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O N O O,'
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HISTORY OF
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H
COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YOEK,
^' X
— A —
MEMORABILIA OF PERSONS AND THINGS
or INTEKEST, PASSED AND PASSING, —BY— /
i
THE HON. JOHN FEANCIS COLLIN, EX-M. C,
AND EDITED BY
PROF. H. S. JOHNSON, A. M.,
EDITOR OF THE HILLSDALE HERALD, WITH
.jLisr j^:p:PEisrnDi2§:.
PHILMONT, N. Y. :
PRINTED BY E. J. BEARDSLEY, SENTINEL OFFICE, 1883.
PREFACE.
The turbulence in Hillsdale for three-fourths of a cen- tury after its first settlement by civilized people and the different nationalities of those people has prevented any historic record being kept of them, and their scores of cemeteries, not being under legal protection, have be- come to a great extent obliterated. For want of historic records a majority of the most prominent inhal^itants living in the town a half century ago are now nearly for- gotten. Without such records, a half century hence, a majority of the present population of the town will be forgotten or oidy preserved by our better organized cem- eteries. Availing myself of my social intercourse with the old inhabitants of the town in the long-ago, I have attempted, in a crude way, to give the past history of the people of the town. To that end I am now supplied with much additional and interesting matter, and am promised much more that may appear in a future volume. How- ever imperfect these volumes may be they will enable future historians to keep a record that will be vastly in- teresting to the people of the town for all time, and will produce a strong moral and religious influence. Many minute histories of individuals and families in the town would be very interesting and instructive — and I am prom- ised such — which will appear in a future volume. Many New England towns are taking histories from the epi-
VI PREFACE.
taplis in tlieir cemeteries, and I have just received a vol- ume of that character from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, which has given me important information in respect to my maternal ancestry. If encouraged by expressions from the people, I may be induced to give such history from the cemeteries in Hillsdale.
JOHN F. COLLIN.
Hillsdale, N. Y., Janiuiry 8t,li, 1883.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE I.
PKELIMINARY HISTOEY OF HILLSDALE — THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER — ROBERT NOBLE.
The Author's Fears — Washington Irving — Discovery of the Hudson — The Grant of 1620— The Dutch Grant— Matthew and llobert Noble— The Old Fort — Land title conflicts. . . ' Page 1
CHAPTEK II.
CONFLICTS TO SETTLE MANOR TITLES — PRISON DOORS THROWN OPEN — FORMER HIGHWAY ACTS.
Indian Grant of Hillsdale to Massachusetts in 1724 — Civil War in Copake in 1812 — Pardons of Governor Tompkins — Barn Burners and Hunkers — John Collin, Paciflcator in 1793- -John F. Collin, Pacificator in 1845 — "Go Home in Peace and Safety" — Highway Act of 1832 and 1836. . 3
CHAPTEE III.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NOBLE KINDRED — FIRST WHITE WOMAN SETTLER — THE RACE BROTHERS.
The Author's Uncle Deprecating Nobletown— The Nobles — Robert Noble Emigrates in 1724 from Westtield, Mass., to Hillsdale — Is a Captain by Commission from the Governor of Massachusetts — Lays Out Nobletown Five Miles Square— Erects a Fort — Hillsdale Ceded to New York — Robert Noble Pietiirns to Massachusetts — William and Nicholas Race and Seneca TuUar. ...... . . 6
Vm CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE IV.
CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF JURISDICTION — WHISKEY FLASK AND CIDER PITCHER — SWEEPING TEMPERANCE WAVE.
Massachusetts Claims Columbia County and Now York Claims Berkshire County— Juristliction Corapromiserl in 1773 and Perfected in 1787 — Population Left in Hillsdale— The Temperance Society of 1808 ex- tended to Every State in the Union -1.500,000 Members in the United States — 220 in. Hillsdale — Liquor Rations Suspended in the Army and Navy 8
CHAPTEK V.
HISTORICAL DIVISIONS— OLD ROADS AND WHO LIVED ALONG THEM— ASSESSMENT LAWS.
Four Divisions of the History— First, forty-eight years, 1725-1773 — Second, twenty years, 1773-1793 -Third, thirty years, 1788-1818 — Fourth, sixty-four years, 1818-1882 -Old Bye-roads -Levi Williams —Captain John Collin —James Bryan, Esq. — Tibbits— Loucks' Spring —Present Law of Assessment for Road Tax. .... 11
CHAPTER VI.
ANCESTRY OF MRS. RUTH HOLMAN JOHNSON — ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST OF THE COLONISTS.
Mrs. Ruth Holraan Johnson —Isaac Johnson, "One of the Founders of Massachusetts"- Arabella, His Wife. Daughter of Thomas. Fourth Earl of Lincoln —His Grandson, Isaac Johnson, Born 1668 —His Son, Benja- min Johnson, Born 1711— His Son William, Born 1753, Died in Hills- dale 1818— His Daughter, Ruth Holman, Born 1780, Married John Collin 1798— Their Children 14
CHAPTER VII
THE HUGENOTS — IMMIGRATE TO AVOID PERSECUTION — A COM- MISSIONED OFFICER — PROFESSOR MORSE.
Captain John Collin — History of Hugenot Immigration — John Collin, from the Province of Poitou, in France— His Grandson, .John. Sailed
CONTENTS. rX
from Milford Haven 174:6 and was Never Heard From After— His Son John, Great-grandson of John Collin, of France, born 1732 — Commis- fiioned a Captain by the British Royal Governor (Ti-yon) in 1773— Again Commissioned by George Clinton, Governor of New York — His Cotem- poraries— His Second Wife the Grandmother of the Distinguished Poetess, Lucretia Maria Davidson, and a Relative ol Professor Morse — He died 1809 -His Children. ....... 16
CHAPTER VIII.
MORE ~COLLIN ANCESTRY — THE FRENCH WAR — ATTACK ON FORT TICONDEROGA — FAMILIES OF MEANS.
David Collin -A Lieutenant in the British Army During the French War — His House Plundered by Robbers During the Revolutionary War — Died in 1824, Aged 90 Years -His Children— Hannah Collin— Settled in Hillsdale on the Farm Now Occupied by Levi Coon — David Collin, Jr. — Resided on the Farm Now Occupied by Rutsen Hunt— Lucy Col- lin, Settled in Hillsdale Near the Turnpike, Two Miles East of the Village— Sally Collin- James Collin 20
CHAPTEH IX.
GENERAL FREMONT — NOTED TAVERN-KEEPERS— PUGILISTIC EXHIBITIONS — THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.
Bogardus — Dr. Caleb Benton Squire Sherwood — James Bryan's Tavern House — Colonel Chase McKinstry — Samuel Mallory — Ebenezer Soule — Bartholomew Williams — William Tanner -Jonathan C. Olmstead — Edward Bagely — John Nooney — Aaron Reed — Isaac Foster — Amos Knapp — Artemus Johnson. ........ 23
(JHAPTEK X.
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN — STATE REPRESENTATIVES — A GREAT LAWYER — THE FEDERALISTS.
The Town Divided into Six Localities : Hillsdale Village, East Hillsdale, Hillsdale Centre, West Hillsdale, Green River, Harlemville — The Birdsalls — John Higgins — Benjamin Birdsall - George Birdsall —
X CONTENTS.
Hagemans — Pixleys— Amighs — Jordans— William Jordan, Jr. —Ambrose L. Jordan — Joseph Morehouse — Clintonian Republicans — Quincy Johnson— Samuel Judson— Col. Anson Dakin—Christoplier W. Miller — Josiah Knapp — Andrew Higgins — Elisha W. Bushnell— John Collin — Henry P. Mesick— Gen. Provost's Army— Ebenezer Youngs. . 27
CHAPTER XI.
HILLSDALE RURAL CEMETERY — RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS AND THEIR FOUNDERS — PEOPLE OF ENTERPRISE.
Robert Noble — Bogardus — Caleb Benton— Squire Sherwood — Mrs. Sher- wood; her Daughters — Mr. Dumond— Mr. Shorts— David Wheeler — Sornborger— Osborn — Brainard — Levi Coon — .Walter B. Ten Broeck — Hillsdale Rural Cemetery; its Boundaries —Cemetery on Leonard John- sou's Premises -Monument to Jeremiah Potter —Parla Foster — Asher Adams— John Pixley — Mrs. Joseph P. Dorr -Ephraim Pixley — Refine Latting — Rev. Stephen Gano — Stephen Bristol - Amos K. Knapp — Captaiu Turner — Dr. Henry Cornell — George M. Bullock — Rutsen Hunt — John Q. Johnson — The Village. 31
CHAPTER XII.
EAST HILLSDALE — ITS EARLY SETTLERS — SOME OF THEIR DE- SCENDANTS —LOCALITY OF THEIR RESIDENCES.
Gaius Stebbins— Dakin — Elijah Burton — Lucy Collin —Edward Bagley — Oliver Bagley -James Bryan 2d — George Amigh — Captain John Collin — Sarah Arnold — Deidoma Morse — John Collin and Ruth Holman — Their Children — Rodney Hill -Rev. Hiram H. White- Lewis Wright — Quincy Johnson — John Hunt — James Taylor — Walter McAlpine — Adanyah Bidwell — Mr. June— Levi Williams. . . . .35
CHAPTER XIII.
GREEN RIVER — HARLEMVILLE — HUDSON ORPHAN ASYLUM — COUNTY POOR HOUSE.
William Tanner — Jared Winslow — Jonathan Hill — Sarah Amanda Collin — Albert Winslow Garfield — James Collin — Chastine E. Wilcox — Sam- uel B. and Charles A. Sumner — Lewis B. Adsit— Henry J. Rowe — Hiram
CONTENTS, XI
Winslow — Isaac Hatch — Albert Shepard— Joel Curtis— Gaul McKown — Frederick Pultz — John H. Overhiser —Willis Disbrow — W. H. Gard- ner—Andrew H. Spickerman — ^Ralph Judson — Charles H. Downing —Alfred Curtis — Joel G. Curtis 40
CHAPTER XIV.
A HISTOBICAL FOUNDATION — BIRDSALL FAMILY — HILLSDALE
CENTRE.
Benjamin Birdsall — James Bryan 2d — Pelatiah Hunt — John Wager — Barnet Burtis — Judge Loop — Stephen Hoyt — Ethan Boyes — Dr. Eich- ard Bartlett— Nathaniel Hnsen— Abraham Overhiser —William White — Barnet Wager — Gustavus A. Dibble — Stephen Hedges — Joseph lloss- man —George Knox and David West — Gilbert Sherwood — Walter Mc Alpine — Samuel Truesdell — David Collin — Silas Keed— Lewis Adsit — Mr. Evans— Peter B. Hollenbeck— President Tyler — Austin Morey — Lorenzo Gilbert— Nicholas C. Tyler — Captain Henry P. Mesick — Rev. Abel Brown — Thos. Benedict — Nicholas Sharts — Daniel Darien — Dea- con John Tyler 45
CHAPTER XV.
A FAMILY HISTORY DESIRABLE — HILLSDALE ROADS — COMMIS- SIONERS FROM 1852 TO 1883.
Family Histories interesting — An Appeal to the Community lor such — Charles Crow — William Coon — Crooked Roads— Columbia Turnpike —Soil for Roads —Road Laws — Assessments — Sums Expended on Roads since 1849— Reform 50
CHAPTER XVI.
children's aid SOCIETY — ROELIFF JANSEN VALLEY — BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, 1824 — EQUALIZATION.
Children's Aid Society — Astors — Vanderbilts — Sixty Thousand Orphans — Officers — A Residuary Bequest — William T. Palmer — George N. Loop — Isaac White — George Mitchol — Andrew and John Brusie — Roe- lifif Jansen Valley Farms — Titles of 1790— Heirs of Nicholas Hollenbeck — Hillsdale Lauds w orth $1 per Acre — Board ot Supervisors of 1824 — William Murray's Equalization — Board of 1840 — Hillsdale's Supervisor
XII CONTENTS.
Objects to Prerogatives of the District Attorney —Stockport's Manufac- turing Interests and Valuation— State Assessor's Report. . . 54
CHAPTER XVII
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR — JUS- TICES ELECTED — THADDEUS REED — PHILIP BECKER.
The Justices of the Peace given in order as appointed by the Governor from 1786 to 1827 — Justices elected by the people since 1827 — Thad- deus Reed — Catharine Garner— James W. White — Philip Becker — John P. Becker— East Hillsdale Furnace 58
CHAPTER XVIII.
SETTLERS FROM MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT — WAR OF 1812 — CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE.
Purchasers of Manor titles — George Bushnell — Jeremiah Hoffman -Dr. Jones — Elisba W. Bushnell — Parla Foster— His children— Cap t. John Collin— Robert Orr — His children —Elijah Cleveland — His children — His ancestor Guy de Cleveland, of England— Moses Cleveland — Ann Winn — Intelligence and integrity of supervisors and magistrates — Early conflicts— Aid in the war of 1812— Thousands of dollars for com- mutation in the late civil war, and $74,000 war taxes paid — Liberality to sufferers in America and Ireland — Contributions to the Five Points Mission, and Children's Aid Society 61
CHAPTER XIX.
ROAD AND BRIDGE EXPENSES ONLY $9,000 FOR FIFTY YEARS — IN SEVEN RECENT YEARS $4,500.
Fifty years road, bridge and Commissioner's expenses, only $9,000— Seven years expenses $4,500— Commissioners and Auditors should comply with strict letter ot the law— What a commissioner's account should specify— Should report reasons for assessing over 990 days- Law defining amount of extra moneys, and purposes— Acts of 1875 and 1874— First Monday in October 65
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
CHAPTEK I.
PEELIMINAEY HISTORY OF HILLSDALE — THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER — ROBERT NOBLE.
The Author's Fears— Washington Irving— Discovery of the Hudson — The Grant of 1620 -The Dutch Grant— Matthew an.l Robert Noble— The Old Fort— Land title conflicts.
" What constitutes man's chief enjoyment, here; What forms his greatest antidote to sorrow; Is't wealth? Wealth can at last but gild his bier. Or buy the pall that poverty must borrow."
One poet has sung "that a competence is all that man can enjoy," while another has sung, that " be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Hillsdale posses- ses the means for many a happy home, and in writing its history, if the vanity is not gratified of
" Miss Mevia Manish, Who desired greatly to bf* sung in Spanish."
the author may get himself sung in not very complimen- tary Scotch. And availing himself of the observation of a long life in rescuing some of that history from oblivion, he may get some newspaper notoriety for his imbecility, and should he allude to pending subjects, upon which are involved a bright or a very black leaf in that history, he may get himself charged with impertinence.
'2 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
The sources of information from which I have obtained materials for a History of Hillsdale, I have derived from different gazetteers and the documentary History of New York, and from Taylorls History of Great Barrington, and from papers which a half century ago fell into my hands in the settlement of the estates of old men and from my social intercourse with such old men.
Washington Irving has said that if the world had not been created. New York would never have had an exist- ence. The same may be said of Hillsdale. It is a town in Columbia County, which county is bounded on the west by the Hudson River, which was discovered by the Dutch in 1609. In attempting to settle upon this river, the Pilgrim Fathers landed upon Plymouth Rock. In 1620 the King of England granted to a New England com- pany' all th<i territory in America between the 40th and the iSth degrees of north latitude, with an unlimited boundai-y on th(» west. It of course embraced what is now the town of Hillsdale. Subsecpiently the govern- ment of Holland conveyed to a Dutch company the terri- tory in America between the Chesapeake Bay and the Connecticut River, which, of course, also embraced what is now the toAvn of Hillsdale. In pursuance of the English grant, Matthew Noble emigrated from Westiield. in Con- necticut, to Shetiield in 1725, and was the first white set- tler in that town. Subsequently Robert Noble emigrated from Westfield to Hillsdale, and was the first white set- tler in that town. He, with his associates, procured the Indian title to land five miles square, and it was called Nobletown. They built a fort on what is now the land of Leonard Johnson, at which one life was lost in the con- flict under land titles, and many arrests were made under both the authorities of New York and Massachusetts, and men were long imprisoned, both at Albany and Spring- field. Such is the preliminary history of Hillsdale.
CHAPTEK 11.
CONFLICTS TO SETTLE MANOR TITLES — PRISON DOORS THROWN OPEN — FORMER HIGHWAY ACTS.
Indian Grant of Hillsdale to Massachnsetts in 17'24— Civil War in Copake in 1812 — Pardons of Governor Tompkins I^arn Burners and Hunkers —John Collin, Pacificator in 1793- John F. Collin, Pacificator in ia45— "Go Home in Peace and Safety" — Highway Act of 1832 and 1836.
The grant to Massachusetts in 1724 of the Indian title to the territoiy, which includes Hillsdale, was bounded on the east b}^ the Westfield River, which rises in the mountains, then called New Hampshire but now Vermont, and falls into the Connecticut River at Sprin'ffield. From my sources of information I can correct some misappre- hensions in respect to the origin of the party name of Barn Burner.
In 1812 civil war was prevailing in what is now known as the town of Copake. It was on account of the manor titles, and, as usual, there were faults and merits on both sides. In the conflict the barn of Capt. Ephraim Pixley was burned, and in 1814 the authors of the fire were sen- tenced to the State Prison. Upon the petition of some of the worthiest men in the county. Governor Tompkins granted immediate pardons, which are now in my posses- sion. For this act the partisans of Governor Tompkins at the election of 1824 were taunted as barn burners, and, for the sordid sympathy of Governor Clinton with the Federal party in the war of 1812, his partisans were called
4 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
Hunkers. The conflict of tlie people in Hillsdale against the manor title was settled in 1793 through the instru- mentality of John Collin. It however continued in the southern towns till 1845 ; then as pacificator I addressed a meeting in Copake, at which I convinced the people that they had everything to lose and nothing to gain in that conflict, and I was unanimously authorized to make a set- tlement, which I did, and the prison doors were thrown open, and it is among the happ/iest of my memories when I was ena.bled to say to the fugitive populati(m, "Go home in peace and safety ;" and upon my recommendation the policy of changing leasehold titles to land, to titles in fee, was adopted. Towns were but partially settled in the State of Xew York when the early laws were made in res- pect to highways, and very judicious provisions were made in respect to the laying out and working roads in unsettled jiortions of the towns. Discretionary powers were given to the commissioners of highways to use two hundred and fifty dollars, or its equivalent, two hundred and fifty days, to aid districts in towns of limited popula- tion and means. That sum enabled those commissioners to give twenty-five clays' labor in all the districts in any town. By an act of 1832 the commissioners, by obtaining a vote (^f tlie people of the town in the way provided, could use two hundred and fifty dollars more to aid dis- tricts of limited means and population. By an act of 1836, the commissioners had two hundred and fifty dollars more added to tlieir prerogative of assisting districts of limited means and population, and by a subsequent act they have had two hundred and fifty dollars more added to their prerogatives in the aid of districts needing lielp. The law has very judiciously provided, however, that be- fore getting an appropriation for any of those sums of money, the commissioners must specify the objects for which the money is sought to be obtained, and at each auditing day must account for the appropriation of that
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 5
money. To aid the commissioner in the exercise of these prerogatives, the hist Board of Supervisors assessed upon the town of Hillsdale five hundred dollars. The town records should show its object and at the next auditing day its expenditure.
CHAPTEE III.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NOBLE KINDRED — FIRST WHITE WOMAN SETTLER — THE RACE BROTHERS.
The Author's Uncle Deprecating Nobletown- The Nobles— Robert Noble Emigrates in 1724 iiom Westfield, Mass., to Hillsdale — Is a Cajitain bj- Commission from the Governor of Massachusetts —Lays Ont Nobletown Five Miles Square — Erects a Fort^Hillsdale Ceded to New York — Robert Noble Returns to Massachusetts — William and Nicholas Race and Seneca TiiUar.
In my boyhood I made tlie acquaintance of an aged great-uncle, living in Palmyra, in Wayne Count}^ New York. I found it difficult to make liim comprehend where my native town of Hillsdale was located, and when in- formed that it was formerly called Nobletown, he ex- claimed with emphasis, " Misery ! I knew it when it was not safe for a man to ride through it." To show that it was the fault of conflicting jurisdiction and not of Robert Noble that it acquired that unhappy reputation, I will give a brief history of that Noble kindred. In 1725 Mat- thew Noble moved from Westfield, in Connecticut, to Shef- field, and was the first white settler in that town. In the next year, his son Obadiah, and daughter Hannah, emi- grated there ; she riding on horseback carrying a bed with her, and spending one night in the wilderness. Slie was the first white woman resident in that town. Soon after Joseph, Hezekiah, Matthew, Solomon and Elisha Noble, the sons and daughters of Matthew Noble, emi-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 7
grated to that town, which then included Great Barring- ton. In 1734 Joseph Noble was a principal in the erec- tion of a bridge over the Green River. Elisha Noble erected a Fort at the north end of Sheffield plain, which was the place of resort when danger was apprehended from the Indians. Captain Enoch Noble served in the army of the Revolution, and Joseph Noble, a son of Eli Noble, was killed in l)attle in 1780. Joseph Noble was one of a committee appointed to select a site and to erect a meeting-h(^use, and Joseph and Luke Noble were ap- pointed by the General Court, parish assessors. In 1724 Robert Noble emigrated from Westfield to Hillsdale and was the first white settler then acting under the authority of the Govei'uor of Massachusetts; he, with his associates, made a pitch upon a tract of land live miles square, which they called Nobletown, and they erected a Fort on what is now the land of Leonard Johnson, and at which subse- quently several lives Avere lost. Robert Noble had the commission of Captain under the Governor of Massachu- setts, and it was in the discharge of duties under that commission that lives were lost. When Hillsdale was ceded to New York in the establishment of the line be- tween the States, Robert Noble moved to Great Barring- ton. He liad ever belonged to the Episcopal Church there, and was one of the seventeen first members. Wil- liam Race, by associating his interests with those of Robert Noble, lost his life in one of the conflicts, and his brother Nicholas pitched upon and became the owner of a large portion of what now comprises North Egremont. Seneca Tullar pitched upon and became the owner of what now comprises a large portion of South Egremont, and they were the paternal and maternal grand parents of her who was the mother of my children, and to whose intelligence, industry, prudence and amiable disposition, I must impute much of my success in life.
CHAPTER IV.
CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF JURISDICTION— WHISKEY FLASK AND CIDEE PITCHEll — SWEEPING TEMPERANCE WAVE.
MasRrtchnsetts Claims Coiumbia Countj' and Nnw York Claims Berkshire Conuty— Jurisdiction Comi)rotniserl in 1773 and Perfected in 1787 — Population Left in Hillsdale— The Temperance Society of 1808 ex- tended to Every State in tlie Union— 1.500,000 Members in the United States -220 in Hillsdale— Liquor Kations Suspended in the Army and Navy.
In 1724 Massachusetts, under a grant from the crown of England, chiimed jurisdiction over Cohimbia county, while New York, Avith equal plausibility, claimed jurisdic- ti(m over much of Berkshire county. These conflicting claims of jurisdiction were settled by compromise about the year 1773, but not perfected until 1787. In the mean- time, the Van Deusens, Berghardts, Races, and others from New York, had pitched upon lands in Berkshire, under which they had obtained titles, while the Nobles, Ingersolls, and others from Massachusetts, who had pitched upon lands in Columbia county, were left as squatters with no law to protect them from the claims under the manor titles. They had no alternative but either to withdraw to Berkshire county or be included in the compromise made with the landlords in 1793. That compromise left a very good and respectable population in the town of Hillsdale, among whom were the Winslows, Tanners, and other very worth}^ people in Green River ; Downings, Beckers, and others in Harlemville ; More-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 9
houses, Birdsalls, and otliers in West Hillsdale ; Fosters, Pixleys, and others in South Hillsdale ; Stebbins, Bryans, Collins, and others in East Hillsdale ; and Wagers, Mc- Kinstrjs, and others in Hillsdale centre. All were char- acterized for their industry, economy and thrift. But in their social relations the whiskey flask and the cider pitcher was an indispensable accompaniment, as it was universally over the whole country. In 1808 the Rev. Libbius Armstrong, and forty-one others, established a temperance society "upon principles of moral suasion, in the town of Moreau, in the county of Saratoga. They asked no aid from the civil power ; they did not desire to wield either sword or sceptre ; they looked to the aid of the patriot, the Christian and pliilantliropist, upon which to base their everlasting foundation. That organization was extended to every State in the Union, under such leaders as Mr. Delavan and Chancellor Walsworth, in New York, and Mr. Frelinghuysen, in New Jersey-, and Chief Justice Marshall, in Virginia, and Mr. Everett and Justin Ed- wards, in Massachusetts. By its Quarterly Review, pub- lished in May, 1833, it had 1,500,000 members in the Uni- ted States ; 229,617 in the State of New York— 4,607 in Columbia county, and 220 in the town of Hillsdale — deter- mined men, with Dr. B. House and Dr. S. J. Aylesworth for President and Secretary, under whose influence there were only three licensed taverns in the toAvn, and those were very respectable, and intoxicated men were very rarely seen. The daily liquor rations to sailors in the Navy and soldiers in the Army were discontinued by offi- cial authority, and of 1,107 men in the Mediterranean Squadron, 800 became voluntary members of that tem- perance society. Subsequently, under Boston rum influ- ence, the temperance cause was made a political side issue, and its decline and fall in the whole country — and in Hills- dale in particular — is before the world, and I shall aAoid the pain of recording it.
10 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
In writing a history of Hillsdale I desire to disclose the merits of the people, and not to draw frailties from their dread abode. If the people will assist me, I will make it a matter of special interest to them. If they will be so good throughout the town as to send me their names and date of their births and marriages, and the names and dates of birth of their wives and children, and be- tween what points on the roads they reside, and such other matter as they may be pleased to include I will add all ni}- sources of information, and will let Mr. H. S. John- son, or some other equally worthy man, compile and pub- lish the whole in a volume, excluding every thing person- ally offensive ; and for such purpose I am Avilling to incur a liberal expense. Perhaps it would be well to have some of our prominent citizens meet in council upon this subject and form a town historical and genealogical society.
CHAPTER V.
HISTORICAL DIVISIONS — OLD ROADS AND WHO LIVED ALONG THEM — ASSESSMENT LAWS.
Four Divisions of the History — First, forty-eight years, 1725-1773 — Second, twenty years, 1773-1793— Third, thirty years, 1788-1818 — Fourth, sixty-four years, 1818-1882 -Old Bye-roads— Levi Williams — Captain John Collin — James Bryan, Esq. — Tibbits — Loucks' Spring — Present Law of Assessment for Road Tax.
The History of Hillsdale should be divided into several different periods: first, forty-eight years, between 1725 and 1773, when Massachusetts and New York were dis- puting jurisdiction; second, twenty years, between 1773 and 1793, while the occupants of land under Massachu- setts jurisdiction were contesting the manor title ; third, thirty years, from 1788 to 1818. while Hillsdale was composed of live miles square, called Nobletown, and five miles square, called SpencertoAvn ; fourth, sixty- four years, from 1818 to 1882, when its dimensions have been as now, with the exception that our august Board of Supervisors, having come to the conclusion that Van Rensselaer and Livingston did not know where the boundary lines were which constituted the southern limits of the town, have set a small portion over to the town of Copake. The occupation of early roads in the town, while providing a fund of amusement for the social cir- cle, is hardly worth more than a general notice, many of them have entirely disappeared, while others have been
12 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
much improved by alterations. The east and west road, in the southern part of the town, passed the late residence of Levi Williams, where a tavern was kept by a man of the name of June. On a branch from that road, passing near the present Huggins grist mill, was a resident hold- ing under the Massachusetts title, who, about 1788, sold his possession to Captain John Collin, who built a dam across the stream for churning purposes. Captain Collin sold the possession to James Bryan, Esq., who long used the water power for wool-caruing and cloth-dressing. About a half mile further, in a northeasterly direction, on the same road, was an occupant under the Massachusetts jurisdiction, of the name of Tibbitts, who had a son pos- sessing a surprising natural mathematical talent. A branch on the same road extended about one-fourth of a mile in an easterly direction to the residence of a man by the name of Loucks, near a spring of remarkably cool, pure water, which now supplies eight fields, two ar- tificial fish ponds, one residence and one barn yard with water. The main road passing Mr. Tibbitts', ran about one-fourth of a mile in a northerly direction to the resi- dence of a man holding under Massachusetts jurisdic- tion, who sold his possession to Captain John Collin, who, after having obtained the manor title, erected mills and a spacious dwelling house upon it, which was the place of my birth, and is my present residence, with an entirely different road passing it.
The laws under which the present roads in the town are now established appear to be but imperfectly under- stood, and it may be well to make a brief reference to them. Commissioners of Highway's are required to lay out the roads in the town into convenient road districts, the laying out or altering of which is to be done at least ten days before the annual town meeting. They are to assign to those districts the inhabitants liable to work, having regard to proximity of residence, and are annually
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 13
to accoiint to the Board of Town Auditors for all moneys received by tliem. The commissioners are to assess upon the inhabitants of the town three times as many days' Libor upon tlie roads as there ai'e taxable inhabitants in the town, to whicli the Overseers of Highways are author- ized in their discretion to add one-third on any or all their districts. Each male citizen in a town, without re- gard to circuinstauces, is presumed to be interested in the roads to the value of one day's work, and is, there- fore, to be assessed one day. The residue of the work on the road, accruing under either the jurisdiction of the commissioner or overseer, to be assessed upon property in proportion as it shall appear in the assessment roll. Should any property be left out of the assessment roll the commissioner is authorised to tax it. Should any resident of a road district be left out of the road warrant, the overseer is authorized to tax him. Should any num- ber of the road districts, for want of numbers, or wealth, or for any other cause, require extra help, the commis- sioner is authorized to extend such help to the value of two hundred and fifty days, to be assessed upon the prop- erty of the town, and to be accounted for to the Board of Town Auditors. Should more help be requii'ed by cer- tain road districts, the commissioner can be authorized by a special vote of the people of the town to extend such help to a further sum not exceeding seven hundred and fifty dollars, to be expended and accounted for as above provided. A more judicious system of road improve- ments can scarcely be conceived.
CHAPTEK VI.
ANCESTKY OF MRS. RUTH HOLMAN JOHNSON — ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST OF THE COLONISTS.
Mrs. Rnth Holman Johnson — Isaac Johnson, "One of the Fonmlers ot Massachusetts"— Arabella, His Wife, Daughter of Thomas, Fourth Earl of Lincoln —His Grandson, Isaac Johnson. Born 1668— His Son, Benja- min Johnson, Born 1711 His Son, William, Born 1753, Diet! in Hills- dale 1818- His Daughter, Kuth Holman, Born 1780, Married John Collin 1798 - Thfir Children.
In writing the History of Hillsdale I shall, of course, write the history of the churches in the town. Mrs. Ruth Holman Johnson, having been one of the earliest members of the Methodist Church, and having continued to be such over seventy years, till the day of her death, a brief allusion to her history and that of her ancestry, may not be out of place.
The first of that ancestry in this countiy was Isaac JohnsoD, who is described in "Drakes History of Amer-. ican Biography," as follows : " He was one of the found- ers of Massachusetts ; born in Clipham, Rutlandshire, England; died in Boston, September 30, 1630. He came over with Governor Winthrop, arriving at Salem June 12th, 1630." He was one of the four who founded the first church at Charlestown, July 30th, and on Se]itember 7th he conducted the first settlement of Boston. He was a good and wise man, and was the wealthiest of the colo- nists. Arabella, his wife, was the daughter of Thomas, the fourth Earl of Lincoln. She accompanied her hus-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 15
baud to New England and died in Salem, August 30tli, 1630. In lionoi- of her, the name of the Eagle (Win- throp's shi})) was clianged to the Arabella. His grand- son, Isaac Johnson, born in Hingham, Mass., in 16G8, married Abigael, widow of Isaac Lazell, and daughter of John Leavitt; died 1730. He was a captain, a magis- trate, and four years a representative in the Massachu- setts Legislature. His children were David, Solomon, Daniel, James, Deborah, Sarah, John, Joseph, Benjamin and Mary. His son, Benjamin, born 1711, married Ruth, daughter of John and Ann Quincy Holman, in 1732, and died 1764. His children were Ruth, Benjamin, Rhoda and William. His son, AVilliam, born 1753, married Jane Robinson 1779, and died in Hillsdale 1818. His children were Ruth Holman, Sophia, Clynthia, Quincy and Me- linda. His daughter, Ruth Holman, born September 16th, 1780, married John Collin, of Hillsdale, October 23d, 1798. Her children were James, born January 16th, 1800 ; John Francis, born April 30th, 1802 ; Sar.ih Amanda, born April 21st, 1801 ; Jane Miranda, born Feb- ruary 14th, 1807; Hannah, born December 19th, 1809; Ruth Maria, born March 1st, 1813 ; Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817 ; William Quincy, born Novem- ber 22d, 1819; Clynthia, born December 30th, 1822 ; she died December 2d, 1858, and now sleeps beside many of . her kindred in the Hillsdale Rural Cemetery.
CHAPTEE YII
THE HUGENOTS — IMMIGRATE TO AVOID PERSECUTION — A COM- MISSIONED OFFICER — PROFESSOR MORSE.
Captain John Collin — Hintory of Hngenot Iramif:!ration— John Collin, from the Province of Poitoa, in France^His Grandson, John, Sailed from Milford Haven 1746 and was Never Heard From Aftur — His Son John, Great-grandson of John Collin, of France, born 1732— Commis- sioned a Captain by the British Royal Governor i,Tryon) in 1773- Again Commissioned by George Clinton, Governor of New York --His Cotem- poraries —His Second Wife the Grandmother of the Distinguished Poetess, Lncretia Maria Davidson, and a Relative ol Professor Morse — He du-d 1809 -His Children.
'" By tradition it has ever been understood that the pa- ternal ancestrv of Captain Jolm Collin, of Hillsdale, Avere Hugenots from France. The Rev. Charles W. Baird, of Rye, in Westchester county, New York, in his History o± the Hugeuot Immigration, has given a history of that ancestrv. By the history it appears that John Collin resided in tlie province of Poitou, in France, and that he married Judith ValHen, of the Isle de Re, an import- ant French naval island. Being ..Hugenots, their two sons, Paul and Peter, about the year 1695, found it pru- dent to immigrate to avoid deadly persecution. Peter went to South Carolina and Paul to Narragansett, Rhode Island, where, in 1706, his son John was born. In 1730 John was employed by John Merwin, of Milford, Conn.,
* In this portion of the history of the town of Hillsdale and its inhab- itants and pioneer settlers, we give the genealogy of a family the most an- cient and influential that has made its impress on oiir history. -£(2t^or.
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 17
to command his vessel (the Swan), which was employed in trading with the West Indies. While thus employed he married Hannah, the danojliter of John Merwin. In 1746 he sailed from Milford Haven and was never heard from after, which gave rise to the following poetic effusion:
The moon had twelve times changed its form
From glowing orb to cresent wan, 'Midst skies of calm and scowl ot storm
Since from the port that ship had gone; But ocean keeps its secrets well,
Ai»d now we know that all is o'er — No eye hath seen, no tongue can tell
His fate- he ne'er was heard of more.
Oh! were his tale of sorrow known,
'Twerc something to the broken heart. The pangs of doubt would then be gone,
And fancies endless dreams depart. It may not be there is no ray
By which his fate we may explore; We only know he sailed away
And ne'er was seen or heard of more.
He left two sons, John and David, and their grand- father, John Merwin, under that business proclivity which has ever characterized tlie Merwin and Collin kindred, bound theiu oiit as apprentices to learn trades. The in- dentures, ncnv preserved among the family papers, were drawn with gieat minuteness and care. John Avas bound to a cabinetmaker, and a curl maple table of his make is now nightly surrounded by a social circle of his kindred in the town of Hillsdale. He was born on the 15th of July, 1732. He married Sarah Arnold, of Dutchess coun- ty, N. Y., September 16th, 1754, by whom he had three children, viz.: Anthony, born February 24th, 1760; Han- nali, born June 7tli, 1763, and John, born September 19th, 1772. In 1773 he received a captain's commission from the British Royal Governor (Tryon), and in 1777 he re- ceived a captain s commission from the Governor of New
18 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
York (Georp;e Clinton). He was a prominent acfc(n' in all of the public enterprises of tlie day. He was a prom- inent actor in settling the controversy between the inhab- itants of Hillsdale holding under the Massachusetts au- thority and the manor title. He Avas a prominent actor in tlie estaV>lishment of turnpike roads, of which the Columbia turnpike was one and the Susquehanna was another. Much of the stock of the latter is still held by his kindred. He was a prominent actor in a lessee land company, some of which land is now occupied by his kindred. His house for a time was the residence of Elisha AVilliams while aiding AVilliams in the settlement of important Inisiness. He was the cotemporary of Alex- ander Hamilton, William W. Van ^ess and Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer, rendering to and receiving from the in reciprocal favors. His wife, Sarah, died December 29th,
1791, and he married Deidama Morse Davidson, May 12th,
1792. She was the grandmother of the distinguished poetess, Lucretia Maria Davidson, and relative of Pro- fessor Morse, the immortal inventor of the electric tele- graph. Though a mechanic by education, he adopted farming as an occupation for a time in Dutchess county. He afterwards bought, and lived for a time, on what was called the Birdsall farm, in Hillsdale, upon which John Higgins lived and died. He then bought and occupied the farm for eighteen years upon which his grandson, John F. Collin, now resides. He died August 21st, 1809. His son Anthony was a soldier in the war of the Revolu- tion, and was made a prisoner by the army of Sir Henry Clinton in 1777, and died in captivity. His daughter Hannah married Thomas Truesdell, October 8th, 1781, and died in Hillsdale June 26th, 1817. His son John married Ruth Holman Johnson, October 23d, 1798, and died in Hillsdale December 28th, 1833. His children were : James, born January 16th, 1800, and died Decem- ber 16th, 1861 ; Sarah Amanda, born April 21st, 1804,
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 19
and died 1867 ; Jane Miranda, born February 14tli, 1807, and died February Itli, 1879 ; Ruth Maria, born March 1st, 1813, and died June, 1838 ; William Quincy, born November 22d, 1819, and died July 30th, 182-2 ; Clynthia A., born December 30tli, 1822, and died August oth, 1828; Hannah, born Det^ember 19th, 1809, and Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817, both of whom are residing in Mt. Vernon, in the county of Lynn, Iowa; and John Francis, born April 30th, 1802, and, as heretofore stated, is now residing cm the old family homestead in Hillsdale. Ruth Hohnan Collin, their mother, was born September Kith, 1780, died December 2d, 1868.
CHAPTEK VIII.
MOEE COLLIN ANCESTRY — THE FRENCH WAR — ATTACK ON FORT TICONDEROGA — FAMILIES OF MEANS.
David Collin- -A Lieutenant in the Bi-itish Army During the French War — His House Plundered by Robbers During the Revolutionary Wtir — Di(jd in 1824, Aged 90 Years --His Children -Hannah Collin— Settled in Hillsdale on the Farm Now Occupied by Levi Coon — David Collin, Jr. — Resided on the Farm Now Occupied by Rutsen Hunt —Lucy Col- lin, Settled in Hillsdale Near the Turnpike, Two Miles East of the Village— Sally Collin- James Collin.
David Collin, son of John and Hannah Morwin Collin, born in Milford, Conn., February 19th, 1734:, and baptized with his older brother in the Congregational Church, May 16th, 1737, was married to Lucy Smith, of Dutchess county, February 19th, 1764, by whom he had two chil- dren— Hannah, born February, 1765, and David, born February 22d, 1767. Mrs. Lucy having- died March 15th, 1767, he married Esther Gillett, January 19th, 1772, by whom he had three children— Lucy, born Februar}' 28th, 1773 ; Sally, born 1775, and James, born April 5th, 1777. He had been a lieutenant in the British army during the French war and was present at an unsuccessful attack upon Fort Ticonderoga. During the war of the Amer- ican Revolution his house was plundered by a band of robbers, who treated his family with great cruelty, tor- turing him and them in order to find property. By his industry and prudence he acquired great wealth, and lived to a great age, and died May 8th, 1824.
HILI.SDAI.E HISTORY. 21
Hannah Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Smith Collin, born in Dutchess county in 1765, married Squire Sherwood, aul settled in Hillsdale on the farm near Hillsdale village, now occupied by Levi Coon, where she died at an advanced age, leaving five children— Esther, Hannah, Sally, Lucy and Susan, all of whom have since married and died, and have left very interesting families.
David Collin, son of David and Lucy Smith Collin, born at Atnenia, in Dutchess countv, Februarv 2'2d, 1767, mar- ried Lucy Bingham, March 27th, 1791, and died in ¥fij- etteville, N. Y., June '2d, 1844. He had settled and re- sided in Hillsdale, about two milps north of the village, on the farm now occupied by Rutsen Hunt. By his industry and prudence he acquired great wealth. His children were Har)y, Lucy, David, Harriet, Lee, Hannah, Solo- mon B., Amanda and Norton, all of whom by their in- dustry and prudence have added to the wealth they in- herited, and their families have been among the most respectable in the community. Lucy Collin, daughter of David and Esther (lillett Collin, married Elijah Burton, Janunry 8vl, 1796, and settled in Hillsdale, near the turn- pike road, about two miles east of the village. She died June 80tli, 1847. She has had eleven children — Collin, Ely, Belinda, Lucinda, Harriet, Henry, Miranda, Benson, David, George T. and Julia A., all of whom have main- tained respectable positions in society.
Sally Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, born in Dutchess county, 1755, and married Doiiglass Clark, a much respected and wealthy citizen of that county. They have had six children — Perry, Henry, Olive, Sally, Caroline and Emeline, who are fill- ing interesting positions in society.
James Collin, son of David and Esther Gillett Collin, bfum April 15th, 1777, and married Lydia Hamlin, April 12th, 1804, and died July 15th, 1856. He, too, by his industry and prudence, had acquired a large property.
22 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
His cliildren were : Eli, James H., Lydia L., Julia, Aim, Caroline, Cordelia, Aulia and David N., all of whom have been highly respected and all whom are still among the living and enjoying the wealth they inherited.
CHAPTER IX.
GENERAL FREMONT — NOTED TAVERN-KEEPERS — PUGILISTIC EXHIBITIONS — THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.
Bogardiis — Dr. Caleb Benton —Squire Sherwood — James Bryan's Tavern House— Colonel Chase McKinstry— Samuel Mallovy — Ebenezer Soule — Bartholomew Williams —William Tanner- Jonathan C. Olmstead — Edward Bagely — John Nooney — Aaron Reed — Isaac Foster — Amos Knapp — Artemus Johnson.
When Massachusetts had yielded its claim to Hills- dale, and Robert Noble had removed to Great Barrin*];- ton, his sceptre descended to a Mr. Boojardus, occupying the premises upon which Levi Coon now resides, from whom it descended to Dr. Caleb Benton, who, possessing talents and wealth, and being a physician such as of whom Homer sung:
•
A good physician skilled our wounds to hoal Is more than armies in the jjublic weal,
he exercised a large influence in the town. He twice represented the county in the State Legislature. He sub- sequently moved to Catskill, where he died. His son Lewis became District Attorney in Green county, and was an applicant for a military commission in the Mexi- can War, but failed tf) convince the War Department that he possessed the requisite qualifications, though the Rev. John McCarty as chaplain, and a Mr. McKinstry as lieu- tenant, from Columbia county, did obtain appointments
24 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
and distinguislied themselves in the service, the one re- maining: in such service till his recent death, and the other on the staff of General Fremont, passed from ser- vice when that General lost his presti<^e in the late civil war. From Caleb Benton the premises in Hillsdale passed to Squire Sherwood, who had married Hannah Collin, the daupjhter of David and Lucy Smith Collin. The premises adjoining on the east, now occupied bv Dr. Henry Cornell, became the property of James Bryan, who kept a noted tavern house. He was the first super- visor in the town, and was elected five successive years ; he was also for many years a magistrate in the town of Hillsdale. His son Samuel became a distinguished tavern keeper in the city of Hudson : his son John was a mem- ber of the State Legislature in 1821 ; his son James was also, for some years, a magistrate in the town of Hillsdale ; his daughter married John Cronkhyte, and lived for many years on the farm now owned by Leonard John- son. As a magistrate, he had often occasion to try cases of assault and battery that had occurred on his premises ; and cases occurred there in which men with obscured sight and blackened faces found it desirable to spend a few days at the residence of a kind neighbor before pre- senting themselves to their amazonian wives. On the rise of land some thirty rods west of that tavern house was the district school-house, two stories high, in which, in consequence of the extent of district and prolific popu- lation, forty scholars were usually in daily attendance. The frequent pugilistic exhibitions at the tavern house induced the scholars to learn the art scientifically, which they sometimes carried to such excess as to introduce them to a birchen acquaintance. The upper part of that school-house was occupied as a masonic lodge, and a large number of the most respectable men of the town were among its members ; but they usually became so vivacious at their meetings that their wives rose in re-
HILLSDALE HISTOEY. 25
bellion, and the institution, in consequence, lano;uished for many years.
After James Br3'an, for nine successive years. Colonel Charles McKinstry r(>presented the town of Hillsdale in the Board of Supervisors, and then for two years repre- sented the county in the State Legislature. Residing at the easterly foot of the Cakeout Hills, his home was near the centre of the town, while it was composed of the Nobletown and Spencertown sections. Of course all the prominent public business of the town, civil and military, was done there, to accommodate which, he kept a noted tavern, and, while occupying prominent civil offices, was the colonel of the town regiment One of his daughters married Judge Jjoen Whiting, of Geneva, Ontario county, N. Y., and one married Judge Augustus Tremain, of Hills- dale, and one married Judge Henry Loop, of Great Bar- rington, Mass., and his son Justus was successively the 1)artner of throe of the most prominent lawyers in Colum- bia county. After Charles McKinstry, the town of Hills- dale, for thirteen years, was represented in the Board of Supervisors by its Spencertown branch ; for nine of those years it was represented by Samuel Mallery and for three years by Ebenezer Soule, and one year by Bartholomew Williams. For the two next years the town was repre- sented by William Tanner, of Green River Hollow. His son was an officer in the infantry comj^any that marched to the relief of Plattsburgh in the war of 1812. For the next two years the town was represented by Jonathan C. Olmstead, of Gre(>n River, and the next year by Edward Bagley, who lived in East Hillsdale at the present resi- dence of Rufus White, at which place his son Oliver was long a merchant, and Avas succeeded by John Nooney, one of the most active business men of the town, who had previously as a merchant l)een in partnership with Aaron Reed, Isaac Foster, Amos M. Knapp, and with Artemus Johnson in the cloth-dressing and wool-carding business.
4
26 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
His family was among the most interesting in the town. His chiklren were among the most interesting of forty- odd students of the writer some sixty years ago, who had then just emerged from boyhood, and now stands on the verge of a second chiklhood, which has doubtless in- creased the interest of a letter just received from one of those who was then in childhood his student.
CHAPTEK X.
DIVISIONS OF THE TOWN — STATE REPRESENTATIVES — A GREAT LAWYER — THE FEDERALISTS.
The Town Divided into Six Localities : Hillsdale Village, East Hillsdale, Hillsdale Centre, West Hillsdale, Green River, Hurlemville — The Birdsalls — John Higgins — Benjamin Birdsall — George Birdsall — • Hagemans — Pixleys— Amiglis — Joidans — William Jordan, Jr. — Ambrose L. Jordan — Joseph Morehovise — Clintonian Republicans — Qaincy Johnson— Samuel Judson -Col. Anson Dakin— Christopher W. Miller — Josiah Knapp — Andrew Higgins— Elisha W. Buslinell-John Collin — Henrj' P. Mesick — Gen. Provost's Army — Ebenezer Youngs.
When Speucertowii had been separated from Hillsdale in 1818, the hills or other circumstances had left the town divided into six distinct localities, in each of which have been inhabitants who have made interesting histories. Those localities are designated as Hillsdale Village, East Hillsdale, Hillsdale Centre, West Hillsdale, Green Eiver and Harlemville. I will first call attention to the inhab- itants who have resided or originated in the West Hills- dale locality. The Birdsalls were among the earliest of these families, and tliev resided on the farm where John Higgins lived and died. Benjamin Birdsall was four times a representative in the State Legislature, and John Birdsall was a representative in the State Senate. George Birdsall was a distinguished physician and re- sided for a time in what is now the town of Copake. One of the kindred was a military officer and was assas- sinated at Greenbush. The daughters of Benjamin Bird-
28 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
sail married into some of the most respectable families in Hillsdale, among whom were the Ha<;emans, the Pixleys and the Amighs. Near the l^irdsalls was the residence of the Jordans. William Jordan, Jr., twice represented the town in the Board of Supervisors, and was the col- onel in the town militia, and his brother Abraham repre- sented the town of Claverack in the Board of Supervisors. Ambrose L. Jordan was a representative in the State Leg- islature, and for four years a representative in the State Senate. He was a Surrogate and District Attorney in Otsego county and for several years Recorder in the city of Hiidson. He was a member of the State Constitu- tional Convention in 1846, and was the first Attorney- General of the State under* the new constitution. It is history that he was second to none among the legal gen- tlemen of that day, who for talents have not been ex- ceeded since. Near the Birdsall residence was that of Joseph Morehouse, who for ten years represented the town in the Board of Supervisors. At his last election an in<'ident occurred that is eminently worthy a place in history. For giving aid and comfort to the enemy in the war of 181'2, the Federal party had become disgraced and had abandoned its name and had adopted that of Clin- tonian Republicans, or American System Men. That sys- tem consisted of the river and harbor policy, to create debts and expenditures as an excuse for levying high duties upon imports — the very polic}' that has since del- uged our country in blood and tears. Of course, that party was opposed to Joseph Morehouse, and they nom- inated a ticket in opposition, putting the name of Quincy Johnson at its head. On the njorning of the election Quincy Johnson made publicly "the declaration that he had been nominated without liis knowledge, consent or approbation, and that he did not approve of the ante- cedents and j^olicy of the party who had nominated him, and that if elected by that })arty he would not qualify and
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 29
serve. This anno u nee nieiit left Joseph Morehoiist: to walk over the course without opposition. At the next election Quincy Johnson occupied a position upon the ticket of his choice, and was opposed with the bitterest malignitv, but was elected by a most triumphant ma- jority.
Near the Birdsall residence was that of Samuel Jud- son, and he for two years was a member of the Board of Supervisors, and for many years after a most respectable ma<>;istrate in thtJ town. Witli him resided his cousin, Colonel Anson Dakin, who commanded tlie town militia, who were ever ready to march, for the defense of their country, as they did to Long Island aiid Plattsburgh in the war of 1812, and they would ever have blushed at the idea of having the county expend its thousands of dollars for a place to stack their arms in, or to expend six hun- dred dollars a year to provide them with a dancing saloon. In the same section resided Christopher W. Miller, who was an officer in the uniform com[)any that marched for the relief of Plattsburgh in the war of 1812. In the same neighborhood resided Josiah Knapp, who was a Judge of the County Court aud for many years a respectable mag- istrate. Also, in the same neighboi'hood, resided Andrew Higgins, who was a colonel in the militia and for many years a much respected magistrate. In the same section resided Elisha W. Bushn<dl, who was once a representa- tive in the State Legislature and a President of the County Agricultural Society. For a time John Collin re- sided on the Birdsall farm. Before the Revolution he was a captain appointed hy the Royal Governcn-, and dur- ing the Revolution he was a captain appointed by the Governor of the State of New York. He subsequently settled the controversy between the tenants under Massa- chusetts grants and the cnvner of the manor title in the town of Hillsdale, and he was among the actors in all the great public ('nt(U"prises of the day. Nearly all the resi-
30 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
due of tlie inhabitants in that part of the town had cred- itably held different otHeered positions. In 1814 Henry P. Mesiek lived on Pumpkin Hill, on the farm now occu- pied by John McAlpine — it was on the line between Hills- dale Centre and West Hillsdale. General Provost's army was then invading the State of New York by way of Plattsburgh, and a uniform company in Hillsdale was called to aid in repelling that invasion. Ebenezer Youngs was the captain of tliat company ; he resided in what is now the old house east of .the present resi- dence of Levi Coon ;*he was a zealous Federalist, a party characterized for giving aid and comfort to the enemy. He threw up his commission, and Henry P. Mesiek took the command and marched with all possible speed upon the expediti(^»n. The enemy, after sustaining great loss, was compelled to retreat. In 1839 the county, by law, was charged with the expenses of the police constables of the city of Hudson, and tiiose constables were in the halnt of almost daily delivering persons at the jail who, at the volition of the jailor, were supplied with boots, hats, coats, shirts and pantaloons, at the e^xpense of the county. A committee of the Board of Supervisors re- fused to allow the account unless ordered by the County Superintendent of the Poor. Henry P. Mesiek, who for ten years was such Superintendent, refused to order its payment, and was sustained by the Board. And thus was an annual expense of hundreds of dollars saved to the county, to the great grief of tramps from the city of New York to that of Albany.
The foregoing is a truthful representation of the char- acteristics of the people in Western Hillsdale for all past time.
CHAPTER XL
HnXSDALE KUEAL CEMETEKY — RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS AND THEIR FOUNDERS — PEOPLE OF ENTERPRISE.
Robert Noble^Bogarclus — Caleb Benton — Squire Sherwood — Mrs. Sher- wood; her Danghtprs — Mr. Dnmond— Mr. Shorts — David Wheeler — Sornborger— Osborn — Brainard — Levi Coon— vWalter B. Ten Broeck — Hillsdale Rural Cemetery; its Boundaries —Cemetery on Leonard John- sou's Premises - Monument to Jeremiah Potter— Parla Foster — Asher Adams— John Pixley — Mrs. Jose|)h P. Dorr — Ephraim Pixley -Refine Latting — Rev. Stephen Gano— Stephen Bristol - Amos K. Kuapp— Captain Turner Dr. Henry Cornell — George M. Bullock -Rutseu Hunt— John Q. Jolmsou — The Village.
The tirst settlement of Hillsdale was in what is now the village, department. A brief history of Robert Noble, its first settler, has been oiven. He was suecei-'ded l)y a Mr. Bogardus, of whom we have only a traditional his- tory. By that we learn that he was a man of wealth and talents, and in religion an Episcopalian, to wliose usages he adhered with great tenacity. He was succeeded by Caleb Benton, wlio not only possessed wealth and talents, but was a distinguished physician. He was succeeded by Squire Sherwood, whose wife possessed all tliose pru- dent and industrious ipialities that have characterized her Merwin and Collin kindred in all their generations. Her daughters, in addition to the characteristics of their mother, were specially distinguished for vivacity and beauty. Esther married Moses Foster, Lucy married Isaac Foster, Susan married Artemus Johnson, Sally married Spencer Esmond, and another married a Mr. Lord, of Brattleborough, in Vermont. Mr. Sherwood was succeeded upon the same premises by a Mr, Du-
32 HILLSDALE HISTORY,
mond, one of whose sons marched to the front when his countrj^ called him in the war of 1812. Mr. Dumond was succeeded for a time by a Mr. Sharts, a wealthy and gen- erous gentleman from Chatham, and he was succeeded by David Wheeler, who subsequently, at his own expense, built a pleasant church at South Egremont. He was suc- ceeded by a Mr. Sornborger, who was a prominent mem- ber of the Methodist Church of which his father was a patriarch, and his son was one of the efficient authors of the Hillsdale Rural Cemetery. Mr. Sornborger was suc- ceeded by a Mr. Osborn, who, being an industrious, per- s>vering man, with a most amiable wife and beautiful daughters, all fell victims to pulmonary consumption. Mr. Osborn was succeeded by Mr. Brainard, whose in- genuity and mechanical genius conceived and constructed the plan and surroundings of the Hillsdale Rural Ceme- tery, of which association for years he was the President. The premises are now occupied by Mr. Levi Coon, who, with Walter B. TenBroeck, are the present .prominent officers in the Presbyterian Church, which has done much to promote the moral and religious character of the peo- ple of Hillsdale; and Mr. TenBroeck has for all time baen th^ efficient Secretary of the Hillsdale Rural Ceme- tery Association, and is now one of the magistrates in the town.* The said premises are bounded on the north and south by the lands of John Quincy and William Leonard Johnson, who are the descendants of that Isaac Johnson whose history has been already given. They are bound- ed on the east by the lands of Dr. Henry Cornell, orig- inally occupied by James Bryant, whose history has been briefly given, and which for a time was occupied by Dr. Benjamin House, who was the President of that nol)le temperance society founded upon principles of m'n\il suasion, which, judging by its antecedents, if it had not
* Mr. Ten Broeck though choseu by the people to fill the office df- cljned to accept, its responsibilities !uid refused to qualify. — fJi/.
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 33
been destroyed by a side issue, political temperance or- ganizations would have made the people of our country a worthy model of temperance for all other j)eople.
The cemetery on the Johnson premises was founded by the first settlers of the town. The monument erected in it to the memory of Jeremiah Potter was the fruit of filial affection. It may be said of him in the language of the poet :
That knowledge to his eyes her ample pdge, Rich with the spoils of time did ne'er enroll,
Chill penviry represented his noble rage And froze the geaial current of the sonl.
A worthy aged son and daughter yet survive him, the one living in Alford, Mass., and the other in Monmouth county. New Jersey. His grand-children are making noble histories, one filling a high judicial position in a Western State. Pavla Foster was one of the early set- tlers of the town, and resided on the premises now occu- pied by Asher Adams. Hp was a patriarch and liberal patron of the Methodist Church, which has also done much to promote the moral and religious character of the people of Hillsdale. John Pixley resided on the prem- ises now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Joseph P. Dorr. He was a man of talents, princely appearance, and was long a merchant in the town and was once the High Sherifi^ of the county. His father, Ephraim Pixley, suf- fered a loss of property in the early feuds about the Manor title, and the pardon of the authors of that loss gave rise to the name of Barn Burners at the election of 1824, while on the other hand the aid given the enemy in the war of 1812 gave rise to the name of Hunker at that election. Refine Latting 'resided on the premises now occupied by his grandson, Mr. Lawrence. He and Parla Foster were at one time the owners of what is now the village of Hillsdale, and his father was one of the earliest settlers of the town. His mother, by her second mar-
34 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
riage, was the wife of tlie Rev. Stephen Gauo, who was the founder of the two Baptist Churches in the town, which have done their share in promoting the moral and religious character of the people of the town. Stephen Bristol was an early settler of the town, and resided on the premises now occupied by his daughter, who by her liberality has done much to promote the interest of the churches and to relieve the sufferings of the poor, and to aid in all the village improvements. Amos M. Knapp was an early settler of the town, and was long a merchant in the village of Hillsdale and once represented the town in the Board of Supervisors. He married Miss Nancy, the accomplished daughter of Captain Turner, who occu- pied what is now the Hillsdale tavern house.
Dr. Henry Cornell, George M. Bullock, Butsen Hunt and John Q. Johnson, residents of the Hillsdale village section of the town, have each represented the town in the Board of Supervisors. Each have made laudible ef- forts to protect the town from the burdens so long un- justly imposed upon it. They had the address to pre- vent the Board from stultifying itself upon the subject of the Copake line. And George M. Bullock introduced into the Board a very sensible set of resolutions upon the sub- ject of the publication of the Acts of the Legislature. If the publication of local acts was confined to the localities interested, and the publication of general acts Avas con- fined to such as specially interested the public, it would make such publication very useful and save a very great expense to the State. Favored by the depot on the Har- lem Railroad, the people in Hillsdale village are begin- ning to exhibit a very enterprising spirit in the way of village improvements. It will be well, therefore, to de- lay the -history that they are thus making, to a future edition, when the people may become so interested uj)on the subject as to give the facilities for a more minute history.
CHAPTER XII.
EAST HILLSDALE — ITS EARLY SETTLERS — SOME OF THEIR DE- SCENDANTS -LOCALITY OF THEIR RESIDENCES.
Gaius Stebbins—Dakin— Elijah Burton — Lucy Colliu —Edward Bagley — Oliver Bagley — James Bryan 2d — George Amigb — Captain John Collin — Sarah Arnold— Deidoma Morse — John Collin and Ruth Holman — Their Children— Rodney Hill- Rev. Hiram H. White— Lewis Wright — Quincy Johnson— John Hunt — James Taylor -Walter McAlpine — Adanyah Bidwell— Mr. June— Levi Williams.
Gaius Stebbiiis Avas one of the earliest settlers of East Hillsdale. He was a man of intelligence, integrity and princely appearance, and was long- a merchant, his store being where is now the grocery of Walter Shafer, and his residence wher.^ is now that of Geo. T. Burton. In 1807 and in 1809 he was a representative in the State Legisla- ture. A family of Dakins owned the premises now be- longing to George Sornborger, and they kept a noted tavern there. They were relatives of Colonel Anson Dakin, a distinguished resident of Western Hillsdale. Elijah Burton lived on an adjoining farm, now owned by his son, George T. Burton. His wife was Lucy Collin, the niece of Captain John Collin. On the farm adjoining resided Edward Bagley, a deacon in the Baptist Church, and in 1817 was a member of the Board of Supervisors. His son Oliver was long a merchant on his premises. In the same neighborhood resided James Bryan second, who for many years was a respectable magistrate, and whose wife was Nellie Pixley, the sister of John and Joseph Pixley. In the same neighborhood resided
86 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
George Amigli, distinguished for amiable disposition and gigantic size and strength, and whose wife was also a daughter of Benjamin Birdsall. Adjoining the Amigh premises on the north for near twenty years was the residence of Captain John Collin, and has continued to be that of some of his descendents to the present time. He held a militar}^ commission under the Crown, and afterwards under the States. He was a pacificator among the people, and did much to settle the contro- versy between the occupants of lands in Hillsdale under Massachusetts titles and the Manor claims. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and in his social relations was on terms of intimacy with the Van Kensselaers, the Livingstons, the Van Nesses and Alex- ander Hamilton. Elislia Williams spent some weeks in his family. In his childhood he was baptized in the Con- gregational Church, and the Eev. David Tullar, for forty years a clergyman in Melford, Conn., was in the habit of visiting him during his life. He believed the attribute of the Almighty to be that of infinite love, which would not admit of one particle of those worst attributes of the Devil which many zealousl}' professing Christians are pleased to impute to him. His first wife was Sarah Ar- nold, a Quakeress. The maiden name of his second wife was Deidoma Morse, a near relative of Professor Morse, the distinguished inventor of the magnetic telegra})li, and she was the widow of Oliver Davidson, of Canterbury, Conn., and was the grandmother of Miss Lucre tia Maria Davidson, wh(,)se poetic w)itings attracted the favorable attention of Professor Morse, Washington Hving and Catharine Sedgwick, who procured their publication in a volume. Captain John Collin's oldest son died while a solder in the American army in the war of the revolution. His remaining son, John Collin, married Ruth Holman Johnson, a descendant of that Isaac Johnson Avho was instrumental in the first settlement of Boston, and whose
HILLSDALE HISTOBY. 37
history I have already briefly given. Their oldest son was a member of a firm of iron manufacturers in Lenox, Mass., who also established the first plate glass manufac- tory in this country. Two of their sons were at different times for many years members of the Board of Supervis- ors. One once represented the county in the State Leg- islature, and was once a representative in Congress, and was the chairman upon the Committee of Naval Expendi- tures during the two years, and took a most active part in the conception of and advocacy of the tariff' of 1846. Like his grandfather, he was prominent as a pacificator, and was the principal actor in the settlement of a bloody controversy between certain tenants and their landlords in Columbia count}-. The other son of John and Ruth Holman Collin for several years represented the town of Hillsdale in the Board of Supervisors, and has since been a magistrate in Mount Vernon, Linn county, Iowa, and holds an ofiicial position in the college there, of which his son has hmg been a jirofessor. The oldest daughter of John and Buth Holman Collin married Rodney Hill, for a time a magistrate and merchant in Great Barrintr- ton, Mass. Another daughter married the Rev. Hiram H. White, k)ng a member of the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Another daughter married Lewis Wright, a merchant in Xenia, Ohio. Quincy Johnson, the father of John Quincy and William Leonard JoJmson, and long the owner and occupant of the farm now occupied by his son William Leonard, was the son of William and Jane Robinson Johnson, and the lineal descendent of Isaac Johnson, of Bostoji fame. After refusing to be a candidate for Supervisor by a party whose principles and antecedents he did not approbate, he was tor some 3-ears a Town Clerk or Supervisor elect- ed 1 )y the party of his choice, and was for many years a magistrate in the town, and during much of his life was employed as a pacificator among men and as an executor
38 HILLSDALE HISTORY,
in the settlement of important estates. His maternal an- cestors had been important actors in much of their coun- try's history. Two of his maternal uncles were the im- porters of the arms and military stores, to obtain which, by the British, brought on the first battle of the Kevolu- tion at Lexington. Those uncles were subsequently in the battle of Bunker Hill, and died in the army near the close of the war. A third uncle fell in the battle with the army of General Burgoyne. Quini^y Johnson was the brother of Ruth Holman Jolmstm, the wife of John Col- lin, and also of Sophia Johnson, the wife of Elias Ford, of Hawley, Mass., and Clynthia Johnson, the wife of the Rev. Harry Truesdell, and Melinda Johnson, the wife of Bishop Leouidas L. Hamline.
