USA > New York > Greene County > Catskill > Reminiscences of Catskill : local sketches > Part 3
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But let us look about at those who were congregated to listen to the address, upon the occasion alluded to. The eye of memory rests, first, upon the whitened locks of good old JAMES COLE. He was among the earlier settlers of Catskill, and, as long ago as I can remember, a widower. He had two sons, JIRA and ALANSON. Jira was a tutor or pro-
fessor in a Baptist College near Utica, and may be still living. Alanson, (better known as "Buck Cole, ") had a penchant for the sea, and after starting on his third voyage, was heard from no more. His father bore up under this and other afflictions, for some years, but his reason gave way at last, and one morning his body was found floating, lifeless, in the Catskill.
Near him sits JAMES COLLIER, whose life presents little that is note-worthy, save one incident which I never shall forget: a strolling vagabond had stolen from him an ox-chain, was arrested and committed to jail. Impris- onment seemed to Collier too light a punish- ment for the offense, and he, with the con- nivance of the jailor, consented to release the thief and give him a pint of whiskey, if he would suffer himself to be whipped thirty lashes on the bare back. One of the poplar trees which then bordered the avenue leading to the Presbyterian Church, was selected as a whipping-post ; the culprit was stripped, and Collier proceeded to inflict the punishment .- I can almost see, now, the livid track of the twisted thong imprinted on the naked flesh. The brutal act was, however, a brief one, for, at the third blow, MOSES I. CANTINE pressed through the crowd, hurled Collier to the earth, released the bound wretch from his confine- ment, and giving him a small sum of money, bade him begone. I always looked with horror upon Collier afterwards.
Another of that Masonic gathering, was CORNELIUS DU BOIS. He was the eldest son of Capt. BARENT DU Bois, and was a lawyer by profession. He died many years ago, and I know little of his history. His widow, I believe, still survives, and his two daughters are well known to every inhabitant of Cats- kill, for their constant attendance, in storm as well as in sunshine, at St. Luke's Church and Sunday School.
THOMAS HALE, MACKEY CROSWELL, and FRANCIS BOTSFORD, of whom I have heretofore spoken, were also there, with ABRAM F. RICHTMEYER, * who is, I believe, still with you, and who is about the only survivor of all those who composed that Masonic assemblage ; D. D. DUTCHER, a tobacconist, and afterwards a partner in business of the late JOHN CARGILL ; WILLIAM CHIDESTER (usually called "squealing Bill;") JOHN E. DAVID (familiarly known as "Old Verachter ;") NOAH LINDSEY, who used
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to tell the story about Gabriel's horn, and tell [ to mind some incidents in their histories which it well, too; EGBERT BOGARDUS (time out of might interest your readers, but, as I have about used up my column, I must defer their recital to a future number. mind the Town and Village tax gatherer ;) WILLIAM TINKER, (a hatter, and the best look- ing man I ever saw) and many others, whose names are before me, were there. I could call *Since deceased.
CONCLUSION OF HARMONY LODGE PAPERS.
[On the 23d of April, 1863, in consequence of ill-health and pressing business cares, Mr. PINCK- NEY was compelled to conclude his Sketches, as follows : ]
HARMONY LODGE PAPERS. - When the series of sketches, under the above title, was com- menced, it was with the hope that the subject might elicit, from abler hands, more detailed biographies of the old inhabitants of Catskill, than my imperfect recollection aud limited sources of information enabled me to furnish. There must be many yet living, who remem- ber well the members of Harmony Lodge, whose names and memories I have sought to revive and perpetuate ; and who, being in daily communication with their descendants, might gather a store of reminiscences interest- ing to the readers of the Recorder. It is a wide and pleasant field in which to labor, and I still hope that some one having more leisure, and enjoying better facilities than myself, may enter upon the task.
As I replace the old papers in the bundle, and seal the package, preparatory to returning it to the archives of the Lodge, I feel as though I was parting again from familiar friends .- Many, yes, most, of those whose names are there recorded, have passed away from earth, and, in a few short years, their memories will
have also passed away from the minds of all, save a few who, like me, derive more pleasure in the past than is supplied by the present, or promised in the future of life.
