Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 54

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374

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The Hamilton Union church of Guilderland was organized in the

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Presbyterian faith, and so remains, but is now in use by that sect and the Reformed sect in the vicinity of Sloan's (or Guilderland) in the east- ern part of the town. The organization was effected March 25, 1824, by a committee from the Albany Presbytery, with seventeen members. The first pastor was Rev. Judson Buck, who was installed October 19, 1825. The church was erected in 1833, and dedicated January 30, 1834.

Methodist preaching began almost at the commencement of the cen- tury in Guilderland, meetings being held in dwellings, and later for a long period in the school house near Fuller's Station, About 1852 a spirited revival began and the need of a church was felt. It was finally decided that a house of worship should be built at the Glass House (Guilderland village) in the eastern part of the town. Land was do- nated by George C. Batterman and an edifice was erected thereon at a cost of about $2,000, which was dedicated in the autumn of 1852. On the 18th of April, 1853, a church organization was effected, with the following trustees: Henry Spawn, John Arnold, Giles Reagles, Isaac Pearl, Robert D. Carhart, Elijah Chesebro, William Powell, William Chesebro, and M. Y. Cheesebrough. In May of the next year the par- sonage was purchased. In 1866 the church building was improved by raising it and making a basement chapel beneath, and a gallery was built across the end of the audience room. Again in 1874 further improvements were made in the structure.

The Methodist Episcopal church of Mckownsville is situated about a mile west of the Albany city line, where a church edifice was erected in 1866, an acre of land having been presented for the purpose by John McKown. This society has been under the same pastoral charge as the Guilderland church.

The State Road Methodist church was organized in 1864 by Rev. E. E. Taylor, with a membership of thirty, and in the following year a house of worship was erected at a cost of $4 000. Its first pastor was Rev. John N. Short since whose day the society has had a prosperous existence.

Following is a list of the supervisors of Guilderland from its organiza - tion to the present time, with the years of their election :

1804-1805, James Henderson; 1806-1808, Peter Van Patten; 1809, Robert Gray ; 1810-1811, David Bogardus; 1812, Aaron Grote: 1813-24, William Mckown; 1825-

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80, George Batterman ; 1831 32, Aaron Livingston ; 1838-39, Christopher Batterman ; 1840-41, Henry Sloan; 1842 45, Peter Shaver; 1846-47, John Fuller; 1848-49, Jacob 1. Fryer; 1850 51, Elijah Spawn; 1852-53, W. Vine; 1854-56, George Y. Johnson; 1857-59, Henry Hilton; 1860, Leonard Wilkins; 1861-66, Stephen V. Frederick ; 1867 76, Hiram Griggs; 1877-80, John C. Grant; 1881-84, Aaron Fuller; 1885-87, Benjamin Crounse; 1888-89, David Relyea; 1890-92, Howard P. Foster; 1893-97, Peter Walker.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE TOWN OF WESTERLO.

Westerlo is situated upon the southern border of the county, near the center of that line, having the towns of Coeymans and Rensselaerville respectively on its eastern and western boundaries. It was formed from these two towns, March 16, 1815, being the seventh town erected in the county. It was named in honor of Rev. Eilardus Westerlo, who came from Holland in 1760 and was pastor of the Reformed Dutch church at Albany.

The civil history of Westerlo dates from April 4, 1815, when the first town meeting was held at the house of William Beardsley, at which John Gibbons was chosen moderator and other town officers were elected.

The surface of the town is broken and hilly and generally inclines toward the south, the banks of the streams being steep and irregular and the valleys mere narrow ravines. The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam, interspersed with clay and underlaid with "hardpan." The town contains no very high land, the highest point, which is in the northern part of the town, being eight hundred feet above tide.

The streams are the Hannakrois Creek, flowing through the northeast- ern corner ; the Basic1 Creek, rising in the extreme northern part of the town and flowing south through Chesterville and South Westerlo, with Fly and Wolf Creeks, and other small streams as tributaries ; and Eight- mile Creek, flowing south through the western part of the town into

1 Low, flat.

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Rensselaerville and emptying into Ten-mile Creek. There is a small lake near Van Leuven's Corners, the outlet of which is the source of the Switzkill.