John Hunt was one of the earliest settlers ia the town of Hillsdale, and lived to be near a century old, and re- sided on the farm adjoining that of Captain John Collin. His oldest son married Sallie Bagley, the daughter of Edward Bagley, and their oldest son, Edward, married Eliza Esmond, the grand-daughter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood. James Taylor was one of the original settlers of Hillsdale and he lived on tlie farm adjoining that of John Hunt. He lived to a very great age, and his mother lived to be some years over a hundred. One of his sons was a soldier in the war of 1812. Walter Mc- Alpiue lived to great age on a farm adjoining that of James Taylor and was among the first settlers of the town. His daughter Nancy married Harry Collin, the son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin. Their son, Henry Clark, married Maria Louisa Park, of Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., and is now a wealthy farmer in Benton, Yates county, N. Y. Harriet Ann Collin, the daughter of Harry and Nancy McAl]une Collin, married Alfred G. Bidwell, and now resides in Bergen Hill, N. J. Emeline Collin, the daughter of Harry and Nancy Mc- Alpine Collin, married Dr. William Wickham W^elch, of
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 39
Norfolk, Conn. Adan^'ah Bidwell, father of Alfred G. Bidwell, lived on the farm now owned by Jacol) Reed, near the premises of Walter B. Ten Broeck. He was a very useful and influential member of the Methodist Church. One of his daughters married a Mr. Noxon, of Hillsdale, and one married Dr. Millen Sabin, of Lenox, Mass. Daniel Winchel was one of the early settlers of Hillsdale and was the owner of a large tract of land, upon which is situated what is now called the Summit of Echoes. He subsequently became the owner of what is now called Prospect Lake and the mills at its outlet in Egremont. His sons were James, Milo, Calvin, Harry and Ezra. One of his daughters married a Mr. Tickner, of Alford, Mass., and another married Seymour Phelps, of Sheffield, Mass. One of the daughters of Seymour Phelps married Martin Haywood, a resident of East Hillsdale.
The premises lately (K^cupied by Levi Williams, and now by Mr. Mitchell, and adjoining the lands of George Sornborger, was originally, owned by a Mr. June, who kept a tavern there in the early settlement of the town. Levi Williams married a Miss Hannah Smith, of Tagh- kanic. They bad two sons and one daughter. Adam, one of the sons, lives in New Jersey, and Levi, the other son, owns the premises adjoining those formerly occupied by his father. The daughter, Gertrude, married John Mitchel, and after his death she married Ezra D. Loomis, and now resides a mile north of Hillsdale village.
A fuller and more complete history of the residents in East Hillsdale will be given in another edition, if the in- habitants wnll supply the records.
CHAPTER XIII.
GREEN RIVER — HARLEMVILLE — HUDSON ORPHAN ASYLUM — COUNTY POOR HOUSE.
William Tanner — Jared Winslow— Jonathan Hill — Sarah Amanda Collin — Albert Winslow Garfield — James Collin—Chastine E. Wilcox — Sam- uel B. and Charles A. Sumner -Lewis B. Adsit— Henry J. Rowe — Hiram Winslow — Isaac Hatch— Albert Shepard Joel Curtis— Gaul McKown — Frederick Pnltz — John H. Overhiser— Willis Disbrow — W. H. Gard- ner— Andrew H. Spickerman — Ralph Judson — -Charles H. Downing — Alfred Curtis — Joel G. Curtis.
The "district of Green River contains less than one- tenth of the population of Hillsdale, and yet its people have made very respectable histories. William Tanner was one of the earlier settlers of the town, and kept a tavern at the tavern-honse now owned by Mr. Van Hoseu. He was a major in the town militia and twice re])re- sented the town in the Board of Supervisors. His son Ralph was a lieutenant in the com])any that marched to the defense of Plattsburt^h in the war of 1812. Jared Winslow was an early settler of the town, and was lon<< a ver}' respectable ma<fistrate in the town, and once rep- resented the county in the State Legislature. His ujraiid- son was for some years a respectable county school commissioner. Jonathan Hill was an early resident of the town and once represented the county in the State Legislature. His oldest son married Sarah Amanda, the oldest daughter of John and Ruth Holman Collin, who for some years was a magistrate and merchant in Great Barrington, Mass. One of his daughters married
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 41
Albert Winslow, a son of Jared Winslow. One of his daughters married a Mr. Garliekl, of Monterey, Mass., a relative of the late President Gai-field. One of his daugh- ters married James Collin, a son of John and Ruth Hol- man Collin. One daughter married Collins Hunt, of Lenox, Mass. One daughter married Henry Williams, of Alford, Mass. Jonathan Hill married Chastine E. Wil- cox, an aunt of the distinguished poets, Samuel B. and Charles A. Sumner, the one having done efficient service as an officer in the late civil war, and the other having just been elected as Congressman-at-large in California. Lewis B. Adsit was for many years a respectable magis- trate in Green Eiver, as was also Henry J. Howe and Hiram Winslow.
Isaac Hatch was an early settler of the town and for many years ke])t a tavern-house one mile south of that of William Tanner. Albert Shepard has held many im- portant offices in the town and his father was arte of its early settlers. The father of James M. McDonald was an early settler of the town and lived at the present resi- dence of his son. The father of Timothy, George and David G. Woodin was an early settler of the town, and his son David G. was long a county school commissioner. Joel Curtis for years lived on the hill separating Green Kiver and Hillsdale Centre, and his son has been, and his grandson now is, a re})resentative of the town in the county Board of- Su})ervisors. Harlem ville con- tains something more than one-tenth of the population of the town. As a generality the })eople of Hillsdale have not been importunate for official ])atronage, and Harlemville, particularly, has not convulsed the town with such importunities, and yet that section of the town has supplied some of its most efficient officers, particu- larly distinguished for intelligence, integrity and pru- dence. Their magistrates, commencing with Mr, Gaul and Mr. McKown, have been Frederick Pultz, John H.
42 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Overhiser, Willis Disbrow and W. H. Gardner. Their Supervisors have been Andrew A. Spickerman, John H. Overhiser, Kalph Judson, Chas. H. Downing, Alfred Cur- tis and Joel G. Curtis. John H. Overhiser once repre- sented the county in the State Legislature, and was dur- ing a term the Higli Sheriff of the county. Forty odd years ago he was instrumental m dividing the town of Hillsdale into election districts, which has ever since met the approbation of the whole people. His action in the Legislature met the approbation of all of hi« con- stituents. As a Supervisor he exerted a salutary influ- ence in the Board. Under his influence as Sherifl" the affairs of the jail were conducted with a degree of system and efliciency not exceeded at any other time in this county or elsewhere. And in tlie painful necessity of exe- cuting a ci^iminal, it was done in a way to deprive it of much of its horrid characteristics, and excited expressions of admiration universally. The early settlers of that section of the town were largely conj posed of Downiugs and Beckers, a large jjortion of whom liaA e held difl'erent official positions, in which they have exercised the strict- est integrity and economv. As an exam])le of that integ- rity and economy, I will cite one of several cases which occurred under my observation : An ofllcer jjresented to tlie Board of Town Auditors an account including one day's services, for which, under some peculiar circum- stances, he had not been able to be in attendance, and though a personal and political friend of John P. Becker, upon his motion the chai'ge was stiicken out, as was all others of a like character. As further illustrating the characteristics of the officers from that section of the town, I will cite an occurrence when Ralph Judson was a Supervisor : A bill was presented to the Board of Su- pervisors requiring an appropriation of a thousand dol- lars for the benefit of the Hudson Orphan Asylum, and Mr. Judson moved that before its allowance the mana<rers
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 43
of tlie Asylum be required to make the same report through the County Superhitendents that was required for the inmates of the County Poor House. For this motion of Mr. Judson, a very hitter attack was made upon him by one of the [)aid editors of the Board. In explana- tion, Mr. Judson stated that however well the Asylum was now conducted, it might degenerate into other hands who might make it a nursery of vice. A majority of its inmates were from other counties, and in other hands the inmates might not be jjaupers, and corrupt men might use it to conceal their debaucheries. At any rate, with- out some better knowledge of its operations than was then possessed liy the Board, it was a bad precedent. To this the editor replied in rude language that the associa- tions at the county house were corru})ting and contami- nating, and the reputation of having been its inmate would be disgraceful to the individual during life, and the editor denied that he was the author of what ap- peared editorially in his paper, but was written or dictated by the lady managers of the institution. To the repre- sentation of the editor tlie folJ owing was a closing reply. "1 must i)e ])ardoned if I do not recognize as the produc- tion of ladies all that may be represented as such in the columns of that paper, or all that may be pulled as such by the editor of it. It is not characteristic of ladies to seok to effect their purposes by the joint influence of l)lackguardism and flattery, nor seek to associate with such as do. It is not characteristic of ladies to putf as noble hearted, men who with pockets closed themselves are liush in giving away the money of others. It is not cliaracteristic of ladies to boast their own qualities of head and heart, while denying that of others. It is not charactteristic of ladies to boast immunity of that law w]ii(;]i allows taxpayers to know the objects for which they are taxed, and allows the world to know the causes which has produced destitution. It is not characteristic
44 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
of ladies to affect to weep over the poverty of infants, and , yet to impute such poverty as crime to persons in second childhood. It is not characteristic of ladies to confound misfortune with vice, and poverty with crime. The law sends the vicious and criminal to the county jail, and the poor and unfortunate to the countv poor house. It is not characteristic of ladies to charge the thousands annually discharged from our ])oor houses with having beeu nur- tured amidst crime and vice, merely because they had spent their infantile years amidst the poor and unfortunate. No, no ! Such are not the characteristics of lovely and intelligent ladies. They are more properly the character- istics of an impudent and silly editor, who, after having indulged in blackguardisms, cowardh' sneaks behind the crinoline to escape from the consequences." That insti- tution has adopted much of the policy suggested by the resolution of Mr. Judson, and has no doubt grown to be a noble institution, and certainly a portion of the credit of it is due to Mr. Judson and that section of the town he represented. As the inmates of that asylum are from other counties, it may be questionable with its merits whether it should not beconie a State institution. And there is no doubt that the mandatory provision of the law in resj^ect to it should be changed so as to allow the Board of Supervisors to act upon their discretion. Some of the most ridiculous and extravagant expenses of the county of Columbia have grown out of the mandator}^ laws of the State, and the attention of the New York Leg- islature was called to the impropriety of such laws forty- eight years ago by a representative from Columbia county, and the evil consequence of not regarding that sugges- tion has been a subject of complaint ever since.
CHAPTER XIV.
A HISTORICAL FOUNDATION — BIRDSALL FAMILY — HILLSDALE
CENTRE.
Benjamin Birdsall— James Bryan 2d— Pelatiah Hunt— John Wa^er — Baruet Burtis — Judge Loop — Stephen Hoyt -Ethan Boyes— Dr. Kich- ard Bartlett — Nathaniel Husen — Abraham Overhiser -William White — Baruet Wayer— Gustavus A. Dibble— Stephen Hedges— Joseph Ross- man -George Knox and David West — Gilbert Sherwood — Walter Mc Alpine — Samuel Truesdell— David Collin — Silas Reed— Lewis Adsit — Mr. Evans— Peter B. Hollen beck— President Tyler — Austin Morey — Lorenzo Gilbert— Nicholas C. Tyler — Captain Henry P. Mesicii — Rev. Abel Brown- Thos. Benedict— Nicholas Sharts- -Daniel Darien — Dea- con John Tyler.
The brief outlines of the History of Hillsdale will not be left to the ephemeral existence of the newspaper, but is intended to be corrected and enlarged and published in book form, and it is a matter of congratulation that so many are manifesting their affection for their deceased kindred and their regard for the past history of their town, by supplying kindred records. However humble this history may be, it will lay the foundation for immi- nent historians to perpetuate the history of the town for all future time. The records received enables me to make some important corrections.
In respect to the Birdsall family, of which I have given a brief history, records since received enable me to make corrections. Benjamin Birdsall married a Miss Acker, Their children were : Morris, George, Lewis, Benjamin,
46 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
•James, Sarah, Lizzie and Judith. Sarah married George Amigh; Judith married Joseph Hageman ; Lizzie married Joseph Pixley, the brother of John and sou of Ephraim Pixley, aud Morris married Anna Pixley, the sister of Johu and Joseph Pixley. James Br3^an second, married Nellie Pixley, the sister of John and Joseph Pixley. James Bryan had three sons and one daughter (Eveline), a girl distinguished for intelligence, vivacitA' aud beauty. A monument is erected to her memory near the graves of the Pixleys in the grounds of the Hillsdale Rural Ceme- tery Association.
In respect to Hillsdale Centre, I have already given a brief liistor}' of Colonel Charles McKinstry, one of the earliest and most respectable citizens of the town. Also of his son-in-law. Judge Augustus Tremain, whose son Porter married Amanda Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, and after her decease he married Lucy B. Collin, daughter of David and Anne Smith Collin.
I have also briefly noticed Judge Henry Loop, who married a daughter of Colonel Charles McKinstry. Al- mira, the daughter of Judge Henry Loop, married Lee Collin, the son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin.
Pelatiah Hunt lived about a mile distant from the resi- dence of Colonel Charles McKinstry. He was a wealthy farmer, and one of his descendants by blood and another by afhnity have been members of the County Board of Supervisors. John Wager lived about a mile from the residence of Colonel McKinstry. His wife was the daughter of David Arnold, who was the brother of the first wife of Captain John Collin. Jolin Wager was one of the early residents of the town. His kindred have all acquired wealth by their industr}^ and economy. His son was an officer in the company that marched to the de- fence of Plattsburgh in the war of 1812, and his grandson has been the chairman to the judicial committee in tlie
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 47
State Legislature. My first meetiiify with the Democracy of the town was in March, 1824, when I first made the acquaintance of Isaac and Silas Downing, Gilbert Palmer and Justices Gaul and McKown, and other sterling Dem- ocrats from the Harlemville section of the town. At that meeting John Wager presided, and in it his well spoken advice had a controlling influence. Then, having been ab- sent from the town some years, my next meeting with the Democracy, was in March, 1830, at which John Wager again presided, and where I first made the acc^uaintance of Colonel Ambrose Lockwood, Colonel Andrew Higgins, Colonel Anson Dakin, Deacon John Tylei' and Barnet and Thomas Burtis, Colonel Jared Winslow and many other long-life Democrats. Barnet Burtis then owned and occupied the farm now owned by Peter B. Hollen- beck ; Judge Loop owned the farm now owned by Allen B. Downing; Stephen Hoyt ow-ned tlie farm adjoining the State line, sul)sequently owned by Thomas Burtis, and now owned hj a Mr. Johnson. Ethan Boyes owned the farm now owned by John White. Dr. Richard Bart- lett owned the farm now owned by his son Richard. Nathaniel Husen owned the farm now owned b}' David A. Nichols. Abraham Overhiser owned the farm which has been bequeathed by Alanson Morehouse to his wife. William White owned the farm now owned by Eandoll Dean. John Wager's farm is now owned by Benson A. Hunt. Barnet Wager owned the farm now owned by George Gilbert. Gustavus A. Dibble owned the farm now owned by Austin Morey. Ste}>hen Hedges owned the farm now owned by Datus Hanor. Joseph Bossman owned the farm now owned b}- the widow and heirs of Nicholas C. Tyler. George Knox and David West owned the farms now owned by llodney Gilbert. Gilbert Sher- wood owned the farm of Norman Crandall. Walter Mc- Alpine owned the farm of William Ward. Samuel Trues- dell oAvnecl the farm of LeKov Hunt. David Collin owned
48 nnj^sDALE history.
the farm of Eutsen Hunt. Silas Keed owned the farm of Edward B. Hunt. Lewis Adsit owned the farm of Jack- son Bartlett. Mr. Evans owned the farm of Elisha Os- born. The farm formerly owned by Barnet Burtis is now owned and occupied l)y Peter B. Hollenbeck. For two years he has represented the town in the Board of Super- visors, and has been a trustee in the Hillsdale Rural Cemetery Association durinsj its whole histor3\ His wife was a daughter of Jacob I. Van Deusen, one of the most prominent farmers of Copake. The few other changes will be noticed upon further information, and interesting histories will be given of some of the occupants.
The wife of Stephen Hedges was a Miss Gardanier, aunt of the wife of President Tyler. William White was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was in the reserve during the last battle with the army of General Burgoyne. Austin Morey was born January 20th, 1819, and married Catharine Smith March 29th, 1845. She was born April 5th, 1822. Their children are : Smith, born June 29th, 1846; Eugene A., born June 29th, 1848; Delia E., born February 13tb, 1856. Eugene A. married Mary Gorsline November 17th, 1869, and Delia E. mar- ried J. T. McKown October 28th, 1880. In 1863 and 1864 Mr. Morey represented the town of Hillsdale in the Board of Supervisors.
Lorenzo Gilbert owns the farm adjoining that of his brother Rodney. His wife was a daughter of Esquire James Reyn(^lds, of Copake, and for two years he has represented the town in the Board of Supervisors. Nicho- las C. Tyler was for some years a Justice of the Peace, and his wife was the daughter of Esquire Joel Pierce, whose farm adjoined that of Austin Morey and was very near the farm of Colonel Mclvinstry.
Captain Hem-y P. Mesick once owned one of the farms now owned b}' John McAlpine, and the Rev. Abel Brown owned the other farm belonging to McAlpine. The Rev.
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 49
Abel Brown was a wortliy member of the Baptist Church, aud his wife was the sister of Judge John Martin, of Claveraek. Thomas Benedict owned the farm adjoining the land of John McAlpine on the north, which now be- longs to John Q. Johnson, and Nicholas Sharts was the original owner of the land adjoining that of John Mc- Alpine on the south, which now also belongs to John Q. Johnson.
Daniel Darien was the original owner of the farm of Lorenzo Gilbert, and Deacon John Tyler owned the farm adjoining on the north of Lorenzo Gilbert, who for two years represented the town in the Board of Supervisors.
CHAPTEE XV.
A FAMILY HISTORY DESIRABLE — HILLSDALE ROADS — COMMIS- SIONERS FROM 1852 TO 1883.
Fiunily Histories interesting — An Appeal to the Cominnnity tor such — Charles Crow — William Coon — Crooked Roads— Columbia Turnpike — Soil for Roads —Road Laws — Assessments —Sums Expended on Roads since 1849 -Reform.
A family history of the people of Hillsdale who lived a half century ago would now he considered a treasure. A famil}' history of the present population would be con- sidered a treasure to the people of Hillsdale in the half- century to come. These are facts that our people should appreciate, and each and all should give their family his- tory. To publish a part who have generously supplied those family histories, while the large portion of (jur peo- ple were omitted, would be very uninteresting. A brief history upon the subject fi-om memory would be subject to errors, and might be considered by some impertinent. I have therefore suspended that brief history in the hope that the ]3eople generally would take the subject into seri- ous consideration and give assistance in its accomplish- ment. Should they fail to do so, I may think best to adopt the History of Hillsdale as it appears in our lately published county liistor}^, with such additions as my memory and other authorities will enable me to supply.
In attending to the officers of the town I should not omit the names of Charles Crow and William Coon, who have long been useful magistrates in Hillsdale villao-e.
HILLSDALE HISTOEY. 51
Mr. Crow's fatlier was long a worthy farmer in Western Hillsdale, and his wife's fatlier was a merchant and farm- er in Eastern Hillsdale,
A history of the roads in Hillsdale is a subject worthy of attention. The hills and valleys made crooked roads a necessity, and the confusion among the earlier settlers made them much more so. But the establishment of the Columbia Turnpike some eighty-odd years ago made a fine road through the southern section of the town. And some fifty-odd 3'ears ago an association of citizens made an improved road through the centre of the town. The soil is of a character to make the best of roads, and be- ing near the fountain head of the streams the bridges were cheap, consisting chiefly of single spans. Under these circumstances and our efiicient laws, the making and keeping our roads in repftir has comparatively been attended with but small expense to the people. Those laws, however, required the people to be assessed not less than about one thousand days' work annually upon the roads, or about twenty-five days to the mile, to which the overseers of higliAvays had authority to add one-third, if necessary. In addition to this, the Commissioners of Highways, in order to aid weak districts, were authorized to assess upon the property of the town two hundred and fifty dollars annfially, and with the consent of the people of the town through their suffrages, they could be author- ized to assess upon the property of the town the addi- tional sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars. But each of those sums had to be accompanied Avith a particular specification of their objects, and the commissioners are required to report to the Town Auditors that the money had been expended in pursuance of those objects, which report was required to be entered upon the town records. If expended for l)ridges, the report should so state. If expended for road districts, the report should state the districts. To aid towns having expensive bridges, a law
52 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
exists authorizing the Town Clerk, Justices and Commis- sioner of Highways on any day previous to the first Tues- day in October in any year, to authorize the making of a loan of one-half of one per cent, upon the assessed property of the town for the purpose of some particular specified object in relation to roads and bridges. Under the provisions of these judicious laws, the people of Hillsdale, previous to 1850, never required much expense upon the roads beyond the per diem specified by law. To repair some bridges or to aid some weak road district there was sometimes expended during a year from one to two hundred dollars. Since 1850 the following are some of the sums expended over and above the per diem as- sessments :
COMMISSIONERS.
- James Gorsline, Daniel D. Goodsall,
- David BushQell, David Bnshnell,
- Alfred Curtis, Robert Mc Alpine,
- Robert McAlpine, George M. Bullock,
- George M. Bullock, Philip C. Shaver,
- Peter B. HoUenbeck, Peter B. HoUenbeck,
- Isaac Coon, Martin J. Sweet,
- Adam D. Van DeBoe, Adam D. Van DeBoe,
- Rodney Gilbert, Rodney Gilbert,
- Rodney Gilbert, Judson Wiley,
- Rodney Gilbert. William D. Washburn,
- Ambrose L. Overhiser.
In addition to the extraordinary and apparently illegal road tax upon the people of the town, there has been an-
|
YEAB. |
AMOUNl |
|
1852 - |
- $ 50 |
|
1855 |
100 |
|
1856 - |
• 100 |
|
1857 |
250 |
|
1858 - |
. 200 |
|
1860 |
150 |
|
1861 - |
- 175 |
|
1862 |
430 |
|
1863 - |
. 700 |
|
1864 |
200 |
|
1865 - |
• 200 |
|
1866 |
150 |
|
1868 - |
200 |
|
187U |
250 |
|
1871 - |
350 |
|
1873 |
— |
|
1874 - |
500 |
|
1875 |
800 |
|
1876 - |
500 |
|
1878 |
1355 |
|
1880 - |
• 500 |
|
1881 |
500 |
|
1882 - |
- 500 |
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 53
nuall}^ paid for the use of tlie roads fi-om eifrhty to one hundred dollars commutation money, and during the last year the per diem road tax has been doubled.
After the next auditing day I shall be curious to look and see if the town books will show that the money has all been expended according to law. I trust that it will not turn out that we have had " star route " performers among us. On the contrary, I trust that the examination will disclose extraordinary merit on the part of our road commissioners. Civil service reform is the order of the day. I trust that we shall never need such reform in old Hillsdale.
CHAPTEE XVI.
children's aid SOCIETY^ — KOELIFF JANSEN VALLEY — BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, 1824 — EQUALIZATION.
Children's Aid Society — Astors— Vanderbilts — Sixty Thousand Orphans — Officers — A Kesiduary Bequest — William T. Palmer — George N. Loop — Isaac White — George Mitchel — Andrew and John Brusie — Roe- liflf Jansen Valley Farms — Titles of 1790— Heirs of Nicholas Hollenbeck — Hillsdale Lauds worth $18 per Acre — Board of Supervisors of 1824 — William Miirray's Equalization — Board of 1840 -Hillsdale's Supervisor Objects to Prerogatives of the District Attorney —Stockport's Manufac- turing Interests and Valuation — State Assessor's Report.
There are associations witli the Children's Aid Society of the city of New York that give that society a title to a notice in the History of Hillsdale. That society is one of the worthiest charities of the world. It was incorpor- ated about thirty years ago, and has about sixty thou- sand orphans under its care. It has about fifteen hun- dred regular contributors, who give ti"om one dollar to three thousand dollars annually for its support. Among those contributors are the Astors and the Vanderbilts. Kich bequests are made for its benefit. Mrs. Mary E. Flagg has recently bequeathed $9,000 for its benefit. William A. Booth is the President of that society; Geo. S. Coe is Treasurer ; Charles L. Brace is Secretary, and J. W. Skinner is the Superintendent of its schools. It has fifteen trustees, the terms of five of whom expire annually. To that society a citizen of Hillsdale, after rich bequests to all of his kindred, made a residuary be-
HILLSDALE HISTOEY. 55
quest which at his death contained over $8,000 in cash and about $6,000 of investments. A further history of that Society and that bequest will be' given in the future.
Among the early residents of Eastern Hillsdale. Wm. T. Palmer formerly owned the farm of Sylvester Wolcott ; George H. Loop formerly owned the farm of George Douglass ; Isaac White was an original owner of the farm of Michael Ward ; George Mitchel, owned the farm of Samuel Mitchel; John Moon formerly owned the farm of Martin Haywood, and Andrew and John Brusie were the original owners of the farm of George Brusie. Isaac White was aided by Caleb Benton and John Pixley in procuring his title to the Ward farm.
The best lands in Hillsdale are in the Roeliflf Jansen valley. The Manor titles to the best of those lands were obtained in 1790 at ten dollars per acre. Two of the very best of these farms were apj^raised in 1833 in the distribution of personal and real estate at twenty-five dollars per acre. The very best farm in that valley was sold at negotiated sale by the heirs of Nicholas Hollen- beck, in 1850, at thirty-five dollars per acre. The annual agricultural productions of the town by the census have never much exceeded $175,000, and at times not much more than $150,000, so that taking into account that much of the town consists of rugged hills and some waste land, eighteen dollars per acre is the highest legal value of the whole town.
A more talented Board of Supervisors never assembled in Columbia county than that of 1824. To that Board, William Murray, the Supervisor from Copake, submitted an equalization table of the agricultural lands in the county, which was adopted by the Board. That valua- tion put the lands in Hillsdale at thirteen dollars per acre, and those of Stockport at twenty-nine dollars per acre. For eleven successive years Mr. Murray continued to represent that town. In 1837 Greenport having been
56 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
admitted as a town, there was a revision of the equaliza- tion table, and that of Mr. Murray was adopted. Up to 1839 the county had been taxed for the support of ex- pensive bridges in certain towns. In that year the Su- pervisor from Hillsdale raised an objection to that coun- ty tax, as the bottom lands along the streams greatly enhanced the value of the lands in those towns, and the mill sites were of still greater value, and the bridges were principally valuable to the people of those towns. The objection was sustained, and the county was no longer taxed for that purpose. In 1840 the Board of Su- pervisors was convulsed about a disputed seat, which on the second week was satisfactorily settled by a committee composed of the Supervisors of Livingston and Hillsdale. The Supervisor from Hillsdale raised objections to pre- rogatives exercised by the District Attorney and jailer, which were ultimately sustained. The Supervisor from Stockport moved that the people of Austerlitz should be taxed for the support of an expensive bridge in Stock- port, as the people of Austerlitz used it on their way to the Hudson market. The Supervisor of Hillsdale op- posed the motion and was sustained. In 1811 it was discovered by the census that in addition to the agricul- tural lands there was $814,000 of manufacturing real es- tate in the town of Stockport, and the Supervisor fi-om Hillsdale moved that in the equalization that manufac- turing real estate should be added to the agricultural in that town. After an exciting debate the motion of the Supervisor from Hillsdale was voted down. By the as- sessor's valuation, the Agricultural lauds in Stockport were valued at $367,000, to which, if the manufacturing real estate had been added, it would have amounted to $1,181,000. But the Supervisors in their valuation re- duced Stockport to $199,433. The effect of this was not only to leave the large amount of the real estate of the manufacturers untaxed, but by reducing the Supervisors'
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 57
Vfilnatiou of farm lands below that of the assessors', re- duced the tax upon personal property in Stockport three- tenths of a mill below that of many other of the towns in the county. That policy has been pursued ever since, a little modified at the present session of the Board. While the net income of the real estate in Stockport has been seven-fold greater than that of Hillsdale, Hillsdale has at all times been taxed twice as high as Stockport, including the enormous expense of the civil war. That great wrong might have been averted had the Supervisor from Hillsdale appealed from the equalization of the Board in 1841. His excuse for not doing so for that and the two succeeding years that he was in the Board was the limit- ed amount of county tax imposed upon the people ; that upon Hillsdale for those years but a little exceeded $1,000 annually, being probably less than the woodchuck bounty of the present year. And the whole county tax upon the town was less than half the annual grievance of succeed- ing years. With all its modifications a late State Assess- ors' report will show that at least $10,000,000 worth of real estate, not agricultural, has escaped taxation in the equalization of the present Board of Supervisors. Laws should immediately be passed simplifying and preventing the great expense in procuring redress for these great wrongs. Such expenses and technical provisions of law are used by designing men to prevent redress from being sought for these great wrongs.
CHAPTEE XVII
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE APPOINTED BY THE GOVEENOR — JUS- TICES ELECTED — THADDEUS KEED — PHILIP BECKER.
The Justices of the Peace given in order as appointed by the Governor from 1786 to 1827— Justices elected by the people since 1827 — Tbad- deus Eeed— Catharine Garner— James W. White — Philip Becker— John P. Becker -East Hillsdale Furnace.
The justices of the peace in the town of Hillsdale, from 1786 to 1827, were appointed by the Governor of the State, and were in order as follows : Jacob Ford, James Bryan, Benjamin Birdsall, D. Pratt, Charles McKinstry, Ebenezer Soule, Edward Bagley, Judah Lawrence, Bar- tholomew Williams, Joseph Morehouse, Aaron Reed, B. Richmond, Oliver Teal, Sauford Tracy, Cyrus Alger, Jesse Ford, Maurice Birdsall, John Pixley, Joel Pierce, Isaac Ford, Story Gott, William Niles, Henry Loop, Jared Winslow, David Leonard, Timothy Reed, Joseph Rodman, Jonathan Olmsted, George Squires, Erastus Pratt, Salmon Way, Richard Gaul, Stephen Hadley, Cor- nelius Van Kuren, James McKown.
Stephen Hadley was the brother-in-law of Chester Goodale, of South Egremont, and the uncle by affinity of the distinguished youthful writers of poetry, Dora and Elaine Goodale, and the father of Sterling Hadley, who for years was one of the State Assessors in New York, and once a representative in the State Legislature.
The justices of the peace elected by the people are as
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 59
follows : Josiali Knapp, Jr., for three terms ; Thaddeus Reed for five terms : Jared Winslow, John Richmond, Richard Gaul, for three terms each ; Frederick Pultz for three terms ; Samuel Judson for three terms ; John H. Overhiser for two terms : Rodney Hill, Nicholas C. Tyler, Andrew Higgins, for three terms each ; Quincy Johnson, Lewis B. Adsit for five terms ; Eli Richmond for two terms ; Philip Becker for two terms ; Ira Palmer, William Coon for three terms ; Willis Disbrow for three terms ; Charles Crow for four terms ; John Q. Johnson for three terms ; Hiram Winslow for three terms ; Wm. T. Holsapple, Henry J. Rowe and Wm. H. Gardner.
Thaddeus Reed for many years kept the tavern at what is now called the Hillsdale House, in Hillsdale village. He was the brother of Rufus Reed, of Hudson, and of Dr. Ebenezer Reed, of Austerlitz, and the uncle by affin- ity of Addison Alger, of Western Hillsdale. His adopted daughter, Catharine Garner, married James W. White, a merchant in Hillsdale village, and now j-esides at Tarry- town, in the State of New York.
Philip Becker was the son of John P. Becker, of Har- lemville, and the brother of Stephen C. and David L. Becker, and of Margaret Caroline Becker, who married Orrin M. Sawyer, of Austerlitz, and of Lovina Becker, who married Orville McAlpin, of Hillsdale Centre, and of Elizabeth Becker, who married Sylvanus Smith, of Pen Yan, and of Julianne Becker, who married Samuel Voak, of Waukegan, Illinois, and Catharine Becker, who mar- ried Peter J. Becker, of Hillsdale village, and Polly Becker, who married Gains Truesdell, of Benton, Yates county, N. Y., and Almira Becker, who married Isaac Coon, of Harlemville. Philip Becker was born June 22d, 1805. He married Elizabeth DeGroff July 22d, 1827. His son Henry L. was born July 15th, 1828 ; James M. was born June 29th, 1831 ; Luman P. was born December 20tli, 1833 ; Jane was born April 16th, 1836 ; Julia was
60 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
born October 12th, 1837; Emma H. was born September 28tli, 1840 ; Philip was born December 10th, 1813 ; Char- lie was born April 28th, 1846 ; Hiram H. was born May 10th, 1848 ; Mary was born December 20th, 1850. Philip Becker was ever distinguished for intelligence and integ- rity. He was long a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he held an official position. He Avas for a time the Master in a Masonic Lodge. As a carpen- ter and joiner he had many apprentices, who all have made good workmen and respectable men. He estab- lished the furnace in Eastern Hillsdale, and cultivated a farm, and employed in his business a sawing and planing mill. In the discharge of his duties as a magistrate he gave universal satisfaction.
CHAPTEK XVIII.
SETTLERS FROM MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT — WAR OF 1812 — CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE.
Purchasers of Manor titles — George Bushnell — Jeremiah Hoffman —Dr. Jones— Elisha W. Bushnell — Parla Foster — His children— Capt. John Collin— Robert Orr — His children -Elijah Cleveland^His children — His ancestor Giiy de Cleveland, of England— Moses Cleveland — Ann Winn — Intelligence and integrity of supervisors and magistrates — Early conflicts — Aid in the war of 1812 — Thousands of dollars for com- mutation in the late civil war, and $74,000 war taxes paid — Liberality to sufferers in America and Ireland — Contributions to the Five Points Mission, and Children's .\id Society.
When Massachusetts had yielded to New York her claim to sovereignty and jurisdiction over Hillsdale, Robert Noble and others holding titles under Massachu- setts returned to New England. But some remained and purchased manor titles to the lands they occupied. Among them was George Bushnell, avIio was born in Say- brook, Conn. His son John married Loxey Lay, of Say- brook. One daughter married Jeremiah Hoffman, of Claverack, and one daughter married Dr. Jones, of Hills- dale. His grandson, Elisha W. Bushnell, still occupies the old homestead. Parlia Foster, born in Connecticut, remained in Hillsdale and purchased the manor title. He married Phebe Wills, of Connecticut, and their children were : Anna, who married Dr. John Esmond, and after him in succession Mr. Northrop and Benjamin Snyder; Moses married Esther Sherwood ; Isaac married Lucy
8*
62 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Sherwood, and after her in succession Polly Pixley and Nancy Johnson Gerry and Eveline Johnson ; Simeon married Emily Nichols ; Ely married Polly Bushnell ; Seymour married Sarah Madeline Truesdell; Judson mar- ried Sabrina Messenger ; Deidamie married Dr. John Stevens ; Sally married Richard Latting ; Katy married Stephen Bosworth and Phebe married George Wooden. Capt. John Collin, born in Milford, Conn., remained in Hillsdale and purchased the manor title. He married Sarah Arnold, and after her demise he married Deidamie Morse Davidson. His children were : Anthony, who died a soldier in the war of the revolution ; John, who married Ruth Holman Johnson ; Hannah, wdio married Thomas Truesdell. Robert Orr, born in Bridgewater, Mass., re- mained in Hillsdale and purchased the manor title. He married Hannah Kingman. Their children were Susanna, Jane, Hector, Robert B., Montgomery, and Noble. Elijah Cleveland, born in Ceuterbury, Conn., remained in Hills- dale. He married Alice Lawrence, of Centerbury. He died Sept. 28th, 1794, in tlie 74th year of his age, and she died June 12th, 1799, in the 69th year of her age. They were buried near the site of the old Baptist church on the land of Robert Orr, subsequently the land of Solomon B. Collin, in a graveyard now obliterated. Chas. Crow, Esq., is his kindred by affinity. His mother, Lucy Serign Crow, being a sister to Elizabeth Serign, who was a sister- in-law of Elijah Cleveland. The children of Elijah and Alice Cleveland were as follows : Joseph, who married Elizabeth Fenton ; Lucinda, who married Henry Dibble ; Asa who married Mary Dibble ; John, who married Eliz- abeth Serign ; Abigail, who married Thomas Bathrick. and after him she married Peter Smith ; Daniel, who mar- ried Amy Dibble ; Sarah, who married Andrew Reynolds; Waitstell, who married Martha Tabor ; Anna, who mar- ried Henry Salisbury. All born in Hillsdale except Jos- eph, who was born in Middletown, Conn., and died in
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 6B
1802. The Clevelands were the descendants of Guy de Cleveland, of York county, in England. He was present at the siege of Bologne in France, and commanded the spearmen in the battle of Poictiers. His descendant, Moses Cleveland, came to America about 1635 and set- tled atWoburn, Mass., and married Ann Winn, Jan. 26th, 1648, and died Jan. 9tli, 1701. Their children were Moses, Hannah, Aaron, Samuel, Miriam, Joanna, Edward, Josiah, Isaac and Enoch. A. much more extended and minute history of the Cleveland kindred may be given when this publication shall be in book form.
'Tis education forms the connnon mind, JiiKt piH the twi^ is bent the tree's inclined.
The children in the families here noticed, without a single exception, have all filled respectable positions in society, which has been the fruit of the teachings by their noble mothers. The efforts of those mothers, too, have been most conspicuous in the establishment of the relig- ious churches in the town, wliicli has done so much to improve the moral and religious characteristics of the people. History will sliow that the residue of the popu- lation of Hillsdale, though composed of a conglomeration of all the existing nationalities, compare favorably with those from New England. The thirty-five supervisors that have represented the town, and the fifty magistrates, have all been characterized for intelligence and integrity. For three-fourths of a century the people of Hillsdale were convulsed by the conflicts between Massachusetts and New York, and the occupants under Massachusetts and the manor titles. The settlement of those controver- sies found the people to be such as I have described. In the war of 1812 they individually and collectively gave aid to their country, while others gave aid and comfort to the enemy. In pursuance of law, in the late civil war they quietly gave thousands of dollars by way of commutations,
64 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
and paid over $77,000 in war taxes,altliough they doubted the necessity and expediency of the war, and with Horace Greeley they believed that a Union was not worth sus- taining that had to be pinned together with bayonets, and with the makers of the federal constitution they believed that our Union should be one of mutual affection and ben- efits, and not of force. By their liberality they have ever manifested a kindly regard for those who have suffered by fire or flood or famine, such as has occurred in Chicago, or in the Mississippi valley, or in Ireland. They have long contributed annually to the Five Points Mission in New York city, and one of its citizens has recently made a liberal bequest to the Children's Aid Society, one of the noblest charities of the world. As its merits become developed it will receive further aid from the citizens of Hillsdale. It has 60,000 orphans under its care. It has 32 schools with 86 teachers, in New York city for the ed- ucation of orphans. It has agents all over the country to see that the thousands for whom they have found homes are properly cared for. Alreadj' some of the most active business men of our country are among those whom the society have befriended, atid whose numerously published letters are filled with thanks for those benefits. The char- itable contributions to that society during the past year have amounted to $234,892, and have been annually in- creasing during the past thirty years.
CHAPTEE XIX.
ROAD AND BRIDGE EXPENSES ONLY $9,000 FOR FIFTY YEARS — IN SEVEN RECENT YEARS $4,500.
Fifty years road, bridge and Commissioner's expenses, only $9,000 — Seven years expenses $4,500 — Commissioners and Amlitors siiould c-onii)lj' with strict letter ol the law — What a commissioner's account should specify — Should report reasons lor assessing over 990 days- Law defining amount of extra moneys, and purposes— Acts of 1875 and 1874— First Monday in October.
There are fifty years iu the history of Hillsdale in Avhicli the expenses for roads and bridges, including the compen- sation of the Road Commissioners, have not exceeded $9,000. There are seven recent years in which these ex- penses have exceeded $4,500. To guard against such ex- penses in the future, and avoid suspicion in respect to the integrity of the Commissioners, or the discretion of the Board of Town Auditors, the strict letter of the law should be complied with in the discharge of the duties of both Commissioners and Auditors. The account of the Commissioners should always specify the object for which the services were rendered. It should specify the days in filling road warrants and their distribution, and in meet- ing with Auditors, tfcc. He should specify particularly the money he had received from his predecessor or the Sup- ervisor by way of fines or commutations, and particularly where and for what it had been expended. If he should assess over 990 days labor upon the roads in the town of
9
66 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Hillsdale, he sliould report bis reasons for doing so, as that provided 25 days to the mile, to which the Overseers were empowered to add one-third. Upon his own voli- tion he should not be allowed over $250 in any one year for roads and bridges, as the law expressly forbids it, and $100 of that sum would supply ten weak road districts with ten days each of labor on the road, and $150 would supply plank, string pieces and spikes for a half dozen of the average bridges in the town. He should not be allowed for any labor of men and teams that could be rendered by those assessed upon the roads. The officers of the town are not authorized to allow money to be ex- pended upon roads and bridges in the town, except for a single bridge, under an act of 1875, and also an act of 1874, in which they are authorized to expend one half of one-per cent of the assessed value of the town for specific roads and bridges. But no action upon that subject can be taken after the first Monday in October in each year, so as to give time for an appeal to the Board of Super- visors by any one aggrieved by their action. Had all the foregoing laws , been complied with, it would have saved thousands of dollars to the people of Hillsdale in the past, and might save thousands of dollars to them in the future.
CHAPTER XX.
AN EABLY ACCOUNT OF HILLSDALE, FROM A GAZETTEER OP NEW YORK — CHURCHES AND PASTORS.
Hillsdale Village —Harlfiiuville- Green River— ^North Hillsdale Baptist Church— First M. E. Church, Hillsdale Villaj^e -First Presbyterian Church— West Hillsdale M. E. Church -North Hillsdale M. E. Church — Harlemville M. E. Chl^rch -Christian Church at Green River.
Hillsdale was formed from Claverack, as a district, March 26, 1782, recognized as a town, March 7, 1788, and a part of Austerlitz was taken off in 1818. The surface is broken by ranges of Jiills which extend in a north and south direction, and are separated by narrow valleys. Its waters are small, but they afford a good supply of mill sites ; they consist of Green River, which crosses the northeast corner, and several small streams which form the headwaters of Roeliff Jansen's and Claverack creeks. The soil consists of a gravelly loam and clay. The popu- lation of the town in 1880 was 1,939.
Hillsdale Village on the south line, near the east cor- ner, is a station on the Harlem R. R. It is a smart little village of about 500 inhabitants and contains three hotels, two churches (Methodist and Presbyterian), about half a dozen stores of various kinds, several wagon shops and blacksmith shops, a grist mill, saw mill, two tin shops, harness shop, foundry of plows, where large numbers of Hillsdale iron beam plows are annually manufactured
68 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
and sliij^ped to various parts of tlie country. This sta- tion is tlie most important one on the Harlem Kaih'oad, in the county south of Chatham.
Harlemville, in the northwest corner, contains one hotel, three stores, a shoe shop, two wagon shops, three or four blacksmith shops, and one church (Methodist).
Green River, in the northeast corner derives its name from the' river of the same name, on which it is located, and wliich rises in the town of Austerlitz, flows southeast and empties into the Housatonic River, in Connecticut. The stream, when the water is high, has a greenish ap- pearance, and from this fact and the green trees along its banks its name is derived. The stream is noted for th e abundance of trout it contains. The village contains one hotel, ono church (Christian), a shoe shop, blacksmith shop and saw mill.
The town was settled at a very early day, the south part by immigrants from Massachusetts, and the north by Dutch settlers. Among the latter were fam- ilies by the name of Showerman, Blackman, Kinyon, Fregers, Evarts and Sliarts. A Mr. Foster was one of the first settlers near Hillsdale village ; and Cols. Wm. Tanner and Jared Winslow near Green River. The state surrendered its claims to the lands actually occupied, March 12, 1793. Unhappy disputes relative to titles to land in this town, long agitated the inhabitants, and sev- eral lives were lost in the controversy before it was final- ly settled by arbitration.
The North Hillsdale Baptist Church was organized with 14 members. May 28, 1787, and with Rev. Stephen Gano, D. D., as its first pastor. The first house of wor- ship was erected in 1787 ; and the present one, which will seat 250 persons, in 1839, at a cost of about $6,000. The present number of members is 22. The last pastor was Rev. Mr. Bennett, of England, who served this church jointly with the Baptist church at North Egremont, but
HILLSDALE HISTORY. G9
discontinued service here in 1881. This is the oldest church in the town, and the following are the names of the 14 constituent members at the date of its organiza- tion : James Martin, Caleb Woodward, Jr., Wm. West, Jr., Ambrose Latting, Griffin Wilde, Joanna Latting, Ruth Jordan, Phebe Martin, Esther Terry, Rosannah West, Lucy Loop, Anna Woodward, Sarah Martin and Anna Wilde.
The First M. E. Church, of Hillsdale, was organized in 1808, with 30 members, by Rev. Wm. Swayze, and its first pastor was Rev. D. Ostrander. The first lunise of wor- ship was erected 1811, and the present one which will seat 400 persons, in 1874, which with an elegant parson- age cost $9,000. The present pastor is Rev. E. J. Belcher, and tLe membership one hundred and twenty.
The First Presbyterian Church, located at Hillsdale village was organized August 16, 1831, by Rev. L. B. Van Dyck, who was its first pastor with 14 memljers. The first edifice was "accepted" by the Society, July 4, 1833 ; it was repaired in 1851, and will seat 250 persons. Its value with parsonage is $6,000. The present membership is 22, and Rev. L. M. Berger is its pastor. During the pastorate of Rev. L. B. Van Dj'ck, from its organization to July 25, 1834, 100 persons joined the church.
The West Hillsdale M. E. Church was organized some 50 years since. The first and present edifice, which will seat 300 persons, was erected in 1853, at a cost of $2,500. The first pastor was Rev. Elbert Osburn ; the present one is Rev. N. H. Bangs. Its present member- ship is twenty-eight.
The North Hillsdale M. E. Church erected their pres- ent house of worship, which will seat 225 persons, in 1837, at a cost of $5,000. Its present pastor is Rev. N. H. Bangs.
The Harlemville M. E. Church erected their first house in 1820 ; and the present one, which will seat 250
9*
70 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
persons, and the value of which is estimated at $3,000, in 1854. The present pastor is Eev. Adee Vail.
The Christian Church, located at Green Eiver, was or- ganized in 1851, with 30 members, and Rev. Allen Hay- ward, as its first pastor. The house of worship was erec- ted the following year. It will seat 400 persons, and its estimated value is $2,000. The present pastor is Eev. Joel Gallup, and the membership about 20.
CHAPTER XXI.
HILLSDALE HISTORY AS PUBLISHED IN THE HISTORY OF COLUM- BIA COUNTY, 1878.
Area of Hillsdale— Its Population — Surface — Principal Streams — Soil — Early Settlers— Town Officers — Hillsdale Village — Harlemville -Green River -Murray's Corner — North Hillsdale — Cemeteries— Churches and Pastors — Masonic Lodge — Biographical Sketches.
This town, whicli is the sixth in size and the tenth in population, lies on the eastern border of the county ad- joining the State of Massachusetts, and is the central town of the east line. Its southern line is also the northern line of the old Livingston manor, as it was finally agreed upon between the patroons, Livingston and Van Rensselaer. Its area is 26,699 acres, of which 21,058 acres are returned as improved. Its pupulation in 1860 was 2552 ; in 1865, 2142 ; in 1870, 2083, and in 1875, 1879. Its greatest length is, from east to west, about seven and three-quar- ter miles and its width, from north to south, is six and one-third miles. It is centrally distant east from Hudson about twelve and one-half miles.
The surface is generally hilly in its character. Along the eastern border of the town lies the Taghkanic range of mountains, its projecting spurs on the east extending to and beyond the Massachusetts line. At the foot of this range, a fertile valley, some two miles in width, runs nearly across the town. The northern part is made up of broken, irregular hills and narrow valleys. In the west a
72 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
pleasant little valley extends nearly lialf-way across the town, and along tlie southern line a vale of vary- ing width runs till it joins the lai'ger valley at Hillsdale village. The hills are generally rounded in form, and arable to their summits, though a few of them are rocky and of a precipitous character. The highest points of these hills afford many fine and some extensive views.
The principal streams of the town are : Green river (a small stream that flows across the northeast corner of the town, derives its name from the peculiar transparent green tinge of its waters, and is noted for the number of trout that frequent it) ; the small brooks that flow across the east j^art of the town, and unite to form Roeloff Jansen's Kill ; the head-waters of Copake creek, flowing south in the western part of the town, and the rills that form the head-waters of Claverack creek that rise in the northwest part of the town. There are no natural lakes or ponds. The reservoir of the Mellenville manufactories, near the line of Claverack, covers several acres of ground, with a depth of some twenty feet of water.
The town was originally a part of the Van Rensselaer patent, except the eastern part, which formed a portion of the lands claimed by both Massachusetts and New York. March 12, 1793, the State surrendered its claim to all lands actually occupied by settlers. This enabled some of the inhabitants to obtain titles to their farms, but others less fortunate were obliged to take leased lands, with all the odious features of ancient feudalism attached.
The soil is composed of a variety of combinations of slate, gravel, clay, limestone, and loam, and is generally quite productive. The prevailing rocks are slate, shale, and quartz. Iron ore of excellent quality is found in the eastern part of the town, and in some parts the quartz- rock is found to contain gold, silver, and lead. A mineral paint of excellent quality is also found in the vicinity of one of the ore-beds.
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 73
This town was settled at a very early day, probably before 1750 ; the south by immigrants from Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the northern part by Dutch settlers. Among them were families named Showerman, Blackman, Kinyon, Fregers, Everts, and Sliarts. Prominent among the early inhabitants we also mention Martin Krum, Elisha Hatch, James ShejDard, Jeremiah Shaw, William Orr, Isaac Spalding, Josliua Whitney, Archibald and Kobert Lamont, William White, Joseph Morehouse, Jared Winslow, Isaac Hatch, William Tanner, Nathaniel House, M. D., James Bryan, Gains Stebbins, Abel Brown, John Pixley, John and David Collin, Parla Foster, Refine Lat- ting, Quincy Johnson, Caleb Benton, M. D., Azariah Jud- son, John Higgins, William Higgins, Benjamin Birdsall, Ambrose L. Jordan, Abraham Overhiser, Henry Loop, Augustus Tremain, Isaac and Silas Downing, John P. Becker, Christopher W. Miller, HaiTy Truesdell,' Samuel Mallory, Oliver Teall, John Tremaine, Elisha Hatch, John Tyler, Charles McKinstry, John Wager, and families named Hill and Bartlett.
It is almost if not quite impossible to learn anything definite about these early settlers. Some of the families have become extinct; some have removed ; some have re])- resentatives still in town ; and a few maintain the line of descent unbroken.
Prominent among the early settlers were John and David Collin, brothers, and the children of John Collin, of Milford, Conn. Their grandfather, Paul Collin, married Judith Vallean, and was driven from France by the relig- ious persecutions of the early years of the eighteenth cen- tury. Their son John (1st) married Hannah Merwin. He was a sea captain, and was finally lost at sea in the year 1746. John ('2) settled in the western part of Hillsdale, on what is now known as the Higgins farm, where he lived for a few years, and then removed to the eastern part of the toAvn, on the farm now occupied by his grand-
74 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
son, Hon. John F. Collin. David Collin occupied the place now owned by Rutsen Hunt. John was commis- sioned as gaptain by Governor Tryon, and afterwards held a similar commission from Governor George Clinton. He lost one son, Anthony, in the Revolution. He was taken prisoner by Sir Henry Clinton's troops, and died in cap- tivity in December, 1777, aged but seventeen years. David was a lieutenant in the Colonial army during the French war, and participated in an unsuccessful attack upon Fort Ticonderoga. While residing in Amenia, Dutchess coun- ty, during the Revolution, his house was attacked and plundered by a band of robbers, who treated his family with great rudeness and tortured him nearly to death. He died in Hillsdale in 1818, aged eighty-four years. John Collin (2d) was succeeded on the farm by his son John (3d), and he in turn by his son John Francis, who is the present proprietor. He has been a very sucessful busi- ness man, a man prominent in public life, and a man of great influence among his fellows. In 1833 he was elect- ed to the State Legislature, and in 1844 was elected mem- ber of Congress. In both of these positions as well as in all the many minor offices to which he has been called, he acquitted himself with honor and credit. To his kind- ness we are indebted for invaluable aid in gathering the materials for this work. His brother, Henry A. Collin, was prominent in town aftairs, and was five times elected supervisor of Hillsdale. In 1856 he removed to Mount Vernon, Iowa. Hon. John F. Collin has two sons living : John F. lives on the homestead, and Quincy J. is a Meth- odist Episcopal minister, now engaged in teaching in Cal- ifornia, and is also pastor of a Union church there.
Quincy Johnson, a prominent early settles, was a son of William and Jane Johnson, of Bridgewater, Mass., grand- son of Benjamin and Ruth Johnson, of Hingham, Mass., and a great-grandson of Isaac and Abigail Johnson, of the same place. He was descended from either Isaac or Ed-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 75
ward Johnson, both of whom came to Massachusetts with Governor Winthrop in 1630, and were prominent men in the Massachusetts colony. He came to Hillsdale with his parents about the close of the last century, and be- came a prominent citizen of the town. He died in Hills- dale in April, 1878, aged nearly eighty-eight years. His eldest son, Wesley Johnson, spent several years in Africa, assisting in the work of establishing the Liberia colony. He went out as physician to the governor's family, and was subsequently called upon by unforeseen circumstances to himself discharge the duties of the gubernatorial office. He was once wounded while assisting in repelling an attack of the natives upon the colony. He devoted his time and money to the work of establishing a college there for the intellectual and moral elevation of the peo- ple, and by his strenuous exertions so weakened his sys- tem that he fell a victim to the malaria of the climate, and had a severe attack of fever. Recovering jjartially from it, he returned to his American home, hoping to re- cuperate and be enabled to complete his work in estab- lishing the college ; but he failed to realize the expected benefit and rapidly failed, and died in Hillsdale July 1, 1844, aged thirty-one years. He was universally respect- ed for his talents, scholarly attainments, enterprise, and amiability of character. Quincy Johnson still has two sons living in Hillsdale. They are William Leonard and John Quincy Johnson.
Perhaps the most numerous family in the town are the Beckers. The first of the name in Hillsdale was Peter Becker, who married Mary Southard about 1780. Their son, John P. Becker, married Elizabeth Olum. Philip Becker, who now lives in Hillsdale, was one of the chil- dren of that union.
Martin Krum, from Germany, settled in Hillsdale about 1745 ; the place was then called Nobletown. He bought eight hundred acres of the Rensselaer manor. The old
76 HILLSDAiE HISTORY.
homestead was the place now occupied by Moses Becker, His sons were John, Martin, Jacob, Henry, Peter, Daniel, and David. David died in early life ; John settled in Co- lumbia county, but in after years moved to Schoharie ; Peter went to Ohio. The others remained in Columbia. His daughters were Mrs. Henry Blunt, of Chatham, Mrs. Fite Mesick, of Claverack, and Mrs. Peter Mull, of Chat- ham. The second husband of the last named was John Mesick.
Judge Krum, of St. Louis, is a grandson of Martin, Sr., and son of Peter. The old homestead became several different farms. The house, built before the Revolution, remained in the family until 1835, the last owner being Martin H. Krum, a grandson, now of Fairville, Wayne Co. A son of the latter is Dr. Josephus Krum, of Seneca Falls, for a long time pastor of the Presbyterian church of that place.
William Jordan was born in North Castle, Westchester Co., in 1751. He was a soldier in tlie Revolution and served through the war, participating in the battles of White Plains and Stillwater. He married Ruth Ferris, of Horse Neck (now Greenwich, Conn.), and came to Hills- dale soon after the close of the war, settling in the west part, on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Abram I. Jordan. He died in 1833. He was a farmer, and be- ing something of a military man, was familiarly known as "Major" Jordon.
Of his children, John settled in Claverack, and in his old age removed to Palmyra, Wayne Co. N. Y., where he died. William settled near his fatlier in Hillsdale, and died there. Daniel and Benjamin removed to Palmyra, N. Y., and died there a few years since at an advanced age. Abram was educated as a physician, located in Claverack about 1815, and was a few years later married to Catharine Mesick, of that town. He was a skillful and successful physician, and enjoyed an extensive practice in
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 77
1852. He was a man of irreproachable character and greatly beloved by the people, who eagerly sought his counsel and assistance even in his old age. He died in 1855, having nearly reached the threescore-and-ten years allotted to man. Of Ambrose L. a full biographical sketch will be found elsewhere. Allen was educated as a lawyer, and entered upon the practice of his profession at Hudson, where he at once took rank among the first and most promising of his colleagues. He was, however, driv- en by ill health to abandon the practice of the law, and removed to Plaiufiekl, 111., in 1848, where he still resides. Kebecca married x^dam Van Dusen, of Clifton Springs, N. Y., and removed to that place. She had a large family and one of her sons, Hon. Ambrose L. Van Dusen, has represented the first Assembly district of Ontario county in the Legislature. She died in September, 1877, aged ninety-six years. Lucy married James Phillips, of Clav- erack, and died 3^oung.
William White, William Schutt, Parla Foster, Eli Rood, James Shepard, John Jones, and Henry Speed were sol- diers in the Revolutionary war. All except the first named were living in 1840, and were pensioners of the government. The earliest ministers were Abel Brown, Parla Foster, and Harry Truesdell.
The first merchants were Gains Stebbins, at Murray's Corners, where he also kej^t an inn, and Elisha Hatch, at Green River.
The first inns Avere kept by Gains Stebbins, at Murray's Corners, by Parla Foster, at Hillsdale, and by James Bryan, where Dr. H. Cornell now lives.
The first saw-mills and grist-mills were built at a very early date, and their history is lost in oblivion. Among the earliest now known of were a grist-mill where Wheel- er's saw-mill now stands ; a saw and grist-mill where Philip Becker's saw and planing-mill now stands ; a saw and grist-mill about one and a half miles above the Becker
78 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
mill, on the Roeloff Jansen's Kill ; and a mill near Har- lem ville, where the Richmond Mills now stand. "Spaf- ford's Gazetteer," published in 1813, says that there were then in the town (which included part of the present town of Austerlitz) "eleven grist-mills, ten saw-mills, four full- ing-mills, and four carding-machines."
Among the first fulling-mills were three on the Roeloff Jansen's Kill, in the Collin neighborhood. One of the first carding-machines was near the site of the Baily mill, and another near the present Wheeler mill.
Refine Latting was the first tanner and currier in towu. He lived a little west of the village, and also kept an inn. Jared Winslow, probably the first blacksmith, resided, and had a shop, at Green River.
The first and only furnace in town was built by Philip Becker, about 1835. It is a small one, devoted to the making of plow castings and custom work. 'It is now owned by a Mr. Yosburgh.
The first lawyer to settle in Hillsdale was Thomas K. Baker, who came about 1820. He remained a few years, and then removed to Western New York. Soon after him came Russell G. Dorr, who remained in the town till his death. Martin H. and Harriet Dorr, of this town, are two of his children.
The first post-office was kept by Refine Latting, and was about a half-mile west of Hillsdale village. It was sup- plied with mail by means of the Hudson and Hartford stages.
The earliest physicians were Nathaniel House and Caleb Benton.
Another early and widely-known physician was Dr. Abraham Jordan, afterwards of Claverack. He was com- missioned a surgeon in Ten Broeck's brigade during the war of 1812—15.
Previous to the settlement by the whites this section was much frequented by the Indians. One family lived
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 79
here for many years after the whites came in. About 1810 the last remnants of the aborigines, in the persons of two of that race who were named Paul and Plioebe, re- moved to the western part of this state. There was an old trading-post near what is now called Murray's Cor- ners, and an old fort once stood near the old burying- ground near Levi Coon's residence. Three brothers named Overhiser emigrated from Germany to America about 1750. One of them, named Barnett, settled near Stam- ford, in Dutcliess county. His son Abraliam married Elizabeth Eighmey, and in 1810 removed with his family to Hillsdale. His children were named Eve, Phranaca, Caspar, George, Conrad, Elizabeth, Abram, Mary, and Barnett. Barnett succeeded his father on the homestead, which is now occupied by his son, Ambrose L. Overhiser. John H. Overhiser, of Hudson, is a son of George Over- hiser.
This town was formed as a district March 26, 1782. It had previously been a j^art of Claverack. It was recog- nized as a town March 7, 1788. In 1818 a part of Auster- litz was taken off.
Its name is supposed to have been derived from the peculiar conformation of the surface, which is a varied succession of hills and dales. From the orthography given the name in early times, "Hill's Dale," it seems quite possible that it might have been named in honor of some one named Hill, but the other is the generally ac- cepted origin of the title.
From the fact that no records previous to 1847 can be found it is impossible to give any prominence to the early civil history, and the lists of officers are also very imper- fect because of it. The following is the most perfect list we have been able to get :
TOWN OFFICERS.
SITPEKVISOES. TOWN CLERKS. COLLECTORS.
178G-90. James Bryan. Kecords lost. Records lost.
80
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
SUPERVISORS.
1791-99. C. McKinstry.
1800-8. Samuel Mallery.
1809-11. Ebenezer Soule.
1812. B. Williams.
1813-14. William Tanner.
1815-16. J. C. Olmstead.
1817. Edward Bagley,
1818-22. Jos. Morehouse.
1823-24. Wm. Jordan, Jr.
1825-27. Jos. Morehouse.
1828. Amos M Knapp.
1829-30. Jos. Morehouse.
1831-32. Henry Loop.
1833-34. Quiucy Johnson.
1835-36. Samuel Jndson.
1837-43. John F. Collin.
