Silent Sentinels of Local Black History Speak: Beyond the Surface of the Rhinebeck P.O. Murals

SILENT SENTINELS OF LOCAL BLACK HISTORY SPEAK: BEYOND THE SURFACE OF THE

Rhinebeck P.O. MURALS

From a community conversation in Rhinebeck, New York

Home of Loyalist Teunis Peer and enslaved Jack. See page 11.

Home of Lewis Frazier. Corner of S. Parsonage and South Streets.

See page 15.

Grasmere. See page 8.

Section E of Rhinebeck Cemetery See page 21.

Oak Street was home to many African Americans in the 19th century. See page 19.

SILENT SENTINELS OF LOCAL BLACK HISTORY SPEAK: BEYOND THE SURFACE OF THE

Rhinebeck P.O. MURALS

Historical Sources Begin to Fill Gaps

2024 Edition

By Bill Jeffway

COMPANION PIECE TO THE 1940 MURAL BOOKLET

BY OLIN DOWS ● WILLIAM SEABROOK ● CHANLER A. CHAPMAN With support from Rhinebeck residents: Gary Bassett, Michael Frazier, Sophie Greller, Kathy Hammer, Beverly Kane, Nancy Kelly, Laura Kufner, Connie Lown, Lenny Miller, Melodye Moore, Duane Ragucci, Arthur Seelbinder, Elizabeth Spinzia, James Stevenson, Brent Sverdloff & others AN OCCASIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, VOLUME XII

© Dutchess County Historical Society 2024 www.DCHSNY.org

This 1940 booklet with explanatory text written by Olin Dows offers the framework for this publication.

The first page looks at the mural depiction at face-value.

The subsequent page identifies sources that add important dimensions.

1.

1774 ~ General & Janet Montgomery Settled in Rhinebeck 1820 ~ Montgomery Came to Enslave 12 Persons by 1820 2.

1776 ~ American Patriots & British Loyalists Lived Side by Side 1777 ~ Enslaved Jack Stood Up for the U.S. Promise of Liberty 3.

1790 ~ Rhinebeck’s Social Center Was The Flatts 1762 ~ Enslaved Isaac Escaped Public Flogging 4.

1790 ~ Chancellor Livingston Was Driven by an Enslaved Coachman 1783 ~ Livingston Slaves Were Treated by Rhinebeck’s Dr. Cooper 5.

1780 ~ Corn Shucking Bee 1780 to 1820 ~ The Enslaved Labored in Agricultural Work 6.

1807 ~ Enslaved Stevedores Worked at Slate Dock 1790 ~ Rhinebeck Dock & Ferry Operators Owned Slaves 7.

1799 ~ The Young Mary Garrettson 1853 ~ Miss Garrettson Donated Land for “Colored” Burials 5

INTRODUCTION In the years just before World War Two, as a means to help the U.S. emerge from the global economic depression, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt created a wide range of Federal work programs. The Treasury Relief Program was one of several that involved art and culture. He assigned his hometown neighbor and family friend, Rhinebeck’s Olin Dows, to head it up. Through the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, Dows was awarded the 1940 painting of the Rhinebeck Post Office murals to stand as a permanent educational tool.

Because the Post Office was built in the image of a 17th century local Dutch settler’s house, Roosevelt’s initial vision was for the interior to feature traditional Dutch portrait paintings from that period. But Dows successfully argued for the depiction of local history, starting with the arrival of the first European, Henry Hudson. As a result, we are left (as are future generations), with a rich, thoughtful view of local history through the lens of 1940 American sensibilities, one that sparked controversy and community discussion in 2020.

The point that any depiction of the past should require reassessment, is explained

by Dutchess County Historian William P. Tatum III, PhD, who speaks to the distinction between “the past,” certain people, places, events and things that actually happened, and what he differentiates as “history,” which is any generation’s attempt to explain “the past.” This of course becomes an imperfect process for any range of reasons including bias, incomplete or incorrect information.

