Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 197

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 197

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HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF RENSSELAERVILLE.

By NORMAN W. FAULKE, Esq.

CHAPTER I.

T 'HIS town derived its name from Stephen Van Rensselaer, then proprietor and landlord of the manor of Rensselaerwick, upon which the town was located. The town was settled chiefly by immi- grants from New England. The first survey was made in 1787 by Van Rensselaer's agent, and from his statement we obtain the names of the inhabitants living on the land or having made improvements thereon and number of the lots, viz. :

Commencing in southwest portion of the town, on lot No. 7 was Peter Plank; No. 8, Peter West; No. 9, Charles Edwards; No. 11, Gershom Stevens; No. 24, Hendrick Young; No. 25, Peter Shoemaker; No. 26, Peter Becker; No. 37, Wm. Showerman; No. 43, Peter Emerick; No. 45, Peter Bassor; No. 47, John Ellis; No. 56, Peter Miller; No. 66, Bastian Smith (2d ward of Preston Hollow); No. 70, Samuel Howe; No. 84, Andricks Huyck (Ist ward Preston Hollow); No. 88-89, Curtis Cleveland and Jesse Pierce; No. 90, Abel Mudge; No. 92, Johanis Hagadorn; No. 102, Peter Nouck; No. 103, Derrick Van Dyke (now John Hess); No. 108, John Pierce; No. 109, Sylvester Pierce; No. III, Daniel Cooper; No. 125, Abner Tremain; No. 127, Caleb Pierce; No. 128, Daniel Mudge; No. 131, Daniel Cooper; No. 145, Thos. Farring- ton; No. 147, Samuel Martin and Josiah Skinner; No. 148, Daniel Mudge; No. 149, George Van

Benson; No. 167, Green; No. 168, John Coons; Nos. 169-170, Jonathan Skinner; W. Pt. of No. 181, Bela Phelps; No. 186, Thos. Brown, Adam Coons, Niel McFalls; No. 188, Reuben Bumps, Philemon Lee, Hezekiah Dibble; No. 204, Hen- drick Rhoda, Samuel Nicholls; No. 209, Reuben Bumps; No. 210, Bela Cook; No. 223, Jonathan Edwards; No. 224, Alanson Sexton, Andries Asher; No. 225, Andries Asher, Michael Brant, Ashel Culver; No. 226, John Rascone; No. 227, Nathan Hatch, Jonathan Crocker; No. 243, Widow Becker; No. 247, Daniel Cooper, Becker and Staats; No. 263, James Borthwick; No. 247, Joseph Lincoln and John Ramier; No. 281, east part, James Broyce; No. 282, John Heron; No. 283, John Hunter; No. 284, no name given; No. 302, Samuel Ramsey; No. 303, John Hunter; No. 350, George Ramsey; No. 351, John Connell.

Michael Brant, a German, from Schoharie County, lived in the town on lot No. 225 (the pres- ent residence of Wm. Chapman) during the revo- Intion.

About the year 1783, John Coons, from Colum- bia County, squatted on lot 168. When he lo- cated there, there was but one house standing on the present site of the village of Rensselaerville. Silas Sweat, a very early settler, came in from West Stockbridge, Mass., and settled upon a farm about one mile east of Rensselaerville.

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Apollos Moore, from Pittsfield, Mass., settled about two miles east of the village of Rensselaer- ville in 1785. He came on foot, while his wife rode a horse (which cost five dollars) and carried all their property. Mr. Moore became a leading citizen, was Justice of the Peace, Supervisor, and finally Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Albany County, which office he held until 70 years old. He made an able judge. He also kept a store at his farm and had a large custom grist-mill in the village. He was a soldier in the revolution, having enlisted at the age of sixteen. He died in 1840, at the age 76, leaving a good record, and honored for his integrity as justice and judge.

Gerardus Drake, ancestor of the present Drake family, settled near the present site of Potter's Hollow in 1803. He came here from Dutchess County, New York. John Drake came in 1808, and settled at Potter's Hollow. He became an in- fluential man and prominent in the Society of "Friends," a society which sprang up in . that section of the town, having a church in Potter's Hollow and at Smith's Corners. Abram and Jeremiah Young and Aaron Winnie, from Ulster County, settled near Potter's Hollow in 1790. Stephen Treadwell, an eminent minister of the Friends Church, in 1816, settled upon a farm near Potter's Hollow. He was the father of Hon. Val- entine Treadwell, now living in Potter's, the latter having held many important positions, as Assembly- man, Senator, Supervisor, United States Revenue Assessor and Justice of the Peace.

