevue Alumni Association, and the Lotus
Club, New York City. For several years he was associate editor of the American
Journal of Insanity, and his published contributions upon insanity and allied sub-
jects are numerous and important.
Dr. Pilgrim married, in 1889, Florence M. Middleton. He has one child, a daugh-
ter, Florence.
WILLIAM BARNES PLATT was born at Pleasant Valley, Feb. 1, 1799, and
died at Rhinebeck April 15, 1879. He was a lineal descendant of Richard Piatt
who came from Hiuitingfton, England, and settled in New Haven, Conn, in 1638,
purchasing about 90 acres of land, part of which is now in the center of the city.
The Platts were prominent in England in the time of Edward III; in the records
of the Heraldy OflBce in London it is called "The Ancient and honorable family of
Piatt." WilUam B. Piatt's father, John Piatt, fought in the Revolution. His
mother was Catherine Barnes of Clinton.
Mr. Piatt was highly esteemed by a large circle of friends in Dutchess and adjoin-
ing counties. He was devoted to the interests of the village of Rhinebeck, and his
advice was sought on financial and political matters by people in the various walks
of life. He was a devout member of the Old Dutch Church and prominent in all
charitable works.
He was President of the First National Bank of Rhinebeck, from 1868 until his
death; Trustee of The Rhinebeck Savings Bank, and a director of the Rhinebeck
and Connecticut Railroad.
He married Sarah Catherine Stoutenburgh, a lineal descendant of Jacobus
Stoutenburgh, who is supposed to have been the first settler in Hyde Park, and who
was the owner of one of the nine "water-lots. " He came to the county about 1720.
They had two children: their son, John H. Piatt, was a member of the well
known law firm in New York of Hutchings and Piatt. He married Mary Cheney
of South Manchester, Connecticut. Their children were: John Cheney, Charles
768 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Adams, Richard Goodman, Elizabeth Piatt Jencks and William Barnes, 2d, all
living except William Barnes, 2nd.
Their daughter, Elizabeth, married Charles H. Adams of Cohoes, N. Y., State
Senator and Congressman from the Albany District, and a member of the historic
Adams family who gave us our second and sixth Presidents. Two children sur-
vive, Mary Adams Johnston, widow of the late Robert Johnston of Cohoes, N. Y.,
who has one son. Rev. Robert Johnston of Holy Trinity, New York City; and
William Piatt Adams, a prominent citizen of Cohoes, N.. Y., and director in various
financial institutions in Albany County. He married Catherine Whiteman, daugh-
ter of Jacob Whiteman Elseffer of Red Hook. They have two daughters, Eliza-
beth Piatt and Katherine ElseflEer. William B. Piatt spent most of his long and
useftd life in the village of Rhinebeck, loved, esteemed and honored.
J. WILSON POUCHER, M. D., of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born at Claverack,
Columbia coimty, N. Y., April 24, 1859. After graduating from Claverack College
in 1879 he taught school for a year, and then entered the medical department of Union
University, gradimting in 1883. He practiced two years at Modena, Ulster county,
and then went abroad to pursue his studies in surgery and gynecology at Berlin,
Vienna and Paris.
When war was declared between the United States and Spain Dr. Poucher offered
his services to the government, and was commissioned Lieutenant and Assistant
Surgeon of the 201st Regiment N. Y. V. He was detached from the Regiment and
given charge of the Division Hospital at Camp Black, L. I. From 1888 to 1898 Dr.
Poucher was visiting surgeon at Vassar Brothers Hospital, and is now consulting sur-
geon of the Highland Hospital at Matteawan. In 1898 Dr. Poucher established a
private hospital in Poughkeepsie with accommodations for eight patients. This
building has recently been enlarged. He is a member of the Medical Society of Dutch-
ess county, and the New York State Medical Society, and a Fellow of the American
Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He is also a member of the Holland
Society of New York, the Society of the Cincinnati, and the Masonic fraternity.
In public life he has served the city of Poughkeepsie as a member of the Board of
Alderman, and for three terms was a member of the Board of PubUc Works.
In 1892 Dr. Poucher was united in marriage with Catharine D., daughter of the
late Jacob LeFevre of New Paltz, who represented that District in Congress from 1892
to 1896.
. POUGHKEEPSIE GLASS WORKS, one of Poughkeepsie's thriving industries,
was organized as a corporation in November 1880, succeeding the Anglo-American
Glass Company which was organized in July 1879, for the purpose of engaging in
the manufacture of glass in which iron slag was utilized. A factory was constructed
for manufacturing hollow glassware from the scoria, or slag, from blast furnaces
but the rise of such an ingredient not proving a success the process of manufacture
was changed and the use of slag abandoned. The first successful continuous tank
for th^manufacture of glass ever constructed in the United States was then erected
and the making of glass commenced in March 1880. December 1, 1881 the factory
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 759
was nearly destroyed by fire but was rebuilt, and in one month manufacture was
resumed. Fire again visited the factories in April 1897 and many of the storage
buildings destroyed. The company then purchased adjoining property and erected
the buildings they now occupy. They now have three tanks running day and night
and their output has increased from 30,000 gross to 130,000 gross per annum, giving
emplojrment to about 350 hands during the busy season. At the organization of
the corporation in 1880 the following officers and directors were elected — President,
William C. Ely; Vice-president, Henry C. Wisner; secretary, George O. Baker;
Treasurer and Superintendent, Evan R. Williams. Board of Trustees, William C.
Ely; Charles W. Reed; Charles D. Ely; George O. Baker; Evan R. Williams;
George H. Hoyt of Clyde and Henry C. Wisner of Rochester, N. Y. Charles W.
Reed had charge of the construction and early operation of the works. The 1908
officers are: President George H. Hoyt, Vice-President, Frank P. Wisner, Secre-
tary and attorney, George O. Baker, Treasurer and Superintendent, William G.
Baker; General Factory Manager, Robert Good. Directors: — George O. Baker;
William G. Baker; Charles P. Buckley; Robert Good; Gforge H. Hojrt; Mary K.
Nickols; Frank P. Wisner.
ADRIAN C. RAPELJE, County Engineer of Dutchess county, was born at Hope-
well Junction February 3, 1866. He finished his preliminary education at the New-
burgh High School, and became connected with the engineering department of the
Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad, where he remained two years during the con-
struction of that road. He spent several years in the engineering department of
various railroad enterprises, and with the engineering department of the United
States Government on surveys and dredge work of the upper Hudson. He was
appointed County Engineer of Dutchess county February 3, 1908, at which time he
disposed of a coal, feed and lumber business at Hopewell Junction in order that he
might devote all his time to his new duties.
June 23, 1892 Mr. Rapelje married Miss Blanche R. King of Chambersburg, Pa.,
and they became the parents of the following children: Adrian K., Helen R., Law-
rence C, and Blanche R. Mrs. Rapelje died December 21, 1901.
LAWRENCE CORTELYOU RAPELJE, for many years a representative citi-
zen of Dutchess County, residing in the town of East Fishkill, was born in the City
of New York the 26th day of August, 1826, and died at his residence, Hopewell
Junction, N. Y., November 30, 1902.
Mr. Rapelje was a son of Daniel Lawrence and Phoebe Cortelyou Rapelje, and a
descendant, eight generations removed, of Joris Jansen de Rapelje who settled in
New Amsterdam in 1623. His early life was spent in New York City where he re-
ceived his education, later entering his business career with the N. Y. & Harlem R.
R. Co. In 1857 Mr. Rapelje purchased a farm in the town of East Fishkill upon
which the village of Hopewell Junction was subsequently built. In addition to his
agricultural pursuits he became interested in many public enterprises. He was one
of the organizers and early directors of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Co., the Dutchess
& Columbia R. R. Co., a director of the Dutchess Mutual Insurance Co., etc.
760 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In political views Mr. Rapelje was a Democrat, and served his adopted town eight
years as a member of the Board of Supervisors.
Mr. Rapelje was united in marriage in 1855 with Hannah M., daughter of Major
Coert Horton, and the following children were bom to them: John, Lawrence
Wortman, Annie M. (wife of Charles Underbill) and Adrian Cortelyou.
THOMAS REED, one of the oldest members of the New York Stock Exchange
was bom at Rhinebeck, New York, September 14, 1822. He was of piure English
descent, his father and mother both being English born. For many generations
his ancestors resided in Ctmiberland when his grandparents, Thomas and Anna
Hall Reed, reared a family of three children; Stephen, who died at sea in 1785;
Mary, who died unmarried at the home of her brother in Rhinebeck, and John.
The latter was bom in 1777 and received his education in his native town. In 181 1,
determined not to fight against the States he came to America, landing at Quebec.
The vessel being searched by the British for able-bodied men, he only escaped being
impressed into the service by the wit and ingenuity of the Captain. He was a
Baptist in religious faith and was especially active in every form of religious work.
He married Elizabeth Scott Thompson, widow of Robert Thompson and daugh-
ter of the Rev. Robert Scott, one of the early settlers of Rhinebeck who came to
this country in 1794 from Lincolnshire, Eng. In a record left by himself Robert
Scott says he left England sailing from London, Aug. 21, 1794, and arrived in New
York, Oct. 10 of the same year.
"My reasons for leaving England" he says, were, first for the sake of religious li-
berty, not being able to take the oaths then required of those who dissented from
the Episcopal Church; and second for the sake of civil liberty. He was a man of
fine talents and his superior education enabled him to become a very successful
teacher. In 1796 he opened a school at Rhinebeck, and enrolled the children of
some of the best families in New York City, among them being Henry Stokes,
President of the Manhattan Life Insurance Co., and Robert Colgate, president of
the Atlantic White Lead Works. He pubUshed the following works: Antidote to
Deism; Chronology from the Creation to the year 1810; "A Treatise on the Millen-
ium", and last his own funeral sermon.
He carried on the work of a surveyor with that of a teacher and many of the old
maps of the town bear his name. It was he who brought the Baptist Church into
Rhinebeck, and on July 5, 1821 at the age of sixty years he was ordained to the
gospel ministry and set over the infant church as pastor. He died Sept. 24, 1834.
His wife, Elizabeth Kitching survived him twenty years, dying at the age of ninety-
four. Of his five daughters, Mrs. Reed was the eldest. She died in 1852, five years
before her husband.
Thomas Reed received a good education for his times in the schools of his native
town, and his later reading made him an unusually well informed man. His first
employment was in the dry-goods store of William B. Piatt in which he afterward
became a partner, in all covering a period from 1837 — 1850. He then went to
New York as buyer for the wholesale dry-goods house of L. & V. Kirby, from thence
going to ^augerties, N. Y. where under the firm name of Wilbur, Reed & Russel
he engaged in the wholesale bluestone and general merchandise business. He con-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 761
tinued there until 1864 when he became a member of the New York Stock Ex-
change. His first partner as a stock broker was C. N. Jordan (the firm being Reed
& Jordan) afterward sub-treasurer at New York. Mr. Reed's fine sense of honor,
his unfailing courtesy, his recognized business integrity made him a great favorite
in Wall Street, and he was "Uncle Tom" to a very large proportion of the members.
He was always a public spirited man, a Republican in politics, and a devoted
Churchman.
June 7, 1851 he married at Rhinebeck, N. Y., Julia Van Keuren, daughter of
Garret Van Keuren and Sarah Hagadorn. They had six children as follows; Cora,
wife of Rev. Lewis A. Mitchell; Anna, unmarried; Sarah, wife of Frank Herrick;
Thomas, an attorney and Counsellor at law and a member of the New York Stock
Exchange, who died Oct. 27, 1907.; Helen, wife of Theo. de Laporte and Julia
who is at home.
Mr. Reed died at Rhinebeck, Sept. 3, 1899, two years before his wife. His
daughters are all living in the home town. ^
ALLEN S. REYNOLDS, attorney, was born in the city of Poughkeepsie January
12, 1882, and graduated from the Poughkeepsie High School in 1899. He then en-
tered the law office of Benjamin M. Fowler, and later that of George Card. His-
legal education was supplemented by a course in the New York Law School, and
in June 1904 he was admitted to the Bar and has since been engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession in Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Reynolds is a member of the Poughkeepsie Club and the Euterpe Glee Club.
WILLIAM THACHER REYNOLDS, senior member of the firm of W. T. Rey-
nolds & Company, was born in Poughkeepsie, December 20, 1838. In 1860 he be-
came a member of the firm of Reynolds & Company, in partnership with his father,
William W. Reynolds, and his uncle, James Reynolds, Jr.
James Reynolds, grandfather of William Thacher Reynolds, bom in Rhode Is-
land April 7, 1777, was the son of William Reynolds, ensign in a Rhode Island Reg-
iment in the Revolutionary war.
James Reynolds came to Poughkeepsie about 1800 and soon entered into part-
nership with Aaron Innis in the operation of a line of packet sloops, running from
what was known as the "Upper Landing" to New York. In 1811 two sloops, the
"Mary "and the "Driver," left for New York on alternate weeks, carrying freight
and passengers; they were replaced in 1816 by the "Huntress" and "Counsellor,"
and then still later by the barges "Clinton" and "RepubUc." Reynolds and Innis,
in 1818, gave notice in the columns of the Poughkeepsie Journal ,"to the Farmers
and Merchants of Dutchess County that the subscribers have taken the mill lately
occupied by Martin HoflEman and Co., and tender their services to the customers of
that firm in the milling business." About 1820, James Reynolds added a general
store which, with the mill, were natural outgrowths and feeders of the transporta-
tion line.
The two sons of James Reynolds, William W. and James Reynolds, Jr., succeeded
their father about 1840, as W. W. and J. Reynolds, and later developed the whole-
sale flour and grain branch of the business.
762 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In 1849 the warehouse at the Upper Landing was built, and the business conduct-
ed there until .1871. Increased railroad facilities and through freight lines had then
changed the methods of transacting business, and a. location where freight could be
received by rail was necessary, which led to the erection of the present warehouse
opposite the passenger station of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad,
in 1872.
At the death of James Reynolds, Jr., in 1865, the firm became Reynolds & Son;
in 1869, when John R. Reynolds, son of James Reynolds, Jr., entered it, W. W. Rey-
nolds & Co. ; in 1874, at the addition of George E. Cramer, Reynolds & Co. ; in
1889, at the death of John R. Reynolds, Reynolds & Cramer; and in 1899, when
George E. Cramer died, W. T. Reynolds & Co.
WilUam W. Reynolds married a daughter of the Rev. WilUam Thacher, a des-
cendant of Hon. John Thacher, of Yarmouth, Mass. The latter served with dis-
tinction in King Philip's war, 1675, and was for many years a member of the Gov-
ernor's Council. Their son, WilUam Thacher Reynolds, the subject of this sketch,
is president of the Board of Trustees of the Washington Street Methodist Church ;
president of the Vassar Brothers Home for Aged Men ; trustee of the Old Ladies'
Home, of Vassar Brothers Hospital, of the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, and di-
rector of the Fallkill National Bank, and of the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank. He
married July 6, 1864, Miss Louise Smith, and has two children, Harris Smith Rey-
nolds, a gradtiate of Yale, and a member of the firm of W. T. Reynolds & Co., and
May Louise Reynolds..
JOHN P. RIDER, president of the New York Rubber Company, Matteawan, N.
Y., was bom at Rhinebeck, Dutchess county, January 28, 1835, and received his
early education in the schools of his home town ; he also later attended the Rhine-
beck Academy. When sixteen years of age he accepted a clerkship with his vmcle,
John F. Jennings, in Kingston, N. Y., where he began his business career. Two
years later he returned to Rhinebeck to act as deputy postmaster to his father who
had been appointed postmaster by President Pierce. In 1855 Mr. Rider accepted
a position in a wholesale drygoods house in New York City, and in 1863 was appoint-
ed secretary of the New York Rubber Company, which position he held in New
York City until 1883, when he was made vice-president of the company, and took
charge of their plant at Matteawan, where he has since made his home.
Politically Mr. Rider is a Democrat, and in 1886 was elected Supervisor of the
town of Fishkill; a year later he was re-elected, and was chosen chairman of the
Board. Later Mr. Rider was nominated and elected president of the village of
Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, serving one term. Mr. Rider has taken various chairs in
Masonry, including the Shrine and Scottish Rite order.
R. RAYMOND RIKERT of Rhinebeck, N. Y., was born in that village Novem-
ber 14, 1871. He received his education at DeGarmo Institute, from which he was
gradtj^ted in 1891, and then entered the employ of his father as book-keeper.
January 1, 1893, in connection with WilUam R. Tremper, he purchased the
Rhinebeck News, July 1, 1894, he purchased his partner's interest, and also ac-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 763
quired the Gazette, and conducted the business alone until January, 1907, when he
disposed of the same. In 1900 Mr. Rikert was made secretary and general manager
of the Rhinebeck Light, Heat & Power Company, and he is an officer in various
other corporations. He is secretary and manager of the Rhinebeck Water Com-
pany; treasurer of the Rhinebeck Coal Company, and president of the Realty and
Development Company. Mr. Rikert is a Past Master of Rhinebeck Lodge, F. & A.
M . , and trustee of the Starr Institute.
JAMES ROY, Sr., was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1816. Learning the business
of Calico engraving he became the foreman of his father's business when but a boy.
When 18 years of age he came to America, living for a short time at Stockport,
N. J., being foreman engraver at the print-works at that place. In 1837 he re-
moved to Wappingers Falls, working as an engraver at the print-works for about 10
years. In 1848 he opened a drug business which he conducted successfully until
his death, which occurred in 1868. This business is still carried on by his sons un-
der the firm name of James D., William K., and Albert M. Roy. James Roy was
married May 25, 1843, to Susanna M., daughter of Sheriff Seth Darling of Pall River,
Mass. SettUng in Wappingers Falls, they reared a family of five children: James
D., married to Carrie A. Orr, has two children; Emma D., married to Edward
Griffin, of Newport, Rhode Island has two children; William K., tmmarried;
Albert M., married to Priscilla Ackermann, who died in 1907 after a career of much
promise; Elizabeth C, married to George H. Kelley, of Newport, Rhode Island, has
two children. Susanna M. Roy, the mother, died in February 1898.
James Roy, Senior, during his life took an active part in all matters of public
interest, especially in the cause of education. He was largely instrumental in
building up the present excellent school system in the county. He was one of the
small number who secured the grounds and laid out the beautiful cemetery at
Wappingers Falls, of which association he was Secretary and Treasurer up to the
time of his death. In politics, like his sons, he was a staunch Democrat; and in
all the relations of life proved himself a most loyal and honorable man whose in-
fluence did not cease with his death.
JAMES S. ROY, eldest son of James and Susanna M. Roy, was bom at Wappin-
gers Falls, March 5, 1849 ; was educated in the public school of the village, served
his apprenticeship in the drug business under his father, and on his death in 1866
succeeded him in the business. Mr. Roy has been much interested in the growth
and welfare of his native village, having served as Village Treasurer and on the
Board of Health, and having been a Village Trustee for five terms and Village Presi-
dent for seven consecutive terms. During his incumbency many marked improve-
ments were carried out; the curbing and grading of the street and the laying of
water mains were largely done under his supervision. The purchase and laying
out of the beautiful village park was mainly effected through his efforts. He has
been connected with the Wappinger Savings bank as Trustee and President for
thirty-three years. In 1879 Mr. Roy was married to Carrie A., daughter of James
Orr, the founder of the well known firm of Sweet, Orr & Co. In 1898 his wife died
764 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
leaving him with two children: Edna E., and William A. Mr. Roy is one of Wap-
pingers most prominent and substantial citizens, a man of sterling character and
conservative business habits, retaining throughout his career the respect and con-
fidence of his friends and associates.
WILLIAMlK. ROY, second son of James and Susanna M. Roy, was born at
Wappingers Falls, N. Y., December 31, 1853, and graduated from Union Free
School No. 1, Wappingers Falls in 1870. He competed for and won the Cornell
University scholarship, and entered that institution in 1872, graduating with his
class, with the highest honors, in 1876. He then entered into partnership with his
brothers in the drug business at Wappingers Falls, with which the name has so long
been identified in this county. Mr. Roy entered actively into the strenuous Tilden
political campaign, and was for many years a member of the Democratic County
Committee, and also served for several years as its chairman.
He was town clerk of Poughkeepsie Township for two terms, and was also Super-
visor, acting during his term as Democratic leader in the Board of Supervisors. In
May 1887 he was appointed by President Cleveland, Postmaster of Wappingers
Falls. In July 1892 he resigned the Postmastership to become index clerk of the
State Assembly at Albany. In 1896 he was again appointed Postmaster serving
out his full term of four years. He was mainly instrumental in the building of the
notable Stone bridge at Wappingers Falls, was active in securing the introduction of
the telephone line and of the electric trolley line, of which he has been a director
since its organization. He has served for many years as Secretary and Chairman
of the executive committee of the Wappingers Savings Bank; and he has been a
Trustee of the Grinnell Library since its incorporation ; is Chairman of its Library
Committee and has served as the Secretary of the Library Board since its estab-
lishment. He has been a member of the Board of Park Commissioners for the
village ever since the office was created, has served as Consulting Engineer of the
Water Supply Committee of the village, and was Clerk of the Village Board for
two terms.
JOHN J. RYAN, who is engaged in the hotel business at Wappingers Falls, was
born at Cold Spring, Putnam county, November 8, 1874. After finishing his edu-
cation in the public schools of his native place he began life as a clerk in a hotel,
and in 1888 moved to Dutchess county to accept a clerkship. In 1898 Mr. Ryan
purchased his present hotel business. Socially he is a member of the Red Men, the
A. O. H., and the Wappingers Falls Fire Department.
JAMES E. SADLIER, M. D., was born at Walden, Orange county, New York on
March 28, 1865, his parents being James and Ann Jeanette SadUer. The paternal
grandparents were natives of France; the maternal side of the house have lived in
Orange ^county, New York for over 100 years, and prior to that time, in the old
colonial days, were residents of Long Island, a certain section of which to the pres-
ent day bears the name of the family, viz., Jessup's Neck.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 765
The subject of the sketch received his early education in the public and private
schools of his native town, and afterwards at the academies at New Paltz, Ulster
county, and Montgomery, Orange county. At the age of eighteen he began the
study of medicine with his uncle who was a physician practicing in that vicinity,
and later in his 19th year entered the Medical Department of Union Universitiy at
Albany, from which he was graduated in 1887 at the age of twenty-two.
Upon competitive examination he was awarded a position as resident surgeon of
the Albany Hospital and served in that capacity for two years, at the expiration of
which time, May 1, 1889, he located at Poughkeepsie, New York for the purpose of
practicing medicine. One year after locating in Poughkeepsie he was appointed
one of the attending physicians at Vassar Brothers' Hospital, and retained that
position until 1898 when the staff was disbanded.
The first several years of practice were that of general practice, but a natural in-
clination for surgical work led to the gradual abandonment of general practice to
take up surgery and specialize in that branch. During the year 1899 he spent a
period of several months doing clinical work and patholog^ at the Johns Hopkins
Hospital, Baltimore, Md. In 1902 and 1905 several months were spent in the study
of surgery in Europe, attending clinics in many of the large medical centers of that
coiintry.
Dr. Sadlier is the author of several medical articles, conspicuous among which are
the following: "Consistency in Aseptic Surgical Technique", read at the Detroit
meeting of the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in 1907;
"A Study of the treatment of Appendicitis", read before the Dutchess County
Medical Society in 1903; "Report on Cases of Intraabdominal Hemorrhage",
read at the centennial meeting of the Dutchess County Medical Society; "Acute,
Diffuse Septic Peritonitis", read before the Dutchess Medical Club in 1909.
In 1899, he established a private hospital strictly for surgical work, which at the
present time and for a number of years past has been in full performance.
Dr. Sadlier is a member and ex-president of the Dutchess County Medical Socie-
ty ; President of the Dutchess Medical Club ; a member of the Medical Society of the
State of New York and of the American Medical Association; a member, and at
the present time First Vice-president of the American Association of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists, and also a member of the New York Academy of Medicine.
