USA > New York > Orange County > Deerpark > A history of Deerpark in Orange County, N.Y. > Part 2
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It was said that they had manufactured pots of clay for cooking, and that a few remains of these had been found, in a broken condition, and that they made eel- pots of withs and caught therein eels and fish by set- ting them in the mouths of eel-weirs, which consisted of wings of stones thrown up in rivers and streams of water. The stone axes, bows and arrows were of great value to the naked-handed Indians. With the latter it was said that they could even kill a deer by making the bow very stiff and laying down with it in the tall
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HISTORY OF DEERPARK.
grass which grew on the flats near to a deer-path, would, when a deer approached to pass, place both feet against the bow and with both hands draw the string or cord of the bow and shoot the deer as it passed, so as to kill it. It was said they made use of a sharp flint stone to skin it.
Now, although the improvements the natives of this country had made during their existence in it was very trifling, yet they had attained to about all that was in their reach in the circumstances under which they labored, and had come to the borders of a gigantic step which was necessary to be made for entering into a field of improvements similar to that of the enlight- ened nations of the world.
MANUFACTURE OF IMPLEMENTS OF IRON AND STEEL.
This step is the manufacturing of iron from the ore, and iron and steel utensils. The most ingenious of our own race of people would be puzzled to get into operation any works to answer that purpose, naked- handed as those people were, and in their state of ignorance when alone in this country. This discovery of manufacturing iron and steel utensils is the most useful to mankind of any ever made. Without the manufacture of iron, or some other metal which would have answered the same purpose, mankind must all have remained in that low, naked-handed and unim- proved state in which the Indians were found in this country. The production of this metal by the original cause of all things, and its manufacture, are indispen- sable for the whole business of mankind. The black- smith and manufacturer of iron and steel stand at the
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head of all other mechanics. If the productions of the former were to pass out of existence, that of the latter would inevitably become extinct and the farmer would have to abandon the cultivation of the earth, and the wheels of all the hydraulic works and manu- facturing machineries whatever would cease to move. The oceans, seas, lakes and rivers would become un- burdened of the ships and vessels passing thereon ; the rattling of cars on the railroads would stop their music, and the still voice of the telegraph would cease to whisper its news. The consequence of all of which would be starvation and a miserable life of such as should survive to witness such a terrible catastrophe.
From all of which we are taught the great blessing we have derived in being suitably formed for its man- ufacture, and the construction of innumerable articles for our use and advantage, new inventions of which are continually exhibited.
Dr. Franklin, a lover of science and friend of man, in the latter part of his life said, that after a century from the time of his decease he would like to revisit the earth to see what improvements would be made in that time. If he now, after a shorter period, should be reinstated on earth in his former capacity, he un- doubtedly would be astonished at the vast mechanical improvements made in our country since his time,, and his philanthrophy would receive the very pleasing satisfaction of having himself made a discovery from which has originated one of the most wonderful discoveries ever made, viz. : to convey intelligence in- stantaneously over any distance on our globe.
Now, although the Indians still remain disposed to
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pursue their own habits of life, yet it appears obvious that the time will come when it will be necessary for their descendants to become an improved and educated people and to get a livelihood by agriculture, manufac- ture and literature ; for they, as well as ourselves, are susceptible of such improvements. Their habits of life, continued from generation to generation for a very great length of time, seem to have become so seated in their minds that all the entreaties which the white people have from time to time made to abandon their present mode of life and pursue that of ours, has had but little effect on the great body of Indians to lead them out of the long accustomed habits of their an- cestry.
As they were scattered over all parts of this coun- try before Europeans came into it, and, as their in- crease has been slow, it is evident that their origin in it must have been in a very remote period of time. They generally were most numerous where the animals, fowls and fishes on which they lived were most plenti- ful, which was in the vicinity of rivers and streams of water, lakes and ponds; and, in consequence of living chiefly on those natural productions and their destitu- tion of the means to get a sufficient supply of these, made it necessary for them to scatter thinly over this part of our country for procuring a competency for their subsistence. It was said they raised corn and beans in very small quantities.