Joseph Lincoln, John Reusior, with several brothers by the name of Hatch, settled in the northern part of the town about 1787, one of whom built a house, for many years known as the "Hatch house." A little way south of the present site of the village of Rensselaerville was the tannery, store, etc., of Peckham Griggs. This was called in early days Peckham Hollow. Here the late Judge Rufus W. Peckham and his brother George were reared to manhood. Rufus taught school in this town until he studied law. They were afterwards well known in Albany as the law firm of Peckham & Colt. Colt was a brother-in-law. All of that law firm are now dead.

Rufus W. Peckham became an eminent lawyer at the bar of Albany, was Congressman, Supreme Court Justice, Judge of the Court of Appeals, and was drowned in the Ville du Havre steamer accident a few years ago. His son, Rufus W. Peckham, is now Judge of the Supreme Court, living in Albany

Later, Mr. Lester succeeded the Peckhams in the tannery business, upon the farm now owned by

Joseph Pullman. The first settler in the village of Rensselaerville was Samuel Jenkins, who came there, February 22, 1788, and in the following April erected the first dwelling house, and later the first grist-mill.

Capt. Daniel Shay, known as the leader of what was called the "Shay's rebellion" in Massachusetts, fled from that State and settled in the south- western portion of this town, in the vicinity of Preston Hollow, in 1795, at its early settlement. After purchasing a farm near there (the farm now owned and occupied by Edward Lounsbury), Shay purchased the farm of David Williams, who was one of the captors of Major Andre. Shay's son, also named Daniel, afterward became a leading citizen and business man in Preston Hollow.

Major John Edwards, a revolutionary officer, settled, lived and died at Preston Hollow.

The principal streams are the Catskill Creek and its tributaries, Scrub, Fox, Ten-Mile and Eight- Mile creeks and Willow Brook. There is a sulphur spring on the farm early known as the "Gardner farm," now owned by W. S. White.

CHURCHES.

The Presbyterian Church at Rensselaerville was organized in 1793. Rev. Samuel Fuller was the first pastor. The first Sabbath spent in town was April 14, 1793, when he made the following rec- ord in his first journal: "This is a new settle- ment, and they have no meeting house. The trustees applied to me to preach for them three Sabbaths longer, which I agreed to do." In November he received a unanimous call to settle at this place. He was to receive {100 settlement, and {50 a year till it makes {80. The ordination took place, January 23, 1794. The services were held in a log building, occupied temporarily as a meeting house, which stood in the southwest corner of what was afterward Elder Fuller's orchard (of late belonging to Wm. Aley, deceased). It was origi- nally a dwelling house, with two rooms, but by re- moving the chimney and putting a rude pulpit in its stead on the western side, it was converted into a place of worship. The day of the ordination was stormy, and the snow driven through the crev- ices so moistened the hands of Mr. Judson, the or- daining minister, that the prints of his thumb still remain upon the Bible used on the occasion. In February Mr. Fuller removed his family to this town, and from the 8th day of February to April 10 he lived in the house with Samuel Nichols, which stood on lot No. 204, about one-third of a mile north of what has long been called the "Red House," west of Fuller's place. The building was a log cabin of two small rooms, with a trough roof. The apartment occupied by Rev. Mr. Fuller had but one window, containing but four lights, covered with oiled paper instead of glass, and was so con-

THE TOWNSHIP OF RENSSELAERVILLE.

913

structed that after meals they were obliged to put the table upon the bed, and the only space allowed him for a study was in the corner of the room, where a board laid upon the head of a barrel served him for a writing desk. The settlement being new and furniture not easily obtained, the cradle for their child was the half of a basswood log, hollowed out for that purpose. In the spring he removed from his uncomfortable quarters at Mr. Nicholls' to what is now the middle room of the house for many years occupied by Matthew Mulford. The Rev. Samuel Fuller continued pastor of this church for sixteen years, when he united with the Episcopal Church and became the founder of the Episcopal Church in Rensselaerville.

