USA > New York > Delaware County > Delaware County, New York, history of the century, 1797-1897, centennial celebration, June 9 and 10, 1897 > Part 17
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Edmund Fish had a display of flint implements which had been gathered from various parts of this country. Illustrative of the early struggles of the pioneers, the best collection came from Bovina, which included household articles, carpenters' tools and implements. The collection loaned by Admiral Gillis contained many revolutionary relies and a great variety of interesting things from Peru. A. M. Warner exhibited geological specimens, Indian relies, old firearms and quaint musical instruments.
Some of the other articles of especial interest were a chair used by the Colonial Congress, by W. B. Hanford of Franklin; an old high post bedstead and coverlet 115 years old, by H. W. White of Delhi; tin lanterns, the oldest one shown by Dr. William Ormiston
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of Delhi; old furniture, horn spoons, guns, pistols, powder horns, crockery, glassware, maps, books, fancy work and crude tools of all sorts.
To the older people a study of these antiquities " turned back time in its flight " and revived memories of their youthful privations and struggles. To the younger people it was an interesting revela- tion-a source of wonder and even amusement to many. They could not help wondering how their forefathers got along with those imperfect aids to their work. This was really as successful as any part of the celebration, and it is a regret that the exhibits cannot be reproduced in pictures.
When Thursday morning came the rain was still falling and many who had planned to witness the grandest parade ever held in the county were compelled to forego the pleasure. However, a great company journeyed to the county seat that morning. The firemen were not deterred from their duty in meeting the promises made and all the companies came, accompanied by their friends. Representatives of the several posts of the Grand Army of the Republic and other veterans of the war of the rebellion also came to join the parade. Visiting organizations were escorted to their headquarters by the Delhi Cornet Band, and accorded a hearty welcome.
At eleven o'clock began the serving of a sumptuous dinner, at. the opera house, to the 1,000 invited guests, provided by the citi- zons of Delhi. The firemen, the veterans, the Thirty-third Separate Company from Walton and the bands were the guests. William D. Smith of Delhi was chief of the commissary department, and the following committee were in charge of the opera house, the hostelry of the occasion: Mrs. L. W. Firth, Mrs. Mary Dann, Mrs. John A. Woodburn, Mrs. E. W. Paul, Mrs. C. G. Maxwell, Mrs. A. J. Frank- lin and Mrs. J. J. Burke. The young ladies of Delhi volunteered to serve the meals, which they did with thoughtful attention. The visitors were profuse in their praises and thanks for this part of the program.
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A patriotic and enthusiastic people were cheered when at noon the rainstorm abated for a little, so that the grand procession could be formed. The grand marshal, Frank L. Norton, and his assistants. arranged the companies on the public square, and when in readi- ness Prof. Willis D. Graves, president of the day, secured attention and in a few words introduced Colonel R. P. Cormack of Delhi, who extended a welcome as follows:
"I am directed by the residents of this village, to extend to you, one and all, the most kindly, cordial, and hearty welcome, to a participation in their hospitalities that can be framed in words. To the Veteran Soldiers, I am further instructed to say that they, in common with their fellow citizens all over the country, understand and appreciate the sacrifices you made in sever- ing home ties and accepting camp life, the trials of bivouac, the long and weary march. the discomforts of the trenches, fronting the enemy for months in succession, and in the lierce heat of battle, that the Nation might live and the Union of the States remain intact, and to assure you that the patriotism which prompted you to spring to the defense of our country, will never be undervalued. To the Firemen of Delaware county, it is made my duty to say that the people of Delhi, although having been exempt from devastating lires for many years, by reason of the activity of their own firemen, feel very thank- ful for the singleness of purpose, which prompts you to devote your time to the protection of your neighbors' property and sometimes their lives. The frequency with which firemen are maimed in the discharge of their duty, and the number who have laid down their lives in effort's to save others, sufficiently attests the danger of your calling, and I here venture, in the name of the peo- ple from whom you severally come, to sincerely thank you for your noble work. The people of Delaware county also extend a hearty welcome to the Thirty-third Company of the State National Guard, and desire to congratulate them upon their soldierly appearance, while they recognize in their personel the same element and characteristics which have made the American soldier famous all over the world, and it is my province to say that your fellow citi- zens repose the most perfect confidence in your patriotism and love of country, if you should be called into the field for earnest work. This celebration is peculiar in its characteristics. It interests all the people of the county alike. It is at once patriotic, sentimental and historical, and like the century plant, it blossoms only once in an hundred years. We are glad to see so many familiar faces from all parts of the county, and sincerely thank you for your presence and I will close my remarks by quoting the old adage, that brevity is the soul of wit. The town is yours for this auspicious occasion."
