Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 258

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

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French war. He took great delight in instructing the boys of the settlers in the arts of war. He was constantly complaining that the government did not prosecute the war against the French with suf- ficient vigor. The council fire of the Connesti- giune band was held about a mile south of the village.

Niskayuna was visited in 1687 by a spy from the Adirondacks, the allies of the French. Hunger drove him to the house of a Dutchman by the name of Van Brakle, where he devoured an enor- mous quantity of the food set before him, which happened to be pork and peas. Although his movements had been marked with more than usual caution, the eagle eye of "the Grumbler " detected him. He waylaid him on leaving the house of his entertainer, and after a short conflict made him bite the dust. Having severed the head of the corpse from the body, he repaired to the house of Van Brakle, and threw the head into the window, exclaiming to the owner, "behold the head of your pea-eater."

The first settlement of this town was made by an independent class of Hollanders-like the pioneers of Schenectady-who located outside the manor line to avoid the conflicting exactions of the Pa- troons, and the trading government of the New Netherlands. It was settled at an early date, about the same time that Schenectady was.

EARLY SETTLERS.

Among the early settlers were the Clutes, Ved- ders, Van Vrankens, Groots, Tymersons, Consauls, Pearses, Van Brookhovens, Claas Jansen, and Krygiers (now written Cregier).

From an old document it appears that Harmon Vedder obtained a patent for some land here in 1664.

The mention of Captain Martin Krygier revives the memory of an old Holland soldier who is buried on this soil, and was one of Governor Stuyvesant's most trusted friends, ambassadors and

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THE TOWNSHIP OF NISKAYUNA.

officers; who had fought for him in many battles, and was his strong right arm in the front rank in every hour of danger. His descendants still reside in Niskayuna and some of them probably on the old homestead farm.

Niskayuna is honored in holding such a deposit of the old colonial times, and his descendants, who are numerous in the State, should revere his memory.

Among others worthy of note are Johannes Clute, who settled in Niskayuna in 1684 on lands he received by will from his rich uncle, Captain Johannes Clute, of Albany. He married Baata, daughter of Garret Van Slichtenhorst, and grand- daughter of Brant Arantse Van Slichtenhorst, who was director (head man) of the colony of Rensse- laerwyck in 1646, and who proved to be a foeman worthy of Governor Stuyvesant's most bitter ani- mosity. She was also the granddaughter of the in- domitable Colonel Philip Pieterse Schyler. In 1629, her husband, Johannes, being a prisoner in Canada, this remarkable woman, with great ability managed all his business affairs. Johannes Clute died November 26, 1725, and was buried in Nis- kayuna. He left surviving him three sons and five daughters.

JOHN DUNCAN, a young Scotchman, with his wife, Martha March, came to Schenectady in 1755. He was possessed of a good capital, and opened an extensive mercantile establishment on an im- proved and extensive scale, and was very success- ful. He subsequently purchased all of the present town of Princetown and titles to lands; these are now held under grants from himself and sons. He built a country seat called the Hermitage (that after his decease burned down) on his farm of 800 acres in the town of Niskayuna, a part of which is at present owned and occupied by ex-Senator Charles Stanford. The place is on the Schenectady and Albany turnpike, about three miles from the City of Schenectady. At the Hermitage, Mr. Dun- can died May 5, 1791, aged 69 years, much es- teemed for generous hospitality and unostentatious benevolence.

Shortly after the Hermitage was burned down, the place came into the hands of the Schuylers, who built a house on a rise of ground about one hundred yard snorth of the site where the Hermit- age stood-the site of the Hermitage is distinctly marked by its old well that stood by the door, which the writer was shown while visiting the place. The Schuylers, after living here a number of years, sold the place to Captain Hand, and after a few years he sold the place to John I. Vrooman, and he sold it to Josiah Stanford in March, 1859. Josiah Stanford died 1861, and in 1865 Senator Charles Stanford, son of Josiah, bought the place of the heirs, rebuilt, enlarged and modernized the dwelling, and converted the place

into a first-class stock farm. Mr. Stanford owns several valuable farms, and is largely connected with many leading enterprises in the City of Sche- nectady. He is a large stockholder in and a Direct- or of the Water-works, and in the McQueen Loco- motive works.

SPOOR JAN SYMONSE lived in Niskayuna in 1664. His daughter Antjo was killed by the French and Indians at Schenectady in 1690.

