USA > New York > Dutchess County > General history of Duchess County from 1609 to 1876, inclusive > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
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GENERAL VIEW OF THE CITY OF POUGHKEEPSIE.
25 172318
GENERAL HISTORY
-OF-
DUCHESS COUNTY,
-FROM-
1609 TO 1876, INCLUSIVE.
ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS WOOD-CUTS, MAPS AND FULL- PAGE ENGRAVINGS.
By PHILIP H. SMITH.
PAWLING, N. Y. : PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 1877.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1877, by PHILIP II. SMITHI, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, D. C.
DELACEY & WALSH, Printers, Amenia, N. Y.
T + SU
PREFACE.
HISTORY of DUCHESS COUNTY, one of the wealthiest, most intelligent, and most abundant in historical mate- rials of all the shires of the State of New York, has never before been written. A large proportion of her sister counties have had their historians. Putnam, form- erly part of DUCHESS, Orange, Ulster, and Litchfield in Con- necticut, have each been made the subject of a volume of his- tory, in which the eminent deeds of her children have been recorded for the instruction and entertainment of cotempora- ries and posterity. Whether the present volume will supply the deficiency remains for a discerning public to determine.
In behalf of his efforts the author would state that all his spare moments have been devoted to this object for a period of nearly three years. During this time he has traveled through each town, visiting places of interest, and noting down the more important matters that came in his way ; copying old records, and questioning the oldest inhabitants in relation to the early history of the localities.
He has also made free use of such authorities at hand as would aid him in the work. He has aimed to avoid burdening the pages in the body of the book with unnecessary references, which, while they may lend the appearance of authenticity to the volume, serve but to confuse the general reader. He would, however, acknowledge the following as having been of
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M283486
8
PREFACE.
great assistance, and trusts this acknowledgment will be sufficient : " History of Amenia," by Newton Reed ; "Blake's History of Putnam County ;" Bailey's and Brinckerhoff's works on Fishkill ; "The Hudson, from the Wilderness to the Sea," " The Pictorial History of the Revolution," and other works and papers by Lossing ; "Bolton's History of Westches ter ;" "O'Callaghan's History of New Netherlands ;" "Dunlap's History of New York ;" "New York Historical Collections ;" Spafford's, Disturnell's, French's, and Smith's Gazetteers ; " Moulton's History of New York ;" and other sources space would fail us to mention.
In the portion devoted to the history of the churches of the county, the effort has been made to deal impartially with all denominations. If more space has been given to one society than another, it is because the facts connected there- with have been preserved with more care, and made more easy of reference. A word in relation to the wood-cuts which are embodied in the work. The sketches were, in most cases, made directly from the buildings, and engraved on wood, by the author. As these constitute the first and only work of the kind ever attempted by him, the reader will kindly pardon the deficiency if not quite up to the standard of artistic excellence. It was suggested that the book would lack an essential feature if devoid of illustrations ; and as the expense of having the engraving done at a regular establishment, would more than balance the profits that could reasonably be expected from the sale of the book, the author was, from necessity, forced to do the work himself. They are believed, on the whole, to be as truthful as cuts usually are.
The writer is well aware that he cannot expect to please all classes alike. What, to one person, would be of no conse- quence, would be replete with interest to another. The effort has been made to abridge so as not to weary the patience of the general reader, and at the same time not to omit what might prove interesting and important; while it is believed nothing superflous has been inserted. If any reader finds his favorite theme has not been dwelt upon as profusely as he could wish, he should bear in mind that another is the better pleased for the abridgement. If, in the subsequent chapters, there should be found a little tendency toward the romantic, suffice it to say that by far the greater portion of readers find delight in such topics. The romance of a locality is as much a part of its history, as is the name of its occupant, or the value of its land per acre.
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PREFACE.
It is believed that the outline map, which forms a part of the work, will add not a little to its value. The preparation of the stone on which it is printed necessitated an original outlay of a considerable sum, and is believed to be one of the most complete of the kind ever issued in a local history, giving, as it does, many of the minor details only to be found in expensive maps.
The author expects to be reminded of errors and omissions. He lays no claim to perfection. But he has the satisfaction of knowing he has done the best he could under existing circum- stances. Had he more leisure and means at command, he is confident he could have added much more that might prove of interest. It has been his object to make a book that would be read, rather than praised and not read, as would most likely be the case with a strictly statistical work.
It may not be egotistic to state that this volume, whatever its merits may be, is essentially the work of the County, both as regards its literary and its mechanical execution. A home- made article is always the more prized from its being the work of ourselves.
