USA > New York > Columbia County > Hillsdale > A history of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York : a memorabilia of persons and things of interest, passed and passing > Part 2
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
houses, Birdsalls, and others in West Hillsdale ; Fosters, Pixleys, and others in South Hillsdale ; Stebbins, Bryans, Collins, and others in East Hillsdale ; and Wagers, Mc- Kinstrys, and others in Hillsdale centre. All were char- acterized for their industry, economy aud thrift. But in their social relations the whiskey flask and the cider pitcher was an indispensable accompaniment, as it was universally over the whole country. In 1808 the Rev. Libbius Armstrong, and forty-one others, established a temperance society upon principles of moral suasion, in the town of Moreau, in the county of Saratoga. They asked no aid from the civil power ; they did not desire to wield either sword or sceptre; they looked to the aid of the patriot, the Christian and philanthropist, upon which to base their everlasting foundation. That organization was extended to every State in the Union, under such leaders as Mr. Delavan and Chancellor Walsworth, in New York, and Mr. Frelinghuysen, in New Jersey, and Chief Justice Marshall, in Virginia, and Mr. Everett and Justin Ed- wards, in Massachusetts. By its Quarterly Review, pub- lished in May, 1833, it had 1,500,000 members in the Uni- ted States ; 229,617 in the State of New York-4,607 in Columbia county, and 220 in the town of Hillsdale-deter- mined men, with Dr. B. House and Dr. S. J. Aylesworth for President and Secretary, under whose influence there were only three licensed taverns in the town, and those were very respectable, and intoxicated men were very rarely seen. The daily liquor rations to sailors in the Navy and soldiers in the Army were discontinued by offi- cial authority, and of 1,107 men in the Mediterranean Squadron, 800 became voluntary members of that tem- perance society. Subsequently, under Boston rum influ- ence, the temperance cause was made a political side issue, and its decline and fall in the whole country -- and in Hills- dale in particular-is before the world, and I shall avoid the pain of recording it.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
In writing a history of Hillsdale I desire to disclose the merits of the people, and not to draw frailties from their dread abode. If the people will assist me, I will make it a matter of special interest to them. If they will be so good throughout the town as to send me their names and date of their births and marriages, and the names and dates of birth of their wives and children, and be- tween what points on the roads they reside, and such other matter as they may be pleased to include I will add all my sources of information, and will let Mr. H. S. John- son, or some other equally worthy man, compile and pub- lish the whole in a volume, excluding every thing person- ally offensive ; and for such purpose I am willing to incur a liberal expense. Perhaps it would be well to have some of our prominent citizens meet in council upon this subject and form a town historical and genealogical society.
CHAPTER V.
HISTORICAL DIVISIONS-OLD ROADS AND WHO LIVED ALONG THEM-ASSESSMENT LAWS.
Four Divisions of the History- First, forty-eight years, 1725-1773 - Second, twenty years, 1773-1793-Third, thirty years, 1788-1818- Fourth, sixty-four years, 1818-1882-Old Bye-roads-Levi Williams -Captain John Collin-James Bryan, Esq .- Tibbits-Loucks' Spring -Present Law of Assessment for Road Tax.
