USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 16
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* So called, from a tory by the name of Carr, who built the first saw-mill in Sidney, on this stream.
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bridge now is, where at first a Mr. Wattles had made a settle- ment. Of this man he obtained help to get his boat up to that place, as the river during the heavy rain, had become so deep that the strength of one man could not push it up the stream.
A few days after his arrival at this place, the Indian, who had given so much trouble, was taken up in the woods in pos- session of the horse, by two men, Richard and Daniel Ogden, who had been out on a tour of hunting and exploration. These men knew the horse, having seen it when Beach was at the ferry a few days before, and compelled the fellow to come in with them and give an account of himself. But, Indian- like, he answered nothing to the charges brought against him, and here the matter ended, as no further measures were taken against him. At this place Mr. Beach determined to locate himself, and accordingly selected a farm in an entire wild state, which place is now known by the name of Ketchum farm, in Sidney, Delaware county, New York. He then returned through the same woods, carrying his boy behind him on the horse, till he arrived at Western, his place of residence, in old Connecticut, but then known by the appellation of Down Country, by all such as had removed from that place to the westward.
On the 11th of November, 1784, Mr. Beach and his family commenced their journey to their new home. In order to transport their goods, they were obliged to follow a different route from that taken by himself while exploring the wilder- ness. They passed through Albany, then up the Mohawk valley, and finally arrived at the outlet of Otsego lake; this was the end of the road, and they were compelled to dismiss their teams, and embark with their effects on a batteau. This was the same route travelled by the Northern division of Sul- livan's army under Clinton in 1777, by whom, as before stated, it was first opened. Gliding down the lake, a distance of nine
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miles, to its outlet-the head waters of the mighty Susque- hanna-for the first time they encamped in the open air, and on the very spot where the village of Cooperstown now stands. At the close of the second day they had descended the Susque- hanna as far as the outlet of Cherry Valley creek. Here the female portion of the family first had a sight of the native Indians, who had also encamped at this place, on their journey down the river to their ancient hunting-grounds. They had built a monstrous fire, around which they were merrily prepar- ing their supper from a buck, which had been shot during the afternoon, every now and then uttering a horrid yell of joy, which reverberated fearfully among the hills.
On the evening of the third day from the lake, they arrived > at the end of their journey, very much wearied. Here they discovered the remnants of a few log-houses crumbled to ruins, said to have been the habitations of a few Scotch settlers, who had penetrated the wilderness before the Revolution, (see a previous chapter,) at the outbreak of which they were com- pelled to fly for safety to Cherry Valley, and commit their homes to the mercy of the ruthless savage. One of these Scotch settlers, the Rev. Mr. Johnston, had returned the same year that Mr. Beach settled in Sidney. They had but barely arrived at their new home, when winter, with its deep snows and fierce driving winds, set in. The miserable hovel in which they sheltered themselves, but illy supplied the place of the comfortable home they had left in Connecticut. There were but five families in all that region, none of whom had been there over a few months, and consequently provisions of every kind were very scarce, and could not be procured nearer than Schoharie, a distance of seventy miles.
Mr. John Wickham, an early settler of the town of Har- persfield, informed me that in 1790 his father, in company with a man by the name of Butts, came into Harpersfield, which then constituted a part of Montgomery county, and
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purchasing a lot of land, erected a log hut upon it. In Feb- ruary, 1791, Mr. Wickham, wife, and three small children, moved from Dutchess county with an ox team, and after a fatiguing journey of one hundred miles, sixty of which lay through a dense forest, with only now and then a small set- tlement, they arrived at their place of destination. Nothing of interest occurred during the journey, except the falling of a tree, which was blown down by the wind across their sled. No one was hurt, and after some delay in removing the obstruc- tion and repairing the broken sled, they were enabled to pro- ceed. There were but few families in Harpersfield at the time Mr. Wickham settled there-the following are their names : Col. John, Col. William, Col. Alexander, and Joseph Harper, who had returned in 1785; Hon. Roswell Hotchkiss, who had removed from Guilford, New Haven county, Connecticut, about the same time ; Josiah Seley, Matthew Lindsley, Samuel and John Knapp, two by the name of Hamilton, Washburn, Isaac Price, Stephen Judd, Samuel,* Eliab and John Wilcox, Richard and John Bristol, Abijah Baird, Byron McIlvain, David and John McCullough, Isaac Patchin, William Lamb, Caleb Gibbs and family, and William McFarland.
