USA > New York > Ulster County > New Paltz > History of New Paltz, New York and its old families (from 1678 to 1820) : including the Huguenot pioneers and others who settled in New Paltz previous to the revolution, 2nd ed > Part 48
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DuBois names appear on the civil records in Poughkeepsie in the following order :
Matthew DuBois, justice, in 1734; Lewis DuBois, assessor, in 1742; Gideon DuBois, in 1754; Joel DuBois, in 1770.
On a map of 1770 Lewis DuBois is set down as owning much land on what is now Academy street and he likewise owned land where Vassar college is now located.
The names of Lewis, Matthew and Gideon DuBois, doubt- less the same persons above mentioned, together with those of Jeremiah and Ephraim DuBois, are signed to a call from Poughkeepsie for a minister to be sent from Holland, in 1744.
These DuBoises, whose names appear in this call are with- out doubt sons of Matthew DuBois, the youngest son of Louis the New Paltz Patentee, who located in Kingston. The names of sons of Matthew above mentioned (together 10
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with other of his sons who remained in Ulster county) are found on the church book at Kingston as being baptized there, but in their mature years we find no evidence on the Kingston church book, or in military records or elsewhere of their continued residence in Ulster county, except that the name of Lewis DuBois Jr. (probably the son of Matthew) appears as a freeholder at Kingston in 1728 and Ephraim DuBois in the list of foot soldiers in 1738, so their removal from Kingston to Poughkeepsie must have been at a later date. The baptism of this Lewis DuBois took place in 1697; those of his brothers at later dates up to 1721, when Jeremiah, the youngest, was born. There can be no doubt that Lewis, Matthew, Ephraim, Gideon and Jeremiah all went from Kingston to Poughkeepsie, when young men, while their brother Johannes remained at Kingston and the remaining brother Hiskiah (Hezekiah) went to Saugerties.
There was another brother Jesse whose name likewise appears on the church book at Kingston and on the church book at Poughkeepsie, so that it would appear that six sons of Matthew DuBois of Kingston emigrated to Dutchess county.
As to the exact date of the emigration we have no evidence . and as a considerable portion of the church records at Pough- keepsie are lost full information can probably never be obtained.
Rev. Geo. W. DuBois of Essex, N. Y., in his chart pre- sented at the DuBois Reunion at New Paltz in 1875, in which he gives extended information concerning Peter (Pierre) DuBois and his descendants in Fishkill and vicinity, gives in addition the names of several DuBoises in Pough- keepsie and vicinity in the generation preceding the Revolu- tion, as follows: Gideon DuBois and wife Sarah Van Kleeck,
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Matthew and wife Deborah Simpgan, Jeremiah and wife Janicke Veile, Jesse and wife Elizabeth.
He also gives the names of other DuBoises of the same period-Cornelius, who married Catharine Ferdon and Elias who married Mary Van Voorhis.
In the list of those who signed the Articles of Association at Poughkeepsie in 1775 appear the names of Lewis, John, Nathaniel, Jeremiah, Matthew and Joel DuBois.
Among the number who refused to sign appear the names of Jeremiah and Peter DuBois, Jr.
Next to the Freers the DuBoises were the most numerous of the people bearing New Paltz names in Poughkeepsie in the Revolutionary period. In the list of Land Bounty Rights in the Fourth (Col. John Freer's) Regiment appear the names of Joel, Elias, Jumia (Jeremiah), Matthew, Peter, Peter, Jr., Thomas and Lewis DuBois.
In the Second Dutchess Regiment which was evidently from Fishkill and vicinity appear the names of a number of DuBoises, descendants of Pierre, also the name of Jacob Hasbrouck.
In the Second Regiment of the line from this state Lewis DuBois of Poughkeepsie was a Captain. He must have be- longed to the second generation of DuBoises in Pough- keepsie.