If my crude and incoherent sketches of these worthies of the olden time have afforded one moment's gratification to any of your readers-if I have called, pleasantly, to the mind of one of my fellow-townsmmen the remembrance of a loved and departed relative or friend-if I have carried thoughts back to the careless, happy days of youth, (for we all, I fancy, esteem our youthful days the happiest) or if any one recollecting the virtues of these "forefathers of the hamlet," has resolved to emulate them, I shall be more than satisfied.
The package is sealed-the faded manu- scripts are hidden from my sight, probably forever. Commending the materials (which I feel that I have failed to weave into forms either satisfactory to myself, or acceptable to the public,) to the land of some abler work- man, it only remains for me to close with the words of the poet-ploughman-albeit I am not one of the "favored and enlightened few" to whom the arcana of Masonry have been revealed-
"Adieu! a heart-warm, fond adieu, Ye brothers of the mystic tic."
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LOCAL SKETCHES.
OUR CEMETERY.
Catskill Cemetery Papers.
NO. I.
JANUARY 24, 1856.
Some thirty or forty miles below the city of Albany, is situated the town of Catskill. The voyager upon the Hudson, and the trav- eler by railroad, may pass and repass the cluster of dilapidated buildings which cover "the Point," and not dream that within a short half mile of them lies a pleasant little village, situated along the two sides of a stream, from which both the town and the blue mountains which overshadow it derive their names. Yet that it really lies there, an experience of nearly forty years, by way of residence, has fully demonstrated to me .- Here, infancy and youth and early manhood were passed, and to this spot, as I pass down the hill of life, I become more and more bound by many pleasant recollections. Mem- ory seems to invest the old mountains with a loftier grandeur, and to makesweeter the music of the streams of my early home.
But I did not intend to describe the beauties with which Nature has surrounded the Village of Catskill. The pen of IRVING, and the pen- cil of COLE have already given them immor- tality ; for here the poet-painter turned his footsteps, after tiring of Italian landscapes, to live among and gaze upon the varied scenery of mountain, and meadow, and river and woodland, with an eye which never wearied of their beauties until it closed in death.
This Village has probably undergone fewer changes than any other in this country. The same houses which were builded by the early settlers, are still the hahitations of their de- scendants, and, save on the sites of a few of those destroyed by fire, a few years since, I do not know of an entirely new house having been erected in the compact part of the Vil- lage for many years. A little paint in the Spring, and an occasional shingle over a leaky spot in the roof, are all the repairs they receive, and, indeed, all which they seem to require. Like the garments of the Israelites, they ap- pear to be exempted from decay. And so with the population ; births and immigration have kept pace so steadily with death and removal, as to render the semi-decennial labors of the census-marshal of little importance to the statistics of the State.
In past years this place enjoyed a profitable trade, possessed a brisk and thriving com- merce, and promised to grow rapidly into
wealth and greatness. It is not my business to determine the causes which prevented its natural business advantages from being im- proved, or which clogged the wheels of its commercial prosperity, though it has been asserted that the jealous selfishness of individ- uals who possessed the means to advance the interests of the Village, contributed largely to retard its progress. But whatever the causes, the fact is undeniable that, for many years, the Village has been at a "stand-still," if, indeed, it has not been slightly retrogress- ive in its course ; and although to the man of business this state of affairs may be deplorable, I confess I love to think the old place is still unchanged.
Yet there have been changes and improve- ments, too. For a few years past, the atten- tion of the inhabitants has been directed to the grave-yard of Catskill. Much has been done by them in the embellishment of their burial place, and they have succeeded in changing the arid sand-hill into a well arranged and sylvan Cemetery. However much the Villagers may have neglected their own habi- tations, they have not neglected to make pleasant the dwellings of their dead.
And there have been changes-sad changes- in the town, too. A new generation has sprung up in the places of the old inhabitants, and of those whom I knew in my childhood, scarcely one survives, except in the recollec- tion of some such a lover of old memories as myself.
