USA > New York > Ulster County > Marlborough > History of the town of Marlborough, Ulster County, New York, from its earliest discovery > Part 6
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XVIII.
" Pride of the Mohawks! thou art gone: A nation mourns thee all too soon ! Thou wast the foremost in the chase! Thon wast the fleetest in the race! None knew so well, as thon did'st know, To hunt the moose, and strike the foe! Few at the council-fire so young, None wiser - and but few as strong! Why hast thy left us, noble chief ? Why was thy stay among us brief ?
79
INDIANS.
.Manitto call'd - thou hast obey'd, And left us nothing but thy shade. But thou didst not repair alone To the Great Spirit's happy throne : A hundred Yengese clear thy way ! A hundred scalps beside thee lay ! What chief can fill thy vacant place With equal good and equal grace? None, eagle of thy tribe! is even - The boon to thee alone was given ! Thou hast discharged thy duty here, Without a rival or compeer : Thy sun is set - thy work is done - Thy night is come, and thou art gone ! Gone, with thy father's ghost to dwell : Pride of the Mohawks! - fare thee well?"
XIX.
Thus spoke the sage :-- the multitude Drank deep each solemn word : They listen'd in attentive mood, And revereneed what they heard. His voice was hush'd - his eyes reclosed.
And once again his head reposed Upon his bosom bare: Two of the braves, who stood near by, Attended respectfully
Unto his tent with care.
And now the mournful numbers rise. The corpse is placed upon a bier. And. follow'd by a nation's cries, Convey'd. in awful grandeur, here. Yes, here, beneath this very clay, On which, proud Christian ! thou didst tread, Doth mighty Mantonomah lay ! The noble and forgotten dead.
Enough :- As I have said before. My final hour will shortly come : Go - Pale-face! and return no more - I'll weep upon my father's tomb ;
80
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
Yes,- I will weep 'till kindly death Shall dry my tears with friendly hand; Then joyfully resign my breath, And meet him in the Spirit Land.
SAMUEL A. BARRETT,
FARMER, POET, ABOLITION ORATOR.
Samuel A. Barrett was born at Milton in 1814 and died in 1852. He received his education at the village school, and attended one year at the Quaker school at Nine Partners, Dutchess county. At the early age of twenty he commenced to write poems, and from that time to the time of his death, contributed to many literary periodicals on many subjects. Born a Quaker, he naturally imbibed the principle of opposi- tion to slavery, and soon became an advocate of the cause, entering warmly into the discussions of the day. At the request of numerous abolition societies, he spoke for them at Boston and numerous cities and towns in Massachusetts and this state. He was said to be an orator of no mean ability. He assisted his father on his farm at Milton, and in his leisure moments composed poetry, contributed articles to various publications, and prepared his speeches. One day he would be working in the harvest, the next addressing large and enthusiastic meetings. He received a sunstroke while at work in the harvest, which developed into typhoid fever, resulting in his death, at the age of thirty-eight. He was a country boy in a country village, without friends or influence to assist him in his literary work; un- known and unheard of except as he worked his way among men and commanded respect by his energy and ability.
He was cut down in his youth and in his usefulness; a life blotted out that was destined. had he lived, to have been of great honor to himself and of great usefulness to his country.
THE EARLY SETTLERS.
The first settler was Denis Relje, sometimes called Old Denis and the Old Man. His name appears in the precinct of Highland tax roll as Denis Relje in the years 1714, 1715 and 1718, In the tax roll of 1724 and 1725 it appears as Old Denis. The Kill or Creek at Marlborough Landing is named after him.
In the petition of Egbert Schoonmaker, 1697, appli- cation is made for a grant of vacant land " being on both sides of the Oudtman's Kill or Creek." Also in the petition of Alexander Griggs, he applied for a grant of land " beginning on the south side of Old Man's Creek, and running up the river to a point
81
THE EARLY SETTLERS.
called Old Man's Hook." Augustine Graham, in his petition, applied for land " at ye Old Man's Creek," and in a further petition land "lying at the Old- Man's Kill." The name of Denis Relje does not ap- pear on the tax roll after 1725, and it is presumed that he was then dead.