CLUTE .- There were three individuals of this name who early became residents of Albany or Niskayuna-Captain Jan, his nephew Johannes, and Frederick Clute.

Captain JAN CLUTE came to Beverwyck about 1656, from Nuremburg, and became a trader and con- siderable land holder in Beverwyck, Loonenburgh (opposite Hudson), Niskayuna, etc. He was held in great esteem by the Indians, from whom he obtained large grants of land. It is not known that he had any other relative here than Johannes Clute, his nephew, who on his death in 1683 became his heir.

JOHANNES CLUTE. - Through embarrassment, caused either by his own or his uncle's debts, Johannes was obliged to part with a portion of his land soon after the death of his uncle. To add to his other troubles he was taken prisoner in 1692 by the Indians and carried captive to Canada. While absent, his affairs were managed by his wife, Baata Van Slichtenhorst. On the 28th of June she cited Sanders Glen and Barent Wemp, Admin- istrators of Sweer Teunise Van Vechten's estate, before the Court of Albany, demanding of them nine pounds six shillings and six-pence "for ye re- maining pay of a negro named Jacob, sold by old John Cloet to Sweer Teunise, and produce ye book of sª John Cloet, Senior, kept by her husband, John Cloet, Junior." The defendants asked time. By his wife Baata, daughter of Gerret Van Slich- tenhorst, he had eight children. He was buried in Niskayuna, November 26, 1725.

FREDERICK CLUTE came from Kingston to Nis- kayuna in 1703, and bought one hundred and fifty acres of land from Johannes Clute. What relationship, if any, existed between them is not known. He married Francyntje Du Mond, or Dumont, probably in Kingston, before removing to Niskayuna with six children, and had four after- wards.

All the Clutes in this region are believed to be descendants from either Johannes or Frederick.

ROBERT H. WENDELL, a son of Hendrick Wen- dell, Jr., of Albany, was born February 7, 1760. He was an attorney-at-law, and married Agnes, daughter of Peter Fonda. He died at his country seat, on the Troy turnpike, within a short distance of Schenectady, July 7, 1848, aged eighty-eight years and five months.

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.

HENRY R. WENDELL.

The Wendell family, which is so creditably represented at Schenectady, Albany and elsewhere in this part of the county, is of Holland extraction, and during many generations has ranked as one of the leading families of Albany and vicinity. Three brothers of the name were among the early settlers in this county. In time a descendant of one of these married Helen Van Rensselaer, daughter of Hendrick Van Rensselaer and Catrina Van Brough, his wife. Catrina Van Brough was the daughter of Johannes Van Brough and Catrina Jans, his wife. Catrina Jans was the daughter of Roeloff Jans and Anneke Jans, his wife, who, after his death, became the wife of Dominie Everhardus Bogardus. Thus it will be seen that all of the de- scendants of Jacob Wendell and his wife, Helen Van Rennselaer, are descendants from the cele- brated Anneke Jans, whose possessions, both in her own right and through her marriage with Dominie Bogardus, embraced much of what is now highly valuable property in and near New York City, including the Trinity Church property, which has

figured so prominently in the public prints for many years. The unique coat of arms of the Wen- dell family is in possession of Miss Agnes L. Wen- dell, of Schenectady.

Henry Wendell was a son of Jacob Wendell above-mAitioned, and was born in Albany. He married Mary Lansing, of the old Albany family of that name, and to them was born Robert H. Wen- dell, father of Henry R. Wendell. Henry Wen- dell held under the crown, and later, under the sov- ereignty of the State, the office of High Sheriff, with a jurisdiction quadruple the extension it has at present. At the breaking out of the revolutionary war, both he and his son, Robert H. Wendell (who was born in Albany, February 7, 1760), joined the cause of liberty, and engaged each year in the perils of the same. Robert served in the counties of Herkimer, Schoharie and Saratoga; was engaged in the principal battles and skirmishes on the Mo- hawk, and more particularly at West Canada Creek, where the British force from Canada, under the command of Colonel Butler, Major Ross and Brandt, was met and routed, and Butler killed. The war over, he was educated professionally, and

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THE TOWNSHIP OF NISKAYUNA.

at the age of twenty-four removed to Schenectady and commenced practice as an attorney. He was the oldest attorney on the list, and during his career an active pleader as well as counselor. Schenec- tady then claimed Robert H. Wendell as her on- ward legal son, and at his decease an honored sire in the legal circle. Some years he spent, now as- serting, now defending rights, till disease came and he was forced to quit his profession. He removed to College Hill and built his house and improved his lands-changed pursuits, and brought to bear on agriculture a sound and philosophie judgment; and thus lived till he died (July 7, 1848), when in the memory of those who knew his virtues, he left a recollection sweet as pure, and a eulogy in their hearts for one who cherished for his fellow-men true benevolence, and for his country devoted pa- triotism. His wife, Agnes Fonda, was born in Schenectady March 26, 1760, and died on College Hill March 30, 1828.