There was honest "COBUS" BOGARDUS, stub- bornly honest, and doubtless honestly stub- born-he had "a way of his own," and he would have it. It mattered not much, how- ever, for it was generally the right way. I saw him on his death-bed, on board the vessel which he built, and sailed, and of which he was so proud. Old "HANK" VAN GORDEN, warm-hearted and generous, "a fellow of infinite jest." He seemed old to me then, but the record on his tomb-stone tells that he went hence in early afternoon of life; Cap- tains BRITTON and CAMPBELL, who for many years "went down into the sea in ships," and laid up, at last, in the quiet Village, to tell over the wonders which they had seen, and some which, it was suspected, they had not seen. They, both, long ago, rode out the storms of life ; "Uncle NAT." WILSON, too,
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excellent old man ! or rather excellent old | at "high noon"; and Doctor CROSWELL, whom boy ! for time affected him not as other men, and successive years scored no age marks on his heart. And there was good old Dr. PORTER, who, in his youth, beat the drum to call the revolutionary fathers to the combat, and in after days sounded the call to marshal their children under the banner of the Cross. How well I remember the good old man and his household, and how, one by one, each member of that household passed away before he was called to his great reward.
And there was the Rev. JOSEPH PRENTISS, who labored also in the Master's vineyard, and sought to win men to righteousness, with an eloquence rarely surpassed. He went away, too, to his recompense, and many an eye, unused to tears, wept at the tidings of that "sudden death" from which he had so often prayed, in the beautiful language of the Litany, the "Good Lord" to "deliver us."
And there was Captain HALE, by whose movements housewives used to set their clocks
everybody loved, and who, at the time of his death in a good old age, held the same appoint- ment conferred upon him by the great WASH- INGTON ; and his brother MACKAY, who, more than seventy years ago, established at Catskill a newspaper which is still in existence ; and Captain BARENT DU BOIS, who seemed to be a friend to every body but Tories and Indians ; and scores of others, with whom I was ac- quainted, or I may say intimate, (for when a mere boy, I was, some how, a favorite with the old men, ) whose virtues, and peculiarities, and eccentricities are well worth placing on record, both for the instruction and amuse- ment of those who now possess their places. This task I propose to perform, as leisure may permit, if you, Mr. Editor, shall think a col- umn of your paper not unworthily employed in reviving the memories of those "forefathers of the hamlet" who sleep in the Catskill Cemetery.
CATSKILL CEMETERY PAPERS .- No. II.
MARCH 20, 1856. Among the tomb-stones in "Our Cemetery," is one erected to the memory of IRA DAY. The simple inscription of his name, and age, and the day of his death, is the only record of one to whose enterprise, energy and liberal spirit, the Village is indebted for much of its early prosperity and promise.
X
*
When the descendants of the Dutch settlers at New York began to realize that there were desirable arable and wood lands above the flow of salt water, lying unimproved and unen- joyed, the adventurous among them left the island of Manhattan, and the pleasant West- chester country, to explore the upper waters of the Hudson. Skirting the tall palisades, dashing through the broad Zees of Tappaan and Haverstraw, penetrating the dark passes of the Highlands, and sailing along, past sunny nooks and quiet bays, and bold promon- tories, they came at last to a little island, upon which stood a solitary pine tree, a prom- inent land-mark to the early voyager. This island they named Bompies Hook, and at this point they moored their vessel, and landed to seek new homes in the vallies and on the plains shadowed by the lofty Catskills. Some located along the Creek, near its confluence with the Hudson; some followed up the stream to its junction with the Hans Vassen and Kaaderskill; while others ventured a little farther inland, and settled at Kaatsbaan,
and the Embaught, and the pleasant Bockover. Here Spring found these early settlers pre- paring the generous soil for the grain ; here Summer smiled upon their waving fields ; here Autumn was fragrant with the odor of the ripened fruit of their orchards ; and here Winter listened to their Christmas carols, the kitchen songs of their happy darkies, and the merry ringing of their sleigh-bells, as they traveled with sleek horses and high-backed "pungs" to interchange visits and the compli- ments of the season with distant relatives, acquaintances or friends, all included in the comprehensive title of neighbors. Here they lived in the good old customs of their Low Dutch progenitors, keeping holy day the fes- tivals of Paas and Pinkster, and here they died and were buried in the convivial fashion of their fatherland.
In the course of time, tidings of the settle- ment, and its prosperity, reached the ears of the far-off dwellers in Connecticut and Mass- achusetts.
