Saving the Glebe House

delivering the wheat, doing the riding and plowing, driving the oxen and furnishing the fowls, but this practice gradually died out, and after that time the farmer paid in cash whatever the market value of the wheat was.

The fluctuating charges for wheat, for instance on a certain lease, ran from a high price of $38.75, to a year when the same number of bushels of wheat was only worth $16.25.

The price of fowls was substantially fixed at two for a quarter,— somewhat different from the present price!

The day's riding ran from $125 to $1.75.

Some of the leases on the larger farms paid in wheat value for certain years up to $65.00 or $70.00 and among the leases which the writer personally had to do with (as it was a separate lease for a tenant house) provided for the payment of a quarter of a bushel, which one year was as low as eighteen cents. Nevertheless that tenant and the others had no absolute title until the lease was released by Morgan Lewis or his heirs, and a deed given.

The earliest lease that I found on record given by General Lewis was in 1782, but the lease book, which the writer has, mentions many leases made back of that time and one in 1774.

At the time that the writer took possession of the lease book there were 17 leases in full force, but in 1917 Mrs. Ogden Mills, a direct descendent of General Lewis, with Mr. Ogden Mills and the writer, visited all the properties and those tenants who desired were given an opportunity to purchase the titles and receive deeds. Most of them took advantage of the offer as most of them had been anxious to have it for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Mills were very considerate in making these adjustments and in some cases made no charge whatever to the tenant; in others the tenants paid for the drawing of the papers, while in still others the tenants paid small sums.

Two leases are still in existence, one given in 1805 and the other in 1808.

Some old Dutchess County names appear in the lease book, such as the following: Ackert, Asher, Cookingham, Cramer, Cashner, Dedrick, DeWint, Eckert, Fraleigh, Fredenburgh, Frost, Hanaberg, Heermance, Henion, Markle, Maraquart, Nickel, Osstrom, Olivit, Pultz, Schultz, Schryver, Traver, VanEtten, Wager and others.

Portions taken from one of the leases read as follows: "Yielding and paying therefore yearly and every year on the first day of May in each succeeding year forever hereafter 24 bushels of good sweet merchantable winter wheat to be delivered at such convenient place, within six miles of the hereby demised premises and to such person as the said Morgan Lewis, his heirs or assigns shall from time to time direct and appoint, free, clear and discharged from all abatement or deductions for on amount of taxes of any kind of imposition or assessments and also, yielding, rendering and performing to said Morgan Lewis, his heirs and assigns, one day's work with waggon., sleigh or plow, two horses or oxen and an able

34