Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 189

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 189

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

866

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

A.LITTLE

I G. Davis.

WILLARD G. DAVIS, M. D.

WILLARD G. DAVIS was born in the town of Ware, Hampshire County, Mass. His parents were Benjamin and Theodosia (Barns) Davis, and were of the Puritan stock as far as their genealogy can be traced. The Doctor enjoyed the advan- tages of the district and select schools of Ware, and of the Academy at Sherburn Falls, until his mind had become disciplined and stored with useful knowledge, when, in the early part of 1837, he en- tered upon the study of medicine in Albany with Dr. Robert Bullock, and continued it with Drs. March and Armsby. He graduated at the Albany Medical College in February, 1841. On the sec- ond day of April following, he located in the vi- cinity of Dunnsville, Albany County, and began the practice of his profession, soon establishing an extensive ride, which he has sustained until the present time, during a period of forty-four years. March 3, 1846, he married Mary Ann, daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Aernam) Tygert, of the same neighborhood.

Dr. Davis is a man of positive opinions and great firmness of purpose, and thus has made his

influence felt extensively. His clearness of per- ception, his general knowledge of business, and his acquaintance with human nature render his counsels valuable, and people naturally look to him as a safe adviser. He has ever been an effi- cient member of the church in his vicinity, and his influence and support have aided very much to es- tablish it in its present state of prosperity. He has also been very liberal in his donations to ob- jects of charity, and to institutions for Christian pur- poses, especially to Foreign Missionary Societies.

As a physician, Dr. Davis has always been con- sidered a safe and successful practitioner, and by keeping himself abreast of the times as to the knowledge and application of new remedies he has become of late years more and more useful. His patients feel a full confidence in his ability, and his Christian sympathy is very soothing to the sick and a great solace to those who know that they must die. At all hours of the day or night his best services have been cheerfully and prompt- ly rendered without partiality to the poor and rich alike, and while requiring just compensation from the one class, he has rendered as faithful and will- ing services to the other.

THE TOWNSHIP OF GUILDERLAND.

867

· LITTLE PHILA

S.V. Frederick

STEPHEN V. FREDERICK.

STEPHEN V. FREDERICK was born in Guilderland, on a portion of the Frederick tract on which his father was born, March 17, 1831, a son of Chris- topher and Appalona (Hilton) Frederick; attended common schools in Guilderland, and later was for a time a student at the Fort Edward Institute. He taught school in Knox during the winter of 1856 and 1857. Later he taught in his home district in Guilderland most of the time until 1867. In the meantime he had been elected Supervisor in 1861, and re-elected five times, the last time in the spring of 1866. He was elected Treasurer of Albany County in the fall of 1866, and served in such capacity from the first of January, 1867, to the first of January, 1870. He was a candidate for re-election, but was defeated. Since that time he has devoted his time and attention to the management of liis farm and the settle- ment of several estates which were intrusted to him by friends, whose confidence in him was

such that they insisted upon his undertaking the responsibility.

January 14, 1863, Mr. Frederick married Miss Anna Reid, of New Scotland, who has borne him three daughters. He is of the fifth generation of the descendants of Michael H. Frederick, a Ger- man, who settled in Guilderland on a large tract of land about 1730. His mother's grandfather, Adam Hilton, settled in Guilderland in 1790, and built the old Hilton stone farm-house, which is still standing near Knowersville. His father, Christopher Frederick, who was born in 1793, saw service in the United States army during the war of 1812-14, and was a pensioner of the government until his death in 1880.

Mr. Frederick has in his possession an ancient volume, entitled, "The Young Man's Best Com- panion," which was once the property of his great- grandfather, Adam Hilton. It is a curious book, which was evidently designed as a compendium of instruction or encyclopedic text-book, and bears the finger-marks of several generations of readers.

868

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Thoralme

THOMAS HELME, M. D.