In those days the province of New York was esteemed, by the descendants of the l'ilgrims, as the abode of wild beasts, or a yet wilder species of the human race; the crossing of the North River was deemed a perilous and fool-hardy undertaking, and the friends of those who ventured to "go over" were as hopeless of their return as though they had made the Stygian passage. Yet, even then
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the spirit of enterprise was an important com- ponent of Yankee character, and while they listened to the history of the distant Dutch colony, there were some who resolved to emigrate. Among these was STEPHEN DAY. With him, to resolve was to do, and a little time found him established at Catskill, ex- changing the wares of the Eastern colonics, and imports from the West India islands, for the grain of the farmer, and the dairy products of the "goede vrouws" of all the region round about. The trade was profitable, and, before many years, the plain Stephen Day became the wealthy Judge Day.
Retiring with a competency, he left the field of traffic to his sons, all of whom he had trained in strict business habits, and fitted to tread the path which had led him to indepen- dence and honor. Prominent among the four brothers was the eldest, IRA. Possessed of the confidence of the whole community in which he lived-a confidence won by an integrity which I have never heard question- ed-he at once assumed the foremost place among the business men of the town, and for many years was prosperous to the full extent- of any reasonable hope. But he did not live for himself alone. His prosperity was shared by many, in the benefits diffused through all the ramifications of an extended business .- The causeway which connects the shore of the Hudson with the little island of Bompies Hook, (and which was, in those days, a work of prodigious magnitude, ) gave to many labor- ers the means of support. The banks of the Creek were built up with his warehouses, when many others found employment and generous remuneration. The carpenter built his houses, and his own workmen were the tenants. For him the ship-wright constructed vessels, and the woodman felled and made merchandise of the thick forests which cover- ed the hill-sides and the margins of the moun- tain streams. Mechanics, mariners, laborers, and his fellow-merchants, all participated in his gains, and were stimulated by his success; and, had no reverse occurred, there can be
ยก little doubt that, through him, and through the force of his example, the town of Catskill would this day have occupied that position among the cities of the State to which its local advantages so eminently entitled it.
But, in the midst of all this prosperity, a monetary crisis arrived. With a business so extended, he found it difficult to draw in and concentrate his defences against the commer- cial storm.
Those to whom he had ever been a benefac- tor and friend were panic-stricken, and stood aloof, prudently husbanding the means which in some measure they owed to him, and left him to contend alone. The thought that his hitherto unsullied name should be tarnished, and the belief (well founded, or fancied, God knows) that he was deserted by those with whom he had shared the fruits of his labors, smote his brain, and Reason fled from her throne forever !
I was young then, and do not remember all the circumstances which led to his failure, nor how long he lived after his mind gave way, but I do well remember the bright, sunny noon-time, when, on leaving the Village school, it was told me that Ira Day had died by his own hand. I remember, too, the day of his funeral, and I can, even now, almost feel the weight of that sadness and gloom which seemed to settle down upon and en- shroud the hearts of every one in that long procession which followed him to his last repose in "Our Cemetery."
*
A plain slab marks the spot where they laid him-all around stand elaborately wrought monuments, covered with the recital of the virtues of other dead, and expressive of the grief of surviving friends. I am not disposed to contradict the chiseled testimony of these marble memorials, though I may, perhaps, be allowed to doubt whether among all these silent sleepers there rests one whose memory should be cherished with a more lasting regret than the lamented Ira Day.
CATSKILL CEMETERY PAPERS .- No. III.
MAY 15, 1856.
A week of warm, sunny weather, succeeded by a timely and refreshing rain, has ushered in the Spring, and Nature rejoices in a happy deliverance from the rigor of a severe and protracted Winter.
It has not been pleasant, during the cold and tedious monthis to think of the dead in "Our Cemetery." It is not pleasant to remem- ber that, all Winter long, as in many a long
Winter before, they have lain in their cold beds, beneath the deep snow-drifts ; and that, all Winter long, the chill winds have moaned over them in tones to which those of human lamentation are feeble and vain.
But I do love to think of departed acquaint- ances and companions, and friends, in the Spring-time, and to indulge in the fancy (almost the belief) that they, too, feel the warm rays of the returning sun, and the soft
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influences of the rural breezes, and listen to the songs of the little birds in the branches which bend over their quiet graves.