On the 15th of June, 1796, the frame of the first house of worship of the Presbyterians was raised, and completed during the next summer. It stood upon the hill near the late residence of Rufus Bouton, lately deceased, nearly a mile west of the Fuller place (late Wm. Aley's). The first service was held therein, September 11, the site being a few rods west of the house of late known as Rufus Bouton's, and about ten miles southwest of the village. That point was then the location of the village, there being but a few houses in the place now known as Rensselaerville. It was a grand site for a church. From it on a clear day they could look into four States, and, standing in the doorway, they might see the Berkshire Hills and the Highlands of Connecticut, where so many of them were born, while all about them were the homes they had made. To be sure, it had neither steeple, nor tower, nor turret, nor had they any bell to call them to worship, but there was a pulpit inside, which was an object of universal veneration. It was quite an imposing structure, fronting the door, pushed high up on the wall, as was the custom in those days, and approached by a long flight of steps. Back of the pulpit a window, and over the minister's head hung a sounding board. Under the pulpit was the " Deacons' seat," where these dignitaries of the church sat facing the audience, with due solemnity of countenance. The building itself was a neat, well-finished edifice, substantially the same as the present academy at Rensselaerville. There were three doors-one opposite the pulpit, and one on each side. The gallery ran around on three sides. The pews were square, so that part of the occupants sat with their backs to the minister. On a Sabbath morning the people came from miles around in every direction up to the house of God. For many a year it was on horseback that they came, the husband riding in front and the wife seated on a pillion behind him, with perhaps a child in her arms. There were two services, with a short intermission, during which the people re- freshed themselves with lunch brought from their homes, and then talked over the last news about George Washington and King George, for whom some still had a slight feeling of loyalty. Mr. Fuller, their minister, was a man of ability, seldom preaching without notes. In early days Deacon Woodford and Deacon Camp officiated, and are fondly remembered by many of our citizens of the

present day. The former lived near the school- house, and his house is still standing. Between the years 1810 and 1818 the village on the hill de- creased, while that in the valley grew and prospered. Mills and manufactories clustered along the stream, and it soon became evident to the people that they must leave the pleasant site their fathers chose for a church, and move their buildings down into the valley. Of those who worshiped in this edifice almost all sleep in their graves. Yet there are still a few who can just remember going to the old church on the hill. A lot was purchased, and in the summer of 1813 the building was moved to its present location, where it is known as the Rens- selaerville Academy. During the time of its re- moval services were held sometimes at Deacon Woodford's and sometimes at Mr. Watson's hotel in the village. The church was poor, and it was with the greatest difficulty that it could meet the ex- penses of removal. Daniel Conklin, Nichols Cornell and Deacon Woodford were very active in raising funds and forwarding the work. Finally Deacon Woodford went to Albany and told the brethren of this faith in that city how the ex- pense had been more than double the estimate of $600, and that the church was $190 in debt, which they could not raise and support preaching. The good Deacon went zealously at work in the city, but having failed to take out a license, he was arrested by a constable, who led him to the Mayor's office, where the Deacon pleaded his own cause so nobly that not only did the Mayor discharge him and give him a license, but also sent him on his way rejoicing with a liberal subscription. With such a name at the head of his paper, he met with great success. This church was dedicated, Sep- tember 10, 1815. Rev. Seth Williston, of Dur- ham, delivered the sermon on that occasion. It was during the second period of the church that the site of the edifice, not being satisfactory, being on the edge of the village, on a steep eminence, difficult of access, and cold in winter, and the in- habitants desiring the edifice for an academy, the money for a new structure was raised, and in the summer of 1842 the foundations were laid, and the enterprise vigorously prosecuted. Its success was due to the liberality and enterprise of several wealthy citizens, among whom were Mr. Gordon Conklin and Mr. Abram Dayton and others. The present church was dedicated, December 6, 1843, Rev. Marcus Smith, a former pastor, officiating.

The Episcopal Church in Rensselaerville was organized and founded by Rev. Samuel Fuller, February 20, 1811. Services were held in the chamber of Rufus Watson's house until the fall of 1812. The first wardens were Jacob Wood and Allen Durant, and the vestrymen, Asa Colvard, Jonathan Jenkins, Josiah Watson, Jesse Hollister, Ezra Lester, Apollos Moore, Elijah Griggs and Ichabod Peck. The first church edifice was con- secrated, October 2, 1815, and cost about $3,000. The present edifice will seat about 200, and is valued at $6,000.

The Baptist Church in the village of Preston Hollow was organized about 1793, and even had

