Skip to main content

Full text of "History of Deckertown; which includes a history of the Crigar, Titsworth, and Decker families to some extent"

See other formats 


974.902 

D35s 

1770184 


REYNOLDS  HISTORICAL 
-ENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


Gc 


ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


I  EN  COUNTY  PUE 
I     I         I     I     I 


IC  LIBRARY 


3  1833  02248  3272 


Gc 

974. 9C 
D35s 
177016 


Gc 
974. 
D35s 
1770 


HISTORY 


OF 


DECKERTOWN 


MQ. 
Which  includes  a  history  of  the  Crigar, 
Titsworth,  and  Decker  families  to  some  extent, 


By 
Charles  E.  Stickney. 


Deckertown,N. J.  1B95 


.-,?'• 


With  which  Is  Incorporated  The  HiSfBt-RO  Record- 
[i  formerly  published  at  Hamburg, 


PBUmrO  EVEBT  THUKSDAT  AFTERNOON 
AT 


OFFICE  OS  WETfTOlt  AVI,      OPPOSITE  COKT.KN3ERT, 


OUR    MOTTO: 
•THE  GOLDEN   RULE.'- 


Kntered  at  tlie  Deckertown,  N.  J..  Post  Office  as 
Second-class  Mail  Matter. 


TERMS $1.50  PER  YEAR 

STRICTLY   IN  ADVANCE. 

CHAS.  E.  STICKNEY. 

PUBLISHER    A XD    PROPRIETOR 

FRIDAY,  MAY  7,  1805. 


The  Wastage  Recorder  Ls  for  sale  at  Nichols 
Dro."a  l«*>k  store  in  Newton,  at  3  cents  per  copy. 
Also  at  J.  C  Henderahot'a  book  Btore,  in  Deck- 
ertown. 

A    HISTORY   OF    DECKER- 
TOWN. 


Which    Includes  a    history    of    the 

Crijrar,  Titsworth,  and   Decker 

Families  to  Some  Extent. 


|DY    CHARLES   E.   STICKNEY.] 

CHAPTER  I. 
nniNoiNG    TnE    material    for     our 

PCILDINO    ON    THE    GROUND. 

In  beginning  to  write  a  history  of  our 
t"«rn,  or  borough  to  bo  more  precise,  It 
may  bo  well  for  us  to  state  that  the 
ui-ntloo  made,  in  It  of  the  Crigar,  Tits- 
worth  and  Decker  famlliea  seems  to  ub 
very  necessary.      To   write  of  Deckor- 


town  without  doing  so  would  b«  analog.! 
oua  to  writing  a  history  of  Rome  without! 
any  Bomini  in  It.  To  write-  of  thsrj 
families  above  named  with  smno  d.-^reo! 
of  knowledge  has  cost  a  eonnldcxaLUfl 
amount  of  research,  which  we  m-ver  «*».' 
pect  to  got  pay  for,  unless  some  JubI! 
writer,  to  follow  U3,  may  kindly  nientlooj 
j  our  researches  while  prolltlnn  by  mrj 
!  labors.  "Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day."*] 
i  neither  was  Deckertown.  The  pr<i>\r-t 
ation  for  the  building  of  the  latter  whim 
'  commenced  when  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company  sent  colonists  to  peoplo  th«| 
New  Netherlands,  away  back  In  the] 
seventeenth  century.  At  that  time  thoi 
Waranawonkong  Indians,  who  dwelt! 
;i long  the  borders  of  the  Walklll,  hero! 
had  some  boundaries,  which  separated) 
their  tribe  from  the  Shawneese  tribe* 
which  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Tapa-j 
kating.  and  the  country  extending  acroa«J 
the  Delaware  river  to  where  Bethlehem,  i 
I  l'a.,now  stands.  The  division  line  was; 
drawn  somowhoro  In  the  vicinity  of 
Deckertown.  The  Shawneeseare  under- 
stood  to  have  been  allies  of  the  Dela  ware 
tribe,  more  properly  a  subdivision  of] 
that  tribe,  the  headquarters  of  which 
were  in  Minislnk  valley,  which  was  in-, 
habited  by  the  Mlnsl  tribe,  another  sub- 1 
division  of  the  great  Delaware  eUn.  j 
The  Jllnisink  valley  was  the  part  of  tew 
ritury  on  both  sides  the  Delaware  riverj 
in  the  valley  oxtendlng  from  the  Watotj 
Gap  to  whero  Tort  Jervls  now  stands.  > 
The  word  Minsi,  has  no  relation  to  that; 
of  Minislnk.  the  lattor  having  rerer.neo* 
to  the  formation  of  the  land,  while  Ihiij 
former  was  simply  the  Indian  name  for! 
a  wolf.  The  Indians  in  pronouncing  the! 
word  gave  it  a  somewhat  broad  pro-j 
nunciation,  wherefrom,  in  old  documents  j 
they  were  frequently  called  Munseyj 
.Indians,  or  Muueies.  Their  totem,  o* 
tribal  emblem,  was  the  picture  of  a  wolf ; 
which  all  other  Indians  know  by  sight.  | 
for  many  hundred  miles  about,  as  their; 
signature.  The  totem,  or  emblem  ofj 
the  Suawnoe6e  was  the  picture  of  aj 
bear.  Whenever  parties  or  warriors  j 
passed  through  the  forest,  If  they  wished  j 


1770184 


w 


81753 


\-J' 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Allen  County  Public  Library  Genealogy  Center 


http://www.archive.org/details/historyofdeckertOOstic 


"to  convoy  tidings  to  others,  they  scrap**! 
o!T  a  smooth  place  upon  the  hoik  of  a 
tree,  ami  with  a  piece  of  coal  skoti  h  d  a 
Qgure  of  a  bear,  or  a  wolf,  according  to 
which  tribe  thoy  belonged.  Its  differ- 
ent attitudes  and  accompanying  marks 
convoyed  the  news  of  which  direction 
they  worn  going  and  whether  for  hunt- 
ing, peace,  or  war.  The-  Shawneeso  and 
Minel  tribes  spoke  ouo  language,  called 
the  Mingo  tongue,  and  John  Pompshiro, 
and  Calvin,  early  interpreters  between 
them  and  the  whites,  have  left  evidences 
of  their  speeches  at  the  different  treaty 
councils  held  at  Burlington,  Easton,  and 
elsewhoro  between  New  Jersey  officials 
and  the  Indians. 

,«  The  close  alliance  that  exists  between 
the  two  tribes  has  never  been  more 
clearly  established  than  by  tho  re- 
searches of  Dr.  E.  8.  Dalrymple,  of 
Eranchvllle.  Only  a  little  over  a  year 
ago  he  exhumed  the  skeleton  of  a  little 
Indian  maldon,  (or  it  may  be  a  male) 
fr<  im  the  vast  fields  of  Indian  doad  which 
are  buried  ou  tho  Minislnk  flats.  Among 
the  trinkets,  which  loving  friends  had 
■buried  witK  her  probably  200  years  ago, 
he  found  a  wooden  comb.  It  had  vory 
likely  been  fashioned  after  a  pattern  of 
women's  back  hair  combs  seen  among 
the  early  settlers.  Upon  its  top  was  the 
carved  figure  of  a  bear  rising  on  its  fore 
feet  In  a  watchful  attitude  This  em- 
blem to  our  mind  conveys  a  whole  vol- 
ume of  history.  It  shows  us  tho  friend- 
ly relations  that  existed  botween  tho 
Shawneeso  and  Minnies,  and  confirms 
traditions  that  the  bodies  of  deceased 
personages  of  Importance  wero  conveyed 
ofton  to  a  considerable  distance  for 
burial.  Tho  animated  body  to  which 
this  skeleton,  bolongod  evidently  was  tho 
child  of  a  very  Important  personage 
am  mg  the  Shawncoso.  It  may  not  have 
hail  a  habitation  near  Deckertown,  but 
from  it  we  argue  that  many  deceased 
Indians  from  this  locality  wero  probably 
taken  for  burial  to  their  great  shrlno 
over  tho  mountalus,  whoro  wero  tho 
main  castles,  oemetcrles,  and  the  coun- 
cil chamber    of  tho   Delaware's.     This 


council  chamber,  is" known  to  the  whitest 
ns  Pow-wow-hlll,  and  Is  on  tho  lovel  j 
plateau  near  Milford,  Pa.  The  council  j 
chamber  of  tho  other  clan,  or  river 
Indians,  was  located  Just  above  New- 
Uurgh  on  a  level  plateau  forming  part  of  j 
the  shore  of  the  Hudson  River.  It  was 
called  by  the  Dutch  settlers  the  Dans- 
Kammer,  and  the  legislature  of  New 
York  State  early  passed  a  very  stringent 
act  forbidding  tho  Indians  to  resort 
there.  Without  any  records  as  to  the 
location  of  tribal  linos,  wo  confess  that 
natural  formations  of  land  havo  guided 
our  judgment  in  assuming  that  tho  site 
of  Deckertown  was  under  Shawneeso 
domination.  Another  reason  we  have 
for  so  assuming  is  because  an  Indian 
trail  or  path  led,  from  where  an  Indian 
village  stood  on  the  present  site  of 
Hamburg,  through  Deckertown,  where 
some  mounds  could  once  be  seen,  on  tho 
hill  back  of  where  Prof.  Seely  now  lives, 
indicating  the  existence  of  an  Indian 
village,  thence  up  the  Clove  creek  to 
Pakadasink  (now  Greenville)  and 
through  the  gap  In  the  mountains  there 
to  the  Indian villagesat  Mackhackameck 
i'i  upper  Minisink. 

Arent  Schuyler  passed  over  it  in  1694. 
He  was  sent  by  the  New  York  authorit- 
ies to  find  out  whether  the  French,  who 
occupied  Canada,  had  not  been  tamper- 
In  i  with  the  llinsi  Indians.  He  has 
left  a  diary  of  his  journey  and  does  Dot 
mention  seeing  a  white  person  on  the 
trip.  This  territory  then  was  an  un- 
broken  wilderness.  Can  you  imagine 
the  solemnity  of  the  strange  silence  that 
reigned  above  this  very  hill,  and  the 
swamps  about  it,  when  Schuyler  fol- 
lowed the  footpath  indicated  by  blazed 
(marked)  trees  through  the  endless  for- 
ests of  their  giant  brethren  that  lockod 
their  hoary  limbs  over  it'.' 

Cut  as  we  said  before,  preparations 
had  been  laid  for  the  settlement  of  a  , 
village  here,  although  the  movers  were 
ignorant  themselves  of  it.  One  princi- 
pal part  of  those  preparations  was  the 
arrival  of  the  progenitor  of  tho  Decker 
family  in  America.    This  may  be  viewed^ 


Vt 


la  the  Tight  of  preparatory  material 
j.btfuil  oo  tli<>  ground.  Wo  have  not 
found  thod  i to  or  bis  arrival,  but  when 
K log  Charles  II  roadoa  presont  ot  tho 
principal  part  of  North  America  to  his 
brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  in  10G1,  and 
had  to  send  him  a  Hoot  of  ships  to  put 
him  in  possession  because  the  Dutch 
hail  a  rory  cosy  settlement  on  Man- 
l,.itt.-ii  Island,  tho  progenitor  aforesaid 
was  hero.  The  English  squadron  ar- 
rived in  the  ETarbor  of  New  York  during 
tho  autunin  of  1CG4.  No  war  had  been 
declared  against  Holland  by  tho  English 
und  Governor  Stuyvesant  was  ruling 
the  New  Netherlands  at  his  undisturbed 
pleasure  In  New  Amsterdam,  when  he 
was  rudely  awakened  by  the  sight  of 
those  English  men-of-war  riding  abrea9t 
tho  B  ittery.  He  at  once  wrote  a  letter 
to  tho  commandant  of  tham,  anil,  desig- 
nated four  messengers  to  take  it  to  him 
U>  Had  out  what  ho  wanted.  Richard 
Nieholls,  the  acting  commandant  of  the 
English  forces,  returned  answer  that  he 
wanted  all  the  Dutch  possessions  sur- 
rendered to  his  Majesty  without  delay, 
hiu.wosant  undertook  to  "bluff"  a  little 
..sit  might  bo  termed,  and  boldly  de- 
claim] that  "thoy  feared  nothing  but 
what  God  should  lay  on  them."  At  this 
the  English  squadron  made  preparations 
to  attack  tho  city.  When  their  guns 
were  got  in  position  tor  attack,  tho 
sight  of  their  movements  induced  tho 
valiant  Stuyversant  to  write  another 
letter,  dated  Sept.,  4th  mew  Style)  1664; 
and  ho  called  to  his  aid  four  of  the  best 
men  i>I  New  Amsterdam  to  convey  the 
letter  to  Nieholls.  In  it  he  said  (Smith's 
History  Of  New  Jersey)  "howover  that 
In  regard  that  wo  make  no  doubt,  that 
upon  your  assault  and  our  defense, 
them  will  be  a  great  deal  of  blood  spilt ; 
.'  :  hi  sidoa,  it  is  to  be  feared  greater 
difficulty  may  arise  hereafter;  we 
though)  lit  to  send  unto  you,  Mr.  JOHN 
ii:  Dw  Kr.ir,  Counselor  of  State;  Corneli- 
us YanKivcn,  Secretary  and  Receiver; 
(  ••melius  SLei'invick,  Mayor;  and  James 
i'«>us»oa,  .Sheriff;  to  the   cud   of   finding 


some  means  to  hinder  and   piwont   tVf 
spilling   of   innocent  blood."     Gu\ern<-r 
Stuyvesant  evidently    did   not  rely   o 
his  waving   the   bloody   rag   befi.ro  lb 
English,  otlieoi  for  much   coosiddnitliMI, 
forhe  had  no  means  of  defense.  Hi*  nialn 
reliance  we  may  justly   assume   •■..•>,, 
tho  Counselor  ot   State,  John  d^  linker. 
That   gentleman  could    not     alter    lh» 
English     Commander's     determination 
He  returned,  and  tho  eu. I  of  ilia  confer- 
ence was  that  Gen.  Nieholls   named   sit 
persons,      and     Governor     Stuyvesant 
named  six  persons,  who  met  and  agreed 
upon  tho  surrender   of   the    Dutch   juis-' 
sessions  in  America  to  the  English  Aug.  j 
27th  (old  stylo)  1071.     Quo   of   the   eoui-j 
missioners  appointed   by    the  Governor  J 
and  who  assisted  in  arranging  the  terms, 
of  tho  treaty,  was  John  lie  Decker. 

He  w.ia  no   doubt   tho   same    Hen    do 
Decker,    mentioned   by   Captain   Martin 
Kraeger   iu   his  Journal   of   the   second  , 
Esopus    war.        Tho    Indians  attacked  \ 
Wiltwyek    mow     Kingston,    N.    Y.,i     in 
1663,  carried  of  a   number  of   prisoners 
besides  killing  several  of  tho  inhabitants 
and  burning  their  houses.  Capt. Thomas 
Chambers  was  nominally  in  command  or 
the  militia  at  that  place  but  upon  news  I 
ot  tho    attack   being   received   in   Sovr  : 
Amsterdam,  Governor  Stuyvesant  sent  j 
Capt.    Martin   Kraeger   to   their   u-.-.ist- 
anee.     The  Captain  has  loft  a  very  clear  ] 
account  of  what   took   place  (see  do  u-  : 
mentary    History  of     New    York)  and. 
among  other  things,  the  joy  which  th 
habitants    manifested      when    lierr   De  j 
Decker  arrived  at  Esopus   with  a  supply 
of  stores  and  reinforcements.     Now  here  j 
occurs  a  halt.      After   the   surrender  ot] 
the  Dutch  provinces  to  the   English   in  j 
the  following  year,  as  we   have   stated,) 
we  havo  boon  unable  to  traco  tho   move- 
ments of  John  De  Decker.      But   it    has 
been  ascertained  that  the  family  ol  thai 
namo  in  Sussex  County  all  came   from   a 
progenitor  who  settled  at  Esopus,     It  l»  '< 
very  probable  that  this  John   may   have] 
gone  thero  after  the  English  took  pose*  : 
slon,  and  made  a  permanent  settlcmeut.j 


nd.  j 
in- J 


He  was  of  an  Illustrious  family  In  Am- 
sterdam, Holland.  A  relative,  pre-tuui- 
ably  a  brother's  8<>n  from  their  compara- 
tive ages,  became  oulte  famous  In  Eng- 
lan<l  as  a  writer.  He  w.is  born  toward 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury in  Amsterdam,  and  was  given  a 
good  education.  In  1703  he  went  to 
London,  and  became  naturalized  as  a 
Ilritlsh  subject  in  170:'!.  Ho  embarked 
In  commerce,  and  made  a  fortune  for 
those  times  in  about  ten  years.  He  was 
made  a  Baronet  in  1710.  In  1710  ho  was 
elected  a  member  of  Parliament  for 
Bishop's  Castle,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  four  years.  In  1713  he  published 
a  pamphlet  which  went  through  seven 
editions  and  was  a  great  success.  In  It 
he  advocated  the  idea  of  raising  all 
revenues  for  the  government  by  a  single 
tax — a  tax  upon  houses.  According  to 
his  tables  there  were  then,  in  England 
1,200,00(1  houses— allowing  one-  half  to 
be  exempted  for  dwellings  for  working- 
men,  he  showed  that  the  tax  would 
raise  £.0,000,000  annually,  which  far  ex- 
ceeded the  actual  need.  He  died  March 
18th  1710,  and  as  he  had  no  sons,  his 
daughters  succeeded  to  his  estate. 


[Errata,  Th«  year  1fi"4  in  last  chapter  should 


A.] 


CHAPTER  II. 


(iOUD    OLD     MARTIN     KRABQHR    AND    HOW 

THE  DECKER    FAMILY    CAME    TO 

SETTLE  IN  MINI3INK. 

The  illustrious  originator  of  the  single 
t..\,  or  house  tax)  mentioned  in  chapter 
one,  was  Mathew  Decker.  His  grand- 
father and  John  De  Deeker'B  father  are 
believed  to  have  been  Abraham  Do 
]  'eeker,  Jr.,  who  is  mentioned  (Holland 
D,..-.  Col.  flirt.  N.  Y.  vol.  1,  p.  4S0i  as 
i  iug  Yccountant  (leneral  of  the  West 
India  Company,  in  1CD2  at  Amsterdam. 
1  he  house  tax.  was  given  a  trial  by  the 
Unite  1  States  in  President  Adams'  time, 
but  it  w.ts  Bach  a  departure  from  old 
regulations  that  the  people  rebelled 
against  it.  George  Labar,  who  lived 
;.^,u  the  Water  Gap  in   Pensylvauia,   in 


17iM,  when  the  tax  was  attempted  to  Be" 
collected,  said:  "The  excitement  in  Jit. 
Bethel  exceeded  that  of  the  whiskey  re- 
bellion The  people  took  it  as  they  had 
taken  the  British  duty  on  tea  as  an  irn- 
po3ition  and  wrong.  The  assessors  were 
threatened  with  personal  violence.  Men 
armed  themselves  to  resist  the  hated  law. 
lu  upper  Mmisiuk  the  officers  did  not 
attempt  to  collect  the  tax.  John  Fries 
made  himself  conspicuous  as  a  leader 
of  insurgents.  But  the  difficulty  was 
at  List  crushed.  Fries  was  arrested  lor 
treason,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to 
t  j  be  hung,  biit  was  afterwards  pardon- 
ed by  President  Adams."  Mr.  Lubar 
s  ud  that  at  that  time  he  was  living  with 
his  father-in-law,  aud  their  house  having 
two  windows  was  assessed  31  tax. 

Of  Martin  Kraeger,  who  has  left  on 
record  an  account  of  Herr  Decker's  visit 
'  Esopus,  we  may  as  well  mention  that 
Ins  uame  is  now  spelled  in  plain  English, 
1  'ngar.  He  was  a  Hollander — one  of 
!  he  roving,  jovial  sort,  who  seems  to 
have  been  fitted  to  almost  any  station 
and  equally  contented  anywhere.  He 
e;me  early  to  New  Amsterdam  and  pur- 
chased a  lot  just  northeast  of  what  we 
av.wcall  the  Battery.  He  built  upou 
I  lie  lot  .mil  begau  keeping  hotel.  It  was 
what  about  every  other  man  did  who 
i  ,itne  to  America  in  those  times.  His 
■".  ay  of  mauaging  it  made  it  one  of  the 
favorites  of  the  new  town.  Whan  the 
incipient  city  was  organized  Martin 
5  raeger  was  elected  the  first  Burgo- 
master. His  example  of  good  living, 
lms  caused  the  alderman  in  New  York 
city  who  have  succeeded  him  even  unto 
our  day  to  be  famous  for  good  dinners 
aud. rotundity.  He  owned  a  sloop,  and 
from  that  circumstance  was  called  Cap- 
tain. In  1(150  he  was  commissioned 
regularly.  Captain  of  a  company  of 
soldiers  cent  from  the  city  of  Amsterdam 
to  the  New  Netherlands.  A  copy  of  his 
commission  lies  before  us  dated  Dec.  5th 
10,0.  It  was  iii  command  of  tins  com- 
pauy  that  he  repaired  to  Esopus,  as  we 
have  mentioned,  in   1603.      In  the  Arc- 


rh'.v«M  ot  Sew  Teney  he  la  npoken  of  aa 
tug  ia  the  Rariton  river  with  his  Bloop 

•  t.-w  yearn  later.     Here  we  ha^o  to  leave 
:......  i.t  we  Lave  no  record  of   his   death. 

3  hi  ee  brothers,  Johann,  AndneB,  Johann 
!'.  t.  r,  Jouauu  Kneger,  oanie  to  Phila- 
il<  l|iiua,  Nov.  20th,  1741,  and  rear- 
r  1  families.     Audries  Knegar,  of  Morns 

r..t</  who  died  in  1770,  left  a  family 
f-.ur    l>o)9   and   three  girls.      There 

•  ,ii  ..>  :i  Omrad  and  Christian  Cregar, 
II  n.t.rduu  County.  The  latter  had 
,  i-  children  ways,  Chambers,  when    he 

r .  :.!•.•  his  will  in  1760,  Peter,  William 
,u  I  Catherine."'  His  will  was  probated 
Dec.  3d,  of  the  same  year.  William 
(  IngBC  came  to  Wantage  about  the  close 
.  f  the  revolutionary  war,  and  kept 
tavern  just  northwest  of  Beemerville. 
Tim  road  which  led  over  the  mountain 
from  bia  house,  is  yet  called  the  Crigar 
..ml.  Henry  F.  Simouson  owns  the 
..Id  homestead,  and  if  we  mistake  not 
he  or  his  wife  are  descendants  of  William 
Crigar.  We  do  not  doubt  that  the  fami- 
'.-.  I  .  tracing  their  family   histories   can 

•  -t.iblish  the  line  of  descent  from   gal- 

,:  Captain  Krieger,  but  we  cannot  at- 
ipt  it  now. 
Some  readers  may  think  by  our  men- 

•  in  of  Capt.-riu  Kriegar,  that  we  have 
i  -:  our  way  while  writing  of  Decker- 
'  iu.  and  we  admit  that  it  properly  may 
up  called  at  least  a  digression,   but   the 

.  I  .hi  n  destined  to, be  such  a  histori- 

'  figure   in   the   aunals   of   New   York 

tli  it   wo  couldn't   help   mentioning 

■  -  I'laiiua,     To  go  back  to  the  thread  of 

in  tory,   we  are   told  that   in   1GC1 

'■■■'■■    lived  in   Esopus   (Kingston)   one 

.  '  iorretson.  who  had  emigrated  thith- 

»i  i.  .hi  Ueerden  in  Holland.      He  mar- 

'•■■  1  linetjeo  Hendricks  Westercamp   in 

*  iurk  (then  New  Amsterdam)  in 
rch  lCGA.  Hhe  was  said  to  be  a  resi- 
• ,  ul  Ksopus,  and  why    they  went  to 

•  ••  ».<rk  to  get  married  it  will   now 

il.lv    never    appear.      The   records 

i{.l?  »how  they  did  so.    They  are  said 

bVilliain  U.  Nearnass   to   have  been 

'  ..j  tneeatora  ..f  the  principal  branch   of 


tlio  Decker  family  in  tTiisoonntrr.  Wrtnf 
relationship  they  held  to  Herr  De-kir,' 
or  John  Da  Decker  does  not  appear!] 
lu.leal  we  are  not  certain  that  the  uaiTn> 
Gerritson  is  always  interpreted  "JUeckur." 
(one  0th  1085  they  received  a  deed  f..r 
22'1  acres  of  land  at  Mombaeeus  in  Filt- 
er County,  N.  Y.,  and  in  17iio  they  gava 
a  plot  of  land  to  Rochester  in  th.it 
county,  for  a  town  house.  Was  he  J.,hn 
JUeDecker? 

Heudriek  Decker  is  claimed   to   have 
been  their  son.      December   l^tl,,   W&H\ 
lib   was  married  in  Esopus  (Kingston)  to 
Antje  Quick,  and  their  plaeeof  residence' 
pas  given   as   Mombaeeus.      It  appears 
that    Mombaeeus  was  the    Dutch,  nndi 
Rochester    the    English  name    for    the 
same  village.     Their  daughter,  Femetje.  | 
who   by   Mr.  Nearpass'    translation    >  f ' 
church  records  is  found  to  have   been 
baptised    October    2'Jth,   IC99,    married] 
PieterKu>keudall  July  sth   171'.'.      Mr.  _ 
Kuykendall    was    a    resident    of   upper; 
Minisink  at  the  time,  and  the  farm  upon 
which  he  settled  and  began  honsekeepH 
ing  is    now    occupied  mostly  by   Port': 
Jervis.       After    mentioning  tke    otheri 
children  of    Hendrick    and    Autje,    ». 
snail  endeavor  to  trace   the  descendants! 
of  each  one  to  some  of  the   Sussex    f anil -J 
lies    of    that.  name.     Their  eldest  sou,. 
Hendrick,  Jr.,  mar  lied  Hauna  TietsoortJ 
who      was    born    in     upper     Minisii.h.: 
Thomas,  baptised  Sept.  3rd,J70t  married! 
Jenneke  Van .  Nirnwegcn,  .daughter    on 
Gerardus    Van   Nimwegen.       Johann  is,] 
baptised  Harob.9th,  171*2,  married  Eliza-] 
beth    DeWitt    lor  his     first     wife,    and 
Deborah  Van  Fleet  tor  his  second   wife.) 
Margaret  the  youngest  daughter  marrii  df 
Hendrick  llendricksen  Ivortrecht  There.. 
was    a    daughter   Tjertje,  of  whom   we 
have  no  further  account. 

Of  L'ietor  KHykondaJJ  who  moi 
Femetje,  he  was  t.Iie  son  of  T.eur  .Jacob-i 
sen  Van  Kuykendall,  born  in  theeiiy  "f; 
New  York  in  Kioi)  and  who  resided  •■' 
Kingston.  They  had  eight  children,] 
Hendrick 'baptised  July  l"th.  L7211,  who 
married  Oct.   '21st   17Ui   Elizabeth   CooU 


'diaus,  nh?F'sorTfiVn'r!.r^{vio"T!rm"araee<l' 
in  writing.  Tins  they  did  June  3d, 
1700.  fn  I7t>2  Oueen  Ann-  by  the  cele- 
brated Minisink  patent,  conveyed  all  the 
l.ui.ts  from  the luwer  end  of  Big  MioU 
siuk  Inland  northeast  in  New  Jersey  to 
certaiu  parties.  For  snmo  dozen  years 
matters  remained  in  pence  except  that 
it  became  a  mooted  .luestion  whether 
the  men  who  held  the  Minisink  Patent 
could  ejeut  the  settlers  who'  had  previ- 
ous titles.  In  1713  Tietsoord  sold  bin 
farm  to  "John  Deeker  who  with  his 
cousin,  Voiintr  .Tan,  was  to  occupy  one  of 
the  parcels  and  his  brother  Hemlock  the 
other,"  as  he  states  iu  his  affidavit.  The 
purchase  of  this  laud  was  probably  what 
induced  this  branch  of  the  Decker  fami- 
ly to  settle  from  Eaopiis  iu  Minisink,  al- 
though it  appears  from  Mr.  Nearpass' 
translation  of  t  he  church  records  that 
some  of  them  had  before  given  Minisink 
as  their  place  of  resilience.  Shortly 
after  settling  upon  their  new  purchase 
Mathew  Ling  one  of  the  Minisink  Patent 
proprietors  brought  suit  to  get  posses- 
sion of  the  farm  uuder  the  authority  of 
that  grant.  Tietsnort  had  removed  to 
Dutchess  Co.,  N.  V..  hence  hia  affidavit 
was  taken  there  in  1717  as  we  have  notic- 
ed. The  farm  lies  in  a  bend  (arm  it  is 
called  in  the  Indian  d.-eiljof  the  Nevftr- 
sink  river  near  Port  Jevvis,  and  part  of 
it  is  in  the  laud--  how  owned  by  the  heirs 
of  Simon  Westf.ill.  We  have  no  proof 
that  Mr.  Tietsoorfc  (now  Titsworth)  ever 
returned  from  Dutchess  county.  In 
order  to  trace  the  family  line,  before  we 
.take  up  the  regular  thread  of  the  history 
of  the  Decker  family  wo  shall  digress  a 
bttlo  to  a  short  genealogy  of  the  Tits- 
worth  family.  .The  suit  brought  f)y  the 
Minisink  Patentees  was  lost,  and  the 
original  titles  were  held  to  be  valid. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF   WILLIAM    TlTS- 
WOBTH,  IN    THE  WILDERNESS,   LED  TO        I 
THE  PEOPLING  OF,  AND  HAS  MADB 
IEB     VALLEYS   ABOUT      PORT 
JEBVT3      AND      DECKER- 
TOWN   TO    "BLOSSOM 
LIKE    THE 
ROSE." 

It  appears  also  that  there  was  a 
Stephanas  Tietsort,  born  in  Schenec- 
tady, who  must  have  emigrated  fn  .m 
there  about  the  same  time  that  the  Wil- 
liam  before  mentioned  did.  That  lie 
also  came  to  Minisink  is  known.  He 
married  Sara  Hoornbeck  (Hornbeck)  of 
Rochester,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  t8tb, 
1702  in  Kingston.  It  was  not  a  second 
marriage,  consequently  we  may  con- 
clude him  to  be  about  2n  years  of  atre 
at  that  time,  and  that  he  was  about  7 
years  of  age  when  he  left  Schenectady. 
The  comparison  of  ages  and  circum- 
stances, induces  the  belief  that  he  was 
William's  son.  William  had  married 
Nielt;o  Swart,  and  two  of  their  children 
are  on  record  as  baptised  at  Kingston, 
Eanna,  June  7th,  1695,  and  Maryetje 
Nieltje  Swart,  May  7th  169!).  Hence  we 
may  reasonably  conclude  that  when 
William  settled  In  the  wilderness  to  do 
blacksmithing  for  the  Minsi  Indians,  he 
took  his  family  with  him.  Tiny  were 
undoubtedly  the  first  white  people  who 
settled  iu  the  Minisink  valley.  When 
Gumr.er  and  Codebeck,  came  there  look- 
ing for  a  location,  the  peaceable  establish- 
ment of  Titsworth  amouf  the  Indians 
helped  the  selection  of  a  tract  just  north 
of  his.  Now  Stephauus  after  his  marri- 
age iu  1702,  came  to  Minisink  to  begin 
housekeeping-  It  was  but  natural  that  ! 
he  should  set  up  an  establishment  for  , 
himself.  In  doing  so  there  is  every  rea-  ; 
son  for  us  to  believe  that  he  came  over  i 
the  mountain  and  made  a  settlement  in  j 
the  fertile  Clove  valley,  very  likely 
the  east  bank  of  Clove  creek  opp> 
the  present   residence  of  William   Tits- 


f  V,  j  ».ir«.  4  month*.  23  days.  *n  inven- 
Ftory  of  Stephen'"  property  was  made  by 
f  J<ihn  Middaugh  aud  Benjamin  Kuyken- 
iLiIl  appraisers  June  _'Ub,  1777.  In  it  ap- 
peu  S  milcba  cows  ui  £4  10s— .£30;  2 
three-year-olds  £■<;  5  two-year-olds,  £12; 
ouo  horse,  two  niares,  one  colt,  £02; 
{"lactation,  6400;  one  wagon,  £0;  woolen 
wheel  aud  little  wheel  and  sundries, 
£1  6s.  Upon  the  inventory  is  the  fol- 
lowing endorsement  made  apparently 
by  Henry  Titsworth. 

"Henry  Tietsort  was  married  in  the 
yearlTtft.  In  a  will  which  he  left  me, 
and  I  kept  my  grandfather,  William 
Tictsord,  till  he  died,  out  of  the  estate. 
Hi.  died  on  the  4th  day  of  March,  1791, 
which  he  left  rue  £20  per  year  for  bis 
clothing  and  board." 