Dr. HELME was born in the town of Guilder- land, October 4, 1832. His grandparents were natives of Rhode Island, and his grandfather served during the Revolutionary war in a regiment from that colony. After American independence had been won he removed to Montgomery County, N. Y. Thomas Helme, Sr., Dr. Helme's father, settled in Guilderland, Albany County, in 1818, and engaged in farming. He was a prominent man in the community, and for about twenty years held the office of Justice of the Peace.

Dr. Helme received his early education in the common schools of Guilderland, and later was a student at Hartwick Seminary, a well-known edu- cational institution of Otsego County, N. Y. He graduated from the Albany Medical School in 1854, and commenced practice in June of that year at Mckownsville, Albany County. In 1861 he was elected School Commissioner of the Third district of Albany County. In 1863 he was com-

missioned Assistant Surgeon of the 148th Regiment, New York State Volunteers. He participated in all the battles of the Army of the James, from Bermuda Hundred to the taking of Fort Harrison, and was wounded in the last-mentioned engagement, Sep- tember 29, 1864. February 25, 1865, he was commissioned Surgeon of the Eighty-fifth Regiment, New York State Veteran Volunteers, and served as such until mustered out of the United States service at Elmira, N. Y., in July, 1865. In 1872 he was again elected one of the School Commissioners of Albany County.

October 4, 1854, Dr. Helme was married to Miss Elizabeth Knowles, of Guilderland, who has borne him eight children, seven of whom are living. Dr. Helme enjoys an enviable professional reputa- tion, and takes high rank among the physicians of Albany County. He has held various offices in the Albany County Medical Society, and for the past four years has been a delegate representing the society at the annual sessions of the New York State Medical Society.

869

THE TOWNSHIP OF KNOX.

We take pleasure in making mention of the fol- lowing citizens who, by their guaranteed support, have helped to insure the publication of this val- uable work : Jesse Crounse, R. F. Barton, Fredk. Crounse, J. H. Heck, A. P. Ludden, Jacob A. Crounse, David F. Van Aken, H. P. Crounse, John Conrad Chism, Conrad H. Crounse, Jas. A. Hilton, Jacob S. Scrafford, Adam S. Westfall, De Witt C. Thomas, Jacob Hallenbeck, John P. Ogsbury, Peter J. Ogsbury, John Munders, John Stafford, Daniel Husen, John Quackenbush, Frank V. Mckown, Willard De Freest, John Cramme, S. H. Lainhart, Abram A. Tygert, W. G. Davis, And. A. Scrafford, Wesley Schoolcraft, Henry C. Hilton, Aaron Fuller, Thomas Tygert, Mina Buzzee, Mrs. Louisa N. Kaley, Mrs. J. H. Gardner, Steven V. Frederick, Addison Van Anken, John H. Pangburn, James A. Crounse, Frederick Van Wie, George Clute, Henry Witherwax, And.

M. La Grange, A. Coss, Jas. R. Main, J. Chris- tian Hein, Chas. A. Hein, Henry E. Drumm, Thos. Holmes, Thomas Helme, Wm. Mckown, J. H. Clute, R. F. Barton, W. P. Strevell.

FRANCIS V. McKowN is a farmer, established in 1852 ; his farm is known as the French Tavern Stand, kept as a hotel for over seventy years, and afterward the hotel, with all the out-buildings, torn down and built new for the accommodation of farming purposes.

REV. A. T. LUDDEN has been for over forty years the pastor of the Lutheran denomination, having served six different charges; he is now stationed at Knowersville, N. Y.

JOHN H. PANGBURN is engaged in the mercantile business at Knowersville, N. Y., where he has been established since April, 1883.

HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF KNOX.

DESCRIPTIVE.

NOX is the northwestern town in Albany Coun-

ty. It is bounded on the north by Schoharie County, on the cast by Guilderland and New Scotland, on the south by Berne, and on the west by Schoharie County. It has an area of over 25,000 acres, and measures about six miles across, north and south and east and west. It is centrally distant about twenty miles from Albany.

