USA > New York > Sullivan County > Gazetteer and business directory of Sullivan county, N. Y., for 1872-3 > Part 9
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To KEEP CIDER SWEET .- Put into each barrel, immediately after making, % 1b. ground mustard, 2 oz. salt and 2 oz. pulver- ized chalk. Stir them in a little cider, pour them into the barrel, and shake up well.
AQUE CURE .- Procure 1x table-spoons of fresh mandrake root juice, (by pounding) and mix with the same quantity of molas- Ges, and take in three equal dosee, 2 hours a part, the whole to be taken 1 hour before the chill comes on. Take & swallow of some good bitters before meals, for a couple of weeks after the chills are broken, and the cure will be permanent.
CURE FOR SALT RHEUM OR SCURVY .- Take of the pokeweed, any time in sum- mer ; pound it ; press out the juice; strain it into a pewter dish; set it in the sun till it becomes a salve-then put it into an earth- en meg; add to it fresh water and bees' wax sufficient to make au ointment of com- mon consistency ; simmer the whole over & fire till thoroughly mixed. When cold, rnb the part affected. The patient will al- most immediately experience its good ef- fects, and the most obstinate cages will be cured in three or four months. Tested .--- The juice of the ripe berries may be pre- pared in the same way.
SUPERIOR PAINT -- FOR BRICK HOUSES, -- To lime whitewash, add for s fastener, sul- phate of zinc, and shado with any color you choose, as yellow ochre, Veuctian red, etc. It outlasts oil paint.
FELONS .-- Stir 1 oz. of Venice turpentine with >< tea-spoonful of water, till it looks like candied honey, and apply by spreading upon cloth and wrapping around the finger. If not too long delayed will cure in 6 hours. A poke root poultice is also said to be a sure remedy.
WATER-PROOF BLACKING AND HARNESS POLISH .-- Take two and a half ounces gam ehellac and half a pint of alcohol, and act in a warm place until dissolved; then add two and a half ounces Venice turpentine to neutralize the alcohol; add a tablespoon- fuloflampblack. Apply with a fine sponge. It will give a good polish over oil or grease.
MOSQUITOS .-- To get rid of these tormen- tors, take a few hot coals ou a shovel, or a chaflog dish, and burn upon them some brown angar in your bed-rooms and parlors, and you effectually bawish or destroy every mosquito for the night ..
CHEAP OUTSIDE PAINT .- Take two parts (in balk) of water lime ground fine, one part (in bulk) of white lead ground in oil. Mix them thoroughly, by adding best boiled lin - seed oil, enough to prepare it to pass through A paint mill, after which temper with oil till it can be applied with a common paint brash. Make any color tosuit. It will last three times as long as lead paint, and cost not one-fourth as much. IT Is SUPERIOR.
CURE FOR A COUGH .-- A strong decoction of the leaves of the pine, sweetened with loaf sngar. Take a wine-glass warm on go- ing to bed, and half an hour before eating three times a day. The above is sold as a cough syrup, and is doing wonderful cures, and it is sold at a great profit to the manu- facturers.
How to Judge a lorso.
A correspondent, contrary to old maxims. undertakes to judge the character of & horse by outward appearances, and offers the fol- lowing suggestions, the result of bis close observation and long experience :
If the color be light sorrell, or chestant, bis feet. legs and face white, these are tuarks of kindness. If he is broad and fall between the eyes, he may be depended on as & borse of good sense, and capable of be- ing trained to anything,
As respecta such borges, the more kindly you treat them the better you will be trest- ed in return. Nor will a horse of this de- scription stand & whip, If well fed.
If you want a safe horse, avold one that ' dish-faced. He may be so far gentle as Got to scare ; but he will have too iouch go- ahead in him to be safe with everybody.
Ifyou want a fool, but a horse of great bottom, get a deep bay, with not a white hair about him. Ifhis face is a little dinh- cd, so much the worse. Let no man ride such a horee that is not an adept in riding | -they are always tricky and unsate.
If you want one that will never give out, never buy a large, overgrown one.
A black horse cannot stand heet, nor & white one cold.
If you want a gentle horse, get one with more or less white about the head; the more the better. Many persons suppose the parti-colored horses belonging to the circuses, shows, &c., are selected for their oddity. But the selections thus mede are on account of their great docility and gen- tleness.