The Harpers who owned the patent, and were at that time the principal men, were kind and generous to the poor, and ready at all times to succor the distressed, and to do anything in their power to make all around them happy.
In 1790, there was no settlement of any account nearer than Schoharie, a distance of thirty miles, and there being but rude improvements in Harpersfield, the people labored under all the disadvantages which can well be imagined ; indeed it was not uncommon for those in the best circumstances to be driven to extreme suffering for want of some kind of provision to sustain
* Alonzo B. Wilcox, an enterprising farmer of Harpersfield, is a son of Samuel, and occupies the old homestead.
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life, and at times when a little corn could be procured, which was pounded fine in a mortar and made into " Johnny Cake," it furnished a luxurious repast. Schoharie might at that period with propriety be termed a " Modern Egypt"-the inhabitants raising large quantities of corn, and those who could possibly raise a few shillings, would go there, usually on foot, to procure a little of the precious commodity.
Some of the more wealthy among the inhabitants usually fatted a pig for their year's supply of meat, and were frequently called upon to mourn in consequence of a bear having entered the pen in the night and deprived them of meat for the ensu- ing year. Bears were very plenty, and when a neighbor shot or captured one, a general distribution of the meat was made, and many a rich repast have those hardy pioneers enjoyed at the expense of Old Bruin. Wild animals were numerous, as late as 1810, and were frequently driven by hunger to attack even men, and many incidents might be related of encounters, where it would be far more desirable to be a looker on than a participant. In the year 1810, as James Gordon was cross- ing the Charlotte river on a'log which had fallen across the stream, and as he stepped on the log on one side of the river, a large bear came up on the other side and made towards him. Gordon was an athletic man, and having an axe on his shoulder, proposed to give battle-the two antagonists met about mid- way over the stream, when, with almost herculean strength, he aimed a blow at the monster, which the bear warded off by knocking the axe from his hand with his paw. A hand-to- hand contest now ensued, and they both went into the river together. Gordon barely escaped with his life, and not with- out becoming sensible of the amorous embraces of bruin, which cost him an arm and hand horribly mangled, crippling him for a long time.
It was not till 1796 or 1797 that a church was erected in the town. It was built from contributions made by the inhabitants,
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each one furnishing material of some kind, such as hewn timber, boards, shingles, &c., being so very poor at the time, but few could furnish any money. The same year a place was built called stocks, and a whipping-post prepared by Isaac Pierce, for the purpose of inflicting punishment on any who had been charged with crime, and found guilty of the same by a jury. A good deal of curiosity was exhibited, especially among the fair sex, to get a glimpse of the ordeal, and after they were com- pleted, Alexander Harper, who was fond of an innocent joke, invited his wife to accompany him and examine the stocks, which were so arranged, that by placing the criminal's foot in and making it fast, he could not escape. He therefore requested his wife to put her foot in, telling her that " That fool of a Pierce had made them, and they would not hold any one." She put in her foot and he let down the block, locked the same fast, and walked off amid the hearty laugh of the spectators and her own earnest entreaties, but soon returned and released her. It was however, regarded as a rich joke for many years afterwards. But one person was ever whipped at the post, and he soon left the county. It may be remarked in this place, that three whipping-posts were erected in Delaware County at about the same period; the one already mentioned in Harpersfield, one on the place now owned by ex-sheriff Thomas, but then in pos- session of Silas Knapp, who kept a grocery there for several years, and the other near Col. Dimmick's, in Middletown.