When  the  speculators  and  land  sharps 
began  to  look  after  Wantage   lauds,  by- 
virtue    of    authority    from    the    Jersey 
proprietors,  which  they  did  largely  be- 
tween   1750  aud   1705,   they  found   the 
cabins    of    settlers    scattered  here  and, 
there  among  the  hills  and  valleys.  Land 
wus  of  such  little  value  that  they  wisely 
concluded  not  to  disturb  those  squatters 
or.  Bottlers,  uud  consequently,  when   the 
latter  asked  it,  the  surveyors  surveyed  I 
out  their  tracts  aud   they  secured  titles  I 
by  paying  for  the  expenses.      The  re-  j 
searches  of  my  friend,  Surveyor  James  | 
W.    McCoy,   have  established  the  fact, 
that  wheu  Sharp  made  his  surveys  about 
Deckertown  in  J751  he  kept  to  the  val- ! 
ley  sonth  of  the  clearings  of  the  few   in- 
habitants  then  here,  either  becauso  he  [ 
did  not  value  the  hills,  or  did  not   wish 
to  eueroaeh  on   previous  claims.      One" 
ill  ed  now  in  the   possession   of  William 
TitKWorth.  great  great  grandson,  of  the 
Qrat  Clove  settler  recites:    ''This  Inden- 
;  ire  made  the  15th  day  of  May  in   the; 
.  •  ir  of  our  Lord  1761   between   Thomas  i 
K.rtow  of  Perth  Amboy  in  the  Province  | 
■  f   Saw  Jersey,  of  the    one  part,  aud 
Stephen  Tietsort  of  the  County  of  Sus-  I 
•»•!.  Jr.,  Yeoman,  of  the  other   part,  wit-  j 
Dcsoeth,"  etc.,  conveys  for  £36   10s,   fifty  i 
two  acres  and   two  tenths  of  an   acre, 


being  part  of  1001)  acres  sold  to  saltf! 
Bartow  by  Mary  Alexander  April  1st,] 
1760.  The  ourvey  is  on  a  separate  sheet  | 
of  paper  and  begins  "all  thnt  tract  of; 
land  in  said  county  1\  ing  on  the  went' 
branch  of  the  Wallkill  called  the  Deep. 
Clove  creek,  beginning  at  a  white  oak 
tree  standing  on  the  west  side  of  the' 
kill."  Another  deed  from  Lord  Sterling] 
(rec.  at  Perth  Amboy,  book  S.  C.  pagei 
334  etc.)  conveys  to  Stephen  ten  acres  j 
more.  Lord  Sterling  is  believed  to  have1 
been  the  husband  of  Mary  Alexander. 

Since  Henry  Tietsurt's  death,  the 
family  name  has  been  kuown  as  Tits-j 
worth. 

The  eldest  son  of  Stephen  and  Cather- 
ine Titsworth,  William,  married  Mar-' 
garet  Middaugh.  One  of  their  sons,, 
John,  became  a  physician  of  prominence 
and  died  on  the  old  homestead  l-'eb.  1st,  \ 
1873.  His  second  son,  William  now 
(1895)  owns  it.  Wallace  and  Alfred 
Titsworth,  thrifty  farmers  of  the  Clove 
are  also  lineal  descendant  of  the  first; 
Clove  William. 

There  is  also  on  record  one   Ariaantje 
Tietsort  who  married   Jacob    van    ivuy- 
keudall  about   1706.     They    removed    to 
Sandyston    N.  J.,    probably  about  lhat  i 
time.      Her   husband   and     hi.s   brother 
Matthews,  or  Matthew,  were    very    early 
settlers  at  Pig    Mini.siuk    Island.     Their 
names   appear   as   land     owners     there, 
when    a   village   plot   was  ^surveyed  for 
Minisink  village  in  1725.     Ariaantje  was 
probably    a  daughter  of     ''Abram'",     of] 
Kingston,  aud  we  may   reasonably   con-i 
elude  that  the  settlement  of  her  husband 
and  his  brother  in   lower   Minisink   was 
brought  about  by  the  visits  made  to   her  . 
relative,   the     humble   blacksmith,    who. 
was  sharpening  tools   and   making   axes 
aud  hoes  perhaps,  for  the  Indians  in  the 
lonely  Mackbackameck  wilderness.    She 
probably  died   betweeu    1706   and   1711, 
for  her  husband   married   Sara  Westf.ill 
1712.      It  has    already   been    shown    that 
by  the  marriage  of  Hendiiek  Decker,  lfet 
to  flanna Tietsort,  the  first  white  child, 
born  in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Jervis,  thej 


probability  is  Htioncr"  fhaf  tbe  Decker 
family  were  Induced  to  settle  there.  It 
alscr  appears  that  tue  Westbrooks  had 
become  relatives  by  marriage  to  the 
Deckers  by  the  marriage  of  Johannis 
Westbrook  to  Magdaleua  Decker  at 
Kingston  in  l(J->7,  and  through  that  re- 
lationship it  is  very  probable  that  the 
Westbrook  family  became  familiar  with 
the  Minisink  country,  from  the  black- 
smith's residence  there,  and  finally 
settled  iu  lower  Minisink.  Jacobus 
RosenktanH,  it  is  known  married  Sara 
Decker,  who  was  a  sister  of  Johannis 
Decker,  and  so  perhaps  was  influenced 
to  a  settlement  in  lower  Minisink  by  the 
relationship.  The  Westphaels  or  West- 
falls  were  early  related  by  marriage  to  the 
foregoing  families,  and  thus  it  is  plau- 
sible that  they  became  acquainted 
with  and  settled  in  lower  Minisink. 
Their  first  settlement  on  the  Pennsyl 
vania  side  of  the  Delaware,  must  have 
been  within  a  very  few  years  after  the 
blacksmith,  William  Titsworth  settled 
on  the  Neversink.  Thus  we  think  to  his 
settlement  there,  may  be  attributed  the 
location  of  the  Knykendalls,  Westbrooks 
WestfalK  Kosenkrans.Kortrights,  Coles, 
and  Deckers  in  that  neighborood.  Per- 
haps Guemar,  Cuddeback,  and  the 
Swartwonts,  were  largely  influenced  to 
settle  there  through  his  instrumentality. 
The  intermarriage  of  the  Westbrooks, 
with  the  Decker  family  is  shown  by  the 
entry  on  Kingston  church  records  of  the 
baptism  of  Anthony  Westbrook,  April  17 
1692,  wherein  his  parentage  is  given  as, 
his  father,  Johannis  of  Albany,  and  his 
mother  Magdalena  Decker,  daughter  of 
Jan  Broerson  Decker,  and  Heiltje  Ja- 
cobs, of  Kingston.  John  B.  Decker's 
!  identity  is  here  clearly  established. 
I  He  may  or  may  not  have  been  a  son  of 
John  D.  Decker  mentioned  in  our  first 
chapter,  but  our  readers  will  notice 
throughout  several  generations  of  the 
family  that  have  existed  in  this  country 
that  "Johu",  "John  B."  or  "John  D." 
have  never  been  omitted  from  the  family 
nomenclature.     It  is  very  rare  that   any 


family,  of  much  size,  "among  their  We-3 
scendents,  have  omitted  the  prefix  "John*! 
at  least  to  one  or  more  of  the  male  mem-j 
bers.  Thus  that  title  can  be  claimed,  i 
we  confidently  think  to  have  descended 
in  an  unbroken  line  from  the  first  John  j 
De  Decker,  Counselor  of  State  under  I 
Peter  Stuyvesant  to  the  present  genera-  i 
tion.  \ 

It  will  be  remembered  that  William 
Tietsort  in  his  affidavit  stated  the  cir- 1 
cumstauces  of  his  selling  his  Mackhack-  I 
ameck  laud  to  "Johannis  Decker,  who 
with  his  cousin,  young  Jan"  was  to  occu- 
py it  iu  17UJ.  This  Johannis  (John) 
Decker  was  of  Kingston'  and  most  prob- 
ably .a  father  of  the  Magdalena  above 
mentioned.  The  young  John  alluded  to 
by  Titsworth  was  the  son  of  Hen  J  nek 
and  Antje  Quick,  and  was  born  March  £ 
1712.  Some  descendants  claim  him  as  a 
son  of  Martinus  Decker,  of  Deckertown. 
John,  the  elder,  did  not  live  long 
after  the  purchase  of  Titswortu's  land, 
we  assume  because  the  records  show  that 
Helecca,  his  widow,  purchased  a  tract  of 
land  adjoining  that  of  Titsworth's  from 
Joseph  Kirkbride  and  Sarah  Stevenson 
in  172C.  This  was  the  land  upon 
which  Peter  Coykendall  and  Femmetje 
Decker,  his  wife,  settled  and  finally 
owned.  It  covers  the  site  of  Port  Jervis. 
It  remained  in  the  Coykendall  family 
until  1810(Nearpass)  when  Jacob  Coy- 
kendall sold  it  and  went  to  Cayuga  Co., 
New  York. 


CHAPTEB  IV. 

.    MAJOR   JOHN   DXOKER. 

!  We  strongly  suspect  that  Heleca,  or 
Holeca  as  it  is  sometimes  spelled,  widow 
of  John  Decker  named  in  the  old  Kirk- 
bride and  Stephenson  deed,  is  the  same 
Helletje  Jacobs  mentioned  in  our  last 
chapter.  Her  husband  dying  before 
172C  he  must  therefore  have  been  well 
along  in  years,  when  he  bought  the 
Tietsort  farm.  There  was  a  Johannis 
Decker  born  at  Kingston  April  lfith, 
1741,  who  we  conclude  to   have  been   a 


nephew  of  tb»  Johannla  Vt*k or  of  Macfc- 
hackameck,  Johiuinis,  born  in  1711, 
marriml  Animtje  Himbrouck,  of  Marblc- 
t...vn.  I  Hater  Co.,  N.  Y.  She  was  born 
1  K-c.  •-"Jtli.  1747.  They  came  to  Waltlen, 
Orange  Co.,  N.  1'.,  very  early  and  he 
built  or  purchased  a  mill  there  in  17f>8. 
Tueir  children  were  Jacob,  Cornelius, 
.li  lin,  Rachel,  Ann,  Jonah,  Elsie  anil 
Muthew,  Of  them  Cornelius,  born  in 
1770  married  Miss  Hannah  Duryea.  He 
di.-d  in  1835.  Their  children  were 
( reorgc,  Joseph  H.,  John,  Ann,  Hannah 
M.,  Rachel,  Caroline,  Dolly,  and  Cor- 
natina,  Jr.  Of  them  Joseph  H.,  was  for 
n  long  time  a  highly  respected  citizeD 
of  the  town  of  Montgomery,  where  his 
nun,  Francis  C,  now  resides  if  we  mis- 
take not.  Very  many  descendants  of  this 
branch  of  the  family,  are  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  part  of  Orange  County. 

l>iiniel  Decker  who  married  Blandina 
Vredenburg,  Deo.  4th,  1756,  as  mention- 
ed in  our  first  chapter,  was  married  by 
Anthony  Van  Etten,  Justice  of  the 
Peaoe.  Anthony  had  married  Daniel's 
"!-r»'r,  Hannah,  and  at  that  time  was  his 
brother-in-law.  Daniel  and  Blandina 
r  titled  on  a  part  of  the  Schoonmaker 
and  Brink  tract  in  Houth  Minisink  by 
the  Delaware  river,  which  had-  been 
located  by  Kirkbrides  survey  in  1718. 
Daniel  established  a  ferry,  one  of  the 
first  across  the  river  there,  which  was 
called  Decker's  Ferry  for  many  years 
after  his  death.  He  died  March  1st, 
W :t,  and  his  widow  Nov,  2'2d,  1835  and 
tiny  were  buried  in  a  family  plot  on  his 
farm.  They  had  seven  children,  Henry, 
Thomas,  Aaron,  John,  Hannah,  Sarah 
"iid  Jane.  The  two  last  married  and 
went  west.  Henry  married  Margery 
VVentbrook.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  war 
f  1M2.  They  had  eight  children, 
'  '"tin  I,  Andrew  D„  John,  Abraham, 
Elijah,  Mary,  Salache,  and  Blandina. 
Thomas,  the  next  son,  born  Nov.  25th, 
1 .  75,  married  Susanna  Shoemaker  and 
had  e:i;ht  children,  Henry  S.,  Daniel  D., 
Samuel,  Peggy,  Maria,  Sarah  A.,  Calvin 
and    Blandina.    Aaron,    married    Jane 


Brokaw,  and  had  six  ohlldren,  John  TBI 
Caleb,  Abraham,  George  W.,  Daniel  and! 
Amanda.  The  latter  married  a  Mr.. 
Kiutner  who  lived  at  Stillwater.  lohnd 
Danjcl'a  fourth  son,  born  April,  21th, 
17R0,  married  Maria  Brokaw.  Their 
children  were  Peter,  Abraham,  Aaron, 
Sarah,  Salache  and  Jane.  Hannah, 
Daniel's  eldest  daughter  married  John 
Dopue  of  Pahaquarry.  Their  children 
were  Moses,  Daniel,  Nicholas  and  John. 
The  descendants  of  the  foregoing  famil- 
ies it  will  be  seen  must  occupy  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  human  family 
throughout  the  Delaware  Valley,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Southern  Jersey. 

Margaret  Decker,  mentioned  in  onr 
first  chapter,  who  married  Hendriek 
Hendrickson  Kortright,  is  stated  by  Mr. 
Nearpass  to  have  owned  the  farm  near 
Tort  Jervis,  occupied  in  1893  by  Aaron 
Whitlock. 

Johannis    Decker,    son    of   Hendriek 
Decker,  Jr.,  and  his  wife  Hannah   Tiet- 
sort,  mentioned  in  our  first  chapter   was 
the  "Young  Jan"  spoken  of  by   William 
Tietsort  in  his  affidavit,  who  with  his 
brother    Hendriek    was   to  occupy   the 
farm  sold  them  by  Tietsort  jointly.      He 
married    for  his   first    wife,    Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Dewitt,  who  was  a, 
son   of    T.    Jerck  Claassen   DeWitt,  of] 
Kingston,    by    whom  had    three    sous,  j 
Martin,  John  and  Biohard.     She  dying  j 
he  married  for  his  second  wife,  Deborah  j 
Van-  Fleet,  daughter  of  John  Van   Fleet  | 
and  Jesyntje    Swartwout,  who  owned,  j 
Mr.  Nearpass  says,  the  present  Solomon 
Van    Fleet  farm  near   Port  Jervis;  by 
whom  he  had  sons,  Levi  baptised  Feb. 
12tb,  1758,  Isaiah  and  Isaac;  and  daugh- 
ters, Margery  baptised  Aug.   31st,   17t>8, 
who  married  Peter  Gumaer,  Jr.,   Eliza- 
beth baptised  June  18th,  1700,  who.  mar- 
ried Van  Etten,   and  Calletje,  baptised 
Jan.  8th,  1772.      In  about  1857  Peter 
Gumaer    wrote    the  following  incident 
concerning  John  Decker:     "It  is  now  a 
few  years  over  a  oentury  (meaning  about 
1758)  since  the  fall  of  the  "deepest  snow 
ever  known  in  this  part  of  the  country. 


Before  it  fell  Pieter  Knykendoll  and  his 
wife  went  tcrEsopua  anil  left  their  child- 
ren home  where  John  Decker  and  his 
wife  were  to  go  daily  and  see  to  them 
and  render  such  assistance  as  would  be 
necessary.  Two  or  three  days  after 
they  started  this  snow  fell,  and  tho 
morning  after  its  falling  John  Decker 
commenced  to  shovol  and  make  a  foot- 
path through  the  snow  to  Kuykendall's 
house.  He  worked  all  that  day  Bnd  the 
greater  part  of  the  next  day  before  he 
got  to  it  and  found  the  door  shut,  so 
that  the  children  could  not  get  out  of 
tho  house.  The  door  opened  to  the  out- 
side and  the  snow  laid  §o  deep  against 
it  that  it  could  not  be  opened  until  the 
snow  was  removed.  No  victuals  had 
been  provided  on  the  previous  day  to 
servo  them  for  the  next.  They  con- 
trived to  get  some  meal  and  mix  it  up 
with  water,  baked  some  of  it  on  the 
hearth  before  the  fire  and  lived  on  it 
till  they  were  otherwise  provided  for." 

Mr.  Decker  was  collector  of  Minisink 
precinct  in  1739,  and  collected  the  taxes 
of  the  Titsworths  then  living  in  the 
Clove  near  Deckertown  as  we  have  seen, 
for  building  the  jail  ot  Goshen,  N.  X.,  as 
he  did  of  all  the  people  living  in  what  is 
now  Montague  township,  N.  J.,  which 
was  then  considered  a  rart  of  Orange 
Co.,  N.  Y.  His  tax  warrant  has  been 
preserved,  and  his  return  thereto.  He 
was  Ensign  of  a  company  of  militia  in 
Orange  Co.,  at  the  same  time.  Hendrick 
J.  Courtright  was  captain  of  the  com- 
pany. He  became  an  elder  in  the  Mack- 
haekameck  church  in  1717.  In  1748  he 
was  made  constable.  In  1778  he  was  a 
Major  of  the  militia.  His  commission 
as  such  was  issued  Feb.  '-8th,  1776  and 
made  him  "second  Major  of  the  Goshen 
Keg.  of  militia,  of  foot  in  Orange  Co., 
of  which  Wm.  Allison  is  Colonel."  I" 
1778,  when  Brant  invaded  Minisink  tra- 
dition says,  that  chieftain  went  into 
Major  Decker's  house  unawares,  and 
captured  two  negro  boys.  In  1779, 
when  Brant  again  swooped  down  upon 
tho  settlements,  tradition  alleges  that 
one  of  his  objects  was  to  get  the  scalp  of 


Maj.  Decker,  for  which  the  British  had" 
otfered  a  reward.  The  Major's  house 
was  of  logs  surrounded  by  "wooden  for- 
tifications." On  the  20th  day  of  July 
when  the  Indians  came,  Mrs.  Decker 
was  washing,  assisted  by  a  colored 
women,  at  a  spring  near  the  house. 
Mr,  Decker  had  gone  to  attend  a  funeral 
at  Abram  Swartwouts.  The  children 
were  at  school.  The  Indians  surrounded 
the  house.  There  were  white  men  with 
them.  One  of  the  tories  built  a  fire  on 
the  floor  of  the  house  and  said  they 
would  burn  it.  Mrs.  Decker  threw  a 
pail  of  water  on  the  fire  and  extinguish- 
ed it.  He  told  her  if  she  did  that 
again  they  would  kill  her.  She  then 
!  ran  out  of  the  house  and  fled  across  the 
fields  towards  another  house.  Brant 
sent  an  Indian  after  her,  who  brought  her 
back,  and  Brant  told  her  he  wanted  her 
to  see  her  husband's  residence  burn 
down  and  she  should  not  be  harmed. 
She  asked  him  if  she  could  save  any.- 
thing.  He  answered:  "yes, anything  yon 
can."  She  rushed  in  and  saved  lh£ beds 
and  bedding,  and  Brant  directed  two 
young  Indians  to  assist  her  in  carrying 
them  to  a  safe  place,  Major  Decker 
was  returning  from  the  funeral  when  he 
saw  the  smoke  of  his  burning  house. 
H3  was  on  horseback  and  rode  very  fast 
being  alarmed.  Just  between  where 
Abraham  Swartwout  and  Solomon  Van 
Fleet  nowlive(or  did  live  a  few  years  ago 
when  Dr.  Solomon  Van  Etten  gave  these 
particulars  for  publication)  he  was  met 
by  a  party  of  Indians.  He  dashed 
through  the  party,  but  none  of  them 
fired  upon  him,  all  of  them  seeming  to  be 
looking  back  of  him.  His  horse  became 
unmanageable,  and  ran  into  a  tree  top" 
which  had  f.dlen  across  the  road,  and 
got  fast,  so  that  the  Major  could  not  get 
him  out.  The  Indians  fired  upon  him 
and  he  was  wounded  in  the  thigh  and 
abdomen.  Ho  then  left  the  horse  and 
tied  up  the  rocks  and  hid  in  a  cave  east 
of  Carpenter's  Point,  where  the  Erie 
R,  R.  tracks  now  are.  Tho  Indians  pur- 
sued him,  but  did  not  find  him.  When 
it  got  dark  he  traveled   over  the   moun- 


tnln  to  Ftiwhville. " 

Hu«  daughter  Margaret,  then  eleven 
years  old  with  her  brother,  was  attend- 
ing school*  The  Indians  came  ti>  the 
school  house.  Margaret's  account  of 
what  followed  is  the  Bamo  na  (.bat  given 
by  Mrs.  Van  Auken,  who  was  a  pupil 
thero  at  tho  time,  and  all  the  stories  told 
by  the  other  children.  It  is  therefore 
uu  undoubted  part  of  history.  Tho  In- 
dians took  the  teacher,  Jeremiah  Van 
taken,  into  the  woods,  killed,  and 
i  BOnlped  him.  While  they  were  doing  so, 
I  the  girls  and  boys  huddled  together, 
frightened  at  the  awful  scene.  A  tall 
Indian  came  up  to  them  and  dashed  a 
blot  of  black  paint  on  the  girl's  aprons, 
telling  them  to  show  that  to  the  other 
Indians  and  they  would  not  bo  hurt. 
When  the  other  Indians  came  back  the 
girls  held  up  their  aprons  iu  front  of  the 
boys  and  themselves.  The  Indians 
looked  at  them  but  said  nothing  and 
passed  on  and  left  them.  Their  deliv- 
erer was  no  other  than  the  great  chief- 
tain Itnint.  His  act  stands  out  upon 
the  page  of  history  as  a  magnanimous  que 
Mis  race  was  being  exterminated  by 
the  whites,  and  the  latter  were  never 
known  to  spare  au  Indian  woman  or 
child  when  triumphant  in  battle.  When 
tho  Indians  started  to  leave  them,  Mar- 
garj's  brother  ran.  IIo  had  his  books 
under  his  arm,  and  one  of  the  Indians 
ran  after  him.  He  dropped  his  books 
and  tho  Indian  then  stopped.  When  he 
found  he  was  not  pursued  he  went  more 
slowly.  Tradition  says  that  he  found 
na  infant,  which  had  been  dropped  by 
its  mother  in  her  llight,  and  rescued  it. 
Major  Decker,  when  he  arrived  next 
morning  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Green 
n.-ar  Fmcliville  in  what  is  now  the  town 
•  •'  Mount  Hope,  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y., 
found  his  son  there  where  he  had  ar- 
rival the  day  previous.  The  name  of 
Ibil  lad  was  Benjamin,  and  his  age  is 
given  in  the  History  of  Orange  County 
»t  It;  years.  Ho  was  at  that  estimate  bom 
alM'iit  17<»l,  and  his  name  does  not  ap- 
j*-ar  upon  the  church  baptismal  records. 


This  lad's  escape  and  llight  over  thjfl 
mountain  must  have  earned  the  first! 
news  of  Brant's  invasion  to  the  people; 
about  Finc.hville  from  whence  an  ex- 
press was  dispatched  to  Goshen  for  as-: 
sistance.  . 

In  the  memoir  of  James  Finch,  who 
lived  at  Finchville  at  the  tune,  it  is  stated 
that  Mrs.  Pecker  came  there  tho  next 
morning  for  protection,  leading  h(.r 
small  children  by  the  band,  and  carry-, 
ing  tho  family  bible  under  her  arm. 

The  only  written  memoir  left  by  tho 
Major,  is  an  affidavit  ho  mado  relative  to 
the  boundary  line  between  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  which  Mr.  Nearpass 
furnished  among  other  papers  for  the 
history  of  Orange  County.  It  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Orange  County  S.  S:    Johannls  Deck- 
er being  duly  sworn  deposcth  and  saith 
that  he  was  born   at   Rochester,  ia  now 
seventy-one  or  seventy-two  years  of  ago, 
lived  since  he  was   a  sucking  child   at 
Mohaghcamake,  ho  was  well   acquainted 
with    the    Indians   and   their  language 
from  a  child — that  he  was  well  acquaint- , 
ed  with   tho    fishkill,  so   called  by   the 
Dutch  people,  and  by  the  English   peo-  j 
pie,  Delaware,  by  the   Indians  Lamaso- 1 
pose  —that  is  fishkill.    That  he  has   al-  j 
ways     understood     from     the  Indians,  | 
young  and  old,   that  the  left  hand   or  I 
west  branoh  at   Shohacan,  carried    up 
the  name  of  Lamasepose   to  the  head  j 
of   it,  and  the  reason   why   they  gave 
deponent  was  booauso  there  was  great 
numbere  of  Mushau  amuck  (bass)    and 
Guwani  (shad)  went  up  that  branch  and 
but    few    or   none  went   up    the    East 
branch.     That  ho  has   also   heard   from 
Daniel   Cole  that  ho  had  been   up  the 
fishkill  so  far  that  he  could  jump  over  it  ! 
with  a  walking  stick  and  that  Le  tho  do- 1 
ponont  had  understood  that  this  was  the  i 
West  Branch.   That  this  transaction  was! 
before  the  former  trial  at  New  York,  an.l 
that   Daniol   Colo  is   now  dead.      That' 
this  deponent  was  well  acquainted   with 
the  Indians,  Ainbopoes,  Mastewap,  Yam-  i 
atabonties,  Echkamare,  and  a  number  oil 


others  that  Hvod  at  Coshecton,  Shoka- ! 
f'un,  and  Cookhouse,  bat  not  much  ac- 
quainted with  the  papekunk  Indians 
because  they  were  Eeopue  Indians.— 
That  the  Mougaup  cornea  into  the  fish- 
kill  about  eight  miles  above  Neversink 
and  further  saith  not. 

his 
Johannis  X  Decker 
mark 
Sworn  this  23rd  day  of 
Dec.  1785  before  mo 

Solouiaa  Coykendall,  J.  P." 
The  Major  died  in  1793  and  divided 
his  real  estate  among  his  children  by 
will.  In  our  next  chapter  we  shall  show 
how  one  of  his  descendants  came  to  find 
his  way  to  Deckertown  after  many  years. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BENJAMIN     W.,    THE    MAYOR,     AND    PETER 
THE   FOUNDER. 

The  invasion  of  IMinisink  by  Brant 
was  followed  by  a  battle  between  his 
forces  and  the  settlers  on  the  22nd  ot 
July,  1779  nt  Lackawaxen.  It  was  a 
disastrous  engagement  te  the  settlers  as 
.ll.mr  older  leaders  have  been  taught 
by  numerous  works  on  local  history  and 
it  is  not  our  province  in  this  work  to  go 
into  its  details.  It  only  has  to  do  with 
our  present  work,  so  far  as  its  results 
concern  the  persons  we  are  writing  of. 
The  defeat  of  the  whites  in  that  battle 
was  so  overwhelming  that  a  fear  seized 
•  upon  the  near  by  inhabitants  of  the 
]  lelaware  Valley  such  as  we  cannot  now 
realize.  Whole  families  lied  over  the 
mountains  into  the  more  thickly  settled 
parts  of  Orange  County,  and  many  mem- 
1  >ers  of  those  families  never  returned  to 
i  ii.-ir  former  dwelling  places.  It  was 
I  irty  years  before  any  orgauized  attempt 
*  is  made  to  collect  the  bones  of  those 
of  our  kindred  ancestry  who  were  slain 
in  tl.it  battle.  Tradition  has  it  that 
Major  Deckel's  sons,  Levi,  Isaiah,  Isaac 
and  Benjamin  ultimately  took  up  their 
residence  east  of  the  Shawangunk  moun- 
tains but  the  exact  period  of  their  doing 
so  is  unknown  to  us.  It  was  very  prob- 
ably at  the  close   of  the   Revolutionary 


struggle.'    We  find  that  Isaiah  wasroaifl 
master  in   Road   District   No.    8  in   thejj 
town  of  .Minisink  in  1789.      At  that  time  :| 
the  town  of   Minisink  comprised  nearly 
all  that  part  of  Orange  Co.,  N.   T.,  now 
included  in  the  towns  of  Greenville  and 
Winvayanda  besides  the   present    terri- 
tory in  the  old  town.     We,  by   tradition 
only,     ascribe  as   his   descendants,    the 
families  in    and   near  Westtowu.      We 
find    Isaac   Decker   locatpd  in    1790   as 
roadmaster  of  Road     District    No.   17, 
which  it  is  quite  clearly  established   was 
the  Uidgeberry  neighborhood.  Braddoek  j 
and  Henry  Decker  were  his  descendants 
anil    of    a    later    generation     Jouathan 
Decker  now  a  resident  of  Middletown.  | 
His  son  Benjamin  now  resides  upon  the 
old  homestead   which    is    on   the   road 
leading  from  Slate  Hill  to  Ridgeberry. 

As  to  Benjamin,  the  lad  who  Hed  from 
the  school  house,  and  brought  the  news 
of  Brant's  arrival  in  Minisink  (Delaware) 
valley  to  Fiuchville,  his  movements  have 
not  been  made  clear.     He  married   and 
and  is  reported  to  have  settled   in   what 
is  now   the   Middletown   neighborhood. 
For  some   reason   ho   left   that   locality 
with    a   family    of  small   children   and 
sought  the  higher  latitudes  of   Sullivan 
County.     Of  the  date  of  his   death   we 
are  not   informed.      The  children  were 
Johnathau,  Stephen,  Isaac,  Alfred,  Jehiel, 
Jemima,  Penelope   and   an   older  sister  I 
who  married   Wm.   ParsoDs,   of  Middle- 
town  and  resided  there.  Jemima  married 
a  Mr.    Mapes,     and    Penelope    married 
Chas.  Boyd.      The   four  sons,   Stephen, 
Issaac,  Alfred,  Jehiel,  if  we   mistake  not, 
all  settled  in   Sullivan   County.     One  or 
more  of  then  bought  a  farm  and   owned  i 
a  considerable    property    on    the    East 
shore  of  Sackett    Lake,,    about    three] 
miles  southwest  from  Monticello.    John-  i 
athan  came  to  Wantage.     To  the  best  in    : 
formation  we  can  obtain  be  had   an   un-  j 
cie  Joel.     There  is  a  Joel  Decker  buried 
in  Fair-view  Cemetery,  whom  we  do  not  j 
tliiuk  was  tho  one  in   question,   because  | 
his  age  was  so  nearly  similar — lie  having 
'  been  born  in  179! ,  making  him  the  same 
|  age  as  Johnathan.      The  Joel  in   Fair- 


-  a*  lied  Angimt  2f>,  1K53.  '  Johnatban 
•Staa  Ihtu  Sept.  Hi,  17J1.)..  and  was  young 

.  I  fit  be  came  to  Wantage.  After  some 
•MtTMtttatlea  he  bought  a  farm  near 
\V..  ..llmni  with  the  Havings  of  his  in- 
.v.i-lry. 

II.-  married  Mahetablo  Wells,  born  Oct. 
I'i.  17'.f.»,  auil  they  resided  during  a  long  | 
and  Useful  life  upon  the  Woodburn  farm. 

;  iere  nro  aoiitte  of  the  readorrof  this  pa- 
I  .  r  who  ftill  recall  to  memory  the  atton- 

I  m  •■■  i.r  Jbhoatbarj  and  Mahetable 
1»  kir  lit  the  old  Beemer  church,  where 
they  were  sure  to  be  seen  at  every  ser- 
vice, unless  something  prevented.  He 
dud  on  the.  10th  day  of  Aug.  1876,  and 
his  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  beau- 
tiful new  Iieemerville  Cemetery,  where 
lay  his  loved  helpmate,  who  had  gone  to 
li.-r  eternal  home  seven  years  before,  she 
having  died  Dec.  7th,  1868. 

Of  their  children  one  alone  survive?. 
At  his  lurth  July  1th,  1K10  his  parents 
were  in  poor  circumstances.  When  he 
K"t  older,  he  lived  and  worked  for  some 
turn1  with  his  uncles  in  Sullivan  Co. 
Then  h«'  attended  school  and  clerked  in 
a  store  at  iloortiervHIe.  Then  lie  niar- 
i  led  an  Hceoiupl  shed  young  lady,  Miss 
Kliziiheth  H.  Potter,  of  Wantage  and 
they  began  life  at  farming,  living 
for  some  time  on  the  farm  in  Wantage 
wiitre  11  dsey  Berry  now  resides.  He 
then  embarked  in  commercial  life,  and 
uas  in  business  in  New  York  and  Jersey 
City.  Then  they  returned  to  the  town. 
of  his  choice —Deckertown,  whero  they 
now  reside.  By  this  time  you  have 
r. .'  ignized  him;  but  nevertheless  I  will 
run  tin' risk  of  being  thought  guilty  of 
repetition  Mid  will  say  further  that  he 
.-.  now  Mayor  of  out  beautiful  town. 
rjiin  briugs  us  directly  to  the  subject 
••  '  v.-  in  baud,  but  it  is  at  the  very 
I  »l  point  in  its  history.  To  arrive  at 
.i  p'rnper  beginning  of  that   history   we 

....•  iki w  to  go  back  to  the  days  wheu 
'■'  •  Indians  were    abandoning    the  lulls 

..•••I  valleys  about  ils   present   location. 

