Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook Vol 065 1980 by D C H S

DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY YEAR BOOK

1980

Volume 65

Clinton House Museum — Box 88 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12602

William P. Mc Dermott Ph.D. Editor

The Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book has been published annually since 1915 by the Dutchess County Historical Society, Clinton House Museum - Box 88, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 12602. It is distributed without charge to members of the Society Individual copies may be purchased for $3.75 plus 50 cents postage and shipping. Selected earlier Year Books are also available. Requests for copies should be sent to the above address. The Society encourages accuracy but cannot assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by contributors. Mahuscripts, books for review and other correspondence relevant to this publication should be addressed to: William P. Mc Dermott, Editor Dutchess County Historical Society Clinton House Museum - Box 88 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12602

The cover and title page, were designed by S. Velma Pugsley. The view of the Clinton House Museum ca. 1765 on the title page is reproduced from a line drawing by A. S. Magargee, now in the possession of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mahwenawasigh Chapter.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Separate Black Education in Dutchess County Carleton Mabee

The Poughkeepsie and Stormville Plank Road Clifford M. Buck

Old Gravestones of the Town of Beekman Lee Eaton

Ante-Bellun Dutchess County's Struggle Against Slavery Susan J. Crane

Rev. Dr. Westbrook's School at Fishkill: Revisited Margaret Somers

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732 - 1799 Kevin J. Gallagher

Saved by a Boot Louise Tbmpkins

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment in the Civil War William S. Benson Jr.

Widow Allen WilliamP. Mc Dermott

The Little Red Schoolhouse George N. Wilson

112

The Astor Home: Looking Back Eileen M. Hayden

113

The Johannes Jacob Melius House at Mt. Ross Byron R. S. Fbne

118

Book Reviews

123

Annual Reports

133

List of Historians and Historical Societies

145

Index

155

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SEPARATE BLACK EDUCATION IN DUTCHESS COUNTY: BLACK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND A PROPOSED BLACK COLLEGE Carleton Mabee* Dr. Mabee discusses black primary and secondary black education and educators in nineteenth century Dutchess County. An attempt to establish a separate black college, Toussaint L'Ouverture College, in Poughkeepsie, met with resistance from the black and white communities. In the 1820s and 1830s in New York State, many children, black and white, did not attend school at all. Public schools were not yet well developed. In both public and non-public schools, blacks were often refused admittance, or if admitted, they might be made so uncomfortable they would prefer to leave. Blacks were often considered to be degraded -- after all, slavery had been fully abolished in the state only in 1827. Under these circumstances, to help more blacks secure an education, blacks themselves, as well as philanthropic whites, helped to found separate schools for blacks. The earliest school for blacks in Dutchess County of which a record is available was the African School in Poughkeepsie, evidently a private school. It was taught in 1829-30 by Isaac Woodland, a black preacher from Baltimore.1 Following Woodland, from about 1830 to 1839 Nathan Blount, a young black educated in a Presbyterian school for blacks in New Jersey, taught a black school in Poughkeepsie. At first Blount's school was probably private, but eventually it was taken over by the Lancaster Society, a white-organized charity society which already operated a school for poor whites on Church Street; it simply put Blount's school for blacks upstairs in the same building. In 1838 the Poughkeepsie Telegraph appealed for contributions to the Lancaster Society to keep Blount's school open because it had helped to produce an "extraordinary moral and intellectual improvement of our colored population," many of whom had been "degraded indeed."2 While teaching in Poughkeepsie, Blount helped to *The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is Emeritus Professor of History at S.U.N.Y. New Paltz. Dr. Mabee has recently published (Syracuse University Press) Black Education in New York State From Colonial to Modern Times. 5

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found the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ).3 He also was furiously active as an abolitionist, being on the executive committee of the predominantly-white Dutchess County Antislavery Society,4 attending national abolitionist conventions, and serving as an agent for such abolitionist papers as the New York Colored American and the Boston Liberator. Following Blount, in 1839 the black Samuel R. Ward taught the black Lancaster schoo1,5 and he was also active on the executive committee of the Dutchess County Antislavery Society. He had been educated in New York City in the black schools of the New York Manumission Society, an abolitionist agency, and afterwards he became a pastor, an editor, and one of the most prominent black abolitionists in the nation. At about this time in New York State, as elsewhere, leading whites, including both churchmen and politicians, usually regarded the abolitionists as fanatics for advocating equal rights for blacks; instead, leading whites, believing that blacks would never be accepted as equals in America, often supported the colonizationists in assisting blacks to return to Africa. The Poughkeepsie Eagle of April 13, 1839, declared that colonization is "the noblest work of philanthropy that distinguishes the present age." Considering such prevailing white views, it is an intriguing question why white New York State school trustees would allow Blount, Ward, and many other abolitionist crusaders to teach in black schools. In the 1840s public schools were growing stronger in New York State, and in many places public school boards were creating separate black public schools wherever the number of black pupils seemed to be enough to fill one room. In 1844, just after Poughkeepsie had created for the first time a unified public school system for the whole city, the Lancaster Society ceased to operate its charity schools, both white and black, and the new public school board created a separate black public school. For this purpose, the board rented a room in the Primitive Methodist Church on Church Street. The Poughkeepsie black public school was always a one-room school. In 1848 it had an average attendance of 20. In 1865 the school board president recommended

Separate Black Education in Dutchess Co.

that the black school be closed because attendance was was poor, but the school stayed open. In 1871, while the enrollment was 75, the average attendance was 30.6 The teachers in the school were sometimes white, sometimes black. They included Thomas Brewer, white, 1844; Jane A. Williams, black, 1853-56 (she had experience teaching black schools in Manhattan and Williamsburg, L.I.); Artemisia Halloway, white, 1859-60; Charlotte V. Usher, black, 1860-61 (she had studied at the state normal school in Albany); Rev. James W. C. Pennington, a prominent black pastor and abolitionist of New York City, 1863 (in July, 1863, during the Civil War, while Pennington was teaching in Poughkeepsie, anti-draft rioters broke into his home in Manhattan and scattered his family); Jennie Fowler, black, 186366; Sarah Taylor, white, 1871; and Helen Cornell, white, 1873-74. Like many black activists elsewhere in the state, many Poughkeepsie black activists, but not necessarily most black parents, preferred black teachers for black schools. In 1872 a delegation of Poughkeepsie blacks including Isaac Deyo, Abraham Bolin, Joseph Rhodes, and Charles Cooley -- all of whom figure later in this article -- asked the Poughkeepsie school board to appoint a black rather than a white teacher to the schoo1.7 In the early 1850s Poughkeepsie's black public school was still on Church Street; in the later 1850s, on Cottage Street near Catherine. From 1863, the old AMEZ Church building on Catherine Street having been moved to the rear of the lot on which it stood and a new church building having been built on the site of the old one, the old building was used to house the school. A few years later a black pastor called the use of the old building a disgrace.° In early 1873 a black campaign for equal rights in the state came to a head. Led by William H. Johnson, a loquacious black Albany barber, blacks worked in this campaign with their political allies, the Republicans, and succeeded in securing a new state law which gave blacks equal rights in hotels, restaurants, and schools. Under the impact of the new law, public school boards -- which were still all-white everywhere in the state in the 1870s even where they administered black schools9 -- reacted differently in different places. In Newburgh, Troy, and Albany, the school boards promptly closed their separate black schools and admitted blacks into their white schools. In

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Poughkeepsie, when schools opened in September, 1873, the previously mentioned black parent, Joseph Rhodes, the owner of a business for dyeing cloth, made an issue of insisting that the law gave him the right to send his children to white schools, and in fact sent them there day after day, causing an uproar in the city. The school board finally compromised by deciding to let black children into the white schools, but also to continue to keep the black school open for those who wished to attend it. By June, 1874, however, so many blacks were attending the white schools and so few blacks were attending the black school that the board finally decided to close the black schoo1.1° The only other known black public school in nineteenth century Dutchess County was in Fishkill Landing (now Beacon). It was probably established about 1859. In 1863 it had 10 to 15 pupils. In 1873, after the passage of the new state equal rights law, some of the black parents objected to sending their children to the separate school, but the school board kept it open, as the state courts eventually decided was legal for a school board to do as long as the school provided "equal" education. In 1883 this Fishkill Landingblack school was a separate "department" in the white school building. In 1890 the school met in the "colored annex" of the white school building. This school survived until 1890 when the school board decided that the usual attendance of five or six pupils was so low that the school did not justify its cost. The board transferred both the teacher and the pupils to the white schoo1.11 While black public schools continued to exist elsewhere in the state into the 1940s, they no longer did so in Dutchess County. Meanwhile, in 1870 when black public schools were about as numerous in the state as they ever were to be, the idea of establishing a school for blacks on a higher-than-elementary level arose in the mid-Hudson region. This was a region where, compared to much of the rest of upstate New York, blacks had long been concentrated and whites had long been hostile. All the black public schools in the region were only elementary schools, as in Poughkeepsie, Fishkill Landing, Newburgh, Goshen, Haverstraw, Catskill, Hudson, and Kinderhook. Up to 1870 probably no blacks had attended Poughkeepsie High School. In New York State at large few blacks had attended secondary school or college -- few blacks were sufficiently prepared academically, few had the necessary funds, and few

Separate Black Education in Dutchess Co.

such schools, except for abolitionist-oriented ones like Oneida Institute near Utica and New York Central College near Cortland, would accept blacks anyway. In Poughkeepsie, Uriah Boston, a hairdresser who frequently wrote fulsome letters to abolitionist papers, is an unusual example of a black who had sent one of his children to a secondary school, the academy of New York Central College.12 Many Northern whites were still doubtful that blacks were capable of higher education. Black intellectual achievement was little reported in magazines, newspapers, or school texts, and thus was kept out of popular consciousness. Several times attempts had been made to found secondary schools for blacks in the state -- as by blacks in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s, and by white abolitionists in Peterboro in Madison County in the 1830s -- but they had all failed to produce lasting institutions. Several times also blacks and their white abolitionist allies had tried to establish a black college in or near New York State. They had done so in the early 1830s when a black national convention proposed to establish a black college in New Haven, Connecticut. They had done so again in the 1850s when Frederick Douglass led in planning to establish an "industrial college" in Rochester or within one hundred miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. They had done so again in both 1859 and 1866 when they hoped to revive the abolitionist-oriented New York Central College by transferring it into a black college. None of these proposals had succeeded. Yet even in the black elementary schools it was difficult for teachers to develop motivation in their pupils when they knew that, unlike white pupils, they were likely to be cut off from more advanced education. Moreover, the quality of the black teachers in the black elementary schools depended on their getting education somewhere. In the decade of the 1860s, with the closing of the two abolitionist-oriented colleges -- Oneida Institute and New York Central College -- it was a question if there were any longer any colleges in the state which fully welcomed black students as equals. There was still no black college in New England, New York, or New Jersey. In 1870 Eastman Business College, located in Poughkeepsie, refused to admit blacks, as its president

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afterwards explained, because its many Southern students would not like it. The recently established Vassar College, also located in Poughkeepsie, did not admit blacks either; as late as 1900 a Vassar official declared that "the conditions of life here are such" that we "strongly advise" Negroes not to enter.13 Down the Hudson from Poughkeepsie at West Point was the fabled United States Military Academy. Though opened in 1802, it had never admitted a black cadet until in May, 1870, under the impact of Reconstruction, the Republican administration in Washington directed that it do so. Like many of the first Negroes admitted to colleges, the first Negro cadet, J. W. Smith of South Carolina, was nearly white. But other cadets, anxious to preserve the prestige of their academy as they understood it, taunted him for having any African ancestry, and even the faculty often seemed hostile. Smith sometimes retaliated -- in a famous incident he hit another cadet with a dipper. Eventually the issues raised by Smith's presence seemed to threaten the stability of the academy itself. A Democratic paper in Poughkeepsie declared that Cadet Smith, "with the aid of a few fanatics, has well nigh ruined the discipline of the Academy -(which is] worth more than the entire negro population and Radical [Republican] demogogues thrown in." But Frederick Douglass' newspaper in Washington decided that unless the academy was able to stop the persecutions of Smith, "the sooner Congress abolishes the institution the better."14 It did not seem likely that such noise over the presence of blacks on the castellated campus overlooking the Hudson would encourage other colleges in the state to admit black students. Meanwhile in early 1870, the Republican administration in Washington succeeded, over Democratic opposition, in securing the ratification of the 15th United States Constitutional Amendment. At last New York State blacks -- as well as Southern blacks -- were promised the equal right to vote. With this encouragement, New York State blacks felt a new impetus to push for equal opportunity. While clamor over the admission of blacks into West Point rang loudly in their ears, black leaders of the mid -Hudson region pushed to create a Negro higher educational institution for themselves. In September, 1870, they called an educational convention in Poughkeepsie. Those signing the call

Separate Black Education in Dutchess Co.

included blacks from three Hudson River counties: Dutchess, Orange, and Columbia. When the convention met, it chose as president the black Isaac Deyo of Poughkeepsie. Being the father of eleven children, he was a leader among blacks. He had attended at least three state or national black conventions. He was active in his local African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AMEZ) Church where the convention was being held. At the election of 1860, he had stood all day at the polls handing out ballots for equal suffrage; and now that equal suffrage had at last been won, was active as a Republican. Yet it was an ironic commentary on both the educational and occupational opportunities for blacks in the state that the president of this educational convention was himself only a laborer and cartman. With a touch of bitterness, Deyo asked the convention, have Negroes "not been hewers of wood and drawers of water long enough? Have they not blacked their master's boots and stood behind his chair until their hearts were sick and sore?" The means to elevate blacks above such menial occupations, he said, was education. The convention wished to establish a school for blacks on a higher level than the usual black public schools. The convention voted to create such aschool -- they called it at this stage variously an academy, seminary, high school, or college -- to be located within two miles of the court house in Poughkeepsie. The convention appointed a committee, all blacks, to estimate what its cost would be. A month later, in October, 1870, a convention of blacks met again in Poughkeepsie, with cartman Isaac Deyo presiding as before. This time they decided to call their proposed institution a college only. Their plans were modest compared to those of Vassar College which had been established in Poughkeepsie nine years before. On the advice of their committee, they decided that the new college should have 15 or more acres of ground, while Vassar had 200 at its founding; and that the new college needed $300,000 for initial costs and endowment, while Vassar had already received gifts of nearly $800,000 from brewer Mathew Vassar alone. While such a recently founded black college asHoward, in Washington, D.C. had only a few black trustees, and Lincoln University, in Oxford, Pennsylvania,

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had no black trustees at all, the trustees the convention chose for this new college were all blacks. They came from five Hudson River counties as follows: Dutchess County: Isaac Deyo, Poughkeepsie (cartman and laborer) Abraham Bolin, Poughkeepsie (gardener and janitor) Charles Cooley, Poughkeepsie (laborer) Samuel P. Jones, FishkilZ Landing (laborer) Orange County Rev. Jacob Thomas, Newburgh (minister) Rev. W. H. Decker, Newburgh (minister) Columbia County Chauncey Van Heusen, Hudson (laborer) Ulster County Hanson Harley, Kingston (barber) Greene County 5 John Goetchess, Catskill (steward)1 The fact that these trustees were all black, and often of lowly occupation as well, hardly suggested that they would be able to raise the necessary funds. Moreover, in February, 1871, the promoters chose a prickly name for their proposed institution: it was to be called "Toussaint L'Ouverture College" after the leader of the Haitian Revolution. Toussaint had long been a hero to blacks. In 1854 the black abolitionist, William Wells Brown, who was eventually to become a Toussaint College trustee, had compared two revolutionary heroes, Toussaint and Washington, to the advantage of Toussaint: "Toussaint liberated his countrymen," said Brown, while "Washington enslaved a portion of his."16 By choosing the name of this black revolutionist for their college, the trustees might be ingratiating themselves with some potential donors among blacks, but hardly with conservative potential donors among whites. Yet the promoters of the college must have known that black colleges -- whether blacks liked it or not -- were likely to be heavily dependent on white donors. In early 1871 the college promoters arranged to have a local Republican Assemblyman introduce a bill into the New York legislature to incorporate the col-

Separate Black Education in Dutchess Co.

lege. In the bill, in listing the names of the trustees, they added new names. It is possible that the promoters were induced to add the new names by friends who believed that otherwise the college had little chance to come into existence. The name of at least one of the new trustees, the much respected barber William Rich of Troy, who had been president of the colored state convention at least four times, was added by the initiative of a friendly Assemblyman who obtained the consent of the originators of the bill. Among the other new trustees were the black pastors Jermain W. Loguen of Syracuse and Henry Highland Garnet of New York City; Williams Wells Brown, author and lecturer, of Boston; John M. Langston, dean of the law school of Howard University; the black Jonathan Wright, a recent Reconstruction appointee as South Carolina Supreme Court Justice; and Hiram Revels of Mississippi, the first black to serve in the United States Senate. The greater prestige of these new trustees, and the wider geographical area from which they came, seemed to improve the chances that the proposed college would actually open. Still, the name of the college could be regarded as defiant, and the new trustees, like the original ones, were all blacks. Moreover, the extent of the commitment of the new trustees to the college is uncertain. No record is available that they accepted their appointment as trustees except for Garnet who was later scheduled to attend a meeting of the trustees in Poughkeepsie. The bill of incorporation which the trustees placed before the state legislature declared that the college was designed especially for young men and women of African descent. But as in the plans for the industrial college in the 1850's, and in the plans to revive New York Central College as a black college in 1866, and as was true of many of the new black colleges being created at this time in the South, the college was not to refuse whites. After all, Toussaint himself, as president of the black republic of Haiti, had not been a racial exclusivist; he had placed whites in leading government positions. Still, as everyone knew, a college intended primarily for blacks was likely to have few, if any, white students. The bill also provided that the trustees were permitted to receive for the college up to a million dollars -- evidently the financial goals of the college promoters had grown.

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While the bill was pending in the legislature, a Poughkeepsie Republican paper, which was usually sympathetic to black aspirations, appealed for contributions for the proposed college from whites. "It is to be hoped that our people will give this institution a helping hand," the Daily Eagle, said, "as it will go far toward settling the vexed question of the mixture of the races in our schools and colleges." This paper seemed to be asking for support for the college in part because it would help to keep blacks out of the state's white schools and colleges. On the other hand, a Poughkeepsie Democratic paper, the Daily Press, was hostile both to the establishment of a black college and to admitting blacks into white colleges. The Press suggested, with its usual ridicule of Negroes, that Poughkeepsie Negro voters were expecting to contribute to the college the money they received as bribes for voting Republican. "Only one more election," said the Press, "and the college will become a fixed fact."17 There was no excitement in the Democratic controlled legislature over passing the bill to incorporate the college. The Senate summarily reduced the value of the property the college could hold from one million dollars to half a million, made minor changes, and then adopted the bill unanimously. In April, 1871, the Assembly concurred, also unanimously.16 However, the Poughkeepsie city government didn't push to make the college a reality. Just after the college was incorporated, the go-getter Harvey Eastman -- the head of the all-white, four hundred-student Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie -- was inaugurated as Republican mayor of Poughkeepsie. In a speech on the opportunities before the city, he said that he favored inviting more first class schools to Poughkeepsie, "especially a Literary College for young men," but made no mention of the black college proposal.19 Poughkeepsie, having prestigious white academies and military schools, as well as the white Vassar and Eastman colleges, was already known as "the city of schools"; it didn't seem anxious to be known also as the site of the only black college in the Northeast. Moreover, the college project was running into stiff opposition from some blacks. This became evident at the New York Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AMEZ) -- the strongest black

Separate Black Education in Dutchess Co.

denomination in the state -- which happened to meet in 1871 in Poughkeepsie. The conference represented forty black churches reaching from Northern New Jersey to Long Island and up the Hudson Valley. During its week-long sessions, the conference received generous daily coverage in the local Republican paper, and on Sunday various Poughkeepsie white Protestant churches invited black pastors who were attending the conference to preach as guests in their pulpits. At the conference, the education committee endorsed the proposed black college. But the blunt Reverend William P. Butler of New York City, a former pastor in Hudson and Poughkeepsie, objected heartily, and he was one of the most powerful men in the convention. He opposed separate schools. "Let the colored people of the state stand together," Butler said, "and ask for equal school rights, and they would get it. They wanted no separate college." Poughkeepsie gardener and janitor Abraham Bolin,2° one of the trustees of the proposed college, was present as a lay delegate from the AMEZ Church in Poughkeepsie. Though three other of the college trustees were also present, all ministers, Bolin was the only person present who was reported to have spoken up in defense of the college. The arguments against it as a separate black institution are not logical, Bolin said, because the college would be open to both blacks and whites. But the members of the conference were sure that the college, regardless of intent, would become in effect exclusively black, and Bolin was drowned out by a wave of feeling against separate black schools. The conference deleted the section of the education committee's report endorsing Toussaint College. In addition, a pastor offered this resolution, which passed: "in this enlightened day, as ministers, we discountenance any scheme or plan that has for its object the establishment of separate schoolsn yr colleges for the colored people of this state."' Ironical as it was, a separate African church was opposing separate African educational institutions. Following this overwhelming indication of key black opposition to the separate black college project, openly demonstrated in the city where the college was

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to be located, the chances for the realization of the project dropped. Moreover, a black campaign to abolish separate black schools was beginning to make headway in the state. In 1873 this campaign was to lead, as we have seen, to the adoption of a state equal rights law that seemed to prohibit separate public schools. The thrust of this anti-segregation campaign, already strong in the Hudson Valley, was contrary to the establishment of a separate black college. In 1872, about a year after the AMEZ conference, when blacks in the Poughkeepsie region met to choose delegates to a state black convention, on the motion of Isaac Deyo they instructed their delegates to bring the claims of Toussaint College before the convention. The delegates they chose were Deyo, Jones, and Bolin, all trustees of the college. At the state convention, held in Troy, three other of the trustees were all present, barber Rich of Troy, Reverend Loguen of Syracuse, and Reverend Thomas, now of New York City. Available reports of the convention give no sign of any discussion of Toussaint College. But they do report that Reverend William F. Butler of New York City, who had helped lead the AMEZ conference to refuse to endorse the college, also led this state black convention to take a stand against separate schools for blacks. The convention, eager to capitalize on the gains it believed that blacks were making during Reconstruction, was urging that blacks, instead of creating more black institutions, should work to open more white institutions to blacks.22 Trying to establish a black college under these circumstances was like trying to build a sand castle in front of an advancing tide. While the black leaders in the Poughkeepsie region remained loyal to the college cause, and they continued to have the support of Poughkeepsie's Republican newspaper, they lacked even the perfunctory endorsement, much less the active support, of both the major black denomination in the state and the black state convention; and they lacked the support of any significant body of white philantropists. Without such support, the Toussaint College cause gradually died. In the 1870's and 1880's, in keeping with the national trend, the number of blacks attending New York State colleges showed a marked increase, reducing the need for a black college.

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Blacks in nineteenth century New York State were often successful in launching and sustaining relatively inexpensive private elementary schools for blacks. They were also successful, with some white help, in launching more expensive private secondary schools for blacks, but not in sustaining them over a significant period. They were not successful even in launching a black college. Nevertheless, after the attempt to launch Toussaint College was abandoned, a few special black schools were launched in New York State, particularly vocational schools. Among these were three schools of nursing: the Lincoln Hospital school, founded in the Bronx in 1898 under white charitable auspices; the McDonough Memorial Hospital school, founded on West 41st Street in Manhattan in 1898 especially by black physicians; and Harlem Hospital school, founded in 1923, after strong black urging by the city of New York. Among them also was a farm school established in 1910 in Verbank, in Dutchess County. It was founded by the New York Colored Orphan Asylum, a whitecontrolled institution located in Riverdale, in the Bronx. The Asylum purchased a farm in Verbank, and placed orphans there to learn farming. Among the farm teachers there at various times were graduates of Tuskeegee Institute, Alabama, and of Hampton Institute, Virginia; all the known teachers were black. This farm school survived only until about 1919.23 However, the long survival of the Lincoln and Harlem Hospital schools as quality institutions shows that with white backing it was possible to create successfully, in the state, higher schools for blacks -- at least for special vocational purposes. Long term reasons for the failure of the attempts to establish a black college in or near New York State in the nineteenth century were the indifference and poverty of many blacks, and the indifference and hostility of many whites. More particular reasons were significant from time to time. The failure of the attempt in the 1830's to establish a college in New Haven appears to have been in considerable part because of white fear of educating blacks, while in the 1850's the failure of black college schemes was more nearly due to division among blacks on whether separate institutions would increase prejudice. From this time on, major black leaders in the state, like Garnet and Frederick Douglass, wavered on the wisdom of creating a black college. Before the Civil War, the concentration

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of Northern white abolitionists on the struggle to abolish slavery was a factor in the failure to create a black college; and after the Civil War, the concentration of Northern white philantropists on the education of blacks in the South was a factor. In the 1870's belief by both blacks and whites in the practicability of educational integration helped to prevent the creation of Toussaint College, and has contributed ever since to preventing the establishment of a black college in the state. Perhaps it is a tribute to the efforts of predominantly white Northeastern colleges to improve educational opportunity for blacks that, despite a marked increase in the proportion of blacks in the population of the Northeast in the 20th century, a separate black college has never yet been established in New England, New York, or New Jersey.

Notes In the research for this article, the author acknowledges the help of many people, particularly Wilhelmina B. Powers of Adriance Memorial Library, Poughkeepsie. This research was part of a larger study which was published as Carleton Mabee, Black Education in New York State: From Colonial to Modern Times, Syracuse University Press, 1979. The part of this article on Toussaint College was originally published in fuller form in Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, Jan., 1977, and is republished here in revised form by permission. 'Poughkeepsie Journal, May 26, 1830. 2New York Colored American, June 1, 1839; Poughkeepsie Telegraph, Aug. 9, 1837, May 9, 1838. 3Poughkeepsie Telegraph, May 9, 1838; Gaius Bolin, Sr., in Rollin Masten, ed., "Dutchess County Churches," (MS, 1938?), V, p. 76, at Adriance Memorial Library. 4 Dutchess County Antislavery Society, Executive Committee Minutes, 1838-39, New York Public Library. 5New York Colored American, Sept. 28, 1839; Poughkeepsie Journal, June 5, 1839; Samuel R. Ward, Autobiography, New York: 1968 (orig. 1855), p. 50.

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6Historical Sketch of the Poughkeepsie Public Schools, Poughkeepsie, 1894, P. 19; New York State Superintendent of Schools, Annual Report, for 1848, p. 12; for 1865, p. 150; Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, Nov. 7, 1871. 7m abee, Black Education in New York State, pp. 100-101. 8 Poughkeepsie city directories; James H. Smith, History of Dutchess County, Syracuse, 1882, pp. 426427; Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, May 20, 1871. 9The only place in the state known to have blacks on its public school board in the nineteenth century was Brooklyn, in the 1880s-1890s. In Poughkeepsie, the first black on the school board is believed to have been Marie N. Tarver in 1964, and in Beacon, William Curry in 1963. 10Mabee, Black Education in New York State, ch. 14. One of the Rhodes children, Josephine, was the first black to graduate from Poughkeepsie High School, in 1879. She was not invited to the graduation party. Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, June 25, 1879; New York Times, June 25, 1879. 1i-New York State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Annual Reports, for 1859-63; Newburgh Daily Journal, Sept. 2, 1873; Fishkill Landing Fishkill Standard, Aug. 16, 30, 1873, Feb. 24, Oct. 13, 1883, Feb. 8, Apr. 12, 1890. 12Uriah Boston to Asa Caldwell, May 5, 1854, Cortland County Historical Society. 13New York Times, Feb. 10, 1881; New York Freeman, June 12, 1886; W. E. B. DuBois, The College-Bred Negro, Atlanta, 1900, p. 34. Vassar announced that it was ready to accept blacks in 1934. New York Amsterdam News, Dec. 22, 1934. 14Poughkeepsie Daily Press, Jan. 16, 1871; Washington New National Era, Jan. 19, 1871. 15Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, Sept. 22, 23, 24, Oct. 19; New York Times, Sept. 24, 1870. 1 6William Wells Brown, St. Domingo, Boston, 1855, p. 37.

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17Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, Feb. 11, 1871; Poughkeepsie Daily Press, Nov. 14, 1870. 18 New York State Senate Journal, 1871; Assembly Journal, 1871. The text of the original bill is in Assembly, Legislative Bills, 1871, no. 128; as passed it is in New York State Laws, 1871, ch. 257. 19Poughkeepsie Daily Press, March 15, 1871. 20 Abraham Bolin's son Gaius became the first black graduate of Williams College in 1889. He afterwards practiced law in Poughkeepsie, was president of the Dutchess County Bar Association, and a founder of the Dutchess County Branch of the NAACP. Williams Alumni Review, Fall, 1979, pp. 2-6. 21 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, May 20, 1871. 22 Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle, Apr. 27; Troy Daily Times, May 8, 9; Troy Daily Press, May 9; Troy Daily Whig, May 9, 10, 1872. 23Association for the Benefit of Colored Orphans, Annual Reports, 1910-1919; Carleton Mabee, "Charity in Travail: Two Orphan Asylums for Blacks," New York History, Jan., 1974, pp. 55-77.

