USA > New York > Dutchess County > History of Duchess county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 34
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Amenia 20 Surplus. .
Beekman
9 Deficiency.
Clinton .
II
Dover.
I Surplus.
East Fishkill .
19 Deficiency.
Fishkill .
6 Surplus.
Hyde Park
15 Deficiency. 66
LaGrange.
19
Milan .
5
North East
I7
Pawling
13
Pine Plains
II
Pleasant Valley
6 Surplus.
Poughkeepsie. .
24
66
City, Ist Ward
35
66
2d
66
23
I5
Rhinebeck
7
Red Hook
20 Deficiency.
Stanford .
20
66
Union Vale.
6 Surplus.
Washington
I 3
* This building, which is surrounded with many interesting associa- tions of the late war, and as the years roll by will be an object of increas- ing interest, is still standing-394 Main street-and is now occupied as a grocery.
66
66
3d
4th
30
169
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, ENLISTMENTS IN 1864.
March 29, 1864, the Supervisors adopted the minority report of a committee appointed to con- sider the matter of continuing the county bounty, to the effect that it be continued and the men en- listed credited to the towns then deficient, till the deficiency was met.
In the early part of April, Sheriff Judah Swift and Treasurer John F. Hull went to Washington " to have veterans enlisted credited to the quota of the county." "A feeling of apathy settled upon the people at home," says thie Poughkeepsie Eagle of April 7, 1864, " and little or nothing was done to promote enlistments." This spirit was the precursor of the draft which took place at 10 o'clock on Tuesday, May 31, 1864, at the Provost Marshal's office in Poughkeepsie, to fill the defi- ciency in the quota of the district. This draft was completed in about two hours. There was scarcely any excitement visible. Not more than twenty- five or thirty persons were present in consequence of the short notice given. Columbia county, Poughkeepsie city and several towns in Duchess county having filled their quotas, were exempt from the draft. The following table shows the number enrolled and the deficiency in each of the towns in which the draft took place :-
No. Enrolled. Deficiency.
Clinton
282
IO
Dover .
302
IO
East Fishkill .
347
20
Fishkill .
959
28
Hyde Park
419
9
LaGrange.
273
21
Milan .
202
9
Pawling
252
6
Pleasant Valley
241
4
Rhinebeck .
437
I2
Red Hook
541
3I
Stanford .
279
16
June 13, 1864, the Supervisors voted a bounty of $300 to every drafted man held to service, "or $325 to every man who furnished a substitute or went himself."
June 17, 1864, another draft took place to sup- ply the places of those exempted. At this time the deficiency had been reduced to 62, by reason of recruits received from Albany, and credits allowed for veteran recruits. Following are the towns which stood this draft and the number drafted in each: Dover, 5; East Fishkill, 7; Fishkill, 13 ; Hyde Park, 3 ; LaGrange, 10; Milan, 3; Rhinebeck, 7; Red Hook, 14. The quotas of Clinton, Pawling, Pleasant Valley and Stanford were filled by credits referred to.
June 30, 1864, another draft took place to sup-
ply a deficiency of 23, caused by a number of the recently drafted men proving, on examination, to be physically disabled. This deficiency was dis- tributed among the towns as follows : Dover, 2; East Fishkill, 4; Fishkill, 3; Hyde Park, 7; Rhinebeck, 2 ; Red Hook, 5. July 14, 1864, a supplementary draft was made in East Fishkill, Fishkill, LaGrange, Rhinebeck and Red Hook, to make up deficiencies caused by exemptions from the last draft, the number drafted from the towns named being respectively 2, 4, 5, 2 and 8.
The severe losses sustained by Grant in the spring and early summer of 1864, made it ap- parent that another call for troops would soon have to be met, and thoughtful minds were casting about them for the means to meet this anticipated requirement. The Poughkeepsie Eagle early and strenuously urged the matter on the attention of officials and citizens, and certain of the towns (Amenia and Washington) were early alive to the importance of prompt and energetic action.
The quotas of the several towns and the num- ber enrolled under the call of July 18th, 1864, for 500,000 men, are exhibited as follows :-
No. Enrolled. Quota.