We have accounts of the South American Indians manufacturing vessels and trinkets of gold before Europeans came into it, in such parts of that country and its islands where that metal was plenty. This
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would have been easily done with the use of stones, as the same is very ductile.
FIRST SETTLERS.
In the year 1690, as near as can be determined, Jacob Cuddeback, Thomas Swartwout, Anthony Swart- wout, Bernardus Swartwout, Peter Gumaer, John Tyse and David Jamisont, settled in the present town of Deerpark, in the County of Orange and State of New York, on and near a handsome knoll or hill con- tiguous to a spring brook and a spring of living water, in the central part of the Peenpack flats #. This spring still remains near its first location, but not as flush as formerly. The upper surface of this hill is flat, and its elevation about 20 feet higher than the low- land surrounding it. The Indian name, " Peenpack," was, by certain of the ancient people, said to be signifi- cant of this hill and spring.
Peter Gumaer located himself at the southwest end of the hill, John Tyse between that and the spring brook, Bernardus Swartwout on the easterly brow of the hill, a few rods westerly of the spring, where the cellar now remains ; Thomas Swartwout on the central
Tyse and Jamison, it appears from other sources of information, did not become permanent settlers here. Jamison was from Scotland, and, from 1697 to 1714, served either as Vestryman or Warden in Trinity Church, New York, where he was Recorder of the city in 1712, and At- torney-General of the Province of New York in 1720. Tyse (Tyson) lived at Kingston.
# About three-fourths of a mile south of the old stone house, which stands near A: E. Godeffroy's dwelling, all of which was formerly owned by Peter E. Gumaer and family. Fort Gumaer was located on the south end of this knoll, on which spot now stands the frame dwelling owned by A. J. Gumaer, of Guymard, and occupied by a tenant.
GUMAER'S OLD STONE HOUSE.
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part of the hill, opposite the spring, where the cavity of his cellar remains ; Jacob Cuddeback a few rods northeast of the northeast end of the hill, on the low ground, where has been a cavity of his cellar, now leveled ; Anthony Swartwout, where the house formerly of Cornelius Van Inwegen stood, a few rods northeast of Cuddeback's place of residence, and David Jami- son, somewhere near this last location. Here these few families had advantageously located themselves for material assistance to repel Indian attacks, in case they should happen, and also for all of them to get water out of the spring for their drink in hot weather. The most distant of those residences was not over thirty rods from it.
Eager, in making researches for a history of Orange County, found this settlement to be the earliest of any in it *. The liberty of settling here was probably obtained from the Indians by purchase ; for it appears that these settlers were and remained at peace with them and on friendly terms until the commencement of the French war. As the neighborhood in time ex- tended about four miles in length, it continued to bear that name, although there were several localities within
* Since then it has been ascertained that there was an earlier settle- ment in the county near New Windsor, at what is known as Plum Point. In 1684, Patrick McGregorie, his brother-in-law David Toshuck, who subscribed his name " Laird of Minivard," and twenty-five others principally Sc ·tch Presbyterians, purchased a tract of 4,000 acres, em- bracing lands on both sides of Murderer's creek. Here, on Couwan- ham's Hill, so-called from its aboriginal owner, but now known as Plum Point, McGregorie built his cabin, and in the same vicinity were those of his associates, William Chambers, William Sutherland and one Collum, while on the north side of the creek David Toshuck and his servant Daniel Maskrig established a trading post. (See Ruttenber's History of Orange County, p. 21, 22 )
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that distance which had other Indian names ; one at my present residence ; one at the Neversink river, near the aqueduct of the canal ; one at the present resi- dence of Col. Peter P. Swartwout +, and two between that and the first Peenpack locality. In these several places resided small collections of Indians near living springs and streams of water.
