History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 162

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 162

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VI .- SCHOOLS.

The following persons served as school commis- sioners one or more years each during the period from the organization of the town to 1844: Ebenezer Bull, Robert C. Hunter, Vincent Booth, Capt. William Jackson, Hudson Webb, Bartow Wright, Elijah C. Watson, David W. Corwin, William L. Webb. During

the same period the following persons served as in- spectors of schools one or more years each: James D. Bull, Bartow Wright, John McCord, Hezekiah Watkins, John Payne, Hudson Webb, Benjamin Brown, Elijah C. Watson, Oliver B. Tuthill, William L. Webb, James S. Tuthill, Robert C. Hunter.

The system of supervision by town superintendents commenced in 1844, and continued until town super- vision ceased and all official control of the schools passed to the district commissioners. The town superintendents of Hamptonburgh were as follows : 1844 46, Bartow Wright; 1847-50, A. B. Watkins, Jr .; 1851-55, Daniel T. Brown.

School districts in the town at the time of the or- ganization : No. 1, Hamptonburgh ; No. 2, Otterkill; No. 3, Bushkirks; No. 4, Bloomingdale; No. 5, Neely- town; No. 6, Lagrange.

Two or three years later : No. 1, Hamptonburgh ; No. 2, Otterkill; No. 3, Little Britain; No. 4, Bloomingdale; No. 5, Neelytown; No. 6, Lagrange; No. 7, Poverty Hollow.

VII .- CHURCHES.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF HAMPTON- BURGII.#

The Presbyterian Church of Hamptonburgh is the legal successor of the late "Associate Reformed Church of Hamptonburgh," and through it of the old "Asso- ciate Church of Neelytown." It is impossible now to ascertain the exact date of the organization of the church of Neelytown. The nearest approach we can make to it is, that about the year 1765 or '67 a number of families left the Presbyterian Church of Goodwill and made application to the Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania to be taken under its care and organized into a church.

The following names represent some of the earliest families connected with this church : William Eager, Thomas Beatty, James Wilkin, William Young, James McCobb, John Douglass, William Bull, James Bull, Samuel McCord, James Morrison, John M. Williams, David Miller, Andrew Wilson, John Hall, David El- liot, David Crawford, John Monell, Wm. Jackson, John McBride, Wm. Booth, Charles Booth, Wm. Conning, Samuel Wood.

April 15, 1767, a call was made out for the pastoral services of the Rev. Robert Annan, and on Oct. 2, 1772, he was installed pastor of the united congre- gation of Little Britain and Wallkill, or Neelytown. Mr. Annan continued to be the pastor of the Neely- town Church until 1783, when he removed to Boston.

In 1769 half an acre of ground was purchased of William Eager for "five pounds lawful currency of the Province of New York," and on it was erected the first house of worship occupied by the congrega- tion. That building was described by one who often worshiped in it as " a wooden structure just in-

* By the pastor.

VINCENT BOOTH.

His great-grandfather, George Booth, came ; families of the county, and spent his life on the from Southold, L. I., and settled in Orange homestead of one hundred and forty acres, located in Hamptonburgh (formerly a part of Goshen). County in 1741. Benjamin Booth was the son of George, and he married Sarah Bull, daughter of William Bull and Sarah Wells, and was Mr. Booth took an active interest in the pub- lie matters of his town, represented it in the board of supervisors in 1852 and 1853, and was a justice of the peace of his township for two terms. Agricultural and stock matters always found in him a friend, and he was a stockholder of the Erie and of the Montgomery and Erie Railways. among the carly tillers of the soil in the county. Thomas, who was a farmer by occupation, was one of their children. He married Jane Barker, of South Carolina, and their issue were Jesse, John (who was a prominent lawyer of Goshen, surrogate of Orange County, and died in Iowa), Vincent, Nancy (who married Washington Wood, of Newburgh), Amelia (who married Joseph Slaughter), and Louisa (deceased).

Thomas Booth died on the homestead, in Hamptonburgh, Oct. 3, 1824.