He is one of the eleven representatives of New York State in the House of Delegates
of the American Medical Association. A Democrat in politics and served as Pen-
sion Examiner for this district from 1894 to 1897 under the late Grover Cleveland,
and at present is one of the members of the Board of Public Works of Poughkeepsie.
Dr. Sadlier was also a member of the Committee from New York State to organize
and prepare for the International Congress on Tuberculosis held in Washington in
September and October of 1908.
In 1891 Dr. Sadlier was married to Hattie C. Millspaugh of Walden, Orange Coun-
ty, N. Y.
JOHN K. SAGUE, the present Mayor of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born in this
city, January 30, 1866. He was educated in the public schools and graduated
from the Poughkeepsie High School in 1882. He entered the employ of the Pough-
766 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
keepsie Savings Bank in 1883 and is now the assistant treasurer of that institution.
He was commissioned captain of the 15th Separate Company in 1895, and in 1898
his company became a part of the 1st New York Volunteer Infantry and on May 2d,
were encamped with the regiment at Camp Black, Hempstead, L. I. The regiment
was mustered into the service of the United States on May 20, 1898 and served un-
til the following February. During this time Captain Sague was commissioned as
Major and upon the muster out of the regiment from the service of the United
States, he became Major in the First Regiment, N. G. N. Y.
Mr. Sague was nominated for Mayor of Poughkeepsie on the Democratic ticket in
the fall of 1906 and was elected by a majority of 1527. He was again nominated
in the fall of 1908 and re-elected by a majority of 684.
JOHN PETER SCHENCK, Jr., M. D. The Schfenck family for several genera-
tions were prominently identified with the history and development of the town of
FishkiU.
The first factory in Matteawan — a cotton mill — was established in 1814, by Peter
A. Schenck and Philip Hone. Mr. Schenck married Margaret Brett, grand-daugh-
ter of Roger and Madam Brett. He built the Blossom house, now occupied by the
Green Fuel Economizer Company. He was succeeded in the management of the
cotton mill by his nephew Peter H. Schenck.
Henry Schenck, brother of Peter A., married and lived in what is now known as
the Teller house, built by Roger Brett in 1709. Henry Schenck bought this house,
together with a large tract of land adjacent, from his brother-in-law Theodorus
Brett.
Abraham H. Schenck, at one time president of the Matteawan Company, was
the father of Dr. John P. Schenck, who was bom February 2, 1798, and was the
first physician to locate at Matteawan, where he practiced for half a century. His
son John P. Schenck, Jr., was bom February 13, 1842. He also chose the pro-
fession of medicine, and in his father's office acquired his preliminary medical
training. He then entered the medical department of Columbia College, from
which he was graduated iii 1863. Enlisting as a surgeon in the Civil War, he served
through General McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, when he resigned, and later be-
came assistant surgeon on the receiving ship, ''North Carolina," In the fall of 1863
he returned to Matteawan where he continued the practice of his profession for a
period of 33 years. He died March 14, 1896.
Dr. Schenck was a member of the Dutchess County Medical Society; of the New
York State Medical Association ; and for twenty-three years was one of the visiting
physicians of Highland Hospital.
He was united in marriage March 28, 1866 with Mary Elizabeth Bush of New
York City. They became the parents of two children, John Peter and Grace.
John Peter married Clare C. Rikert of Matteawan. They have two children,
Evangeline M., and John Peter, the fourth. Grace is now the wife of William
Lovett Sutphin of New York City. They have one daughter, Gladys Van Nydeck.
RICHARD A. SCHOUTEN of Staatsburgh, N. Y. was born in the town of East
Fishkill, Dutchess county, in 1835, a descendant of J. Schouten, a Holland immi-
• BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 767
grant, who located in the town of Fishkill, where his son, John S., grandfather of
our subject, was born in 1776. He married Phebe Perry, and to them was born a
son, Stockholm, (Dec. 20, 1803), the father of the subject of this review.
Stockholm Schouten conducted the homestead farm until the spring of 1850
when he removed to the town of Hyde Park, purchasing 260 acres of land. For a
number of years Mr. Richard A. Schouten conducted a meat market at Staatsbiirgh,
and in 1872 purchased his present property from William B. Dinsmore, and has suc-
cessfully continued in the butcher trade to the present time, in which he is associated
with his sons.
Mr. Schouten was married in 1857 to Laura J., daughter of Henry Velie of Hyde
Park, and they have become the parents of the following children: Charles Henry;
Alice L., deceased; Frances M., deceased; Richard Underbill, deceased; Laura
Velie, deceased; Sterling Bird; Anna S. ; and Emma D. Mrs. Schouten died May
15, 1905. Mr. Schouten is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Staats-
burgh.
JACOB SCHRAUTH, retired baker and confectioner, was born at Kreuznach,
in the Rhine Province, Germany. At the age of twenty he came to America and
followed the trade of baker for three years in New York City, and in 1857 he located
in Poughkeepsie, where he continued his trade for a period of nine years. In 1866
Mr. Schrauth engaged in business on his own account, and conducted the same until
May 1, 1897, when his sons, William H. and Edward L., purchased the business of
their father, forming a co-partnership under the name of J. Schrauth's Sons, which
is still in existence. Schrauth's Sons are among the representative business men
of the city of Poughkeepsie.
ALFRED B. SCOTT was born at Coldenham, Orange County, N. Y., January
1, 1846. He began his business career in New York City when a young man, and
later became senior member of the drug firm of Scott, Piatt & Co. Shortly there-
after he placed on the market the proprietary medicine known as ''Scott's Emul-
sion," and through his extensive business interests became as well known in
Europe as America.
Mr. Scott was united in marriage with Miss Ella F. Puffer of Boston, and four
children were born to them: Walter Bowne, AUys PufiEer, who married James
Stowell Anthony of New York, Harold Churchill, and Walter B. Jr.
Mr. Scott died at his home "LE SOCAGE" Geneva, Switzerland, January 8, 1908.
WILLIAM SEWARD. The Seward family in Dutchess county dates back to
William S., who located in New Hackensack, N. Y. in 1797. He was a retired clergy-
man, and the family has been prominently identified in the public affairs of this coun-
ty. William Seward, Brevet Brigadier General, N. G., S. N. Y., was bom at New
Hackensack, Dutchess county, August 19, 1837, a son of William Seward, and was
educated in the High School at Newark, N. J. October 1, 1858 he joined the N. Y.
National Guard, and served in the Civil War from 1861 to 1863. He was commis-
sioned First Lieutenant while in the service of the United States, 1862; Adjutant
768 THE COXJNTY OF DUTCHESS.
9th Regiment, 1866; Major in same, 1868; Assistant Adjutant General, Third Brig-
ade, N. G., S. N. Y., 1870; Colonel, 9th Regiment, N. G., S. N. Y., 1882; Brigadier
General, Brevet, 1898. He served his country thirty-eight years, and was finally re-
tired at his own request. In political belief Mr. Seward was a staunch Republican.
He died August 16, 1905, leaving a widow, Louisa M., and the following children:
Elizabeth L. Madden of Troy, N. Y. ; William Seward of Hartford, Conn. ; Louise
Roe Seward of New York; Edward Townsend Seward, New Rochelle, N. Y. ; George
Schermerhom Seward, and Julia Lockwood Seward of New York City.
WILLIAM SHEEHY who for the past fifteen years has been engaged in the hotel
business at Mabbetsville, town of Washington, N. Y.,.is a native of Ulster County.
In 1868 he came to Dutchess County, locating at Lithgow, where he entered the
employ of Caleb Holmes, and received for the first eight months the meagre salary
of $3.00 a month. He was later employed by Timothy Conklin with whom he re-
mained twelve years and became manager of the place. The next three years he
spent on the Homer Wheaton place, and a like period with Edwin Thorne. He
then became manager of the property of E. Wright Vail where he continued nine
years.
Socially Mr. Sheehy is prominently identified with the Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks, and has a large circle of friends throughout Dutchess county.
L. LAWSON SLATER was born in West Hurley, Ulster County, N. Y. Sept. 19,
1873 and became a resident of Poughkeepsie in the year 1882. He was educated
in the public schools and at the age of 17 entered the printing office of Mr. A. V.
Haight, where he continually advanced until in the year 1904 he was appointed
Superintendent of the establishment. On January 1st, 1907 he was admitted as a
member of the A. V. Haight Company and elected one of its directors.
Mr. Slater was for a nimiber of years greatly interested in military affairs. He
volimteered at the outbreak of the Spanish war and served as first Sergeant of Com-
pany K 1st Regt. N. Y. V. in the Hawaiian Islands. On December 6, 1898 he was
promoted 2nd Lieutenant and served as such until April 1890 when he was mustered
out with his regiment. In December 1904 Mr. Slater received his Commission as
2nd Lieutenant in Company K 10th Regt. N. G. N. Y. and served in that capacity
until May 2, 1907 when he resigned.
Socially, Mr. Slater is a member of J. K. Sague Camp -44 U. S. W. V., Pough-
keepsie Lodge -21 1. O. O. F. Past Councilor of Harvey G. Eastman Council -97 Jr.
O. U. A. M. and Commander of the Uniformed Rank of the last mentioned order.
In January 1902 Mr. Slater married Miss Lena C. Goodfriend, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Felix Goodfriend; a daughter, Margarita, is the issue of this marriage.
THE SLEIGHT FAMILY. Henry Sleight, born 1740, and his wife, Margaret
Simpson, bom 1746, came from Long Island to the town of CUnton, Dutchess
County, N. Y. in 1768, and settled on the farm known as the Alpheus C. Briggs'
farm, wfeere they kept a tavern in the house still standing. Their children were :.
Daniel H., who married Deborah Humphrey; Henry married Mary Van Vliet;.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 769
Simpson married Rowland; Jacob married Lydia Van Vliet; Mary;
Anna; John; Margaret married Barnes; Robert married Elizabeth
; Sally married Jacob Lawless; Martin married Achsha Williams. The
Sleight family, in the male line, is now extinct.
CHARLES H. SLOCUM, Treasurer of Dutchess county, N. Y., was born in Pawl-
ing in 1861. At an early age his parents removed to the town of Beekman, Dutch-
ess county, where our subject received his education, and later taught school for a
few years. He then engaged in general mercantile business in the town of Beek-
man, and held the office of Postmaster for twelve years.
Politically Mr. Slocum is a Democrat, and in 1885 was elected Supervisor of the
town of Beekman. For several years he filled the position of travelling salesman for
Edward M. Depew & Co., wholesale grocers, New York City, resigning January 1,
1908, to assume the duties of County Treasurer, to which he had been elected in
November, 1907, which he has filled with diligence and fidelity. He is also pres-
ident and treasurer of the Standard American Electric Company of New York
City. February 12, 1885, Mr. Slocum was united in marriage with Miss Ella M.
Odell of South Amenia, N. Y. They are the parents of two children: Blanche and
Russell.
WILLIAM C. SMILLIE was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, September 23, 1818,
a son of David and EUzabeth (Cvunmings) Smillie. His father was a silversmith,
and removed with his family to Quebec, Canada, when William was eight years old.
There William acquired his schooling, and learned the rudiments of engraving under
his father's supervision. Following his father's death in 1827 the family removed
to New York, where William entered the employ of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co.,
banknote engravers, and was for some time in charge of the Philadelphia office of
the firm. It was in Philadelphia that he met his wife, Agnes Earle, and they were
married October 10, 1843, after which Mr. Smillie became a. member of the firm.
His specialty was the engraving of the lettering on bank notes, his brother James
engraving the vignettes.
In 1856 he purchased a place on the Hyde Park road above Poughkeepsie. His
brother James had preceded him here, and was then living at "Springside." Wil-
liam C. Smillie built the house now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Van Cleef, and
lived there until 1866, when he went to Ottawa, Canada, and organized the British
American Bank-note Company. Its headquarters were removed in 1871 to Mon-
treal, where Mr. Smillie lived for a time, retiring finally from business in 1874, when
he returned to Poughkeepsie.
Mr. and Mrs. Smillie celebrated their golden wedding in 1893 while living in the
house now part of the estate of Judge Taylor, Hamilton street. Mrs. Smillie sur-
vives with one son, Walter de Forest, and two grandsons.
ISAAC SMITH, an early settler in Dutchess county, was born at Hempstead, L. I.,
Septehiber 9, 1722. January 2, 1744 he was united in marriage with Margaret Piatt,
at St. George's Church, Hempstead. They came to the precinct of Amenia and set-
770 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
tied at the square, about six miles north of Lithgow. Here he built a house for him-
self which is still standing, and here he died, March 29, 1795, and is buried in the
Smith Cemetery, just opposite. Mr. Smith was a large slave holder. His son, Isaac
Smith, Jr., bought the property in 1813 and came here to Uve. He had married
Phebe Lewis in 1794. He died at Lithgow in 1825. Further reference to this family
will be found on page 482 of this publication.
JOHN T. SMITH, merchant and bank president, Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, N. Y.,
was bom at Matteawan, N. Y., July 15, 1840, a son of Silas G. Smith, for many years
identified with the commercial and financial development of the town of Fishkill.
The education of the subject of this review was obtained in public and private
schools, and in 1857 he entered the employ of his father in the dry goods business,
and in 1861 became a member of the now widely known firm of S. G. & J. T. Smith.
On the organization of the Mechanics Savings Bank in 1866 Mr. Smith was elect-
ed secretary, and served in that capacity until the death of his father in 1883, when
he was elected to succeed him as president, which position he has since occupied.
In 1886 he succeeded James Mackin as president of the First National Bank of
Fishkill Landing, the position he holds at the present time. These banks have
always retained the full confidence of the pubUc, and never during the time of
the most serious national panic and disaster has there been a run, or any indication
of want of faith in their stability or in the integrity of their officers.
Up to 1892 the local transportation between the villages of Fishkill Landing,
Matteawan and Glenham was by stage, and this impelled Mr. Smith and some
friends to form a more expeditious mode of transit. Accordingly the Citizens'
Street Railway Company was organized and cars put in operation August 27, 1892.
In 1895 the Fishkill Electric Railway Company was organized, and Mr. Smith was
elected president. The road was completed to Fishkill Village June 13, 1895.
Mr. Smith was one of the promoters of the Mt. Beacon Association that con-
structed the incline railway up Mount Beacon in 1900. The large demand for
•electric power occasioned by the increased business of the railroad, the incline
railway, and the demand from manufacturers, made it necessary to largely increase
the power plant and an arrangement was made between the Railroad Company and
the Carroll Electric Company, the owners of the Electric plant, to merge the two
companies under a new organization. The Citizens Railroad, Light and Power Com-
pany. The organization was completed in 1901 and Mr. Smith was made president.
The electric plant was remodeled and enlarged.
In 1906 the gas plant was acquired, the operation of which under the laws of the
State required a separate organization and the Southern Dutchess Gas & Electric
Co. was formed with Mr. Smith as President.
Mr. Smith served several years on the Board of Education and as trustee of the
village of Fishkill Landing and was president of the village from 1877 to 1882.
Prom 1882 to 1886 he represented the town of Fishkill in the Board of Supervisors
and was twice elected Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Smith represented the First District of Dutchess County in the Assembly
from 1898 to 1904 and served as Chairman of the Committee on Banks during the
last four years of his service. One of the important measures that he procured the
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 771
passage of was the bill that put a stop to the plan of the City of New York to divert
and appropriate the waters of the Fishkill and Wappingers streams to the city water
supply.
Mr. Smith was married in 1866 to Carolyn A., daughter of Rev. John B. and Mary
A. Pitman, they have four children, Bertram L., Arthur Raymond, Clarence A.
and Elsie A. The sons are associated with their father in business.
GEORGE V. L. SPRATT, Corporation Counsel of the city of Poughkeepsie, was
bom in this city March 25, 1873. After finishing his preliminary studies in the
public schools of his native city he began the study of law in the office of Hon.
Henry M. Taylor, and was admitted to practice in;the courts of New York State
May 15, 1894. PoKtically Mr. Spratt is a Democrat, and in public life has served
one term as PoUce Commissioner, and was appointed Corporation Counsel of the
city of Poughkeepsie January 1, 1908, to fill an unexpired term. He was re-appoint-
ed to this office January 1, 1909.
When war was declared between the United States and S^ia Mr. Spratt enlisted
as a private in the First United States Signal Corps, and served in the Ninth Com-
pany, U. S. V. S. C. in the first Porto Rican expedition under General Miles. He
was discharged with the rank of Sergeant, and has since been engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession in Poughkeepsie.
CHARLES GILBERT SPROSS, composer, pianist and organist is a native of
Poughkeepsie. His chosen career of music was begun quite early in life studying
piano with Prof. Kuehn and harmony with Miss Helen Andrews, in Poughkeepsie.
His natitral aptitude for organ study and playing placed him very early in the pos-
ition of organist of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of this city, a position he occupied
for eight years. He spent several months in travel through the old world and
upon his return entered the Scharwenka school in New York city, taking up com-
position, harmony and an advanced piano course, the latter with Xavier Schar-
wenka.
His reputation as organist went with him to New York, and in consequence he
was appointed organist of the second Presbyterian church, Paterson, N. J., a
position he held for three years, resigning to take the position of director and
organist of Rutgers Presbyterian Church, New York, where he remained six years.
He was again appointed organist of the Second Presby1:erian Chtirch, Paterson,
N. J. and has since occupied that position.
Mr. Spross is the pianist of the famous Mendelssohn Trio Club, of New York city.
His brilliant pianism and scholarly interpretation, whether in solo or in ensemble
has gained for him a deserved appreciation from public and press of which any ar-
tist may be proud. He has played in every State east of the Mississippi river and
his services are in demand by many of the noted artists, such as Mme. Nordica,
Mme. Jomelli and others.
As a composer, Mr. Spross has emphasized the talent that is innate, each and
every composition showing the exceptional gifts of the composer. The following
are some erf his best known compositions: "Jean"; "Eventide and Thee"; "For-
ever and a Day"; "Ask me no more"; "I love, and the world is mine."; "My
772 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Light"; "A Nocturne"; "Go, lovely Rose;" "A White Rose" ; "Gathered Roses" ;
"Her cheek is Kke a tinted Rose"; "In April"; "The Wind"; "Love planted my
Rose"; "Thoughts of You" ; "I know"; "Yesterday and Today"; "Tomorrow";
"The Call"; "Sunrise and Sunset" ; "Dreaming"; "Will-o-the-Wisp" ; "Morning
and Evening"; "Lover-Bloom"
Mr. Spross has also written numerous works for piano, and many anthems and
choral works for both male and female choruses. Mr. Spross was bom in Pough-
keepsie, January 6, 1874, a son of Michael and Louisa (Ranch) Spross, with whom he
still makes his home.
W. J. STORM, a descendant of one of Dutchess county's early residents, was
born at Stormville, N. Y., July 9, 1845. He acqmred his education at the Dutchess
Academy and the Albany High School, and as a young man was engaged in farming
in his native town. In 1873 he purchased from his father the old homestead at
Stormville. Mr. Storm is also the senior member of the firm of W. J. & W. B.
Storm, dealers in feed, flour, coal and lumber.
In 1872 he was united in marriage with Miss Isabelle Horpel, and four children
have been born to them: G. Horpel, Ethel M., William R., and Isabelle M.
WALTER HERRICK STOUTENBURGH was bom in the town of Hyde Park,
N. Y., November 18, 1841. His preliminary education was obtained at Amenia
Seminary and Fort Edward Institute, after which he was engaged for a time with
his brother, John A., in the quarrying of slate at Hoosick Falls, N. Y. Mr. Stouten-
burgh subsequently operated the farm on the old homestead at Hyde Park and was
engaged in horse raising for a few years. He then removed to Washington, D. C.
to accept a position in Washington Asylum, where he remained twenty-two years.
In 1904 he retiimed to his native county and purchased the farm he now occupies
on the South Road in the town of Poughkeepsie.
Mr. Stoutenburgh has been twice married. His first wife was Ada Parker, by
whom he had one son, J. A. Stoutenburgh, now a physician in Washington, D. C.
For his second wife he chose Sarah Flint Hyatt. They are the parents of one son
and three daughters: Bameveldt Hyatt; Mrs. James E. Peck, Los Angeles; Mrs.
Thomas W. Barrett of Poughkeepsie, and Miss Blanche.
SWEET, ORR & COMPANY, Wappingers Falls, N. Y. and elsewhere. The
firm of Sweet, Orr & Co. was founded by James A. Orr, who was the pioneer of the
overall business. Mr. Orr gained an enviable reputation in overall making, com-
mencing in California in 1849. In 1871 he came East and having interested his
nephews, Messrs. Cla3rtpn E. and Clinton W. Sweet, in his scheme, he started the
first factory in Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County, N. Y.
From a very small beginning the firm has made great strides. The early factory
which was small, was enlarged in 1876. There were then 250 employes and a week-
ly piteduct of 1,000 dozen pairs. By this time the firm had gained the reputation
of making a "Never Rip" overall, a hand-made button-hole that would not wear
out and a button that would not come off.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 773
In 1880, as there was need of greater facilities for manufacturing, the firm de-
cided to start an additional and larger factory in Newburgh, which, due to the cen-
tra;! location and transportation facilities, became and has continued the principal
factory; additions and improvements were made from time to time. The output
of the company was then so large that offices and ware-rooms were opened in New
York. Thomson E. Goring was Superintendent of the Wappingers Falls plant
and C. W. Bartrum is Superintendent of the Newburgh factory. In 1900 Sweet,
Orr & Co. operated 1,450 machines and employed 1,800 people. There were 39
salesmen, and offices in New York, Chicago and Newburgh.
The demand for Sweet, Orr & Go's goods growing greater, the capacity for manu-
facturing was increased and factories were opened in New York, Brooklyn, Phila-
delphia, Port Jervis, Joliet, 111. and New Orleans, La.
It must not be supposed that Sweet, Orr & Co. are confined to the manufacture
of overalls — ^by no means — that is the firm's foundation of their business, but trous-
ers are made, ranging in prices from that payable by the working man to that paid
at the finest of custom tailors. Coats are made suitable for truckmen, drivers^
engineers; and for men in all kindred position also working, flannel and outiflg shirts.
In 1909 there are twelve factories run by Sweet, Orr & Co. They are situated as
follows : Wappingers Falls, two in Newburgh, three in New York City, Brooklyn,
three in Philadelphia, one in Port Jervis, one in Joliet, 111., and one in New Orleans,
La. Some 2,000 odd machines are operated and employment is given to upwards
of 2,500 people. Mr. Robert A. Clarke, of New York, is head of the Advertising
and Sales Departments; there are 66 salesmen under his charge. Mr. Charles E,
Howe, of Summit, N. J., is the head of the Buying Department. The main offices
and warerooms are situated at 817-819 Broadway, New York City, Newburgh, N.
Y., Chicago, 111. Philadelphia, Pa., Dallas, Texas, and New Orleans, La.
The superintendents of the factories are: D. L. Walker, Wappingers Falls; C. W.
Bartrum, Newburgh; James A. Orr, Jr., Port Jervis; W. J. Cummings, Western
manager of Chicago and Joliet, 111. Mr. T. E. Goring, formerly Supt. of the original
factory at Wappingers Palls, Dutchess County, N. Y., is now Manager of the Manu-
facturing Department.. It was due to Mr. Goring's love of flowers and desire to
beautify his town and make the factory attractive, that the depressing effect of
bare brick walls, common to factory buildings, is entirely eliminated. The walls
are covered in summer with creeping ivy and clematis, and in the windows are
boxes and on the roof tubs containing flowering plants, while in the office and fac-
tory, here and there, are potted plants.
Mr. Orr died in 1899, and Mr. Clayton E. Sweet in 1909, but the name is still
carried on as originally adopted. The firm is well known to the trade and in the
business world in general for its broad, liberal and honorable poHcies. Sweet, Orr
& Co. revolutionized the clothing trade of this country by offering neat, well made
and serviceable garments at small cost, and have been of incalculable benefit to
the working classes. Their trade extends all over this great country, to South
America and across the Atlantic.