1844-45. A. A. Spickerman
1846. Joseph P. Dorr.
1847.
1848.
1849.
1850.
1851.
1852.
1853.
1854.
1855.
1856.
1857.
1858.
1859.
18G0.
1861.
1862.
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
18G7.
1868.
1869.
1870.
1871.
1872.
TOWN OFFICERS,
Records lost.
COLLECTORS.
Records lost.
Henry A. Collin,
John H. Overhiser.
Henry A. Collin. William P. Stickle. Henry A. Collin. Ralph Judson. Jo.se ph P. Dorr.
Thomas K. Baker.
John T. Snyder,
Edgar M. Knox.
Charles Crow.
George L. Palmer. Nicholas C. Tyler.
Wm. P. Mattison. '• " Henry Cornell.
Steijhen B. Barteau. William H. Jenks. " " George M. Foster.
" William Foster.
Austin Morey. A. Frank B. Chace.
" " Theoph. Dimmick.
John H. Overhiser. Henry Cornell. " " Martin H. Garner.
P. B. Hollenbeck,
Henry Cornell.
Chas. H. Downing. Geo. M. Bullock.
Dcwitt N. Rowe.
Grosvenor A. Knox.
Grosvenor A. Knox.
Benson Simpson. Peter O. Becker, George W. Bushnell. Benson Simpson. Peter M. Becker. David Bushnell. Peter O. Becker. Lewis Haywood, Jr. Walter Dorchester. Albert G. Stillman. William Foster. Lorenzo Gilbert. Moses Jones. Cornelius G. Becker. Peter Humphrey. Stephen Sharts. Chas. W. Hageman. Alexander Snyder. Hiram Winslow. William Albert. Henry L. Becker, Porter A. Becker. Benj. Ostrander. Henry Duncan. William H. Woodin. Peter V. Snyder.
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
81
|
SITPERVI.SOKS. |
TOWN CLERKS. |
COLLECTORS. |
|
|
1873. 1874. |
Alfrod Curtis. |
John C. Hubbard. |
Pett^r M. Becker. James K. Gorsline. |
|
1875. |
liiitsen Hunt. |
Freeland Pulver. |
John L. Duntz. |
|
1876. |
John Q. Johnson. |
M. D. Van Tassel. |
Charles Clarson. |
|
1877. 1878. |
Allen Sheldon. |
Levi Zeh. |
George W. Becker. Napoleon Benedict. |
The justices of the peace appointed in Hillsdale from the ort^anization of the town till the law authorizing their election by the people went into effect, in the fall of 1827, were as follows, the dates being the beginning of their first and last terms of continuous service :
|
1786-1801. Jacob Ford. |
1813, Joel Pierce. |
|
1786-98 and 1810-13. J. Bryan. |
Isaac Ford. |
|
1786-1808. Benjamin Birdsall. |
Story Gott. |
|
1792-1801 and 1808, D. Pratt. |
William Niles. |
|
1795, Charles McKmstry. |
1815-18, Henry Loo]). |
|
1795-1808, Ebenezer Soule. |
1815-24, Jared Winslow. |
|
1801-8, Edward Bagley. |
1815, David Leonard. |
|
Judah Lawrence, |
Timothy Reed. |
|
Bartholomew Williams. |
Joseph Ro<lman. |
|
1808 and 1815, Joseph Morehouse, |
.Jonathan C. Olmsted, |
|
Aaron Reid. |
1817-24, George Squier. |
|
1809 and 1818, S. Richmond. |
1817, Erastus Pratt. |
|
1810, Oliver T eall. |
1821, Salmon Wey. |
|
1810-13, Sandford Tracy, |
1821-24, Richard Gaul. |
|
Cyrus Alger. |
1824, Stephen Hadley. |
|
1810 and 1815. Jesse Ford. |
1825, Cornelius Van Keuren, |
|
1812-15, Maurice Bird.sall. |
1826, James McKeou. |
|
1813, John PiXley. |
The justices of the peace elected by the people since 1827, have been as follows, viz :
|
1827. |
Josiah Knapp, Jr. |
1851. |
Lewis B. Adsit. |
|
Thaddnus lieod. |
1852. |
Eli Richmond. |
|
|
Jared Winslow. |
1853. |
Andrew Higgins. |
|
|
John Richmond. |
1854. |
Philip Becker. |
|
|
1828. |
Richard Gaul. |
1855. |
Lewis B. Adsit. |
|
1829. |
Jared Winslow. |
1856. |
Eh Richmond. |
|
1830, |
ThaddeuH Reed. |
1857. |
Andrew Higgins. |
|
1831. |
Josiah Knapp, Jr, n |
1858. |
Philip Becker. |
82
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
|
1832. |
Richard Gaul. |
1859. |
Lewis B. Adsit. |
|
1833. |
Jared Winslow. |
1860. |
Ira Palmer. |
|
1834. |
Tbaddeus Reed. |
1861. |
Samuel Judson. |
|
1835. |
Josiali Koapp, Jr. |
1862. |
William Coon, |
|
1836. |
Richard Gaul. |
1863. |
Lewis B. Adsit. |
|
1837. |
Jared Winslow. |
1864. |
Willis Disbrow. |
|
Frederick Pultz. |
1865. |
Charles Crow. |
|
|
1838. |
TJiaddeus Reed. |
1866. |
John Q. Johnson. |
|
1839. |
Samuel Judson. |
1867. |
Hinim Winslow. |
|
1840. |
Frederick Pultz. |
1868. |
Willis Disbrow. |
|
1841. |
Jared Winslow. |
1869. |
Charles Crow. |
|
1842. |
Thaddeus Reed. |
1870. |
John Q. Johnson. |
|
1843. |
Samuel Judson. |
1871. |
Hiram Winslow. |
|
1844. |
Frederick Pultz. |
1872. |
William T. Holsapple. |
|
1845. |
Jared Winslow. |
1873. |
-Charles Crow, f. t. |
|
1846. |
John H. Overhiser. |
Willis Disbrow, v. |
|
|
1847. |
Rodney Hill. |
1874. |
John Q. Johnson. |
|
1848. |
John H. Overhiser f. t. |
1875. |
Hiram Winslow. |
|
Nicholas Tyler, v. |
1876. |
Willis Disbrow. |
|
|
1849. |
Andrew Higgins. |
1877. |
William Coon. |
|
1850. |
Quincy Johnson, f. t. Lewis L. Adsit, v. |
1878. |
Charles Crow. |
The towii meetings are held at Hillsdale, but the gene- ral elections are held by districts ; the polls being located at Hillsdale, Harlem ville, and Green River.
HILLSD.VLE VILLAGE
is situated on the south line of the town, three miles from the State line ; it is a station on the New York and Har- lem railroad, and the most important in the county south of Chatham. It is pleasantly located, and possesses a very good class of buildings. There are about sixty dwellings, three stores, two hotels, a marble yard, two churches (Presbyterian and Methodist), a tin-shop, black- smith and wagon shop, cabinet-shop, and job-printing es- tablishment ; and a population of about three hundred.
HARLEMVILLE
is a little village in the extreme northwest corner of the town, and contains about twenty dwellings, with a popu-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 83
latioii of about one hundred. It lias a hotel, two stores, wagon-shop, shoe-shop, two blacksmith shops, and a Methodist Episcopal church.
GREEN RIVER
is a hamlet in the valley of the Green river, in the north- east corner of the town. It was formerly known as Green River Hollow. It contains a Christian church, a hotel, a school-house, a shoe-shop, a blacksmith-shop, and about a dozen houses, with a population of about fifty.
Murray's corners is a small collection of houses, a mile and a quarter east of Hillsdale, and contains, among other buildings, a foundry, wagon-shop, blacksmith-shop, and a store.
NORTH HILLSDALE, OR HILLSDALE CENTRE
is a straggling settlement in the east centre of the town, and has a store and two churches, Bajjtist and Methodist. Here is also located the North Hillsdale iron mine, which is the only one now being worked in Hillsdale. This bed of hematite ore was first discovered in the spring of 1864. While drawing stone across the field at the foot of the high hill back of the peseiit shaft, the wheels cut deeply into the soft ground, and turned up a curious, brownish- colored earth, which, upon examination, proved to be an excellent quality of iron ore. The owner, Rutsen Hunt, sold a mineral lease of the premises to some parties in New York, who worked it to some extent. In 1867 the lease was transferred to the present proprietor, Edward T. Haiglit, of New York. At first the mine was worked from the surface by the mode known as "open-cut min- ing," but this was soon changed for the method of shaft and gallery mining. The mine is apparently inexhausti- ble, and, though not worked to its full capacity, has al- ready furnished many thousand tons of ore that have been shipped to Albany and other points.
84 PIILLSDALE HISTORY.
Recently a very fine and various-colored kind of mine- ral paint has been discovered in close contact witli the veins of iron ore, and promises to be a valuable discovery. At present the mine furnishes employment to a force of eijjjht miners.
Iron ore has also been mined at two other points in the southeastern part of the town. These deposits of ore were discovered b}^ Calvin Prescott about forty-five years ago. The northernmost bed is on the farm of George Brazee. It was worked for a time by the Hillsdale Iron Mining Company. Since 1874 it has lain idle. It is now owned by J. B. Ireland, of New York.
The second and southernmost bed is on the lands of Samuel an 4 Stephen Mitchell. It was first opened about 1800, but has not been worked for several years.
CEMETERIES.
In early times the dead were buried in private or fami- ly burying-grounds, of which there were over forty in this town. Some of these, being conveniently located, grew to considerable size, but most of them have been neg- lected, obliterated, and forgotten as the years rolled on.
Amcmg the older cemeteries now in existence are the ones at North Hillsdale and at Green Eiver. The latter is situated on the south bank of the brook that empties into the Green river at that place. It is called the Hatch burying-ground, and has been somewhat encroached upon by a change in the course of the stream. The oldest stones containing any inscription are slabs of slate rudely carved, find many of them much broken and defaced. The oldest inscriptions now to be found read as follows, viz :
"Mrs. Isabel, wife of Mr. Elisha Hatch, <^iecl July 23a. 1767, in her 43a year."
"Mr. Elisha Hatch, aiea April 15th, 1770."
"Mary, wife of Mr. James Stevenson, aiea Jan. 1st 1783."
"Lieut. Willara Shepara, aiea March 2a, 1784."
The North Hillsdale cemetery was originally one acre
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 85
of ground, set apart by the patroon Van Rensselaer for a burying-ground for liis tenants. It has been enlarged by three successive purchases until it now contains about four acres of ground, ])leasantly situated on a sloping, rolling side-hill, with a southeastern exposure. It is well fenced and shaded. Among the oldest stones bearing in- scriptions we find the following, viz. : Robert, Archibald, and Phoebe Lamont, buried respectively in 1789, 1795, and 1799 ; three Tealls, the Christian names undecipherable, one dated 1769 and another 1795.
"Lient. Kobert, son to Mr. William and Mrs. Hope Orr, died Feb.
1780."
" Spalding, died June — , 1782, in ye 56 year of his asje."
'• g, son to Jeremiah and Abigail Shaw, • June 20th, 1779."
"Thomas, son of Ensign Joshua and Mrs. Hannah Whitney, died
March 20th, 1771."
The oldest and most ornate of all is still in a good state of preservation, and was evidently in its day considered a very pretentious piece of workmanship. It reads, — -
"In memory of Lieutenant Thomas Whitney, who died Juno 26th, 1767, in his 38th year."
This cemetery was incorporated Nov. 27, 1865, with the following officers : President, Nathaniel House ; Vice- President, Orville McAlpine ; Secretary, Major M. Bul- lock ; Treasurer, Cyreuus F. Tyler ; Superintendent, Eg- bert House ; Trustees, Jackson Palmer, Nathaniel House, George M. Bullock, Orville McAlpine, Cyrenus F. Tyler, Richard Bartlett, Ambrose L. Overhiser, Grosvenor A. Knox, Egbert House.
The present officers are Major M. Bullock, president ;
Thomas S. Hayes, vice-president ; Ambrose L. Overhiser,
secretary ; Austin Morey, treasurer and superintendent ;
Allen B, Downing, Egbert House, Grosvenor F. Stickles,
John White, Orville McAlpine, Austin Morey, George M.
Bullock. A. L. Overhiser, Grosvenor A. Knox, trustees. 11*
86 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Near Hillsdale there were two small burial-grounds, commenced a little before 1800, which became so full that it necessitated the providing of another cemetery, and on Nov. 28, 1865, a meeting was held at the Metho- dist Episcopal church in Hillsdale, and the "Hillsdale Rural Cemetery Association" was organized, and incorpo- rated with the following board of trustees : Quincy John- son, John F. Collin, Morris M. Brainard, Quincy Collin, John Q. Johnson, Henry Burton, Horace G. Westlake, A. Frank B. Chase, Edward L. Snyder.
The first officers were Morris M. Brainard, president ; Henry Burton, vice-president ; Walter B. Ten Broeck, secretary ; George Sornborger, treasurer. The cemetery lot consists of about five and one-fourth acres, and was purchased of Dr. Henry Cornell for $1200. It lies in a pleasant location about one-half mile northeast of Hills- dale village, and is well fenced and graded, and a good supply of shade-trees have been set out. The ground is divided into four hundred and forty-four plots, and num- erous fine monuments and headstones have been placed in them. The association owns a fine hearse, which was the gift of Mis. Eveline Johnson. There is a hearse-house and a receiving vault in the cemetery grounds.
The . present officers are John Q. Johnson, president ; Peter J. Becker, vice-president ; Walter B. Ten Broeck, secretary ; Owen Bixby, treasurer ; John Q. Johnson, Peter J. Becker, Walter B. Ten Broeck, Henry Cornell, Cortez Shutts, Philip Becker, George Sornborger, P. B. Hollenbeck, Quincy Johnson,* trustees.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HILLSDALE.
This church was organized August 16, 1831, by Rev. Timothy Woodbridge, of Green River, assisted by Rev. Gardner Hayden, of Egremont, and Rev. Leonard B. Van-
*Deceiise(l.
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 87
Dyke, missionary. It was then composed of fourteen members, whose names were Jehiel Anable, Laban J. Aylesworth, Bethia Nooney, Lydia Bristol, Cornelia Ken- neda, Nancy Knapp, Sylvia Vosburgh, Eliza Van Deusen, Mary Aylesworth, Nancy M. Knapp, Nanc}^ M. Nooney, Cynthia Van Deusen, Susannah M. Van Deusen, Char- lotte Williams. The eight first named joined on profes- sion of faith, while the others presented letters from the churches of which they were formerly members.
Jehiel Anable and L. J. Aylesworth were chosen as the first elders, and also to perform the duties of deacons.
The first house of worship was erected on the present site in 1832. It was a frame building, whose dimensions were thirty-six by forty-eight feet, and cost $2,000. In 1850 it was repaired and remodeled, at a cost of $1,800, and in 1877 it was thoroughly repaired and refitted, at an expense of nearly $1,700. The parsonage was built in 1857, on lands purchased of Theodore Nash. It was built under contract by Philip Becker, and cost $1,600. This was exclusive of the site and some work done on the foun- dations before the lot was purchased. The present valu- ation of the church and parsonage is respectively estima- ted at $3000 for the church and $2000 for the parsonage ; total, $5000.
The i^astors in the order of their ministrations have been Bevs. Amos W. Seeley, George R. Entler, Winthrop H. Phelps, Joseph N. McGifert. The pulj^it has also been supplied for longer or shorter periods by Bevs. Mr. Os- born, John S. Himrod, Robert W. Landis,' J. W. Lari-
more, L. M. Gates, Joshua Collins, Millard, J. H.
MicJiell, J. F. Grimes, and James A. Clark, who has been connected with the church since June 1877.
The church has had much to contend against, afid has maintained its existence throughout in the face of many discouraging and unfavorable circumstances. It has, however, steadily increased in numbers, and (what few of
88 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
our modern churches can boast) is practically free from debt. The membership at present is seven males and forty-one females ; total, forty-eight.
The present officers are as follows, viz : Trustees, Wal- ter B. Ten Broeck, Elisha W. Bushnell, John E. McAl- pine, Edward Best, Henry L. Coon ; Elders (who also act as deacons), Walter B. Ten Broeck, Levi Coon.
There has lieen a Sabbath-school at times during the entire existence of the church. For the last three years it has been continuous. The membership is now about seventy-five. Levi Coon is the present superintendent ; Walter B. Ten Broeck, assistant superintendent ; Thomas S. Hayes, secretary ; Arthur Wagoner, librarian ; Claudius Lambert, assistant librarian. The library contains two hundred and twenty-f(^ur volumes.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF HILLSDALE.
This church, known more generally at the present time as the "East Baptist Church," was organized May 28, 1787, by Revs. John and Stephen Gano. There were fourteen persons who entered into covenant and consti- tuted the society. They Avere James and Phoebe Martin; Caleb, Jr., and Anna Woodward ; William, Jr. and Rosan- nah West ; Ambrose and Joanna Latting ; Griffin and Anna Wilde ; Ruth Jordan, Esther Terr}-, Lucy Loop, Sarah Martin.
The first church-meeting was held June 23, 1787, and James Martin was elected deacon and Ambrose Latting church clerk. The first church was built on the three corners, near the present residence of G. F. Stickle, by Ambrose Latting, who agreed to finish it on the outside and wait on the church till they were able to pay for it. This was done, and the church was finally finished off in 1798. Its entire cost is supj)Osed to have been about $800. The work of finishing was done by Albert Foster, for £65. A church was also built in the west part of the
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 89
town, on the site of tlie present West church, and this be- came the property of the second church in 1803, when a division occurred, and the West church was formed. This building was erected some time between 1792 and 1802, but the date and cost are not now known. At a later date the church united with the Methodists in the erec- tion of a house of worship, in the northwest part of the town, near the Downing place, which was sold about 1841 -42. The second house of worship in the central part of the town was a Union church, owned in connection with the Methodists. This was torn down, and the present edifice erected in the summer and fall of 1839. The ded- ication occurred on the 27th of November of that year. This building cost $5000. A parsonage was built in 1835, and this having been disposed of, in 1844 another one was procured. The present valuation of the entire church property is $4000.
The church became incorporated in 1838. The first trustees were elected previously, in 1835, and were Thomas Palmer, John Tyler, Amos Knox, William Knox. Commencing with fourteen members, the church grew in numbers until, in 1817, there were one hundred and nine- ty-two members, which is the highest number yet attain- ed. The largest increase in any one year was sixty-six, in 1817. In the fall of 1837 there was an extensive work of grace, by which forty-three were added to the church ; and again, in November, 1842, over thirty Avere baptized and received into fellowship.
At different times the church has licensed some of its members to preach the gospel. Among them were Chas. Truesdell, Lyman Palmer, Rodney Gilbert, and Albert Knox. One of these, Lyman Palmer, was ordained to the work of the ministry on the 20th of February, 1845. The ordination was an interesting occassion, and- the meeting lasted two days; The ordination sermon was preached by Rev. John E. La Grange, from 2d Corinthians iv. 7 :
12
90 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Eevs. H. L. Gros, M. L. Fuller, Stephen Jones, H. Corn- well, B. C. Crandall, S. Hatch, L. Selick, J. W. Stark- weather also participated in the ceremonies of the occa- sion.
The deacons have been James Martin, Ambrose Lat- ting, Squire Sherwood, William West, Samuel West, Oli- ver Teall, Martin Spencer, John Tyler, Thomas Palmer, Matthew Palmer, Major M. Bullock, Hiram S. Brown, Warren G. Wiley, Nathaniel House, Orville McAlpine. Major M. Bullock and Orville McAlpine are the present deacons.
The ministers who have sustained pastoral relations with the church are Revs. Stephen Gano, Abel Brown, Samuel S. Mallory, John D. Hart, Enos Marshall, Samuel Wood, Philip Roberts, Horace Spencer, Peter Prink, John E. La Grange, Stephen Jones, O. H. Capron, Eli W. Brownell, Samuel Pomeroy, Ethan Palmer, Henry F.
Cochrane, Edwin Beardsley, C. F. Dugailne. Revs.
Bates, Ferris, and Lyman Palmer also preached for
the church at different times. At present the church is not supplied with a pastor. The present trustees are George M. Bullock, Grosvenor A. Knox, and D. C. Pal- mer. Ezra J. Beardsley is the church clerk.
In the ninety years of its existence the church has in- scribed upon its rolls the names of seven hundred and two individuals, of whom one hundred and forty-three have been removed by death, and three hundred and fifty-six have been dismissed by letter. The present membership is about forty-five.
In June, 1803, a division occurred, growing out of a difference of opinion in a case of discipline, and thirty- five members withdrew and formed the "West Church." In 1806 the society in the northwest part of the town, known as the Second Baptist Church of Hillsdale, aban-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 91
doned their separate organization, and in a body — twenty six in number — united Avitli this church.
SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH OF HILLSDALE.
In the year 1803 the Baptist church of Hillsdale sepa- rated, and thirty-live of its members formed tlie "West Church'" Their names were Samuel, Elizabeth, and Hannah West, Squire and Olive Sherwood, Nathaniel and Esther Terry, William West, Sr., James B. Roe, Richard, Abigail, and Mary Kiuyon, Jacob and Lucretia Van De Boe, John and Sarah Talmadge, James, John, Catharine, Jemima, and Christina Van Deusen, John Hatch, Benjamin Twiss, Ezra Brockway, Ruth and Sally Jordan, Ruth Fer- ris, Sr., Elizabeth Orr, Hannah Sering, Elizabeth Beebe, Jemima Curtis, Prudence Bullis, Si'illy Tliorne, Catharine Simpson, and Barsliel)a Clement. They were constituted a church on the first Friday in June, by a council com- posed of Revs. Jeduthan Gray, Samuel Wood,
Barnes, Pettit, Smith, Ferris, Lee,
Leland, and Hull, associated with lay brethren from
their respective churches.
The first house of worship was erected before the begin- ning of the present century, by the church as it existed before the division. The deed of the site on which it stands was dated 1792. The present church building — dimensions thirty-six by thirty-six feet — is said to have been erected by Refine Latting, and is yet in good condi- tion, though it needs repairing. The society was incor- porated June 1, 1833.
The ministry of this church has been composed of the following, viz : Revs. John Gano, Calvin Philo, John D.
Hart, Orchard, Samuel Pomeroy, Milo Tremaine,
Samuel S. Mallory, Peter Prink, John W. Van Horn, J. W. Starkweather, Martin L. Fuller, Daniel Robinson, William Garnett, John E. La Grange, John H. Kent, Sol- omon Gale, William I. Loomis, James A. Metz, James W.
92 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Grant, and Daniel W. Sherwood, the present pastor.
In 1854 a new church was built at Martindale Depot, and the services of the pastor are now divided between the two places.
A notable revival occurred in the winter of 1841-42, by which seventy-one persons were added to the church.
GERMAN EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN (ST. IMMANUEL's) CHURCH.
In the 3'ear 1870 the con<>regatiou of the church of St. John, in the town of Ghent, was divided, and the part of it located in the vicinity of Harlemville formed a new societ}', under the name of "St. Immanuel's," and built a frame church, thirty by forty feet, costing $1852. This church was completed in 1873, and dedicated in the sum- mer, by Rev. Mr. Haeger, of Pittsfield, Mass. It stands near the fourth three corners, east from Harlemville, on the road to Green River. The society was incorporated June 10, 1871, at a meeting presided over by Jacob Gear- ing and Philip Steitz. The first trustees were Valentine Steitz, Carl Steurwald, and Jacob Christman. The pres- ent offir.ers are Philip Steitz, John Krick, Carl Steurwald, Conrad Usner, Valentine Steitz, and Werner Spengler.
The ministers who have preached at this point are Revs. P. Seuel, Carl J. Renz, Fr. Leddin, U. Berne, and C. A. Stoepel, the present pastor, who has ministered to this people since 1876, The present membership is about twent3'-two, and the Sunday-school has a membership of about forty.
HILLSDALE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Owing to the fact that this church was one of the earl- iest of this denomination in the county its history pos- sesses an added interest, and indicates some of the trials, hardships, and stubborn opposition which marked the infancy of Methodism in America. Other denominations either were coldly indifferent or in open opposition, and the way seemed hedged about with impassible barriers
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 93
and obstructions that could not be removed or overcome. But through all the church has passed successfully, and achieved a prominent rank among other denominations.
The first meeting in this vicinity was held by Rev. William Swayze, in the house of Mr. Isaiah Esmond, a short distance south of Hillsdale village, in the present "\ town of Copake. This was in the year 1807. This first ^ meeting was followed by two others, at which Rev. D. Ostrander and Rev. W. Fradenburg preached, but seemed to produce no efiect upon the people, but a few of whom came to attend the service.
From the published "Narrative" of William Swayze, which he prepared and published in 1839, we make the following extract, which gives his account of the subse- quent meetings which resulted in the formation of a church. He says :"I made a second trial, when the enemy arrayed in formidable phalanx around the house. We were suddenly attacked by a volley of stones dashing against the house. One of the company stood at the win- dow near me hallooing, repeating, 'You are a liar!' How- ever unpleasant at the time, I considered it as a favora- ble symptom. I therefore gave out another appointment, which was attended by a large, respectable congregation from the neighborhood of the Hudson turnpike. I named as a text, 'And the door was shut'. Matt, xxv, 10. All was deep attention. I closed, dismissed, and took my seat. Having no directions to leave an appointment for my colleague, and being rathsr at a loss to know my own duty, ha^'ing abundant work elsewhere, I sat a few min- utes thinking this matter over, when I discovered the congregation remained on their seats. I named to them my hesitancies, and concluded by saying I would come again if there was a prospect of doing good ; and I knew of no better way to test this matter than for such as felt desirous to seek religion to come forward and give me their names, and I would pray for them. A Colonel Peak-
12*
94 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
sly's lady then came through the crowd, and said, 'Sir, will yoii take my name ?' She then addressed the con- gregation, and said, 'Come, my neighbors, it is high time we changed our manner of living ; not a professor among us, raising families without the fear of God. Let us set an example. You are only waiting one for another. Let us now set out together.' These statements were in a style of native eloquence which would seem self-sufficient to wake up the sympathy of angels, when her daughter and sister, with some eight or ten of her most respecta- ble neighbors, came forward and gave me their names. In conclusion I gave out another ajopointment. On my ar- rival I found six of the number happily converted. I re- mained with them, preaching every night, about ten days, and organized a class of thirty members."
The lady here mentioned was Anna, wife of Colonel John Pixlcij, not Peaksley.
From this extract we learn some of the circumstances surrounding the introduction of Methodism among the rough and somewhat lawless people who then inhabited this region. After the class was formed it continued to worship in private houses till the summer of 1811, when the first church was built, on lands donated by Parla Fos- ter. It was a frame building, unfinished on the inside, and siipplied with seats formed of slabs laid with their ends resting upon logs laid upon the floor. This church stood upon the hill back of and a little northwest of the present school-house. In this rude structure the voices of the pioneer itinerants resounded among the uncovered rafters, and woke the slumbering echoes, as well as the con- science of many a hardened sinner into activity and life. This continued until 1845, when the present church was built, under contract, at a cost of $3000, exclusive of the site and foundations. The site was donated by Seymour Foster. It has been repaired once at a moderate expense. In 1836, Parla Foster gave a lot on the corner of South
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 95
and Cold Water streets as a site for a parsonage, and a commodious lionse was erected thereon, by the gift of the members of the church. In 1842 this house was burned, and another erected in its stead. This buikling remained in use until a year or two since, when the new one, ad- joining the church lot on the south, was built and pre- sented to the society by Miss Flavia Bristol, she taking in exchange the old parsonage. The cost of the new one Avas about $4000, and included the furnishing of the entire house. The })resent valuation of the entire church property is placed at $10,000.
Among the prominent members in the first years of the church's existence may be mentioned Parla Foster, Phoebe Foster, Ruth Collin, Quincy Johnson, John Jones, Mrs. John Jones, Duncan Thompson, Mrs. Duncan Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Eighmy.
The great revival connected with the history of the chvirch occurred in 1882. It was sweeping in its nature, and reached every class of the community. About fifty were converted.
The pastors of the church, as near as can now be as- certained, in the order of their service, were, commencing with the year 1832, Revs. Elbert Osborne, Richard Hay- ter, Edward S. Stout, S. L. Stillman, D. B. Ostrander, J. Carley, W. Lull, Richard Wyinond, Oliver V. Amerman, Thomas Edwards, Charles C. Keyes, Thomas Bainbridge, W. W. Brewer, John A. Sillick, David L. Marks, Lucius H. King, William Ostrander, Alexander H. Ferguson, Henry Cox, Marvin R. Lent, H. B. Mead, James N. Shaf- fer, Charles S. Brown, L. W. Wals worth, Oliver V. Amer- man, Henry H. Birkins, William S. Bouton, Abraham Davis, Alfred Coons, and W. E. Clark, the present pastor, who is now commencing the third year of his pastoral labors in connection with this church. Previous to 1832, the pulpit was supplied by the preachers on the Salisbury circuit, except the years 1830—31, when it was an apoint-
96 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
ment on tlie Ghent circuit. The preachers from 1821 to 1831, inclusive, were Revs. Coles Carpenter, Lucius Bal- dwin, Timothy Benedict, Parmelee Chamberlain, David Miller, John Lovejoy, Samuel Eighmey, Phineus Cook, Billy Hibbard, Noah Bigelow, Q. Stewart, Arnold Schole- field, Elbert Osborn, and John Alley.
The present membership is about one hundred and twenty.
The officers are as follows, viz : Trustees, H. G. West- lake, Leonard Johnson, Owen Bixby, William Coon, Geo. Burton ; Stewards, H. G. Westlake, William Coon, Alan- son D. Apley, Winthrop Tipple, John Williams, Henry Loring, Frank Johnson, A. F. Park ; Exhorter, Philip Becker.
There was a Sabbath-school established in 1828-29, with the following officers : Rev. Noah Bigelow, presi- dent ; Adonijali Bidwell, vice-president ; Harry Truesdell, secretary ; Parla Foster, treasurer ; and three managers. It is now in a flourishing condition, having a membership of one hundred scholars, and twenty-two officers and teachers. It has a fine library of choice and well-selected books, numbering about three hundred volumes. The present officers are Noyes Bristol, superintendent ; Wil- liam Coon, assistant superintendent ; Flavia Bristol, tem- porary superintendent; Frank Johnson, secretary ; George Johnson, treasurer : Alden Williams, librarian ; Thomas Miller, assistant librarian.
NORTH HILLSDALE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
This class is supposed to have been formed about 1810 -11, though it is possible it may not have been earlier than 1815. It consisted of about ten members, among whom were Richard Bartlett, M. D., Abraham Overhiser, Aaron Shaw, Mr. Burtis, and Peggy Pierce.
The firgt cJiurch building was erected in company with the Baptist society, and stood on the site of the Baptist church. In 1837 it was decided to erect a separate house
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 97
of worship. The site was chosen near the North Hills- dale cemetery, and the present church building er'ected. It was dedicated late in the fall of 1838, Rev. Benjamin Griffin, presiding elder, preaching the discourse. The Avork was done by Philip Becker, and the cost was about $3500. In 1859 it was re|Daired and enlarged by the ad- dition of a porch and tower, at a cost of about $1500. The present valuation is $4000. The society was incor- porated under the general statute, Jan. 22, 1838, as the "Wesleyan Chapel of North Hillsdale." The first trus- tees were Nicholas C. Tyler, Barnett Overhiser, Allen Gildersleeve. Barnett Burtiss, and Levi Pierce. In 1859 the church passed through a wonderful period of refresh- ing, in the course of which upwards of eighty persons professed conversion, and the membership of the church was largely increased. The present membership is about fifty or sixty.
The pastors since 1839 are known, but previous to that time cannot be ascertained. The following is as perfect a list as we have been able to obtain, viz : Bevs. Albert Nash, George Brown, William McK. Bangs, Charles C. Keys, Thomas Bainbridge, W. W. Brewer, John A. Sil- lick, David L. Marks, Lucius H. King, William Ostran- der, Alexander H. Ferguson, Henry Cox, John W. Jones, Marvin B. Lent, Josiah L. Dickerson, W. L. Winans, E. B. Shurter, Henry H. Birkins, W. J. Ives, David B. Tur- ner, Edward Ashton, Nathan Hubbell, J. H. Champion, William Hall, E. H. Boys, J. H. Lane, O. P. CrandalL
The present officers of the church are Peter B. Hollen- l)eck, Jackson Palmer, John S. White, Henry W. Down- ing, David A. Nichols, Austin Morey, John S. Shutts, Allen B. Downing, Homer Traiford, trustees ; David A. Nichols, Austin Morey, Jackson Palmer, John S. White, Homer Trafford, stewards ; Homer Trafibrd, class-leader and clerk.
For a number of years a Sabbath-school has been main-
98 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
tained, with an averapje attendance of about twenty-five. The present officers are Homer Trafford, s^^perintendent ; John S. Shutts, assistant superintendent ; Frank Down- ing, secretary : Dorr Mitchell, librarian and treasurer.
WEST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF HILLSDALE.
Previous to the organization of a class there was occa- sional preaching in the west part of the town by preachers from Hudson, Hillsdale, and other places.
These early meetings were held at different places, among others at Knapp school-house and the residences of Augustus Reed and Thomas Haywood.
The class was a small one, and was formed about 1835. It was an outgrowth of the church at Hillsdale village. Among the prominent members were Joseph Morehouse, Benjamin Snyder, William Higgins, John Higgins, Josiah Knapp, Titus Simpson, D. Higgins, Joseph D. Goodsell, and Andrew Higgins, who was the first class-leader, and held that office from 1835 till his death, in 1875.
The church building was erected in the summer of 1854, and was finished in 1855. It is forty-two feet long by thirty feet wide, and the posts are twenty feet high. It was built by Robert L. Burdick, who received as his remuneration the sum of $1495. The bell cost about $260, and the furniture about $50. The total cost of the structure was nearly $2100. The site, consisting of one acre of land, was given by Milo and Amanda Bissell, and the lot was surveyed by Hezekiah Van Deusen, May 7, 1853. The deed bears date May 31, 1853.
The society became incorporated April 3, 1855, and elected Jos. D, Goodsell, Moses Becker, Milo Bissell, trustees. Alauson D. Apley and Joseph D. Goodsell presided at the meeting, and Andrew Higgins acted as secretary. Rev. Daniel Wager, of Ghent, a local preacher, was one of the earliest preaciiers ; also Rev. Timothy Ben- edict. Since 1850 it has been supplied in connection with
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 99
the Methodist Episcopal church in Hillsdale village until 1875, since which time it has been connected with the North Hillsdale church. The pastors since 1850 have been Revs. Lucius H. King, William Ostrander, Alexan- der H. Ferguson, Henry Cox, Marvin K. Lent, H. B. Mead, James N. Shaffer, Charles S. Brown, L. W. Wals- worth, Oliver V. Amerman, Henry H. Birkins, William S. Bouton, Abram Davis, Alfred Coons, E. H. Boys, J. H. Lane, O. P. Crandall.
HAKLEMVILLE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Previous to the year 1822 stated religious meetings were held in the vicinity of Harlemville in barns, school- houses, and private dwellings. About 1822 a class was formed, among whom we find were Zedick Knapp, Eben Mallery, Eben Soule, William Sawyer, Abraham Winn, Daniel Downing, David Downing, Elias Downing, John Richmond, Peleg Richmond, Perez Richmond, George Richmond, Harry Richmond, Martin Spencer, Martin Terr}^, and Thomas Palmer.
The funeral of Presiding Elder Moriatty, who died very suddenly on Friday morning previous to an apjDointed quarterly meeting, was held in the barn of Daniel Down- ing, one of the oldest Methodists of this vicinity.
In the year 1822 the first church was- built, on lands donated for the purpose by Stephen Richmond. It was built by Alexander Rowley, and stood about two miles east of Harlemville. It was a Union church, owned in part by the Baptists, and was called the "Downing Church." It was a frame building, thirty-six by forty feet, and cost about $1000. The dedication was held in the fall of 1822, the ceremonies being conducted by Rev. George Coles.
The society became incorporated Jan. 4, 1854, at a meeting presided over by Aaron Hunt, Jr., and Josejoh Richards. The first board of trustees elected at that
100 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
meeting consisted of Messrs. Ebenezer Goodseil, George W. Richmond, Philip Wiltsie, Joseph P. Downing, Riley S. Palmer, Ira Palmer, and William D. Mercer.
Dnring the following summer a Methodist Episcopal church was built in Harlemville. It was thirty-two by forty-six feet, cost about $2500, and was dedicated in the fall of 1854, by Rev. Lucius H. King. The building com- mittee was Messrs. Fayette M. Blunt, Riley S. Palmer, William D. Mercer. Richard Simmons was the builder. This church is still in use by the society.
From a diligent search of the records, and from the recollection of members of the society, we are able to give the following list of ministers who have acted as pastors of this church. They were Revs. Lewis McK. Pease, D.
Starks, Arnold Scholefield, Phineas Rice, Griffin,
Edward S. Stout, Adee Yail, George C. Bancroft, John Campbell, Deuton Keeler, John Davies, David Hervy, Jr., Aaron Hunt, Jr., David Lyman, James Y. Bates, De Loss. Lull, Amos N. Mulnix, Oscar Haviland, Edward Asliton, D. Gibson, J. O. Kern, J. H. Lane, and E. B. Pierce.
At the old "Downing church" Elders Abel Brown and Leland, ministers of the Baptist denomination, fre- quently preached. The latter was quite eccentric in his ways. It is told of him that he once, when over eighty years of age, prefaced his sermon by quoting the familiar lines, —
"You'll scarce expect one of my age To speak in public on the stage," etc.
David Wager, of Ghent, and three men of the name of Soules, were local preachers, and often officiated at the meetings.
A very extensive revival occurred under the preaching of Rev. Elbert Osborn in 1831 or 1832, and another in 1845, under the ministry of Rev. Adee Vail. The present number of communicants is eighty, and the following are the present officers, viz : George W. Downing, Davis Dis-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 101
brow, Jacob Hess, Norman Becker, Isaac Coons, Wesley Hogeboom, Madison Downing, trustees ; Joseph P. Dow- ning, Isaac Coons, William Washburn, stewards ; Joseph P. Downing, class-leader. The Sabbath-school was or- ganized in 1823 or 1824, with Abraham Winn as super- intendent.
The present officers are James R. New, superintendent; Mrs. F. A. Mercer, assistant superintendent : T. Dean, secretary ; Norman Becker, treasurer ; Wesley Hogeboom, librarian ; William Gardiner, chorister ; Samuel Downing, Mrs. F. A. Mercer, Sunday-school committee ; J. P. Down- ing, D. Vincent, C. Vincent, Sarah Krum, Mrs. Norman Becker, Mrs. William Washburn, Mrs. Davis Disbrow, Mrs. I. Downing, teachers. The present membership of scholars is one hundred.
HILLSDALE LODGE, NO. 612 F. AND A. M.
The first Masonic society in Hillsdale antedates the century, though the exact date of its organization is not now known. It was called Mount Vernon Lodge, and flourished until the anti-Mason excitement swept over the country, when it was wrecked by that storm. Prominent among its members were John B. Sharts, Samuel Judson, Artemus Johnson, John Collin, Joel Blackman, David Persons, Thaddeus Eeed, John Pixley, and James Bryan. Several years afterward another lodge was instituted, known as Friendship Lodge, No. 125. It was chartered with seven members, and the first officers were David G. Woodin, Master; Samuel Judson, S. W.; Jefferson B. Bingham, J. W. ; James W. White, Sec. ; Alfred G. Bid- well, Treas. ; Philijj Becker, S. D. ; John P. Sharts, J. D.
Henry A. Collin was the first initiate, and among the other prominent members were Richard H. Bartlett, Allen Sweet, John Miller, and Frelin Van Deusen. The Mas- ters were Philip Becker, Henry A. Collin, William Elton.
The lodge met in Hillsdale for some time, and flour-
13*
102 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
islied to a marked degree ; tlien the place of meeting was changed to Copake for two or three years, and returning again to Hillsdale, it flourished for a time, and in 1858 surrendered its charter.
The present lodge was instituted in 1867, but had been working under a dispensation for some months previous. The first officers were Philip Becker, M. ; David C. Baird, S. W. ; Martin J. Wagner, J; W. ; Eliphalet Dimmick, Sec. ; John B. Sharts, Treas. ; Samuel Judson, S. D. ; Wal- ter Shaver, J. D.
The Masters who have passed the chair are Philip Becker, Philip Becker, Jr., George M. Bullock, and Char- les M. Bell. The present officers are Piatt Rogers, M. ; Theodore P. Melius, S. W. ; Gilbert A. Deane, J. W. ; Grosveuor A. Knox, Tres. ; Jacob L. Spade, Sec. ; George M. Bullock, 8. D. ; Latting Bixby, J. D. ; David Brusie, S. M. C; William Atkinson, J. M. C. ; William Coons, Chap. ; Ezra J. Beardsley, Tyler ; H. G. Westlake, P. Van Deusen, Charles M. Bell, Trustees.
The lodge has fitted up the hall at an expense of sev- eral hundred dollars, meets regularly twice each month, and is in a pros[)erous condition, with a membership of ninty-six.
The places of historic interest in Hillsdale are not nu- merous. The southwestern part of the town was in early times called "Nobletown," and apparently received its name from one Robert Noble, who was a leader of the anti-renters during the troubles in the middle of the last century. Where he lived cannot now be ascertained. There was a gore of land in the south part of the town which was in dispute between Van Rensselaer and Liv- ingston, but a line was finely agreed upon between them. In 1791, Sheriff Hogeboom, while on his return from serving some processes in this section, was assailed by a band of disguised men, and was killed by a musket ball. The scene of this tradedy was near the town line of Clav-
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 103
erack, in the Jordan neighborhood. The snrrounding hills here hnddlo together and open out into a broad vale looking to the westward and extending for some miles into the town of Claverack. No one was convicted of the crime, but one Jonathan Arnold suspected, fled, was ar- rested, tried, and acquitted. On the trial it was proven that he had loaded his gun with a ball, while the others were loaded with blank cartridges.
During the War of 1812 a large number of men were drafted or enlisted from this town, but no record of their names has been preserved.
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.
HON. JOHN F. COLLIN,
the subject of this biographical notice, was born in Hills- dale, Columbia Co., in a house which stood on the site of his present residence, on the 30th of April, 1802. Paul Collin, a French Huguenot, married Judith Vallean, and emigrated from France, settling at Narraganset, Rhode Island, in 1686. He was the original ancestor of the Col- lin family in this countr}'. He had a son, John, born in Rhode Island, who, about 1730, was employed by John Merwin of Milford Conn., to command a vessel called the "Swan," engaged in the West India trade. Subseqently, while in command of that vessel, he married Hannah, daughter of John Merwin, the proprietor. He was lost, with his vessel, at sea in 1746, leaving two sons, John and David Collin, the former the grandfather of the subject of this biography. He married Sarah Arnold, and settled in Dutchess Co., N. Y., whence he subsequently removed to Hillsdale, Columbia Co. His oldest son, Antony Col- lin, was made a prisoner in the War of the Revolution, and died on board the prison-ship at !New York, in 1777. John Collin died in 1809, leaving a sou, John, and daugh-
104 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
ter, Hannah, the former being the father of John Francis Collin. He (John Collin) was born in Amenia, Dutchess Co., Sept. 16, 1772, and died in Hillsdale, in December, 1833. He married Ruth Holm an Johnson, Oct. 23, 1798, was by occupation a farmer, and reared a a family of seven children, who survived him.
John Francis, the second son, was reared on the home- stead, and bred to the occupation of his father. Being of a studious turn of mind, he pursued his education chiefly at home, adding to the advantages of the common schools a thorough course of self-culture, embracing the branches usually taught in academies. He has followed the habits of study thus early begun all his life, and has a firm con- viction of the truth of the adage that a man is never too old to learn something useful. He is well informed in classical and general literature, and has an accurate knowledge of history, especially that relating to his own country.
In politics he has always been a Democrat, and has been called to fill several important positions of responsi- bility and trust in his town and county. Besides holding many of the minor town offices, he was a member of the board of supervisors for many years, a member of the Legislature in 1834, and a representative in the Twenty- ninth Congress, from 1845 to 1847.
In local affairs his life has been an active one, being employed in many cases as an arbitrator and in the set- tlement of many estates, his sound judgment and practi- cal knowledge eminently qualifying him for such duties. He is a man of more than ordinary intellectual capacity, strict integrity and uprightness of character, and is liberal in the distribution of his means for the promotion of all worthy objects.
In 1827 he was married to Miss Pamelia Jane Tullar, of Egremont, Mass., by whom he had four children, all of whom are living. She died in 1870. In 1871 he married
HILLSDALE HISTOBY. 105
for liis second wife Miss Jane Becker, of Hillsdale, and by this marriage lias one child, Frank B. Collin. His eldest son, John F. Collin, is a farmer, residing with his father. Quincy J. Collin is a clergyman, residing at Santa Clara, Cal. The elder daughter, Pamelia Lorania, married Rev. John Bradin, who resides in Nashville, Tenn. Frances Amelia married Sylvester Barbour, Esq., an attorney-at- law, residing in Hartford, Conn.
ELISHA W. BUSHNELL
was born in the town of Hillsdale, Columbia Co., N. Y., Dec. 27, 1818. His grandfather, George Buslmell, was born in Saybrook, Conn., Avhence he emigrated to Hills- dale at the age of eighteen, and settled on the adjoining farm west of the present Buslmell homestead. He had six children, among whom was John Buslmell, the second son, who was the father of Elisha W. Buslmell, whose name stands at the head of this article.
John Buslmell was born on the farm where his father first settled, Sept. 26, 1789 ; married Sept. 1810, to Loxea Lay, of Westbrook, Conn. ; was a farmer by occupation, a man of energy and enterprise, and highly esteemed for his excellent character. He had ten children, all of whom reached maturity, and six of whom are now living.
Elish W. is the fifth child of John Buslmell. He was brought up on the farm, and educated in his boyhood at the common schools. In the fall of 1839 he settled on the place he now occupies, afterwards purchasing the in- terest of his brother George. On the 18th of September, 1840, he was married to Emma, daughter of Dr. Benjamin House, of Hillsdale.
Originally a Whig in politics, he became a Republican on the formation of the latter party. In 1854 he was elected to the Legislature, and served the succeeding term with credit.
106 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Mr. Biislinell has been a tliorougligoing and enterpris- ing farmer. He lias not only surrounded himself and family with the conveniences and comforts of a most de- sirable home, but has acquired a competence of this world's goods, and has been liberal in the use of his means for the higher aims and objects of life.
Mr. and Mrs. Bushnell have had five children, only two of whom are living, viz. : Sarah E., wife of Mr. A. F. Park, of Otsego county, farmer, now residing in Hillsdale ; and George V. Bushnell, a graduate of Yale College in 1874, and since then engaged chiefly in teaching as an occupa- tion,
Mr. Bushnell has been an active member of the Colum- bia County Agricultural Society since 1842, and held the office of president of the same from 1850 to 1855.
CHAPTER XXII.
RESIDENTS OF HILLSDALE, FROM LAWRENCE & CO.'s COUNTY DIRECTORY, 1880-81.
List of Residents of Hillsdale, as published in the Colnmbin, County Directory of 1880-81, giving their occupation and Post Office Address.
Hillsdale was formed from Claverack as a district March 26, 1782 ; recognized as a town March 7, 1788, and a part of Austerlitz was taken off in 1818. The surface is broken by ranges of high hills extending in a northerly and southerly direction and separated by narrow valleys. Green River crosses the north-east (;orner, and several small streams, which form the headwaters of Roeliff Jan- sen's and Claverack Creeks, take their rise in the town. The soil is a gravelly loam and clay. The town was set- tled at a very early day, the southerly part by immigrants from Massachusetts and the northerly by Dutch settlers. The first church (Baptist) was organized June 23, 1787, and Rev. Stephen Gano, D. D., was the first pastor. There are three Post Offices in the town, viz. : Hillsdale, Harlemville, and Green River.
Names. Occupation. Post Office Address,
Acker Gertrude, Hillsdale.
Adams Asher J. farmer, "
Adams Wm. J. " "
Albert John M. mason, "
Albert Michael, carpenter, "
108
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Namea.
Albert Philip, Albert William, Allen Jolin W. Allen Lyman Allen Peter, Ames Louis M. Andrews Alouzo D. Andrews Francis E. Andrews William, Asliley Mrs. Elizabeth, Atkins William, Babcock Richard, Bagley Erastus, Bailey Samuel, Bain Isaac F. Bain Smith, Barrett Richard, Barrow Thomas. Bartlett Charles, Bartlett Mrs. E. C. wid. Bartlett Jackson, Bartlett John M. Bartlett Richard, Beard William, Becker Aaron S. Becker Albert M. Becker Allen J. Becker Augustus C. Becker Byron, Becker Charles, Becker Charles, Becker Charles F. Becker Geo, L Becker George W. Becker Henry L.
Occupation.
farmer
Post OiBce Address.
Hillsdale
wid. moulder, carpenter,
|
Green River |
|
|
farmer, |
Hillsdale |
|
(( |
« |
|
« |
« |
|
baggage-master, |
(( |
|
laborer, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
« |
|
« |
|
|
(( |
it |
|
engineer. |
(( |
|
R. R. agent, |
(( |
|
engineer, |
(( |
|
farmer, (1 |
|
|
t( |
(( |
|
laborer. |
(t |
|
farmer |
« |
|
<( |
« |
|
carpenter. |
(( |
|
(( |
(( |
|
farmer, |
« |
|
laborer. |
« |
|
farmer, |
(( |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
109
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address, |
|
Becker John A. |
farmer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Becker Merviu, |
(( |
(( |
|
Becker Moses, |
(( |
(( |
|
Becker Norman, |
« |
<( |
|
Becker Norton R. |
« |
(( |
|
Becker Peter J. |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Becker Peter M. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Becker Peter 0. |
(< |
(( |
|
Becker Philip, Becker Philip, Jr. Becker Richard H. |
painter, carpenter. |
|
|
Becker Silas, |
farmer. |
(< |
|
Becker Stephen 0. Becker William H. |
||
|
Bell Charles M. |
att'y at law. |
(( |
|
Benedict Napoleon T. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Best Andrew J. |
(( |
<< |
|
Best Edgar, |
(( |
(( |
|
Best Henry, Best Henry B. Best Henry J. Best Ruggles, |
(4 <( |
|
|
Best Samuel, |
(( |
(( |
|
Best Sylvester, Bevins James, |
laborer |
« |
|
Bille Alexander, |
(( |
(( |
|
Bille Amos, |
(1 |
|
|
Birdsall James, |
« |
(< |
|
Bixby Latting, Bixby Owen. |
farmer, « |
(( (< |
|
Blackman Charles, |
(( |
(( |
|
Blackman Joel, |
(( |
« |
|
Blinn Mrs. Malinda, wid, |
« |
|
|
Boice Herman, |
<l |
|
|
Boice Jonathan, 14* |
farmer, |
« |
110
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Boice Jonathan Jr. Boice Mervin, Bonet Josepli, Boriglit John, Boswortli Foster, Bosworth John P. Boyes Elias, Brayne William, Brayne William A. Bristol N. Broughton Geo. W. Broughtou Jesse C. Brusie Ambrose, Brusie Andrew, Brusie Charles F. Brusie Ford, Brusie, Frank, Brusie, George, Brusie Henry, Brusie John, Brusie John D. Brusie Linens, Brusie Wm. Buckbee Gilford, Bull Charles, Bulkeley Henry, Bulkeley Joshua H. Bullock George M. Bullock Major M. Bullock William C. Bunt Andrew, Burgher Charles, Burton George F. Bushnell Elisha, Bushnell George V.
Occupation.
farmer, ((
laborer,
butcher,
farmer,
((
carpenter, farmer.
hotel.
laborer,
farmer,
carpenter,
painter,
carpenter,
farmer,
carpenter,
farmer,
laborer,
farmer,
att'y at law,
post master,
coal and lumber,
clerk, farmer.
Post Office Address.
Hillsdale.
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Ill
Names. Occupation.
Buslinell Walter, farmer,
Butler EclAvard, harness-maker,
Butler Mrs. Elizabeth, widow,
Poet Office Address.
Hillsdale.
Byrue Ezra, Cameron Isaac V. Consadine Michael, Cannon Bichard, Chase Isaac N. Chase John M. Christina Mrs. B. widow. Church Mrs. Sarah, widow.
real estate agt, farmer, laborer, station agent, farmer,
|
Church, Charles M. |
teacher. |
|
|
Clark Rev. James E. |
Presby'n clergyman, |
|
|
Classon Charles, |
farmer, |
|
|
Classen Charles, Jr., |
li |
|
|
Classon John, |
11 |
|
|
Classon Lewis, |
(( |
|
|
Cole John W. |
(( |
|
|
Cole Michael, |
laborer. |
|
|
Cole Phineas, |
(( |
|
|
Collin John F. |
farmer, |
|
|
Collin John Jr., |
<. |
|
|
Collins Lovell D. |
« |
|
|
Conkle John, |
laborer. |
|
|
Contona Charles, |
(( |
|
|
Contona Joseph, |
« |
|
|
Converse William, |
(( |
|
|
Cook Leman, |
farmer. |
|
|
Coons Rev. Alfred, |
M. E. clergyman, |
|
|
Coons Edwin A. |
farmer. |
|
|
Coons Frank, |
laborer, |
|
|
Coons Isaac, |
farmer. |
|
|
Coons Jacob, |
laborer. |
|
|
Coons John, |
(( |
(( |
|
Coons Levi, |
farmer. |
(( |
112
HILLSDALE HISTOKY.
Coons Lewis, Coons Millard, Coons William, Coons William, Corbett Daniel, Corbett Lawrence, Cornell Charles, Cornell Dr. Henry, Cornell Howard N. Cornell Orville, Craig Esau, Crandell Norman, Crandell Orrin P. Crow Charles, Crow Charles, Crow Emmett, Culver Charles, Cunningham James, Curtis Joel G. Curtis Thomas J. Dakin Ambrose, Dean Addison, Dean Albert, Dean Randall, Dean Gilbert, Dean Henry, Dean James, Dean Mortimer, Dean Talmadge, Dean William, Debell Weedon, Decker Anson, Decker Henry, Decker John, Decker Russell,
Occupation.
laborer,
farmer, stone cutter, farmer,
physician, laborer,
Post Office Address.
Hillsdale.
farmer,
laborer,
justice of the peace, printer,
farmer.
deputy sheriff.
miller.
iron manufacturer,
farmer,
book-keeper, farmer.
engineer, farmer,
Harlemville. Hillsdale.
Harlemville.
Hillsdale.
((
Harlemville. Hillsdale.
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
113
Names.
Decker Seymour, Decker William, DeGroff James, Delamater George, Delear John, Dennis Albert, Dennis Edward, Dimmick Tlieo|)liilus, Disbrow Davis, Disbrow Willis, Dorr Mrs. Julia A. wid. Dorr Martin H. Dorr Seneca, Doty George, Dougherty James, Douglass George, Downing Allen B. Downing Charles, Downing Frank, Downing Henry, Downing Isaac, Downing Peter N. Downing William, Duff Henry, Dunn Christian, Dunn James, Dunn Martin, Dunn Patrick, Dunn Timothy, Duntz John L. Duplain Joseph, Dutcher Ambrose, Dutcher Charles, Dutcher David, Elliott Sarah,
|
Occupation. |
Post Office Address. |
|
farmer |
Hillsdale. |
|
(( |
Harlemville. |
|
farmer & speculator. |
, Hillsdale. |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
<( |
« |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
general store. |
(( |
|
farmer, |
Harlemville. |
|
justice of the peace, |
(( |
|
Hillsdale. |
|
|
lawyer. |
|
|
farmer, |
« |
|
harnessmaker. |
(( |
|
farmer, |
(( |
|
(( |
(( |
|
(( |
Harlemville. |
|
<< |
Hillsdale, |
|
laborer, |
<( |
|
(( |
Harlemville. |
|
« |
(< |
|
(( |
Hillsdale. |
|
laborer, |
(. |
|
(< |
<« |
|
(( |
« |
|
farmer. |
(( |
laborer, farmer,
114
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post OfiBce Address. |
|
Evans Richard, |
laborer |
Hillsdale. |
|
Evans Thomas, |
farmer |
« |
|
Everts David M. |
(( |
(( |
|
Everts Richard, |
(( |
« |
|
Everts Thomas, |
(( |
(( |
|
Everts William, |
« |
|
|
Everts William P. |
a |
ii |
|
Farrell John, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Fellows Aaron, |
(( |
(( |
|
Ferguson Francis, |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Ferguson Thomas, |
(( |
(( |
|
Finkle Ebenezer, |
n |
(( |
|
Finkle Joseph, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Fitzpatrick John, |
(( |
(( |
|
Flanigan Hugh, |
a |
(< |
|
Flanigan John, |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Folandt Albertus, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Folandt Philip, |
(C |
ii |
|
Folandt William, |
(( |
" , |
|
Foster Allen, |
farmer. |
It |
|
Foster Mrs. S. M. wid. |
(( |
|
|
Foster Theodore, |
(( |
(( |
|
Foster William, |
(( |
(( |
|
Fowler Charles, |
C( |
(( |
|
Frajer Philip, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Frehan Charles W. |
u |
« |
|
Fuller Orson, |
general store, |
<( |
|
Gardner William H. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Garner A. |
(C |
|
|
Garrison Edward, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Garrison John, |
C( |
(( |
|
Garrison Stephen, |
(( |
u |
|
Garrison William, |
(( |
(( |
|
Gaylord John H. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Gilbert Amos, |
(( |
C( |
HILLSDALE HI8T0EY.
115
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Adflress. |
|
|
Gilbert George, |
farmer. |
Hillsdale, |
|
|
Gilbert James W. |
« |
||
|
Gilbert John M. |
C( |
||
|
Gilbert Lorenzo. |
supervisor, |
||
|
Gilbert Rodney H. |
farmer. |
||
|
Gildersleeve Allen H. |
|||
|
Glover Norman, |
laborer. |
||
|
Goodsell Joseph, |
farmer. |
||
|
Gorsline, Frederick, |
(( |
||
|
Gorsline James K. |
a |
||
|
Groat Alfred, |
stone cutter. |
||
|
Groshen Edgar, |
laborer, |
||
|
Grubb Henry, |
(( |
||
|
Ham John, |
(t |
||
|
Ham Homer, |
C( |
||
|
Hammond Mrs. S. wid. |
|||
|
Hann George, |
farmer. |
||
|
Hann Joseph, |
(( |
||
|
Handy Edward, |
laborer, |
||
|
Hanor Charles, |
farmer. |
||
|
Hanor Datus E. |
(( |
||
|
Hanor Rutson, |
C( |
||
|
Hardick Abram J. |
(( |
||
|
Hardick John F. |
<( |
||
|
Harvey Henry D. |
jeweler. |
||
|
Hay Paul, |
laborer, |
||
|
Haywood Albertson, |
farmer, |
||
|
Haywood Josephus, |
(t |
||
|
Haywood Martin, |
(< |
||
|
Haywood Orrin, |
wagon-maker, |
||
|
Haywood Wellington, |
farmer, |
||
|
Hinkle John, |
(( |
||
|
Hitchcock John, |
(( |
||
|
Hoffman George, |
(< |
||
|
Hoffman Thomas, |
laborer, ' |
Harlem |
ville. |
116
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address, |
|
Hollenbeck Hartin, |
farmer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Hollenbeck Peter B. |
(( |
(( |
|
Hollenbeck Thomas, |
it |
« |
|
Hollenbeck William, |
(( |
(( |
|
Holmes John E. |
laborer, |
Harlem ville. |
|
Holsapple Hoffman, |
farmer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Holsapple Martin H. |
li |
(< |
|
House Miss Elizabeth |
(( |
|
|
Huggins Henry, |
miller, |
t( |
|
Higgins John W. |
agent. |
« |
|
Hunt Aaron, |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Hunt Benson A. |
u |
« |
|
Hunt Edward B. |
(( |
« |
|
Hunt George, |
(( |
« |
|
Hunt Gilbert L. |
(( |
(< |
|
Hunt Leon, |
(< |
u |
|
Hunt Eutsen, |
u |
it |
|
Her Michael, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Johns David M. |
(< |
(( • |
|
Johns Martin, |
S( |
« |
|
Johns Ward, |
(( |
(( |
|
Johnson Billings, |
farmer. |
{( |
|
Johnson Franklin, |
(( |
(t |
|
Johnson George L. |
<( |
<( |
|
Johnson Herman S. |
publisher, |
« |
|
Johnson Hiram W. |
farmer, |
(( |
Johnson John Q. Johnson Parley, Johnson Theophilus, Johnson William, Jones Morris, Jones Moses, Jones Silas W. Jordan Abram, Jordan William,
laborer,
farmer,
laborer.
