USA > New York > Dutchess County > General history of Duchess County from 1609 to 1876, inclusive > Part 3
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
clime in Autumn, and return in the Spring. Gallina, or Cock tribe, include our domestic fowls, Wild Turkey, Partridge, &c. Natatores, or swimmers, includes Loons, Wild Ducks and Geese, &c. The following embraces the birds most common in the county, in addition to those already mentioned :
The Great Horned Owl,* that makes the woods resonantwith its solemn hoots at night-time ; the little Screech-Owl that utters a harsh, disagreeable noise in the vicinity of barns and dwellings during the still hours of darkness ; the Whippoorwill,¡ whose plaintive cry issues from the thicket during the Summer twi- light ; the Nighthawk, making its peculiar whirring noise as it dives after its prey ; the Chimney Swallow, that peoples the chimneys of old dwellings; the Barn Swallow, Martin, King- fisher and Humming Bird ; the little Wren that loves to linger near the habitations of man ; the Blue Bird, one of the earliest of Spring; the Brown Thrush ; the Cat-Bird, the noisiest of our song birds ; the American Robin, Wood Pewee, Phebe- Bird, Blue Jay, Crow, Crow Blackbird and Meadow Lark; the Bobolink,¿ that rejoices in the sunny meadows during the months of May and June ; the Sparrow, Bunting and Chip- ping-bird; the Yellow-Bird, or American Gold Finch, that revels in the pastures and stubble fields of Autumn ; the Snow Bird that comes riding on the storm blasts of Winter ; the Red Bird, Woodpecker, Turtle Dove, Quail, Plover, Woodcock and Snipe.
According to a survey made previous to 1850 there are nearly 1,000 varieties of birds found in the State. The Eng- lish Sparrow has been introduced, which multiplies so rapidly, and is of such a contentious disposition as to cause the appre- hension that the smaller native birds will be driven off.
* " The clamorous owl that nightly hoots."-[Shakspeare.
+ The notes of this solitary bird, from the ideas which are associated with them, seems like the voice of an old friend, and are listened to by almost all with great interest. At first they issne from some retired part of the woods, the glen or mountain ; in a few eve- nings we hear them from the adjoining coppiee, the garden fenee, the road before the door, and even from the roof of the dwelling house, long after the family have retired to rest. Every evening and morning his shrill and rapid repetitions are heard from the adjoining woods ; and when two or more are calling out at the same time, and at no great distance from each other, the noise, mingling with the echoes from the mountains, is really surpris- ing. Some of the more ignorant and superstitious dread seems on the deeline.
# The happiest bird of our Spring is the bobolink -[Irving.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
Reptiles .- There are three orders of reptiles found, viz .- the Serpent, the Lizard and the Turtle tribe. Of the serpents, two species are venemous, the Copperhead and Rattlesnake. The other varieties are the common Blacksnake; the Pilot Blacksnake, or Racer, found in the Highlands and Fishkill Mountains ; the Milk or Chicken Snake; the Striped Snake ; the Grass or Green Snake; the Brown Water Snake or Water Adder-a snake with its tail tipped with a horn, and frequently regarded with terror, but without cause; the Water Garter Snake, and the Hog-nosed Snake, called also Deaf Adder, Spreading Adder, &c.
Amphibia .- Animals living both on the land and in the water. Of these there are the common Bull-Frog ;* the Amer- ican Toad, a harmless and useful animal ; the Peeper or Cricket Frog, called at the South the Savannah Cricket; and the com- mon Tree Toad.
Fishes .- Of the Fishes found in the County, including the Hudson River, there are so many varieties as to forbid a men- tion of all. Among them are the Perch, Bass, Catfish, Mullet, Roach, Pond Shiner, Eel, Pout, Sucker, Trout, Dace, Minnow, Pickerel, Pike, Lamprey, (sometimes called Lamper Eel), Common Pond Fish, Chubsucker, Shad, Salmon, Sturgeon, Shark, Eel, Mossbunker, Porgee, Hudson River Sea Horse, &c. Over 900 varieties are found in the State.