Vincent Booth, our subject, was born on the homestead in 1794; spent his early life at home, and attended the schools of his native place. Following the inclinations of his ancestors, he engaged in farming, and also managed a milling business. On Feb. 9, 1826, he married Mary A., daughter of William and Sarah (Booth) Conning, a descendant of one of the early

He was a man of strong convictions and honesty of purpose. The Goshen Independent Republican, in its obituary notice of him, said: " That he was a man of sterling principles, strict integrity, and had left a name which calumny could neither dishonor or tarnish. Social and hospitable, his door was ever open to the calls of his friends and neighbors, and that few men in his community would be more missed from the walks of private life."

He died Nov. 1, 1871, his wife surviving him.

657

HAMPTONBURGH.

closed, or weather-boarded, the floors not plowed and grooved, and, in the course of years, mueb shrunken. The cold in winter was intolerable. Some of the females had foot-stoves; but there was no other arti- ficial heat in the house." The house in which the first pastor lived was pleasantly situated on the banks of the Wallkill. It is still occupied and in a good state of preservation.

After Mr. Annan left, the church continued vacant for thirteen years, receiving occasional supplies from the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New York, with which it had become connected.

In December, 1796, the Rev. John McJimsey was installed pastor of the church. Mr. McJimsey was born in York Co., Pa., Aug. 18, 1772. He continued to be the pastor of the church until the year 1809, when he removed to Albany, having accepted a call from the Associate Reformed Church of that city.

Again, for a period of ten years, the church was vacant, during which time it received only occasional supplies of preaching from the New York Presbytery. At the close of that period, Dr. MeJimsey, at the call of the church, resumed his pastoral labors among them, and continued until 1832, when he resigned his charge. In 1830 the congregation thought it expedi- ent to change the site of their church building from Neelytown to Campbell Hall, about two miles to the . southwest. A beautiful grove was selected crowning the top of a gentle hill on the banks of the Otter- kill, and there a large and commodious house was crected, which, in February, 1832, was dedicated to the worship of God. At the same time the name of the church was changed from the " Associate Re- formed Church of Neelytown" to the " Associate Re- formed Church of Hamptonburgh."

The next pastor of the church was the Rev. Mal- colm N. McLaren, who was installed at the church in ; Campbell Hall on Oct. 1, 1833. He resigned his office Aug. 15, 1843.

After the retirement of Mr. MeLaren the church of the church.

determined to change its ecclesiastical connection, and on application was received, at the close of the year 1843, under the care of the Presbytery of Hud- son, in connection with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (Old School). The Rev. James R. Johnston, of the Presbytery of Hudson, was in- stalled pastor of the church on Nov. 19, 1844. A minority of the church desiring to continue in con- nection with the Associate Reformed body, were left in possession of the church building at Campbell Hall, and of the parsonage, which had been erected a few years previous, at the rear of the church, on a plot of ground containing about two acres, the gift of Mr. Vineent Booth. Two pastors, the Rev. Mr. Kimball, and, after his retirement, the Rev. Mr. Gillespie, min- istered to the few families who composed the church. But the numbers gradually diminished until, in the course of a few years, the church dissolved, and the building itself was removed. Its former site is now

occupied by the district school-house. In the course of the summer of 1846 the majority of the congrega- tion erected a new church and parsonage in Hamp- tonburgh, about a mile to the south of Campbell Hall. In this church the congregation still worships. Thus in the course of seventy-five years the congregation erected three houses of worship and two parsonages.

The Rev. Mr. Johnston resigned his pastoral office in the autumn of 1849. After a vacancy of a few months the church made out a call for the pastoral services of the Rev. S. C. Hepburn, of the Presbytery | of Northumberland, Pa. He accepted the call, and was installed pastor July 2, 1850. This pastorate still continues.

