USA > New York > Ulster County > Marlborough > History of the town of Marlborough, Ulster County, New York, from its earliest discovery > Part 1
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1800
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M 34W/s
Copyright N.º.
COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT
ليه
6. Ho Woolsey.
HISTORY
OF THE
Town of Marlborough
Ulster County, New York
From its Earliest Discovery
By C. M. WOOLSEY
ILLUSTRATED
ALBANY J. B. LYON COMPANY, PRINTERS 1908
. Men
LIBRARY of CONGRESS
two Copies Received SEP 19 1908
aug. 22.1908 CLASS O MAG NO. 215036 COPY
COPYRIGHT, 1908 C. M. WOOLSEY.
CONTENTS
Preface
PAGE.
CHAPTER I.
Introduction . 11
How the Town Derived Its Name
16
The Town of Marlborough 18
CHAPTER II.
Early Patents and Land Grants.
27
CHAPTER III.
The Indians 51
Maintonomah - A Poem
56
The Early Settlers 80
Our Ancestors
86
CHAPTER IN.
Town of Marlborough in the Revolution, including:
The Committee of Safety 91
The Signers of the Pledge and Those Who Refused to Sign 96
Levies and Militia 101
Invasion of Canada 104
Lewis DuBois and William Martin. 107
Soldiers from the Town. 108
DuBois' Regiment . 109
Captain Jacob Wood's Company and His Court-Martial. . 110, 113
General Vaughn's Expedition 113
Lieutenant Rose Cashiered 116
New Marlborough. 26 Apr. 1777.
mittee . Proceedings of the Com-
117
Petition of Samuel Townsend
119
Petition of Elizabeth Wiggins
120
Lewis DuBois' Court-Martial .
122
No Consideration Shown Traitors - General Clinton About
the Tories 125. 126
Jacobus Rose
126
Silas Gardiner
130
Arthur Mckinney
131
Petition of the Inhabitants of New Borough and New Marl- borough
132
Petitions of Levi Quimby and Others
132
Jacob Dayton
135
Petition of Leonard Smith
138
Petition of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.
140
Petition of Elnathan Foster and Others 142
Tories 143
A Day of Rejoicing. 145
4
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V. PAGE.
Precinct and Town Meeting's and Records. I49
CHAPTER VI.
Ancient Roads .
183
CHAPTER VII.
Marks of Cattle 201
Strays . .
204
Ancient Records 205
Ancient Town Matters
CHAPTER VIII.
The Village of Marlborough, 1764. 215
Colden's Ridge
216
The Map of Dr. Benjamin Ely
218
Slavery 224
CHAPTER IX.
The War of 1812 and the Mexican War 237
Assessment on Bond Patent ... 212
Horatio Gates Safford's Gazetteer, etc 243
Ancient Houses .
245
Mills and Factories
217
Vessels and Transportation
249
Ferries and Doeks
253
Hudson River 257
Jeffrow's Hook
259
CHAPTER X.
Facts and Incidents 263
The Maid of Marlborough - A Poem 268
Men of Prominence 269, 270
Hallocks' Ponds .
270
List of Supervisors
273
Town Clerks and JJustices of the Peace 275, 276
Lawyers and Doctors 279, 280
283
CHAPTER XE.
Ancient Customs and Habits 285
Ancient Manuscripts of the Weather 297
Ancient Burial Places 302
310
CHAPTER XII.
The Civil War 317
Lieutenant Edward Ketcham
319
Lieutenant John Ketcham 319
Captain Nehemiah H. Mann .
334
Recruiting for the 120th Regiment.
34I
Special Elections to Raise Money
344
List of those Enrolled in the Army and Navy. 346
State Militia 348
CHAPTER XIII.
The Presbyterian Society and Church. 351
The Antwerp Raspberry 1
The Men Who Voted in 1834
5
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV. PAGE.
Methodism in the Town of Marlborough
375
CHAPTER XV.
The Baptist Society and Church. 405
Catholics and Catholic Churches 414
The Episcopal Churches
419
The Milton Society of Friends
425
CHAPTER XVI.
Marlborough
431
Milton
437
Lattintown 446
Societies and Institutions
451
Business Enterprises .
457
People. Lands and Conditions
459
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
C. M. Woolsey Frontispiece. Large Ancient Map Drawn by Dr. Benjamin Ely,
In pocket on front corer. ʻ
PAGE.
