USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 1 > Part 53
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One of the earliest taverns in Stephentown was the one located at North Stephentown and kept by Rowland Hall. Later proprietors of the same inn were Lawrence Van Valkenburgh and Erastus Brown. Ichabod Croffut and Abner Bull were proprietors of other early tay- erns, that of the latter being located at Stephentown village. In the western part of the town Richard Spencer established an early inn, and later one was kept by Daniel Allen. Caleb Carr was an early inn- keeper at Stephentown Center. Other early proprietors were Joseph Gardner and Benjamin Carpenter. The first store in the town of which there is any positive knowledge was kept by Joseph Westcott at North Stephentown as early as 1175.
As nearly as can be learned, the first physician to open an office in Stephentown was Dr. Baker, who located in the southeastern part of the town soon after the close of the War of the Revolution, perhaps as early as 1787 or 1788. Soon after Dr. Nicholas Harris began prac- ticing at a point about five miles north of Dr. Baker's office. Both en- joyed an extensive practice, not only in Stephentown, but in other towns in Rensselaer county and in Massachusetts. Ten or twelve years later Dr. Calvin Pardee and Dr. Brighton located in town. Dr. Pardee came direct from Lebanon Springs, Columbia county, and originally from Connecticut. His home in Stephentown was at the point called Presbyterian Hill. Dr. Joshua Griggs was another early
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physician, and had an office at "the flats." Dr. Cuyler Tanner came to Stephentown village about 1828. Dr. Philander II. Thomas was also a successful practitioner later on in the eastern part of the town. Among later practitioners were Dr. Beriah Douglas, Dr. F. A. Carpen- ter, Dr. George II. Dickinson, Dr. G. F. Dickinson, Dr. Charles .V. Reynolds.
Stephentown has an abundance of water-power, which formerly operated numerous industries. In late years, however, most of these have been abandoned and the manufacturing industries are small and few, the inhabitants being engaged principally in agriculture and stock- raising. One of the first grist mills in the town was located in what was known as "Goodrich Hollow," on the branch of the Kinderhook creek, where about the earliest settlements were made. About 1800 a foundry and grist mill was built by William Landon in the south- western part of the town. At " the flats" a carding mill was located at an early day by Cherevoy & Perry. Younglove's grist mill and saw mill, Humphrey & Perry's carding mill and Samuel Udell's card- ing mill and cloth-dressing works were located in the same vicinity not long afterward. About 183> a satinet mill was located on Kinder- hook creek by Adams & Chapman, and a flannel factory was conducted further down the stream by George W. Glass. These enterprises have been extinct many years.
By the general law dividing all the counties of the State into towns, passed April :, 1801, the bounds of the town of Stephentown were de- scribed as follows:
Easterly by the east brands of this State, southerly by the county of Columbia westerly by Schoolak and by the Une atoresai! sorting the east hundred the said town of Schooluk, and motherly by a hile drawn east and west from the south issues of the farm now or late of l'eter Seaman to the east line of Abel Lewis's farm anl extending thence along the summit of a certain mo itain in the north part of Stephen town, and the range of that summit continued easterly to the east bound- ary of this State.
The Stephentown turnpike corporation was established by act of the Legislature April 3, 1801, when John W. Schermerhorn, Abijah Bush, Henry Platt and William Douglas were named as incorporators. The route of the road was " from the dwelling house of Henry Platt, in the town of Stephen town in the county of Rensselaer in the nearest and most direct route as far as circumstances will admit, till it intersects the Rensselaer and Columbia turnpike road at the dwelling house of
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John W. Schermerhorn or between that house and the one of Abijah Bush." William Donglas, John W. Schermerhorn and Henry Platt were named as commissioners to superintend the work of construction. The capital stock of the company was $8,000, divided into 800 shares of ten dollars each. It was directed that the road should be four rods wide, "twenty-four feet of which shall be bedded with wood, stone, gravel, or any other hard substance compacted together a sufficient depth, to secure a solid foundation to the same; and the said road shall be faced with gravel or other hard substance, in such manner as to secure, as near as the materials will admit, an even surface, rising to- wards the middle, by a gradual arch." The rates of toll were specified in the aet. Other turnpikes were the Western Union turnpike, passing through the town from Schodaek Landing to Hancock, Mass., and the Eastern Union turnpike, which extended from Hancock, Mass., to Al- bany, by way of Sand Lake village. Road building and improvement began at an early day, but on account of the hilly and rocky nature of the town the efforts of the friends of good roads necessarily have been limited.