In the very early days the asheries were a prominent industry and served as an incentive for clearing much of the dense wilderness. Trees. were felled, burned and the ashes gathered and taken to the ashery and sold or exchanged for family supplies.

Some manufacturing is done in and near the village of Westerlo, but for the most part the inhabitants are engaged in the pursuit of agricul- ture.

The first mills were those erected by Lobdell and Baker in 1795, and were situated a short distance south of the site of Chesterville on Basic Creek, on lots 328 and 200 of Van Rensselaer's patent, across the stream from the spot where now are the mills of Orville Lobdell.

At South Westerlo were formerly a tannery and asheries belonging to the Smiths, who afterward erected a grist mill. This mill passed through the hands of several owners, and is now operated by D. M. Wooster. W D. Calder's mills for the manufacture of flannels, cassi- meres, satinets and yarns are also located here on Basic Creek. At this place, also, are a fruit evaporator owned and run by Cunningham Bros., and the factory of the South Westerlo Elgin Creamery Company, makers of butter. The grist and saw mills of William A. Dickson & Son are on the Hannakrois Creek near Dormansville. Saw mills are numerous ; Darius Lockwood on Wolf Creek ; Samuel Snyder on Eight- mile Creek ; and Henry A. Ford on Basic Creek, the latter mill having been built in 1870.

About 1812 a Mr. Jenks had a carding mill on Basic Creek below Chesterville, which was destroyed by fire. Another was built in its place by George Wiltsey and operated by Drum & Possom, who later converted it into a turning shop and finally into a grist mill, remains of which yet exist.

A. S. Green owns and operates a fruit evaporator at Chesterville. Here, also, are quarries of graywacke, which furnish an excellent flag- ging and building stone. Another important industry in this village is bee culture.

The principal crops are hay, rye, corn, oats and buckwheat, while 67

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dairy farming and sheep raising are profitably followed by many, though the latter industry has greatly diminished in late years. A great deal of fruit has always been raised since the early days, and of late years its cultivation has been stimulated by the erection of evaporators.

It is impossible to ascertain who were the first settlers within the present limits of Westerlo, or when they came, but it was certainly some time before the Revolution that men pushed into the wilderness and commenced making homes for themselves here.

Jacob Ford came from the Hillsdale district in Columbia county in 1795, and settled on lot 369, and later on lot 318, now in possession of Henry A. Ford.

Adam St. John, of Scottish origin, came from Old Paltz to Westerlo in 1790 and settled at Lamb's Corners, having originally come with the Huguenots from Holland. He and four of his brothers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war, and were at Yorktown at the surrender of Corn- wallis. Many of their descendants still reside in the town.

Jehial Lamb came from Massachusetts and settled in the southwestern part of the town about 1793, and Jacob Ingalls moved here from Rhode Island about the same time. Descendants of these two families live near Lamb's Corners.

Isaac Winston settled near Chesterville, and while serving in the war for independence was taken prisoner and held for eighteen months.

Stephen and Solomon Mabey came from Rhode Island soon after the Revolution and settled at South Westerlo. Samuel Mabey was born here October 20, 1792, and died August 14, 1870, on the same farm. His son, S. E. Mabey, lives near South Westerlo.

Dr. Jonathan Prosser came from Dutchess county in 1788 and settled on the farm now occupied by Henry Simpkins. Lodowick and Jacob Hanes, Germans, settled at an early day on Basic Creek near Dormans- ville. Josiah Hinckley, another Revolutionary soldier, took up in 1783 the farm now owned by his grandson. At this time there were but eight families in the town.