There was but one person whipped, as I have been able to learn, at either of the last named whipping-posts. This per- son was one Turner, a carpenter by trade. The charge which was brought against him, and which he finally confessed, was stealing some fifty pounds of flour belonging to Ezra Hait, from Esq. Rose's mill. After sentence was passed, he was fastened in the stocks, which were constructed of heavy plank, hollowed out above and below sufficiently to contain a man's legs when the planks were shut together. They were secured
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by a lock. He was left in the stocks for a day, furnishing a good mark for the boys, who showered him with rotten eggs. The next day he was taken out and fastened to the whipping- post, when the remainder of his sentence, fifty lashes, were inflicted, when he was allowed to leave the county, which he was not long in doing.
At the raising of the church, a great portion of the men and women in the town assisted. Some of the women came a dis- tance of six or eight miles, barefooted and bareheaded, and it was considered extravagant for boys not more than 15 or 16 to have hats on their heads, or shoes on their feet. This church was burned in 1831, up to which time it was not only used as a place of public worship, but for the holding of town- meetings and elections.
The first settled minister in the town of Harpersfield, was the Rev. Stephen Fenn, who died in 1833. He graduated at Yale College, in 1790, and came into the county in 1793. He was ordained in 1799, and took pastoral charge of the church. He remained in this situation until 1829, a period of 36 years. He probably attended and officiated at more weddings than any other person in the county, either before or since. In 1823, after he had preached 30 years, he came into possession of a piece of real estate, and received a title in due form from the trustees of the church, in conformity with the desire of Colonel John Harper, then deceased.
The chief employment of the settlers, during a portion of the first year, was making maple-sugar, and indeed, I believe at the present time, that in no town of its size in the county is there so large a quantity, or fine a quality of maple-sugar manu- factured. Richard B. Gibbs, Esq., of Harpersfield, the pre- sent president of the County Agricultural Society, informed me that he had made 3,000 pounds in one season.
I believe in Europe the sugar-maple does not abound, at least in Scotland ; and it seems strange what ideas some of the
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early emigrants entertained of the manner in which it existed. While some imagined the whole tree to be solid sugar, others had an idea of warm sugar, instead of sap oozing from the tree. An anecdote has been told me of one of Scotia's sons, an' early pioneer to the county, and whose descendants are still num- bered among her inhabitants, which, although not strictly his- torical perhaps, nevertheless illustrates the idea suggested above. When questioned as to what would be his employ- ment in his new wild home, he replied : " The making of maple-sugar, and if I find it a profitable business I intend to follow it the year round."
The following reliable information in relation to the early settlements of Stamford, was furnished me principally by Cap- tain Stephen Hait, of that town :- A few of the Scotch settlers along the West Branch of the Delaware, having experienced so much vexation from the Indians, after the breaking out of the Revolution, removed to Albany, Catskill, and other places on the Hudson, where they remained undisturbed until the termi- nation of the war. Before leaving, they buried their pots, kettles, and other things they could not carry with them. They took pains to mark the places of their hidden treasures, so that they might find them again should they ever be so fortunate as to return.
Those who were tories, or friendly to the King, (Geo. III.) and opposed to the revolt of the colonies, removed to Canada. - One portion of Canada was quite thickly settled by the tories, many of whose descendants are still living. A few tories re- mained to harbor the Indians, and aid them in killing and troubling those in favor of liberty and independence.
About 1783, the portion that had moved eastward began to return, some by way of Schoharie, Patchin Hollow, and the ยท old Indian trail through Break-a-bin, others by way of Cairo, Windham, Schoharie kill, Moresville, &c., to the head waters of the Delaware river, now known as Stamford. This latter
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route was, for a great part, through a dark wilderness of pines and hemlocks, with nothing for their guide but an imperfect foot-path, in many places entirely obstructed by trees that had been blown across it. There were no bridges, and the travellers had to cross the streams on logs, rafts, or canoes, and get their things along as best they could. If they happened to have horses with them, they forded the streams with these. One mode of moving the women and children, was by making large baskets and fastening them together,-placing one on each side, for the children to ride in, while the mother rode and guided the horse. Those who had more baggage than they could carry on horseback, formed an ingenious carry-all, by taking two long poles and fastening the smaller ends to some old collar, one on either side in the form of thills, and letting the larger ends drag on the ground, connecting them with some cross-pieces, and with an upright stake in each to fasten a board to; then boards across these thills formed what they called a dray. On this they fastened their provisions and other articles necessary to make their condition comfortable during their journey, and maintain them in their new homes, until they could raise the necessaries of life.