The civil proceedings of the town were not recorded in a very satis- factory way in its early days. Local legislation which may have been quite important to the carly inhabitants is referred to in the minntes of the proceedings of the town boards in the briefest and most indefi- nite way. The early settlers evidently suffered from the depredations of wolves, for April 6, 1802, there is an entry in the records of the town showing that the authorities that day offered a bounty of fifteen dollars for the head of a full-grown wolf and half that amount for the head of a young wolf.
The first legislative enactment that we can find providing for the establishment of a common school district is in the law passed March 22, 1799, which provided that "the freeholders residing on that part of Stephentown known by the name of The Twelve Thousand Acres, are hereby constituted and declared to be one body corporate and poli- tic, in fact and in name, by the name of 'The Trustees of Schools in Stephentown.'" The amount of property to be held by this corpora- tion was restricted to $3,000. The law was passed upon the represent- ation to the Legislature " that there is a certain fund given the inter- est of which is to be appropriated for the encouragement of schools " at The Twelve Thousand Acres, The first trustees of the school district
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were, as named in the law, Hosea Moffat, 1 David Gould and Jonathan Niles.
One of the first school houses of which there is any record was located on Presbyterian hill, and one of its earliest teachers was a man named Frazer. Schools existed in the Carpenter district and in the Brown district early in the history of Stephentown. For many years the Rev. Eber M. Rollo was the principal of the school established on "the flats" as early as 1830.
The records of Stephentown fail to state how many men living in the town served in the American army during the War of the Revolution, or what their names were. While the list probably can never be com- pleted, among the names of the patriots which have been preserved are Captain William Douglas, Captain Israel Platt, Major Daniel Brown, Nathan Williams, John Horton, Abel Tanner and Justus Brockway. Colonel Caleb Carr commanded a regiment during the War of 1812, and among the men of Stephentown who joined it or served elsewhere in that war were Captain Leonard Ross, John Cranston, William B. Douglas, Eleazer Morton, Ichabod Morton, Peleg Kittle, Warren Swan and Samuel Babcock.
Stephentown was not ontdone by any other town in the county when the government called for troops to put down the rebellion of 1861-1865. September 11, 1862, a special town meeting voted a large appropriation for the pay of volunteers, and additional money was raised from time to time as occasion demanded. Of the seventy-seven soldiers who represented the town in the War of the Rebellion, the majority served in the Rensselaer county regiments. Those who died in the service of the United States were :
Ebenezer Kittle, John W. Blake, Abner Williams, Daniel Waters, John Gibson, Charles S. Daniels, Albert E. Hinkley, Charles F. Chapel, William B. Andrews, J. De Witt Coleman, Horace D. Woodward, Amos J. Daboll, George Coutan, Justus Whitman, Jonas Sykes, Peter Berry, George Dimond, Zopher Wheeler and Elizur G. Chase.
Every village or hamlet in the town of Stephentown bears its name. The principal village is Stephentown, which is located southeast of the centre of the town on Kinderhook creek and the Lebanon Springs rail- road. The post-office here was established in 1804 and is the oldest in the town. The first postmaster was Nathan Howard.
1 Sometimes also spelled Mottil and Mollill,
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The residents of Stephentown village, as well as those of the entire town, are engaged chiefly in farming. About 1826 seven manufactur- ing establishments existed in the village, but depression in business caused a suspension of operations. "The flood which visited this section in August, 1890, did but little damage as compared with that of the adjacent towns. Roads were torn ont and some farm land damaged. The educational department of the town consists of a district school, which is not graded, and has an attendance of about sixty-five during the year. The meetings of the town board are held in Mt. Whitney school house.
