History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 53

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 53

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NEW WINDSOR.

first entry in its original book of minutes is under date of Sept. 9, 1749, at which time the members of the company were Vincent Matthews, Ebenezer Seely, Michael Jackson, Joseph Saekett, Jr., Daniel Ever- ett, Hezekialı Howell, John Sackett, David Marvin, Evan JJones, and Brant Schuyler, who had prior to that date purchased from John Alsop that portion of the patent to Chambers and Southerland held, under the partition of that patent, by Col. Peter Matthews. Immediately after organizing, the proprietors em- ployed Capt. Charles Clinton as clerk and surveyor, who surveyed and made a map of the plot, and di-' vided it into lots and streets. The first sale by the proprietors was to Henry Brewster and Judah Har- low, in September, 1749, of a store-house, dwelling- house, barn, and lot, the property being probably that which John Alsop had occupied prior to his deed to the proprietors, In 1752 the proprietors obtained a patent for the soil under water adjoining the township plot, uniting for that purpose with John Chambers and Thomas Ellison, and also established a ferry to Fish kill. The proprietors in January, 1751-52, were James Tuthill, Henry Brewster, Samuel Brewster, Brant Sehuyler, Evan Jones, John Yelverton, Hezekiah Howell, Joseph Sackett, Jr., Ebenezer Seely,-Vincent Matthews, and John Nelson, who executed (January 3d) a deed to Samuel Bayard and Company for twelve lots "at low rates and under value, to encourage the said Samuel Bayard and Company for the building and erecting a glass-house for making glass and pot- ash, which the said Bayard and Company have agreed to ereet upon the said Jots." In July of the same year the proprietors were Vincent Matthews, Eben- ezer Seely, John Yelverton, Hezekiah Howell, John Sackett, Brant Schuyler, Henry Brewster, Evan Jones, James Tuthill Joseph Saekett, Jr., Paul Richards, Nathan Smith, and Christian Hertell, from which it appears that purchasers of lots became members of the association. In 1772, James Clinton, Robert Boyd, Jr., Theophilus Corwin, George Clinton, David Halliday, and James Dunlap appear in the list, in which year also James Clinton was elected clerk and surveyor, in place of his father. At this point the record closes; it conclusively establishes the date, however, of the founding of the settlement, the grants of soil under water, and the establishment of the manufacture of glass, an industry then in its infancy in the provinces of America. The village and its immediate proximity, already a commercial centre of some importance, through Alsop, Sackett, and El- lison, increased quite rapidly in population, and until after the close of the Revolution gave promise of becoming one of the first citics on the Hudson. Its business enterprises and the causes of its decline are more specifically noticed in the following sketches.

Glass- Works .- The manufacture of glass was com- meneed some time about 1753. The company, named in the deed "Samuel Bayard and Company," was composed of Christian Hertell, Samuel Bayard, Lod- '

wick Bamper, and Matthew Earnest, and was or- ganized under the firm-name of "Christian Hertell and Company." The works were conducted for a number of years,-it is said until after the Revolu- tionary war. They were quite famous in their day, and were especially noted as the place at which let- ters coming up by the sloops or brought in by post- riders were left for the settlers for many miles around The works stood on the bank of the Hudson, in the northeast corner of the village.

A second undertaking of the kind was commenced in 1867 by a company of gentlemen, principally resi- dents of Newburgh, who regarded the peculiar stone of Butter Hill as a superior material for glassware; but the experiment failed. The ordinary sand-glass was subsequently made for a few years.

Commercial Record .- The commercial history of the village has been fully written in another connection,* and need not be repeated here. It was founded by Jolin Ellison early in the century, and by John Alsop and Joseph Sackett contemporaneously with him. The business of the Ellisons, however, survived that of Alsop and Sackett. Their books show the names of the ancestors of a large proportion of the old families of Northern Orange and Southern Ulster, who found in them not only their tradesmen, but their bankers. Although the commerce of the village was continued with more or less activity until the death of Thomas Ellison (2) in 1830, and of Abra- ham Shultz in 1835, its decadence, as well as that of the village, began at about the commencement of the century. At that time the population of the village was nearly equal to that of Newburgh, although the Jatter had a much larger acreage. Contributing to its decline and ultimate discontinuance were several causes, among which may be mentioned the active rivalry of the village of Newburgh, the advantages which its property-holders offered to settlers, the superiority of the river-front for commercial purposes, and the efforts of the people generally of that place to improve their trade by the construction of turn- pike-roads. Its fatal misfortune, however, was the folly of some of its land-owners, who made the rivalry of contemporary communities possible. Its river- front, capable as it was, and as it still is, of improve- ment, was held by one or two individuals, who were thereby enabled to control the destiny of the entire community. They had the trade, they had the roads, they had the wealth, why should they permit com- petition or encourage development ? They did not ; they chained up the river-front with paper deeds, denied accommodation to competing business, and dried up the springs of action which impel commu- nities to undertakings in which mutual prosperity is involved. From their presence enterprise and the enterprising fled away. True it is now, as true it was when Goldsmith penned it,-

* See " Trade and Commerce."

