----^-■w/////k
1/
\-r--' ' ' ' ■.
L
/^ /* '*
ri
™''
'^
» 1
F/^
k
V. v:^;/ IT i.Aa 1 :j ,: ^mx;, ':...< vi^p;:!a »..; i5i*;5 ^ ^ip.^^^.ft-:
iCibrarg
TlmttfrHitg of ^Utsburgti
Darlington Memorial Library
ffllaaa - -
Book
"lULlflM 4 M^py DARLINGTON
MEMORIAL LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY Of ,'ITTSBUR6H
HISTORY
SULLIVAN COUNTY
.N ACOiJUNT OF ITS GEOLOGY, CLDIATE, ABOUIGINES, EARL\
bETrLEMENT, ORGANIZATION; THE FORMATION OP
ITt? TOWNS, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF PROMINENT RESIDENTS, ETC., ETC.
BY
JAMES ELDRIDGE QDINLAN.
PUBLISHED BY
G. M. BEEBE AXD W. T. MORGANS.
LIBERTY, N. Y. :
W. T. MoltGANS & CO., PiilNTERS & STEUEOTY
1873.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in tbe year 1872, by
JAMES KLDKIDGE QITNLAX,
In the Office of the LibrariHn of Congross, at Washington.
To Ho 71. Archibald C, Niven :
From i8j8 to 1866 ^ (except during a brief interval,)
.1 ims an editor of a ne-ivspaper of Sullivan county.
Whenever^ from illness or absence, I was unable to dis='
■ charge my editorial duties, your able and facile pen was
zvield-edfor me gratuitously. Therefore, as a slight t-cken
of my gratittuie, I respectfully dedicate to yon this %'olume.
THE AUTHOfR.
P E EF A CE.
In 1853, Lotan Smith, president of the Agi'icultiu-al SocietT
of Sullivan Coimty, under the auspices of the State, wrote what
he termed a History of Sullivan County. It was expected that
it would be inserted in the Transactions of the State Agricultural
Society; but the gentlemen who controlled the pubHcation of
that work rejected Mr. Smith's manuscript, and returned it to
its author, with a chapter on the Geology and another on the
Climate of the county, which had been prepared by Professor
Antisell.
Soon after this occui-red, Billings Grant Childs, a young
gentleman of fair literary qualifications, announced that he had
assumed the task of writing a history of Sullivan. For a time,
as he had opportunity, he collected material for the proposed
volume; but after writing a chapter on the town of Liberty,
which covered ten manuscript pages, became weary of the task.
He then made an arrangement with Jay Gould, under which
Mr. Gould and Mr. Childs were to be associated as authors and
pubhshers. This, however, led to no residt, and the project
was abandoned by them.
The author then commenced writing this volume, and perse-
vered to the end, although a painful physical infirmity often
compelled him to put aside his pen for weeks and months at a
time, and he has seldom been able to complete more than thre«
manuscrij^t pages in a day.
By purchase and otherwise, the memoranda, etc., of Messrs.
Smith and Childs passed into our hands, and to the extent
recorded in our foot-notes we have had the advantage of their
labors. Much more are we indebted to Professor Antisell, whose
valuable papers we liave copied and adopted as the first and
second chapters of our history.
[5]
In addition to this, we have been favored with the oral and
written statements of nearly one hundred weU-known residents
of the county.* These statements we have compared with each
other, and with official documents and records, as well as what
we have found in liles of old newspapers and gleaned from other
sources of information. The result, gentle reader, is before you.
Tou maj- detect errors of commission and omission; but we
have guarded against both, through long years of patient
research ; and we hope that you will decide that our work is not
wholly destitute of merit. Be this as it may, we present it to
you as a rough, not a jjorfect ashlar, knowing that the peculiar
circumstances under which it was fashioned rendered excellence
of execution impossible. It has liglitened the burthen of our
Mfe. May it enhance the enjoyment of j'ours !
• A list of those who have aiiled 119 in this enterprise was dehvcrfil to our pub-
lishers, who exercised unnsnal rare in ^iiardiu},' against the loss of our MSS. ; but
despite their vigilance, the original Preface and Introd\iotion, with the List of Cou-
tribntore, were stolen from tlieir safe by some person ^ho had aeei^sg to it. The pre-
face and introduction may be re-written ; but no accurate copy of the list can l>e
Fnpplied. No one deplores thi-^ m<ire than we do ; and no one siioukl be censured for
it, except the stealthy offendir. who has st^ilen that which is entirely useless tn liimself.
We are greatly indebted to C. G. .V. Oudet for assistance in prepariu;; our MSS. for
the press. Mr. Oudet, althougli of foreign birth, has a bi tfer knowledge of the English
lajiguage than many educatetl natives of our country.
I X T E 0 I) u c r I O N .
Sullivan county is situated between 41^' 25' and 42° north
latitude, and 1° 46' and 2^ 32' east longitude from the city of
Washington. It is bounded north-westerly by the county
of Delaware, north-easterly and south-easterly by the county
of Ulster, south-easterly, southerly and easterly by the county of
Orange, and south-westerly by the State of Pennsylvania.
According to Buit's Atlas, its area is 919 square miles, and it
contains 587,000 acres of land.''
The mean altitude of the coiuity above the level of the ocean
is about 1,500 feet, and its surface is characterized by ranges of
hills of moderate height, with intervening vallej-s. Detached
mountainous elevations are found in towns bounded by Delaware
and Ulster counties, and the Shawangunk mountain is parallel
with the south-easterly boundary of the town of Mamakating.
The Delaware river fomis the dividing line between the county
and Pennsylvania, while the Shawangunk river is its sou^-
eastern limit. The Neversink rises in the county of Ulster,
and after crossing the towns of Neversink, Fallsburgh, Thompson
and Forestburgh, enters Orange county. The Eondout passes
through the north-east corner of Neversink, and the jMongaup
or Mingwing has its source near the center of the county, and
running southerly joins the Delaware. The Wilhwemoc,
Beaverkill, Calhcoon, Ten Mile river, and many smaller stream.s
are also affluents of the Delaware.
Geologically (with some exceptions) tlie county is of the
Catskill period, Devonian age and Paleozoic time. These
exceptions are noted in the first chapter of this work by Professor
Antisell, an expert in geology.
* According to the asseesraent-roUs of the several tow-na, the county containe
601,705 acres. Some tr^ts of laud which are covered by water are not returned for
t&iatiOD.
[7]
O INTRODUCTION.
The aborigines of the county were principally Esopus Indians,
who were of the Wolf tribe of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware
nation, whose history is given in our third chapter.
Except some small tracts on the west bank of the Shawangunk
river, the county is covered by the Minisink and Hardenbergh
patents.
In 1684, Governor Dongan bought of Manganaett, Tsema and
Keghgekapowell alias Joghem, (who claimed to be the proprietors
and principal owners,) with the consent of Pemeranaghin, chief
sachem of the Esopus and other Inrlians named, a tract of land
extending on the Hudson from the Paltz to lands of the Indians
at Murderer's kill, and westward to the foot of the high hills
called Pitkiskaha and Aiashawosting. For this territory ninety
pounds were paid in duifels, wampum, stroud-water, cloth,
blankets, cider, strong beer, etc. One year later Dongan bought
of Maringoman, the sachem at Murderer's creek, the land from
that stream to Stony Point.*
On the 12 th of September, 1694, under Governor Fletcher, a
patent was granted to Captain John Evans, which covered the
west bank of the Hudsou from the Paltz to Stony Point,
(eighteen miles,) and reaching westward thirty miles. A literal
constraction of tlie grant would have placed his westward line
within the borders of Thompson, and given him laud now within
the Minisink and Hardenbergh patents. He paid for his patent
five hundred pounds.
Captain Evans was captain of the Richmond man-of-war, and
was sent to New York with his vessel in 1693, where he was on
duty for six jears, during whi>ih ho erected on his estate tha
lordship and manor of Fletcherdon, and spent 12,000 pounds in
improving it, expecting to retire thither " wliou thei-e should be
a happy and lasting peace." He was permitted to sow, but not
to reap. Both Fletcher and Evans were ordered from New
York, and the patent was annulled. During Queen Anne's
reign, his grant was renewed ; but while the honest sailor waa
fighting for his sovei-eign on the ocean, the land-pirates of the
time induced the Queen to deprive him once more of his manor!
Those who wTought his ruin, divided his manor among themselves.
' tlieso fivots are from a well-authonticated MS. written M
INTRODDCTION. 9
He continued to sue for justice until he was an old man, when
reluctant and partial justice was awarded him, bj giving him
another and less valuable tract.
On the 12th of March, 1703, the Wawayanda patent was
bouglit by John Bridges and Company of twelve Indians, viz :
Rapingonick, Wawastenaw, Moghopuck, Comelawaw, Nanawitt,
Ariwimack, Rumbout, Clauss, Chouckhass, Chingapaw, Oshas-
quemous and Quilapaw. It is believed that in this purchase
was included the INIinisink patent, which was granted on the
28th of August, 1704, to Matthew Ling, Ebenezer Wilson, Philip
French, Dirck Vandenbergh, Stephen Delancy, Philip Rokeby,
•John Corbet, Daniel Honan, Caleb Cooper, William Sharpus,
Robert Milward, Thomas Wenliam, Lancaster S^'mes, John
Pierson, Benjamin Ashe, Peter Bayard, John Cholwell, Peter
Faiiconnier, Heniy Swift, Hentlrick Ten Eyck, Jarvia Marshal,
Ann Bridges, widow of John Bridges, and George Clark, Secre-
tary of the Pro\'ince of New York. Eight of these persons were
patentees of the Wawayanda and two of the Hardenbergh
patent. The Minisink grant at first contained 250,000 acres;
but its owners subsequently grasped and held 50,000 acres east
of the true boundaries of their patent.
For many years New Jersey claimed and held so much of the
Minisink patent as is covered by the Seventh Division, and also
80 much of the Hardenbergh patent as would be cut off by
runnmg the north-east line of that division to Station Rock, in
Cochecton. In 1769, a Commission was appointed to settle the
boundary, which decided in favor of Now York, and established
the present line between New York and New Jersey, from the
Hudson to the Delaware.
On the "15-22 day of March, and in the 6th year of Her
Majesty's reign, Anno Dom. 1706-7," Major Johannes Harden-
bergh, a merchant of Kingston, bouglit of Nanisinos, a sachem
of the Esopus Indians, and "xightful lord owner and proprietor
of Several parts of land in the county of Ulster," the immense
tract now known as the Hardenbergh patent.* For this he p^-id
* In 1749, when the patent was partitioned anions its owners, the Indians claimed
that NaniBinoa did not convey that part wliich is nitHated between the east and west
branches of the Delaware, and refiised to permit surveyors to go there. Notwithstand-
ing this, a map was made of tlie disputed territory, on which the land in question was
divided into eightparwls, and one of these allotted to each party in interest. On the
3d ot June, 1751, Johannes Hardenbergh bought the real or assumed right of thesa
10 INTROBUCriON.
sixty pounds current money of New York — less than one-tenth
of a mill per acre.*
On the '20th of April, 1708, the Hardeubergh, or as it is some-
times called, the Major or Great Patent, was gi-anted to Johannes
Hardenbergh, Leonard Lewis, Philip Rokeby, William Notting-
ham, Benjamin Faneuil, Peter Faucounier and Robert Lurting,
in free and common socage, and subject to no rent or service
beyond the payment of seven dollars and fifty cents, annually,
on Lady day, to the Collector of the custom-house of New York !
Two of the patentees were mere lay figures. Fourteen iceehs
before the grant teas made., Robert Lurting released one-seventh
of the patent to Thomas Wenham, and on the same day, Philip
Rokeby conveyed his interest to May Bickley. In addition to
this, there was a secret miderstanding that Augustus Graham,
the survej'Oi'-general of the pro\-ince, should be entitled to one-
eighth of the grant, and this imderstanding was acknowledged
after his death in 1729, when the parties in interest declared
that his heir (Jaines Graham) was entitled to an equal share
with the others.t
Previous to 1740, several of the proprietors sold their interest^
and others died. Li that year, Robert Livingston owned five-
sixteenths ; Gulian Verplanck three-sixteenths, Johannes Har-
denbergh, jr.,]: Charles Brodhead and Abraham Hardenbergh
two-sixteenths, John Wenham two-sixteenths, the heirs and
assigns of Lewis two-sixteenths, and the heirs of Faneuil two-
Irulians for 1491. and 198. The deed is sigiipd by Sappan, John Palling and twenty other
members of the Esopus tribe. At that time, )io grant was legal uiilfss the. naiive tiUe
was crtiiignUhM before (he grant was made.
During the French and Indian war, the Delawaree claimed that they had been dc-
friiud.d of nearly the entire Hardenbergh patent.
'^Nanisinos, in the deed given by him, described the tract a.9 follows ; '* All thafe
trai!k of Land Lyin" and being in the "county of Ulster aforesaid, running from certain
Hills that lye on tbe south east side of the meadow or low laud that lies on the tish
C.'rciek Uivor or kill to tlie north west of Marbletown bounds, and are the north west
part of the hills and mountains that range from the blue hills north west Ten miles,
and streacbes north easterly on the brows of sd hillg as they range to the bound or the
Oiunty of Alliany, and south westerly on the brows cf anid hills as they range opposite
the nest rnrner of Marbletown bounds, and still further south westerly with tne fuU
brertdth Irom the north west boundaries of Rochester, to where the said'ten miles end,
Uumiiiit; tio far as to run with a duo south east line to a certain fall in the rondout
creek called by the Indians hoonchk, which is the north bound of the land called
Nepcnath, belonging to Jacob Rutzeu and Jan Jans Bleecker."
i Previous to 1749, Major Johannes Hardenbergh, the patentee, sold his undivided
right in the patent to Brodhead and JohatwiMs Hardenbergh, jr. Abraham Harden-
bfirgh subsequently bought a part of this right. No member of the Hardenbergh
fanuiy holds land which has descended to him by inheritanc* from the patentee.
INTliODUCnON. 11
Bixteenths. The patent was thcu partitioned between the several
proprietors, when Livingston drew Great Lots 8, 12, 22, 27 and
42; Livingston and Verplanck Lots 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 21, 23,
24, 30, 32, 33, 38, 39 and 40 ; the Hardenberghs and Brodiiead
Lota 3, 9, 16, 19, 29 and 37; John Wenham Lots 1, 18, 2G, 34,
and 35 ; the heirs and assigns of Lewis Lots 2, 17, 20, 28 and
36; and the heirs of Faneuil Lots 5, 11, 25, 31 and 41.
Li the same year, Livingston and VerpUinck partitioned what
they owned jointly, when the former became the sole proprietor
of Lots 4, 15, 23, 30 and 40, and parts of 7, 14, 21, 33 and 39,
and his partner of the balance.
Although some attempts were made to found settlements in
SuUivan county, it cannot be said that it was occupied by white
residents previous to 1790, except in Mamakating, Lumberland,
Cochecton and Neversink. An account of tliese settlements will
be found in our history of the several towns. Soon after the
latter year the Livingstons and other landholders induced men
to come into this region, and buy or lease unoccupied lands, and
from that time dates the birth and growth of many of our settle-
ments.
A considerable impetus was given to immigration b}- tlie con-
struction of the Newburgh and Cochecton tuiupike.* This
work speedily led to the organization of the county, wliich was
erected by an act of the Legislature passed Mai'cli .27, 1809.
In selecting a name it was deemed proper to adopt that of
some eminent Revolutionary patriot whose deeds were in some
way connected with our territory. Of the Generals who had
had anything to do on our soil previous to and during the
straggle for Lidependence, General James Clinton was the one
who should have been complimented ; but his name had been
already bestowed on auotlier county. So the coiauty was named
Sullivan, in honor of General John Sullivan, t a part of whose
* The Newbiu'gh and Cochecton Turnpike Company was chartered on the 20th of
Maroli, 1801. Kobert Bowne, .lohn De Wiut, William Seymour, Levi Dodge, Johannes
stiller, Hus;li Walsh, George Clinton, jun., William W. Saokett and Ueorgfi Gardner
I Jc.hn Sullivan was of Irish descent, and was born in Berwick, Maino, on the 17th
of February, 1740. His youth was spent chiefly in farm-labor. At matm-ity ho studied
law, and established himself in its practice in Durham, New Hampshire, where he soon
rose to considerable distinction as an advocate and poUtician. He was chosen a dele-
gaU^ to the Continental Congress in 177i, and soon after liis return from Philadelphia,
he was engaged, with John Langdon and others, in seizing Fort WlUiani and Mary, at
Portsmouth. When the following year the Continental army was organized, he" was
12 INTRODUCTION.
army crossed onr borders when it marched to chastise the hostile
Indians of western New York.
In 1816, Otto William Van Tujl, Jabez Wakeman, Daniel
Clark, William W. Sackett, Richard R. Vooris, Jabez Wakeman,
jun., Samuel F. Jones, John Knapp, George A. Wakeinan,
Alexander Ketcluim, George Vaughn and others were made a
body corijorate and politic, under the name of "The President
and Directors of the Neversink Navigation Company," for the
purpose of opening that river for rafting business, from Lock-
wood's Mills, in the present town of Fallsburgh, to the Delaware.
The tolls authorized were enormous, ranging for boards and
plank from one to two dollars per thousand feet, and other
articles in proportion. If the company had succeeded in making
the river navigable, its revenue woidd have been princely;
nevertheless the stock of the company, excepting a few shares,
was not taken, and its treasury was empty until 1828, when Van
Tuyl, its president and manager,* obtained from the State a
loan of ten thousand dollars, giving as security a mortgage on
the river! About two thousand of this was expended legiti-
mately, and the balance (S8,000) was consumed in paying the
president's debts, buying a stock of goods, and in other ways,
after which a raft Avas started fi-om Lockwood's !Mills, with
Squires M. Hoyt and a man from Rockland, named Brown, on
board. It ran as far as the " Dive Hole," where it was wrecked.
Another was started from Mc'Kee's mill, in charge of Ii-a Mills,
a Mr. Springer, and a son of Van Tuyl. This passed the " Dive
Hole;" but soon after collided with a rock, and was broken up.
ai'pointed one of tbo eight jlrigadie:
rs first commissioned bv Congress ; and early in
17 1 6, he was proraoted to Slajur
•general. Early in the spring of that year he supcr-
seded Arnold m command of the i
I'ont
inental troops iii Canada ; and later ui the season
be joined Washington at N.» \
1 .1 ;.. r ■] ■,....! cnimaiided the . hef forces at
Brooklyn, designed to rep. 1 il
i. - ■■ . : ■ - ,o ,1 Isl^iiul: but «a- tiiUcn sick,
and the leadership of his iliv,
- - ■ - i;iv:m. In the .li^^a-mniB battle
that soon followed, he w:i- i .
■ -.. - n aft.-i-.varJs 1 xch:ni-ed, and
took command of Leo's divi-i ';
1 '^ ■ .■ .^'I'lc-r'-; eiiunre later in the
season. In the autumn of 17V: '
- . o„ ,,,:,:,. of BraiKlvwine and
Germanto\™; and m the ^iv ■
' ' ' - -• , :■! Kiioji- Is and, prepar-
story to an attempted rxpnl-i
^ 1 - ■ ■ lie liesieg.d Newport in
August 1778, bnt wa:^ ..n-n
1 1 , ' V ill : .1 .l'E,-iaiiig would not
co-operate with liim. ;i . ■ ■'
er, i„.r,.ial Soil. van's military
can4rrh.8r,l:,lt,rl - ■
- , . I,elian,,inwe.t,.ni New York,
earlvintheautu.ii:. ■ ■ ■ i
--! n because he felt n -grieved at
some action of 0,. !• i V,
;- ' 1. ete.l to a seat in Congress.
From nsi; t.. 17-!' i
,: , ■ \ ■ i! e.p.l.ire. wlien, under the
provision oi •,. : m 1 • . , i .
office he h. 11 I.- , . ' •.
i . - - .' : i I'lsirict Judge. That
.11 : 11 y, 171)5, when ho was
in thutitiv-!ii::. ', - o ■ 1
*8qmr..»M. Sloyi, .;,....„. i
Sau l,i..l , ,:e;:„ i..,.,H n.eretary of the company.
INTRODUCTION. 13
Mills was drowned. Although the euterpiise resulted in poverty
and reproach to Van Tuyl, he never lost confidence in it, and
continued to make futile attoinjits to improve the river, until
the State foreclosed its mortgage.
It cannot be said that Sullivan enjoyed a large measure of
prosperity previous to the construction of the Delaware and
Hudson canal. Three years after the completion of the work,
John Eldridge laid the foundation of a large tannery on the
outlet of Lord's pond, and Rufus Palen and his associates that
of another at Fallsburgh. Austin Strong followed at Wood-
bourne, Bushnell & Van Horn at Taunersdale, and others at
various points. These establishments brought wealth and
muscle, and caused large additions to our population.
The New York and Erie lailroad was another source of
jirosperity, especially to the Delaware river towns.
A reference to the census of Siillivau should not be omitted
by us :
Year. Population.
1790* 1,763
• Mamakating only.
1800 3,222
1810 6,108
1814 6,233
1820 8,900
1825 10,373
1830 12,364
1835 , 13,755
•1840 16,629
1845 18,727
1850 25,088
1855 29,487
1860 32,385
1865 32,741
1870 34,649
INDEX.
Page.
Preface 5
Introduction 7
Geology 17
Climate 60
Ijenni Lenape 60
Bethel 116
Callicoon 148
Coeheeton and Delaware 182
FaUsburgh 224
Forestburgh 274
Fremont 291
Highland 302
Liberty 326
Lumberlaud 367
Mamakating 378
Neversiuk 456
Eockland 490
Thompson 513
Tusten 637
Delaware and Hudson Canal 655
N&w York and Erie Kuihvay 663
New York and Oswego Midland Kailroad 675
Appendix 691
HISTORY
OF
SULLIVAN COUNTY.
fflSTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
GEOLOGY — BY PROF. ANTISELL.
Tlie rocks which form the basis of Sullivan county are what
are termed stratified or sedimentary", having been formed under
deep water.* These strata fomi a portion of the series known
as palozoic rocks, formei'ly termed lower secondary ;t and they
embrace what is known to British geologists as the Devoniaa
and Upper Silurian System. In the Natural Histoiy of New-
York, Part IV., by \V. W. Mather, these rocks are gi'ouped under
the following heads :
' Catskill Division ;
Erie Division ;
Helderberg ) Catskill Shaly Limestone,
Division ; [ Water Lime Group.
Ontario Division; \^^^^'^^ ^\ Shawangiink Con.
' j glomerate.
Champlain Division ; Hudson Iliver Group.
New
York
System.
* No igneouB or Plutonic rookB arc found in the county.
t " EocKs," said Davy, "are generally divided by geologists into two grand divisioni,
distinguished by the names ofprimax'v and secondary. The primary rocks are coraposea
of pure crystalline matter, and contain no fragments of other rocks. The secondary
rocks or strata consist only partly of crystalhuo matter, contain frajmonts of other
rocks or strata, often abound in the remains of vegetables and marine animals, and
sometimes contain the remains of land animals. The number of primary rocks which
are commoulv observed in nature are eight : 1. Oranitey composed of quartz, feldspar
and mica ; when these are arranged in regular layers in the rocks, it is called gneiss.
2. Micacemis schist, composed of quartz and mica. 3. Sieiiiie, which consists of horn-
blende and feldspar. 4. SerpeiUinc, composed of feldspar and resplendent hornblende.
6. Porphyry, which consists of feldspar. 6. Granular marble, or puio carbonate of
lirao. 7. Cldorile schist, a green or grey substance somewhat analogous to mica and
feldspar. 8. Quartiose rock, composed of quartz. The secondary rocks are more
numerous than the primary ; but twelve varieties include all that are usually found iu
these islands : 1. Oraywacke, which consists of fragments of quartz or chlorite schist.
Imbedded in a cement principally composed of feldspar. 2. SUicious sandstone, which
ia composed of flue quartz, or sand, united by a silicioua cement. 3. Limestone, or
carbonate of Ume, more compact in its texture than in the granular marble, and oftou
abounding in marine exuvia. 4. Aluminous schist, or shale, consisting of the decom-
jwsed materials of different rocks, cemented bv a small quantity of ferruginous or
eilicious matter, and often containing the impressions of vegetables. 5. Ckilcareoiia
sandstone, which is calcareous sand cemented by calcareous matter. 6. Ironstone,
formed of n«arly the same materials as aluminous schist or shale, but containing tk
much larger quantity of oxide of iron. 7. Basalt or whin-stone, which consists of feld-
spar and hornblende. 8. Bituminous or common coal. !). Oypsum or sulphate of luna,
10. liocksalt. 11. Chalk, which usually abounds in the reniains of mai-iue animals, and
contains horizontal layers of flints. 12. Plum-pudding stone, consisting of pebblea
cemented by ferruginous or silicious cement." [Elom. Agri. Chem., p. 192.
2
13 nis'ioKY or sullivan county.
In other volumes of the State Survey, different names have
been assigned to these beds.
Bj f;ir the larger extent of the county is covered by the Cats-
kill 'division. The remaining rocks of the New York system are
only exjjosed in the eastern sections of the towns of Keversink
and Forestburgh, Mamakating, and in the southern portion of
ihe county.
These rocks have, generally speaking, one common dip and
strike, from which the deviations throughout the county are but
trifling. The angle of elevation of the strata is so small, that
there is not presented over the county any mountaui mass one
tliousand feet above the level fi-om which it rises. Tlie uniformity
of the strike, and the similarity in form of the hiUs produced
by such shght elevation are at once presented to the eye of the
observer looking fi-om the top of Walnut Mountain, Mutton Hill,
or any other elevated position, where the whole county presents
the appearance of an ocean, crested with parallel waves of nearly
equal lieight, rolUng in one dii-ection.
The dip of the strata in the county is westerly, and the strike
north-east. (Tlie jiarticiilar deviations from this general occur-
rence wUl be noticed hereafter.) In traveling across the county
fi-om East to West, the newer strata appear ; and it is by travel-
ing in the county in this direction, rather than North and Sciuth,
that the most correct information of the position and thickness
of the strata can be collected. Tlie courses of the rivers and
creeks being generally from North to South, afford m many places
good points of observation.
The rocks of the Catskill group deserve to be noticed, from
their occupying so large a surface in extent. These rocks, com-
monly known as the old red sandstone, are the newest formed
rocks in this section of the State of New York. They form the
basis rock in which the coal fields of Pennsylvania he, and rising
from under these, they constitute the bed of the Delaware river,
and spread into SuUivan, Ulster and Greene counties, covering
up the lower groups of the New York system, which only emerge
from under their beds in the East and South of the county.
Beds of rock of very different (felor and appearance are classed
together in this gi-oup ; the predominance of sand, generally fer-
ruginous, forming beds of sandstone, shale and conglomerate.
The giits are both coarse and fine, and of various sliades — red,
green, brown, gi'ey and mottled. The arrangements of these
beds generally is fiom above downward : 1. Conglomerate and
coai-se grits. 2. Bed shales, slates and grits. 3. Grey and green-
ish grits and slates. 4. Chocolate-colored grits, with red shales
and slates.
The total thickness of these beds of rock, at the point where
their gi-eatest development has been measured, is about four
GEOLOaY. 19
thousand feet ; but nowhere does it reach this measurement in
Sullivan county ; for the beds ai-e so broken up, and the same
series so contmually upraised in distances not far apart, that the
■whole series is not exposed upon the surface.
The mountain elevations are also so shght, that only a few
hundred feet of thickness of the strata can be read ofl' the e8-
carpments. "Walnut Mountain has tlie highest 'summit in the
county, and stands about six hundred feet above the jilane of
the base. The strata of which it is composed fiom above down-
ward are —
1. Quartz conglomerate; 4. Grey sand-rock;
2. Grey sandstone ; 5. Red shale ;
3. Red sandstone ; 6. Green grit.
A section of a hill on the " Three Thousand Acre Tract," two
miles west from the village of Liberty, aiTorded the following
siiccession :
1. Quartz conglomerate; 6. Red sand-rock ;
2. Red and green grit ; 7. Conglomerate ;
3. do do 8. Grey sand-rock;
4. Grey gi'it; 9. Green sand-rock.
5. Red shale ;
These two hills appear to be composed of the same beds.
The bed marked 5, being well defined, constitutes a good point
of comparison.
Mutton Hill lies more to the East, and has less of the Catskill
ptrata forming its structure, as is evident from the section of its
East side :
1. Reddish conglomerate; 3. Grit;
2. Quartz conglomerate ; 4. Grey grit.
This hill corresponds to beds marked 0, 7 and 8 on the "Tliree
Thousiuid Acre Tract." Mutton Hill has not the upper beds
capping the other.
These illustrations will serve to show liow the same lines of
rocks are repeated over a few mUes. This must arise from
fracturing of the strata.
The evidences of this are well seen on the Mount Hope and
Jjumberland turnpike road, where the red and grey grits and
shales overspread in several ]:)laoes, where the faults and bend-
jngs of the strata occur, so as to make the beds show themselves
repeatedly.
The fractures and bendings of the strata are more inclined in
the South of the county than in the "West, and more in fuU on
the Shawangunk hiUs.
One of tlie most common characteristics of the gi-its of thiff
group are tiie irregular lines which marlc their surface, and which
lire so frequent as to form a ready means of cliissiiying the rock
when observed. These Jines of laminatinn indicate the direction
20 HISTORY OF SmXIVAN COUNTY.
of the current of water which deposited them. These must not
be confounded with the Unes of stratification.
Their obhque lamination is more common in the grey grits,
though discernible in many of the strata of the red grits. The
boulders* on the roadside show this lamination often more dis-
tinctly than the rock in place. The rocks of this division, how-
ever they may be in appearance, belong to but two varieties j
that is conglomerate and sandstone. The sandstones are admit-
ted to have been formed by what is termed shore action — by the
action of a large body of water on a rocky beach, washing and
wearing it domi, and sifting the finer matters fi-om the coai-se,
and conveying the latter down under the water level, and spread-
ing it along the shore bottom, covering it for several miles. The
similarity in appeaj'ance of the present sea shores and the red
sandstone rocks, wan'ants the belief. This shore action existed
previous to and during the period of the coal deposits in Penn-
sylvania, and was produced by the joint action of equatorial and
polar currents of water during this period.
A great portion of the present continent was under deep water,
and what is now known as the GuK Stream, and the curreuts of
ice-cold wat«r fi'om the pole.", flowed directly over the continent.
The directions of the mountain cliams in South America — similar
chains in the East and "West, and the elevated land in the North,
altered the direction of the current of warm water flowing from
the tropics, and caused it to flow circuitously by the base of the
Kocky Mountains, part flowing into the Arctic Sea and Hudson's
Bay; and the remainder in a south -earterly course, through the
St. Lawrence valley, and along the Blue Eidge around to the
Mississippi, where it would mingle with the original stream.
The current of polar ice and water flowed down the St. Lawrence
and Hudson valleys, and mingling with tlie other stream, gave it
this curved direction, and formed an inland bay or sea of gieat
dimensions, and consequently a largo extent of shore. This
shore, covered up by future deposits of vegetable rejnains and
earthy matters, constitutes the Catskill group, or the old red
sandstone.
Formed by the disintegration of pnmary anrt metamorjihio
rocks, which were vtry micaceous, or hornblende, these sand-
stones contain a quantity of iron in the state of red or paoxide.
To this mineral the tmge is due, which is fiom th« hghtest shade
of red until the iron oxide accumulates in sucn 4uantities as to
make the stone almost ore of iron. It is a fact generally occur-
» A TomarkftMp boiilo^i m
Kv h,- Rf-en nn the fnitn o' Jonepti H. tn
Bottlir.iilit. in tin- tnwn i.i Ti
ii.ni)'<cm. It is <-<;s-sli.irp<l (noarlv). rest
)i\r f. ,t 111 .Mnniit, r. an.l ivi-iplis at lens
Notwili.stan.lin^-'itsKn.afw.
i^lii. it niiiv lie i-.n-kcd from wde to side ■
Bomu iu« ablo lo »H it iu nu
>l lull with one hugcrl
GEOLOGY. 21
ling, but not yet acconnted for, that hardly any fossils are fonnd
imbedded in stratified rocks in which this peroxide of iron is
found ; it usually being in the grey gi-its that fossil remains exist.
The red rocks of this series are not homogeneous in character,
some strata being more argillaceous than others. Hence the
terms used in this report of red shale and red sandrock ; the
former "weathering" more rapidly, and splitting up more readily
when struck ; the sandrock is closer, harder, more granular,
generally of a deeper red, and not decomposing or fracturing so
readily.
The following analyses of these two rocks serve to illustrate
the difference in their chemical composition :
Red sandstone. Red slmlo.
Moisture and soluble salts 8 7.
Alumina 3 6.77
Peroxide of iron 11 3.
Magnesia LO-l 1.35
Lime 1.32 IM
Quartz and red sand insoluble in acid .... 74 80.31
Loss 74 33
100. 100.
The proportions of peroxide of iron and alumina vary more
than the other ingredients in different specimens ; but the alu-
mina is always in excess in the shale, and the iron in a few
specimens rose up to 21 per cent of the whole mass.
The chocolate-colored griis differ very Uttle from the above
matter, the tints being due to a small portion of vegetable matter
mixed with the peroxide of iron.
In the grey and gi-een grits the iron is mostly in the condition
of rust oxide, the quantity of the metallic oxide being small.
The conglomerates have been formed by action somewhat
different from the dissolving and sifting actions which produced
the grits. Conglomerates are gravel bound together by cement
• — (sometimes a paste of red sand-rock— sometimes of gi'ey grit) —
in which the gravel is embedded. These may be formed by the
drifting action of cuiTents of water sweeping the pebbles forcibly
along, and depositing them in a mud or paste, perhaps of the
same origin. The production of beds of conglomerate generally
implies shallow bodies of water.
These alternations of gi-ey and red grits with conglomerates
occupy the whole surface of Kockland, Bethel, Cochecton, Fre-
mont,'Tliompson and Liberty. The quartz portion is the western
of Neversink and Fallsburgh.
Seams and layers of fine anthracite are found occasionally
between the courses of these strata about Cochecton, at Barry-
22 HISTORY OF BULIilVAN CODNTY.
ville, and through the town of Liberty.* These seams are rarely
more than haK au inch thick, and from theii- frequent occun-enee
lead to the impression, that by boring a good seam may be
reached ; but such impression is enoneous. Tlie coal beds are
above the Catskill group. It was tlie shora into which the drift
timber was floated. The coal-bearing beds are upon these, and
in the basin formed by the decay of the sandstone strata. The
ti'aces of vegetable matter in the Catskill gi-oup are too slight
to waiTant a belief that any but the smallest traces may be found.
The elevated region in Eockland, in the East of Delawai-e and
the West of Ulster, are the most probable portions of the State
in which coal may be found.t But the examination along the
Williwemoc and Little Beaverkill yielded no evidence of coal.
A portion of shale forwarded as coal, removed from one of
these seams, aflbrded on incineration —
Volatile matters 16.
Ash 84.
100.
There is an opinion prevalent that these thin seams widen as
they pass downward, and excavations have been made with the
hope of reaching a good thick vein ; Taut such aji opinion is er-
roneous.
These giits occupy all the elevated parts of SulHvau county
except the Shawangunk mountain, and in the northern region
produce vei"y pictui'esque and romantic scenery. Nothing ciui
exceed m beauty and wildness the course of the Beaverkill, iu
Eockland, where dense woods, overhanging rocks and beautifully
clear and placid water are united together. It is the gi'ey sand-
rock which prevails mostly over this town, as at Little Flats, the
hiU west of Steele's store. Elk Hill, and Hodge Pond. The
greater part of Neversiuk is also capped by the gi-ey giits, and
in some places by quartz conglomerate.
At Mutton Hill and at Palen's tannery, in Neversink, the red
sand-rock occupies a portion of the surface, and may be seen in
the water courses, stratified with the gi-its and conglomerates.
The red shale, or argillaceous sandstone, is spread over a largo
Bui-face of Libei-ty, CaUicoon, Fremont and Thompson, as at tho
hill on wliich the old Presbyterian church at Liberty stood ; on
B. Sherwood's farm and on the Deraarest and Blue hills ; in Falls-
bmgh at 0. H. Bush's ; over the Expense Lot, and over the town
* Also in Fallsburgh and Foreatburgh. J. E. Q.
t If coal should be found in workable qnaiilitics in New York, it will undoubtedly be
in the high mountain region in the north part of Sullivuu, tlui inst jiar, of Dflawarn,
west and northwest parts of Ulster, and the central and enuth part« .'t (In'tne oouutjoe,
above tho upper mass of red rocks from one hundred to liv.- ImiHln-.l r.-it.
[Matlier s luports, p. 313.
GEOLoai: 23.
generally. 'Farther south, this argillaceous shale is replaced by
a hard sand-rock, which is derived from the wearing down of mica
slates, retaining some of the mica stiU imdecomposed. This
micaceous sandstone underlays the village of Monticello and the
high grounds of the sun-oundiug neighborhood. The red rock
of Mon^iceUo is in many places capped by gi'ey grits and con-
glomerates to the thickness of twenty-five feet, which stand out
like isolated masses, and not, as they really are, portions of what
was a continuous bed. Generally speaking, the gi'ey gi-its and
conglomerates cover up the red rock and shales. The upper-
most of the red rocks contain the hardest and most micaceous
beds. The lower ones are soft and shaly. The red hard rooks
occupy the county in MonticeUo, and parallel to it, in a line
drawn northeast and southeast. For two and a half miles south-
erly, the red rocks are those which occupy the greatest surface,
when grey grits emerge fi'om below, becoming the suiiace rock,
to the vicinity of the Delaware river.
. North of Monticello, the red rocks dip under and are covered
almost completely by gi'ey hard grits and conglomerate, which
generally occupy the county between Monticello and White Lake.
In the southern towns, these red sand-rocks and shales do not
cover any extensive sm-face, and the chocolate and grey grits, as
already stated, generally predominate.
Dynamic forces have produced the high land, as well as the
fractures and elevations of the strata. There has been another
operation at work which has caused the exposure of rock quite
as fi'equently as the upheaving forces. This is the action of de-
nudation, or that foi'ce exerted by moving water in passing over
land, and by its mechanical force and friction, wearing away
deep channels in the rocky strata over which it rolled. This
force of moving water has been exerted both by a large body of
water which at a former period covered the county, and at a
later period by water courses occupying the position and flowing
in a direction which corresponds to that of the present streams.
It depends on the nature of the rock over which the water runs,
what the amount of denudation or abrasion shall be.
The Catskill mountains are themselves splendid examples of
denudation, and the phenomena of abrasion may be witnessed
in the courses of nearly all the rivers in the county. The Bea-
verkill above Big Flats, in Kockland, shows jt remarkably, and
the Neversink and the Mongaup exhibit it at several points of
their course. A very remarkable uistance is at BridgeviUe, be-
low the bridge, where the banks of the river are eighty feet high.
On the west side of the river the strata dip, and rise on the east,
showing that they were one until by the wearing action of the
liver stream it obtained its present level. The strata on each
side correspond as follows :
34 HISTORY OF SPLWVAN COUNTY.
1. Greenish sandstone conglomerate with quartz grita;
2. Soft red shale and harder sand-rocks;
3. Hard sand-rock ;
4. Soft red shale ;
5. Grey sand-rock (gi'it) underlaid by quartz conglomerate ;
6. Green grits and slate ;
7. Bed of the river.
This affords one out of many illustrations of the power which
moving water, acting tli rough an immensely long period, can
exert on even the hardest surfaces ; the whole chasm, from the
present bed of the stream to the top of a height of eighty feet,
having been worn away by the Neversink river.
This action has been in operation since the count}' has been
■upraised from the sea-bottom upon which the sand-rocks were
deposited, and belong to what is termed the modem period.
The beds marked 2 and 4 are of soft shale and slate, and de-
compose more readily when exposed to the air than the rocka
above and below, which proauce the overhanging cliffs and cav-
ernous hollows termed ruck-liouses. Wherever these strata are
found upheaved, these rock-houses exist, as on the hill near
Fallsburgh ; at Fairchild's Pond near Monticello ;* near Beaver
* Alfred B. Street describes this locality very accurately as follows :
" A rude wild place. The long and narrow ridgo
Enda in a rogi^ed precipice of roik ;
A slope botwt-en it and a shallow pond
Bristling with withered hemlock and with stumps
O'erspotted. A faint narrow road n-inds by.
Hero to the village— there, amidst the wooiU
Bordered by laurel-thickets, to a glade.
A jutting of the rock has formed a nook
Along its base. A cedar's giant trunk.
Dead, barkless, and stained in spots by fire.
From the high bank above has pitched, and Ue»
With base upon the summit of the rock.
And fractured head upon the bank beneath,
A slanting ladder : and within a cleft
O'er a huge bulge upon the rugged wall.
Are birchen bushes, Uke green hanging plnmee
In a gigantic helmet. At one spot
Within the nook, the bick is hollowed ont.
Shaping a scat. Naught is there to declare
■Whether by freak of Nature or by man
This shelf was scoop'd. Upon the fissured sides,
And the smooth slate that, laid in scales, compose
This little terrace, names and letters rude
Are graven. With the massive roof above
Spotted by lichen-scales, and looking out
On the quiet pond, with its deep liackground woods,
Here have I sat in summer afternoons
Wat<?hing the long slim shadows of the trees
Slow orei'ping towards me-, the rich halo'd sun
Melting ihe outlines of the forest tops.
Where it imj-wnded. In the hours of Spring,
When th>- dsmp softened atmosphere proclaim'd
The coming rain to beat the frost from out
The t-.rpi.l earth, so that its lap might smile
Atiiiiu with flowers, here also have I sat
Ar.d listened to the voices of the poud.
GEOLOGY. 25
Broolv, in Lumberlancl, and in nnmcrotis oilier pla,ces in tho
■county.
In Fallsburgh, one of the creel;s cuts through the red and grey
sandstones, and the vn,lley in which the creek lies is a valley of
denudation, the strata being exposed on each side, and the dip
not exceeding eight degi-ees. In the valloy of the water channel
on each side of the stream, at some distance up, is a well marked
layer of stones, showing the existence of a former water channel
of greater dimensions than the present. Probably the whole
was the bottom of a wide stream, on the sides of which these
stream stones were arrested by the slowness of the current.
Underneath the red grits, sliales, and conglomerates, exists a
series of beds of rock genernlly termed greywacke, and claesed
in the New York Survey as the Erie group or division. These
also are sandstone. They arc highly indurated and of a green-
ish grey or dark color. Shales and i-latos of a similar character
accompany the sandstones. The dip of these is W. N. W. These
rocks occupy the southern part of the county, and are best seen
in Mamakating valley. They run from the Delaware river
through Lumborland west of Mongaup into the Mamakating
valley, of which they form the northwest side, running parallel
to the Delaware and Hudson canal, and towtirds Kingston, in
Ulster county. The upper beds of the Erie division are termed
the Chemung group, and occur in distinct courses, with an in-
finite variety of structure, and numerous fossil remains. The
sories, when exposed to the weather, passes into a brownish ohve,
■which forms the external appearance of all these slates, that even
then are internally of the deepest green. There is a tendency
to conglomerate in the upper licds. The lower beds of the Erie
division are cnlled the Ilamilton group. In Sullivan county,
those two subdivisions arc not very distinct, and in this report
may be classed together. They both difi'er from the Catskill, or
ol I red sandstone divis'on, in containing well marked evidences
of land plants as fossil remains — obscure species which have
not received sufHcient attention. The green and olive shales
are loaded with imjiressions of si rophomcna, ddlhjris and atryra.
The great indestnxctibility of this group of rocks gives a peculiar
aspect to the surface. A series of terraces upon the hills about
Beaver Brook, in Lumberland, and a similar appearance in
Mamakating indicate the Erie rocks. A fine section of these
may be obtained along the Erie railroad fiom Narrow-^buigh
Those Rwcot prophwioa of warmer hoars.
Kinging like mvriad tiny silver bolls
Cheerfully on th«^ car." * * »
Big Tlo«k, BR this singular precipice is nailed, wag one* a favorite reprrt of the In.
habitants of Monticello. It \a now the terminus of the MonticeUo and P' rt Jervis
Bailroad. 3. £. Q.
26 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
south, anJ along the Delawai'e and Hudson canal. In the latter
place the strata dip N. W. about 15 ° . In the gieen shales par-
tial faults may be observed, and in some places the strata are
bent, or arched upwards. This arching up of the strata is well
marked at the 101 niile post on the railroad, and still better on
the Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware rivei-, opposite the
canal, three-fourths of a mile east of Ban-yviUe. The cracks
and faults, and the arching of the rocks are produced by subter-
ranean elevating forces, which have been excited very stjongly
in the south part of the county.
Where full exjDosures of this group are made, there is discov-
ered a good bed of Hag-stones, or thick splittiag slate, averaging
twenty-eight inches thick, Ijing upon a soft crambling shale, and
covered by a slaty gi-it, having well marked lamina of deposition
in them. ' These 'tiag-stones ci-op out ia several places, and are
occasionally used in building. They have been quarried some-
what extensively iu Mamakatmg west of Wuitsborough.* These
flag-stones are of good quality generally.
At Griffin's quan-y, seven miles soxith of Wuiitsborough, and
three miles from the canal, the same stones are raised. They
are also exposed ia the beds of the Mongaup and the ISeversink
rivers.
On the Sandburgh creek, a little west of Eed Eidge, the Junc-
tion of the Erie and Catskill groups is discoverable ; and in the
lower bed of the former, or the upper bed of the latter, (for they
are not easily distinguished,) are the reinains of a shaft where
an opening had been made in the expectation of meeting coal.
The shaft is now filled up, and thd lower stones which were
taised may be found on the side of the road. The rock is a dark
shale, full of vegetable matter, and loaded with ijupressions of
fossil plants. No coal seam of sufficient thickness was thscov-
ered, and the work was abandoned. There are appearances in
this locahty which would encourage expectation for coal. These
beds of rock generally dip to the north and west at a much
gi-eater angle than the Catskill series, and partake of the dis-
turbance of the southern part of the county, which has upturned
all the rocks of the Mamakating valley to a nearly vertical
position.
Along the Sandburgh creek, west of the county Hne, the Che-
mung group may be well stutlied by the geologist. For all
practical purposes the Erie division possesses but httle interest,
yielding only the bed of slate alluded to.
The Helderberg chvision consists of a series of limestones of
various chemical composition, with beds of slate and slaty giits.
* Tliev are altio found in Falleburgb, Foiestburi'li, Luuiberloud, Tusten and High-
land. J.E.Q.
GEOLOGY. 27
The limestones generally occupy the lowest beds. They consti-
tute a great natural gi'oup, and are so well develoiDcd in the
Helderberg mountains as to receive from thence their name. In
Sullivan county they emerge from under the Chemung group of
the Erie division, and occupy the gieater portion in breadth
of the valley of Mamakating. They dip at a very high angle.
The upper beds are covered by the drift in the valley. The
limestones are only slightly elevated al)ove the canal, under
which they dip W. N. W., at an angle of 55^ and 63°. A short
distance east of Wurtsborough, the hmestone rises out of the
canal, and forms the mountain bench. It is here composed of
two distinct kinds; the one a shaly, soft, decomposing rock —
the other a hard, compact stone of a dark bluish color. At
Carpenter's Point, on the Delaware river, the position and char-
acter of the entire series may be studied more readily than at
any place in the county of Sulhvan, where they are almost com-
pletely hidden. The portions exposed belong to the water-hrao
gr-oup described by Mr. Mather in the New York Survey, Vol.
IV., p. 349.
In the valley north of Wurtsborough, they can only be ex-
amined, as the}- sink down and are covered by tlie deposits of
drift. The stone has been quarried and used as building stone
and for burning, for which some of the courses only are adapted.
The strata are but a few feet thick and, from proximity to the
canal, cannot be advantageously worked.
The chemical composition of the hard blue rock is as follows :
Carbonate of Hme 93.
Sand and vegetable matter ; 2.
Alumma and peroxide of iron '3.
Magnesia 73
Earthy phosphates 13
Soluble saline matters 1.1-i
100.00
The proportion of alumina in this rock prevents it fr-om form-
ing good dry mortar lime ; but by proper treatment in burning and
mixing, it would make good hydraulic moi-tar. The comments
made in the Report of Seneca coimty on the Maniius water-hme-
stone are applicable here.
There are no other beds of lime-rock in this county except
those 01 the Mamakating valley. Boulders of this rock, howeverj
are discovered in nearly every town.
Ontario Division. — This contains two varieties of rock very
•well defined in SuUivan county. They are immediately beneath
the last described rocks, whence they rise up to a considerable
ao HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
elevation, forming the base of the north and western slopes of
the Shawangnnk hills. The varieties are
1. Tlie p■^Titons stratum ;
2. The Shawangnnk giit or conglomerate.
1. The first rock is a comparatively thin layer of qnartz rock,
loaded with crystals of p;>Tites, (sulphuret of iron). It varies
very mnch in its textnre, being, east of Wurtsborongh and to-
ward the county line, a wliitish, compact qnartz stone (in the
interior of a mass) with pyrites. Sonth of the \illage, it becomes
a red rock, the pyrites ha\'ing passed into the state of red oxide,
and the hard natnrt^ of the rock is replaced by a softer shale.
In other cases it is granular, and resembles a red sandstone.
Crossing the mountain on the plank road fi-om Wurtsborongh
to Middietown, this bed is met with at the 11 mile post, and is
about twelve feet thick. It is here a hard, compact quartz rock,
dipping at an angle of 60^ "W. S. W. In the neighborhood of
the "Montgomery mine," it is a chocolate-colored, soft, slaty-
sandstone; and at the "new mine," two miles south of Wurts-
borongh, it presents the appearance of a gi-eenish grey grit.
Exposed to the air, it becomes red, and where it is not a sand-
stone, the gi-adual oxidation of the pyrites rusts the rock to the
depth of an inch.
2. The Shawangnnk grit or conglomerate is described by
Matlier as a rock which "varies in textnre fi-om a conglomerate
to a fine-grained grit, and is almost entirely silicious. It is gen-
erally white or light grey in color ; but there is one bed near the
upper part of its mass which is red. Most of the layers of the
rock are very hai'd. Some are sandy and others slaty. Its col-
ors are white, grey, greyish, reddish-white and brick-red." This
covers the whole" northern side of the mountain, dipping at
variable angles toward the north-wost and west. In many places,
the dip is 60"; in others, 50', and diminishes to 30". The
thickness varies in diiTerent parts of the range, being in some
E laces apparently four liundred feet, diminishing do-\vn to one
undred and fifty feet. On the Wurtsborongh and Blooming-
burgh plank road, it approaches three hundred feet in thickness.
This rock is not used in this county for any economical pur-
pose, although in other counties it is used in building, and for
grindstones. While it presents so narrow a breadth, its length
is remarkable. Traces of this conglomerate are discernible in
Vermont, east of Whitehall, and in Western Massachusetts, and
with the Shawangnnk, it passes into New Jersey and Pennsyl-
vania.
As this constitutes one of the most important beds of the
Shawangnnk range, though not by any means a large amount
of the total hill elevation, it may be desirable here to allxide to
the wliole chain of hills as a unity.
The Shawangunk hills extend from the New Jersey line to
near Wawarsing, in Ulster county, vihere they sink down, and
are lost. In New Jersey, they may be traced into the Blue
Mountains, and from that State pnss into Pennsylvania, Mary-
land and Vuginia. The rocks are upraised in what is termed an
anticlinal axis, or in the form of an inverted V, (a), the strata
being broken and bent away from each other. The range in
Sullivan county attains at its highest point 1007 f ^et above the sea
level, which is in the north-east part of Mamakatmg. The dip
of the strata varies from 30 ' to 57 ^ to W. N. W., and the direc-
tion of the range is generally N. E. and S. W. There is very
little disturbance or fractm-e of the strata in the county. Far-
ther east, in Ulster, the breaks are well marked.
The great body or mass of the mountain is Hudson river
slate, a rock whose color passes fi-om light gi'ey into black, and
is sometimes soft and shaly, while in other places it is hard and
fit for quan-yiag as building stone. It is a well marked strati-
fied rock, and by the many curves and contortions wliich it pre-
sents, it shows what forces it has been subjected to. It constitutes
the basis or lowest rock of the mountain range, and is not visible
on the northern side of the hill. On passing over the Wurtsbor-
ough and Bloomiugburgh plank road, toward the summit of the
hill, near the 10 mile post, it comes into view as a bed of shale,
very fi-iable, dark colored, fuU of fractures, and about twenty feet
thick. As the road descends, the shale passes into a harder
rock, and tlie rest of the mountain downward on its east side is
made up of alternations of shale and hard rock. '
This Hudson river slate is continued from the base of the hill
into Orange county, forming the surface rock of that portion of
Sullivan south of the hills. In the low land, the elevation of the
strata is but slight, and but Uttle facihty exists for the water of
the soU above to escape through the strata. Hence in many
S laces the land becomes water-logged, and gives rise to the pro-
uction of rashy herbage, moss and bog. Some of the courses
afford good furnace stones, and some a good building stone.
The beds in the county do not afford any roofing slate.*
The thickness of the Hudson slate gioup is about eight hun-
di'ed feet. Upon it, on the western side, rests the Shawangunk
gi'it, which Ues conformably upon it. Near the summit of
the hills, the grit in some places hes nearly horizontal, and
presents, to the south, perpendicular cliff's of white rock,
* X hod of tliiB Riate is found at Pleasant Lake, in tho town of Thompson. It is from
fifteen to thirty fet't thiolt, and is overlaid by red sliaio and gi'ey Baud-ruck. It is be-
Keved that it will afford good roofing slate. J. E. Q. .
30 HISTORY OF SITLLIVAN COUNTY.
from forty to two hundred feet high. This is overlaid by the
pyi-itiferous stratum, M'hich is better developed in the northern
part of the valley.
The whole range is intersected by metalhferous veins. The
neighborhood is fuU of traditions of Indians obtaining both lead
and silver in abundance, and at so many points of the range,
that it is looked upon as a bed of ores of undisputed ricliness.*
It is with that portion of the range -n-ithin the limits of the
countj^ that it is the office of this report to treat ; and it is very
important that clear notions of the quantity and value of ore in
the county should be rightly held, seeing that efforts are made
by unusutil means to create false notions of the mineral condi-
tion of the county.
The New York Geological Survey describes very accurately
the Shawanguuk mine, situated in this county, on the mountain
range. At the time that survey was made (1843), and for a long
time after, this was the only opening made into the range in
Sullivan county. Very lately, new adits have been attempted
both north and south of that point. This mine is now termed
the "Montgomery Mine," as belonging to the New York &
Montgomery Mining Company. It lies north-east of Wurts-
borough about two miles, and eight hundred feet above the
canal level. Dr. Mather's description (Vol. IV., p. 360), is
nearly that of its j^resent condition, and is as follows :
"The vein, in many places, has tjie aspect of a bed parallel
to the contiguous strata of the grit rock of the mountain ; but
from a careful examination, it is believed to be a true vein which
runs between the sti'ata, and then cuts obliquely across them,
without altering its dip in any great degi-ee. The stratum of the
vein corresponds nearly to that of the grit rock, but its aggre-
gate dip is greater. The strata were o1>served to be more or less
broken and bent, where the vein, after passing between them,
crossed them obliquely. The grit rock on the mountain near the
mine is traversed by small veins of quartz, which is more or less
porous from the decomposition of its contained minerals. The
vein on which the mine is worked, varies from two to five feet
in width ; and the larger portion of its mass, as far as has been
explored, is a silicious rock similar to that forming the roof and
* There is a Iradition that l<-ad ore also exists in the old town of Lumberland. Jacob
Quick, a gentleman of undoubted respectability, (now dead), informed the writer that
Tom Quick, about the year 1794, told him that, while setting a trap, heloundit neces-
eary to remove some earth from a spring, and came upon a tine vein of ere; and that
he had since obtained the greater part of his lead from this source, as the discoverer
could expect to reap but little more advantage from it, he promised to show our
informant the locality, and appointed ft day for that purpose; but before the appointed
time, the old man was taken sick, and was never afterwards able to go from tho
house in which he lived.
The location of this mine oorrespondB almost exactly with that of the lead mine aino»
dlBoovered near Elleoville. [See Mather's Report, page 358.
GEOT.or.v. 31:
floor, except that it contains fragments and particles of greenish
and blackish slate. The vein stone is more or less loaded with
blende, galena, copper pyrites, iron pjTites and crystahzed
quartz. The blende and galena constitute rtrohaUy forty-nine-
fiftieths of the metalUferous contents of the vein, and these
minerals are in general more or less intimately mixed.
" Tlie metalliferous part of the vein is from one to three feet
thick in some parts ; in others, it nan-ows to a thin, almost lin-
ear seam ; in some places, the lead ore, in others, the zinc ore
Eredominates. The ore, as an aggregate, may be said to lie in
unches, and the prodiictiveness of different points of the vein
is very variable. Wlien exammiug the mine, three masses of
galena, fi-ee from other ores and from gangue, were i.aken out
of the mine, weighing about 800, 1000, and 1400 pounds.
" This mine is said to have been originally discovered by a
hunter,* and the first opening was made some forty or fifty feet
from the present shaft of the mine. It was worked from the
outcrop of the vein to a depth of about thirty feet, and some
tons of lead ore were taken from the mine. T''his opering was
abandoned in consequence of the thinning of the metallilerous
part of the vein, and the difficulty of raising the ore through an
in-egular and sloping shaft. A vertical shaft was in process of
excavation at the time of my first Aasit in 1837, and it had
reached the vein at that tim'e. Lateral galleries have since
been driven on the course of the vein. An adit level was driven
* The pioneers of Mamakating knew that the Indians obtained their lead not iuT
from Wiirtsborough. The natives alwa\B refused to show where it was to be found;
and generally became angry wlienever the mine was alluded to. Even the white men
who were in'jjart or wholly domesticated with them, could not get any information
from them in regard to it. At last, a white hunter named<Miller dogged them, at the
risk of his life, until he ascertained that they got the ore near a certain clump of
hemlock trees, which were the only ones of the Kind within a considerable distance.
He heard them at work ; but did iiot dare to go to the locality until a considerable
time aft( rwards, when he was sure the savages were not in tbe vicinity. Miller intended
to show the mine to a man named Daniel Gonsalns. He told him the lead was on the
mountain, near the liemlocks, pointed them out from the valley, and promised to go
with him to the mine after he had paid a visit to his friends in Orange county. He
went, but died at Montgomery during his visit there. Gonsalus never attempted to
profit bv what MiUer had told him. In 1813, however, he communicated what he
knew of" the matter to Daniel Niven, who, in 1817, hired a man named Mudge tc
assist him in searching for the load, snd they succeeded in finding it. Specimens of
the ore wore sent to Doctor Mitchell, and otliers, chemists. Mr. Niven made a confi-
dant of Moscs Stanton, a resident of Wurlsborough, who, as well as Mudge, insisted
»ipon sharing the profits which were expected to be made from the discovery, and the
three became partners. Not long after, those who had analyzed the ore endeavored
to purchase the mine of Mr. Niven and his associates. But the discoverers iound &
difficulty in the way of selling. The land did not belong to them, and they could not
ascertain who (Jid own it. They eould not buy the mine nor sell it. So the matter
rested until 1836— Mr. Niven and his partners mutually agreeing not to make any
disclosure concerning the matter, unless with the consent of all three. Their Bccrot,
howev( c, was revealed after it had been kept for almost twenty years. Stanton had an
awkward habit of dreaming while asleep, and one night, wliile his eyelids were closed,
Bpoke (if the mine and its location so distinctly that his son, who was present, had no
difficulty in finding it. Young Stanton was so fortunate as to ascertain who some of
the owners were, and to make five hundred dollars by keeping his cars open, "liile hit
father was "dreaming aloud 1 " J. E. Q.
32 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COL'NTY.
perpendicular to the 'strike of the vein through the intervening
strata of grit rock, fii■ty-t^\■o feet below the month of the shaft,
so as to intersect the vein at tlie distance of about two hundred
feet from the main shaft. Galleries have been excavated latterly
on the course of the vein fi-om the extremity of the adit,
and the southern one of these has been connected with the shaft.
This atlit and the contiguous galleries serve as a drainage level
for the upper portions of the mine. Another adit level has been
driven into the mountain, so as to intersect the vein at a per-
pendicular depth of seventy-five feet below the other, and the
main shaft is continuous fi-om this intersection, sloping up the
course of the vein, to where this inclined shaft unites with the
vertical one at the upper tier of the galleries. Lateral galleries
have been excavated on the course of the vein from the sides of
the inclined part of the main shaft, and it was in these that the
miners were employed at the time of my visit.
"The ore is slidden down the inclined shaft to the lower adit
level, whence it is removed to the ore heaps o)>posite this level.
It is there picked and washed, and then sent to the smelting
house on the bank of the canal, which, by the winding course
of the road, is about a mile or a mile and a quarter."
From a personal inspection in May, 1852, the following were
the particulars of this mine. It has an entrance by an adit
opened upon the side of the mountain, nearly eight hundred feet
above the canal level. To reach the vein of ore, the strata, were
pierced through sixty yards. The strike of the range is E. N.
E. by W. S. W., with a dip varying fiom 35 'to 50= to the N. AV.
The vein runs parallel to the strike, and nearly parallel ^^•^th the
strata. When reached by boring to the above stated depth, it
was found to vary in thickness from eighteen inches to four feet.
About one hundred feet above the adit level, the ore crops out
on the surface, a few inches in thickness, mixed Avith considera-
ble gangue. The gangue stone is quartz, which intersects the
vein, largely cutting it up and rendering it in some places too
poor to wm-k. The rock through which the adit is bored is the
Shawanguuk grit. At the inner extremity of the adit, a gallery
has been extended at right angles to the adit, or in the line of
the strike, thus following the couise of the ore. It was stated
that but little ore had been raised for the last six years, and the
spots where the blastings were made were filled with water. The
richest samples of ore taken at that period were said to be from
spots now flooded. At the pit's mouth, there was a heap of sorted
ore, and at some distance, a larger heap of finely powdered ore.
The whole quantity did not exceed seventy tons. Within the
mine, little was going on, cither in draining or blasting. Snielt-
ing. fuiuacea were then being erected at a great cost, and the
GEOLOGY. 33
extent of these seemed greatly incoiiiineusurate with the quan-
tity of ore on hand, or even in the vein.
The ore is zinc blende (sulphuret of zmc) associated with
galena and copper pyrites, tJie gangne stone quai'tz intersecting
it in threads and crystals. The gangue varies from fifteen to
fifty per cent, of the sorted ore.
The gangue is separable from the ore by crushing and sifting.
When separated, the pure ore consists of
Lead 20.432
Zinc 15.G72
Iron 6.G00
Copper 300
42.004 in 100 parts.
These were associated with sulphur, and may be looked on as
blende, galena and pyrites associated. The copper is present
in so trifling an amount as not to be regarded practically. Aix
examination was made to determine the presence of silver asso-
ciated with the lead ore; but the result, while it showed the
presence of that metal', did not warrant the behef that any could
be profitably extracted. This vein, then, is one of mixed zinc
and lead ores ; for of the other metals, (silver and copper) there
is but a trifling amount, and the kon is a positive impediment
in the reduction. There is a practical difficulty in separating
galena and blende so as to preserve both metals. Either the
zinc or the lead is sacrificed in obtaining the other metal.
The ordinary ores of zinc are the carbonate, the sulphuret
and the oxide. Tlie first yields fi'om 25 to 40 per cent. ; the
second 66 per cent. ; and the last 75 per cent, of pure metal.
The first two are the chief European ores ; the latter is tlie one
worked at Frankhn and SterHng, in New Jersey. The ore of
the Montgomery Mine, considered as a zinc ore, is inferior to
aoiy of those recounted. It is similarly situated as a lead ore.
The chief lead ore of this or any country is galena, (sul-
phuret,) which yields when pure 86 per cent, of metal, or more
than four times the quantity which this ore, ivhen free from
gangue, could yield ; so that this ore may be looked upon as a
!)oor zinc and a stiU poorer lead ore. It has to be fi'eed from a
arge amount of gangue, and to obtain the lead out of it, tlie
zinc will have to be bui-ned off; to obtain the zinc, the lead will
have to be sacrificed.
Many attempts have been made to adopt processes whereby
it might be possible to obtain both metals without loss ; but
without success on the large scale.
The New York and Montgomery Mining Company, in a pam-
phlet put forward by them, allude to a process of Mr. Seymoiir,
(the chemist to the works at the mine) whereby this obstacle
3
34 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
•was overcome. It does not appear, however, that it ever was
put in practice upon large quantities, and acted economically.
The same pamphlet gives an analysis of the ore as containing
zinc 30 per cent., lead 20 per cent., copper 5 per cent., and silver
one-tenth of one per cent.
" In addition to the above, the cobalt produced fi-om the ore,
being of the purest kind, will probably equal in value any of the
above named metals."
This statement led to a renewed analysis of the ore without
detecting more than a faint trace of cobalt in one mm]->le. Some
samples of the ore contain more galena and less blende, and
vice versa ; but even taking the above as an average sample of
ore which is mixed with from 15 to 50 per cent, of gangue, upon
the showing of the Company's pamphlet, it is impossible to ob-
tain either zinc or lead, or the preparations of these metals, at prices
which tvould remunerate the outlay.
For some time back, the sorted and ground ore has been
smelted, and the zinc and lead separated, and by the processes
of chemical decomposition (in the moist way) oxide of zinc,
chloride of zinc and other preparations of that metal, chromate
and otlier salts of lead, and cobalt, are prepared to the extent of a
few tons weekly, and sent to the city of New York, where its ar-
rival has served to keep up the price of the Company's stock, and
f acihtate sales ; biat if the manufacture of these substances were
intended as a remunerative speculation, they would have been
abandoned before now. No individual manufacturer, seeking
profit, would ever adopt the processes carried on in the factory
at the mine ; and in a short time, even the present operations
must abruptly terminate.*
The existence of good lead mines and zinc ores in this country,
■where these metals may be obtained cheaply, prevents a mixed
ore, whose preparations require a costly mode of separation,
from being brought into competition with them ; and when it is
considered that even the New Jersey zinc ore can with difficulty
compete with the English and Belgian zinc in its own market,
it is manifest that the poor ore of the Shawangimk cannot vent-
ure into competition.
What has been stated of the Montgomery ore and manufact-
tire, is true of miniu" in Sullivan county generally. The vein of
ore which extends from EllenATlle by' Bed Bridge and Wurts-
borough, passes along parallel to the strike of the hills, and may
be traced on the summit of the range to the western border of
the county, and owing to the operations carried on at the Mont-
gomery mine, various openings have been made by companies
and individuals to reaoh the same vein at other places. The
* The subsequent history of this mine fully verifies this prediction. J. E. Q.
belief that the vein would -widen at lower levels, (probable,) and
that it wonld be a richer ore farther west, (improbable,) has led
to a false estimate of the value of the ore, and of the locality
as a place for investment of capital ; and the excitement in the
Mamakating valley has been unduly kept up by interested parties.
There is not a workable mine in this county ; nor is there any
mineral or ore which can be abundantly or profitably extracted.
The manganese which is scattered over the whole extent, and
occurs disseminated tlirough layers of the shale and shaly lime-
stone, is too earthy and impure to compete with that from other
States. The anthracite which exists in the shale at the Sand-
burgh, and the half inch seam in Liberty, and which farther
west is cut tlirough by the Delaware, and washed down to where
it accuml^lates in beds, at the bending of the river at Cochecton
and elsewhere, is just sufficient to delude the unwary. The
oxide of iron which accumulates in the sandstone at some places,
as near Parksville, is sufficient to render the stone convertible
into a mineral paint ; but does not constitute a workable ore.
The building and flag-stones, and the extensive deposits of
brick clay which occur in every town, are the only mineral
wealth of the county.
Drift. — In every northern latitude on this continent, as far
south as 40 " , there are found spread over the country, beds of
clay, sand and gravel, accompanied with large loose stones,
generally of rounded form. The beds of clay, sand and gravel,
have been earned and deposited by currents of water running
in a dii-ection north and south, generally fi-om the north-west to
the south-east, and the loose stones or boulders may have been
carried by similar means, or stranded and melted fi-om ice.
Sullivan county, at some remote period, was the bed of an arm
of the sea, which extended fi'Om the Lakes to the Atlantic ocean,
by the Delaware and Chesapeake channels. Of coiirse, in the
deepest portions, the current would be strongest, and the most
earthy matters transported and deposited ; and hence it is, that
in the valleys we find the drift best marked. The soil of Mam-
akating valley is altogether of drift, and along its whole course,
the conditions of the current which deposited the material may
be distinctly traced. Sometimes the sand and gravel are in
distinct layers ; sometimes mixed, depending upon the amount
of sifting action of the tidal cuiTent. The direction also varies
sKghtly. Thus at Fraser's sand hill, in Monticello, the direc-
tion is N. N. E. and S. S. W. The south-west end of the hiU is
fine sand, wliUe on the north-west it is rounded gravel, showing
the direction of tlie cuiTent to be from north to south.
Li Lumberland, the sand and gravel hills along the Delaware
have a parallel direction.
36 HISTOKY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
The boulders of Rockland and Neversink are chiefly grey
sand-rock and conglomerate, the lamina of deposit on the former
i-endering them easily distinguishable. In Liberty, grey grit
boulders are extensively distributed about Parksville, with some
red sand-rock and a white conglomerate resembHng that of
Shawangunk. In Rockland and Liberty, the silieious limestone
containing manganese (refeiTed to under the head of Economi-
cal Geology,) is met with very commonly. In Thompson, in the
northern part, the quartz conglomerate prevails to south of
Thompsonville. It covers the surface at Lord's pond, and on
the BaiTens generally, where grey grits and slate are also int«r-
spersed. About BridgeviUe, they are mixed in with the sand
and gi-avel hills on the bank of the river.
In the Mamakating valley, the farther north and east gener-
ally, the drift-sand is fine. At Phillips Port, it passes into fine
sand and gravel, which he along the base of the hills on either
side, the direction being generaUy E. N. E. and W. S. W. The
whole west side of the vaUey is filled up ^dth it. The drift is
spread ever the east side of Shawangunk, and is mixed in with
the soil derived from the slate.
The boulders of the Mamakating valley are composed of the
rocks of the mountain in the neighborhood, mingled with the
northern drift.
In this valley, the bones of the mastodon and fossil elephant
were found in digging the DelaAvare & Hiidson canal, in a peat
bog, between Red Bridge and Wurtsborough.
The whole vaUey is interesting as showing the efi'ects of drift ;
its mode of deposit ; and the groo\'ing or scratching on the hill-
sides, caused by the passage over them of mo^^ng ice, containing
impacted stones. The facts in this connection, communicated
to Silhman's Journal, Vol. XXIII., p. 43., by WilKam A.
Thompson, of Thompsonville, are interesting. They are as
follows :
***** "I have examined this part of the State A^-ith
considerable care, and have found that in more than fifty difi'er-
ent places where I have seen the soHd strata, the gi-ooves and
fun-ows appear fi-om an inch to one-fourth of an inch deep, and
from one-fourth of an inch to three and four inches wide ; and in
some cases they run due north, and in every direction fi-om
north to twenty-five degi'ees south of east. I have found them
also in the bo'ttoms of cellars, in excavations made in digging
wells, and where the earth has been removed bv making roads,
and in many instances where I have uncovered the sohd rock
for the purpose of observing the efi'ects of the diluvial action.
I have paid some attention to this subject while traveling in the
Eastern States, and I could find none of the furrows ; but the
GEOLOGY. 37
solid stratum appears to be %vorn very smooth by attrition, by
the motion of some bodies smaller and less solid than those
which have produced the distinct traces in this part of the State
of New York.
" It may be proper to remark first, that Sullivan county is
bounded south and west by the Delaware river ; north by Dela-
ware and Ulster counties, and east by Orange ; that the county
lies on the easterly part of the Aileghany range of mountains,
and that the mean altitude of the country is on a level \\ith the
highlands below Newbiu-gh — about one thousand five hundred
feet above the tide water ; that this level is continued westerly
through Sullivan county and the State of Pennsylvania, from
the Shongham mountain to tlie Susquehannah river; that a
space of above fifty miles wide of this level lies, continuously, in
the Alleghany range, until you come to mountains of a great
height, on the west side of the Susquehannah ; that the depth
of the earth above the solid rock gradually and regularly in-
creases fi'om Shongham mountain to the Susqiiehannah ; that
the average depth of earth in Sullivan county is not more than
twenty-five feet, nor more than thirty-five through the State of
Pennsj'lvania ; that the range of the Kattskill mountain bounds
the north part of Sullivan ; that south of this space of fifty miles
the altitude of the mountains considerably increases ; in this in-
termediate space it appears that tops of the ridges had been
dilapidated by mighty force, and that the current had pressed
easterly, and often times canied large pieces of rock to a con-
siderable distance, say from fifty to two hundred rods, and if the
fragments are of very considerable size they always rest on the
soHd strata. In many instances, sections of the strata were
broken out and raised by the violence of the current and left on
the tops of the highest hills ; I have seen an instance where a
rock twenty feet square has been carried half a mile on the level
surface of the strata that are covered about three feet vnth.
earth, and there left in that position ; the violence of the current
having ceased to effect its farther removal fi-om its original
position.
"The upper strata of the whole section of the country before
the deluge, appear to have been composed of a common grey
sandstone covering the surface of the rock from twelve to twenty-
four inches thick. This seems to have been the last marine
foiTuation ; it is full of fissures and cracks, being broken into
small angular pieces by the first violent surges of the deluge,
and now scattered on the surface of the ground.
" The next lower strata are pudding stone, filled with quartz
and feldspar and other primitive minerals ; its parts are gener-
ally water-worn and are from the size of a robin's to that of a
hen's egg. The next rock underneath is ihe old red sandstone.
do fflSTORY OF SULLIYAN COUNTY.
which is universally found in the bottoms of the valleys ; on the
tops however of the highest hills the red clay slate is univers-
ally found, and for eighty or ninety miles west, gives a reddish
color to all the soils of the country, and passes southerly through
New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
" The valleys in this section of countiy uniformly run from
north to south, are in many instances fi'om ten to twelve hundred
feet deep, and are the beds of the large streams. The lesser
valleys are covered with pieces of red and grey sandstone of a
convenient size for making fences. The most free and feasible
land is always found on the tops, and on the eastern sides of the
hills, the western sides being uniformly steep and broken.
The whole of the earth or soil appears to have been removed
from the soU strata at the deluge, and most, if not all the upper
strata of sandstone, were then broken up. A small portion
of the pudding-stone was also broken up in large square blocks,
and occasionally pieces of the old red sandstone were detached
from the bottom of the valleys. It is probable that previous to
the deluge there was httle or no soil on this section of the coun-
try, that the liills, valleys and streams were the same previous
to the deluge that they are at this time, excepting that the hills
were dilapidated and lowered, and the deep valleys were made
still deeper by the tremendous cataracte and surges, the water
being carried violently over the high ledges and hills and then,
in crossing the ridges fi-om west to east, faUing ten to twelve
hundred feet into the valleys. While contemplating such a scene,
our imagination must fall infinitely short of the reality. The sin-
gle wave tliat totally destroyed the port town of Lima, or the
surge that ovei-whelmed the Turkish fleet in Candia, comes nearer
to the terrific scene than any similar events that are recorded.
" That these large masses of rocks shoidd be broken up and
tin-own upon the tops of high hills will appear in no way sur-
prising when we consider what must be the effect of the precip-
itation of the cataracts into deep valleys and of their sub-sequent
violent reflux over the high hills ; a power more than suflicient
to raise the large masses of rock that were left on the high
grounds in the country.
" That water has the power to carry rocks and other heavy-
bodies over the tops of mountains, is evinced by the simple fact,
that the only place where the millstone is found withm two
hundred miles, is at Kizerack, on the west side of Shongliam
mountain, fifteen or twenty miles fi-om Esopus or Kingston, up
the Kondout Kill. At this place, all the country or Esopus
millstones are sold. Now over a great part of the west side of
Shongliam mountain, which is composed of tlie millstone-grit,
this rock has been carried to the height of ten or twelve hundred
feet, so as to pass over the top of the mountain, and it lies scat-
GEOLOGY. 39
tered through the country for many miles east, between New-
burgh and Shongham mountain, and as there is no other similar
stone within two hundred miles, this is conclusive evidence that
the violence of the surge carried the rocks over the top of the
mountain and left them in the position in which we now see
them ; some of the stones weigh from three to four tons.
"Professor Eaton, in his geological survey of the KattskUl
or Alleghany, says that all the eastern slope of the Alleghany is
capped or protected by the millstone-grit, but what he called
the miUstone-gi-it, I caU the conglomerate, or pudding-stone;
both are formed in part of quartz, but in the true miUstone-grit,
the fine parts are formed by abrasion of the quartz only, while
common sand mixed with globular pieces of quartz, forms what
he calls the millstone-grit of the Alleghany range.
" I have never been able to find any grooves or furrows, on
the west side of the hills and ridges in the county; nothing
appears but the traces and breaches where the rocks have been
torn up by some violent agent. It very rarelj- happens that any
traces can be found on the red argillaceous sandstone ; it is not
sufficiently solid to sustain the force of heavy bodies moving in
contact with it, although in some instances the gi'ooves appear
for fifteen or twenty feet, and then the strata are rough or
broken, but the traces are mostly on the sohd pudding-stone, and
the common giey sandstone which remained solid and unbroken
at the deluge. In those cases where the old red sandstone
appears, if the slojje or side of the hill faces the north, I have
seen three or four instances in which the furrows run in that
direction for half a mile, and on meeting a ridge of rocks in the
low grounds, the furrows turned due east, and after passing
the obstniction, again turned north-east or east. Not a mile from
the same place, on descending from the same high gi-oiind, the
furrows run east, tally iug with the face of the hill. On the high
lands west of the Shongham, and where there could be no
obsti-uction for seventy or eighty mUes, I examined ten or twelve
different places in which the lurrows were deep and distinct,
and found them to rim from ten or twelve degrees north of east,
and they continued in the same direction for a considerable dis-
tance down the mountain ; at no great distance to the south, the
furrows tended twenty-five degrees soiith of east, leading to a low
opening in the Shongham mountain, through which the currents
of water naturally ran. I have rarely examined the strata below
the decomposing effects of fi-ost, without discovering distinct
traces of diluvial action. Near the banks of streams, I hardly
ever found any such marks, but the sohd strata appeared broken
and very Uttle altered by attrition. In one place where the
earth was removed and where there was no visible obstacle to
alter the current of water, the furrows crossed each other, show-
40 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
ing that the current took a new direction, after the first furrows
were made. About twelve or foui-teen miles west of Newbiu-gh,
I found the marks on the soUd grajAvacke to run nearly north
and south. At Coxsakie, in Greene count}-, in digging a well
and coming to the solid strata, the furrows ran northerlv and
southerly about in the direction of the mountain. I'^found
that in "different places, between thirty and forty miles apart,
the fuiTOWS ran about ten degrees north of east, especially
where the current had a free course for any considerable dis-
tance wthout any obstacle. "VMiere the solid strata remained,
but a part has been removed by some powerful agent.
" On examination, I have found, that the corners of rock have
been worn off by abrasion from eighteen to twenty-four inches,
and that the furrows made on the rocks by the abrasion of hard
substances, were very distinct, although the edges of rock were
rounded. This fact is of fi-equent occurrence. On the high land,
as well as on the low, the fuiTows appear near small streams, in
every possible situation, showing, -vvithout a doubt, that the rivers
and hiUs remain now as they were before the flood. Pieces of
the sohd strata with the fuiTows on them, are often found where
part of the strata was broken up after the fun-ows were made, but
more of the argiUite than of any other rock appears in fi-agments.
It was supposed that these grooves were made by the Indians,
before the settlement of the country by the white people. Large
fragments of rocks or boulders are found in every part of the
country, which fi-agments, in passing over the siirface of the
strata, have doubtless made these fuiTows. Most of them have
the corners worn off. There are but few instances in which other
stones are found besides the natural strata of the country. In
some instances, the stones are composed altogether of sea shells ;
in two instances, I have fovmd palm leaves and fems incorpo-
rated in the soft gray slate. The soil is much fuller of the small
S articles of quartz and feldspar than in Orange county, or in the
ew England states. The disintegi-ation produces a fine sand,
upon which there rises an abundant growth of pine and hemlock.
For three hundred miles to the westward, it is evident that the
soil or earth was raised and increased very miich bv the deluge,
and tlie mountains and ridges were lowered and robbed of their
loose stones, by the same cause. The opening of about fifty
miles wide tlu'ough this part of the Alleghany ridge has probably
tended in some measure to control and direct the course of the
cuiTent of the water. The mastodon appears not to have been
a native of this section of the country', but was probably an in-
habitant of the champaign countries to the west, and the bodies
may have been borne, on this mighty current, through falls and
cataracts to the low, basin-Uke couiities of Ulster and Orange,
where they were finally deposited. Before the delvige, the coun-
GEOLOGY. 41
ties of Orange and Ulster were probably formed of low sharp
ridges of graywacke and limestone, and narrow short valleys run-
ning in different directions, with little or scarcely any soil or earth
either in the valleys, or on the low sharp ridges, and of course such
countries would not be the natural residence of the unwieldy
mastodon. The carcasses of these animals were probably in some
cases brought whole, in others they were lacerated and torn
asunder, or bruised, and the bones broken, before the flesh had
decayed and dropped from them. This appears from the place
and the condition in which the bones are found. The first skel-
eton found in Orange was taken out of a swamp near Crawford's
on the Newbvirgh turnpike. This carcass was deposited entire
and unbroken m a pond or basin of water, and after the flesh
was decayed from the bones, they were spread over an area of
about thirty feet square ; the oiitlet of this pond is a firm rock ;
the pond has been filled up by decayed vegetable substances,
and now forms a swamp of about ten acres covered with maple
and black ash. In the north part of this swamp, about two years
ago, on digging a deep ditch to drain the ground, a skeleton of
tlie mammoth was foimd ; this skeleton I immediately examined
very minutely, and found, that the carcass had been deposited
whole, but that the jaw-bone, two of the ribs, and a thigh-bone
had been broken by some violent force while the carcass was
whole ; on taking up the bones, this was evident, from every
circumstance. Two other parts of skeletons were, some years
since, disinterred, one near Ward's Bridge, and tlie other at
Masten's meadow, in Shongham ; in both instances, the carcasses
had been torn asunder, and the bones had been deposited with
the flesh on, and in two or three instances, the bones were fract-
ured. That the bones were deposited with the flesh attached
to them, appears from the fact that they were found closely at-
tached to each other, and evidently belonged only to one part
of the carcass, and on a diligent search, no part of the otliar
bones could be found within a moderate distance of the spot.
If the animal had died where the bones were found, the whole
skeleton would have been found at or near the place. Great
violence would be necessary to break the bones of such large
animals ; in the ordinary course of things, no force adequate to
that effect, would be exerted ; I tliink it therefore fair reasoning,
to say, that at the deluge, they were brought by the westerly
cun-ents to the place where they were found ; that the carcasses
were brought in the first violent surges, and bruised, broken and
torn asunder by the tremendous cataracts, created wlien the
cuiTents crossed the high mountains and ridges, and feU into
the deep valleys between Shongham mountain, and the level
countries at the west ; that those carcasses that came whole to
the place where they finally rested, arrived after the waters had
42 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
attained a gi-eater height, and were probably less ■^'iolent, and
of course the bodies were less liable to be beaten and bruised
by coming in contact with the rocks. This \'iew of the facts
appears to me fairly to account for the condition in which the
bones of the mammoth are found.
f I have thus given a desultory sketch of a number of facts
relating to the currents of water at the deluge, and their eftects
on the face of the country ; if they should not appear to be new,
they may stiU be received as evidences of dilu\'ial effect ia dif-
ferent parts of our country."
There are in various parts of the county, in the troughs*
formed by the wave-like elevations of ihe strata, drift stones,
which lie in the du'ection of a stream, and which forcibly convey
the suggestion that they were dropped by melted glacier ice.
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY.
Manganese is an abundant metal in the county. It is formed
in the sandstone strata, through wliich it is disseminated s^piu-
ingly, and from wliich it is washed out by water, and by the uat-
ui-al decomposition of the rock. It exists mostly in Fallsburgh
and Liberty. In the former place, there is a collection of
boulders, which are scattered somewhat plentifully over the
northern part of the county. t These stones are abundant on
Mr. Benjamin Kyle's farm, in FaUsburgh, where they have the
following composition :
Eed sand 39.20
Alumina and peroxide of iron 13.00
Lime 17.00
Carbonic acid 19.00
Magnesia 1.80
Oxide of Manganese 10.00
100.00
» Tlie basin or trough-form in which the strata are deposited, renders it not improba-
bl« that brine might be obtained by deep boring in the valley of the Delaware, between
Deposit and Narrowsburgh ; in the valleys of both branches of the Delaware, and the
lower parts of their main tributaries, and possibly in the valley of the Susquehann*
about Sidney, in that of the Mongaup, and of the Neversiuk above Cuddebackville.
[Mather's Reports, p. 87.
The rocks between the Susquehanna and the Cat«kill mountain dip shghtly toward
the valley of the Delaware, and in Schoharie county, they dip southward, giving »
basin-shaped form to the stratification. It is a fact that has been forced upon my
attention T)y extended observation, that many of our salt-well districts in the United
States are in depressions of the strata ; in other words they are within the undula-
tions, as troughs or basins in the strata. [Ibid.
t One of the hills on the farm of Doctor Kyle is mainly formed of manganese rock.
J. E. Q.
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 43
The manganese easily separates from the rocks, and collects
in low situations as black earthy oxide. It is too impure to be
of much commercial value. It is remarkable that, associated
with the manganese is a trace of cobalt. This- metal exists with
the former wherever met in the county, and also in the mixed
zinc and lead ore of Shawangunk. The cobalt ore is too spar-
ingly scattered to be recovered profitably as an article of
manufacture.
Ieon is found united with sulphur as pyrites in the giits of
Shawangunk, and in western Neversink in the conglomerates.
In contact with vegetable matter, it passes into red oxide, and
in this condition is found in Lumberland and Forestburgh,
where the pyrites have been washed out, and oxidized.
Clays. — Stiff clays are scattered abundantly over the county.
Suitable clays for brickmaking are found in Eockland, none of
which have been used for twenty years past. In Neversink,
along the streams, are beds of heavy plastic clay. On Thomas
E. Taylor's land is a very good blue clay. The bed is one foot
deep and twenty rods long. A similar clay is met with near
Charles C. Decker's land, which, fe-om its great whiteness, is
used for whitewashing. A large amount of the subsoil of Nev-
ersink is a stiff clay. The same kind is found in Liberty in
several places. An ordinary brick clay is met with in Monticello,
and in nearly all the swamps in the vicinity. B. F. Willetts, on
the Thompsonville road, manufactures merchantable brick from
the clay of his farm.
If the clays of Sullivan county were better treated by screen-
ing, washing and sifting, previous to being bui-nt, they might be
applied to other domestic pui-poses; yet the beds, though
numerous, are not sufficiently extensive to justify an outlay upon
the spot for these purposes. There is an application of chiy,
however, which brick manufactui'ers might with safety adopt ;
that is, the manufacture of draining tiles. A large extent of
the country requires to be drained, and there is abundance of
clay suitable for the manufactiire of tiles.*
* The State Surveyor, Mr. Mather, noticed considerable depoeitB of peat in the
count.v, an article which may ultimately become of some value ; he says that there are
iifty acres of it on the summit between Wurtsborough and Red Bridge ; live hundred
acres south of Monticello, in the valley of Three Brooks ; one thousand acres between
Wurtsborough and Cuddebackville ; about one hundred and twenty-five acres in various
other places in the %icinity of Monticello. It probably exists in sevei-al other localities
in the county. Many of our ponds if drained, would att'ord an inexhaustible supply of it.
Very valuable beds of clav and ochre have been discovered at Oakland, and on the
line of the Monticello and Port Jervis R. R.
A valuable deposit of clay also exists on the farm of Chaa-les Barnum in Thompson.
J. E. Q.
44 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Soil. — All soils are derived from the decomposition of rocks.
These rocks may be either at the spot, or at some distance ; so
that the existence of soil over a rock bottom does not necessarily
imply that it is derived fi-om the rock on which it is foimd, and
in considering the value and fertility of land, the sources of the
soU must be attended to.
The soils of Sullivan county may be chiefly classed under two
heads —
1. Those of the red sandstone or Catskill division.
2. Those of the drift origin.
Under the first are included all those soils derived from the
red sandstone series, viz : argillaceous shale, red sandstone-grit,
grey gi-its and shales.
Under the second are comprised those soils wliich, lying upon
either the Catskill or Erie division, yet do not to any extent
partake of the materials of the rocks. These soils occupy the
lowest sections of the county, and are chiefly confined to Mama-
kating valley. South of the Shawangunk range, the soil appears
to be made up chiefly of decomposed shale, derived fi'om the
Hudson river group. It occupies, however, but a small portion
of the county's surface.
Among the soils of the Catskill group there are two which
have a red color : one derived from a thin bed of argillaceous
shale, which occupies an upper portion of the series — the other
from a red sand-rock, a gritty stone. These soils differ slightly
in their physical qualities ; that derived from argillaceous shale
being more tenacious clay, and generally more fertile. The soils
derived from the sand-rock (giit) are more extensively distrib-
uted. They occupy a considerable space in Cochecton, Bethel
and Thompson, and west of the Mongaup river. The argilla-
ceous hes mainly between the Mongaup and Nevereink rivers.
In their chemical character these two classes of soil difi^er very
slightly — not in any important degree. They ai-e very sandy to
the feel. Their various tints are due to variable amounts of
organic matter present. When freed from this and burnt, the
residue treated in miiriatic acid and dried, and then examined
under the microscope, it is seen to be chiefly made up of fine
sandy clay, and a large amount of fine grains of pure white
quai-tz. These grains are roimded. "VMien the sand-rock or
shale is treated in the stune way, a similar quartz residue is
seen ; so that there is httle doubt of the relations between the
rock and the soil here.
The soils of the county, taken as a whole, have a general re-
semblance in their chemical constitution, as well as their physical
texture. They are chiefly light and sandy lands, containing a
ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY — SOIL. 45
large amount of silica, sometimes existing as line white quarfczose
sands; sometimes as gritty red sand, (nilicate of iron); while
sometimes the iron is not peroxidized, and, though present, does
not give the rasty tint ; but the peculiar green which some salts
of iron possess. The sand in a majority of the soils approaches
eighty-six per cent. ; the lime is generally below one-half of one
per cent. ; the soluble .mline matters fiom one to two per cent.,
with generally a very small amount of phosphoric acid. They
possess small quantities of every useful mineral, but no large
quantities of any. And this is exactly what could be expected
from soils of this origia.
What could grow upon the sandy shores of Long Island or
Massachusetts, where the tide i-olls over every day, and washes
out every trace of soluble matter? If it were diked and drained,
what would such a soil be but a red sand, with just so much
saline matter as the tide-water, held to tlie soil by cohesion, re-
tained? And what is an old red sandstone more than this? An
ancient sea beach, formed and acted upon as beaches now are,
it is ahnost identical in constitution. Such soils contain but
Uttle nutritious matter for plants, and as the parent rock is.
slow in decomposition, these elements are but slowly augmented,
even though the soil be left uncultivated; bixt by the usual
cropping, where so much is taken off the land and so little re-
turned, the effect is to remove these matters faster than they
are supplied ; and the result is that the soil becomes permanently
impoverished after a few rotations of such farming.
These remarks on sandstone soils are not made with the ob-
ject of depreciating them. If they have their disadvantages of
being less rich in mineral elements, they have the advantage
of being more permeable to aii- and water, and are more easily
cultivated. It is yet a question which kind of soil (a sand or
clay) a farmer should select. Certainly, within one hundred
miles of New York, the sandy land ^vould be preferred. Good
tillage and high manuriag will make it equal to the best of soils.
Ahnost the whole of Sulhvan county is occupied with sand-
rocks; and hence the uniformity of the character of the soU.
Generally speakiug, however, the western slopes of the strata
have their soil formed fi-om the rocks below without any change ;
while on the eastern slopes the soil is mixed witli drift to a more
or less extent, which, in the majority of instances, improves it.
The only portion of the county where sand-rocks do not exist
is in Maniakating valley, where the Heklerberg limestones are
met with ; but they He so deep, being covered with drift, and
being placed so nearly vertical tliat iin edge of tlie stratum, and
not one of its sides, is presented ; and thus the rock cannot wear
to any extent, or communicate its more valuable element, hme,
in any remarkable amount, to the soil.
46 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
The pristine character of the strata underneath is no unim-
portant matter. In the northern and middle part of tlae county,
Mie dip of the strata is not more than 70^, and as the rock is
nearly imperv-ious to water, the latter will be very slowly deliv-
ered from such a horizontal surface. It collects in the course
of the year in the lower layers of the soil, and tliere it remains
until slowly drained off at its lower outlet, or imtil it is evapor-
ated by the summer sun. The soil is thus undergoing a double
injury; its lower stratum is chilled, and vegetation prevented
fi-om traveling down ; and when the water is raised by capillary
action, it cools the soil, and thus retards the vegetation upon
the surface. It may thus be seen that a sandy soil, which would
natiirally drain itself, and whose upper portion is dry because it
has done so, may yet be unable, from the hard rockbeneath, to
drain itself thoroughly. And this is the condition of much
of SiiUivan county. A large poi-tion of the land, though dry
above, is wet below, and althoiigh a sand, it requires to be
drained, and will, by increased crops, repay the inteUigent farmer
who adopts this practice.
The elevation of the county hmits the period of gi-owth of
plants, and prevents the successful cultivation of some cereals.
Therefore it is desii-able to lengthen the period of growth.
Drainage will accomplish this by letting in the hot air of spring.
It ^viR give one fortnight more of svunmer existence to plants.
This fortnight would save the com crop in many years, and this
saving alone woiild repay the expense.
No amount of manuring will sufficiently warm land which has
not been drained. It is a waste to add it to wet soils. They
are antagonistic.
Subsoiling is only beneficial to dry lands, and should not be
practiced on wet soils. Moss, ru^es and coarse grass betray
a superabundance of moistiu-e lurking in some of the finest soils
of the county.
The drift soils are, as has been stated, confined to Mama-
kating valley, where they attain a considerable thickness,
amounting in some places to thu-ty feet in depth. They also
occupy the eastern edge of many of the hills and slopes, where
they mingle with the sandstone or slate. These soils have not
the redness of the sand-rocks, nor the gritty fcehng of the t'ats-
kill soils. They have less silicioiis matters, and more clay tlian
the latter ; are somewhat richer in the saline matters, and much
richer in hme.
The soils of Morrison, DiU and HoUey are examples of cbift
soils. Although a richer soil per se than the Catskill, it contains
no means of sustenance -nithiu itself, and will therefore be worn
out, as the former.
The drift soils stand intermediate between the CatskiU
ECONOMICAL GEOLOaY— SOIL. 47
and the Hudson river rock soil in the amount of alumina they
contain.
The soils south of the Shawangunk range are of a heavier
texture than those north. They are derived fi-om the Hudson
slates, which decompose readily, and furnish a good soil, and
constantly replenish it. It is less susceptible of exhaustion than
either of the former varieties of soU. It is less fine in its texture,
and more difficult to work. It partakes somewhat of the char-
acter of the soil of Orange county. North of the Shawangunk,
the soil is homogeneous ; south of it, the clay predominates.
The green and grey grits which underlay Lumberland afi'ord
a deep soU. It is remarkably fine in its texture ; is readily cul-
tivated, and is a primitive soil. It is comparatively abundant
in mineral, and rich in organic matters. It is, to a great extent,
drained naturcdhj by the softer character of the shale, and being
more elevated iu its angle toward the horizon, o^ing to its prox-
imity to the upheaving force which raised Shawangunk.
This part of the coiinty has as yet been but little
from its primitive condition. It -will well repay any treatment
which will make it cultivated land. Its slope to the east ; its
position (being several himdi-ed feet below the rest of the county,
thereby rendering it more warm and sheltered) recommend it
as having a more equable climate than the more elevated land
of the central ard northern to-v\ais.
Aliimina and lime are the two deficiencies of the whole coiinty.
A substitute may be foimd for the former in vegetable matter —
pond or swamp muck, composted barn-yard manure, or by
plo\^ang in clover. Much Uiiie is not suitable to sandy soils.
Less should be applied to them than to clays. Small quantities
(ten to twenty-five bushels to the acre) will be found efficacious,
and less exliausting than large ones, which are washed through
a sandy soil, and burn out the vegetable matter too rapidly.
Wet soils should be drained before lime is applied. It is not
advisable to add caustic lime to slate soils until it has been
composted, when it will not leach out so rapidly, and its good
effects will be as apparent.
The spent tan which exists so abundantly in the county is an
excellent material for composting with Unie, and is as good as
pond or swamp muck for that purpose. The cereal plants re-
quire allcalies and phosphate of hme. The amount of the latter
iu the natural or ^drgin soU is very slight. It has been very
generally recommended for cereal plants.
The farmers of Sulhvan should cultivate root crops exten-
sively ; select improved breeds of cattle ; raise stock ; raise and
consume their own hay ; stall feed more ; send their mUk and
48 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COtTNTT.
butter to market, followed by the flesh ;* cultivate the best ap-
ples and pears, and make them a staple export. In this way,
they will learn for what then- soil is best adapted. In these
products tliis county need not be excelled, as the soil of SuUivan
is of that kind which fui-uishes the best dairies and orchards.
* All of the country containing the Catskill division of rocks is mountainous, but it
lies in heavy swells of liind, rarely precipitous, except where sti'eams have cut deep
gorges and ravines, and on the eastern and southern flanks of the mountains, where
they bound the Hudson and Mamakating valleys. Nearly all the more elevated swell*
of land are capable of tillage to their summits. * » « The soil is porous enough
not to wash, and springs of limpid pure cold water abound. The surface is stony and
gravelly, but is well adapted to grass, oats, potatoes and barley. Wheat succeeds well
for a few years after the land is cleared, as long as the roots of trees and bushes re-
main to keep the soil Ught ; but after that time, the soil heaves by the frost, and the
wheat is winter-killed. The county is admirably adapted for grazmg, both for cattle
and sheep, and the fine sw«et grass and cold springs offer as great f aciUties for making
excellent butter as the world affords. A large proportion of the butter sold under the
name of Goshen Imtter, wliich is celebrated for its superior qualities, is made in the
mountain region of Delaware, Sullivan, Ulster and Greene counties.
[Geology of the Firet District of New York, p. 313.
GEOLOGY — LIST OF BOCKS, &C. 49
LIST OF ROCKS, AC, COLLECTED IN SULLIVAN COUNTY,
BY DOCTOR ANTISELL.
Hudson river slate E. side of Shawangunk, on plank road.
Shawangunk conglomerate, " "
Green grit " " on plank road.
Fermginous quartz ciystals
in grit " " at county Une.
Ked rock " " on plank road.
Pyritiferous gi'aywacke ..." " at county line.
Helderberg limestone Delaware and Hudson canal, lock 37.
Khomboidal calc-spar " " "
Dark slate and shale Phillips Port, a few rods west.
Anthracite coal, impure,
shaly "
Dark slate, with fossil vege-
tation County line, near Eed Bridge.
Gray grit South of Lord's pond.
Gray sandstone Neversink river, Bridge\'ille.
Coarse sand-rock " "
Red sandstone " "
Gray sand-rock " E. bank, near Wm.
Hall's.
Red sandstone shale " " "
Bed micaceous sand-rock . . Monticello.
Red shale Great Lot 4, Fallsburgh.
" B. Sherwood's, Liberty.
Gray sand-rock " underneath shale.
O. H. Bush's farm, Fallsburgh.
Manganese rock Kyle's farm, "
Black oxide manganese ..." "
Red sandstone Mutton Hill, upper bed.
Gray sand-rock " lower bed.
Green slate flag-stone .... Hill under Presb'n church, Liberty.
Steatitic rock " " between the seams.
Red sandstone Hill east of Brown Settlement.
Gray sand-rock, Avitli seam
of anthracite Hill on 8,000 acre tract.
Gray sand-rock Base of hills in Brown Settlement.
Red sandstone Big Flats, Rockland.
Limestone boulder Little Flats, Rockland.
CHAPTEB n.
CLIMATE— BY PROF. ANTISELL.
By this term is generally understood the character of the
"weather pecnliar to a country as respects heat and cold, humid-
ity and dryness, variations in the barometer, fertility and the
alternation of the seasons. The latitude, the annual fall of rain,
the elevation of the land above the sea, its condition of cultiva-
tion and proximity to the ocean, with the position of the slope
of the land, are the chief circumstances of any region which re-
quire to be noticed in order to form a correct idea of the climate
of that place.
Generally speaking, in the temperate zone, the latitudes of
this codtinent have temperatures inferior to those of Eivrope.
The isothermal line (50° of Humboldt) in Europe is found pass-
ing over the north of Ireland and England, through Belgium
and Middle Germany to the Crimea ; it enters Asia north of the
Caspian sea, and passes over Lake Baikal, and through Mon-
golia and the Manchoo territory towards China, and leaves that
continent south of Yeddo, on the sea of Japan ; it f)asses over
the Pacific ocean, and touches the west of this continent near
the boundary line between Oregon and California ; then it crosses
the Mandan district and Iowa, and passes over Lakes Michigan
and Erie ; it then bends in a south-easterly direction over the
State of New York, and passes into the Atlantic in the vicinity
of the city of New York.
On the east side of this continent, under this line,
the mean summer temperature is 71.6
" winter " 30.2
On the western coast, under this line,
the mean summer temperature is 69.75
winter " 38.70
Thus, under the same isothermal line, the climate of the West
varies from that of the East, the former being more equable
throughout the year, and the mean winter temperature being
considerably above the freezing point. Hence it appears that we
[50]
CLIMATE. 61
cannot arrive at a true conclusion concerning the climate of any
place from the study of its isothermal lines, (lines of equal mean
annual temperature :) it would be necessary to pay attention to
the isochimenal and isotheral lines, (hnes of equal mean winter
and summer temperatures).
A single instance will illustrate this position. In order to
produce potable wine, it is requisite that the mean annual heat
should exceed 49° ; that the winter temperature should be up-
wards of 33° ; and that the mean summer temperature should
be upwards of 64°. At Bordeaux, in the vale of the Garonne,
the mean annual, winter, summer and autumn temperatures are
respectively 57°, 43°, 71°, and 58°. On the plains near the
Baltic, where the grape produces a wine which is hardly potable,
these numbers are 47° 5', 31°, 63° 7' and 47° 5'. On comparing
the figures given in the accompanying tables, it will be seen that,
while this county has the summer temperature necessary for the
growth of the vine, its winter temperature is below the point fit
for producing palatable wine. As with the grape, so with every
cultivated plant. It has its ranges of temperatiu-e within which
it will grow and produce those elements of nutriment for which
it was raised. And hence arises the value of the study of local
temperatures to the farmer. It is as needful to him as the choice
of a good variety of seed, or of a useful manure.
The farmer will bear in mind how much these observations
may yet be improved. For instance : the temperatures given in
the returns of all institutions are the temperatures of the air in
the shade, and generally within doors. These, thoiigh excellent
for the puiposes for which they were designed, do not convey
to the agriculturist all the information he should desire. He
requires to know the temperature of the air in the sun, the con-
dition in which the plant is placed, and before all, he should
know the temperature of the soil from two to six inches deep —
a knowledge not yet recorded in any series of observations made
for this State.
The following table was furnished by Charles S. Woodward,
from observations made at his house, at Beaver Brook, in 1851
and 1852:
history of SULLIVAN COUNTY.
co-
When
highest.
0 00
Il
a §
1"
_tJ3
-3
OO i-ICC00i-HO00!MC0O
-nHcit-^coi-it-^fOr-it-^coci'ad
COCO-*lOtCiCOt-t~OlOCCG<l
■ib
fl
ooco in CI t~ (M ic 1-1 CO 05
CO 0 -^ ci cj 'i< 0 0 re 'n' co' cc
COCO-^'^lO^Dt-COtOlCCOlM
0
a
p?^i.oiOi-jpio _ict>;co<r;
u-jcocO'^ioiocoSic^cocq
1 1
When
high'st
1
-3
1
i
1
s
CM
CO
January
Februahy . .
March
April
May
June
July
August
September .
October . . .
November . .
December . .
53
1
^ CO
1
^
^
co"
II
28.9
35.2
40.1
46.2
62.2
69.8
76.
67.
66.8
57.5
41.4
39.
CO
i
coTt<cocooot->oc5cq-i#co
cdi-icdtMooiocdcocdcodoo
<MCOCO'*>OCOCDCOCOlO'*CO
s
23.6
28.
35.6
39.
53.6
60.9
66.4
62.45
55.1
49.4
38.1
35.
CO
1
s
05 ~1 CD
tH 00 T-H
1
g
8
fl
i
1
28.90
28.92
29.02
28.77
29.07
29.04
29.12
29.14
29.16
29.11
28.97
29.04
UO
r-l
January
Febeuaby
Maech
April
May
Juke
July
August
September
October
November
December
84 HISTOKY OF SDLLTVAN COUNTY.
From the useful information which may be drawn by inspec-
tion of these figures, the following may be noticed here :
The spring and fail of 1852 were warmer than those seasons
of 1851, while the summer of 1851 was warmer. Now, as
the summer months are the growing months of plants, the
harvests of 1851 ought to have been more abundant, other cir-
cumstances bemg the same.
If the mean temperatiires of these two years, from May to
November inclusive, (those months during which vegetation can
exist,) be contrasted, the following figures appear :
1851. 1852.
May 57.6 58.2
June 63 65.4
July 69.4 66.9
August 66 65.4
September 63 61.7
October 51.33 53.4
November 34.4 39.9
If we deduct fi-om these the months of May and November,
and include only the five months of vegetable growth, the mean
temperatures of these five months are, for 1851, 63.8 ; for 1852,
63.5. As these years difler fi-om each other by a small range,
the above figures of both years might be united, and the mean
average temperature of the place found thus for a series of years.
This is done here below, and the same average struck for two
years of records of Seneca county afi'ord a useful comparison :
SvLLivAN Co. Mean. Seneca Co. JIean.
1851 afld 1852. 1849 and 1850.
May 57.9 53.3
June 64.2 68.
July 68.1 72.9
August 65.7 68.5
September 62.3 60.6
Mean for the 5 months 63.6 64.6
The summers of Seneca county are warmer than those of Sul-
livan, whilfe May and September are cooler. June and July are
¥-' and August 3° hotter in the former county. The gi-owth and
ripening of cereal plants must be more rapid and certain in the
more northern county. Taking five months together, the diflfer-
ence ia the mean temperature of the two counties is but one
degree.
It may be safely deduced from the foregoing averages of
temperatui-e, that those plants only can be cultivated in this
county which require a mean summer heat under 60°.
The mean temperature of the month of April represents very
closely the mean of the year, thus :
CLIMATE. 55
1851. 1852.
Month of April 49. I Month of April 49.3
The year 49.57 | The year 49.1
The mean annual temperatures of three counties surveyed,
when contrasted appear thus :
Yearly mean temperature of Cazenovia, Madison
county — elevation above tide 1227 feet 42.73
do. do. do. of Oaklands, Seneca county — elevation 480
feet— year 1849 47.25
do. do. do. year 1850 48.85
do. do. do. Beaver Brook, Sullivan countv — year 1851, 49.57
do. do. do. do. do. do. " do. 1852, 49.1
do. do. do. Liberty, Sullivan county — elevation 1300
feet— year 1851 44.19
The contrast in the annual temperatures of Beaver Brook and
Liberty village is remarkable, amounting to 5°. This may be
partly explained by the difference in elevation of both places,
Liberty village being several hundred feet above Beaver Bi'ook :
every 350 feet of elevation being equivalent to the diminution
of one degiee of temperature.
The following communication from Doctor Watkins, from
the observations made at the Liberty Normal Institute, shows
the monthly mean temperature and fall of rain in that part of
the county:
" The thermometer was the highest on the 18th day of July
and the 12tli of September. On both days, at 2 o'clock P. M., it
was at 85°. It was the lowest on the morning of the 27th of
December at 6 o'clock, viz : 8° below zero. The mean temper-
ature as follows, and the quantity of water that fell each month :
1851. Mean. Water — inches.
January 25.4 2.47
Februarj^ 28.0 7.69
March 33.6 3.15
April 41.0 10.91
May 54.18 3.69
June 60.0 4.88
July 66.0 2.68
August 64.03 2.22
September 58.0 3.49
October 48.0 2.68
November 31.7 3.64
December 20.3 3.88
Mean for the year 44.19 Total 51.38
EespectfuUy yours, John D. Watkins."
The fall of rain given in Doctor Watkins' table is very high —
much above the average of the mean in this State, or in many
56 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
of its counties. The average fall of rain .in Yates comity for
twenty-one years is 27.26 inches; the average for the whole
United States is 39 inches. It is not possible, without a series
of observations extending over a quarter of a centiuy, to draw
any exact conclusions regarding climate. Sullivan county does
not yet present data ample enough.
When the fall of rain is abundant, the sky is generallv con-
stantly clouded, especially in elevated districts ; and although
the temperature may be the same as that of the clear atmos-
phere of another place, yet the direct rays of the sun being
wanting, vegetation does not proceed as vigorously. The chemical
processes carried on in plants require for their perfection the
direct sunUght. Accompanying the direct ray is an electrical
action or excitement which exerts a powerful stimulus on the
functions of animal and vegetable life, and which is almost
whoUy withheld in cloudy countries. Sunlight, electricity and
vegetable growth go hand in hand. If the first be •withheld, the
other phenomena are wanting. Generally speaking, the gi-owth
of the plant in summer is accelerated by direct sunlight. In
fall, the ripening of the ear is best accomplished -natli a cloudy sky.
Although the records of creation incontestably show, that the
surface of the earth in our latitudes is somewhat cooler than it
once was, yet we are not justified in believing that any material
change of climate has occurred within the ti-aditionary epoch.
There may be a warmer summer or cooler winter this year than
last ; or, for a few years together, more or less rain than usual
may fall ; but, at the end of a series of years, the registers of
temperature and barometric pressure, both on this continent and
in Europe, have shown figures preser^-ing a remarkable degree
of constancy. Once assured of this, the collection of facts for
the ascertainment of climate becomes of great importance.
The mean temperature of the southern part of the coimty is,
as we have seen from Mr. Woodward's table, from Ma}- to Oc-
tober, 63.6. From Doctor Watkins' summary, we find tlie same
period at Liberty to have only the temperature of 60.4. If we
select the three gi-o wing, months, June, July and August, the
mean temperature is 63.8. While those months in Liberty are
nearly as warm as in Lumberland, the mouths of May and Sep-
tember are remarkably cooler. Now, with the mean annual heat
of Liberty, the success of the wheat crop must be precarious.
This plant cannot ripen where the mean summer heat is less
than 60^. This is the limit of temjjerature, and the neighboi-
hood of Liberty in 1851, came do^vn to this limit. In situations
more elevated than the ■saLlage of Liberty, the temperature must
have been below what would fully riijen its ear. This is a matter
of very gi-eat importance to the farmers of Sullivan — namely, to
ascertain the relations existing between the temperatm-e of the air
and the requirements of the crops. It does appear from the
records of the meteorological observations taken, that there are
places in the county where, in summers that are not unusually
warm, wheat will not ripen ; and the agricidturist miist not ex-
pect, by outlays on the ground, by improvement of his soil, or
extensive use of manure, to overstep or conquer that limit of
growth which nature has assigned to every species of plant.
He will then select the hardier cereals, as barley, which requires
only a summer heat of 41°, or rye, which needs still less.
The lands which have a less altitude than those about Liberty,
and which slope to the south and the east, appear favorably
situated for the growth of all the bread plants, the mean tem-
peratiire of the summer being sufficient. It is, however, con-
siderably sliorter in season, and the early autumn frosts are apt
to check the ripening of seeds and fi-uits, and even to desti-oy
their vitality. As this frost is due to the elevation above tide
level, it cannot be averted; but its injiirions influence may be
diminished by increasing the length of the growing year. This
may be accomplished by a better drainage of the land. A fi-ee
drainage allows the warm air of spring to permeate through
the land, and to heat it up several degrees higher than imdi-ained
land. The seed sown in it is germinated sooner, and sooner
comes to maturity, and will almost to a certainty have accom-
plished all its changes of ripening before the destructive frost
sets in. A good system of di'ainage prolongs the season onefort-
niqlit — that is, planting on drained ground may hegin fourteen
days earlier.
This necessity for bottom heat is admitted in ivords by farmers.
It is only practically carried out by fniit growers and market
gardeners. It requires a bottom heat or a temperature of the
soil of 60° to germinate the seeds of com. Those planted when
the soil is 45° of heat, die. The seeds rot. Now, the temper-
ature of tlie air in Lumberland in May, 1851, did not average
60° until the 10th of tbe month. The soil is never as warm as
the au- in spring. It is usually 5° below it. The temperature
of the son suitable for germinating corn did not commence until
the 22d. In May, 1852, the weather was cool in the middle of
the month, and it was not until the 22d that an average above 60°
of heat existed in the air. About the 28th of May, the ground
had this ^\•armth. Seed planted much earlier than this was more
likely to be killed than to vegetate ; but seed planted so late
is hable to be injm-ed by the fi-ost ; and hence the advantage of
(b-aiuing land, by which means the temperature of the soil and
the air would run together, and the loss of crop by seed rotting
would not occur.
That there does exist this discrepancy between the temper-
atures of the earth and the air is evident fi-om the tables given
58 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY,
by Mr. Emmons, and published in the Survey of Seneca county.
This diflference is owing to the earth being an imperfect con-
ductor of heat, communicating its temperature so slowly that
M. Arago has occasionally found as much as 14° and even 18°
difference between the heat of the soil and that of the air two
or three inches above it.
The effect of altitude in lowering the mean temperature, has
already been noticed. In considering the effects of temperature
on vegetation, it will be necessary to recollect that the tables of
temperature drawn from the Register of Charles S. Woodward,
are temperatures of a comparatively low position in the county.
The land in Rockland, Neversink, Liberty, CalUcoon, Bethel,
Cochecton, Thompson and a part of Fallsburgh being above it
in sea level. Allowance wiU have to be made on this account.
The same may be said, though not to the same extent, in regard
to the summary from Hon. John D. Watkins' register. There
is a portion of the county, though not a large one, under culti-
vation at a higher level than the Liberty Normal Institute. To
such situations, the arguments adduced, sho\ving how precarious
must be a crop of wheat, apply with augmented foi-ce. The
various levels of the county may be estimated by the following
altitudes :
No. ol feet aboye tide water.
Bridge over Shawangunk kill 437
Bloomingbui^h 610
Shawangiink summit 1007
Delaware and Hudson Canal 519
Neversink bridge at Bridgeville 1059
Monticello 1503
House of Joseph Young, in Liberty 1530
Summit of Barrens 1581
"Walnut Mountain 1984
Other conditions besides latitude and elevation determine tho
capability to grow certain crops. One important condition is,
whether the ground is cleared or covered with timber. On
cleared gi'ound the sun has fuU force, and warms it ; the moisture
is evaporated ; the marsh and the rushy grass disappear ; the
grounds become lighter colored from the sun bleaching out its
vegetable matter, and it rains less frequently over these places.
On forest lands, the sun scarcely reaches the groimd, and the
i«egetable matter which falls decays slowly. The earth is cold,
moist and dark-colored. It rains more frequently, and the
evaporation is less. A wooded country is the source of springs
and rivers, and to remove the timber is to check the regularity
of the supply. The total fall of the rain will be the same in the
cleared and in the wooded country ; but in the former it is at
long intervals, and then in large quantities, accompanied with
CLIMATE. 69
thunder-storms, and the tonents form new water-courses and do
great mischief. In the wooded country rain is more uniformly
disti-ibiited, and mth less electrical disturbance.
The efifect of extensive tanneries, by removing the forests, will
be injurious to the supply of water for machinery, and render
the country liable to drought. The hill tops, at least, should be
left permanently clad with timber. In the zeal to clear the
country of forest timber, and to cultivate land, due discretion
should be exercised, so that the means used be not an obstacle
to success ; and it should always be borne in mind, that districts
which have no very elevated mountain tops, require always the
presence of forest timber to a certain extent, to equahze the
electrical condition of the air, and to afford a permanent and
equable flow of water over the land.
CHAPTEE ni.
THE LENNI LENAPE.
According to a tradition of the Lenui Lenaj^e Indians, some
of their forefathers were fishing at a place where the Ma-hi-can-
nit-tuck* widens iato tlie sea, when they saw a remarkable object
floating on the water. Other Indians were notified, who came ;
but no one coiild decide what the strange thing was. Some
pronounced it a large fish, others an immense animal, and others
a big ^-igwam. As it moved steadily toward the land, they
imagined that it had Hfe in it. Runners were dispatched to
infonn their chiefs, warriors and wise men. These, being gath-
ered together, came to the conclusion that it was a remarkably
large wigwam, ia which the Manitou lived, and that he was
commg to visit them.
This conclusion of course created a profound sensation among
the simple children of the forest. The Supreme Bemg, the
Creator of aU good things, whom they had M'orshiped, to whom
their fathers had oifered the choicest gifts from the time man
was made, and who from the beginning had so seldom made him-
self visible to his creatures, was about to land upon thek shores,
and be seen hj them, and converse ^vith them.
The sacrifice was prepared, the best food provided for the
Great Being, and a dance ordered to honor him, and apjiease
his anger, if his mood were -WTathful. The dance commenced ;
but hope, and fear and curiosity caused the performers to acquit
themselves in a manner not very creditable. Much confusion
prevailed, when fi-esh runners arrived, who declared that the
cause of their disturbance M'as a large wigwam of various colors,
and that it was crowded with li\ing creatures. This confirmed
their beUef that the Supreme Beiug was coming to them, and
the impression obtained a foothold that he was bringing with
him new animals for the subsistence of his children. Other
messengers arrived, and reported that the living creatui-es were
* The Hudson river. Tliis river has beou knowii as the Mauritius, tlio Nassau, the
North and the Hudson river. Ma-hi-ean-nit-tuck or Ma-ha-ken-cgh-tuc is an Algon-
quin name for the Hudson. The Algonquins also called it the Shat-tc-muck. Tlu
name applied to it hy the Iroquois or Mengwe was, Ca-ho-ha-ta-te-a. Tlie name givei;
to it by Hudson was the Great Eiver or Great River of the Mountains.
[See Eager's History of Orange County, p. 203.
[GOJ
THE LENNI LENAPE. 61
human beings, with pale faces and strange garments — one par-
ticularly was clothed in very brilliant materials. The latter they
decided was the Manitou himself.
The tradition next describes the landing of the strangers —
the inclination of some of the Indians to run away and conceal
themselves in the woods — the efforts of the brave and Avise to
prevent an exhibition of such cowardice, and the reception of
the visitors.
A large circle of chiefs and wise men was formed, toward which
the man ornamented with gold lace, etc., approached, with two
others. Friendly salutations followed fi'om each side. The
Indians were amazed at the briUiant ornaments and white skin
of the supposed Manitou, and were sorely puzzled when they
found that he did not understand the words of his children, and
that his language was not intelligible to them.
While they were gazing at him with respectful gravity, a
servant brought a large hack-Jiack, (gourd) from which was poui'ed
into a smaller vessel a licpiid which the Great Bein^ diank, and
then some of it was offered to one of the chiefs. He looked at
it, and it was not offensive to the eye ; he smeUed it, and his
untutored nostrils were not pleased with its pungent odor. It
was then passed to the next chief, who followed the example of
the first, and gave it to another. The cup was thus transferred
to each one in the cii-cle, and was about to be retm-ued to the
supposed Manitou, when a great and brave warrior conceived
that the act would be disrespectful to the Deity, and he forth-
with harangued his fellows on the improprietj- of their conduct.
To follow the example of the Manitou would be meritorious;
but to return what he had given them might offend him, and
lead him to punish them. The speaker would drink the contents
of the cup himself, and though he perished, he would save his
nation fi-om destruction. Having thus announced his laudable
determination, he bade the assembled braves farewell, and taking
the cup, drank what it contained. Soon he began to exhibit the
usual signs of intoxication, and after conducting liimseK in a
manner not becoming a grave and dignified brave about to die,
he feU to the gi-ound. His friends imagined he was dead, while
he was only " dead di-unk." When he had recovered fi'om his
intoxication, he informed the other chiefs and braves that the
Uquid had given him the most pleasant sensations he had ever
experienced. All became anxious to feel these sensations. More
of the beverage was solicited and granted, and general intoxica-
tion followed.*
The man whom the Indians looked upon as a god, was Henry
Hudson, who left Amsterdam on the 4th of April, 1609, with
* Eager's History of Orange Cuniity. Eager borrows this story from Heckewelder.
m HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTI.
twenty men, in the Halfmoon, to search for a new ocean passage
to India* Being prevented by ice from prosecuting his voyage
according to his original intention, he turned aside and crossed
the Atlantic. On the 18th of July, he arrived on the coast near
Portland, Maine, and on the 3d of September, landed within
Sandy Hook. On the 6th, an exploring party was attacked
between Bergen Neck and Staten Island, by twenty-six natives,
who were in canoes, and John Colman, one of Hudson's men,
was killed, and two others wounded. On the 11th, Hudson
passed the Narrows, and found the natives, as he proceeded,
more friendly. They brought to him Indian corn, beans, tobacco
and oysters. They had copper pipes and ornaments, and rude
earthen pots.
From the 12th to the 22d of September, he was engaged in
ascending and exploring the river which bears his name. He
Sroceeded in the Halfmoon as far as the site of the city of
[udson, finding the Indians more and more friendly. His
journal says they were " a very loving people," some of their
men very old, and that "the whites were well used." From
Hudson city, a boat was sent several leagues farther, and prob-
ably reached the locality where Albany now stands.
While descending the river, the Indians on the west side were
troublesome. They attempted to steal from him, and being
detected and not used very gently, they became exasperated,
and shot arrows at his crew, when the vessel passed near the
shore. They were punished severely for doing so, for Hudson's
men shot ten or twelve of them.
This was the first visit of the white man to the Lenni Lenape
of the Hudson, which resulted in a permanent intercoui-se of the
two races.t The natives with whom he came in contact were
an Indian race known as Algonquins, a people extending at
that time fi-om the Atlantic Ocean nearly to the Pacific, and
embracing over forty tribes, of whom the Lenape claimed to
be the parent stock.
We shall notice this confederacy of Indians more fully here-
after, as they were the aboriginal inhabitants of the county
whose history we are writing, and as such are entitled to a
chapter devoted to then- origin, rise, progiess and decay.
The origin of the aboriginal race of America has been the
subject of much speculation. No record of ancient times — no
tradition points with positive significance to a people from whom
* He discovered Hudson's Bay in 1610, where he remained ice-bound until the spring
of 1611. While returning to Europe, his crew mutinied, and placed him and his son,
with seven sick companions, in an open boat, and set them adrift. They were never
heard of afterward*.
t John Verrazani, an eminent Florentine navigator, anchored in the Bays of Delaware
and New York in 1524, and gave the name of New France to the country. His royal
master, Francis I. of France, did not profit by his discovery.
THK LENNI LENAPE. 63
they have descended. Some suppose that the ancient Phoeni-
cians visited America and planted colonies here. Others imag-
ine that the Hindoos are a kindred race of the red men of
America, and endeavor to prove that their fancies are worthy
of serious consideration. A third theory is, that California is
the Ophir of Solomon's day. A fourth, that the lost tribes of
Israel crossed the ocean, and peopled our wilds. A fifth, that
the ancestors of the Indians came from Asia. Among the
thousand theories which have been advanced, the latter is the
most plausible and may be summed up in a few words : " The
people of north-eastern Asia and the north-west coast of Ainerica
have a near resemblance in person, customs and languages ; and
those of the Aleutian Islands present many of the characteristics
of both."* Ledyard said of the people of Eastern Siberia,
" Universally and circumstantially, they resemble the aborigines
•of America."
That the red men of America have a common origin, and that
they came here at a very early period of the world's history,
there is but little doubt. From the cold North-west, they gi-ad-
uaUy spread over North and South America. This theory is
rendered almost a certaiaty by the fact that the natives of the
two continents who exist in that region, habitually visit each
other by crossing on the ice in winter, and in their boats in
summer. Their boats are now precisely what they were at the
time the white man first visited them.
A kind and genial climate, and a soil rich and inexhaustible,
produced their usual effects upon the condition of the first in-
habitants of Mexico, Central America, Peru, etc. An abundance
of food led to a rapid increase in population, and to great wealth.
The pride of the rich required "pomps and vanities"; their
■palates con.stantly craved new sensations, and the ingenuity and
eenius of those who had more brains than provender, were taxed
for the gratification of those who could pay well for novelties.
The arts advanced gradually until cities were built but little
inferior to the most celebrated in the world. The architecture,
■sculpture, etc., of these ancient cities still are ranked among the
wonderful fniits of the skill and ingenuity of man.
These ruins and relics point to a powerful and wealthy people,
with a government and institutions of long standing, t
The riches of the aristocracy must have been enormous and
almost without a parallel in other communities ; for the expense
of erecting and embeUishing their palaces, and the formation
and completion of the surroundings of such magnificent edifices,
taking into consideration the mechanical and other forces knowai
* LosBing's History of the llnited States.
t Brownell's Indian Races of North and South America.
64 HISTORY OF SOTilVAN COUNTY.
to them, must have been a thousand-fold gi-eater than anjttiing^
recoi-ded of the white man.
These ancient evidences of aboriginal civilization extend fi-om
south latitude 33^ 16' northerly over a territory three thousand
miles in extent. In their character and number they are un-
rivaled by the remains of any other people. In theii- silent
grandeur- they attest the power, the luxury, the skiU and the
civilization of a race which has risen fi'om an abnormal condition,
to an exalted degree of development in much that is magniiicent,
gi-otesque and utilitarian; but who, in purity of taste and in
morahty, remained savages ; for they were cannibals, and sacri-
ficed human life upon their idolatrous altars.
As we recede fiom the territory of the Aztecs northwardly,
the evidences of ancient ei^Tlization gi-adually disappear, the
most remote' being earthen mounds and fortifications in the
vicinity of the Great Lakes of North America. Beyond these
are found rude specimens of pottery and stone implements used
in the chase, in war, agricultui-e, etc.
The red men of the North had no cities, and it can hardly be
said of them that they had a permanent abiding place. At cer-
tain seasons of the year, small bands would reside in localities
suitable for raising maize, beans, etc. — generally on tlie banks
of some stream or river, where the soil was rich and meUow, and
for the cultivation of which their rude and simple agiicultural
implements were sufficient. At other times, theii- A\ig«'ams wouli
be on the moimtains where the elk, deer and bear abounded.
And agam, thej would be found where salmon and other fish
could be taken most readily.
Tlie country they occupied and their wars prevented them
fi-om becoming numerous. Theks was a constant stniggle to
obtain a sufficiency of food, and to guard their own lives and
destroy those of their enemies. With them, the civilization of
the Aztecs and the lucas was not a necessitj- — was imjxjssible.
An equal number of white men, dispersed over the same terri-
tory, divided into small clans, constantly engaged in warfare,
and with the same means of subsistence, would become ignorant
and degraded, and the arts and sciences, Hterature, etc., would
be forgotten by them.
The Indians who inhabited Sullivan county, when the whites first
visited the country, were Lennl Lenape, who were also kno\vn as
WapcuHwIikl, Ojximaki, 0}iencuii,Al)enaqms and Apeiiakies. At a sub-
sequent period, they were called Delawares by the whites, because
they occupied territory from which that river derives its waters.
Ihe Lenni Lenape were di\'ided into three tribes — the Unami,
or Turtle ; the Umlacldyo, or Turkey ; and the Minsi, or "Wolf.*
* Sometimes called MunceyB, MinisinkB, etc.
THE LENNI LENAPE. 65
The Unamis and Uiialachtgijs occupied the coast from the
Hudson river to the Potomac, while the Miii-<ii, or Wolf tribe,
extended from Minisink, on the Delaware, where they held theu"
council seat, to the Hudson on the east, to the Susquehanna on.
the south-west, to the head-waters of the Delaware and Susque-
hanna rivers, and to the CatskiU mountains on the north, and
on the south to that range of hills now known, in New Jersey,
by the name of Musconetoong, and by that of Lehigh and Cogh-
newago, in Pennsylvania.* They therefore occupied all of
Sullivan county.
These tiibes were subdivided into numerous clans, who re-
ceived their names from the streams or lakes which they
frequented, or from some circumstance more or less remarkable.
The Lenape claimed to be the parent stock, or "original
people," or " gi-andfathers" of at least forty other tribes, who
spoke then- language or its dialects, among whom may be named
the Knisteneaux, who inhabit the region extending from Labra-
dor to the Bocky Moimtains; the Athapascas, who occupy a
belt of country fi-om Churchill's River and Hudson's Bay to
within a hundred miles of the Pacific coast ; the Ottawas, Ohip-
pewas. Sacs and Foxes, Menomonees, Miamies, Piaukeshaws,
Pottowatomies, Kickapoos, Ilhnois, Shawnees, Powhatans,
Corees, Nanticokes, Mohegans, the New England IncUaus, the
Abenakes, Susquesahannocks, Mannohoaks and the Monocans.
Some of these tribes were numerous and powerful, and were
subdivided into many clans or cantons.t
The Dela wares and kindi-ed tribes are classified as Algouquins.
At this late day, it is impossible to name the several clans of
the Minsi tribe of the Lenni Lenape nation, or to designate with
certainty the precise territory occupied by each. Our ancestors
were more apt at discovering desirable tracts of land, eligible
trading posts, and other things promotive of temporal welfare,
than at recording facts which wovdd interest those who now feel
an interest in what relates to the red man. There is but Uttle
doubt, however, that the Mauuassings occupied that portion of
Sullivan county which hes in the vicinity of Peenpack ; that the
Esopus Indians (whose native name, it is supposed, was Wamp-
ing) owned that part which adjoins Ulstei', and that the Cashieg-
tonks were located in the remaining territory of the county.
The land of the Manassings extended iuto New Jersey, Penn-
sylvania and the adjoining towns of Orange county ; the Wamp-
ings hved on the west bank of the Hudson, or Mahicauittuck,
from Catskill to Newburgh; while the Cashiegtonks hved on
both banks of the Delaware, or Lenapewihittuck, fiom the
* Gordon'B History of New Jersey.
t Loesing's History of the United St«te8.
66 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COlTSTi.
the territory of the Manassings to some point which we cannot
designate.*
These clans were sometimes known by other names, and were
still further subdivided. A few famihes whose wigwams and
cultivated groimds were in the vicinity of a stream or a mountain,
often bore the name of that stream or mountain. Accordingly
we hear of the Navisings, the Williwemocs, the Lackawack-
sings, Wauwausings, Mamekotings. Papagonks, etc.
The territory of the Wampings or Esopus Indians was called
by them Atkarkarton.
These tribes and clans find a parallel in our States,
counties and tovms ; but were bound together by the ties of good
will and sympathy only. There was no law or usage which
rendered it obUgatory for one to assist the other in any enter-
prise. Thus we find that a portion of the Wappings of Dutchess
county and the Manassings participated with the Esopus Indians
in the massacre of the Dutch at Kingston, in 1663 ; but in the
war which followed, the Esopus tribe was the one which re-
ceived all the blows of the Dutchmen. The others abandoned
the field as soon as the first effort was made, and shirked all
responsibility. A confederation of clans and tribes was a mere
rope of sand. WhUe they were inclined to act in concert, they
were united for a common purpose ; but the moment a tribe, or
even an individual member of it, was dissatisfied and wished to
free itseK or himself from any real or fancied engagement, full
liberty of action was conceded.
The Indians, practically, had no government, civil or military.
They had a civil magistrate known to them as a sachem, it is
true ; but he had no more authority to enforce a decree or de-
cision, or to cause it to be enforced, than the most contemptible
member of his tribe. He coidd advise and persuade only. He
was a sage — a wise man — but had no more power than a " stump
orator" of our own times. Occasionally the office of sachem
was held by females, who by hereditary means, or by a reputa-
tion for superior wisdom, acquired an influence over a tribe.
Such instances, however, were rare, as squaws were generally
considered inferior to the males. According to Thompson's
History of Long Island, a squaw sachem was styled " sunk squa,"
which meant, probably that she was a " tip-top" woman.
The military leaders or chiefs had no more real authority.
If they were brave and cimning, and proved themselves com-
petent to lead in attacks upon the enemy, they were obeyed and
• This was probably the case when the coontry was first discovered. In March,
1706-7, Nanisinoa, an Esopus sachem, sold land which was bounded on one side by the
Delaware river ; but there is reason to beheve that the Delawares who subsequently
acknowledged Teedyuscung as their king, denied the right of Nanisinos to sell this
land. They declared that the people of Esopus and Minisink had defrauded them,
•nd that the country almost to the Hudson was theirs.
THE LENNI LENAPB. fit
followed by the warriors of the tribe. Their authority was
founded on public opinion, and when that was against them,
they were impotent ; Ibut while it was largely in their favor, their
power was despotic. Their whole system was democratic, -with-
out any of those elements of permanency and strength which
mark that form of government among more civilized races.
They had no written language, unless we may call their picture
writings a written language. The more civilized tribes and na-
tions had acquired wonderiful skill in recording important matters
in this way ; but the zealous Christians who appropriated the
golden idols of the Aztecs and Incas, destroyed the symbolic
records of the temples, which were the depositaries of the
scroUs whereon was traced much of the red man's history.
Among the Indians of the North, this method of preserving
historical facts was but little resorted to. Traditions, however,
were carefuUy related by the old to the young, and thus was
brought down from generation to generation, a dim and some-
what uncertain histoir of past events.
The Lenape of Sullivan, as well as other red men, had their
stories of olden times, which the gray-haired elders related to
their juniors, when the central fire of the lodge glowed bright
and ^cheerily during the long evenings of winter. One of these
traditions we wiU copy from Gordon's History of New Jersey.
" The Delawares relate, that many centuries a^o, their ances-
tors dwelt far in the western wilds ; but emigratmg eastwardly,
they anived, after many years peregrination, on the Nnmcesi
Sipii (Mississippi,) or river of fish, where they encoimtered
the Mengwe (Iroquois,) who had also come from a distant country,
and had first approached the river, somewhat nearer its source.
The spies of the Lenape reported, that the country on the east
of the river was inhabited by a powei-ful nation, dwelling in
large towns, erected upon their prmcipal rivers.
" This people were tell and robust ; some of them were said to
be even of gigantic mould. They bore ttie name of AlUgewi,
from which has been derived that of the Alleghany river and
mountains. Their towns were defended by regular fortifications,
vestiges of which are yet apparent, in greater or less preserva-
tion. The Lenape, requesting permission to establish themselves
in the vicinity, were refused; but obtained leave to pass the
river, in order to seek a habitation farther to the eastward.
But, whilst crossing the stream, the AUigewi, alarmed at their
number, assailed and destroyed many who had reached the eastern
shore, and threatened a Uke fate to the remainder, should they at-
tempt the passage. Fired by this treachery, the Lenape eagerly
accepted a proposition from the Mengwe, who had hitherto been
spectators of their enteqjrise, to unite with them for the conquest
of the country. A war of great duration was thus commenced.
bO HISTORY OF SUUJTAN COUNTY.
which -was prosecuted with great loss on both sides, and
eventuated in the expulsion of the Alligewi, who fled from their
ancient seats, by way of the Mississippi river, never to return.
The devastated country was apportioned among the conquerors ;
the Mengwe choosing their residence in the neighborhood of
the great lakes, and the Lenape in the lands of the South.
" After some years, duiing which the conquei'ors hved together
in much harmony, the hunters of the Lenape crossed the Alle-
ghany moimtains, and discovered the great rivers, Susquehanna
and Delaware. Exploiing the Skeyiclcby coimtiy, (New Jersey,)
they reached the Hudson, to which they gave the name of
Ma/iicanittuck. Upon their return to their nation, they described
the country they had visited, as abounding in game, fmits, fish
and fowl, and destitute of inhabitants. Concluding this to be
the home destined for them by the Great Spirit, the tribe estab-
Hshed themselves upon the foiu" gi-eat rivers, the Hudson,
Delaware, Susquehanna and Potomac, making the Delaware, to
which they gave the name of LenapeTviliittuck, (the river of the
Lenape) the centre of their possessions.*
"They say, however, that aU of theii- nation who crossed the
Mississippi did not reach this country ; and that a part remained
west of the Xamoesi Sipu. They were finally divided into three
gi-eat bodies ; the larger, one-half of the whole, settled on the
Atlantic ; the other half was separated into two parts ; the
sti'onger continued beyond the Mississippi, the other remained
on its eastern bank.
" The Mengwe hovered for some time on the borders of the
lakes, Tvith their canoes, in readiness to fly should the Alligewi
retui-n. Having grown bolder, and their numbers increasing,
they stretched themselves along the St. Lawrence, and became,
on the north, near neiglibors to the Lenape tribes.
"The Mengwe and the Lenape, in the progi'ess of time, be-
came enemies. The latter represent the former as treacherous
and cruel, pursuing pertinaciously an insidious and destioictive
policy toward their more generous neighbors. Dreading the
power of the Lenape, the Mengwe resolved, by involving them
in war with distant tribes, to reduce tlieu- strength. They com-
mitted murders upon the members of one tribe, and induced the
injured party to beUeve that they were perpetrated by the Del-
* Delaware bay and river were called bv the Indians, Marisqueton, Makeie-
kitton, Makeiekkiskon, and Lenapewihittuck ;" by the Dutch, Zuvdt or South river,
Charles river, and Nassau river ; and by the Swedes, New Swedoland alreAm.^'iordim's
Odzeiteer. The English gave it the name of Delaware^ in honor of Lord De La Wmt.
W. L. Stone gives another Indian name for the Delaware— Maku-isk-kisknn.— Vide
History vf Wyoiniiig.
THE LENNI LENAPE. 69
awares. Expeditions against the latter followed as a matter of
course, and their hunters were surprised and slaughtered.
"Each nation or tribe had a particular mark upon its war-
clubs, which, placed beside a murdered person, denoted the
aggressor. The Mengwe perpetrated a murder in the Cherokee
country, and left with the dead body a war-club bearing the
insignia of the Lenape. The Cherokees, in revenge, fell suddenly
upon the latter, and commenced a long and bloody war. The
treachery of the Mengwe was at length discovered, and the
Dela wares turned iipon them with the determination to extirpate
them. They were the more strongly induced to take this reso-
lution, as the cannibal propensities of the Mengwe had reduced
them, in the estimation of the Delawares, below the rank of
human beings.*
"Hitherto each tribe of the Mengwe had acted under the
direction of its particular chiefs ; and, although the nation could
not control the conduct of its members, it was made responsible
for their outrages. Pressed by the Lenape, they resolved to
form a confederation which might enable them better to con-
centrate their forces in war, and to regulate theii- affairs in peace.
Thannewago, an aged Mohawk, was the projector of this alliance.
Under his auspices, five nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon-
dagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, formed a species of republic,
governed by the united councils of their aged and experienced
sachems and chiefs. To these, a sixth nation, the Tuscaroras,
was added, in 1712. This last originally dwelt in the western
part of North Carolina ; but having formed a deep and general
conspiracy to exterminate the whites, were driven from their
country, and adopted by the Iroquois confederaey.f The bene-
ficial effects of this system early displayed themselves. The
Lenape were checked, and the Mengwe, whose warlilte disposi-
tion soon famUiarized them with fire-arms, procured from the
Dutch, were enabled, at the same time, to contend with them,
to resist the French, who attempted the settlement of Canada,
and to extend their conquests over a large portion of the country
between the Atlantic and the Mississippi. But, being pressed
hard by their new, they became desirous of reconciliation with
with their old enemies ; and for this purpose, if the tradition of
the Delawares be credited, they effected one of the most extra-
ordinaiy strokes of poHcy which history has recorded.
" The mediators between the Lidian nations at war are the
women. The men, however weary of the contest, hold it cow-
* The Iroquois or Mengwe Bometimoa ate the bodies of their prisoners.
IHeclewelder, IJ. N. Y. MM. Col., 55.
The same charge has been made against the Algonquins, and that they drank their
enemies' blood.— See History of Pontiao's War.
t Smith's New York.
70 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
ardly and disgraceful to seek reconciliation. They deem it incon-
sistent in a warrior, to speak of peace with bloody weapons in
his hands. He must maintain a determined courage, and appear
at all times as determined and willing to fight as at the com-
mencement of hostilities. With such dispositions, Indian wars
would be interminable, if the women did not interfere, and per-
suade the combatants to bury the hatchet, and make peace with
each other. Their prayers seldom failed of the desired effect.
" The function of the peace-maker was honorable and dignified^
and its assumption by a courageous and powerful nation could
not be inglorious. This station the Mengwe urged upon the
Lenape. ' They had reflected,' they said, ' upon the state of the
Indian race, and were convinced that no means remained to
preserve it, unless some magnanimous nation would assume the
character of the woman. It could not be given to a weak and
contemptible tribe; such would not be hstened to; but the
Lenape and their allies, would at once possess influence and
command respect.'
" The facts upon which these arguments were foimded, were
known to the Delawares, and in a moment of blind confidence
in the sincerity of the Iroquois, they acceded to the proposition,
and assumed the petticoat. The ceremony of the metamor-
phosis was performed with gi-eat rejoicmgs at Albany, in the
presence of the Dutch, whom the Lenape charge with having
conspii-ed with the Mengwe for theur destmction.
" Having thus disarmed the Delawares, the Iroquois assumed
over them the rights of protection and command. But, still
dreading their strength, they artfidly involved them again in
war with the Cherokees, promised to fight their battles, led them
into an ambush of their foes, and deserted them. The Delawares,
at length, comprehended the treachery of then- arch enemy, and
resolved to resume their arms, and being still superior in num-
bers, to crush them. But it was too late. The Europeans were
now making their way into the country in every dii'ection, and
gave ample employment to the astonished Lenape.
" The Mengwe deny these macliinations. They aver that they
conquered the Delawares by force of arms, and made them a
subject people.* And, although they are unable to detail the
ciicumstances of this conquest, it is more rational to suppose it
true, than that a brave, numerous and warlike nation should
have voluntaiily suft'ered themselves to be disarmed and enslaved
by a shallow artifice ; or that, discovering the fraud practiced
upon them, they should unresistingly have submitted to its con-
sequences. This conquest was not an empty acquisition to the
Mengwe. They claimed dominion over all the lands occupied
* LoesiDg says that the Lenni Lenape were conquered by the Iroquois in 1650.
THE LENNI LENAPE. 71
by the Delawares, and, in many instances, their claims were
distinctly acknowledged. Parties of the Five Nations occasionally
occupied the Lenape country, and wandered over it, at all times,
at their pleasure.*
" Whatever credit may be due to the traditions of the Lenape
relative to their migration from the West, there is strong evi-
dence in support of their pretensions to be considered the
source whence a great portion of the Indians of North America
was derived."!
Competent judges have pronounced the language of the Del-
awares or Lenni Lenape the most perfect of any Lidian tongue.:!:
Eev. N. W. Jones, in an interestmg paper contributed to the
"Collections of the Ulster Historical Society," says their
" language is distinguished by great beauty, strength and flexi-
bility. It has the power of compressing a whole sentence into
a single word. This is done by taking the most important
syllable of each word, and sometimes only single letters, and
forming, according to the laws of euphony, a new word, express-
ing a variety of ideas, each of wliich is known by its repre-
sentative letter or syllable.
"The language of the Minsi differed somewhat from the
southern Delawares ; but not enough to be classed as a sepa-
rate dialect. It was a little broader, more guttural, and not
quite so pleasant to the ear. They have left behind them as
mementoes of their existence, names that they gave to moun-
tains, streams and localities ; but these are, in many instances,
so corrupted that it is dilficult to trace them back to then-
Indian origin."
No people, ancient or modern, bestowed more beautiful names
on water courses and valleys than the Lenape. Such localities
afforded them the greatest pleasure, and therefore they gave
them appellations which delight the ear, though it may be long
accustomed to perfect euphony, and the most exact rules of
rhythm. What words are noted for a sweeter cadence than
Mahoning, Wyoming, Osiasing, Wyalusing, Moyamensing,
Mamekoting, Shamoking, Mingwing, etc.? Such names dehght
the ear as does the rich, sweet harmony of the hermit thrush.
Their names of mountains on the other hand are rugged, mass-
ive and angular, viz: Shawangimk, Mohunk, Cashiegtouck,
Wacchung, Scimnemunk, etc.
Those who profess to be learned in such matters, assert that
these and other Indian names have significations or meanings
♦ It is supposed that the Indians who attacked Hudson, when he visited the North
Biver, were Iroquois.
t This tradition is borrowed by Gordon from Heckewelder.
t Thompson's History of Long Island.
72 HISTORY OF SUUJVAK COUNTY.
which are descriptiye of the several objects to which they belong.
This assertion is undoubtedly true ; but the signiilcations have,
in a great majority of cases, been lost by the wliites, or have
never been kno-mi by them. Some persons, to appear erudite,
have invented translations of these names. Thus it has been
said that " Shairan" is the Mohegan word for "white salt," and
"gunk" for "rocks" or "piles of rocks." These definitions have
been adopted by the authors of the " Historical Collections of
New York," and also by the learned gentlemen who made a
geological survey of the State, notwithstanding " Shawan' is
the word of the Algonquins for "southern," and "gunk" or "unk,"
in the Lenape tongue means "elevation," "top," "up," "ex-
alted," etc. Shawangunk should be translated Southern mount-
ain.* [See Collections of the Ulster Historical Society.] It
may be also said that "ing" or "ink"f generally terminates the
names of valleys and streams. " Uck," however, is a suffix," many
times, of the names of rivers which empty into the ocean, as the
Algonquin name of the Hudson — Shattemuck or Mokicaniftuck ;
— of the Delaware — LenapeiviMttuck : of other rivers — Sanga-
tiick, Nawjatuck, etc.
No doulDt, many curious but unprofitable questions in regard
to the significatiwi of Lenape names, would meet -n-ith satisfac-
tory answers, if referred to some intelligent member of the
Delaware tribe.
At an early day after the visit of Hudson to the river which
bears his name, the Diitch estabhshed trading posts for the
purpose of buying from the Indians their valuable furs and pel-
tries. One of these posis was at the Manhattans, now New
York ; another at Fort Oi-ange, now Albany ; and the third in
importance at Sopes or Esopus, now Kingston. It is claimed
that they commenced trading at the latter place as early as 1614.
Considering the net- work of Indian paths which led to that point,
their oi^erations there at so early a day, prove that they were
influenced by their proverbial sagacity and good sense.
Between the years 1617 and 1620, it is said, they began to
settle at Esopus, as weU as at some other places in New Jersey
and New York. J
In 1626, Peter Minuit, the first Dutch governor, arrived, after
which the work of colonization went on vigorously. The land
occupied by the Hollanders was almost invariably purchased at
a price and under circumstances which are considered moral by
traders, although it must be confessed that the advantages were
• Shawnee means Southern people. [Hiet. Coll. of Ohio.
t The letters g and k are interchangeable in the Lenape tongue.
[Kev. N. W. Jones.
X Gordon's New Jersey.
THE LENNI LENAPE. 73
all on one side. The Dutch did not resolve that the earth was
the Lord's ; that he had confen-ed it on his people ; and that
they were his people ; and then proceed to take the land from
its heathen owners, peaceably or forcibly, as was practicable or
necessary. They adopted a more jiidicious and humane mode.
They bought the land of the savages, and paid, generally in
trinkets and baubles, the least price for which they could get it.
Both methods of acqiiii-ing territory amounted to the same thing
in the end. The savage lost his possessions and became poor
and impotent, while the strange race acquired wealth and
dominion.
In 1631, the Dutch West India Company commenced a settle-
ment on the Delaware at Lewis Creek, under David Pieterson
de Vries, a director of the Company, having two years previously
purchased the territory of the Lenape Indians — more than half
a century anterior to Penn's famous purchase from the same
race of people. After biiilding a trading-house and a fort, De
Vries returned to Holland, leaving his infant colony in charge of
Giles Osset. As an evidence that the region had been formally
taken possession of by his countrymen, Osset caused the arms
of the States-General to be painted on a plate of tin, which he
posted on a column raised for that purpose. The natives re-
garded the bright metal, with its mystic characters, as an object
gi-eatly to be coveted, and one of tliem stole it. This act of the
ignorant Lenape Osset considered an insult to his nation, and
demanded redress so pertinaciously and energetically, that the
Indians cut the head fr-om their offending brother, and deliveied
it to Osset, who, shocked at what they had done, reprimanded
them severely. Instead of hard words, they had no doubt ex-
pected a substantial peace offering in the shape of wampum or
trinkets. They consequently departed in a dissatisfied mood,
and soon after, when the colonists were at work in their fields,
murdered them one by one, greeting each as they came to him
in a friendly manner. Osset, who had given the offense, was
among the first who were massacred. ^
When De Vries returned in 1632, he foiind but the ashes of
the dwellings, and the unburied remains of his fi-iends. As he
was not in a situation to punish the murderere, he made a new
treaty with them. The treacherous Lenape, notwithstanding
this treaty, conspired to destroy him and those who accompa-
nied him ; but, being warned by a squaw of their designs, he
did not fall into the snare laid for him. He then made another
treaty ; but in a short time left for Holland, with the colonists
who came with him on his last voyage.
This, it should be remembered, is the white man's version.
Perhaps, if the Lenape could have kept the record, they would
have told of some things which have been omitted by the pale
74 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTT.
face. "We are more inclined to believe that the whde truth has
not been handed down to us concerning these and other troubles
with the Indians, because, in cases where we Icnow that strict
and impartial justice marked the intercourse of the Europeans
with the sons of the forest, and an intelligent ^dew was taken of
their idiosyncrasies, the whites possessed their unbounded con-
fidence and friendship.
Thus, the Swedes, who planted a colony in the Lenape coimtry,
on the Delaware, in 1638, and who never wronged the natives,
but treated them with Chi-istian charity and love, never had any
difficulty with them.* The utmost harmony prevailed as long
as the enlightened and just emigi-ants from Swedeland main-
tained theii- ground. Gordon says, the Swedes "refrained from
every species of injury to the natives, cultivated theii- favor by a
just and Uberal commerce, supplying them -ndth articles suitable
to their wants, and employed all fiiendly means to ^ia them to
the Christian faith. The result of these measm-es was such as
they should have produced. The savage was disarmed by
respect and gratitude."
It does not appear, however, that these worthy men made
much progress in converting the Delawares to Christianity.
Grahame relates, that "the Indians sometimes attended the
rehgious assembUes of the Swedes ; but with so Httle edification,
that they expressed their amazement that one man should detain
his tribe with such lengthened harangues, without ofleriag to
entertain them \^'ith brandy." And AcreHus tells us that "the
ire of the Indians on one occasion, was particularly directed
against the pastor, who, speaking alone dm-iug di^^ine sei-vice,
was supposed to exhort his audience to hostility against them."
A speedy explanation quieted their suspicions.t
The Quakers claim that the pacific poHcy of the government
of Pennsylvania for many years met -n-ith equal favor from the
simple and savage Lenape. And the settlers of Miuisink — a
mere handful of men, suiTounded by the Delawares, and wholly
in their power, gave the Indians no cause for complaint, and
enjoyed their friendship, until landsharks and unprincipled
traders stripped the natives of theii- possessions.
Penn's celebrated purchase of the Lenape, in 1682, however,
was no "new thing under the sun." The people of New York
and New Jersey were as careful to extinguish the Indian titles
to lands as the Proprietors of Pennsylvania, and they exercised
* It ii supposed by &ome, that the Swedes explored the Delaware, as far as Cochecton,
and were the first white men who visited this county. The cortlial triendghip main*
tained by them with the Indians renders the supposition quite plausible.
t All authors agree, that the Swedes complained more of the mosquitoes than the
savages, and that they were driven from one of their forts by these bloodthirsty and
remorseless insects. [See Gordon's History of New Jersey, p. 14.
THB LENNI LENAPE, 75
this care long before Penn owned an acre of land in America.
In 1682, laws were in force in both New York and New Jersey,
under which no man could acquire real estate as long as the
native title was not extinguished by purchase or treaty. ' Tis
true, dishonest men evaded the intention of the laws of those
colonies ; and so they did under the Quaker government of Penn-
sylvania. Penn himseK did not pay the Lenape a tithe of a
tithe of what their lands were actually worth. It has been said
by the admirers of the Quakers, that they Uved at peace with
the Lenape from 1682 to 1755, in consequence of their superior
honesty. Tlie Lenape were atjmice u>ith all the ivorld during that
time, and when war oroke out in 1755, their complaints against
the Proprietors of Pennsylvania were exceedingly bitter. The
Quakers had a true Puritanical appreciation of their own right-
eous dealings with the Indians, and magnified tiieir own merits
accordingly. Such is history stripped of its ornaments, and in
plain drab !
From the first, the Dutch supplied the Iroquois confeder-
ates with arms, which led to the supremacy of the latter over
the Lenape and other tribes. It was a master-stroke of policy^
and was adopted to the fullest extent at a later period by the
Enghsh. By securing the good-will and rendering the power
of the Six Nations invincible, the natives of the interior became
a bulwark against the French, and a scourge to the Lenape of
the fi-ontier. From this cause alone, the Lenape were reduced
by the haughty and pampered Iroquois to the condition of
squaws, and were compelled to wear the metaphorical petticoat.
They could not withstand the muskets of the Mengwe on the
one side, while they were assailed by the whites on the other.
They were a brave, proud and haughty race when assailed
by foes ; but as affectionate and loving as children in the absence
of wrong or the suspicion of it. For ages they had gloried in
then- exploits while waging war with the Iroquois ; consequently
when the Dutch at Fort Orange (Albany) fui-nished the Mo-
hawks with fire-arms, and refused to treat the Minsis at Fort
Amsterdam (New York) in the same manner, the latter con-
sidered it an insult to their nation, and a sufiicient cause of
war. , Hence, when Thomas Chambers and others removed fi-om
Reusselaers^vyck to Esopus in 1652, they were driven off by the
Wampings, or, as the Dutch called them, Waranawankongs.
These settlers returned, however, in 1657, and at first were
immolested.* Soon, however, under the influence of rum, the
natives became quarrelsome, and killed one of the settlers,
burned the buildings of another, and forced others to plough
* Ruttenber's History of Newburgh. In 1656, we find on Tan der Donk's Map of
New Netlierland, the district lying between Murderer's creek and Esopus marked at
the territory of the Waranawankongs.
7b HISTORY OF SL'LIJV.XJS' COrSTY.
their (the Indians') cultivated lauds. In consequence of these
irregularities, Governor Stujvesant visited Esoiras with a num-
ber of soldiers, and summoned the chiefs before him. A treaty
of peace was patched up, and a grant of land acqiiired by
the Dutch fi-om the original owners. But the peace was of
short duration ; for the Governor's presence was again necessary
in the succeeding year, (1658,) when he demanded all the Esopus
lands which had been explored by the Dutch. These lands
were much prized by the natives of Esopus, as they were well
adapted to their moSe of cultivation ; hence it is not surprising
that the chiefs refused to part with them, and retired from the
conference. The sttu'dy Governor, however, took possession of
the lands, and built a fort to hold them. This maddened the red
men, and theii- rage was rendered furious soon after by a wanton
and causeless outrage. A number of Indians had completed a
job of husking com for Thomas Chambers, when they asked
for and obtained a quantity of brandy. A carouse followed,
dm-ing which some Dutchmen murdered one of the drunken
Indians, and wounded two others. This cowardly act was fol-
lowed by the war-whoop, and the investment of the settlement
by over foiu- huudi-ed dusky wan-iors, who destroyed the houses,
bams and crops of the whites, and took eight or ten prisoners,
who were biimed at the stake. The Governor was once more
sent for, and came with an aimed force. At his approach, the
red men fled to the woods, where they were not followed in
consequence of heavy rains. However, through Mohegan and
TVapping chiefs, a truce was eifected.
In the spring of 1660, hostilities were renewed vigorously. An
Indian castle at "Wiltmeet was plnBdered and destroyed, and sev-
eral savages made prisoners. The Indians then sued for peace and
proposed to exchange prisoners, Refusing to listen to their
overtures, Stuyvesant, to tenify them still more, sent several
captive chiefs, who were in his hands, to Ciu-aooa, as slaves.
Hostilities continued. The Dutch forces swept the adjacent
country, and penetrating the district of the Papagonks, took
their castle, and slew Preumanaker, the oldest and best of then-
chiefs, who was too old to flee with his people. " What do you
here, dogs?" he asked defiantly, as he aimed an arrow at the
soldiers, with hands trembling from age. He was seized and
disarmed, and being too infirm to foUow the pai-ty on foot, was
subsequently killed with his own tomahawk.
The clans now held a councU, and Sewackenamo, the Esopus
chief, asked the wishes of the assemblage. " We wiU fight no
more," replied the warriors. "We wish to plant in peace, and
live in quiet," said the squaws. "We will kill no more hogs
and fowls," answered the yoimg men. The wish for peace being
general, the Esopus chief visited the Hackinsacks, who were
THE LENNI LENAPE. 77
friends of the Dutch, aud through them once more sued for
peace. Stuvvesaut again met the chiefs at Esopus, again made
an extravagant demand for huid, and this time his demand was
acceded to. During the negotiations, the Indians asked that
then- eushived chiefs sliould be restored ; but, as they had be-
come the chattels of Dutchmen in a far-olf colony, Stuyvesant
rephed that they must be considered dead. Although deeply
grieved at this answer, the chiefs agi-eed to the treaty, and de-
parted.*
Three years of peace followed. The Indians carried out the
terms of the treaty until the Dutch began to trespass on their
lands at Hurley, where they built a village which they caUed
Niew Dorp or village, on lauds outside the gi-ant made in 1660.
Threats of vengeance were again muttered, which were quickly
followed by what is known as the second Esopus war, the his-
tory of which we will now give.
To be more certain of success, the Esopus clans endeavored
to get the Wappings of Dutchess, and the Manassing clans
to join them, and succeeded partially. While plotting to
destroy the Dutch of Esopus, they covered their designs with
the mask of fi-ieudship, and only two days preceding the attack
on Wiltwick and the Niew Dorp, luUed the suspicions of ihe
whites with propositions for a new treaty.
On the 7th of June, 1663, 9 Wappings, 30 Manassings and
about 160 of the Esopus Indians, entered the two villages, in
the forenoon, from different points, brmging with them small
quantities of maize and beans, Avhich they carried to everjr
quarter of the villages, under pretense of selling them. In this
manner they hoped that they could seize a favorable moment,
and exterminate the unsuspecting settlers.
After they had been in Kingston about fifteen minutes, some
people on horseback rode into the village furiously, exclaiming,
" The Inthans have destroyed the New Village !" (Hurley). On
hearing this, the savages immediately fired their guns, and then
commenced hewing down the villagers with axes and tomahawks.
They also continued to fire upon them fi-om various quarters.
The village was set on fire on the windward side, aud soon a
disastrous conflagration was in prospect, when, the wind provi-
dentially changed, and the progress of the flames was arrested.
Houses were plundered, and women and children taken prisoners
aaid hurried beyond the village gates.
There were not at the time seventy-five able-bodied men Hving
in Kingston, aud a large portion of them were at work on their
farms beyond the limits of the village. Those who were there,
though a majority of tliem had neither guns nor side-arms, were
* We haTe quoted largely from Ruttenbei's HiBtoiy of Newburgh.
78 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
soon rallied by Captain Thomas Chambers, (who was suffering
from a wound,) and the savages, although numbering at least
four to one, were driven away.
In the evening, when all had come in from their farms, and
the refugees from Hurley had arrived, it was found that only
sixty-nine efficient men could be mustered.
In this affair the savages killed, in Kingston, 12 men, 4 women,
and 2 children ; at Hurley, 3 men — total, 21.* At Kingston, they
took 5 women and 5 children prisoners ; and at Hurley, 1 man,
8 women and 26 children — total, 45. In Kingston, 8 men were
wounded, one of whom died from his wounds, and 12 houses
were biunt. The "New Village" was entirely destroyed, except
one uncovered bam.
The blow was a terrible one to the settlers, and was deeply
felt, and amply avenged. Well might Hermanns Blom, the
first Dutch clergyman of Esopus, exclaim: "O! my bowels!
my bowels! I am pained at my heart! for the dead lay as
sheaves behind the mower."
On the 16th of the same month, an unimportant skirmish took
place on the road fi-om Kingston to Rondout, in which one white
man was killed and six wounded. After this, the Indians at no
time made a stand; but were hunted Hke wild beasts by soldiers
sent from Manhattan (New York). These soldiers were under
the command of Captain Martin Kregier, and were accompanied
by some Long Island Indians. The force emploj'ed, including
the Esoi^ias volunteers, numbered about 275. Scoiiting parties
were sent out in every direction in which it was supposed hostUe
Indians could be found. The savages were killed, taken captive,
or pursued from mountain to mountain. Their crops and food
were destroyed, and their wigwams burned. Some of these ex-
peditions extended into the hmits of SuUivan, as we shall see in
a future page.
Among the prisoners captured by the Indians at Hurley, was
Catharine Blanchan, the wife of Lewis Du Bois. She and' three
other females were taken to the wigwams of their captors, on
the Shawangunk or Assinink creek, 51 stream which forms a part
of the eastern boundary of the town of Mamakating. From an
Indian prisoner, Mr. Du Bois learned that by following "the
first Big "Water, to where another Big Water emptied into it ;
then the second to where a third Big Water was met ; and then
the last to a certain landmark, he would find the captives."
These Big Waters were the Rondout, the Walldll and the
Shawangunk or Assinink.
Mr. Du Bois speedily induced several of his friends to join
THE LENNI LENAPE. 79
him in an attempt to rescue his wife and her companions. They
followed the direction of the savage, and found that he had
given a correct description of the route. They pressed onward
eagerly and anxiously, Du Bois in advance of the others. He
yerj nearly fell a victim to his impetuosity. As they were
ascending the Shawangunk, he discovered an Indian secreted
behind a tree in the act of firing upon him. The arrow, luckily,
missed its mark, when Du Bois instantly sprang upon the savage,
and slew him with his sword. Soon after they came in sight of
the objects of their search.
The conduct of the savages had led the captives to behev©
that they were to be put to death — burnt at the stake — a fate
which very few, if any women, have met at the hands of the red
man. While the Indians were piling fagots, these truly Chris-
tian ladies, it is said, in view of the terrible death which they
beheved awaited them, sang the 137th Psalm in the Keformed
Dutch Church Collection,* which we copy here as probably the
first Christian song heard on the banks of the Shawangunk :t
By Babel's stream the captives sate,
And wept for Zion's hapless fate :
Useless their harps on wUlows himg.
While foes required a sacred song.
With taunting voice and scornful eye,
" Sing us a song of heaven," they cry :
" While foes deride our God, and King,
How can we tune our harps or sing?
" If Zion's woes our hearts forget.
Or cease to mourn for Israel's fate,
Let useful skill our hands forsake ;
Our hearts with hopeless sorrow break.
" Thou, ruin'd Salem, to our eyes
Each day, in sad remembrance rise !
Should we e'er cease to feel thy wrongs,
Lost be our joys, and mute our tongues!
" Kemember, Lord, proud Edom's sons,
Who cried, exulting at our groans.
While Salem trembled at her base,
' Ease them : her deep foundations rase.' "
» Marot's French Psalma. We have substituted a translation of the original.
t The foaiB of these excellent Christian ladies were baseless. The aborigines never
bui-ued female prisoners at the stake, or made them the rlctims of lust, except under
the cover of mai-riage.
OU HISTORY OF SULLIA-iN COUNTT.
Wliile thus they sang, the moiu-ners view'd
Their foes by Cyrus' arm subdued,
And saw his glory rise, who spread
Their sti-eets, aud fields, -with hosts of deai
Pleas'd, they foresaw the blest deo'ee,
That set theu- tribes from bondage free ;
Eenew'd the temple, and restor'd
The sacred worship of the Lord.
Tradition says the savages were charmed with the music, and
delayed the execution of the singers while they Ustened. But
deHverance was at hand. A panic seized the red men. They
discovered the whites, and fled for the mountains. The captives,
at first, not knowiug the cause of alarm, ran after them. But
soon tliey heard behind them the .shouting of well-known voices,
and turning, they flew to the aims of their husbands.
After spending the night at the camping-gi-ound of the In-
dians, where they rendered themselves comfortable by a good
fii-e made -v^ith the fagots gathered by the Indians, the party
returned to then- homes.*
During this expedition, Mr. Du Bois discovered the great
richness of the valley of the "Walkill ; and thi-ee year's afterwards
he and eleven others bought of the native proprietors 144 square
miles of the fat lands of that region, for which they obtained a
patent.
On the 26th of July, 162 Dutchmen, 41 Long Island Indians,
and 7 negi'oes left Kingston to attack the savages at their fort,,
about 30 miles distant, "mostly" in a south-west direction.
They had as guide a woman who had been a prisoner of the
savages, and took ■ft'ith them two pieces of cannon, and two
wagons. Each man was proA-ided ^dth two pounds of hard
bread and one-haK of a soft loaf, two pounds of pork and one-
half of a Dutch cheese. Theu- progi'ess was slow, as they were
obhged to bridge the streams, and haul theu- camion and
wagons up and down the mountains with ropes. On the second
day, they found it necessary to leave the cannon, when within
"a short mile" of the fort. They intended to surprise the enemy
in the latter ; but fovuid it abandoned, and succeeded in ttddng
but one red-skin — a squaw.
The next foi-enoon, guided by the squaw, they sent 140 men
to hunt tlie Lidians on the mountains ; but finding it impossible
to overtake or surprise sluj, they ret»irn6d, and for two days and
a half the whole party employed themselves in destroying the
THE LENNI LENAPE. 81
growing crops and the old maize of the Indians. The latter
was stored in pits. Over 200 acres of corn, and more than 100
pits of com and beans were rendered worthless by the invaders.
The savages witnessed these operations from the neighboring
hills and mountains, but made no resistance.
On the 31st, the fort and all the houses of the Indians were
burned, after which the party retui-ned to Kingston. It is sup-
posed that this fort was on the head-waters of the Kerhonkson.
After this expedition, the savages proceeded to build a new
fort, thirty-six miles south-south-west from Kingston, and prob-
ably on the Shawangunk or Assinink, in the town of Mama-
kating.* To this foi-t Captain Kregier resolved to foUow them,
and on the 3d of September he marched for it with fifty-five
men and an Indian guide of the Wapping tribe. After marching
two days, he came to their first maize field, where he discovered
two squaws and a Dutch woman gathering corn. He says in
his journal:
"As the creek lay between us and the cornfield, though we
would fain have the woman, it was impossible to ford the stream
without being seen and then discovered. We therefore adopted
the resolution to avoid the cornfield and the road, and tmned
into the woods so as not to be seen. About 2 o'clock in the
afternoon we came within sight of their fort, which we discovered
on a lofty plain. Divided our forces in two — Lieutenant Cowen-
hoven and I led the right wing, and Lieutenant Stilwil and En-
sign Nilssen the left wing. Proceeded in this disposition along
the hill so as not to be seen, and in order to come right under
the fort ; but as it was somewhat level on the left side of the
fort, and the soldiers were seen by a squaw who was piling wood
there, and who sent forth a terrible scream, which was heard by
the Indians who were standing and working near the fort, we
instantly feU upon them. The Indians nished thi'ough the fort
towards their houses, which stood about a stone's throw fi-om
the fort, in order to secure their- arms, and thus hastily picked
up a few guns and bows and arrows ; but we were so hot at their
heels that they were forced to leave many of them behind. We
kept up a sharp fire on them, and pursued them so closely that
they leaped into the creek which ran in fi'ont of the lower part
of their maize land. On reaching the opposite side of the kill,
they courageously returned our fire, which we sent back, so that
we were obhged to send a party aci'oss to dislodge them.
"In this attack the Indians lost theii- chief, named Papequan-
aeken, fourteen other wan-iors, four women and three childi'en,
whom we saw lying both on this and the other side of the creek ;
the supposition that the new fort waB in the iowa of
OZ HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
but probably many more were wounded when rushing from the
fort to tlie hoiises, when we did give them a brave charge. On
our side, three were killed and six wounded, and we have recov-
ered twenty-three Christian prisoners out of their hands. We
have also taken thirteen of them prisoners, both men and women,
besides an old man who accompanied us about half an hoiu', but
would not go farther. We took him aside and gave him his lad
meal. A captive Indian child died on the way, so that eleven
of them still remain our prisoners."
The enemy being defeated, a council of war was held by the
officers, and the question submitted whether they should destroy
the maize of the savages. As they had six wounded men ancl
but five horses, it was necessary to carry one of the wounded on
a litter with gi-eat trouble. More might be injured while cutting
and spoihng the com, whose removal would cause much incon-
venience, and therefore it was resolved that the maize should
not be cut at that time.
The houses were found to contain a large quantity of bear,
ellc and deer skins, notassin, blankets and other things highly
prized by the Indians, inchiding kettles, twenty-five gtms, twenty
pounds of powder, considerable wampum, etc. "A sloop could
have been filled with them ;" but as no such vessel ever had
ascended the Shawangiink, the Dutchmen took with them what
they could conveniently carry, and destroyed the remainder.
Captain Kregier says, "the fort was a perfect square, with
one row of paHsades set all round, being about fifteen feet above,
and three feet under gi-ound. They had already completed two
angles of stout palisades, aU of them almost as thick as a man's
body, ha-ving two rows of port-holes, one above the other ; and
they were busy at the third angle. These angles were con-
structed so solid and strong as not to be excelled by Christians."
Until the previous night, the prisoners had been concealed
every evening in the woods — each time in a difterent place —
where they were kept until morning. But on the day before the
attack, a Mohawk had visited the savages, and advised them to
let the captives remain in the fort at night, as the Dutch could
not come so far without being discovered. The advice was fol-
lowed ; but the result proved that it was not good for the
Indians.
Nothing remarkable occun-ed during the homeward jouniey,
except the murder of the old Indian, and the death of the pa-
poose. The body of the latter was thrown into a creek.
The route to this fort is described as " somewhat stony and
hiUy; but the road (an Indian one) for the greater part good."
On the 2d of October, Captain Kregier \isited this fort again,
with 108 whites and 46 Marseping Indians. He found five large
pits near the fort into which the Esopus Indians had cast their
THE LENNI LENAPE. 83
dead. The wolves had dug up and devoured some of the car-
casses. Near the creek were four other pits full of dead Indians,
and further on were the unburied remains of three men, a
sqiiaw and a child, which had been almost entirely devoured by
crows and wolves.
A party of Dutchmen and Indians were immediately sent
twelve miles in a south-westerly direction, where it was supposed
some Indians would be found. This party must have peneti-ated
Mamakating valley, at a point south of Wurtsborough, and very
near the territory of the Manassings. Nothing was found there
except some wigwams which had been a long time deserted.
The fort of the Indians and their com and wigwams were all
destroyed. About two days were spent in the work of demoli-
tion. The part}' then returned without having seen an enemy.*
The Indians who were located here must have been numerous.
This virtually terminated the war. The savages knowoi as
Esopus Indians were completely cowed. Their principal war-
riors were slain — their wigwams burned — and every ounce of
food which the Dutchmen could lay their hands upon, was de-
stroyed. Starvation and an inclement winter were before them,
and the ruthless and merciless Dutch soldiers everywhere at
their heels.
A truce followed in December. The savages, destitute of
food and shelter, except what was given them by the Manas-
sings and other friendly clans, must have suffered" much during
the ensuing winter. Probably more perished from destitution
before peace was secured than by the snaphance carbines of
the Dutchmen.
In May, 1864, they sued for peace, and made a treaty of
friendship. t It was never broken by the Esopus clans, which
in time became extinct by vices which they learned from the
whites, and by absorption into other Lenape tribes.
On the 3d of the follo-«-ing September, New Amsterdam passed
fi-om its Dutch filers to the hands of the EngUsh, and became
the royal colony of New York, with NicoUs, its conqueror, as
Oovernor. Governor NicoUs, soon after he came into power,
made a treaty witli the " original people" of Ulster and Sullivan,
a copy of M'hich may be found in the Historical Collections of
the former county.
* Doctunentary History of New York,
t liOasing's United States.
«i HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
TEEATY
Between Colonel Richard Nicolls, Governor of New York, and
the Esopus Indians, 1665.
[From the oiiginal in the Ulster County Clerk's Office.]
"An Agreement made between Richard NicoUs, Esq., Governor
under his Boyall Highnesse, the Dulce of Yorke, and the Sa-
chems and People called the Sopes Indyans.
" That no Act of Hostillity shall at any time bee committed
on either part, or if any damage shall happen to bee done by
either party, to the Corne, Cattle, Horses, Hoggs, Houses, or
any other Goods whatsoever, of the other party, full satisfaction
shall be given upon demand for the same.
" That if any Christian shall wilfully kill an Indyan, or any
Indyan a Chi-istian, hee shall bee put to death. And the said
Sachems do promise on their parts, to bring any such Indyan
to ye Officer in charge at the Sopiis, to receive his punishment
there.
"That a convenient House shall bee built where the said In-
dyans may at any time Lodge without the Ports of said To^-ne,
in which House ye Indyans are to leave their Armes, and may
come without molestason, to Sell or Buy what they please from
the Chi'istiaus.
"That in Case any Christian should kiU an Indyan, or any
Indyan a Christian, the Pease shall not bee broaken, or any Re-
venge taken, before Satisfaction is demanded by the one party,
and refused by the other, allo-n-ing a competent time for the
apprehending of the Offender, in which Case ye Indyans are to
Sve Hostage, till ye Offender is brought to Punishm't, the said
ostage (wUl be ivdl Treated and suffer) no other Pimishment,
but Imprisonment.
" That the said Sachems and their Subjects now present, do
for and in the names of themselves and their heires forever,
give. Grant, Alienate, and confirme all their Eight and Interest,
Claime or demand, to a certame ParceU of Land, Ij-ing and being
to the West and South "West, of a certjiine Creeke or River
called by the name of Kahanksen, and so up to the head thereof,
where the old Fort was. And so with a direct Line fi-om thence,
through the woods, and Crosse the Meadowes, to tlie Great Hill,
lying and being to the West, or South West, which Great Hill is
THE LENNI LENAPE. 85
to bee the true "West, or Southwest Bounds of the said Lands,
and the said Creeke called Kahanksen, the North, or North
East Bounds of the said Lands herein mentioned to bee given,
granted and confirmed, unto the said Richard Nicolls, Goremor
under his Royall Highnesse the Duke of Yorke, or his Assignes,
by the said Sachems and their Subjects forever, to hold and
Enjoy the same as his free Land and Possession, against any
clayme hereafter to be made by the said Sachems, or their Sub-
jects, or any their heires and Successors. In token of the afore-
said Agreem't, the said Sachems do dehver two Small Sticks ;
and in confirmation thereof, do deliver two more small Sticks, to
the said Richard Nicolls, And in the name of the Indyans their
Subjects, and of the Subjects do dehver two other roimd Small
Sticks, in token of their assent to the said Agi-eoment, And the
said Richard Nicolls does dehver (as a present) to their Sachems,
three laced Redd Coates.
" The said Sachems doth Engage to come once every yeare,
and bring some of their young People, to Acknowledge every
part of this Agi-eemenfin the Sopes, to the end that it may be
kept in perpetual memory.
"That all past Injuryes are buiyed and forgotten on both
" That the yoimg Sachem called Wingeesinoe, hath Liberty
for three yeares, to Plant upon a Small neck of Land over against
a Small Creeke Choughkawokanoe, unless the said young Sachem
bee warned off by order to remove, and give place to such Chris-
tians, as shall have Order from the said Richard NicoUs, or liis
Assignes, to plant there, at which time, the said young Sachem
is to receive a blankett, by way of Courtosie, and to remove to
the other side of the Creeke without delay, or Clayming any
future interest thereupon.
" In consideration of the premises, the said Richard Nicolls
doth faither give, and pay to the said Sachems, and their Sub-
jects, forty Blanketts, Twenty Pounds of Powder, Twenty Knives,
Six Kettles, Twelve Barrs of Lead, which Paym't we acknowledM
to have rec'd in full satisfaccon for the Premisses, And do biude
our selves, our heires and Successors for ever, to pforme every
part of this Agreement, -without any fraud or reservason of minde.
And further. That we will maintaine and Justifie the said Richard
NicoUs, or his Assigns, in the fuU peacable Possession of the
said Tract of Land, Roaltyes and Priviledges for ever, against
any nation of Indyans whatsoever, pretending right to the same ;
In testimony whereof, wee have sett our markes, to two several
Ob fflSTORY OF SXILLIVAN COUNTY.
wi-itings, the one to remaine in the hands of the Sopes Sachems,
the other upon Record at New Yorke, this 7th day of October^
1665. ElCHAKD NlCOLLS.
Sachims :
Jeremias Van Renslaer, The mark of Onackatin X
PprLip PiETERsoN ScHUYLER, The mark of Waposhequiqua K
Robert Nedh.vm, The mark of Sewakonama X
S. Salisbury, The m^-k of Shewatim X
Edw. Sackvile.
" Indian "Witnesses of the
Esopiis Young men :
r Pepunckhais 'X
mi 1 £ I Robin Cinnailan X a Pekoct Sachem,
The mark of-, j,j^^^^^^^^^^^
[ Byavackus X
" Sep. 25, 1669 There ajDpeared the second and thii-d Sachems
above names and owned their marks :
Witness : Mechdcoah, his mark X ."
For several years, the sachems and young men of the tribe
appeared occasionally at Esopus to renew and confii-m the treaty.
In 1706-7, Nanisinos, the jDrincipal sachem of the Esopus In-
dians sold the territory covered by the Hardenbergh Patent, as
will more fiiUy appear in another chapter.
At the breaking out of "the French and Indian war," the
Lenni Lenape were a degi'aded people. They had lost the manly
and entei-prising spirit of the brave and energetic men who
had led then- ancestors from the far West, through blood and
fire. In the figui-ative language of the Indians, their legs Avere
shortened. They were women. The tomahawk was taken from
them. A hoe was placed in their hands. They were poiuiders
of samp, and not warriors. Plumes of the war eagle were not
for them. Tliey were slaves.
For many years, their conquerors had grown more and more
exacting. At first they were permitted by the Mengwe to liold
or sell their lands.* But now the Six Nations claimed the ab-
solute ownership of all the territory they occupied, and sold it
to the whites at their pleasure. If the Lenape complained of
the conduct of the colonists in regard to land aft'au-s, the}- were
rudely ordered by the Mengwe not to meddle in such matters,
* All the lands of Orange, Sullivan and Ulsttr counties were purchased of the Lenap*
and not of the Iroquois.
THE LENNI LENAPB — FRENCH WAB. 87
as they no longer had a right in the soil. 'Tis true, the whites
generally paid them for lands as well as the dominant Indian
race ; but the Mengwe always received the largest price. The
latter, too, were generally employed to assist the white man in
battle. They were his especial favorites, and their claims to
superiority over the Lenape acknowledged in council and in
war.
As early as 1724, a portion of the Lenape, with a few of their
kindi-ed of the Shawanee tribe, removed from then- ancient seats
on the Delaware and Susquehanna to Ohio.* There they con-
tinued their intercourse with EugHsh traders ; and there, too,
they met the French, and became more intimately associated
with certain Algonquin tribes which had become proteges and
aUies of the polished and cunning Gauls. The French, with
those seductive apphances for which they are famous, endeavored
to win the new-comers to their interests. They welcomed them
in the most cortlial and kind manner — professed an ardent de-
sire to promote their welfare and happiness, and proceeded to
plant in their minds the seeds of distrust and discontent.
The Frenchmen told them that the Enghsh and the Mengwe
were tlie authors of all theii- misfortunes ; that the one bound
them in chains, while the other robbed them ; that they should
be fi-eed from the domination of those who claimed them as
slaves, and from the fi-auds of the British traders; that they
were strong and brave, and worthy to follow the war-path ; and
that if they would fight under the French banner, they would
regain then- ancient renown and freedom.
The Lenape could boast of nothing except the exploits of
their ancestors, in times so remote that tradition pointed to
them with a very misty and uncertain finger ; but the memory
of a glorious past was cherished by them ; and a people with
a histoiy of which they are proud, are not hopelessly debased.
Tlieir forefathers had conquered and destroyed magnificent
cities, and expelled fi'oni their strongholds a mighty race. And
why should not the great deeds of the olden time be re-enacted
by the descendants of heroes?
The simple-hearted Lenape listened to the words of the de-
sigjiing Gauls and repeated what they had heard to the Algon-
quins of the Susquehanna and the Delaware, where they
magnified the prowess, kindness and generosity of their new
friends, and thus won some to, and prepossessed others in favor
of the French. A new era was dawning in the history of the
Lenape — an era of carnage and blood. Ninety years of peace
with the pale faces were to be followed by a ferocious war, which
lasted, with here and there a short intermission, for forty years.
t Doc. Hist, of New York.
88 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Soon controversies began in regard to titles to lands and
frauds in the exchange of other property. In these controver-
sies, Teedyuscimg* the principal sachem of tlie Lenape, took
part with a pertinacity which terminated only -ssith his tragical
death in 1763. He was a sagacious ruler, and a devoted friend
of his people, whose cause he advocated under the most dis-
couraging circumstances.
About 1740, the Lenape's complaints concerning the sales of
their lands began to attract attention. They asserted that the
EngHsh did not sometimes pay them all they had agreed to;
that they generally took possession of twice as much as they
bought ; and that where they compHed with the letter of their
agreements, the/overreached the natives in a very reprehensible
manner. One of their modes of obtaining a larger tract of land
than the Lenape intended to convey is noticed in Lossing's
Field Book of the Revolution. They conveyed a territory to
the "Proprietors of Pennsylvania," the boundaries of which
were to extend a certain distance on the Delaware or Great
Pishkill river, and as far back, in a north-west direction, as a
man could travel in a day and a half. The Indians no doubt
intended that the dej^th of the tract should be about fifty miles
— the distance a man would usually walk in the time specified;
but the purchasers employed the best pedestrians in the colonies,
who did not stop by the way even to eat while running the Hne!
The expiration of the "day and a half" found them eighty-six
miles in the interior ! The Indians were very indignant at the
manner in which the "Proprietors" had overreached them, and
boldly charged them with deception and dishonesty.f
The " Proprietors" claimed that they had become the o'WTiers
of the lands within the Forks of the Delaware. They alleged
that the Lenape had sold that region soon after the great pur-
chase of William Penn, and that the Lidians were frdly paid for
it. To this the latter demun-ed, and Teedyuscung could never
be induced to admit that the sale was vahd, or that his people
had received a stipulated consideration for the land. In 1742,
the "Proprietors" succeeded in haAang the case laid before the
Six Nations, who, after hearing the parties, decided that the dis-
puted territory could not be sold by the Lenape, as they were a
conquered people, who had lost their right in the soU, which, if
it did not belong to the straight-coated Quakera, was the prop-
erty of the Mengwe. The Lenape, being women, M'ere severely
censured for meddling in land affairs, and were ordered to do so
no more. They were directed to remove from the Forks of the
* Sassoon was king of the Lenapo tribes in 1718. Ta-de-me (Query : Tammany ?) was
tlie immediate predeceBsor of Teedyuscung.
t Tom Quick and the Pioneers.
THE LENNI LENAPE — FEENCH WAR. 89
Delaware, and go to Wyoming and Juniata, and hunt west of
the Blue HiUs.
They removed accordingly; but renewed their complaints,
and pressed their claims to the lands in question for more than
twenty years, as we shall see in subsequent pages.
Soon the white settlers began to crowd the Algonquins of the
Susquehanna; and when the former, in 1754, began to survey
lands which they claimed to own in that vaUey, some of the
Indians removed to Ohio, and joined their brethren who had
become attached to the French, while others, under a chief
named Shecaleny, destroj^ed several houses at Shamoldn, and
compelled the surveyor to leave.
The great purchase made by Pennsylvania of the Onondaga
council in 1755, and the erection of a fort on the Susquehanna,
caused still more uneasiness among the Lenape. Even a portion
of the Mengwe were dissatisfied, particiilarly those who lived in
the vicinity of the French posts on the Ohio.
From constant nursing, the sores of the Lenape became greatly
enlarged. They commenced by alleging that they had been
wi'onged in regard to the Forks of the Delaware ; but they finally
came to the conclusion that they continued to be the true owners
of the country almost to the Hudson river, in New York and
New Jerse}', and also of Bethlehem and the lands west of it.
They also declared that the whites had spoiled their hunting-
grounds ; that they destroyed the deer with iron traps ; and that
the traders of Minisink ahvaj'S made the Indians drunk when
they took their, peltries there, and cheated them wliile they wex-e
intoxicated. They even re-opened wounds which had been
closed for a quarter of a century. Among other grievances,
they cited the death of Weequehelah, a Lenape sachem, who
was executed in 1728, for actual murder, and who had had a
legal trial. He was an Indian of great note, and resided on the
Delaware river, where he had an extensive farm, with cattle,
horses and negi-oes, and raised large ci-ops of wheat. His house
was well provided with Enghsh furniture, and his taste was much
above that of his race. He frequently dined with governors and
other great men, and behaved well ; but getting into a contro-
versy with a white man (Captain John Leonard) about the title
to a swamp, he assassinated Leonard, while the latter was walk-
ing in his garden.* Although Weequelielah had conformed
generally to the customs of civihzed life, he was still a savage.
Another giievance of which the Lenape complained was, that
the colonists never employed them in war. The Mengwe was
always found by the side of the pale face in the hour of danger,
and shared his perils and his triumphs ; but the Lenape was
* Smith's New Jersey.
90 HISTORY OF SUIilVAN COUNTY.
left to pine at home with women and cliildi-en. The Mengwe's
dogs were more honored by the English than the most brave
and noble members of an ancient people — the progenitors of
many nations. This was most gaUing to the pride and self-
respect of the Lenape, especially when it was presented to them,
in an odious light by deceitful Frenchmen and theii- agents.
It is not sui^jrising, therefore, that some of the eastern Dela-
wares and their confederates, the Shawanees, when hostilities
commenced between France and England, seemed anxious to-
take the field against the French; and that they threatened^
that, if not thus employed, they would unite -with the enemy.
If their desire to enlist under the EngUsh flag had been gi-atified
at this time, a dii'eful calamity would have been averted. But
the apphcation of the Lenape and their menaces were aUke dis-
regarded. 'Tis true, the government and people of Pennsylvania
had endeavored to secure the good will of the Delawares by
loading two of their chiefs, Shingas and Captain Jacobs, with
favors ; but the intrigues of the French — their newly-awakened
love of war — their thirst for blood and plunder,, and a long list
of real or supposed grievances which were unredressed, oven-uled
aU other considerations. Shingas and Jacobs openly espoused
the cause of the French, and were among those who carried the
tomahawk and fii-e into the frontier settlements. Their conduct
greatly exasperated the Pennsylvanians, who, with the approba-
tion of the Governor, offered seven hundred dollars for their
heads.
After the defeat of General Braddock, on the banks of the
Monongahela, in July, 1755, the Shawanees and the Lenape
uuburied the bloody hatchet, and hurled it against the fi-ontier
settlements of the colonists. That defeat, so discreditable to
the mihtary prowess and skill of the soldiers of Great Britain,
entii-ely destroyed the influence of the Enghsh with those tribes.
The first blow was felt on the western lines of Virginia and
Maryland. The enemies of the Quaker government of Pennsyl-
vania alleged that that colony at fii'st would do nothing to pro-
tect their neighbors of Virginia and Maryland, and that the
disciples of Fox adhered firmly to their principles of peace until
theii- own hearth-stones were stained with blood, when they
caused the war to be prosecuted with energy. However this
may be, Pennsylvania soon felt the dire effects of savage feroc-
ity. Cumberland county became a prey to the infuriated
Lenape and Shawanees ; their barbarities were rapiiUy extended
to the Susquehanna, and from thence to Berks and Northampton
counties, and across the Delaware into New Jersey. Their
scalping parties even visited the settlements east of the Shawan-
THE LENNI LENAPE — FRENCH WAE. 91
gunk mountains, and the stations of the peaceful Moravians,
who had always treated them with the greatest kiudness, were
not spared.
The condition of the border was indeed deplorable. A letter
from the Union Iron Works, New Jersey, dated December 20,
1755, says; "The barbarous and bloody scene, which is now
open in the uj^per part of Northampton county, is the most
lamentable that has ever appeared. There may he seen horror
and desolation ; populous settlements deserted — villages laid in
ashes — men, women and cliildren cruelly mangled and massa-
cred— some found in the woods, very nauseous, for want of
interment — and some hacked, and covered aU over with
wounds." In this letter was a Ust of seventy-eight persons
killed ; and more than forty settlements burned.
A letter fi-om Easton, of the 25th of the same month, states
that "the country, all above this town, for fifty miles, is mostly
evacuated and iiiined. The people have, chiefly, fled into the
Jerseys. Many of them have threshed out theu- corn, and
carried it oft', with their cattle and best household goods, but a
vast deal is left to the enemy. Many offered haU' their personal
effects, to save the rest ; but could not obtain assistance enough
in time to remove them. The enemy made but few prisoners ;
murdering almost all that fell into their hands, of all ages, and
both sexes. AU business is at an end ; and the few remaining, starv-
ing inhabitants, in this town, are quite dejected and dispii'ited."*
The whites by a long period of peace with their savage neigh-
bors, had become tmfitted for a war with them, and seemed at
first stupefied by the horrors which surrounded them, and
incapable of defense. Small parties of Indians lurked in the
vicinity of undefended homesteads, and pounced fi-om the forest
at favorable moments upon their victims, murdering them, and
frequently consuming their bodies in their burning houses. After
their fearful work was consummated, they would as suddenly
disappear in the wilderness, carrying with them their booty and
their prisoners, and leaving but few traces by which they could
be tracked to their coverts, even when the whites were daring
enough to pursue them.
At this time there were settlements on the Neversink river for
ten miles from its mouth. These, in common with all others
equally exposed, had their fuU share of peril and sorrow. Through
wise forethought, the women and children were removed to
Rochester, and other places which were deemed more secure
than the region in the vicinity of the Neversink and the Delaware.
Several block-houses were built for the protection of those inhab-
itants who remained.
• Gordon's History of New Jersey.
92 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
On one occasion, three men, who were gathering grain, were
sui-prised by the enemy and killed.
At another time, the savages attempted to take one of the
block -houses, supposing it was occupied by women only; but
several soldiers were unexpectedly m it. A desperate fight
ensued. A number of the soldiers were killed; the survivors,
however, compelled the Indians to retire.
A little son of Mr. WestfaU was taken prisoner by the Lenape,
and remained with his captors imtil after the Revolutionary war,
when, hearing that his father was dead, and that he was heir to
part of the estate, he returned — disposed of his property, and
returned to savage life, notwithstanding the efforts of his mother
and others to induce him to remain with them.
The upper block-house on the Neversink was attacked — taken
and burnt, with the neighboring buildings, and the occupants —
principally soldiers — killed, mth a single exception.*
Among those slain by the Lenape at this time, was Thomas
Quick, senior, of Upper Smithfield, or Milford, in the county of
Northampton (now Pike). His demise was attended by circum-
stances so aggi-avated, that his son Thomas Quick, junior,
devoted his whole life to revenging his death. A detailed acount
of the doings of this famous "Indian Slayer" will be given in
other chapters.
One of the pioneers who settled west of the Delaware, was a
man named Amos Carter, who, a short time before the war,
removed from Cornwall, in Connecticut, and located with his
family on a branch of the Lackawaxen, near the site of the well-
known Carter House of the present time. Here he made a log-
cabin, and tilled a few acres of land, which he had cleared.
Carter's family consisted of himself, his wife and three children.
Like a majority of the people of Connecticut, he was industrious
and thrifty. As soon as his land woiJd warrant the purchase
of cattle, and he had accumulated enough to pay for them, he
resolved to keep a yoke of oxen and two or three cows, and went
to Minisink to buy them. While he was absent fi-om home for
this puqiose, Mrs. Carter had occasion to go to their garden,
where she was suddenly confronted by a number of savages,
painted according to their manner when engaged in war. She
became pallid as they approached, and did not attempt to escape.
She knew that escape was hoi^eless, and hoped that, if she sulv
mitted quietly, they woitld spare her life. Vain hope ! She was
immediately tomahawked, and laid lifeless at their feet. Her
scalp was torn from her head, and her dead body left on the
si^ot where she was miu'dered. They then plundered the house,
* Eager'B Histoty of Orange County.
THE LENNI LENAPE— FRENCH WAR. 93
and set fii-e to it ; after which they left the neighborhood, taking
with them the chilchen.
When Carter returned, instead of the joj' of his family at the
acquisition he had made, he witnessed a scene which caused hia
heart to bleed, and filled his soul with htroic courage and an
unconquerable desire for retribution. His wife, who had been
an imcomplaining sharer of what he had endured in the wilder-
ness, was a mutilated corpse before him ; his home, which had
been made pl-easant by theii- joint labors, was in ashes ; and his
children — the children of his murdered wife— were in the power
of her merciless destroyers.
As soon as possible. Carter ralUed a few of his nearest neigh-
bors, with whom he pursued the Indians. The latter, bemg
encumbered with booty, traveled slowly ; while the whites, with
nothing but their rifles, and a small supply of provisions, fol-
lowed with rapidity. After a fatiguing march, during which
Carter continually urged forward his fiiends, the savages were
overtaken and attacked. In the fight which ensued, he exhibited
the most obstinate and determined bravery.
The whites soon found that the enemy was too numerous for
them, and were compelled to retreat. Carter, however. Defused
to fall back, and when last seen by his fiiends, he was standing
with his back agaiast a tree, defending himself against some
half a dozen Indians, who seemed determined to take him ahve,
and reserve him for torture ; but it is probable that they killed him
there. He was never heard of afterwards.
The childi'en were subsequently recovered, and placed under
the guardianship of their fiiends in Cornwall.*
Citizens of New Jersey were the first to arouse from the
stupefaction of despaii-. Colonel John Anderson, of Sussex
county, at the head of four hundred men, scoured the country,
marched to tlie defense of Easton, and pui'sued the enemy, with-
out, however, overtaking them. The New Jersey battaUion was
recalled from the North by the Governor — troops were raised by
him in aU parts of the proviuce, and ten thousand pounds were
voted him for the pubUc defense.
During the ensuing winter, the enemy continued to hang on
the frontiei-s. A chain of forts and block-houses was erected
along the base of the Kittauniug mountains fi'om the east-branch
of the Delaware (the Neversink) to the Maryland line, which
were garrisoned by fifteen hundi-ed volunteers and drafted mihtia,
imder Washington. During this period. Doctor Benjamin
Franklin made his first and only mihtary campaign. He re-
ceived the appointment of Colonel, and, after a short experience,
* Tom Quick and the Pioneers.
94 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
became satisfied that he was unfitted for military operations,
and retired from the camp for ever.*
In the spring of 1756, the Sis Nations interposed, at the re-
quest of Sir William Johnson, and for a time promised a cessation
of hostilities on the part of those tribes which were subject to
them. But a treaty of peace, or a promise to refrain from hos-
tihties, seems to have been binding only on those Lenape and
Shawanees who made it. The great bodies of those tribes re-
mained dissatisfied or hostile, and sought every safe opportunity
to continue to commit outrages.
This iutei-position of the Mengwe probably led Sfr WiUiam
Johnson to abandon a project he had in contemplation of attack-
ing the Lenape and their aUies at the Great Swamp, forty miles
W. S. W. from Cochecton, with an overwhelming force," drawn
from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and of building
a fort at Cochecton. Some four or five hundred Indians rendez-
voused in this swamp, and it was believed that many scalping
pai-ties had proceeded from it.
In Jidy, 1756, Sir WiUiam Johnson succeeded in having a
conference with the chief of the Shawanees, and Teedyuscung,
the king of the Lenape. Deputies from the Mengwe were
present, and also a gi-eat number of Hudson River Indians, who
were Lenape, and had remained attached to the Colonies during
the war. The latter, by close association with the whites, had
become worthless vagabonds — of no importance, except as
nuisances, in peace or war.
At this conference the Shawanee chief boldly denied that his
tribe, except those living on the Ohio, had engaged in hostihties
against the Colonies, and promised that he would use his influ-
ence to win the western Shawanees from the French.
Teedyuscung acknowledged that some of his people had joined
the French and western Lenape in ther late hostihties ; but that
the message sent by Sfr William to them by Mengwe messengere,
and what had since occuiTed, had opened their eyes, and caused
them to lay down the hatchet. He expressed sorrow for what
had passed, and asked pardon with apparent sincerity. He de-
clared that he would become an ally of the English ; that he
would retiu-n all English prisoners held by his people ; and that
his tribe woiild join the English and Meng^ve against the French
at any time and anywhere. As an evidence of sincerity, he and
the Shawanee chiel both accepted the war belt, and danced to"
the war song with extraordinarv fervor.
Sir William Johnson concluded the conference by taking the
petticoat or name of woman from the Lenape, and in the name
of the British Icing and the Colonial authorities, promised to use
* Gordon's History of New .Terii-y.
THE LENNI LENAPE — FlIENCH WAE. 95
liis influence with the Mengwe to follow his example. The
deputies of the latter pledged themselves to second him, and to
press upon their constituents the necessity of making the Lenape
freemen ; but nothing further was done in the matter.*
How much of deception was practiced on either side at this
•conference, we wiU not pretend to say; but this we know;
Notwithstanding Teedyuscung's promises and apparent humiUa-
tion, the borders were not freed from the assaults of the Indians,
and Teedyuscung's influence with the Lenape and other Algon-
quin tribes continued to increase until he became the agent and
advocate of a gi-eat number of them. It is probable that he
wished to screen the Indians who Hved near the white settle-
ments from punishment. If this was his object, he succeeded,
for a time at least.
It was estimated that, by September of this year, one thousand
men, women and children had been slain by the Indians, or
canied into captivity. Property to an immense amount had
been destroyed, and the peacefid pursuits of civihzed life were
suspended in the frontier towns and settlements.
Notwithstanding the treaty with Teedyuscung, a terrible
chastisement was in store for the Lenape who lived on the Al-
leghany river. On the 8th of the following September, Colonel
John Armstrong, of Pennsylvania, with a sufficient force, attacked
the savages in their den, at Kittanning. Their principal chiefs
-were killed, their families slaughtered, their town reduced to
ashes, their crops destroyed, and their spirit humbled.
This was a species of warfare to which the Lenape had not
been subjected since the attack of the Dutch in 1663. It was
nearly as effectual at this time as it was then. Such of them as
survived the carnage at Kittanning, and were of that vicinity,
fled into the temtory occupied by the French, and thus had the
French forts and garrisons between them and the EngHsh, while
others began to see the beauties of peace. But the country was
still exposed to the inroads of the French and western Indians,
in which it is now known that some of the Lenape of Pennsyl-
vania participated! Scalping parties penetrated to within thirty
miles of Philadelphia, and continued to spread terror through
the border settlements untU the French power in Ganada was
destroyed. The pioneers west and east of the Shawangunk
were not exempt from these visits.
Two brothers named Coleman occupied a log-house, a short
distance south-east of the present village of Burlingham, with
their wives and seven children. On a Sunday afternoon, one of
the brothers went into the woods to search for a span of horses
which had strayed there. While he was busy looking for the
• Documentary History of New York.
»0 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
lost animals, he was surprised by a party of six or eight In-
dians, who lay in ambush, and who shot and scalped him. They
then proceeded to the house, where the other brother was
vmwell and in bed. They carefully surrounded it, and foimd
that they could shoot the sick man through a crevice between
the logs. The first intimation the family had of the presence-
of the unseen foe, was the startling report of fire-arms in their
midst, and the belching flame of gunpowder fi'om the walls of
their humble dwelling. The sick man was instantly killed, and
the next moment the painted demons burst into the house —
dragged the quivering coi-pse fi-om the bed to the door, and tore
away the scalp with savage exultation, while the ten-or- stricken
women and children gazed on the scene, paralyzed with horror,
and expecting instant death. They were spared, however, and
made captives.
One of the women had recently been confined, and had a
child about two weeks old. Being yet weak and unable to walk,
she was placed astride of an old horse, and her feet were tied
under his belly with a rope. They then gave her the child^
which she carried in her arms.
After setting fii-e to the buildings, the savages hunied away
in a north-westerly direction over the Shawangunk mountain.
The babe soon became restless and cried, when the Indians in-
formed the poor mother that she must keep it quiet, or they
would kill it. Of course, she exerted herself to the utmost, to
soothe it ; but in the end it would not cease its plaintive wail-
ings ; when one of the demons, no doubt fearing that the noise it
made might reveal their whereabouts, tore it firom the arms of its
mother, seized it by the heels, knocked its brains out against a
tree, before her eyes, and threw its body as far from the path as
his strength permitted. How Httle do the mothers of SuUivan
at the present day know of the perils and suffering of the women
who first came to this region with their loved ones ! Who can.
estimate the grief of this woman, when she saw her little one
thus murdered, and its body left to be torn to pieces and
devoured by wild beasts?
The party reached Mamakating Valley a httle after dusk,
where they waited a short time for the moon to appear. They
then resumed their journey, and traveled during the remainder
of the night, and the greater part of the next day.
The journey through the night was gloomy and feai'ful. The
little childi'en, after the brutal murder of the babe, dared make
no complaints. "With pallid and ghost-like features, and sore
and weary feet, they pursued the uncertain path before them,
sometimes falling over obstructions in the way, when an invol-
untaiy and haK-suppressed cry would escape theii- Ups ; some-
times stai-tled almost to fi'euzy by the howl of a wolf or the
THE LENNI LENAPE — FRENCH WAR. 97
shriek of a panther; and all the time fearful that their savage
captors would fall upon them and kill them.
When morning at last came, they suffered less from terror;
but being exhausted and foot-sore from their journey through
the night, and being conipelled to go forward at an accelerated
pace, their sufferings continued to increase through the day.