GEORGE K. TABER, deceased, was born February 5, 1822, at the Taber home-
stead about two miles below the village of Pawling. At the age of twenty-one years
774 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
he graduated from the old Dutchess County Academy at Poughkeepsie, and then en-
gaged in fanning in his native town. Mr. Taber was prominently identified with
pubUc and business affairs of his native place. He was for many years a director of
the First National Bank of PawUng. In political belief he was a staunch Prohibition-
ist.
In October 1845 Mr. Taber was united in marriage with Charlotte Field of Pawling
N. Y., and they became the parents of five children: Gilbert F., deceased; Anna K.,
deceased ; Martha A. ; Alicia, and Lottie who died at the age of eighteen years.
LEWIS TOMPKINS came of English origin. The first of his ancestors whom we
will mention was Stephen, who had the distinction of being the father of sixteen
children, from whom descended so many of the Tompkins' name. In coming from
England the earUest settlers located, it is thought, in Connecticut ; thence moving
into Westchester County, New York, there to engage in tilling the soil in common
with all of those pioneers, clearing off the forests to become in time fruitful fields
and rich pasture lands.
James Tompkins, a son of Stephen, was the next ancestor in line. He was a
brother of Jonathan Griffin Tompkins. Both rendered important service during
the Revolutionary War, acting on the side of the patriots, which evidenced the
truest courage as Westchester County at that time was overrun with Tories, and
neighbor was arrayed against neighbor and friend against friend; much of it was
neutral ground not to be claimed by either. It may be remarked in passing that
Jonathan Griffin Tompkins was the father of Daniel D. Tompkins, who graduated
from college, read law to practice it with distinguished merit, was a Member of
Congress, Supreme Court Judge and Governor, and honored Vice-President under
the presidency of Monroe.
The son of James Tompkins was Solomon, who grew up in the same calling as
did his son Solomon, who migrated with him Some years later to the then wilds of
Greene County where now is the village of Ashland, to which region settlers were
then coming. The second Solomon was the father of the subject of this sketch.
He had only those limited advantages of that early time, but he took his place
among the most worthy. He married Betsey, daughter of Timothy Randall of
Roxbury, Delaware County. Mrs. Solomon Tompkins, nearly ninety-five years of
age is still living in Matteawan with her married daughter, Mrs. S. A. Coldwell.
Lewis Tompkins was born on his father's farm at Ashland, August 5th, 1836.
In his younger days he worked on the farm in summer, and attended the district
school for a few weeks in winter. He early showed those characteristics of perser-
verance and untiring energy which he carried through Kfe. In his seventeenth
year he gave up farming and went to work for the firm of Strong & Ruggles, wool
hat manufacturers at Ashland, where he remained about three years. In 1852
he formed a partnership with Leveritt Conine, manufacturing wool hats, which
venture proved tmprofitable. Undaunted still he set his face westward with hardly
enough money in his pocket to pay his way to Chicago, from which place he wended
his Wby on foot to Kansas, often sleeping on the prairie. After much hardship he
finally reached Manhattan, Kansas, setting up his new home on a government claim
on Blue River. His energy and intelligence soon attracted attention and he became
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 775
one of the delegates to the Topeka Convention, there taking part in the adopting of
a Constitution for the new State. He was an anti-slavery man and, naturally, a
great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Tompkins remained in the West about two
years, returning to New York State in the year 1859, at twenty-two years of age.
For a few months he worked at hat finishing with Willcox & Draper, Middletown,
N. Y., afterward going to Matteawan, N. Y. where he was for several years engaged
in the Seamless Clothing Manufacturing Company. During a portion of the time,
while with the last named Company, he carried on the business of Merchant Tailor-
ing and Gent's Furnishing Goods, both at Fishkill Landing and Matteawan. But he
was not at rest even there; he purchased much real estate, laid out streets, erected
buildings, thereby adding to his own prosperity as well as to that of the town. In
1872 he sold out nearly all of his business interests, spending the year abroad. On
his return a new enterprise was set on foot, namely, a large hat manufactory
near the river at Fishkill Landing. The extensive buildings of the Dutchess Hat
Works were begun in 1873, starting off into full operation the following year. From
time to time it was found to be necessary to enlarge the pl%nt; later a branch was
built at Tioronda, a mile or so away, and still later an establishment was purchased
at Middletown, New York.
Mr. Tompkins was twice married, his first wife being Miss Van Voorhis. Their
son, Charles Randall, died in early manhood. His second wife was Miss Helen E.
Mathers, of Wellsboro, Pa. Their three children Mrs. Paull J. Challen, Mrs. Louise
W. Stotesbury and Mr. Ralph S. Tompkins, still survive him. Mr. Lewis Tompkins
died January 9, 1894.
RALPH S. TOMPKINS, president and treasurer of the R. S. Tompkins Co., hat
manufacturers at Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., was born May 13, 1876, a son of
the late Lewis Tompkins, who for many years was prominently identified with the
industrial and commercial development of the town of Fishkill.
Ralph Tompkins was educated at St. Paul's School, and at the age of nineteen
years became interested in the Dutchess Hat Works, which his father established,
and is now president of that extensive industry. September 1, 1906, he organized
the R. S. Tompkins Co., for the manufacture of men's straw hats. This plant has
an output of 12,000 dozen annually, and gives employment to 150 persons.
Mr. Tompkins is a director of the First National Bank of Fishkill Landing, a
director of the Mattaewan National Bank, and a trustee of the Mechanics Savings
Bank of Fishkill Landing.
In political views Mr. Tompkins is a Republican, and in 1903 was appointed by
President Roosevelt to the office of Post master, Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, and was
reappointed in 1907.
In 1898 Mr. Tompkins married Lillian C, daughter of the late Joseph H. Weller,
of the New York wholesale dry-goods house of Tefft, Weller & Co. They are the
parents of three children, Ralph Lewis, Richard Weller and Frederick Gordon.
JOHN E. TOWNSEND, Under-Sheriff of Dutchess County, was born at La
GrangeviUe in the town of La Grange, November 21, 1866. His education was
776 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
obtained at Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., after which he was engaged in
fanning and stock buying for the New York market.
In political belief, Mr. Townsend is a Democrat, and has taken an active part in
the public affairs of his native town and county. In 1897 he was elected Super-
visor of the town of La Grange and filled that oflSce continuously until 1903. In
January, 1908, he was appointed by Sheriff Chanler to the office of Under-Sheriff
of Dutchess County, a position he has filled with diligence and fidelity.
December 5, 1894, Mr. Townsend was united in marriage with Miss Edith Landon,
and they are the parents of two children, Landon and Richard Ken worthy.
THE TRAVER FAMILY. Among the early settlers of Pleasant Plains was Se-
.bastian Traver, who settled on the farm owned by Thomas Cookingham, a Uttle later
than 1750; this was a portion of the land known as the 700 acre lot in the western part
of the Great Nine Partners which was originally purchased by Francis Van Dyke,
Adolphus Banker and Joost Garrison in the year 1741. Sebastian Traver's wife was
Christina Uhl, daughter of Henrich Uhl. Their children were: Nicholas, bom 1720,
married Catherine Lambert; Henrich, baptized July 29, 1722, married Eva Eckert;
Catharine, baptized December 1, 1723; Susanna married Jacob Reisley; Frederick
married Maria Barbara Eckert; Peter married Magdalena Teal; David married
(April 8, 1755) Catharine Lewis; Joseph, baptized December 16, 1732, married (May
11, 1769) Rebecca Van Etten; Anna Maria, bom May 11, 1734, married (Dec. 9,
1756) Daniel Cookingham; Johannes B., baptized October 17, 1736, married (May
30, 1762) Catherine Becker; Carl, baptized November 7, 1738, married Jemmima,
daughter of Capt. Joost Garrison; Margaret.
The numerous family of Travers of the towns of CUnton, Hyde Park and Rhine-
beck are largely descendants of this family.
WILLIAM J. TRAVER was born in the town of Hyde Park September 1, 1863.
He received his education in the district schools and De Garmo Institute. He then
engaged in the occupation of farming on land which had been in the Traver family
for a century. Mr. Traver disposed of this property in 1905, and after travelling
extensively accepted a position with Mr. Odgen Mills, and is now acting superin-
tendent of Mr. Mills' country estate in Dutchess county.
EVERETT HUSTIS TRAVIS, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was bom at Garrison, N.
Y., a son of Rev. Richard H., and Hannah M. (Hustis) Travis. He prepared for
college at the Hudson River Insitute, Claverack, N. Y. and graduated from Wesly-
an University, Middletown, Conn, in 1889, with the degree of A. B. He read law
in the office of Judge Daniel W. Guernsey, and was admitted to the Bar in 1891,
after which he formed a partnership with the late Judge Horace D. Hufcut.
Mr. Travis was elected Justice of the Peace in 1894, and served four years. In
November 1908, he was elected on the Republican ticket a Member of Assembly
from' the second Dutchess district. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, Chamber of Commerce and Civic League and a trustee
of Vassar Brothers Home for Aged Men.
September 5, 1894, Mr. Travis married Mary E. Tabor, They have one child, a
daughter, Lois.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 777
H. B. TURNBULL, who is engaged in the real estate business in the city of
Poughkeepsie, was born in New York City, March 22, 1860, where he attended the
public schools, and later the military school at Norwalk, Conn. He was then for
some years connected with the real estate firm of Quincy & Co., of Boston and New
York. He then entered the employ of the New York, Susquehanna and Western
Railroad as auditor, remaining with this company until it was merged with the
Erie Railroad. In 1898 Mr. TurnbuU came to Poughkeepsie, where he has built
up an extensive and lucrative real estate business. He is a member of the Pough-
keepsie Chapter of Masons, of the Y. M. C. A., and secretary and treasurer of the
Sunday School of the Second Reformed Church.
ROBERT K. TUTHILL, M. D., son of Samuel Tuthill, M. D., who came to
Poughkeepsie in 1848, and was a leading physician here for many years, was bom
in Newburgh, N. Y. He was trained to follow in the footsteps of his father by thor-
ough classical and preliminary courses, and graduated from the New York Medical
College in the class of 1859. He commienced practice herS that year, but respond-
ing to the call of his country early in 1861, was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the
80th N. Y. Vols. In April, 1863, he was promoted to the post of Regimental Sur-
geon of the 145th N. Y. Infantry, and in June of the same year was advanced to
Brigade Surgeon of the First Brigade (six regiments) , First Division, Twelfth Army
Corps. Early in 1864 he was made Surgeon in Chief of the First Division (fourteen
regiments) of the twelfth Army Corps. He was in all the principal battles of the
Army of the Potomac, and also did duty in the Army of the Cumberland. By his
devotion to sanitary regulations, and his general ability as a surgeon he made and
kept his regiment and brigade in such a healthy and efficient condition that he re-
ceived special commendation from the War Department therefor. Resuming pri-
vate practice in Poughkeepsie in 1864, Dr. Tuthill soon attained the highest emi-
nence in his profession by the same watchful and faithful care which won him dis-
tinction in the field.
Dr. Tuthill 's hospital service was extensive and notably successful. He had
■charge of the Fredericksburgh Hospital in 1862, was member of the surgical staff
of St. Barnabas Hospital in Poughkeepsie from its organization in 1870 until its
close in 1887, was one of the surgeons selected by the founders of Vassar Brothers'
Hospital, on its opening in 1887, and served until 1898, and since been a member
of its consulting staff. He visited many hospitals and attended many clinics in
Europe, viz : in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna, seeking to gain new methods
and experience for home work.
In politics Dr. Tuthill was a staunch Republican, but never sought or desired
public office, and accepted none except the position of Health Officer of the city,
which post he filled for four terms. He was president of the Dutchess County
Medical Society for two terms; was a member of the New York State Medical So-
cieljy from 1880 a member of the New York Commandery, Loyal Legion of America,
amd a charter member of Hamilton Post, No. 20, G. A. R. He was also affiliated
with Masonry, and was a Knight Templar. Dr. Tuthill had hosts of friends who
believed in him, because he proved himself a true and sincere man and a con-
scientious, faithful and vigilant physician and surgeon.
778 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
HENRY HOWELL VAN CLEEP, attorney, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was bom in
this city June 8, 1871. After attending Bishop's and Leslie's private schools and
the Poughkeepsie High School he entered Cornell University, from which he was
graduated in the class of 1893. His legal education was acquired in the office of
his father, the late J. Spencer Van Cleef, and at the New York Law School; he was.
admitted to the Bar June 8, 1898.
Mr. Van Cleef was united in marriage with Mary T. Thompson November 4, 1905^
and they are the parents of two children: Henry Howell and William Reed Thomp-
son.
DANIEL VAN DE BOGART, for many years a prominent resident of Red Hook,
and one of the leading contractors and builders of the county, was a descendant of
one of our most distinguished pioneer families, the name of his old Dutch ancestors,
being closely interwoven with the early history of Dutchess County.
The great-great-grandfather of the deceased was Myndert Van de Bogart, who in.
1702, with his brother Jacobus, emigrated from Amsterdam, HoUand, and settled
on the site of Poughkeepsie. They acquired a large tract of land, and built one of
the first eleven houses in that city. In 1726, Myndert Van de Bogart was chosen,
as the first sheriff of Dutchess county.
The two brothers. Jacobus and Mjmdert, gave the land and contributed liberally
to the support of the first church in the village, which was to be a Reformed Dutch;
meeting house.
The property on which the first court house was built was conveyed by Jacobus^
Van de Bogart to Barendt Van Kleeck, in 1718, but the earUest record to the pro-
perty seems to be that of Nov. 13, 1747, a "lease and release" of the land with the
court-house and "gaols" already built on same, to four of his Majesty's Justices
of the Peace. The parchment release is preserved in the County Clerk's office
among the maps. It provides that the property shall revert to the Van de Bogart
family if used for any other purpose than that for which it was granted.
The first book of the supervisors and assessors shows that a meeting of the
"frie houlders" was held at the house of Leonard Lewis, June 22, 1717, and that
Jacobus Van de Bogart and Barendt Van Kleeck were chosen as a building commit-
tee for the first court-house and gaol. As the ancestors of the late Daniel Van de
Bogart gave the land and helped build the first court-house, it would have been
eminently fitting, had his name gone down in the history of the County as the
builder of the present one, but his being a member of the Board of Supervisors, at
the time of its erection, made that impossible.
Myndert was, in 1744, married to Gretchen Kipp, daughter of Jacob and Engellge
Pells. His son, Myndert, Jr., was married in 1765 to Hanna Velie. Peter, son of
Myndert, Jr., was married in 1807 to Mary Maria Wilcox.
James Van de Bogart, our subject's father, was a Ufelong resident of Poughkeep-
sie, following the trade of mason. He married Miss Mary I. Windover, of that
city, and had seven children: James K., who died in infancy, Ellen, Lydia Ann,
Daniefc Eugenie, James and Harriet.
Daniel Van de Bogart, the last surviving member of the above family, was bom
in Poughkeepsie, Dec. 25,1849,and after availing himself of the excellent educational
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 779
advantages offered in the schools of that city, he learned the trade with William
Sague, a prominent builder. For a few years he worked at his trade, and then
went into business for himself at Verbank, where he met with such success that he
looked about for a wider field of operations. In 1873, he moved to Red Hook, and
maintained his residence here to the time of his death.
Mr. Van de Bogart erected many of the finest structures in Eastern New York
and his home vicinity. Among the most notable are the two beautiful residences
at Summit, N. J., built for Miss Donaldson and Mrs. Bronson; St. Paul's Lutheran
Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church at Red Hook; the residence of John
Henry Livingston and the De Peyster Memorial Chtirch at Tivoli; St. Paul's Train-
ing School and the Hospital for Consumptives at Verbank; the country homes of
Stuyvesant Fish at Garrison, and of Mrs. Hastings at Staatsburg; and the Red
Hook High School building. This building in architectural beauty and skillful
workmanship is said to be the finest school building in the county.
On Sept. 3, 1873, Mr. Van de Bogart was married to Miss Estelle Pulver of Red
Hook. Of this union eight children were bom: AUard A., Mary I., Edna, Daniel,
Earnest, Lucinda, who died in infancy, and Myndert Jacobus.
In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and to the day of his death was the recog-
nized leader of the strong, conservative element of that party in his town. In 1893
he was nominated for Supervisor of his town, and in 1901 he was again nominated
and elected by an overwhelming majority, the first Democrat in twelve years to
attain that honor. When the village was incorporated in 1894, he was one of the
chief promulgators of this movement, and was chosen one of the trustees, and held
the office of President of the Village
Mr. Van de Bogart died April 8, 1909, in the prime of his manhood. It is one of
the consolations of a useful life thus suddenly terminated that the memory of a
good man shall not die; that the remembrance of his services and virtues shall be
preserved as an inheritance to his children, and an incentive to those who knew
and loved him.
DR. FEDERAL VANDER BURGH was bom in the town of Beekman, Dutchess
Co., N. Y., May 11, 1788, and died at Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., N. Y., January 23„
1868. He was the son of Colonel James Vander Burgh and Helena Vander Burgh.
His father (born 1709 — died 1794) had a long and distinguished career. He be-
came a member of the Provincial Congress, and a Colonel in the American Army
in the War of the Revolution. He entertained General Washington at his home in
the town of Beekman on a nimiber of occasions.
Dr. Vander Burgh's grand-father, Henry Vander Burgh, was one of the first set-
tlers in Poughkeepsie, and among the most prominent men in the country in his;
time. He was one of its first Board of Assessors in 1716 ; the first supervisor of the
territory between Wappinger Falls and little Esopus Island in 1720, and Coimty
Clerk in 1721. His will shows him to have been possessed of a large property for
those days. Dr. Vander Burgh's father in his will expressed the desire that his son
"be prepared for the study of Physics, if he shall be agreeable, when he comes of
suitable age" and wisely following his father's will, he became one of the most dis-
tinguished physicians of his time. He enjoyed a large, fashionable and lucrative-
780 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
practice in New York City for many years, and was the author of many valuable
publications on medical subjects. He was the founder of Homeopathy in this coun-
try, and devoted his life to spreading its beneficent methods.
Dr. Vander Burgh married March 5, 1812, Esther Orinda Boardman, daughter of
Homer Boardman of New Milford, Connecticut. Only two of his children grew to
maturity, — Mary Helen, who married John B. James, of Albany, N. Y., and Char-
lotte, who married Robert McKim of Baltimore, Md.
The latter years of his life were passed at his beautiful country home, on the
banks of the Hudson River, about three miles from the village of Rhinebeck,
Dutchess Co., N. Y. Dr. Vander Burgh had a very attractive personality. He
-was tall (over six feet), erect, finely proportioned; had very regular features, very
charming manners, and made friends wherever he went. He was greatly beloved
by his many patients, as he stopped at no personal sacrifice in working for their re-
covery. His love and enthusiasm for his profession was very great and above aU
for the great principles of Homeopathy, which he did so much to establish in this
country.
HOLMES VANDERWATER, attorney, of Wappingers Palls, N. Y., was born
at Hyde Park, Dutchess county, May 27, 1886. His preliminary education was ob-
tained in the public schools of his native place and at Poughkeepsie. He continued
his studies at Cornell University, from which institution he was graduated in 1907.
Mr. Vanderwater was soon after admitted to the Bar and imtnediately began the
practice of his profession with oflBces at Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie.
Socially Mr. Vanderwater is a member of Poughkeepsie Lodge, F. & A .M.
THE VAN DYKE FAMILY: Francis Van Dyke, grandson of Franz Claissen
Van Dyke, who came to New Amsterdam before 1655, was an early settler in the
Crom Elbow Precinct. He purchased a lot of 1000 acres in the westerly part of the
Great Nine Partners bordering on the Crom Elbow creek. It comprised what is
now the farms of Mrs. H. Schultz, Lount Lattin, William F. Odell, M. Hayes, J. Z.
Frost, George H. Schultz, W. L. Traver, and part of the C. W. Carpenter farm.
Francis Van Dyke was born in New York, November 25, 1683. He married, De-
cember 8, 1713, Rensule Montros. Their children were: Franz, baptized October
17, 1714; Magdalena, baptized October 21, 1716, married Joost Garrison; Petrus,
baptized October 5, 1718; Jacobus, baptized April 18, 1721, married Catharina,
daughter of the first Albrutus Schryver; Margaret, baptized April 25, 1724, mar-
ried Richbill Williams; Cornelius, baptized June 24, 1727, married Mercy Phillips;
Cathalina, baptized June 19, 1731, married Peter Storm.
GARRET VAN KEUREN who was born at Rhinebeck, N. Y., was descended
. from a long line of patriots and of men of public affairs.
With Abram Van Keuren, grandfather of Garret, the Revolutionary record of
the family begins. Abram was elected Supervisor of Kingston, N. Y. for six-
teen terms, when having signed the agreement to maintain the Constitutional
rights he enlisted in the Ulster Militia holding the rank of Captain in Colonel Jo-
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 781
hannis Snyder's Regiment in which his son Abram Van Keuren, Jr. served as Cor-
poral, having previously served in Col. Levi Pawling's Regiment.
With Abram Van Keuren, Jr., the family came to Rhinebeck, for in May 1783 he
purchased the farm now known as Springbrook which for a century and a quarter
remained the home of his descendants. In 1777 he married Eve Dumont also the
daughter of a Revolutionary soldier in whose veins flowed the blood of the Rutgers
and the Schuylers.
Their son, Garret Van Keuren, served once as Sheriff of Dutchess County.,
He was not a lawyer, yet was constantly interviewed for legal advice. He was as-
sociated always with the most influential men and women of his day. Morgan
Lewis, Mrs. Janet Montgomery, (wife of General Richard Montgomery) , Mrs. Edward
Livingston as well as Edward Livingston himself were his intimate friends. Among
his private papers are their powers of attorney, giving him unlimited power in the
management of their affairs.
In 1822 he married Sarah Hagadom, who was the daughter, the grand daughter
and great-great-granddaughter of Revolutionary soldier^ the three generations
enlisting for the colonies.
Garret Van Keuren lived all his life in Rhinebeck, dying on the old farm where^
he had been born, and in the house which he had helped to build with his own hands.
He died April 10, 1868, leaving four children, Mary, wife of Isaac Kirby; Julia,
wife of Thomas Reed; Cora Livingston and Sarah, both of whom were unmarried..
THE VAN VLIET FAMILY. About 1740 Aurie Van Vliet and Art Mastin pur-
chased lot No. 5 and a similar division of the Great Nine Partners' Patent consist-
ing of 760 acres near Pleasant Plains. Van Vliet and his four sons, Dirck, John,
Cornelius and Benjamin, settled on this land. John returned to Ulster county and
settled on lands of his father near Edd3rville; Benjamin removed to Fort Hunter,
in the Mohawk Valley, in 1772; Cornelius died a bachelor, and Dirck remained
where he settled and kept the first tavern in the town of Clinton. His wife was.
Helena, daughter of Johannes Weaver of Rhinebeck. Their children were: Cath-
erine (probably the first white child born in what is now the town of Clinton) ; she
married John DeWitt; Charity married Abram FreBgh; Anna married, first,
Dennis Reylea, second, William Brink; Cornelius married, first, Helena Garrison,,
second, Susan Piatt; Elizabeth married, first, Benjamin Relyea, second, Conrad
Sharp; Helena married Ebenezer Babcock; John married Helena ; Der-
rick married Sarah Mastin; Lydia married Jacob Sleight; Mary married Henry
Sleight, and Henry married Mary Seaman. Of the above children Cornelius Van.
Vliet alone remained at Pleasant Plains. His children were: Cornelius married
Mary Russell; Levi married Mary Uhl; Rachel; John married Mary Beadle;
Elizabeth; William B.; Clarissa Maria married John Caswell; Henry Hiram mar-
ried Jane Harris ; Richard Garrison ; Piatt Garrison married Nancy Lamoree. Of
the above children Levi Van Vliet remained on the old homestead. His children
were: George married Helen Bard; Lewis U. married, first, Jane Ann Brown,
second, Mary J. Caswell; Henry Richard married Hannah M. LeRoy. Lewis U.
and Henry R. both located on portions of their father's property, Lewis where his-
father lived, and Henry where his grandfather lived. Henry R^ had one child
782 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
George S. who married Mercedes Tremper of Rhinebeck; their children are: Clara
Helena Garrison; Henry Richard, 2d, who is the seventh generation of the direct
male line of Van Vliet's of Pleasant Plains, the line being Anna, born June 10, 1686;
Derrick, born November 26, 1721; Cornelius, born December 21, 1760; Levi, bom
January 6, 1786; Henry R., bom December 8, 1833; George S., born September 17,
1865; Henry R., bom November 22, 1904.