In the early part of the war Lewis DuBois of Marlborough, afterwards Colonel of the 5th Regiment of the Line, was a Captain of what was known as the Dutchess company in the Third Regiment of the Line.
On the maps previous to 1800, of which there are four given in the History of Poughkeepsie, the name of DuBois does not appear except in the one of 1770 in which Lewis DuBois is set down as the owner of sixty-nine acres in what
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is now the heart of Poughkeepsie. The other persons bear- ing the DuBois name at that period must have lived outside the village.
With the exception of the Freers and DuBoises and a few Deyos and one or two Hasbroucks none of the New Paltz Huguenot names appear in the early records of Pough- keepsie or elsewhere in Dutchess county previous to the Revolution.
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CHAPTER XII
DESCENDANTS OF JACQUES DUBOIS IN ULSTER AND IN DUTCHESS COUNTIES.
Jacques DuBois, the brother of Louis the New Paltz Pat- entee, went from the family home in the little village of Wicres, ten and a half miles southwest of Lille in French Flanders to Leyden in Holland, as did their sister Francoise, who afterwards married Pierre Ballou and located on Staten Island.
The line of Louis DuBois the New Paltz Patentee has been traced quite thoroughly, but as to the descendants of Jacques there always has been much uncertainty, partly through the loss of some of the records in Dutchess county.
Most of the information we have concerning Jacques Du- Bois and his descendants is from the researches of Rev. Geo. W. DuBois of Essex, N. Y., as embodied in his chart pre- sented at the DuBois Reunion at New Paltz in 1875.
Jacques DuBois was born in 1625, and married at Leyden in 1663, eight years after his brother Louis was married at Manheim. The records in the town hall at Leyden state that April 6, 1663 Jacques DuBois (young man) from near La Basse, accompanied by Phillipe DuBois his cousin, was betrothed to Pierronne Bentyn (young woman) from near Lille and that she was accompanied by her sister Mary Bentyn as witness. This was the civil marriage. The re- ligious marriage is recorded in the Walloon church at Leyden and is as follows:
" Betrothed April 6, 1663, married April 25, 1663. Jacques DuBois j. h. d'aupres La Bassee (young man from near La
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Bassee) and Pierronne Bentyn j. d. aupres de Lille (young woman from near Lille)."
Of the cousin Phillipe DuBois we know nothing further except that he was godfather at the baptism of Jacques' oldest child, and that he had a brother Albert who was god- father at the baptism of a child of Francoise DuBois, who married Pierre Ballou. All were from near La Bassee. At Manheim is also recorded in 1656 the marriage of Martin DuBois and Jeanne du Rieu. Martin DuBois is set down as the son of Jean DuBois of Wicres, near La Bassee.
The Albert DuBois above mentioned is sometimes called DuBois and sometimes Van der Bosch in the records at Leyden. This was in accordance with the custom of many of the French Protestant Refugees who changed their name into the language of the country in which they found refuge.
The baptism of children of Jacques DuBois and Pierronne Bentyn are recorded in the Walloon church at Leyden as follows: Maria, 1666; Jacques, 1665; Anna, 1669; Jehan, 1661; Pierre (in English Peter) in 1674.
In 1675 Jacques and family came to the new world and located at Kingston. Another son, Christian, was born after the family came to America.
Jacques left on record a procuration for the sale of his house at Leyden and he obtained for himself and wife attests of membership in the Walloon church at Leyden. He died at Kingston in 1676. His widow married John L. Pietersy and in 1677 the latter agreed with Matthew Blanshan to carry out a certain contract which his wife's first husband had made with Blanshan and also contracted with Blanshan for a small loan of money to himself. As security for pay- ment of this loan he binds the lands lying at Ryssel in Lille, in Flanders, heretofore belonging to Jacques DuBois.