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
117
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address, |
|
|
Joyce John, |
laborer. |
Hillsdale. |
|
|
Joyce Martin, |
(( |
||
|
Joyce Patrick, |
(( . |
||
|
Judson John E. |
farmer. |
||
|
Keller John H. |
undertaker, |
||
|
King William, |
|||
|
Knox G. A. |
|||
|
Kosina Frank, |
laborer. |
||
|
Krick John, |
farmer. |
||
|
Lambert Claudius, |
tailor. |
||
|
Lasher Eli, |
laborer, |
||
|
Lawrence Chas. H. |
farmer. |
||
|
Lawrence George, |
laborer, |
||
|
Leach Ephraim, |
|||
|
Leightel George, |
(( |
||
|
Levy William, |
farmer. |
||
|
Loomis Ebenezer, |
laborer. |
||
|
Loomis Joseph, |
farmer, |
||
|
Loring Henry, |
(( |
||
|
Loring Horace, |
(( |
||
|
Love David A. |
(( |
||
|
Love Frank, |
(( |
||
|
Love Nicholas, |
(( |
||
|
Love Sylvester B. |
(< |
||
|
Love William M. |
(( |
||
|
McAlpine John E. |
(( |
||
|
McAlpine Orville, |
laborer. |
||
|
McCoy Michael, |
(( |
||
|
McDonald James M. |
(( |
||
|
McDonald Thomas, |
(( |
||
|
Mcintosh James G. |
<. |
||
|
Mcintosh Lee, |
(( |
||
|
Mcintosh William, |
(( |
||
|
McKern William, |
u |
||
|
Madison Frank. |
(( |
118
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post OfiBce Address |
|
Madison Henry, |
laborer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Madison Sherman, |
(( |
« |
|
Magliar Michael, |
(( |
« |
|
Makeley Jacob W. |
(( |
(( |
|
Mallory William A. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Martin Francis, |
<( |
« |
|
Mason Carlos F. |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Maxfield Albert, |
(( |
« |
|
Maxfield Anthony, |
(( |
(( |
|
Maxfield John, |
(( |
(( |
|
Maxfield Martin, |
(( |
(( |
|
Mercer George M. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Mercer William D. |
u |
« |
|
Mercer William F. |
<( • |
(( |
|
Michael Augustus, |
(( |
(( |
|
Michael Henry, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Miller James M. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Miller John J. |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Miller Tliomas S. |
farmer, |
<( |
|
Miller Walter, |
(( |
<( |
|
Miller Walter jr. |
<< |
(( |
|
Miller William C. |
(( |
(( |
|
Minkler Charles, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Minkler George, |
(( |
(( |
|
Minkler William, |
(< |
(. |
|
Mitchel Allison C. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Mitchel Frank, |
i( |
(< |
|
Mitchel Samuel, |
(( |
« |
|
Mitchel Stephen W. |
(< |
(< |
|
Morehouse Alanson, |
(( |
.( |
|
Morey Austin, |
(( |
(( |
|
Morey Eugene, |
(( |
(( |
|
Morey Smith, |
(( |
(< |
|
Mosher Hiram, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Munger Aaron, |
farmer, |
(, |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
119
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address. |
|
Murphy Peter, |
laborer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Murray William, |
(( |
<( |
|
Nash David L. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
New Edward A. |
(( |
(( |
|
New James K. |
(( |
« |
|
Nichols David A. |
(( |
(( |
|
Nooding John, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Oreock Alexander, |
(< |
(( |
|
Osborn Elisha C. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Ostrander Benjamin, |
<( |
(( |
|
Ostrander John H. |
(( |
« |
|
Ostrander Peter J. |
<< |
(( |
|
Overhiser Ambrose L. " |
(( |
|
|
Overhiser John, |
(( |
|
|
Palmer Alfred C. |
(< |
(( |
|
Palmer Allen J. |
(( |
(( |
|
Palmer Allen B. |
« |
(( |
|
Palmer Charles |
(( |
(( |
|
Palmer Charles H. |
(< |
« |
|
Palmer Dewitt C. |
(( |
« |
|
Palmer Elmer, |
(< |
(( |
|
Palmer Jackson, |
it |
(( |
|
Palmer Justus, |
(( |
« |
|
Palmer Stephen, |
(( |
(( |
|
Palmer Wesley, |
laborer. |
« |
|
Palmer Wm. C. |
farmer |
(( |
|
Palmer Wm. H. |
(( |
« |
|
Park Arthur F. |
<( |
« |
|
Parsons William, |
shoemaker, |
« |
|
Parsons Wm. D. |
farmer, |
.1 |
|
Peck Charles, |
(< |
« |
|
Phelps Albert N. |
laborer. |
u |
|
Phelps Nicholas N. |
farmer. |
n |
|
Phelps Wesley, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Phieflfer John H. |
(1 |
<{ |
120
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address. |
|
Phillips Chester, |
laborer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Phillips George H. |
farmer, |
« |
|
Phillips Garnet, |
(( |
(( |
|
Phillips Harlow, |
(( |
(( |
|
Phillips Henry, |
(< |
(( |
|
Phillips James, |
« |
(( |
|
Phillips John, |
(( |
« |
|
Phillips Solomon, |
laborer. |
(( |
|
Phillips Spencer, |
(f |
« |
|
Phillips William, |
(( |
« |
|
Plass George, |
farmer, |
4( |
|
Platzer Charles, |
(( |
(( |
|
Platzer E. |
a |
« |
|
Poucher Peter, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Prior John, |
(( |
« |
|
Prior Theodore, |
(( |
(( |
|
Pultz Cyrus, |
(( |
« |
|
Pultz Daniel, |
(< |
|
|
Pultz Norman G. |
farmer. |
Harlemville. |
|
Pultz Phillip H. |
(( |
|
|
Pulver Freland, |
book-keeper, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Quick John E. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Race Jacob, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Kace John, |
u |
<( |
|
Radick John, |
hotel. |
« |
|
Rauglit John, |
farmer, |
« |
|
Richmond George W |
(( |
« |
|
Rivenburgh Adam, |
(( |
(( |
|
Rivenburgh Charles, |
(( |
(( |
|
Robinson, Charles, |
« |
|
|
Robinson George, |
(i |
(< |
|
Robinson Pliilo, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Robinson Nicholas, |
notary public, |
(( |
|
Rogers Henry, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Roney Norman, |
(( |
(( |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
121
|
Names. |
Ociiipatiou. PostOftico Adtlross. |
|
|
Rosevere George, |
laborer. |
Hillsdale. |
|
Bosman Jacob G. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Rowe DeWitt N. |
(1 |
(< |
|
Eiowe Henry J. |
justice of the peace, |
(( |
|
Eiowe Jolm G. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Rudie Rudolph, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Sabin Myrou J. |
wagon-maker. |
<( |
|
Scales William B. |
clerk. |
(( |
|
Schilling Albert, |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Schilling Charles, |
u |
(< |
|
Schilling Henry, |
a |
C( |
|
Scott Allen, |
laborer. |
(< |
|
Scott George, |
u |
(< |
|
Scott Harvey, |
(< |
(( |
|
Scutt Caleb, |
(( |
(( |
|
Scutt Edward, |
(( |
ft |
|
Scutt Edwin, |
<( |
a |
|
Scutt John, |
(. |
u |
|
Scutt Lester, |
11 |
|
|
Scutt Martin, |
(( |
(t |
|
Scutt Sanford, |
(( |
If |
|
Scutt Walter, |
« |
|
|
Sea Darius, |
(( |
(< |
|
Sea Lewis, |
(< |
n |
|
See Frederick, |
(< |
i( |
|
See William, |
(( |
« |
|
Shafer Walter, |
hotel. |
u |
|
Sliarts Herbert L. |
farmer, |
<( |
|
Sliarts Icliy, |
laborer, |
« |
|
Sharts John G. |
farmer. |
(< |
|
Sliarts Marvin, |
a |
(< |
|
Shaver Albert, |
laborer, |
« |
|
Sheldon Allen, |
commission merchant, |
« |
|
Sheldon Wilson, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Shepard Albert, 16 |
(( |
u |
122
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address |
|
Shepard "William, |
laborer, |
Hillsdale |
|
Sherwood George, |
(( |
(( |
|
Sherwood William, |
(( |
(( |
|
Shufelt Goodman, |
li |
(( |
|
Shufelt Leonard, |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Shultis Alexander, |
« |
« |
|
Shultis Benjamin, |
(( |
(( |
|
Shultis Charles, |
(( |
(( |
|
Shultis David, |
« |
« |
|
Shults Alfred, |
« |
(( |
|
Shults John, |
(( |
(( |
|
Shults John, Jr. |
(( |
(( |
|
Shults John S. |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Shults Nehemiah, |
farmer. |
« |
|
Shults Vanderline, |
laborer. |
<( |
|
Sefer John, |
farmer, |
Harlemville |
|
Signor Charles W. |
<( |
Hillsdale |
|
Silvernail, John, |
i( |
(( |
|
Simmons Friend E. |
<( |
« |
|
Simmons George, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Simmons Louis, |
t( |
« |
|
Sitter Anthony, |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Sitter Erwin, |
u |
<( |
|
Smith John, |
(. |
(( |
|
Snyder Alexander, |
butcher. |
(( |
|
Snyder Cornelius, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Snyder Elias F. |
farmer, |
(< |
|
Snyder Frank, |
(( |
(( |
|
Snyder Henry S. |
(( |
^l |
|
Snyder Joseph, |
(( |
(( |
|
Snyder Lester, |
« |
(( |
|
Snyder Peter, |
laborer. |
(< |
|
Snyder Peter B. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Snyder Peter V. |
(i |
(( |
|
Snyder Thomas H. |
" |
(( |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
123
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
Post Office Address |
|
Snyder William, |
laborer, |
Hillsdale. |
|
Soruborger George, |
||
|
Speed George, |
<< |
|
|
Spencer Norman, |
(< |
|
|
Spencer Seymour, |
farmer, |
|
|
Staats William, |
miller, |
|
|
Stalker Isaac N. |
farmer, |
|
|
Stalker Nelson, |
(( |
|
|
Standard Ambrose, |
(( |
|
|
Steitz George F. |
(( |
|
|
Steitz John H. |
(( |
|
|
Steitz Valentine, |
(( |
|
|
Stempel William, |
(< |
|
|
Stevens Harvey, |
clerk. |
|
|
Stewerwald Charles, |
farmer. |
|
|
Stewerwald Charles Jr. |
(( |
|
|
Stewart Ephriam, |
u |
|
|
Stickles David, |
(( |
|
|
Stickles Frank, |
<( |
|
|
Stickles Fred W. |
laborer, |
|
|
Stickles G. F. |
farmer, |
|
|
Stickles Theodore P. |
laborer, |
|
|
Stierwaldt Adam, |
farmer, |
|
|
Stierwaldt Adam G. |
(( |
|
|
Stoddard Albert, |
u |
|
|
Stoddard David, |
(( |
|
|
Stoddard John, |
(( |
|
|
Stoefel Charles H. |
laborer, |
Harlemville |
|
Strachan David H. |
general store, |
Hillsdale |
|
Strachan Thomas |
(( |
|
|
Sweet Grove M. |
C( |
|
|
Sweet Hoffman, |
hotel, |
« |
|
Sweet Martin J. |
farmer, |
(( |
|
TenBroeck Edward A. |
i< |
«( |
|
TenBroeck Jay W. |
blacksmith, |
it |
124
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Names. Occupatiou.
TeuBroeck Walter B. blacksmith,
Terry Harvey, farmer,
Thompson Henry, "
Tinker George, laborer
Tinker Newton, " Tinker Eeubeu,
Tipple Winthrop, farmer, Tratford Homer.
Trebilcox Clayton, "
Trebilcox Dayton, "
Tribilcox James, "
Trebilcox Robert, *'
Traman George, "
-Truesdell John Q. laborer,
Tyler Cyrenus, farmer,
Usner Charles, "
Usner Conrad, "
VanBenschoten Henry, shoemaker,
VanDeboe Adam D. farmer,
VanDeusen Arthur, *,
VanDeusen Cornelius, "
VanDeusen Lyman, "
VanHoesen Leroy, "
VanHoesen William, "
VanTassel Ambrose, ' " VanTassel Martin, VanTassel Philo, Vedican William, Velie John, Velie Samuel B. Vosburgh Cornelius, Wagoner Henry, Waldorph John, Ward Charles,
Ward David, farmer,
Post Office Address.
Hillsdale.
butcher,
farmer,
laborer.
iron manufacturer,
farmer,
laborer,
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
125
|
Names. |
Occupation. I'ost Office i\ |
ildress |
|
Ward Henry B. |
farmer, Hillsdale. |
|
|
Ward James, |
butcher, ' |
|
|
Ward Micliael, |
farmer, ' |
|
|
Ward Eicliard S. |
(( 1 |
|
|
Ward William, |
butcher, ' |
|
|
Washburn William, |
farmer, ' |
|
|
Weeks Eobert, |
laborer, ' |
|
|
Winchell Seymour, |
hotel, ' |
|
|
Westlake Dr. H. G. |
physician, ' |
|
|
Wheeler Charles, |
butcher, ' |
|
|
Wheeler Kichard H. |
||
|
Whitbeck David, |
farmer, ' |
|
|
Whitbeck James, |
C( ( |
|
|
Whitbeck Mervin, |
(< ( |
|
|
Whitbeck Richard, |
il ( |
|
|
White John S. |
U ( |
|
|
White Lester, |
(( ( |
|
|
White Eufus S. |
(< ' ( |
|
|
White Thomas, |
blacksmith, ' |
|
|
Whitehead James, |
farmer, ' |
|
|
Whiteman Francis, |
i( ( |
|
|
Wilbur Burtis, |
<( ( |
|
|
Wilbur Lewis B. |
laborer, ' |
|
|
Wiley David T, |
farmer, * |
|
|
Wiley Judson, |
||
|
Wilkinson Harrison, |
(( ( |
|
|
Wilkinson Hiram H. |
(( ( |
|
|
Williams Aaron, |
laborer, ' |
|
|
Williams Ambrose, |
farmer, ' |
|
|
Williams Casper, |
tinsmith, ' |
|
|
Williams Cuyler, |
artist, ' |
|
|
Williams David W. |
farmer, * |
|
|
Williams Edward, |
laborer, * |
|
|
Williams Elijah H. |
farmer, * |
Williams Ge(n-ge W. ic*
laborer
126
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Names.
Williams Kirk, Williams Leavitt E. A^'illi;lms Levi, Williams OMpu, Williams Sauford, Willis Eugene, AVillis Eraiik, Willis Stillmau, Willis Stillmau H. Willis William, Wilson James, Winters David, Winters Hcnace, Winters Pliilo, Wolf Frederick, Woodin diaries T. Woodin Harvey, Woodin Henry C. Wjchoff Gee, Zeh Levi, Zeli Simeon D.
Occupation.
laborer,
tinsmith, sawmill, farmer, laborer,
Po.st Office Address,
Hillsdale.
farmer, laborer, farmer.
laborer, clerk,
CHAPTEE XXIII.
EARLY ACCOUNT OF HILLSDALE, FROM THE COLUMBIA COUNTY DIRECTORY OF 1871-72.
Hillsdale — When Settled as a Town — Population —Nationalities — Num- ber of Schools, Teachers and Children — Amount expended for School Purposes — Post-villages— Churches — List ol Residents, giving names, occupation, post-office address, and number of acres owned or leased by each.
Hillsdale was formed from Claverack, as a district, March 26, 1782, recognized as a town, March 7, 1788, and a part of Austerlitz was taken off in 1818. The surface is broken by ranges of hills which extend in a north and south direi^tiou, and are separated by narrow valleys. Its waters are small, but they afford a good supj^ly of mill seats ; they consist of Green River, which crosses the north-east corner, and several small streams which form the head- waters of Roelitf Jansens and Claverack Creeks. The soil consists of a gravelly loam and clay.
The p.)pulation of the town in 1870 was 2,083. Of this number 1,919 were natives, and 134, foreigners ; 2,077, white, and (5, colored. During the year ending Sept. 30, 1870, the town contained 18 school districts, and employ- ed 18 teachers. The number of children of school age was 811 ; the average attendance, 259.691 ; and the amount expended for school purposes, $1,187.88.
Hillsdale, (p. v.) on the south line, near the east corner, is a station on the Harlem R. R. It is a smart little vil-
128 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
lage of about 500 inhabitants, and contains two hotels, two churches, (M. E. and Presbyterian) about a half-' dozen stores of A^arious kinds, several wagon shops and blacksmith shops, a grist mill, saw mill, tin shop, harness shop and the foundry of Messrs. Williams & Loomis, manufacturers of the Hillsdale Iron-beam Plow, and all kinds of plow castings and cultivators. This station is the most important one on the Harlem Railroad, in the County, south of Chatham Village. The average amount paid, per month, on freight received is $2,000 ; on freight forwarded, $3,000 ; and the average amount received, per day, on passenger fares is $40.
Harlemville, (p. v.) in the north-west corner, contains one hotel, three stores, a shoe shop, two wagon shops, three or four blacksmith shops and one church (M. E.)
Green River, (p. v.) in the north-east corner, derives its name from the river of the same name, on which it is located, and which rises in the town of Austerlitz, flows south-east and empties into the Housatonic River, in Connecticut. The stream, when the water is high, has a greenish appearance, and from this fact and the green trees along its bank its name is derived. The stream is noted for the abundance of trout it contains. The village contains one hotel, one church, (Christian) a shoe shop, blacksmith shop and saw mill.
The town was settled at a very early day ; the south part by immigrants from Massachusetts, and the north by Dutch settlers. Among the latter were families by the name of Showerman, Blackman, Kinyon, Fregers, Evarts and Shurts. Foster was one of the first set- tlers near Hillsdale village ; and Cols. Wm. Tanner and Jared Winslow near Green River. The State surrendered its claims to the lands actually occupied March 12, 1793. Unhappy disputes relative to titles to land in this town, long agitated the iniiabitants, and several lives were lost
HILLSDALE HISTORY. 129
in the controversy before it was finally settled by arbi- tration.
The East Hillsdale Baptist Church was oro;ani7;ed with 14 members, May 28, 1787, and with Eev. Stephen Gano, D.D., as its first pastor. The first house of worship was erected in 1787 ; and the present one, which will seat 250 persons, in 1839, at a cost of about $6,000. The present number of members is 58. At present (May 1871) there is no pastor, Rev. E. Beardsley having left Jan. 1, 1871. This is the oldest church in the town, and the following are the names of the 14 constituent members at the date of its organization : "James Martin, Caleb Woodward, Jr., Ambrose Latting, Griffin Wilde, Joanna Latting, Kutli Jordan, Phebe Martin, Ester Terry, Eosannah West, Lucy Loop, Anna Woodward, Sarah Martin and Anna Wilde."
The First M. E. Church, of Hillsdale, was organized in 1808, with 30 members, by Rev. Wm. Swayze, and its first pastor was D. Ostrander. The first house of worship was erected in 1811, and the present one, which will seat 400 persons, in 1845, at a cost of $6,000. The present pastor is Rev. A. Davis, and membership, 150.
The First Presbyterian Church, located at Hillsdale village, was organized August 16, 1831, by Rev. L. B. Van Dyck, who was its first pastor, with 14 members. The first edifice was accepted by the Society July 4, 1833 ; it was repaired in 1851, and will seat 300 persons. Its value is $5,000. The present membership is 50, and Rev. Win- throp H. Phelps is its pastor. During the pastorate of Rev. L. B. Van Dyck, from its organization to July 25, 1834, 100 persons joined the Church.
The West Hillsdale M. E. Church was organized some 40 years since. The first and present edifice, which will seat 300 persons, was erected in 1853, at a cost of $2,500. The first pastor was Rev. Elbert Osborn ; the present one is Rev. Abraham Davis. Its present membership is 75.
17
130
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
The North Hillsdale M. E. Church erected their pres- ent house of worship, which will seat 225 persons, in 1837, at a cost of $5,000. Its present pastor is Eev. J. H. Champion.
The Harlemville M. E. Church erected their first house in 1820 ; and the present one, which will seat 250 persons,
and whose estimated value is $3,000, in 1854. Eev.
Croft is the present pastor.
The Christian Church, located at Green Eiver, was or- ganized in 1851, with 30 members, and Allen Hay ward as its first pastor. The house of Avorship was erected the following year. It will seat 400 persons, and its estima- ted value is $2,000. The present pastor is Thomas Tay- lor, and the membership, about 20.
Abel William, 135 Adsit Charles, 300 Aims W. F. Albert Michael, 5 Albert William, 1 Allen John A. 200 Andrews H W. 180 Andrews Hezekiah, 10 Atkinson Wm. 4 Avalt Henry, Babcock Eichard, 2 Bain Isaac F. 30 Baird David C. Baird William, 350 Barrett Eichard, Bartlett Jackson, 5 Bartlett Eichard, 133 Beach E. Pratt, Becker B. G. 160 Becker Chas. F. 110
Occupation.
farmer,
sawmill and farmer,
laborer,
farmer,
wagon maker,
farmer,
carpenter, moulder, shoe maker, carpenter, farmer, track master farmer,
baggage master, farmer,
teacher,
assessor and farmer,
farmer.
Post Office Address
Craryville
Green Eiver
Craryville
Hillsdale Craryville
Green Eiver Hillsdale
Philmont Green Eiver
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
131
|
Names. |
Occupatiou. |
TostOflico Aftdrcss. |
|
Becker Geo. I. 1 |
carpenter, |
Harlem ville |
|
Becker Henry L. |
(C |
Hillsdale |
|
Becker Moses, 360 |
farmer, |
Philmont |
|
Becker N. A. 119 |
i( |
Harlemville |
|
Becker ObedU. 5 |
(( |
(C |
|
Becker Peter M. 335 |
(( |
(( |
|
Becker Peter J. 1 1-4 carpeiiter, |
Hillsdale |
|
|
Becker Peter 0. 320 |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Becker Pliilij), |
painter, |
a |
|
Becker Philip, 14 |
farmer. |
ii |
|
Becker E. H. 190 |
.( |
a |
|
Becker Stephen C. 165 " |
(.1 |
|
|
Becker Wm. H. 335 |
(( |
Harlemville |
|
Bell Charles M. 1 |
attorney at law. |
Hillsdale |
|
Best Andrew J. |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Best Henry, 300 |
(( |
(. |
|
Best Sylvester, 234 |
(( |
Craryville |
|
Billings Stei^hen, |
laborer. |
Green Eiver |
|
Birdsail James, |
scythe maker, |
Hillsdale |
|
Bissell Milo, 250 |
farmer. |
u |
|
Bixby Owen, 1 |
dealer in hay, &c. |
11 |
|
Blackman Joel, 110 |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Boice Eli, 2 |
n |
Craryville |
|
Boice Jonathan, |
laborer. |
Hillsdale |
|
Boos Frederick, |
it |
Green Eiver |
|
Boyes Elias, 18 |
farmer. |
Hillsdale |
|
Brace Moses L. |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Brain William, 225 |
farmer, |
Green Eiver |
|
Bristol Stephen, |
Hillsdale |
|
|
Bruce Alfred, 210 |
(( |
(( |
|
Brusie Ambrose, |
laborer. |
Craryville |
|
Brusie Geo. 168 |
farmer and carpenter |
, Hillsdale |
|
Brusie John, 43 |
(( <i |
(( |
|
Brusie William, |
laborer, |
Martindale |
|
Bulkeley & Bullock, |
lumber & coal, |
Hillsdale |
132
HILLSDALE HISTORY,
Names.
Bulkeley Joshua H, 1 Bullock Major M. 2 Bunt Henry, Burger Charles, 2 Burtis Wm. R. 250 Burton George T. 25 Burton Henry, 240 Bushnell E. W, 250 Calkins Almond, Cameron I. V. 182 Campbell Stanton A Closson Charles, 157 Closson Nicholas, 72 Clum Henry S. 130 Cole John W. 3 Collin John F. 100 Collin Solomon B. 234 Collins Jeremiah C. Consodine Michael, Converse Wm. H. Cook Alonzo A. 334. Cook Lemon, 270 Coon Isaac, 153 Coon Levi, 158 Coon William, Coon William H. Corbett Lawrence, 45 Cornell Henry, 18 1-2 Couse Benjamin, Crandell Norman, 100 Crismon Henry, Christie Jas. E. 271 Crow Charles, Cullin John K. Curtis Alfred, 224
Occupation.
postmaster,
farmer,
laborer,
blacksmith,
farmer,
collier, farmer, collier, farmer,
tailor,
tanner, farmer.
Post Office Addresp.
Hillsdale
Martindale
No. Egremont,Mass
Hillsdale
Craryville Hillsdale
Philm out
a
Hillsdale
Harlem ville Hillsdale
stoves & tinware,
laborer,
farmer,
" and physician, laborer, farmer, grocer, farmer, merchant, clerk, farmer,
Craryville
Hillsdale
Harlem ville
Hillsdale
Harlemville
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
133
Namps.
Curtis Joel, 194 Curtis Palmer G. 224 Dakin Ambrose L. Dakin Chester H. 103 Daley L. D. Dams James, Davis Abram Rev. Dean Eandol, 170 Debell Weeden, Degroff James B. Delamarter Geo. 100 Dimmick Eliplialet, Disbrow Davis, 142 Disbrow Willis, 42 Doherty James, Dorr H. P. Mrs. 3 Dorr Joseph P. Dorr Martin H. Douglass Geo. 100 Downing Allen B. 165 Downing Clias. H. 226 Downing Geo. W. 280 Downing Isaac, 226 Downing James O. Downing Peter N. 1 Downing Wm. T. 280 Drum Elijah, 54 Duncan Henry, 168 Dunn Martin, 160 Dunn Patrick, Duntz John L. Duplain Justin, Evans, Richard, 9 Evans Thomas, 90 Evarts David M.
|
Occupation. |
Post Oflico Address. |
|
farmer, |
Hillsdale |
|
carpenter, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
stone mason. |
(( |
|
laborer, |
(t |
|
M. E. clergyman, |
(I |
|
farmer, |
« |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
carjDenter, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
tc |
|
merchant. |
(( |
|
farmer. |
Harlemville ii |
|
harness maker. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
physician, |
(< |
|
attorney, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
a |
|
(( |
ti |
|
Harlemville |
|
|
(( |
(( |
|
laborer, |
Green River |
|
blacksmith. |
Harlemville |
|
farmer. |
a |
|
(( |
Craryville |
|
(( |
Hillsdale |
|
<( |
Green River |
|
laborer. |
Hillsdale |
|
hotel, |
Green River |
|
collier, |
Harlemville |
|
farmer, |
Hillsdale |
laborer,
134
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Fargo Jerome M. 1 Fellows A. J. Fellows 0. M. 3 1-2 Ferguson Francis, 150 Finkle Ebenezer, 60 Finkle Jacob, Finkle Joseph W. Finkle Nicholas, Flannagan John, 140 Flannigan John, 40 Foland Philip, Fornier Joseph, Foster Allen T. 203 Foster Geo. M. Foster Sarah Mrs. 130 Fuller Orson, Garison John, Garner Martin H. Garrison John H. Garrison Peter, 4 1-4 Garrison Eufus, Garrison Stephen, Gilbert Geo. M., 106 Gilbert Lorenzo, 160 Gilbert John M. 75 Gilbert Rodney Rev. Gilbert R. A. 156 Gildersleeve A. H. 380 Gorsliue Jas. K. 150 Greene David M. 186 Groat Charles, Groat Daniel, Hagaman C. Mrs, Hall Albert R. 113 Hall Salmon, 150
|
Occupation. |
Post Office Address. |
|
hotel. |
Hillsdale |
|
post master H.R.R.R, |
u |
|
farmer, |
it |
|
u |
li |
|
(( |
li |
|
laborer, |
Craryville |
|
hotel. |
Harlem ville |
|
laborer, |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
it |
(( |
|
a |
(( |
|
collier, |
Green River |
|
farmer, |
Craryville |
|
speculator, |
Hillsdale. |
|
farmer, |
a |
|
produce dealer. |
a |
|
laborer, |
li |
|
laborer. |
(I |
|
carpenter and farmer |
a |
|
farmer. |
Green River |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
farmer. |
Hillsdale |
|
(( |
(( |
|
(( |
(C |
|
Baptist clergyman, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
C( |
carj)enter, laborer,
farmer.
Green River
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
185
Names.
Hallenbeck Martin, Halsteacl Isaac, 7 Hatch M. Mrs. 223 Haun James, Haun Joseph N. Hayes Thomas S. 1 Haywood Alberdeeu, Haywood Daniel, 45 Haywood Lewis M. Haywood Martin, 150 Haywood Orrin, Heslor Elbert J. Higgins A. W. 180 Higgins John W. Hiukle John, Hoffman George, 120 HollenbeckN. 119 Hollenbeck P. B. 243 HoUeubeck, Thos. Holsapple M. H. 170 Holsapple W. T. 15 4- Hone Geo. P. House Benj. 50 House Egbert, 120 House N. Hover Edward H. Huggins Henry, Hunt Benson, 175 Hunt Edward B. 50 Hunt Rutsen, 450 Hunt Schuyler, 262 Hutchinson C. B. Johns Chas. E. Johns Daniel M. 3 J(jlinson John Q. 340
|
Occupatiou. |
Post Office Address, |
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
shoemaker, |
Green River |
|
farmer, |
(( |
|
laborer. |
Craryville |
|
a |
Martiudale |
|
boots & shoes. |
Hillsdale |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
mason. |
(< |
|
farmer, |
u |
|
carpenter, |
<( |
|
merchant |
Harlemville |
|
farmer. |
Craryville, |
|
cigar dealer. |
Hillsdale |
|
wagon maker, |
Harlemville |
|
farmer. |
Hillsdale |
|
laborer. |
(1 Harlemville |
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
■3 blacksmith, |
Harlemville |
|
laborer, |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer, |
|
|
laborer, |
ii Martindale |
|
miller. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
(< |
horse dealer, shoemaker, wagon maker, justice of peace,
Philmont Hillsdale
136
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Jolmsou Quincey, Johnson Wm. L. 150 Joice, Patrick, Jones Charles A. Jones Denison, 1 Jones Moses. 44 Jordan Abram I. 264 Jordan Wm. A. 264 Judson John E. Judson Samuel, 160 Keller John H. Kern William, 12 Kilmer Mary Mrs. Knox Ann Mrs. 500 Knox Grosvener A. Knox Porter A. 115 Lane John, Lasher Eli, Latting Ambrose, Latting Refine, 400 Leach Ephraim, 1 Lester Rensselaer, 1 1-2 Lockwood J.F.Mrs. 150 Loomis Ebenezer B. Loomis Ezra D. 4 Loomis Joseph H. 5 Loop Frank, Lucy Cornelius, Macdonald Jas. M. 214 Mackern Family, 12 Makely Jacob, 100 Makely Jacob W. 50. Marston Erastus D. McAlpine John E. 286 McAlpine Orville, 27
|
Occupation. |
Post OflSce Address. |
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
farmer. |
cc |
|
laborer, |
ti |
|
(( |
Green River |
|
grocer. |
(( |
|
farmer. |
Hillsdale |
|
(( |
Martindale |
|
(< |
(I |
|
Craryville |
|
|
(( |
Hillsdale |
|
undertaker. |
li |
|
blacksmith. |
Harlem ville |
|
tailoress, |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
commis'n merchant, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
<( |
|
laborer, |
(( |
farmer.
|
blacksmith. |
Harlemville |
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
carpenter. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
(1 |
(( |
|
miller, |
(( |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
farmer, |
Green River |
|
(( |
Harlemville |
|
(( |
Hillsdale |
|
(( |
(C |
|
blacksmith, |
(( |
|
farmer. |
« |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
137
McDonald Tlios. 10
McGonegal Sarah,
Mclntosli James, 130
Mclntosli Will.
McNeil Lewis B. 1
Mercer Daniel,
Mercer Wm. D. 14
Merril Louisa Mrs. 1
Michael Augustus, 150
Michael Henry, 20
Miller Alexander,
Miller James M.
Miller Orson A. 112
Miller Walter, 167
Miller William J.
Minckler George,
Minckler James K.
Minkler William, 84
Mitchell Sam'l E. 95
Mitchell Stephen W. 55
Moett Charles, 2 1-2
Monger Aaron, 200
Morehouse Alanson, 325
Morehouse Jos. D. 125
Morey Austin, 132
Murphy Peter,
Murray Sarah Mrs.
Murray William,
Nash David L. 160
Nichols David A. 129
Nye Levi S.
O'Brien John,
Ostrander Peter L 158 farmer,
Overhiser A. L. 325
Overhiser Barnet,
IS
|
Occupation. |
PostOffiro Address. |
|
farmer |
Hillsdale |
|
laborer. |
a |
|
merchant, |
Harlem ville |
|
laborer. |
Green River |
|
physician, |
Harlemville |
|
farmer, |
Green Biver |
|
(( |
Craryville |
|
u |
Hillsdale |
|
laborer. |
a |
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
laborer, |
a |
|
(i |
Harlemville |
|
farmer, (1 |
Hillsdale |
|
) " |
C( |
|
(C |
Harlemville |
|
ii |
Martindale |
|
5 " |
Hillsdale |
|
(. |
Craryville |
|
(( |
Hillsdale |
laborer,
|
clerk, farmer, (( blacksmith. |
Harlemville Hillsdale |
|
farmer, |
Craryville Hillsdale |
138
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Palmer Allen J. 220
Palmer Dewitt C. 185
Palmer Geo. E. 150
Palmer Jackson, 243
Palmer Steplien M. 1
Park Arthur F. 45
Parrish Wm. E.
Parsons Wm. O.
Peck Wilsey,
Persons Ward, 5
Phelps Albert N. 160
Phelps John, 160
Phillips Solomon,
Phillips Harlow 100
Phillips Henry, 70
Phillips John J. 40
Plass Henry, 250
Platzer Earhard, 167
Post William,
Potterfield Henry, 33
Prior Betsey Mrs. 5
Pultz Frederick, 1
Pultz George, 380
Pulver Freeland,
Pnlver Henry,
Pulver Nicholas,
Pulver Nicholas N. 97 farmer,
Quick John E. 200
Eeid Jacob, 36 "
Eivenburgh A. H. 98
Robison Nicholas, miller,
Robison Philo, laborer,
Roney Chas. E.
Roney Edward, "
Root Allen, •'
|
Occupation. |
Post Office Address, |
|
farmer |
Green River |
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
Green River |
|
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
Harlemville |
|
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
merchant, |
(C |
|
carpenter, |
Green River |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
shoemaker. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer, |
|
|
laborer. |
« |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
u |
Martindale |
|
|
u |
Hillsdale |
|
|
(( |
a |
|
|
u |
Harlemville |
|
|
laborer. |
Craryville |
|
|
firmer. |
Philmont |
|
|
a |
Hillsdale |
|
|
blacksmith, |
Harlemville |
|
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
|
clerk. |
(< |
Craryville Hillsdale
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
139
|
Names. |
Ociuiiatiou. |
Post Office Address. |
|
KoweDewittN. 160 |
farmer, |
Hillsdale |
|
Rowe Henry J. 130 |
a |
Green River |
|
Eowe John B. 80 |
(< |
Hillsdale |
|
Eowe John G. 160 |
(( |
(( |
|
Kowe Myron, |
laborer. |
Green River |
|
Sabin Myron M. |
wagon maker, |
Hillsdale |
|
Sackett Isaac, 23 |
farmer, |
Green River |
|
Schonder Frederick, |
laborer, |
Hillsdale |
|
Schutt C. Mrs. 2 |
farmer. |
(< |
|
Scott Edward L. 1 |
(( |
C( |
|
Scott Harvey, |
u |
|
|
Scott John, |
laborer. |
(< |
|
Scoville Geo. B. 140 |
farmer. |
(( |
|
Scutt Martin, |
u |
Green River |
|
See Frederick, |
blacksmith, |
Hillsdale |
|
Seider Anton, 120 |
farmer. |
Harlem ville |
|
Shadic Peter, |
laborer. |
Green River |
|
Sharts Hubert L. 62 |
farmer, |
Hillsdale |
|
Sharts John G. 2 |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Sharts Marvin, 1 |
painter. |
(( |
|
Sharts Wm. B., 230 |
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
Shaver Philip C,. 2 |
merchant, |
Harlemville |
|
Shaver Walter, 70 |
farmer, |
Hillsdale |
|
Shepard Alljert, 400 |
(( |
Green River |
|
Shepard Allen, 118 |
(( |
Hillsdale |
|
Shilling Henry D., 100 " |
(( |
|
|
Shufolt John, |
laborer, |
(( |
|
Sliufelt Leonard, |
u |
t< |
|
Shufelt Thomas, 150 |
farmer. |
(( |
Shultis David, 175
Shutts Cortez, 220
Shutts John, 188
Shutts Nehemiah, 150 "
Simmons John,
Simmons Tunis, teacher,
Craryville
No. EgremontjMass Hillsdale
140
HIX-LSDALE HISTORY.
|
Names. |
Occupation. |
rostOfBce Address. |
|
Simons Friend E. 223 |
farmer. |
Hillsdale |
|
Simpson Titus, 170 |
(( |
Craryville |
|
Simpson William, 40 |
a |
Hillsdale |
|
Simpson Wm. H. |
blacksmith. |
(< |
|
Smith Edward, |
a |
|
|
Smith Leonard, |
ticket agent, H.R.R. |
(C |
|
Snyder Alex. J. 1 1-2 |
wagon maker, |
C( |
|
Snyder Anthony, 210 |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Snyder Cornelius, |
stone cutter. |
C( |
|
Snyder John W. |
laborer. |
Craryville |
|
Snyder Joseph, 317 |
farmer. |
Harlem villa |
|
Snyder Peter V. 150 |
a |
Craryville |
|
Sornborger Geo. 28 |
a |
Hillsdale |
|
Speed Luther, 150 |
■ n |
(( |
|
Spencer Norman, 110 |
a |
Craryville |
|
Spencer Seymour, 122 |
ti |
(( |
|
Staats William, |
miller. |
Hillsdale |
|
Stalker Peter, |
laborer. |
Craryville |
|
Steitz Philip P. |
shoe maker. |
Harlemville |
|
Steitz Valentine, 150 |
farmer. |
i; |
|
Stempel William, 110 |
" |
(( |
|
Steuerwald Chas. 160 |
a |
c< |
|
Steuerwald Peter, 262 |
u |
Hillsdale |
|
Steuerwald Adam, 120 |
(( |
(( |
|
Stever E. Mrs. 117 |
(< |
(( |
|
Steward Ephrahn, |
carpenter, |
(( |
|
Stewart Maria Mrs. |
(C |
|
|
Stickle G. F. 362 |
farmer, |
(( |
|
Stickle Jacob H. |
laborer, |
Harlemville |
|
Stickles Julia A. 125 |
farmer. |
Philmont |
|
Stickles Peter A. |
Hillsdale |
|
|
Swarts John, |
(( |
|
|
Sweet Martin J. 182 |
farmer, |
<( |
|
Tanner William, |
teamster. |
(( |
|
Taylor John L. |
blacksmith, |
Green River |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
141
Teats David N. 8 Ten Broeck E. A. 55 Ten Broeck AV.B. 3 1-2 Terry Harvey E. 150 Tiffany Edward. Tipple David H. 192 Tipple Wintlirop, 192 Trabilcox James, 143 Trabilcox Joseph 143 Trabilcox Kobert 230 Trafford & Hallenbeck,
ruesdell John Q. 33 Tyler Cyrenius F. Tyler Nicholas 0. 148 Usner Conrad, 125 Van Benschoten H. VanDeBoeA. D. 150 Yanderpool James, VanDeusen Lewis, 130 YanHoesen P. D. 300 YanHoesen Wm. L, Yan Tassel Martin, 165 Yan Tassel Philip, 165 Yele Samuel R, Yincent Charles, 129 Yosburgh H. K. Wagner John H. 150 Wagner Martin, 80 Wagner Martin, Waldorph John H. Ward Chas. D. 165 Ward David B. Ward Richard, 9 Ward William, 42 Washburn Wm. 215
|
Occupation. |
Post Office Adrlress. |
|
miller, |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
Harlemville |
|
blacksmith. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer, |
Craryville |
|
laborer, |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
general merchants. |
Hillsdale |
|
painter & farmer. |
C( |
|
laborer. |
ii |
|
farmer. |
11 |
|
u |
Harlemville |
|
merchant. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
painter. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer, |
Craryville |
|
i( |
Green Biver |
|
attorney at law. |
a |
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
(( |
Philmont |
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
tinsmith. |
(( |
|
farmer. |
(( |
|
(( |
Craryville |
|
wagon maker, |
Harlemville |
|
laborer. |
Hillsdale |
|
farmer |
(( |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
farmer, |
Harlemville |
|
(( |
Hillsdale |
|
<( |
Harlemville |
142
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Names. Occupation.
Weed Darius, 350, farmer
Westlake H. G , M.D. 22 physician,
Post office Address,
Hillsdale
Wheeler Abram, Wheeler Herrimau, 50 Wheeler Eichard A. 45 Whitbeck Richard, 55 White John S. 186 White Rufus S. 5 White Thomas, Whitemau George, 8 Wilbur Mrs. Matilda, 75 Wilbur Lewis B. 18 Wiley David T. 130 Wiley Geo. L. 140 Wilkinson Hiram H. Williams Adam, Williams Casper, Williams Cuyler J. Williams D. Mrs. Williams David, 200 Williams David M. Williams Edward R. Williams Henry M. Williams Henry P. 2 Williams John F. 2 Williams Levi, 160 Williams Levi Jr. Williams & Loomis, Williams Manning, Williams Maria, Williams Phebe, Williams Saudford, Willis Stillman H. Winchell Harvey, Winchell L-a J.
book keeper, farmer.
No,
carpenter, wagon maker, farmer.
Martindale
Egremont,Mass
Hillsdale
carpenter, fruit gardener,
artist,
Harlemville Hillsdale
|
farmer. |
Craryville |
|
laborer. |
(( |
|
Hillsdale |
|
|
sawyer, |
|
|
farmer |
|
|
carpenter, |
|
|
farmer. |
|
|
laborer. |
|
|
iron foundry. |
|
|
carpenter, |
|
|
saw mill. |
|
|
laborer. |
|
|
farmer, |
HILLSDALE HISTORY.
143
Wincliell Seymour, Winchell James, 65 Winters David, Winslow Hiram, Wise Arnold, 8 Wolf Frederick, 186 Woodin Wm. H. Woodin Chas. T. 30 Woodin Harvey, Woodin Henry C. 170 Wooden Timothy, 14 Woolcot Norman, Wurster George, 1 Zeli Levi, Ostrander Benj. J. 250
Occupation.
hotel,
farmer
laborer,
school commissioner
farmer,
carpenter,
farmer,
collier,
farmer,
carpenter,
farmer,
blacksmith,
saloon keeper,
farmer.
Post Office Afldress.
Hillsdale
, Green River
Craryville
Ph^lmont
Hillsdale
Green River
Hillsdale
Green River <.
Hillsdale
APPEN DIX
3
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY.
AMENDED EXTRACTS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE FAMILY DES- CENDANTS AND KINDRED OF JOHN COLLIN, PUBLISHED BY M. P. WILLIAMS IN 1872.
The Rev. William Scribner, in his historical comments upon the French nation, sajs :
"The prodigious exodus of the French people which followed the revo- cation of the edict of Nantes, constitutes one of the most important his- torical events of the seventeenth century. Many of the French people were driven to expatriate themselves in the persecutions of 1715, 1724 and 1744. They settled in nearly all tlie countries of Europe ; and there was not a countrj' which received them which they did not enrich. There is no computin^^ how much of her prosperity England owes to the great waves of population which flowed over to her from France in those times. They were skilled, iutelli^ent and laborious, and they were among the most virtuous people of the world."
Among those whom those persecutions drove to expa- triation, was Paul Collin, who emigrated to this country in 1686 and settled in Narragansett, Rhode Island, and there is a record that he was in New York temporarily in 1721. The name is that of an ancient Huguenot family of the province of Poitou, in France, illustrated by Sebas- tian Collin, an eminent medical writer and practitioner of the sixteenth century. Paul Collin had brothers whom the persecution forced to emigrate, one of whom (Peter Collin) settled in South Carolina, in 1695. Some of the name, long after the emigration, appear in history to have remained in France, among whom was J. F. Collin, born
4 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
in 1755 and died in 1806. He Avas distinguished as a comic poet and member of tlie Institute. Paul Collin was a son of Jean or John Collin, and his mother's maiden name was Judith Vallean of the Isle de Re, a part of the province of Poitou. Paul Collin stood sponsor at the baptism of a child of Pierre Vallean in New York, July 19th, 1721. While New York was yet a province under the crown of England, it appears on the Assembly Jour- nal, Vol. 2d, page 48, that on the 17tli of December, 1767, Daniel Collin petitioned to be naturalized, in which he set forth that he was of foreign birth, and by education and profession a protestant.
John Collin, a son of Paul Collin, was born in Narra- gansett in 1706. Having received a nautical education, he was placed in command of the sloop Swan, belonging to John Merwin of Milford, Conn., whose daughter Hannah he subsequent!}' married, by whom he had three sons.
John, born July 15th, 1732. David, born February 18th, 1734. James, born 1736.
He continued in command of the ship for sixteen years. But in 1746, having sailed from Milford Haven for the West Indies, he, with the ship, was lost at sea. His fam- ily waited his return in painful suspense till time demon- strated that he never could return :
"The moon had twelve times change. i her form,
From glowing orb to cresceit wan, Midst skies of calm and scowl of storm,
Since from the port that ship had gone. But ocean keeps her secrets well,
And now is known that all is o'er, No eye bath seen, no tongue can tell
His fate ; he ne'er was heard of more."
His papers and books, now preserved among his kin-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 5
dred, show that lie was a good penman, and an accom- plished scholar. And they have erected to his memory a granite monument in the grounds of the Hillsdale Rural Cemetery Association.
John Collin, son of John and Hannah Merwin Collin, was born in Milford, Conn., July 15th, 1732. Having lost his father in his infancy, his maternal grandfather, John Merwin, became his guardian, and taught him to pursue those moral, prudential and industrial habits by which he subsequently accjuired wealth and distinction.
He married Sarah Arnold of Dutchess county, N. Y., September 16tli, 1758, by whom he had three children :
Anthony, born February 24tli, 1760. p
Hannali, born June 7th, 1763. ' - - ^ '^^
John, born September 19th, 1772.
His wife, Sarah, having died December 29th, 1791, he married Deidama Morse Davidson, May 13th, 1792. He died in Hillsdale, August 21st, 1809.
In 1773 he received a captain's commission from Gov- ernor Tryon, the liritish colonial Governor, and in 1777 he received a captain's commission from George Clinton, the Governor of the State of New York.
He possessed great j)hysical strength and mechanical ingenuity, and he was a prominent actor in the public en- terprises of the day.
He was baptized in the Congregational Church, in Mil- ford, May 16th, 1736, and was ever very steadfast in his religious opinions, and is said to have manifested much ability in their defence. He was also a member of the Masonic fraternity.
He was cotemporary with Alexander Hamilton, Wil- liam W. Van Ness, Elisha Williams and Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer, and his papers show that he was on
ID*
6 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
terms of friendly intimacy witli them, rendering to and receiving from tliem reciprocal favors.
David Collin, son of John and Hannah Merwin Collin, born in Milford, Conn., February 19th, 1734. Having lost his father in his infancy, he became the ward of John Merwin, his maternal grandfather, through whom he ac- quired the habits of industry and economy by which he obtained great wealth. He married Lucy Smith, of Dutchess county, N. Y., February 19th, 1764, by whom he had two children :
Hannah, born 1765.
David, born February 22d, 1767.
His wife, Lucy, having died March 15tli, 1767, he mar- ried Esther Gellett, January 19tli, 1772-, by whom he had three children :
Lucy, born February 28th, 1773.
Sally, born 1775.
James, born April 5th, 1777.
He had baen a lieutenant in the British army during the French war, and was present at an unsuccessful attack upon Fort Ticonderoga. During the war of the Ameri- can Revolution his house was plundered by a band of robbers, who treated his family with great rudeness, and tortured him nearly to the verge of life. He died Decem- ber 17th, 1818, and his wife, Esther, died May 8th, 1824. He had been baptized in the First Congregational Church of Milford, May 16th, 1736.
James Collin, son of John and Hannah Merwin Collin, born in Milford, Conn., and baptized in the First Congre- gational Church of that town, October 30th, 1737, died in his infancy. His mother had become a member of the Congregational Church on the 16th of May, 1735.
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. Y
Anthony Collin, son of John and Sarah Arnokl Ccillin, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., February 24th, 1760, was a soklier in the war of the American Revohition, and was made a prisoner by the army of Sir Henry Clinton, Oct. 16th, 1777, and died in captivity in December following.
Hannah CoLLiN,daughter of John and Sarah Arnold Collin, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., June 7tli 1763, and married Thomas Truesdell, October 8th, 1781 ; died in Hillsdale, June 26ch, 1817. They had six children :
John W., born May 7th, 1783. Sarah, born June 17tli, 1785. Harry, born March 1st. 1788. Beebe, born January 10th, 1791. Arnold, born September 16th 1796. Gove, born May 14th, 1802.
John Collin, son of John and Sarah Arnold Collin, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., September 19fch, 1772, and married liutli Holman Johnson, October 23d, 1798 ; died in Hillsdale, December 28th, 1833. They had nine children :
James, born January 16th, 1800.
John Francis, born April 30th, 1802.
Sarah Amanda, born April 21st, 1804.
Jane Miranda, born February 14th, 1807.
Hannah, born December 19tli, 1809.
Euth Maria, born March 1st, 1813 ; died June, 1838.
Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817.
William Quincy, born November 23d, 1819 ; died
July 30th, 1822. Clynthia A., born December 10th, 1822 ; died August
5th, 1828.
James Collin, son of John and Ruth Holman Collin,
^
8 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
born Jauary 16tli, 1800, and married to Jane B. Hunt, of Lenox, Mass., May 5th, 1822, by whom he had three children :
James Hunt, born March 21st, 1823. Jane Sophia, born November 27th, 1824. John Francis, born February 15th, 1827 ; died same year. His wife, Jane B., having died February 25th, 1827, he married Velona Hill, of Hillsdale, Marcli 17th, 1828, by whom he had six children :
Ellen H, born February 20th, 1829. Charles R, born March 1st, 1832. Louis E., born August 10th, 1833. John H, born February 25th, 1835. Mary C, born March 15th, 1838. William M., born March 23d, 1842.
His wife, Velona, died August lltli, 1846, and he mar- ried Chastine Wolverton, of Albany, N. Y., September 7th, 1847, by whom he had six children :
Edwin W., born September 19th, 1849.
Mortimer and Monteath, twins, born December 9th,
1852. George W., born December 13tli, 1855. Hattie May, born May 1st, 1856. Lizzie A born March 12th, 1860.
Very early in years he commenced business as a mer- chant in North Egremont, Mass., but subsequently en- gaged in the furnace business at Lenox, Mass., in which he continued for many years and finally added to that business the manufacture of plate glass, at which he con- tinued till his death, which occurred December 16th,1861.
He was an accomplished business man and distin- guished for industry, intelligence and high moral and social characteristics.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. y
John Francis Collin, son of John and Kutli Holman Johnson Collin, born in Hillsdale, April 30th, 1802, and married Pamelia Jane Tullar, daughter of Charles and Rebecca Race Tullar, of Egremont, Mass., September 23d, 1827, by whom he had six children.
Jane Paulina, born 1828 ; died September 17th, 1830. Hannah Clynthia, born 1829 ; died March 14th, 1831. Pamelia Laurania, born 1831. John Frederick, born 1833. Quincy Johnson, born 1836. Frances Amelia, born 1840.
His wife Pamelia having died June 8th, 1870, he mar- ried Jane Becker, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth De Groff Becker, of Hillsdale, January 16th, 1871.
His birth occurred about eighteen years after the close of the American Revolutionary war. In his boyhood he had listened to the historic incidents of that war fi'om those who had acted in or been sufferers by it. He had listened to those relations from the lips of his maternal grandmother, and but few possessed so interesting collo- quial powers as she. She told of her brother James im- porting arms and munitions of war from France, and of his sagacity in avoiding British cruisers which thronged the coasts of Massachusetts. She told of the painful in- terest felt by herself and family while listening to the bat- tle of Bunker Hill, in which her brothers James, Bartlet and Watson were engaged. She told of the parting scene with her brother Abuer, the packing of his clothes in his knapsack by maternal hands, and the last embrace, as he, only sixteen years of age, went forth with Capt. Jacob Allen's Bridgwater company to aid in opposing the army of Gen. Burgoyne. She described the scene in the family when the letter from her brother James brought the in- formation that Abner had fallen in battle.
The death of Anthony Collin, too, had excited a deep
20
10 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
interest. Only sixteen years of age, lie had been made prisoner by the army of Sir Henry Clinton, and suffered and died in captivity, and his mother went to her grave with a broken heart.
Under these circumstances it is not strange that John F. Collin, in his boyhood, imbibed a hatred to the Brit- ish name, and that the incidents in the war of 1812 should have given him strong democratic proclivities.
Being physically strong and healthy in his youth, while his older brother was the reverse, his father resolved to bring him up to be his successor on the farm. To that end he employed him during summer on the farm, and during winter in procuring an education. The effect of his early agricultural training has produced the fruits of a successful agricultural life. And that his time was not wasted as a student, may be inferred from the following penegyric of his old preceptor :
Dear Sir— It becomes naj' duty at the close of the term, to write you a few liues on the subject of your son Francis. He has distinguished him- self the past term by liis manly and correct deportment as a Etentleman, and by his application and success as a scholar. He seems to have laid the foundation for a correct knowledge of the Latin language, and to have opened his rtiind to the reception of those liberal sciences in which he seems destined to be distinguished. While he is one of the brightest ornaments of our academy, he is dear to our school and village. Sincerely and respectfully yours,
LEVI GLEASON.
To Mr. John Collin.
The term thus alluded to by Mr. Gleason, proved to be the last of his life as a student. His father's feeble health made his services indispensable at home, and though in his minority, his father devolved upon him all his out- business, which extended over much of the State, and in- volved much litigation. He also employed him in the settlement of the mercantile business of his elder brother, which had become very much embarrassed. During the years devoted to this latter object, he made the acquaint-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 11
ance and married Miss Pamelia Jane Tullar, whose head to advise and hand to assist and heart to cheer, has con- tributed very much to his success in life.
He had given much attention to the political history of his country, and became enthusiastically attached to its institutions. He considered the religious influence of the clergy, one of the strongest pillars of the State, so long as that influence was reflex rather than direct. But a political clergy, while corrupting the church, he believed to be not only dangerous to liberty, but mischievious to all civil institutions, of which the Jesuits were an example. Po- litical clergymen had expartraced both his paternal and maternal ancestors from their native countries, and com- pelled them to make this their country by adoption. He saw with regret and alarm, legislation introduced initia- tory to that great evil, in the Rev. Joshua Leavitt's I'ecommeuded Christian party in politics.
Influenced by these considerations, on the 13th of Feb- ruary, 1830, he addressed a meeting at the Baptist Church in Hillsdale Center, at which the Hon. Henry Loop pre- sided, and David G. Wooden acted as secretary. That address was published and attracted some attention, and a venerable politition tendered him his mantle. Another from an exceeding high mountain showed him the king- doms of the earth and the glory of them.
But ties of friendship, nor the allurements of ambition, could divest him of the prejudices of youth and the con- victions of maturer years, and he cast his k)t with the democracy of the country.
In 1833 he received the Democratic nomination to the State Legislature, and was elected by 800 majority in the county, having received 207 majority in his native town. In that year his father died, having, by his will, imposed upon him the settlement of his estate and the execution of many trusts.
He was soon after apointed a commissioner to settle
12 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
controversies between the Hudson and Berkshire railroad company and certain individuals over whose premises the road was required to run. In 1837, and for seven suc- cessive years, he was elected supervisor in the town of Hillsdale.
He was a delegate to the Congressional Convention which gave Robert McClellan his first nomination to Con- gress, and when the tariff act of 1842 was under consider- ation, Mr. McClellan sent him a draft of the bill and wished his opinion on it ; and he signified to Mr. McClel- lan his unqiialified disapprobation of it, for it interfered with the reserved rights of States. It interfered with the industrial interests of persons within States, giving some persons great privileges at the expense of others. It gave to certain States privileges at the expense of others. It disturbed the natural laws of trade. It sought to circumvent the edicts of the Almighty by enabling, by special legislation, a privileged class of citizens to earn their bread by the sweat of other's brows. It was deceptive in its provisions. Its minimums and certain other of its provisions were misnomers. To deceive the public, it fixed fictitious, extravagantly advanced valua- tions upon certain imports, and upon those advanced val- uations imposed advalorem duties, and under the pretense of protection to the home manufacturer it imposed decep- tive duties upon articles of most general use at home, and such as the manufacturers themselves were then suc- cessfully competing in markets with the manufacturers of other countries. In fine, he considered that tarifi" a dan- gerous precedent and a great moral wrong. But notwith- standing all these objections it became a law.
In 1844 he was elected to Congress himself. His strong convictions of the impolicy of the tariff of 1842, led him to make great exertions for its rej)eal, and it was re- pealed. And the committee of ways and means allowed him to dictate many of the provisions in the act of 1846.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 13
It was one of his principles of political economy, that wealth obtained by industry and prudence is a source of national greatness, strength and happiness ; but when ob- tained by other means was a source of national weakness, corruption and misery.
Even a desire to obtain wealth by other means than in- dustry and prudence has in it the root of all evil.
It was under the influence of such 'principles that the tariff act of 1846 was conceived, and the ten years suc- ceeding its passage may be claimed to have been the hal- cyon age of the republic.
That tariff produced an ample revenue for an economi- cal government.
Its burthens were imposed equally upon all, and left each and all to the full enjoyment of their own industry and economy.
The wicked and odious laws which had bestowed boun- ties upon Boston rum and other New England commodi- ties, w^ere beginning to be erased from our statute books.
The sovereignty of States over all their internal and municipal interests was fully recognized.
Not a fort had been erected upon the territory of a State Avithout having first obtained the consent of such State for its erection, the State reserving to itself sover- eignty over such fort, except for the sole purjjose of de- fence against external aggression.
Not a federal bayonet was allowed to interfere within the limits of a State, even in case of insurrection, till in- vited by the authority of the State itself. Nor had the federal courts a right to adjudicate where the issues were entirely between citizens of the same State.
The whole prerogative of the general government was conliued to the external interests of States, and to their defence, and to their intercourse with each other and with foreign States. And like the sun reflecting its be- neficence upon its satellites, and by its attraction keeping
20*
14 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
them within their orbits, and while independent of each other, preventing collisions.
During the eventfnl ten years succeeding 1846, all that was great and good in this nation flourished ; the people were peaceful, prosperous and happy, and the nation raised from a state of mediocrity to be one of the might- iest of the world. Even Europe profited by our example of State sovereignty, and Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Greece, with popula- tions no larger than our individual States, were recog- nized as competent for self-government, and were sover- eign over their own interests. And the greater sover- eignties of Europe protected them in that sovereignty.
But the influences which conceived such laws as the tariff act of 1842, had produced the imputed cause which formed the excuse for provoking our late civil war. Uji- der the excitement of that war, amendments have been made to the federal constitution, in each of which are in- sidious provisions, revolutionary, depriving not only the States but the federal courts of their prerogatives, and vesting them in the discretion of Congress.
The consequence of all this is, that crime pervades our land. And corruption, instead of being exceptional, is the rule among all in official positions. Even the ermine of our highest courts has become soiled. The legal ten- der decision must impair our credit, and leave an unfavor- able impression in respect to us among all enlightened nations.
A subsidized press and pensioned editors are lavishing their sophistr}' ui)on the people, and to effect their pur- poses they show alike their editorial and pictorial buffoon- ry upon the good and the bad, the knave and the jDatriot.
Under these influences and wicked legislation the wealth of this nation is rajjidly becoming concentrated in the hands of knavish individuals or soulless corporations, and the people are imperceptibly gliding into a state of
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 15
slavery. And instead of being-, as in times past, the pride of nations and the hope of the workl, civilization is look- ing upon us with pity and contempt.
Notwithstanding seven years of peace, the mailed hand of the conquerer has still got by the throat the people of many of our States, anu is feeling its way to those of others, and Federal bayonets have already gleamed to overawe our northern elections, the most important of our franchise.
The only hope to the friends of freedom is in that God whose ways are so far above human comprehension. He may be chastising us for our good, for —
He moves in a mysterious way, His wonrters to perform, He jjlants his lootsteps on the sea, And rides upon the stwrm.
Sarah Amanda Collin, daughter of John and Kuth Holman Johnson Collin, born in Hillsdale, April 21st, 1804, and married to Rodney Hill, S(m of Jonathan and Christine E. Wilcox Hill, of Hillsdale, Feb. 20, 1825; died in Great Barrington, 1867. They have had two children :
John Henry, born May 16th, 1826. Ruth Maria, born January 23d, 1829.
Jane Miranda Collin, daughter of John and Ruth Hol- man Collin, born in Hillsdale, February 14th, 1807, and married to Rev. Hiram H. White, of Canton, Conn., June 2d, 1830. Died August 1879.
Hannah Collin, daughter of John and Ruth Holman Johnson Collin, born in Hillsdale, December 19th, 1809, and married Lewis Wright, of Xenia, Ohio, April 16th, 1833, bv whom she had one daughter :
Melinda T/^oorn in Wilmington, Ohio, March 27th 1834.
16 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
EuTH Maria Collin, daughter of John and Knth Hol- mau Johnson Collin, born in Hillsdale, March 1st, 1813 ; died June, 1838.
Henry Augustus Collin, son of John and Euth Hol- man Johnson Collin, born in Hillsdale, January 6th, 1817, and married Sarah Ann White, of Sharon, Conn., October 29th, 1836, by whom he has had three children :
Henry Alonzo, born August 14th, 1837. Sarah Adaline, born Janiiary 3d, 1840. Edwin, born August 31st, 1842.
He was five times elected supervisor of the town of Hillsdale, and was highly respected for intelligence and integrity. In 1856 he moved to Mount Vernon, Linn county, Iowa.
William Quincy Collin, son of John and Euth Holman Johnson Collin, born in Hillsdale, November 23d, 1819 ; died July 30th, 1822.
Clynthia a. Collin, daughter of John and Euth Hol- man Johnson Collin, born December 10th, 1822 ; died August 5th, 1828.
James H. Collin, son of James and Jane B. Hiint Col- lin, born at Egremont, Massachusetts, March 21st, 1823, and married to Mary Elizabeth Wright, daughter of Lewis and Hannah Springer Wright, of Xenia, July 12th, 1843, by whom he has had five children. He died in 1882.
Frances M., born August 3d, 1844. Sarah M., born November, 5th, 1847. Emma S., born March 26th, 1850. Henry Clay, born November 27th, 1851. Jennie L., born September 11th, 1859.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 17
Jane S. Collin, daughter of James and Jane B. Hunt Collin, born at Egremont, November 27tli, 1824, and mar- ried to George Bobbins, of Lenox, Mass., October 28tli, 1847, by whom she has had two children :
Mary E., born in Ohio.
James, born in New Marlborough, Mass.
Ellen H. Collin, daughter of James and Velona Hill Collin, born in Lee, Mass., July 20th, 1829, and married to Koswell Derbyshire, of Lenox, Mass., May 9tli, 1849, and upon his decease she married H. Hills, May, 1854, by whom she had two sons and one daughter, and is now liv- ing in Janesville, Rock county, Wisconsin.
Charles R. Collin, son of James and Yelona Hill Collin, born at Lee, Mass., March 1st, 1832, and married Hannah Wilcox, of Elgin, Illinois, 1854, b}' Avliom he has four boys, and he is now a merchant in the State* of Iowa.
Louis E. Collin, son of James and Velona Hill Collin, born at Lee, Mass., August lOtli, 1833, and married Mary A. Macy, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by whom he has one son. He now resides in Chicago, Illinois.
John H. Collin, son of James and Velona Hill Collin, born at Lee, Mass., February 25th, 1835, and is now liv- ing in the State of Iowa.
Mary C. Collin, daughter of James and Velona Hill Collin, born at Lenox, Mass., March 15tli, 1838, and mar- ried Lorenzo L. Crowns, December 27th, 1859, by whom she has two sons and is now residing in Washington, in the District of Columbia.
William M. Collin, son of James and Velona Hill Col- lin, born at Lenox, Mass., March 23d, 1842, and married Clara Rogers, daughter of the Hon. Charles Rogers, of
21
18 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Washington county, N. T., 1869. At one time lie was cashier of the First National Bank of Sandy Hill, N. Y. He died in 1879.
Edwin W. Collin, son of James and Chastine E. Wol- verton Collin, born at Lenox, September 19tli, 1849, died at Pittsfield, Mass., 1871.
Mortimer and Monteath Collin, twins, born Decem- ber 9tli, 1852.
George W. Collin, born December 13tli, 1855. Hattie May Collin, born May 1st, 1858. Lizzie A. Collin, born March 12th, 1860.
All children of James and Chastine Wolverton Collin, and all in their infancy, are residing with their mother in Pittsfield, Mass.
Frances M. Collin, born August 3d, 1844. Sarah M. Collin, born November 5th, 1847. Emma S. Collin, born March 26th, 1850. Henry Clay Collin, born November 27th, 1851. Jennie L. Collin, born September 11th, 1859. All children of James H. and Mary Elizabeth Wright Collin, are residing with their parents in Pittsfield, Mass.
John Francis Collin, son of James and Jane B. Hunt Collin, born in Egremout, Mass., February 15th, 1827 ; died April 9th, 1827.
Pamelia Laurania Collin, daughter of John Francis and Pamelia Jane Tullar Collin, born in Hillsdale, Decem- ber 12th, 1831, and married to the Rev. John Braden, of Xenia, Ohio, October 16th, 1856, by whom she has had three children :
Mary Eliza, born August 11th, 1858. Francis Collin, born August 11th, 1860 ; died July 20th, 1861.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 19
Fannie, born June 23d, 1866; died September 18tb, 1866.