HENRY R. WENDELL, son of Robert H. Wendell and Agnes Fonda, his wife, was born at the cor- ner of State street and Mill lane, Schenectady (now the Y. M. C. A. property), where his father resided, September 18, 1784, and died on College Hill, at the Wendell homestead, March 13, 1868, aged eighty-three years. His youth was spent in the house of his father at Schenectady, and in the household of General Matthew Trotter, of Albany. He prepared for college at the best schools in Al- bany, and in due time was graduated from Union College. It is not strange that the son of one rev- olutionary patriot and the grandson of another should have inherited a martial spirit, nor that it should have been rendered active and intensified by the events which preceded the outbreak of the war of 1812-14. He was one of the first to offer his services in defense of his country, and on the 3d of January, 1812, he was commissioned as ensign in the Sixth Regiment of Infantry. He was placed in charge of a recruiting rendezvous at Schenec- tady soon afterward, and met with much success in raising volunteers. In July following he re- ceived orders to close the recruiting station and join Captain Nelson's company, then lying with other troops at Greenbush. Not long afterward the entire command was ordered to the Niagara fron- tier, and Mr. Wendell did gallant service and braved many dangers at Black Rock, Queenston, Lewiston and Fort Niagara, and later at Platts- burgh and Sackett's Harbor. He was promoted to be a second lieutenant January 12, 1812, and to be a first lieutenant March 27, 1814. His several commissions are preserved by his daughter, Miss Agnes L. Wendell, and a record left by him shows that he did not terminate his military career until August, 1815, when he was constrained to resign by a probability of being brought into conflict with the civil authorities of Schenectady, near which place he was at that time stationed. Documents which are still in existence show that he merited and received the commendation of his command- ing officers. After the war he lived for a time at Niskayuna, at Alexander's bridge (since the con- struction of the canal called the aqueduct), where

he combined the duties incident to attending to the bridge-store-keeping, farming and tavern- keeping. Later he removed to Schenectady and passed the balance of his life on College Hill. No- vember 22, 1817, he was married by the Rev. Charles Stebbins, of Schenectady, to Miss Parmela Perry, daughter of Benjamin and Love Perry, who was born in Salisbury, Conn., April 11, 1790, and died December 18, 1870, aged eighty years.

Children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Wendell as follows: Anna Maria, who married Mr. James M. Moyston, and died February 4, 1865; Margaret, who married Mr. E. Willard Trotter, and died March 13, 1868; Agnes L., who is still living at the Wendell homestead; and Abby, who died January 5, 1880.

Mr. Wendell is remembered by nearly all of the older residents of the city as one of the few who lived beyond the period of the old Schenectady into that of the busy, enterprising Schenectady of to-day. He was an interesting conversationalist, and was rich in historical reminiscences of this section. He was a man of good mental ability, high honor and genial social qualities, and it is to be regretted that he was the last male of his family in direct line.

WARS AND FORTIFICATIONS.

In 1746 Governor Clinton recommended to build a line of block-houses for fortifications west from Fort Massachusetts to the Mohawk Castle at Fort Hunter, which was adopted. One of them was built at Canastagioone (Niskayuna).

[See French and Indian Wars, and Forts and Garrisons for complete account. ]

PROVINCIAL INTERPRETER.

Hilitie, the eldest daughter of Cornelis Antonisen, married Peter Danielse Van Olinda, of Niskayuna. She was for many years employed as provincial in- terpreter with the Indians by the government at $50 per annum. The Mohawk sachems in 1667 gave her the Great Island in the Mohawk River at Niskayuna. She and her husband sold the island in 1669 to Captain Johannes Clute. The island is now owned and occupied by the Quaker Com - munity of Watervliet. The sachems also gave land at the Willow Flats below Port Jackson, and at the Boght on the Mohawk in Watervliet. She died February 10, 1807, leaving three sons, Daniel, Jacob, and Matthew. The last died unmarried. Daniel, the oldest son, born June 11, 1696, mar- ried Lysbeth Kregear, a granddaughter of the old Burgomaster Martinus Gregier. Jacob, the second son, married Eva, daughter of Class De Graff, and left four sons, named Peter, William, Martin, and Nicholas; also one daughter, Helena, who, on the 16th of June, 1723, married Johannes Quackenbos.