William Bond, his family and slaves, were the next settlers of whom we have knowledge, though there were others at the time who lived on the patents and paid quitrents. Most of the settlers came from Long Island and Westchester county. They were people who were established in those places, having their farms and property there. They moved up to this town, some coming in sloops and others crossing in scows from the opposite side of the river. They brought their families, wordly goods, cattle and horses with them. When they arrived they were ready to erect their log or stone houses, and to commence clear- ing the land. After the first arrivals, their friends, who were already here, helped them to put up their houses and clear some of the land. A family would come from a certain location or neighborhood, and soon some of their relatives or friends would follow. Perhaps no community started with better or more favorable prospects than did the first settlers of this town. They did not come here almost destitute as a large body of foreigners have done, but in two or three days they could change their abode and start life anew with all their household goods, properties, comforts and conveniences that they had enjoyed in their previous homes.
Old letters, papers, and records show this beyond a doubt. In fact the same names can be traced in the records and papers of Westchester and Long Island, spelled the same as our people then spelled their names. These people visited together and kept up their relationship and friendship for a generation or
82
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
more, and many of our people can trace their ances- tors back to these places.
But few settlers drifted in until 1730 or there- abouts, when settlers commenced to arrive more fre- quently and from that time on the population rapidly increased. In one year twenty or more families arrived. In 1782 the population was 1,482; in 1790 the enumeration of inhabitants, including Platte- kill, colored people, and slaves, was 2,241, Newburgh having only 2,365. This population was supported by ordinary farm crops on stony land, which first had to be cleared. There was no fruit raised then to sell.
The families were large, ranging from six to fifteen children ..
They were an honest, industrious, law-abiding class of people. No great crimes were ever committed; churches and schools were plain but sufficient; a chattel mortgage was almost unknown. A person never borrowed money except under the necessity of unforseen circumstances, and then he paid it as soon as possible; notes scarcely ever were taken. The borrower considered he was under a sacred obliga- tion, and he often went without necessaries to make his payment. Very few judgments were entered in those times, but the execution went against the body and the debtor put in jail if he did not pay. The people were very lenient, and there was not much oppression. There were very few real estate mort- gages on record before 1800. The debt on the prop- erty must have been secured in some other way. Until the Constitution of 1777, the choice of candi- dates at the precinct meetings was determined by viva voce.
I find no records of town officers up to 1763, but find some early tax rolls, and in those relating to the precinct of the Highlands, to which we then belonged, is the following :
83
THE EARLY SETTLERS.
" The Freeholders, Inhabitants, Residents, and Sojourners of the County of Ulster, theire real and personal estates are rated to be assessed by the Assessors (on theire Oath) chosen for the same on the 20th day of January 1:14-15, and are to pay after the rate of one penny half per pound to discharge this years payment of said County's Quota. * *
Layd by an Aet of the P. Assembly, Entitled an Act for Levying the sum of Ten Thousand pounds, viz :
Preeinet of Highlands.
Rated
Tax
Peter Magregorie
30
3
9
Swerver
5
0
:1-2
William Sutherland
45
5
:1-2
Michael Wygant
15
1
10
Burger Myndertsen
10
1
3
Jacob Weber
15
1
101-2
Peter LaRoss
10
1
3
John Fisher
10
1
3
Andres Volek
12
1
6
George Lockste
10
1
3
Henry Rennan
25
3
11-2
Win. Elsworth's widow
3
0
41-2
Alexander Griggs
35
4
41-2
Thomas Harris
5
11-2
Capt. Bond .
15
1
101-2
Melgert the Joyner
15
1
101-2
Christian Hendrick
3
41-2
Jacob Decker, Jun.
10
1
3
Cornelis Decker
5
0
41-2
293
1 16
$1-2
5
0
71-2
Pieter Jansen .