Amenia .
241
39
Beekman
131
2I
Clinton.
302
48
Dover
32I
51
East Fishkill.
434
70
Fishkill.
1,218
195
Hyde Park.
435
70
LaGrange
310
50
Milan . .
206
33
North East
315
5I
Pawling.
187
30
Pine Plains
222
36
Pleasant Valley
262
42
Poughkeepsie.
460
74
City, Ist Ward. 712
II4
66
2d Ward. 480
77
66
3d Ward. 546
87
66
4th Ward. 434
70
Rhinebeck
457
73
Red Hook
588
94
Stanford .
3º3
49
Union Vale.
193
31
Washington
251
40
Total .
,008
1,445
The several towns followed the example of Poughkeepsie in paying increased bounties. Indeed the sharp competition for recruits and substitutes made that necessary if they would escape the dreaded draft. The money for this purpose, which, in previous years, had been raised on individual or unauthorized town securities, was now secured by town bonds, the State Legislature having passed
I70
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
an act Feb. 9th, 1864, authorizing the issue of bonds to repay moneys borrowed to pay bounties, or to aid the families of volunteers. The Super- visor, Town Clerk and Justices of the Peace in towns, and the Common Council of cities, were made ex-officio boards of relief, to afford needed aid to indigent families of volunteers in the ser- vice, not exceeding $15 at one time, at the expense of such towns and cities. Supervisors were also authorized to raise or borrow money to fill quotas or to aid families, subject to the approval of elect- ors.
Men were recruited with a good degree of rapid- ity, and within a month from the date of the call the towns of Amenia, Pleasant Valley and Pough- keepsie, had filled their quotas. Up to Sept 4th, 1864, 1,356 men had been recruited and ap- plied on the quota of the district. On Saturday, Sept., 3d, 50 enlisted, a greater number than had previously enlisted in one day under the call, and Captain Johnson, the Provost-Marshal, was in- structed not to begin the draft till further ordered. 44 were accepted on the 5th, 33 enlisted on the 6th, 19 on the 7th, 5 on the 8th, 23 on the Ioth, II on the 12th, 44 on the 13th and 42 on the 14th. The quota of the town of Washington was full on the 13th of September, and that of Poughkeepsie City on the 15th. "With the exception of Red Hook and Rhinebeck," said the Poughkeepsie Eagle of September 16th, all the towns in the county "are about 'out of the wilderness,' and some of them have a surplus."
Notwithstanding these exertions however, the county did not entirely avoid the draft, which took place in this district on the afternoon of Sept. 19th, 1864, in the Sanitary Fair building on Main street, which had then recently been made the headquar- ters of the Provost Marshal. This is a brick build- ing, and was erected by Mr. Burnap for a carriage shop. There the Provost Marshal's office was kept during the latter part of the war. The deficiency in the district was 407, mostly in Columbia county. The draft was concluded on the 20th, and one hundred per cent. was added to the deficiency in each sub-district, to make up for probable exemp- tions for disability and other causes. The towns in Duchess county which had not filled their quota, and their deficiencies, were as follows : Rhinebeck, 56, Red Hook, 28, North East, 9, Pine Plains, 10, Milan, 2.
After the completion of the draft, three men were credited on the quota of North East, and one on that of Red Hook. Permission was given to
fill up the quota with volunteers. The Eagle of Oct. 7, 1864, says : " The last man on the quota of this district under the late call was credited to the town of Milan yesterday."
Duchess county paid a bounty of $300 to each of 830 men under the call of July 18, 1864,-$249,- 000, and to recruiting officers and others for fur- nishing them, $4,500 ; also for interest, commis- sion, engraving, printing, and other incidental ex- penses, $6,012.94, making a total of $259,512.94. Its disbursements under the call for 200,000 men were :- A bounty of $300 to each of 181 men, ---- $54,300 ; $300 paid to the Government for each of 136 drafted men,-$40,800 ; a premium of $25 paid to 19 drafted men who furnished substitutes, -- $475 ; paid recruiting officers and others for fur- nishing men, $3,000 ; paid for interest, commis- sion, engraving, printing and other incidental ex- penses, $4,140.80 ; making a grand total under both calls of $363, 128.74.