Map of Town. 1874. 20
Commission of William Woolsey.
102
Order for Payment of Money Due the Officers 108
Certificate of the Officers of Lewis DuBois' Regiment
108-
Assessment in Captain Wood's Company.
110
Order by Captain Wood 112
Ancient Signatures 148.
The Col. Lewis DuBois House
210
Map of Village of Marlborough, 1764. 214
Residence of C. M. Woolsey 236
Assessment Roll - Bond Patent
242
The Oldest House in the Town.
244
The (. M. Woolsey Building.
262.
Smith's Falls
268
Long Pond
270.
Long Pond
272 .
The Anning Smith House
286.
The Noah Woolsey House
296.
The Old Chestnut Tree at Lyons Corner
302
Edward Hallock Ketcham
316
John Townsend Ketcham 320-
Hartshorn's Store, Marlborough. 350
Marlborough Presbyterian Church 370
Marlborough M. E. Church. 400,
Falls at Marlborough Village
432
Milton Village 436
C. J. Miller Buikling
444
The Elijah Lewis House
274 .
PREFACE
Many people never look at the preface of a book; yet it may have considerable merit, as it presents in some small degree what we may expect to find further on. In most all communities but little care has been taken to preserve the original events, the commence- ment of things as we might say, and the commence- ment of all things is most interesting, whether they be of the town, connty or state. And what a great thing it would be to know the beginning of the erea- tion - the world and the stars and all that God made for the pleasure and benefit of all people - all this we may never know, yet we can have the consolation of knowing something about the people and condi- tions of former times in our own neighborhood. It has been said by a great writer that local history was the greatest of all history; it brings us in touch with the place and its inhabitants of former times. We see why certain habits and customs have been handed down to us-connects the past with the present -- shows the character and services of our fathers - and, as far as may be, produces the familiar scenes of by-gone years. But what little care has been taken to preserve ancient papers and records and memor- anda of past events. Oftentimes someone during a long life would gather np valuable material, and al- most before he was in his grave, all this treas- ure would be transferred to the garret or wagon loft, never to be examined again, and in time scattered and forgotten. This comes home to me. I well remem- ber, when a little child of a few years, my grandfather, Richard I. Woolsey, died, and his large trunk, filled with valuable records of the past, which had been the
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8
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
pride of his life to gather and save, was removed to the room over the wagon shed and it was a pastime for other little children and myself to examine and scatter this data all about the building in the search for a stray picture. No one appeared to know its value. How safely we would treasure those records if we had them now! The works of the dead are soon forgotten, but in after years we realize our mistakes. It has been a great labor and required diligent re- search to find as much as I have. I have examined old papers to secure notices and advertisements, and have visited many eities to examine libraries and ancient records, and though I have not always been success- ful, yet enough facts have been obtained to show that our town was, in education, patriotism, and all things that make up good citizenship, the equal of any of the towns in the county. I find the trouble has been that while other places boasted of their ancestry and great deeds, there was no one to do justice to our town and record its honored past. Marlborough has al- ways been a quiet and modest town and allowed other places to get ahead of it. No one has sung its praise or recorded its worth; we hope hereafter it will be known far and near, that there is such a place as the Town of Marlborough.
The author has tried his best to be impartial, and if certain family names and certain events appear to be more generally used than others, it is only because we were able to get such information. We could not write about men and things of which we could get no record. I have asked a great many people to give me information about their families so I could incorpo- rate it in this work, but with few exceptions, they could help me little; therefore I could not write about what I did not have. I feel that there are many things that could have been said, yet I could not get the neces- sary information ; so do not blame me for the omis- sions that have been made.
9
PREFACE.
I give many names. Names are dry reading, but they are useful for reference, delightful to the de- scendant who sees his grandfather's upon an honored roll, invaluable to the future historian, and represent the living faets withont which history could not be written. It is the men and not the things which make the records. God made the world, and wondrous and beautiful it is; but, without the men who inhabit it, how useless and extravagant would it appear! So this history of the men who trod the soil we tread, who saw the same hills, the same valleys, the same broad Hudson that we see, but in a different age and genera- tion, in less cultivated and more troublesome times, is presented to the Town of Marlborough.