Stemming from the same principle, Vassar Professor Lucy Maynard Salmon argued a century ago that a historian’s most important work is to get closer to a truth by pursuing new avenues of research, by seeking new voices and perspectives, by finding new information, and by correcting past bias. She provocatively called it the need to “rewrite” history.

6

Top to bottom: Original Kip House, Rhinecliff, destroyed by fire in 1908. The 1940 Post Office. Lucy Maynard Salmon and her 1929, posthumously published book on the need to “rewrite” history.

INTRODUCTION In that spirit, and for these reasons, we look at the 1940 murals of Rhinebeck Post Office and intentionally focus on the stories of Black history, to the degree they are depicted. We look at what stories were told then, and what stories can be told to contemporary viewers — by looking at source material. We have begun a similar process of bringing diverse and contemporary voices, views, and context to the depictions of Indigenous Peoples in the Rhinebeck murals.

Community conversations at the end of 2020 about the best way to ensure we move toward a more complete and inclusive history, in this public space specifically, were wide ranging. There was general consensus, however, that a good next step would be to begin to lay out some of the untold stories and context which can be found in source material, resulting in this publication.

Art historian, scholar, and author William B. Rhoads writes that in the 1940 brochure, Dows originally described the stevedores as enslaved but that the reference was removed before publication by others. A reference to slaves in Dows’ corresponding booklet for his subsequent project, the murals in the Hyde Park Post Office (FDR’s hometown), retains a reference to slaves.

One need go no further than the 1938 book written by one of the co-authors of the original mural booklet, William Seabrook, to find the erasure or absence of history. In The Foreigners, he writes, “All the characters and places in this book are real.” His chapters depict Scandinavian Americans, Italian Americans, German Americans, Polish Americans, Russian Americans, and Native Americans. Native Americans? We quickly come to realize he is referring to White settlers who were born in the United States from earlier immigration. There is no reference to persons of color.

7

A 1938 book by Post Office mural booklet co-author William Seabrook, in a non-fictional account of Rhinebeck, makes no mention of persons of color.

1. THE MURAL DEPICTS

1774 ~ GEN. & JANET MONTGOMERY SETTLED IN RHINEBECK

“General Richard Montgomery and his wife, Janet Livingston, plant locust seedlings on what will become the lawn of Grasmere. The bricks were baked in a home made kiln.”

Olin Dows, 1940.

Gen. Montgomery was killed in battle in the Revolutionary War at Quebec in 1775. In 1805, Janet Montgomery moved to a new home, what is today called Montgomery Place at Bard College. In 1828 the original Grasmere building was destroyed by fire and the building that stands today was constructed.

8

1. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

MONTGOMERY CAME TO ENSLAVE 12 PERSONS BY 1820 As a widow, Janet Montgomery went on to become a successful estate manager until her death in 1827, the year that slavery was abolished in New York State. She acquired slaves through purchase, and through children born of her enslaved women. (c).

1790: 425 of Rhinebeck’s 491 persons of color were enslaved. Therefore, the man working at the kiln was more likely enslaved, than not. Source: 1790 Federal census.

In 1820 Montgomery owned 12 enslaved individuals (a): four adult men, and eight who were young girls, or young or adult women. Source: 1820 Federal census.

Montgomery’s enslaved families grew from births (b). “There was born of my slave Margaret, a male child named John,” Montgomery testified, August 27, 1799. Source: Official Town records, Rhinebeck Historical Society.

Montgomery’s enslaved families grew through purchase (c). For $100, “a certain female negro slave named Susan, aged about 14 years” was purchased from Johannes Klum. November 15, 1808. Source: Property deed, Princeton University Library.

(a).

(b).

9

2. THE MURAL DEPICTS

PATRIOTS & BRITISH LOYALISTS LIVED SIDE BY SIDE (a).

Americans seeking independence from Britain who described themselves as American “patriots,” referred to those loyal to the King of England as “Tories” or “Loyalists.”