John Gibbons, born 1766, lived at New London, Conn., and during the Revolutionary war drove an ox team and helped to remove the military stores during the night from New London to a place of safety. He removed to Rensselaer county after the war, and in 1795 came

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to Dormansville. His son, Ransom H. Gibbons, was born in 1802 and located at Dormansville as physician in 1826, after studying with Dr. Zina Lay and Dr. Hyde and attending a course of lectures at Fair- field and having been licensed by the censors of Herkimer county. He died in 1890, leaving one son and one daughter who is now the wife of Rev. Luther Peck, of Scranton, Pa .; the son, Edward, is still living at Dormansville. Isaac Rundell settled at South Westerlo in 1780 on the farm now owned by his grandson, Darius Rundell.

Nathaniel Gale, with his father, Thomas, and his grandfather, John, moved to Westerlo from Tarrytown, Westchester county, in 1800, and took up their abode in a log house. Nathaniel's son, John W., is still living on the old place near Dormansville.

The early physicians of Westerlo were Drs. Zina W. and Josiah Lay, Jonathan Prosser, Erastus Hamilton, who became an assistant surgeon in the war of 1812, Peleg Peckham, P. S. Brigham, Willis A. Alston, Hiram Barber and George Holmes.

Among other early settlers were William Haverland, William Bird, James Arnold, Abram Becker, Rev. Reuben Stanton, who was a sur- veyor and received for his services one hundred acres of land, Jared Reynold, Daniel Lockwood and William Wheaton.

Chesterville (Westerlo post office), one of the hamlets of the town, is situated about one mile north of the center of the township, on Basic Creek, fifteen miles from Coeymans Landing and twenty miles from Albany. It was named after Rev. John Chester, who was formerly pas- tor of the Second Presbyterian church of Albany. The post-office, one of the first in the town, was established about 1827. Previous to this letters and papers were delivered by post-riders once a week, by Squire Brown and a man named Peck, who are still remembered by a few of the inhabitants. Now the mails are received daily, the present post- master being George J. Graham. Chesterville is the earliest settlement in the town. It was here that Philip Myers located before the Revolu- tionary war, while Grant and Eadie had an ashery and kept a store in 1798. Moses Smith followed as a merchant, tavern-keeper and manu- facturer of potash. Nicholas Lapaugh and Henry Purce were also tavern-keepers, and Jeremiah Green operated a tannery. The hamlet now contains fifty dwellings and two hundred and twenty-five inhab-

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itants There are two churches-Reformed and Baptist-a school house, one hotel of which Charles Haverly is the proprietor, and four stores- A. S. Green & Son, general merchandise ; Perry Swartout, sundry mer- chandise ; Hiram K. Jones, dry goods and groceries; Gilbert Ander- son, hardware and tin; two blacksmiths and two wheelwright shops, one general undertaker, two shoe shops, paint shop, and a millinery and dressmaking shop. The legal profession is represented by A. D. War- ner, attorney and counselor at law, while the doctors are John N. Brad- ley and Arthur A. Vibbard. A Masonic lodge was established here about 1820, with the following persons as members : James Sackett, Sylvester Ford, George Prindle and Nicholas Lapaugh. The Good Templars instituted a lodge here in 1878, which has been abandoned.

South Westerlo (post-office) is situated in the south central part of the township, between Basic and Wolf Creeks. It was first called Smith's Mills, after David Smith. The name was changed in 1827, when the post-office was established with Thomas Saxton as post- master, who held it thereafter for twenty-nine years. He came here when fourteen years old, served as clerk for his uncle, Thomas Smith, and continued in business until 1859. Among the early settlers and business men were Thomas Smith, general merchant, distiller and manu- facturer of potash ; and Messrs. Bemet, Wheaton, Cross, Storer, Stan- ton, Reynolds, Lockwood, Slauson and Trowbridge. South Westerlo now has some twenty-seven dwellings and one hundred and thirty resi- dents, and contains a Christian church, school house, wheelwright and blacksmith shop. D. J. Bishop is the postmaster, while stores are kept by L. S. Lockwood and Stuart & Robbins. Here is also the Cottage Hotel, of which A. M. Kipp is the proprietor.