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When the speaker had concluded, the lines were quickly ar- ranged and the procession moved in the following order:
GRAND MARSHAL -FRANK L. NORTON. Platoon of Chief Engineers. Carriages containing speakers and distinguished guests.
First Division. MARSHAL, GEORGE M. BURGIN .- Sidney Drum Corps; Thirty-third Separate Company, Walton; Sidney Centre Band; Phelps Hose Company, Sidney; Cartwright Hook and Ladder Company, Sidney; Bovina Band: Ben Marvin Post, Walton; John A. Logan Post, Stamford ; Eggleston Post, Deposit ; Plaskett Post, Hancock ; Fleming Post, Downsville; Bryce Post. Hamden : F. T. Hine Post, Franklin : England Post, Delhi.
Second Division .- MARSHAL, WILLIAM BRINKMAN .- Brown's Band, One- onta : Stamford Hose Company; Maynard Hose Company, Stamford ; Churchill Hook and Ladder Company, Stamford; Fleischmann's Band; Roxbury Hose Company; Pakatakan Hose Company, Margaretville; Arena Hose Company, Arena ; Hine Hose Company, Treadwell.
Third Division .-- MARSHAL, GEORGE O. LEONARD .- Downsville Band ; She- hawken Hose Company, No. 1, Hancock; Hancock Hose Company, No. 2, Hancock ; Hancock Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1, Hancock ; Andes Band : Dowie Hose Company, Andes; Andes Hook and Ladder Company ; Hamden Hose Company : Franklin Band : Edgerton Hose Company, Franklin ; Edger- ton Hook and Ladder Company, Franklin.
Fourth Dirision .- MARSHAL. JOHN P. MATTHEWS. - Walton Band ; Morrow Hose Company, No. 1. Alert Hose Company, No. 2, Fancher Hook and Ladder Company, No. 3, Townsend Hose Company, No. 4. Walton; Deposit Band : Deposit Hose Company; Bloomville Band; Cascade Hose Company, Hobart ; Delhi Band ; Coquago Engine Company, No. I. Youmans Hose Company, No. 2. Graham Hook and Ladder Company, No. 3, Sheldon Hose Company, No. 4, Active Hose Company, No. 5, Athletic Hose Company, No. 6, Delhi.
The line of march included the following streets of the village: Court, Second, Franklin, Woolerton, Clinton and Main. An inter- esting feature of the parade was the company of " Anti-Renters" from Andes, dressed in the Indian garb of disguise. A picture of this company appears elsewhere.
This parade was one of great interest, representing every part of the county. The many bands discoursed inspiring music. The firemen were resplendent in bright new uniforms, in various colors and shades, representing safety from the ravages of fire. The vet- trans of '61 '65. now grown gray with years, representing the noble army which saved our country in time of peril-an indestructible
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union. The separate company, in full uniform, representative of the state's defense against invasion by enemies. The past century had not seen the equal of this inspiring spectacle, and it was a proud day for the gathered thousands.
After the parade many watched the game of base ball, while Main street held a crowd of people interested in the hose races and the hook and ladder races by the firemen. Cascade Hose Company of Hobart won first prize, $50, in the hose race and Phelps Hose Company of Sidney second prize, $25. Cartwright Hook and Lad- der Company of Sidney was the only one entered for the hook and ladder race, and second prize of $25 was awarded.
In the early evening there were band concerts and later a dis- play of fireworks and the celebration of a hundred years existence as a county, by loyal citizens, came to a close. This brief story and pictures therewith give but a faint conception of the important ·occasion.
The Anti-Rent Episode in the State of New York.
By David MMurray, LL.D., OF NEW BRUNSWICK, N. I.