The report that the brothers Coleman had been killed by the
savages, and their wives and children carried away, soon spread
through the neighboring settlements, and before Monday morning
a considerable number of brave and generous-hearted men were
assembled at the scene of the tragedy. All were armed with
rifles and hunting-knives, and all could use their weapons effect-
ually when necessary ; for in those days, a man who was not a
sure shot, and who could not engage in a rough-and-tumble fight
with wild beasts, was not considered worthy of very much respect.
As soon as day-light appeared, they commenced searching for
the trail of the marauders, and soon struck it. No time was lost
in making preparations for pursuit or in discussing the results
which might foUow. It was enough for them to know that two
of their friends had been miirdered by a savage foe, and that
several helpless women and children were in the power of the
savages. To rescue the captives and punish the Indians was a
spontaneous impulse of their hearts, and they at once set off' in
pursuit.
The pursuers had but little difficulty in tracking the retreat-
ing foe, the impressions made by the feet of the horse being
quite distinct in the pathway. Their horror and indignation
may be imagined when they discovered the brutal manner in
which the babe had been destroyed ; and they pressed forward
with greater speed, and with vengeance written on every brow.
It is probable that, if they could then have met the savages,
their hearts would have been steeled against mercy.
So rapidly did they ti-avel that, towards night, they were close
upon the Indians. Through means with which we are not ac-
quainted, this fact became known to the latter, while the whites
were ignorant of it. They were then probably on the ** Barrens"
of one of the Delaware river towns. The Indians were not in
good condition for a fight, and probably knew that the others
outnumbered them. Finding that they were in a place where,
for some distance, the horse's hoofs would make no impression
on the soil, they turned suddenly from the path, and secreted
themselves in a thicket, with their prisoners.
The half-dead captives suspected at once that succor was
near. Their suspicions were confirmed when it was made known
to them they would suffer instant death, if they made tlie least
noise. Soon they heard the voices of their friends, as the latter
hastened onward in the trail over which the captives and their
S8 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUKTY.
captors had just passed. Nearer and nearer came the would-be
deliverers. The ver}' tones of this or that neighbor could be
distinguished. But the poor children and their mothers did not
dare look in the direction from which the friendly sounds came.
Every savage held in his hand a weapon ^-ith which to dash out
their brains if an alarm wa,s made, and every eye of the red men
gleamed with deadly determination.
The pursuers were directly opposite the covert in which the
prisoners were concealed. They passed on — on — on. Oh ! that
they would discover that the path had been abandoned by the
Indians ! Eager ears listened for a word that would indicate
that the white men had discovered that those they were seeking
had not gone that way. But no. The voices died away — away
— until they were lost to the aching ears of the distressed moth-
ers and their children. Hope died within them.
The whites followed the path until they discovered that the
Indians had left it. They then searched for new traces of the
fugitives ; but finding none, they returned home by another route.
After the whites had passed, Mrs. Coleman, for the first time,
was taken fi-om the horse, on which she had been tied for twen-
ty-four hours. The party remained in their place of concealment
until the next morning, when they resumed their journey, after
placing the bereaved mother once more in her former position.
From Sunday afternoon until Tuesday forenoon, they were
withoiit a morsel of food. The Indians had brought nothing to
«at with them, and were afraid to fire their guns ; fearing that,
by doing so, they would lead the whites to discover them. 8ut
on Tuesday forenoon, they shot a deer, and after that did not
«uiFer from hunger. Duiiiig their journey, they came twice to
large streams of water, (the Neversink and the Delaware.) In
crossing these, the savages drove the horse, with Mrs. Coleman
on his back, in advance of the others, to measure the depth.
They then followed on foot The fear of being submerged in
the water, by the falling of the horse, or by coming to some
unexpected channel, would have been greater, if the be-
reaved mother had not already witnessed so many shocking
spectacles, that her senses had become in a measure deadened
to what was passing. We«k from her recent iUness, having had
"sorrows on sorrows multiplied," and being exhausted by the
rough and toilsome journey, she submitted passively to what-
ever was in store for her.
After Tuesday morning they traveled slowly, and continued
to proceed leisurely towards their wigwams until Wednesday or
Thursday evening, when their journey tenninated. The clan to
which they belonged were located from forty to fifty miles be-
yond the Delaware river. Mrs. Coleman was here taken from
the horse for the last time.
THE LENNI LENATE — MIENCH WAR. 99
Their journeys over monntains, through valleys and across
rapid rivers was at an end ; but not their sufferings. After the
customary rejoicings at the safe return of the warriors and their
success, a large fire was made, and the children were stripped
naked, and then comiielled to run around the fire, the savages
following them with whips, which they apphed to their naked
bothes without mercy. When the children screamed with pain
and aflright, then- tormentors would exliibit the greatest pleasure,
and yell and laugh until the woods rang with hideous mirth. In
this cruel amusement, the embryo braves of the clan partici-
pated.
While this was going on, it seemed as if the sick woman's
heart would break. Her cup of sorrow could contain no more.
Powerless to do the screaming children any good, and unable
longer to witness their sufferings, secretly she stole away into
the woods to die. Half fi-enzied, she fled as fast as her feeble
limbs would carry her, resolved to find some distant and quiet
pkce where the cruel Indians would not find her, and where she
could breathe away her life, and witness no more horrors.
As she tottered' away through the woods, she discovered a
light in the distance, and by an impulse for which she could not
account, she resolved to go to it, still not caring whether she
'Mved or died. Here she found an old squaw, who occupied a
wigwam alone. This squaw had Uved amongst white people
and could speak the English language. She was partially civ-
ilized, and was known to the Indians as Peter Nell.* To her
Mrs. Coleman related her pitiable story. Peter Nell's woman's
heart was touched. She received her white sister kindly, and
making a bed of leaves and bear skins, told her to rest in peace,
and tljat the Indians should not harm her.
While Mrs. Coleman was reposing on this primitive but com-
fortable couch, the squaw made her some venison-soup after the
manner of the white people. This proved to be very refresbing
to the sick and exhausted captive. The latter remained with
the good Indian woman for a considerable time, and until her
health was completely restored, when the squaw assisted her in
returning to her friends in Orange county.
^Vhat became of the other captives is not known. It was
reported many years afterwards that two or three of them
escaped ; but of this there is no certainty.
The greater part of the foregoing naiTative was derived from
Mrs. Coleman, who related the particulars to an uncle of our
informant.t This uncle was one of the party who went in pur-
isuit of the savages.
* Petronella — a name probably given her in baptism by the Moiaviana.
t The venorable Rev. Samuel Pelton, of Thompson, His son, Luther Pelton, com-
Jnitted the facts to paper at ouf request.
100 BISTORT OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
After the aiFair at Kittanning, Teedytiscung was present and
was the chosen and loved advocate of his own, and many other
Algonquin tribes, at several conferences with the whites. The
Lenape regarded him as their champion in all cases where
sagacity and abihty were necessary.
He seems to have been successful with the people of New
Jersey. He laid his grievances before commissioners of that
colony in 1756. The Assembly of New Jereey, in consequence,
passed stringent laws to guard the Indians against abuses, and
appropriated sixteen hundred pounds to the purchase of Indian
claims; "one-half to be expended for a settlement, for such
Indians as resided south of the Earitan, where they might dwell,
and the remainder to be apphed to the purchase of any latent
claims of non-residents." In Febmary, 1758, the Indians exe-
cuted a formal release of their claims in New Jersey, except
those of the Miuisinks and Pomptons, in the northern parts of
the province, which included some part of the territory of Sulli-
van county covered by the "Jersey claim."
During this year some famihes Hving on the Walpack were
massacred by the savages.
After these inroads, and towards the close of the summer.
Governor Bernard, through Teedyuscung, summoned the Minsi
and Pompton clans, who had joined the enemy, to meet him at
Burlington. The leading men of these tribes attended the
council. An Ii-oquois chief was also present.* This chief as-
sumed a very aiTogant bearing toward the Lenape. Benjamin,
who was the spokesman of the Minsi, held a belt in his hand,
but dehvered what he had to say whilst sitting, not being per-
mitted to stand untU the Mengwe had been heard. The latter
denied that the Lenape had the right to make a treaty, as they
were subjects of the Six Nations, and at his request, the confer-
ence was adjourned to a gi-eat council of Indian tribes which
subsequently took place at Easton.t The Minsi, Wappings, etc.,
however, held a special conference with Governor Bernard soon
after, at which, for one thousand doUars, they sold all their title
to lands in New Jersey. After this, New Jersey had no more
trouble with these tribes.
TeedjTiscung's efforts to obtain redress for the alleged wrongs
inflicted on his people in regard to the forks of the Delaware,
and other lauds on both sides of that river, were renewed in
1757. In July of that year, he attended a conference at Easton,
where he labored to have all ilifferences referred to the King of
Great Britain; with copies of aU the deeds and wi-itings by
which the whites held those lands. This conference was held
• Gordons History of New Jersey.
t Smith's New Jersey.
THE LENNI LENAPE— FEENCH WAR. 101
on the part of the whites, by Mr. George Croghan, who was
deputed by Sir William Johnson for that purpose, and by Deputy
Governor Denny, of Pennsylvania, and several commissioners
appointed by the Assembly of that province.
At the opening of the conference, Teedyuscung understood
that Mr. Croghan had full power to act, and declared himself
well pleased with his appointment, and willing to submit his
complaints to the arbitrament of Mr. C. ; but when he requested
that the deeds of the Proprietors should be produced, read and
examined, that it might be seen what Indians had sold the lands,
and the extent of the purchases, he was told that Sir "William
Johnson was the person before whom such matters should be
laid. Teedyuscung indignantly refused to go before Johnson,
and a stormy scene ensued.
Sir William Johnson resided with the haughty Mengwe, who
had so grievously insulted his people in 1742, and compelled
them to abandon a region to wliich the Lenape were attached
by all the ties which can bind the savage heart. Sir William
was the friend and ally of the proud and treacherous confederacy
wliich had done such fatal injury to his people, and he had
labored many years to enrich and strengthen the Mengwe. In
the eyes of the Lenape king, he would not be an impartial um-
pire. At the seat of the baronet, too, Teedviiscung would be
surrounded by enemies who would not hesitate to assassinate
him, if he succeeded in securing the right of his tribe to the
land in dispute. His refusal, under such circumstances, was
alike creditable to his sagacity and patriotism.
The deeds, however, were produced, when Teedyuscung alleged
that, in some cases, they were given by persons who had no right
to sell ; in others, that greater quantities of land had been taken
possession of than were granted ; and in another, that the Pro-
prietors had forged a deed, and made an alteration of the courses
agreed on. His allegations were of a very grave character, and,
if true, the Proprietors were vile criminals. He was sincere in
making them, no doubt ; and they were giiiltless of any moral
offense greater than that of makiiig bargains with the Indians,
by which the latter parted with more property than they intended
to sell. The white man's parchment covered what the Lenape
supposed they had never alienated. Hence the bold and indig-
nant charge of the dusky monarch.
Notwithstanding Teedyuscung refused to go before Sir Wil-
liam Johnson, he proposed that copies of the deeds should be
send to him for transmission to the Enghsh monarch ; but caused
his own clerk to forward copies to the Speaker of the Pennsyl-
vania Assembly, with a request to forward them to His Britannic
Majesty. Teedyuscung no doubt hoped to checkmate Sir
William in this manner, if he proved unfaithful. Johnson
1021 HISTORY OF SULLIVAS COUNTY.
professed to be indignant at the conduct of the red diplomatist,
and the Quakers who had won his confidence, and thought it
advisable to "press his mediation" no fuither. However, he
transmitted copies of the conference, which the smooth and sleek
Quakers neglected to do.
After the surrender of Fort William Henry to the French, ia
August, 1757, the frontier inhabitants of Orange and Ulster
became much alarmed. The enemy had a large army and a
formidable ti-ain of artillery. Encouraged by their recent suc-
cess, it was supposed that the French would peneti'ate farther
into the country, and thus cause the Indians to be more active
and bold ia theii- attacks on the pioneers. These feais were
not groimdless. The savages penetrated these counties, and
killed some of the people who hved there. On appUcation fi-om
the inhabitants, a ]me of block-houses was built along the fi-ontier
of Orange and Ulster, and troops were posted there by order of
the Earl of Loudon.
In October of this year, a few Lenape who lived on the Del-
aware river were engaged in an affair in which several wliites
lost their lives. About thirty hostile Cayugas and Seuecas set
out on an expedition against the people of Ulster, and were met
by the Oquaga Indians, who held a council with them on the-
5th of the month, and persuaded all except nine Cayugas to turn,
back. These latter proceeded to the Delaware river, where-
they induced aU the braves whom they could influence to join^
them. On the l'2th they made their appearance at the house
of Peter Jan, who Uved in the south-western part of the settled
portion of Rochester, a town which at that time included con-
siderable of the territory of Sullivan. Two privates of Colonel
A. Hasbrouck's regiment, who were posted in the neighborhood
as scouts, were killed, as well as one of Jan's daughters. Jan
and his two sons, who were at work iu a field, escaped. Another
private soldier was in the house, where there happened to be
several loaded guns. With these he determined to defend himself
to the last, as well as Jan's wife and two remaining daughters.
The brave feUow fought so well that the savages retired fi-om
the immediate vicinity, when he escorted the mother and children
to the house of Captain Brodhead, who lived a mile distant.
The enemy then returned and burned Jan's house.
The next night, Colonel Hasbrouck's forces marched in pm-suit
of the marauders ; but failed to discover them.
There is not on record an account of a successful search for
hostile Indians in the wilds of Sullivan, except when they desired
to be found. The labyrinthine chanacter of our rhododendron'
thickets was so very favorable to concealment, that the enemy
could not be tracked, and tie whites could not pursue them,
except when they traveled in well-defined paths..
THE LENNI LENAPE— FRENCH WAR. 103^
In the fall of 1758, a conference was held with the Mengwe
and Lenape tribes, at which Teedvnscung again repeated the
complaints of the Algonquin Indians for whom he was the agent.
But little was done, however, except to restore to the Meugwe
a large tract of land which they sold to Pennsylvania in 1754,,
at Albany, and for which they had been paid. This jDurchase
had caused much discontent among the Six Nations, who were
propitiated by the EngUsh on all occasions. Equal liberality
was never displayed toward the Lenape.
In tlie summer of 1759, the case of the Lenape was laid before
the Kmg's Privy Council for Plantation Affairs, when the whole
matter was referred back to Sir WiUiam Johnson, who was
directed to summon all the parties, and, after a hearing, ta
transmit his proceedings, with his opinion of what should be
done, to the Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, to be laid
before the King. But Teedyuscung could not be induced to go
before that gentleman, as he believed that Sir WUliam would
decide against him. He continued to confide in the Governor
and people of Pennsylvania, and they could not or would not
afford him relief.
We have not noticed all the treaties of peace made between
the English and the Lenape and other Indians, during the
French war, for obvious reasons.
The conquest of Canada by the English, and its cession to
the British crown by France, did not give our frontier settle-
ments entire immunity fi-om savage outrage, as will appear from
the death of Teedyuscung, and the events which foKowed on
the Delaware river, and in other localities.
In the spriug of 1763, Pontiac, an eloquent and sagacious
Ottawa sachem and chief, drew several of the Algonquin tribes
and some of the Mengwe, into a conspiracy to turn back the
tide of emigration. A portion of the western Lenape became
his allies ; but it does not appear that Teedyuscung was involved
in the outbreak, although it is more than probable that his
sympathies were strongly enlisted on the side of Pontiac. His
influence, too, and his dissatisfaction in regard to the sale of
the lands of his tribe, made him a dangerous neighbor to the
colonists. His death was a desirable event, and it soon took
place under very singular circumstances ; but in a manner which
shows that it was either accidental, or that it was procured
by the Mengwe, the old enemies and oppressors of his
people.
Tradition says that the Mengwe had become jealous of his
power and popularity, afnd resolved to destroy him. In the fall
of 1763, a party of warriors of that confederacy came to his
104 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
dwelling on a pretended visit of friendship.* During their visit
his caliin was burned, at night, and his dead body was found in
the ashes. The news of the tragedy brought large numbers of
his subjects to the scene of disaster, when the Mengwe artfully
led them to believe that the whites of the vicinity were the au-
thors of the disaster. They were in a mood to give credit to
the words of their visitors, and at once flew to arms to avenge the
death of their beloved sachem. Before another sunset thirty
whites were slain by the infuriated Lenape, and about two hun-
dred and fifty others were fugitives in the wilderness, most of
whom returned to their former homes in Connecticut. During
the evening after the massacre, their houses were burned.
Here we should pause to do honor to Teed}iiscung, the greatest
niler of the native Indians of Sulhvan. Before he was chosen
king, he had resided within the territory of the Minsi tiibe — was
an Indian of the Delaware, and acknowledged as his sachem
Ta-de-me, of whom so Uttle is known; but whom the author
believes to be identical with Tamanend or Tammany.t
Ta-de-me was treacherously murdered by hostile Indians from
the North-west. A general council of the Delaware clans was
then held, which chose Teedjniscrmg chief sachem, and he was
inducted into office according to the ancient ceremonies of the
Lenajje.J He was then residing at Gnadenhutten, where the
Moravians had estabhshed a settlement of Christian natives;
but immediately removed to Wyoming, which had become the
principal seat of his people. He was nominally a Christian ; his
squaw was a devout and pious disciple of Zinzendorf. According
to Laskiel, he was baptized in 1750, when he received the name
of Gideon. He had previoiisly been known to the Enghsh as
Honest John. The same writer says his baptism was delayed
some time, because of his wavering disposition. But ha^•ing
been once present when the sacrament was administered, he
said to one of the brethren: "I am distressed that the time is
not yet come that I shall be baptized and cleansed in the blood
of Christ." Being asked how he felt during the baptism, he
answered: "I cannot describe it; but I wept and trembled."
* LoBsing's Field Book of the Revolution.
t There is much confusion in the orthography of Indian names of the last century,
Dutcli, English, Swedish and other writers spell Lenape words in so many ways that
soiiit tmu-s it is almost mipossible to decide which is right, and eveu to recognize the
Batne word as given to us by each of them. Tammany ruled between 1720 and 1750,
and was a devoted friend ot' the Enghsh colonists. After the election of Teedyuscung,
the Indians who had been ruled by Tammany loved their white neighbors, and manv
of them had embraced the Chiistian religion. The period in which Ta-dc-me and
Tammany reigned is the same ; their characters are not dissimilar, so far as we know
anythiug'of them, and there ia no greater difference between the names Tammany and
Ta-de-me than there is between many other Indian names handed down to us by igno-
rant clerks and careless authors.
We give this note more to incite inquiry than for any other purpose.
J Stone's History of Wyoming.
THE LENNI LENAPE — FRENCH WAR. 105
He then spoke to the missionaries in a very iinreserved manner,
saying tliat he had been a very bad man all his hfe ; that he had
no power to resist evil ; and that he had never before been so
desiroiis to be delivered from sin, and to be made a partaker of
our Lord's grace, and added: "O that I were baptized, and
cleansed ia his blood!" He evinced this fervor ever afterward;
but caused his pious teachers much anxiety because he never
could feel assured that he was an accepted follower of Clirist.
His lack of hope was always manifest. He had a higher con-
ception of Christianity than white rulers. He beheved that it
was the gospel of simplicity, mercy, purity and peace. As a
statesman he was compelled to resort to craft, barbarity, subtlety
and bloodshed. After his career as a diplomatist and wan-ior,
he was heard to say: "As to externals, I possess every thing m
plenty ; but riches are of no use to me, for I have a troubled
conscience. I stiU remember weU what it is to feel peace in the
heart; but I have now lost aU." In this despondent state of
mind he died. It is said that to his other moral delinquencies
he added an occasional intemperate indulgence in fire-water.
He has been described as a " lusty, raw-boned man, haughty,
and very desirous of respect and command."* He could be as
witty as he was proud. A low feUow named McNabb met him
at Stroudsburg, and accosted him with, "Well, cousin, how do
you do?" " Cousin, covisin !" repeated the haughty chief, "how
do you make that out?" "Oh! we are all cousins fi'om Adam."
" Ah ! then, I am glad it is no nearer !" was the cutting reply.f
As an orator, he was bold, strong, wonderfully exphcit, and
always chaste. He shot directly at his mark, and always hit it.
He uttered no nonsense about chains and belts. There was no
circumlocution in his utterances ; biTt there was plenty of Machi-
aveHsm when the safety and welfare of his people needed it.
He could form treaties of peace, and " dance with extraordinai-y
fervor"! to render them binding, when he foimd it necessaiy
to save his fiontier subjects fi'om chastisement. At the same
time he would permit the Delawares of the Ohio to pass through
his towns to destroy the pale faces ; but claimed that he and
the exposed clans were not responsible for the outrages of the
marauders.
Wliat we know of him comes principally fi-om his enemies.
We must judge him by what he accomphshed rather than by
the representations of those who suifered thi-ough his acts, or
were jealous of his power and fame. He found his people di-
vided, impotent and enslaved — derided and despised by their
• Major Parsons, seoretarj' of the conference of 1756.
t Stone's Wyoming.
t Sir William Johnson.
106 HISTORY OF SULLIV.\N COUNTY.
masters, the pampered Mengwe, and debauched and robbed by
the colonists. From lack of unity, the}- enjoyed no more con-
sideration than a thousand Uttle rivulets meanderiug through as
many channels. A deer could diink from one of them, and
consume it. He made them all run in one channel, and thus
gave them force and volume. Thenceforth they were bee and
formidable, and an outrage on one of his people was felt and
resented by the entire nation. He infused into them patriotism ;
inspired them with a common purpose ; compressed the yielding
sand into the adamantine rock.
At the time of his death, he was the acknowledged ruler of no
less than ten considerable Lenape tribes, and had forced the
arrogant Iroquois to acknowledge them through him as their
peers.* In time, had he not been assassinated by his enemies,
he would have been acknowledged the gi-eatest aboriginal states-
man of the continent.
After his death, and the scenes which followed in his own
neighborhood, his fi-iends resolved to attack Cochecton, and
without delay proceeded to the Delaware river by the way of
the Lackawaxen, hoping, no doubt, to hem in the inhabitants
of that settlement. The savages, however, forgot one avenue of
escape.
Cochecton was then reached by two routes. One of these
was through the valley of the Delaware from Minisink — the other
was an Indian path through Neversink, Eocklaud, etc., to the
mouth of the CaUicoon. The latter was not often followed by
the whites, who found the way by Minisink the most convenient.
If the savages had sent a party across the county from the
mouth of the Lackawaxen, to intercept those who attempted to
escape by the northern route, the settlers of Cochecton would
have been exterminated. But they chd not.
Cochecton at that time contained about thirty log-houses and
a block-house. A wi-iter named Chapman says it also contained
a gi'ist-miU and a saw-mill.
Several families had settled at the mouth of the Ten Mile
river. These the Indians sui-prised and slaughtered. Not a
person escaped. The houses, bams, etc., were burned, and
everything valuable destroyed, except the bare fields. All the
whites who Hved between the Lackawaxen and Cushetunk or
Calkins' creek shared the same fate.
Besides women and children, there were but three men in the
vicinity of the block-house — Moses Thomas Ist, a Mr. Witters
• A council was held at Eaeton in 1758, with the Six Nations, Delaware's and other
Indians, at which Teedjuscung assumed a conspicuous position as a condnctor of the
diecnssions. The Iroquois were disposed for & time to be oifeuded — reviving a^aiu
their old claims of superiority. But the Delaware chit- f was not in a humor to Yield
the distinction he had already acquired, and sustained himself throughout "with
cloqence and dignity. fW- L- Stone,
THE LENNI LENAPE — FRENCH WAR 107
and a Mi-. Willis. The block-house was ou the Peuu.sylvania
shore, on the lands of Thomas, and was well supphed ^-itli guns
and ammunition.
Willis had a log-house and clearing at Narrowsburgh, and
had removed his family to the block-house for safety. Ou the
morning of the attack, he sent his two sons to winnow some
buckwheat at his clearing. They soon returned, and reported
that a large party of Indians were coming up the river. The
boys were not always truthful, and were somewhat lazy. Con-
sequently their report was doubted, and the three men stax-ted
down the river to reconnoiter, the father of the lads lirst telling
them that tliej^ wovdd be punished if they had concocted tlie
story to get rid of work. In the meantime, the women and
childi'en took refuge in the block-house, or got ready- to flee
there at a moment's warning.
The three men had proceeded about half a mile, when they
discovered the savages in a turnip-field, on a knoll, where they
were eating turnips. When the Indians were first seen by
Thomas and his fi-iends, the pajties were within gunshot of each
other. The Lenape fii-ed instantly. Thomas fell Ufeless, and
Willis was so badly wounded that he was soon overtaken by the
yeUing fiends, and slain. Witters escaped, and with the women
and children was soon in the block-house.
. - Witters was faithful, brave and versatile. He could have fled
to the mountains and escaped with but little fui-ther risk to
himself ; but he chose to remain with the widows and children
of his murdered neighbors, and defend them, and, if necessary,
die with them. He at once sent a lad to the neighborhood north
of him, to advise the iahabitants of approaching danger, and
procure assistance. Th« name of this lad was Moses Thomas 2d.
Subsequently he was killed by a tory at the battle in High-
land. Those to whom he was sent at once fled to the woods,
and proceeded by the noi-them route to Esopus.
Witters also sent two boys — EUas Thomas and Jacob Denny
— ^to Minisink, for aid. Neither of these lads was 11 years old.
The Indians approached the block-house cautiously. They
evidently feared that it contained a considerable force. Before
they came near it. Witters had succeeded in inspiiing the women
with courage to such a degree, that each one was watching for
an opportunity to shoot the savages. No time was lost iu uea-
less lamentation for the dead, who lay mutilated, mangled and
bleeding, almost within sight of the wooden fortification. The
hvea of their helpless little ones, under God, depended upon
them, and, women as they were, they were equal to the
emergency.
As the savages approached under cover of the river hank,
Witters, by changing the sound of his voice, made them believe
108 HISTOEY OF SXJLLIYAN COUNTY.
there were several officers in the block-house, engaged in ar-
ranging the defense, giving orders to their men, etc., and he was
such a capital mimic that, with aU their acuteness of ear, they
did not discover the truth.
The Indians were completely deceived by him, and remained
behind their natural breastwork, the river bank, during the day,
where they kept iip a war of words with the besieged.
As night approached, "Witters began to fear that the assailants
would set file to some hay which was stacked beside the block-
house, and thus bum his stronghold. His fear was not baseless.
The savages were waiting for that purpose, and made the attempt
as soon as they supposed it was dark enough. Witters saw the
Indian who was detailed for that purjiose, as the latter cautiously
crawled toward the hay, when the savage was shot and killed.
This intimidated the others to such a degi-ee, that, as soon as
they could recover the dead body, and bury it, they hastUy set
fire to the undefended buildings of the neighborhood, and then
retreated toward the Susquehanna by the way of the Cushetunk.
Those whites who fled by the northern route toward Esopus
had a "sorry time." They became bewildered in the forest,
and wandered they knew not whither. Soon hunger was added
to their sufferings. Though well supphod vnth guns, they did
not shoot any animal or bird for food, as the report might lead
to their discovery and massacre by the Indians. Silently and
stealthily they wandered throiigh the woods, feeding ujion their
dogs, reptiles, etc., and sleeping upon the cold ground without
covering. Finally they found a ti'ail which led to a settlement,
where they were kindly received.
EUas Thomas and Jacob Denny reached Minisink in safety,
and a sufficient number of men at once went to Cochecton ui
canoes, where they were joyfully received. The dead bodies of
Thomas and Willis were bm-ied, and preparations made to re-
move the hving to Minisink. Soon all was ready for departure,
when an unexpected difficulty arose. It was found that there
was room ia the canoes for all the party except ©ne, and that
one must be left behiad ! Amongst those rescued was an idiot
girl and her mother, and it was soon decided that the gii'l should
be abandoned. A heart-rending scene ensued. The poor mother
wished to remain with her unfortunate child, but was compelled
to get into a canoe by force, where she covered her head with
her apron, and moaned bitterly as she was borne away, whUo
her icliot child uttered inarticulate cries on the shore. The
girl's bones were subsequently found near the block-house and
buried.
THE LENNT LENAPE — FIIENCH WAR. 109
A few years since, her remains, and those of Moses Thomas 1st,
were uncovered by the action of the river. They were gathered
by Moses Thomas 3d, and once more committed to the earth.*
These and other outrages of the Indians were followed by
acts of equal, if not greater atrocity on the part of the whites,
some of wlaich shoiild damn their perpetrators with everlasting
infamy. We will give the particulars of but one of these dis-
graceful tragedies.
A few quiet, inofiensive Indians lived at Canestoga, in Penn-
sylvania, where they and their ancestors had dwelt for more
than a century. Their forefathers were among those who had
welcomed William Penn, and they had never made war on the
whites. Biit some white miscreants, who were known as "Pax-
ton boys," held them responsible for the bad deeds of other red
men, and resolved to destroy them.
In the month of November following the attack on Cochecton,
the white savages of Paxton fell upon the Indians of Canestoga,
and murdered fourteen men, women and childi-en. The others
(fifteen or twenty in number) lied to Lancaster, where they were
locked up, for safety, in the jail. Hither the "boys" pm-sued
them, took possession of the prison, and butchered every soul
of themit The following is taken from a letter of a person
who visited the jail after the massacre :
« * * * J j-j^jj ijj^Q ^jjg prison-yard, and there, O what a
horrid sight presented itself to my view ! Near the back-door
of the prison lay an old Indian and his squaw, particularly well
known and esteemed by the people of the town, on account of
his placid and friendly conduct. His name was Will Sock.
Across him and his squaw lay two children of about the age of
three years, whose heads were spUt with the tomahawk, and
their scalps all taken off. Towards the middle of the jail-yard,
along the west side of the wall, lay an Indian, whom I particu-
larly noticed to have been shot in the breast; his legs were
chopped with the tomahawk, his hands cut off, and finally a
rifle-ball discharged ia his mouth : so that his head was blown
to atoms, and the brauis were splashed against, and yet hanging
to the wall, for three or four feet around. * * * * In this
manner lay the whole of them, men, women and children, spread
about the prison-yard: shot — scalped — hacked — and cut to
pieces."
We might devote many more paragraphs to the ancient race
that once owned our hills and valleys. We cordd give a detailed
account of the employment of a Mengwe army, in 17G4, by Sir
William Johnson, to crush the Lenape and the Shawanees — of
• Tom Qnick and the Pioneers,
t Brownell'fl Indian Races.
110 , HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
the efforts of that gentleman to make peace with them in 1765 —
but our chapter on the Indians of Sulhvan akeady exceeds its
proper proportions, and we must hasten to a conclusion of the
subject.
In 1768, the Mengwe confederacy conveyed to the whites all
of the ancient territory of the Lenape, and some that belonged
to themselves, receiving for it ten thousand four hiiudred and
sixty pounds, seven shillings and three jjence, and a "valuable
present of the several articles in use amo^g Indians."
In 1774, but about 300 fighting men of the Lenape family
were in the pro\'ince of New York below Albany. They were
remnants of the Long Island ti-ibes, the Wappings of Dutchess,
the Esopus, Papagonks, etc., of Ulster, and a few others. Most
of them professed Clmstianity, and conformed to the customs
of the whites. The gi-eat body of the Lenape had removed
toward the setthig sun.*
In this year an old Lenape chief named Bald Eagle was
causelessly murdered, scalped and set adiift in his canoe — a
fair specimen of deeds which had occurred between the whites
and the Delawares from the outbreak in 1755, notwithstanding
a great number of treaties of peace. In October, 1774, the
battle at Point Pleasant took place, in which one thousand Al-
gonqiiins and western Mengwe, under Logan and Cornstalk,
fought with desperate bravery, but were defeated. A peace soon
followed, which was regarded as binding by both races for a
short time.
At the breaking-out of the Revolutionary war, the Minsi tribe
of the Lenape nation, under the celebrated chief, Captain Pipe,
enlisted on the side of the British king, while the Unamis and
the Unalachtgoes, led by Koguethagechton, or Captain ~\Miite
Eyes, were inchned to peace and neutrahty. The sympathies
of some of the latter were in favor of the Colonies. This led to
a di'\'ision of the Lenape, which, to a certain extent, remains to
the present day. Two hundred of the Minsi ai'e now separated
from the Delawares, and are known as Mimsees. White Eyes
died in the -ninter of 1779-80, of small-pox — an unfortunate event
for the revolutionists, as it enabled Captain Pipe to influence a
great number of Lenape, who then joined his standard.
The hostile Lenape took a prominent part in all the gi'eat
battles of the Revolution in which the Algonquin tribes were
engaged, and were second to none in those traits which the red
men regard as heroic.
The Algonquin tribes at this period became more closely
allied, generally, than at any time since the country hud been
visited by Europeans. They made war — not by sending out
• Documentaiy Historj' of New York.
THE LENNI LENAPK — EEVOLUTIONAKY WAR. Ill
more scalping parties — but by combiniag a thousand or more
warriors in a body — and, in this manner performed deeds which
showed that they were equal to the Mengwe, and proved that
their former weakness was caused by a lack of unity and concert
among their clans, tribes and nations.
As the war of the Revolution progi-essed the animosity of the
revolted colonists and those ti-ibes which were hostile to the
patriots, increased in intensity. Barbarous cruelty and inhu-
manity were not confined to either side. The white historian
can relate with thriUing pathos the sufferings of his race at
"Wyoming ; but what can exceed the horrors of the massacre of
the peaceful, God-fearing Moravian Lenape of the Tuscarawas?
These poor j^eople, under the preaching of Post, Heckewelder,
Zeisberger and other pious missionaries, had abandoned hea-
thenism, and embraced the faith that "the Great Being did not
make men to destroy men, but to love and assist each other."
They no longer gloried in those violent achievements which had
been the highest ambition of their ancestors. As disciples of
Jesus, they had become harmless as doves. They advised their
red heathen neighbors not to engage in war, and when the white
.settlements were in danger, gave timely warning. Provoked at
their conduct, three hundred hostile savages, under Captain
Pipe, and others, compelled them, by menaces and violence, to
remove to the banks of the Sandusky, in the fall of 1781. During
"the next February, wliUe suffering much from hunger, a portion
of them received permission to return to the Tuscarawas, for
the pui-pose of gathering the corn left on the stalk the preced-
ing fall.
Several outrages about this time were perpetrated by hostile In-
dians. This led one hundred white savages of the Monongahela,
under Colonel Williamson, to commit a deed which blackens a
page of American liistory. By the molest deception, they in-
duced the peaceful Moravian Lenape of Tuscarawas, to the
number of ninety, to accept their protection, and proceed -with
them to Gnadenliutten, where they were treacherously fettered
and thrown into prison. Then, by a vote, their captors resolved
"to put them to death, and they were ordered to prepare to die!
And nol:)ly did they meet their fate. They did not chant the
;savage de"ath-song which their ancestors had used at their last
moments for a thousand years; they did not boast of bloody
deeds on the war-path ; but they sang the beautiful hymns of
the Christian, and said the prayers which had been taught
them by devout Christian preachere. Their orisons awoke no
sentiment of mercy in the hearts of their captors. "With gun,
and spear, and tomahawk, and scalping-knife, the work of death
progressed, till every man, woman and child was murdered,
112 HISTORY OF SXTLLIVAN OOUKTY.
except two boys, who escaped, as if by a miracle!"* Thesff*
poor people — savages and children of blood at their bii'th, had
embraced a rehgion of love and mercy, and died in accordance
•with, the example and precepts of the Piiuce of Peace.
The pagan Lenape were never knoTvn to spare a captive who
had been concerned in this inhuman massacre, or who was
known by them as having been associated with Colonel Wil-
About three months after the massacre of the Moravian In-
cbaus, an army under Colonel William Crawford marched against
the Lenape and other Indians whose towns were on the San-
dusky. Crawford was a man of good repute — the companion
and fiiend of Washington, who had often visited him at his
dwelling. Under Crawford, in this campaign, Colonel Williamson
was subordinate. The expedition was a disastrous one. The
savages, commanded by Pipe, Wingcnuug, and the infamous
Simon Girty, defeated them with gi'^at slaugliter. Williamson
escaped ; but Crawford was taken prisoner, and put to death.
All the cruelties which savage ingenuity could invent were in-
flicted on him. The following account of his death is related
by Dr. Knight, a fellow prisoner who was sentenced to suffer a
simihir fate, but escaped :
" When we went to the fire, the Colonel was sti-ipped naked,
ordered to sit down by the fire, and then they beat him with
sticks and their fists. Presently after I was treated in tlie same
manner. Then they tied a rope to the foot of a post about
fifteen feet high, bound the Colonel's hands behind his back,
and fastened the rope to the hgature between his ^Tists. The
rope was long enough for him to sit do^-n, or walk roimd the
post once or twice, and return the same way. The Colonel then
called to Girty, and asked if they intended to biu-n him ? Girty
answered, yes. The Colonel said he would take it all patiently.
Upon this, Captain Pipe made a speech to the Incbans, viz:
about tliiity or forty men, and sixty or seventy squaws and boys.
" ^Vheu the speech was finished, they all yelled a hideous and
hearty assent to what had been said. The Indian men then
took up tlieii- guns and shot powdo- into the Colonel's body,
from his feet as far up as his neck. I think that not less than
thirty loads were iliacharged upon his naked body. They then
crowded about him, and to the best of my observation, cut off^
his ears. Wlien the throng had dispersed a Httle, I saw the
blood running from both sides of his head in consequence thereof.
"The fire was alx)ut six or seven yards from the post to which
the Colonel was tied ; it was made of small liickory poles, burnt
quite tlirough the middle, each end of the poles remaining about
THE LHNNI LENAPE — REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 113
six feet long. Three or four Indians by turns would take up,
individually, one of these burning pieces of wood, and apply it
to his naked body, akeady burnt black with the powder. These
tormentors presented themselves on every side of him with the
burning fagots and poles. Some of the squaws took broad boards,
upon which they would carry a quantity of buruing coals and hot
embers, and throw them on him, so that ui a short time he had
nothing but coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon.
"In the midst of these extreme tortures he called to Simon
Girty, and begged of him to shoot him ; but Girty making no
answer, he called to him again. Girty then, by way of derision,
told the Colonel he had no gun, at the same tune turning about
to an Indian who was behind him, laughed heartily, and by all
his gestures seemed delighted at the horrid scene.
" Girty then came up to me and bade me prepare for death.
He said, however, I was not to die at that place, but to be burnt
at the Shawanee towns. He swore I need not expect to escape
death, but should suffer it ia aU its extremities.
"Colonel Crawford, at this period of his sufferings, besought
the Almighty to have mercy on his soul, spoke very low, and
bore his torments with the most manly fortitude. He continued
in all the extremities of pain for an hour and three-quarters or
two houi"s longer, as near as I can judge, when at last, being
almost exhausted, he lay down on his beUy ; they then scalped
him, and repeatedly threw the scalp in my face, telling me,
"that was my gi-eat captain." An old squaw (whose appearance-
every way answered the ideas people entertain of the devil) got
a board, took a parcel of coals and ashes, and laid them at his
back and head, after he had been scalped ; he then raised him-
seK ujDon his feet and began to walk round the post ; they next
put a burning stick to him, as usual, but he seemed more insen-
sible of pam than before.
" The Indian fellow who had me in charge, now took me away
to Captain Pipe's house, about three-quartei's of a mile fi-om the
place of the Colonel's execution. I was bound aU night, and
thus prevented fi-om seeing the last of the horrid spectacle.
Next morning the Indian untied me, painted me black, and we
set off for the Shawanee town, which he told me was something
less than forty miles distant fiom that place. We soon came to
the spot where the Colonel had been burnt, as it was partly in
our way. I saw his bones lying among the remains of the fire,
almost burnt to ashes. I suppose, after he was dead, they laid
his body on the fire. The Indian told me that was my big
captain, and gave the scalp-halloo."
The close of the Eevolutionary war did not bring peace be-
tween the citizens of the United States and the Indians who had
fought for the British king. The Lenape and the tribes with
114 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
whom tliey were in alliance continued hostilities until the tei-rible
chastisement inflicted on them by "Mad Anthony Wayne;"
when, through the influence of Little Turtle, the celebrated chief
of the Miamies, and Buckongahelas, the gi-eat war chief of the
Lenape, a treaty of peace was effected, which was observed as
binding for several years.
The Delawares, or Lenape, have since borne a conspicuous
part in the wars bet«'een the whites and the red men. As they
have not had a foothold on the territory of Sullivan since the
war of the Revolution, it is not proper to pursue theu- historj-
further.
■" Dark as the frost-nipped leaves that strew the ground,
The Indian hunter here his shelter foimd ;
Here cut his bow, and shaped his arrows true,
Here built his wigwam and his bark canoe,
Speared the quick salmon leaping up the fall.
And slew the deer without the rifle-ball ;
Here his young squaw her cradling tree would choose.
Singing her chant to hush her swart pappoose ;
Here stain her quiLLs, and string her trinkets rude.
And weave her warrior's wampum in the wood."*
But they are no more seen on our hills or in our valleys.
They have found a home ia the wilds of the far West, and for
many years, not one of the "original people" has visited us.
The last Lenape who came within our borders was a poor,
penniless wanderer, without a hat and in rags. He was last seen
at BridgeviUe, where he was the sport of itUe and mischievou.s
boys. WiUiam A. Eice, who was then an invaUd, with symptoms
of pulmonary consumption, rescued him fi-om his tormentors,
and gave him money, a hat, etc. The Indian received them
thankfully, and, after gazing on his benefactor attentively for
some time, left, never more to return.
This cu-ciimstance was nearly forgotten by Mr. Eice, when,
several months aftei"wards, he received a letter from the Indian,
in which he gave a minute description of Mr. Eice's complaint,
with directions for its cui-e. The remedy proved a good one,
and, by its use, Mr. Eice's health was restored.
The gi-ateful savage traveled fortj- miles from his home in the
wilderness, to deposit his letter in a post-office.
Note. — The author has been misled in regard to the native
name of the Esopus clans. They were not Wampings. When
Hudson discovered the liver which bears his name, they were
THE IxENNI LENAPE. 115
TcnowTi as Sanhikans or Sankhikans. Subsequently they were
styled "Wabings, Wappings and Opings. These clans occupied
the coimtry from the Hudson to the west-branch of the Delaware.
The northern bounds of the Hardenbergh patent continued in
a straight hne to the Hudson, will give their ancient bounds in
that direction, while the Earitan, in New Jersey, was their
southern limit. The Catskill Indians and those who occupied
the Highlands of the Hiidson, were sometimes called Warana-
wankongs, and those at Esopus Waoranecks. The Wappiugs
of Dutchess county were a colony of the Esopus Lenape. Wab-
ing, Wapping and Oping, are the same word — the Lenape name
of the opossum. This animal was probably the totem of oui-
Indians. Sanhikan means "fire-worker," according to Hecke-
welder, and probably had its origin in the custom of these
savages, when hunting, of circling their himting-gi'ound with
fire, and thus driving their game into a small compass. Hecke-
welder says that Minsi, the name of the Wolf tribe of the
Delaware Indians, is derived fi-om minissi, "which signifies a
peninsula."
CHAPTEE rV.
THE TOWN OF BETHEL.
Tlie town of Bethel was erected from the teiritory of Lumber-
land by an act of the Legislature, passed March 27, 1809. By
law the new town was bounded as follows : North by the south
line of Liberty ; east by the west line of Thompson ; south by a
line commencing at a place on the Mongaup creek where the
west line of Thompson is intersected by the south line of the
Hai'denbergh patent; thence north eighty-one degi-ees west to
the south-west corner of lot number eighteen, in the subdivision
of said patent ; thence north, nine degiees east, to the north line
of lot number seventy-one, in the subdivision of said lot number
eighteen; thence westwardly along the north Une of said lot
number seventy-one to the westwardly bounds of this State, at
the Delaware river; thence northwardly by the westwardly
bounds of this State to the said town of Liberty.
Within these bounds were the "present towns of Bethel, Co-
checton and Delaware. The first town-meeting was held at the
house of Wilham Brown, in March, 1810, when the following
officers were elected : John Conklia, Supervisor ; Wilham Brown,
Town Clerk ; Charles Irvine, John Lindsley and William Brown,
Assessors ; Joseph Mitchell, Russell Hurd and Zalmon Hawley,
Commissioners of Highways ; Ohver Calkins and John Lindsley,
Overseers of the Poor; Norman Judson, Constable; Moses
Calkin, Constable and Collector.
This town is on the water-shed between the Mongaup and
the Delaware. WhUe the Mongaup and one of its branches
wash its eastern boundary, no large stream nins through its
territory, although there are several creeks which afi"ord sufficient
water-power for manufacturing purposes. Of these we may note
Wliite Lake brook, the west-branch of the Mongaup,* and Black
Lake brook.
The lakes of Bethel are remarkable for beauty and an abun-
dance of fish.
For many years White Lake has been a fasluonable summer
resoi-t. Its name was bi'stowed in consequence of its white,
* Jonas Oregory aBsurcd iih tlmt ono of tho aboriginal names of this stream wa»
Uiu-gaa-pock-a, and that on an old map in his poBseBsiou it was so designated.
11161
THE TOWN OF BETHEL.
117
sandy shores and bottom, and the brilliancy of its waters.
Kaii-ne-ong-ga, its supposed Indian appellation, occurs first in
the writings of Alfrecf B. Street, and is said to be descriptive of
the shape of the lake, which somewhat resembles the out-
stretched Avings of a bird.
Black Lake is about two miles south of White Lake. As its
name indicates, its water is of a dark hue. Its outlet is of con-
siderable magnitude, and unites with the Mongaup. No other
sheet of water in Sullivan has been more famous for pike than
this. Anglers have been known to take from it half a barrel of
these fish in a single day.
Lake Superior and Chestnut Ridge pond, like those already
noticed, are centrally located. The name of the first originated
in local pride, and the appellation of the other ex2:)lainR its origin.
Wells' pond is so called from an early settler, and Indian Field,
because the aborigines had cultivated land in its vicinity. Both
are in the south part of the town. Mallory, in the west, also
commemorates a pioneer; while the names of Pleasant pond,
Horseshoe pond, and Birch Ridge pond, three small lakes in
the northern section, explain their own origin.
The surface of this town is rolling and uneven ; but there is
no elevation in it which may be termed a mountain. Although
lumbering and tanning have been important industries, it is em-
phatically an agi-icultural to^vn, as wiU be more and more clearly
manifest as its forests are destroyed.
POPULATION— VALUATION — ^TAXATION.
Year.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed
Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1810
737
«2109n
$130.15
458.38
797.15
544.41
546.51
501.88
627.99
$288 99
1820
1,096! 237;i83
1,192 128,347
1,483 145 849
476.53
1830
816 00
1840
510 65
1850
2,087
2,854
2,736
193,369
393,255
230,295
1,203.14
3147 44
I860
1870
7,382.31
Undoubtedly the first white men who visited Bethel were
hunters and trappers. Its numerous lakes and small streams
made it a favorite resort of the beaver, the most valuable of fur-
bearing animals, and its forests even in recent days have been
noted for noble game.
Several causes led to the settlement of Bethel. 1. John K.
Beekman owned Great Lot 16 of the Hardenbergh patent, and
knew that his lands would continue to be nearly worthless unless
118 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
they were improved. 2. The Sackett road was made across
the territory. 3. The Newbiu-gh and Cochecton tiu-npike was
chartered in 1801, and effectually opened the region through
which it passed. 4. The land was of excellent quality.
The first who came for the pui-pose of locating here were
Adam Pintler and his brother, from Sussex county. New Jersey.
Their route was by the way of the Shiugleltill to the Moiigaup
on the old ]\linisink and Cushetunk road. After crossing Wood's
biTidge, they traveled on the west side of the stream until they
reached Black Lake brook ; thence along the latter to the lake ;
and from there to the farm now occupied by the Pintlers. They
probably did not remain any longer than was necessary to build
a cabin to shelter then- families, who remained in New Jersey.
Tins was about the year 1798.
I When they moved to their new home, they traveled by the
way of Mamakating Hollow, and then passed over the Sackett
road as far as Nathan Kinne's, in the West Settlement of
Thompson. Beyond this there was no road over which a loaded
vehicle could be drawn, although the Sackett road was soon
after (1800) cut through to Cochecton ; consequently the}' were
imder the necessity of can-ying tlieir household goods and pro-
visions on their backs from Kinne's to their residence west of
White Lake. Back and forth, piece by piece, looking well to
the line of marked trees — the job was tedious and hard to ac-
comphsh ; but it was jjerformed at last, and it does not require
a vivid imagination to appreciate the Pintlers' satisfaction when
the final back-load was deposited on the puncheons of their
bark-covered cabin. Here they were in the pathless woods,
some half a dozen miles from a neighbor, twenty-five miles from
a giist-miU or a doctor, and a still greater distance from a store
of any kind. UutU a gi-ist-mill was built at White Lake, the
Pintlers were obhged to carry the flour consumed by them from
Mamakating Hollow on then- shoulders. Sweet must have been
the bread made fiom that flour ! And when they were able to
feed a cow on the grass of their newly cleared fields, and had
milk and butter with their bread, how luxurious must have
seemed then- food ! Especially was it relished (the sweet, brown
rye-loaf) when it was accompanied with venison and maple-
sugar or honey.
Previous to settling in Bethel, Adam Pintler had married a
yoimg lady whose courage and fortitude rendered her a wife
every way suitable to an existence in the woods. And it is our
duty to record the fact that Eve, the wife of the first white man
of the town, did not lead her Adam into trouble, and that, if he
found Bethel a paradise, her foUy never caused his expulsion
from it.
The Pintlers occupied their farm until 1804 without knowing
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 119
■who possessed the fee simple. They then ascertained that it
was owned by John K. Beekman, from whom they puichased it.
George and Peter Pintler, descendants of the origmal settlere,
still occnpy the place.*
After the Sackett road was opened from Mamakating Hollow
to the Delaware, and the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike
C<Mnpany was organized, several families moved into the town.
They were principally from Orange county, the States of New
Jersey and Connecticut, and fi-om the north of Ireland. They
were generally of small pecuniary means ; but intelligent, hardy
and industrious. . In addition to this, many of them had had the
advantage of con-ect moral example and training in the older
consmunities from wliich they had emigi-ated. In 1807, there
were between thirty and forty famHies located within the present
hmits of the town. The foUowing memoranda in regard to
them, made by the late Jonas Gregory, show where they settled.
They were furnished us in 1870, when Mr. Gregory's mind was
still vigorous; nevertheless it is possible that he has omitted
the names of a few early settlers :
" I came to Bethel fi'om Blooming Grove, Orange countv, New
York, June 7, 1807. There were then at WliiteLake, William
Peckt and family, a gi-ist-miU and saw-miU; Edward Austin,
who had a tan-yard and shoe-shop ; Obadiah Tibbetts, Michael
Dekay and sons, and Jesse Crocker, all of whom were fi-om
Orange county; two families of Pintlers from New Jersey; one
named Potter from the same State ; and one named Thurston,
from Salisbury, Cormecticut.
"At Mongaup Valley were Aaron Heuras, J. Hfeuras, E.
Blanchard, Adam Barmore, and the noted Colonel Michael
Mudge.
"In Hurd Settlement were two families named Hurd, viz:
Graham and Chauncey Hurd ; also David Jackson, Jehiel and
Joseph Smith, Gilbert and Aljijah Mitchell, and Thody Abbott.
"In the woods between Hurds' and White Lake were the
famihes of Abner HoUister, Nathan Heacock, Carey and
Alexander Brown.
" The Hm-ds, Jacksons, HoUister, Heacock and Carey were
from Connecticut.
"West of White Lake were John Cross, Alexander Rutledge
and William Brown from Ireland.
"At Black Lake, Walter Knapp and family, from Cornwall,
Orange cormty. Knapp had a saw-miU, or there was one there.
" There were also in the town John Sherwood and Matthias
Fuller, from Connecticut.
* statement of Jonaa Gregory.
t William Peck was Beekman's miller, and acted as his agent.
120 HISTORY OF SDIXrVAN COUNTY.
"There were also some single men and others who did not
become residents, and two or three families in Fulton Settlement.
"John K. Beekman was the owner of Great Lot No. 16, in
the Southern Range of the Great Patent, and it was through his
efforts that many of the settlers came. He built a grist-mill
and saw-miU on the outlet of TMiite Lake— the first in the town
— for the accommodation of the people ; and at one time at-
tempted to establish a linen thread manufactory in connection
with his mills. To do so he purchased very valuable machinery
in Europe, which was captured by the British during the war of
1812, while on its way to New York. It has been said that he
intended to send flax fi-om the sea-board to White Lake ; cause
it to be made into thread there ; and then cart the thread back
to tide-water. This may be so ; but a more reasonable hypoth-
esis is, that he intended to encourage the gi'owing of the raw
article in Bethel, where it was then raised as cheaply as in any
other towm of the United States.
"A to^Ti-meeting at which a vote was taken on the question
of separation from Lumberland, was held in March, 1808, at the
house of David Canfield, at Rocky pond, about two miles from
the mouth of Ten Mile river. The poUs were open thi-ee days.
Not a stone was left unturned. Every one voted who had a
legal right to do so, and some who had no right. One man was
taken by Peck's team, who had not been fi-om Ireland more
than seven or eight months, and his vote counted as much as
any other man's.
" The first Justice's court ever held in the town was at Jesse
Crocker's, before Ichabod Carmichael, Esq., of Lumberland.
The parties were Adam Barmore and Thomas Smith. The suit
was concerning a dog that was shot while in chase of a deer.
Barmore and Smith were their o\^ti pettifoggers.
"When the Hurds* commenced logging, they put stones
between the logs to keep them asunder, supposing that they
would burn better in that way.
" Mudge got his title of Colonel in the following manner : A
worthless fellow, whose name was McKelpan, got in jail at
Kingston for debt. Mudge had business at Kingston, and while
there went to see McKelpan, who was an old acquaintance. As
Mudge looked into the prison, 'Hello!' says the other, 'how do
you do. Colonel? I am so glad to see you, Colonel! How's aU
the folks'?' Mudge had a secret love of titles, and to be thus
dubbed a Colonel in the presence of strangers pleased him, and
put him in the best of humors. This the cunning fellow knew,
and took advantage of, by imploring the Colonel to be his surety.
• Graham Hurd at first lived in a cave, which is still known as the Rock Cabin.
Richard P. Chilrix, of Nev( rsink, informs us that, when he was a lad, he visited Hurd
SettlemiBt, and "put up" at this cave.
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 121
"Mudge conM not say, no! to one who thus tickled his vanity.
He gave his bond for $100 — the fellow was permitted to enjoy
the liberty of the jail, commonly kno\\Ti as 'the limits,' the
boimds of which did not hold him long ; for he ran away, and
the Colonel had to pay the amount of the bond, which his friends
persisted in terming his commission. Although he has been
dead many years, he is yet remembered as Colonel Miidge.
"The first settlers came to the village of Bethel about the
year 1802. They came on the Sackett road, which had been
cut throiigh but a short time.
" One of the Pintlers carried flour on his back over this road,
from Gumaer's grist-mill in Mamakating."
In January, 1870, there were, including Jonas Gregory, but
six men in the town who were there in 1807. Most of the origi-
nal famihes have disappeared — not even their names are now
borne by residents of Bethel.
Jonas Gregory (1870) has a copy of "Webb's map of 1762,
which shows that Tingley & Cox, Catharine Livingston, Philip
Livingston, Cornelius Tiebout, John Aspinwall, WiUiam Alex-
ander, Kobert Livingston and Christian Hartell were among the
principal owners of lands in Great Lots 1 and 18. From this it
seems that John Wenham sold these lots soon after the partition
of 1749, by which he became their owner.
John Lindsley came to Bethel in 1805, and was the first
practicing physician of Bethel. He was a gentleman of irre-
proachable character — was elected Member ot Assembly in 1823
and 1829, and was the standing Supervisor of his town until he
declined the office because he could no longer conscientiously
act as a member of the To^vn Board of Excise. He removed to
Indiana about the year 1835. While he was a resident of Bethel,
he Uved at the A. HoUister place. Doctor A. A. Gillespie, one
of his pupils, succeeded him, and is still practicing his profession.
The professional life of the two, in Bethel, extends through a
period of more than sixty-five years.
A man named Dewitt was one of the early preachers of the
town. His meetings were held at the house of John Cross.
Messrs. Greer, Fislv, McCauley, Hopkins, and others, also
preached here in the primitive days of the settlement.
John Cross kept the first store, which was where (1870)
George O. Frazer resides.
In 1807 and 1808 there was a school in Hurd Settlement kept
by Joseph Smith, and another in the rear of P. J. Pintler's
present residence, of which Thaddeus Judson was the teacher.
Doctor Copeland, it is said, kept the fh'st school at Bethel, and
G. P. Price at Mongaup Valley.
Abraham Pintler was the first white person who died in the
town, Nat. Peck the second, and James Potter's wife the third.
122 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUSTT.
The first tavern was kept by Jesse Crocker. He was much
liked, as his conduct was shaped ui accordance with the " square"
rules of honesty and fair dealing. Mr. Crocker was the first
Justice of the town.
The pioneers of Bethel were of a more thriving class of people
than first comers generally are. As an evidence of this, we
mention the fact that in half a dozen years after White Lake
was settled, there were five fi-ame-houses ia the town. These
were occupied by Messrs. Peck, Austin, Crocker, Judson and
Cross.
The noi-th-east section was settled from 1805 to 1808, by the
Fidtons, Zalmon Hawley, James Luckey, Joseph Pinckney,
WUham Fraser, Stephen Northrup, and others. In 1808, there
were nine families in that section.
According to the loose statements which usually characterize
gazetteers, Catharine Fulton was the first white child bom in
the town. "WTien she first saw the hght, there were not less
than twenty famihes in the present Uniits of Bethel, some of
whom had been there fi'om six to nine years. The priority of
her bu-th is tnie as to Fulton Settlement only.*
This section was fi-om the fii'st very attractive. Those who
occupied it were generally men of worth, who were contented
with the good things witliiu their reach, and with stri^^ng for
those things which concern the highest interests of the human
family. They avoided broiling and contention, and were in-
dustrious aijd fi-ugal.
Stephen Northriip was bom in Sahsbiiry, Connecticut, in 1780^
and died in Fulton Settlement in 1872. At the time of his de-
cease, he was the last of the pioneers of his locahty. He came
to Bethel in May, 1807, and after Aae\\iag the country, concluded
to go back to his bkthplace. When he reached the Neversiok,
he met Zalmon Hawley, one of his old neighbors, who was
moving to Bethel with his family. Hawley was very glad to
meet him ; but soiTy to learn that he was retui-niug. After a
conversation concerning their afi'au-s, Northrup was led to alter
his purpose once more, and again return to Fulton Settlement.
This meeting took place on the east side of the Neversink.
The river was very much swollen by the spring raius. There
was no bridge, and the foi'd was impassable : at least Hawley
did not dare to put his oxen, cart, wife and childi'en in peril by
attempting to cross in the usual manner. So he took the yoke
from the necks of his cattle, and compelled them to s^^•im over
a short distance fi-om the ford, where the water was smooth and
deep. Then he unloaded his cart, took off its wheels aaid box,
and conveyed or towed every thing to the opposite shore in or
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 123
behind a log canoe ! The task was difficult and dangerous : but
was safely performed, and the adventurers proceeded on their
They spent two days in traveling from the Neversink to the
west-branch of the Mongaup. When they passed the latter, a
heavy rain set in. Night was approaching, and they were in an
almost trackless forest, far from human habitation. The dis-
comfoi-ts of the day were bad enough ; but they werafar exceeded
by the prospective miseries of the night. The first care of the
men was for the yoimg mother and her two little childi-en. With
an axe they made the frame of a diminutive tent, which they
covered with blankets. In this, Mrs. Hawley and the little ones
passed the dismal night, while the men fared as well as they
could under the dripping trees.
On the third day they reached a dealing made by one of the
Fidtons, where they found a deserted cabin. Into this Hawley
moved. Having thus piloted his friends to their neM' home,
Noi-thrup retiuTied to Connecticut, and three weeks later came
back with his family. After occupying a temporary shelter for
a few months, he moved to the place where he spent the re-
mainder of his days. During the last fifty-six years of his
life, his daily walk and conversation were in accord with the
strict rules of the Presbyterian faith. He never soiight to oc-
cupy a conspicuous position in this life ; but was content with
what was far better: the discharge, honestly and earnestly,
of those duties which give Hfe and beaiity to Christian society.
Joseph K. Northnip, a son of Stephen, was the first male
child born in Fulton Settlement.
We have akeady alluded to William Brown, one of the pio-
neer's of Bethel. He was a native of Ireland, and exhibited
many of the traits of the "north-country" — traits which, if
modified by a certain degree of mental culture, are apt to give
a man prominence and weight in some communities, but which
are repulsive to many gentle and refined people, and especially
so to those whose gentility borders on the effeminate. Mr.
Brown was a farmer, inn-keeper, surveyor and office-holder.
On the organization of the town he was elected Clerk, and when
the county was erected, he was made its Treasurer. He held
the latter office until 1826, and was succeeded by Jesse Towner,
of Thompson.
Mr. Brown believed that the opening of a great thoroughfare
from Newburgh to Cochecton would soon add much to the
population and business of the country through Avhich it passed.
He came to Bethel before the road was located in that region,
and bought a tract of land through which he was led to believe
the turnpike would run. But he was disappointed. The hne
was made to nin north of his purchase, and his aim in coming
124 HISTOKY OF SULLIVAN OOtTNTt.
to Bethel would be defeated unless he co\ild buy another tract
through which the road would be built. TVTiile making arrange-
ments to do so, Samuel F. Jones of Monticello learned Brown's
intention, and determined to buj the land himself. The owner
lived in Albany, and Jones started for that city by the way of
Newburgh. At the latter place he expected to "take passage in
a sloop to the State capital. After he left home the object of
Jones' journey became public, and Brown determined promptly
to reach Albany first by the overland route. He mounted his
horse and proceeded to Kingston by the most direct roads.
From Kingston he rode to Albany, at which place he arrived in
advance of Jones. With the deed for the land in his pocket,
Brown met his wily competitor in the streets of Albany and
derided him in true "north-country" style.
The affair caused considerable amusement at the time, and it
was reported that BronTi used his surveyor's compass to enable
him to travel in a straight course from Bethel to Albany. Of
course, this part of the story was a canard, as no horse could
then cross the Catskill mountains, or pass through our tangled
woods.
The late Matthew Brown was a son of Wilham, and inherited
a full measure of the craft and cunning of his father.
William Brown was a slave-holder, and owned a black female
chattel as late as 1828, when she became free under the laws of
the State.
There is ground for belief that Rev. Thomas Greer, a Presby-
terian clergyman of Minisink, Orange county, was the first
minister of the gospel who visited the town of Bethel, where he
preached as early as 1808, in the tavern kept by Jesse Crocker,
which was nearly opposite the ground on which now stands the
parsonage of the Covenanter or Reformed Presbyterian Church
of White Lake.
Mr. Greer was a plain, earnest man, and did not highly value
an elegant exterior, or seek respect and admiration by those
polite artifices which mark the conduct of less worthy men. His
deportment was quiet and unobtrusive. While pastor of the
Westtown congregation, he loved to seek "jewels for his Master"
in the by-ways of the wilderness country, and while thus engaged,
bore the ills and discomforts of, a frontier-life without complaint.
Cheerfully he forded our rivers, and hopefully he threaded our
forest-paths, while seeking some settlement in the wilds ; for in
the future he saw that the scene of his toil would be occupied
by a numerous population, and that his laboi-s would inure to
their benefit, as weU as promote the highest interests of those
who had " wandered into a far country."
Previous to Mr. Greer's first visit to White Lake, some of the
settlers had heard of him ; but none of them had ever seen him.
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 125
He sent word to them that on a certain Sabbath he would "preach
for them at Crocker's house," and the news was joyfully com-
municated from the dwellers in one log-house to those of
another, until every one far and near knew that he was coming.
They were to have preaching again — a privilege which they had
enjoyed in the older settlements, but which they had not antici-
pated for many years after their removal to White Lake.
Mr. Greer reached Crocker's on Saturday ; and was surprised
at finding quite a number of people collected there, who were
evidently laboring under excitement, a circumstance which was
owing to a trial before a Justice of the Peace, the Htigants being
a couple of backwoodsmen who had a dispute about some trivial
matter. Finding that no one recognized him, he concluded
that he would not make himself known, until it was necessary
to do so, and that he would quietly study the character of the
people when they were unrestrained by the conciousness that
the eyes of a clergyman were upon them. He soon found that
the sins which predominate among men removed from the re-
straints of older and larger communities, prevailed among the
settlers of Bethel. Too many of those present were addicted
to rum-drinking, profanity and kindred vices, the trial having
brought together all the tiplers and tavern-loungers of that
section of country. His pious soul was shocked at seeing God's
image distorted and marred by inebriation; at hearing rude
jests and blasphemous reviliugs come from mouths which
shordd have uttered words of purity and praise ; at the violent
buifetings administered by hands which should have been em-
ployed in useful industry, or used in works of mercy and love ;
and at other conduct which showed that this people needed
admonition of "the wrath to come."
While he was gazing at the doings of the crowd, he attracted
the attention of a man who was just drunk enough to discover
that there was antagonism of some kind between the parson
and himself. This man came up to Mr. G. and proposed to fight
him ; but i' • latter mildly dechned, when the other, somewhat
astonished, demanded to know whether he could fight — fighting
probably being one of the accomphshments of that day. Mr.
Greer repUed that he did not know ; that when he was young
he had done something at it ; but that he feared he was then
out of practice. The bellicose individual then knocked off Mr.
Greer's hat, in order to aggravate him ; but he quietly picked it
up and got away, much to the disgust of the other, who con-
sidered, as did many others, that he had done all that could be
expected to arouse the wrath of the stranger.
At night the drinking and profanity continued to a late hour.
Mr. Greer, fatigued with his journey, and saddened by what he
had witnessed, retired early, but not to rest. His bed was di-
lae
HISTORY OF SULLTVAN COUNTY.
rectly over the bar-room, and with his whispered evening-prayer
were mingled the fumes of whisky and Jamaica mm, and the
uproar of the revelers. To sleep was impossible as long as the
carousing was kept up ; and the only recoui'se of the good man
was to watch the stars through the roof, and to endeavor to
possess his soul in patience.
About midnight, a tipsy individual came to the room where
Mr. Greer was, and after undressing, reprimanded him for occu-
pying more than half the bed. Without a murmur, he moved
as far to one side as possible,* when his xmexpected bed-fellow
laid down beside him, remarking that "it was a devil of a pretty
place to put a gentleman (meaning himself) where the Lor&
could look right downi upon him throiigh the roof!" The "gen-
tleman," however, did not seem to suffer much by any such
intrusion upon his privacy; for he was soon fast asleep, and
snoring loudly, much to the annoyance of the poor missionary.
The whole night was a very unpleasant one to Mr. Greer.
He did not get asleep until near morning, and was soon after
aroused by his feUow-lodger, who complained that he was dry,
and invited him to go down and take a drink. Mr. Greer begged
to be excused, and said he would trv' to sleep a little more.
The "gentleman" then dressed, and went in pursuit of something
to moisten his tongue and throat.
Mr. Greer slept again ; but his slumber was brief. Soon after
dayhght, the landlady began to biistle about the house. She
had breakfast to prepare, and her household goods to put in
order. It was necessary that every thing should appear deceit
when the minister came. Finding that Mr. Greer was still in
bed, and not inclined to get up, she was considerably vexed, and
cried out to him, "Old man, you had better get out of that!
We are going to have preaching here to-day by Mr. Greer, and
must clean up the house !"
Of course, the " old man" abandoned his couch without fiuiher
warning. After washing his face and hands, and combing his
disordered locks in the open air, he took a short walk, and then
had breakfast, when he felt much refreshed. While loitering
around the premises, in reply to some inquu-y, he said that, "if
they were to have preaching, he would stay, especially as he did
not hke to travel on the Sabbath."
The necessary preparations were made for the meeting.
Benches were extemporized — a table for the minister placed in
the right position — the table covered with a clean linen cloth,
upon which were laid a Bible and a volume of Hvimis and
Psalms, and the conduct of aU approached nearer and nearer
» what was fit and proper for the day and the occasion.
By-and-by, the people beo;an to assemble by ones, and twos
THE TOWN OF BETHEL, 127
somewhat disappointed when they learned that he had not.
Many anxious glances were cast in the direction from which he
was expected. The time for the opening exercises was near ;
some who had come for worthy purposes, looked serious and
downcast, thinking, perhaps, that their time on earth was rapidly
shpping away, while they remained among those who were not
with God's elect, and seriously asking themselves whether God
woidd ever move them to forsake their sins, and Hve according
to His laws. Others, who were more volatile, amused themselves
in various ways. Among other things, it was proposed that one
of the company should personate Mr. Greer, and he was accord-
ingly installed as the preacher for the day, and proceeded to
read a chapter fi-om the Bible.
The "old man," as they called Mr. Greer, during these per-
formances, was a quiet spectator ; but when the appointed time
came, he arose and said, "If you have no objection, / wiU be
Mr. Greer." As no one objected, he proceeded with the service,
took a text, and preached an excellent sermon, in which he told
some very pertinent truths and gave them much wholesome
advice, which we may beheve-was siuted to the capacity and
habits of those who listened.
His hearers were greatly mortified at having treated "the old
man" nidelj', and they made many apologies, all which he ac-
cepted with his usual kindness and good nature.
The good people of Bethel never treated him with neglect
afterwards ; biit we are soriy to say that he became unpopular
at a subsequent period with the rigid professors of Presbyteri-
•anism.
In the early settlement of our county, the Presbyterians and
Baptists stniggled, each for their o^^ti communion, to obtain the
vantage ground. Fierce and unj-ielding was the controversy
concerning the lawfulness of "sprinkhug." In the bar-room
and in the pulpit, at the logging-fi-ohc and at the prayer-meeting
— anywhere and everywhere, when a few of the profane or the
pious came together, the controversy was earned on — sometimes
with good nature — sometimes angrily — always earnestly. It
was not surprising, therefore, that, while some saw their way
clear so far as the subject in dispute was concerned, others
became confused and bewildered. Of the latter class were two
rorestburgh converts. They were Presbyteiians ; but they
would not enter the Church as members, except in the manner
prescribed by the Baptists. And so Mr. Greer immersed them,
like a good liberal soul, as he was. Both sprinkling and im-
mersion were la^\-fiil in his eyes.
Many Presbyterians thought he yielded too much to the
Baptists, and some imagined, probably, that he would desert
IZO HISTORY OF SULLTVAU COUNTY,
the Church of Calvin ; but he remained faithful to the Presby-
terians as long as he lived.*
People who Uve in a new and sparsely settled region are ofteiu
called upon to make considerable saci-ilices ia the cause of hu-
manity and mercy, and however loose may be the ties which
sometimes bind together such communities, but few jjersons
thus situated refuse to freely give their time and means to reheve
the distress of a neighbor. If his cabin takes lii-e fi'om the
buiuing woods, they turn out and build another for him ; if he
is from any cause unable to plant his newly cleared fields, or-
gather his crops, they lend him a helj)iug hand ; indeed, if any
misfortune befalls an upright and hard-working pioneer who is
not himself a thoroughly selfish maai, other honest and laborious
pioneei'S wiU fi'eely assume each his portion of the calamity.
Perhaps nothiug will so stir then- symjiathies as an alarm that
a child is missuig or lost iu the woods. In 1810, nearly the
entire population of Bethel consumed eight days in searching
the ■wilderness for a Httle boy named John Glass, and did not
cease to hunt for him until they relinquished all hope that he
was hving.
The parents of this lad Hved near T^Tiite Lake. During the
summer of the year mentioned, his mother sent him about a
mile into the woods to carry dinner to some men who were en-
gaged in chopping. He reached them safely, and started for
home, after which he wandered fi-om the track which led to his
father's house, and became hopelessly bewildered. He was not
missed until eveniug, when the choppers retui'ned home -nithout
him, and it was found that he had not reached the house pre-
viously. Every parent may imagine the scene which then ensued
— the distress of the mother, and the wild energy and activity
of the father. The night was spent in giviug utterance to fi-antic
misery by the one ; and in a fmitless search by the other, assisted
by all who had heard of the cii-cumstauce. In the morning the
news was spread far and wide, and all joined iu beating the
swamps and thickets, and so contiaued to do fi-om day to day
until they lost couiage and hope. No trace of the lost child
was found, and every one believed that he hatl perished fi'om
terror, himger and exposure, or had met with a more speedy
and less fearful fate by being devoured by wild beasts, which
then and there were known to be numerous and ferocious.
When young Glass left the path, he traveled almost directly
from home. AVhen night overtook him, he laid down beside
a fallen tree, weary, huugry and half crazed, and slept imtil
morning. He then started again at random to find his way out
of the woods. He thus continued to wander for ten days, with
* Vnbnl statement of Simron M. .Tordan.
J
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 12&
nothing to eat except a few wild berries, and seeing no-
living thing except an occasional beast or bird of the forest.
One night, as he was in a fevered sleep, he was awakened by
the bleating of a deer, and then heard the angry snarl and growl
of a catamount, and knew that the ferocious animal was drinking,
the blood of his harmless victim.
On the eleventh day of his wandering, he was a pitiable object.
His body was emaciated and lacerated, his feet were sore and
swollen, his clothing was in tatters, and he was so worn and
exhausted that he could with difficulty stand up. He .would
have soon laid down to die, when he heard a distant cow-bell.
The sound gave him renewed life. He tottered forward in the
direction from which it came, and discovered a clearing, in which
were several cattle. It was near night. The animals, when
they saw him, started slowly for home. With the utmost chffi-
culty he followed them. Finally his strength so far failed that
he was obliged to crawl upon his hands and knees. He con-
tinued to do so until he saw the house of a person named Lair,
who lived on the Oallicoon.
When Mrs. Lair went out to milk the cows, she discovered,
the poor lost boy upon the ground near her door, and throwing
down her pail, took him in her arms, and carried him into her
dwelling. Notwithstanding she hved on the outskirts of civili-
zation, and was unlearned and almost beyond the influence of
Christianity, she had a good, motherly heart and a sound head.
She treated the lost boy as kindly as if he had been her own
son, and -with as good judgment as if she had been one of the
regular faculty. She washed him, dressed his sores, and put
him in a warm, soft bed, and then gave him nourishing food in
small quantities. Soon he was able to tell his name and resi-
dence. News of his escape was sent to his friends, who for two
days had ceased to search for him, believing that he was dead.
James Glass lived to be an old man. For many years he had
a home with William Stewart. He never fully recovered fi'om
the efl'ects of his adventures in the woods, and always needed
the controlling influence of a mind more sound than his own.*"
About the year 1811, WilUam Gillespie removed from the city
of New York to Bethel. Li conjunction with Josiah C. Hook,.
Mr. Gillespie established a store at Wliite Lake — the second hi
the town. Until his death, Mr. GUlespie was a highly respect-
able resident of Bethel. In 18"20, he was elected a Member of
Assembly from Ulster and Sullivan counties, and we beheve at
one time was the candidate of his political j^arty for Eepresent-
ative in Congress in opposition to Charles H. Kuggles ; l)ut was
defeated. He was a Judge of the Court of Connuon Pleas for
* HunteiB of Sallivaii.
130 HI8T0KY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
nearly twenty years, and First Judge of the county from 1835
to 1844, when be became ineligible from age. He was also a
Commissioner of Loans for several years, as well as a Euling
Elder of the Associate Refonned Church. He was emphatically
an honest man, and exhibited every trait of a devout and sincere
Christian. His death was very sudden. On Sunday, May 28,
1849, he attended church as usual ; was taken ill on his retiu-n
home, and died at 4 o'clock on Monday morning.
Mr. Hook, who was associated with Mr. Gillespie in business
in the«early days of the town, was a gentleman of the old school
— of lofty and pretentious bearing — ceremonious and hospitable.
He was Supervisor of Bethel for several years. His old age was
marked by misfortune. His pride was chastened by poverty.
On the 20'th of Febmary, 1841, Edward, a much-loved son, was
lost at sea by the capsizing of the schooner Thre^ Friend.s, while
passing from St. Josejih's to Mobile, soon after which Mr. Hook
removed from the town.
Jesse Crocker, the first tavern-keeper of Bethel, was a man
•who enjoyed the respect and esteem of the public ; but he carried
on a business which almost always brings sorrow and sufi'ering
to the families of those who engage in it as well as to the families
of their customers. If we doubted the doctrine of compensation
for sin in this hfe as well as in the life to come, our doubts would
be removed by studying the history of men who have been aptly
styled retailers of liquid damnation. If they do not themselves
become the victims of their own calling, they generally Hve to
see some one as dear as their own souls reduced by it until he
sinks below the level of a beast.
Nelson Crocker, a descendant of the old tavem-ki*eper, was
equally noted for his love of hunting, his blasted life, and his
tragic death. No hunting-party was complete without him. He
knew every foot of the woods, and when he accompanied an
expedition after game, his companions felt sure of success.
Many interesting anecdotes could be told of his adventiires ; but
the following, which we find in the "Hunters of Sullivan," must
suffice :
" Crocker often hunted north-west of Big pond, in the \-icinity
of 'Painter Swamp.' During the days of Joseph Peck, Paul
Horton, WilUam Brown and Jared ^cott, this ground was as
good for deer-hunting as any other, and where these animals
were most numerous, panthers generaUy abounded. Nelson
here found more of the last-named than he \*ished to see.
Wliile on the outskirts of the swamp with his dog, he struck
the trail of no less than seven panthers. The panther is gener-
ally found singly, or at most in pairs. Why so many of them
were here together is a matter of conjecture. It was probably
the rutting season with them, and that there were six males in
» THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 131
pursuit of a single female. The fact that Nelsou found them
unusuall}- ferocious eive.s color to this supposition.
" Crocker followed their tracks until he was hungi-v, when he
sat down upon a log to eat his luncheon. This he di^-ided into
two parcels, one of which he offered to his dog ; but the latter,
instead sharing of his master's repast, showed his teeth and
seemed to be bristling for a fight with an unseen enemy. Just
as the hunter swallowed his last morsel, a large panther sprang
by him like a flash, almost brushing his shoulder as it passed.
Crocker caught up his old General Moigan rifle, and firing at
random, saw the beast disappear unharmed. An instant after-
wards his dog was fighting another feline monster at a little
distance ; but the terrible claws of the panther were too much
for the poor cur, which gave up the battle, and ran to his mas-
ter for protection, while the panther fled. As Crocker was
reloading, he saw another running toward him. He yelled at
it, and it ran iip a tree. This one he fired at and killed. Al-
most as soon as he could load his rifle again, he saw another,
and succeeded in sending a bullet into it. Then the fright of
his dog, which seemed to feel safe nowhere except between his
feet, and the screaming of the panthers in almost every direc-
tion, caused him to lose heart. He made up his mind that he had
better get out of the swamp without unnecessary- delay. He
ran for safer groiind, and while doing so, his hat was shoved
from his head by the limbs of a bush. He did not stop to pick
up his displaced head-gear ; but continued to run until he be-
lieved he was oiit of danger.
" On the succeeding day. Nelson determined to revisit the scene
of his adventure, and skin his game and recover his hat. While
doing so he discovered a large male panther in the crotch of a
tree, and fired at it. It fell ; but immediately ran up a sapling
until it reached the top ; when the sapling bent with the weight
of. the beast until its limbs reached the ground. As tlie panther
came down, the dog, forgetting the rough usage of the previous
day, stood ready for another battle. A brief struggle ensiied,
with much snarling, yelping and flying of hair. The dog was
speedily whipped, and fled toward his master, with his antago-
mst close to his heels. Crocker's rifle was unloaded. He had
no stomach for a hand-to-claw encounter, and very sensibly
concluded that he would run too. A race then ensued in which
the dog was ahead, the hunter next, with the panther in the
rear, driving all before it. Nelson expected every instant to feel
the weight and the talons of his pursuer upon his shoulders,
and consequently made excellent time. Finding his rifle an
encumbrance, he threw it away. This proved his salvation ; for
the beast stopped a moment to smell it, and decide whether it
should be torn to pieces. This enabled Nelson to get out of the
132 mSTOBY OF BUIiLIVAN COUNTy.
swamp before the panther could catch him, and it did not seetn
disposed to follow him to the upland.
'"After waiting several houi'S, Crocker, armed with nothing
but his hatchet and hunting-knife, started for his gun, and
recovered it. After I'eloading, he endeavored to make his dog
foUow the panther's track; but the cur had had enough of
panther-hunting, and refused to stir an inch. They then went
a few yards from the swamp, when the dog commenced howling.
The panther answered with a loud squall, and repeated the
challenge as it approached for another fight. The dog crouched
close to the hunter's feet. Nelson, who had so recently fled
ingloriously, because no glory could be won with an empty rifle
in a fight with a panther, now cooUy awaited the approach of the
ferocious monster. Soon the beast appeared. Nelson covered
it with the muzzle ; but reserved his fii-e until the animal was
within one boimd of him, when he sent a ball crashing into its
brain.
"Without further adventure, he skinned the game he had
shot during the two days, and returaed home. There are men
yet hviug who saw the pelts of the panthers he shot in 'Painter
Swamp.'
As we have ah-eady intimated, Nelson Crocker was of respect-
able parentage. Alcoholic hquors were the bane of his hfe. A
depraved appetite was rapidly sinking him in the social scale to
the level of the vagrant and pauper. This he knew and deplored,
as does almost every other poor drunkard who is passing down
the incUned plane of decency to destraction. For twenty-five
years, he frequently lost all control of himself, and continued in
a state of beastly intoxication for days and weeks. Then would
foUow a sober interval, and expressions of bitter regiet for his
excesses. Sometimes he declared that death was preferable to
a hfe of diTinkeu degi'adation. In the summer of 1843, when
the total abstinence reform was potent, he joined the Temper-
ance Society of Bethel, and for nearly three months successfully
resisted the enemy of his life. Kind hands were extended to
him — cheering smiles brightened the road to honor and useful-
ness. But in an evil hour-, he joined Jacob Hunger and others
of his old associates in a hunting-expedition, who took with
them a supply of rum. After searching the woods for game, the
party gathered at night in a hunter's hut in the woods. Here,
as was their custom, they spent the evening merrily, and di-ank
fi-eely, and here Crocker violated his pledge. A wild debauch
of aVeeks duration followed. When Nelson awoke from it, it
seemed to him tliat his last hope of a better life was lost ; that
death was preferable to a life of shame and self-imposed abase-
ment ; and so the old hunter, by shooting liimself , added the
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 133
horrible oifense of self-murder to the comparative venalities of
his life.
Bears still abound in Bethel, and when wounded or defending
their young, are sufficiently ferocious to afford the hunter all
the excitement he should desire. Under such circumstances,
they do not hesitate to attack a man. Many have had battles
with them ; but notwithstanding the great strength and weight
of bears, and their tenacity of hfe, no one in Sullivan has been
fatally injured by them.
In November, 1865, James F. Calbreath was hunting in a
laurel swamp about three miles from White Lake. He was
armed with a rifle and revolver, and had with him two or three
good dogs. The' latter found a very large she-bear, and two
well-gi'own cubs, and a noisy battle immediately ensued lietween
the dam and dogs, while the young animals ran away, and were
passing Mr. Calbreath, when a bullet from his rifle caused one
of them to fall. He immediately reloaded, hoping to get a shot
at the one with which his dogs were fighting ; but much to his
surprise the one he had shot got upon its feet, and ran toward
him in a rage. A second ball caused it to tumble over, squall-
ing for help. The mother, hearing the signal of distress, rushed
toward the spot, and crashed through the laurels. AVhen she
came within sight, Mr. Calbreath attempted to shoot her with
his revolver. It snapped. He tried again. The caps were
worthless. What was to be done ? An unloaded rifle, a useless
revolver, encompassed on every side by tangled laurels, and an
enraged bear approaching and within twenty feet of him, did
not afford a flattering prospect of longevity. With a vi^ad
prospect of being crushed, torn to pieces, and devoured, he
dropped his revolver, clubbed his rifle, and stood ready to de-
Hver at least one stunning blow upon the head of his rapidly
approaching enemy, when the dogs rushed up behind, and fast-
ened their teeth into the hams of Mrs. Bruin. The effect was
magical. She turned about in a fury to avenge the insult, ran
after her assailants, and failing to reach them, went away, appar-
ently forgetting her human foe altogether. Mr. Calbreath was
thus left "master of the situation," and escaped uninjiired.
Wliother he remained in the swamp long enough to skin his
game, we cannot say; but of this we are certain, the young
bear was taken from the woods by some one. It was very fat
and weighed one hundred pounds.*
BusHVTLLE.— About the year 1850, Abial P. Bush, General
Luther Bush, and other members of the same family, built a
tannery at this place. The estabhshment brought disaster to
them, as well as financial ruin to their successors and others.
* Sullivan County Bepablican.
134 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
In March, 1852, the Bushville post-office was estabhshed, of
which Myron Graut was the first post-master.
MoNGAUP Valley. — Until l^i47, this place was knowTi as the
Mongauji Mill — u grist-mill having been built by the T>i\nngsfnTi
family at the point where the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike
crosses the Mongaup. Great Lot 15 was owned by that family,
and finally passed to the chilcb-eu of John C. TUlotson, whose
wife was a Li^^Ilgston. In 1807, five famihes were Hving in the
valley or its neighborhood. Forty years later, there were but
four dwelling-houses in the place, and about twenty-five in-
habitants.
A new era then commenced. The magic rod of entei-prise
touched the valley, and it awoke fi-om the sleep of ages. .The
days of passive respectability were passed, and the wise spiiit
of progi-ess ruled.
The Messrs. Iviersted Saw that Mongaup Valley possessed
superior advantages for manufactuiing leather. In 1817, they
purchased a site for a tannery and village. They also bought
the hemlock-bark on ten thousand acres of land in Great Lot 15,
and in 1848, with John W. Swann, a practical tanner, put up
extensive buildings. The erection of one of the best-ordered
and best-managed tanneries in the country was soon followed
by the building of dweUiugs and places of business, which are
second to none in the town. In 1859, a census was taken, when
it was found that the place contained fifil iuhal)it;uits, of whom
365 were under 20 years of age. Of the residents, 177 were
bom in the L'nited States, 167 in L'eland, and 20 elsewhere.
277 were Roman Cathohcs.*
The post-office at Mongaup Valley was established in 1848,
when Wynkoop Kiersted was appoiated post-master.
The place has had two physicians. The second, Isaac Pm-dy,
M. D., is stiU in practice, and the otlier, James W. Wells, M. D.,
died in 1858.
Mongaup Valley has had but one lawyer (Robert L. TUlotson),
who found so httle to do that he joined the federal army during
the gi-eat rebeUion, and died while serving his country. Robert
L. TiUotson was of a genial and pleasant humor — an aristocrat
by bii-th — a man of the people at heart. Ever bubbhng over
with T^'it, he was yet chivalrous and punctUious. Unfortunately
he was of convivial inclinations, and had not sufficient moral
stamina to resist his morbid appetite — a fact which he himself
deplored. He was a duellist withal. The following anecdote
of him is authentic :
With a young gentleman named Anthon and other fiiends,
TiUotson visited a fashionable restaurant in the city of New
* MSS. of Peter M. Lorgan.
IHB TOWN OP BETHEL. 135
York. While there, he believed that Anthon wilKnUy insulted
him, and promptly challenged him. Anthou chose Bowie knives
as weapons, and both proceeded with their seconds to a cele-
brated duelling-gromid m Vu-ginia. TiUotson had been an adept
in manly sports ; but was then partially disabled by paralysis.
He knew that his antagonist could cut him to pieces in less than
ten seconds ; yet he was determined to fight, and take the con-
sequences. On the other hand, the physical disparity between
the two was so great, that Anthon would have committed down-
right murder by can-ying the afl'aii- to extremity. Therefore,
when all was ready for a deadly encounter, Anthon tlirew away
his weapon and apologized. The parties then became reconciled.
Black Lake. — This hamlet takes its name fiom the lake near
which it is situated. A sole-leather tannery was established
here by Strong & Mitchell. It was subsequently owned by
Medad T. Morss, of Woodbourne.
Among the former residents of Bethel about whom we intended
to make inquiries, are the following: EHas Sanford, Captain
Asa Robinson, Eleazer Everard, Setli Whitlock, John Ramsey,
Ai-chibald Coleman, Henry H. Crist, Robert McCrabbie, John
Voorhes, Asahel HoUister, Abner Lyon, Charles Dekay, Lee
Mitchell, Thomas Lyon, Captain Romar, John Coots, John
Potts, Hugh Dunlap, and others. But we have ah'eady reached
the hmits of the space we can devote to personal sketches in
this chapter.
Bethel has been generally exempt fi-om prevailing diseases.
This, however, has not prevented its people from indulging in
panics on account of apprehended maladies. In July, 1832,
when Asiatic cholera fiij-st visited the city of New York, they
feared that it would sweep over the hills of SuUivan, and deci-
mate Bethel. A Board of Health was organized, of which
Josiah C. Hook was chairiaau, Nathan J. Sherwood secretary,
Doctor John Lindsley health-officer, and J()hn Maffit, Nathan
J. Sherwood and John Barhyte a committee to care for the sick.
Not one of this self-sacrificmg committee ever saw a case of
cholera.
The people who were so much terrified by ciiolera, were less
apprehensive of the miasmatic diseases of the far West. In
1836, a few families removed fi-om the town to the State of
Indiana, and during the first year of tlieir residence there eight
individuals died. There were not as many deaths in Bethel
during the same year.
Scarlet fever and diphtheria are the most fatal diseases which
have visited the town. In the fall of 1861, the latter caused
great mortality among children. In a single family (Philip S.
Fulton's) no less than seven children died from it within a few
weeks.
136 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
"White Lake. — White Lake is a beautiful sheet of pure, clear
water. It has been supposed that the Indians gave it the name
of Kau-ne-ong-ga. That it was frequented by native tribes for
the purpose of fishing is beyond doubt, as darts and other relics
have been found on its shores. It is possible its waters have
been stained with the blood of battle. But the trail of the red
man of the forest has been lost to the memory of hving men,
and the natural loveliness of the place which must have attracted
even the rude savage, now occupies in cultured society the pen
of the poet and the pencil of the artist.
This is the deepest lake in the couniy. By actual measure-
ment James E. Munger found the northern end 80 feet deep,
and the Narrows 70 feet deep. Until pike were put into the
lake, it contained the largest trout in the world.* It is known
that the brook-trout ( salmo fontinalis ) have carmine spots ; lake-
trout (salmo confinis) have not. The White Lake trout had
carmine spots. Charles Fenno Hoffman, an author of some
celebrity, says he saw one, in the winter of 1832, taken fi-om
White Lake which weighed 6 pounds. Louis Pyatt caught one
in February-, 1843, which weighed 8 pounds and 14 ounces.
Some. weeks later, a gentleman from Newburgh caught another
weighing 7 pounds and 6 ounces. In the year 18-43, John B.
Finlay employed an Indian to take black bass from Luke George
and put them into White Lake, from which they have been dis-
tributed to other lakes.
Fed by internal springs, the lake has no inlet ; but there is an
outlet with water-power sufficient for two mills. In the year A.
D. 1804, J. K. Beekman, residing in New York city, who' owned
Great Lot 16 of the Hardenbergh Patent, sent his agent, Wil-
liam Peck, to make improvements. Mr. Peck built a saw-mill
and a grist-miU, and one or two other buildings at the outlet.
The grist-mill was rebuilt in 1812, and machinery put in the
basement for spinning flax. The business, which was conducted
under the supervision of Alexander Starret, was closed in 1815.
In 1811, William Gillespie erected a store-house on the turn-
pike, near the lake, and, as considerable travel had commenced
by this time, a hotel was opened and kept by Doctor Lindsley.
For many years a few summer-boarders fi-equented the place.
In 1846, J. B. Finlay put up the first hotel for the sjiecial benefit
of this class of people. It was kept by Simeon M. Jordan,
George B. Wooldridge.t Stephen Sweet, and others. But the
* Since this was written, we have been informed by Seth Green, one of the Fish
Comraisaiouers of this State, that George S. Page, of No. 10 Warren street, New York,
caught a brook-trout in Maine, which weighed t-en pounds.
t Mv. Wooldridge was an ilUterate man, and jet a paid contributor of several Now
York pubhcations. Among them was ihe Lmder stud Jioinier's LeOger. He was also
a jvuti'gc of General Sickles. While in Washington, ho discovered the inlidelity of
Sickles" wile, and gave Sickles the information which led to the murder of her seducer.
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 137
Ijusiness was not remunerative until the Mansion House was
built by a club of wealthy New Yorkers, who made an arrange-
ment with David B. Kiune by which he ultimately became the
owner. In 1866, George B. Wooldridge put up the Grove Hotel.
Two years later Captain Waddell constructed a boarding-house
called by the romantic name " Sunny Glade." At none of these
houses are sold any intoxicating drinks. Napoleon B. Wool-
dridge, of the Detective Pohce of New York, has lately finished
a fine cottage residence, commanding a pleasing view of the lake.
Harold Henwood, a wealthy gentleman from Jersey City, has
purchased considerable land near the lake, and is improving the
soil, and, it is understood, preparing to buUd extensively.
There are few persons in the Great Metropolis who spend
their summer-months ia the country, who do not know and
appreciate the attractive loveliness of this place ; so that it has
become the resort of substantial men and their families every
year. Mount Wilder rises south of the lake, and with gentle
declivity recedes 800 feet from the shore, until it reaches a point
more than 1,600 feet above the Hudson. From the Mansion
House observatory the view is magnificent. It is still better
from the other side of the eminence. FoUowing a winding road
back of the residence of Napoleon B. Wooldridge, you find a
look-out to suit the purpose. Slumbering beneath lies the lake,
whose waters, when fanned by the breeze, wash a shore of pebbly
white sand, and the blossoms of the rhododendron which fringe
the margin, in their season, make the whole winding confines
look Hke enchantment. When the surface of the lake is dotted
with boats in gay colors, there is presented in the summer-
months a sight which one never tires of seein». In the fore-
ground, and near the shore, is Chester hill, on the top of which
is a pDlared temple devoted to Freedom. Cape Henwood slopes
down towards the Narrows, and trees of natural growth cast a
grateful shade.
Away to the north. Mount Sherwood looms up into the serene
heavens, from which the outline of prospect is scarcely inferior
to that which gi-eets the eye of the dehghted traveler among the
CatskiUs. A spur of the latter makes a show back of the Shan-
daken hiUs. Then on the right "the smoky range" of the
Shawangunk is lost in the glades and forests of Neversink. As
the eye sweeps the distant landscape, it detects an almost un-
broken chain of mountains lying round the whole Cyclopean
circle. Everywhere sloping farms are framed in groves of nat-
ural beauty ; but what most attracts attention is the lake itself.
Here are not the bold configuration of Newburgh bay, and the
richly laden vessels of commerce ; but there is more of the un-
disturbed repose which is calculated to please those who relish
retirement from the busy scenes of active life. To crown aU,
138 HISTORY OF 8TJLLIVAN COUNTY.
here is an atmosphere as healthy as any on the globe. Physi-
cians frequently send invahds to recover health from its hfe-
gi^-iug quahties. Instances of recovery almost incredible might
be given : so that to those who wish to combine rare scenery
with healthiness of chmate, a sojourn during the summer-months
is desfrable.*
The following lines were written by Alfred B. Street, whose
poetical afflatus was developed by the charming scenery of
Sullivan :
WHITE LAKE.
Pure as their parent springs ! how bright
The silvery waters stretch away,
Reposing in the pleasant hght
Of June's most lovely day.
Cui-\'ing around the eastern side
Rich meadows slope then- banks, to meet,
With fringe of gi-ass and fern, the tide
Which sparkles at their feet.
Here busy hfe attests that tod,
With its quick tahsman has made
Fields green and waving, from a soil
Of rude and savage shade,
AMiile opposite the forest lies
In giant shadow, black and deep,
Filling with leaves the circling sky,
And frowning in its sleep.
■ Amid this scene of hght and gloom.
Nature with art links hand in hand,
Thick woods beside soft mral bloom
As by a seer's command.
Here, waves the grain, here, curls the smoke ;
The orchard bends ; there, wilds, as dark
As when the hermit waters woke
Beneath the Indian's bai'k.
THE TOWN OF BETHEL.
Here, the green headlands seem to meet
So near, a fairy- bridge might cross ;
There, spreads the broad and Hmpid sheet
In smooth, unruffled gloss.
Arch'd by the thicket's screening leaves,
A lihed harbor lurks below,
Where on the sand each riffle weaves
Its melting wreath of snow.
Hark! like an organ's tones, the woods
To the light wind in murmurs wake;
The voice of the vast solitudes
Is speaking to the lake.
The fanning ah-breath sweeps across
On its broad path of sparkles now,
Bends down the violet to the moss.
And melts upon my brow.
White Lake Presbyterian Church. — For the origin of this
Church and congregation, we refer to the records of it, as care-
fully kept by the officers. On christmas-day, 1805, we find it
stated that " a number of the mhabitauts of Lumberland, being
by previous notice called together, at the house of Captain Abner
Hollister, it was noted as their wish to form and to be formed
into a society of worship, pubHcly called Presbyterian, and to be
known by the name of the ' White Lake Presbyterian Society."
The following persons were, at said time and place, chosen as
officers of the society : CotiDnisswaers — Captain Abner HoUister,
Captain Abijah Mitchell ; Trustees — John K. Beekman, David
Jackson, WiJham Peck, William Hurd, Daniel Hunter, Captain
Abner Hollister and Captain Abijah Mitchell.
Sometime during the following year-, it was determined to
build a " House of Worship," for we have an account of a meet-
ing held December 25th, 1807, when it was "voted that the
resolution passed in 1806, for setting the church on John K.
Beekman's lot, adjoining John T. Clayton's lot, shall be revoked,
and that the chui-ch shall be set on Mr. John Sten-att's lot, near
the centre of the lot, and that William Peck, Abner Hollister,
Henry H. Crist, Matthias Fuller, Wihiam Hurd, John Potts and
Abijah Mitchell be a committee to stick a stake on the place,
where to erect the chm-ch."
At the adjoiirned meeting of the congregation, held August
15th, 1808, (of which uotijkatioiis had been put up at five differ-
ent localities, ) there was another change, made, as to the site for
the contemplated edifice, as it is recorded that a vote was taken
140' HISTORY OF SULLIV.W COUNTY.
to build the church on Abner HoUister's lot, north of the road
leading from WilHam Peck's mill to Henry H. Crist's, and west
of the road leading from the " Hurd Settlement to the turnpike,
at a beech-tree marked, near the place, and that the trustees
shall determine on the place, not to exceed four rods from the
above marked ti'ee."
For some cause which does not appear, there was still a,fortrfh
change made as to the church-site ; and which was to the rising
ground north of the turnpike, and half-way between Bethel vil-
lage and TMiite Lake, the location of the present edifice. This
was in the spring (April 24th,) of 1809 ; and when the work of
erection at once commenced.
The amount subsci-ibed towards the work is set down at
$961.67, of which $364.15 were paid in labor done, each indi-
vidual being allowed six shillings a day.
The building, though commenced so early as 1809, was not
completed untU nineteen years after, for we find a record of a
meeting of the congregation, held January 4th, 1828, at which a
contract was entered into between Solomon and Thaddeus Hurd,
for "finishing the meeting-house, for the sum of $650. Two
hundred dollars to be paid before the work is done, and the re-
mainder when finished."
The house of worship, as used in its unfinished state, had at
first neither pulpit, nor regular seats, nor sash in the upper
windows, and as it was unplastered, and without stoves, the
people were obliged during the winter season, to hold their ser-
vices in the "ball-room" of a hotel near by. Some yeai-s after,
however, the ladies of the congregation had spun and woven
a piece of linen cloth which was sold, and the proceeds used in
building a pulpit and supplying the want of sash in the upper
windows of the building.
The Chiirch was organized September 3d, 1810, by the Rev.
Daniel C. Hopkins, " a Missionary of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church in the United States." Its first mem-
bers were John Sherwood and wife, Esther Sherwood, William
Peck and wife, EHzabeth Peck, Abner HoUister and -n-ife, Miriam
Hollister, Hiddah Taylor, Margaret Tibbits, Ruth M. Mitcliell,
Bridget Dekay, Sarah Judson ; of these, two were at the time
elected Elders, namely: Messrs. John Sherwood and Abner
Hollister. In December of the same year, they were duly "set
apart" to their office by the Rev. Henry Ford.
For more than twenty years the congi-egation depended upon
supplies fi-om Presbytery. Among these we find the names of
the Rev. Messrs. Methuselah Baldwin, John Johnston, Luther
Halsey, Ezra Fisk, Isaac Vandoren, William McJimsey, Isaac
Arbuckle, Messrs. Babbit, Adams and Timlow. The Rev. J. Boyd
served the congi-egation for two years, and the Revs. Samuel
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 141
Pelton and Thomas Holliday, each about the same length of
time.
In the year 1841, the Rev. William B. Reeves was called as
the first regular pastor of the congregation, which he continued
to be for six years.
During Mr. Reeves' pastorate, the present church-edifice and
parsonage were built.
Rev. AV. T. Blaiu next served the congregation for four years,
and after him the Rev. Mr. Brewster, for three and one-half
years.
Its more recent pastors were the Rev. Messrs. Petrie, Brown
and Wells, their terms of service averaging about thi-ee years
each.
Since the commencement of the present year, the congregation
has been temporarily supplied by the Rev. Edwin Town, a
member of the "Presbytery of Lackawanna."
The congregation at present is composed of fi'om eighty to
eighty -five families, and one huudi-ed and twenty communicants.*
Associate Reformed Church. — The Associate Reformed
Church had no regular organization until the year 1830, although
there was a missionary station at White Lake under the care
and supervision of the Presbytery of New York, as early as the
year 1811 or 1812. Several families from the North of Ireland,
of sti'ong Protestant proclivities, had settled in Bethel, briugiag
with them their religious preferences. About this period also,
WilHam Gillespie, who was a member of the Associate Reformed
Church of New York, removed fi-om the city to the town, and
was chiefly instrumental in obtaiaing missionary aid.
Nursed by the mother Presbytery, the infant Church continued
to Hve. It was during the winter of 1818-1819, that the Rev.
WilMam Boyse, from one of the Southern States, visited this
missionaiy station. We have before us a copy of a letter written
by him to his wife, which serves to cast a little hght over this
(then) dark spot. We insert the letter as a part of our History :
" White Lake, Sullivan Co., N. Y., )
1st December, 1818. f
"* * * This is a pretty wild part of the country. You
would say it is a perfect wilderness. Yesterday I went to church.
There stood a httle, solitary, unfinished house, which I entered.
There was no pulpit — no seats ; but a very common chair, which
I was to occupy, and some boards, propped up (ju blocks, on
which the congi-egation sit; no fire, and the wall nothing but
very thin boards. After some time, however, there was a con-
* Statenieut of Rev. Edwin Town.
l<!a HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
gregation assembled. I got up at the end of a carj^enter's bench
that passed through the centre, and preached them a sermon.
They sat and heard it with as much patience as if they had been
in the temple of Jerusalem, I suppose ; and as they are in the
habit of hearing two sermons in this place, one directly after the
other, cold and bleak as it was, I found they would not be satis-
fied unless I gave them another — and so I did. Strange as it
may appear, there are some very decent people in this place,
and some that live very comfortably. I expect to preach here
next Sabbath.
" Montgomery, December 9th, 1818.
"I returned from White Lake on last Monday. I expect to
preach next Sabbath and the Sabbath after at Graham's church,
and on the last Sabbath of this month at Bloomingburgh. I
enjoy pretty good health. I have found some very' good friends
in the .country. Though I cannot say that rehgion is in a very
flotirishing state, in any of the congi-egations to which I have
preached — yet many are very attentive, and receive the gospel
with gladness, and show a desire to promote the glory of God,
and their own eternal happiness. The vacancies belonging to
the Associate Reformed Church in this Presbytery are all poor.
No one of them is ready for setthng a minister at present ; but
I have been able to get along without sinking money."
No definite information concerning this rehgious pioneer is in
our possession, until 182fi, when he was connected with the
Dutch Reformed Church, and employed as a missionary at
Woodstock and Shokan, in Ulster county. Li the yenv 18'29, lie
became the pastor of the Woodstock Cluirch, and occupied that
position until 1837. He died in 1853.
But to retiu-n to our nan-ative of the White Lake Associate
Reformed Church. The building alluded to in the letter of Re^ .
Mr. Boyse, was located on the turnpike-road, west of Wliite Lake.
In the year 1830, the Associate Refonned peoplf deemed it
ad\'isaVile, in view of their increasing number, and the necessity
of supplying the spiritual wants of the community, to make a
re-organizatitm ; and in .January of that year a meetin<,' was lield,
at which Hugh DunLip jirosided. Rev. J. Y. S. liiuisiug was
present, and a resolution was adopted unanimously in finorof
such re-organization, and that the Associate Rt'torincd Presby-
tery of New York should l)e asked to take tliis inliait Cliunh
under its care for preslnterial piiqioses. Wilhani (_iiJh'sj)ie and
Wilham Frazer were elected Eiders and l>eac()ns.
On the 8th of Febniary, IS/SO. after tlu- usual religions exercises
of preaching, etc., these persons were duly ordained as liuliiig
Elders of said congref^atimi. Tlie cliurch-nieiuhevs al (his time
were William Frazer and Isabella Frazer, William Gilles[iie and
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. 143
Mary Gillespie, Eobert Frazer and Eliza Frazer, Thomas Stewart
and Nancj Stewart, Hugh Dunlap, Robert McCrabbie and Agnes
McCrabbie, John Coot and Mary Coot, Ann Bro^Ti, Mary Brown,
Sally Brown, Ann Ramsay, Elizabeth Craig and Mai-tha Stewart.
During the same year, the following named persons united with
the Church, viz: James Brown, Jane Brown, Nancy Brown,
Hugh Tq,sey, Nancy Tasey, Samuel Brown, William A. Brown,
William Cochrane, George Stuart, Jane Stuart, Eliza Cochran
and Nancy Darragh. The adherents exceeded in number the
church-members.
Being without a church-edifice, arrangements were made be-
tween this congi-egation and the Reformed Presbyterians for the
occupancy of the church-edifice belonging to the latter, and it
was transferred by a lease for twenty years, on condition that
the lessees should finish it in a plain manner, paint it, and per-
mit the lessors to occupy it on one Sabbath in each month,
should they require it for pubhc worship. Under this arrange-
ment it was occupied until the new chm-ch at Mongaup Yalley
was erected.
In the autumn of 1830, the Rev. James Geoi-ge was sent as a
supply to the White Lake Church, and remained there for about
a year, preaching with much success. He was then sent to
Philadelphia by the Presbytery, from which city he went to the
Associate Reformed Church, in the northern part of this State.
Soon thereafter, he removed to Canada — was chosen a Professor
and Yice-President of King's College, which office he held for
several years, when he resigned and became pastor of a large
and flourishing congregation at Stratford, C. W. Doctor George
was a man of gi-eat intellectual power, and as an orator he had
few equals at the time of his death, which occurred in Septem-
ber, 1870.
After Rev. Mr. George left White Lake, the pulpit was occu-
pied for .six months by Rev. Henry Connelly, who became pastor
of the Associate Reformed Church at Bloomingburgh thereafter.
He died at Newburgh.
In June 1833, the congregation had increased, and the Church
Session was enlarged hj the election of Robert McCrabbie,
George Brown and Archibald C. Niven. In the same year, the
Rev. Jasper Middlemas, a Ucentiate from Scotland, was chosen
pastor and duly installed. He was the first pastor of the con-
gregation.
In May, 1835, Rev. Mr. Middlemas resigned the pastorate.
Of his subsequent history httle is known, except that he formed
an ecclesiastical connection with the Dutch Reformed Church.
For about one year after Mr. Middlemas resigned, the pulpit
■was •ccupied at intervals by Rev. Alexander Proudfit, Rev.
Clark Irvine, and Rev. T. C. McLaury.
144: HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
In June, 1836, a call was presented to the Eev. T. C. McLanry,.
which he accepted, and was regularly installed in September of
that year.
In' 1842, Rev. Mr. McLaury resigned, having been formally
invited to become the pastor of the Associate Reformed con-
gregation of Cambridge, Washington Co., N. T., where he labored
imtil September, 1852, when he received and accepted a " call"
to preach to a congi'egation at Lisbon, St. LawTence county;,
but died duiiug the week appointed for his installation.
After the Rev. T. C. McLaury resigned the pastorate at "UTiite
Lake, the congregation had rehgious services by several young
clergymen at different times, among whom were the Revs. Her-
man Douglas, S. D. Giiger, Mr. Donaldson, James Campbell and
P. C. Robertson. This state of things continued until 1847,
when Rev. P. C. Robertson became the pastor, who continued
as such until the new church was built at Mougaup Valley ; soon;
after which period, that is to say, iu 18.5.3, Rev. G. M. McEckron
was chosen pastor, and after occupying the pulpit about five
years, resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. Alexander Adair.
Mr. McEcki-on accepted a situation as pastor of a Reformed
Dutch Church in Poughkeepsie. Mr. Adaii- remained at Mon-
gaup Valley until -the year 1868, when he removed to Oxbow,
Jefferson county, where he now resides.
Rev. Mr. Rockwell, from the Reformed Dutch Church, then
preached to the congregation for about a year, when Rev. Wil-
liam Ferrie, A. M., became pastor, and is such at the present
time. The number of actual members, exclusive of ordinary
hearers, is at this date (1872) about niuety.
In reference to this denomiuation of Christians, it is proper
to say, that in regard to the form of Church government, it is
strictly Presbyterian ; iu regard to iJodn'ne, it differs but little,
if any, with the Episcopal, Refoniied Dutch, Presbyterian, Or-
thodox CongregationaHsts or Baptists; iu pmcfice, it is not
exclusive; but admits to its communion all members in good
standing of other Chui-ches, who hold the same doctrines.*
Reformed Presbyterian Church of White Lake. — This
Church was organized in 1822, and at first cuiisisted of ten
members. For nearly thirty j-ears the congregation was xiuable
to maintain a regular pastor, although two years after its form-
ation it erected a church-edifice. This building stood on the
shore of the lake and was a plain unpretending affair. Homely
as it was, it was not put to shame by a more ornate stnicture in
its vicinity, and in primitive times was regarded with a certain,
degi-ee of local pride. Rev. J. B. Williams, the first and pres-
* The author is indebted for this Bketch to Hon. A. C. Nivi-n.
THE TOWN OF BETHEL. M5
ent minister of the congregation, was ordained in 1850. Under
his pastorate, the membership has increased to eighty. In
1864, a new house of worship was built, at a cost of $2,500.
The Eeformed Presbyterians, who are popularly known as
Covenanters, are in some respects a remarkable class of pro-
fessed Christians. They adhere to the Westminster Confes-
sion. In public worship they sing nothing but David's psalms
translated into English, and condemn the use of metrical hymns
and psalms as impious and idolatrous. Stringed instmments,
organs, and even choirs, they regard as abominations. They
refuse to "incorporate, by any act, with the political body" of
our country, because the organic law contains no "recognition
of God as the source of all power, of Jesus Christ as the Huler
of Nations, of the Holy Scriptures as the supreme rule, and of
the true Christian religion." Consequently in their eyes it is
sinful to vote, hold civil office, or swear to support the Federal
or State Constitution ; and they treat those of their membership
who offend in this respect as unsound branches of the true
vine, and lop them off. They are poUtical eunuchs, and fi-om
a sense of duty forego the dearest privilege of American citi-
zens, hoping thus to promote the glory of God, and the reign of
Immauuel over the tribes, and powers, and principahties ot the
earth.
The memory of William Stewart, who was long a Ruling Elder
of the congi-egation at White Lake, holds a warm corner in the
hearts of the pastor and laity. He came to Bethel in 1804, when
the site of Monticello was stUl covered by primitive forests, and
the only practicable conveyance was an ox-sled, and was a resi-
dent of the town until his death, in Janiiary, 1871. He was a
man of vigorous mind, and persistent, untiring aims. " It was
maiuly owing to his exertions that the Church organization was
preserved until 1850 as a vacancy."* He was an omniv-
orous reader, and from the books within his reach, acquired an
extensive knowledge of history, theology and English hterature.
He was also a man of marked individuality of character. Many
pleasant anecdotes are told of him, and among them this : When
reading his Bible, he sometimes added a running commentary
to each verse. While busy \\'ith the last chapter of Paul's Epistle
to the Philippiaus, he came to the verse — "I can do all things
tlirough Christ which strengtheneth me." This he rendered as
follows: "I can do all things — 'Paal! Paal! ye're boastin' noo'
— through Christ which strengtheneth me — ' P-h-i-e-w ! ! ! — Paal,
I cud do't mesel' !' "
"WTien this rigid, sincere, but genial adherent of the Covenant
died, the community which had known him nearly three-score
• Rtv. J. B. WilliamB.
10
146 HISTORY OF STTLLIVAN COUNTY.
and ten years suffered a great loss; "the poor were parted h-vn\
a friend and guide ; but an eminent peace-maker was taken to
his reward. The record of his life teaches that charity in the
greatest of earthly blessings." *
The Methodist Episcopal church of Mongaup Valley was
erected in 1850, when Rev. "William Bloomer was on "the cir-
cuit." It was improved in 1869, and will seat about 400 people.
The manner in which the old school Methodist preachers
labored — their brief connection with each circiut, and the im-
perfect records of their work which remain and are accessible,
render it almost impossible to give a connected history of their
operjrtions in this county. We have applied to several intelligent
members of this respectable body of Christians for information ;
but have failed to procure what we have faithfully endeavored
to find — an account of the labors of their pioneer preachers, a
description of the revivals which have swelled the numVjer of
converts, and a list of the elders and deacons who have been
sent into our county to advance the standard of Methodism.
* Eev. J. B. Wmiamg.
Note. — The Mansion House at White Lake was not built aa
a club-house, as stated in this chapter, although Mr. Kinne
received some assistance from several peraons when he made
additions to it.
TRE TOWN' OF BKTHEL. 147
SUPER-VISORS OF THE TO\VN OF BETHEL.
"From To
1810 John Conklin 1817
1817 Oliver H. Calkin 1818
1818 JolinLindsley 1829
1829 Josiah C. Hook 1835
1835 Matthew Brown 1842
1842 Thomas Lyon 1843
1843 Matthew Brown 1846
1846 James H. Foster 1847
1847 WiUiam G. Potts 1848
1848 Matthew Brown 1849
1849 Wynkoop Kiersted 1850
1850 Kenben Fraser 1854
1854 Isaiah Breakey. 1855
1855 WilUam J. Hurd 1856
1856 Robert L. Tillotsou 1857
1857 George A. Mitchell 1858
1858 Daniel M. Brodhiad 1859
1859 J. Howard TiUotson 1861
1861 .JohnW.Swan 1862
1862 Charles Foster 1863
1863 Thomas Williams 1864
1864 Schuyler Duryea 1867
1867 George E. Swan 1868
1868 Thomas Williams 1869
1869 Hiram Post 1871
1871 Roderick Morrison 1874
CHAPTER V.
THE TOWN OF CAUJCOON.
This is one of the interior towns of Sullivan. Being situated
on the western slope of the water-shed, its streams empty into
tlio Delaware. Its surface is very uneven. Its valleys are gen-
erally narrow ravines, and its hills steep and abrupt, many of
them being from 200 to 600 feet above their bases. Its soil is
sandy or formed of finely comminuted red shale, and is very
productive. Its hill-sides, as well as summits, are arable, and
under the cai-eful and patient hands of its intelligent people,
yield bountiful harvests of hay, grain and vegetables. The
streams of the town are the Callicoon and its affluents. It has
two natural ponds or lakes — Shandler and Saud ponds. The
latter affords a pure white sand, which is said to be suitable for
maldng glass. The leading pursuits of CaUicoon are farming,
tanuiug and lumbering.
It has been said of this town that it is composed of " table-
land with the leaves turned down," and that " its flats stand on
their edges."
POPULATION—
VALUATION — TAXATION.
Tear.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed
Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1850*
1,671
2,771
2,764
$110,918
145,013
116,601
$580.74
793.85
1,340.92
$702.85
1860
898.73
1870 . .
3,640.91
If Fremont had not been taken from it, in 1870 it would have
had a larger population than any other town in the county.
The Dutch hunters of Colonial times who came fi-om Minisink
to have their autumnal hunting excursions in what is now the
north-western section of Sullivan, found along the tributaries of
the principal stream which there empties into the Delaware, the
habitations of the beaver. Consequently they gave the name of
* In 1815, the popuUtion of C«1Ucood wm G05.
[148]
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 14S
Beaverkill to the creek — a cognomen which has been borne by
half the water-courses of the country. (We have a "Choro-
graphical Map of the Province of New York, compiled in 1779,
from actual surveys, by Claude Joseph Sauthier," on which the
CaUicoon is put 'down as the BeaverkiU.) But from a too
frequent application, the appellation became insignificant and
inconvenient. From the fact that no one but the speaker knew
what stream was alluded to when the Beaverkill was mentioned,
another name was given. Wild turkeys abounded on the beech
ridges, where they waxed fat and delicious in the fall and winter,
and sometimes made the woods vocal with their cries. The
Dutchmen, therefore, dropped the old name, and gave the stream
a new one. They called it the KoUikoonkill, while their English-
speaking companions translated the word, and styled the
stream Turkey creek.* The Dutch word was finally applied to
the surrounding country, and the town, as originally oi-ganized,
was known as Kollikoon ; but when Fremont was taken from it
by the Board of Supervisors, their clerk, deeming the original
word too angular for beauty, changed it to Callicoon. The act,
with the name thus spelled, was then adopted by the Board, and
Callicoon has ever since been the legal designation of the to-^n.
Until 1798, CaUicoon was a part of Mamakating; from 1798
to 1807, it was in Lumberland ; and from 1807 to 1842 in Liberty.
In 1842, it was made a town by an act of the Legislature. In
1851, Fremont was taken from its territory.
Notwithstanding that, during the last thirty years, its rapid
acquisition of settlers finds no parallel in the history of tlie
county, Callicoon was the last section of our territory which was
opened to immigration. The more remote town of Eockland
was settled at least forty years before Callicoon. There were
but two or three families in the latter previous to IBoO, and the; o
are residents of our county who are not yet considered old v: •:•■',
who have camped in the woods of CaUicoon at night, and slept
on hemlock-boughs, after the manner of hunters, -where tliere
are now flourishing \'illages with churches, hotels, school-houses,
manufactories, etc. This seems more strange when the fact is
taken into consideration, that no other town of SuUivan is more
fertile, or has greater natural advantages.
Calhcoon was not settled at an earlier day because it was al-
most wholly owned by non-residents, no one of whom was able'
and wiUiug to construct a good road to and through it. Tluise
who held titles to its soil not only lived at a distfJnce ; but they
* Callicoon is evidently from the two Dutch words— cfrSe/i, to call, to prntf, and
liaan, hen— the literal translation of which is " cacklins hen." While !'un*ii:;: tiirl-erB
the Dutch imitated the call of that bird, and were gnid- d bv the ppcMliar nns^^ it iiia.le
in reply. Oncoocoos in the Indian word for tnrUey— //nj-nrt-'*- W'fi^kh; for 1872. ]-i\sp(! 116
— fr;'m which has come the ancient name of anoint abov- ^•''= ' -- /^..--v
House. CaUicoon may be a Dutch translation oi a
160 HISTORY OF SXJLLTVAN COUNTY.
were tmknown to each other, and hence did not co-operate for
mutual benefit. The value of the region to the lumberman and
farmer was well understood. Surveyors and hunters, as well as
ti-espassers who appropriated every cheny-tree and curled maple
that stood in oui- forests in early times, were enthusiastic in
speaking of its rich soil. A feeble attempt was made in 1825,
to make a turnpike fi-om the Newbm-gh and Cochecton road to
Deposit. Several articles appeared in the " Chronich" a Mon-
ticeUo newspaper of that day, in which it was urged that the
State should aid the construction of the work. But nothing was-
aecompHshed. If the non-residents, who then owned CaUicoon,
had nm this road through it at then- o-mi cost, they would have
increased the value of their property more than three-fold, and
would have found a ready sale for then- lands. Theu- lack of
enterprise caused them to retain their unproductive real estate
for many more years, to pay considerable amoimts for taxes,
;md in the end they were glad to sell to specidators, who became
rich by disposing of small lots to actual settlers.
In 1831, Lucas Eknendorf, Nathaniel B. Hill, Peter Leroy
and John StaiT, junior, applied to the Legislatxire for an act to
authorize the construction of a "Branch-turnpike fi-om the Fhst
Great South-western Tunipike,* at the east boimds of the town
of Liberty, to the mouth of the Callakoon stream." Notwith-
standing the respectabihty of these gentlemen, and the great
benefits which would have followed the conioummatiou of their
project, then- application led to nothing but disappointment.
Five years later the Great South-western Turnpike Company
apphed for a law empowering them to extend theii' road to
Broome coimty. But for certain reasons that company was not
in very good odor. Their application failed, as did the company
soon afterwards.
For several years pre-vioias to 1836, Luca.s Elmendorf, John
Suydam, Charles H. Ruggles, A. Bravn Hasbrouck, Joseph S.
Smith, Edward O'Neil, John Kiersted, Robert L. Livingston,
.lohu C. Tillotson and Freeborn Garretson annually besieged
the Legislature of New York for a charter which woidd enable
them to build a raikoad fi-om Kingston, in Ulster county, to
Chenango Point, or Owego, or some other place— no matter
where it was, provided it inured to then- own benefit, or at least
"resulted in advantage to such of them as had vrUA and unoccu-
pied lands. In the year last mentioned, they were rewarded for
their assiduity. An act was passed authori^iing the construction
of the Kingston Branch of the New York and Erie Railway, and
the following gentlemen were appointed commissioners to receive
subscriptions and distribute stock : John Kiersted, Charles W.
• Commonly known ae the Lncas Elmendorf tnrapilie.
THE TOWN OF CAUUCOON. 161
Chipp, Joseph S. Smith, James Hardenbergh, Johannis Hoorn-
beck, Alexander Story, Derick Dubois, G. W. Ludlam, Archibald
C. Niven, John H. Rutzer and Robert L. Livingston. We pre-
sume the commissioners did not find theii- labors very arduous,
notwithstanding men of wealth were more inclined to invest in
raUi-oad stock at that time, than they have been since it was
ascertained that those who build raihoads seldom receive back
more than worthless certificates of stock. There was a vast
amount of respectabihty invested in this undertaking, and but
httle money. We do not beheve that even prehminary siirveys
were made; but labor under the impression that there was an
idea entertained that the proposed road would cross our county,
and reach the Erie railway somewhere in the neighborhood of
the CaUicoon. The project met with but httle favor, and the
result hardly reached the dignity of an abortion. Yet those
who attempted to give it vitahty deserve honor, for then- motives
were praiseworthy. They were some thirty years or so in ad-
vance of then- time ; for Kingston is now constructing a railroad
through the vaUey of Shandaken to the coimtry beyond.
As has been suown, aU these projects were failures, and as
may be perceived either one of them would have been of incal-
culable benefit to the region of which we are ^vi-iting. Substan-
tially, Calhcoon was unoccupied, except by wild beasts, rmtil it
was tolerably certain that the New York and Erie railroad would
either cross it or be located in its vicinity.
Before we speak of the influx of German immigrants and
others, we wiU endeavor to give a brief account of the few families
which occupied the town from thiriy-five to forty years ago.
John De Witt, a native of Dutchess county, and for many years
a merchant of Newburgh, caused the fii'st road to be made to
and the first land to be cleared in the town of CaUicoon, and his
son Andrew built the first house.
The De Witts were extensive land-holders in the Hardenbergh
Patent. Old maps show that, inilividuaUy and in conjunction
with others, they owned thousands of acres in Great Lot No. 2.
In 1794, John DeWitt, Jacob Radchii' and John Thomas, with
other real estate in Sullivan county, bought Division Lot No.
13, which is now a part of Calhcoon. Thomas subsequently
sold his undivided one-third to GaiTeit B. Van Ness, after which
the lauds were partitioned, and DeWitt became the sole owner
of Lots 23, 2i, 28, 29, 33 and 40 m Division No. 13. In 1807,
Van Ness was dead. On the 1st of June of that year, Tlieron
Budd (his executor), John DeWitt, Jacob Radchfi', Samuel
Sacket and Wilham Taylor, entered into an agreement to open
a road fi-om "the great turnpike leading from Newburgh west-
ward, at or neai- the Mongaup creek, and running thence a north-
westerly coiust; in such niauner as the said John DeWitt shall
1,6? HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
judge advisable, througli or by some or all of the lots or divisions
10, 14, 9, 11 and 12 ;* and the division lot 13.t Said road to be
made by Jno. DeWitt." Each party was bound to pay a just
proportion of the expenses.
Prom the papers of Mr. DeWitt we learn that he left his
home in Newbiu'gh on this business, on the 10th day of August,
1807, and was absent until the 5th of September. He was
assisted in making the road by William W. Sacket, (who acted
as surveyor, guide and ad-iaser). Graham Hurd and his son
Milo, William, Curtis and Chauncey Hurd, James S. Jackson,
and Capt. Abijah Mitchell. It is difficult at this day to deter-
mine the point where this road left the Newburgh and Cochecton
turnpike. The fact, however, that those who aided DeWitt
were residents of Hurd Settlement, and that to some he was
indebted for horse-keepiug, board and provisions, as well as labor,
furnishes an obscure clue to the locality of the improvement.
However this may be, it is quite certaia that the road penetrated
CaUicoon, and ran through the valley in which Young.sville is
situated. DeWitt kept an accurate account of the money ex-
pended by him, etc., and among the items are the following :
" James S. Jackson's bill, 4 days carrying chain, £1 12s. Od.
Curtis Hurd, do. 4 days do. do. 1 12 0
Jackson and Hurd, do. 16 days do. do. 6 8 0
1807 — Sept. 5. — Eetumed home, myself and horse being out
25 days."
While thus engaged, Mr. DeWitt seems to have received a
favorable impression in regard to this wild region, and particu-
larly to his land near Youngs\TiUe. His descendants believe
that he determined to remove fi'om Newburgh and engage in
fai'ming on lot No. 23. While opening the road, he contracted
witli Jackson and Curtis Hurd tor chopping or jambingj over
one hundred acres of forest, for doing which they rendered the
following bill on the 8th day of February, 1808 :
" John DeWitt to Curtis Hurd and J. S. Jackson, Dr.
To jambing or cutting down 83 acres, 2 K
ajid 26 p. £108 13s. Od.
Chopping 1 piece, 19| acres, 56 p., 55 6 0
A survey and map of the chopping was made, 10 0"
This chopping extended from the north line of the farm now
* In Liberty. t Near VoungBTille.
:f Jambing consist-ed in half severing a nnmber of trees, &nd then causing one to
fall against another. In this way a great many half-serered trees were prostrated at
once, and a considerable saving of labor effected.
THE TOWN OP CALLICOON. 153
owned by George G. DeWitt to the village of Youngsville,
and is bounded on the east by the creek, and on the west by
lands, now, (1870) of Ramsey and Royce. It covered a large
part of lot 23, where Rogler, Hardenburgh, Wilham Benedict
and Jacob S. Boyce reside. Some of it was quite narrow. The
widest was at the south end.
Whatever were Mr. DeWitt's intentions, they were all frus-
trated by his death, which occurred in April, 1808. Tradition
says it was caused by a cold or fever contracted while he was
acting as an arbitrator in the affairs of the Newbnrgh and
Cochecton tm-pike company. He was a man of considerable
means, and being of mixed French and Dutch blood, had a
love of rural pursuits. His enterprise, energy, industry and
wealth would liave produced important results in the Calhcoon
country, if he had lived a few years longer.
Andrew DeWitt, a son of John, inherited the lands on which
the improvement we have mentioned was commenced. What
was done during the next four years is unknown — prol:)ably
nothing, and the road became choked with fallen trees and other
rubbish. The following extract from a letter written by Capt-ain
Abijah Mitchell, shows when the fii'st house was built :
"Bethel, April 19, 1813.
" To Andrew Dewitt, Newburgh : — It has been impossible to
complete your house on account of nails ; for they was not to
be had here. Of the shingle nails there was not enough. It
will take about ten lb. more of the same kind. Send by the
bearer, or the first opportunity. The house will be completed
in one week after you send the nails."
This house was built of logs and had a stone-chimney and
fii-e-place. It stood on the flat land of the farm now occupied
by the widow Rogler, near the north Hne of George G. DeWitt,
and near the creek. Its remains were removed by the late
Stephen Carrier, and have often been seen by persons now living.
On the 19th of May, 1814, the town acquired its original
permanent white settlers. They consisted of William Wood,
■who was a widower, and his sons, Garrett, David and Edward.
Each of the sons was married. Edward had four children,
Garrett four, and David one child, aU of whom are now (1870)
living, with the exception of Maria, daughter of Edward Wood,
and wife of the late Abisha N. Lewis. The Woods were of
English and Scotch descent and moved from near High Falls, in
Ulster county, and settled on the" farms now occupied by Hei'-
man Lagemann, PhiUp Hammer and John Royce. To reach
their new location they were under the necessity of going ten
miles into the woods, with scarcely a road or a path to guide
154 HI8T0BY OF BLTJJVAN COUNTY.
them. The road chopped by John DeWitt in 1807, was literally-
choked and obliterated. These men hewed their way through
the wilderness, and when doing so provided a part of the food
consumed by the party. While some of them were, axe iu hand,
dealing away fallen trees and other obstnictions, the others
were scorning the thickets ia search of game. Deer, turkeys,
pheasants, rabbits, etc., were ahiiudant, and it cost but little
time and trouble to fui'nish a larder which woxdd excite the en\-y
of a modern epicure. When night came, they camped like a
band of strolling Indians — cooked and ate their supper — pro-
vided a temporary shelter in which to rest, aud went to sleep
hstening to the shriU bark of the fox, the howl of the wolf, aud
the soughing of the winds in the tree-tops.
On reaching the end of their journey, thej found the dealing
and cabin of DeWitt. They took possession of the tenement
and the cleared land, and occupied them untd they built a house
of then- own, and had made some of then- own land arable.
Theii- nearest neighbors were the Hm-ds, of the town of Bethel ;
George Keesler and Simeon Tyler, at Beechwoods, and the
Buckleys, in Liberty. There was not a »tore, a miU, a school,
or (if we except Edward W^ood, who was a cooper) a mechanic
withiu ten mUes of them. "Wlien they went to mill, two of the
brothers generally accompanied each other, aud each shouldered
a bushel and a half of rye or corn, and trudged off with it through
the forest. When it was gi'ound, they transported it home again
on their backs, generally performing the journey forth and back
in a day. We are assured that Eve, the wife of Edward Wood,
once caiTied a quantity of flax and her youngest child to a store
on the Neversiuk, seventeen miles from home, where she ex-
changed the flax for butter, and returned with it and her infant,
performing the thirty-four miles in one day ! Our informant says
she was slightly fatigued after her long joiu'ney, aud we are not
disposed to question the accuracy of this part of his statement.
A few years after they came to this region, Garrett Wood's
wife died. Her funeral was the first one in the. town. The
circumstances attending it remind us of the severe simplicity of
a primitive age. There was no kind and sympathizing uoighlior
to assist in performing the last siul offices for the dead. The
trembhng hands of her kindred closed her eyes, disposed her
hands reverently across her breast, and otherwise prepared her
corpse for the gi-ave. One of her sisters-in-law went on foot to
Buckley's store in Liberty, to procure a .shroud and other neces-
sary aiiicles, while Edward and David Wood undertook to make
the coffin. One of the early residents of the Blue Mountain
Settlement, in Liberty, was compelled to manufacture a coffin
from a sleigh-box. The Woods were in a worse dilemma. There
was not a board, or a sleigh-box, or a wagon-box w ithin their
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 155
reach, and if there had been time to go to a saw-mill ten miles
or more distant, and caiTy back the necesssiry lumber on their
shoulders, it was not decent to leave their afflicted brother almost
alone with the body of his dead wife. They surmounted the
difficidty by selecting a straight-grained log of sufficient size,
and fi-o'ui this split four slabs. From the round side of these
the bark was removed, and in and out they were rendered as
smooth and decent as possible. In a box made of these the
shrouded corpse was laid, and thus coffined was she consigned
to the narrow house to which all must go sooner or later. She
was interred on the Lagemann farm, and we have no doubt was
as sincerely mourned as if her funeral had been attended with
the pomp and vanity of a modern burial.
Under such disadvantages the Woods lived for more than
fifteen years. They cleared land and tilled it ; planted orchards ;
manufactured staves, and one of them (Da^'id) worked a part
of his time at his trade, whUe another (Edward) cured
cancers, and was known as a cancer-doctor. His cui-e was a
secret ; and therefore we cannot say whether it was a prepara-
tion of arsenic — the usual remedy of physicians of his class — a
remedy which sometimes cures and occasionally kills patients,
and which educated physicians will not apply.
As long as these families were isolated, they were in tlieii" way
independent. When the tide of immigi-ation tended to their
section, they should have become rich ; but somehow they lost
or parted with their possessions, and several of them left the
country.
The secluded life of the Woods caused theii' children to grow
up with very Hmited knowledge of the gi'eat world outside of
their neighborhood. They were bright natiirally, and intelligent
so far as they had opportunity to acquire knowledge. We can
certify that when they reached man's estate, they were not below
the general average of the rural-born and bred, either as to
physical or mental force. When the world came to them, they
adapted themselves to its usages and ideas ; but before it reached
them, they were remarkably unsophisticated.
We are assiu-ed that the following anecdote is authentic :
When one of the boys was fifteen years old, his father took
him to Wurtsborough, where they remained one night at a
hotel This was the lad's first trip fi-om the paternal log cabin.
He had never seen a stairway, and had nightly crept up a ladder
to the common sleeping apartment of the young folks. The
wonders of the journey and the excitement' of inspecting the
canal and other remarkable curiosities of tlie Hollow, had so
much exhausted the boy that at 9 o'clock in the evening he
could no longer keep open his eyes, when his father asked the
landlord to let him go to bed. Mine host gave the young fellow
156 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
a b'ght, and told him to go to a room at the head of the stairs.
He left the bar-room ; but soon afterwards was heard crying in
the hall, where he was found trying to climb the balusters, no
doubt imagining that they were the rungs of a ladder turned
upon one of its sides ! On being told to go up the stairs, he
hesitated — then ventured, and ascended on his hands and feet,
precisely as if he had been on a ladder.
Seventeen years after the Woods moved into the town, the
only men lining in Fremont and Callicoon east of the valley of
the Delaware, were Edward Wood, Garrett Wood, David Wood,
George Brown, Abislia N. Lewis and AVilliam E. Wood. Brown
and Lewis were sons-in-law of Edward Wood. William E.
Wood was then an occupant of the Wormuth place. The latter
is on a ridge between Buck brook and the north branch of the
Callicoon. Soon after 1831, Peter Wormuth bought out Wood.
Wormuth was not social or genial even in his family circle ; but
was noted for industry and rigid economy. In tlie' end he be-
came a "man of means" — owned a good farm, and was a lender
of money.
In 1831, the DeWitts again turned their attention to theii-
lands near Youngsville. Peter and George G. DeWitt, a grand-
son and gi-eat-grandson of John DeWitt, visited the region in
September, and emploj'ed Da\-id Wood to clear and fence six
acres of land, which now lies east of the road, and next to
Kogler's premises. Subsequently Wood cleared four acres
more, receiving for the job ten doUars per acre and the first
crop.
In 1833, George G. DeWitt built a house and became a resi-
dent in the vicinity of the site where his ancestor caused to be
erected a log-house in 1813. He was afflicted -with hemorrhage
of the lungs, which threatened to cut short his life, and was ad-
vised by his physicians to seek rehef in the hemlock-woods.
The balsamic atmosphere of Callicoon had a happy effect on his
lungs. The bleeding ceased. He believed he was cured, and,
wearied with the monotono.is scenes of his new home, he made
a prolonged %'isit with friends who resided in a less exalted and
more cultivated region, when he was once more attacked by his
old complaint, and bled until his life was nearly gone. This
and subsequent experience convinced him that he could liv6
nowhere except in Callicoon. His life would be prolonged here ;
but to a certain extent wasted. At least it so seemed to him.
He is still living, and has performed well his duty in the com-
munity of which he is a member.
The atmosphere of CaUicoon was at one time considered
favorable to pulmonary complaints. A majority of those who
became residents for this reason were much benefited.
Among the early settlers of CalUcoon was Jacob Quick, who
THE TOWN OF CALLICOOU. ISt
located on a small stream which empties into the East-branch
at Jeffersonville. He was a native of Pike county, Pennsyl-
vania, and was a nephew of Tom Quick, the Indian-slayer, with
whom lie hunted and trapped in his youth, and from whose Hps
lie heard the recital of many strange adventures. The family
was of Dutch descent, and emigrated to this coimtry while Niew
Amsterdam was an appendage of Holland. After remaining
some time near Esopus, they removed to the Mmisink country,
and became prominent, socially and iinancially, at Milford.
As an evidence of Jacob Quick's standing in his native town,
we mention the fact that he was a justice of the peace for thirty
successive j'ears before he came to Callicoon. He was fond of
Utigation, and entered into legal strife with as much vim as a
war-horse does into battle. From this or some other cause, he
lost a fair estate, and when sixty years of age, found that his
liabilities somewhat exceeded his assets. To escape the annoy-
ances which attend such a condition, and hoping to retrieve a
decayed fortune, he managed to save a few hundred dollars from
the stern grasp of his creditors, with which he bought a lot of
heavily timbered and fertile land in Callicoon, the deed of which
was given to his old wife.
He was at this time a stalwart, rugged man of sixty, whose
keen eye and steady hand could give a deadly direction to a
bullet, and who boasted that no man was his superior as an
angler. With his ash-pole and horse-hau- line he loved to com-
Sete with the dandy trout-catchers who sometimes went to the
orth-branch to indulge in their favorite sport, and great was
his mortification and disgust if the basket of the fancy gentleman
contained a greater number of the speckled beauties than were
found on his "string." But ample was his revenge when evening
approached, and he returned \vith his guest across the ridge
which divides Buck brook fi-om the North-branch. With the
grace and agility of an Indian, he stalked in a straight line for
home, no more encountering an obstacle than a hawk floating
in the air ; while his companion dodged around aU kinds of difii-
culties, and generally was considerably blown when he reached
the valley where Quick lived.
After buying the lot. Quick put up the usual shelter of mevt
who begin life in the woods, and moved into it with his aged
wife. It was in a deep valley and was so overshadowed by huge
trees that the sun could not penetrate to his roof. The contrast
between this and their old home was sad and gloomy, and had
a very depressing influence upon Mrs. Quick. He at once went
to work on the trees which surrounded his house, and when he
cut them down, fearing that they would fall upon the building,
and crush his wife beneath the wreck, he caused her to go, to a
safe place, where she watched his proceedings and shed such
158 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
tears as only the forsaken and forlorn can shed. This is no
fancy sketch. The author learned the facts fi-om Jacob Quick
himself.
Mr. Quick cleared field after field — built the fii-st saw-mill of
the to'R'n — found a ready home-market for his gi-ain, hay and
lumber, and was once more a prosperous man, whom his fellow-
to'BTismen delighted to honor with office. A village sprang up
in his neighborhood; he was suiTounded by neighbors, some
of whom were his own children ; he built a comfortable house,
had flocks, orchards and fertile fields; but the old -wife was
mouldering among the decaying roots of the forest 'that had so
recently clothed the hills and valleys of CaUicoon. She did not
long survive their removal to Sullivan.
Mr. Quick subsequently man-ied again, and bought and cleared
another farm. He also built a second mill. His new property
was .situated on the North-branch. While improving it with his
accustomed energy, he was prostrated by paralysis. During
the last years of his life, he was a helpless invalid, and sufi'ered
nrnch mental distress because he was bed-ridden. He died in
1852. Durmg the gi-eater part of his life, he was an exemplary
member of the Presbyterian church.
We have elsewhere alluded to those who trespassed on the
non-resident lauds of Callicoon. At first those who lived near
the borders of the town regarded the forests in their -vicinity
very much as people now look upon wild fruit and game. Chris-
tian kings by discovery acquired a right to the ttn-ritory occupied
by heathen and idolatrous men, and why should not one of the
sovereign people own a pine or cherry-tree, or a liird"s-eye maple,
if he found it on land which was unoccupied? Men who believed
that the purloining of a horse was a ciime, never dreamed that
they oflended God or wronged their fellow-beings when they
appropriated valuable timber belonging to another. When the
owners began to look after and guard their property, these
people imagined that they were deprived of an inalienable right.
Thousands of dollars worth of pine were stolen, and manu-
factured into shingles and boards. When George G. DeWitt
moved to YoungsviUe, he found upon the land o-nned by his
family several pine-trees that were four feet in diameter, which
had been cut down and left upon the gi-ound to rot, because
tl'.ey were too large to remove. All the nine used in building
his residence was made from trees which had been felled by
trespassers and left to spoil. While returning from the Elmen-
dorf mill in 1834, Mr. DeWitt unexpectedly struck a log-road.
Believing that he had a new neighbor, he followed it up until
he found it lined with pine-logs which had been cut on his own
land. He was amazed, and mentioned the circumstance to some
of his neighbors, who told him in a significant manner that "it
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 159
would not be safe for him to watch that timber." Mr. DeWitt
nnderstood what wm meant, and acted accordiuglT. Afterwards
the evil-doers were less bold, and generally took" away the logs
in the night.
Near Mr. DeWitt's house was a white pine wliich towered far
above the siuTOunding trees, and was a prominent object to the
eye. After a temporary absence, he and and his wife returned
at night unexpectedly, and during the next morning, while en-
gaged about his premises, he heard a great crash in the woods.
Looking in the direction from which it came, he no longer saw
the giant pine. It was gone. Going to the place where it stood,
he found that it had just been cut down. The thieves, beheving
he was from home, intended to remove it during his absence,
and had absolutely borrowed his cross-cut saw to cut it into logs !
CaUicoon was made a town in 1842 by an act of the Legis-
lature. On the 3d of May of that j-ear a town-meeting was
held at the house of George G. DeWitt, at which Olney "Borden '
^vas elected supervisor withoiit opposition.
The first white child bom in the town was John, son of Ed-
ward Wood, whose life dates fi-om the fall of 1814. He is now
(1870) a resident of the 8tate of Indiana.
The first missionary of CaUicoon was Elder Enoch Owen, who
lived in the valley of the Delaware. Hearing that a few families
were living here far from Christian privileges, he found his way
to them through the woods in IS'20, and preached to them.
The three households received him gladly, and as a token of
their satisfaction, presented him with a half-bushel of rye,
which he carried home on his shoulders. It is said that he
continued to preach at Wood's once a month; that to reach
the settlement he followed blazed trees when the snow was deep
and the thermometer below zero ; and that he was paid fifteen
dollars per annum for his services ! We do not give full credence
to this report, because at that day very few families thus sit-
uated could afford to be so liberal !
We shall give a more full account of this reverend pioneer in
our chapter on Cochecton and Delaware.
In the spring of 1834, Rev. Samuel M. Henderson, a minister
of the Protestant Methodist Church, visited the Wood settle-
ment, and preached in the log school-house which then stood
near the residence (1870) of J. F. Eoyce. With Rev. Eichai-d
• J. Crosby, Rev. Jacob Timberman and others, he had separated
from the main body of Methodists, and labored with great zeal.
They made many converts. Henderson, when he died in 1841,
was president of the New York and New Jersey district of his
Church. Crosby continued in Sullivan for a time ; but finally
took to law, politics and other evil ways. He died in EllenviUe
in 1871, poor and in misery.
160^ HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Henderson's first congregation in Callicoon consisted of twelve
persons. One of these was a young married lady who had been
accustomed to worship as conducted in wealthy and refined
communities. To her the scene was so novel that it was indelibly
impressed upon her mind. The house was a pen of logs, the
interstices of which were rudely filled with billets of wood and
clay. Its only window was composed of four small panes of
glass. Its roof was made of straw and mud. It had a " stick
chimney," which was without jambs, and which projected from
the side of the house, and partly rested on the ceiling. Fire
was made directly under it on flat stones. The congregation
generally was as primitive as the house. It could not be said
that a majority of the females had been led astray by the pomps
and vanities of fashion. Nearly all of them were without bon-
nets, and wore cotton kerchiefs on their heads.
The preacher was a tall, gaunt, plain man, whose attire, al-
though sciiipulously neat, proved that he did not labor for
earthly emolument. He dehvered a good sermon, and labored,
zealously for the spiritual welfare of these isolated dwellers of
the wilderness.
Duriug the next ten years, various preachers came to CaUi-
coon, and held meetings in school and private houses. In the
spring of 1844, Rev. Eli Denniston, a Methodist Episcopal
minister of Monticello, visited the town and organized a class.
The pioneers of Callicoon were anxious to give tlieii" children
the advantages of education. Their " hill of science" was located
near the house of Ross C. Rumsey; it was surmounted by a
temple made of logs, the interstices of which were filled with
clay. A young man named Judson Laire, who is now (1870)
living at Robertsonville, was the presiding geniiis. For his
sei-vices he received bis board — a compensation which would
cause the Teachers' Association of Sullivan to black-ball him at
the present time.
Deer continued to be quite numerous in the town until 1850,
and some have been killed since that year. While there were
but few inhabitants, there was no part of the State more at-
tractive to the hunter than CaUicoon. SoUtary sportsmen, and
sportsmen in companies of two or more, often went there in the
fall of the year, and almost always brought back with them a
good supply of venison. After the leaves fell from the trees,
?;ame could be discovered more readily, and there was no danger
rom snakes. Perhaps the largest rattlesnake ever seen in Sul-
livan was killed near Jefi'ersonville, in June, 1842. It was six
feet in length, and its circumference was equal to an avers^^e
man's leg. Our library was "adorned" for a time with the
skin of the monster ; but the sight of it was not pleasant, es-
pecially to nervous people, and we parted with it.
THE TOWN OF CAIXIOOON. 161
Deer-hunting sometimes was attended with danger, particu-
larly in the rutting-season, when the males lose much of their
timidity, and are occasionally aggressive even to the hunter. A
man named Adtlison Mabin was nearly killed by one of the
antlered beauties many years since. His clothes were reduced
to tatters, and he was much bruised, but managed to get away
with his life. That buck was a monster, and was much hunted.
A party of gentlemen from Monticello once spent a week in
beating" the thickets of CaUicoon for him, and only succeeded in
rousing him with tlieir hounds.
There were other times when hunting far fi-om the settlements
was hazardous. Sometimes a pleasant day in December would
be succeeded by intense cold, and a heavy fall of snow. Six or
eight miles from a house, with three feet of snow and the ther-
mometer ten degi-ees below zero, afford a chilHng subject for
thought. Near the holidays of 1840, a hunter named Ezra P.
Gates, of Liberty, was in the wilderness of Callicoou, when there
was a sudden depression of the mercury and a snow-storm. He
was missing several days, when a seai-ch for him took place, and
he was found dead and fi'ozen. It was supposed that illness
and cold combined, and his situation far from those who would
have applied proper remedies, were the cause of his decease.
Our readers have all heard of the adventure of Israel Pxitnam
when he shot a wolf in its den. His performance was insignifi-
cant compared with that of some hunters of CalUcoon who kiUed
a panther in its lair — an animal many times more powerful and
ferocious than the beast which was slaughtered by " Old Put."
On the 9th of- March, 1843, the track of a very large panther
was discovered, and a party of hunters turned out and followed
the animal to its den in a ledge of rocks. They then closed up
the passage to the lair of the beast so as to prevent its escape,
and left. On the next day they returned with reinforcements,
hoping to dislodge the animal and kill it. To do this, they re-
moved the rocks until they had opened the passage for about
twenty feet (about half-way), when they found the hole too small
to admit a man, and the sun-ounding material immovable. A
small lamp was then procured, which was attached to the end
of a pole, and thnist, burning, so far into the passage that the
"fiery eye-balls" of the monster could be seen. A candle was
then placed in such a position that its liglit would shine on the
barrel of a rifle, and thus enable the daring man who attempted
to shoot the panther, to take sure aim. The first shot was fired by
William Adams, who succeeded in wounding tlie game, which
caused it to growl and scream so ten-ibly that every one fled
from the spot, fearing that the enraged creature would emerge
and tear him into pieces. Soon, however, the fearful scene
changed. Except a few contusions, the result of the scramble
11
162 HISTORY OF SULLTVAS COTOTT.
over fallen ti-ee-tiunks and rocks, and through the surrounding
undergrowth of bushes, no damage was done. One by one, the
hunters obtained a furtive and timid view of the scene of terror.
All was quiet. A hasty consultation en.sued, after which the
most daring of the company once more closed up the entrance
of the den with rocks. Ever}' one then went home.
On the third day, forty men and boys, about all the surround-
ing country afforded, assembled to enjoy the sport. They were
armed with a great variety of weapons — rifles, shot-guns, bayo-
nets, dirks, crow-bars, axes, hatchets, butcher-knives, etc. The
plan of proceedings of the previous day, it was agreed, was the
best. The rocks were rolled away from the entrance, and hghts
once more properly placed.' Jonathan Adams, a brother of
William, went into the passage as far as he could, and fired.
The same scene followed as on the second day, with this clifi"er-
ence : the crowd returned, and John Hankins, who subsequently
committed suicide, fired the third time, prostrating the panther
on the bottom of the den.
The next difficulty was to get it out. No one but a lad could
enter ; consequently the boys had a fair oppoi-tuuity to exhibit
their coiirage. One volunteered ; but before he reached the lair,
he literally "backed out" of danger. A spirited httle fellow
named WilUam Lane then threw oli' his hat, coat and vest, and
arming himself with a hunter's ax and a Spanish dirk, went
in, accompanied by Mr. Hankins as far as the latter could get.
WhUe his fiiends were in almost breathless suspense, young
Lane cautiously crept through the narrow passage, pausing
occasionally to listen. The panther still exhibited signs of hfe,
although it was hors de combat. As soon as he was within
reach, he buried the blade of the ax in its brain, and then ap-
plied the dirk to its throat — a most hazardous performance.
The young hero then ended his adventure by hauling out the
panther, which measured nine feet, seven inches, fi-om its nose to
the tip of its tail.
An account of this adventure, written by John Hankins, was
pulilished at the time in the BepuMican Watchman.
Jacob and CorneHus Knickerbocker Schermerhom (fatlier and
son) came to Jefl'ersonville in 1838. John, another son of Jacob,
came about the same time. They were natives of Schoharie
county. Jacob was a genial, cheerful and companionable man,
who foresaw the future prosperity of the locahty where he set-
tled, and had fiill faith in the wisdom of making investments
there; but died poor, at Callicoon Depot, a few years since.
Cornelius did not long remain in the place. He removed to the
far West, wliere he soon after fell a victim to the diseases peculiar
to that region. The cabin of one of them stood near the site of
THE TOWN OF OALUOOON. 163
Isaac Anderson's office, and the other was near the site occupied
by the residence of Frederick Scheidell.
The best rovite to Jefferson ville was then from Liberty by the
way of Robertsonville and Yoivngsville — places then in embryo
- — thence over the hills to where Garrett, David and Edward
Wood had long lived, and down the st«ep gi'ade to the vicinity
of Quick's saw-mill, on Buck brook. From Quick's to the
Schermerhorns was ordy a foot-path. A gentleman who passed
that way in February, 1840, when the snow was two feet deep,
says thB scene from the mill to the site of the future village in-
spired emotions akin to awe. The path was through a vast
colonnade of sombre hemlocks, whose magnificent boles sup-
ported a canopy of vi^ad green, through which tlie sun could
not penetrate ; while beneath was a carpet of unstained snow-
silent, cold, unruffled — the green and the white affording a
strildng contrast.*
Thomas S. Ward, a man of weight and vast corporeal sub-
stance, came to JeffersonviUe in 1839, when none but the Scher-
merhorns lived there, and built one of the first frame-houses of
the place. He is stUl living, and is one of the prominent figures
of the towa, so far as breadth and rotundity is concerned. In
the early days of Callicoon, litigation was one of the few luxuries
vouchsafed its denizens. Much money and time wei-e wasted in
trivial legal controversies. Mr. Ward, as an illegitimate lawyer,
managed to thrive and grow fat on these neighborhood quaiTels,
until he appUed for and received a hcense to practice in all the
courts of the State, when, professionally and physically, he ex-
perienced a gradual collapse until he was so reduced in cubic
mches and otherwise, that he became an active and efficient
agent of a hghtning-rod company.
Frederick Scheidell came three years later than the Schermer-
horns, and in 1842 Abraham Schneider located in the village
and built a saw-mUl. Victor Hofer and other valuable immi-
gi-ants also settled in the neighborhood, and in a few years
Shermerhorn's anticipations became realities. JeffersonviUe
was a thriving village before the stumps of forest-trees had dis-
appeared from its street-s.
Youngsville was settled by Samuel M. Young, a member of
the respectable Liberty famih' of Yoirngs, and was named in
his honor. Yoimg built a large log-hoiise, the first saw-miU of
the place, and established the first store. He was a man of much
enterprise ; but unfortunately for himself, his business capacity
was impaired by indulgence in an appetite which has destroyed
the brightest and best intellects of our country. John B. Spencer
was another early comer, and when the Youugsville post-office
• Gideon Wales, in Luail Hicord.
164 HI6T0BY OF 8ULLIVAK COtTSTY.
was established in 1851, was made its tirst post-master. During
the lattei- 3'ear, Daniel Dimmick Quick, a son of Jacob Quick,
built a hotel, and F. Bieling a grist-mill. The latter was a gi-eat
convenience to a considerable section, as the people had been
under the necessity of caiT>-ing their grain to Liberty or Pike
Pond. Youngs^dlle now contains two churches, two hotels, three
stores and several shops, and about 250 inhabitants.
Ths settlement on the North-branch commenced about the
year 1S4'2, when several sons of Solomon Eoyce located there.
A store was started at CaUicoon Centre in 1849, by Piobert M.
Grant; a hotel in 1852 by Alois Thuman; a grist-mill in 1854
by Adam Sanders, and a saw-mill V)y a man named WiUiaras in
1848. As late as 1847 thei-e was an extensive pigeon-roost
where there are now churches, stores, manufactories and hand-
some dwellings, and the region was a favorite resort for anglers
and hunters. About this time, the writer of these lines, while
in pursuit of trout, became bewildered in the woods of the Xorth-
branch, and narrowly escaped a night's lodging in the forest.
The village of North Branch seems to have been settled sooner
than CaUicoou Centre. There was a saw-mill there o^vned by a
man named Meiritt in 1843 ; a store (Clements <fc Stewart's) in
1845, and a blacksmith's shop owned by a man named Yande-
voort. Mai-y Hunt taught the lirst school in a house owned by
Henry Cannon, an early settler of excellent repute.
One of the interesting features of our history should be an ac-
count of the German settlements of Callicoon and the adjoin-
ing towns. These settlements commenced in 1840, although a
Dutchman named PoU located near Jefi'ersonville as early as
1837. In 1847, it was estimated that two hundred and fifty
German famihes were in Cochectou, CaUicoon and Fremont, and
in 1855, the State census shows that of the 2,649 residents of
that nationality iu Sullivan, 1,924 were in those towns. In ad-
dition to these, there were 171 from Switzerland in Cochecton
and Callicoon.
Among the early settlers whose names we have not yet men-
tioned, were Charles Lutz, Melchior Abplanalp, John Euff,
Andi-ew Wdli, Charles F. Laiighorn, Henr\- Becker. Jolm Muel-
ler, Christian Bartli, Philip Hull', Henry Kose and mau}- others.
Among those who settled in the Callicoon region at a later day,
were Henry Wenzel, Cluistian Weintz, John Ma-rsch, John G.
Schindler, Valentine Hessiuger, John M. Hclck, etc.
The influx of German immigrants was mainly caused by Sol-
omon Royce, a surveyor and land-agent of Tliompsun. Bfe had
charge of large ti'acts of land owned by William H. Denning and
other non-residents, and se(>ing the iini)ortaiU'e of tlie Calhcoon
region, and kno\\-iiig that great results would follow if he could
induce thrifty and industrious foreigners to imj)iove the country,
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 165
he caused to be printed large numbers of circulars and hand-
bills in the German language, in which were set forth the advan-
tages of settling in the north-western section of Sullivan. These
were placed in the hands of those who had recently landed on
our shores, and a few famihes were induced to try their fortunes
in the bmch. These adventurers, although they' endured many
hardships, were generall}-pleased with the country, and induced
others to follow them. The result was most fortunate for Mr.
Royce. He had been embarrassed in his circumstances until he
was sixty years of age, when he commenced speculating in the
unoccupied lands of Callicoon, and in a few years made a hand-
some fortune. He deserved good luck, because he was as kind
to these strangers as if they were his o-\vn kindred. Very gen-
erally they paid for their land in " cash money," as they called
gold and sUver, and reserved, as they supposed, enough to supply
themselves with necessaries until they could clear their land.
But they were unused to the work of subduing forests. They
were unskillful ax-men. Some had no teams for drawing together
the rubbish left by fallo^v-fires, and with levers and handspikes
rolled into heaps the trunks of trees. One (John Mueller)
grubbed out every stump and removed every root and stone from
his fields. Hence many were reduced to want before their lands
yielded them a subsistence. We were assured by a settler
named Weisheimer, who came to Jeffersonville before there was
a road to it, by the way of Pike Pond, that he attempted to
follow a line of marked trees from one place to the other, and
lost the way. After wandering several nours in the trackless
busch, weary and hungry, he came to a little settlement where
there were half a dozen German families, and although he of-
fered a five-franc coin to any one who would cover it with bread,
he could not get a morsel to eat in the neighborhood. The entii'e
community was on the verge of starvation ! When such a ca-
lamity seemed inevitable, Mr. Royce generally made his appear-
ance and averted the danger. If he had not done so, the
settlements would have been broken up; and it may be said
that, while he obeyed the promptings of humanity, he subserved
his own interests.
> Charles F. Langhom biiilt the first hotel of the town. Being
threatened with pulmonary disease, he was advised to remove
to a country abounding in hemlock, and he chose Jeffersonville
as his new place of residence. The future village at that time
was nameless, and was little better than a rude clearing in the
woods. Nevertheless the idea prevailed that it would speedily
become a place of importance ; and to this idea probably Jeiier-
sonville owes its existence. Mr. Langhorn's hotel was far in
advance of the time and place, and led him into financial em-
barrassment and trouble which probably shortened his days.
166 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Like a majority of bis countrymen, he was an ardent admirer
of the author of the Declaration of Independence. This caused
him to name his hotel the Jefferson House. The name of the
village followed as a natural consequence. The hotel founded
by Langhom still bears the name bestowed upon it.
The early German settlers of Callicoon were a rehgious people ;
but were not ascetic and puritanic in their habits and disposi-
tions. They brought wth them the genial and pleasant customs
of the VaterlxDid. They also brought with them a genuine love
of the Christian rehgion as it had been taught them by theu-
parents and spuitiial shepherds in Germany. Hence as early
as 1842 they had formed a religious organization which had
foi-ty members, and was known as the "German EvangeUcal
Lutheran Congi-egation on the Callicoon," of which Andi-ew
Willi was president ; Frederick Scheidell, cashier ; Philip Wey-
rauch, Johii MueUer and Melchior Abplanalp, elders ; Christian
Barth, deacon ; Heniy Becker, tmstee ; and Victor Hofer, sec-
retary. Li 184.5, Rev. Christian Sans was made pastor, and the
building of a chui'ch-edilice commenced. This Mr. Sans was a
fail- specimen of the educated German gentleman. He was not
only f amihar with the solid branches of leaning, but was versed
in those poUte arts which give charm to social iutercom-se.
Many were surprised that a man of his attainments should bury
himseU" in the woods for the benefit of a few pioneers who could
hardly furnish liim with the bare necessaries of life. Neverthe-
less, he labored zealoiisly for their welfare by preaching to them,
teacliing a school, giving instmction in music, and soliciting
donations outside of the town for the construction of their church.
It was not long before he was intemipted in his work. A news-
paper foimd its way into the settlement in which he was de-
novmced as an immoral man. The officers of the church then
investigated the charges against him, and found that they orig-
inated vfiih. a man named Henry Hiestand and his accomplices
of New Orleans. After a careml inquuy, the officers declared
that the reports were sheer fabrications and entu-ely false ; that
they were satanic calumnies ; and that Mr. Sans was a faithful
clergyman, as well as "a talented and capable pedagogue." In
addition to this, the congi-egation evinced their undiminished
confidence in him by electing liim their pastor for life. He re-
mained in Callicoon but a few months after this. In December,
184.5, he went to Honesdale, where he became the pastor of a
German Church. His removal was much regi'etted ; Init a worse
calamity befell these denizens of the woods. Before tlieur church-
edifice was completed, it was leveled to the eai-th by a heavy
wind ! However, intelligent industry in time brought prosperity,
and the church was completed. In 1855, the congi-egation
changed its ecclesiastical relations and its name, when it was
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 167
received as a Presbyterian Church, and became known as the
German Presbyterian Church at Jeffersonville. At present its
communicants number seventy, and its property is valued at
$2,800.
That the inhabitants of Callicoon are a rehgious people is
proved by the fact that, from the time when the influx of popu-
lation commenced in 1840 to the year 1870, a new church-ediiice
was erected by them every three years. What town, can boast
of more than one church which was built during the first thirty
years of its settlement?
There are in the tovm, one Presbyterian and one Methodist
Episcopal church at Youngsville; one German Presbyterian,
one Methodist Episcopal, one Roman Catholic, and one German
Reformed at Jeffersonville ;* one Methodist and one Reformed
at Thumans^dlle; one Methodist at North Branch, and one
Roman Catliohc between the latter place and Jeffersonville.
Total number, lO.t
We propose to give instances of the experience of but a few
German settlers. More than this would render this chapter
monotonous.
In 1842, Henry Becker settled on the North-branch, near the
present line between Callicoon and Fremont. His location was
in the woods beyond the bounds of civilization. There was no
road to it, and the only roads in the town were but poor apolo-
gies for highways. After jiaying for his land, he had but httle, if
anything left except his wife and children. He was ignorant of
the language and customs of the country, and he had the double
duty to perfomi of clearing liis land and guartling against star-
vation. His prospect was a dark one, and it required keen eyes
to discover consolation and encouragment in it. He labored
humbly, patiently and persistently. In time, he cleared a small
lot and sowed it with gi-ain. His crop commenced gi'owing
finely ; but wild animals were doing it much damage. Hoof-
marks in the virgin soil declared what they were. His son was
directed to watch the field, and soon saw a fine deer enter it
from the woods. With his mouth watering for venison, he shot
at it, when it disappeared Uke the "baseless fabric of a \'ision."
Sad was the lad's disappointment, and sadder still was the
famUy several days afterwards when they found the carcass of
the deer in the woods. The game was too ripe even for a goiu--
mand or a starving man. But experience brought better luck,
and occasionally Becker's humble table was graced with a
haunch of venison fit for a loi'd or Kaiser WiUielm himself. And,
ah ! the reverential, scmtinizing, joyful eyes which then glowed
» This church, although in Jeffersonville, ia in the town of Delaware.
t Statement of Arthur P. Childs.
168 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
around the board of this Cliristian f arail}- ! Yet, notwithstanding
an occasional feast, famine was an extremity which was some-
times visible even after Becker had gathered his crops. He was
obhged to can-y his grain on his back to Liberty, a journey
which reqiiired three days for its performance. There was no
road better than a trail through the woods, which was made
visible only by marked trees. There were no bridges. The
streams were crossed on fallen ti'ees, and when floods or deep
snows kept him fi-om going abroad, and his stock of flour and
meal was exhausted, his prospect was very disheartening. Even
■when everything was favorable, he parted from his family with
much solemnity, calling on God for succor and protection during
his necessary absence, and praj-ing that their yearnings for re-
imion might be satisfied.
The questions may be asked, " Why did Becker and others
continue to endui-e these hardships? Whv did they not leave
these lonelv scenes of toil and suffering, and seek a more genial
home?" The answer is a simple one. Their means were ex-
hausted, and without means they could move but to worse
scenes.
In 1844, Philip Huff, senior, settled in CaUicoon. We do not
know that this indi-vidual was a descendant of Samson or Her-
ciiles ; but we are certain that he deserved siich ancestry. He
was a blacksmith, and a man of almost incredible strength. His
sons inherited his physical power, and many anecdotes are told
of them. One of them (Jacob) was as much noted for good-
nature as for ^-igor of muscle. Ambitious pugilists ^^•ere anxious
to get the better of him ; but never succeeded. He did not love
to tight ; but if cornered, and compelled to defend himself, he
fenerally buttoned up his coat, and then with a single "wipe" of
is flat hand, defeated his would-be assailant. He could carry
home a barrel of flour on his shoulder, and it was sport for him
to pitch barrels of pork hito a wagon. On one occasion he wa.s
incensed at a neighbor whom he charged with purloining tim-
ber for building a log-barn, and threatened to demolish the
building if certain logs were not paid for. This threat was de-
rided by the accused, when Jacob placed his shoulder under the
top-stick of a door, gave a hoist and the next moment the
amazed and temfied offender saw his barn reduced to a heap of
rubbish. Jacob thus proved that if Samson could tear away
the pillars of a temple, he (Jacob) could at least upset the cattle
tenement of a feUow-Dutchman. Om- modern Herciiles died in
1861. His decease was caused by irregular though not intem-
perate habits. The other children of Hufl", the pioneer, are hving
m the vicinity of his location. The most prominent of them is
Philip, jr., a lumberman of Fremont. It is said that he has the
strength of half-a-dozen ordinary men.
THE TOWN OF CALLICOOK. 1&.)
In 18-49, like mauy others who were seekiug an El Dorado,
came Charles Hahn, and settled near the place where Philip
Huff's saw-iuill was afterwards biiilt. While living here, hin
■wife, with some of her female neighbors, went to the vaUey ot
the Delaware. On their return, thej^ became bewildered in the
woods, and wandered about hopelessly for hours near their o^ti
cabins. A search was instituted for them, when their shrill cries
caused their fi-iends to find them.
Every new-comer was warmly welcomed, and his arrival
caused a wave of congratulation to pass over the community.
But settlers came so fast in a few years, and located in so many
unexpected places, that it reqiiired an active mind to keej) pace
with the rapidly increasing population. Hahn's family were
surprised one clear, bright morning, at hearing the crowing of a
cock in an imexpected quarter. They were in advance of otliers,
and did not luaow that any one lived so near to them. In a
flatter of excitement they explored the woods, and found a new
settler. The rooster was a true herald of advancing civilization.
In 1860, Charles Hahn was killed while cutting down a tree.
His widow then became the head of the family, and by energy
and perseverance overcame all obstacles, and is now stuTounded
by a happy and prosperous family.
The career of Valentine Hessinger shows what an entei-prising
man may accomplish, if he practices the fragaUty of the father-
land. Mr. Hessinger had a wife, children, and real estate, as
well as goods and chattels, in his native country ; yet for an in-
explicable cause he left all behind him in 1849, and came to
the United States. Hearing favorable accounts of the CaUicoon
country, he went to it bare-handed, but not bare-backed, and
commenced living a new hfe in the woods. He first worked
eighteen months in Inderlied's tannery for $150. Then he peeled
one hiuidred cords of bark. This he coiild not sell for money,
and finally traded for merchandise. Next he spent a year m
di'ifting around and speculating in a small way. After this, with
a fellow-countryman named Leins, he hired a farm. The two
kept bachelor's hall, endured many hardships, and found that
their ventiire was unfortunate. Leins got married — his wife
proved more prolific than the land he had tilled, and brought
him good luck and prosperity as well as a numerous progeny.
Hassmger opened a httle gi'ocery, in which he kept a few staple-
articles. Although he was ridiculed as a vender of pea-nuts by
a more pretentious rival, he steadily persevered in the business,
and added to it as his means warranted. Economy and enter-
prise brought him prosperity and wealth, and now (1872) he has
one of the most extensive mercantile estabHshments in that
section of counti-y.
Ernest Zeidler was one of the settlers on the North-branch.
170 HISTORY OF SUXUVAN COCNTY.
He bouglit a lot north of " Sixteen," a little above wliat is now
the village of CaUicoon. His land covered a bold and precipitous
ledge of rocks, in which was one of those cavities known as rock-
cabius. This Zeidler fitted up as a temporary residence, and
intended to occupy until he had time and means to construct a
more desirable habitation. But Zeidler's right of possession
was disputed. A bear had hibernated in the cave for several
years, and one day discovered that our Dutchman had attempted
to "jump" his (Bruin's) claim. The man's disregard of squatter-
law, or something else, excited the natui-al ferocity of the brute,
while the former did not lack animal couiage. The two met
near the entrance of the cave, and, instead of going to law like
stupid bipeds, settled their dispute in accordance ^-ith the maxim,
" Might makes right." After a brief fist-to-paw encoimter, the
bear ran away and troubled Zeidler no more.
In time Zeidler provided himself \vith better quarters; but
his cabin, like the cabins of his neighbors, did not contain many
household luxuries. Among other things, it was destitute of a
looking-glass ; and as he coidd not shave without one, he became
almost as hirsute as the original occupant of his cave. Narcissus
discovered his own beauty by gazing into a pool of water, and on
a Sabbath-day oui- bush-whacker was found shading himself
over a pig-trough filled with the aqueous fluid ! He had never
heard of Na,rcissus ; but he had fovmd the reflector which made
Narcissus immortal.
John M. Helck pursued a career similar to that of Mr. Hes-
singer. He came to America in 184:5, and being without a trade
or profession, after landing in an Atlantic city, engaged in such
honest work as he could find. He at first carried coal into cel-
lars on his back ; afterwards became a clerk in a grocery, and
ascended step by step to competence and respectabihty. In
everything he was faithful and true. It was not so much what
he earned as what he saved which laid the foundation of his
fortune. Superfluities make the poor poorer, and reckless
speculations often reduce the rich to want. Hard labor, self-
denial and legitimate business transactions lead to wealth and
tiiie respectability ; while riches acquu-ed by overreaching others
should give their possessor no better title to honor than that
enjoyed by the successful highwayman. Although men Hke
Mr. Helck may not he perfect in all things, we love to award
them praise, and "whether they be Dutchmen or Yankees, we
always dofi' our cap to them."
There were others who were not as successful as Messrs.
Hessiuger and Helck. Of these was the family of Alois
Thuman, who brought with them ten thousand dollars, Avhich
was considered a handsome fortime by the first settlers. The
Thuinaus enjoyed high social position; but, lacking foresight
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 171
and discretion, tlieir estate gradually diminished until tliey foimd
the level occupied by the majority of then- neighbors. The
place of their residence received one of its names in this way :
At a convivial party, Mrs. Thuman agi-eed to furuisli the wine,
if those present would go upon the highway and shout " Thu-
mansviUe." Since that night there has been " confusion in the
craft" of the locality, some giving one word as the cognomen of
the place, and some another.
Another who seemed to have a controversy with fortime was
Aaron Frazer, an American. He was part-owner and the man-
ager of a large tannery situated on the north branch of the
CaUicoon. Bark was cheap as well as labor, while leather was
dear. Although he could absorb as much fiery fluid in propor-
tion to his cubic mches as a sponge, he always appeared to be
sharp and shrewd. While he was full of his favorite beverage,
effoi-ts were made to get the advantage of him in business trans-
actions ; yet no resident of the valley ever succeeded. The
would-be-biter was always bitten. There was unhmited confi-
dence in his financial ability. He should have become one of
the magnates of the county, yet he became a bankrupt. When
he failed, the shock prostrated, for a time, nearly the entire
community. The tannery then passed into the hands of Hoyt
Brothers, who retained Frazer for a time, and then dismissed
him. Like that of unsuccessful men generally, his depaiim-e
« as not mom-ned by those he left behind.
Henry Wenzel was imlike the Tliumans and Frazer. Although
one of nature's noblemen, he was of humble Hneage. He was
born in Germany, where education is compulsory ; yet he was
defrauded of secular knowledge by a bigoted teacher, who sup-
{)0sed that lucid expositions of the catechism would fit a youth
or both mundane and celestial aifairs. After becoming a skillful
cabinet-maker and carpenter, he married. Previously he had
contributed to the support of his father's family. His father
continued to demand of him a considerable portion of his earn-
ings, and to escape fi'om these exactions, the son emigrated to
America. Nevertheless he was too well drilled ui regard to his
duty to altogether ignore his duty to his parents, for he continued
to contribute toward theii" support as his own means permitted.
Beheving that an ignorant man is no more fit to transact
business than a fool is to wield a naked sword, he went to an
evening-school in New York, where he learned what was
necessary to fit him for the ordinary afl'au's of trade and traffic.
Being frugal, prudent and uidustrious, he was in time able to
engage in business in New York as a dealer in lumber, and to
have in connection ^rith his establishment a steam saw-mill.
His trade gave him a thorough knowledge of what was needed
by cabinet-makers and carpenters. His profits were considerable.
172 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
He was not long in attaining a competency, and ultimately be-
came a wealthy man. His fortune was the result of legitimate
busiaess ; for he never speculated in stocks, or engaged in hazard-
ous enterprises.
When Mr. Wenzel landed in New York with his family-, his
entire capital consisted of three dollars in cash. This could not
last forever ; consequently he at once looked for honest employ-
ment ; and while doing so he attracted the attention of a benev-
olent negro, who generously bestowed upon him the sum of six
and a quarter cents. He never met Ms sable benefactor again,
and hence had no opportunity to retiu-n'the gift a thousandfold;
but on eacji anniversary of the event, as long as he lived, he
disposed of three dollars in such a way as to add to the sum of
human enjoyment.
Among others upon whom he called soon after he landed, was
a German gentleman named C. D. "W. LiUiendahl. Mr. L. at
once divined his necessities and true character, and unsolicited
gave him eighty silver half-dollars, which he accepted, not
knowing what was in store for himself and family in this
(to him) strange country. Mr. "Wenzel obtained employment,
and in two months returned the identical coin which 'Mr. LiUien-
dahl had given him. This led to other business transactions
between the two, and an enduring friendship, which bore im-
portant fruit. Years passed. Hemy Wenzel became a pros-
perous man, whose weekly transactions amoxinted to many
thousands of dollars. While he was negociating for a cargo of
mahogany, his old fiiend LiUiendahl called on him and told him
that his sons had engaged in immoderate speculations, through
which he had become embarrassed. His wants were great and
immediate — failure was imminent, and he could look to no
one for aid in his extremity. Mi-. Wenzel at once declared
that he could command his "(Wenzel's) last cent ; that he had
money with which he expected to buy a shijJ-load of lumber ;
and tliat he should not use his cash for that purpose. He then
drew a check for fifteen thousand dollars, which he presented to
his friend, saying, "K you are able to pay it back, well and
good ; if not, say nothing about it, and the world shall be no
wiser !" It teas paid back in due time, thus pro^•ing that gen-
erosity and gi-atitude sometimes soar far above sordid selfash-
ness, even in the business affairs of large cities.
At another time, one John Schneider of WDhamsburgh, L. I.,
was published as a banknipt. Schneider was an intimate friend
of Wenzel, who lent him several thousand dollars without any
security except what an honest bankrupt can give — his integrity.
This enabled Schneider to retrieve his affairs, and in after-years,
whUe prosperously prosecuting his business, he never forgot that
he was saved fi-om financial ruin by his friend, Henrj- Wenzel.
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 173
Mr. Wenzel's connection ■with the north-branch of the Calh-
coon dat«s fi-om 1852. One of his daughters was aiHicted with
a nervous disease, and he was advised by physicians to take her
to Calhcoon, on account of its sahibrious climate. This led to
his residence in the town. In 1855, a flood occurred which
rendered the vaUey far from inviting. He sympathized with
the people, and spent considerable money in a prudent way to
reheve theii- distress. His kindness was acknowledged and re-
ciprocated, lu 1857 he was induced to accept a nomination for
Justice of the Peace, when he declared that he would not con-
tribute one cent to his election, and, if elected, he would not
accept a cent for his services. And he was better than his word,
for he not only dispensed justice gratuitously, but generally
sent away litigants refreshed. Many shared his bounty and mvmif-
icence, and he never withheld fi'om the worthy poor when thej
needed assistance. He hated duphcity, and loved innocent hi-
larity. He was a contributor to every good enterprise of a
public character, and, although he was often consulted in regard
to complex affairs, his judgment was ever found clear and far-
reaching. At one time he paid a larger income-tax than any
other man in the county, and, when questioned on the subject,
would not admit that his income was really the greatest — but
in his good-humored way claimed that his "returns" were strictly
cori'ect. On another occasion, he bought a dozen eggs of a
neighbor; but on counting them found that there were but
eleven. He called the attention of the egg-vender to the fact,
and was told that one of them had a double yolk ! On investi-
gation, this proved to be true. The seller's shrewdness was so
diverting that Wenzel forthwith paid for the dozen, and gave
the egg-merchant a hberal hbation besides !
In his old days, when his flesh would no longer yield to the
exactions of his mind, he pm-chased the poorest and most stony
tract of land in his vicinity, declaring that he would have occu-
pation as long as he lived. He employed men and superintended
the improvement of |his land until it suited him, when nature
yielded, and his active brain rested from its labors. He died
"October 21st, 1870.
Hem-y Wenzel denied to none of his children a Uberal educa-
tion, and trained tiiem in such a way as to make them valuable
citizens. His son, Adolphus E. Wenzel, who is prominent in
the business afl'airs of CaUicoon, and a rising politician, after
completing his education, conformed to the good German custom
of learning a trade. Wliile other young men in his station of
Hfe were in pursuit of frivolous amusement, he was laboring in
a machine-shop as a helper at a forge, and thus worked his way
up until he was a thorough mechanic.
George F. R. Baker, the only son of a small but respectable
174 HISTORY OF SULUVAN COUNTY.
farmer of Thompson, was the first physician of Callieoon. In
his boyhood he attended a district school, or fished, or hunted
wild animals, as inclination led him. He was an expert as a
woodland sportsman, became a successful teacher, WTote many
acceptable articles of prose and rhyme for country and city
journals, studied medicine, and as soon as he was extensively
employed as a physician and surgeon, abandoned his profession
to make pills for the million, and to practice dentistry. After
several years of pinching want, he obtained lucrative employ-
ment in a dental establishment in New York ; but was dissatisfied
with a subordinate position — attempted to carr\- on the business
on his own account — failed — separated from his wife — and after
unavailing efforts to keep the woH fi'om his door, died. His last
days were Spent in a iiide shelter in Callieoon.
Doctor Baker was a man of much ingenuity and some genius.
While practicing medicine at Woodbourne, he was called sud-
denly to attend a man who was apparently dying ^-ith a disease
of the throat. The upper part of his throat was closed by the
disease, and he was dying from inability to breathe. Baker
whipped out his lancet, and opened the man's windpipe below the
affected point, inserted a goose-quiU, and the patient breathed
through the orifice until he was able to inhale air in the natural
way.
Baker's misfortunes resulted from instabihty. As soon as he
could do anything passably well, he lost his interest in it, and
turned his attention to another channel. As a physician he was
remarkably successful. If he had made medicine the business
of his life, he woidd have won a competence and a respectable
position in society.
In December 1853, Isaac Anderson opened a law-oflice in
Jefferson-iille. He was, in the strictest and best sense of the term,
a self-made man — the arbiter vmder God of his own fortunes.
He was bom near Monticello in 1825. His father, Joseph
Anderson, was a poor man, who was sometimes a farmer, some-
times a lumberman, and occasionally followed both of these
callings at the same time. He seldom lived in one place long ;
but moved from one locality to another, always hoping to better
his condition, and generally meeting disappointment. In 1843,
he removed to Beechwoods, near JeffersonviUe. At that time,
this region, with its cheap and fertile lands, was a land of promise
to the poor and industrious. There Joseph Anderson and his
sons cut and hewed the necessary timber for the cabin which
they made their home, and there they cleared fields fi'om which
they obtained food for the family.
Until he was twenty-one years of age, Isaac labored fol- his
father at farm-work and lumbering, having, as he was in the
habit of saying, "plenty of hard times, hard work and a scarcitj'
THE TOWN OF CALLICOON. 175
of schooling." "When he reached his majority, there was not in
the county a more uncouth young man or one less versed in the
laws which regulate civilized society. He was humble, diffident
and modest, and had a painful sense of his own lack of cultiva-
tion. With him the years usually devoted to the acquisition of
education had passed away, and he stood on the veige of man-
hood where American youth engage in the active duties of life,
ignorant of everything except the rudiments taught in our
humblest schools, and the fact that a few, a very few had con-
quered the difficulties which stared him in the face, and taken
respectable positions in life. Could he do so? Could he, a
poor, unlearned boy, whom few respectable professional men
would have taken as a student, first acquire an education withoiit
the assistance of a human bemg, and then become a learned
and influential lawyer? The declaration of such hopes would
have exposed him to the ridicule of every one who knew him.
E. H. Pinney, who afterwards became a lawyer, then taught
a district school in a rude log-house near the residence of Joseph
Anderson. Under him Isaac placed himself for a part of two
winters. Commencing with the lads of the neighborhood,
among whom he seemed like a giant among pigmies, he made
rapid progress. During the first summer, in company with a
man named John Brown, he contracted to peel a quantity of
bark for O. B. Wlieeler, of the Pike Pond tannery. Here he
worked industriously fi-om twelve to fourteen hours a day, and
from two to four hours at night were devoted to his books. He
hoarded his earnings with miserly care, not because he loved
money, but because it brought to him intellectual life. After
his second winter's attendance at the school kept by Mr. Pinney,
young Anderson found he had money enoiigh to pay his expenses
for a few months at a school of a higher grade. On foot, with
a trunk containing his effects lashed, upon his shoulders, he
started for Westtown, Orange county, where a teacher named
Abijah Calkins enabled him to lay the foundation of a classical
education. After he was elected Judge of his native county, he
gave us a humorous account of his journey, and a minute de-
scription of the trunk. It was a small hair-trunk, and its con-
^;ents did not make it hard to carry. He was too manly to be
.ashamed of his humble condition in early life.
" The following winter, he taught school in the Borden district
of CaUicoon. Thence he went to a select school established by
O. H. Bush, in which Eev. James Petrie, of Liberty, was in-
structor in the classics. Afterwards he taught at Divine's Cor-
ners, and at Fallsburgh.
"During this and other years, many long nights were spent in
debates, thus training his mind for the activities of the bar. He
and his comrades, following paths marked by blazing the trees
176 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
through the wilderness, frequently gathered in school-ho\ ises for
their debates and speUing-schools. In such exercises he wore
off in some measure his great diffidence.
"Needing money, and still bent on overcoming every obstacle
in the attainment of education, in the summer of 1840, he and
his brother John rented the saw-miU formerly connected with
E. A. Clark & Co.'s tannery, in Jeffersonville.
" In the winters of 1849 and 1850, he taught school at Barry-
viUe, and, while teaching others, added to his own burden by
becoming a student, having the pri\Tlege of using the law-booka
of John ^Y. Jolmston. For two or three years after tliis, his
law-studies were pui-sued alone — in the saw-miU, 'reading a
page while the saw was passing through the log' — digesting and
assimilatuig legal pabulum, while his strong arms were earning
food to nourish his body.
" In 1853, he spent about one month in the law-office of Albert
J. Bush, at Parksville. At the term of the Supreme Court, held
in December of that year, Amasa J. Parker, Ii-a Han-is and
WiUiam B. Wright, Justices, he was admitted as an attorney
and counselor-at-law. Thereafter his course was onward and
upward, until his name became a tower of strength to his chents,
a di-ead to his opponents, and his rank as a lawyer an exalted one.
"In 1859 he was elected District Attorney of the county for
three years, and in 1862 County Jud^e and Surrogate for' four
years. In 1866, he was a candidate for Congress ; but was de-
feated by Charles H. Van Wyck. In 1868, he was made an
attorney, proctor, counselor and advocate of the District Court
of the tFuited States."*
On the 3d of February, 1871, he died, in the 46th year of
his age.
Isaac Anderson was not in any respect a brilliant man. His
arguments were plain, cogent, earnest, logical. Law, justice,
tnith, equity, were the weapons he used in his forensic en-
counters. He lacked fervor, warmth, imagination. Hence he
never startled his hearers -n-ith bursts of eloquence, or melted
their hearts -n-ith pathos. He never reached a point with an
electric bound ; but plodded his way slowly and surely, concen-
trating all his powers upon the task of the moment, and com-
passing his ends with remarkable certainty.
"NMien about twenty-one years of age, he became a member
of the Baptist Church, and maintained a nominal connection
with it until his death.
He had his foibles. In some things he was fi-ail, weak and
ening. Let us hope that the agony of his repentance was not
unavailing A^-itli Him who pardoned the vilest of sinnere, wheUi
* Local Jiecord, Februarj- 10, 1871.
THE TOWN OF GALUOOON. 177
humble and self-abased, they sought his mercy; or at least, con-
Bcious of our own transgressions, let us place the shield of
charity over a single blot on the otherwise fair record of his
life, and screen his memory from ruthless censme. "Let no
man boast."
On the first of August, 1855, nearly eveiy bridge and dam of
the north and east branch of the Galhcoou was destroyed by a
flood. Horton & Co., WiUiam H. Curtis & Co., Inderhed Broth-
ers, and other lumbermen and tanners were losers to large
amounts. The damage was estimated at $60,000. A dwelling
house, occupied by a man named Riscard and his wife and infant
chUd, was entirely demohshed. On the previous evening, the
family rethed to rest in apparent security, and at 1 o'clock A. M.
were aroused by the water rashing into their bed. Kiscard
hastily jumped through a window and escaped. In a few mo-
ments afterwards, the house and all it contained were borne
away by the ^ngry flood. The child was foxmd several hours
afterwards among some diift-wood, and was stUl ahve. The
mother was drowned.
Other floods occurred in 1857 and in 1869, which destroyed
an immense amount of property. The surface of the country
will cause the recm-rence of similar disasters in this town as well
as Fremont.
On the 16th of October, 1857, a boy named Henry Staibe, and
another named Jacob Neumann, junior, whUe at the house of
Henry Becker, had a trifling dispute, when the former seized a
gun and shot his companion, who soon after died. Staibe was
arrested and held to await the action of the Grand Jury at the
next Circuit Court. That body, after hearing aU the testimony,
refused to find a biU against young Staibe.
On the 8th of September, 1868, Mary, a daughter of Alanson
Seager, was murdered by her uncle, Noah Bigelow, near her
father's residence, in the vicinity of North Branch.
Bigelow was born in Delaware county, in 1832, and had one
brother and one sister. WhUe they were yet small, then- mother
became a religious fanatic, and considered it her duty to abandon
her husband and her helpless ofi^spring, and join the Shakers.
Noah's brotlier died in childhood. His sister married, became
a pauper, and died insane. Noah himseK was a vicious youth
of weak intellect. He fi-equently assaulted his father, and was
turbulent and unmanageable. While yet a boy, he was struck
by hghtning, which seemed to daze his infirm mind. His brain
was stiU further enfeebled by bad habits. After he married, he
became almost helpless, and at the time of the murder, subsisted
on the charity of his neighbora and the aid furnished by the
Ovei-seer of the Poor of CaUicoon.
Mary Seager, his victim, was ten yeai-s old, and physically
' 12
178 HISTORY OF 8CLLITAS COTOTY.
inferior to girls of her age. On the morning of her death, sho
started from her father's house to drive some cows to a pasture
lot, and -was followed by Bigelow (who Uved not far off) until
she reached a lonelj place, where he overtook her, and after
attempting to violate her person, beat her head with his cane
until she was dead. He then placed a log on her head, and
returned home.
As soon as the child was missed, her friends searched for her,
and discovered her dead body where her brutal slayer had left
it. Her skuU was smashed, and mingled bones, brains and
blood were scattered about. On examination, tracks of heelless
"boots were found near the corpse, and as it was known that
Bigelow wore such boots, he was at once suspected, and charged
with the crime. Blood was on his clothing. This confirmed
the suspicions of those who gathered at the scene of the tragedy,
who attempted to extort a confession from him, and even hung
"him twice until he was nearly dead ; but he stubbornly refused to
admit that he was guilty. His cane was then examined. It was a
heavy stick, ^s^ith the knob of a door fastened to one end. He had
washed it, and, as he believed, removed all evidence of the foul
•deed ; but on removing the knob, blood, hair and brains were dis-
covered. Finding that further denial was useless, Bigelow then
made a full confession, in which he declared that he had previ-
ously made an indecent assault on the murdered girl, of which
she had complained to her father; that to save himself fi-om
the resentment of her father for the last attempt, he had killed
lier ; that he wished to be revenged for the manner in which her
fiiends had used him, etc.
Intense excitement prevailed in the neighborhood for a time,
and many were determined to execute the wretch as soon as a
rope could be procured ; but better counsel prevailed, and he
was consigned to jail in Monticello. In due time he was in-
dicted for the crime of murder, and at the next May term of the
Oyer and Terminer he was tried, convicted and sentenced to be
hung. The defense was insanity ; but it was not sustained by
the eridence. Benjamin Eeynolds, who was then District At-
torney, and Archibald C. Niven appeared for the people, and
William J. Groo for the prisoner.
When Bigelow was sentenced, he was a pitiable object. ' He
was so much prostrated by confinement and self-abuse, that he
could not stand, and was held upon his feet by an officer of the
Court, while he listened in an apathetic and stupid manner to
the words which doomed him to the halter. Hanging such a
miserable wreck of humanity was revolting to some, who made
efforts to secure a commutation of his sentence. An application
was presented to the Governor of the State, who despatched
Doctor J. S. Mosher, Surgeon-General, to ascertain Bigelow 's
THE TOWN OP OAliLIOOON. 179
•condition. On an examination of the condemned man, and a
consultation with Drs. B. G. McCabe and Edward F. Qiiinlan,
who were familiar with the prisoner's case, the Surgeon-General
made his report, and the Governor refused to change the sen-
tence of the Court.
Several clergymen visited Bigelow previous to his execution ;
but found him msensible to spiritual influences. He shed tears
when made to comprehend the fate which awaited him; but
exhibited no remorse for his crime. His sorrow was not for
what he had done ; but what awaited him.
Bigelow was executed on the 15th of July, 1869, by Benjamin
"W. Winner, Sherifif of the county. He was attended in his last
moments by Rev. Walter Scott Brown of the Reformed, and
Rev. Robert Tarleton of the Methodist Church. The former made
a few remarks, and asked the doomed man whether he repented,
and hoped for Heavenly pardon? He rephed in a manner not
very satisfactory, "Yes, I hope so." After hanging iintU he was
dead, his remains were taken away and buried.
First Presbyterian Church of Callicoon. — About 1840,
Rev. Samuel Pelton and Rev. James Petrie attempted to or-
ganize a Presbyterian Church in Callicoon. A meeting was held
for that pui-pose ; but the effort proved abortive, because there
was but one male (George G. DeWitt) who proposed to be a
member of the congregation, while it was necessaiy to have two
for elders.
The first Presbyterian Church of the town was formed on the
7th of May, 1844, as appears from the following record :
"CoixiKOON, May 7th, 1844.
"According to public notice, a meeting was held at the house
of George G. DeWitt, for the purpose of organizing a church.
The following persons appeared, and requested to be formed
into a church to be called the 1st Presbyterian church of the
town of CoUikoon, iinder the care of the Presbytery of Hudson,
and in connection with the General Assembly of the Presby. ch.
in the IJ. S. of A. : Geo. G. DeWitt, Stephen Can-ier, Julia De
Witt, Margaret CaiTier, Rebecca W. Beadle, Rebecca Bogart,
Carohne M. Rumsey, Susan Wood, Mary Hopkins, Mary Wood,
and Delia Young.
" Stephen Carrier, Rebecca W. Beadle, Caroline M. Rumsey,
Susan Wood, Mary Hopkins and Mary Wood having been ex-
amined as to their doctrinal and expenmental knowledge, were,
with others who were received from other churches, constituted
into a branch of the church of Jesus Christ by exhortation and
prayer. Caroline Rumsey was baptized after a sermon from
Gen., 45 : 24.
180 HieTOBS OF SULLIVAN COUNTI.
" Greorge G. DeWitt was unanimously elected to be the first
Euling Elder in this church. Present, WiUiam B. Eeeve and
James Petrie, ministers.
"Sat, June 1st. — A meeting was held at school house. Ser-
mon preached by Rev. James Petrie, after which David Wood,
Jeremiah Wood and Eliza Bush were admitted upon examina-
tion as members of this chui'ch. Geo. G. DeWitt was ordained
as Buling Elder.
" Stephen Carrier was elected Elder of said church June 19th,
and ordained June 22d.
" June 30th, 1845. — A meeting was held to elect Trustees.
Geo. G. DeWitt, Jacob Quick and Ross C. Rumsey were elected
Trustees.* John Mole and Stephen Carrier, presiding officers."
In the fall of 1845, a subscription-paper was circulated to
procure means to build a church-edifice, to which were added
the names of seven persons. The first subscribed "one hundred
dollars in lumber and labor;" the second, "oil and paint neces-
sary for 2 coats;" the tliird, "ten dollars worth labor with
team ;" the fourth, " ditto ;" the fifth, " twenty dollars ;" the sixth,
" ten dollars worth labor with team ;" the seventh, " 900 feet pine
boards, and 5000 hemlock shingles." Besides the above, the
sum of $208 was donated by persons Uving in the city of New
York, and $46 by others hving in Scotchtown and Mount Hope.
Contracts were subsequently made with Archer G. Wood for
the necessary timber; Lewis Dickinson and Peter Palmetier
for the carpenter work ; and for plastering with Henry Gurd.
The building was finished in the fall of 1847, and opened for
service. In 1860, it was taken down, removed to Youngsville,
and rebuilt where it now stands.
In 1844. Rev. James Petrie and Rev. James Reeves preached
as missionaries occasionally in the school-house of District No. 1.
In 1845 and 1846, Rev. John Mole, of Cochecton, was engaged
to preach every two weeks for $50 per year. Some extraordinary
facts will be related of him in our history of Cochecton. From
1846 to 1859, the Church was supplied with preachers from
Hudson Presbytery. In the latter year. Rev. F. A. Crane was
engaged as stated supply, and continued to officiate until 1871,
except in 1864 and 1865.
The Reformed Church of Jeffersonville was formed in 1852,
and its pastors have been : W. Wolf, from 1853 to 1854 ; Jidius
Hones, 1854-8; F. W. Riedel, 1858-61; John Bcehrer, 1862^.
Mr. Riedel embraced Roman CathoUcism ; but recanted in 1867.
John Boehrer's conduct ultimately caused the faithfid and pioua
• Book of Deeds No. 22, p. 173.
THE TOWN OP CAXUCOON. 181
members of liis Church much sorrow. Eev. William Elterich
is the present pastor. The church-edifice was completed in 1854.
In 1856, a Reformed Church had its birth at Thumansville.
John Boehrer became its pastor in 1862, and was succeeded by
H. F. F. Schnellendruessler, a graduate of the CoUegiate Gym-
nasium at Gumbinnen, East-Prussia, in 1868.
The same gentleman had charge of the Church at MilesvUle,
which dates from 1858.
St. George's Chttrch, Jeffersonville.— Eer. John Eanfeisen
labored here for the spiritual welfare of the German Roman
CathoUcs as early as 1843. In 1860, the church-edifice was
commenced. On the 22d of June, 1865, Archbishop McCloskey
consecrated it, on which occasion he confirmed 105 persons.
Eer. Joseph Rcesch was the priest in chai-ge for several years.
SUPERVIS0B8 OP THE TOWN OP CAIXICOON.
Prom To
1842 Olney Borden 1844
1844 John Hankins 1847
1847 George G. DeWitt 1848
1848 Olney Borden 1849
1849 George G. DeWitt 1851
1851 Samuel W. Jackson 1853
1853 Benjamin W. Baker 1854
1854 Aaron Fraser 1856
1856 Isaac Anderson 1857
1857 Egbert A. Clark 1859
1859 Aaron Fraser 1860
1860 George G. DeWitt 1861
1861 Victor Hofer 1863
1863 Josiah Smith 1864
1864 Eleazer Morgans 1865
1865 Josiah Smith 1866
1866 Egbert A. Clark 1869
1869 Edward H. Pinney 1871
1871 Alpheus Potts 1872
1872 Adolphus E. Wenzel 1874
CHAPTEB VL
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DEIAWABB.
From 1743 to 1798, these towns were in the precinct and town
of Mamakating; from 1798 to 1809 in Lumberland ; and from
1809 to 1828 in Bethel. By an act of the Legislature, Cochecton
was taken from Bethel in 1828.*
The surface of Cochecton and Delaware is marked by ridges
and narrow valleys. The river bottoms are composed of sandy
loam, and are very fertile, while the uplands are well adapted to
pasturage. The mouth of the CaUicoon, it is said, is 777 feet
above the ocean level, and the mean elevation of the towns is
probably not less than 1300 feet. The leading pursuit of the
early white residents was lumbering. After the constniction of
the New York and Erie Bailway, the manufacture of sole-leather
became an important industry, while the advent of several hun-
dred hardy and industrious German farmers made agriculture
notable.
There are four or five small lakes in these towns; but no
elevations which can properly be called mountains. The prin-
cipal streams are the Callicoon and its branches, and Ten Mile
river. The latter reaches the Delaware, after crossing the town
of Tusten,
POPUIATION — VALUATION— TAXATION.
Town and Tear.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed
Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
Cochecton ....1830
....1840
....1850
....I860
....1870
Delaware ....1870
438
622
1,671
3,174
1,480
1,998
$64,355
70,812
99,665
317,540
104,421
125,045
$273.89
216.15
505.14
653.51
669.50
1,866.00
$401.91
247.68
671.36
2,292.68
2,551.16
3,645.29
The population of Cochecton and Delaware in 1870 was 3,478.
* The firBt town-meeting was held at the house of Stephen W. Gedney, in the old
Tillage of Cochecton, March 3, 1829, at which James C. Curtis was elected Super\isor ;
Moses Calkin, Town Clark : Nathan Moulthrop, Alfred Nearing ami Moses Calkin, As-
gessors ; John Hill, James Koss and David Young, Commissioners of Highwaj^s ; Squire
Marsh, Bezaleel Calkin and Clark Brown, Commissioners of Common Schools ; Charlei
Whipple, John F. Averv and WUham Brown, Inspectors of Common Schools ; Stephen
Mitchell and George Hill, Overseers of the Poor ; St^-phen W. Gedney and George Hill,
Constables; and Stephen W. Gedney, Collector.
[182]
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWAEE, 18$
We should not hastily conclude from what others as well as
ourselves have written, that in the year 1700, Sullivan was a
terra incognita to all except the red man and the Dutch and
French who occupied Minisink and the lower Magh-ah-ke-mack
(Neversink) valley. As early as 1687, all this region had been
thoroughly explored, and the points important to military
men were weU known. On the 22d day of Febiiiary of that
year, Governor Dongan, in his report to the Committee of
Trade,* after urging that the hne between the province of New
York and "Mr. Penn's possessions" should run fi-om "41° and
40' in the Delaware river" (Cochecton) " to the FaUs upon the
Susquehanna," said:
" To preserve the Beaver and Peltry trade for this (New York)
and Albany, and to be an encouragement to our Beaver hunters,
I desire I may have orders to erect a Campayne Fort upon Del-
aware River in 41° 40' ; another upon Susquehanna where his
Mat'y shall think fit Mr. Penn's bounds shall terminate. And
another at Oueigra near the gi-eat lake in the way where our
people goe a Beaver hunting or trading," etc.
From this it appears that the white beaver-himters and traders
needed protection dui-ing their visits or residence in the north-
west part of Sullivan. From another paragraph of the report,
it appears that it was necessary to protect them against appre-
hended hostiUty of the French, and not the Indians.
Any one who has a map of the country printed in the last
century, on which the Indian trails through the wildemess are
laid down, wiU find, on examination, that Dongan's recommenda-
tion was a wise one.
The third permanent lodgement made within the limits of
Sulhvan by white men was at Cochecton, as the valley of the
Delaware from CaUicoon or Turkey creek to the mouth of Ten
Mile river was designated a century ago.
On the banks of the river, near the present village of Co-
checton, was an Indian village of some note, where the savages
of the sun-ounding country met to observe their ancient customs.
Here they had their gi-een-com dances, their dog festivals, their
games of ball, etc., and here, according to an ancient tradition,
which has been nearly lost amid the din and wliirl of modem
days, lived the celebrated Lenape sage and Yankee saint, Tam-
manend, Tammaning, or Tammany. William L. Stone says
that he lived in the middle of the 17th centuiy ; that he was a
sagacious and virtuous sachem ; that in his youth he resided in
the country which is now Delaware; and that he afterwards
settled on the banks of the Ohio. In truth, httle or nothing
reliable is known concerning this heathen saint. The first
■ Dgcomeatar; History of New York.
184 HI8T0BT OP SULLIVAN COTTNTI.
settlers claimed that his lodge was on the Skinner farm, and the
"Admiral" loved to designate his vaUey-land as St. Tammany's
Flats. "WTien the people of Cochecton were more familiar with
the facts than they are now, a Masonic organization of the place
was known as Tammany lodge, No. — , which name was bestowed
to commemorate Tammany as a local celebrity. The claim of
Cochecton is really not inconsistent with the assertion that
he hved in the State of Delaware. The Indians were a nomadio
race. They moved fi-om locaUty to locahty as their whims and
necessities impelled them. If Tammany in his youth lived in
Delaware, he undoubtedly was at times in Cochecton, and
roamed over the neighboring hills in search of game, and had a
wigwam in the valley, in which was cooked his samp and veni-
son, and in which he reposed after his tramps over the neigh-
boring hiUs.
The early settlement of Cochecton may be attributed to
several causes.
While New Jersey claimed the east bank of the Delaware as
far as Station Eock, Connecticut claimed the lands west of that
river. We propose to give a history of the "Jersey claim" in
another place, and therefore will omit it here ; but as the people
of the eastern province planted the first permanent settlement
in the valley at Cushetunk, it is proper to show why they did so
in this chapter.