The surface of the town consists of a high, un- dulating plateau region, marked by a few small hills. Its eastern part constitutes a portion of the Helderberg region, but the declivities are grad- ual, and give the surface a moderate inclination toward the northwest. The soil is chiefly gravel and clay, with hard pan underneath. Large bould- ers are numerous, and the geological outcroppings in various parts of the town present a very inter- esting study.

Knox, now almost stripped of its timber, was originally covered by a luxuriant growth of pine, birch, maple, oak, ash, basswood, hemlock and other varieties of wood common to the region of which it forms a part.

The principal streams of Knox are the Bozenkill, forming a part of its eastern boundary, and its branches, and Beaver Dam Creek, in the southern part.

About a mile and a quarter north of Knoxville are two caves, supposed to be of considerable ex- tent, which are objects of much interest to many, and about which cluster several picturesque, but scarcely probable, legends, which have been handed down to the present generation of residents, through their ancestors, from the early settlers. Another thing that is often remarked by people who have driven over the road from Knowersville to Knox- ville, is the long stretch of road, some distance from the latter place on the high plateau extending through that part of the town, presenting the ap- pearance of having been paved by nature at a pre- historic time and left for the use of man. The rocks over which this road has its way are flat and quite smooth, and a small amount of cutting here and there would render it one of the evenest. In- deed, it is much preferable, in its natural state, to the average cobble-stone pavements of our cities.

The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad traverses the northeastern corner of the town, with a way- station known as Knox. There are within the boundaries of the town about eighty-five miles of public roads, most of which are kept in excellent condition the year round, a circumstance which, more than any other one thing, evidences the thrift of its citizens.

Thompson's Lake is a small body of water in the southeast part of Knox which extends into the adjoining town of Berne.

870

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

EARLY SETTLEMENT AND PROMINENT CITIZENS.

The first settlers upon the territory now desig- nated as Knox were Germans, who located there some time before the Revolutionary war. Some of them espoused the English cause, and after the de- feat of Burgoyne found temporary refuge in Cana- da. Captain Jacob Van Aernden was an active leader of the Whigs of this section during the strug- gle for independence.

In 1789 Samuel Abbott and Andrew Brown, from Connecticut, settled in this locality, and not long afterward twenty or thirty other families came from the same State. From this period on, the most prominent families in the town were the Browns, Todds, Williamses, Denisons, Crarys, Chesebroughs, Gallups, Frinks, Tabers, Coateses, Gages, Weitzels, Pinckneys, Williamsons, Basslers, Saddlemires, Haverleys, Timmers, Engles, Schoon- makers, Swarts, Sands, Clickmans, Keenholtses and Batchers.

Some of these names are now extinct in the town; but many of them have had representatives in successive generations to the present time. Among the prominent citizens of the town during the period from its organization to 1850 were Mal- achi Whipple, Dr. Erastus Williams, Egbert Schoonmaker, Frederick Bassler, Potter Gage, Alexander Crounse, Charles Chesebro, David Van Aukin, Perez Frink, Henry Denison, P. Witter, Isaac Barber, Daniel Chesebro, John Gallup, Wright Skinner, Dow Van Derker, Henry Wil- liams, Cyrus Chapman, Henry Dane, Daniel Gal- lup, Joseph Gallup, Samuel Russel, Gurden Gal- lup, the Seaburys and Charles Clute, some of whom are still living, and still active in all public affairs. The following named men were the best known and most influential residents of the town about 1850, and for a much later period, and some of them rank among the leading men of Knox at this time: Henry Barckley, Elisha White, John C. Cannady, Joel and Gilbert Gage, Jacob Aucham- paugh, Bemsby Williamson, John Finch, John Allen, Jr., Peter Schoonmaker, Alexander Crounse, John G. Crary, Charles G. Frink, Denison Crary, Alexander Crounse, Jacob P. Hane, John Posson, Conrad Batcher, Gurden Gallup, Anson Tols, John H. Hand, Samuel O. Schoonmaker, Lyman Witter, Frederick Orelup, John H. Sand, Israel Walker, Sylvester Allen, Elias K. Williams, Jacob Kip, Jacob Bronk, Edward Settle, Abram H. On- derdonk, Azer Gallup, Joseph A. Haswell, Henry F. Orelup, Adam Snyder, Cornelius Woolford,