The credits allowed by act of Congress on the call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men, reduced the number to be obtained from that call to 280,000 ; while the operations of the enemy in certain States rendered it impracticable to procure from them their full quotas, thus reducing the available number of men under that call to 250,000. To make up this deficiency the President, on the 19th of December, 1864, issued a call for an additional 300,000 men, to be drafted Feb. 15, 1865, unless supplied by that time by volunteers.
Dec. 26th, 1864, the Supervisors authorized the several towns to raise, on their own credit, money to be used in procuring volunteers under this call, in such manner as might be provided by the elect- ors at a special town meeting, to be held pursuant to section 22, chapter 28, session laws of 1864. In accordance with this provision special town meet- ings were held and excessively large bounties voted in the frantic effort to escape the impending draft ; but the local bounty system, under the stimulus of these fears, the sharp competition, and the rapacity of bounty brokers, had worked such gross injustice and been subject to such outrageous abuses, that on the 24th of February, 1865, the Legislature made provision for a State bounty of $300, $400 and $600, for one, two and three years' men re- spectively, and prohibited the payment of all local bounties. This was at least an approach to a healthier system, but its injustice differed only in degree. Provision was also made for the payment of $250 to each man thereafter drafted and mus- tered into the service. . Amounts in this ratio were
I71
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, WOMAN'S WORK IN THE WAR.
to be refunded to counties and towns having pre- viously filled their quotas, and for all men raised by them in excess of their quotas under the call of December 19th, 1864. An appropriation of $30,000,000 was made to carry this system of equalization into effect, and the law was ratified at a popular election by an overwhelming majority- 392,113 for and 48,655 against. The interposi- tion of brokers and middle-men was dispensed with, as the bounties could only be paid to the volunteers in person.
The draft for the deficiency in this district under the call of December 19th, 1864, took place at the Provost Marshal's office, in Poughkeepsie, on Monday, March 20th, 1865, and was witnessed by a large number of prominent citizens. Among those drafted were Dr. A. B. Harvey, Rev. De Loss Lull, Recorder Robinson, District Attorney Allard Anthony, Prof. E. J. Wilber, G. W. Davids, local editor of the Poughkeepsie Eagle, and John W. Straight, editor of the Fishkill Standard.
The deficiencies in the several towns in this county at that time were as follows : Fishkill, 79; North East, I ; Pine Plains, 2; Poughkeepsie (town), 2 ; Poughkeepsie City, 175; Red Hook, 42 ; and Rhinebeck, 14. Total, 344.
On the 8th of April, 1865, the last man on the quota of this district, under all calls, was mustered in and credited to the town of Red Hook. This was the last, the crowning sacrifice, the county was called on to make. The Confederacy was then in its death throes, was tottering to its inevitable doom. The same day that Duchess county gave its last man to the defense of Liberty and Justice, Lee was negotiating for the surrender of his army, which, on the following day, laid down their arms before Grant's victorious army-an army of many vicissitudes, but now crowned with an imperishable glory.
The news of the culminating victories of the war was received in Duchess county with the most frantic demonstrations of joy. Bells were rung, bonfires kindled, cannon fired, processions formed, and general hilarity prevailed. April 8th, 1865, a preliminary meeting was held at the City Hall in Poughkeepsie to arrange for a suitable celebration by the citizens of the county, and committees were appointed, charged with arranging the details of a plan for that purpose.
But the joyful news of victory was quickly fol- lowed by the sad intelligence of an appalling calamity-the assassination of Lincoln on the evening of the 14th of April, and when the
death of the President, the following morning was flashed over the wires, the people of Duchess shared in that terrible, inexpressible and over- whelming grief which enshrouded the North. The Rebellion was crushed; but the head of the Nation-the beloved Lincoln-was stricken down by the hand of a traitor.