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

" Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay."

Beyond the manufacture of brick, in which there are six yards engaged, the village has now no com- mercial business. The prosperous city which, under proper development, might have resulted from its founding, remains a city "neither perfected nor in- choate."

New Windsor Ferry .- All traditions agree that at the village of New Windsor a ferry was maintained to Fishkill at a very early period. There is no evi- dence, however, of a chartered privilege there as at Newburgh. In 1742, April 12th, Joseph Sackett, Jr., representing himself as "seized in fee of and in a small piece of land at a place called New Windsor, in the county of Ulster, lying on the west side of Hud- son's River and contiguous thereto, between the land of John Alsop, on the north, and of Thomas Ellison on the south," petitioned for a "grant of the sole liberty of having a ferry at any convenient place within the distance of five miles on each side of his said land, with the privilege of landing on the oppo- site shore." In the minutes of the " Proceedings of the Proprietors of New Windsor," Feb. 12, 1755, it is written : " A letter was directed to be sent to Vincent Matthews, asking him to prepare a petition to his Honor the Lieutenant-Governor, for a charter for a public ferry for the benefit of the proprietors of the said township of New Windsor." A still later peti- tion is on file at Albany (Nov. 23, 1762), signed by Matthew DuBois, Jr., praying "a grant of the exelu- sive right of ferriage on the east side of Hudson's River, for the distance of one hundred and sixty chains (two miles) to the southward of an east line across the said river from the north side of Quassaick Creek, for the purpose of establishing a ferry across said river."

There is no record that any of these petitions were granted, or that that referred to in the minutes of the proprietors was ever presented ; but that there was an established ferry there is certain. Morgan and his riflemen passed over the river on its boats in July, 1775, on their march to join Washington at Boston. At that time it was owned hy Martin Wiltsie, of Fish- kill, and Daniel Carpenter, of New Windsor, and ran from what was long known as the Lower Landing at Fishkill (now Lomas' brickyard ) to New Windsor, or to Newburgh if required by passengers. It is said that it was a chartered ferry, but if so the grant is not recorded. 1ts history is more or less connected with that of the Colden or Newburgh ferry, and of the Continental ferry. The former was granted a charter in 1743, by which its proprietor had the exclusive right to convey passengers from Newburgh to Fish- kill, but contained no ferriage right from Fishkill; the latter, the Continental ferry, was established by authority of the quartermaster-general of the Conti- mental army, and ran from the Upper Landing at Fishkill to the foot of Third Street at Newburgh. It

was discontinued in 1782. Whether the boats which it employed were taken from the Colden ferry or oth- erwise supplied does not appear, but its discontinu- ance was the occasion of the establishment, by Peter Bogardus, of Fishkill, and John Anderson and James Denton, of Newburgh, of a new ferry, which was an- nounced by advertisement as " a private ferry at Fish- kill and Newburgh Landings, where the public ferry was formerly kept,"-i.e., from the Upper Landing at Fishkill to the foot of Third Street at Newburgh. Wiltsie and Carpenter replied to this advertisement that its language implied that their ferry " was no more," whereas, on the contrary, their ferry "being opposite to New Windsor," was "the most convenient for travelers," and added : " We have furnished our- selves with excellent new Pettyaugars for that pur- pose. We have now larger seows building with great expedition, for transporting loaded wagons. All such as chuse to cross at this ferry can do so at the prices set forth underneath, which are as cheap as at any other ferries. For a footman, one shilling ; man and horse, two shillings; two-horse wagon, nine shillings; loaded do., twelve shillings ; four-horse wagon, four- teen shillings; loaded do., one pound ; riding chair, six shillings ; phaeton and pair, twelve shillings; ton of iron, eight shillings; hogshead of rum, five shil- lings." The Wiltsie ferry was consolidated with the Newburgh ferry in 1805,-a fate, it may be remarked, which also overtook the Bogardus and Anderson ferry, as well as a ferry which was subsequently established by John Peter De Witt, from the Fishkill Long Wharf to the foot of Fourth Street at Newburgh. Prior to its consolidation with the Newburgh ferry, however, Abraham Schultz established a ferry from New Wind- sor to Fishkill, announcing, in 1800, that he had " pro- vided a complete new ferry boat," which would " ply continually between New Windsor and Fishkill Land- ing," and that he intended "to pay particular atten- tion to the business." It is said that this ferry was discontinued in 1812, but this is presumed to be an error. No ferry has been maintained, however, for a number of years.

