USA > New York > Saratoga County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York > Part 9
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While the party were journeying they agreed that if either of them obtained any- thing to eat, he should be permitted to enjoy or distribute it as he chose. In the forest, to which the trapper had not been a stranger, one of the number found a steel trap, in which an otter had been caught, and suffered to remain. It was mostly in a state of decomposition. The leg in the trap was whole, however, and a sight of that, Col. Gordon afterwards assured his friends, looked more inviting to him than the most savory dish he had ever beheld; but pinching hunger did not compel a vio- lation of their agreement-his mouth watered in vain, and the finder ate his dainty morsel undisturbed. When the fugitives arrived at the house, and asked for bread, the woman told them she had not seen a morsel in three years. After crossing the St. Lawrence, two Indians accompanied them as guides, but under some pretext
A
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CAREER OF JOE BETTYS.
left, and finally abandoned them. The party, after suffering almost incredible hard- ships, all reached their homes in Ballston to the great joy of the friends.
After the exciting scenes attending the invasion of October, 1780, the inhabitants of the county were left in comparative peace, though always more or less on guard, until late in the spring of 1781. At that time several of them suffered by reason of the raid made, under the leadership of Joseph Bettys, by about thirty refugees. Bettys was the son of respectable parents residing in the southern part of the Ballston district. For several years prior to and during the Revolution his father, Joseph Bettys, kept a tavern below the farm now owned and occupied by Captain Guy Ellis Baker.' For years the name of " Joe Bettys " was a source of terror to the inhabitants of the southern part of the county.
Joe Bettys was a young man of unusual intelligence, brave and ath- letic. Knowing him to be possessed of these traits, Colonel John Ball, a son of Rev. Eliphalet Ball, who then was a lieutenant in the regiment commanded by Col. Wynkoop, enlisted the daring young fellow as a sergeant in his company. Unfortunately, however, Bettys was soon reduced to the ranks because of having been insolent to an officer who, he claimed, offered him insult. Fearful that he might cause trouble, Lieutenant Ball procured for him a sergeantcy in the Lake Champlain fleet commanded by General Arnold. This was in 1776. In the fight which occurred the next year between the British and American fleets on Lake Champlain he distinguished himself, and had his services then rendered been properly recognized by the government, he probably never would have turned traitor. After fighting desperately until every commissioned officer on board his vessel was killed or wounded, he assumed command himself, and continued to fight with such courage and recklessness that General Waterbury, who was second in command under Arnold, was obliged to order Bettys and the remainder of his crew on board his own vessel, that in the command of Bettys being about to sink. Soon afterward, the American fleet having become almost annihilated, it was surrendered, the prisoners afterward being paroled. General Waterbury subsequently said that he never saw a man behave with such bravery and absolute recklessness as did Bettys during this fight, and that his great courage was no greater than the shrewdness of his management.
J This farm is commonly known as the Delavan farm. It lies on the west side of the Middle Line road, south of Ballston Centre.
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Unfortunately the American government did not show its appreci- ation of Bettys's valorous conduct by the promotion which he coveted, and his proud spirit and uncontrollable temper led him to forsake the patriot cause. Going to Canada he offered his services to the Loyal- ists, received a commission as ensign in the British army and at once set out upon his self-imposed career as a spy upon the movements of his former neighbors and friends. In May, 1781, at the head of about thirty refugees, he made his famous raid into the Ballston district and captured Consider Chard, Uri Tracy, Ephraim Tracy, Samuel Nash and Samuel Patchin. At the same time Epenetus White, Cap- tain Rumsey, Henry Banta, Christian Banta and several others were captured on the east side of Long lake by a Tory subaltern named Waltermeyer. All were carried in captivity to Canada except Samuel Nash, who contrived to escape near Lake Desolation.
When Col. James Gordon was removed to the Isle of Orleans a year later, he found here several other Ballston prisoners, among whom were Epenetus White, John Higby, Enoch Wood, the two Banta brothers, Uri and Ephraim Tracy, Edward A. Watrous, John Davis and three or four others. They finally escaped, in 1783, as has been described, and returned to Ballston after indescribable sufferings.
