USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > History and legend, fact, fancy and romance of the Old Mine Road, Kingston, N.Y., to the mine holes of Pahaquarry > Part 5
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While thus engaged a certain man from Hurley came to view the operations, and remarked in a casual sort of way that it seemed to him significant that the church of God should thus be destroyed in Marbletown while no harm had come to that in Hurley. To this the Domine retorted, "Well, you know that there are some people that even God Almighty will have nothing to do with".
Now we have the house of the widow Davis, tavern and
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town hall along about 1680 or so. Then the road climbs a hill from which one can look down on and wave a farewell to the Esopus, for we separate here, while across the level bottom lands, green with the coming crops, and beyond the tops of nearby hills is spread a grand panorama of the Cats- kills-a multitude of peaks. The buzz of a wandering bee be- come dainty through an excess of riches helped to emphasize the fact that the day was warm.
In the midst of the wonderful picture is the Summer home of Mrs. L. E. Schoonmaker, who owns the old Depue house in Accord that we are coming to shortly.
Now it is Stone Ridge, in the early days known as "Butter- fields", where are the Hardenburg house, a one-night stand of General Washington, and the Tack house, in which court was held after the burning of Kingston by the British.
At a very early date Aart Pietersen Tack came to this country and was one of the pioneer settlers of Wiltwick. Here a son Cornelius was born, but some time later the father appears to have made a move in the wrong direction, and with the aid of the courts his wife became Tackless. The lady then married a Van Etten and henceforth has nothing to do with our story. Cornelius in due time had a son Jacobus, and he a son Cornelius, and he again a son Johannes, and the house that Tack built is supposed to have been erected by this Johannes some time before the Revolution.
A great-grandson of Johannes tells me that when he was a boy the overhead floor beams showed incisions of bayonets and marks of gun muzzles; that the attic, which was then one long room, was known as the "Lodge Room" because the Ma- sons held their meetings here.
The house was run as an inn by Johannes and by his widow,
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Sarah, after him, she being succeeded by their son John, who continued the business until nearly 1830. There is a tradition that on the occasion of Washington's visit at the Wynkoop house in 1783 the members of his staff stopped at the Tack house, as the place was a tavern and directly opposite to the Wynkoop house, I should say that we might accept the tradition without straining our swallow to any extent. At Hurley December 9, 1777, an order was given to apprehend certain men seen at Jacks Tavern in Stoneridge carrying out leather to Bethlehem, Pa.
The road works over a ridge and loses the Catskills, but Shawangunk looms large ahead and Mohonk keeps to the front as though the Smileys knew how to run the land- scape as well as they do a hotel; in fact Mohonk has been sticking up in the middle of things off and on ever since yes- terday and continues to do so for the better part of another twenty-four hours, as I discovered to-morrow.
Shawangunk was originally the name of a specific place from which it has been extended to cover the mountain Chau- wanghungh, Chawangon, Chauwangung, Showangunck. The name has been applied to the mountain and stream since the second Esopus war. It may mean "at, or on, the side hill". The Indian palisaded village called "New Fort", and later Shawongunk Fort was on the brow of a tract of table land on the east bank of the Shawangunk Kill.
Mohonk may mean "a great tree". The name was origi- nally applied to a spot at or near the foot of the hill, and later spread to the hill itself. The correct Indian name was prob- ably Maggeanapogh, meaning "a great rock". These, as are most of my other explanations of Indian names, are taken from "Indian Geographical Names", by Mr. E. M. Ruttenber.
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Finally the road forks beyond Stone Ridge, where the 12- mile stone shows the way. That at the left leads straight down to Kyserike on the other side of the Rondout.
A good many years ago, when Jay Gould had yet his for- tune to make, was a country surveyor in Ulster County and was doing most any job that promised bread and butter, he was well known up and down these roads. In later life when he was accounted a rich man, one who knew his history ac- cused him of still owing a shoemaker in Kyserike a small amount for repairing his shoes in the early days, but Gould responded that this could not be so, as he always repaired his own shoes in those days.
