JOSHUA PALEN by Clifford M. Buck and William L. Talbot
In the Dutchess County Surrogates Office in File Box 769 there are two papers having to do with the settlement of the estate of Joshua Palen. There is a petition by his three brothers: Richard of Princetown, Schenectady County, N. Y.; Henry of Greenfield, Saratoga County; Elisha of Dover. They state that Joshua had gone into the Northwest Fur Company about 12 years before and hadn't been heard from for nine years and therefore was presumed to be dead. They wished to settle his estate which amounted to about $35.00. The administrators were Tunis VanKleeck, Henry Riley and Charles Butler. Dated April 29, 1814. The records of the Dutch Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie show that Hendrick Palen and Hannah Weldon had a son Joshua born Sept. 3, 1783 and baptised Sept. 21, 1783 with sponsors Aert VandeBogert and Catherin. This might have ended the matter, but in 1967 I had a letter from William L. Talbot who was working on the history of Keokuk, Iowa, inquiring about one Joshua Palen who had been with the Northwest Fur Company, had married an Indian girl and was an early settler of Keokuk and had had some "half-breed" children. There follows Mr. Talbot's article: JOSHUA PALEN In the Keokuk, Iowa, Oakland Cemetery is a white marble spire monument about five feet tall on which is inscribed "Sacred to the memory of Joshua Palen, born in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1786, died at Keokuk, Iowa, June 18, 1833." An early Lee County, Iowa, history states that Joshua was of medium stature and "what would be termed as a 'chunky' man inclined to corpulency." He was fond of dress and wore ruffled shirts and sported a gold watch. It was said that he owned three slaves who sued for their freedom and obtained the same after Palen died of cholera in 1833. His daughter Sophia was a half-breed who married a pioneer settler in Keokuk by the name of Henry J. Campbell. From research it is believed that Joshua Palen was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church at Poughkeepsie, New York, on September 21, 1783, and this record states that he was born on September 3 that same year. While the year 1783 is not the same year as that carved on his tombstone, it is presumed this is the same man, since his will, which was cleared through probate on April 29, 1814, indicates he was a fur trader working for the North West Company. It is possible that the year of birth on his tombstone may be 1783, since the marble monument has deteriorated considerably. Apparently once Joshua Palen entered into the fur trade he severed completely his family connections and never again returned or con126