Meantime, soon after his first vindictive attacks upon his old friends at the Ballston settlement, Joe Bettys was captured in the Hudson val- ley, tried by court martial and sentenced to be hung as a spy at West Point. Washington was induced to pardon him, by the entreaties of Bettys's aged parents and several influential Whigs, and the young dare- devil was allowed to depart with a severe admonition. But his too confiding friends soon had reason to repent having asked for executive clemency, for Bettys was as bitter towards them as ever-even more so. After his narrow escape from the gallows he defiantly set at work recruiting soldiers for the British army right in the heart of the scenes . of his early depredations, planned and personally headed several raids from the north, and on every possible occasion continued to act as a spy for the king. Attempt after attempt to capture him was made, but he succeeded in eluding his pursuers, even when they felt sure they had him surrounded within a short distance of his old home.
His capture was not effected until early in March, 1782, when he was discovered about a mile west of the present site of Jonesville near the home of one Fillmore, a lieutenant in the militia, who was making maple sugar in the woods near by. Fillmore and two of his neighbors,
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CAREER OF JOE BETTYS.
Perkins and Carey, captured the notorious spy and renegade while he was eating his breakfast in the house of a widow named Hawkins. His rifle lay beside him, but before he could defend himself he was securely tied. Expressing a desire to smoke, his captors partially unbound him, when he went to the fireplace and, taking a small packet from his to- bacco box, threw it upon the live coals. Discovering this act Carey pulled the packet from the fire. Examination showed it to be a small, flat metallic box containing a paper which proved to be a cipher dis- patch to the commander of the British forces in New York. The box also contained an order on the mayor of New York for £30 sterling, to be paid Bettys upon the safe delivery of the dispatch. The prisoner begged his custodians to allow him to burn these papers, offering them one hundred guineas if they would allow him to do so, but they refused. He then exclaimed in despair: "Then I am a dead man! "
Bettys was at once taken to Albany and turned over to the military authorities as a prisoner of war. There he was tried by a court mar- tial, convicted of being a spy and hanged. With his capture and death the inhabitants of Saratoga county ceased to suffer from the depreda- tions of bands of invaders, and peace reigned ever afterward within the borders of the county.1
An account of this notorious renegade and spy is contained in Jeptha R. Simms's "History of Schoharie County, and Border Wars of New York," published in 1845. It contains some inaccuracies, principally as to dates, which have been remedied by subsequent research on the part of descendants of the Gordon and Scott families, but as a whole it is a fairly reliable story of the doings of this terror of Revolutionary days. Simms says :
In the fall of 1780, a small party of the enemy, a dozen or more in number, entered the Ballston settlement, under the direction of Joseph Bettys, a subaltern officer in the British service, known in the border difficulties by the familiar name of Jo. Bettys. He resided in the Ballston settlement previous to the war, and when the contest be- gan, took up arms for the States, but afterwards entered the British service, proving to his former neighbors a source of frequent terror.
Major Andrew Mitchell, of Ballston, having visited Schenectada on business, there learned, possibly through the Oneida runners, that a small detachment, mostly tories, had left Canada, the destination of which was unknown. In the afternoon, Mitchell set out for home on horseback, accompanied by one Armstrong, a neighbor. After proceeding several miles, and arriving on the north side of Allplass creek, the thought
I This account is taken largely from the centennial address of Judge George Gordon Scott delivered at Ballston Spa, July 4, 1876.
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occurred to him, that possibly he might not be free from danger, as a liberal reward was paid for the persons or scalps of officers. He was riding through the woods at the time, and scarcely had the thought visited his mind, which caused him to quicken the speed of his horse, when he was hailed in a commanding voice to stop, by a man who sprang upon a fallen tree near the road. The Major put spurs to his gallant steed and was soon out of sight of the highwayman, who fired at him as he passed. Armstrong could not keep up with his companion, but as his person was not sought for, he escaped unmolested.
Before the Revolution, Jo. Bettys and Jonathan Miller, another celebrated tory, dwelt, one on each side of Maj. Mitchell. After the transaction occurred which is noticed above, it was satisfactorily ascertained that the man who fired on the major, was his old neighbor Miller; who had accompanied Bettys in his expedition, and then had at his beck some half a dozen genial spirits. The ground being sandy, the horse's hoofs made but little noise, and the militia officer was not observed until opposite the party, secreted on both sides of the road expressly to capture him.