Mount Whitney lodge, I. O. O. F., of Stephentown was instituted September 20, 1892. The first officers were: N. G., A. Currier; V. G., A. B. Clifford; secretary, E. G. Eldridge; treasurer, C. A. Chaloner.
Stephentown Centre, formerly sometimes called Mechanieville, is a small hamlet located in the centre of the town. In 1876 a post-office was established at that point with Ezra Chase as postmaster. The principal industry of the hamlet is farming, though there are several small manufacturing industries employing a small portion of the pop- ulation.
North Stephentown, in the northeastern part of the town, is a little hamlet. The post-office there was established in 1823, with Lawrence Van Valkenburgh as the first postmaster.
Stephentown Flats, on Kinderhook creek, about a mile southwest of Stephentown village, onee sustained several small mills and factories, but these for the most part were abandoned many years ago. When the place was first settled it was believed that its location would insure its prosperity, but after a few years its population began to decrease.
West Stephentown, in the northwest corner of the town, is also a small settlement. It has a post-office, established many years ago. To-day it is principally a farming community.
South Stephentown is a small settlement in the southern part of the town which formerly supported several industries, In recent years it has ceased to be a place of much importance.
The oldest church in Stephentown appears to be the Free Baptist church, which was organized September 13, 1783, as the " Free or Open Communion Baptist Church of Stephentown," by Elder Cran- dall and others. For nearly half a century the society had no regular place of worship, meeting at various places, generally at Black River district school house In 1828, at a cost of $800, the house of worship
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known for many years as the old Black River meeting house was con- structed. About 1858 this was removed to its more convenient loca- tion, enlarged and remodeled. It was not until 1875 that the society was incorporated by law. The first regular pastor of whom there is any record was Elder Benajah Corpe, who served from 1785 to 1797.
The Presbyterian church at Stephentown Flats was in existence in 1793, and perhaps before that year. The elders in that year were William Boardman and Jacob Wylic. The first regular pastor was the Rev. Aaron Jordan Boage, who served from 1800 to 1809, though the pulpit had been supplied since 1794, the first stated supply being John Warford. The first house of worship was erected in 1794 and stood on "Presbyterian hill," so named from the church. In 1836 it was taken down and a new church built. The second building was burned on Christmas day, 1868, and a new one erected at once.
A second Free Communion Baptist church was organized March 20, 1793, ten years after the first of that denomination, at " Little Hoosick hollow," in the eastern part of the town. The only pastor the church ever had was an uneducated man named Nicholas Northrup, who was ordained as the "watchman " of the little flock. Soon after his death, which occurred about 1830, the church became extinct.
Another old Baptist church once existed in the northern part of the town, the log meeting house being located on the line between Stephen- town and Berlin. The Rev. Joseph Barnes was its pastor.1 Soon after the close of the War of the Revolution the society became extinet, its members joining a Berlin church.
A Christian church, which had a house of worship near Stephen- town, was organized about 1810 by Elder John Spoor. After an exist- ence of about twenty years the meetings were abandoned and the society ceased to exist.
The earliest record of the First Baptist church of Stephentown bears date of March 25, 1795, which is believed to have been the date of or- ganization. The first pastor of the church was Elder Robert Niles. The first meeting house was built soon after the society was founded. The society was incorporated November 24, 1825, as the First Baptist Church and Society of Stephentown.
The Free-Will Baptist church at West Stephentown began its ex- istence November 11, 1829, with the Rev. A. HI. Miller as pastor. The
I See history of the Baptist church of Berlin prepared from data furnished by Mr. William J. Sheldon.