Kyserike is modern, and never was on the Old Mine Road anyway, so we will keep to the straight road and worry down to the Rondout at Accord. Here stands the old Depue house on a brook that the map tells us is Peters Kill, but which is locally known as Monesauing Creek.
The old Depue house is nearly two hundred years old, built by Moses, who came to Rochester a boy in 1662. He bought the property of the Indians, and it has never since been out of the family, Katie Depue being the last to actually occupy the old home; she died January 31, 1884. The above is from Mrs. L. E. Schoonmaker, nee Depue, who turned to the old family Bible for names and dates.
The old house never saw any very exciting times, so far as is known. The only Indian incident is related of one Joseph Depue, whose mother understood the Indian language and, when she heard an Indian, who had been around looking for her son, vow that he would kill him, the old lady sent a col- ored boy to warn the young man and it is handed down in the family that Joseph saw the Indian first.
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Rondout is generally taken to have come from a small fort or redoubt built at its mouth. Mr. Ruttenber writes that after the erection of a stockaded redoubt here the Dutch called the place Rondhout, which may mean "standing timber".
John James Schoonmaker, better known as "John Jim", is one of those mortals who likes to know who his grandmother was, and incidentally has picked up much local information, having been town clerk these many years, and he has studied the old records which, thanks to his good care, have been put in savable condition. The first Schoonmaker was Hendrick Jochemse S., a native of Hamburg, Germany, who settled in Albany before 1655. He kept an inn and was a man of means as he is reputed to have loaned money to Governor Stuyve- sant. Was among those who came to Esopus in 1659 to assist the whites in repelling the advances of the reds, was attracted by the richness of the lands and settled permanently in the region. Naturally I found my way to the Schoonmaker house and Mr. S. opened the safe and took out the old records for my inspection. They are beautifully written and very easy reading, at least so are the earliest of the writings, the first entry beginning :-
"To all christian people to whome this present writing shall or may come Coll. Henry Beekman, Capt. Jochem Schoonmaker & Mosys Du Puy the present trustees of all the land of the town of Roch- ester in County of Ulster send greeting. Whereas there is a general pattent obtained for all of the land of sd town of Rochester", etc., etc.
"this 22d of Sept. 1703."
The two volumes bring the records down to the time of the D. & H. Canal, 1828, or thereabout.
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One of the curiosities of the old books is the fact that no- where is the old-style letter s used, but invariably the modern form. At first our road is mentioned as the "Queen's high- way", but by 1718 it is the "King's Highway".
The recording of these deeds was in many cases for peo- ple who had been settled in the town for some time, for in September, 1703, mention is made of a "corne" mill on Mom- baccus (old spelling) Kill or "Rivelett".
The temporary character of boundary marks is illustrated over and over again, as "Beginning at a great Black oak tree standing in a dry gully by the Rondout Kill or River side * and runs in woods by a line of marked trees * *
* along the highway to a marked white oak tree and so from thence to a marked 'Nutton' tree standing on the east side of Munasanink brook", etc., and again "Beginning at a white oak tree marked Standing on the northside of the east Sproute of a Certain Runn of water called the Mudder Kill", or we have "a small white oak tree marked with three notches and a cross over them".
Where Mattacahonts Kill flows into Mombaccus Kill is now Mill Hook. An early owner of the water power here was a Quick, possibly an ancestor of the famous Tom; the bounds of his property are frequently mentioned in descrip- tions of adjoining grants.
The first Hoornbeecks mentioned are Lodowyck or Lode- wick or Loodwyck, and Anthony; one or other owned the "corne" mill at the high "ffalls" of the Mombaccus, which is mentioned in September, 1703, and one or other is presumed to have built the old stone house, which stands south of the road about two miles west of the Accord bridge.
"The Creek called Hoonck" is mentioned; possibly this is
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where we get Hunk or Honk Falls from. Johannis G. Hard- enberg was town clerk, 1704-5. His writing, while it looks smooth at first glance, is one of the most difficult to read in the book. In some cases the ink used has, where a heavy stroke is made, eaten the paper completely away. Mosys Du Puy's name suffers at the hands of various town clerks, who transcribe it without giving much heed to the facts. In one document it is Mosys du puy-on the very next page we have it as Moses Dupuy, and so on.
