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 90
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A good Sunday-school has been maintained by the church for the past thirty years, which is at present super- intended by F. Truax, and has thirty-five members.
THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF STOCKPORT.
This body was first legally organized as the " Second Presbyterian Church of Hudson," Feb. 7, 1831, with trustees George Coventry, Abel P. Williams, Seth Tobey, Andrew N. Stickles, Ezekiel Butler, George W. Cook, Elias Hotchkiss, Sebastian Duncan, and Wm. S. Shaw. The meetings were at that time held in a school-house in what was then the northern part of the city of Hudson, but which is now near the centre of the town of Stockport, and there were but nine members. The ruling elders were McIntire and Duncan, and the deacon was a Mr. Duncan. In 1832 a very attractive meeting-house was erected on a most beautiful spot near where the building now stands, having a spacious gallery, tower, and bell. Rev. Alden Scovel was installed the first pastor, and for a num- ber of years the church was very prosperous. Owing to the change in the civil. condition of the town, the society was reorganized Feb. 21, 1844, when the name was changed to that which heads this section. The trustees selected at that time were Joseph Wild, Robert Hicks, George Duck- worth, Ezekiel Butler, John Russell, Wm. F. Butler, Cas- parus C. Hoes, Philip Van Valkenburgh, and W. Pilking- ton. The pastoral relation of the Rev. Scovel had been terminated the year before, and he was succeeded by the Rev. Brunson. After this followed a short pastorate by the Rev. Buck, who was the last to serve the church regu- larly ; and soon after, services were held only at occa- sional intervals, and finally altogether discontinued. This course was necessitated by the removal of the members, most of whom had been connected with the " Hudson
Print-Works," which had ceased to work a few years be- fore. The aggregate membership of the church was one hundred and eighty-three, and the elders were composed of those first named,-Wm. Welch, Wm. F. Butler, and Wm. McCune.
The meeting-house stood unoccupied a few years, but in 1873 was removed to its present site, and fitted up for the use of the public schools of the village of Stockport.
THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST (EPISCOPAL), IN THE TOWN OF STOCKPORT,
was organized with twenty members, by the Rev. Henry Townsend, and on the 20th of September, 1845, was duly incorporated with Wardens, Joseph Marshall and Jonathan Stott ; Vestrymen, Thomas Marshall, John Stewart, Wm. Kelly, George Chittenden, William Pilkington, Lewis Whitlock, Covington Guion, and William Wright.
In 1847 a very fine church edifice was erected, at a cost of $12,000, in a beautiful grove in the village of Stockport, and was dedicated July 3, by Bishop Heathcote De Lancey. A rectory was purchased in 1847, costing $2000, which has been enlarged, and is now a convenient and comfortable home. St. Barnabas' chapel, at Stottsville, a very neat little edifice, erected in 1865, at a cost of $7000, is also the property of the parish. At the rectory is maintained a library of valuable theological books, founded by the present rector, Rev. George Fisher, in 1871. A parish school is also conducted there, having fifteen pupils, and employing two teachers.
The communicants of the parish at present number one hundred and seventy-nine; an increase of one hundred and one since 1871, and the work of the church is in a flourish- ing condition.
The rectors of the parish and their terms of service have been as follows : Rev. Henry Townsend, elected September, 1845, resigned June, 1848; Rev. George L. Neide, elected August, 1848, resigned March, 1851; Rev. William O. Lamson, clected May, 1851, resigned April, 1852; Rev. Samuel Hollingsworth, elected May, 1852, resigned De- cember, 1859; Rev. James R. Coe, elected January, 1860, resigned April, 1865; Rev. William O. Jarvis, elected April, 1865, resigned January, 1871 ; Rev. George Fisher, elected March, 1871. All of these are yet living except Rev. James R. Coe.
Two Sunday-schools are conducted by the rector in the church, and the chapel at Stottsville, having an aggregate membership of three hundred scholars.
At Chittenden's Falls is a Universalist meeting-house, which was formerly used by members of that faith and others, but which has not been used for religious meetings for the past few years, and is now devoted to other uses.