Insects .- The order Coleoptera, beetles, is very numerous. The Boring Beetle, the Tumble Bug, Ground Beetle, Horn Bug, and some others of brilliant colors, are the most common of this class. Orthoptera includes the Cockroaches, Crickets, and Grasshoppers. The Katydid, so well known by the pecu- liar sound produced by its wing-covers on early autumn nights, belongs to the latter family. Homoptera includes the locusts ; one species of these is noticeable for remaining seventeen years in the grub state. Hemiptera, bugs, comprises many of the insects injurious to vegetation, particularly the May Bug, Lady Bug, Apple-tree Blight, &c. Lepidoptera, butterflies, are very
* The most wonderful are the bull-frogs, in size about a span, which croak with a singing noise in the evening .- [Doc. Ilist New York.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS. COUNTY.
numerous. Among those that fly during the day the best known are the small yellow-winged Butterfly, and the large- yellow and black Butterfly. The variety and beauty of their colors attract universal attention. Some of the nocturnal species are very large.
Common in the low grounds, during the Summer evenings, is; the Fire-fly-an insect whose bright phosphorescence illumines the darkness. The Indians have the following chant to this. flitting, white fire insect :
Fire-fly, fire-fly ! bright little thing ; Bright little fairy bug; night's little king. -Schoolcraft's Oneota.
Arachnidæ, Spiders, though a separate class, may be men- tioned here. Some of them are very large and possessed of" great beauty. The Long Legs, Clawed Spider, Tick, Mite ;. Louse, &c., also belong to this order.
The Worms have not yet been made the subject of general! investigation.
PATENTS.
HE Dutch Government sometimes granted lands in the: colonies without the formality of Indian Purchase ; but it was the custom of the English first to extinguish the aboriginal title. It was customary to apply to the Gov- ernor and Council for leave to purchase. If granted, an Indian treaty was held, and a deed obtained, a warrant was issued for the Surveyor General for a survey, and the map and field notes were reported. The Attorney General was then directed to pre- pare a draft of the Patent, which was then submitted to the Governor and Council, and, if approved, was endorsed upon parchment, recorded, sealed, and issued.
The fees incident to the procuration of a patent were im- portant sources of revenue to the officers concerned. Only 1,000 acres could be granted to one person ; but this rule was evaded by associating a number of merely nominal parties ; and the officers through whose hands the papers were passed were often largely interested in the grants. In this respect the Co- lonial Government became exceedingly corrupt, and stood greatly in need of a reform like that wrought by the Revolution ..
A
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
In a few isolated cases, grants of land were made directly by the Crown, and consequently do not appear in our offices. Patents of land were generally very formal, and abounded in repetitions. The grants were "in fee and common socage," and included with the lands all "houses, messuages, tenements, erections, buildings, mills, milldams, fences, inclosures, gardens, orchards, fields, pastures, common of pastures, meadows, marshes, swamps, plains, woods, underwood, timber, trees, rivers, rivulets, runs, streams, water, lakes, ponds, pools, pits, brachen, quarries, mines, minerals, (gold and silver ex- cepted), creeks, harbors, highways, easements, fishing, hunting and fowling, and all other franchises, profits, commodities, and appurtenances whatsoever." This enumeration of rights, more or less varied, was embraced in all land patents.
Colonial grants were usually conditioned to the annual pay- ment of a quitrent, at a stated time and place named in the patent. This payment was sometimes due in money, and often in wheat or other commodity. Others were conditioned to the payment of skins of animals, or a merely nominal article, as simply an acknowledgement of the superior rights of the grantors. An important source of revenue was formed by these quitrents, which, after the Revolution, became due to the State. In 1786 it was provided that lands subject to these rents might be released upon payment of arrears, and fourteen shillings to every shilling of annual dues. Large amounts of land, upon which arrears of rent had accumulated, were sold from time to time, and laws continued to be passed at intervals for regulating these rents until 1824, when an act was passed for the final sale of all lands which had not been released by commutation, or remitted by law. Such lands as then re- mained unredeemed were allowed to be released by payment of $2.50 to each shilling sterling due. In March, 1826, the last sale took place. In 1819, the arrears for quitrents, amounting to $53,280, were taken from the general fund, and given in equal proportions to the Literature and School Funds.
It was the custom of the patentees to let the land to those
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
who would settle on it, paying little or no rent* for a term of years except the taxes. In this way the tenant came under a modified form of the ancient feudal system. f
The earliest recorded Patent issued, embracing land within the limits of DUCHESS, was that granted to Francis Rombout and others, October 17th, 1685, and known as the Rombout Patent. The two Fishkills are included within that grant.
Poughkeepsie Patent, and Schuyler's Patent, granted to Peter Schuyler, June 2, 1688, were included in the present town and city of Poughkeepsie.