It is impossible for us now to ascertain the names of the first elders of this church, as no records have come down to us of an earlier date than 1808. The following were ruling elders during the pastorate of Dr. McJimsey, viz. : James Morrison, William Bull, Andrew McCord, Samuel Wood, James Bull, Abra- ham Wilkin, William Bull, Jr., Capt. Andrew Wil- son, James D. Bull, and Thomas D. Wilkin. Alexan- der Boyd, John B. Horton, John C. Wilber, and Spen- cer Horton were elected under the pastorate of Mr. McLaren, Mr. Charles Young under that of Mr. Johnston, and Ahiel Decker, William B. Vail, James Hawkins, and George W. Ackerly under that of Mr. Hepburn.

A Sabbath-school was established in connection with this church in the year 1828, and has continued until this day with unabated interest and efficiency. The various benevolent enterprises in which the Presbyterian Church is engaged have for many years past received the stated contributions of this church. A "Woman's Missionary Association" was organized in March, 1880, and the large attendance at its monthly meetings, and its liberal contributions to the cause of home and foreign missions, afford gratifying evidence of the interest felt in these great causes by the ladies

The present officers of the church are : Pastor, Rev. S. C. Hepburn ; ruling elders, Charles Young, William B. Vail, James Hawkins, and George W. Ackerly ; trustees, Charles M. Thompson, Joseph C. Eager, James Hawkins, Emmet Harlow, Micah Hawkins, George Pierson, Stephen I. Webb, Benj. F. Decker, and James Clark ; number of church members, 135; Sunday-school scholars, 50; Sunday-school officers and teachers, 8.

ST. DAVID'S CHURCHI OF HAMPTONBURGH (EPIS- COPAL)

executed a certificate of incorporation April, 1832. The meeting was held at the school-house near Deeker's Corners; Rev. Nathan Kingsbury, rector of the church, presided, and the following officers were chosen : Peter W. Welling and Walter Halsey, war- dens; Hezekiah Watkins, Abel B. Watkins, Henry Pierson, Jesse Hulse, John Deeker, Samuel Brewster,

658

HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Midas T. Hulse, Peter Welling, vestrymen. This was located at what is kown as Lincolndale, and was an attempt to continue the organization of early times. The new movement was not a success.

Within the past few months (1880) services by an Episcopal clergyman have been held in the school- house, which occupies the site of oldl St. David's church, and those interested in Episcopal services hope to restore the worship of the earlier times on the same site or near there. For a full and vahable paper upon St. David's Church, see chapter upon the general religious history of the county.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF OTTER- VILLE

effected a legal organization Jan. 1, 1857. The pro- eeedings were signed by Thomas Giles and James Laughlin. The trustees chosen were Thomas Giles, James Laughlin, and Stephen P. Flunkley. This re- lates to the work of the Methodist Church along the eastern border of Hamptonburgh, but was not con- timed so as to be the foundation of any church in this town.

VIII .- BURIAL-PLACES.

The principal cemetery is near the old family man- sion of the pioneer William Bull. It contains the remains of the earliest pioneers in this vicinity. It has been kept in very good preservation and is still in use. In Neelytown, three miles north, is another okl burial-place, and also one of later years. At Lincoln- dale (better known as Decker's Corners) is an old cemetery, dating back like the others to the early years of settlement, the remnants of old St. David's Cemetery. The Tuthill family lot was near the present residence of Horace Tuthill. Some of the remains have been removed, and a portion of the ground has been reduced to cultivation. A few graves, however, remain. The old stone for the pioneer Freegift Tut- hill is still to be seen, bearing the initials F. T. and the date of death.

IX .- SOCIETIES.

At Campbell Hall there has been maintained for some years a grange of the order of Patrons of Hus- bandry. The new creamery now being built near Campbell Hall is owned by a "Farmers' Associa- tion." Other societies are the ordinary benevolent, social, and religious associations which usually exist in connection with church-work or for charitable ob- jeets. The town is in such elose connection with Goshen that members of Masonie or other similar bodies doubtless belong to organizations in that place.

X .- PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST.

they celebrate in an appropriate manner the settle- ment of their ancestors and recount the romantic story of the wilderness,-the march, the settlement, the marriage.