THE NISKAYUNA PATENT.

This tract lay to the east and south of the Sche- nectady patent, and extended from the Ael-Plaats south to the north line of the Manor of Rensselaer- wyck.

On the 5th of August, 1738, a patent was ob- tained for this land by Arent Bradt and Jacob Glen,

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.

in trust for the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady. It was then estimated to contain 2, 500 acres, but owing to an error in measurement, rectified in 1788, fell considerably short of that amount.

[See Church History for account of land grants. ]

RIVER FLATS.

It is two centuries and a quarter since this valley was settled. It lies in a beautiful intervale on the margin of the Mohawk River, the great highway to the West.

These flats were tilled for generations before 1661 by the Indians, and they still yield rich harvests, in many cases to the descendants of the original white settlers-indeed to some whose ancestors antedated the Dutch regime.

The alluvial deposits of this valley are constantly enriched by the annual floods. This constitutes the widely known Mohawk Flats, which, though cultivated by the white man for more than two hundred years, have lost none of their unsurpassed fertility.

In the early period of the settlement no other land was tilled, hence they were called the land, arable land or bouwland, all else being denominated woodland, and little valued. In addition to their fertility, these flats presented another advantage to the first settlers-they were mainly free from wood and ready for the plough and seed. For ages they had been the native's corn land, whilst the adjacent forests and rivers furnished him with flesh and fish.

The great sand belt which passes across the towns of Rotterdam, Niskayuna, and Glenville, from south to north, was once covered with a heavy growth of pines, while the highlands lying north and west of it produced the usual varieties of hard- wood.

Arent Van Curler, in letters written at the time, mentioned the many natural advantages of this sec- tion.

That a few fur-traders and bosloopers early roved among the Mohawks, married, and raised families of half-breeds, cannot be denied; indeed there are re- spectable families in the valley to this day whose pedigree may be traced back to these marriages.

The Ballston Turnpike crosses the Mohawk at Alexander's bridge, built in 1805, four miles be- low Schenectady, where there is a succession of falls and a low rolling dam across the river. But the mills are things of the past.

The Erie Canal is carried over the Mohawk here into Niskayuna upon a magnificent aqueduct, 748 feet long and 25 feet above the stream, and falls immediately by three locks 21 feet, running through this town westward to Schenectady, a dis- tance of five miles.

The Troy and Schenectady Railroad, built in 1843, runs through this town a distance of ten miles. It is a single-track road, and at present runs four passenger trains a day each way.

Union Street, Schenectady, leading to Niska- yuna, was formerly known as Niskayuna Street, and was so named in honor of the old Niskayuna

settlement just outside of the manor of Rensselaer- wyck, whose inhabitants were very intimate with those of Schenectady, and many families were re- lated.

College Hill was called Niskayuna Bergh.

The Aqueduct is a railroad station on the Troy and Schenectady Railroad six miles from Schenec- tady. Across the Mohawk, on the opposite side is the village of Rexford Flats, where the people of this vicinity receive their mail.

Niskayuna is a small hamlet in the southeast corner of the town. It contains the Reformed Church, of eventful memory, a store and post-of- fice, and a hotel kept by William H. Miller, and a few dwellings. There is also a flourishing lodge of Good Templars of eighty members. The lodge holds its meetings in the vestry of the church.

Shaker Island is a half mile east of the Niska- yuna post-office, containing eighty acres, owned and occupied by the Shaker families of Watervliet. It is used simply for farming purposes.

Shortly after the revolution, the Albany and Schenectady Turnpike Company built a stone tramway from Albany to Schenectady, to expedite the hauling of goods and for a stage road. This road is much of it still in good repair, and toll is still collected upon it. The road passes about three miles through Niskayuna.

Lishakill Hamlet is situated near the eastern line of this town, so that the people of this part of the town get their mail and attend church at Lishakill. The Second Reformed Church here is in the town of Watervliet, but belongs to the Schenectady Classis.