The charter of Connecticut, which was granted in 1621, con-
firmed by the King of Great Britain during the same year, and
again confirmed by him in 1662, granted to that colony all the
lands west of it, to the extent of its breadth, from sea to sea,
except what was " then actually possessed or inhabited by any
other Christian prince or State."* This exception covered no
part of the Dutch colony of New Netherlands, which extended
to the Delaware river ; but the enterprising Yankees were in-
clined to make the exception read, " then actually possessed and
inhabited," etc. ; and when they attempted to avail themselves
of their alleged right, they were not careful which bank of the
river they took possession of, pro-vdded it was not inhabited, and
the land was desirable. Cushetunk was within the latitude of
Connecticut, and the latter claimed the pre-emptive right to
territoi7 of the prescribed width, extending from the Delaware
to the Pacific ocean. Previous to 1651, several inhabitants of
that Province purchased lands situate in the vicinity of the
South river, and proposed to occupy a section of the valley,
but Governor Stuyvesant threw obstacles in their way. These
the Yankees threatened to remove by force.t The thi-eat, how-
* Trumbull's History of Connecticut. W. L. Stone's History of Wyoming,
t Stone's W.vomiug. See alao Gordon.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 185
«ver, was a mere bravado, and the Yankee project of belting the
continent slumbered for a century.
In the meantime, William Penn and the Proprietors of New
Jersey obtained charters which covered all the lands in Penn-
sylvania and New Jersey claimed by Connecticut. Tlie right of
the former to what was granted to them was undisputed until
1753, when the Yankees revived their claim, and in 1754, the
Susquehanna Company, consisting of six hundred adventurers
who resided principally in Connecticut, bought of the Six Na-
tions, at Albany, a tract of land which was bounded by a Hue
drawn ten miles east of the Susquehanna river, was as broad as
Connecticut, and extended one hundred and twenty miles west.
The Quakers pronounced this piirchase irregular, as it was not
made in open council, but of a few Indians privately, while some
of the latter were drunk on liquor furnished by the Yankees.
However this may be, the purchasers paid the natives a fair
price, probably quite as much as their assailants would have
given.
About the same time, another oi^anization of Yankees, known
as the Delaware Company, bought the region situate between
the Delaware and the eastern bounds of the Susquehanna Com-
pany's territory, and under its auspices, a settlement was
commenced at Cushetunk in 1757. We have no authentic
account of a settlement here previous to this date, although it
is probable that an Englishman named Moses Thom^xs was
located on the Thomas farm as an Indian trader as early as
1750. A tradition of his descendants, who held this farm for
more than one hundred years, and were second in respectabihty
to no residents of the valley, is the basis of this supposition.
We do not propose to give a fuU account of the controversy
which ensued between the Yankees and the Pennhamites. It
was more bitter and bloody than the contest in modern times
for the control of Kansas. The colony of Wyoming, as the
emissaries of the Susquehanna Company were designated,
were generally successful; but when they were hard pressed,
they sent to their friends and co-operators at Cushetunk for
assistance.*
In the fall of 1763, the settlers of Wyoming and of Cushetunk
were massacred or driven away by the subjects of Teedyuscung,
the Delaware king. At that time no less than thirty families
were living in the last named colony, who had planted them-
selves on the river flats from the mouth of Ten Mile river to
• In September, 1770, the Yankees of Wyoming, finding themselveB besieged io
Fort Durkee by the Pennhamites under Captain Ogden, ecut au express under cover
of the night to their brother-colonists of (Juslietuuk for aid. Supposing that Ogden
would guard the path to the Delaware, the messenger un<lertook to go bv another
way ; but fell into Ogden's hands. [See Stone's History of Wyoming.
186 HI6T0RY OP SUUUVAN COUNTY.
that of tlie Callicoon creek. The latter did not remain away-
long ; but returned to the valley as soon as they could do so
safely.
At first, the main route to Wyoming was by the way of Cushe-
tnnk. The red men had made the latter the site of one of their
villages — probabl}' the most impoiiant one located on the river
above Carpenter's Point, and to it led the great trails from the
villages of other clans and tribes. One of these was to the head-
waters of the Lackawaxen via Calkins' creek ; thence across the
Moosic to the Indian village of Capouse on the Lackawaima;
thence by various routes to Wyoming, Oquaga, etc. In the
winter and spring of 1769, when the Yankees made another
attempt to gain a foothold on the Susquehanna, and sent two
hundred and forty souls to take possession of the country, their
emissaries passed through Cushetunk, and over tliis trail. Hol-
Lister says that they then improved it as they proceeded on their
way. Some time after this, a better route was opened to and
from Stroudsburgh.
The claim of each Company had the same basis; but the
eastern settlement is less noted in history, because it was less
formidable to the Quaker government of Pennsylvania. The
other was more pestiferous than the plagues of Egypt. It was
irrepressible. Large numbers, attracted by the fat lands of the
Susquehanna, left the stony hills of Connecticut, armed to the
teeth, and swelled the settlements and the ranks of the temtory
of Wyoming. The Quakers loved peace ; bitt they loved their
earthly possessions more. They sent troops to drive the in-
truders away; but the Yankees, although sometimes beaten,
generally maintained their ground. They were the original
squatter sovereigns of our country, and sturdily did they defend
their assumed immunities. At the Declaration of Independenco,
they were seemingly securely seated in the countrj-, with all the
forms and securities of an established government.
During the war with Great Biitain, none deserved more ap-
plause than theso adventurers ; and, alas ! none suffered more ; for
while theii- able-bodied men were defenchng less exposed locaU-
ties, their wives and children and giay-haired parents were
massacred by savages and tories — tortured to death with fiend-
ish ferocity, and tkiven mto the wilderness to perish.
' After the revolted C/olonies had won their freedom, the con-
troversy W!xs renewed, and leii to considerable disorder. The
State in the meantime had dispossessed the heirs of WiUiam
Penn of their uiheritjuice in that Commonwealtli, and Pennsyl-
vania claimed the territory wliich the Quaker Proprietors hiul
not sold. The question as to the title of Connecticut to these
lands was submitted to a national tribunal, and the final decision,
which was not rendered until IIW, was advei-so to the Yankees.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 187
The settlers of the Delaware Company did not feel the hand
of the Quakers as hea^'ily as those of the other association be-
cause they did not carry their heads so high. They were weak.
They probably never numbered fifty able-bodied men. Hence,
with true Yankee pohcy, they kept the Quakers quiet, by paying
the latter for such land as they wished to improve. _ Thus Daniel
Skinner and Company, of Cushetunk, after acquiring what title
was possible under Connecticut, fortified themselves with the
following document :
"December ye 10 A D 1761 Whareas we Augustus Hunt
and Thomas Corbin of New york Government have obtained a
warrant of Philadelphia Land oflice For thirty thousand Acres
of Land which is a hundi-ed Rites three hundred acres to a rite
ten of which Eits We alow to be Daniel Skinners and Company
acording to the tarms of the Warrant With us and Company as
Witness our hands
Augustus Hunt
Thomas Waujng Thomab Corbin."
[Endorsed on the back — " Hunt has paid for 9 of these Eights.
Dan'l Skinner." *]
In 1770, Daniel Skinner obtained a wan-ant for 140 acres of
land from the Pennsylvania Land Oflice, and on tlie 3d of Maj',
1775, received a patent from Thomas and John Penn. He was
largely interested in land affairs in both the Delaware and Sus-
quehanna purchases, as well as the McDonald patent of Orange
county.
That the Delaware Company claimed on the east as well as
the west side of the Delaware, the following deeds prove :
" To all people to whome these presents shall come Greeting^
Know ye that I Timothy Wents of Canterbury in the county of
windham and Colony of Connecticut in New eugland Practisioner
of Physick For and in consideration of the sum of three pounds
in Lawfull Money paid in hand by Mr. Daniel Skinner of New-
town In Sussex Coimty New Jersy have Given Granted Bar-
?ained alowd Conveyd & Confirmed & by these presents sell
!onvey and Confirm and make over and assign unto him the sd
Daniel Skinner and to his heirs and assigns ior Ever one half
Share or Eight in the Delaware Purchase of Lands on the East
and west sids of the Delaware Eiver which sd Wents purched
of Henry Walton To have and to hold the same with all privi-
leges and Appurtences Thereof to him sd Daniel Skinner to his
18B HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
haire and assignes for Ever in -natness whareof I the sd Timothy
Wants have hareimto set my hand and seal this second Day of
this Instant January Anoque Domine 1760.
Timothy Wents
Sealed and delivered in the presents of us
Nathan Clark
Ambrose Blunt."
"To all People to ■whome these Presents shall come Greting
Know ye that I Alpheus Gustin of NewtcoTi in the County of
Sussex and Collony of New Jersey for and in Consideration of
the sum of five Pound La-\vful money of New Jersey paid in hand
by Dan'l Skinner of the town and County aforsd I have Given
Granted Barganed sold Convaed and Confirmed and do by these
Presence sell Convey and Confirm and make over and asign unto
him the sd Danl Skinner and his heirs and assigns forever one
fourth Part of a right of Land in the Delaware Purches Lying
on East and West side of Delawar Kiver one hundred acres
thereof being Laid out in the middle to-mi I being a proprietor
and had a half Eight in sd Purches as the Indian Deed will
make it appear more fidly to have and to hold the same With
all the Privileges and appurtnance thereof to him the sd Dan'l
Skinner to his heirs and assigns forever fiuihermore I the s'd
Alpheus Giistin Do Bind my heirs and assigns Forever to WaiTant
and Defend sd fourth part of a Right From all Claims and
Challenges that may or shall arise by or under me or Either of
the Proprietors of s'd Purchas or Either of us or heirs or assigns
forever In Witness Whareof I the said Alpheus Gustin have
hereunto set my hand and seal this Twentieth day of february
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty
Alpheus Gustin
Sined Sealed and Delivered in the presance of
Alpheus Gustin
her
Mary X Buck
mark."
From the following it appears that, notwithstanding the settle-
ment of the controversy between New York and New Jersey in
July, 1769, the latter province continued to exercise jurisdiction
over the people of Cushetunk :
"Easton, 17 Api-n 1772
" Mr James Welsh
Inclosed you will receive a Warrant against
Daniel and Hagga Skinner Por beating and wounding several
Indian Cheafs of the Oneida Tuskarora and Mohickan Indians
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 189
which in its consequences may involve the provence in a bloody
ware with those Indians unless the aforesaid Daniel and Hagga
Skinner are brought to condine punishment : according to law :
Tou are therefore commanded to procede to Coshethton taking
with you sufficient strength and bring them before me to answer
for their miss conduct and irregular procedings And this you
are by no means to neglect or Fail ia at your peril And I do
Further require that you will execute the said Warrant withia
the space of Fourteen days From the time you receive it and
make returns of your doing therein after its execution to me
without delay it being by the express orders of the Governor
and Council
" Yom- humble Sert Lewis Gordon.
" Mr. James Wdsh constable In Upper Smithfeld."
" To aU whome it may concern Know ye that Daniel Skinner
whome is complained of For abusing the Indians did settle vnih
said Indians last winter before that any complaint was made to
the Cheat's as can be easily proved by the Indians themselves
and others and the Inchans is free and wiling that he should
stay and improve his land as he has done before and it is some-
thing likely it was out of some iU wiU that the Complaint was
made against the said Daniel Skinner and his brother Hagga as
consequently will appear and as for the quarrel that hapened on
Christmas day the said Skinners were peaceably together and
some other people at Nicholas Conklin's when the Indians them-
selves was something in hquor and began with the said Skinner
for to give him some Rum and said Skinner would not and the
Indian was out of humor and struck the said Skinner and tho
said Skinner struck the said Indian back again and it came to
some head the Indian stabed one man and after the Indian
came to himself he acknowledged he was in the wrong and said
he would make satisfaction For the damage he had done and
would not have ben any more noise about it if it had not ben for
Nathaniel Evons as the Indians say This we can attest to
Coshethton May 10th 1772 Nicholas Conklin
John Lessley
Elizabeth Conklin
Willlam Conklin."
" To all whome it may concerue Whereas we the subsribers
are informed That Nathaniel Evons has entred a Complaint to
Governor Pen against Daniel Skinner For his abusing some
[Indians]
" This is to certify that we know of no abuse given by said
Daniel Skinner to the Indians at any time And we further
certify that Daniel Skinner as far as we know him to be an
190 mSTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
honest industrious and peaceable man both to his neighbours
and the Indians This we the subscribers do Gertiiy to the
Gentlemen it may concern Minesink May 5th 1772
Abraham Westbrook Lanes Westbrook
Abraham Skinner Martines Westbrook
Garret Decker Antont Daykan
Benjamin Depui Tohanas Decker
Thos Hoyter Abraham Vanauken Esq
Isaac Vantoyle Neamiah Paterson
johan mideaugh nicholas conklin
Samuel Gunsales Phineous Cleark
Abraham Vanauken Euben Cooley
Lemuel "Westbrook Egbert Land."
Nathaniel Evans was a mischief-making fellow, and a nuisance
to the residents of the valley, as the following and the documents
■we have already given prove. He undoubtedly made himself
so obnoxious that Cochecton was not a pleasant locahty to him,
and left.
" Sussex I Eastern
Coimty j Jersey
[l. 8.] This Deposition of Nathaniel Evons taken
before me Abraham Vanauken one of his Magesties Justices of
the peace for the jn-ovince and County aforesaid This deponent
being duly sworn on the holy Evangelest of Almighty God saith
that near the last of February 1772 one Joseph Koss and Aaron
Thomas both of Shochorton* did imploy him to carry a letter
to the Tuskarores Cheiff Capt. John m order to rais an insur-
rection on some or aU of the uihabitants of Shochorton and said
Indians : which said letter the said Nathaniel Evons did also at
the request of the Indians carry to the Governor of Pennsylvania
and did also receive a letter From the Secretary of Pennsylvania
directed in answer to the said Indians Which letter the said
Evons did direct to Capt. John and further this deponent saith
not. Given under my hand and seal 21st May 1772
Abraham Vanauken."
The famUy of Skinners came fi-oin the town of Preston, New
London county, Connecticut. In adchtion to the parents, there
were nine children — Benjamin, Timothy, Abner, Daniel, Haga,
Calvin, Joseph, Martha and Huldah. The Six Nations claimed
to own the countiy, and that the Delawares were their subjects.
The New York proprietors had l)ought of the natives of the region
while Mr. Skinner and those who held under the Connecticut
THE TOWNS OF OOCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 191
title, purchased the Indian interest of the Iroquois. Shortly
after he brought his familj' to Cushetunk, he and others of the
Yankee company, who claimed that they o-wned all the valley,
went to the Confederated tribes to make some arrangement m
regard to their purchase. On his way back, he was killed by
some tinknown person. As he did not return, his friends con-
cluded that he was murdered, and his wife went back to Preston.
His body was subsequently found where he had been shot, on
the bank of a small stream, a short distance above the late resi-
dence of Hon. James C. Curtis. A prayer book, with his name
on the fly-leaf, was found in one of his pockets, and led to the
identification of his remains.*
Mr. Skinner was probably the first white man who waa mur-
dered in the county. Why he was killed does not appear. Al-
though there was an angry controvei-sy about land afi'airs, and
jurisdiction over the valley, between the people of four colonies
or commonwealths, we have never heard it intimated that he was
slain by one of the disputants; nor have we heard his death
chareed against the Delawares, who no doubt felt dissatisfied at
the Yankee intruders, who sought to hold their village and the
graves of their ancestors without their consent.
These first inhabitants of Cochecton were suiTounded by
savages. If we except the small communities at Dutch pond,
in Thompson and Fallsburgh, their nearest white neighbors were
in the valley west of the Shawangunk, thirty-five miles distant,
and at the mouth of the Neversink. The latter were the most
accessible. Unless the gi-ist-mill spoken of by Chapman, had
an existence, t they were obliged to go to the Neversink to get
their grain ground, as they were to do their shopping. As the
journey was performed in canoes by the way of the river, or on
foot or horseback over an Indian trail, it is presumed that the
wives and daughters in the upper Delaware settlements had not
many opportunities to indulge in the pastime of shopping, or to
adorn their persons with the beautiful goods of the milliner, or
the elegant costumes which came from the hand of the mantua-
maker. Sun-bonnets and hoods were of home-make at that
time, and, no doubt, as much rivalry existed in the manufacture
of these primitive articles of feminine adornment as there is now
in imitating the styles of the beau monde of Paris.
On all sides were the hunting-grounds of the red men. Beaver,
as well as other wild animals, were plenty in every direction,
and large profits were the result of trapping fur-beaiing animals.
We have been assured that "John Land, the tory," caught
enough beaver in a few months even after the Revolutionary
war, to pay for four hundred and thirty-three acres of land.
• The Pioneers. t It' there waa such a mill, it was destroyed in 1763.
192 HISTOBY OF SULLTVAN COONTT.
Warriors, hunters, squaws and pappooses were numerous, and
daily visitants. The children of the two races were play -fellows,
and we have heard several curious anecdotes of their attachment
to each other — an attachment which was subsequently smothered
by the antipathy of race, and found its death amid the blood and
carnage of war.
The Delaware at that time was Hterally a river of fish. Among
its finny tribes were the salmon, the shad, and the river-trout.
Shad, particularly, were abundant, and great numbers of them
were caught. A common way of catching them was to make a
"rack," with wings of cobble-stone extending up the stream with
an acute angle to each shore. The fish were forced into the
rack by di-awmg au immense "brush-net" or "di-ag"' a mile or
more down the stream. This sport required considerable prep-
aration, and was attended with severe labor ; but it was a favorite
one nevertheless. After the shad s])awned, they died, and
their bodies were thi-o-s\Ti upon the shore by the water, where
they became putrid, and rendered the air foul aud unwholesome.
In the fall, many of the young shad were killed by falling into
eel-racLs, or by getthig bmised in passing through them. When
they started for the ocean, they were bom foiu- to six inches
long, and so tender that a shght iujmy was fatal to them.*
In adtUtiou to farming, himting, fishing aud trapping, these
early residents engaged m lumbering. Daniel Skinuer was the
first person who descended the Delaware from Cochecton with
a raft. His first trip was soon after the French and Indian war.
We have seen and conversed with men who assisted him in
running lumber do^vn the river before the close of the last cent-
ury. He was honored in a jocose way by the hardy men who
followed his example. By general consent, he was constituted
Admiral of all the waters of the river in which a raft could be
taken to market, and no one was fi-ee to engage in the business
imtd he had the Admiral's consent. This was gained by pre-
senting Skinner with a bottle of wiae, when liberty was gi-anted
the applicant to go to Philadelphia as a fore-hand. To gain the
privilege of going as a steersman, another bottle was necessary,
on the receipt of which the Admhal gave fuU permission to navi-
gate all the channels of the river. Josiah Parks, generally, went
with Skinner when the latter ran a raft. Being noisy and ob-
streperous, he was dubbed boatswain, and was known as " Old
Boson" dming the remainder of his hfe.
During the Revolutionary war, Cochecton was an isolated and
exposed neighborhood. It was on the route generally pursued
by the hostile savages in theu' incmsions to Shawaugunk, Wa-
•warsink, Kochester, and Mamakating valley. The wai-path to
• Tom Quick.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AJJD DEIAWAEE. 193
Minisink led to the Delaware by the way of the Lackawaxen,
and when this was occupied below BarryviUe by the savages,
Cushetunk had no other outlet than by the trails which led to
EllenviUe and Napanoch — a lone and perilous route, which but
few dared to travel, as it was difficult to follow, and was almost
always infested by lurking savages. It is not surprising, there-
fore, that the major part of the whigs removed to more densely
inhabited neighborhoods. They went to Minisink, Shawaugunk,
Kochester and other places where their families would be com-
paratively safe. A few remained. The latter were generally
tories, or those who professed neutrality.
Some of the whigs left without harvesting their crops, and
after leaving their famOies in places where they would be safe,
returned to gather what they had cidtivated with anxious fore-
bodings. They were driven from the neighborliood, or found
that their property had been appropriated or destroyed by their
enemies. Such conduct was not calculated to promote amicable
sentiments, or lead to peace and good wiU.
The patriots of Mamakating appointed a Committee of Safety,
composed, according to tradition, of Gerardus Van Inwegen,
Benjamin Depuy, Thomas Kyte and one of the Swartwouts — all
good and tnie whigs of Peenpack. This committee organized a
company of scouts, under the command of Captain Bezaleel
Tyler, a refugee fi-om Cochecton, and the scouts occasionally
made a visit to this remote neighborhood to "regulate" suspi-
cious characters and make reprisals. The tories approjjriated
the abandoned property of their former whig neighbors, while
the scouts di'ove away the cattle and, sometimes, took back the
bodies of the tories. It is difficult to decide which party had
the advantage in this system of exchange ; but it is not difficult
to declare that it led to much loss and suffering to both, and
that the excesses of each added intensity to the hatred of aU.
When the scouts visited Cochecton, they conducted matters
in a fi-ee and easy manner. They were generally in a hiu-ry to
return, and had but Httle time to hear testimony for or against
the suspected; yet we cannot learn that they shed blood on
more than two occasions.
On one of their excursions they met a half-witted fellow named
Handy near tlie old Indian burial ground, a short distance above
the late residence of Hon. James C. Curtis. Handy had lived
in Cochecton before the war ; he had been disappointed in a love
affair, and to prevent a repetition of his sorrows, had emascu-
lated himself, and was a poor outcast ; had stolen a horse fi'om
a whig of Mamakating, and then joined a band of Indians under
a chief named Minotto. He spent the greater pai-t of his time
in riding about on the stolen animal, imagining he was a man
of some consequence, when he met the scouts, whom he mistook
13
194 HISTORY OF SDLLIVAH COUNTY.
for friends. As he came up to them, he exclaimed, "Tm Mi-
notto's man!" Some of Captain Tyler's company had recog-
nized the horse, and as soon as he declared what he was, his
fate was sealed. He was boried on the spot. Several years
ago, his bones were uncovered by the action of the water of the
river, and were picked up, and used for scientific puiposes. We
believe that they are still ia the possession of a physician of the
neighborhood.
During the same expedition, Nathan Mitchell, a well-known
whig of Cochecton, was seen by the scouts ■with an Indian cap
on his head. He had remained ia the place because his wife
would not leave unless her father, whose friendship for the re-
volted Colonies was suspected, went with them. Mitchell wore
the Indian gear to prevent the savages from firing upon him
while they were lurking about. TMien it was seen by the scouts,
they at once concluded that its wearer should give an account
of himself, and he, fearing that he would be shot before he could
make an explanation, ran for the woods. There was an imme-
diate pursuit, and as the company were well mounted, they were
soon witliin shooting distance of the runaway, and were about
to fire, when he was recognized. Of course, aU were glad that
they had not killed a fi-iend.
The scouts proceeded up the river until they reached the
house of Da-^-id Young, the tory. Young, as men of his political
creed generally were when Captain Tyler paid them a visit, was
from home. His wife was an inteUigent English woman, who
made lofty claims of former respectability. She told her visitors
that Colonel Brant, with five-hundred waiTiors, was at the mouth
of the Callicoon, and that if they valued their lives, they would
at once go back. She was apparently so sincere and earnest
that they believed her, and retreated with admirable speed. In
consequenoe of the war, Young lost aU his property, and died
very poor.
fiarly in the war, a person who said his name was Payne,
came up the river to Cochecton, and asked permission of several
individuals to remain with them. But he was uijiknown to every
one, and, as he did not tell a satisfactory stoiy, aU refused to
harbor him. He traveled on and on until he reached a deserted
cabin at or near Little Equinunk, which he entered and occupied.
Here he seemed to lead a harmless life, far from scrutiny. But
he had not gone beyond the reach of harm. The scouts came,
and tracked him to his humble retreat, from which they dragged
him. After a brief consultation, the majority of his captors de-
cided that he should die then and tliere. A few, however,
thought it was wrong to kiU him without a formal conviction by
a more competent tribunal. The prisoner himself made frantic
appeals for his hfe ; but the majority Avas inexorable, and he was
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 195
shot even while he was crying for mercy. The minority declared
openly that the deed seemed to them like murder, and that, if
such work was necessary, they would cease to be scouts. They
wept hke children when the terrible deed was consummated.
Our informant, (an old and respectable man who lived at the
mouth of the Cushetunk in 1850) could never learn why this man
was put to death in this summaiy manner ; but said that he had
ascertained that his name was not PajTie, but Cooley. It is prob-
able that he belonged to the numerous family of that name who
then Hved in Mamakating and Minisink, and that he had com-
mitted some offense which justified the speedy manner of his
execution.
Captain Tyler's way of dealing with tories and Indians made
him very obnoxious to them. They hated him, and called him
Captain Mush — a sobriquet of which "pudding-head" is a
synonym.
The killing of Payne or Cooley cannot be fully explained.
The slaughter of the family of Bryant Kane, a tory, is wrapped
in a mystery still more impenetrable.
A short time before the war, Kane made a contract for a
farm on the east bank of the river, near the Falls of Cochec-
ton — the same premises since occupied by Charles Young.
Above him was the house of Nicholas Conklin, and on the
opposite shore hved Eobert Land. Kane and Land were tories,
and both ran away on learning that they would be arrested by
Captain Tyler's scouts, if they remained with their families.
Land went to New York, while the other sought safety among
the Indians, and participated in their atrocities. It is beUeved
he is the individual mentioned in Stone's life of Brant as Barney
Kane.
Before leaving, Kane employed a man named Flowers to
stay with his family and attend to his business. He hoped no
harm would befaU his wife and httle children, as the scouts had
not been known to injure the helpless and harmless, and it was
hardly supposed the savages would disturb the families of theu*
friends. Yet he never saw their faces again. They were aU
murdered in April, 1777, by a party of Indians who were be-
lieved to be Mohawks, (and may have been Senecas) and who
performed their bloody work at night, and disappeare'd before
morning. • • »
On the day previous to the tragedy, the wife of Robert Land
and her son John, then a young man of nineteen years, fearing
a visit from the scouts, drove their cattle to a place of conceal-
ment. They remained away all night, leaving Abel, two other
brothers, and two sisters, at home. After the occupants were
asleep, one of the daughters was disturbed by feeling a spear-
point drawn gently across the sole of one of her feet. A half-
196 HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
breed Indian named Captain Jokn had often visited the family.
He had inherited from his white ancestors a love of fun, and
from the savages a tigerlike fondness for blood. He had often
"u-ritated" Miss Laud's ears and nose with a straw or feather,
and laughed boisterously at her ludicrous vexation, and during
his hfe had been engaged ia afiairs that displayed his terrible
ferocity.
When Miss Land felt the tickling motion of the spear-point,
she supposed that Captaia John was making her once more the
victim of a practical joke, and exclaimed, as she opened her eyes,
"Captain John, is that you?" "Do you know Captain Johji?"
he inquii'ed with an Litlian accent, and told her to go to the
neighbors and let them know the Lidians had come, and then
left the hou8& She did what she was directed to do by the un-
known visitor, but it seems did not alarm the other members of
the family who were asleep in the house. After hastily dressing
herself, she hiuTied to the rivei-side, and gettiug into a canoe,
boldly pushed it across in the darkness. Landing where a path
led to Kane's house, she followed up the bank, and was soon at
the door. All was silent within. She soon found that a fearful
scene had been enacted there; and fled to the dwelling of Nich-
olas Conklin, the inmates of which were aroused and told what
she had seen and heard. No one considered it prudent to vent-
ure forth until morning, when Mr. Conklin and some of the others
went to Kane's, where they found the entii-e family, including
Mr. Flowers, murdered and scalped. Mrs. Kane had evidently
been scalped whUe she was yet ahve ; for she had died while
attempting to dress herself, and a portion of her clothes was
drawn over her mutilated head.
After gazing at the honid scene, the party accompanied Miss
Land home. Her mother and brother Jolin were still absent.
Abel was missing, and had been taken ofl' by the Lidians. Not
long after, Mrs. Land and Jolm made their appearance, and on
being informed what had taken place, were nuicli peqilexed and
distressed. They could not understand why theii fanjih' was con-
verted into a target by both parties. At first Jolm did not even
know which way the marauders had gone, and had no definite
idea concerning the rescuuig of his unfortunate brother ; but on
rallying some friends, among whom were a few Lidians of the
vicinity, he learned fi-om the latter that the assiulants had re-
turned towards their own territory. John and the friends who
were willing to go with him, at once started in piu'suit, and after
a rapid march overtook the savages, whom they found posted
for battle. John was not disjiosed to fight. He wiuited his
brother, and called for a "talk." An explanation took place,
the result of which was that Abel was delivered to his fi-iends,
after he was compelled to run tlie gauntlet, in doing which his
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 197
speed astonished everybody present. He did not receive more
than half a dozen blows, and none of them were severe. The
two parties then separated.
In April, 1780, Brant, with a party of Indians and tories, made
a descent on Hai-persfield, Delaware county, and captured
Colonel Alexander Harper, Freegift Patchiu, and several other
patriots, whom they took to Niagara. Patchin was a respectable
man, and in 1804," 1805, 1820, 1821 and 1822 was a Member of
Assembly. After the Eevolutionary war, he published a naiTa-
tive of his captivity, in which he says that one of his captors
was "Barney Cane," a tory. We believe that, after the lapse
of years, he substituted the name of Barney for Bryant — •
a very natural mistake under the circumstances. During
the^ journey from Hai-persfield to Niagara, this Barney or
Bryant Cane boasted that he had killed one Major Hopkins, on
Dimon's Island, in Lake George. A party of pleasure, he stated,
had gone to this island on a sailing excursion, and having spent
more time than they were aware of before they were ready to
return, concluded to stay all night. Cane and his party, per-
ceiving that they were defenseless, as soon as it was night,
proceeded to the island, and fired upon them as they were
sleeping around a fire. Several of the Americans were killed,
among whom was a woman who had a babe, which was not hurt.
"This," said the inhuman wretch, "we put to the breast of
its dead mother, and so we left it. Major Hopkins was only
wounded, his thigh-bone being broken. He started up, when
I struck him with the butt of my gun on the side of his head.
He fell over; but caught on one hand. I then knocked him the
other way, when he caught with the other hand. A third blow,
and I laid him dead. These were all scalped except the infant.
In the morning, a party of whigs brought away the dead, to-
gether with one they found aUve, although he was scalped, and
the babe, which was hanging and sobbing at the breast of its
lifeless mother."
Whether Barney Cane and Bryant Kane are the same or not,
the above paragraph proves that war will convert even a civihzed
man into a demon, and that it is satanic beyond all other inflii-
ences, and should never be resorted to except in the most extreme
cases. It may be that the massacre of Kane's family rendered
him a fiend; it is quite as probable that his own crimes led to
the slaughter of his wife and children. There is a veil of mystery
about these transactions which cannot now be put aside, and
therefore we will not attempt to remove it.
After the declaration of peace, Bryant Kane wandered from
neighborhood to neighborhood in the valley of the Delaware.
His property passed into other hands, he became a drunkard,
and finally went no one knew whither.
198 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Jolm Land endeavored to be pradent and wary, but became
so obnoxious to the whigs that he was arrested, and sent to a '
New Jersey prison known as the log-jail. From this be
escaped; biit was soon retaken, when he was wounded in the
head with a sword, and hanged until life was nearly gone. He
was then told that he would be hanged in earnest next time, and,
heavily ii-oned, was once more cast into prison. Subsequently a
whig named Joel Haiwey became responsible for his good conduct,
and he was permitted to enjoy the Uberties of the town. He Hved
with Harvey until 1783, when he retiimed to Cochecton. In the
meantime, his mother had gone with her other children to New
York city, where she rejoined her husband. Here they remained
until the city was evacuated by the British, when, ^^'ith other
tory refugees, tiiey went to Canada, leaving John behind them.
He became a respectable citizen of the United States, although
he was stigmatized imtil the day of his death, as "John Land,
the tory."* The Canada branch of the family became wealthy
and influential.
The mothers of Cochecton had theii- fuU share of trouble and
suffering. No effort worthy of them has been made to record
their pains and perils, and it is impossible now to tell their stoiy,
for the incidents of their Hves are forgotten. We can gather
but a few disjointed facts, and must ask the reader to fill the
gaps as his imagination or good sense may dictate.
In 1774, William Couklin of Cochecton, a young man of un-
blemished character, was maiiied to Elizabeth Brink of Minisink,
a beautiful girl but sixteen years of age. The young coui^le
moved into their log-house near Big Island, and contmued to
live there, although the lurid clouds of war daily caused their
heai-ts to tremble. They were on Indian groimd — the fi-equent
scenes of savage revels and battles. In due time the child-^ife
became a mother, when the maternal instinct, so lovely in all
living things, caused her to fear less for her own safety than the
weKare of her babe, and while she pressed it to her breast with
her immature but motherly arms, her eyes were searching the
surroimding scenery for indications of danger and fear. While
thus engaged, she discovered the dreaded red men crossing the
Delaware in the direction of her home, clothed and painted for
murder and rapine. With her infant in her arms, she fled to
the woods for concealment and secmity, and did not pause imtD
she came to a stream of water. Feaiing that the savages would
discover traces of her flight among the leaves and plants of the
* Tom Quick and the Pioneers. The Revolutionary incidents here recorded were
communicated to the author, in 1850, by Hon. Moses Thomas and other aged gentle-
men of unquestioned respectability, who had lived in the Cushetunk region from their
birth. We give them here precisely as they were detailed to us, with a sUght change
in the diction.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 199
wilderness, and knowing that they themselves would do so under
the same circumstances, she plunged into the water, and fol-
lowed the bed of the creek until she found a secure hiding-
place, where she remained until she could return in safety.
Dui-ing the raid which terminated in the battle of Highland,
she passed through other scenes which were equally adventurous
and exciting. She siu-vived them all, and became the mother
of §leven children, as well as a mother in Israel. She died in
1842, at the house of Jesse Tyler, a son-in-law, and was in-
terred in a sequestered spot in sight of her early home. Her
descendants at that time, it was computed, numbered at least
one hundi-ed souls.*
Another of these heroic women was Mrs. Jesse Drake, the
names of whose descendants are equally well kno^vn and re-
spected in the valley of the Delaware. The father of her first
husband (Moses Thomas 1st) was killed by Indians near the
mouth of the Cushetunk in 1763. Her husband ( Moses Thomas
2d) early in the war abandoned the old homestead, took his
young wife to Minisink, as the thickly inhabited section of
Mamakating was then known, joined the patiiotic army, and
was for some time at West Point and Newburgh. Becoming
dissatisfied with his officers, he hired a substitute and returned
to Minisink. When Brant invaded that point, Thomas volun-
teered, and was killed at the battle of Highland. After
this, she married a man named Nathan Chapman, and went
with him to Wyoming, where he was killed by savages. Subse-
quently she became the wife of Jesse Drake. After the war
she could not see an Indian without fainting, so gi-eat was her
dread of those who had slain so many of her near and dear
friends.t
Notwithstanding the pioneers of the Delaware once more
engaged in rafting, farming, &c., after the Bevolutionary war,
they sometimes suffered from himger. Lunibering was the most
promising source of gain, and some neglected their- crops to
engage in it. It was the most ready way of acquiring money.
Sometimes, however, their rafts were wrecked on the way to
Philadelphia ; or were swept from the eddies by sudden floods ;
or there was not a rafting flood at the usual time. The people
were poor, and any contingency which prevented returns for
their lumber on the expected day, caused general suflering.
Even when there was plenty of grain in the settlement, some-
times a fi-eshet of long continuance rendered it impossible to
get to Minisink, where their wheat, corn, &c., were manufactured
into flour and meal. During times of want, the people were
very kind to each other. Without hesitation, they divided their
* BepuUican Watchman, Jan. 18, 1843. t Tom Quick.
aOO HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
last cfrust ■witli the starving, and trusted in Providence for the
next. So great was the scarcity of food at times, that women
and children, after traveling for miles through the forest to pro-
cure food, upon receiving a few ^ars of com, would gnaw the
raw kernels fi-om the cobs Hke famished animals. An old gen-
tleman who had been a witness of these scenes, and related
them to the author in 1850, wept, whUe he was doing so, like a
sorrow-stricken woman.
While the people of Cochecton were laboring under the
disadvantages of a new and secluded locaUty, some of them
were seized with a mania to push stiU farther into the wilder-
ness. This was after the war for independence. Strange tales
were told of the beauty and fertility of the Great West, where
their old neighbors, the Indians, had gone. Great as were the
natural advantages of the West, speculators and enthusiasts
made the credulous of Cochecton and other regions believe that
the new El Dorado was a hundredfold better than it really was,
and adventurers were soon thronging the mihtary roads, Indian
paths and navigable rivers, determined to encounter everything
which was a barrier to the progi-ess of the dominion of the white
race. Among those who went from Cochecton were a man named
Abraham Euss, and his brother-in-law, a Mr. Van Etten, with
their families. They settled on the banks of the Ohio, where
Mr. Euss and some of the others were murdered by the Indians.
Mrs. Euss subsequently returned, and was mamed to a man
named George Hawk, one of whose daughters was the mother
of Bishop Bascom of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The
name of Hawk is ahke familiar and respectable in the Delaware
river towns.
Before the interior of the county was permanently occupied,
Cochecton was one of the routes which led to Western New
York, as appears froni a manuscript of a gentleman named
Skinner, who lived and died at the mouth of Calkin's creek.
Says he, " My father's house at Cushetunk (or rather the place
where we stayed — for it consisted of a few logs thrown together
and covered -vvith bark) was for several years a principal stop-
ping-place. There were but few houses in Cochecton where the
traveler could be lodged even on a somewhat primitive floor.
Some remained with us two or three days, and others as many
weeks. In those days, there was no way to get to Cochecton
except by pushing a canoe thirty-five or forty miles up the river,
or by travehng the same distance on an liidian path where a
carriage could not be drawn. Yet many found the way to Co-
checton by the power of feet and legs, or the strength of hands
and arms. 'Confused unnumbered multitudes were found'- —
some moving farther up the river ; some on the way to Niagara ;
some coming to raft, others to speciilate, and some to peculate.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 201
"Each talked aloud, or in some secret place,
And wild, impatient, stared in every face !
" The greater part had been, or intended to be, concerned in
the affairs of the countiy. Their conversation naturally led to
the transactions and troubles on the Delaware during the'French
and Revolutionary wars.
"There at one passage, oft you might survey
A lie and truth contending for the sway ;
There various news I heard of love and strife ;
Of war and peace, health, sickness, death and life ;
Of loss and gain, of famine and of store ;
Of rafting down stream — walking up the shore ;
Of old possessions occupied anew," etc.
The following interesting particulars in regard to Cochecton
were embodied in an address delivered at the Beech Woods
Fair, in 1860 or 1861, by Hon. James C. Curtis. He deserves
much credit for gathering and recording local historical facts,
and it is to be regretted that others have not had time and in-
chnation to do as he has done. We give his address without
curtailment, although some of it may be a repetition of what
we have wi-itten :
The valley of the Delaware in Cochecton was undoubtedly
the first locality in SuUivan which was permanently occupied by
■white men, except portions of the towns of Mamakating and
Neversink. Very httle is known as to who were the first or
transient settlers of Cochecton, or where they came fi-om. They
have passed away without leaving, as far as I know, any records
by which we can learn the whole or even a part of their history,
and their descendants, if any remain among us, know but little
of their ancestors. This is not important, because they were
hunters and trappers — mere sqiiatters on the lands of the Indians.
The history of the permanent settlers is better known. The
descendants of the major part of them are numerous in the town ;
and fi'om family records and tradition we can learn much of them.
The fertile flats on the river at Cochecton were early known
to the settlers of Minisink. Our beautiful valley, from Cochecton
Falls to the mouth of the Callicoon, was then called by the In-
dians "Cushetunk, or low lands,"* by which name it is desig-
* This name is also spelled on old maps, " Cashiegtunk." Cochecton is but a cor-
ruption of the true Indian name. "Low lands" is probably not a translation of the
word. The terminal "unk" shows that the name was given by the Lenape to the
mountains in the vicinity of the river. The literal meaning of " unk," or its equivalents
"ung" and "ong," was "sky top," and it was used to describe anything high or
elevated. Q,
202 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
nated on the first maps of the State. It is a much more mfld
and soft name than the one which has displaced it, (Cochecton).
Indian names were more appropriate than the ones given by the
Dutch and Enghsh settlers ; and it is a pity that they were not
retained, or cannot be restored. The only reason that I can
assign for the change is, that, owing to the wars between the
whites and the savages, and the atrocities committed by the
latter, that settlers could not tolerate or endure any name or
thing that was Inchan.
The country was fertile, and aboirnded in fish, fiu's and game.
It was near the sea-board — but one hrmdred miles from New
York, and had an outlet by the Delaware river to Philadelphia ;
but it was not at first rapidly settled, owing among other things,
I suppose, to the disputes laetween New Jersey and New York,
as to jurisdiction of territory and ownership of the soU.*
In the year 170-4, the Minisink patent was gi-anted. It covers
the southern tier of towns in this county, and a portion of
Orange coimty.
In 1708, the patent kno-mi as the Hardenbergh, or Great
Patent, was by Queen Ann granted to Johannis Hardenbergh
and his associates. Including Hardenbergh, there were eight of
them. No division of it took place imtil 1749, when nearly, if
not all, the original patentees were dead. It was then divided
into Great Lots, and by lot partitioned among its owners, the de-
scendants or assigns of each patentee receiving their equal and
fan- number of lots. The heii-s and legal representatives of some
of the patentees had become numerous. Hence, to give each
one his equal portion of land, the Great Lots were cut up into
Divisions, and these Di\'isions were divided among them soon
after the partition of 1749. Some then sold their land ; but not
to actual settlers. The Great Lots and Divisions were so large
that few could purchase. The wealthy bought these large tracts.
They were the old aristocracy, the Patroons, the Lords of
Manors, the EngUsh and Dutch nobility of the day.
A few merchants had gi-own rich by Ijartering blankets, trink-
ets, powder, lead, poor guns, and i-uiuous fire-water — the curse
and destroyer of the Inchai^s — for the furs and peltries of the
beaver, otter, deer, bear, panther, and other animals which
abounded in the primeval forests of the country. About this
time these traders began to give themselves aii's — loecame owners
of the soil — intermarried with land-holders and aristocrats, and
like them were not willing to sell the land to those who could
pay and become independent freeholders. Then- plan was to
lease to the poor and landless, and become Patroons and Barons
* A fall account of the controversy between New York and New Jersey will be fonnd
in a subsequent i-haptcr of this volume.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWABE, 203
— to lord it over a poor tenancy, and number them as they did
their "cattle on a thousand hills." But they did not succeed.
Owing to the disputes with New Jersey as to jurisdiction and
ownership; the controversy with the Indians, who refused to
leave until they were paid for the land ; the French and Indian
war in 1756 and subsequent years ; and lastly, the war of the
Eevolution, the lands remained in the hands of such large pro-
prietors as had not become bankrupt, without settlers to much
extent, and subject to charges fi-om which none escaped. Many
of them, and then- descendants after them, became poorer and
poorer, until they were unable to pay taxes, for which their
possessions were sold by the State.
To illustrate this state of things, permit me to give the history
of two lots in this town — Nos. 59 and 61.
About the year 1750, Joseph Griswold, of New York city, an
Englishman fi'om London, was a wealthy distiller, and among
the iirst of his class. He purchased molasses from the West
Indies, and made of it rum — pure, genuine rum. If not more
honest, he was perhaps less sklUed in the art than those of his
craft of the present day. He did not from molasses make aU
kinds of hquor, or, like the retailers and publicans of our time,
draw rum, brandy, whisky, cordial, and even schnaps, or any
other kind of hquor that his customers demanded, from the
same cask. At that time (1750) he purchased fi'om John Wen-
ham, of the city of London, lot No. 59, on which Beech Woods
is located, and lot No. 61, which includes the Falls of the Calli-
coon, each containing about 3,300 acres. No part of either was
sold until 1812, when Edward, the son of Joseph Griswold, sold to
Boss, Tyler and Mitchell, that portion of lot No. 59 lying on the
Delaware river, which had been early improved by their an-
cestors. Edward Griswold continued to own nearly aU of the
remainder of the bt until his death, which took place in 1836.
Since that time, it has been sold in small parcels to residents,
to the manifest benefit of the people and the town.
The other lot (No. 61) is yet (1861) mostly unsold, and uncul-
tivated. It is in a state of natm-e, and a clog to the prosperity
of the town. It extends from the Delaware to the viciaity of
Pike Pond, and is owned by Madame Berthemy, a subject of
France, the gi-and-daughter of Joseph Griswold, the distiller.
In a pecuniary point of view, the speculation of the senior
Griswold was disastrous to himseK, and nearly so to his descend-
ants. He paid in 1750, £500, New York cun-ency, for each lot.
The £500 then invested in lot No. 61, would now, counting
taxes and interest, amount to $2,500,000 — eight hundi-ed dollars
per acre. $2,500,000 is six times as much as the assessed value
of all the real and personal property of the town. This is a fair
201 HISTORY OF SCLUT.VK COUNTY.
specimen of the results of land monopolr. It is disastrous to
public welfare, and ruinous to those who engage in it.*
Such has been and such is the histoiy of the landlords and
gi-eat land -holders of the Hardenbergh, the Van Rensselaer,
the Livingston and other large patents of the State.
The policy of granting large tracts of land to indi-\-iduals for
speculative purposes, and to create powerful famihes — Patroons,
Lords of Manors, and domineering aristocrats, with a monopoly
of offices and political power on the one hand, and on the other
a commonalty of menials and tenants, paying homage and obe-
dience to, and hving on the lands at the mil of an-ogant and
domineering superiors — superiors with the privilege and the
inclination to wring fi-om honest toil its just reward, to pamper
and support in luxurious idleness themselves and families — has
signally failed. The descendants of the once proud Livingstons,
Yan Eensselaers, De Lanceys and others, whose tenants once
numbered thousands, are now on a level with their fellow-citizens,
and compelled to work for their daily bread or become paupers.
The last vestige of feudal tenures was swept away by the Con-
stitution adopted by the Empii-e State in 18i6. TMs is as it
should be, for which we should all rejoice.
) Soon after the partition of the Hardenbergh patent in 1749,
and sales to some extent had been made, it became necessary
for the old proprietors and new purchasers to secure possession
of the lands, by hav-ing occujjants permanently planted on them.
This was expedient on accoimt of the conduct of the New Jersey
claimants, and, as Diedrick Knickerbocker styles them in his
veritable history of New York, "the universal squatting, bun-
dling Yankees." The latter, in their desire of extension and
inherent love of gain, about the year 1750, set up an imfounded
claim which, for a long series of years, gave trouble to New York
and Pennsylvania, and finally to the government of the United
States. Under the pretense that Connecticut had organized the
Territory of Wyoming, that Colony attempted to estabUsh a
title to, and exercise jurisdiction over, aU the region west of the
Dutch settlements of New York, north of latitude 40°, extending
through Pennsvlvania to the Pacific ocean. Connecticut colo-
nists came to tlie disputed region armed to the teeth, t for pro-
tection against the savages, as well as the Pennhamites, who
* In 1810, GeorgL' Tavlor, who died in Monticcllo a few years since, owned several
hundred acres in Great Lot 17, and was offered $5.50 per acre for it. For more than
thirty years he paid taxes on it, but received no revenue from it, and then sold tlie
iaud for nearly the sum he was offered for it in 1810.— Vide MalcJoaan, May 13, 1841.
+ Chapman, in his history of Connecticut, says the " colony" of Cushetunk was
commenced in 1757, and that, in 1760, the colonists had tliirty houses, a saw and grist-
mill, and a block-house, together with several large log-houses. The number ot
douses is probably too large, and the grist-mill, if there was one, was a small affair,
IS uo trace or tradition of it is now known there.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON ANL DELAWARE. "ZVO
claimed the couutry west of the Delaware under the charter
of William Peun, the Quaker. Either not knowing or caring
where the bounds of that territory were, they attempted to settle
and wrest from the real owners the fertile flats and valleys of
Cushetunk, on the Delaware. The Skinners, the Calkins and
the Tylers came fi'om Connecticut, first stopping on their way
to W;yoming territory at Deerpark, now Mount Hope, on the
east side of Shawangunk mountain, the then only direct route
to "Fair Wyoming," since renowned in story and song, for the
brutal atrocities committed by the savages, and their worse than
savage tory allies.
The Skinners first occupied the place since owned by Daniel
Bush and Moses Tyler, to which they gave the name of St. Tam-
many Flat. Here, until he died in 1812, lived Daniel Skinner,
the "Admiral," who steered the first raft fi-om Cushetunk to
Philadelphia. In his old age, he married a new wife in New-
bmgh, and brought her to Cushetunk, which event was made
memorable by a native poet named Seeley, who honored the
"Admiral" and his spouse with a poem, which was long after
recited in the neighborhood. But a few lines of it are now re-
membered. The following is a specimen of it. As the "Ad-
mii-al" and his wife from the hills east of the Delaware, came in
view of his beautiful home, he turned to her and said, in the
language of Seeley:
" Behold St. Tammany ! Behold the foimtains !
At the foot of the hill.
There is a saw- mill,
And plenty of timber on the mountains."
Calkins, the pioneer, was a doctor of talent and usefulness.
His location was near Cochecton Falls. He afterwards removed
to Wyoming. His son, the grandfather of the present generation
of Calkins, after the Revolution, returned, and purchased and
occupied Lot No. 63, containing about 3,000 acres, including
the beautiful flats on which Cochecton depot and village now
stand. He was afterwards di'owned in crossing the Delaware
river at the head of Pine Flat.
Tyler, the first settler, it is said, was the father of twenty-two
children. In the French and Revolutionary wars he was driven
off by the Indians. Several of Iris sons enlisted in the Revolu-
tion, and fought braveljr for their country. One of them, Na-
thaniel, the father of William Tyler, known as " Rockwell Bill,"
was a drummer in the army, and was taken prisoner at the battle
of St. Johns. Another, Captain Bezaleel Tyler, of whom hon-
orable mention is made in Stone's Life of Brant, and in the
History of Orange County, fell mortally woixnded while leading
206 HISTORY or SULLIVAN COCNTY.
his men against the Indians at the battle of Minisink, near the
Lackawaxen, where were killed the flower of the citizen-soldiers
of Orange. A noble monument was erected over their remains,
after they had remained on the battle-field forty years. Captain
Tyler is the second in the hst of pati-iots whose names are gi-aven
on that monument. Those of the family who siu-dved the war,
retiirned to Cochecton, drew pensions fi-om the government,
were iisefiil citizens, and the fathers of large famihes, as the
almost universal name of the family in Cochecton wiU testify.
Tlie Conklins came about the same time, it is said, fi-om Rock-
land county. They, too, had to leave in the French war, and
again in the Revolution. After fighting for Independence, they
came back. Elias and John purchased lot No. 64, including the
farm since o-mied by Nathan Mitchell, where they resided until
they sold out in 1817, and removed to Great Bend," Pennsylvania.
Jolin Conklin was a man of note — uneducated, but of good mind
and religious principles; honest in his dealings; respected in
the commimity ; was Supervisor of his town, (then Lumberland,
in the county of Ulster), Judge of the County Court, and three
times Member of Assembly.* His name was given to the town
of ConkUn, in Broome county. He was a pioneer advocate of,
and took an active part in making the Newburgh and Cochecton
tm-npike, the bridge across the Delaware, and Cochecton and
Great Bend turnpike. Elias was an Indian doctor of note —
cured cancers, the bites of rattlesnakes, etc. His art descended
to his son and gi-andson. John and Elias both, until they died,
drew pensions — the first, eighteen dollars, as a sergeant, and the
other eight dollars, as a private, per month. There was another
brother "(WiUiam), a quiet, industrious, inoffensive, good man,
who settled at Big Island, on lands of Joseph Griswold. Al-
though twice driven fi-om his home at short notice by the Indians,
he cherished a kind regard for them, saying that they were
more sinned against than sinning ; that many of them were fine
fellows ; and that he had seen sixty Indian men on a New-year's-
day, playing ball on Big Island, which was a great resort for
them, as it was near their burying-gi-ound, the graves of which
on the farm of John C. Drake remain visible to the present day.
The Ross family were fiom Bound Brook, New Jersey. They
were induced to come to Cushetunk by Joseph Griswold, the
distiller. The eldest of them settled on the farm now owned by
Charles Miles, and formerly by George Kellam. He had
two sons, John and James. John settled on the south and James
on the north side of the mouth of the CaUicoon or Tm'key creek.
The latter died about 1812.
The Mitchells came fi-om New Jersey, the first of whom settled
* From Sullivan and Ulster in 1810, 18U, and 1817.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 207
■on the land now belonging to Elihu S. Paige, under the New
J^ersey claim. After the war of the Revolution, he bought lot
No. 65 of one of the Hardenbergh proprietors. He lived to a
good old age, and left a large family of sons and daughters.
The family having intermarried with the Bosses and Tylers, are
now very numerous.
The Laytons were also natives of New Jersey. They located
themselves at the forks of the Callicoon, on lot No. 59, on lands
of Colonel Duer, an officer of the Eevoh;tion who married the
"daughter of Lord Sterling, distinguished as a Major General in
our war for Independence, and as the ft'iend of Washington.
About the year 1790, Ebenezer Taylor, of Orange county. New
York, came up the river ft-om Carpenter's Point in a canoe, and
brought with him a stock of goods. He stuck his stake opposite
•Cochecton village, on lands of Simeon Bush, and commenced
business as a merchant. Soon afterwards he married Eleanor,
a granddaiTghter of the first Doctor Calkins, and then moved to
the place now owned by James C. Curtis, where he continued
his store. He was the first merchant of the town ; made im-
provements, cleared land, etc. He was not only entei-prising as
a retailer of goods, but a public-spirited citizen. He was the
first major in the battalion of militia organized west of Mama-
kating; took an active part in establishing the route of and
making the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike road and the
Cochecton and Great Bend turnpike ; was the first treasurer of
the latter; and, when the Cochecton post-office and the post-
route through the town were established by President Maclison,
was appointed post-master. He made the first improvement on
the farm lately owned by Samuel Sprague, at Beech "Woods ;
gave name to the landing-place for raftsmen which is yet known
as Taylor's Eddy ; kept the first place of entertainment for them
between Skinner's Eddy and Ten Mile river, and the first licensed
tavern in the town. His house was the abode of hospitahty,
■where the traveler, preacher, lawyer and statesman found a wel-
come, and where the poor never were turned away empty. He
died in 1821, leaving three sons and three daiighters. The sons
soon moved westward, and now of his name none remain
aanong us.
Still later (about 1800) Charles Irvine, a native of Ii-eland,
after fleeing fi-om the oppression of the English government
Tinder the younger Pitt, landed at Philadelphia, and at the re-
quest of some persons from this j^lace who were there selling
lumber, came to this town as a school-master. Gentlemanly in
his manners, of fine personal appearance, and of good education,
he was a popular teacher. He assisted in organizing the fii'st
regular school, and in building by a joint stock company the first
frame school-house in the town. Soon after he made Cochecton
208 HISTORY OS SULLIVAN COUNTY.
his residence, he married Weighty, a granddaughter of the elder
Doctor Calkins ; settled where his son jared now resides ; cleared
a heavy burden of timber from the hills and the flats ; and built
a large inn and outbuildings, at that time the best between
Bloomingburgh and Great Bend. He was a very popular land-
lord. In 1812, the recniiting officer had his quarters at Ii-vine's
hotel. It was there young men of the region enhsted to fight
for fi"ee ti-ade and sailor's rights. It was there the traveler
heard of the great victories of Peny and McDonough ; of the
battles of Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane; and of the
never-to-be-forgotten battle of the cotton-bags at New Orleans,
In 1825, he removed to the west-branch of the Susquehanna,
and died there during the same year. From him the respectable
family of the Irvines are descended.
The Youngs came from Scotland in 1750, and settled on lands
of Joseph Griswold, at Big Island.
While Sullivan was a part of Ulster, the county business was
aU done at Kingston, the only practicable route to which for a
long series of years was by the way of Cai-penter's Point and
Peenpack and through the Neversink and Mamakating vaUeys.
The journey to Peenpack was performed on foot, or on horse-
back, or in canoes. To the latter place there was nothing but
an Indian trad, and to travel to the county-seat was a formidable
undertaking — much more so than a jom-ney to Washington is
now.
Lumberland was taken fi-om Mamakating in 1798, and covered
the present towns of Bethel, Highland, Cochecton, Liberty and
Tusten. Bethel was made from the territoiy of Lumberland in
1809, and Cochecton from Bethel in 1828.
The first town-meeting of Cochecton was held in March, 1829,
at the house now owned by WUlett Embler, in what was then
known as the village, and caUed familiarly "the tavern." At
that house and at Fosterdale the only inns in the to^Ti were
kept for many years. Colonel Philo Buckley, U. S. Marshal in
1830, reported the number of inhabitants as ■438, and voters
about 80, of whom only sixty voted at the next election. But
from sixty to seventy votes were cast at any time for several
years. In 1855, the mhabitants numbered 3,071, of whom 1,794
were natives of the United States, and the balance of foreign
birth. Number of electors, 49'4.
The population and improvement of the town were at fii-st of
slow growth. In 1832, the charter of the New York and Erie
RaUroad was gianted. In 1835, the company tu'st broke groimd
in the town near the CaUicoon depot. With the completion of
that work, there was an influx of popidation. This beautiful
and fertile region became kno^vn, with its fine land, pure an-,
excellent timber, and abundant water-power, all within one
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 209
himdred miles of the Empire City of America, and atti-acted
capitalists and settlers. To the foreigner who fled from the
despotism of the Old World, Cochecton offered inducements
superior to those of the more fertile lands of the far West. To
him its advantages then became known. Before this the Mini-
sink and Hardenbergh patents had been a reproach and by-word.
They had been stigmatized by a distinguished Senator at Albany
as so poor tliat even crows would not fly over them.
Our population was also augmented by the tanners, who
mainly came fi-om Greene county. Colonel Edwards, and other
great manufacturers of leather, had discovered that it was better
to take hides to the localities that produced bark, than to cart
the more bulky bark a long distance to the hides. The tanneries
of Greene had nearly exhausted the bark m their vicinity, when
the tanners came to Sullivan, and added much to its population,
and immensely to its resources. For many years, there was
more sole-leather made in this counhr than in any other teiTi-
tory of equal extent in the world. Before their advent, lands
clothed with hemlock were avoided by every one but the lum-
ber-man. Now they are considered the most valuable of our
wild lands ; and it not unfrequently happens that the bark on
such a lot will pay for cleaiing and fencing it, and leave a margin
large enough for good, comfortable buildings, to say nothing of
stock.
Names of persons who resided in Cochecton in Mai-ch, 1814,
who had families :
ON THE EIVER BELOW JAKED IEVINE's.
Da\'id Young, Joseph Mitchell, James Mitchell,
Stephen Mitchell, Old Mr. Mitchell, John ConkUn,
EKas Conklin, Ehas Conklin, jun., Jacob Conklin,
William Conklin, Bezaleel Calkins, Moses Calkins,
Oliver H. Calkins, Charles Irvine, Pierre A. Barker.
K THE \1LLAGE ABOVE THOSE BEFOEE MENTIONED.
Benjamin Eaymond, David Brown, William Palmer,
Nathaniel Tyler, Timothy Tyler, Paul Tyler,
Ebeuezer Taylor, Bezaleel Tyler.
ON THE TURNPIKE.
Enoch Owen, Wilham Tyler, Frederick Wallace,
James Hill, and a family where William Cochran now Uves.
. AT PIKE POND.
A man named Woodi-uff, who kept a saw-mill.
AT CALIJCOON FLATS.
Silas Tyler, and one other whose name is not now known.
AT BEECH WOODS.
Ebenezer Taylor's family, George Keesler, Timothy Tyler.
14
•210 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
AT BIG ISLAND.
William Conklin, sen., James Brink, Jesse Tyler,
Squire Marsh, Baker.
AT CALLICOON.
John Ross, Joseph Ross, Charles Layton.
AT NORTH BRANCH (ABOVE CALLICOON).
James Ross, Nathaniel Tvler, sen., WiUiam Tyler,
WiUiam Tyler, Benjamin Tyler, WilHam BiUings.
WITHOUT families:
George S. Young, John Mitchell, Charles R. Taylor,
George B. Guinnip, Robinson, Amos Tyler,
EH Conklin, Paul W. ConkHn, John Ross,
EHas Ross, John Layton, Jacob Mitchell,
John KiUam, George KUlam, John BroTN-n,
Bateman Smith, John HUl, Isaac Tyler.
Of the sixty-five famihes and imman-ied men who resided in
the town, more than one-half bore the name of Mitchell, Conk-
lin, Tyler and Ross !
The number of families in 1814, indicates a population of
about 250.
In the spring of 18-57, John Moersch caused to be held on his
premises at Beech Woods, a fair for the sale, exchange and
exhibition of horses, horned cattle, sheep, swine, and farm pro-
ducts generally. The German people of Cochecton and the
adjoining towms had been accustomed to such things in the
fatherland, and greeted its introduction in their adopted home
with delight. Notwithstanding Mr. Moersch received no bounty
from the pubhc treasury, was unaided by money contributions
from friends or foes, and was stigmatized by the latter as a
visionary speculator, he steadily pursued the even tenor of his
way. Through his entei-prise and Uberahty, fair succeeded fak
semi-annually, as long as he remained a resident of the town,
and after he removed to New York to engage in mercantile pur-
suits, others followed in his footsteps, not only at Beech Woods,
but at Jefi'ersouville, YoungsviUe, and other places. A notable
feature of these German fairs is, that, although supported and
managed by private individuals, and imaided by the State, in
some manner money enough is made by them to pay adver-
tising biUs, wliile the County Society was always too poor to do
so, and finally starved to death.
Mr. Moersch was not only successful with his fairs ; but he
was a model farmer. He commenced life at Beech Woods -with
small means in an insignificant log-house. Wlien he left there,
he had a noble farm, with a fine house, capacious bams, con-
venient out-buildings, orchards which were annually loaded with
choice fruit, and he could boast of more improvements in agri-
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 211
'Culture than many older farmers. He was not only a good
farmer, but a genial, kind-hearted gentleman.
On the 13th of November, 1868, Cochecton was cut in two by
the Supervisors of the county, and the new town of Delaware
erected. The division-line is from the foot of Big or Pine Island
easterly along the north line of lot 62, in Great Lot 18 ; thence
south along the west Une of Great Lot 17 until it strikes the
south-west comer of lot 74 ; thence east on the line of lot 74 to
the town-hne of Bethel. North of this line is Delaware ; south
of it Cochecton. The first town-meeting in Delaware was held
at the house of Charles Fischer, on the first Tuesday of March,
1869, at which Anthony H. Bush, John VaUeau and Jacob
Sch«oOiuaker, jr., presided.
In the early part of May, 1855, George Ehrich, of Cochecton,
was killed by his wife Catharine. He was sick, and in bed, when
she took a Iieavy Dutch hoe, mounted a chair by his bed-side,
and struck him upon the head, fracturing his skuU. The family
of Ehrich was present, and his daughter caught hold of her
mother as soon as the blow was stnick, and prevented its repe-
tition. Mrs. Ehrich declared that she had killed him becaiise
she had a deadly antipathy agaiast him, and had long wished
■ to be released fr-om her marital obligations. She was indicted
at the next session of the grand jury, and tried for murder at
the September Oyer and Terminer, when her counsel (A. C.
Niven,) set up a plea of insanity. The District Attorney, (C. H.
Van Wyck,) did not press a conviction, as he was certaia the
defense was well founded. The jury rendered a verdict of ac-
quittal, and she was sent to an asylum for the insane.
The most atrocious murder ever perpetrated in Sullivan
county, was committed by a German named Francis Gubemater,
on the 7th of September, 1861.
In the spring of 1856, Gubernater was an inmate of the j)oor-
house, and was discharged from that institiition. Entirely
destitute and unable to speak the English language, he applied
for shelter and assistance to Wolfgang Dressier, a fellow-coun-
tryman who Uved at Beech Woods. By industry and self-denial,
Dressier had acquired a small property. He not only took
Gubernater into his family, but told him that after the death of
himself and wife, he should be his heir, if he conducted himself
like a man. For over six years Dressier harbored him, and
treated him as kiudly as if he had been a son or brother. On
the day of the murder, Gubernater had been fr-om home. In
the evening he returned partially intoxicated, and while at supper
foimd fault with the food on the table, abused Mrs. Dressier,
and commenced breaking crockery, windows, etc. Dressier was
a cripple and in feeble health, and was on his bed. He remon-
strated with the drunken man for his conduct, when the latter
212 HIBTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
started for the bed, stopped suddenly, went after an axe, re-
turned, and literally bewed his benefactor to pieces. Mrs.
Dressier attempted to defend her husband, when Gubemater
tiu-ned upon her, and would have murdered her alsO, if she had
not fled from the house. As it was, he wounded her in several
places.
Bleeding and almost distracted, Mrs. Dressier reached the
dwelling of a neighbor, and made an alarm. As soon as practi-
cable, several persons, headed by a constable named Long,
proceeded to the scene of the tragedy, where they found the
mangled remains of Dressier. The mm-derer had left the house ;
but was soon afterward found concealed under a manger in the
barn. He was taken to Monticello, and kept in jail untU the
October Oyer and Terminer of 1862, when he was tried before
Judge Theodore Miller. Isaac Anderson, District Attorney,
assisted by A. C. Niven, appeared for the people, and Henry R.
Low and William J. Groo for the prisoner. The jury rendered
a verdict of murder in the first degree, and the prisoner was
sentenced to be huug on the 12th day of December, 1863 ; and
to be confined in the State prison at Clinton until the punishment
of death was inflicted.
Notwithstanding this sentence, he was not executed. As late
as the 4th of January, 1872, he was an inmate of the prison.
For several months his health had been gi-adually faiHng. He
was nearly helpless, quite imbecile, and had been admitted to
the prison-hospital, with no prospect of hving more than a few
months.
The first four months of 18-57 were remarkable for low temper-
atures, deep snows and floods. The weather was imusually severe
in January, the 24th day of which was the coldest on record.
In several places of Sullivan the mercury of Fahrenheit's ther-
mometer descended to 84 below zero.* At Wiu'tsborough, one
of the warmest valleys of the county, the thermometer marked
30°. This extreme cold was accompanied by a furious snow-
storm, which rendered traveling ahuost impossible, and both
previously and subsequently the weather was of unusual severity.
It seemed as if, by the order of Providence, the atmosphere of
the northern extremity of tlie world passed over us like a deluge.
Our rivers and lakes were frozen as they never were before. In
the Delaware particularly the ice was of unprecedented thickuo.ss
and strength.
This cold wave was followed by one of such warmth that the
snow was suddenly melted, and a gi-eat flood occurred. The
Delaware overflowed its channel. The ice was broken up by
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTOh" AND BEL.YWARE. 213
the force of the water. In some instances sheets covering acres
of surface moved clt)wn stream until they met with obstructions,
when they became stationary, and choked the river.
The ice moved on the 8th of February, and a jam took place at
Handsome Eddy. For a time the water threatened to submerge
and destroy a large part of Barry%d]le ; but fortunately the bar-
rier was broken, and the danger was at an end.
At Cocheeton Falls, the ice formed a dam which caused the
river to swell forty feet above its ordinary level ! The jam oc-
curred at 6 o'clock in the morning, and so sudden was the
calamity that the residents of the \'illage of Cocheeton had not
time to flee fi-om their houses before they were surrounded by
water and huge blocks of floating ice. Several dwelUngs were
covered as far as their second stories, and in the church the
water reached the pulpit. Merchants abandoned their goods,
and house-keepers their furniture, while those who were on the
shore consti-ucted rafts, floats and rough boats with which they
convej'ed terrified men, women and children fi-om the half -sub-
merged houses. So energetically was the work performed that
at 10 o'clock all were rescued. No lives were lost ; bvit there
was much suffering, as well as large losses of property. Doctor
Williams' house, wdth its furniture, two barns and sheds of
Thomas Eiley, a barn of William McCullough, and a barn of
Mr. Tyler, with his hay and gi'ain, were swept away. The grave-
yard was overflowed, and the memorials of the dead broken by
the battering ice. But the greatest loss was the destruction of
the bridge across the Delaware, which had been recently com-
pleted at a cost of ten thousand dollars. It was borne away entire
after the flood was several feet above its piers.
During the day, the dam at the Falls was broken, when the
flats were speedily drained ; but they were nearly covered by
huge fi-agments of ice. For a time it was almost impossible to
drive a team through the village.
At Callicoon Depot two or three buildings were destroyed, as
well as a bridge across the Callicoon. The lumber on the river,
almost without an exception, was swept off.
The New York and Erie railroad-bridge at Narrowsburgh was
destroyed, and after a new one was put in its place, that also
was swept off by a flood on the 18th of Febmary ensuing.
As late as the 20th of April of this year, snow fell in the
noi-them part of the county to the depth of three feet, and on
the 3d and 4th of May there was another flood which caused a
considerable loss of property.
There was an unusual scarcity of hay, and many homed cattle
starved to death. On the 1st of May, cows were bought for ten
dollars per head ; but they were too weak to walk, and purchasers
were obliged to take them away on sleighs.
'214 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
As late as the 20th of May, there was a snow-storm in the
northern towns, and along the county-line the snow was six
inches deep.
The bridge at Cochecton was not rebuilt until the fall of 1858.
CapitaUsts were not inclined to invest then- money in a stnactui-e
which seemed to be of but temporary continuance, uutH Sydney
Tuttle, of Jeffersonville, took a large portion of the stock. Mr.
Chapin, the builder, commenced the new bridge in October, and
finished it in January.
In improving a new country, fire is an important agent. Ap-
pUed at a pi-oper time, it reduces to ashes the woodland mbbish
which encumbers the soil, and leaves the land in good condition
for the laising of crops. " It is a good servant, but a hard master."
In May, 1862, a person set fire to some brush-heaps on Brier
Eidge, in Cochecton, when the wind carried the flames from
object to object, and a fiery tornado iiished from the ridge to
the premises of Frederick Long, jr., on the east-branch of the
Callicoon. Foui'teen houses and barns were destroyed, besides
sheej), horn-cattle, hogs, furnitm-e, farming utensils, etc. The
pi-incipal suflerers were Chai-les Eosewinu, George Bauer, Jacob
Bordenstein, Jacob Eosewinn, Frederick Long, sen., John
Weaver, George A. Eanft, Frederick Knight, J. W. Decker,
Hem-y Fitzgerald, Frederick Long, jr., Hewlet Peters, John
Best, and Martin Andi'ews.
It was estimated that during the first week of the month nearly
one hundi'ed buildings were destroyed by fire in Cochecton,
Callicoon, Thompson, Bethel, Liberiy, Fallsburgh and Neversink.
Our history of Cochecton would not be complete without a
more particidar account of a gentleman who, for nearly two
generations, has been the most prominent resident of the town,
politically and socially.
James C. Curtis, a native of the State of Vermont, came to
Cochecton in 1814, and engaged in farming, lumbering and
trading. He was also concerned in the aflarrs of Edward Gris-
wold and Madame Beiihemy. On the organization of the town,
he was elected Supervisor, and held that ofiice seventeen years
— sixteen of them consecutively. From 1835 to 1843, he was
chakman of the Board. He was also for thirty years a Justice
of the Peace. In 1828, he was made a Major of the 185th Eegi-
ment of Infantry. In 1831 and 1833, he represented Sullivan
in the Assembly of the State, and in 1849 was elected a Senator
fi-om SuUivan and Orange. While acting in the latter capacity,
he resigned his seat ; but was re-elected by a largely increased
majority. In 1844, he was appointed First Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas, and held the position until the adoption of
the third Constitution of the State ; and from 18(32 to 1869 was
THE TOVraS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 215
United States Assessor for the Eleventh District of New York.
Besides these, he has filled several less important positions.
In early Hfe, Judge Curtis man-ied Pamelia C, a dansliter of
Major Ebenezer Taylor. His chUdi-en (now living) are Wniiam
H., James I., Charles T., Carohne M. and Helen M. Two others
(Sarah E. and Edward G.) are dead.
During the political controversies of the last fifty years, in
wliich he took an active part, Judge Curtis always commanded
the respect of his partisan opponents, and his integrity was never
questioned.
On the 24th of February, 1855, Elizabeth, only daughter of
E. L. Burnham, and wife of William H. Curtis, was so badly
injured by her clothes taking fire, that she died on the 21st of
March. WiUiam H. Curtis was Sherifl' of the county fi-om 1857
to 1860.
FosTERDALE. — Jesse M. Foster came into the county in 1817,
and for three years kept the old Irvine inn at Cochecton. In
1820, he removed to the locality which is now known as Foster-
dale. This cognomen was bestowed on a post-office established
here in 1831, of which Mr. Foster was the first master. In the
same year he was elected County Clerk, the duties of which
were discharged by his son, James H. Foster. For many years
Jesse M. Foster was engaged at Fosterdale as a hotel-keeper,
farmer and lumberman. • He died in 1853. His wife (Delia
Hurd) sui'vived him several years. Both were much respected.
Cochecton Centre. — In the fall of 1849, Alfred and Fletcher
Stevens purchased of Alfi-ed Nearing a tannery site at this place,
on which they erected a tannery 350 feet in length, and also
fifteen or twenty buildings. The place was at first called
Stevensburgh ; but was finally known as Cochecton Centre.
The tannei-y is now owned by Horton, Knapp & Co.
On Sunday, March 16, 1851, Charles Bogle and John Flanigan,
while retm-ning fi-om Cochecton depot with Timothy Giblin,
quarreled and proceeded to assault each other. Bogle was
stabbed, and died within twelve hours. Flanigan was subse-
quently convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to State prison
for three years. The parties were intoxicated at the time of
the affray.
Pike Pond. — This place received its name fi'om a pretty nat-
ural pond, upon the banks of which it is situated. Pike were
found here by the early settlers, having been introduced from the
Delaware by the Indians, or soon after the region was occui^ied
by the whites. Although the lake is not large, its outlet furnishes
a valuable water-power. A man named Woodruff had a saw-mill
216 HISTOIiY OF SIXLIVAN COUNTY.
Tiere in 1814. Subsequently a grist-mill, tannery-, etc., were
erected on the stream. Blake Wales, jr., at first was interested
in the tannery, and it was subsequently owned by Gideon Wales,
Osmer B. Wheeler and Nathan S. Hammond.' The last two
parted with their interests, which finally passed into the hands
of Gideon Wales. The magnitude of his business may be esti-
mated when we state that in 18(3(5, he, in conjunction with Daniel
T. Stevens, purchased a tract of bark-land of Madame Berthemy,
for which they paid $24,500, cash. Gideon Wales was a member
of the last Constitutional Convention of this State. Among the
other residents of Pike Pond we may mention Nathan Moulthrop,
Stephen W. Gedney, and William" Bonesteel. Mr. Moulthrop
was in early life a sailor, and rose to the rank of captain. Be-
coming weary of a wandering hfe on the ocean, he for a time
indulged in the pleasures of domestic life in Dutchess county.
In 1828, he removed to the verge of the settled country at Pike
Pond, where he continued to reside until his death in September,
1851. He was a gentleman of many wtues, and among them
was that of a generous and genial hospitality. The herald of
righteousness, as he wended his weary way over the hills and
through the valleys of this then wilderness country, always found
rest, refreshment and congenial society under the roof of Captain
Moulthrop.
The post-office at Pike Pond was established in March, 1851,
with. Gideon Wales as post-master. *
Pike Pond contains one chm-ch (Methodist Episcopal) which
was built in 1850. Rev. John Davy labored here at an early
day, and organized a "class."
C.'i.LLicooN Depot. — This is a lively business-place, situated
at the mouth of the Callicoon stream.' Its early s(>ttlcinent has
been noticed elsewhere. There are here two churclus, ten stores
and gi-oceries, three hotels, an academy, etc. In 1887 a crime
was committed in this vicinity which yet remains shrouded in
mystery. On the 18th of June, the body of a man was found in
the river partially covered with sand. He had been killed by
blows on the head ; but by whom and for what has never been
ascertained. The body had on it a shirt, shirtee, vest and boots,
but no pants. These articles were described in the newspapers
of that day; nevertheless no clue to the perpetration of the
crime was revealed.
The Metliodists of the neighborhood were organized as a
society in 1850, while Rev. William A. Hughson was on the cir-
cuit, during whicli year a church was built. In 18C9, this
building was sold to the Roman Catholics. In 1871, a more
expensive edifice was erected, in which the society now worships.
The Holy Cross church (R. C.) was bought of"the Methodists
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 217
in 1869. The priests of the Port Jervis Mission have had the
spiritual cliarge of this section. Since the purchase of the
church, Rev. J. Nilan has officiated at the altar.
The post-office at CaUicoon Depot was estabhshed in 1849,
with Reuben Tyler as post-master.
The Callicoon Depot Academy, J. J. Silk, Principal, has been
estabhshed since 1870. It owes its existence to the enterprise
of Mr. SUk, and is said to be in a flourishing condition.
As early as 1797, Rev. Isaac Sergeant commenced preaching
to the sparsely populated neighboi'hoods of the Delaware valley.
He was a Congregational minister, and in 1799 organized the
Church at Narrows Falls — the first religious society in the county
of which we have an account. He labored as far up the river
as Cochecton. In 1800, he had gathered a respectable niiclens
for a Church, and administered the Lord's Supper, according to
the Congregational order, to the following persons: Nichohxs
Conklin, Elizabeth Conklin, Hannah Jones, Elizabeth Brown, ■■
Jane Tyler, Simeon Bush, Hannah Bush, Deacon Simmonds,
Charlotte Simmonds, John Conkhn and wife, Hester Tjler,
Betty Conklin, and Lizzie Tyler, wife of OUver Tyler.
It is probable that Mr. Sergeant took steps to form these
persons into a legally constituted Cliurch; but if he did, no
cei-tain evidence of the fact can now be found. He continueci
to visit Cochecton occasionally for a few years; after which
those who had been admitted as members were scattered, de-
ceased, or became members of the Presbyterian Church.
Among the pioneer preachers of Cochecton was Elder Enoch
Owen, who lived on the turnpike east of the village of Cochecton.
He was of the Free Will Baptist faith, and for many years was
the only clergyman who resided in the town. He was a man of
biit httle education; biit his mind and body and zeal were
robust. It cannot be said that he was mercenary ; for he received
little or no compensation for his labors in his Master's vineyard.
Every Sunday, he preached in a small Baptist meeting-house in
Damascus, and at other times in neighboihoods where he could
gather a few hearers. He was always ready to visit the sick
and afflicted, and to discourse at funerals on mortality and im-
mortahty — the ineffable and everlasting bliss of the redeemed,
and the fearfid fate of the doomed. His unpretending and
homely discourses impressed Christian morality upon many souls
of this neglected region.
Elder Owen was a lumberman, farmer and mason. He buUt
the old-fashioned stone chimneys of the valley before brick and
* The mother of the person from whom this list was obtained, by our informant,
Mrs. James C. Curtis.
aiO HISTORY OF SULLH'AN COUNTY.
lime were seen there. He also made several miles of the New-
burgh and Cochecton tnrnjjilce. While engaged on the latter
work, he occupied a log-house on what is yet known as Owen
Cabin HiU, and regularly performed religious service at the
Baptist church of Damascus. No one questioned his piety;
and yet such ranagates as Boger Wildrake of Squattlesea Mere
would have pronounced some of his acts "excentric." The
Puritans of New England, when they gathered for worship, oar-
lied with them newly loaded and freshly piimed muskets to
defend themselves against the attacks of heathen salvages.
Elder Owen, as he jonrneyed on Sundays to expoimd the Word
at Damuscus, earned with him his trusty rifle. His path was
through the woods, and often a stray panther, or deer, or bear
(trossed it, when the Elder put an end to its Sabbath-day ra^nbles.
His metaphorical bolts did not always reach the lieai-t of ihe
sinner ; but he never failed to make his leaden bullets hit any
animal at which they were projected. If he had a doubt on the
subject on Sunday-venery, he continued to give himself the
benefit of the doutit until his eyes were opened by the following
incident: One Sunday jMst meridiem, after holding forfh with
considei-able unction, he started for home, -wath his rifle as usual
on his shoulder. Whether he employed his mind dm-ing his
long walk with pious meditations on shreds of Holy Writ, we
cannot say ; biit we are certain that in the dusk of the evening,
as he appi'oached his clearing, he had a vision of horns and
hoofs. Believing that he saw a very large buck, he approached
cautiously and fired. The shot was fatal. The animal fell.
Owen, much elated, hastened to cut its thi-oat ; but found, when
too late, that he had shot and killed his only horse ! Exclaiming-,
"So much for can-ying a gun on Sunday!" he hastened finm
the scene, and was never again known to take his rifle from
home on the day of rest.
With Deacon Duim of Big Eddy, Mr. Owen held religious
meetings in the Delaware river towns wherever there was a settle-
ment. In his old age he joined the Close Communion Baptists.
He was an honest old soul, whose good deeds and good name
survived his mortal body, and are yet held in gj-atenii remem-
Presbyterun Church of Cochecton. — The organization of
the Presbyterian society of Cochecton was commenced on the
9th of March, 1812, at the school-house in "Cochecton Settle-
m&nt," by the election of OUver H. Calkin, Simeon Bush, Moses
Calkin, John Conklin, Elias Conkhn and Ebenezer Witter as
trustees. Ebenezer Witter and Bezaleel Calkin presided at the
election.
In August of the same year, Eev. Charles Cummins of Florida,
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELA.WAEE. 219
N. Y., preached in Cocliecton, and admitted the following persons
to membership : Simeon Bush, John Conklin, EHas Conklin,
Ebenezer Witter, Hannah Bush, MoUy Skinner, Charlotte
Conklin, Jane Tyler, Hannah Jones, Martha P. Eichards, Eleanor
Taylor, Hannah Witter, Huldah ConkUn, Eleanor Bush and
Ehzabeth Bro^Ti ; and the organization of the Church was per-
fected by the selection of Messrs. Witter, Bush and John Conk-
Un as iTiling elders, and Witter and Biish as deacons.
Previous to this time, the neighborhood must have been visited
by Presbyterian missionaries, as a majority of the first members
belonged to famihes which had resided in the vaUey for over
forty years. The names of these pioneer heralds have not been
preserved in the archives of Cochecton ; and but little is remem-
bered of others who preached here occasionally, previous to
1840, beyond the fact that Rev. Dr. Cummins, Rev. Benjamin
Van Keuren and Rev. James Petrie ministered here a few
times.
In 1821, Moses Calkin, Ehzabeth Calkin, Weighty Irvine and
Prudence Ir\'ine were added to the hst of members. Their
names are still mentioned reverently. One of them (Prudence
Irvine) adorned the profession for the long period of fifty years.
The church-edifice occupied by the congregation was built in
1839 by an organization entitled "The Presbyterian and Meth-
odist Episcopal Society of the town of Cochecton." At a meeting
over winch Moses Calkin and George Bush presided on the
8th of March, 1839, Moses Calkin, Jared Irvine, Alexander A.
Irvine, James C. Curtis, Charles Young, Nathan Skinner, Charles
Drake, George Bush and Walter S. Vail were appointed trustees ;
and a subscription paper was started to raise money to build " a
meeting-house — a place of pubKc worship." Within a short
time nearly the necessary amount was pledged, and on the 6th
of May, Moses Caliin gave a deed of the church-lot for two.
dollars.
Some of those who signed the subscription-paper are desig-
nated as Methodists — others as Presbyterians. This was due
to a proviso in the deed, according to the Presbyterians the
right, after the expiration of ten years, of buying out the rights
of the Methodists, by paying to them what they had contributed.
In June, 1839, James C. Curtis, Walter S. Vail and Charles
Drake, the building committee, contracted with WiUis and Ira
Sherwood for the building of the house, for $1,500 — the com-
mittee agi-eeing to furnish the stone for the foundation. The
edifice was completed on the 28th of January, 1840, when, after
some discussion with the building committee, the Messrs. Sher-
wood accepted $1,425 — $75 less than the contract-price. The
dedication took place on the 20tli of February, 1840. Notwith-
standing the travehng was bad, a large congi-egation assembled.
'■£l\i HisroriY or sulliv.« colxit.
Key. David Webster, a Methodist clerg^Tnan whose mind ■was
exalted by miich culture as well as physical siiffering, preached
the sermon from the 1st and '2d verses of the Sith Psalm. $280
■were subscribed — a sum sufficient to pay a small debt, and to
complete the fixtures about the building.
It shoidd be said that, although then- names do not appear in
the records, the edifice owes its existence to the efforts of a few
pious ladies.
On the 8th of March, 1840, the tinistees met and determined
that the Presbyterians and Methodi.sts shoidd occupy the build-
ing each alternate -week ; that it might be opened to other evan-
gelical denominations when its owners were not using it ; and
that it should not be "occupied by any denomination for the
pui-pose of preaching or lecturing on the abohtion of negro-
slavery, or the formation of any society connected vAih. abolition
in its present and popidar sense."
On the 29th of April, 1855, the Presbyterian portion of the
society re-oi-ganized as "The First Presbyterian Church and
Congregation of Cochecton, in connection with the General As-
sembly of the Old School Presbyterian Church of the United
States of America." Walter S. Vail, Charles Ir\ane, Eobert T.
Parsons, WilHam McCuUough, EUery T. Calkin and James C.
Curtis were chosen trustees. During the ensuing twelve months,
the title of the Methodists was extinguished, and the building
became the exclusive property of the Presbyterians. Within
a few years the church has been fui-nished with an organ, a
bell, etc.
Previous to October 15, 1871, 181 persons had been members
of this church, and it numbered at that time sixty souls.
In this connection it may not be improper to say, that the
Methodists conunenced preaching in Cochecton about the yeai-
1831. The growth of this respeetaljle body is one of the marvels
of ecclesiastical historj-. Of the zealous and self-sacrificing men
■who planted Methodism in Sullivan, we can learn l)ut little.
They labored more for the conversion of sinners than for earthly
fame, and after preaching in our wilderness country for a year
or two, were transferred to other fields. Hence they left" but
few i-ecords behind them excejit in the hearts of then- pious
admirers. They are mentioned with affection by a few old
brothers and sisters, M'hose heai-ts are stiU fervid, but whose
memories are chm and micertain.
Eleven persons have served as Elders of the Cochecton Pres-
byterian Church, ■vnz :
' From 1812— Ebenezer Witter, who died at Gibson, Pa. ; Sim-
eon Bush, who died in 1836 ; John Conkhn, who died at Sus-
quehanna.
From 1822 — James Jackson, wlio died in Chautauqua county ;
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWABE. '221
Hiram Dibble, who died at Honesdale ; Moses Calkia, who died
in Coohecton, Febniary 12, 1865, aged 80 years.
From December 23, 1838— -Robert T. Parsons, now at Huntley,
Illinois ; James McArthur, now in or near Philadelphia ; Abijah
M. Calkin, now a Baptist clergyman at Waverly, Pennsylvania.
Fi-om April 26, 1862— Ezra F. Calkin; SUas C. Beck^-ith, who
died at Port Jervis in 1865.
On the 5th of September, 1857, nineteen members were dis-
missed to form the First Presbyterian Chnrch of Damascus.
Clergymen who have officiated in this chui-ch as stated sup-
pHes and pastors: George K. McEwen, fi-om 1810 to 1841;
WiUiam Riddle, 1842 to 1843 ; John Mole (pastor), 1845 to 1847 ;
"Wilham Himtiug, 1851 ; G. K. Marinei-, 1852 and 1853 ; Thomas
Mack (pastor), 1853 to 1859 ; Erastus Seymom- (pastor), 1860 to
1863; Samuel Murdock, 1863 to 1864; from 1864 to the present
time, Theron Brittain.*
"With one exception, these gentlemen, in zeal, piety and learn-
ing, were not below the average of coimtry clergymen. John
Mole, whose conduct finds no parallel in the lives of Christian
ministers of Sullivan, became the pastor of the Cochecton Church,
on the 1st of January, 1845. He was a man of high iutellectual
attainments, and capable of filling an enlarged field of usefulness ;
but his efficiency was crippled by a morbid desire for the acqui-
sition of the treasures of this world. He labored zealously and
with great energy both ia and out of his profession. In addition
to preaching and performing other ministerial duties, he was
mainly uistrumental in securmg a chm'ch-edifice for the congi'e-
gation at YoimgsviUe, and ia forming a hbrary for the young of
his charge. He also built a house and a barn for himseK, arid
engaged in clearing and cultivating land. "He hauled timber
with oxen, cleared and burnt faUow-ground, dug, masoned, car-
pentered and painted with his own hands, so as to often look
more like a collier than a minister of the gospel." In addition
to his charge at Cochecton, he had the oversight of an infant
congregation at Youngsville.
The Presbyterians of Cochecton and CaUicoon were at that
time unable to afford their pastor a competent support. Hence
there was a promise, expressed or implied, on the part of the
Hudson Presbytery, that the members of that body would con-
tribute for the maijitenauce of a minister for these towns one
hundi-ed dollars, more or less, per annum, to vary according to
circumstances. This was paid to Mr. Mole during the first and
second years of his pastorate ; and he confidently expected to
receive it thereafter, as the people were satisfied with his labors,
and he had received no intimation from any quarter that he
• Historical Sketch of Cochecton Presbyterian Church, by Kev. Theron Brittaic.
222 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COCTNTY.
should leave. He continued to manage his affairs as usual until
near the close of the third year, when he received notice that
the annual stipend of one hundred dollars would not again be
paid. This notice was the root of evil fiom which sprang a
poisonous plant that overshadowed his futiu-e Hfe. It led to a
long and bitter controversy with the Presbyteiy, and to suits in
the civil courts. The former suspended his mmisterial functions ;
but he appealed to the Sj-nod, and was there triumphant. He
was also successful in the other cases. But, although victorious,
he felt that he was a mined man. His means were wasted in
Utigation, and his influence destroyed. He was driven from
place to ]5lace, with a large and dependent family, and was
without employment, and in bad repute.
At the end of 1847, he relinquished his charge at Toungsville ;
but remained one year longer in Cochecton. Subsequently,
while laboring imder a sense of wrong and injustice done him,
and fearing that he and his family would become destitute,
he stole a horse and wagon of Butler & Co., of Poughkeepsie.
He was soon after arrested for the offense, and tried before
Judge Egbert Q. Eldiidge, of Dutchess county, in the fall of
1853. His counsel entered a plea of insanity,' (we beheve the
plea was founded on tnith,) and Mr. Mole himself made an
elaborate and affecting appeal to the Court; nevertheless he
was found guilty, and sentenced to two years and six months of
hard labor in State prison.
After his release fi-om prison, in 18.56, he went to the city of
New York, where he found emplojTnent as a carpenter. He has
been dead several years.
THE TOWNS OF COCHECTON AND DELAWARE. 223
BUPERVISOHS OP THE TOWN OF COCHECTON.
1829 James C. Curtis 1845
1845 Edward Bloomfield 1847
1847 William Bonesteel 1848
1848 John Vallean 1849
1849 James C. Curtis 1850
1850 William H. Curtis 1853
1853 James Stoutenbergh 1864
1854 Alexander A. Irvine 1856
1856 William McCuUough 1857
1857 WiUiam H. Curtis 1859
1859 Natlian Moultlirop 1860
1860 WiUiam Eoper 1861
1861 Alhed Calkins 1862
1862 John Valleau 1863
1863 Nathan Moulthrop 1864
1864 WiUiam Eoper 1865
1865 Sidney Tuttle 1867
1867 W. B. Buckley 1869
1869 WUliam G. Potts 1871
1871 Geca-ge E. Knapp 1874
SUPEBVISORS OF THE TOWN OF DELAWAEE.
1869 Isaac E. Clements 1870
1S70 William H. Curtis 1873
1873 John F. Anderson 1874
CHAPTER Vn.
THE TOWN OF FALLSBUBGH.
The surface of Fallsburgli does not vaiy materially from that
of Thompson. The town is tli-ained by the Good Beerskill, the
Sandburgh and the Neversmk and its branches. French's Gaz-
etteer says there are five lakes in FaUsburgh, -s-iz : the Sheldrake,
Sinifh, Hill and Brown ponds in the west, and East or Pleasant
pond in the east. One of these, at least, is a mill-dam. Grain-
raising, dairying and lumbering are the principal pursuits of the
residents. Until a few years ago, tanning was an important
interest.
The watei--power of FalLsburgh is almost inexliaustible, and
with enteqjrise and capital sufficient to render it available, may
yet add immensely to the population and wealth of the toN^-n.
This town was erected by an act of the Legislatui-e of New
York, on the 9th of March, 1826, and taken fi-om Thompson and
Neversink. Its bounds were prescribed as follows : "Beginning
at the N. E. corner of Thompson, on the line of Ulster county,
and running thence southwardly, along the W. line of Mamakat-
ing, to the southwardly line of Great Lot One; thence west-
wardly along the southwardly line of Great Lot One to the
middle of the Nevisink river; thence northwardly along the
middle of said river to the south Une of division No. 19 of Great
Lot One ; thence westwardly along said south Ima of the said
division to the S. W. corner thereof; thence northwardly along
the W. bounds of di^'i.sions Nos. 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 to the S.
line of Great Lot No. 2 ; thence westwardly along the aforesaid
S. line, to south-westwardly comer of division No. 3, in Great
Lot No. 2 ; thence northwardly along the W. line of said division
No. 3, to the line of Liberty ; thence along the boundary lines
of Thompson, Liberty and Nevisink, to the N. W. corner of
division No. 3 in the *3d allotment of Great Lot No. 3 ; thence
eastwardly along the N. line of said division No. 3, to the W.
bounds of the farm of Thomas Hardenbergh ; thence along the
northwardly and westwartlly bounds of said feirm to the N. line
of Great Lot No 3 ; thence eastwardly along said N. Une to the
boundary line of Ulster; thence southwa>-illy and eastwardly
along siud line to tJie place of beginning."
1224]
THE TOWN OF F.UJ-SliUiKiH. '^tio
Tlie act declared that the first town-meeting should be held
at the school-house near the Nevisink Falls on the first Tuesday
of April, 1826. At this meeting the following persons were
elected: Herman M. Hardeubergh, Supervisor; Eichard A.
lieading, Town Clerk ; John Crawford, James Brown and Cor-
nehus D. Eller, Assessors ; Harley E. Ludington, Henry Misner
and John Eller, Commissioners of Highways; Elnathan S. Stair,
Thomas Lawrence and John Hill, Commissioners of Common
Schools ; Henrj' Mead and Josiah Uepuy, Overseers of the Poor ;
Warren Barlow, Collector ; WaiTen Barlow, Phihp C. Ludington,
Daniel Coucli and Alexander C. Sloat, Constables ; and Thomas
E. Hardenbergh, William Hill and JuHus I. Starr, Inspectors of
Common Schools.
The migi-atory habit of our people is illustrated in the fact
that more tlian one-half of the family-names which appear in
the above hst are no longer borne by residents of the town.
POPtlLATION — VALUATION — TAXATION.
Year.
Popu- Assessed I Town I Co. and
lation. Value. I Charges.: State.
1830
1840
18.50
18(>0
1870
1,173| !|89,05i! $.5-20.95 .$572.78
1,782 1()(;.055! 530.89 459.19
2,H2(i l]:;,(;44l 530.20: 780.63
3,333 3i9,510i 463.01' 2,689,69
3,211! 260,425 110,703.55
7,794.86
The names of the original settlers of Fallsburgh are unknown.
It is believed they were Dutch, and that tliey located near Den-
niston's ford, and on the ridge whicli di\ndes the Sheldrake
stream from the Dutch pond and Pleasant Lake. The last-men-
tioned settlement was principally in Thompson, and was alto-
gether abandoned during the French and Indian war, while the
one at Denniston's ford, though the yteople composing it were
driven away for a time, was never wholly given up. In 1790,
the vaUey at this point had the apjjearance of a region long
occupied by whites, and those who iininigTated to and through
it were told that Dutch settlers had hved there many years
pi-eviously. We shall give in another place what is kiiown of
those who lived there subsequent to the war of the Eevolution.
About 1788, the valley above the Falls of the Neversink be-
came known to those who were seeking for good and cheap
lands, and a considerable number of families moved there from
the old neighborhoods of Ulster, and other locahtiea, during that
■Mid three or four subsequent years. Among them were Peter
15
52fi HISTOHY iiK SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Misner from Kvserike, who settled on the farm now owned by
his son Heni-y ; Aaron Van Benschoten, on lands above Wood-
boiime, on which is now the parsonage of the Reformed Church ;
Garret Van Benschoten,* farther up the stream, a part of whose
premises is now the property of Simon K. Wood. In addition
to these were Peter Freer, Matthew Sheeley,t Jacob Maraquat,
Seth Gillett, Cornelius Sarr, James Bush and his three sons,
James, Simeon and Henry, John Coney, Eleazer Larrabee,
Josiah Depuy, John Tappan, John Gorton, James HUl, Thomas
Rawson, Cornelius Turner, the De Witts, Bakers, Bordons, Grants,
Klines, Van Leuvens, and several others, some of whose names
may be recorded by us hereafter.^ The name of the pioneer
settler, does not appear, although it is said that two old men
named Abner and Ezra Bush were found Hving there as hermits.
They were from 70 to 80 years of age, and their retreat was on
the farm now occupied by Richard Oliver.
Two brothers named Baker and a man named Thomas Rawson
were among the first. In 1789, Thomas Grant purchased Raw-
son's possessions.^
The eai'ly residents were robust and hardy. Fever and agiie
and other diseases incident to a new'coimtry wei-e unknown here.
The flats were covered with an immense growth of timber, ^\hicl)
in the process of dealing was burned on the laud, and added t( >
the Aorgin soil a large jiercentage of potash — a ]iercentage T\hicli
would now make the valley remarkable for fertdity. Heav^
crops of wheat, corn and rye rewai'ded the husbandman, and
the Neversink country was famed far and near for its produc-
tiveness.
Some of the settlers came in by the way of Napanoch and
the Chestnut Woods, as Grahamsville was then called, and others
by the way of Rose's Pass, PhilHps Port, the Saudburgh, and
Denniston's Ford. From the latter they followed up the road
which ran along the river, or passed near it, to the Falls. The
route by the way of the Sandburgh was mentioned in 1797 bv
the Commissioners of Highways of Mamakating as the old road.
It was undoubtedly an ancient Indian path, and somewhat im-
proved. Uriah, a son of James Hill, well remembered the
joixrney over this road when his father moved to Fallsburgh
• .Tr.ne 3, 1832.— Died, in FallflVmrgh, Oarret Van Benschoten, aged 77 years. He
wa« one will) took an aotivc part in achieving our todependence. He joined a volunteer
I i.,"ii wli.i! :i VMiiili, and <'..iitiiuir(l ill till- Bcrvii-e diirinf; the ivar. He was in sev-
,11 - ~ iihl «as ul til,' battl.' c.t Fort Mniit-'iUHTv. He was one of the few
wh i I . I . II . :inii..ii, ami contimiid to tire on the enemy until they came up to
«i : a I r> h in-Ill ilir liaml of I'nl. Hr\iyn, whoHe niviiuible courage woul'd not peiTuit
him to sliow tlie enemy his hack on such occasions.— tVsfei- Fleheian.
t Shceley lived at Hasbrouck, where he kept the first tavern of the town.
i A few of these persoiis settled within the present bounds of Neversink.
5 Lotaii Smith's MSS. History,
THE POWN OF FATJ.SBUKGH. 2'A7
with hiH family.* Subsequently (Sept. 29, 1797) Elijah Reeve
of Otis\'ille, and John Knapp of Thomi^sonville, Commissioners
of Mamakating, established a road from the residence of WilKam
A. Thompson, over Mount Prospect to the Neversink at the Falls,
and from thence to Woodboume, which they described as follows :
" From the Albion Millsl' on the Sheldrake creek, west of the
Nevisink river, and said road is to run northerly to the residence
of Thadeiis Brown In or near the old road as it is now cut out,
and from thence toward the north on the east side of Mr. Bor-
done's house, and .so on to Mr. Dewitt's, on the east side of his
house, and through his improvement on the west side of a place
called a Bindekill, and so on to the dwelling house of Isaac
Turners, by the biink of the Nevisink river on the west side of
of it."t
The "old road" mentioned in the above extract ran from
Denniston's Ford to Woodbourne. There was no bridge across
the Sheldrake at Thompsonville for several years. To cross that
stream travelers passed through William A. Thompson's saw-
mill!
Notwithstanding a few years of labor brought comparative
abundance to the early residents of the to-WTi, at first their hard-
ships were very great. Here and there throughout the valley
was a little isolated clearing, hterally choked by huge stumps
and stubborn roots, and in the opening was a low, bark -roofed
log-hut, generally destitute of window or chimney. Near it was
a log-pen open to the snows and blasts of winter, in which were
stored whatever of hay and straw the owner could gather for the
siibsistence of his shivering and distempered cattle. These
sojourners in a wilderness country had no difficulty in procuring
meat. Deer and bear abounded on the neighboring hills, and
were obtained by the expenditiu'e of a little time and ammuni-
tion, and swine were fattened without cost on the nuts found
whei'ever the beech-tree flourished. To obtain bread was the
great difficiilty ; for even after grain was raised frf)m the root-
bound soil, it had to be carried twenty miles, in small quantities,
to a mill, before it coiUd be converted into bread.§ Samp and
coarse meal were made at home in various ways. James Hill
iiad a famous mortar, in which he could pound half a bushel ol
corn at once, with a wooden pestle fastened to a spring-pole.
Boiled cracked maize, sweetened with maple-molasses, was
considered as great a delicacy as the choicest viands which now
grace the tables of the most wealthy. But few cows were kept,
' Lotan Smith's MSS. f Thompsonville. % Mamakating Kecortlft.
5 Sullmm rhioihi H '. ■^. Sent. 2".. VMr,.
ZiiO HISTORY OF SCLLIVA^ COUNTY.
and they were generally kept farrow so that their owners could
have milk during the entire year.
The majority of those who located in the yallej, held their
lands imder what was known as the Beekman title ; some bought
of the Wynkoops, and others of the Schoonmakers of Ulster
county. The pi-ice paid was fi-om eight to ten shillings per acre.
James HiU bought of the Wynkoops, and gave Comehus Turaer
twenty-five dollars for his improvements. Turner had occupied
the place for one or more years. The Beekman and Schoon-
maker titles, as will appear hereafter, were defective, while the
other was good.
In a few years substantial comforts and conveniences began
to miiltiply. In 1793, Peter Van Leuveu built a gi-ist-mill near
Woodboiirne, and during the same year Seth Gillett put up a
saw-mill on the stream which empties into the Neversink near
Hasbrouck.* About 1797, William Parks erected a gi-ist and
saw-mill in Prince's Hollow. In 1798, Conrad Sheeley estab-
lished a giist-miU on the Wynkoop brook, and about the same
time Benjamin Gillett built a grist and saw-mill at Hasbrouck
where the Denman mill now stands.f A store was opened at
an early day in the town of Neversink, which caused a great
saving of time in procming necessaries and luxuries.
A fuUing-mill was established at Hasbrouck in 1820. As early
as 1793, John Sammons earned on blacksmithing in the towni,
on the place since owned by John Hardenbergh.
Among the papers of B. G. Childs, deceased, we find the fol-
h)wing "Notes" fi'om the late Amos Y. Grant. They are inter-
estmg, and we think rehable :
In 1789, three brothers named Baker were living on the
Thomas Depuy place, and a man named John Kawson on the
farm since owned by Elsie Hardenbergh. In the fall of 1789,
Thomas Grant, of New London county, Connecticut, Avith the
Messrs. Mott, Ovei-ton and two brothers named Worden, went
to the town of Eockland, where they had made arrangements to
obtain a tract of land. They had the property tlivided into six
parcels, and drew lots t<i determme each man's share. T\'Tiat
has since been knowii as the Doctor Livingston lot fell to Grant.
As it was broken and rough, he was dissatisfied, and left. The
others remained in Kockland, where many of their descendants
now reside. Thomas Grant returned to the Neversink coimtry,
and purchased the right of possession of John Rawson, for
which he gave a horse, saddle and bridle. In the spiing of 1790,
Joshua Grant, the father of Thomas, moved fi'om Groton, Con-
necticut, bringing with him two other sons, Ephraim and Nathan,
* B. G. Chiles- MfiS. + Tiid.
THE TOWN OF FAI.LrtBURGH. "it&i
after which the family occtijiied the RawBon place. Tlu'ee years
later, WiUiam, another son of Joshua, settled in the same neigh-
borhood on the place since owned by M. Hardenbergh, for which
he paid $170. The Grants brought -svith them all their house-
hold furniture. Tlae journey was 160 miles in length, and
occupied eleven days. William Grant was a cripple, and not
able, without assistance, to get in or out of the cart in which he
rode. Seemingly such a man was iinfij;ted for the rough life of
a pioneer ; but as he was a skillful tanner, currier and shoemaker,
and withal industrious, fnigal and of sound mind, he managed
to keep pace with his more fortunate neighbors. His descend-
ants are among our most prominent and influential citizens.
"Joseph Howard and Eleazer Larrabee were living in 1793 on
Mutton Hill. They had married daughters of Joshua Grant,
and among theii- neighbors were John Hall, William Parks,
Silas B. Palmer ami others.
" The Neversink flats were soon all taken up, as well as some
of the best uplands. As the country filled up, some of the early
comers moved still farther into the wilderness. The pioneers
of Liberty were awhile sojourners in the valley of the Neversink.
" For twenty years, it was necessary to go as far as Kingston
to reach a post-oftice, and often letters did not reach Neversink
fi-om Groton, Connecticut, in less than ninety days."
In primitive days, a great calamity befeU the valley. Such a
flood as has not been witnessed since overwhelmed the low lands
of the Neversink, and carried away crops, buildings and cattle,
and the inhabitants were obliged to flee to the mountains for
safety. For several days, many, when they visited their houses,
or such of their liouses as were not swept aAvay, were obliged
to go in canoes. William Palmer, who lived at Denniston's
foi-d, had a valualile team of horses canned off, together with
his stable. The animals were drowned, and were found still
tied to their manger, on a large rock which formerly was seen
near the western abutment of the bridge at Bridgeville. Lotan
Smith says this flood was in 1786 or 1787 ; but we have reason
to believe that it took place ten years later, as there was very
little in the shape of crops above Denniston's ford to be de-
stroyed by water or anything else as early as 1787.
Ten years after the principal influx of settlers, the surplus
prodiice of the valley was very considerable. Large quantities
of grain and pork were carted to New Windsor and Newburgh,
and sold. Wheat brought from 18 to 20, and rye and com 8
shillings per biishel. Pork was sold there for $25 a barrel. \\\
a single year, James Hill sold twenty-five baiTels of pork at
Thompsonville," and there were others who were as successful
• Mas. of Lotan Smitli.
230 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY,
farmers as Hill. Now the towu does not produce as mucli grain
and meat as it consumes. The manufacture of butter has be-
come the leading industry, and is more profitable than the old
way of farming.
Greater trials were in store for a part of these people than
any they had yet experienced. Some of those whose farms were
on" the hills held under the Schoonmaker title. This title was
founded on the fact that one of the Schoonuiakers who had been
a Tmstee of the town of Rochester, had not conveyed his trast
to his successor in office. On this slim pretense, it was claimed
that he had acquked the fee simple of unsold real estate in the
Rochester patent. It Avas also claimed that his rights, notwith'
standing the settlement of 1778, extended to alleged Blue Hills
west of the Neversink. The Schoonmaker claim was undoubt-
edly fraudulent. The courts so decided, and those who held
under it were ejected.
Others had the Beekman title. The Beekman tract covered
the valley of the Neversink fi-om a point a short distance below
Woodboume to what was then known as the Cat's Paw, above
the present village of Neversink. This title originated with
Colonel Henry Beekman, who, while representing Ulster in the
General Asseiably of 1703, obtained a grant of the Rochester
patent fiom Queen Anne.* In what manner he became inter-
ested in land afi'aus on the Neversink dt)es not clearly appeal'.
By some it has Ijeen said that he purchased of the Tmstees of
Rochester ; others declare that he bought of the Hardenberghs,
who sold the tract to pay the expenses of partitioning their lands.
However this may be, it is certain that in 177W, Colonel Johannis
Hardenbergh, with other interested parties, tlistiia-lly recognized
the valuJity of the Beekman title. This recognition appears in the
settlement-deed itseK, in which the WjTikoop tract is " bounded
on the westward on the land of Colonel Henry Beekman, lying
on the Naewersink."
The Beekman title was not formally questioned by the Har-
denberghs until 1802, at least fourteen years after the valley was
settled. This fact affords presumptive evidence that they be-
lieved the title was not theirs, or had passed from them.
Previous to 1802, the settlers very generally had paid for the
farms tliey occupied, and had made improvements which gi'eatly
enhanced the value of the property. They had every reason to
believe that they had seciu'ed comfortable homes, and that a few
more years of industry and seK-denial would enable them to
!-pend the balance of their days in comparative ease and plenty,
* Henry Bfekmau was a Member of the Geueral Afisembly aa early as lfi91, and a
R<presentativ<' of that name fjenerally n.iupicd a seat in tliat "liody until 1759. In 1802,
■ if course, he had been dead mauv veais. Our informant savs that Hem v K. Beekman,
a d. s.cndaut of Colonel B<fekman,"soU! ilie Neversink valley t« its original settlers.
THE TOWN OV FALLSBUKGH. 231
when they were startled by the report that the Beekman title
was woi-thless; that Beekmau had never owned a foot of the
territory; and that the heirs of Colonel Johaniiis Havdenbergh
intended to dispossess the occnpants. This report was followed
by the appearance of a man named Gerard Hiudciilnnigh, who
announced that he was one of the real owners of the valley, as
well as th(^ uplands claimed by the Schoonmakers and those
who had bought of them.*
As this man was assassinated by some of the ])eople he en-
deavored to drive away, and as it is alleged his conduct led to
the death of two persons, it is proper to give some account of him.
Gerard or " Gross" Hardenbergh was the son of Colonel Jo-
hanuis Hardenbergh and a gi'andson of Major Johannis Har-
denbergh, one of the patentees of the Major or Great Patent.
Gerard, it is believed, was born in Eosendale, Ulster coiuity,
about the year 1733. He was a man of imperious and arbitrary
temper, and of convivial inchnations and habits. In early hfe
he married a lady named Nancy Eyerson, who is still held in
affectionate remembrance by her descendants, as well as by
other branches of the Hardenbergh family. By her he had
several children.
In the war of tlie Bevolution, he espoused the cause of his
country, and hke his patriotic father, imperiled his life to secure
the uidepeudence of the land of his birth. His time and money
and iniiuence were freely thrown into the scale. It is said that
he organized two companies of infantry, which were employed
in defending the frontier against the incursions of the savages.
One of tbi'se lie commanded, and it is not denied that he was a
bold and interpiising leader.t
During IjIs military life he became more and more intemperate,
and his existeni-e ultimately no better thaij a continued and un-
varying debauch. His excesses nearly obscured whatever was
at hi'st humanitarian in his character, and iuHamed all that was
morose, impetuous and tyrannical in his disposition. It is I'e-
lated of him by men now (1871) yet Uving, that, when travehng
through the country in his old age, he sometimes ordered the
innkeeper at whose house he lodged to cover a table mth candles
and decanters of s])iritu()us liquors, and taking his seat, sohtary
and alone, at this soinewhat rare festive board, drink until his
fiery and siirly teiii])ei' succumbed to insensibihty.
In consequence of his wild and reckless ways, his high-toned
* The Wynkoop title was not disputed.
t In AutjiiBt, 1781, when ne*rly four hundred Indians and tories invaded Wawar-
RiiiR, Cniitiviii Hui-di'iibergh, with a force of only nine men, hastened forward to the
nlicf lit tU. aittlirs, and throwing his men into a small stone-house, checked the ad-
\aini- ol (lii cm my. In their repeated assaults on his httle fortress, thirteen of their
iiuintTT \M'r.' lift dead upon thf ^fld.—Riilfenber's Indian Ti-ibes of Hudson's Eiver.
This LH.lii ami iiitn-piil act Hiivcd Wawarsing fj-om iinuihilation.
232 HISTOKY OP SULLIV.IN COUNTY.
father disown cd iind flisiuheritecl him, and willed what would
otherwise have been devised to him to the heirs of Nancj Eyer-
son. This act of the elder Hardenbergh added svdphuric acid
to the aeetie mind of tlie son.
Nancy Kyerson's death antedated that of Colonel Harden-
bergh, and several of her children died unmarried. Consequently
the intention of Gerard's father was defeated. The dissipated
son was the heir of his ovra deceased children, and it is said
impiously declared that, while his father had disinherited huu,
the Almighty had made all right by removing his deceased chil-
di'en. Thereafter lie dominated over those who were in his
power, and did not bend to his will, with remorseless ligor.
This declaration is based on the statements of those who
suflered fi-om his acts, some of whom killed him. Even his own
descendants make no pretense of defending his character. Yet
he was not altogether ^dle, as will appear m subsequent para-
graphs.
Gross Hardenbergh claimed the lands of the valley of the
Neversink. The occupants met his claim by exhibiting the
deeds they had received from the Beekmans. The right ot
the latter to sell was denied, and could not be proven. Neither
the original nor a properly authenticated copy of the Beekiiian's
deed could be found. It was alleged that this deed had been
put into the hands of Doctor Benjamin Hardenbergh, a son of
Gross, by one Veruooy, who sui-veyed the Beekman purchase,
and that the Doctor had destroyed it. This allegation, whether
true or false, was not sufficient to affect any man's tenure, as
several of the settlers soon admitted.
Before proceeduig to extremities, Hardenbergh made the
general proposition that he would give each occupant of a farm
in the Beekman tract one hundred acres of wild upland for his
improvements. Aaron and Ciarret Van Beuschoten wisely ac-
cepted this offer, and each located his lot on the liills near the
premises now owned by Isaiah Hashrouck. Tlie lots thus ac-
quired by them are now occupied V>v WiUiam H. Van Benschoten,
John Yaple, Mr. Merrctt, and others.
Since the day of Haideiibergh's assassination, his memory
has rested under a cloud so black and dense, that no one has
dared to say a word in his defense. His controversy with his
father, his wife, his children, and the unfortunate settlers of the
valley, aroused a spirit of antagonism which was not rendered
Eassive by his murder, and wliich the softened influence of time
as not molhfied. He hated his family, and detied the world.
Tliose who survived him, consecjnently, were blind to what was
commendable in liis character.
Assuming that the Beekman title was fi'audulent, Harden-
bergli's otVei- to reconq)eiise the settlers for their improvements
THE TOWN OF F.UJI-SKURGH. aSd
shows that at first he was willing to make an equitable an-ange-
ineut with them. Their title was defective; his was perfect.
He could eject them, and reap the fruits of their industry ; but
he was wlliug to do more for their benefit than tlie laws of his
time required of him. But few men of the j^resent day would
do what this man proposed to do ; and yet his name is execrat(3d.
Perhaps subsequent events justify the maledictions which are
heaped upon his memory: nevertheless we cheerfully record
what we consider commendable on his part.
The occupants of the valley almost universally met his over-
tures ^\dtli defiance. They had bought the fat bottom-lands of
the Ncversink in good faith, and were unwilling to exchange
them for uncultivated and heavily timbered uplands. Neai-ly
every one of them had served creditably in the Revolutionary
army, and hated oppression and wrong. They behoved that the
Hardenbergli claim was fraudulent, and tliat to est;iblish it a
crime had been conmiitted ; and they hoped that the laws of the
govei'nnient they had imperiled their lives to establish would
afi'ord a remedy. lu addition to this, we may venture to say
that they were incited to resistance by dishonest lawyers, because
there are always to be found nieiul3ers of that profession who
are prone to lead clients to eng;ige in hopeless controvei-sies,
that they themselves may reap a rich harvest, while their de-
luded cheuts descend the inclined plane of destruction.
Finding that his ofi^er was rejected, Hardeubergh employed
summary means to dispossess the settlers. Among those ejected
by him were Peter Freer, Matthew Sheeley, Jacob Maraquat,
Seth Gillett, and several others. Henry Misner, who is still
(187.'{) hving at Woodbourne, states that after suits of ejectment
had been instituted, but not determined, Hardeubei-gh, with httle
respect to law, distrained property and forcibly dispossessed
the oecnpants. James Bush, senior, and his sons James, Simeon
and Henry, were particularly the objects of his wrath. In the
fall of 1806, Hardenbergh took from them all their crops, in-
cluding six hundred bushels of grain. The latter was placed in
a grist-mill owned by him, and built on the present site of the
saw-miU of H. E. Hardenbergh; Gross also owned a house and
barn in the neighborhood, and his son Benjamin had buildings
there. Among them was a barn, in which were stored two hun-
dred bushels of grain. The mill, houses and barns, with their
valuable contents, were consumed by fire under sucli circum-
stances as to leave no doubt that the residents of the valley were
determined to -wi-eak a terrible vengeance. The obnoxious fam-
ily were then residing in the valley; but becoming alarmed,
with one or two exceptions, removed from the region.*
* Life, etc., of Cornelius W. Hardenbergh.
234 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Henry Misner asserts that Gross, in 1806, forcibly set the
family of James Bush out of doors, and kicked Mi-s. Bush as
she went, although but three days previously she had given bu-th
to a child, whicli she then held in her arms. In the absence of
Jacob Maraquat, his family was served in the same way. Mar-
aquat's wife also had a young child, and was dragged fi-om her
home by the hair of her head. She died a few days afterwards.
The Bush family left the country and abandoned then- claim ;
but Peter Misner, Jeremiah Drake and some others resolved to
maintain their ground, and seek redress in legal tribunals.
During the next two years, outrage followed outrage. Har-
denbergh became fi-antic, and the blood of the pioneers was
raised to fever-heat. Hardenbergh was looked upon as a public
enemy, whose death would be a pubHc blessing.
Li November, 1808, he came into the neiglibt)rhood, and passed
through the valley. Notwithstanding he was seventy-live years
old, weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, and had led a dis-
sipated hfe, he was active and energetic. He afforded the un-
usual spectacle of a very fat and irascible old man astride of a
spirited and perverse horse, which liis famDy considered was
imsafe for him to ride ; but which he g(jverned with skiU and
boldness. Like too many others, he feared neither man nor
beast, and had little respect for God or the devil.
Calling at the house of the Grants (who then occupied the
Heed place) he declared that " he would raise more hell during
the next seven years than had ever been on eaith before." Hc^
was very rough in denouncing Drake, and in his declarations < >(
what he would do with him.
When passing along the "dug- way" below Hasbrouck, lio
noticed that the chimney of a house owned by him and occuplc d
by a man named John Coney was not conq^leted. This dis-
pleased him very much, and meeting Coney soon afterwards, he
told him that, "unless the chimney was topped out when he
came back, he would thi'ow him out of doors." Coney imme-
diately engaged a neighbor (Jacob Sarr) to assist in finishing
the chimney the next day.
The next night was spent at the house of lus son (Herman M.
Hardenbergh) who Uved on the farm fi'om which Peter Freer
had been ejected, and wliich is now the property of Thaddeus
Bndd.
On the ensuing morning (Nov. 23,) he started soon after sun-
rise to go up the river. AVhen the sim was about an hour high,
he was found in the road, a short ilistauce fiom the present site
of the Reformed church, helpless and speechless, by Ezekiel
GiUett, senior. A little farther up the road his horse was caught
by Cornelius Sarr. He was taken to the house of Aaron Van
Benschoten, which stood at the south side of the sand-knoll,
THE TOWN OF FAiASBUKGB. 235
opposite the Reformed Cliuicli parsonage-buildiiig. Here, after
lingering until 3 o'clock a. M. of the 24th, he died without know-
ing that he had been shot. Before his decease he declared that
his fiieuds had often told him that his horse would throw and
probably kill him, "and now," said he, "he has done it."
While preparing his body for bui-ial, a ball-hole was found in
his clothing, and a wound m his shoulder. Even then his friends
were unwilling to believe that he had been murdered, and in-
tended to bury him without an inquest. An old soldier, however,
who had seen many wounds received in battle, declared that
nothing but lead had made the hole in the dead man's shirt and
body. A Coroner (Benjamin Bevier) was then sent for ; and the
nearest physicians (one of them his son Benjamin) were requested
to be present. A jurj' was also summoned.
The scenes and incidents of the investigation which followed
have no parallel in the history of SuUivau, and aft'ord us a glimpse
of things almost too shocking for credence.
A crowd of people surrounded Van Benschoten's house, where
the inquest took place. Some of them came with jugs of rum
in then- hands, and too many were rendered jubilant Ijy the death
of their enemy and by whisky. One who had been engaged in
butchering hogs, on reaching Van Benschoten's, exclaimed, " Fine
day for killing !" and while looking at the body of the murdered
man, said, "that is fatter pork than I killed to-day." "While the
physicians were dissecting to find the ball, one of whom was
unfriendly to him, this man remarked, with an oath, "That's
more than I expected to see — my two greatest enemies, one
cutting the other up." When the body was opened, and the
heart exposed, he cried, "My God! that's what I have longed
to see for this many a day !"
Another composed and sang an obscene song, in which he
described the death of Hardenbergh ; the gathering of the birds
to feed on his dead body, etc. This afforded much annisement,
and was repeated so often that some can yet recite parts of it.
A woman whose descendants are among the most respectable
citizens of FaUsburgh, declared that "Gross had gone to hell to
fee more lawyers ;" and one of the witnesses (Abijah Wdley) on
being asked whether he knew who shot Hardenbergh, declared
that he did not ; but expressed regret that he did not himself do
the deed, as " Doct. Ben. had ofi'ered two huudi-ed acres of land
to have his father put out of the way."
These sayings evoked shouts of merriment from the crowd.
In vain the Coroner endeavored to preserve order. Decorum
and decency were banished, and "horrid mirth ruled the hour."
From the evidi'nce elicited at the inquest and the examinations
and trials \vln<']i followed, it api)eared that at the time of the
murder, the assassins weie posted Ijeliind a tree which then
i53b HISTORY OF SULLIVAX COUNTY.
stood about eight rods from the road ; that there were probabl}'
three of them, judging from their footprints ; that they had cut
away the laurels and other shrabs which obstructed their view
of the road, which was then aboiit its width west of its present
bed; that the ball had entered Hardeubergh's shoulder and
passed to his backbone, which was broken ; and that the spinal
column was injured iii such a way that the shock to his nervous
system instantly deprived him of sensation. This accounted for
tiie fact that he did not hear the report of the gun, and supposed
that he was injured by being thrown from his horse.
It appeared that one of tlie sous of James Bush was iu the
neighborhood on a visit, and that he was in the woods with his
gun on the day of the miu-der ; that a man named John G. Van
Benschotcn, and one or two others were similarly employed;
and certain circximstances were so strongly against one David
Canfield that he was held for the crime ; but it was shown that
at the time the miu-der was perpetrated he was not in the valley,
and he was discharged. Others were suspected, and several
were an-ested as principals or accessories ;* but nothing import-
ant was elicited. It is probable that there were individuals in
the "infected" district who could have furnished evidence which
would have led to the detection and punishment of the criminals ;
but these persons considered reticence a -snrtue. and withheld
what they knew. We are led to make this declaration because
there are persons now living who relate that wlu-n tlie report of
the fatal shot was heard in the valley, some STispected what was
going on, and one (Jacob Sarr, who was assistuig John Coney
at the dug-way) slapped his hands, and said, "That's a dead-
shot! A d — d fat old buck has got it now!"
However this may be, the guilty secret has never been tliviilged
in such a way as to lead to punishment. It has lieen nimored
that a susp(H-ted person who had moved westward, on his death-
bed confessed that he assisted at the murder; but that he stub-
bornly refused to say who were his accomplices. We have the
name of this individual ; biit must withhold it, because we do
not wish to record what may be unfounded. If there was a
conspiracy in which several were involved, the secret has been
well kept. Guilty souls have undoubtedly gone to the "Judge
of all" burdened" and lilackened with this terrible crime, and
resolved to defy the justice of Heaven, ratlier tlian reveal who
were their partners in guilt.
After the murder, such of the settlers as had not abandoned
the valley, or had not become hopelessly embarrassed by the
expenses of htigation, found no ditticulty in making satisfactor)'
THE TOWN OF FALLSBURGH. 237
an-angeraents with the heii-s of Hardenbergh. Several members
of the family became residents, and hved amicably with the
people who once were so inimical toward them.*
It is noteworthy that a gi-andson of Gross Hardenbergh, after
being reduced to poverty by the dissipation of his father and
gi-andfather, had a controversy with a wealthy citizen concerning
a portion of the projjerty which was involved in the dispute of
1808, and that, after murderiug him, he defended his conduct in
the same manner as the murderers of his ancestor defended
theirs !
Herman M. Hardenbergh, who compromised with the settlers
who had bought of the Beekmans, as well as his brother Thomas
R., and some other descendants of Gross Hardenbergh, became
permanent residents of FaUsburgh. With one or two exceptions,
they were among the most respectable and worthy citizens of
Sullivan. Herman M. was much beloved by his neighbors, and
even won tlie confidence and respect of those who were concerned
in the murder of his father. In 1829, he was elected Member
of Asa3mbly, and received aU the votes cast in the county for
that office except ninety-eight. The following editorial notice
of his death was published in the Albany Daily Advertiser of
March 22, 1830:
" Herman M. Hardenbergh, Member of Assembly from Sulli-
van county, was found dead in his bed, yesterday morning, at
his lodgings at Gourley's. This sudden and afflicting dispensa-
tion of Divine Providence has caused among our citizens and
his colleagues in the Legislature, deep reflection on the uncer-
tainty of life, and much sympathy for his sorrowing friends.
He w^as, on the previous evening, appar-ently in good heaJth, and
conversed with his fiiends with his usual cheerfulness. He was
a man highly esteemed, and was elected to the Assembly at the
last election, almost luianimously."
His funeral was attended by the acting Governor of the State,
the Senate and Assembly, the Chancellor, Justices of the Su-
preme Court and Circuit Judges, the State ofiicere, and a con-
course of citizens and strangers.
The post-office in the upper neighborhood was named Has-
brouck, in honor of Anthony Hasbrouck, a wealthy resident.
TIhs gentleman was murdered in his own house, and in the
presenc-e of his family, on the 20th of December, 1840, by Cor-
nehus W. Hardenbergh.
2d» HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUKTY.
Hasbrouck, for many rears, was one of tlie most prominent
citizens of SiiEivan. He was a man of wealth, and an active
and influential democratic poKtician. In November, 1833, he
was elected Member of Assembly, when he received 292 majority
over Hiram Bennett, who was acknowledged to be a popular
member of the opposing party. He represented the democracy
of FaUsburgh in almost every democratic county convention for
sevei-al years, and in 1838 was a candidate for Representative
in Congress from the District composed of Ulster and Sullivan
counties, in opposition to Eufus Palen, whig, when he ran con-
siderably ahead of his ticket, although Palen was a man of great
wealth, respectabihty and popidarity.
Hasbrouck was salient and angular in habits and appearance.
He scorned those who were indolent or ashamed to labor, and,
in the rough habiliments of the workman, participated in the
physical exertions necessary to the prosecution of his affairs.
He had a marked aversion to those who resorted to tricks and
stratagem in their dealings, and particularly to those who in-
dulged in litigation concerning fiivdlous aftairs, ^^■hen then- labor
was necessary for the comfoi-t and support of their families.
For this class, in his transactions with them, he had no mei-cy,
while to the industrious and well-disposed, he was kind aiid
generous. Such a man always has warm admirers and friends,
and equally warm op]>onents and enemies.
It is noteworthy, also, that he was connected by birth and
marriage with many respectable families nf I'lster and Sullivan.
Comeliiis AV. Hardeiibergli. the iimiderer, was the son of
Doctor Beiijaniiu Harilenbergh, and giandson of Gross Harden-
bergh who was murdered near AVoodbourne, in 18(18. Major
.Johannis Hardenbergh, an original jiroprietor of the Great
Patent, was one of his ancestors.* His mother was Cornelia
Wpicoop, the descendant of a long line of aristocratic Dutch
ancestors, the panels of whose carnages bore the picture of a
ban-el of wine, and an old man in a quaint Holland costume,
with a glass of wine in his hand.
Both the Hardeiiberglis and Wyncoops were ia affluent cir-
cumstances when the l)oct(n- espoused Miss Wvucoop — proud
of their riches, di'seeiit and social position "While tht\v looked
ujKin the many ;is their infeiiors, they acknowledged no superiors.
Tliey were hauglitv, headstrong and domineering, and sought to
impress these chjiiacteristics on the minds of their offspiing.
Improvident and convivial — scattering with a liberal hand, and
gathering as if the acquisition of property were beneath their
dignity — not regarding education as the mainspring of intel-
Johaniiis Hanlciibiirgh, jr., a eon
THE TOWN OF FALLSBURGH. li.;.;>
lectual force — it is not sui"prisiug that they lost wealth and social
prestige.
When Doctor Hardenbergh was twenty-one years of age, he
became largely interested in Great Lot No. 3. In 1796, he
married. Three years afterwards he moved into the Neversink
country, as the region now embracing Fallsbnrgh, Liberty,
Rockland and Neversink was then called. As soon as Cornelius
was able to ride a horse, his father sent him on errands through
the woods in all directions. By the time he was seven years
old, he had traveled on horseback and alone over all the region
within ten miles of home, following cow-paths, ridges, streams,
etc., and had even gone on the business of his father from Lib-
erty to Kingston, and back. When he was eight, he drove a
team from Liberty to Kingston, and to various other places in
Ulster coi^nty. He was a very bright, active boy, but too wild
and heedless to submit to the discipline of school. His
father placed him for a time under an excellent teacher of Mar-
bletown named Hume, who found it impossible to control the
young savage, and afterwards, in his tenth year, he was sent one
summer to Kingston Academy, w'hen he spent the greater part
of the time among the neglected and vicious children of the
streets. In the language of his " Life and Confession," written
a few days before his execution, " He was nursed in the lap of
parental" indulgence, his grandmother Wyncoop being the only
one who gave him any religious insti'uction, and that was not
sufficient to leave a lastuig impression ; so that it might be said,
he never had any, but was suffered to run at luige, and was
indulged in every childish wish." And it further appears, that
the most important lesson taught him at home, was that he was
better than the sons of the farmers of the surrounding country.*
Pride, without intelligence, refinement and virtue, is sure to pro-
duce a harvest of disgrace and humiliation.
After the murder of his grandfather (Gross Hardenbergh) the
family moved to Stone Ridge, where Cornelius became a distiller,
teamster, and man of all work for his father ; and where nothing
was taught him except family pride. Here he learned to awear
and druik as recklessly as any of his youthfid associates. Here
he lived until he was eighteen years old, when he discovered
that his father had became a dninkard, and mismanaged and
sqiaandered his property in sirch a way that, unless a change
took place, the family would soon be reduced to poverty. This,
instead of having a salutary effect upon himself, led him to
emancipate himself fi-om home-influences, and go back to Lib-
erty, where he indulged in the very vices which he had observed
• " I was taught little except to spurn with contempt all considered beneath me in
birth and riches. '—Life and Confession of C. W. Hardenbergh.
240 HLSTOKY OF SUIJJTA^; COUKTY.
in liis father. He not only fell under tbe influences of e^dl
company and gratitied liis ajipetite for mm ; but indulged in
licentious actions. TL rough deception and falsehood, he suc-
ceeded in his warfare upon female virtue ; and he followed the
practice until he was tightened into a better course by his
superstitious fears. A poor but virtuous girl, whose father was
aboiit to remove to a distant part of the country, through the
basest treachei-y and force, became his ^-ictim. After her min
was accomphshed, and he imagined he was rid of her, according
to his "Confession," she returned to punish him for his wick-
edness. He says:
" One morning, as I lay in bed, this young woman appeared
to me in all the horrors the mind can imagme, and more than
tongue can describe; her hair hanging loose and disorderly
around her shoiilders ; her countenance pale and wan ; her eyes
swollen with shedding tears, and fixed upon me with an intensity
that struck horror through every vein and jjaralyzed the braia,
while I could not move my eyes from the blood that seemed to
gush through her 1 >reast from a broken heart ; at the same time
extending her clay-cold arms with a small infant, all besmeared
with blood, to me, crying, " Here, thou wretch ! take the reward
of thy iniquity !' This for a short time caused a reformation in
me; but the impression soon wore off. I thought it nothing
more than a dream, yet never forgot it. I can unhesitatingly
say, it prevented my practicing the same vUlainy on other un-
fortunate young women."
In this instance, it cannot be denied, remorse and the night-
mare were overruled for good.
Not long after Cornelius went to Liberty, he induced his father
to follow him. From a drankard, the old man soon became a sot,
and engaged in every kind of dt-banchery. This produced do-
mestic broils, and rendered his lionie the abode of discord and
miseiy. The mother reviled at the father for his di-am-driuking,.
and neglect of his business and familj', and at Cornelius for
associating with young men A\ho were his social inferiors. She
was engaged in n dispute witli tlie latter, when he was twenty
years old, about liis c(>iiii);uii()ns. The Doctor came into the
house at the time, and joined with his wife against Cornelius,
when the latter upliraided his father with the company lie kept,
which so enraged liini that he gave the young man a flogging.
This indignity caused tin; son to abscond from the parental roof.
He started for Lumberland ; but stopped three miles from home
at Buckley's tavern. The Doctor followed and begged the truant
to return ; but he stubbornly refused to do so. After humbling
himself almost to the dust, the old man went home much de-
jected, and Cornelius to<;)k an extra dram. His mother and
others of the family also I'ame to .see him, otiering many induce-
THE TOWN OF FALLSBURGH. 241
ments for his going back, all to no pui-pose. Among other
things, his mother proposed to give him two hundred acres of
land. After they had done all they could, he told them if they
would rent him the Eeed farm, and let his sister keep house for
him, he would go there. To this they joyfully agreed. He lived
on the Reed place with his sister as housekeeper until she left
him, when he married his cousin, who seems to have been an
estimable woman.
We do not propose to give the full history of his hfe — the
contmued misconduct of his father, which led to bankraptcy,
the separation of his father and mother, the connection his father
formed mth another woman, the removal of Coruehus from
place to place, his poverty, his struggles to maintain his family,
etc. It is sufficient to say, that a few years before the murder
of Hasbrouck, he was the occupant of a log-house, in the town
of Rockland, with his wife and five children, holding a contract
for seventy-five acres of land, for which he had agreed to pay
one hundred and fifty dollars. He was a farmer, hunter and
lumberman, and labored at whatever promised ready money.
Although from the highest hills of that region, his eves could
not reach the boundaries of the teiritory of which Iiis gi-eat-
grandfather was a joint owner, he was too poor ' to pay for the
few barren acres he occupied. Mrs. Depuy, his mother-in-law,
was still li^^ug, and owned, among other property, a grist-mill,
saw-mill and turniug-shop, at Hasbrouck. With severe toil, he
raised a few bushels of grain, and a few vegetables on his poor
place. To him the giist-mill seemed a source of almost inex-
haustible wealth, and he di'eamed of the time when Mrs. Depuy's
estate would be divided among her cliildren, and he would be
once more a man of consequence through her death — the only
event which promised to better his condition, and render his
family comfortable.
The birth of his fifth child caused him to turn his attention to-
religious matters.* But there was no clergyman near, and his
neighbors were as ignorant as himself in regard to holy things,
and he found it difficult to tread the right path. However, he
and some friends got together, read the Bible, talked to each
other of what they read in it, and united in praying. Soon a
Methodist preacher visited them, whose teachmgs were good, but
whose conduct was bad. This was a stumbhug-block ; but it
was sm-mounted, and a society or class was formed, of which
* So he savB in his
" Confession"
' ; but at
hi!
9 trial tor murder, it appeared that a
whiilNviiid was tho mo
vinK causo of
his piet
y.
Thr
whirlwind
was half a n
ule wide,
and moving dirrctly t(
.ward his liov
IS-, pnist
in^
invrything
in its course
in some
places ; in othoi-K, twin
linK th(! trw-
tops U>i'
mile of ),
'.•ill
■ T?
It was in a
<lire.tt course
for over
three milo*, and when ■
ivithin half a
, turni'd a
side, and left him and
his famUy unhanupd.
Soon afti'r i
this terri
iiiiin
,if,-sta.ion,
he exhibited
religious
feeUngs. From this lij
lUfc, too, he wi
IB a ri:;i(l
lUlTl
■Huceman.
IC.
242 HLS-IORY OF SULLIVAN C01INT\'.
Hardeubergh and his wife were members. Tliereafter, to the
day of his execution, he was a professor of religion, and practic«tl
its forma, not only pubHcly, but privately. Even when he was
a condemned and shackled criminal in his cell, and he supposed
no eye but that of God was upon him, he would not eat a morsel
of food until he had " asked a blessing." To this the writer can
testify from personal knowledge.
After he made a " j^rofession" of religion, he obtained the
oversight of some wild lands in his neighborhood, for the purpose
of keeping others from stealing valuable timber. But he was an
unfaithful agent. He kept others from stealing, but did not
hesitate to cut the best trees on the tract, and take the logs to
a neighboring saw-mill, where they were sawTi for his own benefit.
He sued some for trespass, who finally caused him to be prose-
cuted for his own wrong-doing ; but he got out of the difiicidty
by a trick. This caused neighborhood-broils, and the loss of
time and money ; yet he held fast to his religion, such as it was.
He had four years in which to pay for his farm ; he had bor-
rowed one hundred dollars from Doctor Jacob Wurtz, of New
Paltz, which he had expended in improvements; he had paid
nothing for the seventy-five acres, and his contract was about
to run out, when he went to Doctor "Wurtz, and induced him to
pay for the land, and secure himself by taking a deed for it.
In August, 1888, Mrs. Depuy, his mother-in-law, died. Some
said her decease aiTorded him pleasure. This he indignantly
denies in his " Confession," and protests that it was the most
grievous event of his life.*
There were nine heirs, besides her husband, who, it seems,
had nothing more than a hfe-interest in a portion of the estate,
and none in the balance. Besides the mill there was property
valued at §3,273.50. The latter consisted principally of wild
lands, which were sold to various persons. Hasbrouck bought
one lot of ninety-seven acres. From these sales, Hardenbergh
expected to get upwards of $360 in cash, more than enough to
pay all his debts. Probably the height of his ambition at this
time was to pay for the land he occupied, and own a yoke of
o.\en, a few other cattle, and a, saw-mill. In May, 1839, he ex-
pected to get his share of the money, but was chagrined when
he found that the great part of the purchasers had given their
notes. But he assented to the arrangement, in the beUef that
the notes would be divided among the heirs ; that he would re-
ceive one, and sell it, and thus be enabled to pay for a yoke of
oxen he had bouglit. This was promised him, but the notes
were all made payable to C. W. Brodhead, one of the heirs, and
left with him for collection. This greatly exasperated Harden-
• Soon nftcr her cliatli, he built it franje-lionao »n(I > bftni on his farm.
THE TOWN OF FALLSliUKOH. 243
l)ergh, and he threatened to "put the whole thing m law at the
first Court that set." In vain Brodhead offered to help him
boiTow money by being his surety. Some of the notes were his,
and the other heirs had no right to place them beyond his con-
trol. Much running to and fro ensued ; lawyers w6re consulted,
and the every-day duties of life neglected. One of those in-
debted to the estate (Hon. Josejih Grant) paid Hardenbergh
fifty dollars ; he borrowed some money of James Gildersleeve,
etc. Then some of the heirs met at Hasbrouck's, divided the
notes by lot, and left Hardenbergh's share with Hasbrouck.
With this, too, he was dissatisfied, although he had previously
demanded such a division. Before he called for it, the note
which fell to him was paid, and Hasbrouck had all that was
coming to him (Hardenbergh) in cash, except his share of the
mill property, and of the ninety-seven-acre lot bought by Has-
brouck.
The grist-mill was valued at $5,000. One of the heirs at first
offered $4,500 for it; but the others refused to sell it to him.
The heirs, after much mismanagement, offered to sell it to Has-
brouck; but he at first refused to buy. Afterwards three of
them wont to him again and offered him their shares, when he
told them that if they would secure him two more shares and
put him in possession, he would give them at the rate of |3,500
for it, if they would include ninety-seven acres of wild land in
the sale. This wild land had previouslj' been bought by him,
and he had a deed for it. The other two shares were procured,
and Hasbrouck became the owner of five-ninths of the mill
property, and took possession of it. Soon after each of the
others, except Cornelius, sold out to Hasbrouck.
At this stage of affairs, Hardenbergh went to Hasbrouck's to
get what was coming to liim from the first sales. His reception
was very pleasing; he was invited to stay all night — spent a
very pleasant evening — and went to bed pleased with his host
nnd the world generally. But about three o'clock the next
morning he awoke, and began to be suspicious that Hasbrouck
intended to entrap him, etc. AVhile agitated by these fancies,
according to his "Confession," the ghost of his mother-in-law
«tood before him. He says :
"The first sight gave "me a wonderful shock. My blood
seemed completely congealed. As soon as I had 8uffi<;ieutly
recovered from the alarm, I attempted to rise, and hit my head
against the side of the room, which caused me to put my hand
on my head. I fell down on my jrillo*' again, resting my head
on my hand, and thinking about it, when she seemed to stand
fully before me, and spoke in great earnestness, as she did
iwenty years before. She appeared fresh and stern, and said,
'Never mind your head — a'ou will break down liis stone wall \vt.'
244 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
(The house is a stone one.) She told me never to sign off — that
there was a conspiracy against me — that I must not take any
money that morning — that if I did I would be deceived. She
then vanished. I then reflected on my situation and her death.
This drew on a bad feeling and a flood of tears ; so much so that
I thought they would liear me throughout the house."
At this time Hardenbergh did not know that the Barlow note
of one hundi'ed dollars, which was left with Hasbrouck for him,
had been paid. According to his "Confession," Hasbrouck
ofi'ered him the money for it minus the interest. This was in-
iTignautly rejected. Hasbroucik then told him the note was paid,
and off"ered him the money with interest. Eemembering his
ilream or vision* of the pre»-ious night, he refused to receive it
unless Hasbrouck would wanant the money good. This the
latter would not do, and Hardenbergh then, assisted by the
other, took memoranda of the bills, after which he went away,
and found that one of the bills for Ave dollars was on a broken
Bank. He says that on his way home he had three fits.
Within a week Ha-sbrouck followed him to Eockland, paid
him all he claimed, except fifty dollars, which he declared was
due him for his share of the ninety-seven acres of wild land
which had been sold before Hasbrouck got possession of the
mill property, and oflered to buy his (Hardenbergh's) interest
in the miU. But the latter would not sign ofl' until lie was fully
satisfied in aU other respects, and not then with a threat hanging
over him.
From this time thei'e was nothing but trouble and disturbance.
Hardenbergh ran about the country, consulting his relatives and
others, and Hasbrouck bought a note of fifty-six dollars against
lum, and sued him before Esquire James Divuie. This i-endered
him almost frantic. He refused to sleep ia bed at home, not-
withstanding his wife used aU her influence to make him demean
himself in a more rational way. From Thursday until the Sat-
urday previous to the mui-der he wandered about through Nev-
ersink, Fallsburgh and Liberty, trying to make an an-angeraent
to pay tlie note Hasbrouck held, and detailing his gi-ievanees.
He failed to get money, and received no satisfactory ad^-ice.
Thus far we have given the circumstances as related by him
in his " Confession." We will now turn to the e^•idenoe given at
his trial for more reliable information.
That the deed was premeditated a])pears fi"om the testimony
of several witnesses. In October he had said to Henry H. Davis,,
one of his neigh}x);'s, " D — n it, Hasbrouck ought to be shot."
" He deserves to die. He wants to take property which I ought
» Hfi frequently spoke of what owMirred wliile he was in bed at Hasbrouck's as &
"i!v>am orviBion." It was nothing more than a dream or nightmare ; but it had as
much efl'ect on hie superstitions mind as if it had been supei-natural.
THE TOWN OK FALLSBUKGH. 245
to enjoy myself." During the same month, he told Judge Grant,
that his brothers-in-law Avere willing to take the bread from his
children's mouths, and giA^e it to Hasbrouck ; " but he will not be
benefited by it long, and you wUl see it." About the same time,
he said to General Niven, that he was detei-mined to try to settle
with Hasbrouck, and if he could not, " then he should die." On
the Thursday previous to the murder, he declared to Samuel
Adams of Neversink, that, rather tban starve, he would "kill
old Ant. Hasbrouck." According to his own declaration Avhile
in prison (but Avhich did not appear in evidence at his trial) on
the same Thursday, his Avife upbraided him in relation to his
troubles, and that he answered her by saying, " Hasbrouck must
surrender the property or die." She rephed that he must not
think of siich a thing ; "but from that moment he was determined
to kill him, or bring him to terms, and made the necessary
preparations.
On Saturday he went to Liberty, where he purchased a pistol
of Ebenezer Bush ; powder of Benjamin P. Buckley, and lead of
Doctor John D. AVatkins. He was very particular in testing
the pistol, which he fired at an inch-board thirty yards distant.
The ball passed through the board, and he Avas satisfied with it.
He also inquired at the several stores for a huntiug-knife or
BoA\'ie-knife. When asked what he intended to do with these
thuiga, he generally replied, "I am going to kill a venomous
beast." He also got a man named LeAvis Smith to run him some
buUets for his pistol. He then Avent home.
The next mornmg (Sunday) at 8 o'clock, he came to the house
where his mother lived, about one-half mile from the M. E.
church of Liberty. He told her he had breakfasted at home*—
di-ank a cup of tea Adth her — spent the time until the hour for
morning service in conA-ersing on rehgious subjects — went to
church — demeaned himself seriously and devoutly — took dinner
with his mother — staid with her an hour or two, and then left
Asith his brother Jared, taking Avith him the gun mentioned in
* " Whether before or after breakfast I do not remember. I read two chapters in
the Bible, the 17th and 18th of Psalms, and then went to prayer in company with my
wife, as was our custom before breakfast. * * * Jiy reading the said chapters was
purely accidental. My prayer waa as usual, praise for the abundant mercies shown
me ; for the afflicted in spirit, mind and body, and in particular for Hasbrouck— that
the Lord might change his heart and make him sensible of the affliction he was bring-
ing upon the already afflicted, and that it would please God to enable me to overcome
him by charitable feelings, and not with any spirit of malignity, and that our differ-
ences niight be amicably adjusted, in truth and justice, and both made sensible of the
error of our ways, and our natures changed from this worldly care to that of our eternal
salvation. As soon as it waa sufficiently light to see to walk, I started and took my
pistol with me, * * » and also my son's gun. * • » Wlien I came to the top of
the mountain so that I could see the roads, having the gun in my hands, I thought if
I went through the village of Liberty, the people would take notice of it, and that the
cause of God would be injured. So 1 went across-lots all the way to mother's. When
I got there, I went to the barn and left the gun there for fear the children might get
hold of it. My mother did not see the gun, neither did she know that I liad any arms
about me,"— Life and Confession of HarJeiibergh.
"Mb HISTORY OF BCIXrr.^Ji COOTY.
the foot-note. Tbey walked together some distance, when Jared
went home and Comehus proceeded to Hasbroiick's. Just be-
fore reaching the residence of the latter, while crossing a bridge,
he knelt and prayed " that the cup might pass from him ; that
he might not be under the necessity of killing Hasbrouck ; but
that the latter might adjust the dispute amicably." He then
went to the liouse, where he found Hasbrouck and his wife, a
little daughter of O. H. Bush (Hasbrouck's grandchild), and a
Mrs. Nancy Depuy,* at supper. He was a.sked to take a seat ;
but decUned, sajang his boots were dirty, and went into an ad-
joining room, where he pulled off his boots. Leav-ing them there,
he returned, and sat down. He had not yet brought the gun
into the room with him. Some conversation then took pla<?«
between the two men about their affairs ; but with no satisfac-
tory result. Hardenbergh asked Hasbrouck, among other things,
if he was wiUing that he should hold his wife's share of the mill,
pay his part of the expenses, and receive a fair proportion of
the profits. Hasbrouck rephed that he would not hold property
that way with any one. They talked also about the suit before
Divine. Hardenbergh then went out, after putting on his over-
coat and hat; but in a few minutes re-entered, with his gun
pointed at Hasbrouck, saj-ing, " You have got to die to-night."
Hasbrouck instantly sprang from the chair in which he was
sitting, and seized hold of the gun, which he turned aside, and
downward as his assailant discharged it. The charge passed
through the floor at Hasbrouck's side, and about a foot from
him. The two men then caught hold of each other, and a scuffle
took place, during which Cornelius stnick the doomed man sev-
eral times with his list, and drew his pistol and shot him in the
abdomen. They were so close together that Hardenbergh was
compelled to turn partly around to fire. While this was occur-
ring, the little girl ran fi-om the house to alarm the neighbors.
After the pistol was fired, Hasbrouck exclaimed, "Leave me
alone. I am a dead man." They continued to struggle with
each other until Hasbrouck was partly down, when Mrs. Lefever
cried, " Cornelius, what are you about?" He waved his hand,
and said, " Aunt, get out of the way !" She then ran out for
help. The assailant next drew his knife, and attempted to stab
Hasbrouck in the throat. To get at his throat more conveniently,
he eudeavered to pull back Hiusbrouck's head, when Mrs. H.
shielded her husband's neck with her hand, screaming, " For
God's sake, don't cut his throat! you have killed liim already!"
The infuriated demon ordered her away, and cut her severely
across the palm of her hand. He then continued to cut and
• UnBbronck was wlatod to Hardenbergh by marrUge. Mrs. Dcpuy w»8 » Bistejr
of Docitu litfi^mhi Harcif iibergh.
THK TOWN or FALLSUUIiGH. 247
stab his victim until the hitter wrested the knife from him, and
stablied him in the breast. The murderer then caught up a
chair, and struck the prostrate man two blows with it — threw it
away, and went out of doors to get a club to finish his bloody
work. Mrs. Hasbrouck bolted the door after him. She then
assisted her husband to walk out of the room — across the hall,
and into a back parlor. She left him there, locking the door
after her. She also fastened the front hall-door. Wliile this
was goin^ on, she heard Hardenbergh break through the kitchen-
door, and as she passed to the room in which they had had
supper, she saw him come into the hall, and go to the parlor-
door and strike it with the club to break it open. She then
went out through the kitchen-door to the road, to see if help
was coming, and met James S. AVells, Jacob Brodhead and Mrs.
Lefever, a few rods from the house. All hurried to the bloody
scene. As they approached, they saw Hardenbergh leaving,
with the gun in his hands. Brodhead said to him, " Case, is
that you? What have you been doing?" Hardenbergh an-
swered, " If you advance, you are a dead man !" and went away.
They then entered the kitchen, and passed through the sitting-
room and hall to the parlor where Mrs. Hasbrouck had left her
husband ; but at first were greatly sui-prised at not seeing him
there. Brodhead cried, "Where can he be?" They then heard
him under a bed, where lie had crawled to hide while the mur-
derer was kicking and pounding the door. He said, "Dear
friends, for God's sake, help me!" and then extended one of his
hands, which they grasped and helped him out. Holding up
the bloody knife in the other, he said, " This is the knife he
stal ibed me with. I fended ofl' the rifle ; but the pistol I could
not." Brodhead proposed to send for a Doctor; but Hasbrouck
thought it would do no good. "It is no use. I am shot. lam
a dying man." In about fifteen minutes he was dead.
'the body was found to be ten-ibly cut and mangled. There
were some wounds on the head ; the chin was cut ; there was a
cut from the right angle of the mouth around on the neck, which
had severed the external carotid artery and jugular vein ; there
was a stab on each side, and in each arm ; the posterior of the
left thigh was cut nearly across; the ball had tora open the
abdomen near the navel, and lacerated the intestines, which
protraded from the wound, and there were other injuries. Sev-
eral of these wounds were each sufficient to cause death.
An inquest was held by Giles M. Benedict of Monticello, who
was then a Coroner.
Hardenbergh went from Hasbrouck's house easterly to a hill.
According to his own declaration, his object was to consider
which way to go ; that at first he intended to go to Monticello
to give himself up ; but finding that hia wound was serious, he
240 HISTOltV OV HL'LLIVAN COUNTY.
concluded to go to the house of his uncle, Thomas R. Harden-
bergh, and surrender himself there. He went to the house ; met
his cousin, Peter D. Hardenbergh, at the door ; said he was " a
poor, miserable man, and had murdered Ant. Hasbrouck ;" did
not enter the house, fearing that he woidd frighten his aimt ;
gave up his gun, saying, "That didn't do it;" and the pistol,
"This done it;" and asked his imcle to ascertain whether
Hasbrouck was dead. They then started in the direction of
Hasbrouck's house, and on the road met John A. Van Benschoten,
who told them that Hasbrouck was dead. On hearing this,
Cornehus said, " Then I shall die contented, and I expect by
the laws of my country I shall haye to be hung." He hoped his
wound was fatal ; prayed earnestly for death, and wished to be
taken to the mill, as he had a right there. He was brought to
the house occupied by L. Misner, at the mill, where he was kept
all night, and on the next day an examination took place before
James Divine, Esq., after which he was taken to jail on a bed
by a constable named Edwin Porter.
Huntb-eds flocked to the court-house to see him. They found
him pale and weak fi-om loss of blood ; but ready and wiHing to
give the most miaixte details of the shocking tragedy, and cool
and adioit in advancing arguments in defense of Ids own con-
duct. His description of the affair was wonderfully lucid and
graphic — much more so than that of any one who witnessed the
murder. In giving the writer a history of it, he said, " I cut him
(Hasbrouck) across the thigh because, in reading one of my
father's books, I learned that one of the main arteries was there.
I knew that if I could cut that, he would bleed to death." This
proves that he used his knife with butcher-like coolness, and that
his thi'usts and slashes were not only fierce, but made with a
premeditated purpose. •
To those who talked with him about the miu'der, he sjioke as
follows:
Vidtor. — Hardenbergh, I am soiTy to see you in this situation.
Hardenbenih. — If I had gone to law, the sum in cbspute would
have been squandered. HasbroTick was rich, and I poor. In
law, a poor man has not as good a chance as a rich one.
V. — You don't beheve that a wealthy man has all the advan-
tage?
H. — I re-N-iewed the whole matter, and concluded to take the
law into my own hands.
r. — "What law did yon have to take into your o^ya hands?
H. — The law of nature.
V. — It will not do for us to rely on that law. We have other
laws to jiiotect us.
/f.— AVhen the Canadians came across tlie Une to get our
property, wo had a riglit to shoot them.
THE TOWN OF F.ULL8BUUGH. 210
V. — That is a different case. They became public enemies.
H. — Hasbrouck was a pubhc robber. And I was an instru-
ment in the hands of God to punish him.
As long as he Uved, his mind on tliis subject did not undergo
a material change. When asked why he spoke of the affair so
freely, for several months his usual answer was — " A defense is
useless. Too many witnessed the deed." But in time, his de-
sire to live revived. Some one gave him Upham's book on
" Deranged Mental Faculties," and he found in that work evi-
dence which satisfied him that he was not only insane when he
committed the murder ; but that he had been subject to aberra-
tions of mind fi'om the time he was six years old, when he
received a severe blow on the head. His memory then became
very defective as to the material facts in regard to the murder.
He coidd remember facts which placed Hasbrouck in an un-
favorable hght, and could distort others so as to blacken his
memory; but seemed to be oblivious as to every preparation he
had made to commit the crime of murder, or explained all his
previous words and acts with wonderful ingenuity, and of the
murder itself — that murder which he had described scores of
times with so much precision — he knew, or pretended to know,
absolutely nothing ! He continued to adhere to this theory of
his case as long as he hved. But a few days before his execu-
tion, he thus described his interview with his victim on the even-
ing of the murder :
" I asked liim if he would allow me anj'thing for the use of
the mill property. He said he would not. Then I said, ' Has-
brouck, you ought or should consider that you are taking the
bread out of the mouths of my wife and children, by withhold-
ing the interest of the mill property fi'om me.' With a stem
look of contempt he answered, ' If you have come here on busi-
ness, do it ; for I do not want to hear anything of that kind.'
Then I asked him if he was willing to divide the mUl property
without having recourse to the law. He said, 'No. It must be
divided by law.' Then I asked him on what terms we could
settle the suit. He said I might confess a judgment of $56, if I
had a mind to. At this I said, 'Hasbrouck, you have destroyed
the peace of my mind and the peace of my family. I have "left
my vfiie, whom you have defi-auded, overwhelmed in grief and
trouble.' In a passion he exclaimed, ' I don't care a d — n for
yoM or your family, if I can only get your wife to sign off.' Be-
fore Hasbrouck had fau-ly finished his sentence, my aunt, Nancy
Lefever, began saying that I had been riding about all summer,
and that I had murdered that poor woman, my wife. Then all
feeling left me, and reason forsook her empire. All that I can
recollect after this is, I thought I must go away. I knew not
v.hat I did uutU the fatal deed was done, and I had returned as
250 HISTORY OF SULLXVAN COfNTy.
far as the road that leads to the bridge, when I stopped and
found myself bleeding."
And yet, while he was stabbing and gasliing his victim, h&
actually remembered the position of a large artery, and with
savage precision severed it with his knife ; and for months re-
lated every circumstance with greater accuracy than the two
respectable and intelligent ladies who were present when he
slew Hasbrouck!
Hardenbergh's trial took place in Monticello at the October
Circuit of 1841, before Hon. Charles H. Kuggles. Seventy-two
jurors were called, sixty of whom were set aside or challenged, be-
fore a sufficient number were sworn and empaneled. John Gray,
jr., William Wells, John Nelson, Benjamin Decker, Augustus
Dodge, Asahel Hollister, Samuel West, Abijah W. Lewis, Ben-
jamin Millspaugh, Daniel Bowen, jr., Israel P. Tremain and
Gideon Honibeck composed the jury. "Willis Hall, Attorney-
general, Alpheus Dimmick, District attorney, and Archibald G.
Niven, appealed for the prosecution ; Herman M. Eomeyn and
John Van Buren, for the prisoner. William B. Wright and
Nicholas Sickles were also engaged for the defense, but were
prevented from being present at the tiial by sickness. During
the progress of the trial, John W. Brown, was added to the
prisoner's counsel.
The prosecution proved the killing, and sundry declarations
and acts which showed that the ciime was premeditated and
from malice.
The defense attempted to prove that the prisoner was insane,
and certainly established the fact that he had been eccentric in
many respects. They attempted to introduce traditionary testi-
mony to prove that his gieat-grandfather was insane, but were
overnaled by the Court. After a full and fair tiial, which con-
tinued five days, the jury retired for consultation, and in twenty
minutes brought in a verdict of guilty. Sentence was suspended,
to give the defense an opportunity to procure a decnsion of the
8upre\ie Court a« to the correctness of introducing traditionary
evideiioe in regard to the insanity of remote ancestors.
Harclenbergh spoke to one or two of the jurors, approving of
their v( ixlict, and was then remanded to prison, where he re-
mained until the May term of 1842, wlien he was brought from
his cell for sentence." When asked why sentence should not be
pronounced in his case, he arose and delivered a somewhat in-
coherent harangue, in which he attacked some of the witnesses
who had testified against him at his trial ; contended that ho
was of unsound mind when he committed the deed ; said that
the murder " was not the act of a poor indi^-idual, but the judg-
ment of Almighty God upon a thankless, ungrateful, sinfid people,
who wish to aggi-andize themselves at the expense of the poor; '
THE TOWN OF FALLSBURGH. 251
and hoped that the Court woiild give him " time to make a full
disclosure of circumstances. He wanted to live only for that
purpose."
The Court then sentenced him to be " hung by the neck until
he was dead" on the 1-ith day of July, 1842.
He was principally occupied during the next six weeks in
writing his " Life and Confession," and in attempting to break out
of, jail. He had procured a small table-knife with which he cut
away the head of a rivet which attached a chain to the shackles
on his ankles. This chain fastened him to the floor. He could
free himself from it at any time. He had also hammered his
handcuii's with a stick of wood so that he could slip them fi-om
his wrists. With his knife, a short piece of wire, and a small
quantity of lead he had made a key which unlocked his door.
He had been oiit in the hall as far as the fi-ont door, and in a
night or two more would have been at large ; but Sheriff Kelley
put a padlock on the cell-door in addition to the other locks and
bolts, and occupied a cell close by as a sleeping-room. His es-
cape was thus prevented ; and on the morning previous to the
execution, being satisfied that he could not get away, he gave
the key, knife, etc., to the Sheriff, saying, "Here is the knife
with which I could have killed you."
He was executed in accordance with the sentence of the Court,,
by Sheriff Felix Kelley, assisted by his deputies, Anson Gale
and Henry Everard. By his request, Rev. Edward K. Fowler,
rector of St. John's Church, Monticello, and Rev. Isaac G.
Duryea, pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church at Woodbourne,
attended him to the gallows. His bearing throughout was firm
and unwavering, but without bravado or ostentation. Through-
out the day, his conversation bore the semblance of fervid piety.
He exhibited his eccentricity to the last; for he requested that
his body should be buried between his mother's house and bam,
and that a pair of old sHppers, which he had worn in the prison,
should be interred with him.
After the death of Anthony Hasbrouck, Moses Dean and
William M. HaU were prominent as merchants of the upper
neighborhood. The former removed to Sycamore, in Illinois,
where he became a wealtliy banker. While Mr. Hall Kved here,
a very unusual accident occurred to one of his sons. While
busy with a pair of oxen, a chain attached to the yoke caught
his leg, which was instantly severed fi-oni his body.
Benjamin Grant was a merchant here in 1865. Wliile he was
drawing kerosene fi-om a barrel by candle-light, on the 30th of
June, the oil caught fire, and his store was destroyed.
252 HISTOKY OF BVLLIV.\S COUXl'Y.
One of the early settlers of Woodbonrne was John Tappen.*
He was a native of Dutchess coimty, an offshoot of the re-
spectable Esopus family of that name, and had served creditably
as a lieutenant in tlie Revolutionary army. His descendants
state that pre\-ious to 1800, he bought two hundred acres oi
land on the east side of the river at Woodboume, on which is
now a part of the tillage. Besides the flats, his tract included
some ridge-land. "While he was there, a saw-mill was erected
on the smaU stream which runs between the residences of Austin
Strong and Medad T. Morss. The quantity of lumber manu-
factured at this miU was never large. Mr. Tappen received a
warranty deed, and paid cash for his land ; but his right to it
was questioned by William A. Thompson of Thompson-s-ille,
who claimed to be the real owner, and threatened to eject Mr. T.
From whom the latter claimed title, we cannot asceiiain; but
we believe that he was one of the victims of Henry K. Beekman,
and Thompson, who was a shrewd and bold speculator, bought
of Gerard or Gross Hardenbergh. Tappen, although a brave
soldier, was fi-ightened at the ]irospect of an endless lawsuit,
with its ruinous expenses. Probably knowing that his title
was good for nothing, and to avoid hopeless htigation, he com-
promised with Thompson, by gi'V'ing up his fine property, with
its improvements, and recei'ving a deed for eighty acres of wild
land north of Pleasant lake, in Thompson — the premises now
owned by his son, WiUiam Tappen.
Thompson also made a demonstration on the farm of James
HiU, west of the river, by coming there with a surveyor and his
assistants. While the intruders were running a hne through a
wheat-field, Hill attacked them with an ax, and threatening to
" chop them up," drove them away. The occupant was not
again disturbed. Probably Thompson was satisfied that HUl's
title was good, and for this reason proceeded no further in the
business.
Woodbourne was not a place of much importance previous to
1830, at about which time Gabriel W. Ludlum became inter-
ested in its affaii-s. He came into the county in 182(i, and in
December of that year engaged in business at Hasbrouck. After
remaining there four years, he commenced operations at Wood-
bourne. He was a lawyer by profession — natm-ally obsequious
to his superiors and affable to his equals ; but too often brusque
and domineering to those he esteemed his inferiors. While of
* Jacob Conklin, subsequently of Denniston'a ford, settled in Woodbourne previ-
ous to 1790. Ho was a man of education ; had taken the wrong side in the Revolution,
and was not considered safe in husineas affairs.— ,W.S.'''. of B. it. Cliilds.
The declaration of B. G. Childs is probablv based on common report. We have in
our possession evidence tliat Conklin comnianiiod a company of Ulster County Militia
during the war. and that he was sometimes actively employed against the enemy.
THE TOWN OF F.U.LSBURGH. 'Z06
this county, and for several years afterwards, he was of "good
repute in church and state." He was whimsical, and generally,
with a crotchet predominant in his brain, was mounted on a
hobby. It was said of him that he was either " all horse, all
buU, or all hog."
After removing fi'om the upper neighborhood, he overflowed
with projects for the advancement of Woodboume, which he
believed would become a place of considerable importance. He
bestowed upon it its name. He had read in the newspapei's, if
not in the works of Shakspeare, of a " bourne fi-om which no
traveler returns," and hastily decided that Woodbourne* was a
very pretty and very appropriate designation for his embryo
village. In 1830, with John Brodhead, jr., Jacob E. Bogardus,
Anthony Hasbrouck, Henry Misner, Charles Hartshorn, James
N. Rockwell, Nathan Hornbeck, Henry Soutliwick, H. M. Har-
denbergh and Benjamin K. Bevier, he projected a turnpike-road
from EUenviUe to Woodbourne. The proposed improvement
was not at first successful. In 1834, the bold proposition was
made to construct a road fi-om the Wallkill bi-idge, in New Paltz,
via the Traps, EUenviUe, Woodbourne and Loch Sheldrake, to
the house of Walter Gray, in Liberty. Tliis, meeting with still
less favor, was abandoned in its turn, and efforts nuide to secure
a turnpike fi'om EUenviUe to Liberty. It was not until he re-
moved from the town that the EUenviUe and Woodbourne road
was made, when such men as Austin Strong, Anthony Hasbrouck,
Charles Hartshorn and Jasper Gilbert consummated the enter-
prise.
In connection with his road projects was one to construct an
arched bridge across the Neversink, and in 1833, proposals were
issued for the stone and wood work ; but the enterprise was at
that time a failure.
Ludlum was also identified, in 1831, and subsequent years,
with the project of making a railroad fi-om Ivingston across
SuUivan county to Owego or Chenango Point, and was one of
the Commissioners to decide between the anticipated rival
claimants for stock.
He favored these things with the enthusiasm of a young girl
in pursuit of a butterfly, and Avdth an equal measure of success.
In other and smaller affairs he was more fortunate. We beHeve
that he was influential in removing the site of the Dutch Reformed
church-editice from Hasbrouck to Woodbourne. In adchtion to
this, he biiUt the fine stone mansion now (1871) the residence
of Austin Strong, and the store which was occupied by W. W.
Smith in 1869, in which year it was destroyed by tire.
254 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COCKTT.
Ill 1831 commenced the era of tanning in Sullivan. In the
fall of that year John Elclridge laid the foundation of a large
sole-leather manufactory in Thompson, and Eufus Palen and
his partner Adams that of another at the Falls of the Neversink.
Lewis Bushncll was in search of a good place for another estab-
lishment of the kind, and while thus engaged visited Ludlum.
The latter at once decided that a tannery would cause a large
\illage to spring up at Woodbourne, and to him the future was
glorious with wealth and aggrandizement. He at once offered
to supply Bushnell with water-power gratis, and to open streets
and give him alternate village-lots, if he would go on with the
tanners' ; but Bushnell's experience taught him that ^"illage-lots
around a tannery were not often a source of wealth. In addition
to this, Ludlum s e^^dent lack of discretion in business affairs
led him to avoid being involved in financial matters with him.
Bushnell soon after located at Tannersdale, in Thompson. A
tannery, however, was almost immediately erected at Wood-
boui-ne, in which Austin Strong had a controlhng interest. After
prosecuting the business successfully for several vears, Mr.
Sti-ong formed a business connection with Medad T. jMorss, who
finally jjurchased Mr. Strong's interest, and was the sole pro-
prietor until the establishment was destroyed by fire. As the
supply of hemlock-bark in the vicinity was limited, the factory
was not rebuilt.
In 183S, Mr. Ludlum became wear}- of the life he was leading
in Fallsburgh, and removed to Kingston, Avhere he resumed the
practice of law, with James C. Forsyth as a partner. He was
not subsequently connected Avith the affairs of Sullivan, and,
like Forsyth, was an exile fi-om his family. He died on the coast
of the Pacific in 1872.
Some of liis projects were in the end consummated. A good
turnpike, in 1838, was made from Woodbourne to Ellen-ville,
whicli was fterwards extended to Liberty, and by the shrewdness
of Austin Strong and Ilichard Oliver, means were pro-vided for
spanning the Neversink with an arched bridge.
This bridge was the cause of an animated controversy in 1846.
In October, 1843, jieople who lived in the neighborhood, to
build the bridge, raised Sl,227.07 by subscription. Of this sum
Austin Strong gave ?:!0(); liicharil Oliver, .?100; Charles W.
Brodhead, Thomas Hardenbergh and Medad T. Morss, $50
each, making $550 of the 81,227.07. At the annual meetuig of
the Supervisors in November of the same year, Mr. Strong, who
was a member of the Board, succeeded in securing an appropri-
ation from the county of §(500 to aid ui the building of the work,
and the town raised by tax 8200 in addition fnr the same pur-
pose. Thus the aggregate amount secured by suV)scnption and
the two ajijiropriations was 82,027.07. This, it was believed.
THK TOWN OF FALIiiBUUQH. 255-
was sufficient to build the bridge, which is about 250 feet in
length.
On the 20th of May, 1844, Austin Strong, Kichard Oliver and
Charles W. Brodhead, the building committee, contracted with
Nathaniel F. Ivile, of Liberty, to do a portion of the work, and
he promptly commenced it. After about $200 had been ex-
pended on the pier in the centre of the stream, the work was so
much damaged by a freshet, that it was necessary to remove
what remained of it, and to dig a pit in the bottom of the stream
in which to construct a foundation of brush and stone. ThiH
was expensive, and retarded the work until late in the season,
when the weather was so unfavorable as to render the cost
greater.
When the plank-flooring was laid, the committee found that
they had expended all the available means provided for them,
and $889.54 in addition. They then applied to the Legislature
of the State for an enactment requiring the Supervisors of Sul-
livan to raise $1,000 on the property of the county in two equal
annual instalments, and $500 fromFallsburgh, to complete the
work. Their petition contained twenty-seven names, while there
were remonstrances against the passage of the act signed by
669 residents of the county, llichard Oliver, one of the building
committee, was then a member of the Assembly, and it was
alleged that the parties to be benefited by the act procured his
nomination and secured his election to promote their project.
However this may be, he had sulficient address to insure the
passage of the act.
At their next meeting, the Supervisors took measures to raise
the moiety of the county and town appropriations as the law
required, but directed the County Treasurer to retain the money
until the entire amount ($1,500) was collected ; they also stigma'-
tized the bridge as a private enterprise, and forwarded a memo-
rial asking for a repeal of the law, and that the amount raised
should be applied to the payment of the county indebtedness.
A petition, of a similar character, signed by 1,4^4 persons, was
a,lso sent to Albany, and a remonstrance against repeal to which
but thirty-two names were attached. The county papers de-
nounced the act, and arraigned Mr. Oliver and his colleagues at
the bar of pubHc opinion, and a respectable delegation went to
the State capitol to procure an annulment of the act. Notwith-
standing all this, and the additional fact that the member from
the coimty (William B. Wright) professed to favor repeal, and
that he was probably the most talented representative ever sent
to the lower House from the county, the act was permitted to
remain in full force. The memorial and petition were referred
to the Committee on Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties, a
majority and minority report were made to the Assembly, and
256 HjfrroRY of slllivas county.
no further action took place. The next Board of Supervisors
raised the balance of the money, as the law diiected ; the build-
ing committee reimburse<l themselves, and paid for covering
the bridge ; and thus teianinated an exceedingly bitter contro-
versy. The bridge cost the county, SI, 600 ; the towTi of Falls-
bui-gh, $700 ; and those more largely interested, |1,'227.07. Total,
$8,.527.07. At tliis day, no one will deny that the work is a
necessity to a considerable number of the residents of the
county; but many will question the propriety of the means
employed to secure its completion.
Before dismissing the matter, it may be proper to state that
the building committee paid fi-om theii- own pockets $889.54 in
the fall of 1844, and received that amount in retiim in 1848,.
without interest.
In addition to the Reformed ohui-ch, there is at Woodbume a
German Catholic church, of which Rev. P. Droste is the jiastor.
The latter was built in 18()0, under the pastorate of Father
Ranfeisen, and is known as the chui-ch of the Holy Tiinity.
On the 24th of January, 1837, the remains of David Wheeler
and Da\-id C. Wheeler (father and son) were found nearly con-
sumed by fire. They had taken a job of chopping for Charles
W. Brotihead, near Woodbourne, and occupied a shanty made
of hemlock-slabs, near their work. In the ashes of this shanty
their dead bodies were discoveretl. It was supposed by some
that their shelter took fire, near its entrance, while they were
asleep, and that egress was thus prevented. Others suspected
that they were murdered, and that the shanty was set on fire to
conceal all traces of the crime. Albert "\^'. Wheeler, a son of
David, published a card in the Republican Wafclihuni soon after,
in which he denounced this suspicion as painful to the family of
the deceased, and injurious to others. Nevertheless many con-
tinued to believe that the A\Tieelers were miudered. No inquest
was held.
Three brothers named Brown settled near the Falls of the
Neversink previous to 1797. One of them (Samuel) occupied
the O'Neil place ; another (Thaddeus, who is mentioned in the
records of Mamakating) lived where the residence of Nicholas
Flagler now stands. The cabin of the third (Olmdiah) was in
the neighborhood. They were Dutchmen, and naturally gravi-
tated to warm, sheltered and easily tUled river-bottoms. Their
descendants are still li\Tng in Falhsburgh and other towns of
the county.
The river here descends a precipice said to be more than
twenty feet in height, and follows a narrow cliannel through the
rocks for several rods. This channel is of considerable depth,
and on its sides the water, -n-ith the help of pebbles and small
stones, has worn numerous basin-like holes. These will hold
THE TOWN OF FAIXSBURGH. 257
from one to many g;dlon.s, and are justly regarded as objects of
curiosity.
The Falls of the Nevei-sink early attracted the attenticm of
speculators. The ease with which the river could be dammed,
the gi-eat water-power which coiild be wielded for manufact-
uring purposes, and the fact that the Neversink could be
bridged at this point at less expense than at any other, and that
the amount of travel westward would probably flow over it, led
the Powells of Newburgh and others to make investments here.
On the 30th of March, 1810, the Newburgh and Sullivan
Turnpike Company was incorporated by the Legislature of the
State. Cornehus Bniyn, James Eumsey, Abraham Jansen,
John D. Lawson, John McAuley, Moses Eosekranse, Nicholas
Hardenbergh and Johannis T. Jansen were the coi-porate mem-
bers, and the route was to extend from the northern part of the
village of Newbiu-gh to a point at or near the Falls of the Never-
sink, by the way of New Hurley, Sam's Point and Wawarsing.
The capital stock of the company was $.35,000, and Jacob Powell,,
John Crowell, James Mitchell, Levi Van Keuren and Simon
Bevier were appointed commissioners to receive subscriptions..
The object of the company was "to open the western country,"
according to tlie act, and the road was intended to tap the route
from Kingston via Liberty, etc., to Chenango Point. During the
same session, an act was passed incorporating a company to
construct a bridge at the latter place.
On the 11th of April, 1808, the Ulster and Orange Branch,
Turnpike Company was chartered. Walter Burling, Elnathan
Sears, Henry Patmore, junior, David MiHiken, Elias Miller,.
Charles Johnston, John Crosby, Alexander ThomiDson, junior,,
and their associates wei-e authorized to build a turnpike road
from the Newburgh and Cochecton road, in the to^^ii of Mont-
gomery, to the Neversink tumpilie,* in Liberty, by the way of
Newkirk's Mills on the Shawangunk river, Koosa's Pass, and
the Falls of the Neversink. The capital of the company was:
$30,000. Elnathan Sears, Thomas Powell and John Conger
were commissioners to procure stock.
In 1808, Herman Buggies and Henry Reed came to the Falls,
built a house, and engaged in business as merchants, etc. Their
house stood between the grist-miU and the old river-road.
Buggies was a lawyer, and was admitted to practice in the
Coui'ts of the county at the January Common Pleas and General
Sessions of 1810. There was bxit one lawyer in Monticello at
that time (Livingston Billings). Buggies was a brother of
Charles H. Buggies, who afterwards became a distinguished
* See chiiptei
17
258 HISTORY OF 8UIXIVAN COUNTY.
jurist.* A saw-mill was built by them in 1808, and the grint-
mill in 1809.
Tliomas S. Lockwood bought out the.se men, as well as Jacob
■and Thomas Powell, and accomplished much in developing the
natural resources of the Falls. He erected buildings, and in-
duced others to settle in the place. Abner Seeley, a miU-wright
employed in building the grist-mill, became the miller of the
place, and was succeeded by liis son (Oliver) and his grandson
(Horace). He was a warm admirer of the Methodists, and
named one of his sons in honor of Rev. Horace Weston, and
another after Rev. James Quinlan, two pioneer preachers of the
Methodist society. In 1816, the Falls was known as Lockwood's
Mills.t
Lockwood was very active in promoting the constniction of the
branch-turnpike, a work which was not completed until 1818. It
caused raucli vexation to owners of real estate located within five
or six miles of it. "Wlien all other schemes to construct it proved
abortive, their property was taxed to make tlie road. This tax re-
siilted in great advantage to Lockwood, who became the owner
of many fine acres of forest-land when they were sold by the
Comptroller, and the owners failed to redeem them. At the
time of his decease, in September, 1837, he possessed about
10,000 acres, nearly all of which were purchased at tax-sales.
The Lockwoods were from Newburgh, where they enjoyed
high social position. This fact wDl be more apparent if we stat*^
that when La Fayette visited the United States in 1824, he
opened a ball given in his honor with a daughter of Mr. Lock-
wood as his partner.
Thomas S. Lockwood was very influential in procuring the
erection of the town. He was opposed by the leading residents
at the county-seat, who, to promote their partisan aims, labored
to prevent an excision from the area of Thompson.
It was proposed to bestow the name of Lockwood on the new
town. This met with no favor from him. He thought no resi-
dent was entitled to the honor of having his name thus perpetu-
ated, and that, as the Falls of the Neversink were the most
notable feature of its territory, the name of Fallsburgh was
preferable to any other.
The river, a short distance below the Falls, was spanned by
an arched stone bridge in 1819. The abutments stand on the
bed-rock, and the work is one of the most substantial and en-
during things of the kind in the State. Unmoved it has stood
the ebullitions of " the mad river" for more than half a century,
although at times it has been in much peril. The gi'eat flood
of 18G9 overwhelmed it. On the east side the parapet and
* Statfmimt of Richard D. t'biliJs. -f Sfseion Ijiws of 1816.
THE TOWN 01'' KAXUSBUKGH. 259
superincumbent stone and earth-work were swept away as far
down as the foundation. Great trees, stripped of their limbs
and roots, were hurled by the foaming flood, with the force of
many battering-rams, against the arch, which raised its head
above the subsiding flood, a proud and enduring monument of
the fidelity and skill of its builder — a Mr. Kelley, of Newburgh.
During Lockwood's days, the business of distilling spirituous
liquors was carried on in the old tannery boarding-hoiise, whei-e
many casks of undrugged whisky were made. A few years since,
the "pump" which supplied the water for the still was standing
in one corner of the kitchen.
At the head of the rocky channel above alluded to is a sub-
stantial dam, which, previous to the flood of 1869, furnished
water to propel the machinery of two saw-mills, a turning-shop,
grist-mill and tannery. The flood of that year destroyed the
turning-shop and one of the saw-mills, and the business of tan-
ning has since been abandoned.
Riifus Palen & Co. laid the foundation of the tannery in 1831,
and the establishment commenced manufacturing sole-leather
in 1832. The main building was 350 feet in length, and 40 wide,
and contained 160 vats, which were capable of holding 25,000
sides of leather. Four thousand cords of hemlock-bark and
seven hundred of wood were used each year. From thirty to
forty workmen were employed. Cost of raw material in 1845,
when the business was in its prime, $45,144- value of manufact-
ured articles, $65,360. Besides the main edifice, there were
other structures for the bark-mill, leaches and sweat-pits.
This estabhshment was in operation nearly forty years, and,
strange to say, was never burned down. Its preservation from
the usual fate of tanneries was due to the admirable rules estab-
lished by Rufus Palen, and enforced by his associates and suc-
cessors. These rules nearly cost him his liberty and good name,
as he was indicted in 1832 for attempting to shoot a fellow who
persisted in smoking in the tannery-building.
I Mr. Finch, the builder, had in his employ a number of men
who habitually smoked while at work on the premises, notwith-
standing Mr. Palen had forbidden the practice. As free and
independent citizens they claimed the right to use tobacco at
any time and everywhere, and in the manner which best suited
them. An infringement of this assumed right they regarded as
tyrannical and an outrage. Entering the tannery on one occa-
sion, Palen found a man named Brown, smoking, and after a
severe struggle, wrested his pipe from him, and threw him out
of the building. For this, one Hubbard excited the workman
iigainst Palen, and he was threatened with personal violence.
Under the circumstances, the latter deemed it expedient to pro-
vide himself with a pistol, which he afterwards attempted to use
•ibU HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OOUXTY.
in self-defense ; but it was wrested fi-om him bj Hubbard, on
whose complaint he was arrested, aud tried on a charge of
assault and battery with intent to kill. Palen was tried before
a democratic judge. Political asperities were acrid at that time.
The alleged offender was an infliiential whig. In the democratic
party there was a bitter feeling against him. Nevertheless, after
a full and fair investigation, he was honorably acquitted.
In 1838, Eufus Palen was elected a representative in Congress
from the 7th district. In 1839, Edward and Arihur Palen, and
their cousin, Nicholas Flagler, became interested with Rufus and
James Palen in the business, which was then extended in vari-
ous ways. Eufus died of consumption soon after his term in
Congi-ess expired.* Although a very wealthy man, he was sin-
gularly plain and unostentatious in his habits. His residence
was almost as humble as those of his workmen. His sterling
integi-ity, unusual foresight, aud primitive ways, enabled him to
pUot his large ventures safely through the iinancial breakers of
his time. His reputation, like that of his business associates
and successors, was ^-ithoiit a stain or a blot. The financial skill
of the firm was never employed to absorb the earnings of its
employees. The members took pleasure in seeing their work-
men giadually win a competence, and we record it as a remark-
able fact, that they jiaid compound interest to such of their
dependents as saved money, and let it remain in their hands.
The dam which sujiijliecl the Fallsburgh tannery with water
was the scene of a sad casualty on the oOth of November, 1837.
Henry, a sou of John Quinlan, while skating, broke through the
ice. As young Quinlan was strugghiif; in the water, a lad named
Stephen Kidd attempted to rescue him. He, too, was precipi-
tated into the water, and both were ckowaied. Ividd had, on a
former occasion, resciied a drowning boy.
On the 2d of June, 1841, an old man named Seeley, while
cleaning a spring in the neighborhood, fell into it, and was
di'owned. His face only was in the water.
The hills and swamps in the vicinity of the Falls were once
noted places for hunting and trapping bears. The usual manner
of catching these animals was to make a pen of logs, with a door
at one end. This door was so arranged that it could only be
opened and shut from the outside. When " set," it Wius raised
up ; and it fell as soon as bmin meddled with the bait, securing
him eflfectually. It was notliing more or less than an old-fash-
ioned mouse-trap on a large scale, and with a shght variation.
An old settler named Seeley, on visiting a trap he had made,
found in it a cub, whicli he shot. He then laid down liis gun,
raised the door, fixed it precisely as if he had set it for more
*C)ilb. It W. Paltn l.coamt a mimbu- of tlie firm m 1848.
THE TOWN OF FALLSBUKGH. 261
game, and entered to take out the young bear. While inside,
he accidentally touched the lever or spindle, when down fell the
door. Seeley was hterally caught in his own trap. To get out
without help was impossible, and imless some one soon found
him, or he could masticate and swallow raw bear meat, he had
a somewhat gloomy prospect of starvation. But this was not
the worst feature of his dilemma. He soon had reason to fear
that, instead of eating the young animal, he would himself be
devoured by an old one. The cub's dam made her appearance,
and seeing her suckling in strange company, flew into a great
rage, and rushed at the imprisoned hunter. We believe he was
a j)ious man. If he had prayed to be deUvered fi-om tlie trap,
he now had occasion to pray that it would hold him securely.
The brute caught hold of the logs with her powerful fore-paws,
and tried to pull them from their places, at the same time biting
off large mouthfuls of wood and bark. Not succeeding in this,
she would run her claws through the cre\'ices, and endeavor to
grab him, causing him to shrink as far and as small as possible
on the other side. As he changed his position, she changed hers,
and he found it jiradent to move about in a hvely maimer, while
he shouted with all his might. Providentially, Philaixler Waring;,
who was afterwards Clerk of the county, was in the same woods
hunting, and heard Seeley's cries for help. Hastening to the
spot, he shot the old bear, and released Seeley. When the
latter got out, he said, " Well, Philan, I think I know how a
mouse feels in a wire trap, with a cat watching it." Philander
thought "very Ukely he did," as he laughed heartily at the
adventure.*
In 1803, John Simpson, after selling his squatter-right to the
Hojt farm in Tannersdale, took possession of the Stafford D.
O'Neill place. He probably bought it from Brown, the original
settler. Peter Simpson, a brother of John, at the same time,
went on the premises now owned by John D. O'Neill.
A neat Methodist Episcopal church was erected at the FaUs
in 1846. M. E. Andrews was its builder. Near the church
stands the district school-house, an edifice which is creditable
to the people of the place.
As we have stated elsewhere, the river flats at Denniston's
ford were probably settled previous to the Kevohitionary war.
The first authentic statement we can find in regard to that
region, is that in 1789, when James Hill came into the town by
the Sandburgh route, the flat at the ford had been occupied
many years by white people. We have ah-eady conjectured the
probable time of the settlement. Farther than this we cannot go.
* Hunters of SuUivan.
'i63 HISTORY OF SUIJjrVAN OOCKTT,
In 1790, a man named William Palmer was living near the
former residence of William F. Denniston. His antecedents
were unknown. Some imagined he was a fugitive from justies.
He was imdoubtedly a rou^h character — one of that class who
are ever prone to plunge beyond the limits of civilization, and
who find in the denizens of the forest, tempers and dispositions
congenial with their own. After William A. Thompson cam©
to Thompsonville, and bought a tract of land which extended
from the Neversink almost to the Mongaup, a quarrel sprang
up between the two, and Palmer frequently threatened to assas-
sinate his new neighbor, if the latter ventured upon or near his
premises. Thereafter he was seldom at ease. Apparently he
was one of those "whose hands are against every man." Dis-
gusted with the new comers, with whom he liad continual
disputes, he concluded to sell his claim and depart for parts
unknown. He soon had an opportunity to sell. A man named
Jacob ConkUn came to Thompsonville in 1800, and after looking
for a place to settle, made Palmer a proposition, which was
accepted. The latter then left the counti-y. This Conklin had
a son named Jacob, who is still (1873) li\-ing in the town.
Archibald Farr is mentioned in the old Records of Mamaka-
ting as Kving at Denniston's ford. In 1797, he had a large
double log-house where Walter S. Denniston's garden now is.
At that time, there was considerable travel by the way of this
ford, and Farr kept a tavern.
In a few years many settlers came into this region. Daniel
Sturges (1798) had a house on the hiU east of J. W. Haight's
E resent residence. He was a giant in strength, and often put a
ushel of wheat on his shoulders in Orange county, and carried
it home without once taking it off, where his wife boiled it, thus
converting it into a coarse kind of mush.
Samuel Lawson lived on the Samuel Lord farm a short time,
and then sold to David Cudney. In 1803, Cudney transfeiTed
his right of possession to Mr. Lord, and settled on what is
known as the Stratton farm. William Blanchard had the James
O'NeiU place, which he sold in 1803 to Goold Lord. John Lord
bought a place which Isaac Eundle clauned. The Lords were
brothers, and after buying the squatter-rights of the occupants,
were obhged to obtain the fee simple of a widow Bleecker of
Albany, who was the real owner. John and Goold soon left.
The place of the latter was owned many years by Piatt Bamum
and his heirs. In 1858, Samuel died where he settled.
About 1796, Daniel Crawford, who had previously moved
from Marlborougli, ou the Hudson, to the town of Neversink,
settled on the east side of the river, about half a mile above
Denniston's ford. Four years later he built himself a dwelling
near the Rock House, on the west end of Wilham T. Crawford's
THE TOWN OF FALLSBUKGH. 263
present farm. An anecdote of Daniel Crawford will illustrate
the dangers and excitement of pioneer life. He had made »
pen for a caK in the rear of his house, just opposite a window.
Hearing a noise in the pen at night, he looked out of the
window, and saw what appeared to be two balls of fire, within
a few feet of where he stood. Seizing his gun, he fired. The
luminous objects disappeared, and all was still. He did not
venture to go out until morning, when a panther was found dead
directly under the window. The calf also was dead.
In 1802, John Atwell and William Bates built the house now
standing on the William E. Fuller farm, and Lewis Cross the old
Coui-tright house, on the corner soiith of Daniel Perry's.
In 1803, Sylvanus Conklin erected the building in which
Walter S. Denniston lately resided, and occupied it as a tavern.
At the same time Silas Eeeve put up the old Bell house near
Sandburgh. Eeeve manufactured mill-stones, and was generally
absent from home. While he was away, the tire went out, and
his wife traveled to Wurtsborough, and brought back living
coals, in order to cook her meals! At another time, her cow
wandered off in the woods. While looking for the estray and
lost, Colenso-like, she got estray and lost herself. She was three
days and nights in the forests without food. One night, while
perched on a high rock, she was serenaded until morning by a
pack of wolves, which made many unsuccessful attempts to
reach her. " They loved darkness rather than light ;" for as day
dawned they vanished. The people of Wurtsborough aided in
searching for her, and when found, she was exhausted and almost
speechless, having lain down to die.
Francis Andrews, a well-known and much respected citizen,
was liere previous to 1806, for in that year, with Elijah Couch
and Nehemiah Smith, he was an Assessor of the towTi of Thomp-
son, which then covered the region of Sandburgh and Glen Wild.
He settled on the hill east of J. W. Haight's residence.
The year 180.5 brought the promise of better days. Johannis
Miller, of Orange county, an influential man who was re-
puted to be wealthy, had located at Glen Wild, and was busy
in building, and in locating the streets of a future city, or very
large village at least. His avenues surmounted the hiUs of his
large tract of land. One of these eminences was to be crowned
with a palatial residence, and its neighbors with churches, a
court-house, etc. He was outgeneraled by John P. and Samuel
F. Jones, when, defeated, disappointed and disgusted, he re-
turned to Orange county. A large part of his real estate was
in the present town of Fallsburgh.
Ehjah Couch emigrated from Fairfield county, Connecticut,
in the year 1805, and moved into the house of William Bates
and John Atwell. He contracted for five hundred acres of land
^64 HISTORY OF SULLIVAX COUNTY.
in the vicinity, and immediately built a house ; but some diffi-
culty arising in reference to his purchase, he removed to the
Miller tract. In 1806, Mary Couch opened the first school in
Miller Settlement, as the Glen Wild region was called.
"Wild beasts in early times were gi'eat enemies of the farmer.
Jacob Conkhn, in one night, had thiitj^ sheep destroyed by
wolves, and about a dozen more torn and mangled. One of his
neighbors, while searching the woods for his cow, heard the bell
ring in an imusual manner, and on coming near, found that a
bear had killed and was devouiing her. Being unarmed he was
compelled to let the bear finish his meal.
The wolves, impelled by hunger, were often so bold as to
gather around dwellings, and were driven away only by fire-
brands, or the discharging of guns.
When the grist-mill at Thompsonville was burned down in
1805, and the settlers were compelled to cross the Barrens to
get their grain ground, they sometimes followed a shorter route
than that afforded by the Sackett road and the turnpike. They
took their grain over this short route on their backs, or on the
backs of their horses, if they had such animals. A vehicle
could not be cirawn over it, as it was nothing more than a foot-
path.
Archibald FaiT went to the nearest mill by this road. Not
getting his giist promptly, on his return darkness overtook him
while he was yet in the woods. Unable to keep in the path, he
was compellecl to unload, tie his horse to a tree, and wait for
the retm-n of Ught. The wolves were soon in motion. Howl
answered howl. He prudently climbed a tree, and would have
taken his terrified horse with him if such a feat had been pos-
sible. The animals m a short time surrounded him. The horse
being securely tied, straggled in vain to escape. Its rearing
and plunging, and the shouts of Farr, probably kept the snarl-
ing beasts back until morning, when they disappeared; but
Farr always declared that it was the fire the horse s hoofs stnick
from a rock on which he stood. Wb.en Ught re-appeared, Farr
and his steed, trembling from the fright they had felt, resumed
their journey. Our informant cannot say whether they traveled
that road again between dusk and dawn, but we venture httle in
asserting that they did not.
These pioneers often used pine-knots in the place of candles.
Bandboxes were made of white birch-bark taken off in large
strips, and sewed or vnred together ; and some were even \\'ith-
out pots, kettles and other iron, brass and tin utensils, which
are now considered indispensable in the poorest famiUes. Meat
and vegetables were cooked in wooden vessels by plunging into
the water, clean, smooth and red-hot stones, after the manner
of the Indians. Men and women wore homespun, and the
THK TOWN OF F.U-LSBUKGH. 265
■■cliilclren were arrayed in the simplest fasliion — the guls in sum-
mer seldom wearing more than one garment — a tow-frock, while
the boys had two — a shirt and pants of the same material.
About the year 1815, a man named Ai'chibald Denniston
settled at the ford, which fi-om that time was known by his
family-name. He was fi'om Cornwall, Orange county, and of
the very respectable family of Dennistons of that county. He
was born in 1775, and remembered seeing General "Washington
and other distinguished officers at the house of his father. He
was 48 years of age when he came to Sullivan, and continued
to reside at tlie ford until his 8Sth year, when he died much
respected for his honesty and uprightness.
Itinerant Metliodist preacliers at an early day preached the
Gospel as they iruderstood it to the inhabitants of this region,
and "athered within their fold the stray sheep of the wilderness
of Glen Wild, and the adjacent neighborhoods. A church-
edifice belonging to the followers of John Weslej- crowns a
height east of Deuniston's ford. Tliis church is more in accord-
ance with the rules of architectm-e than other iiu-al meeting-
houses of SuUivan, and is very creditable to those who erected
it. It was built in 1866. It is claimed that Methodist preaciiers
visited tins locality as early as 1807, and tliat they formed a
■class here in that year.
In 1794, Joseph Divine removed fi-om Plattekill, Ulster county,
to the locahty now known as Divine's Cornei-s, in the western
part of Fallsburgh. He was the fii*it settler in that ^acinity.
For several years his nearest neighbors hved four miles distant
•on the Neversink river. A settlement on tlie Blue Mountain, in
the present town of Liberty, was commenced about that time.
It was six miles west fiom Di\'ine's house. South of him
was a wilderness, the extent of which was then almost un-
known. He did not long endure the hardships of life in the
woods. In 1802 he died, and was buried at Neversink Flats.
One of his sons, Samuel, subsequently removed to the South
Settlement of Thompson, and died there a few years since.
James, his yomigest, continued to occupy the farm settled by
his father, until his decease on the 1st of February, 1846. He
was a prominent citizen of the town, and was several times
elected by his townsmen to places of honor and responsibility.
The old Divine farm adjoins the present residence of John H.
Divine, whose stimng and successful life has made him so well
known to the citizens of Sullivan.
In 1802, John Filer came from Ulster county, and bought a
■wild lot adjoining Joseph Divine's land, on which his son
Cornehus EUer now resides.
Jonathan Jones moved into the neighborhood about the same
'Zbb HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUN-n'.
time, and bought the lot next to EUer's, the same which Joseph
D. Jones now owns and occupies.
Henry D. Schoonmaker, another native of Ulster county,
located here as early as 1805. His residence was about a mile
from the Sheldrake, on the farm bought by David Dutcher
about 1820, and now held by Thompson Dutcher. In 1805,
and in almost every succeeding year while he lived near Divine's
Corners, Schoonmaker was elected to some town-office. Soon
after he came, he bought the property at Loch Sheldrake, and
built a saw-mill, grist-mill, and carding-machine. The latter
was a gieat convenience to the people, some of whom traveled
thirty miles to reach his establishment ; but the population was
so sparse, and so few sheep were kept in the coimtry, that
Schoonmaker did not make nis carding-machine a source of
profit. He became prominent in the field of enterprise, and
during his prosperous days the Sheldrake region was known as
the Schoonmaker Settlement. He was a man of gi-eat enei^
and force of character, and had much business capacity. If
his integrity had equaled his shrewdness, his name would prob-
ably be still identified with the region in which he then lived.
Tradition yet retains the memory of his smartness, and the
unscrupulous character of some of his transactions. It is said
that by artifice he succeeded in seUing to Mr. Sanford, an early
settler of Liberty, a spurious mine in Ulster county, where
Sanford dug for gold or some other muieral until he became
poor, and discovered that he had been duped and deluded by
Schoonmaker.
Schoonmaker was so successful in selling his mining property
in Ulster, that he determined to make another and gieater vent-
ure. In 1817, a man named J. E. Everson, with the help of
Sanford, the miner, induced him to exchange his handsome
propei-ty at Loch Sheldi-ake and in its vicinity for lauds in Western
Penns_ylvania. He removed to his new estate ; but soon found
that his title to it was woiihless, and that Everson had defrauded
him of all he possessed. With a large family to support, and a
tarnished reputation, he was reduced to extreme poverty, and
found he could not regain a position among reputable business
men. He afterwards came back to Loch Sheldrake, bringing
with Jiim a team of horses, which he sold to Abram Knim, and
then started for the place where he had left his family. He
reached Cochecton, where he crossed the Delaware river; but
at that point all track and trace of him was lost. Neither his
family nor any of his old acquaintances ever heard of him again,
and his fate is still a mystery. Whether he absconded, became
insane and wandered oil' in the woods to perish, or was murdered
for the few dollars he had with him, will never be known. San-
ford viewed his misfortunes with satisfaction, and was afterwards
THE TOWN OF FALLBBUBGH. 267
heard to say : " Sclioonmaker found a mine for me, and I helped
to find Pennsylvania lands for him."
Schoonmaker's fortunes and misfortunes have often afforded
a theme for the parents of the Sheldrake region, when they
labored to convince tlieu- children that "the way of the trans-
gressor is hard," and that smart men, above all others, should
be honest.
John Low settled near Divine's Corners in 1805 or 1806. He
was born in 1748, and his wife Elizabeth in 1758 ; hence they
had passed the meridian of Ufe when they moved into the woods
of SuUivan. He was the descendant of several generations of
Johns, and on festive occasions displayed a set of huge silver
coat-buttons with the family device engraved upon them, which
had come to him fi-om a long line of the same family and chris-
tian name, and which he bequeathed to his youngest son, John
A. Low.
The children of John and EHzabeth Low were Sarah, bo. a
October 12, 1780 ; Elizabeth, Febiiiary 12, 1782 ; Caty, April 17.
1783 ; Heman, April 2, 1785 ; Benjamin, April 2, 1787 ; Jane,
June 2, 1790; Stephen, June 2(5, 1792; Zachariah, August 28,
179-1 ; Mary, February 11, 1796 ; John A., October 30, 1799.
John A. Low is the father of Henry R. and Benjamin Low.
The making of the brancli-turapike brought into the town
(1818) a yoimg man named Harley E. Ludington, a native of
Litchfield county, Connecticut. He settled in tlie Loch Shel-
drake region, and for forty years engaged successfully in farming
and lumbering. He was a man of clear convictions and positive
charactei*. When he espoused a cause, he could see no defect
in it. To him it was a verity in all its phases and ramifications,
and he advocated it with great vigor and earnestness, and with
an entire disregard of consequences to himself. While he was
a resident, he represented his town in the Board of Supervisors,
and was for twenty years a Justice of the Peace. Probably
more cases were decided by him than by any other ofiicer of the
county. Few, if any, of his decisions were revei-sed by the Su-
preme Court. In 1838, he was elected Sergeant-at-arms of the
Assembly, and was once a prominent candidate for the same
position in the lower House at Washington, for which he was
recommended by William H. Seward, Luther Bradish, and other
men of like stamp. His success in managing law-suits in the
primary courts, and his knowledge of legal matters generally,
induced him to apply for admission to the bar.* His apphcatiou
was successful ; but he did not practice his profession. In 1871,
he was appointed to a position in the New York custom-house ;
* Sermou of Kev. Uriah Meesiter.
2b» HISTORY OF SI'LLIVAX COUNTY.
but soon after died from injiu-ies received bj falling througli a
hatchway.
The New Prospect Union church, located one mile west of
Loch Sheldrake, was erected in 1860. As its name indicates,
it was built by men of conflicting religious creeds, in order that
any professing reUgious society should have a house in which to
worship. Eev. J. Napier Husted, pastor of the Presliyterian
Church of Libertj', holds service in the building, and about
twenty-five of his flock reside in the neighborhood. John H.
Divine, a Universalist layman, occasionally discourses of rehgion
and other matters fi-om its pulpit.
HuELEYViLLE. — An old hunter named WiUiam Hurley, settled
at this place when the only road from Thomj)son to the Blue
Hills of Liberty ran fi-om Thompsonville via WiUiam DeWitt
Stratton's. William A. Thompson had founded a village, as he
supposed ; and John P. and Samuel F. Jones were di-eaming of
the future importance of Monticello. Hurley concluded that
Jtis location was the site of a third town of importance, and in
a very earnest manner set fortli its advantages. In a few years,
travel found other and better avenues. Hurleyville, -v\-ith its
solitary house, became a very secluded locality. Deer and
wolves and jianthers aboimded in its vicinitj- after they had left
the surroimdin^ settlements, and the jjopulation of Hurley^dlle
consisted principally of muski-ats, raccoons and foxes. During
aU its days pf desolation, however, it retained the name be-
stowed upon it by the old hunter, and contiaued to perpetuate
his memory. In 1872, the place suddenly became important in
the eyes ot shrewd business men. The Midland railroad com-
pany established a station here, to which the inhabitants of rich
agricultural neighborhoods must resort. Ah-eady HurleyviUe is
a lively hamlet, and the day is not distant when the dream of
its pioneer-settler will become a pleasant reahty.*
Keformed Chukch op Fallsbuegh. — The early records of
this Church are very meagre. The minutes of its Consistory
• In 1861, aiphtheria prevailed in Hurley and Loeli Sheldrake, when the family of
Doctor Benjamin Kyle -was nearly exterminated by it. A row of tomb-stones in the
l>urying-grouud at the Falls contains the following record of the doings of this scourge :
"Lydia Kylo, bom Deo. 12, 1835, died Dec. 9, 18C1."