ACCOUNT OF THE POUGHKEEPSIE AND STORMVILLE PLANK ROAD: Poughkeepsie Eagle - December 6, 1851 Copied by Clifford M. Buck* A meeting at the opening of a plank road extolling its time saving and economic virtues. It was built within the predicted time and budget allocation. Among its values it will "remove all occasion for excuse to attend religious worship". "The completion of this pioneer road in this County was celebrated in a proper manner on the 28th ult, by an excursion over the road and a public dinner prepared for the occasion at Munger's Hotel in Stormville. The day was rainy and very unfavorable, the sleighing poor and rapidly becoming more so, but the company decided nevertheless to go in sleighs, to see how the roadwould operate under the circumstances. The party, consisting of directors, stockholders, and invited friends set out at about half past ten o'clock, and although several short stops were made and no hard driving resorted to, all were set down comfortably and to their surprize, at Munger's Hotel before two hours from the time of leaving Cary's in Poughkeepsie had expired. It would have been difficult to have made the distance in double the time over the old road, or a common road. After a general consultation on the character and present and future prospects of the work, at 2 P.M. the company sat down to a truly splendid dinner, prepared by Mr. Munger, to which all did justice with right good will. The dinner did honor to the landlord and his house, for the style, the taste displayed in getting it up, and the bountifulness and excellence of the repast. When the substantials had been disposed of and the cloth removed, S. Swan Esq. rose and made a brief introductory address to the meeting, alluding particularly to the gentlemen who had carried the work successfully through to a completion. On his conclusion, M. Vassar Esq., President, rose and addressed the company substantially as follows: 'On the occasion of breaking ground for the Poughkeepsie and Stormville Plank Road upon the tenth of June last, I was hastily summoned to make a speech, ''The author is a genealogist and local historian. He was a compiler in a recent book published by the Dutchess County Historical Society entitled Eighteenth Century Documents of the Nine Partners Patent, Dutchess County, New York. 21

Clifford M. Buck

which was an entirely new business to me, nevertheless, I made it, such as it was. But, gentlemen, I little thought until yesterday, that I should be called upon to perform another service of that kind at the closing up of this work, as all of who are acquainted with me well know that public speech making has very little to do with my regular profession, (beer making), unless it be that there is much froth and gas usually evaporated in both processes. On the occasion referred to, a resolution was made and recorded that the June meeting adjourn to meet again the 2nd day of November, at Stormville, when our energetic Contractor, Mr. Ward, pledged himself to the company that he would have the road finished, and in pursuance of that resolution and pledge, we are now assembled to return him our thanks and congratulate each other on the completion of the first Plank Road enterprise in the County of Dutchess, an enterprise projected and faithfully executed in the short period of five months, and I may add fearless of contradiction, without making to my knowledge, a single important error in the estimation or calculation, or an enemy to the work itself. I say projected and executed, by this I mean that a few of our citizens met together in the early part of last April and resolved to try one experiment at least of a Plank Road investment in Dutchess - the first having most singularly failed after obtaining a charter and a bona fide subscription to the work of about two thirds of the required capital, exhibiting a rather poor commentary upon the wealth, intelligence and enterprize of the citizens of Old Dutchess, who could not build one plank road, while their neighbors across the River at Newburgh and Kingston could build two or three in the same year. It was under these considerations that our pride was stimulated, and the road thus undertaken, and within a few short weeks we had moved in all the incipient steps to obtain a proper charter, obtained the written consent of the supervisors and commissioners of highways in the several towns through which the line of the road passes, the signature of two thirds of the inhabitants living contiguous to the old road, secured a full subscription to the capital stock amounting to something near $40,000, purchased all the plank and other materials, entered into a written contract with Mr. Ward for building the main track, filed our main and other

Account of the Poughkeepsie and Stormville Plank Road 23

documents in the County Clerk's Office, the charter with the State Comptroller in the City of Albany, had the road inspected and occupied by the company, titled, cleared up and paid off all our immediate indebtedness, and now, gentlemen, we are met together the 28th Day of November to exchange our mutual congratulations upon the entire completion of this pioneer work. We have no desire to indulge in self exaltation,- we will let our deeds speak for us, but it is no ostentation to say that we challenge you to find a parallel instance of Plank Road making in the empire State, and I may add for the satisfaction of the share holders, that the whole work has been executed within the specified time of the contract and within the original estimate of the cost, say about $2400 per mile for 19 miles, including the branch to Rogers's corner and two gatehouses. For the result of the speedy execution of this work, all praise is due Mr. Ward, the contractor, several of your directors, and especially to your secretary Robert G. Rankin Esq. and Mr. Geo. Wilkinson, whose prompt and vigilant services cannot be too highly appreciated, and to whom the success of its early construction is largely indebted. But, gentlemen, it has been said during the progress of this road that it was a visionary experiment - that Plank Roads were all very well for western counties, but would not prove a good investment in the older counties where the common roads were generally excellent. Well, this all may prove true, but I am unwilling to admit the statement until the experiment has been fairly tried. Why, gentlemen, almost everything which pertains to human progress and elevates the condition of human society, in the onset is an experiment. It has been truthfully remarked by an American writer at the World's Fair in London, speaking of that great exhibition, that the Yankees carried off the palm in almost every article that was new and of practical utility and this is emphatically true in almost everything which belongs to American genius. We are and have the just reputation of being a practical, experimentalpeople, proving all things and holding fast to that which is good. Within the last century Franklin experimented on the nature and qualities of electricity; Fulton on the power of steam for navigation; DeWitt Clinton on canals; Professor Morse on the Magnetic Telegraph; our marine architects on the models and equipment of steam ships and sailing vessels; and lastly

Clifford M. Buck

Professor Comstock on a new principle of vegatation of seeds and plants, and almost everything we do is first an experiment and almost every line of railway webbing our extensive domain, was originally an experiment, so far at least as their comparative productiveness to pay the cost of production was concerned and what have been the beneficial results of all these bold experiments? Why, gentlemen, our own minds will readily supply the answer. Who would ever have dreamed a few years ago that a Railroad would have been built on the rocky banks of the Hudson? Yet that bold and noble work has just been accomplished in spite of the "Manor Lords", Wall Street brokers, river craft croakers and all the Little Web footed tPllw. But, gentlemen, the only landed aristocracy that was really and seriously discommoded on the line was the old copperheads and rattlesnakes. Now, Gentlemen, that road is passed over with ten passenger trains per day streaking some forty miles per hour running time, with almost perfect safety, being guarded by an able police of Flag Men -- who by the by, are the only "flags" that stand eternally opposed to the "i!tv Policy". But, gentlemen, the last and final opposition and objection to that road now is, that its high speed kicks up such a dust in summer as to make it most intolerable to the lady passengers, -- Well, gentlemen, another Brother Jonathan heard of it and at once set about contriving a dust and spark extinguisher which so effectively obviates that inconvenience on the eastern roads that the most fastidous old maid need not blink at the one if she squints at the other. Why, gentlemen, we are living in a wonderful age of the world. It was only a few months since we were painfully alarmed upon hearing of an invention down east for making gas fire out of water but most fortunately for our country at that very moment Phillips came out with his annihilator to put fire out by gas or all our beautiful lakes and rivers might have exploded in the experiment like liquid camphene. But to return to the subject of Plank Roads, they are of very modern experiment. There is no certainity to whom we can justly ascribe the origin of the invention, but it is generally believed, however, that a Mr. Boulton, of Toronto, Upper Canada, was the first man to demonstrate their utility for public use in this country; this was in 1835, and the Hon. Mr. Geddes and Mr. Alford of Syracuse, were the first to introduce them in the United States, two years afterwards. Since then there have been built and put in operation over four

Account of the Poughkeepsie and Stormville Plank Road 25 thousand miles of plank roads in this country, and at an average cost of about $2000 per mile. This new medium of trade has not only formed aprofitable investment, but has done much for the development of the agricultural interests, by increasing the value of their land, and enabling them to market their produce at much less expense, lessening the wear and tear of horses, wagons, and harness, reducing the blacksmith shoeing bill full one half, to say nothing of saving of time in various. These roads are important also to the manufacturer, the miner, iron founder, & c; sending their wares and commodities from distant localities to market at a great saving of expense, besides the increase enlargement of their business -the latter of which branches you will see quadrupled within another year from the ore bed in this vicinity. Plank Roads are emphatically the people roads; they can use them with regularity to fit their own convenience, they promote social intercourse among neighbors, afford ready dispatch for medical relief in cases of sickness by abridging distance, and remove all occasion for excuse to attend religious worship in bad weather. Every improvement in locomotion benefits society morally, and intellectually, and not only tends to expedite interchanges in the various productions of the soil and of the arts, but increases intercourse and removes the local and provincial prejudices, and thus links together the social fabric with stronger and more lasting bonds. And now, gentlemen, whatever may be the results of this experiment, as it regards the profit or loss account to the stockholders, be assured of this one fact, that whenever anything of a social convenience is first introduced as a luxury, it soon becomes by common use a necessary of life, and we can thereafter no more dispense with it than we could dispense with our railroads and steamboats, and take the old stagecoaches too, to Boston, or our North River sloops to go to New York. We are not only a people of progress, but of eagle's flight swiftness -- a go ahead people -- what was well enough for our fathers is out of date for their children, and our noble river steamers may keep on reducing their rates of fare between city and city from $7 a passage to 25 cents. Yet the people having once gone 40 miles per hour will not be satisfied with the snail's pace of ten miles per hour. I therefore conclude these hasty remarks by surmis-

Clifford M. Buck

ing that this road, of which we are now assembled to celebrate the completion, will forever in my humble opinion be continued, and if it should meet the approbation of our fellow citizens in general and the stockholders in particular, so far as my poor services have availed anything in its construction, & c. I shall be satisfied.' The President than gave-Plank Roads-- a modern luxury -- they promote health, comfort and wealth, and are an evidence of the enlightened progress of the age. After the Address of the President was concluded, the following sentiments were given, interspersed with remarks from the different members of the company, and all received with much enthusiasm: 1. Plank Roads-- Emphatically the People's Roads. 2. The Projectors of our Plank Road-- They met with little countenance at the onset but have cheered many countenances in the end. 3. The Board of Directors -- As the Board has given the planks a firm foundation, may the planks reward the board by proving a substantial road to wealth. 4. Our Stockholders -- Liberal capitalists willing to give a capital benefit to the people. May their shadow never be less, and the stock like themselves await at a fair premium. 5. Poughkeepsie and Stormville -- They now meet together in one and a third hours, including stoppages. 6. The Treasurer and Secretary -- a gentleman combining all the requisites of a good citizen -- may he also prove a hero by going rank and file with that patriotic army who war for the project of internal and local improvement. 7. Distance -- A word used by our forefathers -Lightning, Steam and Plank Roads have blotted it our forever. 8. The Furnaces-- Many their fires never be extinguished; may many extinguished fires be lighted up; and the increased and increasing fire give sufficient light to the people to convince them of the importance of keeping the lights burning. 9. H. D. Ward, our contractor-- His skill, energy, and promptness, have secured for us one of the best Plank Roads in the State. 10. The Plank Road System -- May it become part and parcel of our body politic, a bond of union, an element of strength, a source of wealth. 11. Our Country -- Filled with a locomotive people fol-

Account of the Poughkeepsie and Stormville Plank Road 27

lowing after locomotives -- they can no longer subsist without constantly increased facilities of locomotion. 12. The Ore Beds -- May their aids, the long eared donkeys thrive as well as their long headed and sagacious owners -- may they both trot through life peaceably and successfully without running off the track. 13. The Ladies -- They will now have just cause of complaint against their lovers if they do not come in all weather. Mr. J. C. Doughty being called upon, made a few remarks and gave the following: The President, Mr. Vassar ever energetic and zealous in work of improvement -- The Poughkeepsie and Stormville Plank Road shows how well and faithfully he acquits himself when represented with the oversight of public enterprise. Mr. Geo. Wilkinson followed, and gave: The inhabitants residing on the line of the road- May the kindness manifested and the aid rendered this undertaking was by them, ever be remembered and duly appreciated.. Mr. Platt prefacing by a few remarks gave: The opponents of improvements-- May they remember the exhortation of the Yankee the pedlar to his horse SLEEPY DAVD. "When there is money to be lost or won, there is no time to be choosing." Mr. A. B. Pease was then called for and after speaking briefly gave: The Proprietor of the Poughkeepsie Furnace, now present, (Mr. Beck) By his Beck and nod are ore becomes Iron, and by his enterprise what in its crude state is valueless, is converted into the most useful and indispensible material. May his blast ever be strong, still may his stack never be impoverished by the blowing. To which Mr. Beck replied, expressing his thanks for the kindness which had been shown him, and making honourable reference to his partners who were not present. Mr. Vassar then gave: Our City Stockholders -- They have lost an extra dividend by their absence to-day, may they never lose another. Mr. Swan gave: Dividends and Donkeys -- Not always incompatable with each other.

Clifford M. Buck

Some person gave: Directors and Drivers - It is equally necessary that both should keep a little to the right as the law directs. Mr. Jackson living in Stormville gave: Some say Champagne is made of wine Some say It's made of cider May this road's profits be enough To make 'em plank it wider. By Mr. Vassar: To the Ladies, God bless 'em -- Although Plank Road locomotives produce no "sparks", may they furnish you with a better supply at home. By Mr. Swan: Stormville Hotel -While the rain without in its drizzling rout Drips from the casement drearily, It is summer within at S. Munger's Inn Where the Champagne sparkles chearily. By Mr. Pease: In former years with puny loads, And clumsy teams, o'er rutty roads. The farmer trudged along, But now, through banks (though sand) they glide As smoothly as the ebbing tide, With laugh and song. Ha, Ha, they shout, we clear the track With fifty hundred on our rack, And feed short oats. Russ pavements city bucks may covet. But when you've got a load 'an would shove it, Plank roads "am some." Toasts were given, also, by Messrs. S. B. Trowbridge, Col. R. C. Van Wyck, Peter Adriance and others, but as copies of them have not been furnished, we are unable to give them. At four o'clock the company adjourned, their sleighs were found ready at the door, and although the snow had been wasting so rapidly that all chances of getting along on common roads, on runners, was out of the question, no difficulty was found on the smooth planks. The trip back was made in two hours, without hard driving or injury to the horses, and all were highly gratified with the exercises of the day,"

OLD GRAVESTONES OF THE TOWN OF BEEKMAN Lee Eaton* The process of taking inventory of gravestones in eighteenth and nineteenth century Beekman cemeteries is described. The whetting of interest and initial introduction to local history comes about in many ways. In my case, the presence of an overgrown and disheveled graveyard in Green Haven started me on a course which would ultimately lead to both my appointment as Town Historian and to the formation of the Beekman Historical Society. Our historical society recognized early that one of its most important functions would be the recording of all the old gravestones in our town cemeteries. Our original thought was that in the sixty odd years since Dr. Poucher and his assistants recorded the inscriptions, many of the stones had probably disappeared. A cemetery committee was formed and in the autumn of 1974, a small but faithful group of women, with the assistance of a young man to do some of the heavy work, set out on what was to become a two-year venture. Allyn French was chairman of the committee. She was joined by Gay Kendall (then president of the society), Enid Butler, Bernice Dodge, Liz Griffith, Sharon Sheridan, Doris Tanner and Greg Sperbeck. Using Dr. Poucher's book, "Old Gravestones of Dutchess County" as a guide, the group set forth to find the location of each graveyard. It was found that Dr. Poucher erred in some instances as to the locations of the burying grounds, therefore it was necessary to pinpoint some of the smaller, little-known ones. Dr. Poucher also confused town boundaries and placed one of Beekman's graveyards in Unionvale, but he was also kind enough to credit us with one of Unionvale's! A number of cemeteries are now on private property, therefore permission from the owners was sought, less our stalwart ladies be accused of trespassing. Each inscription in each graveyard was listed on an index card exactly as it appeared in Poucher. When setting out to do a particular day's graveyard, the corresponding index cards were brought along. Every *The author is the Town Historian of the Town of Beekman. 29

Lee Eaton

stone was then checked and re-recorded to be sure that any new information was correct. Where we had expected many of the stones to have disappeared, thereby giving us a smaller number than Poucher, in actuality, our group found many more inscriptions than Dr. Poucher did. We have recorded approximately 750 inscriptions and have found only about 38 missing. When word got around town that there was a group of "crazy ladies" tramping through the graveyards, lots of questions were posed by the townfolk. This resulted in more interest in the project and we also benefitted in some interesting "word-of-mouth" reports of unlisted burying grounds. It seems everyone had heard tales of long-lost Indian graveyards, slave burying grounds and the like. We were however, only able to find one unlisted ground on Dorn Road off Clove Valley Road. Since the cemetery was on the grounds of the old "Morey" farm, we have called it the Morey burying ground. We found this ground unusual, since it is the only one we found in Beekman which had family headstones along with approximately thirty fieldstones placed in close rows with no markings on them. Due to the interest generated in this project, the Beekman Historical Society held discussions regarding the conditions of these old burying grounds. We came to the conclusion that we, as a group limited in resources, could not hope to save all the graveyards. We did decide to restore one, The Apoquague Friends' Meeting Burial Ground on the corner of Gardner Hollow and Pleasant Ridge Roads. This was one of the early settlements in town and burials date from that of Dr. Ebenezer Cary in 1815 through to 1894. The restoration took place in 1976 as part of a Bicentennial project with the assistance of the Oswego Friends' Meeting and Boy Scout Troop 77. The Beekman Historical Society continues to raise funds annually for the maintenance of the grounds. For a long time, the standing joke of the cemetery committee was, "Where are you buried, Piggott Potts?" We knew from Poucher that there was a gravestone for Piggott listed in the old Lutheran burying ground giving Piggott's date of death as 1747. We were understandably anxious to find this particular stone, as it is the earliest one listed in Beekman. One day, as Bernice Dodge was probing the cemetery ground with a metal rod, she struck something hard. The

Old Gravestones of the Town of Beekman

entire group gathered around and carefully started unearthing the remains of Piggott Potts' gravestone. We trust they left Piggott's remains where they were! The stone was in a number of pieces, but luckily, Joe Jones of Green Haven offered to repair the stone for us. Once again, Piggott Potts' memorial is standing in its rightful place.

a oquaque

Friends meeting Once erected on this stte was orantzed in 1771 Buriai 1..tnind restored in 1976 Society, by Beekman fristoricat Oswep Friends Meeting, and Boy Scout Troop 077

Sign marking the site of the Apoquaque Friends Meeting, organized in 1771.

Some may wonder about the value of a project such as this. The old stones provide an excellent source of reference to the genealogist as well as a source of interest to the casual history buff. For the student of human nature, reading inscriptions with messages can offer profound instructions from those who have gone on before us. For example, from reading his stone in the Green Haven Burying Ground, we find that Anthony Ashby was 25 years old in the year 1776. One wonders about young Anthony. Which side was he on? Was he in the army or the militia? Today, all that remains of Anthony Ashby is buried under a stone which reads "Died April 1823/72 years old". The stone which now, 157 years later, is still in fine condition, has intricate carvings of a willow tree with branches extending into a detailed urn. The epitaph reads as follows: "My friend behold us in a glass and

Lee Eaton

here behold your doom/Death is the door you all must pass to your eternal home". Some of the sentiments certainly offer food for thought. Take the inscription on Sarah Leprohan's stone at Apoquague ground: "0 weep not for the loved one fled/To realms more pure a home more fair/And call not the departed dead/She lives she loves she wants you there". The most frequent message given on the Beekman gravestones was: "Behold and see as you pass by/As you are now so once was I/As I am now so you shall be/ Prepare for death and follow me". The job of recording all the old gravestones in Beekman took the better part of two years to complete. We do not profess to have accomplished the task in an infallible manner. We did our best. To quote Dr. Poucher, "If mistakes have been made, they should be charged to the obstacles encountered...." Of obstacles there were many, however each and every member of the committee who completed this overwhelming work is in agreement that it was a fun job and one well worth doing.

Location of Beekman Graveyards 1.

Rogers Family Ground - on a hill to the north side of the new expanse on Beekman Road, just a few hundred feet east of Sylvan Lake Road. Not visible from the road.

Union Church - Green Haven - Behind the house immediately opposite the Green Haven Market.

Flagler Family Ground - about a half mile off Route 216 on the right side of Frog Hollow Road. Fenced in and locked, but worth seeing.

Seaman stone - one stone in a field behind Circle Drive. Difficult to find.

Baptist Churchyard - Corner of Beekman and Baker Roads.

Beekman Cemetery - Behind the Poughquag Methodist Church, just above Town Hall.

Old Gravestones of the Town of Beekman

Vanderburgh Family Ground - Route 55 just east of Gardner Hollow Road. There is a marker at the bottom of the hill. This cemetery is owned and maintained by Vanderburgh descendents.

Apoquague Friends' Meeting - Corner of Pleasant Ridge and Gardner Hollow Roads just beyond corner house.

Haxtun Family - Part way up Gardner Hollow hill on private grounds. Can be seen from road.

10.

Cornell Family ground - turn into .Beach Road from Gardner Hollow. The graveyard is in a clump of trees near Colesanti's home.

11.

Lutheran Burying Ground - on private property behind the Griffith home on Beach Road.

12.

Morey Ground - enter Dorn Road from Clove Valley Road. Continue to where the road starts uphill. The graveyard is above the Schmidt home and the access is through their yard.

Oblong Meeting House. From D.C.H.S. Year Book, 1971, p. 48.

Nine Partners School, sketch ca. 1820. From D.C.H.S. Year Book, 1935, p. 38.

ANTE-BELLUM DUTCHESS COUNTY'S STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY Susan J. Crane* Attitudes toward the issue of slavery in eighteenth and nineteenth century Dutchess County are discussed. Antislavery law in New York State is reviewed. Reaction of local newspapers and a discussion of the underground railway is included. John A. Bolding, a black slave from South Carolina, escaped to Poughkeepsie in 1847 and became a tailor. When his owner discovered the whereabouts of the runaway, Bolding was apprehended and taken to New York City by train. His trial, held in 1851, was subject to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 which imposed heavy fines on assistants to runaway slaves.' Blacks at that time were presumed to be free unless proven otherwise. To return a runaway to slavery the claimant had to prove that the accused was of African descent, was born of a slave mother, and was the property of the alleged owner. Although some supporters of Bolding contested that the defendant was a combination of Caucasian and Indian blood, the court concluded that he was a mulatto and the legitimate slave of Robert C. Anderson. They authorized the owner to take Bolding back to South Carolina.2 After the trial Anderson announced that he willlingly would sell the slave to Bolding's northern friends if they so desired. A committee of outraged Poughkeepsie residents, including Matthew Vassar, raised the requested fifteen hundred dollars for this "likeable Negro." Bolding returned to Poughkeepsie to spend the rest of his life as a free man.3 Black slaves came with the first settlers to Dutchess County early in the seventeenth century. At that time white labor was exorbitant and black labor was not being imported from Africa. The Dutch West India Company continued to supply the colonists with slaves from captured Spanish ships.4 A Dutchess County census of 1714 determined that twenty-nine of a total of four hundred forty-five inhabitants were slaves. Within a few decades slave *The author, a 1980 graduate of Vassar College, wrote this paper while attending the college. 35

Susan J. Crane

holding became much more common and Jacob Evartson of Amenia, for example, was the sole owner of forty slaves.5 The first organized action towards the emancipation of the slaves in New York State was instigated by the Oblong Monthly Meeting at Quaker Hill in DutchessCounty.6 In 1767 this congregation of Friends announced that slavery opposed the Quaker doctrine that there is "that of God in every man." Eight years later the New York Yearly Meeting declared that anyone who did not grant freedom to their slaves would be expelled from Quakerism. Dutchess County had a large Quaker population and members of the Nine Partners Monthly Meeting thereupon manumitted seventeen slaves.7 .An act was passed in Poughkeepsie in 1788 that stipulated that slaves under fifty years old could be lawfully manumitted. One had to obtain certificates from the overseers of the poor and from two Dutchess County Justices of the Peace who would vouch for the slave's ability to sustain himself if free.8 Although the emancipation laws would soon take effect, slavery continued to thrive. An operation was still prospering on Union Street in Poughkeepsie where slaves were bathed before being auctioned.9 Congress passed the first of the Fugitive Slave Laws in 1793. Under this law, a five hundred dollar fine would be imposed on anyone who hindered the arrest of a runaway or who aided the escape of a known fugitive.10 This did not gain the approval of the New York State Legislature which passed a law in 1799 that provided for the gradual manumission of New York slaves. Every male slave born in the state was to remain the servant of his master until twenty-eight years old and every female until twenty-five years old.1i By 1820 there were two hundred eighteen free blacks in Poughkeepsie and nineteen slaves. This marked a tremendous decline in the slave proportion of blacks which may be attributed to the actions of the Quakers, the New York State laws, and the antislavery sentiments expounded by the Missouri Compromise.12 In response to the 1819 question of Missouri's admission to the Union, James Tallmadge, Jr. , a Dutchess County congressional representative, purported that all children born in Missouri after it becomes a state should be exempt from bondage. Tallmadge's actions were a statement of his county's contemporary antislavery testimonies.13

Ante-Bellum Dutchess Co.'s Struggle Against Slavery 37 In the latter part of the eighteenth century attitudes towards blacks and slavery were diversified in Dutchess County. Blacks were often confined to special sections in white churches and graveyards, yet paradoxically the conviction that slavery prevented the constitutional expression of liberty was becoming more common. An editorial in a 1795 Poughkeepsie Journal demanded a reconsideration of the injustice to human nature that the slave holder was imposing upon the black man. All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 14 The Poughkeepsie chapter of the American Anti-Slavery Society was established in 1835. The second article of the new society's constitution stated that "slavery is a stain upon national character." Members asserted that it was their purpose to arouse the awareness that it is the obligation of every citizen to uphold the right to freedom and equality of all men. Racial prejudice should be obliterated and the intellectual, moral, and religious climate of the black population should be upgraded.15 Antislavery preachings in Dutchess County were rarely met with blatant hostility. A response to a lecture given by a Mr. Gould proved to be an unfortunate exception. During his speech annoying background noises culminated when objects were thrown at the podium. The Poughkeepsie Journal sided with the antagonists by accusing abolitionists of unnecessarily arousing violence and upheavals in an attempt to force their views upon the world.16 In April of 1838 the Dutchess County Anti-Slavery Society was organized. Its first meeting was held at the courthouse and Henry B. Stanton was among the speakers. The signatures of 164 Poughkeepsie residents who attended the meeting were received.17 Previous to the widely publicized efforts of the communal antislavery societies, several covert operations founded on the same principles came into existence during the early decades of the nineteenth century. It was at that time that the Underground Railway was established in Dutchess County.18

Susan J. Crane

In 1796 the Orthodox Quakers founded the Nine Partners Boarding School in South Millbrook. Jacob Willetts, one of the first graduates, became the principal at age nineteen and opened up his home as a Railway station. Among the school's many other associations with the Underground Railway was the alumna Lucretia Coffin, a vocal antislavery supporter. After Coffin's marriage to James Mott, she and her husband taught at the school and influenced the student Daniel Anthony who was later to become the father of Susan B. Anthony.19 In the Millbrook Meetinghouse, which was five hundred feet from the Nine Partners School, freed slaves came to the Quakers for protection in the 1830s. A colony of huts was built near the church to house those who had escaped from slavery.20 Stephen Haight lived around the corner from the Nine Partners School and was an active conductor of the Railway. His daughter reported that in her father's home slaves were supplied with food, money, and a place to hide. At night fugitives were taken to Valentine Hallock's house, which was to the south of Poughkeepsie along the Hudson. After a one day stopover, the runaways were rowed across the river by night to the next station on their way to Buffalo en route to Canada.21 Quaker Hill was another Dutchess community that actively participated in the Underground Railway. The resident David Irish always opened his house to slaves coming from Jacob Willetts' station in South Millbrook.22 Although an ardent protester of slavery, Irish refused to join an antislavery society for fear of compromising his personal views. His contribution was to provide a refuge for fugitives along the Railway and to abstain from slave-made products.23 In 1812 the town of Moore's Mill was founded when Alfred Moore erected a millhouse into which runaways were welcomed. The building was later converted to a boarding house called "Floral Hill" and then later the town hal1.24 These select examples are among a myriad of others that illustrate Dutchess County's active participation in the Underground Railway route north from New York City. Poughkeepsie became increasingly more firm in its stand against slavery. During the decade preceding the Civil War, the Underground Railway of-

Ante-Bellum Dutchess Co.'s Struggle Against Slavery

ficer George W. Sterling was elected to the Second Assembly District •25 In 1857 Poughkeepsie held an Anti-Slavery Convention at which Susan B. Anthony spoke. During her speech there was a disturbance from anti-abolitionists. The Poughkeepsie Telegraph critized the antislavery speakers for being radical agitators who only could succeed in stimulating violence with no possible gains.26 An editorial appeared in an 1857 Poughkeepsie Eagle that contained an adamant statement against slavery in rebuke of a Norfolk Herald account of the sale of four free blacks in payment of taxes. The author made an analogy to European feudalism and facetiously called this the American "Democracy."27 In 1860 an incident occurred when an "intelligent looking" fugitive from New Orleans got off the train in Poughkeepsie. He crossed the frozen Hudson to Louisburgh and walked into a shop to get warm. There he was offered refreshments and eagerly told the townspeople of his escape from the South in a vessel with two other destitute runaways. Dressed in rags, they arrived in New York City and were taken into .a store by a philanthropist who bought them warm clothing. The runaway explained that he was passing through Louisburgh on his way to visit his father in Marlborough. He had been a free working man ten years earlier but was seized while loading a trunk onboard a southern ship. From there he was illegally sold to a New Orleans trader and eventually escaped his plight as a slave.28 In the last few years of the ante-bellum period, the Eagle published far fewer editorials in support of slavery than those of an opposing view. Although the general tone in Dutchess County at that time was decidedly against slavery, the newspaper refused to take a firm stand. A sermon was printed in 1860 that denounced abolitionists as cowards with beliefs mptivated by a selfish desire to save their souls.29 The gradual increase in Dutchess County's abolitionist activity reflected a growing interest and compassion for the slave that was preponderate on the eve of the Civil War. Since the eighteenth century the County had been a major instigator of the antislavery movement in New York State. Concerned men and women of Dutchess County continued their efforts until slavery had been successfully abolished throughout the Union with the termination of the Civil War.

Susan J. Crane

Footnotes 1New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975 ed., s.v. "Fugitive Slave Laws." 2"Case of the Fugitive Slave, John Bolding, Before U.S. Commissioner Nelson," Poughkeepsie Eagle, 6September 1851, p. 2. 311 Freedom at 129 Pine Street," Poughkeepsie New Yorker, 26 July 1953. 4Henry Noble MacCracken, Old Dutchess Forever! (New York: Hastings House, 1956), p. 123. 5Philip H. Smith, General History of Dutchess County from 1609-1876 (Pawling, New York: Philip H. Smith, 1877), p. 127. 6The Quakers had been known as antislavery advocates as early as 1688 when those of Germantown, Pennsylvania denounced human bondage as animalistic. The first records of systematic fugitive protection in the North are in letters written in 1786 by George Washington who was distressed that Philadelphia Quakers had successfully aided a runaway. 7Dell T. Upton, "Dutchess County Quakers and Slavery," in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 55 (Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County Historical Society, 1970), pp. 55-57. 8Edmund Platt, The Eagle's History of Poughkeepsie, 1683-1905 (Poughkeepsie: Platt & Platt, 1905), p. 63. 9Denise L. Johnson, Black Migration (Poughkeepsie: Poughkeepsie Bicentennial Forum, June/July 1976), p. 6. 1 ° Wilbur H. Siebert, The Underground Railway from Slavery to Freedom (New York: MacMillan Co., 1898), p. 22. 11Platt, The Eagle's History of Poughkeepsie, p. 63. 12"The Public Career of James Tallmadge," in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 45 (Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County Historical Society, 1960), p. 75. 13 Platt, The Eagle's History of Poughkeepsie, p. 96.

Ante-Bellum Dutchess Co.'s Struggle Against Slavery 14"Enquire of the Printer," 23 September 1795, p. 3.

Poughkeepsie Journal,

15 Henry Noble MacCracken, Blithe Dutchess York: Hastings House, 1958), p. 2.

(New

16"The Anti-Slavery Movement in Dutchess County," in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 28 (Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County Historical Society, 1943), pp. 58-59. 17Ibid., p. 62. 18The Underground Railway transported fugitive slaves from the South to Canada or to other areas that afforded the black man freedom. The Railway operated at night and sent slaves from station to station, employing the "grapevine telegraph" to pass the word to the next conductor along the line. The organization largely was financed by Quakers and philanthropists. W. M. Mitchell estimates that an average of two thousand fugitives reached Canada annually. Out of about ninety thousand attempts, approximately one half were successful in attaining freedom. See Larry Gara, The Liberty Line (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1961), p. 162. 19Frank Hasbrouck, ed., History of Dutchess County New York (Poughkeepsie: S. A. Matthieu, 1909), p. 490. "Dutchess County, American Guide Series (Philadelphia: William Penn Association of Philadelphia, 1937), p. 100. 21 Hasbrouck, History of Dutchess County New York, p. 490. 22 Ibid. 23Phoebe T. Wanzer, David Irish, A Memoir., pamphlet #2 of the Quaker Hill Series of Local History (Quaker Hill, New York: Quaker Hill Conference Association, 1902), pp. 10-11. 24MacCracken, Blithe Dutchess, p. 53. 25Platt, The Eagle's History of Poughkeepsie, p. 172. 26"Anti-Slavery Convention," Poughkeepsie Telegraph, 31 March 1857, p. 3.

Susan J. Crane

27Poughkeepsie Eagle, 5 September 1857. 28"Fugitive Slaves," Poughkeepsie Eagle, 29 December 1860, p. 2. 29"Moral Courage," extracts from a sermon delivered by Rev. Henry Ward Brecher, Poughkeepsie Eagle, 28 April 1860, p. 1.

Selected Bibliography "Anti-Slavery Convention," 31 March 1857, p. 3.

Poughkeepsie Telegraph,

"Case of the Fugitive Slave, John Bolding, Before U.S. Commissioner Nelson." Poughkeepsie Eagle, 6 September 1851, p. 2. Dutchess County. American Guide Series. Philadelphia: William Penn Association of Philadelphia, 1937. "Enquire of the Printer." Poughkeepsie Journal, 23 September 1795, p. 3. "Freedom at 129 Pine Street," Poughkeepsie New Yorker, 26 July 1953. "Fugitive Slaves." 1860, p. 2.

Poughkeepsie Eagle, 29 December

Gara, Larry. The Liberty Line. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1961. Hasbrouck, Frank, ed. History of Dutchess County New York. Poughkeepsie: S. A. Matthieu, 1909. "John A. Bolding, Fugitive Slave." in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 20. Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County Historical Society, 1935. Johnson, Denise L. Black Migration. Poughkeepsie: Poughkeepsie Bicentennial Forum, June/July 1976. MacCracken, Henry Noble. Hastings House, 1958.

Blithe Dutchess.

New York:

MacCracken, Henry Noble. Old Dutchess Forever! York: Hastings House, 1956.

New

Ante-Bellum Dutchess Co.'s Struggle Against Slavery 43

"Moral Courage." Extracts from a sermon delivered by Rev. Henry Ward Brecher. Poughkeepsie Eagle, 28 April 1860, p. 1. New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975 ed. s.v. "Fugitive Slave Laws." Platt, Edmund. The Eagle's History of Poughkeepsie, 1683-1905. Poughkeepsie: Platt & Platt, 1905. Poughkeepsie Eagle, 5 September 1857. Siebert, Wilbur H. ery to Freedom.

The Underground Railway from SlavNew York: MacMillan Company, 1898.

Smith, Philip H. General History of Dutchess County from 1609-1876. Pawling, New York: Philip H. Smith, 1877. "The Anti-Slavery Movement in Dutchess County." in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 28. Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County. Historical Society, 1943. "The Public Career of James Tallmadge." in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 45. Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County Historical Society, 1960. Upton, Dell T. "Dutchess County Quakers and Slavery." in Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook, vol. 55. Poughkeepsie: Dutchess County Historical Society, 1970. Wanzer, Phoebe T. David Irish. A Memoir. Pamphlet #2 of the Quaker Hill Series of Local History. Quaker Hill, New York: Quaker Hill Conference Association, 1902.