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Jacques' oldest son, Jacques (in English James, in Dutch Jacobus), married Susana Legg at Kingston in 1699. The children of Jacques (2) and Susana Legg was Sara, Jacobus (born in 1701), William (born in 1702), Samuel (born in 1703), Nathan (born in 1710), Nehimiah (born in 1714).
The names of Nathan, Samuel and Jacobus, Jr., appear in the list of foot soldiers at Kingston in 1738 and these names appear likewise on the church records at about that time. Nathan married Susana Cool at Kingston in 1733. The names of Jacobus, William, Samuel and Jacobus N. (the last named being probably a son of Nathan) were among the signers of the Articles of Association.
In the list of Dutchess county soldiers in 1715 there is no DuBois mentioned except Peter, who is the only son of Jacques (I) of whom we have any extensive information.
Jean (in English John) son of Jacques (I) joined the church at Kingston in 1692. In 1699 his name appears as a contributor. But his name does not again appear on the church book; neither does that of his brother Jehan. The name of their brother Christian only appears after baptism as godfather at the baptism of his nephew Jacobus in 1701 and again at the baptism of his nephew Christian son of Peter in 1702. It is quite evident that all three of the brothers, Jean, Jehan and Christian died unmarried or moved to some distant part of the country. Had they lived anywhere in this part of the state and married and had children their baptisms would have been recorded on the church book, either at Kingston or at New Paltz.
Peter the fourth son of Jacques (I) is the only one of whom we have an extended account of descendants. He married at Kingston, Oct. 12, 1697, Janitje Burhans. They resided for some time at Kingston and baptisms of children
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are recorded on the church book there as follows: Petronella, 1698; Johannes, 1699; Jacobus, 1701; Christian, 1702; Jona- than, 1706 (married Arientie Osterhout); Peter, 1707. At the last named date he removed to Dutchess county. Other children were born in Dutchess county as follows: Elizabeth, 1718; Abraham, Johannes, Helena, Petronella, 1722. The last named was baptized at Kingston and Elizabeth at Pough- keepsie. The baptisms of the others have not been found recorded. Peter's son Christian is known as Christian senior. He married Neeltje Van Vliet and had eight children. Their son Christian junior born in 1746, married Helena Van Voor- his was an ensign in the Revolutionary War and died in 1807.
Peter DuBois, who was the first of the name to locate in Dutchess county and was the son of Jacques (I) has been called the founder of the churches at Fishkill and Pough- keepsie, which for a number of years were united in one charge and when this church was organized in 1716 Peter DuBois' name appears as an elder and he was an officer in the church for over twenty years.
The old stone house built by Peter DuBois in 1710 still remains with its massive walls about three and a half miles east of Fishkill on the west side of Sprout Creek, which ran centrally through his land. The superstructure of the old house has been changed, but the walls remain. Peter DuBois died at the age of sixty-three years and is buried in the churchyard of the Dutch Reformed church at Fishkill. His tombstone is still to be seen with an inscription in Dutch, a translation of which is as follows: "Here lies the body of Peter DuBois, who departed this life the 22d day of January, in the year 1737-8, aged 63 years."
The Dutchess county DuBoises in the vicinity of Fishkill are descended from Peter; those who lived in after years in
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Poughkeepsie and vicinity are descended from his cousin Matthew of Kingston, youngest son of Louis, the New Paltz Patentee. It is impossible to trace them all as the records of the church from the time of its organization in 1716 to 1730 are lost and also the records from 1766 to 1830. The early civil records are also deficient on account of the destruc- tion of the court house by fire in 1785.
In New York in the Revolution in the Second Dutchess Regiment of Militia, which was evidently from the vicinity of Fishkill, appears the name of Christian DuBois, lieutenant and the following members of the DuBois family as privates: Christian, Cornelius, Gideon, Jacob, Koert, Peter, Teunis, Thomas, Jacob T. The name of Christian DuBois also ap- pears as lieutenant in the Sixth Dutchess Militia. In the list of Land Bounty Rights in the Second Dutchess Militia appear the names of the following DuBoises: Christian, Chris- tian Jr., Elesa (Elisha), Jacob Jr., John, Peter.