"Solomon Kvle, born April 15, 185n, died Dec. 2, 18G1."
( "SaUy Ann Kyle, born Slav 15, l.slo, ili.d Deo. 1, 1861." (
3 "Tabitha E. Kvle, born Jan. 8. ls,5i;, died Dec. 1, ISSl." j
"Mary J. E. Kyle, born Nov. 1<), 1812, died Nov 23, 1861."
"Hannah Kyle, born Nov. 13, 1857, died Dec. 8, 1861."
"Benjamin Kyle, born Jan. 19, 1851, died Dec. 6, 1861."
" Charles Kvle, born Julv 20. 1853, died Dec. 12. 1861."
"John Kyle, born July 27, 1S33, died Dec. 15, 1861."
From this it seems that one of Doctor Kyle's children died on the 2Sd of November,
and eight others from the Ist to the 15th of December !
THE TOWN OF FALLSBURGH. 2GJ
for the first fifteen years or more of its existence, were in 1834
collected and recorded upon five quarto pages» It will be
necessary, hence, at the introduction of this sketch, to draw
somewhat upon local tradition.
From the most authentic information it appears that the
Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of' Fcdlsburgh, the title by
which it was afterwards incorporated, was organized in the year
1812. Who its earliest members were, where they worshiped,
or who their first s^ju-itual teachers were, can only be conject-
iired. Doubtless they met in private houses, as did the primi-
tive disciples. Perhaps they received the truth from the hps of
those devout men who were accustomed to spend their vacations
itinerating among the scattered settlements of the backwoods.
Certain it is tliat Revs. J. B. Ten Eyck and WilKam Timlow of
Orange coimty, together with others of like missionary spirit,
very early in the ceuturj^, visited and preached to little flocks
of God's people along the banks of the Neversink.
The pious Dutch element which was then beginning to peo-
ple those hemlock-clearings, could not long be content to remain
without the stated means of gi-ace, and hence the pastors whom
they had left behind at " the Paltz " and elsewhere, were selected
to come over and help them organize a Church.
It is conjectured that the troubloiis times inaugurated by the
war of 181'2, may have aifected this feeble organization disas-
trously, and that its members were scattered and its minutes lost
during the confusion that followed. On the restoration of peace
came again the desire for public religious pri\aleges ; yet it was
not until thirteen years afterward that tliis was fully reaUzed.
At a meeting held December 9tli, 1827, the Church was
reorganized by Rev. WiUiam R. Bogardus, minister of the
united charges of New Paltz and New Hurley. Five persons,
only one of whom survives, constituted the entire membership.
These were John Tappan, Joseph Seaman, Joachim D. Schoon-
maker, Abram Seaman and Rachel (Depuy) Hasbrouck. Of this
number, the following persons were elected and ordained to the
office of Ruling Elder and Deacon respectively, viz : Elders —
John Tappan and Joseph Seaman. Deacons — Abram Seaman
and J. D. Schoonmaker.
The first church-edifice was buUt on the flat east of the resi-
dence of the late Anthony Hasbrouck, during the year 1828.
It was a substantial structure of wood, 34 s-i 50 feet, with a small
gallery. The building committee consisted of Messrs. A. Has-
brouck, H. M. Hardenbergh and Gabriel W. Ludlum.
About this period Rev. Joshua Boyd, a hcentiate of the Pres-
bytery of Elizabeth and a domestic missionary in the employ
of the Dutch Church, became the instrument in God's hand of
gi-eatly furthering the spiritual interests of this feeble flock.
270 HISrOKY OF SULLTV'AN COUNIT.
How long Mr. Boyd coutiuued his ministrations here is not
positively known ; but he is supposed to have left the field some
time in the fall of 1828.
During the years 1829, 1830, 1831 and 1832, the Church was
occasionally supplied by Eev. Messrs. George, Bro'n-n, Baldwin
and others, who were sent from time to time by the Domestic
Missionary Society of the Dutch Church. Under the preaching
of these faithful men, the Church had increased in membership
to nearly a score.
The peeple now felt themselves sufficiently strong to inNate
a minister to settle over them. Accordingly, in 1833, they
extended a call to Kev. John Gray, who was duly installed their
pastor. Mr. Gray was a Scotchman, and had been previously
for seven years a missionary in Eussian Tartary, where he had
endured many of the privations incident to pioneer mission-
work. He was a man of independent spirit, yet possessed a
genial, affectionate disi^ositiou. No man who had previously
visited the settlement, had been known to preach with such
power and unction. His voice was frequently heard on the
camp-ground, where, with his brethren of the Methodist denom-
ination, he freely met for rehgious worship.
Mr. Gray was a man of considerable literary ability, contrib-
uting during his Ufe-time to several religious journals, and writing
a number of excellent tracts and books. He continued in charge
of this Church, greatly strengthening it by his ministrations,
until the spring of 1835, when he removed to Shodack. His
successor. Rev. Ambrose Eggleston, received a call in December
following. Scarcely had he commenced the duties of liis new
position, however, when a severe and trying calamit}- fell upon
i)astor and people. On the morning of February 23d, 1836, the
louse where their fathers worshiped God, was destroyed by fire,
and all their pleasant things were laid waste. Undaunted by
this calamity, however, they straightway rose up to rebuild;
"for the people had a mind to work;" and in less than a year
the present beautiful structure was completed. The site, to-
gether with a suitable burial-gi-ound, and other lands of consid-
erable value, were generously granted by Gabriel W. Ludlum, to
whose liberality and personal exertions the society is much in-
debted for its present prosperity.
The corner-stone of tliis building was laid May 4th, 1837,
with appropriate religious services ; and at a meeting of classia
on the 31st of October following, it was dedicated to Almighty
God. Eev. C. C. Elting, of Port Jerns, preached the sermon
from Exodus xx : 24. The pastor oflFered the dedicatory prayer.
Eev. Messrs. Eobert P. Lee of Montgomery, J. B. Ten" Eyck
of Berea, and Hyudshaw of Walpack, likewise took part in the
services.
THE TOWN OF FALUSBUKGH. 271
The following pevsous were at this time acting members of
Consistory, ?.?« ; Joseph Seaman, John Wells and Austin Strong,
Elders. Abraham Seaman and Benjamin Turner, Deacom.
The above named elders and deacons composed the building
committee. Nelson and Albert Tyrrel were the contractors.
Rev. Mr. Eggleston was installed pastor of the Church in the
school-house near Judge Ludlum's, by a committee of classis,
consisting of Eevs. John H. Bevier and Robert P. Lee, June
14th, 1836, and continued to sustain that relation until April
24th, 1838.
In October, 1841, Rev. Isaac G. Diuyea, a hcentiate of the
South Association of Litchfield, Conn., commenced preaching
to this Church as a stated supply. On the 14th of July, 1842,
having previously accepted their call, the candidate was ordained,
and installed pastor of the Church. Rev. J. B. A;yTes preached
the sermon on this occasion, and Rev. F. H. Vanderveer pro-
posed the constitutional questions. The happy relation tlms
constituted contiimed until May 13th, 1851, wh«n it was dis-
solved, to enable Mr. Uuryea to accept a call to the Reformed
Church of Glenham, Dutchess county.
Rev. Mr. Duryea was a man of warm heart and ^eat purity
of purpose. Although he had much to contend with m earlv life,
in the way of intellectual preparation, his r.e&X and indomitable
perseverance more than made amends for earlier disadvantages
He died in tlie service of his country in 1865. His arduous-
labors for the people of his first love were richly blessed.
During more than half of the ten years of his ministry here,
the Church enjoyed almost an uninterrupted season of revival.
The whole number received into its membership during what is
known as " the great revival in Fallsburgh," was not far from
one hundred and .seventy persons. So large had the congregation
grown by this time, that in 1848, the church-edifice, which had
become too strait, was considerably enlarged. A spire was
likewise erected, and a bell suspended. The latter was gener-
ously presented by A. Strong.
On the 22d of July, 1851, Rev. C. DuBois Elting, a domestic
missionary, was settled over the Church, and remained a little
more than one year.
He was succeeded by Rev. Jeremiah Searl, in November,
1853. During the pastorate of Mr. Searl, the Church was again
graciously revived. There were added to its membership, in
the year 1858, nearly seventy souls. Mr. Searl was a man of
open, unsuspecting geniality of spirit. "Robust in body and
cheerful in mind,. his face wore an habitual smile. The most
adverse denominations respected and loved him. As a preacher,
he was a man of diligent study, careful preparation, and a
solemn, earnest delivery." At its meeting in Poughkeepsie,
272 HISTOEY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
(1850) Mr. Searl -was elected president of General Synod. He
died in the service of this Chiu-ch, May 28th, 1861, aged 66
years, iinivei-sally beloved and lamented.
Eev. G. W. Coimitt, nf Deep River, Connecticnt, was installed as
his successor, M.iv 7tli, 1862, and vas dismissed Oct. 17th, 1865.
In April, I8(i7,' Rev. Walter S. Brown, Pastor of the "ftTiite
Lake Presbyterian Chnrcli, was incited to supply the vacant
pulpit. He entered upon his labors here in May following. On
the 17th of May, 18G8, liaAang previously accepted theii- call, he
was duly installed pastor of the Church.
This sketcli cannot close more appropriately, perhaps, than
in the following reflections suggested by the Memorial Discourse
of Mr. Duryea, pubhshed in 1849, by John A. Grav, of New
York, the celebrated printer, and son of the fii-st settled pastor
of this Church :
" We have always been favoi-ed with harmony in our councils
and in action." "We have lieen favored, likewise, with a spirit
of hberality both in the Chiirch and out of it."
Both these declarations might truthfully be repeated to-day..
The Consistory still continues to be united in sentiment and
action. The congi-egation does not cease to devise liberal things-
for their minister; while they continue to honor, to a creditable
extent, the claims of all the various benevolent Boards of the
Church ; as well as tliose of general benevolence. They have
always possessed a tiiie missionary spirit. "NATiile striiggUng
themselves to become self-supporting, this society, by their
liberality, sustained a colporteur of the American Tract Society
in the far West. This labor of love has been borne smce 18-18,
and others of hke character have since been assumed by Austin
Strong,* who has been for nearly forty years an active member
of the Consistory.
The appeals of the American Bible Society have always met
a cordial response from this congregation, particularly from the
indimlual just refen-ed to, and very many in the community
owe their connection with and interest in these two societies, to-
his munificent gifts.
In common with many others, this Church has passed through
trials and discouragements ; yet God has blessed it abundantly
both in temporal and spiritual things, and the days of darkness
have been few.t
The Methodist society at Sandburgh was organized when
. Rev. Horace Weston was on the circuit in 1817 and 1818, and
consisted at first of about five members. In 1850 there were
eighty members, when the church-edifice was erected. At
present the society numbers thirty.
THE TOWN OF FALLSBUEGH. 273
SUPEEVISOBS OF THE TOWN OF FALLSBUEGH.
1826 Herman M. Hardenbergli 1827
1827 Anthony Hasbrouck 1828
1828 Herman M. Hardenbergh 1830
1830 Anthony Hasbrouck 1831
1831 Stephen Smith 1834
1834 Anthony Hasbrouck 1835
1835 Herman M. Hardenbergh 1836
1836 Thomas K. Hardenbergh 1838.
1838 James Divine 1841'
1841 Harley E.Ludington 1842
1842 Nicholas Flagler 1843
1843 Austin Strong 1844
1844 Thomas Hardenbergh 1845
1845 Oman Palen 184B
1846 John C. HaU 1848.
1848 Edward Palen 1852
1852 John H. Divine 18oS
1853 Moses Dean 1854
1854 Edward Palen 185-'>
1855 WiUiam M. Hall 1850
1859 Gilbert W. Palen 1862
1862 David H. Divine 1863
1863 Isaac C. Knapp 1864
1864 Gilbert W. Palen 1870
1870 .Isaac C. Knapp 1871
1871 Wilham W. Smith 1873
1873 Eichard OUver 1874
18
CHAPTEE YLJI.
THE TOWN OF FORESTBUKGH.
Principally Foi-estburgh is situated on tlie high ridges between
the Neversink and Mongaup, and is drained by the affluents of
those rivers. It is estimated that the average elevation of the
town is one thousand feet above the level of the Atlantic ocean.
'There are two small lakes ia the town. One of them is kno-rni
as Beaver and the other as Panther pond — names which explain
their own origin. Lumbermg, tanning, daiiying, and quarryiag
flag and curb-stone, are the leading industries of Forestburgh.
Lumbering and tanning must necessarily cease when its forests
are destroyed ; but its quarries are said "to be almost inexhaust-
ible and sufficient to fumish employment to its people for
generations to come.
Forestburgh was erected by an act of the Legislatiire passed
May 2, 1837, and was taken from Thompson, except a few
hundred acres which were cut fi-om Mamakating. On the 30th
day of the same month, the voters of the new town held their
first meeting at the house of Eobert R. Palmer, which stood on
the site of Edwin Hartwell's store, and elected the following
officers : Superrisor, William F. Brodhead ; To^\-n Clerk,
Eobert E. Palmer ; Justices of the. Peace, John K. Williams,
Marshall Perry, Ira E. Drake and Jonathan B. Ketcham ;
Assessors, Archibald Mills, Moses Eead and James E. Drake ;
Overseers of the Poor, Zejihaniah Drake and Ai-chibald Mills ;
Commissioners of High-s\'ays, Edward Cai-penter, Nathaniel
Green and Stephen C. Drake; Commissioners of Common
Schools, Archibald Mills, John K. Williams and Eobert E.
Palmer ; Inspectors of Common Schools, William F. Brodhead,
Archibald Mills and John K. Williams; Collector, Nathaniel
Green; Constables, Philo Porter, Joseph Norris and Andrew
M. Taggett.
POPITLATION — VALUATION — TAXATION.
Tear.
Popu-| Assessed To-rti.
lation.i' Value. Charges.
Co. and
State.
1840
4331 $58,367 $247.44
715 40,072 155.62
911 116,7011 267.62
916 62.2431 669.08
$205.76
18.50
270.97
1860
952.49
1870
1.745.90
[274]
THE TOWN OF FOBESTBUEGH. 275
There .were residents in the Oakland neighborhood previous
to the war of the Eevohition. John Brooks and his son-in-law,
Joseph Hubbard, lived about a mile below the mouth of the
BushkiU, on the farm adjoining the premises now owned by
WilKam N. Case. During one of Brant's expeditions against
the southern settlements of Mamakating, Hubbard and two
•children belonging to Brooks' family were massacred by the In-
dians and tori'es. Brooks and the balance of his household
escaped with their hves. We cannot learn that they returned
■during the war, and it is believed that he is the same John
Brooks who settled in Thompson aboiit the year 1789.
Captain Abraham Cuddeback, of Revolutionary fame, built a
saw-miU at the mouth of the Bushkill, not far from 1783, in
which lumber was sawed to rebuild the hoiises burned by the
enemy in the lower valley of the Neversink. Lumber was also
cut at this mill, and floated to tlie Delaware, on which it was
rafted to Philadelphia. This establishment brought to Oakland
several residents, three of whom bore the names of Campbell,
Hogan and Elisha Smith. No descendants of these persons
remain in the county. Hence but little is known of them.
The farm of William N. Case was settled dxiring the 18th
century, but by whom is not known. Early in this century, a
man named Thomas Decker occupied it, and there was an old
orchard on the premises.
The family of Zebulon Griflin, senior, lived on the plateau
east of Oakland. The neighborhood is still known as the
Griffin settlement. Zebulon, one of his sons, died here in 1863,
on the farm where he was born. He had served in the war of
1812, and at the time of his decease was an old man. Stephen,
another son, is still living at WestbrookviUe, (1872,) and is 80
^•ears of age.
The Leasons and Barbers came to the county before Griffin.
Joseph Barber settled on the east side of the river in 1783 or
1784. His descendants were hving in the town a few yeai's
.since. One of them (Simeon Barber) by his exploits in the
woods, won the soubriquet of Bear K'iller. A statement of his
a,dventures among bears would make an amusing chapter.
What he did not know of these animals was not wortli learning.
He killed an untold number of them. He shot them and he
trapped them until he was an old man, when he fell into a trap
himself. It was known that Simeon had saved the sum of three
hundred dollars. This a faded siren of the Hackledani deter-
mined to make her own. She did not dare to steal it itntil she
had first purloined the old man's heart. By an artful display
of her sere and flabby charms, she made him forget his gun and
his traps After a brief wooing, the honest old hunter coaxed
her to go with him in quest of a Justice of the Peace. His
276 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
equipage consisted of a bull broken to harness, and attached
to a cart, upon which he had mounted a box fashioned fi-om
rough hemlock boards. In this the eager gi-oom and coy bride
rode to Monticello. Their mode of travehng caused spectators
to think of the progi-ess of gods and goddesses in pre-Homeric
days. At the coiuity-seat their matrimonial intentions were
consummated, and they returned to the Hackledam a unit.
According to law, he had " endowed her wdth his goods," and
she could appropriate them to her own uses without being
legally guilty of theft. Knowing this, she got possession of
Barber's money, and absconded, just as she had intended to do
before she became his wife. After awakening from his dream
of domestic contentment, the old man lingered a few months^
and then died, a victim of feminine perfidy.
Jacob Barber, a brother of Joseph, located on the river above
Oakland.
There were two settlers named Leason. One of them (Israel)
occupied the farm now owned by James Ketcham. Dick
Leason, the other, lived west of Joseph Barber. They did not
make many improvements ; but manufactured an untold number
of shingles.
Isaac Moore was another pioneer of Oakland. He loved ta
tell a good story quite as well as he loved to kill panthers.
When Joseph Griffin and his wife Patty gathered toll at the
Neversink bridge, Moore, while passing that way, saw a strange
animal by the roadside. His dog soon treed the beast, and
Moore- shot it. It was a panther.
Two men named Welch were the pioneers at Eden. Elijah
Welch was the principal man of the two. John Bivens succeeded
them. He was from Geneseo, N. Y. He ran away from his
father during the war of 1812, and became a soldier. While
serving his country, he was made a prisoner by the enemy, and
taken to Halifax, where he was kept until the close of the war,
and sufi'ered much. He then returned to his father's house;
but soon left a second time. He and the elder Bivens seemed to
have been incompatible. The yoimg man strayed to Otisville,
where he married LuciUa, a sister of Commodore C. Murray,
and then built a saw-mill at Eden, where he became a perma-
nent resident, and always was considered a worthy and valuable
citizen. He was the progenitor of the respectable family of his
name now residing in one of the Delaware river-towns.
About the year 1800, a saw-mill was built by Keed and others
on the Bushkill, at Trotter's. Although there was an abundance
of excellent timber, it was not kept running more than a few
years ; for in 1819, when Nathaniel Green moved to the place,
the mill had rotted down, and with an abandoned clearing of
THE TOWN OF FOBESTBUEGH. 277
about an acre of land, was the only mark to show that white
men had lived there.
Nathaniel Green was from Middletown, Orange coimty. In
1818, he built a small log-house as a temporarj^ shelter for his
family, and during the next season moved into it. His nearest .
neighbor was three miles distant, until 1820, when Thomas
Alsop, the first merchant of the town, built a large house near
Green's, and occupied it with his family. During the same
year, the Mount Hope and Lumberlaud turnpike was completed
as far as Trotter's, and Mr. Green buUt a comfortable residence,
in which he lived until his death in March, 1859.
In 1820, there was an old clearing about one and a quarter
miles south-west of Trotter's, which had been abandoned several
years. It was made by a man named David Handy, and was
Kno\\Ti as Handytown. Here he had lived nobody now knows
how long ; here he had reared a family in the woods, and here
he died in 1814, when his childi-en went away. Kobert Handj',
one of his sons, was hving at Oakland six years afterwards. He
was boi-n on his father's place, and knew quite as much of wild
beasts as he did of men. No one could point out better than
he the bear-j^aths and run-ways of the deer in that section of
coiintry.
Handytown is noted for having a remarkable spring of water.
It flows from a steep bank, is bright, sparkling and delicious,
and, according to the best estimate that has been made, a
current of water sixteen inches deep, and as many in width, is
constantly passing from it. The water gushes fi'om the bottom
of the spring, and keeps in continual ebulhtion a quantity of
white sand.
A spring equally large and lancommon is sitiiated on the to]5
of a hill about one and a half miles south of Handytown. Witli
the water rises a considerable quantity of gas.
At the junction of the Bushkill and Cherry Meadow brook is
another spring as remarkable in some respects as the other two.
Handy, the pioneer, was buried on his farm, and at the head
and foot of his grave are tomb-stones selected by himself fi-om
the flag-stone quarries of the neighborhood. They are exactly
as nature formed them ; but their neatness will strike the eye of
even a person who is weary of monumental magnificence.
After the turnpike was completed as far as Trotter's, Robert
Handy opened a log-tavern near that jjlace, which he kept until
the next year, when he left the country. His inn was a primitive
affair. A traveler who stopped at his house certifies that mine
host was absent in search of a jug of whisky ; and that there
Avas not a particle of bread, or flour, or meal, or potatoes, or
butter, or fish, or fowl, or meat of any kind in the estabhshment ;
and yet the hostess provided him with a delicious meal. She
278 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTT.
baked him an old-fasMoned pmnpkin-loaf in an ii-ou kettle,
covered with cabbage-leaves, on Avhich were piled hot embers.
This loaf and a bowl of milk freshly di-awn fi'om the family-cow,
were eaten and keenly relished by the weary and himgiy guest.
Ammi Lewis was the first settler on the Eeed place, where he
bnilt a house, and made a clearing.
Edward Griswold owned a considerable tract of land at Hart-
wood. Gerardus Clowes mamed a ward or adopted daughter
of Gi-iswold, and was employed by him first to superintend his
property in Cochecton, and afterwards in Forestbiu'gh. After
Clowes went to Forestburgh, his brothers Edward and WiUiam
J. came to the to^^^l, and the former became largely interested
in laud afi'au-s, while other members of the family were inter-
ested to a gi-eater or less extent. At one time the Griswold
property was owned by members of this family.
The brothers Clowes were not calculated to develop a -wdlder-
ness-country ; and their Forestburgh land was to them ultimately
a soiu'ce of embarrassment. In the end it passed into thp hands
of men who not only knew its value, but had the skill and the
will to reap an adequate revenue from it.
Gerardus Clowes was the only one of the name who left
Forestburgh with as much as he entered the towTi.
As the possessions of the others slipped through theii- fin-
gers, Wilham J. endeavored to better his condition tluough
certain inventions which he claimed originated with himself.
One of these was a material for the constraction of houses,
which he declared Avas cheaper than wood, as durable as gi-anite,
and as ornamental as marble. He never revealed the manner
in which this substance was made ; but we believe it was com-
of clay and a resinous material, and when warm was
plastic, and capable of bemg moulded into any desired shape.
If he had made manifest the value of his alleged discovei-y by
the erection of a dwelling or other buildmg on a larger scale
than that of a dog-kennel, instead of making futile attempts to
induce others to do so by writing articles for newspapers, the
utility of his invention would have been tested in a way to
establish its folly or its value. Some one may yet acquii-e riches
and honor iu the field which aflbrded poor Clowes no harvest.
While he was advocating the superiority of this new material,
the public mind was captivated by the anticipated benefits of
plank-roads — farmers' railroads, as they were sanguinely termed.
He then turned his attention to the improvement of roads, and
saw, or imagined he saw, what was much better than anything
then in operation or suggested. He pubUshed several elaborate
articles iu which he tried to show that wooden railways were
superior to all roads except those of iron, and so much cheaper
than the latter, that every neighborhood could have a raihoad
THE TOWN OF FOKESTBURGH. 279'
of its own. His theory was endorsed by the Scientific American,
which was then and is still considered good authority on such
subjects; but among his friends and acquaintance he was:
pronounced a monomaniac. With them plank-roads were the
gi-eat desideratum — roads which he declared would be failures^
giving certain reasons for his opinion which experience has
established as well-founded. The world said he was de-
mented ; but the issue proved that the world itself was crazy
about i^lank-roads, while he was sane. His project remained a
project ; probably if it had been carried into effect, it would have
been a duplicate of the tram-road introduced in England many
years before by Mr. Outram, and which was the precursor of
iron railways.
While laboring to make converts to his theory concerning
roads, he imagined he saw a gi-eat improvement on our present
system of education, and this new discovery affected his mind
as a cam does machinery. He was considered a harmless vis-
ionary— nobody would listen to him, and he and his projects,
soon disappeared from public view.
The Messrs. Gillman now own a considerable part of the real
estate which once belonged to the Clowes family. In their tract
is the best remainuig forest of white pine in the county.
George W. Barnum, O. B. Wheeler, and a Mr. Clapham of
New York, own the major part of the balance.
In 1820, when our informant moved to Forestburgh, an old
man named Daniel Cristie was hving there. Cristie was poor^
without relatives in that region, and managed to live by attach-
ing himself to various families, for whom he manufactured shin-
gles, made gardens, etc. He was a favorite with the young, to-
whom he related many adventures in which he said he liad
participated. He had been a soldier in the Revolutionary war,
and claimed that he was with the first party of white men who
crossed the Rocky Mountains.
Thomas Alsop lived at Hartwood probably about 1820, and
French, in his Gazetteer, says he kept the first store of the town.
He was connected with the affairs of Josiah Woodward and
Alsop Yail, who owned a lumbering-estaijlishment at the place.
The name of Hartwood was at first applied to Oakland by Wil-
liam J. Clowes, in honor of Kev. Mr. Hart, the father of his wife,.
and was subsequently ajiphed to the locality which now bears
the name, in consequence of the removal of the post-ofiice fi'om
Oakland to that point.
In 1832, Gerard^s Clowes owned nearly all the wild land in
the -sdcinity of Hartwood. In the year named, Joseph NoiTis,
a native of Tompkins county, moved fi-om Orange county, and
located on a tract of land adjoining the premises of Nathaniel
Green. Norris bought of Clowes, and moved his family into a.
280 HISTORY OF SrLLIVAX COrXTY.
small iinoccupied house in the neighborhood. He then, with
the assistance of one of his sons, cleared a lot on whicli he
intended to build. When this was done, he commenced putting
up a log-house. All his affairs seemed to prosper until the
month of August, when a mill-dam o-mied by Green was
destroyed by a flood. This dam was of long standing. On its
"bottom •n-as an immense quantity of vegetable matter, which, in
the intense heat of the season, quickened the seeds of disease
and death. Bilious fever and fever and ague prevailed in the
Talley. The family of Noms did not escape the effects of
miasm. One after another was prostrated. His wife by a
second marriage bore her burthen hopefiilly and bravely; but
worn oixt and exhausted hj unremitting care and toil, she
succumbed to the disease, and after a brief illness, died. Is orris
was then left with a young family, among comparative strangers,
liouseless, in a wilderness-country, and unable to labor from
disease. His children, disheartened, homesick, and emaciated
Toy illness, urged him to abandon this scene of misfortune, and
return to their old home in Orange county; but he was deaf to
all their entreaties ; he had come here to make a home, and
although the prospect was yet dark, he believed a better day
would dawn, and that success would reward his efforts.
At the end of the fii'st year his two eldest sons left the place,
and engaged iu more profitable business, and one of his
daughters was married to E. A. Green. He then moved into
his new house, in which he installed a second daughter, aged
fourteen years, as housekeeper, and with his third son, a lad
twelve years old, proceeded in the task of impro-s-iug his wild
land. Nothing seemed to discourage or daimt him. He had
been accustomed to the pleasant social intercourse of thickly
settled locahties. Here his evenings were spent in listening to
the dismal bowlings of wolves, which seemed to have their
nocturnal trysting-jDlace at Panther pond, about a mile fi-oni
his house, and if they scented food, boldly approached his
log-tenement. On one occasion, when he had slaughtered a
beef, the entire pack gathered under his very eaves, and his
children spent a night of terror, surrounded, as they were, by
yelling and snarling monsters of the woods. Otherwise the
monotony of his daily toil was seldom broken, except by the
defiant challenge of rattlesnakes, which were yerj numerous,
or the appearance of a stray bear. Bruin was not formidable.
"\Miile the reptiles were always ready for battle, he shuffled ofi"
with his utmost speed.
' HopefirUy, earnestly and patiently, Mr. Nonis continued his
labors. Field after field was made arable. Grain and meadow-
land cheered his eyes, and the fruits of his industry rewarded
him for all his toil and self-denial. Travel increased. The old
THE TOWN OF PORESTBUKG-H. 281
trimpike was no longer covered with grass. New neighbors
came in. The comforts of civihzecl life were his. He rejoiced
in the work of his hands. His courage and ambition were un-
abated; biit age was sapping his physical powers, and the
changes which occur in all famihes, had made him like an old-
tree in a denuded field.
About this time, one of his sons (Silas T. L.) returned and
purchased a part of the homestead, as weU as some land con-
tiguoiis to it; and after erecting new buildings, opened the
"Jeffersonian House." He also gave the name of "Democratic
Eidge " to the locality, and became somewhat noted as a local
politician. Soon after, his tavern was destroyed by fire, together
with the log-house in which Joseph Norris still lived. New and
improved buildings were then built, and Democratic Eidge
became a favorite resort to many.
The old man still retained his independence as well as his
industrious habits. He lived alone in his own habitation, and
ha^-ing nothing to engage his mind and hands, bought six acres
of the worst land he could find, and by his own labor brought
every foot of it to the highest state of cultivation. Finally the
infirmities of age compelled him to board with his son, at whose
house he died on the 4th of July, 1862, aged 76 years.
Joseph Norris was a true patriot, and a sincere Christian.
He served his country faithfully in the war of 1812. His life
was sober, industrious and qiiiet. He performed his duty to
his country, his neighbor, his family, and his Maker, and his
last moments were radiant with the joy and hope of a blessed
immortality.
Such a Hfe may seem tame and dull to those whose minds
have been perverted by the popular literature of the day. "We
give it because we wish to j^resent glimpses of all phases of
existence in our county, and because he was one of the millions
of worthy men who have elevated this continent from a state of
nature to its present exalted position.
That pai-t of Forestburgh known as Draketown, was settled
by Zeplianiali, Joseph, Adam, Nathan and Luther Drake, who
were from New Jersey. Joseph came in 1793 or 1794, the
others within the next three j'ears. Nathan J., a son of Joseph,
■was the first male child born in that section of the town, and a
daughter of Zeplianiali who married George Burns was the first
girl. The Drakes were hardy, industrious, worthy men, wlio
were respected at home and abroad. Like aU dwellers in the
woods where game is plenty, they were more or less fond of
forest-sports. Zephaniah excelled the others in this respect,
and so successful was he in shooting wild beasts, that he
imagined himself the champion rifleman of his neighborhood.
During one of his hunting excm-sions with Nathan, their doga
'mi HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
treed a large bear. The hunters found the animal sitting on-
the limb of a tree, looking Aovm. at the dogs. Zejihaninh quickly
bi-ought his riHe to bear on the game, when Nathan ad\ised
him to be careful — to make a sure shot. " TMi}'," repHed he, " I
can shoot the eye out of his head ! " He then aimed for the
eye, and fired. The ball missed its mark ; but hit the upper
jaw, which it shattered, so that the beai-'s nose, with about half
of the teeth of the jaw, tiirned up over the forehead. The bear
fell to the ground, and the dogs fell upon the bear. The latter
caught one of his canine enemies between his fore-legs, and
attempted to crush it ; when the other dog bit the black brate
so vigorously that he let go tlie fu-st and caught the other, and
so they fought back and forth, and were so mixed up that the
brothers did not dare to shoot, knowing that they might kiE
then- dogs. Zephaniah at last attacked the bear ^rith his himt-
ing-hatchet, when the animal left the dogs, and sprang at him.
He stepjjed back — his foot caught in a laurel-bush, and down
he fell upon his back. In an instant the bear was ujjon him,
and tlie dogs on top of all. For a few seconds there was a
lively time in the bushes. From impulse, Zephaniah threw up
his liand to keep his assailant as far off as possible ; but
unfortunately thrust it so far into bruin's mouth, that the beast
caught tlie little linger between the uninjured molars, and
crashed it. Finally, by means now forgotten, but probably by
a lucky blow fi-om Nathan, the bear was killed. Until his death
iu 1849, aged 81 years, Zephaniah, when telling the story of
his adventure, exhibited a crooked finger, as an evidence that a
bear with a broken jaw can sometimes inflict a severe iujiuy.
For many years before his decease, he was a consistent member
of the Baptist Chiirch. His wife Kebecca survived him about
one year, when she rejoined the husband with whom she had
experienced the toils and trials of forest-hfe.
With the Drakes, patriotism was a vital part of their religion.
They had great love for om- fi-ee form of government, and
reverenced aU the symbols of fieedom. One of the family
(Nathan) caught a large bald-headed eagle in his bear-trap. It
Avas kept by him a few days ; he admired it gi-eatly; but thinking
it wrong to keep the "National bii'd" in bondage, he let it go
free.
In the winter of 1819, Ephraim L. Burnham, Elijah C. Horton
and John Browu, who were then young men of Forestburgh,
engaged in a bear-himt, the particidars of which are worth re-
peating here. Mr. Biu-nham, while retm-ning from his work in
the woods, discovered fi'esh bear-tracks in the snow, and having
mentioned the fact to Horton and Brown, the three determined
to go in pursuit of the animal. Before daylight on the next
morning, they Avere on the trail, armed with a rifle and an axe.
THE TOWN OF FOKESTBUKGH. 283
and after following it several hours, came to a flat on the Mon-
gaup, near the present site of Gilman's tannery. Here the snow-
was very much trampled, and it became apparent that the bear's
winter-quarters were in the vicinity. Horton and Brown com-
menced a search for a hole near the rim of the level ground,
while Burnliam explored the central part of the flat. He soon
discovered a large rock under which there was a hole with tracks
leading to and from it. CaUing to his companions that he had
found the den, all three were soon before the orifice, and peering
into it. They discovered nothing by gazing in ; and then cut a
pole and tlu-ust it into the hole. The end of the pole came in
contact -ndth a soft substance, but on being withdrawn afforded
no indication of what it had touched. Mr. Burnham next split
the end, and once more inserted it. After a few -sagorous twists,
he again pulled it out. There were short black hairs in the spHt,
which proved that the bear was under the rock. This discovery
caused one of the young men to declare that they had better go
home ; but Mr. Burnham, whose features resembled those of his
cousin. General Ephraim Lyon of the Union army, and who
exhibited the unyielding tenacity which marked his distinguished
relative, utterly refused to leave imtil he had killed the bear.
The animal was within reach of the pole, and he would wake it
up, or run the stick into its body. He then made the end of the-
sapling veiy sharp, and punched the bear with all his might.
Immediately there was an angry growl ; the sharpened end was
seized by the bnite, and the jjole was pushed oiitwardly, carrying
Mr. Burnham with it. He at once loosened liis hold — stepped
back — caught up his rifle, and aimed it just as the bear reached
the entrance. As it thrust its head from the hole, Mr. Biirnliam
fired, and the beast fell back into its retreat. Although they
could see it indistinctly in the gloom of the cavern, they could
not at first determine whether it was dead. A few more thrusts
of the sharpened sapling settled the question, however ; never-
theless, the timid young man was once more seized with a panic,,
and wished to leave. As he could get neither of the others to'
go with him, he concluded to stay, and the three went to work
to get out their game. They at first tried to drag forth the body
with crotched sticks, but were unsixccessfial ; when Mr. Burnham
himseK went head first into the den, and taking hold of the
shaggy hide, his companions pulled away at his legs, and suc-
ceeded in getting him and the bear out. After this was done,
they heard a noise imder the rock, and soon the head of another
bear was thnist forth. This met the fate of its companion, and
was brought forth in the same manner The first one killed
weighed nearly 400 pounds — the other, a yoimg female, about
100. With great diflicidty the young men carried their game
to the nearest road, where a passing team reheved them. They
284 HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
reached home after dark, very tii-ed and very hungiy; but re-
fused to eat until a steak ciit fi-om the ham of one of the animals,
hot and fragrant, was placed before them.
John Bro-mi, one of these voung men, subseqiiently met Tvith
an extraordinary accident. By an accidental discharge of his
gun, one side of his face was blown away. One-half of his
under jaw, a part of his tongue, upper jaw and one cheek-bone,
were destroyed. No one supposed he coiJd survive his injuries.
He was cured, however, by the application of cold water, before
Priessnitz announced his system of hydropathy. While he was
waiting as all supposed, for death, a syi-inge filled with water
was left within his reach. He injected some of the water into
his horrible wound, and found that to some extent it mitigated
his sufferings. Thereafter the syringe was in constant use until
Brown, to the sui-prise of his friends, recovered. He was living,
a few years since, near Lake Huntington, in the town of Bethel.
Mr. Burnham has been a resident of MonticeUo during the
last thii-ty years, and yet loves to give the particulars of his
bear-hunt in Forestbiu-gh.
It may be said of some communities that the history of theii*
Churches is a history of the people. Eorestburgh,.in its early
days, was occupied by lumbermen; consequently saw-mills
enter largely into the account of its settlement.
In 1807 or 1808, Abraham Tracy moved into the to-mi and
built a saw-mill, in which George Wickliam was interested. It
was the fu'st mill located on the Mongaup in the town, and
brought in several laborers, John Wilhams among them.
In 1805 a mill was put up on the Three Brooks by Thomas
King and a Mr. Beyea. It has since been known as the Thomas
4ind the Deep Hollow mill.
Not far fi-om 1810, Jesse Dicldnson built a mill for William
A. Stokes, at Forestbiirgh Corners. Stokes was fi-om Philadel-
phia, became a County-Judge, and was elected a Member of
Assembly in 1821. He erected a large house, and was a resi-
dent of Forestbui-gh many years. His wife was a daughter of
Dickinson, the mill-wi-ight. It is said that the latter constructed
nearly one hundi'ed mills in different sections of the coimtry,
the first of which was at the Cook-House, on the Delaware, or,
as the Indians called it, Coocooze. Seth Conant, a pioneer of
Thompson, was Stokes' superintendent, and kept the first
respectable inn or tavern of the town.
Tn 1810, a man named Jackson manufactured lumber at what
was once kno-mi as the French, but since as the Euddick mill.
He was of a martial disposition, and commanded the first militia
company of the town. Paul Pierson, Elijah C. Horton, George '
Burns and Archibald Mills were his successors. Mills was from
Goshen, Orange countv, and came in the summer of 1810, as
THE TOWN OF FOKESTBUEGH. 285
the agent of George D. Wickham, a large landliolcler. He is
still a resident of the town, aged and honored.
About 1811, Paul and Jeremiah Pierson moved into the town
by the way of Monticello. They were fi'oni Orange county.
There was no road at that time farther than the Sackett Pond
road covers the route they passed over ; and they were obliged
to hew theii- way mto the wilderness, until they reached the
spot where they had resolved to make a home. They built a
mill at the poiut where Gad Wales & Co.'s tannery subsequently
stood. It was afterwards occupied by Jonathan Bonuell, and
was knoAvn as the Bonnell mill.
At nearly the same time, Elijah C. Horton built a house at
the place now occupied by William Ferguson.
In 1809 or 1810, a man named Stead made an improvement
at Mongaup Flats. It was occupied in 1817 by Jesse Dickinson
while he was buildmg the Lebanon mill, soon after which John
James Stewart owned it, and hved there until he moved to
Monticello. He spent considerable money in benefiting the
locality, but did not add anj-thing to his own resources. The
place was once known as Stewartburgh. Stewart had been a
sailor in his young days, and was known as Uncle Jack ever
afterwards. He had some of the faults and some of the virtues
of the old-time Jack Tar. He was very kind to the widow and
orphan, and as long as he had money of his own, lielped them
with a hberal hand. Wlien his own resources failed, he begged
for them of those who had a surplus of tliis world's goods ; or
to use his own language, he made a " Tappauri muster." He had
a singular way of jumbling together sacred and profane things—
a habit which seemed second nature in him. We are informed
by a respectable clergyman, that while living at the Flats,
Stewart made a profession of religion, and at a prayer-meeting
addi-essed the brethren. Giving a very chaste and beautiful
description of what he had seen while a sailor — the magnificent
woi-ks of art, (fee, of the old world — he wound up with the
startling inquiry — "And now, beloved, after seeing so much,
who would have thought that I would come to this d — d hem-
lock-country to get religion?" Of coiirse his "probation"
terminated with this unusiial display of piety. Beheving that
the narrow paths of the Partialists were not made for him, he
subsequently took to the broad and easy ways of UuiversaHsm,
and to the day of his death expatiated on the unlimited mercy
and love of the Creator, emphasizing his declarations in his
own peculiar way. Even when dying, he sent word to some
friends that "the Devil was under-brushing a path for him
•straight into Heaven ! "
Uncle Jack bestowed nick-names on half of his friends, and
these names were so appropriate that the unfortunate objects
20b HISTORY OF SCLLIVAX COUNTY.
of his -wit bore them during the balance of theii- lives. His vdt
sometimes displayed itself in repartees as keen as a Damascus
blade. A young but somewhat Pharisaic member of an Ortho-
dox Church, accused him of reporting that he (the young
member) had become a Universalist. "You a UniversaUst ! "
exclaimed the ex-sailor: "No! Impossible! You are not good
enough!" And the other departed abashed and crest-fallen,
and meditating on the beauty of humihty.
Taking into consideration its population, and the vocation of
a large majority of its people, Forestburgh has had more than
its proportion of men who were remarkable for their social and
political standing. In addition to those akeady mentioned, we
record in this class the names of Jubal and Jeremiah Terbell,
Daniel M. and Wilham F. Brodhead, O. B. Wheeler, C. W.
Trotter, and Marshall Perry.
The Brodheads were natives of Milford, Pennsylvania, and
claimed a distinguished ancestry. Their father was Daniel
Brodhead, at one time Surveyor-general of the Keystone
State, and their gi-andfatlier was General Daniel Brodhead of
the Revolution. In early life Daniel M. removed to PhUadel-
jjhia, where he was a la-nyer of acknowledged ability; but was
obliged to relinquish his profession on accoimt of a defect in
his vocal organs. Being ambitious, he turned his attention to
pohtics, and became a leading democratic politician. He was
advanced from position to position until he was chosen Speaker
of the Pennsylvania House of EeiM-esentatives ; but vdtimately
lost the confidence of his party'liy favoring one of the financial
schemes of Nicholas Biddle. In Ma^-, 1842, he removed to
Forestbiirgh, and subsequently to Black Lake, in the town of
Bethel. At both places he engaged largely in the lumber-
business, and for many years was prominent as a local politician.
He was remarkable for suavity of demeanor. Although he
continued to be ruled by his favorite maxim, "Molasses will
catch more flies than ■v'inegar," he failed to attain high poUtical
position after lea%'ing his native State. He was a con-ect sample
of the modem politician. His youngest son. Lieutenant Daniel
M. Brodhead, junior, was killed in the battle of the Wilderness
in May, 1864. Grief then seriously aifi'ected the health of the
father, and he continued to decline irntU the 1st of the succeed-
ing October, when he died.
Mr. Brodhead was twice married. His first wife was a
daughter of Colonel James Benton of Milford. His second
■was the -nidow of James Clinton, a brother of Governor Chnton.
^William F. Brodhead, who came to Forestburgh several
years before his brother, was twice a Member of Assembly
from Sullivan. Although of respectable attainments, he was
not the equal of Daniel M. in abiUty. Frank, as his fiiends
THE TOWN OF FORESTBUKGH. 287
loved to call him, was of excellent repute, and died with an
untarnished character.
Marshall Perry was a valuable citizen, whose public and
private deportment was above reproach.
Charles W. Trotter was at one time largely engaged in tan-
ning, and was the candidate of his political party for a seat in
Congi-ess.
Wales & Gildersleeve were also at one time extensively en-
gaged in tanning, and the Messrs. Gillman are stiU carrying on
that business.
Events which followed the death of a child in March, 1844,
show how much circumstantial evidence is to be distrusted, and
that if criminal charges are preferred, excited public feeling may
lead to injustice. A httle child of a Mr. Frieslebau, while re-
turning fx'om a neighbor's with other children, was left behind
by them. It was soon after missed, when its fi-iends went after,
but failed to find it. The neiglibors were then alarmed ; they
turned out, but searched for it witliout success. Suspicion then
fell upon a quack-doctor named Heisted, who was seen to pass
•with his wife aboiit the time the child was first missed. Two
-days were consumed in iinsuccessful endeavors to discover the
•child. On the third day, Mr. Frieslebau started in pursuit of
Heisted, whom he followed iintil he reached a place where the
doctor had staj^ed all night. There he learned that Heisted had
no child with him. On the fourth da}-, the abnost distracted
father returned home. In the meantime, some children reported
that they had seen the httle-one in Heisted's sleigh. This cre-
ated a great prejudice against him. A warrant was issued for
his arrest ; but its service was delayed until another unsuccessful
search was had. On the seventh day the doctor and his wife
were brought by a constable fi-om their residence in Orange
•county. Two days were then spent in investigating the affair
before a Justice of the Peace. The evidence was clearly against
the prisoners — so much so, that it seemed certain they were
guUty. They were held for trial, and gave bail. A few beHeved
they were innocent, and on the tenth day once more there was
a search, and it was a successful one. When a majority had
become discouraged, and gone home, the others discovered that
the httle-one had turned off the road on a path which had not
before been observed — become exhausted, and fallen with its
face on the snow, where it died. An inquest was held by Cor-
oner Greene, and the accused discharged.
A very interesting natural feature of this to-wn may be found
in the Falls of the Mongaup, about one and a half miles from
the village of Forestburgh. Above the Falls, the water has
worn a channel through solid sand-rock. This channel is about
sixteen feet wide and twenty deep, and its floor is of hard black
288 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
grit. The waters rash through these narrow limits, and plunge
about twenty feet, when they meet 'nith a temporary obstruc-
tion ; then the seething, whirling, clashing foam bounds with
three successive leaps into a deep basin at the bottom of the
chasm. The cataract
" Comes fi-om its shadowed and prison-hke glen,
With a leap and a roar, like a lion from den ;
First winding, then bounding, once more and once more,
TiU each voice is blent in an agony roar."
The total fall has been variously estimated at from sixty to-
eighty feet. One hundred feet above the surface of the pool
below the Falls, is a rock known as "Flat Eock," from which is-
a view of the scene replete with wild gi-andeur.
The descending waters have worn many deep circular hole%.'
in the rocks. A story is told of two hunters who foimd a deer
entangled some way at the top of the Falls. They very Idndly
hberated the animal, when, being very much frightened, it
rushed into one of these holes, and was never more seen.-
Whether it became food for the Genii of the chasm or the eels
of the river, is not known. We would have more faith in the
story, if hunters were in the habit of hberating entangled deer
before they killed them, or if fiightened deer rushed into holes,,
hke woodchucks and foxes.
In 1853, John and Barton Brodhead (sons of Daniel M.,)
built a gang-saw-mill a short distance below the Falls. On the
14th of July, 1855, this miU was burned by an incendiary. Ten
days after this event, there was a flood in the river, which
carried away their dam and 2,000 saw-logs. Finding both fire
and water apparently against them, they never rebuUt the miU.
Not far from Oakland is a singiilar " canyon," through which
flows what is known as the Gulf-stream, an outlet of a natural
pond situate on the mountain at the som'ce of the brook. The
" canyon " is narrow, and its sides are composed of high and
perpendicular walls of rock. For a considerable distance the
water disappears below the debris, and at a particular point,
far beneath the wall of rock may be heard a subterranean wa-
ter-fall.
In the cliffs of this giilch, pyrites or "fool's gold" are found
in considerable quantities.
In February, 1863, James L. Brooks, while engaged near the
GuK-stream, found two wild-cats or catamounts in their den.
He boldly entered their lair, and after a somewhat animated
contest, killed them. He came out of the woods with the
animals slung upon one of his shoulders, and his clothes in rags
and tatters. Although his body exhibited more stripes than
THE TOWN OF FORESTBUKGH. 289
are on our starry flag, he was not seriously injured. A very
exaggerated account of his adventure was published at the
time.
Osmer B. Wheeler bestowed the name of Oakland on the
valley at the mouth of the Bushkill, in which is located a
tannery. As a manufacturer he has been lemarkably successful,
and does not hesitate to devote a portion of his fortune to the
development of the natural resources of his neighborhood.
Geologists say that the formation of the crust of the earth at
this point indicates the existence of saline deposits ; and
chemists of a certain class declare that there is petroleum not
only far down in the interstices of the rocks, but that the clay
of the valley is impregnated with it. A thin seam of anthracite
is found in the mountains, and an immense mass of ochre in
the valley. Mr. Wheeler has caused deep borings to be made
for the salt and oil ; but they were not found. He has discov-
ered that the coal is the same which underlies the entire county,,
and is nowhere of any value; while fi'om the ochre can be
made a mineral paint which is not inferior to much that is used
in the country. Probably this pigment and the stone quarries,
of the vicinity will make Oakland a busy place even after its
oak-forests are destroyed.
In 1858-9, Mr. AVheeler represented Orange and Sullivan in
the Senate of the State. He is yet (1873) a shrewd, energetic
and successful man of business.
The explorations for petroleum at Oakland were made in
1866. Thomas Martin, a professional geologist, mineralogist.
and mining-engineer, exammed the Bushkill valley and the
region bordering on the Gulf -stream, and reported that he found
a small seam of coal, traces of copper, positive indications of
petroleum, and a valuable deposit of clay. The latter, he
declared, was literally saturated with oil. In consequence of
these assurances, the "Oakland Oil Company" was formed, and
unsuccessful efforts made to find petroleuiji. Lewis Ouddeback
was the president of the company ; H. H. Hunt, vice-president :.
M. Lewis Clark, secretary; Jacob May, treasurer ; and Lewis.
Cuddeback, H. H. Hunt," M. Lewis Clark, Jacob May, O. J..
Brown, E. A. Bunn, Dr. Lewis Armstrong, O. B. Wheeler and
D. C. Dusenberry, tmstees.
Some of the popular gazetteers of the day assert that Rev.
Isaac Thomas, (Methodist) was the first preacher who came to
Forestburgh; but we have reason to believe that Rev. Isaac
Sergeant, (Congregationalist,) Rev. Luke Davies, (Baptist,) and
Rev. Thomas Greer, (Presbyterian,) preached in the town many
years before Thomas visited it. The Methodists, however, seem
to have been more in accord with the spiritual inclinations of
the inhabitants ; for they soon obtained the vantage-groxind,
19
■ayO HISTORY OF SiULLIVAN COUNTY.
and now own the only two church-edifices of the town. One
■of these is located at Oakland. It was erected in 1857, and was
dedicated on the 29th of December of that year. Eev. T. W.
Pearson preached the dedicatory sermon. The other church is
at Forestljurgh, and was built in 1859. The latter has about
fifty members.
The Newark conference of New Jersey exercises jurisdiction
over this town, as well as over Luinberland and temtory above
it on the Delaware river ; from which the inference is naturally
drawn that the arrangement had its birth in the old " Jersey
claim." Nevertheless the disjnite concerning the boundary
between New York and New Jefsey was settled and almost
forgotten before the introduction of Methodism in the Delaware
towns of Sullivan. New Jersey Methodism obtained ecclesi-
astical dominion here because it was more convenient for
preachers to attend conference in New Jersey than New York.
Now it is otherwise ; nevertheless the old state of aflaii's con-
tinues.
SVPEKVISOES OF THE TOWN OF FORESTBUKGH.
From To
18.37 Wilham F. Brodhead 1840
1840 Ira E. Drake 184'2
1842 Coe Dill 1844
1844 Elisha A. Green 1846
1846 Daniel M. Brodliead 1850
1850 Silas T. L. Norris 1852
1852 Isaac Penney 185:-i
1853 Charles C. Bhyd 1854
1854 John Ruddick 1855
1855 Osmer B. Wheeler 1858
1858 James H.Taylor 1859
1859 William N. Case 1860
1860 Stephen C. Drake 1862
1862 Osmer B. Wheeler 1863
1863 Silas T. L. Noms 1865
1865 Samuel M.SteiTett 1867
1867 John Ruddick 1870
1870 Wallace W. Wheeler 1871
1871 Edwin HartweU 1873
1873 Benjamin Case 1874
CHAPTER IX.
THE TOWN OF FREMONT.
The surface of Fremont resembles that of GalHeoon. It is
marked by deep ravines and abrupt declivities. Some of the
latter, it is said, attain a height of about 800 feet above their
bases, and from 1,.500 to 1,800 feet above the level of the ocean.
Though uneven, the soil is well adapted to the prodiiction of
grass and grain, except on some of the hill-sides where the sur-
face i.s too steep for cultivation.
Basket and Han kins' creeks are the principal streams of
the town. On both of them as well as some of their tribu-
taries, are numerous miUs and manufacturing establishments.
The town is well supplied with small lakes or natural jionds.
The most notable of these are Long, Round and Basket ponds
in the northern, Lox in the eastern, and Trout pond in the
central section. These sheets of water were the favorite resoi-ta
of hunters and anglers before this region was settled. The
Dodges, Stewarts, Spragues and otlier early settlers of Rockland
related many thriUing hunting-adventures which occurred in
the neighborhood of these lakes.
Although this was a good locality for the farmer and lumber-
man, and a few famiUes lived in the valley of the Delaware at
Long Eddy and at Hankins, previous to the conclusion of the
war of the Revolution, it may be said that Fremont was the
last town of Sullivan to which the tide of immigration tended.
There was a great store of valuable timber in its forests, as well
as many good mill-sites on its streams, and yet for more than
the third of a century before its resources were made available,
the hardy raftmen of the comparatively remote town of Rock-
land ran their rafts along the western border of Fremont, which
practically continued in a virgin state, because its ow^ners were
strangers who made no effort to quicken its germs of fertility.
No avenue of approach was opened to its secret recesses, and
it continued almost as the Indians had left it until tliere was a
probability that the New York and Erie Railroad would be
constnicted.
[291]
ijy'J HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
In 1780, a man named Isaac Simmons lived at Hankins, and
soon after sold his right of 'possession to Joseph Brown. Brown
sold to Aaron Pierce, who, in 1792, bnilt a saw-mill and small
grist-mill. Tlie latter was an insignificant affair, and worked
badty. It had no bolt, and it was necessary to separate the
bran from the flour by hand. About the year 1800, Jonas Lakin
came to the place, and subsequently became the owner of a
considerable tract of land.
In 1821, Lakin sold his tract of land to Elizabeth Pierce,
who, with her family, lived on it imtil about 1833, when she
died. In 1834, John Hankins and Luther Appley bought the
property, for which they paid Sl,451. In 1835, Hankins bought
an additional tract of Lucas Elmendorf, and in May, 1839,
moved to Fremont with his family.
Previous to 1839, Mr. Hankins had resided in the town of
Damascus, in the State of Pennsylvania, where he married
Susan, a daughter of Moses Thomas, 3d. When he removed
to Fremont, he passed over the " State-road," on the west side
of the river. The New York and Erie Eaikoad Company had
accomplished considerable in grading their road ; but had sus-
pended work in 1837. Mr. Hankins attempted to make a
highway of their track, but after rendering about three miles
passable, gave up the job.
For several years mgress and egress were difficult. To attend
town-meeting and vote at the fall-elections, he was obliged to
follow a line of marked trees to Liberty, or travel over the State-
road to the bridge at Coehecton, and from thence to Liberty by
the way of Betliel. Sometimes, however, when the water was
low, he followed the beach of the river on horseback as far as
Coehecton. As the ford near his residence was occasionally
impracticable, he built a scow, and ci'ossed the river in it ; but
when there was a flood, it was not safe to cross in any manner,,
and he was practically cut off fi-om the outside world.
It has been represented that John Hankins was the pioneer
settler at Hankins Depot ; * yet, when he came, he foixnd on his
place an old frame-house, a saw-mill, and land which had been
occupied and tiUed many years. He also found a .sycamore
tree which was nine feet in diameter. The latter was hollow,
and the cavity was larger than some bed-rooms. It is said that
a man could ride into it astride of a horse. Until about 1865,.
this tree was used as a substitute for a smoke-house.
Mr. Hankins Avas a man of action. Exclusive of those who
lived in Pennsylvania, his only neighbors were at Long Eddy
and Long pond ; yet during the first year of his residence, h&
started a store and built a blacksmith-shop. He also built a
* See Fiench'B Gazetteer.
THE TOWN OF FREMONT. 293
liandsome residence for his family, and in 1847, the second
saw-mill erected on his land. He also became prominent as a
local pohtician, and, notwithstanding his isolated position, was
one of the first Justices of the Peace, and the second Supervisor
of the town of Callicoon. He was elected to the latter office
repeatedly, and at one time, in conjunction with Matthew
Brown, controlled the Board of Supervisors.
Mr. Hankins did not live until the raili-oad was completed as
far as Hankins creek. He was a man of forcible and energetic
character — a warm friend and an ardent enemy — exalted in
prosperity and depressed when his surroundings were unfavor-
able. In the summer of 1847, he suffered from a variety of
small annoyances, and on the 17tli of September was found
dead on the road to Calhcoon, about a quarter of a mile from
his house, under cii'cumstances wluch led to the belief that his
Ufe was cut short by his own hand.
On the completion of the railroad, a station was established
at his place, which was called Hankins, at first ; but in May,
1851, the name was changed to Fremont. In September, 1852,
when the post-ofiice was created, with Giduey Underbill as post-
master, the name of Fremont was given to it, although many
were in favor of calling it Hankins.* Both the station and
post-office are now known by the latter name.
Pre%-ious to 1839, Hankins creek was known as Pierce's
brook. At that time, it was famous as a trout-stream. Deer
were abundant in the neighboring forests, and bears and pan-
thers, as well as wolves, were frequently seen and heard.
The north-west corner of the town has been known to raftmeu
as Long Eddy, to the officials of the New York and Erie Eail-
way as Basket-Switch, and to others as Douglass village or
city. Several gazetteers declare that Joseph "Green" was the
original settler of this locahty. This declaration is not well
founded. Previous to the war of the Revolution, Deliverance
Adams and John Dusinbury Uved at this place. About the year
1800, Dusinbury sold his possessions to the father of Joseph
Oeer. The younger Geer lived on the place sixty-five years.
He is probably the Joseph Green of the gazetteers. Abner
Lane was living at Long Eddy in 1793. Dusinbury built a
saw-mill on Basket creek about 1800.
A half-breed Indian named John Johnson, continued here
after the tribe to which he belonged had left the country. For
many years, Johnson supplied the whites who occupied the
valley between Cochecton and Shehocton (now Hancock) with
lead, which, it was beheved, he obtained from a mine in the
* On the 30th of May, 1858, the depot at Hankins, with the woodsheds, tanks, Ac,
of the railway company, were destroyed by fires But ftw men were in the place, and
the adjoining buildings were saved by the heroic exertions of the ladies.
2y4 HISTORY OF 6ULLJT.\iJ COUKTY.
vicinity of Pise's brook, above Long Eddy. The ore was cut
from the vehi with a hatchet, and was nearly pure. He smelted
it without difficulty, and there was but a small per cent, of
dross. The people did not watch him when he went after it,
because he was a turbulent and vindictive man. Many persons
have since searched for the mine ; but without success. We do
not know that the geological formation at Pise's brook favors
the behef that lead may yet be found there ; but we are quite
certain that a few ignorant savages would not be as apt to
discover mines iu a wilderness-coimtry, as fifty times their
number of comparatively intelligent white men when the same
region is cleared. The ore may have been brought fi-om a
(hstant locality, and deposited by the hah'-breed in a secret
place, from which he bix)ught it at such times and in such quanti-
ties as he and others needed it. There is no doubt that the
Indians accidentally discovered the Wm-tsborough mine, and that
they carried away ore from it. Perhaps the lead of the half-
breed came from that quarter.
The hunters and trappers of the Delaware often raduced
Johnson to join them when they engaged in forays against the
denizens of the woods. Josiah Parks, the "boson" of the early
raftmen, was his friend and companion, until the two quarreled
about the division of a bear which they had killed, when John-
son, in a fit of ungovernable rage, struck Parks, and then
clutched his neckerchief, and attempted to garrote him. Mrs.
Pai'ks was present, and saw that her husband's life depended
on her efibrts. Catching hold of a hunting-knife, she mingled
in the affray; but, instead of thrusting the ugly weapon into
the body of the would-be murtlerer, she severed the neckerchief,
and narrowly avoided cutting Park's throat. Parks then pom-
meled the savage until the latter was glad to leave without any
part of the bear. The white man was very indignant because
Jolmson struck him while his coat was on his back, the doing
of which was quite as disgraceful in a fighting man of the
Delaware as gouging and garroting.
In the days of the pioneers. Captain Ezi-a May, who lived
above Long Eddy, o\vned a famous canoe, which was long known
as the Old Trout. This canoe was hewn fi-om the body of an
immense tree — was forty-five feet in length, and so wide that a
ban-el of pork could He in it cross-wise. It was capable of car-
rying twenty-five barrels of flour. The settlers between Co-
checton and the mouth of the Cadoslie hired the Old Trout ot
Captain May, when they found it necessary to go to mill, or to
get a supply of dry-goods and gi-oceries. Except the httle mUl
at Haukins, which was no better than a samp-mortar, the
nearest gi-ist-mill was at tlie mouth of BrotUiead creek, near the
Water-Gap, one himdred miles fi-om Long Eddy. To this mill
THE TOWN OF FREMONT. 295-
the inTiabitants went for their flour in May's canoe. When
loaded it required the strength of six men to pole and pull it up-
stream— four to pole and two to pull. The ropes used were
made from the bark of basswood and leather-bark trees, and it
took six days to go from Bi-odhead's to Long Eddy.
Twice a year, Captain May took the Old Trout on a raft to
tide-water, and sometimes to Philadelphia, for the purpose of
freighting merchandise to the upper Delaware. About 1784,
and previous to the use of this canoe, a Durham boat made two
trips as far up the river as Shehoeton ; but it was found that the
enterprising navigator was in advance of his times, and he was
compelled to relinquish the business of transporting passengers
and freight to and from the frontier settlements.
The efforts which have been made to render Long Eddy an
important business point, are worthy of those enterprising indi-
viduals who sometimes found cities in the Great West, often on
paper, and sometimes on moi'e substantial bases.
On the completion of the New York and Erie railroad, the
company considered a switch sufficient to meet all local require-
ments. In 1855, a post-office was made, and named Long Eddy.
In 1856, WiUiam Kelley was authorized by law to estabhsh a
ferry across the Delaware at the switch. One year later, a Mr.
Taylor built a depot at his own expense, and to induce the
railroad company to stop their trains at the place, served
twelve months as their agent without a salary.
About the year 1866, the Delaware Bridge Company was
chartered and organized. Its capital stock was $10,000, and it
had authority to increase the same to the amount necessary to-
complete the work for which the company was formed. Tlie
major part of the stock Avas taken by residents of Long Eddy
and Little Equinunk, and the contract for building the bridge
was taken by Solon Chapin. After Chapin had expended
$11,000, as he claimed, the company became involved in diffi-
culty, and work was suspended. At this time, there was no
decent approach on either shore, and the central pier was left
in such a condition tliat there was danger that the entire struct-
ure would go down-stream with the first high flood Chapin
held possession in defiance of the company, and put up tempo-
rary approaches; but there was no feasible or legal right of
way east or west of the river. A bridge-war was imminent, as
well as destmction of the work, when the foresight and enter-
prise of a single individual became the salvation of the enterprise.
Martin A. Smith, of Fremont Centre, who was a stockholder,
and largely interested in the real estate of that vicinity,
purchased enough stock to secure to himself a controlling,
interest. He then elected new directors, who immediately
dispossessed Chapin, secured the pier in a substantial manner^
296 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
finislied the bridge, and made a tiimpike from tlie west approacli
to Little Eqiiinunk. The total cost of the improvement amounts
to about $17,000. This bridge is of great importance to Long
Eddy, as it causes a large amount of business to centre there.
The Long Eddy Hydraulic and Manufactiiring Company was
formed in 1867. The capital stock of the company, according
to its charter, was $25,000. Eleven thousand of this, we are
informed, was taken by residents, and ^two thous<xud by non-
residents, and the village of Douglass issued its bonds for ten
thousand dollars to aid the work. The balance of the stock
($2,000) was not taken. The main object of the company was
to dam the river at a point near the village, and thus utilize the
water for manufacturing purposes. Immense results were antic-
ipated by the sanguine, who believed that Douglass would
become a flourishing manufacturing city — a second Lowell, with
its scores of wealthy magnates, and its thousands of industrious
operatives. The company, it is said, succeeded in building a
saw-miU, some houses and a bulkhead-dam near the mill. The
contract for building the main dam was given to a pirty pos-
■ sessed of no skill and experience in such work. Consequently
the structure was not substantial, and while the hrmbermeu of
the upper Delaware were threatening to demolish it as a nuisance
and an obstruction to the i-unning of rafts, a flood carried a
great part of it away. When this disaster occurred, the com-
pany was indebted to Benjamin P. Buckley of Fremont Centre,
who obtauied a judgment for the amount of his claim. The
effects of the company were sold to satisfy Buckley's demand,
and he bought them at the sale. During 'the year 1871, some
of the residents of Long Eddy, whose faith and ardor had not
been extinguished by the flood, wishing to make the property
available, obtained the consent of Buckley to rebuild the dam.
They commenced the work, but so late in the season that they
were unable to complete it before the beghming of the ensuing
winter. Hoping that the ice-freshet of the spring of 1872
woiild be merciful, they suspended operations. The -winter,
however, was very severe, and the ice was of unusual thickness
■when the river broke up. The dam, in its unfinished condition,
was not strong enough to endxire the pressure of the flood and
the battering of the ice. It was again broken, and now, what
remains of it is a standipg reminder of the fact, that unscientific
and inexperienced men should not be enti'usted with a work of
so much magnitude and chfliculty.
It is believed that a third attempt will be made to construct
a dam at this point ; that the water-power, if properly managed,
is really valuable ; and that experience will enable the gentlemen
who will hereafter manage the matter, to guard against a third
disaster. The enterprise and energy of the peojilo of Douglass,
THE TOWN OF FKEMONT. 297
•deserve success, though they mav not command it. It is not
often that a vilhige no larger than this expends forty thousand
dollars in lialf-a-dozen years to promote its material interests.
As to what they have done to advance their spiritual welfare
much cannot he said ; for there is not a church-edifice in the
place. The Baptists and Methodists have labored in au humble
way, however, in this corner of the moral vineyard. Each has a
small society in Douglass, which worships in the district school-
house.
Douglass was incorporated by an act of the Legislature on the
19th of April, 1867. The principal movers to obtain the charter
were D. D. McKoon and F. G. Barnes. The first trustees were
■Charles G. Armstrong, Dennis D. McKoon, John McDufi"ee,
•Charles D. Brand and Ulysses S. Tyler ; Assessors — George
Oould and Joseph Dudgeon ; Collector — William T. Kellam ;
Pohce Justice — Samuel McKoon ; Treasurer — Henry H. Mc-
Koon ; Street Commissioner — J. Wesley Tyler ; Police Con-
stable— Wallace Young. The corporate limits are a mile square,
and on the northerly side are the same as the boundary of the
town and county.
While the genius of material progress was rampant, a credu-
lous printer was induced to start a newspaper in Douglass, who,
with commendable local pride, filled nearly an entire column
with a business dii-ectory, in which dealers in lumber and
manufacturers of hendock-boards were quite prominent. The
■editor enjoyed the fat things of the future, until he found that
more substantial food was necessary to prolong his mundane
existence, when he transferred his types and enterprise to other
Besides mills and the shops of mechanics, Douglass contains
two hotels, five stores, and seventy dwellings. Its population
has been estimated at 500.
It is said that Zachariah Ferdon located at Round Pond in
May, 1824. It does not appear, however, that he owned the
land he occupied until 1844, in which year he received a deed
for it from Peter Ferdon of Gates, Monroe county, N. Y. He ■
was the first settler in that section of the town. His nearest
neighbors were residents of Rockland.
Benjamin Misner built a saw-mill on the outlet of Long pond
in 1831, and moved his family to the place in 1832. He was of
the family of Misners of Fallsburgh, and Uved there in 1808,
when Gerard Hardenbergh was murdered. In 1811, Benjamin
and Jacobus Misner bought a tract of land in Lot 6, of Herman
M. Hardenbergh, a son of Gerard. About 1833, Benjamin took
a number of trout from Trout brook, and put them in Long
pond, which proved congenial to this royal gan/e-fish. Trout
have since been taken from this pond which weighed five pounds.
riya HISTOKY OF SDLLIT.UJ COUNTY.
In the spiiug of 1835, Jeronimus Secord moved from West-
chester comity to Long pond. Five or six others of the same
family-name soon after settled in the vicinity of Round pond,,
and among them was Thomas Secord, the pugilist, whose mill
with Yankee Sullivan has been recorded in the sporting annals
of the county. Secord's friends claim that he was the real
victor in this encoimter, while the prize was awarded to Sullivan
by a mob of roughs. However this may be, Secord was so
severelv pommeled by SvdUvan that he ultimately died from
the injiu-ies he received.
The fii'st school of the neighborhood was taught in 1847, by
Sarah, a daughter of Gerard L. M. Hardenbergh, who received
two dollars per week, and boarded herself.
In the summer of 1849, Charles W. Miles, Carlos P. Holcomb
and Benjamin C. Miles erected a large tannery on Hankins
creek. At this time. Judge Samuel McKoon had become a
resident, as well as Levi Harding, Roderick LevaUey, Thomas.
S. Ward, Wilham C. Wood, Joseph F. Yendes, Burrows PhiUips,
G. L. M. Hardenbergh, James Brown, John Beck, Aaron van
Benschoten, a family of Cannons, etc. A considerable number
of German immigrants had also settled in the territory, which
was subsequently erected as the town of Fremont.
The town-meetings of CaUicoou were at that period generalty
held in Jeffersonville, near the line of Cochecton, and the prin-
cipal officers of the town resided in that quarter; hence the
settlers of the western section weie jjut to great inconvenience
when they found it necessary to attend to local affairs. Under
such circumstances, they soon discovered that a division of
Callicoon would be an advantage to them.
In the Fall of 1851, sundry fieeholders of CaUicoon gave
notice through one of the newspapers of the county, that they
would apply at the next annual meeting of the Supervisors for
a division of the town. This notice caused a violent effervescence
of Yankee and Teutonic elements. Petitions and remonstrances-
were rapidly cuculated through every nook and comer. At the
November election, but one hundred and fifty-seven residents,
voted ; and yet within a fortnight thereafter two himdi-ed and
sixty-two petitioned for a division, and one hundred and ninety-
three remonstrated — making a total of 455 who claimed that,
they were inhabitants !* One of these parties claimed that the
proposed division was desirable, because the people were very
much scattered, and there was a range of hills running through
CaUicoon, which formed a natui-al boundary between the several
sections ; the other opposed a division because it would increase
*At thii mxt amuial tloition the aggrrRatc vote of Callicoon and Fremont ■»»».■
402. In adilition to these, many immigrante were not voters.
THE TOWN OF FREMONT. 'Z'iM
taxation, and leave Callicoon -without a depot on the raihoad,
and a railroad to help pay its taxes.
The Supei-visors referred the application, etc., to a committeo
of five, viz: Neal Benson, Thomas WilUams, Edward Paleu,
John C. HoUey and Benjamin P. Buckley. After a patient
hearing, three of the committee (Messrs. Benson, Palen and
HoUey) reported that the prayer of the petitioners should bo
f ranted; while the others (Messrs. WiUiams and Buckley)
eclared that it was then impossible to determine what wero
the wishes of a majority of the inhabitants, and intimated that
there was evident u-regularity in procuring signatures for and
against the proposed division. Hence they recommended that
action should be deferred until the Board could obtain reliablo
information on the subject. The Supervisors, however, )jy a
large majority (nine to one) resolved to erect the new town.
The member fi-om CaUicoon (Samuel W. Jackson) was then
appointed a committee to di-aft the necessary bill, and as soon
as he reported, it was passed — ayes, 10 ; nays, 0. By this act,
the first election in Fremont was held at the hoiase of Ezekiel
G. Scott, and David E. Perry, Roderick LevaUey and Gerard
L. M. Hardenbergh were made the presiding officers of tlio
fii'st town-meeting.
Those who opposed the erection of Fremont resided on tlio
North Branch and on the section east of that stream. If tlitv
territory of Calhcoon had remained intact. North Branch would'
have been a central point, and a large majority would have been
in favor of making it the quasi capital of the town, instead of
Jefferson ville. Hence the opposition in that quarter, and henco
Mr. Jackson, who was a sagacious biisiness man of Jeli'erson-
ville, was wiUing that the western inhabitants should "go im
peace." If not permitted to do so, he foresaw that they would
unite with the people of North Branch against JeffersonviUo,
and that the combined opjDosition would overwhelm the latter.
It is a notable fact that Benjamin P. Buckley, who was tho
Supervisor of Liberty in 18.51, and did not readily consent to
the erection of the new town, subsequently removed to Fremont,
where, as one of the firm of B. P. Buckley & Son, he became
largely interested in the tanning business ; and that four mem-
bers of the Buckley family have since been Supervisors of the
town.
Fremont received the name it bears, because a majority of
its leading men were ardent admirers of John C. Fremont, a
full account of whom wiU be found in almost any history of the
United States.
The first road of the town is what is known as the Cannon
road, from the North Branch to Hankins ; the second runs from
North Branch to Fremont Centre, and fi'om thence to Hankins ;
300 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUKTY.
afterwards the road from the Centre to Long Pond and Round
pond, and thence to Westfield Flats was laid out, as well as
the one from Long Eddy up Basket creek to Troiit brook.
Other highway's have since been made connecting various
neighborhoods of the town.
Fremont affords another proof that the axiom, "IMnrder will
out," is based more on superstition than tnith. In .September,
1854, a human skeleton was found in a swamp about a mile
north of Haukins, covered with large stones, and near it,
concealed under a log, were a pair of boots and some clothes.
The condition in which these things were, when discovered, led
to the belief that they had been undisturbed for live or six
years, and that the remains were those of a man who had been
murdered, and whose body had been concealed in this swamp.
Neither the name of the victim, or of the murderer, was ever
known or suspected. The unfortunate man may have been
employed in laboring for a railroad-contractor, and when on
the point of returning with a few hard-earned dollars to his
friends in a distant part of the country, may have been decoyed
to this lone place, and here killed for his money; or he maj'
have been a stranger who came with means to buy land. Such
persons were constantly coming and going, and their sudden
disappearance would have excited no interest in their fate.
Two little daughters of John Heldrick, an early settler,
wandered from the home of their parents, and became lost in
the woods. As soon as the scattered pioneers of the neighbor-
hood were notified, they searched for the bewildered children,
and after protracted eftbrts discovered them in a hollow log.
Terror, hunger and fatigiie were too much for the oldest girl,
an impressible, nervous child aged six years. When foimd she
was insane, and although she lived ten years, her mind was
never restored to its former condition.*
There are but two churches in Fremont. One of them is at ■
Fremont Centre, and belongs to the Methodists. It was built
in 1860, during the pastorate of Eev. Aaron Coons, and cost
upwards of ^'i^JOO.
• i The other is St. jVIai-y's church, (Eoman Catholic) at Obern-
burgh. Rev. John Eanfeisen, its first ]>astor, was here as early
as 1852. He was snc(T(Mle<l liy Rev. Joseph Ro'seh, a native
of Prussia, Avho has liibdicd htMc among the (nM-iii;ni po]ndation
for many years. Tli(> present churcli-editice was built in 1861,
biit was not consecrated until June '2o, 1865, when ninety-five
persons were confirmed. The members number about 350.
'Child's Gazetteer.
THE I'OWN OF FEEMONT. 301
POPULATION — VALUATION — TAXATION.
Year.
Popu- Assessed
lation. Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1860
1,7281 §113,675
$596.97
.$889.58
1870
2,220; 103,520
2,499.76
2,501.22
Note. — For seveial items of informatiou in regard to Fremont
we are indebted to AVilliam Hill, a former Clerk of the county ;
who, as an officer, has had no superior.
surER^^soEs of the town or feemont.
Ei-om To
1852 ■. .Samuel McKoon 1853
1853 Charles W. Miles 1855
1855 Joseph F. Yendes 1856
1856 Aaron Van Beuschoten 1857
1857 Simeon D. Wood 1858
1858 Martin A. Smith 1861
1861 Charles W. Miles 1862
1862 Walter B. Buckley 1864
1864 LB. Buckley 1865
1865 Benjamin P. Buckley 1867
1867 Isaac Forsliay 1869
1869 Frank Buckley 1872
1872 Le\-i Harding • 1873
1873 Abram Wood 1874
CHAPTER X.
THE TOWN OF HIGHL.'US'D.
This town was taken from the territory of Lumberland, by
an act of the Board of Supervisors, on the 17th of December,
1853, and consists of numbers Fourteen to Twenty-five inclusive
of the Seventh division ; and Lots Two, Three and Four of the
First division of the Miuisink Patent. It is situated on the
highlands east of the Delaware, and from them derives its name.
Some of these ridges have an altitude, it is said, of from 1,000
to 1,200 feet. We cannot learn that they were ever measured
by competent men, and therefore conclude that their height is
estimated.
The same causes which retarded the growth and prosperity
of Lumberland and Tusten have had their logical effects here.
In early times, the population consisted of lumbermen, who
were employed by non-resident owners to strip the town of its
valuable tin^iber, and convert it as expeditiously and cheaply as
possible into cash. If the profits of the business had been
retained in the town, and expended for improvements, the value
and importance of Highland would have been enhanced in a
degree which we cannot now estimate.
Highland contains 83,050 acres, less than two thousand of
which are improved, and two years after its erection, had a
population of 865. Though its numbers are smaU, it has always
had more than its ratio of sterling men, some of whom will
receive honorable mention in this chapter.
The principal streams of Highland are Beaver brook and
Halfway brook. The first was so named, because, when first
visited by the whites, the beaver was very common there ; and
the latter, because by an ancient trail across the country, it was
struck half-way from the Mongaup to the Delaware. Each
stream has several affluents, and its course on maps of the
town is dotted with numerous saw-mills.
There are several natural ponds or lakes in Highland— Mud
and Hagan in the east ; York in the south ; and Montgomerj',
Little, Big and Blind in the west.
[3021
THK TOWN OF HIGHLAND.
303
The name of Mud pond is descriptive. It is a small lake
with a very muddy bottom.
Hngan pond, it is believed, is so called because a man of thai
name first settled near it.
Mfintgomery pond received its name from Henry Montgomery,
who settled on its east shore. Below it, on the same stream is
Little pond. They are round or oval in shape, and have white
and gray sand-beaches. The land around them is said to be of
good quality.
Big j)ond is so called because it is larger than Little pond.
There are other small lakes in Highland, which we will leave
where they are likely to lemain, in the woods.
POPULATION-
VALUATION — TAXATION.
Year.
1 Popu-
lation.
i
Assessed Town
Vahie. Charges.
1
Co. and
State.
1860 . .
993
1 958
$161,1631 $223.96 $1,111.31
1870
115,5651 2,117.031 2,789.58
Previous to the war of the Eevohation, this region was a
hunting-ground of the Lenape, and their half-civilized neighbors,
the trappers of Minisink and Mamakating. Its numerous
streams and lakes, as well as its game, made it very attractive
to both white and red nomades of that period. Tom Quick
waylaid and killed two Indians near Hagan pond, and often
came here with the white hunters of Minisink. On one
occasion he was at ihe pond with a man named Cornelius
DeWitt, who was afterwards captured by the Indians and taken
to Canada. While preparing to make their evening fire, they
•discovered signs which led them to believe that a savage was
in the neighborhood, and Tom proposed to look for the red-skins
while DeWitt collected wood. To this the latter was opposed,
but nothing that he could say persuaded the other to forego his
intention. Tom prepared for an encounter, and then cautiously
crept along the lake-shore until he came to the outlet. Tlieie
he had to pass over an open space, in doing which he saw an
Indian beyond gun-shot, on the Big marsh, as it was called.
'The latter discovered Tom at the same moment, and fled, going
apparently toward the Delaware. As it was near night, Tom
returned to his camping-place ; but the next morning took the
Indian's trail and followed it as far as the Brink pond, in
Pennsylvania. He was enabled to do this by observing signs
which no ci\'ilized man can see. At Brink pond he once more
304 ' HISTORY OF Sri-LIVAN COUKTY.
saw tlie Indian, and the latter finding be was pursued, fled lite
a frightened stag. Tom then returned, knowing that the chase
was iLseless, and that the red-skin would not soon moderate his.
pace.
Highland was settled immediately after the Eevolutionarj
war. In 1784, Benjamin Haines was living with his family at
Handsome Eddy. Not far from the same time, Jolm Barnes;
located at Narrow Falls, where his descendants became so
numerous, that of the fourteen persons who, in 1799, organized
the Congregational Chm'ch of that place, eight bore his name —
the venerable Christian patriarch himself heading the Mst.
Among those to whom he then gave the right hand of fellowship
was Icliabod Carmichael and Asa Crane. John Carpenter,
William Seeley, U. Patterson and William Randall were pio-
neers in the Beaver Brook region.
In this town, in the Revolutionary war, was fought what is-
known to historians as the battle of Minisink. It has received'
this name, althougli it did not take place in the Minisink
country, and the people of that i-egion had very little to do with
it. The contest was between the militia of Goshen, assisted hy
a small party from Warwick, and a few volunteers, on the one
side, and the celebrated Mohawk chief, Thayendauegea (better
known as Colonel Brant) and his savage and tory-foUowers, on
the other. As this contest occurred on elevated gi'ound of this
region, we shall speak of it as the battle in Highland.
Thayendauegea and his fighting-men were the scourge of
south-western Ulster fi'om 1775 to 1783. He was of pure
Iroquois blood, and born on the banks of the Ohio in 1742.
Here his father died, when his mother returned with him and
his sister to the Mohawk, where the widow mariied an Indian
named Barent, and thereafter the children were known as Josepli
and Mary or Molly Brant. Molly became the leman of Sir
William Johnson, who sent her brother to Dr. Wheelock's
school at Lebanon, Connecticut, where the lad was educated
for the Christian ministry. From some cause he did not enter
the ranks of the clergy. In his old age, however, he labored
to convert his people to the white man's faith, and while doing
so translated a part of the New Testament into the Mohawk
language.*
When twenty years old. Brant became the secretary and
agent of Sir William, and while they lived, was iutimatel}'
connected with the Johnsons and Butlers. As the Revolutionary
•storm was brewing, both whigs and tories made eflbrts to influ-
ence his conduct. The first, through Rev. Samuel Kirkland, a
devoted and loved missionary among the Six Nations, endeav-
* Lossings Celebrated
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 305
ored to induce Brant to continue neutral ; Init the agents of the
British prevailed. In 1775, he left the Mohawk and went to
Canada. Here, as a colonel of the British ai-my, and a war-
chief of the Iroquois, he organized and sent forth those predatory
bands of Indians and tories which devastated the frontier from
the Water-gap to the Mohawk river. Many of these bands
were commanded by him in person, particularly those which
^'isited Wawarsing and Miuisink. In 1780, he boasted that the
Esopus border was his old fighting-gi-ound..
His personal appearance and bearing were well calculated to
inspire the respect and obedience of his savage followers.
Captain Jeremiah Snyder, who, with his son Ehas, was made
prisoner near Saugerties, and taken to Niagara, thus describes
this famous chief :
"He was good-looking, of fierc« aspect, tall and rather spare,,
well-spoken, and apparently about thirty years of age. He
wore moccasins elegantly tiimmed with beads, leggings, and a
breech-cloth of superfine blue, a short green coat, with two
silver epaulets, and a small, round, laced hat. By his side was
£Hi elegant silver-mounted cutlass ; and his blanket of blue cloth
(purposely dropped in the chair on which he sat to display his
epaulets) was gorgeously adorned with a border of red. His
language was very insulting."
Brant has been denounced as an inhuman wretch. Even an
English author attributes to him the atrocities of Wyoming.
But great injustice has been done him. The charge of cruelty
he always repelled with much indignation, and a great number
of instances can be adduced to show that although in battle he
gOTierally gave full scoj^e to the murderous propensities of his
followers, he endeavored to mitigate the horrors of war when-
ever he could do so without destroying his influence with his
own race. Wlien he invaded Minisink in 1779, he marked
the aprons of little girls with his totem, and thus kept them
from harm. By stratagem, he saved Col. Harper, an old school-
mate, from the gauntlet. Even in battle, he was ruled by the
principles of Masonry. In 1780, he returned fi-om a raid on
Harpersfield by the way of the Delaware, when he relnxked the
Oneidas, who remained friendly to the Americans, for cruelty
to non-combatants. He then wrote them the following letter
in the Iroquois language :
"Ne we se watogcaylise ne wastonronon, ne ne agiiegough
ghe yenaghne, ne gatho Eatinagere, gen ne youagh yagheya-
tengh a we, ne esone sakheyaghe kawe, ne ne yogotrigo hogo-
nagh, yaghte atteryo te ye yadondagh kivan a so yoteghhaet ne
ok theya go triyo ogh tayon ta tye von nyon tyodken Etho
negyerha, tsinough gwa wenthogh tyodkon eso sekheyaght ka.
20
iJUb HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
waghs — ne kadi esc togwana kwa tani ne seuglia ok enston
■sayetshiyero ne, yon ueyawight Enaghsgwa toghsa kadi non
Etho niyawon sawatsi wahionise.
" Ouenoni ejhyagli tlion sa ka to yen. ne ne segon atho nenya
wen on the Delaware April 15tli 1780.
"Joseph Brant."*
Previous to August 21st, 1788, Colonel Braut wrote a letter
fi-om Oquaga to Colonel Jacob Klock, commander of a regiment
of Tryon county militia, from which we make this extract :
"I am sorry, notwithstanding aU the gentle usage we have
fi-om time to time given the prisoners we have taken fi-om you,
and even letting many of them go home after we made [them]
prisoners, that you who boast of being a civiHzed people, have
treated our people who were so xmfortunate as to fall in yoiu-
hands in a most inhuman manner, beating them after you had
bound them ; but if you persist in waging war after that manner,
we win ere long convince you that oiir lenity proceeded fi-om
humanity, not fear."t
Pro^ddenee made Brant an adroit strategist, and his native
talent was strengthened and sharpened by the society and the
learning of Europeans. He fell like a thimder-bolt upon his
enemies, and destroyed them. His blows were equally unex-
pected and disastrous.
We do not propose to give a fuU accoimt of his acts here. It
is sufficient for our puipose to record no more than has a direct
bearing on our own county.
In October, 1778, he crossed the wilderness from the Dela-
ware to tlie Neversiuk, and passing down the latter, on the 1.3th
■of the month, invaded Peenpack. His approach was discoA'ered,
and a majority of the inhabitants fled to the block-houses.
Many were killed, among whom were an old man named Swart-
wont and four of his sons. James, another son, escaped. In
the Peenpack block-house were many -nomen and children, and
but nine men. Captain Abraham Cuddeback the commander,
caused the women to don men's attire, and parade with his
squad of mihtia in such a way that the enemy were led to
*TEANSLATION OF KEV. ELEAZEK WILUAMS:
Bo it known to you Bostonians, that all the inhabitants here of whom I had
taken captives, I carry but few of them with me, and mxich greater part, who are feeble
and incapable for war, I liave set them at liberty. - It is a great Bnanie to abuse the
feeble oneft. I have always said so ever since we commenced to kill von. Many
prisoners I have i-eleased, therefore you have greatly roused my wrath, in that you
continue to abuse those who are like prisoners. Let it be no longer. So far you are
men as well as we, and if vou still persist to do so, I know not what may happen here-
after.
(Signed) Joseph Bkant.
On the Delaware. April 1.5th, 1780.
t Ulster Historiujl S i.-ii-ty I'apcrs.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 307
"believe that the "fort" was strongly, garrisoned. Brant, having
no artillery, did not dare attack the block-house ; but contented
himself -vvlth cutting off stragglers, securing the horses, cows,
oxen, etc., of the farmers, and burning the buildings. After
doing what injviry he could, he left with his plunder and followers,
and was not pursued.
In consequence of this raid. Count Pulaski was ordered to
the Minisink country with a battahon of cavalry, for the protec-
tion of that region. He remained there but a few weeks ; for,
in Febraary, 1779, he left with his force for South Carolina,*
and the valley of the Neversink and the Mamakating was left
■without protection, except what was afforded by such of the
.settlers as were not serving their country at other points. Of
this fact Brant was not long ignorant.
In the summer of 1779, while General John Sullivan was
gathering an army at Wyoming to chastise the Senecas and
other hostile savages of western New York, Brant was engaged
in making a second descent on Mamakating. He reached
Peenpack on the night succeeding the 19th of July, 1779, and
spread terror and devastation throughout the valley. The
attack was commenced before daylight, and so stealthily did
the wily Mohawk approach his victims, that several families
were cut off before an alarm was made. The first intimation
j^'hich the people had of the presence of the enemy, was the
discovery that several buildings were in flames. Dismay and
confusion ensued. Some fled to tlie woods with their wives and
children, and some to the block-houses. The savages and tories
plundered, burned and killed as they were disposed.
After destroying twenty-one dwellings and barns, together
with the old Mamachamack church and a grist-mill, and killing
an unknown number of patriots, the enemy disappeared, loaded
with spoil. They did not attack any of the block-houses, of
which the red men entertained a wholesome fear. Brant
marched hastily back to Grassy Swamp brook,t where he had
left a portion of his followers. t
Some of the fagitives fled from the valley, and carried news
of the savage incursion to Goshen. Colonel Tusten of tlie
militia of that town and its vicinit}' immediately issued orders
to the officers of his command, to meet him on the following
day (the 21st) at the store-house of Major Decker, with as many
volunteers as they could raise. The order was promptly obeyed,
and one hundred and forty-nine men, including some of the
principal gentlemen of the county, were at the place of rendez-
vous at the appointed time. A counsel of war was held to
* Historical Collections of New York.
t Tills brook enters the Mougaup a few miles from where that stream enters the
iJelaware.
308 HISTORY OF SITLLTV-AN OOUSTY.
consider the expediency of a pursuit. Colonel Tusten was
opposed to risking an encounter with the subtile Mohawk chief,
•with so feeble a command, especially as the enemy was known
to be gi-catly superior to them in numbers. The Americans
were not well pro\-ided with arms and ammunition, and it was
Avise to wait for re-inforcements. Others, however, were for
immediate pursuit. They held the Indians in contempt, insisted
that they would not fight; and declared that a recapture of the
plunder was an easy achievement. The counsels of reckless
bravery, untempered by reason and intelligence, are not always
followed by good results. A majority were evidently in favor
of pursuit, when Major Meeker mounted his horse, floiirished
his sword, and shouted — " Let the brave men follow me ! The
cowards may stay behind! " This appeal decided the question.
It silenced the pnident. The excited militia-men took up their
line of march, and followed the old Katheghton (Cochecton) trail
seventeen miles, when they encamped at Skinner's mill, near Hag-
gle's pond,* about three miles from the mouth of Half-wa}- brook.
This da3''s march must have nearly exhausted the little army.
The pursiiit was commenced sometime in the night. The papers
left by Captain Abraham Cuddeback, and now in the possession
of his descendants, show that the party reached the house of
James Finch, at what is now Finchville, on the east side of the
Shawangunk, in time for breakfast, and that he supphed them
with salted pro\"isions. From here they crossed the moiintain,
and reached the house of Major Decker, and then pushed on
over an Indiin trail seventeen miles farther. How many men
of Orange and SuUivan, in these effeminate daj's, can endure
such a tramp, encumbered with giins and knapsacks?
On the morning of the 22d, they were joined by a small re-in-
forceraent under Colonel Hatlioru, of the Warwick regiment,
who, as the senior of Colonel Tusten, took the command. They
advanced to the Half-way brook, where they came ujjon the
Indian encampment of the previous night, and another council
was held. Colonels Hathorn and Tusten and others were
opposed to advancing farther, as the number of Indian fires and
the extent of gi'ound the enemy had occupied, removed all
doubt as to the superiority of Brant's force. A scene similar
to that which had broken up the previous council was once
more witnessed. The voice of prudence had less influence than
the voice of bravado.t The Meekers carried the day ; but at
the end the Meekers did not have the gi-ace to sanctify their
own imprudence by the baptism of fire and blood. J
* Dawson'H I'.attlos of the Uuitod States, f Stone's Life of Brant.
^ Tlieri' W.13 au oflioer who made quite a (lisplay of bravery on the march, who,
■with his company, was within hearing while the engagement lasted, bnt coiild not be
induced to go to'thc relief of his countrymen SttUeinenl of Joseph Curpenler to Lotan
SmiUi.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 309
It was evident that Brant was not far in advance, and it was
important to know whether he intended to cross the Delaware
at the usual fording-place, and follow the Lackawaxen trail.
Captain Bezaleel Tyler and Captaia Abraham Cuddeback, both
of whom had some knowledge of the woods, were sent forward
to ascertain Brant's movements, and reached the ford without
interruption. Apparently Brant had already crossed. "Wliat
they saw led them to think so, especially as they perceived no
Indians behind them, and there were savages and jjlunder on
the opposite shore, and a savage was then passing over, mounted
on a horse which had been stolen from Major Decker. The
two scouts fired at this fellow, and, it is said, wounded him
fatally. But they were immediately shot at by skulking savages
in their rear, and Tyler fell dead. It is probable that nearly
every shot was directed at him, as he was very obnoxiovis to
the tories and their allies. Cuddeback was unhurt, and suc-
ceeded in reaching the main body of Americans, where he
reported what he had seen and heard.* The killing of Captain
Tyler caused a profound sensation among his friends; but
instead of dampening, it added to their fierce determination.
After leaving the mouth of the Half-way brook (now BaiTy-
viUe) it is believed that Brant followed the river-bank toward
the Lackawaxen ford, to which he had sent his phmder in
advance. Hathorn resolved to intercept him at the crossing,
and to do so attempted to reach the ford first by a rapid march
over the high ground east of the river. As they approached
the ground on which the battle was fought. Brant was seen
deliberately marching toward the ford. Owing to intervening
woods and hills, the belligerents soon lost sight of each other,
when Brant wheeled to the right and passed up a ravine known
as Dry brook, over which Hathorn had or was compelled to
pass. By this stratagem, Brant was enabled to throw himself
into Hathorn's rear ; cut off a part of the latter's men who had
fallen behind the main body, and deliberately select his ground
for a battle, and form an ambuscade.
The battle-ground is situate on the crest of a hill, in the
town of Highland, about one mile northerly from the Delaware
river, and half a mile north-westerly from the Dry brook at its
nearest point. It is also distant about three mUes from Barry-
ville and one from Lackawaxen. The hill has an altitude of
twenty-five or thirty feet above its base, and of about two
hundred above the Delaware, and descends east, west and
south, while there is a nearly level plateau extending toward
__ i
* Papers of Captain Abraham Cuddeback. Cuddoback due
himself went ahead and from the hills saw the Indians iTossnif
plunder; they proceeded down to the ford, and discovered a s
Major Decker's horse ; they tired at him, when Captain Tyli
opposite shore Indians were moving down stream.— /xi(t7)( .'-jiiill,
lat T
aiul
lir.T
ovel
• on
.hot.
Uu
the
310 HISTORY OF SULLIV,«» COUNTY.
the nortla. This level gi-ounJ is rimmed (particularly on the
south side) wdth an irregular and broken ledge of rocks.* On
that part of the gi'ound nearest the river the Americans were
hemmed in, and caught hke rats in a trap.
The battle commenced about ten o'clock in the morning.
Before a gun was fired, Brant appeared in full view of the
Americans, told them that his force was superior to them, and
demanded then- siu-reuder, promising to protect them. '\\Tiile
parlepng with them, he was shot at by one of the mihtia, whose
ball passed through Brant's belt, who then retired fi'om view,
and joined his wariiors.t The man who attempted to assas-
sinate him under such cu-cumstances was undoubtedly the
gi-eater savage of the two.
The beUigerents were soon engaged in deadly conflict, when,
above the din of battle Brant was heard, in a voice which was
never forgotten by those who were present, giving orders for
the return of those who were on the opposite side of the river.
A part of the Americans kept the savages in check on the
north side of the battle-ground, wliile others threw up hastily
a breastwork of stones about one hundi-ed and fifty feet fi'om
the ledge which terminated the southern extremity of the
plateau. Here, confined to about an acre of gi-ound, screened
by trees, rocks, flat stones quicldy tm-ned on theii' edges, and
whatever the exigency of the moment aft'orded, about ninety
brave men, ^dthout water, and suiTounded by a host of scream-
ing and howling savages, fought fi'om ten o'clock to nearly
sundown on a sidtry July' day. The disposition of the militia,
and the efl'ectual manner in which every assailable point was
defended, show that a master-mind controlled them. By com-
mand of Hathom, there was no aunless firing. Ammimition
was short, and it was necessary to husband it carefully. A
gun discharged in any quarter, revealed thd position of its
owner, and left him exposed until he could reload. Except
what we have indicated, however, every man fought in the
Indian mode, each for himself, firing as a good opportunity was
presented, and engaged in individual conflicts accortling to the
barbarian custom.
We do not beheve that t^e annals of modem times contain
the record of a more heroic defense. In vain for hours Brant
sought to break through the cordon of patriots. The devoted
mUitia-men repelled him at every point. "UTiat the fil'ty wei'e
doing who were in the morning separated from then- companions
we cannot learn. They may have been driven away by superior
numbers, and they #nay have been blustering cowards, brave in
* MSS. of John W. Johnston.
t Dawson's Battles of the United States. The statement is made on the authority
of Brant bimeelf.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 311
council, but timid in real clanger. Their movements are veiled
in oblivion, and there we must let them remain.
As night approached, Brant became disheartened. He be-
lieved that the height could not be carried, and had determined
to order his men to retreat,* when the death of an American
gave the savages an opportunity to rush inside the American
lines. This faithful man had been stationed behind a rock on
the north-west side, where he had remained all day.f Brant
saw the advantage his death afforded, and -^vith the warriors
near him, carried dismay into the heart of the American party.
The latter, seeing the savages in their midst, became demoral-
ized, broke and fled. While doing so, many of them were
killed.
Brant killed Gabriel Wisner with his own hand. In after-
years, while on a visit to New York, he declared that he found
Wisner, when the battle was over, so badly wounded, that he
could not hve or be removed ; that if he was left alone on the
field, the wild beasts would devour him ; that he was in full
possession of all his faculties ; that for a man to be eaten while
ahve by ravenous beasts was terrible ; and that to save Wisner
from such a fate, he engaged him in conversation, and when
unobserved, struck him dead. Such barbarous mercy may
seem strange to us ; but it is not inconsistent with the character
of a semi-civilized savage.
Captain Benjamin Vail was wounded in the battle, and after
the rout, was found seated upon a rock, and bleeding. He was
killed, while in this situation, by a tory.J
Doctor Tusten was behind a cliff of rocks attending to the
necessities of the wounded, when the rout commenced. There
were seventeen disabled men under his care, who appealed for
protection and mercy ; but the Indians fell upon tliem, and aU^
including the doctor, perished under the tomahawk. Several
of the fugitives Avere shot while attempting to escape by swim-
ming the Delaware-! Of those engaged in the battle, thirty
escaped and forty-five, it is known, were killed. The balance
were taken prisoners, or perished while fugitives in the wilder-
ness. Among the killed was Moses Thomas, 2d, a son of the
pioneer of that name, who was shot near the old Cushetunk
block-house. The son was slain by a tory named Cornelius
Cole.i
Major Wood of the militia, though not a Mason, accidentally
gave the Masonic sign of distress. This was observed by Brant.
Faithful to his pledge, the red Master saved Wood's life, and
gave him his own blanket to protect him from the night-air
* Jay Gould's History of Delaware County,
t Dawson's Battles of the United States,
t Oration of John C. Dimmick, July 22, 1862.
§ Stone's Life of Brant. {| Tom Quick.
312 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
"while sleeping. He subsequently discovered that Wood was
not one of the brotherhood, and denounced him as dishonorable,
but spared his life.* The blanket was accidentally damaged
while in the prisoner's possession, which made Brant very
angry. He then treated Wood ^vith much harshness.
One of the militia attempted to escape with others ; but was
so exhaiisted he was obliged to turn aside to rest. In a little
while he saw one Indian after another ninning in the du-ection
liis fi'iends had gone. They continued to pass until a very pow-
erful savage discovered him, when the man fired his last shot
and fled. The red man did not follow. He was probably dis-
abled by the shot, if not killed. The name of this mihtia-man,
we believe, was Cuddeback.
Samuel Helm, of the Mamakating family of that name, and a
grandson of Manuel Gonsalus, the first settler of that town, was
wounded, but beinj^an ex2:)ert woodman as well as Indian-fighter,
escaped. He was stationed behind a tree, when he saw an In-
dian thnist his head from behind a neighboring tnink, and peer
aronud as if looking for a chance to shoot a patriot. The savage
had on his neck what appeared to be a black silk neckerchief.
At this Helm fired. Much to his satisfaction, the Indian fell
upon the gi'ound apparently dead ; but not much to his satisfac-
tion, he himself was immediately shot through one of his thighs
by another of Brant's men. The wound seemed to take away
sensation and strength fi-om the limb, and Helm dropped to the
earth, but kept behind his natural breastwork. The Indian did
not at once rush ur to scalp Helm, being anxious to ascertain
fii'st wliether it was safe to do so. This gave the white man a
chance to reload his rifle. After dodging around a L'ttle, the
other made a dash for Helm's .scalp ; but instead of getting it,
received a bullet which put an end to his life. Helm, in relat-
ing the adventure to our informant (LawTence Masten,) said the
astonishment of the red-skin, when he was unexpectedly con-
fi'onted with the muzzle of the gun, was tnily ridicidous ' Helm
then managed to get to a piece of low land near the battle-
ground, and finally to the river. His trail was made plain by
his o^vn blood. He knew he would be followed and killed if he
did not baffle his piirsuers. He therefore plunged into the river,
and managed to pass down some distance with the current.
Then he got ashore and hid among the rocks. As he anticipated,
the savages tracked him to the river-bank, where he saw them
hold a brief consultation, and look up and down the stream.
Not seeing him, they turned back, and he saw them no more.
Here he managed to stop the flow of blood from his woxind, and
remained until it was safe to commence his lonely and weary
* After his release, Wood assumed the obligations of this ancient and honorable
fraiemit;.
THE TOWN OP HIGHLAND. 31:^
journey back to the valley of the Neversink. He reached it
after much sutferiug.
Benjamin Whitaker, who afterwards lived and died at Deposit,
was wounded during the day ; but kept on fighting until he be-
came sick and faint from the loss of blood. He then retired to
a safe place, where he staunched the blood with tow from his
■cartridge-box, and binding iip the wound with a handkerchief,
again joined eagerly in the iight.
John Whitaker (a brother of Benjamin) was in the hottest of
the battle, and, although he received nine bullet-holes through
his hat and clothes, escaped uninjured.*
Allusion has been made to Sullivan's expedition against the
hostile tribes of the Six-Nations in the summer of 1779. He
passed through Wawarsing, Mamakating and Deerpark ; crossed
the Delaware ; followed it down to Easton ; then went to
Wyoming, where his army nirmbered three thousand ; from the
latter place he conveyed his artillery and stores up the Susque-
hanna to Tioga Point, where he arrived about fifteen days after
the battle near the mouth of the Lackawaxen. Here he waited
for the division of his army under General James Clinton.
Clinton marched by the way of Canajoharie, Lake Otsego, and
the Susquehanna to Tioga I^int, which he reached on the 22d
of August. Brant in returning to Canada, was too shrewd to
follow the road blocked by these forces. A few days after the
battle on the banks of the Delaware, and while CUnton was
delayed at Lake Otsego, he fell upon a village in the Mohawk
valley.t Therefore, he must have avoided the Susquehanna, and
continued on up the Delaware, probably following the West or
Mohawk branch, and around Clinton's rear.
An account of the terrible chastisement administered by
SuUivan on the confederated tribes belongs to general rather
than local history. He swept over the fertile plains of the
Iroquois like devastating fire, destroying everything, and leaving
hundreds of feeble non-combatants to perish from destituti<Hi
and exposure. Say what we may, the sum of human woe
wrought by him in a few days, more than equals that of Brant's
entire hfe. Suffering should be jiidged by its magnitude and
intensity, not by the mode of its infliction.
After 1779, no formidable attempt was made to invade Mama-
kating; but the country was occasionally visited by small
predatory bands, which cut off isolated families, and those who
incautiously visited exposed points.
In April, 1780, Brant started from Niagara for the Schoharie
frontier. At Tioga Point, he detailed eleven of his warriors to
go to Minisink for prisoners and scalps. AVith the remainder
314 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
of his force, be went as far as Harpersfield, where he took
Colonel Hai-per, Freegift Patchm and several other prisoners.
Harper made him beheve that the fort at Schoharie was
occupied by several hundred men. This caused Brant to turn
back. He followed down the Delaware as far as the Cook
House, then crossed the coiintry to Oquaga, and when he
reached the Chemung, the whole party was startled by the
death-yell, which rang through the woods hke the scream of a
demon. They paused, waiting for an explanation of this
unexpected signal, when two of the eleven Indians who had
been sent to Muiisink emerged from the woods, beai-ing the
moccasins of their nine companions. They informed their
chief that they had been to Minisink, where they had captured,
one after another, five lusty men, and had brought them as far
as Tioga Pouit, where they encamped for the night. Here,
while the eleven Indians were asleep, the prisoners had by
unknown means got rid of the cords which bound them, when
each took a hatchet, and with incredible celerity brained nine of
their captors. The other two savages, aroused by the sound
of the blows, sprang to then- feet and fled ; but as they ran one
of them received the blade of a hatchet between his shoulders.
They saw no more of the white m»n ; but after a time, returned
to their camping-ground, took the moccasins from the feet of
their slaughtered friends, went a short distance up the Chemung,
buUt a hut near the trail by which Brant would travel when he
leturned, and endeavored to ciire the woiuid made by the hatchet.
AVhen Brant's men heard this story, they were so enraged
that it seemed probable that they would murder their prisoners ;
but the only one of the eleven who escaped unhurt, threw him-
self in theii- midst and declared that "these are not the men
who killed our friends, and to take the hfe of the innocent, in
cold blood, cannot be right." His words had the desu-ed effect,
and soothed the storm which a moment before had threatened
destruction.*
For forty-three years, the bones of those who had been slain
on the banks of Delaware were permitted to molder on the
battle-gi-ound. But one attempt had been made to gather them,
and that was by the widows of the slaughtered men, of whom
there were thirty-three in the Presbyterian congregation ol
Goshen. They set out for the place of battle on horseback;
but tiuding tlie journey too hazardous, they hired a man to per-
form the pious duty, who proved unfaithful, and never returned.
* This is the story as it was told by the Indians in the presence of Mr. Patchin,
who repeats it in the narrative of his captirity. William L. Stone, in his History ol
Wyomiiii;, says that the celebrated scout and Indian-tighter, Major Moses Van Campeii,
was one of the men who killed the nine savages, and that the prisoners were resident*
of Wyoming. Stone received his information from Van Campen himself, when the
latter was very old.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 315
In 1822, the citizens of Goshen were led to perform a long-
neglectecl duty by an address of Doctor D. R. ArneU, at the
annual meeting of the Orange County Medical Society, in which
he • gave a brief biography of Doctor Tusten. A committee
was appointed to collect the remains and ascertain the names of
the fallen. The committee proceeded to the battle-ground, a
distance of forty-six mdes fi'om Goshen, and viewed some of the
frightful elevations and descents over which the militia had
passed when pursuing the red marauders. The place whero
the conflict occurred, and the region for several miles around,
were carefully exaniined, and the relics of the honored dead
gathered with pious care. The skeleton of one man was dis-
covered where he had crept into a crevice of the rocks, and died.
Some feared that a part of the bones* were those of the enemy ;
but this fear was dismissed when it was suggested that the
Indians consider it a duty to' inter the bodies of their fi-iends
who are killed in battle.
The remains were taken to Goshen, where they were buried
in the presence of fifteen thousand persons, including the mil-
itary of the county, and a corps of cadets fi-om West Point under
the command of Major Worth. The venerable John Hathornf
was also present, and laid the corner-stone of the monument
erected to the memory of the dead patriots, when he delivered
the following addi'ess :
"At the end of three and forty years, we have assembled to
perform the sad rites of sepulture to the bones of our country-
men and kindred. But these are not sufficient; poHcy has
united with the gratitude of nations in erecting some memorial
of the vii'tues of those who died in defending then- country.
Monuments to the brave are mementoes to their descendants ;
the honors they record are stars to the patriot in the path of
glory. Beneath the mausoleum whose foundation we now lay,
repose all that was earthty of patriots and heroes. This honor
has long been their due ; but circumstances, which it is unnec-
essary for me to recount, have prevented an earlier display of
the gratitude of their country. Having commanded on that
melancholy occasion, which bereft the nation of so many of its
brightest ornaments — having been the companion of their suf-
ferings in a pathless desert, and the witness of their valor against
* Eager says that three hundred bones were found— a rather limited number for
forty-iive persons ! Joseph Carpenter was the guide of the committee, and assisted in
searching for the bones. Most of them were found near a small marsli or pond a few
rods west of the battle-ground. This fact shows that some ol the Americans, rendered
reckless by thirst, went for water, and were killed.
t John Hathorn represented Orange county in the Assembly from 1777 to 1785,
and was twice Speaker of that body. From 1787 to 1804 he was "a Senator from the
Middle district. He was also the commander of a brigade of militia, and a Member
of Congress in 1788, 1789, 1790 and 1791.
316 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
a savage foe of superior numbers, I approacli the duty
me with mingled feelings of sadness and pleasure.
"May this monument endure with the liberties of our country.
When they perish, this land will be no longer worthy to hold
within its bosom the consecrated bones of its heroes."
An oration was then delivered by Eev. James E. Wilson, D.
D., which we will not quote, because a major part of his state-
ments have already been given in this nan-ative.
The names of those who were slain in the battle are inscribed
»on the monument as follows:
NCKTH SIDE.
Benjamin Tusten, Col. Gabriel Wisner, Esq.
Bezaleel Tyler, Capt. Stephen Mead,
Ephraim Masten, Ens. ' Benjamin Vail, Capt.
Nathaniel Fitch, Adj. John Wood, Lieut.
John Duncan, Capt. Matthias TerwiUiger,
Samuel Jones, Capt. Joshua Loekwood,
John Little, Capt. Ephraim Ferguson.
Ephraim Middaugh, Ens.
WEST SIDE.
Eobert Townsend, Joseph Norris,
Samuel Knapp, Gilbert S. Vail,
James Knapp, Joel Decker,
Benjamin Bennett, Abram Shepherd,
William Barker, Nathan Wade,
Jacob Dunning, Simon Wait,
Jonathan Pierce, Talmage.
James Little,
SOUTH SIDE.
John Carpenter, Gamaliel Bailey,
David Birney, Moses Thomas,
Jonathan Haskell, Eleazer Owens,
Abram Williams, Adam Embler.
James Mosher, Samuel Little,
Isaac Ward, Benjamin Dunning
Baltus Niepos, Daniel Eeed.
Erected by the inhabitants of Orange county,
July 22, 1822.
Sacred to the momory of forty-four of their
Fellow-citizens, who fell at
The Batik of Minisink, Jnhj 22, 1779.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 317
This monument gi-adually fell into decay, and no measul-es
■were taken to preserve it. In 1860, Menit H. Cook, M. D., a
distinguished citizen of Orange county, beqiieathed four thou-
sand dollars for the erection of a new one, which was dedicated
on the 83d anniversary of the battle, on which occasion John
C. Dimmick, a native of Bloomingburgh, officiated as the orator
of the day. Mrs. Abigail Mitchell, a daughter of Captain
Bezaleel Tyler, was present, and witnessed the ceremonies.
She was five years of age at the time of the battle ; and had
Uved during the greater portion of her life at Cochecton.
The battle-ground is now (1870) owned by Harmon B.
Twitchell, who lives in its vicinity. An attempt has been made
to open a stone quarry on the Point ; but it proved unsuccessful.
On the plateau near the Point, another attempt has been made
with better success, by Horace Twitchell and Robert F. Owen.
Bullets, fragments of bones, etc., are yet found where the
contest occurred. Breastworks are stiU quite plain, and stones
stand on their edges. Brant's name is carved on a tree near
the Point, and on a rock at some distance.*
Benjamin Haines, the pioneer at Handsome Eddy, was one
of those brutal men who rush beyond the bounds of civilization,
because they can find nothing congenial in weU-orgauized and
well-regulated communities. This allegation is rendered a
verity by the following narrative :
In 1784, three Indians named Nicholas, Canope and Ben
Shanks or Huycon, came to their old camping-grounds on the
Delaware to fish and hunt. But little is known of Nicholas.
Canope was a native of Cochecton, where he had grown from
childhood to manhood, and was much esteemed. When the
Colonies revolted, he went to Canada and took up the hatchet
for Kin" George. Ben Shanks was a crafty, subtile savage.
His christian-name was Benjamin. Before the war he had
worked for the farmers of Shawangunk, and quite often for a
man named Schenck. From that circumstance he was known
as Schenck's Ben, and ultimately, on account of the great length
of his legs, as Ben Shanks.t He was engaged in almost every
expedition from Niagara against the frontiers of Ulster, and was
so useful to the British that at one time he was in command of
one hundred warriors. It is said that he was the tallest Indian
ever seen on the banks of the Delaware, and the natural hid-
eousness of his aspect was intensified by an accident. While
on the war-path with a large party, a quantity of powder got
wet. Shanks attempted to dry it by a fire, when it exploded,
and burnt him and several others so badly that they were dis-
abled for some time. He was much disfigured in consequence.
318 HISTORY OF SULLITAK COCXTY.
When Shanks and his companions returned to the Delaware
in 1784, they were first seen at Cochecton, where they stop-
ped a day or twa to renew the friendly relations which had
existed before the war. Among others, they \isited Joseph
Koss, David Yoiaug and Josiah Parks. While they were at the
house of Ross, they amused themselves by shooting across the
river at a large chestnut tree, wliich is still standing. They were
advised by several persons to go no farther, and told that their
lives would be ia danger if they went below, as there were some
d*eperate characters there — Tom Quick among the number —
who woi;ld not hesitate to miirder them. Huycon, Canope and
Nicholas did not heed this ad-vice. They had passed back and
forth through this region in safety during the war, and beheved
that it would be cowardly to tiuTi back from fear when peace
was estabUshed. They went as far as the Shohola, where they
commenced trapping for beaver, and where Hauies, while rowing
through the woods, discovered them. He professed to be very
glad to see them, and accosted them in the most friendly man-
ner, calling them brothers, and assuring them that he was over-
joyed to meet them once more. .The Indians having just killed
a "deer, the whole party partook of a hearty meal of venison.
After this, the savages' invited Haines to visit them again, and
he urged them to come to his cabin at the Eddy. He then went
home, and as soon as possible concerted with Tom Quick and a
man named Jacobus Chambers to entice the red men to his
house, and there murder them in cold blood, and rob them of
their furs and other property.
Theh plan was to induce Shanks and the others to visit the
house of Haines, under a promise of protection, and get fliem
to engage in fishing at the Eddy, while Quick and Chambers
were in amlnish on the shore, from which they would shoot
Hames' guests. Accordingly Hauies prevailed on Shanks and
Canope to come out, by j^romising to protect them, and take
their furs to Minisink, and exchange them for such articles as
they needed. Nicholas, it seems, did not come with the others
for some reason not. now remembered. Not long after. Quick
and Chambers reached the Edd}', and according to agreement
concealed themselves in a clump of bushes close by the fishing-
rocks, where Hames had promised to entice his proteges. They
did not wait long before Canope, Huycon and Haines, and a
little son of the latter, came to the rocks and began to fish.
Before Tom and his companion fired, it occurred to Haines
that the boy might be injured in the afi"ray, and he ordered him
home. Something in the manner of the white man caused the
Indians to .susj>ect his fidelity, but he quickly quieted their
suspicions, and the three contmued their sport. Canope having
broken his hook, and none of the party having one to give him,
THB TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 319
he laid clown on tlie rocks near Shanks, with his head resting
upon his hand. This was considered a favorable opportunity,
and Quick and Chambers fired. One of their balls passed
through Canope's hand and the lower part of his head ; but did
not kill him. He ran to Haines, and claimed the protection
which had been promised ; when the wretch seized a pine-lmot,
and exclaiming, "Tinlv! tink! how you ust to kill white folks.
'Pant ! 'jsant ! I'll sand yer soul to hall 'n a momant ! " dispatched
him by heating out his brains.
Even Tom, who for many years had been familiar with scenes
of blood, was shocked at Haines' perfidy. He came up as the
latter was dealing out his blows, and shouted, " D — n a man
who will promise an Indian protection, and then knock him on
the head!"
Shanks, who was unharmed, jumped into the river, and
pretended to be wounded and drowning, until the current had
carried him to a point where the bank was covered with bushes.
Here he scrambled on shore, and ran oS, limping, hallooing and
groaning, as if in great agony. The ruse did not deceive Quick,
however, who, finding that Shanks was traveling pretty fast for
a man who pretended to be fatally wounded, started in pursuit,
loading his rifle as he ran, and was soon near enough to fire.
At the moment he snapped his gun, Shanks glanced back over
his shoulder, and fell to the ground. He afterwards said that
he dodged at the flash of the gun. Be this as it may, Tom did
not hit him. A ball-hole ■nas afterwards found through his
blanket, but when it was made could not be determined.
After the last discharge of the gun, Huycon took to his heels
in earnest; and Quick found that his shinies were neither active
nor long enough to compete with those of the savage. He
returned to the rocks, saving, " If ever legs did sarvice, it was
them."
Shanks was next seen at Cocliecton, where he stopped to
rest and get something to eat. He was very much enraged,
and " damned the Yankees for killing Canope," and swore that
they should suti'er for what they had done. After his wants
were supphed, he proceeded on his journey up the river until
he reached the house of Joseph Eoss, ^^•ho 'invited him to stay
with him ; but he refused to come near Koss at first, the bad
faith of Haines having caused him to distnist every pale-face.
He finally consented, however, to remain there a short time,
and was kindly treated by Mr. Ross and his neighbors.
While here, the conduct of Shanks aflbrded much amusement.
Eoss and his workmen were hoeing corn, and every time they
went to their work. Shanks accompanied them. As soon as he
entered the field, he proceeded to the highest ground in it, and
after glancing rapidly and suspiciously o\er the surrounding
6W HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
country, lie seated liimseK o 7a Tia-c, among the rustling corn,,
where he remained out of sight for fifteen or twenty minutes.
He would then jump upon his feet, get upon the tips of his.
toes, raise liis head as high as possible, look around as if
expecting to see an enemy, and then squat upon his haunchea
again. As long as he' remained in the field, he acted in this
way. Koss's boys could compare him to nothing but a vigilant
and alarmed turkey-cock. ^\iter remaining a few daj's, he left-
Koss, still threatening vengeance upon the Yankees who had
murdered Canope. He was ferried across the Delaware by
Josiah Parks, whose name has been already mentioned.
The death of Canope was regretted by the frontier settlers
for many reasons. It was brought about by unmitigated treach-
erj, and was a wanton and brutal homicide, which might bring
upon innocent parties the most deplorable consequences.
Chambers was aiTested and put in jail. Quick and Hainea
skulked about from place to place, and kept themselves beyond
the reach of constables and sheriffs. Shanks never returned to
the country. Suflicient evidence to convict Chambers could not
be found, and he was discharged fi-om custody. In time, the
three murderers came out openly and boasted of their foul deed.
They were never disturbed for it, and Haines continued to live
on the Delaware many years, while Quick, after a long hfe
replete with murder and outrage upon the red man, died fi-om
old age near Port Jervis.*
Settlements had not long existed in the town, before provision
was made for educating the children of the inhabitants. Before
public schools v\'ere organized, John Carpenter, who has been
mentioned as one of the pioneers in the Beaver Brook region,
hii-ed a man named Nathaniel Wheeler to teach a school.
G. Ferguson oj^ened the first tavern in 1830, and Phineas
Terry the fii'st store in 1828. Terry was a surveyor. He
remained a resident of the town imtil July 13, ISM, when he
left home to gather ben-ies, and was found dead a few hours
afterwards. The cause of his death was unknown, although it
was believed that he was killed by lightning.
Barry^^lle owes its existence to the Delaware and Hudson
canal, and was named in honor of a former postmaster-general
of the United States. It has a population of about 260. The
estabUshment of a depot of the New York and Ei-ie railroad at
Shohola, rendered easy access to it from Barryville very desir-
able. This led to the building of a suspension-bridge acrosa
the Delaware at this point, by the Barryville and Shohola
Bridge Company, which was organized in the fall of 1854..
Chauncey Thomas, an enterprising merchant of the vicinity,.
• Tom Quick and the Pioneers.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 321
owned about one-half of the stock. The bridge was completed
in 1856, and cost about §9,000. On the 2d of July, 1859, it was
blown down. A few moments before the cateistrophe, a couplt*
of equestrians (Daoiel Holbrook, A. M., of Monticello, and Miss
Kate McElroy, of Philadelphia,) galloped across from Shohola,^
and took refuge in a building on the opposite side of the river.
This building was crashed by one of the cables immediately
afterwards, and the occupants buried beneath the ruins. They
escaped, however, witliout serious injury. In a few months the-
bridge was reconstructed at a cost of $4,000. About the first
of January, 1865, the bridge broke down, while three heavily
loaded teams were crossing. There were on it at the time six
persons — Henry Lilly, Oliver Dunlap, WiUiam Myers, M. W.
Quick, Wilham Loftus and Charles Deabron. All were precip-
itated into the river — three mules were di'owned^ — the men
escaped. In the September following, the bridge was sold
under an execution by Sheriff Holley, and purchased by Mr.
Thomas for $1,979. Mr. Thomas rebuUt it, adding another
pier, etc., and by expending an additional $4,000, made the
structure permanent.
It is believed that a murder was perpetrated in Banyville
during the month of October, 1861. The body of a man named
John Malone was found in a canal-lock, where it had been
thrown after the head of the unfortunate man had been crushed,,
and a wound inflicted by a sharp instrument over one of hi.s
eyes, and another under his chin. An inquest was held, and a.
verdict rendered that these injuries were the cause of Malone's
death, and that they were inflicted by some person or persons
unknown. No clue to the murderer has been discovered.
The Congregational Church now having the corporate name
of the First Congregational Church of Lumberland, was first
constituted " August 5"= ll'^ 1799," then bearing the name of
the church at Narrow Falls, a location about a mile above the
mouth of the Lackawaxen, on the Delaware river. It was
gathered and organized imder the labors of the Rev. Isaac
Sergeant.* The following persons were the members at the
time it was constituted, viz: John Barns, Ichabod Carmi-
chael, Asa Crane, Thomas Barns, Henry Barns, Jeremiah
Barns, Nathan Barns, Elizabeth Barns, Mary Mason, Pliebe
Carmichael, Abigail Crane, Rebecca Barns, Elizabeth Barns,,
Elizabeth Gray. At the time of this organization, aU this,
region was a forest, with saw-mills on various streams; yet
few and far between. The population was very sparse, and
wholly engaged in lumbering, many not even having a clearing
for a potato-patch ; yet a Church was formed of the Congre-
* Mr. Sfrgeant commenced oeoupving this field in 1797.
21
cri^ HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
gational order, that being, in the opinion of those constituting
the same, the best form of government for them, and that
which would best guarantee the hberties of the brotherhood.
However, to hold together as a Church, and to keep up and
maintain regular religious services on the Sabbath, was attended
Avith great inconvenience and long travel, done at that time
mostly on foot, or on horseback, both by male and female ; but
if otherwise favored, it was in the roixghest style of buckboard ■
for a carriage. They had no meeting-house, or even convenient
edifice of any kind, for their gathering, and therefore met at
private log-houses, and changed the places of meeting as best
suited the convenience of the whole. They had no settled
central place for gathering for many years, nor was there any
one particular neighborhood, that for number of inhabitants and
general convenience, was more prominent than others. It was
what might perhaps be called a sqiiatting community, occupying
such localities as gave the easiest and best facilities for getting
their lumber to the river, and thence to market. Nor does it
appear that they had for several years any settled pastor ; Eev.
Isaac Sergeant serving them only on special occasions and times
of communion, though he labored among them for a time at a
later period. Hence, in the intervals between such visits, they
kept up their meetings for public worship, and social prayer,
and monthly Church-meetings, as best they could — meeting
■sometimes at Narrow Falls, sometimes at Grassy Swamp, or
Beaver Brook, or Halfway Brook, and their appointed Wednes-
day evening prayer-meeting has been kept up from that day to
this.
In 1803, we find in the minutes a proposition from the Church
at Narrow Falls, to hold a union-meeting with the Church at
Cochecton, the place for gathering to be Grassy Swamp. On
this occasion there was present Rev. Isaac Sergeant from
Eidgebuvy : Eev. Mr. Jones from Chester, and Eev. Mr. Crane
from Bloominggrove, at which meeting five persons were added
to the Church. It is said of this gathering that "by far the
greatest number of precious souls were convened that ever was
known in those parts upon any occasion whatever — supposed
to be at least 400, a great number for these scattered settlements
and the roughness of the roads." From what is recorded, they
must at this time have gathered fi'om Cochecton, north, to
Draketown on the Mongaup, south.
From tliis period through several years they had their trials,
being as sheep without a shepherd, yet holding together a.<» a
Church, and meeting for worship as they could.
In the month of September, 1814, there is i-ecord of their
holding a meeting in the barn of Samuel Watkins, on Halfway
brook ; and there were occasions in years following, of meetings
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 323
being held in saw-mills, and ministers from a distance invited to
attend.
At some period between this and 1818, but not on record,
their more central place for meeting was at a location now
called the Denton farm, between Barry^^ll9 and Beaver brook
mills, then owned and occupied by the family of Hickoks. Here,
under the labors of the Kev. Stephen Sergeant, son of the
aforementioned Eev. Isaac Sergeant, they were blessed with a
remarkable work of grace. The fruit of this revival was the
admission to tlie Church of the following persons: Eeuben
Hickok, Aaron Williams, Samuel Sealy, Henry Montgomery,
Justus Hickok, James Van Keuren, Daniel Wells, James Eldred,
Josepl* Carpenter, Dorcas Carpenter, Mary Wells, Catharine
Van Keuren, Elizaibeth Carmichael, Deborah Wells, Margaret
Montgomery, Tabitha Wright, PoUy V. Eldred, Betsy Hickok.
Some of these brethren becoming active and efficient laborers
in the caiise, and having their residence at Halfway Brook, led
to the making of this vicinity the more general centre for their
gathering for worship; but stiU in private houses, mostly at
James Eldred's.
This addition gave them considerable strength, and under the
labors of Kev. Stephen Sergeant, they were blessed with subse-
quent additions at diiferent times. And now appears on their
minutes their first call to settle a pastor over them, having been
organized and holding an existence as a Church 19 years without
any settled pastor ; for here we read : " Nov. 13th, 1818, the
Church agreed to call and settle the Eev. Stephen Sergeant as
their pastor," and he remained as such, till about the year
1826, diu'ing which time many made an open profession of
Christ, and were hopefuUy brought into the kingdom.
At this period, however, Mr. Sergeant relinquished his charge,
and for a time thej' were again withoiit a pastor.
And now being destitute they sought another laborer to come
among them, and this was the introduction to the present
incumbent, (Eev. Fehx Kyte,) who was by letter invited to pay
them a visit, which he did in the month of August, 1832.
This visit was followed by a unanimous call from the Church
to become their pastor, and in October of the same year he
arrived with his family, and settled among them, having been
previously ordained to that end.
At this time religious services on the Sabbath were held in
the school-house at Halfway Brook ; this settlement having by
this time become a little more prominent than others ; and foi
this reason was given to it the name of The Village, which it
has retained ever since.
On first settling, the labors of the present incumbenv were
divided between The Village and Ten Mile Eiver, preaching
324 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
alternately on the Sabbath, traveling 20 miles on foot, and
preaching three times. This arrangement continued for ona
year, after which the inhabitants insisted that a portion of hi&
labors should be at the Kiver, now known as BarryviUe. Soon
after this a friend took compassion on him as to his pedestrian
travels, and provided him with a horse, saying he would take it
out in preaching. It was indeed an aged animal, but did him
good service for a time. Having as yet no edifice for puhhc
worship, save that of a small school-house, the barn of Deacon
Sears R. Gardner (of respectftd memory) was temporarily fitte(}
up by a stand for a pulpit, and boards for seats, in which to
hold a four-days' meeting, and the Rev. Mr. Howell, of "Wantage,
and the wortliy pastor of the Minisink Church, Kev. 6ornehus
Elting, were invited to attend it, and assist the present incum-
bent, which they did, and which resulted in several hopeful
conversions and additions to the Church.
His labors pro\ing acceptable to the people who called him^
measures were taken to erect a church-edifice at Halfway Brook,,
and another at what is now called BarryviUe.
Hence, on November 12, 1835, thirty-six years after its organ-
ization, the Narrow Falls' Church, as it had been called,
dedicated its first church-edifice, and took the corporate name
of the First Congi-egational Church of Lumberland. And on
September 17, 1835, (this being finished first,) the edifice at
BarryviUe was dedicated, and the Church on its organization
took the name of the First Congregational Church at ISarryville.
From the year 1832, through all the years intervening up to the
present time, (1873) the present incumbent has filled the place
of pastor to this people, duriug which time many have been
gathered into the fold ; but owing to the transition-state of this
part of the country fi-om lumbering to that of small beginnings
in farming, many have removed to follow that business else-
where.
In the 74 years of its existence, the Church has had but 2
pastors, and in the intervals, but very few supphes. Its first
19 years without ; then for 8 years it had a shepherd ; then for
6 years without; adding then the present pastorate to the
former, it gives for the Church in the 74 years, 25 without and
49 with.
■ There have been in this Church brethren whose biography,
if written in full, would no doubt be interesting to Christian
minds ; and we mean no disparagement to others when we say
that, among others, Deacon James Eldred,* Deacon Alexander
Carmichael, Deacon Daniel Wells, and Deacon Seai's R. Gardner,
* Janus Eldred held the ofKi:e of deacon for thirty-seven years ; was a Judge of
Commcin Picas, for several ; a Member of Assemblyin i835, ete. He settled in the old
town of Lumberland in 18(12.
THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND. 325
(all deceased,) were men who held the cause of God deeply at
heart. They entered heart and hand into every measure that
gave promise of promoting the blessed cause of Christ.*
Eev. Felix Kyte, the pastor of these Churches from 1832 to
the present time (1873), was born in the county of Kent, Eng-
land, in January, 1800. There he spent his childhood and
youthful years, and subsequently emigrated to the United
States. Although the name of Kyte was somewhat prominent
in the old town of Mamakating during the war of the Revolution,
he is not connected by consanguinity with any family of his
name in this country, unless distant relatives have immigrated
within the last fifty years. His life has been marked by patient
toil and self-denial, and a rigid adherence to what he deemed
his duty. A temperate and abstemious life has ensured him
a green and vigorous old age.
Mr. Kyte raised nine childi-en, one of whom became, Hke his
father, a minister.
There are two other churches in Highland. One of them is a
Methodist Episcopal church located at Half-way Brook, which
was built in 1859, and dedicated on the 3d of July of that year.
The other is a Baptist church, located in Bairyville. It was
built in 1860, and is known as the Barryville and Sliohola
Baptist church.
BUPERVISORS OF THE TOWN OF HIGHLAND.
From
To
1854
John W. Johnston
1850
1856
Isaac Young
18.58
1858
Stephen St. John Gardner
1859
1859
John Barnes ■
•••.... 1862
1862
Friend W. Johnston
1870
1870
1872
1872
Peter McCallum
1873
1873
Leon Devonoge
1874
f statement of Eev. Felix Kj-te.
CHAPTEE XL
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY.
The existence of Liberty dates from Tuesday, the 31st day of
March, 1807. The act erecting it as a town, passed the Assembly
on the 10th of that month, and the Senate on the 12th, and it
was origiually bounded thus: All that part of Lumberland
situate, etc., begiuning at the Mongaup river where the north hne
of Great Lot 1 of the Hardenbergh patent intersects said river ;
thence westerly along said luie to the Delaware river; thence
up said river to the hue of Delaware ; thence north-easterly
along said line to the town of Neversink; thence south-easterly
along said line to the Mongaup ; thence down said river to the-
place of beginning. The territory within these bounds included
the present towns of Fremont, Callicoon, and Liberty, except
so much thereof as was not origiuaUy in the town of Rochester..
In 1816, the line was made to run along the north bounds of
Great Lot 3, and at a subsequent date an addition was made
from Thompson, and the territory on which Parksville is sit-
uated, was transferred from Rockland.
The surface of this town is uneven, and generally it abounds.
"n"ith hnis. These hiUs are mostly long, and, when compared
with those of other towiis, of considerable altitude. The prin-
cipal range was originally known as the Blue moimtains, and
fi'om them the first settlement of Liberty received its name.
They extended from north-east to south-west nearly through
the town. Walnut mountain, one of the peaks of this range, has
an elevation of 1,984 feet* above the ocean level. Like the
majority of our hills and mountains, it is fertile fi-om its base tO'
its summit. Its sides and top, where the woods have been
subdued, are fruitful in grass and grain. One of its singular
features is, that near its highest part is a never-fading spring of
pure cold water; and another is, the walnut aboimds on it,
while that tree does not thrive on the adjacent lands.
The town is said to have an average elevation of about 1,500
feet. Localities thus situated are generally cold, and not well
* Professor Antisell. Some writers give its height as 2,130 feet.
[326]
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 327
adapted to agricultural pui-suits. Nevertheless, for productive-
ness, wealth and industry. Liberty ranks high in the hst ol:
towns, and it is generally conceded to be one of the best
locahties for the grazier and the dairyman in Sullivan county.
Much attention has been paid to the raising of horn-cattle, and
a large part of the wealth of the town has come from this
source.
Liberty is intersected by several streams; but has none that
reach the magnitude of a river. The Mongaup is a beautiful
stream, and furnishes considerable hydraulic power. It was
originally known as the Min-gap-och-ka, Mongawping or Ming-
wing. The first and last names, although more euphonic than
the other, are no longer used, nor is the last syllable of Mongaw-
ping. All are Indian words. It is said the word Mongaup,
when rendered into English, is "dancing feather" — a very pretty
conceit, and very expressive of the character of the stream.
The poetical quality of the translation, and the fact that
Mongaup is but two-thirds of the original word, prove that the
translator has used a poet's license.
The Mongaup has three distinct branches. As the word
"ing" or "ink" in the Lenape language means stream, the word
or phrase "M'uag-w'ing " is the Indian mode of expression for
a plurality of streams.*
The Little BeaverkiU is another stream of some importance.
It is not as large as the Mongaup, but is more rapid. The
name of BeaverkiU was applied to it by the early settlers, as it
was to many other streams in various sections, because it was a
haunt of the beaver; and the word "Little" was prefixed to
distinguish it fi'om the "Great BeaverkiU," in Eockland.
There are but two ponds worthy of notice in Liberty. These
are the Brodliead and the Lily ponds. The former is situated
on an elevated plain, about two miles from the village of Liberty,
and is somewhat iamous as a resort for anglers of this and
neighboring towns. It covers an area of about 300 acres, and
is within the " 3,000 acre tract," formerly owned by the Brod-
head family of Ulster county, from whom it received its name.
Its water furnishes some hydraulic power, and it was on its
outlet that the first mill of the town was erected.
Lily pond has a situation very like that of Brodhead pond.
Its elevation above the ocean is computed at 1,600 feet. It
covers about 1.50 acres of land, and is surrounded by piimeval
forests. Over its margin, in summer, are spread the green
leaves and white, fragrant blossoms of the lotus (a species of
lily made famous by Egyptian mythology,) from which it derives
* "Oss'ing-s'-ing" now corrupted into Sing Sing, and " Aaa'-ing-n'ing " — (the last
the true Indian name of the Shawangunk river,) are examples. Both uudonbtedly
have the same signification. Mougawpilig may have been the name of the stream below
the forks ; while Mingwing was the descriptive appellation of the branches.
328 BISTORT OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
its pretty and significant name. This pond is situated on the
highway from Parksville to DeBrace, ahout two miles from the
former,' and is one of the most beautiful and picturesque sheets
of water in the county. It has but a small outlet, which empties
into the Little Beaverkill.*
Roads intersect this town in almost every direction. Like
the highways of every region which has not been occupied by
civilized men more than one hundred years, they are literally
"hard to travel." The buildings are principally of wood, and
generally are large and commodious, though built with little
regard to beauty of architecture. The general aspect of the
town shows that the population is noted for industry, sobriety
and thrift. 1'he town hes wholly within the Umits of the Great
or Hardenbergh patent, and contains 48,951 acres.
POPULATION— VALUATION — TAXATION.
Year.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed
Yalue.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1810
419
851
1,277
1,569
2,612
3,016
3,392
$313 679
SI ru Sfi
.§291 90
1820
178a84! 527.94
176,449: 559.22
3G2.08
18.30
1 101. .39
1840
216 756i 853.51 734 70
1850
149,489! 706.84 1.462.66
1860
390,336i 699.68' 2,797.74
282,166 8 619 79; 7 .TO3 91
1870
In 1855, with about 540 married men. Liberty had 472 owners
of land — a very creditable fact.
This town was principally settled by families from Connecticut
and other Eastern States, and a large majorjty of those who
now reside in it are of that descent.
Nearly a century had elapsed since Queen Ann had gi-anted
tlie Hardenbergh patent to "promote the settlement of the
country." The immense estate had not been divided between
the original proprietors or their heirs and legal representatives,
until the company, from its numbers, had become too unwieldy
for practical purposes. A partition then took place; and it
was subsequently subdivided by heirs and assigns, who were
scattered far and -Rdde over tlie earth's surface. Hence the
people of small means who would have purchased farm-lots in
that part of the patent situated in SalUvan, knew not whom to
apply to, except in a very few instances. One of these excep-
tions was a Captain Charles Brodhead, who lived in Ulster
' B. G. Chads' MSS.
THE TOWN OF LIUEUTY.
t^onntv, on tlif. road wliicli led to the Great Lot in Neversink
and Rockland inherited by Livingston. He (Brodhead) owned
the "8,000 acre tract" in Liberty, which had descended to him
from the Brodhead who purchased of Hardenbergh, the pat-
entee Charles Brodhead's residence and ownership led to the
settlement of Liberty.
The first step toward opening the Blue mountain country,
as it was called, to the pioneer, was the making of a road to it
from Neversink. This was done under the patronage of or by
the State, as was frequently the case at that tiine in regions
similarly situated. Brodhead had tlie contract for building the
road — perhaps for cutting it open, (for little more was accom-
plished,) would be better words to record what was done;
and from the fact that he made it, it was known afterwards as
the Brodhead-road. Ten to twelve miles travel on it in a day,
with a load, required the work of a strong team from morning
till night, with the assistance of a man or two to remove the
obstructions, and to help extricate the vehicle from slough-holes.
Brodhead lived in Marbletown, where many of the new settlers
of Fallsburgh, Liberty and Neversink were obliged to pass a
night while coming to the woods of Sullivan. He was exceed-
ingly anxious to get settlers on his wild lands, and took great
pains to induce immigrants to buy or lease of him. It was at
Marbletown, or while opening the road to his 3,000 acre tract,
that he became acquainted with Eleazer Larrabee, fi-om Stoning-
ton, Connecticut, a man of an adventur®us, roving disposition,
who had been a tory in the Revolutionary war. It is probable
he was obnoxious to his old neighbors in Connecticut on account
of his politics, and that he imagined that he could live more
comfortably in a locality where his antecedents were not well
known. He came to Neversink in 1790, among its earliest
settlers, and located on Thunder hill. There is no doubt that,
previous to this, and as early as 178(5 or 1788, he came to Falls-
burgh, and occupied a lot for two or three years near the
present site of Hasbrouck.
While Brodhead was making the road already mentioned in
1794, he offered to give Larrabee a deed for a lot of one hundred
acres on the Blue mountain, and a lease of three other lots for
twenty years fi-ee from rent, on the sole and only condition that
he settled on and improved the land. Larrabee accepted this
offer, sold his property on Thunder hill to a mulatto named
Phineas Booth, during the year, and removed to the 3,000 acre
tract. He thus became the first white inhabitant of the town.
His house and land were on the south slope of the Blue moun-
tain, about a mile west of the village of Liberty.
The inducements which caused Larrabee to become the foun-
der of the settlement, were no doubt considered gi-eat at the
330 msi"ORY or sullitan county.
time. The free use and occiipation of three huuclred acres for
twenty years, and the fee simple of an adtlitional hundred, gave
him a tract of four hundred acres, and made him temjjorarily a.
large landholder. He built a log-house, and with the assistance
of a hired man, Ambrose Woodward, commenced clearing his
land. In 1795, he sold one of his lots to a settler named John
Vail, for $700. This sale should have made him a "man of
means" in those days, when there were so few in Sullivan west
of the Shawangunk mountain worth half the money; but he
soon grew weary of the Blue mountain. He was a sanguine
man, as all rovers are, and men of that temperament become
easily disheartened under difficulties. There was at that time
no merchant, no grist-mill, no physician, no school, no clergy-
man, and no blacksmith within many miles of him, and to reach
them he had to travel on an almost impassable road through a
wilderness aboiuiding in ^Janthers, wolves, bears, and other wihl
animals. Wild beasts at that time were not only troublesome
to the pioneer, whose crops were injured and his cattle destroyed
by them, but they were considered dangerous to the pioneer
himself. Larrabee made war on them, and being a good marks-
man, shot many of them. We will not give the number of deer,
bears, wolves and panthers, which we are assured this man
killed, for fear that we will be charged with exaggeration.
Upon lands adjoining those given him by Brodhead, Larrabee
erected, while he resided on the Blue momitain, the first saw-
mill and grist-mill in the town. They were built for Brodliead.
The saw-mill was on the outlet of the pond which still bears
the name of Brodhead. It was made altogether of logs and
hewn timber, except the j^arts necessarily of iron. The race
was of troughg manufactured from huge hemlock trees with
much labor and ingenuity. After the comjjletion of the saw-
mill, lumber was cut by it for the grist-mill.
Larrabee also sold another of his leased lots. It was bought
by a Quaker named Earl, who moved in the second year of the
settlement, and who also paid $700 for the lease, as chd Vail.
The price paid was enormous, and much more than the fee
simple was worth. Some of the best of the same land has been
sold with in the last twenty years for two dollars per acre. Earl
at once commenced improving his lot.
The other land, Larrabee continued to own as long as he
remained there, and it is known to this day as the Larrabee lot.
In four or five years, he sold it to Daniel S. Stewart, and re-
moved to Saratoga county, Avhere his stay was Umited. He then
went to Rome, and finally to Chautauqua corinty, where he died.
John Vail, who made the first purchase of Larrabee, was
from Deeqiark, Orange county.
In 1797, John Gorton moved to the Blue mountain settlement,
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 331
and located a short distance west of the present village of
Liberty, on land since owned by his gi-andson, Elias Champlin.
He came fi-oni Connecticut in 1793, with his cousins, Thomas
and William Grant, and went on what is now known as the
Depuy lot, in Fallsburgh. Thomas Grant at that time had
three children and Gorton two. They came by the way of
Kingston, Rochester and Wawarsing, in one of the old Yankee
butterfly-carts, which was drawn by three yoke of oxen and a
horse. The latter animal was ridden by Mrs. Grant, and thus
performed double service. Their turnout astonished the old
Dutch farmers of Ulster. They had never seen or dreamed of
such a contrivance, and left their antiquated plows and fat, sleek
horses, and hurried as fast as was seemly in Dutchmen, to the
fences along the bounds of the highway, where they stood with
open mouths and eyes, and stared at the Yankee travelers, and
their strange machine and motive-power.
It is but fair to state here as a counter-episode, that six or
seven years after the journey in the butterfly-cart, Joseph and
Amos Y. Grant, who were then boys, and Avho subsequently be-
came prominent and highly respected citizens, went from the
backwoods of Sullivan to visit some cousins in Wawarsing. A
merchant of that place (Abraham Vernooy) had a painted house,
the first house of the kind seen by the lads, and there was a
hogshead in the store, all which surprised them greatly, and the
impression the hogshead made on the mind of Joseph was
fi'esh even in his old age, and long after he had been a judge
of our County Coiu't.
When the Grants and Gorton first came here, the nearest
store was in Rochester, six miles beyond Wawarsing. The
journey there and back required several days, and when one of
the settlers in a neighborhood undertook it, nearly all sent by
him to purchase what they wanted, and their limited means
warranted.
Isaiah Whipple was added to the settlement in Liberty about
this time.
The persons mentioned in the preceding paragraphs mostly
settled aroimd Brodhead pond. Thomas Grant left the county
with Larrabee, who was his cousin. In the Revolutionary war
they had taken opposite sides. Grant had served under Wash-
ington, and drew a pension until his death. William Grant had
also done good service as a minute-man.
Nathan Stanton, senior, came to Liberty in March, 1796, from
Preston, New London county, Connecticiit, and settled on the
place since owned by Colonel Edward Young, two miles north-
west of the village of Liberty. Thomas Grant had previously
made a clearing on the lot ; but for some cause was not satisfied
and sold it to Stanton. Three famihes named Russell, Whipple
332 HT!?T01vi' OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
aD'1 Pinney, wlio had come the fall before, lived neai* him.
iNathan Stanton, jiinior, who was but three years of age at the
time, and who died but recently, remember-: d many of the inci-
dents of the journey to Liberty, as well as events which occurred
soon after. The family came as far as Lackawack in a wagon
drawn by oxen. At that place they procured an ox-sled, which,
as there was no snow on the ground, was much more comfoii-
able for the journey, as indeed it would have been at any time,
over the roots and stones and the mud-holes of a newly made
forest-road. On the way fi-om Lackawack to Liberty there
were but few clearings. Although several had settled in the
to^\Ta before him, he was the first one who sowed grain, having
moved on a place partially cleared. Others had been engaged
in clearing their lands, and had cultivated none of the cereals.
Soon after the Stantons came, the first marriage of the town
occurred. David Rowland of Neversink was united in wedlock
to Aviar, a daughter of Isaiah "\^liipple. Eowland had to come
a long way through the woods to win a bride, and if he
])erformed the journey to or from her father's residence in the
night, as has been the custom before and since, he must have
encountered as many perils as ever did belted and plumed
knight in quest of similar game. We have no doubt the prize
was worth the trouble it cost to win it ; for she was of that class
from which have graduated so many excellent wives and mothers.
She was a school-raish-ess, and was not only the first bride, but
the first teacher of a school in Liberty. She commenced her
school about the year 1797, in a little bark-roofed shanty, near
the house since occupied by Amos Shaw. She had not far fi-om
ten pupils — the only book used was Webster's spelling-book,
and she received one dollar per week, and boarded herself —
wages that certainly do not compare favorably with what is paid
female teachers at the present day. Ai-ithmetic, wTiting, etc.,
were not taught in the schools there for several subsequent
years. Judge Joseph Grant married a sister of this Miss
AVhipple. She was his first wife. After her death he married
the widow of Jehu Fish, who was a daughter of liobert Young.
Death in a new and sparsely settled region is an event which
excites more sympathy than in old communities. And when
sickness or accident threatens to snap the fi-ail thread of life in
a neighborhood of pioneers who are too poor and too far
removed fi'om civihzation to summon a physician, the kindly
impulses of the heart gush forth fiesh and warm, and the hand,
unskilled as it may be, readily proflers aid to the afBicted
fi-iends, and ministers to the comfort and necessities of the
suffering. Such sympathy and kmdness were soon excited in
the Blue mountain settlement. In 1797, a child of William
Ayers, who had become a resident, was so badly scalded that
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 333
it soon died a painful death. This was the first death in the
neighborhood, and it became necessary for the community to
select a burial-place. A spot was accordingly chosen near
Nathan Stanton's, on the Blue mountain, and there in the virgin
soil, among relics of the wilderness, themselves fit emblems of
mortality, the body of the dead was laid at rest, while its spirit,
undefiled by wilful sin, ascended to the bosom of the Friend
and Saviour of little children. Its grave was not long the only
one in this " God's acre." Within a few months, and during
the same year, an infant — the first one born in the town — sick-
ened and died. Its parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Stanton,
were anxious that it sliould be buried decently; but their
dismay may be imagined, when they were told that there was
not a board within reach of which to make a coffin ! Such a
thing can hardly be deemed possible in a country where, in less
than half a century, silver-mounted mahogany and rosewood
coffins were common. The " shell " used in these days to
protect the maliogany and its ornaments for a time from the
corroding moisture of the ground, would then have been consid-
ered decent, and fit to enclose the " ashes and dust " of mortality.
So times change, and so soon will the pomp and vanity of
funerals, as well as other things, become the order of the day,
as wealth and luxury increase.
Mr. Stanton, finding it impossible to get anytliing better, was
reduced to the necessity of cutting up his only sleigh-box, and
in a coffin made from that, was the infant buried. A man who
would voluntarily do so now, would be execrated for meanness
and barbarity. Under the circumstances in which Stanton was
placed, the act was creditable ; and the sacrifice he made was
quite equal to that of some of the present citizens of the town
when they pay an enormous price for a coffin, because American
wood is not considered good enough to surround the dead body
of an American citizen.
A still greater affliction visited the Stanton family in 1799.
It was then customary in clearing land to cut down the under-
brush and small trees. The large trees were girdled and left
standing. The latter, particularly the hemlocks and other
evergreens, the foliage of which remained green too long after
the girdling, were sometimes ascended and trimmed from the
top downward. This method was adopted to save labor in
gathering the trunks into heaps for burning — a very laborious
and difficult job where the timber is large, and none of it is to
be converted into boards and timber at a saw-mill. After the
limbs and bnishwood had remained on the gi-ound until they
were dry, and there had been no rain for several days, fire was
applied, and if it resulted in a good black bum, the ground was
nearly ready to be planted. Good crops were raised in this
3 3 J: HI3T0EY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
way among tlie standing trees by the early settlers, as they had
been by the Indians before them. "When the trunks began to
decay, fire was again applied in a dry time, and in a few years
they were nearly all thus consumed.
Sometimes, however, when the first burning was not good,
the fallow was abandoned, and permitted to become overrun
with briers and other rubbish.
One of these abandoned fallows was near the log-house of
the Stantons. In the words of our informant, Nathan Stanton,
jr.,* it was on the Blue mountain, a little west of where they
hved. This fallow had become a famous place for blackberries,
and the children of the family fi-equently went there to fill their
pails and baskets with the fruit. On the 20th of August — a
still, pleasant day — three of the boys, (including Nathan, junior,)
with their sister, went to pick the berries, and while they were
thus engaged several of the girdled trees fell, without an
apparent cause, and killed two of -the boys, and injured the
sister badly. These trees had withstood the severe blasts of
the previous winter and spring, and were prostrated on a still,
calm day in summer. That they do thus fall is a weU-attested
fact. The writer of this paragraph has seen them do so ; and
can vouch for the feehng of awe which the phenomenon pro-
duces in the uneducated and uninformed. When the sun
shines brightly, and all nature seems to repose in peaceful
quiet ; when there is no zephyr to fan the cheek, no sound to
disturb the ear, and no visible motion of anything to attract
-the eye, lo! one of the giants of the wood, which has withstood
the tempests of a century, suddenly totters, topples over, and
with a gi-eat crash, is prone upon the ground. It seems as if
the direct agency of God produced the result ; that He whom
no mortal can see, is very near us ; and that His eye is scanning
our every movement. A solution of the mystery msxj be found
in the fact that ' only deciduous trees thus fall. Such trees
decay, particiilarly in a warm, hiimid cUmate, much more rapidly
than the resinous evergreens. When girdled, the sap ascends
through the inner pores of the wood ; but cannot return to the
roots between the bark and wood ; and the body soon becomes
ovei'-saturated with moisture. Rapid decay in the shape of
"sap-rot" follows, and a few weeks sometimes are sufficient to
cause the tree to fall.
The distress of the family — or rather what remained of it —
cannot be described. The children had gone forth happy and
joyoixs, and before they were expected to return to their humble
home in the woods, the parents were informed that two were
crushed and dead, and another dangerously, if not fatally
* B. G. ChUd'B MSS.
THE TO\VN OF LIBERTY. 335
^wounded. The dead bodies were extricated, and taken to the
house of monming, where soon the neighboring families gath-
ered to witness the sad scene of bereavement. In due time,
these dead ones were also deposited in the original graveyard
on the Bhie mountain.
During the first five or six years of the settlement, several
other deaths occun-ed. Among them was that of a Mr. Stewart,
(father of Sandford Stewart,) who was the first adult male who
died in Liberty. The wife of Asa Ohamplin, and the wife of
Jesse Champlin, also died before the year 1800. These were
buried in the same place as the children of Stanton.
Nathan Stanton, junior, died recently. He remembered dis-
tinctly that the elk was found in Liberty and the surrounding
country several years after his father went there to live. In
1799, when he was seven years old, his father engaged in hunt-
ing these animals on the Blue mountain, with Robert Maffitt and
Captain Ichabod Benton, of Benton Hollow. They started their
dogs, and soon saw a verylarge elk runnuig before them towards
Brodhead pond. It was a truly noble animal, and seemed to
pass along with the fleetness of the wind. As it neared the
pond, it was so close to one of the hunters who was watching,
that he fired at it, and woimded it mortally. Nevertheless, it
plunged into the water, and swam for the opposite shore. The
hunters, with a canoe or dug-out, followed it, and after an
exciting chase, and before the elk reached land, it was captured.
Both tiie elder and younger Stanton were expert hunters, and
if their adventures while in pursuit of game could be wi'itten,
they would make a popular volume.*
Thomas Grant remained in tlie town but one year, and left in
1796, probably going to Neversink, and living there three or
four years. He received from Stanton two dollars per acre for
his land and improvements.
For many years, the lands generally were leased to the
occupants. The owners considered this the most advantageous ;
and the early settlers, with but few exceptions, were too poor
to buy. The sum paid by Stanton was about the average price
of what was sold until 1800, and at first but little except the
Brodhead lands could be got on any terms, for reasons which
will appear.
The south part of the town was owned by the Ludlows, who
lived in New York city, and cared so little for their Sullivan
possessions that their residence and their ownersliip were
unknown to many who wished to buy and settle on the land.
The north part in the vicinity of Parksville, belonged to the
Bockwell family of Connecticut, and could not be spld or leased
* Huntera of Sullivan.
66b HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
for several years after the first settlers came. The western
section was held by DeWitt, Elmendorf, Newkii-k and others,
of Ulster and Dutchess, who did not seem anxious to part with
it hastily. "Squatting" on the lands of others was then not
much known and practiced in Liberty. The httle that was done
of that sort was on the Ludlow tract.
In 1800, wild land advanced to three dollars per acre, and
improved farms brought fi'om ten to twelve. At this time there
were only about thirty families iu the town, and in 1814, there
were not more than ninety. The roads were execrable — eveiy-
thing was held at a higher figuie than iu Fallsburgh and Neve'r-
sink, and consequently there was little or nothing attractive.
In 1799, Doctor Blake Wales eame from Winclham, Connecti-
cut, and commenced the practice of medicine in Neversink, and
spent the remainder of his life in that town and Liberty. He
visited the Blue moimtain settlement during the first year of
his residence. He recollected ilistinctly iu his old age that the
village of Liberty in 1799 had but two budtlings, and they were
made of logs. One of these stood where the dwelling of Timothy
F. Bush now stands, and was occupied by John Kussell ; the
other near the site of the Midland Hotel, and was owned by
Jason Fish. Among the principal men of the town of that day
was, according to Doctor Wales, a man named Champlin (the
gi-andfather of Elias Champlin) who Uvecl oij the Amos Shaw
place, and was quite intelhgont, but very convivial in his habits.
He afterwards died while sitting in a chair at the tavern of
Luther Buckley. The Doctor's reminiscences of old times
generally corresponded with what we have written, with the
addition that every bmldiug in Liberty township, when he first
visited it, was of logs, and generally with but one room.
The first preacher who visited Liberty, was a Rev. Mr. Ran-
dall, a Baptist, Avho had charge of a small congregation at
Westfield, and who probably earned his own living by hard
labor, and preached the gospel as he understood it to the stray
sheep and goats of the wilderness, whenever his own necessities
permitted him to remit his daily toil. The first minister who
came to the town regularly, was Rev. Alexander Morton,* of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. It took the latter about six weeks
to get around his ciicuit. He was almost constantly in the
saddle during the day, traveling from settlement to settlement,
and speaking "good words" wherever he could gather a few
people in a log-liouse or barn. Ho encountered almost as
many perils as those enumerated by St. Paul. Frequently
he had to ride miles with nothing to guide him but blazed treefc..
till' fathtT of Captain James Morton, of Westfield
THE TOWN OF LIBEBTY. 337
He had to ford almost every stream he came to, as there were
but few bridges, and when the rivers and streams were swollen
by rain or melting snow, he was compelled, with no eye seeing
him but God's, to swim his horse across, momentarily fear-
ing and expecting to be swept away with his faithful animal.
Often he saw along his path the foot-prints of ferocious beasts,
and occasionally he encountered the woK, the bear and the pan-
ther in the lonely recesses of the forest, and audibly expressed
a thanksgiving when they fled away. In money he received but
a trifling recompense; but in a peaceful conscience, and the
smiles of his Heavenly Master, an "exceeding gi-eat reward."
The King of Kings has seldom had more sincere and self-deny-
ing laborers than these early Methodist missionaries, and until
there is another gi-eat awakening among the sybaritic elements
of society, we shaU not see their like again.
About the year 1798, Jason Fish moved into the woods, and
settled within the bounds of the village of Liberty, and not far
from the same time came the Kussells, Edward Swan and Eben-
ezer Gaer. They were preceded about two years by Isaac
Carrier, father of Asa, Elijah and Isaac Carrier, who subse-
quently formed a partnership with Roswell and John EusseU,
and carried on the carpenter-business. They built nearly all
the fi-ame-houses and barns of that period in the town. They
also put up a saw-miU, and afterwards a gi-ist-mill near the
location of the old Gildersleeve mill. The Eussells and Car-
riers ultimately became prominent men ; they held important
stations in the fleld of enterprise, and with many others, per-
formed their part in making Liberty one of the noted towns of
the county. One of the RusseUs built the first fi-ame-house in
the town. It was not a splendid specimen of architectm-e ;
nevertheless, while all the other houses were of logs, it was a
thing to boast of. It stood on the Asa Carrier place. In 1800,
EosweU EusseU erected a house and commenced keeping a
tavern on the T. E. Bush place. It was the first inn opened in
Liberty.
In 1796, the Bentons — Ichabod, Stephen and Frederick —
came fi-om Connecticut, as did nearly aU whose names we have
given. They settled in the valley which now bears the name of
Benton HoUow. AVilliam Ayres also came at this time. During
the next two years, Eobert Maflitt, then a youth of twenty
years, settled on the farm since owned by John Lewis, in
the Bentons' neighborhood. One of his neighbors was Daniel
Bloodgood. During the ensuing sixty years, this Maflitt shed
enough blood to float a small steamer. He estimated in 1860,
that he had killed at least one thousand deer, besides several
elk, and other wild beasts almost innumerable. He well recol-
lected when the elk wintered on Elk Point, an eminence about
22
338 HISTORY OF SULLIV.Uf COUNTY.
a half mile west of his hoiise, from vv'hich there was a command-
ing view in almost every direction. The animals were extremely
timid, and so constantly on their guard, that it was almost
impossible to kill one.*
William Grant was another early resident. He came after
his brother Thomas did, the latter inducing him to remove from
kis first location in another section of the county. When
WiUiam moved to Liberty, the Brodhead road was much
obstructed by fallen trees and biiishwood. An ax was indis-
pensable for the jom-ney, and its vigorous use was often
necessary. He was accompanied by John Gorton, and they
were an entire day traveling eleven mUes. The journey was
very uncomfortable and tedious.t
There may have been a few others li\'ing in the town pi-evious
to 1800. We have not been able, if there were, to leam their
names. The memory of the old, unrefreshed by documentary
aid, is extremely uncertain and imreUable. This has been our
principal source of information, and if it has led us to commit
errors, the blame must not rest on us. We have compared the
recollections of the aged one with the other with great care,
and adopted what we had reason to believe was correct. We
could do no better.
The year when Parksville was settled is not known ; but it is
beUeved that Lemuel Martin and Eher Hall located there in
1800. Nathaniel White, whose son Grossman was deaf and
dumb, settled there at an early day. Shortly afterwards, the
family of William Parks, and that of his son Elijah, were added
to the place, and took a prominent position. They built mills,
and made many improvements, completely throwing Mr. Maiiin
in the shade. This was not pleasant to the latter, who consid-
ered himself entitled to respect as the pioneer of the locality,
"NNTien it had become of sufficient consequence to have a cog-
nomen, he contended it should be called Martinville ; but his
ambition was not gratified. The people, dazzled by the more
enteiiirising and stirring man, named the place Parksville, in
honor of William Parks. With this Mr. Martin was much
diispleased.
WilUam Parks was an early settler of the to-mi of Neversink.
In 181(5, when Sullivan and Ulster formed a joint Assembly
district, William Paik.s, then of Neversink, was one of the four
Assemblymen from the two counties. In his old age, he re-
moved to Wawarsing, Ulster county, although he still was
strongly attached to tlie village which bore his name. In 1846,
when he was four-score, he made a ^^sit to Parksville, and feel-
ing iinwell on reaching liis old home, he remarked that he had
* Hunterfl of Sullivan. iJi.Q. ChUda' MSS.
THE TOWN OF LIBEETY. 339
come to die and be buried where he had so long lived. His
words were prophetic, for he lived only about a week after he
had uttered them. He was an honest, kind, active and affable
man, and enjoyed the esteem which such traits generally win.*
The ground on which Parksville stands, was once in tlie town
of Rockland ; but, for the convenience of the inhabitants, it was
annexed to Liberty. Being a long distance from the centre ol
the former, and biit four miles from the callage of Liberty, the
change was a happy one. The site of Parksville is in a narrow
valley, and nearly surrounded bj^ bold elevations. Originally
it was a swamp, but became dry land after the forest was
subdued. The Little BeaverkiU runs through the village, and
has a fall here of about twenty feet, affording sites for mills and
factories. A great impetus was given to the prosperity of the
place by the former business operations of William Bradley
and James F. Bush. Bradley hwilt a large tannery here — ^be-
came embarrassed — afforded a respectable income to several
lawj'ers and sheriffs for years, and outwitted his creditors and
everybody else. He was a man of striking idiosyncrasies.
There can be but one Henry Ward Beecher, and there never
will be another financier like William Bradley. James F.
Bush was a merchant, tanner, speculator and politician. He
was a Member of Assembly in 1848, 1849 and 1850, and at one
time a candidate of his party for County Judge. He also
became embarrassed financially; but enjoyed an unblemished
reputation for integrity.
An eminence between Parksville and the village of Liberty is
kngwn as Sumac Point, where the air is seldom at rest. In
sultry weather, when ^Eolus is idle in other places, the refresh-
ing breeze and the grateful zephyr are found here. This has
given birth to Ihe popular error that, after lea-vdng Lake Erie,
the wind does not touch terra firma until it reaches Sumac
Point ! On the west side of this high ground flows a stream
Avhich goes to the east branch of the Delaware, and on the
other side is a branch of the Mongaup. Opposite the Point is
Young's Gap, a name received from the Liberty family of
Yoimgs. This gap has been made famous by railroad sur-
veyors, t
Besides shops, mills, stores, etc., Parksville has a neat church-
edifice, which is owned by the Ba^itists, a denomination some-
what numerous here.
In 1822, Abial Bush, Jr., came from Connecticut, and settled
one mile north of ParksA-ille. He was the son of Abial Bush,
senior, a brother of Calvin Bush, one of the early residents of
the town. Abial, senior, was the father of James F. Bush, who
* Sullivan County Whig, October 2, 1846.
t See Sullivan County Whig, January 14, 1848.
340 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
was several times a Member of Assembly. Abial, junior, was
the father of Albert J. and Timothy F. Bush, each of ■whom
became Judge and Surrogate of the county. Both of these
brothers, after surmounting great obstacles, won prominent
positions as lawyers. Of the youngest (Timothy F.), it is
foreign to our rule to write fi-eely, as he is still in the arena of
poHtics and law. Albert J. was born at Parksville in 1826..
When he was yet a boy his father died. His widowed mother
and half-orphaned brothers and sisters then became dependent
on him for support. Thej' leaned on him, and he was not to
them a broken staff. Without education and destitute of influ-
ential fi-iends, he became a common laborer, and as soon as
cucumstances permitted, learned to build chimnej-s and spread
mortar. At this he worked for years. W'hile thus engaged, he
began to feel the stirrings of intellectual life. He borrowed
books, and read them after performing tlie tasks of the day.
He commenced with Shakespere, Milton, and other works of a
high order, when a spelling-book and an English Grammar
should have been put in his hands; for with all the mental
volume he subsequently exhibited, he could not conceal his
defective orthogi-aphy and syntax. Wisdom and strength of
mind were his; but beauty, which gives glory to the mental
fabric, and is as the "polished comers of the temple," was
lacking.
At this time, probably, there was not a respectable lawyer in
the county who woidd have received as a student an unlettered
mechanic like Albert J. Bush, and the latter, if he had been
disjDosed to apply for admission, had no means to enter an oflice
and pay for his board. Although he may have felt the yearn-
ings of ambition, his mental powers were yet dormant. Intel-
lectually he was a chrysoUd — dull and unattractive, yet with an
inevitable tendency to' ascend fi-om obscurity to hght and sun-
shine.
While working at his trade. Bush determined to be a lawyer.
He was led to do so by the late Robert Y. Grant. Grant had
employed him to assist in conducting a suit before a Justice of
the Peace, when Bush exhibited so much adroitness and intel-
hgence, that the other advised him to study law. The young
man regarded the proposition as absurd, because he had not a
dollar in the world, and it "took everything he could earn to
live." Grant, who had a large and generous heart, and was
then far from being rich, at once oflered to lend him one
himdred dollars, if he would follow his advice. Bush shook bis
liead, and went back to his trowel and hammer. A few days
later, he called on Grant, and told liim he had made up his
mind to take the hundred dollars on certain conditions. "I
wiU not give you a note or due-bill. No one shall know from
THE TOWN OP LIBERTY. 341
vou or me that I have received the money. Ton shall never
"ask me for it. If I die, or make a d d fool of myself, you
agree to lose it." On these novel terms Grant let him have
the money. Not another word was said on the siibject for
several years, when Bush handed his benefactor the amount of
the loan with interest.
Bush studied law without a preceptor, and continued to
work at his trade. Sohtary and alone, and in the light afforded
by a taUow-candle, he traveled through the labyrinths of the
law. After a time, when he beheved he had mastered the truths
and fictions of liis chosen profession, he managed to attend a
liw-school at Ballston (Fowler's) for a few months, and then
went to Albany for admission to the bar, where he was licensed
to practice in aU the courts of the State. He lacked a library.
A penniless lawyer without books has a poor prospect of
success. He wandered into the law-book establislmient of W.
C. Little & Co., which seemed to him an iiiexlianstible fountain
of legal lore. While he was examining the volumes he needed,
and inquiring their price, Mr. Little asked him if he wished to
buy them. Bush answered, "No, not now; but in two or three
months I will send for them." Little apparently took an inven-
tory of Bush's garments, and then said, " You had better take
them now. I wiU trust any man who has a patcli on his knee."
The volumes were purchased.* Bush also went to C. V. R.
Ludington, and applied for a loan to complete his library.
Ludington seldom lent money to applicants imless they gave
ample security. This Bush knew, and he frankly declared,
"If I live, I will pay you; but if I die, you will not receive back
anything." Ludington, much to his credit, let him have the
money he needed.
Bush at once took a good position as a professional man.
He opened an office m his native place, and at the next County
Court had thirteen cases on the calendar. Success smiled on
him, and although he came in contact with the veterans of the
bar, he continued to prosper. In 1858, he was the repiiblican
candidate for County Judge in opposition to Henry R. Low,
American, and James Matthews, democrat ; but ■was defeated.
In 1863, he abandoned the republican party, and three years
later was elected County Judge and SuiTogate by the democracy,
when he removed to Monticello. In 1870, he was rc-clcetcd.
On the 29th of February, 1872, he died of cerebrn sphmli- nii'in'ii-
gitis, caused, it was supposed, by mental fatigue and excitement
incident to his profession.
It is not possible that a man with such a history can resemble
those fortunate persons who from birth have had unexception-
* George H. Carpenter in Liberty Beffister.
342 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
able moral and mental trainiug. Physically as well as morally
and mentally, lie was a rough rather than a' perfect ashlar. He
was kind to his friends ; brusque and fierce toward his enemies.
He contemned conventional ruts. His mind cut the channel
through whicli it flowed. He formed his own theory of a case,
adhered to it dogmatically, and by the forc« of his logic compelled
others to adopt his opinions. On no subject was he more
idiosyncratic than on that of the Christian rehgion. His creed
was not what is esteemed orthodox ; but whatever it was, it was
his own ; whUe he held it firmly, he did not seek to make it the
behef of others.
Joseph Grant came to the county with his father when he
was less than six years of age. The family settled on Neversink
Flats before there were white inhabitants in Liberty. In 181*2,
he located in the latter town, where he remained until he died,
in May, 1860. He was in every respect a worthy citizen, and
enjoyed pubhc confidence. At one time he was Sherifl' of the
county, and for several years was a Judge of the Coiu-t of
Common Pleas. He left a large and respectable family. At
the time of his death, one of his sons, (Robert Young Grant,)
was a Senator. The latter, although he had enjoyed no better
educational advantages than were aflbrded by the common
schools of Liberty, was a man of acknowledged abihty. He
was prominent in the business afl'au-s of the town, and as a
political leader, had a reputation beyond his county and dis-
trict. He was a ready and vigorous debater, and by the force
of his intellect alone, won a commanding position in the Senate,
where he was the acknowledged leader of his jJartj'. He died
in Febiiiary, 1862, of typhoid fever, contracted while in attend-
ance on his son. Lieutenant Oscar B. Grant of the U. S.
Marines. Senator Grant at the time of his decease was in the
44th year of his age. He had not yet reached the meridian of
his intellect. It is difticult to designate the honors he would
have achieved, if he had not been stricken down when his
worth was becoming day by day more apparent.
Eobert Young came to the town in March, 1806, and was
among its best citizens. His children were, 1. Susan, who
married John Fish. Fish's death was caused by the fall of a
tree, after which his widow married Judge Joseph Grant.
2. Joseph ; 3. Eobert, junior ; 4. Erastus ; 5. John ; 6. Frank ;
7. Asaph ; 8. William ; 9. Eunice, who married Calvin Bush,
junior; 10. Betsey, who died iinmarried. As the reader will
discover, seven sous of Robert Young were bom successively.
Judson Sherman was a pioneer settler on the WilHam T.
Darbee place. Sherman's stomach, like the daughters of the
horse-leech, was never satisfied. His voracity produced a
famine at every tavern where he eat a meal.
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 343
In 1805, Nathan Clieesebroii^h became a resident, and two
years later commenced improving the farm now (1872) owned
by Bennett Quinlan.
Fanton Sherwood, another settler of excellent repute, was in
tlie town previous to 1807.
Thomas Crary, of Stonington, Connecticut, came in 1801, an<l
settled about one mile east of the village of Liberty. He was
the lirst Supervisor of the town, and for many years a Judge oi'
the Court of Common Pleas. His descendants are noted for
business enterprise, intelligence and moral worth.
In 1807, two brothers named Elijah and Joseph Hill bought
the east half of Divison No. 10. In 1799, Joseph married Miss
Sarah Banks, of Weston, Connecticut, who, on their removal to
Liberty, had borne him four children. The next nine years
were full of toil and the discomforts of pioneer hfe. The clear-
iag of a farm, the erection of buildings, fences, etc., and pro-
vidiag for the necessities of a rapidly increasing family, left but
few hours for quiet enjoyment. In 1816, Joseph Hill died,
leaving his widow with nine children, the oldest but sixteen
years of age. Her trials and sufferings during the next ten
years, no pen can describe, and no one appreciate unless he
has passed through similar scenes. But the iUs of this world,
like its joys, must end. In 18"26, the widow of Joseph Hill
became the wife of Ebenezer Carrier, with whom she lived
niaeteen years, when she became once more a widow. She
died September 10, 1868, in the 93d year of her age, "leaning
on the arm that is able to save." Joseph Hill left three sons —
Sherwood H., Benjamin H., and Joseph. His daughters inter-
married with the Youngs, Crarys, Clements, Mortons, etc.
In 1807, a settlement was commenced at Liberty Falls by
Roswell Russell, who, having sold out in what has since become
Liberty village to William Hurd and Luther Buckley, built a
saw-mill at the Falls, which he continued to run for some time,
altliough Buckley bought it in 1808. Wilham Knight located
here in 1808. He is still (1872) hving at Youngsville. His age
exceeds ninety years. Stephen A. Gregory came in 1809, and
settled on the farm now owned by Abel Gregory, senior.
Two years later, when he was a lad of eleven years old, Abel
walked fi'om the Falls to his native place in Fairfield county,
Connecticut, to attend a common school during the cold months
of winter. In the spring he returned to assist his father in
clearing land, attending to crops, etc. This he continued to do
year after year, until he was capable of teaching himself. Isaac
Horton, an early settler, came from Delaware county. He and
others bought their land of the DeWitt family of Newburgh,
who once owned a large portion of this section. In 1825,
Horton and Luther Buckley, built at tliis place the foiu'th grist-
344 HISTORY OF STJLLTVAN COUNTY.
mill of the town. The place for many years was known a><
Hortonville. The grist-mill is now owned by 0\-id, a son of
Isaac Horton.
The track of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad
crosses the valley here on a trestle 100 feet high, and 1,100 feet
in length.
John Starr was the pioneer of Eobertsonville. He located
there in 1800. Francis Leroy came soon after, and Bradley
and Bronson Robertson in 1809. The place received its name
from Bradley. For several years, RobertsonviUe was on the
outsku-ts of civilization. It was for a period the residence of
an excentric man named Maltby, who, adorned with a patriarchal
beard, and clothed in a seamless coat, went forth when he felt
inclined to do so, to preach the gospel as he nnderstood it.
He o-mied a good farm, of which, in his old age, he was despoiled
by heartless and iinprincipled shan-j^ers, who, to prevent the old
uian from seeking legal redi-ess, had him consigned to the
coimty jail for a crime he had never committed. A Methodist
Episcopal society was organized here, a few years since, by
Rev. William A. Hnghson. The society owns a church-edified
— the only one in the place.
In 1798 or 1799, Doctor Benjamin Hardenbergh,* a skillful
man in his profession, but of intemperate habits, settled in the
iovm, and kept a few gi-oceries for sale. Another physician
named Clapp came afterwards. In 1812 or 1813, Doctor' James
P. Youngs, practiced in Liberty, and taught school one winter.
He remained a few months, and then removed to Edenville, in
the to-mi of Warwick, Orange county, where he lived and died
eminent in his profession. In 1828, Doctor H. H. Hubbard
was a physician and merchant in the -voUage of Liberty. On
the 7th of May, 1831, his store was entered by burglars and
robbed of goods and money to the amount of §500. While he
was here. Doctor Blake AVales and Doctor John D. Watkins
located in Liberty as physicians, the latter of whom is still in
practice.
Calvin Bush kept groceries for sale in 1805, and was the first
licensed gronr in the to^^^l. The first store m which were sold
the artii-les usually kept in country establishments of the kind,
was 0]iened by Luther Buckley on the 7th of July, 1807, when
Thaddeus Brown led all Buckley's customers by purchasing
two quai-ts of cider-brandy, for which he was charged fifty cents.
W^e have the books of the old merchant before us. A careful
'Doctor Hardunbergh died at Fallsbnrgh Boon after 1840. His int<>mperanop and
his lile terminated simultamnuBlv. In his old age, his best friend was "Pone," his
saddle-horse. While riding around the oonntry. the Doctor occasionally rolled off of
'• Pone," and laid for hours unconscious on the highway. The faithful animal, when
this occurred, would not leave Us master, but remained" by his side untU he was able
to renionnt, and ri'snme his journey.
THJi TOWN OF LIBKliXT. • 345
inspection of them has convinced us that alcohol in its various
disguises was regarded as of prime necessity by the pioneers of
liberty. At least one-haK of Buckley's charges were for rum.
In the three months succeeding the 7th of July, 1807; his first
customer bought fifteen gallons of brandy and spirits, foiir
papers of tobacco, eight ounces of tobacco, one and a quarter
pounds of tea, two quarts of -sdnegar, one pound of shot, six
flints, five cups and saucers, and two quarts of molasses ! The
brandy and spirits cost him .$1.5.00 — all the other articles $2.24 !
Saints as well as sinners habituallj' indulged a depraved appetite
at that day, and did not di-eam that they offended unless their
lower limbs proved weak and unstable. The well-seasoned
drinker could imbibe a quart per diem without sinning, while
the novice could not bestow under his jacket a half-pint of
brandy with impunity.
"We gather from Buckley's books that in 1807, the retail price
of brandy was $1.00 per gallon ; gm, $1.13 ; wme, $1.25 ; mo-
lasses, 60 @ 70 cents ; cider, 10 cents per mug ; flannel, 54 cents
per yard ; dimity, 50 cents ; humhum, 28 cents ; book-muslin,
80 cents ; cahco, 38 cents ; calimanco, 37.2 cents ; wildbore, 44
cents; velvet, $1.13; codfish, 6 cents per poimd; broadcloth,
$2.00 to $4.00 per yard; salt, $2.25 per bushel; coffee, 36 cents
per pound ; nails, 16 cents ; chocolate, 38 cents ; cigars, jjer
dozen, 6 cents ; and he jiaid his customers for turnipe, 25 cents
per bushel ; com, 75 cents ; oats, 37 cents ; wheat, $1.25 ; rye,
75 cents ; buckwheat, 50 cents ; onions, $1.00 ; potatoes, 38 to
50 cents; ashes, 12 cents; maple-sugar, 10 cents per pound,
paper-rags, 3 cents ; cherry-boards, $1.50 to $2.50 per hundred
feet ; butter, 10 to 12 cents per pound ; martin-skins, 75 cents ;
mink-skins, 75 cents; day's-work, 62 cents; day's-work with
yoke of oxen, $1.00.
Buckley's goods for several years were carted fi-om Kingston.
He paid ten dollars for taking a load to and another from that
place. His customers lived in Eockland, Bethel, Neversink
and Thompson, as well as the town in which he traded. He
continued to live in Liberty until May 30, 1855, when he died,
aged 88 years, honored and revered for his age and Christian
virtues. His children were Sally, who married Joseph Young;
Philo ; Polly, who married Nathan Stanton, junior ; Abel, who
died young; Caleb ; Betsey, who married Sherwood Hill; Ann,
who man-ied AVilliam RatcUfi"; Emeline, who married Grant
Gorton ; Lucinda, who after the death of her sister Ann. mar-
ried William Ratcliff.
Calvin Bush was perhaps the most successful panther-killei
in Sulhvan. The author of the Hunters of Sullivan, whose
statements are generally authentic, says Bush killed fifteen of
346 HISTORY OF SULLr\"AX COUNTY.
these ferocious animals lu Liberty, alone, and gives the follow-
ing as specimens of his adventures :
His first encounter with panthers was in 1814. A man named
Hurley had "squatted" in the woods on what is now known as
the Huiley place. Bush, m hunting for deer, discovered the
smoke from his cabin, and visited it. He found Hurley a wide-
awake hunter, and fond of forest-Ufe. They became boon-com-
panions, and Hurley sought Bush's company whenever he
wanted a stiiTing time in the woods. Hurley's hut was near a
swamp, wliich was so full of deer-laurel and other shrubs that
it was almost impassable. On the outsku-ts of the swamp was
considerable moose-maple, and often were seen there the tracks
of the elk that fed on it.
One morning he saw not far fi'om his cabin several large
tracks, which he knew were made by panthers. In the evening
he heard the animals in the swamp, and the next day saw their
foot-priats within a few feet of his door. He thought that they
were a little too familiar; concluded to consult Bush about
them, and before night did so. He found Bush ready to attend
to them, with a well-trained dog, a capital gnu of long range,
and a keen-edged hunting-knife and hatchet. Bush himself
was a wirj", muscular, clear-headed hunter, and a match for
anything of his weight and inches in a close encounter. Hurley
had plenty of pluck, and they hurried fi-om Bush's to the cabin,
to try theii-«skill in panther-killing. When they got there, Bush
let his dog loose. It was soon yelping splendidly ui the swamp.
They listened until its tone changed, and it seemed to remain
in one place. By this they knew that the animal had taken to
a tree, to which they hurried, and saw a large panther on a
limb, eyeing the dog, and preparing to spring upon it. Bush
hastily fired, and the panther, with a scream, fell in the very act
of leaping, within a few feet of the dog. Hurley sprang for the
dog, to keep it from being ripped to ])ieces by the powerful
claws of the panther, which Bush quickly finished with his
hatchet. They then skinned their game, and concluded to hunt
no more untU next day.
During the succeeding forenoon, they treed another in the
same swamjj. It was high up a tall hemlock. Bush tired. It
fell a short distance, and (!atching a limb with its forepaws,
hung there. Bush reloaded his gun, and handed it to Hurley,
saying he wanted to have some fun with the beast. Cutting a
pole, he ascended a tree close to the one in which the jminud
was, and punched it until it fell to the gi-ound. After dispatdi-
ing it, they continued to liunt, and before night killed thn-o
more, making tive in all for the two days. They were probably
an old she-panther, and her entire brood of yi)Uiig ones.
Very few dogs would follow panthers, and Bush's dog at once
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY, 347
became a favorite with hunters. Talcott Wakeman, of Thomp-
son, heard of the "painter" dog, and wanted to try him.
Talcott knew where two panthers kept in a large swamp near
MonticeUo. He had tried to trap them ; but, notwithstanding
he was one of the best trappers of his day, they were too
shrewd for him. He then sent word to Bush to come down
with his dog, and help kill the "painters." As Bush loved such
sport even better than deer-hunting, he came, and the two, with
Bush's dog, at once proceeded to look for the animals where
they had been heard the previous night crying like children.
Soon the dog started them, and Bush sent a ball through one
ef them, and not long after killed the other. They dispatched
them so speedily that Wakeman thought there was not half
enough excitement about it.
Dm-iug' another of Bush's hunting excursions, he wounded a
large panther, which sprang upon his dog. Wishing to save
the life of his faithful canine fi'iend, be struck a heavy blow at
the head of the panther with his hatchet. The beast dodged,
and caught the handle in its teeth, crashing the wood until its
tusks nearly met. Bush said he thought he had a pretty good
n, but that the brute took the hatchet fi'om his hands as if they
been those of an infant. He then reloaded his gun, and
shot the panther a second time, killing it. The handle is
preserved in the family, with the marks made by the animal's
teeth stiU legible. Bush had a stiff finger before this battle.
During the encounter the beast struck it with his claws, and
ripped it open fi-om one end to the other. When the wound
healed, the finger was cured of its stifliness, and was sound
during the balance of his hfe.
The old hunter commanded the respect of aU who knew him
previous to his death, which took place on the 16th of .January,
1844, and his memory will he honoi'ed until his name and
virtiies are forgotten. Rev. James Petrie dehvered an excellent
sermon at his foneral fi'om Psalm 90, 10th verse. Bush was in
his 80th year when he died.
The building of the turnpike-road from Newburgh to Cochec-
ton, led to other projects, which promised to benefit the interior
of Sullivan. One of these was the Fu-st Great S. W. Turn-
pike running from Kingston to Neversink and the Blue mountain
country, and which Lucas Elmendorf labored for more than a
quarter of a cen^iuy to extend to the Delaware, Susquehanna
and Chenango rivers ; another was the Branch turnpike, which
intersected the Newburgh and Cochecton at Montgomery,
passed through Koosa's gap, crossed the Neversink at the Palls,
and ran through Liberty. Notwithstanding large sums were
expended on these impi-ovements, they were abortions.
As soon as the completion of the turnpike to Cochecton was
348 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
certain, the people of Newburgli were busy with plans to further
augment the importance and prosperity of that village. One
of these was to make a great highway fi-om the Hudson to
Oxford via the Blue mountains, the AVilliwemoc, etc. "The
Appian Way" was the name bestowed in advance on this road —
an appellation both ambitious and classic. Meetings were held,
money raised, committees appointed, and a party sent to exi:ilore
the country beyond the Blue mountains. This party, after
performing its task, made the following report :
"June, 1807 — Mem* of the route for the Apian "Way, &e.
The ground best calculated for a road from Newburgh to Oxford,
after passing the Shawangunk mountain, in order to avoid very
high ridges of land, must cross the Blue mountain or ridge of
land in Great Lot No. 3, in the Hardenbergh Patent, Allotment
No. 4, and sub-division No. 4, near the N. W. comer ; thence a
north-easterly direction through a valley pass Benton's saw-
mill, and on the easterly side of Little Beaver kill and the
Williwemock kiU to Beaver creek ; thence on the easterly side
near to Capt. Dodge's house ; on the upper edge of the flats on
said kill, which is about one mile from the north line of Great
Lot No. 4. We start on the Blue mountain along the line between
the towns of Neversink and Lumberland, and cross the line,
then near it till we turn off to the big flats, and then leave it
about one mile where we cross to Pepaeton. Here we have to
cross a ridge to go to the east branch of the Delaware at
Pepaeton, about two miles below Judge Down's, at David
Phelps', Esq'r, where there is a good place for a bridge ; thence
fi-om WiUiam Horton's, directly opposite Phelps' to near the
north line of subdi\ision lot No. .59, in great lot No. 36 ; thence
obliqixely cross lots No. 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, to about the centre
of lot 65, which is the top of Mount HoUey, and within three
miles and one quarter of the tillage of Walton, which is opposite
the west end Lot No. 66."
"expenses of APLiN WAY.
"Hugh Walsh, chairman of | _ J SncS^'Sawford.
the meetmg of the In- ^m ace t with j g^^^^^j g^^j^ ^
habitants ot Newburgh, ) [ p^^j^l Stringham.
"1807 Dr.
June 24 — To the am't of our expenses for ourselves
and horses, £16.16. 8
To cash paid shoeing Sacket's horse, 0. 7. 6
To cash paid for setting shoes Mr. Craw-
ford's horse, 0. 2. 0
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 349
To 1 State map, £1. 4. 0
To cash p'cl Hii-am Weller for the use of his
horse per J. D. W. 15 days, 6. 0. 0
To cash p'd Sacket, 5. 9.10
30. 0. 0
"1807 — June 10 — By cash received by Jacob Powell, Cr.
$75, £30.0.0."
During the early years of the present century, a young man
named Lewis Hasbrouck, disappeared from Liberty under
circumstances which have caused much comment. His mother
was a daughter of Gerard Hardenbergh and Nancy Kyerson,
to whom her grandfather. Colonel Johannis Hardenbergh, had
devised a very considerable estate. She became the wife of
Jacob J. Hasbrouck, of Ulster county, and soon after died, leav-
ing one child, (Lewis,) who inherited her wild lands in the
Great Patent. His father married a second time, and had
several other children afterwards whose prospects in life
were not as brilliant as those of Lewis. Whether this occasioned
dissension and jealousy we cannot say ; but certain we are that
it led to the banishment of Lewis from the paternal mansion.
By the command of his father, he unwillingly came to Liberty
to take charge of his wild lands. Old residents speak of him
as an inoffensive and pleasant young man, although somewhat
excentric. He wore his hair long, was very fond of hunting,
and spent much of his time at the house of his uncle. Doctor
Benjamin Hardenbergh. It is said that he did not conceal his
dissatisfaction with the Hfe he was compelled to lead.
While living in this way, he determined to take a journey to
a remote neighborhood. With his favorite rifle in his hand,
and mounted on his saddle-horse, which was splendidly ca-
parisoned, he started fiom Doctor Hardenbergh's. CorneHus
W. Hardenbergh, who was then a lad, and who was afterwards
executed for murder, accompanied him a short distance. They
parted, and Lewis was never again seen by one of his kindred.
His fate is a mystery. Some imagined that he was murdered ;
others that he was devoured by wild beasts ; and others that he
went to a distant region to avoid the authority of his father,
and that he died there, without leaving any clue as to his ante-
cedents.
When Cornelius W. Hardenbergh murdered Anthony Has-
brouck, the story of Lewis Hasbrouck was revived. By some
it was siipposed that Hardenbergh had had something to do in
causing the disappearance of Lewis, or at least that he was
Y>vivy to whatever was done. A few moments before he was
executed, he was asked if he could throw any hght on the fate
35U HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COU>TY.
of his missing cousin, when he declared in a solemn manner
that he could reveal nothing on the subject.
As no one could prove that young Hasbrouck was dead, his
estate could not go to his heirs for many years. About forty
years afterwards, it was partitioned among them, when they
were so numerous that each one's share was a mere bagatelle.
Pi'e\'ious to the organization of the Presbyterian church, and
before missionaries of that rehgious organization were sent into
the Blue mountain country, a layman named Nichols occasionally
addressed those who were willing to hsten to his dissertations
on rehgion and morality. He hved on the Neversink; but
whether his name was Robert or Jonathan we cannot determine.
Tradition says he was an uneducated man, somewhat fluent, quite
zealous, of good natural abilities, and undoubted piety. Ne-
cessity seems to have been his warrant for the duties he assumed.
In 1806, the Yankee settlers of Liberty wished to observe
thanksgi\ing-day as thej- had been in the habit of doing before
they came to New York ; but there were two difticulties in the
way. They had no orthodox minister to preach the regulation-
sermon, and the civil authorities appointed no day for the
purpose. According to a trite saying, "where there is a will
there is a way." They found what day was set ajjart in
Connecticut for thanks to the Great Giver, and then sent for
Mr. Nichols, who came and deUvered an appropriate sermon in
the school-house which then stood on the lot where the house
of Doctor Blake Wales was afterwards buUt. Our informant
has, dm-ing a long and honorable life, enjoyed many good
dinners ; but remembers none with so much satisfaction as the
one cooked by liis mother on that day. He says that he was
convinced by the pumpkin-pies, etc., that thanksgiving should
take place three hundred and sixty-five time* every year !
In 1806, there were but four towns in the county — Mamaka-
tiug, Lumberland, Neversink and Thompson. Lumberland
covered all the Delaware river towns of the present time, as
well as Bethel, Callicoon and Liberty. In 1800, there were ia
the town of Lumberland 733 inhabitants. In 1810 it had been
cut up into three towns, which contained the following popula-
tion:
Lumberland 525
Liberty 419
Bethel 737
Total 1,681
Previous to the division, the people of three-fourths of
Lumberland found it almost impossible to vote or transact town
business. Those who resided on the Blue mountain and in its
THE TO^VN OF LIBERTY. 351
vicinity, needed roads, bridges, etc., and some of them wanted
to be supervisors, assessors, collectors or constables ; but with the
immense territory of the town — the long and execrable roads
through the woods ; or, more correctly speaking, with no roads
connecting the different sections of the town, what chance was
there to gratify a laudable ambition, or to secure what was
necessary for the welfare of the Blue mountaineers? There
was but one remedy for the evU, and that was secession — peace-
able, lawful secession. Petitions were prepared and signed for
the erection of a new town. The old name of the settlement
was discarded, and the Legislature asked to give that of Liberty '
to the new organization — a name dear to many of its people,
who had fought for freedom and independence so recently.
Eoswell Eussell was particularly active, and incun-ed some
expense in securing the passage of the law erecting the town.
The town was erected by the Legislature of 1807, and Eoswell
Eussell presented a bill of items at the first town-meeting, and
asked to be re-imbm«ed ; but he found that town-officers as well
as republics are i^ngrateful. Although the people voted that
the Supervisor should "cHscharge" EusseU's expenses, Thomas
Crary, who filled the office, allowed him but seven dollars.
However, he was given two of the best offices fi-om which to
make money in fiie gift of the people of Liberty, viz : constable
and collector:
Below we give extracts from the Town Clerk's Eecord:
" First Toivn Meeting held in Liberty, convened at the house
of Eoswell Eussell, April 7, 1807, according to apt [appoiut-
ment] of Legislature — at which the following officers were
elected :
"Eobt. Cochran, Esq., President; Samuel Dai-bee, Teller of
votes; Darius Martin, (unanimous) Town Clerk; Thomas (Jrary.
Supervisor ; Ebenezer Carriei-, Eoswell Babcock, Levi Kimball,
Assessors ; Samuel Darbee, Daniel S. Stewart, David Brodhead,
Commissioners of Highways ; Eobert Cochran, Nathan Stanton,
Overseers of Pour.
"Voted that the Constable and Collector procure sufficient
security on bonds for the same.
"EosweU Eussell, Wm. Cochran, Constables ; Eoswell Eussell,
Collector; John Gorton, Jno. Woodward, Fence Viewers; Ste-
phen Benton, jr.. Pound Keeper; Cornelius Cochran, Nathan
Stanton, Isaac Carrier, Elizur Eussell, Path Masters.
" By laws. — Voted that from and after the 15th of May, and
until the 8th Nov. no hogs shall be allowed to run at large unless
yoked with a two feet yoke & a ring in the nose. Also that
fence viewers shall be paid at the rate of 37i cents per day.
dOa HISi'ORY OF SUmVAN COUNTY.
"That Roswell Russell's expenses in obtainiug a division of
the Town be examined by the Supervisor & Town Clerk and
discharged by said Supervisor.
"(Seven dollars were allowed on the above account — )
"Voted that the next Town Meetmg for 1808, be held at th.-
house of Stephen Benton, Jr."
The road leading fi-om the Benton Hollow to William Blood-
good's and so on to the Quaker Spring was laid out in 1807, as
well as the road leading from the Neversink line to Nathan
Stanton's.
Until 1808, there was no road leading fi-om Liberty to Monti-
cello by the way of the North Settlement of Thompson. A
route had been opened fi-om Monticello as far as Joshua
Foster's and Eleazer Crosby's, and from Liberty to the place
owned by Calvin Bush. In the year named, a road was made
from the house of Bush to that of Crosby, and it became the
iisual route traveled to reach the Newburgh and Cochectou
turnpike. Pre\'ious to this the Hurley road was used. This
passed by the Hurley place, and south of Jacob Conldin's mill,
to the farm owned by William DeWitt Stratton. From that
point it followed the route now traveled to ThompsonviUe, and
from thence to the turnpike.
La the early days of Liberty and Thompson, a Frenchman
named Samuel Mitteer, very narrowly escaped fi'om wolves
while passing over the Hurley road. He had been away fi-om
home, and was expected to return on a certain day with his
little daughter. He started for his house at the appointed time,
and while in the woods somewhere between Brown pond and
the nearest settlement in Liberty, he was startled by the yelping
and howling of wolves. Soon he found they were on his track
and in pursuit of him. Taking his child on his shoulders, ho
fled at his utmost speed. He was a light, iviry, agile man, and
not easily exhausted ; but encumbered as he was, he saw that
his moments were nearly numbered if his safety depended on
his speed alone. At first he could think of but one way to get
beyond the ravening-jaws of his pursuers ; but that involved a
horrible sacrifice which would have forever exposed his heart
to the gnawings of remorse. By abandonmg his child, he could
climb into a tree, and get beyond their reach ; but with her on
his shoulders, he could do notliiug of the kind. He would the
with her — his little damsel, whose tiny arms were even then
clasping his neck. Ah ! her death-shriek, when in the jaws of
the monsters, would strike him dead.
When some men are in extreme peril, their brains are
pretematurally active, and they devise expedients with marvel-
ous rapidity. After Mitteer abandoned the idea of climbing a
THE TOWN OF LIBEBTY, 353
tree, in an instant he canvassed every other plan of escape, and
saw that it aiforded no hope, until he thought of a log bear-trap
in the vicinity, which he had seen sometime before. This trap
was made in the form of a rectangle, and constructed of logs in
such a way that the largest bear could not get out of it, after he
had entered and sprung the door. To it the affrighted French-
man hurried. Into it he thrust his terrified daughter. The
door fell securely to its place. She was safe. He then ascended
a tree as nimbly as a squirrel, and perched upon the limbs.
Here they remained all night, during which the frightened man
watched "the dusky forms of the snarling animals as they flitted
through the under-brush, or gathered around the bear-pen in
which he had placed his chUd. Exhausted and faint, and fear-
ing he would fall and be devoured if he went to sleep, he tied
himself to the tree with his cravat and pocket-handkerchief.
As may be imagined, that was a long night to Mitteer. You,
who upon a bed of anguish, have watched for the coming day,
with but httle hope of seeing its dawn with mortal eyes, can
appreciate the eternity of that night to him. Morning came at
last. But when it was once more light, he did not dare to
resume his journey.
On the pi'evious evening, his family expected him to return,
and became more and more anxious for his safety as hour after
horn- passed, and he came not. Early the next morning, they
alarmed the neighborhood, and several persons went in search
of him. Following the Hurley road, they found him stiU in the
tree, and the child in the trap. The wolves had gone ; but left
behind them abundant evidence that they had been there.
Mitteer was hving in the vicinity of his adventure, in 1870.
As long as there was a woK in our woods, he liisplayed an
almost childish teiTor of that animal. He was yet an active
man, although over ninety-five years of age, and but a year or
two previously assured the writer of this, that he could mow as.
well as a boy of sixteen, and his elastic step con\inced us that
he could then outwalk many robust men. He was an unusual
man in many respects. Although he crossed the Atlantic when
seven years of age, helped John P. and Samuel F. Jones build
the first shanty put up in MonticeUo, helped buUd the bridge
at Bridgeville, and make the Hudson and Delaware canal, h&
never saw a steamboat, canal-boat, railroad-car, or an arched
bridge. For thirty years, he lived within half a dozen miles of
MonticeUo without going there.
At first the people of Liberty were obliged to go to ELingston
to reach a post-office. When Luther Buckley opened his store
in 1807, letters were carried forth and back by his teamsters.
Four or five years later a post-office was established m Monti-
cello, to which letters and papers for Liberty were sent, and in
23
554 HISTOKY or SULLIVAN COUNTY.
1822, the Liberty office was created. Caleb Buckley was it.«
first postmaster.
There was not a pamted house m the town previous to 1828, in
which year William Eatcliff built a dwelling. Having a natural
taste for neatness aud order, he looked around for a painter ;
but could hear of none in the county. Being determined to
gratify his inclinations, he painted his house himself.
Mr. Ratchif came from England, and in 1822 opened a shop
in Liberty, and has ever since steadily prosecuted there the
business to which he was bi-ed. He is in many respects a
peculiar man. Although his youth was spent in a hotel, he
early eschewed exliilarants and narcotics, and in his old age
continues to hold that tobacco and alcohol in any and every
form, are abominations. He has a predilection for the fine arts ;
but has never had an opportunity to cultivate his talent in that
respect ; and has a love for antiquarian research. He has in
his possession a map of the village of Liberty made by himself,
by which it appears that in 1822 the number of buildings from
the Darbee road to the Presbyterian parsonage did not exceed
a baker's dozen. From this map we learn that John Gorton
and John Gorton, junior, occupied a house on the Daibee road ;
Luther Buokley's hotel was on the corner of this road and the
branch-turnpike; east of the hotel was Buckley's carding-
machine ; on the west side of the turnpike was Buckley's store,
in a part of which hved Thomas Ratcliif, with whom WiUiam,
his brother, boarded ; a family named Prindle lived on the prem-
ises now occiipied by Judge Timothy F. Bush ; Philo Buckley's
residence was on the Kufus Garrett lot ; a man named Short,
who subsequently hung himself, hved on the Stephen Stiinton
property ; south of the last named was Samuel Kilbourne ;
James Garrett occupied the place now of Joseph Grant ; Asa
Baker the lot where Heni-y Mead hves ; Joseph Simpson a house
on the Maffitt lot ; James Hubbell's dwelling was near the gi-ist-
mill ; and Moses Stoddard lived on the Presbyterian parsonage
lot. The place was then known as Buckley's, and deer were so
numerous that Stoddard shot one in his garden.
Hiram and Philo Sandford were early residents in th* vicinity
of Stevensville, a thriving village on the west branch of the
Mongaup. The place owes its existence to the estabhshment
of a sole-leather taimery here by several brothers named Ste-
vens. They were natives of Schoharie county, where they
were bred to the business. In November, 1856, then- tannery
was burned, and there were circumstances connected with their
affaire whicli led Doctor Stevens, one of the brothers, to remove
from the county. It was rebuilt, and has since been owned and
the business carried on successfully by Daniel T. Stevens. The
village received its name in the following manner : On the 24th
THE TOWN OF UBEETY. 355
of Janitary, 1848, a meeting of those living near the tannery
was held, at which Hiram Sandford, the oldest inhabitant,
presided, and was requested to propose a name. He suggested
StevensviUe, which was unanimously approved. There is a
neat Methodist church here, which was dedicated on the 9th of
November, 1856.
The streams of Liberty have been subject to destructive
floods. On the 24th of July, 1855, three or four showers of
rain raised tlie Mongaup so that it swept off almost every-
thing in its way. At Parksville, the dam of John Lewis and
the saw-mill and turning-shop of Knickerbocker & Misner
were destroyed. The tan-yarn of Grant & Dean at Liberty,
was overflowed, leaches torn away, etc. Meadows and gi-ain-
fields in the vicinity were submerged and mined. The tannery
of James Gildersleeve & Son was undermined and torn to pieces,
and their leather and hides caiTied down stream. Their loss
was $10,000. Farther down the stream, E. L. Burnham, J. H.
