History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 160

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336

USA > New York > Orange County > History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 160

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John Bull was born May 3, 1721, on the Bull home- stead in Hamptonburgh. He married Hannah Holly, of Goshen, N. Y., and lived and died at the place of his birth. His children were Ebenezer ; Sarah, mar- ried Richard Earl; Elizabeth, married Peter Earl ; Mary, married John Tuthill; William; Samuel ; John ; Richard; Daniel; Esther, married William Brush ; and Crisse.

Richard was the father of Jesse Bull, and was born on the homestead Oct. 25, 1762. He married Lena, daughter of Benjamin Harlow, April 12, 1800, and soon afterwards settled in the Sugar-Loaf Valley, in Chester township. By occupation he was a farmer and miller. He died Jan. 5, 1846. Their children were Hannah (now deceased), married Joseph Ray ; Jesse ; James; Harvey ; Daniel; Ira, who lives on the old homestead in Chester; and Charles W., de- ceased.

Jesse Bull was born in Chester, on the homestead, Dec. 27, 1802. His early life was spent at school, on his father's farm, and in his father's grist-mill. On Feb. 15, 1827, he married Caroline, daughter of Cor- nelius and Annas Board, of Chester, a school-mate and early friend. Of this union were born Susan, died young ; Phebe Ann, married Isaac V. Wheeler, of Warwick; John J., died young; Hannah, born Aug. 1, 1832, died May 4, 1851; Mary Elizabeth, born July 18, 1834, died Nov. 26, 1849; Snsan Caro- line, who lives on the homestead in Blooming-Grove;

Charles Richard, married Harriet N., daughter of Jesse and Caroline Roe, of Chester, and resides on the homestead, an active and successful man; and Emma Lena, married Nathaniel B. Zabriskie, of Hackensack, N. J.

The year of his marriage Mr. Bull purchased 92 acres of land of Thaddeus Seeley in Blooming-Grove, upon which he settled. He afterwards bought 118 acres of land adjoining his original purchase, and in 1836 he purchased 198 acres in Blooming-Grove. On liis original purchase was an iron ore mine which, in 1864, he sold to Peter P. Parrot, of Greenwood, N. Y. Mr. Bull followed agricultural pursuits during his life, and was a successful farmer, and an officer of the Orange County Agricultural Society. He was one of the original incorporators and stockholders of the Chester Bank, acted as its president for a short time, and was a director in its board from its founding until his death. He was a man of good judgment, and his financial abilities were acknowledged by business men. Mr. Bull was interested in all that pertained to the welfare of his town, county, and State, and was looked upon as a leading citizen. lle became a member of the Presbyterian Church of Chester in 1837, and his wife is one of the oldest living members of that body. For forty-two years he was a manager of the Orange County Bible Society for the town of Blooming- Grove. In politics he was a Republican, and was a delegate to the State conventions of bis party at dif- ferent times. He was for many years a justice of the peace, and was also commissioner of deeds of his town. At the time of his death the Goshen Democrat said, " He was a good citizen and a leading man, was highly respected, and would be greatly missed by the community in which he lived." On Feb. 15, 1877, Mr. Bull and his wife celebrated their golden wed- ding, about 200 guests being present. Hle died Jan. 5, 1878.

HAMPTONBURGH.

I .- SITUATION, BOUNDARIES, AREA, TITLE.

HAMPTONBURGH is one of the interior towns of the county, lying somewhat northeast of the centre. Its outline is that of an irregular pentagon, rendering it difficult to state its boundaries by the four cardinal points of the compass. It is approximately accurate to give them as follows : North by Montgomery, east by New Windsor and Blooming-Grove, south by Blooming-Grove and Goshen, west by Goshen and Wallkill. The area of Hamptonburgh may be ap- proximately stated at 16,621 aeres, as determined by

the last supervisors' report. The assessed valuation of the town was $1,010,850, and the total tax paid upon that basis was $9792.53. The title to the soil of Hamptonburgh must be traced back to the several patents mentioned elsewhere. The town is made up of territory taken from earlier towns and from both sides of the " old county line."

II .- NATURAL FEATURES.