.\»  they  movel  westward  it  was  with  nu- 
•  leiMed  feelings  of  regret.     We  none   of 

n  cuu   kuow  of  the  bitter  feelings  of 


sorrow  and  despair  whlcu  wrung  their"! 
untutored  minds,  when  they  stood  at 
\  t  tinal  parting  on  the  Lilh  and  moun- 
tains which  overlooked  their  loved  val- 
leys of  the  Papakatmg  and  Wall  kill,  and 
bade  them  a  silent  farewell  forever. 
Here  the  smoke  of  their  wigwams  had 
rose  for  unnumbered  years.  Here  they 
had  beeu  reared,  and  had  shared  with 
their  kindred  in  the  joys  of  the  chase,, 
and  games  of  their  childhood.  Hern] 
they  had  mourned  with  those  that  mourn- 
ed, and  witnessed  the  funeral  ob-e>piies  \ 
of  loved  ones.  AH  to  be  forsaken,  and 
worse  than  that,  to  be  yielded  up  to  su- 
perior force.  Ah,  my  readers,  there  J 
must  have  been  a  bitter  parting  then.  | 
But  even  r»  they  waved  a  last  adieu  to 
these  enchanting  lauds,  the  white  man 
came  on  to  take  possession.  His  axe 
was  heard  at  work  upon  the  trees,  even 
as  the  last  farewell  of  the  Indian  was 
given  to  the  Great  Spirit.  There  bar. 
always  lingered  a  halo  of  romance  about 
the  friendship  which  the  chief,  lied 
Jacket,  had  for  the  trees  of  tho  forest. 
He  looked  upon  every  one  of  them  as  a 
friend  and  "every  stroke  of  the  axe" 
says  his  biographer  thurst  an  iron  into 
his  soul.  Thus  it  was  in  those  times 
.that  a  white  man  came  through  the 
forest  axe  in  hand,  perhaps  a  idle  too, 
and  sought  to  locate  a  future  home.  His 
name  was  Teter  Decker.  His  relatives 
had  intermarried  with  tiie  Tietsort.s,  as 
we  have  seen,  for  he  was  of  the  Esopus 
family  of  whom  we  have  written.  There- 
fore it  was  very  probable  that  he  w:is 
■accompanied  iu  his  search  by  William 
or  Stephanus  Tietscit  who  had  been 
residing  siuce  170-1  on  the  banks  of  the 
Clove  stream  near  this  place,  and  with 
whom  he  may  be  readily  supposed  to 
have  been  visiting  while  making  the 
choice  spoken  of.  Ho  was  a  young  man 
at  the  time,  say,  18  years  old,  having 
been  born  iu  Ulster^  County  iu  1711, 
two  years  before  his  father,  Johannis 
Docker  and  Helletje,  or  Holecca,  his 
mother  came  to  the  old  William  Tiet- 
sort  tract  at  Maokhnckameck  by  the 
Neversiuk.     We  assume  his  visit  to  this 


Totality  to  have  been  made  s  Tear  before 
'his  marriage,  as  would  be  natural  in  out' 
contemplating  that  event,  and  desiring 
to  prepare  in  a  measure  for  it.  Tills 
would  place  it  at  about  1729.  But  there 
are  good  grounds  for  supposing  that  lie 
had  spent  some  years  perhaps,  off  and. 
ou  with  William  and  Stophanus  Tietsort 
at  their  clove  settlement,  and  had  there 
foretime  and  again  hunted  over  this 
neighborhood  and  was  familiar  with  ils 
advantages.  He  was  a  Hollander,  auo 
spoke  the  Dutch  language,  as  did  hi? 
friends  and  relatives,  the  Titsworths 
This  we  know  because  Wallace  and 
Alfred  Titsworth  remember  the  old 
burial  ground  of  their  family  which  was 
located  on  the  east  of  the  Clove  road  on 
the  Me.Uann  farm,  in  which  the  tomb 
stones  were  all  inscribed  in   Dutch. 

As  to  Peter's  appearance  wp.  shall  sub- 
mit proof  later  on  which  shows  hiin  lo 
have  been  of  largo  size,  and  of  grea! 
strength  when  forty  years  old.  At  the 
time  of  his  first  visit  here  he  was  no 
doubt,  correspondingly  rugged  and 
active.  His  dress  then  was  very  proh 
ably  considerably  Indian  in  its  eharac- 
terisfies.  All  the  early  settlers  won 
buckskin  trousers  and  moccasins,  witli 
perhaps  a  homespnn  coat  and  rough  I 
shirt,  and  a  Cur  cap.  That  was  probably 
99  near  as  we  can  eoujeoture  his  ap- 
pearance when  he  paused  upon  the  site 
Of  Deckertowu,  and  with  an  a\e  blazed 
a  tree  as  the  mark  of  his  domain.  Where 
was  this  spot'  It  is  not  probable  the 
question  can  over  be  positively  de- 
termined. But  it  is  well  known  that 
the  early  settlers  in  selecting  a  location 
always  sought  the  neighborhood  of  i 
spring,  where  the  purest  of  living  walci 
was  111  ways  to  be  had  in  plenty,  and  it  is 
well  know.;  that  the  Hollanders  were 
very  partial  to  low  lauds.  It  is  quite 
certain  then  that  i'oter  sen  cted  one  ol 
two  places  for  a  homestead,  either  the 
spot  by  the  splendid  spring  ofwatei 
which  bubbled  forth  among  the  trees 
where  J.  J.  WicUhani's  house  now  stands 
on  Spring  street,  or  by  the  spring  which 
^united  from   the   declivity   near   when 


the  old   fkrni  house   of  the  late   AmoBl 
Vliinson  now  stands   owned   by  Evi   A.j 
VVdlson  on  Hamburg  avenue.     It  is  very  1 
probable  that  the  Amos  Munsou   spring  I 
was    the    place   because  it    fronted  tin  j 
Papakating  meadows  so  nicely,   and   he-  ' 
cause    that    spring    was    the    IuilianV  : 
favorite.      Their   village,    the  ruins     of  I 
which  were  once  to  be  seen   on   the  hill 
by    where     Prof.    Seeley's    house    now 
stands,   obtained    its     supply   of   water  j 
from  this  spring,  naturally  as  most   cou-  j 
veuient.       Surveyor    James   W.    MeCo) 
thinks    that   this   was   the    place   Petei 
selected,  from   the   surveys   which   have j 
been  handed  down      As  a  matter  of  fact  , 
his  tract  of  land  embraced   all  the   land 
now  included  in  Deekertown,  as  will  ap- 
pear later  on      Having  made   his   selec- 
tion, he  then   undoubtedly    awaited    the 
time  of  his   marriage   before   beginning 
a  dwelling   house.      His   marriage   took 
place  in  Ulster  Comity,  as  no   record   of  I 
it  can  be   found   in   the   lecords   of   the 
Minisiuk  Valley,  and  the  exact  date  can- 
not be  found.     His  wife's  maiden  name 
was  Lecentje  Osterhout.     Her  family  re-, 
sided  in  Kingston  in  1695j  wo   know   be- 
cause their  residence   is  so  given   upon 
the  church  records  there     when  Dirck 
Westbrook  married  his  first    wife   Cith- 
erina  Osterhout  Aug.  '25th,  1C95.  Edsall, 
in  his  Centennial  address  fixed  the  date 
of  thei*  coming  to  Deekertown   at  1734, 
and  Canouse  in  his  Historical  sermon,  at 
1740.     But  the  first  of  their  children   to 
appear  upon  the  baptisimal  records  was 
in   173G,   and  there   was    probably   one 
born  before  that  as  will  hereafter  appear. 
His    marriage   may   with    propriety   he 
placed   at  or  immediately  before   1732, 
when  he  arrived   at   the  age  of  21  years. 
Then  they   very   likely  came    the  same 
year  to  settle  upon  their  new  homestead. 
Ah  it  was  some  distance   to   Mackhacka- 
meck  church,  the  child  baptised  in  1730, 
may  have  been  anywheres   from   a  few  | 
weeks  to  three  or  four  years  old. 

It  was  the  custom  then  for  n  new 
comer  in  a  neighborhood  to  make  a 
frolic,  or  "Bee,"  as  it  was  called  in  build- 
a   log    house,   and  very  possibly   when 


I  Petrna   and  Tjpcenfje  came,    they  may 

(have  ht»il  the  assistance  of  a  few  neigh- 
bors in  cutting,  hauling,  preparing  and 
I  putting  up  their  log  dwelling.  The 
only  neighbors  who  we  can  think  of  who 
could  come  to  that  "Bee,"  were  Stephen 
and     William   Titsworth   ot  the     Clove; 

|  John  Willson,   the   ancestor  of  Evi   A. 

I  Will* m,  who  probably  then  resided 
where  Evi  VaudrutV  now  resides,  a  West- 
brook  who  then  lived  at  Woodburn,  and* 

.  perhaps  Bome  of  the  Beemer,  Coyken . 
dall  and  Middaugh   families  who  lived 

,  near  Beemerville  and  Libertyville. 
Whether  they  helped,  or  did  not  help,  in 
the  erection  of  that  historic  dwelling  is 
merely  conjecture.  Certain  it  is  how- 
ever that  Petrus  and  Lecentje,  now  call- 
ed in  our  outrageous  English  tongue, 
Peter  and  Magdaleua,  were  domiciled 
here  shortly  after  1730.  There  were  a 
few  straggling  Indians  resident  in  the 
neighborhood,  but  they  had  then  no 
grievance  against  the  whites  and  found 
no  fault  with  the  land  taken  up  by  the 
latter  because  the  Great  Spirit  they 
were  taught  by  the  law  of  nature,  "Which 
was  visible  everywhere,  had  given  it  to 
all  men  alike  and  it  was  for  the  common 
use  of  all.  Here  then  we  bid  good  night 
to  Peter  and  Magdalena,  as  they  may  be 
imagined  sitting  at  the  door  of  their  hum- 
ble cabin  by  the  ever  Mowing  spring, 
gazing  out  through  the  gathering  shad- 
ows of  nightfall  over  the  Papakating 
swamps,  whence  came  the  bark  of  the 
wolf  and  the  panther's  scream. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PETER  AND  MAGDALENA  DECKER'S  D\UOH- 

TER3,     HANNAH,      MARIA,     CATnEKINA, 

ANNETJE  AND  HEEECA,  AND  THEIR 

DESCENDANTS.      WAS  THERE 

A  MART  ? 

In  due  time  children  came  to  bless 
the  home  of  Peter  and  Magdalena  Deck- 
er. The  eldest  was  named  Hannah,  as 
we  are  assured  by  her  descendants,  Mrs. 
Bross,  of  Sparrowbush.  and  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Shorter,  of  Deckertown.  Her 
name  does  not  appear  upon  the  bap- 
tismal records,  but  it  is  ot  importance 
becauso  she  was  the  tirst  white  child 
born  in  Deckertown.  Mrs.  Shorter,  at- 
tended Hannah's  funeral  where  Thomas 
Armstrong's  farm  house  now  stands  in 


Wantage,  and  saw  her  lying  in  US* 
coffin.  She  is  undoubtedly  the  mil; 
person  living  who  did  no.  Hannah  a! 
thai  time  was  it  very  old  ponton,  mid 
Mrs.  Shorter  a  girl  oi  live  ot  hi*  year* 
Mrs.  Shorter  recollects  that  uilinomna 
acquaintances,  always  called  Hio  '.:J 
lady,  who  was  a  great  social  favorite, 
"Aunt  Hannah."  This  fact  conviii(\n 
us  that  the  tradition  that  tlipcldi  «t  •  d<] 
of  Peter  was  a  mute  is  erroneous.  The 
funeral  spokeu  of  was  about  1-.J'.  ;.,•- 
curding  to  Mrs.  Snorter's  recollection, 
;  and  the  funeral  sermon  was  preached 
I  by  PlOv.  Edward  Allen. 

There  is  an  old  tradition  that  the   tir>t 
I  white  child  born  in  Wantage   was   l>,.rn 
i  in  the  shade  of  an   oak   tree,   before  a 
house    had   been   erected.      Rov.    Prior 
Kanouse   alludes    to    it    in    his  serama 
j  preached  at  Beemerville  in  1RJ4.     There 
[had  been  children  born  in  other  parts  of 
I  the  township,  as   we   have  seen,    before 
•  Peter  settled  Deckertown,  consequently 
I  the  tradition  cannot  allude   to   Hannah. 
Of  the  early   educational   advantages 
of    which   Hannah    availed  herself,   we 
know  little.     No  schools  were    (■    iblis! 
ed  in  the  neighborhood  of  her  youthful 
home;  there  were  no  newspapers  and   no 
postortiees.      From    the    time  she   Erst 
;  played  about  the  logcabin  door,  to  the 
i  time  of  her  marriage  she   probably  saw 
no  books,  unless  it  might  be  a  bible,  or 
'  a  simple  primer.     It   may   well   lie   sup- 
posed that  opportunities   for   social   en- 
joyment were  lew  outside  of   the   I:  mie 
circle.     Yet  a  wooer  came   for   Hannah, 
and  they  were  married  after  an  acquaint- 
ance the  previous  duration   of   which  is 
unknown.    They  were  married   by    Rev. 
Thomas  liomeyn,  the  pastor    of     Mack- 
hackameck  church.    The  following  is  a 
copy  of  the  record  made   in  the  chiiroli 
books  by  the  minister : 

"Married,   by   Kev.   Thomas   Kumeyn 
Nov.    19th,  17C2,   Abrani    Cole   born   in 
Northampton,  dwelling  in    Wantage,  to 
Hannah   Docker  born   and  residing   in] 
Wantage." 
She  must  have  been  at  this  time  u'ooutj 


"WTor  27 years  oTage. Hi eaffiiBPT>efr  g'tlic ''  Btuu'iea'  medicine.  ™H&,rgfaaTia{eJT' 
eldest  child  she  must  bave  been  born  as  physician.  At  the  time  he  concluded 
early  as  17'ut  or  17:s.",  for  the  baptism  of  his  studies  with  Mr.  Styles  he  Lad  no 
Maria  is  recorded  in  17io.  JosiahWick-  funds  to  pay  for  his  tuition  and  Mr. 
ham  in  his  recollections  has  it  that  Mary  Styles  accepted  his  promise  to  pay.  He 
married   Abram   Cole.      I  can    tlnd   no    went  to  South  America  where  he  married 

.record  of  a  daughter  of  Peter's  named  a  Spanish  lady  and  is  believed  to  be 
Mary,  and  think  perhap3  Hannah  may  still  living.  A  few  years  ago  lie  came 
have  had  a  middle  name,  which  possibly  with  his  wife  to  Deckertown  and  sought 
was  Mary,  and  that  thus  the  one  Mr.  ,  Mr.  Styles'  people  and  paid  the  old 
Wickham  speaks  of  was  one  and  the  tuition  bill.  His  brother  Moses  mnrned 
same  with  Hannah.  Her  husband  dwelt  a  lady  in  New  York  State  and  went  to 
in  Wantage  at  the  time  he  married  Minnesota.  Their  brother  Harrison 
her  although  from  Northampton,  Bucks  married  the  widow  Raymond,  of  New- 
Co.,  Pa.,  and  thus  appears  to  have  been  j  ton  where  they  kept  the  Fountain  House 
of  a  different  family  from  the  Cole  farm-  j  till  he  died.  She  is  still  living. 
ly  who  are  by  intermarriage  related  to  j  of  James  J.,  rod  of  Joseph  Cole  and 
almost  all  the  ancient  families  of  the  i  Margaret  Jackson,  we  have  no  informa- 
Minisink  region.  The  farm  upon  which  I  tion.  Of  their  daughter  Hannah  Maria, 
Abram   and  Hannah  settled    embractd  i  a)i  we  know  is  that  she  married   Andrew 


the  present  Thomas  Armstrong  farm, 
the  William  DeWitt  farm  in  Cooper's 
Glen,  the  Samuel  Beemer  farm  and 
other  tracts. 

The  children  of  Abram  Cole  and  Han- 
nah Decker  were  Joseph,  Muses,  Peter, 
Hester  and  Eleanor.  Of  them,  Moses, 
Peter  and  Hester  lived  to  old  age  aud 
died  unmarried. 

Joseph,  the  eldest  who  lived  on  what 
is  now  the  Samuel  Beemer  farni.married 


Decker  son  of  James  Decker,  of  Mini- 
sink,  and  went  west.  Of  Joseph  and 
Margaret's  son  Samuel,  it  is  known  that 
he  married  Miss  Cole.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Gideon  Cole  by  his  first  wife. 
Samuel  by  her  had  three  sons  and  two 
daughters.  One  of  those  sons  is  George 
Pierce  Cole,  who  now  resides  in  Pecker- 
town,  and  one  of  the  daughters  is  Mrs. 
L.  C.  Bross  who  resides  in  Sparrow- 
bush,  N  Y.  The  above  named  Gideon 
Margaret  Jackson.  Their  children  were  j  ^':]'"<  nft-r  uis  firet  wife'B  deatlh  whose 
Anna,  Abram  Jr.,  James  J.,  Hannah  I  n;lne  """'■  *>  n,t  now  recall,  married 
Maria,  Eleanor  2nd,  Samuel.  Of  them  !  Eleanor  2nd.  a  sister  of  Samuel  Cole 
Anna  married  John  Morrison  and  theyiabove,1Emed-  B-7  this  secon<i  wife  he 
had  three  children:  Adelaide,  who  died]  had  one  child,  Hannah.  She  married 
iu. infancy,  Sarah  who  married  Henry  '  Jobu  Crawford  and  they  had  one  child, 
Tryon  of  Sullivan  ConDtj  where  they  j  Eat«r  who  married  Sid  Eutan,  and  lives 
went  to  reside,  nnd  Margaret,  born  June]  in  Beemerville.  This  Gideon  Colo  was 
4th,  1815,  who  married  Andrew  Shorter.  |  a  descendant  of  a  different  branch  of 
'.''ho  latter  died  in  Deckertown  some! tne  dole  family.  After  Abram  Cole,  Sr's. 
three  years  ago,  and  Margaret  his  widow  death  he  became  possessed  of  what  is 
who  resides  with  her  daughter,  Eliza  J„  now  the  William  DeWitt  farm  in  Coop- 
in  Deckertown,  is  therefore  a  direct  de-  er's  Glen,  where  he  lived.  Joseph  Cole, 
seeiidaut  of  Peter  Decker's  eldest  daugh-  first  abaye  mentioned,  after  his  father 
ter.  The  eldest  son  of  Joseph  and  Mar-  Abram's  death  became  owner  of  the 
garet  Jackson  Cole,  Abram  Jr.,  married  Samuel- Beemet  farm  where  he  lived, 
a  lady  named  Cole,  believed  to  be  of  the  Of  Eleanor  1st,  in  German  her  name 
Miuisink  Cede  family.  They  had  three  was  recorded  Lanchia,  daughter  of 
boiib,  James  L.,  Moses  aud  Harrison. :  Abram  and  Hannah  Cede,  the  records 
3a.au  a  I,  ,  was  educated  at  Styles'  Mt.  show  that  she -married  John  Brink,  bora 
I'*  tireineiit    Seminary    and     afterwards  Sept.  Ith,  1770,  son  of  James  Brink   and  I 


Roiinna  Rossufernris"  who  came"  from 
Pike  County,  Pa.,  and  settled  inSar.dys- 
tou  Township  in  this  county  about  17i>0. 
Fie,  John,  lived  aud  died  (Dec.  17th, 
1842)  cm  the  farm  known  as  the  Brink 
Homestead.  His  wife  Eleanor  died,  at 
what  date  we  know  not,  and  he  theu 
married  f>r  a  second  wife  Nancy   Drake. 

!  His  son  William  Brink,  born  April  11th, 

)  1780  presumably  by  his  wife  Eleanor 
married  for  a  first  wife  Anna   Haggerty 

|  and  she  dying  he  married  for  a  second 
wife  Laura  O.  Newman,  born  July  15th, 
I7!)9.  He  died  April  12th,  1853,  and  we 
believe  his  wid;>w  is  still  living  in  Mil- 
ford,  Pa.  Thomas,  his  son  by  his  last 
wife  resides  in  Port  Jervis.  Mrs.  Frank 
Royoe,  a  daughter  by  his  first  wife  now 
(or  lately)  resided  iu  Port  Jervis. 

The  second  child  of  Peter  and  Mag- 
daleua  Hooker,  was  a  daughter  and  is 
recorded  in  ,  the  baptismal  records  of 
Mackhackahieek  church,  born  May  18th, 
173G,  and  is  the  one  whom  we  think  Mr 

.  Wickharn  says  was  a  mute,  although  he 
says  the  mute  was  tho  eldest.  Upon 
this  point  ho.rever  the  recollections  of 
ESannah's  deeaeud  .r.ts  supported  by  cor- 
roborative facts  are  so  plain  that  we  Ce  si 
sure  we  have  correctly  given  the  genea- 
logy. Tins  daughter  was  named  Maria. 
There  are  no  records  of  her  having  but 
one  child,  a  son  named  John.  He  settle  1 
on  what  is  now  culled  the  lower  road  in 
War.tge      between      Dicker  town     and 

'  Duiouville,  on  the  farm  owned  at  present 
by  Mrs.  Samuel  Cunudler.  He  was  born 
•  n  175  i,  and  died  in  Feb.  1803.  Mr. 
iVickham  says  he  was  the  grandfather 
>f  Mrs.  Rachel  C-  Buckley,  of  Tort 
Jervis.  If  we  mistake  not  he  was  buried 
in  the  Slausou  cemetery  iu  Wantage 
and  his  tombstone  bears  tlie  following 
inscription': 

"John  Decker  died  in  Feb.  1S03,  aged 
14  years." 

*  My  toad  a  i,l  stay  is  took  nwar, 
And  lam  l-f t  ol.me. 


My  Imslial'.ri  iIhi 
I->  tool;  away 


. 


■  bui  two  datmolers  ••  illi  me  U-ft. 
,-s,,rr  htm  liard  to  hear. 


"     rj  "ertSWnVflrBSrs  a"«  tierMT  •*-*+vr*tmm 

An  Inow  of  foih^rdea-.'- 
The  third  cliild  of  Peter  mid  Uned* 
Sena  Decker  was  Catherina,  bantiHed 
May  31st,  1738.  S!ie  married  a  German 
named  Fredrick  Havue  about  1168.  He 
was  u  it  connected  witli  the  Hair..  -  rami. 
Iy  at  Hamburgh,  they  being  «,f  fctoglmh 
extraction,  and  having  emigrated  from 
England.  The  difference  in  the  way 
the  family  nam?  is  spell, >d,  alth.aich 
pronounced  alike,  luis  not  there... re 
origuatecl  in  a  whim' or  change  of  spell- 
ing, bat  is  an  original  dill'jreuee  arising 
from  a  different  nationality.  Frederick 
and  Catheriua  Hayne,  after  marriage 
S3ttled  upon  a  farm  at  Lewisbnrg,  which 
if  we  are  correctly  informed  is  now 
owned  by  Mrs.  William  McCoy.  They 
bath  lived  and  died  there.  We  have 
only  gleaned  information  as  to  one  of 
their  sons,  Peter.  Whether  they  had! 
olher  children  or  not  we  caunot  say. i 
Peter  H.iyne  married  Martha  Lewis,  of  j 
Basktngridge  Aug.  5th.  1781.  He  lived] 
an  1  died  on  a  farm  near  the  old  home-  ! 
steal  at  Levnslmrg.  The  Megee  broth-! 
e.VH  now  own  it.  They  had  seven; 
ehairen,  Frederick,  Hulduh,  Benjami  i, 
Lydia,  Alva,  Lewis  and  Eliza.  Of  them; 
Frederick  became  a  prominent  man  in' 
Wantage  and  his  name  appears  a  unm-? 
ber  of  times  on  the  township  records. 

Huldah  married  James  Evans,  and- 
removed  out  of  the  State.  Of  Alva  and 
L-v.-is  we  have  no  record.  Eliza  married 
Evi  Martin  who  then  lived  in  Orange- 
County,  N.  Y.  Lydia  married  for  a  I'.rht. 
husband,  Jacob  Willsou,  born  May  2  ',-,1 
17G1,  sou  of  Andrew  aud  Martha  «  Forger-, 
son)  Willson,  who  lived  about  a  mile] 
northeast  of  Deckertowu.  Her  husband 
Jacob  died  soon  after  their  marriage,; 
and  she  married  for  a  second  husband' 
Manuel  Coykeudall,  of  Wantage  who 
Was  the  grandfather  of  .Simeon  M.  C 
kendall  of  Wantage  church  neighbor- 
hood. Benjamin  born  Oct.  29th.  17^1. 
married  in  181.1,  Milly  Whittaker  wh«j 
was  then  a  resident  of  Unionville,  N.  V. 
Benjamin  set  up  a  harness  making  ea 
tablishment  in  Unionville   aud   they 


re-_ 


-  led  there.  ~  Ang.  witti,  kcjo  bis  wife 
died,  ami  bo  afterwards  married  her 
-•■  tor  CI  arlotte.  The  tatter's  brother, 
Samuel,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Jnhii  1".,  ami  Jane  Adams,  of  Wantage, 
and  their  son  John  A.  Whittaker  is  the 
President  of  tlio  Farmer's  National  Bank 
'if  Deckertown  and  very  highly  esteemed 
in  his  public  and  private  life.  The  child- 
ren ot  Ban  jam  in  by  his  first  wife  were 
Marcus  S-,  Peter  and  Milly,  and  by  his 
last  wife,  Frances,  Lewis,  Henry,  Caro- 
line, Jacob  and  Martha.  His  last  wife 
Charlotte  died  Dec.  7th,  18&,  and  he 
died  Nov.  12th,  1S13.  Of  their  children 
Huron's  S.,  born  Jan.  23rd,  1816,  studied 
medicine  and  after  graduating  in  1841, 
came  to  Westtown.  In  1843  he  married. 
Amelia,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Baliuda 
Van  Fleet.  In  1810  he  came  to  Union- 
ville  aud  practised  his  profession.  His 
wife  died  Jan.  30th,  1S48.  He  then,  in 
1S49,  married  Jane  a  daughter  of  Josiah 
and  Hannah  (Adams)  Decker.  This 
Josiah  was  a  sou  of  Bowdewine  Decker, 
whoso  father  was  Josiah  Decker,  Sr., 
a  son  of  Peter  and  Magdalena.  The 
children  of  Dr.  Marcus  S.  Haync  and 
Jane  Decker,  were  Marcus  P.,  who  went 
west  and  others  deceased  unmarried. 
His  wife  Jane  died  July  ICth,  1856,  and 
ho  afterwards  married,  Jan.  12th,  1858, 
Eliza  A.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Jane 
Christie  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
Samuel  Christie  Hayne,  who  resides  in 
Unionville.  Dr.  Hayne  died  some  ten 
years  since. 

Peter  Hayne,  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Milly,  went  to  Goshen,  N.  Y.,  and  his 
sister  married  H.  B.  Lee  and  went  to 
j  Western  New  York. 

Frances  Hayne  daughter  of  Benjamin 
and  Milly,  married  Albert  W.  VanFleet, 
■:i  Cmonville,  her  sister  Caroline  married 
i  lliver  W.  Cook,  of  Passaic,  and  their 
si^tLT  .Martha  married  J.  B.  Henderbhot 
now  of  Newton. 

To  go  back  again;  Peter  and  Magda- 
lena Decker  had  a  daughter  Annetje 
hup  titled  Jon  20th,  1745  and  a  daughter 
rU'leca  June  21st,  1747,  of  whom  we  find 
u.j  further  records.    They  may  not  have 


lived"  to  adult  years."  If  they  diJ'anS'' 
left  heirs  this  humble  work  of  ours  may 
help  some  of  their  descendants;  if  living-, 
to  forward  the  genealogies  of  their 
families  to  us  or  to  make  them  known. 
We  are  well  aware  that  however  pains- 
taking one  may  be  in  collecting  statistics, 
records  and  traditions,  some  error  will 
creep  in,  but  we  trust  the  tinder 
will  not  find  fault  with  us,  but  will  thank 
us  just  a  little  for  getting  them  in  a 
shape  that  will  make  correction  easy. 
Next  week  we  will  take  up  the  subject 
of  Peter  and  Magdalena's  sons. 


CHAPTEB  VII. 

PETER  AND  MAGDALENA   DECKER'S    SONS, 

JOSIAH,  MARTINCS,    SAMUEL,    TOPE 

AND  RICK. 

Josiah,  born  June  17th,  1740,  -was  the 
first  born  of  Peter's  sons.  He  grew  to 
be  an  intelligent  and  enterprising  man. 

He   married    Sarah  and  they 

settled   upon  lands  in  the  Clove  nowj 
owned  by  Hon.  Jacob   Swartwout.      He  j 
built  the  grist  mill  near  there  which  is  ' 
still  known  as  Decker's  Mills.      He  also  i 
erected   a  saw   mill   there,  and  had  a 
clover    mill    for    cleaning  clover  seed, ; , 
which  the  farmers  then  all  raised  upon  j 
their  own   farms.      Mr.    Wickham  says  j 
that  in  Josiah's  time  a  few  Indians  lurk-  j 
ed  about  the  mountains   north  of  Cole-  j 
ville,  and  that  on   one  occasion  he  was. 
fired  at  by  them  and  wouuded  in  the  leg 
by  a  bullet,  the  scars  of  which  he  carried 
to  his  grave. 

The  incident  was  furnished  by  Wm. 
Rankin  to  Barbier  ft  Howe's  history  as  _ 
follows :  "Mr.  Decker  had  gone  out 
into  a  field  which  lay  some  distance . 
from  his  house  on  elevated  ground.  Ere  ' 
he  was  aware,  two  Indians  were  stealthi- 
ly creeping  around  him,  intending  to 
intercept  his  retreat  homeward  and  to 
capture  him.  On  his  making  an  at- 
tempt to  escape,  both  Indians  tired  at 
him,  missing  him,  (except  the  wound 
above  mentioned.)  Decker  ran  for  home 
and  both  Indians  at  his  heels.  His  fami- 


ly  saw  Ihem  coining  but  did  not  know 
tho  eauso.  The  oldest  boy  was  qmck  to 
grasp  the  situation.  Ht>  seized  a  mus- 
ket, and  exclaiming  "that's  dad!"  ran 
out  towards  them  and  hid  behind  an 
apple  tree.  One  of  the  Indians  was  then 
almost  within  grasp  of  Decker.  As  they 
came  up  the  boy  took  aim  at  the  Indian 
and  pulled  the  trigger,  but  the  gun 
snapped.  Hearing  it  the  Indian  stop- 
ped suddenly,  and  then  turned  and  tied.' 
That  wan  in  July  1779  just  before  the 
Miuisink  Battle.  He  had  seven  child- 
ren, Bowdewine,  Abraham,  William, 
Simon,  Femetje,  Margaret,  and  Lanchia. 
Bowdewine  married  May  31st,  1787 
Naomi  Weetbrook,  daughter  of  Richard 
Westbrook  born  June  14th,  1772.  She 
died  April  29th,  1825.  He  re-married 
June  8th,  1826  Rebecca  VanSickle,  born 
May  1st  1768  and  died  Sept.  11th,  1*45. 
By  Naomi  he  had  children;  Rich- 
ard, born  Aug.  15th,  1788,  Josiah  Jr., 
born  April  15th,  1792,  Mary,  bom  Aug. 
30th.  1790,  Hannah,  born  Feb.  5th,  1794, 
Sarah,  born  Oct.  10th,  1796,  Frederick, 
born  May  16th.  1802,  and  John  B.,  born 
Nov.  16th,  1803.  Bowdewine  died  in 
1857  in  his 94th  year.  He  carried  on  in 
his  lifetime  the  improvements  which  hi, 
father  designed,  upon  a  large  scale,  kept 
a  store  and  built  a  plaster  mill,  the  ore 
for  which  was  hauled  by  teams  from 
Newburgh,  and  Mr.  Swartwout  informs 
us  that  this  year.'in  building  hie  new 
barns,  he  unearthed  foundations  and 
works  that  would  cost  a  large  fortune  to 
construct  in  these  days.  Of  his  son 
Richard  we  have  no  data.  Joshiah  Jr., 
married  Hannah  Adams,  of  Wantage. 
They  had  a  daughter,  Jane,  who  mar- 
ried Dr.  Marcus  S.  Hayne,  of  Fnion- 
ville  as  noted  in  Chap.  vi.  We  have  n<> 
memoranda  of  the  other  children  of 
Bowdewine  excepting  John  B.,  the 
youngest  son.  Ha  married  April  24, 
1824,  Sarah,  second  daughter  of  William 
Decker,  who  if  we  mistake  not  was  his 
cousin.  They  had  eight  children,  of 
whom  but  one  has  deacendents  living, 
viz.,  Emma  R.  who  married  Judson  J. 
Wiokham  and  is  living  in  Deckertown.  ] 


Sarah,  wife  of  John  B.  dying,  he  mar-' 
ried  for  a  second  wife,  Charity  It.  Kil-' 
patrick,  March  20th.,  1855.  She  Tu; 
born  May  12th.,  1824,  and  died  March1 
15th..  186S.  By  hia  secoud  wi.V,  J,.hnj 
B.  had  one  child,  a  daughter,  Liltie, 
who  married  Hon.  Jacob  Swartwout,! 
and  who  now  resides  on  tho  uouieetrtd 
[lands  of  the  elder  Josiah.      AbrnuoraJ 

son  of  the  elder  Josiah  married . '. 