When this place was first settled, it was about 25 or 30 miles distant from the nearest settlement of white people, which latter was on the road from here to Kingston. Two of the first pioneers, Cuddeback and Gumaer, were from France and of families who were in comfortable circumstances of life, which appears evident from what has been said by them in relation thereto, and from the fact that they had been brought up without doing any manual labor. It was said that their hands were so soft and tender when they first came into America that they blistered and bled when they first labored for a living in this country. The family of Cuddeback were in a trading business, in which Cuddeback had served as clerk. It was said the family of Gumaer were rich and in possession of large bills of exchange, for which they could not get money before he had to flee to escape persecution or death. From a certificate of his, in the French language, in relation to his church membership and character, dated the 20th of April, 1686, it appears that he then was in France and about 20 years of age. In 1685, the edict of Nantes was revoked by Louis XIV., King of France, whereby the Huguenots became unprotected by the laws of that country and exposed to the vengeance of
. + Now (1889) owned and occupied by Benjamin Swartwout.
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the Catholics, who were the most numerous and power- ful class of people in that country, and, after they be- came unrestrained, exercised their power to torture and murder the former, and to plunder and destroy their property, which caused a flight of thousands of them from France into other countries, in which the two individuals mentioned made their escape from it.
The name Cuddeback, as now written and Codeback as written in the patent, must both differ from the original orthography. Cuddeback has said that his name was that of a certain city in France. On exam- ining an ancient gazetteer I find the orthography of one city in that country to be " Caudebec," which, in the French tongue, has the same oral sound as that of Codeback in the English tongue- igorary.
The Rev. Henry Morrisyof Guddebackville, has fur- nished me with some historical accounts from Malte Brun's Universal Geography, Vol. 6, being the follow- ing notice of Caudebec :
"Caudebec was formerly the capitol of Caux, a small country in which agriculture has attained to a high degree of perfection, where every house, sur- rounded by trees of different sorts, contributes to adorn the different sites ; indeed, the country, watered by the Seine from Havre to Rouen, may vie with the vaunted banks of the Seine. Caudebec was a flourishing town before the revocation of the edict of Nantes ; it was almost ruined in consequence of that impolitic measure, and, although it possesses a convenient har- bor, the population does not exceed three thousand souls. It is situated in the district of Yvetot, a small town of which the lords before the reign of Louis XI.
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were styled kings by their vassals."
Morris further states that " Caudebec is situated in the department of the Lower Seine, in which are the following towns : Lillebonne, Rouen, Elbeuf, Gournay and Aumale," and judges that it lies on the river Seine between Paris and the English Channel, and be- longs to that part of France that anciently was called Normandy.
I feel very thankful for this information. It reminds me of certain occurrences which attended Cuddeback and Gumaer at the time of their flight from France, and all in connection gives me reason to think that both of them resided in the capital mentioned.
Caudebec said that the vessel in which he escaped from his country had many wheat bread passengers on it, who, after a few days' sailing, began to complain of their fare on the vessel, and that they could not live on the diet furnished, when the same consisted of plenty of bread, meat, beans, and other vegetables, and such eat- ables as were generally had on ships, but were inferior to such as they had been habituated to. As for him- self, he said he thought he could do well enough on such victuals, but, he said, before they arrived at their place of destination, provisions became scarce and they be- gan to have good reason to complain. From which, it appears, that their voyage must have been retarded by contrary winds, or a circuitous route, to avoid being taken by their enemies. I have also understood that Gumaer lived in a city, and, when his enemies sought for him, he was reading in a garden, where he was in- formed of his enemies searching for him and he fled to the top of one of the houses, where he hid. Now,
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as it appears that this city was a flourishing place be- fore it became reduced by the persecutions mentioned and suffered much in consequence of the same, and, as one of those two individuals bore the name of the town, it appears very probable that the passengers in the vessel mentioned were all from this capital.