It may not be unfitting, but rather as graceful as deserved a recognition, to make some slight acknowledgment of the heroism, devotion and patriotism of the women of Duchess county during the eventful period we have been considering, and whose annals, locally considered, have been given in the last three preceding chapters. If their physical discomforts were less than were those of the loved ones whom they sent forth to battle manfully for the right-as sacrifices, if need be, on the altar of their country-not so the mental anguish endured; and who shall say that the material services of the one outweighed the subtler and not less powerful influences of the other. Nay, was not the one the necessary complement of the other, and both equally indispensable to the attainment of the great object in view ?
Who knows better than the devoted wife, the cherished mother, the loved sister, and the affec- tionate daughter, the long, weary days and nights of intense and unremitting anxiety, of agonizing suspense, occasioned by the absence of these their natural protectors, and the dangers to which, through the trying, toilsome years, they were un- ceasingly exposed ; and who knows better than those who braved those dangers how necessary was the loving sympathy and appreciation of the dear ones at home to their health, strength, and a manly performance of the arduous duties inci- dent to their new and strange relations ?
The faithful soldier did not more surely, nor more keenly, feel the pangs of hunger, fatigue and pain than did they-sympathetically-whom he thus represented and who ministered, as best they might, to his comfort. The anodyne which assuaged a physical pang as truly relieved a mental one; the agency which terminated the life of the one as certainly blighted that of the other; the deed which brought honor to the one was equally re- flected in the career of the other; and the act which disgraced or humiliated the one as inevit- ably blanched the cheek of the other.
But the influence and offices of woman found a material and essential as well as emotional and æsthetic expression. It was her province to minister to the physical necessities of the sick and
I72
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
wounded who languished in distant hospitals, and to the comfort of those engaged in the active duties of the field, by supplying articles for which the general government made no, or an inadequate provision, and in the thousand and one ways which only her thoughtful providence could suggest.
Simultaneously with the first expression of the need of her services, at the very beginning of the war, her sympathy and aid were extended to alleviate suffering, both in the hospital and in the field; and her energies relaxed only with the re- moval of the causes which called them into action. She inaugurated a system of relief which, as the war progressed, developed such magnitude as to demand the special services of a numerous Sani- tary Commission.
The Woman's Relief Association of Pough- keepsie, organized in April, 1861, for the purpose of supplying suitable clothing for the use of volun- teers, and of which Mrs. John Thompson was president, and Mrs. H. L. Young, secretary, early undertook the task of supplying the demands on those benevolently inclined.
The Stanford Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society, of which Mrs. J. W. Holman was president, and S. A. Tallmadge, secretary, was organized Aug. 16, 1862.
The Second Annual Report of the Woman's Re- lief Association, dated April 30, 1863, says :-
" This Association has during the past year for- warded supplies to various hospitals and societies as follows :-
"Central Relief Association, 5 boxes; Rev. C. B. Thomas, Alexandria, Va., 11 boxes; Mrs. A. H. Gibbons, Point Lookout, Md., 12 boxes ; Mrs. Horace Abbott, Union Dock Hospital, Baltimore, I box, and I barrel of apples; ‘New York Soldiers' Relief Society,' Washington, 1I boxes, and 4 barrels of apples ; Miss McClellan, Elizabeth St. Hospital, near Washington, 7 boxes ; 128th Regt. at Fortress Monroe and New Orleans, 4 boxes ; 'Sisters of the Good Samaritan,' Quincy, Ill., box. Total, 52 boxes, and 5 barrels of apples.
" The Treasurer's report shows the cash account to be as follows :---
" Amount received during the year $617 65
" Amount expended during the year 598 50
"Balance in treasury April 30th . $19 15 "Contributions have been received from the following auxiliaries :-
"Blue Stocking Society, Locust Grove Society, Ladies' Relief Association of St. Paul's Church, Wurtemburg, Ladies' Aid Society of Beekman, Army Relief Association of Salt Point, Ladies of Harts Village, Lithgow, LaGrange, Crum Elbow, Hyde Park, Zion Church, Wappingers Falls, Relief
Association of New Paltz Landing, Aid Society of Presbyterian Church, Pleasant Valley, Ladies' Relief Association, Pleasant Plains, Army Aid Society, Stanfordville.
*
" MRS. WM. HENRY CROSBY, Prest. "JULIA N. CROSBY, Sec'y."