In return, Loyalists described American “Patriots” as either “Rebels” or “Whigs.” In 1775, those on the side of the American Revolution, required each man to swear an oath to the Patriot cause called the “Articles of Association” (a).

Guns were in short supply, Dows depicts Patriots having a military drill or exercise, one man uses a pitchfork (b).

Many men did sign, but not all. Quakers refused to sign as a matter of broader principle against taking oaths. It seems about 30% of Dutchess County men were Loyalists (some estimates say 60%) who did not support the Patriot cause.

Those who refused to sign might have been imprisoned in Exeter, New Hampshire, or on a ship dedicated for that purpose at Kingston. Or, if you were willing to swear an oath, you were allowed to be at large but unarmed, which is depicted here with a Loyalist surrendering his gun (c).

“A Tory is relieved of his gun while men take the Revolutionary pledge and drill.” Dows, 1940.

10

(b).

(a).

( b).

(c).

( c).

2. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

1777 ~ ENSLAVED JACK STOOD UP FOR THE U.S.

A.

The Minutes of the Committee for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies of September 1777 reveal the depth of the patriotism of one enslaved man in particular. Jack was owned by Patriot Hendrick Freligh who lived in south Rhinebeck, near Southlands. Through Jack’s testimony we learn of the physical and familial proximity of Loyalists and Patriots.

Hendrick Freligh’s barn was burned to the ground by British Loyalists, probably involving Teunis Peer and associates. Peer lived less than a mile east of Rhinebeck Village in a stone house that stands today. It was September, so the loss would have included harvested crops. It would have been particularly costly to the Patriot cause.

Jack resisted offers from the aforementioned Loyalist Teunis Peer to engage in activities against Patriots. For example, Peer tried to persuade Jack to burn Patriot Isaac Sheldon’s barn by throwing a hot cinder on the thatched roof. Jack also rejected offers from Peer to be taken to British occupied New York City, where freedom may have been promised. Jack went beyond resistance and played along with Peer to gather information he would ultimately bring to the Committee, the source of this information.

Typical at the time, Patriot Hendrick Freligh had a Loyalist brother, Johannes, who was close to Peer. Johannes Freligh’s slave, also named Jack, was active in Loyalist activities. We learn there were “18 or 19” Loyalists in the woods around Rhinebeck, one of whom had buried a chest of clothes that included a British uniform.

Peer, Johannes Freligh, and Johannes Freligh’s slave Jack, were all sentenced to prison, but released, given their willingness to take the oath to the Revolutionary cause.

11

From the top: The Teunis Peer house today. From the Hyde Park Murals completed by Olin Dows just after the Rhinebeck murals, the depiction of a burning barn in that town, an all-too common and very costly threat.

3. THE MURAL DEPICTS

1790 ~ RHINEBECK'S SOCIAL CENTER WAS THE FLATTS

“The social center of the Flatts as Rhinebeck was called has always been this intersection of the Sepasco Trail with the highway.” Dows, 1940.

12

3. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

1762 ~ ENSLAVED ISAAC ESCAPED PUBLIC FLOGGING Unfortunately, public places were not always serene.

While we do not know the exact location of Rhinebeck’s whipping post, the punishment was meant to be carried out very visibly. Peter deWitt was a distinguished Captain in the Revolutionary War. His tombstone is visible today in the Reformed Dutch Church (shown bottom right). For an unknown reason, the enslaved man he owned named Issac was ordered to endure a flogging in public, a terrifying experience that leaves deep scars.

Constable Joseph Rykert was ordered by County Courts “to whip Isaac, a negro slave belonging to Captain Peter deWitt at the [Rhinebeck] public whipping post…” But for unknown reasons, a document dated October 21, 1762 reveals, “the said Constable did refuse and neglect to whip the said negro but suffered him to escape…contrary to the duty of his office.” Dutchess County Ancient Documents Collection, Dutchess County Clerk’s Office (image, right).