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REV. DR. WESTBROOK'S SCHOOL AT FISHKILL REVISITED Margaret Somers* Early nineteenth century separate school buildings for young women and young men in Fishkill Village are described. The participation of Dr. Westbrook and the Fishkill Dutch Church in providing educational facilities is discussed. In the 1925 Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds contributed an article concerning her grandmother's, Miss Sophia Cary, schooldays in Fishkill village in 1825. Recently, doing research on various properties in the village, I was surprised to learn that the building in which Dr. Westbrook had his school for young ladies is still in existence, although moved to a new site and converted to a private dwelling. With the death of the Rev. Nicholas Van Vranken' in 1804, Cornelius D. Westbrook2 was called to Fishkill. He was the first minister to serve solely the Fishkill Dutch Church. When the church was formed, Fishkill shared a minister with Poughkeepsie, with the glebe property in Poughkeepsie. After 1772, they shared their minister with Hopewell and New Hackensack, with the minister residing in the first home of General Jacobus Swartwout3 in Swartwoutville,- midway between the three churches. On January 26, 1803, the Consistory, under the pastorate of Rev. Van Vranken, had leased their glebe property,4 adjacent to the church, to Thomas Lawrence for twelve years at the rate of ten pounds per annum, upon which he was to build a house to their specifications. For these improvements, at the expiration of the lease, Mr. Lawrence would be paid up to, but not in excess of, $1100.00. It was, also stipulated, that there should be reserved as much of the glebe as would be necessary for the burying ground during the twelve years. The glebe property was approximately seven and a half acres on the west side of the church. It was made up of two parcels,5 one piece of seven acres from Catherine Brett and Robert Brett, and a small piece of seventeen perches purchased from Obadiah Cooper and wife. 'The author is the Fishkill Village Historian. 45

Margaret Somers

The latter was triangular in shape with a small house on the present site of Church Street. The house Mr. Lawrence built (or had built) became the first parsonage in the village. In 1812, when the Consistory purchased back the lease from Mr. Lawrence, it became the home of Rev. Westbrook for the duration of his pastorate. This house •stood on the corner of what is now Main and Church Streets, (present site of Educational Building) very close to the road, with the minister's garden in the rear. Cornelius D. Westbrook came to Fishkill in 1805, a young man of twenty-four years. Fishkill was his first pastorate. He married Hannah Van Wyck,6 daughter of Isaac Van Wyck, February 24, 1807. In the early times, most ministers taught school through the week, as well as tending to their ministerial duties. The earliest reference found, concerning Dr. Westbrook's teaching, were entries of 1819-20 in the Treasurer's report7 referring to quarters of schooling paid for by Richard Rapalje, which were considered part of his salary. By 1824, the church was having trouble meeting the minister's salary of five hundred dollars per year. The Consistory sought solutions to correct this situation. Serving on the Consistory at this time were James Given, John C. Van Wyck and Joseph I. Jackson, who were also Trustees of School District #6.8 They were faced with a deficit in the church treasury and a need for enlarged schools. Fishkill's two village schools or district schools9 were overcrowded. With these needs in mind, they took the following steps. On June 10, 1825, a new streetl° (this was the first street in the village) was laid out through the glebe property and called Church Street. From Church Street, the course for Academy Street was taken west to the bounds of the church property. Lots were designated on these two streets which the church leasedll to bring money into their empty coffers. Lot #10, 49 1/2 ft. x 130 ft., on Academy Street was leased to School District #6 for six cents per annum. Lots # 1, 2, and 3 were leased to Dr. Westbrook for his academies, one for youngmen and one for young ladies. On October 9, 1825, a ninety-nine year leasel2 was given to Cornelius D. Westbrook for lots # 1, 2, 3,

Rev. Dr. Westbrook's School

directly behind the minister's garden. These three lots have been called the Academy Lot in later deeds. He was to pay one cent a year for it during his ministry. At the termination of his ministry, the lessor would purchase all buildings placed thereon by Mr. Westbrook, and the new lessee would pay four dollars per year plus assessments and taxes. The other lots were rented for ten dollars a year. The large grey building, which stood until 1967 on Church Street at the head of Academy Street, served as the Academy for males. A small housen which was placed in what is now the cemetery plot between the larger Academy and the minister's house on Church Street, was used as the young ladies boarding school. There is an entry in the Treasurer's Report of James Given14 for cash advanced for Dr. Westbrook to "Adolph Van Waters (Van de Water) for Mr. Westbrook's femal academy $190.00." Whether Mr. Westbrook purchased the house from A. Van de Water, or he moved a house or built it, there is no way of knowing as this was the only reference to this item. I could find no entry that I could identify with the male academy as to its origin. Accoridng to various newspaper articles15 printed fifty years or more later, Dr. Westbrook's Academy was well thought of and spoken of in glowing terms. His students came from Kingston, the river towns, and even the West Indies. Some of the students prepared at the Academy continued their education at Rutgers,16 Princeton, Union and Yale Colleges. In 1830, Rev. Westbrook left Fishkill to become the first editor of the Christian Intelligencer in New York City. His lease and the academy buildings were purchased for $650.00 by his nephew, William E. Rapalje,17 a member of the Dutch Church and village resident. He paid four dollars a year for each academy until his death in 1833. It was probably at this time that Miss Mary Bunce18 taught a grammar school for both sexes in the small house (female academy) as mentioned in Herman Dean's newspaper articles 1926. Miss Munch may have been the unidentified maiden lady mentioned in Miss Reynold's article who taught for Dr. Westbrook. Richard Rapalje, the younger brother of William, continued to lease both academies until 1838. Richard,19 at this time, was President of the Board of Trustees for the Fishkill Academy. They were building

Margaret Somers

a new academy on Broad Street (street laid out in 1829). From 1838 on, he leased only one academy, so it probably was at this time that the small house2° was moved to its present site, the corner of Rapalje Road and Hopewell Avenue. It was converted to a tenant house on the Rapalje village farm, one black from its original site as a school. In 1972, this house was the last piece of the Rapalje village farm to be sold. It is now owned by the author. The larger building (male academy) again saw service as an academy in 1846, when Richard Rapalje enlarged the Academy Lot with part of his farm and built a new academy building21 on the extension of Church Street, then the new section of the Post Road to Poughkeepsie. He used the old academy as a dormitory. It was known as Dr. Pingry's Academy for Boys (1846-1853).

Notes and References 1Rev. Nicholas Van Vranken, born Schenectady, May 24, 1762. Licensed to preach the gospel 1790, by General Synod. Pastorate Fishkill, Hopewell and New Hackensack 1791-1804. Rev. Francis Kip, 150th Anniversary Dutch Church, New York 1866, p. 34. 2Rev. Cornelius D. Westbrook, born Rochester, Ulster County, 1782. Graduated Union College 1801. Tutored at Union two years. Licensed to preach gospel by Classis in Albany 1804. Ordained at Fishkill, March 9, 1806. Rev. Francis Kip, 150th Anniversary Dutch Church, New York 1866, p. 40. 3Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, Dutch Houses in Hudson Valley Before 1776, p. 384. 4 Dutch Church Records, Minutes of the Consistory, p. 144. 5Dutchess County Clerk's Office, Deed, Liber 388, p. 7. ; Robert E. Dean, Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book 1916-1918, p. 12. 6Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, Marriages & Deaths, Dutchess County Historical Society Collection, p. 115.

Rev. Dr. Westbrook's School

7Dutch Church Records, Account Book of Treasurer, Richard Rapalje (1812-1825): Aug. 15, 181.9 Richard Rapalje paid for schooling $5.34 April 22, 1820 " " for 2 qtrs schooling $5.00 July 18, 1820 Paid 4 quarters schooling .8.00 Oct. 17, 1820 " " $8.00 8Dutchess County Clerk's Office, Deed, Liber 40, p. 366; William E. Rapalje from School District #6. 9The two village schools were located, as follows: In 1750 a lot was deeded to Eleazor DuBois by Robert Brett for the use of a school, 36 ft. square. Liber 40, P. 366. This site was south side Post Road, east of Dutch Church. Lot was sold to B. Hasbrouck by School District #6. 19 perches of land. Liber 37, p. 79. This site now part of parking area Grand Union Shopping Center on south side of Fishkill Landing Road (Rte. 52). 10Surveyor's records in the office of Peter Hustis, Beacon, N.Y. 11Survey of Dutch Church Lease properties, 1853, map 1854, made by J. L. Scofield. Office of Peter Hustis, Beacon, N.Y. 12Dutchess County Clerk's Office, Deed, Liber 170, p. 572-577. 12Robert E. Dean, Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book 1916-1918, p. 14. 14Dutch Church Records, Treasurer's Account Book, James Given. 15Newspaper clipping found in book of Mrs. Howell White, Fishkill, N.Y., under the heading of "Our Village--In Olden Times", no date or author. 16William E., Richard, and Archibald Rapalje, sons of Richard Rapalje (Elder, Deacon and Treasurer of Dutch Church 1812-1825), attended Rutgers College. Verified by Registrar's Office, Rutgers University, July 31, 1978. 17Dutchess County Clerk's Office, Deed, Liber 170, p. 577. 18Miss Mary Bunce came to Fishkill Village to teach

Margaret Somers

school in 1815 from Preston, Conn. Other references to Miss Bunce: Robert E. Dean, Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book 1916-1918, article "Dutch Church", p. 14; Herman Dean, newspaper articles Fishkill Standard 1916-1927, p. 5; Blodgett Memorial Library, Fishkill, N.Y. 19Dutchess County Clerk's Office, Deed, Liber 65, p. 517. Executors of Cornelius C. Van Wyck to Fishkill Education Society, June 1, 1838; Herman Dean, newspaper articles, Fishkill Standard, 1926-1927, p. 5, Blodgett Memorial Library, Fishkill, N.Y. 20Robert E. Dean, Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, 1916-1918, p. 14; Herman Dean, newspaper articles, Fishkill Standard, p. 5, Blodgett Memorial Library, Fishkill, N.Y. 2'This building was known as "the Chapel". It was moved to the corner of Main and Church Streets and used by the church for Sunday School and Church meetings. It was taken down when the present Educational Building was constructed.

LIVINGSTON FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE: 1732-1799 Edited by Kevin J. Gallagher* Correspondence between the Livingstons and many wenknown men of New York provides insights into legal, personal, social, economic and political activities in eighteenth century Dutchess County and New York Province. The letters presented in this article represent the second installment of an article that originally appeared in the Year Book fifty-nine years ago. In the 1921 Year Book of the Dutchess County Historical Society was an article entitled "A Packet of Old Letters" (Vol. 6, pp. 26-61). The letters referred to were a body of 18th Century correspondence found in the attic of the Dutchess County Court House that was torn down in 1902. The letters presented in that earlier article were correspondence to and from various members of the Livingston Family, principally to Gilbert Livingston (1688-1746) of Kingston and Henry Livingston (17141799) of Poughkeepsie. Henry, it should be noted, served as Clerk of Dutchess County from 1737 to 1789; a term of office that can be envied by current politicians. Recently, several more letters written by or to the Livingston Family were found in the Local History Collection of Adriance Memorial Library, Poughkeepsie. The earliest letters date from 1732 and also are chiefly to Gilbert and Henry Livingston. The subjects covered include legal matters, personal correspondence, and a variety of other topics. All were transcribed as originally written, with no corrections of spelling or format. Except where noted, all were transcribed by Kevin J. Gallagher, Local History Librarian at Adriance Memorial Library, during the spring of 1979. The letters are arranged chronologically in two groups. The first section consists of letters to or from Gilbert Livingston and Gilbert Livingston, Jr. The second group is letters to or from Henry Livingston and Henry Livingston, Jr. Coupled with "A Packet of Old Letters," this correspondence offers rich insights into the lives and ''The author is Librarian, Local History Collection, at the Adriance Memorial Library in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 51

Kevin J. Gallagher

concerns of one of Colonial New York's most prominent families. It is hoped by the editor that if other collections of Livingston papers exist that have not been transcribed that they can be made available for inclusion in future editions of the Year Book.

Gilbert Livingston to Messrs. Debois and Bock of New York - 1732. Original letter is in Dutch - translator unknown: Sir, Understanding that the consistory of Kingston had complained to your honor about Mr. Petrus vanDrieze's acts on account of his brother Jan vanDrieze, I doubt not but that they will make your honor acquainted with all the particulars. On the ninth of February last being informed that by request of Mr. Petrus vanDrieze made publicly in the church, a consistory meeting was to be held, /went there with many others in order to hear what this gentleman should propose. This gentleman was asked why he had caned the consistory together. Mr. Petrus vanDrieze having, after much admonition in the name of the Lord, recommended peace, said that he understood that Mr. Herber, by means of many lies, had slandered him and his brother, meaning Jan vanDrieze. To which he was answered that he should see Mr. Herber, and he was referred to the consistory at Albany and the consistory at Schenectady. Then Mr. Peter vanDrieze said that he would show to the consistory of this town that his brother was a lawful preacher, according to the National Synod held at Dort, A.D. 1618 & 1619. Mr. Petrus vanDrieze took a book up from a chest that was near, in order to prove this, when he was told by the consistory, that if his brother did not deserve this, he should leave it to disinterested preachers, upon which Mr. Petrus vanDrieze answered that as they did not want to let him speak it was unnecessary for him to remain any longer and went, having his chest carried after him, out of the church, with great rejoicing of those who adhered to Jan vanDrieze, and who compared him with our Savior, saying to Jan vanDrieze, it is crucify him, crucify him, but we shall stand by you. And this day you have made many friends.

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Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

Much more was said, but because of many talking at once, and on account of the tumult, nothing could be understood, and there was reason for fearing the mob. (but before he went I heard Jan vanDrieze shout that he was as lawful a preacher as any in the whole country.) Sir, when Jan vanDrieze was ordained in New Haven, my sainted father wrote to your honor for advice as to how he should act toward him. In answer to which your honor advised him that he would do well to pass Jan vanDrieze by, he got the same advice from Mr. Petrus Vass. I understand also that Jan vanDrieze has not yet been recognized by the Brotherhood, but if Mr. Petrus vanDrieze can prove that his brother is a lawful preacher, these parts will be better served in the future. But I believe that the difference in the language is not of so much consequence in this affair as the difference of the doctrine, and my honored Sir I request you humbly for pardon for this boldness and remain Your honord D.W. Servant G. L. (Gilbert Livingston) Kingston May 31 1732

Cadwallader Colden to Gilbert Livingston - 1732: Sept 12th 1732 Sr I never was more hurried than when I left New York last nor did my business ever require my presence in the Country more & this I hope will excuse my not staying to have our mine accounts finished but I shall be satisfied with what the others do & take care to transmit what ever hallance shall be found due by me at the Compy shall direct either to Kingstone or New York. I have been surprized with the strange stories that have been propogated with relation to our road Bin. I wish the Committee had giv'n as fair opportunities to answer objections as to others to make them. I have endeavor'd to answer in a letter to Captn. Rutgers what is come to my ears. I see no room of Jealousy unless it be from the Partiality of the Comrs. & the like objection will lye against all Comrs. The only guard against this is to name men of Probity. Who they are provided they be Freeholders inhabiting this part of the Country is indifferent to me Mr. Harison only excepted. If the Assembly find any cause

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to apoint him either by name or under any other Designation I expect to be on an equal footing with him for my visible estate & interest is at least equal to his in this part of the Country. I hear one objection to the Bin is that it is Introductory of a new County. To me it seems quite otherwise for if the inconveniences now complain'd of by this part of the Country's being in two different Counties be remov'd as this of the roads is one of them then there will be no reason to make one County of it or to desire it. As to the seperate County I never concern'd my self any manner of way further about it than to hear those that spoke for it & to say that I would not any way oppose it. This part of the County is now free from all Inclination to party & I hope our Members will encourage us in this Disposition. They certainly can have no advantage in raising up a spirit of party which some are fond of doing. I can think of nothing wherein your Interest can be opposite to mine but on the contrary I think we may be useful to each other & therefore I believe you will be ready to oblige. Sr Your very humble sevt. Cadwallader CoZden

Francis Hanson to Gilbert Livingston - 1732: 14th Septbr 1732 Dear Sr I hope that by this time you have carried up your basket and made ye proper present, which is the proper step to commence Statesman and politician, & as yr interest is now (I hope) well fired, I beg of you to employ some of it in ye house with Captn Paneling(?) & others. We send down two petitions against the bill, one from Orange, the other from Ulster, & let me intreat you to get both read, they are to both chambers. My poor Wife was dangerously ill when I came up, but is now somewhat better, and I am returning by the first' boat. Pray, Sir tell Mr Hammond that I beg of him to send up Denmark and all the shoes he can possibly get by him. Pray pardon this request from Sir your most sincere friend & servant Era. Hanson

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

Cornelius Kool to Gilbert Livingston - 1732(?): (Sept. 10, 1732?) Mr. Livingston This serves to ask your counsel or advice about how to act toward my son in law Timoteus Low - I have no doubt but that you have already heard of it before your departure for York. After much raving and tearing, swearing and cursing and after breaking part of the furniture he took a journey to Petomack. After his return just as bad as before, he means to migrate hence for he has bought a settlement there. He now intends to sell everything that is loose, and what is fixed he means to break to pieces or pun down. Now my question is if he has a right to do this, firstly about the house, to break it or pull it down or at any rate to destroy it, as he threatens. As to the first building I had that done at my expense viz - house, barn and outhouse?, excepting the planks and nails which were given for the purpose by Cornelius Low. But he has done the rest of the building, viz, a kitchen of boards, and now this summer a stone room, but not finished and from this he has already taken a stone at the corner spoiling one wall of it, and all this building is done on my ground and he has never had any title thereto, nor lease nor anything else, and without making any conditions. And I have not only seen to the sowing but also to the mowing and to having the corn brought into the outhouse? And now he makes pretension to be fully paid for what he has built there, otherwise he will break up or pull down everything. Now the second question is if I could not bring in a bill for rent for that I have allowed him to live there with the understanding that he would make some improvements for the benefit of his children and heirs, on account of this I have asked for no rent, but never said that he should not pay any rent neither have I ever set any time as to how long he could live there. Now that he is so wrong against wife and children and everyone so that his counterpart cannot be found. Now is the question thirdly, if I could not prevent him from selling such articles as my daughter has received from me, like horses, cattle and all sorts of articles besides furniture. My kind request is for your good advice in these matters mentioned and that you will advise only in such a way as you can maintain if it should come to an action. Please send me your advice by the first opportunity.

Kevin J. Gallagher

So I tjll remain friend and servant Cornelius KooZ I have enclosed your fee. Gilbert Livingston to Alexander Colden - 1732: 14 Sept 1732 Sir I beg leave to put you in mind that you promised to see me paid my Due as Escheater Gone for finding an office on Long Island. At ye Request of Mr Boile & Last Year at Your Request. I drew a note on him payable to Mr Nichols my Deputy for L15 -- which he refused to pay though that Sum is not half so much as I might resonably have demanded, as I since have been informed- The Usual Allowance to ye Escheater is 5p and as I am going out of Town I Desire you will pay me or else shall be obliged to take such methods as ye Law allows which I hope you will prevent by Complying- with the reasonable request of Hon. Sir Ye Most Obedient & 'Very Humble Servt. (Gilbert Livingston)

Gilbert Livingston to Cornelius Cool - 1732. letter is in Dutch - translator unknown:

Original

New York 17 Sept 1732 Good friend Have received your letter without date the tenth of this (month) And 'learned with grief about the unheard of behavior of your son-in-law, concerning your enquiry to know if he has a right to sell all that is loose and to break up all that is fixed, - firstly in answer if he may sell all that is loose, -you should understand that he may at his pleasure dispose of all that you have given to him or to his wife, - secondly, if he may break that which is fixed, carpentry, buildings, etc., which have been

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

erected on your grounds, he may not change them, much less may he break them. And it is in your discretion to bring him before the law for this, when he will be compelled to make good all damages caused to the carpentry. But know that what he himself has made, or what you have made, concerning lumber & nails, which his father has provided, if you have not made any promise for it, you cannot be charged for it, without condition or without time, so it is in your discretion to have him give this back, but of this he should be given warning. And you should also understand that if you let him sow, he should have the privilege of growing. If you have had order from him or his wife to sow, mow, and draw, you can require payment therefor, but otherwise not. He cannot require payment for what he has built on your ground unless you have promised him payment for it. I mean to be home next week, if God permit and will speak about this with you more particularly and remain with hearty salutation to and friends. Your humble servant G. L. (Gilbert Livingston)

John Alsop to Gilbert Livingston (actually two letters combined) - 1736: Mr. Livingston Sir As you or your father was so good the last Court to move on my behalf in the following Actions among other things, as by(?) your Docket sent me by the way of New York (which tho long by the way has come safe to my hand) for which kindness I will be accountable whenever it shall be in my power to repay. I desire you will send me copys of such pleadings as shall be filed in your office in relating to the following Cases viz in Debt Oliver Tonkin I expect a plea in this Case if any filed vs Jacobus Cloogh and if none I now enter Judgement for want of a plea John Drake vs

in Favor I expect a plea if any Entered if none

Kevin J. Gallagher Jacobus Bruyn I now enter Judgement for want of a plea Peter Mullond in trespass I expect a plea if any Entered, vs if none I now Enter judgement for want of a John Reed plea Susanna Bond in Case I hope you will send me a copy of vs a Declaration as I have twice before desired Leonard Lewis and received none Mathew Dubois in Case if any plea be entered I begg you send it by bearer if none, I now Enter vs WiZZm Haywood Judgement for want of a plea ApriZZ 7th Day 1736 Sir I send three opinions viz Killpatrick vs Bayard (Kith Cartaget? Alexander Milliken) and James Crawford agt. Hugh FZanagen and three with of venirds(?), one for each case Desire you will sign and seal them and let the Sheriff have them forthwith that he may have time by himself or Deputy to serve them I also Desire you will send me the bond that Filkin put into your hand agt. Benjamn. Ashe I have now an Opportunity of making use of it Upon your giving Sparks the Bond he will give you a Discharge from Filkin that he sent by me, which order and Discharge Sparks has now with him, if John Reed has pleaded in time and Joyned (with?) me I begg you will make out a venird(?) and set my Name to it and give it to the Sheriff to Execute and send me a writt of Subpeni in this Case, that I may fill it up with the names of the Evidences, in which case your father is hereby desired to be retained on behalf of the plaintiff if not before by the Defendt. To which I Desire his answer by this Opportunity. Jean Saynor act no further in the above affairs at present, for want of Copys of the pleading in Due time for which before now I have sent to your Office twice and could not receive Any, and thereby rendered Uncapable of proceeding, I hope and Expect now without faile any request may be CompZyed with and you will thereby oblige your Humble Servant Jn Alsop Aprill 7th 1736

Gilbert Livingston Jr. to Gilbert Livingston - 1740:

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

Loving Father Received Your's the 23d of this Instant Date, the 27th of Sept, with much joy to Hear all is well at Home. I saw Coll. Kope yesterday, & told me that His ship by home I now Right, was agoing to New York, & She lay up at Kingston and to send my letter to him, and He will send it forward I am now on Board of His Majesty Ship Hampton Court Capt Digby Dent a 70 Gun Ship with the same men as I brought out of New York with me They have all Behaive very well excepting Francis Hagerman. I gave him Liberty 3 weeks ago to go a shoar for 24 Hours & he is not return'd nor heard of him The day after He whent on shoar Capt Loyd saild for NYork and I think is gone home with him. If he is he must take care Never to come in my way; all our People under me Gives thire service to all our family - I wrot to you by Capt Boyd Do. to Cuzn. Byred. I hope you Received that MV love to all friends at home and Please to Remember my Love to Brother Rutson & Brother Henery & Sister Allida for them you dont see Every Day While I have been a Righting this Capt. Night Brought the news that 15 sails of French men of war is arrived at Port Luise, a Place at the SouthSide of High Spaniola, and there is 12 Sails of Spainish man of war in Cartagena We are afraid that Lord Catheart wont come out. No more news at present but joyn in Love with all friends and Remain Your Most Dutyfull Son Gilbert Livingston Junr On Board the Hamptencourt In Portroyal Harbour November 25th 1740 P.S. I will not fail to write with Every oppertunity.

Gilbert Livingston Jr. to Gilbert Livingston - 1742: Loving father

New York Octor. 8th 1742

Tomorrow I shall sail for Jamaica in a Brig called ye Port Royal. Capt Burchill in Company with Mr. Simpson. I spoak with Capt Coobey and he told me he would be very glad to serve me and would write to Con. Martin He told me he had received a Letter from Mr. Willson Agent to our Regiment, to tell the officers not to draw for their ArSo rars, that he had not yet Receiv'd the Arrear Money my Love to that I shant get it till I Come to Jamaica

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62 Brothers and Sisters and Duty to You

I Remain Yr Loving Son Gilbt. Livingston

Dirk W. Ten Broeck to Gilbert Livingston - 1740: Knightsfield 19th, May 1740 Uncle Livingston Yours of ye 20th April Last received wherein you Desired me to run the North west Line from ye Sandy hills to Naversink Creek, which I have done from the first joint of Said hill as I met with it Along the Minissink road to said Naversink Creek. Having not Traversd down Stream to the Fall for the reasons we fell Something to Short of provissions and Likewise very bad woods along said Creek, But to the Best of my gissing I think we Came about three quarters of a mile above it. From your Dutch Cousin and Humbl Servt to Comand Dirk W. Ten Broeck

John Alsop to Gilbert Livingston - 1743: Sir When at Kingston last I remember that I Gave you a doequit of with to be renewed, but being then crowded with Business did not keep a copy and therefore am not certain what writts (I) advised you to renew and therefore Send the following Docquit Desiring you will Oblige my Notes and requests. I also send you Such writts as were returned last Court (?) Supposing you may have Occassion of them in Order that you may not vary in renewing your writts. I also Send a Docquit of Same(?) now with & this with ready Drawn, Desire you will Seal them and let the Sheriff have them all together as Soon as possible in which youl Oblige Sir Your very Humble Servant Decemr 6th 1743

Jn Alsop

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

Docquit as followeth viz Nath Hazard vs Robert Neely

renew this Renw 28 Dec 1743

The Same vs James White

The like Renew 28 Dec 1743

Nathaniel Hazard assigned of viz(?) vs The like Isaac Andrews Renew 1743 12 Nov.

The Same vs The Same

The like in an action of (?) as I dont find the original returned must suspect you did not receive it John Denmark renew this vs Renwd:28 John Bayard Dec 1743 New Actions

The Same vs John Andrews

The Like Renew 1743 12 Nov

Thomas Robinson vs Isaac Andrews

The Like to be renewed Renewed 12 Nov. 1743

Patrick Carr Seal of vs writt here John Chambers Enclosed The Same vs Henry Case

The like

Exec. of'john Thomson vs The Like James Blair The like Jacob Decker Renew 12 Nov 1743 vs John Neely John Alsop The like Renew vs W. Bond 28 Dec. 1743 The like John Bayard vs Lauchlin Campbell William Harper upon ye Case make vs out Execution to James Cambell Levie upon Goods & Chattel L12 16 9 Twelve pounds Sixteen shillings and nine pence Zachariah Hoffman assigned of please to Examine the Minutes & Entries if there was such a vs John McNeill writt made out or Not and let me know how you find it that I may thereby be Able to Judge if John McNeill has the Right to Commence an Action to Git back Some money - which he paid to Said Hoffman about(?) Mr Wileman because he has paid Mr Wileman in Such an action, if such was

Kevin J. Gallagher

Gov(?) on you was Spoke to to assist Stringham & Hazard vs renew this Daniel Brodhead

Gilbert Livingston Jr. to Gilbert Livingston - 1744: Kingston Jamaica March 14th 1743/4 Loving Father My last to you was of the 24th of. Last month by Capt Tucker, in which I acquanted you that I was fitting my Sloop out to go a Privateering, but Since have broak the voiage. The Company that was concerned wont be at the Expence to fitt both out, the owner of the Sloop I believe will send me to the Spanish main to turtile, or Else he will Send Me to Highspaniola with a Cargo of negroes, to Purchase a Cargo of indigo. Last week the Zaw suit was trid between Mr Battersby and Mr HendZy. The Latter lost and is to pay my employer four hundred and thirty eight Pounds Damages for the Loss of the Brign. that I Carried to New York, and I am Lik'd to Loose about Seventy Pounds which I am answerable for to the Sailors. And my employer will Lose about Six hundred Pound by the Vessell altho he got the Action. All Needfull with my Love to Brothers and Sisters and am Your Loving Son Gilbt Livingston

Alexander Colden to Gilbert Livingston - 1744: Newburgh May 31 1744 Sir I desire you'd please to let me know what you have done with Leonard agt Barent(?) Cole & if you have got the money from them (as I hope you have haveing preaent occassion for it). I desire you'd pay it together with what you have from Captn Campbell on my Acct to my Brother Cadwallader & you'll oblidge.

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

Sir Yr very humble Servt Alexr Golden To Gilbert Livingston Esq Solomon Davis to Gilbert Livingston - 1745. letter is in Dutch - translator unknown:

Original

Manisink. 13 August 1745 Brother Livingston Hoping that you and all your family are in good health„ further I ask you to send me in writing your advice with the first opportunity about an affair which has happened here and which we do not understand. It is that my son Jons is constable here and he receives a warrant upon a person whom he takes and brings before the Justice. Judgement was passed against him, upon which execution followed and distrained a horse and sells it at auction, returning the rest of the money to the owner according to the bill of cost. The party thinking that injustice was done him has George arrested, the Justice who signed the warrant becomes his security, the party's lawyer sends a declaration which sets forth that he was taken by force which is not so, now they say if George enters a plea that he is committed to the act and if he does not do it that the Justice need not set him free, so I ask your advice, how to act in this matter. U. D. W. brother Solomon Davis I think it would be very hard that a constable should get into trouble as he is only a servant and does no more than what the Justice orders him to do by his warrant and execution.

Gilbert Livingston to Robert Livingston - 1786: Poghkeepsie August 26th 1786 Dear Unkle, I find by the Execution against John Concklin only the

Kevin J. Gallagher

penalty of the Bond £140 in (?), as I have not, the date I cannot tell the Sum for principle and Interest that is now due. Wish you would send up the Bond by Capt. North that I may be enabled to take the Mortgage. The Costs will be Paid. I expect to come down with North, his next trip when I will bring the papers & Costs with me. I found my Father bravely, he has his shoes on, and walks about. All friends as usual - our Loves Ret. Your Affectionate Nephew Gilbert Livingston 1767 Oct 16th is date of bond w Int pd to remain Int from 16th Oct 1769 (Above written in a different hand, probably Robert Livingston) Robert Livingston Esq

Gilbert Livingston Jr. to John Reade - 1793: Mr. John Reade D. Sir Cos. enry wishes to have his account with the estate settld, you are well apprized that I have no other means of doing i3q but by calling on you & Coil. Bun. for the money due thq on your note Henry is now going to Red Hook I sincerely wish you would settle the matter between you without my interference. Otherwise than by taking one Rct. & giving another. Mrs. Livingston & daughter join in our best respects to Mrs. Reade & yourself Am Your friend & humble servant Gilbert Livingston Poghkeepsie Feby. 6th 1793 We have given up the Ride to Bethlehem.

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

John Reade to Gilbert Livingston Jr.(?) - 1799: Poughkeepsie 24th August 1799 Sir Some time ago I was inform'd by Judge Radcliff that upon being inform'd you $ 500 ready to pay on Account of Mr. Stevenson that he had requested you to deposit the same in the New York Branch Bank. Last week inquiry was made by Judge Radcliff at the bank and he was inform'd that no Deposite had been made there either in his or my name. I have therefore to request that it may be immediately done & that I may be inform'd of the same that I may draw on the Bank for the Amount. I am Your humble Servt. Jn. Reade P.S. I think it is time, and I wish to have the business closed. John Alsop to Henry Livingston - 1738: Mr. Livingston Sir I send now enclosed a Declaration agt James Wellden(?) adv William Hick(?), if the declaration in the Case Lancaster Symds vs. Nathaniel Yeoman, Cofield(?). I desire you to send me a copy first opportunity, as also a copy of yr Declaration Jn Manfied vs John Cains.being what offers at present (?) from yor Humble Sevt. Jn Alsop (John?) P.S. This day the Bearer gra(n)dson of Peter Doty(?) brought me an Acpt.(?) of Peter Doty agt. Cornelius A(?) viz. Sep. 29, 1733 Cornelius A(?) Dr. to Peter Doty two pounds New York money to be paid on yr. lot January then Next Ensuing (?) being So much money the Said Cornelius promised to pay him upon Exchange of horses and upon his failure thereof to pay him interest till paid, the bearer being in haste, and I am Just about the middle of my harvest and have several people to Zook after, therefore desire you to draw the Declaration Peter Doty vs. Cornelius A(?) upon the above mentioned Cause of Action (and file it yr office). Yor as aforesaid Jn Alsop July 11th 1738 June 15th 1738

Kevin J. Gallagher

John Alsop to Henry Livingston - 1740: Sir Enclosed I send a Declaration William Smith and his wife against Johannes Whitman with the Severall Blanks as you may see, which Blanks I was Obliged to leave by reason the plaintiff has altogether disappointed me in not sending a Copy of the writt altho I have sent two Letters to him on(?) that purpose, therefore as the writt is with you (I) desire you will fill up the Blanks with his wifes Name and at the Conclusion of the Declaration add the words Necessary and if Damaged According to the writt. I also send a Domurer(?) to the plea of Hagaman tis what I should not have made choice of but the plea is in such form and as I think such a Material(?) omition in the Same that I could not reply that the whole Matter in the Declaration could be brought in (?). Your Comply and will Oblige. Your very Humble Servant March 5th 1739/40

Jn Alsop

it was but two days past that I got any word from Smith P.S. if I have not Named the Defendant as he is called in the writt please to amend it. J. A.

Jacob Rutsen to Henry Livingston - 1739: Kingston July 28th, 1739 Loving Brother This is to acquaint you that we are in good health. Whiching these may find you likewise. . . We have got our harvest for Last Thursday, & have a Bundance of stray(w) All att present but whiching you health & happiness & a save Return. Allidalie(?) gives her love to you & I Remane Yoour Ever Loving Brother • J. Rutsen Jun(?)

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

Philip Livingston Jr. to Henry Livingston - 1741: Albany 14th January 1741 Couz. Henry The papers of yours relating to your money you advanced at Mr. Johnsons request are in my hands now. I will take care to get it from him the first time he comes to Town or arrest him for the same. I send you here inclosed a note from one Francis Hagaman to John Caine which Mr. Johnson a long time since desired me to send down to you but has been neglected by me. He desires you to try to gett the plow & or the Value thereof in Cash, if he Refuses to pay you then Let me know thereof, that he may send you an order to arrest him. I have gott the money belonging to Henry Cronkright(?) in my hands which I will pay your father the first time he comes up, or to any body as I shall beordered. I beg the favour of you to buy for me 200 young Apple Trees so that I may have them in the Spring. Let me know when & where I must send for them. Wherein you'Z much oblidge your kinsman &c. Phil. Livingston Junr. Gilbert Livingston to Henry Livingston - 1742: Kingston March 1, 1741/2 Loving Son The Same Day you Left us your Sister Hannah was taken with Spitting blod which has since increased and she has Spitt and vomitted quantities of coroded(?) bZod as bluish as Ink last Satterday night. She was Extreem ill as also yesterday, she has been better last night, but is very week yet which troubles your mother and makes her (who was not recovered of her last illness) very week. Your Sister Ruth is here, wee are very much fatigued with sitting up for want of Rest. I Rec'd a letter from your brother Robt. of the 22d of last month he arr'd at York the 13th. Give my favour to Mr. Wilson. Morgan Tappen(?) says that you have a new Committee and expect me soon for the Common Pleas and that Judge FiZkin is Left out. And that Mr. Wilson has promised(?) it which I hope may be true. All our wishes(?)