In 1789, a company, consisting of twenty heads of families and two single men, principally from Fairfield county, Con- necticut, came into Delaware to examine the country and fix upon a favorable situation for a permanent settlement.
- The names of the company, so far as I have been able to learn, were Josiah Patchin, Captain Abraham Gould, Colonel John Hubble, Aaron Rollins, Isaac Hubble, Talcott Gould, Isaac Gould, George Squires, Walter and Seth Lyon, John Polly, Stephen Adams, Peter and Eben Jennings, Joseph Hill, and one by the name of Gibson. The two single persons were David Gould and David Squires .* The journey at that
* David Squires, my informant, lives in Stamford, and is the only survivor of the company. He is now over seventy years of age. 17*
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period was one of imminent danger, the roads were awful beyond description, and it was frequently necessary to clear them of obstructions in order to proceed. After leaving Cats- kill, there was not. a single bridge for their whole journey. The party, after passing several small settlements, arrived at the house of Benjamin Barlow, in Stamford, who had com- menced his improvements the preceding year. He had erected a small log-hut, about twelve feet square, and also a barn, in which, as the house was too small, the party received the kind attentions of their host, while, in the absence of pasturage, the teams and horses were turned into the surrounding woods to browse. The third day after the party had arrived at Bar- low's, it was discovered that the horses had strayed off in the direction of home; Abraham Gould, George Squires,' and Josiah Patchin, were dispatched with three days provisions to follow up and retake the missing animals. After following the trail a short distance, the animals had taken an unexpected turn, and instead of going toward the North River, had fol- lowed up a gulf now known as Rose's Brook, and thence across the mountain, near where the present road is located. The sun had passed the meridian ere the party arrived at the height of land; a short distance down the mountain they met a hunter by the name of Israel Inman, who had settled the preceding year on the fertile flats now owned by Jacob C. Kealor, Esq., of Roxbury, and who had the day before taken up the animals, and was now following up their track to disco- ver their owners, if possible.
Inman immediately conducted the weary travellers to his own home, where he entertained them with a repast of venison steak, and with all the hospitality common to pioneer settlers. Having ascertained that they were in search of a favorable situation to settle, and being well acquainted with the country, he volunteered his assistance. They examined the lands in the valley of Fall Brook, (now West Settlement,) and having
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decided upon making a permanent location there, they returned again to the party with the missing horses. They could pre- vail on but two other persons of the party to join them, Ne- hemiah Hayes and David Squires, making in all five persons. They were obliged to return toward Catskill, as far as John More's,* at Moresville; from which place to Roxbury, Inman had informed them there was an ancient trail, over which he had passed the year before, carrying his movables on his back.
After a laborious journey they succeeded in reaching the clearing of Inman, where they deposited their goods, until they could prepare a rendezvous of their own. The lots were measured off with a rope, when they agreed to decide by cuts who should have the middle lot, which fell upon George Squires. On this lot they erected a shelter of the rudest ma- terial; four crotched poles being firmly driven in the ground, one at each corner of the building, across their tops hori- zontally were laid the plates, while two other crotches of greater length were driven to support the ridge-pole : this rude frame was covered with strips of elm bark. The floor was also of bark, and a huge maple was felled just in front of the tent, against which they built their fires, and did their cooking in a kettle suspended over the coals. In this tent they passed the remainder of the summer, assembling at night and preparing their supper in their own rude style, of which they partook with a hearty relish, and then, without a cover- ing or a pillow, they laid themselves down upon the hard floor to sleep.
The remainder of the party located themselves in the town of Stamford, principally on Rose's Brook, where many of their descendants now live, and are numbered among the most respectable and enterprising inhabitants of the county.