David Van Auken, James Armstrong, Henry Tar- panny, John T. Beebe, Frederick Leh, Isaac N. Crary, John G. Gallup, George W. Stephens, Wil- liam Williamson, Eldridge Chesebro, Amos Crary, Ebenezer Gallup, Stephen Hungerford, Robert Hurst, S. Flansburgh, Thomas Stafford, John V. Schoonmaker, Henry W. Williams, Orange Bee- man, John Bassler, Frederick Clyckman, Matthias Brackley, Jehial White, Conrad Batcher, John F. Sternburgh, John Posson, Jacob Crounse, Evert M. Brackley, Hiram Thousand, James Finch, Peter Swan, 2d, Archibald Scott, David W. Stur- ges, Rodney Wilder, Philip Gifford, Benjamin Lee, Henry Dutcher, Jacob Truax and Willian Daven- port.

The civil list, elsewhere presented, and the notices of the various institutions and interests of the town, contain the names of those who have been fore- most among the citizens of Knox since the date mentioned.

In the troublous times of the Revolution and of the anti-rent struggles, which are referred to at length in the general history of Albany County, some of the pioneers of Knox and their descend- ants bore a part.

CIVIL HISTORY.

The town of Knox was erected by an act en- titled " An Act to Divide the Town of Bern, in the County of Albany," passed February 28, 1822. Its text is as follows:

" I .- Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and As- sembly, That, from and after the first day of March next, all that part of the town of Bern, in the county of Albany, lying south of a line commencing on the west line of the said town of Bern, three chains south of the public road laid from the manor line to Schoharie Court House, and running north eighty-five degrees east, until it intersects the west line of the town of Bethlehem, thirty-eight chains on a course south, five degrees east from the corner of Bethlehem and Guilderland, be and remain a separate town, by the name of Bern ; and all the remaining part of Bern lying north of the aforesaid line be erected into a new town by the name of Knox ; and that the next town meeting in the town of Bern shall be holden at the place where it now stands adjourned, and the next town meeting in the town of Knox be holden on the first Tuesday of March next, at the Presbyterian Meeting House, near Sarah Todd's dwelling house, in said town.

" II .- And be it further enacted, That, as soon as may be after the first Tuesday in April next, the supervisors and overseers of the poor in the towns of Bern and Knox aforesaid shall, by notice given for that by the supervisors thereof, meet together

871

THE TOWNSHIP OF KNOX.

and apportion the poor maintained by the said towns of Bern and Knox, and the poor money belonging to the same, agreeable to the last tax list; and that each of the said towns shall forever thereafter separately support their own poor.'

Much historic material, of great local interest and importance, passed away with the destruction by fire of the records of Knox, covering the period from its organization to the year 1850. At the expense of considerable time and trouble, the fol- lowing list of the supervisors of the town, during the period mentioned, has been obtained:

1822-24, Malachi Whipple ; 1825, Erastus Williams; 1826-31, Egbert Schoonmaker; 1832- 37, Frederick Bassler, Jr .; 1838-39, Egbert Schoon- maker; 1840-42, Potter Gage; 1842-43, Alexander Crounse; 1844-45, Charles Cheesbro; 1846-47, David Van Auken; 1848-49, Perez Frink, Jr.