The History of Hillsdale should be divided into several different periods: first, forty-eight years, between 1725 and 1773, when Massachusetts and New York were dis- puting jurisdiction; second, twenty years, between 1773 and 1793, while the occupants of land under Massachu- setts jurisdiction were contesting the manor title; third, thirty years, from 1788 to 1818. while Hillsdale was composed of five miles square, called Nobletown, and five miles square, called Spencertown; fourth, sixty- four years, from 1818 to 1882, when its dimensions have been as now, with the exception that our august Board of Supervisors, having come to the conclusion that Van Rensselaer and Livingston did not know where the boundary lines were which constituted the southern limits of the town, have set a small portion over to the town of Copake. The occupation of early roads in the town, while providing a fund of amusement for the social cir- cle, is hardly worth more than a general notice, many of them have entirely disappeared, while others have been
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
much improved by alterations. The east and west road, in the southern part of the town, passed the late residence of Levi Williams, where a tavern was kept by a man of the name of June. On a branch from that road, passing near the present Huggins grist mill, was a resident hold- ing under the Massachusetts title, who, about 1788, sold his possession to Captain John Collin, who built a dam across the stream for churning purposes. Captain Collin sold the possession to James Bryan, Esq., who long used the water power for wool-carding and cloth-dressing. About a half mile further, in a northeasterly direction, on the same road, was an occupant under the Massachusetts jurisdiction, of the name of Tibbitts, who had a son pos- sessing a surprising natural mathematical talent. A branch on the same road extended about one-fourth of a mile in an easterly direction to the residence of a man by the name of Loucks, near a spring of remarkably cool, pure water, which now supplies eight fields, two ar- tificial fish ponds, one residence and one barn yard with water. The main road passing Mr. Tibbitts', ran about one-fourth of a mile in a northerly direction to the resi- dence of a man holding under Massachusetts jurisdic- tion, who sold his possession to Captain John Collin, who, after having obtained the manor title, erected mills and a spacious dwelling house upon it, which was the place of my birth, and is my present residence, with an entirely different road passing it.
The laws under which the present roads in the town are now established appear to be but imperfectly under- stood, and it may be well to make a brief reference to them. Commissioners of Highways are required to lay out the roads in the town into convenient road districts, the laying out or altering of which is to be done at least ten days before the annual town meeting. They are to assign to those districts the inhabitants liable to work, having regard to proximity of residence, and are annually
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
to account to the Board of Town Auditors for all moneys received by them. The commissioners are to assess upon the inhabitants of the town three times as many days' labor upon the roads as there are taxable inhabitants in the town, to which the Overseers of Highways are anthor- ized in their discretion to add one-third on any or all their districts. Each male citizen in a town, without re- gard to circumstances, is presumed to be interested in the roads to the value of one day's work, and is, there- fore, to be assessed one day. The residne of the work on the road, accruing under either the jurisdiction of the commissioner or overseer, to be assessed upon property in proportion as it shall appear in the assessment roll. Should any property be left out of the assessment roll the commissioner is authorised to tax it. Should any resident of a road district be left out of the road warrant, the overseer is authorized to tax him. Should any num- ber of the road districts, for want of numbers, or wealth, or for any other cause, require extra help, the commis- sioner is authorized to extend such help to the value of two hundred and fifty days, to be assessed upon the prop- erty of the town, and to be accounted for to the Board of Town Auditors. Should more help be required by cer- tain road districts, the commissioner can be authorized by a special vote of the people of the town to extend such help to a further sum not exceeding seven hundred and fifty dollars, to be expended and accounted for as above provided. A more judicious system of road improve- ments can scarcely be conceived. 2*
CHAPTER VI.
ANCESTRY OF MRS. RUTH HOLMAN JOHNSON-ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST OF THE COLONISTS.
Mrs. Ruth Holman Johnson-Isaac Johnson, "One of the Founders of Massachusetts"-Arabella, His Wife. Daughter of Thomas, Fourth Earl of Lincoln-His Grandson, Isaac Johnson. Born 1668-His Son, Benja- min Johnson, Born 1711 His Son, William, Born 1753, Died in Hills- dale 1818-His Daughter, Ruth Holman, Born 1780, Married John Collin 1798 - Their Children.
In writing the History of Hillsdale I shall, of course, write the history of the churches in the town. Mrs. Ruth Holman Johnson, having been one of the earliest members of the Methodist Church, and having continued to be such over seventy years, till the day of her death, a brief allusion to her history and that of her ancestry, may not be out of place.
