1762 Amenia Precinct Minute Book

by Elizabeth Strauss

In the year 1762, Amenia became a precinct, set apart from the former Nine Partners/Crum Elbow Precinct. It was also the year that the precinct adopted the unique name of “Amenia.” The first precinct meeting was held on the first Tuesday of April at the tavern of Roswell Hopkins, Esq., Justice of the Peace. From that date until 1801, clerks recorded the minutes of these annual meetings in this volume, along with a variety of other information through 1842.

Because the Hopkins family was central to the establishment of the town, they deserve a few words of introduction. Formerly from Harwinton, CT, the Hopkins were early settlers in the Nine Partners Precinct, arriving c. 1742, having purchased all of Lot 32 and a portion of Lot 31. Stephen and Jemima Hopkins were educated, religious and well-respected. They donated land for the first church and the first burying ground, near their home on the eastern side of Lot 32. Five of their seven sons became officers in the Revolutionary War, with Col. Roswell Hopkins being chief among them.[i]

At the first precinct meeting, Stephen Hopkins, Sr., was elected supervisor. Michael

Hopkins was chosen as clerk, a position which he held until his untimely death in 1773. Roswell Hopkins took over his brother’s office at that time and served as clerk for ten years. The signature of Roswell Hopkins, Esq., was the most well-known signature in the town because of the many records he kept. In addition to the Amenia Precinct Book and the Book of the Poor, Roswell kept the records of marriages he performed and legal cases he handled as justice of the peace for thirty years.

The annual precinct meeting was conducted according to the format of town meetings which were held for decades in New England. In addition to supervisor and clerk, officers were elected annually for the positions of assessors, tax collector, town constables, overseers of the poor, overseers of highways, pound keepers and fence viewers.

Included on the meeting agenda were recurring issues regarding stray animals and poor people. To deal with the problem of wandering livestock, the construction of fences became regulated and fence viewers were appointed to keep an eye on the fences in their neighborhoods. When a stray animal was found and “taken up,” as it was called, a notice was posted at the nearest tavern with a description of the animal and who to contact. A fee was charged the owner for the boarding of the lost animal, and if no one claimed the animal within ten days, the “taker-up” could keep the animal. A pound was built on the Hopkins’ property and later in other locations.

A more labor-intensive system for handling the problem of strays was established by which each farmer was assigned an ear-mark with which he marked an ear of each of his animals. The clerk was expected to keep a record of the earmarks in the precinct book and would continue to assign new or disowned earmarks to new residents. This system expected the taker-up to report the design to the clerk in order to match it to the owner on record.

The other perennial problem discussed at the annual meeting was that of caring for the poor people in town. The poor were often widows and their children or elderly residents, who had no relatives to care for them. The overseers of the poor were charged with the responsibility to determine if the needy person or persons were truly residents of the town and not another town’s responsibility. They were also given a budget for the purchase of food and clothing for the poor. They were required to submit the names of the poor persons and the receipts of purchases to be recorded in the Book of the Poor. Every year the amount budgeted for the poor increased.

A system of indentured servitude was also available for the care of poor children in the town. The indenture was a legal agreement which officially documented each child placed with a local resident and it was recorded in the Book of the Poor. It was signed by two overseers of the poor, two justices of the peace, two witnesses and the person taking the child. The “master” was responsible for providing for the child until the age of 21, or age 18 for young women. The contract was lengthy, but in most instances, it was identical to other such agreements. The overseers were to make sure the children were treated kindly and fairly. The child was to be trained in the skills of the “master,” taught to read and do basic math and, at the age of release from the family, he was to be given two sets of new work clothing, a set of church clothing, and a new Bible. This form of foster care continued until the 1830s, when a County Poor House was established.

The matter of highways involved electing an overseer for each neighborhood who would keep the road in good repair, as much as possible. The precinct was responsible for the building of roads as new areas were settled. Hence, in the clerk’s book, the number of overseers of highways increased every year, with each individual being assigned to a numbered district. The districts were described in the Highway Commissioners’ Book.

The precinct book also included the issuing of tavern licenses. The clerk kept the records and collected an annual fee for the license. The tavern owner agreed to abide by the laws of the town regarding the conduct and activities at taverns. There was to be no cock-fighting or gambling of any type and no disorderly conduct.

Finally, the manumitting of slaves was a legal matter overseen in most instances by two Justices of the Peace and recorded by the clerk in the precinct book. In the 1762 book, the first recorded manumission in Amenia was in 1788. Other manumissions were recorded in the 1790s, with the last one in this book recorded in 1807.

Beginning in 1800, the names and birth dates of children born to enslaved persons and the names of their Amenia masters were recorded by the clerk in the book, as required by New York State law.

The Town of Amenia and the Amenia Historical Society are fortunate to have in their archives these ancient record books, which contain a treasure trove of information regarding the early residents of the town.

Elizabeth C. Strauss

Amenia, NY

[1] Newt Reed, Early History of Amenia, 5th Ed, Rhinebeck, NY: Epigraph Books, 2012, pgs 33, 41, 51, 52, 68, 92; Timothy Hopiks, John Hopkins of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1634, and Some of His Descendants, Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press: 1932, pgs 49, 50.

The Beacon Historical Society’s Robert J. Murphy Research Center

By Diane Lapis

The Beacon Historical Society (BHS) was founded by a small group of concerned citizens in 1976 to procure, preserve, and promote the history of Beacon and its antecedent villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing. From our humble beginnings in a small room at the Howland Library, to our current spacious location, our mission is more important than ever as we see a great deal of interest, change, and rebirth of our city. The BHS is an independent nonprofit membership organization governed by a board of trustees and managed by volunteers.

Our headquarters is located in the former rectory of St. Joachim’s Church at 61 Leonard Street in Beacon, NY. It is home to our research library, exhibitions, collections, public programs, and administrative offices. In May 2022, the building was named the Robert J. Murphy Research Center in honor of our past president and city historian.

The BHS archives include a wide range of materials for those interested in the economic, political, social, and cultural history of Beacon and the Hudson River area. The Johnson Research Library houses our books on architecture, landscape design, the Hudson River, Black history, local authors, and history from the 18th century to contemporary times. The library walls are adorned with a group of paintings by local artist Alice Judson, a second generation Impressionist, and one work by the renowned artist Ella Pell. Our archives include city directories, maps and deeds, postcards, newspapers, scrapbooks, ledgers, letters, journals, ephemera, yearbooks, and paper and photo files, and more. Ferry models, glass bottles and other artifacts help to tell our diverse and storied history.

The Society presents changing exhibits throughout the year showcasing the depth and breadth of our collections in the Meyer

Galleries and Map Room. Our website hosts mini-exhibits to provide additional access to those far and wide.

To further tell the rich history of our city, we host a free lecture series on the fourth Tuesday of each month from March through November. Our monthly newsletter provides members with information about our collections and programs. The newsletters and three publications Historic Beacon, Beacon Revisited, and Beacon’s Memory Keeper and Storyteller: Robert J. Murphy delights readers with hundreds of stories and thousands of photographs, and offers a wider appreciation of our history. Special events such as our ghost and walking tours, annual postcard show and Beacons of History Award Night are signature events for our members, community, and tourists.

Please visit us at www.beaconhistorical.org for upcoming events, mini-exhibits, history blog, recorded programs, podcasts, gift shop and more. The Society welcomes visitors on Thursdays from 10-12 and Saturdays from 12-4 during exhibitions and by appointment for researchers. Like us on Facebook and Instagram.