They  had  but  one  child,  a    daughter. 
William  who  died  Jan.- 3rd.,   INifi,   aged) 
74  years,  4  months,   3   days,  sou   of   thai 
elder    Josiah,    had    married    Elizabeth 
Dugan,  and  had  four  sons;  John  1>.,  who 
died  Dec.  20,  1854,  aged  54  years,  1   mo,  I 
20d„  Richard,  Alanson,  and   Oscar,  and 
five  daughters;  Maria;   Sarah   who  niar-i 
ried  John  B.  Decker;  Enieline;  Ellen  and  ' 
Eliza.     His  wife  Elizabeth  died  in   1KW.J 
aged  50  years.     They  are  interred  in  the- 
old  Clove  Cemetery.     Of  the  foregoing 
sons  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Decker,  j 
Richard,  born  Dec.  9th.,  1S09,  married  | 
at  the  Clove  where  he    then    resided    in 
1831.  Julia  Decker.     Julia  wan  the   wid- 
ow of  Frederick  Decker,  son  of  the  elder] 
Bowdewine.    Frederick  had  died  soon 
after  marriage,  it  would  appear.      it  in 
also  on  record  that  Julia's  maiden  name 
was  Decker.    She  was   born  in   Yerm.n  1 
township,    July   20th.,    1803.     Richard! 
and  Julia  had  three  children,  John  Har- , 
mon  born  April  9th.,  1831,  died   Sept    1. 
1878;  Bowdewine,  born  Oct.  2,  1^4:1,  died 
July  1st.,  1870;  and   Harriet,   bom    Feb. 
2nd.,  1835,  died  Deo.   11th.,   1841.    After- 
Julia's  death  Richard  married  for  n  sec-: 
ond  wife  Margaret  Wickhaiu,   of    New 
Hampton,  in    Orange    County,    N".    Y.. 
born  July  19th.,  1835,  died  iu  1888.     l  )t  \ 
his  first  wife's    children  John  Haraionj 
married  Elsie  Fullerton,  of  Wawayanda, 
Orange  Co.,    N.    Y.    in    October,    lV.l. 
They   had  eight   children;   William    1". 
Ettie,  Ida,  Harriet,  Abraham  L.,    May, 
Edward  M.,  and  Richard.     Of  the   f<  're- 
going,  Edward  M.  resides  at   89     High- 
land Ave.,   Middletown,    N.    Y.      Their 
ancestral  home  was  changed  from   the 
Clove,  in  the  time  of  the  elder  Richard 
to  the  handsome  farm  lying  on  the  roadj 


I  f-om  Denton  to  Goshen.  Kt  Y. 

.Simon,  sou  of  the  elder  Josiah  Deok- 
er,  settled  near  Beemerville.  He  liad 
fourjsous,  Henry,  John,  Simon,  and  Sid- 
ney, and  one  daughter,  name  not  known. 
Of  them  his  son  John  died  in  1799,  aud 
is  buried  in  the  old  Beemerville  ceme- 
tery, lie  had  a  sou  Michael.  Michael's 
sou  Lucas  lived  near  Beeruer  church, 
and  had  sons,  John  who  now  lives  in 
East  Deckertown,  Andrew  living  at  An- 
drew Boy's,  Peter  living  near  the  Flaius, 
and  a  daughter  who  married  Richard 
Hill,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Liberty  - 
ville,  in  Wantage. 

Fametje;  eldest  daughter  of  the  elder 
Josiah  Decker,  married  Ephraim  Kil- 
patriek.  Their  son,  Simon,  married 
Julia  Wickham,  sister  to  Seth  Wickham, 


sides  in  Deckertown,  and  is  perliaps'th'?. 
only  peusiouer  of  the   war  of  1812  now 
living  in  Susses  County. 

We  will  now  go  back  to  the  next  eldest 
son  of  Peter  and  Magdalena.    His  name 
was  Martmus  aud  he  was  probably  born 
about  1T4-,  his  name   not  appearing  on 
the  baptismal  records.     We  are  not   in- 
formed as  to  whom  he  married.      They 
went  back  over  the   mountain   aud   set-  I 
tied  on   the  Hats  northwest  of  where  his 
grandparents     Johanuis  'and     Heleea 
Decker  lived  aud  died,  near  what  is  now  j 
Port  Jervis.    Mr.  Wickham  says  it   was  j 
where    the  old    stone  house  stauds  in 
Germantown.     He  had   two  sons,   John  i 
bora  March  20th,  17(i.">,  died  in  1813,  and  I 
Richard  who  went  west.     John  who  was  I 
more  generally   known   by  his   German  , 


daughters  married  Abiah  Wilson,  of 
near  Deckertown.  She  now  lives  with 
her  son  Simon  on  the  old  homestead, 
which  is  about  a  half  mile  northeast  of 
town.      The  son  of   Simon   and    Julia 


hereafter     mentioned.      One    of     their     neighbors  as  "Hnus"  married  for  a  tirst 


wife  Sarah  Lambert  who  died  Feb.  27th, 
lSlfi  aged  59  years,  11  months.  They 
are  interred  in  the  old  Clove  Cemetery, 
as  is  also  their  son  Martin  who  died  May 
8th,  1886  aged  24   years,   5  months   and 


Ivilpatrick  was  Judson,  who  rose  to  re-  !  1!'  days.  Upon  the  death  of  his  wife 
nown  during  the  late  civil  war.  He  was  9  Sirah,  John  married  for  a  second  wife 
promoted  to  a  Generalship,  and  after  !  Wirry  TurtrWr.  She  was  a  widow  with 
the  war  won  distinction  as  a  lecturer,  n  eight  children.  Her  maiden  name  had 
Laneuia.  youngest  daughter  of  the  a  been  Mary  Shorter.  John  at  the  time 
ler  Josiah   Decker,   married    Robert  1  ot   his  marriage  to  her  had  seveuteen 


Evans,  and  settled  in  Deckertown,  near 
where  Lafayette  Fuller's  Mill    now    is. 
Margaret,  second  daughter  of  the  eld- 
er Josiah   Decker,   married   Seth   Wick- 
ham who  settled    on   a   farm    between 
Port  Jervis  and  Coleville,  which   we   are 
informed  was  lately  or  is  now  owned   by 
H.  Clark.    One  of  their  sons  is  Josiah 
D.  Wickham  now  living  in    Port  Jervis. 
Their    daughter  Lydia,    married    first, 
William    Cole    by  whom  she  had  two 
children;  William  H.  Cole,  Sr.,  who  now 
resides  in  Deckertown,  and   a  daughter 
Jane,  who  married  Zephnmah  Swarts. 
The  latter  died  about   live  years  since, 
aud  his  widow  now   resides   in   Decker- 
town.      Lydia    above   named   after   the 
,  death    of  her    husband,   William   Cole, 
j  married  Peter  A.  Hoyt  who  was  a  veter- 
'  an  of  the  war  of  1812.     He  has  been  now 
Ulead,   for  Bonie  years.      His   widow   re- 


children  by  his   first   wife   living.      The, 
united    family    consisted     therefore    of 
twenty-five  children  with  which  they  be- 
gan housekeeping.     They  had  no  more  I 
children       His  second   wife  died   Feb. 
I  14th  ISfil  aged  78  years,  1  month,  aud   is 
interred  iu  the  cemetery   near  Wnntage  I 
church.       The    children     of    John   aud 
Sarah  were  Esther,  born  Nov.  5th,   1791, 
Mary  born  July   7th,   1794,   David  born 
May  26th,  1796,  Sarah   born   June  3nth,"! 
1798,  Jane  boru  Oct.  29th.  1799,  Huldah  ; 
born  March  27th.    1804,    Margaret   born 
March  20th,  1806,  John   boru  .Sept.    7th, 
1809,  Martin  born  Nov.  19th.  1811,  Eliza- 
beth born  Feb.  21st,  1812,  Hannah  Maria 
born  June  25th,    1814,  Peter  born  Jan. 
18th,  1818,  Abraham  .1.,  born  March  28th 
1819,  who  for   his   second   wife   married 
Louiso  DeWitt  who  now  lives  in  James- 
burg,  N.  J.,  Sarah  born   Dec.  Sth,   1820, 


who  mamea  HE  Buchanan  nnd  .lied  in 
189S,  Margaret  2nd  born  Jan.  7th,  1H23 
who  married  William  McManus,  their 
son  Decker  MeManns  now  being  a  resi- 
dent of  Deckertown,  Jane  liom  March 
5tb,  1825  who  married  11.  B.  Shaw  and 
now  lives  near  Wantage  church,  and 
Coe  born  March  9tb,  1827  whose  widow 
afterwards  married  — —  Shimer,  and 
now  lives  iu  Middletown.  Mrs.  Shaw 
is  the  last  surviving  oueof  the  cliildren. 

When  Brant  invaded  -Minisink  in 
July  177'J,  Martinus,  with  his  son  John 
who  was  at  that  time  fifteen  years  old, 
hid  themselves  upon  the  side  of  the 
mountain.  They  saw  the  Indians  burn 
their  grain  which  was  in  the  shock  and 
also  their  barn.  Mrs.  Shaw  has  beard 
her  father  tell  the  story  often.  Martiuus 
joined  the  troopH  from  Goshen  and  Ham- 
burg next  day  and  took  pait  in  the  battle 
of  Minisink.  He  swam  the  river  and  es- 
caped. His  son  John  settled  on  the 
farm  in  Wantage  lately  owned  by  his 
son  Abraham  J.  The  latter's  son  by  his 
first  wife,  John  W.  Decker,  now  lives  on 
Hamburgh  Aveuue  in  East  Deckertowu.  j 

To  go  back  again;  Saranel,  the  third  I 
eldest  son  of  Peter  aud  Magdaleua,  was 
born  Sept.  27th,  17-i'J.  We  have  found  i 
no  record  as  to  dates  of  his  marriage  or  ] 
death.  He  married  and  settled  near  j 
where  the  Loomis  homestead  now  is  in 
Deckertnwn,  and  was  an  energetio  busi- 
ness man.  He  built  the  first  mill  iu  i 
Deckertown  which  stood  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Clove  creek  opposite  where 
the  condensery  now  stands.  The  dam 
for  this  mill  is  still  standing  aud  formB 
the  elevated  highway  leading  out  of 
town  towards  Xewton  where  it  crosses 
the  llats.  This  dam  formed  a  large  pond 
of  water  which  occupied  the  valley  where 
J.  Linn  Quick's  house  now  stands.  The 
mill  was  afterwards  rebuilt  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  creek,  and  the  Fall  of  water 
not  being  sullicieut  for  an  overshot 
wheel,  a  new  pond  was  formed  farther 
np  the  stream  and  the  old  pond  drained 
by  openiug  the  dam,  which  opening  is 
now  spanned  by  the  Newton  Ave  bridge. 
Samuel  also  built  a  hotel,  the  second 
one  in  Deckertowu,  where  DeCamp's 
.hotel  now  stands  and  owned  the  upper 


mill.  Mrs.  Lottie  Coin  who  rflrirtew  t>rr 
Mill  street  remembers  that  after  it  was! 

completed,  it  with  Mr.  Vibbert's  hotel  on. 
the  opposite-corner  where  the  Dickson 
block  now  stands,  were  then  the  only 
two  frame  buildings  in  the  village,  all 
the  others  being  of  logs.  This  wax 
about  1890,  Mrs.  Cole  now  being  in  her 
87  yeai.  He,  Samuel,  had  four  f.u*  and 
three  daughters:  Peter. I.,  Siiniuel  Jr. 
Stephen,  Dick,  Hannah  and  Mary,  who 
married  Jonathan  Coykendall,  Sr.',  l'.t,r. 
and  Samuel,  Jr.  Stephen  settled  ui 
Deckertown.  Dick  or  Richard  went 
west.  Hannah  born  .May  9th,  1771  >.  ... 
ried  Moses  Coykendall  whose  .].  -  .  -.  |. 
ants  have  been  traced  in  chapters  one 
and  two.  Peter,  Jr.,  for  a  tune  kept 
hotel  in  the  Vibbert  house.  Mr.  Wii  k- 
ham  says  be  was  the  (list  man  to  have 
the  Low  Dutch  Church  iu  Deckertown 
changed  to  Presbyterian.  If  by  this  he 
means  the  old  church  formerly  on  the 
school  house  hill,  it  supplies  a  missing' 
link  of  history,  of  which  more  hereafter. 
Peter's  son,  Mark  Decker  is  or  was  form- 
erly a  resident  of  Port  Jervis,  Peter,  Jr., 
then  moved  west  and  we  have  no  further 
trace  of  him.  Samuel  Jr.,  we  have  no 
information  of.  Stephen  settled  as  near 
as  ?an  be  determined  near  where  the 
old  raceway  to  the  mill  is,  about  in  the 
neighborhood  of  where  Mrs.  Cov  keti- 
dall's  house  now  stands.  The  laud  ex- 
terding  to  where  the  Dickson  and  Avers 
bmk  blocks  now  are,  was,  ou  tic  hi  ;l  i 
ground,  once  a  fertile  piece  of  me  id  ■  ■< 
land  and  was  called  in  early  surveys  of 
the  place,  "Decker's  meadow."  Stephen 
married  Elizabeth  Middaugh.  Their 
children  were  Halsey,  John  S-,  Bcnj:i- 
miu,  Richard,  Huldah,  Laviua  ami 
Susan.  The  latter  died  young.  Benj. 
died  young.  John  S.,  marriedl'!i7.a'"tti 
Wells  of  Hunterdon  County.  He  built 
a  house  and  they  lived  where  J.  C.  lb  u- 
dershot  now  lives.  Her  father  was  a  sea 
captain  and -lost  his  life  on  the  water. 
Her  mother  was  a  Mauuing  f rom  Plain- 
field  and  had  boeu  married  previously  to 

Dunn  who   was   a   half   brother   to 

Mrs.  John  Boy's  grandmother.  John 
S.  and  Elizabeth  had  four  sons  and  one 
daughter:  Lewis  Ilavne,  Ulna  middle- 
name  being  for  his  uncle  Lewis  Has  i  > 
residing  on   Harrison  street;    Rlsi    . 

who  married Henderson   and   bv.  I 

at  Kerhonsen,  N.  Y  ,  now  deceased.  •*  ho 
left  one  child  now, living  iu  A\  aterbur; 
Conn.;  J.  Emerson  residing  at  herb'  ris- 
en; Walter  S.,  residing  iu  Brooklyi  .  N. 
Y.;  and  Mary  E.,  who  married  Frank  1. 
Adams  and  resides  on  Mam  street. 
Huldah,    daughter  of    Stephen     aud. 


Eli-aberh  married  T>wis  Hayne  whose  ' 
ancestral  home  u.,s  the  farm  uow  owned  . 
by  Samuel  Newman.  He  is  deceased  | 
iiiul  bis  willow  resides  in  town. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Decker,  widow  of  Joliu 
S.,    above  mentioned   resides  witli   her  | 
daughter,  Mrs.    F.    P.    Adams.      She  is  I 
unusually  intelligent  and  baa  a   remark- 
able memory  for  ber  years. 

The  fourtb  son  of  l'eter  and  Magda- 
lena  Decker  was  Yope.  He  took  tbe 
old  homestead  (tbe  Amos  Mnnson  farmi 
after  bis  father's  deatb.  He  nfterwards  , 
sold  it  to  Judge  Sayre  as  we  are  inform- 
ed by  Alpbeus  Howell,  Esq.  Indeed  it 
would  appear  that  Judge  Sayre  must 
bare  purchased  nearly  all  the  homestead 
lauds  from  the  heirs  of  l'eter  Decker, 
because  he  at  that  time  owned  and  re- 
sided upoD  what  is  now  tbe  Loomis  farm 
previously  tbe  property  of  Samuel  Deck- 
er. We  have  no  further  information 
concerning  Yope,  nor  the  fifth  sou  of 
Peter,  Kick,  who  lived  and  died  in  Deck- 
ertown. 

(Conticued  next  week) 

A  CORRECTION. 

Mrs.  Bross  of  Sparrowhush  writes  us  to  correct 
our  statement  in  chapter  vi  ns  to  Joseph  ami 
Margaret  Jackson  Cole *a  SOB  Samuel,  tin  mar 
riej  Mary  I'erker  sist-r  to  ihe  Andrew  Decker 
therein  mentioned.  They  hail  three  sons  James. 
I'hilip  and  Samuel,  and  one  daughter,  Mi's.  Lor 
ana  6.  BroSS,  of  Spar-owbush. 

Mis  Bro»s  informs  us  that  Oorge  Pierce  Cole's 
father  was  S  mmel  Cule,  but  he  waa  a  son  of 
Aurora  ami  ITrit,  ih    Decfceri  Cole. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

PETER   DECKER. 

From  what  we  have  wntten  of  Peter 
and  Magdalena  Decker's  descendants, 
and  including  the  many  other  branches 
of  the  family  tree  which  are  known  to 
exist,  but  of  which  tbe  records  are  faulty, 
it  has  been  shown  that  fully  eight-tenths 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Deckertown  are 
relatives  by  blood  or  marriage  to  the 
above  named  pioneers.  As  we  have  be- 
fore remarked,  when  this  first  couple  of 
sturdy  American  born  Hollanders  took 
up  their  abode  in  tbe  wilderness  at  this 
place,  their  names  were  pronounced,  in 
German,  Petrus  and  Lecentje  Decker. 
Of  Mrs.  Decker  we  can  find  scarcely  any 
memoranda,  even  among  tbe  generally 
ready  fields  of  tradition.  Her  family 
name  <  Isterbout, although  recurring  with 
■••iiio  frequency  upon  the  early  records 
■  i'-i.-.  not  scum  to  lead  to  any  disclosuroe 


concerning  the  early  life,  date  of  birth^ 
or  education,  of  this  historical  mother  in  | 
the  genealogical  line  of  the  Decker; 
family.  She  lived  near  Kingston  in 
Ulster  Gocmty  at  the  time  of  her  mar-; 
riage  to  Petrus  Decker  which  took  I 
place  in  Kingston  very  shortly  after  j 
1>730.  Petrus  had  been  born  in  1711,  i 
and  bis  birthplace  was  doubtless  in ) 
Kiugston,  or  near  there  because  bis  i 
father,  J«hannis  Decker,  as  we  have 
seen,  came  to  the  Titsworth  farm  by  the 
Neversink  in  1713.  After  Petrus'  mar- 
riage and  removed  to  where  Deckertown 
now  stands,  but  little  can  be  gleaned  of 
his  progress.  We  next  find  mention  of 
his  name  upon  the  aesessor's  books  when 
the  people  of  Minisink  Precinct  were 
taxed  tor  building  Goshen  jail  in  1739. 
lu  that  year  his  assessment  was  ,£l-10e, 
and  his  tax  Is.  lid.  Only  improvements 
in  lands  were  then  taxed,  so  that  we 
may  assume  that  in  the  six  or  seven 
years  he  had  resided  here  the  clearing 
made  waa  not  very  largo.  But  as  it 
comprised  all  there  was  of  Deckertown, 
the  tax,  which  in  dollars  and  cents  was 
abot  4l lets,  was  the  smallest  tax  un- 
doubtedly ever  laid  upon  the  place,  or 
that  ever  will  be  laid  upon  it. 

When  Morris  County  was  cut  up  and 
Sussex  County  organized  in  1853,  the 
dispute  between  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  claimants  to  lands  along  tie 
boundary  line  was  at  its  height.  As  we 
have  seen,  New  York  State  had  exercised 
authority  and  collected  taxes  over  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  lands  now  included 
in  New  Jersey.  The  New  Jersey  Pro- 
prietors held  that  the  boundary  line  ran 
from  the  Hudson  River  in  a  straight 
line  to  the  most  northward  branch  of 
the  Delaware  Kiver  which  would  have 
reached  Cochecton,  and  therefore  New 
Jersey  claimed  that  Port  Jervis  and 
lauds  about  it  belonged  to  New  JetHey. 
Iu  consequence  the  New.  Jersey  authori- 
ties undertook  to  assert  their  rights, 
and  there  were  lively  times  along  the 
border,  writs  of  ejectment  being  plenti- 
ful and  land  owners  awake  to  their  in- 
terests.    In  this  disturbance  we  get   a 


•"pretty  good  view  of  the  disposition  and  ; 
[  appearance  of  Petrus  Decker.  Richard 
[  Gardner,  was  employed  to  survey  the 
!  boundary  line  in  the  name  year  that 
'  Sussex  County  was  organized.  He  hnd 
for  chain  bearers  Petrus  Decker  and 
John  Herring.  On  the  2Uth  of  July  they 
had  progressed  as  far  eastward  as  Thos. 
DeKay's  settlement  in  what  is  now 
Vornon  township.  As  they  were  going 
through  a  swampy  piece  of  land,  the  two 
sons  of  DeKay,  Jacob  and  George,  sud- 
denly came  upon  them  and  thumped  \ 
Gardner  and  Herring  with  a  club  and  f 
broke  the  compass,  but  did  not  offer  to  j 
touch  Decker.  Gardner  went  before 
the  New  Jersey  Conned  and  presented 
his  affidavits  and  those  of  bis  assistants. 
Gardner  first  made  oath  that  the  De-  ; 
Kay's  struck  him  with  a  club,  and  took  j 
away  from  him  his  surveying  instru- 
ments auch  as  a  oompass,  dividers,  etc.,  j 
but,  said  he,  "not  the  least  outrage  did 
they  offer  to  Petor  Decker,  an  able  man  j 
of  4(>  years,  who  was  no  Quaker  and 
who  looked  on  the  whole  time."  John 
Herring's  affidavit  was  the  same  as 
!  Gardner's,  except  that  he  placed  Peter 
;  Docker's  age  at  42  years.  Then  followed 
the  affidavit  of  Peter  Decker.  "Peter 
Decker  aged  about  42  years,  being  duly 
sWoin  on  the  holy  Evangelists  of  Al- 
mighty God,  on  his  oath  declares  that 
he  has  several  times  heard  the  ailiirma- 
tion  aforesaid  of  John  Herring  read  to 
him,  and  verily  believes  of  the  facts 
therein  related  to  have  been  done  on  the 
20th  day  of  July  laBt,  are  true  to  the 
best  of  his  recollection,  except  the  scale 
and  dividers,  which  he,  the  deponent, 
does  not  recollect  to  have  seen  the  De- 
Kays'  take,  but  is  sure  as  to  compass, 
chain  and  bell,  and  believes  as  to  scale 
and  dividers."  Feteu  Decker. 

Sworn  in  Council  Nov.  23rd,  1753. 

Ch.  Read,  CI.  of  Council. 
From  the  foregoing  testimony  it  is 
established  that  Mr.  Deokerwaaa  large 
strongman,  because  the  two  DeKay's 
were  careful  not  to  molest  him,  although 
Gardner  seemed  to  feel  a  little  disap- 
pointed because  he  looked  on  the  whole 


time.  Thht  he~was  not  opposed  to  &. 
trial  of  strength  when  he  thought  neoe»-* 
sary,  for  Gardner  says  he  was  no  (jnakorj 
That  his  age  was  as  wo  have  Btatai] 
That  he  was  a  conscientious  man.  us  i* 
Bhown  by  the  careful  manner  in  which 
he  framed  his  testimony  as  to  what  ha 
saw  and  what  he  believed,  ami  lastly  thai 
he  was  an  intelligent  cautious  man,  be-. 
cause  he  kept  aloof  and  took  no  part  in 
the  scrap,  and  could  write  because 
he  wrote  his  name. 

October  13th  of  the  same   year  (I7MW 
the  King  issued  commissions  for  judges] 
and  instituted  a  system  of  courts  for 
Sussex  County.     Nov.  20th  of  that  year' 
the  first   court   of  Common   Picas  con- 
vened  in  Sussex  County  at  the  house  of 
Johnathan  Pettit  in  Hard  wick  township, 
i^uow    in   Warren    County.)       Jonathan 
Robeson,   Abraham   VauKampen,  John 
Anderson,  Johnathan   Pettit  and  Thos. 
Wolverton  were  the  judges.    One  of  the 
first  things  they   did  was  to  read  the 
King's   commission   to    Justices  of   the. 
Peace,    who    were     Richard    Gardner, 
Obadiah    Ayers,     Japhet    By  ram    and; 
Peter  Decker.      There  were  no  elections  ! 
for  justices.    Thus  Mr.  Decker  was   the  ■ 
first  public  official  of  any  grade  in  this! 
part  of  Wantage.     A  Justice  of  the  peace 
then  had  no  jurisdiction  over  suits  where! 
more  than  $5  was  in  dispute. 

There  is  only  one  instance  recorded  | 
of  his  judicial  action,  and  that  was  nar-  j 
rated  in  a  publication  called  the  New  j 
American  Magazine.  In  its  issue  of  j 
June  30th  1758  it  said:  "Some  davsj 
since  a  man  and  boy  travelling  along  I 
the  public  highway  in  the  said  county 
of  Sussex  were  attacked  by  the  In. liana,  j 
The  man  was  shot  dead.  The  b<  >y  wa»  ; 
surprised  but  finding  one  of  the  Indiana 
in  pursuit  of  him  he  had  presence  of 
mind,  as  the  last  refuge,  to  turn  and  lit* 
Upon  him,  and  saw  him  drop.  lh« 
other  Indian  still  pursued,  mid  the  b  ■' 
perceiving  that  his  gun  so  Retarded  hw 
flight  that  he  must  betaken  broke  it  l  i 
pieces  against  a  rock  that  it  might  m>tl 
fall  into  the  enemy's  hands,  and  made} 
his  escape  from  them.     He  then  ular.iiolj 


' 


the  people  "who  Immediately  went  ont  | 
upon  the  scout  with  guns  ami  dogs,  aud 
coming  to  the  place  where  the  boy  shut 
tbe  Indian,  they  found  a  great  deal  of 
blood,  but  not  the  body.  They  sear-died 
very  diligently  about  the  woods,  when 
at  last  one  of  the  dogs  began  barking.. 
and  going  to  8M  what  was  the  matter 
they  found  him  barking  at  a  pile  of 
brush  aud  tearing  it  aside  they  found 
the  Indian  buried  with  his  clothes  and 
tomahawk;  upon  which  they  scalped 
him,  and  brought  away  the  things  they 
found  buried  with  him.  On  Tuesday 
the  16th  day  of  June,  Justice  Decker  of 
the  County  of  Sussex  brought  the  said 
Iudian  scalp  and  tomahawk  to  the  city 
of  Perth  Amboy.  This  savage  proves  to 
be  the  notorious  bloody  villain  well 
kuown  by  the  name  of  Captain  Arm- 
strong, a  noted  ringleader  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  who  was  concerned  with  Benja- 
min Springer  (lately  executed  in  Morris 
Co.)  for  the  murder  of  Anthony  Swart- 
wout,  his  wife  aud  children." 

This  occurrence  was  very  probably  in 
the  vicinity  of  Deckertown.  Congress 
deemed  the  boy's  act  so  meritorious  that 
thoy  voted  him,  calling  him  in  the  net 
"The  lad  Tietsort,"  the  sum  of  thirty 
Spanish  milled  dollars.  They  also  pre- 
sented him  with  a  medal  of  silver,  the 
size  of  a  dollar,  whereon  was  inscribed 
the  bust  or  figure  of  au  Indian  prostrate 
at  the  feet  of  the  said  Tietsort.  Which 
of  the  Titsworth  boys  this  was  we  have 
not  learned,  but  he  was  no  doubt  living 
near  Deokertowu  since  Feter  Decker 
had  the  Indian's  scalp.  The  medal 
I  should  have  been,  perhaps  has  been, 
j  preserved.  Who  has  it?  The  man  aud 
'  b  >y  are  described  as  walking  along  the 
highway.  At  that  time  there  were  no 
roads  in  Deckertown  known  to  record. 
Tiie  highways  were  patiis  through  the 
woods,  traveled  by  the  settlers  ou  foot 
or  ou  horseback,  for  they  were  impass- 
able for  wagoriB  except  in  a  few  places. 
On  the  30th  day  of  Jauuary  177 2,  Joseph 
Crowoll,  Evi  Adams,  William  Sonth- 
w.irtb,  Abiah  lirown,  Abraham  Van 
Aukuu  uud  Johannes  Cortreoht.   met   at 


the  house  of  Peter  Decker  t"o~T5y  ont  a' 
road,  they  being  surveyors  of  highways. 
They  had  the  surveys  before-  them  and 
then  aud  there  formally  laid  aud  ordered 
reoorded  a  new  road— the  tirst  one  re- 
corded in  the  township  ot  Wantage.  Its 
beginning  point  was  described  in  the 
survey  as  beginning  at  a  point  in  the 
Goshen  road  near  said  Decker's  mills, 
aud  running  from  thence  to  the  foot  of 
the  Minisink  mountain.  .  This  Goshen 
road,  owing;  to  the  travel  then  seeking 
an  outlet  to  tide  water  at  Newburgh  for 
market,  was  probably  the  tirst  one  made  | 
use  of  with  wagons,  from  Deckertown. 
It  is  conceded  to  have  led  from  Deckel-  , 
town  across  the  drowned  lands  some-!' 
where  near  William  Owen's.  The  above 
record  by  mentioning  the  mills  also 
shows  Decker's  mills  to  have  been  budt 
previous  to  that  date,  1772.  At  that 
time  Peter  Decker's  son  Samuel,  who 
has  always  been  credited  with  building 
the  mills  was  but  "23  years  old  as  can  be 
seen  by  reference  to  our  last  chapter, 
hence  we  conclude  that  the  old  mill  was 
built  by  Peter  the  first,  himself.  The 
above  eeorded  road,  niit-t  have  been 
the  one  leading  from  Deckertown 
through  Woodburn  to  Beemerville  and  j 
thence  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain. 

Aug.  23ud  1791,  the  surveys  of  a  road  ! 
were  placed  on  record,  leading  from  ] 
Deckertown  to  conuect  with  a  road 
across  the  Papakat  ug  which  led  from  i 
Martin's  and  Willson's  (Evi  Vandrwff 
farm)  to  where  Hamburg  now  is,  then 
called  Wallings.  The  beginning  point  | 
in  Deckertown  was  "50  links  north  of  j 
Robert  Morns'  ash  house,"  thence  south  I 
18  deg.  West  5  chains  and  DO  links,  ! 
thence  south  58  deg.  East  3  chains  aud  ' 
80  links,  thence  south  51  deg.  East  6  : 
chains,  thence  east  3  chains  and  10  links, 
thence  south  IG  deg.  East  11  chains, 
thence  south  51  deg.  East  17  chains, 
thence  south  9  deg.  •  West  9  chains,  | 
thence  south  14  deg.  East  1-1  chains  to  | 
the  south  side  of  Pepocottmg  bridgenear 
Sylvan  us  Adam's  house."  By  the  help 
of  Surveyor  James  W.  McCoy,  wc  have 
located  this  first  road  to  Hamburg   v.itbv 


some  certainty.'  The  beginning  was  in 
what  is  now  Uniouville  Ave.,  between 
the  Say  re  honse  and  the  Catholic  church. 

The  valleys  then  were  swamps,  hence 
the  road  was  kept  on  the  hills.  It  ran 
from  its  beginning  to  about  where  Lewis 
H.  Decker  now  lives,  and  then  zigznged 
across  the  swamp  in  the  hollow  to  Peter 
Decker's  dwelling  or  just  north  of  it, 
from  whence  it  turned  and  ran  over  the 
hill  where  Prof.  Seely  now  lives,  and 
across  where  John  D.  Shorter  is  now 
building  his  de welling  house  toward 
where  Lebbita  Martin  now  lives,  in 
order  to  furnish  an  outlet  for  the  set- 
tlers who  lived  near  there,  and  thence  at 
right  angles  almost  to  where  the  North- 
rap  property  is,  whence  it  crossed  the 
Papakating.  It  very  possibly  followed 
a  path  which  had  been  previously  used 
as  a  road.  In  1*17,  when  the  Hobokcu 
and  Milford  turnpike  was  constructed, 
the  road  was  made  straight  from  the 
Papakating  to  the  hill  where  the  Union 
House  now  stands  and  the  old  road 
abandoned. 

Of  the  deaths  of  Petea  and  Magdalena 
Docker  no  records  are  known  to  exist. 
They  almost  certainly  were  deceased  be- 
fore 1800.  Hence  the  stories  that  some 
aged  people  yet  indulge  in,  as  to  having 
seen  Peter  Decker,  are  certainly  errors, 
aud  have  reference  no  doubt  to  bis  son 
Peter  Decker,  Jr.  The  old  couple  were 
bnried  in  the  old  cemetery  in  the  rear  of 
the  present  school  building  on  the  hill. 
This  cemetery  which  formed  a  receptacle 
for  the  dead  of  our  incipient  town  for 
nearly  half  a  century  has  been  abandon- 
ed many  years  ago.  Some  of  the  remains 
have  been  removed  to  other  grounds, 
but  so  many  were  there  interred  whose 
resting  place  was  marked  by  a  common 
slnb  of  tield  stone,  without  a  mark,  that 
the  graves  of  many  of  the  early  pioneers 
are  unknown.  Among  them  are  our 
good  old  ancestral  friends  Peter  and 
Magdalena  Decker  who  dug  cut  a  home 
for  themselves  in  the  wilderness,  and  at 
the  same  time  have  chiseled  their  names 
upon  a  monument  more  lasting  than 
marble — the     history    of    Deekertown. 