10
1
3
Dennis Relje
1b
d
Of the above Dennis Relje (Relyea), Alexander Griggs, Thomas Harris, Captain Bond, Jacob Decker, Jr., Cornelius Decker and Pieter Jansen paid taxes in what is now Marlborough and Plattekill. Similar returns for the years 1717-18, 1724-25, exhibit the increase of residents and freeholders in the precinct, as follows:
84
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
1717-18
Peter Mac Gregory
Wm. Bond
W'm. Sutherland
Alexander Griggs
Melgert de Schrynwerker
Michael Wygant Jacob Weber
Col. Mathews
John Fisher
Mr. Gomez
Andries Volek
Burger Myndertsen
Henry Rennau
A. Graham
Widow Elsworth
Mr. Chambers
Denis Relje
Peter Jansen's estate
1724-25
Wm. Chambers
John Wilson
John Lawrence
Old Denes
His Ex. William Burnett
William Fountain
Widow Elsworth
Gomez the Jew
Phineas McIntosh
Christopher Febb
Thos. Ellis (on )
John Askell
George Lockstead
John Armtyne
Jeurian Quick William Bond
7. Hoffman
Burger Minders
Michael Bolls
Thomas Brainer, widow
Henry Wileman
William Ward
Daniel Denes
Geo. Waggont
John Slater
Wm. Sanders
John Filips
Alexander Mickel
Robt. Kirkland
Doct. Colden
John Alsop
Geo. Elmes
Peter Long
Tobias Wygant
Peter Mulliner
Valentyne Breasure
Melcher Gillis
John Humphrey
Henry Hedsel
David Sutherland
Benj. Elsworth
John Davids
Nathaniel Foster
1:26-29
Wmn. Chambers
Moses Elsworth
Phineas McIntosh
John Haskell
Thomas Ellison
John Alsop. Esq.
James Elsworth Jurie Quick
William Ward
John Vantine
Wm. Bond
Geo. Wagagont (Weigand)
Gomaz the Jew
Jolm David
Burger Meynderse, Jr.
Milgert Gillis
Thomas Edwards
85
THE EARLY SETTLERS.
1726-29
Geo. Speedwell
Wm. Saunders
Benj. Elsworth
Alex. Mackie
Nathl. Foster
Cad. Colden
Francis Harrison
John Slaughter
J. Maekneel, Jr.
George
James Gamwell
Tobias Wagagont
Stephen Bedford
Robert Strickland
Thomas Shaw
John Umphrey
Joseph Gale
Peter Long
Henry
David Sutherland
John Mond
Peter Muliner
Burger Meynderse
Chrittian Chevis
In lists appear the names of " Denis Relje " and " Old Denes " both the same man; also " Mr. Gomez " and " Gomez the Jew, both the same person ; also appear " Jeurian Quick " and " Jurie Quick," both the same. These men and Wm. Bond, Alexander Griggs, A. Graham and Pieter Jansen resided at New Marlborough, and probably some of the others. Z. Hoffman paid taxes on lands here. From this list it will be seen who the taxpayers were.
Capt. William Bond was the first settler of that part of the town known as Milton, of whom there is any authentic record. He appears on the tax roll of 1714-15 as Captain Bond, and on the succeeding tax rolls. Captain Bond had a daughter, Sukie (Sus- annah), who resided with him in a house which he built east of the old Hicksie meeting house. He made his home there with his daughter most of the time. except when he was absent as Deputy Surveyor of the State. They had several slaves, and there has ever since been a tradition here, that Bond, his daughter. and slaves were buried on the strip of land east of the Oliver C. Hull house, and east of and adjoining the highway at the point where the David Coleman factory stood. In 1850 when the ground for the factory was dug up and graded, fragments of bones.
86
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
hair, ete were found, showing clearly that it had been a burial ground.
Gomez the Jew, after whom the Jew's Creek is named, was a New York merchant but resided here part of the time. In the districting of the highways his residence is spoken of as " the Jew's house."
Quick and Hoffman were then jointly the owners of the Griggs and Graham Patent, afterward owned by DuBois, and were paying taxes on it.
OUR ANCESTORS.
In the address made by Daniel Webster, at the celebration of the New England Society at Washing- ton, December, 1845, he said :
It is wise for us to recur to the history of our ancestors. Those who are regardless of the history of our ancestors and their posterity - who do not look upon themselves as a link connecting the past with the future, in the transmission of life from their ancestors to their posterity, do not perform their duty to the world. To be faithful to ourselves, we must keep our ancestors and posterity within reach and grasp of our thoughts and affections, living in the memory and retrospect of the past, and hoping with affection and care for those who are to come after us. We are true to ourselves only when we act with becoming pride for the blood we inherit, and which we are to transmit to those who shall fill our places.
