History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 63

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 648

USA > New York > Columbia County > History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 63

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Adam VandeBoe was one of the first to engage in mer- chandising, and was followed seme time after by John Freeland, who opened another store. Among those whe have here been in trade were Ezra Averill, David Carshere Levi Miller, David Rose, John W. Van Hoesen, Mathia Michael, and, since 1866, David C. Neefus.

The pest-office was established at Smoky Hollow in 1833, and had John M. Smith for the first postmaster, who kept the office in this tavern. Ambrose Roet, Jacob Holsapple, Christopher Gernon, Peter L. Decker, Jacob I. Platner, and David C. Neefus have since been postmasters. The name was changed to Hellewville Dec. 15, 1867. It has two mails per week.

Wool-carding and fulling machines were early operated at this place by Sela Hill, and afterwards by Martin Bailey. Edward & Christopher Gernen manufactured satinets and flannels. Their place was changed inte a hosiery-mill by Christopher Gernen, and employed a dozen hands. On the 4th ef October, 1869, it was destroyed by a freshet. A saw-mill now ocenpies the site. Farther up the stream a grist-miil was built abeut 1838 by Matthew N. Burdick, which is at present operated by J. H. Rewe. A trip- hammer was formerly werked by Wm. P. Snyder, and guns were manufactured by Peter Snyder. In addition to the general mechanic shops, there is at present a cradle- factory by Peter I. Anderson and Jacob A. Shaver.

A short distance east from Hollewville is the widely- known " overshet mill," which was erected about the pres- ent century by Jacob Hoffman. It is now operated by William Smith. The saw- and plaster-mills have been discontinued.

West from Hollowville is a small cluster of houses, known lecally as " Buttermilk Falls." On the small broek at this point were, in early times, woelen-mills and a dis- tillery, by J. Rutsen Van Rensselaer. All these interests have long since disappeared.

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

MARTINDALE,

in the eastern part of the town, is a station on the Harlem railroad. It received its name from a Mr. Martin, who was a large land-owner in this locality. It contains a church, two stores, and a dozen houses. A post-office was estab- lished here on the turnpike about 1849, with Martin Ham postmaster. He had also the first store. R. Morton, R. Ham, Anthony C. Michael, Wm. Haywood, Abram Martin, and Allen Poucher have since been postmasters.

The mill west from here was erected by Agrippa Martin about 1800. It is now known as the John Miller mill.

CHURCHTOWN

is a hamlet of about twenty houses, three miles south from Claverack village. It is partly situated in the towns of Livingston and Taghkanic. Among the first settlers were the Ilagadorns, whose home stood on the lot now occupied by R. Decker's place. South of them lived Nicholas Roat, and east Jonas Rossman. Frederick Houser was also an early settler. A few miles east from this place settled Uldrieh Sours, a native of Germany, living there to the extreme age of one hundred and five years. A grandson, Samuel Sours, is now one of the oldest citizens of Church- town.

Robert Bortle had one of the pioneer stores in the build- ing now occupied as a tavern. The early landlords were Fred. Houser and Peter I. Rossman, the latter keeping public-house many years. There are at present a tavern and several stores. In one of the latter is kept the Church- town post-office, which was established about twenty-five years ago, with Albert Sheldon postmaster. The present ineumbent is R. Decker. There is a tri-weekly mail from Iludson.

The place contains also a full complement of mechanic shops and the St. Thomas' Lutheran church.

THE EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS

of the town have given it an exalted and enviable reputa tion. Much interest was early manifested in the welfare of the common schools, and under the generous care of the town many of them have become noted for their efficiency. In most districts good school buildings have been provided, and in a few instances they are noteworthy for their comfort and neatness. In Distriet No. 5, Mary E. Drowne, a grad- uate of the Albany Normal School, has taught successively, summer and winter, since 1849.

The commissioner's last report of the public schools shows fourteen districts, having eleven hundred and seventy children of school age, from which a daily attendance of three hundred and sixty-three pupils was secured. About five thousand dollars is annually expended in the support of these schools.