The first of that ancestry in this country was Isaac Johnson, who is described in " Drakes History of Amer -. ican Biography," as follows: "He was one of the found- ers of Massachusetts; born in Clipham, Rutlandshire, England; died in Boston, September 30, 1630. He came over with Governor Winthrop, arriving at Salem June 12th, 1630." He was one of the four who founded the first church at Charlestown, July 30th, and on September 7th he conducted the first settlement of Boston. He was a good and wise man, and was the wealthiest of the colo- nists. Arabella, his wife, was the daughter of Thomas, the fourth Earl of Lincoln. She accompanied her hus-
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band to New England and died in Salem, August 30th, 1630. In honor of lier, the name of the Eagle (Win- throp's ship) was changed to the Arabella. His grand- son, Isaac Johnson, born in Hingham, Mass., in 1668, married Abigael, widow of Isaac Lazell, and daughter of John Leavitt; died 1730. He was a captain, a magis- trate, and four years a representative in the Massachu- setts Legislature. His children were David, Solomon, Daniel, James, Deborah, Sarah, John, Joseph, Benjamin and Mary. His son, Benjamin, born 1711, married Ruth, daughter of John and Ann Quincy Holman, in 1732, and died 1764. His children were Ruth, Benjamin, Rhoda and William. His son, William, born 1753, married Jane Robinson 1779, and died in Hillsdale 1818. His children were Ruth Holman, Sophia, Clynthia, Quincy and Me- linda. His daughter; Ruth Holman, born September 16th, 1780, married John Collin, of Hillsdale, October 23d, 1798. Her children were James, born January 16th, 1800; John Francis, born April 30th, 1802; Sarah Amanda, born April 21st, 1804; Jane Miranda, born Feb- ruary 14th, 1807; Hannah, born December 19th, 1809; Ruth Maria, born March 1st, 1813; Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817; William Quincy, born Novem- ber 22d, 1819; Clynthia, born December 30th, 1822; she died December 2d, 1858, and now sleeps beside many of her kindred in the Hillsdale Rural Cemetery.
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CHAPTER VII
THE HUGENOTS-IMMIGRATE TO AVOID PERSECUTION-A COM- MISSIONED OFFICER-PROFESSOR MORSE.
Captain John Collin-History of Hugenot Immigration -John Collin, from the Province of Poitou, in France-His Grandson, John, Sailed from Milford Haven 1746 and was Never Heard From After-His Son John, Great-grandson of John Collin, of France, born 1732-Commis- sioned a Captain by the British Royal Governor (Tryon) in 1773-Agam Commissioned by George Clinton, Governor of New York -- His Cotem- poraries -His Second Wife the Grandmother of the Distinguished Poetess, Lucretia Maria Davidson, and a Relative of Professor Morse- He died 1809 -His Children.
" By tradition it has ever been understood that the pa- ternal ancestry of Captain John Collin, of Hillsdale, were Hugenots from France. The Rev. Charles W. Baird, of Rye, in Westchester county, New York, in his History of the Hugenot Immigration, has given a history of that ancestry. By the history it appears that John Collin resided in the province of Poitou, in France, and that he married Judith Vallien, of the Isle de Re, an import- ant French naval island. Being Hugenots, their two sons, Paul and Peter, about the year 1695, found it pru- dent to immigrate to avoid deadly persecution. Peter went to South Carolina and Paul to Narragansett, Rhode Island, where, in 1706, his son John was born. In 1730 John was employed by John Merwin, of Milford, Conn.,
* In this portion of the history of the town of Hillsdale and its inhab- itants and pioneer settlers, we give the genealogy of a family the most an- cient and influential that has made its impress on our history. -- Editor.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
to command his vessel (the Swan), which was employed in trading with the West Indies. While thus employed he married Hannah, the danghter of John Merwin. In 1746 he sailed from Milford Haven and was never heard from after, which gave rise to the following poetic effusion:
The moon had twelve times changed its form From glowing orb to cresent wan, 'Midst skies of calm and scowl of storm Since from the port that ship had gone; But ocean keeps its secrets well, And now we know that all is o'er-
No eye hath seen, no tongue can tell His fate - he ne'er was heard of more.
