USA > New York > Schenectady County > History of the County of Schenectady, N. Y., from 1662 to 1886... > Part 42
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194
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
AUXILE
HENRY R. WENDELL.
The Wendell family, which is so creditably represented at Schenectady, Albany and elsewhere in this part of the county, is of Holland extraction, and during many generations has ranked as one of the leading families of Albany and vicinity. Three brothers of the name were among the early settlers in this county. In time a descendant of one of these married Helen Van Rensselaer, daughter of Hendrick Van Rensselaer and Catrina Van Brough, his wife. Catrina Van Brough was the daughter of Johannes Van Brough and Catrina Jans, his wife. Catrina Jans was the daughter of Roeloff Jans and Anneke Jans, his wife, who, after his death, became the wife of Dominie Everhardus Bogardus. Thus it will be seen that all of the de- scendants of Jacob Wendell and his wife, Helen Van Rennselaer, are descendants from the cele- brated Anneke Jans, whose possessions, both in her own right and through her marriage with Dominie Bogardus, embraced much of what is now highly valuable property in and near New York City, including the Trinity Church property, which has
figured so prominently in the public prints for many years. The unique coat of arms of the Wen- dell family is in possession of Miss Agnes L. Wen- dell, of Schenectady.
Henry Wendell was a son of Jacob Wendell above-mentioned, and was born in Albany. He married Mary Lansing, of the old Albany family of that name, and to them was born Robert H. Wen- dell, father of Henry R. Wendell. Henry Wen- dell held under the crown, and later, under the sov- ereignty of the State, the office of High Sheriff, with a jurisdiction quadruple the extension it has at present. At the breaking out of the revolutionary war, both he and his son, Robert H. Wendell (who was born in Albany, February 7, 1760), joined the cause of liberty, and engaged each year in the perils of the same. Robert served in the counties of Herkimer, Schoharie and Saratoga; was engaged in the principal battles and skirmishes on the Mo- hawk, and more particularly at West Canada Creek, where the British force from Canada, under the command of Colonel Butler, Major Ross and Brandt, was met and routed, and Butler killed. The war over, he was educated professionally, and
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THE TOWNSHIP OF NISKAYUNA.
at the age of twenty-four removed to Schenectady and commenced practice as an attorney. He was the oldest attorney on the list, and during his career an active pleader as well as counselor. Schenec- tady then claimed Robert H. Wendell as her on- ward legal son, and at his decease an honored sire in the legal circle. Some years he spent, now as- serting, now defending rights, till disease came and he was forced to quit his profession. He removed to College Hill and built his house and improved his lands-changed pursuits, and brought to bear on agriculture a sound and philosophic judgment; and thus lived till he died (July 7, 1848), when in the memory of those who knew his virtues, he left a recollection sweet as pure, and a eulogy in their hearts for one who cherished for his fellow-men true benevolence, and for his country devoted pa- triotism. His wife, Agnes Fonda, was born in Schenectady March 26, 1760, and died on College Hill March 30, 1828.
HENRY R. WENDELL, son of Robert H. Wendell and Agnes Fonda, his wife, was born at the cor- ner of State street and Mill lane, Schenectady (now the Y. M. C. A. property), where his father resided, September 18, 1784, and died on College Hill, at the Wendell homestead, March 13, 1868, aged eighty-three years. His youth was spent in the house of his father at Schenectady, and in the household of General Matthew Trotter, of Albany. He prepared for college at the best schools in Al- bany, and in due time was graduated from Union College. It is not strange that the son of one rev- olutionary patriot and the grandson of another should have inherited a martial spirit, nor that it should have been rendered active and intensified by the events which preceded the outbreak of the war of 1812-14. He was one of the first to offer his services in defense of his country, and on the 3d of Januarv, 1812, he was commissioned as ensign in the Sixth Regiment of Infantry. He was placed in charge of a recruiting rendezvous at Schenec- tady soon afterward, and met with much success in raising volunteers. In July following he re- ceived orders to close the recruiting station and join Captain Nelson's company, then lying with other troops at Greenbush. Not long afterward the entire command was ordered to the Niagara fron- tier, and Mr. Wendell did gallant service and braved many dangers at Black Rock, Queenston, Lewiston and Fort Niagara, and later at Platts- burgh and Sackett's Harbor. He was promoted to be a second lieutenant January 12, 1812, and to be a first lieutenant March 27, 1814. His several commissions are preserved by his daughter, Miss Agnes L. Wendell, and a record left by him shows that he did not terminate his military career until August, 1815, when he was constrained to resign by a probability of being brought into conflict with the civil authorities of Schenectady, near which place he was at that time stationed. Documents which are still in existence show that he merited and received the commendation of his command- ing officers. After the war he lived for a time at Niskayuna, at Alexander's bridge (since the con- struction of the canal called the aqueduct), where
he combined the duties incident to attending to the bridge-store-keeping, farming and tavern- keeping. Later he removed to Schenectady and passed the balance of his life on College Hill. No- vember 22, 1817, he was married by the Rev. Charles Stebbins, of Schenectady, to Miss Parmela Perry, daughter of Benjamin and Love Perry, who was born in Salisbury, Conn., April 11, 1790, and died December 18, 1870, aged eighty years.
