USA > New York > Saratoga County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York > Part 6
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1 The locality referred to in this chapter as Half Moon Point is now the town of Waterford.
2 In later years this venerable residence became known as the Dunsbach house, having fallen into the possession of the Dunsbach family.
3 Mr. Deyoe lived to be 103 years of age. His wife attained the age of 105 years.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
came from Tarrytown about 1770 and settled about two miles east of Mechanicville. Timothy Woodin came from Putnam county in 1768 and located about two miles north of Crescent. Benjamin Rosekrans was another early settler. Jacob Wilsey, George Ellsworth, Richard Burtis, William Tripp, Swart, Joseph Reynolds and Ephraim Dunham all lived within the limits of the town prior to 1776. George Ellsworth was a soldier of the Revolution, grandfather of Captain Ephraim D. Ellsworth and great-grandfather of Colonel Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, whose name occupies such a prominent position in the mili- tary history of Saratoga county. George Ellsworth's sons were named William, Charles, James and George. The latter married the daughter of Joseph Reynolds, the pioneer, and settled on the homestead. His son, Ephraim D., married Phoebe Denton and settled in Malta, where Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth was born.
In the spring of 1771 Dirck Schouten, who had been cultivating a small tract of land on the banks of the Hudson a short distance above Waterford, having heard of the mineral spring in the central part of the county (High Rock Spring), and doubtless appreciating the fact that this spot ultimately would be selected as a site for colonization, abandoned his rude home above Half Moon Point and started on his journey through the wilderness to the north. On the bluff a short dis- tance west of the spring he cleared a small tract of land, constructed a rude cabin and began the cultivation of the land. For a time all went well, but soon he began to be annoyed by, or himself annoyed, his In- dian neighbors, in the summer of 1773 he quarreled with them, and they finally drove him from his home. He never returned. He was the first inhabitant of the town of Saratoga Springs, and his only white guest during his two years' residence there was a lad named Will- iam Bousman, son of a Dutch farmer residing near the south end of Sara . toga lake, who had accompanied Schouten for the purpose of helping the latter build his cabin and cultivate his new farm.
In the summer of 1774 John Arnold, a young adventurer from Rhode Island, accompanied by his wife and young children, traveled to the springs, took possession of Schouten's deserted cabin and opened a rude tavern for the accommodation of visitors to the springs, who were be- coming quite numerous in the summer time. He brought with him some spirituous liquors, and other wares which he deemed suitable for the Indian trade, and found the savages good customers. The enemies were friendly, but he found inany dangerous neighbors in the thick
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43
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
colony of rattlesnakes' which infested the hillside. Arnold remained at the springs two summers, returning to the Hudson valley, as did Schouten, in the winter season. He was succeeded in 1776 by Samuel Norton, who remained throughout the entire year, thus becoming the first permanent settler of Saratoga Springs. He died before the close of the war.
Settlements were made in Malta, near Round Lake, several years before the breaking out of the Revolutionary war. Early histories state that the first settlers were two men named Drummond and Mc- Kelpin, "who came before the Revolution and located west of the lake." These men were suspected of being Tories and were driven from the county. This being the case, it may be inferred that the town contained other inhabitants, patriots, to whom the presence of the suspected newcomers was unwelcome. It is possible that John Hunter and Ashbel Andrews and their families were here when Drummond and McKelpin arrived. Hunter came with the Connecticut colony to Stillwater in 1763 or 1764 and built a home near the lake. Robert Hunter, probably a relative, located here about the same time and cultivated a large farm. Michael Dunning, with a family of six sons and three daughters, located about 1772 on land now occupied by the hamlet of Dunning Street, nearly three miles north of Round Lake. He owned a large farm, and employed several hands to help him operate it. William Marvin secured a deed to land in Malta in 1761, but the records do not show the time he removed to the town to occupy his possessions. Samuel Smith came from Norwalk, Conn., and settled near East Line some time before the Revolution. John Rhoades, Jehial Parks and Timothy Shipman also lived here before the war.