WALTER VAN WAGNER, who is a descendant of one of Dutchess county's
oldest residents, was bom at Van Wagner's Station, Dutchess county, January 1,
1883. He was educated in the public schools and worked for a time on his father's
farm, and later was employed in the hardware store of J. W. Feedy at Highland,
Ulster county. Mr. Van Wagner now operates the farm of his aunt, Mrs. Brincker-
hoS, in the town of Poughkeepsie.
January 2, 1906 he married Ada Humphrey of Bangall, N. Y., and they are the
parents of one son, Charles Humphrey.
J. I. VIGEANT, M. D., is a native of Lee, Mass., where he obtained his pre-
liminary high school education. He then entered the Albany Medical College,
from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1896. He began practice
at ElizaviUe, Columbia county, N. Y., where he remained seven years, and in 1903
located in the village of Red Hook, Dutchess county.
Politically Dr. Vigeant is a Democrat, and in 1908 was the nominee of that party
for the office of coroner.
He was united in marriage in 1901 with Clara L. Shook, and they are the parents
of two children: Clarence H. and Helen Elizabeth.
PETER H. VOSBURGH was born in the Town of Stu3rvesant, Columbia County,
March 5, 1850, the eldest son of Aaron and Elizabeth Vosburgh. His education
was obtained in the district school of his native village, Stujrvesant Landing. At
the age of 16 years he left school and went to work on his father's farm, and a few
years later learned the printer's trade and followed that business continuously un-
til October 1, 1904.
For a number of years he was local editor of the Matteawan Journal, and in
February 1901, he, in connection with Morgan H. Ho)rt, purchased that news-
paper, and together they conducted it for a period of three years, after which
Mr. Vosburgh sold his interest to Morgan Hoyt, and retired from the printing busi-
ness.
In 1890 Mr. Vosburgh was appointed postmaster at Matteawan by President
Harrison. After serving in that capacity for four and a half years, he was re-
moved on account of a change in the administration, but was re-appointed by
President McKinley in 1899, and has received two appointments to the same office
since, from President Roosevelt.
Wfeen he took possession of the office in 1899, the fixtures were antiquated, and
he threw them aside and purchased a complete new set of modem fixtures and in-
stalled them in place of the old worn out outfit. This increased the availability of
CHARLES F. WANZER.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 783
the office for easier and greater work, and greatly improved its appearance. The
business of the office has doubled during his administration as postmaster, and has
been advanced in grade from a third to a second-class office.
He is a member of the Board of Education, and for three years was president of
the Board. For eight years he was president of the William H. Mase Hook and
Ladder Comp., and at present is president of the Board of Trustees of the Mattea-
-wan Methodist Episcopal Church. He is also a member of Beacon Lodge P. and A.
M. In politics he has always been a Republican, ever zealous for the success of his
party in National," State and local- affairs.
DANIEL L. WALKER, superintendent of the Wappingers Falls plant of Sweet,
Orr & Co., was bop in Brooklyn, N. Y., February 17, 1865, and came with his parents
to Wappingers- Falls in 1872. After finishing his education at the public schools he
entered the employ of Sweet, Orr & Co., arid by diligent efiEprton his part was pro-
moted from time tp time, accepting his present position' in 1900. ,
In 1898 Mr. Walker was united in marriage with Jennie Croak of -Wappingeirs Falls,
and two children have been born to them: Howard and Esther.'
Socially Mr. Walker is a member of Wa!ppingers Lodge,' No.'67i;, F. & A.' M. ; La-
fayette'Lodge No. 18 of Odd Fellows, and is affiUated with the Foresters, the Royal
Arcanum, the American Mechanics organizations, and the village Fire Department.
CHARLES F. WANZER. Among the energetic business men, in" the 'town of
Fishkill, N. Y., none stands higher than the subject' of this sketch'.
Mr. Wanzer was bom in Phillipstown, Putnam County, January 29, 1828,
and is a son of Floyd and Jane (Foster) Wanzer, who were also natives of
Phillipstown.
Mr. Wanzer attended the district schools, and in 1849, moved with .his parents to
Matteawan, where he engaged in the grocery business. May 1st, 1858 he succeeded
to the business formerly conducted by Jacob Palmer, and for over half a century
has continued in the grocery trade at the same location in Matteawan, meeting
with an "unusual degree of success.
Mr. Wanzer has never sought or cared for public office, preferring to devote his
time to the interests of his trade, and in his eighty-first year is hale and hearty, and
•enjoys the highest esteem of a host of friends.
JOHN S.- WARREN, of the town of East Fishkill, Dutchess, county, .was bom in
-that town September 1, 1872. He received his education.in the schools of his native
.place, and then became associated with his father in the managernerit of the home-
stead farm, and with his brother, Charles H., is now engaged in the management of
two farms which have been in this family for many yeai^s. .
Mr. Warren was united in marriage.with Minnie B. .Stevens,. and they are the par-
jeiitsof two children: Ralph J. and Le-wis F. . '_:'■..[■,:,:
Charles H. Warren, brother of John S., was born November 8, 1876, and has been
engaged in agricultural pursuits since attaining riianhood. He married Miss Helen
J. Barrett.
784 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
FRED BAIN WEAVER, M. D., Hyde Park, N. Y., was bom at Galatinville, N.
Y., April 12, 1875. Dr. Weaver graduated from the Seymour Smith Academy in
1895, and began the study of medicine with Dr. H. C. Wilber at Pine Plains. He
then entered the Albany Medical College, from which he was graduated April 19,
1898, and served one year as house surgeon in St. Peter's Hospital, Albany. Dr.
Weaver began practice with his preceptor at Pine Plains, and in September, 1900,
accepted a position as interne at the Mothers' and Babies' Hospital, New York
City. He was also connected with the New York Polytechnic Hospital until
January, 1901. He then served for six months on the surgical staff of Mt. Sinai
Hospital, New York, and in June, 1901, began practice at Hyde Park. Dr. Weaver
was appointed surgeon at Hyde Park for the New York Central Railroad Company
in 1903, which position he still retains. He is a member of the Medical Society of
Dutchess County; the New York State Medical Society; the American Medical
•Association, and the New York and New England Association of Railroad Surgeons.
He is also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity.
EARL S. WELCH was born in Schenectady, N. Y., December 12, 1881. He
was educated in the public and high schools of Albany, graduating from the latter
institution in 1901. In the same year he was employed as clerk in the Northern
Department of the Teutonic Fire Insurance Co. in their offices in Poughkeepsie,
and in 1903 was promoted to bookkeeper, which position he now occupies.
Mr. Welch is a member of Triune Lodge, No. 782, F. & A. M., and Poughkeepsie
Chapter. He is also district secretary for the Christian Endeavor Union of Dutch-
ess county.
WELDON F. WESTON, a representative business man of Fishkill-on-Hudson,
was bom in Litchfield, New Hampshire April 14, 1856. He attended the Pinker-
ton Academy, at Deny, N. H., finishing his education at the New Hampshire Con-
ference Seminary. At the age of twenty he came to Newburgh to accept a position
as shipping clerk for the Erie R. R. Two years later he returned to New Hamp-
shire and engaged in mercantile business for a time. From 1880 to 1888 he was
station agent at Matteawan for the N. D. & C. R. R., and then engaged with his
brother, the late Major Wilbur H. Weston of Newburgh, N. Y., in the express and
trucking business in connection with the Matteawan and Fishkill Landing stage
line until 1892 when the electric railroad superceded the stage route. He was made
a director of the Street R. R. Co. on its organization, and has remained in the board
to the present time. He was also for several years a director of the Mechanics'
Savings Bank, where he was on the funding and examining committee.
Mr. Weston is still extensively interested in the transportation business at New-
burgh and Fishkill and also conducts a coal, feed and mason supply business at
Fishkill-on-Hudson.
Politically Mr. Weston is a republican. In 1891 he was elected president of the
village of Matteawan, and in 1892 re-elected without opposition, and has held
variouB public offices in his adopted town. September 26, 1878, Mr. Weston
married Anna Jeanette, daughter of Charles M. and Elizabeth A. (Davis) Elkins,
of Wakefield, Mass.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 785
Mr. Weston has been a Knight of Pythias for more than thirty years, joining
that order at Laconia, N. H., becoming a charter member of Mt. Belknap Lodge
No. 20. Later he joined Hudson River Lodge of Matteawan, N.Y., and is yet a mem-
ber. He was a Chancellor Commander of his lodge and District Deputy Grand
Chancellor of this district.
Mr. Weston is a past Master of Beacon Lodge F. & A. M. of Fishkill-on-Hudson,
and a member of Highland Chapter and Hudson River Commandery of Newburgh,
N. Y., and a member of Mecca Temple Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of New York
City, and is also a member of the Southern Dutchess Country Club and various
other organizations.
WILLIAM N. WETTEREAU, who occupies the beautiful country place known
as "The Meadows," on the South Road in the town of Poughkeepsie, was bom
September 24, 1877. He received his preliminary education in the public schools
of New York City, and Dr. Holbrook's Select School, Ossining, N. Y., which was
supplemented by an academic course in Williams College. Mr. Wettereau has
travelled extensively, and now enjoys a retired life, devoting his time to the per-
sonal supervision of his farm.
MICHAEL J. WHALEN, a prominent citizen, and a leader in Democratic circles,
in the town of Northeast, was born at Millerton, N. Y., January 6, 1869, and ac-
quired his education in the public schools of his native place. In 1886 he was con-
nected with the Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut Railroad at Matteawan, N. Y.,
where he remained until 1889, resigning to assume the duties of station agent for
the New York Central Railroad at Millerton, N. Y., which position he has held con-
tinuously to the present time, fulfilling his duties with fidelity and diligence.
For many years Mr. Whalen has taken an active interest in the public affairs'of
his native place, and is at present Democratic Committeeman of the town of North-
east.
He was united in marriage with Katherine E. Garvin, and they are the parents
of one son, John Garvin. Socially Mr. Whalen is a member of the Knights of Co-
lumbus.
THOMAS FRANCIS WHALEN was bom at Cold Spring, Putnam county,
June 1, 1874. His parents were Malachy Whalen and Margaret Bracken. Very
shortly after Mr. Whalen's birth, the family moved to Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He re-
ceived his education in the public schools and at the Poughkeepsie High School.
After leaving school he was employed as clerk at the Poughkeepsie Cracker Bakery,
afterwards the American Biscuit Company.
In 1907 he was elected City Clerk by the Board of Alderman of the city of Pough-
keepsie, which position he still holds. He is Treasurer of Florentine Council No.
304 K. of C. and a charter member of this organization. He is also member of
Division No. 2, A. O. H., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. of which organization he was Presi-
dent, 1903-1908. He is also a member of St. Peter's Holy Name Society, and was
its president in 1905-'06.
In politics Mr. Whalen is a Democrat.
786 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
HOWELL WHITE, M. D. Fishkill, N. Y. is the eighth generation in descent
from Thomas White, (bom, 1599) of Weymouth, Mass., who was Representative
in General Cotirt in 1636 — 37. He died in 1679, leaving five children.
Second Generation: Ebenezer, the fifth child of Thomas, was born 1648, and died
August 24, 1703. He married Hannah, daughter of Nicholas Phillips.
Third Generation: Rev. Ebenezer White, born Feb. 17, 1673, graduated from
Harvard College in 1692, and died March 4, 1756. He married Hannah Piersons.
Fourth Generation: Rev. Sylvanus White, third son of Rev. Ebenezer White,
was bom Dec. 16, 1702 and graduated from Harvard College in 1723. He married-
Phebe, only daughter of Hezekiah Howell, and had nine children, three of whom
were physicians. He died Oct. 22, 1782.
Fifth Generation: Ebenezer, (bom Sept. 3, 1746; died, March 8, 1827) the
seventh son of Rev. Sylvanus, chose the study of medicine for his profession. In
early life he married (March 22, 1772) .Helena, daughter of Theophilus Bartow, of
New Rochelle, and great-granddaughter of General Bartow, who fled from France
to England in 1685, on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. They had seven chil-
dren, three of whom were physicians. Dr. and Mrs. Ebenezer White came to West-
chester County and settled at Yorktown. Some of their descendants are now living,
in their old home.
Sixth Generation: Ebenezer, (born June 13, 1779; died, March 20, 1865) the
second of Dr. Ebenezer, also made choice of the profession of medicine, as did his
brothers Bartow and Henry. He married (April 8, 1800) Amy, daughter of the
late Samuel Green, of the town of Somers, Westchester County, and located there.
He had nine children, of whom three sons adorned the profession which their father
so long followed.
Seventh Generation: Lewis H., (bom March 17, 1807; died Sept. 24, 1886)
fourth child of Dr. Ebenezer, 2d, married (June 7, 1853) Helena Van Wyck, of
Fishkill.
Mrs. Howell White is a daughter of Isaac E. Cotheal, and his wife, Catherine E.
(Rapalje), and on the maternal side is a descendant in the eighth generation from
Joris Jansen de Rapalje, one of the proscribed Huguenots, from "RocheUe in
France," and the common ancestor of all the American families of this name.
Second Generation: His son, Jerominus, born June 27, 1643, married Anna,
daughter of Tennis Denys, and had nine children.
Third Generation: Jan Rapalje, bom Dec. 14, 1673, son of Jerominus, married
Annettie, daughter of Coert Van Vorhees. They had three children. He died
in 1733.
Fourth Generation; Jeromus Rapalje, son of Jan, was twice married, and left
children.
Fifth Generation: John Rapalje, (born 1722; died, 1772) son of Jeromus and
Altje Van Artzdale, was twice married, and by his first wife, Elizabeth, had five
children. The sons settled at Fishkill, N. Y., where some of their descendants re-
main.
Sixth Generation : Richard Rapalje, son of John, was bom on Long Island, Aug-
ust 30? 1764, removed to Fishkill during the Revolutionary war, and died Septem-
ber 2, 1825. He married, in 1800, Ann Aerrie of Nev York.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 787
Seventh Generation: Catharine (born July 8, 1819) daughter of Richard Rapalje,
married October 22, 1856, Isaac E. Cotheal, son of Henry Cotheal and Phebe Ber-
rian Warner. They had three children, of whom Elizabeth M. married Dr. Howell
White.
It is a curious fact that both the Rev. Ebenezer and Rev. Sylvanus White had
such long pastorates. Dr. Ebenezer was pastor of the Bridgehampton Presby-
terian Church from October 9, 1695 to 1748, a period of fifty-three years. Rev.
Sylvanus White was ordained and installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church
at Southampton Nov. 17, 1727, and continued its pastor until his death, October
22, 1782, a ministry in one church of fifty-five years. It is also peculiar to note
that Dr. Ebenezer White of Yorktown practiced medicine for over fifty years. His
son. Dr. Ebenezer White, of Somers, practiced medicine for more than sixty years.
His son. Dr. Lewis H. White, of Fishkill, practiced for fifty-eight years. Each of
these Doctors, for three generations, had two brothers who were physicians, and
who continued in active professional work for about the same number of years.
*
HENRY C. WILBER, M. D., was born at Pine Plains, N. Y., November 9, 1845.
After attending the public schools of his native place he entered the New York
University and Bellevue Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1867, and
has since been engaged in the practice of his profession in the village of Pine Plains.
Dr. Wilber is a member of the Dutchess County Medical Society, of which he
was president in 1891-'92-'93; the New York State Medical Society; the American
Medical Association, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. He has held the
ofiice of Health OfiScer of the town of Pine Plains, and has served as coroner for
fifteen years.
Dr. Wilber is a son of Benjamin S. Wilber, who was engaged in the practice of his
profession for many years at Pine Plains, and who died January 26, 1871.
GEORGE H. WILLIAMS, the son of Gerome and Catherine Williams, was bom
at Chestnut Ridge, Dutchess Co., N. Y., September 16, 1844, and resided there until
1860, when he removed to Poughkeepsie, where he has since resided.
During his residence in the country he attended the district school, and one year
in a private school in the Clove kept by George Draper, later school commissioner
of Dutchess County. After removing to Poughkeepsie he took a course at Eastman
Business College, and then comenced studying under a private tutor for the pur-
pose of taking an examination for admission to Yale College; but the wave of war
fever then extending over the country was too much for him, so, leaving thought of
college behind, he, on September 22, 1862 joined Company G, 150th regiment, N.
Y. S. v., and on October 11 left with the regiment for the front, and continued to
serve with it until it was mustered out at the end of the war, June 8, 1865. During
the time of his service in the army he was engaged in the battle at Gettysburg,
Penn., in the campaign from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Atlanta, Ga., in Sherman's
march to the sea, in the campaign from Savannah, Ga., to Raleigh, N. C, and the
surrender of Jonhston's army; was wounded in the arm and hand at New Hope
Church, Ga., and again slightly wounded at Golgotha, Ga. He marched in the
788 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
grand review at Washington, D. C, May 24, 1865, and was discharged June 8, 1865,
then sergeant of Company G.
After his return home he studied law with his father at Poughkeepsie, and was
admitted to the bar May 18, 1866, and has ever since practiced law there. He has
since been admitted to practice in the U. S. Courts.
In 1865 he joined the 21st regiment, N. G. S. N. Y., and continued a member
until it was mustered out, he being at that time its lieutenant-colonel.
Mr. Williams was city chamberlain of Poughkeepsie in 1875 and 1876; supervisor
of the Fourth Ward in 1884 and 1886, and Deputy Collector of U. S. Internal Re-
venue during part of President Cleveland's first administration. He is a mason and
a member of Poughkeepsie Lrodge, No. 266, P. & A. M., Poughkeepsie Chapter, No.
172, R. A. M., King' Solomon's Council, No. 31, R. & S. M., Poughkeepsie Comman-
dery. No. 43, K. T., Mecca Temple Mystic Shrine; member of D. B. Sleight Post
No. 331, G. A. R., and has been secretary of the Veteran Association 150th Regi-
ment; N. Y. S. Vols, since Oct. 11, 1886 and is also Secretary of its Officers' Associa-
tion. He has been a member of the Dutchess Club since its organization in 1888,
and has been one of its governors since that time.
Our subject is descended on the side of his father from a brother of Roger Wil-
liams, who settled in Rhode Island, and comes from a line of soldiers, his grandfather
serving in the war of 1812, and his great-grandfather during most of the Revolution-
ary War, and his great-great-grandfather being in the French and Indian War.
On his mother's side he is descended from Henry Emigh, who came to this country
from Holland about 1696 and settled in Clove, Dutchess County, building a stone
house which is still standing and inhabited.
JAMES L. WILLIAMS was bom in Poughkeepsie, December 12, 1846. He at-
tended the Dutchess County Academy, and on the.completion of his studies and
after reading law was admitted to the Bar in 1867. He began practice in connection
with the Hon. Peter Dorland, ex-Surrogate of this county; the fiitn of Dorland &
WilUams continued until 1873, when he formed a partnership with Hon. John
Hackett, under the firm title of Hackett & Williams. A native of Poughkeepsie,
and always a public spirited citizen, Mr. Williams was more than usually prominent
in political and social, as weU as legal circles. He was very active in the Democratic
party for many years, and was the organizer and first president of the Poughkeepsie
News Company, publisher of the News- Press and News- Telegraph. He was elected
District Attorney in 1872, being the first Democrat elected to that office for a period
of over twenty-five years. In 1883 Governor Cleveland appointed him State As-
sessor, now called State Tax Commissioner, an ofl5ce which he filled with ability
until 1893, when he resigned.
In 1887 he was named as a member of the Executive Committee of the Democrat-
ic State Committee, and was made chairman of the State Executive Committee.
In 1893 Mr. Williams was strongly urged as a candidate for Justice of the Supreme
Court to succeed Judge Barnard, having the support of Dutchess and other coun-
ties.* He continued to be active in the councils of his party up to the Chicago con-
vention of 1896, but then declined to endorse the national platform or its candidate,
and after that time was fully as popular as a worker and advisor in the Republican
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 789
party as he was in the party of his first choice. He was appointed City Attorney of
Poxighkeepsie in 1897, serving under Mayor Hull in 1897 and 1898. In 1900 he
was nominated by President McKinley for Supervisor of the Census for the Third
District of New York. He was President of the Board of Education from 1900 to
1906 during which time the schools made great advancement.
WILLSON & EATON COMPANY, wholesale and retail dealers in lumber, coal, etc.
at Amenia, N. Y., are successors to the original firm of Barrett Willson & Co., estab-
lished in 1864, which was succeeded in .1878 by George T. Willson and Lewis F. Eaton
under the firm name of Willson & Eaton. In 1903 the present corporation was formed
of which the following are officers : George G. Stevenson, president; Lewis F. Eaton,
treasurer and manager; Edward Bryan, vice-president; David P. Barry, assistant
manager. The company is capitalized $125,000. A brick yard, with an annual cap-
acity of four miUion brick, is also a part of the product of this concern.
HENRY N. WINCHESTER, Supervisor of the town of Amexda,, was bom in 1850,
at South Amenia, N. Y. He received his early education in the district schools and
at a private school at Dover Plains, finishing his studies at Claverack College. He
then engaged in farming at South Amenia, and later succeeded his father in the gener-
al mercantile business. He held the office of Deputy Postmaster.from 1886 to 1909,
when he was appointed Postmaster of South Amenia. Politically Mr. Winchester is
a RepubUcan, and in 1905 was elected Supervisor of the town of Amenia, and re-elect-
ed in 1907. He has also held the office of Justice of the Peace for several years.
He was tmited in marriage with Frances, daughter of James Edwin Sleight of Titus-
ville, Dutchess county, and the following children were bom to them: Milo F., Henry
F. and James Edwin.
JACKSON S. WING, merchant, Wingda;le, N. Y., was born in the town of Dover
in 1858, a son of Sheldon and Jane L. (Chapman) Wing. He finished his schooling
at the Amenia Seminary, and in the year 1880 engaged in general mercantile busi-
ness at Wingdale, purchasing what was known as the Preston store, which was
erected by his grandfather. Mr. Wing served as Postmaster from 1890 to 1907.
Mr. Wing was united in marriage with Mary Straight of Kent, Conn., and they
are the parents of one daughter, Winifred S.
SHELDON WING, a retired citizen of Wingdale, N. Y., was bom December 10,
1833, in the town of La Grange. His studies at the public schools were supple-
mented by a course at a Quaker boarding school. He then began life on a farm in
the town of Dover, and was thus employed until 1861, when he engaged in the stock
business in Ohio and Iowa. In 1865 he returned to Dover, and took up the duties
of farming once more.
Politically Mr. Wing is a Democrat, and has served his town as Suprvisor two
terms. In 1894 he received the nomination for the office of sheriff, but declined to
run.
October 21, 1856 Mr. Wing was united in marriage with Miss Jane L. Chapman
of Dover, and to them have been born two children: Jackson S., and Anna F.
790 THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHARLES M. WOLCOTT, for several years prominently identified with finan-
cial and industrial institutions in the town of Fishkill, N. Y., was born at Litch-
field, Conn., November 20, 1816, and died November 20, 1889. He was a son of
Judge Frederick Wolcott of Connecticut, and descendant of a family that occupied
a distinguished place in our Colonial history. Roger Wolcott, great-grandfather
of Charles M., held the office of Governor of Connecticut from 1750 to '54. His son
Oliver was one of the representatives of the Colony of Connecticut whose names
are afBxed to the Declaration of Independence, and during the Revolutionary war
he held the rank of brigadier-general in the patriot forces. In 1796 he was elected
Governor of Connecticut.