Dormansville (post-office) is in the east central part of the town, and was named in honor of Daniel Dorman, who was the first postmaster in 1832. Among its first settlers were W. Tomkins, William Ward and Lewis Husted, who kept a public house. Here is still standing what is left of the first square frame school house built in the town. Formerly Hiram and Erastus Gibbons were proprietors of the Dormansville Hotel and dealers in dry goods, groceries and general merchandise. The hotel business has been abandoned, but the other branches are con- tinued. Dell Powell is the present postmaster. Dormansville contains

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some fifteen dwellings, a Methodist church, school house, two stores, a paint shop, and wheelwright and blacksmith shop run by W. S. Ward.

Van Leuven's Corners, named after Isaac Van Leuven, an early set- tler, is a small hamlet on the Delaware turnpike in the northern part of the town. It formerly had a tavern, mills, tannery and other enter- prises, but these are all abandoned now. William Beardsley, John Preston and James Sackett were tavern-keepers. Here John Preston had a tannery and currying shop which was continued by Luther Pres- ton until his death, but is now abandoned. Mr. Preston was also a school teacher, and the author of "Every Man His Own Teacher." James Sackett, a colonel in the war of 1812, was a prominent business man and a Mason. Van Leuven's Corners was first called Sackett's Cor- ners, after him, and later Preston's Corners. William Beardsley at one time kept a tavern here, and after moving to Albany was elected sheriff. Gideon Wood made spinning wheels here many years ago in the house where Peter Van Leuven now lives. Among other early set- tlers were Josiah Jones, who came to this neighborhood from Claverack at the age of fourteen years, when there was but little cleared land.

Lamb's Corners, a small neighborhood in the southern part of the town, was settled by Jehial Lamb, Adam St. John, Jacob Ingalls, Hez- ekiah Boardman and Thomas Jencks, who came from New England about 1790. Descendants of the first three of these families are quite numerous. Here are a Methodist church, school house and blacksmith shop.

Westerlo Center, or Thayer's Corners, is a small hamlet containing a blacksmith shop run by Charles Hempstead. A store and tavern were formerly kept by a Mr. Thayer. The chief families of the neighbor- hood are the Winegards, Atkins, Hanes, Wiltseys, Lockwoods, Stan- tons and Reynolds.

The early settlers who came from New England and the adjoining counties on the river were filled with religious zeal and ardor and were not long in organizing religious societies. The first society was formed as early as 1793 in the township of Rensselaerville, and in 1796 the first church was built. In 1826 the Methodist Episcopal church at Dormansville was organized, and in 1840-41 the present church edifice was dedicated by Rev. M. Hedstrom. The building was remodeled in

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1895 at a cost of $1,700. Among its pastors have been the Rev. Messrs. S. Wright and Turner. There is at Lamb's Corners a Metho- dist church called "Olin Chapel " in honor of Dr. Stephen Olin. A class was formed here eighty years ago, led by Thomas Smith and Al- exander Lamb, at whose house, now occupied by his son, Asbury Lamb, meetings were held. Meetings were held in the school house previous to the erection of the present frame church in 1853, when Alexander Lamb, Amos Fish and Ludlow St. John were elected trustees.

The society of the First Baptist Church of Westerlo was formed at the house of Isaac Winston, May 26, 1800, in what was then the town of Rensselaerville. The original members were Roswell Beckwith, Aaron Baker, Isaac Winston, Isaac Lobdell, Thomas Martin, Benjamin Martin, James Slade, Sarah Winston, Miriam Lobdell, Cynthia Baker, Lois Slade, Judith Stanton, Eleanor Martyn, Mary Spaulding and Lydia Mollison. Four candidates were received and baptized into its fellowship on the day after its organization.