This shows the spirit in which the noble and honored women of Duchess county met the de- mands on their sympathies-their patriotism ; and their unwearied exertions and generous responses were continued until the demand for them ceased. Thousands bear living testimony to the great blessings which flowed from these labors of love, while the sufferings of thousands of others who languished and died in hospitals from sickness and wounds were mitigated by them. It was no fault of theirs if, as was sometimes the case, their aims were diverted from their legitimate ends through the greed and avarice of men.
CHAPTER XVIII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF RED HOOK.
T HE town of Red Hook lies on the extreme
north-west corner of Duchess County. It is bounded on the north by Clermont (Columbia county) ; on the east by Milan ; on the south by Rhinebeck ; the Hudson River forming the west- ern boundary.
The scenery about Red Hook is exceedingly fine. Along its western border flows the matchless Hudson,
"Broad and grand, A river worthy of the land,"
with its romantic views, historic suggestions, and ever-moving panorama of sloop and steamer ; while in the interior the rolling upland is broken into hills and vales of picturesque beauty, dotted here and there with beautiful country residences.
The town is devoted chiefly to agriculture and the cultivation of fruits, producing quite abundantly such cereals as oats, rye and barley, and such fruits as apples, pears, plums and the different varieties of berries, strawberries being the most extensively grown.
The valleys of the principal streams-the White Clay-kill and Saw-kill-are broad and fertile, the soil in their vicinity being a clayey loam. The soil of the uplands is a sandy, gravelly, or slaty loam. Long Pond, in the eastern part, is the largest body of water in the town, and forms the source of the Saw-kill.
I73
TOWN OF RED HOOK.
The town of Red Hook was formed from Rhine- beck, June 2, 1812, and its earlier history is more or less blended in that of the latter town. Its popu- lation for a series of years has been as follows :- 1840, 2,833 ; 1850, 3,120; 1860, 3,750; 1870, 4,350 ; 1875, 4,221 ; 1880, 4,471.
The first settlements were made in this town by the Dutch, near Barrytown and Tivoli, about the year 1713. Among the early settlers we find the names of Bermor, Haeners, Hagadorn, Near, Staats, Prosseus, Schufeldt, Trauve, Wiederwax, Waldorf, Shaffer, and Zippertie.
On the second of June, 1688, Col. Peter Schuyler obtained from Governor Thomas Dongan a patent for the land lying over against Magdalene, now Cruger's Island, which land he had purchased from the Indians.
In the patent the boundaries * are thus de- fined :----
"Situate, lying and being on the east side of Hudson's river in Duchess county, over against Magdalenet Island, beginning at a certain creek called Metambesem ; thence running easterly to the south-most part of a certain meadow called Tauquashqueick ; and from that meadow easterly to a certain small lake or pond called Waraugh- kameek ; from thence northerly so far till upon a due east and west line it reaches over against the Sawyer's Creek ; from thence due west to the Hudson's river aforesaid; and thence southerly along the said river to the said creek called Me- tambesem."
This deed, according to the "Calendar of Land Papers recorded in the Secretary of State's office at Albany," was not recorded until the 25th of June, 1787, nearly one hundred years after it had been obtained. A confirmatory patent obtained on the 7th of November, 1704, according to the Calendar, was at once recorded in Vol. 3 of Pat- ents, page 184.
An old map, in the possession of Col. Henry B. Armstrong, states that the creek called Metambe- sem is now the Saw kill, entering the river between Montgomery place and the Bard premises ; that the meadow, called Tauquashqueick, was Schuy- ler's, and is now generally known as Radcliff's Fly ; and that Waraughkameek is now the " Fever Cot," which means the Pine Swamp, mainly on the premises of the late Albert Snyder, three miles east of the village of Upper Red Hook. Con- ceding that the Saw kill was the creek named Metambesem by the Indians, the patent erred in making it the southern limit of Peter Schuyler's
* History of Rhinebeck, Edward M. Smith, p. 22.
t This is spelled "Magdalene," "Magdalena," "Magdalen," the lat- ter being preferable and more common.
lands ; they came down to the "Stein Valetie," (Little Stone Falls,) somewhere on the premises of Francis H. Delano.