Charles M. Wolcott in early life engaged in the commission business with offices
in J'hiladelphia and New York. He married in 1849, Catharine A., daughter of
Henry Rankin, a prominent merchant of New York. Three children were bom to
them: Henry Goodrich, Katharine Rankin, now the wife of Samuel Verplanck;
and Annette Rankin.
Soon after his marriage Mc. Wolcott settled at Fishkill-on-Hudson, upon the es-
tate known as "Roseneath" where his wife had previously resided. From that
time his attention was chiefly occupied with the management of his extensive realty
holdings and commercial interests in the town of Fishkill. He became a stockhold-
er and member of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Fishkill
Landing, and was also a large stockholder and trustee in the firm of the New York
Rubber Company.
i
CHARLES W. WRIGHT, Supervisor of the town of Clinton, Dutchess county,
N. Y., was bom in the town of Stanford, March 1, 1866. He acquired his education
at the public schools of his native place, and at Sackett's private school. He then
accepted a clerkship in the store of Mr. Knickerbocker of Bangall, with whom he
remained four years, and was afterwards engaged for a time in the butter and egg
businesss in New York City. In the spring of 1892 he established a general mer-
cantile store at Clinton Comers, N. Y. Politically Mr. Wright is a Democrat, and
in 1908 was elected a member of the Dutchess County Board of Supervisors.
September 5, 1889, he was united in marriage with Delia Stewart of Stanford,
and to them have been born three children: Harold, Edith and Ethel.
LEWIS H. WRIGHT, Supervisor of the town of East Fishkill, Dutchess County,
was born in this town September 4, 1856. For many years he has been, engaged
in the cultivation of his farm, which covers over 500 acres.
In 1880 Mr. Wright wasunitedlnmairiagewithMissHenrietta Jackson of Dutch-
ess county.
Politically Mr. Wright is a Democrat. He was elected a member of the board
of Supervisors in 1904, and has been continuously re-elected to 1909.
CAPTAIN ANDREW C. ZABRISKIE of Barrytown, N. Y., was bom in New
Yorl? City, May 30, 1853, and was educated in private schools and Columbia
College. Inheriting large real estate properties, he has devoted himself mainly
to the business connected with these interests.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL. 791
Military affairs have in times past engrossed considerable of Captain Zabriskie's
attention. He served for seven years in the Seventh New York Regiment. In
1883 he was elected Captain of Company C in the 71st Regiment, and held that
position until he was promoted to the rank of Inspector of Rifle Practice on the
stafiE of the same regiment, finally resigning in 1898. He presented the regiment
the Zabriskie' trophy, a handsome bronze, to be annually competed for at rifle
practice. Captain Zabriskie's military training, added to his desire to promote the
interests of those about him, led him, several years ago, to organize two companies
of the "Blithewood Light Infantry," composed of young men in the community,
one at Red Hook, and one at Rhinebeck. The two organizations have a member-
ship of 160. They have been well armed, uniformed and equipped by Captain
Zabriskie, and are very eflScient in the Manual of Arms, as a result of the Captain's
careful and persistent work in training them. All the members are pledged not to
smoke cigarettes, and if under eighteen years of age, not to smoke at all.
Captain Zabriskie takes an active interest in all worthy charities. He is at pres-
ent a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital, New York; Vice President of the House of
Rest for Constmiptives, and trustee of the Sheltering Arms, an institution for chil-
dren. He is prominent in the organization and work of the Episcopal church in
this diocese, and occupies several positions of honor and responsibility.
Captain Zabriskie belongs to the Union, Metropolitan, City, Army and Navy and
Church Clubs. He is a member of the Holland Society, the St. Nicholas Society,
the Society of the War of 1812, the Dutchess County Society, the New York His-
torical Society, the American Geographical Society, the National Academy of De-
sign, the American Museum of Natural History; and the American Numismatic
and Archaeological Society, of which he is ex-president. He was the Democratic
candidate for Congress from the 21st District in the fall of 1908, being defeated by
Hamilton Fish.
Captain Zabriskie is an American whose family history traces through 250 years
of residence in this country. His ancestor who established the family in America
was a Polish nobleman, who, to escape the political and religious oppression of his
own land, emigrated to America in 1662. His ancestors have been connected in
various honorable ways with the history of Bergen County, N. J., since its earliest
days. The Captain's grandfather on the maternal side was William M. Titus, a
prominent New York merchant, and an officer of the 11th Artillery in the War of
1812.
Captain Zabriskie married Frances, daughter of the late Charles F. Hunter, who
was President of the Peoples Bank of New York City. His estate, "Blithewood,"
north of Barrytown station, is one of the most beautiful on the banks of the Hudson.
Here, with his wife and two children, Julia Romesm and Christian Andrew, he leads
a busy and useful life. His city house is at 716 Fifth Avenue, New York, and he
maintains an office at 52 Beaver Street in the same city.
INDEX.
INDEX-PART I.
PAGE
Aborigines, The 24-27
Accession of New York State 178
Ackert, Peter E., 519
Ackert, William S 603
Adoption of the Constitution 179
Adriance, Abraham 206, 293
Adriance, Charles P., 249, 316, 470, 473
Adriance, George, 293
Adriance, Isaac 293, 295
Adriance, John 238
Adriance, John P., 231, 238, 241
Adriance, Piatt & Co., 239
Akin, Albert John, . . 402 and Part II.
Akin, Albro 402
Akin Hall Association 402
Aldrich, Mrs. Richard, 430, 432
Aldridge, Thomas 343, 345, 346
Allen, Benjamin 358
Alsop, John 94
Alsop, Richard 274
Amenia, town of
attractive f eattires of 265
boundaries 258
churches 263, 264
early growth, 259
early settlers, 259
effect of the Revolution on the
residents of 263
first white settler, 258
iron ore mining, 258
milk production 258
principal streams, . 258
religious denominations 263
roads, 265
Smith Stevens & Benton Motor
Co 261
Steel Works, The 259, 261
Supervisors, list of 265-266
villages, 260
Amenia, village of, 261
acetylene gas plant of 261
churches, 260
commercial gains 260
fire and hose company, 261
fountain 261
Harlem Valley Brick & Supply
Co: 260
PAGE
Amenia, village of.
High School, 260
Iron Foundry 260
Seminary 262
Sheffield Farms Slosson Decker
Co 260
water system 261
Willson & Eaton Co 260
American Brick Co 344
American Cement Co., 421
American Citizens' Corps 193
Anchor Bolt & Nut Co 239
Anderson, William Roe 493
Andrews, Mrs. James W 305, 321
Andrus, C. H 195
Angevine, Henry 504
Annan, Alexander 194, 321
Annan, Daniel 320
Annan, Jr., Daniel, 321
Annandale (See Red Hook)
Anthony, AUard 270, 511
"Anti-rent War," 91
Arkles,the 293
Armstrong, John 385
Armstrong, Gen. Tohn,428, 429, 430, 431
Armstrong, Mrs. John 434
Armstrong, Rev. R. G. 412
Army of the Cumberland 196
Arnold, Benedict 124, 190, 289
Arnold, Charles 458
Arnold, Thomas J 92
Articles of Association, 95
Amenia Precinct signers 96
non-signers 99
Beekman precinct signers, 99
non-signers 101
Northeast precinct signers, 103
non-signers, 105
Poughkeepsie precinct signers, . . . 107
non-signers, 108
Rhinebeck precinct signers, 109
non-signers, Ill
Rombout precinct signers 113
non-signers 117
Artsen, Gerrit, 39, 437, 438, 439
Ask, Benjamin 353
Assembly, members of 71-77
u
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Assessment table of precincts, 64
Assessments, early, 64
Astor, John Jacob,.. 340, 356, 357, 449
Astor, WiUiam B 431, 449
Astor, Mrs. William B 434, 449
Atlanta campaign, the 197
Atwater, Mrs. Edward S 234
Aymar, Benjamin 324
Babcock, Rev. Rufus 253, 381
Badeau, Joseph N 332
Badger, Ebenezer 218, 237
Bagger, Andrew, 53
Bailey, Elizabeth 214
Bailey, Henry D. B 294
Bailey, Theodorus 214, 242
Bain, Horatio N 284
Baker, Lewis 520-521
Baker, Orlando D. M 519
Baker, Ransom, 520
Baker, Stephen 246
BangaU 452
Banks:
Amenia, 265; Dover Plains 282
FishkiU 323, 335, 345, 346
Matteawan, 346; Millbrook, 494
Millerton, 384; Pawling 402
Pine Plains 416
Poughkeepsie, 240-241
Red Hook, 433; Rhinebeck 442
Stissing, 417; Wappingers 475
Barculo, Seward 503
Bard Infant School 359
Bard, John 433
Bard, Dr. John,. 354, 356, 360, 535, 536
Bard, Mrs. Mary 360
Bard, Dr. Samuel,354, 360, 532, 540-541
Bard, Susan Mary, 359
Bard, William 360, 361
Barkalo, Rev. John 296, 471
Barlow, Thomas, 290
Barnard, George G., 509
Barnard, Joseph P 241, 507-509
Bamegat limekilns,. 216, 661, 662, 663
Barnes, Dr. Edwin, 273, 546
Barnes, Dr. John 542
Barnes, Oliver W 316, 324
Barnes, Balthazar, 201
Bamum, Charles P 243
Bartlett Charles 228
Barton, Sarah 360
Bartow, Mrs. Charles 323, 324
Battle of Courtland Ridge, 25
Gettysburg 196
Harlem 136
PAGE
Battle of Resaca, 196
White Plains, 173
Baxtertown 325
Bayley, Guy C, 528, 590
Beadle, John 273, 420
Beardsley, Rev. John 250
Bedinger, Rev. Henry 334
Beck, Edward 235
Beekman, Henry
40, 41. 42, 90, 267, 389, 430, 437, 438
Beekman, Col. Henry,
438, 439, 440, 441, 444, 446
Beekman, town of 267
boundaries 267
charcoal furnace 269
churches 269, 270
derivation of name, 267
early settlements and settlers, . . . 268
hamlets of, . . . 269
mining operations in 268
natural features, 267
Beekman Furnace 269
Beekman Iron Mine, 270
Beekman Precinct officers,1772,.. 268
Beekmanville 270
Beldings, the 280, 281
Bench and Bar 498-527
Benjamin, Franklin R 347
Bennett, May F 485
Benson, Egbert 94, 120, 214
Bentley, Gilbert, 273
Benton, Joel,. . .263, 290, 376, 488, 489
Bentons, the 261
Berry, Dr. Cyrus 532, 534
Bethune, Rev. George W 446
Bill of Rights, American 179, 180
EngUsh 180
BilUngs, Andrew 214, 217
Billings, Josh 222
Bird, Rev. Addison C 295
Birdsall, Nathan 53, 651
Bisbee, Joseph B 229
Bisbee, Otis, 229
Blauvelt, Rev. Isaac 296
Bloom, Isaac 273
Blossom, Joseph, 319
Bodenstein, J. H 358
Bodenstein, John G 358
Boerum, Simon 94
Bogardus, Egbert ' 314
Bogardus, Evardus 442
Bogardus, Peter 307, 308, 309, 310
Bogardus, Philip 353, 355
Bogardus, Samuel, 314
Bogarts, the 269
Bogle, John, 468
INDEX— PART I.
Ill
PAGE
Bogle, William 468
Bohrer, Charles 194
Bonesteel, Nicholas, 428
Bonesteel, Philip N 428, 435
Bonesteel, Virgil D 428
Booth, Lydia 229
Boothe, Justus 417
Boston Comers 385, 386, 387
Bostwick, Frederick 417
Bostwick, J. H 417
Bostwick, Reuben W 407, 416, 417
Bowmans (Bowerman) , the 369
Bowne, Henry H 521
Bowne, James 246
Bowne, Joshua C, 442
Boyds, the 238
Braley, James M., 195
Braman, David, 355, 358
Brand marks, Poughkeepsie Pre-
cinct, 668
Brant, Andrus, 195
Brett, E. Augustus 195
Brett, Madam (Catherine), 35, 302, 303
305, 311, 318, 319, 320, 327, 336, 337
Brett, Margaret 319, 321
Brett, Peter 348
Brett, Roger 35, 302
Brett, Theodorus 305, 319, 320, 321
Brett, Walter 316, 346, 348
Brett & Co., Walter, 348
Brett & Matthews 316
Brewers, the 466, 467
Brick Industries, ... 32, 260, 343-345
Brinckerhoff, Derick, 295, 326, 337, 338
Brinckerhoff, Dirck G 95, 119
Brinckerhoff, Frank, 326, 327
Brincherhoff hamlet 326
Brinckerhoff, Isaac 343, 344
Brinckerhoff, Col. John,. . . 173, 326, 327
Brinckerhoff, Joris 338
Brinckerhoff, T. Van Wyck, . . . 327, 347
Brinckerhoff, Theodore, 337, 346
Briody, Rev. J. H., 634, 636
Broas, Benjamin S., 195
Brockway Brick Co 345
Brockway, Edwin, 345
Brooks, David 242
Broom, Lieut 193
Broughton, Francis 357
Broughton, Joseph, 357
Brown Bros. 316
Brown, Derrick 246, 597., 603
Brown, Elias 469
Brown, George-Hunter,
344, 480, 481, 483, 484, 485, 491
Brown, James 469
PAGE
Brbwn, Tames P., 313, 314
Brown, Rev. John 312
Brown, Samuel 465, 469
Brown, Thomas S., 239
Brundage, C. W., 348
Brundage & Place, 316, 348
Bryan, Calvin C 380
Bryan, Edward 417
. Bryan, Elihu W. 380
Bryan, Ezra 380, 410
Bryan, Ward W 380
Bryan, William Jennings 381
Buck, Samuel Wells, 229
Buckeye Mowing Machine Co 344
Budd, Gilbert, 470
Budd, the Misses 344
Budd, W. D., 344
Bullock, Comer 453, 454, 455
Bullock, Ephrian», 453
Bull's Head 217
Bull's Iron Works, 182
Burgoyne, General 174
Burke, Edmund 428
Burr, Benjamin F 403
Burtch, Luman 413, 454, 455, 456
Busch, Johannes, 202
Bushnell, William 235
Butterfield, Gen. Daniel, . 327
Butts, Allison, 458
Butts, Wesley 273
Buttner, Gottlob 26, 27
Buttolph, John, 376, 412
Buttolph, Rev. Milton 367
Byrnes, Joseph, 338, 339
Byrnes, William, 319, 320
Byrnesville hamlet 319
Camp Dutchess 196
Camp Kelly 194
Camp, William C 287
Campbell, Archibald, 399
Canfield, Darwin 227
Card, Albert M 522
Card, Colvin, 384
Carman, Cornelius, 316, 470
Carman, Isaac N 481
Carman, John, 268
Carmans, the 293
Caro, Rev. Francis 619, 620
Carpenter, B. Piatt, 246, 340, 457
Carpenter,, Isaac R 310
Carpenter, Isaac S 458
Carpenter, Jacob 307, 310
Carpenter, Jacob B 457
Carpenter, Joseph 355
IV
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Carpenter, Leonard, 307, 310
Carroll, William 341
Carthage Landing 470
Cary, Henry 397, 398
Case, James S., 255
Case, Rev. Wheeler 274
Casey, Alice 279
Casey, George, 281
Casey, Thomas, 279
Casper creek, 29, 39, 201, 202, 209, 236
Cast, John 53
Catholic Church, The 608
account of Fr. Parmer's mission-
ary trips 609
Catholic Association, 1832,.. .614^615
clergy list, 1822 613
-'Congress Own," 611, 612
•during the Civil War 626
■during the Revolution, 609-611
early history 608
first church erected 616
institutions:
Marist Brothers, 648
Novitiate of St. Andrew on
Hudson 649-650
Amenia, Immaculate Conception
Parish 641-643
Barrytown, Church of the Sacred
Heart, 646
Beekman, Parish of St. Denis,
Sylvan Lake 643
Dover and Pawling churches, . 638-641
Fishkill churches 634^637
Hyde Park, The Roman Catholic
Church 647
Millbrook, St. Joseph's Church, . . 647
Millerton, Catholic Mission, . . 642-643
Poughkeepsie, Church of Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel 647, 648
Church of St. Mary 627
Church of the Nativity 632
PoUsh Church, 627
St. Peter's Church, . .255, 618-627
succession of pastors 616-634
Rhinebeck, St. Joseph's Parish, . . 645
Tivoli, St. Sylvia's Church 646
Wappinger's Falls, St. Mary's
Cihurch 644
Cavel, James 534
Cemeteries. See graveyards
Census of 1714 45
Central Hudson Steamboat Co 316
■Chamber of Commerce, Poughkeep-
sie 225
Chandler, A. King 317
Chanler, Lewis S 432
PAGE
Chanler, Margaret Astor 431
Chanler, Robert W 432
Chanler, William Astor 432
Chapman, Dr. George B. 283
Chapman, Mrs. H. S., 264
Chapman, John Jay 432
Chapman, William T 403
Charity Organizations, Poughkeep-
sie 256-257
"Chase, Adam 390
Chatterton, Mrs. Sarah 366
Chelsea, 470
Chestnut Ridge 286
Christian Bibhcal Institute, The, ... 457
Churches and pastors : .
of Amenia 264
of Beekman 269, 270
of Clinton 274, 275
of Dover 279, 284, 285, 286, 288
of East Fishkill 294^298
of Fishkill 300, 327-335
of Hyde Park, 354, 359-362
of La Grange 366-367
of Milan 372
of Northeast, 377, 381-384
of Pawling 173, 174, 391, 397-402
of Pine Plains 408-415
of Poughkeepsie 247-255
of Pleasant Valley 421-424
of Red Hook 433, 434^435
of Rhinebeck 441, 444^449
of Stanford 453-457
of Union Vale 461, 462-463
of Wappingers 471-474
Churchill, Henry 343
Civil list 45, 67-79
Civil organizations and divisions,. . 57-66
Civil War, 193
Clay formations 32
Clay, Henry, 229, 245
steamboat disaster, 315
Clapp, Benjamin 468, 472, 473
Clapp. Clinton W 465
Clark, Hon. David 457
Clark, Ezra 378
Clark, Hon. George, 309
Cleaveland, Dr. Joseph Manning, . . . 545
Clinton, Gov. George
94, 174, 188, 211, 212, 226
elected President of State Con-
vention, 176
house, 175, 208, 665-667
letter from Col. Beekman to, ... . 90
letters written in Poughkeepsie,...
175, 212
in politics, 241
INDEX— PART I.
/->i ■ PAGE
Clinton, Gov. George
issues call for troops, 193
issues proclamation 175
opposes ratification of Constitu-
tion 178, 215
Clinton, De Witt 242, 599
Clinton, Sir Henry 174
Clinton, town of, 272
assemblymen 273
boundaries, 272
churches 274-275
early innkeepers 273
first dwellers 272
first physician of 273
frist mill 273
amlets of, 272
land donations 274
slate deposits, 275, 276
Supervisors, list of 276-277
town clerks 276
Clove Spring, 461
Clove Spring Iron Works 269
Clove Spring Trout Co 461
Clove Valley, 269
Clove Valley Rod and Gun Club, . . 461
Coe, William 460, 461, 462
Coe, William V 461, 462
Coffin, Tristram 665, 666, 667
Cogswell, Joseph H., 195
Colden, Alexander 306
Colden, Cadwallader D., 214, 306
Colden Ferry Charter 306-310
Cole, Simon, 441
Colleges See Schools
CoUen, John 120
CoUes, Christopher 670
CoUes Surveys, 1789 670-680
Collins, Gilbert 345
CoUyer, John L 470, 473
Colman, Joh . n, 17
Colonial Assembly, Representatives
in 67
Congress 42, 93, 94
grants, , 33
Military Organizations, 80-93
Colonists, taxation of 93
Committee of One Hundred, 95
Committee of Sixty 94
Committees of Safety, 120, 171
Comstock, John, 481
Congress and Montgomery, the 172
Conroy, Rev. E. J 630, 631
Constitution of 1777 308
Contine, Peter 429, 435
Continental Congress, 95, 171, 210
Contmental Lme, 120, 134
Continental troops in Poughkeepsie,
176,212
Convention of N. Y. State Repre-
sentatives, 171 177
Cook, Dr. G. W .' 536
Cook, J. Hervey 519
Cook & Low 468, 469
Cool, Arrye 204
Cooper, Dr. Ananias 442
Cooper, Ezekiel 136, 212
Cooper's Rangers 136, 169
Corlies, Jacob 241
Comwell, John 287
Coshire, Hannah 365
Cottam, Matthew, 465, 468
Council of Appointment 68
of the Colonyiof New York 67
of Safety 68
County Bar, 498-527
County,
buildings, first, 65, 66
Clerks, list of 78, 79
court, 498-499
District Attorneys, list of, 77-78
Judges, list of, 77
Sheriffs, list of , 78
Surrogates, list of 77
Treasurers, list of, 79
Court house, first, 65
of Probate, 1778 212
of Sessions, 188
Cousens, Bame 353
Coutant, Charles G 351
Cox, Jr., John 53, 651
Coxe, Daniel, 597
Coyle, Rev. James, 635
Cramer, Hon. John N 438
Crannell, Bartholomew, 210
Cromwell, Joseph 316, 348
Crosby, Cyrenus 528
Crosby, Epenetus 339, 348
Crosby, Ernest H 449
Crugers, the, 428
Cruger's Island (Magdalen),
41,426,427, 437
Crummey, Edward 195, 518
Cunninrfiam, Walter 220, 240, 244
Curtis, F. 1 416
Curtiss, Milton E 346
Cuyler, Rev. Cornelius C 249
Dakins, the 377
Dales, W. M 384
Daly, Very Rev. Patrick 608, 631
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Daniels, George A 403
Davies, Charles 322
Davies, Henry E 322, 333
Davies, Thomas L., 221, 252
Davies, William A 252
Davis, David 346
Davis, Fred W 241, 416
Davis, Henry, 240
Davis, Richard D 244
Davis, Rev. Sheldon 414; 424
Davison, G. Howard 486, 497
Davison, Jr., H. J 485, 496
Deacon, Seth 282
Dean, Gilbert 367, 504
Dean, Herman, 351
Dean, Rev. J. J 332
Dean, James E. 347, 351
de CantiUon, Richard,272, 354, 356, 360
de CantiUon, T 360
de Chastellux, Marquis 173
Travels through Dutchess Coun-
ty 181-192
Declaration of Independence, the, . . 171
De Forest, Col 193
De Graff, John 208
De GraflE, John A 356
De Groff, Moses 364
Deitrich, Charles F 478, 495, 496
de Koven, Rev. Henry 432, 434, 435
Delafield, John 220, 616
De Lamater, Henry 442
De La Montagne, Dr 322
Delano, Mrs. Franklin, 449
De Laval Separator Co., 239
De Lavergne, Isaac, 528
De Lavergne, Dr. Nicholas, 83, 550
Delegates to State Constitutional
Convention, 70
De Long, James 268
Dennings, the 322, 323
Denny, W. C 384
de Peyster, Col. John Livingston,. . . 432
de Peyster, Gen. John Watts 461
de Peyster (Watts) Home for In-
valid Children 461
de Reimer, Peter 355
Des Brosses, James 206
de Verrazzano, John 17
Devine, Joel, 537
Devine, Wright 421
Dewall, Pecne 44
De Wint, John Peter, 308, 309, 310, 314
315, 322, 330, 348, 349, 470, and Part II.