THE BULL HOMESTEAD.

The Otterkill at "Tusten's Bridge" is the one spot around which clusters the romance of the early settle- ment by Christopher Denne. Standing upon this bridge one may let imagination wander back "at its own sweet will" to the pioneer settlers.

The Otterkill, now a comparatively small stream, was then of larger volume, like other streams before the primeval forest was cut away, and being swollen by a freshet was of considerable breadth. In the pres- ent young orchard on the Ryerson farm we must sup- pose the party to have halted for the night, and that there was the hastily built wigwam in which they slept.

Crossing the stream the next morning, a log house was partially constructed so as to be occupied that night. Tradition points to the spring, now covered with a small rough shed, and a heap of stones near, as the site of this first house. It is in the field opposite the present Price residence and near to the Otterkill. There is the place where the arrival of Christopher Denne and wife met with such a grand reception the same afternoon, where the supplies were unpacked and the country taken possession of in the name of the proprietors of the Wawayanda Patent.

Well may the bridge, marking all this scene so definitely, and bearing also the name of Denne's sue- cessors, the Tustens, father and son, be a historic landmark in Hamptonburgh. The subsequent more permanent residence was erected where Mrs. Priee now resides, and that is the homestead where Dr. Tus- ten left his family to obey the call to arms, and to perish on the field of Minisink.

THE STONE HOUSE,

already described at Hamptonburgh, is the other prominent historie memorial of the early times. It is in good preservation. The solid walls, the new slate roof, the old strong doors, the general outline, all give it an interesting appearance.

XI .- INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS.

Agriculture is the chief business of the people of Hamptonburgh, and the town has a succession of fine farms, constituting a beautiful country, rich and pro- duetive. All the grains common to this section can be produced in abundance, yet the milk business takes precedence of all others. In the town there are four ereameries, two, already mentioned in con- neetion with the villages, by D. W. Thompson (Camp- bell Hall and Hamptonburgh) : Harlow's, about two miles from Hamptonburgh : and one by A. Tower, a mile and a half east of Campbell Hall. The facili- ties for shipment are convenient, and this quiet rural

These are fully brought out in the story of Chris- topher Denne's settlement and that of William Bull. To the numerous descendants of Sarah Wells, Hamp- tonburgh is a place of annual pilgrimage. There town, through the complete railroad system of the

Solomon J Jurithe

DERRICK Surrn, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from Glasgow, Scotland, and settled in Orange County about 1750. He here married Hannah Gale, and Daniel, who was born Nov. 1, 1763, was their son. He married Tabitha, daughter of Solomon and Tabitha ( Watkins) Tuttle, and they had children,- Grant, Derrick, Harriet, Nathan, Martha, Hilin Ann, Alexander, lehabod 12., and Daniel, all of whom are dead except Martha, who lives in Western New York, and Alexander, who was born April 10, 1803, and lives in Hamptonburgh. Daniel Smith settled upon one hundred and seventy acres of land in what was then Wallkill (now Hamptonburgh) in 1805, and there spent the remainder of his life following agricultural pursuits. This property has since been the Smith homestend, passing from Daniel to Grant Smith, who was born Dee. 21, 1788. llis wife was Miriam, daughter of Jesse Smith, whom he married Jan. 30, 1811. Jesse Smith was born Oct. 17, 1758, married Elizabeth Ansely, and reared a family of eleven chillren, of whom Miriam was the fourth. Hle was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and lived the life of a farmer in Orange County, where he died. Grant Smith, the father of Solomon T., lived on the homestead, served in the war of 1812, and was a leading business man and farmer in his town. Of this union were born Sarah Jane, married John M. Miller, of Wallkill, and resides in Indiana ; Solomon T. ; William A., a farmer of Wisconsin, who married Martha Watkins, of Orange County ; Elizabeth, mar- ried Richard S. Denton, of Vernon, N. J. ; and Harriet, who became the wife of Henry B. Smith, and, after his decease, of his brother, Nathaniel D. Grant Smith

died Sept. 29, 1829. Miriam, his wife, was a woman of more than ordinary ability and energy. Left by the , death of her husband with the sole care and control of five children, she retained possession of the homestend, and instilled into their minds when young the impor- tant lessons of industry and self-reliance which enabled them to become useful men and women. Until within a few years of her death, which occurred Nov. 17, 1878, at the age of eighty-eight years, she had been unusually netive, and retained her mental faculties to a remarkable degree.