The First Baptist society of the township of Westerlo met at the school house nea Zina W. Lay's on January 11, 1820, for the purpose of electing officers and to incorporate as " The First Baptist Society" of the town of Westerlo. Deacon William Bentley and James Slade were chosen presiding officers and Sylvester Ford, James Jaycox, Will- iam Bentley, James Slade, Isaac Lobdell, jr., and Knight Bennett were elected trustees. The site for their first church was obtained from George Pinney, being part of lot 238 and covering thirty-five one- hundredths of an acre, at an annual rental of fifty dollars to him and a further payment to the Patroon, proprietor of the Manor of Rensselaer- wyck. The society sold this piece of ground March 28, 1853, and pur- chased the present site of Archibald S. Green. The church has had altogether nineteen different pastors.

The Reformed church located at Westerlo was organized in 1793.

A Baptist society was organized at South Westerlo and a church edifice erected between 1808 and 1810, and among the early elders were Josiah Baker and William Stuart. Rev. Reed Burritt came to this church about 1820 and ministered for more than ten years. In the mean time the Old and New School societies had a controversy

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over the control of the affairs of the church which resulted in the suc- cess of the New School, which had the society incorporated. Messrs. Crocker, Mudge and Stanton are among those who have served this church as ministers. The membership gradually decreased until the society finally disbanded and sold its church building in 1847, at which time the old church was moved out of the village.

The Christian church of South Westerlo was organized in 1820 by the Christian churches of Rensselaerville, Coeymans, Berne, Baltimore and Freehold. In the year 1824 the society erected a church building which was used as a house of worship until sold to O. L. Hannay, when it was converted into a public hall where the society of Good Templars used to meet. In 1833 Anthony Hanes, Nathaniel Holmes and Cyrus Wheaton were trustees ; Joshua Nelson, moderator, and Thomas Saxton, clerk ; Abraham Hagen, Robert P. Derbool and Anthony Hanes, deacons. In 1872 the society purchased the old tavern property of William Showers and erected the present house of worship and parsonage at a cost of $13,000.

There is also an Episcopal church in the northern part of the town which was organized in 1875. This is something of a union church, however, as all Protestant denominations are at liberty to hold services there at their pleasure.

There are three corporate cemeteries in the town. The Westerlo Rural Cemetery Association was organized in October, 1871, with William V. L. Lapaugh, president, George E. Disbrow, vice-president, Charles Lapaugh, secretary and treasurer, Lewis C. Lockwood, John Sherwood and Joseph Babcock, trustees. The cemetery is located one mile north of the village and contains two and three-fourths acres of land. The Hannakrois Rural Cemetery was organized in 1879 with the following officers : Edward Gibbons, president ; William Applebee, vice- president ; Minor Gibbons, secretary and treasurer ; Henry Simpkins, John G. Ward and Allen Kniffen, trustees. The cemetery contains two acres of land and is located one mile east of Dormansville. The Westerlo Central Cemetery Association was incorporated January 12, 1882, with these officers : Robert L. Simpkins, president : L. L. Lock- wood, secretary ; Darius Rundell, treasurer. There are other burial grounds in the town, notably the one at Van Leuven's Corners, where Col. James Sackett is buried.

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Westerlo and Rensselaerville of Albany county and Greenville and Durham of Greene county constitute the "Farmers' Fire Insurance Association," which was incorporated under a special act of the Legis lature, April, 1857, and of which Darius Rundell is director and agent.

Schools were established in the town at an early date, and one passing through the town cannot but notice the fine school buildings of the pres- ent day. Apollos Moore and Robert O. K. Bemet were teachers before the township was organized, and John Mott, a Quaker, taught a select school many years ago on the farm of R. Cartwright, for the education of the Quaker sect, which was then quite numerous, though he did not exclude other sects. After Mott died Henry Lawson taught the school, and after him John Preston for a time. Gideon St. John taught school for twenty-seven years, and Truman Ingalls for many years, holding also an evening grammar school. Heman Crocker, Solomon Trowbridge, C. Stewart, Moses Scott, Levi Holmes, Miss Bush and Miss Ann Lawson were among the teachers of years gone by.

There are two physicians in the town-John N. Bradley, a graduate of the Albany Medical College, 1875, and Arthur A. Vibbard, who was graduated from the New York Homeopathic Hospital in 1894.