TUlotson, Richard Dekay and others had a large amoimt of
property destroyed. The estimated damage done by this flood
was $20,000.
In February, 1857, a professional burglar named Levi Eogers
robbed the store of Clements & Messiter, of the village of
Liberty, and after remo-vang a considerable quantity of pluuder,
set fire to the building. The remaining goods and the tenement
were destroyed, together with the dwelling of J.tmes Hill and
the store-house occupied by I. B. Buckley. The latter was
owned by George Q. Moon. The entire loss was about $6,000.
It was beheved that the fire was accidental, imtU a fruitless
search was made in the ashes of one of the buildings for a
considerable number of pennies which had been left in it. This
led to suspicion which was at once directed to Rogers. He
was arrested, and found gtulty after a trial. After being in
State's prison three years, he escaped, aud returned to the
county, where he committed several burglaries. He robbed the
house of Wynkoop Kiersted, of Mongaup Valley, among others ;
for which he was again sent to State's prison.
On the 5th of November, a worthless fellow named William
Tei-penning was lynched by eleven young men of BushviUe.
A cow had been ham-strimg in that place, and he was charged
with the offense ; but there was no certain proof that he was
guilty. He was dragged from his bed at midnight, taken about
one mile to a secluded place, and there whipped until he, fearing
that he would be killed, confessed that he lamed the cow. It
was believed that he received from three to four hundred lashes.
They then brought him to Monticello, believing that they had
secured the conviction of a criminal ; but got into trouble them-
356 msTORY OF sdllitan county.
selves; for as soon as the facts became known, they were
arrested, and held for trial ; while Terpenning was set fi-ee.
Liberty Normal Instttute. — This academic institution owes
its existence to the Hberality of John D. Watkius, M. D., a
wealthy resident of the town. The buildings were erected in
1847, and with the hbrary and philosophical apparatus, cost
nearly $3,000, every doUar of which was paid by Doctor
Watkins. This sum may not seem large when compared with
donations for educational puiposes in other localities ; neverthe-
less it is the greatest gift to promote learning made by a single
individual of Sullivan county. After the erection of the build-
ings, etc., the property was conveyed to the State, and has since
been under the care and supervision of the Eegents of the
University. It is thus forever dedicated to the uses for which
the school was founded. By an act of the Legislature, Doctor
Watkins is sole Trastee, as well as perpetual Secretary and
Ti-easurer of " the Board." Hence he is indiv-idually responsible
for the character of the institution, which has at no time
impaii'ed his reputation for sagacity and shrewd management.
The school was opened on the 1st of November, 1847, with
John F. Stoddard as Principal. Mr. S., Hke his successore, was
a gi-aduate of the State Normal School. Besides being a
popular teacher, he became the author of several standard
mathematical works. Under him, the Listitute acquired a
reputation which has been of much advantage to those who
have since been its principals, viz : Henry E. Stoddard, Fred-
erick L. Hanford, Z. W. Davis, John Felt, Francis G. Snook,
Thomas Eobinson and Jtlilo B. HaU.
Doctor Watkins, the founder of this academy, was bom on
the 7th of June, 1806, near Campbell HaU station, on the
Montgomery and Erie raUroad, in the tovm. of Hamptonbiirgh,
Orange county, and was a few days old when the great echpse
of that year occurred. Wliether "the echpse had an unfavorable
ell'ect on the stature or physical development of the doctor, the
author is unable to determine ; but of this he is sure, natui-e
made no waste material in his formation ; for a more compact
and economical stnictui-e of flesh and bone is seldom encoun-
tered. His education, beside what he received at the district
school of his native town, was received under the instruc-
tion of the late Joel Turrill,* who taught a select school at
*Joel Turrill was born in the State of Vermont, in February, 1794; in 181S, he
graduated at Middlcbury College ; and after studying law in Newburgh, was Ucenscd
. attorney in 1819. During the same year, he opened a law office in Oswego, and
irty Tears was one of its promment residents. He 1 ' '
was District attorney, First
Islands, etc.
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 857
Newbuijgh. Among the school-fellows of young Watkins was
the late James G. Clinton, since a Eepresentative in Congress.
At the age of 13 years, the subject of this sketch became the
protege of a childless iincle (Hezekiah Watkins) of Gardner,
Ulster county, who was of the same family, but not a descend-
ant of Eev. Hezekiah Watkins, a Church-of-England clergyman
who was imprisoned previous to the Eevolutionary war, for
writing too freely of colonial dignitaries.* After this, one or
two years were spent by John D., in teaching. Among his
pupils were some lads who ultimately became conspicuous in
the affairs of life. Of this number were Israel O. Eeattie, a
merchant of Middletown and Eev. Eobert H. Beattie, D. D.,
now a settled minister of New Hurley, Ulster county. He then
studied medicine at Montgomery, under Doctor George Eager,
a brother of the historian of Orange county, and in 1829, cona-
pleted his medical education at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., which at that
time was one of the most prosperous and celebrated in the
State, and numbered among its Professors Doctors T. E. Beck,
Hadley, Willoughby, De La Mater and McNaughton.
A few weeks after he graduated. Doctor Watkins became a
partner of Doctor Blake Wales of Neversink, and while on his
way to that town nearly lost his life. There was no bridge at
Woodbourne, and Watkins, mounted on a very spirited saddle-
horse, undertook to ford the river. The water was swift and
deep, and when near the middle of the stream, the Doctor, to
prevent it from going over the tops of his boots, raised his heels
to each flank of his steed. This frightened the animal, and
caused it to deposit the Doctor's body and breeches, as well as
his saddle-bags, in the watery element, and at the same time
kick at him viciously. A variation of an inch in the direction
of the horse's heels, would have been attended with a fatal
result. As it was, a portion of the Doctor's scalp was torn from
his head. Bewildered by the blow and an involuntary bath,
the Doctor scrambled back to the shore from which he had
entered, while his horse passed to the other side, where it
indulged its propensity for rolling in the du't, and by doing so,
ruined a new saddle !
After practicing with Doctor Wales from May to October,
imagining that Mamakating was a more desirable field of labor
than Neversink, Doctor Watkins removed to Bloomingburgh,
and became a partner of T. C. Van Wyck. Physically and
mentally a more diverse team has not existed since Pegasus
was made the yoke-fellow of an ox. The one was young, small
in stature, quick, energetic, and delicate. The other was in the
* See Eager'8 History of Orange county.
358 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
prime of life, of Brobdignaggian proportions, clumsy and
robust. Morally, they were more alike. Both were upright
and honorable in business affairs, and the utmost harmony
prevailed during their brief connection, and ever afterwards.
Doctor "Watkius remained in Bloomingburgh a short time,
and then returned to Neversink, where he practiced about two
years, and then, after marriage with a daughter of Joseph Young,
removed to Liberty. Here he entered into mercantile pursuits
with his father-in-law, at the latter' s residence on the mountain.
About two years subsequently, he purchased the stock of goods
of the late Caleb Buckley, and commenced business in the vil-
lage of Liberty on his own account as a merchant. Lidividually
and as a partner of the late John R. Kilbourne and of Alfi-ed
Messiter, he continued in this business for a period of twenty-
two years. His partnership with the latter was but recently
dissolved. He also continued to practice his profession. More
than usual success rewarded his efforts. He became prominent,
politically, socially and financially. Li 1843, he was appointed
County Superintendent of Schools; in 1853, he was elected
Super^dsor of Liberty, and in 1854, Senator from the Orange
and SuUivan district.
Doctor Watkins' liberality has not been confined to the Lib-
erty Normal Institute. His children have shared largely in
his munificence, he believing it better poUcy to help them when
they needed assistance than to withhold from them uutil they
could help themselves. His son Hezekiah and son-in-law, Henry
E. Low, have thus been greatly benefited by his favors. To the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Liberty he has been one of the
principal supporters, having donated to it first and last over
one thousand dollars. During the recruiting of the 143d Hegi-
ment N. Y. V. I., he gave five hundred dollars to accelerate the
organization of Company A.* He also pui'chased and presented
to the Watkins Fii"e Engine Company a fine engine at a cost of
about $325. The Rev. Uriah Messiter, a popular preacher of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, when a boy, lived with him,
and was a clerk in his store for several years. Soon after he
entered the ministry. Doctor W. presented him with a horse,
wagon and harness worth from $300 to $500. Perhaps no resi-
dent of Sullivan, except Ai'chibald C. Niven and the late Austin
Strong, has made a more liberal use of his fortune than Doctor
Watkins. Hence we give him tliis extended notice.
The Baptists were the first to organize a society in Liberty
and Neversink. Then- mode of labor was well adapted to poor
and sparsely settled regions. Their elders and preachers were
* Hezekiah Watkins (a fion of Doctor Watkins) commanded this CompRuy, and toi
meritorious servicee was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment.
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 6b\f
taken from the gifted brethren, and when it appeared that they
possessed spiritual and mental traits which fitted them for the
sacred office, they were chosen and ordained, without being
compelled to undergo a long and expensive training. Accord-
ing to their belief, a teacher was called of God to the holy office —
the call was made manifest through the walk and conversation
of the "gifted," and when this occurred, the Church received
him as a teacher. As the privileges of the gospel were
esteemed higher than earthly riches, tlie clergy received little or
no wages from the congregation, and a hireling priesthood were
esteemed an abomination. People who felt too poor to pay for
the services of a minister, gladly received as spiritual teachers,
those who claimed no material reward. The creed of the
Baptists was intensely Calvinistic, and their Church government
as democratic as the institutions of the North American Indians.
The Church of Neversink was constituted as "The Baptist
Church of Christ in Neversink," on the 9th of January, 1811.
It was the fruit of a society which had existed for several years,
and which had been known as the "Neversink Branch of Pleas-
ant Valley Church." Levi Hall was its elder. It is probable,
other preachers had preceded him.
A society existed in Liberty previous to 1810. It was called
" The Neversink Branch of Pleasant Valley Church, that part
resident in the Town of Liberty." The earhest written record
of this "Branch" is dated August 12th, 1809, on which day a
church-meeting was held at the house of Darius Martin.
Nathaniel J. Gilbert was chosen moderator, and Mr. Martin,
clerk. Ephraim Gates was elected leader. The Book of Rec-
ords shows that at this period Nathaniel J. Gilbert, Darius
Mai-tin, Ephraim Gates, Roswell Babcock, Silas B. Palmer,
William Bloodgood, John Smith, William White, Abel Hodge,
Submit Hodge, Anna Russell, Truman Barns, Joab Bowers,
Lydia Bowers, Isaac Furman, Samuel Gilbert, Levi Gates, John
Hall and others were members, and that Levi Hall was the
"beloved elder and watchman." During Mr. Hall's eldership,
a dehghtful spirit of devotion and charity prevailed. The love
of the members for each other was only exceeded by their
love of God. A motion to form a separate Church was unani-
mously rejected on the 12th of August, 1809.
In 1822, this Church had 42 members ; in 1827, 60 ; in 1828,
65; in 1840, 36; in 1841, 30.
This "branch of the vine" was regularly watered by Elder
Hall, and occasionally by Elders Lathrop, Ball, Wright, Owen,
Campbell, Gilbert, Grinnell, Woolsey, Daries, Hait, Hozier,
Hewett, etc. But Uttle Ls remembered of these visiting elders
3dU HISTORY OF SULIJV.VN COUNTY.
except tliis : Some of the ancient sistere yet living, aver that
Campbell was the homeUest man who ever administered the
ordinance of baptism.
For nearly ten years after its formation, amity and peace
prevailed, when trifling contentions began to stir the placid
waters. A member caused scandal in Zion by absconding.
Some of the sisters, forgetting that the tongue is an unruly
member, gave free license to their vocal organs, and some of
the brothers were giiilty of various venal sins. Among them
was a John Capron, who, before he joined the Liberty society,
had received "a request from the Thompson town Church to
improve his gift in the Peenpack branch of said Church."
Without any other authority from the Church, he persisted in
laboring wherever he pleased, contrary to tlie known wishes of
a majority of the brethren. This caused a sharp controversy,
which led to the excommunication of Capron. Abel Hodge
was rebuked for using a letter of approbation as he understood
it ; but as it was- not understood by the society. This led to
his severance from the Church.
From this time forth until it ceased to exist, contention
prevailed in this branch of the Baptist Church.
In May, 1821, Elder John Boozer, from Morristown, New
Jersey, located in Liberty, and for several years preached and
administered the ordinances. Caleb Bush and Abial P. Worden
became members by profession during the next three or four
years, and Phihp C. Broom by letter. All three became elders
or preachers.
On the 4th of December, 1824:, it was resolved to alter the
name of the Chiu'ch, and that it be called " The Baptist Church
of Christ in Liberty." At the same meeting fellowship was
withdrawn from a member for "giving up the practice of
rehgion," and fi-om another for immoral conduct, and " brother
Philip I3room was licensed to preach the Gospel of Chidst."
Broom was not ordained until December 14, 1826, when five
distinguished elders laid hands on him at the house of Isaac
Carrier ; Elder Z. Grinnell preached the ordaining sermon from
Kevelations, 4th chapter, 6th, 7th and 8th verses; the conse-
crating prayer was made by Elder Daniel T. Hill ; the charge
was dehvered by Elder Gilbert Beebe ; and the right hand oi
fellowship tendered by Elder Alanson Draper.
On the 6th of October, 1827, Brothers Obadiah Childs,
Thomas B. Clayton and Levi Gates were appointed "trustees"
to circulate subscriptions to build a meeting-house ; but it does
not appear that they met with much success, as no house of
worship was built. At the same time Brother Abijah Brundage
was selected to serve as deacon at the Neversink, and Caleb
Bush was licensed to preach.
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 361
After this the record shows that Elder Broom had a contro-
Tersy with Hamilton Gregory and Betsey Welton, and that the
Church sustained the Elder and condemned the others, who.
confessed that they were in fault; biit were nevertheless excom-
miinicated.
In the fall of 1829, a controversy began between Elder Broom
and Elder Bush, which caused much trouble for two or three
years. It grew out of a note to which the name of the latter
was attached, and some worthless buckwheat-straw. Bush was
put on trial and cut off fi-ora the Church. Various proceedings
took place. Nearly one-third of the members favored Bush,
and signed a petition for a council to restore him, etc. ; but
they only succeeded in getting themselves into trouble, and
several of them were dealt with in a summary manner. The
trouble was not arranged until the fall of 1832, when Bush was
restored.
In these and other controversies. Elder Broom was always
the successful party ; but to the prosperity of the Church they
resulted in gangrene and death. In 1834, Elder Worden was
the pastor. After this Elder Broom officiated occasionally until
1854, when there were but few members except himself. He
was then excommunicated for heresy by those having aiithority,
and the Church ceased virtually to exist. Its extinction was
accelerated bj' a revival in the Methodist and Presbyterian
Churches of the town in 1844, and the formation of a New School
Church in Parksville.
The dissensions of the Old School Baptist Church of Liberty
and other causes led to the formation of the present or-
ganization known as the Baptist Church of Parksville. This
Church was constituted of seven members in 1840, viz : Joseph
Taylor, David H. Parks, Martha Parks, Wilham Fisk, Henry
Barton and Mrs. Wilson. Taylor and Fisk were the
first deacons. The church-edifice was erected in 1841, and
cost about $1,500. The list of members now numViers ninety,
and there are in the town about one hundred and fifty New
School Baptists.
The Baptist Church of Liberty is an offshoot of the Parksville
Church. Itwasincorporated January .31st, 1859. John Darbee,
John T. Clements and Edwin Porter were the first trustees.
A house of worship was built during the next summer. The
trustees and Doctor AVUliani W. Murphy were the buUdiiig-
committee. The church lot was donated by Mrs. Arietta Leroy.
First Presbyterian Church op Liberty. — It appears from
the records that the first meeting held pursuant to the organiza-
tion of a Church was on the 30th day of September, 1809, at
which Mr. Asa Baker acted as moderator. The following
dbZ HIbTORY OF SULLITAN COUNTY.
"call" for this meetiiip; is recorded in the books of the Church :
" The Inhabitants of the Town of Ijiberty are hereby requested
to meet at the school liouse near Mr. Asa Baker's, on Saturday,
the thirtieth day of Sept. Instant, at 1 o'clock p. M., for the
puipose of holding a society meeting, and any other business
proper to be done at S'"* meeting." It appears that the object
of this meeting was to organize a kind of religious society with-
out the sanction, as yet, of any ecclesiastical court. The
"Society" met again on the 2181 day of October, 1809, at the
same place, at wliich, no business (that appears) was done but
electing Isaiah Hm-d clerk of the meeting. A third meeting
was held at the same place on the 18th day of November, 1809,
at wliich the following vote was passed : " Tliat we be called
the first Presbyterian Congregation Society in the Town of
Libei-ty, county of Sullivan & State of N. York, under the
Presbytery of Hudson & General Assembly of the United States
of America." At this meeting three trustees were elected, viz :
Robert Young, Isaac Carrier and Cah-in Bush. At another meet-
ing, held on the 23d day of November, in the same year, 66
names were subscribed as composing the society. At a sulise-
quent meeting, the following vote was passed: "That we send
one delegate to the Presbytery that sets at Hopewell the second
Thursday of Sept. Inst., & that Deacon David Kilborn be the
delegate." This last meeting was held on the 1st of September,
1810. In a separate book of records kept by the Session of the
Church from its beginning, we learn that the Church was
formaUy and anthoritaficely oi-ganized by the direction of the
Presbytery of Hudson, on the 6th day of September, 1810.
The Rev. Daniel C. Hopkins, who had been ^jreachiug as a
missionary under the care of the Presbytery, was sent as a
committee of organization. The exercises of the occasion were
opened with prayer by Mr. Hopkins, when the following persons
appeared and requested to be constituted a distinct branch of
the Church of Christ, to be called the 1st Presbyterian Church
of Liberty: Elizabeth Caiiier, late of Colebrook, Connecticut;
Eunice Hurd, late of Woodbury, Connecticut ; Comfort Baker,
late of Colchester ; Susan Fish ; David KUbourne, late of
Colchester, Connecticut; Mary Kilbourne, late of Colchester,
Connecticut; Lucy Hall; William Hurley, late of Bethlehem,
New York; Jonathan Nichols, late of Strutford, Connecticut;
Eber Hall ; Daniel Bush, late of Colebrook, Connecticut. Eber
Hall, Lucy Hall, and Susan Fish made a public profession
of their faith for the first time on this occasion. David
Kilbourne and Daniel Bush were elected to the office of ruling
elder. After reading a summary of the Confession of Faith of
the Presbyterian Church, and a form of a covenant by which
the new C'hurch was to be governed, Mr. Hopkins closed the
THE TOWN OF IJBERlTf. 363
services with a sermon on Genesis 45:21 — " See that je fall not
out by the way." On Sabbath, 9th of September, 1810, this
infant Church celebrated the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
for the first time. The membership of the Church, by additions
at almost every communion season, was increased to about 185
in 1840. The present membership in good and regular stand-
ing is not quite 100. The Church had no settled pastor till
1840; but was suppHed, somewhat irregularly with preaching
by muiistei'S sent to it by the Presbytery. "These remauied,
some a longer and some a shorter time. From 16 to 20 diiferent
ministers supphed the Church with preaching from the date of
its organization to the year 1840. The following are the names
of some of the suppUes : Daniel C. Hopkins, Henry Ford, Noah
Coe, Thomas Grier, Ezra Fisk, Reuben Porter, John Boyd,
James Hyndstan, Edwui Doran, William MacMasters, A. Dean,
Abner Morse, William McJimpsey, Sam'l Pelton, John B. Fish,
Charles Cummins, J. W. Babbitt, Michael Carpenter, and Daniel
Dougherty. The Rev. James Petrie (now of Montana, New
Jersey,) was the first settled pastor of this Church. He was
ordained and installed by the Presbytery of Hudson on the
30th of September, 1840; but had preached for the people
during the previous year. At the installation ser^aces, Rev. Mr.
Leggett, of Hopewell, preached the sermon; Mr. Blain, of
Goodwill, gave the charge to the people, and Mr. Bull, now of
West Town, gave the charge to the pastor. The pastoral rela-
tion between Mr. Petrie and this Church was dissolved on the
13th of January, 1852, and he was succeeded by the Rev. John
N. Boyd, now of Ch-cleville. Mr. B. was installed on the 28th
of September, 1852, by a committee of the Presbytery of
Hudson consisting of the Rev. W. D. Snodgi-ass, D. D., now of
Goshen, Orange county, James Adams, Thaddeus Wilson and
W. J. Blain. The pastoral relation between Mr. Boyd and the
Church was dissolved on the 28th of September, 1858. Mr.
Boyd was succeeded in the pastorate by the Rev. T. Mack, now
of Spring Valley, N. Y. Mr. Mack was installed on the 1st of
May, 1859. The present pastor, the Rev. J. Napier Husted,
succeeded Mr. Mack, and was installed on the 10th of June,
1868, by a committee of Presbytery, consisting of the R«v.
Theron Brittain, now of Cochecton ; Rev. R. Davison, now of
Westchester, N. Y., and the Rev. Floyd Crane, now of Goshen.
From the date of its organization in 1810, to 1829, the
congregation appear to have worshiped in a " School-house near'
Asa Baker's." It is a fact worthy of notice, that the school-
house in which this Chm'ch had its first organized existence,
and in which it worshiped for so many years, stood near the
site of the present church-edifice — just in the rear.
The first record we have of an intention or efi'ort to erect a
364 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
house of worship is the f ollo'^ing : " Voted that the trustees of
the Society circulate subscriptions here and abroad, for the
purpose of raising money to build a Meeting-house." This
vote was taken at a meeting held on the 7th day of Januaiy,
1811. There is no record that gives any knowledge as to
whether the above "vote" was carried into effect, till the 19th
day of February, 1827, when, (at a meeting held on that day)
another " vote " was taken as follows : " Voted that this Society
build a tower for the purpose of placing a bell for the use o'f
the Society." The inference is that somewhere between the
years 1811 and 1827, a structure had been erected, capable of
supporting a tower and a bell. As to when this building was
finished, there is no means of telling. Tradition tells iis, how-
ever, that it was many years in being carried to completion.
The 5th day of January, 1829, is the date of the first meeting
of the congregation held in the church ; and the 20th of June,
1829, the date of the first meeting of the Session held in the
church. This first church-buUding stood on an elevation about
a quarter of a mile from the village of Liberty, and on the road
leading to Woodboume. Under the ministiy of the Eev. James
Petrie, this building became too small to accommodate the
congi-egation, and accordingly was enlarged and remodeled in
1849. It was dedicated in February, 1850 — the precise day not
being given. Dr. Phillips, of New York City, now deceased,
preached the dedicatory sermon. This building was set apart
for the worship of God fi-ee of debt. It stood till late in the
summer of 1870, when, being greatly out of rei:)air, it was taken
down and re-erected on a new site m the center of the village.
The church thus rebuilt the second time and greatly beautified,
was re-dedicated to the worship of the Triune God," on the 13th
day of July, 1871. The pastor, the Eev. J. Napier Husted,
made the dedicatory prayer, and the Rev. Charles Beattie of
MidfUeto^vn, New York, preached the sermon. Eev. Luther
Littell, of Mt. Hope, Walter S. Brown, of Woodboume, and
James Nonis, of Shavertown, also took part in the services.*
Besides the churches already noticed, there are in Liberty
the following :
The Methodist Episcopal Church of the Village of Liberty.
— A clflss was organized in the neighborhood in 1814, by Rev.
Peter P. Sanford, who was then the preacher in charge of the
circuit. He was one of the most belovi d Methodist preachers
who ever visited this region, as the frequent occurrence of the
baptismal name of Sanford proves. In 1826, Methodism was
'Statement of Rev. J. Napier Husted.
THE TOWN OF LIBERTY. 365
in snch a flomishing condition here, that a church was built.
Twenty years afterwards, this buUding was found to be outside
of the new village which had sprung up; consequently the
present church-edifice was erected. The lot for the new chiu-ch-
edifice was donated by John D. Watkins, M. D., who also
contributed largely to the fund for building the church and
parsonage.
The exodus from Ireland, caused by the great famine, gave
to Liberty, as well as other towns of Sullivan, a considerable
Roman Catholic population. Over them Rev. Daniel Mugan
of Ellenville had the charge until his death in 1872, in which
year Saint Peter's Church of Liberty was built at an expense
of about 15,000.
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
SUPERVISOKS OF THE TOWN OF LIBERTY.
From To
1807 Thomas Crary 1809
1809 Darras Martin 1815
1815 Joseph HiU 1816
1816 Darius Martin 1819
1819 Eeuben Hall 1823
1823 Darius Martin 1824
1824 Joseph Young 1828
1828 Joseph Grant 1832
1832 Joseph Young 1833
1833 Nathaniel B. Hill 1834
1834 Joseph Young 1835
1835. > Liither Bush 1838
1838 Isaac Horton 1840
1840 Edward Young 1841
1841 Luther Bush 1842
1842 Henry Mead 1843
1843 Joseph Young 1845
1845 James F. Bush 1847
1847 Benjamin P. Buckley 1850
1850 Horace H. Crary ^ . . . 1851
1851 Benjamin P. Buckley 1852
1852 Ares B. Leroy ' 1853
1853 John D. Watkins 18.54
1854 Robert Y. Grants 1855
1855 Ares B. Leroy 1856
1856 John R. Kilboiime 1859
18.59 Robert Y. Grant 1860
1860 Edward H. Pinney 1861
1861 Edwin Fobes 1863
1863 Benjamin W. Baker 1864
1864 Billings Grant 1865
1865 Thomas Crary 1868
1868 Oscar B. Grant 1869
1869 John H. Allen 1871
1871 George Young 1872
1872 Uriah S. Messiter 1874
CHAPTER XII.
THE TOWN OF LUMBERLAND.
This town is situated west of the Mongaup and north of the
Delaware river, and in the angle formed by the junction of the
two streams. Its surface is rugged and broken, although it has
a fair share of land susceptible of cultivation. A large part of
it is yet in a wildemess-state, all but about two thousand acres
being unimproved. This is owing to causes which will be stated
hereafter.
At the mouth of the Mongaup, the altitude above the ocean
level is 550 feet.* Being the extreme southern point of our
territory, of moderate elevation, and en\'ironed by mountaiu.s,
its climate is mild and desirable.
The streams of Lumberland furnish sufficient water-power
for the requirements of its citizens, and it has several of those
beautiful lakes which abound in nearly every section of the
county. Among them is Lebanon in the northern; Round,'
Sand and Haggai's in the western; Long in the central, and
Metaque in the eastern part of the town.
The last is about two miles from the Mongaup, and three
hundred feet above it. On its outlet is a beautiful cascade.
After running over a rocky bed, the water leaps down about
one hundred foet into the' Mongaup. The lake has in it the
usual varieties of iish found in such sheets of water, and what
is quite remarkable, eels of large dimensions abound in it.
Naturalists assert that this mystei-ious iish will not continue or
produce its kind in situations where it cannot visit the ocean
and return.t No fish can ascend a perpendicular faU of one
hundred feet. How then do eels find a way from salt-water to
Metaque pond?
* French's Gaisetteer.
tFor hundreds of years, naturalists have failed to discover the reproductive
organs of the eel, and to distinguish the male from the female. Eeccntly it has been
announced that, as certain flowers are staminate and pistillate, so each eel contains
within itself the elements of generation. Its ovaries and tcstils are not developed
until it visits the ocean, where it produces its offspring. The latter ascend fresh
water channels, and live there until instinct causes them to return to theii- native
■element.— See Harpers' Magazine for December, 1872.
[367J
dfaO HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Long pond is long and narrow, and has bold, rocky-sliores,
except at the north end, where there is a marsh. Midway from
each extremity is a beautiful island of about two acres.
Haggai's pond, it is said, received its name fi-om a man called
Haggai, who settled near it previous to the Revolutionary war.
It is of unusual shape, and what is quite remarkable, in one part
of it the water measures but four feet below the surface, while
around this shoal, the descent is very abrupt, and the water deep.
Sand pond is situated on or near the line between Lumber-
land and Highland. There is a large quantity of sand ia and
around this lake, suitable for the making of glass. Since 1812
it has been used for that purpose by several manufacturers.
From that year to 1820, it was carted to Pond Eddy, and from
there taken down the river to James W. Eidgeway's factory,
about two miles above Port Jervis. More recently it has been
transported to Honesdale. As there is an abundance of wood
in the vicinity, and Sand pond is of easy access from the Erie
Railway and the Delaware and Hudson canal, it is singular that no-
enterprising capitalist has engaged in making glass at this point.
Round pond is a pretty sheet of water which outlets into
Mud pond brook.
Mud pond makes no pretense to beauty, and therefore we
have not classed it with those lakes which command admii-ation.
Other ponds bear the same name, but this is the only one which
deserves it. It is about one mile long, from twenty to forty
rods wide, has bold rocky shores, and is composed of mud of an
unknown depth, with an occasional patch of turbid water.
From this remarkable morass runs a large stream of water.
Lebanon pond in the north is an attractive sheet of water,
particularly to anglers.
POPULATION — VALUATION — TAXATION.
Tear.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed Town
Value. Charges.
Co. and
State.
1800
1810*
525
569
953
1,205
2,635
970
1,065
$98,115,1 $128.33
123,425! 264.21
100,114! 834.47
78,241; 728.96
220,4031 408.82
196,005i 211.80
186,910! 2,440.19
S140.02
1820
266.51
1830 . . . :
705.24
1840
322.01
1850
1,466.58
18601
1,398.57
1870
3,925.94
VHE TOWN OF LUMBEKLAND. 369
The early history 'of this town is involyed in obscurity. The
first settler of whom we have iuformatiou was a man named
John Showers, who Hved near the mouth of the Mongaup. He
kept a tavern there previous to 1790, as we learn from the old
Records of Mamakating. There is no doubt that he Lived there
previous to the Revolutionary war, and that his house was well
known to the red and white trappers and hunters of the
Mongaup and Delaware. He was probably one of those un-
sci'upulous men who have been a greater bane to the Indians
than " war, pestilence and famine," and that he estabhshed
himself here to exchange fire-water for furs and peltries.
Tom Quick, the Indian-slayer, was often the guest of Showers,
and the log-cabin of the latter was the scene of one of his
exploits. On one occasion. Quick and three or four other white
hunters had sought the shelter of Showers' bark-roof, when a
savage entered and asked permission to stay all night. He was
told that he could lodge there. After spending the evening
pleasantly, the party wrapped themselves in their blankets, and
stretched themselves upon the floor. All were soon a.sleep
except Quick, who had resolved to mxirder the red man, and
remained awake, watching for a favorable moment to acoom-
ph.sh his unjustifiable purpose. When the deep breathing of
the others announced that they were unconscious, Tom cau-
tiously got his gun. In a few moments the hunters were aroused
by an explosion, and found the savage dead in their midst.
The assassin, immediately after firing, left the cabin, and dis-
appeared in the woods. As the red men were then almost
exclusive occupants of the surrounding country, and would
avenge tlie death of their brother, if informed of it, the murder
was concealed for many years.*
Showers was lining in Lumberland in 1792, as well as a person
named Joseph Showers. The latter was probably the son of
the former. Both were men of some property, and were then,
on the tax-roU of Mamakating, which town at that time covered
Lumberland.
The histoiy of this town will not be complete without an
account of Tom Quick, whose favorite hunting ground was in
Lumberland. He was born at Milford, Pennsylvania, where
his father settled in 1733, and wa.s the descendant of respectable
and aflluent ancestors, who came from Holland and became
residents of Ulster county previous to 1689. At Milford the
Quicks prospered, and became the owners of valuable real
estate, including mills ; but they were surrounded by savages,
to whose manners and customs Tom, as he was called, became
so much attached that his mode of life resembled that of a
* Tom Quick and the Pioneers,
24
370 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Lenape hunter. He lived in amity with the savages ; paiiici-
pating with them in their amusements and pursuits, until the
French and Indian war, when they killed his father under very
aggi'avating circumstances. This turned Tom's friendship to
inappeasable hostility, and he solemnly swore that he never
would be at peace with the red race as long as one of them
hunted on the banks of the Delaware ; and there is no doubt
that he embraced every safe opportunity to murder the savages
while they remained in the country, or ^-isited it from their new
homes west of the Alleghanies.
The number of Indians slain by him is no doubt very much
exaggerated in popular estimation. Many beheve that he killed
nearly one hundred ; but there is no certainty that the actual
number exceeds ten or fifteen.
Several years since we met with a nephew of Tom Quick,*
■who was with the Indian-slayer many times previous to the
death of the latter. To him Tom commimicated the following
statement, which is no doubt a true one :
" After the French and Indian war, an Indian named Musk-
wink returned to the lower valley of the Neversink. He was a
drunken vagabond, and was often at the tavern kept by a man
named Decker. Tom visited Decker's while Muskwink was
there. The savage as usual was intoxicated. He asked Tom to
drink with him ; but Tom angi-ily and contemptuously refused
to do so ; when the other boasted that he was concerned in the
kilhng of Thomas Quick, senior ; and that he had scalped the
old man with his o-mi hand. As if this was not enough to rouse
a demon in Tom's heart, he mimicked the dying struggles of
ihe father, and exhibited the silver sleeve-buttons worn by his
victim. Tom was unarmed ; but seeing a gun hanging against
a beam overhead, he took it down, saw it was loaded and
primed, and then cocked it. Before Muskwink could escape or
resist, the muzzle was within a few feet of his breast, and he
was ordered to leave the house. The savage sullenly resigned
himself to the guidance of Tom, who drove him into the main
road leading fiom Kingston to Minisink, and after proceeding
about a mile towards Carpenter's Point, shot him in the back.
Tom then took possession of the sleeve-buttons which had
belonged to his fatlier, put the dead body near the upturned
roots of a tree, hastily kicked some dirt and leaves over it, and
then returned to Decker's and placed the gim where ho had
found it. After doing this, he left the neighborhood. If an
attempt was made to arrest him, he eluded liis pursuers. It
was not chfficult to do so, because the frontiers-men of the
Delaware very generally applauded his crime, and beUeved that
• The \cktc Jacob Quu'k, of Callicoon.
THE TOWN OF LU.MBERLASD. 371
the aggi-avatiiig oii-cumatances under -whicli lie acted were a fiiU
and sufficient justification.
Several years after this event, a man naroed Philip Decker,
while cultivating the land on which the Indian was killed,
plowed up his bones.
Not long after the killing of Muskwink, Tom murdered an
entire family, consisting of an Indian, his squaw and three
children, the youngest a suckling. The party were quietly
passing through Butler's Kift in a canoe, when Tom, who was
m ambush among the taU reed-grass on the shore, rose up,
aimed his gun at them, and ordered them to come ashore.
They did not dare to disobey. When they had got near enough,
Tom shot the man, and tomahawked the others. Before he
killed the youngest pappoose, his heart for a mome-nt relented ;
but suddenly remembering that if he let it live, it would become
an Indian, he did not spare it. In his old age, when asked why
he killed the children, his invariable reply was, "Nits make
lice ! "
We are aware that this relation has been severely criticised.
It has been said of it, that it is incredible, and that if true no
record of it should be made. As to its truth : Tom repeatedly
described the affair with all its brutal details to Jacob Quiet,
our informant. Jacob Quick believed that the story was true
as firmly as he believed in the truth of the Chi-istiau faith, to
the verity of which he bore testimony from his youth to old age.
As to the other objection : Our histories of Indian wars are
replete with narratives -which illustrate the cruelty and barbarity
of the red men of our country, while thev contam but few and
imperfect pictures of the bnitality, licentiousness and greed of
the white savages who have debauched, wronged and extermi-
nated nearly an entire race of people. All history which is not
impartial and true, is a fraud. Therefore, believing that what
is set down in the preceding paragraph is true, we will let the
record stand.
Besides these there is but little doubt that Tom killed two
Indians at Hagan's pond, one at the house of Showers on the
Mongaup, and was implicated in the murder of Canope at
Hand.some Eddy. According to his own statement, he also
destroyed an indefinite number while hunting. He assm-ed our
informant, that when he heard the report of a gun while in the
woods, he went cautiously to the point where it was fired, and
generally found an Indian skinning a bear or a doer, after which
it was easy to send a bullet through his head or lieart.
While hunting in Lumberland, Tom was in the habit of
staying at the house of a relative named Peter Quick, who,
according to the Records of Mamakating, lived on tlie old
■Cochecton road, about midway between the Mongaup and
372 HisroBY OF sullhan county.
Beaver brook. Peter sometimes accompaBied the Indian-slayer
when the latter engaged in hiuiting and trapping. While thus
engaged, they were on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware,
at Pond Eddy, when they saw an Indian named William George
in a canoe on the river, and coming directly towards them.
Tom made his companion squat La the reed-gi-ass, and told him
that they would have some sport with the red-skin. They
remained concealed until the savage came close to them, when
Tom rushed irom the grass, aimed his rifle at him, and ordered
him to come ashore. When he had obeyed Tom's cominand,
he was asked his business, etc., and told that he must die. And
Tom would have shot him, if Peter, who was a humane man,
had not mterfered, and with much difliculty saved the Indian's
life. The latter was then ordered to be gone, and at once
jiaddled ofl^ in fine style. As he was retreating, Tom aimed his
i-ifle at him, and exclaimed in very Low Dutch. " Ho could ich,
de durider ! out de cano tumhly ! " (" Thunder ! how I could tumble
him oiit of the canoe ! ") During the remainder of the day he
was very morose, and seemed to be angiy at himself because
he had permitted the Indian to escape.
From the fact that this took place while there were Indians
in the vicinity, we are led to believe that Peter Quick settled in
Lumberland before the Revolutionary war; for the savages did
not frequent that region after 1783.
In 1792, Peter E. Gumaer, of Peenpack, was one of the
collectors of Mamakating. His district extended from the
mouth of the Mongaup to the CaUicoon, and probably included
a part or all of Deerpark. In 1853, he furnished for Lotan
Smith's Agi-icultural Histoi-y of SuUivan a list of tax-payers,
who, sixty-one years previously, were on his list, and, according
to liis recollection, lived in what was once the town of Lumber-
land.
Although this list is not infallible, we give it, premising that
the Records of Mamakating show that Solomon Wheat lived
in Mount Hope or Deerpark, and that Creeley and one or two
others did not reside in Lumberland :
£ s. d. £ s. d.
John Showers 0 1 Oj "Nathaniel Mitchell 0 2 10^
Joseph Quick 0 2 Oj iJohn Thomas 0 5 0
^Nicholas Conklin ... 02 10.\ i- Jonathan Dexter . . 0 0 9|^
*Paul Tyler 0 0 8^' John Beemer 0 0 7|
*Charles' Tyler 0 0 5,J tJohn Cole 0 0 0^
Mob Joue.4 0 2 3J Israel Hodge 0 0 3|
*John Ross 0 0 11 Martin Decker 0 0 Hi
' Supposed rtsidi iitB of CcKhiiton ami Delaware. 1 PnnidintB uf Tusten.
THE TOWN OF LUMBEKLAND.
373
£ s. d.
OSS 0 0 8
*WUliam ConkHn.... 0 0 11
Solomon Wheat 0 0 3,^
JJesse WeUs 0 17
JThomas Bames 0 0 10.^
JAbraham Barnes .... 0 1 0 j
tThos. Reeve, 02 0^
JJoshua Caroenter. . . 0 2 1|^
Matthew Quick 0 1 5^
Abner Lane 0 0 11
X s. d.
tJohn Moore 0 3 0^
Peter Greeley 0 0 1|
George Lane 0 0 9^
Joseph Showers .... 0 0 3i
Henry Quick 0 0 3|
Samuel Dailey 0 1 10
Elias Davis 0 1 2|
John Dailey 0 0 5
tWilham WeUs.... 0 0 6^
JDavid WeUs 0 0 9|
By an act of the Legislature passed March 16, 1798, Never-
sink was taken from Rochester and Lumberland from Mama-
kating. The act first provides for the erection of the former,
and in a subsequent section for the latter, so that, although
Neversink first saw iJie light, the two may be termed twin-sisters.
Lumberland was thus bounded by the Legislature which gave
it existence: "On the north-east by the Delaware river ; on the
north-west by the county of Delaware ; on the south-west by
Bochester; and on the east by the Mongaup river."
We have copied the description here given fi-om the original
Session Laws of 1798. Taking the letter of the law as a guide,
no man could have found the bounds of the town, A gi-eater
piece of legislative bungling was never perpetrated.
The name of Lumberland was derived from what was then
the leading pursuit of its inhabitants. Although the town now
covers but 32,335 acres, it at first comprised an area of nearly
300,000, and included Highland, Tusten, Cochecton, Delaware
and Bethel, and so much of Fallsburgh, Liberty, CaiUcoon and
Fremont as was not originally in the town of Rochester.
In 1800, Lumberland had a population of 733 souls. Except
a few families located in Liberty, and at one or two other points,
the residents of the town lived in the valley of the Delaware or
its immediate vicinity, and were engaged in lumbering. The
town was an immense wilderness of valuable timber. The forests
consisted principally of white and yellow pine, oak, chestnut,
and hemlock. The soil of the southern portion, except a few
small tracts of valley land, was considered worthless for agricult-
ural purposes. Hence the possession of farm-lots was not
considered desirable, and real estate was held m large parcels
by non-residents, (principally citizens of Orange county,) whose
aim was to convert the timber into cash at the least possible
expense to themselves. To do this, they built mills, and em-
ployed choppers, teamsters and sawyers, who were controlled
t Residents of Tusten.
374 HISTORY OF SCIXIVAN COUNTY.
by resident agents. Each establishment had its httle com-
munity of employees, a majority of whom lived in make-shift
tenements, some of whom did not even cultivate a garden, and
all of whom received wages which left no surplus at the end of
the year. The region was thus stripped and phmdered of its
natural wealth. It was the fountain-head of a stream which
swept to distant localities its auriferous stores, and diminished
its own riches in the ratio it added to the consequence of other
r^ona.
Until a recent day, it was believed that there would be nothing
in Lumberland to stimulate enterprise as soon as the original
forests were swept away. Happily this belief was not well
founded. That part of the town which borders on the Dela-
ware, contains an almost inexhaustible source of wealth. If
tlie name of Lumberland once suggested the principal industry
of the to^\Ti, Stoneland or Rockland would now be a more
appropriate appellation. It was found that the supei-ficial
stratum of rock was what is known to quarrymen as blue-stone.
In 1868, Messrs. MiUs & Cash, an Ulster county firm which had
successfully prosecuted the busmess in Ulster, opened extensive
quarries near Pond Eddy. They were followed by Heniy W.
Decker. In 1870, the firm of Decker, Kilgore & Co. formed a
joint stock company known as the New York and Pennsylvania
Blue Stone Company. This organization has a capital of one
milhon of dollars, and has leased of James D. Decker more
than one-third of the town. It is said that its annual transac-
tions reach a sum equal to the nominal capital of the company.
Although the new interest may be developed more rapidly
by those who now control it, than if diffused among the resi-
dents of the town, it is probable that a large share of the profits
which will arise fi'om it will enrich non-residents.
Among the early settlers since the Revolutionary war, we may
mention Joshua Knight and P. VanAuken on the Mougaup;
Sears Gardner, Elnathan Corey and the Middaughs at Pond
Eddy, as well as the Deckers, Sears G. TuthiU, John Rinck and
Wnham Ryerson. The descendants of several of these persons
are not among the present inhabitants of the town. Elnathan
Corey kept the first tavern, and Levi Middaugh and Solon
Cooper the first store at Pond Eddy. A. M. Farnham was the
pioneer school-teacher.
We should add to the above list the names of Adam White
and Philip Decker. Decker came from New Jersey. Abram W.
Decker, a former Member of Assembly, and James D. Decker,
who represented Lumberland for many years in the Board of
Supervisors, and is now (1873) Sheriff of Sidlivan county, are
sons of Philip Decker.
The fii*m of Middaugh & Cooper was dissolved in 1830 in con-
THE TOWN OF LUMBEBLAND. 375
sequence of the mysterious disappearance of Cooper. This
Middaugh was respectably connected. Cooper had a wife and
children with whom he lived in concord. As a husband and
father he was remarkably kind and affectionate, and we believe
he was prosperous in his affairs.
On the 23d of August, he left home to transact business at
Mongaup Valley, where he hoped to collect a sum of money
due the firm fi-om Jeremiah Gale ; at Mouticello, where he in-
tended to leave several deeds at the County Clerk's office ; and
at Kingston, where he intended to pay a considerable sum on
account of the firm. When he started, he took with him the
necessary funds for the latter pui-pose. On his way he passed
through Forestburgh, where he called on Adam White, and
then pi'oceeded to the house of Marshall Perry, where he re-
mained all night. On the 24th, he resumed his journey, and
stopped at vai-ious houses on his way to make inquiries as to
the route to Mongaup Valley. The last place where he was
seen was at DeAVitt Decker's, three miles from the valley. Here
he made the usual inquu-ies and left. He never reached Gale's,
and no fiirther trace of him could be found. On the 6tli of
October, Middaugh published an advertisement in the Republican
Watchman, in which he declared that he was ignorant of Cooper's
fate ; that the business of the firm had terminated, and cautioned
the public not to tinist Cooper on its account. From this it
appears that Middaugh believed his late partner had absconded.
Others, however, came to a difl'erent conclusion. They believed
that the missing man was murdered, and for a time much
excitement prevailed in regard to the matter.
On the 24th of September, 1831, the people of Thompson
and Bethel, at the request of Mr. Gale, turned out to search
for Cooper's remains ; and again on the 29th of October, on the
call of Mr. Gale, Hezekiah HoweU and Asa Hall ; but on neither
occasion was a clue found to his mysterious disappearance. If,
in accordance with the general belief, he was murdered, his
bones may yet be found in or near West Settlement.
On the 17th of December, 1843, one of the small ponds of
Lumberland was the scene of a sad tragedy. Cornelius Letts,
aged 22 years, while crossing the pond, broke through the ice.
As his brother was vainly endeavoring to rescue him, :i young
lady to whom CorneHus expected to be married on the next
day, and who lived in the vicinity, attracted by his cries, came
to the shore, and, after witnessing his struggles to escape, saw
him sink to rise no more. The clergyman who was engaged to
perform the marriage ceremony came according to agreement ;
but instead of finding Cornelius arrayed in man-iage garments,
he found him enshrouded for the grave. A funeral sermon was
delivered over the i-emains of the unfoi-tunate young man at the
376 HISTORY OF 8ULLIVAN OOUJWTf.
very hour set for the wedding. "We have seldom met with an
incident which more forcibly' illiistratee the uncertainty of human
affairs.
About the year 1850, the question of once more dividing
Lumberhmd began to be seriously discussed. The town con-
tained over 90,000 acres of land, and its river-fi-ont extended
from the Mongaup to the south-western comer of Cochecton.
Even when the town-business was transacted at a central point,
some of the people fmind it difficult to go to and return from
that point in a single day, and the roads were so rough that the
journey was irksome and not altogether -wdthout peril. The
first proposition for a division was made in 1852, and came fj'om
Charles S. Woodward, Jonathan Hawks, Sears K. Gardner,
George Swartz, John S. Hughes, Eichard "VV. Corwin, C. C.
Murray, James B. Hankins, Duncan Boyd and others, who
Eetitioned for the erection of an additional town fi-om Lumber-
md. Tliis, although favored by a large number of leading
citizens, was not satisfactory to a majority of the inhabitants,
whose discontent with such an arrangement was made manifest
by a counter-appUcation from Benjamin B. Parker, Bobert
Atkins, Justus Hickok, Benjamin C. Austin and eighteen others
for the making of two new towns. The petition of the latter
had the most weight with the Board of Supervisoi's, who on the
17th of December, 1853, enacted that certain lots should be
erected into the town of Tusten, and certain other lots into
the town of Highland,* "and that all the remaining part of
Lumberland shall be and remain a separate town by the name
of Lumberland."
As the labor of the town has been confined almost exclusively
to a single branch of industry, so the consciences of its citizens
have been mainly swayed by a solitary religious creed. The
manufacture of lumber caused isolated neighborhoods to spring
up. The itinerating preachers of the Methodist Episcopal
Society found their way to these little communities, and secured
the gi-atitude, love and confidence of the people to such an
extent that the only churches of the town belong to the Metho-
dists. There are four of these edifices — one of which is at South
Lebanon ; one at Pond Eddy ; and one at Lebanon. There is
a church for every 267 inhabitants. Everj- man, woman and
child of the town can simultaneously find refuge in a rehgious
sanctuary — a very remarkable fact.
At Pond Eddy there is a suspension bridge, for the constnic-
tion of which the town has been bonded for $19,000.
*See chapters on Tusten and Highland.
THE TOWN or I.UMBEBLAND.
6UPERVI80ES OF THE TOWN OF LUMBEELAND.
From To
1798 No record 1809
1809 John Conklin 1810
1810 Jonathan Dexter 1811
1811 Oliver Calkin 1813
1813 Samuel Watkins 1816
1816 Oliver Calkin 1818
1818 William Dunn 1819
1819 Oliver Calkin 1820
1820. Sears Gardner 1822
1822 OHver Calkin 1823
1823 Gardner Fergerson 182o
1825 Seare Gardner 1826
1826 Gardner Fergerson ■ 1829
1829 William Dunn 1830
1830 Gardner Feigerson, 1833
1833 Samuel Hankins 1835
1835 John Bishop 1837
1837 Augustus M. Sackett 1838
1838 James K. Gardner 1841
1841 Sears G. Tuthill 1842
1842 Charles S. Woodward 1850
1850 Thomas Wilhams ; 1852
1852 James K.Gardner 1853
1853 Charles S. Woodward 1854
1854 O. W. Lambert 1856
1856 Peter G. Canfield 1857
1857 Abrara T. Drake 1858
1858 Abram W. Decker 1860
1860 James D. Decker 1871
1871 Joseph Steel 1872
1872 Albert Stage 1874
CHAPTEE XIII.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING.
The day and year of the firet visit made by white men, to the
territory comprised within the bounds of Sullivan county, can-
not now be determined ; and we cannot trace the route pursued
by them. They may have come fi'om the colony of Swedes,
tistablished on the Delaware river in 1638, or they may have
traveled the Indian paths which led from Esopus in 1614, when
a trading-post was established at that point by the Dutch.
It is said of the Swedes, that they hved in unbroken amity
with the Lenape, and that they deserved the love and confi-
dence of tlie red man. The tnith of this assertion is conceded
by historians ; hence there is no i-oom to beheve that an obstacle
was presented by the original inhabitants to such of the Swedes
;is desired to explore the streams, mountains, valleys and plains
of the country.
One of the hallucinations of that period was, that the forests
of this continent abounded with rich mines of gold, silver and
other precious metals, and that the natives were well acquainted
with these mines, and could be induced to disclose what they
knew. The Swedes, as well as other immigTants, used every
artifice to induce the Indians to Iciul them to these El Dorados.
Thus, doubtles.s, the Dutch discovered the old mine at Minisink,
and the lost mine of Mamakating. Generally, however, the ore
found was not as valuable as the mixed lead, copper and zinc
found in the Shawangunk. Grievous ilisappoiutment followed
when it was submitted to the crucible. Often were they
deceived by those pyiites whicli have been appropriately termed
" fools' gold." The golden lustre of the ppites led to the
transportation of many carefully guarded samples to Europe,
which experienced mineralogists there at once cast, not into
uigots, but among iiibbish.
Although the search for mines led to the discovery of much
fertile land in the wilderness, and its occupation by the whites
at an eai'ly day, it did not lead to the settlement of the banks
of the Delaware by the Swedes, or any other Europeans, as far
up as Minisinlc, \intil several years had elapsed.
[378]
THE TOWN OF MAJIAKATMG. 379
That the Swedes believed that thej^ were the discoverers of
deposits of the precious metals ou the banks of the river of the
Lertape, may be proved by reference to Master Evelyn's curious
description of the coimtiy. Lindstrom, the Swedish engineer,
who explored several portions of the country, assures us that
silver existed near the Falls of the Delaware,* and that consider-
able quantities of gold were found higher up the river.f Says
he, "the shore before the mountain is covered with pyrites.
When the soundest are broken, kernels are found as large as
small peas, containing virgin silver. I have broken more than
a hundred. A savage Unapois, beholding a gold-ring of the
wife of Governor Printz, demanded why she carried such a
trifle. The Governor replied, "If you will procure me siach
trifles I will reward you with other things suitable for you.'
'I know,' said the Indian, 'amotrutain filled with such metal.'
'Behold,' rejoined the Governor, 'what I will give you for a
specimen ; ' presenting to him at the same time, a fathom of retl
and a fathom of blue frieze, some white lead, looking-glasses,
bodkins and needles, declaring that he would cause him to be
accompanied by two of his soldiers. But the Indian, refusing
this escort, said that he would first go for a specimen, and, if it
gave satisfaction, he might be sent back with the Governor's
people. He promised to give a specimen, kept the presents,
and went away ; and, after some days, returned with a lump of
ore as large as his double fist, of which the Governor made
proof, found it of good quality, and extracted fi'om it a consider-
able quantity of gold, which he manufactured into rings and
bracelets. He promised the Indian further presents, if he
would discover the situation of this mountain. The Indian
consented, but demanded a delay of a few days, when he could
spare more time. Content with this, Printz gave him more
presents. The savage, having returned to his nation, boasted
of his gifts, and declared the reason of their presentation. But
he was assassinated by the sachem and his companions, lest he
should betray the situation of this gold-mine ; they fearing its
ruin if it were discovered by us. It is stiU unknown."
This ore may have been a mixed ore from the Shawangunk
mountain, or from the metaUiferous region of Sussex county,
New Jersey, where an ore is found which is easily converted
into brass. It certainly was not gold.
The planting of a trading-post at Esopus by the Dutch in
1614, and the settlement of that point by the same people, led
to a brisk intercourse between the two races. At Esopus
debouched the dusky trappers and huntei-s, beaiing a rich
* The Falls of the Delaware mentioned liy Iimdstiom w«re at the head ot lioop
wid iteamboat naTigation, at Trsotoa,
t Gordon's New J ei»ey.
iJHU HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
harvest of skins and furs, from a great scope of cotintry, includ-
ing all of SuUivan county. To the great trail from "Minisink
through Mamakating, Warwarsing, etc., to Esopus, led aU the
other principal trails of this region. One great trail of the
Lenape was from a point about two miles above Saugerties, to
the upper waters of the Plattekill, and from thence to Paka-
tagkan, an Indian village on the Papacton branch of the Dela-
ware. The Minisink trail ran from the Hudson, via Marbletown,
Rochester, Wawarsing, Wurtsborough, Port Jervis, and the
Delaware, nearly to the Water Gap. From Marbletown, a great
trail ran by the way of Olive and Shandaken,* to Pakatagkan ;
another from Marbletown to the forks of the Rosendall, Grahams-
yille, Debmce, etc., to Cochecton, where it crossed the Delaware
and led to Skinner's creek ; another was from the Sand-Hills, up
the Sandburgh to Denniston's ford, the Sheldrake, Liberty and
the Cochecton trail. There were also trails from Napanoch, and
along the Neversink, and to and from various minor points.
There were men among the original Dutchmen of Esopus,
who, although they had been schooled in civilization, soon affili-
ated with the savage Lenape hunters. They hunted with them,
trapped with them, and became guests at their wigwams.
Whether they penetrated the country as far as the Mamakating,
the Na^asing or the Lenape-wihittuck can never be known. t
However plausible may seem our theories in regard to the
Swedes of the Delaware and the Hollanders of Wildwijk, we
cannot prove that the foot of a European pressed our soil
previous to the year 1663, when, during the Esopus war, white
prisoners were brought by the Indians to our teiTitory, and
white soldiers came here to punish the savages. A full history
of the events of that year will be found in our chapter on the
Lenni Lenape. In that war, the Esopus clansj were completely
subdued and humbled, and a way was opened to the heart of
the Manassing or Minsi country. Sometime after the treaty of
peace which terminated the contest, the tide of civilization
flowed through the valley of the Mamakating to Minisink,
where the council-fires of the great Lenape confedei'acy had
glowed far in the dim past. That beautiful territory was
exchanged for Dutch guilders and Dutch trinkets. Entirely
surrounded by the Minsi or Manassings, and far beyond the
hope of succour, the Dutch and Huguenots of Minisink shrewdlv
enacted the role of good and trae men in theu* transactions with
the natives ; otherwise they were better Christians than many
* The Indian name of the Esopua river.
tThe fact that no whito hunters were employed by the Dntch as ffnides in 166.^,
when they invaded the Indians of our territory, seems to prove that this region had
not then been visited by them.
4 They were outlying clana of the Muwi.
THE TOWN OF MAMAK.VTING. 381
others ■who dealt with the Indians. A simple but a crafty race
were these original white settlers of this (at that time) far
country, as we shall see hereafter. They were Kterally "as
wise as serpents and as harmless as doves ; " and they were for
iaany years rewarded with peace and prosperity, as all men
must be who, fi-om purely disinterested or pui'ely selfish motives,
scrupulously do what is right.
The early days of Peenpack and Minisink, like the origin of
tVee and Accepted Masonry, are not matters of record. Ma-
sonry may have existed before the "rough ashlers" were he-wn
for the temple ; even Adam may have been the first W. M. of
Eden Lodge No. 1, and Satan the first cowan who lurked around
the outer-door of the chamber adjoining the sanctuary ; but we
do not beUeve the Huguenots settled in Minisink before the
revocation of the edict of Nantz in 1686, nor that the Dutch
had a flourishing colony there before the Esopue clans were so
unmercifully slain and devoted to starvation in 1663.
As the settlement of Minisink by whites led to the erection of
the first cabin built in SuUivan by a European, we may vn-ite of
that settlement in extenso.
Gordon in his admirable History of New Jersey, says : " We
may justly sui:)pose, that the road between the colonies on the
Hudson and Delaware, was not wholly uninhabited" in 1658.
He takes it for granted that the colony existed in Minisink in
that year, and that the Minisink road, which was one hundred
miles in length, was the work of the Dutch colonists! And yet
five years after this time there were not seventy-five* able-
bodied male residents of WUdwijk ! (Kingston.) It is not to
be supposed that such a mere handful of men had hewn then-
way through a hundred miles of forest, infested by savages.
Eager, in his History of Orange County, exp-esses the belief
that there were miners from Holland at work m the mine-holes
of Minisink, and in Mamakating Hollow, previous to 1664, and
that the mining-business closed in consequence of the surrender
to the English in that year. If so, the country must have
been e-cplored by the Dutch, and they woidd not have been
compelled to employ as guides, in 1663, white females who had
been prisoners with the Indians, and escaped ; nor would they
have resorted to Indians to pilot them through the woods to
the forts and villages of the hostile clans, which were located
within forty miles of Esopus.f
*From "A Rool of the Names and Surnames of them that haue takin the oath of
allegiance in ye county of Vlstr, by ordr of hie excely : ye Gouernor ; ye ftirst day of
iSopt«mbr anno Qe : domini 16S9— " it appears that 189 appeared and tooK the oath ; i
" Did Reffeues to take it, and 29 " Did iiott appeare," Total, 212. A few names which
ai'e familiar in the annals of Minisink appear in the list Doc. Biat. of iV. Y.
Id 1703, there wore in Ulster county J
t Documentary History of New York.
OOa HISTORY OF SULLIVAN' COUNTY.
The error of Gordon and Eager is \indoubtedly based on the
following interesting paper, which was communicated bj Samuel
Preston, in 1828, to Hazard's Begister :
"In 1787, the writer went on his first surveying tqur into
Northampton county; he was deputed under John Lukens,
Sur\-eyor General, and received fi-om him, by way of instructions,
the following naiTative respecting the settlement of Minisink,
on the Delaware, above the Kittany and Blue mountain :
" That the settlement was formed for a long time before it
was known to the Government in Philadelphia. That when
the Government was informed of the Settlement, they passed a
law in 1729 that any such purchases of the Indians should be
void ; and the purchasers indicted for forcible entry and detainer,
according to the law of England. That in 1730, they appointed
an agent to go and investigate the facts ; that the agent so ap-
pomted was the famous Surveyor, Nicholas Scull ; that he, John
Lukens, was N. Scull's apprentice to carry chain and learn
surveying. That as they both understood and could talk Indian,
they hired Indian guides and had a fatiguing journey, there then
being no white inhabitants in the upper part of Bucks or
Northampton county. That they had very great difficulty to
lead their horses through the water gap to Slinisink flats, which
were all settled with Hollanders ; with several they could only
be understood in Indian. At the venerable Depuis they founcl
great hospitality and plenty of the necessaries of hfe. J. Lukens
said that the first thing which struck his attention was a grove
of apple-trees of size far beyond any near Philadelphia. That
as N. Scull and himself examined the banks, they were fully of
opinion that all those flats had at some foi-mer age been a deep
lake before the river broke through the mountain, and that the
best intei-jDrctation they could make of Minisink, was, the wafer
i.s gone* That S. Dupuis told them when the rivers were frozen,
he had a good road to Esopus, near Kingston, fi-om the Mine-
holes, on the Mine road, some huudi-ed miles. That he took
his wheat and cider there for salt and necessaries, and did not
appear to have any knowledge or idea where the river ran —
Philadelphia market — or being in the government of Pennsyl-
vania.
' " They were of opinion that the first settlements of Hollan-
ders in Minisink were many years older than William Penn's
* The theory has been advanced that the Delaware river once discharged it*
waters into the Hudson by the way of Mamakating vaUey, and that by Bome convul-
sion of nature, or by more gradual agencies, a passage for the river was opened through
the famous Water Gap, the precipitous walla of which rise 1,600 feet above the 8urfac«
of the river. Gordon says that an obstruction ot 200 feet in height at this point would
form a lake fifty miles in length, extending over the Minisink country. Before th»
bed of the river was broken down, there must have been a cataract here higher than
that of Niagara.
THE TOWN OF M.UIAKATIiXG. 383
chArter, and that S. Depuis had treated them so well they con-
cluded to make a suiveA- of his claim, iu order to befriend him
if necessary. AVhen they began to survey, the Indians gathered
around ; n,n old Indian laid his hand on N. Scull's shoulder and
said, 'Put up ii-on string, go home.' They then quit and
returned.
" I had it in charge from John Lukens to learn more particu-
lars respecting the Mine road to Esopus, etc. I found Nicholas
Dupuis, Esq., son of Samuel, living in a spacious stone house
in great plenty and affluence. The old Mme holes wei'e a few
miles above, on tlie Jersey side of the river, by the lower point
of Paaquary Flat ; that the Minisiuk settlement extended forty
miles or more on both sides of the river. That he had well
known the Mine road to Esopus, and used, before he opened
the boat channel through Foul Eift, to drive on it several times
eveiy winter witli loads of wheat and cider, as also did his
neighbors, to purchase their salt and necessaries in Esopus,
having then no other market or knowledge where the river ran
to. That after a navigable channel was made through Foul
Rift, they generally took to boating, and most of the settlement
turned their trade down stream, the Mine road became less and
less travelled.
"Tliis interview with the amiable Nicholas Dupuis, Esq., was
in June, 1787. He then appeared about sixty years of age. I
interrogated as to the particulars of wliat he knew, as to when and
by whom the Mine road was made, what was the ore they dug
and hauled on it, Avhat was the date, and from whence, or how,
came the first settlers of Minisink in such great numbers as to
take up aU the flats on both sides of the river for forty miles.
He could only give traditionary accounts of what he had heard
from older people, without date, in substance as follows :
"That in some former age there came a company of Miners
from Holland; supposed, from the great labor expended in
making the road, about one hundred miles long, that they were
very rich or very great people, in working the two mines, — one
on the Delaware where the mountain nearly approaches the
lower point of Paaquary Flat, the other at the north foot of
the same mountam, near half way from the Delaware and
Esopus. He even understood that abimdance of ore had been
hauled on that road, but never could learn whether lead or
silver. That the first settlers came from HoUand to seek a
place of quiet, being persecuted for their rehgion. I beUeve
they were Armenians. They followed the Mine road to the
large flats on the Delaware. That smooth cleared land suited
their views. That they bona fide bought the improvements of
the native Indians, most of whom then moved to the Susque-
hanna ; that with such as remained there was peace till 1755.
384 HISTOItl- OF SULL1V.4U COUNTY.
"I then went to view the Paaquary Mineholes.* There ap-
peared to have been a great abundance of labor done there at
some former time, but the mouths of these holes were caved
full, and overgrown with bushes. I concluded to myself if there
ever had been a rich mine under that mountain it must be
there yet in close confinement. The other old men I conversed
with gave their traditions similar to N. Dupuis, and they all
appeared to be gi-andsons of the fiist settlers, and very ignorant
as to the dates and things relating to chronology. In the
summer of 1789, I began to build on this place ; then came two
venerable gentlemen on a surveying expedition. They were
the late Gen. James Clinton, the father of DeWitt Clinton, and
Christopher Tappan, Esq., Clerk and Recorder of Ulster county.
For many years before they had both been surveyors under
Gen. Clinton's father, when he was surveyor general. In order
to learn some history from gentlemen of their general knowledge,
I accompanied them in the woods. They both well knew the
Mineholes, Mine road, <fcc., and as there wei'e no kind of docu-
ments or records thereof, united in the opinion that it was a
work transacted while the State of New York belonged to the
government of Holland ; that it fell to the English in 1664 ; and
that the change in government stopped the mining business,
and that the road must have been made many years before such
digging could have been done. That it undoubtedly must have
been the first good road of that extent made in any pari of the
United States."
The Paaquary is undoubtedly one of the mines mentioned
Ijy Lindstrom, the Swedish Engineer, a knowledge of which, it
is presumed, was imparted to the inhabitants of Esopus by the
Minsi Indians, and led to the Minisink settlements above the
Water Gap. These people piu'chased of the Indians their
improved lands — theh maize-fields, and orchardsf — without
knowing or caring whether tliey were in the colony of New York,
New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. Here they worked the mine, as
well as the one midway between Muiisink and the Hudson, until
it was found unprofitatile, and they became comparatively pros-
perous and rich by cultivating the'llat bottom lands of Minisink.
Subsequently (in 1729 and 1730) their right to the soil was
questioned by the Proprietors of Pennsylvania, and they were
shrewd enough to claim that their ancestors occupied Minisink
long before Penn purchased land of the Lenape; that in a
forgotten age they had constructed a road of one hundi'ed miles
*Some wrik-rs have affirmed that the word Jtinieink comes from the EngUsh
words mine and sink (ili7i-e-siiik.) In the same manner NevorBink, Mamakating,
Wawareing, etc., may be traced to a like eource.
tThe apple was a favorite of the r«l man from his earliest intercovu'so with (he
whites.
THE TOWN OP MAHAKATING. 385
through a wilderness country, to their possessions; worked
mines, cultivated land, built substantial houses, and exercised
undisputed control; that from generation to generation they
had married there — reared their offspring there — grown gray
there, and peacefully descended to the vaUey of death, where
their flesh and bones had mouldered and returned to dust. To
this claim they added the charm of French hospitality and
suavity, and the Indians, whether prompted or incited thereto
or not, added their hostility.
The apparent candor and simplicity of the Dupuis (Depuys) ,
their courtesy and their generous hospitality, together with the
determination evinced by the savages, were followed by results
which were natural. The emissaries of the Pennsylvania pro-
prietors made a report favorable to the quiet continuance of
the squatters of Minismk in their happy valley.
But when did the first white settlers locate there?
The Dupuis, as their name proves, were French Huguenots,
and the Huguenots did not come to this continent previous to
1686, in which year they fled fi-om France, and were unsettled
for several years.
The first comers, it is alleged, were miners from Holland,
who worked in the Paaquary mountain. Grant this, and still
you do not concede that the teiritory was settled as soon as
Gordon and Eager would lead us to believe : for in 1787, " the
old men tvere grandsons of the original settlers." In the order of
nature, this would have been the case, if the original white
settlers had come as late as 1700. In 125 j^ears the grandsons
would have been dead.
Fortunately we have documentary evidence which throws
some light on this subject.
In February, 1694, Captain Arent Schuyler was ordered by
Governor Fletcher to visit the Minisink country, to ascertain
whether the savages of that region had been tampered with by
the French. He traveled through eastern New Jersey, and
reached the Neversiuk river above Port Jer\'is, and thence
passed to Minisink. He makes no allusion to white inhabitants
of that region, although he speaks of traders and trappeis
who had passed through it. We give his journal as we find it
quoted in Stickney's Minisink :
"schutler's journal.
" May it please your Excell :
" Id persiiance to y'' Excll : commands I have been in the
Minissinck Country- of which I have kept the following jour-
nal: viz'
" 1694 y"^ 3'^ of Feb : I departed from New Yorke for East New
25
•iJOb HISTOltY OF Sl-LUVAN COUNTT.
Jersey and'caiBe that, night att Bergen town where I hired two
men and a guide.
"Y" 4*h Sunday Morning. I went from Bergen & travilled
about ten Enghsh miles beyond Haghkingsack to an Indian
place called Peckwes.
"Ye gth Monday. From Peckwes North and be West I went
about thirty two miles, snowing and rainy weather.
"Y'-'g Tuesday I continued my journey to Maggaghkamieek*
and from thence to within half a days journey to the Minis-
sinck.
" Y® 7"i Wendesday. About eleaven a clock I arrived at the
Minissinck, and there I met with two of their Sachems and
severall other Indians of whome I enquired after some news, if
the French or their Indians had sent for them or been in
y8 Menissinck Country. Upon W=^ they answered that noe
French nor any of the French Indians were nor had been in the
Menissinck Country nor there abouts and did promise y' if
ye French should happen to come or y' they heard of it that
they will forthwith send a mesinger and give y"^ Excellency
notice thereof.
"Inquireing further after news they told me that six days
agoe three Christians and two Shauwans [Shawnee] Indians
who went about fifteen months agoe with Arnout Vielle into the
Shauwans County were passed by the Menissinck going for
Albany to fetch powder for Arnout and his compan}'; and
furthoi told them that s'' Arnout intended to be there w"> seaven
hundred of y'' said Shauwans Indians loadeu w"^ beaver and
peltries att y" time y" Indian corn is about one foot high (which
may be in the month of June.)
" The Menissinck Sachems further s'^ that one of their Sachems
and other of their Indians were gone to fetch beaver and
peltries which they had hunted ; and having heard no more of
them are afi'aid y' y« Sinnegiles [Senecasj have killed them for
y** lucar of the beaver or because y Menissinck Indians have
not been with y'" Sinnegues as usual to pay their Dutty, and
therefore desire y* your excellency will be pleased to order
yt the Sinnegues may be told, not to molest or hurt y« Menis-
sincks they be willing to continue in amity with them.
"In the' afternoon I departed from y« Menissincks; the 8"",
9* & 10* of Feb. I travilled and came att Bergen in y« morning
about noone arrived att New Yorke.
"This is may it please your Excel!, the humble reporte of
your Excellency's most humble servt. Abent Schuyler."
• Maftlilini'Uamaek. Tliisi name was flret applied to a tract of land in the lower
irsink valley. SubHequeutly that river
vas the Leuivpc word for meadow, or land
nndoubtedly means a plurality of meadows,
THE TOW^N OF MAMAK,\TrNG. 387
In 1697, three years after Schuyler's expedition to the Mini-
sink, a patent for lands in the valley was granted to him ; also
another for one thousand acres to the original settlers of Peen-
pack. There is no evidence that the Minisink country was
settled previous to the year last named.
As we have shown elsewhere, the Lenni Lenape name of the
region embracing a large portion of our county was Atkarkarton.
Ancient maps are not always accurate as to boimdaries. The
western limits of Atkarkarton are not given ; Init there is little
<loubt that it was the country inhabited by the river Indians
who lived west of the Hudson and between the Highlands and
the Catsberg. The river-clans were kindred of the Minsi or
Manassinga, and were subject to their authority, so far as one
•clan acknowledged another of the same blood as superiors.
Esopus was the first name applied by Europeans to Atkar-
karton. The name is spelled by early writers in various ways —
Seepu, Sypus, Sopus, etc. According to Ruttenber it is derived
from the Algonquin word ftipii, which is an equivalent of the
English word river. The final s was probably at first silent.
Thus the Sopus Indians were the river-Indians. They were
known as sncli as long as they remained in the country.
Finally some classical Dutchman, who was an admirer of old
Esop, and a reader of his Fables, changed the name to Esopus.
In olden times Esopus covered an extensive region. Minor
localities were mentioned as Mombackiis •at Esopus, Mame-ka-
ting at Esopus,* etc.
The origmal white settlers of the old town of Mamakating
were Jacob Cuddebeck, Thomas Swartwout, Anthony Swart-
wout, Bernardus Swartwout, Jan Tys, Peter Germar and David
Jamison, who, in 1697, obtained a patent for one thousand two
lumdred acres in the Peenpack valley, at a place then called
Wagaghkemek (Qu: Maghhackamack '^) They were principally
French Protestants, who fled from their native country on the
revocation of the edict of Nantes. All these men "^ did not
become permanent residents, as we find that in 1728 the free-
holders of Wagaghlcemek consisted of Herme Barentse Van
Emwegen, Peter Germar, John Van Vliet, junior, Samuel
Swartwout, Bernardus Swartwout, Junior, and Jacob Cudde-
back.t This settlement was not within the present limits of
Mamakating, and we mention it because it shows that the
occupation of the town by the whites, as it was first organized,
^as of ancient date.
Subsequently, it is believed, a mine was opened and worked
at a point north of Peenpack ; but that from some cause it was
abandoned.
* Hon. A. Bruyn Hasbrouek, f Pooximent»ry His.'orj- of New York.
6ttO HIBTOBY OF BULLTVAN COUNTY.
Those who labored at the Shawangunk mine in Mamakating
cannot be styled settlers. When they abandoned the mine,
they abandoned the country, and left no endiu-ing trace behind
them. They departed, and the place that had kno-RH them,
"knew them no more forever." After their exodus, several
years must have elapsed before the actual settlement of the
vaUey began — long enough to cause the exact locality of the
mine to be forgotten by the settlers of Ulster and their kindred
of Minisink. Otherwise it could be pointed out at tliis day.
The location of a mine in a continuously occupied region is
never lost, so much is its importance magnified in popular
estimation.
When the first actual settler came he built his cabin in the
vaUey of Mamakating, north of Wurtsborough. His name was
Manuel Gonsalus. Lotan Smith, in his manuscript History of
Sulhvan, says of him :
"About the year 1700, Don Manuel Gonsalus, a Spanish Puri-
tan, (then a young man,) fled from Spain on account of persecu-
tion for his Protestant sentiments, and married into a Dutch
family at Rochester, in Ulster county. He moved to Mamaka-
ting Hollqw, built a log-house, and entertained those who
carried wheat to Kingston market. Wheat, rye and corn were
raised in abundance in Minisink, and along the Delaware.
Gonsalus was a house-carpenter, made shingles and raised
some gi-ain. He opened trade with the Indians, as they were
friendly at that period."
Thus it appears he was a Spanish nobleman, a Spanish
Pui-itan, a tavern-keeper, a farmer, an Indian trader, a carpen-
ter, and a shingle-weaver ! Smith has undoubtedly recoi-ded all
that local tradition says of him. Gonsalus was not a Don, or
the son of a Don ; he was not a Puritan (although a Protestant)
for Spain never produced one ; he may have kept a log-tavern
and cultivat<?d land ; he undoubteiUy traded with the natives ;
was probably a carpenter ; but was not a shingle-weaver ; for a
man could make more shingles, at that day, within a half dozen
miles of Kingston, (the nearest market,) than he could trans-
port fi-om Mamakating with the fattest team of horses ever
owned by a Dutchman or Spaniard.
Tliere were, among the early residents of the valley of Mama-
kating, three or four persons named Manuel Gonsalus — father,
son and grandson. The first was a native of Spain ; the others
were born in Kingston and Mamakating.
The first of the name came to the province of New York at
an earlier day than is generally supposed. He was here pre'V'i-
ous to the year 1()89 ; for on the 11th of Scptoiuber, 1(389, he
was a member of Captain Gerrit Teuuise's iiiihtary company of
Kingston, at which time Robert Livhigston, the founder of the
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 6S\)
family of that name, states that he served "there Maj'" &
yo Countrey upon the frontiers of there maj*^ county of Albany"
and received therefor "12<^ p"" diem and Provisions."* Living-
ston spells the name Cansalis, and in various old documents we
find it Gonzales, Gonsalus, Gonsaulis, Gonsalisduck, Consawley,
etc. We infer that he had at least three sons ; for we find that
in 1738, Manuel, senior, Manuel, junior, Johannis and Joseph
Gonsalus were enrolled among the militia of Ulster county.
The year in which they came to Mamakating is unknown,
although it was undoubtedly soon after 1728; for in 1728
Manuel Gonsalus and Manuel Gonsalus, junior, were among the
one hundred and forty-eight freeholders of the town of Kingston .
and in 1738, two persons of the same name were members of
"the foot company of Rochester," under the command of
Captain Cornelius Hoornbeck. The beat of this company then
covered the valley west of the Shawangunk to the county line ;
for we find on the same roll the names of the Gumaers, Cud-
debacks, Westbrooks, and Van Inwegens, who had located at
Peenpack, or Warensackemack, and in its vicinity. This roU
represents that the elder Manuel was a corporal and the other
a private.
The fact that the senior of the two was enrolled at that time
casts a shadow of doubt upon the family-tradition that the
Spanish immigrant was the original white settler of this county;
for, assuming that he was twenty-one years of age in 1G89, (and
he was probably then older) he must have reached his 70th
year in 1738, and was consequently exempt from mihtary duty,
and not eligible to a non-commissioned office. These men were
undoubtedly the second and third of the name. Nevertheless,
the first Manuel may have come to Mamakating with them.
The iiniversal tradition is that he was the first settler. We are
willing that he should be so considered, although the latter
authority points to but one Manuel Gonsalus.
The children of Manuel Gonsalus 2d, were Manuel 3d, Daniel,
James, Samuel and Elizabeth. We can find no trace of their
descendants, except those of Daniel, Samuel, and a daughter
of Manuel named Ehzabeth. Samuel Gonsalus' children were
Daniel, James, Hem-y, Benjamin and Elizabeth. Elizabeth,
the daughter of Manuel 3d, married Peter Helm, a son of
Michael Helm. Her son Daniel was the father of Jacob Helm,
who died in Wurtsborough a few years since. The first Daniel
had two sons, Manuel and Benjamin.
While the Gonsalus family were residents of Kingston, they
occupied a respectable position in society. Manuel Gonsalus 2d,
* Documentary Hielory of New York. Three brothers named Gonsalus came to
America at tlie same time— Manuel, Peter and Richard. One settled on the Mohawk,
one at Hyde Park, and the other at Kingston.
390 HISTORY OF SCLLTTAS COUNTY.
married Remeiy Bevier, and the family thus became con-
nected -with the leading citizens of the Paltz patent. After its
removal to Mamakating, its isolation fi'om white men for several
years, except from hunters and wayfarers, and its constant
association with savages, together with the Spanish blood in its
veins, gave a somewhat wild, if not semi-savage tone to its
character.
The family settled near the Devens farm, where they kept a
log-tavem. They also built a saw-mill. This mill and tavern
were undoubtedly the fii'st within the Umits of Sullivan county.
The year in which they commenced manufactuiing lumber can-
not now be given, although it must have been some time
after they came to Mamakating. Of course, at first, there was
no home-market for such stuif ; and lumber was a mere drug in
the neighboring settlements, where the cost of sawing, etc., was
less than the expense of carting it ten miles.
The principal business was to furnish food and shelter to
those who were passing to and fi-om Minisink ; to cultivate their
land ; to fish and hunt ; and to exchange whisky and perhaps
trinkets for the furs and game of the Indians.
Fisliing and himting in Mamakating at that time afforded
abundant returns. Perhaps the trout of no stream in the world
are superior to those of the Basha's kill. One hundred years
ago, a man could catch as many there in an hour or two as he
could carry. At certain seasons of the year, salmon came to
the same stream from tiie ocean, and lost none of their dehcious
flavor by hving for a time in its pure waters. The bear, elk,
deer, wild turkey, and other game* almost swarmed on the hills
and in the valleys all around them. They were brave, hardy
men, fond of forest-life and forest-spoi-ts. They saw more of
the red man than of the white, were at peace with everything
except wild beasts for many years; got the necessaries and
ma,ny of the luxuries of life almost without an effort; and grew
Civreless and impro^ndent.
How long Manuel Gonsalus and his descendants occupied
Mamakating farms before other settlers came, cannot now be
determined; but it is quite certain that Conrad Bevier was
added to the neighborhood at an early period. He was a
member of tlie numerous family of that name, who are descend-
ants of one of the first owners of the Paltz patent, and many
of whom hved on the south-western frontier of Ulster during
the Revolutionary war. Bevier was a wealthy farmer. Ho
built a largo and commodious stone mansion, which is now
known as the Stanton house, and is still in a tolerable state of
preservation. It was so constructed as to answer the double
*The cppoesiini i« stUl found ia the ralky.
THE TOWN OF MAMA.KATING. 391'
purpose of a dwelling and a fort. This house, it is said, is
older than the Westhi'ook dweUing-house at the Bessie's land
of aucient times, although there is room for doubting the asser-
tion. One or the other was the first stone building of the county.
The locality in which Bevier and the Gonsalus families lived,,
as we have already intimated, was first known as the Mama-
kating farms. This name was given because the farms were near ■
the head-waters of Mamakatiug river, which at this point sub-
sequently became Elizabeth's Idll, in compliment to EHzabeth
Gonsalus. We could imagine that she was the original Bashe,
Betje or Betsey who owned the land south of the Yaugh house
spring, and gave to the Mamakatiug stream its present name ;
but unfortunately she was not born soon enough. Twenty-five
years before her family came to Mamakating, Basha's land was-
mentioned in official documents.
The road fi-om Esopus to Minisink early claimed the attention
of the provincial authoiities. The following is an extract fi-om
the journal of the General Assembly of New York, as we find-
it copied by Lotan Smith, in his manuscript History :
" General Assembly Die Sabhati, May 11*, 1734.
" The petition of Jacobus Swartwout, WilKam Provost, Wil-
ham Cool and others, freeholders.^and inhabitants residing and
living in Minisink, in the county off Orange and Ulster, was
pre.sented to the House, ifec, setting forth that several persons
m West Jersey and Penn.sylvania having no other way to
transport then- produce than through the .Minisink road, and
there was but about -tO miles more to repair, before they come
to Esopus, &c; that they be compelled to work on said road
and assist in repairing it to the house of Egbert Dewitt, in the
town of Rochester, in the county of Ulster.
" Resolved, That leave be given to bring in a bill according to ■
the prayer of the petition."
We cannot ascertain whether the act of the Legislature of
New York was suiSciently potent to compel the citizens of New
Jersey and Pennsylvania to repair the old road which then ran
through the valley of Mamakatiiig. As that valley was their
only outlet to a market, and the road was much used liy them,
equity as well as interest required them to keep the road open.
Peenpack, etc, were at fii«t outlying neighborhoods of Mom-
backus, as the town of Rochester was originally named; but
they were not within its legal boundaries. They were at fijst
included in the general designation of Wagackkemeck. As we
have already stated, in 1738, white males of lawful age whoi
live-d in tJiese locahties. wer.e enrolled with tlie militia of.
Rodiestea-. ,
392 HISTORY OF SITLLIVAN COUNTY.
In 1714-^'), the Provincial Assembly levied a tax of ten thou-
sand pounds on the Province, when the several towns and
precincts of Ulster county were rated as foUows : *
Valuation. Tax.
Kingston . . . : je9,176 £57 7.s. Off.
Foxhall Manor 1,322 8 5 3
Hurley 4,398 27 9 9
Marbletown 5,142 32 2 9
Rochester 3,523 22 0 41
New PaDs, 2,075 12 19 4i
Shawangonck 848 5 6 0
Wagackkemeck 105 0 13 l.i
Highlands 293 116 7^
Totals 26,882 168 0 3
Mr. Ruttenber, from whose admirable History of Newburgh
■we copy the above table, errs in stating that Wagaokkemeck was
at this time a precinct.
On the 17th of December, 1743, the town of Deei^iark and
a part of Mount Hope, in Orange county, together with all the
territory of Sullivan, except that of I^^eversink, Rockland, a
part of Fallsburgh, Liberty, Callicoon and Fremont, and a
narrow strip of land between the foot of the Shawangimk
mountain and the Shawangunk river, were erected into a
precinct. The old name was discarded, and the more melhflu-
ous appellation of Mame-Kating adopted.
The act which made Mamakating a precinct may be found in
the Laws of New York, (Colonial,) volume 1 and 2, printed by
Hugh Gaine, " Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty in
the Province of New York, MDCCLXXiy." We copy so much of
it as relates to Mamakating :
" 17*^ George II, Laws of New York,— The Honoiirable
A. D. 1743. George Clinton, Governor.
Chap. DCCLL
An act to divide the Southern Part of the County of Ulster
into Precincts, and to enable the Corporation of Kingston, and
the Manor of Fox-Hall, to choose and elect one Super^^so^
more, and for regulating the Suj^ervisors and Assesors within
the said County.
Pass'd the W^ ofDecembei, 1743.
Whereas a gi-eat Number of Inhabitants are settled in
p^ j^j the Southern part of tlie County of Ulster, without
earn e. ^j^^ Bounds of any Town or Precmct heretofore estab-
'Buttenber's Newburgh,
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. rflW
lished within the said County ; and for want of being divided
into Precincts, with Officers, as other Towns or Precincts, many
Inconveniences have arisen, and wUl continue to arise, if Rem-
edy be' not had thereto ;
I. Be it therefore enacted by His excellency the Governor,
the Council, and General Assembly," etc.
[Then follow several sections, giving the boundaries, &c., of
the precincts of Wallkill, Shawangaungh, and High Land. The
precinct of Wallkill was bounded on one side by the line divid-
ing the counties of Orange and Ulster to the foot of the Shaw-
angunk mountain, and westerly by that mountain "to a river or
creek called the Platte-Kill ; then along the Platte-Kill to the
Shawangaungh river." Hence the land between the Shawan-
gunk river and the mountain, from New Vernon to the PlattekiU,
was in the old precinct of Wallkill.
The PlattekiU also formed a part of the boundaiy between
the two precincts, and Shawangaungh precinct ran west to the
foot of the mountain.
The tenth section of the act reads as follows :]
"X. Be it EN.4.CTED BY THE AUTHORITY ArORES.\ID, that all
Mame-Kating the Land to the Southward of the Town of Roch-
precinot erected ester, as far as this County of Ulster extends, and
to chuTe"'orre " to the Westward of the Wallkill Precinct and
Constable. SJiaivangaunijh Precinct as far as the said County
extends; shall be, and is hereby erected into a Precinct, by the
Name of Mame-Kating Precinct ; and that the Freeholders and
Inhabitants of Mame-Kating Precinct shall yearly elect one
Constable, two Assessors, two Overseers of the Poor and two
Surveyors of the Highways ; which said officers shall have the
same Power, and be liable to the same Fines and Forfeitures,
as the like Officers of the several Towns, Manors and Precincts
in the said County, are impowered with, and liable to ; and that
the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Mame-Kating Precinct
aforesaid shall annually meet at the now DwelUng House of
Samuel Swartwout, on the first Tuesday in April, yearly, for the
electing of the Officers aforesaid, until such Time as the Majority
of the Freeholders and Inhabitants at any one such meeting,
shall agree iipon some other certain Place of Meeting for the
following year; which place being so agreed on, shall remain
the Place of Meeting yearly, until alter'd as aforesaid ; and that
the Freeholders and Inhabitants of Mame-Kating, shall have
the Privilege to join with the I'reeholders and Inhabitants of
Rochester to chuse yearly one Supervisor, and shall be liable to
serve for Supervisor, if elected."*
» For a copy of this act we are indebted to Horton Tidd.
39i HISTORY OF SULLIVAS COUNTV,
In 1757, the valley -west of the Shawangunk was much
exposed to Indian outrage. To protect the inhabitants of the
fiontier, as well as those who found it necessary to travel from
Esopus to Miuisink, block-houses were erected at certain jDoiuts,
which were garrisoned by soldiers, whose duty it was to act as
scouts.
"In GENER.4.L Assembly, December 7, 1757.
" Lieut. Governor Delancy, among other things, communioated
to the House as follows :
"The enemy, the Indians, having made incursions into the
countias of Ulster and Orange, and murdered some of the
inhabitants, I ordered detachments of the militia to be omjsloyed
on the scout, to protect the settlers, promising to recommend
their services to you, at the next meeting, which I now do. I
also, on repeated appUcations from thence, gave orders to have
a line of block-houses built, more eflectively to secure iiiat part
of the country.
"And to encourage the inhabitants to stay and not abandon
their settlements, the frontier is now and has been for some
time guarded by troops posted there by the Earl of Landoune's
orders ; but when His Majesty's service next season shall call
for those troops, it will become necessary to place others there
under pay of the province, lest that part of the country be
destroyed by the French and their savages," etc.
"A guard of 160 men, exclusive of officers, were ordered for
Ulster county to the fiontiers, and 40 for Orange county."
One of these block-houses was on what is now kno^vn as the
Devens' place, north of Wurtsborough, and it is probable that
some of the soldiers were stationed in the stone-mansion of
Derick Van Keuren Westbrook, in WestbrookviUe. This line of
fortifications was built under the superintendence of James
Clinton, who subsequently became a prominent general of the
Revolutionary army.
During the French and Indian war, the Gonsalus famDy
suffered severely from the Indians, and one of them (Samuel,
the first white man who was born in the county) became famous
as an Indian-hunter and scout. In "Notes of the Ancient
History" of Ulster county, pubhshed in the New Paltz Tiirus
of March 10, 18(J5, it is alleged that "Sam's Point," a well-
known feature of Shawangunk mountain, was thus named in
consequence of the following incident: In September, 1758, a
sc;dping-party of Indians from the Delaware, crossed the
mountain to Sliawangnnk, and killed Daniel Gitz, Grif. Eastwu
and a man named Neaflie. The country being alarmed, the
savages hurried back ; but on the mountiun met Samuel Goa-
salus, to whoQj thoy gave chase in order to capture him. He
THE TOWN OP MAMAKATISG. daO
knew all the paths better than his pursuers, and hastening to
the Point, leaped a rocky precipice of some thirty or forty feet,
where he believed that he could break his fall amongst a clump
of saplings, (probably «edars or hemlocks). He thus made his
escape unhurt, and gave his name to the " big nose of Aioska-
wasting."*
Samuel's knowledge of the woods, and of the habits and
habitations of the hostile Indians, enabled him to do good
service to the country during the war with the French and their
native allies. The writer already quoted, however, asserts that
in the war of ther Revolution, he declared for the King, and
joined the tories and Indians of Butler and Brant. The author
of the "Notes" says that Lieutenant Colonel Johannes Janseu
of the militia of Southern Ulster, was very active in scouting
with his regiment along the frontiers, and being a man of posi-
tion as well as wealth, and so near the mountain, it was sup-
posed he might easily be captured, and that he would be a
valuable prize. The task was undertaken in September, 1780,
by Samuel Gonsalus, Ben. DeWilt (commonly called Shank's
Ben,t) and three other Indians who were formerly of the neigh-
borhood. This Ben was a tall, bony savage, and was well
known in Shawanguuk. He had served with distinction in the
French war ; had his wigwam in the vicinity of Janseu's resi-
dence, and had often worked for him. They attempted to
ambush the Colonel as he was leaving his house in the morning ;
but they were discovered by a boy, who raised an alarm, when
Jansen ran into the house, and secured the door just as Shanks
slashed it with an axe, and endeavored to force it open. Failing
in their main design, the assailants proceeded to plunder the
kitchen, the only room which they could enter ; and it was here
that a female slave discovered who they were. Hearing Mrs.
Jansen call out as if the neighbors were coming, they hastily
left, and took with them three negroes, and a white girl named
Hannah Grunenwalden, who was employed by the Jansens.
They soon kiUed and scalped her, because they feared her
screams would guide pursuers. Proceeding thence to Scrub
Oak Ridge, over which an old path then and now leads, they
overtook a man named John George Mack, Elsie, his daughter,
•According to an old map in our possossion, there was a tract of land in the
vicinity of Sam's Point linown as the Gonsalua patent. Query: Did Sam own the
Point? And was it not thus named because it was literally Sam's Point?
tShanks Ben (or Ben Bhanks, as he was called on the Delaware) was at this time
about fofty years of age. In person he was tall, slender and athletic ; his hair wag
jet-black, and clubbed behind— his forehead high and wrinkled— his eyes of a fiery
brown color, and sunk deep in their sockets — his nose pointed and aquiline— his front
teeth remarkably broad, prominent and white — his cheeks hollow and furrowed.
Arrayed for war, he was one of the most frightful specimens of humanity that the ere
could rest upon. Like the others of his party, he wore a coarse wagoner's frock of a
grayish color, with a red handkerchief bound' closely around his head.
[Pamphlet of Eou. Charles G. DeWitt, quoted iu Tom Quick.
Jjyb HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
and John Mentz, liis son-in-law. Mentz had often seen Ben
and knew he was an enemy. Seeing him in time, he escaped,
hoping that the old man and Elsie would be spared ; but the
savages had recently tasted blood, and they did not wish to be
encumbered with prisoners who were not able to travel as fast
as tbey could themselves. Hence Mack and his daughter were
also slain and scalped. When a handful of militia followed in
pursuit of Gonsalus and his party soon after, they discovered
the bloody remahis of the gray-haired old man and his daughter.
With many tears, their bodies, vfith that of Miss Grunenwalden,
were deposited in their last resting place.*
There is a tradition in Shawangunk, that John Mentz soon
after went off in the woods with his rifle; that for eighteen
months he was not heard of by his family or fi-iends ; that he
would never speak of his adventures during his absence ; that
he would shake his head mysteriously when Sam and Ben were
mentioned ; and that there is no subsequent track or trace of
Gonsalus or Shanks. This tradition, hke many other traditions,
has no foundation in truth ; and as much can be said of the
alleged connection of Samuel Gonsalus with Shank's Ben. We
have seen and conversed with men who saw Shank's Ben (whose
Indian name was Huycon) on the Delaware river, in ITSi, and
Samuel Gonsalus died near Obed Van Duzer's place, one mile
and a half west of Wurtsborough, on the '20th of November,
1821, aged 88 years. Old age, and not Mentz's rifle, put an end
to his life. He was born on the Devens farm, in Mamakating,
in the year 1733. Before, during and after the Revolutionary
war, the records of Mamakating show that he was elected to
office in that precinct, which was almost unanimously whig in
politics. Until a few months before the attempt was made to
capture Colonel Jansen, Samuel Gonsalus was an Overseer of
the Poor. At that time, and in that community, no tory would
have been permitted to occupy such a position, or reside in the
valley of Mamakating.
Samuel Gonsalus was a man of great physical powers, even
in his old age. When he was over sixty years old, it is said
that no constable of the county could arrest him and keep him
in custody. At one time, several of them attempted to do so
and failed, when Captain Vaughn of Monticello volunteered to
take him from his house and dehver him to the jailer of the
county. Vaughn was considered one of the strongest men of
the time, and was somewhat noted for his recklessness and lack
of fear. He found Gonsalus in bed, and when the latter had
risen, put his hand on him, and said, "You are my prisoner."
The old man rephed, " I don't know 'bout dat. We will see,"
have not adopted the eiact
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. 397
and then caught Vaughn by his waist, and "churned" him til]
his teeth chattered. This enraged Vaughn, who had considered
himself invincible. He again clutched at Gonsalus, who once
more proceeded to "churn" Vaughn, and did not stop until the
latter was completely exhausted. Vaughn then expressed him-
self somewhat roughly, and departed. With a low chuckle,
Gonsalus saw him go away crestfallen and mortified.
Domine Frelegh, who was a pioneer clergyman of the Wurts-
borough, in catechizing a woman of his flock, put the question,
" Who was the strongest man? " When she replied gravely and
sincerely, "Sam Consawleyl" Her neighbors all said so, and
she believed them.
Daniel, the brother of Samuel Gonsalus, was killed by the
Indians near the site of the old stone building known as the
Stanton house. He had gone there for some purpose with a
stranger, and the two stopped at the spring to drink, where the
savages were in ambush. The white men cautiously kept their
guns within reach as they stooped down to get the water ; but
the precaution was a vain one. Gunshots and war-whoops rang
through the woods. The stranger was killed, and Gonsalus was
mortally wounded. The latter, however, managed to get behind
a tree, and by doing so saved his scalp. The assailants knew
that he had a loaded gun in his hands and was a sure marks-
man. Hence they did not rush upon him to finish their bloody
work. While the parties were thus sitviated, the Indians were
frightened by two dogs, and ran away. These dogs belonged
at the old fort, and were trained to hunt deer. They always
went to the place where a gun was fired ; they were out in the
woods at the time, and hearing the report of the Indians' guns,
ran to the spring where Gonsalus was keeping the red men at
bay. Their appearance led the savages to believe that a party
of whites were coming from the fort to attack them. After the
assailants left, Gonsalus managed to get to the fort, where he
died soon after. He was a married man, and his wife and two
children survived him. The children were sons — Benjamin and
Manuel, whose names appear in the town records until 1802.
They inherited considerable property from their father.
On the same day Daniel Gonsalus and his companion were
shot, Michael Helm was killed, in the manner we shall hereafter
relate.
These murders were perpetrated after 1757. The Devens
fort was not built until that year.
Elizabeth, daughter of Manuel Gonsalus 2d, was captured
by the Indians when she was but seven years of age. She was
carrying a milk-pail fiom her father's home to a field near it,
and had to pass through bars. The lower rails were down, and as
she stooped to pass under the upper one, she was caught by a
dtfO HISTORY OF SULXJVAN COUNTY.
savage, who by thi-eats so teiTified her tiiat she did not dare to
give an alarm. The red warrior took her to his party who were
in the vicinity with other prisoners. All then traveled for days
and days in a south-west coiuse over mountains and up and
down and across rivers, until they reached the \'illage of the
tribe in the interior of Pennsylvania. Here Elizabeth remained
a prisoner for twenty years. She had disappeared so suddenly
and mysteriously, that her parents and brothers were not posi-
tive in regard to her fate. Had she wandered into the woods
and perished? Was she devoiired by wild beasts? Had she
found death and a gi-ave in some neighboring slough? Had
she been murdered by savages? Was she a captive among red
barbarians? Or, woree than all, had she been comj^elled to
become the unwilling concubine and the slave of a brutal
savage? None of these questions could be answered with
certainty. It was believed, however, that she was a prisoner,
and in sore anguish her father continued year after year to
make inquiries of those who had been in the Indian country, in
the hope that he would find a clue which would lead to her
discovery. At last he heard of a white woman who was with a
clan near Harrisburgh, in Pennsylvania, whose age and some
other circumstances led him to believe that she was his lost
child. He searched for this clan — discovered them, and fOund
with them the white woman. Twenty years, and a life of servi-
tude, with brutal treatment, had so changed her appearance
that her father could see no resemblance in her to his lost child.
He listened to her story — she had forgotten the names of fatlier,
mother and brothers — but she remembered some of the circum-
stances under which she was taken by the savages, and this led
her father to claim her and take her back to his home. "\Mien
they reached the house in which she was born, she went directly
to the bars where she was caj^tured. The shock of twenty years
befoi-e had fixed the scene indelibly in her memory, and she
pointed out the place where she was taken. There was no
longer a doubt. She was the lost one. No one thoiight other-
wise, and she was whoUy restored to the home and hearts of
her kindred.
Her father was also taken prisoner by the Indians. He was
a captive for four years, and was exchanged in Canada. Some-
time after he removed to the Schuylkill Flats, near Philadelphia,
where (his wife haring died) he married a second time. Here
he hved during the remainder of his life.
Daniel Gonsalus who died in Mamakating in 18.32, was taken
by the Indians when he was five or six years old, and kept by
them three years. He was earned away by a party which was
lurking near Mamakating Farms. He became the adopted son
of a wanior and his squaw, and in his old age told our informant
THE TOWN OF MAM.VKATING. dUS
lliat lie remembered the route from the Farms to a lake where
they first rested after leaving the valley. Here tliey remained
several daj^s, and he became acquainted with several Indian
children of his own age, and participated in their sports.
Among other things, they brought together a number of stones
and made a mimic wall of them. After this the band wandered
about from place to place, and Daniel lost all idea of the direc-
tion in which his father and mother Hved. At first he was
watched closely, but in the end he was regarded as one of
themselves and went where he pleased. After three years, the
band again encamped by a lake, when Daniel discovered the
TOW of stones he had helped make when first captured. He
had never lost his love for his white friends, nor his desire to
return to them. He would^have run away from the savages
long before ; but he knew not which way to go. Here was a
monument which made liis road plain. At a favorable m.oment,
he started for and reached home, to his great delight, and the
joy of Samuel Gonsalus, his father.
This Daniel Gonsalus was the last one of the family-name
who was buried in Sullivan county. He died in the same
house where his father breathed his last. His wife was Eliza-
beth Kuykendall, of Mamakating. Daniel, according to the
family account, was a true whig in the Revolutionaiy war, and
was in several battles. He was frequently employed in carry-
ing dispatches from one camp to another, and his knowledge of
woodcraft was of great service to him in doing so, as it enabled
him to avoid traveled routes, and go in a direct hne from one
point to another, throvigh woods, over mountains, rivers, etc.
He was cautious and wary, and seldom failed to accomplish
what was required of him. ' He was in Fort Montgomery when
it was captured by the British General Clinton, (October 6,
1777) ; but escaped by jumping over the breast-works while it
■was dark, and running through tho British lines to the moun-
tains. Three others accompanied him, one of whom was shot
by the enemy during the next morning. Gonsalus continued to
conceal himself until the next evening, when he reached the
house of a widow Crist, where he was kindly received, and
remained all night. On the succeeding day, she loaned him
her horse, on which he rode home, accompanied by, a slave,
who took the animal hack to his mistress.
On another occasion, while Daniel was home on a furlough,
he went to see about some shingles near the Yaugh House
spring. A Moses Newman, with a party of scouts, di.sguised
as Indians, was concealed there on the lookout for tories,
savages and deserters. Gonsalus unguardedly marched into
the trap, and found himself surrounded by a band of what
•.seemed to him red men. Of coui-se, he told a story which he
400 HISTORY OF SULLIYAN COUNTY.
supposed would lead them to let him go ; but it had a contrary
effect; for they arrested him and took him with others to
Kingston, where he was at once set at liberty.*
His wife Elizabeth was a woman of gi-eat courage, and of
ready resource. A female descendant of the old Spaniard
furnishes us with the following incident: The Indians and
tories were in Mamakating committing those outrages which
characterized them. A little boy whom she believed they would
carry off ran to her, and she concealed him under her skirts.
In a short time the marauding party came to her house, and
made a thorough search for the boy, as they supposed, but did
not find him. A tory named John Van dampen, suspecting the
truth, attem])ted to tear her clothing from her person, when she
begged him "for God's sake to desist." Her appeal had the
desired effect. The party left, and the boy was saved from
captivity.
This anecdote is rather a singular one. Why was she herself
not taken away or tomahawked, like the wives of other whigs?
At another time, it is said, she was milking, when an Indian
took away her pail, and broke it iuto many pieces. She ran away,
while the savage hurled after her nothing worse than hard words.
James Gonsalus (probably the brother of Samuel) was arrested
by the British as a spy, or for some military offense, and
sentenced to be put to death ; but by the intercession of Samuel
and one of the Westbrooks, was pardoned. He, as well as soma
others of the family, hated kings as if they were panthers.
Soon after tlie block-house at Mamakating Farms was built, an
old man named Michel Helm, who lived in Rochester, had
been to the Mine-holes on a -visit. On his return he was accom-
panied bj' a young lady. Both were mounted on good horses.
They stopped at the block-house for refreshment, after which
they intended to push on and reach a point nearer home before
ni^lit. They were urged to stay; but Helm was opposed to
doing so, because he thought the Indians would be more likely
to molest them in the morning ; if they had been seen from the
mountain on either side of the valley, and were followed, the ene-
my could get ahead of them in the night, and waylay them, etc.
But his objections to delay in their journey were all met and
tUssipated. Yet they were well founded. They had been dog-
ged to the block-house, and while they were there, the Indians
passed ahead of them, and in the morning were in ambush
about one-fourth of a mile fi'om Mud Hook (Mamakating post-
office) on the hill-side near a brook, within gun-shot of the old
mine-road. When Helm and the young lady, and a fellow-
* One iiiRlit, wliilp Daniel was a prisoner, hig ^uard fell asleep, when he arose, took
the guns nf Uu- purlv to a innier of the roiini, then waked the aleepern, anduDdear-
ored to convince them he was not an enemy because he had spared their lives.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKAITNG. 401
traveler named Depuy readied tliis point, they were fired upon
and Helm was instantly killed. The assailants did not wish
to murder the girl. They had agreed among themselves to
capture her, and to enable themselves to do so, shot her horse
through the hips. They failed, however, to injure a jnuscle or
break a hone. The instant she heard the report of the guns,
she apphed her riding-whip vigorously to the sides of the
animal, which bounded away so rapidly that she was soon be-
yond the reach of the guns of the assailants, even if they had
been loaded. Depuy also escaped. They reached the nearest
settlement in safety— told what had happened, and a party went
to Mud Hook to ascertain the fate of the old man. His dead
body was found where he was shot. He had been scalped, and
his silver shoe-buckles taken away, with whatever was valuable
on his person.
Eighty years afterwards, a silver shoe-buckle was found on
the old trail in Rockland. May it not have been a relic of
Michel Helm?
Michel was the son of Symon Helm, one of the early settlers
of Ulster county. They were ancestors of the family of that
name who now reside at Wurtsborough.
The first white settlers of Mamakating Farms buried their
dead in an orchard near the Devens' block-house. Tradition
stays that this ancient graveyard was a place of sepulchre of the
aboriginal inhabitants before Europeans came to the country,
and tliat after the Gonsalus family located here, an Indian chief
who had been fatally wounded, was placed in a sitting posture
against a large pine which grew here, where he died, singing his
death-song, and was buried at the foot of the tree. From this
pine is no more heard a solemn requiem for the departed red
man. No vestige of it now remains. Its trunk was long since
converted into shingles or boards by a utihtarian Yankee or
Dutchman, whose descendants have not the grace to erect even
a rude fence to protect the bones of the first settler of the
county from the desecrating snouts of swine !
At the head of tjje grave of Manuel Gonsalus is a blue flag-
stone, with ttie following inscription :
MANUEL
GONSALUS
IS
GESTOKVEN
DE 18 APRIL
ANNO 1758.
[Translation. — Manuel Gonsalus died the 18th of April, in
the year 1758.]
26
402 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
For more than thirty years after the death of M.anuel Gon-
sahis, common field-stones, destitute of inscription, were deemed
sufiicient to mark the gi-aves of the early settlers. There tire
many such here.
Soon after Captain David Don-ance came to the Hollow, he
and others bought a lot and set it apart for a public graveyard.
Among the first buried here were members of the Hasten
family, several of whom died in December, 1794, as the follow-
ing inscriptions indicate :
"December 11, 1794.
Mary Hasten."
"1794.
December 24.
John Hasten.
"1794.
December 24.
Lea Hasten."
And here are the ashes of Peter Helm,* whose only monu-
ment is a nide stone, on which is cut
"P.H. g*"
Several members of the Gonsalus family were inten-ed in
this burial-place.
The records of ancient roads give us so much information in
regard to local history, that we transcribe the following from
the Clerk's book of Hamakating :
"Peenpack, April 10th, 1770.
"To the clerk of the peace or his dejiiity for the County of
Ulster, AVhereas the free holders and Inhabitants of Hamaka-
ting Precink have made Petition To us, the commissioners of
the above s'd Precink, to lay out a King's Highway, To begin
at the Cline Jaag Huys, or Little hunting hoiise upon the.HiU,
at a hickory Tree marked with a cross standing on the North-
west side of the road ; and from thence all a Long the north
east of the marked Trees as the road now Leads to a Bridge at
the north west side of the House where Jacobus Devans now
dwells; in and fi-om thence along the south east side of the
marked trees to the southeast side of Samuel Gunsallis well,
and from thence through the Lane as it now runs, to the
Shawenoes' Bergh or Hill, and so Along s'd Hill on the south
east side of the marked trees, and fi-om thence along the south-
* Peter Helm built a house of Bquan-d logs on the farm of Colonel Lawrence Hasten
previoua to 1755. This house stood until about 1847.
THE TOWN OF ALAMABLVTING. it03
east side of marked trees to Maritje's Gat; and from thence
Along the southeast side of the hill and on the southeast of the
marked trees to the Spaanche Bought, and from thenee a Long
the southeast side of the marked trees to Da\'id Cox Lane, and
so through the Lane as it now Kuus to the Drage Bergh, and
from thence a Long the southeast side of the marked trees to
the bounds of Rochester, to be four rods wide fi-om the begin-
ning to the end. We, the Commissioners of the a Bove said
town or Precinct do certify that we have Laid out the above
said Road for A King's Highway, according to Law, this 10th
day of April, 1770, and Desire the Clerk of the peace or his
Deputy to record the same. Witness our hands.
"Jacob R. Dewitt,
"Benjamin Depuey,
June 29, 1797 — A trae copy. "Samuel Guxsallus."
Samuel King, Town Clerk.
"Peenpack, May 24th, 1766.
■ "To the Clerk of the peace or his Deputy, in the county of
Ulster : Sir, — Whereas the freeholders and Inhabitants of Ma-
makatiug precinct have made petition to us, the commissioners
of the above s'd Precinct, to Lay out a King's Highway, to
begin by the line between Ulster and Orange County, by a
whiteoak tree; from thence to the Cllae Yoinjh house up da
henfh, or Little hunting house on the hill, and according to theii-
Desire or request we have done which as follows : Beginning
on the southeast of a Whiteoak Tree standing on the Line of
Ulster and Orange county ; fi-om thence with a straight Line to
a stone sot in the Ground a bout thirty feet from the north
corner of Jacob Gumaer's House; from thence all a long the
southeast of the marked trees to a stone sot in the ground
about thirty feet from the north corner or Daniel Van Vleat's
House ; thence aU along the southeast side of the marked trees,
with a crook Down the Valley to Intervail, the breadth of four
rods; thence all along the southeast side of the marked trees
to the Line of Jacob Rutsen Dewit, and so through the Lane
to the Mouchocamuck's Creek, the bredth of twenty feet ; from
thence through the creek to a blackoak stump, and so a Long
the southeast side of the marked trees to the well of Jacob
Stanton ; from thence on a straight line to a tall Pitch jjine tree
marked on both sides, the breath of twenty feet ; from thence
along the southeast side of the marked trees with crooks and
toiirns as the road now runs to the north corner of Johannaus
Turner's house, the breadth of four rod ; from thence to a pitch
pine tree and so along the southeast side of the marked Trees
to the south corner of Tearick Van Kuren Westbrook's Kitchen ;
from thence to a butternut stump Jost over bashe's creek, the
404 HISTORY OF SULUV.-VN COUNTY.
breadth of four rod wide, from all a Long the south east sid©
of the marked trees to the Cline Jough house on the hill to
hickory Tree marked with a cross, the breath of four rod. We
the commissioners of the above .s'd Precinct in the county of
Ulster, and Province of New York, Do certify that we have JLaid
out the above s'd road for a King's liighway, according to Law,
this twenty-fourth day of May, 17Gfi, and desire the s'd Clark
of the Peace in s'd county or his Dabety to record the same^
Which we do interchangeably set our hands.
"Jacob R. Dewit,
"Benjamin Depuey,
"Samuel Guns.uxus.
Recorded the 31 Day of May, 1766, at Kingston.
June 29, 1797 — A true copy Me.
Samuel King, Tov^-n Clerk.
ROAD DISTRICTS OF MAMAKATING IN 1774.
No. 1. From Orange line to Hanse's Vly.
2. " Hanse's Vly to the Laurel Brook the other side of
Mamakating.
3. " Laurel Brook to the bounds of Rochester.
4. " Coddington's Bridge across the mountain to the
hne of Wallkill precinct.
6. " Orange hne under the foot ot the mountain until
it reaches No. 4.
In 1775, a district was established from the termination of
No. 5 to the Plattekill. Thus there was a pubhc road on each
side of the mountain, and one running east from the valley
connecting the two. The road across the Shawangunk was in
the southern section of the precinct.
In 1776, the Commissioners of Highways made eight road
districts :
No. 1. Ran from the line of Orange county to Derrick V. K.
Westbrook's.
2. " " Derrick V. K. Westbrook's to Lysburton
Fontyne.*
3. " " Lysburton Fontyne to the brook south of
Manuel Gonsalus'.
4. " " Manuel Gonsalus' to the bounds of Rochester.
6. " " Coddington's bridge to Valentine Wheeler's.
6. " " Valentine Wheeler's to William Harlow's.
7. " " AVilliam Harlow's to the Plattekill.
8. " " Abner Skinner's to John Wells'.
THE TOWN OP MAMAKATING. 405
Mamakating contimied to be a precinct until some time
between its organization in 1743 and 1774, when it was
authorized to elect a Supervisor and other officers which
characterized towns. Its records show that it had three Com-
missioners of Highways in 1766 ; but the first election recorded
in the Town Clerk's office was held in 1774. The following are
the Clerk's minutes :
" Memorandum of the Town Meeting* held the first Tuesday
in April, at the House of Jacob Rutzen Dewitt, for the electing
of Town Officers by the Majority of Votes, with their Respective
Names, Being the 5th of said Instant Anno Domine, 1774.
" Clerk — Tliomas Kyte ; Constable & Collector — Jacob Stan-
ton; Supervisor — Benjamin Depuy; Assessors— Harmanus
Van in Wegon, Abraham Cuddeback, jun. ; Overseers of the
Highways — Benj'n Cuddeback, jun., for the 1st Dist. ; Derk V.
K. Westbrook for the 2d, Jacobus Devins for the 3d; Robert
Cook for the 4th ; Ezekiel Travis for the 5th ; Abraham Smedis
for the 6th ; Overseers of the Poor — Philip Swartwoud, Robert
Cook; Fence Viewers — Benj. Depuy, Jacob Stanton; Stallion
Viewers — Vail. Wheeler, Abraham Cuddeback ; Pound Keepers
— Vail. Wheeler, Benj. Depuy. The Poll to be at Jacob Rutsen
Dewitt' s House."
A majority of these persons resided in that part of Mamaka-
ting which is now included in Deerpark, Orange county.
The records show that there was a town or precinct-meeting
in 1775, when the above named offices, except that of Supervisor,
were again filled, and Peter Helm, who lived near the Mastcn
place, was made an Overseer of the Poor; another in 1776; in
regard to 1777 nothing appears; in 1778, Benjamin Gonsalus
was elected Constable and Collector with the usual precinct
officials ; in 1779, Samuel Gonsalus was made an Overseer of
the Poor, at the very time when it has been alleged he was with
the savages murdering defenseless women and children on the
frontiers; the annual meeting took place in 1780, but if there
was an election in 1781, there is no account of it. During the
next two years of the war, the following persons were chosen :
1782 — Clerk — Jacob Rutsen Dewitt ; Constables and Collec-
tors— Abraham A. Cuddeback, William Smith; Siipervisor —
Benj. Depuy; Assessors — Robert Milliken, Samuel Gonsalus,
Jacobiis Devens, Moses Depuy, Jacobus Swartwoudt ; Commis-
sioners of Highways — Benj. Depuy, Jabob R. Dewitt, John
*From this it would seem that Mamakating was at this time a town. Until 1788.
it is almost uniformly recorde<l as a precinct, while its officers are styled town officers.
In 1788, there is a formal memorandum that it was then made a town by an act of tli«
406 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Newkirk, Benj. Cuddeback. Jacob E.. Roosa ; Overseers of High-
ways— 1 Dist., Elias Gumaer, 2. Jacobus Devens, 3. Abraham
Roosa, 4. Jonathan Strickland, 5. Eufus Stanton, 6. Capt.
Farnani ; Overseers of the Poor — Charles Findlej, Jacob Gu-
maer ; Fence Viewers — Jacobus Devens, Samuel Depuj, Solo-
mon Wheat; Stalhon Viewers — Capt. Abraham Cuddeback,
David Smith ; Pounders — Jacob R. Dewitt, Robert Milhgan.
1783— Clerk— Ai-chibald McBride; Constables and CoUec-
tors — Abraham Cuddeback, "WiUiam Smith ; Supervisor — Jacob
R. Dewitt ; Assessors — Benjamin Cuddeback, Samuel Gousalus,
Ai-chil3ald McBride ; Commissioners of Highways — Capt. Abra-
ham Cuddeback, John English, Charles Fiuley, together ■n-ith
the usual number of Overseers of Highways, Fence Viewers,
Stallion Viewers and Poundei-s. " Tovni Meetings to be held at
the House of Ai-chibald McBride until further corrected."
Among the early records of Mamakating are frequent memo-
randa of ear-marks. Horn-cattle, hogs, etc., were permitted to
ran at large — some to feed on the gi-ass of the wild lowlands —
some in the woods to fatten on nuts. To prevent controversies
in regard to ownership, and to assist in the recovery of estrays,
eacli o\vner was entitled to an ear-mark, and, after it was
recorded by the Clerk of the precinct, no one had the right to
infringe on his particular mark. We copy a few of these
memoranda to give a better idea of what was a very good
regulation :
" Fred. Seybolt — SUt in left ear ; latch in right ear.
"Jacobus Gousalus — A hole in each ear.
"Wm. Jellet — Halfpenny on the under side of the right ear.
" Amos Wheat — Square cross on the left ear and a hole under-
neath."
On the unoccupied lowlands of the precinct were natiu-al
meadows which afforded abundance of nch pasture for cattle.
The inhabitants of other localities were in the habit of dri^nng '
their animals to these lands, and leaving them there to thrive
and fatten. To this the residents of Mamakating had a decided
objection. They became warm advocates of home-interests.
There is no notice in the old records of Indian outrages, or the
wi-ongs committed by the British ; but there are frequent allu-
sions to the intruders on the commons from other counties and
precincts! In 1776, when Congiess declared the country free
and independent, the good people of Mamakating enacted at
their annual electiou, that no one should take the cattle of non-
residents to pasture on the commons.
This declaration, it seems did not cure the evil: and at subse-
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. 407
quent meetings penalties were provided for the offense. After
a time no less than four pounds became necessary — one at
Peenpack, of which Abraham Cuddeback was keeper ; the second
at " Shbngunk,"* Ephraim Thomas, keeper; the third at
" Mamacotting," Benjamin Gonsalus, keeper; the fourth at
" Shongunk," Ai'chibald McBride, keeper. Finally every man
was authorized to have a pound of his own, and of course every
man had or could have an office; for logically, he was the
keeper of his own pound, or, in the language of the day, was a
' pounder.
In 1776, Ezekiel Gumaer took up four head of cattle which
were trespassers on the commons, and was allowed £8 for
feeding them from November 26 to May 17, when they were
sold for £13, 6s.
Another question which agitated the community during the
war for independence, was the proper dimensions of hog-yokes.
Mast in its season was abundant, and was an inducement to
keep more hogs than could well be fed when nuts and acorns
were not on the gi'ound, but giowdng on the trees. Hence,
while crops were growing in the summer, hogs were apt to
trespass upon enclosures devoted to wheat and maize : espe-
cially as fences were poor, as fences in newly cleared neighbor-
hoods usually are. Gentle remedies were tried at first. In
1775, it was enacted that " hogs be permitted to run at large
with a yoke judged lawful by the appraisers of damages or tliree
freeholders." This did not have the desired effect, and at
almost evei-y annual meeting, for several years, there was an
amendment regulating the shape of hog-yokes. Sometimes the
party against yokes would prevail, when the height and breadth
would be pi'eposterously amah ; and when the other party was
in the ascendant it was enacted that the yoke should be of huge
size — at one time "three feet in the crotch" and a cross-piece
in proportion. Finally (1786) the question became a sectional
one. The valley was aiTayed against the mountain. "Shon-
gunk" was for the smallest possible yokes; while their low-
land neighbors, who were the great grain-raisers of the precinct,
were for large ones. Happily for the quiet of the region, there
was a statesman among them (alas! no monument can be erected
to his memory! His name is lost!) who propo.sed a cumpro-
mise, which was accepted. Thenceforth it was lawful for the
grown hogs of "Shongunk" to run at large at any time with a
yoke sixteen inches wide and eighteen high, and other hogs in
proportion; while at "Peenpack, Bessie's Land, Mamacotting,
• The settlement in Mamakating on the east side of the mountain was origiuaUv
known as hhawanguuk. The preciuet of the same name was failed Old Sbawaugunk.
In the war of the Revolution, when the people of Miuisiuk, Peenpack, etc., lied to
bhawaugunk, thej- simplj- crossed the mountftm, where they were comparatively safe.
4U0 HISTORY OF SULLTVAN OOUNTT.
and all along the road from Peenpack to Maraacotting," it was
decreed that the cross-piece should be eighteen inches, and the
crotch two and a half feet long. Hajjpy hogs of the mountain !
Unfortunate swine of the valley! This struggle then termi-
nated. Thenceforth there was peace.
The Dutch settlers made shorter work with rams than they
did with the dimensions of hog-yokes. In 1792, they decreed
(substantially) " that any ram found at large between September
ist and the 2.5th of November shall be a ram no longer," and
four shillings were voted to every man for enforcing the penalty,
besides one shilling per week for pasture. The decree seems to
have given general satisfaction ; for no further allusion is made
to it in the records of after years, so far as we ascertained.
Grave disputes sometimes occurred between Mamakating and
her sister precincts. One of these ^vas settled in a manner
which would have afforded delight to Diedrich Knickerbocker.
In 1787, Mamakating claimed that Goshen should support a
pauper woman and her illegitimate son. The name of this
woman we will not give, because we do not know who her
descendants are. Goshen contended that she and her irregular
offspring belonged to Mamakating. Instead of carrying the
controversy into court, and each party paying enough to lawyers
to support the mother and child for years, the Overseers of the
Poor met, and, after discussing the matter in an amicable way,
agreed that Goshen should provide for the woman, while Mama-
kating should take charge of her infant ! The baby was thus
torn from the maternal breast — an act which would have
shocked modem sensibilities — and a precedent established that
it could have a residence different from that of its mother. For
several years it was the only pauper of the town, and was sold
at each annual meeting to the lowest bidder* — that is, to the
person who was willing to support it for the least compensation
— until it was thirteen years of age, when the town was relieved
from further responsibility by Johannes Masten.
It was believed at the time that, in the arrangement with
Goshen, Mamakating had the best of it ; because the boy would
ultin)atcly become self-supporting, while the woman, if she did
not reform, would add largely to the burthens of the town !
The expenses of supporting the poor were not very gi-eat in
early times. We find that in 1785, when the peoj^le were im-
Soverished by the war which had just closed, the poor-tax ot
[amakating was £20; in 1788, the tax was £10; 1789, £5 ; and
in 1790, £t). As there was but one pauper, whose -support cost
less than five pounds a year, we cannot imagine what was done
* The boy was generally bid off at from £3 to £6.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. W^
with the money paid for the poor from other sources. Below is
an extract from the town books :
"EXCISE MONEY FOR SUPPORT OP POOR:
"From Henry Sothard ^2.00.0
Wm. Harlow 2.00.0
Jacob E. Dewitt 2.00.0
John Seybolt •. . . 2.00.0
Eliphalet Scribner 2.00.0
Chris. Miller 1.17.9
Cronamus Felter 1.17.9
John Showers 2.00.0
Wighton & Co. for a permit 13.4
In 1791, every non-resident who cut timber in the town
rendered himself liable to a fine of " six pence for every inch
across the stump." No exception was made in favor of those
who owned real estate in Mamakating, but resided elsewhere.
Sometimes, but not often, town-officers resided on the Dela-
ware river. In 1789 and 1790, Daniel Skinner (not the Admiral)
was an Assessor, and in 1789, Paul Tyler one of the tliree
Collectors.
The town elected annually six firemen. They were generally
discreet and respectable men. Their duty was to guard against
damages from the burning of the woods.
John Gray, who is styled a " mediciner," was a physician in
Mamakating as early as 1792. We are led to believe that his
practice was not lucrative, as he was compelled to mortgage his
aaddle-horse and other personal property to secure the payment
of a small sum of money to a prosperous blacksmith. Gray
had been a surgeon in the Continental army. He died in the
town of Liberty, on the 14th of December, 1841, at which time
he was supposed to be 101 or 102 years of age.
Although Mamakating was much exposed to the ravages of
the enemy, and suft'ered greatly during the war of the Kevolu-
tion, a greater number of refugees found shelter there than in
any town or precinct of Ulster, except Kingston.
410
HISTORY OF fcTlJJYAls COCXTY.
CENSUS OF 1782.
.. iS:
to
^
Refugees
from
-1 ^ ^o
s
?
theii- usual pla-
^ 1i''z
5
i
ces
of abode.
9 ir^ j§
^
i
§ -i!?
'3
-2
— •
?
•3 1.=^ !li
P^
•1
1
1
f^
1
Kingston
56() 626 72
8H]112.-.
526667
71J138
2,625
428
110
21
85
27
195
Hurley
48
Marblet^jwn
29S21t::!40
22:v:il0
1,164
56
53
109
Rochester
194 17!) 21
95 (-218
17S;2(»2
<;5: 84
774!
319!
1 57
94
611 118
jMamacotting
74i 168
New Paltz
38o2!ir);:;6
28i;i316
1.263
38
501 88
Sliawaugiiuk
367;:!U;^<i
284342
1,342
22
19| 41
Mout^omerv
561 '489 58
519,540
2,167
36
441 80
WaU KiU
419:29615
345325
1,400
23
\%\ 41
New Windsor
300:252 24
2761280
1,132
56
70! 126
New Burgh
New Marlborough .
429128237
3681371
1,487
68
86! 154
49l{335 24
402366
1,618
21
16 37
15,697
1,205
Of the male refugees in Mamakating, fortj-seven were under
16, forty-five over 16 and under 60, and two 60 j-ears of age.
Total number of males 16 years old and upwards, 122. The
number of men who took the Revolutionary pledge in June,
1775, was 131. Two hundred and forty-four of the four hundred
and eighty-seven persons in the precinct in 1782 were children
under the age of 16 years. In 1855, the population of the
town was 4,084, of whom 1,668 were not 16 years old. There
has been a falling off in the jUDductions of the field since the
]}ioneers cultivated their land with their rude im])lenieuts. Aii
impoverished soil is the cause. Probably luxury, effeminacy
and other things have reduced the per ceutage of children.
A large number of the refugees from their homes, were frorii
the isolated neigliborhoods of the precinct. Nearly all the
families who lived on the banks of the Delaware above tli.-
mouth of the Mongau)), during the early days of the war.
removed to Peenpack, and that part of the town which was
then known ujn Shawangunk.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINQ. 411
On the 20th of April, 1775, a Provincial Convention*
in the city of New York. It was composed of delegates from
the several counties of New York. On the 29tli of the same
month, this Convention adopted the following pledge, and
ordered it to be sent for signatures to all the precincts and
counties of the province.!
"Persuaded that the salvation of the rights and liberties of
America depend, under God, ou the firm union of its inhabitants
in a vigorous prosecution of the measures necessary for its
safety; and convinced of the necessity of preventhig anarchy
and confusion, which attend the dissolution of the powers of
government, we, the freemen, fi-ee-holders and inhabitants of
the Precinct of Mamacotiug, being greatly alarmed at the
avowed design of the Ministry to raise a revenue in America
and shocked by the bloody scene now acting in Massachusetts
Bay, do, in the most solemn manner, resolve never to become
SLAVES ; and do associate, under all the ties of religion, honor
and love to our country to adopt and endeavor to carry into
execution wliatever measures may be recommended by the
Continental Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Con-
vention, for the purpose of preserving our Constitution, and
opposing the execution of the several arbitrary acts of the
British Parhament, until a reconciliation between Great Britain
and America ou Constitutional principles (which we most ar-
dently desire) can be obtained ; and that we will in all things
follow the advice of our General Committee respecting the
purposes aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order,
and the safety of individuals and property."
, On the 29th of May, the first Provincial Congress^ required
the local committees to return the Pledge before the 15th of
July, " with the names of the signers and those who refused to
sign;" and ou the 26th of June, John Y'^ouug, President of the
Committee of Mamakating, reported that the pledge was
"unanimously signed by all the fi-eeholders and inhabitants of
the precinct," an assertion which was not well founded. Below
is the li.st :
John Young, Benjamin Depue,
Philip Swartwout, Esq., Capt. John Crage,
* Delegates from Ulster county— George Clinton, Colonel Charles DeWitt and Le^i
Pawling.
tSee American Archives, 4th series, and Ruttenber's Newbm-gh.
t Delegates from Ulster county— Matthew Cantine, George CUnton, General James
CUnton, Colonel Charles DeWitt, Colonel .Johannes Hardenberch, Abraham Hasbrouck,
Jacob Hoornbeck, John Nicholson and Major Christopher Tappen. Although the
county had nine Delegates, it was entitled to but two vottg.
41^
HISTORY OF SULMVAN COUNTY.
Wm. Haxton,
John McKinstry,
Benj. Cuddeback, jr.,
Eobert Cook, -
Harm. Nan Inwegen,
T. K. Westbrook,
William Rose,
Samuel Depue,
William Johnston,
James Williams,
Chas. Gilletts,
Johan. Stufflebane,
Johan. Stufflebane, jr.
James Blizard,
Thomas Combs,
James McCivers,
Joseph Hubbard,
John Thompson,
Ebenezer Halcomb,
G. Van Inwegen,
Wm. Cuddeback,
Abr. Cuddeback,
Eliphalet Stevens,
Elisha Travis,
Aldert Rosa,
Adam Rivenburgh,
Eli Strickland,
David Gillaspy,
Stephen Larney,
Capt. J. R. Dewitt,
Abm. Cuddeback, jr.,
Samuel King,
Abna Skinner,
Fred Benaer,
Valentine Wheeler,
Thomas Kytte,
Jonathan Brooks,
John Wallis,
Joseph Drake,
Ebenezer Parks,
Jacolnis Swartwout,
Gerardus Swartwout,
Phil. Swartwout, jr.,
Isaac Van Twill,
J<.s..]il. Wtstfork,
Pftnis; Guiuore,
J. Dewitt Gumore,
Daniel Van Fleet, jr.
Ezekiel Gumore,
Jacob Van Inaway,
Cornel. Van Inaway,
Moses Depue, jr..
Jacobus Cuddeback,
Rufus Stanton,
Reuben Babbett,
Jonathan TVTieeler,
Asa Kimball,
Robert Milliken,
Thomas Lake,
Zek. Halcomb,
John Williams,
Matthew Neeley,
Samuel Dealy,
Wm. Smith,
John Harding,
Nathan Cook,
Jep. Fuller,
Eph. Thomas,
Henry Ellsworth,
Joseph Thomas,
Abr. McQuin,
John Seybolt,
Joseph Skinner,
Joseph Arthur,
David Wheeler,
John Travis,
John Travis, jr.,
Daniel Decker,
Petrus Cuddeback,
Elias Gumore,
John Brooks,
Ehsha Barber,
Jonathan Davis,
Robert Comfort,
David Dayley,
Gershom Simpson,
Eph. Forgison,
Jacob Comfort,
Jacob Stanton,
Moses Miller,
Jonah Parks,
John Gillaspy,
Jno. Barber,
Samuel Patterson,
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATIXG. 413l
. Abraham Smedes, Nathaniel Travis,
John Stoy, Ezekiel Travis,
Joel Addams, Joseph Travis,
Joseph Shaw, Thos. Gillaspy,
George Gillaspy, Jeremiah Shaver,
James Curren, Joseph Ogden,
Abraham Rosa, Daniel Walling,
Jacob Eosa, Daniel Walling, jr.,
Henry Newkirk, Eli as Miller,
Peter Sunpson, Isaac Eosa,
Stephen Holcomb, Abr. Smith,
Johannes MiUer, George G. Denniston,
Daniel AVoodworth, Matthew Terwilliger,
Moses Eoberts, Leonard Hefinessy,
Daniel Roberts, Jonathan Strickland,
John Douglass, Jol»nnes Wash.*
Joseph Eandal,
This list, as printed in the American Ai-chives, contains
several errors. T. K. Westbrook should be Tjerick Van Keuren
Westbrook ; Abna Skinner should be Abner Skinner ; Thomas
Kytte should be Thomas Kyte ; Jonah Parks should be Josiah
Parks ; and probably Johannis^ Wash should be Johannis
Masten.
The reader will not see in this list the Tylers, Conklins,
Mitchells and other whigs who lived on the Delaware river ; nor
the Helms, Devens, Beviers, and Gonsaluses who were residents
and freeholders at Mamakating Farms, previous to and after
the war. A few weeks before the pledge was signed, one of
these men at least (Peter Helm) was elected to fill a town
Notwithstanding the report of John Young, there were tories
in the town. David Young and Bryant Kane were determined
adherents of the British, and never made a pretense of favoring
the colonies.
In 1814, the population of Mamakating was 1,585. On the
24:th of June, 1812, as appears fi-om an assessment roll made
by Abraham Roosa, Eh Roberts and J acob Gumaer, there were
273 tax-payers in the town. The population shows that there
were about 300 families. Consequently there were only twenty-
five or thirty heads of families Avho were without taxable prop-
-thf Cron^aluB, Devens,
414" l{|STOKY OF SUIiJA-AN COUNTY.
erty. The foUo^-ing is a list of those who were assessed for
one thousand dollars and upwards :
William Anderson $1,220 James E. Miller $1,400
Moses Brown 1,000 David Milliken 3,404
Peter Budd 1,501 John Milliken 2,050
John Budd 1,017 John Norris 1,489
Thomas Bull, junior. . . 1,162 Daniel Niveu 1,000
James Beyea 1,143 Henrv Xewkirk 1,000
John Clinch 1,206 Daniel Ogden 1,231
Abraham Canfield 1,200 Henrv Patmore : 1,518
Jacobus Devens 1,500 Eli Eoberts 1,200
George Durj-ea 1,120 Elnathan Sears 1,392
J. and 0. Dunning 3,044 Wm. and Moses Stanton 1,360
David Dorrance 1,434 Samuel Smith 1,587
Jacob Gumaer 1,565 George Smith, junior. . 1,000
Daniel Godfrey 1,200 Sloan and Hunter 2,000
Moses Hazen 1,183 Lawrence Tears 2,084
Horton and Lockwood 2,134 Ephraim Thomas 1,000
Jacob Masten 1,893 Theodoras C. Van Wyck 1,000
David Munn 1,592 Daniel WUson '. . . 1,204
Ezekiel Masten 1,335 Abraham T. Westbrook 2,340
There were many worthy residents of Mamakating at this
time whose estates amounted to less than one thousand dollars.
Several of them have already received honorable mention in
this chapter. Others of this class should be written about ; but .
their descendants have not responded to om- calls for informa-
tion.
Henry Newkii-k, whose name appears iq the foregoing list,
held the office of To^vn Clerk for forty years. Before his death
he dissipated his property, and died poor.
Daniel Niven came to Wurtsborough in 1812, and followed
the business of farming and inn-keeping. He was born in Ha,
on the west coast of Scotland, and immigrated to New York in
1791, when about twenty-four years of age. Before 1812, he
engaged in business in New Windsor, in the city of New York,
in Newburgh, and a second time in New York. While in the
city the last time, he was a merchant, when his goods were con-
sumed by fire, without being insured. He lost nearly all he
possessed, except his family. With indomitable will and buoy-
ant spirit, he commenced anew in Wurtsborough. Here he was
often visited by Samuel and Daniel Gonsalus, Colonel Mudge,
and other local celebrities. One of them (Daniel Gonsalus)
gave him information which led to the discovery of the Wurts-
borough lead-mine.
The pioneers of Mamakating knew that the Indians obtained
THE TOWN OK MAALVKAllNO. 415
lead near Wurtsbororxgh ; but the latter obstinately refused to
reveal where it was to be found, and l)ecame angi-y whenever
the subject was broached. A white hunter named Miller followed
them at the risk of his life, until he ascertained that they
obtained the ore on the west side of the Shawangunk, near a
cluster of hemlocks, which was plainly visible from the valley.
He heard them at work, and after they had left, found the mine.
AVhen Miller was old and infirm, he intended to show Daniel
Gonsalus where the ore was. He pointed out the heudocks,
and promised that, as soon as he had visited some friends in
Orange county, he would go with Gonsalus to the point where
the lead was visible. Before Miller returned fi-om his visit, he
was taken sick at Montgomery, and died. Gonsalus never
attempted to find the ore. In 1813, he told Niven what he
knew, and after thinking of the matter four years, the latter
hired Mudge to help him make a search. They were successfid.
A quantity of the galena was sent to Doctor Mitchell and othei-s,
chemists, who declared that it was valuable. Mr. Niven made
a confident of Moses Stanton, a neighbor, who, as well as Mudge,
insisted on sharing the profits of the discovery, and the three
became partners. Not long after, those who had analyzed the
ore were anxious to purchase the mine ; but Niven <fc Co. could
not sell it. They were not its owners, and they could not ascer-
tain who were. So the matter rested until 1836, each agi'eeing
to make no disclosure without the consent of all three. Their
secret, however, was revealed after it had been kept for almost
twenty years. Stanton had a habit of talldng in his sleep, and
while his eyes were closed, spoke of the mine in such a way
that his son, who was present, had no difficulty in finding it!
The J'oung man found the owners, and made some five hundred
dollars by keeping his ears open whde his father "di'eamed
aloud ! "*
In 1816, Mr. Niven removed to Monticello, where he kept the
hotel now owned by the brothers Morris. A few years there-
after, he became an inhabitant of Bloomingburgh. While the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company were making their
canal, he was attracted to Wurtsborovigh once more. In 1887,
he retired fi'om business, and for nearly thirty years fihal
hands administered to his 'comfort and pleasure. He died in
Monticello, aged one hundred years.
Mr. Niven was made a Free and Accepted Mason when he
was twenty-one years old, and was ever afterwards warmly
attached to that institution. At the time of his death, he was
probably the oldest Mason in the. United States, and was buried
according to the customs of that ancient order. From an early
hliHln>il bv US iipwartis of twenty years ago.
teu by Ml-. NiVfU Lii 1853.
il6 HISTORY OF SUIJulVAN COUSTY.
period of his life, he was also a member of the Associate "Re-
formed Church of Scotland. He was very liberal in his religious
opinions, and in his prime a sturdy defender with voice and
pen of what he considered Divine verities. He was a friend
and correspondent of Grant Thorburn (Laurie Todd) as long as
either could wield a gray goose-quill— was urbane and com-
panionable, and was quick and impulsive, as well as fearless.
Henry Patmore, notwithstanding his respectability and intel-
ligence, and his comfortable circumstances in 1812, as well as
the fact that he was a soldier of the Revolution, became very
poor in his old age, and died a pauper. He received a small
pension for his military sei-vices ; but it was not sufficient to
supply his necessities. Although an inmate of our county-
asylum, he continued to command respect from his fellow-men,
and when he died (Sept. 26, 1835) tlie following notice of his
decease appeared in the Republican Watchman. It was written
by one of the most respectable citizens of Sullivan :
"Died, in Thompson, Henry Patmore, Esq., a soldier of the
E«volution, aged 79 years. He was for many years a resident
of Mamakating, and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his
fellow-town.smen, wlio confen-ed on him the office of Justice of
the Peace, to which he was elected several times. ' Peace to
the ashes of the old soldier.' "
Mr. Patmore was long a resident of the town, and was elected
to an office there in the year 1799.
Elnathan Sears was born at AVhite Plains, Westchester county,
New York. Soon after the Declaration of Independence, he
4"oined the Continental army. At the fall of Fort Montgomery,
le fell into the hands of the enemy, and for a long time was
kept on board the "Jersey Prison-Ship," whtre, with other
patriots, he endured what must forever disgrace Britisli arms.
Here lie saw American patriots, rendered insane by the tortures
of hunger, thirst and cold, scrape verdigris from the foul copper-
kettles which were used to cook their food, with which they cut
short their anguish. His sufferings, however, did not extinguish
his ardor for liberty. No sooner was he liberated, than he hast-
ened to peril his lite again in battle. He did not lay down his
arms until the last foe was driven from our soil. After the war
he was united in mairiage with Mary Haight, of Crum Pond,
and moved to Montgomery, in Orange county. About the year
1790, he became a settler of Mamakating, where he resided until
his de;vth in 18i0. In 1802, he was elected a Member of As-
sembly from Ulster county, and was the first resident within
the present territory of Sullivan who enjoyed that honor, if we
may except Cornelius C. Schoonmaker. He was re-elected in
180:5, 180<;, 1812 and 18i:-5. and was made Sheriff of Sullivan in
1819. He also tilled other important public stations. By
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 417
economy and industry he accumulated a fortune, from which he
dispensed to the poor with a hberal hand ; and not until he was
reduced by misfortune to actual want, did he deign to apply to
the government of his country for the pittance to which he was
entitled. For the last two or three years of his life, he endeav-
ored to secure a final adjustment of his claims, and it is no less
melancholy than true, that the tardiness of Congress was the
indirect cause of his death.* Returning from "\Vasliington in
January, 1840, the cold and fatigue he endured, as well as the
effects of hope deferred, terminated in a fatal disease. His
death occurred on the 2d of the following February, after he
had seen his four-score and third birtliday.
Doctor Theodore C. Van Wyck was a gentleman of liberal
education. In early life he was attached to the navy of the
United States. He was descended from an old and respectable
Knickerbocker family ; but exhibited none of the real or fancied
traits of the Dutch or any other people. He was emphatically
an original character. He was upright, courteous, and refined
— honorable, chivalrous and dignified, so far as his inclinations
ruled him, yet his daily life was an odd exemplification of these
excellent traits. He did not bui-lesque the social code ; but he
observed its requirements in an indescribably amusing manner.
Many anecdotes are related of him, some of which are probably
fictions ; but they are so well founded on his peculiar mode of
speech and bearing, that it is impossible to detect the spurioxis.
It is said that on one occasion, he had a fine lot of hay in
cock, when a violent wind began to scatter it about. Ordering
his hired man to hold on to a heap, he threw his long body upon
one of the cocks, and kept his eyes upon the others. The gale
increased in violence— cock after cock sailed away on the wings
of the storm — the Doctor's agitation increased as his fodder
diminished, and when all had disappeared except what was
under the two men, he sprang upon his feet and shouted, "Let
it all go to hell, sir! all go to hell, sir ! "
* Mr. Sears' memorial contains tbe following statement : He entered the service
of his country in 1776, under Captain James Milliken, of Colonel Pauldmg's regiment,
and was in the battles of Lone Island, White Plains, and at the taking of Fort Mont-
gomery. In the latter affair, a ball penetrated his right leg, and a bayonet his right
sido. While his shoes were filled with blood, be was prostrated by a blow from the
but of a gun, and trampled under foot. During the next thirteen months, he was a
prisoner on board the Jersey prison-ship, and in the sugar-honae in Pearl street, except
a short time when ho was in a hospital. While in prison, he suffered exerj'thing bnt
death from cold and hunger. His feet were so badly frozen that the ends "of his toes
dropped off, and he was unable to walk for three months after he was exchanged. His
Buffernigs, however, did not extinguish his patriotism-. In 1779, he enlisted in Captain
Drake's company for the war, and until June, 1783, served on the Northern frontier,
where his bravery, fidelity and intelligence, won him the rank of Lieutenant of his
company. He subsequently received a pension ; but because his commission had been
destroyed accidentally, and in consequence of the neglect of his supr-rior officers in
discharging him from' the army, he failed to receive the pension due to one of his rank.
It was while seeking justice in this respect that he contracted the disease of which h«
died.
418 HISTORY OF SCTJJViVN COUNTY.
Beyond using mild expletives of -which Hades and perdition
are synouyms, he had no vices. He paid much respect to the
practice of public worship— was a regular attendant and a
liberal supporter of the Church of his fathers; but beyond a
respectful and dignitied, but silent demeanor in church and
prayer-meeting, he was not known to go more than once.
There was a lively interest in religious afi'airs in Bloomingbingh.
Prayer-meetings were frequent — several made a profebsion oi
reUgion — the zeal of the Church iucreaj^ed day by day. Tlie
Doctor attended the meetings, and his devout manner led his
pastor and others to hope that he was about to seek the good
way; yet meeting after meethig was held, and it could not be
said of him, " Behold, he prayeth ! " So devout and exemplary
aeemed the Doctor, that the reverend gentleman believed that
but a little extra effort was needed to make him openly profess
a desu-e to join the ranks of the elect : so one evening, when all,
including the Doctor, were on their knees, the Dominie asked
him to lead in prayer. There was a solemn pause — a grave-like
silence — the tympanum of every ear was eager to catch the first
utterance fiom the Doctor's hps. But he was as silent as a
gi'aveu image. Thinking he had not heard the first request, the
good man repeated it ; whereupon the Doctor spoke. "Damn
it, SU-! Damn it, sir! I pay you to pray, sir! you to pi'ay, sir!"
He was not asked to pray publicly- again.
The Doctor was an admirer of the ancient Greek poets, and
fi-om them learned that the goad was in vogue among classic
Jehus. His mare — the animal he used when makmg profes-
sional visits on and at the foot of the Shawangunk mountain —
was a staid and undemonstrative beast, whose epidermis was
insensible to the lash. He manufactui-ed a goad, and found that
its appUcation greatly accelerated lier pace. He was delighted,
and thereafter, like one of Homer's heroes, when he wislied the
mare to "devour the road," he thrust half an inch of cold iron
into her hams. One pleasant day he determined to treat his
son Charles to a ride. The lad's mother arrayed the boy in his
most styUsh finery — tlie Doctor ordered a spirited young horse
known as "the colt" to be harnessed and attached to his best
buggy, and away the father and son went. Both enjoyed the
ride very much until the Doctor fell into what is known as "a
brown study," when he gave the colt a vigorous thrust with the
goad. Instantly there was a vision of iron-shod feet thrust
violently through a dash-board — a man and boy Hying through
the ail- — an overturned and wrecked buggy — and a dissoh-ing
view of splintered thills attached to a fi-antic horse. Charles
landed where some vagrant cows had deposited plenty of the
material from which modern chemists extract the "balm of a
thousand flowers." Into and over this he rolled in such a way
THE TOWN OF M.'^MAKATING. 419
that he was smeared with it from head to foot. Tlie Doctor,
who was uninjured, cast a rueful glance at the fleeing horse, and
then turned his attention to the boy. Finding that the little
fellow, though fi'ightened and filthy, was free from contusions
and broken bones, he took him up on the palms of his hands,
and holding him out at arm's length, made long but dignified
strides homeward, knowing that Mrs. Van Wyck would be
greAtly agitated and alarmed as soon as the colt reached its
stable. Into her presence he strode, still holding the boy on
his extended palms, and with the deferential courtesy of a Chester-
field, calmed her fears : "He is not hurt, madam — not hurt;
but damnably besmirched, madam — damnably besmirched ! "
Charles not only survived this, but other perils, and became
a Representative in Congress, and a Brigadier-general of the
army of the Union.
Whether these anecdotes are true or not, with others of a
similar character, they have been current many years; and
their relation cannot ctetract an iota from the respectful memory
of a man whom we esteemed highly through the changes and
vicissitudes of a quarter of a century.
Wurtsborough is situated on an inclined plane formed of the
debris deposited by Saw-mill brook. The valley at this point
bears evidence that it was once much deeper than it is at
present, when the Neversink and perhaps the Delaware washed
the base of the Shawangunk. The streams from the western
hills have ]5lowed deep gorges, and brought to the valley suffi-
cient material to cover and conceal primeval forests. Those
who estimate this material properly, will see that it is suiScient
to raise the valley to its present altitude above the Delaware
and Neversink. Jacob Helm, an early settler of Wurtsborough, in
digging a mill-race, Immd it necessary to remove a large white
pine stump. Underneath this, about five feet from the surface,
he uncovered another stump as large as the other.
It has been said that each stratum of rocks is a leaf in the
history of the earth. In the mystical time when " darkness was
upon the face of the deep," what is now the summit of the
Shawangunk was the bed of a watery abyss which extended
from the Barrens eastward. The mountain is capped by Hudson-
river slate, which covers its eastern side, while its Avestern
declivity is of a different geological formation. On the western
side of the valley, in digging wells, the Hudson-river slate is
found. It dips under the bed-rocks of the Barrens, and is
e-\ddently but a continuation of the upper stratum of the Shaw-
angunk. The texture of this slate shows that it was formed
under deep and quiet waters, while the rocks which overlap it
at Wurtsborough exhibit traces of more energetic pluvial action.
420 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Hence we conchide that, in the pre-Adamite days, the great
north or north-western current spoken of by geologists, after
passing ovei- Sullivan, found rest in a vast reser\oir of which
the Barrens was the western boundary, and that when the
Creator inftde the rivers to flow oceanward in their appointed
channels, and the mountains to rear their majestic forms, those
dynamic forces which he employed to accomi)lish his purposes
rent the rocks asunder, and caused the Shawangimk to rear its
head above the turbid waters, and greet his elder brothers of
the west. Our conclusions may be fallible ; but of this we are
sure : if the book of nature is read aright, it will not differ from
the inspired volume.
In 1«33 or 1834, Washington Irving, in company with Vice-
President Van Biu-en, visited Wurtsborough. Soon after he
wrote a sketch in which he describes what he saw there in his
ever facile manner. After declaring that the descendants of
Diedrich Knickerbocker were the fii'st to discover and improve
this rich alluvial valley, he says :
" The traveler who sets out in the morning from the beautiful
village of Bloomingburgh, to pursue his journey westward, soon
finds himself, by an easy ascent, on the summit of the Shawan-
gunk. Before him will generally be spread an ocean of mist,
enveloping and concealing from his view the deep valley and
lovely village which he almost beneath his feet. If he reposes
here for a short time, until the vapors are attenuated and broken
by the rays of the morning-sun, he is astonished to see the
abyss before him deepening and opening on his vision. At
length, far down in the newly revealed region, the sharp, white
spire of a village-church is seen, piercing the incumbent cloud ;
and, as the da^^ advances, a ^^llage, with its ranges of bright-
colored houses and animated streets, is revealed to the admii'ing
eye. So strange is the process of its development, and so much
are the houses diminished by the depth of the ravine, that the
ti-aveler can scarcely beheve he is not beholding the phantoms
of fairy-land, or still ranging in those wonderful regions which
are urdocked to the mind's eye by the wand of the god of
dreams. But as he descends the western dechvity of the moun-
tain, the din of real life rises to greet his ear,' and he soon
penetrates into the midst of the ancient settlements, of which
we have before spoken."
Johannes Masten came to Wurtsborough sometime during or
soon after the French war, and bought one thousand acres of
land of Eliaa and Moses Miller. His tract was situated princi-
pally north of the turnpike, and a considerable part of it was
very productive. He was a native of Kingston, of Dutch and
THB TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 421
French ancestry, and a man of large means. A person of that
name was a freeholder of Kingston in 1728 — probably his father.
At the time Hasten came to the valley, (according to a state-
ment of Mrs. Daniel Litts, his daughter), the Hollow was a
dense wilderness, except where Jacobus Devens and Manuel
Gonsalus and his sons lived. Slie makes no mention of Conrad*
Bevier, although he must have lived south of Wurtsborough at
the time, and says that Peter Helm, a son of Michel Helm,
resided near her father's. She says that Devens' "fort" was
built around his house, and that soldiers were stationed there
during the Revolution to watch the Indians. Two of these
soldiers were her brother John and a man named Jacobus Van
Campen, a cousin of Abraham Van Campen, who was with
Lieutenant Graliam's party when the latter were masacred in
the town of Neversink. John and Jacobus were in the woods
hunting partridges, one day, when John advised the other to
avoid places where there were dense undergrowths. This advice
was not followed. They became separated, and soon Litts
heard Van Campen scream. He ran towards him, and discovered
that the careless fellow had been taken prisoner by a party of
Indians. He could afford him no aid, and returned to the fort.
For seven years Van Campen was missing, when he returned to
the valley.
A gentleman and his wife, who were traveling toward Peen-
pack to visit their relatives, were murdered by the savages
during the war for independence. Their names are not remem-
bered.
Living in the valley was so dangerous, that Johannes Masten,
whose age rendered laim exempt from military duty, removed to
Shawangunk, where he remained with his wife and such of his
children as were not in the army, until the declaration of peace. t
He then returned and re-occupied his farm. The Indians at
this time were so obnoxious that they did not dare to visit the
valley openly. Those who had been non-combatants during
the war, and had never met the savages in battle, were impla-
cable ; while the brave men who had roamed the western hiUs
with them in search of game previous to the war, and threaded
the intricate mazes of the Foul woods beyond the Barrens to
slay them at a more recent time, now met them amicably. Mrs.
Litts, about the year 1786, was asked by Samuel Gonsalus
whether she had ever seen an Indian. As she was an infant
when her father removed to Shawangunk, she had seen none of
that race, and told Gonsalus that she had not. He then said to
* The early scribes of Mamakating sometimes spelled this name Coonraught 1 See
Town Record.
t His sons Ezekiol, .Jacob and John were in the American army. The first two
received pensions. Ezekiel removed to Thompson, lost all his property, and died poor.
■422 HISTOKY OP SUMJVAK COfNTT,
her that if she would go to Peter Helm's, and look through a
"chink" in the wall of his house, she would see one. With
other children, she went to Helm's and discovered seven savages
eating then- supper. This circumstance led her to believe that '
Gonsalus and Helm were both tories, and she denounced tliem
as such to the day of her death, although official records prove
that they were whigs.
Johannes Masten paid five dollars per acre for the first land
he bought in the valley, and afterwards paid as high as ten. It
bore heavy bui'dens of wheat and Indian corn. After his return
from Shawan^unk, he carted seven hundred bushels of wheat to
Esopus in a smgle year. This he had raised on his homestead,
besides what was consumed by his family, slaves and horses.
He probably owned more negroes than any other resident of
the county.
Notwithstanding his large possessions, he was a veritable
Nimrod. We are assured that he once killed three deer at one
shot. The manner in which this was done is as follows : The
animals came to one of his maize-fields at night to feed on the
silk, of which they are veiy fond. He laid in wait for them,
armed with a musket which was hea\'ily charged with buckshot.
After v/atching an hour or two he saw a respectable drove of
antlered bucks and their demure consorts, and at a favorable
moment fired between two rows of the maize. The next morn-
ing, he and his negi'oes found the three deer dead in the field.
Jacob Gumaer, a descendant of one of the original proprie-
tors of the Peenpack patent, Wilhelmus Knykendall, a man
named Litts, and other settlers of Dutch and French extraction,
were added to the settlement from time to time. Litts removed
to Pennsylvania; but his son Daniel returned and married a
daughter of Johannes Masten, and became an early settler of
Thompson.
Mamakating at this time was emphatically a Dutch neighbor-
hood. Dutch, with an admixture of French, was the common
language, and Yankees were seldom met with. The dwellings
were in the Dutch style, and constnieted more for utility and
comfort than beauty. Washington Irving, in his Legend of
Mamakating Hollow, says they were modeled after a hen-coop.
Of course, he slanders these simple and worthy people ; for their
houses were as good and better than their neighbors.
In 1799, a school was opened near Wurtsborough by John
King, wlio received one dollar per quarter for teaching each
pupil, and was boarded by his patrons. He was thus employed
for one year, when he was suecoc^ded by John Youngs, of Fish-
kill, who continued the school for thirteen months, when he
died. Previous to 1790, it does not appear that the means of.
education wore better than what was afiorded in the home-circle.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. 423.
That some of the children were taught to read and write is
proved by the Town Records ; for the first white child bom in
the valley discharged official duties for several years which re-
quired at least a limited education.
The young undoubtedly labored under many disadvantages,
particularly if they were anxious to consummate their matri-
monial inclinations. "When an amorous jengd wished to con-
vert a kerel into a iviif, he was obliged to travel many miles to
find a dominie or a civil officer to forge the marriage-chain. As
late as 1796, Daniel Litts had to take his betrothed to Hopewell,
where they were married.
Manuel Gousalus 3d, at an early day, built a grist-miU on
Gumaer brook. The bolting was done by hand, and the estab-
lishment was of no importance beyond being convenient to the
few settlers of the valley.
The early Dutch inhabitants of Peenpack, and the occupants
of the Mamakating Farms, gave names to all the streams, (kils,)
brooks, (kiltjes,) mountains and hills, (bergs,) iu their neighbor-
hoods. These old names have generally been forgotten; but
there are yet (1873) a few descendants of the pioneers of the
valley who are familiar with them. One of these persons
(Colonel Masten of Wurtsborough,) an intelligent gentleman of
the old Dutch school, has furnished us with most of the follow-
ing facts, which were told him by Samuel Gonsalus and others
in his youth :
1. Bashaskill north of Wurtsborough, was known as Lysbets'
kil, (Elizabeth's creek). There was generally but one daughter
in each Gousalus family, and she was christened Elizabeth.
The stream was named after one of these girls. (This cannot
be so, because Lysbet, Betje, Basha, Bessie, etc., are equiva-
lents, and the name was kuowu in the valley before the Gousalus
family located there. See Miuisink and Hardenbergh patents.
If Betje or Bashe was a white woman, she hved at Peenpack.)
2. South of Wurtsborough, the stream was called Mamacotton
river. Mamacotton, (or con-ectly, Mamakating,) is an Indian
word, the meaning of which is lost.
3. Pinekill. This was the true Bashaskill. On it was the
tract of land known as Basha's land. Westbrookville was once
Bashasville. Tradition says that Basha was a squaw who was
the Queen of her tribe or clan, and lived on the banks of the
creek. According to a descendant of Dirck Van Keuren West-
brook, the first white settler at Westbrookville, her name was
Baha Bashiba, and her bones may be found in an old Indian
burial-place iu that neighborhood. Notwithstanding all this,
we believe the word Basha is tke Dutch diminutive for Eliza-
beth. Almost every Dutch woman of that name is still desig-
nated by the pet sobriquet of Betje or Bashee, and in the
424 HISTOBT OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
old records of the precinct the valley in the vicinity of the creek
is styled by an English clerk, Bessie's Land. Nothwithstanding
the word Basha is of Dutch origin, the name may have belonged
to a s'vnk sqiia or squaw-sachem, as the aborigines sometimes
bore the names of white people. That an Indian Queen had
her seat of government at Bessie's Land is a favorite tradi-
tion, and the antiquarian who proves that it is a baseless fiction
will not be honored in the valley of Mamakating.
4. Oak Brook, by the Dutch, was called Aka kiUje, from the
oak trees which grew by it. Aka is a corruption of the Dutch
name for that tree, (eik.)
5. Manarza Smith Spring. This was the Groot Yaugh Buys
Fontaine — Great Hunting House Spring. The last word ( fon-
taine) is French, and is equivalent to the English word fountain.
There were numerous yaugh or hunting-houses in old times,
along the frontier from the Paaquary mountains to Albany. A
yaugh house was as uncertain a monument by which to bound
land as a blue mountain.
6. Grahanis Brook was the Olietje kil (Oil creek) of the Dutch
— not because petroleum, but the butternut, was found there in
abundance. Tlie early settlers extracted oil from this nut.
Hence the name of Oil creek.
7. Sa)idy Broicn Brook— Lang Steen kiltje, (Long Stone brook,)
from a peculiarity of the stones found there.
8. Page's Brook. On this was bestowed the somewhat pro-
fane cognomen of Boumaker's Hel, (Saddler's Hell,*) from the
following incident : A saddler traveling through the neighbor-
hood on a lean and half-starved horse, had occasion to cross the
brook at the usual fording-place. At this point the mud was
very deep and very adhesive. These difficulties were easily
overcome by the powerful, well-fed animals of the Dutch farm-
ers ; but they were too great for the lean beast of the roumaker.
When it reached the middle, it was irretrievably mired — fast in
the mud — with its rider on its back ! In vain the unfortunate
saddler thumped with his heels, and applied his whip with all
the force of his arms. His horse could not move a step, and
he was afraid to alight in the mud. There was danger that he
would sink into it too. He hallooed. No one rephed. He
screamed; he yelled; he cursed; he blasphemed until he was
hoarse and exhausted. How he was extricated tradition does
not inform us; but we presume he was finally rescued by a
traveler ; otherwise his adventure woidd not have been known,
nor the name of Saddler's Hell given to the bi'ook to commemo-
rate his misfortune.
9. Stanton Brook. This was Scufftite kiltje or Breakfast brook.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 425
TThe people of Peenpack, when they started for Esopus, gener-
ally managed to get here in time to eat their morning meal.
Hence the name.
10. Saic-Mill Brook was the Cline Yangh Hiiyn Mtje, or the
Little Hunting House brook. It runs near the site of the old
Cliyie Yavgh Hvys vp da berg, or the Little Hunting House on
the hill, the spi'ing of which is so well known to surveyors.
11. Abraham Stanton Brook. On the banks of this brook
was a dense growth of rhododendrons and other evergreens,
which completely overshadowed it. Hence it was called Donkera
Gat k'dtje- — Dark Hole brook. It is sometimes styled Laurel
brook in the ancient records of the precinct.
12. School House Brook. This brook was the Maritje'a
hiltje of early daj-s. It was so designated because Samuel
<Jonsalus, when a young man, in crossing it with Maritje, the
daughter of Michel Helm, applied his whip to his horses, which,
being spirited, started suddenly, and she was thrown into the
brook. She was on the back seat, and went over the tail-board.
When Gonsalus checked the speed of his horses, and looked for
her, he found her comfortably seated in the brook, enjoying
what is known in these days as a sitz or hip-bath. The accident
was the source of much merriment at the time. The place
where it occurred is the Maritje's Gat* of the old records.
Maritje's kiltje was subsequently called Witch's brook.
13. Gnmaer Brook was Manuel's kiltje, and named after
Manuel Gonsalus.
14. Devens' Brook was Devens' kiltje.
15. Roaring Brook is a translation of the original name —
Rousika kiltje.
16. Henry's Brook was Platte kiltje; i. e. Flat brook, which
indicates that it has but little, if any, current.
17. Summitville Brook was Lang Bnig kiltje, or Long Bridge
brook. For some distance there was a swamp on each side of
it, over which a causeway of logs was built.
18. Sandburgh. The Dutch name was Zonfberg, or Sand-hill.
It was applied to a hill, and as the appellation of a stream of
water is ridiculous. No creek can be a hill of sand. The
original name of the creek was Zontkil, and it is so designated
in old maps.
The Dutch element predominated in Mamakating Hollow
■until the close of the last century. The settlers were generally
substantial and prosperous, but lacked the restless energy and
untiring activity of the Yankees. It may be said of them that
* We applied to an ancient Dutch matron for a translation of this name, first giving
her a brief history of this particular jnf. Our simplicity or something else, caused her
to laugh 80 immoderately, whenever the gat was alluded to, that ahe failed to
426 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COmSTY.
they acquired wealth by slow and sure means. Notwithstamling
they were plodding and lalxjriaus, they were not destitute of
enjoyment In them Dutch stolidity was amehorated by a
sL'ght infusion of I'rench vivacity, so that they possessed a quiet
capacity for happiness, and were content in their limited sphere.
They were satisfied with their dailj' blessings and comforts, and
did not long for pleasures which many ever seek, but never
enjoy.
The influx of Yankees commenced about the year 1790. The
first of importance was Captain David Dorrance, a native of
Windliam county, Connecticut. His family took a consjDicnous
part in the colonization of the territory of Wyoming by the
people of his native colony, and he had served with much credit
m the Revolutionary army, which he entered a.s a sergeant, and
was soon after promoted for meritorious conduct. In 1776,
while his regiment was engaged at Morrisania, in "Westchester
county, he was so severely wounded that he was unable to
Eerform military duty for more than a year. When he recovered,
6 rejoined his regiment, and was selected by General Wash-
ington to serve with other ofiicers and soldiers in a corps under
the Marquis de la Fayette. The troops of this corps, as a
compliment to their distinguished general, were the finest of the
army. Dorrance was soon after made a lieutenant, and then a
captain, in which capacity he served until the close of the war.
He was in the battle of Monmouth and other impoi-tant engage-
ments, and witnes.sed the suiTender of Cornwallis. After peace
was declared, and our country freed from the dominion of Great
Britain, he found that the effects of his wound and the hai-d-
ships he had endured, rendered him unable to endure the
fatigues of physical labor. Under these circumstances he was
advised to apply for a pension ; but with that gi'eatness of soul
which marked his character, he refused to do so, alleging that
he would never become an expense to his country so long as he
v'oidd avoid it.*
Some time previous to 1790, he visited Southern Ulster for the
Eurpose of buying furs and peltries of the frontier-trappers and
uuters. Finding the unoccupied land south of Mamakatiug
Farms, cheap and fertile, and covered with a heavy burthen of
white pine, hickory, oak, and other valuable timber, he deter-
mined to buy a large tract, and settle on it, with such of his old
neighbors of Connecticut as he could induce to join him. Witli
this object in view, he bought one thousand acres of Colonel
Ellison, an extensive operator in real estate of that day. This
lot was south of the tui-upike, and embraced tlie farm now
owned by the Morrison family of Wurtsborough. Captain.
»SulliTttn ISTiig, July 3d, 1852.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATISG. 427
Dorrance paid one cToiIar per acre for it. He soon afterwards
bought 613 acres of Hendrick Smith. The last mentioned tract
adjoined the other on the south, and covered the Chichester
farm. For three hundred dollars, he sold 150 a-cres of this
land to Ephraim Smith, and for a like sum the same quantity of
land to Cogswell Kinne, a brother of Nathan Kinne, one of the
early settlers of Thompson.
Samuel Dimmick, the progenitor of the well-laiown family of
that name, was then a young phj-sician in Dorrance's native
place, and Charles Baker was a young man of stalwart frame
and fine education. Dorrance induced them to remove to Mama-
katuig by offering to pay the expenses of their journey. Dim-
mick at first found but little employment in this new and
sparsely inhabited region. Patients were few in number, and
the jieople generally poor. However, he met with so much
encouragement tliat he went back to Wmdham county to fulfill a
matrimonial contract with Sophia Greenslip, an amiable and
excellent lady, who proved a helpmeet indeed to the struggling
young doctor, as well as the mother of a very respectable
family. There are people yet living who bear testimony' in
favor of this brave and accomplished woman, who did not con-
sider it beneath her station to teach a school, when the money
thus earned was necessary to the support of herself and husband.
The exertions of the young couple in time were well rewarded,
and they found the wlierewithal to secure a comfortable subsist-
ence. At an early day he became a resident of Bloomingburgh,
where the name of Dimmick has since been synonymous with
social and intellectual excellence.
The difSculties in reducing the wild lands of Captain Dor-
rance to cultivated farms may be estimated from the annexed
facts : On his premises, nearly opposite Doctor Morrison's south
barn, was a white pine tree which measured twenty-one feet in
circumference. This giant of the woods was prostrated by first
applying the axe to its immense bole as long as practicable, and
then finishing the work with a cross-cut saw. About fifteen
feet fi-om the ground it had two branches, each as large as an
ordinary tree. It made ten logs, the largest of which was five
feet in diameter, and it was necessary to hew away its upper
and lower sides before it could be cut into boards. This tree
was sold for ten doUars as it stood — a sum equal to what ten
acres of the land had cost Dorrance. Portions of its stump
and roots were, visible a few years ago. Such a tree would
now be worth from one hundi-ed and fifty to two ^ hundred
dollars.
Captain Dorrance for a considerable time was the only Justice
of the Peace in the town. As clergymen were scarce, he was
often called upon to many the sons and daughters of the vaUey.
428 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
and the dwellers of the woods west of the Hollow. Doctor
Silas Loomis, Eli Eoberts, Charles Harding, Colonel Mudge
and other local celebrities were married by him.
Wilhelmus Kiiykendall, Zachariah Durland and David Dor-
rance, were the original owners of the Stanton graveyard. The
latter died June 23, 1822, aged 71 years, and was buried in this
yard. During his residence in Mamakating, he was honored
and respected. He contributed much to the growth and pros-
perity of the valley. Ann, his widow, survived him fourteen
years. Their children were, 1. EHsha H., born September 23,
1787 ; 2. John, March 23, 1789 ; 3. Benjamin B., June 2, 1791 ;
4. Samuel, January 23, 1793; 5. George, March 17, 1797;
6. Nancy, May 26, 1799 ; 7. Frances, August 30, 180U ; 8. Ca-
tharine, February 17, 1803; 9. Da^-id, July 30, 1805; 10. Charles,
January 30, 1808.
Of his ten children, George is the only one who is now a
resident of Wurtsborough. Benjamin B. was a respectable
physician, and has been dead many years. John died on the
7th of December, 1854, and was a man highly esteemed and
widely known. He was noted for his business-enterprise, as
well as for his wit and reminiscences of old times. He well
remembered the friendship of Governor Moms for his father—
a friendship which led him while passing fi'om Albany to New
York, in the early days of this century, to turn from his route
and travel forty miles to visit Wurtsborough. He came in great
state, with a retinue of outriders and other attendants, filling
the breasts of all with awe, and particularly the youngsters of
the Hollow, who, in their seclusion, had never dreamed of such
state and splendor. John and his brother Elisha retreated, as
they supposed, to secure hiding places ; but were found by their
father, who dispatched them to the Basha's kill to catch trout
for the dinner of the great man and his family.
When the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike was surveyed,
John carried the cham from Bloomingburgh to Cochecton, and
during his hfe was more or less identified with the improvements
which were designed to advance the interests of his neighbors
and friends. When the first attempt was made to drain the
Bashas-kill swamp, he contracted to do the work, and performed
the job according to the plan of those who gave it to him. In
1826, he was extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits; but
took a mile-section of the canal at Wurtsborough to constnict.
After this was completed, he contracted to finish Another section
on the Delaware river at Butler's Falls. Here, by the sliding
of earth and rocks from a high embankment, one of his legs
was broken and crushed, which lamed him for life. He was
afterwards associated with George Law in a contract on the
iChenango canal, and with Samuel Roberts on the Mauch Chunk
THE TO^VN OF MAMAKATING. 429
canal, and engaged in grading a section of the New York and
Erie railroad at Deposit, and another on the Newburgh branch.
He also made a bid to build the Croton Aqueduct and Dam ;
but the contract was awarded to Koberts <fe Co., who proposed
to do the work for a trifle less than his offer. Besides this, he
was largely engaged in the lumber-business, and under a lease
from Livingston, cut near the Neversink over a million feet of
lumber annually for several years. From these ventures he
would have secured a fortune, if those with whom he was
associated had been as honorable and upright as he was
himself.
John Dorrance was ^, prominent and reliable politician. He
presided at the first meeting which nominated DeWitt Clinton
for Governor. It was held at the house of Peter Miller, in
Wurtsborough, and was attended by Doctor Holland of Massa-
chusetts, General Henry Montgomery, David Hunter and other
prominent men. He was also an expert angler and hunter, and
countless were the victims of his rod and rifle.*
After the completion of the Delaware and Hudson canal,
Ireland added largely to the population of the valley. Among
the early immigi-ants from the Green Isle were Felix and Patrick
Kelly, who were for several years merchants of Wurtsborough.
Felix became one of the most influential democratic politicians
of Sullivan. In 1840, he was elected Sheriff of the county, and
subsequently served three years under William Gumaer as
Under-sheriff. He was nominally a Roman Catholic. At the
time of his election, there was a very stubborn prejudice against
men of his religion, and to defeat him, a report was circulated
that he had, in burying one of his children, observed some of
the customs of the Irish Roman Catholics!
Charles Baker was a native of Windham county, Connecticut,
and, as we have already stated, was induced to move to Mama-
kating by Captain David Dorrance in 1796 or 1797. Very
little is known of his early life. His father, Pioswell Baker,
was a small farmer — a plain, hard-working man — poor, but of
excellent repute among his neighbors. Charles was a bright
lad, very fond of reading, and managed in some way to acquire
a better education than the generality of boys of his station in
life. In 1796, he gi-aduated at Dartmouth College soon after
Daniel Webster became a student in that institution, and well
remembered the puny lad who subsequently became so famous
as an orator and statesman.
Baker engaged in teaching school in Mamakating and the
BuiTounding country, and when not thus employed, made shin-
gles, and worked for farmers and lumbermen. It was not
* Jotm W. Haebrouck.
430 HIS-ruliY OF SULLr\-AN OOIIMTT.
uncommon to see liim })as8 to and from his -work -with bis ax on
his shoulder. He was poor, and seemingly without a prospect
of rising above the common level ; but resolved to perform his
part sturdily and bravely in whatever position circumstances
assigned him.
While teaching in Shawangunk, he got acquainted with a Mr.
Bruyn, who became his friend and benefactor. Through BnijTi's
influence he entered the law-office of WilUam Eoss of Newburgh,
as a student.
After Baker was hcensed as an attorney, he returned to
Mamakating and opened an office in Bloomingburgh, then the
most flourisliing business-place in what is now SiiUivan county.
He was a man of undoubted talent, of more than average learn-
ing as a lawyer, and much addicted to original thought and
expression. So unusual and amusing were his sayings, that he
was the central figm-e to whicli all eyes were directed in what-
ever society he appeared. Tliis pecuUarity became more and
more obvious as he advanced in years, and the habit of intemper-
ance, which blasted his Hfe, gained a firmer dominion over him.
Whenever intoxicated he laid aside whatever reserve character-
ized his sober hom-s, and gave a free rein to his witty and
caustic propensities. He usually indulged his unfortunate habit
when attending court, and some of his hajipiest forensic displays
were made when he was imder the influence of rum. We have
heard it asserted that the gravity of the bench on such occasions
was sometimes jsreserved by using a cambric handkerchief as a
gag, while bar, and jury and spectators were convulsed with
laughter.
Baker detested shams of all kinds. Although of humble
origin — a child of the people — he was at heart an aristocrat.
In politics he was a federaUst, and beUeved that certain classes,
and particularly the legal profession, should monopolize posi-
tions of honor and responsibiUty. This will more fuUy a23pear
from the following relation :
* During the first quarter of this century, Samuel Freer edited
and pubhshed at Kingston a newspaper entitled The Ulster
Gnzelte. Freer, like Baker, was of the federal party. In his
old age, when he was a pauper, he boasted that Alexander
Hamilton was his personal friend. In early times, jDost-offices
were few and far between, and pubUc journals were often
delivered to subscribers by carriers. Freer was his ov.ni canier.
When each weekly edition of the Gazette was printed, he filled
his saddle-bags with the damp sheets, mounted his old mare,
and with his pipe in his mouth, started for Peenpack. After he
reached that ancient Dutch settlement, he retraced his steps to
WurtsboroiTgh, (then Rome,) and from that point crossed the
Barrens to Thompson; fi-om thence he went to FaUsburgh,
THE TOWN OF MAMAJvATINa. 431
Neversink and Wawarsing, and from there home. He was. a
kiiul-heai ted, genial man. By visiting people at their homes,
bringing with "him the news and gossip of the day, and not
assuming airs of superiority, he became veiy popular with the
masbes.
In time he aspired to a seat in Congress. The federal
lawyers of the district regarded his pretensions with amazement
and contempt. Should this upstart printer be preferred to one
of their exclusive order? No! Heaven forbid! Away with
him! There was one lawyer, however, whom Freer believed
was his friend. That lawyer was Charles Baker. Freer relied
on him — confided in him — counseled with him. He canvassed
the district and believed that he would have a small majority in
the nominating convention. Baker was a delegate, and was
supposed to be Freer's friend ; but in the convention turned the
scale against him. Freer was indignant and reproached Baker
with his perfidy, when the latter coolly told him that a man of
his calling was unfit for an honorable position. Freer replied
bitterly, "Such a sentiment should bUster your tongue!" and
was Baker's enemy to the day of his death.
Baker himself was several times a candidate for office ; but
was never elected until he joined the democratic party, when
the voters of Mamakating made him an Inspector of Common
Scliools. He was run for the Assembly in 1809, 1810, 1818,
1817 and 1823 ; and in 1821 for Member of the Constitutional
Convention. His successful competitor was generally a farmer
or mechanic. In 1832, he desired the democratic nomination
for Representative in Congress ; but he was elbowed aside by
Charles Bodle, a wagon-maker. So far as concerns him, the
doctrine of compensation in this life seems to have been
verified.
Baker's blows were like those given with a mace rather than
a Damascus blade. His wit was ponderous and coarse ; and on
that account suited to the time in which he lived. His weapon
was not so keen that his victims were obliged to shake their
heads to ascertain whether they were decapitated. He generally
reduced the head itself to a jelly with a single effort.
Sometime during the war of 1812-15, Baker received a circu-
lar fioDi a committee of federalists, the object of which was to
induce him and other members of that party to throw obstacles
in the way of a successful prosecution of the war. Baker,
although a fedeiahst, was a warm friend of his country, and felt
no sympathy for its enemies. The circular had an eft'ect unhke
that'wLich its authors anticipated so far as he was concerned;
for he forthwith denounced them, and with Jacksonian impetu-
osity induced part of a militia company of which he was a
heutenant to go with him "to the firont."
432 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
This company had been commanded by Captain Thomas Bull
of Wurtsborough, who had evaded a requisition of Governor
Tompkins, because his wife would not consent to his going into
the army.
Lieutenant Baker's company not being full, an order was
issued to consolidate it with a company under the command of
a captain whom Baker did not esteem very highly. Baker was
indignant, and in his emphatic manner declared that his men
should not be commanded by any one but himself. They were
his neighbors and friends, and had volunteered to serve under
him, and it was an insult to them to place over them a stranger.
He called on hit. «ngadier-general to remonstrate. A stormy
interview took place. Baker was insolent and insubordinate;
and was arrested and tried by a mihtary court for his offense.
He was found guilty, and sentenced to be reprimanded, and to
make an apology to the insulted officer. On the day designated
for carrying the sentence into effect, the regiment was paraded,
and the General, mounted in full uniform, placed himself in
front of the line, while his cur-dog stood by the side of his horse,
regarding Baker with apparent displeasure. After a grave and
formal reading of the reprimand, Baker, bareheaded and minus
his sword, bowed obsequiously to his offended superior, and
said : " Sir, in obedience to the order of the court-martial, I
ask your pardon ; and Sir, (bowing still lower) I ask pardon of
your Jiorse; and Sir, (bowing again) I also ask pardon of
your dog!" An ample apology is generally satisfactory; but
there was too much of this. At least so thought the General
as he retired hastily from the field with his horse and dog, and
a very red face, while the troops roared with laughter.*
Baker was a duelist. In early life, for some real or fancied
insult, he challenged "William Boss of Newbiirgh. Ross was a
man of considerable talent, had been Baker's legal preceptor
and was a prominent politician. He was a Member of Assembly
for several years, the Speaker of that liranch of the Legislature
in 1811, and represented the Middle District in the Senate for
eight years, commencing with 1815. For some cause not known
to us, Ross, though not deficient in courage, refused to fight
Baker. When the latter found that Ross would not meet him,
his wrath was boundless, and he posted the other on the town-
pump as a " poltroon, liar and coward."
Two or three years before his death, a stale practical joke
was perpetrated at Baker's expense by several gi-aceless wags
of Newburgh, where he then practiced law. One of them
annoyed the old man until he said something which was con-
»A aimilar anccdnte is reK^tcd in Ruttrnbcr'B HiBtory of Newburgh of PhineM
Bowman, a noted legal wag iif that town. This of liakcr was written bv «s and pub-
iUhcd iu a Newbwrgb paper tbirtcon yearn before Kuttenber's work was printed.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. 435
strued into an insult. Baker received a challenge, and promptly
accepted it. The belligerents met on the ice opposite New-
burgh, with seconds, a surgeon, rifles, etc. The rifles weje
loaded with nothing but powder. The principals were placed
opposite each other, and the word given, when Baker, who was
an old deer-hunter, aimed as deliberately as if about to shoot a
buck, and fired. His adversary fell, groaning, and a red fluid
gushed from a bladder under his vest, and made a crimson
puddle beside his convulsed body. The surgeon hastily exam-
ined the apparently dying man, and then approached Baker,
and said : " Sir, I regret to inform you that Mr. is mortally
wounded. You will do well to avoid the unpleasant conse-
quences which may follow his death." Baker was standing bolt-
upright in his "position." "Umph!" said he in reply to the
surgeon; "D — n him. Sir, I knew I'd plump him!" He then
walked deliberately to his office, as if nothing unusual had
happened.
in the days of Alexander Hamilton, Baker was enraged when
any one spoke disrespectfully of his party or its distinctive
policy. Going on horseback from Mamakating Hollow to
Bloomingburgh, he encountered Alexander Brown, who was
also mounted and travehng in the same du-ection. Their con-
versation was conciliatory and very pleasant until Brown, who
was an admirer of Thomas Jefferson, got into a political con-
troversy with Baker, and censured the federalists with much,
asperity. Instead of the small, light whip usually carried by
equestrians. Baker had one six or eight feet in length. "With,
this he told Brown he would flog him if he did not there and
then apologize and retract what he had said. Instead of doing
as Baker required, Brown, who was greatly the physical inferior
of the two, put spurs to his horse, and thus got beyond the
reach of Baker's snapper. Baker at once started in pursuit.
He had the best horse, but no spurs, and his whip was so long
that he could not lash his animal with it. However, he found
"persuaders" to rapid locomotion in his heels and the but of
his whip, with which he thumped the beUy and ribs of his steed
until he imagined he had gained so much on the democrat that
he could reach his shoulders with the lash. He would then
raise in his stirrups, throw his body forward, and strike at
Brown with great fury. The latter, hearing or feeling the whip,
would then plunge his spurs desperately once more into his
horse, and widen the distance between himself and the burlesque
Nemesis raging behind him. Thus the two men tore along the
mountain road, and down the declivity to Bloomingburgh, at
the peril of their Uves, forgetting that a misstep or a stumble
of either horse would probably launch its rider into eternity.
Into Bloomingbiu-gh they came like a whirlwindj arousing all
454 HISTORY O? SCLLIA'AN COUNTV.
the dogs and idlers of the main street of that village. The
pursuit did not terminate until several citizens threw themselves
between Baker and the object of his wrath.
The evening of Baker's life was overshadowed by the mists
and clouds which usually obscure the close of an imi^rovident
and dissipated career, lie was poor and alone. 'Tis true, he
was not friendless ; neither was he an object of public charity.
Friends managed in some way to give him professional employ-
ment in Newburgh, so that he obtained the necessaries of hfe,
and to a certain degree preserved his self-respect. The heart
of the proud old man would have broken if he had been a
pauper. But he was a sad wreck, and more than anything else
resembled a mangy old lion — majesty and degi-adation were so
mixed up in him. While strolling through the streets of New-
biu-gh, in the fall of 1837, we saw him throiigh the open door of
a low saloon, surrounded by worthless negroes and more worth-
less whites, who were teasing him to elicit those amusing out-
bursts of passion which rendered him so unlike other men. He
died in Newburgh on the 7th of May, 1839.
The valley fi'ora Basha's-ldll swamp to the Shawnee's-bergh,
or Couucil-liill, was known as Mamakating Farms to the early
settlers. When the Yankees obtained a foothold in the Hollow,
"they counted all the mountain-peaks they could see, and with
ambitious views, called the place, Rome, hoping no doubt that
it was the site of a future city which would include in its bound-
aries the surrounding hills. It retained the name of the
eternal city as late as 1812, in which year its first church (Dutch
Reformed) was built. This edifice, after a profane rite then too
much iu vogue, was named the Church of Rome,* a designation
which foreshadowed its ultimate use, for it has been owned and
occupied by the Roman Catholics for many years.
Some time after the completion of the Newburgh and Cochec-
ton turnpike, and the establishment of a post-office, the official
designation of the village was Mamakating, while the popular
appellation was "Mammy Cotton HoUer." Mamakating con-
sisted of about a score of houses clustered around the corners
of the turnpike and the old Minisink road.
When the Delaware and Hudson canal was opened, those
who controlled that improvement believed that this point
would be the most iniiiortant one on the line of their work, and
they gave it the name of Wurtsborough, as a compliment to the
gentleman who had originated the canal, and without whoso
indefatigable labors it would never have been constracted. It
* It was then a custom, when the frame-work of a church was raised, for one of the
workmen to ascend to the highest point, where he swung a jug of rum a certain
number of times around liis head, throwing it to the ground when the last circle w»a
performed, and shouting the name of the church.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. 435
was pronounced the most important point between flie Dela-
ware and Hudson. Maurice Wurts himself, in company with a
gentleman named Draper, engaged in business here as a mer-
chant, and probably would have become a resident, if he had not
been compelled to abandon other pursuits, and devote his entire
powers to save the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company from
financial ruin. If he could have assisted in developing the
natural advantages of the place, it requires no effort of imagina-
tion to estimate the result. It would now be the most flourish-
ing business locality of Sullivan.
Wurtsborough was originally confined to a small space on
the berme side of the canal. It was gradually extended west-
ward until the gap between it and the old village of Mamaka-
ting was filled up. In 1830, the name of the post-office was
changed from Mamakating to Wurtsborough. Lyman Odell,
who was noted as the viUage-poet, as well as a profuse essayist,
was the first post-master after the alteration of the name.
As early as 1774, the eastern side of the Shawangunk was
settled fi-om the Plattekill to the line between the old counties
of Ulster and Orange. The Eecords of Mamakating show that
the territory between the river and the summit of the mountain
was known as Shawangunk. In the year named, Benjamin
Depuy, Philip Swartwout and Jacob Gunuier ]iut upon record
a road survey, in which they described the highway as running
from the line of Colonel Thomas Ellis and Mr. Cornelius Bruyn,
at the Plattekill, through the premises of Kobert MilHgan,
Stephen Cainey, Solomon Terwilliger, widow McBride, Jonathan
Strickling, Samuel Palsen, Phineas Thompson and John Young,
to the precinct-line at Samuel Daley's. This road ran "under
the foot of the mountain," * and there were other settlers on it,
as is proven by the records of the next two or three years.
Kobert and Peggy Milligau located on the Steplaeu Noma
place before the savages abandoned that part of the country.
Their log-hut was in front of the Noms house. The alluvial
banks of the river were dotted with wigwams. There was an
orchard in the vicinity, which had been planted by the red man,
and which was afterwards known as the Indian orchard. The
whites were careful not to ofl^end their savage neighbora, and
consequently lived on good terms with them until the latter
were induced to take up arms in behalf of the enemies of the
country. They then removed beyond the motmtain, and never
returned except on predatory excursions. An account of one
of these will be found in our chapter on the Lenni Lenape.
On the Keeler Norris farm was found a vault or cache, which
* In 1789, the Commisoionera of Highways of Mamakating note the fact that the
Legislature of 1788 ackleiA to the town so much of Wallkill as was west of Shawangunk
river.
^6 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
liad been used by the Indians for storing maize. Its walls
were formed of split logs, and it was four feet wide and sis long.
Around it were dug-up stone-pestles and imperfectly shaped
Indian aiTows.
Searsville commemorates the memory of a geiitleman named
Sears. It is a pleasant village, near the county line, and was
at one time known as Burlingham. The latter name was given
in honor of Walter Burling, a director of one of the tui-npike
companies which were charten-ed in the present century.
Alfi'ed B. Street, than whom no man has a more fond eye for
beauty, thus describes what is to be seen on ascending the
Shawanguuk mountain from Bloomingburgh :
" We will suppose it to be about sunset. You are climbing
the ascent by the steep, crooked, but wide and well-built turn-
pike. Every now and then, if you turn yom* head, deUcious
fragments of rich scenery, wiU strike your eye — a roof or two —
a spire — a stretch of meadow, with silver curves of ninning
water. Higher you ascend; and turning, broader prospects
spread out to your sight, until, arriving at the first and broadest
summit, you pause and look back. Upon each side of you are
the oaken woods of the mountain, their tops gilded with the
mellow sun. Beyond, from the foot of the mountain to the faint
blue waving liue that proclaims the Hudson hiUs is a landscape
as glowing and lovely as ever blessed the eye, and gave a shock
of pleasure to the heart. There lies the beautiful viUage of
Bloomingbmgh, with its roofs, its steeples and its rows of
poplars; thence extend league iipon league of meadow, and
pasture, and grain-field, and clustered woodland, smUiug in aU
the ^ntchery of those long-reaching black shadows — vistas of
soft, rosy light — dimpled spaces and flashing gleams, which that
splendid painter. Nature, scatters in the sweet hoiir of sunset so
profusely fi'om her palette. Looking more intently, the eye at
length reaches out and detects the minute and delicate touches
in the lovely picture. The dotting homesteads, set Uke bu'ds'
nests amid then- trees — the crouching barns — the scattered hay-
stacks— the gi'ouped cattle — the myriad lines of fences crossing
each other — the gray roads with black dots of travelers, striping
MU and valley — the green lanes — the diflering colors of the
com and grass, and wheat-fields — the turns and reaches of the
flashing brooks — in short, all that make up a landscape of
exquisite mral beauty."
Bloomingburgh stands on elevated gi'ound midway between
Shawanguuk mountain and Assining river, and commands an
extended view of the highlands and lowlands in its vicinity.
THE TOWN OF ILVMAKATING. 437
The mountain-range for twenty miles or more is within sight, as
well as a considerable portion of Orange county and southern
Ulster. Fertile upland, forest-heights, rocky escarpments, a
winding river, and fruitful intervals, please the eye by giving
variety to the scene, which is rendered still more striking by
the iron-horse which thunders along the mountain side, and
plunges into the bosom of old Shawangunk. Well did Wash-
ington Irving, in one of his celebrated " Sketches," * pronoimce
it "the beautiful village of Bloomingburgh."
The first house erected within the bounds of the village, was
built by Captain John Newkirk, on what has since been known
as the "North Koad." It was there in 1776, when William
EUis settled in the neighborhood, and was in the old precinct
of Wallkill until the line between Wallkill and Mamakating was
changed from the foot of the mountain to the Shawangunk or
Assining river. Its site is a little back from tlie road, and,
unlike many first buildings in new locahties, it was a frame-house.
It was one story high, and in it Captain John Newkirk kept
the original tavern of the place. A few years since, the bar was
still where the customers of Newkirk took their daily potatioi^,
its owner. Doctor Van Wyck, thougli a strict temperance-man,
having sufiicient respect foa- antiquity to let the relic of old days
remain — a sad monument of many squandered estates and
wrecked lives.
William Ellis moved from Peekskill, and settled on the farm
now (1873) owned by James Hare. At the time he came, there
was but one house in Bloomingburgh — the old Newkirk tavern.
He was the only support of his aged father and mother, and
therefore did not enlist to perform regular service in the Revo-
lutionary army ; but turned out with tlie few scattering militia-
men of his vicinity to defend the Mamakating frontier whenever
it was attacked by savages or threatened, as well as to chastise
tory marauding-parties. They were often called to do duty at
Fort Devens, in Mamakating Hollow, Fort Gumaer, at P-een-
pack, and the fortified house of Dirck V. K. Westbrook, at
Bessie's Land. When the British General Clinton was making
hostile demonstrations upon the banks of the Hudson, these
mihtia-men marched for Fort Montgomery ; but when they got
within three or four miles of it, they learned that it was in
Eossession of the enemy, and returned to their homes. If they
ad reached the fort before it was taken, Ellis woiild have been
killed in battle, or perhaps died in some loathsome prison from
starvation and exposure. This sturdy patriot lived in Mama/-
kating sixty-eight years, and died there on the 24th of Feb-
ruary, 1845, aged 90 years. During a long life, he sustained
» "Hans Swartz, a marvelous Tale of Mamakating Hollow."
438 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
the reputation of a truly honest man, and an uncompromising,
unflinching advocate of pohtical and religious liberty.
Soon after the Revolutionary war, WiDiam Wighton & Co.
opened a store about a mile south of the village, WilHam
Harlow a tavern two miles north, and "Cronimus" Felter near
the Plattekill. In 1784, a school was opened in Bloomingburgh
by a Mr. Campbell, and a grist-mill built on the river by Joshua
CfampbeU. These facts indicate early and rapid advances in
that locaKty.
The name of Bloomingburgh was bestowed on the Fourth of
July, about the year 1812, when it was proposed by James
Newkirk, and selected from a number of others suggested by
residents of that period. Samuel King, of Revolutionarf
memory, who had repeatedly held the offices of Town Clerk and
Supervisor, was the orator of the day, and acted as sponi5or.
The village was incorporated by an act of the Legislature
passed April 26th, 1833. At the first election, the following
officere were chosen : Alpheus Dimmick, Cornelius Wood and
Ste^jhen Belknap, Trustees; Gabriel S. Corwin, Clerk; and
Theodore C. Van Wyck, Treasurer. The corporation seal "is
the impression of that side of a United States dime on which
is the figure of an eagle." The bounds of the village extend
one mile west from the centre of Shawangunk river, and north
and south ou each side of the Newburgh and Cochecton turn-
pike about one-third of a mile.
Until the completion of the Hudson and Delaware canal,
Bloomingburgh was a place of considerable business. Its
merchants dealt largely in lumber from the interior of the
county. Those who manufactured and carted it over the moun-
tams, generally exchanged it for gi'ain, groceries, etc., and the
dealers of the village either sent it to New York by the way of
Newburgh, or sold it to local customers. In its best days, the
merchants of the village were well known throughout the county,
and exercised a controlling influence in the various aflairs of
local interest. Those who were residents from forty to fifty
years ago, will readily recognize the names of Sloan & Hunter,
Morton & Lock woods, the Dunning Brothei-s, Stewart <fe Gilles-
pie, John Roosa, and others, although the descendants of but
few of these persons now hve in either the town or county.
The first printing-office and the first academy of Sullivan
were at Bloomingburgh. The academy was situated in the
north-east part of the village, near the river, and was erected in
1810 or 1811 ; but by an advertisement inserted in the Watch-
man of October 20, 1829, it seems it was incorporated ou the
5th of April, 1828. Its first Trustees were Jonathan Mills,
Da^'id Hunter, Charles Baker, Henry Linderman, Alpheus
Dimmick, T. C. Van Wyck, Gabriel H. Horton and Samuel Van
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 431
Vechten. Its first Principal, after the act of incorporation, wag
Samuel Pitts, a graduate of Union College. Previous to this
time several gentlemen of fine scholastic attainments had had
charge of the school as teachers. The first was Alpheus Dim-
mick. John Burnett succeeded him, and taught several years.
Then came Samuel Mosely for about six years. He was
succeeded by Alexander Patterson and others. Piev. H. Con-
nelly was for a considerable time one of its Principals. The
decline in the business-importance of the village, and the lack
of specific accommodations for pupils from other places, oper-
ated unfavorably. The institution became of a lower grade
than it once occupied ; and finally the common school of the
place was kept in the building. At one period, the attendance
at the academ}' was very large, and it sent forth puj^ils who won
useful and eminent positions.*
The building was destroyed hj fire several years ago.
The academy was probably at first a select school of high
grade, and originated in the necessities of Alpheus Dimmick, a
student in the law-ofiice of Charles Baker. While preparing for
legal pursuits, he was obhged to "paddle his own canoe," and
hence engaged in teaching. He was, as boy and man, remark-
able for his integrity. The honest and faithful manner in which
he performed his duties as a teacher, gave the school such an
excellent reputation, that after he was licensed to practice as an
attorney in 1814, others, who were noted for their erudition, as
well as success in teaching, were induced to continue the school.
As a lawyer, Mr. Dimmick was not brilliant. He was unHke
a flame which attracts a multitude of silly moths to destruction.
He was a calm, steady, safe guide, who never for his own profit
involved his clients in inextricable labyrinths. Throughout his
life, he maintained the calm serenity and self-poise which is
exhibited only by true excellence. Official position was awarded
to him as a trilDute to worth. In 1828, he was a Member of
Assembly ; from 1836 to 1847, District Attorney of the county ;
and from 1847 to 1851, County Judge and Surrogate. His
death occurred in January, 1865.
Previous to the erection of the Court-house at Monticello,
courts were sometimes held at Bloomingburgh, in the tavern of
P. & M. Miller — the same subsequently kept by Christian Shons.
We are informed that the first Circuit Court of the county was
held in this building, and that Joseph C. Yates, a Puisne
Justice of the Supreme Court, who had been appointed to
discharge judicial duties in the Middle District,! presided. The
* SulUmn Coaniy H kig, September 4, 1846.
t Tho State was tlien divided into four districts — the southern, the eaBtem, tlie
middle and the western. Sullivan was' in the middle. Judge Yates, who held this
court, was elected Governor in 1822, when he received 125,000 majority over Solomon
Southwick.
440 HI8T0RY OF 8ULLIV.1N COUNTY.
court was held in the ball-room, in a part of the building which
•was afterwards detached from the main part of the tavern, and
removed to another lot. It was subsequently occupied by the
pastor of the Reformed Church. At the time" Judge Tate.s'held
the Circuit Court in Bloomingburgh, the county-seat was not
established.
A County Court had previously been held in Monticello,
William A. Thompson, First Judge.
The early residents were not only noted for theii' business-
enterprise and thrift ; but for their good taste. At one time a
row of Lombardy poplars — then very high in public estimation,
but in the end not as popular as the elm, sugar-maple, locust
and black walniit — adorned each side of the prhicipal street for
about a mile.* . They gave the place a highly romantic appear-
ance ; but becoming unfashionable, they were gradually removed
until but few of them are left. To a considerable extent, other
trees have taken their place, and give a more diversified aspect
to the village.
No village in the county has had more distinguished residents
than Bloomingburgh. Among those who have held high official
position, we may mention Coi-nelius C. Schoonmaker, who was
a Member of Assembly from Ulster, from 1777 to 1790, and
again in 1795 ; a Representative in the Congress held in Phila-
delphia in 1791, 1792 and 1793 ; and a Member of the Conven-
tion whicJi met in Poughkeepsie in 1786, to deliberate on the
adoption of the Federal Constitution. t He lived two miles
fi'om the \-illage, on the Burlingiiam road, in the house since
owned and occupied by Alfred Nonis. The precise year or
years when this was his residence we cannot now determine ; it
was probably after the close of his official career. J Tradition
aays that, through tax-sales at Albany, he acquired a large
estate, and that he attempted to establish on his lands the
leasehold-system with its feudal abominations. He was a
man of weight in his day, as is proven by the offices he held ;
but his memory is gradually fading from the public mind. Like
all public men of the past, whose rank in society had a mere ma-
teiial basis, and who used no part of their fortunes to benefit man-
kind, he has left no monument of his wisdom or \-irtue. How true
it is, that material wealth alone is generally a vulgar acquisition,
» SitHivan County Whig. September i, 1846.
tThe members from Ulster were John Cantine, Ebenezer Clark, Governor George
Clinton, James Clinton, C. C. Schoonmaker and Dirck Wynkoop. Excepting Governor
Clinton, who was President of the Convention and did not vote, they opposwl the
adoption of the Constitution.
X C. C. Schoonmaker died about the commencement of the present century. His
son, Zachariah Schoonmaker, sold the farm near Bloomingburgh to John Norris, on
the 15th of July, 1806. From the recitals of the deed, it is clear that C. 0. Schoon-
maker was then deceased.
THE TOWN OF M.VilAKATJNG. 441
the offspring of fraud and oppression ; the badge of a mean and
sordid soul ; and that its possessor must in the end put aside
his pride and pomp, and go to oblivion like the beggar who
sleeps in an unmarked grave ; while virtue and genius, though
they may have been fed at the rich man's table, and been the
recipients of his ostentatious benefactions, will secure to their
possessor the admiration and gratitude of endless ages ! Who
would not be an Oliver Goldsmith, hungry and in rags, rather
than the proud aristocrat, swelling with self-assumed supe-
riority, and the lord of the fairest estate of his country ? The
one has a title to immortality which the wise and good of the
universe will forever respect and glorify ; while the other can
enjoy for but a brief period the homage of fools like himself.
Charles Baker, the eccentric but able lawyer ; Samuel E. Betts,
the able jurist; Alpheus Dimmick, the venerable and honest
attorney, etc. ; Archibald C. Niven, whose laborious and useful
life has not yet terminated ; George O. Belden, whoso early
years gave promise of so much distinction in public affairs ; and
Charles H. Van Wyck, the successful politician and soldier,
have been among the residents of Bloomingburgh.
Lemuel Jenkins, who represented Sullivan and Ulster in
Congress fi'om 1823 to 1825, was a lawyer in Bloomingburgh,
and was elected by the Biicktail party. JHe had been a partner
of Samuel R. Betts. The paths of the two down life's descent
wei-e far apart. Betts became one of the distinguished jurists
of the nation ; while Jenkins discharged the unimportant duties
of a Notary Public in Albany.
Charles JBodle, a wagon-maker of Bloomingburgh, was chosen
a Representative in Congress fi-om Ulster and Sullivan in 1832.
He served during the first session ; but was unable to attend
the second. While on his way to Washington, he was detained
in the city of New York by illness. After remaining there
several weeks, he returned to his home to await the issue of his
disease, "with the composiu-e and fortitude of a man and a
Christian."* He died on the 30th of October, 1835. He was
an estimable citizen — honest and upi-ight in all things. So
conscientious was he, that it was said of him that he never
permitted a piece of poor timber to be used in the manufacture
of a vehicle in his shop, and that a wagon or sleigh made by
him always commanded a better price than if it had been made
by another. In his official capacity he was equally worthy.
He was never brilliant — never attempted to dazzle the eyes of
the multitude — never resorted to the artifices of the demagogue.
He was simply an industrious, intelligent and courteous man,
with a true heart and sound brain. A short time before his
■• Itepubhcan Watchman, November 5, 1835.
442 HISTOliY OF SULLIVAN COirN"TV.
death, he relinquished his mechanical business in favor of Alan-
eon Everett and Cyrenus Van Keuren.
At a late period Verdine E. Horton became a prominent man
of the place, and it was believed that he would add to the
number of Conf^^-essmen who had resided in Bloomingburgh at
the time of their election ; but his career was cut short, while
he was yet a young man, by a cancerous affection.