Mr. William H. Bartley, who spent a half-century of his life in boating on the Hudson, principally in the vicinity of Newburgh, states that his brother, Jacob Bartley, was in the employ of Wiltsie and Car- penter for a number of years as their ferryman at New Windsor, sailing a pirogue from the dock immediately north of the Schultz dock to the Lower Landing. On the Fishkill side of the river the ferryman was Crom. Wiltsie, a slave owned by Martin Wiltsie, who also sailed a pirogue .* These vessels and two or more row-boats constituted the ferry appointments. At the Lower Landing, on the Fishkill side, Wiltsie had a

* A perinuger was the old Spanish pirogue, which found its way to the Hudson with the Dutch. It was pointed at both ends, had two masts but no bowsprit. When horses and carriages were to be conveyedl they were detached and lifted into the boat by a purchase on the masts, or driven on over wide gang-planks.

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NEW WINDSOR.

large store-house and other accommodations, and sailed from thence to New York a line of sloops. The store-house was burned some years ago. The boats landed passengers at Newburgh whenever it was desired ; indeed, a very considerable traffie was carried on between Newburgh and Fishkill.

General Business .- The early business men of the village, aside from those who were engaged in freight- ing. have a very imperfect record. Capt. Jonathan Lawrence kept store there, and Isaac Schultz & Son a tavern, in 1776. Abraham Van Deursen "opened a house of entertainment at the sign of the Confedera- tion," in 1782. William Seudder opened a land-office in July, 1793. Benjamin S. Hoyt, "practitioner of physic and surgery," sold medicines in 1798. Matthew C. Lyon was a physician there prior to that time ; he died in 1798. Richard Edgerton sold dry-goods and groceries, and carried on the shoemaking business ; Sandford & Fitch soll dry-goods, ironmongery, crockery. etc .; Isaac Schultz & Son, dry-goods, gro- ceries, and general merchandise ; William Ward car- ried on the silversmith business "a few rods soutli of the ferry." The advertisements of these gentlemen appear in the New Windsor Gazette, a weekly news- paper, the publication of which was commenced by Jacob Schultz, Nov. 10, 1797. The treighters all kept general stores,-dry-goods and mackerel, silks and hardware, sugar and nails, and the customary stocks of the times. Nathan Smith and Henry Brewster were blacksmiths in colonial days. Isaac Schultz was a school-teacher before he became a merchant.

Famous Buildings .-- The headquarters of Washing- ton at the old Thomas Ellison house, immediately south of the old bounds of the old village, is referred to in another place. Aside from this there are no other buildings historically remarkable, except that known as the birthplace of DeWitt Clinton. Not- withstanding all that has been written to the contrary, we have little doubt that he was born here, and not in Deerpark or in Little Britain. Charles Clinton, of Little Britain, who was the clerk of the " proprietors," erected in the village a house, barn, etc., some time about 1760. He transferred his clerkship to his son, James, the father of DeWitt, in 1762; and in 1773 sold and transferred to him the property. James married Mary DeWitt, of Deerpark, and her first child, Alexander, was born there in 1765. In the spring of 1766 he commenced " housekeeping" in his house in New Windsor village, and there his son Charles was born in 1767, and his son DeWitt in 1769. After the death of his father in 1773, James removed to the homestead in Little Britain, and remained there dur- ing the Revolution. The only question at issue we believe to be whether James resided in New Windsor village, and that is apparently settled by letters from his father, dated at Little Britain and addressed to Capt. James Clinton at New Windsor, covering the date of DeWitt's birth, and by the facts stated in re- | carried on from it as late as 1845, the shipments being gard to the house and the business in which James mainly the products of the flouring-mill and of other

was engaged. During the Revolution the house was occupied, at least a part of the time, as a hospital. It stands on the west side of the road near the foot of New Windsor hill, and although it has been repaired and changed somewhat, it has still the original frame- work of its first construction.

Presbyterian Church and Cemetery .- The only church in the village, the New Windsor Presbyterian Church, was organized Sept. 14, 1764. Its history is given elsewhere. Attached to it is a cemetery, in which repose the remains of many of the early residents not only of the village, but of the surrounding district.