Children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Wendell as follows: Anna Maria, who married Mr. James M. Moyston, and died February 4, 1865; Margaret, who married Mr. E. Willard Trotter, and died March 13, 1868; Agnes L., who is still living at the Wendell homestead; and Abby, who died January 5, 1880.
Mr. Wendell is remembered by nearly all of the older residents of the city as one of the few who lived beyond the period of the old Schenectady into that of the busy, enterprising Schenectady of to-day. He was an interesting conversationalist, and was rich in historical reminiscences of this section. He was a man of good mental ability, high honor and genial social qualities, and it is to be regretted that he was the last male of his family in direct line.
WARS AND FORTIFICATIONS.
In 1746 Governor Clinton recommended to build a line of block-houses for fortifications west from Fort Massachusetts to the Mohawk Castle at Fort Hunter, which was adopted. One of them was built at Canastagioone (Niskayuna).
[See French and Indian Wars, and Forts and Garrisons for complete account. ]
PROVINCIAL INTERPRETER.
Hilitie, the eldest daughter of Cornelis Antonisen, married Peter Danielse Van Olinda, of Niskayuna. She was for many years employed as provincial in- terpreter with the Indians by the government at $50 per annum. The Mohawk sachems in 1667 gave her the Great Island in the Mohawk River at Niskayuna. She and her husband sold the island in 1669 to Captain Johannes Clute. The island is now owned and occupied by the Quaker Com- munity of Watervliet. The sachems also gave land at the Willow Flats below Port Jackson, and at the Boght on the Mohawk in Watervliet. She died February 10, 1807, leaving three sons, Daniel, Jacob, and Matthew. The last died unmarried. Daniel, the oldest son, born June 11, 1696, mar- ried Lysbeth Kregear, a granddaughter of the old Burgomaster Martinus Gregier. Jacob, the second son, married Eva, daughter of Class De Graff, and left four sons, named Peter, William, Martin, and Nicholas; also one daughter, Helena, who, on the 16th of June, 1723, married Johannes Quackenbos.
THE NISKAYUNA PATENT.
This tract lay to the east and south of the Sche- nectady patent, and extended from the Ael-Plaats south to the north line of the Manor of Rensselaer- wyck.
On the 5th of August, 1738, a patent was ob- tained for this land by Arent Bradt and Jacob Glen,
.
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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
in trust for the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Schenectady. It was then estimated to contain 2, 500 acres, but owing to an error in measurement, rectified in 1788, fell considerably short of that amount.
[See Church History for account of land grants. ] RIVER FLATS.
It is two centuries and a quarter since this valley was settled. It lies in a beautiful intervale on the margin of the Mohawk River, the great highway to the West.
These flats were tilled for generations before 1661 by the Indians, and they still yield rich harvests, in many cases to the descendants of the original white settlers-indeed to some whose ancestors antedated the Dutch regime.
The alluvial deposits of this valley are constantly enriched by the annual floods. This constitutes the widely known Mohawk Flats, which, though cultivated by the white man for more than two hundred years, have lost none of their unsurpassed fertility.
In the early period of the settlement no other land was tilled, hence they were called the land, arable land or bouwland, all else being denominated woodland, and little valued. In addition to their fertility, these flats presented another advantage to the first settlers-they were mainly free from wood and ready for the plough and seed. For ages they had been the native's corn land, whilst the adjacent forests and rivers furnished him with flesh and fish.
The great sand belt which passes across the towns of Rotterdam, Niskayuna, and Glenville, from south to north, was once covered with a heavy growth of pines, while the highlands lying north and west of it produced the usual varieties of hard- wood.
Arent Van Curler, in letters written at the time, mentioned the many natural advantages of this sec- tion.
That a few fur-traders and bosloopers early roved among the Mohawks, married, and raised families of half-breeds, cannot be denied; indeed there are re- spectable families in the valley to this day whose pedigree may be traced back to these marriages.