Throughout continental Europe it is quite the fashion for people to try to trace their ancestry back in past history to some duke or other titled person- age who in his day was considered great - some by their own achievements but mostly by being favorites of the Crown or to some famous general of the army, who by his valor and prowess had brought honor and renown to his country, and by his conquests extend- ing its boundaries; others might have been excellent scholars and poets or recognized statesmen and
87
OUR ANCESTORS.
rulers. Some people are proud to trace their ances- try to some such a person, but it turns out in most instances that the ancestor is the only great and worthy man in all the line of the family. The ruling house of Great Britain to-day trace their ancestry back a thousand years to the Duke of Normandy who entered England with an army of 60,000 men, who conquered the country and established the present reigning house, but when we trace the lineage of the Duke we find that he was the natural son, which his father, the old Duke, had by the daughter of a tanner. But it does not follow that a person is unworthy of remembrance because he has not marched at the head of an army, captured a city, or governed a nation. Those who have done all that was reasonable and proper, in private or public affairs, in a small and humble way, may have exerted an influence as lasting and beneficial in many ways as those who had more opportunities and more elevated positions. The best blood of Europe animated the early settlers of this town and country. They were sons of toil, leasehold farmers, the fee to the lands being in the hands of the titled gentry; they were an industrious, economical people, brought up to work and save and be thrifty, and transmitted these qualities from one generation to another. They obtained such education as the com- munities in which they lived afforded. They were christian and devout; they all had some form of public worship which they considered it a sacred duty to at- tend, and observed the teachings of the church. This is the class of people who were our ancestors; they came mostly from England soon after this province came into the possession of the English government. They settled at first for the most part in other places in the province, and they and their children from time to time became the owners of the soil and the inhabitants of this town. They cleared up these
88
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
stony lands; they reared their houses; raised their families and were the commencement of all that exist to-day. It is no great streteh of the imagination to view the aspect of the town in those times-the forests, the swamps, the rocky surface. If our people could go back and view it all and be required to com- mence anew, they would stand appalled. At this late day, it is hard to conceive what trials and hardships our ancestors must have endured to gain a foothold on what was then rugged and barren land, and they are worthy of much praise, and we trust and hope that their names will never be forgotten, but will be respected and held in loving remembrance by all their descendants. The names of all these people, or their family names- I should say, can easily be traced in the first records of Long Island and Westchester county and in English records and history, and with patience the ancestry of the people can be traced back many generations. They sprang from the humble paths of life; they had been led out for centuries by the nobility to fight on the battlefields of Europe. They had been persecuted and oppressed and had sighed for freedom and equal rights, and looked to the future and a new country for the realization of their hopes. They cast aside their regrets for their native land and braved the dangers of the ocean and of a new and untried country and came to these shores. They were our fathers and mothers and we revere their memory.
The first settlers of a country impart tone and char- acter to its institutions and the habits and manners of the people, and what they begin and accomplish are seen and felt for many succeeding years. Those com- ing after imitate their examples and follow their teachings.
Lessons can be learned as well from the small as from the great. We claim for our ancestors no par-
89
OUR ANCESTORS.
ticular exemption from human frailty and vices in- cident to all conditions. Like all others they were good and bad character, but they were largely of the good and virtuous class. If on trying to trace back and counting them up we find the positively bad, they are not to be thrown aside on that account with the hope of covering up their errors lest the chain of descent be broken. It is our business to learn from them all and be ever thankful that we are descended from so sturdy and worthy a race.
In our reflections upon the character and conduct of our forefathers, there is much that is personal and agreeable to the feelings. We own and adopt them as members of the family, think and speak of them as nearly allied to us, though not one drop of their blood deepens the color of our own. We share their respect and renown, and glory in their fame. We ap- propriate them to ourselves and make them ours. We feel as they felt, pity and weep over their hardships and misfortunes.
CHAPTER IV.
THE TOWN OF MARLBOROUGH IN THE REVOLUTION - THE COMMITTEE OF SAFETY AND OBSERVATION.
The drama of the revolution opened in Marlbor- ough as in most other places, on the passage of the non-importation resolutions by the Provincial Con- gress in 1774, which resolutions and other matters under discussion by the people in relation to the con- duct of England toward her colonies led to the forma- tion in cities, towns and precinets, of a Committee of Safety and Observation.