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

an existence as early as 1790. The first meetings were held in a log school-house near the site of the present residence of Hiram Kelsey. In 1821 an edifice was erected, situated on the bank of Fox creek, near the site of the present residence of Nor- man Powell, about one and a half miles from the village. The building was a frame one, sided up, but not plastered or finished in the interior. In the year 1883 this building was taken down and another church edifice erected out of it upon the knoll near the present school-house in the village, where its members worshiped down to 1846, when the present commodious church was erected, cost- ing $6,000. The church has had the following pastors in the order named: In 1793, Elder Green; then followed Revs. John Winans, John Cooper, James Mackey, Seth Paddock, John I. Teeple, Chas. Randall, Harvey Cornwall, Hiram Haynes, Wm. S. Apsey, J. M. Ferris, Leonard Smith, D. B. Collins, J. B. Pixley, M. A. Joslin, Giles Humel Hubbard, the latter of whom is the pres- ent pastor. Rev. Seth Paddock held the pastor- ate for the longest period. He was born in Dutchess County in 1785, came here when a young man, experienced religion and united with this church. The church finally gave him a license to preach the gospel. He was ordained as its pastor and served it faithfully for sixteen years, when he removed to Durham, where he was pastor of a Baptist church thirteen years. He died October 23, 1879, at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. G. C. Hubbard, in Preston Hollow, in the ninety- fourth year of his age. His funeral was attended the following Sunday by a large concourse of peo- ple, when the pastor, Rev. J. B. Pixley, preached and Rev. A. M. Cole, of E. Durham Church, par- ticipated in the services.

The Baptist Church in Rensselaerville was erected in 1797. The first preachers or pastors were Wm. Stewart, and later Rev. Truman Beman, then Rev. Ephriam Crocker, whose ministry con- tinned until 1836, when Rev. Reuben Wingar be- came its pastor, and then the new present church was built. Mr. Wingar was a very acceptable pastor for many years, when he removed to Am- sterdam, N. Y., where he still lives. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Waterbury.

The Society of Friends had two societies, one at Smith's Corners, a hamlet with a Friends church, which has been taken down within a few years.

The Friends Society and meeting house at Pot- ter's Hollow, was organized about 1795, with about 30 members. The first preacher was Reuben Palmer. The first house of worship was erected in 1806; the present church in 1818; it has never had over forty members. The last preacher was Israel Drake, a very good man, now deceased.

The Methodist Episcopal Church in the village of Rensselaerville is a very large organization with a commodious edifice.

The Methodist Church in Medusa dates its or- ganization many years back. The people of that locality first held their meetings in a log school- house, and afterward in the Union Church until in 1869-'70, when the society erected a large church

in the village. 'It is a fine edifice, and the mem- bership large.

The Christian Church in Medusa was organized in 1830, and in 1835 its members held services in an edifice built by subscription of the citizens to be used by different sects of religion for their wor- ship. Previous to this time this organization wor- shiped in the school-house, and in warm weather they held their meetings in Bedford's barn, now owned by C. J. Waldron, Esq.

The Methodist Church in Preston Hollow was organized about the year 1840. The present fine church was erected in 1844. This church, al- though its history does not reach as far back as that of sister churches, is to-day in a prosperons condition, and its services well attended.

VILLAGES.

There are five villages in the town.

Preston Hollow is an enterprising and thrifty village in the southwestern part, situate upon the Catskill Creek, in the valley of the Catskill, near the famous mountains of that name.

A few years ago the name of the village of Pres- ton Hollow was changed to Monclova, and the post office went by that name for about two years, when by consent of its citizens, its name was changed back again to its old name of Preston Hollow.

The first settlers on its site, Andricks Huyck, on lot 84, and Bastian Smith, on lot 66. The founder of the village was Dr. Samuel Preston, in 1798. In the year 1870 the village was by an act of the Leg- islature, incorporated for the purpose of grading the streets and making sidewalks and planting shade trees. Stage coaches leave the village daily, both to Catskill and to Middleburgh. It is 13 miles from Middleburgh and 24 from Catskill. Its population by the last census was four hundred. It contains two fine church edifices, a Baptist and Methodist; a large, first-class hotel, M. Murphy proprietor; a large custom flouring mill, owned by Lawrence Fanlk & Co .; three stores; two leather tanneries, Devereux & Co.'s sole leather tannery, and Rivenbergh Bros. upper-leather tannery; a flourishing village school, and a select school and literary institute, where the higher branches are taught; two millinery shops; a photograph gallery; a foundry, owned by Wm. Morrison; two black- smith shops ; a wagon maker's shop; an extensive harness shop, owned by A. E. Hinman; a cooper shop, owned by R. Vanakers; two law offices, with large law libraries, one that of Norman W. Faulk, Esq., and the other of Lawrence Faulk. The village derived its name from Dr. Preston, its founder. It has a Good Templars Lodge, with a large roll of members; a large, fine hall for lectures and exhibitions, owned by Benjamin White, after whom the hall is named. There are two extensive evaporators for drying apples and other fruit, lately erected by Mr. Benj. White. The inhabitants are characterized by their intelligence, energy, sobriety and enterprise. Among its early business men and earliest settlers were Daniel Shay, Jr., David Davenport, Alvin

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THE TOWNSHIP OF RENSSELAERVILLE.