De'Witt, John 273, 274, 276
De Witt, Rev. Petrus 446
De Witt, Rev. Thomas 296, 471
PAGE
De Witt, Tierk, 427
Dibble, Christopher 451
Dickerson, Rev. J. L 383
Dinsmore, William B., 358
Disbandment of provincial forces, . . 90
Division of counties into towns, .... 300
Dodge, Dr. John 273, 423
Dodge, Le Grand 506
Dodge, Samuel 120, 299
Donaldson, John J 494
Dongan, Thomas 34, 57, 427
Donoghue, George F., 352
Dorland, Enoch 364
Dorland, Peter 517
Dorland, Samuel 366
Dover, town of, 278
boundaries 278
churches 284, 285, 286, 288
early settlement and settlers, .... 278
erection of, 65
first mill 279
first postmaster 281
Harlem Railroad in, 290
Morehouse Tavern 289
New York and Sharon Canal pro-
ject 290
old inscriptions in cemetery 278
principal streams 278
Red Lion Inn 289
Supervisors, list of 290-291
Valley View Cemetery 285, 290
Washington and his troops en-
camp at, 289
Dover Furnace, 287, 288
Dover Plains, village of 279
churches 284, 285, 286, 288
early residents 280
Elm Stock Farm at 284
first Board of Education, mem-
bers of 283
Hall & Ferguson's cold storage
plant at 284
in 1802 280
J. H. Ketcham Hose Co 283-284
McDermott Milk Co., 284
Military School 282
population 279
physicians 282
Union Free School, 283
Dover Plains Bank 282
Dover Plains Library 283
Dover Plains Lodge, I. O. G. T 284
Dover Plains Marble Works 281
Dover Press 282
"Dover Stone Church," 279
Downing, Andrew J 315, 321
INDEX— PART I.
vU
T\ . PAGE
downing, William 403
Drake, Edward C 421
Drake, George S 195
Duane, James, 94
Du Bois, Dr. Abram 328
DuBois, John C 475
Du Bois, Lewis, 206
DuBois, Matthew 83, 206
Du Bois, Peter, 206
Dudley, Alexander 338
Duer, William A., 442
Duerstein, Rev. Daniel, 253
Dutch, energies of the 23
superseded by the English 42
Dutch churches, earliest :
Fishkill Village, 173, 300, 302, 327-328
Hopewell 294r-297
Poughkeepsie, 176, 213, 214, 247-250
Rhinebeck 445-446
Dutch East India Co 17
Dutcher, Belden, 281
Dutcher, Cornelius 280
Dutcher, Derrick 279
Dutcher, Irving 269
Dutcher, John 283
Dutcher, J. Gerow 402
Dutcher, John B., 402
Dutchess County,
assessment table of precincts of, . . 64
Bench and Bar of 498-52'7
boundaries 28, 57
census of 1714 45
character of soil of, 32, 56
civil list of 45
civil organizations and divisions
of, 57
court house in 1788 66
description of, by Judge Wm.
Smith 52
details of settlement of, 55
divisions into precincts, 60
division into townships, 64
divison into wards, 59, 441
during the Revolution 93-180
early divisions 33
early inhabitants, 44, 45, 53
early settlements 23, 44, 45 54
election of 1713, in, 58
erection of towns in 64, 65
Federal officers of, 68
first county house and prison, . 65, 66
first newspaper 350
first physician, 547
first settler 44
freeholders of 1740 in, list of 50
geology of 28
_ , PAGE
Dutchess county,
in the Rebellion 193-198
members of assembly 71
military organizations of 80
militia 140-170
mineral and natural deposits, 31, 32
mountains, 28
muster rolls, 80-90, 136
officers of, 1721-1907 77-79
oldest political divisions, 200
physicians 540-586; 593-696
population of 1723 50
by towns, 1790 55
principle streams 29-30
signers and non-signers of the '
"Revolutionary Pledge^' 96
stockraising and dairying, 32
Supervisors iv^cn 1720 to 1787,. . 59-63
Supervisors from 1788 to 1909,
See Supervisors.
tax roll, of 1718 46-49
topography 28
towns comprised in, 1786 64
Dutchess County Academy, . . . 226, 227
Dutchess County Agricultural So-
ciety 483
Dutchess County Regiment (150th), 195
at the battle of Gettysburg 196
casualties of, 197
discharged from service, 197
transferred to the army of the
Cumberland 196
Dutchess Hat Works 342
Dutchess Insurance Co., 241
Dutchess Junction, 317
Dutchess Manufacturing Co.,. .239, 240
Dutchess Print Works 468
Dutchess Tool Works 342
Dutchess Whaling Company 237
Dutton, Titus 360, 361
Dwight, W. B., 32
Earley, Rev. Terence J., 629, 630
East Camp 53, 58, 439
East PishkiU, town of, 292
boundaries 292
churches 294-298
early burials in 297
early inhabitants, 294
early settlement of 292
erection of 65
first church building in, 295
first town meeting in 292
Hopewell Junction, 292, 293
VIU
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
East Fishkill, town of,
oldest tombstone inscription in, . . 297
Supervisors, list of 298
Eastman, Harvey G
223, 224, 230, 241, 246
Eastman College 223, 230
Eastman Park 223
Educational institutions. See
Schools.
Eldridge, E. Q 506
Election of 1713 58
Ellessdie Chapel, 471
Elliotts, the 289
Ellsworth, William 355
Ehn Stock Farm 284
Elmendorf, NicoU Floyd 522
Elseffer, Jacob W 513-514
Elsworth, Edward 241, 247
Elton, Jan, 39, 437, 438, 439
Emans, Albert 367, 480
Emans, James A 292, 294
Emans, John S., 294
Emans, Storm 294
Emigh, Jeremiah, 463
Emigh, Nicholas 44, 301
Emigh, Peter 460. 461
Emigh, William 463
Emmett, Thomas A 306, 308, 309
Emott, Judge James
214,241,242,244, 502
Emott, Jr., James 222, 502
Emott, William 242
Eno, William 416
Eno, William S., 515
Erection of Counties 57
Erection of towns 64
Eureka Mowing Machine Works, . . . 239
Everitt, Clear 175, 667
Everitt, Richard 240, 667
Eyer, Rev. William J 447
Factory Woods, The 463
Fairbairn, Rev. Robert B 434
Falconer, John, 341
Pall Kill, the
29, 30, 202, 208, 219, 236, 253
Fallon, Dr. James 174
Farmer, Ferdinand 608, 609, 612
FarreU, Rev. C. H 635, 636
Fay, Eliphas 227
Federal census, 1790 55
Federal officers, list of, 68
Fed*al Store 377, 378
Felous, Rev. J. W 492
Fenn, Rev. Percy 1 492
PAGE
Ferris, Benjamin, 53, 651
Ferris House 174
Ferris, John, 292, 480
Ferris, Mary 257
Ferris, Reed 173, 391
Ferry, Colden, 306-310
Milton 207, 216, 659-664
Newburgh, 349
Poughkeepsie, 216, 235
Fisher's Reach 21, 299
Fishkill, town of,
banks 337, 345-347
barracks at 173, 185
beacons, 213, 326, 336
brick indsutry in 343-345
churches 297, 327-335
cloudburst at 342
Colden Ferry Charter 306-310
country estates 321-323
description' of, by de Chastellux, . 184
during the Revolution, 172, 173, 325
early residents 322
early settlers 299
electric light works, 336
farms of the Verplanck family in, 310
ferries 305, 306
first mill in 337
first white settler 301
forfeiture act in 299
Frankfort Store House Associa-
tion 303-310, 347
ferries of 305, 306
freighting prices of, 305
minutes of annual meeting of
1763 304
transcript of meeting in 1781,
304-305
fas works 336
ndian possession of, 300
industnes 336, 337-342
Lafayette at, 327, 337
Matteawan, village of 318
Banks 346
churches 330-334
incorporation of 318
industries, 319
newspapers 351
mountains 28
newspapers 350-352
Oil Grounds, The, of, 321
politics of 1840, in 338, 339
provost house and prison at, 185
regiment removed from, 176
river freighting at 302
Rombout Cemetery at 326
soldiers' burial ground, 173
INDEX— PART I.
IX
T,. PAGE
Fishkill, town of,
soldiers' monument 326 326
Supervisors, list of ' 352
transportation at, 337, 347-350
tombstone inscriptions in, . . . 300, 328
the road to 206
villages in ',',[ ! !3i4-326
water- works 342
Fishkill Village [',', 324
early freighting business at, .315, 316
early residents of 324, 325
early railroads 317
early travel in 315
fire of 1876 324
incorporation of 314
postofBce estabUshed, 314
water supply 336
Fishkill, the, 29, 44, 460
Fishkill Institute for Savings 346
Fishkill Landing Machine Co., ... . 342
Fishkill Landing Place 188
Fishkill mountains 28
Fishkill and Beekman Plank Road
Co 317-318
Fishkill and Matteawan Water Co., 336
Flagler, Harry H 496
Flax Culture 188, 354
Fletcher, Governor, 34, 39, 40
Fletcher, Rev. Thomas 382
Floyd, William 94
Fonda, James H 240
Fonda, Walter C 240
Forbus, Alexander, 237
Forbus, John B 241
Forts Montgomery and Clinton, cap-
ture of 174
Foster, David C. 241
Fowler, John W., 230
Fowler, Milton A 351
Frank's Sons Brewery, V 240
Frankfort Store Bfouse Associa-
tion ....303-310
Freeholders, list of, in 1740 50
Freer, Jacobus 211
French and English War 90
French and Indian War, 90
Friends, or Quakers,
denounced as Tories, 174
enrollment of in 1755, 53
meetings, 651-658
"Friends of Constitutional Liberty," 210
Frink, G. S 384
B^ost, Solomon B., 237
Fry, B. H 260
Fur Trade, 23
PAGE
Gaines, Clement C 230
Gansevoort, Harme 39, 427
Gardiner, "Awful," 386
Gardner, Benjamin 344
Garettson, Rev. Freeborn, 252, 412, 447
Garner, Thomas 468
Gamer, William T 468
Garner & Company,
25, 316, 420, 468, 469
Gaylord, George R 195
Geology 28-32
German, Nicholas 270
German refugees 52
Gibbs, Aletha 358
Gillies, John 343
Glenham 323
Glenham mill 340
Goring, T, E 470
Gould, David R, 402
Government suspends organization
of new regiments 194
Gowdy, John, 343
Graham, Daniel 299
Graham, David, 346
Graham, Morris 94, 136
Grant, Jr., James, 241
Graveyards:
Amenia 263
Dover 278, 284, 285, 290
Fishkill 297, 300, 326, 328, 331
La Grange, 364; Pawling 397
Pine Plains 408
Poughkeepsie, 202, 218, 220, 249
Stanford 451, 456
Union Vale 460, 463
Washington, 489
tombstone inscriptions in
Dover Plains 278, 279
South Dover, 284; Fishkill,... 300
Hopewell, 297; La Grange, ... 364
Stanford 451
Gray, A. B., 206
Green Fuel Economizer Co 342
Green, Rev. George A 335
Green Haven, 269
Green, John, 195
Green, Theron M 402
"Greenvale," 206
Gregory, Elnathan 120
Gregorys, the 280, 281
Griffin, Jacob, 120
Griggs, Charles, 345
Grinnell, Irving 474
Guernsey, Daniel W 458, 515
Guernsey, Mrs. Joseph 261
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Guernsey, Stephen G 458
Guild, H. A •. 351
Gurnee, Daniel 344
Haight, Joseph F 402
Haight, Stephen 490
Halcyon Hall, 485
"Half Moon," 17, 427
Halgin, Robert H., 333
Halfock, F. W 495
Hallock, Isaac 274
Hallock, Samuel, 663
Hamilton, Alexander 177, 178, 215
Hams, the 483
Hammersley, J. Hooker, 500
Hammond, Dr. Thomas, . .282, 285, 290
Hammond, Jr., Dr. Thomas 282
Hammond, William K 344
Hammond & Freeman 345
Harlem Valley Brick & Supply Co., 260
Harloe, William 233, 247
Harmense, Myndert, 34, 38, 39, 40, 201
Harrington, Jacob, 288
Harris, George 274
Harris Scythe Works 416
Harris, Seth, 416
Harris, Rev. Thomas R 434
Harrison, William Henry 338
Hart, PhiHp,. 479
Hartsville 481
Hasbrook," Alexander 292, 346
Hasbrouck, Dr. Alfred 543-544
Hasten, Elnathan 292
Hatch, Mrs. Frederick W 256
Haxtun, William E 270
Hayes, Capt. R. S., 497
Hayt, Samuel A 318, 325, 346
Hazen, Col. Moses 610, 611
Heath, General 185, 186, 187, 195
Heckwelder, John 24
Heermance, Hendrickus 439
Heermance, Jacob 429, 442
Herrick, Charles B., 518
Herrick, Timothy 358
Hewitt, Gideon P., 220
Hicks, Elias 274, 410, 603
Higby, Seth 398, 399
Hiegins, H. W 496
"High Dutchers," 53, 439
Highland Hospital, 590
Hill, Rev. Daniel T 270, 399
Hill, Hon. David Jayne 399
Hill,»Edwin 442
Hilton, Judge, 340
Hinkley, James W., 245, 246
PAGE
Histories, previous :
Bailey's Historical Sketches of
Dutchess County .44, 294
Cook & Benton's Dutchess Coun-
ty Regiment, 195
First Book of Supervisors and
Assessors, 46, 58, 59, 65, 204
Huntting's History of Little
Nine Partners, 418
Morse's Historic Old Rhinebeck,..
437, 440-441
Platt'sjHistory of Poughkeepsie, .
38, 199
Reed's History of Amenia, ....
259, 266
Smith's Documentary History of
Rhinebeck 450
Smith's History of Dutchess
County, 665, 666
Van Gieson's First Reformed
Church of Poughkeepsie 247
Wilson's Quaker Hill, 54, 393; and
Preface.
Hoag, Charles 409, 410
Hoff, Joseph 422
Hoffman, Anthony, 95
Hoffman, Herman, 120
Hoffman, John T 452
Hoffmans, the (Red Hook) 428
Holbrook, Nicholas 381, 382
HoUey, Luther 280
HoUiday, Capt. Harrison, 193
Holmes, Col. James 120
Hohnes, H. A.,. 403
Homeopathic Medical Society, 'The
591-596
members of 593-596
Homes:
Home for the Friendless 256
Old Ladies' Home 227, 256
Pringle Memorial Home 257
Vassar Brothers Home for Aged
Men 267
Watts de Peyster Home for In-
valid Children, 461
Hone, Philip 319, 340, 341
Hooker, James 237, 240, 500
Hopewell Junction 293
Hopkins, Benjamin 470
Hopkins, Enos 375, 408
Hopkins, Gilbert S 470
Hopkins, Solomon P 470
Hosack, Dr. Daniel 361
Hosack, Dr. David 356
Hosier, Daniel, 364
INDEX— PART I.
XI
PAGE
Hosier, John 364
Hospitals 586
Hotaling, Caleb M 351
Hotchkiss, Frank A., 384
Hotels and taverns, early:
Forbus House 222
Hyde Park Hotel 356
Morehouse Tavern,. 182, 183, 191, 289
Poughkeepsie Hotel 219, 221
Pride's Tavern, 188
Red Lion Inn 289
Rhinebeck Hotel 450
Sleight Tavern 273
Thomas Inn 189, 190
Wing Tavern 279
House of Industry 257
Houses, historic:
Abraham Fort House, 208
AUard Anthony House 209, 323
Callendar House, 432
Chateau of Tivoli 432
Clinton (Clear Everitt) House, . .
175, 208, 212, 665-667
Davies House, 208
Dutcher House, 289
Ferris House 174
A. B. Gray House 206, 209
Glebe (Fricker) House 251
Heermance House 439
John Kane House 395
Kip House 45, 439
Mesier Homestead, 467
Montgomery House, 429
Motmt Gulian 310
Noxon House 208
Rokeby 430-432
Teller House , 302
Wharton House, 173
Howland, Gen. Joseph,. . .323, 333, 346
Hoyt, Lydig M 358
Ho3rt, Morgan H 351
Hoyt, Rev. Sherman, 275
Hudson, Henry 17, 427
Journal Extracts 18-23
Hudson River
chain obstruction during Revo-
lution 174, 211
early names applied to, 23
exploration of, 17
Hudson River State Hospital, . 356, 586
Huf cut, George 282
Hufcut, Hans 279
Hufcut, Horace D 282, 290, 518
Huff, Englebert 295
Hughes, Christopher 365, 360, 361
Hufhes, W. H 380
PAGE
Hughson, John 466
Hughson, Dr. Walter 543
Htdl, J. Frank 239
Hull, John F 241
Hull, John 1 382
Hulme, Peter 522
Humphrey, Cornelius 272, 423
Hunt, Freeman, 220
Hunt, William 390
Hunter, Robert H 218
Hunttine, Isaac, 374, 417, 418
Hustis, Henry H 518
Huyler, John S., .■ 362
Hyde, Lemuel 360
Hyde Park, town of, 353
boundaries, 353
census of 1821 355
churches, . ^ 358-362
country seats of 356, 358
early industries 354
early Quakers 355, 366
early tavern keepers 355
erection of, 353
first election in 355
first physician of 354
freighting business 355
ice-cutting industry, 358
schools of, 358-362
Staatsburgh, 357
streams 353
Supervisors, list of 362
Indians, the 24-27
battle at Magdalen 426
deeds of
26, 33-37, 201, 202, 300. 301, 437, 438
driven from Shekomeko, 27
evangelization of, 26, 27
Mohicans, the 24
River 25
Shaghticoke 365, 366
"Six Nations," 426, 427
Wappingers 24, 26, 26, 300, 326
Ingham, James 468, 472
Ingraham, George W 262
Ingram, Francis 206
Innis, George 223, 246
Ira Harris Guard 194
Iron Foundry, Amenia, 260
Jackson, Hon. J. L 324, 325
Jackson, Joseph H 244, 249, 507
Jans, Anneke 306
Jay, Frederick 120
xu
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Jay, John 94, 176, 215, 242
Jenney, William 227
iewett, Jacob B., 514
ogues, Rev. Isaac, 608
ohnson. Rev. Nehemiah, 398, 454
ohnson, Samuel W., 475
Johnston, David, 482
Jonah, Hannah, 365, 366
Jonah's Manor, 365
Jones, Edward, 449
Jones, Elizabeth, 449
Jones, Joshua 343
Jones, Samuel 215
Jordan, Conrad N., 346
Judson, John D 442
Kail Rock Landing, . .205, 207, 219, 234
Kane, John 391, 392, 395, 396
Kelly, Hon. William 194, 438, 448
Kennedy, Mary Lenox, 497
Kent, James 214, 242, 499
Kent, William 322, 348
Ketcham, James 280, 281, 285
Ketcham, John H
195, 197, 246, 281, 290
Ketcham, William M 247
Ketcham, William S., 281
Kiersted, Dr. Hans, 442
Killey, E. B., 221, 244, 245, 286
Kip, Abraham, 441
Kip, Hendrick, 39, 45, 438, 439
Kip, Henry Spies 438
Kip, Jacob 34, 301, 438, 439
Kip, John 441
Knapp, Heinrich, 323
Knapp, Isaac 298
Knox, Starr B 470, 473
Kock, Rev. G. D., or Koock,.409,445,446
Lafayette, General, 219, 327
Lakes and ponds :
Booth'spond, 236
Green Mountain Lake 389
Halcyon Lake 406
Hammersley Lake 389
Hunn's Lake (Thompson's pond),
405, 451
Norton Lake, 389
Pelton's Pond 236
Spring Lake, or Long pond
* 30,272, 426
Stissing Lake 405
Sylvan Lake 30, 236, 268
PAGE
Lakes and ponds,
Upton's Lake, 451, 458
Vassar College Lake 207, 236
Waraughkameek 38
Whaley Pond 30, 389, 390
Winnikee (red mill) Pond 236
La Grange, town of, 363
at the outbreak of the Civil War, . 367
boundaries 363
churches, 366-367
during the Revolution, 365
early industries in, 364
early settlement and settlers, .... 364
erection of, 363
oldest religious organization of, . . 366
original description of the bounds
of, 363
Supervisors, list of, 367-368
tombstone inscription in 364
Lamb, Dr. Robert B 591
Lamont, Col. Daniel S 496
Landings,
Carthage (Low Point) 470
Kail Rock 205, 207, 219, 234
Long Dock 306, 309, 314, 316, 470
Lower Fishkill, 303, 305, 314, 470
Upper Fishkill 306, 314, 470
Lower, Poughkeepsie, 235
Main street, Poughkeepsie, . . 234, 235
Upper, Poughkeepsie 235
Whale Dock 237, 238, 502
Lower and Upper, Hyde Park, . . . 355
Landon, Hon. Francis G 357
Landon, Jonathan 95
Land Patents 33-43
Artsen & Co 34, 39
Minnisinck (Sanders & Harmense)
34, 38, 45, 201, 202
Nine Partners', Great or Lower,
34, 39, 40, 42, 60, 61, 200, 258, 274
451, 476
Little or Upper
34, 41, 42, 60, 369, 374, 405
Oblong 34, 38, 40, 42, 43
Pawling, 39
Philipse 25
Poughkeepsie 39
Rhinebeck and Beekman, 34, 40, 41
267, 268, 389, 390, 391, 438, 439, 460
Rombout, 25, 34, 35, 38, 40, 44, 61
202, 267, 299, 300, 301, 302, 306,
327, 465, 466.
Schuyler 34, 38, 202, 427
Landsman, Casper, 440
Landsman Kill 30
Langdill, Rev. Arthur 613
INDEX— PART I.
xiu
PAGE
Langdon, Sr., Walter 356, 361
Lasiilck, Peter 44, 201
Lansing, Gerret, 45, 201
Lansing, John, 176
Lansing, Peter 45, 201, 202
Lansing, W. C 246
Larissy, Fr. Philip 613
Lathrop, Dr. William 532, 536
Lattimer Iron Foundry, 392
Lavelle, Rev. Francis E 641
Lawler, Kieran J 522
Lawrence, John, 274, 398
Lawrence, Thomas, 306, 309
Lawsons, the 201
Lawyers, deceased, list of, 525-526
present county bar 526-527
Lee, William Morgan 603
Lee, William R 524-525
Legislature meetings during the
Revolution, 66, 176, 212, 213, 216, 222
Lenox, James, 471
Le Roy, Francois 205, 236
Le Roy, Simeon 205
Le Roy's bridge 205, 206, 207, 209
Leutz, Andrew 194
Lewis, Barent 205
Lewis, Francis, 94, 357
Lewis, John N., 426, 433
Lewis Leonard, 58, 65
Lewis, Gen. Morgan, 273, 357, 358, 360
Lewis, Peter, ,. 433
Lewis, Thomas 433
Libraries:
at Dover Plains, 283
at Matteawan 323
at MiUbrook, 494
at Pleasant Valley 421
at Poughkeepsie 231
at Quaker Hill 402
at Rhinebeck, 444
at South MiUbrook 483
at Wappinger's Falls 474r-475
Lithgow ;, 482
Little Rest, 481
Livingston, Edward 429, 447
Livingston, Francis 500
Livingston, Gilbert
95, 120, 214, 216, 242, 428, 445
Livingston, Henry A.,. 66, 211, 219, 241
Livinfston, Henry B 442, 500, 610
Livingston, Henry G., 432
Livingston, Col. James,.. 609, 610, 611
Livingston, Janet, 135
Livinlston, Rev. John H., . . . .214, 248
Livingston, Johnston, 432
Livingston, Lewis 449
PAGE
Livingston Manor,. 41, 52, 57, 190, 439
Livingston, Margaret 135, 447
Livingston, Philip, 94
Livingston, Philip H 432
Livingston, Robert, 44, 53, 358
Livingston, Robert G 355, 428
Livingston, Robert R.,
94, 135, 176, 369, 447
Livingston,''Rev. Wm. . . .623, 624, 625
Lomas, Alfred W 351
Lomas, Joseph 343
Long Reach, The 21, 38
Lossine, Benson J.,
233, 238, 244, 270, 286
Louden, Samuel 172, 350
Loupe, W. L 384
Low, Aaron 244
Low, Isaac 209
Low Point . . .• 313, 316, 470
Lown fanJily, the, 240
Lown, Frank B 498
Lyall, Rev. John Edward 476, 484
Lyman, G. K., 245
Lyndon Hall 229
Mabbett, Joseph, 487
Mabbett, Samuel, 487
Mabbettsville 481
Mackin, James 314, 346
MacKinnon, John, 348
Madison, Charles H • • ■ 256
Maher, David 281, 283
Maher, Richard Francis, 278, i8d
Manufacturies, 234-240; 319, 336,337
420, 468-470
Maps:
Hudson River, showing post road
between N. Y. and Albany, 48
Oblong, 42
Rhinebeck, town of 44*
Road Maps:
Dutchess and Putnam Counties,
inside back cover
New York to Poughkeepsie,
671,672, 673
PoughkeepsietoAlbany,. .^.^.^._ 676
StratfordtoPoughkeepsie,.^.^.^._ ^^^
Rombout Patent ■ ■ • ■ 36
Marsh, Rev. Joseph 372, 456
Marshall, Charles C 497
Marshall, De Witt C. 442
Marshall, Jarvis 4U
Marvin, Dr. Nathaniel, ^7d
Mase, Willard H., 333, 346
XIV
INDEX— 'PART I.