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meeting-house was erected at once, on the hill near the burying ground, and nearly forty years later was remodeled and enlarged.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Stephentown began its existence as a mission in charge of the Troy conference in April, 1868, with George Hudson, a local preacher, as the first supply. Work was be- gun the following year on the first house of worship, which was ded- icated April 4, 1871. The first regular pastor was the Rev. E. A. Braman, who assumed charge soon after the opening of the church.
SUPERVISORS OF STEPHENTOWN.
1784-85, Caleb Bentley ; 1786-90, John W. Schermerhorn ; 1790, Jonas Odell; 1991- 94, John Wylie; 1795-97, Samuel Vary; 1798-1805, Henry Platt; 1806-09, Hosea Moffitt; 1810, Henry Platt; 1811-16, Rowland Hall; 1817, John Babcock; 1818, William Douglass; 1819-21, James Jones; 1822-23, Ilenry Platt; 1821, Simon Crans ton; 1825-26, Henry Platt; 1827, James Jones; 1828-30, C. Moffitt; 1831-33, R. A. Brower; 1834-35, Rufus Rose; 1836-39, E. G. Green ; 1840-13, II. W. Brown; 1844, E. G. Green; 1815-46, S. V. R. Jones; 1817, G. W. Glass; 1818-19, J. L. Sheldon ; 1850-52, Rufus Rose; 1853-54, R. A. Brown; 1855, T. G. Platt; 1856-57, E Adams: 1858, R. Rose; 1859-60, S. Carpenter; 1861.63, T. G. Carpenter; 1864-67, Lewis Brown; 1868-69, Ezra Chase; 1870-71, S. E. Brown; 1872, Rufus Sweet; 1873, Wm. A. Gile; 1874, Rufus Sweet; 1875, Gideon S. Ilall; 1876-77, Rufus Sweet; 1878, Gideon S. Hall; 1879-1881, Rufus Sweet; 1882-1883, W. A. Gile; 1884-1885, John D. Kittle; 1886-1888, Rufus Sweet; 1889-1891, E. G. Eldridge; 1892-1893, W. C. Wood- ward; 1891- - , Henry Snell.
TOWN CLERKS OF STEPHENTOWN.
1781, Jonathan Niles; 1990, Hezekiah Hall; 1791, Hosea Moffitt; 1792, Henry Platt ; 1795, lehabod Cone, Jonathan Niles; 1796, Henry Platt; 1797, Hosea Moffitt; 1998, William Douglas, jr. ; 1815, Eber Motlitt; 1817, Aria Pardee; 1823, Ira Gardner; 1529. Randall A. Brown; 1531, Elijah Graves, 1834, Hosea W. Brown ; 1810, Caleb Chapman, 1813, Henry Platt; 1811, Alexander Gardner; 1818, Theodore D. Platt; 1849, Eber M. Rollo; 1850, Joseph R. Reynolds; 1851, Thomas G. Carpenter; 1852, Edwin Adams: 1853, Philander Woodward; 1856, Ezra B. Chase; 1860, Lewis Brown; 1863, Orra G. Strait; 1861, Charles II. Vary; 1869, Walter B. Goold; 1890, Andrew J. Brown; 1822, E. A. Cranston; 1873, W. B. Goold; 1874, W. H. Brimmer; 1825, Edwin E. Dotty; 1876. William II. Brimmer; 1877 -1883, Andrew J. Brown; 1884-1885, George T. Chittenden; 1886-1887, John Reynolds; 1888, E. G. Eldridge; 1889-1891, William C. Woodward; 1892-1893, John R. Palmer; 1891-1895, Fred G. Gardner; 1896- -- , John R. Palmer.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE OF STEPHENTOWN.