An enterprise of Bettys in the Ballston settlement, within a few days of the affair related, proved more successful. He surprised and captured Aaron Banta, and his sons, Henry and Christian, Ensign Epenetus White, and some half a dozen others. The elder Banta was left on parole, and the rest of the prisoners, who were among the best citizens in the vicinity, hurried off to Canada.
Mr. Simms also gives the following account of the occurrences im- mediately succeeding the capture of Bettys:
When the arrest of Bettys became known in the Ballston settlement, Maj. Mitchell enjoined secrecy in the affair, rightly conjecturing that he had not traversed the northern forests of New York alone. A Mrs. Camp or Van Camp, a widow living in the neighborhood, had a son in the British service, who it was thought, might possibly have accompanied Bettys. The arrest of the latter having been kept close during the day, Kenathy Gordon, a sergeant, was entrusted by Maj. Mitchell with the search to be made the same night. Attended by John Sweatman and several other fearless neighbors, properly armed, young Gordon gained access to the house of Mrs. Camp after bed time, and enquired for her son. She declared her ignorance of his whereabouts, pretended to be highly incensed at having armed men enter her dwelling and disturb the family at midnight, and still more on being suspected of harboring an enemy.
This woman talked very patriotic, but the warmth she manifested satisfied the sergeant, who was a resolute fellow, that her son was in the house; and he went to the fireplace, seized a blazing brand and started up stairs. Young Camp and Jona- than Miller had accompanied Bettys to the neighborhood, and were then in an upper room. Hearing the noise below they sprang out of bed, seized their guns and leveled them. At the click of their locks, Gordon jumped down stairs, and swore if they did not descend and surrender themselves prisoners in less than five minutes, he would smoke them out. Believing he would execute his threat and burn the house, they concealed some money under a rafter, and then came down and submit- ted to Gordon's authority, who conducted them to the dwelling of Maj. Mitchell, where they were secured until morning. The prisoners had not the least suspicion
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CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION.
that Bettys had been arrested, until after they were. On his way to the major's dwelling, Miller was heard to say he would rather be shot than to enter it. Obadiah Miller, a brother living in the vicinity, was sent for in the morning, and unexpect- edly ushered into the presence of his tory kinsman, whose visit to the neighborhood was unknown to him. His surprise was evidently irksome, and he trembled like a leaf. It leaked out in the sequel, that the two Millers were together in the woods when the attempt was made the fall before to capture the major, which he possibly suspected. The two prisoners were taken to Albany, from whence they were liber- ated, or effected an escape.
CHAPTER VII.
Condition of the Pioneers at the Close of the Revolutionary War-Many Homes Devastated, and Many Families Bereft of Their Means of Support-Slow Progress of Civilization in the County During the War-Development of the Various Com- munities from the War Period to the Close of the Eighteenth Century-The March of Civilization Northward Along the Valley of the Hudson-Some of the Early In- habitants of the Various Towns, and Their Share in the Development and Pros- perity of the County.
With the peace of 1783 and the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States of America came a feeling of absolute security to the inhabitants of Saratoga county, in common with the rest of the country. But even before the close of the war of the Revolution com- parative peace reigned within the borders of the county, excepting an occasional slight menace from the Indians.
The inhabitants of the county were in a sad condition at the close of the war, however. Hundreds of them had been massacred or taken prisoners by the British or their Indian allies, scores of the best farm houses had been pillaged and destroyed by the torch, the ripening crops seldom had been allowed to come to full maturity and evidences of great poverty were noticeable everywhere. Many families had been bereft of those members upon whom they depended for support-the fathers and older sons; and those who were not in mourning were suf- fering by reason of the absence of the greatly needed ones on distant fields of battle or as prisoners of war. Few, if any, settlements had been made in the county; but with the cessation of hostilities the fathers and sons whose lives had been preserved returned to their homes, and strangers soon followed them to seek homes in a region of
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
country which was becoming famed for its fine farming lands, its salu- brious climate, its healthful mineral springs, and finally, its nearness to markets for their produce and the headwaters of navigation on the Hudson.
We have traced, as far as the existing records enable us to do so, the settlement of the county prior to the beginning of the Revolutionary war. It will now be our endeavor to note the progress of civilization in the county during and from the close of the great conflict up to the close of the eighteenth century. It is manifestly impossible to give the the names of all the settlers during that period of seventeen years, but the development of the various communities in the county will be fol- lowed as closely as practicable for a book of record of this character.