The writer takes great pleasure in acknowledging the many favors shown by individuals of the different towns, by way of aiding him in the collection of data. Many friendships have been formed, which he values as he would life-long acquain- tances. Did he not think their modesty forbids, he would be pleased to mention them by name in this connection.
In conclusion, if the results of the efforts embodied in this volume shall be to rescue one fact from oblivion, the perpetua- ation of which will prove beneficial to the community ; or if its perusal shall suffice to while away an agreeable hour around the evening lamp, the author will consider his work has not been in vain.
Pawling, N. Y., 1876.
PHILIP H. SMITH.
a
CONTENTS.
MAP OF THE COUNTY
TITLE PAGE 5
PREFACE
7- 9
TABLE OF CONTENTS 10- II
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 12- 14
ORTHOGRAPHY OF NAME 15- 16
ABORIGINES 17- 22
EARLIEST MENTION 23- 24
TOPOGRAPHY. 25- 26
GEOLOGY-INCLUDING MINERALOGY
27- 30
BOTANY 31- 36
ZOOLOGY
37- 4º
PATENTS 41- 47
COUNTY ORGANIZATION 48- 50 MILITARY HISTORY 51- 96
GENERAL HISTORY 97-108 AMENIA 109-131
IO
CONTENTS.
BEEKMAN 132-143
CLINTON 144-148
DOVER 149-173
FISHKILL-INCLUDING EAST FISHKILL AND WAP-
PINGER
174-214
HYDE PARK 215-225
LAGRANGE 226-235
MILAN . 236-240
NORTHEAST 241-256
PAWLING
. 257-297
PINE PLAINS . 298-323
PLEASANT VALLEY .324-331
POUGHKEEPSIE
332-371
RED HOOK
372-385
RHINEBECK 386-406
STANFORD. 407-416
UNION VALE
417-422
WASHINGTON 423-434
WAPPINGER 435
APPENDIX A-COMPRISING TOWNS IN PUTNAM CO. . 439-471
APPENDIX B 472-501
GENERAL INDEX
. 502-507
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1. Frontispiece-View of Poughkeepsie, 4
2. Hut of Lavina Carter, Schaghticoke, 20
3. Maringoman's Castle, Chief of Waoranacks, 22
4. Plan of Fort Constitution, 58
5. Beverly Robinson House, 63
6. Winegar House, III
7. Round Top Meeting House (restored), 114
8. Old Separate Meeting House, . II7
9. House built by Deacon Barlow, 124
Io. Old John Boyd House, 125
II. Delamater House, 127
12. Old Hoag House, 129
13. Old House near Amenia, I31
14. Freemanville Palace, . I35
15. Episcopal Church (Poughquag), I36
16. Col. Vanderburgh House, 140
17. Joshua Burch House (restored), 141
18. Old Poughquag Tavern, I42
19. Noxon House, 142
20. Old Mill at Hibernia, I45
21. Creek Quaker Church (Clinton), I45
I2
I3
ILLUSTRATIONS.
22. Dover Stone Church -- from the outside looking in, . . . . 152 23. Dover Stone Church-from the inside looking out, . . . 153 24. Oldest House in Dover, . 159
25. The Morehouse Tavern, . 160
26. Branch Preparative Church, I68
27. The Teller Mansion, 188
28. The Wharton House, I9I
29. The Verplanck House, . 198
30. Old Dutch Stone Church, 208
31. Episcopal Church (Fishkill), 2IO
32. Stone House, near Landing (Hyde Park) 218
33. Stone House at East Park, . 219
34. Moore's Mill-Rear View, 229
35. Old Hotel Stand at Sprout Creek, 232
36. Old Wilbur Mill, 237
37. The " Lafayette House,". 239
38. House built by Ezra Clark, . 252
39. Pawling Institute, to face page 272
40. Old Catholic Church, Pawling, to face page 273
41. The Kirby House, 274
42. LaFayette's Headquarters, . 279
43. Hicksite Church (Quaker Hill), 281
44. Tom Howard's Hotel, 290
45. Old House (Pawling), . 29I
46. Johnson Meeting House, 294
47. Monument, . 296
48. Shekomeko in 1745, 313
49. Monument at Wechquadnack, .316
50. Buettnor's Monument, 316
51. The Lasher House, . 318
52. Old Pine Tree (Pine Plains), 319
53. Ruins of the Harris Scythe Factory, .320
54. Cotton Factory of Garner & Co., 325
55. Baptist Church (Pleasant Valley), 330
56. Soldiers' Fountain, to face page 336
57. Views in Eastman's Park, to face page 360
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ILLUSTRATIONS.
