USA > New York > Orange County > Deerpark > A history of the Minisink Region : which includes the present towns of Minisink, Deerpark, Mount Hope, Greenville, and Wawayanda in Orange County, New York. > Part 11
USA > New York > Orange County > Mount Hope > A history of the Minisink Region : which includes the present towns of Minisink, Deerpark, Mount Hope, Greenville, and Wawayanda in Orange County, New York. > Part 11
USA > New York > Orange County > Minisink > A history of the Minisink Region : which includes the present towns of Minisink, Deerpark, Mount Hope, Greenville, and Wawayanda in Orange County, New York. > Part 11
USA > New York > Orange County > Greenville > A history of the Minisink Region : which includes the present towns of Minisink, Deerpark, Mount Hope, Greenville, and Wawayanda in Orange County, New York. > Part 11
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Population in 1855, 1,735, and in 1865, 1,977-an in- crease of 242. Number of acres of land assessed in the town in 1865, 16,576 ; assessed value thereof, $510,450; personal property, $123,424.
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CHAPTER XIII.
TOWNS OF WAWAYANDA AND GREENVILLE.
WAWAYANDA .- The causes which led to the forma- tion of this town from a part of the old town of Minisink are quite difficult to discern at the present time ; in fact like many another change in times past, it would per- haps puzzle the originators of the scheme themselves to account for it. It was doubtless the result of some political party movement, since its completion has not added materially to the welfare of the citizens of the two towns, in a pecuniary point of view. The legis- lature of the State in 1848 and 1849, conferred the power of erecting and dividing towns (previously held by the State) on the Board of Supervisors, and the division of Minisink was among the first that took place under the new act. At the Town Meeting in the spring of 1849, the following notice was given of an intention to apply for a division of the town:
"Notice is hereby given that the undersigned free- holders of the town of Minisink, Orange county, will make application to the Board of Supervisors at their next annual meeting for the division of said town, to form a new town out of that part of the town compri- sing the first election district."
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السوق
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TOWN OF WAWAYANDA.
(SIGNED) Usher H. Case,
Jacob Harding, David Carr, · P. W. Sloat,
Martin L. Mapes,
Isaac Denton,
J. S. Slawson,
George W. Murray,
Theophilus Dolsen,
S. Sergeant,
S. Stewart, T. B. Denton,
Jonathan Bailey,
Alfred Wood,
Gabriel Little,
D. T. Hulse,
S. F. Gardiner,
B. F. Bailey,
R. A. Elmer,
Hiram Phillips.
The Board of Supervisors was composed as follows:
D. H. Moffat, Chairman, Blooming Grove, Whig. Daniel Fullerton, Minisink, Whig.
Augustus P. Thompson, Mount Hope, Whig. David Swartout, Deerpark, Whig.
William V. N. Armstrong, Warwick, Whig.
Morgan Shuit, Monroe, Whig.
Odell S. Hathaway, Newburgh, Whig.
William Jackson, Hamptonburgh, Whig.
Lindley M. Ferris, Montgomery, Whig. 1
Hezekiah Moffat, Chester, Whig.
Augustus Thompson, Crawford, Democrat. Richard M. Vail, Goshen, Democrat.
Abraham Vail, Jr., Wallkill, Democrat.
James Denniston, Cornwall, Democrat. James R. Dickson, New Windsor, Democrat.
On the 27th day of November (1849) the matter was brought before the Board on motion of Mr. Fullerton of Minisink, the petitioner for the division, the maps and survey of the proposed new town, made by Dr. D. C. Hallock, having been previously presented by him. He then proposed to name the town "Wawayanda,"
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HISTORY OF THE MINISINK REGION.
after the old Indian patent upon which it is located; the name being an Indian word, used by an Indian while standing on a hill, defining the boundaries of the tract to the early settlers, and supposed to mean " way over yonder."
Mr. Fullerton then moved the passage of the bill, which was seconded by Mr. Ferris, when the house was called by towns and voted as follows :
Ayes-D. H. Moffat, Hezekiah Moffat, Lindley M. Ferris, Daniel Fullerton, Wm. V. N. Armstrong, A. P. Thompson, David Swartout, William Jackson, Odell S. Hathaway, Morgan Shuit.