The question of hogs and sheep was a live one, and many are the rules made for their government. Fences were fifty- two inches high, English measure, and from that "hight" to the ground sufficient to turn cattle.
Mombacus means in Dutch a "mask", a grotesque face, and the story is that early settlers found a rude face carved on a sycamore tree near the junction of the Mombacus and Ron- dout Kills, which is supposed to have recorded some victory for the local Indians. The town records of one hundred and fifty years ago refer to the bridge over the stream as "the great or high bridge across the Mombaccus Creek" as though it was the eighth wonder of the world. The government map ignores the old name and calls our Silent Face "Rochester Creek".
Accord remembers a former citizen named Bell, who was apparently cracked in the making. Some twenty or twenty- five years ago he told how, having seen a bolt from heaven drop into the creek, he next morning investigated and discov- ered a sword sticking up out of the water, much as King Arthur found that "fair sword" Excalibur given to him by the Lady of the Lake, who in the history of le Mort D'Arthur, is called a "damosel", which spelling bringeth me immediately
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back to our friend Mr. Bell and twenty or twenty-five years ago. The sword was a two-handed affair and covered with rust, the removal of which disclosed strange figures of men and animals, much after the fashion of prehistoric scratchings. Bell evidently knew enough about metals to know that there was no alloy of iron and silver which would furnish the hard- ness and other qualities of his find and claimed that his celes- tial sword contained a large proportion of silver, an impossi- bility in any but a celestial sword. He then called in a chem- ist, in order to have a bit of the metal assayed and secure a certificate, should silver be found therein, wherewith he could confound and silence all doubters. In the chemist's presence he filed off an innocent looking piece from the guard which was sent to the laboratory to be put in the crucible, but the assayer, fearing that if an accident happened to the crucible the charge would be lost, cut the cube in two, expecting to make a duplicate assay. On cutting the piece, however, he found a small bit of silver which had been inserted through a hole bored in the iron, the external evidence of the job hav- ing been concealed with a coating of rust and gum. No cer- tificate was issued and the celestial sword went the way of the discovered fake.
Mr. Bell appears to have never wearied in well doing oth- ers, for we next hear of him as lodging at Dannemora because of some little irregularity in connection with a deed to prop- erty that insisted on belonging to those who purchased it.
If Bell had lived along the Esopus one might understand where he caught his bent, for that stream will get out of bed most any stormy night and steal land from nearby farmers. It is told how one man down in Hurley lost three acres last year, and the curious thing about it is that while every one
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knows who the thief is no attempt whatever is made to appre- hend him, and so, grown bold by long immunity, the creek, like history, repeats itself when the mood takes it.
As we progress on our way, we begin to hear of Indian foray and massacre, but the region immediately around Ac- cord, or Rochester as it was in the old days, appears to have been a sort of doldrums both during the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars, for no serious trouble of that nature is recorded for these parts.
The highway through Accord keeps in such close touch with the creek that it seems in danger at times of falling in, and no doubt would, were it not for the trees which so kindly keep watch and ward along the steep bank, but the creek is too crooked for any well ordered road to long keep in touch with, and we soon went a little way off. The old burial ground here, which probably dates back to 1703, offers a re- markable curiosity in a tombstone more than half buried in the trunk of a monarch of the forest; the tree has literally grown from one side to beyond the centre of the stone, so that less than half of the inscription can be read.
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PINE BUSH, KERHONKSON AND WAWARSING.
The Dutchmen seem almost from the very first to have built their houses of stone, and consequently there are many still standing that date back to the first settlement. As we approach Pinebush, some two miles beyond the Accord bridge, a long, low building is seen well back from and south of the road, known as the Morris Myers house. This is the old Hoornbeek place which it is claimed was a "fort" in the French and Indian war times. Here was dwelling at the time of my call Miss Esther Atkinson, who has charge of the vil- lage school, and who takes a very keen interest in matters historic. She immediately took me in charge for a trip around the house, and was even willing to frame herself in the old Dutch double door for the benefit of the camera, a very small Myers doing his or her share by standing on tip-toe to see over the top of the closed lower half what the camera was up to, and being caught in the act.