She now resides in Nashville, in the State of Tennessee.
John Frederick Collin, son of John Francis and Pa- melia J. Tullar Collin, born in Hillsdale, September 24th, 1833, and married Jennett Van Dusen, daughter of Sey- mour and Caroline McArthur Van Dusen, December 15th, 1857, by whom he has had four children :
John Jay, born December 12th, 1858; died July 2d,
1861. Butli Anna, born February 4th, 1863 ; died October
16th, 1870. Frances Pamelia,- born August 13th, 1866. John Quincy, born December 11th, 1873.
QuiNCY Johnson Collin, son of John Francis and Pame- lia Jane Tullar Collin, bom in Hillsdale, August 20tli, 1836, graduated at the Wesleyan University in Middle- town, Conn., 1856, and married Martha Collin, daughter of Solomon Bingham and Julia Ann Bushnell Collin, March 28tli, 1860, by whom he has had three children : Carrie Louise, born January 14th, 1862. May Amelia, born May 15th, 1865 ; died March 18th,
1869. Grace Adelia, born July 19th, 1868. He is now a clergyman, and was the pastor of a church in Washington street, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., but is now pastor of a church in Brookton, Tompkins county, N. Y.
Frances Amelia Collin, daughter of John Francis and Pamelia J. Tullar Collin, born in Hillsdale, December 12th, 1840, and married Sylvester Barbour, Esq., Novem- ber 27th, 1860, by whom she has had four children : Lizzie Lawrence, born September 21st, 1861. Collin Henry, born July 6th, 1863.
20 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Edward Humphry, born 1867 ; died February 13th,
1869. Amy Louise, born September 25th, 1869. She was a resident of Ansonia, New Haven county, Conn.; now residing in Hartford, Conn.
Henry Alonzo Collin, son of Henry Augustus and Sarah Ann White Collin, born in Hillsdale, August 14th, 1837, graduated at the Wesleyau University at Middle- town, Conn , 1868, and married Cloe Matson, of Indiana, June 30th, 1868, by whom he has one child, born in 1869. Hi now resides in Mount Vernon, Linn county, Iowa, and is a professor in Cornell College in that town.
Sarah Adaline Collin, daughter of Henry Augustus and Sarah Ann White Collin, born in Hillsdale, January 3d, 1810, and married the Rev. James H. Golruth, a mem- ber of the Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, June 20th, 1869, by whom she has several chil- dren.
Edwin Collin, son of Henry Augustus and Sarah Ann White Collin, born in Hillsdale, August 31st, 1842. He spent some years as vice consul in Europe, and is now an attorney in the State of Iowa.
David Collin, son of David and Lucy Smith Collin, born at Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y., February 22d, 1767, and married Lucy Bingham, March 27th, 1791 ; died at Fayetteville, N. Y., June 2d, 1844. His children were :
Harry, born March loth, 1792.
Lucy, born June 27th, 1796.
David, born April 23d, 1794.
Harriet, born February 9th, 1799.
Lee, born February 14th, 1801.
Hannah, born October 2d, 1803.
Solomon Bingham, born March 7tli, 1806.
Amanda, born February 18tli, 1809.
Norton Smith, born July 24th, 1812.
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 21
Harry Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born in Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y. March 15th, 1792, and married Nancy McAlpin, of Hillsdale, April 2d, 1814 ; died October 8th, 1835. His children were :
Harriet Ann, born October 28th, 1816.
Henry Clark, born September 2d, 1818.
Emeline, born September 6th, 1822.
Harriet Ann Collin, daughter of Harry and Nancy McAlpin Collin, born in Benton, Yates county, N. Y., Oc- tober 28th, 1816, and married Alfred Grilbert Bidwell, of Hillsdale, May 2d, 1837, by whom she has had seven children :
Florine Alfrett, born August 28th, 1839.
Nancy Jane, born April 7th, 1811.
Henry Collin, born June 11th, 1843.
Harriet Augusta, born October 7th, 1846.
Horace Gilbert, born May 24th, 1849.
Alfi-ed Edgar, born November 27th, 1852.
William Welch, born November 28th, 1857.
Henry Clark Collin, son of Harry and Nancy McAlpin Collin, born in Benton, Yates county, N. Y., September 2d, 1818, and married Maria Louise Park, of Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., September 23d, 1842, by whom he has had eight children :
Henry Park, born July 26th 1843.
Charles Avery, born May 18th, 1846.
Mary Louise, born June 7th, 1848.
Frederick, born August 2d, 1850.
Emeline, born February 16th, 1852.
George, born February 3d, 1854.
William Welch, born January 2d, 1856.
Frank McAlpin, born September 17th, 1859.
Emeline Collin, daughter of Harry and Nancy McAl- pin Collin, born in Benton, Yates county, N. Y., Septem-
21*
22 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
/■
ber Gtli, 1852, married William Wickham Welch, of Nor- folk, Conn., November 7tli, 1844; died October 29th, 1850. Her children were :
Emeline Alice, born May 13th, 1847. William Henry, born April 8th, 1850.
Henry Park Collin, son of Henry Clark and Maria Louise Park Collin, born in Benton, N. Y., July 26th, 1843, graduated at Yale College, Conn., 1865, and also graduated at the Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York, 1869, and preached one year at Seymour, Conn., and resigned his "charge for the purpose of going to Germany.
Charles Avery Collin, son of Henry Clark and Maria Louse Park Collin, born in Benton, N. Y. May 18th, 1846, and graduated at Yale College, Conn., 1866. Having studied law, was admitted to the bar in the Spring of 1870, and in August of that year settled in Elmira, N. Y., and is now one of the law firm of Collin k, Atwill.
Mary Louise, daughter of Henry Clark and Maria Louise Collin, born at Benton, N. Y., June 7th, 1848, and graduated at the Packard Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1867, and married to James Sanford Sears of Geneva, N. Y., June 15th, 1870, at which place she now resides.
Frederick Collin, son of Henry Clark and Maria Louise Park Collin, born in Benton, N. Y., August 2d, 1850, and graduated at Yale College, Conn., in 1871.
Emeline Collin, daughter of Henry and Maria Louise Park Collin, born in Benton, N. Y., February 16th, 1852, and entered the Packard Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y., September, 1869.
BIOGBAPHICAL SKETCHES. 23
David Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born in Northeast, in Dutchess county, N. Y., April 23d, 1794, and married Anna Smith, of Dutchess county, Janu- ary 2d, 1817, by whom he has had seven children :
Edmund, born December 28th, 1817 ; died December
29th, 1817. Caroline, born December 26th, 1818. Lucy B., born March 15th, 1821. David, born August 23d, 1822. Harriette, born November 15th, 1824. Miriam, born May 16th, 1828. Anna Smith, born October /4th, 1829.
Caroline Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, born at Fayette ville, N. Y., December 26th, 1818, and married Sylvester Gardner, of Manlius, N. Y., Sep- tember, 25th, 1838, by whom she has had seven children :
Edmund, born June 20th, 1840 ; died Juue 21st, 1840.
Caroline, born January 16th, 1842.
Sylvester, born November 18tli, 1844.
Sarah, born January 21st, 1849.
Anna, born December 11th, 1850.
Miriam, born September 6th, 1852.
William, born March 26th, 1861.
Lucy B. Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, born at Fayetteville, N. Y., March 15th, 1821, and married Porter Tremain, September 28th, 1841, by whom she has had two children :
Charles, born April 23d, 1843. Porter, born January 24th, 1845.
David Collin, son of David and Anna Smith Collin, born at Fayetteville, N. Y., August 23d, 1822, and mar- ried Clara Park, of Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., October 22d, 1845, by whom he has had nine children :
24 HILLSDALE HISTOKY.
David, born January 6th, 1847 ; died November 3d,
1862. Edward, born September 30th, 1848. Clara Park, born May 25th, 1850. Roswell Park, born January 4th, 1852. Charles Lee, born November 23d, 1853. Harriette, born August 14th, 1856. Miriam, born February 7th, 1859. William Taylor, born March 28th, 1861. David Francis, born November 16th, 1863.
Harriette Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, born at Fayette ville, N. Y., November 15th. 1824, and married Nathan Seward, of New Hartford, N. Y., June 13th, 1848 ; died at Fayette ville, February 17th, 1855. Her children were :
Harriette, born March 19th, 1849.
Anna, born May 26th, 1850.
Nathan, born November 24th, 1851 ; died November
28th, 1851. Lucy, born July 17th, 1853. Elizabeth, born February 13th, 1855 ; died April
18th, 1855.
Miriam Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Col- lin, born at Fayette ville, N. Y., May 16th, 1828, and mar- ried Ethan Armstrong, of Bennington, Vermont, May 15th, 1851, by whom she has had four children :
Geneva, born March 5th, 1852.
David, born June 11th, 1853.
Ethan Hamilton, born Marcli 19tii, 1856 ; died June
12th, 1862. Augustus Tremain, born October 18th, 1863.
Anna Smith Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, born at Fayetteville, N. Y., October 4th, 1829, and
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 25
married Samuel James "Wells, of New Hartford, N. Y., October 12tli, 1854, by whom she has had four children :
Samuel James, born September 5th, 1856. David Collin, born September 23d, 1858. John Lewis, born December 26th, 1860. Paul Irvin<r, born March 9th, 1863.
Lucy Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born at Hillsdale, June 27th, 1796, and married Barnet Wager, of Hillsdale, January 7th, 1815.
Harriet Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born at Hillsdale, February 9th, 1799, and mar- ried Frederick Mesick of Claverack, March 3d, 1823 ; died February 28th, 1826.
Lee Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born at Hillsdale, February 14th, 1801, and married Al- mira Loop, daughter of the Hon. Henry Loop, of Hills- dale, November 19tli, 1824, and upon her decease he mar- ried Lydia Smith, of Amenia, N. Y., September 1st, 1829 ; died at Hannibal, N. Y., May 4th, 1832.
Hannah Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born in Hillsdale, October 2d, 1803, and married to David L. Farnham of Benson, Vermont, June 12th, 1829, by whom she had three children :
Samuel, born December 28th, 1835 ; died January
11th, 1836. Rosamond D., born July 9th, 3837. Almina, born September 23d, 1839.
Mrs. Hannah Collin Farnham died May 17th, 1863.
Solomon Bingham Collin, son of David and Lucy Bing- ham Collin, born at Hillsdale, March 7th, 1806, and mar- ried to Julia Ann Bushnell, daughter of John and Loxey Lay Bushnell, of Hillsdale, October 13th, 1835, by whom
22
26 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
he has had eight children. He died a few years since.
Martha, born December 5th, 1836.
James Lee, born July 1st, 1838.
John Bingham, born April 4th, 1840.
Julia Ann, born July 16tli, 1843.
Mary Louise, born July 21st, 1846.
Abby, born April 26th, 1850 ; died April 5th, 1854.
Lois Ann, born February 12th, 1853.
Viola, born May 26th, 1855 ; died March 17th, 1871.
Amanda Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born at Hillsdale, February 18th, 1809, and mar- ried Porter Tremaiu, of Hillsdale, November 11th, 1830 ; died at Fayette ville, N. Y., March 26th, 1840. She had one son — Augustus, born March 27th, 1834.
Norton Smith Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, born at Hillsdale, February 24th, 1812, and mar- ried to Eliza Park, of Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., September 23d, 1837, by whom he has had five children :
Eliza, born February 27tli, 1839.
Lucy, born February 21st, 1841.
Norton Park, born June 9th, 1842.
Virginia, born August 26th, 1851 ; died August 21st,
1856. Cardora, born May 10th, 1858.
He represented the Second Assembly District of Colum- bia county in the State Legislature in 1861, and now re- sides in Brooklyn, N. Y.
Eliza Collin, daughter of Norton S. and Eliza Park Collin, born in Hillsdale, February 27th, 1839, and mar- ried Rev. Lorenzo M. Gates, September 23d, 1862 ; died in Ottawa, La Salle county, Hlinois, July 9th, 1869.
Lucy Collin, daughter of Norton S. and Eliza Park
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 27
Collin, born in Hillsdale, February 21st, 1841, and mar- ried John Bingham Collin, son of Solomon Bingham and Julia Ann Buslinell Collin, of Hillsdale, August lltli, 1864, and now resides in the city of New York.
Norton Pauk Collin, son of Norton S. and Eliza Park Collin, born in Hillsdale, June 9tli, 1842, and married Abby Greenwood, of Northampton, Mass., June, 1867, by whom he has one child, Edith Park, born June 15tli, 1868. He now resides in Brooklyn, N. Y.
Martha Collin, daughter of Solomon Bingham and Julia Ann Bushnell Collin, born in Hillsdale, December 5th, 1836, and married Rev. Quinc}^ J. Collin, son of John F. and Pamelia Jane Tullar Collin, March 28th, 1860, by whom she has had three children :
Carrie Louise, born January 14th, 1862.
May Amelia, born May 15th, 1865 ; died March 18th,
1869. Grace Adelia, born July 19tli, 1868.
James Lee Collin, son of Solomon Bingham and Julia Ann Buslinell Collin, born in Hillsdale, July 1st, 1838, and married to Susan Culver, of Syracuse, N. Y., where he now resides.
John Bingham Collin, son of Solomon Bingham and Julia Ann Bushnell Collin, born in Hillsdale, April 4th, 1840, and married Lucy Collin, daughter of Norton S. and Eliza Park Collin, of Brooklyn, N. Y., August 11th, 1864, and now resides in the city of New York. He was captain of a company in the 91st Regiment of New York Volunteers during most of the late civil war.
Hannah Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Smith Collin, born in Dutchess county, 1765, and married Squire Sherwood and settled in Hillsdale, where she died at an
28 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
advanced age, having had five children : Esther, Hannah; Sally, born 1787 ; Lucy, born 1788, and Susan, born June 4th, 1795 ; died June ilth, 1869.
Lucy Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., February 28th, 1773, and married Elijah Burton, January 3d, 1796 ; died June 30th, 1847. She has had eleven children :
Collin, born December 29th 1797.
Ely, born October 10th, 1799 ; died February 23d,
1860. Belinda, born July 23d, 1801 ; died August 20th 1864. Lucinda, born Deceujber 1st, 1802 ; died January
21st, 1863. Harriett, born January 28th, 1805. Henry, born March 18th, 1807. He is dead. Miranda, born April 10th, 1809. Benson, born July 17th, 1811 ; died August 25tli,
1862. David, born August 23cl, 1813 ; died October 14th,
1813. George Trafford, born August 10th, 1814. Julia A., born June 21st, 1817. She is dead.
Sally Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., 1775, and married Douglass Clark, and settled in North East, Dutchess county, N. Y. They have had six children :
Perry, who married Caroline Winchell.
Henry, who married Betsey Ann Wheeler.
Olive.
Sally, who married Alexander Trowbridge.
Caroline, who married Caleb D. Barrett.
Emeline, who married Hampton Wheeler.
James Collin, son of David and Esther Gillett Collin,
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 29
born in Dutchess county, N. Y., April 15th, 1777, and married Lydia Hamblin, April 21st, 1804; died July 15th, 1856. His children were :
Eli, born February 23d, 1805. James Hamblin, born March 5th, 1808. Lydia Louise, born June 15th, 1810. Julia Ann, born November 17th, 1813. Caroline, born September 21st, 1817. Cordelia, born April 6th, 1820; Aulia, born April 6th, 1820 ; died April 6th, 1820. David Nelson, born March 17th, 1823 ; died March 3d, 1840.
Eli Collin, son of James and Lydia Hamblin Collin, born February 23d, 1805, and married Betsey Finch, Feb- ruary 12th, 1830 ; died June 12th, 1861.
James Hamblin Collin, son of James and Lydia Ham- blin Collin, born March 5th, 1808, and married Louise Wheeler, September 11th, 1845 ; died January 27th, 1860.
Lydia Louise Collin, daughter of James and Lydia Hamblin Collin, born September 21st 1817, and married Charles Mead April 3d, 1840.
Cordelia Collin, daughter of James and Lydia Ham- blin Collin, born April 6th, 1820, and married Barak Wil- son, September, 1840 ; died February, 1845.
Charles Prentice Adams, son of Dr. L. S. Adams, born in Stockbridge, Mass., and married to Margaret Gavit, daughter of John E. and Margaret Sophia Robinson Gavit, October 8th, 1868.
John Adams, second President of the United States, born at Braintree, Mass., October 19th, 1735, graduated at the Harvard University, 1755, and married Abigail Smith, daughter of Rev. William Sn)itli, of Weymouth, and
22*
30 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
granddaughter of John Qiiincy, of Boston, in 1764 ; died July 4th, 1826. Among his children was John Quincj Adams, sixth President of the United States, who was born July 11th, 1767, just two days before the death of his distinguished great grandfatlier, John Quincy, and whose paternal estate he subsequently inherited.
Ethan Armstrong, born in Bennington, Vermont, April 24tli, 1810, and married Miriam Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, May 15th, 1851, by whom he has had four children :
Geneva, born March 5th, 1852.
David, born June 11, 1853.
Ethan Hamilton, born March 19th, 1856 ; died June
12th, 1862. Augustus Tremain, born October 18th, 1863.
Anthony Arnold, born in Dutchess county, N. Y.,
April 12th, 1704, and married Sarah , who was
born 1712. They were Friend Quakers, and had two children :
David, born May 27th, 1733. Sarah, born May 24th, 1742.
David Arnold, son of Anthony and Sarah Arnold, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., May 27th, 1733, and died in Gorham, Ontario county, N. Y., at a very advanced age. His wite, Hannah, was born in Dutchess county. May 3d, 1736, by whom he had seven children :
Mary, born May 24th, 1758. Phebe, born May 31st, 1760. George, born August 9th, 1762. Anthony, born December 1st, 1766. Jonathan, born March 1st, 1771. Sarah, born May 5th, 1773. David, born January 1st, 1776.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 31
Sarah Arnold, daughter of Antliony and Sarah Arnokl, born May 24th, 1742, and married John Collin, son of John and Hannah Merwin Collin, of Milford, Conn., Sep- tember 16th, 1758, died at Hillsdale, N. Y., December 29th, 1791. Her children were :
Anthony, born February 24th, 1760. Hannah, born June 7th, 1763. John, born September 19th, 1772.
Mary Arnold, daughter of David and Hannah Arnold, born May 24th, 1758, and married to John Wager, of Hillsdale, N, Y. They had one son : Barnet, born January 29th, 1793.
Sarah Arnold, daughter of David and Hannah Arnold, born May 5th, 1773, and married Ezekiel Wlialen, of Mil- ton, Saratoga county, N. Y., by whom she had several children, one of whom was named Seth.
Charles Atwater, born in New Haven, Conn., August 18th, 1786, and married to Mary Merwin, daughter of Miles and Abigail Beach Merwin, of Milford, Conn., Oc- tober, 1809; died February 21st, 1825. His children were ;
George Merwin, born October 29tli, 1814, now a resi- dent of Springfield, Mass. David P. Atwater, M. D., residing in Bridgeport,
Conn. James C. Atwater, residing in Brooklyn, N. Y.
His father, Jeremiah Atwater, was born in Wallingford, Conn., November 10th, 1744.
His grandfather, John Atwater, born in December, 1718.
His great grandfather, John Atwater, born in Walling- ford, Conn., August 17th, 1683.
His great-great grandfather, David Atwater, born in New Haven, November 1st, 1654, and was one of the first
32 HILLSDALE HISTOKY.
planters of New Haven county and in the first division of land among the settlers a farm was assigned him in the Neck, as the tract Avas called, between Mill and Quinni- piach rivers. Upon that tract he lived until his death, which occurred October 5th, 1692. Rev. Charles Atwater was a devoted minister of the gospel, having graduated at Yale College in 1805.
Trypena Blanset, born in Jerusalem, Yates county, N. Y., January 10th, 1836, and married to Charles Willis Bartholomew, son of John Moss and Talitha Paulina TuUar Bartholomew, February 26th, 1863. Her children are :
Edward Willis, born June 7th, 1864. Wilson Thomas, born April 28th, 1869. Arthur Dana, born April 5th, 1871.
John Moss Baetholomew, born in Wallingford, Conn., February 22d, 1800, and married Talitha Paulina Tullar, daughter of Charles and Rebecca Race Tullar, of Egre- mont, Mass., October 8th, 1822, by whom he has had two children :
Charles Willis, born September 14th 1825 ; died 1882. Pamelia Jane, born December 28th, 1827.
Charles Willis Bartholomew, son of John Moss and Talitha Paulina Tullar Bartholomew, born in Sheffield, Mass. September 14tli, 1825, and married Trypena Blan- set, February 26th, 1863, by whom he has had three sons:
Edward Willis, born June 7th, 1864. Wilson Thomas, born April 28th, 1869. Arthur Dana, born April 5tli, 1871.
Pamelia Jane Bartholomew, daughter of John Moss and Talitha Paulina Tullar Bartholomew, born in Shef- field, Mass,, December 28th, 1827, and married to Henry
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 33
Stiles Barbour, of Canton, Conn., November 25th, 1851, and now resides in Hartford, Conn. Her children are :
John Humphry, born May 29th 1854.
Edward Willis, born Miiy 2d, 1857 ; died May 28th,
1861. Lucy Amelia, born May Gth, 1863.
Henry Stiles Barbour, born in Canton, Conn., August 2d, 1822, and married Pamelia Jane Bartholomew, daugh- ter of John Moss and Talitha Paulina Tullar Bartholo- mew, Nov. 25th, 1851, by whom he has had three chil- dren, John Humphry, Edward Willis and Lucy Amelia. He was an attorney at law, and for about twenty years was a resident of Wolcottville, Litchfield count}^. Conn, and in 1871 moved to Hartford, Conn. He had been a member of the Connecticut Legislature, and in 1871 was a member of the State Senate, serving as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Henry Barbour, of Canton, Conn., was married to Na- oma Humphry, of Barkhamstead, Conn., April 2d, 1817. Their children were :
Clarinda, born April 17th, 1818. Hernon Humphry, born July 19th, 1820. Henry Stiles, born August 2d, 1822. Lucy, born May 7th, 1824. Pluma, born September 17tli, 1826. Juliette, born January 20th, 1828. Sylvester, born January 20tli, 1831. Naoma Ellen, born February 3d, 1833. Edward Payson, born Sei)tember 23d, 1834.
Sylvester Barbour, son of Henry and Naoma Hum- phry Barbour, born at Canton, Conn., January 20th, 1831, and married Frances Amelia Collin, daughter of John Francis and Pamelia Jane Tullar Collin, of Hills-
'2.i
34 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
dale, N. Y., November 27tli, 1860, and settled as an attor- ney at law in Ansonia, New Haven county, Conn. His children are :
Lizzie Lawrence, born September 21st, 1861.
Collin Henry, born July 6tli, 1863.
Edward Humphry, born 1867 ; died February 13th,
1869. Amy Louise, born September 25th, 1869.
LoKiNG Bartlet, of New York, married Augusta Foster, daughter of Seymour and Sarah Madaline Truesdell Fos- ter, and resides in New York city.
Delaney Bartlet married Almira Farnham, daughter of David L. and Hannah Collin Farnham, January 3d, 1863.
Richard Bartlet, sou of Richard Bartlet, of Boston, at which place he was born, married Mary Robinson, daughter of Gain and Margaret Watson Robinson, of East Bridgewater, Mass. The following were their chil- dren :
Lydia, born 1757 ; married John Savage. Mary, born 1759 ; married Benjamin Richards. Margaret, born 1761 ; married James Taylor.
Gain, born 1763 ; married McNeal.
Martha , married Andrew Mushero.
Richard. Elizabeth. Robert. Edward.
Jane , married Shadrack Holley.
William.
Jerusha Bartlet, daughter of Ebenezer Bartlet, of Duxbury, Mass., born 1731, and married James Robinson, of Bridgewater, Mass. ; died March 24th, 1812. Her chil-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 35
dren were : James, Bartlet, Watson, Abner, Gain, Clark, Jernslia, Bartlet, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Jane, Esther, Eleanor, Bethia and Martha.
Peter Becker, born April 15th, 1759 ; married Mary Southard, and died June 21st, 1839. She died October 25th, 1837.
John P. Becker, son of Peter and Mary Southard Becker, born September 28tli, 1782, and married Eliza- beth Clum, December 2d, 1804 ; died December, 1859. She was born July 24th, 1782 ; died November 19th, 1847. Their children were :
Philip, born June 22d, 1805. ^Polly, born April 9th, 1807. >^David Lonson, born January 20th, 1809. ^o^ x's -> t^,
Stephen C, born August 4th, 1811. Lovina, born May 8th, 1813. Elizabeth, born December 3d, 1815. Julianne, born May 22d, 1817. Catharine, born August 18th, 1820. Margaret Caroline, born October 28th, 1822. Almira, born 1825.
Margaret Caroline Becker, daughter of John Pond and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born October 28th, 1822, and married Edward Duncan, March 8th, 1852, by whom she had two children :
Carrie Margaret, born June 6th, 1856.
Edward Jennings, born February 22d, 1854 ; died
After the decease of Edward Duncan, on the 10th of October, 1862, she married Orrin M. Sawyer, of Auster- litz, September 4th, 1864.
Philip Becker, son of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born June 22d, 1805, and married Elizabeth De
36 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Groff, July 22d, 1827. He died in 1882. Their children are :
Henry L., born July 15th 1828. James M., born June 29th, 1831.
Luman F., born December 20th, 1833 ; died Decem- ber 24th, 1866. Jane, born April 16th, 1836. Julia, born October 12th, 1837. I Emma H., born September 28th, 1840. _^Philip, born December 19th, 1843. y^ Charlie, born April 28th, 1846. Hiram H„ born May 10th, 1848.
Mary, born December 20th, 1850 ; died September 6th, 1852.
Henry L. Becker, son of Philip and Elizabeth DeGrotf Becker, born July 15th, 1828, and married Jane A. Car- skaden, November 17th, 1851. Their children were :
Eugene, born March 22d, 1854 ; died August 22d,
' 1856. Altanah, born August 23d, 1852 ; died February 3d, 1863.
James M. Becker, son of Philip and Elizabeth DeGroff Becker, born December 20th, 1833, and married Maria A. Clark, December 1st, 1861. Their children are :
James, born February 11th, 1864. Charlie, born March, 1866. Lilly, born April 15th, 1870.
Julia Becker, daughter of Piiilipaud Elizabeth DeGroff Becker, born October 12th, 1837, and married Andrew J. Kittell, of Hudson, April 28th, 1859 ; died July 9th, 1861. Their infant child died a few weeks after.
Jane Becker, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth DeGroff
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 37
Becker, born April 16tli, 1836, and married John F. Col- lin, son of John and Ruth Holman Johnson Collin, Jan- uary 16th, 1871. She has one son, Frank B., born Octo- ber 8th, 1872.
Philip Becker, son of Philip and Elizabeth DeGroff Becker, born December 19th, 1843, and married Cynthia ^ Augusta Truesdell, July 15th, 1866. Their children are :
Julia Elizabeth, born April 26th, 1867. Gordon, born September 9th, 1868. Ralph Marion, born October 12th, 1880.
David Lonson Becker, son of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born January 20tli, 1809, and married Sarah Truesdell, daughter of Samuel Truesdell. After her de- cease, he married Ruth A. Tyler, daughter of John Tyler. After her decease, he married Mary Osborn, daughter of Melvin Osborn. He has been dead several years.
By his wife Sarah, he had two children, Alfred and Sarah.
Bj' his wife Ruth, he had two children, Franklin and Lonson.
By his wife Mary, he had one child, Lizzie.
Stephen C. Becker, sou of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born August 4th, 1811, and married Eunice Krum. Their children were : Porter A., John, Mary A., Ellen, Alice, and Lonson J. The last two are dead.
LoviNA Becker, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born May 8th, 1813, and married Orville McAlpin, son of John McAlpin, January 1st, 1851. She has been dead several years. Their children were :
Mary C, born November 25th, 1851 ; died September
15th, 1855. Lucy, born September 3d, 1857.
Elizabeth Becker, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth
23*
38 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Clum Becker, born December od, 1815, and married Syl- vanus Smith, and resides in Penn Yan, Yates county, N. Y.
JuLiANNE Becker, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born May 22d, 1817, and married Samuel Voak, by whom she has one son, Arthur. He now resides in Waukegan, Lake county, Illinois. She died some years since.
Catharine Becker, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born August IStli, 1820, and married Peter J. Becker, son of Joseph and Betsy Smith Becker, Nov- ember 14th, 1810. Their children were : George W., Gains T., Francis E., Lucy and Charles W. ; the last two of whom have died. She died in 1881.
Polly Becker, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, born April 9tli, 1807, and married Gains Trues- dell, son of Samuel Truesdell, of Hillsdale. Their chil- dren were : John, Ruth, Stephen, Elizabeth, Juliette.
Edward Wells Blackington, of Adams, Mass., married Camille Eugenia Van Dusen, daughter of Freeman and Lucretia Tullar Van Dusen, October 1st, 1862, by whom he has had two children.
Isaac J. Bigelow was born in Leominster, Worcester county, Mass., February 24tli, 1809, and graduated at the medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, and married Hannah Matthew, widow of Zelotes Matthew, and sister of the Rev. Leonidas Lent Hamlin, December 1st, 1838.
John Braden, born August 18th, 1826, and married Pamelia Laurania Collin, daughter ol John Francis and Pamelia Jane Tullar Collin, October 16, 1856. Their children were :
Mary Eliza, born August 11th, 1858.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 89
Francis Collin, born February 20tli, 1860 : died July
20tli, 1860. Fannie, born June 23d, 1866 ; died Sej)tember 18th,
1866.
He graduated at the university in Delaware, Ohio, then under the presidency of Edward Thompson, who subse- quently became a liishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Having obtained a license to preach in the Methodist Episcopal Church, he joined the Cincinnati Conference, in which he labored for some years. He is now a member of the Tennessee Conference, is residing in Nashville, and is president of the Central Tennessee College.
James Bradish, born 1675, died 1763. His wife was born 1688, died 1769. They had one son, John, born 1719, who married Mary Green, who was l)orn 1720 ; died 1784; and he died 1781. They had eight children :
Sarah, born 1744, and married Mr. Nye.
Hannah, born 1748.
John, born 1750.
James, born 1752 ; married Jane Townsend.
Mary, born 1754 ; married Mr. Green, of Hardwick,
Mass. Dinah, born 1757.
Eutli, born 1760, and married Mr. Palmer. Joseph, born 1762.
John Bradish, son of John and Mary Green Bradish, born 1750, and married Hannah Warner, of Hardwick, Massachusetts, who was born 1752 ; died 1828, in Pal- myra, N. Y.
He was a colonel in the militia, and held important offices in church and state, and died 1825, in Palmyra, N. Y. Their children were :
Calvin, born in Hardwick, 1773 ; died in Michigan.
40 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Chloe, boru iu Hardwick, 1775. Charles, born in Hardwick, 1778. Sarali, born in Cummington, Mass., 1781. Luther, born in Cummington, 1783. Calvin, 2d, born in Cummington.
Chloe Bradish, daughter of John and Hannah Warner Bradish, born in Hardwick, Mass., 1775, and married to Gain Robinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robin- son, of Cummington, Mass., 1796- She died in Stock- bridge, Mass., 1866. Her children were : Amanda, Wil- liam Cullen, Cains Cassius, Abigail Blackman, Clark, Erasmus Darwin, Charles Rollin, Chloe, Helleu Elizabeth, and Margaret Sopliia.
Sarah Bradish, daughter of John and Hannah Warner Bradish, born in Cummington, 1781, and married Bartlet Robinson ; died 1853.
Charles Bradish, son o± John and Hannah Warner Bradish, born in Hardwick, Mass., 1778, and died in Mad- ison, Michigan, 1857. He married Bethia Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, 1804, and moved from Cummington, Mass., to Palmyra, N. Y., iu 1807. He was one of the New York electors at the election of President Harrison. His children were : Alex- ander H, William F., Setli W., Bartlet R., Lucretia E., and Philander.
Luther Bradish, son of John and Hannah Warner Bradish, boru in Cummington, Mass., 1783 ; died in New York, 1863. He was elected Lieut.-Governor of the State of New York in November. 1838. With a splendid per- son and high moral character, he possessed superior tal- ents.
RowENA Bradish, daughter of John and Hannah War- ner Bradish, born 1786, and married John Comstock,
BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 41
1801, and settled in the town of Rasin, Micliigan. Her husband died, 1851. She had ten children : Worrener M., Walter E., Francis A., Hannah W., Luther B., Calvin B., Mary S., Charles B., Lauriston A., and Addis E.
Cal^^n Bhadish, son of John and Hannah Warner Brad- ish, born in Curumington, Mass., and married Nancy Post, of Long Island, N. Y., and had twelve children : Martha M., Curran, Nelson, Sarah, Luther, Calvin, John W., Hannah W., Augustus W., Amanda G., Myron H., and Norman F.
He settled in Lenox county, Michigan, and bought a large tract of land, which he divided among his children. He died in 1854. His wife died in 1839.
Maetha M. Bradish, daughter of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and married Norman B. Carter, and settled in Black Creek, Michigan. They had four children : Bussell C, Amanda D., Francis N., and Nancy B.
CuERAN Bradisp, SOU of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and married Boby Cumstock, and set- tled in Adrian, Michigan. Their children are : Hellen E., Thomas A., and Darius C.
Nelson Bradish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and married Phebe Wilson, 1828, and settled in Adrian, Michigan. Their children are : Myron W., William C, Ann E., Warren C, Lousia, and Mary C.
Sarah Bradish, daughter of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and married Paul Jagger, 1827, and settled in East PaJmj'ra, N. Y. Their children are : Luther B., Lucy A., and Charles E.
Luther Bradish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Brad- ish, born in Michigan, and married Rachael Moon, June, 1846.
42 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Calvin Beadish, son of Calvin and NancvPost Bradisli, born in Micliigan, and married Mary Ann Jennings, 1838, and settled in Lenawee county, Michigan. Their children are : Horace C, Orrin H., and Chloe C.
John W. Bkadish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Brad- isli, born in Michigan, and married Lydia A. Jeroleman, 1840, and settled in Lenawee county, Michigan. Their children are : Elizabeth F., Mary A., Sarah J., and Martha M.
Hannah W. Bradish, daughter of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan.
Augustus W. Bradish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and married Eliza M. Apple- by, 1847, and settled in Lenawee county, Michigan. Their children are : Clarence M., Herbert H. and others.
Amanda (t. Bradish, daughter of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradisli. born in Michigan, and married Melvin T. Nickerman, 1844, and settled in Adrian, Michigan. Their children are : Calvin B., Norman F. Therese E., and Francis A.
Myron H. Bradish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Brad- ish, born in Michigan, and drowned in the ninth year of his age.
Norman F. Bradish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and married Caroline M. Ca- tou in 1845, and settled in Lenawee county, Michigan. Their children are : Mintlia A., Hellen A., and Nor- man E.
Alexander H. Bradish, son of Calvin and Nancy Post Bradish, born in Michigan, and died, in early childhood.
William F. Bradish, son of Charles and Bethia Eobin- son Bradisli, born in Palmyra, N. Y., and married Kachael
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 43
F. Warren in 1834, and settled in Medina, Michigan, in 1853. His wife died in 1862, and be married Ferris De Forrest. His children are : Emma J., Chloe E., Clark R., and James Q.: the last of whom perished by the blow- ing up of a steamer on the Mississippi river while serv- ing as a soldier in the late civil war.
Charles H. Bradish, son of Charles and Betliia Rob- inson Bradish, born in Palmyra, N. Y., and married Amy Ann Aldrich in 1849, and in 1853, moved to Lenawee county, Michigan. His children are : Zimrhoda J., and Alexander H.
Seth W. Bradish, son of Charles and Bethia Bradish, born in Palmyra, N. Y. ; died in Michigan in 1837.
Bartlet R. Bradish, son of Charles and Bethia Robin- son Bradish, born in Palmyra, N. Y., and married Cora M. Philips, in 1857 ; died in Adrian, Michigan, in 1863.
LucRETiA E. Bradish, daughter of Charles and Bethia Robinson Bradish, born in Palmyra, N. Y., where she now resides, bhe has given some valuable assistance in this compilation.
Philander P. Bradish, son of Charles and Bethia Rob- inson Bradish, born in Palmyra, N. Y,, and married Maria T. Bradley, of Lyons, in 1848, and settled in Batavia, N. Y. Their children are : John H., Edward F., William B., and Francis.
Elijah Burton, born in Dutchess county, N. Y., July 31st, 1769, and married Lucy Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, January 3d, 1796. Their chil- dren were :
Collin, born December 29th, 1797. ^ Ely, born October 30th, 1799 ; died February 23d, 1860.
4A HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Belinda, born July 23d, 1801 ; died August 20tli 1864 Lucinda, born December 1st, 1802 ; died January
21st, 1863. Harriet, born January 28tli, 1805. Henry, b.)rn March 18tli, 1807. Miranda, born April lOtli, 1809. Benson, born July 17tli, 1811 ; died August 25tli
1862, David, born August 23d, 1813 ; died October 14tli,
1813. George Trafford, born August lOtli, 1814. Julia A., born June 21st, 1817. Elijah Burton, died February 7th, 1856.
Harriet Burton, daughter of Elijah and Lucy Collin Burton, born in Hillsdale, N. Y., January 28tli, 1805, and married to Joshua Dakin, of Dutchess county. Their children are : Jane, Ambrose L., Jennett, Mariett, Ches- ter E.
Henry Burton, son of Elijah and Lucy Collin Burton, born in Hillsdale, March 18th, 1807, and married Eliza Doan, October 29th, 1834. Their children are :
Sterling, born October 20th, 1836.
Lucy, born November 30th, 1838 ; died August 3d,
1857. Henry Collin, bom July 11th, 1843 ; died August
24th, 1848. Henry Burton has been dead several years.
Sterling Burton, son of Henry and Eliza Doan Burton, born in Hillsdale, October 20th, 1836, and married Mar- tha L. Whiting, July 13th, 1864. Their children are :
Henry Collin, born August 22d, 1865. Charles Whiting, born January 29th, 1868 ; died Feb- ruary 1st, 1868.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 45
Miranda Burton, daughter of Elijah and Lucy Collin Burton, l)orn A|n-il lOtli, 1809, and married George W. Bnshnell, son of William Bushnell, of Hillsdale. Their children are: Mary Jane ; Josephine, died - ; William Henry.
(tEOKgj-; Ti;AFi'oi;i> lUiii'o.s, sou nf l^lijali aud Jjucy Col- lin Burton, born August 10th, 1814, and nnirried Maria Everts, of Hillsdale. They have had one daughter, Urvilla.
John Bushnell, son of George Bushnell, born in Hills- dale, September 2()th, 1789, and married to Loxey Lay, of Saybrook, Conn., September 20th, 1810 ; died June 30th, 1842. Their children were :
Julia Ann, born September 18th, 1811.
Cliloe, born January 1st, 1813.
Caroline, born October 21st, 1814.
George, born July 10th, 1816.
Elisha W., born December 27th, 1818.
John and Loxy, twins, born January 5th, 1821.
Lay, born February 28th, 1826.
Abby, born April 17th, 1828,
Ely, born April 3d, 1830.
Julia Ann Bushnell, daughter of John and Loxey Lay Bushnell, born in Hillsdale, September 28th, 1811, and married to Solomon B. Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, October 13th, 1835 ; died December 6th, 1865. Their children are :
Martha, born December 5th, 1836.
James Lee, born July 1st, 1838.
John Bingham, born April 4th, 1840.
Julia Ann, born July 16th, 1843.
Mary Louise, born July 21st, 1846,
Abby, born April 25th,' 1850 ; died April 5th, 1854.
24*
46 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Lois Ann, born February 12th, 1853.
Viola, born May 2()tli, 1855 ; died March 17th, 1871.
Chloe Bushnell, daughter of John and Loxey Lay Bushnell, born in Hillsdale, January 1st, 1813, and mar- / ried to Arnold Fletcher Truesdell, son ol Har-^i^y and
Clynthia Johnson Truesdell. Her children are : Morania Julia, Emma, and Madeline, Chloe Bushnell Truesdell is now dead.
Elisha W. Bushnell, son of John and Loxey Lay Bushnell, born in Hillsdale, December 27th, 1818, and married to Emma House, daughter of Benjamin and Phebe Vanderburgh House, September 1st, 1840, by whom he had five children :
Sarah, born November 7tli, 1841, and married Arthur
Park, November 20th, 1861. George, born August 14th, 1843 ; died March 7tli,
1845. Mary Vanderburgh, born April 20th, 1847 ; died May
3d, 1848 George Vanderburgh, born September 11th, 1851. Clayton, born October 23d, 1857 ; died November
21st, 1859.
His wife, Emma House Bushnell, died November 16th, 1859, and on the 12tli day of February, 1862, he married Frances L. Orton, who died August 1st, 1865, and after her death he married Catharine Martin Roe.
George W. Bushnell, son of William Bushnell, born in Hillsdale, and married Miranda Burtcm, daughter of ^Elijah and Lucy Collin Burtou, and now resides in the State of Illinois. His children were : Mary Jane; Jose- phine, died ; William Henry.
John Cary, born in Somersetshire, England, emigrated to this country in 1639, and settled in Duxbury, Mass.,
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 47
and married Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Godfrey, 1644, He subsequently became an original proprietor, and among the first settlers, of West Bridge water, Mass., and was the first town clerk. He died in 1681, and his wife died in 1680. Their children were :
John, born at Duxbury, 1645.
Francis, born at Duxbury, 1647.
Elizabeth, born at Duxbury, 1649.
James, born at Braintree, 1652.
Mary, born at Bridgewater, 1654.
Jonathan, born at Bridgewater, 1856.
David, born at Bridgewater, 1658.
Hannah, born at Bridgewater, 1661.
Joseph, born at Bridgewater, 1663.
Rebecca, born at Bridgewater, 1665.
Sarah, born at Bridgewater," 1667.
Mehitabei, born at Bridgewater, 1670.
Ezra Oary, the grandson of Francis Gary, and great grandson of John and Elizabeth Godfrey Gary, married Mary, daughter of Col. John Hoi man, and great aunt of Euth Holinau Collin, in 1737. He settled in New Jersey, and had two cliildren : Sarah, born 1738, and Shepherd, born 1742.
Ephraim Gary, great grandson of John Gary, married Jane, daughter of Gapt. John Holman, 1771. Their chil- dred were : Salome, born 1774 ; Jane, 1773 ; Gyrus, 1777; William Holman, 1779 ; Ephraim, 1782, Shepherd, 1784; Susanna, 1787; Francis, 1789 ; Jason, 1791 ; Adenith, 1793; Harmony, 1796. His wife Jane, died, 1809, and he died, 1828.
Joseph Gary, son of John and Elizabeth Godfrey Gary, was b(n'n in Bridgewater, Mass., 1663, and moved to Windham, Conn., and is the ancestor of the distinguished writers of poetry, Phebe and Alice Gary, and also of Gen. S. F. Gary, of College Hill, Ohio.
48 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
The ancestors of Jolm Gary were Norman French, one of whom was an officer in the army of William the Con- queror, who cantoned out the country to his men, and Mr. Gary thereby became an extensive land owner in Sommersetshire. In the subsequent civil wars the owner of the Gary property took sides in behalf of Richard Second, against Henry Fourtli, and the property, in con- sequence, became confiscated to the Crown. In the be- ginningj of the reign of Henry Fifth, an Arragonian Knight, after having passed triumphantly through divers countries, went to England and challenged any man of his rank and quality to make trial of his valor in arms. Sir Robert Gary accepted the challenge, and the combat was waged in Smithlield, London. The contest was long and doubtful, but finally terminated in favor of Sir Robert Gary, and the king, in consequence, restored to him a large part of the confiscated lands and authorized him to bear the coat of arms of the Kniglits of Arragon. Gen. S. F. Gary has supplied me with a pictorial representa- tion of that coat of arms, and he and Miss Phebe Gary have kindly given me much valuable information in res- pect to their kindred.
Douglass Clark, of Dutchess count}^ N. Y., married Sally Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, and settled in the town of North East. Their children are :
Perry, who married Caroline Winchell.
Henry, who married Betsey Ann Wheeler.
Olive.
Sally, who married Alexander Trowbridge.
Caroline, who married Caleb D. Barrett.
Emmeline, who married Hamilton Wheeler.
Ambrose Clark, of Dutchess county, N. Y., married Jula Ann Collin, daughter of James and Lydia Hambliu Collin. Their children are :
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 49
Edward, born July 6tli, 1835 ; died July 30th, 1835.
Julia Ann, born May 7tli, 1810.
Ambrose, born September 17tli, 1842.
James M., born December 12tli, 1844.
Howard, born September 24th, 1849 ; died, March,
1850 Hattie L., born JanTiary 13th, 1852. Seward, born December 24th, 1854 ; died January
2d, 18G7.
Alice Gary, a descendant of John Gary, one of the or- iginal proprietors of Bridgewater, Mass., was born in Gin- cinnati, Ohio, 1822 ; died in New York, February, 2d, 1871, while in poetic talent she ranked higli among her contemporaries. She was equally distinguished for her social qualifications.
Phebe Caey, a daughter of John Gary, of Bridgewater, Mass., sister of Alice Gary, and niece of Gen. S. F. Gary, of Gollege Hill, Ohio, was boru in Gincinnati, Ohio, in 1825 ; died in Newport, Ehode Island, August 1st, 1871. Like her sister, she was social, amiable and res- pected by all, and the following birth-day tribute to her friend, Miss Susan B. Anthony, indicates the good-na- tured poetic talent with which she was endowed :
We touch our caps, and place tc-night
The victor's wreath ii))on her, The woman who outranks u.s all
In courage and in honor.
While others in domestic broils.
Have proved by word and carriage. That one ol' the United States
Is not the state of marriage.
The caring not the loss of men,
Nor for the world's confusion, Has carried on a civil wj»r
And made a revolution.
50 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
True, other women have been brave
When banded or husbanded ; But she has bravely fouo;ht her way
Alone and single handed.
And think of her unselfish strength,
Her generous disposition. Who never made a lasting prop
Out of a proposition.
She might have chosen an honored name, And none have scorned or hissed it ;
Have written Mrs. Jones or Smith, But strange to saj' she missed it.
For fifty j'ears to come may she
Grow rich and ripe and mellow, Be quoted even above par,
Or an J' other fellow.
And speak the truth from pole to pole,
And keep her liglit a-burning. Before she cuts her stick to go
The way there's no returning
Because her motto grand has been.
The right of every human ; And first and last, and right or wrong.
She takes the side of woman.
A perfect woman, nobly planned,
To aid, not to amuse one ; Take her for all and all, we ne'er
Shall see the match for Susan.
Isaac Coon, born May 22cl, 1824, and married Almira Becker, daughter of John P. and Elizabeth Ann Becker, September 28th, 1850. Their chiklreu are :
Edwin Allworth, born October 13th, 1863. John Henry, born September 22d, 1855. Eugene Smith, born July 5th, 1864. Orrin M., born October 4th, 1865. Sidney N., born February 18th, 1869.
Mr. Corbett, of Plymouth, Mass., married Betty,
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 51
daughter of Gain and Margaret Watson Robinson, and had one daughter, Betsey.
Betsey Corbett, daughter of Mr. and Betty Robin- son Corbett, born in Cummington, Mass., and married David Orr, of Hillsdale, N. Y. ; and upon the death of David Orr, she married John Yan Dusen, of Hillsdale.
LoEENZO L. Crowns, of Washington, D. C, married Mary Collin, daughter of James and Yelona Hill Collin, December '27th, 1859, by whom he has two sons. He is now dead.
LucRETiA E. Church, born May 1st, 1825, and married ^Charles A. TuUar, son of Seneca C. and Mary A. Gordon Tullar, November 10th, 1814.
Silas L. Church, born September 22d, 1820, and mar- ried Pamelia Jane Tullar, daughter of Seneca C. and Mary A. Gordon Tullar, December 26th, 1851. Their children are :
Minnesota, born April 19th, 1853. Yirginia, born June 27th, 1859.
Elizabeth Chuuch, born July 21th, 1823, and married William Fredeiick Tullar, son of Cbarles aud Rebecca Race Tullar, November 25th, 1841; dipd July (Jth, 1842.
Oliver Davidson, of Canterbury, Conn., born 1754, and married to Deidania Morse, 1779 ; died 1787. Their chil- dren were :
Oliver, born in Canterbury, 1781. Jose])ii, born in Canterbury, 1783. Anna, born in Canterbury, 1785.
Oliver Davidson, son of Oliver and Deidama Morse Davidson, boiii iu Canterbury, Conn., 1781, and married to Mary Miller, of Dutchess county, N. Y. They had sev-
52 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
eral children, among whom were Lucretia Maria and Margaret Miller Davidson, who, though dying at an early age, had poetic talent which has procured their names places in Appleton's Cyclopedia of Biography, and Drake's Dictionary of American Biography. He was a physician, and died in Plattsburgh, N. Y.
Joseph Davidson, son of Oliver and Deidama Morse Davidson, born in Canterbury, Conn., 1783, and married and had several children ; but he and all his children are dead, except one son, Erastus, who resides in Lansing- burgh, N. Y.
Anna Davidson, daughter of Oliver and Deidama Morse Davidson, born in Canterbury, Conn., 1785, and married to Aaron Ford, of Hillsdale, N. Y. ; died May 5tli, 1839. She had no children.
Lucretia Maria Davidson, daughter of Oliver and Mary Miller Davids(m, and granddaughter of Deidama Morse Collin, born in Plattsburgh, N. Y., September 27th, 1808 ; died August 27th, 1825. In October, 1824, a gentle- man who knew her intense desire for education, placed her at a female seminary in Troy, N. Y., where her inces- sant application soon destroyed her constitution, previ- ously debilitated by disease, and she died before com])let- ing her 17th year. A biographical sketch, with a collec- tion of her poems, was published by S. F. B. Morse, in 1829, entitled "Amir Khan, and other poems," the re- mains of L. M. Davidson. Although a great part of her compositions were destroyed, 278 remain. Her biography has been written by Catharine M. Sedgwick, in 1843.
Margaret Miller Davidson, sister of Lucretia Maria Davidson and granddaughter of Deidama Morse Collin, born March 26th, 1823; died November 25th, 1837. Sharing her sister's precocity, she began to write at six years of age. At ten she wrote and acted in a passionate
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 53
drama in society, in New York, and, notwithstanding the warning of her sister's fate, her intellectual activity was not restrained. Margaret's poems were issued under the auspices of Washington Irving, and the works of both sisters were published together, in 1850. A volume of selections from the writings of Miss Margaret M. David- son, with a preface by Miss C. M. Sedgwick, appeared in 1843. Lieutenant L. P. Davidson, U. S. A., the brother of Margaret and Lucretia, who also died young, wrote verses with elegance and ease.
EoswELL Dekbyshiee, of Lenox, Mass., married Ellen H. Collin, daughter of James and Velona Hill Collin, May 9th, 1849 : died on the Isthmus of Darien.
Spencer Esmond, son of Isaiah Esmond, of Hillsdale, married Sally Sherwood, daughter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood. They had a daughter, Eliza, born June 30th, 1816.
Anna Esmond, daughter of Isaiah Esmond, was born in Hillsdale, and married John W. Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, July 25th, 1801. Her children were :
Beebe, born June 5th, 1805 ; died April 1811. John W., born November 13tli, 1806.
After the death of her husband, she married Refine Latting, by whom she had one daughter, Henrietta, wiio married Owen Bixby.
Mrs. Anna Latting died in 1870.
Eliza Esmond, daugiitor of Spencer and Sally Sher- wood Esmond and granddaughter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood, was born in Hillsdale, June 30tli, 1816, and married Edward B. Hunt, son of Samuel and Sally Bagley Hunt, September 19th, 1866.
25*
54: HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Maria Everts, daughter of Henry Everts, born in Hills- dale, and married George Trafford Burton, son of Elijah and Lucy Collin Burton, by whom she has had a daugh- ter, Urvilla.
David L. Farnham, of Benson, Vermont, married Han- nah Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, June 12th 1829 ; died January 17th, 1860. His children were :
Samuel, born December 23d, 1835 ; died July 11th,
1836. Rosamond D., born July 9th, 1837. Almina, born September 23d, 1839, and married De-
laney Bartlet, January 8th, 1863.
Andrew Ford, born in Abington, Mass., and married Maria Beal. They had eight children, viz. : Elias, Levi, Eleazar, Andrew, Sarah, Elizabeth, Matilda, and Jerusha. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill.
Levi Ford, son of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, Mass., and married Desire Whitman, of Chesterfield, Mass.
Ebenezer Ford, son of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, Mass., and married Huldah Otis, of Goshen, Mass.
Andrew Ford, son of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, and married Olive Baker, of Haw- ley, Mass.
Sarah Ford, daughter of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, and married Freedom Whitman a Baptist clergyman.
Elizabeth Ford, daughter of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, and married Stephen Wortli- ington.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 55
Matilda Ford, daughter of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, and married Jason Oles, of Goshen, Mass. He was a Presbyterian clergyman,^ and settled in Hamilton, N. Y.
Jerusha Ford, danghter of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, and married and moved to Ohio.
Elijah Fay married Margaret Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, and settled in Ham- ilton, Madison county, N. Y., and he and his wife died there, leaving a son, James, who remained on the liome- stead, and married Maria Nash, by whom he had a num- erous family. ^
Elias Ford, son of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, born in Cummington, and married Sophia Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Robinson Johnson; died in North Adams, 1838.
His children were : Elias, 8o])hia, Maria, Polly, Sarah, William C, Jane M., and Clynthia.
Elias Ford, sou of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, Mass., and married to Ann T. Snyder, of Hillsdale, N. Y., by whom he has two sons : Benjamin and James. He is now dead.
Sophia Ford, daughter of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawhn', and marrietl Noah Ford.
Maria Ford, daughter of Elias and Soj^hia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, and married Isaac Atkins.
Polly Ford, daughter of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, and married to Sherbil Bradford.
Sarah Ford, daughter of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, and married William Temple.
56 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
William C. Ford, son of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, and married Delia Demmin, 1838, and lives in Fair Haven, Conn.
Jane M. Ford, dausjhter of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, and died in early life.
Clynthia Ford, daughter of Elias and Sophia Johnson Ford, born in Hawley, and married Mr. Martin, and set- tled in Minnesota ; died in 1872.
Seymour Foster, son of Parla and Phebe Wells Foster, born in Hillsdale, and married Sarah Madeline Truesdell, daughter of the Rev. Harvey and Clynthia Johnson / Truesdell, Februarv 20th, 1830 \ died 187i. His children were : Wells, Henrietta, Augusta and Willie. Wells died in boyhood.
Henrietta Foster, daughter of Seymour and Sarah Madeline Truesdell Foster, born in Hillsdale, and mar- ried Dr. Horace G. Westlake. She has one daughter, Henrietta.
Augusta Foster, daughter of Seymour and Sarah Mad- v^ eline Truesdell Foster, born in Hillsdale, and married
to Loring Bartlet, of the city of New York.
MosES Foster, son of Parla and Phebe Wells Foster, born in Hillsdale, and married Esther Sherwood, daugh- ter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood, and settled in Unadilla, Otsego county, N. Y., where he died.
Isaac Foster, son of Parla and Phebe Wells Foster, born in Hillsdale, and married Lucy Sherwood, daughter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood, by whom he had one daughter, Adeline. After the decease of his wife, Lucy, he married Polly Pixley, daughter of John and Anna Sturgis Pixley, by whom he had one daughter, Jane,
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES 57
After the decease of Lis wife, Polly, lie married Naucy Johnson Gerry, widow of Ebenezer Gerry. After the de- cease of his wife, Nancy, he married Eveline Johnson, daughter of Lemuel Johnson, late of Hillsdale, deceased. He is now dead.
Parla Foster, born in Connecticut, and married Pliebe Wells, and settled in Hillsdale, N. Y., in which place he resided many years, and died at a very advanced age. He was a soldier in the war of the Kevolution, and was a high- ly esteemed citizen. His children were : Talcott, Anna, Moses, Simeon, Isaac, Ely, Deidama, Sally, Katy, Sey- mour, Judson, and Phebe.
Of the children of Parla Foster, Talcott died early. Emma married Dr. John Esmond, and after his decease she married a Mr. Northrop, and after his decease she married Benjamin Snyder. Moses married Esther Sher- wood; Simeon married Emily Nichols; Isaac married Lucy Sherwood, and after her decease he married Polly Pixley, and after her decease he married Nancy Garry, and after her decease he married Emeline Johnson ; Ely married Polly Bushnell; Deidama married Dr. John Stevens; Sally married Ilichard Latting ; Katy married Stephen Bos- y^ worth ; Seymour married Sarah Madeline Truesdell; Jud- son married Sabrina Messenger, and Phebe married George Woodin
Sylvester C. Gardner, of Manlius, N. Y., born March 24th, 1811, and married Caroline Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, September 25th, 1838. His children are :
Edmund, born June 20th. 1840 ; died June 21st, 1840. Caroline, born January 16th, 1842. Sylvester, born November 18th, 1844. Sarah, born January 21st, 1849. Anna, born December 11th, 1850.
58 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Miriam, liorn September 6th, 1852. William, born March 26th, 1861.
Francis Godfrey was one of the early settlers of Bridgewater, Mass., and lived to an advanced age, and died in 1868. His daughter Elizabeth married John Gary, one of the first proprietors of that town, and by his will he appears to have been the grandson of John Gary, of Somersetshire, England.
John E. Gavit, born in the city of New York, October 29th, 1817, and was educated in bank note engraving by his step-father, who was one of the firm of Gasilear, Du- rand & Edmonds. He went to reside in Albany, October 1836, and on the 28th of November, 1840, married Mar- garet Sophia Kobinson, daughter of Dr. Gain and Ghloe Bradish Robinson. John E. Gavit has been dead several years. Their children are :
John, born August 4th, 1841 ; died a few months
after. Joseph, born December 22d, 1842. Margaret V)orn March 22d, 1845. William Edmonds, born February 10th, 1848. Helen Elizabeth, lK)rn November 26th, 1849. Clark, born June 27th, 1851. Julia Niles, born February 22d, 1854. Ghloe, born April 29th, 1856. Pauline, born February 3d, 1859.
Joseph Gavit, son of John E. and Margaret Sophia Robinson Gavit, born in All)any, December 22d, 1842, and married Fannie Palmer, daughter of E. D. Palmer, the celebrated American sculptor. He has cme son — John, born in Albany, July 1st, 1868.
Margaret Gavit, daughter of John E. and Margaret Sophia Robinson Gavit, liorn in Albany, March 22d, 1845,
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 59
and married to Charles Prentis Adams, son of Dr. L. S. Adams, of Stockbridge, Mass., October 8th, 1868.
James H. Gilhuth, a clergyman and member of the Iowa Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, married Sarah Adeline Collin, daughter of Henry A. and Sarah Ann White Collin, of Mount Vernon, Linn county, Iowa, June 20th, 1809. They have several children.
Philip Grandin, married Amanda Robinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradish Robinson, by whom he has had eleven children, only two of whom are now living. His sou William graduated at West Point. Two of his sons were twins, one of whom was named Andrew Jack- son, and the other Martin Van Buren.
William Hanley, born in Virginia, Ajuil 17th, 1833, and married Melind T. Wright, daughter of Lewis and Hannah Collin Wright, November 27th, 1857 ; died August 5tli, 1870. His children are :
Marislin, born August IGth, 1858. John Collin, born November 30tli, 1861. Louis Wright, born November 2d, 1863. \A'illiam Alonzo, born December 12th, 1855.
Ebenezer Hamline, grandfather of the Rev. Leonidas Lent Hamline, was born in Middletown, Conn., 17-10, and married Lois Brooks, and settled in Burlington, Conn. : died in 1810. He had six children : Mark, Daniel, Lent, Rosa, Hannah and Lois. He was a soldier in the French war, and an officer in the war of the Revolution.
Daniel Hamline, son of Ebenezer and Lois Brooks Hamline, married Lucretia Barns, and settled in Sarato- ga county, N. Y. They had a large family of children.
Lent Hamline, son of Ebenezer and Lois Brooks Hamline, settled in New London, Conn, and died there.
60 HILLSDALE HISTOKY.
Rosa Hamline, daugliter of Ebenezeer and Lois Brooks Hamline, married and settled in Burlington, Conn., and died there.
Hannah Hamline, daughter of Ebenezer and Lois Brooks Hamline, married Thomas Beckwith, and died in Burlington, Conn.
Lois Hamline, daughter of Ebenezer and Lois Brooks Hamline, died in Canton, Conn., at a very advanced age.
Maek Hamline, son of Ebenezer and Lois Brooks Ham- line, born in Burlington, Conn., 1763, and married Rox- ana Moses, daughter of Othneal Moses ; died in 1840. They had ten children, two of whom died in infancy. The survivors were : Philo, Leouidas, Lent, Norman, Roxana, Experience, Saphrona, Harriet and Hannah. His wife Roxana died at Canton, Conn., 1831, and he married Dei- dama Humphry, widow of Judge James Humphry, of Canton.
Philo Hamline, son of Mark and Roxana Moses Ham- line, married Tliurza Barber, and settled in New Hartford, Connecticut, and had eleven children. He was born in 1788 ; died, 1857. His wife, Thurza, died in Canton, 1851. One of their daughters (Mariette) married Hiram Foster, a farmer of Mendon, Massachusetts, and had three sons, all of whom volunteered as soldiers in the late civil war, and one of whom died from neglect and ill treatment in the hospital in the city of Washington, D. C.
Norman Hamline, son of Mark and Rt)xana Moses Ham- line, died in some of the southern States.
Roxana Hamline, daughter of Mark and Roxana Moses Hamline, married Friend White, of Hartford county, Connecticut, and died leaving several children.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 61
Saphrona Hamline, daughter of Mark and Koxana Moses Hamline, married David Humphrey, of Great Bar- rington, Massachusetts, and died in 1847, leaving six children.
Experience Hamline, daughter of Mark and Eoxana Moses Hamline, married Mr. Billings, and died in 1857. Her husband died in Indiana, 1855.
Harriet Hamline, daughter of Mark and Boxana Moses Hamline, married Zelotes Mather, and after his death married Isaac J. Bigelow, December 10th, 1838.
Hannah Hamline, daughter of Mark and Boxaua Moses Hamline, married Bev. James Longhead, who settled in Morris, Illinois.
Leonidas Lent Hamline, son of Mark and Boxana Moses Hamline, born in Hartford county, Connecticut, May lOtli, 1797. He was educated for the ministry, but suspended his studies on account of ill health. He sub- sequently studied law. On the 6th of March, 18'24, he married Eliza Price, daughter of Jeffrey Price, of Zanes- ville, Ohio. He subsequently became a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and joined the Ohio Con- ference in 1832. His wife, Eliza, died in Cincinnati, March 27th, 1835, leaving one son, Leonidas Price. In 1836 he married Melinda Johnson Truesdell, widow of Arnold Truesdell, and daughter of William and Jane Bobinson Johnson. In 1836 he was appointed Editor of the JVestern Christian Advocate, associated with the Bev. Charles Elliot. In 18-40 was ai)pointed Editor of the Ladies' dlagazhic, published at Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1844 he was elected a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which capacity he labored till his health failed in 1852, when he resigned that position and died at Mount Pleasant, Henry county, Iowa, March 23d, 1865. He was
62 HILLSDALE HISTOBY.
buried at Evanston, Illinois, where a Scotch granite mon- ument is erected to his memory. He had a commanding appearance, a gentlemanly address, and possessed talents and eloquence of a high order.