The first high school in the county,

THE WASHINGTON SEMINARY,

was established in Claverack. It was begun in 1777, and successfully founded in 1779. Its originator was the pastor of the Reformed church, the Rev. Dr. Gebhard. Having privately taught the sons of some of the leading citizens of the town, he became convinced of the necessity for a

school where the classics and higher mathematics could be more advantageously taught. Dr. Gebhard became the superintendent of the new school, and filled that office until the close of the seminary. Dudley Baldwin was placed in charge of the classical department, and Abraham Fonda of the mathematical. In 1780, N. Meigs was appointed prin- cipal, and filled that position with acceptance until he was succeeded by Andrew Mayfield Carshore. The latter had come to this country with General Burgoyne, as an im- pressed British soldier, and after the surrender at Saratoga went to Kinderhook, where he opened an English school. Leaving this, he came to Claverack, and became an inmate of Dr. Gebhard's family. Here he acquired a knowledge of Greek and Latin, which he turned to profitable account in the seminary. He possessed unusual genius, and having great aptitude as a teacher, Washington Seminary achieved a famous reputation under his principalship. At times it had more than a hundred students from the surrounding country, Albany, and New York. Mr. Carshore continued his connection with the seminary about twenty-five years, when he left to become the principal of the Hudson Academy.

" Among those who were educated during this period at this seminary were General John P. Van Ness, attorney- at-law and member of Congress ; Hon. William P. Van Ness, judge of the southern United States district ; Hon. Cornelius P. Van Ness, governor of Vermont, minister to Spain, and collector of the port of New York ; General Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer, secretary of state for New York, often a member of Congress, and always the poor man's friend. The above were all natives of this town. Martin Van Buren, Robert H. Morris, and many others afterwards conspicuous in publie life, were also students here. Here, too, the Monells, Jordans, Phillipses, and Millers acquired the beginnings of their education. Clav- erack has a just right to the honor which these illustrious names confer upon her maternal brow ; and she claims them all to-day, while she bids the present generation to emulate and imitate the virtues of the great men she has reared."*

In the course of a few years, after Mr. Carshore left, the seminary was merged into a common school. The building it occupied stood near the church, directly north of the railroad depot, and was a conspicuous landmark many years.

But the demand for a school of a higher grade was so urgent that the Rev. Richard Sluyter, who had succeeded Dominie Gebhard in the pastorate of the church, was incited to take measures for the erection of an academy which should meet the wants of this region. His efforts were finally successful, and, in 1830, the academy was opened, with the Rev. John Mabon, a man of great attain- ments and worth as an instructor, at its head. The building which it occupied was erected by Colonel Ambrose Root, and its business affairs were managed by a board of eighteen trustees, composed of the leading men of the town. The school was prosperous, and had among its students several youth who rose to distinguished eminence.

The Rev. Ira C. Boice, who followed Mr. Sluyter in the pastoral office, carried forward the work of his predecessor,

# Rev. E. S. Porter, D.D.

"UPPER HOSIERY MILLS, NELSON P. AKEN, PROPRIETOR. PHILMONT, COLUMBIA CO., N. Y.

DRAWN BY H ROGERS.

LITH BY L H. EVERTS &CD., PHILADELPHIA

"LOWER HOSIERY MILLS, NELSON P. AKEN, PROPRIETOR, PHILMONT, COLUMBIA CO., N.Y.

243

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

and conceived the idea of endowing the school with col - legiate proportions. His plans were ably seconded by some of the enterprising men of the town, and, in 1854, the academy was rechartered under the name of the present.

CLAVERACK COLLEGE AND HUDSON RIVER INSTITUTE.

In the fall of 1854 the institution was most auspiciously opened. Addresses were delivered on the occasion by the Rev. Isaac Ferris, D.D., Horace Greeley, and the Rev. Dr. Porter. The trustees selected the Rev. Ira C. Boice as their president, and the Rev. Alonzo Flack, Ph.D., became the lessee and president of the institute. This position he has since retained, and under his skillful management the school has become one of the best of its kind in the State. It has eleven departments of instruction,-classical, French, Ger- wan, English, normal, musical, painting, military, oonimer- cial, telegraphic, and agricultural, -each in charge of a trained principal, and assisted by a corps of able teachers. In addition to these academie and special courses of study, there is a collegiate course for women, prescribed by the board of regents in June, 1869, which entitles those com- pleting it to the degree of Mistress of Art. The instruction in every department aims at thorough scholarship. Young men are here prepared for the junior class in college. Among other supplementary means of instruction, the in- stitute has a large library and good philosophical and chem- ical apparatus. A special feature, which has given the institute great popularity, is the " form system" of dividing the school into six divisions, according to age and culture, each receiving such especial attention as the students in that " form" require. Every male student is required to take military instruction, which has been found beneficial in promoting the healthfulness of the students, and in- ducing habits of order and obedience.