I have been informed that Caudebec sometimes re- lated the manner in which the Protestants, or Hugue- nots, were tortured and murdered, one of which I still remember, but consider it too shocking to our feelings to embrace it in this work, being worse, in my view, than the vile Nero's project of employing dogs to kill Christians. These innocent people in the early days of Christianity suffered great persecutions from those who were inimical to their professions and doctrines. It seems strange that after their doctrine became popu- lar, the greatest proportion of those who embraced it in France became as cruel as the monster Nero, who had the power to exhibit to the world his thirst for im- posing on mankind the numerous cruelties he caused to be inflicted. He became so destitute of the feelings of humanity that he caused even his own mother to be put to death to satisfy an unnatural curiosity. Also the great moralist, Seneca, who had been his tutor, did not escape his jealous disposition, but was put to death according to his orders. All his impositions for self present gratification will remain an everlasting stain on his character of the blackest dye, and the suf- ferings he caused to be endured must have affected thousands of his subjects.
Now, all these acts are only as a drop of water in a bucket to like acts unnecessarily imposed from time to
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time on the Roman people and other nations, by ruling characters of Roman dominions.
What shall we think of mankind, who, for self-exal- tation, have șo overcome all those tender feelings im- planted in their natures as to kill, murder and plunder each other without any just cause, but merely to sat- isfy the cravings of men who were a curse to the world ? I do not know of any species of creatures on the globe who have acted as cruel as human beings have done in this respect. And by taking a view of the sins of the ancient nations, who have been des- troyed, it appears that good reason existed for their destruction, and that all the animal tribes have yielded more to the government and laws of their Creator than mankind.
The name Gumaer, as now written, was on the cer- tificate written "Guimar." In another writing, which gave Gumaer the right of citizenship in the English territories, it was written " Guymard." This writing was also found among the papers formerly of Peter Gumaer, jr., now (1858) in possession of his son-in- law, Solomon Van Etten, Esq. It is probable that the names Gomar, Guymard and Guimar, in France, orig- inated from one of those names, the last of which is the name of a certain town within the French territo- ries .. I have never seen the handwriting of Cuddeback or Gumaer. The children of the first families were not educated, in consequence of which, when it became necessary to write their names in their business trans- actions, &c., the same was done in the Dutch tongue, without any other guide than that of the oral sound, which of the latter name had become somewhat
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broader among the Dutch than what it was originally ; and the French sound of " mar " was altered in the Dutch sound of " maer," which is the same as that of " maur " in the English tongue.
A hasty flight of these two individuals prevented them from being furnished with sufficient funds for a livelihood, in consequence of which it was concluded that two sisters of Cuddeback, who were to leave France afterwards and meet them at their place of des- tination (which, the writer has understood, was to be England, but it may have been in Holland), were to bring money for setting up a business of trade. It is probable that there was an intended marriage of Gu- maer with one of those sisters. They did not arrive at the appointed time, and, after all hope of their coming was given up, these two young men embarked for America and landed in the State of Maryland, which passage exhausted all their money, and here they be- gan to experience the want of it. After a short stay, they came into the State of New York, where both en- tered into a state of· matrimony, Cuddeback with a daughter of Benjamin Provost, who was in a trading business either in the city of New York or somewhere in the vicinity of the Hudson river, whereby he became related to some Swartwout families, which probably led to an association of Cuddeback, the three Swart- wouts and other companions to move into this part of the country. Peter, son of the first Gumaer, has said that his son Elias took after the Deyo family, which leads us to infer that Gumaer's wife was of a Deyo family.
The name of the father of the three Swartwouts is not known, but we have reason to believe it was
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Gerardus, as this is a name which has been given to at least one member of each Swartwout generation from the first in this neighborhood to the present ; and also in the family of Harmanus Van Inwegen, whose wife was a Swartwout, and the name of their only son was Gerardus, which name has also continued in his family descendants to the present time. The name Jaco- bus (James) and the name Samuel, are Swartwout names, and have continued in those families to the present time. In the early part of the settlement here, there were two Swartwouts who sometimes came over here from the east side of the Hudson river (probably from Dutchess or Westchester counties) to see their relatives here. The name of one of them was Jacobus (James), and he was generally called Dickke Jacobus (Thick James), in consequence of his bodily thickness. It was said he was uncommonly broad and thick around his shoulders and breast, and unusually strong. It is probable that the Swartwouts in this place either came from the city of New York or from one of the counties on the east side of the Hudson river, and that their ancestry emigrated from Holland into this coun- try at an early period of its settlement for advancing their interests.