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70 from

Yr. Loving Father Gil. Livingston Robert Livingston and others to Henry Livingstcln- 1742: Dutchess County, the 23d, Sept. 1742. Mr. Henry Livingston As you have undertaken to Survey the Patent commonly called Hardenburgh Patent & Compd. We have requested Major John Hardenburgh to supply you with all the necessary requisites for such a Survey As also two able Chainbearers & one man to cary the Flagg & as many Indians as shall be requisite to cary the Provisions & Baggage & five Pound in cash you are to receive of Majr. Hardenburgh for wch you are to be accountable. You are to go from Kingston as soon as conveniently you can about the beginning of October to the Northwest Corner of Patent to the Sandy Hills or Jagh Plaats and procure what information you can from the Inhabitants that live nearest that place wch is the first Station & from thence Survey a Northwest line or such line at sd. patent direct along the ad. Patent till you come to the FishKill or Delaware River & as you Survey the ad. line you are to order the Trees to be well markt and at proper places to erect monuments & especially when you come to the Fish Kin you are to Erect a large monument with such proper marks on Stone & Trees that the place may be notorious to all Persons from thence you are to Survey along the Fish Kill till you come to the head thereof where also a large monument is to be erected as aforesd. as you Survey along the Fishkill you are to run along the Kin and where there are Points you may Survey from Point to Point & take the (?) of the Points, where they are large (7) the Kill, or main branch of it, will admitt for the expeditions. From the head of the Fish Kill you are to traverse the line from the head to the Head of Cartwrights Kill, & in consideration of yr Service you are to receive ten Shill pr. day from the day you Sett out till you shall arrive back at Kingstone as witness our hands ROBT. LIVINGSTON

THO. LEWIS LOUWERENS VAN CLEECK

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

GULn.VERPLANCK ISAAC KIP ETAS. FILKIN JOHANNES LEWES BARENDT LEWIS ABRAHAM ERR Jun RARDENBURGH

Abraham Lodge to Henry Livingston - 1742: Sir Your favour & sherif Ulster I rec'd for which I thank you. I am Surprised your Sherif Sho'd inform me that Saunder's relations were raising the money for discharge of his Debt without a foundation. As to Mr. Wilson's intended proposals if Mr. Bayard shall think fit to accept one I shall be satisfied. When the time for pleading expires in the Actions Rowe v. Elsworth & Scott v. Gorbantz(?) youl please to enter Judgmts. as also (in?) Rapalje v. Crous(?) if Special bail be put in & the Special bail good. If no Special bail be put in in time pursuant to yr rules of your Court be pleased to get the bail bond from your Sherif & issue writs on it. And be So good when this or any thing also be done in the causes I am concern'd in to inform me. Whereby youZ highly oblidge. New York 29

Yr. very Oblidged Humble Servant

Novr. 1742 Abraham Lodge

Jeremiah Calkin to Henry Livingston - 1743: Westershier May ye 2nd 1743 Mr. Levistone Clarke Sir These Jeremiah names to have not ye writs

are to informe you that I sent up some Names by Wright to have Severel Men sued & I hear he sent ye Mr. Croock & five of them have made up & if you an readey Signed ye Writs I Desire you not to Signe for ye Six folowing names viz Stephen Miles John Eris

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Eleazer Carey Jonathan Stirdivant Samuell Shed Simon Dakens for these Six have made up & I have sent my Son with these Loyns to prevent ye writs Coming out this from your friend & humble Servent Jeremiah Calkin

Jacob Rutsen to Henry Livingston - 1744: 1744 Rinebeck 9 Sunday Afternone Loving Brother Send you the Commission by Mr. Gay which is the first opurtunity I had since I came home. I hope you had a good voyage & Completed your Business to Expectation. My wife and son are in good health hoping This may find you & yours in the same. (I) shall come & see you first snow that comes. In the meantime Remain yours to Commd. Jacob Rutsen James Emott to Henry Livingston - 1750: New York June 26th 1750 Sir Be pleased to make out a Writt for William Gale against Job Cornwell for Tou Pounds, action on the case when done be so good as to deliver or forward to the Sheriff and You'll oblige Sir Your Very humble Sevt. James Emott The deft lives I am told at Partword(?) To Mr. Henry Livingston

Henry Beekman to Henry Livingston - 1753:

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799

New York 3 March 1753 Loving Cozn. I send you by Jong Isaac Kip; the news paper you know we have to Defd. vs. Hofinan Sects(?) of Great consequances. The Jurrors are the Decisory. I find the Jurrors twix Hofn. & Benthuysen where those voted for him in the Last Election should the Sherif by him, already be secured; as he is artfun, & understands dabbling. I would venture the Sub, but how to come at such knowledge, is AM & could I be certain the Chief Sherif was Determined to pennl. them him self, would be for a struck Jury, give me You. opinion soon; as our Lawyers require of me to Deside that mater, as thy may proceed by our aprobation. Remain Yr. affectioned Unkle to Command Henry Beekman Clear Everitt to Henry Livingston - 1762: Sir I should be glad you would be good a nuff to ask Mn. Livingston Esqr weather he has entred my appearance upon the Jutment of Mr. Aspinwall and let me no by a line by the hoss I have sold or Maid a bargain for the farm to Jacob Griffin for L400 - and am Determine to take an proper steps to secuer Mr. Livingstons Intrest I possably can. I saw your son Gilbert yester day & your family are an well if you have any oppertunity to find the Hiest price of the wheat & flower should be glad youd let me no - My respects to your self and an friends I Remain your assured friend & Very Humb. Sevt. March 11th 1762

Clear Everitt

To Henry Livingston Esqr P.S. Jacob Conkling ware a speaking to Me the Other Day that he had a inclination to goo in the service this campain I promased him if I should Be any ways (?) I would Do the Best I could for him if it was a greeable to you & not Else I remans as above C. Everitt

Kevin J. Gallagher

Henry Livingston Jr. to Coll. James Clinton at Little Britain - 1775: Poghkeepsie August 19th 1775 Dr. Sir I have the pleasure to inform you that yesterday afternoon my wife was a Joyfull mother of a fine daughter- - a circumstance in providence I highly rejoice at- - You know the feelings of a father Sir on these occasions However I expect to be ready almost or quite as soon as the men here- As no man enters with more zeal into the service of his country than myself- Captain Dubois is now by me & tells me His men are in high spirits & want to be in motion & only want camp kettles & blankets to march immediately- Captain Billings writes to you himself- I must with sorrow tell you the Committees of this county have had but very little success(?) in purchasing arms Only the Committee of Poghkeepsie have done well. That precinct alone have furnished between 30 & 40 flintlocks that with little of the gunsmiths aid may do very wen- I waited the result of the County Committees proceedings before I proceed (to) take any other method, & wait now for further orders in this particular The county committees however I am informed this moment are resolved to impress(?) arms from these gentlemen that state the liberties of America- perhaps a line from you directing in this affair may be very necessary If by your influence Sir you can any way get Doctor Cooke with us twould give universal satisfaction- I know the man, & our family & neighborhood have long experienced the effects of his skill - & for my part it would considerably alleviate the evils of a campaign to have a surgeon at hand whose abilities was well apris'd of & could confide in, My Brother Doctr. Livingston was with me yesterday 4 desires his love to you. I am sir your humble servant Henry Livingston Jun. To Coll. Clinton Capt. Dubois wants to know who found the drums for the companys? Melancton Smith to Henry Livingston Jr. - 1776: Jany. 10 1776 My very good Friend

Livingston Family Correspondence: 1732-1799 Although it is but a few Days since I wrote you last, yet that I may in some measure make up to myself for my disappointment in not seeing you till Spring, as well as to evince to you how agreable a correspondence with you is to me. I embrace this oppurty. also. The profound policy, & patriotic conduct of the prevailing party in New York is a subject I expect you will discuss at large, when you undertake to discharge the Debt you owe me. I hope also you will be kind enough to inform me, how you like NY City, what the acquaintance are which you have contracted, especially of the feminine gender & whether or not there is any probability that you will be able to bring up a whole Heart in the Spring. I still remain unslain by any of the Arrows from Cupid's quiver, though the celebrated & amiable Miss T. has given me a slight wound. I imagine however I shall recover, unless the stroke is repeated, I cant enlarge at present- accept the Complements of the Season & with hearty good wishes of your real Friend Melanc Smith

Major Andre's sketch of himself on the day before his execution. Original is in the Trumbull Gallery of Yale College. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.

SAVED BY A BOOT Louise Tompkins* Following introductory remarks regarding conditions leading to the Revolution, the author reviews the role of Dutchess County during the war years. A discussion of the "boot" which Zed to the discovery of Benedict Arnold's treason concludes the article. Emigrants from many nations came to the thirteen colonies in America for different reasons. Some came in search of religious or political freedom; others came in search of a better way of life, or in a spirit of adventure; still others came to pay off debts, or to escape imprisonment. Land was cheap, and work was easy to find in the colonies. The colonists of necessity went to work with a will, and prospered, and England, the Mother country of the colonies, was too far away across the Atlantic Ocean to understand the needs of the colonists, or to help them in their emergencies. The colonists met this challenge by developing a strong self-reliance, a routine of work, and a lifestyle all their own. They organized their local governments, and lived without interference from England. In the meantime, England was too busy fighting the French and Indian Wars to pay much attention to the colonists. After the wars, the English thought that the colonists needed protection, and the British Parliament passed the Quartering Act. Under this act, British soldiers were stationed in the colonies, and the colonists were required to provide living quarters for them. The soldiers were not all honorable men. Some stole whatever took their falacy from the colonists, and even molested their women. The colonists became very angry over this quartering act, and they believed that they could take care of themselves. England wanted to export more goods than it imported, and it desired to have its colonies in the New *Miss Tompkins, a courageous woman bedridden with disabling arthritis more than thirty years, is the Washington Town Historian. 77

Louise Tompkins

World supply it with raw material. Then, when the colonists imported sugar from a foreign nation, Parliament put a tax on it. The Sugar Act was one such tax. The Stamp Act came later. This act required the colonists to purchase stamps, and put them on all such documents as wills, deeds, mortgages, and similar ones. Dutchess County was much larger then, because Putnam County was still part of it. The majority of the men in the county were farmers. They took up their farm land from the English government or large landowners, cleared off the trees and built a house, a barn, and other buildings on it. Then for this farm, the colonist living on it paid each year a certain amount of rent to the English government or landowners. Trouble came when the colonist who had established the farm could not get a clear title to the land from the British Government or the landowner. Then, woe was that colonist if another colonist came along and paid the British Government or the landowner a higher rent. Then, after his years of hard work in establishing the farm and putting the land into cultivation, he was put off the farm, and that without recompense. The man who paid the highest rent got the farm. If the first colonist desired to continue farming, he was obliged to begin all over again on another piece of land. The colonists became more angry than ever by such unjust treatment of farmers and the increasing taxation without their having anything to say about it. Dr. Thomas Young, a physician living in Amenia, N.Y., was in Boston at the time of the "Boston Tea Party" in 1773. He was incensed by England'sinterference in the lives of the colonists, and the rising taxation. He joined the men who dumped the tea into Boston Harbor because of the tax put on it. Dr. Thomas Young was the only man assisting at that tea party who was not disguised as an Indian. The soldiers stationed in the colonies were required to collect the taxes from the colonists. The continued interference in the lives of the colonists and the increasing taxation caused a growing resentment in the hearts of those unhappy people.

Saved By a Boot

Finally, the colonists could stand it no longer and on April 23, 1775 a shot was fired at Lexington, Mass. that was heard around the world. The colonists' war for independence had begun unofficially. A short time later, the British troops and the Americans fought a battle at Concord, Mass, and the dark war clouds began to thicken. At last the colonists could stand no longer being dictated to by an unreasonable and domineering government, as it seemed to them. Therefore, on July 4, 1776, they declared their independence from England. The British military leaders decided that the best way to crush this rebellion was to "Divide and Conquer". They planned to capture New York City and in this way control the Hudson River, the waterway over which boats carried men and supplies to the New England colonies. Then by separating the New England colonies from New York and the colonies on the south, the back bone of the rebellion would soon be broken. To the surprise of the British Military leaders, New York held firm. Nearly one-third of the battle action of the Revolutionary War was fought in New York State. Britain did not succeed with the plan to divide and conquer. The colonists prepared for war. The Continental Congress made General George Washington the Commanderin-Chief of the Continental Army on June 14, 1776. General Washington decided to fortify Wiccoppee Pass with three batteries of artillery and 2,000 soldiers with living quarters and supplies. He knew that the British Army would have to come through Wiccoppee Pass to get to the place where it could control the traffic on the Hudson River. The Pass was a narrow place through a gorge in the mountains and an army passing through it would come out in a strategic war position just south of Fishkill village. General Washington saw to it that the British Army never divided the colonies by coming through Wiccoppee Pass. The assistance of Dutchess County was a major factor in winning the Revolutionary War. It was the "bread basket" of the Continental Army for supplying a large amount of the grain and flour consumed by the American soldiers. The farmers, also, were always ready to join the army.

Louise Tompkins

Besides the regular Dutchess County Militia, there were other regiments in the County. The "Minute Men" under the command of Colonel Jacobus Swartwout was one such regiment. Each Minute Man was required to furnish his own gun, a bayonet, or a sword, or a tomahawk. He was also required to keep in his home one pound of gun powder and three pounds of bullets. The "Dutchess Invincibles" were the first county regiment to be fully equipped. Their uniforms consisted of long coats of buff home-spun, pantaloons with buff stripes down the legs, leather boots that were "straight ahead" and wide. Hand-knit socks were stuffed in them to make them fit comfortably. Left and right boots were not made until the Civil War. These uniforms were topped off with bearskin hats. Their powder (gun) pouches were attached to their shoulders. The British captured New York City and the Provincial Government moved to Fishkill. Then, as the fighting came closer, it moved to Kingston. From New York City, General Vaughn with 30-40 vessels, and British marines, sailed up the Hudson River on October 4, 1777. Parties of marines went ashore, doing as much damage as possible. General Putnam, with 600 soldiers, guided by signal fires on the mountains, followed the ships on the shore. When the marines found out that General Putnam was after them, they went back to their ships in a hurry. The fleet moved up to Kingston, capital of New York State, and burned it to the ground. The Provincial Government fled to Poughkeepsie and that city became the capital of the State from 1778 until 1783. In the meantime, General Benedict Arnold courageously helped to get the army back to Saratoga, New York, where his brilliant strategy helped to defeat General Burgoyne on October 7, 1777. When General Vaughn heard about General Burgoyne's defeat, he ordered his fleet to sail back down the Hudson River to his headquarters at Peekskill, New York. After that he never bothered the people living along the Hudson again. Burgoyne's Army of 6,000 soldiers was marched on foot from Boston and Cambridge, down to New York State. The soldiers passed through Little Rest, and Verbank in Dutchess County to Fishkill Landing, where they

Saved By a Boot

were ferried across the Hudson to Newburgh. From there, what was left of the Army was marched to Charlottesville, Virginia, where it remained until the end of the war. The war dragged on, and many people were getting sick and tired of it. General Benedict Arnold, one of General Washington's most brilliant and most trusted Generals, was placed in command of West Point Fort. He decided that he could end the war in a hurry by betraying the Fort into the hands of the British. He drew up plans and found documents which would enable the British soldiers to take the Fort at a time when General Washington was there. Then, without the Fort and their beloved General Washington, the American people would be crushed. General Arnold secretly sent word to the British officers for a reliable messenger, who could come for the plans and documents. They sent Major John Andre, who met General Arnold secretly and received the paHe rode back to the British lines on an old pers. farm horse. Major Andre was dressed as a poor farmhand and no one noticed him. He happened to pass several Militia men. One of them with sharp eyes noticed that the rider was wearing an expensive boot, which could not be purchased in the colonies. They stopped him, removed the boots, and found the papers! The colonies had been saved by a boot! If the soldiers hadn't noticed a boot in September 1780, just 200 years ago, America would not be the Land of the free and the Home of the brave in 1980. Major John Andre was hanged as a spy in early October, 1780. General Arnold heard the news of Major Andre's capture and he quickly made his way to the Hudson River, where he went on board a waiting British ship appropriately named "The Vulture." Later, General Arnold fought with the British troops in several battles against the Americans. General Arnold died in exile in London, England, an unhappy, lonely old man, known as a traitor to his country. General Washington broke the back of the British war effort, when he defeated General Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783, and General

Louise Tompkins

Washington, as the first President of the United States of America, organized the country and started it on its way to becoming the great nation that it is today in 1980.

Bibliography Most of the references used for the story "Saved By a Boot" are found in the booklet "The Role of Dutchess County During the American Revolution", by Beatrice Fredriksen. Some of the information came from the reading of other booklets on the American Revolution, published during the 1976 Bicentennial celebration.

THE 150th DUTCHESS COUNTY REGIMENT IN THE CIVIL WAR William S. Benson Jr. At the outbreak of the Civil War, it was clear that the small regular army was inadequate to suppress the Rebellion in the South. President Lincoln was not overly concerned however, and ordered some recruitment of volunteers for short three-month enlistments. Later, as the magnitude of the War grew, new recruitment procedures and incentives were established. The first of these, short of drafting, was to recruit local regiments of volunteers. A wellknown local figure was selected, commissioned as a Colonel and charged with organizing a local Regiment of one thousand men. Such was the case in Dutchess County, when the 150th Regiment of the New York Volunteers was organized and referred to as the Dutchess County Regiment, under the command of John Henry Ketcham of Dover Plains. This is a summary of their story. It includes a synopsis of their experiences from the time they left Camp Dutchess, October 12, 1862, until their return, June 12, 1865. Maps are included to show where in the theater of war the regiment participated. Additionally, casualties are recorded at each battle site to underscore the extent of involvement of Dutchess County men in this important struggle for unification. Further information on the local conditions of volunteer recruitment and drafting can be found in Philip H. Smith's General History of Dutchess County from 1609 to 1876 Inclusive(New York, 1877). The history of the 150th Regiment is presented more fully in Rev. Edward 0. Bartlett's account entitled The "Dutchess County Regiment" in the Civil War(Danbury, Conn. , 1907), edited by S. G. Cook and Charles E. Benton. Also, the local newspapers reported the activity in each town in support of the war. These firsthand accounts provide significant insight into each town's reaction to the war.

William S. Benson Jr.

The first nine months - October 1862 to June 1863: By the summer of 1862, there was no doubt about the serious extent of the War. During late summer, 1000 men enlisted in all parts of Dutchess County to form the regiment, and left Camp Dutchess in Poughkeepsie on October 12, 1862. Died of Disease at Camp in Poughkeepsie: John S. Mead, Amenia, died in Camp. Fen from Boat in New York Harbor: James Mc Grath, Dover, drowned.

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Winter of 1862 and Spring of 1863 were spent in training in Belger Barracks at Baltimore and guarding supplies in "rebel-infested" Baltimore. Many deserted, paid-off by rebel sympathizers. Died of Disease at Camp in Baltimore: James W. O'Neil, Poughkeepsie, died in Hospital John Mc Kenney, Rhinebeck, died in Hospital Philander Worden, Stanford, died in Camp Chas. E. Palmatier, Poughkeepsie, died in Camp Henry H. Wilcox, Beekman, died in Camp Henry C. Muller, Red Hook, died in Hospital Captured on Patrol in Maryland: Hiram Mc Namee, Hyde Park, Captured

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment

The Battle of Gettysburg - July 3, 1863 The 150th broke camp in Baltimore on June 25, 1863, and marched toward Gettysburg. On June 29, they were ordered to join the 12th Corps, reaching them on the second of July, after a march of 46 miles. They arrived on the field of battle between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., and were held in reserve until the afternoon of that day. Then they joined General Stickle's army on Cemetery Ridge. While forces clashed at Little Round Top, a "vigorous attack" was launched by Ewell on Cemetery Ridge, and the 150th found themselves in hand-to-hand combat with bayonets when they dislodged the Ewell troops early the next morning. This was the first battle for the 150th, and resulted in the seventeen casualties as listed below. The regiment also captured 200 men of the rebel forces.

Casualties at Gettysburg - July 3, 1863: John Van Alstyne, Amenia, Killed in Action George Willson, Amenia, Wounded Charles Howgate, Poughkeepsie, Killed in Action Levi Rust, Washington, Killed in Action John Wing, Amenia, Killed in Action Talmadge Wood, Stanford, Died of Wounds Judd Murphy, Dover, Killed in Action Albert Waterman, Dover, Wounded Andrew Ostrander, Red Hook, Captured Stephen Rynders, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Barnard Burnett, Fishkill, Killed in Action Henry Barnes, Poughkeepsie, Died of Wounds George Buckmaster, Rhinebeck, Wounded Patrick Crane, Poughkeepsie, Wounded James Lynch, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Fred. Potenburgh, Rhinebeck, Wounded Thomas Way, Fishkill, Wounded

William S. Benson Jr.

Battling Sickness and Disease - late Summer 1863

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194eallah 411 After Gettysburg, the 150th joined in Meade's pursuit of the defeated Confederates until August 1st, when it crossed the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford. At that point, nearly all the officers were sick, with only seven being fit for duty, and a proportionate number of enlisted men in the same condition. By the end of August, there were 250 cases of typhoid and malarial fever. The sickness was so severe that the regiment was excused from duty, and many men died. Later, the Regiment returned to picket duty on the Rapidan River until the 24th of September. They were then assigned to the Western armies, and boarded a train at Bealton, Virginia, on September 27, 1863, for the trip to the West, passing through Wheeling, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Nashville, arriving at Stevenson, Alabama on October 3, 1863.

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Died of Disease in Maryland and Virginia: Joseph E. Near, Pine Plains, Typhoid Fever Philip Davis, Pawling, Typhoid Fever Andrew J. Winters, Amenia, Died in Hospital John H. Smith, Poughkeepsie, Died in Hosp. Alexander Worden, Stanford, Died in Hosp. Freeman Thurston, Northeast, Died on March Albert B. Reed, Amenia, Typhoid Fever Daniel Washburn, Pawling, Typhoid Fever Cornelius Peters, Beekman, Died in Hospital organ Place, Washington, Pneumonia George Reed, Northeast, Diarrhea George A. Wagner, Rhinebeck, Diarr. 8 Thleu.

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment

Duty in Tennessee - Winter of 1863-1864

On October 5, 1863, the 150th moved north from Stevenson, Alabama, to Decherd, then to Wartrace, Tennessee, to rebuild a destroyed railroad bridge. They guarded 20 miles of road in this area; and built headquarters at Tullahoma. The 150th was divided into the three detachments, one at Normandy, one at Duck River, and one at a watertank between Tullahoma and Normandy, to guard the railroad in an area infested with guerillas. In early February, three Michigan soldiers were captured and murA(ukfrealaro dured by the guerillas. j. e sesre ° e_ The 150th was then 144.1aterackiF ordered into Lincoln A.('4-1.71a22(1 -' County to collect about LLL $30,000 worth of goods to ,Dect,evre (tribe.r.ryet" be sold in Nashville and Lihcolril the money divided among the families back home of the murdered men. On the return trip, two men of the 150th were killed by the guerillas. An additional $5,000 was divided and sent to the families of these men. The 150th was then joined by other Regiments, they rounded up about 100 of the guerillas, and 60 of them were shot. The Regiment then continued on duty in this area until the Casualties at Tullahoma, Tennessee: end of April of George Lovelace, Stanford )Killed by 1864, and then John E. Odell, Poughkeepsie) Guerillas they joined Sher- George Pinhom, Poughkeepsie, Killed by Falling Tree man's army to enter Georgia. Died of Disease in Tennessee: Edgar P. Welling, Poughkeepsie, Typ. Fey. Sackett Travis, Clinton, Unlisted James Murphy, Pleasant Valley, Unlisted Jacob Benson, Dover, Chr. Diarrhea Milton Odell, LaGrange, Chr. Diarrhea Nathaniel Barrett, Hyde Park, Scurvy

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William S. Benson Jr.

The Battle at Resaca - May 15, 1864 On the 5th of May, the 150th passed through Chattanooga with Sherman's Army, who directed their attack toward Resaca on the 12th of May. After heavy skirmishing on the 13th, an attempt was made to break the enemy line at 1 p.m. on the 14th. This effort proved futile. The battle was renewed on the 15th. The 150th, from their Gettysburg experience, knew the value of entrenched positions, and built barricade protection using rails from a nearby rail fence. A heavy battle followed, with the rail forms doubtlessly saving many men. So heavy was this fire of guns in a cornfield thht witnesses later said that not a complete stalk of corn was left standing. A small house that stood at the rear of the 150th was described as so full of bullet holes there was not room to place your hand on it anywhere without touching a bullet hole. Almost unbelievably, the 150th suffered no one killed, and only eight wounded. But the worst was yet to come. It would be one severe battle after another, all the way to Atlanta. 0), zlga Zgeog'et The next 100 days would include action at Dallas, New Hope Church,Marietta, Kenesaw Mountain, Culp's Farm, Peach Tree 6 eio Creek, and even closer Oeeeicet to Atlanta, until Atlanta was evacuated by the 60-/p's,P4,17:7r1 Volta° CCO-fecceil Tired, 6-eaA Confederates on the night of September 1, Atc/212.,:c 1864. And to make matters even worse, it rained sometime during the day for 23 days in a row! Casualties at Resaca - May 15, 1864: George Stage, Dover, Wounded Benjamin Watts, Dover, Wounded Stephen Cruger, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Cornelius Sparks, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Benjamin Harp, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Thomas Wright, Beekman, Died of Wounds William Hall, Washington, Wounded Americus Mosher, East Fishkin, Wounded Died of Disease at Resaca, Georgia: Patrick Reagan, Poughkeepsie, Chr. Diarrhea

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment

The Battle for Atlanta in the Summer of 1864 Killed in Action at Dallas: Henry Story, Clinton John Grad, Poughkeepsie

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Died of Wounds at Dallas: Isaac Blauvelt, Dover Isaac Smith, Rhinebeck

Wounded at Dallas: James Mabbett, Poughkeepsie Isaac Palmer, Poughkeepsie Aaron Dutcher, Amenia Levi Osborne, Poughkeepsie Thomas Jones, Poughkeepsie James Welch, Poughkeepsie Julius Hicks, Clinton PerZee Hoag, Clinton Nicholas Whiteley, P'keepsie James Bell, Hyde Park Albert Sherman, Dover Levi King, Poughkeepsie Washington Weeks, FishkiZZ

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Killed at Peach Tree Creek: Stephen Simmons, P'keepsie

Died of Wounds at Peach Tree Creek: John E. Fultz, Red Hook Thomas Burnett, P'keepsie James Horton, Poughkeepsie Henry Dykeman, Amenia

Wounded and Missing - at Peach Tree Creek: Simon P. Teal, P'keepsie

Killed at Culp's Farm: Henry Gridley, Poughkeepsie

Died of Wounds at Culp's Farm: James Todd, Hyde Park John Sweetman, Dover James E. Davidson, Dover Benjamin A. Harp, P'keepsie

Wounded at Culp's Farm: William H. Bartlett, Amenia Edwin Davis, Amenia James E. Myers, Northeast Benjamin S. Sherow, Hyde Park Platt G. Curtis, Washington George W. Holden, UnionvaZe

Wounded at Peach Tree Creek: Chauncey Bailey, P'keepsie George W. Hewett, P'keepsie Walter T. Velie, P'keepsie Frank Woods, Northeast Charles P. Barlow, Dover Patrick Murphy, Dover Pulaski Bowman, P'keepsie Joel D. Hustis, Milan Amos D. Griffith, Beekman Wm. S. VanKeuren, P'keepsie Thomas Mc Dermott,P'keepsie Josiah Budd, Poughkeepsie George W. Quick, Washigton Henry Lamp, Jr., Rhinebeck James Whitworth, FishkiZZ

William S. Benson Jr.

Continued Operations near Atlanta

Other Casualties Approaching Atlanta: Henry C. Winans, Washington, Died of Wounds Daniel Glancey, Pine Plains, Died of Wounds Henry Sigler, Stanford, Killed on Picket Cornelius Sparks, Poughkeepsie, Killed in Action George Harp, Poughkeepsie, Wounded John Hart, Amenia, Killed on Picket Daniel W. B. Marsh, Poughkeepsie, Wounded James Lyman Jr., Amenia, Wounded Isaac C. Doty, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Henry Spencer, Dover, Wounded James M. Chambers, Poughkeepsie, Died of Wounds Hamilton Lockwood, Poughkeepsie, Missing in Action Willis D. Chamberlain, Poughkeepsie, Killed in Action Luman Place, Washington, Captured

.40) A Wiata Deaths from Disease while in Atlanta: John Schoonover, Stanford, Died at Hospital in Kentucky Lafayette Sherlock, Poughkeepsie, Chr. Diarrhea Martin Leyden, Rhinebeck, Died in Hospital John Ryan, Rhinebeck, Pneumonia Charles M. Wicker, Hyde Park, Chr. Diarrhea John Sweet, Poughkeepsie, Typhoid Fever James Whalen, Washington, Scurvy Walter Allen, Stanford, Chr. Diarrhea Robert Watts, Dover, Chr. Diarrhea Arthur Sloan, Dover, Pneumonia Christian Closs, Clinton, Diarrhea Morgan Clum, Pine Plains, Diarrhea Walter A. Odell, Washington, Unlisted Cause Thomas Madden, Poughkeepsie, Inflamed Bowels Michael Burns, Poughkeepsie, Chr. Diarrhea Thomas G. Traver, Poughkeepsie, Diarrhea Silas B. Stage, Dover, Diarrhea

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment

"Marching Through Georgia" On November 14, 1864, the 150th joined other Regiments grouped about Atlanta, now totally destroyed except for its churches and houses, as General Sherman set his army in motion toward the Atlantic, living on the country as he went and marking his course by a line of desolation. -1(2 °Allah a s.1!) 1factiA,Pt. ""I'>)%Y...">>?•>>>>>>>.5

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The Regiment left 114. a burning Atlanta on the 15th of November, about 5:30 a.m. passin.e4 through Madison, Georgia on the 19th, and Milledget g = ville on the 22nd. They reached Savannah on the 10th of December, having had several sharp skirmishes with the enemy. On December 16th, 1864, „SW zr they moved to Argyle Island at the mouth of the Savannah River. NO,

Colonel Ketcham, the Regiment's commander, left the Regiment in the charge of Major Smith at Atlanta. Ketcham headed up a Court-Martial, and then returned home to be elected to Congress. He rejoined the Regiment on the 17th of December at Savannah. Thomas Benham, Amenia, Captured William Adium, Poughkeepsie, Captured Gilbert A. Horton, Fishkill, Captured Thomas Duffy, Poughkeepsie, Captured Caleb G. Fowler, Poughkeepsie, Captured Edward S. Tuttle, Poughkeepsie, Wounded William Hoerhold, Poughkeepsie, Suicide Gilbert H. Shaw, Rhinebeck, Captured George Snyder, Poughkeepsie, Captured John H. Stroker, East FishkiZZ, Captured Frederick F. Dewey, Poughkeepsie, Captured William H. Foster, Poughkeepsie, Captured, Died in Prison Albert W. Townsend, Poughkeepsie, Captured, Died in Prison Philip Bauman, Rhinebeck, Captured

William S. Benson Jr.

The Battle of Savannah, then to the Carolinas On the 16th of December, 1864, the 150th was sent with a part of the brigade to Argyle Island, then into South Carolina, to threaten Hardee's only escape from Savannah. On the evacuation of Savannah on the evening of the 20th, the Regiment recrossed to Argyle Island. Colonel Ketcham rejoined the Regiment on December 17th, and on the 21st was badly wounded through the thigh. He was never afterward in command, and having been elected to Congress, he resigned. The command went to Major, then Lieut. Colonel, then Colonel Alfred B. Smith.

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Casua ies Early in North Carolina: James Murter, Poughkeepsie, Wounded William Palmatier, P'keepsie, Captured John A. Bell, Poughkeepsie, Captured Charles Wyant, Rhinebeck, Captured Casualties in the Battle of Savannah: Isaac T. Sweezy, Washington, Wounded John H. Ketcham, Dover, Wounded William Palmatier, Pleasant Valley, Killed in Action Noah Wixon, P'keepsie, Killed in Action Levi King, Poughkeepsie, Wounded

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Died of Disease in Savannah Area: Joshua Leonard, Dover, Typhoid Fever John Porter, Poughkeepsie, Cause Unlisted Smith P. Allen, Pleasant Valley, Cause Unlisted David Dimond, Poughkeepsie, Died in the Field

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The Regurrent left 8avannah on the morning of January 17th, 1865, passing through Robertsville, Georgia on February 2nd, and arriving near Columbia, South Carolina, on February 17th, and Fayetteville, North Carolina on March 11th, 1865.

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment

The North Carolina Campaign At 8 p.m. on March 15th, 1865, the 150th was ordered out and they marched four miles - perhaps the most severe march the Regiment ever made - to support Kilpatrick's cavalry, near Aversboro between Cape Fear and South Rivers, where General Hardee hoped to regroup the scattered fragments of the Confederate Army. This effort failed, and 150th continued in pursuit to Smithfield, then Goldsboro. The 150th supported the cavalry at dawn on the 16th, and came upon the enemy in force, with heavy losses. Lieutenant David B. Sleight was killed in battle. He was the son of Peter Sleight of LaGrange, and from all accounts, perhaps the best and most liked officer of the Regiment. Sergeants Bell and Wilkenson each lost a leg in the battle. The last man to be affected by war action was John Warner, captured on March 24, 1865 66161156(VID 3ell.&72112;11e 4P717

,orAvekelooft clye.Ve ville Casualties at Battle of Aversboro, North Carolina: John Cass, Poughkeepsie, Died of Wounds James R. Mc Kenney, Poughkeepsie, Wounded William K. Watson, Poughkeepsie, Wounded E. Jefferson Traver, Clinton, Wounded Henry P. Williams, Pleasant Valley, Wounded James Bell, Hyde Park, Wounded Sidney Wilkenson, Pine Plains, Wounded Sheridan Rogers, Poughkeepsie, Wounded Robert Merritt, East Fishkill, Wounded Dwight W. Clark, Poughkeepsie, Wounded David B. Sleight, LaGrange, Killed in Action Edward Hart, Amenia, Wounded Casualties at Bentonville and Goldsboro: George W. Hewett, Poughkeepsie, Captured George P. Lovelace, Stanford, Captured Virgil Ostrander, Red Hook, Captured William H. Power, Poughkeepsie, Captured Daniel S. Dubois, Poughkeepsie, Captured James H. Rynders, Poughkeepsie, Wounded John S. Warner, Beekman, Captured

William S. Benson Jr.