Nays-R. M. Vail, Abraham Vail, Jr., James Dennis- ton, James R. Dickson, Augustus Thompson.
It was therefore declared carried.
The town is bounded on the east by the town of Goshen, south by Warwick and Minisink, west by Greenville, and north by Mount Hope and Wallkill. Rutger's creek forms part of the boundary line on the south, and the Wallkill on the east and south-east.
The principal villages are, Hampton on the Erie Railway, Ridgebury and Brookfield in the central part of the town, Gardnersville in the southern, and Millsburgh and Centreville in the south-western portion.
Hampton is a small village owing its importance to the fact that it is the only station in the town on the rail- road. Its public buildings consist of a hotel, three stores, tin shop, &c. There are grist mills a short dis- tance below, at Phillipsburg, on the Wallkill ; also a hotel and store about half a mile south, at Denton.
Ridgebury is said to have taken its name from thie Presbyterian church first erected at that place, which was so called from the number of berries that grew on
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TOWN OF WAWAYANDA.
a neighboring ridge, still known as " whortleberry hill." It is an old established place, and the site of the village was owned in 1800 by Benjamin Dunning, Jonathan Bailey, Benjamin Howell, Isaac Decker and others. John Dunken, killed at the battle of Minisink, was from this locality. John Hallock, Sr., James Hulse, Benj. Smith, Moses Overton, Noyes Wickham, Richard Ellison and Charles Durland, were early settlers in the neigh- borhood. The business part of the village at present is a hotel and store.
Brookfield is undoubtedly named from its proximity to a brook, which nearly surrounds it. It was early settled, and before the construction of the Erie Railway was a place of some notoriety, having a printing office, grist mill, plaster mill, saw mill, tannery, &c. At pres- ent it has but one hotel and store.
Gardnersville is named after Ira Gardner, who for- merly owned the mills and kept store at the place. It is situated on Rutger's kill, and has a grist mill, saw mill and one or two stores.
Millsburgh and Centreville are but a short distance apart, both situated on the outlet of the Binnewater pond. Millsburgh was formerly called Racine, after Mr. John Racine, who resided there. It is also known with Centreville as Wells' Corners. Two grist mills, two saw mills and two stores make up the business portion of the two places.
OLD FAMILIES OF WAWAYANDA.
HALLOCK .- The ancestor of this family, John Hallock, Sr., came from England before the Revolutionary war, and settled at Mattatuck, Long Island. At the com- mencement of the war he was doing military duty on
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HISTORY OF THE MIMISINK REGION,
the Island, and left it when it was captured by the English. He then removed to Oxford, in Orange county, and was in the military service some time in the Highlands. His brother Daniel was acting as his substitute at the capture of Fort Montgomery in .1777, and narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. In 1783 he purchased two hundred acres of land of John Scott, just south of the present village of Ridgebury. The land extended west and included the site of the village of Brookfield. He gave the lot upon which the Old School Baptist church stands in that place. Eager says (page 416) that when he was building his log cabin he fell short of nails, and in order to raise funds, traded off a good new hat for one of less value, and purchased the nails with the difference. His son, John Hallock, Jr., was a man of ability, and very quick witted, with a fund of perpetual good humor. These qualities brought him before the public, and he was elected to offices of various grades in the old town of Minisink (before its division)-Justice of the Peace, Town Clerk, and a number of terms as Supervisor, all of which duties he discharged with energy and integrity. He was after- ward elected twice a member of the State Legislature, also a member of the 19th and 20th Congresses. His former residence is now owned by Mr. Randall Stivers, of Ridgebury. His son, Dr. Dewitt C. Hallock, inherited a large share of his father's talents. He held two or three terms as Town Clerk of Minisink, and after the town of Wawayanda was set off, was elected Super- visor of the new town in 1852 and 1853. He was said to be a good surveyor, had an extensive practice as a physician, and was noted for his extraordinary powers as a violinist, in which he was said to excel any player in the State.
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TOWN OF WAWAYANDA.