PAGE
Masonic fraternity 597-607
Ancient Craft Masonry 597
Chivalric Masonry 604
Cryptic Masonry 604
early history 597-603
first lodge 599
Grand Commandery 604, 605
persecution of in 1826 599
Provincial Grand Lodge, Modem
and Ancient, 597, 598
Royal Arch Masonry 603
St. John the Evangelist, celebra-
tionof, 600, 601
United Grand Lodge of England,
597, 598, 599, 601, 603
Amenia Lodge, No. 672 607
Beacon Lodge, No. 283 605
Dover Plains Lodge, No. 666 606
Halcyon Lodge, No. 832 607
Harlem VaUey Lodge, No. 827, ... 607
Hendrick Husdon Lodge 607
King Solomon's Council, No. 31,
R. andS. M 604
Monumental Lodge, No. 374 605
Poughkeepsie Chapter, No. 172 . . 603
Poughkeepsie Commandery, No.
43, Knight Templars 604-605
Poughkeepsie Lodge, No. 266, . . . 605
Rhinebeck Lodge, No. 432, 605
Shekomeko Lodge, No. 468 606
Stissing Lodge, No. 615 606
Triune Lodge, No. 782 607
Wappingers Lodge, No. 671 606
Warren Lodge No. 275 509
Webotuck Lodge, No. 480 606
Hasten, Dr. John, 427
Matteawan Company, 341
Matteawan Manufacturing Co 342
Matteawan State Hospital, 588
Matteawan Village. See Town of
Fishkill.
Matthews, Jr., John 195
Matthews, John H 255
Mattice, Rev. Abraham 415
Maxfield, John 205
McCarty, James C 522
McConnell, Robert 195
McDermott Milk Co 284
McDonald, John 378, 379
McDonalds, the, 379, 380
McDougall, General 176
McKean, Levi 240
McKinley, Daniel 468
McKinley , Peter 468
McLane, H. R 496
PAGE
McSweeney, Dr. Edward,.. 620, 627, 628
McSweeney, Rev. Patrick F
620,621,622, 627
McSwiggan, Rev. M. M. J., 627, 628
McVickar, Rev. John 357, 360, 361
Mead, James V 345
Mead, Samuel, 360
Mead, Samuel H 346
Medical institutions, 586
Highland Hospital 590
Hudson River State Hospital, . . . 586
Matteawan State Hospital 588
St. Barnabas Hospital, 589
Vassar Brothers' Hospital 589
Medical profession, the 528
Society of Dutchess county 528
address by Samuel Bard, 1806,.
532-533
alphabetical list of members, . .
550-585
early organization, 528
first physician 547
historical sketch, 1740-1908,. . . 547
reorganization 538
Members of Assembly 71
Merritt, Douglas, 449
Merritt, Isaac 237
Merritt, Dr. J. P., 59*
Merritt, Wm. Henry, 473
Merwin, William J f . 403
Mesiers, the, 466, 467, 472
Midfield Dairy Farm 283
Milan, town of, 369
boundaries 369
bridges in 371
churches 372
description of, in 1824 370
distribution of the poor of, 371
early settlers, 369, 370
enlistments in, 372
erection of " 369
first town meeting in 370
hamlets of 369, 370
in the Revolution 371, 372
oldest mill in 370
Supervisors, list of 372-373
Miley, John 229
Militia,
American Citizen's Corps 193
Colonial force of 1715 80
officers and privates 81-90
Continental Lme 120
Fourth, or Dutchess Regiment,
120-134
Cooper's Rangers 136, 169
Frear's Regiment 136
INDEX— PART I.
XV
, PAGE
Militia,
Harris (Ira) Guard 194
Minute Men, 137-140
Morgan Rifles 194
People's Elsworth Regiment 194
Ramsey's Col. Regiment 193
Washington Greys 194
Second Regt. .officers and pri-
vates 140-147
Third Regt. officers and pri-
vates 147-150
Fourth Regt. officers, 150
- Fifth Regt. officers and pri-
vates 160-154
Sixth Regt. officers and privates,
155-164
Seventh Regt. officers and pri-
vates 164-170
Nineteenth Regt 194
Twentieth 193
Twenty-first 193
Thirtieth, (Co. E), 193
Forty-seventh, 194
Seventy-fourth (Co. 1.), 193
One Hundred and twenty-eighth,
194r-195
One hundred and fiftieth (Dutch-
ess Co.) 195-197
Millard, John H., 522
Millbrook, See Washington town.
Miller, George N., 449
Miller, Horatio 449
Miller, Mrs. Mary R 444, 449
Miller, Roswell P 496
Miller, Sidney G., 384
Miller, Hon. William Starr 444
Millerton. See Northeast.
Millerton Iron Co., 377
Mills, early grist and saw :
Clinton, 273; Dover 279
East Fishkill 294
Fishkill 302, 319, 337, 338, 339
La Grange, 364; Milan 370
Northeast, 377; Pine Plains 417
Poughkeepsie 202, 235, 236
Red Hook, 428; Rhinebeck, . 439, 441
Stanford, 453; Wappinger 467
Mills, J. Carpenter 351
Mills, Mrs. Odgen 358
Milton Ferry,. ., 207, 216, 659-664
Minerals and natural deposits
31, 32, 258, 270, 275, 276, 377, 378,
379, 380, 421,
Mitchell, Isaac 217, 242
Montfort, Adrian 367
Montfort, Charles R 347
PAGE
Montfort, Jacob . 295
Montfort, Peter 294
Montgomery, Janet (Mrs. Richard)
,^ , , 135, 276, 429, 447, 448
Montgomery, John 327
Montgomery, Gen. Richard
._ ,„ 95, 134, 135, 429
Moore, Allen 366
Moore Henry ' ' 194
Moore, John '.\ .52^524
Moore, Stephen 364
Moore, Dr. William 549
Moravians, the 26, 27
Morehouse Tavern, . . . 182, 191, 289, 392
Morey, Jacob 364
Morgan, George 247
Morgan Rifles 194
Morris, Col. Lewis, 94
Morrissey, Johyp, 386
Morschauser, Joseph 226
Morse, Howard H 437, 440, 450
Morse, Samuel F. B 222
Morton, Hon. Levi P 438, 444, 449
Mosher, Tripp, 487, 488
Mott, Ebenezer 273
Mott, Samuel 273
Mount Ross, 417
"Mountain Rest," 320
Mountains :
Clove, 28; Dennis Hill 28
Fishkill, 28; Schaghticoke 30
Schultz 272, 275
Stissing, 28, 369, 374, 405, 406
Taconic 28, 31, 258, 375, 384, 385
Ten Mile Hill, 30; Winchell, 374
Muntross, John, 466
Murphy, William A '.' . 269
Muster, Rolls 136-171
Myers, Matthew J., 240
Mylod, John J., 608
Neeley, Alexander 375, 378
Neilson, Samuel 625
Nelson, Homer A., 246, 509-511
Nelson House. See Part II
Nelson, R. W 465
Nelson, Jr. Reuben 364
Nelson. Richard 243
Nelson, Thomas 242
Newbold, Hon. Thomas, 356
New Hamburgh, . 471
Newlin, Cjrrus 319, 320
Newlin, Robert 320, 338, 339
Newlin mills, 345
XVI
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Newspapers:
of Dover, 282 ; of Pishkill, . . . 350, 351
ofMillbrook, 496; of Millerton, . . 384
of Pawling 403
of Poughkeepsie, 212, 213, 214, 216
217, 219, 221, 222, 238, 241-246
New York and Sharon Canal, 290
New York Rubber Co 339, 342
Nichols, Israel T., 469, 475
Nichols, Thomas G., 245
Nicholson, Dr. Clark A 270
Nilan, Rev. James, . . . 232, 621, 622, 623
Nine Partners Boarding School, . . .
487-488, 658
Ninham, Daniel 25
Northeast, town of, 374
boundaries, 375
Boston Corners "Republic,". ..386-387
churches, 377, 381-384
early divisions, 374
early industries, 378
early mail delivery in, 378
early settlements, 376, 377
fanning mill factory at, 381
first town meeting in 375
Millerton, village of 384
mining operations in 378-379
natural features of, 375
ore beds in, 377
origin of name of 375
pugilistic contest at, 386-387
refugees' shelter in 385
Supervisors, hst of 387-388
support of the poor of, 376
town meeting of 1824, 374-375
Nortl-Jrup, Luther 227
Noxon, Bartholomew 83, 268
Noxon, Isaac J 421
Noxon house, 280
Oakley, George P 219, 220, 237
Oakley, Jesse 242
Oakley, Thomas J 214, 244
Oakwood Seminary 490
Odell, Caspar L 521
O'Donnell, Tom 386
Old Ladies' Home 256
Obnstead, Rev. A. F 448, 449
Ore deposits
31, 258, 267, 270, 377, 378-380, 463
O'RiSly, Rev. PhiUp 614, 616
Osborn, Abner, 270
Osborn, William H 402
Osborn, Dr. Cornelius 548-549
PAGE
Osborne, Edward B 245
Osterhout, Laurens 439
Ostrom, Hendrick 202, 204
Otis, Hon. John H 273
Owen, George W 351
Owen, Jonathan 355
Paine, Ephriam, 95
Paine, Dr. Horace M 591
Paine, P. N 384
Palatines,... 52, 53, 58, 406, 439, 440
Palmer, Hon. A. W 264
Parker, Dr. Edward H 544
Parks, A. A 246
Pavone, Rev. Nicholas, 648
Pawling, town of
Akin Hall Association of 402
an early store in, 393
Bank of 402
British troops at 91
boundaries 389
canal project in 393
cattle produce in, 392
churches, 391, 397-402
circuit members, 1844, of, 400
early divisions of 389-391
early industries, 391
early settlement and settlers, .... 394
.erection of , 389
fire department of 403
fires in, 393, 394, 403
hamlets of, 394
library of, 402
military history of 395
milk factories in 394
natural features of 389
newspapers of 403
population of, in 1810 392
Revolutionary associations,. . 173, 174
roads of 391
robberies in 396
Savings Bank of ^ . 402
schools of, 403
selling the poor of 393
Supervisors, list of 404
tablet to John Kane, in 395, 396
territorial dispute in, 391
Washington's headquarters at, . . . 395
water supply of, 403
whipping post in 392
village of, 394
Pawling, Henry 39
Pawling, Neiltie 39, 437
Pearce, Nathan, 120
INDEX— PART I.
xvu
PAGE
Pearce, Jr., Nathan 396
Pearce, Capt. William, 396
Pease, Albert S., 245
Pelton, Charles M 238
Pelton, George P., 223
Pendleton, Edward H., 357
Pendleton, Nathaniel 357, 360
People's Elsworth Regiment 194
Perkins, Edward E 246
Perry, Charles, 375, 376
Persons, John 353
Peters, Abel 273
Petition for Repeal of Acts 94
Philipsburgh Manor 390
Philipse, Adolph 390
Phillips, Edmund S 518
Phillips, Hon. Samuel K 346
Phoenix Horseshoe Company, 239
Physicians, alphabetical list of,. .550-585
members of Homeopathic Med.
Socy 591-596
Pilgrim, Dr. Charles W 591
Pine Plains, town of 405
banksof 416, 417
boundaries 405
churches 408-415
company business of 407
divisions of 405
early educational institutions of, . 410
early mills of 417
early religious denominations of, . 407
early settlers of 406
early stage routes 415
erection of, 65
first election in 407
first postofSce of, 415
first town meeting in 405
Hubbell's cabin at 406
in the Revolution, 406
natural features of 405
prosperity of 407
public library of 416
retarded settlement of 406
scythe industry at, 416
Seymour Smith Academy at 415
Supervisors, list of 417-418
Village 412,415, 416
Place, John 315
Place, Nehemiah, 314
Plank Road 317
Piatt, Edmund 44, 46, 199, 667
Piatt, Eliphalet 422, 423, 442
Piatt, Isaac 221, 243, 244
Piatt, James B 245
Piatt, John 1 216, 224, 245, 246, 255
Piatt, Jonas, 214
PAGE
Piatt, Samuel 344
Piatt, William B 442
Piatt, Zephaniah
95, 120, 206, 207, 211, 215, 242
Pleasant Valley, town of, 419
boundaries 419
churches 421-424
early divisions 419
early settlements and settlers,419, 420
erection of, 419
limestone quarry at, 421
Supervisors, list of 424-425
Pleasant Valley, village of 420
incorporated 420, 421
library of, 421
manufacturing industries 420
"Pledge of Asssociation," 210
"Plum Point,", 391
PoliticalpartieS, 241-247; 338-339
Pond, Captr-B. P., 484, 485
Population, 1723, 50
and taxable wealth during Revol-
ution 172
by towns, 1790, 55
Post Road (King's) 200, 202, 203, 204
208, 234, 325, 326, 354, 427
Potter, Asa 442
Potter, Paraclete 219, 242
Poughkeepsie, city of 222
a steamboat terminal 234
Adriance Memorial Library of, . . . 231
Adriance, Piatt & Co 238
Anchor Bolt & Nut Co 239
Arnold's Chair factory, 235
at the outbreak of the Civil War, . 222
banks 240-241
Board of Education, first 232
Board of Public Works created, . . 226
burning of the first Dutch Church, 249
Chamber of Commerce,. 225, 239
Chapinville Wheel Co. 239
churches and pastors 247-255
Baptist 253-254
Catholic, 253, 255, 608-650
Congregational, 255
Dutch Reformed,
205, 207, 213, 214, 247-250
Episcopal, 250, 251, 252
Friends, 253 ; Lutheran, 255
Methodist 252, 253, 255
Presbjrterian, 250, 254, 255
Universalist 255
City Charter, revision of 225, 226
City Court established 226
City Hall erected 218
Committee meeting of 1862 194
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
keepsie, city of,
erage business at 239
ravS Separator Works 239
ocratic mayors of 247
;hess Insurance Co 241
:hess Manufacturing Co., .... 239
man College 223, 230
man Park 223
ish biirying-ground 251
:ka Mowing Machine Co.,. . . . 239
jT Company incorporated, . . . 235
landing moved 235
icial institutions 240-241
afts built at 172
church of, 247
mayor, 222
k's (V.) Sons Brewery 240
esting machinery manufac-
re, 238
•ew congregations, 255
e for the Friendless, 256
ie of Industrjr, 257
son River Railroad project,.. 221
poration 222
stries, 235
■oundries, 237
3h synagogue 254
r landing, 235
papers, 241-246
ey s nail factory 235
Ladies' Home 227, 228, 256
nix Horseshoe Co., 239
Hall, 256
ical parties 241-247
;le Memorial Home 257
jerity of 223
c men of 241-247
c schools 231
iting house opened at 194
lental camp located at, 196
i 234
amabas Hospital 257
iary Pair 223
id period of growth, 223
:a Button Works 239
luilding industry, 238
ictory 238
iboats built at 238
ng industry, 238
ng and manufacturing in-
stries 234
n Rescue Mission 256
r landing 235
als, 226-232
ttage Hill Seminary, 229
PAGE
Poughkemsie, city of, schools,
Dutchess County Academy, . . .
226,227, 231
Eastman College, 223, 230
Female Academy, 229
Friends' 229
High 228
Lancaster 231
Lyndon Hall, 229
PubUc 231
Putnam Hall 230
Riverview Academy 229
State and National Law 230
Vassar College, 217, 223, 233
Warring, 229
Vassar Brewery 237, 267
Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged
Men 257
Vassar Brothers' Hospital, 257
Vassar " Institute, 177, 237, 257
wagon and carriage manufac-
ture 238
water board abolished, 226
water works 223, 224
whaling business 237. 238
Whitehouse shoe factory, 239
Woman's Christian "Temper-
ance Union 256
Women's Union Bible and
Tract Society, 256
Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation 255
Young Women's Christion As-
sociation, 256
Poughkeepsie, town of 200
as a covmty seat 203
boundaries, 200
British troops at 91
celebration of Cornwallis' sur-
render at, 214
court houses 203, 208, 215, 217
Continental troops at 176, 212
de Chastellux's arrival in. 188
during the Revolution 209
early bridges of, 205-207
early divisions of, 200
early elections in 58, 59
early roads of 204-207
early settlement 45, 201
ferry at 216
first county house and prison 203
first home newspaper of, 216
first land grant 201
first settlers of 45, 201
first Post Road act .' 202
INDEX— PART I.
XIX
T> , , PAGE
Foughkeepsie, town of
freeholders' meeting, 1717, at, . . . 65
growth and renown from Revo-
^ lution 214
Governor Clinton visits 212
Legislature sessions at, . . .
176,212,213,215, 222
meaning and derivation of name
of. .••••• 200, 201
meetmg of 1774in 94
officers elected in 1720, 59
ratification of the Constitution at,
214-216
river trade increased 208
Rural Cemetery 202
sawmill built in 1699 202
shipbuilding for the American
navy at 211
slow growth of until 1740 208
State. Government removed to, . .
175, 212
Supervisors from 1788-1854, .... 669
Poughkeepsie, village of, 217
Dutch Burying Ground 218
early enterprises and industries, . . 220
English burying ground, 220, 251
establishment of water supply at, 219
first fire company in 217
first telegraph office in 222
first trustees of 217
great fire of 1836 in 219
Improvement Party of,
219, 220, 221, 229, 237, 502
incorporation of 203, 217
Lafayette visits, 218
locomotive factory at 220, 237
market in, 218
postoffice at 218
real estate boom 220, 221
water supply of, 217
Poughkeepsie bridge, 223, 224, 225
Poughkeepsie Glass Works 237
Poughkeepsie Iron Co 235
Poughkeepsie Literary Club, 257
Poughkeepsie Lyceum Association,
230 231
"Poughkeepsie plan," 232^ 620
Poughkeepsie Society of Natural
Science, 257
Poughkeepsie Whaling Co 237
Poughquag, 269
Powai, Thomas 309, 349, 660
Power, Nicholas 217, 242
Pratt, Maiy Morris 234
Precinct divisions 61
Precinct supervisors, 1742-'87 62-64
Precincts, relative wealth of 64
PAGE
Prendergast, James 92
Prendergast, Mehitabel Wing,. ..91, 92
Prendergast, William 91, 92, 391
Preston, Ebenezer, 279
Preston, Martin 279
Preston mill 279
Prin^le Memorial Home, 257
Provincial Congresses 95, 120, 171
Provincial Convention, 94, 95
deputies, 1775 67
Pruyn, Hon. John V. L., 433
Pulling, Abram 298
Pulver, Alanson, 375
Pulver, J. W 384
Putnam Hall School, 230
Putnam, Gen. Israel, 175, 211
Quaker Hill, 53, 9*i, 173, 174, 274, 389
392, 394, 396, 397, 402
community in 1771 54
Hospital 174
Quakers. See Friends.
Quit-rents 34, 376
Quitman, Dr. F. H 409, 447
Railroads :
Boston, Hartford & Erie
317,345, 350
Central New England 224, 225
Clove Branch 268
Dutchess and Columbia,
316,324,334,344, 350
Harlem 290, 316, 374, 378, 393
Hudson River,.221, 316, 341, 343, 349
Newburgh, Dutchess & Conn
330,350,415,478, 494
New York & New England,
226,320,343,344, 350
New York Central 403, 465
New York, New Haven & Hart-
ford, 225, 350
Poughkeepsie & Eastern
223 224 225 458
Ramsdell, Homer,309, 316, 345, 348, 349
Rankin, James 348
Rankin, Robert 6., 322, 339, 341
Ranney, Thomas S., 243
Ratification of the Constitution, . . .
176, 214r-216
Ranch, Christian H., 26
Reardon, James 494
Red Hook, town of 426
Annandale College, 433
boundaries, 426
XX
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Red Hook, town of,
British troops at 428, 429
churches 433, 434-435
country estates 429-432
early settlers, 428
erection of, 426
Indian battle at Magdalen, . . . 426-427
millsof 427, 428
origin of name, 427
Red Hook village, 426
Supervisors, list of, 436
villages of 426
Red Lion'inn 289
Redmond, Geraldyn 433
Reed, Newton, 259, 263, 266
Regiments. See Militia.
Remke, Abraham 408
Renwick, Jr., James, 233
Representatives in Colonial Assem-
bly 67
Representatives in Congress 68
R.equirer, Jacob 353
■"Revolutionary Pledge," 95
signers and non-signers 96-119
Revolutionary War 93, 180
Reynolds, Edward G 283
Reynolds, Israel 405, 415
Rhinebeck, town of, 437
banksof, 442
boundaries, 437
churches 441, 444-449
early mills, 439, 440, 441
early settlements, 45
early settlers, 439, 440
erection of, 437
ferry service established, .... 441, 442
first land deed 437
map of 442
origin of name 440
Rhmecliii Memorial Btiilding, . . . 444
schools, 444
Supervisors, list of 449-450
territorial limits 437
Rhinebeck, village of 442
Academy, 444
banks, 442
churches 445, 446-449
fire of 1864 442
hotel 450
incorporation of 442
Starr Institute 444
Ricart, Emery 415
Richey, Rev. Thomas 434
Rider, John P 335
Ring, L 360
Riordan, Rev. Michael 618, 619
PAGE
Ritter, Fred W 351
Rivers and streams :
Casper creek, 29, 39, 201, 202, 209, 236
Clove Kill 460
Crom Elbow Creek 29, 30, 39
40, 353 476
Croton River 29, 389
Esopus creek, 40
Fair Kill, The
29, 30, 202, 208, 219, 236, 253
Fishkill, The 29, 44, 460
Harlem River 290
Hudson River,
17, 44, 57, 190, 200, 203, 205, 290
Landsman KiU, 29, 30, 437, 438, 441
Quassaick creek, 307
Rhinebeck creek, 437, 438
RoeliflE Jansen's Kill 29, 57, 406
Saw Kill, The, 29, 30, 38, 426, 428
Sawyer's creek 3%
Shekomeko creek, 40S
SpackenKill 209, 236
Stony creek 426, 428
Swanip River 29, 278, 290, 389
Ten Mile River
29, 30, 182, 258, 278, 290
Wappingers creek, 29, 32, 38, 201, 20i
205, 206, 209, 363, 405, 419, 45i
452, 465, 467, 469 I
Wassaic creek 30, 25$
Webatuck creek, 30
Riverview Academy, 229
Rives, Reginald, 181
Road map of Dutchess and Putnam
Counties.., Inside back cover
Roads, ^e post r Odd &nd turnpikes
Roberts, Mrs. Abigail H 456, 462
Roberts, Rev. Philetus, 275, 457
Roberts, R. E 227
Robinson, Col. Beverly, 299
Rockefeller, John D 234
Rockwell & Son 341
Rocky Glen Cotton Mills 34&
Rogers, Archibald, 356
Rogers, Silas, 452
Rombout, Francis, 34, 300, 301, 302
,Roosa, Adria, 437
Roosevelt, Isaac 177 !
Roosevelt, J. R 356
Roosevelt, Mrs. James 356
Roosevelt, John A 356
Rosa, Arie 39, 204, 437, 438, 439
Rothery File Works, 341
Rothery, John 341
Routh, Martha 488
INDEX— PART I.
