Uncle Tom, Burton Coon

On the inside of the upper half door the eastern en-• trance of the mill is deeply engraved the figures 1786, the date of the erection of the mill, which is therefore one hundred years old. As in the life of every person there are three epochs, his birth, marriage and death, when he is especially the subject of conversation, so in every building when it is erected, burned or torned down, or becomes of age at one hundred years. I proposed therefore giving a short history of the building, the ground on which it stands and its successive owners as probably being of some little interest to your readers. In tracing back the title I find the land on which it stands was asubject of controversy between Chancellor Livingston and Zachariah Hoffman the elder, which controversy was finally settled by a suit at law, the Chancellor being his own attorney and Alexander Hamilton the Attorney for Hoffman. The suit was tried in the old Manor church, since taken down, which stood about a half a mile north of the Riverside Hotel in Germantown, and near to where the old graveyard now is. It resulted in the success of Hoffman and exemplified even in that day according to a descendants recollection of the family tradition the later saying that a lawyer is one who saves the estate from your opponent and keeps it himself. The Indian deed to Robert Livingston (the lord of the Manor) is dated July 18th, 1683, and a Patent issued therefor by Lieutenant Governor Tho. Dongan on the 4th day of November 1684, which grant however did not include Taghkanic, which deed from the Indians to Livingston is dated August 10th, 1685, and confirmed by patent of Dongan to Livingston on the 20th day of August 1685. In the Patent the bounds are given as commencing opposite the Catskill Creek, and running in many directions easterly, until it reaches the supposed line of the Province of Massachusetts thence southerly along that line by different courses then turning westerly finally reaches to "a straight Line Drawne from thence to the southermost Bounds or Bowcht of Roeloffe Jansens* kill and from thence by a straight Line to a place on the River (Hudson) side called Sanskahampka which lyes over against the Sawyers Creek, and on the West by Hudsons River. In the Indians deed to Livingston the sawyers creek is spelled "Sagerties" and the claim of Hoffman was that the Sawyers Kill was a small creek that empties into the Hudson River between Saugerties and Malden and which was proved to have had a saw mill once upon it. The suit going against Livingston he was obliged to commence opposite this small stream having no visible outlet into Hudson River and run to the southermost bend of Roeloffe Jansens Kill while Hoffman commenced opposite the mouth of Saugerties Creek and run to the same place on the Roeloffe Jansens and took the land between these two lines. I hence conclude that Hoffman got this much land from the Manor of Livingston. When a few years ago I was ordered to make my South line the North line of the village of Tivoli, I found by running it through it came out exactly opposite the Saqgerties Creek and the same line can be distinctly traced through the swamp. On a part of the land so located the mill was built. The title therefore is

from the Indians to Livingston in 1684, the Hoffmans by suit from Livingston 1784, Hoffman to Becker 1785, Becker to Rockefeller 1799, Rockefeller to Cantine by assignment 1808, Cantine to Marks Platner 1811, Platner to Palmer Cooke in 1813, since which time it has remained in the family. The first dam was built between the high banks east of the mill - was built of wood and about 18 ft. high. The ditch a part of the old raceway is still to be seen on the hill east of the mill. The right to flow extends to the Hoffman barn which would cover the sawmill pond and a part of Jeremiah Moore's lower mill pond. The old dam gave a fall at the mill of about 20 ft. The wooden dam having been carried away by a freshet a stone dam was built lower down on the stream where it now is and gives a fall of 12 ft. The mill seems to have been located on a North and South line by a compass as it is within a few minutes of the proper variation today and explains why it stands somewhat angular to the public road. The building is very heavily timbered, the beams of hard wood being within 3 feet of each other and 10 by 14 inches. The beam on which the stones rested is 14 by 20 inches and of course 30 feet long. All the covering (except the roof) and the floor plank are the same as they were put on a century ago, and although the floor plank are 16 inches wide so thoroughly were they seasoned that after a hundred years there is practically no opening between them. Must we place this way of drying lumber among the lost arts. The mill is 21 / 2 stories high and was intended for a merchant as well as a custom grist mill and when my father bought it in 1813 had two run of stones with the necessary bolts and machinery for making flour. My father being a wool manufacturer turned the mill into a factory and in 1814 commenced the manufacture of cloth to which use it was afterward devoted. Having thus looked back a century the mind naturally turns and looking toward the future asks itself who will be the owner and what will be here in 1986. *Roelof Janse was overseer of the orphan Chamber under the Dutch government an office similar to that of Surrogate. His widow Annetje Jans married in 1638 the Rev. Everardus Bogardus the first clergyman who came from Holland to this country. Through his wife Trinity Church of New York City inherited by will the large property they now own and which every dutch inhabitant of the United States think they own and so many suits have been commenced for the recovery of the same and which has been the subject of legislative enquiries that never seem to be satisfied until some member of Trinity Corporation goes up to Albany with money enough to satisfy the conciences of the legislators. G.C. Madalin, N.Y. 1886

From The Journal, Red Hook, July 9, 1886.