The Great, or Lower Nine Partners' Patent, granted May 27, 1697, to Caleb Heathcote and others, comprising a strip of land some eight or ten miles in width, and extending from the Hudson River to the Oblong, covered the territory, very nearly, now included in the towns of Clinton, Pleasant Valley, Washington, Stanford, the lower portion of Hyde Park, and parts of Amenia and Northeast. This patent was granted before the Oblong was ceded to New York, and was bounded by what was then the Colony line. It was divided into thirty-six principal lots, besides nine "Water Lots," extend- ing across the lower part of Hyde Park. The lots were nearly equal, containing about 3,400 acres, varying to some extent according to the quality of the land.
The Philipse Patent (comprising nearly the present County of Putnam, which was set off from DUCHESS in . 1812) was
* Large tracts of land in Albany and Rensselaer Counties, portions of the estates of the first Patroons (patrons) afe vet (1876) in possession of the family. After 1840, many scenes of violence and bloodshed were witnessed on these lands, growing ont of disputes with tenants, when they were called upon to pay even the most nominal rent that was demanded. Social and political questions arose and prodneed two strong parties. The opposition shown by the tenantry was termed Anti-Rentism. Conciliatory measures were finally proposed by which the tenants were allowed to buy the land, and obtain a title in fee-simple. In time the whole estate will thus pass into the hands of numerous new own- ers. These angry disputes have already beconie items of past history .- [Lossing.
t The nature of feudal laws may be illustrated by a single example : William, the Norman Conqueror of England, divided the land of that country into parts called baronies, and gave them to certain of his favorites, who became masters of the conquered people on their estates. For these and certain privileges, the barons, or masters, were to furnish the king with a stipulated amount of money and a certain number of soldiers when required. The people had no voice in this matter. nor in any public affairs, and were essentially slaves to the barons. Out of this state of things originated the exclusive privileges yet enjoyed by the nobility of Europe .- [Ibid.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
granted June 17, 1697, to Adolph Philipse, * a merchant of. New York. As shown by the patent it included Pollepel's Island, and contained a little more land than is now comprised by Put- nam, the extreme northwest corner being retained in DUCHESS in order to adapt the dividing line to the topography of the country.
Rhinebeck Patent, granted June 17, 1703, to Henry Beek- man, was located on the Hudson River, within the limits of the present towns of Rhinebeck and Red Hook. The land granted to Peter Schuyler, Governor of New York, called the Magdalen Island Purchase, the lands purchased of the Widow Paulding and her children by Dr. Samuel Staats, and all the' land granted to Adrian, Roosa, and Cotbe, were likewise in -- cluded in these two towns.
Beekman's Patent, granted June 25, 1703, to Henry Beek- man, included the present towns of Beekman, Pawling and Dover, except the Oblong, Union Vale and a portion of Lagrange.
Little or Upper Nine Partners' Patent, granted April 10th, 1706, to Sampson Boughton and others, embraced very nearly the territorial limits of the towns of Milan and Pine Plains,. and a portion of Northeast.
THE OBLONG. By charter of 1662, the territory of Connecticut extended
* Adolph Philipse died in 1749, without issue, leaving his estate to his Nephew, Frederick Philipse. The latter had five children,-Frederick, Philip, Susannah, Mary and . Margaret. Frederick was disinherited, Margaret died when young, and the property was divided among the remaining three. Philip left a widow, who married one Oglevie; Susan- nah married Beverly Robinson, and Mary married Col. Roger Morris. On the 7th of Feb. 1754, the Patent was divided into nine lots, the division and allotment of which can be understood by reference to the appendix in this work. On the 14th of January, 1758. previous to the marriage of Mary, a deed of marriage settlement was executed, by which her estate was vested in such children as might be born under the marriage, reserving only to herself and husband a life interest in the property. When Robinson and Morris and their wives were attainted, their property was sold, chiefly to former tenants. In 1809, John Jacob Astor bought the heirs of Morris in this property for £20,000. The State, to protect those who held title from the Commissioners of Forfeiture, passed a law, April 16, 1827, directing five suits to be prosecuted to judgment in the Circuit Court of the S. Dist. of N Y., and presented by writs of error to the Supreme Court of the U. S. for review and final decision. . If against the defendants, the State agreed to pay $450,000 in 5 per cent. stock, redeemable at pleasure, and if the decision included the improvements that had been made by occupants . $250.000 more. Three suits were tried, each resulting in favor of Astor, when the Comp- troller was directed to issue stock for the full amount, with costs. The amount issued was $561,500. Few suits have been tried in the State involving larger interests to greater num- bers, or which were argued with more ability than this. In the suit against James Carver the counsel for the plantiff were Messrs Oakley, J. O. Hoffman, Emmet, Platt and Ogden 2. for the defendant were Talcott, (Attorney Gen.) Webster, Van Buren, Ogden, Hoffmans and Cowles.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
westward to the "South Sea," and by patent granted in 1664, the territory of the Duke of York was bounded east by the Connecticut River. This gave rise to conflicting claims. Commissioners were sent over in 1664 to settle the controversy, when it was agreed that the line should run "from a certain point on Long Island Sound north-northwest to the Massachu- setts line," under the impression that this line would be parallel to the Hudson River, and twenty miles from it. At that time the country north of the Sound was an unknown land, and its geographical features little understood ; hence the manifest maisconception, for such a course would strike the river below West Point.