The following novel marriage is said to have oc- curred somewhere in this vicinity, and is well worth preservation. About 150 years ago, accord- ing to tradition, when clergymen were not as plenty as they now are, a young gentleman and his affi- anced were anxiously awaiting the happy day which was to see them united in the silken bonds of matrimony. They resided on the north side of the Tomhannok Creek, and the clergyman who had been engaged to tie the knot lived on the south side of the same stream. As the fates would have it, heavy rain fell the night previous to the nuptial day, which rendered the creek impassable. Its waters were rising and its current becoming more rapid every hour. The clergyman arrived at the appointed time at a place where he had been in the habit of fording the creek, but it was as much as his life was worth to attempt to cross it then. He turned his horse's head to return, when he was hailed by two voices on the opposite side of the stream. They were those of the groom and bride, who intreated him to stay. After some debate it was agreed that the ceremony should pro- ceed. In the meantime the friends of the be- trothed arrived from the bride's house in the neighborhood. Then was presented a singular spectacle; "the like thereof was never seen be- fore," and probably will not be again. The dom- inie read the marriage service on the margin of the creek, while the parties stood and responded on the opposite side. After the ceremony was over

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THE TOWNSHIP OF NISKAYUNA.

the groom tossed a few guilders across the creek, which the dominie picked up and pocketed as his fec, mounted his horse and proceeded homeward, and the married couple did the same.

DISTRICT SCHOOLS .- There are in the town of Niskayuna four school districts and as many school- houses, with as many teachers employed. Average cost of school-houses $600. There are annually taught 298 scholars (besides many that attend the school in the City of Schenectady). The average price paid to teachers is $7.50 per week. C. W. Van Sanford is the School Commissioner.

TOWN OFFICERS. - Supervisor, Thomas W. Winne; Justice of the Peace, John H. Putnam; Assessor, C. W. Miller; Collector, Henry C. Ran- kin; Town Clerk, Thomas D. Trec.

COUNTY OFFICERS. - (See Officers. )

REFORMED CHURCH AT NISKAYUNA.

I. ITS ORGANIZATION.

The precise date of organization of the Reformed (Dutch) Church of Niskayuna cannot be deter- mined. It was probably organized by the Classis of Albany, to which it belonged until the organiza- tion of the Classis of Schenectady. The first book of minutes of the Classis of Albany being lost by fire, the facts and dates are for the most part lost with it. The regular records of this church begin with 1784. There is a list of baptisms dated 1783. Among loose papers in the archives of the consis- tory, is a subscription list dated 1773. There must have been records even before this, but they cannot be found. From the fact that the first church building was erected not later than 1760, and that before that there stood on the same spot a " Galat House," or prayer-house, which was used for wor- ship on the Sabbath, and as a school-house during the week, it seems safe enough to date the formal organization of the church at about 1750. In 1784 a Dutch Church was organized at the Boght, and from the relations afterwards sustained with Niska- yuna, it was evidently a child of this church. In the year 1803 that part of the congregation lying upon the north side of the Mohawk was organized into the Reformed (Dutch) Church of Amity, it becoming the second child of Niskayuna Church. In 1852 the southern part of the congregation was or- ganized into the Reformed (Dutch) Church of Lishas' Kill, which was the third and last child of this church. Thus has this church become the mother of churches and brought forth a three-fold increase, still remaining strong and healthy in her own home life.

ITS BUILDINGS.

First of all we find the "Galat House, " or prayer- house, already mentioned. No record or tradition of the date of its erection can be found. It stood at the foot of the hill in Niskayuna Village, on the old road from Troy to Schenectady. This building gave way to a church, built on the same spot about 1760. This church was a square building, with four-sided roof running up to a point in the middle. It had a gallery on the side opposite the pulpit, and below it had raised benches along the

walls for the men, and benches on the floor in the middle for the women. It stood until 1828, when a new church was erected upon the present sitc. This new site and building was on the north side of the Troy and Schenectady turnpike, nearly half way between the two cities. The church building was 50 x 65 feet. It was dedicated March 6, 1829, and stood until July, 1852. The present edifice then took its place. It is a neat and substantial brick building, with white bell-tower, and was put up at a cost of a little over $4,000. There is a pleasant chapel and Sab- bath-school-room, the only one ever erected, stand- ing near the church, which was built in 1871. In 1832 there was a parsonage built on the west side of the church, the present site, at a cost of $626. 27. This house stood in constant use until 1873, when the present large and handsome house was erected at a cost of $2,725 and the material of the old housc.

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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 258

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