Measurement of Hay in the Mow or Staci, -It is often desirable, where conveniences for weighing are not at hand, to purchase and sell hay by measure- inent. It is evident that no fixed rule will answer in all cases, asalt would require more cubic feet at the top of & mow than at the bottom. The general rule adopted by those who have tested it, is that's cube, each side of which shall measure eight feet, of solid Timothy hay, as taken from mow or bottom of stack will weigh a ton. The rule may be varied for upper part of mow jor miack according to pressure.
1
60
TWENTY YEAR.CALENDAR.
Almanac or Calendar for 20 Years.
CB
A
G
F
ED
C
B
A
GF
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
D
C
BA
G
H
DC
F
E
D
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1 8 15 2229 Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
2 916 2330
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues,
3.10.17 24 31
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
4 11 1825 .
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
5.12 19,26
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
6 13 20 27
Frid'y. Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
7142128 .
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Jan. and Oct.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G .
May.
B
C
D
E
G
A
August.
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Feb., Mar., Nov.
D
E
F
June.
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
Sept. & Dec.
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
April & July.
G
A.
B
C
D
E
F
A
B
C
EXPLANATION .- Find the Year and observe the Letter above it; then look for the Month, and iu a line with it find the Letter of the Year; above the Letter tind the Day ; and the figures on the left, in the same line, are the days of the same name in the month,
" Leap Years have two letters ; the first is used till the end of February, the second during the remainder of the year.
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61
SULLIVAN COUNTY.
SULLIVAN COUNTY.
THIS COUNTY was formed from Ulster, Mar. 27, 1809, and was named in honor of Maj. Gen. John Sullivan, of Revolu- tionary fame. It contains an area of 1,082 square miles, and is centrally distant from Albany 85 miles. With the exception of a small tract on the south-east, in the Minisink Patent, the whole County is covered by the Hardenburgh Patent, under which there were formerly some extensive landholders; the lands were chiefly held by the tenants in fee, some small por- tions having been held on long leases ; but the feudal systems which then obtained have gradually given way to the more enlightened usages which now prevail and which stimulate the husbandmen to industry and frugality, and an intelligent dis- charge of the duties devolving upon them as citizens of a Re- public. The surface is generally very hilly and some portions of it is mountainous, especially along the east border. Upon the south-east lies the Shawangunk* Mountain, having its eastern foot washed by the kill which bears its name, and its western by Basha's Kill. This ridge, whose width is about two miles, has a gentle ascent from the east and sinks precipitously on the west. The eastern side admits of profitable cultivation, while the western is rugged and broken. In the south and west it consists chiefly of ridges separated by narrow ravines ; but in the middle and north, assumes more the character of a rolling plateau, which rises into a ridge of semi-circular form, extending easterly across the towns of Liberty and Neversink, and divides the waters which flow into the Delaware and Hudson rivers. From this elevated portion, numerous ridges extend toward the Delaware, giving the County & general sontherly inclination ; but this, however, remains strikingly conspicuous. This feature, which gives the surface a rolling appearance, is doubtless due to the action of the streams which, in their course, bave cut the whole country into ridges, deepen- ing the valleys as they approach their recipients. The
*Pronounced Shon-gum, and sald to signify "South Mountain."
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SULLIVAN COUNTY.
Delaware, which extends about fifty miles within the limits of the County, forming its western and a portion of its southern boundary, cuts these ridges diagonally, its valley forming the only division between the Catskills (of which the highlands in this County may be considered the southern slope,) and the mountains of Eastern Pennsylvania. Walnut Hill, in Liberty, the highest peak in the County, has an elevation of 2,130 feet. The lowest summit of the Shawangunk Mountain, between Bloomingburgh and Wurtsboro, is 1,271 feet above tide, and the highest summit is about 500 feet higher. This range of mountains, when viewed at a distance, presents a striking uni- formity of outline, which is due to the evennessof stratification of the rock composing it. The lowest point in the County is upon the Delaware, at the mouth of the Mongaup, which has an elevation of 550 feet above tide. The County line on the Rondout is elevated 773 feet.
With the exception of a small district on its east border, through which flow the upper waters of Shawangunk Kill and Lackawack Creek, this County is drained by the Delaware and its branches, the principal of which are Neversink* and Mon- gaupf rivers, Beaver and Basha'st kills, and Callicoon (Caw-li- coon) and Ten Mile creeks. 'The Neversink flows entirely across the County, into and through Orange County, having for its tributaries Basha's Kill, Wynkoop Brook, Bush Kill, Cherry Meadow Brook and several minor streams,
*On Santhier's Map of the Province of New York in 1719 it is named Mahackamack, or Neversink, the former being the ladian name. Saye Eager, in his history of Orange County, 1846-7, "the present name is considered to be expressive of the Indian idea which implies 'a continual running stream,' which never sinks into the ground, so as to be dry in places. So far as we are informed by those acquainted with the river, no part of it ever becomes dry. The name is also said to refer to the rapidity of the stream, in which things never sink, but are carried along with the current. We think this fanciful guess work, and a mere explanation by two English worde which happen to correspond in sound with what had always been supposed to be Indian. Doubtless the river was known to the Indians by its present namie, before they ever heard & pale face speak English."