THE MILITARY RECORD
of Stock port is, owing to its recent formation as a town, limited. In the war for the Union, 1861-65, aid was early extended the government by filling the quota, bounties to volunteers being offered to this end. At a special meeting, held Sept. 3, 1862, $150 per man was voted, to be secured by a loan on the credit of the town by Charles II. Stott, G. Lathrop,
45
354
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Rensselaer Reynolds, Andrew Moore, and Alfred Ostrom. The first-named gentleman disbursed $4150 under this pro- vision. On the 24th day of August, 1864, a $200 bounty was voted at a special meeting, and Vroman Van Rens- selaer, Andrew Moore, Charles H. Stott, and Henry S. Van De Carr were authorized to issne the serip of the town to secure the necessary men; and again, Jan. 20, 1865, a
special meeting authorized V. Van Rensselaer, H. S. Van De Carr, B. Van Buren, A. Ostrom, and C. H. Stott as a war committee to use their own judgment in the choice of means to promptly fill the quota by procuring substitutes or volunteers. In another part of this volume will be found the names of those credited to the town by the adjutant- general of the State.
A .... TTLE.
JONATHAN STOTT.
STUYVESANT.
THIS town was erected from Kinderhook, April 21, 1823, with a territory extending along the Hudson from Rensselaer county southward to Major Abram's creek. The lower part of the town was annexed to Stockport, April 30, 1833. The name was bestowed in honor of Governor Peter Stuyvesant.
The town includes the islands east of the middle of the Hudson, and has at present an area of fourteen thousand three hundred and ninety-six acres of land, whose surface is mainly level, except along the river, where are low hills and deep ravines, cutting through the elevation to the water's edge.
Along Kinderhook creek, which crosses the southeastern corner of the town, the surface is slightly broken by slaty ledges. The creek has precipitous banks, which, together with the natural falls at this point, form mill-sites that are not surpassed in the county.
A little north of the centre of the town are several small streams, which unite and then flow westward into the Hudson. In early times this was known as the " Saw Kill." Flowing southwest, and entering the Hudson near the south line of the town, is another small stream, whose banks are low and bordered by marshy ground. The gen- eral surface is elevated, and is composed of a clayey soil, except along the east line, where it is a light loam or a sandy loam. In this part of the town the original forests were pine, and the land was not so highly esteemed by the early settlers as the clayey portions.
The patents covering this town and the original owner- ship of the land are elsewhere noted, and partook of the general conditions of those of Kinderhook.
THE FIRST SETTLERS
were Swedes and Hollanders, who came soon after 1650, and bore the names of Scherbs, Scherp, Peitersen, Van Alen, Van Der Poel, Van Valkenburgh, Vosburgh, Van Alstyne, and Schermerhorn.
In 1763, among other improvements in the town, were houses owned by the following, most of whom have yet descendants living in Stuyvesant, and constitute now, as then, its principal citizens: Jacob Vosburgh, near the landing ; Andreis Witbeck, near Coxsackie station, which at that time was called Nutten Hook ; between this point and the landing northward, in the order named, lived Jacob Van Valkenburgh, Gerrit Van Hoesen, Abraham Wingaart, and Gysbert Claw; on the hill, east from the landing, were the homes of the Scherbs and Sharps, who are called, in the document. before us, the Swedes. The latter became very numerous, and the locality where they resided was known as Sharptown until recently. Peter
Van Buren and Peter Vosburgh lived on the river-bank north from the landing, which was then called Swate Hook, probably from the fact that the Swedes settled there. The upper landing was called Kinderhook. North of this was the old house of Adam Van Alen; and still farther north the homes of Jacobus, Barent, and John Van Der Poel. The house of the latter and the house of Lendert Conyn stood opposite Bear Island, which at that time is said to have been covered with fine timber, and afforded excellent fishing and hunting. The Van Alstynes and the Van Hoesens lived near the great falls (Stnyve- sant), on the very same land now occupied by their pos- terity. At a later period these settlers were joined by families named Van Ness, Van Dyck, Van Slyck, Scher- merhorn, who had settled very early in Schodack, Bayly, and Sickles. Their descendants and those of other fami- lies, named in Kinderhook, in most instances, yet live in town, and date the settlement of their ancestors prior to the American Revolution. The population in 1875 was two thousand three hundred and ninety-one, an increase of one hundred and fifty-seven since 1865.