When the error was made apparent both parties agreed to rectify it, and another commission was sent over. But the people who had settled on the lands defined by that boundary near the Sound, very earnestly desiring to retain their civil con- nection with the Connecticut colony, it was agreed by that colony to cede to New York an equivalent in territorial extent to the present towns of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan and Darien, an area twelve miles by eight-61,440 acres. The agreement was completed and subscribed by the commis- sioners at Dover, on the 14th of May, 1731, after the entire survey had been made by them, and the monuments set up.
This Equivalent Land, or Oblong, as it is now generally called, was a strip of land 580 rods in width, extending along the east side of the Counties of DUCHESS, Putnam. and the north part of Westchester, comprising 61,440 acres. This strip was divided into two tiers of square lots, called five-hundred- acre lots, though exceeding that amount. A Patent, embracing this territory, was granted to Thomas Hawley and others, and allotments made to individuals of the company, and by them sold to emigrants, " who received a guarantee of title from the Colonial Government." It was the security of this title that caused these lands to be eagerly sought after. The Crown also issued a patent for these lands to Joseph Eyles and others, an English land company, who endeavored to maintain their
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
claims ; the litigation was brought to an end by the war of the Revolution.
The survey was made by running a random line from a given point to the Massachusetts boundary, and the true bound- ary between New York and Connecticut, found by perpendicu- lar surveys from this random line. This accounts for the fact that the monuments that mark the boundary between the two States are not in a true line ; which has excited more or less controversy for many years, and is not even yet settled. The Governor of Connecticut, in a recent message, called the attention of the Legislature to this matter.
Livingston's Manor, patented July 22, 1686, three years after the organization of DUCHESS, was included in the County until 1717, when it was taken off and annexed to Albany County. The patent of this Manor conferred upon Robert Livingston,* the patentee, feudal privileges, and imposed an annual quitrent of "28 shillings. The Manor contained 160,- 240 acres, and included, very nearly, the territory now embraced in the Towns of Clermont, Germantown, Livingston, Gallatin, Taghkanick, Ancram and Copake, in Columbia County. It contained two purchases: The Livingston purchase, obtained of the Mohegan Indians in July, 1683, and the Taghkanick purchase, obtained August 10th, 1685. In 1701 there were but four or five houses on the Manor. From and after 1716 it was represented by a member in the General Assembly.
In June, 1736, Hon. Cadwallader thus writes to President Clarke, in relation to the frauds, &c., made use of in obtaining patents :- " It is very difficult for the King's officers, who live in the Provinces, to guard against frauds in petitioning for lands described by natural limits, such as brooks, hills, &c., &c., though actual surveys be made previous to the grant, because the names of such being in the Indian tongue, are known to few Christians, so that the proprietors are sometimes tempted to put those names upon the places that they think
* Robert Livingston, ancestor of the Livingston family in this County, was an emi- grant from Scotland, and was connected by marriage with the Rensselaer and the Schuyler families.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
more convenient for them. Now, sir, if it be so difficult for the officers who live on the spot to prevent abuse, how much greater must it be at such a distance as England is from us, and how great will the temptation be to commit frauds. This method of granting land in England must be of great preju- dice to the settlers of the country and the improvement of uncultivated lands."
COUNTY ORGANIZATION.