Thornton M. Niven, who was a member of the Legislature in
1845, and was at one time an Inspector of State Prisons, resided
for several years at Bloomingburgh, and while he lived there
was the candidate of his party for a seat in the national Legis-
lature; but owing to a feud in the democratic ranks, was
defeated. He was a man of wealth, a vigorous writer, and a fine
pubUc speaker. His defeat would not have been a final one, if
it had not soured his mind against official position, and led him
into an unwise habit of nursing his own sores.
This village, though situated on the border of the county, and
at present outside the central point of political influence, has
furaished more Representatives in Congress than aU the other
localities of Sullivan combined. Samuel E. Betts, Lemuel
Jenkins and Charles Bodle, each served two years ; and Charles
H. Van Wyck six years. Total, 12 years.
George O. Belden, Archibald C. Niven, and Daniel B. St.
John, of Monticello; and Rufus Palen, of FaUsburgh, each
served one term, making eight years in all. Niven and Belden
were law-students in Bloomingburgh, and practiced law there
for a short time. Monticello, therefore, should divide its honors
with its ancient rival.
Westbrookville was first known as Basha's Land, Bessie's
Land and Ba.shusville. It was finally named in honor of Dirck
Van Keuren Westbrook, the first white man who lived there.
He was the son of Dirck Westbrook of Esopus, who removed
to Sussex county. New Jersey, where his son Dirck Van Keuren
was born. The latter bought previous to the Revolutionary
war, sixty acres of land of Thomas and Edward Ferris of West-
chester county, and he and his son Abraham T. Westbrook
purchased of the same proprietor about three hundred addi-
tional acres, and upwards of two hundred more, of a man
named Hezekiah Morris. At first their nearest neighbors lived
at Cuddebackville, three and a half miles distant. Soon aft«r
Westbrook came, a family of Gilletts settled on the Pinekill,
where they afterwards built a saw-mill, one of the first in that
part of the country. A grist-mill was also erected on that
stream at an early day.
The Westbrooks were enterprising, industrious and thriving.
They built a stone-house on their land, which was used as a
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATING. 443
fort during the Revolutionary war, and is still standing. During
that contest, tliey were obhged to leave their possessions, and
fo over the mountain to Shawangunk, where the son (Abraham
'.) met Mary Van Keuren, whom he afterwards mamed. When
they left, the Indians were killing and destroying throughout
the vaUey, and when they returned, they found but little except
their land and house.
Dirck V. K. Westbrook had other children, who were daugh-
ters, named Sarah and Maria. Maria married Daniel WestfaU,
and removed with her husband to western New York. Sarah
became the wife of Ferdinand Van Etten, who settled in the
State of Kentucky. As an example of the endurance and
courage of the women of that day, we record the fact that Mrs.
Van Etten rode on horseback from Kentucky to Westbrookville,
taking with her a babe only three weeks old.
After the war, strolling Indiana passed through the valley
occasionally. They were intensely hated, especially by those
who had had relatives killed by them. On one occasion, Dirck
V. K. Westbrook gave three or four savages permission to
sleep on his premises, and his wife during the night proposed
to cut their heads off with an ax, if he would take away their
bodies. At another time, an Indian, while passing, threw a
dead snake into her lap, when she hurled a large pair of shears
at him, a point of which nanxDwIy missed his temple.
The settlers of "Westbrookville at first attended the old
Maghackamack Dutch Reformed church, at Carpenter's Point.
Afterwards the gospel Was expounded in barns at various places
in the valley.
Mrs. Peter E. Gumaer, who was born in the Peenpack neighbor-
hood near the close of the last century, and resided there more
than seventy-five years, relates the following of the Indian
woman Basha:
Basha, an old squaw, and her husband lived a long time by
Basha's kill, after their tribe had gone west. The old chief was
a good hunter, and when after game was generally accompanied
by Basha, who carried home what he shot. During one of his
tramps, he killed a large deer, and tying its legs to a stick, she
took it on her shoulders, and started homeward, he following
slowly along the path. Her way was over the stream, which
was crossed by a log reaching from bank to bank. While XDn
this log, she fell, and the stick caught her fast by the neck.
When her husband reached the place, she was dead. And that
is the way the stream got its name.*
* Sticknej's History of the Uioisink Bogion.
444 HISTORY OF SULIXVAN COUNTY.
An incident of this character may have occnrred; but the
Minisink patent proves that the region in the vicinity of the
PinekUl was known as Basha's land nearly a hundred years
before Mrs. Gumaer was born, and that that stream must have
received its name fi-om the territory through which it ran.
Phillips Port is about five miles from Wurtsborough and two
from the county-line. The valley here is about one-lialf mile in
mdth, and is bounded on one side by the Shawangunk moun-
tain, and on the other by the Sandbergs. In the vicinity, a
handsome stream of water comes foaming down siiccessive falls,
which are equally pleasing to the utilitarian and the lover of the
picturesque. There is sufficient hydraiilic power hero for exten-
sive manufacturmg purposes. Along the stream -winds the road
which leads to the old Branch turnpike. The latter crosses
FaUsburgh and penetrates Liberty. About half a mile south of
the village the siimmit-level commences, and continues seventeen
miles, the longest on the canal. The original prosperity of the
place was caused by the Hudson and Delaware canal, and will
be greatly increased by the Midland railroad. Boat-building
has been can-ied on here extensively. Phillips Port was named
after James Phillips, who was the principal business man there
when the canal was opened.* The canal company at first called
it Lockport; but by the general consent of the public, it is
kno-«Ti by its present name.
Near the commencement of the present centui-y, a family
named Budd, settled in this vicinity. The name has become
quite common in the north part of the town, and is a synonym
of industry and usefulness. The Caldwells, Bloomers, Toppings
and Tices, who have long been settled here, also desei-ve a place
on our pages.
Homowack, is a hamlet situated on the Delaware and Hudson
canal, and partly in Ulster and partly in Sullivan county. It
contains several stores, hotels, shops, etc., and is the natural
outlet of the valley of the Lunankill as well as that of the
SandkiU. The prospei-ity of the place has been considerably
promoted by the opening of the Midland railroad to Ellenville.
In 1850, William E. Palmer and his brother Timothy, pur-
chased a tract of land south of Wurtsborough, adjoining the
Stewart Eafierty place. Both lived on the premises in houses
four or five rods apart, and attempted to manage their affairs as
co-partners ; but they differed as to the proper and best way of
doing so, and frequent disputes and quarrels took place between
* John W. Haabrouck.
THE TOWN OF jMAJIAIvjVTING. 445.
them. From being brotherly, they became enemies, bitter and
mahgnaut. Crimination antl recrimination led to blows, and
complaints for assault and battery, perjury, etc. William wished
to preserve the timber and bark on the place, while the other
persisted in cutting and peeling. This led William to declare
repeatedly that he would shoot Timothy, if he did not stop
destroying the timber. In January, 1851, he said in the pres-
ence of James Larkin and Albert Squires, that "he'd be d d
if he would not shoot him." Similar declarations were made to
others at later periods. On the 16th of May, 1851, Timothy
left his house after eating his dinner, to go to the woods on the
momitain for the purpose of peeling bark. The woods were on
the lot owned by himself and AVilliam. The house owned by
William was occupied by his brother Joseph, the wife of the
latter, their three children, and the father of William, Joseph
and Timothy. Soon after Timothy left to engage at his work,
William took his gun and proceeded to the bark-peehng, but by
a different route. Between two and three o'clock, the wife of
Joseph Palmer heard the report of a gun, and the cry of murder,
in the direction tlie brothers had gone. A httle dog belonging
to William barked and came running from the woods. Stewart
Kafferty and others of the neighborhood also heard the dog
bark and the report of the gun. About 5 o'clock, Joseph Palmer
saw William returning to the house, where they eat their supper.
Joseph then plowed in a field near the house, and the other
assisted him in various ways. At 7 o'clock, the wife of Josejoh
called for Timothy to come from the woods, as she had been in
the habit of doing. Eeceiving no reply, the wife of the missing
man became alarmed, and ran to Stewart Kaffsrty's She asked
Mr. Rafferty to go with her to the woods to look for her husband,
as she feared he was shot. He made a search for Timothy in
company with a son of the latter, and found him dead, with the
trunk of a tree across his body. Subsequent investigations
proved that he had been shot in the breast, the tree raised with
a handspike, the body dragged three or four feet and placed
under the tree, and the tnink lowered upon it in a way which
was intended to create the impression that the murdered man
had been killed by an accident. The blood on the ground where
Timothy fell when he received his death-wound was carefuUy
covered with leaves, and other thmgs done to prevent suspicion.
Mr. Ra^erty, after a hasty survey of the scene, returned to the
valley. A messenger was sent for Doctor John A. Taylor, and
Eli Bennett, the nearest Coroner, and Mr. Eafferty with Abijah
Loder and others of the vicinity, returned to the bark-peeling,
and, after raising the tree fi-om the corpse, removed the latter to
the house where William resided. When they reached there,
William had been arrested by Sheriff Wells, and was in custody.
446 HISTORY OF SCLLIV.Uv COUNTY.
The prisonei" was taken to the bed on wliich the dead body was
placed, and gazed on it unmoved and ^vith an unchanged coun-
tenance. He was searched. Nothing was found on his person
to implicate him ; but a pair of pantaloons which he had worn
through the day, and left in an upper chamber, were brought
down, and found to be stained wdth blood. He declared that
he did not know how it came there. On the next morning an
inquest was held by Mr. Bennett, and an examination of the
body made by Doctor Taylor. It was found that a quantity of
shot had entered the body — one lib was severed, the left lung
lacerated, etc. In the wound was found a piece of paper which
had been used as a wad. It also appeared that at the time he
was murdered, Timothy had in his pocket a double-barreled
pistol, which was loaded and capped. The evidence against the
prisoner was circumstantial ; but the circumstances pointed him
out as the murderer with a certainty which left no room for
doubt. He was committed to jail ; soon after indicted, and at
the September Circuit of 1851 — William B. Wi-ight, Judge — put
upon his trial. Charles H. Van Wyck, the District Attorney,
appeared for the people, and George W. Lord for the prisoner.
The following gentlemen composed the jury : Levi E. Louns-
bury, Peter Ackley, Thomas WhipjDle, John D. O'Neill, William
Young, Levi Barton, David K. Perry, Andrew Hardenbergh,
Robert Stewart, John H. Clayton, David Smith and George
Adams. After a fair and impartial trial, the prisoner was found
guilty of murder, and sentenced to be hung on the 20th of
November, 1851. The sentence was enforced on that day by
Sheriff Wells. Palmer made no public confession; but wliile
he was hanging by the neck one of the officiating clergymen
(Rev. Mr. James) stated that a few hours previous. Palmer had
requested him to announce that he Mas guilty, and the sentence
just.
Religious service according to the forms of the (Dutch) Re-
formed Church must have been performed at Mamakating
Farms previous to the war of the Revolution. Clergymen of
that faith passed through the valley in traveling to and from
Minisink, and the first settlers were generallj' of the Protestant
Church of Holland. In 1805, the first regular organization was
formed. For this statement, our authority is the Manual of the
Reformed Church, a reliable and standard authority.
In 1812, the first chm-ch was built. Until 1820, there was no
settled pastor. Clergymen of other parishes, however, visited
the society at stated times, and preached and administered the
sacraments. Among them was Rev. Moses Froeligh, of the
Chm-ch at Montgomery, who was of prepossessing appearance,
and of good mind and enunciation ; but whose exuberance of wit
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 447
and sarcasm somewhat lessened his usefulness. Old age toned
down these traits, and made him more reverential and serious.*
Although he died in 1817, anecdotes illustrating his character
are yet heard in the valley, of which the following is a speci-
men : He found that mental darkness in this then secluded neigh-
borhood, too often obscured gospel-light, and declared that the
ignorance of one old Dutch woman was invincible. He endeav-
ored to instruct her in the catechism, but he found her soul so
bound up in worldly aflairs, that he gave up the job, exclaim-
ing, " Ah, sister, I am afraid you are a weak vessel ! " When
she defended herself by saying, "If you hat hat de pack door
trot as long as I pe, you't pe weak, den, too! "
Although the records cannot be found, it is beheved that the
first deacons were Wilhelmus Kuykendall, Lawrence Tears and
Peter Crance.
After worshiping in the old edifice for nearly one-third of a
century, the society became indebted to Smith Benedict, who
caused the church to be sold to satisfy his claim. In conse-
2uence of this sale it passed into the hands of the Roman
latholics. In 1845, a new building was erected.
Pastors of the Reformed Church of Wurtsborough : George
Dubois fi-om 1820 to 1824; Samuel Van Vechten, 1824-9;
Thomas Edwards, 1831-4; Francis T. Drake, 1842-4; Alexander
0. Hillman, 1846-9; William Cruikshank, 1849-53; Stephen
Searle, 1858-9 ; John Dubois, 1859-66 ; J. H. Frazee, 1866-70.
Edward G. Ackerman is the present pastor.
William Cruikshank was a popular minister of Newburgh,
New York, when ill-health induced him to remove to Mamaka-
ting. He was of graceful person and manner, devoted to his
calling, a genial companion, and possessed an extensive store of
knowledge. He published several papers on religious, moral
and antiquarian subjects ; t and it is said prepared a dissertation
on the early settlers of Mamakating Farms. We hope the
latter may yet be found and printed ; but we fear that, unless
he deposited it in the archives of the New York Historical
Society, it has been destroyed by some person who did not
appreciate its value.
The Baptists claim priority of all others in organizing a
Church in SuUivan. On the 2d of March, 1785, a society was
formed at New Vernon, under the watch of Rev. Eleazer West.
It may be questioned whether the organization took place
-within the limits of Mamakating; but it is quite certain that
their church-edifice is in the county. It is located in the ex-
treme south-eastern corner of the town. The first house of the
* Sprague'a Aunala. t Manual of the Reformed Church in America.
448 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUXIT.
society was built in 1800 — tbe last iii 1S53. During the eighty-
eight years of its existence, this Church has had but three pastors.
Elder" Benjamin Montanye succeeded Elder West, May 15, 1794,
and continued in office until his death on Christmas, 1825. He
was followed by Elder Gilbert Beebe, whose pastorate dates
from May 1, 1826. He has consequently had the oversight of
this flock nearly forty-seven years.
Elder Montanye deserves honorable mention in the histor}- of
our county as well as tbe history of our country. In 1781, he
was a trusted confidential agent of General Washington, and
was employed to deliver dispatches to the commanders of forces
in different sections of the country. When the commander-in-
chief of our armies resolved to capture or destroy the army of
General CornwaUis, he deceived the British General CUuton as
to his own plans, by writing deceptive letters to General Green,
and forwarding them in such a way that they would be taken
by the enemy. These letters were carried by Benjamin Mon-
tanye. While travehug on horseback across Bergen county.
New Jersey, he was intercepted by a company of British
Rangers under Captain Moody, his horse shot through one of
its knees and turned loose, and his dispatches taken from him.
He was then hurried to New York, and tluiist into the infamous
sugar-house prison. The British considered the taking of these
papers so important that they illuminated their houses, while
Washington was making the well-known movement which
terminated in the suiTender of Corawallis. Montanye was a
prisoner about two months, when he was exchanged. Three
common soldiers were considered a fau* equivalent for the daring
young coiirier.
Several years after his death, his heirs petitioned Congress for a
pecuniary reward for his services ; but, we beheve, without success.
An Associate Eeformed Presbyterian Church was formed at
Bloomingburgh eai'ly in the present century, and soon after-
wards its house of worship was erected. Being the only religious
society of the place, for several years it prospered greatly. In
1819, its list of members exceeded that of any Protestant Church
of the county, before or since. About that time a defection
occun-ed, which led to the existence of the Dutch Refonned
Church, and which reduced its membership. In 1825, John
Kennedy, an eloquent and popular Methodist jireacher, labored
here, and made many converts. This iu the end weakened the
old society. In 1834, a new and commodious house of worship
was erected. Several of its pastors have been eminent for
talent and piety. A few years since, the society changed its
ecclesiastical relations, and became attached to the Old School
Presbyterian Church. It now has about forty members.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKAaTSQ. 449
The Reformed Church of Bloomingburgh was formed Jannarj
SO, 1820. Its pastors have been George Dubois, 1820 to 1824;
Samuel Van Veehten, 1824-41 ; S. W. Mills, 1843-58 ; Jeremiah
Searle, junior, 1858-02; Hasbrouck Du Bois, 18G3-66; J. H.
Frazee, 1866-70 ; R. H. Beattie, 1870. This Congregation was an
outshoot of the Associate Reformed Church of the place. The
names of those who seceded and formed the new organization
are as follows: Peter Weller and Lawrence Tears, elders;
Solomon Brink and Moses Jordan, deacons; Alcha Brown,
Catharine Puff, Barbara Brink, Lorenzo Quackeubiish, Nancy
Shelp, Nancy Duryea, Catharine McLochlen, Daniel Brush,
Iscorreth Dimmicfe, Rachel Strickland, Lozie Townley, Leah
Brink, Sarah Tidd, Jonathan Mills, Charles Tears, Mary Tears,
Hannah Wilkin, Hannah Gillon. The cluirch-edifice was erected
in 1821-2. This Church has one hundred and thirty members.
George Dubois was but twenty years of age when he assumed
pastoral charge at Bloomingburgh. After leaving Sullivan, he
took charge of the Franklin-street Church of the city of New
York, where he labored until 1837, except when disabled by ill-
health. His preaching was marked by rich and holy unction,
and he enjoyed the cordial affections of his people, fie died ol
bronchial consumption in Tarrytown in 1844.*
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Bloomingburgh was
organized in 1825, while Rev. John Kenned}' was on the circuit.
Its church-edifice was built in 1848, during the pastorate of
Rev. Mr. Isham, a converted tanner, whose business capacity
rendered him very efficient where a new building was desirable.
The society now numbers eighty-five members.
Rev. Horace Weston and Rev. James Quinlan, itinerants of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, traveled through the valley in
1819, and held meetings once in three weeks. Others preceded
them, who were better preachers than either Weston or Quinlan ;
yet tradition makes the latter gentlemen the founders of Meth-
odism at Wurtsborough, where thei' formed a class of twenty
converts. In 1831, Rev. Samuel Law and Rev. David Poor
were on the circuit, which then included nearly all Sullivan
county. Their labors were greatly blessed, and the cause of
Methodism was much strengthened. They were succeeded by
Rev. Nathan Rice and Rev. Mr. McFarland, under whose minis-
trations the church-edifice was built McFarland was a con-
verted printer.
The Roman Catholic Church was planted in Sullivan by Irish
immigrants. Very few of them came here previous to the
* Manual of the Beformed Chorch in
«SU HISTORY OP BCMJVAN COUNTY.
■construction of the Delaware and Hudson canal. That work
caused several to locate in Mamakating vallej. The influx of
Irishmen increased as tanneries were introduced. They were
•generally laborers and poor. Although their love for their
religious faith was intensified by the sufferings and martyrdom
of many generations, and the sacraments of their chui-ch M-ere
as dear to them as their own souls, they were unable to main-
tain a resident priest. To go to mass and confession, and to
marry, and have their children baptized, they were obliged
io travel from forty to one hundred miles. Many destitute
souls left this life unshriven and unaneled. The native popula-
tion were unanimously Protestant, and loudly derided rites and
observances which the new comers reverenced as sacred. Very
often, Protestants whose houses were filled with Roman Catholic
boarders, caused their tables to groan beneath an extra supply
of pork and beef, on days when the Church commanded her
children to fast, and openly sneered when the untimely food
was taken away untasted. In time, however, these and other
aggravating annoyances terminated.
The great potato famine which brought untold woes upon the
■Celts of Erin, set in motion a current of emigration which will
in time bring to our shores all that survive of the Irish race,
Sullivan received its share of these people, and soon the Roman
Oathohc element became an important ingredient in our religious
affairs. In 18-55, the Irish Catholics amounted to ten per cent,
of our population.
Between 1815 and 1850, Father Brady of Port Jervis, and
Father Duftey, a priest stationed at Newburgh, came into the
county a few times. Rev. Mr. Anderson also came here for a
time. By his eflbrts money was raised to buy the church now
known as St. Joseph's of Wurtsborough. In 1853, Rev. Daniel
Mugan took charge of the Ellenville Mission, which then in-
cluded all of Sullivan county, except the Delaware river-towns.
His flock miist have numbered from 2,500 to 3,000 souls, scat-
tered over 700 or 800 square miles of territory. Before he took
charge of this extensive district, he was an assistant priest in
one of the large parishes of the city of New York. He was in
the prime of his manhood, and capable of great physical
endurance, when he began to discharge his duties in his new
field. Nineteen years of incessant labor terminated in his
death. As a sermonizer he was florid, ornate, and fervid. So
strictly did he attend to his priestly duties, that he formed but
few acquaintances outside of his own communion.
Besides the churches already noticed, there are in this town
three others: A Metliodist Episcopal church in Burlingham,
which was built in 1830-31, under tne pastorate of Rev. John
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 451
"W. Lefevre; another of the same faith near "Walker Valley,
built under the charge of Eev. Mr. Curtis; and the third at
Homowack. The latter was built in 1843, and is occupied by
the Methodists.
There are in Mamakating two lakes, or, as they are called by
old residents, ponds — Yankee pond and Masten pond. The
former is the largest, and is said to be two and a half miles in
length, and two in width. It received its name fi-om the follow-
ing circumstance : Previous to or about the year 1800, a man
named Ellsworth made a canoe or dug-out, which he put on the
pond and used it there while hunting. He was a Yankee, and
the Dutch hunters consequently called the lake the Yankee's
pond. Our informant (an intelligent old gentleman of Wurts-
Dorough) in his youth saw Ellsworth's dug-out many times. In
shape the lake has a slight resemblance to the partially extended
■wings of a bird, but one of t Inch can be seen from any given
point. It is located in a basin formed by several ridges, and
covers an area of about 900 acres. There are on it several
floating islands formed of tree-trunks, brush, moss, turf, etc. It
is fed by one or two small streams from the north and west, and
by springs beneath its surface, and is said to be about thirty
feet deep. It is situated on the Barrens, a short distance south
of the Monticello and Wurtsborough McAdamized road, and ia
owned by the Hvidson and Delaware Canal Company. The
latter purchased it of the Livingstons, with the adjacent lands
(in all about 1,500 acres,) and converted it into a reservoir for
their canal. To render it efl'ectual for this purpose, the com-
Ijany constructed an embankment across its outlet 130 rods in
ength, sixteen feet in width at its base, twelve feet at its top,
and twenty feet in height. It is a substantial and expensive
work. 'About thirty men were employed nearly two years in
building it. Yankee pond abounds in pickerel, and other fish
common to the lakes of Sullivan, as well as a fish known as
mullet, which is not found in other sheets of water in this region.
These fish were unknown in Sullivan previous to 1830, and who
or what put them in Yankee pond is a mystery. At certain
seasons they may be taken in almost unlimited numbers ; but
although naturalists declare that the mullet is an excellent fish
for the table, it is the least esteemed by our citizens of all the
finny natives of our waters. This probably arises from ignor-
ance of the proper time and manner of preparing it for food.
Unlike a major number of our lakes, Yankee pond has no
attraction for the lover of the beauties of nature, although there
may be found here some novel and interesting features. The
■works of the canal company have caused it to overflow its
natural boundaries. Much of it is rendered offensive to the eye
452 HisroRY OF sulxjvan county.
by rubbish — the decajiiig remains of the forest that onc&
flourished on its shores, but which has been killed by an ex.;ess
of water. The outlet of the lake is the Easha's or Bessie's kill
of a hundred years ago. It is about five miles in length, and
except in the boating season, discharges iis waters at West-
brookville into the stream now known as the Bashaskill. The
Pinekill (as the outlet is now called,) is a famous trout stream,
and dui-ing the proper season is a favorite resort for anglers.*
Hasten Pond is another large sheet of water. It is between
one and two miles north of the McAdamized road, and is reached
by the highway leading from the residence of William Marshall.
In early days, the men of the Gonsalus family were so success-
ful while hunting deer west of Mamakating Hollow, that the
Hastens believed that there was a lake somewhere in that
quarter to which the descendants of the old Spanish Lutheran
resorted for the purpose of killing that animal. This led them
to search for it, and after some time they discovered it. They
found deer verj' plenty there, and visited the lake so often that
it became known by their family name. Our informant, (a
Hasten) says that in the end thej' ascertained that it was but
one of two lakes visited by the Gonsalus hunters. The other
was Foul Wood or Lord's pond. Manuel Gonsalus and his
descendants, by their intimacy with the Indians, undoubtedly
■were acquainted with many other lakes west of the Hollow, as
well as the streams in that quarter which aftbrded the finest
prizes to the trapper. The waters of Hasten pond are remark-
ably transparent and pure, and are stocked with pickerel and
black bass of a very superior quality. The latter were intro-
duced by George Olcott, of Wurtsborough. The shores and
bed of the pond are composed of firm and compact sand and
gi'avel. Like Yankee pond, it has a substantial embankment
across its outlet, built by the Delaware and Hudson Canal
Company, and its waters are reserved for the use of the canal
when other sources of supply fail, .and find their way to the
village of Wurtsborough. On this stream, which crosses the
road near the Munn tavern, were at one time two tanneries and
a grist-mill. It runs for two or three miles through a deep
gulf, and has a fall of several hundred feet, which may yet be
economized for extensive manufacturing purposes.
B.4SHAaKiLL. — The magnitude of this stream has diminished
considerably since the whites came to the valley. This is
caused principally by the works of the Delaware and Hudson
Canal Company, and the mill-dams which have been erected on
* Beo SuUiJKin Covnty Whig, Aogust 6, 1847.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATtNG. 453
its tributaries. Once it was considered large enough for rafting
purposes. In 1825, Adolphus Van Duzer, assisted by John
Hasten, drew white pine logs fi-om the. vicinity of Kush Bottom
brook to Brownville, where they were formed into colts, and run
to the Neversink, and on that stream to the Delaware. The
business was practicable, but not profitable, and was abandoned.
Between Wurtsborough and Brownville is located Baahaskill
swamp. It embraces many hundred acres, which will be the
garden of the valley when it is efl'ectually di-ained. Several
attempts have been made to improve it; but none of them have
resulted in signal success. The difficulty is caused by the debris
deposited in the Basliaskill by the Pinekill, which fills the
channel of the former, and prevents free egress of the water.
If the work were thoroughly done, a small annual tax on the
owners of the swamp, to remove the stones and gi-avel at the
lower end, would ensure them the most productive land in
the county.
Shawanoesbekg. — This is a hill near the site of the Devens'
block-house. It is also known as Council Hill. The Mamaka-
ting Indians told Samuel Gonsalus that their tribe had fought a
bloody battle on this hill with the Senecas, and claimed that
the natives of the valley were victorious, although they suffered
severely. They also said that their friends who were slain in
the confiict, were buried near the brow of the hiU. The lodge
in which the clans held their councils was on its summit. In
the old town records it is styled Shawanoesberg, or Shawnee's
hUl; but why we cannot explain. The name would seem to
indicate that the hUl was devoted to the Shawnees, who
were friends and alKes of the native Indians of Sullivan, and
spoke the same language ; or a savage of that tribe may have
had his lodge there. This, however, is mere conjecture. We
can only say with certainty that the origin of the name is lost,
as well as the period when the battle was fought there. The
latter occurrence was not later than 1650, because in that year
the Iroquois or Mengwe conquei'ed the Lenape tribes, and
held them in quiet subjection for one hundred years. After the
latter were subdued, they did not raise the tomahawk against
their masters as long as they inhabited our hills and valleys.
451
HISTORY OF SULUVAN OOUNTT.
POPULATION OF THE TERRITORY COMPRISED WITHIN THE ORIGINAL
TOWN OF MAMAKATINQ FROM 1782 TO 1870:
Year. Populalion.
1782 487*
1790 1,763
1800 3,319
1810 6,076
1820 8,455
1830 11,6.52
1840 14,400
1850 24,855
1860 32,730
POPULATION — VALUATION— TAXATION.
Tear.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed
Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1810
1865! $183,067
$170.10
343.75
924.75
788.61
926.13
792.72
20,187.98
$241.96
1820
2702
3070
3418
4107
3828
4886
313,094
300,935
288,697
319,534
688,329
507,045
638.46
1830
1,877.25
1840
1,055.37
1850
1860
1870
2,194.76
4,984.42
13,170.34
efusecs who had left their homes from lear of the i
ired a small part of Delaware county.
THE TOWN OF MAMAKATINO. 455
SUPERVISORS OP THK TOWN OF MAMAKATINO.
Trom To
1743 No record 1774
1774 Benjamin Depuy 1775
1775 No record 177&
1776 Pnilip Swartwoud 1777
1777 No record 1778
1778 Benjamin Depuy 1781
1781 No record 1782
1782 Benjamin Depuy 1783-
1783 Jacob R. DeWitt 1784
1784 Benjamin Depuy 178&
1786 No record 1787
1787 Benjamin Depuy 1788
1788 Peter Cuddeback 178»
1789 Robert Millican 1797
1797 Aldert Roosa 1800'
1800 Elnathan Sears 1803
1803 Samuel King 1804
1804 David Milliken 180&
1806 Samuel King, junior 1807
1807 David MilKken 1814
1814 Elnathan Sears 1815
1815 Eli Roberts 1818
1818 Peter Miller 1827
1827 Charles Bodle 1833
1833 James Devine 18:36
1836 Jonathan O. Dunning 1839
1839 Verdine K Horton 1840
1840 Halstead Sweet 1814
1844 William B. Hammond 1845
1845 William Jordan 184&
1848 William Gumaer 1849
1849 Nathaniel Beyea 1850
1850 William Gumaer 1851
1851 Alexander Graham 1853
1853 Alfred Norris 1855
1855 Lewis Brown 1856
1856 Daniel Smith 1858
1858 William Jordan 1863
1863 Rodolphus S. Smith 1864
1864 George S. Smiley 1865
1865 James Graham 1806
1866 George T. Deitz 1868
1868 Stephen CaldweU, junior 1871
1871 ; . . . .Henry M. Edsall 1873
1873 Lewis Rhodes 1874
CHAPTEK XIV,
THE TOWN OF NEVERSINK.
. The town of Nevei-sink is situated in the north-eastern section
of the county, and is bounded northwardly and eastwardly by
Ulster county, westwardly by the town of Kockland, and south-
wardly by Fallsburgh. Across the north angle of the town
flows the Williwemoc creek; the Neversiuk river, from which
the town derives its name,* passes over its northern and south-
ern boundary, while the Eondout waters a portion of the north-
eastern section, and has several branches of more or less
magnitude. There is but one lake — a small sheet of water,
located in Lot 247 of Great Lot No. 5. At least, we find it
thus located on a map of the county.
The surface of the town is very uneven. Thunder Hill,
Mutton Hill, Denman's Hill and other elevations are prominent
features. The first has an altitude of 1,550 feet, the second
feet, and the third 2,300 feet.f These hills or mountains,
as well as the valleys of Neversink, are equal in fertility to any
lands in Sullivan. 'The agricultural interests of this section do
not very materially differ from those of Liberty, and other towns
of a similar grade. The incubus of the leasehold-system having
* Tho first settlers pronounced tliis word Na,rvnsing. In the Session Laws of
1798, it is spelled Nevisinck ; in the act erecting Fallsburgh, Nevisink ; in the '• settle-
ment deed, it is given as Naewersink, and in Sauthicr's map, as Never Sink. English
clerks were about as successful in giving the orthography of Indian words as they
would have beiin if thej had attempted to writo the songs of birds. Onr alphabet is
not comprchin»ivc enough for Indian orthography. There is but little analogy
between the radical sounds of the Leuape and European tongues.
Wo are familiar with throe pretended translations of the word Neversink. 1. It
is said to mean mad river. This is expressive of tho wild and turbulent character of
the stream when it ia excited by floods. It is, nevertheless, a modern invention.
2. " A continual running stream, which nerer sinks into the ground so as to be dry in
places." {See Eager's History of Orange county. ) This rendering has for its base the
absurd fact that the name as now spelled is a compound of two English words— never
and sink. 3. In Webster's American Dictionary, page 1029, the word is said to mean
" highland between waters." This traaislation is evidently 8uggeste<l by the Highlands
of Neversink on the coast of Now Jersey. Our Neversink is "water between high-
lands."
t Testimony of John Kiersted, in suit of Hunt and wife ngi!l. Johnson and Teller,
folio 549. If Kiersted is correct, Denman's Hill has a greater altitude than Walnut
[•156]
THK TOWN OF NEVER8INK. 457
been removed, tlie -wciilth and improvements of the inhabitants
are rapidly aj^preciating and advancing.
Neversiuk was made a town by an act entitled "An act for
dividing the towns of Kochester and Mamakating in the county
of Ulster," passed March 16, 1798. By this act the new town
was thus descrilicd : "All that part of Rochester, in the county
of Ulster, beginning at the N. E. bounds of the town of Mama-
kating at the distance of 12 \ miles, on a course of N. 49 deg.
and 30 min. W. from the southerly corner of Rochester where
it meets with the north-westerly bounds of the town Shawan-
gunk at the Shawanguuk mountains; thence N. 40 degi-ees E.,
to the S. W. bounds of Marbletown ; thence along said bounds
of Marbletown N. W. to the S. E. bounds of Woodstock ; thence
along the said bounds of Woodstock S. 33 deg. W. six miles, to
the division line of Great Lots 5 and 6, in the Hardenbergh
patent; thence along said division line to the division line
between Ulster and Delaware ; thence along said line S. 62 deg.
W., twelve miles and ten chains ; and thence S. 49 deg. 30 min.
E. to the place where it began."
From this it would seem that Neversink at one time covered
a part of Denning, Fremont, Callicoon, Liberty, and Fallsburgh
and all of Rockland, and that the line between Great Lots 2
and 3 was quite near its southward border. This must also
have been an ancient bound of Mamakating, as Neversink was
taken from Rochester.
After the towns of Rockland, Liberty and Thompson were
made, the convenience of certain neighborhoods required that
there should be a change in the original line which separated
Rockland and Neversink from the others. Consequently on the
29th of March, 1816, the Legislature enacted that "the south
line of Great' Lot No. 4, from Delaware county eastward, to the
north-east corner of the 4th Allotment of the division of Great
Lot No. 3: the east line thereof southward to the bounds of
Great Lot No. 2 ; the north hue thereof eastward to the town
of Wawarising; and also the east and south lines of lot No. 6,
and the west line of lot No. 5, in Great Lot No. 2," be the
division line between the towns of Liberty, Rockland, Neversink
and Thompson.
Li 1809, Rockland was taken fi'om Neversink, and in 1826,
Fallsburgh was made to cover so much of its remaining temtory
as was south of Great Lot No. 4.
■ In 1800, when the first census was taken after Neversink waa
erected, its population was 858, while the number of residents
in Lumberland was 733, and Mamakating, although settled for
more than half a century, and covering the remainder of our
territory, contained but 1631. Probably at least one-half of the
858 were living in what is now Eockland and Fallsbmgh ; there-
458
HISTORY OF SULUVAN COUNTY.
fore, in 1800 there must have been about eighty families within
the present bounds of the town.
POPULATION — VALUATION— TAXATION.
Year.
Popu- Assessed i Town
lation.j Value. Charges.
Co. and
State.
1800
1810
858 no record no record
953 §144,913, $133.70
l,380i 170,'219 324.58
1,257 80,401 713.15
1,681 69,330 587.00
2,281 126,3511 698.36
2,486 261,9961 511.34
2,439^ 195,293 1,009.72
no record
S195.20
1820
355.29
1830
525.29
1840
244.32
1850 :
1,041.87
1860
1,927.48
1870
5,074.6a-
One of the ancient settlements of SuUivan county was in the
present town of Neversink, about two miles below Grahamsville.
Here, about the year 1743, Tobias Horubeck, Jacob Klyne
and perhaps a few others, commenced clearing and improving
farms. Tliey bought their lands of the Trustees of Rochester,
beheving that this region was within the Umits of the patent
granted in 1703 by Queen Anne to Colonel Henry Beekman,
Joachim Sehooumaker, Moses De Puy and their successors, in
trust for the benefit of the freeholders and inhabitants of
Rochester. Not knowing how far the patent extended, or being
disposed, in accordance with tlie spirit of the times, to make
its limits as far apart as possible, the people of Rochester
claimed the countiy to the southward boundai-y of the town,
which ran to the Blue HiUs of Liberty.
Hornbeck and Klyne's land adjoined and probably covered a
part or all of the Mary Elmeudorf tract on the Rondout. Some
time previous to 1776, they sold to her, as well as to a man-
named xVbraham Clearwater, who in that year had a farm bounded
by the Elmendorf lot. Johannes Osterhout, junior, John Mullen,
Cornelius Chambers, Peter Vernooey, Eliza Hornbeck, and Abra-
ham Clearwater were then living in the neighborhood above the
settlement line. Tobias Hornbeck was then dead. These indi-
viduals, as well as others who had bought lands on the Good
Beerkill, in Fallsburgh, purchased of the Trustees of Rochester,
and in the final arrangement as to the boundary between the
two patents, their titles were confirmed, although it was found
that they were located in the Great Patent.
THE TOWN OF NEVERSINK. 4^9)
With these and perhaps a few other trifling exceptions, all
the town of Neversiuk lying in Great Lots 5 and 6, was owned
in 1778 by Robert R. Livingston and Elias Desbrosses. Des-
brosses had acquired his title by purchase of the heirs of
Faneuil, the patentee. It has been said that he bought Great
hot No. 5 of Peter Faneuil, who sold it to procure money to
complete Faneuil Hall, the Boston "cradle of liberty." This is
an error. Peter Faneuil completed the Hall in 1742, and
presented it to the "town of Boston." Previous to the year
1749, when the partition took place between the propi'ietors of
the patent, Peter Faneuil died intestate, and his interest in
the Great Patent (no part of which had been previously sold
by him) passed to his brothers and sisters. There was no
Great Lot No. 5 during his life, and consequently he did not
sell it. At the time of his decease, he had but an undivided
interest in the pateni
Elias Desbrosses died in 1777, when his real estate passed to
his nephew, James Desbrosses, by heirship. James died in
1807, leaving two daughters (his only children) one of whom
(Elizabeth) married John Hunter, and the other (Madaline)
married Henry Overing. Hunter, through his wife, became the
owner of Great Lot No. 5. After his death, his son, John
Hunter, junior, sold it to Henry R. Low and Leonard P. Miller.
Miller subsequently sold his moiety to Low.
During the Revolutionary war the settlement begun by Klyne
and Hornbeck was abandoned, and thereafter Neversmk was
virtually unoccupied by white people until 1788, although it
was the scene of interesting events during the struggle for
independence.
Late in the fall of 1778, a party of Indians and tories attacked
a neighborhood on the frontier of Rochester known as Pine
Bush, and succeeded in killing two men named Shurker and
Miller, and in burning several buildings. They then precipi-
tately retired, followed by Captain Benjamin Kortrite, with a
party of militia under his command. Kortrite pursued the
enemy no farther than the Vernooey creek, when he fell back.
His descendants say his provisions were exhausted. If this wag
the case, the food provided for his party must have been scanty,
indeed.
At this time there were several hundred troops stationed at a
fort on Honk Hill. Their commander, on learning what had
occurred, at once resolved to dispatch a part of his men to
intercept the savages at the Chestnut Woods, about thirteen miles
from Napanoch. Volunteers were called for, when an officer
460 mSTORT OP SULUYAN COUNTY.
named Jolin Graham, stepped forward, and offered to go with
a sergeant's guard, consisting of eighteen privates and a sergeant
and corporal. He was offered more, but refused to take them.
But one of those -uhom he proposed to lead on n hazardous
expedition, was an expert Indian-fighter. The name of this
man was Abraham Van Campen, and he was a near kinsman
of the noted Major Moses Van Campen. The others were from
the old settlements east of the Shawangimk, and unused to
border-warfare.
When Graham reached the Chestnut woods, he had seen
nothing of the enemy, and probably not knowing whether they
were in advance or in his rear, he encamped in a valley where
Chestnut brook enters the Papacton creek near the late resi-
dence of Neil Benson, deceased. At this place, the hills form a
triangle, with a space of nearly level ground at the junction of
the streams, and narrow gorges leading north, east and west.
Here he resolved to wait and surprise the marauders if they
passed that way, and while doing so he sent away Van Campen
to procure venison.*
No rat ever walked more unconsciously into a trap than did
the brave but rash Graham. Without knowing it, he and his
Earty were as completely in the power of the enemy as if they
ad been a covey of partridges under a fowler's net. The
Indians and tories occupied the elevations on every side, where
they wei'e securely posted behind tree-ti-unks, and awaited the
signal of death from their leader. But they were not content
with their advantage in position. One of their number ap-
Eroached the whites by the usual path, and drew their fire. As
e came in sight, Graham was drinking from the brook. When
he arose to his feet, he saw the red man and ordered his men
to fire. The Indian fell upon his face, the balls whistled over
his head, he jumped upon his feet, and disappeared in the
bushes, as a murderous volley was poured upon Graham and
his friends from every side. But two beside Van Campen
escaped, and it is not known that a single one of the assailants
received so much as a scratch. History does not record the
name of the commander of the Indians ; but his extraoi-dinary
skill leaves but little doubt that he was the celebrated Colonel
Brant.t
It was considered necessary to send a force of three hundred
men to bury the dead. Jacobus DavenportJ who died in 1856,
* The Van Campons were of an old and aristocratic Dutch family, to whom tha
Van Camp patent had been granted. They deReneratcd into hunters and trappers,
and were as wild as the Indians themselves. Major Moses Van Canipi-n, the spy and
guide of General Rnllivan whnn he destroyed the Tillages of the Soneias, was probably
the only white man who ever penetrateil the camp of houtile Indians, and after circula-
ting freely among them, got away siifely.
+ Indian Narratives. ^ Davenport lived to the great aga of 100 years.
THE rows OF NEVEB8INK. 461'
near the scene of Graham's disaster, was one of this party. He
frequently stated during his h't'e-time, according to the testimony
of his children who are yet living, that Graham's body was
naked, and that he had been scalped and disemboweled. His
men had also been stripped and scalped. The bodies were
fahing to pieces from putrefaction, and were so offensive that it
was necessary to take up the fragments on pieces of bark, and
carry them to the graves which had been dug for their recep-
tion.
Several years since, a party came to the Chestnut woods to
ascertain the precise spot where the bones of the victims were
laid. They did not succeed, although Davenport and others
were then living who could have given decisive information.
An old man named Anthony Aldrich, it is said, can yet point to
the grave of Graham and his men. All agree that it may be
found a short distance back of the old school-house near the
junction of Chestnut brook and the Papacton. We are assured
by Paul Benson that when a lad, he and Hanison Benson and
Josephus Gillett, while making a dam across the brook, dug a
hole in the ground, and found some bones, which thev took to
Neil Benson, who pronounced them human bones, anct ordered
the lads to take them back. This so terrified them that they
ran off, leaving the bones with Mr. Benson.*
But little is known of Graham or his antecedents. We do
not think that any of the intelligent residents of the thriving
village which bears his name can tell where he was born ; his
age and residence at the time of his death ; or the company and
regiment to which he was attached. Beyond the fact, that in
the warm weather of a certain year, he and his party were
slaughtered like bullocks in the shambles, they cannot say much
of him with certainty. Who was he, and what was he? He
was an oflicer, and therefore we may infer he was of a rich and
influential family ; for even in the struggle for independence and
liberty, the sons of rich men were generally prefen-ed for promi-
nent positions. There were Several families of his name in
Ulster and Orange who were and still are noted for respecta-
bility and influence. There was a John Graham in Shawangunk
and another at Peconisink, in the town of Montgomery. Both
were Hving after the massacre in Neversink. In 1776, there
was a John Graham, living in the precinct of Mamakating.
He was born at Little Britain in 17;^C; was a cordwainer by
occupation, and belonged to the militia company of Captain
John Newkirk. On the 12th of October, 1776, he was mustered
into a company of Kangers at Rochester. This company was
commanded by Captain Elias Hasbrouck, whose lieutenants
m
HI3T0BY OF StrLLTVAN COUNT?.
were Peter Kogger and Moses Youmans. We have found tlie
original mnster-roll of the Rangers among the papers of the
late Joseph Ellis. The non-commissioned officers are not
designated; but from the fact that Jno. Graham, heads the
list we believe that he was 1st Sergeant. After long and pa-
tient research, we believe that Lieutenant John Graham, who
fell on the banks of the Pepacton, was John Graham,* the
patriotic shoemaker of Mamakating. He is described as
five feet, seven inches in height, of fair complexion, and as
having blue eyes and brown hair. Here is a man whose zeal
led him to pursue and destroy the enemies of his country, on
horseback or on foot, anywhere and everywhere. During the
next two years, Indians and tories several times fell upon the
frontiers of Ulster, and after murdering a few inhabitants and
burning a few buildings, fled back to Canada with all the speed
their nuiscles and endurance rendered possible. There is no
doubt that he had repeatedly chased the skulking savages and
dastardly tories through the woods of Neversink, without catch-
ing and chastizing them. Was it not natural that he should
hold such a foe in contempt, and that he believed a " sergeant's
guard" was sufiicient to drive them out of the country? The
unexpected appearance of a single man, and even a dog, had
previoiisly caused them to ran away while they were using the
torch and tomahawk. Why should a large and therefore tardy
and unwieldy party be sent in pursuit of an enemy that so far
had not faced armed men? He may have been imprudent and
rash ; nevertheless his conduct was the result of substantial and
rational premises. He evidently intended to assail them while
they were straggling through the woods; but he had to cope
with superior numbers under a leader as brave as himself, and
who was a superior strategist. Unfortunately, poor Graham
supposed that this leader was like others who had led scalping-
parties against Rochester and Mamakating, and his mistake led
to his death. And because he was less prudent than those who
were too timid to pursue with a large party, the story of his
death, which has been handed down to us by them and their
descendants, is not flattering to his memory. His bones repose
in an unmarked and unknown grave. He was undoubtedly a
brave and patriotic man, whose blood was shed in a good cause;
therefore the record of his life and death should be character-
ized by kindness and gratitude.
ibrouek, now in tho possession „
olin Graham,
in 1776, was first sergeant of Hasbrouck'g conipanv of Rangers. As Graham wa§ a
brave and enterprising officer, it is probable that he was promoted previous to hit
death. Captain Hasbroutk was always at the yiost of honor. During the war ha
served in northern New York under Generals Montgomery and Schuyler, on the frontier
of Ulster as a hanger, at Ticonderoga, West Point, Kamapo, Mornslown, The Clove,
Now Windsor, etc.
THE TOWN OF NEVERSINK. 463
The fate of Graham seemed to impart a lesson of wisdom to
the valiant Captain Kortrite. The enemy were not able to
entrap him at the Chestnut woods, when he was in ambush
there in May, 1779, with seventy men, to catch three Indians
and twenty-seven tories. On the fourth of that month, a party
from Canada numbering thirty, invaded the whigs hving on the
Fantinekill,* and after murdering the family of Michael Socks,
and the widow Bevier, and committing other outrages, they
retreated. Captain Kortrite attempted to intercept them at the
scene of Graham's disaster. He reached this point first, and
securely posted his seventy men. The tories, however, were too
cunning for him. Before he was aware of their proximity, they
passed silently around his position, and gave him a harmless
salute from an unexpected direction. They then retreated, and
he returned home, notwithstanding his force was more than
double that of the enemy.
In September, 1781, Wawarsing was invaded by four hundred
tories and Indians from Niagara. After killing an old man
named Kettle, burning about thirty houses and barns, stealing
sixty horses and a great number of sheep, hogs and horn-cattle,
they retreated by the way of the Chestnut woods, with all the
other plunder they could carry with them. Here they encamped
and cooked their supper. Among the things they had taken
with them was a quantity of lime or plaster. They were nearly
famished, having consumed over four weeks in marching from
Canada. Of the plaster they endeavored to make bread. Their
disgust at the result may be imagined.
On their way to the settlement, they captured two scouts
whose names were Silas Bouck and Philip Hine. These men
were scouting on the Neversink about twenty miles south-west
of Napanoch, when they discovered the invaders. The leader,
whose name was Caldwell, caused Bouck and Hine to be bound
and left in the woods until ho returned, when he took them to
Canada as prisoners. They subsequently escaped and rejoined
their friends.
Caldwell's loss in killed, wounded and missing was consider-
able. Colonel Cantine, with a force of four hundred men,
pursued him until he reached a point on the Delaware river in
the town of Highland. Here Cantine was close upon Caldwell's
heels. The enemy was completely demoralized and disheart-
ened. There were indications that the Indians and tories were
close at hand. A halt of the patriots was ordered, and a council
occurred. Captain Kortrite and Captain Hardenbergh were in
favor of further pursuit ; but Colonel Cantine remembered the
fate of Graham and Tusten, and advocated caution and prudence.
iQi HISTORY OF 6ULUVAJJ COCJVn'.
"Wliile this -was going on, a Doctor Yanderlyn of Kingston was
seated on a log near by. Having notliiug else to do, and being
of a busy, active temperament, he cocked his gun, and in con-
sequence of his "fooling" with the hammer, the gun was
accidentally discharged. The report caused a panic among
Caldwell's savages, who abandoned their plunder and ran away,
leaving their commander and the tories with Bouck and Hine.
Unfortunately, a majority of the council supported Cantine,
and the Americans marched back to Warwarsing. Captain
Hardenbergh was so indignant that he told Cantine to his face,
that "be could not die before his time came;" to which the
prudent colonel replied, " If the Indians had their tomahawks
above my head, my time would be then."
Caldwell being forsaken by his Indian guides, induced Bouck
to pilot him back to Niagara.
The plunder which was left on the banks of the Delaware by
the savages was found several mouths afterwards by a party of
American scouts.*
As soon as practicable after the Revolutionary war, the
owners of Great Lots 4 and 5, induced tenants to occupy their
real estate in Neversink and Rockland. Each owner cut up his
tract into farm-lots of convenient dimensions. Poor men,
desirous of homes, were induced to take leases, without appre-
ciating the evils of villein soccage, tithes, rents, quarter-sales,
and the other feudal requirements of the landlords. About
twenty thousand acres were held under objectionable tenures in
Neversink alone. These leases were popular at first, but> when
the simple people who took them found that the resources of the
legal profession had been exhausted in devising a system to
enrich a few drones and impoverish tlie great body of workers,
these tenures .became exceedingly obnoxious. In truth, they
promoted no intei-est^-^iot even that of the landlord — while
they blighted industr}', fi-eedom and morality.
'The first thing necessary to the settlement of a wilderness-
country' is a road leading from it to estabhshed neighborhoods.
Previous to the Revolution, a highway existed from Wawarsing
to a point in the vicinity of Grahamsville — probably to the
Chestnut woods. After the war this road was extended to the
Neversink Flats. The Brodhead road was also made, and foi
a time these were the only two of the town. The first-named-
thoroughfare passed over an ancient Indian trail.
Previous to 1788, except the few families located in the valley,
of the Liickawack, it may be said there were no white residents
of Neversink. In that year, the owners of Great Lots No. 4
and 5, and those who held huge tracts in Great Lot No. 3,
* NiuTativ<?s of MasBiKTes, etc, on the frontiCT in Wawnrsing.
ruE rowiN OF neversink. 405
induced settlers to locate on their lands. Amout;- these settlers
were John Hall, Robert Aldrich, Nathaniel and Eleazcr Divine,
Jonathan Jones, Nowell Furman, Josiah Goldsmith, Peter
Donaldson and others of Upper Neversink ; John Hall of Mutton
Hm, Wilham Parks, Seth Gillett, Henry Pieyiiolds, Jeremiah
Drake, Silas B. Palmer, the Grants, Eleazer Larraljee, riiineas
Booth, William Alley, Stephen Curry, Ebenezer Pioed, Francis
Porter, Solomon Hawley, Joseph Pierce, Christopher Darrow,
Elmer Gilbert, Samuel Groo, William Caton, Abel Hodge,
Joseph Carlile, Doctor Blake Wales, Abraham Caroill, WiUiam
Denmau, William A. Moore, Conrad Sheeley, John Honsee,
Benoni Benham, Henry Collins, James Dan, Eliza Kellogg,
Eobert Nichols, William Wilson, John Wood, Robeii Quick,
Jerry Smith, Van de Mark, Joseph Wright, Selleck Tut-
tle, etc.
Nearly all these people came into the town previous to the
year 18U0, although some of them located outside its present
limits.
We do not propose to give a history of each family for obvi-
ous reasons.
John Hall came from Marlborough, "Ulster county, in 1798,
when he was but 18 years of age, and settled below Claryville,
on lands now owned by his descendants. Great Lot No. 5, was
then owned by Desbrosses, who refused to sell his real estate in
Neversink. Kobert Aldrich, Nathaniel and Eleazer Divine,
Jonathan Jones, Nowell Furman, Peter Donaldson, and others
were then or soon after Uving in Upper Neversink, as the Clary-
ville region was then called. Such of these men as occupied
land held leases from Desbrosses.
John Halls's sons were John Hall, junior, Isaiah Hall and
Mott Hall. John Hall, junior, was a Member of Assembly in
1825, and for several years a Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas. He was also elected to fill many town-offices, and was a
Justice of the Peace for fourteen years in succession. Isaiah
Hall was the first school-teacher of the neighborhood. How
he managed, in this isolated region, to acquire sufficient educa-
tion to teach others, we have not learned.
For religious services the people were dependent on a Baptist
preacher named Gilbert, and Rev. Mr. White, a local Methodist
preacher. More should be known of these self-sacrificing
missionaries, who labored in this "farcoimtry" without fee or
reward for the cure of sinful souls, and whose dust is now
reposing in unknown graves, " awaituig the resurrection and the
hfe to come."
The pioneers buried their dead on the farm now owned by
John W. Hasbrouck, where the Divines, Halls, and other settlers
deposited the corpses of their friends, in the simple and affect-
466 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
ing mode peculiar to a, primitive people, to whom the "pomps
and vanities " of modern ftinerals would have seemed a profana-
tion.
For many years, the settlers were obliged to go to Vemooey's
mill, in Wawarsing, to get their grain ground. John Hall, having
a team, took the grists of some of his neighbors to Vernooey's
and generally charged two days' labor for carting three biishels
of rye to and fi-om the mill. Some performed the journey on
foot, carrying their grain on their backs.
The temptation to engage ui forest-sports was very great.
Deer were more numerous than sheep are now. and moose were
often shot. John Hall was a moose-hunter, and once saw
twenty of these animals together at Round jiond. Peter C.
Hall, who occupied the old homestead, has a bullet-pouch made
by John Hall from a skin taken ftom a moose killed six miles
above Claryville.
Wolves were also very common in the town. As late as 1841,
a man named Eiehard C. DeWitt found a den in which were
six wolf-cubs, aU of which he caught, and received therefor a
bounty of seventy-five dollars.
The number of trout caught in the Nevei'sink during the first
years of this century now seems almost fabulous. ."While their
mother was getting breakfast, the Hall boys often took several
pounds, without going ten rods from their father's door, and
once before the morning-meal, Peter C. and Isaiah caught as
many as they could carry. The little fish with which modern
anglers seek to line their baskets, were not then considered
worth cooking, and when caught were thrown into the river.
James V. Cnrry, a son of Stephen Curry, owned the land on
which Claryville now stands. Those who purchased of him
built a tannery, and besides that establishment, there are now
in the place a grist-miU, lumbering-e.stablishments, a store,
hotel, etc. There is also in the place a Eeformed church.
Claryville received its name from Clarissa, the wife of James
V. Curry. If the Ogdensburgh raihoad becomes a reality,
Clary Wlie will be a place of considerable importance.
Stephen Curry came from Tarry town to Neversink in 1795.
He was then twenty-six j'ears of age. Six years previously he
had married Anna Vail. By her he had ten children. Although
nine of them hved to an advanced age; he sur^-ived all but
three of them. He died on the '.»th of January, 187-2. aged 101
3-ears, 6 months iind '2J days. His personal recollections ex-
tended to tli(- trying sc(-nes (if the llevolution. He was ten years
old when IJtiicdu't Arnold bctiaycd his country, and saw Major
Andre escorted by two Imndred hor.semen to Washington's
headquarters, and previous lo liis deatli was one of the few
men livuig who had seen tlu? i'ather of his country. ,Mr. Curry
THE TOWN OF NEVERSINK. 467
in his infancy was received into the Protestant Episcopal Chnrch
by baptism ; but after his removal to Neversink had few or no
opportTinities of attending the Chnrch of which his mother was
a pious communicant. Like many other residents of that town,
his religious belief was much influenced by the Quakers ; but
he never became a member of the society of Friends. Until
he had seen his hundredth birthday, his mind and body were
in a sound state, after which his strength gradually diminished,
until the machinery of life was literally worn out, and he died
from old age.
While spiritualism and kindred delusions are gaining space
in the hearts and heads of the educated of the present day,
ancient superstitions still maintain a foothold among the simple.
In 1852, while men of high position professed unlimited faith in
the gross errors introduced by the Fox family of the city of
Eochester, an humble family of Claryville were rendered insane
■by a behef in witchcraft.
A son of Levi Van Akin of the latter place, while on his
death-bed, requested his father to bury him in the graveyard of
the Keformed Dutch church. This the senior Van Akin refused
to do. Alleging that "the boy had had his own way all his life
and now he would do as he pleased," he caused the body to be
deposited on his farm. Soon after the old man complained that
the spirit of his refractory son appeared to him, and constantly
haunted him. This so demoralized his nervous system that he
became crazy. His family at this time consisted of his wife,
two sturdy sons, and an equal number of strapping daughters,
all of whom declared that they were bewitched and possessed
of devils. Hearing of a "witch-doctor" in an adjoming town,
they went to him, leaving the father at home and bound. 'J'he
doctor agreed to expel the evil spirits for fifty cents per spirit.
To accomplish a cure he put his patients in a room in which he
kept burning a mixture of hair and sulphur. Surely, no devil
can endure the stench produced by the burning of such a
villainous compound ! Spirit after spirit left for parts unknown,
and half-dollar after half-dollar found its way to the doctor's
pocket, until the money of the dupes was exhausted, when they
left for home, still possessed by an unknown number of devils.
On their way back, they paid a visit to Cornehus Hornbeck, a
brother of Mrs. Van Akin, with whom they concluded to stay
all night. Before morning, Mrs. Van Akin got up and com-
menced dancing on the trundle-bed in which Hornbeck's children
slept. As she trampled on their limbs and bodies, they screamed
from pain and terror. This awoke their father, who came to
their relief. He no sooner interfered in their behalf, than she
declared he was a devil, and the cause of all their trouble, and
that it wa.s their duty to kill him. Assisted by her demented
468 HISTOKV OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
sons and daughters, she immediately commenced a murderous
assault upon him. He was thrown down and beaten upon the
head with the heel of a heavy boot until he was insensible. _ ■
A man named Abraham Leroy lived in the house occupied
by Hornbeck. Aroused by the affray, he came to the rescue of
his neighbor ; and catching one of the young men by the throat,
threw iiim down, and attempted to hold him. WhUe doing so,
the two bewitched girls assailed him furiously, beating his head
and face with brands fi'om the tire-place, while their other
brother continued to pommel Hornbeck. Both of the men
were seriously injured. One of Leroy's eyes was destroyed.
While this was going on, Mrs. Hornbeck seized a dinner-horn,
and, running out of the house, blew it to alarm the neighbor-
hood. Fortunately it was heard by several young men who
were carousing in a tavern not far oft". They immediately pro-
ceeded to Hornbeck's, and soon succeeded in subduing and
binding all the evil spirits except one of the daughters, who
escaped to the woods, where she was found next day ensconced
to her arm-pits in a hollow stump, from which she could, not
escape. She, too, was secured with cords, and, with the other
members of this strange family, sent back to Claryvdle, where
they were separated and put under constraint. Thus situated,
in time they recovered from their strange hallucination. It is
believed that similar treatment would cure two-thirds of the
spirit-rappers of our country-.
Henry Keynolds, who was among the early settlers in the
ueighborhoocl of Mutton Hill, was a native of Westchester
county. Being a younger son, he could not inherit a fair share
of his father's estate under the aristoci-atic law of primogeni-
ture, which prevailed previous to the war of the Kevolution.
Hence he became a merchant's clerk. After he was proficient
as a tra<ler, he entered into business on his own account at
Peekskill, and also married a Miss Fowler of Throgg's Neck, a
descendant of Henry Fowler, one of the patentees of the town-
ship of East Chester.* This was about 1769. Duruig the next
eight years, his business prospered, and he became the father
of five ciiildren — the oldest a daughter, and the others boys.
In early hfe he embraced the dogmas of Fox and^Penn ; but
tliere was nothing in his religious creed which made him loth to
embrace the cause of his country as his own. In the language
of that day, he was a fighting Quaker ; and so active and promi-
nent was he that, when the British visited Peekskill in 1777,
they j^luudered his store and burned his buildings. He then,
wife and five little chOdreu, went to Smith's Clove, near
they pi
with Iiii
• Bolton'd History of WcBtchoster County.
wlio married a dauj^bter of Henry UeynoUlfi, v
original pruprit:tor of the saice patent.
THE TOWN OF NEVF.E8INK. 453
the present village of Monroe in Orange connty, where he
engaged in farming, and also, according to a manuscript before
us, carried on "pot-baking;" in other words, he was a farmer
and potter.
While here he belonged to an organization of patriots known
as " minute men," who were liable to be called into service
temporarily on any sudden emergency; and was with the gallant
little band, who, iinder General Anthony Wayne, stormed Htony
Point, on the 16th of July, 1779 — "one of the most brilliant
events of the war."
The ardor and impetuosity of Henry Eeynolds would have
led him to enlist in the regular army and for the war, if it had
not been for his helpless children and their dependent mother.
It was his duty to protect and sustain his tender oftspring. It
was also his duty to assist in defending and securing the libei-ty
of his country. And he was not derelict in respect to his obli-
gations as a father or a jjatriot. So emphatic was he in denoun-
cing the King of Great Britain and his adherents, tliat he made
himself very obnoxious to the tory riffrafi' and reivers of his
neighborhood, who on more than one occasion endeavored to
murder him. These miscreants had for their leader the notori-
ous Claudius Smith, a particular account of whom wiU be found
in Eager's History of Orange County. Smith and his band
were guilty of almost every crime from petit larceny to murder.
They had their places of concealment in the mountains, from
which they sallied at night to rob, maltreat and miirder patriotic
citizens. After doing their nefarious work, they retreated to
their caves and dens, carrying with them their plunder, and
when followed to their retreats, fled to the British army. Lead-
ing and influential whigs were particularly the objects of Smith's
vengeance. In the fall of 1778, Major Nathaniel Strong of
Bloominggrove was assassinated in his own house by these mis-
creants. So daring and formidable were they, that Governor
Clinton offered a large reward for the apprehension of Smith,
who, hearing of the Governor's proclamation, went to Long
Island for safety. Notwithstanding he was within the enemy's
lines, he was followed by Major John Brush and other brave
whigs, who took him prisoner and carried him to Connecticut.
He was conveyed from there to Goshen, where, on the 13th
of Januai-y, 1779, he was tried on three indictments for burglary
and robbery, and found guilty. On the 22d of the same month,
he and several of his accomplices, were executed. The wretch,
in his last moments, labored to disgrace his own mother. She
having predicted that he would die with his shoes on, like a
trooper's horse, he kicked them off while on the gallows, to
prove that she was a liar !
Previous to his execution. Smith's oldest son William was
470 HISTORY OF SULLIV.tS COUNTY.
shot by whig scouts who were in pursuit of the gang. Aft«r
the death of Chiudius, the band was led by another of his sons
whose name was Richard. James Smith, the third son, about
the same time was captured, and it is said hung, but where and
when does not appear.
In consequence of these events, the sui-viving members of the
baud swore vengeance agaiiisb all who had been active against
them. On the 2(3th of March, 1779, five or six of the \Tllains,
headed by Eichard Smith, murdered a whig named John Clark,
near the Iron works, and pinned to his coat the following:
"A Warning to the Rebels. — You are hereby warned at
your peril to desist from hanging any more fi'iends to govern-
ment as you did Claudius Smith. You are warned likewise to
use James Smith, James Fluelhng and "William Cole well, and
ease them of their Irons, for we are determined to hang six for
one, for the blood of the innocent cries aloud for vengeance.
Your noted friend Captain Williams and his crew of robbers
and murderers, we have got in our power, and the blood of
Claudius Smith shall be repaid. There are particidar com-
panies of us who belong to Col. Butler's army, Inchans as well
as white men, and particidarly ii;e nbers fi'om New York, that
are resolved to be avenged on you for yoiu- cruelty and murder.
We are to remind you, that you are the beginners and aggres-
sors, for by your cruel oppressions and bloody actions, you
drive us to it. This is the first, and we are determined to
pursue it on your heads and leaders to the last — till the whole >
of you are murdered." *
These outlaws were not extirpated until 1782, in which year
they attempted to kill Henry Reynolds, when the people of
Monroe, assisted by some troops of Washington's army who
were encamped about four miles from Monroe, put an end to
their depredations. Eager, in his History of Orange County,
gives a very meager and imperfect account of the attack on Mr.
Reynolds, which he derives almost ft'holly fi-om trailition.t If
*]•■:,-, :^t^^.~,f u.aii-r (',.iiii1y.
t " !■ ■ill'!" \\- i\. .Ill Ml till-' Lfiuiiir. was shot in the mountains by a man of the
nanii- Hi i ... ri' tlniM ..i t. .ur hI' them socretud in the mountains, and the
guanU ! r til. Til. ^. ill. iHTson told June that they were at a certain
spot pi . .1 11. 5t.li ;,..! ti. tinil them, and when he camo in sight they were
lyiii^' .1 J Ills aipproai-h ruse up, and as they did so, June shot'KcUy.
They., i '. wandered down near a certain large sulphur spring, where ho
was 111 1 . .Ii.hn Henley and his dog, partially covered up with leaves and
brush, s 11 I I, ; .1 up in a bundle with a bark-string, was the wedding coat of
Mr. Hiiiiu. 1-.. will. II K. Ily had stolen a short time before. When they went to
KunutlV him.^. , tli.- family were absent, and when they were inquired of who they
win, ili.y aii(,\Mr..d friends. The door was opened by Kunnels, and on entering they
immediately attaclii d him. There were three to one, and in the fight Runnels received
a cut oil the arm wliieli partially disabled him during Ufi;. A fellow by the name of
Miller was one of the three. When the neighbors came in, the rascals had plundered
the house and fled ; and Banuels was found, as was supposed, in a dying condition."
[Eager"B History, page 563.
THE TOWN OF NEVERSINK. 4:71
lie had known that in the town of Neversink, in this county,
there was a living witness of the outrage, (Mrs. Phebe Drake,)
he would undoubtedly have given a clear and succinct state-
ment of the whole affair. There were hundreds of others in
Sullivan county who knew Henry Keynolds well, and had listened
many times to his description of the fiendish attempt to murder
him, and his almost incredible escape from death. To recollec-
tions of conversations with him and his daughter Phebe, are
Ave principally indebted for what follows. They are still fresh
in the minds of his descendants and other respectable people,
and may be regarded as authentic.
On one occasion the avengers of Claudius Smith surrounded
Reynold's house and endeavored to effect an entrance ; but the
doors and windows were securely bolted and baried. Deter-
mined not to be balked, they got upon the roof, and were
descending inside the wide old-style chimney, when one of the
family emptied a feather-bed ujion the tire, and the intruders
were literally smoked out. Suffocation in the chimney or a
retreat to the open air were the al'ternatives, and they found the
latter most desirable.
A second attempt to enter was made in July, 1782, and was
successful. Benjamin Kelley, Phillip Eobbin, and several others
who were members of Smith's band, went to Reynold's house
in the night, and pretending to be a detachment from Wash-
ington's army in search of deserters, he opened his door to them,
after hastily dressmg himself. He then Imrriealy proceeded to
procure a light, and while engaged at his fire-place with his
back toward them, one of them struck him with the flat side of
his sword, damned him, and told him to make haste. This
conduct at once revealed the character of his visitors. He
instantly sprang ujd, got out of the door on the piazza or stoop,
stumbled over something that lay there, and fell. They then
caught him, and dragged him back into the house.
Eager says that the family of Reynolds was absent ; but his
entire household, including his wife, seven children, and a lad
who lived with him, were present. AVlien the scuffle began,
Reynolds called loudly for this lad, who immediately got up,
and came into the room, when one of the gang seized him,
threw him ujjon the floor, and told him if he turned his head to
the right or left, they would cut it oft". This so terrified the boy
that he sat as still as if Le had been made of stone. Mrs.
Reynolds and some of the children also entered the apartment.
She was a timid woman, and pregnant at the time with a
daughter who afterwards became the wife of Doctor Blake
Wales. When she saw her husband in the hands of nrflians,
and as she imagined about to be murdered by them, she fell
upon the floor in convulsions, and it is beheved was unconscious
472 HisroKY OF sl'ij.itah county.
for Bome time, and did not witness the most frightful of the
scenes which ensued.
After securing Eejnolds, and wounding him in several places
with their knives and swords, they proceeded to hang him in
the presence of his family, and on the trammel-pole of his fire-
place. While thej were ]ireparing to do this, his oldest child
(Phebe) made a violent effort to prevent them ; biit they rudely
pushed her away.
At this time Phebe lacked one month of being twelve years
of age. She was a large, robust girl, and was rapidly assuming
the charmhig outlines of womanhood. Nearly half of her life
had been spent amid the dangers and teiTors of war, and her
experience, instead of adding to the weakness incident to her
sex, had made her as fearless as she was robust. This circum-
stance had miich endeared her to her father, who was himself
of a bold and frank disposition, and the degree of sympathy
and love between them was superior to the instinct of self-
preservation.
As soon as the wretches had hung up Reynolds, and they
supposed he was -nTithing in the throes of death, they hastily
dispersed through the several rooms, and commenced plundering
the house, when Phebe as hastily caught hold of a knife, and
cut the rope with which her father was suspended. She also
threw the noose from his neck, and managed to get him upon a
bed. Almost immediately one of the marauders discovered
what she had done, and they again gathered in the room to
murder Reynolds. The dauntless girl boldly confronted them,
and stood like a lioness at baj- between them and the bed.
They ordered her to get out of their way, and declared that thev
would kill her if she did not. She replied that she did not wisL
to live if they murdered her father. They then menaced her
with their swords and knives, when by some means she knocked
a sword fi-om the hand of one of them, and in attempting to
catch it as it fell, he was badly cut on his wrist. Finding that
she would be overpowered, she sprang upon the bed, threw her-
self upon the body of her father, and clasped her limbs tightly
aroiind him, and thus attempted to shield him from their bloody
instruments. One of the brutes then lashed her cruelly with
the rope. She did not scream, or moan, or even wince, although
she was mai-ked fi'om head to foot with broad, angry stripes.
At the moment, and for hours afterwards, she was exalted above
physical pain.
Finding that this brutality was fruitless, they tore her away
by main strength, and once more their intended victim was left
dangling in the fire-place, while they continued their search for
whatever was worth stealing.
In their haste, they either imaguied that they had disabled
THE TOWN OF NE\'ERSI.N'K. ^ 473
the heroic daughter, or that Eejnolds was past lielp ; for they
paid no further attention to her, and tlius gave her an oppor-
tunity to rescue her father a second time. After she liad once
more cut the rope, and was leading him to another room, his
strength gave way, and he fell and was unable to get up. She
again threw herself upon his body, in which position the wretches
found her. They then flew at lieynolds with their knives and
swords, and cut and slashed him until they believed that he
was dead. Phebe all the time endeavored to cover her father
■with her person, and protect him at the expense of her own
life, and in doing so was herself wounded in her forehead and
breast, so that her face was covered and her clothing saturated
with blood. After destroying Reynolds' private papers and
robbing him of everything they could carry away, they set tii-e
to the house in several places. They also rolled a large stone
against the door, which opened outwardl}', and threatened to
shoot the first one of the family who raised the door-latch.
Then they left, no doubt expecting that the house and all withia
it would be consumed, and thus all evidence of their crime
obliterated.
Ileynolds had been thi-ovTi into a large chest, the lid of which
was closed over him. Here Phebe found her father stiff and
rigid. He was apparently dead. With such help as her mother
and the lad could give, she lifted the bloody form from tlie
chest, and while they were doing so, a groan escaped from it.
This led her to hope that he was not dead. She immediately
pried open his teeth ivith the handle of a pewter spoon, and
then put into his mouth a few drops of water. This seemed to
revive him, and she gave him more water, and proceeded to
staunch the blood which was flowing from his wounds.
While she was doing this, her mother was moaning and walk-
ing in a feeble way fi-om room to room, and saw that a bed, a
hogshead of flax, etc., were on fire. Appalled by this discovery,
she cried, "Oh, Phebe, the house is on fire in three jilacesf"
"Why don't you put it out?" demanded the daughter. "Oh, I
can't, if it burns down over our heads!" "Then come and
take care of fatlier, and let me do it." She promptly dashed
water on the Inirning lieds, and placed a rug over the flax, and
then went back to Ik r father. While she was engaged in dress-
ing his wounds, s)ii> told tlic lad whom we have already alluded
to, to go out and alarm tlu; neighborhood; but he did not dare
to leave the house ; so, after doing all she could for the comfort
and safety of Eeynolds, she started out herself. Although her
body was cut and bruised, her clothing wet with her own blood,
and she had passed through a scene of great terror, so cool was
she that she noticed the crowing of the cocks of the neighbor-
hood, and knew that morning was near.
474 . HISTOKY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
The alarm soon spread from house to house, and shortly after
sunrise a company of armed men started in pursuit of the
ruffians, who were followed to theu' retreat in the mountains,
and four or five of them killed. Three more were seen, one of
whom, a young man, swore he had .shot — that he was Kellej',
the leader of the gang — that he knew he had kiUed him because
he had a good siglit of him, etc. This inoved to be true ; for the
body of Kelley was soon alter found in the neighborhood, partly
covered with leaves and brush. Near it, tied up with a bark-
string, was a suit of Quaker clothes wliich belonged to Reynolds.
They were his wedding suit, as stated by Eager, although he
had .tl^en been married about fouitt-eu years. His ]jatriutism
may be estimated, when we say that he never wished to see or
wear the garments again, because they had been on the back of
a tory.
The two who got away were afterwards arrested in New
Jersey ; but Reynolds could not appear against them on a.?count
of the injuries he had received; or he would not fi'om his
Quaker sense of duty.
"While some of his friends were pursuing the marauders, others,
including the physicians of the town, were attending to the
necessities of the' family. Reynolds, it was found, was cut and
stabbed in over thirty places. One of his ears was so nearly
severed that it hung down to his shoulder. It was put back in
its place as nearly as practicable ; but healed in such a way as
to distigure him for life. One of his hands also was badly cut,
and he never fully recovered its use.
Phebe did not seem sensible of her own injuries until every-
thing possible had been done for her father. On examination,
it was found that the wounds in hei- forehead and breast were
of a serious nature, and that her body and limbs were shock-
ingly braised and lacerated. During the day, she went to her
father's bed-side. When his eyes fell upon her bandaged body
and head, and her bruised face, he was so much aii'ected that
the doctors gave positive orders that she should be kept out of
his sight.*
For several weeks, Reynolds was on the brink of the gi-ave ;
but fortified as it had been by a life of temperance and industry,
his fine constitution in the end triumphed, and he lived to see
his eighty-fifth birthday. "While he was swathed and baud-
aged so as to resemble a mummy more than anything else, his
neighbors were very kind to him. They cut his wheat, gathered
his hay, and provided for his family, and so far as they could,
made him comfortable. The doctors, instead of exacting fees
for their attendance, filled Phebe's hands with silver coin.
» StatBincnt of Thebe H»U.
THE TOWN OF NEVERSINK. i75
Kelley, tlie leader of the gang, lived within a mile of Reynolds'
house, and K )blin within half a mile.* From this we infer that
they niiuiaged to pass in the neighborhood for whigs, while they
were secretly mui-dering and robbing the patriots.
This narrative may seem to some like the device of a novehst ;
but there are scores of people yet living in Fallsbuigh and
Neversink, who have heard the facts related by Henry Eeyuolds
^himself, as he exhibitediiis scars. These people have also seen
and conversed with Phebe, who afterwards married Jeremiah
Drake of Neversiuk Flats. She died there as late as November
21, 1853, and her remains were placed beside those of her
husband, whose decease preceded hers about eight years. We
are responsible for the manner in which the story is told ; but
not for the facts embodied in it. They are precisely what has
been related to us by respectable and truthful people, who
are proud to claim Henry Eeynolds as their ancestor ; and we
hope our narrative will cause all in whose veins flows his blood,
to honor his ashes, and place over them a suitable memorial of
his W(ntli.
Henry Eeynolds' children were : 1. Phebe, who married Jere-
miah Drake ; 2. Caleb ; t 3. Jesse ; 4. Jeremiah ; 5. Eeuben ;
6. Daniel ; 7. Polly, who married Doctor Blake Wales ; 8. Jane,
■who married Ephraim Griffin ; 9. Ehzabeth, who died soon after
marrj-ing Ezekiel Gillett; 10. Hophni ; 11. Catharine and Martha
(twins) — Catharine married Doctor David Wheeler — Martha,
Zephaniah Thorn ; and Benjamin and a twin which died name-
less ; and one other whose name we have not learned. One
hundred years after the marriage of Henry Eeynolds, it is esti-
mated that his descendants numbered upwards of one thousand!
Such virility and fertility are wonderful.
AMien the town of Neversink was organized in the year 1798,
Henry Reynolds was elected its first Supervisor. At the same
time, Josiiih Depuy, another worthy patriot, was made Town
Clerk. While Eeynolds represented his town at Kingston, his
numerous scars, as well as his intelhgence and worth, made him
popular with the leading men of the old coimty of Ulster, and
in 1805, he was elected a Member of Assembly, with Lucas
Elmendorf, James Eoss and Selah Tuthill.
At Albany he made but one speech, and that was against a
proposition of Lucas Elmendorf to grant money to the colleges
of the State. Elmendorf contended that without such institu-
tions we would have no citizens fit to represent our country
abroad. This remark fired the blood of Henry Eeynolds, who
arose in his place, and reminded Elmendorf and the House, that
* Letter of Daniel Reynolds.
t Caleb was under General Jacltson at the battle of New Orleans, and was never
heard Iruui bj bis friends altetwards.
476 HTSTOET OP SULLIVAN COUNTT.
Georpce Wasliington and Benjamin Franklin were not. gradnates
of colleges, and tJiat men of t/ieir stamp were lit to represent
their country at the seat of any government on earth. This
speech was greatly applauded by every one but Elmendorf and
a few other influential leaders.* They quietly defeated him at
the next election, by putting the name of Elnathan Sears in the
place of his.
His attachment to the Quaker creed was earnest and without
abatement ; but he was too independent in his thoughts, words
and deeds to maintain a fair standing with the quiet and pacific
people who called themselves Friends. " He was not owned as
a member, but kept the faith." He pinned his creed to no man's
sleeve. In the honest vigor of his soul, he formed his own
opinions on such premises as were afforded him, and no earthly
power could deter him from following what he believed the patii
of duty. " He was set in his ways ; but always set on the right
side," is the testimony of one who knew him many years.
* Until his death, he loved his daughter Phebe more than his
other children, and as he was breathing his last, he called her
to his bedside, and reminding her of the fearful scenes through
■which they had passed, thanked her for preserving his Ufa at
the risk oi' her own.
The children of Jeremiah and Phebe Drake were : 1. Jane,
■who married Zaehariah Low; Peter; Polly, who married John
Van Benschoten; Martha, who married Zopher Gillett; Nancy,
■who married David Overton; Charlotte, who mari-ied John A.
Low ; Henry ; Jeremiah ; Phebe, who married Alvah Hall.
Peter was in the army in 1812, and died while serving his
country.
Parks and Hall, who settled on Mutton Hill, wei-e from Litch-
field county, Connecticut. Elijah Pai-ks, a son of William, was
the first white male child, and Sally, a daughter of Hall, the
first white female liorn in that region. The Halls intermarried
with the descendants of Henry Reynolds ; and Parks, it is said,
■was a kinsman oi Arthur Parks, who was a Senator from the
Middle District from 1777 to 178S. William Parks was a
Member of Assembly from Sullivan and Ulster in l8Ui.
Doctor Blake Wales was the youngest son of Nathaniel
Wales, 8d, a farmer of Windham, Connecticut, who had served
creditably as a Captain in the Eevolutionary army, and was
present at the taking of Burgoyne, as well as that of Cornwallis.
When nineteen years of age, Blake Wales commenced the
study of medicine under Doctor Roger Waldo, of Mansfield,
Connecticut, and was licensed in 1798. In 1799 he removed to
Neversink, and commenced the practice of medicine. He
» Statement of Bichard D. CUilda.
THE IVW^ OF NE\"EE8INK. 477
boarded three or four years with a family li^-inpj on Mutton Hill ;
man-ied Polly, a daughter of Henry Keyuolds, and purchased the
Corgill place of an original settler named William Alle3% Here
he remained until 1829 or 1830, when he removed to the village
of Liberty, where he subsequently died.
In the early part of the present century, the life of a rural
doctor had no attraction except the element of respectabihty. .
Medicine ranked with law and divinity as a learned profession,
and the ambitious young man, when he received his license or
diploma, considered himself within the threshold of honor, and
entitled to rank as a gentleman. His existence thereafter was
fuU of exposure and unrequited toil. Astride his faithful cob,
with a collection of drugs lashed to his saddle, in fair weather
as well as in the most inclement, dm'ing daylight as well as the
dark hours of night, he was subject to the requirements of the
sick and suffering. Weary and worn, he retired for rest during
the storms of winter; but before morning was summoned to
visit a dying fellow-being, and shivering and reluctant, started
for some baekwoods-cabin miles away, and over snow-filled
forest-paths. Eain, sleet, snow and wind — darkness, execrable
roads, and a thousand discomforts not necessary to enumerate,
were manfully endured by Doctor "Wales for thirty years, when
he removed from the town without a competence, and continued
to practice his profession in another field.
For many years, bears were troublesome to the settlers on
Mutton Hill. Many kept sheep. The region became so noted
for its flocks that it received its present name. Bruin was very
fond of mutton, and indulged his apjietite so often that the
farmers could not determine whether bears or the landlord's
agents were the greatest pests. One old bear waxed so fat, and
grew to such huge dimensions, that his memory is still fi-esh in
local tradition. For a long time the Halls, Reynolds, Drakes
and others unsuccessfully endeavored to destroy him ; but traps
and guns did not seem to be effectual. He was never killed ;
and in time left the neighborhood. Not so lucky was another
■which made a raid on Silas B. Palmer's hog-pen ; for while he
was intent on slaughtering Palmer's swine, Palmer himself
appeared with his old flint-lock, and while his wife held a hght,
shot the intruder, and killed him.
Abraham Corgill, who settled on Thunder Hill about the year
1794, was killed while in the woods by the falling of a limb of a
tree. He was the father of John and James Corgill.
WilUam A. Moore came into the tovm in 1805. He had five
Bons — Benjamin, Comfort, Andrew, William W., and Seaman.
Joseph Pierce, Christopher Darrow, Elmer Gilbert, Samuel
Groo, Joseph Carlisle, and several others came previous to the
"great windfall."
478 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTf.
William Denman emigrated from England in 1798, and settled
three miles from Grahamsville. He was the progenitor of a
family remarkable for probity, thrift, good sense, and respect-
abihtV.
The memory of Indian outrages was still fresh in the minds
of the people in 1788. Neversink had been the theatre of
. bloody contests with the red man, and many imagined that the
dreaded race might yet return and murder the inhabitants.
The yoiing people particularly were on the qvi vive, and were
often alarmed by unusual noises in the woods. A few years
after the settlement, a young fellow named Gillett alarmed the
inhabitants of Mutton Hill by declaring that his father's house
was surrounded by more than twenty whooping savages. Some
turned out ^rith their giuis; but on reaching the scene of sup-
posed danger, found that there was nothing more aggressive tliere
than several hooting owls.
Phineas Booth in 1795, bought the farm of Eleazer Larrabee,
on Thunder Hill. Booth was a mulatto ; while his wife was of
mixed Indian and Afiican blood. Although he loved wliisky
and was somewhat piofane, he was a prosperous farmer, and a
favorite in the neighborhood.
The father of Phineas was an African negi-o who was brought
from his native country when a child by Captain Phineas Booth,
the commander of a slave ship. The black lad was not sold
with the balance of the cargo ; but was kept by the captain as
a body-servant, and in time became a pet of his master.
In Booth's neighborhood lived, with her step-father, a young
white woman who was engaged to be married to a sailor. The
day for the ceremony was fixed ; the guests were invited, etc.,
when her step-father locked her in her room, and told her lover
she woiild neither see nor many him. This maddened the would-
be groom, who forthwith went to sea, without knowing the true
state of affairs.. After his departure, the girl was released, went
to Captain Booth, told her story, and rashly declared she would
marry the next man who offered himself, even if he were a
negi-o. The Captain, beheving probably that she would not do
so, laughingly remarked, "I guess Phin. will have you," and
then went to the latter, and told him what she had said. The
black lad then called on her with his cliapeau under his arm,
and with many polite bows and scrapes, offered her his heart
and hand. They wei"e accepted by tiie rash girl. To mortify
and vex the relatives who had aberrated the heart of her lover,
she man-ied Captain Booth's slave. She afterwards purchased
the freedom of her husband, who had assumed the name of
his old master, and they gave the same name to this son.
It is said that Phineas Booth, the negro, after he beeamo a
freeman by marrying, occasionally assumed the bearing of a
THE TOWN OF NE-VERSINK. 479
cnisty old gentleman ; when his wife would quietly say, " Pliineas,
I boiight you of your master," and the demon of anger at once
left him. He was finally killed by riding at night against a tree
which leaned over a road. The accident occurred on the road
leading from Hasbrouck to Thunder Hill.
Phineas Booth, the son of this ill-assorted pair, was well
known to the Grants, Drakes, Reynolds, Gilletts and other
respectable citizens of the Neversink country, who always
esteemed him highly.
Francis Porter came to Grahamsville' in 1792, and became
the possessor of several tracts of land. The soil for one mile
on the east side of the Lackawack was held by fee simple ; also
for half a mile on the west side. Porter owned some of this.
He was the father of Jedediah, Gideon, Francis, junior, and
Leonard Porter, besides four daughters. Jedediah and Gideon
opened what was known as the Porter road from Liberty to
Neversink. It ran by the way of Locli Sheldrake, above
Hasbrouck, and on the south side of Thunder Hill, to the old
Wawarsing road, and was made soon after the Brodhead road.
Previous to 1809 the people were obliged to get their flour
made in Wawarsing at Peter Vernooej-'s mill. In that year
Livingston built a mill at GrahamsviUe, under the superintend-
ence of Captain Jeremiah Gale.* Tiiis improvement was hailed
with as much delight as the building of a railroad along the
Lackawack would now create ; and so pleased were the people
that they procured the appointment of Gale as Justice of the
Peace. He afterwards married many of the young people of
the town.
Vemooey, the Wawarsing miller, was a man of excellent
heart. We have received the following anecdote of him from
Avis, the widow of Leonard Porter: Her father, Salmon
Hawley, soon after moving into the woods on Thunder Hill,
was left a widower with seven children. He was "by trade a
shoemaker, and when not clearing his land, and attending to
the necessities of his motherless children, traveled from house
to house to make and mend the shoes of his neighbors. Before
grain could be raised on his place, he got out of money and
provisions, and had nothing which could be exchanged or bar-
tered for food. He went to Wawarsing, and humbly laid his
case before Vernooey, asking Vernooey to trust him for some
flour, and promising to pay for it in work during the ensuing
Mitchell, Corporals ; Samuel Andrews, Amos Averj', David A. Baldwin, John
Samuel Couch, Joseph Connor, David Canfield, I.uthcr Drake, Hubert Frazer, Jonas
Gregory, Zebulon Griffin, Benjamin Homan, Elijah Kinne, Christian Kiiishimir, Uobtrt
Ray, Fianeis A. Leroy, Benjamin Low, Bradley Robertson, Hiram Sanford, Abel
Hprague, Nathan S. Sacket, Oliver Seeley, Uriah Strat.'ou, John Voorhea, David Viyti-
kfKjp, Jamt'rt Ellison and others, privates.
480 HISTOBT OF 8ULLIVAU COUNTY.
fall. The humane miller readily let the poor mau have -what
he wanted ; but told him not to bring his kit to his bouse until
he had got in his faU-crops. The unexpected kindness of
Yernooey so affected Hawley that he never forgot it, and spoke
of it so often that it was indehbly impressed upon the hearts
of his descendants.
Some time between 1790 and 1795, Abel Downs engaged in
business as a merchant on the H. Burr place. His store con-
tained a small assortment of dry goods, together with rum, tea,
tobacco and a few other articles. Before he came, the people
were obliged to go to the store of I. Dumond, in Eocliester,
for their goods. Downs soon left, and engaged in business in
Colchester, Delaware couutj-, where, by contiauiug at his craft,
he became a wealthy man.
Ebenezer Reed was the town blacksmith as early as 1793.
The same man established a tannery in 1802.*
It is said that a doctor named Goodrich was the physician of
the Neversink country as early as 1797. He lived with one of
the GiUetts, and was succeeded in 1799 by Doctor Blake Wales.
Previous to the coming of Goodrich, the wife of Seth Gillett
administered to the necessities of the sick. She was an intel-
ligent woman, and had the credit of being a good doctress.
Soiue time after Downs left the country, David Curtis opened
a store on the Neversink Flats, at what has since been known'
as the Reed place. He afterwards moved to Slutton Hill, where
he continued his business for several years. Richai'd D. Childs
was also a merchant of the town at an early day.
The "great windfall" of March 20, 1797, was a remarkable
event. It is yet spoken of as a thing of terror, although three-
quarters of a century have elapsed since it occuiTed.
In .Rockland and Neversink there had been rain and snow,
followed by cold weather; and these alternations had been
repeated in rapid succession several times, so that the pines
and hemlocks were almost crushed to the earth with the weight
of snow and ice which they bore; when a heavy gaJe set in
from the north-west, which blew with unabated fury through
the entire night. These things combined, prostrated the timber
on thousands of acres.
The sounds of a whirlwind are confined to a limited space by
the velocity of the whirling air ; but this was no whirlwind ; it
was a terrific gale, which carried with it, for miles and miles, the
accumulating uproar produced by thousands of acres of crushed
and crashing forest. The people of the thinly settled country
were rendered almost insane by the fearful scene. Some fled
from their cabins, fearing that they would be crushed in their
• B. G. Chads' MS8.
THE TOWN OF NEV&KSINK. 481
beds, and croached trembling behind the stumps of their clear-
ings. Others in heedless panic ran into the woods, as aftrighted
horses rush into a burning stable ; and pregnant women gave
premature birth to expected offspring.
The track of this storm was north-west from the Lackawack
to some point in the present county of Delaware. No buildings
were destroyed and no lives lost ; but the roads were rendered
impassable for some time. For many years, hunters, when lost
in the woods, easily found their way out by traveling parallel
with the track of the great windfall.
William Curry, who died in Neversink on the 24th of Feb-
ruary, 1870, was born during this storm, and it may interest the
reader if we state that we ascertained the date of its oceuiTence
by consulting the inscription on his tomb-stone.
On the 19tli of January, 1847, Anna Barkley, wife of Herman
Bai-kley, killed her step-daughter Amy, and then committed
suicide. The family Hved about four miles north of Grahams-
ville. For a long time Mrs. B. had treated the chUd cruelly.
She then suffered remorse for her conduct, and conceived the
notion that she had forfeited all claims on God's mercy by her
inhumanity. She had told her husband several times that she
felt an inclination to kill herself. He beheved that this was
done to annoy him ; that she was sane, and that she would not
take her own life. A few days before the tragdey, Amy, in the
absence of Mrs. Barkley, went to her father in tears, and said,
" I am afraid of mother. I believe she will kill or hurt me."
The mother, however, assured him that she did not intend to
harm the child, and this calmed his fears. Mr. and Mrs.
Barkley had four otiier children, the eldest a boy of six years.
On the 19th, the father lose early and went to a neighbor's on
an errand. While returning, he heard the boy scream, "Mother
has killed Amy and herself! " Entering the house, he found his
wife and daughter with their throats cut. The boy stated that
his mother caught Amy by the throat and choked her. The
girl screamed. With one hand still hold of Amy, Mrs. Barkley
took a razor from a shelf, and opened it with her teeth. The
boy sprang for the razor, when his mother pushed him back,
and drew it across Amy's throat. He then caught up the
youngest (a babe) and ran to the fi'ont door ; she ordered him
to stop, and sprang towards him, when he told her that his
father was coming; she looked through a window, saw her
husband, stepped back, and then cixt her own throat. It is
probable that his timely arrival saved the other childi'en from
the murderous hands of their insane mother.
Until 1828, there was no post-office in Neversink. At first
the people were obliged to get their letters and newspapera
from Kingston. As the postal service was extended, new ofiicese
31
482 HISTORY OF 8ULLIVAS COUNTY.
were erected at nearer points ; and in 1828, Eichard D. Childs
received an appointment as postmaster of the new office of
Neversink. According to an old map in our possession, it waa
located near the centre of the town. In that year a mail-route
•was established between Monticello and Wawarsing. It waa
a " one-horse ail'air." The earner was David A. Baldwin, an
old man who was subject to a nervous disease, which caused hia
head to oscillate rapidly fi-om side to side. He traveled over
the route forth and back once a week, with about a peck of let-
ters and papers. On the 31st of March, 1829, the Postmaster-
feneral reported as follows in regard to the offices supplied by
taldwin :
Office. Postmaster. Annnal net receipts.
Thompsonville Jonathan Stratton S 6.45
Fallsburgh Thomas S. Loekwood . . . 19.32
Woodbourne Gabriel W. Ludlum 2.54
Neversink Eichard D. Childs 8.38
Total §26.64
There were at that time but sixteen post-offices in the county,
the aggregate annual net receijots of which were $538.71.
In the early part of the present century, the people of Kings-
ton, alarmed at the efibrts of Newburgh to attract the trade
and travel of south-western New York, projected a great turn-
pike-route from their village via Eochester, Neversink, Liberty,
the Cook House and Oquaga, to Chenango Point. It was
popularly known as the Lucas turnpike, from the fact that
Lucas Elmendorf was one of its chief promoters.* Although
large landholders were interested in this enterprise, and its
consummation would have enriched them, it was not successfuL
Part of the road was made stretching fi-om the Hudson river
towards the Delaware, but not enough to yield the fruit antici-
pated.
In 181o, a road was laid oat from Wawarsing to the Xevei'sink
river in the town of Neversink, by Benjamin Bevier, John Brod-
head, junior, and Andrew 1. Lcfevre, wLu were commissioners
appointed for that jDurpose. To make this road, all real estate
"within one mile of it was taxed eight cents per acre, and all
* Tlie title of the Kingston company was the First Groat Southwestern Turnpike
Oompanv. The receipts of this company were not suflioient to keep the road in good
order. In 1826, by an act of the Legislature, the inhabitants who lived ali.ng the line
of the road from Kingston to Wawarsing, were compelled to expend their highway-tai
on it. Subsequently, an act was passed to allow the company to tax lands adjacent to
their Unn for the completion of the road. The owners of real estate appealed to the
courts, and obtained a verdict against the company. The latter besieged the Legisla-
ture for relief in various ways until 1825, soon after which the projeet was abandoned
THE TOWN OF SEMiBSINK. 483
situate more than one mile and less than two, four cents per
each acre.
Our history of Neversink will not be complete without a brief
account of the noted suit at law between William Hunt and
wife, and James Johnson and David H. Teller. The real parties
to this suit were the Anti-Rent Association of Neversink and
the descendants of Robert L. Livingston, and its object was to
test the Livingston title to Great Lot No. 4, and the vahdity of
the settlement line between the Hardenbergh and Rochester
patents.
There is no doubt that the south-westerly bound of the town
of Rochester was originally very near the line between Great
Lots 2 and 3, and there were some grounds for the belief that
the line of the town and of the patent in that quarter were one
and the same; but in 1776 the trustees and a committee of
freeholders of Rochester, and certain Hardenbergh proprietors
who were interested, agreed to establi-sh the hue where it now
is, and on the 13th of February, 1778, executed a settlement-
deed to that effect.*
There was a general acquiescence in this arrangement for about
seventy years, during which the owners of Great Lots 4 and 5
leased a large number of farms in Neversink to tenants. These
tenants had improved their farms, and very generally had com-
phed with the conditions of their leases, until about the year
1844, when there was a combination throughout the State ol
those who held land by leasehold-tenures, to resist the rights
and pretensions of the landlords.
_ One of these leagues or associations was organized in Never-
sink. Neal Benson, one of the Livingston tenants, was its
president. Believing or pretending to believe that the settle-
raent-line of 1778 was invalid, he obtained a quit-claim of the
right and title of Rochester to lands west of the long established
boundary of the patent of that town. Under an alleged right
derived from him, Johnson and Teller, the nominal defendants
in the suit, cut and removed timber from an unimproved tract
known as Lot No. 47, in Great Lot No. 4. *
At that time Lot 47 was owned by EHzabeth A. Ridgely, a
daughter of Commodore Ridgely, and a grand-daughter of
Robert L. Livingston. In February, 1850, Miss Ridgely insti-
tuted a suit against Johnson and Teller, for trespass. Archi-
bald C. Niven was her attorney, and C. V. R. Ludington and
Wescott Wilkin for the defendants. The cause was tried in
September, 1850, before Malbone Watson, a Justice of the
Siipreme Court, and lasted ten days. The plaintiff claimed title
IS not attached to
484 HLSTORY OF SULLH^AN COUNTY.
a.s heir-at-law to her mother, and adduced a complete chain of
title from 1708, when the Hardenbergh patent was issued, down
to the commencement of the suit. Ou the other hand, the
defense attempted to prove that the tnie line between the two
patents ran fi-om the Sand Hills in Mamakatiug to the Blue
mountains in the town of Liberty, and that consequently Lot
47 was in the grant to Rochester. After able arguments on
both sides, the jury rendered a verdict for the plaintili", with five
dollars damages. A. C. Niven and Samuel Sherwood, counsel
for plaintiff; Ludington <t Wilkin, T. R. Westbrook, Samuel J.
Wilkin and A. Tabor for defendants.
A great many points were raised on the trial of the cause, on
which the presiding judge had to give opinions; to which
opinion exceptions were taken, and the cause was carried to
the Supreme Court, where it was argued by A. Tabor for the
defendants, and John C. Spencer for the plaintiff. The Supreme
Court at General Term ordered a new trial for error of the
judge in the admi.ssiou of certain papers in e^adence. From
the decision of the General Term the plaintiff' took an appeal
to the Court of Appeals ; but by an alteration of the law regula-
ting appeals, it became necessary to discontinue the appeal,
and try the cause again at the Cu-cuiL
In the meantime, the plaintiff had intermarried with Wilham
H. Hunt, and by an application to the court, he became a p;i
plaintiff; and iii May, 1853, the cause was again tried in Monti-
cello, before Justice William B. Wright, and a jury. About a
•week was consumed by the trial, which resulted in a verdict of
t«n dollars for the plaintiff. A. C. Niven and Henry Hogeboom
for plaintiffs ; Ludington & Wilkin, George W. Lord and S. J.
Wilkin for defendants.
The defendants moved for a new trial at the Special Term in
September, 1853, on a case made, and the court denied the
motion, on which judgment was entered for plaintiffs for ten
dollars damages, and S522.14 costs. From this judgment
ajipeal was taken to the General Term, where it was argued by
Henry Hogeboom for the plaintiff's, and Lyman Tremaiu the
Attorney-general of the State, for the defendants, and the
decision of the Special Term affii'med.
The defendants then appiniled to the Court of Appeals, which,
after hearing Nicholas Hill for the plaintiffs, and Lyman Tre-
main for the appellants, affirmed the decision of the Siipreme
Court, and overruled all the exceptions taken by the defendants
ou the trial.
This was the most important controversy in regard to real
estate which ever occurred in Sullivan county. After the final
decision the tenants very generally purcljased the fee-simple of
THE lt)WN OF NEVEI18INK. 485
the farms which they had cultivated, and the anti-rent excite-
ment subsided.
In 1871, George B. Childs purchased the remaining interest
of the descendants of Kobert L. Livingston in Great Lol
No. 4.
On Sunday, the 24th of July, 1859, fifteen to twenty men
engivged in piling and burning brush on the land of James
Eoper, in the Nauvoo neighborhood. All of them drank rum,
but not to excess. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon they quit
work, and passed the house of Peter Breliany, where most of them
stopped, and several of them were treated to whisky by him. Here
Patrick Kane engaged iu a quarrel with Peter and Augustus Bre-
hany about an ax, when John Cochrane and Thomas Norton got
possession of it, and threw it away. Peter Brehany and Kane got
into a scuffle, and Thomas Brehany and William Cunningham
into a fight. Thomas threw William, and the latter turned his
antagonist, when a man named Dolan fell upon him, and was
pulled off by Cunningham's daughter. Then the mother of the
Brehany's took a part, and jjulled Cunningham's hair, crying,
"Don't kill a sick man," meaning Thomas, who seemed to be
getting the worst of the tussel. Robert Fitzgerald pulled her
ofi', and the combatants separated. Cunningham started for
home; but the Brehanys continuing their quarrel with Kane
about the ax, he came back. As he reached the group, several
were fighting. Augustus Brehany attempted to stab Kane with
a pocket-knife, and made a pass with it at John McCormick
and Piobert Fitzgerald. With the same knife, he struck Cun-
ningham in the left side, and the blade severed a rib and entered
the left ventricle of the heart. Cimniugham fell backwards,
fighting as he went down, and Edward Norton took him to the
side of the road, where Thomas Brehany struck him (Cunning-
ham) on the head with a stone. The latter died in ten or fifteen
minutes after he was wounded. Andrew Reynolds, a Coroner,
held an inquest. The jury brought in a verdict as long as a
bill of indictment, the substance of which was that Cunningham
was murdered by Thomas and Augustus Brehany, assisted by
Peter Brehany. Immediately after the killing, the Brehanys
fled. The Sheriff of the county offered a reward of two hundred
dollars for the arrest of Thomas and Augustus. The former,
after wandering a few days in the woods, gave himself up to a
Justice of the Peace at Parksville. He was tried for his crime.
It was proved that the blow on Cunningham's head did not
inflict a mortal injury, and he got off with a few months'
imjDrisonment in the county-jail. Augustus was never heard
from afterwards, and Peter was no more culpable than half a
dozen others who participated in the melee.
In the faU of 1856, a young man named George Garrot com-
«5b HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN CODNTT.
mitted suicide near Claryville nnder circumstftnees which -were
unaccountable. He was a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and
had maintained an irreproachable character from his boyhood.
On the 14th of October, he came to Claryville to consummate a
matrimonial engagement with Miss Ehza St. John, an adopted
daughter of Colonel Gideon E. Bushnell. The maniage took
place on the 15th, and on the morning of the next day Garrot
disappeared. His absence excited wonder and distress. In-
quiries were made for him throughout the neighborhood ; but it
could not be ascertained that he had left by any traveled route.
His friends searched for him di;ring the next five days, and
finally found his dead body in the woods, about a mile from
Colonel Bushnell's house, suspended by his cravat to the limb
of a tree. It was never known why he hun-ied from his bride
of less than a day to commit self-murder. If he was insane, his
conduct led no one to suspect the fact. In marrying, he liad
apparently followed the impulses of his own heart. No cloud
obscured the dawn of the new life before him. And yet, with-
out an explanation or a premonition, he rushed from the bhssful
relation he had assumed to a suicide's grave.
It is uncertain whether the Methodists or the Baptists organ-
ized the first Church of Neversink. "We know that the latter
formed a Society here under the preaching of Nathaniel J.
Gilbert, pr&vious to 1809. It was a branch of the Pleasant
Valley Church of Dutchess county, and the Liberty Church was
a branch of the Neversink Society. Thus the latter was the
brancli of a branch. In 1809, Levi Hall was the beloved
" Elder and Watchman " of the Neversink Church. How long
it had an active existence is unknown. It is believed its pros-
perity culminated previous to the controversy which divided the
Baptists into Old School and New School ; and that it thereafter
ceased to have an active existence. In 18(39, the Society was
re-organized at Low's Corners, and a church built. The Society
is said to be flourishing, and numbers over one hundred mem-
bers. Tlie seed sown in eai'ly times, though it remained dormant
for a season, has evidently germinated with much vigor.
On the other hand, the Methodists claim that they formed the
first Church-society, and built the first church-edifice of the
town at Grahamsville. This daim is possible; but we would
have more respect for it, if the further claim was not added,
that tiie first preachers were Rev. — — - Nichols and Eev.
White, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Nichols was neither
an ordained minister nor a Methodist. He was a Presbyterian
layman, who sometimes addi'cssed religious assemblages before
regularly authorized clei"gymen visited the town.
THE TOWN OF NEVEUSINK. 4&T
The Methodist Episcopal church at Neversink was built in
1843, and was dedicated on the 8th of November of that year.
Before the church was erected, the Society worshiped in private
houses and the school-house of the neighborhood. This may
be said of nearly every Methodist Episcopal Church in the
county.
The only Quaker or Friends' meeting-house in the county is
at Grahamsville. These quiet and inoffensive people have had
a foothold in Sullivan for nearly seventy-live years. Their first
meetings were held in the house of a Friend, in Liberty — prob-
ably that of Earl, the Quaker, who bought a lot of Eleazer
Larrabee, the first settler, in 1797. The meeting was subse-
quently moved to the house of Doctor Blake Wales, in Never-
sink; then to the "Bound school-house;" next to the house of
Wilson Merritt, on Thunder Hill; then to a school-house in
that neighborhood, for the use of which they furnished the
stove; and finally to Grahamsville, where the "good spirit"
moved Leonard Porter to build a meeting-house at his own
expense; and the same "spirit" moved the Quarterly Meeting
to take charge of the house, and reimburse Friend Porter. The
building was erected in 1838. But few have attended the
meeting at any time. As old Friends died, new ones were
added. The membership has been about the same from time
to time. While on Thunder Hill, there was no other religious
meeting in the neighborhood, and the people generally attended.
Prospects were then encouraging. Although they have not
added largely to their numbers, they have sujceeded in inocu-
lating many strong minds with some of their peculiar ideas.
Passing events, too, have had an influence on the members
themselves, as the following anecdote of Hetty Divine and
Daniel Reynolds proves: During the late civil war. Friend
Hetty continued steadfast in her opposition to slavery, but her
voice was for war ; while I'riend Daniel held to the principles
of peace ; but abjured abolitionism. The two met — compared
views, and had a lively controversy, which terminated thus :
Hetty— ^xiendi Daniel, thee is too much of a slave-man for a
Quaker !
Daniel — And Friend Hetty, thee is too much of a war-woman
for a Friend !
Which was right, and which wrong?
Rebecca Grant and Nancy Hall have been preachers of "the
meeting."
The Reformed Church of Grahamsville was organized on the
1st of July, 1844, with twenty-five members, among whom were
Henry Clark, CorneUus H. Sheeley, John Wells and John D.
4»a HISl'ORY OF SULLIVAN COUlTrT.
Dean. The church-edifice of the Society was bnilt during the
same year. Since its formation, the Society has had six pastors,
viz : Thomas 13. Gregorv from 1844 to 1848 ; John W. Ham-
mond, 1849-52; Calvin Case, 1852-53; Wilham E. S. Betts,
1854-56 ; David A. Joues, 1858-63 ; John W. Hammond, 186:3-
67 ; William E. Turner, 1857.
Another body of the same communion has a Church in Clary-
ville, whose otiScial name is the Reformed Church at Upper
Neversink. Its church-edrfice is the only one of the place.
The Society has thus depended on supplies, and has had no
regular pastor. The first was James E. Barnart, fi-om 1851 to
1856. Since the last named year, its pulpit has been suppHed
by the Church at GrahamsviUe.
From 1851 to 1854, Mr. Barnart officiated as a stated supply
in Brown Settlement.
In 1844, the Mormons or Latter Day Saints made several
converts in this town. They held their meetings generally
what is now kno^vn as the Kaiivoo neighborhood, at a house
since occupied by a Roman Catholic Irishman named Patrick
Burt. Jedediah M. Grant, who was afterwards Mayor of Salt
Lake city, second Councilor of Brigham Young, and a Member
of the Legislature of Deseret, was the missionaiy of the Saints,
and presented his faith to the people of Neversink in such a
way, that some who were considered intelligent as well as honest,
embraced it. Among the converts were Horace GiUett and
Isaac Groo and their wives, William L. Brundage, John Hodge
and Miles Wheaton. Jedediah M. Grant was succetded by hia
brother Joshua and some other propagators of Mormouism.
'J'he converts were finally gathered together and started for the
fold of Brigham Young at Salt Lake. Groo became a promi-
nent man in Utah. He was appointed a Regent of the Univt
sity of Deseret, etc., and gave practical evidence of the faith
that was in him by becoming the husband of four living wives.
Gillett died of cholera on the Plains, while on his way to the
land of promise and polygamy. He was much beloved in
Neversink. Notwithstanding his dereliction from the faith
of his fathers, a long and laudatory announcement of his death
appeared in one of the newspapers of the county.
The Nauvoo neighborhood is now generally occupied by
industrious Irish farmers, who revere all the fcJaints of their
faith; but who anathematize these Latter Day Saints as the
offspring of the devil.
THE TOWN OV JfEVEBSLNX
BUPERVISOUS OF THK TOWN OF NEVEESINK.
From To
1798 ■ . . . ., Henry Kejnolds 1799
17!)9. No records 1809
1809. r AVilliam Parks 1811
LSll William GortoH, junior 1812
1812 William Parks 1815
1815 Herman M. Hardenbergh 1817
1817 William Parks 1820
1820 Herman ^I. Hiirdenbergli 1823
1823 John Hall, jumor 1825
1825 Eiehard i). C'bilds 1829
1829 John Hall 1830
1830 Jedediah Porter 1833
1833 Samnel Andrews 1835
1835 Amos Y. Grant 1838
1838 Samuel Andrews 1810
1840 William W. Moore 1813
1843 John Johnson 1845
1845 Daniel Pierce 1848
1848 Joseph L. Moore 1850
1850 Neal Benson 1853
1853 Hic^by Everett 1854
1854 Arthur Palen 1855
1855 Asa Hodge 1856
1856 John Pierce 1857
1857 Stephen Andrews 1859
1859 Nathan C. Clark 1861
1861 Clark Eaton 1862
1862 Isaac Grant 18fr4
1864 F. A. Porter 1865
1865 Wdber Lament 1867
1867 George B. Cliilds 1871
1871 Wiiber Lament 1872
1872 George E. Cliilds 1873
1873 Gordon C. Grant 1874
CHAPTEK XV.
THE TOWN OF EOCKLAND.
A bill to take Kockland from Neversink, was introduced in
the Legislature of 1809, aud was made a law on the 29th of
March of that year. It provided that the new town should
have an existence on the first day of April, 1810, and that its
first meeting should be at the house of Isaac Worden. In the
act, the original bounds of the town are thus given : Beginning
on the division of Great Lots 4 and 5, and on the division of
John E. Livingston, and Eobert R. Li^^ngston, in the Harden-
bergh patent, and running fi-om thence south twenty-three
degrees west to the town of Liberty ; thence along the north-
east bounds thereof to the county of Delaware ; thence along
said county easterly until it intersects the division-hne of Great
Lots 5 and 6 ; and thence south-easterly along said division-line
so far that a course of soxith twenty-three degrees west will
strike the place of beginning.
Kockland is bounded on the north-west by Delaware county ;
north-easterly by Ulster ; eastwardly by Neversink, and south-
westerly by Liberty, Callicoon and Fremont. A considerable
portion of its area is too broken and rough for cultivation,
particularly its highlands ; while its river-bottoms and the low-
lands along its streams are fertile and easily cultivated. Those
who gave it its name were honest when they pronounced it I'ock
or rocky land ; but the name was an unfortunate one, because
it caused settlers to avoid it, when they could have found
within its borders much that was desirable.
No town in the county is noted for more rivers and creeks
than Kockland. The Beaverkill is found in the north-west
section of the town ; while tlie Wilhwemoc crosses it from east
to west. The latter has numerous tributaries, several of which
are of considerable magnitude, and it affords scenery which is
highly appreciated by people of culture and fine taste. For
manj- years, these streams have been favorite resorts of artiste
and men of wealth and refinement, who find an attraction in
pure water, invigorating air, and the charms of wild'and uncul-
tivated mountains and valleys.
14901
THK TOWN OF ROCKLAND.
491
There are in Rockland no less than fifteen lakes and ponds.
These vary in size from a few acres to several hundred. A
description of them would weary the reader. Among them are
Upper, Mongaup and Hodge ponds in the eastern section of
the town ; Big and North ponds in the south-eastern ; Shaw in
the southern ; Burnt Hill and Jenkins in the western ; and
Sand, Mud and Knapp ponds in the central.
Until a few years ago, north of the town there was an
unbroken wilderness which was of such extent that it required
a day to pass across it. This immense forest was occupied by
■wild beasts only, and was the favorite hunting-ground of hardy
and adventurous Nimrods. Perhaps more wolves, bears, pan-
thers and deer have been killed by residents of Eockland during
the last forty years, than in all the other towns of the county.
We shall give on future pages the adventures of some of the
hunters of Eockland.
JPOPULATION— VALUATION— TAXATION.
Year.
Popu-
lation.
Assessed
Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1810
309
405
547
826
1,175
1,616
1,946
$108,203 $116.42
$146.21
1820 . .
69,117
59,307
61,753
363.33
478.05
464.93
159.82
1830
386.63
1840
250.20
1850
67,7791 646.75
125,518 490.19
466.61
1860
863.98
1870
119,197
2,729.88
3,075.19
After the Revolutionary war, if any Indians remained in the
county, their wigwams were in Rockland. The great abun-
dance of wild animals as well as fish, and the warm and sheltered
river-bottoms where the squaws raised maize and the other
cereals known to Indian agriculture, rendered it fit for the
subsistence of the red man, and he abandoned it with reluctance.
In its natural state it was a savage paradise, and not until
Rockland was surrounded by wliite settlements, did the Lenape
hunters abandon it. Even after Nanisinos, their chief, had
sold it to Major Johannes Hardenbergh, and he and his asso-
ciates had received a patent from Queen Ann, they refused to
permit the servants of the pale-faced proprietors to visit this
land, which was to them a region of abuncfance. An old tradi-
tion relates that a party of white men, headed by a person
named Daniel Bonker, attempted to penetrate Rockland for the
492 HI8T0BY OF 8DLLIVAN COUNTy.
purpose of exploring it, and that when near the Falls of Little
Beaverkill, they encountered a number of savages, who at once
exhibited signs of hostility. The whites fled, and all but
Bonker escaped. He, while crossing the stream, fell from a log
into the water, and was fired upon and wounded by his pursuers.
They took him prisoner, and bound him to a tree, and then left
him.* What they intended to do with him is unknown ; proba-
bly nothing more than deter him fi-om going farther into the
country. Some of his party returned and released him, or he
probably would have become food for wolves.
It is difficult to decide who was the pioneer of this town.
Several families came in during the spring and summer of 1789,
and the descendants of each claim that their ancestor was the
first white inhabitant. Our sources of informntiou may be
limited; yet from all the premises we are inclined to award the
honor to Jehiel Stewart and his family, and his brother Luther.
At the close of the Kevolutionary war, Jehiel Stewart was
living in Middletown, Connecticut. In 1788, he removed with
his family to Wawarsing, Ulster county. He remained there
about a year, and then, in company with Luthm-, went to Rock-
land, which was at that time in the old town of Rochester. His
route was along tlie Lackawack, and across the hills to
the Neversink. After fording the latter, he crossed the Shaw
place, and proceeded to the BeaverkiU. He then traveled down
the Beaverkill, crossing and recrossing it twenty-five times'
before he reached the Big Flats, where he had concluded to
settle. He had to cut his way through with an ax, and trans-
ported his fui-niture and family on ox-sleds. Although it wa.s
in the beginning of the warm season, when there was no snow
on the ground, a rough road thus cut through tlie woods was
better for sleds than wngons. He camped out each night, and
consumed nearly two weeks in working his way to his future
home. While encamped one evening, he found that his cows
were missing, and got upon a liigli rock to discover them. He
saw them, as he supposed, in a distant opening. He told his
children to go after them. As the little ones approached the
opening, the animals winded them, and ran away, making a
singular rattling noise with their hoofs. They were a large
drove of elk.
While on his way to the Big Flat, Lydia, his little daughter,
strayed away into the woods. Her father and good "aunt
Rachel," her mother, hunted for her all night, and their anguish
was intense when they heard the howling of the wolves, as well
as the noises made by other wild animals. They believed that
she had been torn to pieces and devoured, and reproached
» Lotan Smith's MS8. .
THE TOWN OP ROCKLAND. 493
themselves for having exposed their offspring to the perils of a
trackless wilderness ; but they continued to search the thickets
in the morning, when their joy was great as they saw their lost
child coming toward them. When they asked her where she
had been, she answered, "Along-side a log sleeping." With
child-like faith, she had gone to rest in the wilderness, and slept
the sweet sleep of innocence, undisturbed by the fearful
sounds around her."*
As soon as he reached his place of destination, Stewart erected
a temporary shelter of bark and poles, and then commenced a
clearing and the construction of a dwelhng. He built the tirst
house and mill, and kept the first inn of the town. Kobert
Cochran and a man named "West, natives of Massachusetts,
were added to the settlement in 1789. A Mr. Bascom located
one mile west of Purvis post-office, and Thomas Mott, three
brothers named Wordeu and James Overton, one mile south of
it. In 1790, Peter Williams and Cornelius Cochran came to
the town.
We cannot now estimate properly the trials and hardships
endured by Jehiel Stewart and his neighbors. At first they
had to transport from Wawarsing on sleds drawn by oxen, or
on their own shoulders, every ounce of food they consumed,
except the game they found in the woods. In 1790, one of
them actually traveled on foot from the confluence of the
Beaverkill and Williwemoc to Vernooey's mill in Wawarsing, to
procure flour for his family. The distance was forty-five 7niles,
and the journey to and from the mill ninety !
Mr. West did not long endure this kiud of life. He died in
1790, and was buried in the neighborhood. Although his de-
cease was thus early in the days of the settlement, he was
preceded in his advent to the world of spirits by Sylvanus, a
son of Jehiel Stewart. Mr. West has left no descendants in
the town. Some may suppose that his name is perpetuated in
Westfield Flats ; but the supposition will be based on an eiTor ;
for that locality was thus designated by some of the early
settlers, because they came from Westfield, in New England.
James Overton came to Kookland in 1790 or 1791, and settled
at Purvis, or, as it was once known. Upper Westfield.
Overton had married, before the commencement of the Revo-
lutionary war, a daughter of Joseph, and sister of William Elhs,
of Bloomingburgh. He and Sibylla, his wife, began their
married life in a log-cabin about two miles south-east of Bloom-
ingburgh. The Shawangiink fi-ontier was at that time constantly
agitated by rumors of Indian raids, and Overton was frequently
caUed upon to perform mihtary duty in defense of his country.
* Hunters of SuUivan.
494 HISTORY OF 8UL1IVAK COUNTY.
In the fall of 1777, when Fort Montgomery was taken, the com-
pany to which he belonged was marching to the Highlands,
when they heard that the Americans were overpowered. It
was worse than useless to proceed farther ; consequently they
resolved to return home after refreshing themselves m the
woods by the roadside. While here, a detachment of British
light cavalry came dashing up the road, gay and exultant.
They were scouring the country in search of Americans who
had escaped from Fort Montgomery, and they found more than
they were seeking. As they passed the Mamakating company,
a galling fire emptied their saddles, and the militiamen rushed
from their covert to secure the riderless horses. Overton
caught a fine gray mare, on which he rode home, and from
which he subsequently reared several colts.
The summer and fall of 1779, were full of terror to the
residents of Mamakating. Overton's family then consisted of
his wife and three children (Miry, David and Rachel). In the
absence of her husband, the young mother sometime abandoned
her home at night, and with her children slept in the woods or
in a rye-field. Eaehel was but a few weeks old, and very cross;
but it was observed that on such occasions she wa/i very quiet.
For security, Overton removed to the house of Joseph and
William Ellis. This house at that time, contained five famiUes.
Among them were the wives and children of William Harlow
and Lieutenant Thomas Mott, the latter of whom moved into
Kockland one year after Overton.
"Love is the master-passion," and young men will enjoy the
society of their sweethearts under the most adverse circum-
stances. Joseph Ellis had two marriageable daughters, one ol
whom had a lover named Thomas Oliver, and the other a beau
named Tompkins Odie. Ellis' house hterally swarmed with
men, women and babies. There were no facilities for courtship,
and yet tlie combustible hearts of tlie young men incontinently
hovered around the fiames which fired them.
While approaching the house one evening, the young men
agreed to frighten Harlow, who was on guard. Just before
they got within reach of his lead, they made sufiicient noise to
attract his attention, when he challenged them. Not receiving
any reply, he repeated the challenge several times, raising the
tone of his voice at each repetition. He then cocked his gun,
and Mas about to fire, when they laughed heartily, and let him
know who they were. When they entered the house, however,
their merriment degenerated into vexation. The young latlies,
alarmed by the noise in the road, had lied to a neigliboring
swamp to save their scalps! After much hallooing, the ti'em-
bling fugitives were uiduced to return, and in time each young
THE TOWN OF ROCKLAND. 495
spark took one of the scalps home with him, aud it reposed in
loving security on his manly bosom for many years.
Overton and others were led to locate in Eockland by John
B. Livingston, who offered to sell farm-lots for seventy-five cents
per acre, each purchaser to draw for a lot. A lot in Westfield,
near the line of Delaware county, fell to him. It did not suit
him, and he took another which William Ellis had previously
drawn, and which is now owned by Alexander Overton, of
Purvis. This lot he cleared and occupied. His first visit to
Rockland was made with his son David, who was then a sturdy
lad of thirteen years. To the shoulders of each was slung a
knapsack, filled with pro'sasions, powder, lead, and other articles,
and the father carried a gun, and the son an ax. From Mama-
kating Hollow they followed a path uutil they reached the
Neversink, in crossing which they narrowly escaped with their
lives. The ford was unsafe on account of high water; never-
theless they attempted to reach the opposite shore by wading.
While Mr. Overton had hold of his sou's hand, David was
swept down stream against liim. Both lost their foothold.
Providentially about twenty rods below the ford was a large
rock, against 'which a tree had lodged, with its roots against the
shore and its top in the river. Against tliis tree both were
carried. Mr. Overton had dropped liis gun. As he mounted
the trunk, he saw the boy clinging to a branch with one hand,
while he held the ax in the other. He tlien hastened to David,
who held up the ax, and told his father to throw it to the shore ;
but the latter dropped it, and rescued his son. They reached
the shore, thoroughly drenched, and very glad that they had
escaped with their hves, and a pound of unwet powder. On
tftking an inventory of their effects, they missed two hats, one
ax, one gun, and one knapsack and its contents. The contents
of the other knapsack (David's) were damaged ; but the powder
was dry.
There were then living near the ford three or four families,
Mr. Overton hoped that one of them could siipply him with
hats ; but was disappointed. However, a woman lent him two
handkerchiefs, which he and David used for head-gear. Some
of the settlers also let him have a new stock of provisions, and
he staid in the neighborhood until the water fell, when the ax
and gun were recovered, and our travelers resumed their journey.
There was at that time a road from Denniston's ford to
Neversink Fiats, where it intersected the route pursued by
Jehiel Stewart and other pioneers of Rockland ; but it does not
appear that tho Overtons passed that way. David Overton
during his life uniformly declared that they followed a line of
marked trees from the "Neversink to Upper Westfield. While
on their way, they saw a large number of elk.
4tdii HISTORY OF SCLLTVAJi COUNTY.
Diivid Overton lived in Purvis until he was nearly ninety-fiv&
years of age. Until a year or t^^■o before his death, which
occuiTed in 1872, his uiemory of old times was verj' distinct.
In the early days of the settlement, he could stand in his
father's door, and kill all the deer necessarj- for family consump-
tion. He saw from thirty to forty of these animals at once,
and in broad daylight, in "Shandley* pond. Five or six of the
bucks seemed to Ije in a circle, playfully pawing the water,
rearing upon their hind legs, and striking at each other with
their forefeet. He approached them to get a good shot, but
they winded hiju, and ran away. " It was a common thmg to
kill as many deer in a single day as a horse could draw ! The
streams were fuU of the largest kind of trout." Wild turkeys
were not unknown, and if lie craved stronger meat, the fastidi-
ous pioneer shot or trapped a bear.
James and David Overton planted the first apple-trees of the
town. They procured them east of the Shawanguhk, and carried
them to Rockland on their backs. They also got apple-seeds,
and established a large nursery, from which the early settlers
of Liberty and Eockhiud obtained young trees for transplanting.
From on« of his expeditions to Mamakating, James Overton
returned with a white-oak stick which he had used as a cane-
He thiiist one end of it into the ground, and it took root and
grew. It is now two feet in diameter, and probably the only
tree of the kind in Eocldand. The residents of the surround-
ing country, when they wished to procure white oak bark for
the sick, resort to this tree. It is to be hoped that it will not
be seriously mutilated by them.
James Overton's family consisted of five children : Maiy or
Polly, David, Rachel, Deborah and James, junior. David's
children numbered thirteen; six of them wei-e sons, one of
whom (Alexander) has furnished us with many interesting facts
for this chapter.
The boundaries of Rocklaud were estalihshed by WiUiam
Parks of Parksville, David Overton, William Parks, junior, and
Isaac Jackson. David Overton was a Justice of the Peace for
nine years, and held nearly every other town-office, except that
of Super^nsor.
The first frame-house of Rockland was built at Pursas, and is
still standing. As one roof decayed, another was put over it
It has three .sets of rafters, the second above the first, and the
third above the others.
The first physician of the toivn was Doctor John Gray, who
camo fiom Mamakating in 1808. In a few years he was too old
I Sliaodloy, a Frenchman, who disoovcred
THE TOWN OF BOCKLAND. 497
to practice iu a new countiy ; but he continued to live until a
majority of residents forgot lie was a doctor.
According to David Overton, William Randall, a Baptist, was
the first preacher who visited the town. This however, is dis-
puted by others, and what is known of the matter is discussed
in another paragraph of this chapter.
On the same authority the statement is made that the first
church of the town was erected in Brown Settlement near
Debruce. It is a singular fact that, although religion had long
been in a flourishing state in more wealthy and populous
sections of Rockland, this church was mainly built by men who
were not professors of religion. There is now a church at
Lower Westfield Flats ; another at Shin creek ; and another at
Purvis. These belong to tlie Methodists, and it is believed were
built in the order in which they are named. Doctor Edward
Livingston (a son of John R.) was a liberal contributor toward
the last. He was a member of one of the most distinguished
famiUes of the State. There was no society, however exclusive
and refined, which did not welcome him to its charming circle.
He married a lady of his own station in life. Both were rich,
and both had reason to anticipate a large measure of the pleas-
ures of this world. But from some unexplained cause, she
became hopelessly insane, and spent the remainder of her days
in an asylum; while he, less happy than his unhappy wife,
because his capacity for sufTering was not impaired, buried
himself in the woods of Rockland. Except at brief intervals,
he lived at Purvis for forty years. He was noted for his
liberality to the Church of Purvis ; for kindness to the jDOor, and
for spending large sums of money in building and improving
the place. And he was remarkable for another peculiarity.
When he attempted to make a straight mark witli a pen, the
general course of the line was straight, although composed of
innumerable graceful cuiwes.
The Livingstons, who at first owned about half of the town,
were anxious that Rocliland should be called Westfield, instead
of being designated by its more significant appellation. The
following advertisement published in 1808, in the Ulster Flebeian,
confirms this assertion :
U-niFTY FARMS, lying in the town of Westfield, in Ulster
X^ county, to be leased for thi-ee lives on the following terms,
viz : Three years next after date of the lease, free — The fourth
year at the rate of five bushels of wheat per hundred acres —
Fifth yeai- ten bushels per hundred acres — After which, and
498 HISTORY OF SULUVAN" COtrSTY.
during the continuance of the lease, fifteen bushels per hundred
acres. JOHN E. LIVINGSTON * Esquire."
These terms seemed more favorable to many poor people
than the fee-simple of the laud at sevcntj'-five cents per acre.
They did not reflect that the interest on seventy-five dollars
■was but S5.25, while the wheat rent after the fifth year was not
less than S20 ; in addition to which, the improvements in the
first case was for the benefit of the occupant, and in the other
added to the wealth of the landlord.
The fact that Rockland was settled before Liberty, Bethel
and other less remote towns, may be accounted for by the
hypothesis that a considerable part of its territory was owned
by members of the Livingston family, who had no other
property, and that their necessities led them to manage their
wild lands in such a way as to receive an income fi-om them at
the earliest practicable moment. Jehiel Stewart and others
who settled on the Big Flats, which was considered the choicest
section of Rockland, paid but seventy-five cents per acre for
the fee-simple of their farms.
Until ISOO, the people of Rockland had but limited facilities
for communicating with the inhabitants of other sections. The
old Hunter road was not then made. John Hunter had not at
that time an interest in Great Lot No. 5, unless it was a pros-
pective one. Tlie route generally traveled was probably the
one opened by Jehiel and Luther Stewart in 178t). As it ran
several miles through the woods, over stony gi'ound, and across
rapid streams, it nuist have been literally "a hard road" for
even hardy and adventurous frontiersmen to travel. In 1800,
the road from Neversink to AVestfield by the way of Liberty
was laid out and improved, and soon after another, from Nathan
Steven's and Brodliead's mills to Westfield, was made. The
latter is now but little used.
Abel Sprague, one of the pioneers of the town, was employed
by John Hunter in 1815 or 1816, to cut out and make the
Hunter road. This improvement was intended to make the
lands in Great Lot No. 5 more accessible.
Seed corn was obtained by the Stewarts, Cochrans and others
from the Indians on the Susquehanna river. Grain from this
seed has been raised in Rockland for eighty years. It is white,
and although twelve and sixteen-rowed, is as early as .the small
eight-rowed Canada maize. It has become a distinct variety,
* John II. Livinsston was a brother of Robert R., the chancellor. The latter was
tho first born of ten chiklreu. and on the death of hi9 father in 1775 or 1770, when tho
law of primogeniture was in force, succeeded to the estate. He afterwards gave each
of his brothers 39,000 acres, and each of his sisters 20,000 acres in the Hardenbergh
patent. John It. died at Red HooU soon after 1850, aged nearly 100 years. At his
decease ho still held 9,000 acres of this tract. He had on-ned it seventy-five years.
THE TOWN OF ROCKLAND. 499
nnd lias been consiclerably soviglit for by farmers within a few
years.
Tie bimber trade bef;an in the year 1798. It was unsuc-
cessi'ul at first ; but experience and gradually advancing prices
have made it pi'ofitable. Large quantities are rafted to I'Lila-
delphia, and saw-mills are found on almost every stream. The
tanners, however, will soon destroy the forests of the town, and
leave it poorer than it was before their advent.
Could the veteran lumbermen of the Beaverkill and Williwe-
moc witness the original attempts to run rafts (colts?) it would
afiford them much amusement. Several were started in quick
succession. Some of them were soon aground, even if they
escaped being battered and torn apart. Those which were
stopped by an obstruction were pried off, and as each started
once more down stream, the bold navigators jumped aboard,
and guided it as best they could, until it was again grounded,
when they went back and started another. In this waj', with
much labor, fun and excitement, their lumber was got to the
better channels of the Delaware, when it glided to a market
•with comparative ease.*
Like the original settlers of almost every other locality, the
pioneers of Eockland had much difficulty in procuring money
to buy groceries and other articles usually sold in country stores,
and it required considerable exertion to reach the store itself.
At first, to procure a pound of tea or a yard of calico, they were
obliged to go to Wawarsing, and if they sent a letter by mail,
it was necessary to forward it to the nearest post-olfice at
Kingston.
In time a store was started at Westfield Fiats by J. Loveland.
His advent was hailed with delight as an harbinger of better
times. Wilham Sprague, a son of Abel Sprague, an early
settler, subsequently became interested in cliis store. In the
fall of 182J-, both went to the city of New York to procure their
stock of goods for the coming winter. They made their pur-
chases, and had their stock carted to the sloop Neptune, which
then plied between Newburgh and New York. In due time the
sloop sailed, with about fifty passengers, and heavily freighted.
When just below Pollepel's island, and within sight of its place
of destination, and as several of the passengers who were on
deck were congratulating themselves that the perils of the
voyage would soon be over, the vessel was struck by a sudden
flaw of wind, and careened. At the same time, a quantity of
gypsum on board gravitated to the lowest part of the deck, and
prevented the sloop from righting. The result was, she instantly
filled and sank. Over thirty of the passengers were drownedf.
* statement of Peter Stewart,
600 HISTORV OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Amon^ the unfortunates were Mrs. Couch and two children of
Fallsburgh, (?) J. Smiley of Mamakating, and Mr. Loveland.
Of those who escaped were Mrs. John H. Bowers of Glen Wild,
William Sprague, and others of Sullivan county. Mr. Sprague
was an expert raftman, who had guided many a colt down the
Beaverkill. His thews and sinnews were Herculean, and if he
had lived in ancient days, the thunderous tones of Homer's
famous herald would have seemed like the " cooing of a sucking
dove " when compared with his. We will not say how far he
was heard when he called for boats to rescue the drowning
passengers, because none except those who knew him will credit
our statement. The loss of so many lives, and particularly the
death of his fi'iend and partner, moved him greatly, and, until
his excitement subsided, he forgot to limit his voice to its lower
tones. We are assured by a gentleman of the highest respecta-
bility, that he was in Newburgh at the time Sprague reached
there, and that the latter described the disaster to a collection
of persons in one of the streets, and was heard distinctly in
every other street of the place. Shocking as was the catas-
trophe, his gi-ief was so boisterous that to many it gave a
ludicrous finale to the affair.
Mr. Sprague died but a few years ago. He was throughout
his life a good citizen and a kind-hearted man.
The settlers at Westfield were principally fi'om Massachusetts,
and had been used fi'om childhood to that food which causes
the soul to grow in grace. They missed the ministrations of
the gospel to which they had been accustomed, and hungered
for spiritual sustenance. Although they were poor, and had little
or no money and no way to jjrocure it, they did not long remain
in the wilderness without ministerial guides and expounders of
the faith. From French's Gazetteer we leam that a liev. Mr.
Conkey, a Methodist, jireached the first sermon delivered in the
town. Others declare that Rev. Mr. Eandall preceded him,
and had charge of a small Baptist congregation at Westfield.
Agaui, we are told that the first clergyman who came to the
town regularly, was Rev. Alexander Morton, whose son James
Morton, was a worthy resident of the town from 1793 to 18G3.
Rev. James Quiulan", while preparing for the ministry of the
Methodist Church, visited this region in 1817, and at his death
left the following memoranda in regard to Rockland and his
field of labor :
" The last year I supplied the preachers' places on Newburgh
circuit, a six weeks' circuit, with three preachers — Steplien
Jacobs, Heman Bangs and Earl Bancroft. It extended a
distance of fifty miles on Hudson river, and took in Sullivan
county almost "to the Delaware river. I had a part of Bro.
THE TOWN OF ROCKLAND. 501
Jacobs' appointments in Sullivan for two weeks, whilst he was
making arrangements for a camp-meeting. A great deal of rain
fell, and the rivers were unbridged. Two incidents occuired
which I shall never forget. One was swimming my horse
through the Beaverkill during a flood. I was not aware of the
depth of the water. When I attempted to cross, my steed
suddenly made a plunge and Avas afloat. All but his head was
under water, and the rapid current bore us down stream. With-
out pulling on the reins, I gently got his head around in the
direction of the opposite shore, and he swam for it bravely.
As we approached it, an apparently insurmountable barrier was
in the way. The top of a fallen tree seemed to prevent access
to the shore. My noble, high-spirited horse breasted it, and it
yielded to his pressure. We ascended the bank safely. My
boots and portmanteau were full of water, and my animal
almost unmanageable. A quarter of a mile from the ford lived
a Mr. Purvis, whose daughter was a member of our Chui'ch.
He himself was a Swedenborgian. 'Why,' said he as I rode up,
'you have been swimming yotu- horse through the Beaverkill.
Why did not the people on the other side tell you that it was
not fordable?' I replied that I saw no one there; was not
aware of its depth ; got into deep water, and concluded to put
it through. He thought it next to a miracle that I was
not drowned.
" The other incident amused me. One night, after preaching
in a school-house, the dear good old sister with whom I put up
asked me to sing. I replied I could not. 'O, brother!' she
exclaimed, 'how can you think the Lord has called you to
preach ! '
"The preachers parted that year — Jacobs in the fall— Ban-
croft in the winter. Bro. Bangs got me to take Bancroft's horse,
and go on a six weeks' tour. While doing so, I took cold on
cold, which brought on a high fever, and ended in a putrid sore
throat. After I got home, I was confined to my room for two
weeks, and became utterly discouraged as to becoming a travel-
ing preacher, not considering my constitution siifficiently strong
to endure the labor and hardships of an itinerant life. I had
before that purposed to apply to our Quarterly Meeting for a
recommendation to the New York Conference ; but I did not
apply to the Quarterly Meeting, which was some fifty miles from
my residence, and concluded to abandon the idea of traveling.
Bro. Bangs, however, without my knowledge or consent, brought
the matter before the meeting. There was some hesitation on
account of my poor health ; but the Presiding Elder, Rev. P. P.
Sanford, remarked that he believed traveling would do me good,
and consequently they recommended mo. Before Conference I
received a letter from Bro. Bangs, stating what had been done
oO'i HISTORY OF SXJLLIYAN COUNTY.
in my case, and asldn<j; an immediate answer. After reflecting
that Providence had thrown open tlie door, I dared not decline,
and so informed Bro. Bangs. I was admitted, and appointed to
Sharon Circuit, which required a ride of three hundred miles
to visit thirty-one stations in Schoharie, Otsego and Delaware
counties.
"My next appointment (1819) was Sullivan Circuit, with Eev.
J. Weston as my colleague. The year before the Sullivan had been
set olf from the Newburgh Circuit, and Bro. "Weston was on it
alone. It prospered under his administration, and needed an
additional laborer. AVe had a good revival, and labored ia
gi-eat harmony. His sermons were dry and duU; but in the
class and prayer-meetings he was lively and effective. He was
extreinely grave and sober for a young man, and decidedly pious
and devoted.
"This year there was an improvement in money-matters, each
of us receiving about ninety clollars. On all the large streams
there were no bridges, with one exception — the bridge across
the Neversink on the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike. In
passing around the Circuit once, we forded the rivers thirty-six
times, and in traveling eight miles in Eockland, we were obliged
to wade through or swim across the Big Beaverkill five times.
I had the honor of preaching the first sermon in a settle-
ment between Beaverkill and Wawarsing.* The entire com-
munity— men, women and children — attended. I preached
fi-om Thess., 1 ch., 7 and 8 v. Eight so\;ls were brought under
conviction, and sought and founel the Lord. I had to travel
eight miles through the woods to reach the place. There was
but one house on the way, which was occupied occasionally by
hunters only, while the tracks of almost every kind of wild
animals were to be seen around it." f
The almost boundless forests of Eockland were full of noble
game, and were very attractive to the bold and adventurous
men of the town. The adventures of Peter Stewart, Cynis
Dodge, Benjamin Misner, David Overton, WiUiam Woodard,
Solomon Steel, Samuel Darbee, junior,* and others of the aucient
* liruwu buttlemi-nt V "
t Rev. James Quinlan studied medicine under his father, Doctor Thomas Qiiinlan,
» native of the city of Watirford, L-eland, who emigrati-d to the United Stati s soon
after the Kevohnionary war, and was wolllinown to the scliohirs and litirali .ji his day.
The son abandoned liis profi ssion, aud endured the hard lal>or and nnived ilio poor
earthly reward of a Jlethodist preacher for over forty yeai-s. Wh.n ynnng, ho
exhibited a decided i;eniu3 tor hterature ; but had no opportnnity to nidul^'e his
natural inclinations until ho was worn out as a preacher. After he was seventy years
old, he wrote a volume of sacred poetry, which he was too modest to print. Consider-
ing his age and the other circumstaaces under which it was written, this volume is »
literary curiosity.
* Samuel Darbee, senior, came to Rockland In 1796, with Lcri Kimball. The two
se'lled on contiguous farms at the junction of the Beaverkill «nd Williwemoc. Darbee
established a fulling and dying-establishment, which he kept in operation until 1S26.
He was si>on alt«r killed by the upsetting of a load of bay at the " dug way," on the
Williwemoo.
THE TOWN OF KOOKLAND. 503
settlers, as well as the Slieeleys, Applej's, and several other
inodei-n residents, wonkl make a volume as attractive to the
young as the Life of Kobinsou Crusoe, and have the additional
mei-it of bein^:; true.
Wilham AVoodard, on one occasion, while roaming through
the wilderness alone, discovered the den of a panther. He
boldly entered it, and found several kittens, which he thrust
inside his tow-shirt, and carried home! If the old she-panther
had detected him in purloining her little ones, she would have
torn him to pieces.
When Petdr Stewart was a young man, he and a friend were
hunting deer; but had no success. Game seemed to be scai-ce.
They examined the mountain-runways and the crossings of the
soft, spongy valleys without discovering the print of a hoof.
While passing a large ledge of rocks, they saw a number of
bones of deer and other animals near a hole, and other evident
signs that a panther lived there, and brought to its den food for
its young. After carefully examining the priming of their guns,
they secreted tliemselves within gun-shot range of the lair, and
awaited coming events. In a short time, to their astonishment, a
bear issued from the hole with a young panther in its mouth, and
speedily crushed it with its jaws. While this was taking place,
Stewart's friend leveled his gun, and was about to fire ; but the
other silently pi'evented him from doing so. The bear then
went back and brought out another kitten, and dispatched it
also. As bruin squeezed out its life, it gave a loud squall, which
was heard by its mother. Soon there was heard the rapid
bounding of muiHed feet. This was quickly followed by the
appearance of a large panther, rage blazing from its eye-baUs,
and bristling in every hair of its body. The bear made an
awkward attempt to shamble away ; but finding that this would
not save it from the claws and teeth of its wrathful pursuer, ran
up a tree. Tlie latter, however, affoi-ded no safe refuge; for
the panther followed so rapidly that the black-coated beast had
barely time to roll itself into the shape of a ball and fall to the
ground. It then made a second attempt to shulHe away, when
the feline monster sprang upon it — fastening its sharp fore-
claws into the body of the doomed animal, and with its hiudfeet
ripping out its intestines. The hunters then both fired at the
victor, and killed it, after which they skinned both animals —
hung their bear-meat beyond the reach of wolves, and went for
assistance to take the carcass out of the woods.
Cyrus Dodge had a thrilling adventure with panthers at Long
pond, a beautiful sheet of water once famous for its large trout,
and for the number of deer found in its neighborhood. On a
summer-afternoon he was watching for deer as they came to
water, and stood under some large trees which grew on the
504 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
shore. While thus engaged he heard a snspicious noise over
his head, tod looking up, saw a panther on a limb above him.
The animal was watching him intently. Thinking there was no
time to be wasted in observing its movements, Dodge brought
the butt of his giin to his shoulder and fired. The report of the
shot was followed by a dull thud at his feet, and the convulsive
boundings of the djdng panther, as well as the leaping of several
lithe forms in the overhanging tree-tops. Dodge declared that
the woods seemed to be alive with panthers, and he felt that he
was in great peril. Knowing the aversion of the cat-tribe to
water, he instantly sprang into the pond, and waded out to
where it was waist-deep. As he loaded his gun, he counted no
less than five panthers in the neighboring trees. They were
undoubtedly an old she-one and her young. The latter, although
weaned and nearly full-grown, hail not separated from their
mother, but continued to follow her until fully able to provide
for themselves. Dodge continued to load and fire until three
more had bitten the dust. The other two he failed to see a second
time. They were probably fi-ightened by the report of the gun,
and ran oif. He then went on shore, skinned the four panthers,
and struck a bee-line for home, very sensibly concluding that
deer-hunting in that quarter was too dangerous for enjoyment.
On another occasion Dodge narrowly escaped being devoured
by a pack of hungry wolves. He was engaged, " solitary and
alone," in himting, and made his head-quarters at a cabin near
the line between Rockland and Fremont. One evening he
went to this cabin, intending to resume his sport in the morning ;
but suddenly changed his mind, and resolved to go home. The
next morning, before daylight, he started. He had not gone
far when he heard the howl of a wolf, which was answered by-
others in such a way that he feared that there was serious work
ahead. Soon he saw dusky forms on his track. HastUy
examining the priming of his old flint-lock, he fired at the fore-
most, and killed it. He then reloaded and soon shot another.
Before he could load again, he was obhged to club his musket,
and beat off his assailants. If the wolves of America were as
numerous and ferocious as those of Russia and some other
countries. Dodge's bones would have been so polished that they
would have glistened in the morning-sun. As it was, he made
such vigorous use of the but of his gun, that his assailants soon
left, and he reached home in safety.
A common mode of kilHug wolves was to catch them in a
steel-trap. Peter Stewart and Samuel Darbee had a trap set
on Round Hill, and visited it with nothing but hatchets in their
hands. When they reached the point where they had left it,
the trap was gone. While searching for signs to determine the
direction in which it had been dragged away, they discovered a
THE TOWN OP ROCKLAND. 005
large wolf with the missing article fast to one of its legs. When
it saw the men, it ran off, biit the trap soon canght between
two saplings, and put a stop to its journey. Stewart then ran
to knock the beast on the head. It bristled up and snarled at
him, as if ready for a fight ; but backed through the sapUngs,
and ran toward the top of a fallen tree close by, with Stewart
after it. Both reached the top at nearly the same instant. As
the animal entered the branches, the foot fast in the trap came
off. Being freed from its incumbrance, it passed quickly
through, and ran off. Stewart was obliged to go around the
tree-top, and when he reached the other side, the animal was
several rods distant, and using its three remaining feet in the
best possible manner. Being unwilling to lose the scalp,
Stewart, hatchet in hand, and accompanied by a small dog
belonging to Darbee, started in pursuit. He was as Uthe as an
acrobat, as nervous as a race-horse, and as bold as the bravest.
He was determined to run the beast down, and kill it. After
following it over half a mile, without gaining much in the race,
he was glad to see the cur fasten its teeth into the haunches of
the wolf, and the latter turn to defend itself. In a moment
more he came up, and regardless of the risk, attacked the
snarling beast with the hatchet, and soon saw it dead at his
feet. Darbee after a little time reached the spot, and as his
fi'iend was somewhat blown after his rapid run, skinned the
game and went back and found the trap.*
Stewart is a son of one of the oi'iginal settlers, and was bom
at the junction of the Beaverkill and Williwemoc, in the year
1795. He is still (1873) sound in mind and body. Like many
others addicted to forest-sports, he has long been prominent,
socially and politically. He has held nearly every office in the
gift of his fellow townsmen.
These pioneers, who were by turns lumbermen, farmers and
hunters, were a robust, jovial race of men. AV^hen at their work,
they labored with might and main; when indulging in their
favorite sports, they were fearless and full of fun ; and appa-
rently enjoyed nothing more than forest-life ; but there was one
thing they loved more, and that was the home-circle. Samuel
Darbee, junior, the fi-iend and companion of Peter Stewart, was
very fond of his family, and particularly of his children. With
them he was seldom if ever austere or arbitrary. He was their •
companion, friend and mentor, and it is difficult to decide whether
they felt more respect than affection for him.
Late in April, when Darbee's youngest son, WiUiam, was ten
years old, Rockland was visited by a snow-storm of unusual
magnitude. Down — down came the moist, heavy snow, until it
* Hunters of SulliTan.
606 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY,
wvis between three and four feet deep. It was almost of the
consistency of mortar and nearly as hea\'j'. There was danger
that the weight would crush the roofs of houses and other
buildings. Darbee became alarmed for the safety of his family,
and started for his barn to get a shovel to remove the snow
from his roof. As he did so, AVilham expressed a desire to go
with him. Mrs. Darbee endeavored to dissuade him ; but the
little fellow was anxious to see his lambs, the father having a
scoi-e or more which the son called his own, and took great
dehght in tending. She finally consented to his going, and the
two left the house full of glee, while the eyes of the mother
followed them glistening with pleasure. On their way, the
father made a playful feint to throw the boy into the deep snow,
when the latter sprang focward, declaring that he would get to
the barn first. He thus placed himself several feet in advance.
In reaching the barn, they had to pass a cow-house, and as the
boy was doing so, its roof gave way, and "William was over-
whelmed with an avalanche of snow and broken timbers. The
neighbors were alarmed as soon as possible, and with much
ditficulty reached the scene of the accident. As they approached,
Mr. Darbee, who was chopping the fallen timbers in a frenzied
manner, shouted to them to run for life ; but their help could
not rescue the brave, handsome boy from death. He was
already crushed and dead. It seemed as if everything had
centei-ed upon him to make his fate certain. One hour and a
half was spent before the bruised and inanimate body was taken
out. After rendering whatever assistance was in their power,
aU hastened to their own homes to guard against like calamities
to their own families.
In December, 1846, Amos Y. Sheeley, who was subsequently
a Member of Assembly, discovered the track of a large animal,
a mile or two south-east of the widow Darbee's house. He
followed the trail of the beast until he found that apparently it
was met by another of the .same kind, and j-et at the point
where they met, there was nothing to show that either had
gone any farther or left the track. This perj^lexed him ; but on
looking a little farther, he found that the animal had taken its
track backwai'd to its den. Mr. Sheeley examined the entrance
of the latter, but failed to see the occupant. He then returned
home. On the next day, he went back with a neighbor named
Asa P. Appley. The passage to the lair was very narrow.
They thrust into it a torch made of birch-bark attached to the
end of a pole. By the light it made, they discovered a very
large panther ensconced in a spacious cave. A ball from Mr.
Appley's rifle soon put the animal to death, and the two hunters
returned home with their game. About a quarter of a mile
from the den, they discovered part of a noble buck, which had
THE TOWN OP EOCKLAND. 507
been killed by the panther. Both of these gentlemen were
expert panther and wolf-huntexs.
No sport is enjoyed more by men in robust health than
hunting and trapping. It is full of excitement and adventure,
and at certain seasons is not free from peril. No person in
Sullivan has been fatally injured by wild beasts, but several
have perished while in pursuib of them. Among the latter may
be classed Nathaniel Kent, of Beech Hill, wlio, in December,
IS 12, while visiting his traps, was bewildered, and perished
fi'ora hunger and exposure to the weather.
The beech-tree was of considerable importance to the early
residents of Sullivan. Before a change was produced in our
climate by the destruction of our forests, beech-nuts were very
plentiful, and large numbers of swine were driven into the
woods to fatten upon them. The pork thus produced was not
equal to that made from corn, as it was soft and oily ; but it
cost nothing, and found a ready market. People who lived in
other counties, often drove hundreds of swine to our woods,
where they jDermitted them to run several months, and then
hunted them up and slaughtered them.
The year 1820, was remarkable for this species of mast.
There was such a bountiful crop of nuts, that old people still
speak of it as "the gi-eat beech-nut year." An enterprising
individual who lived west of Rockliind, hearing that a hog, if
driven into the forests of that town, would increase five dollars
in value in one hundred days, ascertained by Dabolls' "rule-of-
three" that one thousand hogs taken to the town would afford
five thousand dollars of profit in the same time. After much
cyphering he found there was no mistake in his figures, and
then went to work to secure the five thousand dollars. He
bought hundreds of swine, and drove them to the woods near
Long pond, where they throve and fattened amazingly. The
anticipated profits of the sj^eculator seemed almost within his
grasp, when a single night reduced him to bankruptc}-. Cold
weather and a snow-storm caused the hogs to collect together,
and pile one iipon another in such a way that nearly all were
smothered and killed. The enterprising owner, with a rueful
countenance, skinned the dead animals, and sent the hides to a
market by the way of Monticello. The pelts made several
wagon-loads. A few of the hogs ran wild. Two years after-
wards Samuel Darbee, junior, and Peter Stewart discovered the
track of one of them in the snow, and followed it with dogs for
two days without success. On the third day, they were joined
by John Darbee, and after a chase of several miles, the doga
brought the hog to bay. John Darbee was the first one who
came up, and found the dogs and hog chasing each other alter-
nately. The game was very ferocious, and soon tore open the
508 msror.Y of suLLn-.\N county.
body of one of its assailants. Mr. Davbee attempted to assist
the remaining dogs, when the hog rushed at him in such a
fearful manner that he took refuge in a tree. Almost immedi-
ately afterwards, the dogs caught the hog by each of its ears,
and held fast. This enabled Mr. Darbee to give it a fatal
■wound with his hunting knife. Before doing so he struck the
beast across the back with a club ivithout making the least
impression.
This is probably the only wild hog-hunt ever enjoyed in our
county. We have not described it fully, because a full account
of Mr. Darbee's adventure would challenge credence. The
hog, after it was dressed and its head cut off, weighed upwards
of two hundi'ed pounds.
A large crop of beech-nuts always brought millions of wild
pigeons to our tewitory. Occasionally these birds roosted or
nested in the county, when thousands and tens of thousands
were killed. Within the memory of the writer, they nested in
a north-west town, where many thousand acres of forest-land
were occupied by them. The trees were literally loaded with
nests. Often as many as fifty nests were in a single top. Large
branches were broken by the weight of the birds. The com-
bined fluttering of liundreds of thousands of wings, and the
squeaking of innumerable throats, rendered the human voice
inaudible, and the firing of muskets made feeble reports amid
the uproar of the little bipeds. Sportsmen could fire all day,
and seldom found it necessary to move fi-om one jDOsition to
another. A blind man coiild have killed a back-load in a few
hours. At break of day the males left the nesting place, and
moved off in flocks, stretching fi-om North and South as far as
the eye could reach. According to popular behef, they always
went to salt-water in the morning. This behef, like many
others equally prevalent, has probably no foundation At 8
o'clock, the males, vdth few exceptions, were once more in the
nests, when the females left, and remained about three hours,
after which but few were seen to flj- away until the next morn-
ing. In lowei-y weather, these excursions were omitted, when
fields, and roads, and woods in the vicinity of the nests swarmed
with pigeons. It was amusing to see them in the beech-woods
•when they were in search of food. In a few minutes, twittei'ing
and squeaking so as to nearly deafen the looker-on, they turned
over every leaf on acres of ground. If anything disturbed
them, they rose from tlie ground with a noise like thunder.
Thousands upon thousands were shot, and immense numbers
were caught in nets. The men and boys of the surrounding
country \\ere infatuated with the sport of slaughtering pigeons.
Some abandoned their farms, and others were deterred fi'om
planting, because every laborer was wild with the pigeon-fever.
THE TOWN OF BOCKLAND. 509
A great many of the birds were bought by speculators and sent
to the city of New York. From eight to ten two-horse wagon-
loads, day after day, passed orer the Newburgh and Cochecton
turnpike. Some salted barrels of pigeons for family use, and
added largely to their feather-beds and pillows.
When the squabs were nearly old enough to fly, they were
suddenly abandoned by the old birds. Soon after the latter
commenced leaving, very few except the young birds were seen.
After leaving the nests, they flew around a few days, and then
disappeared as suddenly as their parents.*
John C. Voorhes settled on the Beaverkill about a mile below
Shin creek. No resident of the town enjoyed a higher degree of
respect than was freely conceded to him. His death took place
on the 28th of April, 1863, and his body was laid beside the re-
mains of several of his descendants, who had been buried in the
grave-yard of the Shin Creek Church. This grave-yard was
situated on a high knoll, and was considered beyond the reach
of floods ; yet, on the 18th of September, (less than five months
after Mr. Voorhes' death,) the yard was undermined by the
water of Shin creek, and all that was left of about forty dead
bodies washed down-stream. The coffin containing the corpse
of Mr. Voorhes was seen afloat with its lid off, and was taken
to the shore, with its contents dry and uninjured. The body,
after its ghastly voyage, was again consigned to the earth.
This flood was one of the most sudden and unexpected, as
well as the highest, which has occurred in Eocklaud since its
settlement. In the morning, the streams were unusually low,
and at 9 o'clock in the evening, they had swelled above their
banks. The Westfield Flats wei'e overflowed so that a Dela-
ware river raft could have been run over them in some places,
and a "colt" almost anywhere. The damage to tanners and
lumbermen, as well as to the roads and bridges of the town,
was very great.
On the 17th of July, 1849, James J. Nannery, an adopted
citizen, was killed by a man named Elisha Smith. After the
commission of the deed. Smith went about two miles, to the
E remises of Amos Y. Sheeley, a Justice of the Peace, and gave
imself up. He was committed to jail by C. V. E. Ludington,
and was indicted for the crime at the ensuing October Circuit.
At his trial, in May, 1851, before Ira Harris, a Justice of the
Supreme CoTirt, the following facts were proven : At the time
of the homicide or murder, Nannery was about forty-five, and
Smith seventy-tliree years of age. For several years they had
owned adjoining farms, and had frequent disputes concerning a
line-fence, the depredations of cattle, and other things. Smith
* MSS. of Lotan Smith.
510 HISTORY OP SUIJ.rVAX COUNTY.
liad repeaiedlj threatened to kill Naniiery. Ou one occasion
he had said, "If Nannery does not leave, I -nill send him away
in a wooden jacket," oi- "I shall shoot him;" and about two
weeks before the fatal deed, he declared his " gun was loaded
and would not go off until it shot Nannery." On the 17th of
July, at about 4 o'clock p. m., a woman named Prudence Rose
called at Smith's house. Smith was at home, with a female
who passed for his wife, whose name was Mercy Travers, and
Nannery was at work near by in one of his own lots. Soon
after David Whitmore, a boy who was working for Smith, came
in and said, "Rose, do you want to see an Irishman?" Those
in the house then went to the door and saw Nannery with his
arms over the line-fence, and his face towards Smith's. He
then turned and T>'alked into his own woods. Smith and the
others next passed back into the house, when the boy exclaimed,
"There he is again, beating your cows!" The old man then
took down his gun, and went after Nannery, declaring he would
"shoot the damned Iri.sh cuss." Ten minutes afterwards, the
report of a gun in Nannery's woods was heard. In a short time
Smith returned to his house, and told the woman named Mercy
Travers that he had shot Nannery. He next proceeded to
Amos Y. Sheeley's, as before stated, and told him he had shot
Nannery in the legs — that he had hurt him worse than he had
intended, etc. Sheeley did not know at the time that Nannery
was dead, and permitted the murderer to go after bail, when
the latter returned home and found his neighbors searching the
■woods for the missing man. He assisted them, and soon pointed
out the body, saying: "There he is. I shot him." On exami-
nation, it was found that Nannery was shot in the abdomen.
The murderer expressed regret for the deed, and uniformly
declared that he did not intend to kill his victim ; tliat he meant
to shoot him in the legs, etc. But the repeated threats he had
made previously, as well as his declaration that he did not
believe that an American would be hung for killing an Irishman,
prove that the murder was premeditated, and that, notwith-
standing his advanced age, he deserved the severest penalty of
the law. His decrejntude'.and gray hairs saved him from tho
gallows."' He was found guilty of manslaughter in the first
degree, and sentenced to State's prison for life. George "W. Lord
defended the prisoner, and Charles H. Van Wyck appi^ared for
the people as District-attorney. The following is a list of the
jury to whom the case was siibmitted : Samuel Grove, Jacob
Terwilliger, David D. Cox, Charles McCabe, Garret Voorhes,
Jacob Burton, David Tice, Christopher Sleo, Josepli Banks,
Isaac Furman, Alfred Hartwell and Daniel Budd.
THK TO\ra OF ROCKLAND. 511
On the 27tli of June, 18G7, an accident occnrred at Shin
Creek Falls which created a profound sensation. Frederick A.
Field, with a party of yonflg lailies and gentlemen from Monti-
cello, was engaged in iishing for trout, and while Mr. F. was
stautUng iu the water at the head of the Falls, he fell into the
basin below, and commenced swimming in an aimless way. At
first his friends supposed that his tall was not accidental, and
that, after amusing them by ilouudering in the water, he would
swim to the shore; but in a few moments, noticing that his
face was ghastly pale, and devoid of intelligence, they became
alarmed, and made efforts to rescue him ; but without suc-
cess. The drowning man sank to the bottom of the channel,
which is very deep, and his body remained there about two
hours, when it was taken out of the water. Every eiflbrt to re-
animate it was made under the direction of an intelligent phy-
sician, (one of the party,) but in vain, although warmth was
partially restored, the face became Hushed, the pupil of the eye
beca;me contracted under the usual tests, blood ran from the
nose as from a person in life, etc. Those phenomena, it was
believed, indicated that young Field was first attacked with
some disease which nearly deprived him of breath for a time,
and that he was not drowned until he had been in the water
nearly two hours! His funeral took place on the succeeding
Sunday, and was attended by about one thousand persons, many
of whom were Free and Accepted Masons iu full regalia, and
■with funeral badges. Monticello Lodge No. SJ'i, of which he
■was a "bright and shining light," declared that his Masonic
virtues bound him to tlie mystic brotherhood "by ties more
enduring than those which orighiate in the affinity of blood;"
and that he was a benignant, courteous and dignified Master,
■who ever exhibited womanly kindness and sympathy by the
couch of the sick and dying. This declaration may seem
extravagant to some ; but nevertheless it but feebly portrayed
his excellent qualities.
De Buuce. — This region was named in honor of EHas Des
Brosses, who purchased Great Lot No. 5 of heirs of Peter
Faneuil, one of the patentees of the Hardenbergh patent. The
purchase was made previous to the Eevolutionary war, and so
much of the tract as remained unsold, ultimately became the
property of Henry R. Low, as we have stated elsewhere. De
Bruce is situated at the junction of the Mongaup and Williwemoc.
In 185r3, its site was a tangled jungle. In that year, Stoddard
Hammond and James Benedict contracted with John Hunter,
junior, (then the owner,) for the bark on thirty-five thousand
acres of land, and commenced the building of one of the most
extensive sole-leather tanneries in the country. This tannery
612 HISTORY OF BULLIVAJi COUNTY.
cost $70,000, and is of sufficient capacity to manufacture sixty
thousand sides of leather annually. It gives eniplovmeut to
from fifty to one hunch-ed men, anjj has added vastly to the
importance of the section in which it is situated. Mr. Benedict
did not remain long connected with it. In 1864, he sold his
interest to his partner, and the business is now carried on by
Stoddard Hammond A; Son.
SXTPERVISORS OF THE TOWS OF EOCBXAND.
From To
1810 Israel Dodge 1823
1823 Frederick S. M. Snyder 1824
1824 Israel Dodge ' 1825
1825 Frederick S. M. Snydfr 1826
1826 James Morton 1827
1827 Nicholas P. Hardie 1835
1835 Austin Dodge 1838
1838 James Morton 1840
1840 George D. Kimball 1842
1842 William Fisk 1844
1844 Leroy M. Wheeler 1845
1845 George D. KimbaU 1846
1846 Matthew Decker, junior 1847
1847 LeroY M. Wheeler 1848
1848 Seth"P. Gillett 1849
1849 Amos Y. Sheeley 1852
1852 Finch Hitt 1853
1853 Jackson Voorhes 1854
1854 Israel I. Dodge 1856
1856 Peter Stewart 1857
1857 Finch Hitt 1859
1859 John S. Mott 1860
1860 Henry K. Osborne, 1861
1861 Linus B. Babcock 1862
1862 John S. Mott 1863
1863 Erastus Sprague 1865
1865 Stoddard Hammond, junior If""
1868 Amos Y. Sheeley 1869
1869 Stoddard Hammond, junior 1871
1871 Matthew Decker 1872
1872 Ambrose S. Eockwell 1874
CHAl^Tini XVI.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON.
By an act which passed the Assembly on the 12th of March,
1803, the Senate on the 14th, and the Council of Eevision on
the 19tli of the same month, it was enacted that from and after
the first Monday of April, 1803, the territory bounded as follows
should be known as the town of Thompson : "All that part of
Mamakating, etc., beginning on the line of Rochester four miles
westerly from the public highway which leads fi-om Kingston to
Minisink ; running from thence southerly so as to strike the line
which divides the towns of Mamakating and Deei-jiark four miles
and a half westerly of the aforesaid road leading from Kingston
to Minisink ; from thence westerly along the line of Deeipark
to the Mongaujj creek ; from thence northerly along the west-
branch of the Mongaup to where it. intersects the line of the
town of Neyersink ; thence easterly along the town of Neversink
to the town of Eochester ; thence easterly along the town of
Rochester to the place of beginning."
The bill provided that the first town-meeting of Thompson
should be held at the house of Abraham Warring, who kept a
tavern at Thompsonville.
The following memoranda in regard to an ancient settlement in
the vicinity of the Dutch pond were made at our request by the
late Elnatiian S. Starr, who settled on one of the farms spoken
of in 1812:
" The first settlement made in the town of Thompson, was on
the Z. Hatch and David Gray farms, in the vicinity of the
Dutch pond. The settlement extended into the town of Falls- "
burgh, and included the farms afterwards owned by myself, and
subsequently by others. On the latter, there had apparently
been a house, and in tilling the laud, pieces of a kind of yellow
earthenware were plowed up. As early as 1812, when I first
saw that section of country, there was a second growth of
timber on parts of it, from six to ten inches in diameter, very
thick and tall. Among this timber, apple-trees, arranged as
33 [513]
514 HISTOKT OF SULUVAN COUNTY.
they nsnfijly are in orfliarcls, had been growinc;; but they were
then mostly dead, having been overtopped by the dense thicket.
Tliere are yet there some scrubby apple-trees which are sup-
posed to be from the roots of the original tree.s. There were
also in the same locality, what were supposed to be graves.
They were in the usual order, and the ground sunken, as it
always is over bodies which have been buried a considerable
time. There was also what appeared to be a mound. This
was dug into to ascertain its contents, and when penetrated to
the interior, a puff of fetid air came from it, which so frightened
the diggei-s that they left, without making any further examina-
tion. It was probably a cache, in which the Indians and early
settlers stowed their propulsions, and had left them there when
they removed fi-om the place. In the vicinity of the Dutch
pond, there is now standing an apple-tree, which is undoubtedly
the oldest one of the kind in the town. It is called the Indian
apple-tree ; but must owe its existence to these early settlers,
whoever they were. It is supposed that these clearings were
made by some Dutch people, from whom the pond derived its
name, and who were here before the Revolutionary war, and
were driven off by the Indians. No arrow-heads or other
things peculiar to the savage natives were found ; it is therefore
quite clear that the improvements were made by white people
at an early day, and that they abandoned the country."
In addition to the above, we have learned from other sources,
that on the lands of William Tappen, north of Pleasant lake,
and near the line which divides Fallsburgh and Thompson,
traces of this ancient settlement were found, after the country
was permanently occupied by the whites. Broken crockery,
scraps of iron, a pickax of ancient form and a cannon-ball,
have been exhumed by the plough. The latter would indicate
that the settlers at one time had made preparations to hold
their possessions in defiance of the savages. Stone-rows were
also observed, as if the stones had been gathered from a gai-den,
and deposited on its margin.
We have reason to believe that this ancient settlement was
made between the year 1749 and the breaking out of the French
and Indian war. In 1749, occuiTed the partition of the Harden-
bergh patent between its owners, and Great Lot No. 1, on
which the settlf ment took ])lace, was assigned by lot to John
Wenham, who was naturally anxious to found a community of
tenants on his possessions. The old Sandburgh trail of "the
Indians crossed the Neversink at Denniston's ford, and passed
up the Sheldrake and to tlie Mongaup, or Mingwing, in the
vicinity of the Dutch pond. By this trail the first white occu-
pants undoubtedly came.
THE TO^yN OP THOMPSON. 615
Tlie preceding paragrapli may be well fonnrled or not; but of
this we are certain : During the French and Indian war, the
settlers fonnd theii" position in the wilderness dangerovis, if not
untenable. Conseqnentlv thej resolved to abandon their new-
made homes, and return to a more populous and secure locality.
They obtained assistance from the whites who lived in the
vicinity of the Sha-\^angunk — took such household goods as
they could carry with them, and set out on their perilous
journey. They were not permitted to go in peace, however;
for they had a brush with the enemy before they were " out of
the woods," and Samuel Gonsalus, the noted ranger and hunter,
who, witli others, came to assist and protect them, was wounded
in the abdomen by an arrow; but not fatally, as he lived to
mention the facts here recorded, nearly fifty years after they
occurred, to Richard D. Childs, who related them to the author.
These people never retiirned to the Dutch pond, although a
few of them may have afterwards occupied the fertile flats of
the Neversink in Fallsburgh ; as there were whites there before
the Revolutionary war.
There is ground for saying that this ancient settlement ex-
tended to Pleasant lake, and that a clearing was made on the
farm occupied by David P. Bailey. Diuing the present century,
an ancient apple-tree was found there, which must have been
planted as far back as 1750.
The first permanent settlement made in this town was by
William A. Thompson, a native of Litchfield county, Connecticut.
As Thompson received its name as a compliment to him, and
ho was a remarkable man, we propose to devote a few pages
to him.
William A. Thompson was born at Woodbury, on the 15th of
June, 1762. His father, Hezekiah Thompson, was a respectable
lawyer of that town, whose ancestors came from London in 1637
with Governor Eaton, and settled in New Haven. His mother,
Rebecka, was a daughter of Isaac Judson, a descendant of one
of the original European proprietors of Woodbury. For more
than a century, both families had been rigid Presbj'terians.
Hezekiah Thompson was a gentleman and a man of the world,
much given to historical and philosophical research, and was
apt at satirical remarks. Many of his sharp sentences were
repeated by his fellow-townsmen years after his death. He
had four sons and foiir daughters. William A., of whom we
are writing, was the first-born ; James, the second, after gradu-
ating at Yale, studied law, and practiced at Durham, N. Y. ;
•was elected to the Assembly of New York in 1806 ; re-elected
in 1807, and about 1816 became a priest of the Protestant
Episcopal Chxirch. Samuel, the third son, received a classical
516 HISTORY OF SDIXIVAN COITNTY.
education and studied medicine ; but, altliougli of a fine genius,
became intemperate, and died aged thirty years, in the Island
of St. Tboraas. The youngest, Charles, was also a lawyer, and
died at Monticello in 1817. The sisters were Polly, Hannah,
Rebecka and Amy, all of whom married respectably.
William A., who was a weak, puny child, much afflicted with
salt-rheum, was early sent to the Enghsh school of his native
town. This he attended, occasionally doing light work on a
farm owned by his father, until his thu-teenth year, after which
he studied with Rev. John R. Marshall, an Episcopal clei-gynum
of the place, who undertook to prepare his pupil for college.
At this time he was very fond of angUng, and like many other
lads of good promise before and since, he indulged his inclina-
tion for this amusement during the hours not devoted to his
books. On one occasion, while thus engaged, he nearly lost his
life. He was fishing for trout below a mill-dam of Wood-
bury, and in order to occupy Ihe best place to stand, perched
himself in the centre of an overshot water-wheel. Here
he was seen by a mischievous boy named Asahel Bacon, who
hoisted the gate and let down upon the wheel a flood of water.
The wheel at once revolved rapidly, causing young Thompson
to exercise his wits and his utmost agility to escape broken
bones and jjerhaps a dislocated neck. Here he remained until he
was exhausted by the water and the motion, when he was pro^d-
dentiaUy cast into the current of water in such a place and
manner that it threw him on the shore. He was thoroughly
drenched and fi'ightened ; but not otherwise harmed.
In 1778 he entered college at New Haven, where he studied
and graduated under President Ezra Stiles. During his first
year there, the British landed at New Haven, and plundered
the town and the college. The furniture of his room was de-
stroyed by them. He witnessed the principal engagement
between the British and Americans in the vicinity of that city,
and was so near that a cannon-ball, in plowmg up the earth,
covered him with dirt. In his third year, he brought on a
serious illness by impnidence in bathing. A cutaneous disorder
prevailed among the students, for which a mercurial ointment
was used. Proud and sensitive, he wished to get rid of the
affection as soon as possible, and used the remedy very freely.
As he was doing so, he walked rapidly two miles, and while he
■was persph-ing freely, went into the water. The result was a
violent fever. He was so ill that his physician pronounced his
case fatal. Thirty years afterwards he thus wrote of the illness :
"I remained in this desperate situation for several days,
when my fever broke, and I began to recover. I had my senses.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 517
however, the greater part of the time. My distress of body was
intolerable ; but my distress of mind was still worse. I had no
settled principles of religion ; but had read a number of deistical
writers that raised such doubts in my mind concerning the truth
of Christianity, that I had nothing to sujaport me in the hour of
my death, which was supposed to be near at hand. I then
thought that, if it should please God to restore me, the
principal and the first object of my life should be to settle my
religious principles, and to live up to them; but still, after
thirty years of reflection, I cannot say that I am fully satisfied,
and cannot fuUy reconcile all the mysteries of Christianity to
my weak reason. I pray God for further light and more faith,
and must rely on the mercy of the Author of my existence after
my pilgrimage in this life."
We leave the reader to make his own comments on this
singular record, with the single remark that it contains a warn-
ing to the young not to indulge in an inquisitiveness whicli was
attended in his case with deplorable results.
After leaving college he studied law, first under his father;
then iinder John Canfield, an eminent lawyer at Sharon ; next
with Governor Griswold at Lyme ; and finally with his father.
In 1784, he was hcensed to practice, and opened an office in
Norwalk ; but soon after went to Horseneck, a place then noted
for litigiousness. Here he had a large run of business, the
profits of which laid the foundation of his futui-e fortune ; and
here, on the 17th of July, 1785, he was married to Fanny, a
daughter of Israel Knapp. She was tall, genteel, 16 years old,
and much marked with the small-pox. Her uncommon strength
of mind, great elegance of manners, and lovely disposition,
completely veiled her misfortune from the eyes of the scholarly
young gentleman who made her his wife, and always sanctified
her memory in his heart. On the 11th of June, 1783, she died
of consumption, leaving him with two children.
On the 7th of September, 1791, he was married in the city of
New York, by Bishop Moore, to Amy, the sister of his first wife.
This marriage caused him to remove to this State from Horse-
neck, of which Israel Knapp, the father of Fanny and Amy,
was a resident. In Connecticut, he could not marry his deceased
wife's sister without suffering a severe penalty. His youthful
ardor led him to sacrifice his business there, and seek a new
home among strangers. He opened a law-office in Water street.
New York, with Peter Masterton ; but finding his pai-tner too
convivial for business purposes, dissolved the partnership, and
practised alone with tolerable success. But severe mental
labor, with physical inactivity, was rapidly undermining his
constitution. They produced, as they always do with certain
518 HISTORT OF SULLTVAN COUNTY.
temperaments, nervous debility. He was painfully conscious
that his disorder would cause him to lose his professional posi-
tion, if it did not result in mental coma, and for relief took
several excursions into the country upon different objects of
speculation. In 1794, he bought large tracts of laud — theu
worth about one dollar per acre — in Thompson, Neversink and
Bethel, and in the spring of 1795, finding a permanent residence
in the city of New York impossible, determined to commence
an imj^rovement on his lauds in Great Lot No. 1, of the
Hardenbergh patent, and to erect a saw-mill and gi-ist-mill on
the Sheldrake creek. Early in the season he built a small log-
house about thirty rods south-east fi-om the grist-mill now
(1870) owned by John Billing, and moved his family into it.
They had been living in a decent house in Cherry street, with
all tlie surroundings of comfort and respectabihty, and this was
their first experience of pioneer-hfe. They arrived on the 5th
of May, and brought with them five or six mill-wrights, who at
once began to clear the ground for the foundation of the saw-
mill. In about four mouths, this mill was completed, when the
grist-mill was commenced. The latter was finished in the sum-
mer of 1796. It was a small concern, and was facetiously dub-
bed Thompson's samp-mortar by the early settlers ; nevertheless
it was as large as the circumstances of the region warranted.
After a few years it was accidentally destroyed by fire, when it
was rebuilt by Mr. Thompson, on a somewhat improved plan;
but it Avas so badly constructed that venturesome boys fied from
it when the stones were revolving. The machinery caused the
whole affair to quake and shake so that it seemed that the
establishment would speedily become a heap of rubbish.
John Knapp* and his wife remained in the settlement during
the first winter. Mr. Thompson returned to New York with his
family, the hardships of a forest-hfe in the season of snow and
frost being deemed too formidable for them. In the spring they
went back to the Albion Mills, as he styled his improvements,
and continued to spend the time there except in winter until
1801, when he moved his family and furniture to a comfortable
frame-house on the hill north-west of the grist-mill, and became
permanent resident.
the winter of 1803, the town of Thompson was incorpo-
rated, and received his name — a compliment of which he was
justly proud until his death, especially as it was the only town
which bore the name of a citizen of the county. In 1802, "he was
appointed by Govei'uor George Clinton one of tlie Judges of
Common Pleas of Ulster county, and in 1803, First Judge of
* The anc«8tor of the Kuappa of Thompsou auj FallBburgh. He was a Commis-
ler uf Boada of Mamakating iu 17S7.
"r
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 519
the county. The duties of the hitter office he discharged credit-
ably until the county of Sullivan was erected, when he became
its Chief Magistrate, and remained so until 1823, when he
became ineligil)le by reason of his age, and was succeeded by
Livingston Billings.
Thompson's official duties did not prevent him from attending
to his private affairs. He was proud of being the owner of an
extensive landed estate, and carefully improved it. Among his
other property were several farms, which he managed with good
judgment.
On the 13th of August, 1807, Amy Knapp, his second wife,
died, the mother of seven children, one of whom survived her
but a few weeks. His second bereavement plunged him into
profound sorrow. Writing of Amy Knapp several years after
her demise, he says, "My affection for her was unbounded."
Subsequently he married Charity,* daughter of Samuel and
Elizabeth Guyer and widow of Shadrach Reed, with whom he
lived in perfect amity and comfort ixntil September 13, 1841,
when she died. He was then disabled by paralysis from making
an entry in his journal, and remained so until April 20, 1845.
On that day, finding that he could use a pen, in characters
which indicate his age and disease, he wrote a feeling tribute to
her memorj'.
In 1810, Judge Thompson built his mansion-house, in Thomp-
sonville. He had an instinctive proclivity for the ciiltivated
classes of Great Britain, and in many respects resembled the
high-toned, chivalrous English gentleman. His mansion exter-
nally was imposing, and its interior arrangements, with its
corniced rooms, ornamented mouldings, and carved panels,
were the local marvels of that ^ay. It far surpassed any other
building in the county, and was considered fit for the residence
of an English nobleman. He therefore named it Albion Hall —
a name he intended his embryo village should bear : t but was
defeated by his neighbors, who persisted in calling it Thomp-
sonville. It was his ardent de.sire that this mansion should
always be owned and occupied by one of his male descendants,
and if it had been possible he would have entailed upon its
occupant a fair estate, so that the name of Thom]ison of
Thompson would have been pei-petuated in the town, respected
and honored, and the old-time hospitality of the house continued
through future generations. He thought it was his duty to do
what he could to secure the continuance of the mansion, and a
* Mi8B Guyer'3 father died while she was youns- Her mother afterwards married
Samuel Lord, and the daughter was sometimes known as Charity Lord. Shadrach
Reed was elected Town Clerk of Thompson in 1805, and died soon after. He was aa
admirable penman, as the records of the town prove.
t Deeds given by Judge Thompson prove this. See Deed Record No, 1, in Sullivan
County Clerk's office.
**JU HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OOTJNTT.
competent pro%-ision against poverty, to one of his sons, because
the town bore his name, and after he had in a moment of
inadvertence conveyed a considerable part of his property to
several of his children, leaving less than he deemed necessary
to maintain the honors of his house, he expressed sorrow for
what he had done.
In the spring of 1811, Judge Thompson visited England and
France, and remained in those coiintries several months. He
passed fi-om the former to the latter in the U. S. fi'igate Consti-
tution, commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, and durmg his
absence from his native land, associated freely with Americans
of high position who were then abroad, as well as with the
higher classes of the coimtries he visited. We have heard it
asserted that he was taken for his cousin. Smith Thompson, of
the United States Supreme Court ; but this report is undoubt-
edly the offspring of malevolence and envy.
, After the termination of his official career as Chief Magistrate
of the county, he turned his attention to scientific and pliilci-
sophical studies and researches, to which he had inherited an
inclination ; and when he had mastered a subject, communicated
his observations and the theories he deduced from them, to
SiUiinan's Journal of Science, then a magazine of high st;inding.
His dissertation on " Diluvial Action as shown by Grooves made
on the Solid Rocks that have been covered by the Earth," and
an article on the existence of certain brachians found in rocks
and beneath the surface of the earth, where they have Hved in
a state of torpidity for thousands of years, attracted the atten-
tion of the learned men of both America and Europe. His
opinions on the latter subject were received as the true ones,
and have been and are still maintained by men of science. For
these and other writings, he was elected an honorary member
of the Geological Society and of the Royal Institute of France,
(two organizations under the patronage of Louis Philippe,) and
received diplomas of membership. But two other persons in
the United States were then members of these institutions, one
of whom was Professor Silhnian. These were honors as grati-
fying as they were unexpected ; but they were not the only ones
of a distinguished character accorded him. The city of New
York voted him a silver medal, and enclosed it in a box made
of wood from the first boat that passed fiom Lake Erie to the
Atlantic ocean, and to do him still further honor, made him a
pall-bearer at the grand funeral obsequies of General Andrew
Jackson, in that city. In his diary he says, "It was the grand-
est pageant ever witnessed in the United States. The proces-
sion extended two miles and a half from the City Hall. We
rode in four barouches beside the coffin and urn, with a large
spread eagle over the urn that stood on the coffin."
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 521
Judge Thompson, like many men of his stamp, had his pecu-
liarities. It lias been said of him that if an Assessor of his
town placed too low a value on his property, he was very
indignant ; that he did not want worms to devour his body after
his death, etc. To avoid being food for such disgusting things,
he was anxious to have a tomb hewn out of the solid rock, and
sealed up after his remains were deposited in it. These eccen-
tricities became more and more apparent as the infirmities of
age weakened his physical and mental faculties. For the last
five or six year^ of his life, he was partially paralyzed, as were
several of his ancestors, and had but little use of his limbs.
Under date of April 20, 1845, he says, "I have been unable to
write for six years until this day. Six years ago, I fell from my
horse, and injured my head. It brought on the palsy, which
afiected both my hands and feet. I have been vinable to dress
or undress myself, or walk about. I cannot read more than an
hour at once. I have traveled every year to New York, New
Haven and other places. Traveling is beneficial to my health,
and amuses my mind. I attended the College Commencement
at New Haven last summer; but I could find none of my Class
living." After this he closes with a feeling allusion to his wife
Charity, with whom he had "lived thirty-three years in the
enjoyment of every blessing. She was a person of uncommon
dignity and elegance of manners, joined with beauty and the
charms of an expressive countenance." Her death was caused
by getting wet while attending to her flower-garden, which
brought on a fever that terminated fatally.
On the 9th of December, 1847, Judge 1'liompson died, peace-
fully and without a struggle, at his residence, in Tlioiiipsonville.
His children were — by his wife Frances Kiiapp — 1. Charles
Knanp, born May 12, 1780 ; 2. William Augustus, December 11,
1788'. By Amy Knapp— 3. Adeline Augusta" September 28, 1793 ;
4. Julia Margaretta, June 11, 1795; 5. Louisa, January 16,
1798; 6. Cornelia, January 4, 1891; 7. Caroline, January 28,
1802; 8. Harriet, February 11, 18IU; 9. Jaui' s Kjia,.]', Mav 26,
1806. By Charitv Guver— 10. Francis William, l)ec>>ijil)er 25,
1809; 11. Helen Maria, July 15, 1811; 12. Louisa Elizabeth,
February 23, 1813; 13. Samuel Guyer, September 4, 1814;
14. Maria Antoinette, Januarv 17, 1818 ; 15. Ann Augusta,
March 29, 1821 ; 16. Catharine Elizabeth, October 28, 1823.
In 1806, Judge Thompson was a candidate for Eepresentative
in Congress. Although he received every vote of the town in
which he resided, he was defeated by his opponent, Barent
Gardinier of Kingston.
After the completion of Albion Hall, Judge Tliompson, proud
of his residence, and naturally hospitable and fond of polite
society, induced many of his metropolitan friends to spend
622 His'ixjKjr OF bullivan county.
weeks and moDtlis vnth hiin, when it was his delight to crown
his generous board with haunches of venison, flanked with such
trout as we do not often see in mo<iern days, as well as wine of
choice brands and ancient vintage. Tradition says that on
one occasion he caused a buck to be roasted whole, and that
his visitors as well as his rural friends had a grand feast.
Display and profusi<jn characterized the day, and it was long
the theme or conversation. Tliese things, of course, excited
envy, hati'ed and niahce among some, and caused ill-natured
remarks. Thompsonville was long Imomi as "the city," a so-
briquet bestowed on the place because Albion Hall generally
had in it visitors from the city of New York.
Judge Thompson acted more wisely than many other foundere
of settlements. It has been already seen that liis first act was
to provide a shelter (necessarily a poor one) for himself and
fauiily; he next built a saw-mill, without which comfortable and
decent dwellings, etc., could not be constructed; and then a
grist-mill, which was a great inducement to those who wished
to occupy new farms. This grist-mill was, at an early day,
destroyed by lire, as we have already stated, and until it wjis
rebuilt, the pioneers of Thompson were obhged to carry their
grain to Wurtsborough. Although it has been thrice buMied to
ashes, it has been rebuilt each time on an enlarged and im-
pi-oved plan, and is now (1871) owned by Jolm Bdling.
The first merchant of the place was Da\'id Eeed. He wa.s
succeeded by RicLard D. Childs, (a son of Timothy Childs, an
early settler,) Daniel Hultslauder, David Goodrich and Jona-
than Stratton, in the order in which they are named. The
latter discontinued the business, when, for a time, theic was no
merchant in the place. There are now (1872) several who
appear to be doing, a thriving business.
A small tannery was established here early in this century liy
Isaac Warring, who sold the concern to Anthony B. Hawk.
Subsequently a new one was built by Elias Morgan. In 182G,
the latter, in connection with weiUthy leather and hide-dealers
of "the swamp," put up what was at that time the largest in
the county. The main bxiilding was eighty feet in lengtli.
This passed into the hands of Loring Andrews, who sold it to
Jonathan Stratton and Richard and Howard Haight, who
carried on the business for several years.* I'iually Siimuel G.
Thompson, first with a man named AVells, and then with a Mr.
Bowers, owned the concern. When bark became scai-ce, tlie
business was abandoned by Thompson & Bowers. i.
» On the 26th of Ansxwt, 183G, thin taniiprv was dr slroyofl by fire. Loss. $3,000.
Insurance, 11,800. It waa thya owned by Btratton & Haigbt, and was soon after re-
buUt
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 523
Wool-carding and cloth-dressing was commenced in 1810 by-
Nathan Couch. The mill was afterwards owned by David
Goodrich, a merchant of the place. Goodrich died, when Wil-
ham E. Cady, his executor, purchased the property, and in time
sold it to John H. Hack, by whom and his family it was owned
for many years.
Abraham Warring kept a tavera at Thompsonville in 1798,
the first in the town. It was on the lots now owned by George
Degroot and Stephen Crissey.
Stephen Stratton moved on what is known as Thompson's
Neversink Flat place about 1810. Afterwards he bought tho
farm now o\vned by Harvey Gardner. He was a soldier of the
Revolution, and died at Thompsonville on the 26th of January,
1842, aged 90. From him sprang the respectable Stratton
families of Thompson and FaUsburgh.
In June, 1828, a post-office was established in the place, with
Jonathan Stratton as postmaster.
The Records of Mamakating prove that John Brooks occu-
Eied the Demarest farm in 1797. In September of that year,
e had a cleared and enclosed field. Brooks was succeeded by
Jabez Wakeman, the father of Talcot, Uriah, Damon, Jabez,
junior, Banks and George Wakeman. Jabez Wakeman also
hatl three daughters, one of whom married Doctor Apollos B,
Hanford of MonticeUo.
Captain Isaac Bundle lived on the " Mount Prospect farm "
now (1871) owned by Samuel Wan-ing.* It is situated on the
most elevated ground in the neighborhood, and commands a
beautiful view of more than half of the county. The soil of
this high region is very fertile, and it is one of the few places
between the Neversink and Delaware where walnut-trees grow
spontaneously. The original road from Thompson's Mills to
the Falls of the Neversink ascended this mountain, and ran
along its hog-back summit. The route was the worst that
could be found. We cannot imagine why it was adopted unless
Judge Thompson was the owner of Mount Prospect, and knew
that he could not seU it, if the road was laid on the low gi'ound
or either side of it.
The first land cultivated on this farm was managed after the
manner of the Indians. The underbrush was cut down, and
then men ascended the trees and trimmed them from the tops
downwards. The trunks were left standing. The ground was
thus strewn with rubbish, which became very di-y in summer,
80 that when fire was applied, everything except the tree-trunks
was conatimed. When the first "trimmer" got to the top of a
* Mount Prospect is in the town of Fallsburgh; From ils proximity to Tbomp.
souvillo, we give its history here.
524 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
tree on "Mount Prospect," lie was amazed, and exclaimed,
" Gosh ! I can see all God's creation ! "
These white dwellers in the woods were not often sick, yet
occasionally they needed some one to set a bone, apply a
lotion, or attend to a gajjing wound made by an ax-blade. In
1803, Captain Isaac Bundle oifered Doctor Josiah Wntrous, a
nephew of Ai:anias "Warring, six acres of land if he would open
an oiSce on Mount Prospect. The doctor was then practicing
in Albany county, and was a man with a family. Tlie lot had
cost Bundle but thirty-three dollare; yet it was a sufficient
inducement to cause Watrous' removal to Sullivan. He had a
monopoly of the piU and potion business for year.s ; but never
got rich enough to own and keep a horse. When he was sent
for, the sender was obliged to pro-sdde a horse for the doctor to
ride. Watrotis remained with his patients for days and weeks
— until they recovered or died — without visiting his family.
This pioneer of the medical craft was long since released from
his toils. He died on Mount Piospect, and his widow married a
man named Asahel Frisbee, who kept a cake and beer-shop forty
years ago, on the lot where stands the handsome residence of
John C. Field, in Monticello.
There was a blacksmith-shop near Thompsonville in 180.5,
owned by Ebenezer Sweet. Sweet died at an early day, leaving
two sons, .John and Ebenezer, who became weU-known citizens
of the town. His wife survived him, and died May 26, 1857,
aged 82 years.
Although William A. Thompson claimed that he founded the
first permanent settlement of this town, there were a few scat-
tered pioneers within its present boimdaries when he came here
in 1795. The cabins of these adventurers were far apart, and
intercourse was difficult. Hence Judge Thompson did not
believe that there were settlements or communities in the town
pre'V'ious to his advent. )
John Brooks lived at Wakeman's ford as early, probably, as
1787. Our authority is an old lady who knew him well, and
often saw him at her father's house, in Mamakating Hollow,
when she was about ten years of age. Brooks was a native of
the old town of Mamakating, and his name is among those who
took the Bevolutionary pledge there in 1775. He must have
come by the way of Sandburgh to Denniston's ford, and then
traveled down the river to the point where he built his house.
Although he was then the only white inhabitant of the territory
now embraced by our town-boiindaries, he had miglibors at no
great distance; for at that time there were families farther u]i
the river. He brought with him a pair of small mill-stones,
which he operated by hand, and thus made his own samp and
meal. One of these stones, a few years since, was owned by
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 525
Samuel G. Thompson, of Thompsonville, wlio used it in his
grist-mill for some purpose. We regret that it is lost — probably
destroyed by the burning of the mill while owned by Thomas
Billing.
Brooks loved forest-sports, and took great delight in relating
his adventures. He used a rifle of long range when hunting,
and a bow of marvelous length when describing his own
exploits. Some of his stories would have delighted David
Crockett. As his relations were of the Munchausen order, we
will not repeat them. It is enough to say, that lie declared
that, while hunting, he shot a bear through its hind-legs, break-
ing both of them ; and that he then seized hold of its stubby tail,
and drove it to his home with less difficulty than if the beast
had been a steer. On another occasion, a very powerful bear
attempted to hug the breath out of his body. He could not
get away, and so was compelled to measure his strength with
Bruiu's. One or the otlier must die. In this emergency. Brooks
gave the beast a tremendous embrace, and squeezed aU the
entrails from its body. After it was thus turned inside out, the
animal considered further effort useless, and abandoned the
contest.
Soon after 1790, Francis Tarket settled on the east bank of
the Neversiuk river, near Edward's island. In those days, from
causes not well understood, when floods occurred, the water
rose much more rapidlj' than at the present time. In its
natural state, the surface of the earth is more porous, and
should absorb and retain a greater quantity of water than when
cultivated. Hence, as a country is improved, and cultivated
fields increase, floods should become more and more disastrous.
This, however, is not the case. The true cause may be found
in the fact that the average annual rain-fall decreases as the
forests of a country are destroyed ; and the additional fact that
when mills are erected on our large streams and their tributa-
ries, the dams of these establishments are reservoirs. Until
the latter overflow, the courses below them cannot be as fuU as
if there were no obstraction to the natural running of the water.
Mrs. Tacket's cow pastured upon the island opposite the
clearing made by her husband, and on one occasion while the
faithful animal was quietly cropping the grass there, the volume
of the river began to increase rapidly. There was danger that
the cow would be swept away, and Mrs. Tarket waded across to
drive her home. The river was high when she went over, and
was still deeper when she was ready to return As she stood
irresolute, the flood became more angry and threatening.
Higher and higher rose the waters, roaring and foaming, and
threatening to destroy any one who should attempt to pass
through them. As the river often swept over the highest point
52G HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUKTT.
of the island, lier situation was not enviable. She linllooe-tl;
but to no pvn-pose. No one was near to aid lier. After reflect-
ing a moment, she hit upon a novel expedient by which to
escape from her dangerous situation — an expedient which should
identify her name with the island forever. Providinp; hei-self
with a good whip, she seized the cow by her tail, and drove her
into the stream. In a moment the mad waters swejit over
them ; but by dint of swimming the cow reached the main land,
towing her mistress, drenched and almost drowned, safely to
the shore.
Tarket lived here but three or four years, when he sold his
claim to Benajah Edwards, and moved northerly about one mile
to the farm since owned by Joseph R. Clark.
Edwards built a grist-mill opposite the island, on the east
bank of the river, which was in operation several years; but
finally was abandoned.
About 1792, Ananias Sackett ciit open the road which bore
his name. It extended from Mamakating valley to the Kinne
brook, in the West Settlement of Thompson, and was after-
wards made to Cochecton by Captain David Dorrance. Sackett
and Dorrance were both emploj^ed by the proprietors of the
land through which the road ran. The former received a tract
of seven hundred acres of land for his work, and located it
south-west of the corporation limits of Monticello. It covered
wholly or in part the farms since owned by Rumsey, Hatch,
Litts, Varnell, Ahiel Decker, Oran Royce, and perhaps others.
Johannes Hasten and some of his neighbors of Mamakating
vaUey assisted Sackett. Captain Dorrance was paid twelve
dollars and fifty cents per mile. A portion of this road is still
used ; but the greater part of it is covered by the Newbiirgh
and Cochecton turnpike and the Monticello and Wurtsborough
McAdamized road.
The Sackett road ran very nearly from Wurtsborough to the
residence of William Marshall, the Clements' or Davis place
south of Lord's pond, the Haviland farm and BridgeviUe, where
the river was forded a short distance above tlie bridge. It then
ascended the hill between the Methodist church and the old
Hezekiah Howell building, and passed to the Barnum saw-mill,
the farm of Mr. Wriglit, and then turned south of Monticello
through the farm of Cornelius Hatch to the old David and
Nathan Kinne farms, and Mongaup valley, where the stream
was forded above the Tillotson grist-mill; next to the old
Cochecton s]inng south of White Lake, and to the village of
Bethel, the Halsoy tavern, etc. The route was much better
generally than that subsequently adopted by the Newburgh and
Cochecton Turnpike Company, as it avoided many of the hills
over which the turnpike was made.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 527
About the time the Sackett road was begnn, Reuben Allen
moved to lot number 39, in Great Lot 11!, where he died on the
6tli of December, 1848, after a residence of fii'ty-six years. H«
was probably the first white man who remainftct permanently in
tlie town, and left descendants here after him ; for Brooks, who
preceded him, ceased to be a resident soo7i after Jud^e Tliomp-
8on moved to Thompsonville. He was 2!) and his wife 25 years
old when they commenced a life of privation and hardship
wliieh few would dare now to encoiwiter. In an raibroken
forest, almost beyond human aid and sympathy, they made
their home, and labored to render it pleasant. For a time he
was unable to raise sufiicient food for his family, and when
want stared them in the face, he left liis wife and children in
the woods, and went beyond the Shawangunk to earn a few
sliillings, with which he bought food, and then carried it home
on his shoulders. Wages at tliat time were in summer from
four to six shillings per day, and from seven to nine dollars per
month. In winter no one wanted laborers at any price. Self-
denial, industry and persistence finally conquered all untoward
surroundings. The traveler w^ho passed from Montieello to
Wurtsborough forty years ago, will remember that Eeuben
Allen's residence was one of the neatest on the road.
The Sackett road caused other families to settle in the town,
as the following extract from the Records of Mamakating prove.
On the 10th of October, 1797, Elijah Reeve, of Mount Hope,
and John Kna]ip, of Thompsonville, laid out a public road from
Johannes Masten's to Sackettborough, which they described as
follows :
"From Joliannis Masten's on the Esopus road, two miles
below the old Mamakating farms, begmning at the place where
Sackets sat out with the road, and runs as he cut the Road
untU it came unto a small Brook near the high hill now known
by the name of Spy Hill, then turns out of the now cut road to
the right round the hill ast the ground would best suit until
it strikes the now cut road again ; then along said road again as
near as the ground will admit rintil it strikes the Neversink
Kni, and across the said Kill and on the road forward a little to
the north of Matthews, and along said road to where Wheeler
now lives or occupies a little to the south of his house, and on
as the ground will suit to Annanias Sacket's, and on to the place
called Sacketsborough."
Spy Hill is southerly from the middle gate of the Montieello
and Wurtsborough Plank Road Company, and was so called
because hunters could espy game a long distance from its
summit.
528 nisTOHV of sullivan couktt.
John Matthews occupied the farm now owned by Charles
Barnum, and subsequently moved to North, Settlement. In
1797, Amasa Matthews v/as hvmg on the east bunk of the
Neversink, above Bridgeville.
Wheeler was David Wheeler,* the original occupant of the
farm subsequently owned by Seth AUyn, and now the property
of William Wrif>;ht.
Ananias Sackett lived south-west of Monticello, and Saekett-
borough ^\ as \\ est of his location, and on the road made by him.
This borough was intended to perpetuate his name and deeds;
but amounted to nothing more than a frail monument of the
vanity and folly of human hope and ambition. No one can
now point out the location which once bore the name of Sackett-
borough; and no individual now residing in the county can
claim the once respectable patronym of Sackett. Ananias
Sackett settled about the year 1794 or 1795.
On the '29th of September, 1797, Reeve and Knapp estab-
lished another public road, and had the following description of
it recorded by the Clerk of Mamakating :
" Beginning at the foot of the hill near the Neversink river,
on Sackett's road, turn out to the north, and runs up said river
to an enclosed field occupied by Amasa Matthews, and along
the liack side of said field on a high piece of ground inside of
the fence, and runs out to the bank of the river, up s'd river
near John Brooks', and then across the said river, and upon the-
west side of the I'iver until it gets above Brooks' inclosure, and
then left the s'd river to the north east, and runs north west as
the road is now cut and travelled unto Thompson's Mills, to be
four rods wide."
John Simpson lived on the Jonathan Hoyt farm (Lot 25) as
early as 1797, and according to a manuscript found among the
papers of Billings Grant Childs, William Dtiiu settled at Bridge-
ville previous to that ^-ear, and kept a tavern there. That Deun
was there i^revious to the year named we doubt. He was tliere
soon after, however, and was undoubtedly the predecessor of
John Wetherlow, whom we shall have occa.si<m to mention here-
after, lieeve and Knapp do not mention Denn in their road
surve}' of September 29, 1797. If he had lived there then they
would have done so.
When Johannes Masten assisted Sackett in making the road
from Mamakating Hollow to Kinue brook, he discovered some
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 529
good land on the tract secured by Sackett, and bought it. This
land he gave to his sons-in-law, Daniel Litts and Evert Terwil-
liger, the first of whom married Martha, and the other Sarah
Hasten. Litts and Terwilliger moved to this land in February,
1797, with their families. Mrs. Terwilliger was then forty-one
and her sister twenty-two years of age. They had been
accustomed to border-life, and, although their father was a
wealthy man, had constitutions made robust by healthful labor.
With the steady purpose of men of Holland blood, the brotliers-
in-law cleared land and made improvements. They were assisted
in all suitable waj^s by their wives and ('hildren. With them
industry was a cardinal virtue, physical labor and the acquisi-
tion of wealth the major objects of life. While the muscles of
their children were developed by constant use, the brain was
not trained to wield its instruments intelligently. As a logical
sequence of their youthful training, the offspring of these two
families have lost ground, while those of once less wealthy
parents have outstripped them, thus illustrating the truth of the
apothegm that "industry without intelligence is like a ship
without a helm."
The children of Daniel Litts were noted for their great
strength. Even his daughters were more powerful than ordi-
nary men. It is said that one of his girls has been known to
lift a barrel of cider by its chimes and drink from its bung. We
are assured that she once saw three or four able-bodied men
attempt and fail to place a heavy mill-iron upon a wagon, when
she threw them right and left with her hands, telling them to
get out of her way, and then unassisted and with ease Hfted the
iron to its place on the vehicle. In his young days, one of her
brothers was considei-ed an expert wrestler, and sporting mea
from a distance came to measure their skill and strength with
his. One of these was a famous wrestler of the city of New
York. When he called, young Litts was from home. Seeing
Miss Litts, he made known his business to her. "What!"
exclaimed she, "wrastle with mine brother?" and she eyed
him as if taking his calibre. " Why, you are foolish. Go back
and save your money; for I can throw you mineself." She
continued to jeer at and banter him, and finally dared him to
the encounter in such a way that he accepted her challenge.