The buildings of the institute stand in an elevated cam- pus, containing twenty acres, and command a fine view of the surrounding rich and handsome Claverack country, and the famous Catskill mountains, eight miles distant. The college edifice is a frame, four stories high, and contains one hundred and forty-six students' rooms, for two pupils each, thirteen teachers' rooms, twelve lecture and recitation- halls, twenty-eight music-rooms, society and reading-rooms, a library, a chapel, offices, and thirty-five rooms for the domestie uses of the institute, which boards students of both sexes.

There are, also, on the grounds an armory, and a large drill-house and gymnasium. The trustees of the institute at present number twelve members, having Peter Hoffman for president, and F. N. Mesick for secretary and treasurer.

THE CLAVERACK LIBRARY SOCIETY

was organized Dec. 9, 1829, with the following members : Samuel R. MeClellan, James K. Van Ness, Peter P. Ileer- mana, Jacob S. Miller, Richard Sluyter, Jacob P. Mesick, Stephen Gunn, R. Henry Van Rensselaer, James V. D. P. Schumacher, Phineas Walker, John Poucher, Cornelius Esselstyne, Lawrence Fonda, John I. Miller, William C. Niles, William A. Weaver, Dennis Stow, Andrew Poucher, Joseph C. Holmes, Anthony Ten Broeck, Jonathan Storm, John A. La Bagh, Jacob Esselstyne, Jr., and A. II. Van

Rensselaer. Each paid five dollars into a common fund, and a good library was established and continued a number of years.

A strong characteristic of the old Dutch settlers, who first occupied this country, was their love for and the tenacity with which they clung to the institutions of the mother- country. Especially strong was their regard for the church of their fathers, and they early established its services in the new land, at Albany, and at points lower on the IIud- son. From these proceeded missionary efforts towards the newer and sparser settlements, and earlier than 1700 Clav- erack was visited by the Albany dominie. His occasional ministrations tended to at least keep alive the religious feeling, and prepared the way for future work in this direc- tion. Fifteen years later the population had so much in- creased that the settlers began to form themselves into independent churches, in order to more frequently enjoy the means of worship without subjecting themselves to the inconvenience and uncertainty arising from a dependence upon neighboring churches. In Claverack this movement seems to have been taken in 1719, and was directly brought about by Patroon Hendrick Van Rensselaer, who urged them to have a church and a settled minister of their own. It is said that an effort to build a house was made, and a call extended to Dominie Petrus Van Driessen by a con- sistory informally appointed, but that a division of opinion regarding the proposed church caused its formation to be delayed six or seven years. In 1726, the movement took a more tangible form, and resulted in the organization of

THE REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH OF CLAV- ERACK.

This is the oldest religious body in the town, and one of the oldest in the county. A building committee composed of Samuel Ten Broeck, Cornelius Martense Esselstyne, and Jeremiah Miller was appointed, which prosecuted its work so vigorously that the house was completed early in 1727. This house and the church customs of that early period are so aptly described by the Rev. F. N. Zabriskie, that we cannot forbear quoting at some length from his account :

" And the people made a curious covenant at the time, actually binding themselves to the church for the accom- plishment of the undertaking instead of subscribing a specifie amount. The building committee were empowered to determine what each one should give in work or money, and they ' bound themselves to fulfill the agreement under penalty of three pounds current money of the Province of New York.' The names of those who made this compact, as they are the first upon the records of the church, are worthy of special mention. They are, besides the building committee, as follows :* Henderick Van Renssalaer, Isaack Van Duse, Willem Isselsteen, Stiffanis Muller, Kasparis Conyn, Gloudie D. lamatere, Isaack D. lamatere, Harpert V : Duse, Arent Van Der kar, Jacob Isselsteen, Richard Moor, Jacob Essewyn, Robbert Van Duse, Joris Decker, Killeiæn Muller, Cornelis Muller, Junjor, Matthewis Is: V : Duse, Isaack Isselstyn, Kasper Van Hoese, Matthewis V : Duse, Jan Bont, Isaack V : Arerim, Henderick Bont,

# The names are given in the exact spelling of the Record.

244

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Kristoffel Muller, Tobyas Van Duse, Bartholomewis Hooge- boom, Jurie Adam Smit.