This small territory is abundantly watered. The Wallkill River separates it from the town of Wallkill

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on the northwest ; the Otterkill describes in its course an irregular curve of more than half a circle, flowing out of the town of Goshen, sweeping northward be- yond Campbell Hall, eastward to Burnside, and south- ward to the line of Blooming-Grove; the Beaver Dam flowing south from the town of Montgomery unites with the Otterkill a short distance northeast of Campbell Hall; and several small rivulets complete the drainage of the town. Lying mostly in the val- leys of these streams, its surface is rolling or mod- erately hilly.

III .- EARLY SETTLEMENT.

It is the uniform testimony of previous writers that the first settlement on the territory now embraced by Hamptonburgh was made by Christopher Denne.

The date of the Wawayanda Patent was April 29, 1703. It was necessary that a beginning should be made somewhere in order to open up the lands, get them into the market, and secure purchasers. After several efforts to induce settlers to enter upon the patent had failed, the patentees seem to have deter- mined to make the settlement themselves. Among the patentees was Christopher Denne.

Denne was a resident of New York in 1701, and one of the signers of the Protestant petition to William III. in that year. In 1702 his name appears appended to the congratulatory address to Lord Cornbury as one " of the chiefest inhabitants of the city and county of New York," and in 1705 he was one of the signers to a petition by the merchants of that city. He was still a resident of New York in 1708 and 1714, and died there in 1722-23. His wife, Elizabeth, died there, and by her will, dated Dee. 29, 1730, gave her property to Sarah Jones, spinster, and Vincent Matthews, of Matthewsfield. Sarah Jones afterwards married Thomas Brown. It is questionable whether Denne ever resided on the Wawayanda Patent for anything more than a temporary period.

Mr. Eager, in his history of the county, modernized the statement of the boundaries of the traet taken up by Denne so as to be understood at the time he wrote, 1846. They are probably yet sufficiently clear for popular reading, as follows :

" Beginning at a stake and stones about east of and ten chains from the dwelling-house of Gen. Abraham Vail in East Division; thence northwesterly along the northeasterly bounds of the Goshen town lots, and until it meets with a Jine supposed to divide the old counties of Ul- ster and Orange ; theure east along the same to a stake and stones known to be standing near the top of the highland or mountain above Charles Heard's, in Hamptonburgh ; thence on a course south about thirty-six degrees west to the place of beginning."

Upon this lot on the west bank of the Otterkill, and from six to eight chains westerly from Tusten's bridge, Christopher Denne in 1714 located a residence for him- self and family. It is understood that Denne made quite an extensive visit through the territory and ex- plored it before undertaking the enterprise; that he ; made the acquaintance of the Indians in this locality and secured their good will. He is also reported to

have had the aid of three of the natives to assist him in his removal, and that for this purpose they accom- panied him to New York. There was in the family of Mr. Denne an orphan girl brought up by them, they having no children of their own. Mr. Denne, so runs the tradition, induced this young woman, then sixteen years of age, to accompany a party sent out by him to begin this settlement. Her name was Sarah Wells, and as Mr. Eager's account of her was derived from her immediate descendants, and as he himself had seen her in her old age while he was a boy, we can do no better than quote his description :

" In person Sarah Wells was smaller than the majority of her sex ; yet though light and fragile she was active, and capable of remarkable exer- cise and endurance. This, in part, may have resulted from the fact that while young she had been in the habit of crossing the ferry in an open boat from Staten Island to New York, attending to the market business of her patrons. This exposure while it imparted health by the exer- cise, not only hardened and compacted a constitution otherwise delicate, but deepened the sanguine color of her complexion. Her eyes were neither large nor prominent, but dark, playful, and sparkling. Though not a flippant talker, she was free and conversed with fluency, and when excited to reply to some rude remarks or impertinent inquiry her eyes would flash like fire, and the presumptuous intruder was sure to be wounded in the conflict and carry the scar home with him for reflec- tion."