It is hard to know where Isaac would have gone. Slavery would exist in New York State for another 65 years. In 1728, the first Quakers moved into southern and eastern Dutchess County and became the first prominent religious group to reject slavery. But it was not until 1769 that they became the first “Friends Meeting” in the US to free slaves.

13

Above: A 1762 Court document charges Constable Joseph Rykert with failing in his duty to flog an enslaved man he allowed to escape. The tombstone of the enslaved man’s owner is visible today in the Reformed Dutch Church cemetery.

4. THE MURAL DEPICTS

1762 ~ CHANCELLOR LIVINGSTON’S BLACK COACHMAN

“Margaret Beekman Livingston and her son Chancellor Livingston arrive in her coach…”

Olin Dows, 1940. While prohibiting any enslaved individual from making their own decisions about professions, certain activities were “allowed.” We find African Americans in roles as gardeners, coachmen (later chauffeurs), waiters, footmen, body servants, and in the 19th century, barbers.

14

4. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

1762 ~ LIVINGSTON SLAVES TREATED BY DR. COOPER In a letter from Dr. Annanias Cooper dated June 30, 1763, Rhinebeck, written to “Col. Robert Livingston, Manor Livingston” (who was a cousin and neighbor to Chancellor Livingston), Dr. Cooper returns Livingston’s slave Jack eight days earlier than planned, having received a request to do so from Livingston the prior evening.

Dr. Cooper lived in a brick house on what was then the main Albany Post Road, now called Old Post Road, 1 1/4 miles north of the village center.

The house no longer stands. Cooper sent Jack back to the manor with prescriptions and a courteously worded advisory to ”not put [Jack] to any hard work” until he is better.

A ledger of Robert Livingston (again, the Manor Livingston, not the Chancellor) shows clothing expenses for his slaves. Quash stands out as his likely coachman because Quash received a vest and britches in January 1764, and a few months later was given a suit of clothes purchased for one pound four shillings. This was much more elaborate than what any other slave received. [Long Hammering. 1994. By A.J. Williams-Meyers.]

In May of 1791, another enslaved coachman, James Hemmings, halfbrother to Sally Hemmings and owned by Thomas Jefferson, led horses and carriages past Dr. Cooper’s house when Jefferson and James Madison took their ambitious tour of the Hudson Valley via the Post Road.

Lewis Frazier of Milan made the leap from country farmer to New York City professional by being a coachman, allowing his daughter to attend schools that led to her having a national leadership role for the advancement of women and persons of color (see p. 21).

15

Dr. Cooper lived just north of the village on the Albany Post Road as this 1789 map shows.

Through a letter dated June 30, 1763, we come to understand the interaction between Dr. Cooper and Robert Livingston, relative to the medical treatment of a Livingston’s enslaved man named Jack. Letter courtesy of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History,

5. THE MURAL DEPICTS

1780 ~ CORNSHUCKING BEE “Cornshucking bee. The boy who has found a red ear kisses the girl who brings the cider.”

Olin Dows, 1940.

Some have noted the almost unfinished aspect of the portrayal of the man or young man who appears to be grabbing corn stalks. The text refers to the tradition at the time where “the boy” who finds the red ear is allowed to kiss the “girl” of his choosing. And yet the depiction, below left, appears to show an older man and woman, neither of whom appear to be terribly happy about the prospect. An original sketch by Dows (below right) appears to have been a younger child.

Furthermore, there is no doubt that if a Black adult, young adult, or boy, found the red ear, they would not be allowed to kiss the “girl” of their choice. Directly above the windows where the public interacts with Post Office staff, many people find this depiction confusing, or troubling.