" The building was erected near the spot where the court- house was afterwards built. To be more exact, it stood on what is now the road between Peter Best's and Peter Hoff- man's, and partly upon the lot containing the tenement- house of the latter. There were just twenty-six pews in it, six of them being long pews ranged all around the walls and occupied by the men, and the twenty others, mostly facing the pulpit, occupied by the women. Each male and each female member of the congregation had his own appointed seat, allotted to him by a committee, consisting, besides the building committee, of Isaac Van Deusen and Stiffanis Muller. So primitive was this ancient edifice that the pulpit was reached by a ladder ! On Feb. 7, 1727, the church was dedicated by Dominie Van Driessen, of Albany. From this date commence the baptismal and other records of the church. Among these is the first record of an

' ELECTION OF CONSISTORY.

'June 18, 1727, they were, -

Elders,

CORNELIS MARTENSE ISSELSTEIN, ROBERT VAN DEURSEN, JEREMIAS MULLER.

Deacons,

CASPARIS VAN HOUSEN, SAMUEL TEN BROECK, ISAACK VAN DENSEN.'

" These were ordained on the first of August following. On the 25th of November we find the following covenant made with the consistory, and signed by what appears to be the entire membership. The elders and deacons are to be promoters of God's word and exhort the people to true liberality. If any controversy shall arise between the con- sistory and congregation relating to a misunderstanding of God's word, and they shall be accused of false doctrine, both parties shall be bound to refer the case to the neigh- boring Reformed church ; and if the consistory be found guilty and will not retract, the people shall have the privi- lege, in full assembly, to choose others in their place: 'On these articles and conditions, we, as a Christian congrega- tion, place ourselves under the authority of our consistory, with promises always to walk as free Christians should do, and promising always to be faithful to our agreements as far as in us lies, and we hereby certify that this has been done with the consent of the whole congregation.'"

On the 1st of August, 1727, Johannis Van Driessen be- came the first pastor of the church. He was a younger brother of the Albany dominie, and at the time of his set- tlement was thirty years of age. He was educated in the old country, but was ordained to the ministry by a Con- gregational council, on a recommendation to the faculty of Yale College, by Patroon Van Rensselaer. His services were shared by the churches in Livingston manor and Kinderhook, and his residence was at the latter place. His connection with the Claverack church was not con- tinued longer than a year, on account of the Coetus and Conferentie controversies, which, also, were the cause of the church being without a pastor for the next twenty- eight years. In this period the church was supplied by the pastors of the neighboring churches, and scarcely main-

tained an existence. But in 1756 the Rev. Johannis Casparus Fryenmoet was secured as a permanent pastor, and the work became more prosperous. His first service in the Claverack church was held Oct. 3, 1756.

" His call, like Van Driessen's, was a joint one from Claverack, Kinderhook, and Livingston manor. ' It stip- ulated to pay him, first, the sum of forty pounds each, or about three hundred dollars in all ; second, to provide him with a dwelling-house " becoming a preacher," with a kitchen, stable, etc., together with several acres of land for a " garden, pasture, mow-ground, orchard," ete., which should be situated in Claverack, the congregation of Clavcrack to provide these things for the privilege of having the preacher dwelling among them ; the other con- gregations to provide the preacher with " entertainment be- coming his office" while laboring among them. Third, the three congregations to bear his expenses of moving, each one an equal share.'" He remained with the Claverack church until 1770, and received during his pastorate two hundred and forty-four members, more than half on con- fession. After 1770 he confined his labors to the Kinder- hook church, where he died in 1778. He was a man of great energy, and inaugurated a movement which resulted in building the present church during his ministry. Says the writer before quoted, "The consistory were already in possession of a piece of land, three morgans in extent, bought in 1759 of Cornelis and Jeremias Miller for the sum of twelve pounds. This comprised, doubtless, the most of the parsonage glebe. They now received, on the 13th of February, 1767, a deed for the church grounds (and, we take it for granted, those on which the new par- sonage stands) from John Van Rensselaer, of the manor of Rensselaerwyek, 'for the building and erecting a Re- formed Protestant church according to the Articles of the Synod of Dordrecht.' The lease of this latter parcel of land had been purchased on the preceding 6th of December, 1766, of Hendrick Ten Broeck for one hundred pounds, by Hendrick Van Rensselaer, Jeremiah Ten Broeck, Jacob Philip, Robert Van Rensselaer, Casparus Conyne, Sr., Jacob Harter, Johannis Muller, John Legghart, William Van Ness, Jacobus Philip, and Johannis Haltsappel, for the purpose of a church building. The release of this and of the former parcel of three morgans was the act of Colonel John Van Rensselaer. The choice of a site for their church gives high testimony to the taste of the building committee, Messrs. Hendrick Van Rensselaer, Jacob Philip, and Jeremiah Teu Broeck ; yet how often is it that what all posterity will applaud can only be carried through against strenuous opposition ! The change of location ex- cited so much disgust among those who never like to see any change, and those who deemed themselves incom- moded by it, that some never forgave it, and are not known to have ever entered the new church door. Par- ticularly was the feeling inflamed against Mr. Van Rens- selaer, whose elevated and canopied pew thenceforth be- camne so obnoxious to one of his humbler neighbors that she uttered the iconoclastic threat of taking an axe to church and hewing it down. A still more disgraceful tra- dition has been handed down of personal violence inflicted upon Mr. Van Rensselaer by a leading member of one of