The full story of this expedition of Sarah Wells from the New York home to the depths of this inte- rior wilderness reads like a romance, and may well for a thousandth time prove that " truth is stranger than fiction." The party consisted of the three young Indians, several carpenters sent forward by Mr. Denne, "and Sarah Wells." On board the sloop by which they came up the Hudson were the few necessary utensils to commence house-keeping with, the tools of the carpenters, and other luggage. The evening of the second day saw them at New Windsor. They spent the night on board the boat, and the next morn- ing, with goods loaded upon the animals and a gen- eral order of procession fully observed, they took up their line of travel for the banks of the Otterkill. The pen of the American novelist should revel in this forest march. The cows, the dogs, the horses, the Indians, the white men, and Sarah Wells to- gether made up as unique a procession as ever set forward to settle a province or found a state. What- ever thoughts occupied the mind of Sarah Wells we cannot say. Tradition tells us that the Indians were kind and full of gentle ways towards this unprotected girl. And here we desire to add that no instance is recorded of violence by the Indians of the Wawayanda Patent towards the white men after the Esopus peace of 1663. The Indians who remained on the patent obeyed the provisions of that treaty, and respected serupulously the rights conveyed to their successors. " Thus the day's march was successfully made, and a wigwam, hastily constructed, that evening received the weary party on the east bank of the Otterkill. It was in the month of May when this entry upon the patent was made. The stream was swollen, and rafts were built by which the crossing was effected the next

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day. A log house was hastily erected by the white men with the aid of the Indians, and thus the settle- ment was begun.

It appears, however, that Sarah Wells was left as the solitary white woman of the party, but' Mr. Eager's account states that Christopher Denne and wife came to this new home on the evening of the first day after the arrival of the advance party, so that the young girl had passed but three nights away from their care, -- one on the Hudson River coming up, one at New Windsor landing, and one in the wigwam on the east bank of the Otterkill. In the midst of the unpaeking of the "coffee, sugar, sacks of flour, and hams," the driving up and milking of the cows, and the getting ready for the first night's rest in the new log cabin, the "old folks" suddenly appeared on the scene. The strain of danger on the part of Sarah Wells was over with. She fainted, as a first-class heroine ought to, at the very feet of her foster-mother. She "came to" without help. All hands had a right royal supper, and no doubt slept well in their new home. It hardly seems necessary to enter upon a labored defense of Christopher Denne, as a previous writer has done, for his apparent in- humanity in sending Sarah Wells forward with the advance expedition. On the whole, it seems to have | been judiciously planned and successfully executed. His forethought had provided for every question, ar- ranged for every emergency, and himself and wife followed immediately. They came overland from what is now Jersey City, stopping one night at the falls of the Ramapo, and reaching the Otterkill thirty-six hours later than Sarah Wells and party. The tradition is usually summed up as follows : "Sarah Wells was the first civilized white woman, and Madam Denne the second, who placed a foot upon that part of the patent of Wawayanda which laid in the town of Goshen."

The second settler of whom special mention should be made is William Bull. He was born at Wolverhampton, England, February, 1689. In an account of this early settler we rely upon tradition and the statements of Sarah Wells, his wife, which were generally known among his immediate descendants. When he was young, his father left England and located at Dublin, Ireland, where he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a mason and stone-cutter. When his apprenticeship ended, he, with a young friend and fellow-mason, con- tracted to build the arch of a large bridge, which was then in progress of erection in the vicinity of the city, and had they succeeded, it might have established their credit as good workmen and talented young men ; but just as they were closing the arch and finishing the job, down it tumbled, and with it the young and bright prospects of the venturesome builders. Bull was overwhelmed by the unexpected calamity, and feeling that future success there was hopeless, he at once de- termined to emigrate and build his fortune in Amer- ica. His money amounted to five guineas, and he

went down to the dock and inquired of the officer on board if five guineas was sufficient to pay his passage. The reply was in the affirmative, and he forthwith completed his arrangements to leave. When the time came, he embarked, having nothing to eneumber him but his elothes, five guineas, and a few books. When the ship arrived in port, Bull presented him- self to the captain to pay his five guineas and go ashore; but was told that it was not enough, and being informed it was all he had, replied that he must then be sold for the balance. Bull was very much in- censed at the trick put on him by false information in Ireland, and at the indignity so coolly about to be in- flicted upon him, promptly told the officer that "he would not be sold, that he would abide by the ship and return to Ireland, and that if he had to be a ser- vant it should be there and not in a strange land."