Devereux, Sr., Theodore Devereux, Henry Ricker- son, Samuel Preston, James G. Clark, Ebenezer White, Judge Robert W. Murphy and Reuben Palmer, further mention of whom will be given hereafter under the general history of the south- west portion of the town.

2. Medusa is in the east portion of the town, on the "Ten-Mile Creek." It was first settled in 1783 by Uriah Hall and his son Joshua. The place for many years bore the name of "Hall's Mills," from the parties just named. Uriah Hall and his son took a lease from Van Rensselaer of many lots covering the site of the village and vicin- ity. Hall erected the first grist-mill and dwelling here; he also was the proprietor of the first store here, and, being a thorough business man, he ob- tained a large trade through the neighborhood. He caused a school-house to be erected in the early times, that attracted settlers and business. Joshua Hall continued in business here until 1806, when he was accidentally killed by a tree falling upon him while he was chopping wood upon one of his farms, now owned by Walter Doolittle. His son married a sister of Wm. R. Tanner. The elder Hall had now become too old to manage business affairs, and his retirement was a serious check to the growth of the village. Joseph Hall, in 1785, settled upon the farm afterward owned by Willet Mackey, and now owned by his son, Alexander W. Mackey, at the east end of the village.

In 1785 William Hall settled upon the farm a little east of the village, being the Edward Frost farm. Job Tanner was also one of the first settlers in that section. He had seven sons and two daughters, all of whom married and reared families. Most of them removed to the west. Judge William R. Tanner is a descendant of him, and still resides at this village, where he was born and reared. His father was a farmer and man of business. Wm. R. Tanner has been Supervisor of the town, also an associate judge on the bench, and for many years has held the office of Justice of the Peace. He, too, is a farmer, and has been an extensive owner of mill property. He is a highly esteemed citizen, a leading member of the Methodist Church, and through his energy has caused a commodious church to be erected there for that denomination. He lives upon the farm where his father lived and died. The village of late years has much improved in appearance, and has a population of about 200.

Daniel Doolittle was one of the early settlers. He married the widow of Joshua Hall and had sons, Talmadge and Walter Doolittle. In 1850 the name of the village and post-office was changed to its present name, "Medusa." It contains a Methodist Episcopal and a Christian church, a hotel, two stores, two custom mills for grain, turn- ing works, an evaporator, and a paper mill by John Milton & Co. Chas. Delamater, son of Lu- cius, is a leading business man and successful merchant. A good farming country surrounds the village with its post-office and carpenter shop and two blacksmith shops.

3. Cooksburg, in the extreme southwest corner of the town, is a small village of about fifty inhab- itants. It sprung up when the Catskill and Cana- joharie Railroad was opened to its site, and in 1840 was named in honor of Thomas B. Cook, of Catskill, a leading man in that railroad enterprise. In its immediate vicinity at that time were two ex- tensive sole leather tanneries, one owned by Mr. Hand, and afterward by George Bellamy; the other by S. R. Potter & Co. These tanneries were both burned to the ground many years ago and were never rebuilt. John W. Couchman is a resident of the village. The village contains two drug stores, a hotel, cooper, undertaker and shoe shops, a grist- mill and cider- mill. It was first settled by Daniel Youngs and Garret Snyder. In 1839 the Catskill and Canajoharie Railroad was opened to this place, twenty-three miles from Catskill. In 1831 the company was organized, and in 1836 contracts given out, and amid much ceremony ground was broken at Catskill in the latter year. In 1838 the proprietors were denounced as swindlers. In 1839 the road was opened to this place, at which time there were only two buildings here, one the present hotel, then kept by David Young (and now owned by Wm. Brazee), and the large unpainted farm residence of Mr. Garret Snyder. There was but one small engine on the road, called the "Moun- taineer," and when once it needed repairs it was shipped to Jersey City, and then drawn by oxen over the country to Paterson, N. J., where the loco- motive works were located. It was repaired, sent back, and still it did not do its work. It was re- turned to Paterson for repairs, and when replaced on the track it still refused duty. In the meantime the management was getting into financial diffi- culty. The stock was $1,000,000, and the State had pledged its credit for $200,000. The road was finally sold to the "Catskill Bank" for $11,000, and the man who took it off their hands finally pulled up the rails and sent them to the junk shop. This digression is introduced, as Cooksburg came into existence through the Cats- kill and Canajoharie Railroad, and we were com- pelled to note the rise and fall of this enterprise that came to so untimely an end.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 197

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