Return to Washington, D.C. General Sherman had finished resting and reclothing his army at Goldsboro on April 9, 1865, when he received orders from General Grant to "pitch into Johnston and finish the job". The 150th marched 26 miles, and on the 12th of April, heard of Lee's surrender. The Regiment marched to Raleigh and found that Johnston had just left. On the 14th, Sherman received a request from Johnston for an interview. This started negotiations for Johnston's surrender. On the 17th, the Regiment received the terrible news of the assassination of the President. On the 24th, they were reviewed by General Grant, on the 28th they received the news of Johnston's surrender, returned to Raleigh, and on _Nc the 30th, started for home. Wasiatigion,P.O.0 1 Nay 24, i865 11 1 14 4 4 4 l i A

^ A

2 2;c1-1,./024°

Not M,186S

iffe 1 A A

The 150th marched to Richmond, the rebel Capital, and took some time to view Libby Prison and other sights there. They then marched toward Washington, D.C., over the memorable battlefields of Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, and Bull Run. On the 19th, a few miles south of Alexandria, Virginia, they were met by their former commander, Colonel John Ketcham. On the 24th, they participated in the grand review at Washington, D.C. , and then went into camp east of the city to prepare for mustering out.

The Regiment had marched Apl.,30,186S ° A every step of the way since 2,4 Pea-2-,241" AV'12 6472e k Tennessee, a total of 1200 tp217 1865 c? Lealinect Liticolrie ittisfafiiiza21.022 -(-0 7.

Apr..tz,1865 0:Wridgoro

The 150th Dutchess County Regiment

"Coming Home"

Prison Guard Duty in Indiana: Joel D. Hustis, Milan, Acc. Killed Died of Disease at Home on Furlough: Thomas Benham, Amenia, Fever Died in a New York City Hospital: Walter P. Mastin, P'keepsie, Cause Unlisted Died on Return to Poughkeepsie: Edward Williams, Beekman, Died June 11

" eiT\V

1 irarti'cl

A g '0';1,11:0 ;(1';" *71.71.

The 150th was one of the few Regiments allowed to go home for their muster out. They arrived by train in New York City on June 9th, and boarded the MARY BENTON for the trip up the Hudson River. They arrived midnight on the 10th in Poughkeepsie, marched to the armory, stacked their arms, and were dismissed to go where they pleased until Monday morning. On Monday, June 12th, 1865, the men were officially mustered out, followed by a great reception for them in Poughkeepsie.

William S. Benson Jr.

Swmwxy Year-End

Recruits Township

Original

Added

1864

Amenia Beekman Clinton Dover

48 23 33 60

3 _ 7

37 20 21 35

East Fishkill Fishkill Hyde Park LaGrange

5 36 51 17

4 8 8 2

8 31 40 14

Milan Northeast Pawling Pine Plains

5 27 10 22

1 1 4 2

5 16 3 14

22 394 29 53

2 99 2 8

15 281 23 39

35 16 46 5

2 5 17

17 11 32 12

28 106 2 4

17 86 1 4

Pleasant Valley Poughkeepsie Red Hook Rhinebeck

Stanford Union Vale Washington Other

Baltimore 145th Regiment Tennessee Kingston

Notes: Wappinger was still part of Fishkill. Poughkeepsie includes City of Poughkeepsie.

WIDOW ALLEN William P. Mc Dermott* The the The and

second part of a two part account of one of earliest settlers on the Nine Partners Patent. period covered, 1734 to 1750, discusses family business matters.

Looking back The year was 1734. Elizabeth Allen was a widow again for the third time. Once again before a decade of marriage had passed she entered the state of widowhood. She had not reached the age of twenty-two years before widowhood had visited her the first time prior to 1710. Her second marriage in 1711 to Zacharias Flagler, twice a widower, lasted only nine years before his death again plunged her into the widowhood she was to become too familiar with during the remaining years of her life. Elizabeth and Zacharias had shared the many tribulations which followed the Palatines through their settlement in the Hudson Valley. But the years following the failure in 1712 of England's naval stores venture which brought the Palatines to New York, although difficult, proved to be successful for the Flaglers. They had settled near Poughkeepsie on a small farm and began to build for the future with their growing family. The few short years before Zacharias' death in 1719 appear to have been fruitful ones. Relief from widowhood and the strain of being the single parent to five children twelve years and younger came with her third marriage in 1724. This marriage also brought its successes before death interrupted again. John Allen, Elizabeth's third husband, died in 1734 before their tenth anniversary. Elizabeth or Widow Allen, as she was to be known for the remaining years of her life, was left with the responsibility of providing for seven of her eight children. The five Flaglers and three Allens ranged in age from four to twenty-two years. The children, except for her oldest daughter Anna Magdelena Elizabeth, remained with her at home in Pleasant Valley. She and John Allen had moved to Pleasant Valley from Poughkeepsie in 1726 after their marriage. After *The author is editor of a book entitled Eighteenth Century Documents of the Nine Partners Patent, Dutchess County, New York, published by the Dutchess County Historical Society in 1979. 97

William P. Mc Dermott

John's death, forty-six year old Elizabeth embarked on a life of widowhood closely involved with her family while achieving considerable business success. The years after 1734 were familiar. Sorrow and successes were intermingled as before and Elizabeth Allen went on as before, meeting each challenge energetically. The account of Elizabeth's years from 1734 to 1750 is discussed below under two headings, a) family and b) business, to reduce complexity as this story unravels. 7amily 1734 - 1740 John's death in 1734 undoubtedly had a great emotional effect on Elizabeth. In many ways she was in a stronger position than she was fifteen years earlier when Zacharias died. Although she had seven children at home in 1734 compared to the smaller family of five in 1719, two of these seven were adults. Twenty year old Simon was old enough to do a man's work on the farm while eighteen year old Gertrude continued helping her mother with increased vigor and committment after her stepfather's death. Elizabeth's oldest child Anna Elizabeth, who had married four years earlier, lived nearby with her two children. Visits to console mother after stepfather's death were probably quite frequent. Moreover she wanted to share the pleasures and anxieties of her own parental role. One can picture mother and daughter near the banks of the Wappingers Creek on a warm summer day sharing stories about their childrens' progress. And why shouldn't they, for Elizabeth's youngest child was about the same age as daughter Anna Elizabeth's oldest child. Also, Anna Elizabeth's second child Simon, just a year old in 1734, reminded Elizabeth of her husband John. Elizabeth and John had been honored the previous year as Simon's sponsors at his baptism. Remembering these moments with her husband and watching grandson Simon gleefully at play brightened Elizabeth's days. These moments juxtaposed with the loss of a third husband represent the intensity of emotional change Elizabeth had to cope with all her life. The role of grandmother was to become a dominant theme in Elizabeth's life during the next sixteen years. Perhaps twenty times before 1750 one of her children announced Elizabeth was to be a grandmother again. Anna Elizabeth, pregnant again in 1734 near

Widow Allen

the time of her stepfather's death, delivered her third son, Balthasar(b. 7/15/1735),1 the following summer. Births and marriages--every year one of Elizabeth's children was announcing a new addition to the family. These events were frequent in the 1730s and 1740s. While 1736 was a quiet year in this regard, it was only preparatory to the next three hectic years. Margriete, Elizabeth's younget daughter, married Arie DeLong of Beekman in 1737. The following year Elizabeth's one remaining daughter married. Twenty-two year old Gertrude married Edward Mc Gregory in April 1738.3 Gertrude had remained at home longer than her two sisters and Elizabeth would miss her. The special bond between Elizabeth and Gertrude became even stronger two years later when Gertrude, like Elizabeth, lost her first husband early.4 But first there was the joy of sharing Gertrude's first child which she named after her mother. Grandmother "Elizabeth Ening" must have felt great joy when she stood with her son "Zymen Vlegelaar" at the baptism of her granddaughter Elizabeth(bap. 5/26/ 1739).5 This was not just a fourth grandchild, she was the first granddaughter and probably held a special place during Elizabeth's years of widowhood. Did the baptism of granddaughter Elizabeth overshadow the baptism on the same day of AnnaElizabeth's fourth son, Zacharias(bap. 5/26/1739)?6 The entire Flagler family had assembled on that special day in May. Zacharias was sponsored by Anna Elizabeth's brother "Zacharias Vleglaer" and her sister "Gertjen Vleglaer". Of the five Flagler children and Widow Elizabeth, only Margriete had no special function at the two baptisms. Four Flagler sponsors and the two mothers, one a sponsor, filled the Dutch Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie that Saturday. The Flagler children were coming of age quickly and leaving Elizabeth's home to begin their own independent life. Simon left to begin a new life with Jannetse Viele, who he married in January 1739.7 They settled on a farm Elizabeth sold to him that year.6 At home after Simon's marriage remained only one Flagler, Zacharias. Simon's departure was an important loss to Elizabeth but Zacharias was still with her to help, and also her thirteen year old son, William Allen, was growing into greater responsibilities. His two younger brothers still had some growing to do before they could do a "man's" work on the farm.

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William P. Mc Dermott

The year 1739, which had started on such a pleasant note and continued in that vein through the summer, ended somberly. Again death reached into Elizabeth's life. And again it was a spouse, but this time it was daughter Gertrude's husband of two short years, Edward Mc Gregory. Although Edward was fortunate to see the birth of his daughter,9 he did not live to see her first birthday. 1740 - 1745 After an uneventful 1740, a year of renewal began in 1741. Two births and two marriages reminded Elizabeth of the continuing march of life and hope. And yet a note of sadness crept in as the last Flagler child left Elizabeth's home. Zacharias married Elizabeth Hegeman in 1741.10 His marriage sparked Elizabeth's memory of her time to deliver the infant Zacharias twenty-one years earlier. She mourned the loss of her husband during much of that pregnancy. Many other memories were stirring within Elizabeth at Zacharias' marriage. His departure brought to a close her time as a mother to Flagler children. Surely, she still had three Allen children but the period of her life she spent with husband Zacharias had special meaning. It was one of those difficult periods which one looks back on with mixed feelings, but thankful for surviving it so well. Fortunately, Zacharias' marriage did not represent another loss for her, for he and all of Elizabeth's children settled in Crum Elbow Precinct within five miles of her home in Pleasant Valley. In the spring Anna Elizabeth presented her mother with a fifth child. The birth of Phillipus(bap. 5/26/ 1741),11 brought a special kind of renewal. "Zolomon Vleglaar", Elizabeth's stepson, now a man of forty, had not sponsored any of the Flagler children. Philip Solomon Flagler, who remained in Elizabeth's home only five or six years after she married his father, lived twelve miles south in Beekman Precinct. Of all the Flagler children, Anna Elizabeth probably knew him best, if it is possible to know a stepbrother eleven years older. Although she was a child when he left, she probably had more contact with him than her other siblings. How well he kept in touch with his stepmother after his father died is not apparent from the records. His absence as a sponsor earlier causes one to speculate he may have been an infrequent visitor. Perhaps it was difficult to become part of the new family unit which was formed by Elizabeth and his

Widow Allen

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father. His appearance at this baptism with the new baby carrying his name may have been a renewal of old ties. The summer of 1741 was long and uncomfortable for Jannetse Flagler, Simon's wife. She was nearing the time of delivery and by midsummer another Zacharias Flagler(bap. 8/23/1741)12 entered the world. Simon's first child was named after grandfather Zacharias and sponsored by uncle "Zacharias Weegelaar"(Flagler) and grandmother "Elizabeth Allen". How many is that, Elizabeth must have thought. "It must be six. No, Anna Elizabeth has five now, Gertrude has my namesake and now the infant Zacharias. That's seven. There are two Zacharias." Elizabeth had no idea her five Flagler offspring would multiply seven times. She probably did not live to see all of the thirty-five or more Flagler grandchildren. She would have been surprised that her last child Zacharias, just married, would have fourteen of his own children. How could she have known when she left the Palatine thirty years earlier her offspring from the Flagler and Allen families would eventually number over fifty grandchildren? And lest we forget Elizabeth was still, even at that time, a very active mother. Her oldest Allen child, William, was only fifteen and her youngest, James, was just eleven years old in 1741. The year 1741 continued to bring happiness. Her widowed daughter, Gertrude Mc Gregory, announced wedding plans shortly after the baptism of Zacharias. Elizabeth knew well how it felt to lose a husband two or three years after marriage. Was she reliving that time before her second marriage when Gertrude spoke of her intention to marry Pieter Vrolick? Thirty years earlier in the spring of 1711 Elizabeth had taken her second husband. And Gertrude was sharing the same pattern her mother had known years before. This wedding(10/23/1741)13 amidst the fall colors was cause for special celebration by Elizabeth. Gertrude, who probably occupied a special place in Elizabeth's heart, was happy again starting afresh. Unfortunately Gertrude would not be the only one of Elizabeth's children to suffer the early loss of a spouse. Five years after her marriage Elizabeth, wife of Zacharias, would succumb to an early death leaving her husband to care for their son. But that was off in the future and not in anyone's mind during this pleasant period.

William P. Mc Dermott

102

Life was cyclical. The year 1742 was relatively quiet, one birth is recorded. The spring birth of Joseph Flagler(bap. 6/8/1742)14 to Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth again points to the connection between the Allen and Flagler families. On three previous occasions Elizabeth Allen had sponsored a Flagler and two of these her co-sponsor was a Flagler. This time the new infant, Joseph, was sponsored by sixteen year old "William Elling", Elizabeth's oldest Allen child. Of course, the connection between the Flaglers and the Allens was a strong one. They all grew up in the same household. The Flagler and Allen children shared the same father; John Allen was stepfather to the Flagler children. Surely Elizabeth Hoofd Flagler was the same woman as Elizabeth Allen. Can there be much doubt? The tax assessor had no doubt when he listed Zacharias' new home and farm on the 1742 tax roll as "Zacharias Allen"!15 He had no doubt at all. Any child in Widow Elizabeth Allen's home was her child, therefore the new twenty-one year old man on the tax roll, Zacharias, must be an Allen. Future assessors would correct this error and perhaps even understand the mix-up. The same tax assessor correctly listed Zacharias' brother Simon. But Judge Francis Filkin, storekeeper in Poughkeepsie, who sometimes recorded deeds for the Allens, fell into the same misunderstanding when he recorded two deeds on March 25, 1742 for "Simon Ellan". These deeds and one other had been brought to him the previous month and he entered them in his storekeeper's ledger as follows:16 "feber 22 1741/2 Elisabeth allen dr to acknowledgen 3 deeds 2 her son most pay @ 6/ and one her salf most pay @ 3/ Augt 5 1742 to Aknoleged one deed she hes of huff

6.0 3.0 3.0"

And on the other side of the ledger the payments for the above are recorded as follows: "mrch 25 1742 acto 5 1743

simon Ellan paid fo 2 deed ackn the widdu Allen paid @ 6/ in full I paid her Beral sider"

6.0 6.0

Although Filkin's ledgers are a mixture of Dutch and

Widow Allen

103

English, these entries are clear. They substantiate the confusion the Flagler children occasionally experienced as a result of their mother's marriage to John Allen. Filkin's confusion was quite understandable for he did not arrive in Dutchess County until six years after the Allens married. Further, when Filkin arrived all the Flagler children were still at home. One year after the first entry in Filkin's ledger Simon's second child was baptized. But infant Peter (bap. 2/27/1743)17 died in infancy and as was the custom of the day his name was given two years later to another baby born to Simon and Jannetse. Joy and sorrow, life and death seemed always to be present and long periods of time without either may have been a rarity in a newly settled agricultural community beset with the usual difficulties of early settlements. And of course the art of medicine, when available at all, was sometimes more lethal than the illness itself. Six weeks after Simon's son was baptized Elizabeth returned to the Dutch Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie. Her oldest daughter, Anna Elizabeth, and her youngest, Margriete, brought their babies, Marcus and Maria respectively, to the church on Friday, April 1, 1743 to be baptized.18 This was the second time Elizabeth saw two grandchildren baptized on the same day. With these births, fifty-five year old Elizabeth had become a grandmother for the eleventh time. Twenty-four more children were born to Elizabeth's Flagler children, Anna Elizabeth, Simon and Zacharias. Seven of these were born before the decade closed. In view of the prolific nature of Elizabeth's family, the apparent absence of offspring in Gertrude and Margriete's families is puzzling. Only one child is recorded for each of these two women to the year 1745. The seven year period between Margriete's second marriage and the birth of a child seems long and may be attributed more to missing records or researcher oversight than infertility. Margriete's sister, Gertrude, had one child with her first husband but the records do not show children from her second marriage.* One problem is in the records. The church most frequented by the Flagler-Allen families during the 1740s was the Dutch Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie, whose baptismal records between 1745 and 1764 are missing. Perhaps children were born to these two women during that period and because of the absent records no evidence of *see Addendum

104

William P. Mc Dermott

their births is extant. 1746 - 1750 The years between 1746 and 1750, when recorded contact with Elizabeth is lost, reflected a pattern similar to the one described above. Elizabeth's Flagler children had seven or eight more children. One of these, born to Sarah Barton Flagler, second wife of Zacharias, was baptized Elizabeth(bap. 1/16/1748)19 but before it saw its first birthday its life was over! The following year another Elizabeth was born into Simon's family. Her survival into adulthood and eventual marriage to Jacob Lester is substantiated in her father's will.20 Business When Elizabeth married John Allen in 1724, the L5 assessed value of her property recorded on the tax list indicated a moderate level of economic success.21 She maintained this assessment even after her husband Zacharias died in 1720. Prior to that year their assessed value was L2 for what appears to be a small parcel of land, perhaps twenty-two acres, acquired when they arrived in Poughkeepsie in 1715 or 1716. The change in assessment in 1720 suggests the ownership of a larger parcel of land or some other acquisition such as a small business, but details of this are unavailable. Following her marriage to John Allen and their move from Poughkeepsie to Pleasant Valley in 1726 there was a steady increase in their wealth. The 1727 tax list indicates the assessed value of the Allen property had doubled from L5 to L10. From 1727 to 1735, the year after John Allen died, their assessed value increased steadily until it reached E28. This placed them in the upper 10% of all the taxpayers in the Middle Ward which also included Poughkeepsie. Obviously John and Elizabeth had found a formula for substantial economic success. Which of the Allens forged this economic growth cannot be determined from the records available. However, records after John's death indicate Elizabeth was an astute businesswoman. Flowing water seems to have attracted John and Elizabeth when they moved to Pleasant Valley. Their property was on the Wappingers Creek, the principle water network in Dutchess County. Speculation suggests they acquired the site in Pleasant Valley to build a mill.22 Elizabeth's interest in acquiring land along the Wappingers Creek continued after John's death. Between 1738 and 1749 Widow Allen purchased 1500 acres

Widow Allen

105

along the Wappingers. In fact, the only land purchases recorded for Elizabeth were five parcels along the Wappingers, ranging in size from 10 to 1149 acres.23 Her purchases totaled two miles of land along the eastern banks of this important creek in Lotts 6 and 7 of the second division(1734) of the Nine Partners Patent. How she used this land is not specifically described but one of the final entries in Francis Filkin's ledger suggests her son John was involved with a fulling mill at the age of 19 years. Three entries dated 12/20/1745, 1/27/1746 and 5/29/1746 are recorded under John Allen's name. The last entry reads: "I Receved but 20 yards of Cloth from the fullen mill out of 29.1 which Cant be onnist and I will not allow this creded before I have my Remender cloth.'p24 Perhaps Elizabeth owned a fulling mill and her son John did the business for his fifty-eight year old mother at Filkin's store in Poughkeepsie. At that time settlement near Pleasant Valley was increasing at a rapid rate and the need for a fulling mill was reasonable. Moreover, six years earlier, in 1739, two weavers, John Hegeman and Hendrick Lott, settled about one half mile northeast of Elizabeth's home.25 Perhaps they used the cloth from her mill, if in fact she owned a mill at all. One thing is clear, the rapid growth in the area brought more mills in the 1740s. For example, Joseph Casten operated a saw mill in 1745 or earlier. 6 Also, Hendrick Lott, the weaver, owned a mill in 1757 according to the precinct records.27 The tax lists suggest he may have owned this mill as early as 1742 or 1743. The only recorded purchase of land, about 600 acres between him and three others, did not warrant the assessment of t6 in 1743 for Esquire Lott, as he was addressed in the 1750s. With the increase in the number of mills it is not unreasonable to speculate Elizabeth Allen may have owned a mill in 1746. In fact, the high assessments of the Allen property in the 1730s suggest they may have owned the first mill in the Pleasant Valley area. Controversy and Change Nothing came easy to Elizabeth Allen and disappointments were not limited to her personal life. There were occasional problems in her business life. These too seem to have visited her from conditions she

106

William P. Mc Dermott

could neither have predicted nor controlled. She and her husband, John Allen, had apparently arrived at an acceptable agreement with the Nine Partners which allowed them to settle on unsurveyed land in the Nine Partners Patent in 1726 near the site of the present village of Pleasant Valley. Whether this land was acquired through an outright purchase or a quitrent agreement is not apparent because the records of the Nine Partners before 1730 have not been located, although reference to them appeared a number of years ago.28 In any case, three years after John Allen's death, a challenge arose which affected the legal right of Elizabeth to some of the property on which she had made her home for the previous ten years. In part the challenge grew out of the fact that the line which separated the Beekman Patent and the Sanders and Harmense Patent from the southwestern corner of the Nine Partners Patent near Pleasant Valley was not fixed until 1740.29 When the third or final division of the Nine Partners Patent was completed in 1740 the area on which the Allens had settled fell into small Lott 15. It was the southwestern corner of this lott which abutted the two adjoining patents and was the subject of controversy between the patent owners. With this corner open a new character entered the controversy. The Marytee Sanders Patent, granted to Maria Sanders in 1686, gave her the right to 200 acres somewhere along the Wappingers Creek.30 Precisely where was not specifically described except by reference to apparently unidentifiable Indian places. All the land from the mouth of the Wappingers Creek on the Hudson River to small Lott 15 in the Nine Partners Patent was owned. As a result the right of the Marytee Sanders Patent apparently reached into the Nine Partners Patent. The open line in the southeastern corner of small Lott 15 permitted the owners of the Marytee Patent, as it also was known, to claim land along the Wappingers Creek in that vicinity. This matter was discussed for the first time at the business meeting of the Nine Partners on December 21, 1730.31 After about a year and several references to the matter,32 it seems to have slipped into a state of limbo. It appeared again on the August 17, 1737 Nine Partners meeting. Widow Allen was assured after the meeting that she was to remain in possession of the land in question with the Nine Partners support.33 At the same time Mr. Roseboom, the apparent owner of the Marytee Patent, was told to "come and single out his 200 acres".34 Two months later on October 28,

Widow Allen

107

1737, Mr. Roseboom met with the Nine Partners trustees who pressured him to take his 200 acres or "we would defend ye Widd Allen or any other that shall be by them molested".35 He chose not to comply. The Nine Partners continued to support Widow Allen into the year 1738. Symon Flagler "whom now lives on ye farme in the Room and by order of ye widdow Allen" wrote a letter on June 15, 1738 indicating that the sheriff was threatening to seize and sell "all he finds on ye premises for ye quitrent due on Maritee Roseboom Pattent since first granted; 106 bushels of wheat".36 The immediate response on June 17, 1738 from the Nine Partners shows their strong support of Elizabeth Allen. In a letter sent to Sheriff James Wilson the Nine Partners indicated Symon Fleglar "being their tennant, ought not to pay the quitrent for Marytees Patent".37 A similar letter was written to Simon Flagler. Two weeks later on June 29, 1738, Jacob Goelet, one of the trustees of the Nine Partners, spoke to Archibald Kennedy about the problem. Kennedy was the Receiver General in charge of receiving quitrent fees and was characterized as an honest man.38 Apparently Mr. Kennedy, who was also a member of the Governor's Council, assured Jacob Goelet that the sheriff would not act without direction from him as Receiver General. Further, Mr. Kennedy seems to have characterized Mr. Roseboom as an obstinate man who should be taken to court to settle the matter.39 But the tide turned less than two months later. On August 9, 1738 John Gay, in his capacity as attorney for Widow Allen, was told by the trustees of the Nine Partners that they could not assist her and that if he chose to oppose the sheriff "he must not do it in the name of ye Nine Partners, for they'l do nothing in itt."4° The final outcome of this issue is not apparent from the documents available. What is known is before the third and final division of the yet undivided land in the Nine Partners Patent in 1740, the trustees decided on November 23, 1739 to set aside 200 or 300 acres "for the right of Marytee Sanders".41 Jacobus Ter Bos, the surveyor, was instructed on February 4, 1739 to "Measure out the 200 acres for Marytee Sanders"42 in the place designated as third division Lott 15. The survey was completed and also the southwestern corner of the Nine Partners Patent was closed agreeably on October 15, 1740.43 This apparently set the stage to conclude the Marytee Sanders affair on September 23, 1741. But the specifics of this conclusion does not appear in the Nine Partners

108

William P. Mc Dermott

Company Proceedings. "Marytees affair came next under consideration, when the copia of her patent was read, her bounds considered and the Comp. seems to rest satisfied in that affair."44 Was all this controversy full of sound and fury signifying little? On November 12, 1747, Joseph Casten, who owned land in small Lott 15, asked who owned the 200 acres set aside in the "right of Marytee Rosebpoms Patent [if] ye heirs of Marytee made no demand".4' Five months later on April 16, 1748 "Joseph Casten haveing ye 200 acres in his possession, promised to hold it in right of Nine Partners and to pay L10: a year for use thereof. It was aggreed that ye said 200 acres should be surveyed and layed apart". Further, Joseph Casten was told if he could purchase the right to the land from Roseboom and obtain a "full quitt claim from them he then should be exempted from paying ye rent".46 And so it appears the eighteen year controversy which occupied Elizabeth's mind some of the time closed on a very quiet note. How much did it affect her cannot be determined at present. However, the sharp drop in the assessed value of her property from L30 in 1736 to E24 in 1737 and L18 in 1738 during the time when the issue became intense makes one wonder about the extent of her loss. The loss of 200 acres would not account for such a drastic change. For example, when she purchased 1149 acres in 1738 her assessment changed only slightly from L18 to L20. Did she own a great deal of land along the Wappingers Creek which extended beyond the line finally settled in the southwestern corner of the Patent? Did she own a mill in this vicinity, the ownership of which was threatened by the final survey or the Marytee Patent controversy? Without any record of the land she and her husband acquired in 1726, it is difficult to determine what her loss might have been. The only sale of land recorded was the land she sold in 1739 to her son Simon Flagler in Lotts 6 and 7 in the second division of the Nine Partners Patent in 1734. This is one of the many mysteries connected to Elizabeth Allen. Although her identify as the former Elizabeth Flagler has been determined, other facts about her remain hidden. When did her first husband die? Where did she reside after 1750? Did she own a mill in the 1730s? Did she own a fulling mill on the same site or a different site in the 1740s? What was the reason for the precipitous drop in the assessed

Widow Allen

109

value of her property in 1742? Is it related to the issues referred to above? Or was it property she either sold or gave to her sons Simon and Zacharias? Their assessments were 14 and 12 respectively. If she owned a mill, did she sell it to Hendrick Lott, whose assessment moved sharply from El in 1741 to 13 in 1742 and 16 in 1743? Was there any connection between her and Lott at all? Elizabeth was an astute business woman. She was a woman who could insist on her rights. The legal action she brought against James Champlin through her attorney John Crooke indicates her awareness of the law in her adopted country. She received a favorable judgment against Mr. Champlin from the courts in May 1750.41 He was ordered to pay her the money L-2 had lent him. Elizabeth seems to have passed her sense of business to her sons, all of whom seem to have grown economically. Their assessments on the tax lists through the 1740s and 1750s attest to this. But Elizabeth was more than a good business woman and parent. She was a woman who had the personal strength to survive the many difficulties she faced from the time she was forced to leave her own country as a twenty year old refugee.

Footnotes 1"Baptisms in the Lutheran Church, New York City, from 1725", New York Genealogical and Biographical Records, 1967, vol. 98, 110. 2Account Book of a Country Store Keeper in the 18th Century at Poughkeepsie (Poughkeepsie, 1911), 101. 3Ibid. 4Baptismal and Marriage Registers of Old Dutch Church of Kingston, transcribed by Roswell R. Hoes (New York, 1891), 582. 5Records of the First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, comp., A. P. Van Gieson (Poughkeepsie, 1883 , 72. blbid 7Robert Pierce, "In Search of Collateral Ancestors", Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, vol. 63, 1978, 107. 8Dutchess County Clerk's Office, Deeds - Liber 3:320, September 18, 1739.

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9Ibid., Edward Mc Gregory was still alive when he witnessed this deed. 10Pierce, op. cit., 108. 11Records of the First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, op. cit., 76. 12Arthur C. Kelly, Baptismal Records of Reformed Church, Rhinebeck, N.Y. (Rhinebeck, 1970), baptism #111. 13Baptismal and Marriage Registers of Old Dutch Church of Kingston, op. cit., 582. 14Records of the First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, op. cit., 79. IbBook of the Supervisors of Dutchess County, 1742, Book C, 1730-1748 (microfilm, Dutchess County Clerk's Office). 16Account Book of a Country Store Keeper, op. cit., 40, 41. 17Records of the First Reformed Church of Poughkeepsie, op. cit., 81. 18Ibid., 82. 19Ibid., 2.; Pierce, op. cit., 108. 20william P. Mc Dermott, ed., Eighteenth Century Documents of the Nine Partners Patent, Dutchess County, New York, compiled by Clifford Buck and William P. Mc Dermott, Collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society, Vol. X (Poughkeepsie, 1979), 521. (Cited hereafter as Nine Partners Patent). 21Book of the Supervisors of Dutchess County, 1724, Book B, 1722-1729. 22William P. Mc Dermott, "Widow Allen", Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, vol. 64, 1979, 139. 23Nine Partners Patent, op. cit., 123, 134, 156, 217; Account Book of a Country Store Keeper, op. cit., 66, 67. 24Account Book of a Country Store Keeper, op. cit., 112. 25Nine Partners Patent, op. cit., 161. 26Helen W. Reynolds, "Early Roads In Nine Partners Patent", Dutchess County Historical Society Year Book, vol. 25, 1924, 63. 27Franklin D. Roosevelt, ed. Records of Crum Elbow Precinct, Dutchess County, New York, 1738-1761.., Collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society, Vol. VII (Poughkeepsie, 1940), 29. 28pdughkeepsie Daily Eagle, June 6, 1901, 5. 29Nine Partners Patent, op. cit., 37. 30Helen W. Reynolds, Poughkeepsie, The Origin and Meaning of the Word, Collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society, Vol. I (Poughkeepsie, 1924), 76.

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31-Nine Partners Patent, op. cit., 8. 32Ibid., 10. 33Ibid., 15.

36Ib1d., 26. 37Ib1d., 26. 38michae1 Kammen, Colonial New York (New York, 1975), 202. 39Nine Partners Patent, op. cit., 26. 40Ibid. 41Ib1d., 34. 42Ibid. 431bid., 37. 44Ibid., 41. 45Ibid., 85. 46Ibid., 87. 47putchess County Clerk's Office, Ancient Documents #362.

Addendum My thanks to Mrs. Lawrence Mc Ginnis for her careful reading of this manuscript. She uncovered the following baptisms of Gertrude's children in the Baptismal Records of the Reformed Church, Rhinebeck, N.Y.(see footnote #12). The name Vrolick is one recorder's spelling for Freligh or any one of the following variations: Freeling, Frolich, Freelych, Frulich and Frielig. Gertrude's children are: Elisabet(bap. 2/26/1744); Marya(bap. 2/16/1746; Petrus(bap. 9/26/1748); Cathrine(b. 6/24/1753); Anna(b. 1/6/1756); Philip(b. 2/19/1761); and Rachel(bap. 6/11/1769). Clearly Gertrude followed the Flagler tradition as a prolific mother.

THE

LITTLE

RED SCHOOLHOUSE George N. Wilson*

Seldom can you pick up a newspaper, hear a radio or watch television without some report of today's youth causing considerable mischief and violence. However, this does not account for all our youth. Never will I forget Sunday, June 1, 1980. Joseph Lombardi, social studies teacher at Arlington High School, and ten students arrived at the "Little Red Schoolhouse" in Freedom Plains. They were not carrying their books and slates as they did in the old days. Instead, they were carrying paint brushes, scrapers, ladders and a strong determination to beautify the schoolhouse, landmark headquarters of the LaGrange Historical Society. Half of the first day was spent preparing the building, scraping old paint, nailing loose boards and general repairs. Then came the real challenge, the beautification job. Everyone had a paint brush in hand. A car radio supplied the entertainment. Dr. and Mrs. Karl Sandbank furnished the goodies, By 4:00 P.M. one third of the task was completed-. The following two Saturdays the students were back on the job. By noon on June 14th the project was complete. The Little Red Schoolhouse was once again a picture of beauty. Thanks to Joe Lombardi and the following dedicated students: Gregory Washburn, john Ray, Doug Haskins, Randy Aldrich, Bill Evans, Guy Miller, Bill Cote, Ray Carey, Tim Hughes and Naomi Htoo. So, when you hear about teenage violence, remember that describes only a very small percentage of our youth. Most teenagers are honorable, trustworthy and dedicated citizens.