Oh! were his tale of sorrow known, 'Twere something to the broken heart,
The pangs of doubt would then be gone, And fancies endless dreams depart. It may not be there is no ray By which his fate we may explore;
We only know he sailed away And ne'er was seen or heard of more.
He left two sons, John and David, and their grand- father, John Merwin, under that business proclivity which has ever characterized the Merwin and Collin kindred, bound them out as apprentices to learn trades. The in- dentures, now preserved among the family papers, were drawn with great minuteness and care. John was bound to a cabinetmaker, and a enrl maple table of his make is now nightly surrounded by a social circle of his kindred in the town of Hillsdale. He was born on the 15th of July, 1732. He married Sarah Arnold, of Dutchess coun- ty, N. Y., September 16th, 1754, by whom he had three children, viz .: Anthony, born February 24th, 1760; Han- nah, born June 7th, 1763, and John, born September 19th, 1772. In 1773 he received a captain's commission from the British Royal Governor (Tryon), and in 1777 he re- ceived a captain's commission from the Governor of New 3
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
York (George Clinton). He was a prominent actor in all of the public enterprises of the day. He was a prom- inent actor in settling the controversy between the inhab- itants of Hillsdale holding under the Massachusetts an- thority and the manor title. He was a prominent actor in the establishment of turnpike roads, of which the Columbia turnpike was one and the Susquehanna was another. Much of the stock of the latter is still held by his kindred. He was a prominent actor in a lessee land company, some of which land is now occupied by his kindred. His house for a time was the residence of Elisha Williams while aiding Williams in the settlement of important business. He was the cotemporary of Alex- ander Hamilton, William W. Van Ness and Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer, rendering to and receiving from them reciprocal favors. His wife, Sarah, died December 29th, 1791, and he married Deidama Morse Davidson, May 12th, 1792. She was the grandmother of the distinguished poetess, Lucretia Maria Davidson, and relative of Pro- fessor Morse, the immortal inventor of the electric tele- graph. Though a mechanic by education, he adopted farming as an occupation for a time in Dutchess county. He afterwards bought, and lived for a time, on what was called the Birdsall farm, in Hillsdale, upon which John Higgins lived and died. He then bought and occupied the farm for eighteen years upon which his grandson, John F. Collin, now resides. He died August 21st, 1809. His son Anthony was a soldier in the war of the Revolu- tion, and was made a prisoner by the army of Sir Henry Clinton in 1777, and died in captivity. His daughter Hannah married Thomas Truesdell, October 8th, 1781, and died in Hillsdale June 26th, 1817. His son John married Ruth Holman Johnson, October 23d, 1798, and died in Hillsdale December 28th, 1833. His children were: James, born January 16th, 1800, and died Decem- ber 16th, 1861; Sarah Amanda, born April 21st, 1804,
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
and died 1867; Jane Miranda, born February 14th, 1807, and died February 4th, 1879; Ruth Maria, born March 1st, 1813, and died June, 1838; William Quincy, born November 22d, 1819, and died July 30th, 1822; Clynthia A., born December 30th, 1822, and died August 5th, 1828; Hannah, born December 19th, 1809, and Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817, both of whom are residing in Mt. Vernon, in the county of Lynn, Iowa; and John Francis, born April 30th, 1802, and, as heretofore stated, is now residing on the old family homestead in Hillsdale. Ruth Holman Collin, their mother, was born September 16th, 1780, died December 2d, 1868.
CHAPTER VIII.
MORE COLLIN ANCESTRY - THE FRENCH WAR - ATTACK ON FORT TICONDEROGA-FAMILIES OF MEANS.