In addition to these homes of early settlers, it is gener- ally believed that there were saw and grist-mills on the great falls, although not indicated on the map of that period. Dr. Rockwell states that two Labadist brethren, Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter, visited this locality in 1680, which they thus described in their journal : " We came to anchor at Kinderhook (Stuyvesant), where a cer- tain female trader had some grain to be carried down the river." While waiting the process of loading, the journal continues, " We stepped ashore to amuse ourselves. We came to a creck near which lives a man whom they usually call ' t' Kinder van Walde' (' the Child of Luxury (?)' He had a saw-mill on the creek, or a water-fall, which is a sin- gular one. The water falls quite steep in one body, but it comes down in steps, with a broad rest between them. These steps are sixty feet or more high, and are formed out of a single rock." One familiar with the scenery of Stuyvesant falls will not hesitate to locate this fortunate settler at that point, but who he was or what became of his mill, since it is not mentioned in subsequent writings, will perhaps never be revealed. The location and ownership of another mill in this town is more positively fixed. Frans Peiters Clavers had a saw-mill on the little stream, two miles north from the landing, as early as 1665. It formed a conspicuous landmark in the first patents granted to De Bruyn and others, and was unquestionably the first im- provement of this nature in this locality, if not in the county. There are also intimations, although obscure, that other mills were located on the Saw Kill, as it was then called, and it is supposed that the brook in the southern
355
356
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
part of the town was also forced to do service as a mill- stream for the early settlers.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT.
The act forming the town provided that the first meeting be held May 6, 1823. The election resulted in the choice of the following officers: Supervisor, Peter I. Vosburgh ; Town Clerk, Arent Vosburgh ; Assessors, John J. Sharp, Barent Van Densen, John A. Staats; Collector, Samuel Vanderpoel ; Commissioners of Highways, Richard I. Goes, Michael Kuffi, John Mynderson ; Constable, Samuel Clary ; Commissioners of Schools, Oliver Beaumont, William Sutherland, Stephen Wendover; Inspectors of Schools, Russell Potter, Walter Butler, John T. Wendover ; Over- seers of Highways, Cornelius Smith, Henry Ham, Oliver Beaumont, Abraham P. Van Alstyne, Moses M. Gilbert, John Bame, Teunis Smith, Lucas I. Van Alen, Wmn. Man- ton, Lambert Vosburgh, Peter Paddock, William Stephen- son, Abraham Van Alstyne, William Witbeck, Albert Goes, Albert Witbeck, Garret Burgert, Isaac Staats, John M. Van Hoesen, George Chittenden, Joshua Vosburgh, Tru- man Hurd, John Hoffman; Overseers of the Poor, William Diekie, Martin Van Alstyne ; Poundmaster, Evert I. Van Alen.
The following have held the principal offices of the town since its formation :
Supervisors.
Town Clerks.
1874
Henry H. Gibbs. Rodolphns Clark. 46
1875 ... Henry A. Best.
1876. Mathew Connor.
1877 A. L. Schermerhorn. 44
1878.
«
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
1823. Lucas Goes. 1847. Russel D. Wilbur.
Isaac MeCagg.
1848. Peter T. Tanocr.
1824. Richard 1. Goes.
Medad Butler.
Barent Vanderpoel.
Abraham F. Van Alstyne.
1851. Russel D. Wilbur. 1852. William Hoes.
1853. Peter T. Tanner.
1854. John P. Vosburgh.
1855. Russel D. Wilbur.
1856. William Hoes.
1857. Ariel M. Gamwell.
1858. James J. Clow.
1859. John P. Vosburgh. 1860. William Hoes.
1831. Garret Burgert.
1861. Samuel A. Fowler.
1832. Richard Hoes.
1862. James J. Clow.
1833. Barent Vanderpoel.
1863. John P. Vosburgh.
1834. Medad Butler.
John S. Vosburgh.