And of all of whom it is thus pleasant to think, there is none whose memory is revived with a deeper affection and reverence than that of Doctor CROSWELL; the good old "Uncle Doc- tor" of my boyhood's remembrance and love.
-I have before said that I have no record from which to write the history of the lives of the early settlers of Catskill, nor is it my intention to attempt the task. I am content if I shall be able to bring them back to the mind and memory of some one better qualified than myself worthily to perform that labor of love.
My earliest recollections of Dr. Croswell are associated with the sugar-plums and licorice- sticks with which his capacious pockets were stored, and which, for all my youthful ail- ments, were a sovereign panacea whose sweet flavor still seems to linger on my tongue. I remember his kind looks and cheerful laugh, and can recall the very words of the nursery songs which he essayed to sing, albeit the melody was not of the richest, nor the music precisely such as would be adapted to a modern concert-room, for the chiefest merits of the Doctor's warbling was that it came directly up from his benevolent heart.
Many years ago-long before I can remem- ber-he came to Catskill, and commenced the practice of medicine. He also, in connection with his brother MACKAY, established a weekly newspaper, of which there were but few then in existence in the country.
In this little printing office, all the time which could be spared from the arduous duties of a physician in a new, extensive and sparsely settled district, was occupied in the printing for a wide range of country, and the hebdom- adal publication of a paper which soon became a necessity to the inhabitants of all the region South of Albany, and between the Hudson River and the then far-off Susquehanna and Chenango.
Many a long night, passing into morning, found him engaged at the "case," or in carving wood-cuts, rude enough, truly, but which in those primitive days were viewed with as much admiration as are now the productions of the burins of our most finished artists .- Morning succeeded night but to call him to the sick chambers of his patients, and thus day and night were but changes of a toil of which the profession in these days can scarcely be conceptible. In process of time a Post Office was established at Catskill, and the Doctor received the appointment of Postmaster under the hand of GEORGE WASHINGTON. HOW well and how faithfully he performed the duties, may be inferred from the fact that,
through all administrations of the Government, and through all the mutations of politics, lie held the appointment for fifty years, and only resigned it into the hands of Death.
So, from early manhood to old age he lived and labored in the Village of Catskill. Many whose first earthly gaze was upon the Doctor's face, grew up, through childhood and youth, to man's estate, and then gave their last look to that same kind face as they passed away forever. Few who began life with him here, remain, and yet he lingered to minister to the children and children's children of his early associates and friends.
With no family, except his excellent wife, who still survives, * he acquired a fair propor- tion of the world's goods, and was esteemed quite wealthy. Possessed of a liberal mind, desirous to contribute to the welfare of all around him, and confiding in the integrity of his fellow-men, he parted with a large portion of his means, and lived to find his confidence misplaced, and his hard-earned gains virtually lost. Years, and incessant occupation and toil, at last began to make their marks upon him, and one Winter's morning we heard that God had called him home.
It was my purpose to relate some of tlie many biographical anecdotes and incidents of the Doctor's life, but, to most of my readers, they are "household words, " and might suffer in the telling. His benevolent acts, his pleas- ant sayings, and his sterling worth, will be remembered when all who knew him here shall have taken their places beside him in "Our Cemetery."
*Mrs. RUTH CROSWELL, reliet of Dr. THOMAS O'HARA CROSWELL, died at the residence of her adopted daughter, Mrs. WM. H. WEY, in Catskill, January 7th, 1862, aged 96 years, 10 months and 15 days. The following obituary, written by Mr. PINCKNEY, was published in the Recorder and Democrat, January 16th, 1862 :
There are few, with one possible exception, there is not one, of our inhabitants living whose memory reaches back to the time when Mrs. RuTu CROSWELL became a resident of Catskill. Born in New England, at a time when our present vast domain was a colonial possession of the British Crown, she lived to witness the most important changes which the world has ever known. She saw a young nation burst the cords of thraldom and assert its right to civil and religious freedom ; she hailed the day when our beloved WASHINGTON assumed the command of our public army ; she rejoiced in his success, she wept for his reverses, and she mourned, as a whole nation mourned, when he "died and was buried."
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