T r HE Anti-Rent agitation which occurred in the state of New York between 1839 and 1846 was in many respects a re- markable movement. It had its ultimate origin in the leasehold tenure of lands which was introduced into this country from Eu- rope, and which was supposed to carry with it a trail of the feudal system that for centuries had held its sway in almost all the coun- tries of Europe. The communities which became involved in these Anti-Rent troubles, and were led into exhibitions of lawlessness and even bloodshed, were in almost all cases high-toned, industrious and moral. They belonged to the staid and conservative parts of the people, as indeed the agricultural elements of a state are sure to
The objects of this paper are to give some account of the Anti- Rent disturbances in Delaware county. To do this intelligently it will be necessary to explain the introduction of European land tenure into America and how out of this unreasonable system arose troubles which involved the best parts of the State for many years.
The first settlements within the present boundaries of New York were made by the Hollanders. The object of the Dutch West India Company in its American policy was a profitable trade. And almost the only article of trade to be derived from the Holland territory in America was the peltry of fur-bearing animals. Hence it was it- portant that permanent and trustworthy settlements should be established at convenient points within this territory. The present state of New York contains within its boundaries at Little Falls the
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most available route across the Alleghanies to the west, and at the. time of the Dutch settlements was the home of the most thrifty, en- terprising and war-like tribes of Indians. To bring themselves into contact with these sources of the fur-trade, the Dutch West India Company undertook to develop a settlement at Albany. To this end they offered important concessions to such men of wealth as would engage to found colonies on the frontiers of the Indian territories.
Killain Van Rensselaer, a rich pearl merchant of Amsterdam, was the first to undertake this task. He received a grant of land ex- tending twenty-four miles along the Hudson river at Albany, and running back twenty-four miles on cach side. This extensive tract covered the chief parts of the two counties of Albany and Rensse- laer. The recipient of this grant was denominated a patroon, and he engaged to plant within seven years a colony on his lands, of at least fifty families.
In 1630 a ship-load of emigrants was forwarded from Holland,. and in succeeding years others followed. They were chiefly planted on farms in what is now Albany and Rensselaer counties. The lands were leased to them on what are called perpetual leases. The annual rent was at first fixed at ten bushels of wheat for one hun- (red acres, together with four fat hens and a day's work with a team. In the later leases the rent was fixed at fourteen bushels of wheat for one hundred acres.
In 1664 the Holland possessions in America were all transferred by treaty to England, and among them the patroonship of the Van Rensselaers. The personal rights of the inhabitants were not dis- turbed, and the patroonship became the manor of Rensselaerwyck, with the rights and usages of an English manor.
The English during their ascendency created several other great manors. The most important of these was the Livingston manor in what is now Columbia county. It covered 165,240 acres. The ob- ject of the English colonial government in thus founding manors. was of course to secure the prevalence in America of a landed aris- tocracy after the pattern of England. The land of the Livingston
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manor was like that of Rensselaerwyck assigned to settlers on lease, some in perpetuity, some for ninety-nine years, and some for one or more lives. The greater part, however, was leased for two lives. The annual rent varied between fourteen and eighteen bushels of wheat for one hundred acres.
There were other large patents in different eastern counties, whose tenants became involved in the Anti-Rent agitation. The principal of these were in Schoharie county, in Schenectady county, the George Clark tracts in Montgomery, Scoharie, Otsego, Oneida and Delaware counties, in Greene county, in Ulster county and in Sullivan and Delaware counties.
The tract of greatest interest to Delaware county was the Hard- enbergh patent. It was granted by Queen Anne in 1708 to Johannes Hardenbergh of Kingston and his associates. It included ten miles square, and was claimed by the grantees to extend to the West branch of the Delaware; but this claim was disputed by the settlers who held that grant only extended to the East branch. The orig- inal grant specified that the land extended to the "Main Branch of the Fish-kill or Delaware river." Which is the main branch is even vet almost impossible to decide. As the two flow together at Han- cock they are so nearly of the same size that we may pardon the disputes of the patentees and the settlers.
The lands of the Hardenbergh patent were nearly always granted to settlers on leases at one shilling an acre. Besides this large pat- ent. there were in Delaware county several other considerable tracts; thus there were the Morgan Lewis tract of 15,000 acres; three traets of Gulian and Samuel Verplanck originally of 50,000 acres, of which there were 20,000 aeres under lease at the time of the Anti- Rent outbreak. To these tracts must be added those of Robert R. Livingston and Mrs. Montgomery, and the extensive tracts of Hunter, Kortright and Overing .*
The first Anti-Rent outbreak took place in the lands of the
* These items are taken from the report of Hon. Samuel J. Tilden in the winter of ts46 to the New York Assembly.