He found her strength, skill and petticoats, too much for his
science. Her feet and ankles were protected by the drapery
which surrounded them from the advances of his heels; but
they found no obstruction when she attempted to trip him.
She sent him to grass twice with such celerity and force that he
retired from her father's door-yard vanquished and crest-fallen.
He returned to the metropolis without delay, believing that if
530 HISTOKY OF SULLIVAN COU^TY.
Sullivan county produced such girls, it was folly to contend
vith the men."'
In 1797, Nathan Kinne settled at the end of the Sackett road
as it was then made, and at the same time, or soon after, his
brother David jomcd him. The Kinnes were of the Connecticut
race of Yankees. Many of the name were among the adven-
turers who formed the Susquehanna Company, and attempted
to extend the possessions of Connecticut from the Delaware
river to the Pacific ocean. Those who have read Stone's
History of Wyoming, cannot fail to appi-eciate properly the
respectability and enterjirise of the Kinnes of the last centuiy.
Nathan Kinne cleared the first farm in the West, or Kinne
Settlement, on which he Uved thirty-three years. He was much
respected in his day, and received many testimonials of the
confidence of his fellow-townsmen.
In 1S'J2, Uzziel Royee started from Mansfield, Connecticut,
intending to go to the Susquehanna liver with his family. He
had heard much of the fertility of the land of that region, and
regarded the Susquehanna valley as the land of promise and
prosperity'. On his way he stopped at Newburgh, where he
was persuaded to change his destination. Work on the New-
burgh and Cochecton turnpike had been commenced, and every
one who had taken stock in that concern, was enthusiastij as to
the value of the country thnnigh which the road would pass,
Mr. Koyce was convinced that it was better to locate within
fifty miles of the Hudson river, on land which would soon
inci'ease in value, and where he would soon have an outlet to a
market, than to go one hundred miles farther into the woods.
He came to Thompson, and purchased a tract of land in the
vicinity of Nathan Kinne, and cleared the farm since owned by
John C. HoUey. His removal to the town was important, as it
led to the settlement here of 'J'homas, Solomon, Koderick, and
Cholbe Pioyce, who were his kinsmen, and among the highly
esteemed residents of the county. On the '2:!(l of May, lh33,
U/ziel lloyce died on the place where he settled in 1S02. One
of the local public jouinals of that time paid a handsome
tribute to his memoiy.
In 1801, Solomon lloyce bought a lot in the same neighbor-
hood, and commenced clearing it. Other members of the family
settled in the town subsequently. Solomon lloyce was a farmer
and land-surveyor. His property was small until he was sixty
years of age, wlien he commenced speculating in land, and soon
accumulated a handsome fortune. Like all tlie first settlers of
his name, he was a man who enjoyed the confidence and respect
of his nr'iiililjors.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 531
John and Samuel Lord came to Sullivan in May, 1803, from
Weston^ Eaiiiiold county, Connecticut, and brought with
them their families. They crossed the Shawangunlc on nearly
the route adopted by the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike
Company, and remained all night at Johannes Masten's. He
was then a -wealthy Dutch farmer, and o^ned one thousand
acres of fine land, several negroes and a large stock of horses
and neat-cattle. His aldermanic body was surmounted by a
hat ^^■ith a monstrous brim, and when he was vexed by a
mischievous boy, he had an odd habit of flogging the yonker
•with his tile ; but was careful not to injure his hat, or hurt the
lad.
Tlie Lords followed the old Sackett road from Mamakating
Hollow to the valley of the Neversink. There were no families
living on the road vmtil they came to the Davis place, wliere
Kichard Page kept a tavern. There was then but little cash in
the country, and white-pine shingles were bartered for drams.
Our informant remembers seeing the thirsty wending their way
to Piige's log tenement, each carrying under one of his arms
the requisite number of shingles to procure a drink of whisky.
A htde beyond Page's, and where the road crossed Grassy or
Clark's brook, was a tavei-n kept by a woman who was known
as Granny Strong. The next house was on the premises now
(1871) owned by John and Benjamin Lord. It was then occu-
{)ied by a squatter whose name is forgotten. At Bridgeville
ived Jehiel Sherwood and John Wetherlow. During tha year,
James Millspaugh moved in and occupied the Havihmd place.
Wetherlow lived at the ford, a short distance above the bridge.
Our informant was then a lad less than eight years old, and
had heard much of the bears, wolves and panthers of the
Neversink country, and was consequently looking for those
animals with fear and trembling. His apprelieusions were
startlingly confirmed at Wetherlow's. A steer of Mi-. Wether-
low had been, a few days previously, killed but not devoured
by a panther. The young animal had been missed and its body
found partially covered with leaves and other rubbish. One of
the Wakemau's, who was a noted hunter and trapper, knowing
that, as soon as the panther was hungry, it would return to
the carcass for a meal, set a loaded gun so that it would lodge
sundi-y buckshot into the first animal that disturbed the remains.
In a few days a monstrouj panther was found by the side of
the dead steer, a victim of Wakeman's ingenuity. It was
skinned, and the skin stuffed and arranged as natural as life, in
a tree Ijsfore Wetherlow's house. When the children of the
Lords saw it, with its fearful teeth, they were seized with a
panic and ran to their parents for protection.
From Wetherlow's the two families traveled up the river to
532 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OODNTT.
Denniston's ford, passing Hezckijili and Jabez "U'akeman's
places at the Wakenian ford. Tliey settled near the present
S remises of James O'Neill, where Samuel lived many years,
[is brother John remained there until ISOG, when he removed
to Lord's pond, on the Newburgh and Cochecton road. He
there put up one of the roughest hig-tenements of that day,
and opened a tavern and commenced clearing land. In a few
years he built a better house, and died there iu August, 1830.
His son, Captain Alson Lord, previous to his death in 1S72,
furnished the writer with the following in regard to his father's
last illness: In June, 1830, John Lord visited his brother's
family near Denniston's ford, and while on the road got very
wet from a sudden shower of rain. He exchanged his wet
garments for dry, spent a pleasant evening in compacy with his
friends, went to bed at the usual time, and on the succeeding
morning was apparently in good health; but was somewhat
disturbed by a remarkable dream he had had during the night,
in which he imagined that he was sick ; that his legs swelled to
a large size, and burst open and mortified; that the flesh
dropped from them, and that he died. His dream w is a pre-
visioa of whit actuiUy took place. Sooq after he related it to
our informant, and the other members of his household, he was
taken sick, and all he had dreamed really occurred.
We have no more faith in dreams than we have in witchcraft,
and would not admit the above paragraph, if our informant was
not, during all his hfe, of unquestioned intelligence and truth-
fulness. The circumstance is remarkable as a strange coinci-
dence for which human wisdom can furnish no satisfactory
explanation.
Alson Lord, when a young man, had an encounter with a
bear in the woods near his father's residence. He was felling
trees with a companion, when he heard his dog barking in an
unusual manner. He proposed to the person who A\as with
him, that they should ascertain what the dog was after, and
said he believed it was a bear; but the man was a coward, and
refused to go. Lord then went alone. The dog was at the foot
of a tree in a dense thicket. Lord did not see the bear until
he had neaily reached the foot of the tree, when he discovered
it about twelve feet from the gi'ound. He went boldly forward
until the animal suddenly curled itself into a ball-like shape,
and tumbled down within reach of the ax he carried. Lord
instantly dealt it a stunning blow, which laid it out apparently
dead. He was fortunate in doing so, as, if he had waited a
second or two, the beast would have been on its haunches, when
it would have been impossible to hit it. All old hunters know
that bears are the most expert boxers in the world, and that
they will knock an ax or club from the hands of a man so quick
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 533
that no one can see how it is done ; after which, if the beast is
exasperated, it will be upon its assailant in an instant.
Mr. Lord shouted that liL had killed the bear, when the timid
fellow came to him readily, and the two proceeded to haul it
out of the thicket. "While they were doing so, the black br\ite
began to exhibit signs of life. A few ujoi-e blows of the ax,
however, made it quite safe to handle it, and the creature was
got out of the woods without further trouble, except the labor
of carrying it. It was large, and had a very beautiful pelt.
Bears were very numerous in this neighborhood. The writer
well remembers that, when he was a school-boy, they had a run-
way across the turnpike, a short distance west of Gales, wh<-re
they were frequently seen with their cubs, passing from one
swamp to the other.
William Sears was an early resident near Lord's pond. He
was elected as an Assessor before Sullivan was a county, and
was active in matters affecting the interests of the town. Seth
Sears was living in the neighborhood as early as ISOi. They
came from Fairfield county, Connecticut.
In 1803, Lewis Hoyt occupied a lot west of the Neversink, at
Bridgeville. He remained in the vicinity but a short time, and
was a brother of Jonathan Hoyt, of whom we shall next write.
Lot 25, in Great Lot 13, was occupied by squatters previous
to 1803. Reuben Allen first made a small improvement, and
then left it, probably because he found it difficult or impossible
to get a warranty-deed for it. John Simpson then occupied it,
who built a log-house, and cleared some land. In 1803, Jona-
than Hoyt bought Simpson's improvements, for $1,050, getting
with the 213 acres a potash-kettle. As soon as practicable,
Hoyt acquired the fee-simple, which cost him about $1,000 in
addition.
Hoyt was then a married man, with two or three children,
and lived in Norwalk, Connecticut. In April, 1804, he started
with his wife and children for his new home. He brought with
him a span of horses, a yoke of oxen, and an immense butterfly-
cart. In the flaring box of the cart were bestowed his house-
hold goods, and an assortment of other articles which were
deemed necessary, including sundry small canvass-bags which
were filled with silver coin, and placed inside the family chest.
On the top of all, when on the road, were perched the wife and
chikken, who climbed to their elevated position by a ladder,
which was an indispensable accompaniment of the vehicle, as,
without it, no one could surmount its funnel-shaped sides.
The family, with their chattels, proceeded to Old Well, where
they got or were put on board a sloop, and proceeded to New
York city and the Hudson river. In due time they reached
Newburgh, where they disembarked, and where the more seri-
534 HISTORY OF SULLIYAN COUNTT.
ous dfingers and snfferinKs of the journey commenced. The
horses and oxen were attached to the cart, and started west-
ward ou the NewVmrgh and Cochectou road. The turnpike, so
far as it was completed, had been made but recently — the road-
bed was composed of surface-soil — the frost was gone but
partially from the track, which was but little better than a mass
of mud, and a succession of bottomless slough-holes. Often
one wheel of the cart would stand firm on the partially thawed
track, while the other would sink nearly to its axle, causing the
elevated wings of the vehicle to lurch with the energy of a
catapult. So forcible was this sidewise movement that the
chest was broken to pieces, and the silver money it contained
scattered over the bottom of the cart-box. Fortunately the
latter had been made of tough material and by a good work-
man, so that there were no crevices through which the coin
dropped into the mire of the road. The money was all in the
bottom of the cart-box when they reached the Neversink.
When the wheels sank deep in the slough-holes, the horses
and oxen could not proceed, and it was found necessary to pro-
cure extra motive-power, or remove from the cart a pnrt of the
load. This consumed so much time that but five miles a day
were accomplished.
In the afternoon of the sixth day from Newburgh, the party
descended the west side of the Shawangunk mountain, and in
doing so discovered what appeared to be a broad and turbid
river in the valley. Mr. Hoyt did not know what to think of
this, as he had not heard of or seen anything more than a
medium stream there. They reached the foot of the Shawan-
gunk, and there was a wide and muddy river, sure enough. The
rain and melting snow had swelled the mountain streams, so
that there was a flood in the Bashas kill. For some distance
the turnpike was submerged, the bridge alone appearing above
the water. To cro?s at that time was impossible, and there was
DO house or even barn on the western side of the mountain.
But one thing could be done, and that was to stay until the
next day where they were ; so they camped in the mud, and
remained there during the long and dismal night, no doubt
homesick and heart-sick, and contrasting the wilds of Sullivan
with their old and pleasant home in the land of plenty and
comfort.
At daybreak they found the flood was subsiding. At nine
o'clock, the water had fallen two feet, when Mr. Hoyt mounted
one of his horses, and crossed to the opposite shore, and went
in search of assistance. He was afraid to ford the stream with
his two teams, fearing that the cart would get fast, and that he
would be unable to get it to the other side.
Dui'uig the previous year, the turnpike had been matle as far
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 535
as the west side of the valley, and there au eutcvj^i'ishig
individual had erected a new house, and opened a taveni. Tho
building was near the site of the old Pine-house, and nothing
is reiueaibered of its owner except that he became disgusted
with his business or with his life generally, and to rid hijuself of
his calhng and existence, hung himself. Of him Mr. Hoyt
obtained an extra team, and returned to his family and cart.
With three teams he was able to get all over the falling waters,
and as far as the new tavern, where he remained until the next
day, when he reached Granny Strong's inn at the Grassy brook.
After another night's rest, they proceeded as far as the east
shore of the Neversink, where they learned that the cabin at
their new home would afford them no shelter. The snow of the
previous winter had broken down its bark-roof, and it was no
better than a ruin. Besides this, it is probable that the river
was too much swollen to be forded. Learning that there was a
small building on the hill east of the Neversink, in which a
school had been kept, and that it was then vacant, he concluded
to take possession of it. Here at the close of the ninth day
from Newburgh he found a temporary resting-place.
He resolveil to build a new frame-house on hjs place without
tielay. Tiiere was then a saw-mill on Clark or Grassy brook,
at Katrina Falls, owned by a firm entitled Baker, Osborn & Co.
How long this mill had been built we cannot say. It may have '
been erected immediately after the opening of the Sackett i-oad.
If so, it was the pioneer mill of the town; if not, it was the
second, William A. Thompson's having been put up in 1795.
This mill was on the table-rock of the Falls. Slabs froin it were
thrown into the gulf below, and we are assured that at one time
they formed a " pile" as high as the Falls. Mr. Hoyt at once
commenced hauling white-pine lumber fi-om this establishment.
Help was scarce, but money was a gi-eat inducement. Mi*.
Hoyt brought with him a good supply of coin, and men were
found who were willing to abandon their own clearings to get it.
la two weeks Mr. Hoyt had a new house so far completed, that
he could move his family into it.
Mr. Hoyt continued to occupy this place until his death, and
it is still in the possession of one of his descendants. For
several years, wolves annoyed him, and he found it very difficult
to rear young cattle or keep sheep. On one occasion they
killed eighteen of the latter near the entrance of his door-yard,
and it was quite common to find the dead carcasses of year-
lings in his fields, and to have cattle come home with fatal
wounds inflicted by the blood-loving and stealthy brutes. Un-
like many of the first settlers, he has left numerous descendants
in the town. His children were seven in number, viz : Elna-
than, Squires M., Jonathan, Sarah, Leander, Sally and Walter,
536 nisTOEY OF sullivan county.
In 1803, Cliancellor Li-vdngston, owned Great Lot 12, in the
southern tier or range of the Hardenbei^h patent. He was
then in France, and no one could purchase or lease his lands;
consequently those who lived near the traveled road east of
Eridgeville were squatters. Some of these sold to others ; but
gave no tiUe. They disposed of their improvements and right
of possession only.
Daniel and Lewis Ketcham moved to Eridgeville in 1S05 —
Daniel into the Wetherlow house at the ford, and Lewis into
ft house which stood on a lot now owned by Walter Hoyt.
Daniel Ketcham, senior, their father, came at the same time,
and bought Lot 31 of one of the Ludlows. He reseiTed one
hundred acres for himself, and, according to a previous arrange-
ment, couve^-ed the balance to various persons who had settled
on the lot as squatters. Daniel, senior, died at Eridgeville,
after which one of tlie sons removed to Miller Settlement.
Eranches of the family are now living in Thompson and other
towns. Frederick Ketcham, a descendant of Daniel, senior,
invented the first mowing-machine. As an inventor he was
ingenious and successful ; but failed to reap the pecuniary advan-
tages which should have been awarded him. The Ketchams
of this county are of the same stock as the noted financier and
the able lawyer and politician of that name.
The old Earnum place, now occupied by Charles Earnum,
was originally held by a person who had no title. In 1802 or
1803, Samuel Barnujii bought it, and within two or three years
erected a saw-mill. This mill is mentioned in the Town Eecords
of ISOG, and is the third of the town. A gentleman who was
present when the frame was raised, informs us that a sutlicient
number of persons could not be got together to put it in its
place on the first day ; and that reinforcements had to be sent
for. Several of the hands employed by Mr. Wheat, who was
building the Neversink bridge, went up with their tackles, when
the task was performed easil}'. Samuel Earnum was a man
much respected in his day, and was often called upon to fill
important trusts in the town. He was elected Supervisor in
1807 and 1608, and was preceded in that office by Samuel F.,
and succeeded l)y John P. Jones.
Johannes Miller of Montgomery, Orange county, commenced
operations at Glen Wild before the Newburgh and Cochecton
turnpike was completed over the Earrens. He bouglit a con-
(siderable tract of land, and built two saw-mills above the Falls.
One of these was where Bowers' lumbering-establishment now
is. and the other was farther down the stream. He also built a
large house on the lot now owned by Benjamin Howes. This
liouse was Miller's residence, as the Eecords of Thompson
prove. He sold it to Henry Snyder. The mill-property
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 537
iasf?ed into the hands of John H. and WiHiam F. Bowers,
sons of Zephaniah Bowers, one of the early residents of that
section of the town. John H. was a pi-ominent democratic
pohtician, and represented Sulliran in the Assembly of 1838.
Luther, another son of Zephnniah, owned a saw-mill on the
outlet of Lord's pond, near Edwards' Island, in 1822. Of Jan-
nali R., another son, but little is known.
Johannes Miller was a man of note. He was one of the prin-
cipal promoters of the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike, and
lost his prestige as a man of property through personal sacrifices
to secure the success of that enterprise. It is said he was a
rough, daring man, who was ready to use his fists when provoked
to anger. There was a feud between him and the Jones brothers,
which gi-ew out of the location or construction of the turnpike.
Glen Wild was originally known as Miller Settlement. Samuel
Adams and Simeon Misner were among its early residents.
The fine arched bridge at Bridgeville, from which the valley
takes its name, was completed in 1807. At the time it was made
it was considered the best structure of the kind in the State. A
marble tablet was inserted in the parapet ou the eastern abut-
ment with the following inscription :
" Jacob Powell, Pres't;
George Monell, Treas'r;
William H. Weller, Secy; s
Jonathan Hedges, tJ
Charles Clinton,
Levi Dodge,
Daniel Stringham,
Jonathan Fisk,
Cyprian Webster,
Reuben Neelv,
Daniel C. Verplank,
Hamilton Morrison,
David Crawford,
5*
Salmon Wheat, Architect."
Nearly sixty-six years have elapsed since the massive white-
pine arches were made, and they are still unmarked by decay,
and firm upon their foundations. They will undoubtedly last
for hundreds of years, if properly protected from fire and water.
It is conceded that Rev. Luke Davis was the first clergyman
of the town. He also prescribed for the physical ailments of
the people. When the Newburgh and Cochecton road was run
across the Barrens, that improvement caused the Sackett road
538 HISTOBY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
to be abandoned as tlie miiin route tlirongh the county. Con-
sequently Richard Page, who kept a tavern .'^outh of Gnles,
where lie exchanged whiskj- for shingles, found that his vocation
was gone. He then sold whatever riglit he had to the tavern
and farm, and Luke Davis became the occupant and owner.
Thereafter from the old Page tavern issued what was considered
" the pure milk of the "Wora" for the soul, and wholesome, though
drastic and emanant potions for the body. Luke Davis was a
Baptist, and made several converts to his faith. Among his
flock were the Com.stocks, the Warrings, the Reynolds, the
Holmes, and other citizens of res])ectal)le standing. His own
life was a sacrifice in the cause of his Master. For hini there
was no stately church, with its ornate exterior and luxurious
seats and carved pulpit. He held forth iu school-houses, barns
and private residences, and contributed to his own physical
support by the labor of his hands. Pie lived to a great age.
His last residence iu the town was at Bridgeville, from which
he removed to New York, where he died on the 9th of December,
1852, aged 92 years. We shall notice iu another place the So-
ciety he organized.
Caleb and Peter Howell, who were brothers, bought a lot on
the turnpike west of the bridge, in ISOG or 1807. On this Peter
Howell put up the frame of a large hotel-building, which he
enclosed and partially completed. He was a bachelor. The
property fell into the hands of Hezekiah Howell, a son of Caleb,'
and has since been owned by several persons. Hervy W.
Howell, the brother of Hezekiah, was elected County Clerk in
ISfO. The name of Howell is not now borne by a resident of
the town. Before his death, Hezekiah became a monomaniac
on the subject of internal improvements, and other matters.
The old hotel was destroyed by fire in 1871.
John S. Jenks, who studied medicine with Doctor Samuel
Dimmick of Bloomingburgh, was a practicing physician at
Bridgeville for sever.nl years, commencing with 18)9. He was
of irregular habits, and a cessation was put to his labors in this
town by death or voluntary removal to some other sphere of
action.
Otto William Van Tnyl, who became famous as the would-be
navigator of the Neversink, and received as his reward disaster
and reproach, iu 1811 was living in the house built by Peter
Howell. He, soon after this year, erected the old Van Tuyl
mansion on the east bank of the river. In 1832 or 1833, this
became the property of Lewis E. Bushnell, who built a large
tannery below the Jonathan Hoyt place. The tannery was car-
ried on by Bushnell & Van Horn and Tremain & Howard.
A store has been kept on the Van Tuyl lot for more than fifty
years: First by O. W. Van Tuyl; 2. Lewis E. Bushnell;
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 0O5»
8. Munson L. Bushnell; 4. William A. Eice; 5. George Howes;
C. .Tehiel Clark.
David Haynes built the old Anson Gale tavem-hoiise ; on the
turnpike, east of Lord's pond. He was a squatter, and claimed
that the premises he occupied were not in the Minisink or
Hardeubergh patent ; that there was a gore between the two,
and that the land covered by this gore was State land. He was
a man of some means ; but spent his entire estate in litigation
with the Livingstons, who iinally ejected him, and had the
benefit of his improvements. Then Anson Gale, who was a
native of Columbia county, and lived near the family-seat of
the Livingstons, at Clermont, bought the property, and kept a
hotel which was of excellent repute for many years. A post-
office was established here in May, 1834:, which received his
family-name, and of which he was tlie postmaster.
About 1827, a gentleman named Clarkson, who had married a
daughter of Robert L. Livingston, built a fine stone-mansion,
on a commanding site, near Lord's pond. Here it was his
intention to live like a lord of the manor among the tenants of
his father-in-law, who were bound by their leases to deliver
annually to the owner or his agents certain substantial and
luxuries. But the tenants did not contribute enough for his
support, and to escape starvation he left the town, and to this
day has been living in elegant idleness at Saugerties. The next
occupant was John Eldridge, who, in 1831 and 1832, built a
large tannery on the outlet of the pond, and shortly after failed.
The house is still owned by the Livingston family, but is little
better than a ruin.
Nehemiah Smith came to Pleasant lake in 1803, and bought
a tract of land of a man named Richard Kelley, who had made
a small clearing, built a log-house and constructed barracks in
which to store hay and grain. The lot then purchased by him
has since become a jjart of the David Gray place, and has been
known as the Reed farm. On it was the encampment of the
143d Regiment N. Y. S. V., until the regiment left to join the
forces employed to cmsh the Southern Confederacy. Kelley,
the man whom Mr. Smith succeeded, had a brother-in-law
named Amos Whelpley, who lived on an adjoining lot. These
two men were here as early as 1798.* Kelley settled on the
Hyde place after selling to Smith. A man named William
Baker also lived near the lake, and owned six acres between
the Samuel Gray place and the shore. John Matthews, who
came from Haverstraw, owned and occupied the farm which
subsequently became the homestead of the Smith family, and
is now the property of Ambrose D. Smith. West of Matthews'
* In 180G, Whelpley bad on bis placo au orchard of beaiiug aiiplc-treeB.
[Statenieut of Samuel Warring.
540 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
were hvo "Welsh families, one of whom ■was namefl Eobert Rolierts.
From them the region got the name of Welsh Settlement, by
which it was known for many 3-eara. Kinne brook, as far as it
runs in that locality, was once kno^-n as Welsh brook.
After sowing some winter-grain, Mr. Smith retnined to Sonth
East, to which he had previously moved from Middlesex, Fair-
field count}', Connecticut. He and his wife were natives of the
latter place.
In February, 1804, he started once more for his new home in
the woods. He brought with him his wife, two children, and a
nephew named Smith Benedict. The latter, who became a well-
known citizen previous to his death, was then a lad aged 13
years, and lived with Mr. Smith. Mr. S. was accomjianied
by Titus Lockwood, Elind Lindley, and Joseph Godfiev, who
also brought with them their families. They crossed the Hudson
river at Newburgh, where they hired horse-teams to take them
to the end of their journey. The Newburgh and Cochecton
turnpike was then in good order as far as Montgomery. On
the Barrens they stayed all night at the house of a man named
Seth Sears. The accommodations were rather too narrow for
so large a party; but good nature and Yanlcee ingenuitj^ either
found a remedy for deficiencies, or ignored their existence.
On the next day, they followed the Mamakating road to
Thompsonville (then known as Thompson'.s Mills), where they
remained all night at Abraham Warrmg's, who had kept a tavern
there five or six years. Thus far they had passed over nothing
worse than the semblance of a highway. Although the road had
been five years on the Records of Mamakating as running from
Thompson's Mills north of Pleasant pond to the Mongaup,*
but little had been done on it beyond removing from its track
some of the fallen trees, and marking its locality by blazing and
scoring the growing timber by its sides. Our informant (a lady
then '23 years old) at the age of ninety-one, retained a vivid
recollection of the incidents of that day (March 1, 1801). The
snow was deep and unbroken; the route so rough and unim-
proved that they could not have taken their household-goods
over it except on their shoulders, if it had been bare ; the party
were obliged to look sharp for the marked trees to avoid going
astray ; and in many places the evergreen foliage was so dense
overhead that the sky could not be seen. Slowly the jaded
horses plodded through the snow — sometimes sinking to their
» Hiirch 22, 1799, David Dirranco and John Kiiapp, Koad CiminiissiiiniTSdf llama-
kfttins, laid (jut a private road " BcRinnin',' nt tlm Ksopns road at the Lons Bridge
(Qiiei'c : Summit villu?J south-west of the lionsc of Jolin Al.en ; thoncea westerly course
noMr as the road now runs to liush Hill ; thence as the road now runs to Arehihald
Jarr Ll''arrl across tlio Neversinli to William '1 iKmips.m's niilla. as the road now poos;
thence a northwesti rly course, as the road now goes, north of the Pleasant poud, aa
the road uow goes, to the Mungaup Itiver, as the grouud will hist admit."
[Uucords of llamakating.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSOS. 641
bellies, and occasionally plunging over the sides of a cradle-hole,
or the concealed trunk of a tree. When there was cLinger of
upsetting a sleigh, there was a panic among the women and
children ; but the courageous voices and strong arms of the
stalwart men of the part}^ soon made all right. Although the
dist<iuce was not great, and none of the families were much
overburthened witli household-stuff, the teams dragged their
loads with great diHiculty, and it was found necessary to leave
Eliud Lindley's in the woods, where it remained until its owner
afterwards returned with some fiiends, and got it through to his
log-house.
Lindley, Lockwood and Godfrey located at that time near the
Four Corners, north-west of the Gray place.* When they came,
there was no house where Monticello now stands, and not even
a Hne of marked trees to that point. Samuel F. and John P,
Jones, however, moved there during the year (1804).
The house into which Smith put his family, like the others of
the settlement, was a log-structure, with a bark-roof. As there
was no saw-mill nearer than Judge Thompson's, at Thompson-
ville, the floor must have been made of puncheons. The fire-
place was a commodious affair, without jambs, into which a log
six or eight feet long could be rolled, and made to serve as a
foundation for the tire. There was no cellar under the floor.
Potatoes and other vegetables were stored in holes or dirt-cellars
close by the house. A goodly mound of earth was heaped over
these depositaries, whicli seemed to be a favoi-ite resort for
wolves. The widow of Nehemiah Sjnith remembers (1870) seeing
them there at night when the moon made them visible. They
were a great terror to women and children, particularly when
they rendered the dark and otherwise still hours hideous with
their howlings. Sheep were then absolutely necessary, as their
wool was the only thing to be reUed upon for winter-clothing;
but it was impossible to keep them unless they were put in a
safe enclosure every night. If a wolf got among a flock, it was
not content with killing and eating a single sheep. Its instinct
led it to rush from one to another, giving each a snap in the
throat, which was always fatal. In a few moments, the ferocious
beast would thus secure food enough to su])ply itself for weeks.
Bears never annoyed the Smiths. Tiieir neighbor, James
Bailey, was less fortunate. He also came to Pleasant lake in
18J-4. He was from Westchester or Putnam county, where
many of the name are yet residents. Mr. Bailey settled on the
* In 180"), on the rnad from tho lake to Roberts' lived John Matthews, Titng
Lockwood, JoBupli Godt'ruv, Israel Disbrow, E locU Comstoek and Eiiud Liudlev. At
tho head of the lake were' An-uiias Warring, .laraca Bailey and William Baker. " West
of tho lake were Nehemiah Smith, Amos Whelpley and Mr. Kelley.
[Statement uf Smith Benedict.
542 insTOKY OF sullh'an county.
farm -nlinre his son, David P. Bcailev, now lives. Bniin seemed
to have a faucy for tins looality, and probahlj wintered on the
lowhinds wliich tliere border tlie lake, while he perambulated
the high hilis of the vicinity in summer, as he was often seen
passing up or down through Bailey's jiremises. The hirsute
brute seemed to be particd to swine's tiesh, and occasionally
visited Bailey's hog-pen to indulge his epicurean propensities.
Once, when Mr. Bailey was absent all night, a large bear got
among his shoats, which gave shrill warning of what was taking
place, when Mrs. Bailey sallied forth to their rescue, armed
with blazing brands, and frightened the hungry inti-uder away.
In the vicinity of Pleasant lake deer were very plenty. It
was a common thing for Smith Benedict and the sons of Ana-
nias Warring* to kill them in the water, to which the animals
came in warm weather or were driven by dogs. When one was
seen swimming in the lake, it was easy to reach the iinimal with
a canoe, and knock it on the head.
Samuel Warring discovered a large deer near the residence
of Major Strang. He fired at it, and it fell apparently dead.
Very thoughtlessly, he ran up to it, and caught it by its
hind legs, ratending to turn it on its back so as to get at its
throat more conveniently, when it sprang up sudilenly and
attempted to escape. He was a muscular j'outh, and had suf-
ficient strength not only to maintain his hold, but to keep the
animal's rear feet in the air, while the deer made frantic eilbrts
to run with its fore feet. It dragged young Wan-iug after it at
a rate which threatened to bring him to the ground; but he
managed to keep upon his feet. Finally the deer jumped across
a fallen sapling in such a way that Samuel pressed its legs
aei'oss the sapling, and by bearing his whole weight upon his
end, kept the other end from getting awa}-. He then hallooed
for heljj. But as no one was near, no help came. The deer,
however, bled to death, and its captor had all the glory of the
adventure, although he was minus a suit of clothes, which were
torn to shreds by rapid locomotion through the bushes and
briers, and the deer's hoofs.
Sometimes the deer-hunter met with unexpected game. An-
anias AVarring, while choj^ping near Dutch pond, discovered
that venison was very plenty in that quai'ter, and that two run-
ways passed within rifle-shot of a boulder sonic six or eight feet
high. He made up his mind that that rock aftorded a capital
standing-place, and that a deer-hunt by moonlight would be
both novel and interesting. Accordingly, after speaking to his
* AnaniaB and Jonadian Warring, in 1805, bought 150 aon a on tlicoast side of rioas-
»nt lake of William A. Tlionipaon, and Bitlled tliiru. TLo tract linn owned liy tliem
covers part of tlie Trowbridgo place. Fiity aeruu of it is o«ucd by a grandson of Jua-
onias. Jouatbau soou reiuj>ed from the town.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 643
family abont the mnttor, ho took liis riflo and went to the
bouliler, where he expected to wateh all ni^lit, and return in the
morning in time to have venison-stoak for breakfast. There
was snow on the ground and a bright moon overhead, so that
he could see a passing object very distinctly. He watched the
two run-ways closely for some time, but saw no game, and heard
no sound except the hooting of an owL His -v-igil was becoming
dull and tedious, when, pat ])at, came the sound of rapid steps,
and a dark object was passing along one of the paths. With-
out pausing to discover what it was, he fired, when the animal
nished at him fuiiously, and attempted to jump upon the rock.
It would have reached him, and the snarling jaws would have
buried their white fangs in his flesh, if he had not made a vig-
orous thrust with his rifle, and pushed the brute back. Again it
leaped, and again, with no other result, when it ran one way
and Warring another. He reached home at an unexpected
hour ; but brought with him no venison. Visiting the boulder
next day, with his boys, he discovered by the tracks and lilood
around the rock that he had shot at and wounded a very large
-wolf. These animals were numerous in that vicinity in early
times ; but it was not common for them to be as pugnacious as
the one Warring fired at.*
Talcot Wakeman in his young days often hunted with the
Warrings, and knew just where to go to start a deer, and have
it run into Pleasant lake, where it was usually killed with a
paddle — a way of securing the animal not now considered
sportsmanlike — but was then held to be exciting and full of fun.
Ah, how joyously would the young men of that period spring
into the old-style dug-out, how vigorously would they apply the
paddle ! how keenly would they watch the chances of heading
off the antlers, moving silently and steadily for the opposite
shore! how carefully would they "balance" as they gave the
fatal blow, to avoid an upset of the dug-out, and a floundering
in the middle of the lake ! and how glad was the halloo when
the blood of the antlered monarch dyed the crystal waters!
In September, 1816, Wakeman came to Ananias Warring's,
and proposed that they should have a hunt on the west side of
the lake. Warring was always ready for sport when he had no
pressing business, and it was soon arranged that his visitor and
Samuel Warring, (who was then a young man,) should go to
Dill's hill, with two good dogs, and rouse the game, while
Ananias watched the lake and managed the dug-out. Young
Warring did not take with him a gun.
The drivers found their work rather unpleasant. They were
obHged to pass through jungles of rhododendrons, and when
* Stotoment of Saraual Warring.
644 HISTORY OP SDLUVAN COUNTY.
they reached the "foot of the hill back of Orran D. Shaver's, they
sat down to rest, while one of the dogs scoured the woods.
Soon they heard his bark on th« summit, Xvhen the other dog
ran up tKe hill. Wakemau, who understood the language of
dogs, declared that a bear had been treed, and both men
hurried forward. Sui-e enough, there was one of those animals
about forty feet from the ground, in a hemlock, watching the
dogs. "Wakeman fired, and the game tumbled down, and lav
upon its back quivering as if it was dead. Shouting "Keep oif
the dogs!" he ran toward one of tliem to hold it; but he was
not quick enough: for both animals caught the bear by the
neck, when it grasped them with its fore legs and held them as
in a vice. Wakeman, intent on saving the dogs, told Warring
to take hold of one of the bear's hind feet, while he took the other,
to drag the beast down hill, hoping to make it let go of the dogs.
It was like hauling a butchered cow, but answered the intended
pui-pose. The bear released the dogs, and made a vicious pass
at the men, who dodged and got beyond bruin's reach very
quickly. It then ran up a hemlock, and did not pause until it
was partially concealed in the thick foliage of the top, where it
was difficult to hit it with a rifle. Wakeman fired at it again.
There was a trickhng of blood down the rough bark of the tree ;
but bruin did not fall. Ho shot into its carcass, one after
another, until he had expended seven balls, and had but one
imperfect one left. He iLen retired a short distance, and
determined to wait for the bear to fall or to come down. In
about half an hour it descended stern foremost, and as it reached
the ground, one of the dogs seized hold of it, and was instantly
in the powerful arms of the bear, and its bones snapping and
cracking. Wakeman, however, lodged his last bullet in the
brain of the blaok brute, and killed it. On examination, it was
found that seven bullets had entered the sliaggy hide back of
tJie fore shoulder, and that the palm of a hand would cover all
the holes at the same time; but that none of the bullets had
penetrated the heart, although all passed close to it.
The animal was very poor, but so heavy that the hunters
found it very difficult to carry it out of the woods, aiid get it to
the house of Mr. Comstock, who lived in the neigliborhood.
The carcass was entirely destitute of fat ; but the skin was very
largo and fine. It was estimated that, if the animal had been
in good contlilion, it would have weighed at least five hundred
pounds."
On more than one occasion, the Smiths found themselves
hterally without a roof above their heads. Once while Mr.
Smith was absent, there was a great storm of wind and rain.
* Statemtnt of Samuel Warring.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 645
The bark-roof of the hut was blown away, and the rain speedily
saturated everything in the house which would absorb water,
which was several inches deep on some parts of the floor. Mrs,
Smith placed her little children wliere they were partially shel-
tered, and was diligently sweeping out the water, when her
neighbor and kinsman, Eliud Lindley, came to her relief, and,
with Smith Benedict^* assisted in " putting things right " once
more.
On another occasion, the family were gathered around their
ample fire-plaoe, in which glowed a huge section of a tree which
would have put to shame the famous yule-logs of our British
ancestors. The labors of the day were over — a day remarkable
for a heavy fall of snow — and they were calmly awaiting the
hour of retiring to rest Silently but rapidly the feathei--like
flakes descended. The storm without was unheeded benause
all was comfortable within, when they were startled by suspi-
cious sounds above them. Snap! crack! The roof was giving
away under the weight of snow which had fallen ! Mr. Smith
slowly and cautiously ascended the ladder by which the loft
was reached — stairs were then unknown at Pleasant lake — when
there was a crash. One-half of the roof slid over one side of
the enclosure, while the other half, with two feet or more of
snow, descended to the puncheons of the upper floor ! What
a catastrophe for a stormy winter-night, when the woodland-
roads were impassable to almost every one of the family! All
lived through it, however, and in after-days, suiTounded by
every comfort, related the adventures of that dreary time to
their descendants.
As a community, the pioneers of North Settlement were
remarkable for rigid morality. Sathanus should not have had a
lodgement in the neighborhood, and yet he found it as easy to
get there as he had to scale the walls of Eden. At Pleasant
lake the devil entered, clothed in the petticoats of Mrs. Baker —
a stout, adipose matron, destitute of beauty and not even comely.
Thereafter her ambition seemed to be to lead captive the hus-
bands of the vicinity. In this category her own was not included.
To him she was a trouble and torment. Her first attempt was
on James Bailey; but not meeting with that degree of succesi*
to which she aspired, she cast her net for John Matthews. He
was caught in her toils, such as they were, and the two disap-
peared simultaneously, and it was said went to Canada.t She
was the first coquette of the town, and more consistent than
modem females of that class.
* Smith Benedict Tvas an adventurous and fearless boy. While living with Nehfr.
miah Smith, he caught a bear several months old, and brouRht it home in his arms,
not regarding its teeth and claws as inconvenient impediments.
t Matthews was spritcly, intelligent and handsome, while his guilty companion
was gross in mind and bodj.—MtiS. of B. 0, CMlds.
35
546 HISTOEY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
P^e^^ous to leaving, Matthews sent his wife, a young anci
attractive woman, to her fiiends at Haversti'uw, under the pre-
t'ense that her accouchment, which was near, would not be safe
at their home in the woods, where no physician could be had.
Apparently this was kind and considerate on his part ; but it
was a mere trick, to get her out of tlie way. On the 7th of
December, 1805, while she was at Haverstraw, he sold his farm
to Siuitli for about §900. As his wife did not then sign the deed,
he left oue-third of the purchase money in Smith's hands, direct-
ing the latter to paj^ the amount to her when she relinquished
her right in the place. He then left with Mrs. Baker. Smith
was afraid he would have ti'ouble with Mrs. Matthews, but the
poor woman had no spirit for a legal contest, and on the 3d of
April, 1806, appeared before Judge Thompson and added her
name to the deed of sale. She then returned to her fi-ieuds
with the babe which never saw its father, and one or two of her
eldest children, and never visited North Settlement again.
Matthews took with him a part of his children, selecting those
not old eaiough to talk.
Mr. Smith moved to the Matthews place as soon as he bought
it, and contiuued to reside there until his death, which occurred
May 25, 1854, when he was 88 years of age. lor many years,
he was a deacon of the Presbyterian Church of Monticello.
During a residence of half a century in the town, no member of
the agricultural class of Thompson, enjoyed a higher degree of
respect.
Eliud Lindley lived for five years in a log-house in the orchard
of what has since been known as the DeVoe farm, at the cross-
roads, in North Settlement. He then moved to a log-house
opposite the gate that leads to the Miner Benedict house, now
(1870) owned by Samuel Stickney. This log-house was a very
primitive aftair. There was not a window in it. In summer
light was admitted througli the door, when the weather was
pleasant enough to leave it open ; and in the whiter it was not
lighted at all, except by the fire necessary to warm it, and by a
few stray beams that found their way down the chimney through
the smoke. Here Mr. Lindley, managed to Uvo comfortably for
six years. He then moved to the farm since owned by his son,
Rufus B. Liadley, where he lived during the remainder of hia
hfe. '
Eliud Lindley was a very industrious and prudent man.
Those who did not imitate him in this respect, but sneered at
his careful management, generally became better acquainted
than he ever was with constables and sheriffs.
In his latter days he vas siugularly afflicted. He became
deaf, and blind, and bed-ridden. Finallv life remained, and that
was all, for his mind was a blank. Filial lunula administered
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 547
to his necessities with patience and kindness until he saw the
light of another world, and he awoke from what to him was a
night of existence on earth to the realities of the future. He
died February 2, 1859, aged 86 years. His wife Elizabeth, who
was two years younger, survived him but six days.
For several years after Mr. Lindley settled in the town, there
was no road from the North Settlement to Monticello. After
John P. Jones commenced selling groceries and a few other
articles, there was a line of marked trees between the two
neighborhoods. This was not always a safe guide; for on a
cloudy day, Mr. Lindley, with Nehemiah Smith and Titus Lock-
wood, went to Jones' place to buy a few necessary articles, and
while on their way back, lost the line of trees, and not being
able to see the sun, did not know which way to travel. After
wandei'ing around until they became tired, they managed to
make a fire, with the aid of steel, flint and punk, and prepared
to make themselves as comfortable as possible. Lockwood,
who was a light-hearted, jovial man, seemed to imagine that it
was his duty to keep up the spuits of the party. He made the
woods echo with all the comic songs he could remember, and
presented their dilemma in the most ludicrous phases he coidd
imagine. His companions laughed heartily at his sallies, and
all spent a rather pleasant night — much more so than did their
friends at home, who were greatly alarmed, and continued to
blow horns until a late hour, hoping the lost ones would hear,
and be guided out of the woods by the noise. The next morn-
ing, when the sun rose, Lindley and the others had no diificulty
in getting home.
JEnoch Comstock, Joshua Foster and Enoch Crosby eraigi-ated
from South East soon after Nehemiah Smith and Ehud Lindley,
and settled in North Settlement. The new comers were men of
excellent repute. Two of them became deacons of the Churches
to which they belonged, and the other, on account of his moral
worth, was called a deacon by general consent. The life of
each was conspicuous for usefulness and probity, and each
lived beyond the average niimber of years allotted to man.
Crosby m many respects was quaint and original. We have
heard the following anecdote of him : He bought a mare which
the seller warranted to be with foal. Crosliy had reason to
anticipate a fine colt ; but great was his surprise at finding by
her side, one morning, a young beast the like of which he had
never seen. It was a diminutive, misshapen thing, with mon-
strous ears, one of which reposed on its neck, while the other
pointed straight at Crosby, as if in derision ! He was aston-
ished— disgusted, and called loudly for his gun, declaring that
such a "critter" should not remain on his farm! And it did
not.
548 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Baker, Kelley and Whelpley removed from the town. Eoberts,
the Welshman, went to the city of New York to visit friends
who hved there, and when returning on a North river sloop,
was drowned.* His widow married an old man named Mat-
thews, the father of the John Matthews already mentioned.
In time, James Holmes, Nathan Burnham, Andrew CJomstock,
Garret Tyraeson, Aaron Benedict, John Graj', Stephen 'Prow-
bridge, and others, were added to the settlement. Tymeson
helped build the Neversink and Delaware bridges.
In addition to William A. Thompson, Cornehus Eay was a
large landholder in the north part of the town. Eay lived in
the city of New York.
A majority of those who located in the North Settlement,
were induced to do so by the first-named gentleman. On the
2d of May, 1811, he sold one hundred acres to Amasa Ci'ane
and another hundred to Stephen Hamilton. On the llth of
the same month, Z. Hatch, Joseph Huntington, and Jared
Huntington each bought a lot of him, as well as others at an
earlier or later day. This land cost Thompson about one
dollar per acre, and he received $5.50 for it. He owned a tier
of lots running from the Neversink almost to the Mongaup by
the way of Thompson ville, Pleasant lake and Dutch pond.
Monticello was founded by Samuel Frisbee Jones and his
brother John Paul Jones. They were natives of the town of
Goshen, Litchfield county, Connecticut, where their father,
Samuel Jones, was a farmer. He was a patriot of 1776, and
Berved in the Revolutionary army as an ensign. AVhile hi»
Bons, Samuel F. and John P. were young, he removed to
Lebanon, Columbia county, where he died in 1836, aged 84 years.
Of the early history of Samuel F. we know nothing. The
other was a merchant's clei-k, and, before coming to Sulhvan,
engaged in trade. The first was an active, energetic man, of
quick, decided utterance, when he did not stutter. In his early
days, his mind was sound and vigorous, and his executive talent
of a superior order. His intellect fathomed a project promptly,
and he was at once ready to engage or avoid participating in it.
John P. was of slow and hesitating speech. As a business
man he was tedious and tardy ; but sure to reach a safe conclu-
sion so far as his own interests were involved. He was cautious
and sagacious, slow and sure. He never engaged in any matter
which he did not understand thoroughly. He saw a cause, and
traced it to its logical end with infinite pains and unerring
persistency.
• Roberts occaBionally went to OraiiRe county to work for farmers and other*.
Once, while returning he encountered a large number of skunks, seven of which h»
killed with a sickle. He said. " Dey stink so, I could not schmt-U 'cm at oil I "
[MSS. of a. a. Child!.
THK TOWN OP THOMPSON. 549
The two were aa much unlike as a mastiff and a sleuth-hound.
Soon after the Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike Company-
was chartered, Samuel F. Jones became interested in its affairs.
In 1802, he explored the forests west of Mamakiiting valley for
a feasible route, and came to the conclusion that when that road
was completed, a new county would be formed fi-(im the south-
western territory of Ulster, and that there would be a veiy
considerable influx of settlers to the region thus opened.
Believing that the capital of this new county would be on the
important thoroughfare from the Hudson to the Delaware, he
decided that its present location was a favorable point, and in
March, 1803, bought of John Johnston, the executor of Gulian
Verplanck, deceased, 1,415J acres in the east half of Great Lot
14. The Verplanck family had owned this laud for more than
half a century. Land in this quarter had been a drug in the
market ; but was now considered worth about four dollars per
acre, in consequence of the projected turnpike; nevertheless,
Johnston, whose sister had an interest in Verplanck's estate,
was so eager to dispose of the tract, that he accepted an offer
of Jones to give $2,831 for it. The latter explained his object
to his brother, John P., and that individual soon after bought
of Charles McEvers of New York, an adjoining tract in Great
Lot 13, containing 445^ acres for $1,7S'2. He also bought of
his brother an undivided half of the 1,415| acres.*
The brothers determined to commence making improvements
without delay. As Samuel F. Jones was occupied in making
the turnpike road, these improvements devolved on John P.
The latter came here in 1803, with eleven men,t (one of whom
was a mill-wright) and a cook. The first thing done was to put
up a temporary shelter west of the village. This was made of
logs, poles and bark, and in it the party slept and the necessary
food was cooked.
"Work was then commenced on a saw-mill, the site of which
■was between the foundry of Eli Fairchild and the tannery of
E. L. Burnham & Son.J Help to raise the frame of the miU
• When the Jones brothers first came to view the site of their future village, whole
wandering in the swamps and through the laurel jungles, they lost sight of each other;
»nd did not get together again until night. They were terribly frightened and nearly
exhausted. One of them had made a fire, by which he expected to remain solitary
»nd alone all night, and the other was about to drop upon the ground, helpless and
worn out, when he discovered his brother's fire, and joined him.
t One of these was Samuel Mitteer, who died in the town of Fallsburgh, Novem-
ber 17, 1870, aged 91 yeara. He came to the United States from France {of which he
was a native) when seven years old. In hie youth he became a carpenter and joiner,
»nd worked for Aaron Burr at the time Burr shot Alexander Hamilton. Before the
duel, he saw his employer practice with his pistols until ho had filled a post in his
back-yard with lead. Mitteer helped build the first houses in Monticello, and Wilham
A. Thompson's mansion in Tompsonville.
X The stream on which this mill was situated, was once known as Saw-mill brook.
Mow it has no name above the Willett place, where it i^ called Smith Meadow brook.
OoO HIBTUM OF bULLIVAJi OOL-NTi'.
was obtained with much difficulty, and it was found tliat so few
persons were present that the work could not be done in less
than two days. Sawed lumber could not be procured nearer
than the Albion mills, at Thompsonville, and tlie only route to
reach the latter place was by the way of Bridgeville and Wake-
man's ford. Even there a sufficient quantity for purposes
absolutely indispensable could not be bought at any price, and
the workmen were obliged to split and hew plank for the miU-
flume. John P. Jones has recorded the fact that while erecting
this mill, two of his workmen, in attempting to go to it from the
log-house, lost the path near where the Methodist church now
stands, and wandered through swamps and laurel-thickets for
eight hours, without knowing where they were. In such bad
condition was the Sacket road at that time, that he was com-
pelled to pay ten dollars for the transportation of six huudi'ed
pounds of material over it.
The mill was so far finished by the 1st of December, that it
could be used for sawing lumber, when John P. Jones and his
brother returned to New Lebanon, where they sjDent the winter.
Early in April, John P. came back, and after putting the mill in
operation, cleared and seeded lands on Lot 77, west of the
village.
The brothers soon after built a gi-ist-mill a short distance
above Burnham & Son's tannery. It was a small aflair, and
intended for their own use principally.
The route of the Turnpike Company through Thompson was not
determined until tlie spring of this year, (1804). Thompsonville
(or Albion, as it was then called,) was a flourishing settlement, and
its founder, who had recently been appointed a Judge of Ulster
county, was a gentlemen of standing and influence, the owner
of 20,000 acres of land, and the interests of a large majority of
the residents of the town were identified with his. Judge
Thompson and his friends and dependants wanted the road to
run through their settlement. They tlid not apprehend formi-
dable opposition from the Jones brothers, who were newcomers,
and who could command comparatively little local influence.
But the residents of Thompsonville were mistaken. They
underrated these obscure strangers, who had a few months
previously erected an insignificant saw-mill in the woods.
Samuel F. Jones' connection with the Turnpike Company, and
his frequent intercourse with those who controlled its afl'airs,
gave him a preponderating influence. The road line was run and
estabhshed precisely where Samuel F. Joues desired to have it.
The brothers then located their intended village, and before
there was even a log-hut in it, sui-veyed the .streets and the
"public square," the lines of which they marked on the forest-
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON, 551
trees ! At the same time, they gave the name of Monticello* to
their unbuilt village.
For beauty Monticello is not surpassed by any village of an
equal population. Its main or principal street is one mile in
length, eight rods wide, and straight. Its park or green is
central, on the side of a gentle elevation, the summit of which
is crowned with the Court-liouse, Clerk's office and Presbyterian
church. Its private residences are located back from the street,
and generally have pretty yards in front, adorned with flowers
and ornamental trees, and the buildings themselves indicate
that their owners are wealthy and refined people. All these
things (except the last,) are the result of a fixed purpose on
the part of two apparently utilitarian Yankees, who were not
considered remarkable as lovers of the lesthetic, and this pur-
pose was formed when the village-site was hterally a cover for
wolves and hears! Their rival, Judge Thompson, planned a
noble mansion for himself. They founded a beautiful capital
for the county — a splendid monument of correct taste and far-
reaching enteiprise, and stamjDed upon it indelible character-
istics wdiich will proclaim theii- wisdom and worth to future
generations.
After surveying the principal streets of the village, the
brothers advertised in the newspapers of Dutchess and other
counties that they would give mechanics and others, village-lots
of one acre each if they would build and settle on them. John
P. Jones then selected a lot for his own residence, and, although
not an expert ax-man, on the 4th of September, 1S04, cut down
the first tree with his own hands, beUeving that the time would
come when the act would entitle him to as much distinction as
if he had laid the corner-stone of a fine edifice. With his hired
help, he cleared the lot, and built the house, which was ready
to be occupied early in December. This building was subse-
quently enlarged and improved, and continued to be his
residence until the time of his death.
Others soon settled in the place, as we shall more particularly
set forth as soon as we give a brief statement of the subsequent
history of these enterprising brothers.
Samuel F. Jones was the first postmaster and one of the first
Judges of the County Court of Sullivan. He also was elected
Supervisor for several terms. Unfortunately, he was convivial
in his tastes and habits, and in the end gave free indulgence to
his appetite for spirituous liquors. His wife followed his ex-
ample, and sometimes became so crazed with rum that she
appeared publicly in a nude condition. His real estate gradu-
* MonticoUo 18 from two Latin words, siguifyiiig Hcavenlv Mountain. It was given
to the place because Samuel F. and John 1*. Jones were ardent admirers of Thomaa
Jefferson, who invented the name, and gave it to tl>e place of his residence.
552 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUKTY.
ally passed into the hands of hiB brother. He became poor,
and died in the prime of his life. His wife survived him until
June 21, 1832. Tliey left two children — a son and daughter.
The latter was living in Port Jei-vi.s several years since. Henry,
the son, an amiable and inoifensive man, early became a sot,
and died, August 24, 1838, almost friendless and alone, at the
age of 33 years, in a small building which stood on the lot now
occupied by the dwelling of Thornton A. Niven.
John P. Jones was the first Clerk of the County, and held
the office for about ten years. He was also a Supervisor
of his town; postmaster from 1812 to 1840; a State Senator
from 1835 to 1838 ; and a member of the Electoral College of
New York in 1856. Until his death he did not cease to labor
for the interests of Monticello, and perhaps no one felt more
than he the disappointment and indignation which was mani-
fested in the interior of the county, when the New York and Erie
Railroad was located in the valley of the Delaware.
Pre\'ious to 1804, he married a young lady who was remark-
able for her beauty of mind and person; but she soon died
childless.
Soon after coming to Monticello, he married Pliebe Ecker of
Newburgh.* By her he had two sons and several daughters.
One of the sons (Samuel) died in childhood ; the other (William)
married, and was for a time a merchant in Monticello. He died
in Newburgh in 1841, leaving one son (John P., jr.,) and two
daughters. John P. jr. married Mary, eldest daughter of Col.
I. P. Tremain, and died in November, 1865, without male issue.
"With him died the last descendant in the male line of either of
the founders of Monticello.
After the death of his wife Phebe, John P. Jones married
again ; but, as we have already intimated, had no children by
his last consort.
Piatt Peltou, a young tanner of South East, Putnam county,
N. Y., having heard of the flattering prospects of Monticello,
came here in the summer of 1804, to satisfy himself in regard
to its advantages. He found a saw-mill and a temporary shanty;
but not another building of any kind — not even a barn. He
saw enough, however, to induce him to come to the place, with
his amiable and beautiful young wife, in 1805, and build the
second house erected in Monticello. That house still stands on
the corner of Main street and the road leading to Burnham &
Son's tannery. He also constructed a tan-yard, and cleared
* Mrs. Phebo Jones was a daughter of Wolfort Eclser, a Lientenant in the Bevoln-
tionarv armv, and ehainnan of the (Committee of Safety of Newburgh. He removed
from Sleepy' HoUow U< NewbtirRh in 1772, and died there in 1799. .Svbout Keker, hi>
father, wan'a Ron of Wolfert Ecker, the proprietor of "Wolfert's Boost,'' ("Sunuy Side,")
the subject of one of Wanliington Irving'a SketchoB.
(See Bolton's History of WestcheHter County, and Buttenber's Newburgh.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 553
land south of the village. He was an energetic and useful
citizen, and was one of our most respectable resitlents until his
death. He held several offices of trust and responsibility, was
well-read and intelligent — a Judge of the County — and the father
of several sons and daughters whom he trained so as to honor
his name. It is not probable, however, that his family will be
perpetuated here.
In this year (1805) John P. Jones built a large blacksmith-
shop, and cleared and cultivated several acres of land. Miles
Curtis put up a house, and made the turnpike-road through the
embryo village. Besides this, Curtis Lindley commenced build-
ing a hotel — the tavern since kept by S. W. B. Chester, Amos
Holmes, David Halsey, George Wiggins, Ira Weed, Asa C.
Berry and Legi-and Morris. The Courts of the county were
afterwards held in this building until the Court-house was com-
pleted.*
Previous to 1805, there were settlers south-west of Monticello
besides Terwilliger and Litts. On the 22d of March, 1805,
Samuel Pelton and John Knapp, two of the Road Commis.sion-
ers of the town,t met at the house of Abraham Waring, and
"resolved that road district No. 16 contain the road from the
Sacket road near Hog Back Ridge ; thence past the house of Mr.
Letz, Samuel Pelton, Isaac Wells and Jared Jones ; from thence
to where it intersects the Sacket road near the ]\Iongap stream."
These Commissioners were elected in April, 1804.
One of these Commissioners (Samuel Pelton) bought a lot of
land near the Sackett pond in 1802, and built on it a rude log-
cabin, into which he moved with his young family in April, 1803.
He was a native of Montgomery, Orange county. New York,
where he was bom on the 25th of March, 1776. His parents
were pious people, and were connected with the Presbyterian
Church of Goodwill. " In his third years he was brought very
low by sickness, and when the disease seemed almost at a fatal
crisis, his father, to whom the boy was very dear, retired to his
closet to plead for the life of the lad." Wliile thus engaged he
felt that he was premonished that his child would recover and
become a pious and useful man ; and so clear was his belief that
this would be so, that he went to his wife, who was weeping
over the cradle in which the infant was apparently " nigh unto
death," and comforted her, assuring her that he felt a conviction
that their babe would be spared, and become a worthy servant
of the Almighty. The child hved; and the communication
which he dechxred he had received as a response to his suppli-
cation was indelibly impressed upon his mmd, as well as upon
the mind of the mother. It was this, it is believed, that induced
* The first Circuit was hold in Bloomingburgh.
t Johannes UiLler, of Miller Settlement, was the other Commissioner.
554 HISTORY OF SUUXTAS COUNTT.
tbem to give Samuel a classical educntioa, so that he woiikl be
fitted for the ministiy of the Church, if God, as thej believed he
would, should call him to serve as a teacher in his sanctuary.
But little more is known of his childhood. It is believed,
however, that he was conspicuous for good conduct and intelh-
gence ; for when he connected himself, before his majority, with
the GoodwUl Church, his jjastor, Rev. Andrew King, strongly
advised him to commence without delay the study of theology.
Mr. King was seconded by Samuel's father, who oflered to aid
his son with all that was needful. The young man at first hes-
itated, and finally expressed his aversion to the scheme of his
pastor and father.
When he was twenty-one years of age, he married Eleanor
Moule, a young lady of pious parents. She was a woman of
great moral worth, and lived with him in amity and love for
more than sixty years. During the first four or five years of
their married life, they resided with his father, and performed
their full share of the labors of the farm. Being as robust in
body as he was in mind, he eventually resolved to remove to
the wilds of Sullivan, and hew his way to a competence. This
project met with decided opposition from his parents, and
especially fi om his mother. They regarded it as a " wild under-
taking ; and she for the first time told him of his dangerous ill-
ness; of his father's prayers; of what they regarded as a Divine
assurance ; of his recovery ; and of his solemn dedication to God.
Then adcbessing him tenderly, she said: "A part of that which
was so intimated to your father we have lived to see fulfilled ;
but now you are going to bury yourself in the woods, where you
will never be of any use in the w-orld."
Her words and tears did not prevail. He went to the wilder-
ness, and afterwards declared that, if he had accomphshed a
good work, "the woods" was his starting-point.
He did not leave his religion behind him. " He lifted up axes
upon thick trees ;" he leveled the forests, and made araVile land
of his wild acres ; he took an active interest in the civil aliairs
of his neighborhood ; he also labored to give shape and consist-
ency to the moral elements of the community in which his lot
was cast. Strong arms and unflagging energy were necessary
to reclaim the natural wastes around him ; a soul actuated by
the most lofty motives was necessary to plant and cultivate the
seeds of virtue in the scattered clearings of a wilderness-country,
where moral ties were weak, and evil inlluences powerful.
)Iot long after his settlement in Thompson, he began opera-
tions for the improvement of the people by gn tinning them at
suitable places on the Lord's day, by praying with and exliorting
them, and by giving them religious instruction ; and there lieing
no ordained Pi-esbyterian minister in tijo towu, he was soon
THE TO-WN OF THOMPSON. 655
called upon to officiate at funerals. His efforts must have been
acceptable and successful; for in 1810, and under hie super-
vision, a Church wa.s organized at Wliite Lake ; and soon after
another at Monticello. Of the last he was one of the Ruling
Elders who were first ordained. About this time also, he as-
sisted the people of Liberty and Cochecton in securing Church-
organizations. At considerable loss of time and means, he often
represented his Church in the Hudson Presbytery, where he
eloquently described the dearth of gi-ace which prevailed in
Sullivan, and the methods adopted to supply the spiritual neces-
sities of the people. So earnest and successful was he in his
labors, that he may be styled the father of Presbyterianism in
Sullivan.*
He continued to labor as a farmer and lay-missionary until
1814 or 1815. At some time previous to 1814, there was a re-
markable awakening on the subject of religion in tliis region.
The revival was a general one, and was confined to no particular
denomination. The Baptists of the town were then numerous
and influential, owing perhaps to the exertions of the Eev. Luke
Davies, an early missionary whose life was devoted to farming,
and the cure of bodies and souls. Mr. Pelton took an active
part in this revival. He was a shrewd observer of character,
and seemed to have a prescience of the future standing and in-
fluence of the several converts. As he could not hope to catch
all in his net, he endeavored to secure those whom he considered
the most important. By conferring with these "in season and
out of season," he gathered them into what he considered the
true fold, while the Baptists secured the others. The subsequent
history of the two societies in this town shows the measure of
liis foresight, and that the wisdom of the seipent will sometimes
be lead to more imjxirtaut results than the harmlessuess of the
dove ; albeit, the Christian character cannot approach the Divine
Exemplar unless it be tempered by both knowledge and inno-
cence.
When he was nearly forty years of age, some of the leading
members of the Hudson Presbytery, among whom was his old
pastor, Rev. Andrew King, being well convinced that he would
be most useful in holy orders, strongly advised him to pursue a
course of study to fit himself for the ministry. He yielded to
their advice, and in a few months completed his theological
course, and was licensed to preach.
He soon after received a call to the Churches of Hempstead
and Haverstrav/, in Rockland county. This call he accepted.
His advent in tliose places was followed by a revival, which so»
built up the congregations under liis charge that for many years
they were Iiarmonious and flourishing.
* Sketch ol the Life aud Death of Bev. Samuel Pelton, by Ktv. Bal^jh Bull.
556 HISTOKT OF SULLIVAN OODKTY.
About the year 1834, he engaged in a oontroTersy with s
Methodist preacher on the subject of Calvinism and Arminian-
ism. Tlie debate lasted several days, and was published by
Mr. Pelton in a small volume, which was much admired by his
friends. His pastoral relations at Haverstraw and Hempstead
were uniformly happy and continued unbroken until the 64th
year of his age, when he received a stroke of paralysis, which so
impaired his physical and mental faculties, that he resigned his
charge, and soon after returned to his old home near Monticello,
■where he continued to reside fiom 1840 to July 10, 1864, when
he died, aged 88 years.*
In his prime, Mr. Pelton's intellect was vigorous and its ema-
nations original. He was bold and honest. What he believed
he advocated in open day, and regardless of consequences to
himself. His course as to the cause of total abstinence from
alcoholic beverages is an illustration. He believed that a tem-
perate use of them was lawful, and not condemned by the Word
of God. As a clergyman he stood alone on this subject ; but
this fact did not deter him from avowing his opinions whenever
and wherever they met with ojiposition. We believe he even
published a book, in which he condemned the principles and
conduct of the temperance societies of the day.
Jared Jones was an uncle of Samuel F. and John P. Jones.
In 1804, he settled in the woods near Sackett's pond. He was
a slave-owner and a man of property ; but lacked the energy
and entei-prise of his nephews. He has left no descendants in
the town, and none of his acts have caused him to be remem-
bered. He was well known to William Morgan, Piatt Pelton,
Daniel Litts and others as aa honest, companionable man, who
loved to wander in the woods in search of game, accompanied
by his favorite negro servant. This slave was a large, stout,
bold fellow, who could throw the carcass of a deer or bear
across his shoulders, and tramp with it for miles by his master's
side.
Jones' principal hunting-ground was the big woods between
his cabin and Monticello. He killed many deer near the track
of the Monticello and Port Jervis railroad. In the spring of
1805, he and his black man were in these woods, and intended
to camp out and remain two days ; but for some cause the negro
returned home before the first night. In the evening, Mr.
Jones built a fire, and passed the night very comfortably. The
next morning was cloudy, and there was a prospect of a rainy
day. Uncle Jared, as he was called by his frieutls, not liking a
deer-hunt in a stormy day, concluded to return to his home, and
started as he supposed in the right direction ; but, after travel-
V. Ralph BuU.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 567
ing an hour or two, came to the place where he had spent the
night. He started again, hoping to keep in a straight hne, but
was unsuccessful. As night was near, he reached his old camp-
ing-place, and at once realized his situation; he was lost and
bewildercfl. He rebuilt his fire, and hungry and weary, laid
down by it on his couch of hemlock-boughs, where his sleep
was disturbed by the howHng of wolves. At day-dawn, fearing
that he would never be extricated ; that he would die from
exhaustion, and his body be devoured by wild beasts, he cut his
name on the tnmk of a tree, and once more commenced his
weary travels. In the afternoon he laid down in despair and,
as he supposed, to die. But succor was at hand. He was
missed. Tlie few men of the region were alanned, and went in
eearch of him. He was found by WilUam Morgan, whose
widow related these facts more than half a century afterwards
to the author of the " Hunters of Sullivan."
A few years since, John S. Fraser, of Monticello, while hunt-
ing for cattle, became bewildered near the scene of Uncle Jared'a
adventure, and was missing about the same length of time.
Isaac Wells, who lived between the cleaving of Jared Jones
and the house of Samuel Pelton, was a respectable resident,
and a man of note, as appears from the ancient records of the
town. He left no descendants in this section. A small stream
in his neighborhood was named Wells' brook.
Nathaniel Goldsmith assisted in opening the Sackett road,
and in 1801, settled on the farm now owned by Aaron Young.
In 180-5, Daniel Clark bought 287 acres about one mile north
of Monticello, on the Liberty road, for which he paid one
thoustmd dollars. He soon became dissatisfied with his loca-
tion. He thought it was too far from the turnpike; that it
occupied too much time to go to and from the settled parts of
the country, etc. The Messrs. Jones, learning his troubles,
offered him one hundred acres on the north side of the village
for eight dollars per acre. He examined the land, and decided
that it was too rough for him, and soon afterwards bought the
Webster farm, on the turnpike west of Monticello. He next
sold this, and, after living at Bridgeville sometime, finally
settled down for life on the east side of the Neversiuk, near the
creek which bears his name, but which was previously known
as Grassy brook, where he engaged in farming and lumbering,
and where he did not enjoy increased facilities of intercourse
with the outside world. Mr. Clark was a man of respectable
abilities, and was often called to fill important positions. He
was several times a Supervisor, and was a Member of Assembly
in 1814: and 1819, and a member of the Constitutional Conven-
558 HISTORY OP Sia,LIVAN COUNTY.
tion of 1821* Besides these he held several minor offices.
He was a man of grave and severe countenance, and was so
reticent that he was never known to iittei- a foolish remark.
He was much esteemed b}- the leading citizens of the town, and
certainly deserved their good opinion.
When Daniel Olark moved to the West Settlement, David
Hammond was living in a log-tenement east of his (Clark's)
house. Hammond had been unsuccessful in business, and came
liere to better his condition. He never became wealthy ; but
his descendants have been amongst the most prosperous business-
men of SuUivan.
We have said on the preceding page that Daniel Clark settled
in the woods about one mile from Monticello, on the Liberty
road, and left there because he was so far from neighbors. One
of those who owned the place after Clark's removal was Andrew
Oomstock, a dashing, impiilsive man, who had at one time many
friends as well as some enemies. The latter were generally
close and careful dealers, a class of men whom Comstock
despised and ridiculed. It would have been weU for him and
his family if he had been more like his enemies, for by too gi-eat
liberality, he squandered his estate, and became very poor.
Oomstock liked tine domestic auimtils, and generaUy had hoi-ses,
etc., of extra quahty. One of his sheep — a wether — was of
unusual size, and the pride of his heart. He was never weary
of exhibiting it to visitors, and declared it was as large as a
yearling-steer.
At night his sheep were yarded behind a barn nearly opposit^^
his house, where it was supposed they were safe from wild
animals. But a bear entered Comstock's fold, and killed and
partly devoured his big wether, and then retired to the swamp
throiigh which run the upper waters of Kinne brook. Cora-
stock found the tracks of the offender, and made iip his mind
that if bruin undertook to wear shoes, nothing short of number
twelves would answer. Soon the news spread that the big sheep
was killed by a monstrous bear, and that Comstock had pro-
cured a steel-trap large enough to hold a buffalo, and after
baiting it with the remains of the wether, had set it near his
barn. In a day or two, the trap and the log to which it was
chained were missing, and the Stoddards, Lindleys, Smiths and
others gathered at Comstock's to join in the search for the
missing aiticles, and to help kill the bear. They soon found
what they looived for in the swamp near by, wheft all paused in
awe at the sight of the huge animal. Its travels liad ceased
because the log to which the trap was fastened had met with an
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 55£
obstiniction. Finding farther flight impossible, the beast gal-
lantly faced its pursuers, and, seated on its haunches, was ready
for battle.
Comstock was a colonel of militia. Brilliant and gay with
tinaol and lace aiid feathers, and mounted on a steed made
frantic by his merciless spurs, he had a truly martial bearing
when at the head of his regiment. He was reputed a lirave as
well as dashing officer, and here was an oppoi-tunity to place
his reputation beyond ca-val. When his neighbors paused, the
colonel promptly advanced, with a well-charged "horse-pistol"
in either hand — pistols, the handsome buts of which had so
often protruded from his holsters as his war-horse pranced, and
curveted, and vaulted on the village gi-een before admiring
thousands. He knew that the trap held the bear secure]}-, and
hence boldly advanced with a military step, until he was within
a few feet of the animal, when, with a steady eye and firm
hand, he coolly took aim with both pistols, and fired. One of
the balls struck the hear in the nose, (the nose of a bear is as
sensitive as a hog's) and down bruin droj^ped, ajiparently dead.
The colonel was jubilant and exultixnt. With a shout, he sprang
forward, and jumped astride of what he supposed a breathless
carcass. But the bear was not dead. The bullet had for a
moment disarranged its neiTous system, after which it uttered
a sound compounded of a snort and a grunt, and quickly got
upon its legs, with Comstock on its back. Comstock dismounted
so hastily that he never knew exactly how he accomplislied the
feat. He performed a journey of about two rods througli the
underbrush, in the twinkling of an eye, and in doing so went
heels over head, " on all foiu-s " and head over heels. When he
got upon his feet, his face was ghastly, his clothes soiled and
torn, and his hair in gi-eat disorder.
After this misadventure, others who were present shot and
dispatched the bear, which was very fat,' and weighed upwards
of four hundred pounds.
Sixty years ago, bears were very numerous in the swamp
where this adventure occurred, and on the neighboring hills.
As late as the 17th of May, 18-50, a very large one was seen
there, and was pursued and shot at by several hunters of
Monticello; but escaped. Its track measured six by four
inches.
In January, 1805, William Morgan and family moved into the
town. Though he was never re^ erenced by the worshipers ot
wealth, he was a good man. whose memory should command
respect and excite lively gratitude. On one occasion, Electa,
his wife, rode a horse fi-om Monticello to Bloomingburgh, follow-
ing the old Sackett road, and carrying in her arms a sick child.
560 mSTORY OF BUIXrVAN COUNTY.
where she took it for medical advice and treatment.* He lived
and died a poor man — his only capital a good name and the
ability to labor for his daily bread. He died on the 26th of
November, 1838, aged G'2 years. His widow survived him twen-
ty-two years. His only son CWiUiam) committed suicide by
drowning in Lord's pond.
During the same season, Seth Conant, of Mansfield, Connec-
ticut, became a resident of Thompson. From that time imtil
his death in 18i0, he lived in the county. He filled a number
of offices, civil and military.
In 18U6, John P. Jones built an addition to his house, and
recommenced business in it as a merchant. His manner of
giving credit was characteristic of the man. When one of his
customers bought a bill of goods, for which he was not ready to
pay, he was required to give a written acknowledgment of in-
debtedness in the shape of a note or due-bill. In this way,
disputations in regard to accounts were avoided, and the seller
was entitled to interest from the day of sale.
John P. Jones also erected the first part of the house now
occupied by A. C. Niven. This was for his brother, who was
too much occupied with the turnpike to attend to his own atfairs.
Major Abraham Brownson, an officer of the Eevolutiouary
armj', who had come into possession of a considerable tract of
land east of the village, made his residence where Seth B. Allyn
now lives (1873). Major Brownson was a native of Vermont,
where he resided in 1776. In May, 1830, he and a Major Joseph
Shaw, of Jefferson county, made personal application to Con-
gress for relief. A bill was introduced in the Senate gianting
each one hundred acres of land, an annual pension of Sl'iO, and
several hundred dollars of back-pay, and it was taken up out of
its order and passed unanimously. It was then introduced in
the House of Eepresentatives and placed in its regular order at
the bottom of the calendar. This, at the heel of the session,
was tantamount to rejection, unless it could be taken up out of
its order. Leave to do so was asked by Hon. Charles G. Do
Witt, of liingston ; but his motion was defeated by the dissent-
ing voice of a single member. Mr. DeWitt then made a moving
appeal for the aged patriots, and demanded why they should bo
detained longer? " They are this present moment in the gallery,"
said he, "listening with extreme anxiety for their doom." Here
he pointed to them, and both stood up side by side. All eyes
were turned to their venerable forms. The eilect was electrical.
Cries of " leave ! leave !" rang through the hall ; the bill was
nassed nemine contradicente, and the veterans, bowing respect-
nilly, withdi-ew.t In 1835, Major Brownson was prostrated by
• HunterB of Sumvau. t Washington Tfiegraph, June 1, 1830.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 561
a painful disease, which he bore with great fortitude for nearly
two years, when he died, aged 78.
In 1806, Ezra Reynolds erected the old James Brush house
east of the village, where such men as Livingston Billings
boarded, and made their head-quarters. Daniel Clark built a
house on the Webster place, and Simeon M. Jordan became a
resident of the West Settlement. Mr. Jordan was a man of
estimable character; and was remarkable for his life-long ad-
miration of John P. Jones.
Livingston Billings was the first lawyer of Monticello, and
came here from Poughkeepsie before Sullivan was a county, or
Monticello much more tlian a forest. Tradition says that he
came here on horseback, expecting to find a thri\'iug village, and
that he rode through Main street and over the westward hill
without suspecting that he had passed the place. He continued
his journey until he had nearly reached Uzziel Royce's, when
he made inquiries in regard to the future capital of a future
county, and was informed that he had already passed through it.
He opened an ofiice in the old James Brush house soon after,
and subsequently built and occupied the law-building now
owned by Clinton V. E.. Ludington. None of its subsequent
owners and occupants, (Randall S. Street, Alfred B. Street,
William B. Wright and C. V. R. Ludington,) have laid a Vandal
hand upon one of its features. It remains now precisely as it
was when death closed prematurely the honorable and useful
life of Livingston BiUings. If he could return, he would not
recognize the imposing structures which have rejjlaced other
modest edifices of 1820 ; but he would at once know the old law-
office. It is not probable that Mr. Ludington will ever
modernize this ancient reUc It should be preserved with re-
ligious care.
Our list of those who have occupied official positions in the
county will exhibit the estimation in which Mr. BilUngs was
held by his cotemporaries of Sullivan.
In 1807, a school was opened in a log-house built by a
negro, on lands now owned by Henry R. Low, and west of
the residence of Reuben B. Towner. Seth Conant was its
teacher. It was afterwards removed to the lot owned by the
heirs of James A. Bullard, deceased, where Asa Hall taught for
a time. Subsequently it was established on the lot where the
district school-house is now located. The old district school-
house was struck by lightning on the 18th of June, 1832, while
the teacher, whose name was Ethan Crandall, and several pupils
were in it. The west gable was almost torn to pieces, and the
lath and plaster thrown vnth great velocity across the hall, and
a portion through the door into the school-room, and through
the windows in the opposite end of the building. Mr. Crandall
36
€62 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
and one pupil v\-ere injured by the flying rubbish. About ten
years afterwards the house caught fire and was burned to the
ground. A new one was tlien built, which is still standing.
In 1807, Samuel F. Jones made a large addition to his dwell-
ing-house, and having nearly finished the tunipike-road, turned
his attention to the erection of a new county. With others, he
made an unsuccessful application to the Legislature of 1808.
At the session of 1809, it was renewed, and although it met
with some opposition from the citizens of Ulster, the act erect-
ing the county of Sullivan was passed on the 27th of March,
1809.
Previous to 1811, many who lived in the interior of SuUivan
were obliged to travel or send to Montgomery, Orange county,
to mail or receive letters. There was not a mail-route or a post-
office in the coiinty. In 1811, a post-route went into operation
from Newburgh to Ithaca, by way of Monticello, Binghamton
and Owego, and a post-office was established at Monticello,
with Samuel F. Jones as postmaster. During the next year he
vacated the oflice, when his brother, John P. Jones, was ap-
pointed to fill his place. The latter retained the position until
General Harrison was made President, when he was super-
seded.
The establishment of a mail-route from Newburgh through
this county gave great satisfaction to the people of Sullivan,
some of whom remembered the time when there was not a post-
office between the Hudson and Delaware rivers, above the
Highlands and the Water Gap.*
Soon after the act to organize Sullivan as a county became a
law, David Hammond built a part of what is now the Mansion
House. This building has been owned by him, Stephen Hamil-
ton, (his son-in-law,) John C. Holley, William Crandall and
Solomon W. Eoyce, and additions were made to it fi-om time to
time until it was the largest hotel-building in Sullivan, Orange,
Ulster, and Delaware counties. In early times as well as
recent, it was the head-quarters of the staging-business, and
was enlivened by the expert Jehuism of John Codington,
* In 1792, Cornelius C. Sclioonmakcr represented Orange and Ulster in Congrccg.
On the 9th of Fchriinry of that yenr he wrote to his frieuil, Captain William I'roBs, <.f
Montgiimcrv, that Congnsa had eslabliBheda piiat-route from "Itynbcck to Kingston,
Ward's Bri.fge, Goshen, .Sussex Court House,'' etc., and said : "The estalilishing of
this post-road will, 1 am iu hopes, conduce much to the circulating of News Tapers and
other useful information through t)ur State on the west side of the Hudson. The
inconvenience of which we liavo long experienced." This act took effect on the Ist day
of June, 1792. Previous to that date, SdiooniuaUer found it nec<ssarv, when hewroto
to his wife or neighbors, to send hia letters to the care of Caplain N. Strong of Ncvf
'York city, who forwarded them to Montgomery or tihanauguuk wbenevor he had aa
opportuiiity.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 663
William Morgan, junior, Richard Munson, Joseph F. Coit, and
oUier dashing despots of the whip and reine.*
Henry Reed and David Goodrich also put up stores and
dwellings ; Clinton Barnes a house and shop, and several otliers
various buildings. Curtis Lindley added to his tavern-house a
dining and sitting-room on the first floor and a court-room above.
In the latter the County Courts were held, as well as the Circuits
when His Honor the Judge did not compel litigants, witnesses,
jurors and lawyers to go to Bloomingburgh, so as to save him-
self a journey to the central town of the county.
The village increased gradually. In 1813, there were twenty
dwellings, besides stores, shops, a school-house, the court-
house, etc.
The act of March 27, 1809, led to a triangular contest between
Liberty, Thompsonville and Monticello. Each place was anxious
to secure the county-buildings.f The people of Liberty were
the most active and influential in competing with Monticello ;
but the latter had the advantage of being situated on the great
thoroughfare from the Hudson to the Delaware, and, while it
was as near the territorial centre as Liberty, it approximated
closer to the centre of population. Besides this, it cannot be
denied that Samuel F. Jones was at that time the most influen-
tial man in the county, as well as the most subtle and sagacious.
When it was covered by a dense forest, he had determined that
Monticello should be the county-seat, and for years he had
labored to make it so. Every step he had taken was an approach
to a successful consummation of his plans ; and he was deter-
mined that no competitor should suddenly spring up and grasp
the prize.
The site of the court-house and jail, under the law, was to be
determined by Commissioners appointed by the Governor of the
State. Samuel F. Jones went to Albany to secure the favorable
action of Governor Tompkins. The latter was not disposed to
be hasty, and probably wished to hear all the claimants. Jones
returned home, and, it is said, met on the road a delegation from
Liberty, whom he advised to go back, as the matter luas already
determined. This was true, perhaps, in one sense ; but in another
it was not. It may have been a foregone conclusion for years;
* On the 3 1 of Au^'UHt, 1H71, tliu Mansiuii Houan was dcsti-u.vt'd b\ lire, tufjother
witb ftU its outbiiilainRs, (including two large barns,) a Hlore-bonse belonging to the
estate of Nathan S. Hamilton and occupied by Frederick S. Newkirk, the storc-houso
a splendid monument of the mechanical proficiency of Alfred W. Sears, its "builder.
In ihe same year, A. C. Niven purchased the adjoining lot (east) and erected a beau-
tiful three-story brick-editico, which is occupied as a store, law-office, etc.
t Johtnaes Miller of Aliller SottlL'mcnt endeivorjd trt hive the county-seat on hia
lands, where he had laid out viHnge streets, and selected commanding positious for
public buildings.
564 mSTOBY OP SULLIVAN COtrSTT.
but it was not yet an accomplished fact. The Liberty gentlemen
returned ; and so did Jones — to Albany, as soon as he had at-
tended to some private aflairs which required his immediate
attention. The Governor soon after appointed William Eoss
and Joseph Morrell of Orange county, and Abraham H. Schenck
of Dutchess, and the Commission decided in favor of Monticello.
Rosa was a well-known lawyer and politician of Newbm-gh, who
was in the Assembly several years, and was the presichng officer
of that body in 1811 ; Morrell was a Member in 1810 ; and
Schenck, who hved at Fishkill, had been in the Stat« Legisla-
ture a short time previously, and was afterwards a Eepresenta-
tive in Congi-ess. There is no doubt that all throe were
interested, directly or indirectly, in the Newburgh and Cochecton
turnpike, and warm fiiends of every measure which would
Sromote that work. They \evj natxu'aUy decided in favor of
[onticello.
The site was secured, but not the court-house. A majority
of the Supervisors of the new county were hostile to Monticello,
and in 1809 and 1810 neglected to raise money to erect the
county-buildings. To encounter this obstacle, application was
made to the Legislature for an act to require the Board to raise
the money necessary for building the court-house and jail, and
to appoint John Lindsley, of Bethel, David Hammond and
Malachi Foot, of Thompson, Darius Martin, of Liberty, and
John Newkirk, of Mamakatiug, Commissioners to superintend
the erection of the buildings. The . act passed and became a
law on the 22d of March, 1811 ; nevertheless, the work did not
progress rapidly ; for, although the building was of wood, and
could have been put up in six mouths, it was not ready for
occupation until January, 1814, nearly five years after the
erection of the county.
On the first day of June, 1809, Governor Tompkins and
Council appointed the following officers for the county : William
A. Thompson, Fii-st Judge; Samuel F. Jones and Elnathan
Sears, Judges; John Conklin, Jabez Wakeman and David
Hammond, Assistant Justices ; Uriah Lockwood, Sherill'; John
P. Jones, County Clerk.
The following persons were appointed Justices of the Peace
in tlieir respective towns :
Mamakatinq — Henry Patmer, Samuel Smith, Henry New-
kirk and Robert Crawford.
TnoMrsoN — Enoch Comstock, Francis Andrews, and Comfort
Castle.
LuMBEKL.'VND — WUliam Brown, Jonathan Dexter, Elisha He-
cock and Paul Horton.
Neversink — Daniel Elmore and Jeremiali Gale.
LiBEKTV — Darius Martin.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 565
On the first Tuesday of October following, the firat' term of
the Court of Common Pleas and Genei-al Sessions was lield at
the house of Curtis LinJley, in Monticello. Present, William
A. Thompson and Samuel F. Jones, Judges; John Conklin and
David Hammond, Assistant Justices; Uriali Lockwood, Sheriff;
John P. Jones, Clerk. Livingston Billings and Charles Baker
•were admitted to practice as attorneys and counselors of the
courts of the county. There being no grand jury and no busi-
ness to attend to, the Court adjourned to the second Tuesday
of January, 1810.
On the same day and at the same place occurred the primary
meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the county. The
members were William Parks, of Neversink; David Milliken,
of Mamakating ; John P. Jones, of Thompson ; Darius Martin,
of Liberty ; and John Conklin, of Lumberland. David Milliken
was elected Chairman, Livingston Billings, Clerk of the Board,
and William Brown, County Treasurer.
On the second Tuesday of January, 1810, the Court of Com-
mon Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace for the trial of
causes was held in Monticello. William Eoss, Samuel R. Betts
and Herman Euggles were admitted to practice as attorneys
and counselors. The Court adopted a seal, consisting of the
rising sun and the words "SuUivan Common Pleas." The
following persons composed the grand jury: Abraham Brown-
son, foreman, Samuel Smith, Daniel Clark, Abijah Noms,
Jonathan Dexter, W^illiam Brown, Matthew Northrop, John
Griffin, Samuel Barnum, Adolph Van Duzer, Enoch Comstock,
Garret Tymeson, Nathan Kinne, Solomon Eoyce, Jesse Crocker,
Charles Irvine, Nehemiah Smith, Piatt Pelton, Jonathan Hoyt,
Jehiel Slierwood, Robert W. Crawford, OHver C. Sager, Samuel
B. Stickney. Comfoii Castle was fined ten dollars for default
in attendance as a grand juror.* Judiah Hais, of pugnacious
memory, had committed an assault and battery upon a citizen
of the county, for which he had been bound to await the action
of the grand jury. After organizing, the jury indicted him for
the offense. The following in regard to his case claimed pre-
cedence of all others :
" The People of the State of New Tork | L^^ictment for
JuZhHaiB. \ -^b^"-^-
" Deft being called, made
default. Ordered that the recognizance be respited until the
* This juror waa brought into court bv virtue of an attachment, and failing to'
purge his contempt, was tiued. As Judge 'rhompson ceased Bp<'aking after ordering
the Clerk to enter the fine, Caetle stepped up to the Bench, and thus addi-essed hig
Honor : " Say, Jedge, how'll it suit ye to charge that fine, and wait liii after mgaring-
qff for your pay ? " Our informaut does not state what the Judge's answer was ; but
we infer that he waited. [Suiiioan County liepuMioan.
566 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
next term of this Court, to be holden in this place, on the first
Tuesday of October next."
Tlie case of William Van Tuyle stands at the head of the
bail deliveries :
" S'lUivnn Counfj/, ss: October term, 1809 — William Van Tnjie
is delivered to bail on the taking of his body to Israel Dunbar,
of the town of Lumberland, yeoman, and John Doe of the same
place, gentleman, at the suit of Samuel B. Stickney, in a plea,
&c., taken and acknowledged before me, this loth day of
October, 1809. Israel Dunbab.
Sum'l F. Jones."
And the following is judgment number one as appears by the
Kecord in the County Clerk's office :
OS. son I j)amages and costs thirty-one dollars and
Neil Anderson,) ^^inety-f our cents,
July 11, ISll. Chas. Bakeb, Att'y."
In 1814, it was believed that there would be a chain of turn-
pikes from the North Eiver via Liberty to and beyond the
Susquehanna, and that these roads would result in evil to
Monticello. To preserve the interests of Monticello, a project
was broached to tap the gi'eat south-western route in Liberty,
and divert its trade and travel to the capital of the county.
With this object in view, a charter was obtained for the Monti-
cello Turnpike Company, of which Johnston Ver Plank, Samuel
F. Jones, Joseph Coit, Livingston BilUngs, Richard E. Voris,
David Hammond, John P. Jones, Luther I3uckley and Josiah
Sandford were made charter-members. The route was desig-
nated as from some point between the coiu-t-house and the
forty-first mile-stone of the Newburgh and Cot-hecton road,
nortlierly to the Orange and Ulster Branch-road at some point
•within one mile of the west line of the town of Thompson.
Capital §15,000. This road was not made, either because the
amount of its capital was never subscribed, or the Great South-
western route was a failure.
Norris, Northrup, Griflin and Sager, as well as several others
whose names have already appeared in this chapter, were resi-
dents of Thompson in 1810. The Town Records show that the
following persons were then or soon afterwards living in the
town : Sillick Adams, Jason Adams, Isaac Alston, Seth Allyn,
Jesse Bradley, Major Bailey, Thomas Brille, William Bates,
Levi Barnum, Andrew Comstock, Anson Cook, Joseph Coit,
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 567
Cyrus A. Cady, John Crawford, Levi Downs, Joseph Dill,
Benajah Edwards, Asahel Frisbee, Nathaniel Goldsmith, Solo-
mon Hait, Elisha Heacock, Peter F. Hunn, John Hatch, Joseph
Jjinp, Epenetus Lounshury, Cyrus Lyon, Samuel Loring, Isaac
Lounsbury, Zachary Monroe, Asa Mt-Koe, Abial C. McKee,
Daniel C. Norris, Wooster Neal, Timothy Perry, Lewis Piumsey,
Benjamin Rumsey, Simeon Rice, Thorns Royce, John E. Russell,
Selah Smith, Isaiah Smith, John St. John, Eli Seger, Cephas
Stoddor, Comfort Starr, Seth Stoddard, Shadrack Schofield,
Thomas Try on, Jesse Towner, John M. Towner, John Van
Luvan, Richard R. Voris, Isaac Whelpley, Isaac Warring,
Thomas Wheeler, Seth Whitlock and Claudius Webster.
There were others whose names should be mentioned, although
they do not appear in the old archives of Thompson. Among
these we record Horace Wheeler, William and Hugh Atkins,
Joseph Connor, Nathan Bullard,* Ehas Olmsted, Burr Beers,
Alex. Alby,* Samuel Loring,* John Garrett,* James Bull,
Epliraim G. Bassett, John James Stewart, John Betlford, John
Holley, George Taylor, James Ronald, Ozias Smith, Increaso
Peltou, James G. Terry, John McMillen, John Carman, James
Clements, Solomon Dewey, Peter I. Scriver, James Brush, Mat-
thew Hornbeck,* Amos Wheeler, Ezekiel Masten,* John Young,
Harvey Hamilton, Elij^halet Stratton,* Jeremiah Gale, Marcus
Millspaugh, Solomon Avery, Elder Henry Hait, Lyman Bates,
Isaac Newman, Daniel Mapes, Nathan Burnham, Samuel Crum-
mell, Aaron Lovett, Augustus S. Reynolds, Seth Stoddard,
Anson Mills, William Ruddick, and Nirum Coger.
To give anything like a circumstantial account of all the fam-
ilies represented by these names, would swell our clinpter on
Thompson to the magnitude of a volume. We will therefore
limit ourself to a brief account of a few of them only, not because
the names selected for particular mention are the most deserving ;
but because we have been fortunate in getting information in
regard to them :
Joseph Coit came from Litchfield, Connecticut, about the
time the turnpike was completed, and became the owner of a
considerable tract of land north of Monticello. It was bought
of the Jones family, and ten dollars per acre was paid for it.
Mr. Coit was a physician, but his friends considered him too
infirm in health to practice his profession, and his object in
coming here was to better his condition by making an invest-
ment in real estate, and engaging in mercantile pursuits. He
built the dwelling-house which was subsequently owned by Giles
M. Benedict, and burned on the 13th of January, 1844. He
also erected a stoi-o and dwelling on the lot now occupied by
* UuvolQtionary Buliliert.
6faO H18T0BT OP SULLIVAN COUNTT.
the National Union Bank ; but never opened the store for trade.
He continued to live here, doing little or no business, until about
1835, whfen, finding himaslf financially lame and impotent, ho
joined the Kevolutionary army of Texas as a surgeon, and was
80on after bitten by a poisonous insect of that country, and died.
One month afterwards, and before she had heard of the death
of her husband, his wife Mary died at Sing Sing, in this State.
Cyrus A. Cady was a practicing plrysician of the town in 1810.
He left two sons, William E. and Henry V. The first was a
merchant — a man of rare social prochvities who was much
esteemed as a man and citizen. He was elected County Clerk
in 1834, and died in March, 1851, aged 49. The other brother
(Henry V.) was a printer, and died young.
Malachi Foot, M. D., came from Connecticut in 1809 or 1810,
and bought a tract of land about one mile west of Bridgeville.
Here, on a very pictm-esque site, he built a large house. Ho
also cleared a part of his land, and cultivated it, in addtion to
his other pursuits. His farm and dwelling were subsequently
sold to the county, and "the house on the rocks" became the
county poor-house. It was destroyed by fire several years since,
when the farm was sold to Thomas Neal.
Benajah Edwards built a grist-mill on the Neversink at Ed-
wards' Island. He was in that vicinity in 1802, and his mill is
mentioned in the Town Kecords of 1812.
Peter F. Hunn opened a law-ofiice in Monticello not long
after the organization of the county. He was a resident fi-om
1816 to 1838, and was for a time a Master and an Examiner in
Chancery, and the Surrogate of the county. He was also a
Clerk of the Board of Super^•isors and a Justice of the Peace.
"When the Sullivan County Herald was established, he furnished
its leading editorials until William B. Wright became a resident
of the county. He was an active member of the Masonic
fraternity until the formation of the Anti-Masonic party, when
he joined the latter ; but after his removal to Newburgh about
ten years before his death, he attempted to revive Masonry
there.* He died in Newburgh in the summer of 1847, leaving
a wife and several children. His wife was the daughter oi
Captain John Griffin, an early resident of Monticello. Mr.
Hunn was Hterally "learned in the law," a man of fair scholastic
attainments, and of more than average talent. He was grave
without being austere; a ready and chaste \mter, and much
given to French literature, as well as Anglo-Saxon. Although
at one time his professional practice was considerable in tms
county, he was elbowed aside by energetic competitors. This
probably led to his removal to Newburgh, where his success as
• Buttenber'B Hintorj- of Newburgh.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 603
a lawyer was not equal to liis expectations. He was a bnsy
and useful member of the Historical Society of Orange county,
and collected considerable material which was incorporated in
Eager's History of Orange.
Joseph Jemp was an eccentric man, and the father of several
eccentric sons. He was killed by being thrown from the stoop
of the Mansion House by Hugh Atkins, in a good-natured scuffle.
Thomas Royce was for many years a physician of Montioello.
His medical preceptor was Doctor Samuel Dimmick of Bloom-
ingburgh. He commenced business here in 1810, and continued
his labors in Monticello until his last sickness in 1828, in which
year he died. He was much esteemed, and was buried with
Masonic honors.
John E. Eussell was a merchant of Monticello, and was
associated in business with William E. Cady. His death oc-
curred on the l-lth of September, 1830. He was a gentleman
of probity and worth, and left a highly respectable family, none
of whom remain in the county.
Jesse Towner was for many years Treasurer of the county.
He was of proverbial integrity, and was an accurate and careful
financial officer. A deficit in his predecessor's accounts, amount-
ing to a large sum, had escaped the vigilance of the Supervisor,
•whose duty it was to make an annual examination of the
Treasurer's books, papers and vouchers. This was detected by
Mr. Towner, and led to a full investigation of the matter.
Bichard R. Voris was the second lawyer who opened an office
in Monticello. His name appears in the Town Records of 1813,
and it is probable he commenced business here one or two
years previously. He was a good lawyer ; but rather intemper-
ate until the last years of his life. He was the local agent of
several large landholders, a man of imposing manners, and,
according to an effete school of politeness, assumed a lofty and
pretentious manner.
Dlaudius Webster was a farmer, and exhibited many of the
traits of the old-school native of New England. He was an
industrious and thriving man — a rigid Presbyterian— a liberal
supporter of the Church of his choice, of which he was a deacon
— and was noted for his quaintness and originaHty. When the
temperance-reformation swept over the land, carrying in its
bosom nearly every professor of Christianity, the deacon was
solicited to sign the total-abstinenct; pledge. He was well
stricken in years, and believed that a little stimulus was a
benefit to him ; yet he wished to lend the weight of his name to
the good cause ; so he made a compromise between his inclina-
tion and his duty. He signed his name to the pledge; but
added the saving clause, "so far as is consistont with my age
and infirmities!"
67U HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OOUNTY.
Deaoon "Webster generally gave of his substance freely for the
support of the gospel ; yet sometimes he decliuetl — probably
when he had a sum of money to raise for an impecunious bor-
rower. One day, when lie was financially reticent and costive,
he was called upon by Charlotte, the last wife of John P. Jones,
who requested him to contribute to some church purj^ose. He
mildly answered, "No, Miss Jones." Surprised at this, she
urged him to do so earnestly. "I won't do it, Miss Jones!"
Still more astonished, she vehemently assailed him, and de-
manded that he should do his duty ; when, with an air of vexa-
tion, the deacon pronounced her worse tlian the devil ! Shocked
and astounded by such a declaration from such a source, the
good woman cried, "Dea-con Web-ster! — Why, Dea-con Web-
ster! What — do— you — mean?" With a quiet twinkle in hia
eye, the deacon replied, "The good book tells us that if we re-
sist the devil, he will flee from us; but if we resist Miss Jones,
she will fly right at us!"
Williaui Atkins, Hugh Atkins, Joseph Connor and William
Euddick were am(jng the first Irish farmers of the town, and
were men of intelligence — probably equal in that respect to the
best of their Yankee neighbors. Their farms were in the
Sackett pond region. Hugh Atkins was for many years the
only Andrew Jackson man in his school-district, and when it
was necessary to appoint delegates to attend a town caucus, he
proceeded to the school-house, officiated as chairman, and
secretary, offered and seconded resolutions, and elected himself
delegate.
Jolin James Stewart was an eccentric man of whom we have
written in our chaj)ter on Forestburgh. He built the house
owned by John S. Fraser, was familiarly known as Uncle Jack,
and was a most decided believer in universal salvation.
James Ronald was, with his brother, a leading bookseller of
New York until he differed with his relatives as to what was
proper in social and domestic matters, when they compromised
with him, thev agreeing to pay him a stated sum annually as
long as he refrained from visiting the city of New York. He
was a man of much intelligence, and most respectably con-
nected. His first wife, wlio survived him, was a daughter of
Mr. Lorillard, one of the leading business-men of the metro-
polis, and he was well known to Irving, Paulding and other
literary men.
Ozias Smith was one of tne early pillars of the Methodist
Episcopal Church of Monticello, and was a good old man, who
enjoyed the esteem of his fellow Church-members. He was a
brother-in-law of one of the leading newspaper pubUshers of
Philadelphia.
Solomon Dewey was a native of Bolton, Connecticut, and was
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 571
an ofEcer of the United States in the war of 1812, when he was
fitationeJ in the fort at New Haven. Soon after the dechiration
of peace, he removed to Bridgeville, where he had a chair-fac-
tory until his death in 1855. 1 or many years before his de
tory untd his death in 1855. 1 or many years I
he was a warden of St. John's Church of Monticello, and during
his residence in Sullivan was noted as an upright man and good
citizen.
John Young was for many years a ruling elder of the Presby-
terian Church of Monticello, and came into the town in 1818.
He was a native ef Scotchtown, Orange county — a man of cheer-
ful and guileless life, who made religion attractive by his pleas-
ant ways and correct deportment. He died at his homestead
on the 14th of December, 1858.
Jeremiah Gale was from Columbia county, New York. He
was among the early residents of the county, and was the trusted
agent of the Livingston family for about half a century. Before
coming to Thompson, he lived in Neversink.
Elder Henry Hait came from Stamford, Connecticut, in 1825,
and located in the North Settlement. He was of the Baptist
Church, which had a considerable foothold in the town in his
day ; but lost its influence from various causes.
Lyman Bates was a simple-hearted man, whose principal solace
was in his religious exercises, which were of the robust and de-
monstrative kind. He was literally a " shouting Methodist," and
always ready to endorse whatever he considered God's word with
an emphatic amen. With sore misgivings he went, when an old
man, to hear a Mormon preacher, and was much surprised when
the Latter Day Saint opened with a prayer full of pious ejacula-
tions. "Uncle Lyman," as he was termed, got warm and noisy,
and his "amens" became more and more fervent, until the
preacher asked the Lord to banish error from the world, when
Bates seconded the petition with such emphasis that the Mormon
made a sudden pause, and declared that responses were out of
order in his meetings ! The profane asserted that at camp-meet-
ings the old man was wont to
" Chase the devil round a stump,
And kick him every second jump."
The assertion was a satanic emanation. He was noisy ; but not
gymnastic or pugnacious.
In 1832 and 1833, a sect known as Protestant Methodists, es-
tabUshed a "circuit" in Sullivan county. One of their preachera
was the Rev. Samuel M. Henderson, a man of good talents and
respectable character, who soon after became President of the
New York and New Jersey District of his Church. A Eev. Mr.
Timberman was his coadjutor here, and we believe Rev. Richard
J. Crosby, now, (1870) of EUenville, one of his successors.
Under Timberman's harangues, the denomination was in a
572 EISTOKY OF 8ULLIYAN COUNTY.
chronic state of revival in Monticello. Nirum Coger, a one-
legged harness-maker, whose
" Shop was right o'er
Opposite Nate Hammond's store,*
•was the principal lay-member of the Chwreh, although he had a
sharp oomijetitor in a yonng convei-t named John C. C. Darling.
Notwithstanding their zeal and efforts to add to the membership
of the society, tlie sect in Thompson suffered a sudden and un-
expected dissolution. Coger had business in New York, and a
neighbor sent a sum of money by him to pay a bill. The money
did not reach its destination, and Coger was heard of no more.
The principal exhorter wanted to preach, and because he was
refused a license, became a blasphemer. These and other dis-
asters were fatal to the society, and it soon ceased to exist
While it was in existence, it held several camp-meetings near
the Crj'stal brook, on land now owned by James H. Foster and
Seneca Dutcher.
From 1815 to 1825, there were but few incidents which claim
a place in the history of Thompson, although during this decade
commenced the careers of two persons who were remarkable as
business-men, and whose success as merchants has .since been
paralleled by several others.
In 1818, Nathan S. Hammond was elected a Constable and
Collector of the town. It was diiring the days of imprisonment
for debt, when merchants and others did not scruple to ruin
their customers by precipitate and wholesale prosecutions.
Men worth many times the amoimt of their indebtedness, knew
that if one to whom they owed money sued them, all would
pounce upon them, and that in the general scramble, their assets
would be sacrificed, and they be thrown into jail, or iipon the
limits. Constables and Sheriffs reaped rich harvests. It is
said that Mr. Hammond as Constable, made 800 dollars,
besides paying expenses, in a single year. With this and a
moderate sum furnished by his father, David Hammond, he
commenced business as a merchant in 1819 or 1820. In about
twenty years he retired with a fortune of neai-ly one hundred
thousand dollars. He was for many years President of the
Union Bank — was a man of unostentatious habits and manners,
and temperate in all things. After he became wealthy, he loved
to relate his early experience as a merchant, and had a vivid
remembrance of the first thing sold by him over the counter — a
codfish to one James Pinekney.
The other was Hiram Bennett, who, from limited resources,
* CoKer was a luau of enterprise, and adviTtiscd his busincBB in the N-illage paper.
BomdoB this ho was unconsL-iouBlv a rir.mtT. He brought a business card to the office
of the iVatchmaji, of whieh the lines quoted are a specimen. Tho editor road it, and
then exclaimed, "Why, Nirum. this is poetry 1" whan that individuftl replied with
naiye BimpUcity, " So my wife tells me I "
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 673
created a business from wliich not only hs acquireJ a handsome
fortune, but Daniel B. St. John and Frederick M. St. John, who
successively carried it on. Mr. Bennett several times repre-
sented his town as Supervisor, and was twice elected to the
Assembly.
His successor, Daniel B. St. John, besides being elected to
minor positions, Avas chosen Member of Assembly in 1840 and
afterwards a Eepresentative in the^ 30th Congress. He was
also appointed the first Superintendent of the Banking Depart-
ment, and organized the business of that branch of our State
government. Besides this he received appointments to one or
two important positions under the Federal Government, which
he declined, and was a candidate for Secretary of State ; but
•was defeated.
George Bennett, who also became a wealthy man, received
his commercial training from Hiram Bennett. The Bennetts
and St. Johns, after acquiring fortunes, removed fi-om Monti-
cello.
During the decade commencing with 1815, Eli Fairchild and
Ephraim Lyon Burnham became residents of the town. They
are jet with us, and the history of their labors and successes is
familiar to all.
Perhaps no other resident of Sullivan ever commenced life
with such flattering prospects as George O. Belden. He was of
the Connecticut family of that name, who had intermarried with
the Ogilvies of New York— a family of aristocratic pretensions
in the Colonial period of our history. He studied law with
Charles Baker of Bloomingburgh, and those who were not in-
timately conversant with his habits as a student, predicted that
he would occupy an exalted position as an advocate. He was
of fascinating address, and had a most wonderful command of
language — two traits which caused the multitude to regard him
with unbounded admiration. In addition to this, he had the
faculty of fi-aternizing with all classes — a most sulitle element of
popularity. After completing his legal stutlies, he commenced
the practice of his profession, and entered politicial life. In his
30th year he was elected a Representative in Congi-ess fi-om the
Ulster and Sullivan district, and occupied his seat in 1827 and
1828. =0n the 13th of August, 1831, he was chosen General of
the 23d Brigade of Infantry of New York, he receiving eleven
votes and all others six. But his sun of prosperity had already
passed its meridian. His attention to pohtical and military
affairs, as well as his social and convivial habits, had caused
him to forget what legal knowledge he had acquired when a
student, and he avoided law-books. "We have heard old lawyers
say that, when he waa entrusted with the interests of a client,
instead of consulting the standard authorities of his profession,
574 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OOUNTT.
he habitually "pumped" his competitors of the law, by intro-
tlucing suppositious or moot questions in his daily intercourse
with them. In this Avay for a time he managed to get along as
a lawyer ; but this method of acquiring information could not
be resorted to permanently. The Monticello counselors soon
detected him, and by a general understanding they would no
longer be "pumped," pumped he "never so wisely." He could
no more raise an imposing structure of words on a foundation
laid by others. He was poor ; his only resource for subsistence
was his professional income, and that in the end failed him.
On the 9th of October, 1833, he died, aged 36 years, and leaving
a wife and several children in destitute circumstances.
Mrs. Belden opened a select school in Monticello after the
death of her husband. Although she was much esteemed, and
offered to teach each of her pupils for $1.50 per quarter of
thirteen weeks, her school was not successful. In two or three
years she left the county, and was heard of no more by her old
friends of Sullivan.
One of his sous became a lawyer, and was noted fifteen or
twenty years ago as a political orator in Connecticut. It is said
that he inherited his mother's excellent traits, as well as some
of the brilliant characteristics of his fattier. But the story of
his life was cut short by an early death.
The life of Archibald C. Kiven aflbrds a strong contrast to
that of George O. Belden. The two were fellow-students.
Belden made a brilliant start, and ascended like a rocket,
dazzling the eyes of spectators ; but his for je was soon expended.
He was a quarter-horse— good at the start; but deficient in
stamina. He died young; nevertheless he outhved his popu-
larity and his professional importance, and loft an inheritance
of poverty to his children. Tlie other has been prominent in
political, social, religious and financial affairs. He has not
sacrificed the duties of life to its pleasures. It is not the
province of the local historian to write freely of the living.
Hence we will not dwell longer on his acts and character; but
must content ourself witli recounting the oiHcial positions he
has occupied. In 1828, he was appointed Surrogate and con-
tinued to hold the office until 1S40. About tlie same time he
was made a Master in Chancery, and held the position until the
Court of Chancery was abolished. In 1837, he was elected
General of the 10th Brigade of Artillery of New York. Pre-
vious to this he had been defeated when a candidate by a com-
petitor who resorted to disreputable means, and was cashiered.
In 1814, he was apjiointed by Governor Bouck, Adjutant General
of the State Subsequently he was elected a Representative in
the 29 th Congress, and served in that capacity in 1845, 1846
and 1847, during which he was on the Military Committee of
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. W5
the House — an important post, as, while he occupied it, the war
with Mexico took place. In 1847, he was elected District
Attorney, and in 1864, a member of the State Senate ; but was
displaced by Henry K. Low, who contested the validity of his
election.
In 1832, General Niven married Jane, a daughter of Alexander
Thompson, of Orange county. His children are Alexander T.,
Mary C. and Thornton A. General Niven's oldest son (Alex-
ander T.) was lost at sea when the steamer Arctic foundered on
the 27th of September, 1854. Young Mr. Niven was bom in
Monticello, on the 31st of December, 1834. A notice of his
career, written, as we learn, by an officer of the College of New
Jersey, appeared in a Philadelphia paper at the time of his
decease, from which we learn that, at the age of nine years, he
was placed at boarding-school in Ulster county for three years ;
then attended an academic school at Newburgh for one year,
fi-om which he entered the sophomore class at college. In
1852, he graduated. To quote the language of his tutor: "In
every department of college-study his success was brilliant.
The talents, which he felt were from God, rapidly matured, and
commanded universal admiration. He was a severe, discriminat-
ing and profound student." After graduating, he entered a
theological seminary to jirepare for the Chi'istian ministry, the
profession of his early choice, and remained two years ; then
went to Europe to complete his theological course ; but con-
cluded, after reaching the continent, to spend sometime in
traveling, and witnessing whatever was worth seeing in the old
world. His letters written at the time, and published in the
Republican Watclnnan, were full of interest, as many who had an
opportunity of reading them Avill remember. He spent a few
months in traveling, but was lost, as before stated, on the return-
voyage. The culture and natural volume of his mind excited
admiration. His moral graces won love. Though one of the
most unobtrusive of mankind, he occupied a warm corner ia the
heart of every one who knew him and who was capable of
appreciating virtue. "Wlien the news of his death reached his
native town, almost all mourned as if they had lost a son or
brother, and on the succeeding Sunday, the pastor of every
Church in Monticello spontaneously alluded to his death in a
pointed and affecting manner. A funeral discourse was also
delivei-ed in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church of
Mongaup Valley. No certain account of his last moments was
ever received by his friends ; but from the narrative of one who
escaped, they were led to believe that, while clinging to a
floating timber, he attempted to relieve a fellow-sufferer, and
immediately thereafter died. Truly, if, as we are bound to
believe, charity is the sum of Christian virtues, this young
676 H18T0BY OP SUIXIVAH COCMTT.
man's faith triumphed over the bitterness of death. Every
trace of egoism must have been obliterated from his heart,
when, in the pangs of dissohilion, he forgot his owu sufferings
while ministering to the necessity of a stranger.
In 1825, Randall S. Street and his family removed to Monti-
cello from Pou^hkeepsie. Their social position and the literary
fame of one of his sons — Alfred B. Street — fully warrant the
propriety of the following pages. "We are aware that in award-
ing imqualified praise to Alfred B. Street, we transgress our
rule in regard to commendation of the Hving ; but in this case
we but echo a universal sentiment, and therefore do not fear
censure.
Alfred B. Street was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on
the 11th day of December, 1811. He is a descendant of the
Rev. Nicholas Street, who was the pastor of a Church in New
Haven, Conn., in 1(559, a few years after he reached tliis coimtry
from England, and whose son. Rev. Samuel Street, filled the
same office in WaUingt'ord for forty years. Several of their
descendants were also clergymen. But few of the family
removed from Connecticut, in which State the name is &
common one among those who follow the various pursuits of life.
General Randall S. Street, the father of Alfred B., was a
Major in active service during the last w;ir with Great Britain,
ancl was District-attorney of the Third District, under the
Constitution which was in force until 1821. He also repre-
sented Dutchess county in Congi-ess. About the year 1825, he
removed to Monticollo with his family, where he continued to
follow the profession of law until his death.
The maternal gi-audfather of the poet was Major Andrew
BUhngs of the Revolutionary army, who was present at the
battle of Quebec. His maternal gi-andmotlier was the daughter
of James Livingston. She married first a Mr. Van Kleeck, and
at his death became the wife of Major Billings.
Alfred B. passed through an academical course of education
while residing in his native town. He began to wTite when he
was eleven years of age ; but did not publish his youthful
rhymes until ho was foui-teen, when he oontributed "March,"
"A Winter Noon," and other poems to the ^Vcw Yurk Ecening
Post, which were much commended. From that time he haa
been an occasional writer for the leading monthlies of the United
States.* Several of his poom.s were d<-livered before hterary
societies — among them the Euglassiaii Society of Gtnova, and
the Phi Beta Kii]:)pa Society of Union College. In Ibll, Union
College coufevred the degree of A. B. on him.
• Graham's Miigaiine,
THE TOWN OF THOMraO?*. 577
In 1845, hifi poems were published in an octavo volume of
more than three humlred pages, by Clark & Austin of the city
of New York. A complete edition of his metrical compositions
would now occupy probably five hundred pages. None of his
stanzas written during the last twenty-five years are superior to
those issued from the press of Clark & Austin.
Mr. Street has also written several volumes of prose, in which
he has portrayed life in the woods, and a work on law, which
has passed through several editions.
On the publication of his volume of poetry, the book was
reviewed by the eminent critics of England and the United
States, who unhesitatingly declared that "as a descriptive poet,
he was at the head of his class," and that he should rank with
Bryant, Longfellow and Halleck.
The ForcifiH Quarterly Review, an eminent British periodical,
after condemning nearly every American poet except Bryant,
Longfellow, Halleck and Emerson, says of Mr. Street :
" He is a descriptive poet, and at the head of his class. His
pictures of American scenery are full of gusto and freshness;
sometimes too wild and diffuse, but always true and healthful.
* * * His poems are very unequal, and none of them can
be cited as being complete in its kind. He runs into a false
luxuriance in the ardor of his love of nature, and in the waste-
fulness of a lively, but not large imagination ; and hke Browne,
the author of the ' Pastorals,' he continually sacrifices general
truth to particular details, making unlikeness by the crowding
and closeness of his touches. Yet with all his faults, his poems
cannot be read without pleasure."
The foUowmg paragi-aphs are taken fi-om an article published
in the Democratic Review, when the Revieio was second to no-
serial published in the United States. It is said that the article
is from the graphic pen of H. T. Tuckerman : *
" Dante and Petrarch have done much to render Italy beloved.
Beranger has given no inadequate expres.sion to those feelings
which bind soldier, artisan and peasant to the soil of France.
Here the bard can only draw upon brief chronicles; but God
has arrayed this continent with a subHme and characteristic
beauty, that should endear its mountains and streams to the-
American heart ; and w lioever depicts the natural glory of Amer-
ica, touches a cli<n-d whicJi should yield responses of admiration
and loyalty. In this ])oint of view alone, then, we deem the
minstrel who ardently sings of forest and sky, river and highland,,
• Omkam'a Magazine.
37
S78 mSTOET OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
as eminently worthy of respectful greeting. This merit we con-
fidently claim for the author of these poems, [Alfred B. Street].
That lie is deficient occasionally in high finish — that there is
repetition and monotony in his strains — that there are redundant
epithets, and a lack of variety in his effusions, we confess, at the
outset, is midoniable ; and having granted aU this to the critics,
we feel at liberty to litter his just praise with equal sincerity.
Street has an eye for nature in aU her moods. He has not
roamed the wooillands in vain, nor have the changeful seasons
passed him by without leaving vivid and lasting impressions.
These his verse records with unusual fidelity and genuine emo-
tion. ***** He is a true Flemish painter, seizing
upon objects in all their verisimilitude. As we read him, wild
flowers peer up fiom among brown leaves ; the drum of the par-
tridge, the ripple of waters, the flickering of autumn-light, the
sting of sleety snow, the cry of the panther, the roar of the
■winds, the melody of birds, and the odor of crushed pine-boughs,
are present to our senses. In a foreign land, his poems would
■transport us at once to home. He is no second-hand limner,
content to furnish insipid copies, but draws from reaUty. His
pictures have the freshness of originals. They are graphic,
detailed, never untiiie, and often vigorous; he is essentially an
Amorican poet. His range is limited ; but he has had the good
sense not to wander from his sphere, candidly acknowledging
that the heart of man has not furnished him the food for
meditation, which inspires a higher class of poets. He is em-
phatically an observer. In England, we notice tliat these
qualities have been recognized ; his ' Hunter ' was finely illus-
trated in a recent London periodical — thus afi'ording the best
e^vidence of the picturesque fertility of his muse. Many of his
pieces, also, glow with patriotism. His ' Gray Forest Eagle' is
a noble IjtIc, full of spirit ; his forest-scenes are minutely, and,
at the same time, elaborately true; his Indian legends and
descriptions of the seasons have a native zest which we have
rarely encountered. Without the classic elegance of Thomson,
he excels him in gi-aphic power. There is nothing metaphysical
in his turn of mind, or highly artistic in his style ; but there is
an honest directness and cordial faithfulness about him, that
strikes us as remarkably appropriate and manly. Delicacy,
sentiment, ideal enthusiasm are not his by nature ; but cleai-,
bold, genial insight and feeling he possesses to a rare degi-ee;
and on these grounds we welcome his poems, and earnestly
advise our readers to peruse them attentively, for tliey worthily
depict the phases of Nature as she displays herself in this land,
in all her solemn magnificence and serene beauty."
George A. Coiton, the .•icconijilislied editor of the American
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 579
lievi'etv, has written an exquisite criticism on Street's poems,
from which we copy the annexed :
" In the use of language, more especially in his blank verse,
Mr. Street is simple yet rich, and usually very felicitous. This
is peculiarly the case in his choice of appellatives, which he
selects and applies with an aptness of descriptive beauty not
siu'passed, if equaled, by any poet among us — certainly by none
except Bryant. What is more remarkable — quite worthy of
note amid the deluge of diluted phraseology bestowed on us by
most modern writers — is the almost exclusive use, in his poems,
of Saxon words. * * * Descriptive poetry, to be of any
force or felicity, must employ them ; and it was this, no doubt,
that led Mr. Street — unconsciously, it may be — to choose them
so exclusively. For the same reason, Byron, who in power of
description is hardly equaled by any other English poet, used
them to a greater extent, we believe, than any other moulder of
verse since Chaucer, unless we may except Scott in his narrative
verse. Wordsworth, on the other hand, whose most descriptive
passages have always a philosophical cast, makes constant draft
on Latinized words, losing as much in vigor as he gains in
melody and compass. In all Mr. Street's poems the reader -will
be surprised to find scarcely a single page with more than three
or four words of other than Saxon derivation. This extraordi-
nary keeping to one only of the three sources of our language — ■
for the Norman-French forms a third — is owing, in great part,
to the fact that his poetry is almost purely descriptive ; yet not
wholly to this, for^any page of Thomson's ' Seasons,' or Cow-
per's ' Task,' wiU be found to have four times as many. It is
certain at least, that the use of such language has added
immensely to the simplicity, strength and picturcsqe effective-
ness of Mr. Street's blank verse ; and as a general consideration
of style, we recommend the point to the consideration of all
writers whose diction is yet unformed, though we hold it a
matter of far less importance in prose than in poetry."
The editor of Graham's Magazine, to whom we are indebted
for much of the material of this article, thus speaks of Street's
residence in SuUivan :
"The beautiful ^'illage of Monticello, to which his parents
removed when he was fourteen years of age, is situated in a
picturesque region of wild hUls, smiling valleys and lovely
streams. Everything around [in 1825] bore the impress of
recent cultivation struggling with the rudeness of primitive
nature. Forests were interspersed, waving in broad grandeur —
the plow was guided between unsightly stumps — in all directions
was the croucJiing roof of the log-hut— the fallow-fires glistened
580 HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
in the spring, and the chaired treea stood amidst the grain-fields
of autumn. Early association with such a life gave the first
scope and impulse to our poet's mind. In the midst of these
secluded hills he beheld the phenomena of the seasons, as they
successively unfolded, with the vivid beauty and extreme alter-
nations of "^ our climate. He saw the trophies of the hunter
displayed in the streets of the village, and in his vigils he was
often serenaded by the distant howl of the wolves. With a
mind of quick and true observation, Mr. Street under such
circumstances became a devoted student of nature, particularly
in her wild and uncultivated aspects, and found a delightful
recourse in embodying his impressions in language."
Professional critics never express unqualified admiration.
lliey assume an aii* of superiority, commend cautiously, and
always see, or pretend to see, imperfections in the most beauti-
ful and exquisite creations of genius. As a class they are
pretenders, and pretenders would feel abased if they expressed
a just and loving appreciation of the truly beautiful. They
must carp at something or lose prestige. The rainbow to the
owl seems brilhant; but it is nevertheless to him too gaudy;
and the song of the hermit-thrush, beautiful and melodious, but
lacking in volume and compass. Thus the English critic places
Street at the head of his class, and then says that he "runs into
a false luxuriance," and makes "unlikenesses by the crowding
and closeness of his touches." Here is just praise; but it i&
very absurdly qualified. It is worthy of its author, who was
accustomed to the hedge-rows and park-like forests of Old
England ; but, who had never seen a luxuriant American forest,
so "crowded" with grand and lovely objects as to be almost
impassable, except to the wild denizens of the woods. An Arab
who had never been beyond his native sand-hills and deserts,
would not consider tnithful a description of a land abounding
in streams, and densely clothed with vegetation. All the world
to him would be sand and rocks, with a horizon like the cope
of a glowing oven.
"i Mr. Street removed fi-om Mouticello in 1839, and became a
resident of the city of Albany. For uearlv thirty years he was
State Librarian. In 18-11 he mairied Elizabeth, daughter of
Smith Weed, a retired merchant of that city. Except wlien on
brief excursions to the country, his official duties and other
circumstances have confined him to Albany since 1839. This
is to be lamented. His life should have been jia.ssed among the
scenes he loved so well, and which he delineated with sucli
remarkable fidelity. His poetry is but a retiex of his daily walk
in Sullivan. He saw what jirosaic eyes did not discover until
he furnished a medium. Uc opened the arcana of beauty to
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. &HJ.
their sight, and was to them a revelator. He shotild have been
rewarded in such a way that he coiild have made the study and
portraiture of nature his great aim. The dull routine and
stupid details of business are as unfavorable to the poet as the
painter ; and no one will fail to see that there never would have
been a great master of the latter art, if those who have excelled
in it had been compelled fi-om necessity to devote but one hour
in ten to their favorite pursuit.
What he saw here he described. For mstance, the incidents
of the "Walk and Pic-Nic" were of actual occurrence, and he
pictures the scenery between Monticello and Pleasant lake
precisely as it was thirty years ago. "James," whose thoughts
were in the clouds, was Street himself; Cady was the late
William E. Cady; Hull, who
• * * " took immediate seat,
Complaining in bass of the dust and the heat,"
was WiUiam B. Wright; the
" Friend, sleeping now in the valley of shade,"
was Granger C. Eoyce, deceased ; gay Martha, whose " sweet,
ringing laugh was heard," was Miss Ciissey, afterwards Mrs.
William B. Wright (now dead). Kate, Mary, etc., were then
among our village-belles.
In "A Visit to Mongaup Falls" may be found the adventures
of another merry party. " The Smithy" was Hugh Oit's black-
smith shop, on the corner of Main and Liberty streets ; " The
Seat in the Rock" is a well-known natural curiosity south of
Monticello ;" The School-House "
" In a gi'een lane that from the village-street diverges,"
was burned down several years since ; and was rebuilt by our
citizens.
Twenty-five years ago, Street's j)oems were pictures of all
that was worth seeing in and around Monticello, and of almost
everything in other localities of Sullivan which had a local
reputation. Since then, the bark-peeler and lumberman have
made sad wrecks of our " Forest-lSooks," and " Forest- Walks ;"
our "Rambles" and woodland "Temples;" our "Camps in the
Forest" and "Forsaken Roads."
In 1831, and during three or four subsequent years, Monticello
and other localities of Sullivan were much enlivened bv I'rancis
L. AN'aaa.'U, wild i>rotVss.-l h, 1,.. ,, wit and a poet, and was one
of the most eccentric uf men. Ho belonged to a respectable
682 HISTORY OF SXTLLIVAN COUNTY.
family of New York city, and in features and form was a noble
model of an ApoUo of Belvidere. It was said that his peculiari-
ties were the result of an accident. While yet a youth, and be-
fore his education was fully completed, he was walking through
Pearl st., when a heavy sign fell, striking him on the head, and
prostrating him on the sidewalk, apparently dead. He M'as re-
stored to bodily health ; but to the day of his death was erratic,
eccentric, and averse to all regular habits of life. Previously to
the falling of the sign, he was remarkable for nothing except his
splendid physique ; but was ever afterwards noted for gi-otesque
mirthfuhiess, which was so contagious that it was impossible to
be within the sound of his voice and not join in his merriment.
His irregidar ways caused his family to send him to the country,
where his sallies would not annoy them. From some cause,
he came to SuUivan, and lived there, except during short inter-
vals, until his marriage in 1834. Here he was in the habit of
staying untU his wardrobe was no longer fit for a gentleman,
and his purse was emjaty, when he would make a descent on his
city friends for a new supply, in which he was always successful.
Then back he would come, an-ayed in the height of fashion, and
in personal ajjpearance "every inch a lord." He had a fund of
absurd stories of Tom Quick, etc., which he had in part picked
up in the country, and in part invented himself. These he related
in his own inimitable way, to the great amusement of liimself
and others, wherever he happened to be, and once gave them
on the stage on a minor theatre of New York. His mother
bribed him not to repeat the theatrical performance, and he was
heard to boast repeatedly afterwards, that if he wanted a hun-
dred dollars, all he bad to do was to tell his mother that he was
under the necessity of going upon the stage again. He regarded
such questionable conduct as a master-stroke of wit. The " Re-
publican JFrtteA ma«" and the "Sullivan Co unti/ Herald" imhlished
many of his stanzas and puns. AVe annex specimens :
"Some ai-istocratic Anties* were endeavoring to slur our
respectable elected Congressman, Mr. Bodle, because he is a
wagon-make)-. 'It is no matter,' says a Jackson man, 'he will
make a good spokes-man.'' "
" On the Marruge of Charles B. Eoosa to Amelia E. Foster.
" May tlie Rose now Foster the maiden.
The maidt'U Foster the Rose,
And their hves with pleasure be laden —
Rose-buds to lighten life's close."
THE TOWN OF THOMl'SON. 583
On the mariiage of Eieliard Page,* aged 84, to Mary Culver,
aged 18, Oct. 3, 1832 :
" Lord, help the aged and the young
Their labors to perform ;
May youth support declining age
A hundred years to come :
Then Richard Page will be of age.
Well clad in guilt and sin ;
Prepared like sage to quit the stage.
Well stored with rum and gin."
From the " Watchman of June 3, 1832.
" A horse was lately found tied to a tree, in Ulster county,
starved, near the WallkiU.
" A riderless horse and barkless tree,
Who shall unravel the mystery ?
May Wallkill waters never show
A murdered man from rocks below!
" Mysterious sight ! oh who can tell
Who tied the steed, or what befell
A traveler lone ? Oh, from this corse
Were heard the yells of a starving horse !
" The awful neighing reached the ear
Of the chopper, startled by thi-ill of fear !
He dropped his ax by the fatal gi-een,
And went an idiot fi-om the scene.
" A broken bit and severed rein
Were thrown across the horse's mane;
His feet were worn to the very bones.
And fetlocks strewed the gory stones.
" And not far off a horseman's cloak,
A saddle with the girth-string broke ;
The murderer left the steed to die
In a skeleton damned captivity !
" The noble liorse had stamped a tomb,
In agony of dubious gloom;
Alternate day and night betrayed
Some succor that the echo made.
t Page lived in thu towu of Mainakatini', and was over 100 yeaa^ of age at hk
death. His wife Maty had several cLililien while living with him.
584 HISTORY OF SfLLIVAN COU.NTV.
" Lives there a man with dastard sowl,
Wliose bosom shunned tlie high control
Of reason, in the hour of strife?
Oil, may the wretch so end his life!
" Ye lonely wilds and lonelier shades,
Is the murderer hid in your silent glades?
Ye balmy winds, the sight unveil,
And tell this sad, mysterious tale."
Waddell always read his absurd stanzas to the editor, and
acoompanied the reading with an equally absurd commentary
on his favorite lines. Thus, when, with his peculiar intonation
and emphasis, he repeated such as this —
''In a skeleton damned captivity,"
he exclaimed, "Ha! ha!! ha!!! That's a devilish good idea.
DeVoe! Put an mZ/«u-«y/on point thei-e! Ho! ho!! ho!!!"
"Well, but really, Mr. Waddell, I don't quite understand" —
" Not understand — ha ! ha ! ! ha ! ! ! Don't stand, sir ! Sit
down! It's the greatest idea of the piece. Put /<ro admiration
points after it ! Ho! ho!! ho!!!"
His poems (if we may so pronounce what he wrote) were not
always incoherent, fantastical and extravagant. Here is a gem.
It is not highly polished, and has one or two slight fractures, as
had its author's cranium ; nevertheless, it is worthy our admira-
tion. It is taken fi'om Stanzas on Winter :
"Nature's glorious garment of the spangled snow and frost.
Sits like a maiden's coldness o'er her bosom careless toss'd.
When 'neath the icy breast of the bleak world's sparkhng snow.
The warmer springs of water Hke the softer feeUngs flow,
To gladden the sweet spring-time : so love, when passion bom,
Gives radiance to womanhood as sun-bm'sts give to mom."
The following, from the SuUivan County Herald of August 20,
1835, shows that he acquired considerable skill in rhythmical
composition ; and that, if he had continued to wTite, and had
kept away from the haunts of the dissipated, he would in the
end have been ranked as a true poet, and that his shattered
brain would have ultimately regained its normal condition :
" COCHECTON.
" Have you seen the vale Cochecton, where the hemlock-waters
run.
THE TOWN OF THOMSON. *»&
When the mist is on the mountain, at the rising of the siin?
There, like smiles of joyous woman, laughs the rippling Dela-
ware,
As the sunbeams kiss the wavelets, and the mists of upper air.
There the light song of the raftsman echoes through the vocal
hills,
And the music of bright nature answers from the gushing rills.
There the stag with scornful bearing, snuffs the perfume of
the breeze.
And the dew-drops sparkle brightly on the flowers and on the
trees.
Oh ! if there is peace 'neath Heaven, sure her calm abode is
here :
May mj' life flow ever onward, gentle stream, like thy career."
He wrote much for one or two public journals of the city of
New York until the editors found that his contributions did not
add to the reputation of their columns, when they declined his
favors. We have heard that he then offered to pay them for
printing his articles, and by doing so, sometimes succeeded in
getting his sqiiibs, puns and rhymes before the public. His
stanzas on Poland he regarded as his master-piece, and after its
publication uniformly wrote "A. P." after his signature. When
asked what the terminal initials stood for, he always affected
the greatest astonishment, and with a joyous but patronizing
laugh, exclaimed: "Bless me! Don't you know? Why,
Author of Poland, of course!"
^ He was never known to be sad or despondent, and when in
an awkward dilemma, always got out of it triumphantly in his
own merry way. On one occasion, he went to a ball in Monti-
cello during the hot weather of summer. Because of the heat,
or fi-om some whim, he did not wear the then conventional
dress-coat, with gilt buttons; but put on a complete suit of
yellow nankeen. His pants were a close fit, and were strapped
down; his suspenders were not of the elastic kind worn at the
present day ; and his coat was without skirts or tails, and was
■what was then styled a "sailor-coat." As he entered the ball-
room, he gi-eeted the ladies politely and fervently, and made a
profound regulation-bow, which was disastrous to his nankeen
pants. There was a rupture of the fabric, at the point where
the strain came, for at least one-third of their circumference!
This woidd have overwhelmed any other man with confusion
and shame ; it gave him an opportunity to perform one of his
greatest exploits. The scene may be thus epitomized :
Enter Waddell — "Good evening, ladies!" — a bow — a tear —
ladies' fans converted into screens — gentlemen in dismay — a
bow — "Good evening, ladies!" — backward movement of the
job HISlXUiY OF SILLIVAN COUNlTf.
rif:^lit foot — another bow — "Good evening, ladies!" — backward
movement of the left foot — and bo on, until he left the presence
of the ladies as he would have left the presence of a king. He
did not turn his back to them, or make an unvisual manifestation
until he passed from theii- sight, when he sent forth peal after
peal of laughter.
On the 5th of July, 1834, Waddell was manied to Louisa,
daughter of Thomas H. Smith, deceased. The father of his
wife had been one of the great tea-merchants of New York —
had failed, compromised with his creditors, and saved from the
wreck of his fortunes enough to make his daughters desirable
to matrimonial specidators after his death. As long as the
property he acquired by marrying lasted, Waddell lived a gay
and fast life. He made an annual visit to Saratoga Springs in
a coach drawn by four fine horses, and Uved like a nabob
throughirat the year. He soon squandered her fortune, and
then resorted to his old tactics to "raise the wind," but on a
larger scale. When his father-in-law failed, one of his fiiends
l^ecame interested in his afl'airs as an assignee, or something of
the kind. Waddell believed, or pretended to beheve, that this
fiiend was guilty of retaining a large part uf the property com-
mitted to his care by Mr. Smith, and threatened to commence
a suit to i-ecover his wife's share of it. The accused was
wealthy and a gentleman of high character in commercial
circles. From some cause — probably to prevent scandal — he
paid WaddeU considerable sums of money at various times,
until his persecutor died, the victim of his own follies. For
some time previous to his decease, whenever he was met by one
of his Sullivan county fi'iends, he was intoxicated.
" Tlie last of earth" to poor Frank was worthy of a Christian
and a poet, however his life may have been characterized by
fi-ailties and follies. The scene as described to us by a gentle-
man who was his early friend, proves that as the light of this
life faded away, his soul was illumined by the rays of tnith. As
his breath began to fail, he exclaimed, "Oh, the majesty of
death!" and then lovingly and solemnly repeated the Lord'3
prayer. After the final "Amen," he died.
The following incidents portray the manners and the temper
of the times in 1831 and 1832 :
In the fall of 1831 and the succeeding winter-months the pulpit
of the Presbyterian church of Monticello was temporarily filled
by Rev. Stephen Seigeant. By some he was esteemed a saintly
man ; by others sour and severe — one of that class who would
rebuke the Saviour for speakuig kindly and affectionately to the
sinful and eiring. He was bitterly opposed to social enjo>-ment,
and regarded the long faces of the dyspeptic and desponding as
THE TOWN OF THOMPSOX. 587
uuoiTing indicia of lioliness. He was not in favor of clothing
the bodies of Christians in hair-shirts and putting peas in their
sandals, as were the ascetics of medieval times; but he was in-
clined to lacerate their souls with immaterial tortures, and
render them unhappy during their earthly pilgrimage, so
that they would be entitled to bliss in the next world. He de-
nounced vehemently the frivolities and frailties of the day, and
inveighed against dancing as if the immortal souls of all who
Indulged in it were lost in its mazes. Great was his indignation
when he learned that the young gentlemen of the village, regard-
less of his admonitions, had issued invitations for a ball at the
hotel then kept by Samuel W. B. Chester. In his next sermon
he hurled at the offenders not only the phials of his displeasure,
but an entire demijohn of wrath, and capped the chmax of his
stormy rhetoric by declaring that, if invited, he would open the
dance with prayer! He did not dream that the offenders had
sufficient audacity to take him at his word ; but in this he was
mistaken. Some' of them were present; and although it was
Sunday, the sun was not down before the managers gave Mr»
Sergeant a formal invitation to attend the ball. This invitatioa
was deUvered by Edwin Eldridge, then a medical student, and
since a successful financier in one of the southern counties of
New York.
The reverend parson was caught in a trap. He was pledged
to attend the dancing-party, and there was no avenue of escape.
The evening for the ball arrived. The hotel was brilliantly
lighted, and the " long room " resounded with the strains of the
violin. Fairy forms were flitting here and there clothed in
dancing-di-apery, which then covered feminine heels but not
feminine-shoulders ; while the gentlemen were arrayed in " long-
tailed " blue coats, with brilliant brass buttons, and their lower
extremities were covered with white pants and stockings and
calf-skin pumps. One after another, the in^dted came, and
finally the Kev. Mr. Sergeant himself. He was met at the hall-
door by the managers, ^Hio ushered him into the parlor on the
first floor, where he was treated with dignified coiu-tesy. Here his
embarrassment was so great that the young disciples of Mephis-
topheles took pity on him. They informed him that the reli-
gious part of the performance would take place, not in the ball-
room, but the parlor. Mr. Sergeant then made a short but
somewhat incoherent prayer, while his hearers conducted them-
selves with apparent gravity and reverence. After the service,
he was politely attended to "the door, when the eccentric lawyer,
Charles Baker, who had witnessed the whole afi'air with tipsy
dignity, made a profound genuflection, and with a wave of his
right arm, exclaimed, "We can dispense with your company,
5oO HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
sir ! Go liome you fool ! Sir ! we can dispense ^-ith your
company !" This broke the camel's back of their sobriety. The
clerical victim departed, the laughter caused by Baker and the
merry notes of the violin sounding in his ears.
In 1832, the Fourth was celebrated in Monticello. George
0. Belden was Mai-shal; William A. Thompson, Reader; and
Alfred B. Street, Orator. E. S. Street, A. C. Niven and F. A.
DeVoe were the committee to prepare toasts for the occasion,
which duty they performed. The seventh regular toast adopted
by the committee read as follows :
" The American System — that system alone deserves the name,
which proposes to guard the rights and protect the interests of
each and aU."
After the work of the committee was done. General Street,
in whose hands the toasts remained, saw that the above con-
tained an implied censure of Henry Clay's "American System,"
which, in the eyes of such men as Niven and DeVoe, proposed
to promote the general welfare by guarding and protecting
certain class-interests which needed the fostering care of the
governn:ent. He, therefore, in conjunction with his son, William
1. Street, changed the toast so that it read thus :
"The American System — A system which proposes to guard
the rights and protect the interests of each and all."
R. S. Street notified DeVoe that he had changed the phrase-
ology of the toast, and asked him to call at his office and
examine it ; but DeVoe failed to do so, and the altered toast
was read at the toast-table. It was a complete endorsement of
Clay's "system," as it was then styled, and caused much
indignation among the friends of General Jackson. Nivon and
DeVoe published a card deuoimcing the change, to which Alfred
B. Street replied in a handbill. A very angi-y controversy
ensued between DeVoe and the Streets, in which the charge of
" deliberate falsehood," " icillfi'l and malicious misrepresoiitatiou,"
etc., was made, and the friends of the parties were iiujuiriiig,
"What next?" when Joseph T. Sweet, a lad employed in the
Wntclniinn office, put an end to the quarrel by issuing a poeticid
handbill, of which the annexed is a copy :
" I, master Joseph Sweet,
Do challenge master Alfred Street,
To moi-tal combat with a pistol.
Or with a mullein stalk or thistle.
'Tis true, he hath not me offended;
But then his brother has, yoii know,
And as our quarrels are all blended,
I'll fight him, or my name's not Joel"
THE TOWN OF THOMPeON, 589
This poetical challenge was written by a youn.c; man named
Charles A. Comstock. He and Sweet printed it without the
knowledge of any of the parties, and posted it throughout the
village at night. It put a very hilariovis end to a very angry
quarrel, and relieved the disputants from an unpleasant dilemma.
"Pistols and coffee for two" had but recently been fashionable
in some parts of the country in settling questions of veracity ;
iiud canes and horsewhips in such cases were yet common. The
whole village greeted Sweet's doggerel with laughter, in which
the belligerants joined heartily, and were no doubt much gi-ati-
fied with the ludicrous termination of the ti-ouble.
A. C. Niven, (then a Colonel of Artillery,) although a party
to this controversy, was apparently a passive one. His abso-
lute reticence was the result of delicacy. Two or three years
previously a son of General Street, who was a midshipman
m the United States navy, had made a personal assault on
Niven for a fancied insult. Niven, in directing a note to young
Street, had omitted the proper title of the latter, and Street
considered this an affront for which a horse-whipping alone
could atone. He procured a rawhide, which he concealed about
his person, and, meeting Niven, informed him that he wished to
see him privately. The two then walked toward the school-
house fi'om Main street. Amos Holmes was then County Clerk,
and his son James had charge of the office, and was sitting in
it with the door open. He saw Niven and Street walking
together, and knowing something of the dissatisfaction of the
latter, watched them. There was then a large boulder in front
of the school-house near the middle of the street. As they
approached it, Niven told his companion that they had gone
far enough ; and that whatever he liad to say could be said then
and tliere. Street then pulled out his rawhide, and letting the
other know his purpose, raised it to strike, when Niven caught
it fi-om him, and whipped him with it unmercifully until Holmes
ran from the Clerk's office to the school-house, and put an end
to the flagellation. Street was terribly cut up. As soon as his
wounds were sufficiently healed, he left the village, and did not
return to it imtil he came home a few years afterwards to die of
consumption. He was a young man of fine attainments — a
poet — linguist, etc., and notwithstanding his misadventure, was
highly esteemed.* If the assault liad had a different result, who
can say what effect it would have had on the life of A. C. Niven?
* December 1, 1837— Died, in Moiiticello, Mr. Sanfovd A. Street, aged 33 years.
His disease was consumption, contracted wliilst attached to tlie American navy. * * *
His mind was vigorous, polished by study, and chastened by refined taste. By much
imlostry and perseverance, he had acquired a critical knowledge of the English, ("rench,
Spanish and Italian languages, and, until prostrated by disease, was eminently fitted
for us(4ulness. Ho was a iJoet, and would liave excelled in the realms ot imagination
if ambition had impelled him to win the poet's crovni.— Wdlchman, December 7, 1887.
SyU HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
This affair no doubt led the latter to avoid all cause of fiu-ther
controversy with the family of General Street. It is due him
to say, that he has never ^^^llingly alluded to it since its occur-
rence. During a somewhat intimate acquaintance of more than
thirty years, we have never been able to induce him to even
speak of it.
On the 9th of Febniary, 1830, Hiram Bennett, John P. Jones,
Levi Barnixm, William E. Cady, John E. Russell, George O.
Belden and Amos Holmes gave notice of an application to the
Legislature for an act incorporating Monticello, with power to
procure apparatus for extinguishing fires, and to keep the streets
clear from obstructions. On the 20th day of the next AprO, the act
became a law. By it the corporation-limits extended one half
mile east, and the same distance west from the centre of Main
street opposite the front door of the court-house ; and its width
was made one half mile. It empowered the tax-payers to elect
Trustees from among the fi-eeholders, together with three Asses-
sors, a Collector, and a Clerk. It also authorized the laying of a
tax for the purchase of fire-engines, and made provisions for the
enactment of by-laws, prohibiting horses, cows, oxen, young
cattle, hogs, sheep, geese, etc., from running at large, as well as
the depositing of rubbish of any kind upon the streets.
On the 4th of May, 1830, the first election was held at the
court-house, when a lull set of village-officials were chosen.
A fire-engi]ie was soon after purchased, and a small engine-
house built. Laws were also passed to keep the streets fi'ee
from animals, old wagons, wood-piles, lumber, etc.
At that time there were no side-walks in the village. There
was a foot-]iath on each side of Main street, which served a very
good purpose in dry weatlier ; but when moisture prevailed, was
no better than a chnnii'l Hlh d with mud and water. Domestic
quadrupeds occupieil tlic strcrts at all times, as well asdooryards
and lawns whenever and wlierever a gate was left open ; and it
was not uncommon for those who were in the .streets at night to
stumble over a cow, or to disturb the nocturnal repose of a litter
of pigs and their dam. The streets themselves were always ren-
dered filthy by the excrements of the animals which occupied
them, and no grass-plat was safe fr'om the rootings of swine.
Besides this, sleighs, wagons, wood, lumber, and a hundred other
things were deposited upon the streets, where they remained
during the pleasure of tlie owner.*
* In May, 1839, the only newspaper of tlio iili.r .1, rl;u-i J thm tin ^ ilhi-.' ii. -.inted
a dilapidated appearance. Many of the lii>u»rv «, i,. nniiiim, .1. :iii.l n iMnsulcinMe
number of them wore owned by non-resiihnis, "h- r.r.i\.,l Im !i'i|> m, ,,,i. from
them, and pcnnittrd them to gravitate to nun. M;iiii sinct n:i- ' 1. I- ' ■ ;!l ■ iiMnsh.
There were no si.lr«;ilkK and but one sdioul, Ml.irh w;is..f u 1. ■■ ■: ' - w.-h-
ing. Cows, lio-s. K''«'':iodoldborsrsdetil,'d tliepallis;ir[(\ In ,, I .M""'*-
tion was aslii'ii ,.r di ad, and every project for a baidi, an n - i;,, au
academy, ilc, abandoned.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 591
Every attempt to abate one or all of these evils was sure to
arouse a nest of hornets around the ears of the village-authori-
ties. The people were the sovereign proprietors of the high-
ways and streets, and regarded every man as an aristocrat who
-attempted to restrict them in the free and unrestrained use of
the common domain. The rich man whose swine were plowing
up the village-green was indignant if any one suggested that he
should confine them to a yard or pen ; and the poor man whose
cow was disturbed while cropping and defihng the greensward
of the streets, claimed that he was the victim of oppression, if
his animal was impounded.
For ten years, except at spasmodic intervals, the by-laws
were not enforced. In 1842, a thorough reform was inaugurated,
principally through the exertions of A. C. Niven, who, regard-
less of consequences to himself, caused the laws to be executed.
'This led to much ill-feeling, and the formation of two parties in
the village — one of which supported and the other opposed the
new order of things. The late Steplien Hamilton was regarded
as the leader of the opposition. There were involved in the
controversy many ancient personal and political grievances and
prejudices. Niven and Hamilton were like the opposite poles
of an electric battery. They never came in contact without
disturbing the equanimity of themselves and their respective
friends. One was an alkaloid, the other an acid. When thrown
together, there was a commotion in village-atiairs — a foaming
and bubbUng of uncongenial elements. Hamilton was a man
of varied pursuits, who gave employment to a considerable
number of men, whom he handled with the precision of a
martinet. He was not devoid of public spirit and local pride ;
but had long controlled others; and when a corpcu'ation of
one-horse power attempted to dictate to him, he rebelled. For
several years, whenever there was a village-election, the opposing
forces confronted each other, and there was a contest for victory.
The improvement-party generally won the day; and there was
a kind of gueriUa-warfare during the next twelve months, which
resulted in nothing more inijiortant than the capture of a few
roving hogs and horn-cattle. In the end, there was a cessation
of hostilities. All were satisfied that the village-regulations
were reasonable and right, and now nothing would create so
much dissatisfaction as a return to the disorders of old times.
Soon after the village was incorporated a census of its resi-
dents was taken, by which it appeared that there were 59 heads
of families residing in the place ; 186 males and 190 females.
Total number of inhabitants, 376.
In 1833, there were two hotels in Monticello — one kept by
Amos Holmes, and the other owned by Stephen Hamilton.
Hiram Bennett & Co., Nathan S. Hammond, William E. Cady,
ova mSTORY OF SULLITAN COUKTT.
Charles M. Pelton and J. A. Howell were merchants. Jairns
H. Daiiuing and Preston Duraut were hat-manufacturers.
Tliey made silk and beaver-hats, and brought with them from
Danbury, Connecticut, several journeymen — one of whom, a
man named Odle, committed suicide by cutting his thi-oat with
a razor, while suffering with "megrims" and fi'om the effects of
a deV)auch. The i)lace contained two tailors — Thomas Fitz-
gerald and Isaac J. Southard — who were well patronized, as no
well-dressed man would don a suit of ready-made clothing.
Eandall S. Street, Peter F. Hunn, Archibald C. Niven and
George O. Belden were law}'ers ; but one of whom found enough
to do to "keep the wolf from liis door." Daniel M. Angell and
Roderick Royce were physicians and surgeons, with limited
incomes from their professional labors. Mrs. O. Wheeler & Co,
and Miss E. Gray were milliners and mantua-makers, who
cleaned and dressed white and black Leghorn hats for their
lady customers — sold Navarinos, (a paste-board imitation of
Leghorns,) and cut and made cloaks, coats, habits and dresses.
There were also a few shoemakers, blacksmiths and other
mechanics.
Hiram Bennett soon after sold out to his partners, Daniel B.
St. John and Walter S. Vail. Pelton removed to Poughkeepsie
and Howell to New Orleans.
On the 23d of Septeml)er, 1835, a highway-robbeiT was com-
mitted a few rods west of the re.sidence of Jleuben 13. Towner.
A man named Cornelius Low had sold a Load of butter in New-
burgh, and was returning home with the proceeds. He passed
through Monticello in the evening, and was stopped by un-
known persons west of the ^-illage, who took from him thi'ee
hitndred dollars. The robbers were never discovered.
On the 13th of January, 1814, the court-house and County
Clerk's office were destroyed by fire.
The weather was intensely cold. The ground was covered
with snow, on the surface of which there was a crust so thick
and strong that it would bear a man of ordinary weight. The
wind blew from the north-west with so much force that people
found it almost impossible to stand still ; and to walk was im-
practicable, except in beaten roads and paths, and in'f/i the gale.
At 3 o'clock, in the afternoon, there was an alarm of fire. The
house of Giles M. Benedict, a few rods W. N. W. of the court-
house, was on fire. To the rear of the main building, there was
an " addition," or lean-to, used for a kitchen. The roof of tliis
■was lower than the eves of the house, and through it ran a pipe
from the kitchen-stove. From tliis pipe, fire was carried by the
wind some five or six feet to the neighboring cornice. Almost
instantly it was in a blaze, and in a few moments the Inirricaue
caused huge tongues of fire to lap over and around, and dart
THE TOVi'N OF THOllPSON. d^S
through the building. In an ahnost incredibly brief time,^
it was in ashes, with nearly all its contents.
A few persons seeing that Benedict's house coi;ld not be saved,
ran to the court-house to protect it, if possible. Little danger
was apprehended to the house itself, unless a small barn close to
it caught fire. Hence the combustible material in and around
the bai-n was at once (benched with water. Two men were also
sent up to the belfry to watch the roof. Thej began to congrat-
ulate themselves that the pubhc buildings were safe, when it was
discovered that the com-t-house was on fire in an unexpected
quarter. It was burning on the west side, between the dry pine
siding and the equally dry ceiling, wliere it was impossible to
get at it in time to check it. At once there was a roaring col-
umn of flame from the foundation to the roof. So rapid was
the progress of the fire, that one of the persons (an oJd uegi'o) in
the belfry, escaped with difliculty.*
Tliere was but one prisoner in the jail at the lime. He was
let loose ; but instead of leaving the \illage, worked faithfully
with the residents of the place in their endeavors to check the
fire.
From the court-house the flames leaped o\cr tiie County
Clerk's oflice to the Presbyterian church, wliich wa^ soon in a
blaze.
The Clerk's oflice was a substantial brick building, witli a
wooden roof. The books, records, etc., were removed, and noth-
ing of importance lost, although those engaged in taJung thorn
to a place of safety had but a few minutes in which to accom-
plish the work.
A fiery blast seemed to sweep over these buildings, obliterat-
ing all that was comliustible from the face of the earth. Tlie
lower pai-t of the village fi-om the Mansion House seemed
doomed. The air was full of biu-ning coals, and cinders, while
blazing shingles and fragments of siding were driven by the gale
rapidly over th« smooth crust of the snow for at least a mile.
Piles of household-goods, which had been removed from exposed
buildings, barns, etc., were momentarily catching fire, while the
citizens were exhausted by their efforts. Among the barns
which caught fire were the following :
Captain Hamilton's, on the Mansion House lot, now owned
by Solomon W. Eoyce & Sou.
William Morgan's, on the premises now belonging to William
H. Cady.
* In deBtonding, he was olilif,'ed to pass through the attic ; then a trap-door, and
do-KTi a ladder about a dozen feet to the floor of a jnry-room. In the dense smoke, he
could not find the trapdoor readily, and crawled around rapidly on his hands and
knees to find it. Coming to it unexpectedly, he fell head for«nost into a basket of
feAth.trs. If it had not "been for " hie thick skull and the feathers, he would have
been etunned, ami burned to death. {Watchman, January 24, 1844.
38
594 HISTORY OF SULLIV-ilN COUNTY.
A. Billing3 Royce's, now belonging to C. V. E. Ludington.
Oeorge Wiggins', now belonging to Morris Brothers.
Piatt Pelton's, now owned by George M. Beebe.
Reuben B. Towner's, now owned by Eber Strong.
Mr. Royoe's was bnrned. The others saved.
Captain Hamilton's barn was on fire for nearly an honr, and
it required almost superhuman exertions to arrest the flames,
which burst from a large (luantity of hay. To this point the
exertions of a large crowd were directed; for if the fire had
gained the mastery here, all exertions to arrest its progi-oss
would haA'e been in vain. "Lines " were formed from the neigii-
boriiig wells to f'ou^■ey water to the bani. The fire-engino,
(an insigiiitit-ant atiairi was used to drench the outside of the
building, whilf the j)eo]ile inside poured a constant stream on
the burniDg hay. Wiienever the tire gained on them, as it
sometimes did, a despairing cry went up from the weary crowd ; ■
and when the danger was decreasing there were heard shouts
of encouragement ; so tliat those who were watching and guard-
ing their property in the lower part of the village knew
from the tones which were borne to them by the gali^ the precise
degree of danger which menaced them at each moment. At
last, the hay was completely saturated with water, and little
better than a mass of charcoal, and the danger was passed.
At sundown there were piles of movaljle property in the
streets and in the fields; but their owners were unable from
fatigue to guard them. Ira Dales and Rodei-ick Royce, who
were then Justices of the Peace, appointed a poUce from among
those who came to the village from the adjoining ueighborlmods,
with strict orders to arrest all who disturbed the exptised pro-
perty. Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, the
police shrank not from the duty required of them. But one
arrest took place — a young man named Hulse from Orange
county — who was sentenced to pay a fine of five dollars.
Tlie prisoner who was let out of the jail, and assisted in
"fighting the fire," so far won the gratitude of the people of
Monticello, that he was put in charge of Elijah W. Edwards,
with a tacit understanding that if he choose to nin ofl", he could
do so. We believe he availed himself of the privilege.
The losses by this fire were as follows : G. M. Benedict, $1,200,
insured for $400 : Lucius B. Fobes and WiUiam C. Cogswell,
boarders of Benedict, ^'M\0 ; Thomas Stevenson, do., the papers
necessary to establish his right to inherit a plantation in the
West Indies ; Thomas Daley, alaborer of Benedict, $100 ; Shap-
ley Stoddard, a tenant, of clo., $f)0 : the court-house, original
cost $7,000; Clerk's oftice, do., $1,500 ; Presbvterian Church,
$3,000; Felix Kelly, under-Sherifl', $500; Stephen HamUtor
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 595
$500; Wm. E. Cady & Co., $500; W. E. Cady, .SlOO ; A. B.
Eoyce, $200 ; George Wiggins, $150.
Before the ashes of the county-buildings were cold, it was
apparent that there would be a formidable attempt to change
the site of the coiirt-house and Clerk's office. In some of the
towns there was an obstinate prejudice against Monticello and
its prominent inhabitants. Tliis prejiidice originated on social,
business and political grounds, and at that epoch of our history
was natural.
It was charged that, while the people of Monticello were in
no respect better than their neighbors, they assumed social su-
periority, and that, with the exception of a few families of other
towns, Avho were as exclusive as themselves, they did not asso-
ciate with those who were outside the narrow circle of the
village. For a quarter of a century, there had been in Monti-
cello about a score of men and an equal number of women whose
costume and bearing were regulated by the prevailing mode. A
majority of them were intelligent, but not remarkable for intel-
lectual capaoity. Each paid a sixpence at Cady's circulating
library for the privilege of reading tlie last new novel, and hence
had some knowledge of current literature. Each patronized a
fashionaljle tailor or miniuer and mantua-maker. All danced
cotillions, except those who had conscientious scruples ; but the
exceptions had no objections to a roiigh amusement which was
at that time in vogue. All considered contra-dances vulgar.
These people had a certain poUsh of manner ; they held rude-
ness in disesteem; rigidly discountenanced gro.ss immorality;
endeavored to enforce the rules wliich govern genteel intercourse
as they undei'stood them ; regarded manual labor as disrepu-
table ; and were gerieraily free from vulgarity, except arrogance
and a degree of pride which was often farcical. Beside this we
may say that a majority of them were too timid to acknowledge
as equals those who had not obtained an entree to their set or
circle, and some of the young and weak-brained too often made
their fancied superiority offensively manifest.
Since that day, the "school-master has been abroad," and
there are but few towns of the county which do not contain social
coteries in every respect more accomplished than that of Mon-
ticello of thirty years ago.
Monticello was at that time the most important point in the
county west of Mamakating for the sale of merchandise ; but
rival establishments were springing up in every direction, whose
proprietors naturally imagined that the more odiufu they could
heap upon the merchants of the " county-town," the greater
would be their own business. The hotels of Monticello were
prosperous. It was beheved that they reaped a rich harvest
from jiu'ors, witnesses and others who were compelled to pat-
596 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNT?,
rouize them, and that the time had come when other tavern-
keepers should have this kind of patronage. Besides this, it was
charged that the money-lenders of the place, by exacting usury^
"ground the faces"' of those who were compelled to boiTow.
Yet Montieello was no more amenable to this charge than any
other Aallage of equal wealth.
Active and iuHuential politicians who lived at the county-seat
naturally exerted a great iutiuence in their respective parties.
County conventions, at which men were nommated for office,
were lield there, and it was asserted that too often candidates
were selected by the Monticello politicians in advance of the
conventions. At least, the disappointed were apt to attribute
their lack f)f success to the central power, and as not more than
one in six applicants for official honors received what they ex-
]iected and desired, this was a fmitful source of ill-feeling toward
Monticello.
Ajiplication was made to the Legislature of the State for a
law to remove the site of the county-buildings to Halfway
Brook or Barry ville, where the people pledged ten acres of land,
and three thousand dollars towards the cost of the necessary
edifices ; to the lands of John HoUey, in West Settlement, who
promised a site and one thousand" dollars; to the Neversink
Falls in the t(3wu of Fallsburgh, where the people pledged
nothing, but asked for the annexation of the town of Wawarsiug
to Sullivan, proliably to make the Falls nearer the centre of the
county ; to the village of Liberty, where the applicants claimed
that they would give a site and erect the court-house and jail
fi-ee of expense to the county ; to Wurtsborough and to Forest-
burgh, on the same conditions. In Wurtsborough and Liberty
subscri])tioii-])iipers were circulated to secure the money neces-
sary tor nlmililing, and considerable amounts pledged. The
first lianied village, it was understood, took the lead by subscrib-
ing the largest amount. It is doubtfid, however, whether its
people entertained a hope of success.
In Foi-estburgh, a public meeting was held, of which Coe Dill
was chairman and Archibald Mills secretary, and which ap-
pointed E. A. Greene, Charles Penny, Coe Dill, A. Mills and D.
M. Broadhead a committee to ascertain what property-holdei-s
of the town wordd execute a bond for "the erection of the
pul)lic buildings fi-ee of expense to the county generally." This
committee repoi-ted at an adjourned meeting that John Penny,
A. S. Dodge, A. P. Thompson, J. Bonnell, Coe Dill, "William F.
Brodhead, Andrew Stranagan and Nathaniel Greene would do
so, ])rovided that the court-house and Clerk's office were located
in that town. The same committee also reported resolutions,
wliich wei-e uuaninjously adopted by the meeting, in which it
was conceded that Monticello was the best location for the
I
THE TO^VN OF THOMPSON. 697
county-seat ; but that, if another site should be selected, they
asserted that Forestburgh possessed advantages equal to those
of Liberty in every respect, and superior so far as mail and
stage-routes were concerned, etc. Daniel M. Brodhead and
his brother Wilham F., were the moving spirits of this meeting.
Neither of them hoped to secure the site for their town ; but
both hoped to prevent a removal to Liberty. The allusion to
mail and stage-routes was considered a happy one, as there was
a daily stage-coach running back and forth between Middletown
and JJarrowsburgh, tna the Mount Hope and Lumberland turn-
pike road, while Liberty could boast of no such advantage,
whether this jibe led to the running of a daily stage-line
between Liberty and Ellenville, at a subsequent period, we will
not pretend to say. It is enough to point to the fact that that
village at the present time can suffer nothing by a comparison
as to mails, etc., with Forestbiirgh.
In addition to the above, a witty writer for the Watchman
(William H. Grant, First Assistant Clerk of the Assembly) sug-
gested that the most eligible spot for the court-house was
Brown's Settlement, in the town of Rockland, where it would
accommodate eight or ten families of the Shandaken mountains
who were unable to find a way out to attend court, and where
John Hunter and other large landholders would unquestionably
build it at their own expense.
■*A long and animated controversy ensued which did not end
until the Legislature enacted a law compelling the Supervisors
to rebuild on the site now occupied by the county-buildings.
On the 25th of January, (twelve days after the burning of the
court-house) a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors was
held at the Mansion House, in Monticello, at which were pies-
ent Joseph Young, of Liberty ; James C. Curtis, of Cochecton ;
Daniel B. St. John, of Thompson ; Mathew Brown, 'of Bethel ;
Coe Dill of Forestburgh ; Austin Strong, of Fallsburgh ; Wil-
liam Fisk, of Rocklancl, and Olney Borden, of Callicoon. Hal-
stead Sweet, of Mamakating ; Charles S. Woodward, of Lumber-
land, and John Johnson, of Neversink, were absent. Joseph
Young, James 0. Curtis and Daniel B. St. John were appointed
a committee to get a plan, receive proposals and procure the
passage of a law authorizing a tax on the county for building a
new court-house, jail and Clerk's office. The draft of a law was
submitted and informally approved, which was sent to the Legis-
lature. In this draft there was nothing authorizing a change of
location. The opponents of Monticello hoped to effect a removal
by a separate and distinct legislative act. After transacting
other business, which was not of an important character, the
Board adjourned until the committee should call its members
together again.
598' HISTORY OF SULUTAN COUNTY.
The fi-iends of Liberty committed a grave mistake at this ses-
sion, ill not taking a bold stand for a location at that place. As
the site was ah-eadj^ legally at Mouticello, the passage of a sim-
ple law at an early day to authorize rebuiltling, gave Monticello
an advantage which was not overcome.
On the 8th of February, " An Act to provide for rebuilding
the court-house and jail in SulHvan county," was passed by the
Legislature, and became a law. The act was in the precise
language adopted by the Supei'visors, except that in the original
draft no location was specified, while, as adopted, the Board
were authorized to rebuild at ilontwelh. This caused much
dissatisfaction among those who advocated a removal, while the
friends of Monticello asserted that the addition of the words " at
Monticello" was immaterial, as the locatifjn was determined by
a law almost as old as the county.
By the act of February 8, 1844, the Supervisors were required
to designate suitable rooms in the new buUtling for a Clerk's
office. A new edifice for that purpose was not then contem-
plated. One or two rooms on the first tioor of the present house
were intended for the Clerk of the County; but were subse-
< [uently found to be wholly unfit and inadequate, when the build-
ing now occupied by him was erected.
On the 13th of February a new Board was elected, as follows :
Whigs.
Mamakating, William B. Hammond;
Fallsbm'gh, Thomas Hardeubergh ;
Thompsou, Daniel B. St. John.
Independent.
Bethel, Mathew Brown, Dem. ;
Jjiberty, Joseph Young, Whig.
Demockats.
Neversink, John Johnson ;
Eockland, Leroy M. Wheeler;
Callicoon, John Hankins ;
Cochecton, James C. Curtis ;
Lumberland, Charles S. Woodward;
Forestbui-gh, E. A. Greene.
Mathew Brown had supported F. A. DeVoe for Sheriff, when
the latter ran against William Gumaer ; but had succeeded in
securing but eleven votes for him in Bethel. This was owing
to the action of Charles B. Roosa, by whose advice mainly, the
entire whig vote of that town was cast for Gumaer, DeVoe's
competitor. DeVoe was very obnoxious to Boosa, because,
while editor of the Republican Watchman, he had pubhshed
several articles in which whig relatives of Roosa were severely
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. OaU
lampooned. After DeVoe's defeat, Roosa, who was a shrewd
poUtician, caused the whigs of Bethel to vote in a body for
Brown whenever he was a candidate for Supervisor. All the
anti-Monticello democrats of Bethel also supported him. From
these causes he was imiformly successful as a candidate.
Joseph Young owed hk election to the BcpuUicaa Watchman.
The editor of that paper had advocated reform in the financial
affairs of the county. Mr. Young professed to be in favor of
the proposed reforms, and, notwithstanding he was and always
had been a whig, the political friends of the IVafchnian adopted
him as their candidate for Supervisor in Liberty, and elected
him.
Notwithstanding the democratic party had a clear majority
of the Supervisors, the court-house question enabled Young and
Brown to control the Board. Mr. Young found notliing to
reform except the bUl of the proprietor of the Watchman for
printing. He, with Mr. Brown and Johnson, and the whig
members, joined in allowing one-half of the legal fees for print-
ing ; but the proprietor, unwilling to accept the usual reward of
reformers, sued the county, and in the end got what he
demanded.*
These facts show what effect the burning of the court-house,
and the agitation in regard to rebuilding, had on our local
politics.
The new Board held a special meeting in Monticello on the
7th of March. All the members attended.
The plan of the court-house as made by Thornton M. Niven,
was accepted. Ayes — Curtis, St. John, Bro^vn, Hammond,
Hankins, Greene, Woodward — 7. Nays — Young, Hardenbergh,
Johnson, Wheeler — i.
On motion of Mr. Yoimg, further action was postponed until
the '25th of the ensuing April. Ayes — Curtis, Brown, Young,
Hardenbergh, Hankins, Greene. Johnson, Wheeler — 8. Nays
—St. John, Hammond, Woodward — 3.
Eh Fairchild, John P. Jones and Piatt Pelton were authorized
to repair the old Clerk's office, the expense of which was Umited
to seventy-five dollars. Against this only Young, Brown and
Wheeler voted.
Previous to this meeting the inhabitants of Monticello had
not made a formal demonstration in their own favor. The ac-
tion of the Supervisors alarmed them. A meeting was held on
the 12th of March, at which A. C. Niven, Daniel B. St. John,
E. L. Burnham, Eli Fairchild, N. S. Hammond, John P. Jones,
James E. Quinlan and others were appointed a committee to
» Ambrose Spencer and A. C. Niven were the attomeya of Qninlan, the proprietor
of the Watchman ; aud WilUam B. Wright for the SuperviBors.
WU HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
*' submit to the public a brief statement of facts relative to the
location of the coimty-buildinga." In discharging their duties,
they recited the action of the Commissioners who, after a full
investigation, made Monticello the capital of the county at an
early day ; the destruction of the court-house, etc., by fire ; the
action of the Board ; the passage of the act for which the Su-
pervisors applied, ^vith the addition already noted, which the
committee argued was immaterial, as the location had long been
" at Monticello," etc. In language marked by unusual asperity,
they charged that, while measures were maturing for the speedy
restoration of the coiinty-buildings, a few individuals at Liberty,
with the intention of enhancing the value of their o-ma property,
had been constantly engaged in prejudicing, and " arraying the
people of other towns against theii- brethren here, thus inciting
them to commit an act which in all time to come they would
deeply deplore." The committee then asserted that Monticello
was nearer the geographical center of the county than Liberty,
as well as the center of population ; that the facilities for reach-
ing Monticello were superior ; that it had a daily maU ; that the
proposition of Liberty' to erect a court-house was fallacious, as
no such arrangement could be enforced legally ; and that if that
]ilace could do what was offered, the advantages would be tri-
fling when compared with the inconveniences which would fol-
low to the inhabitants of Cochecton, Bethel, Lumberland, Forest-
burgh, Mamakating and Thompson. They then made a state-
ment showing the amount a tax-payer assessed for .$250 would
have to pay for the erection of a new court-house, as well as
those assessed for larger amounts, and concluded by saying that
they desired the whole matter should be laid before the people
in candor and truth, Avithout false coloring, and unbacked by
fallacious promises. If this was done they were willing to abide
by the result.
TVe have given but the substance of what this committee in-
corporated in their address to the people of the county, omitting
what would even now give offense to some. If we could pro-
cure a copy of the memorial sent to the Legislature by those
who favored Liberty, we would, as an impartial historian, insert
it here.
The committee of the Assembly to whom were referred
the Liberty and other petitions for a removal, reported
unanimously that " the site for the former buildings was located
by a Board of Commissioners duly authorized by law; that
since such location no alteration had taken ^ilace in the bounds
of the county, and that no unforeseen contingency had rendered
a removal necessary or expedient." The report concludes in
the following words :
im; TOWN or thomtoox. 601
" With these facts before them, the committee are of opinion
that nothing but needless expense and unmitigated evil would
result from further agitation of the question. Trusting that, on
mature reflection, all parties concerned will see the subject in
the same light, tiiey can Imt hope that when a transient excite-
ment shall have given place to cooler counsels, they will cheer-
fully acquiesce in the decision at which the committee have
arrived, to wit : That the pi'ayer of the petitioners ought not to
be granted."
Immediately after Liberty was thus defeated in the Assembly,
one of the most prominent and intliiential citizens of the county,
whose opinions had decisive weight in Monticello, made the fol-
lowing suggestion in the Wolchiunn:
* * * ■■•" "The people of Liberty are full of entei-prise,
and if the northern towns increase in the ratio they pretend to
anticipate, and the roads be corresponding!}- improved, it wmild
be worthy of consideration whether they .should not have that
town a half-sliire town." * * '■ *
This ofTer, emamiting as it did from the victorious party, was
liberal and magnanimous; but it met with no favor troni those
to whom it was made. They received it with sullen silence, and
prepared themselves for another encounter.
Monticello became fully aroused, and through its friends at
the State capital, gave its enemies a fatal blow. An amenda-
tory act was prepared empowering William Gillespie, of Bethel ,
Joseph Grant, of Liberty, and Piatt Peltou of Monticello, or
any two of them, to rebuild the court-house on the old site,
provided the Supervisors did not make a bona fide contract on
or before the 20 th day of May, 1844. This act became a law
on the 22d of April. On the 25th the Board met, and on motion
of Mathew Brown, all action in regard to relniilding was deferred
until the next annual meeting. Ai/es — Wheeler, Johnson, Har-
denbergh, Hankins, Brown and Young — 6. Nai/s — Woodward,
Ciirtis, Hammond, Greene and St. John — 5. In vain were the
members informed of the passage of the law appointing com-
missioners. They believed, or affected to believe, that the act
of the 22d of April was a myth ; and the citizens of Monticello
were attempting to perpetrate a rnxc to sccui-e the site at that
place similar to the one resorted to by Samuel F. Jones dining
the fir.st controversy concerning the ]niblic buildings. They
were determined not to lie caught napping //(/>•■ time. Nothing
less than an othcial copy of the law would convince them that
all hope had perished. Siicli a copy had not been received,
and if the law had been adopted, perhaps Gillespie, Grant and
Pelton would not dare to act under it. The Board adjourned,
and on the 30th, Messrs. GLllespio and Pelton advertised for
sealed proposals for constructing the court-house, agreeably to
bUa HISTORY OF StTLLIVAS COUNTY.
the plan and specifications of T. M. Niven. They also announced
tliat on the 21st of May, the first day they could lawfully do so,
they would enter into a contract for building.
Here was an entertainment which Matliew Brown and his
coadjutors had not anticipated. The geographical position of
Bethel rendered its interests identical with those of Thompson ;
1)ut Mr. Brown was bitterly hostile to Mouticello and all its
interests, and with extraordinary ingenuity and persistency
labored to vex and humiliate certain of its leading men. He
was an Indian in his enmities, a Yankee in cunning, a Scotch-
man in craftiness, and struck just when and where he could
icach a vital point. We have never had in Sullivan a public
man who could bend the most adverse circumstances to suit his
jiurposes as did Mathew Brown. With an entire community
arrayed against him, he could so manage his cards as to win
almost every game he undertook. Although Bethel was within
oue hour's ride of Mouticello, and the means of intercourse
between that town and Thompson, were unsurpassed in the
county, he so worked upon the passions of his fellow-townsmen,
that they were willing to bring upon themselves almost any
calamity, if by doing so they could thwart the "dictators" of
Mouticello, and ruin that village. The court-house question
was a potent engine with which he was determined to advance
his political interests, and hence it was his pohcy to keep it
unsettled as long as possible. Through it he had au oppor-
tunity to control the county-conventions of his part}", and to
secure such nominations as pleased him and mortified his
democratic enemies, and to have it thus put at i-est by a bold
and unforeseen movement of the Monticello clique, as he stigma-
tized them, was a personal disaster. "■•'
Finding that the court-house would be put under contract,
either with or without their agenc}', a special meeting of the
Board was called by Billings Grant, tlieir Clerk, at the request
of a majority of the Supervisors. This meeting was lield on
tlie 7th of May, and was attended by the representatives of
every town. Its first act was to jnake Mr. Brown permanent
cliairman. It then resolved to re<x>midcr the vote of the previous
meeting defemng action in regard to the court-house until the
annual meeting; but from ignorance of parliamentary law,
they did not reconsider it; but leaving it unrepealed, they ap-
pointed Messrs. Brown, Young and Hankins a committee to
rebuild, and instructed them " to enter uito contract on or before
the '20th instant." Every member of this connnittee was hostile
to the Monticello location. It was feared at first that they
» Both Hankins and Jolinson wcri; at lirst bitterly opposed to Brown : but by
•killfuUy manipulating tbeii- vulnerable points, they became entirely subeerWent fohi»
purposes.
■wonld cause to be erected a cheap and useless edifice ; but this
contiugency was guarded against by the law of April '22d. On
the 9th of March, the Board had adopted the plans and specifi-
cations of T. M. Niven. This jDlan was for a stone-building,
each and e^•ery part of which was specified or descriljed ; and
the law providing for Commissioners to rebuild, authorized them
to proceed with the work if the Supervisors iVkI imt ninkr a bona
fide contract hi/ the. 20th of May, "for the hxihJiiuf of mid court-
house and jail according to the plan and specijications already
adopted by the Board," etc.
After transacting the business for which they had met, the
Board adjourned to the 20th of May.
On the day of adjournment, a fuU Board was again present.
Messrs. Brown, Young and Hankins reported that .they had
contracted with Samuel Bull, of Orange county, to build the
court-house according to the plan of T. M. Niven, for $6,o00.
This sum was $1,500 less than the estimated cost. The Treas-
xirer was authorized to borrow five thousand dollars on the
credit of the county as part of the cost of building. YUiy dollars
wtn-e allowed T. M. Niven for his plan — ^just one-half the amount
originall}' authorized to be paid for it. Probably resentment
more than economy determined the reward he received. Messrs.
Brown, Young and' Wheeler were appointed to superintend the
building, with power to appoint an agent residing in Monticello,
and Messrs. Brown, Young and Hankins were continued a
l)uilding committee.
The Superintendents appointed John P. Jones their agent,
and mad<; it his duty to require the contractor to construct the
building in a woikmanlike manner.
Mr. Bull commenced the job without dela3\ He at once proved
that he was a rigid economist. He put up a barrack-like
shanty of rough boards on the north line of court-house square,
^^'he^■e he fed and lodged his workmen. He imported his
own provisions, and brought with him a company of en-
ergetic, industrious workmen. A man who was a laggard, or
required a moment's rest from early morn to sundown,
could not remain in his employment a single day. The work
was performed in a manner advantageous to himself. Mr. Jones
was not satisfied with it, and in his hesitating, stammering way,
found much fault. "A — ah — Mr. Bull," he would say, " these —
ah — stones will not — ah — make a good wall ; and — ah — this
mortar has not — ah — enough lime in it." Mr. Bull would not
pause an instant in what he was doing^ but would look at the
agent, smiling blandly and with a cunning twinkle in his eyes,
" O, yes, I see, Mr. Jones !" And everything would go on in
* This is the prti-iso language of the resolution.
bU4 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
precisely the old manner. His workmen annoyed Mr. Jones in
every conceivable way, no doubt to the secret satisfaction of
their employer, so that the visits of the agent became " few and
far between."
At the annual meeting of the Board in November, the office
of agent or superintendent was discontinued ; and the buildiug-
committee and committee of superintendence were consoHdated.
Messrs. Brown, Hankins and St. Jolm were chosen to discharge
the duties. From this time, Mr. St. John practically had charge
of the building. But his appointment was too late. He was
fearless and energetic, as well as a good judge of sucli work as
Mr. Bull was engaged in, and if he had had an ovei-sight of it
from the beginning, the irregularities of the contractor would
have been regulated, and the necessity for expending many hun-
dred dollars subsequently for repairs, would not have existed.
In November, 1845, the building was completed ; but the roof
leaked so badly that the Board refused to accept it, or pay Mr.
Bull the full amoiint specified in the contract until the defect
was remedied.
In addition to $r>,500, Mr. Bull received $290 for extra work,
making altogether $6,790.
While the old safety-fund system prevailed, several attempts
■were made to establish a bank in MonticeUo; but without
success. This resulted from several causes. 1. The principal
moneyed men of the place were merchants, whose capital was
profitably uivested in trade, yielding them twenty-five per cent,
profit on sales, with seven per cent, on all overdue accounts.
2. There was a lack of unity among those who were able to
take stock. 3. There was not a sufticient amount of sui-plus-
funds to start a bank, without the aid of neighboring towns and
villages. The principal source from which subscriptions were
expected outside of MonticeUo was Bloomingburgh — a place
then deemed of much importance financially — and Blooming-
burgh desii-ed a bank of her own. 4. Those who had money
had invested it in bonds and mortgages — then a favorite method
of loaning it. Money loaned on such security generally escaped
taxation, and earned seven per cent., and too often commanded
more than legal interest.
One of these movements to found a moneyed institution at
the county-seat was made in 1832. On Clmstmas of that year,
a meeting was held at the Mansion House of Stephen Hamilton,
the object of which was to "petition the Legislature for the
incorporation of a Bank' in MonticeUo. John P. Jones was
chairman, and Peter F. Hunn, secretary. Apparently the gen-
tlemen who attended were unanimously in favor of the project.
Hiram Bennett, R. S. Street, A. C. Niven, George O. Belden and
Peter F. Hunn were appointed a committee to procure informa-
I
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 605
tion as to the necessity for a Bank, which, with the petition, was
to be laid before the Legislature. At this time the people of
Bloomingburgh were auxioiu to establish a Bank in their atI-
lage, and had taken steps with that object in view, for which
they were ceiLsnred by the MonticeUo Wafclanan. That journal
expressed fears that a Bank at Bloomiugbui-gh would be con-
trolled by the capitahsts of other counties, and boldly declared
that it might as well be located on the summit of Shawangunk
mountain as at its eastern base. Beyond this, it does not ap-
pear that mixch was done at either place, at that time, to create
such an institution, and the matter remained in abeyance until
January, 1839, when the subject was again agitated, and it was
proposed to establish in MonticeUo a Bank with a capital of
$100,000, under the general banking-law. The proposition, how-
ever, M'as fruitless.
In January, 1840, Benoni H. Howell, jr., of BuiTalo, an-
nounced his intention to establish the " Liberty Bank of Kock-
land, in the village of Eockland," with a capital of $100,000, and
the privilege of increasing the same to i!f5,000,000. The neces-
sary papers were filed by him in the County Clerk's office ; but
he was deterred from proceeding further m the matter, by an
exposure in the newspapers. It was evidently his intention to
have his Bank located nominally where bill-holders would not
find it easily, while its owner or owners transacted its business in
Buffalo. The project was as shallow as the Bank would have
been fi-audulent.
Oui- financial mountain had suffered fi'om parturient pains for
nearly twenty years ; but owing to congenital perversity, there
was no issue of bills, great or small, when a private individual
commenced the business of banking m MonticeUo, without the
croaking and cackling which usually precede important events
in villages of limited magnitude. The owner of this bank
(Frederick M. St. John) was a junior clerk in his brother's store
after the first effort was made to start a bank in the village ;
had gi'owu to man's estate ; engaged in business, and made a
comfortable fortune, while tlie magnates of the county-seat were
devising a method to establish such an institution. This fact
is not a pleasant one to contemplate; but it may serve as a
beacon to guard against the evils which gi-ow out of personal
piques and enmities where the interests of all woiild be pro-
moted by harmony and good will.
The new institution was known as the Sullivan County Bank.
Its capital was $.51,159.09. It would have done a very profita-
ble business, if it had continued to occupy the ground alone ;
but it soon had a rival. We will not stop to inquire whether
this rival would have had an existence if St. John had not gone
into the business. It is sufficient to say, that nearly all the
■'BOG HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY. i
wealthy men of the place, with some of the neighboring towns,
came promptly forward and subscribed to stock of the Union
Bank of Sullivan County, amounting in the aggi-egate to $115,000.
On tne 11th of December, 1850, a meeting was held, of which
A. C. Niven was president and John D. Watkins, secretary.
The articles of association were signed by those present, and
ten per cent, on upwards of $-100,000 promptly paid in. The
following gentlemen were then elected directors : Nathan S.
Hammond, Archibald C. Niven, Gad Wales, Ephraim L. Bui'n-
ham, Giles M. Benedict, James H. Foster, George Bennett,
Henry F. Wells, Sheldon Strong, John D. Watkins, Nathaniel
Gildersleeve, Charles S. Woodward, Spencer M. Bull, Austin
Strong, Stephen Smith and Eichard D. Childs. Nathan S.
Hammond was chosen President. On the 27th of January,
1851, the capital stock was all paid in. George Bennett was
elected Cashier, and John A. Thompson, Attorney. On the
24th of March, the bank commenced business, and has continued
to do so until the present time.* During its existence it has
had but two cashiers (George Bennett and Israel P. Tremain.)
In 1852, the SuUivan County Bank commenced winding up
its affairs, and soon ceased to exist. Mr. St. John was its sole
manager, and at the same time carried on an extensive mercan-
tile business.
In 1842, it may be said, commenced an era of improvement.
The corporation of the village was revived, its by-laws enforced,
ajid the constrnctiou of sidewalks commenced. A course of
lectures was also delivered on scientific, speculative and histo-
rical subjects by residents of the village. The list of lecturers
embraced such men as Eev. James Adams, William B. Wright,
Andrew Hamersly, Eev. Edward K. Fowler, and Daniel M.
AngeU, as well as William J. Clows, John W. Myers, William
C. Gogswell, James E. Quinlan, and others. The lectiires were
free, and were attended by large audiences. As tlu/ attractive-
ness of the village increased, non-residents ftmnd ]iurcliasera
for their houses and lots, old edifices were modeniized, new
ones built, and a steady and healthy, but not rapid gi'owth has
continued until the present time.
Perhaps nothing ^^ ill illustrate more ^-i^-idly the spirit which
formerly prevailed among the residents of IMimticello, than a
brief account of the various eftbrts made liy them to construct
a plank-road fi-om that place to some point on the line of the
New York and Erie Eailroad.
The plank-road project originated in 1849. On the 24th of
February of that year, a meeting was held at Wiggins' hotel,
at whicll James E. Quinlan, Munson L. Bushnell and George W.
* It has been re-orgnnizod as a National Bank.
THE IXnVN OF THOMI'SON. Wl
Tj<ml were appointed a committee to collect and report facts in
regard to plank-roads ; Nathan S. Hammond, William E. Cady
and James H. Foster to ascertain the amount that could be se-
cured to construct a road from Monticello to the New York and
Erie railway ; and Stephen Hamilton, John P. Jones and Eli
Fairchild to ascertain the most practicable route. ' The several
committees were requested to report at an adjourned meeting
on the ensuing 9th of March. NoJie of the committee-men per-
formed any of the work assigned them except James E. Quiu-
lan, who gave a history of plank-roads ; the mode and cost of
tlieir constmction and maintainance ; facts to show their utility;
an estimate of their profits to stockholders and the public ; a
synopsis of statutory provisions respecting them, etc. His re-
port was mainly based on legislative documents. We would
give it in full, as it had an important bearing on the formation
of several plank-road companies ; but these enteiprises were,
without exception, unfortunate. In not a single case were the
plank relaid, and when the road was not abandoned, it was re-
constnicted of other material.
After the reading of the repoit, Stephen Hamilton, Eli S. Pel-
ton and William R. Stewart were appointed a coiuuiittee to ex-
plore routes and obtain sixbscriptions to stock ; George W. Lord,
James E. Quinlan and Frederick M. St. John weie chosen to
collect funds to defray incidental expenses. The meeting then
adjourned to th* first Monday of April ; but it failed to meet
again on that day. Sometime during the month, however, Mon-
ticello and its neighborhood were canvassed, and it wjis ascer-
tained that capitalists and others were willing to subscribe an
aggreg;ite amount of about $20,000, if the road was made to
Otis\d] le, Port Jervis, or Guddebackville.
On the 8th of June, books were opened for subscriptions.
Fourteen thousand dollars of stock were taken, and five per cent.
Said. The following named persons were chosen directors :
athan S. Hammond, president ; William E. Cady, treasurer ;
Archibald C. Niven, clerk ; Stephen Hamilton, John P. Jones,
John W. Swan, Watson W. Gilman, Lewis W. Cuddeback and
J. Howard Tillotson.
W. 15. Vedder, a competent engineer, was soon after employed
to survey the route, who reported that the best location was bv
the way of Gilmau's and (hidlfbackvillc to Otisville. This dicl
not materially iuterfei'c with the road of tlie Mount Hope and
Lumberland'Tnnii)ikf Ci)miiauy. On tlic i20th of September,
the directors a.d<)])te(l this vi>nU\ Messrs. Jones, Niven and
Cady dissenting on account of assuranciis which they had given
to the people of Port Jervis. A contract for the purchase of a
part of the turnpike was then made with Abraham Cuddeback,
In January, 1850, the citizens of Otisville and Cuddeback-
^8 • HISiyaRY OF SUIXIVAN COUHTi.
ville had subscribed their required quotas of stock; but a few
shares were not yet taken in Thompson. The prospect was so
encouraging, that the directors advertised for o,000,000 feet of
plank and timber. Soon after proposals for construction were
issued. But imexpocted difficulties were encountered. Cudde-
back repudiated his contract. The directors diii'ered about the
location of the road and other matters, and when a responsible
contractor offered to make the road for less than the estimate
of the engineer, a portion of those who controlled the com-
Cny's affairs declined to proceed further in the matter. The
onticello directors claimed that the derelict portion of the
company resided in Cuddebackville and OtisvOle, and a meeting
■"A-aa held on the '22d of May, at which tiie people of Thompson
threatened to avoid both places by running the road to a point
four mUes west of Otisville ; but the threat had no effect on
those at whom it was directed.
After this, until the summer of 18.52, impotent efforts were
made to secure a i>laiik-voad to Port Jervis. to Otisville, via
Tannersdale and Wi'stluookville, etc. Meetings were held, and
pronunciamentos issued tlirougli the village-pre.ss, duly verified
by substantial chairmen and expert secretaries ; which were as
barren of results as a useless expenditure of blank cartridges.
In the meantime, the Port Jervis and Mongaup Valle}' Plank
Eoad Company was organized, and tlie construction of its road
pushed vigorously, and the scheme openly a«)wed of extendii^
it to Liberty. The Middletown and Bloomingburgh road was
completed, and an extension imder way to Wurtsborough, and
a further extension advocated to "Westfield Flats, via, Sandburgh,
Fallsburgh, Liberty, Parksnlle and Pur\'is. Thompsonville
also caught the fever, and in conjunction with citizens of Glen
Wild and Wurtsborough, formed a company. Eighteen thou-
sand dollars were subscribed, and Monticello w-as invited to
raise enough to make a road to coimect at Thomp.sonville ; but
Monticello failed to unite with her sister-village. The proposed
capital of the company was $20,000. Ostensibly, the company
failed to undertake the constnu-tion of its contemplated improve-
ment because .'§2,000 of its stock were not taken.
In the summer of 1851, there was a decided inclination in
Monticello to make the road to "Wurt.sltnrougli. James H. Fos-
ter, Stephen Hamilton, John P. .loiie^ ami A. V. Niven called a
meeting on the 11th of August, when tin' "bdoks' were re-opened,
and a committee in a single day obtained subscriptions nearly
sufficient to com])lote the woik. William W. Ileeve was em-
ploj'ed to survey the route, and on the 2.5tli of November, John
Dougherty, Eh S. Pelton, Simon Krum and Harvey R. Morris
were chosen directors. Having accomplished this much, the
chronic di.s]>o>dtion to squabble about the rout* manifested
I'HE TOWN OF THOMPSON. OOlr
itself afresh. Some were for the Port Jervis, some for the Otis-
ville, and others for the Wurtsborough terminus. As the dis-
putants were generally magnates in village and town-affairs, it
is probable the controversy would have been carried on until
the consummation of sublunary affairs, if rival roads had not
been projected and in progress of construction in the quai-tera
already noted.
On the .5th of May, 1852, another meeting was held in Mon-
ticello, and the ever-opening "books" again brought forward.
It was announced that this was the " last effort;" but these final
attempts were like the wares of Peter Pindar, the razor-strop
vender — there was always one more left.
On the '28th of July, a final meeting was held, at which a
plank-road company was organized by the election of a board
of directors composed of the following named persons : Nathan
S. Hammond, president ; Eichai-d Oakley, treasurer ; Spencer
M. Bull, secretary ; Harvey R. Morris, .James Graham, Archi-
bald C. Niven, and Edwin K. Gale. The purcliase of the
turnpike between Mouticello and Wurtsborough, including the
Nevei'sink bridge, was recommended, and the terms proposed
by the turnpike company approved.
From this time there was concert of action, and the work was
soon after put under contract. In due time it was completed.
When their improvement was finished, it was found that the
company was several thousand dollars in debt. The earnings
of the road, however, discharged all liabilities. No dividends
were paid for several years in consequence of this iudeljtedness,
and the conversion of the road to a stone road. This change
was made because it was found that a planked thoroughfare, al-
though admirable at first, soon became rough and uneven by
the unequal wearing of the material of which it was constructed ;
that the expense of re-planking was too great for ])rofit ; and
that a McAdamized road was in every respect preferable.
The affairs of the company have been managed with admira-
ble pmdence. Its road has been one of the best in the county,
and for many years it is believed that its dividends were large.
As to this, however, nothing is known with certainty beyond the
fact that those who owned stock considered it so desii-able that
they did not offer it for sale.
The life of William B. Wright does not afford an example of
successful industry or brilliant genius. He was a man of talent,
but indolent. In him, with a mind broad and deep, there was
a natural tendency to stagnation. A breeze disturbed its
placidity ; but it required an earthquake to move its depths.
He was of Irish blood, the son of Samuel and Martha Brown
Wright, and was born in Newburgh, New York, on the 16th of
April, 1806. His father wa.s a mechanic, and a man of small
39
610 HISTORY OP SULLTVAN COUNTY.
means. The son was early sent to the glebe-school of New-
burgh, where he continued until his twelfth year, when he
attended an academy for a short time. After this he was
employed in a book-store. When fifteen years old, he was
apprenticed to Ward M. Gazely, a printer and pubhsher of his
native town. Here he labored at the case and press for several
years, and spent what leisure he had in miscellaneous reading.
Prom doing press-work at this period of his life, it is supposed
he acquired a slight physical deformity. This he carefully
concealed. It was known to but few except his tailor, whose
art was employed to make his customer's shoulders appear
symmet.rical.
After the expiration of his apprenticeship, he commenced the
study of law with Ross & Knevels, who were leatiing members
of the bar of Orange county. How he managed to pay his ex-
penses while a law-student is unknown to us. As he was a
ready and vigorous writer, and an expert compositor, it is not
improbable that the means of his support were drawn from the
printing-offices of the place.
After studying the prescribed time, he was licensed as an at-
torney, and for a short period practiced law in Newburgh. It
does not appear that his success was remarkable, for he engaged
soon after in editing " The Beacon," an anti-Jackson paper.
His articles were keen and severe, and much applauded by his
political friends. In a few months " The Beacon" was discon-
tinued.
In 1831, he removed to Goshen, and practiced law in the of-
fice of Samuel J. Wilkin. He also became the editor of the
" Orange County Patriot." As a writer he displayed much
ability. He was caustic and forcible, and, like nearly every ed-
itor oi that day, resorted to personal vituperation. Pew jour-
nalists could lash a political opponent more severely than Wil-
liam B. Wright. In the heat of controversy, he applied the
scourge with a vigor and will which were never lessened by the
contortions of the unfortunate victim. It is said that he as-
sailed Mr. Chaffee, a rival editor of Goshen, with such severity,
that the latter was prostrated by paralysis, from which he never
recovered.
Mr. Wright, perhaps, regretted the necessity of these excesses.
They were then an essential ingi-edient of editorial Hfe. The
mass of mankind were so depraved that a journalist was con-
temned who did not cater to vitiated appetites. His own party
de.spised him if he did not use the weapons of a blackguard.
Even in our own time, too many Christiiin parents who guard
their children against the debasing influences of the rat-pit, the
race-course and nude theatricals, will place in the hands of their
•ofltspring journals which assail private character and reek with
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 611
^^llgarity and obsceiiitj-. Brutal sports are not as debasing as
brutal literature. Ruffians who assail each other with hands
and feet and teeth, are no worse than the creatures who, with a
piiblic press at their control, and their hearts convulsed by do-
moniac passions, seek to blast and blacken each other's reputa-
tion. In the commission of such ofi'enses, we have been a sin-
ner among sinners ; but it affords xis pleasure to say, that we
have seldom met an editoi'ial brother who did not privately de-
plore his offenses against good taste and sound morality; and
who did not regi-et that editorial intercourse was not governed
by the same rules which control the conduct of the cultivated
and refined.
In April, 1835, Mr. Wright opened a law-office in Monticello,
in the building now occupied for the same purpose by Judge
Bush. At that time, Randall S. Street, Archibald C. NiVen, Pe-
ter F. Hunn, Seth W. Biownson and William B. Wright were
the only lawyers in Monticello. Indeed, there was but one
more in the county, (Alpheus Dimmick, of Bloomiugburgh).
There was but one of these gentlemen who earned more than
his expenses. Street soon after died, Hunn removed from the
county, and Brownson closed his office. The legal business of
the county, it may be said, was monopolized for several years by
Niven, Wright and Dimmick. Nevertheless, Wright remained
poor and Dimmick did not get rich. For fifteen years previous
to the adoption of the third Constitution of New York, there
was a dearth of legal business in Sullivan. This will appear
from the annexed memoranda of the courts of 1845 :
Circuit Courts. — Two terms. No causes on the calendar,
and none tried. Grand Jurors' fees, Sll'2 ; Petit Jurors', $115 ;
Sheriff and Constables', $42.50 ; Crier's, $6. Total, $275.50.
CouisTTY Courts. — Two civil causes during the year. Both
tried. Aggi-egate amount of verdicts, $85. Two cc'rliomri.s'
decided — one affirmed — one reversed. Judge's fees for attend-
ing County Courts, |126; Oyer and Terminer, $460; Grand
Jurors' fees, $120 ; Petit Jurors', $171 ; Sheriff and Constables',
$100; Crier,_ $18.75; County Clerk, $38.06.
Surrogate's fees, $508.88. Supreme Court Commissioner's,
$10. Fees of Examiners in Chancery, $178.96.
Number of judgments docketed in Court of Common Pleas,
62; damages, '$32,2H8.2'J ; costs, $1,350.57.
In January, 1847, there was not a convict from SuUivan
county in State Prison.
Those were Arcadian days. Tlie people imagined they could
be improved. They made radical changes in the organic law of
the State, and brought upon themselves a host of official
612 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
locusts, whose greed increases, year after year, in geometrical
progi-ession.
Mr. Wright was not snccessful as a lawyer. A dearth of
litigation and his love of ease, sufficiently account for his failure.
He was unfitted for the every-day business of his professiou.
He was so slow in his movements that A. C. Niven, his principal
competitor, outflanked him and outmanoeuvred him in almost
every contest.
The last three or four of his professional years were the
darkest of his life. To indulgence of habit he added indulgence
of appetite. In 1844, he lost the office of Surrogate, to which
he had been appointed in 1840. It had enabled him to "keep
the wolf from his door." He was now glad to take the office of
Supervisors' Clerk. Its salary, (one hundred dollars,) not the
work and honor, was the inducement He was also Justice of
the Peace. His necessities were limited. Throughout his Kfo
he had found it necessary to stint himself in money-matters.
He was scrupulously honest in business-affairs. Hence he
sought these insignificant positions — insignificant, at least, for a
man of his ability. He was poor, and his disregard of sanitary
laws caused the seeds of disease to germinate in liis system.
Poverty and death threatened to terminate his days. Eespect-
able physicians pronounced his case beyond their skill. Appa-
rently his life was a failure — his sacrifices and struggles to
emerge from poverty and obscurity fruitless. As the regular
medical facidty had abandoned him, he abandoned them, and
put his life in the hands of a quack, whose prescriptions were
not in vain. There was a gi-adual improvement in Mr. Wright's
bodily condition, although for several years his arms were par-
tially paralyzed.
While his prospects were worst, two or three things occurred
which gave an upward tendency to his Ufe : The New York and
Erie Eailroad company endeavored to violate their promise to
locate their road through the county, which caused much indig-
nation in the interior towns, and Mr. Wright became the cham-
pion of the discontented. The anti-rent controversy took place.
General Niven became the attorney of the landlords. He had
been regarded as the leader of the democracy. The whig lead-
ers took advantage of this fact, and it eualiled them to control
the anti-rent vote, which was uniformly cast for the local candi-
dates of the whig party. Sullivan had been a strong democratic
county ; but the democracy were rendered impotent by the hos-
tility of the anti-rent party, and the foolish jealousies and bick-
erings of its prominent members.
Under such circumstances, Mr. AVriglit became the candidate
of whigs and others for the Constitutioiinl Convention of 184(5.
His opponent was Charles S. Woodward. ^Ir. Wright was electe<l
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 613
by a majority of 55. The vote stood for William B. Wright,
1,304 ; for Charles S. Woodward, l,'2i9 ; for Kobert Maffit, jr.,
19. As a member of the Convention, he occupied a respectable
position, although we believe he did not succeed in engrafting
upon the constitution anything which he originated. He made
several speeches which compared favorably with those of men
•who enjoyed a much wider reputation, and which added much
to his importance in the eyes of his constituents.
At the November election of 1846, he was again a successful
candidate for office. He was then run for Member of Assembly
by the whigs and anti-renters against Jonathan Stratton, the
democratic nominee. Wright's friends claimed that he was
also the anti-railroad company candidate. Their representa-
tions had gi-eat weight with the friends of the central route.
It was notorious that he could make a sound and able argument,
and that in this i-espect no member of the legislature would
excel him. The influence of oratory on legislation was then
held in undue importance, and the fact was entirely ignored that
there were other and more efficient agencies, (while they were
equally honorable,) by which favorable enactments could be
secured, and unfavorable ones defeated. Wright received 1,728
votes ; Stratton, 1,387. The history of the Assembly of which
Wright was a member, proves that he was not as influential
in advocating the interests of Sullivan, as Members who pre-
ceded him. They had defeated the effiirts of the New York and
Erie Eailroad Company ; the company procured the legislation
they desired during his term of office. He made unan.swerable
arguments in favor of the interior route; but a paid lobby
rendered his speeches of no avail, and afforded another evidence
of the fact that a half dozen whipper-snappers who are acquainted
with the ways of legislation, can defeat the efforts of those who
possess massive but inert brains.
At the Judicial election held on the 7th of June, 1847,
William B. Wright, Ira Harris, Malbone Watson and Amasa J.
Parker, were elected Justices of the Supreme Court of the
Third District. By allotment Wright's term of office was two
years, Harris' four, Watson's six and Parker's eight years. In
1849, Wright was re-elected, and served a full term of eight
years. In 1857, he was elected for four years vice Malbone
Watson, deceased.
In 1861, he was nominated by the republican party for Judge
of the Court of Appeals, and was elected. He served in that capa-
city until the January term of 1868, when he died. At the time
of his decease, he was the Chief or Presiding Judge of the court.*
elected by the electors of the State, who
"* ■ ' of said court."
■ 1847, chapter 280, § 5.
614 HIBTOBY OP BUUJTAN CWUSTY.
In consequence of Mr. Wriglit's death, tbere was a meeting
of distinguished lawyers at the capital. Alex. S. Johnson was
called to the chair. Lyman Tremain, John K. Porter, William
M. Evarts, and others were appointed a committee to report
appropriate resolutions. Alfred B. Street delivei-ed an eulogium
on the deceased. The committee, through Mr. Tremain, their
chairman, reported among other things that " from the position
of a lawyer, attracting but little attention beyond the range of
a local- bar, he (Judge Wright,) suddenly rose into distinction,
and for more than twenty years maintained his eminence, until
he reached the highest position known in our administration of
justice. The qualities which evoked these results are worthy of
our attention and admiratiin.
" Never brilliant, flashing no corruscationf of wit or eloquence
upon his auditory, and excitiu" no wonder by any outbreak
from the ordinary level of life, he was yet steadily, uniformly
and always characterized by unvarying good sense, sound
judgment, instinctive uitegi-ity, and an exemption fi-om those
personal influences whii^h so often warp the minds of even
the greatest men fi'om their tnie balance.