Northumberland's earliest pioneers are believed to have been James Brisbin and Hugh Munroe, both of whom came in 1765. The former, a native of Scotland, settled about a mile and a half west of Fort Miller, not far from Bacon Hill. His two sons, Samuel and William, located about the same time in Wilton. Munroe took up his abode at Gansevoort, where he built a residence and a saw mill on Snoek Kill. He was a Tory, and was compelled to flee to Canada at the outbreak of the Revolution. His property was confiscated by the patriots and his mill was destroyed. Mr. Graham settled in the same neighborhood before the war, but the year of his coming is unknown. He erected a
1 These reptiles were so numerous that visitors frequently had to hang their beds from the limbs of the trees to avoid them.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
substantial residence, which was burned by the advance wing of Bur- goyne's army during his invasion of New York in the summer of 1777. John Mahawny (sometimes written Mahoney) removed to the town about 1769 or 1770. Archibald McNeil settled on the site of the village of Northumberland prior to the war. He was a wealthy retired gentleman from Boston and lived in elegant style. The Vanderwerker family also came before the war and lived about two miles above the village of Northumberland. Isaac B. Payne was another colonist who settled before the war nearly opposite the mouth of Moses Kill. Stephen and Nathan Payne lived near him. In 1772 Wynant Vanden- burgh, John Vandenburg and Cornelius Vandenburg, brothers, and Peter Winney, their brother-in-law, bought sixteen hundred acres of land, with a saw mill and grist mill which had been constructed before their arrival. In the fall of that year they occupied their lands with their families. The McCrea family, of which the historic Jane McCrea was a member, settled on the bank of the river, near the Payne farm, about 1772 or 1773.
The earliest inhabitants of Charlton of whom there is any definite record was Joseph Gonzalez, who cleared a farm in the southwestern part of the town in 1770. Other families were located near his home, but their names are not known. He occupied the large farm which came into the possession of Myndert Wemple at the close of the war of the Revolution. Three years later a number of Scotch-Irish families, people of intelligence and education, who had left Great Britain on account of religious oppression, sailed for New York. From that city they sent one of their number, John Cavert, to select a location for the little colony they proposed to found. Cavert explored the southern part of the county and finally selected a location in the northern part of the town, near the Ballston line. He returned to New York, and in the spring of 1774 the little colony-which meantime had located tem . porarily in New Jersey-prepared to occupy the new home he had selected. One of the first to arrive was Thomas Sweetman and his family from Freehold, N. J. He purchased one hundred and forty-five acres, a part of the Kayaderosseras Patent, his deed bearing date of July 2, 1774.1 He was accompanied by his brother-in-law, David Max- well, who remained a short time, then returned to New Jersey, bring- ing his family back to Charlton the following spring. He was accom-
1 This was the first deed recorded in the Saratoga county clerk's office when the county was formed.
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EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
panied by John Cavert, John Taylor, Joseph La Rue, James Valentine, William Chambers, John McKnight and several others, most of whom brought families with them. All laid out large farms and became suc- cessful tillers of the soil. Thomas Brown and William Clarke also located in the town in ante-Revolutionary times.
The first permanent settlement in Galway was made by Scotch im- migrants in the fall of 1774. These men were John McHarg, William Kelly, John Major and James Major. William Kelly and his wife, a thrifty and hard-working couple, built a home about a mile south of Galway village. Their daughter Elizabeth, born November 1, 1774, was the first white child born in the town. The Major brothers located a short distance south of Kelly. James Kelly was killed by a tree he was felling September 11, 1776, and his death was the first in the town. The first colonists were soon followed by others, who included John McClelland, Joseph Newland, John McKindley, Moses McKindley, William McCartney and others. John McClelland reached Galway early in the winter of 1774 and established a home on the first cross roads south of Galway village. In 1780 he started the first store in the town and became a prosperous merchant. These were all the colonists of ante-Revolutionary times in the town of Galway of whom there is a definite record.
As far as can be learned the town of Edinburgh contained no white inhabitants prior to the Revolution. Its location several miles further north, into the wilderness, than the other towns referred to and its comparative inaccessibility account for the lateness of its settlement in a large measure. Sir William Johnson had established a hunting and fishing resort at Fish House, a mile or so west of the bounds of the town, at a picturesque bend in the Sacandaga river, in Fulton county, and several whites had settled there. It is possible one or more fam- ilies may have found homes just over the line in the town of Edinburgh, but whether this is so or not will never be known. Godfrey Shew, a German lieutenant of Johnson's, lived near Fish House, but probably in Fulton county.