1826, John Babeock, Silas Thomas, Caleb Carr ; 1830, Meshach Strait, Nathan How- ard; 1832, Rufus Sweet; 1833, Amos James; 1834, John L. Sheldon; 1836, Philander
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Woodward; 1837, Amos James; 1838, Jobn L. Sheldon; 1839, Meshach Strait; 1840, Philander Howard; 1841, Daniel II. Gardner; 1842, John L. Sheldon; 1843, Joseph Tayer; 1841, William J. Potter; 1845, William J. Potter, James M. Glass; 1846, Zeb- ulon Simmons, Lyman Kingman; 1847, Joseph Tayer; 1818, William Hand, Me- shach Strait, Joseph M. Young: 1819, Ira Tifft; 1850, Henry Reynolds, Ezekiel Huntington; 1851, George W. Glass; 1852, Alanson N. Green, William Hand, Silas V. Thomas; 1853, Ira Tifft, Calvin M Jones; 1851, John L. Sheldon. Edmond Bailey : 1855, Meshach Strait, Silas V. Thomas; 1856, William Hand: 1857, Isaac Dunham; 1858, John L. Sheldon, Ira Tifft: 1859, Tabor B. Roberts; 1860, Theodore D). Platt; 1861, Halbert II. Jones, Allen Kittel: 1862, Spencer C. Brown; 1863, Tabor B. Rob- erts; 1864, Allen Kittel; 1865, Halbert II. Jones; 1866, Egbert Jolls; 1867, Rensse- laer Delevan; 1868, Allen Kittel, Joseph C. Huntington; 1869, Henry T. Douglas; 1820, Thomas M. Greenman, James M. Glass; 1871, George A. Tayer; 1872, Ira Tifft; 1873, John D Kittel; 1874, George W. Jones, W. T. Bradway: 1875, John D. Kittel; 1876, George A. Tayer; 1877, Jonathan J. Carpenter; 1878, D. H. Newton; 1879, William II. Eldridge; 1880, T. A. Platt; 1881, Jay Segar; 1882, D. II. New- ton; 1883, Charles Shumway; 1881, long term, T. A. Platt, short term, F. A. Green ; 1885, Jay Segar; 1886, D. II. Newton; 1887, A. M. Fredenburgh; 1888, E. G. El- dridge; 1859, long term, William 11. Brimmer, short term, George A. Taylor; 1890, William II. Bailey; 1891, long term, W. W. Sweet, short term, W. II. Bailey; 1892, George A. Taylor ; 1893, long term, F. A. Green, short term, George Shillinger; 1894, D. II. Newton ; 1895, Albert Provost; 1896. Elbert Bateman.
CHAPTER XXVI.
TOWN OF PETERSBURGH.
The town of Petersburgh is composed of territory originally included in Rensselaerwyck. Stephentown was formed in 1984, and as that town embraced the territory now the town of Petersburgh, the inhab- itants of the latter town were under the dominion of the authorities of Stephentown. As the town was too large to be conveniently governed, a new town, named Petersburgh, was ereeted March 18, 1791. It was subsequently considerably reduced in size. In 1793 its boundary on the line of Berlin was changed; in 1806 other portions were cut off to enter into the new towns of Lansingburgh and Berlin, and in 1807 still more territory was cut off to form parts of the towns of Nassan and Grafton. Tradition says that Petersburgh was named in honor of Peter Simmons. No record of the matter is extant.
The aet ereeting the town of Petersburgh is contained in a general
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law passed by the Legislature March 18, 1791, which provided for the division of several towns in various parts of the State. The clause re- lating specifically to Petersburgh is the first in the act, and reads as follows:
Be it enacted . . That from and after the first Monday in April next, all that part of the town of Stephen Town, in the county of Rensselaer, which lies north of a line to be drawn east and west from the south bounds of Peter Scamons farm, until it intersects the east and west bounds of the said town of Stephen Town, shall be, and is hereby erected into a distinct and separate town by the name of Petersburgh, and that the first town meeting of the inhabitants of Petersburgh, shall be held at the house of Hezekiah Coone in the said town; and that the next town meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Stephen Town, shall be held at the dwelling house now occupied by Joshua Gardner in said town.