Misfortune had compelled him to leave his country, and now when about to realize his cherished hopes and anxious expectations, it was threatening to drive him back again, and he was in great doubt what course to adopt. But in this case "his necessity was God's opportunity." Just at this time Daniel Crome- line, who had an interest in the Wawayanda Patent, and was about to make a settlement thereon, finding an Irish passenger ship in port and thinking that he might procure some laborers and artisans there, went on board and made his wants known to the captain. Proclamation was made throughout the ship that there was a gentleman on board who wanted to employ some workmen and mechanics to settle a new country, and if there were any on board who were willing to engage, to come forward. William Bull spoke and said that he was an artisan and laborer, and had left Ireland for America thinking he had money to pay his passage; but that falling short and for the defi- ciency was abont to be sold, which he had refused to be, he thought of returning, but if any gentleman would advance the money, he would undertake, should his health and life be spared, he should have no cause to regret the kindness. Cromeline, pleased with his appearance, prompt and manly bearing, advanced the money and they left the ship together.

Bull, in company with other workmen, soon went with Cromeline upon the patent, to prepare to erect a dwelling and make a settlement. Bull executed the mason and others the carpenter work, and he cut the year of erection, 1716, in the stones of the chimney. The boards of the house were sawed by a whip in a sawpit, and the whole wood-work fastened hy wood pins in place of nails. This at the time, and for years afterwards, was the largest and best house from New Windsor to New Jersey. Is it was on the traveled route leading into New Jersey it soon became of great notoriety, and being a public inn was a place of resort for the country round. This house was known as the "Old Gray Court House," and was in the present town of Chester, about five miles southeast from the man- sion of Christopher Denne, in Hamptonburgh. The

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structure was honestly built, having stood as a tene- ment till 1832, about one hundred and sixteen years, which cannot be affirmed of any other in the county, except the Bull stone house at Hamptonburgh .* At that early day, and for years afterwards, the popula- tion was very sparse in that part of the county, and all living within a dozen miles of each other were near neighbors, and kept up an intimate and friendly in- tercourse. As Christopher Denne was a patentee and Daniel Cromeline interested in the patent, both having made settlements and living within six miles of each other, it was natural and expected that these families would often meet on the most friendly terms. Thus William Bull, who continued to live at the Cromeline house, became acquainted with Sarah Wells, which eventuated in matrimony in the year 1718. The young people of that day had a great deal of business to do, and their offers were sincerely and promptly made on the one side, and promptly and honestly ac- cepted or rejected on the other. What they did was done quickly, as they had no time to spare, and conse- quently there were no courtships of seven years' stand- ing. Inclination and the demands of a new country forbade all tampering and procrastination.

Previous to this time courts of justice had been es- tablished and a magistrate resided in the neighbor- hood, who was called upon to perform the marriage ceremony, there being no priest to do it. Bull was an Episcopalian, and wished to be married according to the forms of that church, but how were the bans to be published three times to make the contract valid ? After long deliberation they concluded that circum- stances altered cases, and that three proclamations made in one day were as effectual for all purposes as if they were made during three successive weeks. To test the principle and carry it out in practice, the guests being assembled and the bride and groom anxiously waiting to know how it was to be performed, the magistrate with a solemnity demanded by the occa- sion took up the book of common prayer and pro- ceeded to the front door of the house, and there pro- claimed the bans to the trees of the forest, then he walked through the hall to the back door and made a second proclamation to the cattle and outbuildings, and then again at the front door made a third to the wilderness at large, whereupon the marriage ceremony was immediately performed. Tradition affirms this to have been the first marriage within the limits of the old town of Goshen.

As Christopher Denne had promised Sarah Wells 100 acres of land, she, now being of age and married, requested a fulfillment of the promise. Without dis- closing his object, Christopher Denne advised her " not to be in a hurry about it, that she had married a young

Irishman who might play her some trick, and finally leave her, and the title might as well be left where it was for the present." She replied that "Bull was born in England, and though brought up in Ireland, she did not know that that made him an Irishman ; and that lie was as good an Englishman as himself." Denne manifested no resentment at what she said, and smiling pleasantly put her off. He told her, however, to go and select 100 acres of his unimproved land where she pleased, and locate it, and it should be secured to her. This was done and possession taken. But Wil- liam Bull, however, desired to possess land that he could call his own, and in place of settling on the 100 acres, he located on the southeasterly side of Chris- topher Denne's lot, then considered wild and unappro- priated, and since designated by the "old Bull stone house at Hamptonburgh." On this he erected his log cabin in 1719 or 1720. The location was a favor- able one. The land was of a fine quality and well watered, and on settling he called the place " Hamp- tonburgh," in honor of Wolverhampton, the place of his birth. It is proper to say that the title to the 100 acres was made in fee-simple to John Bull, the eldest son, which was a compliment too frequently paid by the partiality of the English law.