* John More moved to Moresville and settled there in 1786, and was the first settler in the town of Roxbury.
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In the winter of that year they returned to Connecticut for their families, and to bid adieu to their native State. They were soon joined by others, and the settlements grew with almost unparalleled rapidity. It was only a few years before the forests began to disappear, and the music of the black- smith's hammer, mingled with the buzzing of saw-mills, might be heard in every valley, and the rude log-hut began to give place to the handsome farm-house.
Many incidents might be enumerated in regard to the early settlers, to illustrate more fully the prominent traits of their character. Man is emphatically a being of custom ; his nature possesses all the elasticity that enables him to conform to any society or rank in life, or to any age in the world.
We have examples in history, of fond children, who have been torn from their mothers' arms and carried into captivity, where they were subject to the hardships and privations of a savage mode of existence. As they grew up the scenes of early childhood were gradually worn away, and by degrees they became accustomed to the associations and wild sports of their savage companions ; indeed, they have thrown around them the most powerful fascinations, and when the boon of civilization has been freely proffered them, the ransom paid, and friends and parents ready to embrace them, they have turned gloomily away and buried themselves again in the forest, and sought their accustomed haunts.
Allowing the influence, then, of early customs on the pas- sions, the appetites, and propensities, which make up the character and control the destinies of men, we are prepared more correctly to form a true estimate of the avant couriers of civilization. When we remember that they had just emerged from a long Revolutionary struggle, which had been pregnant with hope and fear, inlaid with peculiar privations- that eventual success had crowned the efforts, not of numbers but of courage and susceptibility of endurance-we will then
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very naturally attribute to them determination, fortitude, cou- rage, and perseverance, and what four attributes are more im- portant to the pioneer than these. It was determination that prompted them to seek a home in a boundless forest-it was fortitude that enabled them to endure privations-it was cou- rage that upheld them in the hour of fear-and it was perse- verance that enabled them to toil month after month, and year after year, for the bare maintenance of life. But we have thus casually wandered from the strict matter of fact, to enable the reader more fully, if possible, to form a correct realization of the men and times of which we write, and we will now return to the original design of one or two authentic anec- dotes.
Two men, by the name of Hotchkiss, who resided on Rose's Brook, near where Cillick Gould now lives, nearly, if not quite, excelled old Putnam, of Connecticut, by their daring adventures after wolves. These two hunters one morning dis- covered a fresh wolf-track on the snow, and immediately deter- mined to go in pursuit. They prepared their guns and ammu- nition, and started on the track. After following it part of a day, they found that the wolf had crawled into a hollow tree that had broken off near the ground, and fallen directly down a steep hill. Into this crooked tree there was no way of level- ing their guns, so as to fire at the sheep-stealer with any chance of success. Being very anxious to secure their game, and having no axe to cut the tree, one of the hunters entered head foremost, with his gun to pilot the way; after getting to a crook in the tree, he made room enough to admit a little light, and when he saw the glaring eyes of the wolf before him, in this position he levelled his gun and fired, and then retreated to the open air as fast as possible. After reloading, he again entered the tree and felt his way before him with his gun ; finding that all was still, he returned near enough to touch the wolf with his rifle. " As he gave no signs of life, the
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hunter reached forward with his hand, got hold of his ears, and dragged the dead wolf out after him. This beats "Old Put," as he dared not enter a den of wolves without a rope tied to his legs, to pull him out in case of danger; but this man relied on his trusty rifle and his own exertions, to extricate himself from all trouble.
My informant also relates another incident, which I give in his own language :- " In 1790, there were quite a number of settlers that had located on Rose's Brook, from Connecticut. The names of some of them were Gould, Rollins, Hubble, Jennings, Sturges, Webster, Blish, and the Lyons, the latter of whom, together with Webster, were the mighty hunters of the party. Whether they had acquired this art in their native State, or not, we cannot say, but it is certain that it came very easy for them. The old Mr. Webster would just as soon shoot a good buck, as to eat a good dinner or say his prayers, as the story we are about to relate will illustrate.
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