The Ballston Turnpike crosses the Mohawk at Alexander's bridge, built in 1805, four miles be- low Schenectady, where there is a succession of falls and a low rolling dam across the river. But the mills are things of the past.
The Erie Canal is carried over the Mohawk here into Niskayuna upon a magnificent aqueduct, 748 feet long and 25 feet above the stream, and falls immediately by three locks 21 feet, running through this town westward to Schenectady, a dis- tance of five miles.
The Troy and Schenectady Railroad, built in 1843, runs through this town a distance of ten miles. It is a single-track road, and at present runs four passenger trains a day each way.
Union Street, Schenectady, leading to Niska- yuna, was formerly known as Niskayuna Street, and was so named in honor of the old Niskayuna
settlement just outside of the manor of Rensselaer- wyck, whose inhabitants were very intimate with those of Schenectady, and many families were re- lated.
College Hill was called Niskayuna Bergh.
The Aqueduct is a railroad station on the Troy and Schenectady Railroad six miles from Schenec- tady. Across the Mohawk, on the opposite side is the village of Rexford Flats, where the people of this vicinity receive their mail.
Niskayuna is a small hamlet in the southeast corner of the town. It contains the Reformed Church, of eventful memory, a store and post-of- fice, and a hotel kept by William H. Miller, and a few dwellings. There is also a flourishing lodge of Good Templars of eighty members. The lodge holds its meetings in the vestry of the church.
Shaker Island is a half mile east of the Niska- yuna post-office, containing eighty acres, owned and occupied by the Shaker families of Watervliet. It is used simply for farming purposes.
Shortly alter the revolution, the Albany and Schenectady Turnpike Company built a stone tramway from Albany to Schenectady, to expedite the hauling of goods and for a stage road. This road is much of it still in good repair, and toll is still collected upon it. The road passes about three miles through Niskayuna.
Lishakill Hamlet is situated near the eastern line of this town, so that the people of this part of the town get their mail and attend church at Lishakill. The Second Reformed Church here is in the town of Watervliet, but belongs to the Schenectady Classis.
The following novel marriage is said to have oc- curred somewhere in this vicinity, and is well worth preservation. About 150. years ago, accord- ing to tradition, when clergymen were not as plenty as they now are, a young gentleman and his affi- anced were anxiously awaiting the happy day which was to see them united in the silken bonds of matrimony. They resided on the north side of the Tomhannok Creek, and the clergyman who had been engaged to tie the knot lived on the south side of the same stream. As the fates would have it, heavy rain fell the night previous to the nuptial day, which rendered the creek impassable. Its waters were rising and its current becoming more rapid every hour. The clergyman arrived at the appointed time at a place where he had been in the habit of fording the creek, but it was as much as his life was worth to attempt to cross it then. He turned his horse's head to return, when he was hailed by two voices on the opposite side of the stream. They were those of the groom and bride, who intreated him to stay. After some debate it was agreed that the ceremony should pro- ceed. In the meantime the friends of the be- trothed arrived from the bride's house in the neighborhood. Then was presented a singular spectacle; " the like thereof was never seen be- fore," and probably will not be again. The dom- inie read the marriage service on the margin of the creek, while the parties stood and responded on the opposite side. After the ceremony was over
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THE TOWNSHIP OF NISKAYUNA.
the groom tossed a few guilders across the creek, which the dominie picked up and pocketed as his fee, mounted his horse and proceeded homeward, and the married couple did the same.
DISTRICT SCHOOLS .- There are in the town of Niskayuna four school districts and as many school- houses, with as many teachers employed. Average cost of school-houses $600. There are annually taught 298 scholars (besides many that attend the school in the City of Schenectady). The average price paid to teachers is $7.50 per week. C. W. Van Sanford is the School Commissioner.
TOWN OFFICERS. - Supervisor, Thomas w. Winne; Justice of the Peace, John H. Putnam; Assessor, C. W. Miller; Collector, Henry C. Ran- kin; Town Clerk, Thomas D. Tree.
COUNTY OFFICERS. - (See Officers. )
REFORMED CHURCH AT NISKAYUNA.