58. Van Kleeck House, 340
59. Livingston's Mansion, 341
60. Clear Everett House, 343
61. Old Quaker Church, Mill Street, 353
62. Court House (Poughkeepsie), 355
63. City Hall (Poughkeepsie), 359
64. Catholic Church, Cannon Street, . 362
65. Jewish Synagogue (Poughkeepsie), 365
66. Horse Ferry Boat, . 366
67. Collingwood Opera House, . 371
68. Country School House, 383
69. Monument at Madalin, 384
70. Heermance House, 400
71. Montgomery House, 401
72. The Village Smithy, . 406
73. Paul Upton's House.
74. Old Skidmore Mill, 412
75. Nine Partner's Boarding School (restored), 418
428
76. Duchess County Alms House (Washington), 432
77. Putnam County Poor House (Kent), . 452
78. Diagram of Duchess County, 100 years ago, to face page 500
79. Poughkeepsie Bridge -- as it will appear when finished,508
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
ORTHOGRAPHY OF NAME.
HOULD DUCHESS be spelled with or without the "t?" Usage, say some, should determine its orthography, no matter how the name originated. If this rule prevails, it is difficult to conceive how any change in a language can ever legitimately occur. The worst faults in a language have the prerogative of usage in their favor, and should there- fore be allowed to remain.
A grievous error was committed when the "k" was clipped from almanack, systematick, and the "u" expunged from rumour, odour, &c. In olden times they wrote Rhinebeek, Viskill; and Poughkeepsie was written in every imaginable way except the one now generally adopted : why not do so now ?
It must be admitted the English language has been greatly strengthened and made more musical by the changes it has underwent since the earlier writers ; but all these improvements have been of necessity in opposition to usage, and which of them ought of right to prevail ?
Says a writer in the New York Evening Post, speaking of this subject : " A curious error in orthography has crept in- it being usually spelled with a t-possibly from association with the early Dutch settlers along the Hudson. A similar
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
mistake is made in the spelling of Litchfield, a town and county in Connecticut, whereas the English Lichfield, whence the name comes, is never so spelled."
In the present volume the t has been left out, believing this to be the correct spelling. We submit the following, by a standard authority, by way of substantiating our position :
" DEAR SIR :- In reply to your inquiry, I state that the name of our county was given in compliment to the Duchess of York, whose husband, the Duke of York, received from his brother, King Charles the Second of England, a grant of the territory in America, then known as New Netherland, and now as the States of New York and New Jersey.
The title of Duchess, the wife of a Duke, was derived from the French, in which language it is spelled duchesse. Previous to the publication of Dr. Johnson's English Dictionary in 1755, the word was spelled in the English language with a letter t. Johnson dropped the t and also the final e of the French word, and it has ever since been correctly written in English, duchess.
With the change in the orthography of the word in the standard lexicon of the English language, the spelling of the title of our county should have been changed in our records and elsewhere. The error has been perpetuated, not for any reason, but through mere inadvertence.
I earnestly hope that you will have the name of our County spelled without a t in your forthcoming history, because it is right, and not perpetuate an error, because of hoary prece- dents.
Yours, &c., BENSON J. LOSSING.
'ABORIGINES.
HE history of the; present limits of DUCHESS COUNTY. prior to 1682, belongs to the Red Man .* But those ages in which he lived undisputed possessor of the soil are as a sealed book. to which the historian turns in wain for the records of the past.
There are those who write that this section of country was without Indian habitations. Such, too, was the dream in regard to the land of the Iroquois, until Sullivan's blazing torch lighted the hills and valleys with the crackling flames of forty burning villages. Yet tradition, and the somewhat fragmen- . fary history that has been gleaned, abundantly show that these forest clad hills once resounded with the war-whoop, and the smoke from the wigwam ascended from the valley.t
After the advent of the Europeans, the Indians were gradu- ally dispossessed of their happy hunting grounds, sometimes by purchase, and not unfrequently by fraud.#
* Near the borders of this county, in the State of Connectient, evidences have been sind of a grand seat of the native inhabitants of this country before the Indians, who Iszely inhabited it. had any residence here. There are stone pots, knives of a peculiar Iciryl, and various other utensils of such enrions workmanship as exceeds the skill of any Indians since the English became acquainted with them. Probably they were contempo- raweous with the mound-builders of the west.
t As late as 1755 the banks of the Hudson were thiekly populated by the Indians .- "Dalton's Hist, West.