DOLSEN .- This family is said to be of Dutch origin. Eager says (p. 412) that there is a family tradition to the effect that the first male child born in New Amster- dam (now New York) was a Dolsen. . The first of the name in this town was Isaac Dolsen, who came from Fishkill, in Duchess county, in 1756, and purchased seven hundred acres in what is now known as Dolsen- . town. . He was a millwright by trade, and married Polly Huzzy of New Jersey. He died in 1795, leaving two children, James and Isaac. Isaac was never married. James married Phebe Mecker, and their children were James, Asa, Samuel, Polly and Abby. The Indians com- mitted some depredations near Dolsentown in the French and Indian war. The wife of David Cooley, whose farm joined Dolsen's, was shot by the Indians between the oven and house, and tradition says that her blood, which bespattered the stones, remained there for years, resisting all efforts of the rain to wash it out. The scene of this tragedy is now owned by the heirs of Capt. John Cummings.
DAVIS .- The original settler in this vicinity by that name was Joshua Davis, Sr., who settled on the farm now owned by Col. William C. Carpenter, about a mile and a-half south of Brookfield, some time previous to . the year 1780. He built the stone dwelling-house on this farm about 1787, which would make it at the present time seventy-nine years old. It is still standing in good condition-a monument of the stability of old- time workmanship-and likely to remain so for years to come. Mr. Davis was the driver of the first vehicle on wheels that ever passed over the road from Goshen through Ridgebury. This was a rude two wheeled ox- cart, and no doubt was considered a great innovation by the few settlers in these parts, the road being then amere
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HISTORY OF THE MINISINK REGION.
path. He left four daughters and two sons-Joshua and James. Joshua married a daughter of Noah Terry, Esq., and James, a Mrs. Decker whose husband went to Nova Scotia after the conclusion of the Revolution. The only one of the daughters married, married Richard Ferguson, Esq., whose father was an early settler in this section and built the mills at Gardnersville now owned by C. W. Fowler, Esq. By this marriage they had eight children-five daughters and three sons. One daughter married George Jackson, Esq., and their descendants generally reside in the town. One married Charles Reeve, Esq., of Newburgh, one Ellison, Esq., and one - Hoyle, Esq., whose descendants mostly reside in the State of Ohio.
Lawrence Ferguson, Esq., married a daughter of Charles Durland, and at present resides in the town of Minisink. (For many of the above items relating to this family we are indebted to Miss Julia Ferguson, of Newburgh.)
Joseph Davis, Esq., late President of the Middletown Bank, formerly Assemblyman from this district, and Supervisor of this town for several years, if we are informed correctly, is of another family. He married a daughter of - Decker, Esq., of Minisink. The male line of his family became extinct a few months since by the death of his only son, Henry E. Davis, Esq.
DENTON .- Rev. Richard Denton was the first ancestor, and came to Boston, Massachusetts, with Gov. Winthrop, in the year 1630. He preached in Watertown, Mass., and afterwards at Weathersfield and Stamford, Conn., until 1644, when he emigrated with a number of his congregation and commenced the settlement of Hemp- stead, Long Island. He was a graduate of Cambridge, England, and settled as minister of Coley Chapel, Hali-
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TOWN OF WAWAYANDA.
fax, before coming to America. He returned to Eng- land and died there in 1662, aged seventy-six years. He left five sons -- Richard, Samuel, Daniel, Nathaniel' and John. John removed to Orange county. James, his son, had four sons-Amos, Thomas, William and John. The last named located on what was called the old Carpenter farm in Goshen. He had three wives and fourteen children. His first wife was Jane Fisher, of Long Island; his second, Elizabeth Wisner, daughter of Henry Wisner, Esq., of Wallkill ; and his third, Mary Gale, daughter of Hezekiah Gale, who lived near what is now called Lagrange. One of his daughters married Jason Wilkin, of the last named place. Before what is now known as the village of Denton came into the possession of the Denton family, Thaddeus B. and Henry W. Denton, it was called the Outlet. Elisha Eldridge, from New England, built a store and tavern there (the first) about the commencement of the Revo- lution. Previous to that time it was owned by Richard Carpenter. It is now mostly owned by Theodore J. Denton, and Reuben C. Mead, who married a sister of Theodore's. At present they are probably among the wealthiest citizens of the town.