Chapter 10, Laws of 1793, passed January 4, 1793, contains the fol- lowing clause :
That allthat part of Stephen Town to the north of the following boundary, to wit, beginning on the line that divides the aforesaid town, at the cast line of Abel Lewis's farm, and to extend thence along the summit of a certain mountain, in the north part of Stephen Town, and the ranges of that summit continued easterly to the east boundary of this State, shall be, and hereby is annexed to, and shall here- after be considered part of the town of Petersburgh.
By the general law dividing all the counties of the State into towns, passed April 7, 1801, the bounds of the town of Petersburgh were de- scribed as follows:
Southerly by Stephen town, easterly by the east bounds of this State, northerly by the north bounds of the manor of Rensselaerwyck, and westerly by a line be- ginning in the same north bounds at a place nine miles distant from Hudson's river, and continued from thence southerly to the northwest corner of Stephen town.
The revised statutes of the State of New York describes the town as follows:
The town of Petersburgh shall contain all that part of the said county | Rensselaer | bounded southerly by Berlin, easterly by the east bounds of the county, northerly by the north bounds of the manor of Rensselaerwyck, and westerly by Grafton.
The town is one of the most mountainous in Rensselaer county, its surface consisting of two mountain ranges, one on either side of the Little Hoosick river. There are several peaks in the town at elevations of from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. The scenery in all parts of the town is most delightful.
'The earliest settlement was made in the northern part of the town near the junction of the Little Hoosick with the Hoosick river, and was known
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as Hoosick or Hoosac. The year 1754 saw a few settlements at this point, and though there is no proof of the fact it is extremely possible that some farmers located there even before that date. In 1767 a score or more of houses dotted this locality. Among those occupying farms there at this time were Peter Backus, Hans Backus, John Ruyter, Henry Letcher, Ilans Lantman, Barent Iloag, John G. Brim- mer, Jacob Best, Petrus Vosburg, Bastian Deil, Juriah Kreiger, Franz Burns, Henry Young, Schole Martes Watson and Peter Simmons. A few years later the families of John Church and Nathaniel Church ; William W. Reynolds, who came from Rhode Island; Ichabod Prosser, from Vermont; Joshua Thomas and Benjamin Randall, the Dayfoot brothers, Abraham and Augustus Lewis, Simeon Odell, Oliver Spencer, Stephen Card, Sylvanus Stephens, Stanton Bailey, Gideon Clark, Sterry Hewitt, Asa Maxon, David Maxon, Joseph Allen, William Hiseox, James Weaver and Thomas Phillips settled there, all before the close of the eighteenth century. Other early settlers were Heze- kiah Coon, Benjamin Hanks, John Nichols, Aaron Cole, Ichabod Irish, David Hustis, William Clark, Archibald Thomas George Gard- ner, Laban Jones, Stephen Potter, John G. Croy and Lyman Maine.
The first town meeting was held April 5, 1491, at the residence of Hezekiah Coon. The officers then elected were :
Moderator, Hezekiah Coon; supervisor, Jonas Odell; town clerk, John Greene; as- sessors, Benjamin Hanks, Randall Spencer and John Nichols; commissioners Abel Russel, Luke Greene and Matthew Randall; poormasters, David Randall and Heze- kiah Coon.
It is believed that the first tavern in the town was maintained at North Petersburgh by Cornelius Letcher. Soon afterward another was built by Hezekiah Coon on the property known in later years as the Adelbert Moses place. A short distance worth of Coon's inn an- other was kept by John Woodburn.
Probably the earliest physician in Petersburgh was Dr. Maxon, who located in town about the year 1794 or 1795. Five or six years later Dr. Ebenezer Robinson began to practice. He subsequently kept a store at Berlin. Dr. Hiram Moses came to Petersburgh in the fall of 1825 and entered upon a practice which extended over several towns in Rensselaer county and in Vermont and Massachusetts. Dr. Hull was also an early practitioner. Among the early lawyers were Michael W. Van Avery, James Van Avery and Joseph D. White.
During the last and greatest French and Indian War the inhabitants
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of Petersburgh were called upon on several occasions to take precau tions against an attack by the Indians. The following incident is re- lated in connection with this period : 1
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