ORANGEVILLE OR MOODNA.

The purchase and settlement of the district now known as Moodna was made by Nathaniel and Sam- nel Hazard some time between 1728 and 1740, who laid out a township plot under the name of Orange- ville. After laying out their plot, they established a landing at Sloop Hill (a short distance below Smith's Half-way House), and erected a mill and a dwelling- house, the latter more recently owned by Nathaniel Sands, and the former, after many conversions, now constituting a manufactory of linen goods by White- side Brothers. At the time of the purchase by the Hazards, the bay at the mouth of the creek had a sufficient depth of water to float vessels of the largest class. Availing themselves of this fact, and as a part of their enterprise, they built a ship on the bank of the creek, just north of the shore road leading to Cornwall ; but while the vessel was still on the stocks there came an extraordinary freshet ( probably in the spring of 1741 ), and the soil being a quicksand filled up the mouth of the creek beyond the possibility of navigation for large vessels. They succeeded in getting their ship to the river by the aid of barrels ; but the expense incurred, together with the destruc- tion of their township plan, which was contingent upon their harbor, proved their ruin. Their mill subse- quently passed to John Vanaurdel (1753), then to John Arthur; from the latter to Joseph Horton (1778) ; by the executors of Horton to John and James Thorne (1789), who sold to Samuel Sackett in May, 1803. Sackett sold to Lawrence & Van Bu- ren in 1813; the latter to Wyckoff & Van Buren. William B. Leonard purchased it in 1845, and con- verted it into a cotton factory, and ran it as such up to 1860. The Whiteside Brothers purchased it in 1862, and changed its machinery to the manufacture of linen goods, but without success. During its occu- pation by Sackett, and subsequently under Lawrence « Van Buren, it had a very extensive patronage, and it was not an unfrequent occurrence to see a line of wagons a half-mile long waiting their turn to unload wheat at its door. The wharf which the Hazards constructed proved also, in the hands of their succes- sors, a profitable venture. No little commerce was

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HISTORY OF ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK.

manufacturing establishments, for which the valley became noted in later years, and which will presently be noticed. That part of the property which passed to Nathaniel Sands was occupied by him for many years, during a considerable portion of which he con- ducted a cider-mill and distillery. In the same vi- cinity Britton Moore had a tannery,-subsequently continued by Mr. Delamater, who also established a rope-walk and a saw- and plaster-mill.

Among the early settlers in the valley was Samuel Brewster, who built a saw-mill on the north side of the creek, just below the bridge at the foot of Forge Hill, and also (1755) a dwelling immediately opposite, now commonly known as the Williams house, and traditionally recognized as the headquarters of Lafay- ette .* The mill soon gave place to a forge and anchor-shop, known as Brewster's forge, at which, during the Revolution, a considerable portion of the chains were made which were used to obstruct the navigation of the river at Fort Montgomery and at West Poiut. The site of the old forge can easily be traced by the cinders and débris which are turned up by the plow.

A short distance east from the Brewster or Wil- liams house was a flouring-mill erected by Jonas Williams, and subsequently conducted by himself and sons (1794), under the name of Jonas Williams & Co. Jonathan and Jacob Morrell came into its possession at a later period ; they engaged in the man- ufacture of eut nails, and carried on a very extensive business. Caleb and Thomas Williams succeeded the Morrells and engaged in the manufacture of snuff, which they sold from their wagons throughout the country. Reid & Storm were the next owners; to the business of snuff manufacture they added that of fine-cut tobacco. The next proprietor was Mrs. Mil- ler, whose " Roseleaf Snuff and Tobacco" enjoyed a world-wide fame and gave her a fortune. In the prosecution of her business rose-leaves were of course a necessity, to supply which she planted four acres with the variety known as the Philadelphia rose. The lot on which the planting was made is still known, but the roses and their fragrance have passed away. Mrs. Miller's business was continued for some years by her son-in-law, Andrew H. Mickle, who was at one time mayor of the city of New York.

About 1843, Leonard, Hone & Nicoll put up a fac- tory for the manufacture of cotton goods on the site now occupied by the Highland paper-mills .. The first story was of brick and the two upper frame. In September, 1845, it was destroyed by fire. In 1847 it was rebuilt wholly of brick, and run by Mr. IIazel- hurst for a few years as a shoddy-mill. In 1850 the property was purchased by D. Carson & Co., formerly of the Carson mills, in Massachusetts (David and David F. B. Carson and Erastus Ide), and converted into a paper-mill, to which use it has since been de-

voted, with some changes in the proprietorship. It is now owned by James P. Townsend, of Newburgh, and is the only prosecuted manufacturing industry in the ancient township of Orangeville.