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Helderbergs in Albany county in 1839. It arose from the attempt made to enforce the collection of rents which the too great leniency of the patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer had suffered to accumulate in arrears. At the time of his death this accumulation amounted to not less than $400,000. The effort to enforce payment led to violent resistance, and the officers of the law were compelled to call upon the governor, William H. Seward, for military assistance. After the forcible settlement of the questions at issue, at the suggestion of the governor commissioners were appointed to endeavor to make a compromise between the landlord and his tenants. But no satis- factory result came from this conference and the commissioners reported their failure to the next legislature.
Soon after this, the agitation as to the payment of rents spread to the Van Rensselaer leasehold properties on the east side of the Hudson river. Anti-Rent associations began to be formed in all the considerable localities. These associations became affiliated and ex- erted a wide influence in all the subsequent movements, both in the Van Rensselaer and other leasehold domains. In connection with these associations there appeared a set of professional agitators, who went about descanting upon the evils of the system of rents and encouraging the tenants in the methods of violence which they adopted. Dr. Boughton who was afterward tried and convicted in Columbia county, and Mr. Brisbane who was present at the killing of Steele in Delaware county, were both professional anti-rent lec- turers.
It must not be assumed that the aims and purposes of these associations were wholly or even principally wrong. There was a perfectly legitimate object which they did much to promote. In them began that persistent agitation which finally brought about those reforms which the leasehold system fairly needed.
In the meantime the employment of disguises had been intro- duced to aid in the resistance to the payment of rent. Where these disreputable disguises were first used we have not been able to ascertain. It the second trial of Dr. Boughton in 1845
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Judge Edmonds in pronouncing sentence upon him, charges that he was the first to introduce them; but there is reason to believe that the same disguise was used at a much earlier date. The disguise consisted of a sheepskin cap pulled down over the head and face, out of which had been out holes for the eyes, cars, mouth and nose. Sometimes the cap was trinnned with orna- mental feathers or plumes of horschair, and with an artificial beard. The disguised persons called themselves Indians, and the commanders assumed such names as Big-Thunder, Little- Thunder, Blue-Beard, White-Chief, &c. Besides the cap, the body of the Indian was disguised by a calico blouse extending a little below the knee, which was confined at the waist by at colored sash. These "Calico-Indians" were armed with pistols and knives, and usually also carried a rifle.
Serious disturbances, accompanied by the appearance of dis- guised Indians, broke out both in Rensselaer county and upon the Livingston manor in Columbia. These disturbances generally consisted in the resistance to the sheriff in serving papers upon delinquent tenants, or in interfering with sales which the sheriff was called upon to hold for the liquidation of rents. The diffi- ulties reached sueb a pass that at last the governor was called upon to aid the officials of Columbia, and to send troops to assist them in the performance of their duties. Similar disturbances manifested themselves in Schoharie county, in Ulster county, and a second time in Albany county.
While these events wore transpiring in other counties, the affairs in Delaware county were rapidly converging towards a tragical crisis. The parts of the county in which the excitement first began were the towns of Roxbury and Middletown. The lands here were a part of the Hardenburgh patent. They lay in the disputed section of the patent between the east and west branches of the Delaware river. The tenants had been getting stirred up by the disturbances which occurred in Albany and Columbia counties. Professional agitators had visited them and
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had advised them to resist the payment of rent. Anti-rent asso- ciations had been founded and thousands of tenants had enrolled themselves as members. They paid a certain number of cents for each acre of their farms, and out of the funds thus collected, the expenses of the agitation were paid, such as expenses of meetings, pay of lecturers, equipment of Indians, and their out- lay and maintenance when upon any excursion connected with the organization.