*The author is President of the LaGrange Historical Society. 112

THE ASTOR HCME: LOOKING BACK * Eileen Mylod Hayden Msgr. Murray, Sister Sheila, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Thank you Mr. Nichols for your kind introduction. It is a distinct pleasure to be here today. Sister Sheila, thank you for your invitation, for your encouragement and for the use of The Astor Home archives. Let me begin by offering some explanation for embarking on this project. MY father had a lifelong interest in Dutchess County history and was a frequent contributor to the Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook. He was particularly keen on the history of Hudson River families. He could—and did—expound at length on the relationships of the Chanlers, Roosevelts, Livingstons, Aldrichs and of course--the Astors. It was my father who first suggested that I write a history of the Astor property. Finally, I have come to do it--partly to carry on a family tradition and partly to contribute in same way to the 25th anniversary celebration of The Astor Home. This work is certainly not a history of the Astor family and it is in no way a history of The Astor Home. It is, however, an attempt to trace the history of this property back to its earliest settlement and glimpse the people who have inhabited it through the years. For many centuries prior to 1686 the Village of Rhinebeck and the surrounding area was inhabited by Indians, a small tribe of the Mbhegan nation. These Indians called themselves "Sepascos." In 1686, several young Indians conveyed land to five Dutchmen. The land agreement, later confirmed by royal patent, covered the area to be known as Kipsbergen and of course later as Rhinecliff. However, for our purposes, the first inhabitants were the Sepascos. Now to the east of the Kipsbergen patent extended a vast wilderness--the Sepasco hunting ground to be sure. TO this land in 1695 came Judge Henry Beekman. His application for a royal patent was granted in 1697. The Beekman land was a vast tract described in great detail by the royal patent. TWo hundred and sixteen years later a small portion of the land would become Astor property. Judge Henry Beekman, according to Howard Morse, Rhinebeck's 19th century historian, was a plain, earnest, practical business ffan who never lived in Rhinebeck but was part of Ulster County officialdam. When Ulster and Dutchess were joined as one assem*Talk delivered at Astor Home December, 1978. Mrs. Hayden is a member of the Dutchess Co. Historical Society carrying the 113 Mylod tradition.

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bly district, Judge Henry was one of the representatives. His son Henry Jr., or Colonel Henry, was born in 1688 and was the first Beekman to live in Rhinebeck. His marriage to Janet Livingston took place in 1721. His sister Catherine Beekman married Gilbert, son of Robert Livingston, thus cementing these two Hudson River dynasties. Familiar Rhinebeck families--SuCkley, Garretson, Lewis, Schuyler, Montgomery and Astor can claim relationship to Henry Beekman--possibly because Catherine Livingston had fourteen children. Early on, Judge Henry sought settlers for the land. He was able to convince many Palatine families from Livingston Manor to relocate and he leased them the land. The coming of settlers spurred the development of mills. Landsman Kill, the principal stream within the patent was explored by Casper Landsman and it was he who chose sites suitable for mills. Eventually, the stream supplied energy for fourteen industries. One of the early mills, a gristmill, was located just north of the Kill at the boundry of what is now the Rhinebeck Cemetery and Astor. Portions of the mill can still be seen just below the cottage here at Astor. Photographs of the children at play show a much larger structure than now exists. The Beekman-Livingston Mill as it was known, was erected in 1715. Sometime later, Daniel McCarty, who had soldiered with Colonel Henry Livingston, was the miller. In 1764, the land in question passed from Colonel Henry Beekman, Jr. to Robert G. Livingston and then to Margaret Livingston, who in turn deeded it to William T. Teller in 1833. This portion would be lot #6 on the William Cockburn map of the Beekman lands. Because the Beekman patent was divided and subdivided and because of the number of Livingstons and irregularities of their names, historical sleuthing becomes difficult. But let us plunge ahead. In 1848, Peter Livingston sold a parcel of land to his niece Caroline Davidson for, as the deed states, "a sum of $1." TWo months later, William Teller sold her a piece of property and still later, Maturin Livingston and his wife, Margaret, conveyed land to this same Caroline Davidson. The final plot was the portion containing the gristmill. Caroline Davidson is listed as residing on these premises in both the 1858 and 1867 editions of ers Atlas. Upon her death Caroline willed her land to William S. Livingston and his wife, Susan, who held the land until 1869 when title passed to one Marie Ford for $14,250. Between 1869 and 1871 Marie Ford, wife Of Robert Ford, acquired two more parcels--one from Hiram Radcliff, farmer, and one from William Kelley, undoubtedly The William Kelly, New York State Sen tor and builder of the

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fabulous 600 acre "Ellerslie". The Radcliff land had once belonged to Margaret Livingston; the Kelly parcel was on the east side of Route 9. Four years later, in 1875, the three parcels changed hands again when Alice Huntington purchased the land. Alice and her husband moved north from South Carolina where Huntington was connected with railroads and banking. He was descended from Samuel Huntington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Dutchess County Directory for 1895-96 had a listing for 'Huntington, R. P., Rhinebeck, banker". It is known too that Huntington was a vestryman at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah. James Smith's History of Dutchess County includes an illustration of the R. P. Huntington residence "Bois Dore" or golden woods. This handsome frame dwelling, complete with circular drive, stood where the present building stands today. It was at the Huntington home that Levi P. Mbrton received news of his nomination as Vice President of the United States in 1888. It is said that a torch-light parade of the townspeople celebrated the event. Morton, a New Englander by birth, had made his fortune as a banker in New York. His marriage to AnnaLivingston Street drew him to Dutchess County and he lived in the Village of Rhinebeck for a period before he purchased Ellerslie, now Holy Cross Campus. In 1893 the title passed to Robert J. and James Huntington, and in 1908 fire destroyed the Huntington home. Enter the Astors and an incredibly intricate family tree. One hundred years after the Beekman patent was granted, john Jacob Astor arrived in New York from Waldorf, Germany, bent on making his way in the world. Astor never doubted for a moment that his would be a glorious future and he worked with unflagging determination and ambition. The flourishing fur trade was the basis for the enormous fortune of twenty million dollars John Jacob Astor built and passed to his heirs. TO characterize him as greedy would be no understatement. At his death in 1848--the same year Caroline Davidson bought this land--his principal heir was William Backhouse Astor who had married Margaret Armstrong, daughter of General John Armstrong, builder of Rokeby. Her family tree would also show two of the county's most distinguished families-Livingston and Beekman. The young Astor's had seven children, including William B. Jr. It was William Jr. who married Caroline Schemerhorn, later known to society as THE MRS. ASTOR. The Schemerhorn name is still to be found in Rhinebeck and the Honorable DeWitt Gurnell, Rhinebeck Historian, is related to the Astors through his uncle, DeWitt Schemerhorn.

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It would be impossible to chronicle five generations .of Astors in such a short talk, but for our purpose today, *William and Caroline were the parents of John Jacob Astor the IV, who in turn fathered William Vincent Astor, also known as Vincent or Captain Vincent. You may remember it was John Jacob IV who went down with the Titanic in 1912. It was this disaster that thrust upon Vincent Astor his father's fortune of seventy million dollars when he was only twenty. Even as such a young man, he had sincere desire to accomplish good with his money, A& the antithesis of the grasping John Jacob I, Vincent became known eventually as "the man who gave money away." It was Vincent who on occasion violated the Astor commandment that you shall not touch your principal. But even in giving it away (eventually through the Astor Foundation), his estate was nearly doubled when he died in 1959. Not long after his father's death, Vincent married Helen Dinsmore Huntington, daughter of Robert Huntington of Rhinebeck. In June 1913, Vincent purchased two parcels from the Huntingtons including a piece of the land once owned by Caroline Davidson. One year later Vincent and Helen Astor sold this parcel to Holiday Farm for a consideration of $1. Holiday Farm had been founded in 1904 by Mary Morton, daughter of Levi Morton, as a rest home for convalescent children. Originally located in Rhinecliff, the institution was moved to these premises in 1914. Directors for that year included Vincent Astor, President; Mrs. Ruth Morgan, Vice-President; Mrs. R. P. Huntington, Secretary and Tracy Down, Treasurer. The Astors largesse grew as expenses mounted. Superintendent Miss Ewlyn Oliver rendered an annual report in 1927 that showed the same officers as 1914 and that the cost per day had risen from 94ç to $2.11 per child. Both Vincent and Helen were interested in the Farm and the annual report also shows that Vincent contributed $18,500 over and above his $10,000 endowment. Contributors included Roosevelts, Huntingtons, Down, and a Who's Who of other River families. Special gifts that year included fifty turkey dinners for families of Holiday Farm from Vincent and from Mrs. Astor--ice cream every Sunday, plus the more practical gift of fruits and vegetables through the year. As a memorial to his father, Vincent changed the name from Holiday Farm to The John Jacob Astor Convalescent Home for Children, but as the years went by, the Home became more difficult to administer, despite the interest of Vincent and Helen. Vincent considered that a Church might better handle administration. With the help of a friend he arranged to meet Cardinal Spellman to offer him the task of taking over. When Vincent arrived at the Chancery office, he asked an unassuming priest in the foyer where he might find Spellman. "I'm Spellman" was the reply. Vincent was taken with such simplicity and the two became

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lifelong friends. Also, the New York Archdiocese did take over in 1945. In 1946 the Colonel John Jacob Astor Home had a staff of seven Blauvelt Dominicans, Dr. Martin Poppo and six lay workers--all involved in the treatment of children recovering from a wide variety of illnesses. With the advance of medical science, the number of children requiring long term convalescent care dwindled. Cardinal Spellman decided to change the type of work done by Astor to that of caring for emotionally disturbed children--practically virgin territory. After consultation with the Cardinal and Catholic Charities, the Mother General of the Sisters of St. Dominic suggested that her community was not trained for this type of work and should be withdrawn in favor of an order with experience in this field. Chosen for the task were the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. The Daughters had over 100 years experience in dealing with emotional illness, primarily at the Seton Psychiatric Institute in Baltimore. The Daughters took over in December of 1952 and renamed the place The Astor Home. The Home opened for business on a bright, cold January day when a limousine delivered three boys to this handsome Tudor mansion. Captain Astor remained interested in The Astor Home until his death. His widow, Brooke Astor, has continued to be intensely involved. Her keen guidance and support have been invaluable. Over the course of 300 years, this little piece of land has been used by many people for diverse purposes. In looking back today we have seen the development from silent forest to busy mill to farm to convalescent home and finally to residential treatment center. The anniversary we celebrate this year marks twenty-five productive years that highlight the complex chronicle commemorating Indians to Astors.

Bibliography Archives. The Astor Home, Rhinebeck, New York. 1952-1968. Beer, F. W. Atlas of New York. 1858, 1867, 1876. Dutchess County Clerk's Office. County records and deeds. Dutchess County Directory, 1895-96. Howland & Co. Poughkeepsie, New York. 1895. Hudson River Valley Commission. Historic Resources of the Hudson. 1969. Kaveler, Lucy. The Astors. Dodd, Mead & Co. New York. 1966. Morse, Howard H. Historic Old Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck. 1908. Simon, Kate. Fifth Avenue: A Very Social History. Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, Inc. 1978.

THE JOHANNES JACOB MELIUS HOUSE AT MT. ROSS * Byron R. S. Fone About a mile from the Taconic Parkway, east from Jackson Corners, lies what is left of the once thriving eighteenth century settlement of Mt. Ross. Where the county road crosses the RoeliffJansenKill there are now three or four houses, dating mostly from the early nineteenth century. The only remnants of the community which once was there, which then consisted of a store, a cooperage, and the Mt. Ross Mills, are some crumbling stone walls on the bank of the Roe-Jan. A bit further along the road, on the left, a lovely, but also decayed 19th century schoolhouse stands. This was once, in better days, the Hannah Swarthout Bentley Memorial Lyceum, and a marker tells that somewhere on the nearby hill lies all that remains of Thomas, who was called Baron Ross, being either truly ennobled or at least princely in his ways. Thomas Ross died in 1762; the mills and the hamlet of Mt. Ross survived for another century. But there is another survivor of that time, one which saw, it is likely, not only the passing of the Mills, but their foundation as well, and which may have been standing when George I ascended the English throne and when Louis XIV departed from the French, and which was already a seasoned veteran when George Washington took the helm of an emerging nation. From the road, if you look out to the left toward the Roe-Jan, you will see a long stone wall, remarkably preserved and much higher than most, snaking from the bank of the kill eastward. Eventually it stops at an old white house. The stones of the old fireplace chimney are exposed in the western wall. A long gable roof line, with a distinct Dutch curve, is interrupted by the rising second story of a clearly later house of obvious Federal parentage. From the back of the house, as you walk around it, 12 over 12 windows are set in wide faded old red clapboards. The eastern end of the Federal house shows elegant graduated clapboards narrowing to the top. The front reveals a simple Federal facade, penetrated by a Dutch-style door with a "Cross and Bible" motif. Going back west again, the low Dutch section is penetrated by another massive Dutch door, with a cross on the upper half, and the X of the witches' cross on the lower. Inside, Federal fireplaces, chairails and elegant but simple woodwork seem all intact. In the older section, wide boards, hugh beaded beams, and walls made of mud and straw bespeak a construction of greater antiquity. Below a room fitted out as a tap roam, complete with locked and barred liquor room, there is an old winter kitchen, with huge cooking fireplace and a beehive oven. The beams supporting it all are hand hewn, the stone *Talk delivered at the Little Nine Partners Historical Society meeting June 1980. Mr. None is Town Historian, Pine Plains. 118

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foundations fitted intricately and with care. This is the house to which I came a year or so ago and which I have sought to document. It seemed to me that the two styles of architecture, one Dutch and the other English, had a story to tell. The immediate past was not hard to find. An abstract of title carried the story of the house back well into the 19th century. The previous owner had bought the house from William Bonisteel who had made his purchase from Jasper Lewis in 1935. Lewis bought from Charles Dionysius in 1929 and Dionysius from Charles Carroll and his daughter Nettie Carroll Ferris in 1925. Carroll inherited from his wife EMma Wilbur Carroll who held title at her death in 1916 and she had inherited the house from her father Benjamin Wilbur who had acquired the property in 1844 from the heirs of Henry Bentley. It was clear, therefore, that from 1844 to 1929 the house had been in the same family. And exploration showed that the family connection predated that, for Benjamin Wilbur married Antoinette Bentley, who was the daughter of Hiram Bentley, who was son of Henry Bentley. But who was Henry Bentley? The answer was found in Isaac Hunting's invaluable history of Pine Plains, Little Nine Partners. Henry Bentley came to Mt. Ross in 1802 and bought the Mt. Ross Mills. In 1810 he sold the mills to Samuel Wilbur, the brother or father of the earlier mentioned Benjamin. In 1828, Henry Bentley died leaving the house to his wife and son Hiram. In 1802 when Henry Bentley came to Mt. Ross he must have looked around for a place to live, and up the road, a half mile or so from the mill, he found what was then a small Dutch farmhouse. Though there are no records of its acquisition by him, he apparently did buy it, and probably, to accommodate his large family, built the two-story Federal house which is now the eastern end of the building, thus turning a small house into a substantial manse. But fromwhom did he acquire the house, and who was its previous occupant? There are no clues in the land deeds and mortgages to this. With the help of the remarkable Clifford Buck, some information was turned up, of which more there is later. The most interesting information is in Hunting, and it took several readings before a chance allusion made sense. Hunting describes the history of the surveying of the Little Nine Partners. He mentions that Charles Clinton, who was surveying for Livingston, travelled up the Roeliff Jansen Kill and on Tuesday May 10, 1743, arrived at the southernmost bend of the kill where he "lodged at the home of Johannes Jacob Melius who lived 36 rods from the southernmost bend of the kill in a northwesterly

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direction." The location of my house is precisely there. Was this the answer? Research on Johannes Jacob Melius provided information which convinced me I had found the builder of the house. Tracing the tax lists, I found that Johannes Jacob Millis, (Millius, or Melius) appeared in the same position in the lists back to 1717/1718, when they listed him simply as Johannes Jacobse. Paying taxes does not necessarily prove that Melius was paying them on this land or that this house existed. But more evidence was available. Again by chance, I picked up a book which sat next to Hunting, called The Dings Family History. I had noted in my travels around the area that a Hans Jacob Dings had settled across the kill. The family history told me that Hans Jacob came to America in 1710 with his family, including his daughter Anna Maria, who "married Johan Jacob Melius, a farmer. This couple settled on land about half a mile east of Mt. Ross. The old house which they occupied in pioneer days and the one in which Surveyor Clinton spent the night in 1743 when surveying the county line...still stands and is thought to be over 200 years old. The rear part of the house is undoubtedly the old colonial home occupied by Jacob Melius and Anna Maria Dings, one of the few buildings that has survived for about two centuries." This information together with the architectural evidence, suggests that indeed the old house may have been built sometime between 1710 and 1717 when we have a record of Melius paying taxes. The Palatines, which Dings and probably Melius were, came over between 1710 and 1713. Did Melius come with his father-in-law and new wife? Or were they married in the New World? That I do not know, but what remains, if this evidence is correct, is that they built a house of mud and straw, faced it with wide old boards and had for themselves a hall, two leanto rooms and a loft for sleeping. Just a short time later, when times were a bit more prosperous, they added the western room, built in much the same way, this with a large fireplace, and in the cellar below, a winter kitchen with beehive oven and hugh cooking space. Here they lived for many years. Baptismal records show that their son, Johan Jacob Jr., was born in 1722 and a daughter, Margaret in 1735. Old Jacob Dings witnessed the baptisms of both his grandchildren. And in 1751, Johan Jacob Jr. produced a son, Simon. The Melius name appears from time to time in local records. Once in 1775, Johan Jacob Jr. is noted as one of those who refused to sign a convention in support of the Continental Congress. Was he a loyalist? The Menus name appears in the 1790 Census. After that they seem to disappear. Did they leave the old house at last? Now the answers are more speculative. Simetime between 1790 and 1802, the house may have changed hands. Perhaps it did so

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before that, for it seems likely that Johan Jacob Jr. inherited in 1746 when his name first appears in the tax lists. Whether he stayed in the old house, I do not know. At this point I asked for help from Mr. Clifford Buck, wellknown for his research on local history. Mr. Buck came up with some clues which I record here. In 1799, Margaret Bostwick, executor of David Bostwick and presumably his widow, sold a plot of land which roughly encompasses the land on which the house stands. In 1768, one Margaret Ross, a widow, deeded to David Bostwick such the same land, retaining only 21 acres at the very eastern end of Lot 51. The house stands in fact at the veryeastern end of Lot 51, on a 20 acre parcel. Margaret Ross was the widow of Isaiah Ross who not only accompanied Charles Clinton on the survey but also stayed the night at Melius' in 1743. Isaiah Ross may be the son or brother of Thomas, Baron Ross. Deeds for the year 1751 indicate that Ross and his wife Margaret, together with James Alexander and Peter and Cornelius Knickerbacker owned equal shares of Lot 51. What does all this mean? The antwer may lie with Margaret, and it is only speculation. We know that Jacob Dings had built on Livingston land; that he was a tenant. The Manor line runs through my property and may in fact be that old stone wall. Thus, Melius may have been a tenant of the Partner who owned Lot 51, namely Samuel Broughton or his heirs or assigns, who appear to have been Isaiah Ross and James Alexander. Is it possible, and it is romantically pleasing, that when Ross visited the Melius home in 1743 he met not only Johannes Melius but his daughter Margaret, aged only 8 at the time? Is it possible that the deed of 1751 which includes Ross and his wife Margaret is a deed which includes Margaret Melius, now become Margaret Ross? She mould be 16, and marriageable. Isaiah Ross died in 1766 and in 1768 Margaret Ross deeded land, all except 21 acres as previously mentioned, to David Bostwick. Did she marry again? And in 1799, after Bostwick had died, did Margaret Bostwick finally sell the house in which she had been born Margaret Melius sixty years before? And then, in 1802, did Henry Bentley buy the house from Margaret or from Philip Knickerbacker to whom she sold what appears to be the remaining land in 1799? All of this is hard to tell. And most of it is obscured by the darkness of scant recording. But this much is certain. The old house shows evidence of ancient construction. It retains its original clapboards, the old roof line and curved beams are clearly evident in the attic. The mud and straw filled walls, the Dutch doors, the wide planking all bespeak a building from the early part of the 18th century. And those records available suggest that this old house was indeed built by a young Dutch couple, sometime around 1715 and from that house children were born and lives were lived, and that it has been shelter to succeeding generations for over two

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centuries. These generations included the Melius's, the Bentleys and the Wilburs, all names which are intimately associated with the tiny hamlet of Mt. Ross, once a thriving business community. Now only crumbling stone marks the site of the mills. But that long stone wall still wanders from the stream to the place where over two and a half centuries ago, young Jacob Melius brought his bride to show her what he had wrought, a house which has been graced since then by the works and days of the living, and by the shades of the friendly dead.

The Johannes Jacob Melius House at Mt. Ross

Book Reviews

NATIVES AND NEWCOMERS: The Ordering of Opportunity in Mid-Nineteenth Century Poughkeepsie. By Clyde and Sally Griffen (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978. Pp. XV , 291, notes, index.) Reviewed by Richard A. Varbero, Professor of History, State University of New York, New Paltz, N.Y. Clyde and Sally Griffen's encyclopedic account of social mobility in Poughkeepsie between 1850 and 1880 begins and concludes with an observation by Edmund Platt, the nineteenth century editor and historian: "Poughkeepsie is not very different from many other Eastern cities but nevertheless has its characteristics." It is on these "characteristics" that the Griffens have concentrated on for over a decade, and their exhaustive, methodically scrupulous efforts have been compiled in Natives and Newcomers. Amateur historians and local history buffs beware. This work is not merely a collection of anecdotes, although the presentation and narratives are frequently punctuated with mordant testimonies of credit evaluators and other witnesses of a bygone age. The book recreates the economic and institutional framework in which major work groups and individuals ordered their lives in an era of significant change in American life. Especially impressive is the first chapter, in which the authors isolate those factors which account for both the emergence and decline of the river cities of the Hudson. Though borrowing heavily from Platt's The Eagle's History of Poughkeepsie, the Griffens describe the village's transformation from a robust river town to a small manufacturing city, and, in a model of lucid synthesis, measure Foughkeepsie's relative decline by comparing it to similar-sized cities in the state and region. Despite its often formidable intellectual demands, Natives and Newcomers achieves an effect even the authors may not fully recognize: the increasingly interdependent, even symbiotic, relationship between the social historian and local history. The Griffens have erected an analytical model upon decadal census data--with those sources' inherent limitations concerning 'ben in motion" fully in mind--and they have exploited a rich variety of materials, such as R. G. Dun and Company's credit reports, parish records, local newspapers and journals, scattered letters, and a host of other related and invaluable historical detritus. Their achievement also gives substance to the reknowned--Matthew Vassar, the rise of Luckey, Platt & Co.--as well as to the anonymous as they succeeded or failed in the economic environment of nineteenth century America. After the Civil War Poughkeepsie's manufacturing capacity 123

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suffered, and the city gave way to commercial activity. It is in the context of retrenchment and change that the Griffens measure the progress of older-stock Americans, German artisans and tradesmen, Irish skilled and unskilled laborers and grocers, Jewish entrepreneurs, and the black workers, to name some of the categories the book's authors discuss. The basic questions raised are these: Did the American success ethos have a factual basis insofar as the vast number of Americans were concerned? That influences did Poughkeepsie and its occupational structures exert in shaping the lives of individuals? That roles did nativity, ethnicity, religion, race, sex, and parental background play in the aspirations and styles of living of ordinary people? A short review precludes extended summary and analysis of these questions. Briefly, Natives and Newcomers demonstrates convincingly that Poughkeepsie's manufacturing decline modified the "push-pull" features associated with expanding urban centers, negatively affecting the length of stay of el-±gible workers, and, consequently, population growth. Nativity was also important because children of the native-born who attended school, sought and obtained white-collar occupations often were "boosted" by their parents' status. Conversely, children of initially successful skilled immigrants often "skidded," or failed to maintain the income and status of their parents, a phenomenon associated especially with the Germans. Social mobility thus was downward as well as upward, the former cited by the Griffens with sad accounts of drunkennes, suicide, and disappearance. Despite marked individual successes in commerce and the professions, the Irish were conspicuously linked to manual work and the grocery and saloon-keeping trades. Within that ostensibly tightknit Catholic community appeared divisions in associational groups, as the upwardly mobile gradually disassociated themselves from their less mobile countrymen. The small number of Jews, predominantly of German origin, were also disproportionately successful, excelling as entrepreneurs. Less fortunate were blacks, who exhibited geographic volatility and held lower-order occupations. Women acted out roles ascribed by the Victorian verities and class rank. The arguments of Natives and Newcomers are far more subtle and extensive than here summarized. Some are provocative, such as the effect of religious values on economic pursuits (the Weber-Tawney thesis). Is the American work ethic an enduring tenet of Calvinism? The Griffens abjure simplistic generalizations, but record that the limited mobility of Catholics in contrast to German Protestants--and Jews--was in part due to the organization of parish life and the satisfactions of

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"institutional completeness" associated with neighborhood and family. This is a valuable study for both the interested layman and the professional social scientist. For the latter the book is a measure of the indefatigable efforts of two disciplined and thoughtful scholars who have steered their social history securely between the poles of aimless anecdotes and quantitative obscurantism. For the non-scholars who want to and should contribute to the recovery and understanding of the past, Natives and Newcomers presents a challenge well worth undertaking.

LIGHT IN THE MORNING: MEMORIES OF SUSAN AND ANNA WARNER. By Mabel Baker. (West Point, N.Y.: The Constitution Island Association Press, 1978. Pp. VIII, 144, notes); SUSAN AND ANNA WARNER. By Edward H. Foster. (TWayne's United States authors series; TUSAS312) (Boston: G. K. Hall, 70 Lincoln St., Boston, Mass. 02111, 1978. Pp. 138, index and bibliography, $10.95.) Reviewed by Nancy Mac KeChnie, Vassar College Library. The story of Susan and Anna Warner is that of the proverbial "rags to riches" tale--in reverse! Although born into a family of wealth, a number of misfortunes and financial blunders slowly brought them to near destitution. Henry Warner, a native of Canaan, New York, later a New York City attorney, had succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth through real estate investment. By the mid-1830s Mr. Warner had moved his family from one area of New York City to a mansion on fashionable St. Mark's Place. Mrs. Warner had died in 1828, and Susan and Anna were cared for by their father's sister, Frances Warner. The girls enjoyed childhoods of elegance and high social standing. In 1836, Henry Warner purchased Constitution Island, a bit of land jutting into the Hudson River opposite West Point. Warner's original intent was to establish his country estate on the land, from which he could oversee his luxury hotel and resort cottages. However, in 1837, a panic in the financial world caused the Warners to lose most of their fortune, forcing Henry to sell his New York mansion and move his family to the old farmhouse on Constitution Island. The Warners wintered in New York, using the island only as a summer retreat until their financial situation was so bad that they had to stay on Constitution Island year round. Ultimately, all four family members died there.

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In 1844, Susan and Anna joined the Mercer Street Presbyterian Church, where Henry had previously purchased a pew. All three became devoted to their religion and church. Curiously, two books written in 1978 on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean deal with the lives of these two women whose writings are relatively unknown to twentieth-century readers. While there is some redundancy regarding the details of the lives of Susan and Anna Warner, each book deals with different topics. Edward Foster's book concentrates on the Warner sisters' literary works, bringing in biographical facts only as pertaining to the literary part of their lives. In the foreward to Mrs. Baker's book, it is stated that hers is a "chronological arrangement of memories," seeming to concentrate more on the circumstances forcing Susan and Anna to write and how they coped with the situation. By reading both the Baker and Foster works, the reader receives a detailed view of the lives of these strong women. Forced into almost abject poverty, the sisters put their trust in God and turned to writing as their sole means of support. In 1848, Anna published Robinson Crusoe's Barnyard, a children's game with a set of animal cards and a book ofexplanation. Susan's novels, The Wide, Wide World (1850) and Qgeechy (1852), and Anna's novel, Dollars and Cents (1852) became exceedingly popular among readers and critics alike. In all, Susan and Anna wrote and edited over 100 volumes. Most of the works have little literary value, eVen to Foster. However, of the two sisters, Susan's works were and, in Foster's opinion, still are more deserving of literary attention. Foster contends that The Wide, Wide World is one of the earliest and probably the most famous domestic novel; except for Uncle Tom's Cabin, it was the most famous and popular book of the time. Unfortunately, because of the Warners' financial status, the rights to their books were always sold outright as they never seemed to have enough money to last until any royalties might come in. Foster indicates that because of their dedication to the Protestant evangelicalism, a philosophy very prevalent in the mid-1800s, the Warner sisters' novels were intended as instruments of religious and ethical instruction. Didactic novels were the prevailing form of literary work of that day. Yet, from a historical perspective, their works, especially Susan's, are noteworthy also as forerunners of the local color movement. Their works contain detailed accounts of rural New England manners and customs, as taken from their summer experiences at their father's family homestead in Canaan, N.Y. right on the Massachusetts border.

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127

Although a credit to the sisterhood of women through their model of strength and perseverance, both Baker and Foster point out that Susan and Anna were by no means forerunners of the women's liberation movement. Their literature affirms their belief in the absolute authority of the husband and father, providing there is no conflict with Divine Will. During their later years, the sisters became well-known for the Bible classes they held for the West Point cadets and for the inspiration they provided for many of their pupils. In 1908, with the financial aid of Mrs. Russell Sage, Anna Warner gave Constitution Island to the United States Government. Now a registered landmark and part of the United States Military Academy, Constitution Island and Warner House are open to the public, by reservation, during the summer. For reservations, write to: Reservations, Constitution Island Association, Box 99, Highland Falls, New York 10928.

BLACK EDUCATION IN NEW YORK STATE: FROM COLONIAL TO MODERN TIMES. By Carleton Mabee. (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1979. Pp. XV, 337, photographs, notes, index.) Reviewed by Norman E. Hodges, Director of the Program in Africana Studies, Vassar College. In his appraisal of Black education in New York State from its genesis in the Colonial period, Professor Carleton Mabee has fashioned a work which belies the promise of its title. In 283 pages of yeomanly--albeit tedious--prose, Mabee presents a random and lightly documented survey of initiatives and responses by Blacks and Whites with respect to the institutionalization of racially separate schooling in certain towns, cities, rural hamlets and areas of New York state from colonial to contemporary times. There is precious little of substance in this study which relates to the philosophy and goals, the quality and content of curricula, the relevance of Black educational theories and ideas to the general needs of the Black and White New York state communities, the non-Black thrust of standard Whiteoriented educational policies and practices, the nature and substance of informal (as well as formal) agencies of Black education (i.e., the Black Church, Black civic, fraternal, and social organizations, Black youth groups, etc.), and, finally, the tensions implicit in the historic debate within the national Black community for over a century concerning academic (classical) versus industrial (vocational) education as the dynamic forces comprising the matrix within which Black strivings at national and state levels for equality and opportunity through educational progress were manifested.

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Book Reviews

Ambitious--perhaps too much so--in its purported range and scope, Black Education in New York State attempts to examine Black education for a period spanning over two centuries. Yet the central issue of the dilemmas of choice confronting the Black community in general within and without New York State over the best means of elevating the minority Black population through training and education in a crushingly White and racially insensitive society is never really addressed. This study is at best an uneven and ill documented chronicle of scattered episodes in various sections of New York state at different points in time which relate in often undefined and obscure ways to Black efforts to wrest some control over the schooling of their young (and not so young) from often hostile, indifferent and racist White communities. Mabee, a respected historian and the author of the acclaimed American Leonardo: A Life of Samuel F. B. Morse, is simply out of his depth in the area of Black education in America. He is hampered not only by the apparent paucity of a central core of available sources or comprehensive records regarding Black education in New York (which results in a curiously unsystematic and scattershot approach in his documentation and quantification), but he also appears to lack sufficient knowledge and sensitivity to the general attitudes and aspirations of Black Americans historically with respect to the education of their young within an oppressive and threatening milieu. Mabee hardly seems aware of the educational theories and influence over the course of time of such national and international Black thinkers as John Hope, Henry Highland Garnet, Frederick Douglass, Henry McNeal Turner, Edward Blyden, Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, Horace Mann Bond, Charles Spurgeon Johnson, Marcus Garvey and a score of others whose ideas impacted upon Black communities everywhere. He also neglects certain White theorists and philanthropists such as Anthony Benezet, Cotton Mather, Samuel Sewall and Nathaniel Pigott, among countless others, who were important participants in the drama of the Black struggle for opportunity through education in the United States (and in the earlier colonies). There is little wonder, therefore, that this work suffers from an ideological vacuum at its core. Rather what one derives from this volume is a curiously unintegrated, ill-defined and untidily documented chronicle which never bothers to delineate the crucial issues in Black education which were of near universal concern to the general Black American community. The author does not, for instance, deal with the implications of such movements in the nineteenth century as the Colored Men's Conventions and the Black separatist Church movement for Black education in general and in New York state.