As is usually the case in agricultural towns, the office of the town clerk of Knox has been at the residence of each successive incumbent. The same misfortune rendered the town clerk homeless and deprived the town of the records of its munic- ipal transactions. From the record made after that event it appears that, at the annual town meeting of 1850, Michael Lee, Daniel Gallup, Abraham Batcher and Stephen Merselis, Jr., were present in their capacity as justices of the peace, and Ephraim N. Bogardus acted as clerk. The meeting was held on the 9th day of April, at the house of Henry Barckley, and the following officers were duly elected :

Lyman Witter, Supervisor; John G. Crary, Town Clerk ; Samuel O. Schoonmaker, Justice of the Peace; John H. Hand, Superintendent of Schools; Anson Tols, Collector; Gurdon Gallup and Conrad Batcher, Overseers of the Poor; John Posson, As- sessor; Jacob P. Hane, Commissioner of Highways; Peter Schoonmaker, Alexander Crounse and John Allen, Jr., Inspectors of Election, District No. 1 ; John Finch, Bemsby Williamson and Jacob Auch- empaugh, Inspectors of Election, District No. 2; Gilbert Gage, Joel Gage, John C. Cannady and Elisha White, Constables.

At this meeting Henry Barckley's house was designated as "The Town House," or place of holding township meetings, for the ensuing year. The town was divided into fifty-six road districts, and the following named persons were chosen overseers of highways:

John Posson, Jacob Crounse, Hiram Thousand, Evert M. Barckley, David W. Sturges, Archibald Scott, Peter Swan, 2d, James Finch, Rodney Wilder, Philip Gifford, Jacob Truax, Henry

Dutcher, William Davenport, Benjamin Lee, Mat- thias Barckley, Jehiel White, John F. Sternburgh, Conrad Batcher, John Bassler, Frederick Clyckman, John Oliver, Orange Beeman, Henry W. Williams, Thomas Stafford, John V. Schoonmaker, Robert Hurst, S. Flansburgh, Stephen Hungerford, Ebenezer Gallup, Alexander Crounse, Amos Crary, William Williamson, Eldridge Cheesbro, George W. Stephens, John G. Gallup, Isaac N. Crary, Frederick Leh, John T. Beebe, James Armstrong, Henry Tarpenny, David Van Auken, Cornelius Woolford, Adam Snyder, Henry F. Orelup, Joseph A. Haswell, Azor Gallup, Abra- ham H. Onderdonk, Edward Settle, Jacob Bronk, Jacob Kipp, Elias R. Williams, Silvester Allen, Israel Walker, John H. Sand and Frederick Orelup.

The following entries appear in the town records for the year 1851:

" In conformity with the statute, the following by-laws are considered necessary by the majority of the electors present:

" Article Ist .- It is ordained by the electors present of the town of Knox, at their annual town meeting, convened and held at the house of Henry Barckley, in and for the town of Knox, and county of Albany, on the 8th day of April, 1851, that the following rules and regulations be adopted as by- laws and ordinances for the said town of Knox.

" Article 2d .- And it is further ordered that the town of Knox shall be divided into three assess- ment districts, and that each district shall be en- titled to one assessor. And that all that part of the town of Knox lying north of the center of the township road, running east and west through the said town, compose the North District. And all that part of said town of Knox lying east of the center of the road leading from the place formerly owned by Evert Barckley to the place formerly owned by Cyrus Chapman and south of the town- ship road, compose one district, and the same shall be known as the Eastern District. And all the remaining part of the said town of Knox lying west of the Eastern District and south of the North District shall compose one district, and the same shall be known as the Southern District.

" Article 3d .- And be it enacted that the over- seers of the poor shall at every annual town meet- ing hereafter report to the town meeting the num- ber of poor to be maintained, and the cost of their maintenance, the receipts and expenditures of all moneys in their hands, and what sum in their opinion will be necessary to maintain the poor for the ensuing year, that the same may be raised and collected.

" Article 4th .- And it is further ordained that all partition fences for lands, gardens, orchards or meadows shall be five feet high and otherwise good and sufficient.

" Article 5th .- And it is ordained that the fence viewers shall be allowed seventy-five cents for each day's service in the execution of their office.

872

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

" Article 6th .- And it is further ordained that no horses shall go at large; also, that no cattle, sheep or swine shall go at large, and that the penalty on them shall be, when found going at large and secured in any pen or yard or any premises, the owner or owners thereof shall pay to the person or persons so taking them up the following sums: For every stallion two years old or older, four dollars; for every cow, ox, steer, bull or calf, fifty cents; for every sheep, two cents per head, for every swine, six cents per head, and for every boar two months old or older, two dollars.