UCHESS County was organized Nov. 1, 1683. It was provisionally attached to Ulster, because of its few inhabitants, until 1713, when it was represented sepa- rately in the General Assembly of the Province. The original act defines its boundaries to be "from the bounds of the County of Westchester, on the south side of the Highlands, along the east side as far as Roeliff Jansen's Kill, [now Liv- ingston's Creek,] and east into the woods twenty miles." In 1717, Livingston's Manor was taken from its northern part, and in 1812 Putnam County was organized and taken from its southern portion, reducing its area to 765 miles, its present dimensions.
The first civil divisions of the County were established Dec. 16, 1737. By aid of General Assembly, it was then sep- arated into three Divisions: South Division, extending from below the Highlands to Wappingers Creek; the Middle Divi- sion, from the latter to Cline Sopas (Little Esopus) Island ; and the North Division, from this point to the northern border of the County. Each Division elected a Supervisor.
PRECINCTS.
The municipal regulations of a Precinct were much the
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
same as those of a Town. At first, while the County was but sparsely settled, the territorial limits of Precincts were quite extensive ; but as the population increased, it was found con- venient to sub-divide them. It would hardly be of interest to the general reader to specify the boundaries of all the Precincts that have been erected within the County, even if it were practicable.
By act of Dec. 16, 1737, the present area of Putnam County, except the Oblong, was styled South Precinct, and in December, 1743, it was extended to the Connecticut line. It is also mentioned in early records as Fredericksburgh Precinct. March 24, 1772, this territory was divided into Southeast Pre- cinct, comprising, nearly, the present Towns of Patterson and Southeast ; Philipse Precinct, now Putnam Valley and Philips- town; while the remainder, or Carmel and Kent, retained the name of Fredericksburgh Precinct.
Beekmans Precinct*, formed Dec. 16, 1737, was bounded nearly, by the geographical limits of Pawling and Dover except the Oblong, Union Vale and part of Lagrange. Pawling Pre- cinct, including the Towns of Pawling and Dover, was set off from Beekmans Precinct December 31st, 1768.
Rombout and Fishkill Precincts embraced the Fishkills and a part of Lagrange.
Rhinebeck Precinct, including Rhinebeck and Red Hook, and Poughkeepsie Precinct, were formed December 16th, 1737.
North Precinct comprised territory in the northern part of the county. Northeast Precinct was formed from it December 16th, 1746, and embraced the Little or Upper Nine Partners' tract.
Crom Elbow Precinct included territory between North and Beekmans Precinct, and extended from the Hudson River to the Connecticut line. Amenia Precinct was taken from it March 20th, 1762.
Charlotte Precinct just previous to the Revolution, com-
* South, Beekmans. Crom Elbow and North Precincts were extended across to the Connecticut line December 17, 1743.
d
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
prised Stanford, Clinton and Washington, and was settled about 1750.
A general organization act was passed March 7th, 1788, dividing the State into fourteen counties, which were sub- divided into townships, instead of Precincts. By that act DUCHESS comprised twelve towns, viz: Amenia, Beekman, Clinton, Fishkill, Northeast, Pawling, Poughkeepsie, Rhine- beck, Washington, Kent, Philipstown and Southeast, the three last named being now included in Putnam County.
Further changes have been made since that time, and there are now nineteen towns and one incorporated city, comprised within the County.
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MILITARY HISTORY.
HE 19th of April, 1775, was a memorable day in the history of the Colonies. On that day, upon Lexington Common, in Massachusetts, was the first patriot blood shed. The people were already irritated almost beyond endurance by the oppressive acts of the British Parliament, as well as the disdain with which that body treated their most earnest protests ; and when the news of the massacre of seven of their countrymen was heralded throughout the country by the swiftest messengers, one sentiment seemed to pervade the hearts of the people-that of uniting in armed resistance against oppression. The storm had burst, and every day was adding fearful intensity to its force. The farmer left his plow in the furrow; * the mechanic dropped his chisel, and the student threw aside his books; and shouldering their muskets. sought the patriot army and enrolled themselves in its honored lists. A few, from motives of self-interest, or awed at the desperate undertaking of coping with the armed power of Great Britain, were zealous partisans of the King.
Ten days after the bloody tragedy at Lexington, the people of the city of New York called a public meeting. At that
* This is said to be literally true in the case of Gen. Putnam, who, when he received the news from Lexington was plowing in the field ; stripping the harness from the horse, he mounted upon his back, and was off for the field of action without even bidding his fam- ily farewell.
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