THE OLIVER FAMILY.
This sketch of the Oliver family is inserted by the author out of consideration for the assistance rendered in the work by his wife. The Oliver family always resided in Marble- town, not in New Paltz.
The first Oliver in Ulster county of whom mention is made in historical records, is Samuel, who was a sergeant in the company of English soldiers, under Capt. Daniel Brodhead, stationed at Kingston, when the province of New York was captured from the Dutch by the English. He was assigned bounty land with others of the company, at Marbletown, in 1670, but left no descendants in the county and probably did not remain here.
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The ancestor of the Oliver family in Ulster county was Andrew Oliver, who emigrated with his three brothers from county Armagh, in the north of Ireland, about 1738.
One of the brother settled in Pennsylvania, one (Thomas) in Orange county and one in Cuba or South America.
Andrew Oliver, who located at Marbletown, was a sur- veyor and a man of education. He probably built the house, still standing on the west side of the highway, a few rods from the residence of his great-great-grandson, John Oliver. An- drew Oliver's wife was Anna, daughter of Daniel Brodhead, of Marbletown. The record of the marriage on the church book at Kingston by Dominie Mancius states that it took place in 1739 and was performed on presentation of a license from Lieut .- Gov. Clark. The births of children are recorded on the church book at Kingston as follows: Mary, 1740; Jane, 1743; James, 1745; Elizabeth, 1747 ; Anne, 1750. There was another son, Richard, whose baptism is not set down in the Kingston church book and must have been performed elsewhere.
The names of Andrew Oliver and his son Richard appear as signers of the Articles of Association.
For one month after the burning of Kingston by the British during the Revolutionary War, the home of Andrew Oliver was the place of meeting of the Council of Safety, the meet- ings commencing there Oct. 19th, 1777, three days after Kingston had been destroyed. The meetings of the Council were held in a house since torn down, just north of the present residence of John Oliver.
Andrew Oliver's son Richard settled in Hurley and married Catharine Cole. They left no son and but one daughter, Maria, who became the wife of Jacobus Hardenbergh.
Several of Andrew Oliver's daughters married, but the Kingston church records only contain the marriage of the
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daughter Mary, who wedded Capt. Charles Brodhead in 1761. The marriage of the others must have been recorded elsewhere. Anne married Stephen Nottingham; Elizabeth married Gradus Hardenbergh; Jane did not marry.
Andrew Oliver's death resulted from the kick of a horse. His friend, Judge Delemater had called to consult with him on some business matter and in stooping down to unloose the horse's girth the animal gave him a kick, resulting in death.
James, who was born in 1745, studied medicine and became very eminent as a physician and surgeon. He was the first president of the county medical society, filling the office from 1806 to 1809. In 1800 he was county judge. From 1783 to 1787 and again from 1790 to 1796 he was Supervisor of Mar- bletown. In the campaign which resulted in Burgoyne's sur- render he served as surgeon. He was a man of impetuous temper but kindly spirit and it is related that after the wounded in the American army were attended to in the fight terminating in Burgoyne's surrender, he tendered his services as surgeon to the British wounded; it is also said that in the fight he gave up his horse to the colonel, who had in some manner lost his and went himself on foot.
We do not learn that he served in the war, except in the campaign against Burgoyne.
We do not find his name in " New York in the Revolution " nor do we find the names of surgeons set down in most of the militia regiments in the records contained in that book. The incidents we record concerning his war experiences were obtained from his grandson, Dr. James Oliver.
In 1780 Dr. Oliver built the house for a residence where his great-grandson, John, now lives. Dr. Oliver's wife was Margaret, daughter of Matthew Newkirk of Marbletown.