tOn Santhier's Map of the Province of Nur York In 1779 It is named Mangowping, or Mingwing. The word ie Indian and le ppelt in the old records " Mongaapa." It signi- fes " Dancing feather." The latter name ( Mingwing) signidos " plurality of streams," and doubtless referred to the beadwaters, or esat, west and middle branches.
*This stream received Ite name from s squaw named Bashes, who resided near West- brookville .- Nager's Hist. Orange Co .. p. 302. J. V. Morrison, as appears in his writ- ings, inclines to the opinion that the tradition to which some authors ascribe the origin of this name, if there be any truth in it, applies to Pine Kill, since. he says: " In the first map of the country, when this valley [ Mamakating] was the frontier, f and a stream of that name laid out at Westbrookville, running down from a westerly course, evidently what is now knows As Pite Hill. The Bsalas Kill heads up north of Wurtsboro and is not recognized by that name on the map at all. Lis present name was given it by Mequel Gungaulus, the first white rettler io Sullivan, and named after his daughter Elizabeth, who was invariably called Bessie," pronounced by early settlers as if written Basey, or Basshe. " Major Masten recollecte well in his boyhood, when the kill was called Bessy's Kill, and was always informed by the early settlers, who knew the true origin of the name, that such was the fact." On Sonthier's Map of 1:79 we find a stream located as is Pino Kill, which is named " Baskets Kill."
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SULLIVAN COUNTY.
The Mongaup is a beautiful stream, eighty feet in width, and furnishes considerable hydraulic power. It has three branches, the East, West and Middle, each of which takes the name of the main stream and rises in the town of Liberty. It flows almost directly south, having a length of thirty miles. The streams flowing north are the Willowemoc and Little Beaver creeks, tributaries to Beaver Kill, which runs near to and parallel with the north-west boundary. Most of these streams are rapid, and afford at numerous points & great amount of water power. In the valleys and forests in the County are numerous small lakes, which form peculiar and often picturesque and highly beautiful features in its scenery. Most of these ponds and streams abound in fish, prominent among which are pike and pickerel. Perch, eels, sunfish and black bass are being introduced. Formerly an abundance of trout rewarded the skill of the lovers of piscatorial sports, but now none are found in the lakes. Lords, Mastens, Yankee, and Sheldrake ponds have been dammed below their outlets, and are used as feeders for the Delaware and Hudson Canal. McKee's Pond is being dammed for the same purpose; and perhaps the waters in a few others have been, or are being similarly economized, as improvements in this respect are being continually made. The various towns in which the ponds employed as feeders are located, derive a pecuniary benefit by way of taxes.
The geological formation of the County is exceedingly simple. The whole surface is underlaid by red sandstone of the Catskill Group and the Shawangunk Conglomerate, These rocks extend southward into Pennsylvania, and form the floor of the coal measures. Of these rocks the latter possesses an economical value for millstones, building stones, and the manufacture of glass. Esopus millstones, formerly in high repute, were made from the Shawangunk grit. The Shawangunk consists chiefly, if not wholly, of the transition mill stone grit ; west of this, in the town of Mamakating and along the Delaware and Hudson Canal, is a broad vein of secondary limestone, bounded on the north-west by carboniferous slate, covering the center of the County, which has on the north-west an extensive formation of quartzose rock, containing a secondary mill stone grit and rubble.
From the writings of J. V. Morrison we extract the follow- ing allusion to the geological formation of this County :
"Foot Prints of the Flood .- That this county has once been under water is evident from the marine formation of its rocks, and from the broken pieces found detached from their parent beds and scattered over the country.
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SULLIVAN COUNTY.
"That a mighty surging current once swept forests, rocks and bills, with long protracted swell and irresistible force, over the tops of our mountains, and landed them in its north-east course, in our valleys, is evident to every close observer. When thismighty wave traveled on, on, in its carthquake march, it was male the outlet to a mighty sca within the vallicd west, ' when the foundations of the great deep were broken up.'
"As the waters subsided, or found a southern or south-eastern outlet, Walnut mountain arose above the wreck like another Ararat.