The city of New York took the lead by forming a committee of one hundred. Isaac Low, chairman, sent out circulars to the towns and precinets in the prov- ince urging the formation of similar committees. In the precinct of New Marlborough a publie meeting was called in January, 1775, when a committee was appointed. The following named persons constituted the committee of New Marlborough, though all were not appointed at the first meeting - some of the mem- bers were appointed at subsequent meetings to fill vacancies, though all of those named served at some time during the war, Benjamin Carpenter, Abijah Perkins, Lewis DuBois, Wolvert Ecker, Nathan Kel- sey, Right Carpenter, Henry Lockwood, John Wool- sey, Nick Wygant, Joseph Morey, Richard Carpenter, Silas Purdy, Henry Terboss, John Smith, Henry Du- Bois, Elijah Lewis, and I think Nathaniel Potter. The last named lived just over the line in what is now the town of Lloyd. He acted with the committee and made arrests for them. Jacob Dayton, when arrested by him and examined, was bound over to him, so he must have been one of the committee. These persons were ap- pointed at publie meetings called for that purpose,
[9]]
92
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
and the authority which they exercised must have been conferred by such meetings. They appear to have had authority to sequester horses, grain and pro- visions, fix the price for the same, and issue certifi- cates for the payment thereof. They could order the arrest of tories or persons who were suspected as being unfavorable to the cause of liberty, to have such persons brought before them for examination, and take the evidence and deposition of witnesses, and if they thought proper, could send such persons before the State committee or a general court-martial for trial, together with the examination and depositions taken, and they sometimes imprisoned persons. They could compel suspected persons to give security to one or more of the committee for their good behavior. They had power to call out the inhabitants concern- ing the tories and other disloyal people who were going off to enlist with the enemy, and to intercept them; also persons fearing arrest could voluntarily go before the committee and be regularly examined and allowed to explain their conduct, and if the com- mittee determined that they were loyal, they issued a certificate to them to that effect, which allowed them to remain quiet and peaceable at their homes and ex- empted them from arrest; all of which will be shown in subsequent chapters. They seized the goods of those who joined the enemy; they called together meetings of the inhabitants for the raising and organ- izing of troops, and other patriotic purposes. Two or more members of such committee presided at such meetings. They obtained the signatures of the inhab- itants who were favorable to the cause of liberty to the Articles of Association. They also prepared lists of those who refused to sign, and sent such lists to the State committee at New York city.
I find that they recommended persons for offices in the army; also they appear to have had charge of the
93
MARLBOROUGH IN THE REVOLUTION.
town or precinct government to a great extent, espe- cially as to those matters which related to the war. The members of the town committees constituted the county committee when they met together, and as such they chose the deputies for the county to the Pro- vincial convention and appointed or elected deputies to the Provincial Congress; at least that appears to be the way representatives were chosen during the war. They were not elected at any general election that we can find any record of. They also appointed all county officers. Apparently the entire committee did not always act together, as many of the papers are signed only by two or more of the committee. It is hard to tell what all their duties were; they did, or assumed to do, many things in connection with the conduet of the war. They issued many orders and ap- peared generally to have the ability to enforce them, though oftentimes their authority was disputed; they certainly exercised great influence in the cause, were zealous, just and true, and were among the best and most worthy people of the town. It would appear that all their services were meritorious and gratuitous. I cannot find that they ever received any compensa- tion whatever. They were looked up to by their neigh- bors; their advice and help were sought and they kept posted on the events of the day. The people con- gregated at their homes to hear the latest news from the seat of the war. They looked after the families of those in the service, collected provisions and cloth- ing for the army while at Valley Forge and Newburgh and delivered the same. Benjamin Carpenter was chairman of the committee.
Wolvert Ecker, at the south part of the town, or just over the line, had a mill .on Jew's Creek. He was chairman of the Newburgh committee, and acted also with the committee here, taking great interest in the progress of the war. Hle kept open house, as it might
-
94
HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
be said, and everyone was welcome. It was quite a place to meet especially on Sundays, and it is said that on such occasions he first read a chapter from the Bible; told all the news he had, and the people dis- cussed the events of the day. He appears to have been a central figure of the committee. He spent his time and money and never lost faith in the cause. He died very poor.
John Woolsey appears also as a member of the State committee. The first duty that this committee per- formed was to attend a convention at New Paltz on the 7th day of April for the purpose of electing dele- gates to a Provincial convention.
At a Meeting of the Committees of the several Towns and Precinets, in the County of Ulster, to appoint Deputies to serve in the Provincial Convention at the City of New York on the 20th day of April, or at such other Time and Place as may be agreed on. Held at New Paltz in the County aforesaid the ith day of April 1775. * *
Present: For New Marlborough : Benjamin Carpenter, Esq., Lewis Dubois, Joseph Morey, Abijah Perkins, Silas Purdy, and Henry TerBoss.
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