1835. Barent Hoes.
1865. Smith Castle.
1866. James Crandell.
1867. Russel D. Wilbur.
1837. Abram I. Van Alstyne. William Thomas.
1838. Medad Butler.
1869. Thomas M. Wheeler.
1870. Thomas Dolen, Jr.
1839. William W. Wight.
1840. Mathew Van Alstyne.
1841. William Thomas.
1842. Laurence H. Van Alen. Mathew Van Alstyne.
1874. Lewis Thomas.
1875. Russel D. Wilbur. Wm. J. Magee.
1844. Mathew Van Alstyne. Russel D. Wilbur.
1877. Wm. P. Walker.
1845. William Thomas.
1878. Wm. J. Magee.
Samuel A. Fowler.
46
1839
1840 William Strever.
1841 64
1842 Garret Z. Sickles. =
1843
1844 Edwin M. Coventry.
1845.
1846.
L. R. Schermerhorn.
1847.
1848 Alexander Bidwell. 1849. William Best. 1850 .
1851.
14
1852. L. R. Schermerhorn.
1853
1854 Jacob P. Sickles.
1855
Gilbert Clapp. 1856
1857. Wilson Ham.
1858 Hugh Van Alstyne.
1859
Henry A. Best.
1860. Gilbert Clapp.
1861 Levi Milham.
1862
1863 Wm. G. Mandeville.
1864
1865 Samuel A. Fowler.
1866.
George W. Bayly.
1867. Ilugh Van Alstyne. "
1868
"
44
1870. James Crandell.
1871 Thomas M. Wheeler.
1872 P. Edw. Van Alstyne.
1873 Hugh Van Alstyne.
Town Clerks.
1823.
Peter I. Vosburgh.
1824.
44
46
1825.
1826
1827
George Chittenden.
1828
1829
Richard F. Goes.
1830.
1831
Garret Burgert.
Augustus Whiting.
John P. Vosburgh.
16
1835.
46
1836.
Juhu S. Vosburgh.
16
1837
«
=
Stephen F. Wheeler. P. Acker, Jr.
John S. Vosburgh. Alexander Bidwell.
Benjamin Shultz.
Alexander Bidwell.
=
George B. Shultz.
Wilson Ham.
Edwin M. Coventry.
Peter A. Vosburgh. Abram G. Sharp. Huyt Z. Bayly.
Henry B. Hall. 44
= Clarence Peters. Henry B. Hall. 44
1849. William Shultz.
1850. William Thomas. John P. Vosburgh.
1827. Richard I. Goes. Barent Vanderpoel. Medad Butler.
Garret Burgert. Erastus G. Wight.
1830. Barent Vanderpoel. Erastus G. Wight. Garret Burgert. Medad Butler.
1864. William Hoes. Rupert D. Williams.
1868. Martin C. Van Alstyne. James J. Clow.
William Thomas. Mathew Van Alstyne.
1871. Andrew P. Van Dyck. Baltus P. Van Slyck.
1872. James J. Clow. Russel D. Wilbur.
1873. Samuel A. Fowler.
John P. Vosburgh. 44
1832 William Wight.
1833.
1834 Abram 1. Van Alstyne.
46
1843. Medad Butler. Elijah Castle.
1876. James J. Clow.
1846. John P. Vosburgh.
STUYVESANT LANDING,
on the Hudson, and also a station on the Hudson River railroad, ten miles north from the city of Hudson, is a pleasant village of four hundred inhabitants. It has an active freighting business to New York city, and contains several manufactories of importance. There are, also, a number of stores, a hotel, and three churches. The busi- ness part of the village is along the river, but the residences are principally on the bluffs, which here form a pleasant elevation, on which are some fine houses. The place was formerly known as Kinderhook Landing, and was first im- proved at the lower part of the present village, near the springs. The current of the river having shifted from the shore at that point, caused the landing to be established at its present place some time about 1800. At the old or lower landing, Medad Butler had a public-house, and was, also, a sloop-owner. Butler and Van Valkenburgh had a store in the house now occupied by Jacob Hendere as a cigar-factory, and which is probably the oldest building in the village. These and the usual shops gave the place for those times a busy appearance.