Leonidas Price Hamline, son of Leonidas Lent and Eliza Price Hamline, born in Zanesville, Ohio, August 13th, 1829. He graduated at the Medical College at Cas- tleton, Vermont, and married Virginia Moore, daughter of Capt. John Moore, of Peoria, Illinois, December 31st, 1850. They have had five children :
Leonidas Moore, born October 5th, 1852.
John Henry, born March 23d, 1856.
Eliza, born February 6th, 1859 ; died February 26th,
1859. Theodosia, born June 30th, 1862. Virginia Malinda, born March 23d, 1866.
Lydia Hamline, born in Dutchess county, March 30th, 1783, and married James Collin, son of David and Esther Gillett Collin, April 21st, 1801 ; died November 1st, 1855. Her children were ;
Ely, born February 23d, 1805. James Hamblin, born March 5th, 1808. Lydia Louise, born June 15th, 1810. Julia Ann, born November 17th, 1813. Caroline, born September 21st', 1817. Cordelia, born April 6th, 1820. Aulia, born April 6th, 1820 ; died April 6th, 1820. David Nelson, born March 17th, 1823 ; died March 3d, 1810.
Lemuel Hill, born 1751, died August 25th, 1828. His father and two brothers came from Old ami settled in New Engla]id. Among his children were two sons, Jona- than and Harvey.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 03
Jonathan Hill, son of Lemuel Hill, born March 4tli, 1775, and married Cliastine E. Wilcox, February 25tli, 1801. Tlieir children were :
Rodney, born January 27th, 1802. Hibyl Yilona, born October 24th, 1803. Pluma A., born December 26th, 1805. Cornelia E., born March 16tli, 1808. Alice C, born February 3d, 1810. John, born May 1st, 1812. Henry L., born February 2d, 1816. Ch as tine E., born July 22d, 1819.
Rodney Hill, smi of Jonathan and Cliastine E. Wilcox Hill, born January 27th, 1802, and married Sarah Amanda ColJin, daughter of John and Ruth Holman Johnson Col- lin, February 20th, 1825. He is now dead. Their chil- dren are :
John Henry, born May 10th, 1826. Ruth Maria, born January 23d, 1829.
John Henry Hill, son of Rodney and Sarah A. Collin Hill, born May lOtli, 1826, and married Catharine Augus- ta Hull, June 3d, 1850. Their children are :
Rodney, born November 6tli, 1852. John Henry, born October 28th, 1854. John Edward, born December 13th, 1857. Frank Albert, born February 8th, 1860. Fred Augustus, born February 6tli, 1861. Charles Pomeroy, born September 1st, 1863.
Pluma A. Hill, daughter of Jonathan and Cliastine E. Wilcox Hill, born December 26tli, 1805, and married Albert Winsh)w, of Hillsdale, and died at Monterey, Mass.
Sibyl Velona Hill, daughter of Jonathan and Cliastine E. Wilcox Hill, born October 24th, 1803, and married
64 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
James Collin, son of John and Eutli Holman Johnson Collin, March 17th, 1828 ; died August 11th, 1846. Her children are :
Ellen H., born February 20th, 1829. Charles K, born March 1st, 1832. Louis E. , born August 10th, 1833. John H., born February 25th, 1835. Mary C, born March 1.5th, 1838. William M., born March 23d, 1842.
CoENELiA E. Hill, daughter of Jonathan and Chastine E. Wilcox Hill, born March 16th, 1808, and married Henry Williams, of Alford, Mass., and settled in Dayton, Ohio.
Alice C. Hill, daughter of Jonathan and Chastine E. Wilcox Hill, born February 3d, 1810, and married Collins Hunt, of Lenox, Mass.
John Hill, son of Jonathan and Chastine E. Wilcox Hill, born May 1st, 1812, and married Miss Wilcox, and died in Chicago, Illinois.
Henry L. Hill, son of Jonathan and Chastine E. Wilcox Hill, born February 2d, 1816, lias been twice mar- ried, and is settled in Chicago, Illinois.
Chastine E. Hill, daughter of Jonathan and Chastine E. Wilcox Hill, born July 22d, 1819, and married Mr. Garfield, of Monterey, Mass. She is now dead.
Thomas Holman and Abigail his wife, resided in Milton, Mass., and had ten children. He was selectman and town clerk.
Abigail, born February 15th, 1665. Nana, born September 15th, 1668. Patience, born February 24th, 1670.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 65
Sarah, born April 13th, 1673.
Mary, born March 8th, 1674 ; died June 4th, 1675 ;
and Thomas, born March 8th, 1674 ; twins. Mary, born August 24, 1677. John, born March 13th, 1679. Ann. born August 11th, 1680. Samuel, born June 27th, 1683.
Nana Holman, daughter of Thomas and Abigail Hol- man, born September 15th, 1668, and married Benjamin Beal, of Braintree, June 17th, 1700.
Saeah Holman, daughter of Thomas and Abigail Hol- man, born April 13th, 1673, and married Kicliard Woods, of Boston, October 9th, 1701.
Ann Holman, daughter of Thomas and Al)igail Holman, born August 11th, 1680, and married Samuel Swift, of Milton, Mass., November 6th, 1707.
John Holman, son of Thomas and Abigail Holman, born in Milton, Mass., March 13th, 1679, graduated at the Harvard University, 1700, and married Ann, the daughter of Daniel Quincy, of Boston, and sister of John Quincy, of Braintree, Mass. ; died 1759. He was a colonel in the State militia, and a Representative in the Massa- chusetts Legislature in the years 1734-1737 and 1744, in which capacity, as well as in all others, he was highly respected. His children were : John, Ann, Peggy, Euth and Mary.
John Holman, son of John and Ann Quincy Holman, born in Bridgewater, Mass., and married Ann, daughter of Isaac Harris, 1734 ; died 1755. His wife died 1757, aged 45 years. He was a captain in the State militia. His children were :
Sarah, born 1736.
66 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Ann, born 1738. William, born 1740. Abigail, born 1743. Isaac and Jane.
Ann Holman, daughter of John and Ann Qiiincy Hol- man, married Joseph Billings, of Stoughton, Mass., 1730.
Peggy Holman, daugliter of John and Ann Quincy Hol- man, married John Johnson, son of Isaac and Abigail Johnson, 1731.
Ruth Holman, daughter of John and Ann Quincy Hol- man, married Benjamin Johnson, 6tli son of Isaac John- son, and grandfather of Ruth Holman Johnson Collin, 1732.
Mary Holman, daughter of John and Ann Quincy Hol- man, married Ezra Gary, 1737. Their children were ;
Sarah, born 1738, and Shepherd, born 1742.
Jane Holman, daughter of John and Ann Harris Hol- man, married Ephraim Gary, 1771. Their children were:
Jane, born 1773. Salome, born 1774. Gyrus, born 1777. William Holman, born 1779. Ephraim, born 1782. Shepard, born 1784. Susanna, born 1787. Francis, born 1789. Jason, born 1791, Asnath, born 1793. Harmony, born 1796.
Edward B. Hunt, son of Samuel and Sally Bagley Hunt, born in Hillsdale, February 15, 1814, and married
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 67
Susan Burtis, daughter of Thomas Burtis, February 2d, 1857. After the death of his wife, Susan, he married Eliza Esmond, daugliter of Spencer and Sally Sherwood Esmojid, September 19th, 18G6.
Emma House, daup;hter of Benjamin and Phebe Vander- burgh House, born in Hillsdale, November 7th, 1820, and married Elislia W. Bushnell, son of John and Loxey Lay Bushnell, September 1st, 1840 ; died November 16tli, 1859. Her children were :
Sarah, born November 7th, 1841.
George House, born, August 14tli, 1843 ; died March
7th, 1845. Mary Vanderburgh, born April 20th, 1847 ; died May
3d, 1848. George Vanderburgh, born September 11th, 1851. Clayton, born October 23, 1857 ; died November 21st,
1859.
Jane B. Hunt, daughter of Benjamin Hunt, of Lenox, Mass., born June 22d, 1801, and married James Collin, son of John and liutli Holman Johnson Collin, May 5th, 1822 ; died February 25th, 1827. Her children were :
James H., born March 21st, 1823. Jane S., born November 27th, 1824. John Francis, born February 15th, 1827 ; died April 29th, 1828.
Bhoda How, of Connecticut, married Bentley White, March 3d, 1819 ; died April 14th, 1841. Her children were :
Sarah Ann, born January 14th, 1820.
Sibyl M., born May 29tli, 1822 ; died December 18th,
1824. Stephen, born March 17th, 1826.
Jane M., born October 20tli, 1832 ; died October 20th, 1834.
68 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Edward Johnson, born, Horn Hill, Kent, England, 1599 ; died at Woburn, Mass., April 23d, 1672. He came to tliis country with Gov. Winthrop, 1630, and was prom- inent in the organization of the town and church of Woburn, 1642. Was a captain of its military company ; was chosen its representative in 1643, and annually re- elected until 1671 ; was speaker of the house, 1665, and was on the committee with Broadstreet, Danforth and others, to meet the Commissioners Nicolls, Carr, etc., who had been sent from England. He was recorder of the town from its incorporation till his death. Some of his writings were published in London, in 1654, and reprint- ed in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, and again with notes, by W. F. Poole, in 1867.
Isaac Johnson, one of the founders of Massachusetts, born in Clipsham, Rutlandshire, England ; died in Bos- ton, September 3()th, 1630. He came over with Gov. Winthrop, arriving at Salem, June 12th, 1630. He was one of the four who founded the first church at Charles- town, July 30th and September 7th ; he conducted the first settlement of Boston. He was a good and a wise man, and was the wealthiest of the colonists. Arabella, his wife, was the daughter of Thomas, the fourteenth Earl of Lincoln. She accompanied her husband to New England, and died in Salem, August 30th, 1630. In honor of her, the name of the Eagle, Wiuthrop's ship, was changed to the Arabella.
Isaac Johnson, of Hingham, Mass., born 1668, and married Abigail, widow of Isaac Lazell, and daughter of John Leavitt ; died 1730. He was a captain, a magistrate and four years a representative in the Massachutts Legis- lature. It is a well authenticated tradition that his grand- father emigrated to tliis country with Gov. Winthrop in 1630 \ and it is therefore a fair conclusion that his grand-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 69
father was either Edward or Isaac Johnson, who did ac- company Gov. Winthrop. His chiklren were :
David, Solomon, Daniel, James, Deborah.
Sarah, born 1702.
John, born 1705.
Joseph, born 1707.
Benjamin, born 1711, and
Mary, born 1716.
Captain David Johnson, son of Isaac and Abigail John- son, married Rebecca, daughter of John Washburn, 1719. Their children were :
Isaac, born 1721. David, born 1724. Mary, born 1729, Sarah, born 1732, and Rebecca, born 1734.
Solomon Johnson, son of Isaac and Abigail Johnson, married Susanna, daughter of Joseph Edson, 1723 ; died 1771. Their children were :
Susanna, born 1723. Seth, born 1733. Josiah, born 1735. Nathan, born 1738. Mary, born 1740.
Judge Daniel Johnson, son of Isaac and Abigail John- son, married Betty, daughter of James Latham, 1720 ; died 1741. His children were :
James, born 1728.
Jeremiah, born 1734.
Leavitt, born 1736. The great grandmother of Betty Latham was the famous Mary Chilton, who was the first female that set foot on Plymouth shore in 1620.
•27* -^
70 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Daniel Johnson, son of Judge Daniel and Betty Latham Johnson, graduated at the Harvard University 1767, and settled in the ministry at Harvard 1769, and died there September 23d, 1777.
JosLiH Johnson, son of Judge Daniel and Betty Latham Johnson, married Buth, daughter of Eliphalet Leonard, 1757. Their chiklren were, James, Daniel, Cyrus, Buth and Betty.
James married Sally Washburn, and settled in Easton, Maine. Daniel married Mary Barker, and settled in the city of New York as an attorney. Cyrus was a physician, and married Henrietta, daughter of Deacon Isaac Lazell.
JosiAH Johnson, son of Solomon and Susannah Edson Johnson, married Azuba, daughter of Ephraim Cary ; died 1812. She died 1816. They had only one child, Solo- mon, who married Sally, daughter of Gain Bobinson, and settled in Bhode Island.
Major John Johnson, son of Isaac and Abigail John- sou, married Peggy, daughter of John and Ann Quincy Holman, 1731 ; died 1770. She died 1757. Their chil- dren were :
Sarah, born 1733. Abial, born 1735. Lewis, born 1738. Patience, born 1744 Joseph, born 1747. Content, born 1748. Calvin, born 1751.
Benjamin Johnson, son of Isaac and Abigail Johnson, married Buth, daughter of John and Ann Quincy Hol- man, 1732 ; died 1768. She died 1764. Their children were :
■BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 71
Ruth, born 1736. Benjamin, born 1739. Rhoda, born 1743. William, born 1753. Ruth married Ste])lien Richardson. Benjamin died in the army. Rhoda married Winslow^Richardson.
William Johnson, son of Benjamin and Ruth Holman Johnson, born in Bridgewater, Mass., 1753, and married Jane Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, 1779 ; died at Hillsdale, April, 1818. His chil- dren were :
Ruth Holman, born September 16th, 1780.
Sophia, born January 7th, 1781.
Melinda, born December 7th, 1785 ; died March 9th, 1792.
Clynthia, born April 7th, 1788.
Quincy, born April 5th, 1791.
Melinda, born September 29th, 1801.
Ruth Holman Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Robinson Johnson, born in Bridgewater, Mass., Septem- ber 16th, 1780, and married John Collin, son of John and Sarah Arnold Collin, of Hillsdale, N. Y., October 23d, 1798 ; died in Hillsdale, December 2d, 1868. Her child- ren were :
James, born January 16th, 1800.
John Francis, born April 30th, 1802.
Sarah Amanda, born April 21st, 1804.
Jane Miranda, born February 14tli, 1807.
Hannah, born December 19th, 1809,
Ruth Maria, born March 1st, 1813 ; died May, 1838.
Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817.
William Quincy, born November 23d, 1819 ; died July 30th, 1822.
Clynthia A., born December 10th, 1822; died August 5th, 1828.
72 HILLSDALE HISTOKY. ■
Sophia Johnson, dauo-hter of William and Jane Robin- son Johnson, born in Cnmmington, Mass., January 7tli, 1784, and married Elias Ford, son of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, and settled in Hawley, Mass. She died in 1831. Her children were : Elias, Sophia, Maria, Polly, Sarah, William C, Jane M., and Clynthia.
Melinda Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Rob- inson Johnson, born in Cummiugton, Mass., December 7th, 1785 ; died March 9th, 1792.
Clynthia Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Rob- inson Johnson, born in Cummington, Mass., April 7th, |/ 1788, and married Rev. Harry Truesdell, son of Thomas . and Hannah Collin Truesdell, February 9tli, 1809, and is now dead. Her children are :
Arnold Fletcher, born January 6th, 1810. Sarah Madaliue, born May 12th, 1812. John Quincy, born February 22d, 1825.
Quincy Johnson, son of William and Jane Robinson Johnson, born in Cummington, Mass., April 5th, 1791, and married Abigail Cook, of Otis, Mass., May, 1812. His children were :
Wesley, born February 24th, 1813 ; died July 1st,
1844. Marvin, born December 16th, 1814 ; died September
20th, 1841. William Leonard, born September 5th, 1816. Jane, born April 24th, 1818 ; died November 24tli,
1830. John Quincy, born August 28th, 1820. Melinda, bora December 31st, 1823. James Leroy, born April 17th, 1822 ; died 1869.
After the death of his wife Abigail, he married Mrs. Eveline, widow of Capt. Isaac Foster, and daughter of
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 73
Lemuel Jolmson, late of Hillsdale, deceased. He is now dead.
Melinda Johnson, dauo-hter of William and Jane Eob- inson Jolmson, born September 29tli, 1801, and married Arnold Truesdell, scm of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, September 10th, 18'20. He died at Wilming- ton, Oiiio, March 28th, 1835, and she married Rev. Leon- idas L. Han] line, of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1836, and died in 1881. He subsequently became a Bishop of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and after years devoted to his duties in that capacity, he retired to his estate in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he died March 23d, 18(55, leaving a large estate to his wife and son. She now resides at Everston, Illinois.
Wesley Johnson, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, February 24tli, 1813. He spent several years, in Africa, assisting in the foundation of the colony in Liberia. He went as })hvsician to the Governor's family, and subsequently discharged the duties of Governor himself. He was once wounded in repelling an attack of the natives upon the colony. He devoted time and money in the establishment of a college there, and finally fell a victim to the malaria of the clim- ate. After suffering with African fever, he returned to his home in America, ardently desiring a restoration to health that he might complete the enterprises he had commenced for the benefit of the colony. But the seeds of death had been sown, and he died in Hillsdale, July 1st, 1844, universally respected for his talents, scholar- ship, enterprise antl amiable characteristics.
Marvin Johnson, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook John- sou, born in Hillsdale, December 16th, 1814, and married Miss Park, of Chatham, N. Y. ; died September 2d, 1841.
28
^
74 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
William Leonard Johnson, son of Quiucy and Abigail Cook Jolmson, born in Hillsdale, September 5tli, 1816, and married Emeline Sornborger, September 12tli, 1852. Their children were :
Ida, born September 10th, 1853 ; died April 21:tli,
1856. Willie, born September IStli, 1855 ; died September
25th, 1855. Franklin, born June 2d, 1857. George Quinc}^ born December 5th, 1859.
Jane Johnson, daughter of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, April 2-4th, 1818 ; died Nov- ember 24th, 1830.
John Quincy Johnson, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, August 28th, 1820, and mar- ried Sallj^ Latting, daughter of Richard and Sally Foster Latting, March 24tli, 1844. Their children are :
Wesley R., born January 6th, 1845. Jane M., born February 4tli, 1847. Hiram W., born January 23d, 1849. Parla, born December 12tli, 1850. Lillia E., born August 14th, 1855. Quincy, born July 22d, 1857. Theophilus, born November 18th, 1859.
James Leroy Johnson, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, April 17tli, 1822 ; died in Missouri, 1869.
Melinda Johnson, daughter of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, December 31st, 1823.
Artemas Johnson, son of Lemuel Johnson, born Janu- ary 20th, 1785, and married Susan Sherwood, daughter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood, February 12th,
BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES 75
1814 ; died December 13tli, 1865. Their children were :
Julia, born August 31st, 1815 ; died March 22d, 1859. Mary, born March 21st, 1818 ; died April 18th, 1869. Nancy, born August 31st, 1820 : died September 10th,
1848. Parker, born June 18th, 1822. LeEoy, born April 22d, 1824 ; died September 17th,
1827. Henry, born May 27th, 1826 ; died August 15th,
1869. Jane, born April 30th, 1828. Lee, born July 29th, 1831. Dwight, born January 31st, 1833. Artemas, born July 31st, 1836 ; died September 13th,
1841. Lucy, born October 3d, 1839 ; died September I6th,
1841.
Betty Latham, daughter of James Latham, and grand- daughter of E-obert Latham, and great great granddaugh- ter of the famous Mary Chilton, who was the first female to set foot on Plymouth shore, in 1620, and born in Bridgewater, Mass, and married to Judge Daniel John- son, son of Isaac and Abigail Johnson, 1726. Her kins- man, William Latham, born in 1803, and graduated at Brown's University in 1827, and settled in South Bridge- water as an attorney, is a descendant in the fifth degree from Robert and Susan Winslow Latham ; and I am in- debted to his kindness for much informati(m contained in these pages.
Charles Mead, of Dutchess county, N. Y., married Caroline Collin, daughter of James and Lydia Hamblin Collin, April 3d, 1840. Their children were :
Charles Nelson, born April 23d, 1841 ; died July 11th, 1850.
76 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
James Arthur, born March 2d, 1843.
Caroline E., born March 2d, 1845.
Martha, born May 25th, 1847.
Clara B., born December lltli, 1849.
Ellen, born May 22d, 1852.
Eobert Collin, born July 28th, 1857.
Carl Fremont, born November 5th, 1860.
Frederick Mesick, born in Clave rack, and married Harriet Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, March 3d, 1823. She died February 28th, 1826, and he subsequently married Joanna Latting, daughter of Retine Latting, of Hillsdale, by whom he had several children. After the deatli of his wife Joanna, he married a Mrs. Jarvis, and died in Claverack.
Miles Merwin, born in England or Wales, in 1623, em- igrated to this country in 1645, and became the owner of a large tract of land situated on Long Island sound, and now known as Pond Point or Merwin' s Point. It was mostly situated in the town of Milford, New Haven coun- ty. Conn., but extended easterly across Ouster river into what is now the town of Orange. By Lambert's history of Milford, it ajjpears that he was a tanner and currier, and also engaged in commerce, being part owner of two brigs and a sloop, the latter employed in coasting while the former made voyages to the West Indies. He died April 3d, 1697. By his first wife he had the following children :
Eliza.
John, born 1650.
Abigail.
Thomas.
Samuel, born August 21st, 1656.
Miles, born December 14th, 1658.
Daniel, born 1661.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 77
His first wife having died, 1G64, lie married the widow of Thomas Beach, by whom he had the following chil- dren : Martha and Mary, twins, born January 23d, 1G66 ; Hannah, born 1(367 ; and Deborah, born 1670, at which time his second wife died. His first wife joined the Con- gregational Church June 2d, 1661, and he joined the same church in the November following.
His daughter Eliza married Mr. Canfield. Abigail married i^bel Holbrook. L • Deborah married Mr. Burwell. Daniel died young. Samuel married Sarah Woodin. Thomas settled in Norwalk. - t
John Meewin, son of Miles Merwin, by his first mar- riage, was born in Milford, 1650. He settled on the home- stead. His wife's name was Mary. His children were :
John, born 1680. Joseph and Hannah.
John was baptized, 1682, Joseph, in 1686, and Han- nah, in 1690.
John Merwin, son of John and Mary Merwin, born in Milford, 1680, and settled on the homestead. His wife's name was Hannah. His children were :
John, born 1707. Hannah, born 1708. Joseph, Sarah and David.
His wife Hannah joined the First Congregational Church of Milford on the 22d of May, 1720, and his five children were baptized on same day.
John Merwin, son of John and Hannah Merwin, born in Milford, 1707 ; died February 19th, 1792. His child- ren were : Elizabeth, John and Daniel.
28*
78 HILLSDALE HISTOKY.
Hannah Merwin, daughter of John and Hannah Mer- win, born in Milford, 1708, and married John Collin, an emigrant from France, 1730. Her children were :
John, born 1732.
David, borji 1734.
James, born 1736 ; died in his infancy.
David Merwin, son of John Merwin, 3d, born m MiL ford, and married Eunice Perry, by whom he had several children, among whom were John, Isaac, David, Merritt and Mark.
John Merwin, son of Jolm Merwin 3d, and grandson of John and Hannah Merwin, born in Milford, March, 1735, and married Elizabeth Buckingham, 1755 ; died, 1826. His children were : John, Elizabeth, Content, Sarah, Samuel, and Daniel.
Samuel Merwin, son of John and Elizaljeth Bucking- ham Merwin, born in Milford, 1775, and married Susan Nettletou, 1795, by whom he had a daughter— Sarah. After the death of his wife Susan, he married Mary Welch, September, 1800, by whom he had seven children: Susan, Mary, Caroline, John Welch, Samuel Orange, Homer, and Mark us.
Susan Mary Merwin, daughter of Samuel and Mary Welch' Merwin, born in Milford, 1801, and married to Sid- ney Buckingham, January, 1825. Their children were :
Lucy Belden, born June Gtli, 1832 ; died September,
^1833. Charles Augustus, born June, 1838 : died October, 1849. She has given important assistance in this compilation.
Caroline Merwin, daughter of Samuel and Mary Welch Merwin, born in Milford, 1803, and married to Charles
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 79
Pond Strong, March, 1825 ; died, 1836. She had two children :
Charles William, born March, 1833. Caroline Merwin, born March, 1836.
John Welch Merwin, son of Samnel and Mary Welch Merwin, born 1807, and married to Rebecca Louise Hunt- ington, 1840, and had one child, John Huntington, born 1842. After the decease of his wife, Rebecca Louise, he married Maria Gilbert Huntington, by whom he had live children :
Maria Louise, born January, 1847. Edward Gilbert, born November 1848. George Henry, born 1850. Charles Augustus, born 1852. William Albert, born 1856.
Samuel Orange Merwin, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Merwin, born March, 1810 and married Susan T. Chapman, of Virginia, 1833 ; died 1865. His children were : John, Caroline, Virginia, William Frederick, Mary, Charles Buckingham, Samuel, Josephine, and Charlotte.
Homer Merwin, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Mer- win, born July, 1812 ; died November, 1840.
Charles Merwin, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Mer- win, born 1805, and married Aurelia C. Piatt, January 4th, 1827 ; died December 19th, 1867. His children were :
George Piatt, Ixmi, October l()tli, 1828. Mary Susan, born October 5th, 1830. Samuel Clark, born March 22d, 1833. William Henry, born August 15th, 1835. John Welch, born January 10th, 1838. Caroline Elizabeth, born January 5th, 1841. Charles Homer, born September 30th, 1843.
80 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Miles Merwin, son of Miles and Mary Briscoe Merwin, and great grandson of John and Mary Merwin, born at tjie homestead (Merwin's Point), 1750, and married to Abigail Ann Beach, and settled at Merwin's Point ; died 1820. His children w^ere :
Miles, born 1774. Abigail Ann, born 1771. Daniel, born 1779. Samuel, born 1782. Mary, born 1785. Anson, born 1788. Nathan, born 1791. Benedict, born 1794.
Stephen Merwin, sou of Miles and Mary Briscoe Mer- win, born at Merwin's Point, and settled in Milford, where he married and had three children : David, Stephen and Huldah.
Samuel Merwin, son of Miles and Mary Briscoe Mer- wiu, born at Merwin's Point, and never married.
Mary Merwin, daughter of Miles and Mary Briscoe Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, and married Jeremiah Piatt, and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Huldah Merwin, daughter of Miles and Mary Briscoe Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, and married Eli Smith, and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Miles Merwin, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1774, and married Julia Carrington, 1800 ; died in Milford, 1846.
Abigail Ann Merwin, daughter of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1771, and married Nat. Hepburn, 1795 ;died in New York city, 1861.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 81'
Daniel Merwin, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1779, and married Mary Tomlinson, 1807 ; died in Milford, 1858.
Samuel Merwin, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 178'.^, and married Clar- ina B. Taylor, 1807 ; died in New Haven, 1856.
Mary Merwin, daughter of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1785, and married Rev. Charles Atwater, 1809, and settled in North Bran- ford, Conn.
Anson Merwin, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1788, and married Calina Tomlinson, 1812 ; died in Milford, 1868.
Nathan Merwin, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1791, and mai-ried Nancv Whiting, 1816.
Marcus Merw^in, son of Samuel and Mary AVelch Mer- win, borii January 28th, 1817, and married Abigail Mar- tha Smith, February 3d, 1815 ; she having been born August 18th, 1830. They settled at Merwin's Point, and have had six children :
Charles Philip, born November 15th, 1845 ; died Feb- ruary 7th, 1846.
Charles Philip, born December 6th, 1846.
Emma Virginia, born February 6th, 1849.
Homer Smith, born February 9th, 1851.
Julia Hudson, born April 30th, 1854 ; died July 4th, 1859.
Harry Merryman, born March 14th, 1864.
Charles Philip Merwin, son of Marcus and Abigail Martha Smith Merwin, born December 6th, 1846, and married Hattie Hitchcock, January, 1871.
29
82 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
John Welch Merwin, son of Charles and Anna C. Piatt Merwin, lives on a part of the Merwiu's Point farm. He has no family.
Benedict Merwin, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born 1794, and married Polly Isabel, 1818 ; died, 1868. He settled at Merwin' s Point, or Pond Point.
Jesse Merwin, son of Daniel Merwin, born in Milford, Conn., August 25th, 1784, and settled in Kinderhook, N. Y., where he died November 8th, 1852.
Jesse Merwin secured the love and esteem of all who knew him. He married Jane Van Dyck, October 16th, 1808. His children were :
Daniel E., born Se]3tember 1st, 1812 ; died January
5th, 1865. Henry, born July 16th, 1814 ; died March 28th, 1866. Catharine, born March 11th, 1816. Asher, born March 30th, 1818. Cornelius, born April 30th, 1820 ; died June 30th,
1871. Albertine, born May 4th, 1822. Jane E., born December 19th, 1824. Samuel, born December 12th, 1826. David, born May 19th, 1829. W. J., born May 30th, 1834.
W. J. Merwin, son of Jesse and Jane Van Dyck Mer- win, born in Kinderhook, May 30th, 1834, and married December 3d, 1856, to Mary Reynolds, who was born De- cember 23d, 1831. His children are :
James R., born September 16th, 1857.
Mary A. born August 8th, 1860.
Clarence B., born March 21st, 1862.
Katie, born June 30th, 1865.
Louis, born January 21st, 1868.
Ada, born April 21st, 1871.
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 88
The Merwin family having been an important root of the Collin family, has received a somewhat particular at- tention.
Homogeneous and unique, like the people of New Eng- land generally, while partici])ating largeh' in the great and good characteristics of that people, they have been free from the bigotry and avarice that has characterized too many of them.
One of their interesting characteristics is their attach- ment to their old ancestral home, it having remained in possession of the family two hundred and twenty-seven years.
Their longevity — many of them living from seventy to ninety years — is, no doubt, the result of wise and temper- ate habits.
Their high moral characteristics are evinced in the fact that most of them are members, and some of them are clergymen, of the difierent religious denominations. And, notwithstanding their numbers extending through cen- turies of the past and over a vast extent of country, all have been characterized for intelligence, integrity, indus- try, enterprise and high social dispositions.
Another branch of the family of Miles Merwin, who was born in Wales, in 1623, is as follows : He had a son Miles, born in Connecticut, 1658, who had a son Daniel born in 1685, who had a son Daniel, born in 1718, who had a son James, born in 1739, who had a son Hemon, born 1767, who had a son James, who was born in 1777, who had a son Alanson, who was born in 1801. Alan son Merwin married Amanda Kemball, January 13th 1825, and on account of the celebration of their golden wedding on the 13th of January 1875, the following pamphlet was published :
84 HILLSDALE HISTOBY.
GOLDEN WEDDING.
MEEWIN — KIMBALL.
1825—1875.
MARRIED.
At Leyden, Lewis County, N. Y., on the 13tli day of Jan- uary, 1825, by the Eev. Ruel Kimball, Alanson . Merwin, to Amanda Kimball, both of Leyden.
Now at their Golden Wedding it is deemed ajipropri- ate to place in form for preservation, some records and facts hastily gathered, concerning the families of Merwin and Kimball, thus united.
Miles Merwin, the ancestor of the Merwins in Amer- ica, was born about 162.3, in the North of Wales, or Eng- land, and in 1645, being then b3^ trade, a tanner, emigrat- ed to New England, and settled in the town of Milford, Connecticut, there becoming the owner of a large tract of land, situated on Long Island Sound, and now known as Pond Point or Merwin's Point. This town was originally called "Wepowage," and its settlement commenced in 1639, the settlers being mostly from the counties of Essex, Hereford and York, in England. Miles died at Milford, April 23, 1697, aged 74. He had a numerous family as follows : Eliza, who married a Mr. Canfield ; John, born in 1650, and who settled at the homestead : Abigail, who married Abel Holbrook); Thomas, who settled at Nor- walk, Connecticut : Samuel, born August 21, 1656, mar- ried Sarah Woodin, and settled at NeAv Haven ; Miles, born Dteceraber 14, 1658 ; Daniel, born 1661, and died young ; Martha, Mary, Hannah, and Deborah, who mar- ried a Mr. Burwell.*^ Miles, the son, was married in^Sep- tember, 1681, and had a son Daniel, who was born at
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 85
Milford about* 1685. This Daniel moved to Dm-liam, Couiiecticut, about 1710, and was a proprietor there in 1721. He had a sou Daniel, Jr., born about 1716, who married Elizabeth Wells, December 20, 1788. Of this marriage was born James Merwin, on October 19th, 1739. The wife Elizabeth, died October 29, 1739, and the hus- band married again in 1711 and had other children, tlie descendants of some of whom are now living in the vicin- ity of Kingston and Prescott, in Canada. James Merwin married Martha Smith, who was born in 1736, and died August 2, 1808. They lived in Haddam, Connecticut, where James died, February 13, 1790. Of this marriage, there were born Hemon Merwin, on August 1, 1767, who died January 1, 1814; Elizabeth, born in 1769, and died young; Kebecca, May 13, 1771, married to Dan Carter about 1803, and died 1819 ; Anna, in 1773, and died young; Martha, December 1, 1774 who married James Clark in 1789, and died in 1819 ; James, June 5, 1777, who married Esther Smith, and died at Leyden, !New York, February 13, 1865 ; Daniel, December 1, 1779, and died in 1836.
Hemon Mekwin, above named, married Anna Brooks, on Mixj 6, 1790, and liad children as follows : David, born August 1, 1791, (settled in Illinois ;) Heman, January 9, 1791; Anna, ISovember 19, 1795, (wife of Charles Clark, of Fulton, New York; j Simon, December 29, 1797, (now of Frankfort Station, Will County, Hlinois ;) Dolly B., September 3, 1800, (widow of Kobert Graham, deceased, of Haskell Flats, Cattaraugus County, New York ;) Calvin ij., January 10, 1803, (now of Phoenix, Oswego County, New York ;) Smith, February 8, 1805, (a physician in Michigan ;) James, January 14:, 1807, (who settled in Illi- nois, and left a son, James Merwin of Waterloo, Iowa.)
Dan and Kebecca Carter, above named, had children as follows : Worthy, of Turin, New York ; William, of Fox Lake City, Wisconsin, deceased : Salona, of Consta-
86 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
bleville, Lewis County, deceased ; Eebeccia ; Esther Ann, wife of Solomon Reed, of Lowville, New York. Of the third generation of this branch, we are now informed of George Carter, of Turin, New York ; Elmer Carter, of Omaha, Nebraska ; Helen A. Gould, of Saginaw, Michi- gan ; Jennie F. Mallorj, of Fox Lake City, Wisconsin ; Sophia Kyder, of Seymour, Connecticut ; Norris M. Car- ter, of Iowa; Maria C. Francis, of Carthage, New York ; Sarah A. McNally, of Green Castle, Indiana ; Dora A, Mills, of Lowville, New York ; Elizabeth M. Plummer, Clark li. Wallace, Jennie L. Platner and Worthy S. Wallace, of Independence, Iowa ; Eliza E. Andre, of Mechanicsville, Iowa ; Albert E. Wallace, of Lowville, New York.
Daniel, (born as above stated, December 1, 1779,) had sons Benjamin, Hezekiah, Daniel, Timothy and James. Of' these, Benjamin had sons, William, of Hastings Cen- tre, and Smith, of Voluer, New York.
James, (born as above stated, June 5, 1777,) moved in 1800 with his wife Esther, from Haddam, Connecticut, to Leyden, N. Y., then a wilderness, and settled on the farm he owned and occupied until his death. His wife died April 30, 1865. She was born at Haddam, February 5, 1782, and was the daughter of Lewis Smith and Anne Hubbard his wife. They had two other children, Han- nah, wife of Allen Augur, and Catharine, wife of Joseph Stimpsou, both of whom settled early at Leyden. The sole representative of the family of Mrs. Augur, is Lewis Augur, of San Francisco, California. The family of Mrs. Stimpson, were Sydney, (now deceased,) Nelson, Joseph, Catharine, (now deceased,) Lucinda, Sabra, Clinton, Mary Ann, (noAv deceased,) Sylvester, (now deceased,) and Martin.
The only child of James and Esther Merwin, was Alan- son Merwin, born at Leyden, February 23, 1801.
Before leaving this branch, may it be permitted to the
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 87
grandchildren of James Merwin, to stop one moment and recall some of the incidents of his life, and some of the traits of his character, as learned from his own lips, or from those who early knew him. Born during the Revo- lution, his cliildhood was familiar with its trials and suc- cesses. Early left fatherless and poor, his education was barely enough to enable him to read and write, experi- ence must give him whatever else he might need. At about sixteen years of age, he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and at that school he graduated with a reputation second to none, for industry, knowledge of his trade, and faithfulness to the interest of his em- ployer. With this capital and a good constitution, he started in life, and for several years was engaged at his trade at Haddam, Middletown, and the sea coast, being much employed as a ship blacksmith upon vessels being built on the Connecticut River. But the desire to obtain homes, operated then as ever, and transferred him with others, in the year 1800, to the Black River Valley, whither the tide of emigration from his locality tended. The settlements then in New York State, west of Albany, were few and scattering. Utica was but a hamlet in a swampy valley. Boonville had but two or three houses, and here and there in the woods beyond was a settler, who had built his log house, and was clearing and burn- ing for cultivation. Travel then was by the ox team or on foot. The bear and the Indian were the neighbors, men then were hardy and industrious, and foremost among them was James Merwin. At first he could buy and pay for but ten acres of land, and his practice was not to run in debt. His log house he built for himself and wife, and commenced to clear and till. During the day he worked on his farm, and at night he was at his forge as work might come in. One fall within a year or two after his arrival, he went on foot back to Connecticut, worked there during the winter at his trade, in ship build-
88 HILLSDAiE HISTOEY.
ing, and iu the spring returned witli funds enougli to buy him another ten acres. During the war of 1812, he served with tlie militia, when called out to Sackett's Harbor. After the war he continued his farming, always attending faithfully to his business and performing all his engage- ments, careful in all things, temperate, kind and humane, inteilectuallj sti'ong and sound in judgment, never neg- lecting his duties to his family, to society, or as a citizen, modest in his demeanor, never putting himself forward in the way of otliers. Firmness and dignity of character, and strict uprightness were among his marked character- istics. In education he was always interested, sending his son to the Lowville Academy, and Clinton Institute. For sixty-five years, he with his faithful, intelligent and ca[)able wife, sharing his labors and burdens and pleas- ures, lived upon the farm, they in their youth selected for a home, and lived to see the wilderness turned into fruit- ful fields, their child and grandchildren grown up and be- come settled iu life, and their great grandchildren gather about them, and lisp their names with aflection and ven- eration.
The KiMBALLS were at Ipswich, Mass., from 1650, and were numerous, originating probably with Richard Kim- ball, who came from Ipswich, England, in 1634. Henry, son probably of Richard, was at Ipswich in 1640, and Thomas was at Charlestown in 1658. Boyce Kimball, a descendant of Richard, was born at Ipswich, June 26, 1731, and the record of the family of himself and Rebecca, his wife, is thus : Boyce, born March 4, 1757 ; Rebecca, July 9, 1759 ; Jonathan, July 23, 1761 ; Ebenezer, Decem- ber 3, 1764 ; Mary, September 11, 1767 ; Susanna, July 24, 1769 ; Priscilla, November 21, 1771 ; Timothy, Decem- ber 21, 1773 ; Richard, May 19, 1775 ; Amasa^, May 23, 1777 : Ruel, December 20, 1778. About January 1, 1799, Ruel married Hannah Mather, and settled in Marlboro, "Vermont, being a Presbyterian Minister. Their family
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 89
record stands thus : Euel, born Deceraber 24, 1799 ; Amanda, April 13, 1802, at Marlboro, Vermont; Cotton, June 7, 1804 ; Huldali, August 1, 1806, at Leray, died August 22, 1827; Alonzo, November 20, 1808, now of Green Bay, Wisconsin; David M., November, 25, 1810, died, Augiist 1, 1813 ; David M., August 26, 1813, died, October 23, 1857 ; Lucy, July 31, 1815, now wife of Kev. Henry Bannister, of Evanston, Illinois; Mary, December 18, 1817, died, March 4, 1852 ; Harriet, January 14th, 1820, died, February 12, 1823 ; Martin L., September 24, 1826, now of Berlin, Wisconsin. Ruel Kimball, Sr., died, October 1, 1847, at East Hampton, Massachusetts, and his wife Hannah, died at Leyden, March 9, 1860. She was the daughter of Timothy Mather and Hannah Church, his wife, whose family record stands thus : Parents, Tim- othy Mather, born at Marlboro, Yermont, March 1, 1757, died, March 18, 1818; Hannah, his wife, born November 26, 1756, died, October 13, 1827. Children, Lucy, born February 26, 1780 ; Hannah, July 1, 1781 ; David, August 6, 1783. Timothy, July 24, 1785 ; Lois, June 10, 1787 ; William, August 15, 1789 ; Cotton, March 25, 1791 ; Enos, March 15, 1793 ; Dan, May 6, 1795 ; Phila, June 23, 1797. Timothy Mather, Sr., was descended from Richard Mather, who was born of an ancient family in Lowton, Parish of Winwick, Lancanshire, England, and settled as a minister, at Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1635, being the grandfather of Cotton Mather.
In the life and character of Rev. Ruel Kimball, as well as in that of his wife, Hannah, there was much that is in- teresting and instructive, and that deserves a place in the memories of their descendants. Mr. Kimball, with but a common education, prepared himself for the ministry, at a time when its duties were more than ordinarily labori- ous and self-denying, and when the burdens, too, rested heavily on the wives. At first, located in Marlboro, Ver- mont, he left there about 1805 for Leray, Jefferson
90 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
County, and there remained till about 1816, when he moved to Leyden, and there lived till his death. Though strict in his religious views and habits, he was still pater- nal and kind. His heart was always open to the unfor- tunate, and his benevolence was constant, and in amount up to the scriptural standard. In demeanor he was dig- nified and impressive, earnest and thoughtful ; as a christian preacher, beyond reproach. His wife was well fitted for her position, was a woman of more than ordi- nary ability, and morally and intellectually, her standard was high, and she so taught her children. "Her children arise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praise th her."
Mr. and Mrs. Alanson Merwin immediately after their marriage, in 1825, went to live upon their farm upon the East Road in Leyden, where they have ever since resided. Their house, small at first, has been necessarily enlarged from time to time, but it is the Old Homestead still. Their children are James A. Merwin, of Port Leyden, New York, Huldah K. 8axe, wife of Rev. George G. 8axe, of Stamford, Connecticut, and Milton H. Merwin, of Utica, New York.
THE ANNIVERSARY.
Those born in Lewis County, or familiar with its cli- mate, will appreciate the uncertainties of travel or endur- ance, in that locality for any day m the month of Janu- uary. The 13th day of January, 1875, was not an excep- tion. The elements reminded us of earlier days. How- ever, the children, with their life companions, succeeded in reaching the homestead frcmi different and distant lo- calities. The grandchildren were held in reserve. The parents, for their years, wonderfully sustained themselves and met the day with such joy and gratitude as only those in like circumstances can appreciate. Without, the storm raged furiously, piling up the snow and intensify-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 91
iiipj the cold. Witliiu, were glad and joyous hearts, and mingled voices all in harmony, ready to greet the occa- sion looked forward to with so much interest by all. Many of the friends we hoped to see were necessarily absent, but in memory we gathered them all. The old familiar rooms were summerized, the beautiful calla and the fragrant heliotrope, the carnation and the rose, and the waxen green of the smilax were there, ty]nfying the ideas of the occasion. Many letters were read, many re- miniscences were called up, and with good cheer for body and mind, the day passed rapidly away. And finally as we parted, we adjourned to meet again. Do voU-idc, the coming summer, when we hope all the grandchildren will be present to enjoy the renewed festivities and pleasui-es, and be enlivened by the spirit of the Old Home.
We append some extracts from communications re- ceived for the golden wedding.
FKOM ALONZO KIMBALL, ESQ., OF GEEEN BAY, WISCONSIN.
To my hroiher ami sister :
•'Allow me, youi' yoniifj;er brother, to congratulate j'ou on this happy retnru of your tiftieth wedding day. An occasion of this kiuil is not common, aud occurs in the history of a family' only here and there. Fifty years have been born and grown old since occurred that happy event in your lives. Well I remember that day and the jihace where. It was in the parlor of the old house, situated on the east side of the old State road, on Leyden Hill. That old house I can see it yet, though I helped to tear it away years agoue. TJiat old parlor was not vtry spacious nor ornately tinished, nor fashionably furnished. There was no carved furniture, no richly wrought ottomans,, no fashionable cushioned sofas or chairs. No velvet carpet covered the floor. The walls were not evt^n papered, nor doors or casings painted, and to come to the })lain truth, all the surroundings were very plain, a plain common parlor, plain common furniture, and very i)lain people tilled it on that occasion. But joy abounded, and virtue and happiness had a home there, and in your hearts were high aspirations and a determined purpose and firm resolve to battle manlully with the conflicts of life before you. Our venerated father, many years gone to his rest, officiated on that occasion, and you stood upon the west side of that old parlor, and with joined hands you solemnly pledged ycur loves till death should you separate, and then
92 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
and there our father pronouncerl you lawtnllj' wedded, husband and wife, and fervently invoked the divine blessing to rest on yoii and yours thi'ough all the devious ways of life's pathway. Then followed congratu- lations and many hearty good wishes, and an abundance of right hearty good cheer, suitable to the time and occasion. Can you recall the names of the guests on that occasion ? I remember some of them. The Fish family and the Ferrys, but I cannot name all. But, alas, vei'y few of them still live, only in th'^ spirit world. But a kind Providence has spared you, and crowns your lives with many and rich blessings. * * * If you travel in mind through your streets from North to South and from East to West, you will discover very few that were in their manhood fifty years ago. Call to mind the changes that have taken place in these fifty years, changes in the political world, chanpes in the social and moral world. The improvements in the arts and the discoveries in the sciences, the improvements in farming and horticulture, while railroads and telegraph lines intersect the land in all directions. In fact, you have witnessed the introduction of a new civilization, and in all these changes you have not been idle lookers on, but heli>ers instead, in pro- ducing them, part and parcel of them."
FROM REV. HENRY BANNISTER, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.
* * * "The event is not more rare than it is of most thrilling inter- est, that two persons, joined in holy wedlock in their youth, survive to see the fiftieth year of their marriage. With yon, the j'ears past have been peaceful, prosperous and happy. Our kind Heavenly Father has ever continued his tender hand upon and with you. Your pathway has been strewed with flowers rather than with thorns. The usual common perplexities you have had, but as to trials, you have had none worth mentioning. The most precious interests of your household are your children. These you reared and educated, and sent out into the world to do good, and their career thus tar has made you happy. They are with you this day, and, as far as possible, with their own children, all to bless you. Their affection and honor, you have always had, and with your increasing years, their reverence will grow and their blessings will multiply upon you. The same reverence will be upon your names when you are gone. The more we think of it, your lives together, seem a mar- vel to us. No sickness ol serious account, no deaths in your own circle, no interruptions to worldly prosperity, nothing but joy in your children and grandchildren ; unnumbered comforts surrounding you to this mo- ment ; vicissitudes all in an ascending grade of blessings throughout — so far as this world has gone with you, golden lives, as well as golden wedding — for all which, no doubt, this occasion finds you overflowing with gratitude to God. Your brothers and sisters thank God in your be- half. Fain would we all be with yon and join grateful hearts in this festivity of your lives. The years are rapidly passing with us all. None
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 93
of HP are without occasion for deep gratitude for the goodness of God to us all. The time allotted for the reinaiiiiof;; duties assif^ned to each of us is short. May it be spent in the fear and love of God, and be closed with the consciousness that our work has been well dont." * * *
Another branch of the family of the original Miles Merwin and his son Miles, is as follows : John, son of Miles 2cl, born 1650, his son John 2d, born 1680. He had a son Joseph, who was one of the old land proprietors of New Milford, Conn., and he had a son David, born Oc- tober 11th, 1746, and died April 25th, 1826. He had a son Orange Merwin, born April 7th, 1777, who became a member of Congress in 1826 — 1827. His children were Caroline, Henry,Tryphena, Harriet, Charlotte and Horace. Henry was born in 1803, and died in 1880. For twenty years he was a justice of the peace, and five years a select- man, one year an assessor,two years in the State Legisla- ture, and one year in the State Senate. After which he removed to Gaylordsville, were he died. In the military he used to be the colonel of the 4th Connecticut Cavalry.
There are other branches of the Merwin family, of the same characteristics with the foregoing, among whom were distinguished clergymen and jurists.
Rev. Abner Morse, born at Med way, Mass., September 5th, 1793 ; died at Sharon, Mass., May 16th, 1865 ; gradu- ated at Brown University, 1816. He was distinguished as a genealogist, and he published a memorial of the Morses, in 1850.
Rev. Jedediah Morse, born at Woodstock, Conn., August 23d, 1761 ; died at New Haven, June 9th, 1826. He graduated at Yale College, 1783. He was the first prominent geographer of America. Among his children were :
94 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Samuel Finley Bruce, born April 27tli, 1791. Sydney Edwards, born February 7tli, 1794.
Samuel Finley Bruce Morse, born April 27th, 1791 ; died April 2d, 1872. He was the son of the Eev. Jede- diah Morse, and graduated at Yale College, 1810. He distinguished as a portrait painter and statuary, and is immortalized as the author and discoverer of the Electric Telegraph. He edited the poems, with a biographical sketch, of Lucretia Maria Davidson, to whose grand- mother, Deidama Morse Collin, he was related.
Sydney Edwards Morse, son of Eev. Jedediah Morse, born at Charlestown, Mass., February 7th, 1794 ; died in New York, December 23d, 1871. He was distinguished as a journalist, and was the author and discoverer of sev- eral useful inventions.
Elijah Matson, born October, 1768, and married Sarah Grinell, December, 1796. They had a son, John, born February 3d, 1806, who married Margaret Waterman, September 10th, 1833, whose children were :
Cordelia, born November 22d, 1834. Alvin, born December 10th, 1836. Chloe, born May 31st, 1840. James, born May 2oth, 1842. Lewis, born October 11th, 1844. Lydia A., born January 12th, 1847. George T., born January 24th, 1851. Sarah O., born Febru.iry 17th, 1853.
Chloe Matson, daughter of John and Margaret Water- man Matson, born in Waterloo, Indiana, May 31st, 1840, and married Henry Alonzo Collin, son of Henry. Augus- tus and Sarah Ann White Collin, June 30tli, 1868, by whom she has one child, Ruthie, born June 16tli, 1869.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 95
Deidama Morse, sister of Josiali Morse, of Hillsdale, N. Y., born in Connecticut, February 22cl, 1748, and mar- ried Captain Oliver Davidson, of Canterbury, Conn., 1779 ; died in Hillsdale, June 9tli, 1821. Her children were :
Oliver, born in Canterbury, 1781. Joseph, born in Canterbury, 178B. Anna, born in Canterbury, 1785.
After the decease of her husband, Oliver Davidson, and on the l.Stli of May, 1792, she married Captain John Col- lin. Her granddaughters, Lucretia Maria and Margaret Miller Davidson, possessed poetic talents of the highest order.
JosiAH Morse, brother of Deidama Morse Collin, re- sided in Hillsdale, N. Y., and died, 1802. By his last will and testament, executed June 7th, 1801, he bequeathed his estate to his wife, Mehitable, and his brothers Ben- jamin and Peter Morse, and his nephews, John and Josiah Morse, and to his friend, Charles Frederick ; and he ap- l)ointed his brother-in-law, John Collin, to be his execu- tor. The witnesses to the will were, Charles Whitwood, Asa Alger and Thomas Andrews. The will was admitted to probate, July 14th, 1802, by W. W. Yan Ness, Surro- gate, before whom the executor, John Collin, duly quali- fied.
Capt. John Morse, father of Virginia Morse, and father- in-law of Leonidas Price Hamline, was born in Virginia, and died in California, January 12th, 18GG.
Theodosia, wife of Capt. John Morse, was born in New Jersey. She had a daughter — Virginia, — born November 9tli, 1835. She had been previously married to Dr. Eees, of Philadelphia, who died without children.
Virginia Morse, daughter of John and Theodosia Morse, was born at Ripley, Ohio, November 9th, 1835,
96 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
and married to Leonidas Price Hamline, December 31st, 1850. Her children are ;
Leonidas Morse, born October 5tli, 1852.
John Henry, born Marcli 23d, 1856.
Eliza, born February 6tli, 1859 ; died February 26tli,
1859. Theodosia, born June 30tli, 1862. Virginia Melinda, born March 23d, 1866.
Othneil Moses, maternal grandfather of Leonidas Lent Hamline, was born on Long Island, N. Y., in 1728, and married to Sarah Pinny, of Windsor, Conn. ; died in Bur- lington, 1816. He had eleven children, and served as a soldier in the French war, and as a captain in the war of the Revolution. His wife was born in Windsor, Conn., 1734; died in Burlington, Conn., 1822. His children were : Otheneil, Beuben, Eliliu, Isaac, Polly, Dorcas, Koxany, Olive, Rhoda and Cynthia.
Othneil Moses, son of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, born on Long Island, N. Y.,and married Polly David, and settled in Burlington, Conn., where he died. He served as a captain in the war of the Revolution.
Reuben Moses, son of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, born on Long Island, N. Y., and married Hannah Brooks. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolutton.
Elihu Moses, son of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, born in Burlington, Conn., and married Miss Brooks, and settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and served in the war of 1812, and was on board of Perry's fleet in the battle on lake Erie, and died in the lake, leaving a wife and four chil- dren.
Isaac Moses, son of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, died in the Florida war.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 97
Sarah Moses, daugliter of Otlmeil and Sarah Pinny Moses, married John Balcli, and settled in New York city.
Polly Moses, daughter of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, married Hezekiah Richards, of New Harford,Conn.
Dorcas Moses, daughter of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, married Joel Dorman, of Burlington, Conn.
RoxANY Moses, daughter of Othneil and Sarah Moses, born in Burlington, Conn., 1767, and married to Mark Ham line. They were the parents of the Rev. Leonidas Lint Hamline.
Olive Moses, daugliter of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, married Mr. Walker, and settled in Homer, N. Y.
Rhoda Moses, daughter of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, married a German, who was subsequently lost at sea.
Cynthia Moses, daughter of Othneil and Sarah Pinny Moses, married John Talbot, of Hartford county, Conn., and settled in Clarendon, Ohio ; she died in 1856. The children of Otlmeil and Sarah Pinny Moses, with but two exceptions, lived to an advanced age, and were distin- guished for piety, and the men for military services.
Rachael Moses, sister of Othneil Moses, was born on Long Island, N. Y., and Married to Mr. Wilcox, and set- in New Hartford, Conn. She was a woman of great fort- itude ; and during the French war, while her husband and sons were in the army, she rendered important ser- vices as nurse and physician to the inhabitants of her own and the adjoining towns.
Orville McAlpin, son of John McAlpin, bom in Hills- dale, November 29th, 1814, and married Lavina Becker,
98 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
daughter of John P. and Elizabeth Clum Becker, January 1st. 1851. Their children were :
Mary Caroline, born November 25th, 1851 ; died Sep- tember, 1855. Lucy, born September 3d, 1857.
Mary Caroline McAlpin, daughter of Orville and Lavi- na Becker McAlpin, born November 25th, 1851, and died September 15th, 1855. She was a most amiable and in- teresting child, and intelligent above her years. And thus early passing to the grave, illustrates the adage, that Death loves a shining mark.
JohnNoxon, of Great Barrington, Mass., married Nancy Johnson, daughter of Artemas and Susan Sherwood John- son, and granddaughter of Hannah Collin Sherwood. They had one child, Jeseph.
Hiram Niles, of Connecticut, married Chloe Robinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradish Eobinson. They had one son and five daughters.
Matthew Orr, of Bridge water, Mass., married Mary Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robin- son, and moved to Nine Partners, Dutchess county, N. Y. After his decease, she moved to Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y. Her children were : Margaret, Anna, John, James, Watson, and Corbet- Margaret married John Stafford, of Rhode Island. Anna married John Averil. John and James went to Ohio.
Watson settled in Schoharie county, N. Y., and rep- resented that county in the State Legislature in 1834. Corbet Orr commanded a sloop on the Hudson river for some years.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 99
David Ore, of Bridge water, Mass., married Elizabeth Corbet, a granddaughter of Gain and Margaret Watson Robinson, and moved to Nine Partners, Dutchess county, N. Y. After his decease she married John Yandusen of Hillsdale.
Hugh Orr, of Bridge water, Mass., moved to Hillsdale, N. Y., and married Miss Heath.
Egbert Orr resided in Hillsdale, and was brother of Matthew, David and Hugh Orr.
Mary Osboen, daughter of Melvin Osborn, of Michigan, married David Lonson Becker, son of John P. ajid Eliz- abeth Glum Becker, and settled in Benton, Yates county, N. Y. She has one daughter, Lizzie.
Harriet N. Osborn, daughter of Melvin Osborn, of Michigan, born 1822, and married George Sornborger, of Hillsdale, died September 19th, 1871. Her children were :
Mary, born August 11th, 1851 ; died April 1st, 1857. Florence, born September 11th, 1855.
Avery Park, born in Preston, Conn., December 23d, 1781, and married Betsey Meech, September 14th, 1806, and settled in Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., 1809. Their children are :
Roswell, born October 1st, 1807. Daniel A., born September 13th, 1810. Harriet, born March 3d, 1814. Eliza, born October 13th, 1816. Maria L., born March 13tli, 1820. Clarissa, born January 22d, 1822.
Roswell Park, son of Avery and Betsey Meech Park, born October 1st, 1807, and married Mary B. Bahvdin, •^'i^'M December 28th, 1836. After her death, in October 23d,
100 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
1854, lie married Elizabeth Niles, of Wisconsin, April 25tli, 1860. He died July 16tli, 1869. Eoswell Park pos- sessed poetic talents of a very high order, of which the following extract, written when only sixteen years of age, is an evidence :
Wlien storms are uplifting the waves of the ocean,
Or when the bright sunbeams enliven the clay, When nature inspires us v»ith warmest emotion,
We still think of kindred and friends far away. When time has fled by and our absence is finished,
To scenes of enjoyment we cheerfully come ; And still our affection remains undiminished
For much beloved kindred and thrice welcome home.
Daniel A. Park, son of Avery and Betsey Meech Park, born September 13tli, 1810, and married Emeline E. Rhodes, January 1st, 1834
Haeriet Park, daughter of Avery and Betsey Meech Park, born March 3d, 1814, and married Russell G. Dorr, of Hillsdale, Sej^tember 19th, 1832, by whom she has had two children, Martin H., and Harriet.
Eliza Park, daughter of Avery and Betsey Meech Park, born October 13th, 1816, and married Norton S. Collin, of Hillsdale, September 23d, 1837. Her children are :
Eliza, born February 27th, 1839.
Lucy, born February 21st, 1841.
Norton Park, born June 9th, 1842.
Virginia, born August 26th, 1851 ; died August, 1856.
Cordora, born May 10th, 1858.
Maria L. Park, daughter of Avery and Betsey Meech Park, born March 13th, 1820, and married Henry Clark Collin, of Benton, Yates county, N. Y. Her children are :
Henry Park, born Julj' 26th, 1843. Charles Avery, born May 18th, 1846.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 101
Mary Louise, born June 7th, 1848. Frederick, born August 2d, 1850. Emeline, born February 16tli, 1852. George, born February 3d, 1854. William Welch, born January 2d, 1856. Frank McAlpin, born September 17th, 1859.
Clarissa Park, daughter of Avery and Betsey M eech Park, born January 22d, 1822, and married David Collin, son of David and Anna Smith Collin, October 22d, 1845, by whom she had nine children :
David, born January 6tli, 1847 ; died November 3d,
1862. Edward, born September 30th, 1848. Clara Park, born May 25th, 1850. Ros^well Park, born January 4th, 1852. Charles Lee, born November 23d, 1853. Harriet, born August 14th, 1856. Miriam, born February 7th, 1859. William Taylor, born March 28th, 1861. Daniel Francis, born November 16th, 1863.
Eltweed Pomeroy, of Northampton, Massachusetts, died May 22d, 1662. His chileren were : Medad, Eldad, John, and Joseph.
Medad Pomeroy, son of Eltweed Pomeroy, had a son Ebenezer, who married Miss King, of Northampton, and their children were : John, Ebenezer, Sarah, Simeon, Jonali, Setli, Daniel, and Thankful.
Seth Pomeroy, son of Ebenezer, and grandson of Dea- con Medad Pomeroy, born at Northampton, Massachu- setts, 1707, and married Miss Hunt ; died in the war of the Revolution, 1777, and was buried with the honors of war near the Baptist Church in Peekskill, N. Y. His chil-
31*
102 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
dreu were : Seth, Quartus, Medad, Lemuel, Martha, Mary, Sarah, and Asaheh
He engaged, while quite young, in military duties, and was a captain in 1744, and a major at the capture of Louisburg in 1745. In 1755, he was lieutenant colonel in AVilliams' regiment, and was the chief commander in the battle with the army of General Diskau. His regiment was most prominent, and suifered most in gaining the victory at Lake George. He was a delegate to the Prov- incial Congress in 1774 and 1775. In October 1774, he, with Preble and Ward, were chosen general officers ; and in February, 1775, a brigadier generah He was in the hottest of the light at Bunker's Hill, and a few dnjH after was appointed senior brigadier general, and died in the army, 1777.
Lemuel Pomeroy, son of Seth Pomeroy, born 1737, was forty years a member of the State Legislature ; died at Southampton, December, 1819.
Quartus Pomeroy, son of General Seth Pomeroy, mar- ried and had live children : Thaddeus, George, Seth, Martha, and Hannah.
Seth Pomeroy, son of Quartus Pomeroy, married Han- nah Wells, and had seven children : Quartus Wells, George Eltweed, Henry Brown, Louis Dwight, Thaddeus, Seth, Martha Whitlesey, and Mariah Ashman.
George Eltweed Pomeroy, son of Seth, and grandson of Quartus, and great grandson of General Seth Pomeroy, married Hellen E. Robinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradish Eobinson. and settled in Toledo, Ohio. Their children were ; Two Hellen Augustas, Martha Hannah, Mary Jane, Maria Louise, George Eltweed, Mary Robin- son, and Thaddeus. Of these, one Hellen Augusta, Mary Jane, and Thaddeus, are dead.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. lOB
Hellen Augusta Pomeroy, daughter of George Eltweed and Hellen E. Robinson Pomeroy, married Geo. S. Thor- bnu.
The Pomeroys descended from Sir Ralph de Pomeroy, a knight in the army of William the Conqueror, whom he accompanied to England, and for his distinguished services the King granted him fifty manors in Derbyshire, and several in Somersetshire, upon which he built a castle, which is still in tolerable preservation, and occupied by his descendants.
When the Earl of Essex was Lord Lieutenant of Ire- land, one of the younger branches of the Pomeroy family accompanied him in the capacity of chaplain, and among his descendants is Major-General John Pomeroy, who served in the British army in America during the revolu- tionary war.
The branch from which all the Pomeroys in the United States descended, emigrated about the year 1G35, and consisted of two brothers, Eltweed and Eldred, who first settled at Dorchester, near Boston.
Daniel Quincy, born in England, and emigrated to this country, settled in Boston and married Ann Shephard, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Shephard, of that town, and granddaughter of the Rev. Thomas Shephard, of Cambridge. He was a goldsmith by occupation, and died August 10th, 1690. He had two children, Ann and John.
Ann Quincy, daughter of Daniel and Ann Shephard Quincy. born in Boston, June 1st, 1685, and married Col. John Holman, of Milton, Mass., and settled in Bridge- water, Mass., where she died, leaving five children, John, Ann, Peggy, Ruth, and Mary. She was the great grand- mother of Ruth Holman Collin, of Hillsdale.