Cuddeback, Gumaer and one of the Swartwouts were the only three of the first settlers who remained in the present town of Deerpark, and they became the owners of the land granted by the patent ; and having become too weak to defend their possessions against Jersey claimants, they let Harmanus Van Inwegen have some of their lands to come and reside here and help defend their possessions. He was a bold, strong and resolute man, on whom much reliance was placed. He
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was originally from Holland, and in the early part of his life had been a seafaring man. At a certain time he was at the house of Cuddeback, and on hearing him read that part of history which relates to Hindoo women suffering themselves to be burned, after the death of their husbands, in case of being the survivors, said that his own eyes had seen what he (Cuddeback) was reading, and mentioned the place of the occur- rence and manner in which it was transacted. Van Inwegen had married a sister of the three Swartwouts.
It is somewhat uncertain which of the three Swart- wouts remained in this neighborhood, but as the seats of Bernardus and Thomas became vacated, and An- thony's continued to be occupied by Van Inwegen after Samuel and James Swartwout removed more dis- tantly from the neighborhood first settled, I will make use of his name as the father of the two latter. An- other reason is that the seats of Bernardus and Thomas became possessed by the second Peter Gumaer. He bought the rights of two Swartwouts.
It is not known what became of the families of Tyse and Jamison, nor where the two Swartwouts went, who removed from here. There are Swartwouts down the Delaware river, in the State of Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, among whom the name of Bernardus has been kept up. These probably are descendants of Ber- nardus who settled here. There also are Swartwouts on the Susquehanna. These may be descendants of Thomas Swartwout.
After the seven first settlers had resided here a few years, they sent Jacob Cuddeback to the Governor of the New York Colony to obtain a patent to cover as much land as they intended to occupy, which was
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·
granted the 14th of October, 1697, for 1,200 acres land to Jacob Cuddeback, Thomas Swart- wout, Anthony Swartwout, Bernardus Swartwout, Jan Tyse, Peter Germar and David Jamison, who, as near as can be determined, continued to be the only settlers of white people in this part of the country for a term of more than 20 years. The strongest evidence of this is that the children of the first settlers between this place and the Delaware river were contemporary with the grandchildren of the first settlers, and that some of the children of the first pioneers were among the first settlers of both the lands between this place and the Delaware river, and a few miles down the same in the north part of New Jersey. One daughter of Jacob Cuddeback, one of Van Inwe- gen, one of Swartwout, and a sister of the second Pe- ter Gumaer's wife, were among the first settlers be- tween this place and the Delaware ; and one son and four daughters of Cuddeback were among the first in the north of New Jersey.
There were two neighborhoods in this town, one of which, formerly known by the name of Peenpack neighborhood, extended southwest to the old county line, formerly between Orange and Ulster counties, and the other extended from that line southwest to the Delaware river, and was in the first instance desig- nated " over the river neighborhood," in consequence - of its population then being principally on the east side of the river, but after the increase of inhabitants on the west side of the river the whole district was generally termed " the lower neighborhood."
ANCIENT FAMILIES
OF THE
PEENPACK NEIGHBORHOOD.
FAMILY OF JACOB CUDDEBACK AND WIFE, MARGARET PRO- VOST-(Jacob Cuddeback lived to be about 100 years old.)
First son, Benjamin Cuddeback, never married. He, in the first instance, lived with his brother William, and afterwards with his nephew, Benjamin Cuddeback. (Lived to be about 80 years old.)
Second son, William Cuddeback, married Jemima Elting, daughter of Elting of the Old Paltz. He became owner of his father's farm, and resided on the premises afterwards occupied by his son, Captain Cuddeback. (Lived to be about 74 years old.)
Third son, James Cuddeback, married Neelje Decker, daughter of Christopher Decker, of Shipikunk, in the north part of New Jersey, where Cuddeback became a resident. (Died about 30 years of age.)
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