I. ITS ORGANIZATION.
The precise date of organization of the Reformed (Dutch) Church of Niskayuna cannot be deter- mined. It was probably organized by the Classis of Albany, to which it belonged until the organiza- tion of the Classis of Schenectady. The first book of minutes of the Classis of Albany being lost by fire, the facts and dates are for the most part lost with it. The regular records of this church begin with 1784. There is a list of baptisms dated 1783. Among loose papers in the archives of the consis- tory, is a subscription list dated 1773. There must have been records even before this, but they cannot be found. From the fact that the first church building was erected not later than 1760, and that before that there stood on the same spot a " Galat House," or prayer-house, which was used for wor- ship on the Sabbath, and as a school-house during the week, it seems safe enough to date the formal organization of the church at about 1750. In 1784 a Dutch Church was organized at the Boght, and from the relations afterwards sustained with Niska- yuna, it was evidently a child of this church. In the year 1803 that part of the congregation lying upon the north side of the Mohawk was organized into the Reformed (Dutch) Church of Amity, it becoming the second child of Niskayuna Church. In 1852 the southern part of the congregation was or- ganized into the Reformed (Dutch) Church of Lishas' Kill, which was the third and last child of this church. Thus has this church become the mother of churches and brought forth a three-fold increase, still remaining strong and healthy in her own home life.
ITS BUILDINGS.
First of all we find the "Galat House," or prayer- house, already mentioned. No record or tradition of the date of its erection can be found. It stood at the foot of the hill in Niskayuna Village, on the old road from Troy to Schenectady. This building gave way to a church, built on the same spot about 1760. This church was a square building, with four-sided roof running up to a point in the middle. It had a gallery on the side opposite the pulpit, and below it had raised benches along the
walls for the men, and benches on the floor in the middle for the women. It stood until 1828, when a new church was erected upon the present site. This new site and building was on the north side of the Troy and Schenectady turnpike, nearly half way between the two cities. The church building was 50 x 65 feet. It was dedicated March 6, 1829, and stood until July, 1852. The present edifice then took its place. It is a neat and substantial brick building, with white bell-tower, and was put up at a cost of a little over $4,000. There is a pleasant chapel and Sab- bath-school-room, the only one ever erected, stand- ing near the church, which was built in 1871. In 1832 there was a parsonage built on the west side of the church, the present site, at a cost of $626. 27. This house stood in constant use until 1873, when the present large and handsome house was erected at a cost of $2,725 and the material of the old house.
ITS MINISTRY.
During the early period up to 1790, according to an abstract of history deposited in the corner- stone of the present church building, the con- gregation enjoyed the labors of Rev. Sansom Oc- cum, a Mohican Indian, from Connecticut; " Lo- renzo Dow," the eccentric Methodist itinerant; Rev. D. Romeyn, Rev. Mr. Westerlo, Rev. Elias Van Benschoten, and others. This was the time of desolation and suffering and privation caused by the revolution. In 1790, in connection with the church at the Boght, the Rev. John Demarest was called. He served the two congregations until 1803, when he resigned and went to a new charge in New Jersey. This same year the connection of this church and the Boght was dissolved, and the church of Niskayuna was vacant for three years. In the meantime the northern part of the congregation was organized into the Church of Amity: and in 1806 the two congregations, Niskayuna and Amity, united in calling Rev. Thomas Romeyn. He was pastor of the joint charge for twenty-one years, from 1806 to 1827. Up to the beginning of his ministry the service had all been in Dutch. He began preach- ing alternately in Dutch and English. In 1811 it was voted unanimously that the proportion should be three of English to one of Dutch. In 1816 it was again unanimously decided to have all English preaching.
In the same year of Mr. Romeyn's removal, 1827, the two congregations of Niskayuna and Amity again united in calling Rev. John McKel- vey, a young graduate of the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick. He left after a three years' pastorate. In the next year, 1831, the churches, still united, called Rev. John Van Wagnen. Dur- ing his pastorate, in 1834, the partnership with the church of Amity was dissolved, and he remained for one year pastor of Niskayuna alone. In 1835 he resigned, going to another charge in Linlithgo, N. Y. In 1836, the church of Niskayuna alone called Rev. Henry A. Raymond. He had a long, prosperous and acceptable ministry of nearly fifteen years. He resigned in 1850, and moved to the church of Owasco, N. Y. In 1851
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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
the church called Rev. Goyn Talmage. His min- istry was short, but full of lasting work. He peacefully divided the unwieldy congregation into two, and instead of the one old wooden church, he left two of brick, each in its appropriate place and fit to serve succeeding generations, all paid for. In 1855 he resigned, and went to Greenpoint, N. Y. The two churches, Niskayuna and Lishas' Kill, then united in calling Rev. Cornelius L. Wells, who re- mained with them two and one-half years, when he was called to the Third Reformed Church of Jersey City. In October of the same year, 1858, the two churches called the Rev. John A. De Baun, I). I., who remained their faithful and honored and loved pastor for nearly twenty-five years, until April, 1883, when he was called to Fonda, N. Y., and resigned. In October, 1883, the partnership between the two churches was dissolved, and Niskayuna congrega- tion called the present pastor, Rev. C. P. Ditmars.