Some  twelve  years  ago  excavations  otif 
Harrison  street  allowed  the  1khi«<  ofj 
many  remains  in  the  old  cemetery  t-.  i  •-' 
come  exposed.  They  were  removed  iuj 
a  misoellaueous  collectiou  and  rebnrii  d,j 
so  tb^t  it  may  be  doubted  whether  thai 
bones,  of  the  worthy  couple  are  yet  rent-J 
ing  in  the  soil  of  their  choice.  I;-it  w<rj 
doubt  not  their  final  sleep  will  be  j  i  t  ... 
sweet  and  dreamless  wherever  tin  ir  i  .•  r-i 
tal  remains  are  laid. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

FIRST  BLACKSMITHS,  MERCHANTS,  XKACHj 
ER'S,  AND    PHYSICIANS. 

Peter  Decker's  sons  who  settled  about] 
him  in  Deekertown.  were  Samuel,  rope 
and  Hick,  and  it  may  be  that  one  or  two 
of    hia   daughters   married   and  settled 
near  by.     At   all   events  the  small   col- 
lection of  log  houses,  is  reported  to  have 
been  called  at  first   Deckerville,   by   the 
early  settlers  of  the  vicinity.      Andrew' 
Willson,  who  settled  where  Simon  Will- 
son  now  lives  just  not  theast  of  town,   is 
reported  by  commonly   accepted   tradl-j 
tion  to  have  built  the  Sifot  frame  hofcfsw 
iu  the  neighborhood,  about  at  the  close; 
of  the   Revolutionary    war.      About   the 
same  time  Peter   Decker   built   a   frame 
building  for  a   tavern,    where   Dickson's 
brick  block  now  stands.     This  stood  far- 
ther back  from  the  street  than  the  pres- 
ent brick  building   does.      Several    peo-j 
pie  arc  yet  living  who  remember  seeing 
the  old  tavern,  and  they  are  pronounced 
in  their  memory  that  the  well  at  Wolfe's 
marble  yard,   was  just   in   front  of  the. 
old  Inn.      The   present   buildings   must; 
therefore  set  ont  toward  the   road  fully' 
ten  feet  farther  than  the  old    one.      This, 
hotel    was     afterwards     purchase. 1     by 
Sof.-r.-ign  Westfall,  and  he  sold   it    ttSain 
to    Dr.    Vibbert    who    had    married    .. 
daughter  of    Joseph   Sharp,   of   Sharp*- 
boro,  which  name  he  had  given  to   what 
had  formerly  been  called  Walling?,  now 
Hamburg.        Dr.    Vibbert     kept.    hotel 
there  tor  some  years,  and  finally   rented' 
the    house   to   Peter   Decker,  Jr.,   whffl 
kept  hotel  there.  ,_j 


' 


Shortly  "attor  this  house  ba<T"been 
Imilf,  Samuel  Decker  built  a  frame 
liousn  far  a  hotel  where  D.  S.  Goble's 
property  now  is.  Those  two  frame 
l>  Hidings  remained  the  only  ones  of 
that  kind  here  as  late  as  1N20,  according 
to  the  recollections  of  Mrs.  Lottie  Oole, 
»ho  says  that  all  others  were  then  log 
bouses. 

The  llrst  blacksmiths  in  the  place  are 
believed  to  have  been  the  two  Shepherd 
brothers,  who  joined  Col.  Meeker  and 
Ca[it.  llarker  when  they  passed  through 
D^ckertown  on  their  way  to  the  battle 
of  Minisiuk  July  '2i)th,  1779.  They  were 
both  killed  m  that  battle,  but  one  of 
them,  Abram,  must  have  had  a  family 
living  in  town  because  his  son  James  is 
mentioned  as  a  blacksmith  here.  Exact- 
ly where  this  first  blacksmith  shop  was 
located  is  not  detinately  known.  Some 
"Id  inhabitants  have  a  tradition  that  it 
was  where  the  Opera  House  block  is 
now  located.  The  above  blacksmith, 
James,  afterwards  bought  property  east 
of  the  v.llage  and  took  up  farming 
where,  George  Shepherd,  one  of  his  de- 
ei  daatB  now  resides. 
Tlie  first  merchant  of  the  town  is  not 
ueuiiatcly  known,  but  the  location  has 
been  quite  well  decided  upon  as  being 
where  Moses  Ayers  now  has  his  meat 
market.  Michael  McMann,  is  believed 
to  hitve  been  one  of  the  first,  who  kept  a 
store  there  and  James  Sayre  the  next. 
They  sold  whiskey  more  frequently 
than  molasses,  and  indeed  liquor  was 
more  an  article  of  household  consump- 
tion than  was  molasses  at  that  time. 
We  have  been  informed  by  one  gentle- 
man whose  memory  extends  back  to  the 
l; nn- when  a  store  was  kept,  where  we 
have  stated,  of  an  incident  illustrative 
of  those  early  customs.  He  came  to 
i'  kortowu  with  hia  uncle,  and  being 
[a  small  lad rodo  in  the  hind  part  of  the 
I  svagon.  His  uncle,  after  buying  the 
•  articles  he  came  after,  which  included 
[  the  usual  jug  of  of  applejack  and  the 
!  unusual  one  of  a  jug  of  molasses,  and 
■  '■•■  nor  treated  by* the  storekeeper  two  or 
, three   times,   put   the  two  jugs   in   the 


wagon  side  by  sfiTe  "and  they  started"  foF 
home  in  the  evening.  While  driving 
along  his  nucle  got  thirsty  and  reaching 
back  in  the  wagon  se.ized  the  jug  and 
taking  out  the  stopper  elevated  the  jug 
to  the  proper  degree  aud  put  his  lips  to 
the  mouth  of  it.  There  was  a  choking, 
then  a  splashing  of  the  contents  over  I 
him  as  he  lowered  the  jug,  and  then  a 
very  mad  man.  He  had  got  hold  of  the 
molasses  jug. 

The  grist  mill  built  as  we  have  stated 
by  Peter  Decker,  was  owned  afterward 
by  bis  son  Samuel,  and  afterward  by 
Dr.  Vibbert,  who  rebuilt  them  in  1844,  j 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  creek.  The 
premises  are  now  occupied  by  the  con- 
densery.  $ 

A  gentlemen  has  told  us  of  an  inci- 
dent which  took  place  in  the  old  Vib- 
bert house  which  was  as  follows:  John 
B.  Decker,  always  known  as  Johnnie  B., 
who  then  resided  in  the  Clove,  one 
morning  missed  an  overcoat  and  one  or 
two  articles  which  had  been  taken  from 
a  wagon  by  his  wagon  house.  He  saw 
by  two  men's  tracks  which  way  the 
thieves  had  gone  anil  followed  them  to 
Deckerfcown.  When  he  came  in  the  bar- 
room of  the  Vibbert  bouse  two  men  were 
sitting  there.  '  Johnnie  B.,  asked  the 
landlord  if  two  men  had  lately  arrived 
there,  and  he  pointed  out  the  two 
strangers.  When  Johnnie  B.,  turned 
towards  them,  one  of  the  men  arose  and 
dashed  out  of  the  back  door.  Mr.  Deck- 
er made  a  desperate  rush  after  him  and 
ihey  went  out  of  the  back  yard  in  full 
speed.  A  brook  ran  from  the  spring 
now  on  Jud  Wickham's  lot,  through  by. 
where  Dr.  Moore  now  lives,  and  it  form- 
ed a  sunken  morass  of  brush  and  mud. 
When  the  thief  reached  the  banks  he 
made  a  tremendious  leap  for  the  other 
side  which  he  safely  reached,  just  es 
capiug  Mr.  Decker's  grasp.  Without  a 
moment's  hesitation  ho  leaped  after 
him,  but  fell  short  and  went  down  in 
the  mud  to  his  middle.  The  thief  es- 
caped, but  his  companion  who  remained 
gave  up  the  stolen  articles  to  Mr.  Deck- 
er and  was  not  prosecuted. 


A  distillery  wru  earTy  fh  operation, 
anil  as  Samuel  Decker  at  one  time  own- 
ed the  premises,  ■which  adjoined  the 
hotel  •  he  built,  now  the  DeCamp  or 
Goble  Ilouse,  it  is  probable  that  he 
erected  the  distillery.  It  stood  where 
the  shoo  factory  now  is,  and  had  a  high 
trough  over  the  road  to  convey  the 
cider  to  the  distilling  room  which  was 
by  the  spring  where  J.  J.  Wiokham's 
house  now  stands.  This  distillery  was 
in  operation  for  many  years  and  is  yet 
remembered  by  many  old  people. 

The  first   physician    who  appears   to 
have  had  principal  charge  of   the   Deck- 
ertown practice,  was  Dr.  Berret  Havens. 
He  came  to  Deckertown  from  Connecti- 
cut in  1782  when  he  was  20   years  old 
and  began  the  practice  of  medicine.     He 
I  was  Deckertown's  physician  for  28 years. 
[  He    married  Jane,    eldest    danghter  of 
'.  William  and  Margaret  (Middaugh)  Tits 
:  worth  of  the  Clove.    She  died  Jan.   9fcb, 
j  18W7  in  the  73rd  year  of  her  age,   apd   he 
'  died  Dec.  23rd,  1845,  in  the  83rd  year  of 
|  his  age.     They  are  interred  in  the  Clove 
Cemetery.      They    left     two    children, 
James  C,  and  Jane  T,    James  0.,  bad  a 
son  James  C,  Jr.,  whose  son,  Johnathan,  j 
was  a  prominent  physician  in  Decter- 
town  in  1S64  and  1SG5.     His  sons  Gabriel 
of  Newark,  and  Barret,  of  Passaic,  sur-  [ 
vive  him. 

Dr.  Berret  Havens  after  his  wife's 
death  practiced  till  1820  when  he  relin- 
quished the  field  to  Dr.  Heman  Allen, 
Bon  of  Elisha  Allen,  of  Vermont.  Dr. 
Allen  was  41  years  of  age  when  he  came 
to  Deckertown.  He  owned  the  property 
now  belouging  to  Mrs.  John  B.  Thomp- 
son. He  followed  his  profession  here 
for  about  25  years.  He  died  some  14 
years  later  (Deo.  22nd,  1859.)  and  is  in- 
terred in  the  Deckertown  Union  Ceme- 
tery. One  of  his  daughters  married 
John  Halstead,  whose  son  Prof.  Allen 
R.  Halstead  is  now  principal  of  impor- 
tant public  schools  in  Massachusetts. 
Another  daughter  married  Saudford 
Leach,  of  whose  sons,  Heman  A.,  now 
resides  at  Sparta,   and  Lemuel    W.,   re- 


:.T">-nri 

-- 


sMefl  Just  south  of  the  borough  on  tM 
Hamburg  road. 

Dr.  Alexander  Linn,  son  of  John  I. mi 
of  Harmony  Vale,  after  graduating  us  a.) 
physician  came  to  Deckertown  aajl 
located  in  1837.  In  1M">  he  m.ir--;.-.! 
Julia,  daughter  of  Dr.  Horace  Vil.L.  rt4 
He  practiced  medicine  in  this  pforo  f^r; 
30  years,  He  died  May  12th,  1WJ»,  »„  «N 
57  years,  Dr.  Carlos  Allen  also  pj  , ■■■:.■_ 
ed  medicine  in  Deckertown  foi  f  QB 
years  previous  to  184C,. 

Dr.    Lewis  West  rail,   son   of  Muting 
Westfall  succeeded  to  Dr.    Linn's    praH 
tice  in  Deckertown  but  died    May 
18C.9,  aged  30  years. 

Later  physicians  are  well  known.  DrJ 
J.  Moore  and  Dr.  H.  D.  VauGaasliecH 
now  appear  to  each  be  doiug  a  profiM 
able  business. 

The  first  establishment  of  of  a  school) 
here  is  somewhat  diilicuU  to  ascertain.} 
Iu  1774,  according  to  Rev.  Peter  Kanonsei 
fiere  were  but  three  dwellings  in  D.ek-I 
ertown,  and  there  were  three  school] 
houses  in  the  township  of  Wantage.} 
Where  those  three  school  houses  were] 
located  ho  does  not  mention,  bnt  WO) 
have  bo  information  that  any  of  thcjnj 
were  iu  Deckertown.  One  of  the  three) 
schools  mentioned  he  says,  "was  taught.' 
by  an  African  servant  and  the  other  two 
by  foreigners  better  qualified  for  ostlers] 
than  for  teachers."  In  17S0  he  ep  ik»: 
of  a  school  house  thatched  with  *iri'v. 
The  first  school  house  in  Deckertown  u» 
reported  to  have  been  located  near  where 
the  Union  House  now  stauds,  and  a- 
teacher  named  Gunn  is  the  first  report-  j 
ed  one  in  the  place.  Very  little  i3  known] 
of  him.  There  was  another  school-  house 
located  afterward  near  where  EJ-wardj 
Feaka' dwelling  now  stauds.  It  was  of. 
logs  aud  I  have  conversed  with  sevi  r  ti 
aged  people  who  remember  it.  After. 
the  close  of  William  Rankin's  Bided? 
school  on  the  hiU'about  1852,  tin-  builit- 
ing  he  had  occupied  was  obtaine  1  f<  t 
the  use  of  the  public  school,  and  ha< 
ever  since  been  the  home  of  public  van 
straction  in  the  place.      Principal  Wufcj 


! 


IT.   Orenello  anrtThn-o    asnrstante  now 
compose  the  staff  of  teachers. 

The  select  school  of  Wm.  Rankin  who 
had  been  previously  a  teacher  in  Snssex 
County,  was  established  in  183:!,  the 
same  year  in  which  Edward  Styles 
founded  his  Mt.  Rjtiromeut  Seminary. 
Schools  of  that  kind  were  not  viewed 
witli  much  favor  '07  the  townspeople 
then,  they  being  considered  of  a  fanci- 
ful and  fashionable  nature.  Air.  Rankin 
with  difficulty  secured  a  small  room 
about  14  feet  square,  which  if  we  have 
been  correctly  informed  was  where  the 
building  owned  by  Owen  J.  Little  now 
stands  In  front  of  Goble'a  hotel  annex. 
The  first  day  of  the  school  only  one 
scholar  presented  himself,  and  ho  had 
oome.  from  Unionville  That  one 
scholar  now  resides  in  Deckertown  and 
is  no  less  a  person  than  John  A.  Whlt- 
taker,  President  of  the  Farmer's  Nation- 
al Bank.  Mr.  Rankin  used  to  narrate 
an  enecdote  which  illustrated  the  habits 
of  some  of  Deckertown's  citizens.  One 
evening  when  he  had  been  out  walking 
ab  mt  two  months  after  he  began  school 
he  did  ribfc  get  back  until  about  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  His  surprise 
was  great  on  coming  in  sight  of  his 
school  room  to  find  it  all  lighted  up. 
He  was  sure  he  had  locked  the  door 
when  he  left  it.  He  went  to  a  window 
and  looked  in.  The  room  was  well 
tilled  with  gentlemanly  well  dressed 
men,  some  standing,  others  seated  round 
a  table  which  was  almost  covered  with 
money  of  various  kinds— all  giving  at- 
tention to  a  game  that  was  in  progress 
with  cards.  He  then  unlocked  the  door 
and  stepped  in.  No  seeming  notice, 
however  was  taken  of  him  and  after  ob- 
serving the  scene  a  few  minutes  he  ob- 
served to  a  gentleman  standing  near 
him  that  he  would  be  thankful  if.  when 
they  were  done  using  the  room,  they 
would  leave  it  in  good  order.  He  then 
retired  and  in  the  morning  upon  return- 
ing found  the  room  divested  of  men, 
money  and  table— the  door  locked,  all 
iu  gixnl  condition.      We  do   not  doubt 


however  EST"  Inere"  'naVe™neen  otBer' 
scenes  of  nimilar  import  in  Deckertown', 
since,  then.  From  that  small  beginning- 
—one  scholar— Mr.  Rankin's  school 
grew  to  7G  scholars,  and  that  too  while- 
Mr.  Styles  school  was  so  near  and  was 
being  extensively  patronized  at  the  same 
time.  Mr.  Rankin  taught  some  18  years 
here,  and  then  went  to  Amity  and  from' 
there  to  Mendham  where  he  taught  a 
similar  school  for  many  years.  While" 
in  Deckertown  he  was  a'  great  student 
of  local  scenery  and  geological  form- 
ations. A  conical  mound  in  the  ■  mead- 
ow in  front  of  Hugh  McGee's  residence 
he  felt  quite  assured  was  the  work  of 
mound  builders— the  prehistoncal  race; 
of  which  suoh  decided  handiwork  is  tor 
be  seen  in  some  of  the  western  states.' 
Several  times  he  led  his  scholars  to  the  • 
place  and  caused  them  to  mako  surveys 
of  the  mounds,  which  was  a  very  good 
exercise  for  them  even  if  they  brought 
to  light  no  farther  evidence  of  the  lost 
race.        .      J 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    FIRST    CHCinril    AND     ITS    rASTORS, 

NOW  THE   THIRD     PBESBYTEBIAN 

CHURCH  OF  WANTAGE. 

The  first  religious  movement  towards 
an  organized  form  of  worship  in  Decker- 
town  we  have  been  unable  to  trace  to  a 
certain  date.  In  the  petition  asking  for 
the  establishment  of  a  church  in  the 
Clove  dated  Aug.  21st,  1787,  the  petiti- 
oners say  that  Borne  members  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  church,-"a  few  in  numb- 
er had  settled  our  county  about  10  years 
before,  since  which  time  Rev.  Thomas 
Rouievu  had  preached  for  them  occasion- 
ally" tradition  says  principally  in  Helmos 
Titsworth's  barn  in  the  Clove.  At  in- 
clement seasons  these  services  were 
doubtless  held  in  private  houses.  The 
above  petition  was  signed  by  55  resi- 
dents, principally  of  the  upper  Clove 
neighborhood.  It  was  followed  by  the 
organization  of  the  church  and  its  in- 
corporation as  the  first  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Wantage  under  an  act  passed 


by  the  Now  Tereey'TLegiBratTire,  March 
tOtb,  l~x<',  which  was  the  first  to  legal- 
ize the  incorporation  of  religions  organi- 
zations,. A  log  church  was  built  near 
the  present  location  of  the  Clovo  church 
ami  Rev  VanBenschoten  became  its 
pistor  in  17*8.  We  consider  it  more 
than  likely  that  Peter  Decker's  family 
anil  the  few  people  in  Deckertown  at 
that  time  attended  church  there,  because 
subquent  moves  concerning  a'  church 
in  Deckertown  indicate  that  Mr.  Decker's 
family  preferred  that  mode  of  worship, 
although  the  Baptist  had  a  church  built 
previously  (in  1778,|  where  the  Papakat- 
iug  church  now  stands.  This  was  near- 
er Dtckertown,  and  the  ohurch  records 
say  it  was  taken  from  Hamburgh  there 
because  'large  numbers  of  its  members 
lived  in  Wantage."  Rev.  Nicholas  Cox 
was  its  pastor  at  that  time,  and  until 
J  1782,  .and  we  may  conclude  that  Mr. 
Decker  and  his  children  often  attended 
there. 

Nov.  24th,  1817,  soon  after  Mr.  Van- 
Beuschoten's  death,    the  Clovo  church 
was  by  a  vote  of  its  members  changed  to 
a  Presbyterian  church,  and  upou  its   or- 
ganizat  on  as  such,  Aug.  11th,   1818   had 
2j  members.     This  small  membership 
from  so  large  a  congregation,   leads   us 
to    conjecture  that   about  thia    time  a 
good  part  of  the  members  from   Decker- 
town'formed  a   branch   organization   of 
their  own,  because  they  found  it  difficult 
to  attend  Clove   church    at  all  seasons 
owing  to  the   distance.      Exactly   when 
I  they  lirst  built  an  edifice  we  cannot  de- 
i  tcrmine   but  it  is   understood   to   have 
j  been  a  frame  building,  and   as  we  have 
i  before    mentioned,    that,    aocording  to 
|  Mrs.  Lottie  Cole's  recollections,  in   1820, 
|  only  the  two  frame  buildings  she  named 
were  here,  consequently  the  church   was 
erected    subse'iueutly.        It    has     beeu 
stated  that  this  first  church  was  a  union 
one,  built  by    various     denominations 
jointly,  but   I  no   where   find  any   evi- 
dence of  it.     On  the  contrary  it  is  among 
the   remembrances  of  Josiah   Wickham 
that   it    was    a    Presbyterian    and  was 


"founded  By  Tefef"Decier.~  Tf  tinJJf 
by  Peter  it  must  certainly  haw  Iwr^ 
Peter  Decker,.!  r.,  for  the  first  P.l.r  1  >. 
er  was  undoubtedly  deceased  b"fnrt-  ih»t 
time.  That  it  belonged  to  the  IV  »!,>-{ 
terian  denomination  is  corrnljorsdti  bli 
all  other  circumstances  related  nf  t!., 
times.  At  first  it  was  conducted  m-|h 
ate  from  the  Clove  church.  Tim 
gether  because  about  the  time  of  in- 
ception Rev.  Gershorn  William*  «m 
pastor  of  the  Clove  church,  audn,.  tradi 
tion  mentions  his  having  charge  of  t!,e 
Deckertown  branch.  Rev.  En. is  t  >  U 
was  the  first  pastor  of  this  idd  church 
the  school  house  hill  without  a  doubt,: 
not  as  a  regular  supply  at  first,  but  s» 
au  assistant  to  Mr.  Williams,  Aiu-Uig 
the  papers  left  by  Rev.  Edward  Ailesi 
occurs  the  folowiug  memorandum  dated 
"Friday  Dec.  18th,  1818."  "Arrived  at 
Newfoundland  and  preached  in  the 
evening  at  the  house  of  Maj.  button. 
The  attendance  was  good.  Hud  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  Bro.  Enos  A.  Osborn.i 
on  his  way  as  a  missionary  to  lVcker- 
town,  to  assist  Rev.  Mr.  Williams.  The: 
Lord  is  reviving  his  work  in  tint  region'." 
Rev.  "Mr.  Allen  mentions  him  *  ;aia, 
"Wednesday,  June  9th,  18UI.  Bro.: 
Enos  Osborn,  laboring  at  Decktrt. >wn, 
called  on  me  (at  Mr.  Linn's  in  Hamburg) 
and  spent  the  day.  We  examiiu  d  the 
points  on  which  he  expected  next  week 
I  to  be  examined  by  Presbytery  for  ordin-, 
ation. 

"Thursday,  p.  m.,  preached  at  th» 
j  school  house  (New  Prospect)  near  Mr. 
(iiveau's  (ancestor  of  John  F.  Giveani 
now  of  our  town;  to  a  full  and  interest- 
ing house.  Spent  the  night  at  E<*q 
Buckley's,  an  elder." 

"Friday.    Visited  Mr.  Giveaus'  family.' 
Conversed  with  the  old  genth  man   on 
many  points.    He  ia  indulging   a   '    ;■ 
Also    with    two     young    women— butilj 
seriously  impressed." 

In  1820  Rev.  Edward  Allen  b-.nm* 
pastor  o!  the  Wantage  church  iCIotbJ 
but  first  regularly  began  his  s.-rvu-c* 
with    the  beginning  of  the  year  U&y 


J  !*unng    bia  chnrge,  *  the "  Ueokertown 

i  c  -iigregation  united  with  tbe  CI»ve,  and 

be  preached  alternately  in  either.    This 

IB  shown  by   a   memorandum   made   by 

Rob(  rt  Ogden  us  follows: 

"Saturday,  Oct.  23rd,  1824  Wont  to 
Deckertowu.  Lodged  at  Mr.  Allen's 
Sabbath  '21th.  Attended  the  communion 
at  the  new  meeting  house  below  the 
mountain,  iu  Wantage,  (Beemerville) 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Mr.  Edward 
Allen.  A  powerful  aud  extensive  re 
(rival  of  religion  has  taken  place  in  that 
congregation,  and  the  congregation  of  the 
Clove  and  Deckertown,  now  united  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Allen.  Over  122  mem- 
bers were  received  into  the  church,  of 
whom  more  thanTA)  were  baptized.  Mr. 
J.  Foster  Halsey,  a  licentiate  from  the 
seminary  at  Princeton  was  there  an  as- 
sisted Mr.  Allen  in  the  administration 
of  tbe  ordinance.  The  bouse,  though 
large,  was  crowded  to  overflowing.  The 
exercises  of  the  day  were  solemn,  im- 
pretsive,  edifying,  aud  consoling,  and  in 
the  highest  degree  alarming  to  the  im- 
impeuitent.  Oh  my  Ood,  let  not  the 
operations  of  Thy  Spirit  be  suspended, 
but  may  they  still  be  visible  among  that 
people  and  ulso  be  extended  to  this 
barren  corner  of  thy  vineyard," 

Mr.  Allen  preached  until  1830  when 
he  resigned.  During  that  time  312 
members  were  added  to  the  church — 
that  is  to  the  three  under  his  charge.' 
He  resided  in  Deckertown  but  we  can- 
not point  out  the  location  of  his  dwell 
in;,'  or  the  parsonage. if  it  may  have  been 
so  called  at  that  time.  When  he  resign- 
ed from  the  charge  of  the  Wautage 
churches  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Mil- 
ford,  I'a-,  Presbyterian  church  and  was 
there  four  year9.  During  that  time  the 
three  Wantage-congregations  determined 
tb,:f  they  were  too  large  and  those  mem- 
bers at  Beemerville  drew  oil  and  built 
the  stone  church  now  there.  Rev. 
Edward  Allen  preached  the  dedicatory 
sermon  Jan.  4th,  1835,  and  was  given 
ohurge  of  it  as  pastor  where  he  remained 
uutil  ISM.     He  then   returned   to   Mil- 


ford,  Pa.,  and  afterwards  at  ofber  church.'-^"}' 
es  iu  Pennsylvania.  Haines  says,  '"As? 
many  us  ten  church  buildings  owe  their ; 
erection  to  his  endeavors''  We  have  no 
account  of  his  early  life.  He  runrried 
for  his  first  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of' 
John  and  Martha  (Huntl  Linn,  of  Ham- 
burg, born  Sept.  2nd,  17112.  Hue  was  a 
sister  to  Alexander  Linn,  M.  D.,  menti- 
oned in  our  last  chapter.  Mr.  Allen 
when  he  first  came  to  Wantage  was  a 
a  young  man  comparatively.  He  taught 
school  at  Beemerville  where  Alpheus 
Howell  of  our  town  was  one  of  his 
scholars.  He  was  but  one  mouth  older 
than  his  wife,  whom  he  married  at  Ham- 
burg in  1820.  Mr.  Haines  says  his  ap- 
pearance was  so  youthful,  that  at  the 
great  meeting  held  at  Beemer  church 
Aug.  56th,  1818,  "some  dissatisfaction 
was  expressed  at  the  suggestion  that 
Mr.  Allen  should  preach  at  the  great 
meeting.  But  as  he  stood  in  the  door-" 
way  he  soon  carried  the  hearts  of  his 
great  auditory  with  the  earnest  piercing 
words  he  used.  They  were  deeply  affect- 
ed, and  from  this  time  Mr.  Allen's  repu- 
tation as  a  preacher  was  established." 
There  were  estimated  to  have  been  2,000 
persons  present  at  that  time.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  he  married  for  a 
second,  Louisa  T.  Richardson,  of  I'a., 
who  was  a  widow.  He  died  Aug.  1st, 
1877.  Tbe  following  of  his  children 
grew  to  man  and  womanhood.  John 
Linn  his  eldest  son,  studied  for  a  physi- 
cian, and  graduated  in  18-15.  He  settled 
in  Beemerville  for  the  practice  of  his 
profession,  but  he  remained  only  a  few 
months  there,  removing' to  Branchville 
in  the  spring  of  18-1G.  He  entered  into 
partnership  there  with  Dr.  Beach,  and 
they  practiced  medicine  there  for  a 
number  of  years.  June  27th,  1850  he 
married  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Judge 
John  Bell  of  thut  place.  He  then  rjs- 
moved  to  Lafayette  where  he  followed 
his  profession  until  h'is  death  a  few  ! 
years  ago.  His  widow  with  her  sons 
now  reside  in  Newark.  Sarah  Elizabeth, 
eldest  daughter  of  Rev.  Edward  and 
Elizabeth  Allen,   married   Milton  Dim- 


mick,  a  well  known  lawyer  of  Milford, 
Pa.  She  is  now  dead.  -Martha  Linn, 
second  daughter,  married  Hawkins  Di- 
Perry,  a  civil  engineer  and  railroad  man 
from  Philadelphia,  where  she  died. 
Mary  L.,  third  daughter,  died  unmarried. 
Henrietta  L.,  fourth  daughter,  unmarri- 
ed, is  now  residing  in  Newton.  Emma  | 
E.,  fifth  daughter,  married  Geo.  P>. 
Boyd,  M.  D.,  of  Serautou,  Pa.,  where 
she  now  resides.  William  Edward, 
second  son,  early  entered  into  the  study 
of  medicine,  and  graduated  as  a  physici- 
an. .  He  became  a  prominent  man  in  his 
profession  and  now  resides  in  Scranton,  I 
Pa.  He  married  Amelia  Clapp,  of  Brook-  j 
lyn,  N.  Y. 

In  1835  Rev.  George  Pierson  became  ; 
pastor  of  the  Clove  aDd  Deckertown 
churches.  In  18:*9,  May  1st,  he  recog- 
nized the  appeal  of  a  number  of  his 
members  and  Deckertown  agaiu  be- 
came a  seperate  organization.  It  became 
incorporated  under  the  name  of  the 
third  Presbyterian  church,  with  Lewis 
Whittaker,  Jacob  Beemer,  Horton  Beein- 
er,  and  John  Smith,  elders.  In  Septem- 
ber of  that  year  James  \V.  Wood  became 
its  pastor.  He  preached  in  the  old 
church  six  years.  During  the  latter 
part  of  his  term,  money  was  contributed 
'  and  arrangements  made  for  building  a 
new  edifice.  It  was  completed  in  1845, 
where  the  present  editice  now  stands. 
The  old  church  was  then  abandoned 
and  was  idle  until  Mr.  Rankin  secured 
it  for  the  use  of  his  academy.  Its  mam 
building  now  forms  Principal  Grenell's 
room  in  our  public  school  building,  and 
is  upon  its  original  foundation.  This 
venerable  room  was  the  only  church 
edifice  Deekertbwu  possessed  for  27 
years.  We  are  sorry  that  the  records 
have  not  given  us  some  information  of 
its  first  pastor,  Kev.  Enos  Usborn. 

Rev.  A.  B.  Rich,  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  new  edifice  and  remain- 
ed until  1844,  adding  20  members  to  the 
church.  Ho  then  resigned.  Until  1840, 
for  some  reasons,  the  church  was  with- 
out a  supply.  Then  Kev.  A.  B.  Farrand 
uas  called  to  the  pastorate,  and  dis- 
charged its  duties  until  lso~>.  Then 
succeeded  Kev.  Wm-  H.  Babbitt,  for  two 
years,  Kev.  Peter  Kauouse,  for  six  years: 
Rev.  O.  H.  P.  Deyo,  one  year;  Rev.  P. 
J.   Timlow,   four    years;  then    Kev.  N. 


Elmer,  Rev.  J.  \V.  McWilliams,  R«r.l 
E.  A.  Hamilton,  Kev.  O.  P.  Cl.r.  •.-., 
Kev.   A.  Mc.  A.  Thorubum,  and   n-,'«m 

Rev.  E.  A.  Hamilton  the  preHtnt  pantor. 
During  the  charge  of  Kev.  Mc.  A.  I ..  -t:- 
burn,  the  church  edifice  was  thorotiplilt 
overhauled  and  repaired  at  a  c.  >-t  nl 
several  thousand  dollars,  aud  pine  d  m 
its  present  completed  state.  Two  i.(  I.  r 
foregoing  pastors  died  m  Decker!  -  r 
Rev.  J.  W.  McWilliams  and  IU.v.  1  •  - 
Kanouse.  The  former  who  had  in..- •  .  ; 
Miss  Rebecca  Willsou,  of  Deekerlnwu, 
died  in  September  1*7.1.  Rev.  l\  ;.r 
Kanouse  died  MaySOtli,  18G4,  nnd  •  .•  - 
terred  in  Fairview  Cemetery.  UU  wid  .w 
still  owns  property  on  Harrison  stmt, 
and  she  spends  a  few  months  iu  town 
every  year. 