* These names are also given in the exact spelling of the Record.

( REAR VIEW. )

RESIDENCE OF M. MARTIN, CLAVERACK, COLUMBIA Co., N. Y.

LITH BY L.H EVERTO BOO. PHILA.

RESIDENCE OF THOMAS CARROLL, PHILMONT, COLUMBIA CO., N.Y

LITH BY LHEVERTS &CO PHILA PA

RESIDENCE OF MRS. CATHARINE BUSHNELL, CLAVERACK. COLUMBIA CO., N.Y

245

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the other great families of this region. The building long went by the name of the Van Rensselaer church. The church was dedicated on the 8th of November, 1767, by Dominie Fryenmoet, with the simple ceremony of preach- ing a sermon. The text was Jeremiah vii. 2: 'Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, llear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.' Two children were baptized on that occasion, namely, Kommertje, whose parents were Johannis Muller and Fytje Halenbeck ; also Johannis, son of Coenrad Mauer and Jeertje Smidt. It was not as long as the present building by some thirty feet, and had not the front tower nor the wings. There was simply a quaint little belfry on the front part of the roof, which contained a diminutive bell, ranging somewhere be- tween a cow-bell and a steamboat-bell." The walls of the church are built of brick,* which were manufactured in the locality, and the first stiek of timber used was brought by Jorvis Decker, from his farm in the present town of Greenport. The house has been enlarged, and made to somewhat conform to the architecture of to-day ; but its essentials remain unchanged, and give but little proof of the wear of more than a hundred years. The interior of this church was much like the first, being without a stove and having an elevated pulpit. Concerning this house, as it then appeared, with its worshipers, the Rev. Zabriskie said, at the eentennial celebration of the church in 1867, " The early pastors seem to raise the marble doors of their tombs in yonder cemetery and look about for the antiquated pulpit from which they preached down upon their people. The throngs of former worshipers, in their quaint attire, come winding over the hills and valleys in their plain and springless, but capacious wagons, to occupy the high, straight-backed pews. The women, in summer, with their mob-caps and white muslin neckerchiefs modestly folded over their breasts, or, in winter, with their stuffed eloaks and ponderous bonnets, and foot-stoves replenished at the parsonage fire ; and the men with their suits of homespun, their broad hats and knee-breeches, and ruffled shirts, and buckles on throat and shoon ; and the goodly array of children, all baptized and all brought to church, and young and old alike speaking in a foreign tongue, which would be utterly unintelligible to nine out of ten of us to-day.

" And now the tinkling bell has ceased its clatter in the little, old belfry, the neighborly gossip around the doors is over, and the congregation is seated decently and in order, the elders and deacons at the right and left of the pulpit, the Van Rensselaer of the day in his elevated and canopied pew among his army of lease-holders. The men are ranged around the walls, and the women in orderly rows in the centre. Above their heads is a wooden ceiling with pro- digious rafters. The walls are plastered and meant to be white ; the wood-work is painted blue; if galleries have yet been introduced, they tower even farther above the people than the present ones ; the pews differ in shape and size almost as much as their occupants. If prior to 1780, the worshipers depend solely upon salt pork and foot-stoves

to save them from freezing. If as late as 1800, a ten- plated box-stove, which scarcely serves to do more than make the cold more appreciable, stands raised on long legs upon a platform in the very centre of the building, with pipe going out of the window. The pulpit stands at the north end, is painted blue, as if to indicate its celestial origin, shaped like a wine-glass, and surmounted by a sounding-board, on which ' Holiness to the Lord' is ap- propriately inseribed. At the farther end of the church is a great window, which would look out into the tower were it not for the red curtain by which it is covered.

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History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 63

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign Number of Pages: 648

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 648