Many men from this section did gallant service in the war of the Revolution, but inasmuch as the township was not formed until after the war, it is not possible to obtain a record of their names. Some who fought in the war of 1812 were Joseph Babcock, T. Witbeck, James Sackett, Col. Elliot St. John, William and Alexander Mackey, Walter Huyck, John W. Prosser, Nathan Clark, Abram Hageman, James and Abram Hawley, Benjamin Stanton, Caleb Tompkins, Carpenter Bishop, and Martin Lambert.

There is no record of the soldiers of the Rebellion.

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CHAPTER XXV.

THE TOWN OF KNOX.

This town is situated in the northwestern corner of Albany county, is the smallest in area in the county, containing a little more than 26,000 acres, and with one exception (New Scotland) was the latest one formed. It was erected from Berne on February 28, 1822, and re- ceived its name from the celebrated Colonel Knox, of Revolutionary fame. The eastern part of the town constitutes a part of the Helder- berg region, while the town as a whole consists of a high plateau, broken by a few hills, and with a northern and western inclination. The Bozen Kill forms the northeast boundary of the town, and this, together with Beaver Dam Creek in the southern part, with their trib- utaries, are the principal streams. A part of Thompson's Lake ex- tends into the town in the southeastern part. (See history of Berne.) The soil is principally gravel and clay, over "hardpan," and in many parts is fertile and well adapted to mixed farming. Hay is produced in large quantities and marketed at Altamont. The surface of the town was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, principally pine, hemlock, birch, maple, ash, oak, and basswood, but this has, for most part, been cut off.

The town records of Knox were burned in 1850, rendering it im- possible to give the proceedings of the first town meeting or the names of officers previous to that year. The names of the supervisors from that time to the present are given on a later page. The first of these was Malachi Whipple, an early settler and prominent citizen. At the annual town meeting of 1850 Michael Lee, Daniel Gallup, Abraham Batcher and Stephen Merselis, jr., were present as justices of the peace, and Ephraim N. Bogardus acted as clerk. For that year the following officers were elected :

Lyman Witter, supervisor; John G. Crary, town clerk; Samuel O. Schoonmaker, 68

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justice of the peace; John II. Tand, superintendent of schools: Anson Tols, collec- tor; Gurdon Gallup and Conrad Batcher, overseers of the poor; John Posson, asses- sor; Jacob P. Hane, commissioner of highways; Peter Schoonmaker, Alexander Crounse and John Allen, jr., inspectors of election, district No. 1; John Finch, Bemsby Williamson and Jacob Auchempaugh, inspectors of election, district No. 2; Gilbert Gage, Joel Gage, John C. Cannady and Elisha White, constables.

At that time the house of Henry Barclay was called the Town House, and the place for holding the next town meeting. Knox was then divided into fifty-six road districts, with the following overseers of highways :

John Posson, Jacob Crounse, Hiram Thousand, Evert M. Barckley, David W. Sturges, Archibald Scott, Peter Swan, 2d, James Finch, Rodney Wilder, Philip Gifford, Jacob Truax, Henry Dutcher, William Davenport, Benjamin Lee, Matthias Barckley, Jehiel White, John F. Sternburgh, Conrad Batcher, John Bassler, Fred- erick Clyckman, John Oliver, Orange Beeman, Henry W. Williams, Thomas Staf- ford, John V. Schoonmaker, Robert Hurst, S. Flansburgh, Stephen Hungerford, Ebenezer Gallup, Alexander Crounse, Amos Crary, William Williamson, Eldridge Chesbro, George W. Stephens, John G. Gallup, Isaac N. Crary, Frederick Zeh, John T. Beebe, James Armstrong, Henry Tarpenny, David Van Auken, Cornelius Wool- ford, Adam Snyder, Henry F. Orelup, Joseph A. Haswell, Azor Gallup, Abraham II. Onderdonk, Edward Settle, Jacob Bronk, Jacob Kipp, Elias R. Williams, Sylves- ter Allen, Israel Walker, John H. Sand, and Frederick Orelup.

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 54

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374