ITS GROWTH AND PRESENT STATUS.
During all these years the increase of the church and community must of course have been great, else from the mother church so many children could not have been separated. When Rev. John Dema- rest came in 1790 he found 74 members During all those years, from that date until now, there must have been received into the church here at least 1,000 members.
The present statistics are as follows: families, 120; members in full communion, 223; baptized non- communicant members, 110. Raised this year for congregational purposes about $1,400; for benev- olence about $300.
The present consistory is as follows: Rev. C. P. Ditmars, President; Cornelius Van Vranken, Fletcher Onderdonk, Garret I. Van Vranken, Abram L. Vedder, Elders; W. H. H. Freleigh, Wendall Milbanks, Benjamin H. Lansing, Wesley Miller, Deacons.
There is a Sabbath-school connected with the church, of about fifteen teachers and one hundred and fifty scholars. Its Superintendent is Mr. G. W. Freleigh; Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Jacob V. Pearse; Treasurer, Mr. John V. Green.
There is also a cemetery adjoining the church property, and belonging to it. It consists of three acres, pleasantly situated upon the hillside and top, and is kept in good condition, being under the care of the sexton of the church. It may be noted there is a residence for the sexton in one corner of the church grounds, in which he lives, and there are large and commodious horse-sheds, giving shelter for more than fifty teams.
SOME OF THE PROMINENT RESIDENTS AT THE PRESENT TIME.
C. O. Hamlin, farmer, ex-Supervisor, four miles from Schenectady, on Albany turnpike ; Thomas W. Hinne, farmer and Supervisor, on the Troy road, six miles from Schenectady ; Thomas D. Tree, Town Clerk, four miles east of Schenectady ; G. G. Maxon & Son, Aqueduct road, three miles from Schenectady ; Cornelius & Aaron Van Vran- ken and other Van Vrankens, farmers, cast of the
Troy road, from five to seven miles from Sche- nectady. The Van Vrankens are numerous, fifteen of them in one part of this town, farmers. Their residences are known as the Van Vranken neighbor- hood. Among them are: J. D. Van Vranken, Fre- leigh Van Vranken, and Mrs. A. M. Van Vranken, all farmers. The Vedders are also a numerous family. There are eight families of them, farmers. Lewis Brewer, farmer and philanthropist, Troy road, two miles from Schenectady; Clark V. Warden, farmer and ex-Sheriff, near Senator Stanford's place; Charles W. Whitbeck, farmer, near Rexford Flats; Garret I .. Whitbeck, on turnpike, four miles from city ; P. E. Whitbeck, on turnpike, four miles from city ; C. Reynolds, farmer, Troy road, six miles from Schenectady ; George Reynolds, farmer, Troy road, six miles from Schenectady ; John Van Antwerp, farmer, four miles northeast from city: William Craig, farmer, on the top of the bluff south of the Aqueduct on the old Craig Place ; Jeff. Thompson, farmer, on the old Vedder Place, one mile south of the Aqueduct ; Ezra, Casper and Martin Ham are farmers, three and a half miles east of Schenectady ; Conrad, Jacob, Thomas and Frank Mesick are farmers, about five miles east of Schenectady ; John McShea, Attorney of Niska- yuna Village, ex-County Clerk and Justice of the Peace ; Henry Lansing is an old and respected settler, and lives west of Lishas' Kill ; J. V. Clute, farmer, on Troy and Schenectady turnpike ; Matthew Winne, Postmaster, Niskayuna Village.
Ex-Senator CHARLES STANFORD is a native of Watervliet, Albany County. His father, Josiah Stanford, was a native of New England; he was a man of sterling character and of unusual business ability, and gained a competency by his business successes. He died in 1862. His son inherited the ambition of his father, and after receiving a good practical education, he at once entered upon a life of enterprise. In 1850 he went to California, and there, with three others, opened the largest com- mercial house in California at that time. In 1859, in connection with two of his brothers, he established a large commercial house in Melbourne, Australia, and soon after branches in Sydney and New Zealand. One of his brothers, the Hon. - Leland Stanford, was elected Governor of the State of California in 1861. He is the President of the Central Pacific Railroad.
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