Corinth was first settled at Jessup's Landing and near Mount Mc- Gregor, but in all probability not until the first year of or one or two years prior to the beginning of the Revolution. Ambrose Clothier located near the western side of Mount McGregor, in the southeastern part of the town in 1775. A short time later Samuel Eggleston located near the Eggleston homestead. It is not known if any others helped colonize the town before the outbreak of hostilities in 1775.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Clifton Park, being located near the old city of Schenectady, was settled within a few years after the founding of that city. Seven years after Arendt Van Curler and his associates had established a colony at "the great flats of the Mohawk," on March 4, 1669, Jan Verbeck, Philip Peter Schuyler and Peter Van Olinda purchased property form- ing a part of the Niskayuna Patent. October 31, 1677, Claes Janse Van Boeckhoven and Ryck Claes Van Vranken also purchased of Har- man Vedder and Barent Ryndertse Smit land in the same patent lying within the limits of what is now the town of Charlton. Their pioneer homes were located near Vischer's Ferry. Even before this day it is believed that more than one white settlement existed in the town, for the adjoining locality of Half Moon Point, the land across the river in Albany county, and the adjacent territory in Schenectady county, all contained improved farms and substantial dwellings. This belief is strengthened by the knowledge that the soil of Clifton Park was as fertile and easy of cultivation as any in that section. But names and dates cannot be verified and future generations will never know the full story of the earliest development of the town.
The census of Albany county taken in 1723 contains the names of the following residents of Nestigione, or Niskayuna, most if not all of whom lived within the limits of the town: John Quacumbus, John Ffort, Jacob Pearse, Derrick Brat, Maes Rycksen, Evert Rycksen, Gerrit Rycksen, Nicholas Van Vranken, Lapion Canfort, Cornelius Christianse, Eldert Timonze, John Quackenboss, jr., Peter Ouderkirk, Jacob Cluit, John Cluit, Frederick Cluit, Samuel Cruger, Derrick Takelsen, Mattias Boose Snor, and Johannis Christianse. Of these Quacumbus and Quackenboss probably were members of the same family, the progenitors of the Quackenbush family of to-day. The Clutes of Charlton are said to have descended from the Cluits of Nestigione. The name of Rycksen is said to have been another form for the name of Van Vranken.
Andries Van Vranken lived many years before the Revolution at Fort's Ferry. His son, Garrett Van Vranken, was born there in 1760. Fully quarter of a century before the Revolution the families of John Smith, - Davison, --- Thollheimer, Nicholas Vandenburgh, Abram and Jacob Volweider were residents of the southern part of the town. Eldert Vischer was the first of the Vischer family in the town. His brother, Nanning Vischer, also lived here. John Vischer was a justice of the peace in 1770.
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THE REVOLUTION.
The most reliable authorities state that the pioneers of the town of Milton were David Wood and his sons, Stephen, Benjamin, Elijah, Nathan and Enoch, who purchased six hundred acres of land a short distance west and northwest of the site of the village of Ballston Spa, in the vicinity of Milton Hill. They chose the most sightly and most fertile spot in that section of the county, and all prospered. There is no authentic record of any other settlements within the bounds of Milton prior to the Revolution.
There is no record extant of any settlements during the period prior to the Revolution in the towns of Providence, Hadley, Greenfield or Day. Early settlements in these towns are described in the future chapters dealing with the towns of the county.
CHAPTER V.
EDITED BY MRS. ELLEN HARDIN WALWORTH.
Events Leading up to the Famous Campaign of 1777, Made by Gen. John Bur- goyne-His Magnificent Army -- General Schuyler in Command of the Northern Army-His Futile Attempts to Get Reinforcements-Burgoyne Takes Forts Ticon- deroga and Independence-Baum's Expedition against Bennington-Defeated by Gen. John Stark -- British Failure at Fort Stanwix -- Schuyler Superseded by Gates -- The Battles of Saratoga-Death of the Valiant Frazer -- Arnold's Gallant, though Unauthorized, Victory -- Burgoyne's Surrender.