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They left but one son, Matthew, born in 1780, and one daughter, Ann, who became the wife of John Miller of Mont- gomery. Dr. Oliver was a man of much skill as a surgeon and would ride to Delaware Co. and other places, at a long distance in the performance of his professional duties. A story is related that a company of Highland Scotch had settled in the vicinity (probably in Delaware county), and one of the number needed a surgeon's attention, but when Dr. Oliver, who was called in, took out his sharp instruments to com- mence work, the rough clansmen thought he meditated injury to their comrade and drew their swords, but after the opera- tion was successfully performed they were extremely grateful. It was the custom of those days for young men, who were learning medicine, to reside with some old doctor and Dr. · Richard Elting, of New Paltz (afterward of Rondout), Dr. Nathaniel Deyo, of New Paltz (father of Alfred Deyo), Dr. Henry Van Hovenberg of Kingston and Dr. Benjamin Bevier of Wawarsing resided for a time with him. Besides his busi- ness as physician and surgeon Dr. Oliver was an extensive owner of real estate. He died in 1826 at the age of eighty- one years.
His only son, Matthew, married Jane, daughter of Cor- nelius Elting, of Hurley, who had moved from New Paltz to that town. They resided in a stone house since torn down, occupying the site where Garret N. Oliver's present residence stands.
In the War of 1812 he served as paymaster. He was an extensive farmer, was for a long period Supervisor of the town and was a member of assembly in 1830. He died in 1865. He left a family of three sons, James, Cornelius and Richard and likewise three daughters, named Ann, Esther and Margaret, who became the wives, respectively of DuBois Has-
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brouck of Marbletown, Medad T. Morss of Woodbourne and Wm. Cole of Hurley.
James the oldest son became a doctor and for sixty years practiced his profession at Marbletown, where he likewise cultivated a large farm. His wife was Gitty Cole, daughter of Cornelius C. Cole of High Falls.
Cornelius Oliver son of Matthew, occupied during a long . lifetime the house built by his grandfather Dr. James Oliver, and cultivated the farm which had been so long in the family. His wife was Sarah C. Crispell of Hurley.
Richard, the youngest son, located at Woodbourne, Sullivan county. He was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Jackson of Montgomery, his second wife was Mary Waring.
THE DEYOS IN DUTCHESS AND ALBANY COUNTIES.
They are all descended from Jacobus and Peter, sons of Jacobus, son of Christian, son of Pierre the Patentee. Ja- cobus, senior, moved to Kingston from New Paltz and his widow moved to Dutchess county. The names of these sons Jacob and Peter appear on the list of Land Bounty Rights of Col. John Frear's Regt., and are the only Deyos there found. The following papers in the Theodore Deyo collec- tion throw a little uncertain light on the matter:
" This indenture made this 14th day of February in the year of our Lord 1786 between Jacobus Deyoe, now of Albany Co. and province of New York and Daniel Deyoe of Dutchess county and province of New York on the other part witnesseth-that the said Jacobus Deyoe, for and in consideration of the sum of fro current, lawful money hath sold unto the said Daniel Deyoe a tract of land at a place called The Paltz and Bonteco west of a certain creek called the Black Creek.
JAMES [JACOBUS] DEYOE."
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Another document in the Theodore Deyo collection shows that in 1789 Michael Deyo, of Beekman, Dutchess county, sold to Abraham, Jonathan and Philip Deyo of New Paltz for £4 his right and title to several lots of land on the west bank of the Hudson River. This document is witnessed by Benjamin Deyo.
We do not know anything about Benjamin, Michael and Daniel Deyo who are mentioned in these ancient documents. The fact that they owned land in the Paltz Patent is evidence that they were of the New Paltz stock.