In 1689, the year after he had obtained the grant, Peter Schuyler sold one-half of what he es- timated to be one-fourth of his patent to Harme Ganesvoort, a brewer, of Albany. The fourth of the patent out of which this sale was made, lay north of a line run due east from a point on the river opposite the south of Slipsteen Island, (the small island north of Cruger's.) On the Ist of May, 1704, Harme Gansevoort sold for one hundred and fifty pounds sterling, his moiety of this part of the patent to Lowrance,* Cornelius, Evert, and Peter Knickerbacker, of Duchess county ; Anthony Bogardus, of the city of Albany, and Janetje, his wife ; Jan Vosburgh, of Duchess county, and Cornelia, his wife ; sons and daughters of Harme Jans Knickerbacker, late of Duchess county, deceased.
In 1722, Peter Schuyler had this upper fourth of his patent carefully surveyed, and divided into thirteen lots. Of these he set seven over to the above named Knickerbackers, retaining the six in his own possession. What he ultimately did with these we have not learned. The other three- fourths of his patent he sold to Tierk DeWitt, of Ulster county, Joachem Staats, of the manor of Rensselaerswick, and Barent VanBenthuysen, of Duchess county. A partition deed and map in the possession of Col. Henry B. Armstrong shows the disposition ultimately made of his patent by Col. Peter Schuyler. The deed reads as follows :---
" Barent Staats, of the manor of Renselaers- wick, of the County of Albany, in the province of New York in America, of the first part ; Barent Van Benthuysen, of Duchess County, in the said county and province, yeoman, of the second part ; and Henry Beekman, of the said Duchess County, gentleman, of the third part, whereas, Coll. Peter Schuyler, late of ye county of Albany, deceased, Tierk DeWitt, late of Ulster County, deceased, and Joachem Staats, late of the said manor of Ren- selaerswick, deceased, were partners to the pur- chase of that certain tract or parcell of land, situ- ate, lying and being in the said Duchess County, beginning at a certain creek called Metambesem, over against Calkoewhock : thence running easter- ly to the southmost part of a certain meadow called Tauquashqueak ; and from that meadow easterly to a certain small lake or pond, called Warach- kameek; and from thence northerly so far till upon a due east and west line it reaches over against the south end of the island in Hudson's river called and known by the name of Slipsteen Island ; thence southward along the east side of said river to the
* See burial ground at Tivoli Landing, page 179.
174
HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
creek called Metambesem. ¥
*
* The said
tract of land * * * * was by letters patent from Coll. Thomas Dongan, heretofore Lieutenant Gov- ernor of said province, granted unto the said Peter Schuyler, as by said patent bearing date the second day of June, 1688, and since confirmed by an- other patent, under the broad seal of the said province, from Edward, Viscount Cornbury, some- time governor of the said province, bearing date the 7th day of November, 1704. And whereas the said Tierk DeWitt, in his life time, by virtue of a conveyance from the said Peter Schuyler of one-third part of the above recited tract or parcell of land, did make and convey that same third part of the said tract or parcell of land unto his son, Peek De Witt, who by another instrument under his hand and seal hath conveyed the same unto the said Henry Beekman, to have and to hold the said third part of the said tract or parcell of land, to him, the said Beekman, his heirs and assigns forever, except any part in the meadow called Magdalene Islands' Vly, that lyeth between the main shore and the said Magdalene Islands ; which said third part of the said tract or parcell of land is afterwards confirmed and released unto them by indentures with the said Peter Schuyler, bearing date the eleventh day of February, 1718-19. * * * And whereas the said Peter Schuyler by other in- dentures executed between him and the said Bar- ent Staats, son and heir of Joachem Staats, bear- ing date the eleventh day of February, 1718-19, whereby the said Peter Schuyler granted, released and confirmed unto the said Barent Staats for himself and others, the children of the said Joa- chem Staats, deceased, another third part of the said above recited tract of land, and of the above mentioned meadow, called Magdalene Islands' Vly, under such quit rent as in the said indenture is specified. * * *
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