David Collin -- A Lieutenant in the British Army During the French War -His House Plundered by Robbers During the Revolutionary War- Died in 1824, Aged 90 Years-His Children -Hannah Collin-Settled in Hillsdale on the Farm Now Occupied by Levi Coon-David Collin, Jr .- Resided on the Farm Now Occupied by Rutsen Hunt -Lucy Col- lin, Settled in Hillsdale Near the Turnpike, Two Miles East of the Village-Sally Collin - James Collin.
David Collin, son of John and Hannah Merwin Collin, born in Milford, Conn., February 19th, 1734, and baptized with his older brother in the Congregational Church, May 16th, 1737, was married to Lucy Smith, of Dutchess county, February 19th. 1764, by whom he had two chil- dren -- Hannah, born February, 1765, and David, born February 22d, 1767. Mrs. Lucy having died March 15th, 1767, he married Esther Gillett, January 19th, 1772, by whom he had three children-Lucy, born February 28th, 1773 ; Sally, born 1775, and James, born April 5th, 1777. He had been a lieutenant in the British army during the French war and was present at an unsuccessful attack upon Fort Ticonderoga. During the war of the Amer- ican Revolution his house was plundered by a band of robbers, who treated his family with great cruelty, tor- turing him and them in order to find property. By his industry and prudence he acquired great wealth, and lived to a great age, and died May 8th, 1824.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
Hannah Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Smith Collin, born in Dutchess county in 1765, married Squire Sherwood, and settled in Hillsdale on the farm near Hillsdale village, now occupied by Levi Coon, where she died at an advanced age, leaving five children-Esther, Hannah, Sally, Lucy and Susan, all of whom have since married and died, and have left very interesting families.
David Collin, son of David and Lucy Smith Collin, born at Amenia, in Dutchess county, February 22d, 1767, mar- ried Lucy Bingham, March 27th, 1791, and died in Fay- etteville, N. Y., June 2d, 1844. He had settled and re- sided in Hillsdale, about two miles north of the village, on the farm now ocenpied by Rutsen Hunt. By his industry and prudence he acquired great wealth. His children were Harry, Lucy, David, Harriet, Lee, Hannah, Solo- mon B., Amanda and Norton, all of whom by their in- dustry and prudence have added to the wealth they in- herited, and their families have been among the most respectable in the community. Lucy Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, married Elijah Burton, January 3d, 1796, and settled in Hillsdale, near the turn- pike road, about two miles east of the village. She died June 30th, 1847. She has had eleven children-Collin, Ely, Belinda, Lucinda, Harriet, Henry, Miranda, Benson, David, George T. and Julia A., all of whom have main- tained respectable positions in society.
Sally Collin, daughter of David and Esther Gillett Collin, born in Dutchess county, 1755, and married Douglass Clark, a much respected and wealthy citizen of that county. They have had six children-Perry, Henry, Olive, Sally, Caroline and Emeline, who are fill- ing interesting positions in society.
James Collin, son of David and Esther Gillett Collin, born April 15th, 1777, and married Lydia Hamlin, April 12th, 1804, and died July 15th, 1856. He, too, by his industry and prudence, had acquired a large property. 3
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
His children were : Eli, James H., Lydia L., Julia, Ann, Caroline, Cordelia, Aulia and David N., all of whom have been highly respected and all whom are still among the living and enjoying the wealth they inherited.
CHAPTER IX.
GENERAL FREMONT-NOTED TAVERN-KEEPERS-PUGILISTIC EXHIBITIONS-THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.
Bogardus-Dr. Caleb Benton -Squire Sherwood-James Bryan's Tavern House -- Colonel Chase Mckinstry -Samuel Mallory -Ebenezer Sonle -Bartholomew Williams -- William Tanner - Jonathan C. Olmstead- Edward Bagely-John Nooney-Aaron Reed-Isaac Foster -Ainos Knapp-Artemus Johnson.