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129

Black scholars, in particular, have learned to be wary of the limited and introverted perspective which same non-Black chroniclers too often bring to bear upon their research into the Black experience. This circumspection seems justified here, for what emerges is a somewhat sterile exercise in historical narrative and analysis of the Black condition where most of the significant reference points are White! Historically, the development of theories, programs and schools for the education of Blacks in America has represented influences both within and outside of the Black community. The endeavours of Blacks and Whites to achieve opportunity and equality for the former through education have raised fundamental questions about the extent and character of Black cultural acceptance and integration into the mainstream. From the Colonial era when the institution of slavery was seen as being incompatible with education for Blacks to the decade of the 1970s when the debate over opportunity for the disadvantaged reached a peak of intensity, Blacks have consistently sought to define a method or a means by which they could be elevated in American society through education. From the beginning the doctrine of the "natural rights" of man, a part of the philosophy of the American Revolution, aided the opponents of slavery to advocate the "right" of blacks to a suitable education. The issue was so contentious in the Colonial period that it engaged the attention and thought of no less eminent leaders as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, who are not even mentioned in Black Education in New York State. How can one treat Black education anywhere in the American colonial period without a consideration of the influence of the ideas of Jefferson and Franklin with respect to the educability of Black people? Although Mabee does not mention the influence of the Primus Hall School in Boston (established in 1798) which was known to have served as a model for Black education in the North, he is at his best in his treatment of the New York African Free School, established in 1787, and other institutions which originated with the Manumission Society. Professor Mabee offers here a rather full and trenchant discussion of the African Free School, touching on the nature and content of its curriculum and its problems on pages 19 to 23. Furthermore, his prose is enlivened by his recounting of the unhappy incident involving the Black William G. Allen who was briefly on the faculty of Central College in McCrawville, New York in the 1850s. Black Education deals only cursorily with the profound changes which occurred in Black education during the two decades between World War I and World War II, and fails to show the interrelationship of developments in Black public high school education within New York state and in the North and the

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South in general. There is no in-depth consideration of the emergence of housing patterns along social class and caste lines which created de facto segregated neighborhoods and schools and led to the great crisis in Northern education since the 1954 Bruhn vs. Board of Education decision of the United States was brought to bear in New York and other states above the old Mason-Dixie Line. Given the crucial historical role which New York state has occupied in the ongoing saga of American development and growth as a nation, what a humdinger of a book this might have been--absent the flaws and deficiencies to which we have alluded in the foregoing paragraphs. Professor Mabee has selected a topic and title pregnant with scholarly possibilities and, having beckoned us into the delivery room, has notably failed to deliver.

A HISTORY OF FISHKILL, N. Y., 1683 - 1873. By Willa Skinner. (Fishkill, N. Y.: Town of Fishkill, 1978. Pp. 96, notes, bibliography, photographs, index, $3.00.) Willa Skinner, Fishkill Town Historian, successfully achieved her goal--to present a compact, popular history of the first two centuries of one of the earliest settlements in Dutchess County. Fishkill is well known as a supply depot during the Revolutionary War and temporary New York State capital after the British occupied New York City. This twelve chapter work, published by the Town of Fishkill, could well serve as a model for other towns whose history deserves telling. It is written in a readable style focusing on the people, interesting facts and accomplishments of early Fishkill. After an introductory description of the land grant, Mrs. Skinner briefly traces the early settlement of the area. Particular attention is paid to early churches. Fishkill was the home of Dutch Reformed, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Baptist churches. The four chapters devoted to the Revolutionary War underscores the importance of this period in Fishkill history. Visits of Washington, Lafayette and other notables are treated in an interesting manner. Signal fires to warn of a feared British attack, the Fishkill "Tea Parties", American espionage and the creation of "America's first veterans' organization" clarify Fishkill's experience during the Revolution. Although the nineteenth century is treated more lightly, the picture of Fishkill's growth and change is neatly sketched. The tragic fire in 1873 which changed the "face of the

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village's business district" is described in a newspaper reporter's style, carefully weaving facts with human interest details. An 1866 Fishkill Directory, which lists the names, occupations and "addresses" of about 700 residents is included. The well placed photographs and line drawings add interest to the work. The appeal of the work is apparent, for less than two years after publication the first edition was exhausted. However, the author is revising the work with additional photographs for a 1981 publication. The editor

PINE PLAINS AND THE RAILROADS. By Lyndon A. Haight. (Pine Plains, N. Y.: Little Nine Partners Historical Society (Box 243). Pp. 52, photographs, $2.50.) TWo of every three pages record early photographs and yet it is not just a book of pictures. The title refers to railroads, but it is more than a book about railroads. Railroad buffs and Dutchess County history buffs will find a great deal of satisfaction visiting the pages of this book and then storing it on their reference shelf for future visits. Pine Plains in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a "minor railroad center" boasting of eighteen passenger trains stopping each day. The Newburgh, Dutchess and Columbia junction at Pine Plains was visited regularly by the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railroad (later the Poughkeepsie, Hartford and Boston Railroad Co.), the Dutchess and Columbia Railroad, and Central New England System (formerly the Poughkeepsie and Connecticut Railroad). The work clearly depicts the fascinating story of the many times railroads were sold or combined or divided by various holding companies. In spite of this, regular railway service continued, seeming to ignore the machinations of these business transactions. This recounting of railroad history is by no means limited to Pine Plains; it relates in words and pictures the story of railroads in all of Dutchess County, even referring to the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge presently the center of so much interest. The well assembled photographic study begins in the 1880s and extends well into the twentieth century. The pictures depict railroad engines and cars, crossings, stations, railroad personnel, accidents, snow bound trains, etc. The reminiscences of railway men found in the book reach back to the turn of the century to enliven the work with human

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interest. The 1910 Central New England Railway schedule, included, shows the connections of these Dutchess County trains with the adjacent states, Connecticut and Massachusetts. This is the kind of work a reader can page through over and over again, finding a new twist each time.

The editor

Train coming from station in Pine Plains. From Haight, Pine Plains and the Railroads, 1976, p. 15.

ANNUAL REPORTS of the Dutchess County Historical Society

JOSEPH W. EMSLEY 1899-1980

Joseph W. Emsley of Poughkeepsie was known to most people as the "city beat reporter" who covered city hall in Poughkeepsie for more than 30 years for the Poughkeepsie Journal and its predecessors. The other side of Emsley, that fewer people knew, was his great interest in history, particularly the history of his adopted county, Dutchess. Emsley, the reporter and historian, died last January 4 at the age of 80. One of the highlights of his career as a political reporter was the time he conducted a private interview with the then Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt later was elected President on four occasions before his death in 1945. In the Bicentennial year, 1976, EMsley's recollections of the Roosevelt years were recorded by Poughkeepsie radio station WKIP. One of the highlights for historian Emsley was his election in May, 1967, as president of the Dutchess County Historical Society. In taking over the presidency, EMsley said he felt junior memberships should be made available in the historical society to high school students. He also called attention to the "living museum" ideas of Frederick L. Rath Jr., of the New York State Historical Association. This was tied to plans to make old City Hall into a living museum, and this has happened since that time. Emsley was a City of Poughkeepsie resident from 1927 until his death, a period of 53 years. During that time he was a reporter for the Poughkeepsie Journal and its predecessors for 37 years, mainly covering city and Dutchess County politics. However, on many occasions he also wrote feature stories, usually concentrating on the ones with a historical angle. For instance, he wrote more than one story about the YoungMorse estate on the South Road, noted as the home of Samuel 134

135 F. B. Morse, the renowned painter and inventor of the telegraph. Other feature stories concerned the milestones along Route 9, and some of the important estates of the past along the Hudson River. Early in his career of writing, EMsley wrote a section on Dutchess County's history which appeared in the book, "Southeastern New York," Volume III. EMsley got his start in journalism as a reporter for the Providence Journal in Providence, R. I., in 1924. He was born in the neighboring state of Massachusetts on January 29, 1899. In 1927, he moved to Poughkeepsie where he worked at first for the Evening Star and later for the Poughkeepsie New Yorker and the Poughkeepsie Journal. In his early years, he attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and graduated from Brown University in Rhode Island in 1924. He married the former Anna Oberle Braig in 1929, and survivors, in addition to his wife, include a son, Joseph Jr., and a daughter, Alice Emsley Ledrich, both of Poughkeepsie, and four grandsons. On the human side, the long-time reporter who had a tough beat which meant many late nights was known for his ready smile, a good sense of humor and a penchant for walking. For many of the years he reported for the Journal and its predecessors, he walked from his home on Mitchell Avenue in the Eighth Ward, a distance of two and one-half miles, each morning and back again each night. It was a familiar sight to see him, even when he was in his 60s, striding briskly up Hooker Avenue on his way to work about 7 a.m. EMsley also was an inveterate gum chewer, having substituted gum for cigarettes many years ago. It was typical of EMsley that he did not want to end his career with his official retirement in 1964 when he was 65. For many years after that, he contributed feature articles to the Journal and even worked for several years on the Journal's Progress edition on business and industry which comes out early each year. Nathan Dykeman

EDMUND VAN WYCK 1886-1980

With the rian and lost one its most

death on June 16, 1980 of Edmund Van Wyck, localhistoantiquarian, the Dutchess County Historical Society of its most devoted members, and the community one of valued citizens.

The Van Wyck family is one of New York's oldest, its first numbers arriving in this country from Holland in 1650. Edmund Van Wyck traced his lineage to Theodorus Van Wyck who came toDutchess County about 1720 to survey the Rombout Patent for Madame Catharyn Brett. Ed was born in the Van Wyck farmhouse at Manchester Bridge in the Town of LaGrange, on August 26, 1886, the son of Joseph H. and Charlotte (Bartlett) Van Wyck. His father was a farmer and fruit grower who was also town supervisor. Ed was graduated from Poughkeepsie High School and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and taught school for a short time in Minnesota before returning home to assume operation of the family farm. For the rest of his working life he was a farmer. He was also an outstanding public servant. He was master of the Poughkeepsie Grange and the Pomona Grange of Dutchess County, a member of the Dutchess County Farm Bureau, and a director of the Lower Hudson Regional Marketing Authority. He was a member of the board of directors of the Poughkeepsie Savings Bank and an officer of the Dutchess County Grand Jurors Association. A 32nd degree Mason, he was a past master of the Triune Lodge, F & AM and grand master of the Dutchess Masonic District. A lifelong member of the Arlington Reformed Church, he served the church in many capacities, not the least of which was years of singing tenor in the church choir. He was a leading citizen in the Town of LaGrange. During his long life he saw his neighborhood at Manchester Bridge change from a rural hamlet served by a wooden covered bridge to a sprawling extension of its urban neighbor. While he accepted change and adapted to it, he wanted newcomers to know the town's past. To that end, he prepared a set of slides showing the town's old houses and buildings, wrote a narrative to accompany them, and willingly showed them to civic and social groups. He believed that no society could see where it was going in the 136

137 future if it had no knowledge of where it had been in the past. He was one of the founders of a volunteer fire company in LaGrange, donated land for its firehouse, and served as a commissioner for many years. He took great delight in riding in parades with the firemen. He served on the first Zoning Board of Appeals in LaGrange, and for countless years supervised the LaGrange Rural Cemetery. A lifelong student of history, he derived great pleasure from his work with the Dutchess County Historical Society and the Holland Society. He served as president of the Dutchess County Holland Society and as vice-president of the Holland Society of New York. At the time of his death, he was one of the oldest continuing members of the Dutchess County Historical Society. He first joined the Society in 1919, four years after its founding. His father, already a member, was serving as Vice-President for the Town of LaGrange. Ed was first appointed a trustee in 1928, and thereafter, for the next 46 years, served continuously on the board. For eight of those years, 1946-1950 and 1955-1959, he served as the Society's president. He was involved with the planning of several of the Society's pilgrimages and in its work with the State of New York for the erection of markers at historic sites. On the day of a pilgrimage or the dedication of a marker, Ruth Van Wyck was allowed to forego school to accompany her father, for he believed such events incomparable lessons in history. He was the guiding spirit for the Society's fall meeting in 1945 when a pilgrimage was not feasible because of wartime gasoline shortages. He invited the Society to meet at the Poughkeepsie Grange Hall (since demolished) on Route 55 where he and fellow Grangers had arranged a large display of antique farm and household implements. Ed then discoursed at length about the objects, their history and use. No doubt many of the objects came from his own home and barns and from his collection ofAmericana. Long a familiar sight at country auctions, he bought old tools and gadgets long before it was popular to do so. His outbuildings were treasure troves of Americana, even including a great clock rescued from some long-demolished church steeple. In the 1960s he discontinued farming and had time to write. jle contributed a number of short articles for the Yearbook in the 1960s and '70s, most of them about the Town of LaGrange. He wrote articles for local newspapers, and in turn was the subject of several. To the end of his life, he delighted in reading works of history. When he himself could no longer read, his daughter read them aloud to him. In the months before his death, they wererereading the publications of the Holland Society. Ed was married to the former Harriet Laird who died in 1958. He is survived by his daughter, Ruth Van Wyck Floyd, of Pittstown, New Jersey, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. lb all of them, he passed on his pride in the Van Wyck family heritage. All who knew him will remember his personal charm, the twinkle in his eye and the impish smile, and his great love for the Hudson Valley, a love which he tried to share with us. Marguerite B. Hubbard

Annual Reports

138 ANNUAL TREASURER'S REPORT 1979

Balance - December 31, 1978 Receipts Dues Pilgrimages & Meetings Plates Transfer G/F Transfer Reynolds Wells Adams Fund

Expenses Transfer to G/F Savings Acquisitions Clinton House Fees Office Supplies Postage Pilgrimages Yearbook Glebe House Nine Partners Book IRS Accounting Newsletter Dues Petty Cash Legal Ad Safe Deposit Box & Checks Meetings fables Restore Pictures Glebe House Photos Misc.

$ 4,196.50 2,362.50 195.00 1,500.00 4,500.00 5,871.50 1,753.75 $20,379.25

$ 1,500.00 531.50 632.86 600.00 238.88 385.97 3,204.62 2,553.58 2,500.00 5,549.68 229.02 675.00 416.84 14.00 103.68 7.60 17.23 97.14 65.00 575.00 58.75 42.78 $19,999.13

Balance - December 31, 1979

160.57

20,379.25 $20,539.82

19,999.13 $

540.69

56.95

GENERAL FUND (Savings) Balance - December 31, 1978 Receipts Transfer from Checking Account $ 1,500.00 Interest 13.56 $ 1,513.56 Disbursements Transfer to Checking Account Balance - December 31, 1979

$ 1,500.00

$ 1,513.56 $ 1,570.51 $ 1,500.00 $ 70.51

Annual Reports

139 Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Fund (Publications)

Balance - December 31, 1978 (Savings Accounts) Receipts - Sale Publication Interest

$ 23,795.28

$1,426.84 2,430.03

Disbursements Trans to Checking Account

3,856.87 $ 27,652.15

4,500.00 $ 23,152.15

William Platt Adams Fund (Interest for Glebe House Support) Balance - December 31, 1978 (Bonds at Investment Value)

$ 25,022.18

Receipts Interest

$1,753.75

1,753.75 $ 26,775.93

Disbursements

$1,753.75

1,753.75

Balance - December 31, 1979

$ 25,022.18

Wells Fund (General Purposes) Balance - December 31, 1978 (Bonds, stocks at Investment Value; Savings Accounts) Receipts Interest & Dividends

Disbursement Trans to Checking Balance - December 31, 1979

$128,735.96

$9,632.15

9,632.15 $138,368.11

5,871.50 $132,496.61

140

CLINTON HOME MUSEUM

On June 14th the Dutchess County Historical Society had its opening celebration for the Clinton House Museum, the culmination of many dreams and much work on the part of many over a number of years. On September 15, 1980, after a summer of further preparation of the House, museum, library, and Dutchess County Historical Headquarters was opened to the public. The Clinton House Museum, located at 549 Main Street, will now be open Monday through Friday from 1:00-4:30. In addition to the numerous research materials available there, the House also has exhibit space, and office space for the DAR, Mahwenawasigh Chapter, and the Dutchess County Landmarks Association. The telephone number is 471-1630, and the director will be most happy to assist anyone. As in the past, the Society has answered numerous genealogical questions and most of these inquiries add some information to our files. Much work needs to be done in this area, and any interested genealogists are urgently requested to call the Clinton House. Our collection has increased during the last year by donations, loans and purchases. Since June the following persons have made generous donations to the Society. Our appreciation is extended to these donors: Ezra Benton M. Lelyn Branin Clark Co. Historical Soc. Radford Curdy Mrs. Betty Frear Barbara Frost William F. Gekle Mrs. J. A. Mac Lachlan Mrs. John C. Nalle Mrs. Frances Nevers

Newburgh Free Library Mr. & Mrs. J. Ostachowsky Collin Strang Henry Taylor Newell B. Ti-akel Baltas B. Van Kleeck Jr. Norma Van Kleeck Peter Van Kleeck H. Richard Van Vliet

Melodye K. Andros Director Clinton House Museum

Minutes of the Board of Trustees July 1979 - August 1980 The following is a summary of the monthly meetings of the Board of Trustees. The full text of these minutes is on deposit at Clinton House Museum, headquarters of the Society. Clinton House Museum Negotiations with New York State Department of Parks,Taconic Park Commission, which began in the winter of 1978, came toa fruitful conclusion when a satisfactory agreement with the Society was adopted in November 1979. As a result the Society was granted long term occupancy and management of the Clinton House. In addition to this arrangement, the State made its specialized resources available. Curatorial consultation, preservation techniques and other forms of support were made available even to include such basic items as paint and an improved electrical service. The next step taken was to convert the Directions Committee into a Headquarters Committee with Meloyde Andros as its director. Since September 1979 this committee has taken responsibility for the daily management of the Clinton House. Additionally, grant proposals were submitted for such important items as furniture, security systems, grounds maintenance, etc. There followed a very smooth transition period during which time the State removed its collection and the Dutchess County Historical Society's collection was moved in. This also brought an end to the long standing compatible relationship between the Society and the Adriance Library where the Society's collections had resided for a number of years. Agreements were made between the Society and Dutchess County Landmarks Association which permitted this complimentary agency to occupy office space in the Society's new headquarters. The previous arrangement between New York State and the DAR was extended between the DAR and the Society. With these two companion organizations sharing the new museum and headquarters, the Society has brought together the most important County historical associations. The installation of the alarm system (funded in part by a grant from IBM) in April 1980 permitted the Society's valuable collections to be moved to. headquarters. The official opening in June 1980 at the Annual Meeting marked the beginning of anew period in the Society's goal of preserving and teaching Dutchess County history. The support of volunteers (of course more help would be used well) and business provided the basic needs of any move. Furniture had to be obtained, cleaning, layout of space and so forth were essential to the successful opening of the Museum. These have been accomplished and as a result the Museum-Headquarters is open daily from 1 - 5p.m. under the guidance 141

Minutes

142

of Melodye Andros who has joined the Museum as its first salaried Director. The Headquarters committee has planned several exhibits for the coming year.

Publications Collections - Volume X - Preparation of the new book entitled Eighteenth Century Documents of the Nine Partners Patent, Dutchess County, New York was completed in July 1979 for a December publication. This new work, volume X of the Society's series, Collections of the Dutchess County Historical Society, was funded by the Reynolds Publication FUnd. The reception of the new volume as evidenced by the number of sales to individuals and libraries has been very encouraging. The projected number of sales for the first year was actually achieved within the first nine months. Additionally, the new volume has stimulated a significant increase in sales of other publications of the Society. Yearbook - The distribution of the 1979 Yearbook brought to a close the valuable service of L. Gordon Hamersley, who had been its editor since 1972. His contribution to the Society in that capacity was recognized at the June 1980 meeting of the Board of Trustees when a resolution of thanks was received unanimously. The new editor, William P. Mc Dermott, indicated the general character of the Yearbook, which has been successful for sixty-five years, would continue. A few changes, such as the inclusion of an index in each volume, would be made to strengthen the value of the Yearbook to researchers. In May, four "Yearbook brainstorming" meetings, chaired by Dr. Mc Dermott, were held in each. of the following locations: Beekman, Clinton, Fishkill and Red Hook. The meetings were received well and valuable information was contributed by the local historians from neighboring towns.

Committees Four standing committees were appointed by President Butts at the September 1979 meeting. They follow: Finance Alice Hemroth Hubert Spross Collin Strang Nelson Tyrrel, Chairman Peter Van Kleeck

Headquarters Melodye Andros, Chairwoman Radford Curdy Rev. Herman Harmelink Clara Losee Velma Pugsley

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Minutes

Membership Putnam Davis, Chairman Lemma Mc Ginnis Norma Van Kleeck

Publications Jonathan Clark, Chairman William P. Mc Dermott Donald Mc Ternan Eunice Smith

The Nominating committee, chaired by Betty Klare, presented and received approval from the membership of the following four new trustees: Mrs. N. Edward Mitchell Mrs. Willa Skinner

Al Vinck George Wilson.

Accessions and Preservation Since the opening of the Clinton House Museum the number of items donated to the Society has increased remarkably. Fine furniture, art, historical books, manuscripts, paper items, maps, ledgers, photographs and other items of value and historical significance have been received from members and friends of the Society. Some of the items were donated for special exhibits; some were donated in memory of a family member; others were donated simply to strengthen the collection. In some instances items were presented for long term loan. Members have recognized the value of preserving a part of Dutchess County history or family history in the new museum. The Board of Thistees wishes to express its gratitude to these supportive members. It also wishes to encourage others to donate or lend historical objects to strengthen the Society's collection. Special gratitude is extended to Velma Pugsley for the appraisal and conservation measures she has taken in the past year protecting the Society's portrait collection.

Membership Under the guiding hand of Putnam Davis, more than sixty new members have joined the Society. Additionally, new procedures for encouraging membership, record keeping, presenting annual statements and follow-up have been developed. While many of the Society's long time members continue in good standing, there has been a noticeable influx of first year memberships which the Society received enthusiastically.

Pilgrimages The fall and spring pilgrimages chaired so effectively by

Minutes

144

Dr. Felix Scardapane were received well by the membership. The trip to the town of Northeast in the fall 1979 provided insights into a special part of Dutchess not often recognized for its importance. The spring pilgrimage to Smith's Clove Village Museum in Orange County was reminiscent of earlier years in the Society's history, when leaving Dutchess County was a more frequent practice. Thanks to Dr. Scardapane for another wellplanned and successful pair of pilgrimages.

Glebe House Report This year Glebe House successfully expanded the programs it provides to the community. Tours of the house were promoted through the school systems and, as a result, over 600 children visited Glebe House this year. An authentic tasting experience was included with great success; this consisted of costumed volunteers cooking over the fireplace while the childrenparticipated. The slide tour was circulated to many organizations as was the portable touching museum. A varied program of displays, seminars and lectures was also offered with good attendance. The annual Christmas open house was again a success and this year included a Craftique. Evangeline Reilly has continued as our aide/caretaker and is our most valuable asset. The committee, under chairman Deborah Schoonmaker, is looking forward to exploring the future of Glebe House as we begin our first year as a project committee rather than a Junior League standing committee.

PRESIDENTS OF HISTORICAL SOCIETIES IN THE TOWNS OF DUTCHESS 00UNTY AMENIA George E. Phillips 317 Fblan Road Amenia, N.Y. 12501 BEACON Alexander D. Rogers 12 West Willow Street Beacon, N.Y. 12508 BEEKMAN Mrs. Dorothy Montgomery Walker Road Hopewell junction, N.Y. 12533 CLINTON William S. Benson Jr. Hollow Road Salt Point, N.Y. 12578 DOVER Mrs. Gladys Hoag Duncan Hill Road Dover Plains, N.Y. 12522 EAST FISHKILL Douglas McHoul P.O. Box 1776 Hopewell Junction, N.Y. 12533 FISHKILL Louis Ahiback 22 Chelsea Ridge Drive Wappingers Falls, N.Y. 12590 HYDE PARK ASSOCIATION Leon Froats 3 Watson Place Hyde Park, N.Y. 12538 HYDE PARK SOCIETY Mary Ann Grace Mill Road Hyde Park, N.Y. 12538 LAGRANGE George N. Wilson Howard Road Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603 LITTLE NINE PARTNERS Mrs. John Freney Pine Plains, N.Y. 12567 NORTHEAST Mrs. William Warren Reservoir Road Millerton, N.Y. 12546

145

PLEASANT VALLEY Mrs. Judy Moran 21 Arbor Arms Apts. Pleasant Valley, N.Y. 12569 (Bowdoin Park POUGHKEEPSIE Historical Association) Mrs. John Wood 4 Mesier Avenue, South Wappingers Falls, N.Y.12590 POUGHKEEPSIE CITY Timothy Allred 3 Eastman Terrace Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12601 QUAKER HILL & VICINITY Mrs. N. Edward Mitchell Wilkinson Hollow Road Pawling, N.Y. 12564 RED HOOK (Egbert Benson Hist. Soc.) Mrs. Katherine Aldrich Box 1776 Red Hook, N.Y. 12571 RED HOOK (UPPER) Mrs. Frank DePau Mill Street Red Hook, N.Y. 12571 RHINEBECK Keir Sterling 31 Chestnut Street Rhinebeck, N.Y. 12572 STANFORD Mrs. Robert Renshaw Hunns Lake Road Bangall, N.Y. 12506 UNION VALE Donald Marshall P.O. Box 100 Verbank, N.Y. 12585 WAPPINGERS FALLS Mrs. Betty Takacs Pine Ridge Drive Wappingers Falls, N.Y.12590 WASHINGTON Charles Tripp P.O. Box 592 Millbrook, N.Y. 12545

.APPOINTED HISTORIANS OF DUrCHESS COUNTY

146

COUNTY HISTORIAN Radford B. Curdy County Office Building Poughkeepsie, New York 12601

CITY HISTORIANS POUGHKEEPSIE Elizabeth I. Carter 40 Randolph Avenue Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603

BEACON Alexander D. Rogers 12 W. Willow Beacon, N.Y. 12508

TOWN HISTORIANS AMENIA Catherine Leigh Amnia, N.Y. 12501

DOVER Doris Dedrick Nellie Hill Acres Dover Plains, N.Y. 12522

BEEKMAN Lee Eaton Clove Valley Road Hopewell Junction, N.Y. 12533

EAST FISHKILL Henry Jackson Stormville, N.Y. 12582

CLINTON H. Richard Van Vliet Fiddler's Bridge Road Staatsburgh, N.Y. 12580

FISHKILL Willa Skinner Charlotte Road Fishkill, N.Y. 12524

TOWN HISTORIANS (Continued)

147

FISHKILL (Village) Margaret Somers Rapalje Road Fishkill, N.Y. 12524

RED HOOK John Winthrop Aldrich "Rokeby" Barrytown, N.Y. 12507

HYDE PARK Mary Ann Grace Mill Road Hyde Park, N.Y. 12538

RED HOOK (Village) Rosemary E. Coons 34 Garden Street Red Hook, N.Y. 12571

LAGRANGE EMily Johnson Moore Road Pleasant Valley, N.Y. 12569

RHINEBECK DeWitt Gurnell 38 Mulberry Street Rhinebeck, N.Y. 12572

MILAN Clara Losee R.D. #2, Box 178 Red Hook, N.Y. 12571

STANFORD Elinor Beckwith Stanfordville, N.Y. 12581

NORTHEAST Chester Eisenhuth Simmons St., Box 64 Millerton, N.Y. 12546 PAWLING Ronald Peck South Quaker Hill Road Pawling, N.Y. 12564

TIVCLI (Village) Joan Navins 2 Friendship Street Tivoli, N.Y. 12582 UNION VALE Irena Stolarik N. Smith Road LaGrangeville, N.Y. 12540

PINE PLAINS Byron Fones Pine Plains, N.Y. 12567

WAPPINGERS Connie Smith RD 3, Route 376 Wappingers Falls, N.Y.12590

PLEASANT VALLEY Gail Crotty Quaker Hill Road Pleasant Valley, N.Y. 12569

WAPPINGERS FALLS (Village) Caroline P. Wixson 86 East Main Street Wappingers Falls, N.Y.12590

PCUGHKEEPSIE TOWN Miss Ann Wiebke 148 Manchester Road Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603

WASHINGTON Lauise Tompkins Dutchess County Infirmary MilIbrook, N.Y. 12545

=CHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

149

Membership - September 1980

Honorary Deyo, Jerome Buck, Clifford M. Powers, Mrs. Albert Carter, Mrs. E. Sterling Tompkins, Louise

Ackerman, Mr. & Mrs. R. Adriance Memorial Library Ahlback, Mr. & Mrs. Louis Aldeborgh, David Aldrich, John Winthrop Aldrich, Mrs. Russell Aldridge, Louise R. Allen, Mr. & Mrs. Edward C. Allred, Tim Amenia Historical Society Anderson, Edgar A. Anderson, Mrs. Rupert, W. K. Andrew, Frank &Mhrie Andros, Mrs. Melodye Anson, Shirley V. Arnold, Mr. & Mrs. Dennis *Arnold, Elting *Asher, Mrs. Robert W. Auser, Dr. Cortland Pell Austin, Mrs. Vera H. Averill, Walter *Badgley, George A. Bailey, Elton, V. V., Jr. Baker, Murrell Balch, Dr. Roscoe A. Banta, Mr. &Mrs. George Bard College Library Bastian, Dr. & Mrs. Edward Bateman, Betty B. Bathrick, Michael D. Baumbusch, Mrs. Raymond G. Baxter, Lionel F. Beacon Historical Society Beck, Mr. & Mrs. William C. Becker, Mr. & Mrs. Stephen P. Beckwith, Mr. & Mrs. Asa T. Beekman Historical Society *Life Member

Behr, Betty M. Behrens, Mr. & Mrs. Manley L. Bell, Mrs. Claude R. Bello, Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Benson, William Benton, Mr. & Mrs. Ezra R. Bergmann, Mr. & Mrs. Eric Berry, June Beust, Charles E. Blakley, Mrs. Elmer Bloomer, Mrs. F. Irving Bollinger, Mrs. Henry R. Bookman, Mr. & Mrs. George Boos, Mrs. Charles Bowdoin Park Historical Assoc. Bowman, Mr. & Mrs. Donald Bradley, A. Day Braig, Mrs. Louis J. Breed, Mrs. James R. Breed, Mrs. R. Huntington Breed, Mr. & Mrs. Robert B. Bresee, Laurence &Elizabeth Briggs, Mrs. Anthony J. *Briggs, Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth R. Brown, Mrs. Edward G. Brownell, Mrs. Daphne M. *Bullenkamp, Grace Bushnell, Mrs. Elizabeth Buthmann, Eleanor Butts, Alfred Butts, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Butts, Dr. & Mrs. Franklin A. Buys, Barbara Smith Capers, Mrs. E. H. Carman, Mrs. William Carroll, Mr. & Mrs. William Carter, Mrs. Norman

150 Carver, Arthur Cary Arboretum Library Case, Barbara A. Case, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Cassidy, Mrs. Joseph A. Ciolko, Mr. &Mrs. William Clark, Dr. Jonathan Close, C. Fred Conklin, John R. Connelly, Raymond J. Connevey, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Conrad, Mrs. Anne D. Cook, Mr. & Mrs. Robert EL *Cook, Mrs. Turner Coons, Mrs. Richard Coote, Mrs. James W. Corning, Mrs. Edwin Costello, Mrs. Hazel M. Covert, Mrs. Albert C. Cramer, Margaret Crapser, Kay M. Criswell, Col. Howard D. Crites-Moore, Mr. & Mrs. Donald Cross, Raymond G. Crum, Mrs. Raymond Cunningham, Mrs. Edward V. K. Curdy, Radford D'Avanzo, Mr. & Mrs. Aurelio Davies, Mrs. Hugh R. Davis, Mrs. Elsie 0. Davis, Mr. & Mrs. Putnam Dean, Mr. & Mrs. G. V., Jr. Decker, Mrs. Harry DeGroff, Elizabeth Porter DeLaVergne, Charles DePauw, lass Merlin M. Eetjen, Gustav, Jr. Deuell, Mr. &Mrs. F. Paul Dickson, Mr. & Mrs. Chauncy Diddell, Mildred D. Dodge, Bernice F. Dover, Town of, Historical Soc. *Dows, Stephen Cain Eunton, Anna Mary *Durocher, Mrs. Linus F. Eutchess Community College Eykeman, Nathan East Fishkill Historical Soc. Eastwood, Robert Eaton, Mrs. Raymond Edwards, Mrs. Georgia S. Effron, Mr. & Mrs. David Effron, Jesse

Eggert, Mrs. Betty Blair Eidle, Mrs. M. Kenneth Eisner, Lester *Ellis, Mrs. Walter J. Emsley, Mrs. Joseph Erickson, Mr. &Mrs. Newton Fairbairn, Mrs. Helen Fairbanks, Mr. & Mrs. Johnhi. Felter, Mrs. Emma K. Fink, Mrs. Mapledormm Fishkill Historical Society Fitchett, Mrs. Bernice Fitchett, Carlton B. Flowers, George S. *Floyd, Ruth Van Wyck Forster, James V. Foster, Esty Fbuhy, Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Fraleigh, Charles IL Frazer, Mr. & Mrs. Silas Freer, Mrs. Kenneth French, Mrs. Frank Frincke, Muriel E. Froats, Mr. &Mrs. Leon A. Frost, Barbara Frost, Benson R., Jr. Furlong, Mr, &, Mrs. Joseph Gardner, Mr. &, Mrs. James E. Gardner, Mr. &, Mrs. John R. Gartland, John J., Jr. Gay, Mr. &, Mrs. Robert C. Geisler, Mr. & Mrs. John Gellert, Mr. &Mrs. Arthur L. Genealogical Society. George, Mr. .& Mrs. Glenn Germond, Mrs. Homer *Gill, George M. Glasstetter, Mr. & Mrs. Henry Glover, Jenny H. Glover, Maria A. Goudelock, Mrs. Grace Graley, James T. Grant, Mr. &, Mrs. Henry A. Graybeal, Pamela S. Green, Mrs. Sam Grey, Mrs. Edward Grinnell Library Association Grissy, Mrs. John E. Grover, Victor E. Guernsey, Mr. & Mrs. H. Wilson Gunn, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Gurnell, De Witt Gusmano, Mr. &Mrs. Joseph

Gustafson, Mrs, Julia B. Hager, William D. Hahn, Mr.- &Mrs. Thomas, Sr. Haight, Lyndon. A. Ham, Mts. J. Frederick HaMbleton", Mts. William H. Hamersley, Mt. &Mrs...L.Gordon Hane, Mts. Milton J. Hansen, Mts. B. G. Harden, Miss Helen *Harmelink,Rev. & Mrs. H.H.,III Harmon, M. &Mrs. Vernon C. Harrison, Mt. & Mrs. George Harrison, Mt. &Mts. William Hart, Mts. Herbert F. Hasbrouck, Alfred Hasbrouck, Mts. Paul D. Haslam, Mrs. Peter Haugh, Mt. & Mrs. Conner F. Hawkins, William & Agatha W. Hayden, Dr. Benjamin, III Hayden, Mts. Catherine V. Heaton, Mts. Lawrence A. Heidgerd, William Hemroth, Mts. George Hevenor, Robert B. Hicks, John C. Hicks, Mary C. Hill, Mt. &Mrs. Grant B. Bill, Mts. Harry H. Hinkley, Mt. & Mrs. David R. Hirst, Dr. & Mrs. H. Sherman *Hoag, Mts. F. Philip Hoe, Mt. & Mrs. Edward L. *Hoe, Mt. & Mrs. Robert Hoff, Mr. & Mrs. Frederick Hoffman, Mts. Edith Holden, Mr. & Mrs. Arthur E. Horn, Suzanne Hoskins, Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Houser, Mr. & Mrs. Arthur E. Howard, Mr. & Mrs. Edward Van Howland Circulating Library Hoyt, Miss Ruth M. Hoy-t, Mrs. William V. Hubbard, Mr. & Mrs. E. S., III Hubbard, Mr. &Mrs.E.Stuart,Jr. Hunger, Dr. & Mrs., Edwin L. Hunt, Mrs. A. Seaman Hunter, Elmer R. Hyde Park Free Library Assoc. Hyde Park, Town of, Hist. Soc. Jackson, Wright W.