John Quincy, son of Daniel and Ann Shephard Quincy, born in Boston, July 21st, 1689, He graduated at Har-
104 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
vard University, 1708, and was for many years a member of the State Legislature and its speaker, and for several years a member of the council and a colonel in the militia. He died, July 13th, 1767, just two days after the birth of his celebrated great-grandson, John Quincy Adams, who, subsequently, inherited his estate. His daughter married the Kev. William Smith, of Weymouth, by whom she had two daughters, one of whom, Abigail, married ex-President John Adams, the other married Judge Crouch, of the United States court.
George Robbins, born in Lenox, Mass., and married Jane S. Collin, daughter of James and Jane B. Hunt Col- lin, October 28tli, 1817, by whom he has had two children:
Mary E., born in Ohio.
James, born in New Marlborough, Mass.
Nicholas Race, born December 25th, 1739. His wife, Lucretia. was born December 12tli, 1744. They settled in Egremont, Mass., and lived to very great age. Their children were : Andrew, Stephen, Abram, Rebecca, Isaac N., William, and others.
Rebecca Race, daughter of Nicholas and Lucretia Race, born in Egremont, Mass., September 1st, 1781, and mar- ried to Charles Tullar, son of Seneca and Eunice TuUar, of Egremont, November 27tli, 1799 ; died in Sheffield, Mass., December 22d, 1861. Her children were :
Seneca Charles, born February 10th, 1801. Tabitha Paulina, born March 'l6th, 1804. Isaac R., born May 4th, 1806. Pamelia Jane, born April 11th, 1808. David W., born May 31st, 1812. Lucretia, born May 22d, 1816. . William Frederick, born June 12th, 1818.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 105
Gain Kobinson, born in S(;otland, 1682, and (^mirrratod to Ireland, and married a wife, by whom he had two chil- dren, Archiliald and Susan. His wiie having died, he emigrated to this country and married Margaret Watson, and lived for a time in Braintree, Mass., and for a time at Pembroke, and finally settled in East Bridgewater. He had recommendations from the churches in Ireland, Braintree and Pembrt^ke. He died, 1763. His children by his last marriage were :
Alexander. Joseph.
Gain, born, 1724. Increase, born, 1727. Betty, born, 1728. James, born. 1730. John, born, 1732. Margaret, born, 1735. Mary, born, 1738. Martha, born, 1740. Jane, born, 1742. Kobert, born, 1746
Archibald Eobinson, sou of Gain Robinson, born in Ire- land, and emigrated to this country. He married Mercy Field, daughter of Richard Field, of Bridgewater, Mass., 1747, and had two sons :
Robert, born, 1747.
John, born, 1749.
Susannah Robinson, daughter of Gain Robinson, born in Ireland, and emigrated to this countr}^ and married Christopher Erskine.
Alexander Robinson, son of Gain and Margaret Wat- son Robinson, born in Braintree, Mass., and married Hannah White, 1745, and had a daughter, Abigail, 1746, and moved to Nova Scotia.
106 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Joseph Robinson, son of Gain and Margaret Watson Eobinson, born, 1722, and married Abigail Keitli, daugh- ter of Joseph Keith, 1746. Their chiklren were :
Joseph, born, 1747. Benjamin, born, 1748. Edward, born, 1750. Susannah, born, 1753. Abigail, born, 1755.
His wife, Abigail, having died, ho married Hannah Snow, daughter of Isaac Snow, 1759. Their children were:
Isaac, born, 1760. Hannah, born, 1763. Snow, born, 1765.
Having died in 1766, his estate was settled by his brother James. His son, Snow, died in the revolution- ary army, at West Point, 1783.
Gain Eobinson, son of Gain and Margaret Watson Rob- inson, born 1724, and married Miss Dyer ; died in 1778. His children were : Gain, William, Increase, John, Dyer, born, 1765 ; Joseph, Ansel, Sally and Zibeali.
James Robinson, son of Gain and Margaret Watson Robinson, born 1730, and married Jerusha Bartlet, daugh- ter of Ebenezer Bartlet, of Duxbury, Mass. His children were : James and Bartlet, twins, Watson, Abner, Gain, Clark, Jerusha Bartlet, born 1753, Margaret, born 1754, Mary, Elizabeth, Jane, Esther, Bethia. Previous to 1775 he lived on Clark's Island, in Plymouth harbor. From thence he moved to BridgeAvater, where he resided five years, and then moved to Cummington, Mass., where he died, 1793.
James Robinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, born 1750. He had a nautical education and
BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 107
had the command of a ship at an early age, and in liis ship the first arms and military stores were brought from France at the commencement of the Revolutionary war. To get possession of some of the arms and munitions that he imported, brought on the first fight at Concord and Lexington, which roused the martial spirit of the nation. After the commencement of the war he left the ocean and took a command in the army and at the battles of Bun- ker's Hill and those fought with the army of Burgoyne, and sat beside the death-bed of his brother Abner, who fell in one of those battles. He died himself in the army near the close of the war.
Bartlet Robinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson and twin brother of James Robinson, born 1750, and w^as with his brother on the ocean and most of the battles in the Revolutionary war, and died in the army.
Watson Robinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, born 1751, and married Anna Webster, of Goshen, Mass. He was in the battle of Bunker's Hill and served as a soldier through the war of the Revolu- tion, and died in Palmyra, N. Y., leaving s&veral children.
Abner Robinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, born 1761, and w^as killed in battle at Still- water, Saratoga county, N. Y., October, 1777. The cir- cumstances attending his death are worthy of considera- tion. It w^as during the darkest peiiod of the American Revolution. The British arms had been uniformly suc- cessful, and to their final success it seemed only neces- sary to establish a line of fortified posts from New York to Canada, by w^ay of the Hudson. To that end the army of Sir Henry Clinton had advanced from New York to Columbia county, and had burned the manor house of the Livingstons. The army of General Burgoyne had
108 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
advanced from Canada to Sai'atoga county, and had burned tlie splendid mansion of General Scliuyler. To prevent the junction of those armies, General Washington sent some of his best troops under the command of Gen- eral Gates. Among those troops were the brothers James Bartlet and Watson Bobinson. Those troops were joined by a volunteer company from Bridgewater, Mass., under the com maud of Captain Jacob Allen, and in that com- pany were Thomas Latham and Abner Bobinson, boys of about sixteen years of age.
In October, 1777, those troops gave battle to the army of Gen. Burgoyne. During the fight it became advisable to withdraw that Aving in which the Bridge water com- pany fouglit ; and while retiring before a pressing enemy, firing by platoons with all the order of veterans, Capt. Allen fell and was borne from the field. Soon after young Bobinson fell, mortally wounded, and the retiring troops were about to leave him, when his youthful companion stepped beside him. When admonished by his comrades that he would fall into the hands of the enemy, he re- plied, "This boy must be carried from the field, or I stay with him." This brought assistance, and Abnei- Bobin- son was in consequence permitted to die in his tent, with his brother James sitting beside him. This act of Thomas Latham has endeared the name to all who have in their veins the blood of the Bobinsons.
Brave boys ! had I the genius of a Virgil, your names should be handed to posterity beside those of Nisus and Eurialus.
Increase Bobinson, son of Gain and Margaret Watson Bobinson, born 1727, and married Bachael Bates, of Hing- ham, Mass., 1755, and died in the French war, 1756. He was a Sergeant under Gen. Wlnslow.
Mary Bobinson, daughter of Gain and Margaret Watson Bobinson, born 1738, and married Bichard Bartlet, 1757.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 109
Martha Robinson, daughter of Gain and Marf,'ai-et Wat- son Robinson, born 1740, and married Archibald Thomp- son, 1761.
John Robinson, son of Gain and Margaret Watson Rob- inson, born 173'2, and married Miss Studley. His (hiugh- ter, Martha, married Eliplialet Bailey, 1782.
Robert Robinson, son of Gain and Margaret AVatson Robinson, born 1746, and married Bethiah Kingman, 1772. Their children were : Samuel, James, and others. They settled in Cummington, Mass.
Benjamin Robinson, son of Joseph and Abigail Keith Robinson, born 1748, Mud married Eve Packard, daugh- ter of James Packard, 1770. Their children were :
Anna, born 1771- Deborah, born 1777. Susannah, born 1781. Benjamin, born 1784. Kilboru, born 1787. Polly, born 1790. Hodijah, born 1793.
His wife. Eve, died 1796, and he married Keziah, widow of Elijah Packard, and daughter of John Ames, 1798. Their children were :
Nabby Lazell, born 1799, Bethiah Ames, born 1802. Margaret Watson, born 1806. He died 1829, and his wife, Keziah, died 1838.
Anna Robinson, daughter of J3eujamin and Eve Packard Rbbinsfm, born 1771, and married Uriah Brett, 1799
Deborah Robinson, daughter of Benjamin and Eve Packard Robinson, born 1 777, married John Adams, 1798.
110 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Susannah Kobinson, daughter of Benjamin and Eve Parckard Robinson, born 1781, and married Icliabod Keith 1802.
Polly Robinson, daughter of Benjamin and Eve Pack- ard Robinson, born 1790, and married Mr. Bradbury, of Maine, and after his decease she married a Mr. Herrick, of Boston.
Nabby Lazell Robinson, daughter of Benjamin and Keziah Robinson, born 1799. and married Samuel P. Con- don 1821 ; died 1832.
Bethiah Ames Robinson, daughter of Benjamin and Keziah Robinson, born 1802, and married Martin Rams- dell.
Margaret Watson Robinson, daughter of Benjamin and Keziah Robinson, born 1806, and became the second wife of Samuel P. Condon.
William Robinson, son of Gain and Miss Dyer Robin- son, married Hannah Eggerton, 1780; died 1816. Their children were :
William, born 1784.
Abigail, born 1786 ; died 1801.
Marcus, born 1791.
Sally, born 1795.
Mary Hitchborn and Maria Dyer, twins, born 1799.
William Robinson, son of William and Hannah Egger- ton Robinson, born 1781, and married Abigail Delano, of Duxbury, 1812.
Marcus Robinson, son of William and Hannah Egger- ton Robinson, born 1791, and married Charlotte Barstow, of Pembroke, 1820.
Sally Robinson, daughter of William and Haniiah Eg- gerton Robinson, born 1795, and married Henry Gray.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Ill
Mary Hitchborn Eobinson, daiiohter of William and Haunali Eggerfcon Robiusou, born 1799, and married James Sidall.
Dyer Eobinson, son of Dj^er and Abigail Stetson Eobinson, born 1792, and married Miss Standish.
Gad Eobinson, son of Dyer and Abigail Stetson Eobin- son, born 1795, and married Margaret Orr Keith, 1821.
Jacob Eobinson, son of Dyer and Abigail Stetson Eob- inson, born 1798, and married Elioda W. Chandler. Their children were :
Caroline E., born, 1823. Jacob Harvey, born. 1826. Lydia Hall, born, 1827.
Charles Eobinson, son of Dyer and Abigail Stetson Eobinson, married Ann Maria Keith.
Salome Eobinson, daughter of Dyer and Abigail Stet- son Eobinson, married Zenas Keith, 1821.
Abigail Eobinson, daughter of Dyer and Abigail Stet- son Eobinson, married Capt. Scott Keith.
Capt. Benjamin Eobinson, son of Benjamin and Eve Packard Eobinson, born, 1784, and married Mary Pack- ard, 1809. Their children were : Benjamin Eoseter, James Lawrence ; Elijah Packard, born, 1816 ; Maiy, born, 1818. Their son, James Lawrence, died at sea, 1835.
HoDiJAH Eobinson, son of Benjamin and Eve Packard Eolnuson, born, 1793, and married Silvia Orr, daughter of Hugh Orr, and had cme daughter, Lucia Watson Herbert.
Gain Eobinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Eob- inson, born January 24tli, 1771, and married Chloe Brad-
112 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
isli, daugliter of Col. John Bradisli, of Cummington, Mass., 1796, and settled in Palmyra, N. Y. His children were : Amanda, William Culleu, Cains Cassius, Abigail Black- man, Clark, Erasmus Darwin, Charles Rollin, Chloe, Helen Elizabeth and Margaret Sophia.
He was a man with talents of the first order, of fine ap- pearance, of easy and gentlemanly address, interesting in conversation, and distinguished as a physician. Died June 21st, 18-')2.
Amanda Eobinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradisli Robinson, born in Palmyra, Wayne county, IS. Y., and married Philip Grandeii, by whom she has had eleven children ; all now dead but two sons. Her son, William Granden, graduated at W est Point.
William Cullen Kobinson, son of Gain and Chloe Brad- ish Robinson, born in Palmyra, N. Y. ; died m Illinois, unmarried.
Caius Cassius Robinson, son of Gain and Chloe Bradish Robinson, born in Palmyra, IS. Y., and graduated at Pair- field, iS. Y., Medical College, and moved to Palmyra, in Michigan. In the twenty-fourth year of his age he mar- ried Eliza Warner, daughter of (Stephen Warner, of Cum- mington, Mass., and had one son, Eucius Gain, and died in the thirty-sixth year of his age.
Abigail Blackman Robinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradish Robinson, born in I'almyra, ]N. Y., and married Alexander B. Tiffany, an attorney, wJiu settletl in Palmyra, Michigan, and became distinguished in his pro- fession, and was raised to the bench. She had a large family of children, of whom only three are living — two daughters and one son.
Claek Robinson, son of Gain and Chloe Bradish Rob- inson, born in l^almyra, IS. Y., and married Delia Strong, by whom he had one daughter, Mary.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 113
Erasjmts Darwin Eobinson, son of Gain and Chloe Bradisii Robinson, born in Palmyra, N. Y., and married Calista Peek, and had three children, all now deceased. He settled, and now lives, in White Pigeon, Michigan.
Charles Rollin Robinson, son of Gain and Chloe Brad- isii Robinson, born in Palmyra, N. Y., and married Calista Corbett, and had one daughter, now deceased. He set- tled and cultivated a farm in Palmyra, Michigan.
Chloe Robinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradish Robinson, born in Palmyra, N. Y., and married Hiram Niles, of Connecticut, and has had one aon and live daughters.
Clark Robinson, son of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, born in Clark's Island, in Plymouth Harbor, Mass., and died in Cummington, Mass.
Margaret Sophia Robinson, daughter of Gain and Chloe Bradish Robinson, born in Palmyra, N. Y, and married John E. Gavit, November 28tli, 181:0, and settled in Old Stockbridge, Mass. He is distinguished as an en- graver, and has long been employed by the Government of the United States in that important capacity. She has had nine children, four sons and live daughters :
John, born August 4th, 1841 ; died a few months
after. Joseph, born December 22d, 1842. Margaret, born March, 22d, 1845. William Edmonds, born February 10th, 1848. Hellen Elizabeth, born November 26th, 1849. Clark, born June 27th, 1851. Julia Niles, born February 22d, 1854. Chloe, born April 29tli, 1856. Pauline, born February 3d, 1859.
114 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, born in Plymouth, 1753, and married Wait Wadsworth, of Duxbury, Mass., and settled there, where some of her descendants yet live.
Margaret Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Bobinson, born in Plymouth, Mass., 1754, and married Elijah Fay, and settled Hamilton, Madison county, N. Y., and they both died there, leaving a son James, who remained on the homestead and raised a num- erous family. He married Morilla Nash, of that town.
Mary Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bart- let Robinson, married Mattdew Orr, and moved to the Nine Partners, in Dutchess county, N. Y. After the death of her hiisband, she moved to Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y., where she died. Among her children were Wat- son, Corbett, Margaret, Anna, John, and Jonas.
Elizabeth Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, married Alexander Mclntyre, and had three sons, Alexander, Thomas, and Abner. Her son Alexander became a distinguished physician, and died July 22d, 1859, leaving three children — a daughter and two sons.
Esther Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bart- let Robinson, married Amos King, and settled in Hadley, Mass., where they died. Among their children (War- rener, whose recent death received honorable notice in the Springfield Bepuhlican), they had also a daughter, Minerva, who married Willard Nash, and settled in Madi- son county, N. Y.
Eleanor Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, married Jacob Convers. Among her children is a son, Maxey, who resides in Elmira, N. Y.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 115
Bethia Eobinson, daughter of James and Jeruslia Bart- let Robinson, born in Bridgewater, Mass., and married Charles Bradish, son of John and Hannah Warner Brad- ish, of Cummington, Mass., 1804, and moved to Palmyra, Wayne county, N. Y., 1807, where they died at advanced ages. Their children were : Alexander H., William F., Seth W., Bartlet B., Lucretia E., and Philander.
Jane Robinson, daughter of James and Jerusha Bartlet Robinson, born in Plymouth, Mass., August 6th, 1763, and married William Johnson, son of Benjamin and Ruth Holman Johnson, of Bridgewater, Mass., November 8th, 1779 ; died in Hillsdale, N. Y., April 7th, 1836. Her chil- dren were :
Ruth Holman, born September 16th, 1780.
Sophia, born January 7th, 1784.
Melinda, born December 7th, 1785 ; died March 9th,
1792. Clynthia, born April 7th, 1788. Quincy, born April 5th, 1791. Melinda, born September 29th, 1801.
Amelia Ann Robbins, born November 29th, 1799, and married Theodore W. Whiting, March 15th, 1820, by whom she had two children :
Harriet Amelia, born December 10th, 1821. Frederick Theodore, born June 6th, 1825.
George Robbins, born in Lenox, Mass., and married Jane S. Collin, daughter of James and Jane B. Hunt Col- lin, and settled in New Marlborough, Mass. They have had two children : Mary E., and James.
Nathan Seward, of New Hartford, N. Y., born Novem- ber 28th, 1814, and married Harrietts Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, June 13tli, 1848. Their children were :
116 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Harriette, born Marcli 19th, 1849.
Anna, born May 26th, 1850.
Nathan, born November 24th, 1851 ; died November
28th, 1851. Luc J, born July 17th, 1853. Elizabeth, born February 13th, 1855 ; died April 13th,
1855.
Emeline Sornborger, daughter of Uriah Sornborger, born November 19th, 1820, and married William Leonard Johnson, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, Sep- tember 12th, 1852. Their children were :
Ida, born September 10th, 1853 ; died April 24th,
1856. Willie, born September 13th, 1855 ; died September
25th, 1855. Franklin, born June 2d, 1857. George Quincy, born December 5th, 1859.
George Sornborger, son of • Uriah Sornborger, born 1820, and married Harriet N. Osborn, daughter of Melvin Osborn, 1852. Their children were :
Mary, born August 11th, 1853 ; died September 1st,
1857. Florence, born September 11th, 1855.
Ariel Smith, of West Stockbridge, Mass., married and had a daughter, Olive. After the death of his wife he married Rebecca, widow of Charles Tullar, and daughter of Nicholas and Lucretia Race. He was a respectable member of the Baptist Church, and died in West Stock- bridge.
Lucy Smith, of Dutchess county, N. Y., married David Collin, son of John and Hannah Merwin Collin, February 19th, 1764 ; died March 15th, 1767. Her children were :
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 117
Haimali, borii 1765.
David, born February 22d, 1767.
Anna Smith, of Dutchess county, N. Y., married David Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, January 2d, 1817. Her children were :
Edmund, born December 28th, 1817 ; died December
29th. 1817 Caroline, born December 26th, 1818. Lucy B., born March 15th, 1821. David, born August 23d, 1822. Harriett, born November 15tli, 1824. Miriam, born May 16tli, 1828, Anna Smith, born October 4th, 1829.
Lydia Smith, of Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y., mar- ried Lee Collin, son of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, by whom she had one child.
Ely Smith, of Bridgeport, Conn., married Huldah Merwin, daughter of Miles and Mary Brewster Merwin. Their children were, Almon, Mary and Ruth.
Porter Tremain, son of Augustas Tremain, of Hillsdale, N. Y., married Amanda Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, November 11th, 1830, by whom he had one son, Augustus, born March 27th, 1884. After the death of his wife, Amanda, on March 26th, 1840, he mar- ried Lucy B. Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, September 28th, 1841, by whom he had two sons :
Charles, born April 23d, 1843. Porter, born January 24th, 1852.
John Truesdell, born July 1st, 1722, and married Rachel Wright, September, 1743 ; died February 1st, 1782. His children were :
33*
>
118 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
Hannali, born August 24tli, 1744. David, born September 2d, 1749. Stephen, born June lOth, 1753. John, born May lltb, 1755.
After the death of his wife, Rachel, he married Sarah V^ Sneadwell, November 7th, 1757, by whom he had one son,
Thomas, born February 2d, 1759.
Thomas Truesdell, son of John and Sarah Sneadwell Truesdell, born February 2d, 1759, and married Hannah Collin, daughter of John and Sarah Arnold Collin, Sep- tember 3d, 1781 ; died at Wilmington, Ohio, April 10th, 1822. His children were :
John W., born May 7th, 1783.
Bebee, born January 10th, 1784.
Sarah, born June 17th, 1785.
Harry, born March 1st, 1788.
James, born September 3d, 1790 ; died October 12th, 1790.
Arnold, born September 15tli, 1796.
Gove, born May 14th, 1802 ; died January 30tli, 1818.
John W. Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Col- lin Truesdell, born May 7th, 1783, and married to Anna Esmond, daughter of Isaiah Esmond, July 25th, 1804 ;died September 23d, 1806. His children were :
Bebee, born June 5th, 1805 ; died April, 1811. John W,, born November 13th, 1806. Now dead.
Sarah Truesdell, daughter of Thomas and Hannah Coflin Truesdell, born June 17th, 1785, and married Eras- tus Taetor, of Ontario county, N. Y., March 11th, 1803 ; died May 17th, 1810. Her husband died January 7th, 1813. Their children were :
Hanuah, born March 18th, 1805.
Lydia, born June 10th, 1807.
Sarah, born June 30th, 1809.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 119
Harry Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannali Collin Truesdell, born March 1st, 1788, and married Clynthia Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Robinson John- son, February 19th, 1809 ; died October 14th, 1844 His children were :
Arnold Fletcher, born January 6th, 1810. Sarah Madeline, born May 12th, 1812. John Quincy, born February 22d, 1825.
Bebee Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, born January 10th, 1794, and married Margaret Post, December 10th, 1815 ; died at Wilmington. Ohio, 1866. His children were :
John Osmond, born October 3d, 1811.
Aurelia A. A. E., born December 24th, 1817.
C. Fernando, born February 16th, 1820.
Charles Seymour, born December 31st, 1822 ; died
April 4th, 1823. Anna Maria, born August 21st, 1824.
Arnold Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, born September IStli, 1796, and married Me- linda Johnson, daughter of William and Jane Robinson Johnson, September lOtli, 1820 ; died at Wilmington, Ohio, March 28th, 1835, and was buried in the cemetery in Lebanon, Ohio, in the family plot of the Rev. John and Lorauia P. Collin Braden.
Gove Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, born May 14th, 1802 ; died January 30th, 1818.
Arnold Fletcher Truesdell, son of Harry and Clyn- thia Johnson Truesdell, born January 6th, 1810, and mar- ried Cliloe Bushnell, daughter of John and Loxey Lay Bushnell. His children are : Morania, Julia, Emma, and Madeline.
120 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Sakah Madeline Truesdell, daughter of Harry and Clyntliia Johnson Truesdell, born in Hillsdale, and mar- ried Seymour Foster, son of Parla and Phebe Wells Fos- ter. Her children were : Wells, Henrietta, Augusta, and Willie.
John Quincy Truesdell, son of Harry and Clynthia Johnson Truesdell, born February 22d, 1825, and mar- ried Julia Ann Hollenbeck, February 14th, 1843. His children are :
Harry, born December 20th, 1843. Clynthia Augusta, born July 15th, 1845. Arnold F., born April 25tli, 1848. George Emmet, born June lltli, 1851. Marion Darwin, born December 9th, 1857. Elmer Quincy, born November 23d, 1861.
Harry Truesdell, son of John Quincy and Julia Ann Hollenbeck Truesdell, born December 2(>th, 1843, and married Ellen Minkler, July 4th, 1867.
Clynthia Augusta Truesdell, daughter of John Quincy and Julia Ann Hollenbeck Truesdell, born July 15th, 1845, and married Philip Becker, son of Philip and Eliz- abeth DeGroff Becker, July 15th, 1866. Their children are :
Julia, born April, 1867.
Gordon, born September 9th, 1868.
George Emmet Truesdell, son of John Quincy and Julia Ann Hollenbeck Truesdell, born June 11th, 1851; died July 18th, 1861.
Gains Truesdell, son of Samuel Truesdell, born in Hillsdale, and married Polly Becker, daughter of John P. and Betsy Clum Becker. His children are : John, Stephen, Euth, Elizabeth, and Juliette.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 121
Arnold F. Truesdell, son of Jolm Quincy and Julia 1 . ,
Ann Hollenbeck Truesdell, born April 25tb, 1848 ; mar- Ir
ried Adda Slater.
Seneca Tullar, born June 21st, 1751. His wife, Eu- nice, was born Auoust 2d, 1750. Tlie^^ settled in South Egremont, Mass., and lived to a great age. Tliei)- chil- dren were :
Charles, born June 3d, 1778, and Talitha.
Talitha TuLLAR,daughter of Seneca and Eunice Tullar, of South Egremont, Mass., married Isaac N. Race, son of Nicholas and Lucretia Bace. Her children were : Eunice, Seneca, Gorton, and others.
Charles Tullar, son of Seneca and Eunice Tullar,born in South Egremont, Mass., June 3d, 1778, and married Rebecca Race, daughter of Nicholas and Lucretia Race ; died August 26tli, 1824. His children were :
Seneca C, born February 10th, 1801. Talitha Paulina, born March 16th, 1804. Isaac R., born May 4th, 1806. Pamelia Jane, born April 11th, 1808. David W., born May 31st, 1812. Lucretia, born May 22d, 1815. William Frederick, born June 12th, 1818.
Seneca C. Tullar, son of Charles and Rebecca Race Tullar, born in South Egremont, February 10th, 1801, and married Mary A. Gordon, of Sheffield, who was born Sep- tember 24th,' 1804. They were married Sept. 30th, 1824. He died some years since. Their children were :
Charles A., born October 9th, 1825. Pamelia Jane, born August 4th, 1828. Rocelia Jennett, born July 7tli, 1831.
Charles A. Tullar, son of Seneca C and Mary A. Gor-
31
122 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
clou Tullar, born October 9th, 1825, and married Liicretia
E. Church, November 10th, 1811 ;died October 22d, 1855.
Pamelia Jane Tullar, dauohter of Seneca C. and Mary A. Gordon TiiUar, born August 4th, 1828, and married Silas L. Church, December 26th, 1851. Their children are :
Minnesota, born April 17th, 1853.
Yirginia, born June 17th, 1859.
EocELiA Jennett Tullar, daughter of Seneca C. and Mary A. Gordon Tullar, born July 7th, 1831, and married Dyer Wait, March 27th, 1856. They have one son- Charles T., — born January 1st, 1861.
Talitha Paulina Tullar, daughter of Charles and Re- becca Race Tullar, born March 16th, 1801, and married John M. Bartholomew, of Sheffield, Mass., October 8th, 1822, by whom she has had two children :
Charles Willis, born September 14th, 1825.
Pamelia Jane, born December 28th, 1827.
Pamelia Jane Tullar, daughter of Charles and Rebec- ca Race Tullar, born April ILth, 1808, and married John
F. Collin, son of John and Ruth Holman Johnson Collin, September 23d, 1827 ; died June 8th, 1870. Her children were :
Jane Paulina, born 1828 ; died September, 1830. Hannah Clynthia, born 1829 ; died March, 1831. Pamelia Laurania, born 1831. John Frederick, born 1833. Quincy Johnson, born 1836. Frances Amelia, born 1840.
David W. Tullar, son of Charles and Rebecca Race Tullar born. May 31st, 1812, and married Laura L. Note- ware, of Sheffield, Mass., June 7th, 1843. Their children were :
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 128
Susan Paulina, born March, lOtli, 1814. John F., born January 31st, 1846.
LucBETiA TuLLAR, daughter of Charles and Eebecca Race Tnllar, born May 22d, 1815, and married Freeman Yan Dusen, of Hillsdale, 1837. Their children are :
Camilla Eugenia, born January 1st, 1842.
Paulina and Pamelia, twins, born October 6th, 1844.
William Frederick Tullar, son of Charles and Eebec- ca Race Tullar, born June 12tli, 1818, and married Eliza- beth Church, November 25th, 1841. She died July 6th, 1842, and he married Melinda French, October IGth, 1845, by whom he has one daughter :
Attie E., born April 4th, 1854.
John F. Tullar, son of David W. and Laura D. Note- ware Tullar, born January 31st, 1846, and married to Mary Daly, who was born 1856.
Susan Paulina Tullar, daughter of David W. and Laura L. NoteAvare Tullar, born March 15th, 1844, and married Albert M. Williams, April 5th, 1862. Their chil- dren are :
Charlotte L., born March 7th, 1863.
Edson E., born October, 19th, 1868.
Walter B. Ten Broeck, born in Hillsdale, February 2d, 1827, and married Mary Ette Van Dusen, January 25th, 1855. Their children are :
Vandell, born January 16th, 1856.
Alice, born April 17th, 1859 ; died July 4th, 1861.
Jay W., born August 24th, 1861.
Carrie, born January 20tli, 1863.
Seymour Van Dusen, born November 26th, 1810, and married Caroline McArthur, who was born May 11th,
124 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
1814. He died a few years since. Their children are :
Mary Ette. born February 15th, 1835. Jennett, born July 8th, 1837. Delila, born August 12th, 1840. Almira, born April 16th, 1842. Annie, born September 1st, 1844. Newton J., born November 8th, 1846. Elizabeth, born March 5th, 1848.
Mary Ette Van Dusen, daughter of Seymour and Caro- line McArthur Van Dusen, born February 15th, 1835, and married Walter B. Ten Broeck, January 25, 1855. Their children are :
Vandell, born January 16th, 1856.
Alice, born April 17th, 1859 ; died July 4th, 1861.
Jay W., born August 24th, 1861.
Carrie, born January 20tli, 1863.
Jennett Van Dusen, daughter of Seymour and Caroline McArthur Van Dusen, born July 8th, 1837, and married John Frederick Collin, son of John F. and Pamelia Jane Tullar Collin, December 15th, 1857. Their children were :
John Jay, born December 12th, 1858 ; died July 2d,
1861. Ruth Anna, born February 4th, 1863 : died October
16th, 1870, Frances Pamelia, born August 13th, 1866.
Delila Van Dusen, daughter of Seymour and Caroline McArthur VanDusen, born August, 1840, and married Ezra Best, and settled in Egremont, Mass.
Almira Van Dusen, daughter of Seymour and Caroline McArthur Van Dusen, born April 16th, 1842, and married James Bain, of Copake.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 125
Annie Yan Dusen, daughter of Seymonr and Caroline McArtliur Yan Dusen, born September 1st, 181:4, and married Henry Hollenbeck, of Eoremont ; died Septem- ber 25tli, 1870, leaving one child.
Newton J. Yan Dusen, son of Seymour and Caroline McArthur Yan Dusen, born November 8tli, 1816, and is now a telegraph operator at KetonaJi, on the New York and Harlem liailroad.
Elizabeth Yan Dusen, daughter of Seymour and Caro- line McArtliur Yan Dusen, born March 5tli, 1818, and married Frank Clemens, of Ansonia, Conn., 1871.
Fueeman Yan Dusen, born February 7th, 181)6, and mar- ried Lucretia Tullar, 1837. His children are : Cornelia Eugenia, born January lOth, 18-42, Pamelia and Pauleua, twins, born October 6th, 1844. Died 1883.
Camella Eugenia Yan Dusen, daughter of Freeman and Lucretia Tullar Yan Dusen, born January 1st, 1842, and married Edward Wills Blackington, of Adams, Mass., October 1st, 1862.
Pamelia Yan Dusen. daughter of Freeman and Lucre- tia Tullar Yan Dusen, born October 6th, 1844, and mar- ried Albert H. Willis, October 5th, 1870.
Paulina Yan Dusen, daughter of Freeman and Lucretia Tullar Yan Dusen, born October 6th, 1844, and married Edward C. Saxton, November 9tli, 1869.
Baknet Wager, son of John and Mary Arnold Wager, born January 29th, 1793, and married Lucy Collin, daugh- ter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin ; died April 15th, 1845.
Margaret Watson, born 1700, and married Gain Rob- inson, who settled in East Bridgewater, Mass. She died
126 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
1777. Her cliildren were : Alexander, Joseph, Gain, In- crease, Betty, James, John, Margaret, Mary, Martlia, Jane, and Robert.
Dyer Wait, born June 5tli, 1824, and married Rocelia Jennett Tullar, daughter of Seneca C. and Mary A. Gor- don TuUar, March 27th, 1856, by whom he has had one child, Charles T., born January 1st, 1861.
Samuel James Wells, of New Hartford, N. Y., married Anna Smith Collin, daughter of David and Anna Smith Collin, October 12th, 1854, by whom he has had four chil- dren :
Samuel James, born September 5th, 1856. David, born September 23d, 1858. John Lewis, born December 26tli, 1860. Paul Irving, born March 9th, 1863.
Frederick T. Whiting, born June 6th, 1825, and mar- yT ried Ruth Maria Hill, daughter of Rodney and Sarah A. Collin Hill, December 11th, 1849. His children were :
John Fred, born December 13th, 1852.
Mary Anna, born July 12th, 1859.
Henry Mason, born February 10th, 1863.
Florence Amelia, born October 6th, 1869 ; died .
Theodore W. Whiting, born April 8th, 1799, and mar- ried Amelia Ann Robbins, March 15th, 1820, by whom he had two children :
Harriet Amelia, born December lOtli, 1821. Frederick Theodore, born June 6th, 1825.
Bentley White, of Connecticut, married Rhoda How, March 3d, 1819. His children were :
Sarah Ann, born January 14tli, 1820. Sibyl M., born May 29th, 1822 ; died December 18th, 1824.
BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES 127
Stephen, born March 17th 1826.
Jane M., born October 20th, 1832; died October 20th, 1834
Stephen White, son of Bentley and Rhoda How White, born May 29th, 1822, and married Olive N. Chapman, Oc- tober 26th, 1853. Their chiklren are :
Mary L., born September 17th, 1854. Ida M., born January 17th, 1856. Bentley, born October 28th, 1857. Ernest, born February 9th, 1860. •Helen M., born October 28th, 1866.
Hiram H. White, born in Canton, Conn., 1806, and married Jane M. Collin, daughter of John and Ruth Hol- man Johnson Collin, June 2d, 1830 ; died October 11th, 1864. He was a clergyman — a member of the New Eng- land Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he labored for many years. In talents, integrity and eloquence, he had but few superiors.
Sarah Ann White, daughter of Bentley and Rhoda How White, born January 14th, 1820, and married Henry A. Collin, son of John and Ruth Holman Johnson Collin, October 29th, 1836. Her children are :
Henry Alonzo, born August 14th, 1837. Sarah Adeline, born January 3d, 1840. Edwin, born August 31st, 1842.
Barak Wilson, of Dutchess county, N. Y., married Cordelia Collin, daughter of James and Lydia Hamblin Collin, September 21st, 1840 : died March 26th, 1855.
Albert M. Williams, born at Stockbridge, Mass., Aug- ust 31st, 1837, and married Susan Paulina Tullar, daugh- ter of David W. and Laura L. Noteware Tullar, April 5th, 1862. His children are :
128 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Charles L., born March 7th, 1863. Edson E., born October 19th, 1868.
Theron Wilson, born June 10th, 1805, and married Lydia Louisa Collin, daugliter of James and Lydia Ham- blin Collin, January 8th,' 1829 ; died January 27th, 1862. His children were :
James, born June 17th, 1830.
Eli NeAvton, born June 27th, 1832.
George Theron, born February 3d, 1837.
Sarah Louisa, born September 20th, 1834.
Lydia Esther, born November 25th, 1810.
Robert Hamblin, born November 23d, 1850.
Albert H. Willis, married Pamelia Van Dusen, daugh- ter of Freeman and Lucre tia Tullar Van Dusen, October 5th, 1870.
Worcester Wheeler, born December 28th, 1779, and married Wait Freeman ; died May 7th, 1866. His children were:
John T., born August 9th, 1818.
Erastus, born January 7th, 1820.
Louisa, born January' 12th, 1822.
Sarah A., born April 16th, 1824.
Mary A, born October 22d, 1826.
Charlotte A., born March 31st, 1829 ; died January 5th, 1866.
Noah W., l)orn March 30th, 1828.
Louisa Wheeler, daughter of Worcester and Wait Freeman Wheeler, born January 12th, 1822, and married James Hamblin Collin, son of James and Lydia Hamblin Collin, September 11th, 1845.
Sarah A. Wheeler, daughter of Worcester and Wait Freeman Wheeler, born April 16tli, 1824, and married Lewis S. Peck, September 7th, 1847.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 129
Mary A. Wheeler, daughter of Worcester and Wait Freeman Wheeler, born October 2"2d, 1826, and married Isaac M. Vail, September 3d, 1844.
Noah W. Wheeler, son of Worcester and Wait Free- man Wheeler, born March 30th, 1828, and married Sarah E. Bushnell, May, 1863 ; died August 7th, 1866.
Lewis Wright, born in Brunswick county, Virginia, February 11th, 1796, and married Hannah Springer, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, July 15th, 1823, by whom he had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth, born April 17th, 1824 His wife, Hannah Springer, died July 5th, 1827, and on the 16th of April, 1833, he married Hannah Collin, daugh- ter of John and Ruth Holman Jolmson Collin, by whom he had one daughter, Meliuda T. He died November 8th, 1866.
Mary Elizabeth Weight, daughter of Lewis and Han- nah Springer Wright, born April 17th, 1824, and married James H. Collin, son of James and Jane Hunt Collin, July 12th, 1843. Her children are : Frances M., Sarah M., Emma S., Henry Clay, and Jennie L.
Melinda Truesdell Wright, daughter of Lewis and /
Hannah Collin Wright, born March 27th, 1834, and mar- ried William A. Hanley, November 27th, 1857. Her chil- dren are :
Marielin, born August 16th, 1859. John Collin, born November 30th, 1861. William Alonzo, born December 12th, 1865. Louis Wright, born November 2d, 1862.
Chastine E. Wolverton, born at Charleston, Montgom- ery county, N. Y., July 12th, 1821, and married James Collin, son of John and Ruth Holman Johnson Collin, September 7th, 1847. Her children are :
130 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Edwin W., born September 19tli, 1849 ; died 1871. Mortimer and Monteatli, twins, born December 9th,
1852. George W., born December 13tli, 1855. Hattie May, born May 1st, 1856. Lizzie A., born March 12th, 1860.
APPENDIX TO CYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY.
The declaration in the foregoing work, "that the influ- ences that conceived such laws as the tariflf of 1842, had produced the imputed cause which formed the excuse for provoking the late civil war," may provoke the criticisms of politicians and excite the incredulity of many honest men; therefore, for the instruction of the latter, the writer will, at a future time, write the history of those laws.
To say that the converting of West India molasses into Boston rum was one of the most cherished interests in New England, would excite almost universal incredulity ; and yet that it is so, is a fact susceptible of the most pos- itive proof. Overr sixty thousand hogsheads of that West India molasses, with the aid of narcotics and water, are annually converted into over one hundred thousand hogs- heads of that Boston rum. That rum has almost without exception been the material for procuring all slaves im- ported from Africa. It has been used to debase civiliza- tion and to make barbarians still more barbarous. It has produced many of the worst evils in this country, and, in fact has been more mischievous to the world than any other occurrence since the fall of Adam. Yet it has been made the recipient of government bounties, and is now exempted from the taxation imposed upon other interests. To keep the people in ignorance, this Boston rum has been studiously excluded from every census except that of 1850.
BIOGRArHICAL SKETCHES 181
The same wicked influences that have made Boston rum a cherished interest, is now operatinj^; in tlie perpetu- ation of the misnomer, a protective, tariff. And the ap- parent controversy between the two Houses of Congress is only intended to deceive the people, and keep frf)m them the fact that its effects are to make the great mass of the people slaves to a pampered aristocracy.
To create a debt as an excuse for imposing a high tariff upon which discriminations might be made for the bene- fit of the pampered few, was one of the objects for which the civil war was provoked. Had those pampered inter- ests been taxed in proportion to others, that debt would now have been paid, and the object of the war Avould to them have been lost.
To avoid such payment, that debt is now being funded so as to make its payment impossible till a very remote period, without a breach of national faith to the public creditor. To pay the interest on such debt will of course perpetuate the existence of that aristocracy by a continu- ance of the high discriminating tariff, and to reconcile the people to this, they inculcate the doctrine that a national debt is a national blessing. Loyalty now consists in sub- serviency to those interests of Boston rum, discriminat- ing tariff, and national debt. And to enforce that loyalty, the mailed hand is now upon the throats of a large por- tion of the people, and national liberty is gasping beneath the feet of a tyranny.
THE TAEIFF QUESTION.
SPEECH OF MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, OF NEW YORK, IN REPLY TO MR.
ALBERT SMITH, OF NEW YORK, DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES, TUESDAY, JULY 28, 1846.
The Bill to amend the act entitled "An act to reduce the rates of postage," &c., being under consideratioa in Committee of the Whole —
Mr. Collin addressed the Committee as follows, in re- ply to Mr. Smith, of New York :
Mr. Chairman : It has been with some embarrassment and reluctance that I have availed myself of occasions to speak to this House. It would have been my desire not to do so again at this session. But remarks recently pub- lished, purporting to have been made here by my col- league from the thirty-third district, will hardly justify me in permitting them to go forth to the world unnoticed. The gentleman is reported to have devoted most of an hour in commenting upon a speech I had made in March last. He first joined issue upon my remarks, that under the tariff policy of 1842, our agriculture had languished and thousands of our agricultural population had been made fugitives to other climes. These sentiments the gentlemau denies, and calls upon me for the proof.
The gentleman will not deny that between 1840 and 1845, in the State of New York the births over deaths
THE TARIFF QUESTION. 133
were nearly 60,000 annually, and that 50,000 annually em- igrated to the State during that period. It cannot be de- nied, that from these two sources, the natural increase of the population of the State during that j)eriod would have been near half a million. But, sir, the census of the State shows the increase to have been only ai)out 180,000, and that to have been confined almost entirely to the cities ; while in many of the best agricult^iral districts, the population has been actually diminished. These facts could not have escaped the notice of the gentleman. The Governor, in his annual message, called attention to them. Will any gentleman undertake to say that the agricultural population of the State of New York would have been stopped in its onward progress if its interests were not languishing'? It is universally admitted that in 1841, agriculture was then in an unprecedented state of depression. It will scarcely be disputed that since that time it has suffered a much greater depression. Our com- mercial records show that our agricultural products have sunk since that time about 43 per cent. In the financial report of the Secretary of the Treasury, on page 335, the price of agricultural productions are shown to have sunk, since 1842, in the State of Rhode Island, about 30 per cent. ; while at the same time the price of manufac- turers' goods have been enhanced. These facts will not be disputed. The causes may be a matter of controver- sy. Among the reasons assigned by the correspondent from Illiode Island for the depressed prices of agricul- ture' there, is the condition of the currency. Among the reasons assigned for the enhanced prices of manufactur- ers' goods, is also the condition of the currency. Per- haps the same reasons would be given by the gentleman from New York. My reason for the enhanced price of manufacturers' goods is, the protection given by the tariff. My reasons for the depressed prices of agricultural pro- ducts are, the embarrassments thrown in the way of our
134 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
foreign market by the operation ol the tariff.
Sir, if agriculturalists in New York were suffering deep depression in 1841 ; if since that time thev have had to sell their products for less, and have been compelled to pay advanced prices for the goods they have consumed, can it be a matter of surprise that their population has diminished ? It certainly cannot ; and impartial men cannot long be in suspense as to the cause. Sir, agricul- tural laborers, for want of employment ; farmers, whose property has been encumbered by debts ; persons wish- ing to engage in agriculture, with but limited means — in consequence of the oppressions under which the agricul- turists of the State of New York have been laboring, have been compelled to abandon their native State, and to seek other latitudes, where smaller means would procure them employment, a living, or a home. This, sir, is my opinion of the cause of the diminished agricultural population of the State of New York. If the gentleman entertains other sentiments, no one can question his right to do so. And if he is disposed to propagate his opinions, he will not find me controverting them by billingsgate epithets.
Sir, in my speech in March, I spoke of gentlemen hav- ing expressed a preference for all the consequences of a war with England, rather than have a modification of the tariff of 1842. The gentleman asks. What Whig member of the House had ever used language like that, or any- thing resembling it? In the first jlace, I think the gen- tleman will be embarrassed to find the word Whig, among the remarks I made on that occasion. I say, deliberately, that sentiments such as I then expressed were uttered here. If the gentleman was so inattentive as not to have heard them himself, and he deems it material to have done so. it must be set down as his misfortune, and not the fault of the person uttering the sentiment. Sir, I, cannot consent, even to gratify the gentleman, to look over the ponderous speeches upon the Oregon question,
THE TARIFF QUESTION. 135
to ascertain what gentleman was most logical in sliowing that the position taken by the President upon that ques- tion had precluded all further negotiation, and that war would be the consequence. I cannot look to see what gentleman was most eloquent in describing the horrors and calamities of such war, or who expressed himself most alarmed lest such war should be averted, by the President's settling the question by negotiating for the whole of Oregon, in exchange for a modification of the tarifi". It is sufficient for me that such language was used. It is sufficient for my purpose that it is distinctly within the recollection of members of this House. It is entirely sufficient for all I can desire, that such language was used in the public papers, and stands so charged in the Union of the IStli of February. The gentleman says he will be among the first to denounce any one who shall hold lan- guage akin to such as he has seen fit to deny. Now, sir, one short week had only transpired after the gentleman's threatened denunciation, when one of his political asso- ciates on this fioor, said, in a speech, that to carry out certain policy, among which the modification of the tariff stood preeminent, would inflict greater evil than was ever before visited upon this country. Hir, our cities have been burned, our people have been oppressed with taxa- tion, and once driven into a war with England upon that account. Nearly every State in our Union has had its fields drenched with the blood of its citizens. And yet, in the expressed opinion of that gentleman, all these could not equal the calamity produced by the repeal of the tariff, and the adoption of some two or three kindred measures. All I have to say on that subject to the gen- tleman from Pennsylvania is, he may expect, in the course of some four months, a denunciation, expressed in terms some of which would sound most familiar within the purlieus of some low tippling-house. It takes about that time, I believe, for the gentleman's indignation to
136 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
mature. At least it took about that time to be developed against my remarks.
Sir, the gentleman gives me credit for political consis- tency in advocating the doctrine, that the same reasons would justify the destroying the exchanges between Ohio and Massachusetts that would justify the destruction of the exchanges between Great Britain and the United States. With much of the political cant of the day, he attempted to controvert that doctrine. It is a sentiment inculcated by high authority, that distinguished acts and eminent human qualifications, are but as a sounding brass or tinkling cymbal, without being accompanied by the principle of charity, (which, I believe, is understood to mean universal love and good-will to all mankind.) Now, sir, I believe that that gentleman or statesman who ceases to be actuated by that great principle, will not stop in his downward progress till a single unit in exist- ence shall engross all his desires and aspirations, regard- less of the interest of the world beside. I believe that that statesman who would deny the people of this coun- try the participation in the blessings which Providence has bestowed upon other coxintries, because other coun- tries may be benefited by our so participating, would find no difficulty in making the same rule apply to the intercourse betw^een Ohio and Massachusetts, when pers- onal or party interests or policy should render the application of such rule convenient or necessary.
In the gentleman's strictures upon what I said in rela- tion to the interests of the wool-growers, I must says that the gentleman either wilfully perverted my meaning, or he is chargeable with a degree of stupidity for which I had not given him credit. He says, "his colleague is for let- ting in all foreign wool without any tax at all." I should like to be informed by the gentleman when he has ever heard me utter such a suggestion. It is true, I have spoken of the repeal of the tariif act of 1842 ; but have I
THE TARIFF QUESTION. 137
not at all times advocated tlie substitution of one more equal and just in its operations ? Did not the gentleman make his speech in opposition to the very act that I had been advocating some two weeks before he sp(jke, as a substitute for the act of 1842? When the gentleman made this charge, did he not know that I had advocated, with as much zeal as I Avas ea|>able of, the very tariff act against which he spoke ? If he did, he purposely per- verted my language. If he has ever inferred from my speeches that I was advocating the abandonment of tariff duties, he must have very stupidly misunderstood the whole tenor of my remarks. No person in this House has advocated with more zeal than I have, that wool should have the incidental jorotection of as high revenue duties as were imposed upon any goods imported.
Let the gentleman look at his published speech, on page 8, and he will there read; "And yet his colleague was for letting in all foreign wool without any tax at all." Then let him look on page 9, and he will also read, "His colleague professed to desire to protect the wool-grower, and was for adopting McKay's bill, putting all wool on a par, under a duty of 25 per cent." Let the gentleman look at those two paragraphs, and see whether, in his vocabulary, he has not got some brief word with which he might express such a palpable contradiction.
The gentleman professes to be the friend of the tariff of 1842, and also of tlie wooi-grower. It certainly must be a tax upon the gentleman's ingenuity to reconcile these two attachments. Mr. Nathan Appletoii, in his criticism up- on the report of Mr. t^ecretary Walker, says : "The man- ufacture of woolens has always given rise to the most difficult questions in the arrangement of the tariff, owing to the difficulty of adjusting the duty on wool to the sat- isfaction of both wool-growci's and manufacturers." He also says : "Our own production of wool was much below our consumption." 8ir, how was the controversy between
138 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
tlie wool-grower and the manufacturer adjusted by tlie act of 1842 ? To the manufacturer was given a protec- tive duty of 40 per cent. ; to the wool-grower there was given no protection at all. They were cavalierly told, that to protect wool was not protecting labor ; it would only be protecting the growth of sheep. They were told that if they could not live by wool-growing, to go at some- thing else. Sir, according to Mr. Appleton, our own pro- duction of wool was much below our consumption. Now, sir,' it is one of the arbitrary and universal laws of trade that demantl and supply are the controlling principle of price. If, then, our own production of wool was much below our consumption, then tJie demand would have been greater than the supply ; and had it not been for foreign wool, the price would have been at its highest rates. But under the operation of the tariff of 1842, the five per cent, wool (for little else has been imported) has been introduced to the amount of so many millions of pounds, that the supply has exceeded the demand ; and, in consequence, the price of our wool has sunk to the lowest rate known in our history. And yet the gentle- man is the professed friend of the tariff of 1842 and of the wool-grower. Sir, the Congress that passed the act of 1842 had before them the evidence that the manufac- turers were then enjoying a net profit of over 30 percent., while that of the wool-grower was less than two per cent. That fact was stated and proved in the speech the gentle- man has seen tit to criticise. That fact, in the midst of the gentleman's criticisms, he has not seen fit to question, and therefore must be presumed to have admitted. And yet, in the face of these injuries, he would fain be consid- ered the fi-iend of that unjust act, and also of the people suffering by its injustice.
The gentleman and his friends are horrified at the idea of ad valorem duties Nothing but specifics will, in their opinion, answer for either revenue or for protection.
THE TARIFF (QUESTION. 139
Why did they not tliiuk of that when passing the act of 1842 ? Why vote down a number of amendments pro- posed for imposing specific duties upon wool, and finally turn it off with the lowest ad valorem duty known to our statute books ? Sir, their friendship for the wool-grower was of the same character with that of this very ingenious gentleman. Had the specific duty proposed by the gen- tleman from Vermont on the 12tli of Jul}^ 1842, been adopted, it would either have stopped the importation of the 24,000,000 of pounds of wool of the past year, or, in- stead of the $50,000 of revenue received, it would have produced to the treasury $2,400,000. That amendment would have bestowed upon our wool-growers during the last year at least $5,000,000. But the act of 1842 did not allow of such a provision, and yet this friend of the wool- grower is an avowed friend of that act. Under the act of 1842, it is universally admitted, that on the imports of wool, the greatest frauds have been committed ; in conse- quence, little revenue has been received ujjon large im- portations, and the wool-grower has received no protec- tion. By the bill lately before the house, those frauds would have been prevented, the accruing revenue would have been increased sixfold, and the wool-grower would have had the protection of thirty, instead of five, per cent. And yet the gentleman was the zealous opponent of that bill, the professed friend of the act of 1842, the professed friend to revenue and of the wool-grower, and the professed enemy of frauds. By the census of Massa- chusetts, in 1845, $8,887,478 worth of woolen goods were manufactured ; there were 3,901 men and 3,471 women employed in the manufacture of those goods. Now, al- lowing $20 per month to each man, and $10 per month to each woman, would produce a gross amount of $1,352,- 760 ; thirty per cent, upon the goods manufactured would produce the sum of $2,066,243, or the sum of $1,313,483 more than was required to be expended in tlie labor on
140 ~ HILLSDALE HISTORY.
the whole amount of the goods. By this estimate, it will be seen that the duty in the late bill before the House would have giA^eu a protection to the woolen manufac- turer of Massachusetts to nearly twice the amount of the labor required in their business. And yet the gentleman from New York was for adding ten per cent, more to the protection of the manufacturer, and he was for denying to the wool-grower any protection against that foreign wool which has been shown to be working the destruc- tion of that grown in this country. In 1845, there were 1,01(3,230 pounds of wool raised in Massachusetts, of which, 93,218 pounds were Saxony, 487,050 pounds were merino, and 435,962 pounds of common wool. The aver- age price for which the whole sold was 32 cents per pound. The late Prime Minister of England has told us that England requires annually 70,000,000 of pounds of foreign wool to supply her consumption. I have examin- ed their price current, and find that the lowest price paid for any wool grown in Europe has been 36 cents per pound, and the highest $1.36 per pound. The whole ex- pense of delivering our wool to the English manufacturer would be less than 4 cents per pound. But, sir, the act of 1842 deprives our wool-growers of this market, by im- posing a duty of from forty to one hundred per cent, up- on the goods taken in exchange for our wool, and we are left entirely dependent upon the home market for our sales, and at the mercy of our manufacturers for our price.
Those manufa(;turers have managed to have fine wool growing introduced into Buenos Ayres. They have man- aged to get the entire control of that market. Millions of pounds of a fine grade of wool are annually imported under false invoices, cheating our revenue, and ruining our domestic wool-grower. The act of 1842 denies us the power of selling our wool in a foreign market, and leaves us exposed to fraud and management, in competing with
THE TARIFF QUESTION. 141
foreign wool at home. Sir, the o-entleman from New York says the law is sufficiently stringent, and the cnstom- house ofl&cers must be at fault if those frauds are allowed. The custom-house officers, sir, during the last year, seized upon 116 bales of that wool, fine and clean, that was im- ported as costing less than 7 cents per pound. But the law was found powerless. The fraudulent invoices were too ingeniously got up. The seizure had to be relin- quished, and the officers got laughed at for their pains. And, sir, the act that has prouuced all these consequences is a favorite law of the gentleman, and yet he is the friend of the wool-grower — a consistent statesman — a gentleman well qualified to give indignant lectures here ! But why this sudden outbreak of indi<i;nation with the <rentle man ? If he imagined that the ottensive words spoken in March applied to him, why has he lain festering under their in- fluence tillJuly ? ,May not the gentleman have taken a second sober thought upon this subject ? May he not have received some new conviction in relation to the tariff ? He had listened some weeks to the debate upon that subject before his indignant expressions were pro- mulgated. May not in that time, some change have come OA^er the vision of his dreams ? Sir, woolen manufactur- ers find it very much to their interest to have uot only wool, but other agricultural productions, at a low rate of prices. They find the tarifi" to work admirabl}- to produce such a result. As one of the allies of these manufactur- ers, the gentleman, as a matter of course, must be an ad- vocate of the act of 1842.
To my gentlemanly friend and colleague from the thir- ty-fouth district, [Mr. W. Hunt, | who made the inquiry where the charge had been matle, that the agricultur- ists were dupes and fools for tolerating tlie protective policy under certain contingencies, I will answer, that he will find it in the Monmcjuth Enquirer of New Jer- sey, published on the I'itli of March last, and addressed
3G*
142 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
to the Committee of Ways and Means, a copy of which, I j)resume, all our members have been supplied with. I am carefully preserving the document, that in future years, when men shall have begun to grow incredulous that this unjust protective policy had ever existed, and politicians under new names shall be endeavoring to avoid being identified as among its advocates, that this publication may be referred to, as an antiquity, to show what curious doctrines have prevailed in this country, and by what extraordinary arguments they have been supported.
To the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania, [Mr. Ewing,] who so good-naturedly imputed to me a want of charity, in charging gentlemen with voting for expendi- tures, when he said the Whigs had so cordially voted for all the regular appropriations, I will answer, that had they voted with all that cordiality foii only the expendi- tures that had been recommended by the Administration, or such as were justified by strong expediency, they would have deserved my thanks rather than my censure. But when I have seen them taking advantage of that amiable weakness, which I have imagined has prevailed a little on our, as well as oa the other, side of the House, viz : dem- agogueism — when I have seen them associating them- selves with men on our side of the House, who, either selfish or sectional, were disposed to log-roll it a little, and when I have seen them turn assailants themselves, and propose local expenditures which they knew the tim- idity of some of our men would not permit them to resist in the face of the cupidity of their constituents — I say, when I have seen them resorting to all these means to hitch on local, sectional, and numerous amendments to all the regular appropriation bills, they have made themselves obnoxious to the charges I have preferred against them, viz : a desire to enhance the expenses of the Government, to create a necessity for high duties.
THE TARIFF QUESTION, 143
In reply to another honorable gentleman from Penn- sylvania, [Mr. Blanehard, I who gave me a passing notice in his speech, I have to say, that if Pennsylvania repudi- ates in consequence of the repeal of the tariff, I have only to regret it ; but it will furnisli no reason for the continu- ance of an unjust law. If he thinks New Yorkers are willing to impose u[)on themselves heavy burdens that Pennsylvania may impose tonnage duties upon their iron and coal, and thereby tax New York to ])ay for puplic works in Pennsylvania, expressly built to rival her own, he will find New Yorkers, when understanding the sub- ject, consenting to no such policy. The gentleman mod- estly asks us to only let them tax us for twenty years. He will find us not consenting to it for one hour. The gentleman charges my speech with being a false theory. He says "I have deceived myself, and by my ingenuity will deceive others." I think the gentleman will find my theories to be founded on facts not easily controverted. I will say to him, how^ever, that he made a very good speech, without a fact or theory in it. He is doubtless deceived himself, but there is very little danger of Lis de- ceivins others.
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE.
SPEECH OF HON. JOHN F. COLLIN, OF NEW YORK, DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 12, 1847.
In Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on the Three Million Bill.
Mr. Collin addressed the committee as follows :
Mr. Chairman : Strange propositions, strange doctrines, and strange arguments, iiave characterized much of the proceedings of this session of Congress. Upon a propo- sition to strike from the civil and diplomatic bill the sal- ary of the President, almost all the subjects acted upon by the twenty-ninth Congress have been discussed.
A great principle of philanthropy has entered largely into our deliberations, pregnant with immense conse- quences of weal or of woe to our institutions. It has been approached by gentlemen with an apparent indifference, which I cannot feel. It has called out personal and gen- eral epithets, which I tliiuk cannot be excused ; and has been debated with a zeal, that, at least to superficial ob- servers, might be characterized with the name of vindic- tiveness. Some gentlemen on all subjects have discussed the war with Mexico— its causes, its objects, its conse- quences. Some have discussed annexation, Texas, and its boundaries. Upon these latter subjects, none have appeared to be more logical than an honorable gentleman
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE. 145
■from the State of Maine [Mr. Severance.] He endeavored to prove to us that Mexico was right and Ave wrouf^, in the war we are prosecuting. He endeavored to prove, that the President was the author of that wrong. He at- tempted to prove so, sir, if not mathematically, at least geographically. He attempted to discredit the geograph- ical references of the gentleman from Eastern Texas, [Mr. Kaufman, J by showing that those geograjihies, fixing the Kio Grande for the southern boundary of Texas, were got up only twenty-four years ago, and merely for the use of schools — merely for the purpose of teaching the rising generation where and what Texas was. His authors, however, the gentleman claims to be older and better. Some of his authors, sir, bounded Texas on the north by the Mississippi, and others fixed the northern boundary short of the Eed Kiver. Of course, then, we must pre- sume, from the gentleman's reasoning, that because his authors made the northern boundary decidedly wrong, they must have made the southern boundary unquestion- ably right. In this way the gentleman proved the Nueces to be the true boundary on the south. Having thus in- geniously proved his premises, that gentleman places his country clearly in the wrong, for having claimed to the Rio Grande. The gentleman, with equal ingenuity, casts his censures on the President. Congress, by its acts, in which the gentleman had participated, had extended its laws beyond the Nueces ; the Pi'esident, in the discharge of his duties, had sent the military to protect the terri- tory, over which those laws had been extended ; and, for- sooth, according to the gentleman's reasoning, is held highly culpable for sending military officers where Con- gress, in its majesty, had authorized the sending of civil ones.
Following somewhat the esamj^le set me by so many distinguished gentlemen, I shall not confine myself to the subject under consideration, but shall discuss some sub-
37
146 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
jects generally, and others in particular. I may, perhaps, present some suggestions, that may appear as extraordi- nary to gentlemen as theirs have appeared to me. Many of these suggestions, however, have sprung from the dic- tates of my own judgment. Their origin is humble — their fate is submitted to their merit,
Mr. Chairman, our country is engaged in a foreign war. Her sons have marched with the readiest cordiality to the scene of strife, prepared to assert her rights, and sus- tain her honor. They have endured the privations of the tented field, and the sufferings of a sickly climate. They have sacrificed the enjoyments of home, and the domestic society of friends and kindred. Whenever they have met the enemy, they have effected his discomfiture. They have vanquished him in the field, though opposed by a vast majority of numbers. They have assailed him when protected by the strongest defences, and have compelled him to capitulate. They have not only sustained the reputation of their fathers, but have given us a name be- yond what we ever before enjoyed. A large portion of the enemy's country has been overrun. Their power is now concentrated ; the final struggle must now be made, which will decide whether we can dictate reasonable terms, or have got to strive in a protracted war. These brave men have called for succor. They wish their ranks to be filled, which have been thinned by disease or the casualties of war. They wish associates to be sent to them, sufficient to enable them to meet the difficulties now to be encountered. They call for arms, munitions, provisions, clothing, pay, and all those comforts and sup- plies that a generous and wealthy country owe to those who are perilling their lives in support of her glory and her rights. Sir, the question is presented to this Con- gress whether they will respond as liberally and gener- ously in granting these supplies, as our soldiery have be- haved gallantl}^ in contending with the enemies of our
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE 147
country. I hope, sir, tliat all of us will he induced to act upon this subject, as we shall wish our histories to he read by the generations that are to come after us. Doubt- less a difference of opinion may exist as to the most ju- dicious means of raising the revenue necessary in the procurement of the supplies required. Upon this subject I have the proud satisfaction in believing that my con- stituents will approbate my voting any reasonable amount, to be raised in any waj' that may he considered most judicious, subject onl}^ to the controlling princi])los of the constitution. They have their preferences, doubt- less. They would submit, if necessary, quietly to direct taxation, but would prefer, if practicable, that it might be avoided. They would prefer an imposition of duties for revenue, as far as that can be made available for the re- quirements of the treasury, hut desire that those duties should be so imposed as not to minister to the cupidity of the few to the oppression of the many. Wishing, as I most ardently do, that our brave soldiery shall not be denied, for want of ability on the part of our treasur}, those succors which they have so reasonably required, and governed by the dictates of my own judgment and what I conceive to be the wishes of my constituents, I have been, and am, in favor of imposing a moderate duty on what has heretofore comprised our free list.