HOWELL .- In 1800 an early settler by the name of Benjamin Howell resided near Ridgebury, but we believe that at present none of his descendants are" living in the town. John Howell, a brother of his, must have moved to this town at about the year 1778. He was an old sailor-had been on one or two whaling voyages to the Arctic Regions, besides numerous trips to other shores " before the mast" of a merchantman. He also served as a soldier in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution. He was in the bat- tle of Minisink, 1779, and among the few that escaped: 8
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HISTORY OF THE MINISINK REGION.
Before coming to this town he had resided at what is known as Sugar Loaf, in the town of Warwick. He died in 1790, leaving six children, and was buried at the corners, about two miles below Ridgebury, where for years his grave, solitary and alone among the bushes, was a sort of sacred spot to the passer by. Since then others of his connection have gone to their long rest near him, and the whole, ornamented with tasteful monuments and enclosed with a substantial iron fence, now forms one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the town.
One of his daughters married Reuben Cash, another John Roberts, another Eliphalet Stickney, and one, Hepsibah, remained unmarried. The homestead was kept by his two sons, John and Jeffrey. Jeffrey mar- ried a daughter of Peter Corwin, Esq., and had seven children ; but by a strange fatality, all died with the consumption before attaining the age of thirty-two years. Jeffrey died in 1837.
John Howell, Jr., married the widow of Moses Knapp, and sister of Alanson Kimball, Esq., but she was acci- dentally drowned, while crossing the outlet of Binne- water pond, near Pine Ridge, in search of herbs for some medicinal purpose, June 24th, 1834; having been married scarce a year. The male line of this family has become extinct with the death of this last survivor of the family.
CASH .- This family has also become extinct, by the death of James M. Cash, Jr. Reuben Cash, the first mentioned in old annals, was a survivor of the Wyoming Massacre, 1778. He escaped with his mother, and she led him by the hand through the wilderness to Minisink, he being a small boy at the time. He married a daugh- ter of John Howell, Sr., and had nine children. One of
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TOWN OF WAWAYANDA.
his daughters married Roswell Mead, another married Samuel Vail, Sr., another married John E. S. Gardner, and another married Parmenas Horton. Merit H. Cash kept the old homestead. He married a daughter of Joseph Davis, Esq., but had no children. James M. Cash, Sr., married a daughter of - White, Esq., by whom he had one son, who died young, and in whom the name of Cash became extinct as first mentioned. John Morris Cash married a daughter of Ira . Gardner, Esq. Solomon V. R. Cash married a daughter of Joseph Davis, Esq. Selah Cash died quite young, and was never married.
Merit H. adopted the profession of a physician, and became quite a successful one. He held various civil offices in the old town of Minisink before its division, and was elected three times a member of the New York Legislature.
STICKNEY .- William Stickney, the first of the name of whom we have any knowledge, settled at Rowley, Mas- sachusetts, in 1639. One of the name held a colonel's commission in the Revolutionary war, and was at the battle of Bennington under Gen. Stark, as mentioned in Eastman's History of New York (page 230). Eliphalet Stickney, son of Dr. James Stickney, of Newburgh, was the earliest resident of this vicinity, and married a daughter of John Howell, Sr. They had eight children, Erastus, Charles, John, Benjamin, William, Julia, Harriet and Charlotte. The family afterwards removed west, except Erastus and Julia. Erastus married a daughter of Prentice Allyn, Esq., of Sullivan county. He was elected to various civil offices in the town of Minisink before its division, and was elected a member of the New York legislature from Wawayanda in 1857,
MEAD .- Roswell Mead removed to this town, we be-
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HISTORY OF THE MINISINK REGION.
lieve, from New England. He purchased the farm near Brookfield (previously owned by Festus A. Webb, who bought it of Richard Wood, father of Oliver E. and Lewis C. Wood,) now owned by William H. Wood. He married a daughter of Reuben Cash, by whom he had six children. He was elected Supervisor, and held various offices in the town of Minisink, and was also elected a member of the New York legislature in 1842. His sons William H. and Reuben C., still reside in the town. William married a daughter of Joseph Davis, and Reuben, a daughter of Theodorus Denton.