16

5. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

1780 to 1827 ~ MANY ENSLAVED LABORED IN AGRICULTURE

In the period leading up to the abolition of slavery in New York State on July 4, 1827, Dutchess County’s economy was dominated by agriculture. During the Revolutionary War, each side aimed to disrupt their enemy’s food supplies and protect their own. In peacetime, agriculture was not only about self-sufficiency, but also about providing “currency” to pay bills. People bought and sold anything from newspaper subscriptions to medical doctor visits, paying with wheat, apples, chickens, or firewood, for example. Some slave owners paid their bills by “renting out” their enslaved persons. Newspaper ads describe those “bred to the farming business,” “accustomed to farming business,” or "well acquainted with country work.” Four years after the 1799 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery became law, the May 1803 ad of Henry Shop mentions the sale of a 19-year-old woman, “with the time fixed by law of her male child, one year and six months old.” This refers to the fact that, under the relatively new law, the boy, and his mother, would be freed from slavery or indenture on July 4, 1827.

17

Above: the 1799 law gradually abolishing slavery in New York State, NY State Archives.

Below left: typical local newspaper ads.

6. THE MURAL DEPICTS

1807 ~ ENSLAVED STEVEDORES AT SLATE DOCK

“On August 7th the Clermont sailed by Slate Dock on its maiden trip from New York to Tivoli.” Olin Dows, 1940. William Rhoads found that Dows originally had written, “Slaves [were] loading a sloop with grain,” but that it was removed before publication. In the Hyde Park Post Office murals which Dows worked on immediately after Rhinebeck, his notes are published saying the following (relative to the image shown above right), “Before 1741, Jacobus Stoutenburgh, his sons, and slaves cleared the land.”

18

6. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

1807 ~ RHINEBECK DOCK & FERRY OPERATORS OWNED SLAVES At this time, Dutchess County’s economy was largely agricultural. Enslaved individuals would have been involved at every step of the process from planting, to harvesting, to milling, to packing and shipping. The 1802 Salisbury Turnpike Map shows William Radcliff’s ownership of a dock and ferry at Rhinecliff (known as Long Dock, it was just north of Slate Dock), while the 1800 census shows that he owned five slaves. Just north, Woods Landing (sometimes Rhinebeck landing) was operated by Aaron Camp and Oliver Wood. They ran an ad seeking the return of “runaway” Tom, aged 24, so were obviously slave owners as well.

Right: New York Gazette, Sept. 5, 1799.

Facsimile reproduction.

Map of the Salisbury Turnpike, 1802.

Dutchess County Clerk’s Office.

A map of the town of Rhinebeck by A. Thompson, 1798, showing Woods Landing just north of Radcliff’s dock. Library of Congress.

Slaves

1800 Federal Census indicating William Radcliff owned five slaves.

19

7. THE MURAL DEPICTS

1807 ~ THE YOUNG MARY GARRETTSON

From the 1932 DCHS Yearbook, showing what was a recent DCHS “pilgrimage” to the Garrettson home.

Above: Mary Garrettson later in life.

“Wildercliff’ was built in 1799 by the Methodist Circuit rider Freeborn Garrettson, seen here walking with his wife Catherine, another Livingston daughter, and their little Mary. She is playing in the Methodist Grove where large out-door services were held.” Olin Dows, 1940.

The house still stands today.

20

7. SOURCE MATERIAL REVEALS

1853 ~ GARRETTSON’S LAND FOR “COLORED” BURIALS In 1853, Mary Garrettson gave a half acre of land to expand the Rhinebeck cemetery for a “colored” or “negro burial ground.”

Well into the early 20th century, burial of persons of color was allowed only in Above: A 2011 geophysical survey separate, segregated cemeteries, or led by Vassar Professor Brian McAdoo identified 60 potential segregated sections of larger cemeteries. burials. Image courtesy of McAdoo.

In 2011, Vassar College Prof. Brian MacAdoo led an investigation into “Section E” and the adjacent Frazier family plot. Using ground-penetrating radar, he identified nearly 60 potential burials.