His    historical    sermon    preached    at 
Beemerville  Jan.  7th,  1M  I,  was] lublishi  A 
in  pamphlet  form  and  had  a  wide   circu- 
lation.    In  it  he  mentions  a   remarkable 
ciroumstance  as  follows.       "Sixty    tivu 
years  ago  1 1 779 »  Mr.  Joel   Crowiii  (who 
we  are  informed  lived  near   when'   (lab-, 
riel  Ludlum  now   resides!   cut   a   v.  lute 
oak  tiee  about  two  feet  in  diameter,  and, 
upon  opening  it,  two  distinct  marks  of 
an  axe  were    found  at  the  heart,    made] 
there  when   young,   and     probably     byl 
some  straggling  white  man.  The  growth^ 
of  the  tree — say  140  layers  or  rings — and  | 
the  time  of  the  discovery  by  Mr.  C  would 
carry    us   back   not   very   lar   from   '.,  KJ 
years  when  these  wounds  wereinlheivd." 
This  would  have  reached   back   to   h'U, 
a  period  when   the   Dutch  scouts   weraj 
ranging  the  wilderness  iu  search   of   the 
preoious  metals.     May  not  that  tr<  >  have 
been  hacked  by  Arent  Schuyler   m    1' ' '!• 
when   he   passed  through   hero   ti)    the 
Minisink  country  as  mentioned    iu    I    •• 
first  part  of  this  history?     Mr.    Kai    i    •■ 
in  his  sermon  describes  the  condition   of 
the  early  settlers  of  Wantage  thus:     "In 
a  howling  wilderness,  with  a  family     ', 
children    to  feed,   clothe    aud   edii 
farms  to  clear,  houses,  mills  and   h   ma 
to  erect,  and  roads  to   open   and    r.  n  ii  fl 
passable,  there  was  much  to  do  and  dii  re 
to  suffer.     A  log  hut  with  our  room,      .i 
parlor,  kitchen,  bedroom  ami  all.    I  In  re 
was  nofurniture  to  dazzle  without  protil 
Oiled    paper   might    serve   far   n 
glass,  n  pail  of  water  for  a  mirror,  a  | 
kuot  for  a  candle,  and  the  wheel  mid  I 
loom  made  the  music  of  the  family.    I    a 
father  supplied  the  wcol   and    lia\,     r   I 
the  fair  hands  of  our  mothers  and  daugh- 
ters furnished  the  thread,  tkeclotli,   nuj 
the  ready  made  garments.      They   wvraj 
rich    in    their    own    resources.       lheiri 
wants  were  few  and  simple.     And  the»Ci 


"bread  was  the  sweeter  because  the  plow 
bad  been  driven  through  tne  virgin  soil 
that  received  the  seed,  by  the  hand  of 
the  mother,  nDil  the  sheaf  had  been 
pressed  in  the  amis  of  the  .laughter." 
Again  he  says  iu  speaking  of  the  mstitii- 
tions  and  education  and  relj.,rion  here: 
"They  are  preen  and  blooming  in  the 
pearly  drops  of  the  morning,  ami  if  half 
a  century  has.  with  the  blessing  of  God, 
started  us  iuto  being,  and  placed  us 
upon  vantage  ground,  what -if  we  do 
n-it  prove  recreant  to  our  mercies,  to  our 
Redeemer,  and  our  increased  responsi- 
bilities—what may  not  be  anticipat- 
ed and  realized  by  the  coming  gener- 
ations? The  igniting  spark  is  treasured 
up  iu  the  movements  of  the  present  age, 
the  tbunderings  of  whose  joy  will  "he 
heard  and  felt  by  our  far  off'  descend- 
ants, rolling  onward  with  increasing 
power,  until  the  whole  universe  shall 
burst  forth  in  one  united  acclamation 
"Hallelujah!  for  the  Lord  God  omnip- 
otent reigneth." 

(Coutinue.1  next  week) 

Sorrkction.  Lewis  Adams  corrects  the  [oca- 
Uon  ot  the  very  early  school  house  meniio:ie.i  iu 
chapter  ix.  It  was  situated  where  Mm,  C.irrie 
Cox  DO*'  reiUei. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  FIRST  EArTIST  CHURCH  OF  WANTAGE 
AND   THE  ,\t.  E.  CHURCH. 

It  is  perhaps  well  enough,  at  this 
point,  to  note  the  corroboration  given  by 
the  traditions  of  another  family  to  the 
early  settlement  of  John  DeDecker  at 
Kingston  ior  Eoopus,)  as  mentioned  in 
Chapter  I.  Res,  S.  D.  Decker,  pastor 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  gives  the  tradition 
which  has  always  been  prevalent  in  his 
family,  that  the  projectors  of  the  Deck- 
er family  in  America  were  three  brothers 
who  very  early  came  to  New  Amsterdam 
<Nrew  York.)  One  of  them  settled  up 
uloug  the  Hudson  river,  one  of  them 
settled  on  Htaten  Island,  and  the  third 
settled  ia  the  south.  The  one  who  that 
triulitioH  says  settled  up  along  the  Hud- 
son River,  was  no  doubt  John  DeDeck- 
er, judging  from  the  time  and  circum- 
*!:  ones.  From  the  one  who  settled 
uponStaten  island  is  traced  the  de- 
scent of  Ke.v.  S.  D.  Decker  of  our  town. 
rheru  was  also  a  Henry  Decker,  by 
.  tru ditiou  known  to  be  a  relative  to  the 


Deckers  of  DeckVrto wn,  *w£o  settled  "aS 
Ogdensbarg  in  1795.  We  have  seeni 
that  the  descendants  of  Yope  and  Rick  ' 
Decker,  sons  of  Peter  the  first,  who  had 
residences  in  Deckertown,  have  not  been 
accounted  for,  and,  it  is  very  possible 
that  this  Henry  was  a  son  of  Yope,  who  ; 
•  fosiah  Wickham  says,  occupied  what 
was  of  late  the  Amos  Munson  farm. 
Henry  had  three  sons,  James,  William 
and  Benjamin,  and  three  daughters, 
Susan,  Jane  and  Margaret.      The  latter 

married Mapes  and  moved  to  Ohio, 

lane  married  John  Happaree  and  went 
to  Pennsylvania,  Susan  went  unmarried 
with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Mapes  to  Ohio, 
William  resided,  when  he  died,  by  the 
Delaware  above  Port  Jervis,  Reujamin 
die.l  iu  Deckertown,  and  James  lived 
and  died  near  Sparta.  The  latter  built 
the  mill  now  owned  by  James  L.  Decker 
his  son.  Mr.  Decker  married  Miss  Nor- 
man, a  daughter  of  John  Norman,  of 
Ogdeusburg,  and  his  death  occurred 
Feb.  5th,  1862  when  he  was  75  years 
old.  I, 

Of    Renjamiu,  who   died  iu   Decker-  i 
town,  we  have  it  upon   the  authority  of 
Mrs.  John  S.  Decker,  of  our   town,    that 
he  lived  upon  what  was  in  his  day  called  - 
the  stone  house  farm.     It  was   probably 
so  called  because  the  house  iu  which   he 
lived  was  built  of  stone.     It  stood  near  : 
where  the  dwelling  house  of   Mrs.   John 
Loorais  now  lives.  Mrs.  John  S.  Decker 
recollects  that  wheu  young  she   went  to 
his  house  and  visited  there.     He  was  a  i 
tall  man  and  very  intemperate,  so   that 
all  the  neighbors  pitied  his   family.         •  t 
The  Deckertown  Raptist  church  had 
its  inception  as  early  as   1751.     A   num-  j 
ber  of  Baptists  settled  at   Hamburg  in 
that  year  from   Connecticut.      They  se- 1 
lected  one    of    their    number,    William 
Marsh,  for   a    paste*      A    log    meeting 
house  was  erected  there,  on   Lawrence's  ' 
Hill.     In  1763,  Mr.  .Marsh,   having  pre- } 
viously  enunciated  some  doctrinal  views 
which  did  not  suit  some  of   his   congre  I 
gation,  quit  preaching  and  went   to  Wy- 
oming.    A  colony  from   Conneticut   had 
purchased  lands  there,  and  made   a  set- J 


! 


Hernial  "prevTonsTy.^TfoSer  County 
t.-.L.litiou,  affirms  that  he  was  there 
missaereed  by  Indians;  but  the  history 
of  that  colon;  shows  that  about  that 
time  a  bitter  warfare  of  ejectment  was 
carried  oil  by  the  Pennsylvania  propri- 
etors, who  had  counter  claims  to  the 
lands,,  in  which  many  persons  on  both 
sides  lost  their  lives.  In  that  struggle 
he  was  probably  slain,  since  his  name  is 
nut  found  among  the  victims  of  the  In- 
dian attack  in  1780.  Rev.  Constance 
Hart  succeeded  him  in  the  ministry  at 
Hamburg.  In  1772  Bav.  Nicholas  Cox 
succeeded  him.  Iu  1778  a  new  building 
was  erected  where  the  present  edifice 
stands.  It  was  incorporated  under  the 
title  of  the  "First  Baptist  church  of 
Wantage."  Rev.  James  Finn  succeeded 
him  in  1783.  R^v.  Silas  Southworth 
succeeded  him  in   1785.      He  died   Feb. 

20th,  1814.     Elders Hall  and   Thos. 

Teasdale,  supplied  the  church  till  Nov. 
4th,  1813,  when  Rev.  Levi  Hall  became 
pastor.  He  died  Aug.  21st,  1821,  and 
Elder  John  Hagau  supplied  the  church 
as  pastor  until  182"),  when  Rev.  Leonard 
Fletcher  became  pastor.  In  1830  a  new 
meeting  house  was  erected  which  is  still 
standing  called  the  Papakating.-  He 
was  followed  by  Elder  Timothy  Jackson 
until  Oct.  1835,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Elder  Isaac  Moore.  The  latter  was 
succeeded  by  Elder  Wo.  M.  Fay  in 
1840.  In  1812  Rev.  Sanford  Leach  suc- 
ceeded him.  In  1845  Rev.  D.  F.  Tunis, 
became  pastor  but  resigned  in  1849, 
when  Rev.  T.  Davis  succeeded  him  until 
1858.  Rev.  J.  Belden  succeeded  him  for 
a  short  time.  In  18R1  Rev.  G.  F.  Love 
became  his  successor,  and  remained  un- 
til ISfi.j  when  R  -v.  1).  T.  Hill  succeeded. 
In  1870  Rev.  O.  F.  Love  came  back  for 
a  short  time  and  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Jewitt  and  he  by  Rev.  J.  I>.  Dyer. 
In  1889  ho  was  followed  by  Ruv.  L.  O. 
Greuelle.  In  1882  the  present  edifice 
was  erected  on  Hamburg  Avenue,  it 
l>  ins,'  the  understanding  that  upon  its 
erection  services  were  to  be  held  in  the 
old  church  called  the  Papakating,  once, 
a  day,  and  in  the  church  iu   town,  evon- 


flngs.  ft  was' soon  found  more  eonr«t»3 
Lent  to  hold  the  services  In  the  u„*j 
church  altogether,  and  the  other  nUnd* 
practically  idle.  Mr.  Clrenelle  wad 
succeeded  by 'Bev.  A.  R  Wilson,  »W 
did  not  remain  long.  He  was  hucckhIaJ 
by  Rev.  Charles  C.  Lathrop  tbe  prtwnt 
very  efficient  incumbent.  Tlio  Fint 
Baptist  church  as  will  be  seen  h*«  « 
very  ancient  record.  Before  l|„.  ,.rrTW 
tion  of  the  church  on  school  house  LilL 
1818  or  1819,  the  people  of  our  to»n 
divided  their  attendance  as  we  !,,iv« 
mentioned  between  the  Papakating  ami 
Clove  churches. 

Iu  the  life  of  Rev.  Zelotas  Grenello  it 
is  stated  that  "on  this  entire  field,  he 
labored  as  the  pastor  of  the  First  Want- 
age four  yeara  and  six  months."  Thia 
was  previous  to  1821.  This  would  s.vm 
to  have  meant  the  supplying  of  the  Bap- 
tist churches  at  Meadville  near  Mt. 
Salem  but  in  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  anj 
alternate  preaching  in  tbe  Union  church 
at  Bar  merville,  because  Elder  Levi  Hall 
had  charge  of  the  First  Wantage  at  that 
time.  The  trials  of  Rev.  Zelotua  Gren- 
etla  towards  procuring  an  ordination 
were  a  fair  sample  of  church  discipline 
"prevalent  iu  those  days.  At  an  exami- 
nation meeting  where  he  and  another 
minister  were  to  preach.  Elder  Lebbeos* 
Lathrop  was  in  charge.  When  Mr. 
^reneile  was  in' the  middle  of  hia  dis- 
course, Elder  Lathrop  arose  from  bin 
seat  in  front  of  the  pulpit  and  said  m  a 
stern  tone  of  voice,  "Youug  man  you 
are  wrong."  The  young  man  dropped 
into  his  seat  as  if  shot,  and  the  other 
minister  took  his  place  and  went  on  with 
the  meeting.  But  he  persuvi  r»  1,  and  I 
will  give  a  description  »!  his  setting 
apart  *"~  the  gospel  tuiniBtry.  "In 
August  1819,  the  meeting  was  held  in  a  I 
grove  adjoining  thu  frame  building 
Meadville.  A  large  audience  was  in  -U- 
tendance  and  the  exerqises  were  noli  n»n 
and  impressive.  The  following  chnri  .  ■ 
were  represented  by  their  meSoengi  s  id 
the  council:  The  First  Baptist  of  Ull- 
age, Hamburg,  Brooktield  [Slate  Hill,)] 
Deerpark  (New   Vernon,)   and     Middies 


1770184 


t.iwr..  A  large  lumber  wnjnn  was  driven 
ir.tn  the  middle  of  the  grave,  and  served 
as  n  pnlpit.  It  was  capacious  enough 
to  contain  nil  the  ministers  present.  The 
ordination  sermon  was  preached  by 
Aaron  Perkins.  Henry  Ball  ottered  the 
ordaining  prayer.  Thomas  Teasdale, 
Sr.,  gave  the  hand  of  fellowship  and 
Levi  Hall  gave  the  charge."  Of  those 
ministers,  the  two  last  named  are  now 
sleeping  in  the  Deckertowu  Union  ( Papa- 
kating)  cemetery. 

From  1822  to  183.'?,  occurred  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Baptist  churches  into  the 
old  and  new  school  branches.  It  began 
with  the  opposition  of  many  members 
and  ministers  to  innovations  and  changes 
in  the  heretofore  settled  rulings  and 
customs  of  the  church.  About  the  year 
1826  many  churches  withdrew  from  the 
old  associations  and  formed  "new  school" 
organizations.  For  a  long  time  the  dis- 
pute made  sad  havoc  with  the  attend- 
ance and  congregations  at  their  differ- 
ent churches,  but  I  do  not  find  that  it 
affected  the  First  Baptist  of  Wantage  as 
mach  as  some  others. 

In  17*3.  says  Kjuiouso,  ''this  church 
consisted  of  about  100  members.  In 
1812  undar  the  labors  of  Elder  South- 
worth  there  was  au  extensive  revival. 
Between  the  years  181(3  and  1*21  during 
the  ministry  of  Elder  Levi  Hall  the 
church  enjoyed  an  almost  continuous 
revival.  From  1820  to  1831,  during 
which  time  Elder  Leonard  Fletcher  was 
their  preacher  multitudes  were  added  to 
its  members  by  baptism  and  a  thorough 
reform  took  place,  and  antimonionism 
w;is  rooted  out  He  left  the  church  in 
great  union  and  harmony," 

The  Wantage  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
parent  organization  of  that  denomi- 
nation in  the  towaahip  and  the  present 
borough  of  Deckertonn.  For  a  period 
of  some  years  previous  to  1831,  M.  E. 
church  meetings  had  be(*n  held  occasion- 
ally in  private  houses,  and  in  the  school 
house  near  where  tho  Wantage  church 
now  stands.  In  that  year  the  present 
church  edifice    was    built.       Rev.   Mr. 


Shaw  was  its  first  pastor.  For  six  years1 
it  was  the  only  M.  E.  church  in  Want- 
ago  township.  In  1837,  a  second  one, 
known  as  the  Red  church  was  built  in 
northern  Wantage.  In  18B6  steps  were 
taken  towards  building  a  third  church, 
which  was  looated  where  it  now  stands 
on  Bank  street,  on  a  lot  which  was  do- 
nated for  the  purpose  by  Increase  Stod- 
dard. The  edifice  was  completed  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1857  and  1858,  and 
dedicated  Feb.  3rd,  1858.  Rev.  Isaac 
Cross  was  its  first  pastor.  The  Wantage 
M.  E.  church  has  been  supplied  by 
ministers  of  the  Deckertonn  church  for 
many  years.  The  ministers  have  been 
Isaac  Cross,  John  Scran,  Jacob 
Fort,  John  Faull,  J.  N.  VanZant,  Benj. 
Palmer.  J.  N.  Keys,  Geo.  W.  Horton, 
Walter  Chamberlain,  E.  V.  King,  J.  N. 
Keys  a  second  time,  W.  R.  Keifer,  J.  N. 
Crasto,  W.  M.  Johnston,  Kev.  J.  H.  Tim- 
brell  and  S.  D.  Decker  the  present  tal- 
ented, popular.and  hard  working  incum- 
bent. 

Rev.  J.  N.  Keys,  deceased  in  Decker- 
town  a  few  years  since  and  is  interred  in 
Fairview  cemptery.  He  was  a  verv 
I  popular  minister  and  noted  for  his  ready 
wit  as  well  as  high  scholarly  attainments. 
Mrs.  Keys  his  widow  still  resides  in 
town. 

]  During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Klefer,tbe  church  building  was  thorough- 
ly repaired,  in  fact  rebuilt,  and  presents 
a  very  st>lish  appearance,  both  extern- 
ally and  internally. 

St.  Monica's  Roman  Catholic  church, 
-on  Uniouville  avenue,  was  erected  20 
years  ago  by  the  subscription  of-  the  in- 
habitants of  Deckertown.  It  is  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  church  at  Frank- 
lin Furnace.  In  the  great  blizzard  of 
six  years  ago,  the  edifice  was  blown 
down,  but  was  soon  rebuilt.  It  has  ;>:i 
increasing  membership.  Rev.  Father 
Boylan,  of  Franklin  F.urnace  has  charge 
of  it,  and  conducts  services  there  month- 
ly, and  is  popular  and  well  liked  by  his 
parishioners. 

(Continued  nr-xt  week) 
Correction.     In  chapter  x  there  seems. 


. 


to  be  a  clash  of  dates  fn  regard  to  the 
preaching  of  Rev.  James  1!.  Wood  in  the 
old  church  on  school  house  hill.  It  is 
stated  in  a  deed  (riven  by  the  trustees 
of  the  Third  Preshvterian  church  to 
VVm.  Kankin.  April  8th,  1S37,  a  copy  of 
which  is  in  the  possession  of  .Surveyor 
James  W.  McCoy,  for  the  lot  upon  which 
the  old  church  stands  on  the  hill,  that 
the  deed  was  given  to  Mr.  nankin  be- 
cause  a  deed  given  to  him  by  the  former 
trustees  was  lost.  In  one  of  those  deeds 
reference  is  also  made  to  a  deed  convey- 
ing' the  lot  to  the  former  trustees  by 
James  B-  Bayer.  It  is  within  the  recol- 
lection of  Mr.  McCoy  also,  that  Mr. 
Rankin  occupied  the  room  that  he  first 
rented  for  school  purposes  but  for  a  few 
years.  He  began  in  1N>:),  so  that,  from 
his  deed  above  given  it  would  appear 
that  he  certainly  took  possession  of  the 
old  church  on  the  hill  as  early  as  1836. 
This  being  so  it  would  hardly  be  prob- 
able that  during  Rev.  Mr.  Wood's  pas- 
torate from  1839  to  1815,  that  he  preach- 
ed in  the  old  church  occupied  at  the 
samo  time  by  Mr.  Rankin.  In  Rev.  A. 
B.  Rich's  charge  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  our  types  said  that  he  preached 
succeeding  Mr  Wood  tol844.  It  should 
have  read  1847.  In  1S28,  it  is  on  record, 
that  Rev,  Edward  Allen  engaged  William 
Rankin  to  teach  school  for  him  a 
select  school,  at  his  residence  in  the 
Clove.  From  this  it  would  seem  that 
Rev.  Mr.  Allen's  residence  in  Decker- 
town  where  Mr.  Ogdeu  staid  over  night 
as  he  mentions  in  1824,  may  have  been 
in  the  Clove  at  that  time.  We  may  in  a 
future  chapter  continue  the  corrections 
of  some  old  time  traditions,  but  the  new 
church  mentioned  asbuiltin  1815 should 
be  1835. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   POST  OFFICE — THE   nANK —  OUR 
LODGES  AND  OCR  RAILROADS.   > 

Post  offices  were  not  located  in  Sus- 
sex County  uutil  the  close  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary war,  so  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  ascertain.  The  post  office  at 
Newton  was  instituted  previous  to  1795, 
This  was  mentioned  during  the  efforts 
made  in  that  year  to  get  a  post  office  es 
tablished  at  Hamburg,  in  the  papers 
drawn  up  for  that  purpose,  stating  that 
Newton  was  then  the  only  office  in  Sus- 
sex. Those  efforts  at  that  time  were  due 
to  the  energy  of  Thomas  Lawrence,   Sr., 


who  having  removed  to  Haruburi:,  frniB 
Princeton,  was  desirous   to   have   l*  4taM 
convenience  of  communication  with  tb»; 
outside  world  thau  that  place  then   t-a-J 
joy jd.     He  agitated  the  project  iu  1.1. 
and  found  a  willing  assistant  in  Jo**phJ 
Sharp,  who  was  then  running  iron  •»..rk* 
thsre.     In   making  application   f...-   j  *. 
office  however  they  differed  material!)  a* 
to  the  name  it  should  huvo.     The  \  d!  *.-« 
bal  till   then  been  called  Sliarpsboru, 
after   Mr.    Sharp's  'works.       lint    .1.  m* 
Potts  iu  1792  had  built  largo  iron  w  ..-feo 
near  where  the    old    Haines    Iiotuowteadj 
stauds,  which  ho  had  named    Hamburg- 
after  that  city  in  Germany,      lie  joined! 
with  Mr.  Lawrence  in  a  petition  to  naval 
thi  post  office   named  nfter  his    works.] 
There  were  counter  petitions  and  much] 
work  done  by  Mr.  Sharp  and    Mr.   l.uw-i 
renes  for  their   respective    sides   of   tbe; 
case,  but   the   latter   triumphed   and  so' 
the  office,  Oct.  1st,  1705,  was  named  Ham--, 
burg,  and  that  has  named  the   Tillage.] 
At  that  time  it   was   a  far  more  impor-j 
ta  it  place  than   Deckertown,   owing   to* 
thj   iron   works.      Sparta,   three  years  I 
later,  (Jan.  1st,  1793,)   followed    with   a-- 
p.ut  office.     Deckertown  did  not    gal    to 
bo    thus  honored   until  the    Hobukeii,  • 
Hamburg    and   Milford    Turnpike  waai 
built  through  the  place,  which   was  not- 
till  about  1316  as  near  as  we  oan  ascer-3 
tain.     There  certainly  was  no  office  hero 
in  1811  as  appears  from  a  list   of  the  «i». 
p  >st  offices  of  Sussex  county   published 
th  it  year.  '  The  mails  were  find  l>r  mghtj 
to  Deckertown  when   the   stages  Ixgnn 
to  run..  They  brought  them  three  times  a/ 
weok.     Deckertown   was  called  a  days] 
jouj-ney  from  Hoboken,   being  3D  miloaj 
distant,  as  can   bo  seen   by  one  of  ?h«' 
mile  stones  which  is  yet  standing  npouj 
the  property  of  H    A.  Leach  on   llnra 
burg  avenue.     We. have  not  learned 
name  of  the  first  Deckertown  po*ti    ■•■■ 
er.     Samuel  Whittaker  was    postmast  fj 
in  1SM7,  and  occupied  that  position  mni  r 
years.    As  he  came  to   Deckertown   is 
1835,  it  is  evident  that  he   had    had  i- r-' 
hips  several  predecessors   ir.    the   officeJ 
The  office  in  those  early  days  was     juqfcp 


te  1  in  a  store,  rind  the  postmaster  gener- 
ally looked  after  his  trade  and  the  ofice 
at  the  same  time.      The   post  office   at 
Fjihertyville   rei   not   established   nntil 
l-' !  (•,  it  being  on  the   above   mentioned 
st  lge    route.       During    the   time  John 
L  >omis  was  postmaster  at   Deekertown 
the  niiiil  matter  began  to  pet  very  bulky 
an  1  shortly  afterward  hia  successor  suc- 
coded  in  getting  the  office  graded,  and 
kept  in  a  aeperate  building  as  it  now  is, 
under  its  present  efficient   postmaster, 
Humphrey  Martin.     The  civil  war  of  '01 
to  ii">,  was  the   building  up   of  a  very 
large  demand  for  increased  postal  facili- 
ties.    It  may   also   be   reckoned  as  the 
great  school   of  daily   instruction,  from 
newspapers,  in   this  vicinity.     Previous 
to  that  a  daily  newspaper  only  found  its 
w.iy  here  through  the  mails   and  rarely 
at  that.    New  a  large  number  of   dailies 
are  sold  by    -Mr.  Hendcrshot    and  Mr. 
Satton  every  day  from  their  news  stands. 
In  1845,  the  expediency  of  establishing 
a  bank    in  Deokertown    began    to  be 
agitated.     It  at  last   was  brought   to   a 
djtermination  by  a  subscription  to   the 
B  .piial  stock   in  1843.      This  had  been 
placed  at  §59,000.      Hamburg  was   also 
desirous  of  having  a  bank  established 
Vane  and  considerable    discussion  en- 
sued, but  John   Loomis,   Samuel  Whit- 
taker,    Charles    Cooper    and   John   B. 
Djcker,    worked    with   a    method   that 
i  found  supporters  for  Deckertown  rapid- 
ly.   When  the  subscription   was  filled, 
Hamburg,  found  that  the  project  was  so 
far   favorable  to    Deckertowu's   success 
that  they  made  no  farther  effort.     Jan. 
1st,  1850,  the  Farmer's  Bank  of  Wantage 
was  founded,   and  began    business    in 
part  of  a  private  dwelling  on   Bank   St. 
■lames  C.  Ilaven's  was  its  first  president, 
|  whose  antecedents  are  mentioned  in   the 
uotiee  we  have  given  in  this  history  of 
Dr.  Berret  Havens.      Thomas  D.    Arm- 
strong was  its  first  cashier.     A  few  years 
subsequently  the  capital  stock   was  in- 
creased to  S-30,000.     At  the  close  of  the 
\.  ir  1850    Mr.    Armstrong   resigned   his 
podiliun  as  cashier,  and  John   A.Whit- 
1 1  i  -  ■  r  succeeded     him,     beginning    his 


duties  Jan.  1st,  IS57.  James  C.  Havens 
resigned  as  president  April  Otb,  1807, 
an  1  Johuathan  Whittaker  was  elected 
president  in  his  place.  In  187:5  Johuath- 
an Whittaker  died,  and  on  Jan.  13th, 
1874,  John  A.  Whittaker  became  presi- 
dent, which  position  he  still  ocenpies,  in 
tne  77th  year  of  his  age  -one  of  the 
oldest  and  most  respected  bank  presi- 
dents living.  When  he  became  president 
in  1S74,  Theo.  F.  Margarum  became 
cashier  and  their  careful  management 
has  secured  the  utmost  confidence  of 
the  public.  The  stock  is  not  for  sale 
unless  the  decease  of  a  holder  occasion- 
ally puts  it  upon  the  market  when  it 
brings  an  extra  premium.  In  1^05,  at 
the  close  of  the  war  and  when  the  Na- 
tional banking  system  came  in  vogue, 
the  bank  was  recapitalized  at  §100,000, 
under  that  system,  and  named  The 
Farmer's  National  Bank  of  Deckertown. 
In  1880,  when  the  brick  block  was  built 
upon  the  rums  of  the  great  fire  which 
burned  all  the  building  on  the  corner, 
north  of  Swartwout  and  VanGaasbeck's 
brick  block  (then  Hornbeck's)  on  the 
west  side  of  Main  St,  the  bank  was  re- 
moved from  Bank  St.,  to  its  present 
commodious  quarters  on  the  west  cor- 
ner of  Main  St 

Pulaski  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  No.  113, 
was  instituted  in  1851,  and  for  some  ten 
years  flourished  but  was  after  that  time 
neglected  by  its  members  somewhat.  In 
1S71  it  was  renewed  and  has  since  then 
been  well  sustained.  This  is  probably 
the  oldest  fraternal  organization  in  the 
borough,  although  the  Masons  are  said 
to  have  had  an  organization  here  previ- 
ous to  1809.  We  have  no  proof  of  it 
however.  Their  Samaritan  Dodge  No. 
98  was  formally  constituted  Feb.  19th, 
1869.  since  which  time  it  has  grown  to  a 
strong  and  prosperous  branch  of  this 
great  order. 

The  K.  £  L.  of  G.  S',  have  since  the 
above  dates  founded  a  well  sustained 
lodge  here,  as  has  the  American  Legion 
of  honor,  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  Sons  of 
Veterans-  The  Junior  Order  of  United 
,  American  Mechanics  is  the  last  Bociety 


'  organized  here,  the  present  "^ear,  and 
!  it  appears  also  to  have  a  fair  pros- 
j  peot  ahead  of  it. 

The  building  of  -what  was  called  the 
New  York  Midland  Railroad,  gave  the 
greatest  boom  to  Dcckertown  which  it 
probably  ever  received.  aDd  to  which 
much  of  its  present  prosperity  may  be 
reasonably  ascribed.  Surveys -had  been 
made  for  the  route  ultimately  located 
bv  this  railroad  as  early  as  1832  and 
]'%!<>.  It  absorbed  part  of  three  routes 
winch  had  been  thus  early  contemplated. 
The  route  was  selected  and  articles  of 
incorporation  filed  July  13th,  1870.  The 
planning  and  building  of  this  road  was 
attended  with  exciting  phases.  Meet- 
ings were  held,  and  immense  sums  of 
money  subscribed,  Wantage  giving  S150,- 

000  to  the  enterprise  in  stuck.  John 
Loomis  was  a  great  champion  of  the 
road,  and  made  tremendious  exertions 
to  secure  its  location  by  way  of  Decker- 
town.  He  spared  no  expense  which  he 
thought  would  have  a  bearing  upon  it, 
and  bought  liberally  of  the  stock.  This 
is  of  so  recent  occurrence  that  most 
residents  of  Wantage  remember  the 
arguments  put  forth  to  carry  through 
the  project.  It  succeeded  and  on  Aug. 
isth,  1H73,  regular  trams  first  began 
their  trips  over  the  road  from  Now  York 
to  Oswego.  The  road  failed  to  pay  in- 
terest on  its  extravagant  cost,  and  at 
length  went  into  a  receiver's  hands.  Oie 
New  Jersey  Midland  R.  B,  Co.,  was  then 
organized  and  ran  the  road  until  it  plso 
passed  in  the  receiver's  hands.  Upon  a 
sale  of  the  New  Jersey  part  of  the  road, 
it  was  subsequently  purchased  by  a 
syndicate  and  put  into  operation  as  the 
New  York  Susquehanna  &  Western  B 
R.  The  other,  or  northern  end  of  the 
road  from  Middletown  was  purchased 
by  a  syndicate  in  which  the  late  Samuel 
J.  Tildes  was  largely  interested  That 
part  has  since  been  run  under  the  name 
of  the  Ontario  &  Western  R.  R.  The 
building  of  that  N.  Y.  &  O.  Midland  II. 
R.,  drained  a  large  amount  of  money 
from  Wantage  as  it  did  from  nil  places 
it  passed  through.  It  has  proved  a 
gnat  benefit  to  Deckcrtown  but  caii  we 
pay  the  same  of  the  country  roundabout 

1  it  V     It  elian  ;•  d  the  m  >dt    of  living,  tin 

;     .i!.'.,!h   if  farming,  the  fashions  and 

|  habits  of  all   the  surrounding  country. 

("an  we  say  it  has  made   them   better   or 

happier?     On  the  contrary  there  is  room 

'  >r   argument.      The  discrimination   of 

I  through   freights    against   local   freight 

has  really  brought  the  products  of  west- 

I  ern  farms  into  market,  and  lowered   the 

Lpriees  of  Sussex  county   produce.      This 


in  turn  has  lowered  the  prices  of  gMWB 
County  lands.  To  the  borough  of  I  Wk  J 
ertown  and  all  villages  along  the  lisea! 
of  great  railroads  the  institution  ,f 
railways  has  been  a  blessing.  It  hnai 
caused  the  population  to  Hook  \ntoi 
them,  and  all  through  the  conntrj  j  : 
can  see  the  ruins  of  tenant  houses  V-  -»-, 
ting  upon  farms,  and  if  yon  b 
whore  the  people  have  gone  they 'will] 
tell  you  to  Deckcrtown  or  Puterson  t,r 
Newark  or  some  other  town  or  ci!  ■. 

After   the   building   of    the    M:    '    ■   '•. 
the.  Sussex  Valley  route,  which  h:.  I  |  -:r»-i 
ly  been   incorporated    in   the   Mi  , 
was  brought  into  notice  in   com     -i     a 
with  a  proposed  extension  of. the    -  •.:;, 
Mountain    Railroad    project     from   tl-e-i 
Delaware  to  the   New  Jersey  state   line  j 
near    the    Walkill,     William     Bell,    of' 
Branchvillo,    lately    deceased,    secured  j 
part  of  the  right  of  way   and  the   road 
was  commenced.     Then  it  wnt  nnderj 
until  1891,   when   as   the   P.  I'.  A-    1; ,   it  i 
was  built.     Under  its  lately  organized] 
company  andname,  the  Lehigh   A:   New  j 
England R.  R.  Co.,   it  is  soon  to  com-. 
plete  important   links   in   its   line,   and} 
start  into  new  life. 