When Denne settled, he supposed he had located on the patent of Wawayanda, but as that patent was bounded there, by the northwest line, when the new northwest-line came to be run it cut Denne's settle- ment off of the patent. His improvement was secured in this way. By the English law, at this time, a bona fide settler was entitled to a patent of 600 acres, and this he determined to procure, but dying before he accomplished it, the patent was issued to his widow, Madam Denne.

Bull and Gerard, in 1723, procured a patent of 2600 acres just east of the 100 acres, and on this William Bull erected the stone house in 1727, which is still standing. This building is literally founded on a rock, and has a spring in the cellar. The house is two stories of eleven feet each, with a sharp roof, and for a dwelling of that number of stories is the highest in the county, measuring from the first floor to the peak. It is wonderful that the building is in so good preservation, for it has once been riven by a thunder-bolt, and while building was rocked by the vibrations of an earthquake.

The family tradition is, that before the stone house was erected Bull lived in a log hut in the vicinity, and that while the stone house was building and nearly completed, about twelve o'clock at night he and Mrs. Bull were waked up by a rumbling noise and a shaking of the bed and house, which they thought an earthquake, and Mrs. Bull remarked to him, "William, we have lost our new house." On inspecting the building in the morning they found a crack, beginning in the lower part of the first story, at the east end, which extended up through the second story. This was plastered up and the house

1 * There is no doubt that the Cromeline house was the first that was erected on the Wawayanda Patent. Its date "1716," indicates the time of its completion, rather than that of its commencement. The employés of Cromeline, Denne and Aske, came at about the same time. (See General History, p. 17.)

that Me Trompesent

llis paternal grandfather was Jonathan, who settled in Orange County at an early day, and married Hannah Brooks. Their children were John I., Lewis, Oliver, Jane (married Charles Monell, of Goshen, N. Y.), and Benjamin F.

Oliver was the father of our subject, and was born in October, 1787. lle married Sarah Mathers, daughter of one of the early Revolutionary families of Orange County, and their issue were Alfred, deceased ; Charles M .; Cornelia A., deceased, who became the wife of George W. Stevens, of Susquehanna County, Pa. ; Mary E., wife of George Pierson, of Hamptonburgh ; John I., deceased ; Oliver B. ; Catharine A., widow of Charles W. Post, of Hamptonburgh ; Sarah, deceased, became the wife of George W. Beardsley, of Brooklyn, L. 1 .; David 11., a farmer of llamptonburgh ; Emily F., mar- ried Wm. Brett, a shipping merchant of New York; Hannah, married A. Ferd. Cross, of New York ; and Carrie, married Augustus Brett, a shipping merchant of New York.

Oliver Thompson was a large and successful farmer of Hamptonburgh for many years, and owned several hundred acres of land. He was energetie in his business affairs, and was a man of temperate habits, giving his time almost wholly to his agricultural pursuits and having no desire for official position, though he always performed the full duties of the citizen in town and connty matters. Ile died March 12, 1863. His wife died May 6, 1861, at the age of sixty-five years.

Charles M. Thompson was born in Wallkill (now Hamptonburgh), Dec. 17, 1816. His early life was one

of labor upon his father's farm, and his education was confined to the common schools. For four years, from 1840, he was connected with the flouring-mill, plaster- ing-mill, and saw-mill at Brooks' Mills, Hamptonburgh. In 1844 he became a partner with Jennings & Thomp- son, of Goshen, in a general mercantile and freighting business, which continued until 1846 when he withdrew from the firm, and in 1848 bought the James Strong farm of one hundred and seventy-three acres in Hamp- tonburgh. The following year he moved upon this, where he has since resided. Mr. Thompson has been a farmer by occupation, and is a fitting representative of the agricultural interests of Orange County.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 160

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1336

Author: Ruttenber, Edward Manning, 1825-1907, comp; Clark, L. H. (Lewis H.)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1336