# The Wappingers asserted and proved frand in the purchase of that tract of land www embraced in Putnam Conty.
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18
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
As though by the stern decree of fate, the original proprietors of the soil have melted away before the white man, until not a vestige of pure Indian blood remains within the County limits ; and even the recollection of such a race is fast becoming obliterated.
Among the Highlands lived the clan of Wiccopees, a tribe of the Waoranacks .* Above them lived the tribe of Wap- pingers, whose name is still preserved in that of the picturesque streamt flowing into the Hudson. Their chief locality was the valley of the Fishkill, or "Matteawan" Creek, the aboriginal name of which, according to the popular traditions of the country, signified "good furs," for which the stream was an- ciently celebrated. But modern etymology more accurately deriving the term from "metai," a magician or medicine man, and "wian." a skin, it would seem that the neighboring Indians esteemed the peltries of the Fishkill as "charmed" by the incantations of the aboriginal enchanters who dwelt along its banks, and the beautiful scenery in which these ancient priests of the wild men of the Highlands dwelt is thus invested with new poetical associations.
The wigwams of the Wappingers and their sub-tribes extend- ed eastward to the range of Taghkanick mountains, which sepa- rate the valley of the Hudson from that of the Housatonic.
A few miles north of Wappinger's Creek was a sheltered inlet at the mouth of the Fallkill, affording a safe harbor for canoes navigating the " Long Reach" between Pollepel's Island and Crom Elbow. The aboriginal designation of this inlet was Apokeepsing, "a place of shelter from the storms ;" and the memory of this once famous harbor for the canoes of the river tribes is perpetuated in the name of Poughkeepsie.
Bands of Minnissinks, from the west shores, were intermin- gled in various portions of the county. The Sepascoots lived
* Van Der Donck places the Waoranacks and Mincees in the Highlands on the east -ide of the river, and south of Matteawan Creek.
+ Wappingers Creek called by the Indians Mawenawasigh. On Van Der Donek's map three of the Wappingers villages are located on the south side of the Matteawan. North of that they are called the Indians of the Long Reach, and on the south as the Ilighland Indians. Megriesken and Ninham are the only names of Indian chiefs of this tribe that have come down to us.
19
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
at Rhinebeck, and had their principal seat eighteen miles north of Poughkeepsie, and three miles east of the river.
Still further north, near Red Hook Landing, lived another clan of the Wappingers. Here tradition asserts a great battle was fought between the River Indians and the Iroquois Con- federates; and the bones of the slain were said to be visible when the Dutch visited the spot.
Above the Wappingers, and northward and eastward of Roeliff Jansen's Kill, the lodges of the Mohegans extended, occupying the whole area of the present counties of Columbia and Rensselaer.
A remnant of the Pequod tribe, from Connecticut,* once lived near Ten Mile River, in the present town of Dover. With the Mohegans they assisted in the war with King Philip ; after the death of that chieftain, the Connecticut colonists drove them out of that province.
These were the Schaghticoke Indians, a remnant of which yet live in a narrow valley between the Housatonic River and Schaghticoke Mountains, in the borders of Connecticut. Their Sachem, Gideon Mauweesemum, (afterwards contracted to Mauweehu or Mauwee,) first lived in Derby, than in Newtown. and afterwards in New Milford. In 1729, thirteen Indians, including Gideon, claimed to be "owners of all unsold lands in New Fairfield." A deed of that year exists among papers at Hartford, disposing of above lands for sixty-five pounds, signed by Cockenon, "Mauweehu," and eleven others. This was doubtless the town of Sherman, four miles west of the ancient residence of the New Milford Indians. Gideon afterward removed to Dover, New York.
One day while hunting upon what is now Preston Moun- tain, he discovered the clear stream and luxuriant meadows of the Housatonic Valley, which so delighted him that he moved thither with his tribe, and the place became known as Schagh- ticoke. He issued invitations to his old friends at Potatuck, at New Milford, to the Mohegans of Hudson River, and other tribes to come and settle with him. In ten years from the time of his arrival one hundred warriors had collected under him. A large accession was had from the New Milford Indians in 1736, after the death of Sachem Waraumaug.
* Indian name, Quinektukgnt.
20
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
They had not enjoyed their happy valley many years before they were disturbed by the arrival of the whites. The settle- ment of Kent commenced in 1738, and was prosecuted rapidly. The Moravians first visited the tribe in 1742; Gideon was the first convert, and was baptized in 1743. Gideon was the name given by the missionaries.
The settlers encroached upon the lands of the Indians, and the latter petitioned Assembly to have a tract of unoccupied land set off to them, lying below the village of Kent, on the west side of the Housatonic, which was granted.