DURLAND .- Charles Durland, the first resident of the town of this name, emigrated to the town some time previous to the year 1800. He first settled near Bush- ville, in the present town of Greenville, when the whole vicinity was a dense forest, and the only road from there to Ridgebury was a narrow path among the brush. He moved from there to near Ridgebury, and for a time kept a public house on the premises now owned by Gilbert H. Budd. In 1800 he resided on the farm now owned by his son, Thomas T. Durland. Daniel and Stewart T. Durland, of Greenville, and Addison Dur- land, of Minisink, are also sons of his. The family is reputed to be very ancient, and of unswerving fidelity to the cause of Independence during Revolutionary times.
HOLBERT .- Peter Holbert, Sr., is the first mentioned in old records. He was elected a member of the New York legislature in 1812, Supervisor of the town of Minisink in 1813, and Town Clerk for one or two terms. His son, Peter Holbert, Jr., married a daughter of Wm. Robertson, and sister of James F. Robertson.
TOOKER .- We are not informed of the exact date the pioneers of this family first came to the town. Samuel Tooker, surveyor, married Catherine, daughter of James
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TOWN OF WAWAYANDA.
Finch, Sr., of Mount Hope, and is the first we have any knowledge of. His son, Charles Tooker, settled near Brookfield, and left two sons, James H. and Samuel S. Tooker. His daughter Julia married James F. Vail, who at present resides on the old homestead near Brook- field. Henry Tucker was elected Town Clerk of Mini- sink in 1791 and 1792, and Supervisor from 1799 to 1807; but as the name is spelled differently, we presume him to have been of another family.
REED .- This is an old established family, of the exact date of whose settlement in the town we are not in- formed. Samuel Reed, Sr., (his father being the origi- nal settler,) died but a few years ago, at a very advanced age. His widow died a few months since, and though a very aged lady, was possessed of a remarkable mem- ory. She distinctly recollected seeing the people go to the Minisink battle in 1779. Three of her neighbors met under an apple tree for that purpose, near her father's house, and though very small at the time, she remembered the parting scene plainly. Two of them perished in the battle, we believe. Daniel Reed was killed in the battle; whether a relative or not is not known.
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WICKHAM .- This family is quite numerous in the town, and are believed to be mostly descendants of Noyes Wickham, who lived near Ridgebury in 1800.
REEVE .- The first of the name mentioned in old records is James Reeve, who escaped from the battle of Minisink with a broken arm. Two of his sons, James M. and John H., still reside in the town. John H. Reeve was elected Supervisor of Wawayanda from 1861 to 1866.
MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY FROM WAWAYANDA.
1857 .
Erastus Stickney.
ก.
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HISTORY OF THE MINISINK REGION.
NAMES OF SUPERVISORS AND TOWN CLERKS OF WAWAYANDA FROM ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1849 TO 1866.
SUPERVISORS.
TOWN CLERKS.
1850-Daniel Fullerton.
1851-Daniel Fullerton.
1852-Dewitt C. Hallock.
1853-Dewitt C. Hallock.
1854-Joseph Davis.
1855-Joseph Davis.
1856-Gideon W. Cock.
1857-Joseph Davis.
1858-Joseph Davis.
1859-Joseph Davis.
1860-Joseph Davis.
John M. Howell.
1861-John H. Reeve.
James L. Mills.
1862-John H. Reeve.
1863-John H. Reeve.
John M. Howell.
1864-John H. Reeve.
Oliver Lewis.
1865-John H. Reeve.
William H. Wood.
1866-John H. Reeve.
Charles E. Stickney.
The first town meeting was held at D. C. Hallock's, Brookfield.
Population in 1855, 2,069; and in 1865, 1,906-a de- crease of 163.
Number of acres of land assessed in 1865, 19,677; assessed value, $706,250; personal property, $100,770.
TOWN OF GREENVILLE.
The records of this town are somewhat deficient in regard to its early formation. The census of 1855 dates its organization in 1850; but we are inclined to consider it an error, because the first town meeting in the new town is shown by the records to have been held in 1854.
Oliver Lewis.
Oliver Lewis.