In the summer of 1844 John B. Gould, the father of Jay Gould, who resided in Roxbury, was visited by a band of Indians who requested him to cease having his dinner horn blown for his workmen at dinner-time, as was the custom of all the farmers of that region. The object of this request of course was, that the blowing of Mr. Gould's dinner-horn might not be mistaken for the signal by which the Indians were summoned to a gather- ing, Mr. Gould however refused to give up the use of his dinner-horn, notwithstanding the insistance of the Indians. They threatened him with violence if he continued the practice, and he finally drove them off with a gun. A few weeks later a larger body of Indians surrounded his house and tried to in- timidate him; but he absolutely refused to yield to their demands, and finally as the neighbors began to collect they retired, with- ont having secured their end. On their way home they took revenge by capturing Hiram More and tarring and feathering him. In September of the same year, another outrage was com- mitted in the tarring and feathering of Timothy Corbin, who was engaged as a deputy-sheriff in serving papers on Daniel W. Squires. The official papers which he carried were taken from him and destroyed.
In February, 1845, Under-Sheriff O. N. Steele with three assist- ants arrested Squires, who had been indicted by the Grand Jury for riot, assault and battery, in being engaged in tarring and feather- ing Mr. Corbin, in compelling the surrender of the sheriff's papers. He was arraigned and admitted to bail. A week later than this,
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Deputy-Sheriff J. A. Berson of Middletown undertook to serve a declaration in a case not connected with Anti-Rent. He was met by nine disguised Indians, who threatened him with tar and feathers, if he came again on a like errand.
For appearing disguised and armed in Roxbury and Middletown the Grand Jury in 1845 indicted Silas Tompkins, Lewis Knapp, Anson K. Burrill and Ezekiel C. Kelly. This indictment was under a law which had been enacted by the legislature during the session of 1845, making it unlawful to appear in disguise and specifying the punishment in two degrees, first when disguised and second when disguised and armed. Of the persons thus indicted Kelly pleaded guilty and was tined $250; the other three were tried, found guilty and sentenced to State Prison for two years.
Under-Sheriff Steele with an escort, who had been serving papers on delinquent tenants in the town of Andes, was stopped on his way home by a body of Indians near the little lake now called Lake Delaware. They were taken back to the village of Andes and there confined in a tavern. Steele found means to despatch a mes- senger to Delhi, which is distant about thirteen miles. The Sheriff, Green Moore, being warned of the predicament of his assistant, summoned help and started for his rescue. The Indians having learned of his coming immediately scattered and left their prisoners free.
Shortly after this Under Sheriff Steele and Deputy Sheriff Edg- erton made an incursion into Roxbury for the purpose of arresting persons who had been engaged in tarring and feathering the sheriff's deputy and in abstracting his papers. They marched in two parties, each composed of thirty to forty men. They made several arrests of persons who were alleged to have been in disguise contrary to law. Two of them, viz. James O. Burrill and Warren W. Scudder (Blue Beard) were committed, and four others were discharged for want of proof. Seudder was admitted to bail.
While these disturbances were thus accumulating, the sheriff became concerned for the safety of the jail and the other public
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buildings. He summoned a guard from the surrounding towns, which he placed under the command of Colonel Marvin of Walton. Under the authority of a law which had been passed by the legisla- ture at its preceding session, he borrowed from the State a hundred sabres, a hundred pairs of pistols and six hundred ball cartridges. With these preparations he deemed the prisoners under arrest safe from the attempts at rescue which from time to time were threatened.
There is evidence that these attempts at violence and resistance to law were contrary to the moderate and sensible opinions of even the strongest anti-rent communities. Many meetings were held, some of which were meetings of anti-rent associations, in which a disapproval of acts of violence and lawlessness were most strongly and peremptorily expressed. But for the time being the guidance of matters was in the hands of the reckless and irresponsible. The absurd freak of disguises was mainly played by the young and inexperienced, who usually had no property or character of their own at stake. It required the serious and heavy hand of the law to be laid upon them, before they could be awakened to a realizing sense of what they were really doing. The event which was to startle them all back into a full consciousness of the dangerous position in which they stood was now upon them.
On the 7th of August, 1845, Sheriff Green Moore, Under-Sheriff Osman N. Steele, Constable Edgerton and their counsel P. P. Wright, Esq., went to the town of Andes to sell property belonging to Moses Earle which had been levied on for the non-payment of rent. His farin was upon the Verplanck tract and subject to an annual rent of $32. It was in arrears for two years, and therefore the Sheriff was to sell property to the value of $64 and enough more to cover the cost of collection. Mr. Wright had been employed by the agent of the Verplanck landlord, and went to the sale prepared to bid on the property offered, if necessary.
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