The hamlet has a post-office under the name of Moodna; the school-house of Distriet No. 2 is also located there, and it has a few dwellings, princi- pally occupied by operatives in the mills. It is not impossible that iu the adjustments and readjustments of manufacturing industry which are constantly going on, the now almost neglected hydraulic power of Mur- derer's Creek at Moodna will again be utilized.

We have to add to this sketch simply that the name " Moodna" was bestowed by N. P. Willis, whose poetic mind could see nothing valuable in the historic name of Orangeville.

QUASSAICK VALLEY.

The water-power of the Quassaick, on the northern boundary of the town, was not employed at a very early period. The first record of its use was by Robert Boyd, Jr., who erected, in June, 1775, a forge for the manufacture of guns, bayonets, etc. He obtained a contract from the Revolutionary government of the State, by the terms of which he was to receive "three pounds fifteen shillings, New York money, for each good musket, with steel ramrod and bayonet and scabbard." In February, 1776, he was able to write that he had "the best gunsmith's shop in the col- onies ;" but nevertheless its capacity was limited from the difficulty in obtaining workmen. The first regi- ments organized in the State were mainly armed with guns of his manufacture. He relinquished the busi- ness some time about 1800, and converted the works into a plaster-mill. The next change was in 1808, when George Parker and Abner Armstrong adver- tised that they had "erected machines for breaking and carding wool at the plaster-mill of Robert Boyd, on the road leading from New Windsor to Newburgh, one mile from each place." The property was sold by Samuel Boyd to George Reid, who converted it into a paper-mill. From the Reid estate it passed to John Barker, who manufactured hats. Barker sold to Benj. Carpenter, at which time it was operated by John II. Waters, who manufactured woolen goods. Carpenter sold to George Crawshaw, Crawshaw to William II. Beede, Beede to Edward Haigh, by whom it was operated under the title of the " Valley Woolen Mills."

The second privilege (long known as Schultz' mill) was occupied by Governor George Clinton, who erected a grist-mill and a saw-mill. He sold the property to Hugh Walsh, including the adjoining farm, in 1790, and Walsh, on the 5th of July of that year, sold to Isaac Schultz. The property conveyed by Walsh con- sisted of thirty-two acres, extending west from Hud- son's River to lands of Robert Boyd, and included the undivided half part of "grist-mill stream of water" and land under water on the Hudson. The mill stood

* See " Revolutionary Localities."

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a short distance west of the Hudson, on the east side of the old King's road. In 1794 (July 6th), Schultz sold to Daniel Byrnes the lot on the east, including one-half of the mill building, the division line being " the middle of the post next west of the north door of said mill," including one-half of the fume, etc., and two grist-mills were thereafter run under one roof, the proprietors being particular to say "their several mills" in their advertisements. Isaac Schultz continued his mill until his death in 1802, when it came into the possession of his brother Jacob, who sold it to Peter Townsend. The Byrnes mill and property attached passed from Dinah Byrnes, widow of Daniel, to Caleb Byrnes, who sold to Richard Trimble in 1801, and it was continued by him for some years. Trimble sold to Elisha Hale in 1835, and Elisha Hale to Philip A. Verplanck in 1837. Verplanck closed the race-way and suffered the mill to decay on its foundations,

The fourth privilege was that embraced in the pur- chase from Jacob Schultz by Peter Townsend, and was known as the cannon-foundry. This foundry was erected by Peter Townsend, in 1816, on a site int- mediately west of the Schultz mill, and consisted of two furnaces and four boring-mills. Here, in July, 1817, was tested "the first cannon ever manufactured i house and mill were erected in 1754, the church in the State of New York," and which, for superiority of "metal and accuracy of firing," had then never been excelled. The undertaking was not a financial success, however, and the property passed into the possession of the United States government and sub- sequently to John A. Tompkins, about 1836, who con- | the list of post-offices. verted it into a machine-shop. Mr. Tompkins was accidentally drowned in December, 1838, and the LITTLE BRITAIN. property came into the possession of Charles Ludlow and Christopher B. Miller, from whom it passed to Mr. Sterritt, who converted it into a pin-factory. This business also failed, and Joseph Longking and Aaron F. Palmer took it for the manufacture of daguer- rean instruments, cases, etc., but with no better suc- cess. The last occupant was John Gray, who con- verted it into a flour-mill. While being occupied by him it was destroyed by fire. Those who remember the activity which at one time prevailed here, can best appreciate the desolation that now sits with folded wings on its ruins.

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History of Orange County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 53

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