151 Jacob, Mrs. Thomas F. James, Mr. &Mts. S. C., Jr. Jaminet, Mrs. Leon L. Janson, Mr. & Mrs. MM. H. Jaycox, Herbert L. Jenner, John M. Johnson, Dr. &Mrs. C. Colton *Johnson, Mr. &Mrs. J. Edward Kane, Mr. & Mrs. John V., III Kelly, Arthur C. M. Kendall, Mr. &Mts. Robert Kennedy, Helen I. Kerin, Mrs. Edward B. Kester, Charlotte T. Kinkead, Miss Elsie H *Kirby, Helen Cornell Klare, Mrs. Harold V. Knauss, Howard C. Knickerbocker, Mrs. William Kbloski, Dr. & Mts. Raymond *Krulewich, E. Peter Kupin, Ronald La Grange Historical Society Lana, Mr. & Mrs. Waino Lane, Margaret T. Lawlor, Denise M. Lawson, Miss Mabel V. Leigh, Mrs. Catherine Flint Leroy, Mrs. Howard J. *Lewis, Mr. & Mrs. Lou Lindsley, Rev. James Elliot Lippman, I. Jack Litt, Mr. &Mrs. Solomon Lockwood, Mr. & Mrs. Lansing Logan, Mrs. Joseph S. LoMbardi, Joseph Lbsee, Byron Vincent Losee, Mrs. John Lossing, Mary S. Love, Mr. &Mrs-. Donald Love, Nellie M. Ludwig, Charlotte E. LuMb, James L. Lumb, Mr. &Mrs. Stephen P. Lyon, Lucinda S. *Lynn, Mrs. C. L. MacGuinness, Mts. Robert Madsen, Mt. & Mrs. Alfred M. Maguire, J. Robert Mahoney, Thomas Mansfield, Mrs. G. Stuart Maranto, Darlyne & Frank, Jr. Marist College Library

152 Marshall, Joseph W. Massie, Timmian C. Mastmann, Mr. & Mrs. Herbert Mather, Constance Mauri, Mrs. Stephanie *Mavadones, Zinas M. Maxwell, Clarence W. McCabe, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph McCalley, Mr. & Mrs. John W. McComb, Mr. & Mrs. Arthur B. McCullough, Mrs. David G. *McDermott, Dr. &Mrs. William McDonald, Dr. & Mrs. Chas. F. McEnroe, Mr. & Mrs. Jack A. McGinnis, Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence McGinnis, Mr. & Mrs. Peter McGowan, Mr. & Mrs. J. Joseph McGurk, Ms. Patricia McKee, Mrs. Jean McTernan, Donald H. Mead, Mr. & Mrs. Richard T. Meadows, Elizabeth Meads, Mrs. Manson Meagher, Mr. & Mrs. Raymond, Jr. Mesler, Jr. &Mrs. Kenneth B. Meyer, Mr. & Mrs. Richmond F. Meyers, MS. Esther G. Micham, Lucille L. Milibrook Free Library Miller, Mr. & Mrs. John MacD. *Miller, Rev. A. J. Millett, Mr. Stephen C. Mills, Mrs. Harold S. Millspaugh, Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Mitchell, Mrs. Charles A. *Mitchell, Grayson B. Mongoven, Mr. & Mrs. Edward *Moore, Mrs. Samuel A. Morey, C. Allerton Morrissey, Mr. & Mrs. James Moser, Mrs. Clifford M. Mosher, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Mulvey, Mrs. Edward Mund, Dr. & Mrs. Andrew Murtaugh, Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Mylod, Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Nalle, Mrs. John M. Navins, Mrs. Charles J. Nelson, Mrs. Victor *Nestler, Harold R. Netter, Mr. &Mrs. Matthew Nevers, Mrs. George A. Newburgh Free Library

Neyers, Wilma J. B. Nichols, Mr. &Mrs. W. J. Norris, Mr. &Mrs. Stanley J. North East Historical Society Norton, Mrs. Donald E. Oakley, Edith H. Calivett, Audrey O'Neill, Ellen Marie Opperman, Mr. &Mrs. Martin Orton, Mrs. Horace V. O'Shea, Mr. & Mrs. E. Richard Pantridge, Mr. & Mrs. R. A. Parker, Miss Julia A. Parker, Mrs. Thomas E. Peters, Mrs. Barbara E. Petz, Mr. &Mrs. Joseph L. Picard, Mrs. Irving Pierce, Madeline E. Pierce, Robert Piwonka, Ruth Pleasant Valley Free Library Pleasant Valley Historical Soc. Podmaniczky, Mr. & Mrs. C. B. Polhemus, Mr. &Mrs. Norman H. Pomeroy, Mr. &Mrs. R. Watson Potter, Mr. & Mrs. Owen W. *Poucher, John L. Prewitt, Mr. & Mrs. WilliamC. Pross, Mrs. Albert Psaltis, Peter Pugsley, Mrs. S. Velma Pultz, Mrs. Frank H. Pulver, Mr. & Mrs. B. Jordan Quaker Hill Historical Soc. Quinlan, Lt.0 Michael M. Rack, Mrs. Lawrence Radovski, Mrs. David A. Rawson, Mr. & Mrs. Edmund G. Reed, Mr. & Mrs. Fay, Jr. *Reese, Mr. & Mrs. Willis L.M. Reese, Mrs. James E. Reichenberg, Mrs. Richard Reichert, Mr. &Mrs. HenryG. Reifler, Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Reigle, Gerald L. Reilly, Mr. & Mrs. Edward R. Renshaw, Mr. &Mrs. Robert E. Rhinebeck Historical Society Roberts, Richard *Rodenburg, Mrs. Carl A. *Roig, Mr. &Mrs. Herbert S. Romero, Forrest Roosevelt, F.D., High School

153 Stenberg, Frances Walker Rosenblatt, Mrs. Albert Bothwell, Mr. William F., Jr. Steppacher, Mrs. Margery Rubin, Nathaniel Stevens, Mrs. Walter Ruesch, Miss Alida E. Stevenson, Er. Jean K. Ruf, Ludwig Stolarik, Mrs. Karel Ruhnke, Elmer Strain, Mrs. ChaImer L. *Rymph, Mr. & Mrs. Carlton Strain, Mr. &Mrs. Richard C. *Rymph, Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Strang, Collin *Rymph, Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Strang, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Sadlier, Mrs. William Stringham, Mrs. Varick V., Sr. Saltford, Herbert Stringham, Mr. & Mrs. V., Jr. Salvato, Mr. & Mrs. Donald Suckley, Margaret L. *Sammis, Mrs. Lloyd Supple, Mrs. Leonard J. Sanford, Mr. &Mrs. David Swenson, Ms. Christine M. Satterthwaite, Mr. J. Sheafe Swift, Mrs. Georgia E. Saye, Mrs. Marian V. A. Taber, Mr. & Mrs. David S. Scardapane, Dr. & Mrs. F., Jr. Tabor, Sandra P. Schaeffer, Fred W. & Anne V. Takacs, Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Schmidt, Mrs. Mabel S. Taylor, Donna Schmidt, Mr. & Mrs. C. B., II Telfer, Mrs. Florine D. Schoentag, David C. Thornton, Mrs. Archie Schoonmaker, Mr. & Mrs.Allen,III Thornton, Mr. & Mrs.J.Stanley Schoonmaker, Mrs. Helen H. Thystrup, Miss Marion E. Schrauth, Mr. William J. Timm, Miss Ruth Scott, Henry L. Toole, Kenneth R. Seeger, Mr. & Mrs. Peter Trakel, Newell B. Selfridge, Mr. & Mrs. Willard C. Traver, Mr. & Mrs. Theodore H. Shelby, Mrs. David S. Tschudin, Mr. & Mrs. Ehil,Jr. Siepietoski, Joseph & Sandra Tuceling, Mr. & Mrs. William Simpson, Alanson G. Tynan, John F. Sinnott, Clifford Tyrrel, Mr. & Mrs. Nelson M. Sinnott, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Ulrich, Edwin A. Skidmore, Hazel Union Vale Historical Society Skinner, Mrs. Willa Van Benschoten, Mr. & Mrs. J. Slocum, Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan Van Benschoten, Mr. & Mrs. W. Smith, Constance 0. VanDWater,Mr. &Mrs.Donald Smith, Mr. & Mrs. Clifford Van Kleeck, Mrs. Baltus B. Smith, Mrs. Earl Van Kleeck, Baltus B., Jr. Smith, Eunice H. *Van Kleeck, Peter Smith, Mrs. Malcolm Van Kleeck, Peter B. Smithers, Mr. & Mrs. John A. Van Kleeck, Mrs. Ralph E. Somers, Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Van Kleeck, William Sommers, Mrs. Virginia Van Vliet, Mr.& Mrs.H.Richard South, Paul Van Voorhis, Mrs. Ralph B. Spingarn, Mrs. Joseph Van Wagner, Alson D. Spingler, Miss Margaret Varian, Ruth W. B. Spratt, Mr. & Mrs. James, Jr. Vassar College Library *Spross, Mr. & Mrs. Chas. G.,III Vassar, John A. Spross, Mr. & Mrs. Hubert C. Velletri, Mrs. Louis J. Stache, Arthur P. Verven, Mr. &Mrs. Angelo Stairs, Mr. & Mrs. David S. Vinall, Mrs. Harry E. Stearns, Robert E. Vincent, Mrs. C. Kenneth SteehoIm, Mrs. Hardy Vinck, Albert

154 Vogel, Mrs. Craig Voorhees, Dr. Earle W. Voorhees, Miss Valere Wagar, Howard C. Washburn, Mrs. Olin G. Washburn, Mr. &Mrs. William Webster, Mrs. Allen Whalen, Olive White, Mr. & Mrs. William R. Wilkinson, Mrs. Robert, Jr. Williams, Dorothy

Williams, Emma B. Williamson, Mr. &Mrs,George Willig, Mr. &Mrs. Stanley B. Wilson, George N. Wilson, Leona V. Wohlback, Mrs. James Wollenhaupt,- Mrs. Arthur Wood, Mr.& Mrs. WM, Robert Wunderly, Mr. .& Mrs. Robert Yellen, Mrs, Lola Young, Mt. &-Mrs. Paul M.

Deceased - 1980

Barnett, Robert Spencer, Beacon DeLaVergne, Mrs. Charles, Pleasant Valley EMsley, Joseph, Poughkeepsie City Fredriksen, Beatrice, Hyde Park Traver, Albertina T. B., Rhinebeck *Van Wyck, Edmund, Pittstown, EL J.

Index

155

Adium, William, 91 Blauvelt, Isaac, 89 Cemeteries, (cont'd.); Adriance, Peter, 28 Blount, Nathan, 5 Beekman, 29f; Alexander, James, 121 Bock, Mr., letter, 52 Cornell, 33; Allen family, 97f Bone, Mr., 58 Flagler, 32; Allen, Elizabeth, 97f; Boklin, Abraham, 7f Green Haven, 29f; John, 97f; Bolding, John A., 35 Haxtun, 33; Smith, 92; Bond, Susanna,60;W.,63 Lutheran, 30f; Walter, 90; Bonisteel, William, 119 Morey, 33.„ Alsop, John, 59, 63; Book Reviews: Black Piggott Potts, 30f; letters 62, 67, 68 Rhinebeck, 114; Education (Mabee) 127; Amenia, 36; Civil War, History of Fishkill Rogers, 32; . 84f (Skinner) 130; Light in Seaman, 32; Andre, -Maj. John, 81 the Morning (Baker)125 Union Church, 32; Andrews, Isaac., 63; Natives and Newcomers Union Vale, 29; John, 63 (Griffens) 123; Pine Vanderburgh, 33. Annual Reports, 133f Plains and the RailCemetery headstones, -3If Anthony, Daniel, 38; roads (Haight) 131; Cemetery inscriptions., 31f Susan B.; 38f Susan and Anna Warner Chamberlain, Willis, 90 Architecture, (Foster) 125 Chambers, James, 90; 18th Century, 118f; John, 63 Boston, Uriah, 9f Dutch, 118f Bostwick, David, 121; Champlin, James, 109 Armstrong, Gen. John, Charity, Lancaster Soc,5f Margaret, 121 115; Margaret, 115 Children's Home, Bowman, Pulaski, 89 Arnold, Benedict, 80f Boyd, Capt., 61 Astor, 113f, Ashby, Anthony, 31 Brecher, Rev. Henry, 42 Holiday Farm, 116 Ashe, Benjamin, 60 Brett, Catherine, 45; Church, Choice of Aspinwall, Mr., 73 Robert, 45, 49 ministers, 52 Astor family, 113f; Churches, Brewer, Thomas, 7 Home, 113f; staff, 117 Brodhead, ,Daniel, 64 Dutch Ref. Hopewell, 45; Bailey, Chauncey', 89 Dutch Ref. New Hack., 45; Broughton, Samuel,. 121 Barlow, Charles, 89 Brown, William, 12f Dutch Ref. Poughkeepsie, Barnes, Henry, 85 45, 99f; , Bruyn, Jacobus, 60 Pnrrett, Nathaniel, 87' Buckmaster, George, 85 Dutch Ref. Fishkill, 45; Bartlett, William, 89 Budd, Josiah, 89 Glebe House, 45; Bauman, Philip, 91 Bun, Col., 66 Methodist-African, 6f; Bayard, John, 60, 63,71 Bunce, Mary, teacher, 47 Methodist-Poughquaq, 32; Beacon, 8 Burchill, Capt., 61 Methodist-Primitive, 6; Beck, Mr., 27 Burgoyne, Gem., 80 Quaker-Nine Partners,36; Beekman family,- 114f Burnett, Barnard, 85; Quaker-Oblong, 36; Beekman Hist. Soc., 29 Thomas 89 Quaker-Oswego, 30. Beekman Precinct, 100 Burns, Michael, 90 Civil War, 17f, 83f; Beekman's Land, map of, Business, N.Y. Bank, 67 Camp Dutchess, 114 Butler, Rev. William, 15f casualties-Dutchess,84f; Beekman, Civil War, 84f Byred, .61 disease, 84f; Georgia Beekman, Henry, letter, Caine, John, 67, 69 march, 91; Gettysburg; 72, judge, 113 85; Dutchess Co. RegiCaikin, Jeremiah, Bell, James, 89, 93; ment, 83f. letter, 71 John, 92 Clark, Dwight, 93 Campbell, Capt., 64; Benham, Thomas, 91, 95 James, 63; Lauchlin,63 Clinton, Charles-surveyor, Benson, 'Jacob, 87 119f Carr, Patrick, 63 Benthuysen, - , 73 Clinton, Town of, Civil Carroll, Charles, 119;: Bentley, Henry, 119; War, 84f &ma, 119; Nettie, 119 Hiram 119 Cary, Ebenezer, 30; Elea-Clinton, Gel. James, 74 Billings, Capt., 74 zer, 72; Sophia, 45 Cloogh, Jacobus, 59., Black colleges, 9f Closs, Christian, 90 Case, Henry, 63 Blacks, at West Pt., 10; Cass, John, 93 Clum, Morgan, 90 education, 5f; equal Casten, Joseph, 105, 108 Gee, Barent, 64 rights, 7f; hospital Catheart, Capt., 61 Coffin, Lucretia, 38 training, 17; integra- Catholic Charities, 117 Cofield, Nathaniel, 67 tion-education, 7f; Golden, Alexander - letter, Cemeteries, politics, 10f Apoquaque Friends, 30f; 58, 64; Cadwallader, 55; Blair, James, 63 Baptist, 32; (cont'd.) letter, 64.

156

Index

Colleges: Black, 9f; Eastman, Harvey, 14 Eastman Business, 9f; Education, Howard Uhiversity,11f; 19th Century, 5f; Toussaint, 12; Blacks, 5f Vassar, 10f. Ellerslie, 115 Concklin, John, 65; Elsworth, - , 71 Jacob, 73 Ebott, James-letter, 72 Cooke, Dr., 74 Ebsley, Joseph W., In Cool, Cornelius, 57; Memory of, 134 letter, 58 Ens, John, 71 Cooley, Capt., 61; Everitt, Clear, 73 Charles, 7f EVertson, Jacob, 36 Cooper, Obadiah, 45 Ferris, Nettie, 119 Cornell, Helen, 7 Fiikin, Francis, 60, 71; Cornwell, Job, 72 judge, 69, 102 Crane, Patrick, 85 Fishkill, 45f, 79; Civil Crawford, James, 60 War, 84f; Fishkill Creeks, Landsman Kill, Landing, 8, 80 114; Naversink, 62; Flagler, family, 97f Roeliff Jansen, 118; Flagler, Zacharias, 97f Wappingers, 98f. Flanagen, Hugh, 60 Cronkright, Henry, 69 Ford, Marie, 114; Crooke, Mr., 71; Robert, 114 John, 109 Forts, West Point, 81 Crous, - , 71 Foster, William, 91 Cruger, Stephen, 88 Fowler, Caleb, 91; Crum Elbow Precinct, 100 Jennie, 7 Curtis, Platt, 89 Fre, Abraham, 71 Dakins, Simon, 72 Gale, William, 72 Davidson, Caroline, 114; Garnett, Rev. Henry, 13f James, 89 Gay, John, 107; Mr.,72 Davis, Edwin, 89; George, Gerbrantz, - , 71 65; Jbns, 65; Philip, Given, James, 46f 86; Solomon-letter, 65 Glancey, Daniel, 90 Decker, Jacob, 63; Goelet, Jacob, 107 Rev. W. H., 12 Goetchess, John, 12 DeLong, Able, 99 Grad, John, 89 Denmark, John, 63 Gridley, Henry, 89 Dent, Capt. Digby, 61 Griffen, Jacob, 73 Dewey, Frederick, 91 Griffith, Amos, 89 Deyo, Isaac, 7f Gurnell, DeWitt, 115 Dimond, David, 92 Haight, Stephen, 38 Dings, family, 120; Hall, William, 88 Anna M., 120 Hallodk, Valentine, 38 Dionysuis, Charles, 119 Halloway, Artemisia, 7 Isaac, 90; Doty, Hammond, Mr., 56 Peter, 67 Hardenburgh, -, 71; Doughty, J. C., 27 John, 70 Douglas, Frederick, 9f Harley, Hanson, 12 Dover, Civil War, 84f Harp, Benjamin, 88, 89; Dhows, Tracy, 116 George 90 Drake, John, 59 Harper, William, 63 DuBois, Capt., 74; Harrison, Francis, 55f; Daniel, 93; Elealetter, 56 zor, 49; Matthew, Hart, Edward, 93; 60; *Mr. 52. John, 90 Duffy, Thomas, 91 Hasbrouck, B., 49 Dutcher, Aaron, 89 Haywood, William, 60 Dykeman, Henry, 89 Hazard, - , 64; East Fishkill, Civil Nathaniel, 63 Hegeman, - , 68; War, 84f 100; Elizabeth, Eastman Bus. Coll., 9f

Hegeman, (cont'd.); Francis, 61, 69; John, 105 Herber, Mr., 52 Hewett, George, 89, 93 Hicks, William, 67; Julius, 89 Hoag, Perlee, 89 Hoerhold, William, 91 Hoffman, - , 73; Zachariah, 63 Holden, George, 89 Hbofd, Elizabeth, 102 Horton, Gilbert, 91; James, 89 Hospitals, and Black Training, 17 Hbwgate, Charles, 85 Hudson River, 80 Huntington, family, 115f Hustis, Joel, 89, 95 Hyde Park, Civil War, 84f Indians, 70; Mbhegan,113; Sepascos, 113 Inns, Cary, 21; Floral Hill, 38; Munger's, 21; Stormville, 28 Irish, David, 38 Jackson, Joseph, 46;Mr.28 Jamaica, West Indies, 61 Johnson, Mr., 69; William, 7 Jones, Samuel, 12; Thomas, 89 Kelley, William, 114 Kennedy, Archibald, 107 Ketcham, John, 83, 92 Killpatrick, - , 60 King, Levi, 89, 92 Kingston, Jamaica, 64 Kingston, N.Y., 22, 47, 51f, 61, 70, 80; Civil War, 96 Kip, Isaar, 71, 73 Khickerbacker, Cornelius, 121; Peter, 121; Philip, 121 Kbol, Cornelius, 57 Kbpe, Col., 61 LaGrange, Civil War, 84f Lamp, Henry, 89 Lancaster Society, 5 Landsman, Casper, 114 Langston, John M., 13 Lawrence, Thomas, 45f Leonard, - , 64;Joshua,92 Leprohan, Sarah, 32 Lester, Jacob, 104 Letters, 18th Century, 51f; Army, 74; Church Affairs, 52;

Index

157

Letters, (cont'd.) Mc Dermutt, Thomas, 89 Odell, John, 87; court cases, 59, Mc Grath, James, 84 Milton, 87; Walter, 90 62, 73; Mc Gregory, Edward, 99f Oliver, EVylyn, 116 debt collection, 58, Mc Kenney, James, 93; Orange County, 56 66, 67; John, 84 Osborne, Levi, 89 harvest, 68; Mc Namee, Hiram, 84 Ostrander, Andrew, 85; illness, 69; Mc Neill, John, 63 Virgil, 93 lease rights, 58; Mead, John, 84 Palantines, 97, 114 leases, 57; Melius, Johannes J., PaImatier, Charles, 84; legal, 57, 60, 65,67, 119f William, 92(2) 68, 69, 72, 74; Merritt, Robert, 93 Palmer, Isaac, 89 legislative, 55, 56; Milan, Civil War, 84f Patents, Beekman, 106; love, 75; Miles, Stephen, 71 Hardenburgh, 70; mortgages, 66; Militia, Dutchess Kipsbergen, 113; privateering, 64; County, 80 Maritee Roseboom, 107; revolution, 74; Milliken, Alexander, 60 Marytee Sanders, 106f; roads, 55; Mills, Beekman Minissink, 65; survey, 70; Livingston, 114; Nine Partners, 105f; surveying, 62; Mt. Ross, 118; Sanders & Harmense,106 warship, 61; Pleasant Valley, 104f; Pawling, Capt., 56 weapons, 74 Rhinebeck, 114 Pawling, Town of, Civil Pa endt, 71; Lewis, Moore, Alfred, 38 War, 84f Johannes, 71; Moores Mills, 38 Pease, A. B., 27f 60; Leonard, Morgan, Ruth, 116 Pennington, Rev. James,7 Tho., 70 Morton, Levi, 115 Peters, Cornelius, 86 Leyden, Martin, 99 Mbsher, Americus, 88 Pine Plains, Civil War, Little Britain, N.Y., Mott, James, 38 84f 74 Mt. Ross, 118 Pinhom, George, 87 Little Rest, 80 Willer, Henry, 84 Place, Lumen, 90; Livingston family, 114 MUllond, Peter, 60 Morgan, 86 Livingston letters, 51f Munger's Hotel, 21 Platt, Mr., 27 Livingston Manor, 114 Munger, S., 21 Pleasant Valley, Livingston, Murphy, James, 87; Civil War, 84f; Allidalie, 61, 68; Judd, 85; Settlement of, 97f Dr., 74; Patrick, 89 Porter, John, 92 Gilbert, 51f; Murter, James, 92 Potenburgh, Frederick, 85 Hannah, 69; Myers, James, 89 Poucher, Dr. J. Wilson, Henry, 51f, 61; Near, Joseph, 86 29f Philip, 69; Neely, John, 63; Poughkeepsie, 5f, 97; Ruth, 69; Robert, 63 City of schools, 14; Rutson, 61 Negroes, education, 5f Civil War, 84f Lockwood, Hamilton, 90 New York Colored Orphan Power, William, 93 Lodge, Abraham Asylum, 17 Fultz, John, 89 letter, 71 New York Provincial Putnam, Gen., 80 Loguen, Rev. Jermain, Government, 80 Quick, George, 89 13f Newburgh, N.Y., 22, 64 Radcliffe, Hiram, 114; Lott, Hendrick, 105 Newspapers, and Black Judge, 67 Louisburgh, N.Y., 39 Education, 5f; Rankin, Robert, 23 Lovelace, George, 87, Fishkill Standard, 50; Rapalje, - , 71; 93 Poughkeepsie Eagle, Archibald, 49; RichLow, Cornelius - letter, 6, 14, 39; ard, 46f; William, 47f 57; Timoteus, 57 Poughkeepsie Journal, Reads, John, letter, 66 Lyman, James, 90 37; Reagan, Patrick, 88 Lynch, James, 85 Poughkeepsie Press, Red Hook, 66; Civil War,84f Mabbett, James, 89 14; Reed, Albert, 86; George, Madden, Thomas, 90 Poughkeepsie Telegraph, 86; John, 60 Manfield, John, 67 5, 39 Revels, Hiraim,. 13 Marlborough, N.Y., 39 Nichols, Mr., 58 Revolution, American, 78f; Marsh, Daniel, 90 Night, Capt., 61 Army, 79; Army unifonm,, Martin, Col., 61 Northeast, Civil War, 84f 80; Saratoga, 80; DutchMastin, Walter, 95 O'Neil, James, 84 ess Invincibles, 80. •

158

Index

Reynolds, Helen W., 45 Sherow, Benjamin, 89 Rhinebeck, 72, 113; Ship, Mary Benton, 95; Civil War, 84f Port Royal, 61 Rhinecliff, 113 Sigler, Henry, 90 Rhodes, Joseph, 7f Simmons, Stephen, 89 Rich, William, 13f Simpson, Mr., 61 River passage, rates, 25 Slavery, Road, Minissink, 62 abolition of, 85f; Roads, 19th Century, Anti-Slavery Society, funding, 22f; 6, 37; plank, 21f; Dutchess Cbunty;35f; Poughkeepsie laws, 35f; Stormville, 21f; New York Manumission sleighing, 21; 28;. Society, 6; -travel time, 26 newspapers and, 37f; Robinson, Thomas, 63 Quakers and, '36f; Rogers Corner, 23 Underground RailRogers, Sheridan, 93 way, 38f Rokeby, 115 Slaves, Roseboom, Mr., 106 1714 Census, 35; Ross, Isiah, 121; 1820 Census, 36; Margaret, 121; Fugitive Slave Thomas, 118 Law, 35; Rowe, - , 71 purchase of, 35 Rust, Levi, 85 Sleight, David; 93; Rutgers, Capt., 55 Peter, 93 Rutsen, Allidalie, 68; Sloan, Arthur, 90 Jacob, 72; Smith, - , 68; letter, 68 Isaac, 89; Ryan, John, 90 J. W., 10; Rynders, James, 93; John H., 86; Stephen, 85 Lt. Col. Alfred, 92; 106 Sanders, Maria, Melancton, letter, 74; , 71 Saunders, 'William, 68 Jean, 60 Saynor, Snyder, George, 91 Schemerhorn, Sparks, Cornelius, 88, Caroline, 115; 90 DeWitt, 115 Spellman, Cardinal, 116 Schools for men, 47; Spencer, Henry, 90 ' for women, 45 Stage, George, 88; Schools, African, 5; Silas, 90 City, 6; Stanford, Dr. Pingry's, 48; Civil War, 84f Fishkill, 45f; Stanton, Henry B.,37 LaGrange, 112; Sterling, George, 39 Nine Partners Stevenson, Mr.; 67 Friends, 38; Stirdivant, Jonathan, 72 Nursing for Store Ledger, blacks, 17; Fiikin's, 102f Poughkeepsie, 5f; Store, Fiikin's, 102 Rev. Dr. WestStormville, 21f brook, 45f; Story, Henry, 89 teachers, 47, 50. Stringham, - , 64 Schoonover, John, 90 Stroker, John, 91 Scott, - , 71 Swan; S., 21f Settlement, Nine Part- SwartwoUt; Colonel ners Patent, 97f Jacobus, 45, 80 Shaw, Gilbert, 91 'Sweet, John, 90 Shed, Samuel, 72 Sweetman, Jahn, 89 Sherlock, Lafayette, 90 Sweezy, Isaar; 92 Sherman, Albert; 89 Syms, Lancaster, 67

TalImadge, James, 36 Tappen, Morgan, 69 Tax Lists, 104 Taylor, Sarah, 7 Teal, Simon, 89 Teller, William, 114 TenbroeCk, Direk, letter, 62 Terbos, Jacobus, 107 Thomas, Rev. Jacob, 12f Thomson, John, 63 . Thurston, Freeman, 86 Todd, James, 89 Tonkin, Oliver, 59 Toussaint College, 12 Townsend, Albert, 91 Traver, E. Jefferson, 93; . Thomas, 90 Travis, Sackett, 87 Trowbridge, S. B., 28 Tucker, Capt., 64 Tuttle, Edward, 91 Ulster County, 56 Union Vale; Civil War, 84f Usher, Charlotte, Vanalstyne, John, 85 Van De Water, Adolph, 47 Van Drieze, Jan, 52; Petrus, 52 Van Heusen, Chauncey, 12 Van Keuren, William, 89 Van Kleedk, Lawrence, 7Q Van Vranken, Reverend . Nicholas, 45 Van Wyck, Edmund, In Memory of, 136; Hannah, 46; Isaac, 46; John, 46; R. C., 28; Theodorus, 136 Vass, Petrus, 55 Vassar Cbllege, 10f, Vassar, Matthew, 11,21f; 35 Vaughn, Gen., 80 Velie, Walter, 89 Verbatk, Town of, 80; Black education, 17 Verplanck, Gulian, 71 Viele, Jannetse, 99 Vrolick, Pieter, 101 Wagner, George, 86 Wappinger, Civil War, 96 Ward, H. D., 22; Samuel, 6 Warner, John, 93 Washburn, Daniel, 86. Washington, Town of, Civil War, 84f

Index Waterman, Albert, 85 Watson, William, 93 Watts, Benjamin, 88; Robert, 90 Way, Thomas, 85 Weeks, Washington, 89 Welch, James, 89 Wellden, James, 67 Welling, Edgar, 87 West Point Academy, 10 Westbrook, Rev. Cornelius, 45f Whalen, James, 90 White, James, 63 Whiteley, Nicholas, 89 Whitman, Johannes, 68 Whitworth, James, 89

Wiccopee Pass, 79 Wicker, Charles, 90 Wilbur, Benjamin, 119; Samuel, 119 Wilcox, Henry, 84 Wileman, Mr., 63 Wiikenson, George, 23f; Sidney, 93 Jacob, 38 Williams, Edward, 95; Henry, 93; Jane, 7 Wilson, George, 85 Wilson, Mr., 61, 69, 71 Wilson, Sheriff James, 107 Winans, Henry, 90

159 Wing, John, 85 Winters, Andrew, 86 Wixon, Noah, 92 Wood, Talmadge, 85 Woodland, Isano, 5 Woods, Frank, 89 Wbrden, Alexander, 86; Philander, 84 Wright, Jeremiah, 71; Jonathan, 13; Thomas, 88 Wyant, Charles, 92 Young, Er. Thomas, 78

DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Clinton House Museum Box 88 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12602

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DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Clinton House Museum Box 88 Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12602 January 1981 Dear Member, A brief note from the editor. There have been a few changes in the Year Book which I hope meet with your approval. To make the Year Book more responsive to your interests I need some advice. A list for you to checkmark appears below. To do it will take five minutes. Please return in the enclosed envelope by the end of this month. The first step is to bring this list to the place where you keep the 1979 Year Book. Its table of contents appears below in an Abbreviated form. Simply remeMber each article in the 1979 Year Book and then check which description best describes your point view. Thanks for the help. More Fewer No Like This Like This Opinion 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

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Clinton House Hist. Soc. Lead. 16 mile Riverfront Railroad Cartoons Hell's Acres Touch of Treason Welfare in Revol. Flagler Cemetery Cruger's Island Blacksmithing Cook Mills Old Plantation Uncle Tan Big Parade Hacketts-Cbnneens list. Taik-P'ksie Freight Terminal Mining Widow Allen Let De Be Cbmpany Secy's minutes, (pg. 5-18)

Now please circle the 2 articles you enjoyed the most. ale final thing. Look at the table of contents of the 1980 Year Book and write the title (first three words will do) of the 2 articles you will probably read first. Use reverse for any additional comments. 2. 1.