" So thorough was the conviction of all men who knew him
of the existence of those quahties, that imshaken confidence in
the uprightness of his course attended every man whose
interests, whether of life, Uberty or property, were submitted to
his determination; and his example teaches us that while we
may struggle against the power of genius and wit, we yield
without reluctance to the charm of good sense and sound
mtegrity."
Ward Hunt, who became Chief Judge on the decease of Mr.
Wright, announced his death to the Court of Appeals, and
declared that "his enduring monument will be found in the
reports of the decisions of this Court. Patient, laborious,
learned, clear-minded and discriminating, he ranks honorably
in that long line of distinguished men who have presided on
this bench. ''s _ -
" The steadiness and evenly balanced character of liiW 'mind
was its prominent feature. He was never deluded by sophis-
tries or deceived by subtleties. Unemban-assed by speculative
tendencies, his strong native sense at once cut the Gordian knot
which he could not untie. His instinct condemned the fallacies
which he could not readily refute, and time and deliberation
enabled him by reason and authority etiectually to explode
them. He grasped the strong points of his case, clung to them
with tenacity, and vindicated them with leaniing and ability.
"In personal character and manners Jrtdgo Wright v/as
singularly unallected and unostentatious. I know of no man
more eminently integer mtce nvelerisqm ptiriis. Under a some-
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 61&
what austere demeanor, he was kind and geatle, yielding much
to others, claiming little for himself, cordial to his associates,
familiar and unreserved in the social circle."*
Judge Wright's funeral was attended b}' the Governor of the
State, the Judges of the Court of Appeals, and a largo con-
course of distinguished citizens.
In a previous paragraph we have alluded to the fact that Mr.
Wright's necessities were limited. Tliis was the natural result
of the narrow means at his command in early life. We do not
believe that his income ever amounted to a thousand dollars
per year until he was made a Justice of the Supreme Court.
After his elevation to the bench, his good fortune did not make
him profuse in his expenditures, except for religious purposes.
He lived respectably, but avoided vulgar ostentation. As his
means increased, he led a better and purer life ; and his contri-
butions to the Church of which he was a pious communicant
and an honored warden, were large, and made without reluct-
ance.
It is said that at his d(;ath he left a very comfortable fortune,
which he acquired from his salaiy as Justice of the Supi'eme
Court and Judge of the Court of Appeals.
For several years previous to his decease he was a resident
of Kingston, N. Y. Before his removal from Monticello, he
married Miss Martha Ann Crissey, by whom he had but one
child, a daughter, who man-ied Leru, a son of Rev. James
Adams. Judge AVright and young Adama both died but a few
Jays after the marriage.
On the 17th of September, 1857, a whirlwind passed fi-om the
farm of Coe Durland, in Kinne Settlement, to Thompsonville.
It destroyed a part of Durland's orchard ; unroofed tho
cow-house of Cholbe F. Royce; destroyed a barn of Peter
B. Webstei', aud prostrated his orchard; wrecked a barn of
Stephen Hamilton, moving it with sixty tons of hay from its
foundation; ruined the fences, fruit-trees, house, barn and
sheds of Truman Smith ; mowed a swarth one-eighth of a mile
wide through the woods of Sheklen Strong, M. L. Bushnell,
Coe Dill and Philip Shafer ; earned a house of William McCul-
lough several rods, and dropped it upon the ground, where it
was torn to fragments; greatly damaged the house of James
Welsh, a shed of Philip Siiafer, aud the mill and turning-shop
of Robert T. Hall ; and left little except the cellar of the dwell-
ing of William Kane. Beyoud this point, trees were blown
down, crops destroyed, etc. ; but no buildings injured. Of such
tremendous force was the hurricane, that it thrust pieces of
boards two feet in length at least twelve inches perpendicu-
* Tiffany's New York P.t'i>ort6, Tolume 37, page 693.
616 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
larly into the ground — removed heavy stones from walls, etc.
The path of the storm was from a point a few degrees south of
west to a corresponding point north of east, while the uprooted
trees laid almost directly across the track, showing that the cur-
rent of air was from the south-east, near the earth's surface.
At Kane's six persons were eating supper, when there was a
sudden shock, and the next moment the building had disap-
peared, and its late occupants were scattered over an adjoining
field, bruised and bleeding. Although several persons were
wounded, no one was fatally injured.
Jolm Qaian and John Price, while going to their work in the
woods near George W. Barnum's mills, on the 20th of January,
1863, were induced to leave the road they were on by the bark-
ing of their dogs, and found that the animals had discovered a
large bear. The latter was at the entrance of its lair, where it
had four cabs, which it guarded with great ferocity against the
approaches of the dogs. Having nothing but axes with them.
Price went after a gun, while his companion remained to watch
the bear. The dogs in the meantime " skirmished" with bruin.
One of them approaching too near, was caught and would have
been speedily killed bj- the bear, if the other cur and Quiun had
not taken an active part in the fight. Quiun struck the monster
with his axe, when it made a rush at him. In attemj)ting to
avoid it, he exposed his rear, when the animal, with a sweep of
one of its paws, carried away his coat-tail. At this moment, he
•was in great peril, and would have lost his hfe, if one of the
dogs had not laid hold of the brute's haunches, causing the bea)-
to turn " right about" and face its four-footed assailant. Quinn
then managed to give it a heavy blow on the head with his
axe, which put an end to the fight. His friend soon after re-
turned with a gun, when they fired two charges into the body of
the disabled monster. They also secured the cubs.
Quinn's weight was but 125 pounds, while the bear's was 300.
On the 6th of September, 1865, Wilham Wigley and Joseph
Turner were sufl'ocated in a well. This well was on the farm of
John Waller, senior, about four miles south of Monticello. It
had been dry some time. On the 1st day of the month, Wigley,
in company with Joseph Conklin, descended to its bottom, and,
after removing some rubbish, drilled a hole, and attempted to
explode a blast. Owing to the unsuspected presence of foul
air at the bottom, the fuse would not ignite. The well was then
covered and remained covered until the (ith, when "Wigley again
went down to gather the straw, etc., which had been used to fire
the blast. AVhile thus engaged, and after he had been
at the bottom about fifteen minutes, he fell upon his face,
as if he had fainted. Mr. AValler, who was an infirm old man,
immediately alarmed the neighbors. Mr. Turner was among
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. ' 617
the first to reach the spot, and immediatelj- went down with a
rope to Wigley's body, and then retraced his steps until he had
j-eached within three feet of the top, when lie swooned and fell.
No one then dared to descend, and no means were at hand to
expel the deadly gas from the well. Every plan which could
be thought of, however, was tried to raise the bodies, but with-
out success until three hours had elapsed. The unfortunate
men continued to breathe for about one-third of this time. They
were both young men of exemplary character. A few weeks
previously Wigle}' had been mustered out of the armj', in which
he had seiTed creditably for four years without receiving a
scratch.
For several years previous to 18GG, one of the hahitves of
Thompson was Joel W. McKee, an insane Methodist preacher.
In early life, he was of average ability and standing ; but from
inherent causes his mind ultimately became unbalanced, when
a conflict arose between him and his ecclesiastical superiors —
he believing that he should labor energetically for the conver-
sion of sinners, and they knowing that he should rest. Proceed-
ings were about to be instituted to silence him, when, with a
shrewdness which often characterizes the insane, he denounced
liis old associates of the Church as " punkin-heads." withdrew
from the society, and joined the Independent Methodists, of
which Eev. John Newland Maifit and others were the f(junders.
After this he had no followers and no rivals in Sullivan. Ho
was the only member of his Church in the county, and got into
as many dilemmas and scrapes as he pleased. A hundred an-
ecdotes could be related of his queer sayings and acts. He was
zealous in preaching ; but his hearers generally were limited to
a few irreverent young men and mischievous boys. After be-
ing incarcerated twice in insane asylums, and wasting a com-
fortable sum of money, which he had saved in his better days,
he found a home in the pooi--liouse, where he died.
Nearly every locality of this town was once known as a set-
tlement. These settlements have been severally mentioned in
this chapter except Strong Settlement, which received its name
from Adina Strong, who came from Southbury, Connecticut,
in the spring of 1809, with his three sons, Nehemiah, Truman
and Sheldon. The father died in the winter of 1824-5. The
sons continued to reside in the neighborhood for many years.
A man named John Bedford was added to the settlement in
1826, and subsequently Whitman Carr and others.
-Glen Wild received its name from a remarkable glen or can-
yon in its neighborhood, through which runs the outlet of Lord's
or Foul Woods lake. At the head of the glen is a beautiful
waterfall, which adds much to the impressive wildness of the
scene. On each side of the stream the ascent is so abrupt that
618 mSTOBX OF SllXlV.i.S COUNTY.
the locality was avoided by the lumberman and bark-peeler until
a few j-ears since, wlien, at considerable expense, a road was
matle to penetrate the guK. Glen "Wild is in what was originally
called MUler Settlement.
Dutch Pond. — A company of Hollanders settletl near this
sheet of water previous to the Revolutionary war, and were
driven away by the Indians. Hence its name. Tlie first
permanent white settler on its banks v,aB Zejihauiah Hatch, a
native of Connecticut. Mr. Hatch broui^ht with him Ijrit a few
hundi-ed dollars, and, although he never followed any business
except that of farming, he bought, improved and paid for three
or four large farms. In his old age, he retur-oed to hie native
place, where he died.
Sackett Pond. — One of the Sacketts, while engaged in
sui-veying land for the Livingston family, discovei-ed this sheet
of water, and, by common consent, it was named Sackett pond.
Pleasant Lake. — This beautiful sheet of water bore its
present name as early as 1799, when the Commissioners of
Highways of Mamakatiug put on record the road running fi'oin
Thompsonville to the Mongaup. The name was probably given
it by William A. Thompson, who then owned the greater part
of the land in th.it vicinity. It covers an area of three or four
hundred acres, and it is said was known to the Indians as
Kiamesha — an alleged word of the Lenape tongue signifying
dear water. We suspect that the aboriginal cognomen is a
modern invention. The pike of this lake have been pronounced
equal to those caught in Germany, and superior to those of
England. Black-bass, mullet, perch, suckers, cattish, .eels, t'U\,
are found in its waters, and give great satisfaction to the
epicure.* Pleasant lake affords beautiful sites for countr\'
villas, and it is generally believed that it will be suiTounded by
them. The Hyde farm was once a favorite resort of the
Indians, where aiTOw-heads, etc., have been found sinar iUs
occupation by whites. Other i-elics of the original uihabitauts
have been discovered in tlie neighborhood — stone pestles, sc;dp-
ing-knives, etc.
Old English Pond — About one mile south-west of Lord's
pond is a natural sheet of water anciently known by this name,
• Bnxik-tront of verj' largo cliniensioua fornurlv aboiiD<k<il in Pleaaaiit lak'-. JofJ
Warring, a son of one of tho early s..Itler8, was /am.nis for taking Iberii. Homt of
them weighed from four U> B<i\>iu pounds. Ho causlit from twenty to thirty of this
giae annaallv previous to 18:^2. Atyo<;rtain Boasoaa of tho year, they visit»xl the norvli
Bboro near the iiiK.t. wheu Waixiiig shut them. The xport wa« moru txciuut" faJ
i^uired more ekiU tnaii fly-fishing;.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 619
and more recently' as Mud pond. An Englishman settled here
before the Sackett road was made ; but solitude and privation
were too much for his endurance, and he left. Its lied is of
mud, and it is about one-fourth the size of Lord's pond. It has
never attracted much attention, and is almost unknown to the
pubhc.
Lord's Pond.— This is the largest sheet of water in the town.
It was once surrounded by a dense jungle of rhod odendrons,
and to a considerable extent by marshes, upon which was found
the somewhat rare plant known as the Indian Pitchei*. The
pond was discovered by a hunter named Gonsalus. He and his
companions, when they visited the Barrens, found nothing to
impede their wanderings ; but west of their hunting-gi-ound the
woods were almost impassable. Hence they termed the latter
the Foul Woods. The pond being in these woods was called by
them the pond of the Foul Woods. It retained this name until
1806, when John Lord opened a log-tavern near the house
of Charles Van Waggoner, when the old appellation was no
longer the common one, and the lake *became known as Lord's
pond. The pond is now owned by the Delaware & Hudson Ca-
nal Company, and it is used as a feeder of the Wurtsborough
level. Its bottom is composed of finely comminuted vegetable
matter.
WoLP Pond is near the Neversink and near the line between
Mamakating and Thompson. The origin of the name is given
in the name itself. The waters of this pond are as clear as
crystal, and abound in pike, perch, etc., of a superior quality.
Wolf pond is a reservoir of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Com-
pany, and the neighboring hills are devoted to the production of
whortleberries. .
The loose stones in the vicinity of Wolf and Lord's ponds are
principally the quartz conglomerate of the Shawangunk moun-
tain. If the great north-west current of geologists scattei'ed
boulders fi-om the Shawangunk over Orange county, what
£^ency carried stones from the same source over the summit of
the Ban-ens, and deposited them on the banks of the Neversinkj
near Wolf pond ?
620
HWrOBV OP 8ULUVAN COUNTS.
POPUIATION — V.U,UATION — T.\XATION.
Year.
Popu- |Assessed
lation.j Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
1810
1,300, |294,500: $218.10
1,897 301,384' 561.65
2,457 228,646j 865.70
2,610 220,500, 660.53
3,198 180,216 815.20-
3.834 724,118' 651.30
3,5171 436,30l'l7,560.22*
$398 15
1820
643 88
1830 .
1,448.12
740 21
1840
1850
1,779.29
1860
5 807 20
1870
11,240.88
Presbyterian Church, Monticello. — Presbyterianism in
Thompson is almost coeval with the settlement of the town.
As we have already stated, Samnel Pelton, a member of the
Goodwill Presbyterian Cliurch of Orange county, settled near
Sackett pond in 1803, and soon after commenced holding reli-
gious meetings, wherever a few pioneers could be gathered into
the log-houses of his own and other neighborhoods. It was
probably at his request that the Presliytery of Hudson appointed
supplies for Monticello as early as April 25, 1807.
The Church was formally organized on the 5th of September,
1810, by the Bev. Daniel C. Hopkins, a missionary from the
General Assembly. It was constituted of twelve persons, seven
of whom joined by letter, and five of whom were received on
profession of their faith : Jacob Smedes, Susannah Smedes, Sam'l
Pelton and Cyrus Lyon brought letters from the Wallkill
Church of Orange county ; Horace Sedgwick, Sarah Hoyt and
Sarah Eeynolds brought letters respectively from Hartford,
Connecticut, Norwich, Connecticut, and Rutgers-street Church,
New York ; Garrett Tymeson, Eleanor Pelton, Martha Ketcham,
Hannah Allyn and Margaret Goldsmith " had never before made
a pubHc profession of religion."
Messrs. Samuel Pelton and Cyrus Lyon were ordained and
installed Ruling Elders, October 6th, 1810, the Rev. Andrew
King officiating by appointment of Presl)ytery. The Cliurch
was organized, the Elders ordained, and the Lord's Supper
first administered in the "long room" of Curtis Lindley's hotel,
where the County Courts were also ield until the court-house
was erected.
.. . „. ,_ _. was to pav interest on the bonds given for the
iticello aud Port Jcrvis Uaili-oad, to prevent the pa)rment of
wl«ch a suit is pending.
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. bSJl
For more than eight yeara fi'om its organization, the Church ;ip-
pears, from the imperfect records kept, to liave been without a
regular pastorate or even a slated supply, only at- suppHed by
Presbytery, or whoever the session was able to secure. April 20-
2'2d, 1819, a call was presented to the Rev. Eliphalet Price for
one-half of his time. He accepted the call from Montioello and
Wappings Creek, and was installed July 1, 1819, at 2 p. m.
The Rev. Mr. Osborn preached the sermon from Isaiali, 40 : 1.
His pastorate was of one year's duration.
On the 18th of April, 1820, Rev. John Boyd of the Presby-
tery of Newton, received a call for one-half of his time. He was
in.stalled July 5th, 1820, and was the pastor of the Church for
neai-Iy five yeai-s. On the 23d of June, 1827, he was succeeded
by Rev. William McJimpsey. During his pastorate the first
church-edifice of the society and of the town was built. It was
finished in December, 1828, and dedicated on the 9th of Janu-
ary, 1829, and immediately afterwards Mr. McJimpsey preached
a farewell-sermon. His farewell, however, was not a "long"
one ; for on the 23d of June, 1829, he was again installed pastor,
and continued as such until September, 1830.
And here we should make a note in regard to the site of the
church-building — the most beautiful and commandmg position
for a public edifice in Monticello.
In 1804, when John P. and Samuel F. Jones laid out the
streets of Monticello, and in doing so cut their way through
dense rhododendron-thickets, and marked their lines on the
trunks of huge hemlocks, they set apart the village-green as the
site of a court-house and a Presbyterian church, or an academy.
Soon after the formation of the county, they executed a deed to
the Board of Supervisors to secure the objects for which they
had originally dedicated the land. Neither of them at that
time was a communicant of any Church. Samuel F. became
intemperate, and died several years before the church was built.
His bones moulder in an obscure grave. John P. lived a sober
and abstemious life, and saw the first and second church-edifices
erected on the spot selected by his brother and himself before
there was a house in Monticello. Many years befoi'e his decease,
he was added to the fold of the visible Church, and finally died
full of years and honors. His remains repose in our first
village-gi-aveyard which was selected by himself when he was
young, and which was full to repletion when ho died.
From November, 1831, to October, 1832, the Rev. Stephen
Sergeant appears to have had charge of the pulpit. Mr.
Sergeant was of the Congregational order both before and after
his labors in Monticello. Exactly what relation he bore to the
Presbyterian Church of this place we cannot now determine,
although wo believe he was neither its pastor or a stated supply.
622 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTT.
I
He was succeeded by Eev. James Adams, under whose adminig-
tiiition the society prospered. This gentlemau's usefial and
bhiineless life should receive at oiir hands a suitable meniorini.
Rev. James Adams was born near the village of Bath, Beau-
fort countj-, Xorth Carolina, in the year 1801. While yet a youth,
he made a profession of religion, and soon afterwards felt it liis
duty to devote liis earthly life to the scr\ice of his Church. In
1819, he became a pupil of the Bloomfield (N. J.) Academy,
and remained there two years. He next entered Piinceton
College, where he graduated in 1825, and tlien completed his
preparatory stucTrri: in the Theological Institution at Amherst.
After his ordination, he labored three years zealously and use-
fully as a missionary at Duudaff, Pennsylvania. On the 12tli
of September, 1833, he was installed pastor of the Presbyterian
society of Montioello. The congregation had been without a,
settled minister, and had sxrffered from dissensions. His uniform
kindness, gentleness and piety, tempered, as they were, by a
rigid sense of duty, endeared him to the people of his charge.
During his pastorate, that "peace which j^asseth all understand-
ing" prevailed among them, and the Church steadily increased
in numerical as well as spiritual strength. As a laborer, he was
faithful and untiring. In addition to preaching twice on Sunday,
he superintended the Sabbath-school, lectured fi-equently in
some remote school-house in the evening, and also during tho
Aveek. These school-house services, it has been asserted, laid
the foundation of the disease of which lie died. The heated
and impure aii- ; the exertion necessary to preach under sucli
circumstances, and the sudden transition to the frosty Jitmosphere
of winter, in which he was obhged to travel with clothing
dampened by jjerspiration, were too much for a constitution
naturally delicate and feeble. Of these things he never com-
plained, but with that sublime patience which is seldom seen on
earth, labored on, willing to "spend and be .spent" in the
Master's service. His salary was never large ; but he accepted
it with cheerfulness and thankfulness, remembering that dumb
beasts were more comfortably fed and lodged than the Divine
Exemplar, who, when on earth, though he had i>o\ver to sum-
mon legions of angels to minister to His lU'cessities, clio.se
for our example, humility and poverty, AVhile Mr. Adams
exhibited the harmlessuess of the dove, he also manifested the
wisdom of the serpent. It is related of him that, while lie was
a resident of Monticello, he inherited several slaves by the
decease of a relative in the South. The sale of these slaves
■would have placed within his reach many things which he sorely
needed: books, which a scholarly gentleman holds so dear;
means to educate his children, which a fond parent of a culti-
vated intellect will strive so hai-d to win; rest and recuperation,
THE TOWN OB' THOMTSOH. 623
SO grateful to an overworked brain ; and a hundred otlier things
to which we might alhide. But to thoae who knew IMr. Adams
it is not necessary to say, that lie did not sell the bondsmen
who thus were thrown upon his hnnds. Ho judiciously refrained
from making pubHc the fact that he owned this species of prop-
erty, for to some of his people it would have given offense.
He caused his negroes to be taught trades, and as soon as he
believed they were fitted to shift for themselves, he endeavoi-ed
to manumit them ; but his benevolent intentions were frastratetl
by the negroes themselves. They refused to accept their
freedom, and under the laws of the State in which thoy were,
he could not, without the consent of his slaves, confer the boon
so highly prized by many. He was an involuntary slaveholder
until he died, although we have been told he derived no benefit
from the earnings of his chattels. They remained under the
guardianship of a relative of Mr. Adams, wliile the latter ^\ as
under a contingent liability for their .support.
On the 14th of September, 1853, in consequence of failing
health, Mr. Adams resigned his charge in Monticello, and within
the ensuing twelve months removed from the place. Aft<>r tiiis
he preached occasionally, but vvas cliiefly employed in teaching
untd the fall of 1856, when he was obliged to suspend all labor.
On the 7th of February, 1857, he died at Union Church, Miss.
" He gently closed his own eyes and mouth ; then folded his
bands on his breast, as if to engage in some act of devotion,
while a celestial smile settled on his countenance, and every feat-
ure expressed the serenity and meekness of his soul." Thus
patiently, hopefully and meekly, he died, in the 56th year of his
age.
On the 13th of January, 1814, the church was destroyed by
fire. Within less than one year, it was rebiult. The new edi-
fice was dedicated on the 2q of January, 1845. While the con-
gregation was without a place of worship of their own, the rec-
tor of St. John's Church, with the sanction of the wardens and
vestrymen, tendered them the use of their building during the
afternoon of each Sunday, and for nearly twelve months Rev. Mr.
Fowler and Rev. Mr. Adams officiated within the same church.
For this act of Christian courtesy, the Presbyterian society pre-
sented the Episcopal with a very handsome copy of the Holy
Scriptures.
After Mr. Adams' resignation, the pulpit of the church was
temporarily occupied by various persons xiutil May 11, 1854,
when the Rev. Richard C. Shimeall was installed pastor. Mr.
S. was a gentleman of considerable talent, and some idiosyncra-
sies. His connection with the congregation terminated on tha
7th of October, 1857.
The next pastor was the Rev. John N. Lewis, who continued
<!24 HISTOKV OK HflJ.lV.VS oorNr?.
from September 0th, 185S, to April 7, ISfil. His wife was a de-
seeiiflant of Jonathan Edwards, and possiesaed some of the pe-
cuharities of her celebrated ancestor.
On the 17th of September, 18.'r2, the Rev. Samuel B. Dod was
ordained and instidled. His pastorate continued until October
6th, 1864.
From May 16, 1865, to April 1809, the Eev. Robert A Davi-
Bon was the incumbent. The church was then vacant eighteen
months. The next pastor. Rev. T. Madison Dawson, was called
in August, commenced his labors on the 1st of November, and
was installed pastor December 6th, 1870. In the fall of 1872,
his pastorate terminated. He was succeeded by the Rev. Henry
A. Harlow, the present pastor.
Since its organization there have been twenty Ruling Elders
in the Church. The present session consists of Messrs. Lutlier
Pelton, Joseph Wallace, Ambrose D. Smith, James H. Strong,
Daniel H. AVebster and Levi C. Lounsbury. The membership
of the Church from the beginning has been 643. The present
number of communicants is 166, nineteen of whom were added
in April, 1872. Its Sabbath-school numbers about 12-5. Some
time previous to 1832, the Church owned a parsonage on the
comer of Liberty and Main streets. This was sold a few j-ears
ago. In connection with the great re-union movement in the
Presbyterian Church, to raise a Memorial-offering of Five Mil-
lions of Dollars, in March, 1872, the Church purchased a memo-
rial-parsonage at the corners of Main and Pleasant streets, for
which they have raised five thousand dollars.
Baptist Church of Thompson. — Soon after the Newburgh
and Cochecton turnpike penetrated Thompson, George, Joseph
and Samuel Davies moved to the town from Newburgh. At the
latter place, they were members of the Baptist Chui'ch. In their
new home in tlie wilderness, they naturally longed for what thoy
believed to be the true privileges and ordmauces of the Gospel.
Here thoy were visited by their relative. Elder Luke Davies,
who was also a member of the Newburgh society, and he was
induced to preach for them and their nephews. He was so
well liked that an arrangement was made under which he
preached for them once in three weeks during the years 1809,
1810 and 1811. In the winter aud sprin» of the latter j'ear, a
remarkable revival of religion took place m the town. Almost
all the citizens seemed t<j luanifest anxiety in regard to the
welfare of their souls. Elder Davies and Samuel Pelton, a
Presbyterian, were the main instruments in producing this
" religious stir," and the two fell out by the way as soon as an
attempt was made to gather the fruits of the revival. A furious
controversy ensued. Leading Presbyterians were determined
THE TOWN OF THOMPSOK. bao
that Mr. Davles should no longer preach in the to-mi, and put in
circulation reports about him which his friends declared were
"fals and schirilous." * As he was in part supported by the
Baptist Board of Missions of New York, and had a consider-
able number of adherents in the town, it was not an easy task
to drive him away. He continued to visit Thompson regularly
until the summer of 1817, when he, became one of its residents.
He also labored at Peenpack, Mamakating Hollow and Forest-
burgh.
The first step to form a Baptist Church in Thompson was
taken on the 29th of April, 1811, when a number of Cliristians
convened in the log-house of Enoch Comstock, in North Settle-
ment. After singing a hymn and prayer, a sermon was deliv-
ered by Elder Davies. William Strawbridge, of Marblehoad, was
made chairman, and Enoch Comstock, clerk, when the follow-
ing persons expressed a desire to enter into fellowship as a Bap-
tist Church, viz : Uzziel Boyce, Jonathan Reynolds, Jesse Brad-
ley, Abigail Bradley, Enoch Comstock, Ananias Warring, I\Iary
Warring, Shadrach Schofield, Abigail Schofield, George Davies,
Ann Davies, Jlercy Davies, Joseph Davies, Samiiel Davies, and
Betsey Smith.
On the 12th of May, eight of these persons were baptized, it
is believed, in Pleasant lake, and on the 16th of July, there
was a gathering in Nehemiah Smith's barn to organize the in-
fant Church. Elders Davies, Ball and Hall were present, as well
as several members of the Newburgh and Liberty Churches.
Elder Ball preached in the forenoon, and Elder Hall in tho
afternoon. The articles of faith and Church fellowship wer«
then read, when Elder Hall gave the right hand of fellowship,
and the consecrated symbols of His broken body and precious
blood were eat and drank by those who ranked among true be-
Uevers. Truly, these simple people had vivid reminders of the
birth as well as the death of the Saviour of His people ! And
in this connection it may not be amiss to say, that, while at the
first supper of our Lord there was one Judas, at this, judging
from subsequent events, there were about half a dozen ! Uzziel
Royce was excommunicated because he believed in open com-
munion ; Jonathan Reynolds because he wronged a brother ;
Jesse Bradley, for iutemperance ; Ananias Warring walked with
the brotherhood until he was an old man, when he came to the
conclusion that the Baptists of Thompson were a bad set, and
he was cut off ; Shadrach Schofield, during a controversy as to
keeping the first or last day of the week holy, concluded that all
days were equally sacred, and worked on Sunday ; and Ann
Davies believing that the Church of Thompson dealt harshly and
♦ Church Book of the Bapiiat Church of Thompson.
626 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTT.
nnjnstly with her husband, was honest enough to say so, for
■which she was expelled from the fold. Even the good Elder
himself was for a time denounced by this congregation as a
child of the devil, and was driven from the sanctuary as if he
were a moral leper.
On the 2ith of Auj^ust, 1811, the members met at the house
of "Brother Shadrach Schofield," and chose Jonathan K-eyn-
olds and Enoch Comstock, deacons. Comstock was also elected
clerk, and held the office until 1828, when he resigned on
account of his age. He lived after this act moi"e than forty
years. The deacons of this Church have been : Jonathan
ilej-nolds, ex-communicated; Enoch Comstock, removed to
Newburgh ; Amos Holmes, removed to Michigan ; Benjamin R.
Comfort, expelled for heresy; Sylvester Wheeler, now living;
Miner Benedict, now living.
Elder Davies was the pastor of the Church until 1823, when
his flock turned against him. He excited their ill will, accord-
ing to their allegations, by gi^'ing up to Mr. Brown, an Episco-
pal priest, his regular appointment, and standing in the pulpit
with Brown to worship God; l^y receiving a letter from the
Board of Missions, which he did not place before the Church;
by tilling the brethren that they should employ a Rev. Mr.
Smitzer in his place, and then declaring that he only wished to
pump them; by consulting an "irreligious lawyer" in regard to
his difficulties; by charging that the members had met to injure
him ; that the Baptist Churches of America were too republican,
etc. The Church spoke to him about the letter and his courtesy
toward Mr. Brown, when he very frankly told the brotherhood
that "it was none of their business," and left the meeting "in a
great rage."*
On the 10th of September, 1823, a council was held in Mon-
ticello, composed of elders and laymen from seven Churches,
to investigate all the matters in dispute between Davies and his
accusers. This body declared that Davies had " done violence
to duty " in withholding the letter from the Board of Missions,
" and that the Chui-ch had just cause for grievance."
The unfortunate Elder attended the next Church-meeting, at
which he claimed that the council had cleared him of all charges
except the one in regard to the letter. The Church, however,
tho\ight otherwise, and a stoi-my scene ensued. Everything
then proceeded from bad to worse. All the old charges were
renewed, and this record (full of the infirmity of human passion)
was put upon the Church-book :
* The malcontrnts tuM Davins that Plntt Pilton and sortie other villnserfl would
double their Ribs -riptiniis if Smitzir were empliiyi d. Sir. Pclt-on aad others declared
to Dftyies that if he (Davies) loft, they would not give a cent.
i
THE TOWN OF THOMPSON. 627
"Mr. Davies lias from first to last of our difficulties shown a
wicked, malicious disposition toward ^he Church. The Church
by a large majority agree to withdraw their fellowship from
hun."
Davies then found that he was outside of the Church and
shorn of his ministerial functions. He could not, unless restored
to membership by the Church of Thompson, administer the
ordinances or preach, and apparently an untamed wolf had a
better prospect of being admitted to the sheep-fold than the
expelled elder.
In tills emergency, Deacon Thomas Stokes came up from New
York, and poured oil upon the troubled waters. He induced
Davies to make an acknowledgment, which was considered satis-
factory. He was taken back, and immediately applied for a letter
of dismission, which was reluctantly granted, the members giving
him a parting shot by declaring that " God only knew his heart."
A short time afterwards his wife was expelled because she had
espoused the cause of her husband, and continued to justify her-
self in all she had done. She had been very useful as a mid-
wife, and for several years had officiated at births in a large cir-
cle of country. Often, to visit the sick, she had traveled for
miles on horseback, over the obscure roads of the town, when
it was so dark that she could not see her horse's ears. Two of
her sons were Baptist preachers, one of whom (Rev. Henry
Davies,) is now a resident of the town.
Elder Luke Davies died ia the city of New York, on the 9th
of December, 1852, aged 92 years. At that time the Church
which he founded contained about the same number of mem-
bers as at the date of its organization.*
The decisions of this Church were not always infallible. Among
its early members were William Williams and his wife, who
came from Poughkeepsie, where they had been members in
good standing. Mr. W. was a consistent and active member of
the Thompson Church until 1821, when his wife was expelled
for joining the Methodists; deceiving N. S. Hammond in the
_ .he city of : „,
and became a druggist. After he emigrated to the city of New York, he engaged i _
the drug-business, prescribed for the sick, and was a preachrr connected witli the
Mulberry-street Baptist Church. He subsequently moved to Neivbnrgh. and then to
Thompson, where his income as a physician was small, because some could not com-
prehend how a man could be a physician and a preacher at the same time, and others
imagined that a minister of the gospel, if a doctor of medicine, ought to prescribe for
nothing. When the difficulties of the Baptist Church of Thompson comracncod, he
■was anxious to rotuin to New York, and once more vend drugs and prescril>e potions.
Atter his removal from Thompson, he again became a preacher of the Mulberry-street
Church, and engaged in his old business of selling drugs, etc. As a phvsician, he was
much esteemed by Doctors Mott, I'ost and otliers of the same grade. He was a
gentleman of enlarged and liberal views, and his ability as a preacher and his practical
piety were undoubted, except by his flock in Thompson, and a few others who wero
metnbers of rival Churches.
eS^ HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OOCTNTT.
Bale of some rags, and defi-auding Mrs. Hammond out of several
runs of yarn. He believed that her expulsion was unjust, and
was himself expelled, for saj'ing so. Some four or five years
afterwards, the Church acknowledged that the charges against
her were unfounded, and restored her, and also her husband ;
but required him to make an ample apology !
For three or four years after its controversy with Elder
Davies, the Church had no regular administrator. It was visited
occasionally by Eldera Ball, Warren and others ; but few were
brought from darkness to light, and several were cast out.
In 1826, an Irishman named Ventry Hozier, joined by letter
from the Particular Baptist Church in Swift's AUey, DubUn.
He was a preacher, and was cordially received ; provision was
made to board him, and he at once became very popular. A
council was hastily called to ordain him; which decided that
the Church had been too precipitate; that Hozier was right so
far as they could see ; but that the oi'dination should be post-
poned until the parties were "more acquainted." This gave
offense to the sensitive Irishman, and caused him to demand
dismission from the Church. In vain the brethren "reasoned
with him." A letter was voted ; but before it could be written,
he "got in a violent passion," and behaved in such an unseemly-
manner that the vote was reconsidered, when "he left the
meeting in a great rage."
In February, 182S, Elder Philip C. Broom, the pastor of the
Liberty Cliurch, agreed to preach for the Thompson society
every Sabbath after the regular Church-raeetiug.
Ou the 9th of February, 1833, Elder Henry Halt became tho
third and last pastor. Although he was a good man, tho
society giadaally lost ground, and in the end vu-tually ceased to
exist.
The records of this Church show that 104 persons were
admitted as members, 23 of whom were expelled, and about an
equal number dismissed by letter. The others died, moved out
01 the country, or are still living in the town.
St. John's Church, Monticello.— St. John's parish was
organized on the 11th day of November, 1816, while Eev. James
Thompson, a brother of WiUiam A. Thompson, was temporarily
in the town. The meetiug for this purpose was held in tho
court-house. William A. Thompson and John E. Russell woro
elected wardens, and Levi Barnum, Ira E. Smith, Livingston
Billiags, William Woods Sackett, Charies Tliompson, Otto
William Van Tuyl, John Lord and Luther Buckley, vestrymen.
The certificate of incorporation was signed by James Thompson,
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 629
William W. Sackett and Cyrus A. Cady, and was attested by
William A. Thompson, First Judge of the county.*
Previous to this time, through the voluntary labors of Samuel
Pelton, a number of Presbyterians had been gathered and
oi-ganized in Monticello as a Church, and he had been ordained
a minister, and had taken the spiritual charge of a congregation
in Eockland county. The Presbyterians of Thompson were too
poor to maintain a pastor, and hence on the removal of Rev.
Mr. Pelton were like sheep in the wilderness. The Episco-
palians were also unable to support a presbyter. Under these
circumstances, the proposition was made to consolidate the two
Churches, and secure Rev. James Thompson as rector. Mr.
Pelton, although he had left Sullivan, and was an active and
influential minister of the Presbyterian Church, favored this
plan, and continued to speak of it for many years in terms like
the following :
"I thought it might be for the best."
" I saw no prospect of the Presbyterians being able to build
a church or support a minister,"
" I feared some errorist might come among them, and scatter
them, and the Church go down entirely."
" If they were all united under an Episcopal pastor, they would
be a greater power for good," etc.t
This project was favored by Episcopalians and !»ome Presby-
terians ; but was defeated by the Jones family and others, who
refused to sanction prelacy and the Book of Common Prayer.
After reading prayers and preaching a few times, Mr. Thomp-
son returned to Greene county, of which he had been a resident
many years, and where he labored as a clergymen of the Epis-
copal Church until his death.
Soon after 1816, Rev. John Brown, rector of St. George's
Church, Newburgh, tt)ok charge of the infant parish, and con-
tinued to perform divine service in Monticello once in three
mouths for about ten years.
On the 22d of December, 1826, Rev. Edward Katon Fowler
took charge of the Church, and continued in charge for nearly
forty- three years. He was born in East Chestei-, N. Y., about
1799. His parents were of the Dutch Reformed Church ; but
from reading an account of the Nestorians, he became a convert
to Episcopacy, and was led to enter the ministry of the Pro-
testant Episcopal Church. After the necessary preparatory
studies, he became a student in the Thelogical Seminary of New
York. While there his health failed, and by the advice of his
Bishop, he left the institution, and continued his stiidies under
* Deed Record No. 2, of Sullivan ooanty, page 639, eto.
t Statement of Luther Pelton.
,630 mSTOBY OP 8ULLITAJJ COUNTY.
Eev. Seth Hart, and officiated as lay-reader at Huntington. L.
I. In 1823, he was ordained deacon, and in 1824 was admitted
to the priesthood. He continued at Huntington until his re-
moval to Monticello, officiating at Cold Spring Harbor and Oys- ^
ter Bay as well as the first-named j^lace. These localities are
now thriving towns, and each has a floiu'ishing parish with a
settled pastor. His health continued to decline, and it was
feared that there would soon be an end to his clerical labors as
well as his life, when Bishop Hobart advised him to go to Mon-
ticello, where he would have the benefit of mountain-air. Here
he at once became a favorite with Episcopalians and the public;
but refused to be installed rector of the parish because he wished
to be so situated as to leave at once if his health became worse.
The atmosphere of Monticello proved beneficial to him ; but he
was aever made rector in the regular way.
When he came to Sullivan in 1826, he found but little mate-
rial of which to form a congregation.* The people generally
were of Puritanic ancestry, with strong prejudices against the
Episcopal Church ; nevertheless, by untiring industry and judi-
cious efl'ort, added to rare social qualities, and a sound head and
good heart, he gradually overcame the prejudices of some and
aroused others from apathy and indiiserence. In the end he
suiTounded himself ancl the Church of his affection with many
warm fi-iends. His first sermon in Monticello was to have been
preached in the old school-house ; but the Baptists got posses-
sion and held it. Prior to this tlie court-house had not been
used for religious purposes. Mr. Fowler was urged by MessrS.
John P. Jones, David Hammond .and others to hold service
there, and by their advice he and his friends repaired to the
court-room, where he read prayers and preached not only then,
but on almost every Sunday until 1835, when the present chm-ch-
edifice was erected. The church-lot cost ^250, and was bought
of John A. King, who was subsequently Governor of the State.
Trinity Church of the city of New York donated Sl,.50i), and
11,500 (besides $217 of the money paid for the site,) were raised
by the personal efforts of Mr. Fowler.t Mr. Fowler, Wilham
E. Cady and Marshall Perry were the building-committee. J
On stated days Mr. Fowler preached for many years at
Middletown, Liberty, Thompsouville and Bridgeville. Besides
this, he officiated at irregular intervals at other points.
* Mr. FowIlt's Ik'giakT shows that in 1H27, tliere w.Ti- but eleven communicantB in
his parish, viz : Luther Bueklev, Robert Youngs, Fanton Sherwood and Janiea
Davidgft, of Liberty; Jolm Lord, of Lord's Pond; William Van Tuyl, of BridgoriUe;
Charity Thompson, of Thonipsonville ; Maria Hauford, John E. RussuU and Baily Cady,
of Monticello ; and Lucretia Morris, of .
t Sullivan County KepiMicon, October, 1869.
i Mr. Fowler paid for the bell of the church from his own hmit<><l means ; with his
own hands transplanted the troes which stand on the cburcli-lot ; and by acting as
sexton, saved money enough ($260) to psy for the oommunion-servioe.
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. 631
His fidelity to St. John's parish has been remarkable. He
eacrificed not only his pecuniary interests, but permitted his
domestic ties to be severed for the sake of his nock. In his
prime, he received nearly a score of invitations to accept other
charges, where the tempting Hne of better pay was held before
his eyes; but he refused to accept them. At one period his
salaiy was so insignificant that his vestry came to the sage
conclusion that it was wrong to keep him longer, and a com-
mittee was appointed to advise him to seek another parish.
With grave and sorrowful faces the committee discharged their
trust, when he asked them why they wished him to leave?
"Because we can not pay you as much as you deserve." "Is
there any other reason?" "No! There is none else." "Then,
gentlemen, attend to your own afii'airs, and do not meddle with
mine."
In 1842, Mr. Fowler was manied to a wicTow Thompson of the
city of New York. He had proposed maniage to her several
years before; but she rejected him because, as she said, they
were too poor to marry. Subsequent events proved that her re-
fusal was but a spur to drive him to a parish where he would
receive a larger salary. He, however, failed to do what she evi-
dently desired him to do, and did not repeat his offer. A short
time before his marriage, she did what ladies are supposed to do
in leap-year, viz : she proposed marriage to him, and informed
him that her own fortune had increased to an extent which
made their union prudent. By a pre-nuptial anaugement, he
relinquished his prospective interest in her estate, and she
informally agi-eed never to ask him to leave Monticello. If he
had avoided widows it would have been well for him. His
marriage was every way unfortunate. His wife soon required
him to seek a more desirable charge, and so belabored him
with economical precepts and lectures, that her society was a
grievance. In less than a year, she left him and never returned,
and it is believed that he never opened the door of reconcilia-
tion. With a single exception, the communicants of his Church
believed that he was blameless in everything except in marrying
her. This man-iage caused him to contract a large debt, which,
by several years of severe economy, he paid.
Some four or five years previous to the acceptation of his
resignation in the fall of 1869,* he was prostrated by paralysis.
He continued to discharge his clerical duties, however, although
his voice was impaired, and he sufl'ered from great physical
infirmity and weakness, until he dropped as if dying in the
chancel of his church.
632 HISTORY OF SULUVAS OOTTNTY.
According to his Register, wliile the incumbejit of St. John's
Church, he baptized 542 persons; admitted to the eucharist,
345 ; performed 409 marriages ; and attended 304 funerals.
In October, November and December, 1869, Eev. Arthur N,
"Wrixon had temporary charge of the parish. Mr. W. was re-
markable for his learning and piety, and (although an Irishman)
for broad Yankee accentuation. The congregation became very
mnch attached to him, and would have retained him as their
rector ; but on acconnt of the severity of the climate, he left,
and became a Professor in a south-western college.
In April and May, 1870, Rev. Mr. Pieritz, of Hardwich, Eng-
land, being temporarily in the diocese, at the request of its
Bishop, officiated in this parish.
On the 3d of July, 1870, Rev. George Dent Silliraan, an alum-
nus of the General Theological Seminary, who had recently been
admitted to deacon's orders, on the unanimous call of the vestry,
became the rector of the Church. Mr. Silliman's report for the
conventional year ending in 1871, exhibits the following sum-
mary : Families, 68 ; individuals, 277 ; baptisms, 43 ; marriages,
7 ; burials, 8 ; communicants, 140 ; of whom 23 were added
during the year ; catechumens, Sunday-scholars, etc., 160 ; divine
service, 406 times ; contributions, other than for rector's salary,
$1,236.45.
In the spring of 1873, Rev. Mr. Silliman resigned as rector,
and was succeeded by Rev. Charles Fobes Canedy, A. B.
On the 23d of July, 1871, the comer-stone of' the church of
St. Mary, of Thompsonville, was laid by Bishop Potter. This
church is within the bounds of St. John's parish. It has since
been inclosed, but not completed.
For many years, the Methodists were more numerous in Sul-
livan than any other class of professed Christians. Tlieir preach-
ers penetrated every nook and corner. No neighborhood was
exempt from their visitations. They cariied the gospel as they
understood it to the pt.ople, and carried the people with them.
Their preachers spoke a language that was understood by all.
They did not expend their powder in firing blank cartridges at
an angle of forty-five degrees ; but sent their red-hot missiles
directly into the magazines of sin. Their opponents charged
that they were uneducated and boisterous ; bxit no one can deny
that their rude eloquence was more elfective than the elegant
but drowsy platitudes of nianj' of their assailants.
We have been unable to find certain information in regard to
the early labors of tlie devoted itinerants who, for less than the
earthly compensation of a respectable mechanic of their times,
THE TOAVN OP THOilPSOS. 633
thre.aded our woodland-patlis and forded our rivera, aud daily
warned sinners to "flee from the wrath to come." After hold-
ing their meetings for many years in private houses and school-
houses in Thompson, and seeming more anxious to plant their
Church in the hearts of the people than to rear elegant edifices,
they centralized their operations by building houses for worship
at points where their members most abouaded. The church in
Monticello was built in 1843, when Eev. S. M. Knapp and Rev.
James Birch were on the circuit. It has since been remodeled
and much improved. A handsome hall has been put up, prin-
cipally at the expense of Mrs. Hannah, widow of Nathan S.
Hammond, and the society are nOw engaged in erecting a brick
parsonage at an expense of $4,000 — $3,000 of which have been
contributed by Mrs. Hammond.
The Methodists, Episcopalians and Baptists of Bridgeville,
held their religious services in the old school-house at the junc-
tion of the Thompsonville road and the turnpike. A new school-
house was built between Bridgeville and Tannersdale, after
which the old one was known as " the chapel," and was used
exclusively for the meetings of the neighborhood. Hamilton
Childs says: "The M. E. Church at Bridgenlle was oi-ganized
with fifty-nine members, in 1849, by Rev. Adee Vail, its first
pastor." Classes existed here and at Lord's pond before 1825.
The church was built in 1869. Eev. Adee Tail was a plain,
iinpretending man, and a good preacher. Like some men of
his profession, he loved and owned a fast horse. The animal
was a vicious biiite, and was quite unmanageaVile when first
taken from the stable, unless its reverend owner first subdued
it by the vigorous application of a hoop-pole. Before Vail
came to Thompson, some sporting-men of Newburgh noticed
that his steed " devoured the road " in fine style, and this led
them to take the animal' from the parsonage-stable, and test its
Speed on a race-course by moonlight. To their astonishment,
the horse, without any training, trotted a mile in 2:40. A few
days afterwards, Mr. Vail was offered $1,500 for his nag; but
refused to sell, saying that " a Methodist preacher was entitled
to a good horse as well as other people ! " It was said that his
true reason for not selling, was, that he feared his favorit«
roadster would be used for sporting purposes.
The Methodist church at Mongaup Centre (Strong Settle-
mentj was built in 1860, when it had sixty members.
St. Peter's (Roman Catholic) Church op Monticello was
completed in 1^67, when it was consecrated by the Archbishop
of New York. The clergymen who visited or were pastors of
this Church were the same as those of St. Joseph's of Wurta-
borough, \mtil the death of Eev. Daniel Mugan in 1872, when
634 HISTORY 0? stiLLrvAN cocxir.
it was placed uuder Rev. J. Nilan of Port Jervis. Wlien St.
Peter's was completed it was in debt, and could not be oouse-
crated until the debt was paid. Heuce two pious laymen mort-
gaged their farms to raise the amount. They have not yet been
re-imbursed ; though it is understood that Mr. Nilan has devoted
certain perquisites which riglit'.'Lilly are his own to the payment
of the liens upon the farms of these self-sacrificing Christians.
MoNTiCELLO Academy. — This school succeeded the Sullivan
County Institute, and it may be said that the latter brought the
academy iuto existeuee. Tbe Institute was a seminary of re-
spectable grade, and was established by Henry II. Low, who
Uad won a reputable position at Loch Sheldrake as an educa-
br, as had John F. Stoddard, who was Mr. Low's predecessor
as teacher of a select school at that place. Mr. Low, like many
others, regarded teaching as a lower rung in the ladder of pros-
perity. He occupied the school-room until he was able to as-
cend to what seemed a loftier position, and has since become
widely known as a lawyer, financier and poUtician, as well as
one of the originators of the Midland railroad. Under him, as
well as under Louis A. Brigham, Benjamin Low and J. Mason
Crary, the Institute was highly successful, and gave so much
satisfaction to the residents of Monticello, that they determined
in 1850 to erect suitable buildings, and make the school perma-
nent, under as favorable auspices as was possible. For this
purpose a joint stock company was formed, and about four
thousand dollars subscribed, in sums varying from fifty to two
hundred doUara. A building-committee consisting of Westcott
Wilkin, Alexander T. Bull, William H. Cady, John A. Thomp-
son, Richard Oakley and Eli W. Faircliild,* was chosen, a site
purchased, and the main building, which was designed for a
boarding-house and school-purposes, put under contract. The
stockholders elected the following persons as trustees : John P.
Jones, Alexander T. Bull, Cornelius Hatch, Richard Oakley, A.
C. Niven, Stephen Hamilton, EH W. Faircliild, E. L. Burnham,
Westcott Wilkin, Munson L. Bushnell, James E. Quinlan, John
A. Thompson, and William Henry Cady. The academy was
opened on the 18th of May, 1852, under the charge of Henry
Gallup, A. M., as Principal. He was a mau of fine classical at-
tainments, and had studied French in Paris and German in
Berlin ; yet with these ad^'antages, he was not successful a,s the
Principal of IMonticello Academy. He speedily made hinis. !f
unpopular with his pupils, who annoyed him in a hundred ingen-
ious ways, and with parents and guaixlians, whom he wearied
* Tlip provi^ibiiil ilispositiou of tlii> o^( men of Monticello to disagree about trifleg,
waueed tli<- Hs*«lili-lmi'-iil of the .icadumy to bi- outnisted to the young mon of th«
THE TOWN OP THOMPSON. b3&
with his trivial and tiresome complaints. He was a jaded and
worn-out individual, without energy, suavity, dignity, or any
other quality which commands respect, love or veneration, and
the trustees and patrons of the school felt reheved when, at the
end of two years, his connection with the mstitution terminated.
Mr. Gallup was succeeded by D. Jei-ome Jones, A. B., a grad-
uate of the State Normal school, who paid but little personal at-
tention to the school, the greater part of his time being devoted
to studying law. The consequence was disorder in the institu-
tion and dissatisfaction on the part of its patrons. As Mr. Jones
was nearly through with his legal training, he made no eff(jrt to
retain his position at the termination of the first year. He theu
left for Michigan, where he commenced the practice of his pro-
fession.
James W. Breakey as Principal of the Male, and Mrs. Mary
B. Agnew as Principal of the Female Department, next had
charge of the school. Perhaps at no other period of its history
did it deserve a higher reputation as a literary institution thau
at this time. Mr. Breakey was a man of fine attainments as a
thinker and "WTiter, although he had never enjoyed the advan-
tages of an institution more exalted than a common school. Un-
der him the pupils of the academy made rapid progress in the
various branches of education, and several of them exhibited
unusual aptness as writers both of prose and poetry. But
some imagined that the Principal should be of a higher gTade,
and he, that it was his duty to enter the ministry of th©
Methodist Episcopal Church. Under such a state of feeling it
was not hard to dissolve the connection.
Eev. J. H. Northrop was then installed as the head of tlie
institution. He proved worse thau any of his predecessors.
As we can say nothing in his favor, we will at once dismiss him
and introduce John B. Nixon, A. M., who was popular a»
Northrop's assistant ; but owing to ill-health and other causes,
not in high esteem as his successor.
The Academy was in debt. The trustees had thus far been
so unfortunate in selecting teachers that it was feared by some
that the school would be closed, and the property be sacrificed
and pass into hands which would pervert it to private purposes.
To avert such a calamity, one or two of the Trustees made an
arrangement with Mr. F. G. Snook, who stood high as a teacher
of Liberty Normal Institute, througli which he eventually
became the owner and Principal of the Monticello school.
Here ends the history of Monticello Academy, because here
terminated the troubles of the trustees. We will add, however,
that the trustee who was mainly instiinnental in making the
arrangement by which the continuance of the school was
insured, was iguomiuiously excluded from the next Board.
636 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN OOUNTI.
BUPERVIS0R3 OF THE TO'Vra OF THOJIPSON.
From To
1803 No record 1S06
1806 Samuel F. Jones 1807
1807 Samuel Barmim 1809
1809 John P. Jones 1811
1811 William Morgan 1813
1813 Abraham Brownson 1814
1814 Samuel F. Jones 1815
1815 Daniel Clark 1823
1823 David Hammond 1826
1826 Jabez Wakeman, junior 1828
1828 Hiram Bennett 1829
1829 Joshua P. Eoyce 1830
1830 Cephas Stodder 1831
1831 Samuel W. B. Chester 1832
1832 Hiram Bennett 1833
1833 Nathan S. Hammond 1835
1835 Stephen Hamilton 1838
18::i8 John Eoosa 1840
1840 Daniel Clark 1841
1841 Naaman W. Eurasey 1842
1842 Gideon Howard 1843
1843 Daniel B. St. John 1847
1847 Naaman W. Eumsey 1850
1850 Elijah H. Dewey 1851
1851 John C. Holley* 1853
1853 Israel P. Tremain 1854
1854 Frederick M. St. John 1855
1855 David Gray 1857
1857 Naaman W. Eumsey 1859
1859 Walter Hovt 1860
1860 Nathan S. 'Hamilton 1861
1861 S. W. Eovce 1862
1862 John C. Holley 1864
1864 Clinton V. E. Luddington 1865
1865 Stephen W. Eoyce 1866
1866 Solomon W. Eoyce 1870
1870 Charles T. Kilbburne 1874
CHAPTEE XVn.
THE TOWN OF TU8TEN.
The western and southern parts of Tusten are characterized
by hills, while the eastern portions are less uneven, and may be
Baid to be marked by plateaux. The estimated average height
of the town above the Delaware is 750 feet, or 1,400 above the
ocean level. Ten Mile river rises north of the Newburgh and
CJochecton turnpike, in Bethel and Cochecton ; and after crossing
Tusten falls into the Delaware below Narrowsburgh. It has
several affluents, and affords a large amount of power, which
has been used for seventy-five years to convert the forests of
the town into lumber. This stream has I'eceived its name, not
because it is ten miles in length; but fi-om the circumstance
that its estimated distance from some other point was in early
times ten miles.
There are other streams in the town, and among them Grassy
Swamp brook, which furnishes numerous sites for saw-mills.
Beaver brook crosses the east boundary of Tusten below the
locality known by that name.
It has several ponds or lakes, of which Canfield, Davis and
Halfmoon are worthy of mention. Its Assessors report that it
contains 26,251 acres. About two thousand acres are improved.
Its area is less than that of any town in the county.
POPULATION — VALUATION — TAXATION.
Year.
Popu- Assessed
lation. Value.
Town
Charges.
Co. and
State.
I860
871
1,028
$122,146
116,885
$213.44
236.00
$884.17
1870
2,570.81
From 1743 to 1798, Tusten was a part of the old precinct and
town of Mamakating ; fi-om 1798 to 1853 it was in Lumbeiiand.
[637j
b38 HISTOET OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
In the latter jear it was erected by an act of the Board of
Supervisors of the county.
Tusten covers lots 71 and 72 of Great Lot 18 of the HarJen-
bergh patent. With this exception it is in the Minisink grant.*
Until the adjustmeat of the controversy between New York
and New Jersey in 17G9, the latter colony claimed and at times
exercised jurisdiction over so much of the to^vn as is covered
by Division 7 of the Minisink patent.
About the year 1757, a settlement was founded by the Dela-
ware Company, under the Connecticut claim, at the mouth of
Ten Mile river. There were also at that time one or two
settlers in the valley of the Delaware near Narrowsburgh.
The town was named in honor of Colonel Benjamin Tusten,
who was killed in the battle which was fought in Highland,
between the militia of Goshen and a marauding pai-ty of Tories
and Indians under Colonel Joseph Brant. We will therefore
be pardoned for giving a short biograpliical sketch of that
individual.
" Doctor Benjamin Tusten was a native of Southhold, on
Long Island. He was bom on the 11th December, 1743, and
was the only son of Colonel Benjamin Tusten, a respectable
farmer of that place. His father removed into Orange county, in
the year 1746, bringing with him his son, and settled on the
banks of the Otterkill, two and a half miles from the village of
Goshen, on the patent granted to Madame Elizabeth Derm.
Such was the respect in which he was held, that he was soon
aj^pointed one of the judges of the county court, and promoted
a colonel in the regiment of militia on the west side of tlie moun-
tain, including at that time all the county of Orange, north of
the Highlands, from Hudson's river to the line of New Jersey.
His son Benjamin he had intended for a farmer, being then in
possession of a large tract of land ; but not being of a hardy
constitution, he relinquished that design, and determined to fit
him for a profession. For that pui'pose he sent him to an acad-
emy to obtain a classical education, at Jamaica, Long Island,
there being none in Orange county ; there he obtained a thor-
ough acquaintance with the mathematics, and a good knowledge
of the Latin and Greek languages. At the age of nineteen he
returned, and commenced the study of medicine with the late
Doctor Thomas Wickham, of Goshen, whose character as a phy-
Bician and teacher of medicine stood unrivaled in his day. Med-
' AH that part of tl\e town of Liimberland, consisting of lots number seventy-on*
andsevontj'-two of Groat Ix)t No. 18 of tho Hardenbcrgli patent, and Lots Dumfa«r
one to thirteoa incluaivo of the Seventh Division ot the Minisink pat-cut, is herebf
erected into a separate town, to be hereafter known and distingu abod as Tusten.
[Session Laws of I>)64, page 1095.
ioal books at that time, were difficnlt to be procured — none M'ere
published in this country, and as they were bought only by one
profession, importations of them were scarce ; indeed, most of
the physicians imported their own libraries. From this circum-
stance the libraries of ])hysicians were small, especially those
who resided so far back in the country. This induced young
Tusten, at the end of a year, to leave Doctor Wickham, and go
to Newark, New Jersey, where he spent another year with Doc-
tor Burnet. Here he became acquainted with a Miss Brown,
whom he afterwards married. There were at that time no med-
ical schools in this country, and he was induced to finish his
education with Doctor Thomas Jones, a celebrated surgeon in
the city of New York. In 1769 he returned home and com-
menced the practice of physic at the house of his father. Al-
though he had availed himself of every opportunity of acquir-
ing medical knowledge which the times would allow him, yet he
commenced practice under unfavorable circumstances, — within
three miles of his first preceptor, Doctor John Gale, in the vil-
lage of Goshen, (if village it might then be called) and Doctor
Pierson, in the East Division, not three )niles distant, all of
whom had their friends and employers; he performed some oper-
ations in surgery which gave him a degree of celebrity, (Doc-
tor Gale being the only one who pretended to do anything in
surgery). Doctor Tusten Avas mild, modest and imassuming in
his manners, pleasant to his patients, and affable with all ; he
was also well acquainted with all improvements in surgery up
to his time, which gave him a decided advantage over his com-
petitor in that department of science.
" Inoculation for small-pox had never been practiced in tliis
country ; indeed it was violently opposed and never resorted to
but when circumstances had rendered it imperiously necessaiy.
Doctor Tusten commenced inoculation in the year 1770. For
this purpose he hii-ed four houses in as many neighborhoods,
where he inoculated about eight hundred persons, witli such
success as entirely to destroy the prejudices of the people against
it. He kept these houses two years, after which inoculation
was admitted into private families, and pock-houses were con-
sidered no longer necessary. He continued the practice of
physic with success and deserved reputation, until the year 1779.
Durmg this time he married Miss Brown, by whom he had two
sons and three daughters.
'"In the year 1775, the discontent which had long rankled in
the bosoms of Americans, began to break out in open opposi-
tion to the British government. Their cruel and oppressive
measures in regard to these colonies became matters of serious
complaint, and excited a spirit of resistance, which called forth
the enei-gies of all citizens, who had a just sense of the injuries
t>iO HISTOKX OF eUULTVAN COUNTT.
tlioy had received, and of the duties they owed their countiy..
DcKitor Tuston early evinced a spirit becoming a freeman; he
took a decided part in favor of tlie revolution, which had at
that time just begun to unfold itself ; he risked his all in support
of that declaration, wherein the siguers pledged to each other
and to their counti'y, ' their lives, their fortunes, and their
sacred honor ; ' and he redeemed that pledge by the sacrifice of
his own life. By riding and exercise he had become more
healthy ; active and enterprising, he had gained the confidence
of his countrymen. In 1777, he was appointed Lieutenant
Colonel of the Goshen Eegimeut of Militia, under General
AUison, and in 1778, he was appointed a Sun-ogate of Orange
county, which office he held at the time of his death." — [Address
of Doctor Davkl R. Arneil before the Medical Society of Orange
county, July 4, 1820.
Narrowsbui^h was once known as Homans' Eddy. It re-
ceived its name from an early settler, named Beujaniiu Homans.*
After he ceased to live here, the place was called Big Eddy.
The name of the first man who made a clearing near the
Eddy was Willis. His cabin was on the Pennsylvania side of
the river. He w;is killed by Indians near the Cushetuuk block-
house, in the year 1763, after wliich time his family left the val-
ley. Old settlers point out tlie place wliere stood his cabin, and
the lot is yet knov.-n to some as the Willis lot. During the Rev-
olutionary war, three Indians were killed and buried on this lot.
In 1856, the skeletons of two of them were dug up, and in 1868
tlie other was uucovered by the washing away of the river-bank.
The skull of the latter was broken to pieces by an Indian-hater!
Mr. Homans was the original settler on the New York bank of
the river, according to a statement of Jeremiah Lillie, son of
Jeremiah Lillie, senior. At what time Homans came is not
known ; but it was probably before tbe Revolutionary war, as
Moses Van Winkle and Jonathan Decker, two of his neighbors,
left for Minisink at the time of the Graham massacre. His suc-
cessors were John and Benjamin Thomas, who with Jonathan
Dexter and John Cole, were living at the Eddy in 1792. Simon
Peter Cole also had his home in the neighborhood. He was
probably a relative of John Cole.
Some of the old inhabitants say that during a very severe
winter seventy-five years or more ago, the hay and straw at Ho-
mans' Ed ly were all consumed, when Simon P. Cole and one
Richard Rider salUed forth on snow-shoes day after day, and
* This Homans was a friend and aaaoeiato of Tom Q lick ; but it doos not appear
that he participated in thu crimes of tbo Iiijian-Slayer. In iiia old ago he exhibited a
rifle which he asiwrted Quick took from one of hia red victims and presented to him
(Homane).
THE TOWN OP TUSTEN. 641
mied enmifjh venison to keep tlieir cattle alive until saving ! That
by putting salt on the meat, the homed cattle became fond of
it ! Whether thi? story is true or not, those who are better
versed in natural history than we are must decide. We cannot
refrain from saying, nevertheless, that its author evidently belongs
to the Munchausen family, and that his fable is intended to illus-
trate the abundance of venison rather than the dearth of hay.*
Jeremiah Goldsmith was another pioneer of the place. John
Van Gelder of Van Gelder's Eddy ; Stephen Emerson of the
Pennsylvania side of the river, and Jeremiah Lillie, senior, who
settled at the foot of Hog Island, came to this region previous
to 1800.
Jonathan Decker and Peter Van Auken settled on the Koss
place, on the west side of the river, soon after the Eevolutionary
war. A man named John Summerfield lived on the same farm.
Oliver Calkins was an early settler, and occupied the old block-
house on what is known as the upper farm, where he kept a
small store and a tavern. The latter was called the Raftsman's
Hotel.
One of the most intelligent of the early inhabitants was
Jonathan Dexter. He was one of the Justices of the Peace
first appointed after the passage of the act erecting the county;
was a member of the first gi-and jury, and represented Lumber-
land in 1810 in the Board of Supervisors. He was subsequently
a Judge of the County Court.
The Wickham family of Orange county possessed three-
fourths of the town. They owned the Oliver Calkins place, for
which they traded lands in Ohio. This they sold to a family of
Dunns, consisting of Thomas Dunn, his seven sons, and a
nephew. These men were enterprising and industrious, and
became large landholders in the town. We have no certain
account of the origin of this family ; but think they were from
New England, as the father, Thomas Dunn, senior, settled in
Wyoming, under the Connecticut grant, previous to the Revolu-
tionary war. He seemed to have stopped on his way to
Wyoming at Flat Brook, New Jersey, where he married
Susannah Sweezy, the daughter of a native of Holland. He
was living on the outskirts of the settlement from Connecticut,
and had five children in July, 1778, when the celebrated
massacre occun-ed. One of his grandchildren is still living
(1870) near Narrowsburgh, who has often heard Susannah Dunn
relate the horrors she witnessed on that occasion.
When the savages commenced their bloody work, Thomas
Dunn was hoeing corn in one of the fields. His wife heard the
* It is a well established fact that the inhabitants of the hyperborean regions of
Asia feed fish to their born-cattle and borees, and that these animals thrive on the nn>
statural food.
41
642 HISTORY OF SULUVAN COUNTY.
distant firing of guns, and leaving their children in their cabin
(one of them a babe) she went to her husband and told him
they must leave the valley at once, or the Indians would be
upon them. He was very busy with his corn, the hoeing of
wnich had been somewhat delaj-ed, and was anxious to go on
•with it, and believing that she was unnecessarily frightened, he
laughed at her alarm, and chided her timidity; but while he
was doing so, he too heard the tiring. At once he dropped his
hoe, and returned with Mrs. Dunn to the house, where he
Eacked up all the clothing and necessaries he could carry in a
ed-tick, and started witii his children and wife for the nearest
settlement in New Jersey. Mrs. Dunn, in addition to her
youngest child, carried a small iron kettle ; but finding the
latter burdensome, threw it into a mill-pond. Their route was
through what became known as the " Shades of Death," from
the fact that so many perished there from starvation and expo-
sure, as well as the tomahawk of the savages. Here they were
joined by some of their neighbors, who were homeless fugitives
and wanderers in the wilderness like themselves. On the first
night they were in tlie woods, they could see the camp-fires of
the Indians ; but did not dare kindle a fire themselves. While
they were resting for a short time in the dark, damp woods, one
of the women of the party, from fatigue and fright, was taken
sick, and gave premature birth to a child, which never opened
its eyes to the niiserj' of the time. The poor mother soon
became oblivious to woe and suffering, and died before morning.
So great was their danger— so near the foe, that it was not
considered safe to remain there long enough to bury the dead, and
the husband of the poor woman was obliged to leave the bodies
of his wife and child where they would become food for the
wild beasts. In due time the party reached Flat Brook, New
Jersey, without further loss. Mr. Dunn, after providing for tho
safety of his family, enlisted in the army under AVashiugton,
and served his country faithfully. After the declaration of
peace, he and his wife went back to Wyoming ; but not to live
there. She, like a thrifty housewife, attempted to find her
kettle; but the mill had been burned, and the dam broken
down, and she failed to recover it.
For a few years, the family continued to reside in New Jersey.
In 1800, when AVilliam, one of the sons, was eighteen years of
age, he wandered up the Delaware as far as Big Eddy, where he
engaged to work for Benjamin Thomas for six dollars per month.
Here he labored one winter. In the spring, Thomas who had
not paid for the land he occupied, but had made some improve-
ments, asked young Dunn to buy out whatever right he had.
Over a year previously Dunn had married ]\[ary Pintler, of Flat
Brook. At the time of his marriage, he was a mere school-boy;
THB TOWN OF TUSTEN. 643
indeed he continued to attend school for a year after it took
?lace. He at once made up his mind that the proposition of
'homas was a good one, as there was abundance of choice pine
and other timber on the tract, and much of the land was desir-
able. In the spring he returned to Flat Brook, and consulted
his father and other relatives about accepting the ofl'er made by
Thomas. The result was that, before another winter, the entire
family was located at Big Eddy, as well as one of William's
cousins and a j'oung man named Peter Young, who came with
them. The following is a list of the family at this time :
Thomas Dunn, senior, and his wife Susannah, William, John,
James and Thomas, junior, and tlieir wives ; Abel, Asa, Harri-
son and Caleb, who were unmarried, and one of whom was this
cousin already alluded to. The entire party came on horse-
back by the \vay of Carpenter's Point, and followed the Cochec-
ton road to Mapes' mills ; tiien an Indian trail to Deep Hollow
"brook ; then through the Laurel-swamp, and from that to the
Delaware at the point where the Narrowsburgh depot stands.
One of the boys was known as Doctor Dunn, because he was
the seventh son ; but it does not appear that lie practiced and
was a successful physician on account of the order of his birth.
They settled first on what is known as the lower place, just be-
low the village ; next they bought the middle place, which cov-
ers the site of Narrowsburgh. We are told that they jiurchased
these farms of Mr. Wickham, but will not vouch for the truth-
fulness of the information. They soon after got the upper or
Oliver Calkins farm from Wickiiam. Of this there is no doubt.
They thus had three large tracts of land. Excluding tlie village
property, their farms embraced the farms now (1870) owned by
C C. Murray, Mr. Senger, Mr. Stanton and Mr. Yerks. When
they came, there was but little land cleared. The country was
literally wild. Thej^ at once commenced making improvements,
and there being nine of them, nearly all of whom were rugged
men, they made rapid progress. There being several families
of them, they could not all live in the largest log-house which
was ever erected ; consequently they occupied several. The
first was on the site of C. C. Murray's residence. It had a cel-
lar-kitchen, which is still preserved in the present new and more
commodious edifice. Another of their log-tenements was near
the house of C. K. Gordon ; the third was where A. S. Hendrix
lived before the great oil-accident on the Erie railway, in Au-
gust, 18(57 ;* the fourth where E. A. Green resides ; and the
fifth at the saw-mill. These were all of logs, except the house
at the mill. They built the latter, and it was standing until the
summer of 1869, when, it having become the property of the Erie
• Thig was built and originally occupied by Mr. Homans, the first settler.
GH HI8T0BI OF BULUVAN COUNTT.
Eailway Company, it was demolished. They owued a sixth
house on the upper place — the Eaftman's Hotel, where " Uncle
Billy" officiated in the three-fold capacity of lumberman, farmer
and tavern-keeper. He was very popular with those who fi-e-
quented the river, and many an old man boasts of having rafted
and staid all night with " Uncle Billy Dunn." The famiily also
had real estate in Pennsylvania and at Beaver Brook. In 1858,
the Raftman's Hotel was torn down by Mr. Hendrix, who owned
it at that time.
William Dunn was a slaveholder. In 1807, he bought a col-
ored boy of Jacob Chambers, of Cuddebackville, who was prob-
ably of the same family as Cobe Chambers, who was implicated
with Tom Quick and Ben Haines in the murder of Canope. This
boy served him faithfully as his slave until he was freed in 1827
by the operation of the law of 1817, and continued to work for him
afterwards. " Like master, like slave" was a ti-ue saying when
applied to the relation which once existed between the whites
and blacks. A kind and humane master was pretty sure to have
good slaves, if he raised them himself. This negro assumed the
tamdy-name of his last owner, and is known to this day (1873)
as James B. Dunn. He lives a short distance below Big Eddy,
and is a civil, weU-bred old fellow, who always refers to his mas-
ter in terms of respectful affection, although the latter has been
dead about forty years. It is singular that the name of Dunn
has nearly disappeared in the neighborhood where the family
was once so numerous and had such large possessions, and that
this venerable negro alone keeps the name alive, the descend-
ants of Thomas Dunn, at Big Eddy, being females. When he,
James B. Dunn, came to Narrowsburgh, the greater part of the
land on which the village is situated was heavily timbered, and
covered by a dense undergi-owth of laurel.
Ohver Calkins was the first Justice of the Peace 'at Big Eddy,
Wilham Dunn the second, and Jonathan Dexter tlie third.
Some of the descendants of Judge Dexter are still Uviu^ on the
banks of the Delaware. Moses Dexter who lives on a lot once
owned by Wickham, four miles above Narrowsburgh, is one of
them.
At an early day, the ^assleys, Brannings, Drakes and Cases
settled in the neighlx)rhood, but on the west side of the river.
Of these, John Lassley was drowned in the Delaware, at Big
Eddy, in the year 1798.
David and Joseph Guinnip, natives of New Jersey, settled
near the FAdy, but at what time we have not learned. John
Bross locat«ti on the Deep Hollow brook about the year 1810.
Timothy Tyler, who was remarkable for some of his exploits,
and has been immortalized by .Hfred B. iStreet under the
THE TOWN OP TU8TEK. 645
nom of Tim Slowwater, lived at one time in a log-house
where the Narrowsburgh Hotel now stands.
Ill the early days of the settlement, the people had to go to
Carpenter's Point to get their grain ground. They procured
the largest part of their provisions in New Jersey, and hauled
them up on tlie ice in the winter, when the river was frozen.
They bouglit their dry-goods in Newbiirgh for a time, and it
took a week to go there and return.
The day and year when the elder Thomas Dunn, died is
unknown. He was buried at Big Eddy, and a commou sand-
stone placed at the head of his grave, with this inscription and
nothing more: "To the memory of Thomas Dunn." After his
deceiiso, AVilliam bought the right of his brothers in the upper
and lower farms, and James became the sole owner of the
middle farm. Several of the brothers then moved to Ohio.
On the 2d of December, 1830, William Dunn was killed under
very distressing circumstances. He was felling trees with
several hands. As one he was cutting himself began to topple
over, he, through a strange fatality, got under it, and was
crushed to the earth. James B. Dunn, his faithful colored
friend, was present, as well as John Johnston and some others.
As soon as practicable, they removed him from beneath the
tree-tiiink, when he said, "Boys, I want to go to sleep," and
died. In the morning, full of manly life, and animated by
laudable enterprise, he went from his home to attend to the
business of the day; at night he lay a mangled corpse, cold
and still, surrounded by an inconsolable family and sorrowing
neighbors. The liepuUican Watchman of the succeeding week
contains an account of the accident, to which the editor
appended the remark: "He was in the prime of life, and was
esteemed a good citizen." Old people of that locality still
speak of him kindly, and declare that he was a good neighbor,
and never turned the poor and afflicted away empty.* lie was
married twice. By his first wife, Mary Pintler, he had seven
children, four of whom died young. One son and two daughters
are still living. Their mother died on the 12th of June, 1813.
About seven years afterwards (1820) he married Elizabeth
Sweezy, the daughter of O. Sweezy, a Revolutionary patriot of
Sussex county, New Jersey. By her he had two sons and an
equal number of daughters. ^,
In 1831, James Dunn sold the middle farm to Richard "W.
Corwin (now deceased) and moved with his family to Lyons,
Wayne county, N. Y., where he died. His widow and descend-
ants live there and at Penn Yan, and are among the wealthy
646 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
citizens of those vUlaj^es. On the 10th of January, 1835, Mr.
Corwin's lioiise was destroyed by fire, by which he suffered a
loss of $1,500. There were but few houses in the county at
that time worth so much money.
Susannah Dun';, the widow of Thomas Dunn, senior, died at
Big Eddy, on the -SOth of July, 1833. During her life she
became entirely blind, without an apparent cause, and continued
so for eigliteen years, at the end of which her sight wag
restored, and continued good until her decease.
A family named Hawks settled at Little Cedar Bridge at an
early day. We have endeavored to gather information in regard
to them ; but without success.
The Mount Hope and Lumbei-land Turnpike Company was
incorporated in 1812. George D. Wickham and John Duer, of
Goshen, Benjamin "Woodward, Benjamin Dodge and Benjamin
B. Newkirk, of Mount Hope ; and William A. Cuddeback and
Abraham Cuddeback, of Deerjiark, were directors. Work was
commenced about the year 1815, and the road was subsequently
completed as far as Narrowsburgh. Under an act of the Penn-
sylvania Legislature, the work was extended to Honesdale.
Two years previously, (April 5, 1810,) a charter was granted
to the Narrowsburgh Bridge Company by the Legislature of this
State, Jeremiah Lillie, Jonathan Dexter, Chauncey Belknap,
Thomas Belknap, Samuel F. Jones, William A. Thompson,
William W. Sackett, Samuel Preston and Francis Crawford
were named in the act. They were authorized to build a
substantial bridge, twenty-five feet wide, " across the Del-
aware, river, at the Narrows, in the Big Eddy, in the county
of Sullivan," and to collect the following tolls: For a foixr-horse
carriage, $1.03; two-horse do., 75 cents; one-horse do., 37J
cents ; foot passengers, six cents each, and the same for cattle.
Considering the value of money at that day, these rates were
certainly high enough to suit the most avaricious stockholders.
'For some cause the bridge was rebuilt in 1832. The new
structure was pronounced a fine one. It was destroyed by a
flood in 1846, and was replaced by the present structure — a cov-
ered suspension-bridge of 250 feet span, and 22 feet in width.
It is elevated 35 feet above .the water.
These improvements were for the double purpose of provid-
ing an outlet for a territory of Sullivan rich in valuable timber,
and to bring toward the Hudson the agricultural products of the
country between the Delaware and the Susquehannah, to be ex-
changed for merchandise. The territory that this road would
have accommodated would have supported the turnpike, had it
not been for the construction of the Delaware and Hu(lson ca-
nal. When that was made, the hauling of lumber over the road
was nearly all that was done on it, and the work was abandoned,
THE TOWH OP TU8TEN, 6-i7
except the bridge across the Nerersink at Oakland. By law,
the company were authorized to collect tolls for crossing the
river at that point, which lumbermen and others have considered
onerous. Efforts at one time were made to render the bridge
free, btit without success.
In our country, the Methodists generally propel the great
breaking-plough which ameliorates the new fields of Christian
enterprise ; but the Baptists seem to have preceded them in the
upper valley of the Delaware. It is generally conceded that
that denomination were the first who held religious meetings in
Tusten ; but when we inquire the name of the Elder who came
in advance of the others, there is "confusion in the craft."
Some reply Elder Cartis; others Elder Leach; and a third
party declare Elder John Miller was the missionary who first
unfurled the banner of the Cross in the wilderness of the
Delaware. We were at first inclined to accord the honor to
Miller, of whom we find the following account in HoUister's
History of the Lackawanna Valley: Elder Miller was born
in Windham county, Connecticut, on the 3d of February, 1775.
When twenty-nine years of age, he removed to Pennsylvania,
where he bought 326 acres of land, for which he gave twenty
dollars in cash, ten dollars worth of maple-sugar, and (being a
tinker, like Bunyan, and a tin-peddler, like many Yankees of
his time) ten dollars worth of tin-ware! In June, 1807, he
began to preach, and from that time until his death in 1857, he
married 012 couples, immersed 2,000 persons, and officiated at
1,800 funerals. Truly his labors were manifold, and the fruits
he gathered abundant. Some may think that he should have
stuck to his trade of tinkering. Others will contend that the
number of converts who sought the sanctuary under his adminis-
tration attests the validity of his commission as an evangelist.
In reply to this it will be said, Mahomet and Joe Smith were a
thousandfold more successful as preachers than Elder Miller.
They were impostors. St. Patrick, a Bishop of the Primitive
Church, converted an entire nation in a single life-time. St.
Patrick would have anathematized the Elder as a heretic;
while the Elder would have excluded the Saint from his com-
munion as an unbaptized sinner. St. Patrick would have re-
garded the tin-vending Yankee preacher with de])re.ssed lip-
corners ; Miller would have looked upon the frog-destroying, if
not frog-eating French priest, as a servajit of Baliel.* Both
were* earnest and successful missionaries ; but which was ortho-
dox?
It seems that Miller did not preach until 1807. He undoubt-
* Miller, like Biinyan, was a tinker ; Patrick, like the Bweet singer of Israel, waa
once a Bhciilitid-boy.
648 HI8T0BY OP HCLUVAN OOUNTT.
ecUy visited the upper valley of the Delaware, and perhaps sold
his wares to the ancient inhabitants ; but in 1807 there was a
well established Baptist Church at Damascus, of which Elder
Enoch Owen of Cochecton, was the pastor.
Elder Owen occasionally visited Ten Mile river andHomans'
Eddy. Tlie Dunns of the latter place were adiierents or mem-
bers of his Church. William Dunn was one of its deacons, and
occasionally accompanied the Elder when the latter visited re-
mote neighborhoods. Owen sometimes preached in bams —
sometimes in the Eaftman's Hotel, which now, like Deacon
William Dunn, its former owner, exists only in the memory of
old times. While it was owned by David Guinnip, Mr. Maltby,
of Hard Settlement, with his long beard and seamless coat,
preached in the upper barn. Some of the young men of the
neighborhood, believing that his apparent sanctity was assumed,
tested it in a mischievous way. In the morning, when they got
out his horse, they concealed several raccoon-skins under his
saddle. As he was about to mount, he discovered the pelts,
threw off the saddle, and gravely handed them to his host, re-
marking, " Brother Guinnip, these are not mine." He then re-
adjusted his saddle, and started for his next appointment. The
boys, after this incident, believed that a man could be eccentric
and honest at the same time. Many meetings were held in that
old barn, and many who worshiped there have gone where it
will be made clear whether the professions there made were
genuine. Sometimes when the weather was pleasant, religious
meetings were held in the saw-mill which was near the site of
the depot. Elder Stolbert, who preached in the place many
years, is yet living.
Not far from 1810, Abraham Cuddeback came to Big Eddy,
and built the Narrowsbargh hotel. He was mainly instru-
mental in bestowing on the place its present name (Narrows-
burgh). Big E Idy was an appropriate appellation on account
of a local peculiarity ; Narrowsburgh is equall}' so for a similar
reason. The river is said to be less in width here than at any
point below, as well as above for many miles. In 1843 or 1814,
Mr. Cuddeback sold his hotel to Eichard W. Corwin.
The construction of the New York and Erie railroad had a
very important bearing on the prosperity of Narrowsbnrgh. Be-
fore it was commenced, there were hut five houses in the place,
and two of them were hotels. When it was announced that the
road would probably be located in the valley of the Dela-
ware, the residents of that then secluded region shook their
heads, and pointed to the rugged precipices and rapid rivers in
the way ; but the brain of the engineer and the muscle of the
laborer surmounted all obstacles, and the work, however it may
be derided by its enemies, is a noble mouiuuont of American
THE TOWN OF TC3TEX. 649
science and indnstry. At least men have reason to think so,
who, forty years ago, ascended the river by poling or paddling
a canoe against the current, or floundered along the vile roads
of that period; but who now glide over the route in a sumptu-
ous palace-car almost with the speed of the wind.
In the fall of 1848, the road was opened as far as Narrows-
burgh, and the engine known as the Eleazer Lord was run to
the village, where it remained several weeks. Soon after the
rails were laid, John S. Hughes, a merchant of the village, had
some goods brought by the canal to the Lackawaxen. As ho
was anxious to get them as soon as possible, he went after them
with a horse aud car, and brought them to Narrowsbnrgh. No
other freight had then been carried over the road to the vil-
lage. Hughes was assisted by a man named John Bannister.
No passenger-train passed through the Delaware and Susque-
hanna valleys before the 27th of December, 1848. Two trains
were run on that day, much to the amazement of bipeds and
ihe c ■ nsternation of quadrupeds. I'otwithstandiug there was
a furious snow all day, the people of the valley generally turned
out to witness the novel spectacle. Of course, their eyeballs
projected somewhat, and the shrieking iron-horse made tympa-
nitis probable. It was said jocosely at the time, that some of
the benighted natives, hearing the screams of the engine, shoul-
dered their rifles hastily, and ran to the river, believing that
aathanus or a panther was loose.* Horses and horn-cattle
were unusually excited, and inclined to decamp, while dogs ran
off or made a dash at the cars, according to their cowardice or
pugnacity.
On the Ist of January, 1849, a time-table was issued, and
from that day the trains ran regularly. Walter S. Convin was
the firet station-agent at Narrowsburgh.
In June, 185'2, the road was opened to Dunkirk, and the
event duly celebrated in the presence of Millard Fillmore,
Daniel Webster, General Scott, William H. Seward, and other
distinguished guests.
Narrowsburgh, should have been a place of as much import-
ance as Susquehanna or Port Jervis. When the New York and
Erie Railroad was opened, the company pi'oposed to establish
here the connecting link between the Eastern and the Susque-
hanna Divisions ; and probably would have done so if the
owners of real estate had not placed too high a value on their
property. The adjacent territory was cut up into village lots,
for which exorbitant prices were demanded, and a wild spirit
of speculation prevailed. If the company had been presented
* This stnry was invented by a corceit«Ml Bcribblpr. The rafUmen of the Delawar*
were more familiar with raijroatls at that time than any other clasa of our citizent.
boO HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY. .
witli land free of cost sufficient for their purposes, clrearas of event-
iial prosperity and wealth would not have been baseless, and as
the area of the village increased in extent, the fancy-prices
of 1848, would in time have become sober realities. As it was,
it became an easy matter for Port Jervis to secure the coveted
advantages. This at first seemed like a wet blanket upon the
prosperity of the place, and threatened to cool its enterpi'ise
and defeat its growth. But its natural advantages were great;
and from the three dwelling-houses and two hotels of 1846, it
has increased in population until its friends claim that its
residents number six hundred souls. Besides its ch arches, it
has four hotels, five stores, (besides four devoted to the sale of
lager) fifteen to twenty mechanics' shops, and fourteen loidows!
How far the Erie Railway has been instrumental in producing
the latter dangerous element of society we are unable to say ;
but we presume when the strong-minded of the physically
weaker sex secure to their sisters the right to operate the road,
the bereaved ladies will not preponderate over the bereaved
lords.*
There is a mystery about the original settlement at the mouth
of Ten Mile river, which after twenty years of patient inquiry,
we are unable to solve. We know that it was made under flat-
tering circumstances ; that it was broken up by the Indians in
1763, and that every one of the residents was massacred. Be-
yond this we can say nothing of it with certainty. Perhaps
some future historian, by examining the musty and moth-eaten
archives of Connecticut and New Jersey, will find a key which
will unlock its yet untold story. Tempus omnia revehf; but will
it ever bring to light the sad tale of those whose blood was shed
on the banks of Ten Mile river in the fall of 1763 ?
There is a tradition in the neighborhood that the saw-mill
and grist-mill which Chapman says was in the Cushetuuk colony
previous to 1763 were here. A gentleman of the town claims
that half of one of the stones used in the grist-mill forms a part
of his fire-place, and that the other half is at the bottom of the
river. It is also said that a Mr. Evans was one of the first set-
tlers, and that one John Moore owned the mills and a house, as
well as ten thousand acres of land on which the}' were con-
structed. Mooi-e, it is alleged, exchanged his property for whisky.
The allegation may be founded in truth. It must have taken
him many years, however, to swallow so fair an estate ; whereas,
in the fifth year of the settlement, every resident was killed. All
such traditions are very unreliable, especially in a town like this,
where there were but few permanent inhabitants. Besides this,
' * Wo are indebted to Mr. James D. Appley for a considerable portion of what it
■ ig Big Eddy.
THE TOWN OF TUSl^EN. 651
we have positive evidence that John Moore was living peace-
ably and quietly on the banks of the Delaware as late as 1792.
In that year, Peter E. Guniaer, one of the Collectors of Maina-
kating, traveled from Peenpack to Ten Mile Puver to collect of
him the sum of three shillings and one-half of a penny — a tax
which seems insignificant in these days ; nevertheless, John
Moore's was the largest in the old town of Lumberland, with a
single exception.
Loton Smith, in his un]3ublished history, says that Webb,
who surveyed the Miuisink Patent, in 17G2, declares that
there was then a saw-mill at the mouth of Ten Mile river. Ac-
cording to Smith, it was known as Reeve's mill, and was the
property of Elijah Reeve, who died at Otis^'ille, in 1814. This,
if true, is important. We believe, however, that the mill owned
by Reeve was not the one mentioned by Webb and Chapman,
although it may have occupied the same site.
For many years. Ten Mile River was considered the central
Eoint of Lumberland. There town-meetings were held, and the
usiness of the town transacted. Samuel Hankins was a mer-
chant of the place at an early period.
Beaver Brook has been noted for the enterprise of those who
have resided there. Among these we may mention Richard W.
Corwin, one of the Swartwouts, N. T. Rodman and H. P. Shultz.
The two last named gentlemen were largely engaged as manu-
facturers of lumber. Doctor John Conklin, of Port Jervis,
owned an extensive tract of land there, and carried on the same
business. Chai'les S. Woodward also lived there several years,
and was prominent as a business-man and a politician. To his
perseverance and pertinacity is due the honor of compelling the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company to pay taxes in the
county, like other property-holders. That incorporation claimed
immunity from taxation ; and but few men were found with suf-
ficient nerve to brave the force of their wealth and influence.
Mr. Woodward was one of them, and after a long contest, com-
pelled tbe company to discharge the duty it owes to the towns
through which it passes.
• A former resident of Tusten says: "Joseph Carpenter was
the first resident at the mouth of Beaver brook of whom I have
knowledge ; but therfe were others there before him. William
Wells, of Halfwav brook memory, lived from about 1812 to
1820 at what we called Beaver Brook Mills. Where Charles S.
Woodward resided was a wilderness in 1825, as well as a large
part of the town. Elijah and Ehsha Reeve of Mount Hope
owned a saw-mill on the outlet of Big pond as long ago as 1810,
and there were also at that time one or more mills on the west
branch of Beaver brook near where Woodward lived. In 1800,
George D. Wickham, as had his father before him, owned three-
boa HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
fourths or more of what is now Tusten. Both father and son
were extensively engap^ed in lumberino;. John Duer owned a
large lumbering-establishraent on Halfway brook. The land3
of this region at that time cost next to nothing, and these men
were shrewd enough to reap the benefits. Hardly an owner of
lands of any prominence resided in that part of the country.
Proprietors seldom even visited their possessions. They gener-
ally operated by agents, and were satisfied with the wealth
acquired at the expense of the town, the value of which was
reduced as its forests of choice timber were consumed."
In June, 18-15, there was a ruinous fire in the woods near Ten
Mile river. Large quantities of valuable timber were consumed,
as well as several saw-mills. The principal suff'ei-ers were
Hankins & Bennett, Charles S. Woodward, Koberts <fe Barnes
and Dodge & St. John.
On the 11th of December. 1847, a formidable riot occurred at
Narrowsburgh. Contractors on the New York and Erie rail-
road had reduced the wages of their laborers, which greatly ex-
asperated the latter, not only against their employers, but
against all who considered the reduction just. An inn-keeper
named John Verschau rendered himself very obnoxious to the
hands, about one hundred of whom, armed with deadly weapons,
assembled and sacked Verschau's house, destroyed his furniture
and other loose property, and burned the building. Seventeen
of the rioters — all Germans — were arrested and committed to jail
in Monticello. At the February Sessions of 1848, they were
tried for the offense, and ten of them sentenced to ninety days
imprisonment and to pay a fine of fifty dollars each.
' At times there has been observed a peculiar ebullition of the
■water at Big Eddy. At some points where the river is not deep,
the agitation resembled boiling water over a very hot fire. In
the summer of 18o4, Bishop Potter of Pennsylvania, and
several other learned gentlemen who were tcmporanly at Nar-
rowsburgh, had their attention directed to the plieiiomona of
the Eddy, and concluded to investigate them. Tlicy found that
the bubbling and boiling was caused by the escape of anintlam-
niable gas from the bed of the river. By a simi>le contrivance
they collected the gas and bui-nt it, and found that it afforded n
steady and brilliant light. One ni their experiments had a lud-
icrous termination. They procured a hoj^shead, removed one
of its heads, and inserted a lead-pipe in tlic othi-r. They
next put the open end of the hogshead over a pLice where there
was a great uprising of the gas, and got a man to stand on the
other end to keep the vessel stationary. After waiting a proper
time, fire was applied to the farther end of the pipe, when there
was an unexpected upheaval of the hogshead and tho man who
THE TOWN OF TC8TK». 653
rtood Upon it. The gas had exploded, throwing both several
feet into the air.
There has been no attempt to explain the mystery, although
ihe gas is probably due to a large quantity of vegetable matter
which has been submerged by the drift of the river.
Tliese and other indications led to the belief that petroleum
would be found at this point by deep boring, and in 1865, a
company was formed and some capital sunk as a result of this
opinion. No oil was found.
• On the last Sunday of August, 1866, eight cars loaded with
oil were standing on the main track of the railroad at Narrows-
burgh, when a freight-train, moving on the same rails, collided
with the oil-cars, and crushed them, causing the oil to run over
the adjacent grounds and mill-pond. The oil instantly took
fire, and every inflammable thing within its reach was enveloped
in flames, as well as the pond of water, which covered several
acres. Several buildings were destroyed. The second story of
one of these was occupied by Charles Williams, with his wife
and two children. "Williams seized the children and rushed
through the flames in front of the house. While doing so, he
dropped one of them, and stopped to pick it up. All three
■were so badly burned that they died. Mrs. Williams escaped
by jumping from a second story rear-window, where there waa
no lire, and within an hour afterwards was delivered of a child.
The train of cars was entirely destroyed, as well as a house of
Joseph Bivens, another of Andrew Hendricks, the building
occupied by Williams, a carpenter's shop, 50,000 feet of lumber,
eta. The loss of property was estimated at $80,000.
There are in this town a Methodist Episcopal, a Baptist, and
an Evangelical Lutheran Church.
A class of Methodists was formed in 1839, at NaiTowsburgh,
Tinder the preaching of Eev. Thomas J. Lyon, who afterwards
abandoned the ministry of his church, and became a lawyer
and politician. In 1855, the society erected a church-edifice at
a cost of $2,000.
The Baptist Church of Ten Mile River was organized in 1840
by. Rev. Heni-y Curtis of the Damascus society. Their house
of worship was built in 1856.
6t Paul's (Lutheran) Church was formed and its edifice built
In 1869.
The Roman Catholics also have a place in which they worship
at Narrowsburgh.
•'.634 msroKY of suijjvan county.
Exclusive of the latter, there are one liundred and fourteen
professed Christians in tlie town.
SUPERVISORS OF THE TOWN OF TUSTEN.
From To
1854 Charles S. Woodward 1855
1855 John S. Hughes 1858
1858 Albert H. Kussell 1859
1859 : . . .Commodore C. Murray 1864
1864 Elisha A. Greene 1865
1865 William Darling 1866
1866 Commodore C. Murray 1870
1870 Elisha A. Greene 1871
1871 Lewis N. Stanton 1874
CHAPTER XVIIL
DELAWARE AND HUDSON CANAL.
Our country owes this great work to the farseeing intelli-
gence of William and Maurice Wiirts — gentlemen who were at
first deemed fit subjects for an insane asylum, because they
labored to convince the public that anthracite coal would
become an article of necessity.
As early as 1812, William AVurts, who was then a young
merchant of Philadelphia, commenced exploring the coal-beds
of Luzerne county. With compass and pickax, he attempted
to trace the coal up the Lackawanna valley, and from thence
to the Delaware river; but as he approached the latter, he
©ncountered the sand-rocks which underlie the coal-measures,
rocks in which no valuable seam of coal can be found. He
abandoned his search for this valuable mineral in the immediate
vicinity of the Delaware; but did not resign his project of
making that river a highway for transporting coal to the sea-
board. He examined the eastern gaps of the Moosic mountains
to find a practicable route to the head-waters of the Lacka-
waxen, upon which he believed coal could be floated to the
Delaware, and in 1814 purchased large tracts of land, one of
-which covered the present site of Carbondale. In the same
year, he transported coal to New York and Philadelphia for
exhil)ition, to which places it was taken by the western route.
Eight or ten miles from his coal openings, at the opposite
base of the Moosic range is a narrow, sluggish stream known
as Jones' creek, a tributary of the Wallenpaupack, as the latter
is of the Lackawaxen. The summer of 1815 was spent in
removing obstructions from the first-named stream, and during
the fall two sleigh-loads were hauled over the mountain, and
placed upon a raft. After a heavy rain, when the water was
high, the primitive ci-aft was started for the Delawai-e. The
attempt was a more decided failure than was Van Tuyl's first
endeavor to navigate the Neversink. After passing down stream
for about a mile the raft came in contact with a rock, and the
shining freight lodged in the bed of Jones' creek.
[655]
656 HISTORIC OF BULUVAU CODNTT.
Mr. Wurts next hauled coal with oxen to the Wallenpaupack,
twenty miles distant. It was then rafted to AVilsonville Falls,
around which it was carried on wagons to the Eddy in the
Lackawaxen ; then re-loaded in arks, and if the latter survived
the perils of the Lackawaxen and Delaware, it was taken to
PhiladeJphia, " where nobody wanted the black stuff as all the
blowing and stirring given to it did not make it burn."* The
public were not only ignorant of the utility of this kind of fuel,
but the expense of getting it to a market was niinous. Conse-
quently but little was taken over this route, and the entei-priae
of raftiuw coal on the Wallenpaupack was regarded as a failure,
and Mr. Wurts as a monomaniac.
In 1822, Maurice Wurts became interested with his brother
William, and the two proceeded to Carbondale, with a number
of workmen, where they camped in the woods, and slept on
hemlock-boughs, transporting their provisions for miles on
horseback. Here, at great expense, they mined about eight
hundred tons of coal, which they intended to haul to the
Lackawaxen during the ensuing winter. They determined to
substitute pine-rafts in the place of the more frail arks, and
believed that the sale of the timber and coal together would
yield a handsome profit. But the finest schemes of man are
often thwarted by unexpected contingencies. The ensuing
winter was unusually mild ; there was but little snow ; instead of
taking eight hundred tons of coal to the Lackawaxen on sleighs,
they were able to haul but one hundred ; coal was worth from
ten to twelve dollars per ton in Philadelphia when they com-
menced mining at Carbondale ; but the quantity sent from the
more accessible Lehigh region re<luced the price so that there
was no margin for profit to the Messrs. Wurts, at least while
they transported coal over mountains on sleighs, and down wild
rivers on rafts.
Intellectual dwarfs shrink and wither in peril, while the giant
mind acquires magnitude in proportion to the dangers which
arise and threaten disaster. Without competition and with fair
profits on the fuel and the lumber they sent to market, William
and Maurice Wurts pi'obably would have continued the coal
business on a small scale, and been contented with their primi-
tive mode of transportation, and their limited revenue from the
business. At that time, in a single year, six thousand tons of
anthracite glutted the markets of all the cities of the Atlantic
coast of the Unitod States. Maurice Wurts, knowing this fact,
proposed to send to the city of New York alone one hundred
thousand tons annually, and to iirovide away to do so, broached
the project of scaling the Moosic inouutaiu with a railroad, and
♦ Hollieter'n Lackawaima V»Uey.
DELAWARE AND HUDSON CANAL. 657
constructing a long canal through a rugged and almost uuex-
plore J coiiiitry, from the iuterior of Wayne county, Pennsylvania,
to the Hudson! It is not surprising that the boldness of the
proposition caused many who could see but the necessities of
the hoar to regard Maurice Wurta as wild and visionary, if not
absolutely insane.
AVilliam Wurts, who readily adopted the views of his brother,
undertook to explore a route for the canal, and followed the
valley of the Lackawaxen and Delaware until he reached the
Shawangunk. Thus far there was no obstacle which was a bar
to the jjroject ; but here he met a rocky barrier which seemed too
formidable for a communication by water to the point which
he wished to reach in the vicinity of the Highlands of the
Hudson. In this emergency, he was advised by Abraham
Cuddeback, of Cuddebackville, to explore the valley west of the
mountain.* Here he found an abundance of water and every-
thing else favorable except public opinion. The entire route
was feasible. When this was ascertained, the brothers deter-
mined to devote all tlieir energies to the consummation of their
enterprise. t Through their efforts, the Legislatures of Pennsyl-
vania and New York enacted necessary laws. Residents on the
route were then asked to contribute toward the preliminary
survey, but very generally declined to do so. The Messrs.
Wurts then employed Benjamin Wright, who was con-
sidered the best engineer of the country, to locate the canal and
road, and make an estimate of the cost of the work.
Mr. Wright made his report in 1824. He pronounced the im-
provement practicable, and estimated tiie expense at $1,.300,000,
a sum so large that its realization seemed almost hopeless,
especially as capitalists looked upon the project as a chimera
worthy of hobby-riders and hot-brained enthusiasts. After this
report, a greater number of their friends expressed grave
doubts as to the sanity of William and Maurice Wurts, and the
latter were obliged to decide whether they would abandon the
enterprise, and be classed among visionary schemers, or vindi-
cate the wisdom of its conception by securing its completion
and demonstrating its utility. They knew, from the experience
of communities older than our own, that a period was approach-
ing when our forests could not be relied upon for a supply of
fuel for dense centres of population, and that even then true
economy proved that anthracite should be substituted for wood.
• Hollister's Lackawanna Valley.
t Eager says Maurice Wnrts traversed Orange county in search of a practicabl«
route for the canal to Newhursh ; but he found the Shawangunk an insnrinountablo
olwtaclo. Abraliam Cuddeback led him to examine tho valley loading to Kingxton,
when; a good route was found. Hnllistor, who gives a liitter account of the lahom of
Um Messre. Wurts, declares that WUliam made the exploration.
42
658 msriciiiY of suli^ivan county.
Public opinion was against them ; but the minds of the ignorant
and prejudiced were enhghtened by these energetic and enter-
prising brothers, who erected, in New York and Philadelphia,
stoves and grates suitable for burning Lackawanna coal, and
thus established the fact that it was cheaper, more convenient
and every way preferable to wood and charcoal. The press,
then influential because not sensational, was enlisted in their
favor, and rapidly the mountain of prejudice, more formi«lable
than the Moosic range, was removed. There was a favorable
change in public sentiment. The plans of the brothers were
matured. They proposed that a company should be formed with
a capital of $1,500,000 ; that the company .should surmount the
Moo.sic by the way of Eix' Gap (800 feet in height) by means
of inclined planes; that their railway should extend to the
nearest point at which a sufficient supply of water could be
commanded for canal navigation ; that they should mine, carry
to market and sell their own coal; that they should embark in
the business of banking ; and that they should engage in real
estate speculations at points on their canal where land was
certain to appreciate in value. A wise economj- permeated
every part of their undertaking.
Books of subscription were opened in New York, and every
share of the capital-stock taken. The brothers were no longer
half crazy adventurers — the sport of shallow-brained wits — but
the acknowledged heads of a powerful organization, with means
to test fully and fairly the merits of theii- project.
The canal and railroad were commenced m 1R26 and com-
pleted in 1828.* On the 3d of December of tlie latter year, a
ileet of six canal boats, laden with one hundred and twenty tons
of coal, (the first from the head of the canal,) passed through
Mamakating Hollow (now Wurtsborough), on their way to the
Hudson. The ancient Dutch residents, and the more recent
Yankee importations, turned out with their families to witness
the cheering spectacle. The sleep of ages was broken by the
roaring of cannon and the lusty cheers of the people. The ca-
nal was considered a great public blessing — quite equal to any-
thing in the history of the country, not excepting even the birth
of the nation ; for we find the good people of the valley on the
ensuing Fourth of July engaged in celebrating " American In-
dependence and the canal," on which occasion Colonel Jacob
Gumaer officiated as Marshal ; Eli Bennett, as Reader ; John
Dorrance, as President, and Lyman Odell as Orator.t
Said Mr. Odell, " The genius of free government is peculiarly
* In some places on the summit-level, the bottom of the canal was made of coane
gravel, and in a few hours all the water that could be commanded leaked through and
oisappeared.
t Watchman, July, 1826.
DELAWAUB AND HL'DHON CANAL. 659
adapted, tin loss to public than social improA'eniont. Already
have oxir citizens caught the enrapturing flame, and accom-
plished more in the great field of public entei-j)rise, than
centuries have been able to produce under the despotism of
foreign power. * * * * Suffer me to roll back the tide of
time for a few short years, and contrast the past with the
present condition of this county. Then the towering summits
of the Shawangunk mountain, piled up in massive sublimity as
if to hold converse with the clouds, stretched an almost impass-
able barrier along her borders, and seemed to laugh in sullen
silence upon every attempt of her citizens to communicate with
the rest of the world by toiling over its rocky surface. Then
the wealthy feared and "the enterprising shrank back from the
privations and seclusions of this familiarly denominated wooden
country. At length the scene is changed. A faint lay of light
begins to illuminate her dusky horizon ; and the great project
is conceived of mingling the waters of the Delaware and Hudson
together through the medium of an artificial channel! Heaven
fired the breasts of a few public-spirited individuals with a
fortitude which no obstacle could shake, and having ascertained
the feasibility of the project, and made the necessary arrange-
ments, the first decisive blow was struck! But four years have
elapsed, and while flnddity has faltered at the hazardous under-
taking, and incraliiUty has pointed the finger of derision at the
'wild and visionary project,' the work has been steadily prose-
cuted, with a rapidity which outstrips all former example, to a
successful completion ! ! The gloomy silence which heretofore
reigned along the base of these mountains is broken by the
busy din of commercial enteqjrise ; and our daily avocations
are cheered with the shrill mvsic of the bugle, announcing the
arrival and departure of boats laden with the produce and the
wealth of this hitherto wild and neglected region. No longer
is Sullivan shut out from the free and easy communication with
her sister counties ; and the spell of the Mountain God which
has 80 long locked up her resources is ' shorn of its influence '
forever ! "
At first the canal was intended for boats of thirty tons bur-
then ; subsequently its capacity was so enlarged as to admit
vessels of fifty tons, and finally improved so as to pass boat? of
one hundred and thirty.
The first locomotive engine in America was imported from
England and used on the road of this company at Honesdale.
It was intended to be employed in the place of horse-power on
the level east of the Moosic. The hemlock trestling over the
Lackawaxen was considered too frail for the great weight of the
engine, and almost every one predicted that the strange ma-
chine, with the bi'idge and the engineer, would be precipitated
bbU HISTORY OF 8ULUVAH COUNTY.
into the river at the first attempt to cross. Major Horatio AI-
le-:; was the only one who dared to pass over the structure with
the iron steed, and his passjige was witnessed by a multitude of
spectators, who were hnppily disappointed; for he crossed in
safety, and triumphantly disappeared in the narrow vista which
was then boundecl on either side by laurels and hemlocks. The
road, as originally made, however, was found too weak for this
engine," although suffioieut for horse-cars, and the pioneer loco-
motive of the western world was thrown from the track, and for
many years was a broken rusty wreck, " unhonored and un-
sung."* It is somewhat .singular that Barnum did not gather
the interesting relics and di^grade them by placing them among
such curiosities as the "Woolly Horse, Joice Heth, and the
" Happy Family" of morphinized birds and beasts.
With the completion of the canal, the Messrs. Wurts hoped
that their toils and anxieties would terminate ; but their hopes
were baseless. Years of labor— such labor as they alone could
furnish — were yet necessary to place the work beyond the
possibility of failure. Disaster threatened it, and on its success
depended not only their fortunes, but what is dearer to such
men, their good name.
The embaiTassments of the company arose fi-ora several
causes. 1. Their engineer had gi'eatly under-estimated the cost
of the improvement. A heavy indebtedness was the result. The
Directors had borrowed of the State of New York the large sum
of $300,000. 2. There was at first but a limited demand for
coal, and much competition on the part of rival organizations.
3. The small quantity of coal taken to New York in 18'28 and
1829, was surface-coal which had been exposed to deteriorating
agencies for many centuries, and was quite worthless. This fur-
nished plausible 'grounds for the slanders of enemies, who as-
serted that the fuel from the Lackawauna valley was valueless,
and that if it were otherwise, the canal and railroad were so illy
constructed and perishablu in character, that they were incapa-
ble of passing a sufficient amount of tonnage to pay interest on
their cost. 4. The absurd cry of monopoly was also raised to
prejudice the ignorant and superficial against the company.*
5. No dividends were paid, and stock which had cost the holder
$100, was a drug in the market at from $60 to $70. 6. Legisla-
tive bodies were invoked to crush the company by hostile action.
Maurice Wurts, who had resigned the position of Superintend-
ent in 1828, resumed that office, and his brother, John Wurts,
then a prominent Representative in Congress and a member of
the Philiidelphia bar, assumed the presidency. These gentle-
men devot«<i the remainder of their lives to the company's in
HoUiiter'i Lackawanna Valtoy.
DELA^yAIiE AND HUDSON CANAL. CCl
terpR^.s, nnd tlie proud position it has atlainerl is pn'Tiflpfi^lj dno
to their anxious care, laborious industry and practical good
sense. Under their manaf^einent the debts of the ct)in]iany were
honorably paid, its capacity increased fourfold, and ils good
name placed on an enduring foundation. The stock of the
company, once worth but sixty cents per dollar, ran up to one
hundred and forty, and instead of carrying one huu<lred thou-
sand tons of coal to market per annum, they lived to annouuco
that the number considerably exceeded one million !* Thecap-
ital-stock of the corporation is no longer limited to $1 ,500,0(J(J ;
but has been raised to $7,000,000, and even now its affairs arc
exempt from the spirit of peculation and fraud wliich, vampire-
like, IS draining the life-blood of too many communities and in-
corporations. The latter fact is due to the policy established
by the Messrs. Wurts, to employ no subordinates exce])t men
of well-attested honesty, sobri<?ty and capacity, to pay them lib-
erally but not extravagantly, and to employ theui during good
behavior.
How ecstatic and extravagant would have been the sentonceg
of Lyman Odell, the Wurtsborough oratcn- of 18 Jl), if he could
have foreseen the time when vessels larger than the sloops of hia
day, would be constantly gliding back and forth through the
valley of Maniakating, and that the aggiegate tonn.ige of the
canal would amount every year to many millions of dollars in
value !
The effect of cheap and easy transportation on localities is
important. Notwithstanding good roads were opened to and
through the county previous to 1830, the increase of population
was but 0,256 during the preceding twenty years. From 18.J0
to 1850, the increase was 12,728. The wealth of Sullivan ad-
vanced in a greater ratio in the latter period. Three years after
the canal was constructed, John Eldridge, Eufus Paleu and one
or two other large tanners commencedoperationshere, and they
were followed by other men of their calling as the bark oi
Greene, Schoharie and Ulster was exhausted, until this county
was considered the most importaut sole-leather manufauturiug-
• In lS7n, the principal companii'S engaged in mining and trangpoiting aulhraciU
repurti-a that tliey 'jruiight to market 14,148,ti:<8 tons, of wii.eh tUo
Heading Railroad Company delivered S.fiOS.STl
ScUuvldli Canal, 502, M12
Leiiigh Vallev Itailroad, 3,51.-).4-l
Leliigh Xavifjation and Railroad, l,713,'i(13
Delaware and Lacliawanna Railroad, 2,217. (iSD
Delaware and Hudson Canal, 1,7 2,r99
Pcnnsylvauia Coal Company, l,fli-l,2'J8
1-I,i4.s,<jr)8
Tho total amount of antliraeite. bitnminoiis and nerni-bitnni'nonR coal takeu to mar-
ket in the Unitod states, diiriut; the year, oxcevdud 17,OO0,0U0 tuiib 1
662 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
district in the world. Without the canal, this interest would not
have been developed previous to 1850.
But the benefit of this canal to Sullivan is a mere bagatelle
when compared with its benign iufluence on the coal-region of
Pennsylvania, on New York and other cities, and on the country
at large. Its success led to other works for a similar pui-pose,
which now minister to the comforts of the poor, and add to the
wealth of the rich. Destroy the coal-fields of the Lackawanna,
and the public improvements which have been made to convey
the carbonaceous deposit to those who consume it, and you will
bring upon an immense number of the human family an evil not
exceeded by famine and pestilence. From such a contingency
only could we learn truly to estimate the benefits conferred by
William and Maurice W urts, whose memory should be honored
by all good men.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE NEW YORK AND EKIE RAIIJiOAD.
In the first years of the present century, there was a project
for opening a national road from the Hudson to the great West.
It was originated by General James Clinton, and was favored
by many leading men of that period. It was known as the Na-
tional Appian Way. One of its proposed routes was across
Mamakating, Thompson, Liberty and Rockland, and from
thence westward through Oxford, in Chenango county. In June,
1807, the citizens of Newburgh dispatched John DeWitt, Fran-
cis Crawford, Samuel Sackett, and Daniel Stringham to exploi-e
this route, and raised £30 to pay their expenses. Tliese gentle-
men commenced their labors at the Blue Mountain on sub-
division 4 of the Fourth Allotment, and followed very near the
route of the Midland railroad until they reached the Delaware
county line. It was then deemed that the country was too weak
in its resources to engage' in works of such magnitude, and the
failed. But it is believed that to the bold and compre-
hensive views then expressed by General Clinton may be traced
the bu'th of Dewitt Clinton's love of internal improvements.*
Subsequently the Appian Way was received under a new
name. The State canals were constructed to the manifest
injury of the southern counties of New York, whose people,
nevertheless, acknowledged their general importance and were
proud of the distmction acquired by the State in consequence
of its enterprise. The effect of these improvements on our
county is worthy of brief consideration. Before they were
consummated, our region attracted men who were searching for
cheap homesteads. Of what the siiperficial esteem wealth
they had but little ; but in muscle, energy and industry, they
were rich. Our land was productive. Wheat was a common
crop. On soil largely occupied bj' stumps and rocks, forty-
bushels of lye or buckwheat per acre was the usual yiekl
This resulted fi-om the humidity of the atmosphere caused by
• Report of Railroad committee, Legislature of New York, 1832.
[G63]
664 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
extensive forests ; the protection agninst severe winds afforded
by the woods wliich surrounded almost every field, and the
large amount of potnsh — one of the best fertilizers — which was
made by burning fallows. Grain was then exported not only
from Sullivan, but from regions more remote. The lofts of our
country-stores literally groaned beneath the breadstuffs which
were stored iu them. Our county was gradually acquiring a
most valuable population, because here land was cheap and
productive, and not too remote from a great avenue of com-
merce. The Erie canal was proposed. Far-seeing and saga-
cious men saw that it was practicable, and its constnution
sooner or later certain, and thenceforth the tide of population
tended to Central New York, and the fertile regions beyond.
Public opinion formed a phalanx of such determination as to
d fy opposition, and not only the Erie but the lateral canals
were completed in a time which surprised their projectors.
These works were a blessing to the State at large, and especially
to the region in which they were located. Farm-lands in their
vicinitj', which, in 1804, commanded a less price than ours,
foity 3'ears later were woitli from seventy-five to a hundred
dollars per acre, while ours decreased iu value from four to two
dollais. This was the case even iu the neighborhood of the
county-seat. How could it be otherwise? To the interior of
our county there was but one route, which surmounted two
dreary mountains, and which afforded no flattering prospect to
the iannigraut. By llie time he overcame them, he disliked the
country. Frequently he did not reach the Ne.versirk river ; but,
retracing his steps, took a steamboat on the Hudson for Albany;
from thence a can.al-lioat, at an expense of one cent per mile,
aiid reached the productive West almost without expense or
fatigue.* 1
These facts were patent to every intelligent resident of
S illivan, and while no one complained^ of the burthens which
these improvements caused to be imposed, it was claimed that
the S'ate should contriliute a fraction of its bounty to promote
the welfare of the sochilel rej;ioas. H nice when Mj.Vlam
damonstrated that a stone-roatl was superior to all others then
ia use, and it was ajiparent that there could not be a continuous
water-communication thr.ougli the " S nitliern Tier," the State
was urged to build a McAdam road from the west to the
Hudson. A controversy ensued as to the eastern terminus,
which led to an unfavorable result in the Legislature, and while
the scheme was in abeyance, it was discovered that an iron-road
was better than any other, and that steam could be applied on
it as a motor. Thenceforth Appian Ways and McAdamized
* Piatt Polton, in Watchman, J»nu»ry 3, 1834
THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD. 665
rot-ls wore di^inU^ei froii Vie mini? of our cit.izsn!^, an-l fny
cU Q)r3l f):.' a r.iilroil fron Li'ca E.'ie to the HaJson through
tlie southern counties.
TliJ eirliait pr jpj^ition to buill a rrvilroid throu'^h SuUivaa
Wiis male in t!ie fall of 132), when the railroad men of B iltimore
invite 1 Members of Congress to riile in cars furnished with
mists an I sails, an 1 moved by win 1. This propoiitiou was in
a pamphlet, in which the writer advocated the making of a
railway from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. We have no more
than a few extracts from this pamphlet, which were copied into
a newspaper at that time, and do not know the name of its
writer; but he who wrote it had a resolute and comprehensive
brain, and an eye which saw in the future the results of a
wonderful invention, wliicli was then like an iufant Hercules
in its cradle. He pointed out the route of the proposed railway
from the vicinity of New York city, across Sullivan to the Dela-
ware river, up the latter to where the Erie now crosses to the
Susquehanna; thence to the Tioga, Lake Erie, the State of
Ohio, etc. His arguments to show that it was of national im-
Eortance would not be appropriate in a local work like ours;
at we cannot refrain from copying the following sentences,
because, when they were fii'st given to the public, they seemed
like the fumes of a diseased brain ; but less than half a century
iias proved them the essence of wisdom :
"The Atlantic and Mississippi Railway would, when com-
pleted, be far more beneficial in its effects on the intervening
country, and on our national prosperity, than to turn tie ^Rfiftis-
slpjn itself iiit-:> tlie same course. Fre6 from the inundations, the
currents, the rapds, the ice, and the sand-bars of that mighty
stream, tha rich products of its wide-spread valley wouM be
driven to tli3 shores of t!ie Atlantic with greater speed than if
Avafted by the wings of the wind ; and the rapid return of com-
mercial equivalents would spread life and prospority over the
face of the finest and fairest portion of the habitable world."
To accomplish the work he claimed among other things, that
it should be undertaken by incorporations, aided by grants of
money or lands from the general government, the very plan
adopted more than forty years later, to secure the construction
of the Pacific road.
Oa tlie 27th of August, IS 11, a meeting was held at the house
of S. W. B. C'lsster, in M outicelln, to consult in regard to the
survey of a railroa I from the Hi Ison river to Oliio. This meet-
ing resolved that the survey was worthy of attention, and then
adjourned to the 30tli of the same mouth. In the publislied
proceedings the name of no person who attended it appears.
Obb . mSTOKY OF SULLTfAN COUNTY.
At the adjourned meeting, there was a declaration in favor of a
road as far as Elmira, and John P. Jones, Piatt Pelton, Hiram
Bennett, RandaU S. Street and Archibald C. Niven were ap-
pointed a committee to promote the project. ^
On the 20th of December, 1831, a convention of delegates
from all the southern C(junties except Orange and Rockland, was
held at Owego. George Morell, of Otsego, was president. This
. body took gromid in favor of a railroad from Lake Erie to the
Hudson, and resolved to apply to the Legislature for a charter.
From that time the peoj^le of the counties bordering on Penn-
sylvania took definite action in regard to a commvmication
through their territory by railroad.
During the Legislative session of 1832, the company was in-
corporated. Among the coi-jjorators were three citizens of Sul-
livan— John P. Jones, Randall S. Street and Alpheus Dimmick.
The original intention was to make it a railway suitable for
the use of horses, so that the inhabitants who lived on the route
could employ their own cars and motive power. " Animal
power," said the managers, " may be considered the natural
jxjwer of the country ; and on long routes, where great ine-
qualities . in the amount of transjiort and travel will occur ;
where the commodities to be conveyed, instead of presenting a
regular supply, will probably amount to many times as much
some months as others, the use of horses may be expected, for
a time at least, to be practically chea])er than steam." A road
for locomotives, it was agreed, would cost from $12,000 to
$14,000 per mile, while one for animals could be made for $5,000
or .$6,000, and on the latter the company would be at no expense
for engines, carriages, &c.
On the 9th of July, 1833, books were opened for subscription
to the capital-stock to the amount of one million of dollars.
This amount, it was believed, was enough to complete a single
track from the Hudson to the Susquehanna, with a sufficient
numlier of turn-outs to render the desultory movements of the
horse-cars of farmers and others practical. The managers
anticipated embarrassment from excessive subscriptions, and
published a proviso showing in what manner they would reduce
the total amount to one million.
In tiie light of ripe experience, their plans were all puerile
and childish. Nevertheless they were approved by Benjamin
Wright, whose reputation as a civil engineer was pre-eminent.
The amount required was subscribed ; but a large part of the
stock taken was by a nominal arrangement with a man named
William G. Buckner, who, on the last day and at the last
moment, took all that was not secured by others. Another year
passed, during which the company did not receive enough from
.THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD. 667
its stockholders and others, to make necessary surveys. In
1834, the people directly interested again appealed to the
Legislature, which granted $15,000 to enable Benjamin Wright
and his subordinates to examine the route, and report the
result. This was done, and his report may be found in the
Assembty Documents of 1835. It established the fact that a
practicable route existed even through Sullivan, which, until
this time had been considered the most unfavorable region.
Mr. Wright's labors did not give vitality to the project. The
company lacked material resources, and capitalists were un-
willing to venture an amount adequate to the magnitude
of the undertaking. In 1835, the State was petitioned to
become a stockholder; but dechned to grant further aid. In
1836, the application was renewed, when au issue of State-stock
to the amount of $600,000 was authorized on the completion of
a track of the road, within the State, from the Hudson and
Delaware canal to Biughamton ; of $700,000 when it reached
the Alleghany river; of $300,000 when it extended to Lake Erie ;
of $400,000 when completed from the Hudson to the Hudson
and Delaware canal ; and of $1,000,000 when a double hue was
made within the State from one terminus to the other.-
The act of 1846 did not exert a salutary influence on capital-
ists. Men of wealth still refused to promote the enterprise by
hberal subscriptions. It is alleged that their financial coative-
ness resulted from a lack of confidence in those who had the
affairs of the company in charge. However this may be, in
1848, further legislation was solicited and a more liberal act
passed, by which the State agreed to invest one dollar for every
two expended by the company, the State appropriation not to
exceed $3,000,000.
It is said that the passage of this act was due to the un-
wearied and persistent efforts of Hon. John P. Jones, one of the
founders of Monticello, who was then in the Senate, and that
his action was enlivened by a pledge of the company that, if he
succeeded in securing the passage of the act, they would locate
the road on what was then known as the Brownson route. This
route was the most favorable to Monticello, to the interests of
which he was ardently attached until his death. Some may
doubt that he was a man who could influence a legislative body,
as he was of slow and hesitating speech, exceedingly dull and
tiresome, and without a spark of magnetic power to excite fa-
vorable action. Yet he was shrewd, and had some qualities
nearly allied to cunning and craft. In saying this of him, we
disclaim any imputation on his character for integrity and honor.
We beHeve he was influenced by justifiable motives, and wished
to secure to the county an important and vital interest.
Still there was but little if any progress. The resources of
668 HISTORY OP BCLLIVAN COUNTY.
the company contiuued to be limited, and small as they were,
were squandered in paying large salaries, in making extensive
and incomplete surveys, and in partially constructing here and
there useless fragments of their road.
From the Port Jereit Union,
MONTICELLO AKD PORT JERVIS RAILROAD.
Staihwa Bdook, Jan. 31, 1869.
D. HoLBROOK, Esq.,— Dear Sir :— In your issue of Jan. the
22, you have a long article in i-elation to the Port Jervis and
Mouticello railroad, I would like to make known some facts to
you which ought also to be known and acted upon by all of the
people interested in that road.
In the winter of 18:^5-6 the Erie Railway company asked from
the State of New York a loan of one million and a half of dol-
lars. The bill was introduced in the Legislature at Albany, by
John P. Jones, of Monticello, at that time member of the Sen-
ate, and with indefatigable perseverance and determination on
his part, the bill was carried through and became a law. While
this bill was pending the managers of the road gave their
plighted faith to Jones that they would locate and put under
contiact that portion of the line between Cuddebackville and the
forks of the Mongaup, by way of the Brownson route, passing
one and a half miles east of Monticello. And I was ordered to
get the line ready with as little delay as possible, wliich I did,
fixing the maximum grade at 08 feet per mile. Tliis steep grade
extended for a distance about five or six miles, commencing near
Clow's Bridge or what is now called Oakland, and extending in
the direction of Monticello. The line was got ready but was
nevt-r put under contract in consequence of some wrangling be-
tween the people of Monticello and Thompsonville, In conse-
quence of which this one luiUion and a half dollars, together
with one million and a half more from the Company was squan-
dered on other portions of the line between Binghamton and
Dunkirk by building it on piles which cost about as much as a
gi-aded road, and whicli in the end proved pei-fectly useless and
was abandoned altogether. So you will perceive that the peo-
Ele of Monticello as well as other portions of the county have
een wronged out of what their Senator labored so long and ar-
dently for. Now if this road is to be a tributary to the Erie
road it is but just, and they have a right to ask and demand
their assistance and aid in the building of the Monticello rail-
road. It is but just and the people should look into it and act
accordingly. If the Erie road can lease or buy hundreds of
railroads out west, they ought at least do something for this
road where their plighted faith has been given, and especially
THE NEW YORK AND ERIE lUILKOAD. 669
where they have receivod one and a half millions of dollars. I
woulil atl.l that this one and a half millions was afterwards given
to the company, out and in full.
My object in writing this is that the people may know these
facts, and perhaps they may act in such a way as to get the as-
Bistauco of the Erie railroad in the construction of their own.
Very respectfully yours, &c.,
C. L. Seymour.
In ISIO, the people of the southern counties feared that the
company would never succeed in accomplishing the enterprise,
and the company itself seemed inclined to relinquish the under-
taking. Tlie State was importuned to assume the work. A bill
for that purpose passed the Assembly, but was defeated in the
Senate. It was deemed unwise for the State to embark in such
enterprises.
In 18 iO, the effort to make the road a State-work was renewed
unsuccessfully. The State, however, agreed to loan the com-
pany S103,')00 for every $103,000 previously expended in the
construction of the road, and for every $50,000 thereafter paid
from the funds of the incorporation, the Comptroller was
directed to i.'^sue stock to the amount of $100,000. No more
than $3,000,00 J weie to be thus contributed.
This law was considered liighly favorable, and enabled the
directors to commence work with apparent vigor. The people
of tbe southern counties who had importuned the Legislature
for benefactions to the company, now hoped to witness a speedy
consuiuinition of tlie long-souglit improvement ; but their hopes
were soon d ished to the ground. Everything was mismanaged.
The State-stocks were forced upon the market at uufavonible
times, and sold for less than their nominal value. The pro-
ceeds were wasted in speculation, and in testing wild theories.
Among the latter was a crotchety idea that railroads could be-
made to span valleys and other depressions of the earth's
surface, by upholding the track with posts and spiles. Instead
of experimenting on a limited scale and at a small cost, the
plan was tried on a magnificent basis and at enormous expense,
and resulted in a corresponding failure. Three millions received
from the State, and all that was paid by stockholders was gone,
and but fifty miles of the road in operation, while the company
was bankrupt. The State had more than paid for all the work
done, and had a prior lien upon it for $3,000,000. The franchise
of the company and all that had been accomplished by and
tlirough it were not worth that amount, and the diihi-ulty of
obtaining further subscriptions, while the road was thus pledged
670 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
to the State for more than its value, was iiisnrraonntable.* The
company affected not to perceive this difficulty; but gave
another and unfounded reason to account for their troubles.
They pretended to discover in 1841 that the public had no
confidence in their work on account of the obstacles to be
overcome in Sullivan and other counties adjacent to the Dela-
ware and Susquehanna !
Previous to this time, there was no pretense that the interior
route from the Shawangunk to the Delaware was impracticable,
and it could not be said that the line on the banks of that river
was even suggested in such a way as to alarm the j^eople of the
county. The company was pledged to run the road by the way
of Brownson's, and had made the necessary survej's. In 18-40,
the President of the road informed the citizens of Monticello
that it had been determined to immediately file locations of the
interior route.
About this time the citiz(;ns of ThompsonviUe urged the
superiority of the route in which they were interested, and this
gave the company a very bald excuse for not immediately per-
forming their promise to John P. Jones and others of Monti-
cello. Probably they had never intended to do so. They had
done considerable work above the mouth of the Callicoon, but
little or none in Sullivan below that point. This is strong proof
to establish tlieir falsehood and treachery.
Early in 1841, our citizens were informed that the company-
had detei-mined to adopt the Delaware river route, a route
which, it was alleged, they had not then even surveyed, and the
proposition was made to Monticello that the raUroad-man-
agers would contribute ten thousand dollars toward making a
turnpike-road from that place to the nearest point on the Erie
road. This proposition was indignantly spm-ned, and a contest
ensued in the Legislature of the State which continued several
years.
From 1841 to 1845 the company annually applied to the Leg-
islature for the privilege of constructing a portion of their road
on the Pennsylvania side of the river, and made exaggerated
statements in regard to the interior route. These statements
were warmly combated by the people of Sullivan and other
counties. The company also asked to be released from the
State-lien. The latter request was finally granted conditionally,
» The most sliami-lfRs fntiiilrt wen- <Mmmitteil. Tlio okl stiicklii.lders were called
upon to Dav no more ioaliilnieiitM. F.arli i-ciiiu-arinr w.is required to takr> pay in stock
to the amount of one. third of hia contract, anil tiie company aeirepd tu pay him nearly
one-third more than his work was w.irth. When he had pone sufticiently far with his
contract, certificatcR of stock were issued to him, and ai^idavits made that the work
had been paid for from monevs collected of stockholders. Armed with these affidavits,
the managers demanded of the State double the nominal expenditure made. In this
way tho State paid for nearly all that was done.
THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILKOAD. 67X
and in tlie same year (IS-tS) the application to carry the road
into Pennsylvania was defeated, or rather withdrawn when it was
found that there was but a minority in its favor, and a section
substituted appointing Orville W. Childs, John B. Jervis and
Horatio Allen, engineers, to locate the road through the interior
of Sullivan, and if necessary through a portion of Ulster, if
they found a practicable route, the adoption of which would
not be greatly prejudicial to public interests; but in case they
did not so locate, the company were authorized to construct a
portion of the road on such route as the directors should
decide, through said counties of Ulster and Sullivan.
The friends of the interior route considered this practically a
triumph, and congratulated themselves that it had been won
without the aid of the Hudson and Delaware Canal Company,
wliich had co-operated with them until 1845, and then oom-
promised with the railroad-company.*
The commissioners appointed by the act did not enter upon
their duties until late in the fall of 1845, and consequently their
labors were not concluded when the Legislature of 1816, con-
vened. This gave the company an opportunity to apply for a
modification of the law of the previous session, and an addi-
tional act was passed, by which the Commissioners were to
decide whether there was a practical route through Sullivan
"on which the company could construct their road without
great prejudice to the public interests of this State, and the
interests of the citizens of this State, who, in their judgment,
would bo aiiected by the construction and location of the road
collectively considered."- And in case they should decide other-
wise, then the company were authorized to locate in Pennsyl-
vania, subject, however, to the reserved power of the Legislature
of 1847, to direct otherwise. The act also added Frederick
Whittlesey, Jared Wilson, Job Pierson and William Dewey to
the Commission. t
'During the ensuing season the Board caused huiried and in-
complete surveys to be made tlu'ough SulUvau, and found that
the ascending and descending grades were better than had been
reported by the engineers of the company, and much more fa-
vorable than the grades east and west of the county ; that the
distance was about two and a half miles greater than by the
way of the more southern route ; that the curvature was more
objectionable on the interior lino than elsewhere ; and that the
latter could he made for .1401,480 less than the other. It waa
claimed by tlie friends of the central route, that it was susceptible
* The railr.'riii company consented to a perpetual injunction bcins; entered, prohib-
iting them from luakins their road on the bank of the river occupied by tho canal.
t See " Report of the Minority of the Committee on Railroads, in relation to ths
loofttioD of the New York and Erie Railroad." fAssembly Documents, 1847.
672 HISTOBY OF SULLIVAN COCSTT.
of improvement as to cnn'.ature and distance ; but their sng-
geslions were unheeded by the engineers, who naturally were in-
clined to favor the side fi'om which they could expect a prepon-
derance of employment.
On the utli of "August, 1846, the commissioners (except Mr.
Pierson) met at the court-house in Monticello, to hear what
could be said for and against the rival routes. Thomas McKis-
sock of Newburgh appeared for tho company, and William B.
Wright for the people.
At this meeting Mr. Wright made a fine exhibition of foren-
sic ability. He had been a needy editor and afterwards a moi-e
needy attorney and counselor ; had been cliieHy remarkable as
a caustic writer* and for a love of ease and the pleasures af-
forded by gratifying his palate. In conducting trivial law-suits
he had been out of his element, and was as ungainly as an ele-
phant attempting a jig among a brood of chickens which he was
required not to crush. He had great natural ability ; but had
had no ojiportunity, and perhaps had been too inert to exhibit
the best phases of his character. His argument before the com-
missioners was reported in full for the licpuhUcan Wut'hman,
and was much admired. From that time his advancement was
rapid. He was soon after elected Member of Assembly, then a
member of the Constitutional Convention, and at the first elec-
tion under the third Constitution of the State, was chosen a Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court, and held that position until he was
made a Judge of the Court of Appeals. While holding the lat-
ter office he died.
Soon after the Commissioners met in Monticello, four of thera
decided in favor of the Pennsylvania route, while three (Messrs.
Whittlesey, Childs and Pierson) declared themselves for the
interior route. This was a sore disappointment to the people
of Sullivan, who declared that the decision of the majority had
no moral weight, because one of them (Horatio Allen) had ac-
cepted an otlice at the hands of the company, and was in its
pay as consulting engineer. A county-meeting was held on the
19th of September, at the Mansion House, kept by Stephen
Hamilton, to consider the injustice done the people of the
countj' by the majority of the commissioners. John P. Jones
was chairman and C. V. R. Ludingtou, secretaiy. On motion
of A. C. Niven, a committee was a[)pointed to prepare anTl pub-
lish a notice in the State paper and other journals, setting forth
the determination of the people to apply to the Legislature for
• V»liile Mr Wriu'lit was tlie eilit<ir nf a jinpcr pulilisliod at Ougheii, lip ansHilrd %
rival vfiih torribk- Bcviritv. The pirs >n attiukid ivas a'lnoat immwlintily proBtrateJ
vith paralysirt, Ir iin wlii ii li.- ncvi-r rctovcrod. Mr. W. b«lievij Uiat the discaso «M
caused by'what he h:id » ritu n.
THE NEW YORK AND ERIE RAILROAD. 673
relief. Daniel M. Angell, Piatt Pelton and Edward Palen were
named by the mover as such committee.
WUliam B. Wright was soon after nominated by the whig and
anti-rent parties for the Assembly, and his election was ren-
dered more certain by the prominence he had acquired by his
argument before the commissioners. His opponent was Jona-
than Stratton, a gentleman without a tithe of Wright's talent,
but who possessed better qualifications as a successful advocate
in a body like the Assembly. Wright could make an admirable
speech ; but almost any agent of the company could vanquish
him in the lobby.
Without waiting for further legislative action, the Directors
put the Delaware section of their road under contract, and the
work was in progress while the Legislature was in session.
They also published a large edition of the Report of a majority
of the Commissioners, to which tliey added a map of their own,
in which the alleged obstacles in Sullivan were gi'eatly exagge-
rated, and set forth in such a manner as to be an outrage on
truth and decency. This they scattered broadcast before the
Legislature and the people.
At this stage of the controversy, the citizens of the river-
towns, moved by as good motives, no doubt, as those of the
interior, took a lively interest in the affairs of the company. A
respectable meeting was held at Narrowsburgh, of which James
C. Curtis was president; John Hankins and Samuel Hankins,
vice-presidents; and John C. Drake and Chauncey Thomas,
secretaries. This meeting emphatically approved the report of
the Commissioners, and the conduct of the company.
The citizens of Bloomingburgh were induced to believe that
they would be favored with a branch of the Erie road, and,
although warned that they would be disappointed, took an .
active part against the interior route. When the struggle with
the company ceased, their project died from inanition. This
Bloomingburgh diversion was engineered by Alpheus Dimmick,
T. C. Van Wyck, C. H. Van Wyck, J. O. Dunning, V. E- Horton,
0. Wood, E.'M. Hunter and others.
On the other hand, a large and enthusiastic county-meeting
was held in Monticello— John P. Jones, president ; Piatt Pelton,
Edward Palen, Stephen Hamilton, Z. Hatch, Eli Fairchild and
Arthur Palen, vice-presidents; F. M. St. John, C. V. E.
Ludington and G. Wales, secretaries. A. C. Niven, chairman
of the committee for that purpose, reported a series of resolu-
tions which were adopted. Meetings were also held at Gra-
hamsviUe, Neversink, White Lake, Liberty, Fallsburgh, Wurts-
borough, Thompsonville, Rockland, and Phillips Port, at all
which the proceedings of the company and a majority of the
43
674: HISTORY OF SUIilVAN COUNTY.
Commissioners were denoimced, and justice to the county
demanded.
But the hopes inspired by what was considered the justice of
their cause, and the able advocacy of Wilham B. Wright, were
of short duration. The Senate approved the Pennsylvania
location liy a vote of 17 to 1, while the ir,terior route com-
manded but 24 votes in the Assembly. Thus terminated a
contest of years carried on by the citizens of Sullivan against
a powerful and unscrupulous company. Subsequent events
have proved that the allegations of the. latter were unfounded,
and there is much on which to base the charge that the final
location of the road was intended to subserve private specula-
tions.
CHAPTER XX.
NEW YORK AND OSWEGO MIDLAND RAITJiOAD.
The magnitude of this enterprise— its connection with the in-
terests of Sulhvan, and the fact that some of our prominent cit-
izens have been identified with its origin and progress, warra,nt
VIS in devoting a chajiter to its history.
In 1853, a party of engineers came into the county, and spent
several weeks in making explorations. It was reported that
they were searching for a new railroad-route across the county,
and that they succeeded in finding one which was considered
feasible. But little interest was taken in their work, and soon
after they disappeared, the memory of their labors almost faded
from the minds of our citizens. These surveys were made
■under the dii-ection of Colonel Edward W. Serrell, a distin-
guished engineer. They led to no substantial result at that
time, because the project was based on a flimsy financial basis. ■
Tradition says that the failure of an unimportant moneyed in-
stitution made the project an abortion.
In the summer and fall of 1865, when the reverberations of
our great civil war were yet " booming through the land," a cor-
respondence sprang up between leading citizens of Norwich,
Delhi and Monticello, setting forth the advantages and neces-
sity to their secluded inland-counties of better means of inter-
communication, and urging early co-operation to attain the de-
sired object. This correspondence led to a call for a meeting
of persons interested at Delhi, on Wednesday, October 4th, in
that year. This was the first concerted gathering in belialf of
the proposed enterprise, and tlie self-appointed delegates from
the county of Sullivan were Henry Reynolds Lov.', Hezekiah
"Watkins, Samuel G. Thompson, William D. Stratton, and
William A. Rice.
The 3d day of October was dull and uninviting. It ushered
in the first snow-storm of the season, and if anything had been
needed to bring vividly to mind the advantages of railway com-
munication, it was supplied to these gentlemen on their joui'ney,
by the sharp winds, the driving snow-storm, and the Brock
mountain highway.
tG75J
176 HISTORY OF SULLTVAK COUNTY.
The assembly came together about noon the next day, in the
court-house of Delhi. Charles Hathaway of Delaware county
was chosen chairman, and Robert H. Atwater of ULster, and
James Appleton of Onondaga, secretaries. Besides delegations
from the counties along the line fi'om Oswego to Middletown,
there was an influential representation on behalf of Rondout,
and it soon became manifest that the harmony of the meeting
would be disturbed by the discordant elements of conflicting
and rival routes.
On behalf of Rondout or Newburgh it was urged that the pro-
posed road should seek the Hudson river at the nearest practi-
cable jxjint, and thus secure for its freights easy and cheap water
communication to the city of New York ; that a line through
Sullivan was not feasible ; that the engineering obstacles in that
direction were insurmountable — the grades impossible, and the
series of tunnels endless — the population sparse and poor ; and
that, while such a route would furnish neither busiuess nor sub-
scriptions, Rondout, on the other hand, through Major Cornell,
one of its wealthiest citizens, stood ready to pledge itself for
$500,000 of the stock of the new company.
The friends of Sullivan combated these statements as well as
they were able, by declaring that a diversion of the road to the
Hiidson at any point above the city of New York would prevent
its becoming a tinink-line, and cripple its usefulness during the
suspension of river-navigation ; that a river-terminus would have
to be abandoned as the Erie company had abandoned Piermont;
that the county of Sullivan was not a wilderness, but was rich
in agi-iculture, lumber and manufactures ; that its people were
not paupers, but would contribute liberally to the new enter-
prise ; that a railroad could be built through the county ; that
surveys had been made and roiites found which were entirely
practicable ; that there was no such obstacle from one end of
the line to the other as would be met in undertaking to go over
or under Pine Hill ; and that all they asked was a fair hearing
and time for consideration — the appointment of a committee to
make surveys and procure subscriptions; and they pledged
themselves "to accept the result of an honest and thorough
investigation.
The discussion waxed warm. The friends of the Pine Hill
route had rallied in large force from the adjoining country, and
were somewhat in the majority. Led by their earnest cham-
pion^a wealthy butter-dealer of Andes named Dowey — they
were anxious to press to a decision the determination of a route,
and commit the new project to the interests of Rondout.
Through tlie skillful engineerinp;, howevei", of Samuel Gordon —
from the first a firm advoeato for tlie line through our county —
a recess for dinner was carried, and the day, as events proved
NEW YORK AND OSWKCiO MIDLAND RAILROAD. 677
was thus lost to Pino Hill ; for, upon the re-assembling at four
o'clock in the afternoon, it was found that the "Dowey" party
had been largely depleted by loss of many whose farm-duties
had called them home, and that it was now in the minority.
Great battles are sometimes lost, and the status of an entire
people reduced, because a military leader has " dined and wined"
too freely. Here, it seems, emjity stomachs and a few barnyard-
chores led to results which will forever add to the wealth and
importance of Sullivan.
On motion of Mr. Gordon, the following resolutions were
readily ado{)ted by the meeting :
" Ee.'iolved, That a railway from Oswego, through the counties
of Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, Otsego, Delaware, Ulster or
Sullivan, and Oi-ange, on or near the surveys made some twelve
years ago, to some point on the Hudson river, is a State and
local necessity, for the transportation of merchandise, manu-
factures, agricultural and mineral productions — and must be
made.
" Resolved, That the said surveys and the topography of the
country demonstrate it to be the most direct, cheaply constructed
and easily graded road of its length and importance in the State ;
while the resources of the country through which it passes, and
the great need of more railroad-facilities for transportation from
the West to the East, and from the sea-bord to the Lakes,
through the State of New York, offer unsurpassed inducements
to capitalists and the people along its route for investment in
the proposed great internal improvement.
"Resolved, That we, in common and in co-operation with the
people of the territory between Oswego and the Hudson river
at the point of intersection, and all otliers who may choose to
join in the enterprise, will do our utmost to accomplish the great
object in view, and that we will not cease our efforts until it be
done."
The resolutions were characterized by the energy and deter-
mination of their earnest and eloquent author. Long may he
live to hear the shrill whistle of the locomotive at his beautiful
home among the mountains of Delaware.
On motion of Judge Low, the following resolution was also
adopted :
"Resolved, That a committee of one from each county inter-
ested, be appointed by this meeting, to make the necessary
examinations, and report to an adjourned meeting, to be held
at this place, on the dth day of January, 1866, a route through
the counties of Oswego, Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, Otsego,
678 HISTORY OP SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Delaware, Sullivan or Ulster, and Orange, to the city of New
Tork, for the proposed raUroad, and a plan for the organization
of a company to constnict the same, for the consideration and
approval of said meeting ; such road to commence at Oswego,
and terminate at some point on the Hudson river ; and also to
report the amoiint of stock which can be subscribed, and the
advantages of the several routes. Said Committee is also
empowered to call meetings in the different counties aloug the
route, solicit subscriptions and make necessary surveys, with
full powers to liU vacancies in this Committee, and do such
other acts as may be necessary to facilitate the work for which
they are appointed."
The following committee was accordingly appointed by the
meeting :
For Delaware, Samuel Gordon, of Delhi ;
'• SuUivan, Henry R. Low, of Monticello;
" Onondaga, J. V. H. Clark, of ;
" Madison, L. B. Kern, of De Ruyter;
" Chenango, B. B. Andi'ews, of Norwich;
" Oswego, D. C. Littlejohn, of Oswego ;
" The city of New York, Samuel B. Euggles.
The meeting then adjourned, to meet again at Delhi, on the
4th of Jaimary, 1866.
It wiU be observed that no appointments were made upon
this committee for the counties of Ulster and Orange. The
county of Orange was not represented at the meeting, and the
Ulster delegation, failing to secure the adoption of the route to
Eondout, withdrew and went home, determined to build a
railroad for themselves. It is believed that the inception of
the Rondout and Oswego Railroad dates from this convention
at Delhi.
The delegation from Sullivan returned home high in spirits,
firm in faith, and full of hope. Had they foreseen, as some of
them saw afterwards, how little they had accomphshed — how
long and toilsome was the way before them to the consumma-
tion of their enterprise — how few such eggs as had been just
laid are ever hatched — and how few of the hatclihngs do not
sicken and die before their tail-feathers appear, perhaps the
fii'mest and most hopeful among them would have shrunk dis-
heartened from the labors and struggles of the future. For-
tunately for the IMidland project, then- confidence was imbounded ;
for there was at least one among their number who was destined
to be of vital importance to the new enterprise.
Immediately upon their return, and imder date of October
NEW YORK AND OSWEGO MIDLAND ItAILKOAD. 679
6th, 1865, the foUowing notice was published through the
county-papers :
"Shall we have a Kailkoad? — The undersigned having at-
tended the raih-oad-meeting at Delhi on the 4tli instant, and
learned somewhat of the arguments used against the line
through Sullivan county, as well as those in its favor, and the
objections made against its feasibility, deem it proper, in answer
to numerous inquiries, to say to the people of Sullivan county^
that it is now in their power to have a railroad through their
county, if they will go to work immediately, and disj^lay the
same industry, perseverance and public spirit that the people
of other counties are exhibiting. That a railroad wiU be built
is more than probable — nay, almost certain; but whether on
the route through Ulster county by the way of Pine mountain^
or through Sullivan, will depend upon ourselves.
"What is now urgently needed is that the routes through
SuUivau county be immediately and carefully surveyed; that
the necessary funds be raised to accomplish this ; and that the
right of way be secured, and such inducements be offered as.
may be in our power.
"Sullivan lies immediately in the route of a great central!
raih'oad from the Lakes to New York. Parties liostQe to us.
charge that our route is not feasible, nor practicable. This is.
not so, and we need the surveys at once to demonstrate it. Our
route has better grades than any road except the Central, and
is shorter than any other route, and capital can be easily inter-
ested at this time in our favor.
" To facilitate these objects, a meeting has been called to be
held at Mouticello, on Tuesday evening, the 17th of October
instant, at 7 o'clock r. M., when it is earnestly hoped that all of
our citizens interested will be present. It should be remem-
bered that with us, it is noio or never.
"If we, by our neglect, lose this opportunity, we shaH hardly
have another very soon. This fact should be heeded by our
business-men, especially as they are perhajDS most interested,
and can soonest combine for action.
Samuel G. Thompson,
"Willlvm D. Stratton,
H£ZEKL\H WaTKINS,
Henry K. Low."
The situation called for prompt and liberal action. The con-
vention at Delhi had adjourned to meet again at that place on
the 4th day of January, when the surveys through Sullivan and
her promised subscriptions were to be submitted. What was
to be done needed to be done at once. The fall weather was
680 mSTOBY OF 8ULUVAN OOUNTT.
rapidly passing away ; scarcely a month suitable for field-opera-
tions could be counted on; engineering-parties were to be
engaged and organized ; several and remote routes to be sur-
veyed and mapped ; and, above all, money must be ol>tained ;
for the new enterprise was destitute of credit. In this emer-
gency, one or two of the more sanguine adherents of the cause
became personally responsible for the expenses of the survey,
and the work went forward. Meanwhile, public meetings were
held in various towns of the county — committees appointed —
routes discussed, and personal subscriptions solicited.
At this time, the new scheme was regarded with indifference
and disfavor by many. Some in our own county even assailed
it with derision and ridicule. A few words will show why this
was so.
Judge Low, its Sullivan champion, was kno'mi mainly as a
rising young lawyer and a successful politician. He had repeat-
edly been a candidate for office, and had manipulated the cards
of partisanship in a way which secured for himself and his
friends all the honors and profits at stake. This greatly
exasperated his political opponents, who, smarting under defeat,
placed a low estimate on his motives in bringing forward this
railroad project.
It was believed that he was a candidate for re-election to the
Senate, and that the proposed road would temporarily add to
his popularity.
He owned a large tract of wild land in the northern section
of the county, which he had bought for speculative purposes,
and which he was anxious to sell. The new project would in-
crease the value of these lands, as well as the number of buyers.
A large majority of the projectors were young men, who had
never been identified with railroad-interests. The magnitude
of the work, and their apparent ability to command capital suf-
ficient to build the road within two or three decades, were ab-
surdly disproportionate.
Thus far there had been no braying of orators and but few
sensational newspaper-paragraphs on the subject. The idea that
a great trunk-line could be built without the preliminary ex-
penditure of a vast amount of "fuss and feathers," hi\d never
entered the public mind.
As was antic-i])attMl, Judge Low sought and received the nom-
ination for Senator of tlie political party to which ho was at-
tached. The election took place about four weeks aft-er the
railroad-meeting at Delhi, previous to which the Midland road
was a dormant embryo in the womb of time, with which the
fructifying element of life had never come in contact. Therefore
it was not strangt^ that the friends of the opposing candidate
regarded the project as a sort of moon-calf, luid that they de-
NEW YORK AND OSWKGO MIDLAND RAILHOAD. 681
rided it as "Low's railroad;" nor that, when t)>e election had
taken place, and Low was successful, it was declared that the
road was engineered and operated for the sole purpose of
carrying him to the Senate-chamber, and that his opponent
■was the only individual who had been or ever would be killed
by the road. We beheve that these and other jibes greatly
annoyed Judge Low at the time ; but it is not probable that
they would disturb his equanimity now.
In view of the inaccessibility of Delhi during the winter-months,
and the advantages of having the new enterprise regularly and
legally organized jjrior to the approaching session of the Legis-
lature, it was deemed wise to change the time and place of the
adjourned meeting, which was accordingly called by Mr. Gordon,
the chairman of the General Committee, to meet at the St.
Nicholas Hotel, in the city of New York, on Wednesday,
December 13tli, at 12 M. Large delegations were jiresent from
the localities interested, and the doings and deliberations of the
convention occupied two full days.
The importance of the subject justiiies us in giving a full
report of the proceetiings of tliis meeting :
"Important Eailroad Convention. --
" Pursuant to the call of the chairman of the General Com-
mittee appointed at Delhi, October 4:, 1865, a convention of
delegates from the various counties interested in the proposed
railroad from New York to Oswego over the midland route,
assembled at tlie St. Nicholas Hotel, in the city of New York,
on Wednesday, Deceinber 13, 1865, at 12 m.
"Samuel B. Ruggles, of New York city, was appointed chair-
man, and B. Gage Berry, of Chenango county, secretary. The
following delegates were admitted :
" Ostaego Coiinfy—T>e^S iit C. Littlejohn, A. P. Grant, G.
MuUison, E. P. Brirt, A. P. Wright, II. K. Sanford, W. Johnson,
S. Avery, Joseph Gilberts.
" Onondaia Qmnfi/ — A. C. Powell, G. P. Kenyon, George
Burns, D. P. Phelps, E. B. Judson, O. Vandenburgh, D. H.
Eaton, Anson Bangs, James Appleton.
"Madison County — L. B. Kern, Joseph W. Merchant, A. F.
Smith, Erastus Abbott, H. P. Hart, E. C. Litchfield, B. F.
Ferris, O. W. Sage, C. L. Chappell, S. W. Ijedyard, Charles
Crandall, ^Ipheus Morse, G. B. Mo wry, A. N. Wood, A. M.
Holmes.
" Cortland Coimty — N. Randall.
" Chenango County — B. Gage Berry, George Rider, Warren
Newton, John Shattuck, John A. iiandall, A. J. Carpenter.
boZ HISTOni OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
"Belaivare County — Samuel Gordon; C. S. Jolinson, Samuel
Gordon, jr.
" Sullivan County — Henry E. Low, Edward Palen, W. Kier-
sted, Samuel G. Thompson, William Gillespie, Chester Darbee,
Horace Utter, John H. Divine, Da^'id Clements, Nathan S.
Hamilton.
" Orange County — Homer Eamsdell, K. A. Forsyth, A. M.
Sherman, W. L. F. Warren, James Bigler, Enoch Carter, E. P,
Gumaer.
" Otsego County — James H. GilViert, D. G. Hayes.
" Ulster County — Thomas Cornell.
" Netv York C(7y— Samuel B. Buggies.
" On invitation of the chairman, Henry R. Low, of Sullivan,
addressed the convention at length, giving a history of the
oi-igin of the enterprise, and of what had been thus far accom-
plished. He also read a carefully prepared paper, embracing
much valuable statistical information, and showing that the
proposed railroad was a great necessity to the people of the
midland-counties, as well as to the cities of New York and
Oswego, and the State at large.
" Colonel Edward W. Serrell exhibited to the convention the
maps and profiles of the proposed route as surveyed ia 18.53,
with new preliminary surveys recently made by him upon the
eastern part of the route. He stated that the grade would not
exceed fifty feet to the mile ; that the topograj^hy of the country
was favorable ; and that along the entire route material for the
constniction of the road was abundant, except iron.
" A. C. Powell, of Syracuse, who surveyed the western portion
of the road, made an equally favorable report.
"The convention was addressed by Messrs. N. Eandall,
Samuel Gordon, Homer Eamsdell, D. C.'Littlejohn, A. P. Grant,
and the chairman, after which Messrs. Littlejohn, Powell,
Gordon, N. EaudaD, Low, Eamsdell and Buggies were appointed
a committee to report articles of association, and nominate
dii-ectors.
"After a recess, Mr. Littlejohn reported the articles of
association organizing the 'New York and Oswego Midland
Eailroad Company,' with a capital of ten millions of dollars,
which were unanimously adopted. The committee also nomi-
nated the following gentlemen as directors : DeWitt C. Little-
john, Oswego ; John Crouse, Syracuse ; Elisha C. Litchfield,
Cazenovia ; Joseph W. Merchant, DeBuyter ; Edward I. Hayes,
Norwich ; Joim A. Eandall, Norwich ; A. C. Edgerton, Delhi ;
Samuel Gordon, Delhi; Henry E. Low, Monticello; Edward
Palen, Fallsburgh ; Homer Eamsdell, Newbiu'gh; Nathan
Eandall, Homer ; G. P. Kenyon, Syracuse.
'• On motion of Mr. Low, the directors and delegates present
NEW YOKE AND OSWEGO MIDLjVND KAILEOAD, 683
■were appointed a committee to secure the necessary subscrip-
tions and report at a subsequent meeting.
" On motion of Mr. Shattuck, a copy of the paper read by
Mr. Low was requested for publication, and the secretary was
directed to have the same, together with the proceedings of the
convention, printed in pam2:)hlet form for general circulation, and
that an abstract of the same be furnished to the city papers for
general circulation.
"On motion, Messrs. Eandall, Low and Kenyon were ap-
pointed a committee to confer with other railroad companies in
relation to the business of this organization.
"On motion of Mr. Eandall, the convention requested the
Legislature of the State to enact a law enabhng the towns on
the route to raise funds upon bonds or otherwise, to aid in the
construction of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad,
and that a copy of these proceedings be forwarded to the
members in either House from the counties interested.
" The books were then opened for subscriptions, and several
delegates and others who were present subscribed for the stock
of the company, after which the convention adjourned."*
The location of the route — whether by the way of Pine Hill,
or through the county of Sullivan — was yet undetermined ; and
at this convention, Cornell still advocated the claims of Ron-
dout, and Messrs. Sherman and Ramsdell those of Newhurgh»
Some acerbity in discussion was displayed, and Gordon, always
the unflinching friend of the line through Delhi and our county,
commented sharply on the good faith of the adherents of the
river line. He said : " It was never intended by the Hudson
river friends of a road that it should reach Delhi ; they meant
to survey and squint around Pine Hill, Palmer Hill", Peach
Pond and Andes, and then shoot off to Moorsville — head of the
Delaware — and God knows where — and finally land in John
Brown's wilderness among the bears ! The right men had got
hold of it now — men who would not sell out to the Central, or
any other road ; an air-line can be built without reference to
intermediate location ; no dodging to hit this or that locality ;
and no right angles to strike the Hudson, or j^lease anybody, or
aid any interest. What was wanted was an independent, and
the straightest Une between the two cardinal points named,
(Oswego and New York)."
The paper read before the convention by Judge Low was
printed, extensively circulated, and eagerly read. It not only
established beyond cavil the superior advantages of the direct
route from Oswego to New Y'ork as to grades, distance and
» Xcw Yurk WurM, Di-^-ciubor 15, 1805.
684 HISTORY OF SULLTVAN OOtTNTY.
cheapnesg of constniction, as well as the importance of the local
or way-business it would secure ; but that a diversion of the line
to Kondout or Newburgh would destroy the distinctive char-
acter of the project, and crush in the bud every advantage which
was anticipated from the construction of the road. His facts
and iigui-es outweighed the golden arguments of such capitiilists
as Cornell and Ramsdell, who promised the gi-eatest amount of
material aid, but failed to show that their favorite routes were
better than the line through Sullivan. Thenceforward the Eou-
dout people expended their capital and vexation in pushing
forward their " branch" thi-oiigh the mountains of Shaudaken,
and in publishing absurd reports in regard to the work in Sullivan.
No legal organization of the company had as yet been per-
fected. True, the articles of incorporation had been formally
drawn iip and subscribed ; but they had not been filed with the
Secretary of State, and the ten per cent, of the amount of sub-
scriptions, required by law to be paid in in cash, had not been
raised. The convention separated, and the dii'ectors returned
to their towns to supply this need.
On the evening of Tuesday, December 26th, a spirited and
enthusiastic meeting assembled at the court-hoiise in Monticello,
of which Austin Strong was chairman and Thomas Crary secre-
tary. Stirring addresses were made by Jolm H. Divine and
others, and a committee appointed to apportion among the sev-
eral towns the amounts of stock necessary to be taken to secure
and complete the organization of the new company. The ap-
poi-tionment was as follows: Thompson, S18,000; Fallsburgh,
$12,000; Liberty, S12,000 ; Rockland, $6,000 ; Neversink, $4,000 ;
Bethel, $5,000; Forestburgh, $2,000; Mamakating, $2,000;
Callicoon, $2,000. Committees were appointed to secure these
subscriptions, collect the ten per cent., and pay it to Edward
Palen, who was to be ready with our quota at a meeting of the
directors in Albany, on the 10th of January, 1866.
At this meeting in Albany, the details of organization were
carefully carried out, and Dewitt C. Littlejohn was thereupon
unanimously chosen president of the company. This selection
was auspicioiis for the new enterprise. Long one of the leading
men of the State — for successive terms Sjieaker of the Assembly,
and familiar with the details of legislation — of pohshed and
winning address — with wonderful readiness and skill in debate
— with a capacity for continuous labor and despatch of business,
and a comprehensive business-knowledge and experience, he
was able to guide the company through the financial struggles
and embarrassments which were to surround its future.
"And now that the Company has been incorporated and has
chosen its President, let us look at what its organizers proposed
to do, and at their means in hand. They are to build four hun-
NEW YORK AND OSWEGO MIDI^UO) BAILROAD. 685
dred miles of railroad across the States of Now York and New
Jersey — to cut through hills, cross valleys, bridge rivers, tunnel
mountains, and lay down forty thousand tons of iron rails.
Surely they have adequate means at their disposal? "Give me
where to stand," said Archimedes, " and I will move the world."
The gift was not bestowed, and therefore the order of Piovidence
was not disturbed. The president and directors, with apparent
Archimedean h(3pelessness, were seeking "where to stand."
Forty millions of dollars were needed to complete their work,
and their sum total of money was not as many thousands! It
is mild to say, that they were rushing in where archangels of
finance would have feared to tread. A standing-place must be
found, or the work would end in failure, and be remembered as
a prematurely exploded bubble.
Mr. Littlejohn was then a Member of Assembly and Judge
Low a Senator. They were authorized by the board of directors
to devise a plan of operations, and procure needed legislation.
A bill which was afterwards known as the "town-bonding
law," was prepared by Senator Low, and introduced at an early
day. It provided for the apportionment, on application of
twelve or more freeholders, of three commissioners for each
town to be traversed by the new road, who were authorized, on
obtaining the written consent of tax-payers who were assessed
for a majority of the taxable property of such town, to issue its
bonds to an amount to be specified, and not to exceed thirty
per cent, of the assessed value of the property of the town, and
to dispose of them at not less than par, and invest the proceeds
in the stock of the New York and Oswego Midland Eailroad
Company — the money, thus realized to the company, to be used
in the construction of the road, and for no other purpose. The
bill also provided for the exemption fi'om taxation for ten years
of the property of the company.
It is not to be supposed that such important legislation and
such privileges were to be gi-anted without opposition. The
bill was bitterly contested at every stage of its progress. It was
urged that it proposed to confer extraordinary powers and
privileges ; that the policy of permitting localities to burden
themselves with taxation for such enterprises was novel and
dangerous ; and that it was unjust to other companies to ex-
empt from taxation the property of this corporation.
T The influence of rich and powerful raih-oad companies, so po-
tent in our halls of legislation, was arrayed against the proposed
measure, and it was only after great strife, untiring persever-
ance and eue)'g3% ^vith unceasing vigilance, that the fiiends of
the bill, by a bare majority, secured its passage, and it became
a law on the 5th of April, ll-iGO. Its huportance to the under-
taking cannot be over-estimated. It secured the needed ful-
bob HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTT.
criTm, and tlie world -was now to be moved — literally /o ?j^ moved
— for the new law merely gave the towns authority to bond;
the promoters of the project had yet to persuade them to do so.
The field of active operations was then transferred from the
Legislature to the towns to be traversed by the Midland road.
The proper information was collected fi-om the various assess-
ment-rolls— apportionments made of their quota to the respect-
ive towns and villages, and measures set on foot for an active
canvass of the Midland counties from Oswego to the State line
of New Jersey.
The amounts for which it was proposed to ask the towns to
bond were as follows :
City of Oswego,
Village Norwich,
" De Ruyter,
" Oneida,
Town Volney,
■' Hastings,
" West Monroe,
" Constautia,
" Scriba,
" Vienna,
" Stockbridge,
" Eaton,
" Lebanon,
" Smyrna,
" North Norwich
" Norwich,
" Oxford,
" Guilford,
" McDonough,
" Pharsalia,
" New Berlin,
" Brewton,
" Columbus,
" Edmonton,
$600,000
75,000
20,000
40,000
300,000
80,000
40,000
87,500
20,000
68,500
143,000
150,000
125,000
120,000
100,000
371,600
200,000
180,000
20,000
25,000
150,000
20,000
40,000
40,000
To^
Pittsfield,
Sidnev, ■
Walton,
Hamden,
Delhi,
Liberty,
Eockland,
Mamakating,
FaUsburgh,
Wawarsing,
Wallkill,
Plymouth,
Otselic,
Lincklaen,
DeEuyter,
Minisink,
Cuyler,
Buxton,
Hancock,
Lansing,
Genoa,
Venice,
Scipio,
40,000
50,000
165,000
100,000
250,000
108,500
34,200
175,000
99,500
250,000
300,000
100,000
83,700
20,000
102,300
75,000
64,000
124,000
100,000
100,000
75,000
75,000
100,000
Total, $5,606,6
Public meetings and discussions were held from one end of
the line to the other, and railway information was diffused
through every school-district fiom Oswego to Middletown. The
powerful iniluence of the local press, almost without an excep-
tion, was enlisted in behalf of tlie project. The benefits to ac-
crue from the building of the road were depicted, and arguments
of such force brought to bear on the minds of the tax-payers.
NEW YORK AND OSWEGO MIDL^IND EAILEOAD. 687
that within a few months from the passage of tlie law, every
town excei^t Colchester determined to avail itself of the
provisions of the law. Town-bonds amounting to $5,606,800
were thus placed in the hands of the town-commissioners.
During the summer, of 1866, preliminary surve^-s were made
along the entire line ; but the final location was not definitely
determined.
To secure the several towns against a diversion of their con-
tributions, a provision had been inserted in the bonding-law,
that the proceeds fi-om no portion of the bonds of a town should
be expended outside of the county in which it was situated, until
at least ten thousand dollars had been paid for each mile of
road within such county.
The bonds were still in the hands of the towns, and capital-
ists and moneyed men were holding large amounts of Govern-
ment-securities iipon which no income-tax was assessed. It
was foreseen that, without tlie aid of additional legislation, it
would be diificult to convert these town-bonds into cash without
loss. The company was not yet ready to commence the work
of actual construction, and wisely determined to defer the effort
to convert its securities until it should be seen whether further
advantages could not be secured through law. i
A provision to exempt from taxation the town-bonds, to be
issued in aid of the road, had been prepared by Senator Low in,
his original bill, and reported favorably from the raih'oa,d-com-
mittee of the Senate ; but such a storm was raised in committee
of the whole, that its fi'iends were forced to allow this provis-
ion to be thrown overboard, lest the whole bill should founder.
The effort to secure this desired exemption was renewed during
the session of 1866-7, and on the 15th of May, 1867, a law was
passed exempting the bonds from taxation for county, town or
municipal pur{X)ses, while in the hands of corporations of, or
persons resident in any county along the road, and authorizing
the banks of the State to invest in them. The town-commis-
sioners were also authorized by this act to excliawje their bonds
for the stock of the company at par. The power to negotiate
the bonds being thus given to the company, they were mostly
placed, during tlie succeeding year, through the a|?ency of its
able and experienced treasiirer and financial manager, Walter
M. Conkey, of Norwich, in the hands of investors of the Midland
counties, so as to net the company their par value. It is be-
lieved that a negotiation of equal magnitude and success cannot
be instanced in the history of any other railway-entei-prise.
In the beginning of 1868, the Midland company, after more
than two years of comprehensive and persistent labor ; of " har-
monious counsel in the management, and cordial support and
assistance from the commissioners and stockholders," stood
U«S mSTORY OF SULIJV'AN COLTJTY.
fairly upon its feet. Besides its resom-ces from town-bonds, a
considerable amoiiutof personal subscriptions had been secured ;
and with over six millions of dollars at command, the directors
looked liopefiilly forward to the day — not far distant — when tliey
might wisely put the road under contract, and enter upon its
actual construction. Final surveys having been made, and the
road located on the Northern Division from Oswego to Sidney
Plains, the contracts for that work were accordingly awarded
on the 2d day of June, 1868.
On the 2ist day of June, 1868, at Norwich, in Chenango
coiinty, amid public rejoicings, and the fii-ing of cannon, earth
was first broken, and from September following the work went
■vigorously forward.
At a meeting of the Board, held at Oswego, in July, 1868,
the location of the line was fixed as far north as Centerville, and
in November following to Liberty.
Other portions of the line were placed under contract as fol-
lows : New Berlin Branch, September 7th, 1868 ; Middletown to
Centerville, September 28th, 1868 ; Ellenville Branch, September
28th, 1868; Shawangunk Tunnel, October 1st, 1868; Delhi
Branch, February 3d, 1869; CenterviUe to Westfield Flats,
February ^d, 1869 ; Norwich to De Euj-ter (Auburn Branch),
June 4th, 1869; Sidney to Walton, September 10th, 1869; Do
Kuyter to Truxton (Auburn Branch), July 21st, 1870; and act-
ual construction speedily followed.
The contract for the making of tke Shawangunk tunnel was
awarded to Stephens, Bennet & Co., of Oneida. Work upon
the approaches was begun in November of 1868. The heacling
of the tunnel proper was not reached on the east side until the
15th of I'ebruary following; and at the west end, owing to
the unfavorable character of the quicksand encountered, it was
the middle of the following summer before the same advanca
had been attained. "Nothing conected with the enterprise,"
says President Littlejohn in his report of 1871, to the stock-
holders of the company, " has been so persistently used by our
opponents to discourage subscriptions and throw discredit on
the management as this tunnel."
jThere were many people at Monticello who naturally desired
that the road should pass tlirough that place ; or, if it failed to
do so, that it should follow down the Neversink river by way of
Bridgeville to Port Jervis. Considerations of cost, grade, cfi-
rectiou and subscriptions determined the selection of the Hne
by the way of the Saudbuigh and the Shawangunk tunnel to
Middletown. This led to diKsatisfaction, defection and hostility
on the part of some of the residents of Tliompson, Forestburgh
and Deerpark. Tlie inhabitants of Monticello believed that the
location of tiie road would result in disaster to their beautiful
NEW YORK AND OSWEGO MEftLAND KAIiKOAD. 589
village, unless they secured the construction of a railway from
that place to Port Jervis. This led to the organization of the
Monticello and Port Jervis Company. They had no expectation
of making the latter a rival of the Midland ; but, believing that
the latter would not be completed in many years, they hoped,
by promptly connecting Monticello with the Erie Railway, to
make it a center of travel and traffic for a time, and thus give
it an impetus which would avert the consequences which other-
wise would result to Montictllo from the location of the Mid-
land. It is not our purpose to discuss the wisdom of their
conduct, or to consider here the strife and litigation which fol-
lowed; but it is not foreign to our purpose to say that srme
converted the Shawangunk tunnel into a bug-bear. The tunnel
could never be completed — the resources of the company would
be exhausted before the gi-eat bore was fairly begun — the di-
rectors were making merely a pretense of progress — scarcely
more than a dozen man were employed — and after more than
six months of boasted blasting and boring, the woi-k was visited
by a party of scientific gentlemen, who reported that they had
found a hole in the mountain of not to exceed six feet !
Considering the interests at stake, the stupendous magnitude
of the undertaking, and the imperfections which are inseparable
from humanity, the exaggerations and distrust which w^ere ex-
hibited were natural.
A passage-way twenty-two feet wide and twenty-two feet in
height was to be hewn for nearly five thousand feet through the
solid rock. Two million cubic feet of rock was to be dislodged
from its primeval bed, and carried forth from the bowels of thei
mountain. Making no account for interruption from cases not
to be foreseen, it would require one thousand days to complete
the work.
The tunnel went steadily forward. Far from the sunlidit
and from the din and turmoil of unceasing travel overhead —
through the night-watches and the glaring day, which were
alike to the smeared and giimy toilers by the lamp — the drill
and the blast were ceaselessly and with tireless pace approach-
ing the heart of the mountain from either side, and remorse-
lessly carrying forward the great work to its consummation.
The work for the tunnel was laid out under the supervision
of Anth.my Jones, an accurate and careful engineer who is now
employed by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. As the
work progressed simultaneously on both sides of the mountain,
it was a matter of some moment to the reputation of Mr. Jones,
as well as to the interest of the company, that the two advancing
lines should not miss each other in the dark recesses of the
mountain, and wander on indefinitely. The difficulties — not
great in a tangent line and horizontal tunnel — were here
U
byO HISTORY OF STJIilVAS COU^TTY.
increased from the circumstance of a curve extending into the
tunnel from the east a distance of six hundred feet, and a double
incline. The ends might therefore in the dark run over and
under, and pass each other, and lead thus to infinite disap-
pointment and embarrassment. The result, however, proved
that no eiTor was made by Mr. Jones.*
Besides the Shawangunk tunnel, the Neversink tunnel, the
bridge at Liberty Falls, the trestle-work near the village of
Liberty, etc., deserve especial notice ; but the limits of our work
warn us that we have ah-eady devoted as much space as we have
to spare for the New York and Oswego Midland Eailroad. We
will therefore close this chapter with the statement, that, on the
9th of July, 1873, near Westfield Flats, the last rail was laid
and the last spike driven, by E. P. Wheeler, of Middletown, a
former vice-president of the company, amid a salvo of cannon,
music and the cheers of a mnltitude of people.
* The first thivg which passed through the tunnel was a tlrill, which James V.
Morrison secured by stratagem. As .Tmlge Low was niore identified with the " great
boro" than any other individual, lie was awarded the honor of being the first man who
traveled from one approach to the oilur. Mrs. James V. Morrison was the first lady
who performed the same I'eal.
APPENDIX.
SUBROGATES OP StJLLTVAN COUNTT.
James S. Dunning Appointed June 1, 1809
Livingston Billings " Mar. 5,1810
James S. Dunning " Feb. 5,1811
Livingston Billings " Mar. 19, 1813
James S. Dunning " Feb. 13, 1815
Peter F.Hunn " Feb. 12, 1816
Archibald C. Niven " Mar. 11, 1828
WiUiam B. Wright " Feb. 20, 1840
Eobert S. Halstead " _ Feb. 20, 1844
After 1847, the County Judge performed the duties of Surrogate.
FIRST JUDGES OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
William A. Thompson Appointed June 1, 1809
Livingston Billings " Feb. 5, 1823
Alpheus Dimmick " Feb. 3,1826
Gabriel W. Ludlum " Jan. 20, 1830
William Gillespie " July 17, 1835
James C. Curtis " Jan. 6, 1844
COUNTY JUDGES.
Alpheus Dimmick Elected
Westcott Wilkin
Henry K. Low...
WiUiam M. Ratcliii', vice Low, resigned,
Isaac Anderson "
Albert J. Bush
Timothy Bush Appointed Mar,
do do Elected
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
Lemuel Jenkins Appointed
Peter F.Hunn
Alpheus Dimmick "
Archibald C. Niven Elected
[091]
June,
1847
Nov.,
1851
Nov.,
1856
Jan.
1, 1862
Nov.,
1862
Nov.,
1866
Mar.
1872
Nov.
1872
Ifilft
1823
1836
1847
HI8TOBX OF SULLIVAN COUNTT.
W8TPJCT ATTORNEYS — CONTINUED.
Charles H. Van Wyck Elected
William J. Groo
Isaac Anderson "
John A. Thompson "
Edward H. Pinney "
Benjamin Reynolds "
Alpheus G. Potts "
.1850
.1856
.1859
.1862
.1865
.1868
.1871
COUNTY TREASUKEaa.
WSliam Brown Appointed 1809
Jesse Towner " Oct. 3, 1826
David Hammond " Nov. 16, 1832
Jesse Towner " Nov. 12, 1833
Frederick A. Devoe " Nov. 13, 1838
William E. Cady « Nov. 13, 1844
Daniel M. Angell " Nov. 11, 1845
Munson L. Bushnell " Nov. 9, 1847
James H. Foster " Dec. 14, 1848
do do Elected Nov. 1848
James Williams " Nov. 1860
BPECUL JUDGES.
Kobert L. Tillotson Elect-ed Nov. 1854
WilHam M. Ratcliflf " Nov. 1860
James Matthews* Appointed Nov. 18, 1862
John G. Childs Electa Nov. 1862
James Matthews Appointed Jan. 1863
John G. Childs Elected Nov. 1863
E. H. Pinney " Nov. 1869
STATE SENATORS.
Under our second State constituti»:>n, the following citizens
of Sulhvan were members of the Senate :
John P. Jones, of Monticello, from 1835 to 1838;
Harvey R. Monis, of Wurtsborough, in 1847.
And under the tlrird constitution the following :
James C. Curtis, of Cochecton, in 1850 and 1851 ;
John D. Watkins. of Liberty, in 18.54 and 1855;
Osmer B. Wheeler, of Forestburgh, in 1858 and 1859;
Robert Y. Grant, of Liberty, in 1860 and 1861 ;
' Vice Batcliff, resigned.
BTATE 8ENAT0ES — CONTINUED.
Henry R Low, of Montioello, in 1862 and 1863 ;
Archibald C. Niven, of MonficeUo, in 1864 and 1865,
■whose seat was contested by Henry R. Low, to whom it was
awarded January 17, 1865.
Henry K'Low, of Montioello, in 1866 and 1867.
MEMBEH3 OP ASSEMBLY.
Previous to the adoption of our second State constitution,
Ulster and Sullivan formed one election-disti-ict, and elected
each year several Members. In the following list we publish
the names of Assemblymen who resided in our territory only :
From To
1802 Einathan Sears, of Mamakating 1804
1805 Henry Reynolds, of Neversink , 1806
1806 Einathan Sears, of Mamakating 1807
1807 John Gonkhn, of Lumberland 1808
1810 do of Bethel 1812
1812 Einathan Sears, of Mamakating 1814
1814 Daniel Clark, of Thompson 1815
1815 Darius Martin, of Liberty 1816
1816 Wilham Parks, of Neversink 1817
1817 John CouMin, of Bethel 1818
1818 Samuel Smith, of Mamakating (?) 1819
1819 Daniel Clark, of Thompson 1820
1821 Wilham Gillespie, of Bethel 1822
1822 William A. Stokes, of Thompson 1823
1823 John Lindsley, of Bethel 1824
1824 Peter Miller, of Mamakating 1825
1825 John Hall, jr., of Neversink 1826
1826 Thomas Crary, of Liberty 1827
1827 Hiram Bennett, of Thompson 1828
1828 Alpheus Dimmick, of Mamakatiug 1829
1829 John Lindsley, of Bethel 1830
1830 Herman M. Hardenbergh, of Fallsburgh* 1830
1831 James C. Curtis, of Cochecton 1832
1832 Hiram Bennett, of Thompson 1833
1833 James C. Curtis, of Cochecton 1834
1834 Anthony Hasbrouck, of Fallsburgh 1835
1835 James Eldred, of Lumberland 1836
1836 Samuel G. Dimmick, of Mamakating 1837
1837 George S. Joscelyn, of Rockland 1838
1838 John H. Bowers, of Thompson 1839
• Died during session of 1830.
b»4 HISTORY OF SULUTAN C0UNT7.
HEJIBERS Of ASSEMBLY — CONTINUED.
Prom * To
1839 William F. Biodliead, of Forestburgh 1840
1840 Daniel B. St. Jolm, of Thompson 1841
1841 AVilliam F. Brodhcad, of Forestbuigli 1842
1842 ilattliew Brown, of Bethel 1843
1843 Jonathan Stiatton, of Thompson 1844
1844 Amos Y. Grant,- of Neversink 1845
lS4o Harvey R. Morris, of Mamakating 184G
184fi Eichard Oliver, of Fallsburgh 1847
. 1847 William B. Wright, of Thompson-- 1847
1848 James F. Bush, of Liberty 1851
1851 Jonathan Stratton, of Thompson 1852
185-2 Elisha P. Strong, of Fallsburgh 1853
1853 James K. Gardner, of Highland 1854
1854 Amos Y. Sheelev, of Rockland 1855
1855 WiUiam H. Bucklev, of Liberty 1857
1857 David B. Luckev, of Mamakating 1858
1858 Asa Hodge, of Neversink 1850
1859 Gideon E. Bushnell, of Neversink 1860
r860 Abram W. Decker, of Lumberland 1861
1861 S. St. J. Gartbier, of Highland 1862
1862 Benjamin L. Ludingtou, of Thompson 1863
1863 William Gillespie, jr., of Bethel 1864
1864 James Matthews, of Thompson 1866
1866 Alfred J. Baldwin, of Thompson 1867
1867 David G. Starr,t of Thompson 1869
1869 J. L. Lamoree, of Neversink 1870
1870 Frank Buckley, of Fremont 1872
1872 George M. Beebe, of Thompson 1873
SHERIFFS OF SULLIVAX COUNTY.
Uriah Lockwood .-qipoiuted -June 1, 1809
John Roosa " . Mar. 5, 1810
Uriah Lockwood " Feb. 5, 1811
John Roosa " Mar. 19, 1813
David Hammond " Mar. 6, 1815
Elnathan Sears " Mar. 2, 1819
Mahar W. Horton " Feb. 14, 1821
do do Elected Nov. 1822
David Hammond " Nov. 1825
Richard D. Childs " Nov. 1828
Mahar W. Horton " Nov. 1831
» R.-signeil iu July, 1S47.
t Elected December 18, 180C, to fill vacnncy of Kalchvin, defeased.
APPENDIX,
SHEKIFFS OF SUIJJVAN COrKTV — CONTINUED.
Joseph Grant
JoImG. Chilcls.,
Folix Kelley . .
William Gumaer
No<il Beusdn
Jjunos S. Wells
JohuC.HoUey
Ares B. Leroy
William H. Curtis. . . .
Benjamin W. Winner.
Clark Eaton
Benjamin W. Winner.
James D. Decker
Benjamin W. Winner.
Nov.
1834
Nov.
18:!7
Nov.
1840
Nov.
18.1 :;
Nov.
1846
Nov.
184'.>
Nov.
1852
Nov.
18;35
Nov.
18.58
Nov.
18<31
Nov.
1864
Nov.
1867
Nov.
1870
Nov.
187.5
COUNTY CLERKS OF SUIXFVAN.
John P. Jones Appointed June 1, 1809
David Reed " Mar. 5,1810
John P. Jones " Feb. 5,1811
David Reed " Mar. 19, 1813
John P. Jones " Feb. 13, 1815
do do , Elected Nov. 1822
Jamee Lockwood " Nov. 1825
Amos Holmes " Nov. 1828
Jesse M. Foster " Nov. 1631
William E. Cady " Nov. 1834
Darius Martin ." " Nov. 1837
Hervy W. Howell " Nov. 1840
do do " Nov. 1843
Matthew Decker " Nov. 1846
Gad Wales " Nov. 1849
Philander Waring* " Nov. 1852
William J. Groo Appointed to fill vacancy
James L. Stewart Elected Nov. 1854
William Hill
John D. O'Neill
Henry R. Osborn
Charles L. Morris
Friend W. Johnston
do do
Nov. 1857
Nov. 1860
Nov. 1863
Nov. 1866
Nov. 1869
Nov. 1872
696 HI8T0RY OP SULLIVAN CODNTT.
BEPBESENTATTVES IN CONGRESS.
Until 1812, Ulster, Greene and Sullivan composed the 5th
Congressional district ; from 1812 to 1842 Sullivan and Ulster
■were the 7th ; from 1842 to 1851, Orange and Sullivan were the
9th; from 1851 to 1861, the 10th; and from 1861 the 11th
district. The following residents of this county have been
members of the lower House of Congress :
From To
Samuel E. Betts, Bloomingburgh 1815 . .
Lemuel Jeukias, do 1823 . .
George O. Belden, Monticello 1827 . .
Charles BocUe, Bloomingburgh 1833 . .
Bufus Palen, Fallsburgh 1839. .
Archibald C. Niven, Monticello 1845 . .
Daniel B. St. John, do 1847..
Charles H. Van Wyck, Bloomingburgh 1859 . .
do do do 1867..
.1817
.1825
.1829
.1835
.1841
.1847.
.1849
.1863
.1871
CHAIRMEN OP THE BOARD OP SUPEBVISOKS.
From To
1809 David Milliken, Mamakating 1810
1810 John Conklin, Bethel 1817
1817 Darius Maiiin, Liberty 1819
1819 John Lindslev, Bethel 1829
1829 Herman M. Hardenbergh, Fallsburgh 1830
1830 Josiah C. Hook, Bethel 1835
1835 James C. Curtis, Cochecton 1843
1843 Joseph Young, Liberty 1844
1844 Matthew Brown, Bethel 1845
1845 Charles S. Woodward, Lumberlaud 1846
1846 James F. Bush, Libertv 1847
1847 Charles S. Woodward, Lumberland 1850
1850 George G. DeWitt, Callicoon 1851
1851 Reuben Fraser, Bethel 1853
1853 Charles S. Woodward, Lumberlaud and Tusten .1855
1855 Aaron Fraser, Callicoon 1856
1856 Osmer B. Wheeler, Forestburgh 1857
1857 John R. Kilbourne, Liberty 1858
1858 Daniel M. Brodhead, Bethel 1859
1859 Robert Y. Grant, Liberty 1860
1860 Nathan C. Clark, Neversink 1861
1861 James D. Decker, Lumberland 1862
1862 John C. Holley, Thompson 1864
1864 BilUngs Grant, Liberty 1865
CHAIKMEN OP THE BOARD OF 8UPERVIS0KS — CONTINUED
Prom To
1865 James D. Decter, Lumberland 1871
1871 H. M. Edsall, Mamakating 1872
1872 George E. Kaapp, Cochecton 1873
CLERKS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
Fi-om To
1809 Livingston Billings, Thompson 1824
1824 PeterF. Hunn, do 1828
1828 Darius Martin, Liberty 1832
1832 Peter F. Hiinn, Thompson ; 1835
1835 Seth W. Brownson, Thompson 1837
1837 John F. Avery, Cochecton 1839
1839 Billings Grant, Liberty 1841
1841 Henry Martin, do 1843
1843 Bilhngs Grant, do 1844
1844 Hh-am Dales, Tliompsou 1845
1845 William B. Wright, Thompson 1846
1846 Jonathan 0. Dunning, Mamakating 1847
1847 Reuben Fraser, Bethel 1848
1848 James T. Martin, Liberty 1849
1849 James E. Quinlan, Thompson 1852
1852 Heroy W. Howell, do 1853
1853 Billings Grant, Liberty 1855
1855 A. Grant Childs, Neversink 1856
1856 Melviu S. Wells, Thompson 1857
1857 William M. EatcHff, Liberty 1858
1858 Benjamin L. Ludington, Thompson 1859
1859 Stephen C. Agnew, do 1862
1862 David G. Starr, do 1867
1867 William B. Niven, do 1871
1871 J. M. Maybee, do 1872
1872 Charles Ennis, Mamakating 1873
MISCELLANEOUS.
1820, David Hammond, of Monticello, wa-s a Presidential Elector ;
1824, Samuel Smith, of Bloomingburgh, do
1828, John E. Russell, of Monticello, do
1856, John P. Jones, do do
1820, Daniel Clark, of Thompson, was a member of the Oostitu-
tional Convention ;
1846, William B. Wright, of Thompson, do do do
1 ftfi? I ^- ^- ^- Ludington, do do do do
^ ' ) Gideon Wales, of Cochecton, do do do
1844, Archibald C. Niven, of Monticello, Adjutant-general.
698 HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY.
MISCELLANEOUS — CONTINUED.
1843, Thornton M. Niven, of Bloomiiigburgh, was State Prison
Inspector.
1848, Alfred B. Street, of Montioello, State Librarian.
1851, Daniel B. St. .John, do Superintendent of the
Banking Department.
1847, William B. Wright, of Montioello, Justice of the Supreme
Court.
County 8ui>EEiNTE>rDENTS of Schools. — John W. Myers, of
Monticello ; John D. Watkins, of Liberty ; Chauncey M. Law-
rence, of Grahams\ille.
School Commissioner,s. — A. Grant Childs, Eichai-d L. Divine,
Hiram B. Eller, Edwin Darljoe, Benjamin Reynolds, Albert
Stage, Reuben K. Scudder, Charles Barnum, Isaac Jelliff.
T.<.NNERS AND T.VNNING.
Pounds of sole-leather mannfactiu'ed in Sullivan county during
the year ending June 30, 1805 ; its value, and tlie amount of
United States tax paid on it.
Names. Poiinda. Value. Tax.
Wales, Gad, & Co., 225,815 $G7,793 $3,598.25
Wheeler, O. B., 121,711 42,437 2,324.43
Gilman, W., 246,2,52 63,730 3,379.54
Wales, Gideon, 303,938 97,896 5,063.94
Hammond, S., & Son 826,280 279,778 14,545.00
Morss, Medad, 324,866 102,699 5,346.81
341,239 100,453 5,257.78
206,849 66,370 3,442.88
Miles A: Miles, 88,527 27,784 1,389.20
Clark, E. A., & Co., 600,051 243,461 12,366.60
Hortoii, Kiianp & Co., 247,309 74,811 3,808.43
Babcock, L. ]].. 184,329 62,517 3,238.52
Bucklev & Liipham, 207,795 75,572 3,633.32
Buckle^, B. P., A- Son, 312,292 80,637 4,212.93
Utter .i: Palon, 161,212 54,806 2,865.06
Babcock, A. E, 149,367 57,987 2,941.55
Inderlied, E. J., .t Co.. 107,584 31,469 2,699.30
Horton, Cleviu-uts ct Co., 286,303 71,490 4,300.27
Cochi-an.' A' Apploy, 100,058 29,372 1,508.09
Hoyt Brotlici^s, ' 265,653 92,688 4,897.87
Inderhed, H.'nrv, 12,413 3,238 193.63
Young & Crary," 146,665 47,528 2,704.52
Palens & Elagler, 40i,757 149,138 8,596.88
APPENDIX.
TANNERS AMD TA.NNBBIES — CONTINUED.
Karnes.
Pounds.
Value.
Tax.
Snyder & Buslmell,
Palen & Co.,
326,792
$94,431
$4,569.12
373,299
112,422
5,853.65
Castle, Philip A.,
87,654
41,508
2,072.44
Gildereleeve, J. & N.,
103,198
32,961
1,649.60
Stevens, D. T.,
157,979
42,810
2,299.92
Johnston, John,
74,196
22,530
1,096.53
Hammond, Stoddard,
199,082
65,265
3,350.49
Grant, 0. B.,
189,190
31,877
3,032.45
Dutoher & Decker,
110,929
36,266
1,901.85
W. Kiersted & Co.,
513,405
161,104
8,271.06
Fobes, Edwin,
192,147
59,504
3,052.51
Snyder, John 11,
25,597
14,220
773.60
Kuykendall <fe Knapp,
61,511
27,079
1,369.73
Demiiston, G. W.,
68,411
28,310
1,659.89
Bowers & Morris,
6,914
3,107
170.41
Dietz, G. F.,
29,879
8,567,872
11,346
$2,609,289
599.91
Total,
$142,893.92
OONCLXJSION OP THIS VOLUME.
The printer of this volume is so well pleased with its contents,
that he has asked us to supplement it with a work to be
entitled "Addenda to the History of Sullivan County."
We have already prepared about two hundred manuscript pages
for the new volume, and have material for about fifty more. In
these pages the following subjects are considered :
"Patented Lands of SuUivati," embracing an account of
Captain John Evans and his lordship and manor of Fletcherdon ;
the Indian Deeds and Eoyal Patents for the Minisink and
Hardenbergh patents; the Partition of 1749, etc., with sketches
of Robert Livingston and other large landholders, etc.
"The Newburgh and Cochedon Turnpike" Organization of
the company ; construction of the road ; anecdotes of prominent
individuals connected with the work ; staging, etc.
"Slaves ami Slave-oumers of Sullivan," with several amusing
accounts of Africans who were held in bondage in our county,
(among others, of the manner in which Samuel F. Jones plowed
a newly cleared lot in Monticello, with a spiked team, composed
of a negro and a yoke of oxen).
700 mSTORt OP SULLIVAN OOUNTT.
" Neverstnk Navigation Company .•" A history of the efforts of
Otto William Van Tuyl and others to render the Nevei-sink
na\'igable from 1816 to 1830; proving that a golden egg may
contain a very inferior chicken.
" The Newspapers of Sullivan," from the establishment of the
Sidlivan Whig, in Bloomingburgh, in December, 1820, to the
present time.
"Ba/ting:" The lumbermen of the Delaware and its tribu-
taries ; great floods, etc.
"A History of the Temperance Reform in Sullivan," with a
circumstantial account of the rise and fall of total abstinence.
" Hunting Adventures of William Woodard, David, &nd James
Overton, Peter Steicart, Joshua P. Kinch and their Companions,"
(a very amusing chapter).
For this new volume, we solicit fi-om any and every one in-
formation similar to that which is found between the covers of
this book. If the reader believes that we have thus far omitted
important facts, he will confer a favor by writing for us a full
statement of what is lacking, and forwarding it to us by mail or
otherwise. The material thus furnished will not be lost; for, if
from any cause we should not consummate our present design,
we will cause our new material to be placed iu the hands of
.another and perhaps better historian.
The End.
A, B. Dllllli®«
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL
SeeisELLEi i iTimoREi.f
General Agent for the best No-w "Vork and Boston
PIANOS, ORGANS AND MELODEONS.
i2 .o
W
Guitars, Violins, Concertinas, Accordeons, German and
French Flutinas, Flutes, Fifes, &c. Violin Strings,
Best quality. A variety of Piano
Stools and Covers.
Instruction Hooks for nil Musical Instruments.
A lar^e Assortment of Sb.eet Music.
I employ a competent man to Tune and Repair Pianos, Organs, Me-
lodeons, Accordeons, &c., by the year. I will send him to any part of
Orange, Sullivan, Ulster or Sussex Counties on application. Charges
moderate, I think he will suit you.
A. B. DEMING,
NO. 6 NORTH ST., MIDDLETOWN.
Opposite Erie Railroad Depot,
stages Connect with all Trains.
Special attention paid to Commercial Trarelers. Also, a neat iampl*
room has been fitted up for Agents.
W. T. MORGANS & CO.,
STEAM POWER
BOOK, NEWSPAPER AND JOB PRINTERS,
Stereotypers & Stationers,
LIBBHTY, STTIili. CO., NJY",
Is published every Friday morning, is an eight-column paper,
contains all the home and local items of interest and the gen-
eral news of the day up to Thursday afternoon. Is within the
reach of every family in the county, the subscription price being
only Sl.'iO per year in advance. Although independent and un-
biased bv any political organization our columns are open to
political discussion, pro and c-on. As a local sheet, we intend to
make the Register par excellence the paper of the county, and
no pains will be spared to further this end. In the matter of
General News we intend the columns of the paper shall be fresh
and contain a complete compendium up to the latest moment of
going to press. In fact in all matters interesting to our patrons,
the Register will be the Progressive Paper of the county, and
one in which the welfare of our people will be its first aim and
object.
Have befln ^reattv iner<iiv'iert, anl without boasting, we may now clatm one ot the
finest and best eqnippe-l offices on the linn of the lli'Uand. Steam Power, fast and
first class Presses, ani imnroverl Labor-Savii?; Machinery of varions kinds, enable na
to compete sncressfullv with the b"st aoinintel o Bees in the conntry. B sin? fully
prepared to do Book Work, we make this one of our specialties, and furnish estimatog
»nd do the work at figures that defy ci-npetition. Havinp; added in connection with
onr other improvements, a Stereotype Foundry, we have all the advantas:eB on large
jobfl and can make our fienrcs accordincrlv, while throus;h our trade as stationers we
gecnre the verv Lowest Prices for our customers on all stock used, and are at all times
prepared to furnish work at the verv shortest notice. .\8 horetoforo the interests of
onr customers are alwavs considered, and orders by mail will receive as strict atten-
tion and will in all cases be done ill a first-class manner, and at as close figures as if
ordered in person. Posters and Letter-Press Printing of every description in German
or Enelish, attended to as usual, and the reputation the office has already attained,
for good work, guarantees to onr patrons that, with our increased facilities, we will
not be outdone. Thankful for past patronage we hope by strict business integrity to
merit % continuance of the confidence of the public.
MANITPACTURES
Sash, BlliUs, Soors ail MoslHis^s.
Having fitted up tha shop with the necessary lathes, planes, and machinery of
every description, I am prepared to fill all orders in this branch of the business.
Scroll and Straight Sawing. Turning, &c.
DONE AT THE SHORTEST NOTICE.
Flooring and ceiling planed and matched at reasunabln rates, and material
furnished when desired. I shall as heretofore continue
CARPENTERING AND BUILDING,
I
and will give my especial attention to those requiring
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS, PLANS
AND SPECIFICATIONS.
Contracts taken, and buildings finished complete from cellar to garret. In fact,
work in
I am prapared to execute at the most reasonable rates, and In the very best manner.
J. J. CLASIER, Liberty, N. Y.
C. EMMET CRAWFORD,
(Successor to IHRAM BRINK,)
DEALER IN ALL KINDS OF
FURNITURE, WALL PAPER,
F^HIiOH <& BEISHOOM SSTS
OF THE LATEST STYLE.
ALL STYLES.
BED LOUNGES A SPECIALTY.
^5£s, All Goods DeUrered at the Old Stand of H. Brink,
No. 46 NORTH ST,
Opposite Empire Block MiDDLETOWN, N. Y>
Dealers in Every Description of
FOREIGN & DOMESTIC HAROWARE,
CUTLERY, BUILDERS' & HOUSEKEEPERS' GOODS,
COOK AND PAH,L.OE. STOVES
Of the Latest and Most Approivd J'atterns in the Market
alu-aj/s on hand, and at low prires. Call and Seetis.
SIGN "OLD FOUNDRY BUILDING,"
MIDDLETOWN, ORANGE CO., N. Y.
GILDERSLEEYE & BEIDGES,
DEALERS IN
DRY GOODS & GROCERIES,
BOOTS & SHOES, HATS & CAPS,
CKOCKERy, GLASSWARE. PROVISIONS, &c.
With "Oue Price" as our Motto, and a strict attention to businpss, we are resolveii to merit
the confidence of our patrons. Ai QILDKRSLEF.VE j
Liberty, N. T. .J. BRIDGES. j
PKACTICAL ■*
Carpenter & Builder^
LIBERTY, N. Y.
Plana and Specifications furnisbed and Contracts talvcn for buildings of
every description. All materials furnished when desired.
J. 0. DE GROFF,
CONTRACTOR
CARPENTER MD BUILDER,
ALSO MANUFAOTUIIER AND DEALER IN
HARDWOOD, HEMLOCK, PINE AND
BASSWOOD LUMBER
of every description. Cariwntcr work done in the very best manner, and at reasonable
rates. Special attention given to
of every description. All matcriuU furnished and buildings finished oomplBtc when
desired.
Liberty, Sull. Co., N. Y. J. O. DE GEOFF.
CASKET,
ft lAltt
67 Pike Street, Port Jervis, N. Y.
ALSO DEALER IN
CLOTHS, CASSIMERE8 AND VESTINQ8. GENTS' FDRNISHINa
GOODS, &c. CUTTING DONE AT SHORT NOTICE.
^LIBERTY, N. Y.,
AND
«SP Every description of common and costly furniture, bed-room and parlor gets,
etc., constantly kept in stock or furnished at the shortest notice.
SS" Special attention given to undertaking. Caskets, cases, and burial robes pro-
vided of every description and in'tho best taste.
An honest and fair com])ensation is all that is demanded.
Sullivan
County
Hardware
Store.
1
<t^
\
""h
tit
\
rv
It3s
SSI
^\^
J
F^fcL
so--
•Log
-^
^^B
1
i^S!^
C 1 O
^^M
i
i^^^
• r
A general
stock of Amer
ican and Imported Hardwi
ire, AErioultural Implements, BuildiTB"
Hardware
:. Mec-hanics' T.mla, House
Steel, NiilB, Horseshoes,
Kurnishing Goods, Iron,
Horse Nails,
BUCKEYE MOWING MACHINE,
MODERN VULCAN, ARCAND BASE BURNER,
NOVELTY PARLOR OVEN,
kll of wbicb have the Clinkerletis Gratr* Thankful for large and ii-reaeing patronage, the
undereitibed will still keep prices ten to twenty per cent, lower than
any houne in the county. Ail goods as represented.
aOHN i<^ XYaiEsoisr.
REPUBLICAN WATCHMAN.
ESTABLISHED 1821.
The oldest, largest and most widely circulated
- Journal in Sullivan County. Published
at Monticello, Sullivan
County, N.Y.
$2.00 a Year in Advance.
ADVERTISING KATES t-One inch space 1 week, $1.00 ; 2 weeks, tl.5C ;
1 month, $2.50 ; 3 months, $1.00 ; 6 moathB, $5.00 ; 1 year, $8.00. Two inches I week,
$1.50 ; 2 weeks, $2.25 ; 1 month, $3.50 ; 3 months, $5.50 ; 6 months, $8.00 ; 1 year,
$12.00. Quarter cohimn 1 week, $5.00 ; 1 month, $8.00 ; 3 months, $12.00 ; 6 months,
$16.00 : 1 year, $25.00. Half column 1 week, $7.00 ; 1 month, $12.00 ; 3 months, $16.00 ;
6 months, $25.00; 1 year, $45.00. One column 1 week, $12.00; 1 month, $18.00;
3 months, $27.00 ; 6 months, $50.00 ; 1 year, $90.00. Legal notices at the rates estab-
lished by law.
Publication Day, Friday of each Week.
GEORGE M. BEEBE, Proprietor.
lAWB ^©aat'iBiffi,
GENERAIi
f^S i
siFE SNSURiNeE mmm.
Z<IBZB.T7,
Sullivan County, New York.
J. D. CLSMENTS,
Dealer in
STOVES, HEATERS, RANGES, ETC.
MAMUFACTUEEE OF ff\ ^Vgent for
Tin, Sheet Iron ^^^^ avemll's
mftW. CHEMICAL PAINT.
COPPERWARE. ^^m
Special atteuf ion p,n,r 1|W^ By llic Gallon Only,
li^rtoM
imm and PLUMBINe,^^^^ Ito 45 Gallons.
REPAIRING PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO.
Liberty Street, LIBERTY, N. Y.
"f^ TS! 1^ rt g& T T*
MUEBLE m GEiiiTE mm,
ALEX. WALLING, Proprietor.
DEPOSIT, BROOME CO., N.Y.
2. 2
Momiments, Headstones, and Tablets,
OF EVEKY VARIKTV OF
Foreign and Domeslic_Marl)le and Granite.
Cemetery Fences cither in Granite, Marble or Iron furnished when desired. The reputatiott
thi8 firm has earued, and the large trade already secured in Siillivau and the adjoining (
enables them to compete successfully with all opposition.
W. M. KILBOUENE,
G e n era I
iMsyeueE sgejt.
Doea general insuring in all its Ijranchcs. Good, sound Comi)auics and
the lowest possible Rates.
^^ Special attention given to farm property and detached residences.
Post-office address, - - - LIBERTY, N. Y.
@HilQa f . 1. Iiiliilea,
ATTORNEY & COUNSELOR
ARTHUR a BUTTS,
ittereej mi loiifiseler at law.
Special County Judge and Surrogate.
r
U. S. MESSITER,
Liberty, SuU., Co. IT. T.
DEALEE IN
ill mum im mBmmm,
Glass, Putty, Paints, Oils, VarnisheSi Dye Stuffs,
CROCKERY,
BOOTS AND SHOES, HATS AND CAPS,
And all other Goods usually kept in a Country Store. Country Produce
taken in exchange for Goods. Prices close to the market. We aim to
study the interests of our patrons.
J. Im. bvans,
DEALER IN
S T O -V E S,
Sullivan County, ITew Tovls.
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11