WATERFORD.
Perhaps in no other section of the county was the increase of popula- tion and the general industrial development more marked than in the town of Waterford. The site of the village, occupying the southeast- ern quarter of the town, was purchased in 1784 by Col. Jacobus Van Schoonhoven, -- Middlebrook, Judge White, Ezra Hickok and several others, principally persons who had migrated there from Connecticut. Then began the modern settlement of the community, which had almost stood still for a century by reason of the selfish stand taken by the earliest Dutch property owners. Immediately after the purchase of this property by the persons named above, the survey of the new village was made and trade with the settlers in the county near by be- gan to increase at a gratifying rate. By reason of its geographical sit- uation, and the broad mindedness and enterprise of its founders, the new village seemed destined to become one of considerable commercial importance. Its fame began to spread and merchants, produce buy - ers and other classes of business men began to locate in the place.
1
Among the early merchants of Waterford was the firm of Moses and Ira Scott, merchants and dealers in grain, who subsequently added a tavern to their establishment. They were in business as early as 1786, possibly a little before that time. Their place of business was near the extreme southeastern part of the town. Almost two miles above, on the banks of the Hudson about a mile above the Waterford junction of the two branches of the Delaware & Hudson railroad, Anthony Levar- sie, or Levisie, kept an inn as early as 1788. The old ferry, estab- lished more than a century earlier, was located a few rods above his
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WATERFORD, 1783-1800.
place, and its presence doubtless was a potent factor in inducing him to locate where he did. At this point in those days there was consider- able traffic between the inhabitants on the east and on the west side of the Hudson. The site was selected, many years afterward, as the place where the old Albany, Vermont & Northern Railway should cross the river. About the same time the tavern of one of the Vandenburghs stood two miles further up the river, on the road to Stillwater. Hez. ekiah Ketchum had a grain and produce store in the town in the same year, 1788, and Jacobus Ostrander kept an inn at the same time. Both may have been located there earlier than 1788, but the records do not give any information on the point.
Professional men were not wanting, either, in this early day. In the year of which we are writing Daniel Van Alstyne practiced law in Waterford, and in the same year served as pathmaster. James Dugan kept a school and at the same time served the town as constable and collector.
Richard Davis was an early merchant. The date of his settlement is unknown. Aurie Banta was a carpenter, and constructed many of the early residences in Waterford village. Aaron Comstock was a farmer two miles north of the village as early as 1787. William Waldron re- sided on the river road north of the village. His descendants became prominent in the town, a great-grandson having held the office of sur. rogate for twenty one years. John Clark came here before 1790. Isaac Keeler was a merchant on Second street about 1790. About 1794 John Pettit had a cabinet shop and Duncan Oliphant a tannery. Samuel J. Hazard had a store before 1796, in the village. During the last decade of the century John Van Dekar, James Scott and Benjamin Mix kept taverns in town. That of Mr. Mix was located on Quality Hill, between Waterford and Middletown.
In 1795 the first bridge across the Mohawk was erected a short dis- tance above Waterford. It was nine hundred feet long, twenty four feet wide and fifteen feet above the bed of the river and rested on thir- teen stone piers. Its cost was about $12,000, and it was considered a great achievement for that day. It formed the connecting link between the two divisions north and south of the Mohawk of the great highway running from Albany on the south to Ballston, Stillwater and Saratoga on the north.
We have no account of the eighteenth century schools of Waterford, though it is certain that at least one schoolmaster-James Dugan-
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lived there as early as and unquestionably prior to 1788. But a relig- ious society-the old Dutch Reformed church, now extinct-existed there during the days of the Revolution. When the society was organ- ized is not known; but before the close of the Revolution, probably in 1782 or 1783, a church edifice stood a mile and a half north of the vil- lage. This was taken down and rebuilt in 1799 at the corner of Middle and Third streets in Waterford village.1 Whether the first edifice re- ferred to was the first in the town cannot be learned. As adherents of the Dutch Reformed faith lived in this vicinity at least a century before the Revolution, it is not improbable that a church existed in the town many years before the erection of the first of which we have definite knowledge.