" The American Revolution in its earlier stages, at least, was not a contest between opposing governments or nationalities, but between two different political and economic systems." The King's Preroga- tives, Navigation Laws, Acts of Trade, and Writs of Assistance, were subjects of complaints between Great Britain and her colonies, and were among the causes which led up to the war of the Revolution. Yet the more immediate causes and events were connected with the results of the French and Indian war, which was closed in 1763 by the treaty at Paris, which recognized the extinction of the French empire in America. This war had been the military training school of the col- onists, and not only military discipline, but independent and united action had moulded a new and fervent sentiment in the scattered col- onies. The futile efforts of Franklin and others for a union of the col-
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
onies, which had been attempted in 1704, and again at Albany in 1754, bore fruit in the Stamp Act Congress of 1765, held in New York city. From this date opinions and events rapidly developed and culminated in open hostilities. The plea of Great Britain that she had incurred a debt of one hundred and forty millions in the French and Indian war for the benefit of her colonies was resisted as unjust. The colonists urged that they had furnished a full quota of money and men, that the war had been waged in the interest of commerce and the aggrandize- . ment of the realm; that the colonies were paying far more than their share through a monopoly of their trade by Great Britian. Irritation was augmented by the personal character of the reigning sovereign, King George III. Despotic in his ideas of government, stubborn, and devoid of magnanimous sentiments, or an appreciation of the common rights of humanity ; surrounded by ministers as incompetent as himself, his administration was odious to the people of England and intolerable to the colonists.
The Stamp Act, which had been passed April 6, 1764, was repealed in 1766, amid great rejoicing in the colonies. A few thoughtful pat- riots dwelt on the Declaratory Act of the same Parliament, "that the king, with the advice of Parliament, had full power to make laws bind- ing America in all cases whatsoever;" a repeated enforcement of this principle in time aroused the independent spirit of the colonists to re- sistance. In the autumn of 1766, companies of Royal Artillery arrived in Boston and were quartered on the inhabitants. This was the be- ginning of the end. Boston, in a town meeting, protested against an armed invasion. In 1772 the burning of the Gaspee at Providence, R. I., inflamed the people of that peaceful colony. This event also led to the establishment of the famous "Committee of Correspondence" between the colonies, Virginia leading in this important movement. In 1773 Philadelphia made a public demonstration against the project of the East India Company for transporting their accumulated stock of tea to America, and this demonstration was followed by the Boston "tea party." The Boston Port Bill passed by Great Britain as a punishment was eminently successful; it brought ruin to the commerce of Boston, but it drew the colonists more closely together and resulted in the meeting of the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Sep- tember 5, 1774.
Actual hostilities opened in 1775 with the battle of Lexington. Soon after Fort Ticonderoga, a strong work which had cost England forty
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THE SARATOGA CAMPAIGN.
millions of dollars, was captured by Ethan Allen, and a mere handful of "Green Mountain boys;" then Crown Point came into possession of the patriots, without the loss of a single man. This brilliant opening of resistance to tyranny was succeeded by reverses and discourage- ments. In 1777 Washington's army numbered less than eight thou- sand men, many of them of the militia, and restless to return to their farms. It was upon farmers mainly that Schuyler must depend for reinforcements for the Northern Army, which was to meet the advanc- ing forces of Burgoyne. In the autumn of this year a gloom hung over the villages and farms of New York and New England; depression was followed by dismay as the Indians grew more hostile, and the armies of Great Britain threatened invasion from the north. The militia men had left the army by hundreds and gone to their homes to harvest their crops. Repeated calls for enlistments were disregarded until the burning of Skenesborough (now Whitehall) by Burgoyne lighted up the northern horizon, and the urgent words of Washington addressed to New England aroused the minute men to a sense of the approaching danger. General Schuyler with his small army had been untiring in his efforts to obstruct the passage of the British southward. Trees were felled, bridges destroyed, and the roads made impassable for Burgoyne's artillery and wagon trains. This work, so unselfishly wrought by Schuyler while his enemies were active in their machina- tions for his downfall, was of invaluable service when the colonists were at last aroused to activity. At once, as by a common instinct, they turned from their rural pursuits, grasped the weapon nearest at hand, and hurried to join the little army under Schuyler which still lingered at the mouths of the Mohawk.