Local history has been neglected. Historians have generally written of great events of a national charac- ter; of the great statesmen; of the leaders of armies, who marched through provinces and subdued princi- palities and kingdoms; but the mass of the people who make up the nation, the bone and sinew - the millions of the middle class have hardly received a passing notice.
The sun is great and incomprehensible beyond and above all, but for what would it answer if it had no earth to shine upon? What would the statesman and general accomplish without the help of the plain people of the little towns and villages all over our land? They make the statesman and the general. Were it not for the humble people they lead, what would they accomplish? Until within a few years but little attention has been paid to local history. The Daughters of the Revolution have done much toward this end and all over the land, bronze tablets mark the spots of great achievements, or the places where patriots fell. To the humble people of the town and of the state, is this little work, with all its imperfec- tions, dedicated.
C. M. W.
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
Why do I write this book? The fact is, I am not a writer, never had a desire nor did I ever intend to write a book, but some time since, at the request of those interested in the history edited by Judge Clear- water, I hunted up ancient documents, traced the truth of old traditions, and in doing so became very much interested. I would find out things about the town and its people in olden times of which I had never heard, and becoming interested, would trace them to their source. In such research I would discover other matters, and thus obtained much information which was sent to be incorporated in the county history. When the book was published, I was disappointed in finding but a small part of my contribution, and it was all right, as the history of Kingston and all the towns afforded so much material for a book that most of the articles had to be reduced in size, that the book should not be too large. In accepting a part of my article. Judge Clearwater wrote me :
Your article contains a great deal of interesting and im- portant data * * * What you should really do is to write and publish an exhaustive history of the Town of Marlborough. Doubtless you could sell a great many copies by subscription. * The article you have written will direct attention to the importance of Marlborough from a very early period. and will serve to excite and revive interest in the town and its men.
[1]]
12
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
I thought that what I had found, and more that I had obtained from time to time, should not be lost. It was doubtful if anyone again would ever attempt to collect together, what I had discovered, and I felt it should be preserved for coming generations.
The History of Marlborongh published some years since, and also the History of Marlborough contained in Sylvester's Ulster County History are full of errors, and, instead of informing people, mislead them. Many statements are made as facts which are only predicated on old traditions which never had any foundation in truth. These histories were not written by natives of the town, but by people who knew nothing about the town or where to find data concern- ing it, and were not particularly interested to have it accurate. I, therefore, feel that what goes down to posterity about our town should be as accurate as pos- sible ; and though I may have made some errors, I have tried to found my book on old records, papers, maps and traditions, which I have followed to their source; and though about only two hundred years have elapsed since the town was first settled, I have found it almost impossible to obtain any old papers or docu- ments from any of the old families that might throw light on the early history and the stirring events of the Revolution. People have ransacked their garrets and old trunks without avail; or, at least, with little snecess. I even advertised and did not get a single idea, so I was driven to my own resources and re- searches, and I had some advantages ; my great-great- grandparents, Richard Woolsey and Sarah Fowler, settled here among the first. They left eight boys and four girls, thus my family was early identified with the town. A few original papers and documents had been preserved in the family, or scattered around and left undisturbed only because they were not discov- ered. And then I had lots of family and town tradi-
13
INTRODUCTION.
tions, and putting them all together and following them up, I have been enabled to write this book. And I claim for it, that it contains much that would never have been known otherwise. I can say that it is in the great part absolutely correct, as I have many of the original documents. I have written this book for the interest I felt in it, and in the old people and cus- toms. I have been well paid for all my trouble in the pleasure I have taken in its preparation. My curi- osity would be aroused when I discovered any event of importance and it was a satisfaction to trace it out. The habits and customs of the people who came here, and of those who were born and died here, the per- sons who were the people of the town in their day, who reared their families, did their business here, cul- tivated the same fields that we are now working, went to the same churches, attended the same schools, and did much as we are now doing - they cleared up the forests. They were our ancestors and the neighbors of our ancestors; their shadowy forms in remem- brance, history and tradition float before us. When we read and think about them and trace the lands they owned, the houses they built, we almost feel that we have seen them, that they have come down from the shadowy past and have communed with us, have told us of their lives, have pointed out to us and de- scribed the aspect of the town in their day, have rehearsed to us the events which were considered of importance in their time.