Oliver Lewis.
James F. Robertson.
Wilmot C. Terry.
Wilmot C. Terry.
Mathew H. Bailey.
John M. Howell.
John M. Howell.
Holloway W. Stephens.
Oliver Lewis.
2-1881
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أقــرة
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TOWN OF GREENVILLE.
-The town being erected by the Board of Supervisors, it was most probably done at their annual meeting in the fall of the previous year (Dec. 3, 1853.) At that time the Board of Supervisors was composed of the following gentlemen, viz .:
Albert A. Seymour,
Minisink.
Dewitt C. Hallock,
Wawayanda.
Samuel J. Farnum,
Newburgh.
Morgan Shuit,
Monroe.
Henry C. Seeley,.
Warwick.
Calvin Gardner,
Goshen.
J. H. McLaughlin,
Blooming Grove.
Stephen Rapelje,
Montgomery.
Vincent Booth,
Hamptonburgh.
John Denniston,
Cornwall.
Edward L. Norris,
Warwick.
William S. Little,
Mount Hope.
Deerpark.
Halstead Sweet,
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· Wallkill.
The motives that prompted its formation, and the prime movers of it, are alike unknown to us. It was formed from Minisink, Mount Hope and Deerpark; and in 1855 had a population of 1,218; and in 1865, 1,147- a decrease of 41. We are ignorant of the origin of its name, but presume it was named Greenville from its situation-lying as it does mostly along the sunny slopes of the eastern side of Shawangunk Mountain, the fields of which are covered with green verdure the earliest in the year. The name was first applied to a small village near the foot of the mountain; afterwards used in giving a name to the new town. It is bounded on the north by Mount Hope and Deerpark, on the east by Minisink and Wawayanda, on the south by the State of New Jersey, and on the west by Deerpark. Its principal
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HISTORY OF THE MINISINK REGION.
streams are Indigot creek, the source of Rutger's creek, Binnewater pond and its outlet, and the source of Sha- wangunk kill.
The principal village of the town is Greenville, situa- ted in the central part, on the road leading from Goshen to Carpenter's Point. The road crosses the Shawan- gunk, the northwest boundary of the town, at this place. For some time after its first settlement it was called Minisink village. At present it consists of a hotel, store, two churches, &c. Bushville and Centre Point are small villages, but at present no business is carried on in them of any importance.
We are not possessed of much information in regard to the old families of the town: The section of country it includes was undoubtedly not settled as early as some of the more favored localities. For this reason proba- bly its population is mostly made up of the descendants of old established families in adjoining towns. Timothy Wood, probably one of the earliest settlers, was a signer of the Revolutionary pledge in 1775, and his name is mentioned as holding various offices in the early history of the town of Minisink. Arthur Van Tuyle was a signer of the pledge of 1775, and after the organization of the town of Minisink the first town meeting was held at his house, April, 1789. Jacob Quick, Solomon Cuy- kendall, Moses Cortright, Peter Cole and others, who signed the pledge, were probably from this section.
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER FROM GREENVILLE.
1859 .
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Harvey H. Clark.
JUSTICES OF SESSIONS FROM GREENVILLE.
1862
.
Stewart T. Durland.
1863
.
Stewart T. Durland.
1864
.
. Stewart T. Durland.
1865
. Stewart T. Durland.
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TOWN OF GREENVILLE.
NAMES OF SUPERVISORS AND TOWN CLERKS OF GREENVILLE FROM ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1853 To 1866.
SUPERVISORS.
TOWN CLERKS.
1854-Timothy Wood.
Isaac Winters.
1855-Timothy Wood.
Harvey H. Clark.
1856-Isaac M. Seybolt.
W. L. Clark.
1857-Isaac M. Seybolt.
Alfred L. Clark.
Leonard Bell, Jr.
Harvey H. Clark.
1860-Isaac M. Seybolt.
Harvey H. Clark.
1861-Jesse V. Myers.
Stoddard W. Slawson.
1862-Stewart T. Durland.
Albert Shute.
1863-Stewart T. Durland.
Albert Shute.
1864-Isaac M. Seybolt.
Ezra T. Durland.
1865-Harvey H. Clark.
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