There is in existence no record of any manufacturing establishments in Waterford before 1800, excepting such as the tannery, the cabinet shop, etc., mentioned.
BALLSTON AND MILTON.
The fame of the mineral springs of Ballston Spa having spread throughout the land, and that place being comparatively easy of access, with a genial climate and more than ordinary hotel accommodations for the time, its development after the country began to resume its normal condition was quite satisfactory. Coincident therewith came the population of the towns of Ballston and Milton, in each of which a part of the village of Ballston Spa is located. In another chapter it has been found convenient to refer somewhat in detail to the settlement of the little community in the vicinity of the public spring-the erec- tion of inns by Benajah Douglas, in 1787, and Micajah Benedict im- mediately thereafter. In 1792 Nicholas Low also built a commodious public house adjoining the lot occupied by Douglas just east of the spring. Mr. Low was born in New Brunswick, N. J., March 30, 1739, and for many years was a leading merchant of New York city. His wife was a widow named Alice Fleming, and she bore him three chil- dren, two sons and a daughter. The latter married Charles King, for many years president of Columbia College. Mr. Low espoused the patriot cause in the Revolutionary war, and contributed largely to its success by gifts of money. He died in New York city December 26, 1826.
1 This church was torn down and the lot on which it stood sold in 1876, the church society having ceased to exist.
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BALLSTON AND MILTON, 1783-1800.
About 1792 Salmon Tryon began to build a house on the hill south of the spring, near the present residence of Mrs. Samuel Smith, on the corner of West High street and Ballston avenue. Later he added a general store at the same location. He was the first merchant of Balls- ton Spa of whom anything definite can be learned. In 1795 Mr. Low sold his house and farm to Joseph Westcot, who was its proprietor until his death. The property of Mr. Douglas ultimately came into the possession of Joseph Westcot and Reuben Hewitt. It consisted of one hundred acres, and the house stood on the site now occupied by the residence of William S. Waterbury. It cost the purchasers $8,000. Mr. Westcot was the grandfather of Joseph E. and the late John H. Westcot, and great-grandfather of Herbert C. Westcot of Ballston Spa. Upon the death of the elder Westcot, his widow married Joshua B. Aldridge, and the homestead, for many years thereafter a boarding- house, was known as the Aldridge house. In the possession of Herbert C. Westcot are several commissions to Reuben Hewitt, as sergeant, sergeant-major, second lieutenant and first lieutenant in the Continental Army, bearing the signatures of such famous men as John Hancock, then president of Congress; Eleazer Fitch and Jonathan Trumbull, governors of Connecticut.
Just before the close of the century, probably about 1798 or 1799, a school was started in Ballston Spa. It was located on the site of the east side of the present cemetery on Ballston avenue. Who the early teachers were is not known. But even before that time religious ser- vice had been held in the village. In the spring of 1791 Ammi Rogers of Bradford, Conn., a lay reader who conducted services under the supervision of Rev. Mr. Ellison of Albany, held regular services alter- nately in St. George's church at Schenectady and in private residences in Ballston Spa. Christ Episcopal church ' already had been organized in 1787, but it was then located at Ballston Centre. The first society
I This is the oldest Protestant Episcopal church in Saratoga county. Those who organized it in 1787 were Thomas Smith, Ezekiel Horton, James Emott, Edmund Jennings, James Mann, Elisha Miller, Salmon Tryon and forty-two others. Ammi Rogers became its first pastor. In 1792 the first church edifice was erected a short distance south of Ballston Centre. The first vestry was composed of Joseph Bettys, Elisha Benedict, wardens; Thaddeus Betts, John Wright, Joshua Bloore, Jabez Davis, Richard Warren and James Emott, vestrymen. Rev. Mr. Rogers was or- dained deacon by Bishop Provost in Trinity church, New York, June 4, 1792, and advanced to the priesthood October 19, 1794. He continued as rector of Christ church until 1807, when he was suc- ceeded in turn by Rev. Mr. Van Horn and Rev. Gamaliel Thacher, who died while rector. By 1810 the growth of population in Ballston Spa had been such that a parish named St. Paul's had been organized there, with Rev. Joseph Perry as rector. Upon Rev. Mr. Thacher's death Mr. Perry began to conduct services in both churches. In 1817 the church at Ballston Centre was
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