This house, so my guide said, was attacked but once, the Indians approaching from the creek. In approaching thus over the fields they had no cover, and it is supposed did so on the theory that the defenders were away; fortunately, how- ever, they were not only at home, but had been warned and provided such an unexpectedly hearty welcome that some of the visitors were quite overcome while still others shyly ran away. The house was not loopholed, but is said to have had
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the same dormer windows in the roof that are there to-day, and it was from these that the defenders fired on the approach- ing foe. Such windows would seem to indicate that the house was of more than ordinary consequence, as the attic story was generally used for storage and only lighted from the ends, but the glass in the present windows has the iridescence that only comes with age and bears out the theory that they have been there from the beginning.
This neighborhood is known as Pinebush, and in all probability the attack on the Hoornbeek house mentioned above was that of September 5th, 1778, when three houses were burned, two men killed and one taken prisoner.
This July day was better for corn than for folks on foot and the dust was worse than the sunshine. Up above it early began to look like showers, and by I o'clock the hill folk were getting theirs, but the storm went off in the direction of Kings- ton, where was to be seen much thunder and lightning. By this time I had climbed the long hill out of Accord, had viewed the Hoornbeek house and had dropped down to the creek level to lunch on ice cream and snaps at Kerhonkson, an Indian ap- pellation the meaning of which does not seem to be known.
It seems that John Kettle was murdered by the Indians near the east end of the Kerhonkson bridge, and for many years thereafter his ghost haunted the bridge on dark nights. There is an old gentleman still living in this neighborhood who bears testimony to the fact that in the early days several persons had seen Kettle's ghost on the bridge-there can be no doubt but that it was the ghost of Kettle and no other, be- cause those who saw the vision said it was. It must have been most inconvenient to meet a ghost midway of a covered bridge, and particularly when one could not be quite sure
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whether it was a ghost or a bit of surreptitious moonshine come in by way of a knothole, at least not sure of it until he got to the telling of it at the village store.
About a mile further on and to be seen both from the old roadway which sticks close by the creek and from the new which parallels it a bit further back, stands the old Harden- bergh house "where the records were stored". When New York was certain of capture by the British the records of the colonial government were moved up the river to Kingston and "Olde Ulster" tells us that on October 12th, 1777, four days before the latter was burned by the invaders, the records were loaded on ten wagons and taken back into the country along our Old Mine Road and committed to the "care of Hendricus Hoornbeek, Comfort Sands and Johannis G. Hardenbergh, Esq., according to a Resolve of the Council of Safety for Said State of New York, and deposited in a room in the Harden- bergh dwelling, believed to be the north room, which is the one at the right of the illustration. The finish of the room, even in its present state of decay, indicates a building of su- perior construction.
The capstone of the outer door bears the date of construc- tion, "1762", and the monograms of the family in which are letters for each syllable of the name Hardenbergh. Under the eaves on either side are three portholes. So long as the rec- ords were here the house was at all times under guard.
"Hurley, December 17, 1777. Resolved that the State Rec- ords at Nepenagh be kept there under guard."
Northwest of the house on the summit of Turkey Hill are the graves of the family, the horizontal stone which marks the grave of the old patriot being inscribed :-
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"In Memory of Johannis G. Hardenberg who departed this life April 10th 1812 Aged 80 Years 9 Mos. 17 days."
The house where John Stall now lives was in early days the John Kettle home. The head of the house was caught outside by the Indians and scalped, but his son with John G. Hardenbergh and other neighbors who answered the call for help, successfully defended the place from further molestation.
Wawarsing is another Indian name the meaning of which is not known, but again Mr. Ruttenber comes to the rescue with a suggestion that it may be from an Indian word meaning "at a place where the stream bends". The village is one long street, well lined with houses for a distance of a mile and a half; as we get well within the eastern end of the cluster an evidently old building on the left cannot help but attract at- tention. The immediate locality here is known as Sockani- sank, or Socconessing, as it is more modernly pronounced. This is the old Indian name of the neighborhood and, accord- ing to Mr. Isaiah Rose, means waterhole, swamp, marsh, and any one with half an eye can see why it was applied.