Solomon T. Smith was born on the homestead, Jan. 10, 1815. The common schools gave him his educa- tion, and to his mother he owes the early discipline of mind and muscle which developed into the useful citizen and the good farmer. By inheritance and pur- chase he obtained the homestead, and there his life was spent.

Mr. Smith was a man of good morals, temperate habits, and successful in his business affairs. Oftentimes his judgment was desired in the valuation of real estate, and his counsels were always judicious. He was in- different to official position, and was more content with the duties of private life, always meeting his engage- ments with promptitude. For many years he was a member of the Goshen Presbyterian Church, and there his family attended.

Ilis wife was Mary, daughter of Wickham and Cath- arine Tuttle, whom he married Nov. 20, 1850, and their children were Wickham T., who is the fourth generation on the homestead, and Martha, deceased. Ile died Nov. 27, 1876. His wife died April 7, 1870.

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MINISINK.

county, is in close connection with the New York markets.

XII .- MILITARY.

In its separate capacity the town has no military history prior to the war of the Rebellion. As a small town, and near to a recruiting-camp, many of the early enlistments from Hamptonburgh were probably entered under the name of Goshen in the printed muster-in rolls of the State. The credits by the Senatorial Committee of 1862 corrected this to some extent, but even where quotas were regularly assigned the credits do not in many cases correctly represent residence. As no record is found in the town clerk's office under the law of 1865, it is difficult to prepare any complete list for the town. The quotas of the town were:

July and August, 1862. 40-credits, 40 Draft of Oct. 7, 1863-drawn 34

Call of Oct. 17, 1863 ...

Consolidated calls. 33

Under all calls, from July, 1863, to July, 1864. 37 30

Call of July, 1864 33 33

Call of December, 1864 10 10 S. P. Rockafellow.

In its final settlement with the State, in 1865, the town received-

For excess of twenty-seven years, or nine men, three years $5,400

For substitutes 2,400

For volunteers 3,000

Total. $10,800

We add the following names, obtained by inquiry and from regimental rolls :

Joseph Anderson, 15th Art. Hiram Anderson, 15th Art.

John Adams, 124th.

John T. Bolton, Co. K, 168th ; en !. Sept. 29, 1862. Oscar Brunell, 12th U. S.

Archibald Millspaugh, Co. 11, 168th ; enl. Oct. 8, 1862. Harvey Chandler, 4th Art.

Charles Rose, Co. 11, 168th ; enl. Oct. 16, 1862.

David II. Corwin, Co. G, 124th ; enl. Aug. 11, 1862.

Charles Aodersoo.

Cyroeus Giles, Co. G, 124th ; enl. Ang. 4, 1862 ; taken prisoner at Chan- cellorsville; must. out by G. O. 77.

John T. Larve, Co. 1, 124th ; enl. Aug. 14, 1862; wounded in shoulder July 2, 1863 ; disch. by G. O. 77; he was credited to Newburgh.

Jason R. Conning, Co. K, 124th; enl. Ang. 16, 1862 ; pro. corp. and sergt .: must. out Juue 3, 1865.

Robert Rose, Co. I, 124th ; enl. Aug. 17, 1862 ; taken prisoner Dec. 16, 1863; must. out with regt .; credited to Newburgh, but resident of Hamptonburgh.

Wm. Sutherland, Co. 1, 124th ; enl. Ang. 19, 1862; wounded in wrist April 1, 1865; credited to Newburghs.

Enos Downs, colored.

Amos M. Eager, Co. 1, 124th ; eul. Ang. 6, 1862 ; wounded at Gettysburg; credited to Newburgh as a resident there.