"Go to MeLaughry's[*]-there is a twenty-ton boulder brought from & long distance, and so nicely balanced that a child can set it in motion.
" Go to Bridgeville - look at the scattered masses of rocks on the hills, whose parent bed is far off. Go mark the grooves in the 'old poor house' rocks. Go view the furrows on the gray sandstone, on the east side of our mountain. Go examine our deepest valleys-dig down deep in our earth-see the grooves and furrows, feldspar, mica, quartz and sea shells. Why is it that the west sides of our hills are so different from the cast ? Why is it that in many places you can tell exactly where boulders came from ? Why are they jagged and worn off ? Why so much sediment in our valleys? Why so many sand bills in various places ?
"To these questions there can be but one answer: A great body of water from the westward once swept over our country, carrying everything, except the eternal hills, before it, breaking the rocks and scattering them as it carried them along, striking them against the sandstone and plowing the deep furrows, grooves and indentations we now see, and causing the great masses of sediment in the Mamukating valley."
The soil is mostly a reddish loam, mixed with gravel, and is generally stony; in the south-east portion is found some clay. Grass is the staple production, and the hilly character of most of the country seems to adapt it to grazing rather than to tillage. The facility with which the products of the dairy can now reach the great markets, by means of the N. Y. & E. R. R. and its connections, has within a few years given an impe- tus to the prosperity of the County; while the erection of tanneries, which the same thoroughfare has encouraged, has created a home market of great advantage to the farmer. In 1855 there were in the County about forty tanneries, producing over 82,000,000 worth of leather annually and employing about 750 laborers; but the tanning business began to be of impor- tance about twenty years prior to that date. In 1865 the census report shows an increase of one in the number of tanneries, while the annual product in the same year, in the thirty-five establishments reported, had increased to 83,157,346. The number of persons employed in thirty-eight of the estab- lishments reported was 665, and the amount of capital invested in thirty-seven of the establishments reported was $935,500. The magnitude of this branch of industry in this County then surpassed that of any other in the State; for while the number of establishments in Erie County was forty-three, the annual
*The bowlder referred to is on the farm of Joseph H. McLanry, for further mention of which, ree history of the town of Thompson.
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ยท65
SULLIVAN COUNTY.
product of manufactures in that County was valued at only $1,838,568, in the thirty-seven establishments reported; and in Ulster County, which most nearly approximates this in the value of its annual product, the value of the product of its twenty-two tanneries, all of which were reported, was $2,532,406, or $624,970 less than this County. At present, however, there are only about twenty-four tanneries in operation in the County ; and as the supply of bark in the vicinity of the tan- neries becomes exhausted, the business declines. Those now in operation must eventually succumb to this influence. The labor which is released by this decline in the tanning business is diverted to some extent to the lumbering business, which employs large amounts of capital and labor, but mainly to agricultural pursuits. Winter wheat, formerly considered a sure and abundant erop, is found to yield smaller returns and with less certainty as the country becomes older. . Its culture is now practically discontinued. In 1864 the quantity harvested had dwindled down to 1,987 bushels. Other crops, less valua- ble but more certain, have been substituted to a great extent. The surplus wheat of this County was formerly transported by land to the Hudson, where it found a profitable market; but. with the increase of manufactories there is now less raised than is consumed in the County. Those parts of the County adapted only to the culture of coarse grains, are utilized by the inhabit- ants engaged in agriculture, in maintaining quite extensive dairies, and breeding stock, which branches of industry indeed form the principal occupation of the people. Butter making has become an important business. Grass seed of a fine quality is raised in considerable quantities. The fruits are limited to apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants and a few peaches. Wild berries grow in great abundance. The timber along the Delaware Valley is mostly hemlock, pine, oak and chestnut; and on the highlands it is hemlock, beech, birch, maple, ash and basswood. The country along the Delaware is not favora- ble to agriculture; generally, for cultivation, the highlands, being more dry and productive of finer grass, are preferred to the valleys, which are commonly wet and cold. Upon the Delaware and the streams which flow into it, the inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the lumber business, which seeks a mar- ket by the river. The climate is cool and bracing, and the County is remarkably healthy.
The "Sullivan County Society for promoting Agriculture and Domestic Manufactures" was organized in 1819, and annual fairs were held until the war of the Rebellion, when they were discontinued, and since which time none have been
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SULLIVAN COUNTY.
held. The Society never owned any grounds; the fairs being usually held in the Public Square in the village of Monticello.