=
Arent Vusburgh. Richard I. Gocs. William Diekie.
William A. Witbeck.
Richard I. Goes.
1836. Barent Vanderpoel. John R. Iloes.
1838 John R. Hoes.
Supervisors.
1869 Simeon Bryant.
2
LITH BY L. H. EVERTS & CO, PHILA. PA
RESIDENCE or LEVI MILHAM, STUYVESANT, N.Y.
357
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
At the upper landing, Van Valkenburgh & Pruyn were in trade, and were followed by Alexander MeMachem, and Butler & Vosburgh. The latter was an extensive real es- tate owner, and disposed of much of his interests to Abel S. Peters, who was for many years a leading business man.
About this time, 1816, the freighting business began to assume importance, and was carried on by Abel S. Peters, Walter Butler, and Stephen Wendover. The former had the upper dock, where, in 1819, he erected a warehouse, which is yet standing, and which is now occupied by A. Davis. Wendover was at the lower dock, and Butler oc- cupied the intermediate place. Each owned a sloop, making a trip to New York every fortnight. About 1836 the " Kinderhook and Stuyvesant Steamboat Association" was formed, and the " United States," Captain George Mayhew, commander, placed on the line between Stuyvesant and New York. Walter Butler was the managing agent of the company, which, after several years' operation, was obliged to close business on account of financial difficulties. Wen- dover & Son next had a line of propellers, among the boats being the " Wyoming" and the "St. Nicholas." During the Rebellion the latter was sold to the government. About the same time the propeller " A. Davis" plied between the two points named until it was also sold to the government. Both Davis and Wendover then employed barges. The latter was succeeded as a freighter, in 1868, by Henry A. Best & Co., who are still in business. Captain Davis has continued in this capacity since 1833, excepting a period of ten years, when J. Wilcoxson and others occupied this dock.
The barge line was displaced by the propeller " Andrew Harder," in 1870, which has since been run as either a regular or opposition boat. Other boats plying from the landing to New York have been the " Walter Brett," the " Escort," and the present " Charlotte Vanderbilt," which makes three trips per week, and, being a large boat, affords excellent freight and passenger accommodations.
Two miles north from the landing, on the east or Stuy- vesant side of the river, is a United States light-house. It was built in 1829, and refitted in 1854. It is constructed of stone and brick, painted white. The height of the tower is thirty-two feet from its base, and thirty-eight feet from the water. It contains a No. 6 lens, which affords a fixed light, visible at a distance of ten nautical miles.
One of the first hotels at the upper landing was kept by Peter Ackers, in a frame house standing on a lot which is now used by the track of the railroad. In 1841, Gilbert Clapp became the proprietor, and he and his sons have con- ducted it ever since. The present spacious house was built in 1873.
The post-office was established with the name of Kinder- hook, and afterwards Stuyvesant Landing. It is at present known as the Stuyvesant office, and has, since 1861, been in charge of E. Murrel, Jr. The office has also been held by Walter Butler, Alexander Bidwell, Peter I. Houghtal- ing, P. L. Schermerhorn, George B. Shultz, E. J. Smith, and Baltus P. Van Slyck.
A Dr. Stevens was one of the first to practice medicine at the landing. Dr. Nelson Rusk came at an early day, and was a successful practitioner about forty years. Drs.
Hollister, Van Aken, and Van Slyck were also here for short periods. Dr. P. K. Pomeroy is the present physician. In former days a Dr. John M. Crouse, the famous mad- dog doctor, lived in Stuyvesant. He is said to have effected some remarkable cures, and was consulted by people living at great distances from the place.