At  the  time  Samuel  Whittakor  was! 
postmaster  in  Deekertown  in  1837,   the , 
following  were  the  rates  of  postage.  For  ! 
any  distance  not  exceeding:'!!  miles   fori 
a  single  letter,   6  cents.      If  the  letter' 
consisted  of  two  pieces  of   paper    it  i 
called    a    double    letter     and    charged; 
double.    Every  additional  piece  of  paper 
in  it  was  charged  0  cents.     Over  30  and 
not  over  80  miles,  10  cents  a  letter.   Over 
80  and  not   over   150   miles,   12  U'  cents. 
Over  150  and  not   over  400   miles,   is  ■ , 
cents.    Over  400  miles  25  cents.      Each  , 
newspaper  carried  not  over  100  miles,  1 , 
cent.     Over  100  miles  l1^' cents.  Letters 
and   papers  were   delivered  out   of  the 
ollice  every  day  from  8  a.  m.  to  8  p.   m., 
except  on  Sundays  they  were  delivi  n  J 
out  of  offices  from  (J  to  10  a.   m.,   and 
from  12:30  to  1:30  p.  m.    The  post  oflice 
regulations    provided     that     when     ;m 
"abatement  of  postage  was  claihiedj  the  , 
letter  must  be  opened  in  the  presence  j 
of  the  postmaster,  or  one  of   his   assist-  | 
ants;  and  if  such   letter  should,   insti   til 
of    being   overcharged,     happen     to 
undercharged,   the    delicieucy   must 
made  up  by   the   applicant."      I'rj 
post  ollice  guide  in  1K35,   we  learn   that 
there  were  then  10.770  post  offices  in  the 
United  States.    Sometimes  an  ap;  lie  u 
for  a  letter  would  claim  that   too   much 
postage  was  charged,  and  after  the  It  ttt  r 
was  opened  and  he  saw  what  it  cont  im  il, 
would  refuse  to   pay   and   let  the   pect- 
in aster  keep  it.    .  ...«mI 


'  "Tn"lR!KTaniII801,  n  strong  pfforr  wr,p 
made  to  get  Decker'own  incorporated  as 
a  I orongh.  It  »ai  successful  and  th<- 
village  became  so  incorporated  Oct.  15, 
185*1. 

(Continued  n-jtt  week; 
Ckrkkctioh— William  Titawortb.  of  the  Clove. 
corr.ris  our  statement  in  Chapter  iv,  that  Dr. 
Berrnt  Havens  came  lure  from  Connecticut, 
which  wa*  the.  tradition  Elven  in  ihe  family 
sla  em-nt*.  He  wns  v.  lib  Mr.  Havens  one>'  on  a 
trip  to  his  native  place,  ;md  says  that  the  old 
li  .ven's  burial  ground  is  on  a  farm  at  Hog's  u^ck 
near  Sag  Harbor  on  Lour  Island.  This  comi- _- 
within  tt:e  personal  observation  .  f  Mr.  Titsvrortli 
wiil  pro»e  a  valuable  corr.  etior,  in  the  interest  of 
history.  Hon.  Jacob  liiuli,  also  corrects  t)»e 
name  of  a  Baptist  mtakter  o:  the  First  Watiluee 
churcli.  as  fouom:  The  uajne  given  by  us  as 
Tunts"  should  read  "Twins."  and  in  the  list  of 
M  1'.  church  ministers  the  n  line  "Scran"  should 
r.ad "  Seran'1.  We  are  glad  'o  lmv>  corrections 
made  ana  hope  all  who  notice  poitWo  errors  will 
call  our  attenton  to  them.  Our  ineir.oram'a 
gathered  from  many  sources  cannot  av.'id   solus 

il  n I  ia.H  Hayne,  who  resides Jn  town  as  menti- 
oned in  the  concluding  pai  I  of  chap,  vii,  was  a 
dau^her  of  i.e«is  Hayne  insttaa  of  Ins  widow. 
In  conversation V'tb  Mr.  Leviis  H.  Decker,  the 
statement  made  by  ns  last  week  that  Ijenjamin 
Decker  lived  in  the  !'«■  house  which  Sam  el 
Decker  ut,  one  time  owned  was  brought  up.  The 
explanation  which  seems  reasonable  Is  thai 
Samuel  hid  per;.apj  removed  to  where  he  had 
built  the  hotel  and  distillery,  before  Beujamic 
moved  in  the  stone  house. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

LAND   OWNERS— TIIF,     OT5ANOE    AND    TTtri 
NEWNPAPFr.S. 

The  question  of  the  division  of  the 
real  estate  which  Peter  Decker  settled 
upon  originally,  into  the  many  small 
parcels  of  land  which  now  corupo 
Deckortown,  is  one  which  we  cannot 
follow  out  in  detail.  We  have  delved 
far  enough  into  the  subject  however  to 
know  that  there  have  been  losses  in  the 
dealings  of  various  speculators  therein. 
We  mo  satielicd  that  Peter  Decker,  who 
cleared  the  virgin  soil  here,  and  started 
the  wheels  ot  the  car  of  progress,  never 
got  tin-,  full  reward  he  should  have  had 
for  his  preemption  rights.  He  drove  his 
stakes  hero  and  bniiL  his  home,  buttlicru 
was  a  great  power  in  New  .Jersey  at  that 
time  which  swurved  Governors  and 
councils  as  it  willed,  and  it  clutched  with 
the  hand  of  capital  by  purchaso  and 
grant  from  the  Crown  whole  townships, 
Bye  counties.  It  was  vested  in  the 
iloiird   of   Proprietors.      By  quit   claim 


and  release,  they  sold  large1  tracts  t<j( 
those  who  paid  the  cash.  No  matter  if 
the  cabin  of  a  settler  was  upon  themj 
aud  his  blazed  trees  indicated  the  pos- 
sessions ho  had  earned  and  improved. 
Those  purchasers  who  came  from  tho 
Bo.;rd  of  Proprietors,  3aid  to  the  settler 
'•here  is  our  deed  whero  is  yours?"  The 
settler  could  not  but  acknowledge  in 
man>  cases  that  he  could  show  no  title 
beyond  that  of  possession.  That  was 
supposed  to  amount  to  something  in  law, 
and  so  purchasers  generally  allowed  tho 
settlers  to  retain  the  land  upon  which 
their  buildings  stood,and  but  littlo  more, 
sometimes  getting  their  plots  surveyed 
and  returned  for  them  in  the  surveyor 
general's  office,  to  quiet  any  legal  strife 
which  might  threaten  as  to  the  balance 
of  their  tracts. 

It  seems  to  be  quito  difficult  to  locate 
any  of  the  lauds  originally  returned  to 
Peter  Decker.  Kobert  Morris  Jr.  and 
Gabriel  Ludlum.  were  in  partnership 
under  the  name  of  Morris  A:  Iiudlum, 
hore  between  1713  anil  1S03.  They  were 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  potash; 
and  upon  the  flats  south  of  tho  Walling 
creamery  the  course  of  an  old  ditch  can 
be  trnced  which  led  from  their  works  to 
the  Clove  Creek.  Robert  Morris  Jr., 
was  here  in  1772,  as  is  attested  by  the 
early  road  survey  iu  that  year  which  be- 
gan at  the  corner  of  his  ash  house.  This 
would  indicate  that  he  then  was  engaged 
in  manufacturing  potash.  His  residence 
then  was  upon  Unionvillo  Avenue  as  it 
is  now  called,  and  upon  a  tract  of 
&1  66-168  acres  which  it  seems  had  l>een 
conveyed  to  him  by  John  Rutherford. 
The  latter  it  appears  had  previously 
conveyed  to  the  said  Morris  11  3-4  acres 
which  lay  within  the  bounds  of  the  said 
54  acre  tract,  which  joined  on  Decker's 
Mill  lot.  In  a  deed  dated  April  11,  1733s 
the  foregoing  tract  is  mentioned  as  be- 
ing Morris'  house  lot. ,  This  it  act  there- 
fore embraced  the  lands  from  Bank  street 
(now,)  over  tho  hill  southeastwardly  and 
comprised  John  Mcttee's  lot  and  all  the 
hill  north  of  tho  present  school  bonne 
lot  to  the  51  aore  extent.     Tuim   having: 


been  retained  to  John  Rutherford"  'by 
tirst  surveys  as  we  have  seen,  leter 
Decker  therefore  could  never  have  owned 
it.  Thin  Robert  Morris  Jr.  wo  conject- 
ure to  hnve  been  possibly  a  son  of  Lewis 
Morris  n,  and  therefore  was  slightly  re- 
lated to  Mr.  Rutherford.  Wo  cannot 
give  the  dsta  of  the  continuance  of  tho 
llrm  of  MorriH  £  Ludlum.  In  a  deed 
dated  May  let,  1803,  one  of  the  lines  is 
mentioned  aa  cornering  at  a  black  oak 
tree  which  stood  on  the  north  sidj  of  a 
ditch  "which  leads  to  the  potash  works 
lato  of  Morris  &  Lndlum,"  thus  estab- 
lishing the  fact  they  were  not  in  business 
at  that  date. 

In  1790  Joseph  Decker  sold  to  Samuel 
Decker  all  his  lands  about  Deckertown, 
consisting  of  several  parcels  beginning 
at  a  ditch  at  Decker's  spring,  and 
running  by  the  potash  works.  This  serves 
to  establish  the  identity  of  the  original 
Decker  homestead  upon  the  late  Amos 
Munson  property. 

Feb.  18,  1813,  Peter  Decker,  who  must 
certainly  have  been  a  son  of  the  riist 
Peter,  gave  a  deed  to  Joseph  .Sharp  to 
pay  off  three  bonds  which  then  "fell  due 
amounting  to  $2594  of  the  lands  upon 
the  Hats  about  the  potash  works,  includ- 
ing the  land  formerly  owned  by  Samuel 
Decker,  and  a  tract  of  31  acres  which  lay 
on  the  road  to  Frederick  Haynes  (Lew- 
isburg).  In  that  deed  it  is  mentioned 
that  the  31  acres  was  part  of  o  tract  of 
land  originally  returned  to  Richard 
Penn.  Thus  showing  'that  the  elder 
Peter  Decker  had  never  been  its  pro- 
prietory owner.  Peter  Decker  and 
Olia,  his  wife,  had  previously  sold  to 
Samuel  Decker  a  tract  of  22  acre:)  lying 
in  or  about  Deckertown,  which  is  men- 
tioned in  the  deed  as  having  been 
originally  returned  by  survey  to  Richard 
Penn.  Samuel  Decker  also  bought 
from  Andeew  Willson  a  tract  lying  at 
the  north  east  of  Deckertown.  which  is 
mentioned  as  part  of  .Tamos  Barton's 
original  return,  and  therefore  had  never 
been  preampted  by  Peter.  Thomas  An-- 
dernon,  of  Newton  bought  BO  acres,  Oct. 
2."itb,  1784,  being  part  of  3,000  acres,  to 


be  located  in  any  part  of  tho  K,ut<TK) 
Division  of  Now  Jersey  iinnjipn^'rintixS 
lauds  except  Bomopoko.  Tula  a:xir* 
acres  cornered  on  tho  lauds  iif  .1  --L 
Cro well  just  west  of  Dcekcrtuwn-  I "■» 
3,000  acres  was  part  of  the  Sharp  utirtry 
of  lands  in  tho  Papakating  vullpy,  i>rnrib 
ed  to  Azariah  Dunbar  and  John  •!■  i  n 
son,  by  the  proprietors  Sept.  i::t  .,  1  -i. 
and  recorded  in  the  Surveyor  UcucrnTt 
otHce. 

Stephen  Decker,  who  resided  noar  of 

upon  whatisnow  Bank  St.  did  oot  c ive- 

any  of  the  lands  upon  which  lie  ri  -<i.t.dl 
from  his  father,  but  bought  th<  m  fr. ito 
Joseph  Barton,  and  Elizabeth  Cojken^ 
dall,  Executrix,  cud  William  Coykeudall 
and  Henry  Coykenkall,  Executors  of 
Gabriel  Ludlum,  deceased.  Stephen 
left  a  will.  Robert  Morris  Jr.,  and 
Jedediah  Sayre  bouglit  of  Henry  I  >•  ';- 
er  100  acres,  in  1701  which  adjoined? 
Decker's  mill  pond.  Tho  next  jcaij 
Morris  sold  his  interest  to  Sayre. 

Josias  Decker,  bought  his  lauds  of, 
Joseph  Sharp  and  Martiu  Ryerson,  and9 
afterward  conveyed  them  to  Bowdewtnej 
Decker. 

Abraham  Decker,  bought  his  lands  of; 
Martin  Ryerson,  of  Newton. 

Thus  we  think  it  seems  to  ho  pretty; 
well  established,  that  capitalists  and; 
land  speculators,  obtained  titles  by  i  nr-; 
chase  and  by  liliug  surveys  in  the  Sur- 
veyor General's  office,  under  proprii  lary 
grants  to  all  the  lands  embraced  in  the 
present  bounds  of  Deekertnwn  except 
the  Peter  Decker  homestead,  lately  that 
of  Amos  Munson,  and  comprising  tmti 
little  more  thau  tho  few  acre-;  imuiedia-j 
tely  about  the  house. 

Samuel  Decker  seems  to  have  at  one ! 
time  acquired  titles  to   the    ; 
i  lauds    in    Deckertown,    but    •  • 
j  much  money    in   improvements 
being  at  the  close  of  the   Itavtiluri         •  j 
war.  when  the  failure  of  the  Cunt  i 
money  made  very  stringer:    tin; 
I  came    involved    in    linuitoral   difficult 
|  William  Treadwell,  of  Au.l  >,;,,  .-ecu: ■•  1  M 
I  judgment    against   him   for    U'"2--m  "t»j 
Under   that  his   property   was  sold.ti/.; 


Janus  Hyndbhaw  Sheriff  in  1703T  Gab- 
n.  1  Lndhim  was  the  purchaser;  ami  his 
deed  from  the  Sheriff  ia  dated  Feb.  19th, 
1 7:iJ.  May  let,  180IJ  Mary,  and  .Tames 
Liullum  sold  nearly  all  the  tracts  to 
Peter  Decker. 

About  this  date  Jedcdiah  Sayre  came 
into  prominent  notice  in  connection 
with  Deckertown  real  estate.  Whence 
he  came  we  cannot  learn  but  he  must 
have  been  p.  man  of  considerable  means. 
Ho  is  iirst  mentioned  in  old  deeds  ar. 
from  Susses  county.  .He  at  one  time 
owned  the  old  mill  which  once  existed 
upon  the  lands  now  of  Isral  Davenport 
in  Wantage.  Feb.  10th,  1801  he  bought 
SO  acres  of  land  from  Gertrude  Parker, 
Executrix  of  John  Parker,  deceased,  bo- 
gining  two  chains  and  ninety  links 
"from  John  Caskey's  old  house."  March 
13th,  1S01  he  bought  ten  acres  from 
Thomas  Anderson  of  Newton  which 
began  at  a  peppridge  tree  marked  on 
four'sides  and  running  "to  a  corner  of 
.Joel  Crowd's  lands  in  Wantage."    Then 

!  he  seems  to  have  set  out  to  literally 
own  Dcckertown.     He  bought  hits  from 

;  William    Decker  for  3725,  which    had 

[been  left  to  William  by  his  father, 
Stephen's  will.  He  bought  12  acres  from 
Abram  Conrsen  for  £32.  He  bought  of 
William  Edsall  Jr.,  72  acres  for  S128.  He 
b:  >ught  of  Gertrude  Parker,  Executrix, 
117  acres  for  S83  next  to  Mr.  Caskey's. 
He  bought  of  P.obert  Morns  Jr.,  oil  his 
possessions  in  Deckertown  -'between  the 
Clove  creek  and  Drowned  lands  for 
S93  26-100."    This  survey  includes  the 

.  100  acres  and  UJ£  acres.  The  11? {  acres 
is  however  previously  recorded  as  hav- 
ing been  sold  to  him  by  Robert  Morris, 
Jr.,  for  £4o0,  Nov.  10th,  1792.  Mr.  Sayre 
also  bonght  lauds  of  Benjamin  Burt, 
an.i  Poter  Smith,  Shriff.-  Mr.  Sayre,  it  is 
thought,  from  a  deed  hereinafter  men- 
tioned lived  in  a  stone  house,  probably 
built  by  Samuel  Docker,  which  stood 
upon  what  is  now  the  Loomis  farm.  He 
is  conjectured  by  some  to  have  reached 
Deckertown  from  Goshen,  where  reside 
iniluontial  families  of  the  Sayre  name. 


He  died  iri"lS13,  leaving"  whaf  must  "T3 
those  days  have  been  considered  a  for-* 
tune  to  his  live  children.  They  applied1 
to  the  courts  for  a  partition  of  his  real; 
estate  among  them. 

At  the  November  term  of  court  1813,' 
John  Tims  tor  Timbs,)  George  Backster, 
and  Thomas  Armstrong,  were  appointed 
commissioners  in  a  partition  suit  to  di- 
vide the  lauds  of  Jedcdiah  Sayre  de- 
ceased among  his  children,  viz:  Susan, 
who  by  marriage  was  a  Stoll,  En  A. 
Sayre,  John  R.  Sayre,  James  B.  Sayre, 
and  Caroline  E.  Sayre.  The  last  four 
were  then  under  21  years  of  ago.  Feb. 
10th,  1S11  the  commissioners  filed  their 
report.  They  t,et  off  to  Susan  Stoll  a 
tract  of  12  acres,  being  a  part  of  the 
great  meadows  belonging  to  the  stone 
house  lLoomis)  farm  This  tract  was 
west  of  the  Clove  creek  near  its  junction 
with  the  Papakahng,  Caroline  having  a 
tract  of  6  acres  set  off  to  her  next  to 
Susan's,  on  the  west  banks  of  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  creeks.  Susan  had  also 
the  Still  house  lot  set  oil'  to  her,  now  ' 
owned  by  J.  J.  Wickham,  except  that ! 
then  it  extended  aoross  the  road  a*d  i 
embraced  the  ground  upon  which  the 
cider  house  stood,  now  part  of  or  just 
north  of  the  shoe  factory  lot.  The  still  | 
house  and  eider  house  lot  then  comprised  ! 
3  50-100  acres.  Susan  also  had  set  oii'  to 
her  a  tract  adjoining  John  Caskey  Sr's., 
lands  containing  90  75-100  acres. 

To  Evi  A.  Sayre  the  commissioners 
set  off  a  tract  of  12  acres,  running  from 
the  west  end  of  the  dam  at  the  foot  of 
now  Loomis'  hill  southerly  to  a  wal- 
nut trt-c,  in  the  stone  house  mow  Loomis) 
meadow,  and  from  that  tree  to  the  centre 
of  the  creek  in  tho  rear  of  what  is  now 
Benj.  H.  Smith's  property,  and  thence 
up  the  creek  to  the  dam  (cow  Newton 
Ave.  I  They  also  set  off  to  him  a  lot  con- 
taining 1  87-100  acres,  which  probably 
included  what  is  now  F«.  P.  Adams'  and 
Dr.  VunGaasbeck's  properties.  They 
also  set  off  a  tract  containing  103  acres, 
which  lay  north  and  northeast  of  tho 
tavern  property,  probably   extending   to 


Abiah  WHTson's  lands.  ""' 

To  John  B.  Sayre  they  Ret  off  a  part  of 
the  stone  house  farm  (now  Loomis,  I 
which  was  the  part  upon  which  tho 
buildings  were  situated  as  near,  ns  can 
benaoeftftiaed.  It  oontained  90  acres. 
Wb  gather  that  Jedadiah  Sayre  resided 
Lure  some  part  of  his  lifetime  because 
tiie  survey  of  the  above  tract  mentions 
running  to  a  point  three  liuks  from  the 
"southeast  corner  of  the  cow  Louse  of 
Jedediah  Saycr  deceased." 

To  Mary  Suyre  they  set  off  tho  west- 
ern and  southern  portion  of  tho  stone 
hou30  farm,  running  as  far  south  as 
Susan  Stoll's  twelve  acres  near  the  junc- 
tion of  Clove  and  Papakating  creeks.- 
It  contained  57  acres.  They  also  set  off 
to  her  a  lot  "on  the  lower  side  of  the 
road  opposite  to  the  lied  house  on  the 
hill  where  Dr.  James  Hall  then  lived" 
containing  1  TO  -100  acres.  This 
tract  we  conclude  was  located  in 
the  rear  of  what  i3  now  the  Union  Ilouse. 
They  also  set  of  to  her  a  wood  lot  of  ten 
acres  lying  upon  the  north  side  of  Evi 
A.  Sayre's  102  acre  tract,  and  also  north- 
east of  a  wood  lot  of  twelve  acres  which 
they  at  the  same  time  set  olf  to  Caroline 
E.  Sayer. 

To  James  B.  Say  re,  they  set  off  a  tract 
containing  1  72-100  acres  upon  a  part 
of  which  we  conclude  the  hotel  annex 
to  llobie's  is  now  standing.  They  also 
set  off  to  him  tho  Mill  farm  containing 
7-  33-100  acres,  less  a  lot  previously  con- 
veyed to  Timothy  Tlolly.  leaving  net  6S 
acres.  This  we  conclude  to  have  been 
tho  site  of  Lafayette  Fuller's  present 
mill,  although  there  have  been  sugges- 
tions that  this  was  the  old  mill  sight  and 
farm  now  owned  by  Israel  Davenport  in 
Wantage.  They  also  set  off  to  James 
B.  Sayre  a  lot  of  two  acres  upon  which 
said  mill  was  situated  adjoining  the 
.dxivo  68  acres,  and  beginning  at  a  large 
Hint  rock  on  the  northwest  side  of  Mill 
Brook.  They  also  set  off  to  him  a  lot 
"bought  of  Adrian  VanHouten,  adjoin- 
ing lands  of  Henry  Post"  containing  17 
acres.    Also  a  tract  containing  71  39-100 


acres,  being  the  farm  whereon  Th/>m^ 
Harden  lives  (18140  Thoy  also  sot  oiTtnj 
him  a  tract  of  33  S7-100  acre*  on  tUti 
Drowned  lands  •'Beginning  at  a  whiM 
oak  tree  on  the  west  shore  of  the  WajU 
kill,"  being  premises  bought  of  Jon  :r 
Willson. 

To  Caroline  E.  Sayre  they  set  oil  t».<» 
two  lots  we  have  previously  mentioned 
as  hers,  and  also  a  lot  containing 
4  02-100  acres,  upon  which  t!,.-  ■  •-.  ■] 
house  on  the  hill  whom  Dr.  James  il  ,:j 
lives"  (1814,)  which  we  take  to  have  '- m 
the  lot  whereon  the  Academy  building 
now  stands.  They  also  set  oil  a  tract  to 
her  on  the  south  side  of  Fapnkating 
creek,  containing  r,0  acre?,  which  ad- 
joined George  McCoy's.  Crowed  Adam  s 
and  John  Clay's  lands. 

The  Commissioners  certified  that  t',>- 
foregoiug  were  all  tho  lands  belonging 

;-._  :      ...'     ' .,     j    .     , 

that  time  in  Susses.  His  daughter, 
JSary,  before  mentioned  was  married 
after  the  aforesaid  division  and  wasi 
kcovri.  as  Mary  Chandler  in  1S27,  as  is'- 
mentioned  in  the  Sheriffs  deed  to  Bow-- 
dewi"n<   Decker  hereinafter  mentioned. 

Dr.  James  Hall  who  occupied  the 
"little  red  house  on  the  hill"  mentioned 
in  the  foregoing  surveys,  sold  it  and 
afterwards  bought  the  double  house  on 
the  Clove  road  now  owned  we  think  by 
W.  B.  Mills.  This  property  he  after- 
ward sold  to  Bev  Leonard  Fletcher,  »  ho 
was  pastor  of  the  Papakating  Baj  ti-t 
church.  "The  little  red  house  on  the 
hill,"  probably  stood  near  where  V.  H 
Lane  now  lives,  judging  from  a  map  of 
the  above  divisions  of  lands,  now  in  pos- 
session of  Surveyor  James  \V.  McCoy, 
who  kindly  loaned  it  to  us.  It  is  men- 
tioned in  the  survey  as  being  upon  lot  9 
which  we  locate  as  near  ah  possible. 
Dr.  Hall  was  then  n  praotieiag  phy»i<"i»i 
here,  but  it  is  not  known  what  relation- 
ship (if  any)  he  bore  to  jother  families  "1 
that  name  in  Wantage.  How  long  1  •• 
remained  here  is  not  known,  but  it  m 
certain  that  he  antedates  Dr.  Berret 
Havens  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in 


After  the  distribution  of  Jedediah 
Say  re's  estate,  his  children  disposed  of 
their  shares  to  other  partioa.  Mrs. 
Susan  Stoll  sold  her  interests  to  her 
brother  Jauma  B.  Sayre,  who  engaged! 
iu  the  grocery  business.  The  year  182fj[ 
and  '27  was  a  noted  one  In  Sussex  Co., 
tor  litigation.  Law  suits  sprang  into 
existence  every  day,  and  the  records 
show  that  William  Darragb,  who  was 
then  Sheriff,  was  kept  birey  by  forced 
sales  of  personal  and  real  property.  A 
foreclosure  was  brought  upon  a  lien 
which  swept  away  a  goodly  part  of 
Deekertown.  The  Sheriff  levied  upon 
it,  and  eoldthe  cider  house  and  distillery 
lots  and  several  other  parcels  of  land. 
Bowuewme  Decker  was  the  purchaser. 
His  deed  dated  April  9th,  1827,  recites  of 
one  of  the  parcels  of  land  "that  it  lay 
southeast  of  the  foregoing  tracts  of  land 
near  the  road  leading  to  the  Babbitt 
Meeting  house  near  the  Pepocotting 
late  in  the  possession  of  Samuel  Decker 
and  whereon  he  erected  a  new  frame 
dwelling  house  a  few  years  ago."  It  con- 
tained 120  aores.  This  we  take  to  be  the 
property  lata  of  Amos  Munson. 

Seven  or  eight  years  later  Samuel 
Whittaker  came  in  the  place,  and  bought 
largely  of  the  real  estate,  as  did  William 
Rankin  and  John  Loomis.  Then  came 
the  late  Jacob  E.  Hornbeck,  who  at  one 
time  was  an  extensive  land  holder  in 
the  place.  With  his  death  the  properties 
have  become  divided  and  merged  into  a 
greater  number  of  owners. 

Br  njaruim  BE.  Smith  has  probably  ex- 
pended more  money  in  street  improve- 
ments than  any  one  man  who  has  ever 
resided  in  the  place.  He  took  off  the 
top  of  the  hill  in  front  of  his  house  and 
rilled  in  a  considerable  hollow  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill.  Before  that  the  hill  was 
even  with  his  3toop  floor,  and  was  a  very 
hard  ouo  to  haul  a  heavy  load  over. 
The  expense  of  the  improvement  with 
the  cost  of  pavements  alxmt  his  property 
for  public  use,  has  been  about   $2000. 

The  stone  building  now  used  for  a 
bakery,  was  built  for  a  blacksmith  shop 


and  used  for  tharprrrpose  in  about  "18433 
The  Wantage  Grange,  No.  78.,  P.  of  H. ' 
8  farmer's  society,  was  organized  about 
30  years  ago.  It  suffered  a  decline  for 
some  years,  but  has  been  for  about 
seven  years  iu  a  healthy  condition.  * 

Tho  first  newspaper  of  a  parmancnt 
character  was  the  Independent,  the  tirat 
uumber  of  which  was  issued  May  4th, 
1870.  The  next  was  the  Wantage  Re- 
corder, the  first  number  of  which  was 


issued  Jan.  12th  1894. 


1 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


WILLIAM  RANKIN,  A.  M. 

It  is  to  be  desired  that  some  abler  pen 
than  ours  had  attempted  tliis  task;  but 
knowing  that,  Jiowever  humble  the 
language  may  be,  leading  facts  are  to 
comprise  the  substance  aimed  at  we 
shall  proceed  to  enumerate  them.  The 
name  of  William  Rankin  has  been  uh>- 
gized  in  all  the  records  of  Sussex  county 
which  have  a  bearing  upon  the  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  county.  As  the 
scene  of  his  greatest  triumphs  was  our 
own  borough  of  Deekertown,  it  is  there- 
fore lifting  that  we  should  take  perhaps 
a-greater  pride  in  recounting  his  strug- 
gle.- and  ultimate  victory  than  the  citi 
zens  of  other  localities.  His  fame  was 
won  by  a  life  struggle  for  supremacy,  at 
a  time  when  the  popular  mind  valued 
the  acquisition  of  learning  very  little. 
Ltev.  Peter  ivauouse,  in  his  sermon 
preached  at  Beemerville  Jan.  7th,  1844,, 
speaks  thus  of  the  inhabitants;  of  this 
locality  as  ho  viewed  them  iu  V>'-J>-'>,  the 
year  when  Mr.  Bankm  began  hin  school 
iu  Deekertown. 

"A  race  soon  appeared,  as  if  the  fahled 
Gorgon  tc-i  th  had  been  sowed  broad 
cast  over  the  region— a  Cyeloptio  race. 
(Jumbling,  swea.-ing,  lying,  cheating, 
horse-racing,  balls,  riots,  and  litigations, 
followed  in  tluir  train  by  a  company  oF 
duns,  constables  and  s'lenlfs;  ami  a-*  tho 
fruits  of  the  whole,  bankruptcy,  broken 
hearts,  disease,  suicides,  and  prematura 
death." 

Many   common   school    districts    had. 


s  -holars  who  prided  themselves  upon 
lioins  able  to  whip  t lie  teacher,  ami 
ivhcn  an  incident  of  tliat  kind  happened, 
iu  itcad  of  visiting  condigu  punishment 
upnu  the  offenders,  the  people  of  tho 
di.'lrmt  told  of  it  gleefully  and  with  nil 
the  !>rnsto  of  relating  a  very  proper  joke. 
fn  nnchan  age  William  K  cukin  came  to 
I  leekertown,  and  eventually  mi^lit  truly 
have  quoted    the    latin    axiom,    "Pen* 

lie  was  born  amid  tlie  beautiful 
mountains  of  Greene  County,  Tennessee 
in  August  IT'.'o.  It  was  a  year  made 
memorable  in  the  history  of  that  Slate 
because  it  then  assumed  the  organized 
form  of  a  state  from  the  previous  unde- 
lined  region  known  as  the  "Territory 
south  of  Ohio."  His  parents  were  Wil- 
liam Rankin  anil  Sarah  Moore.  Their 
respective  parents  (his  grandparents) 
were  Thomas  Rankin  and  Anthony 
Moore.  The  two  latter  were  emmigrants 
at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war 
from  the  Scotch-Irish  settlement  at  Mar- 
ti".'s  Creek  in  Pennsylvania,  about  six 
miles  above  Easton.  The  Creek  is  sup- 
posed to  have  taken  its  name  from  James 
Martin,  who  was  one  of  the  Commission- 
ers  appointed  to  lay  out  the  borough  of 
Easton  iu  1733.  David  Brainerd  the 
.Moravian  missionary,  speaks  of  the  set- 
tlement at  Martin's  Creek,  thus :  "May 
13th  1711,  reached  a  settlement  Irish,  anil 
Hutch  people,  about  12  miles  above  the 
forks  of  the  Delaware."  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  in  17-12  says:  "Following  the  In- 
dian path  that  led  past  Tatemy's  house 
north  into  the  Minisink  or  upper  valley 
"f  the  Delaware,  they  came  to  tho  vil- 
l-.-e  of  Clistowakin,  live  miles  above  on 
Martin's  creek,  near  the  three  churches, 
iu  [jowcr  Sit.  Bethel."  In  a- note  to 
imalo  of  the  Moravian  church,  the 
'vi  iter  speaks  of  it  "Settled  by  one  wins 
of  the  Scotch-Irish,  who  came  into  this 
northern  part  of  Buck's  county  between 
I7-!*  and  i7:i!»."  These  Scotch-Irish 
were  Presbyterians.  There  is  a  Moore 
Township  now  in  Northumberland  Co., 
noised    from    the    family    who  settlod 


there?' Mr.  P.ankin's  ancestry  howoTe?! 
were  from  Carlisle  Pensylvamr.,  but! 
closely  allied  to  the  Moore's  in  rcUgiunjI 
feelings  and  in  nativity. 