It is a pleasure and a duty to preserve their names and memory so far as we can, and I am perfectly con- tent if this venture pays the printer and binder. I can state only the plain facts about a plain people. Our town has produced no great men ; no great events have happened here; no great city has arisen; no great mechanical industries have developed. We have never had what might be called a town center, part
14
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
of our people went in one direction and the rest in another out of the town to do much of their necessary business.
The people have always been quiet, consistent, consevative, honest, industrious, Christian, and a patriotic people, not unlike the great body of people who form our commonwealth.
I have not attempted to give the record of families: I can not give the record of my own family correctly. My great-great-grandfather, born in Westchester county in 1697, settled in this county early in 1700. and left a large family and numerous descendants; outside of my own line, I can not trace them with any degree of certainty. I certainly would fail trying to make a family record for other people. The attempt to do so by those who have written about the town. has generally proven a fraud and a failure. I give the names of the people who lived at different times. and the dates and the capacity in which they served. so that anyone familiar with his own family history. can trace them out for himself.
In former times when this town was a part of New- burgh, its associations and interests were all with that section. Newburgh was its center for business, banks and trade, and when it was taken off and made a separate town, it ever since has retained to some ex- tent the same relation to Newburgh. After the division, and after Newburgh was taken off of Ulster county, Marlborough became a border and corner town, and having but little interest with the rest of the county it never received the consideration it deserved.
This history comprises events from the earliest settlement of the town to the close of the civil war, though some matters are referred to which occurred since. The intention has been to preserve the record of the early events as they would soon pass out of
15
INTRODUCTION.
existence and be forgotten. The papers and records which I have given in full, instead of a reference to the same, are published to show the habits, customs and transactions of the people in those times. They will certainly give anyone a better conception and knowledge than anything I might write about them. It is always a great advantage to have the original document to judge from for yourself and one can form his own conclusions and often arrive at a better understanding than from any comments the writer might make about them ; so I have given many in full, and just as they are, with all their incorrect spelling, grammar and other inaccuracies.
In this brief history, no attempt is made to give all the events and conditions that have transpired in the town from the first settlement, but more particularly to obtain and record the earlier events, the trials and struggles, the habits and customs of the sturdy and industrious people who settled here in earlier times, and carved a home and name among these stony hills and valleys; and they are worthy of all praise for what they accomplished, for several colonies at dif- ferent times had previously examined and inspected these shores, but were discouraged at their rugged- ness and apparent barrenness of soil, and settled in other places; and these who settled here had hardly emerged from the wilderness, hardly completed com- fortable houses and buildings, and cleared but a small part of the land, when they were called upon to face a long and bitter war with a foreign nation, when they must endure great suffering and privation. Many of their neighbors took sides in opposition; but by the lapse of time, and the neglect and destruction of earlier papers and records of those times, very little has been left to us. An effort has been made to gather the remaining fragments, and preserve them that all should not be lost, and especially that the stirring
16
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
events that tried our ancestors' hearts in the great strife, and their names and memory, should not be lost from the earth.
In conclusion, I would say, that if I have succeeded in pleasing anyone, in giving any information of the past, and in preserving the traditions and history of the town, I am content.
HOW THE TOWN DERIVED ITS NAME.
Marlborough was so named after John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, the greatest and most success- ful general in English history. He was born at Ashe, in Devonshire, England, in 1650. The course of his early education is but little known, and it is probable that he learned but little from schools and books. At the early age of twelve, his father carried him to Court, where the loyalty of the family was well known. He soon became a page to the Duke of York, and was commissioned as ensign in the guards at sixteen. He was at the battle of Tangier and in engagements with the Moors; on his return to Eng- land he became captain. His further advancement was promoted by his comely person and prepossessing manners, his own merit, and the influence of his sister, Arabella, mistress of the Duke of York. She was the mother of the celebrated Duke of Berwick. In the campaign from 1672 to 1677 his (Marlborough's) courage and ability gained him the praise and in- fluence of the celebrated Turenne. His prosperity was still further secured by his marriage with Sarah Jennings, a lady of talent, imperious disposition, and beauty, and one of the Maids of Honor to the Princess Anna. She was a great favorite with her mistress and had great influence over her. He previously had become a Lieut .- Colonel and Colonel. In 1681 he
17
HOW THE TOWN DERIVED ITS NAME.