In making her will in 1865, Lydia Johnson, who was freed by Henry Livingston in 1818, instructed her son to “purchase a stone for my grave suitable for a person occupying my position in life.” The historian Howard Morse said of her in 1908, “she was a bright, happy, hard-working woman until the last. Had a pleasant word for everyone.” Her headstone is visible today, among others such as Jack, who was born in Africa. No last name is noted.

The Frazier family plot was purchased by Susan Elizabeth Frazier before 1920 to allow remains to be relocated from the family farm in Milan.

Andrew Frazier was a Revolutionary War Veteran whose Dutchess County descendants have served in every major conflict up to and including WW2. Susan Elizabeth Frazier became the first Woman of Color to teach White students in New York City in 1896, and was the founder and President of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Harlem Hellfighters in World War One. 21

Top to bottom: Rhinebeck cemetery headstones for Rev. War veteran Andrew Frazier and his descendants Susan Elizabeth Frazier, and Lewis M. Frazier who lived in Rhinebeck Village.

“Jack” died just before slavery was a b o l i s h e d i n N e w Yo r k w i t h a headstone that predates the opening of the cemetery (as does Andrew Frazier’s).

SOURCES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Laura Kufner who co-hosted an initial, small community conversation involving Carmen McGill, Jackie Harper and Nancy Foster of the Poughkeepsie-based Celebrating the African Spirit, and Rhinebeck community members Gary Bassett, Sophie Geller, Elizabeth Spinzia, and Brendt Sverdloff. Thanks also to County Historian Will Tatum who keeps the County’s history community active, engaged and contributing to important issues like this. Special thanks also for the unique support I get from my DCHS colleague and friend, Melodye Moore, who sculpts ideas, finds needles in haystacks, and knocks out typos, all at the same time. Thanks also to Bard College Professor Myra Armstead who submitted a formal proposal to the Town of Rhinebeck endorsing the creation of context, such as this booklet. Finally, thank you to the local Post Office staff and Postmaster for your your stewardship of this unique gem! ~ Bill Jeffway • Contemporary photos including murals by Bill Jeffway.

• A survey of the roads of the United States of America by • William B. Rhoads, Olin Dows, Art, History and a Usable Past.

Christopher Colles., 1789. New York Public Library.

From The Livingston Legcy: Three Centuries of American History, • Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

1987, Bard College.

• Dows sketch of Cornshucking Bee. • Kip House photo and photo of Library. Dutchess County • Map of Salisbury Turnpike, 1802, Dutchess County Clerk’s Historical Society.

Office.

• Lucy Maynard Salmon photo, Vassar College.

• Map of Rhinebeck, 1797, Library of Congress.

• These Foreigners. Private collection.

• Newspaper ads retrieved from newspapers.com and • Census records, retrieved from ancestry.com.

Dutchess County Historical Society.

• Janet Montgomery, declaration of slave birth, Rhinebeck • Mary Garrettson photo, retrieved from findagrave.com and Historical Society.

Beverly Kane.

• Janet Montgomery, enslaved individual property deed, Princeton • Wildercliff photo, Dutchess County Historical Society 1936 University.

Yearbook.

• Dutchess County Ancient Documents Collection, Dutchess • Report of Brian McAdoo, Vassar College Professor of County Clerk’s Office.

Environmental Science. Race and Class in the Hudson Valley: Geophysical Investigations, 2011.

Bill Jeffway has a degree in American Studies and English literature from Wesleyan University.

Jeffway is the Executive Director of the Dutchess County Historical Society and founder of History Speaks, an organization that helps research and publish under-represented local histories. Jeffway serves on the research committee of the Poughkeepsie-based Celebrating the African Spirit, and on the Vassar College President’s Inclusive History Initiative. Jeffway has a regular history column in the Northern & Southern Dutchess News & Beacon Free Press. He is a video documentarian, frequent speaker, and member of The Authors Guild.

23

Jackson Family of Dutchess County Dutchess County Historical Society Walter M. Patrice Collection