In 1767, Mauwee and many other old persons being dead, they became anxious to remove to Stockbridge, and petitioned the Assembly to have their two hundred acres sold, which was refused on the plea that the land did not belong to the Indians, but to the colony. The tribe at this time numbered about six hundred souls.
In October, 1771, the following, evidently the production of the Indians themselves, was presented to the Legislature :
" We are poor Intins at Scutcuk in the town of Kent we desire to the most honorable Sembly at New Haven we are very much a pressed by the Nepawaug people praking our fences and our gates and turning their cattle in our gardens and destroying our fruits, the loss of our good friend 4 years · ago which we desire for another overseer in his stead to take Care of us and see that we are not ronged by the people we make choice of Elihu Swift of Kent to be our trustee if it [be] plesing to your minds."
In 1775 the Assembly ordered the lands to be leased, to pay their debts and defray expenses. In 1860, Aunt Eunice Mauwee, granddaughter of Gideon, died at the advanced age of 103 years, and with her passed away the last pure royal blood. She had been an exemplary member of the Congrega- tional Church in Kent for upwards of eighteen years. A grand- daughter of hers, "Vina" Carter, is still living in Schaghticoke.
During the Revolution, many of the Schaghticoke warriors joined the Ame- rican Army, and quite a number of them were killed.
The following different ways of spelling the name of the tribe are Hut of Lavina (Vina) Carter. taken from the manuscripts of one of the celebrated men associated with the Commission at Albany: Schaticook, Scaaticook, Schaackticook, Skachticoke.
2I
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
On the west bank of the " Mahicannittuck"* or Hudson River, dwelt the Minnissinks, Nanticokes and Mincees, who were denominated " Esopus Indians." Says an historian :- " The affinities of the Mohegans with the Mincees, and through them with the Delawares, are apparent in the lan- guage, and were well recognized at the time of the settlement."
Says Schoolcraft : "The Mohegans and Mincees were two tribes of Algonquin lineage, inhabiting the valley of the Hud- son between New York and Albany."
Below the Highlands, in the present county of Westchester, dwelt the powerful tribe of Waoranacks.
A band of Mohegans was located in the vicinity of the village of Pine Plains, of whom an interesting account is given in the chapter devoted to that town.
The Shenandoahs were a sub-tribe, dwelling near the moun- tains of that name, who, at the time of the Revolution were reduced to one man.
" These tribes were mostly in subjection to the Iroquois, and acknowledged it by the payment of an annual tribute."
INDIAN GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS.
A tract of meadow land "lying slanting to the dancing chamber," north of Wappingers Creek, had for its eastern boundary a creek called Wynogkee. Crom Elbow Creek was called Equorsink ; lands adjoining on the Hudson, Eaquaqua- nessink ; so given in a patent to Henry Beekman, the bounds of which ran from the Hudson River "east by the side of a fresh meadow called Mansakin, and a small creek called Man- capawimick."
The boundary line of the Great Nine Partners' Patent began "at the creek called by the Indians Aquasing, and by the Christians Fish Creek. The Christians spoken of above made free use of the word fish, no less than three streams emptying into the Hudson being given that name. Roeloff
* Other prominent Indian names are Mohegan, Chatemuc, Cahotatea.
22
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
Jansen's Kill, Sankpenak, was the dividing line between the Mohegans and Wappingers: a difference in dialect is shown by the geographical terms. .
The universal name the Mincees have for New York, says Heckewelder, a Moravian Missionary among the Indians, is Laaphawachking, or "the place of stringing beads."
Maringoman's Castle, Chief of Waoranacks.
EARLIEST MENTION.
N 1609, the Dutch East India Company fitted out a small ship, named the Half Moon, with a crew of twenty men, Dutch and English, and gave the command to Henry Hud- son. On the 3d of September of that year Hudson an- chored within Sandy Hook. From the 12th to the 20th of the same month he was employed in ascending the river which bears his name. This river is represented, in the journal of that voyage, as being in general about a mile wide, and of good depth, abounding in fish, among which were a " great store of salmons."
As he advanced he found the land on both sides growing higher, until it became "very mountainous." This high land, it is observed, "had many points ; the channel was narrow, and there were many eddy winds." During the passage the natives frequently came on board of the ship. He sailed onward through the pass guarded by the frowning Dunderberg, and at nightfall anchored near West Point. Leaving his anchorage next morning, he ran sixty miles up along the varied shores which lined the deep channel. "Delighted every moment with the ever-changing scenery, and the magnificent forests which clothed the river banks with their gorgeous autum- nal hues, Hudson arrived, toward evening, opposite the
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