became a Baron. When King James came to the throne, he was made a Peer, and a general in the army. On William's ascension to the throne he was raised to the dignity of the Earl of Marlborough. The same year he won the battle of Walcourt over the French, and became the head of the army. Ile had many successes, and rose to the position of the Duke of Marlborough. In 1704 the Duke led the allied armies into Germany, and with Prince Eugene of Savoy, stormed the French and Bavarian lines at Donauwörth and overthrew their armies in the great and decisive battle of Blenheim, in recognition of which the Parliament and the Queen caused Blenheim palace to be built. In 1705 Marlborough was made a Prince of the Empire. In 1708 he won the battle at Oudenorde which resulted in the total defeat of the French. In 1709 he fought the battle of Malplaquet and in 1710 took town after town from the French. It would fill a book to tell of his exploits. He brought great honor and renown to the English nation, and in recognition of his great services Blenheim castle was .presented to him, and has ever since remained the estate of his descendants, the subsequent Dukes of Marlborough.
He was a great man in many ways, but all his descendants, the subsequent Dukes of Marlborough, have accomplished little but to marry rich American wives, who were fools enough to exchange great riches for empty titles and pay off the debts of profligates and bankrupts who had only a title and a great name to give in return. In fact, Blenheim castle and estate would long since have been gambled away and spent, but under English laws these great estates can not be taken from the family. The family can not pass title, and judgment and encumbrances can not take it away. What a pity we can not sometimes keep the old homestead in the family in this country in the same way!
18
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
The Iron Duke, as he was called, rose from small beginnings, with little education, to be the greatest general of his age. He died in 1722, idolized by all the English people.
The ancestors of many of our first settlers were soldiers under the Duke, and had marched with him through many of the countries of Europe, and had been participants in his great campaigns and battles and victories. In their childhood, in their native land and around the firesides of their forefathers it was told to them in song and story of the great deeds of the Iron Duke and of his men. All the English- speaking people sang his praises, and boasted of his great renown. Thus it was quite natural that our English ancestors would have named the Presbyterian society, the precinet, and afterward the town, after him.
THE TOWN OF MARLBOROUGH.
There is no record that any white man set foot in what is now the Town of Marlborough previous to 1684. By tradition it is claimed that previous to the time when the Twelve Patentees acquired title to their lands, known as the Paltz Patent, from the Indians in 1677, they had visited the country here, but had been deterred from settlement by the ruggedness and barrenness of the soil. No effort was made to obtain possession of the land at Quassaiek, now Newburgh, and vicinity from the Indians until 1684, when Gov- ernor Dongan bought of Mangenaett, Tsema, Kegh- gekapowell, alias Joghem, who claimed to be the " native proprietors and principal owners " of the lands mentioned in the deed, "with the consent of Pemeranaghin, chief sachem of Esopus Indians " and other Indians named, "all that tract and parcel of
19
THE TOWN OF MARLBOROUGH.
land situate, lying and being upon the west side of Hudson's River, beginning from the south side of the land called called the Paltz, and extending thenee southerly along the said river to the lands belonging to the Indians at the Murderer's Kill (now Moodney Creek), and extending westward to the foot of the High-hills called Pit-kis-ka-ker and Aia-skawosting." This tract ran from the Paltz purchase, on the north, to Murderer's Creek (now Moodney Creek), on the south, and bounded on the northwest and west by the Shawangunk mountains until a point was reached from which a due east and west line would strike the mouth of Murderer's Creek. For this immense tract Governor Dongan paid " the sum of ninety pounds and eleven shillings" in the following articles, viz .: "10 fathoms blue duffels, 10 fathoms red duffels, 200 fath- oms white wampum, 10 fathoms stroudwater, (red cloth,) 10 fathoms blue cloth. 10 blankets, 10 guns, 10 kettles, 10 duffel coats, 10 drawing knives, 10 shirts, 10 tobacco boxes, 10 childrens' shirts, 10 pairs of hose, 10 pairs of shoes, 50 lbs. powder, 50 bars of lead, 10 cutlasses, 10 hatchets, 10 scissors, 10 tobacco tongues, 100 flints, 2 rolls tobacco, 20 gallons of rum, 2 vats of strong beer, and 1 barrel of cider." These lands were relinquished, and the Indians residing thereon united with Maringoman at his castle on Murderer's Creek, about eight miles from its con- fluence with the Hudson.
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