When Massachusetts had yielded its claim to Hills- dale, and Robert Noble had removed to Great Barring- ton, his sceptre descended to a Mr. Bogardus, occupying the premises upon which Levi Coon now resides, from whom it descended to Dr. Caleb Benton, who, possessing talents and wealth, and being a physician such as of whom Homer sung:
A good physician skilled our wounds to heal Is more than armies in the public weal,
he exercised a large influence in the town. He twice represented the county in the State Legislature. He sub- sequently moved to Catskill, where he died. His son Lewis became District Attorney in Green county, and was an applicant for a military commission in the Mexi- can War, but failed to convince the War Department that he possessed the requisite qualifications, though the Rev. John McCarty as chaplain, and a Mr. Mckinstry as lieu- tenant, from Columbia county, did obtain appointments
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
and distinguished themselves in the service, the one re- maining in such service till his recent death, and the other on the staff of General Fremont, passed from ser- vice when that General lost his prestige in the late civil war. From Caleb Benton the premises in Hillsdale passed to Squire Sherwood, who had married Hannah Collin, the daughter of David and Lucy Smith Collin. The premises adjoining on the east, now occupied by Dr. Henry Cornell, became the property of James Bryan, who kept a noted tavern house. He was the first super- visor in the town, and was elected five successive years ; he was also for many years a magistrate in the town of Hillsdale. His son Samuel became a distinguished tavern keeper in the city of Hudson : his son Jolm was a mem- ber of the State Legislature in 1821; his son James was also, for some years, a magistrate in the town of Hillsdale ; his daughter married John Cronkhyte, and lived for many years on the farm now owned by Leonard John- son. As a magistrate, he had often occasion to try cases of assault and battery that had occurred on his premises ; and cases occurred there in which men with obscured sight and blackened faces found it desirable to spend a few days at the residence of a kind neighbor before pre- senting themselves to their amazonian wives. On the rise of land some thirty rods west of that tavern house was the district school-house, two stories high, in which, in consequence of the extent of district and prolific popu- lation, forty scholars were usually in daily attendance. The frequent pugilistic exhibitions at the tavern house induced the scholars to learn the art scientifically, which they sometimes carried to such excess as to introduce them to a birchen acquaintance. The upper part of that school-house was occupied as a masonic lodge, and a large number of the most respectable men of the town were among its members; but they usually became so vivacious at their meetings that their wives rose in re-
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
.
bellion, and the institution, in consequence, languished for many years.
After James Bryan, for nine successive years, Colonel Charles Mckinstry represented the town of Hillsdale in the Board of Supervisors, and then for two years repre- sented the county in the State Legislature. Residing at the easterly foot of the Cakeout Hills, his home was near the centre of the town, while it was composed of the Nobletown and Spencertown sections. Of course all the prominent public business of the town, civil and military, was done there, to accommodate which, he kept a noted tavern, and, while occupying prominent civil offices, was the colonel of the town regiment One of his daughters married Judge Boen Whiting, of Geneva, Ontario county, N. Y., and one married Judge Augustus Tremain, of Hills- dale, and one married Judge Henry Loop, of Great Bar- rington, Mass., and his son Justus was successively the partner of three of the most prominent lawyers in Colum- bia county. After Charles Mckinstry, the town of Hills- dale, for thirteen years, was represented in the Board of Supervisors by its Spencertown branch ; for nine of those years it was represented by Samuel Mallery and for three years by Ebenezer Soule, and one year by Bartholomew Williams. For the two next years the town was repre- sented by William Tanner, of Green River Hollow. His son was an officer in the infantry company that marched to the relief of Plattsburgh in the war of 1812. For the next two years the town was represented by Jonathan C. Olmstead, of Green River, and the next year by Edward Bagley, who lived in East Hillsdale at the present resi- dence of Rufus White, at which place his son Oliver was long a merchant, and was succeeded by John Nooney, one of the most active business men of the town, who had previously as a merchant been in partnership with Aaron Reed, Isaac Foster, Amos M. Knapp, and with Artemus Johnson in the cloth-dressing and wool-carding business. 4
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