"Article 7th .- All moneys collected for the violation of the by-laws shall go, the one-half to the person or persons taking up the said cattle, horses, sheep or swine, the other half to the poor of the town aforesaid.

" Article 8th .- And it is further ordained that every person's yard shall be his own pound, and that he shall give the owner notice within twenty- four hours of all trespasses, and that stock shall be impounded no longer than forty-eight hours."

These ordinances were subsequently modified or amplified as occasion required. They are given as being of interest as the first by-laws of Knox, the records of which are extant.

The civil list of the town of Knox from 1851 to 1854, inclusive, is given below, except for the years 1868-72, inclusive, missing from the records:

1851 .- Lyman Witter, Supervisor; John G. Crary, Town Clerk; Amos Crary, Justice of the Peace; Jacob Truax, Collector; Charles Saddle- mire and Conrad Batcher, Overseers of the Poor; John Posson and John T. Beebe, Assessors; George Freighley, Commissioner of Highways; Johan Jost Sand, James M. Cheesbro and Philip Chrysler, In- spectors of Election, District No. 1; Potter Gage, Jacob Auchenpo and William Williamson, In- spectors of Election, District No. 2; Charles Gage, Joel Gage, Johan Jost P. Deitz and John Quay, Constables.

1852 .- Stephen Mercelis, Jr., Supervisor; John R. Williams, Justice of the Peace; John H. Sand, Superintendent of Schools; Denison Crary, Town Clerk; John Jost P. Deitz, Collector; Joseph A. Haswell, Assessor; John Bassler, Commissioner of Highways; Charles Saddlemire and Conrad Batcher, Overseers of the Poor; James M. Cheesbro, John Allen, Jr., and Ezra Champion, Jr., Inspectors of Election, District No. 1; William Gage, Thomas P. Whipple and James Finch, Inspectors of Elec- tion, District No. 2; Charles Gage, John Quay, William Snyder and Andrew Batcher, Constables.

1853 .- Stephen Merselis, Jr., Supervisor; Michael Lee, Justice of the Peace; Denison Crary, Town Clerk; Frederick Bassler, Assessor; Lewis Quay, Collector; Alexander Crounse, Commissioner of Highways; David Van Auken, Overseer of the Poor; James M. Cheesbro, John Allen, Jr., and Ezra Champion, Jr., Inspectors of Election, Dis- trict No. 1; Peter Swan, Oliver B. Wood and John A. Landrum, Inspectors of Election, District No.

2; Charles Gage, John Quay, Andrew Batcher and Henry Fullington, Constables.

1854 .- Henry Barckley, Supervisor; John P. Canady, Justice of the Peace; Hiram Crounse, Superintendent of Schools; Denison Crary, Town Clerk; Matthias F. Warner, Assessor; Lewis Quay, Collector; Ira Van Auken, Abram Batcher and Potter Gage, Commissioners of Highways; Edward A. Chase and David Swart, Overseers of the Poor; James M. Cheesbro, John Allen, Jr., and Elias K. Williams, Inspectors of Election, District No. 1; Potter Gage, Manasseh Schoonmaker and James Finch, Inspectors of Election, District No. 2; Charles Gage, Henry Fullington, David Ecker, George Richter, Clark Stephens and Sylvester Allen, Constables.

1855 .- Henry Barckley, Supervisor; Ephraim A. Bogardus, Justice of the Peace; Charles Gallup, Town Clerk; David Finch, Collector; Charles I. Frink, Commissioner of Highways; David Swart and William Williamson, Overseers of the Poor; Andrew J. Onderdonk and De Witt Schoonmaker, Inspectors of Election, District No. 1; John Lake and Lewis Barlow, Inspectors of Election, District No. 2; Jacob Auchempaugh, Assessor; Charles Gage, George Pitcher, Alfred A. Whipple, John D. Haverly and Cornelius Hellicass, Constables.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 189

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452