When  tho  disintegration  of  neighbors 
hoods  followed  the  closing  scenes  of  the 
lievoluttouary  war,  they  drifted  nwny' 
from  lower  Mt.  Bethel  and  from  Carlisle 
and  followed  tho  western  slope  of  tl.e 
Alleghany  mountains  to  Tennetwea.1 
There  they  pitched  their  abode*,  nud 
it  was  not  long  ero  a  BVH  Mt.  Bethel 
church  sprang  into  existence  nuderf, 
their  fostering  care.  William  Kankinj 
Sr.,  was  a  wagon  master  during  thev 
Revolutionary  war,  and  was  present  at', 
Yorktowu  when  Cornwallis  surrendered: 
to  Washington.  William  B.  Rankin,  a< 
brother's  son,  ol  Austin,  Texas,  has  a:r 
cannon  ball  which  his  uncle,  the  rather! 
of  William  Rankin,  Jr.,  brought  homo; 
with  him  from  that  historical  battlefield!] 
Wm.  B's  father,  grandfather,  and  great] 
grandfather  sere  Elders  in  that  old  Mt.; 
Bethel  church.  Rev.  Samuel  DoakrEU 
D.,  who  arose  to  much  distinction  as  an) 
instructor  in  Tennessee,  emigrated  with* 
his  ancestors  from  the  same  vicinity  as" 
the  Moore's. — Lower  Mt.  Bethel  church 
six  miles  above  Easton,  l'a.  He  lir.itj 
started  a  school  at  Mt,  Salem  in  Wash-.' 
ington  County,  Tcnessee,  and  called  id 
Martin's  College.  This  was  about  1/:H)^ 
From  Martin's  College,  now  Washing-! 
ton  College,  he  moved  to  Greene  County! 
and  settled  lfi  miles  from  Martin's  Col-j 
lege  near  Wm.  Rankin,  Srs,  home.  I.'erej 
he  founded  Tusculum  Academy  in  1M* 
and  one  of  his  lirst  scholars  ivas  William! 
Rankin  of  whom  we  write,  at  that  time! 
21  to  22  years  of  age.  Young  Rnnkinl 
had  previously  fo  that  time  had  little; 
opportunity  for  acquiring  an  education,] 
He  had  worked  hard  at  farm  labor,  lie.' 
had  Buffered  a  severe  attack  of  scarlet 
fever  which  had  affected  hifl  eytmighd 
and  from  which  it  uever.fully  recoven  d. 
Yet  he  appears  to  have  been  an  apt 
scholar,  and  to  have  made  marvelous 
I  gains  in  his  studies.  Tusculum  «n*j 
I  then  a   log  structure,    which    waa   later, 


si.l.iT  over.  "This  became  a  famed  iusli- 
tutiou  of  learning,  and  was  incorporated 
HS  Tusciilum  College  in  1845,  when  An- 
drew Johnson,  afterwards  President  of 
the  Dinted  States  wag  made  a  life  trus- 
tee. Mt  Bethel  church  founded  by  the 
Moores  and  Ranking  stands  near  this 
building.  Jt  is  sixteen  nulo  from  Knox- 
villo,  Tonnei-see. 

Young  Rankin  remained  there  under 
the  interaction  of  Dr.  Doak  three  years. 
He  then  taught  school  in  the  neighbor- 
hood for  a  few  months.  About  this 
time  two  persons  appeared  upon  the 
sceno  who  took  a  great  share  of  his  time 
and  thoughts.  One  was  nn  eccentric 
man  who  lived  in  a  lonely  hut  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  was  known  as  hermit 
Jack  Kobinsou.  Ho  was  embittored 
ngainst  the  world,  and  had  lost  faith  in 
the  teachings  of  the  bible.  In  his  com- 
pany and  in  conversation  with  him  the 
young  teacher  passed  many  hours.  The 
other  was  a  young  lady  named  Sally 
Moore.  She  was  an  acquaintance  of 
long  standing.  In  her  company  he 
had  passed  many  delightful  hours,  and 
they  had  grown  to  think  each  other  in- 
dispensable to  happiness.  Their  love 
had  become  so  entwined  with  all  their 
ideas  of  present  and  fntnre  life  that  they 
may  be  said  to  have  worshiped  at  that 
shrine.  But  when  he  broached  the  sub- 
ject of  marriage  to  their  parents,  a  stern 
objection  presented  itstlf.  They  were 
cousins.  No  argument  could  tear  down 
the  barrier  which  strict  religions  teach- 
ings upheld.  In  this  extremity  his  mind 
received  a  lasting  shock.  He  fell  into 
the  inlldel  belief  of  his  friend,  the  hermit 
Robinson,  It  was  the  turning  point  of 
his  life.  Had  ho  married  Sally  Moore, 
the  chances  are  that  Sussex  County 
would  never  have  drank  at  that  fountain 
of  instruction  he  afterwards  struck  with 
tin-  rod  of  a  Moses  and  brought  forth  here, 
lie  hail  partly  consented  to  become  a 
minister  previous  to  this  destruction  of 
Ilia  belief  in  everything.  About  the 
•in  1  He  of  the  term  of  school  in  which  he 
»'■"  engaged  he  disappeared,  leaving  a 
ouUj  which  stated  that  he    was   tired  of 


civilized  Wo.  "He  Dever  came  homfl 
again.  It  was  years  before  his  parents 
heard  from  him  again.  He  was  found 
teaching  a  school  in  North  Carolina. 
He  had,  so  it  was  discovered,  been  a 
resilient  of  the  Cherokee  natiou  of  In- 
dians, and  in  after  life  narrated  the 
amusement  he  created  among  them  by. 
reading  from  pocket  editions  of  Latin 
and  Greek,  of  Horaoe  and  Homer  which 
ho  carried  with  him.  His  father  en- 
deavored to  induce  hira  to  return  home, 
but  in  vaiu.  His  mind  was  too  restless 
from  the  great  disappointment  he  had 
undergone  to  remain  long  in  a  place. 
He  taught  terms  of  school  in  Georgia, 
South  Caroliua  and  Virginia.  Like  a 
wounded  bird  he  flitted  from  place  to 
place  m  a  state  of  unrest  and  seemed  to 
find  no  permanent  abode.  In  1S2S  he 
made  his  appearance  in  Johnsonburg, 
now  in  Warren  County,  and  applied  for 
the  school  He  was  travel  stained,  and 
earned  a  small  budget.  Dr.  Roderielr 
iiyington  appointed  a  day  to  examine: 
him  as  to  his  qualifications.  On  that 
occasion  a  considerable  number  of  the 
people  of  the  neighborhood  assembled 
nt  the  village  tavern  where  the  examina- 
tion was  held.  The  writer  having  once 
been  subjected  to  a  similar  examination, 
can  fully  realize  the' display  intended. 
The  examiner  on  such  occasions  delight- 
ed to  show  by  his  learned  questions  his 
superiority  in  scholastic  attainments, 
and  the  examined  was  equally  desirious 
of  showtac;  the  audience  that  he  was  a 
m  itch  for  his  questioner,  while  the  vil- 
lagers were  ready  to  applaud  the  dis- 
comfiture of  either  one.  Despite  Mr. 
Rankin's  rough  appearance  he  surprised 
the  Dr.  by  lira  knowledge  of  Latin, 
Greek,  and  the  various  studies  upon 
which  he  was  examined,  ami  their  hear- 
ers went  away  enthusiastic  in  praise  of 
the  new  school  master. 

Shortly  after  beginning  the  school  he 
was  taken  ill  and  for  some  weeks  was 
under  a  physicians  care.  He  gave  up 
the  school.  After  he  recovered  sulli- 
ciently  to  walk  ho  weut  to  Newton 
whero  he   was    welcomed   by   Rev.   Jos.. 


Slnfer.  Ho  then  secured"  a  position  a9 
assistant  teacher  to  Rev.  Edward  Allen, 
who  opened  a  select  school  that  fall 
(1828)  in  his  house  in  the  Clove  near 
lUvkortown.  Here  he  taught  one  term. 
One  of  his  scholars  during  this  term  was 
E.  A.  Styles,  who  afterward  founded  Mt. 
;.  tueraent  Seminary.  At  the  expiration 
of  the  term  Mr.  Rankin  engaged  with 
Rev.  Clarkson  Dunn,  of  Newton,  and 
taught  a  short  time  in  a  building  on  the 
hill,  which  was  afterwards  used  as  a 
residence  by  the  late  Levi  Shepherd. 
From  here  he  went  one  year  to  Yale 
college  where  the  degree  of  A.  M.  whs 
conferred  upon  him.  In  1S30,  with  Rev. 
Edward  Allen,  he  founded  a  select 
school  at  Harmony  Vale  uear  Hamburg, 
which  was  liberally  patronized.  Iu  the 
fall  of  1833  he  sought  to  establish  a 
i  8cliool  in  Deokertown,  but  found  it 
1  dilTicult  to  secure  a  suitable  room.  Final  - 
i  ly  to  use  his  own  words:  "I  rented 
from  tho  tavern  keeper  before  mention- 
ed, a  small  building  which  was  situated 
about  hnlf  way  up  a  steep  hill."  His 
tirst  pupil,  John  A  Wbittaker,  Esq.,  in- 
foriSfl  lis  that  as  near  as  ho  can  recollect 
this  building  stood  in  the  rear  of  Mir. 
ilei'kers       present     property.  Mr. 

Rankin's  further  description  of  the 
building  was  as  follows:  "ThiB  build- 
ing had  been  erected  for  a  tailor  shop 
and  used  for  that  purpose,  until  the 
proprietor  changed  his  mind  and  went 
to  tavern  keeping.  It  had  never  been 
punted,  and  had  stood  long  enough  to 
turn  black,  or  at  least  blackish.  Access 
to  the  door  was  by  steps,  or  rather  stairs 
on  tho  lower  side.  After  examining  all 
within  I  descended  the  steps  and  at- 
ti  Dip  ted  to  regain  the  main  street,  which 
[  did  by  two  or  three  damaging  slides 
r  r  the  ground  was  covered  with  ice," 
From  this  we  may  reasonably  infer  that 
it  was  not  earlier  than  November  when 
he  began  his  school.  The  room  was 
1 1  feet  square  and  bare  of  furniture. 
After  borrowing  a  pick  and  Jigging  a 
few  rough  places  about  tho  steps  to 
make  the  ascent  practicable  to  his  room, 
he  next  sot  about  getting   a  stove.     He 


enquired  of  the  merchants  for  a  h1..\tJ 
but  they  informed  him  none  was  to  be> 
had  nearer  than  Newton  or  Goshen.  H» 
then  says  "I  made  the  same  inquiry  ofc 
the  tavern  keeper  and  at  first  he  mud* 
the  same  reply,  but  then  looking  fur  a 
moment  downward  he  raised  lim  lie«4r 
and  striking  the  counter  us  ^ad  hm, 
manner,  said  'I  will  rent  you  a  utovc  butt 
it  la  a  broken  one.  A  fewuitrl.ts  »;-ot!j» 
young  fellows  in  my  bar  room  g.it  tlglit 
and  iu  a  row  broke  my  stove  badly.'  t 
will  tako  it,  "said  I"  what  is  your  priau 
'I  will  charge  you  nothing  for  the  dm  up 
it  if  you  will  get  it  repaired.'  Have  yon 
a  smith's  shop  in  the  place?  '.You* 
nearer  thttn  a  mile  and  a  half.'  Havel 
you  anything  by  which  I  can  couvey 
the  stove  thither?  '1  can  lend  von  a; 
horse,  bat  I  have  neither  a  sleigh,  sled* 
or  wagon  that  would  answer  for  such  » 
purpose."  Have  you  a  wood  pile?  "Do 
you  meau  to  hitoh  my  home  to  a  wood 
pile  and  drag  it  to  the  smith's  shop  with. 
the  stovo  on  top?'  If  I  injure  your: 
horse  in  the  least,  I  answered,  I  will 
indemnify  you  for  the  same.  He  laughed 
and  °aid  'go  ahead.'  While  he  went  FbS 
the  horse  I  went  to  the  woodpile,  and 
selected  a  couple  of  poles  eight  feet  long' 
and,  having  obtained  a  hammer  and; 
nails,  nailed  on  several  cross  pieces,  and: 
putting  the  horse  in  these  shafts,  I  load-, 
ed  up  the  broken  stove  and  moved  oft* 
to  the  blacksmith  shop.  Tho  repairing' 
having  been  accomplished,  I  returned 
and  put  my  stove  in  the  place  prepared, 
for  it.  Having  now  furnished  my  room- 
with  warming  apparatus  and  a  few  rude 
seats,  I  advertised  on  the  public  dooraj 
of  tho  village  that  my  school  would  open: 
on  the  ensuing  Monday  morning.  I  had' 
not  a  single  scholar  engaged  oertainly, 
though  all  told  me  they  would  see  about 
it,  and,  if  I  succeeded  would  most  Likely 
send." 

When  bo  went  to  open  the  school,  he' 
said;  "ascending  the  steps,  I  entered  the 
door,  and  was  there  not  a  single  scholar 
there?  Yes,  there  sat  a  single  one— a. 
young  man  of  of  fifteen  or  sixteen.  Ho, 
arose  and  handed  me  a  note   from  Uiaj 


[ father  VSamuc-I  Whittaker)  "a~re»pected 
:  nu.l  worthy  gentleman  of  Orange  County 
(Unionville)  X,  V.  In  this  note  ho  said 
•  he  bad  heard  of  my  intention  to  open 
the  school  and  wished  to  enter  his  son 
nt  the  beginning."  This  young  man 
was  then  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  is  the 
President  of  the  Farmers'  National 
Bank,  John  A.  Whittaker.  Mr.  V'Lit- 
taker  informs  us  that  the  next  scholars 
to  appear  at  the  school  were  Dr.  Allen's 
two  daughters,  Lydia  and  Anna.  The 
building  in  which  Mr.  Rankin  thus  be- 
gan his  famous  school,  is  said  by  more 
than  one  old  inhabitant  of  the  place  to 
have  been  subsequently  removed  to  Mill 
street  and  tobenow  partof  the  dwelling 
boust  owned  and  occupied  by  William 
Mann.  Mr.  Whittaker  says  ho  cannot 
remember  as  to  the  disposition  made  of 
the  building. 

Before  the  nest  spring  over  twenty 
scholars  were  in  attendance.  The  next 
year  this  number  was  doubled.  And  as 
the  fame  uf  his  school  was  spread 
scholars  came  from  distant  places,  and 
the  number  increased.  It  is  thought 
that  he  occupied  the  building  that  he 
lirst  rented  for  the  school  room  two 
years,  but  it  may  have  been  three.  In 
l'->:!7  the  deed  of  the  old  church  on  the 
hill  which  was  sold  him  recites  that  the 
deed  was  a  duplicate  given  him  by  the 
trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in 
place  of  one  give  him  previously  for  said 
premises  but  which  had  been  lost.  If 
the  lost  deed  was  given  the  year  before, 
it  made  his  stay  in  the  first  school  room 
throe  years.  It  is  not  likely  he#reuiain- 
ed  there  longer,  very  possibly  not  so 
long  because  the  room  could  not  have 
accommodated  much  more  than  twenty 
scholars.  He  purchased  the  old  church 
and  converted  it  into  an  academy  very 
eertaialy  by  183G.  It  was  well  suited 
fi'i  his  purpose.  Hero  he  was  obliged 
to  engage  assistant  teachers  and  among 
those  engage!  was  Miss  Lydia  Billiard, 
an  accomplished  young  lady  fro:.-.  Nash- 
ua, N.  II.  hater  he  formed  an  attach- 
ment for  her  which  was  reciprocated  and 
|  id  -j  were  married.    She  made  him  a  de- 


vnfS3  wife,  and  the  pupils  male  arcOfl 
male  who  attended  her  iuBtruohouni 
nevr  forgot  her  kindness  towards  tbeaji 
nor  her  unwearied  efforts  to  enhance 
their  progress  in  the  varied  studies  then 
were  engaged  in. 

From  1830,  we  will  say,  to  lsf'i,  be  nt-' 
tamed  the  greatest  reputation  in  Lis 
profession.  The  female  department  of 
the  academy  was  presided  over  by  bis 
estimable  wife,  and  the  number  uf 
pupils  taxed  the  capacity  of  the  build- 
ing to  its  fullest  extent.  In  iSi.  he 
sold  the  academy  to  the  Deckertuwn 
school  district  (No.  12  of  Wantage  Town- 
ship,) and  removed  to  Amity.  The  clos- 
ing  of  the  school  in  Deckertows  grew 
out  of  a  difficulty  atl'eeting  the  property. 
He  remained  in  Amity  two  years.  ile 
then  sought  to  return  to  Poekertonn, 
but  a  suitable  property  for  his  purpose 
was  difficult  to  rind.  Ile  accordingly 
took  the  property  where  James  II. 
Dunning  now  lives,  and  opened  a  fe- 
male department  of  his  school  which  he 
placed  in  charge  of  his  wife.  He  then 
opened  the  male  department  of  the' 
school  in  Unionville.  This  aYr'nnge 
ment  lasted  two  years,  but  although  wi  11 
patronized  was  found  inconvenient. 
He  then  gave  up  his  labors  there  and 
came  to  Deckertown,  whence  lie  re- 
moved to  Chester,  N.  J.,  a  few  years 
later.  He  remained  there  but  a  short 
time.  Then  he  established  his  school  at 
Mendham,  N.  J.,  aud  continued  teach- 
ing there  until  his  death,  which  occured 
in  tlie  spring  of  lS7r>.  For  fifteen  years 
previous  to  that  event  he  was  blind. 
Yet  he  continued  his  school  and  Ins 
reputation  as  a  teacher  (lagged  not.  His 
death  occurred  while  he  was  instructing 
a  class  in  Zenephou's  Anabasis.  With-' 
out  premonitory  symptoms  of  ill;,' 
suddenly  fell  dead  before  his  horrified 
pupils,  from  an  attack  of  apoplexy.  Ills  . 
funeral  and  interment  took  plai  n  at  I 
Mendham.  Thus  closed  the  career  Of  J 
the  greatest  professional  teacher  known  j 
in  Sussex  County.  lie  eamo  to  Want-J 
age  when  education,  like  thecounty,  was-) 
in  a  wild  and    unsettled   state,    and   hi\, 


brought  out  of  "that '  wTliTorhess   as'  one 
might   say,   a  grand  structure,    which 

will  endure  for  ages  yet  to  come — a 
monument  to  his  great  talent.  Then,  as 
t.nw,  most  male  teachers  simply  took 
hold  of  school  teaching  as  a  prepara- 
tory course  for  some  other  profession. 
They  can  hardly  be  olassilied  as  pro- 
fessional teachers.  William  Rankin 
was  a  professional  teacher  in  the  fullest 
sens"  of  the  term— he  attained  the  high- 
est rank  in  that  profession — and  he  died 
like  a  soldier  in  battle  iu  the  noble"  dis- 
charge of  his  duty.  Out  of  the  shadows 
which  obscured  his  early  life,  and  we 
are  assured  by  his  nephew  that  skepti- 
cism in  bible  matters  did  not  leave  him 
until  ho  settled  in  Deckertowa,  .he 
emerged  by  patient  and  persevering  ef- 
forts into  the  sunlight  of  popular  favor 
and  renown.  These  efforts  were  of  no 
ordinary  character.  They  were  guided 
by  a  master  intellect,  and  aided  by 
superb  physical  powers.  He  was,  says 
one  of  his  students,  something  over  six 
feet  high,  square  shouldered,  well  pro- 
portioned and  able  to  to  take  refractory 
young  men  by  1  ho  neck  with  one  hand 
nu  i  lilt  them  clear  of  the  lloorand  shake 
them  as  a  terrier  would  a  rat.  Ilis  face 
had  high  cheek  bones,  was  smooth 
stiuven,  always  by  himself,  and  his  eyes 
possessed  a  peculiar  look  as  though 
they  were  weak,  arising  from  an  attack 
of  fever  in  early  life.  Ills  one  peculiar 
faculty  of  teaching,  says  Rev.  Wrn.  B. 
Rankin  hio  nephew,  now  of  Austin, 
Texas,  was,  that  he  not  only  impressed 
but  imparted.  Ills  learning  was  im- 
parted to  pupils.  They  wore  not  only 
Impressed  by  ins  presence,  but  his  word* 
were  remembered  by  them.  One 
expression  often  used  by  him  was  "chiuk- 
-  ■.."  A  m  ison,  lie  would  illustrate, 
m.i\  build  a  high  wall  but  it  has  got.  to 
be  ehinked  in  to  render  itduralile.  So 
In  learning  great  principles  you  must 
not  forget  the  chinking  in,  i.  e.,  details. 
ilis  eccentricity  was  noted.  Sometimes 
said  liis  nephew,  who  assisted  him  for  a 
time,  in  the  middle  of  the  night  he 
Would  arouse  me.      "William,"   said  ho 


got  up,  ring  the  academy  bell:  rfhg  "tfj 
long  and  loud.  Tell  the  boys  I  wan<j 
them  to  road  to  me."  When  they  werol 
assembled  they  read  a  Greek  lesson 
perhaps,  and  he  would  comment  on  iuj 
Then  ho  would  say  "now  go  back  to  bad 
boys."  •} 

These  were  passing  shadows  of  ti,e» 
old  sorrow  of  his  life,  perhaps,  which) 
required  heroic  measures  to  ecltpso.  (in 
one  occasion  a  young  man  named  'i'.il-' 
mage  attended  his  school  and  studletE 
Greek.  When  declining  Greek  nounsJ 
aftor  the  pronunciation  of  Mr.  Rankin  J 
he  fell  into  the  habit  of  pronouncing  the] 
prefix  "Toop,"  "Tupp."  Mr.  Hanking 
corrected  him  in  a  number  of  lossons-l 
yet  whenever  the  subject  came  up  in| 
succeeding  lessons  the  pupil  would  for-) 
get  and  to  his  teachers  "Toop"  responds 
"Tupp."  One  morning  it  again  camti 
up,  and  to  Mr.  Rankiu's  "Toop"  again! 
camo  up  tho"Tupp"of  young  Tulinago.J 
Rankin  turned  upon  him  like  an  onraj 
lion,  and  grasping  him  by  the  colln: 
with  one  hand,  ho  raised  the  other  as 
about  to  strike,  and  shouted  "It  you  s.iyj 
Tupp  again  I  will  kneel;  your  tnetM 
dowu  your  throat.'/  Th'e  pn  fi:-  wadj 
tacked  to  Talmage's  name  after  that] 
by  the  students  and  ho  ever  aflerwardaj 
was  known  as  Tupp  Talmage. 

No  other  school  in  Sussex  County  has] 

turned     out    so    many    men      who  bc-1 

came  prominent  in  after  life  as  teachers,] 

surveyors,    ministors,    and    promicentj 

men  iu  alt" walks    of   life,  as  Rankin's..; 

Mrs.    Lydia    Rankin    is    still    livirJg  In 

'  Sumner,    State   of   Washington.      They } 

|  had  two  .children,   both  .girls,   born   to] 

i  them,  Sarah  and   Urotta.      The   former  j 

i  died  iu  youth.,  the   latter   married   Rev. 

Mr.  Davenport,  a  Presbyterian'ministerj 

1  now  iu  Sumner,  Washington,  with  wh<  ■  i 

Mrs.  RanUi'n   is   living.      Here   we   will 

bring  our  sketch  "of  His   life   to   u  Moan.';* 

I  Ilis  was  a  noble  life.     From  adversity  <:.' 

wrought  triumph.     It  stands   out    upon1 

the  page  of  history,  it  marvel  of  untiring  - 

labor  and  professional  devotion  erownedq 

by  success.     We  cannot   know   the   nor- 

rows  he  lived  down,   but  wo  do  kin-yvj 


igoJ 
gedl 

liar  I 
s  if] 


BhU  Ee'hftHWfMSii  B  the  Tabor  wltieTTpoS^rtown'fyaf  A^te-ma-rTfed-wi  oyTadwaflj 
bash  nefitted  -operations  of  his  fellow     '^',',  wWs.to  John'r.  Decker  Feb.  loth,  n**)  rod 


ni.'n.  "P<?acH  hath  her  victories  no  Int.* 
rotiowned  Lhui  '.vur."  Of  such  were  his 
vioti'ii. s «v«r  all,  the  hero  who  sleeps 
hoaeiit-li  the  Eaodnst  monument  .-it  Mend- 
ham. 

i  Conclusion  i 

SiriKiissT  The  lande  I  interests  nnee  own- 
ed and  exchanged  by  Mr.  Rankin  In  Deckertowu 
whi  -.,  app.  ar  from  roe  >rds,  nave  been  suinmni- 
i.  1  i.  r  us  tiy  James  W.  McCoy,  Esq.,  verified 
from  »urvey»  hu  has  made,  incidentally  while  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession  as  asurveyorin  the 
place.  He  was  a  pupil  ol  Mr.  RanLia' 1  and  our 
thanks  ai  e  due  to  him  for  valuable  data  in  Uik 
preparation  of  this  article.  The  first  real  estate 
owned  by  M-.  Rankin  appears  to  have  boen  ein- 
b  xiied  in  a  deed  dated  June  1836,  which  Included 
3  —  a  :re^,  which  surrounded  the  meeting  house 
(Academy  lot,;  aud  was  conveyed  to  bim  by 
James  Evans  and  wife  for  54.400  who  claimed 
title  by  pa-chase  from  Ales.  Boyles  and  wife.  It 
is  probable  th  it  Mr.  Rankin  about  the  snme  time 
bad  a  deed  of  the  meeting  house  lot,  which  was 
t.i  one:  mentioned  us  lost  and  for  which  be  re- 
Ceivc  i  a  duplicate  April  sth,  1S1?  for  ttti  from 
the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  churou  in 
Wantage.  Therein  the  lot  Is  described  as  con- 
i  .;  i  i.e  57-100 acre-*,  and  covered  a  sirip  one  rod 
wid  on  four  sides  o£  and  outside  of  the  ol.* 
church  building  and  the  /{round   upon  which  it 

'  '■  The  rastee  mernti  >ned  their  title  us 
having he"il  purchiued  from  James  B  Sayre. 
■i  .--i  •..'  .'-lay  ;  -tli.  l-i;.  Win.  Rankin  and  wile 
ci. iv  -yed  th:.  premised  (North  pjrl  of  Academy 
lot)  >i  Stephen  J.  Cole;  and  the  tatter's  heirs. 
April  3rd,  : :  -T  conveyed  it  to  tho  9chool  trustees. 

Mr.  Rankia  curchased  of  Bowdewine  Decker 
for  <:,iH),  April  1st,  ISS7,  'i  TS-l-JO acres,  which  be 
:,-  .ii  at  a  post  in  a  board  fence  at  a  corner  of 
S  imud  Whittalcer's  lot  standing  north  10  deg.  MO. 
east  4  chains  and  40  links  from  the  north  corner 
or  ihe  old  tavern  bouse.  Mr.  Rankin  and  wire  by 
deed  M  iy  1st  ls.">i  conveyed  to  Bethuel  Fnrrand  a 
put  o.  this  tract  which  is  part  where  James  II. 
D.n.iiirignow  resides.  Apart  of  this  tract  also 
>•  prised  the  premises  wnce  John  A,  Whitta 
ki  .  now  resides.  While  another  par  teonveyed  lo 
tberr  isiees  of  tho  Third  Presbyterian  church  of 
Wantage  by  .Mr.  Rankin  and  wife  June  llth,  IrMI 
for S 1  Is  the  lot  where  the  1'resbyterian  church 
ll    n  Is. 

'  .  ■"  ilh.  -.-il.t  r .-!-'.  Win  Rankin  and  wii.- 
com  eyed  to  H.-m-y  Khepherd,  ee,  a!.,  a  lot  oil 
Academy  bill  for  the  sit.-  for  a  new  academy, 
which  however  was  never  built, 

Inthedeeilof  Mr.  Rankin  to  Bethuel  Farfan.l 
ah  re  ciledone  of  Ihe  Hues  cornered  on  thelunds 
of  F.lv,  in  Young.  The  greater  of  this  Edwin 
Young  lot  i»  now  owned  by  Peter  Wells. 

Tha  last  lot  conveyed  by   Mr.   Rankin  of  bis 


It  hea on  Academy  hill  contiguous  to  t.-.e  ■ 
sehool  lot,  and  is  recited  in  the  survey  to  be  north 
Otttie  same.'  This  is  the  premises  now  owned  liy 
Sirs.  Ayrcs,  and  was  purchased  by  John  D. 
Simmons  from  the  heli  s  of  John  B.  Decker  about 
six  years  since.  A  lot  was  purchased  of  said 
Decker's  he'rs  at  the  same  time  by  the  Trustees 
of  thesrhool  district  for  school  purposes  which  * 
lay  adjoining  the  Academy  lot  on  the  south  or 
southwest.  With  tho  sale  of  his  lo'.  »o  John  R. 
Decker,  Mr.  Rankin  concluded  forever  his 
dealings  in  a  commercial  way  With  the  people  of 
Deckertowu.  His  influence  has  hung  over  tho 
plr.ee  for  its  good  however  for  a  generati  in  in  all 
that  concerns  the  education  of  its  people.-  Well 
has  ha  been  termed    '  The    great     Educator     of  I 

Susses."  

Adhenoa  Miss  M.  M,  Lawrence  ol  Hamhurg 
whose  historical  .writings  have  attrai-ted  much 
attention,  supplies  us  with  the  following  facts 
which  are  of  great  value  as  hitherto  unpublished 
Sussex  County  records.  The  Robert  Morris.  Jr., 
mentioned  in  Chapter  viii  of  your  interesting 
history  of  Deckertown  was  a  son  of  Richard 
Morris  and  Surah  Ludlow,  grandson  of  Leuis 
Mcnis  second  and  Catherine  Slants  He  married 
Frances.  Ludlum  sister  of  his  partner  Clabriel 
Lu  Hum,  and  the  late  Judge  Richard  R.  Morris  of 
Sparta  was  his  oldest  son.  James  Ludlum  a 
brother  of  Gabriel,  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in 
the  county  at  the  head  of  the  Wnlkill,  now  Sparta 
leaving  part  of  it  to  his  nephew  R.  R.  Morris  who 
settled  there. 




Sparrowbush,  N.  Y  ,  Sept.  9th,  151)5. 
Edi  roit  Recorder : 
la  the  History  of  Deckertown  mention  is  made 
of  Yope,  son  of  Peter  Decker.  Probably  you  are 
aware  tbat  Tope  and  the  Joseph  that  s..lj  tue 
lands  in  1790,  was  one  and  the  same  person.  You 
will  remember  that  my  grandfather's  name  was 
Joseph  and  was  a  son  of  Hannah  Decker  Cole, 
and  undoubtedly  named  for  this  Joseph  Decker, 
her  brother  |  my  grandfather,'!  v.-a-i  always  called 


Yupe,  which 


din 


Dutch  of  Joseph, 

sins.  L.  C.  BUOSS. 


Tweuty-cifflit  iii  Twenty  .Minutes. 

Tho  following  letter  from  Rev.  Leon- 
ard Fletcher,  who  was  pastor  of  the. 
First  Baptist  church  of  Wantage  fron 
1825  for  about  seven  years,  is  valuable 
in  connection  with  our  history  of  Deck- 
ertowu. There  is  (a  quaint  huruor 
about  tho  good  man's  attempt  to  beat 
the  record  on  baptism  against  time,  but 
it  must  have  been  rough  on  the  candi-, 
dates:  J 


For  the  CotruriAN  Star  £  Isde\. 

Deckertown,  X.  J..  Jan.  24th,  1830. 

Brother  Editor— Knowing   that  it 

ever  delights  the  hearts  of  the  children 

of  Gml  to  hear  of  the  triumphs  of  grace 
in  tho  extension  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  I  am  induced  once,  more  to 
writo    you,    and  communicate    to     the 

friends  of  Zion,  through  the  medium  of 
tho  Star  and  Index,  the  progress  of  the 
work  of  grace,  in  tho  vicinity  since  ttie 
date  of  my  last.  About  that  time  iD.c. 
lsth,)  tho  attention  of  the  public  was 
generally  excited  and  our  congregations 
were  iucredably  Jargc  Since  then 
however,  the  excitement  has  consider-' 
ably  abated,  but  tho  work  continues 
gradually  to  progress. 

On  the  first  day  of  this  month  I  bap- 
tised twenty-eight  persons  in  just  twen- 
ty minutes,  thus  demonstrating  the 
truth  of  tho  proposition  that  twelve 
administers  can  immerse  three  thousand 
candidates  in  less  than  three  hours.  I  I 
have  baptised  103  sin'co  the  work  com-  , 
menced,  and  am  yet  in  hopes  of  con-  i 
siderably  enlarging  the  number.  The  , 
revival  has  not  been  confined  to  any  I 
congregation,  nor  to  the  Baptist,  but 
other  churches  and  other  denominations  ! 


■„.,..., 


have  shared   largely   In   tho  trophic  of! 
redeeming  grace. 

It  would  be   impossible  to   state   rhn\ 
exact  number  of  those  who   h:i\.'   been] 
born  into  tho  kingdom   since   the   work: 
commenced    but    in    the  judgment    of' 
charity,  there  aro  not  less  than  seven  or 
eight    hundred    who    have  bi.-en    inmlol 
partakers  of  a  good  hope  through  gritee,  | 
within  the  circumference,  of  a  few   mill  * 
since  the  first  of  October  last.      S--.  ,.ra]  j 
Universalists  have  let  co  their  hold  ..i.  | 
nothing,  and  have  laid  hold  of  tli 
sot  before  them  In  tho  gospel    and   I 
abandoned  the   broad    platform  of   uni- 
versal salvation,  and  have  taken   refuge 
in  the  ark  of  safety. 

In  conclusion,  I  cannot  forbear  to  ,,i»- 
serve,  that  previous  to   the   commence- 
ment   of    the    present    gracious    work, 
thero     was   a   peculiar    anxiety   on  tho 
minds  of  Christians   for  the   prospi  ritv 
of  Zion,  and    the   salvation   of   sinners. 
And  in  all  tho  ardor  of  holy   desire,  they  | 
went  to   the   throne   of  grace,  and    the-^ 
Loid  who  is  rich  in   mercy  and   plente-j 
ous  in  redemption   deferred,  not   to   an 
swer  and  bless. 

Yours  in  Love. 

Leonard  Fletckeb, 


«0fee 


5990^