The sense of this House has not appeared to concur with me in opinion upon this subject. A special aversion has been manifested to an imposition of a duty ujjon tea and coffee. That I may not be misunderstood, here or elsewhere, I purpose to give to this matter speciallj^ a little of my attention. Sir, I am in favor of this duty, because I believe none other can be imposed which will bear more equally upon the whole people of the United States. I am in favor of it, because it does not carry witli it a corresponding tax, to he paid by the poor con- sumers for the benefit of rich producers. I am in favor
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of it because no selfisli interest can exist to oppose its re- peal, when we cease to need it for revenue. I am in favor of it, because no interests will be found convulsing the nation by trying to push the duty from twenty to one hundred per cent. I am in favor of it, because it cannot be used as a corruption fund, under the name of protec- tion, upon which aspiring demagogues may hope to ride into office. I am in favor of it, because it would not em- barrass or reduce our exports, as a large portion of this class of imports are not bought in exchange for our pro- ductions, but are paid for in cash. In fine, sir, I am favor of it, because my country is in war, and needs it as a rev- enue to support the expenses of that w^ar.
Various, doubtless, are the motives which influence gentlemen in their opposition to the imposition of«duties upon tea and Coffee. Most of them may be presumed to be governed by those of the purest character ; and yet to me it seems diflicult to reconcile their conduct with prin- ciples of justice and common sense.
They express themselves opposed to the duty, because it imposes a tax, in common with others, upon the poor man ; and yet they have voted to increase the duty on the material of which the coat is made which he wears at his dail}^ toil, and when, too, the tax on the material of that coat already exceeds that of a twenty per cent, duty on the yearly consumption of tea and coffee for his whole family. Sir, they express an aversion to impose a duty that may operate to tax poor nif^n ; and yet many of these very gentlemen have voted to impose a duty of seventy- five per cent, upon all the sugar the poor man mingles with his coarse food ; and have, at the same time, voted to retain in force laws which have refunded the duties to the rich on more than five hundred millions of pounds of that same sugar. Sir, they express an aversion to tax the poor man twenty per cent, on tea and cofiee, and yet they have voted to tax him fifty per cent, on all the molasses
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE 149
he has occasion to consume, and have voted at tlie same time to retain in force laws which have refunded to the rich the duties on over five hundred millions of gallons of that same molasses. Sir, as I have before said, doubtless many of those gentlemen who oppose that duty are influ- enced by the purest motives. To such I must say, that either they are mistaken in their views of public utility, and policy, or I am. Some, in their opposition may be influenced by jDrinciples of demagogism. Of such let me say to the poor man, that while they are most clamor- ous in their exjiressions of philanthropy, they need not be expected to turn on their heel to save the oppressed from public robbery. Some may be influenced by a feeling of personal animosit}', having, perhaps, been denied some office for themselves or friends ; such persons have their accounts open to be settled with their constituents. Some ma}^ be influenced solely by political partisanship ; or why should they approbate a duty as a peace measure, which they oppose as a war measure ? Some may be in- fluenced by timidity, under the name of consistency ; or why fear to vote a duty which the country needs in war, merely because they opposed it in time of peace ? Some may be influenced by a desire to build up, through sel- fishness, large political combinations ; or why vote a duty of millions more on sugar and molasses alone, than the proposed law would impose on sugar and molasses, with tea and coffee superadded '? Some may be influenced by motives entirely selfish ; or why vote a duty of one hun- dred per cent, on the cloths which the family of poor men need for their very existence, and refuse to vote a duty of twenty per cent, on tea, which is used only as a beverage ? Sir, the reasons given by some gentlemen for their acts, are as extraordinary as the motives of others appear ob- jectionable. Some base their opposition upon the fact, that a duty on tea and coffee is a tax in which poor men participate ; and vet these same gentlemen have
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voted, and doubtless would again, to tax the poor man on a large portion of his family necessaries, as high on twen- ty cents as the rich man would have had at the same time to pay on eighty cents.
Some base their opposition upon the ground, that a tax on tea and coffee would bear more heavily on the North than it would at the South, in our Union ; and yet their good sense should teach them that there is scarcely an article of import upon which that argument would op- erate less, than it does on tea and coffee. Their good sense should teach them, that if that argument was worth anything, it should operate to reduce the duty on cloths, as difference of climate alone gives a great preponderance to their consumption at the North. If that argument is worth anything, it should operate to reduce the duty on sugar, as it is a staple of the South, and a majority of it consumed at the North.
But, sir, there are other matters that should influence statesmen in the consideration of this subject. It is a conceded point, that legislation should give all consistent encouragement to the purchasers of the surplus produc- tions of our country. Now, sir, what has heretofore been our legislation upon this subject '? Seventy millions of dollars worth of our imports, which have been bought of those who have purchased eighty millions of dollars worth of our surplus productions, have been burdened with the weight of producing nine-tenths of our revenue. Whereas, fifteen millions of dollars of our imports, bought of those who refuse to buy our productions, and to whom we have to pay annually a balance of trade of about twelve millions of dollars, are admitted into our ports either almost or altogether free of duty. Is that policy just to ourselves? Is it generous to those with whom we deal? Can reasons be given why that should ever have been our policy ? To have taxed the free list would have imposed no heavier burdens upon the consumer, than the
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duty on those imports which have borne the weight of taxation. More than tliis, sir ; whatever burdens a tax on the free list would have imposed, would have gone ex- clusively into the treasury, for the common benefit of the nation ; whereas, the duties heretofore levied have im- jjosed a corresponding tax, by which the poor consumer has been compelled to pay largely to swell the already plethoric coffers of the rich. Sir, in this view of the case, principles of justice, of generosity, of economy, of philan- throp}', admonish us that that free list ought to be taxed ; and that other imports of as great or greater necessity, should be relieved from their burdens as fast as circum- stances will justify.
But perhaj^s the consideration which influences gentle- men more than all others, in their opposition to the duty upon tea and cofl'ee, is the hope that the exigencies of the war will drive the Government to a larger system of dis- criminating in the imposition of duties, thereby minister- ing to the cupidity of those, whose already attained wealth gives them an overshadowing influence in control- ing the politics of the country. To this object of these gentlemen, I am opposed by every consideration of love to my country. I oppose it because I think it highly un- just to the people. I oppose it because I thimk it vio- lates the principles of the Constitution, and is repugnant to every principle of expediency. I shall crave the indul- gence of the committee, while I dwell somewhat at large upon this branch of the subject. My attenti(m shall first be briefly given to some of the features of the policy which affects most particularly, in my estimation, the principles of the Constitution. Perhaps it may sound somewhat antiquated to appeal to the Constitution as a rule of right, (except for the protection of the citizens of our enemies,) but the time has been, when that Constitu- tion was viewed with some degree of veneration. The time has been, when its provisions were considered
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among the wisest productions of the human intellect. And we still retain the form upon taking our seats in this Hall, of swearing to its maintenance. But, sir, either I am mush mistaken in my judgment and observation, or that veneration has ceased.
I either misjudge, or a wild, unlimited system of con- struction, has caused that instrument to cease to control the legislative action of this Government. I might have wished to have given my views more generall}', and have considered other subjects in connection with my constitu- tional views, but it is a matter of some doubt whether I shall ever avail myself of an opportunity to do so.
I certainly shall not undertake to state here the many instances in which I believe our Government, in its legis- lation, has long been transcending its constitutional limits. The occasion does not now require it, and my limited time will not now allow of it. But, sir, I shall claim the indulgence of the committee while I briefly refer to some cases which are pertinent and important to the subject matter of the point I purpose to discuss.
The Constitution provides that Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and ex- cises, to pay the debts and provide for the common de- fence and general welfare of the United States, but all duties, imposts, and excises, shall be uniform throughout the United States.
Now, sir, I can discover no difference between a neg- lect to impose duties with the required uniformit}', and a partial refunding them after they have been so uniformly imposed. When a uniform duty has been imposed upon iron ; to leave that duty a tax and burden upon those who may use it for agricultural and other purposes, and to refund it to those who may use it for a railroad track, I claim to be a violation of the Constitution.
Where a uniform duty has been imposed upon West India molasses ; to leave it as a tax and burthen upon the
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poor man who uses it as a beverage to give a zest to the coarse fare of his family, and to refund it to the manu- facturer who converts it into New England rum, I con- ceive to be a viohition of the Constitution. When a uni- form duty has been imposed upon West India sugar ; to leave it a tax and a burthen upon the man who consumes it in his family, and to refund it to the manufacturer who carries it through a process of refinement, I conceive to be a violation of the Constitution. Sir, tiie framers of that clause in the Constitution which I have before quot- ed, must be presumed to have had some motive in insert- ing that clause of uniformity. And could that motive have been other than to introduce a just uniformity in the effects to be produced by the imposition of those duties — uniformity in the burdens imposed — uniformity in au}' incidental benefits accruing ? and uniformity is re- quired in the effect upon the general interests, in the direct benefits growing out of the application of the moneys received. Then, sir, discriminations in the impo- sition of duties, and particularly when not made with reference to objects of revenue, but to promote sectional or individual interests, is a violation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
To impose a duty upon one kind of iron, at a rate higher than is imposed upon another; or to impose a duty upon cloth, at a per cent, higher than is imposed upon the materials of which cloth is made ; or to impose a duty on a piece of cloth costing six cents per yard, as high as is imposed upon a piece of cloth costing twenty cents per yard, I conceive to be as much a violation of the Constitution, as an imposition of a tax upon New York, for the benefit of the nation, from which Boston might be exempted. Sir, attempts have been and may again be made, to justify discriminations for specific pur- poses under the clause in the Constitution delegating the power "to provide for the general welfare." An argu-
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ment can scarcely be couceived of a more insidious or dangerous character — one which opens the door wider than all others, to enable the rich and powerful to tram- ple upon the rights of the more feeble — one the most illimitable in its operations, and one before which the Constitution must cease to exist as anything but a shadow. What act of local interest might not be per- formed under such a construction, when the mere fiat of a majority of Congress is left to pronounce upon the con- tingent incidental consequences ? Fortunately, sir, a ques- tion of that importance is not left in doubt, but is speci- ally provided' for by the Constitution itself. By a refer- ence to that instrument, the power to provide for the general welfare is made subject to that uniform imposi- tion of duties. Let the provision speak for itself : "Con- gress shall have power to collect duties and provide for the general welfare, but all duties shall be uniform throughout the United States." In other words, if the general welfare is to be promoted through the imposition of duties, still those duties shall be uniformly imposed.
I am well aAvare that a principle of construction has been resorted to, to obviate the objection I have raised. I am well aware, sir, that it is claimed, that if the duty is made uniform on a single article throughout the United States, that a different duty may be imposed upon a dif- ferent article, or upon the same article in some sul)di- vided form, and yet the spirit of the Constitution have been complied with. Permit me, sir, to examine this principle of construction.
The Constitution says : "Congress shall liave the power to lay and collect taxes." But it does not say those taxes shall be uniform throughout States. Will any one under- take to say that Congress, under that clause, can impose a tax upon one State, from which another may be ex- empt ? No one, sir, will undertake to claim that power. Upon that same principle, then, Congress would not have
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE. 155
had the power to impose a duty upon the same article in one State, and have exempted another from its operation, even though the chiuse requiring them to be uniform had not been inserted. Then, sir, the wise men who framed our Constitution, either inserted that exemption chiuse without intendiiig it to have meaning, or it meant much more than those constructionists are willing to allow. Had any of the distributive adjectives been used, (each, every, or either,) that clause of -the Constitution might have borne the construction given. But it says, "all duties imposed," and witho.ut a violent perversion of the English language, must mean all. The word "uniform" is defined by the learned authors of our vocabularies as meaning "not variable," "not different," "conforming to one rule or mode," "having the same degree." Can, then, all duties be said to be uniform, when on the same kind of article, in one case a duty of five per cent., and in an- other a duty of forty per cent, is imposed ? Can all duties be said to be invariable, when on one article a per cent, is imposed upon a minimum valuation and a specific duty is imposed on another ? Can all duties be said not to be different, when a specific duty is imposed upon one arti- cle, and an ad valorem on another ? Can all duties in those cases be said to be conforming to one rule or mode, or as having the same degree ? Sir, it is beyond my com- prehension, how duties can be imposed upon the specific or minimum jirinciple, and be made to conform to the requirements of the Constitution. Again, sir : the Con- stitution provides that Congress shall have power to col- lect excises, and that all those excises shall be uniform throughout the States.
Should Congj-ess, under that power, impose an excise twice as high upon the manufacturers of cloth as should be imjjosed upon the manufacturers of iron, would any one undertake to justify the imposition of such an excise, upon the ground that the excise upon cloth was uniform
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throughout the States as was also the excise upou iron? I am much mistaken if such a construction would be sub- mitted to. lam much mistaken if the manufacturers of cloths would not throw themselves upon the letter of the Constitution, which says all excises shall be uniform, and would claim that no excise burdens could be constitution- ally im])osed upon them, higher than was imposed upon others in the community. Sir, if the letter of the Consti- tution had been adhered to upon these subjects, how much of wrong, that certain portions of our people have suffered, would have been obviated. How much of heart- burning would have been prevented, that has already shaken our institutions to their centre. How much of those dissensions would have been avoided, which may yet work the ruin of our nation. Sir, this doctrine of un- iformit}^ of duties is not new. It has at all times been entertained by some of the purest and ablest of our statesmen. The compromise act was the oJffsprnig of these principles. But, sir, it has been said that the com- promise act was a failure, because it did not provide a sufficiency of revenue. That failure, sir, was not in the principles of the act, but in those provisions of the act which left more than half the imports of the country free of duty. The general interests of the country were never more prosperous than under the operations of the com- promise act. To have increased the revenue, it would only have been necessary to have imposed the uniform duties upon the free list ; and instead of fifteen millions of dollars, over thirty millions would have been annually produced. I shall now claim to be indulged with looking at the policy of discriminating in duties to promote indi- vidual interests, upon principles of expediency. In con- nection with that policy it is contended, that unless our people are restrained by discriminating duties in their foreign intercourse, they will work our national ruin. The time has been when the people of this country
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were thought to be capable of self-government ; when they were thought to be capable of dictating not only what our statute laws, but what our fundamental laws, should be. And shall it now be said, that they must be restrained in their choice of whom they shall buy and to whom they shall sell, and that, too, by arbitrary laws, justified only by the most violent principles of construc- tion '?
The time has been when it was thoiight to be the work of wisdom to devise means to conduct our Government upon principles of economy. The time has been when it would have been considered a most hapjDy and desirable consummation, if the operations of our Government could have been carried on without any considerable expendi- ture. But, sir, the advocates of discriminating in duties must consider such consummation to be the most disas- trous. For if we had but little expenditure, we should require but little of duties. And of course, if it is of great importance, when our expenditures are large, that a high system of discriminations are necessary, in order to save us from ruin, in raising the means to pay those expenses, what overwhelming ruin must be our fate if some system of legislation should be adopted to save us from those expenses ? It has been a proverb in England, that a na- tional debt is a national blessing. With some it must be a proverb here, that nati(nial extravagance is our national salvation. Consistent with their expressed views of pub- lic policy, do we not see the friends of the policy of dis- crimination resorting to the broadest principles of con- struction, and all other means, in order to enhance our Government expenditures '? It is claimed that discimiua- tions in duties must be made for the benefit of manufac- turers, in consequence of the higher rates of interest in this country, than is idhnved on capital in Europe. Those discriminations are also claimed, in consequence of the higher price of labor that prevails in this country than is
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paid in Europe. That we may understand and appreci- ate the justice of these claims, I will refer to the statis- tics of the State of Massachusetts. In 1845, the labor of 128,013 men, women, and children, with a capital of $45,- 101,217, produced $87,924,083 worth of income. During the same year, the whole agricultural population, with a capital amounting to the value of all the lands in the State, produced only the income of $12,667,625.
In agriculture, the yearl}^ labor of one man produced one hundred and eighty- three dollars income.
In manufactures, the yeaidy labor of one person (aver- aged between men, women, and children) produced an in- come of seven hundred and fifty dollars each.
Agriculture required four hundred dollars capital to produce one hundred dollars income.
Manufactures required only fifty-two dollars of capi- tal to produce one hundred dollars income.
Agriculture required eighty dollars of labor to produce one hundred dollars of income.
Manufactures required only twenty-five dollars of labor to produce one hundred dollars of income.
In agriculture the interest at six per cent, on the capi- tal necessary in the production of one hundred dollars in- come, would have been twenty -four dollars ; whereas the interest on the capital necessary to produce that income in manufactures, would have been only three dollars twelve cents.
The tax, at the rate of fifty cents on the one hundred dollars on the same capital in agriculture, would have been two dollars ; whereas, in manufactures, it would have been only twenty-five cents-
To look, sir, at this subject abbreviated. On expense in labor, manufactures stands to agriculture as twenty- five dollars is to eighty dollars ; on capital, as fifty-two dollars is to four hundred dollars ; on interest, as three dollars twelve cents is to twenty-four dollars ; on taxes,
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE. 159
as twenty-five cents is to two dollars. And, yet, sir, this doctrine of discrimination proposes to tax the capital and labor of agriculture, for the benefit of the owners of capi- tal in manufactures. It is contended, sir, that to bestow special legislative favor to manufactures, will bestow special protection to labor in tliis country. This sugges- tion can be best understood by a reference to the financial report of the Secretary of the Treasury at the last session of Congress. Almost every answer of manufacturers from almost every State in the Union, in that report, tells us that improvements in machinery have reduced the ex- pense of manufacturing about thirty per cent. Almost all tell us that for the last thirty years the wages of labor have remained stationary. Wages were the same when duties were at 40, 70, or 100 per cent., that they were when only at 20 per cent. Wages had remained the same when improvements had reduced the expense of manufac- turing 30 per cent., with what they had been when man- ufacturing had been most expensive. Whatever changes had been made, they all admit that laborers never enjoyed the benefits of those changes, however favorable ; but that the benefits were monopolized and enjoyed exclusively by the owners t>f capital themselves.
Sir, the advocates of discrimination in duties contend that high duties do not increase the price of the article to the consumer. So said the authors of the act of 1842 ; and yet in that very act they provided to have the duties refunded to sugar refiners and to rum manufucturers. So said the advocates of that act at the last session of Con- gress ; and yet they almost vmanimously voted to refund duties on railroad iron. Duties under that act have been refunded on over three" millions of pounds of sugar, and over four millions of gallons of molasses, during the last year. And during the past few years, over three millions of dollars have been refunded on railroad iron. Sir, un- less on sugar, molasses, and iron, the price is increased
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to tlie amount of duty imposed, a grosser act of legisla- tive injustice was never perpetrated than under tlie oper- ation of the laws refunding those duties.
But, sir, the consideration that is urged upon us with more earnestness than all others is, that discriminations for the benefit of manufacturers creates a home market for our agricultural prcxluctions. To a right understanding of this argument, we can again refer to the statistics of Massachusetts. In 1845, the manufactured products of Massachusetts amounted to $87,924,083. Discounting thirty-five per cent, (the average of duties by the act of 1842,) would give to those manufacturers a bonus, raised b}^ a tax upon the people, of $22,795,133 annually. Dis- counting twenty-four per cent., (the average of duties by the act of 1846,) gives annually to those manufacturers a bonus of $17,017,565 Now, then, suppose the agricul- tural productions consumed in this country to be annually $800,000,000 ; suppose the population of Massachusetts to be one twenty-fifth of the whole, as it is nearly ; sup- pose one-third of that population to be employed in man- ufacturing : — then, sir, the manufacturing population would be one-eightieth of that of the United States, and may be expected to consume one-eightieth of those agri- cultural productions. Upon that basis of calculation the manufacturing population of Massachusetts would con- sume annually $10,000,000 worth of our products of agri- culture. That, sir, is the value of that home market. Under the policy recommended by gentlemen, we have paid over $22,000,000 annually, and shall still pay over $17,000,000 annually, for a market to consume annu- ally only $10,000,000 worth of products. I ask gen- tlemen to look at this view of the subject. If they call this calculation theorizing, I ask them how facts and fig- ures can ever be made to produce demonstration '? Upon this basis of calculation, we have been paying to tlie manufacturers of this country, under the name of pro-
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE. IGl
tection, over $48,000,0(>0 annually more than the whole amount of agricultural productions which they have or can consume. Is it suprising, then, sir, that under this system of creating home markets, in the language of the gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. Hudson,] agricul- ture has not retained its proportion to the growing ])opu- latiou of the country? Is it surprising that the agricul- tural population of New York has diminished within the last five years ? Is it surprising that agricultural pro- ducts generally had depreciated in price over forty per cent, since 1841, or that the gross value of the agricultu- ral products of New York was worth many millions less in 1845 than they were in 1840 ? Is it surprising that the gross value of agricultural products had diminished in Massachusetts near four millions of dollars between 1841 and 1842, as the census shows ? Is it surprising that nine millions of pounds of wool grown in New York was worth more, by $700,000, in 1840, than thirteen millions of pounds of wool is worth at the present prices ? Is it at all surprising that manufactures have advanced beyond the proi)ortion of our growing population during this same time? Is it not surprising, sir, that the people of this country have so long tolerated a system so unequal, so oppressive, so unjust?
In common with my brother farmers, I have felt the blighting influences of this policy. I have listened to their cunningly-devised fables and falsehoods, which have been resorted to to blind us to the causes which have robbed us of the fruits of our toil, and pushed us on the road to adversit}^ I have witnessed the violent struggles by which a modification of policy has been resisted. I have seen with what desperate energy the attempt has been made to retain upon us a policy of revenue more highly oj)pressive than was then existing in any nation on the face of the earth. I believe it is a desire to restore that policy, which is one of the strongest motives in op-
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posing a duty upon tea and coffee. I believe the levying that duty for the purposes of the war will assist in pro- tecting VIS against the reestablishment of that or a similar policy. It is this conviction that has prompted me in go- ing more largely int* > this subject than I otherwise should have done.
Avarice, sir, was never satisfied by indulgence, nor am- bition surfeited by gratification. Those who have enjoyed contributions upon the people for the last quarter of a century, will not quietly submit to a deprivation of any of their spoils. Office-seekers and legislators will be found willing to make with them common cause. There will be "an effort to put again upon us the yoke of 1842. The struggle must come. Whether at this session, the next, or after the nation has been convulsed at another election, I know not ; but the struggle will come. To the friends of justice, of the people's rights, of their country's good, we must look to save us again from the vortex of oppres- sion.
But, sir, if the doctrine of special and partial legisla- tion is to be insisted upon — if the doctrine of legislative protection is to prevail in this country, then, certainly, its benefits should not be confined to the few, but should be directly for the benefit of the greater portion, if not for the whole of our population. No considerable interest should be left to the uncertain tenure of contingent, incidental consequences. Under this view of the case, the agricul- tural interest should be one specially to receive the direct benefits, by way of legislation. I will venture to suggest, then, the propriety of ascertaining the average export valuation oti all the staple articles of agriculture, for the last ten years ; the the grain, flour, wool, provisions, &c,, of the North ; the cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar, &c., of the South. And upon that average valution to give an ex- port bounty equal to one half of the average per cent, duty imposed upon imports. This bounty would be
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special protection to agriculture, which gives employ- ment to three-fourths of our population. At the same time manufactures would enjoy the protection of the duties, and commerce would enjoy the increased exports and imports which a sj'-stem of bounties may be presumed to create. Now, sir, what objection can be raised to this system of protection by the advocates of that doctrine? It cannot be said to be new. I cannot claim the merit of origiualit}' in proposing it. We give to fishermen boun- ties, and why are the hardy sons of the ocean any more subjects of bounty than those of the field ? We give to rum makers and sugar refiners bounties, by way of re- funded duties ; why are not the producers of flour, meat, wool, and cotton, equally subjects of such bounty '? If it is called refunding duties on raw matierial, in one case ; in the other, if you please, call it refunding duties on the cloth, iron, sugar, molasses, salt, spices, <fcc., consumed by the cultivators of the soil. If the wealthy owners of j-ail- road stocks are deserving of the millions of bounties which they have received, why is not much more so that portion of our population whose sweat and toil procures for us the means of subsistence ? New York also sets us the example of giving bounties to the manufacturers of salt. But, sir, we have another example set us upon this subject, inviting our imitation ; an example hallowed by time, and recommended by long experiment. During the arbitrary reigns of the Tudors and Stuarts in England, agricultural exports were not only subject to duty, but the exporter was under the necessity of purchasing a license. But in 1089, when liberty had commenced to dawn upon the British empire, the laws requiring duties and licenses were repealed, and others passed, bestowing bounties upon the exportation of agricultural productions. In 1750, sixty-one years after the passage of those laws, we find that sixteen hundred thousand dollars was paid in one year, the bounties upon agricultural exports. I
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believe that law now stands in force upon their statute- book, but for near half a century has been a dead letter, as their increased population has rendered their limited territory unequal to its required supplies.
Sir, no reason can be given in favor of protecting any interest in this country which would not apply in an emi- nent degree in favor of the extension of direct protection to agriculture. Should protection be given where capi- tal is required to be large in proportion to its income ? For that cause, agriculture requires it more than any other interest. Should protection be given where labor is most expensive ? It is most expensive in agriculture. Is it desirable to procure increased wages for laborers ? While in manufactures, whatever protection they may have enjoyed, the wages of laborers have remained sta- tionary, in agriculture, increased wages follow increased prices, as certainly as the muttering thunder follows the lightning's flash. Do we wish to be independent of other nations ? Do we wish more — do we wish other nations to be dependent upon us ? Then, instead of restricting, we ought to facilitate our intercourse with the whole commercial world. Adopt a policy such as I am now suggesting, and all nations will look to and depend upon us to supply their deficiencies. Our every variety of climate, our unequalled fertility of soil, our territory of almost limitless extent, would enable us, by proper legis- lative protection, to become the granary of the world. That protection, sir, should not only be in bounties be- stowed, bat exemption from unreasonable burdens im- posed for the benefit of others.
If an objection should be raised to the system I have proposed, m consequence of the effect it may have upon revenue, I answer, it is an experiment well worth the try- ing, to ' see whether the increased importations, conse- quent upon the facilities which bounties would bestow upon exports, would not actually increase the amount
DUTY ON TEA AND COFFEE. 165
of revenue available to the Government. But should it not be so increased ; should the amount of rev- enue over the bounties be only sufficient to pay the ordi- nary expenses of the Government, the great agricultural interest, embracing the largest portion of our population, and subject to pay the greatest proportion of our national expenditures, if favored with bounties, would not hesitate to have all extraordinary exj)enses paid by direct taxa- tion. More than this: agriculturists might discover it to be to their interest to have the whole government expen- diture paid by taxation, and would be satisfied to have no more duties collected than were necessary to pay the bounties allowed. Manufacturers would soon discover that this system would be holding to their lips the cup they have so freely urged upon others. I say to the ad- vocates of protection, that my policy, if objectionable, is less so than theirs. Mine would confer direct benefits upon a large majority of the people ; theirs only upon a limited minorit}'. If, however, this policy is objected to, then let this subject be met on common ground. Let the whole system of protection be abandoned ; let the busi- ness of the country be governed by the laws of trade ; let agriculturists be freed from the oppressions and embar- rassments of partial legislation, and they will ask noth- ing for themselves. Give tiiem but a fair field in the markets of the world, and they will never be the suppli- ants for legislative favor.
It is urged here, that our whole system of legislation has been characterized by extending }n'otection to manu- factures. I ask gentlemen to look, and see whether a paragraph can be found upon our statute books in which any direct 'or even indirect provision has been made to benefit agriculture. Why this partiality then ? Is not agriculture the first and most important interest in our country '? Is it not shown, that if any interest is deserv- ing of or needing protection, that interest is the agricul-
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166 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
tural ? Then, sir, if any system of legislative protection is again introduced into our Halls of Legislation, the agriculturist should be the recipient. By so doing, we should wipe out a blemish that now characterizes the legislative history of our country.
THE COMING ISSUE.
A COMMUNICATION FROM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, JUNE 28tH, 1883.
The compromise act of 1850 ajBQrming the first princi- ples of our government was the crowning glory of Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Douglass and their immortal associ- ates. That compromise continued in operation till 1860 when it was universally conceded that our government was the best that heaven ever blest a people with, and it was proverbial that the constitution upon which it was founded was wise above the age in which it was written. The only cloud upon us was the vile reciprocity act under which Canadian agricultural products were admitted into our markets free of duty in exchange for the free access of the people of New England to the Canadian fishing grounds. It is an official fact that the fish thus taken were exchanged in the West Indies for molasses to be distilled into rum to be used as the main spring to the African slave trade. Aside of that Canadian tonnage that of the United States employed in our commerce exceeded that of all other countries nearly four-fold. I have be- fore me the official report of 1857 in which the commer- cial tonnage of the United States was 4,580,651 tons, whereas that of all other countries except Canada was 1,385,520 tons. At the same time the products of agricul- ture exceeded that of all other industries by over $500,- 000,000. Tlien robustuous Democrats divided the Demo-
168 . HILLSDALE HISTORY,
cratic party and Republicans got possession of the sword and purse of the government, although at the election they polled only about 1,800,000 votes out of over 4,000,- 000. In less than two months after being in possession of that sword and purse and in violation of all the pro- visions of the constitution they involved the country in the most lamentable civil war that ever disgraced human- ity. And with that sword and purse they have continued their control for over twenty years. The effect has been that by the official report of 1881, which I have before me, commerce in American ships for that year has been only 2,844,678 tons while in foreign ships it has been 11,569,- 679 tons, o*r five foreign to one American. And the pro- ducts of the manufacturers are two fold greater than those of the farmers and the annual expenses of the gov- ernment have been raised from $60,000,000 to over $400,- 000,000, and nine-tenths of the burden of that expenditure has been imposed upon agriculture. The policy that has produced these effects are still favored by Republicans and its perpetuity they declare to be their great political issue in the future. They must have a protective tariff of fifty per cent, for the protection of their labor when twenty-five per cent, constitutes more than all the labor invested in their manufactured productions. They must have that protective tariff though it has already crushed the life out of oar commerce in American ships and is rapidly crushing the life out of United States agriculture, and has made half the wealth of the people consist of debts on the stocks of corporations, and has enabled them to usurp of the public domain a quantity exceeding that of the states at the formation of the Union, and has stirred up hatred between the states and has converted the Union into a collection of states held together by force. Those Republicans receiving aid and comfort from a multitude of side issues and robustous Democrats have been now claiming that the constitution was a cheat
THE COMING ISSUE. 169
and that by suspending- the writ of Habeas Corpus at liis own volition the President becomes an absolute monarch. It certainly was upon that assumption that they com- menced the civil war. Having been shown by the 18th clause of section 8th, of article 1st of the constitution that the President possesses no such prerogative till it should be specially conferred upon him by Congress, they are now undertaking to defend their policy under the 1st clause of that section which reads : "Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States." Taxes are upon the property of the people of the United States. Excises are upon the produi;tions of the people of the United States, upon both of which the government has concurrent jurisdiction with the states. Duties and im- posts are taxes upon imported productions over which the government has sovereign control, and for the foster- ing and control of which was almost the exclusive object for the establisliment of the government. Now is it an- swering the objects of that government to destroy that commerce in American ships by usurping sovereign power over the property and productions of the people of the States, by interfering with the industry of the people through the operations of a protective tariff? Is the des- truction of that commerce in x^merican ships in accord- ance with the principles of established justice which was one of the declared oV)jects of the Constitution ? Is the heaping destructive burdens upon commerce and agricul- ture for the benefit of manufacturers acting to promote the general welfare ? Is the lieaping such burdens upon commerce and agriculture, in which three-fourths of the people are employed, giving ijrotection to the industry of the country? While considering these questions it must be borne iu mind that the treatment of tliose manufactur- ing laborers have been such under the full influence of
170 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
that protective polic}^ as to make the members of a Mas- sachusetts official bureau report that they blushed for their native State. Yet the continuance of this protec- tive tariff policy is to be the great future political issue in our country. Millions of stolen wealth, through a cor- rupted ballot box, will be used to continue that policy. If that shall become the established policy of the country the people will be in a worse condition than African slavery. The late Chinese law will be repealed and the stolen public domain and our work shops will be filled with Asiatics, under the control of men already educated for that purpose. The ballot box and bayonet will be in their hands and that of the millions of Africans already brought into our country under the influence of Boston rum. If the people would avoid such consequences they must shut their eyes to all the side issues and turn their backs upon robustuous Democrats, and with an eye single to that object go for a policy that shall confine the gov- ernment to its prerogative over commerce and diplomacy, and not have commerce taxed for anything except its or- dinary supi)ort, and have sovereignty recognized in the states over all their civil and industrial interests, and all the debts and expenses of the government, over its ordi- nary support, be imposed upon property, requiring bond holders and corporations to bear their due proportion.
It was for the expressed purpose of avoiding having commerce burdened to its injury that concurrent jurisdic- tion with the State was conferred upon Congress to tax the property of people of the States, and to impose an ex- cise upon their productions. A protective tariff lays the foundation of all the differences between Democracy and Repviblicanism.
Democracy is in favor of cultivating friendly relations with commercial nations. Republicans are in favor of provoking them into retaliations. Democrats favor culti- vating friendly relations between States. Republicans
THE COMING ISSUE. 171
favor unfriendly relations by taxing one for the benefit of another. Democrats favor cultivating favorable relations between industrial interests. Republicans favor foment- ing hatred by taxing one for the benefit of the other. Democrats favor the establishment of justice among all industrial interests. Republicans favor taxing certain in- terests for the benefit of others. Democrats favor the promotion of the general welfare. Republicans favor the promotion of certain interests by raining others. Demo- crats favor a protection of all the industrial interests, in- cluding commerce, agriculture and manufactures. Repub- licans favors a protection of manufactures at the expense of commerce and agriculture. Democrats favor a uni- form tax upon all property. Republicans favor the im- position of nine-tenths of taxation upon agriculture. Democrats are opposed to national debts. Republicans consider national debts a national blessing. Democrats honored Lord Pitt and called him a patriot for declaring in Parliament that he rejoiced that the people of America resisted in arms the encroachment of the crown upon their liberties. Republicans expelled Vallandiugham from Congress and banished him from the country and called him a copperhead for similar expressions. In fine Democrats are in favor of a Union of the States for the promotion of their commercial intercourse with foreign nations and one another. Republicans favor a collection of the States by force for 'the purpose of sacrificing that commerce to benefit a local interest.
GOVEENMENT PKEROGATIVES.
A COMMUNICATION FROM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, JULY 5tH, 1883,
That portion of the Republican party that have been pleased to call our Federal Constitution "a covenant with hell," and our flag '"hate's polluted rag," have done so because that Constitution favored African slaver}^ and they have imputed to that slavery the cause of all the great evils that have been visited upon our country. I think I have shown conclusively that Massachusetts has been the sole author of that slavery. Some of the great leaders of the Republican party have imputed to the doc- trine of states's rights or state sovereignty the cause of all the greatest evils that have been visited upon our country. I think I have shown conclusively that the doctrine of state sovereignty was the first and most im- portant principle in the Constitution, and that it was the first and most important provision in the articles of the confederation, and had been guaranteed by the Crown, and in the language of Alexander Hamilton, it was a prin- ciple that "could not be lost till the whole American peo- ple w^ere robbed of their liberties." A protective tariff is now the one great idea of Republicanism, in which un- der a different name they are sustained by Robustuous Democrats. I think I have shown conclusively that that policy violates every object for which the Constitution was made and the Union was formed. These showin<j[s
GOVERNMENT PREROGATIVES. 173
have excited against me furious prejudices and "terrible consequences" to myself have been pointed out to me if I shall persist in this opposition to Republicanism.
My attention has been called to another Kepublican idea in which it is claimed that the President has the constitutional prerogative of suspending at his own good pleasure the writ of h'lhea-'i corpnH, which would leave him in the prosession of arbitrary power, as was done under the administration of Abraham Lincoln when Valanding- ham was banished from his country for a mere expres- sion of opinion and thousands were imprisoned for the same cause, and I for the same cause might be compelled to spend my few remaining days in a dungeon. The fear of such consequences, however, will not deter me from giving my opinions upon these subjects. The doctrine that commerce and diplomacy are the sole constitutional sovereign prerogatives of our government is sufficiently established, not only by the letter of the Constitution but by our general national history, though that principle has been subject to occasional violations causing patriotic men to tremble through fear that we were in danger of the consequences predicted by Alexander Hamilton. Commerce through duties imposed upon imports was the only source of revenue provided for the support of that government in its executive, legislative, judicial, and diplomatic departments. For services that the govern- ment might render the states it had concurrent jurisdic- tion with the states to tax the property of the people and to impose an excise upon their productions in a way not to do violence to the principles of justice and the gen- eral welfare. The property upon which those taxes and excises were to be imposed concurrent with the states, now amounts to over $40,000,000,000, including bonds and the watered stocks f)f corporations. To wipe out the national and other debts contracted for the benefit of the states and all other necessary expenses, would require a
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174 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
tax of less than three mills on the dollar, a mere bagatelle to the burdens now borne under the financial policy of Republicanism.
The states under their sovereign prerogative have no right to tax commerce, under any circumstances, for their civil and diplomatic interests, and as a consequence the general government has no right to tax commerce for ser- vices rendered the states in either war or peace. Let this policy be adopted, and the government would immedi- ately become the protector instead of the destroyer of our commerce, and we should no longer have occasion to pay $140,000,000 annually to foreigners to do our commerce for us, and industry would become the true and only source of individual wealth, and strict economy would become the natural object of every man, and we should hear no more howlings for civil service reform.
THE PLAIN FACTS.
A COMMUNICATION FROM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, AUGUST 2nD, 1883.
Massachusetts politicians founded the Republican party. It was conceived in 1855 and organized in 1856 on a huge corruption fund through which the New York Tribune was endowed with a capital of $800,000, its then editors receiving the annual salary of $10,000 each. The congressional examination into the operations of the Mid- dlesex Mills Company exposed the fact that congressmen and editors were bribed by that organization. One wit- ness sul)mitted to imprisonment rather than disclose the corruptions within his knowledge. When through its corruptions that party got possession of the sword and purse of the nation it immediately plunged the states into the civil war. The executive head of the government usurped the prerogative of suspending the writ of habeas corpus and ordering the raising of large armies and invad- ing a peaceful state, and prohibiting the liberty of the press and speech even upon the floor of Congress. Their excuse for doing so was the existence of slavery in the country, and to put down what they were pleased to call the pernicious doctrine of states rights. That slavery, which they used as their excuse, had been produced through one branch of the most cherished interest of Massachusetts, as commercial records show. Massachu- setts statesmen had got it provided for in the Federal Con-
176 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
stitution, and President Garfield and President Lincoln both publicly admitted that the northern people were responsible for the existence of slavery in the country. For the opinion of Mr. Liu coin upon that subject, refer- ence may be had to page 617 of the 2d Vol. of Alexander H. Stephens' History of the Civil War. The opinion of Mr. Garfield was expressed in his speech at Cambridge, Ohio, August '27th, 1879.
Slavery having been recognized in the constitution, and State sovereignty having been the most cherished prin- ciple in the articles of the confederation, and in the Con- stitution, and in the action of the government during its whole history, the civil war, by Republican admission, was revolutionary on the part of the government. It was a wicked attempt to destroy the Federal Constitution. In the language of Alexander Hamilton, it was a wicked at- tempt to deprive the whole American people of their liberties. During President Buchanan's administration, Edwin M. Stanton gave strongest expressions against the whole Republican policy, but when made the Secretary of War by the Republican administration he put on the robustuous Democratic mantle, and adopted the most ex- treme revolutionary Republican principles. Rather than recognize the sovereignty of States by sending a flag of truce, he allowed twenty thousand killed and wounded soldiers to lay for four long days and nights upon the battle field of Manassas, the dead to rot and the wounded to suffer, although philanthropic men like Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, were begging that relief might be sent to them. When thirty thousand northern soldiers were suf- fering from the diseases of the climate at Andersonville, and many comforts and necessaries which the people of the South did not have the means to grant, the Secretary of War refused to receive a commissioner sent to negoti- ate for their relief. When one of those prisoners was sent to so negotiate. Secretary Stanton refused to ex-
GOVERNMENT PREROGATIVES. 177
change. He refused to send physicians with the neces- sary remedies, which the Soutliern people, by the block- ade, were deprived of, though the most solemn pledges were given that those physicians with their remedies, should be faithfully protected. He refused to send ships to Savannah to receive those prisoners without exchange, and subsequently allowed the keeper of that prison to be hung, because of the sufferings of those prisoners, when there is the most ample proof that the keeper of that prison did all that human effort could accomplish for their relief. When the war had closed Secretary Stanton caused Alexander H. Stej3hens to be arrested in his peaceful home to be confined in a dungeon in Fort Warren beneath the surface of the ground, as ap- pears on the 660th page of vol. 2d of his History. He states that if he had not been removed he would have soon died. Dr. Seaverns, the surgeon, vainly advised his removal. At last Senator Henry Wilson, of Massachu- setts, went specially to Washington and procured an or- der under the hands of President Johnson for his removal, though Secretary Stanton would not give his consent to the last.
In the interview at Hampton Boads President Lincoln expressed his willingness that Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee might negotiate the terms for closing the civil war. But he was so strongly opposed by Edwin M. Stanton and his associates that it was given up Pres- ident Lincoln again made that ju^oj^osition to his cabinet on the od of March, 1865, to which Mr. Stanton replied that if such was his policy he had better not be inaugu- rated, he having been elected a second time to the Presi- dency. Therefore Secretarj- Stanton was allowed to send instructions to General Grant to hold no communication with Gen. Lee, but to push his military operations to the utmost. That order cost at least ten thousand lives. At last, on the 9th of April, 1865, President Lincoln did
178 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
allow Gen. Grant to negotiate with Gen. Lee the terms of surrender for which in four clays time President Lincoln was assassinated, and to conceal the authorship of that assassination Mrs. Suratt, an innocent woman, was hung by the order of a military court in which James A. Gar- field was a member, associated with other high officials of the Republican party. For attem])ting to carry out the policy of President Lincoln in opposition to Secretary Stanton, President Johnson was impeached and came near being removed from the Presidential chair. During the fiscal year ending in 1865 the Southern Confederacy had only 175,000 men in the field while the Government had 1,050,000 men. The Southern Confederacy were de- siring peace. But Secretary Stanton would not receive their envoys. On the contrary he called for a half million more men, and James A. Garfield being at the head of the military committee in Congress, granted his request and the men were commvited for at the rate of eight hundred dollars for each individual. The consequence was that though the war during that year was languishing to its close, the military ex})enses were over three hundred and forty millions of dollars more than any other year of its prosecution. Another fact is developed. While the rev- enues to the treasury during that year were but a trifie greater than other years, it shows conclusively that at least three hundred millions of dollars of that commuta- tion money passed into the pockets of those who were controlling the operations of the government, which ex- plains the mystery of their enormous wealth. The act calling for that half million of men was drawn by the committee in a way to accommodate the stealing of the commutation money instead of its going to the treasury. Republican policy caused that closing year of the war to cost the people of the States more money than the whole Crimean war cost England, France, Turkey and Russia. The Republican protective policy of burdening commerce
GOVERNMENT PREROGATIVES. 179
by imposing a fifty per cent, duty upon certain imports in order to enable the infant manufacture of $5,300,000,- 000. of products to stand alone, now costs the people of the United States, annually, more than the Crimean war cost all those nations in Europe. The continuance of that pro- tective policy is to be the great political issue which re- publicans and robustuous democrats are to unite in con- tending for.
KOBUSTUOUS DEMOCEACY. .
•A COMMUNICATION FEOM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, AUGUST 15tH, 1883.
The celebration of the Fourth of July will ever be a mockery so long as j)olitical Republicanism with its ante- cedents and its boasted protective policy shall be in the ascendant. Among the circumstances Avhich has sjDecially called my attention to this subject, is a recently received insulting and threatening letter, upon a subject that con- cerns the reputation of our town and upon which I may have occasion to say much in the future that may not meet the apjjrobation of the gentlemanly writer of the letter. This political Republicanism is now based upon a triumverate consisting of Stalwart and Half-breed Re- publicans and Robustuous Democrats, their only differ- ence consisting in their furious pursuit of spoils.
Aaron Burr was the first distinguished Robustuous Democrat. The Federalists in making him their candi- date for Governor boasted in the Hudson Balance of the '21th of April, 1801, that, "by his merit he had raised from the dust and ashes of Democratic obloquy," and that "in comparison to him Morgan Lewis was contempt- ible," though in history Morgan Lewis stands to-day among the most patriotic of this or any other country, while it will be a favor to Aaron Burr when oblivion shall cover his name.
Dewitt Clinton was the next most distinguished Robus-
ROBUSTUOUS DEMOCRACY. 181
tuous Democrat, honored as a Federal candidate for Gov- ernor against Daniel D. Tompkins who sacrificed his own interest in the w^ar of 1812, while Clinton affiliated with those who made common cause with the enemy.
The patrons of the Wilmot proviso were among the next most distinguished Robustuous Democrats, and only the strong bolts to my door prevented my being carried by force into one of their assemblies in which their how- lings corroborated the statements of the servant, that they were all with only one exception ridiculously drunk.
My next experience with Robustuous Democrats was in my refusal to meet with them in Hudson when they were affiliating witii Republicans in instituting tlie late civil war. The Republican organ was then denouncing woe upon those who talked constitution or conciliation upon that occasion. The characteristics of Republicans and robustuous Democrats united are exhibited in the commencement of the civil war, and in the invasion of Virginia without any earthly excuse and in violation of the principles of the constitution, and in their neglect of twenty thousand wounded and slaughtered soldiers on the battle field of Manasses for four long days and nights, and in their subsequent treatment of Robert E. Lee, who on that occasion set ten thousand captured soldiers at liberty, and did what he could to relieve the wounded and in marking their graves and in sending word to their kindred, of which a son of William Chamberlin, of Red Hook, in Dutchess county, is an example. For these acts of humanity and his defence of the sovereign rights of Virginia his property has been confiscated, his splendid park converted into a national cemetery, and his life was saved by Abraham Lincoln at the sacrifice of his own by the hand of an assassin. The blood of Washington flowed in the veins of Robert E. Lee, and under the inspiration of the muse it may be said of him —
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"Ever glorious Virginian, the best of the good,
So simple in heart, so sublime in the rest, With all that a Washington wanted endued,
And his rival and victor in all he possessed."
The horrid neglect of slaughtered soldiers on the fields, of Manasses occurred through the instrumentality of Ed- win M. Stanton, a chief among the robustuous Democ- racy. When the casualties of war had driven thirty thousand unacclimated captured soldiers to a prison pen at Anderson ville, which had only been provided for ten thousand, he refused to exchange for them, and then re- fused to send ships to Savannah for them when their re- lease was offered gratuitously. In consequence nearly half of them perished. He got from one of those priso- ners (Dorance Atwater), his record of their sufferings, and then sent him to a prison for his attempt to reposses him- self of that record, and subsequently, under pretense of sending him to a consulate appointment on an Island in the Pacific ocean, he was never heard of after. Stanton, Preston King, and others of those prominent robustuous Democrats went to premature graves.
When the civil war had virtually come to a close, and the government had a million men in the field, it was a robustuous Democrat who proposed and caused the peo- ple to be taxed four hundred million dollars under a call for five hundred thousand men, Mr. Stanton still being Secretary of War, and James A. Garfield being at the head of the committee upon military affairs. Had the financial policy contemplated in the constitution been in the ascendant none of those atrocities would ever have occurred. In fact, the civil war would never had an exis- tence. Had only the ordinary Executive, Legislative, Judicial and Diplomatic expenses of the government been imposed upon commerce ; and all other expenses been paid by a tax upon property justly imposed, none of those evils would ever have been visited upon the countrj' ; and
ROBUSTUOUS DEMOCRACY. 183
agriculture, instead of paying nine-tenths of the expenses of tiie government, would only have had to pay oue- fourtli. Had those expenses of the government been paid by an excise upon net incomes, agriculture instead of paying nine-tenths, would only have had to pay one-eighth and the expenses themselves would not have exceeded one-fourth of what they now are. Bonds and stocks com- prising one-half the wealth of the people, would have to pay one-half the government expenses if borne under a tax, and their net income, with that of commerce and man- ufactures, being so much greater than that of agriculture, would much fartlier relieve agriculture if the expenses should be borne under the imposition of an excise. Under such policy no motive would exist for increasing the ex- T uses of the government, but the reverse. Agriculture relieved from the mountain of taxation now imposed upon it, and being relieved from one half of the duties now im- posed upon the imports taken in exchange for its exports, would at once become the leading industrial interest of the country, and would control the agricultural markets of the world ; and the city of New York in its own ships would, during the present generation, become the great world's commercial emporium ; universal industry would do away with the present existing wickedness and crime ; we should hear no more of tramps, vagabonds and burg- lars. Old men, for the mere expression of opinions, would cease to be threatened with dungeons and no longer be insulted by letters from degenerated sons of once respectable towns. But if the people allow Repub- lican and robustuous Democracy to be in the ascendant, the day is not far distant when the agricultural and all others of the industrial population will be reduced to the condition of the peasantry in Ireland and India, with Asiatic and African suffrages and bayonets used to keep them in subjection. If manufacturers can not prosper in this c(3untry under
184 HILLSDALE HISTOEY.
the incidental benefit of a twenty per cent, duty upon imports, which is equivalent to the whole amount of labor expended in their production, it is time that they should go into some other employment and let those with whom we hold friendly commercial intercourse do our manufac- turing for us. Those manufacturers have enjoyed colos- sal fortunes at the sweat and toil of others long enough, esjjecially when they have used their ill-gotten gains to corrupt the people and thus ruin our civil institutions.
COUNTING THE COST.
A COMMUNICATION FROM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, AUGUST 30tH, 1883.
In an equal period the wars in Europe were never more destructive to both life and treasure than during the past thirty years. Yet that sacrifice during those thirty years has been but little over half that of the peo- ple of the United States in only about four years of the civil war. Those wars in Europe costing only $5,065,- 000,000, while the four years of civil war cost the United States $9,700,000,000, and over one million of lives, and commenced at the very period that it was the universal boast that the government of the United States was the best that Heaven ever blest a jjeople with. The cause of that war has been a subject of dispute. Some have im- puted it to the existence of slavery. But slavery had been existing for all time, and the people of the North were the authors of it, as history has demonstrated, and the unscrupulous James A. Garfield and the honest Abra- ham Lincoln both publicly admitted.
The war was commenced by the invasion of Virginia, which State had ever opposed the African slave trade and had been the author of the first free territory in the Uni- ted States, and was rapidly emancipating the slaves among its own people. Some have imputed the civil war to a desire to preserve the union of States, when in fact Massachusetts had been most prominent in the com-
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186 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
mencement of the war after having been the first to with- draw from the Union in the war of 1812, and was allowed to sneak back into the Union after the termination of that war. In fact, the civil war itself implied a destruc- tion of the Union bj substituting for it, a collection of States pinned together by bayonets. Some have imputed the civil war to what they were pleased to consider the pernicious provisions in the constitution of State Sover- eignty. Such Senator Sherman declared to be the cause of the civil war wath all its sacrifice of blood and treasure, in which declaration he is sustained by authentic history. Up to 1863 the South had been uniformly successful in the most important battles fought, and at one time had voluntarily set ten thousand prisoners free without ex- change. Then Alexander H. Stephens was appointed a commissioner to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. In his acceptance of the appointment on the 12tli of June, 1863, as appears in the second volume of his History of War, he suggested as follows :
"While in conference with the authorities at Washing- ton, I am not without hope that indirectly I could turn attention to the general adjustment of peace upon such basis as might be accepted to both parties, and stop the further effusion of blood in a contest so irrational, un- christian and so inconsistent with all recognized American principles. Of course I entertain but one idea of a basis of final settlement, which is the recognition of the sover- eignty of the States. This principle lays at the founda- tion of the American system. It was what was achieved in the war of Independence. The principle covers all that is really involved in the present issue. That the Federal government is yet ripe for such acknowledgment I by no means believe. But the time has come for a proper presentation of the question to the authorities at Washington, I do believe. While, therefore, a mission on a minor point, the greater ojie could possibly, with prudence, discretion and skill, be opened to view and in a discussion misht lead eventuallv to successful results.
COUNTING THE COST. 187
I am willing to undertake such a mission with a view to such ulterior ends. With that view I am at your ser- vice, heart and soul."
About the first of July Mr. Stephens, accompanied by Robert Ould, an agent for the exchange of prisoners, went to Newport News and from there telegraphed to Washington, where their proposition was held for two days under consideration, and the repl}^ was that no special commissioner would be received notwithstanding Mr. Stephens' credentials were not from the President of the Confederacy, but from the commander of the military department, addressed so specially to obviate any techni- cality in respect to a recognitioii of the confederacy.
That result protracted the Avar for the two long years more. Having five soldiers in the field to only one of the confederacy, and having the government treasury at com- mand, while the confederacy had only that of an impover- ished people, it enabled the government to lay waste by fire and sword all the States of the South, and to burn their cities, as was the case with Atlanta and Columbia. It cost the sacrifice of another half million of lives and five thousand millions of treasure. While robbing the people of the South of all their moveable property, the people of the North were robbed of four hundred millions by the calling for one half million of men and commuting for them at the rate of eight hundred dollars each. It pro- duced the horrid scenes of Andersonville, and to conceal the horrors of which Dorance Atwater was robbed of his diary and doubtless his life. It enabled corporations to rob the government of the public domain and raise the wealth of the people from 116,000,000,000, invested in the industries, to $30,000,000,000, largely consisting of watered stocks. It laid the foundation of the claim that "the pernicious doctrine of States rights" had been put down by a changing the Union of the States to a collec- tion of States held together by the military force of the
188 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
government. It lias put down the pernicious doctrine of established justice by robbing certain industrial interests for the benefit of others. It has put down the pernicious doctrine of providing for the general welfare by imposing enormous burdens upon the people for the benefit of the manufacturing interests, under the name of a protective tariff.
When President Lincoln and Secretary Seward saw where these consequences and policy were tending, they sought to obviate them and to restore the original prin- ciples of the government. To that end they procured a meeting with Alexander H. Stephens and others at Hamp- ton Roads. To that end Gen. Grant and Gen. Lee were permitted and authorized to make the terms of the sur- render at Appomatox embrace the principles for restor- ing the Union. That aci of President Lincoln cost him his life in five days after the surrender, and the life of Secretary Seward was saved by a miracle. That treaty, however, saved the Union for the time, and if the protec- tive tariff policy and that of imposing all the expenses and corruptions of the Government upon commerce can be put down, the Union can be preserved for the future.
VIEWS ON THE TAEIFR
A COMMUNICATION FROM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, SEPT. 12tH, 1883.
To the same extent that a tariff incidentally confers benefits upon the manufacturing interest it imposes bur- dens upon the interest of agriculture. The tariff of 1846 averaged about twenty-four per cent, and incidentally con- ferred that amount of benefit upon the manfacturiug in- terest, and as was there shown, it was equivalent to the whole amount of labor required in the production of man- ufactures. It was a full protection against the labor in foreign manufacture, even if that foreign labor had cost nothing. Manufacturers now have not onl}- the inciden- tal but the direct benefit of fifty per cent, duty ujjon for- eign manufactures, it being double that of 1846. Agri- culture bears ninety per cent, of the burden of these duties, as a free list of over $200,000,000 protects the manufac- turer from any considerable portion of these duties. As the productions of the manufacturers exceeds $5,300,000,- 000 annually, the incidental benefit accruing from a duty of fifty per cent, would exceed $2,500,000,000 annually. As half the population is agricultural, half that burden would of course fall upon agriculture in addition to its having to pay the ninety per cent, duty upon the foreign imports.
It was this view of the subject that induced the ever honored and now lamented Jeremiah S. Black, to call it robbery that agriculture had to bear ninety per cent, of
43*
190 HILLSDALE HISTORY.
the burdens of the government. Following the example of the government our county imposes near ninety per cent, of its burdens upon the agricultural interest. For an agricultural town with an income of less than $200,000, ]3ays twice as much tax as a manufacturing town with an income of at least $2,000,000.
A tariff of fifty per cent, for the special benefit of the manufacturing interest has been and is now publicly de- clared to be the great one idea of Republicans. Demo- cratic conventions are now adopting resolutions in favor of a tariff for revenue necessary for the support of the Federal Government economically administered. This of course is all right so far as the Executive, Legislative, Judicial and Diplomatic existence of the government are concerned, but should not apply for the action of the gov- ernment in any capacity, and particularly for its action for the interests of the States. It should not apply lor the expenses of the credit mobillier nor the payment of the debt contracted for it. It should not apply to pay commissions to a syndicate for a mere profession of trans- ferring $1,700,000,000 of government liabilities to foreign lands. It should not apply to a civil war got up on ac- count of the existence of slavery, or for the purpose of putting down the doctrine of states rights, or for the pur- pose of changing the union of states to a collection of states held together by military force. It should not ap- ply to pay a pension list of hundreds of millions of dol- lars annually accruing as a consequence of either civil or foreign war. All such expenses should be paid by a tax upon property or by an excise upon incomes, in which cases over half at least of such burdens would fall upon the bonds or watered stocks of soulless corporations, which in a majority of cases are the creatures of knavish legislation. Whereas a tax upon imports falls to the great- est extent upon the laboring poor, particularly those en- gaged in agricultural pursuits.
VIEWS ON THE TARIFF. 191
Since it is considered a grievance that tlie hand labor of the inmates of our penitentiaries should come in com- petition with the machine labor of our manufacturers, I would inquire whether it would not be better to impose a tariff of fifty per cent, upon the productions from those penitentiaries, rather than to suspend their labor alto- gether, and thereby increase the burden upon agriculture for their support.
The labor of those inmates pay a very respectable profit over and above the whole expenses of those peniten- tiaries, but perhaps not enough to satisfy the greed of manufacturers. So not to expose those inmates to the demoralizing influence of indolence I propose the fifty per cent, tariff.
FREE CANALS.
A COMMUNICATION FROM MR. JOHN F. COLLIN, PUBLISHED IN THE HUDSON GAZETTE, SEPTEMBER 19tH, 1883.
There are in the State of New York about 580 miles of canals, which cost near $80,000,000. By a constitutional amendment their navigation has now been made free at an annual expense to the State of near $900,000. That free navigation is claimed to have added 196,318 tons to the business on the canals during the past season. As the general government for long years allowed tonnage bounties to the New England fisheries, if it would allow tonnage bounties upon the canals it would relieve the State of New York from tliat $900,000 of annual exj^ense and would gladden the hearts of all the farmers in British North America, who intend to monopolize the grain mar- kets of the world, upon the completion of the Canadian Pacific railroad. Another reciprocity arrangement would aid very much in the realization of their intentions. It consisted in allowing the free importation into the States of all Canadian agricultural production in reciprocation to allowing New England fishermen free access to the British North American fishing grounds. Such an ar- rangement, while supplying the people of the States with cheap agricultural productions, would vastly increase the exportation of New England fish. It would vastly in- crease the importation of cheap West India molasses. It would vastly increase the distillation of Bost(m rum. It
FREE CANALS 193
would vastly increase the facilities for the East African slave trade, of whicii Boston rum is the mainspring.
As the constitutional amendment in respect to the canals has so greatly increased the tonnage on those canals, so Avill a constitutional amendment in respect to convict labor in our penitentiaries probably vastly in- crease the number of the occupants of those penitenti- aries, for if the tramps and vagabonds who are overrunn- ing our countr}^ can be housed, fed and cared for in gen- tlemanly idleness during winter they could obtain such accommodations by the simple robbing of hen roosts or other petit larcenies. They might be induced to commit those crimes for the express purpose of enjoying those ac- commodations. As a substitute to that proposed consti- tutional amendment I will suggest the idea of imposing a protective tariflf of fifty per cent, upon the productions of the laborer in those penitentiaries in order to enable our "infant manufacturers" to stand alone. That policy can- not be objected to by those who believe that the government has a right to interfere with the industry of the people anywhere. It can not be objected to by those who approbate a protective tariff under any circum- stances. It can not be objected to by those who think the government can under the internal improvement policy enter States without their consent in order to make Goose Creeks navigable. It can not be objected to by those who think it a farce for the Government to obtain the consent of States in order to erect forts or lighthouses within their limits. It can not be objected to by those who consider State rights to be the infamous doctrine of the old Bourbon democracy.
MANUFACTURES OF THE UNITED STATES.
FROM THE CENSUS OF 1880, PUBLISHED IN THE PHILMONT SENTINEL, AUGUST . 8tH, 1883.
The census of 1880 makes the following showing :
Hands No.
Industries. employed. Wages paid. est'b.
Iron and steel, 306,958 $128,787,924 6,498
Lumber and wood, 244,926 79,848,837 38,090
Cotton and mixed
textiles, 228,843 58,931,172 1,475
Mens' and womens' clothing,
Woolen goods,
Boots and shoes,
Carriages & smithing.
Tobacco, etc..
Brick, tile, etc.,
Furniture and up- holstery,
Leather, harness, etc.,
Printing & Publishing,
Flour and grist mill products.
Agricultural implem'ts,
Shipbuilding,
Total 1,844,102 $627,708,634 182,960
|
185,945 |
52,541,358 |
6,728 |
|
169,897 |
49,259,324 |
3,390 |
|
128,635 |
52,252,127 |
18,390 |
|
104,718 |
38,185,271 |
43,122 |
|
87,587 |
25,054,457 |
7,674 |
|
67,203 |
13,764,723 |
5,695 |
|
64,127 |
26,571,831 |
6,087 |
|
63,136 |
25,081,913 |
13,708 |
|
62,800 |
32,838,959 |
3,634 |
|
58,401 |
17,422,316 |
24,338 |
|
39,580 |
15,359,610 |
1,943 |
|
21,341 |
12,713,813 |
2,188 |
UNITED STATES MANUFACTURES.
195
The total number of hands employed in all the indus- tries in the census year (1880) was 2,738,859 ; the aggre- gate of wages paid was $947,958,795, and total number of establishments is given at 253,852. The statistics of iron and steel manufactures include blast furnaces, bloomeries forges, rolling mills, steel works, forge products, ma- chinery, and finished and ornamental iron work of all kinds ; of lumber, sawed, planed, turned, carved, sash, doors and blinds ; brick and tile include drain pipe and terra-cotta statistics, and printing and publishing incor- porates lithographing. The following table exhibits the leading industries in order of annual value of products :
Industries
Iron and steel, Flour and grist mill
products. Lumber and wood. Cotton and mixed textiles. Woolen goods, Men's and women's
clothing, Leather, harness, etc.. Boots and shoes. Carriage and smithing, Tobaccos, etc., Printing and publishing, Furniture and upholstery. Agricultural implements, Shipbuilding, Brick, tile, etc..
Value annual Value mater- products, ials used.
$551,543,109 $319,594,960
505.185,712 441,545,'225
401,715,968 245,986,332
277,172,086 150,993,278
271,916,746 166,640,753
241,553,254 150,922,509
241,056,230 177,821,175
207,387,903 122,542,745
139,410,873 57,522,275
118,670,166 65,384,407
97,701,679 35,216,159
85,004,618 40,005,090
68,640,486 31,531,170
36,880,327 19,736,358
33,868,131 10,119,738
Total,
$3,284,527,288 $2,035,561,974
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