This old building, says Mr. David Crist, who is the local historian of these parts, represents three periods-1616, and two additions made in 1716 and 1783. The earlier date is something of a surprise, as it antedates the settling of Kings- ton by thirty-seven years. Mr. Crist calls this the Depue house, but does not know who built it. At the time of the Fantine Kill massacre, the Indians came this way, when the only occupants of the building are said by Mr. Crist to have been an old man and a boy of sixteen. The elder, of course,
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counseled caution and the saving of their fire until the enemy was close upon them, but the boy, with the impatience of youth, could not forbear taking a crack at a chief who was some distance in advance of the other Indians. Fortunately his aim was accurate and the chief immediately became a good Indian. Being a chief his companions picked up the body and retired to an Indian burial ground near the bank of the creek. On their return they evidently thought the house too well guarded for attack and passed it by.
This oldest building in Wawarsing is claimed to be the birthplace of Governor De Witt Clinton. The birthplaces of this celebrated man are so numerous as to call for some com- ment, and as this is the first that we come to in our travels, it looks as though the comment was about due. But we do not wish to be understood as criticising the gentleman for it was really a matter entirely beyond his control.
De Witt Clinton's father lived in Little Britain, not far from Newburgh, and some years ago, when the question of his birthplace was a matter of some acrimony, one Edward M. MacGraw of Plymouth, Wis., wrote to the Independent Re- publican in January, 1874, claiming that the event occurred in the home of General James Clinton, his father, because his (MacGraw's) mother told him so. Mr. MacGraw was born and reared in Little Britain, and his parents knew the Clintons well and used to point out the residence as the birthplace of De Witt C., and that was satisfactory proof for him.
Then there is the old darkey who claimed to have been a servant of De Witt Clinton, who in 1881 was living in Hones- dale, Pa., and who was reported in a Port Jervis paper as hav- ing said "the Governor was born in Little Britain, Orange Co.,
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and no mistake", and that settled it in the minds of those who favor Little Britain.
New Windsor comes next on the list and here the building is still standing in which he was born, and that is proof enough for most folks down that way, who can see no use in arguing over a fact. A letter written to the Goshen Democrat in 1836 said that by common report of the neighborhood, confirmed by the Clinton family, De Witt Clinton was born in New Windsor.
And now we come to Wawarsing. Just across the high- way from "the oldest house" lives Mr. Benjamin Bruyn Rus- sell, whose mother, Elsie De Witt, was an own cousin of De Witt Clinton's mother, and consequently he has it very straight from one who knew all the circumstances that De Witt Clinton was born in this old house.
The fourth spot where this event happened is just across the Rondout from Napanoch, on the left as we traverse our Old Mine Road. The Napanochers point to the building, a low frame that looks too modern, and which is probably much like Mark Twain's jack-knife, though the cellar hole may be the same. The Hon. Thomas E. Benedict, who lives across the way, believes this to be the place, because he has talked with members of the De Witt family and all their traditions point to it. In 1873 and in 1881 the Ellenville Journal championed this as the Mecca toward which the devout should bend their steps.
In Port Clinton is to be found the fifth and last place, so far as my discoveries go: Here, in February, 1769, in the sharp angle of the road at the top of the hill, stood the stone house or fort of Jacob R. De Witt, brother of Mrs. James Clin- ton, and here was De Witt C. also born. This is rather in the
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nature of a bare statement of fact. I have heard no arguments in its favor, except that the other fellows have not proved their cases, and here was a near relative at whose house the lady might easily have been staying when the event occurred.
The story told to account for the fact that De Witt Clin- ton was born away from home is the same in each instance. General James and his lady had been visiting at the home of a relative, and just as they were about to return a great snow storm descended on the valley, which prohibited comfortable travel for months and detained the visitors long beyond the contemplated time.
It looks to me as though the Governor was born again about four times, and while this is rather rough on his mother, I hardly see how we can help it or how the facts can be ac- counted for in any other way; it is simply one of the penal- ties of greatness.
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