XXI
PAGE
Rowe, William A 408
Rowes, the 369, 372
Roy, James S., 475
Rudd, Zebulon ', 241
Ruggles, Charles H., 245
Rymphs, the, 357
Rysdyck, Rev. Isaac,. 248, 296, 328, 471
Sacchi, Gust. A 380
Sackett, Leonard, B 516
Sackett, Nathaniel 95, 171
Sackett, Capt. Richard
41, 42, 53, 58, 204, 258
Sague, Jr., Horace 403
Sague, John K., 247
St. Barnabas Hospital, 589
St. Stephen's College, 433
Sanders, Henry M 234
Sanders, Robert, 34, 38, 39
Sands, William 243
Sanford, Robert 522
Sargent, Henry Winthrop, 321, 322, 333
Sargent Industrial School 319
Sargent, Winthrop, 334
Saunters, Stephen, 343
Saw Kill The,. ..29, 30, 38, 426, 428
Sayre, Rev. William N 275, 411, 412
Schell, Augustus 500
Schell, W^ter W 500
Schenck, Abraham H 338
Schenck, Gysbert 95
Schenck, Henry, 319
Schenck, Dr .John P 319
Schenck, Peter A 319
Schenck, Dr. Peter D 472
Schenck, Peter H 319, 340. 341, 347
Schenck, Samuel B., 341
Schofield, Fredmck 323
Schofield, John S., 195
Schofield, Lebeus, 324
Schofield, Miles 323
Schools,
of Ameoia 261, 262
of Dover Plains 282, 283
of Pishkill 319, 321
of Hyde Park, 358, 359
of Pawling 403
of Pine Palins, 410
of Poughkeepsie 223, 226-233
of Red Hods 433-434
of Rhinebeck, 444
of Stanford, 457 ; of Union Vale, . 464
of Washington
485, 487-488, 489, 490, 493-494
Schoonmaker, Edward, 206
PAGE
Schoonmaker, Hendrickus 248
Schram, William, 244
Schryver, John T 442, 448
Schultz, David H 275
Schultz, Theodore A.,; . . .275, 601, 602
Schurrie, Johannes 466
Schuyler, John, 466
Schuyler, Col. Peter,
38, 41, 202, 427, 437, 438
Schuyler, Gen. Philip 94, 174
Schuyler, Mrs. Van Rensseleer 395
Scoles, Richard J., 494
Scoute, Simon 202
Seabury, Rev. SamUel, 250, 329
Seamless Clothing Mfg. Co., 341
Sebring, Jacob 470
Selleck, Alonzo, F 361
Seneca Button Works 239
Settlements, pioqfier, 44r-56
Seymour, Rev .George P 433
S^rmour Smith' Academy 415
Shadboldt, Israel 273
Shapparoon lake, 287
Sheafe, Mrs. John Fisher 472
Sheahan, Rev, Joseph F 625
Sheehan, Dennis 475
Sheehan, Nichols, 475
Sheffield Farms Slosson Decker Co., 260
Shekomeko mission , . 26, 27
Shaw, Henry W., 222
Shaw, S. B., 282
Sheldon, Collins 519
Sheldon, Wilson B 292
Shelton, Dr. P. W 473
Sherman's March 197
Shermans, the 397
Sherrill, Hunting, 360
Sherwood, Congressman 458
Sherwood, H. B 372
Sherwood, Mrs. Laura 395
Shields, James 469
Slavery, 45, 55, 344, 346, 482
Sleight, Edgar 483
Sleight, Henry 273
Sleight, Henry D 364
Sleight James, 364
Slocum, Charles H 269
Smeedes, Jan, 45, 202
Smith, Alfred B 195, 246, 256, 516
Smith, Deliverance, 422
Smith, Judge Isaac 280
Smith, Capt. James 193, 194
Smith, Hon. John T 315, 336, 346
Smith, Lewis N 372
Smith, Melancton,
95, 120, 176, 177, 178-, 215, 422
XXIV
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Van Benthuysen, Barent 427
Van Buren, Martin 245, 452
Van Buren, Smith T 323, 334
Van Camp, Jacob, 279
Van Cleef, J. Spencer 515
Van Cortlandt, Gertrude 302
Van Cortlandt, Stephanus,
34, 301, 302, 466
Vandeburgh, Edgar M 480
Van Den Bogert, Jacobus 65, 247
Van Den Bogert, Mjmdert 204, 247
Van Denburgh, Capt. Peter, 82, 83, 84
Vanderbilt, P. W 356
Vanderburgh, Col 269
VanderBurgh, Henry, 59
Vandewater, A. J 318
Van Dyke, Henry, 251
Van Gieson, Rev. A. P
177,216,247, 250
Van Keuren, Benjamin 205
Van Keuren, Edward, . 246
246
202
207
247
83
193
466
327
346
295
202, 204,
Van Kleeck, Albert,
Van Kleeck, Baltus,
Van Kleeck, Barendt, 65|,
Van Kleeck, Johannes,. .
Van Kleeck, Louwerens,
Van Kleeck, Theodore,.
Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 428,
Van Schie, Rev. Cornelius, .... 247,
Van Steenburgh, J. E 325,
Van Vlackren, Aaron 293,
Van Vlackren, Tunis 294
Van Vliet, George S 276
Van VUet, William H., 342, 344
Van Voorhis, EUas 328
Van Wagner, Mrs. Susan 362
Van Wyck, Cornelius 295, 303
Van Wyck, Dr. Theodorus
293, 303, 304, 364
Varick, Henry D., 241, 505
Varick, John R 206
Varick, Richard, 177
Varick, Dr. Richard A 542
Vas, Rev. Petrus 247, 445
Vassar Brewery, 237, 257
Vassar Brothers' Home for Aged
Men 257
Vassar Brothers' Hospital, .... 257, 589
Vassar Brothers' Institute, 177, 257
Vassar College 217, 223, 233
Vassar, John Guy
233, 234, 237, 254, 257
Vassaf, Matthew,
220, 221, 223, 229, 233, 237, 241, 253
Vassar, Jr., Matthew,
233, 237, 246, 254, 257
PAGE
Vaughn's Raid 211
Velie. See VieU.
Velie, Baltus 364, 366, 367
VeUe, John C 421
VeHe, Peter 247
Verbank Station 463
Verplanck, Anne, 466
Verplanck, Aryentie 311'
Verplanck Brick Co 345
Verplanck, Daniel C, 312, 330
Verplanck, Gulian
34, 36, 300, 301, 302, 310, 313, 466
Verplanck, Gulian C, 313
Verplanck, James deLancey, 313
Verplanck, Mary 466
Verplanck, Samuel,
295, 310, 311, 312, 322., 473
Verplanck, William E.,.. . .310, 313, 475
Verplanck, William S
313, 314, 345, 346, 473
Ver Valin, Gideon, 466
Ver Valin, Isaack, 364
Viele, Amout C
26, 37, 38, 44, 61, 201, 301
Villages:
Amenia, 260; Dover Plains, . .279-286
Pishkill, 324; Hyde Park 354
Hopewell Junction 292
Matteawan, 318; Millbrook 491
Millerton 384
Pawling, 394
Pine Plains, 412, 415, 416
Pleasant Valley, 419; Red Hook, 426
Rhinebeck, 442; Staatsburgh, . . . 357
TivoH-Madalin 426
Wappingers Falls, 466
Vincent, Charles 287
Vincent, Edwin 287
Vosburg, Jacob 202
Vosburgh. Peter H 351
Vradenburgh, Jacob 439
Wackerhagen, Rev. A 408
Wager, Ambrose 514
Waldo, Samuel 284, 288, 289, 454
Walsen, Godfrey 53
Walsh, Charles 403
Wanzer, Mrs. Phebe T., 402
Wappinger, town of 465
boundaries, 465
churches 471-474
early settlement and settlers, 466, 466
erection of 466
floods of 1819 and 1841 467
INDEX— PART I.
XXV
Vn PAGE
Wappinger, town of,
^«\oi 467-470
smpbuilding industry of 467
oupervisors, list of, 475
Wappingers creek, 29, 32, 38, 201, 202
205, 206, 209, 368, 405, 419
™ . 451, 452, 465, 467, 469
Wappmgers Falls, viUage of 465
banks 475
Clinton Co , , 469
Dutchess Print Works '.'. 468
electric railway 466
first board of trustees 465
Franklindale Cotton Co., 468
Grinnell Library Association, 474r-475
Independent Comb Co., 469
industries 468-470
Stuart Foundry 469
Sweet, Orr & Co 469-470
Wappingers tribe,. .24, 26, 34, 300, 325
Ward, Rev. Henry 400, 401, 471
Ward, Joshua 420, 423
Ward Supervisors, 1720-'37, list of,. 60
Warner, J onathan 228, 256
Warring, Charles B 229
Washington, Gen. George,
173, 187, 192, 289, 337, 395
Washington Greys 194
Washington Hollow 483
Washington, town of, 476
almhouse, 480
churches 481-486, 489
during the Revolution 479-480
erection of 477
industries, 477
libraries 483, 494
location of, 476
Millbrook, village of, 491
bank 494
churches 491-493
Club, 494
early settlement and settlers, . . 486
fire company, 496
gas plant 495
Golf Club 494
incorporation of 491
jail, . 495
library 483, 494
postoffice 496
prominent inhabitants 496, 497
Round Table 496
schools 493-494
W. C. T. U 495
natural features 477, 478
origin of name 477
roads 478
PAGE
Washington, town of,
schools, 485, 487-488, 490, 493-494
streams — water power 478, 479
Supervisors, list of 497
villages of 481-483
Webatuck 287
Webster, Daniel 245
Weed, Daniel R 344
Weeks, James 120
Weeks, James H., 505
Welch, Simon 442
West Camp 53
Westbrook, Rev. Cornelius 330
Weston, W. H 337
Weston, Weldon F 337
Whalen, Thomas P 283
"Wharton House," 173
Wheaton, Charles,. . . ^246, 482, 604, 509
Wheaton, Rev. HomS', . . .414, 424, 482
Wheaton, Isaac S.,. . . 482, 504, 509
Wheeler, Eben 376, 408
Wheeler, Dr. William 532
Wheeler, William H 194
Whipple, Frank E 241
White, Dr. Bartow 340
White, Ezra, 230
White, Dr. Lewis H., 326, 536, 538, 543
Whitefield, George 263
Whitehead, Rev. Charles B
249,295, 296
Whitehouse, John O. 245, 246
Whiteihan, Hendrick 429
Whiteman, Jacob, 429
Whitney, Eugene S 337, 342
Whittemore, Samuel 321, 322
Wiccopee 320
Wickes, Edward 195
Wicks, Capt. David 355
Wilber, Charles S 351
Wilber, Theron 414
Wilkinson, Arthur, 193
Wilkinson, George, 483
Wilkinson, John 363, 483
Wilkinson, Robert F 505
Wilkinson, WaUam 505
Willetts, Deborah 410, 489
WiUetts, Jacob 410, 488, 489, 490
WiUiams, Gerome, 515
Williams, James L 521
Williams, William D 273
Williams, William P 358
Willson & Eaton Co 260
Wilson, Billy, 386
Wilson, Daniel, 429
Wilson, James (Hyde Park), 355
Wilson, James (Red Hook) 429
XXVI
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Wilson, John, 429
Wilson, Robert 429
Wilson, Warren H., 54
Wiltse, Capt. George, 347
Wiltse, James, 305
Wiltse, Martin, 305, 306
Wiltse, Jr., Martin,
305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 347
Wiltse & Son, Martin 347
Wiltsie, Johannes 295
Winans, James 208
Winans, Leonard, 456
Winchell, Aaron E 416
Winchell, Jaines, '. 381
Wing, Jackson 279
Wing, John D.,. 490, 491, 496
WingTavem 279
Wingdale 287
Winslow, Mrs. John F 254
Winter, Matthew 417
Wintrineham, C. V 489
Wisner, Henry, 94
PAGE
Wodell, Silas, 516-517
Wolcott, Charles M., 322, 339, 341
Woodin, William R., 195, 519
Woolhiser, James H., 351
Woolsey, Capt. CM 659
Woolsey, Richard, 660
Women's Christian Temperance
Union, 256
Women's Union Bible and Tract So-
ciety, 256
Wright, D. G., 229
Yates, Robert 176
Yelverton, Gale 248
Young Men's Christian Association, 256
Young Women's Christian Associa-
tion 256
Zabriskie, Capt. Andrew C, 433
Zinzendorf , Count 26
Ziegenfuss, Rev. Henry L 251, 414
INDEX-PART II.
PAGE
Adriance, John P 683
Akin, Albert John 684
Akin or Aiken Family 684
Albro, William Clark 684
Aldridge, Thomas 685
Ambler, John P 685
Anderson, William R 685
Andrews, Minot D 686
Andrews, Robert Wesley, M. D 686
Angell, Milton H., M. D 687
Arnold, Charles W. H 687
Badeau, William H 687
Baker, Amos T., M. D 688
Baker, W. H 688
BaU, John B 688
Banks, Dr. James Lenox 688
Barker, Harry C 689
Barnes, Oliver Weldon 689
Barnes, Richard H 690
Barrett, E. P 691
Barrett, R. R 691
Barry, David P 691
Bartlett, WilUam H 692
Bingham, Isaac E 692
Blackburn, A. H 692
Blair, James 692
Bodenstein, John George 693
Brinckerhoffl, Theodore 693
Brown, John W 694
Budd, William D 694
Butts, Allison 694
Carman, Isaac P 694
Case, Otis Jameson, M. D 695
Case, Walter R., M. D 695
Cass, Robert 695
Chaffee, James Stuart 696
Chanler, Lewis Stuyvesant 696
Clapp, Clinton W 697
Clark, Henry D 698
Clark, Col. Henry P 698
Coddington, George H., M. D 698
«-i ■..,,. PAGE
Conger, Edward A 699
Conklin, Frederick L 699
Conklin, William James, M. D 699
Cookingham, Elias 700
Corlies, Jacob 700
Cornell, Isaag M., M. D 701
Cronk, J. M., M. D 701
Curtiss, Milton E. 702
Daughton, Joseph A 702
Dayley, Anna G. Winslow 703
Dean, Robert E 703
DeLaval Separator Company 703
De La Vergne, Alexander 704
De Peyster, Col. Johnston L 704
Devine, Wright 705
DeWint, John Peter 705
Donnelly, John J 706
Dorland, Cjrrenus P 706
Doughty, J-oseph H 706
■ Doughty, Robert W 706
Drake, Clarence J 706
DuBois, John C 707
duBois, Dr. Theodore Weld 707
Dugan, Daniel A. 708
Dugan, John Peter 708
Dutcher, Irving. 709
Dutcher, John Bowdish 709
Dutchess Fire Insurance Co 710
Dutchess Manufacturing Co. ..'.... 710
Dutchess Tool Company 710
Elseffer, Jacob W 711
Emerson, Thomas 711
Eno, Frank 711
Parrington, Walter 712
Pinton, George R 712
First National Bank of Amenia . . . 712
Pishkill Landing Machine Co 713
Fleming, John B 713
Fowler, Benjamin Maltby 713
Frost, Jacob Z 713
XXVUl
INDEX— PART 11.
PAGE
Gardenier, Samuel H 713
Garrison genealogy 714
Gindra, Conrad C 714
Goring, Edward Morris 714
Goring, Myatt E., P. D 716
Goring, Thomas Edward 715
Graham, LeGrand 717
Graham, Robert Grant 717
Green, Theron M 718
Grubb, John B 718
Guernsey, Egbert, M. D., L.L. D. . 718
Guernsey, Homer W 719
Guernsey, Stephen Gano 720
Hackett, John 720
Haight, Adelbert 721
Haight, Albert 721
Haight, Andreas ; 722
Haight, J. Coriielius 722
HaU, Dr. Asahel 723
Ham, Eugene 724
Ham, John M 724
Hammond, Benjamin 725
Hanna, John A 725
Harris, Harry C 725
Harris, Isham G., M. D 726
Harrison, Almon M 726
Hasbrook, Captain William 729
Hasbrouck, Dr. Alfred 726
Hasbrouck, Frank 728
Hasbrouck, Oscar 729
Hawley, F. Reed 729
Hebard, Newton 729
Hedges, John W 730
Herrick, Timothy 730
Hicks, Willet 730
Hine, George M 731
Hinsdale, Jacob S 731
Hoffman, Nicholas 731
Hopkins, Charles A 732
Horan, Joseph F 732
Hornbeck, Fred C 732
Horton, Charles W 732
Howland, Gen. Joseph 733
Hughes, J. L 733
Hughes, Miles 734
Hufi, J. Frank 734
Hurd, Robert 735
Husted, Chester 735
Husted, Edwin B 735
Johnstone or Johnson Family 736
Keech, John R 737
Keine, Bernard 737
PAGE
Kelly, Frank H 737
Kelly, John H 737
Kelly, John T 738
Ketcham, Gen. John H 738
Ketcham, William S 741
Kidder, George W 741
Kieman, John P 742
Knapp, George M 742
Ladue, Eugene M 742
Ladue, W. Ward 742
Lamoree, George 742
Lary, William G 743
Lattin' Lount 743
Leahey, William J 743
Lee, Frederick W 743
Lent, Davis C 743
Linehan, Jerry 744.
Lown, Frank B 744
Lynch, Michael J 744
McCambridge, James, M. D 744
Mack, John E 745
Mackenzie, D. H., M. D 745
Maher Family 745
Maroney, Archibald M 746
Masten, George E 746
Mayer, Edward D 746
Meade, Morris Philip 746
Meyer, James G 747
Millard, Walter P 747
Moore, Alfred 748
Morgan, Frederick N 749
Morschauser, Joseph 749
Mullen, James H 750
Mullen, J. W 750
Murphy, WiUiam A 750
Musselman, Ezra 751
Nagengast, George 751
Nelson, Horatio 752
Nelson House 752
New York Rubber Company 752
O'Connell, Daniel 753
O'Farrell, John V 753
Ormsbee, Frank S 753
Otis, Dr. John Haviland 754
Overocker, George 754
Owsley, Henry P., M. D 754
Palmer, Charles B 755
Perkins, Edward E 755
Phillips, Edward Schofield 755
Phillips, Jarvis 756
INDEX— PART II.
zxt
„ PAGE
Phillips, Samuel K 756
Pilgrim, Charles W., M. D 767
Piatt, William Barnes 757
Poucher, J. Wilson, M. D 758
Poughkeepsie Glass Works 758
Rapelje, Adrian C 759
Rapelje, Lawrence Cortelyou 759
Reed, Thomas 760
Reynolds, Allen S 761
Reynolds, William Thacher 761
Rider, John P 762
Rikert, R. Raymond 762
Roy, James 763
Roy, James S 763
Roy, William K 764
Ryan, John J 764
Sadlier, James E., M. D 764
Sague, John K 765
Schenck, John Peter, M. D 766
Schouten, Richard A 766
Schrauth, Jacob 767
Scott, Alfred B 767
Seward, William 767
Sheehy, William 768
Slater, L. Lawson 768
Sleight Family 768
Slocum, Charles H 769
Smillie, William C 769
Smith, Isaac 769
Smith, John T 770
Spratt, George V. L 771
Spross, Charles Gilbert 771
Storm, W. J 772
Stoutenburgh, Walter Herrick 772
Sweet, Orr & Company 772
Taber, George K 773
Tompkins, Lewis 774
PAG
Tompkins, Ralph S 77
Townsend, John E 77
Traver Family 77
Traver, William t 77
Travis, Everett Hustis 77
TumbuU, H. B 77
TuthiU, Robert K., M. D 77
Van Cleef , Henry HoweU Ti
Van de Bogart, Daniel 77
Vanderburgh, Dr. Federal 7'i
Vanderwater, Holmes 7f
Van Dyke Family 7J
Van Keuren, Garret 7{
Van Vliet Family 7J
Van Wagner, Walter 7J
Vigeant, J. L, M. D 7{
Vosburgh, Peter«H 7i
Walker, Daniel L 7i
Wanzer, Charles F 7i
Warren, John S 7!
Weaver, Fred Bain, M. D 7i
Welch, Eari S 7!
Weston, Weldon F 7i
Wettereau, William N 7i
Whalen, Michael J 71
Whalen, Thomas Francis 7!
White, Howell, M. D 7i
Wilber, Henry C, M. D 7J
Williams, George H 7J
Williams, James L 71
Willson & Eaton Company 7i
Winchester, Henry N 71
Wing, Jackson 7i
Wing, Sheldon 71
Wolcott, Charles M 7!
Wright, Charles W 7!
Wright, Lewis H 7!
Zabriskie. Captain Andrew C 7(
INDEX.
ILLUSTRATIONS AND PORTRAITS.
PAGE
Albro, William C 684
Ashton, Rev. Amos T 353
Astor, Col. John Jacob 437
Badeau, W. H 168
Barculo, Seward 70
Barnard, Joseph F 32
Barnes, Oliver Weldon 334
Bayley, Gtry Carleton, M. D 528
Beekman, Henry 80
Beekman, Henry Jr 80
Benson, Egbert 437
Blackburn, A. H 344
Briody, Rev. John H 620
Brown, Derrick 597
Budd, W. D 192
Butts, Allison 522
Clapp, Clinton W 465
Clark, Dr. H. F 256
Cleaveland, Dr. J. M 56
Clinton House 216
Conklin, Dr. W. J 558
Coshire, Hannah 365
Court House 240
Curtiss, Milton E 328
Daly, Rev. Patrick 608
de Peyster, Col. J. L 86
De Wint, John Peter 300
Dutch Church, Fishkill 102
Elseffer, Jacob W 434
Finton, George R 582
Frankfort Stove, Signatures 305
Friends, Meeting House 486
Goring, Edward M 138
Goring, Thomson E 468
Guernsey, Egbert M. D 96
Hackett, John 516
Haight, A. V 224
Ham, John M 480
Hammond, Benjamin 725
Hanna, John A.. 290
Harris, Isham, G. M. D 566
Hasbrouck, Alfred, M. D 636
Hasbrouck, Frank Frontispiece
fleermance House 448
Herrick, Timothy 362
Hine, George M 208
PAGE
Hinsdale, Jacob S 410
Hopkins, Charles A 296
Hudson River State Hospital 574
Ketcham, Gen. John H 66
Lamoree, George 420
Lewis, Gen. Morgan 80
Livingston, Chancellor 80
Livingston, Edward 80
Livingston House 232
Lown, Frank H. 498
McCormack, Rev. D. J 638
Mack, John E 236
Maher, Rev. Joseph A 638
Maher, Richard F 278
Map of Dutchess and Putnam;Coun-
ties Inside back cover
Map of Hudson River 48
Maps of Post Roads 671-680
Map of Rhinebeck 443
Matteawan State Hospital 588
Mesier Mansion 470
Meyer, James G. 340
Millard, Walter P 474
Montgomery, Gen. Richard 80
Morehouse Tavern 182
Morschauser, Joseph 504
Morton, Levi P 437
Mount Gulian Fishkill 60
Mylod, John J 614
Oblong Meeting House 400
Oblong Patent, Diagram 42
O'Farrell, John V * 753
Phillips, Samuel K 510
Pilgrim, Charles W., M. D 542
Piatt, John 1 108
Poucher, J. Wilson, M. D 550
Radcliffe, Jacob 437
Rapelje, L. C 294
Reed, Thomas 440
Rhinebeck Hotel 450
Rider, John P 146
Rombout Patent, Map of 36
Sargent, Henry Winthrop 160
Schell, Robert 437
Schenck, John Peter, M. D , 178
Schuyler, Col. P. J 437
xxxu
INDEX.
FACE
Schouten, Richard A.. , 358
Slevin, Rev. Charles 638
Sloctim, Charles H 268
Smith, John T 322
Spratt, George V. L 262
Stone Church, Dover 282
Teller House, Matteawan 174
Tompkins, Lewis 316
Townsend, John E 368
Trinity Church, Fishkill 114
Tuthin, Robert K, M. D 122
Van de Bogart, Daniel 92
PAGE
Van Kleeck House 202
Veiplanck, William S 310
View of Hudson River 22
Wanzer, Charles P 783
Weston, Weldon F 350
Wharton House, Fishkill 130
Wheaton, Charles 76
Williams, George H 246
Wing, Sheldon 286
Wolcott, Charles M 152
Zabriskie, Andrew C 428
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