James Denniston, 91st.

Newton B. Pierson, Co. 1, 124th ; enl. Aug. 6, 1862; credited to New- burgh ; disch. by G. 0. 77.

Iloward Larker, 5th Art.

James A. Smith, 124th ; enl. August, 1862.

Arch. D. Millspaugh, 124th ; eol. Jao. 1, 1864 ; unassigned recruit.

Nelson Foot, 124th ; enl. Aug. 13, 1862 ; credited to Newburgh; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.

John McKinney, 91st.

Wm. Jackson, Co. K, 124th; enl. August, 1862; capt .; killed in action, June 18, 1864.

Thomas Mountain, 1st Eng.

Aloozo Price, Co. K, 124th ; enl. August, 1862; wounded at Chancellors- ville.

Edward T. Mapes, Co. B, 124th ; enl. Aug. 11, 1862 ; credited to Goshen ; most out by G. 0. 77.

Charles E. Owen, 124th ; enl. Jan. 1, 1864; unassigned recruit.

John Rockafellow.

John H. Conkling, Co. G, 124th ; died July 24, 1863, at Frederick, Md., of typhoid fever.

William Jackson, Co. G, 124tlı.

Michael Mooney, Co. B, 124th ; trans. to Vet. Res. Corps.

Reuben Rynders, Co. B, 124th.

Charles O'Neil, Ist Eng.

Charles Shandor, 15th Art .; enl. Feb. 15, 1864.

Robert M. Stevens, 7th Bat.

Benjamin M. Little, Co. B, 124th ; enl. Ang. 8, 1862; must. out June, 1865.

Eli Hughes, Co. G, 124th ; enl. Aug. 11, 1862; killed at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863.

llenry J. Powell, Co. B, 124th ; eol. Angust, 1862; disch. Nov. 17, 1862.

Andrew A. Millspangh, Co. K, 124th ; enl. Aog. 8, 1862 ; must. ont June, 1865.

John Adams, enl. May 7, 1864 ; unassigned recruit.

Abrabam Anderson, 15th Art .; eol. Feb. 15, 1864.

Charles Knapp, E, Co. C, 124th ; enl. Aug. 11, 1862; wounded at Chan- cellorsville ; disch. Dec. 9, 1864, for disability resulting from wounds. IIenry Dill, Co. G, 124th ; eul. Aug. 9, 1862; wounded in action May 5, 1864; disch. at hospital May 17, 1865.

MINISINK.

I .- SITUATION, BOUNDARIES, AREA, TITLE.

MINISINK is situated in the south western part of the county. It is bounded north and northeast by Wawa- yanda, southeast by Warwick, southwest by the State of New Jersey, west and northwest by Greenville. The area of Minisink, as determined by the last su- pervisors' report, is 13,877 acres. The assessed valua- tion was $69,375, and the tax collected upon that basis was $10,611.48. The title to the soil is derived

partly from the Wawayanda Patent and partly from the Minisink, the boundary line between the patents passing through the town.

II .- NATURAL FEATURES.

The surface is rolling and hilly. The slopes are mostly gradual, quite free from rocks, and hence are susceptible of cultivation to their very sum- mits. The Wallkill River forms the southeast

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

boundary, dividing the town from Warwick. Rut- ger's Creek forms the northeast boundary, and the extreme eastern angle of the town is at the junction of this stream with the Wallkill. The southwestern branch of Rutger's Creek rises in the town of Green- ville and flows into this town near Waterloo Mills, then northeast, and unites with the other branch on the northeast boundary. This stream drains a large portion of the town, receiving several tributaries from each direction, and along its valley the New Jersey Midland Railroad finds its way from Middletown, southward. A large tract of the Drowned Lands ex- tends along the Wallkill in the southeast. The valley of Rutger's Creek is known as Rutger's Valley, a name quite largely in use through the suggestion of Mr. H. B. Allen, the correspondent of several news- papers, residing at Westtown.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 162

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