The Stone Barn at Pleasant Valley by Clifford Buck

Photo by Tony Mark, butchess Suburban Newspapers, Inc. THE STONE BARN AT PLEASANT VALLEY

by Clifford M. Buck

In the Year Book for 1931, pages 19-20, there is a brief account of the Stone Barn in Pleasant Valley. At that time the ownership had been traced back to Daniel Brown in 1841, and since then some additional information has been gained.

Mortgage Liber 19, page 386, dated May 6, 1813, indicates the property was sold by George D. and Martha Vail of Stanford to Solomon Vail for $2,300, an undivided equal half of two certain lots and was part of the farm of Pearsall Brown at his decease. The description is as follows: "Begins by edge of road that formerly ran from Poughkeepsie to Fishkill town, North 4 degrees West 50 chains to Muddy Brook mentioned in deed April 1, 1783 by Joseph Casten to Pearsall Brown and Martha . . ." It continues to give complete measurements of the two parcels which total 200 acres and is similar to the Stone Barn farm. It excepts several small parcels such as one-half to Jonathan Dean farm on the east, opposite the place most convenient, running down to the Great Wappingers Creek for watering place, and also excepts small parcels to Henry Ostrom, Elisha Masten, Calvin Wood, Samuel Belden, Jedediah Breed, and Dutchess Turnpike Cornpany.

79

From the old Northwest Quarterly, page 119, we learn that Pearsall, born July 28, 1741, was the son of Nathaniel and Eliza Brown, and on page 173, that he married, October 24, 1771, Martha Crayton. His Will appears at Dutchess County Surrogates Office, Liber D, page 176, made November 3, 1812, and proved January 4, 1813. Here he has a wife Sarah and children Daniel, Abigail Fowler deceased, with Betsy and Martha Vail. The executors are his son-in-law Solomon Vail, and son Daniel, and witnesses are Peter A. Hard, J. C. Dean, Robert Haight.

Daniel Brown died September 30, 1841, age 56, and was buried in the Friends Cemetery, Pleasant Valley. He married, according to the Dutchess Observer of October 15, 1815, Jane Ann Rowe of Pleasant Valley.

The manner by which Joseph Caston or Causton obtained this property is explained in deed Liber 4, page 397, January 21, 1744. Catherine Symes of New York City, Adolphse Phillipse of New York City and Lancaster Green of New York City were executors of Lancaster Symes to Joseph Causton.

The deed explains the patent of May 27th in the Ninth year of King William to nine men and names them. These we know as the Nine Partners. James Emmott was one of these nine men and on March 1st of the Eleventh year of King William, he sold his one-ninth share to Jacob Dekey of New York City, merchant. In the Eleventh year of King William, and in 1698, Jacob Dekey and Sarah sold one-ninth share to Lancaster Symes.

On March 30, 1713 Lancaster Symes made out his will and names as executors his wife, Adolphse Phillipse and his eldest son Hendrick. The eldest son died and he made a codicil naming his grandchild, Lancaster Green, as replacement.

In making this sale to Joseph Causton, reference is made to a map made by Richard Edsall on May 29, 1734, and that two sales had already been made by the executors, namely Lot 8 to William Welling and three others, and Lot 11 to Ezekiel Halstead and John Gedney. A "statement" granted to Joseph Causton forevermore yielding and paying therefor to our Lord and King his heirs and successors his proportionate part of the quit rent reserved in and by the letters patent aforesaid.

The Stone Barm farm lies in Lot 15 which is a lot located east of the Water Lots and West of the Great Lots. This lot is described in a document made of George S. VanVliet and is on file in the Adriance Memorial Library, Poughkeepsie.

In tracing the ownership of the farm west of the Stone Barn farm, we found deed Liber 10, page 72, April 9, 1780: John Ostrom of Kinderhook to Cornelius Humphrey of Kinderhook for 700 pounds. It is described as follows: Land in Nine Partners beginning at Northwest corner of John Bahrite; West 17 chains by Wood and by Peter Storms to East bounds of Water Lot; South to Swamp Oak at Southeast corner of Water Lot; East 17 chains by Joseph Causton; North by Joseph Causton and quit rent lands so-called (this last measurement would be along Stone Barn farm) 177

80

acres 1/2 rood, 14 perches, including houses, edifices etc., except 70 acres sold by Henry Van Gelder to Abraham Wood. The above farm is where the New West Road School is now located and the Wood farm is next south.

This same property is described in three additional records: Deed 7:158 June 11, 1774: Joseph Hegeman and Elizabeth to Henry Van Gelder for 965 pounds. Mortgage 3:381 June 13, 1774: Henry Van Gelder Hegeman. Mortgage 4L157 April 6, 1778: Henry Van Gelder to Leonard Van Kleeck. All of them mention the so-called "quit rent land"

It would thus appear that the first person to own and live on the land of the Stone Barn farm would be Pearsall Brown in 1783.

However, as the barn seems to be older than 1783, it is probable that Joseph Causton leased the land to someone who may have built a barn. One of the early maps of the Nine Partners patent shows Lot 15 in name of J. Ostrom.

The following was given to Helen Wilkinson Reynolds by George S. VanVliet:

1740 "Jacobus TerBos, his return of the last division of eighteen lots all the residue of the undivided land except the 700 acres laid out for Berrian. Lot 15 begins at the S.W. Corner of a lot now in the possession of John Ostrom by a marked tree, thence runs eastward along the several courses of Ostrom's land, to the west bounds of the thirty six lots, thence south along the said west bounds to the division line between the land of Henry Beekman and our parent, thence west along said division line to Wappingers Creek thence westerly till it comes at 17 chains distance east of the S.E. corner of the 9 water lots, thence north on a parole' line at 17 chains distance east from the water lots to the said S.W. Corner of Ostroms land, being the place of beginning.

The lot No. 15 is not closed to the southwest because the boundary between our patent and that of Rombout is not settled. Two hundred acres are reserved for the right of Mayrtie Saunders which she or her heirs may take anywhere in Lot 15 if they see not fit to keep the house and farm of Widow Allen, it was this agreed before the division."

The west bounds of the Great Lots is near Pleasant Valley Garage and looking south the line can be seen as a stonewall running up the hill on the west bounds of Travers farm.

The line between Great Lot 8 and 9 is a short distance south of the Pleasant Valley garage and runs eastward a little south of the Great Bridge over the Great Wappingers Creek.

81