The Sullivan County Bible Society was organized about 1826. The oldest records of the Society that can be found, give an account of an annual meeting in 1829, at which time the officers of the Society were: Jubal Terbell, president; J. P. Jones, treasurer ; and A. C. Niven, recording secretary. The Society has at present & more perfect organization, and is more prosper- ous than at any time since its origin. The present officers are : Wynkoop Kiersted, of Mongaup, president; Hon. A. O. Niven, of Monticello, treasurer ; and - Hollister, of Bethel, secretary.
The County Seat is located at Monticello, in the town of Thompson. By the act of incorporation the Governor and Council were to appoint three commissioners to locate the County Seat, and the Board of Supervisors three others. to superintend the erection of the court house and jail. Wm. Ross, Joseph Morrell and Abraham H. Schenck were appointed for the former purpose, and David Hammond, John Lindsley, Malachi West, John Newkirk and Darius Martin, successively, for the latter. The County buildings, consisting of a substan- tial stone edifice, comprising court house and jail, which was erected in 1844 in place of the original County buildings, and a one-story brick building for the Clerk's office, are very pleas- antly located in the Park. The first buildings, erected in accordance with an act passed March 22, 1811, were burned January 13, 1844. The first Court was held, and the first Board of Supervisors organized, at the house of Curtis Linsley. The County Officers Arst appointed were Wmn. A. Thompson, First Judge ; Samuel F. Jones and Elnathan* Sears, Associate Judges ; John Conklin, Jabez Wakeman and David Hammond, Assistant Judges ; James S. Dunning, Surrogate ; Uriah Lockwood, Sheriff ; and John P. Jones, Clerk. The Justices for the different towns were :- Liberty, David Martin; Thompson, Enoch Comstock, (who was the only surveyor among the original officers of this County,) Francis Andrews and Comfort Castle; Lumberland, Paul Horton, Elijah Hickok and Jonathan Dexter; Neversink, Jeremiah Gale and David Elmore; Mam- skating, Henry Patmore, Samuel Smith, Robert Crawford and Henry Newkirk. The Board of Supervisors consisted of David Milliken of Mamakating; John P. Jones of Thompson ; John Conklin of Lumberland; Win. Parks of Neversink ; and Darius Martin of Liberty. David Milliken was appointed
*J. V. Morrison gives the name of Elijah Seara.
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SULLIVAN COUNTY.
chairman ; Livingston Billings, clerk ; and Wm. Brown, county treasurer.
The County Poor House which, until 1860, was located about three miles east of Monticello, was burned on the 19th of Mar. in that year. In 1859 the Board of Supervisors proposed to sell it and the farm with which it was connected. The farm of Coe Durland, near Thompsonville, was subsequently purchased by the County for the sum of $3,200, and 82,500 was appro- priated for an additional building. The house was subsequently enlarged. The accommodations afforded the inmates are good. From the report of the Superintendent of the Poor for 1871, we extract the following statistics: the amount expended for the support of the poor was $11,001.46; the whole number of paupers who received permanent relief in the house was 120; the greatest number present at any one time was 76; the whole number of weeks' board furnished was 3,588; and the average expense per week was $1.25. The value of the stock and produce on the farm was $1,550.90. An in- sane asylum has been built, and on the 17th of November, 1871, an assessment of $1,000 was made by the Board of Supervisors for the erection of a building for the chronic pauper insane.
The principal works of internal improvement within the limits of the County are the Delaware & Hudson Canal, the N. Y. & E. R. R., the Monticello & Port Jervis R. R. and the N. Y. & O. Midland R. R.
The Delaware and Hudson Canal extends through & portion of the south and east parts of the County, (or the towns of Highland, Lumberland and Mamakating.) The Company was incorporated April 23, 1823. The work was com- menced in July, 1825, and completed in Oct. 1828. The length of the Canal from Rondout to Port Jervis is 59 miles ; and from Port Jervis, up the Delaware to the mouth of the Lackawaxen, at which place it crosses the river, 24 miles. From Lackawaxen it extends 26 miles further to Honesdale, Penn. Its highest summit between the Hudson and Delaware rivers is 585 feet above tide. Its descent to the Delaware is 80 fect; its rise along the Delaware is 148 feet; and its rise between the Delaware and Honesdale is 187 feet. The Canal was originally constructed to afford four feet depth of water, and to accommodate boats of 30 tons. In Sept. 1842, a plan of enlargement was adopted, and five feet depth of water was obtained, accommodating boats of 40 tons. In 1851 a further enlargement was completed, obtaining six feet depth of water and accommodating boats of 120 tons. It was of great importance to the early settlers of the County, as it opened an easy and
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