Again General Schuyler asked for reinforcements for his insignificant army, but his appeal met no response except from Washington. The commander-in-chief, who had been holding Lord Howe in check in the Jerseys, though greatly in need of more men himself, realized the sit- uation in the north. To Schuyler's assistance he, therefore, dispatched Morgan's corps of five hundred picked men, and also sent Arnold to help repel the approaching invaders. Colonel Lincoln, who was then in New England, was ordered to repair with his forces to Schuyler's command, and directed to attempt a flank movement upon Burgoyne toward the east. Washington also urged the commanders of militia in Connecticut and western Massachusetts to proceed with a large part of their commands to any point designed by General Schuyler.
4
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
In the latter part of June Burgoyne and his magnificent army reached Crown Point. There, on the 30th of the month, he issued his famous order containing these words: "This army must not retreat." July 1 his command moved forward in battle array. One American position after another fell into his hands. On the night of July 5, St. Clair, finding that General Philips of the Royal Artillery had scaled the heights of Prospect Mountain, which commanded the fort, evacuated Forts Ticonderoga and Independence. On the seventh the fugitive Americans retreated from Hubbardtown, Vermont, after a sharp en- gagement. Retreat followed retreat in rapid succession, until Fort Edward was reached. The following day the British captured a large quantity of baggage, stores, and provisions at Whitehall.
Up to this time General Schuyler had remained in Albany awaiting the arrival of the expected and promised reinforcements from the south. As they had not arrived by the seventh, he started north with the small force he had collected, about one thousand five hundred men, leaving orders for the anticipated reinforcements to follow. Reaching Still- water he learned that Forts Ticonderoga and Independence had been abandoned. Hurrying on to Fort Edward he was met a week later, by St. Clair, with his command, which had suffered much in its long march.
Burgoyne remained at Skenesborough, the guest of Colonel Skene, a noted Royalist. General Schuyler, still using every possible effort to obstruct the progress of the enemy, fell back from Fort Edward to Fort Miller, again placing obstructions in the road he knew Burgoyne would follow, and finally retreated to Stillwater. Here he retained his headquarters, though prudently directing his little army to go into camp near the mouths of the Mohawk.
Burgoyne advanced southward very slowly, being compelled to cut new roads for his heavy artillery. It was not until July 13 that he arrived at Fort Edward, in the vicinity of which he remained until September 10. His difficulties and perplexities constantly increased. He had expected sympathy and assistance from the inhabitants, whom Colonel Skene had assured him were loyal, but he found them cold. Many homes were deserted. Provisions were difficult to obtain. He could not control his Indian allies, and soon his own humane and hon- orable sentiments were shocked and disgusted by the hideous murder of young Jeannie McCrea by a party of savages. This crime intensified the hostile feeling of the colonists, and Burgoyne would have rid him-
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MURDER OF JEANNIE McCREA.
self of the savages but for the imperative commands of his govern- ment. He had the manliness to impose great restrictions upon their movements; but this aroused their resentment, and they deserted by hundreds.
MURDER OF JEANNIE . McCREA.
The murder of Jeannie McCrea was one one of the most fiendish and totally uncalled for atrocities ever committed by the Indians, About the year 1768, two Scotch families, named McCrea and Jones respect- ively, removed from New Jersey and built pioneer homes in the woods on the west bank of the Hudson near and below Fort Edward. The Jones family, consisting of the mother (a widow) and six sons: Jona- than, John, Dunham, Daniel, David and Solomon, located about a mile and a half below Fort Edward, and the McCreas settled three or four miles farther down the river. Both homes were in the town of Moreau. Jeannie McCrea was the daughter of a Scotch Presbyterian minister. Her mother having died, her father married again, and she came to reside with her brother, John McCrea, on the banks of the Hudson. The latter, and his brother, Daniel McCrea, were staunch patriots. The Jones family, on the other hand, were Torries. In 1773 Daniel McCrea was the first clerk of the first court held in Charlotte county, by Judge Duer, at Fort Edward. In 1775 John McCrea be- came colonel of the Saratoga regiment of the Albany county militia organized by the committee of safety. The treachery of the Jones family is illustrated by the fact that in the fall of 1776 Jonathan and David Jones raised a company of fifty men under the pretext of rein- forcing the patriot garrison at Ticonderoga, but by a trick they suc- ceeded in compelling the company to join the British at Crown Point. The following winter both went to Canada and received commissions in the British army-Jonathan becoming captain and David a lieuten- ant in the same company; and when Burgoyne invaded New York these men acted as guides in the attack against their own countrymen.
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