Jacobus Deyo, Jr., mentioned on page 261 of History of New Paltz and its Old Families as having a son William who resided at Ghent, Columbia county, had two other sons, Richard and Capt. Peter. The latter resided at Spencertown, Columbia county. Capt. Peter had five sons: Aaron, Jacob, Richard, Peter and James. William, son of Jacobus Deyo, Jr., had also five sons: Israel, Richard, Jonathan, David and Martin. Jacob, son of Capt. Peter Deyo, started to go to Canada and never returned. He is thought to have been killed by Indians. In New York in the Revolution in the 8th Regiment of Albany County Militia (Albany county then included a part of Columbia) appear the names Jacobus De Yeae, Jacobus De Yeae, Jr., and Richard De Yeae, and in the 7th Albany Militia appears the name of Peter Deyor. In the Land Bounty Rights in the Fourth Dutchess County Regiment appears the names of Jacob Deyo and Peter Deyo, Jr.
Mrs. A. C. Hayden of Saratoga Springs, N. Y., sends us the following information in regard to the family of her great-grandfather Peter Deyo:
On page 260 of the "History of New Paltz and its Old Families " it is stated that Jacobus Deyo who moved to
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Kingston and was the son of Christian and grandson of Pierre the Patentee, had several daughters and one son Jacobus; also a son Peter. This son Peter was born in 1738 and baptized by Dominie Mancius Oct. 2Ist, 1739, as shown by the Kingston church records, James Auchmoody and Gretje Deyo being sponsors. Peter married Charity Maria Cramer in New York in 1765 and died in 1812. He and his wife are both buried in the family burying ground at Pittstown, Rensselaer county, N. Y. The children of Peter Deyo were: Zachariah, James, Peter, Jacob, John, Sarah, Jane, Katharine and Charity. The oldest son, Zacha- riah Deyo, who was born in Dutchess county, Sept. 24, 1774, married Phebe Oakley in 1799. He died in 1826 and is buried with his wife at Schroon, N. Y. This couple had children as follows: Jacob, William O. (settled in the west), Dorcas (married Ephraim Grimes), Charity and Peter. The daughter Charity married Jacob Lohmas. Their son Deyo Lohmas, born in 1836, was a prominent citizen of Saratoga Springs, N. Y. He was an extensive dealer in grain, flour and groceries and first introduced Chicago dressed meat in this state, erecting wholesale houses at Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs.
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160 HISTORY OF NEW PALTZ
OLD SCHOOL, BUILDING NOW RESIDENCE OF JOHN DRAKE
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CHAPTER XIII
HISTORY OF EDUCATION AT NEW PALTZ
The Public School at New Paltz
The stone building, now owned and occupied as a residence by John Drake was the public school building from 1812 to 1874-a period of 62 years.
The building is about 33 feet square and the walls of extra- ordinary thickness. The stones of which the walls were built were from the first stone church torn down in 1773, but though the stones were drawn to the lot which had been purchased for the site of the school building, they lay there for 40 years before the school house was erected.
There never was any play ground about the building. In the old days boys and girls went to school, not for play but for study. The only place for out door games or recreation was in the street in front of the building.
All the records of the school are lost. The old clerk's book, which extended back nearly or quite a century, was still in use not very many years ago, but can not now be found and was quite surely destroyed with other records of the public and Normal school when the Normal building was burned in April, 1906.
Among the teachers about 1815 were two brothers, Aaron and Moses Dewitt. Another teacher at about this period was Gilbert Cuthbert Rice, a young Irishman. Dr. John Bogar- dus also taught the school for a time. Of other teachers from 1800 to 1833 we have no information.
Our first definite knowledge concerning the school and its teachers is derived from Jacob Wynkoop, mainly, and dates back to 1833. Corodon Norton was then teaching the school
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and continued for a time afterwards, probably two or three years. He was perhaps the only Yankee schoolmaster New Paltz ever had. Mr. Norton was a native of Massachusetts. He continued to reside in the village all his life. He was the father of Henry Norton.
The Academy was built in 1833, while Mr. Norton was teaching. The upper story of the public school building had been occupied the five preceding years by the Classical School, which was the forerunner of the Academy.
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