The manufactories of the village have a comparatively recent origin. About 1853, Backus, Smith & Sargent opened a stove-foundry, on the dock now occupied as a coal-house by Best & Co., where several patterns of stoves were manufactured, which met with sufficient favor to war- rant the erection of a larger foundry, on the present site, about four years later. A number of changes in the own- ership of the property ensued, the firm becoming, about 1863, S. W. Gibbs & Co., who established a business that extended to all parts of the Union; and several stoves which were here designed and manufactured attained a national reputation. Among these were "Gibbs' Cook," which is a model for that class of stoves, the "Texas Star," the " Radiant," and " Fire Basket" heaters ; and several ranges of very desirable patterns. The list comprised a large number of patterns and several hundred sizes, whose man- ufacture required the employment of fifty men. In 1873, Gibbs & Co. retired from business, and the foundry was thereafter operated but a few months a year until the be- ginning of 1878, when the works came into the possession of the "Stuyvesant Stove Company." This is an incor- porated body, having nine members and the following officers : William Yungblut, president; Wm. Henzel, sec- retary ; Wm. T. Greer, treasurer ; and James D. Rourk, superintendent. The manufacture of the best of the Gibbs patterns are continued, and many new features are con- stantly added. The works occupy a very large brick build- ing, with convenient foundries attached. It is supplied with power from a good engine, and there is ample ca- pacity to produce six hundred stoves per month. At present thirty men are employed.
The Stuyvesant Steam Flouring-Mills were erected about 1856, by Peter and Thomas Houghtaling and George B. Shultz. They occupy a large frame building on the dock, and are supplied with four run of stones and improved ma- chinery. The motor is a fifty horse-power engine, and the capacity is one hundred barrels per day. Best & Wilcox- son are the present proprietors.
Four miles north from the landing the manufacture of bricks has been carried on extensively, employing twenty- three operatives, and producing twenty-four thousand bricks per day.
STUYVESANT FALLS.
This is a manufacturing village, containing about seven hundred inhabitants, situated on both banks of Kinderhook creek, near where it passes out of the town. It is eight and a half miles north of Hudson, and three miles east from Coxsackie station, its nearest railway point. The lo- cation is elevated, and the surroundings are exceedingly picturesque, constituting this one of the most attractive places in the county. It contains several cotton and woolen- mills, five or six stores, a hotel, and three churches.
Unusual good water-power is here afforded by Kinder-
358
HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
book creek, by two natural falls of forty-five feet and twenty-six feet in height, and about forty rods apart. At the foot of the lower and greater falls the waters of the channel are divided by a point of rocks nearly a hundred feet in height, which forms the headland of an island con- taining about twenty acres of land. The surface of the island is rocky and covered with a growth of evergreens.
On the east channel, near the lower end of this island, a dam has been constructed to furnish power for the Colum- bia Woolen-Mill. This factory is the outgrowth of a cloth-dressing shop established here about 1800, by Wm. Van Hoesen. At a subsequent period he manufactured Satinets on hand-looms, and when power-looms were intro- duced speedily adopted them. As the business increased he enlarged his manufacturing facilities, associatnig his sons, Isaae and Abram, in the management of the business, which was very prosperous until the stringent times of 1837. About that period A. W. Van Hoesen became the owner of the property, and at once instituted important improvements in the mill, greatly multiplying its capacity. By using the most approved machinery he was enabled to manufacture the finer grades of domestic cassimeres and silk-mixed goods, at the rate of ten thousand yards per month. His pattern-list embraced nearly a thousand varieties, and all the goods were finished in the most workmanlike manner, by practical and experienced operatives. The entire pro- duct of this mill was shipped to A. T. Stewart & Co., of New York city, and when Mr. Van Hoesen retired from business, in 1872, that firm took the mill, and has since operated it. Several large frame buildings are occupied, and about seventy operatives are employed.
On the east side of the stream, below the lower fall, were formerly saw, grist, and plaster-mills, operated by Martin Van Alstyne. In time the property was purchased by Coventry & Mandeville, who erected a paper-mill on the south side of the grist-mill, operating both many years. In 1863, while the property of Wm. R. Dingman, the mills were destroyed by fire, and the site has since been unoccupied.
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