USA > New York > Orange County > Wallkill in Orange County > The Historic Wallkill and Hudson River Valleys > Part 5
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JOHN G. BORDEN FOUNDER OF THE HOME FARM
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RESIDENCE OF MISS MARION BORDEN, HOME FARM, WALLKILL, N. Y.
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farm-I repeat it we cannot forget the one "who, though dead, yet speaketh," who, though absent, yet there will be many here today whose memories will linger with love, esteem and gratitude around the name of John G. Borden.
Monica Farm, the ancestral Weller homestead, owned by William C. Weller, contains two hundred acres. Mr. Weller has removed from his farm and occupies his village residence on Ulster Avenue, Walden, N. Y. He was one of the charter members of the society and served as its first president.
A BEAUTIFUL GIFT TO THE ASSOCIATION
The occasion was made memorable by the presentation, on the part of the Borden family, of a large silken banner, bearing on its white background, in red letters,
"WALLKILL VALLEY FARMERS' ASSOCIATION."
Underneath was painted the chosen emblem of the organization- a sprig of clover in blossom. Mr. Borden, advancing towards the front of the platform, before the gathered thousands of attentive hearers, addressed the president in the following terms :
Mr. President : Pardon me for delaying the exercises, but we, the Borden family, have noticed that the Wallkill Valley Farmers' WILLIAM C. WELLER Association has no banner or flag to flaunt to the breezes over their places of meeting, and in consideration of this fact, I take great pleasure in presenting, through you, to the Association an emblematic flag, carrying your name and your emblem.
We sincerely hope that your principles and conduct may be as white as its field, and your record as clear as its name, and may you ever remember that as we are dependent on the soil, to always honor that little sprig of clover.
The flag carries with it our heartiest good wishes for the welfare of the Association.
THE ACCEPTANCE
The response, on behalf of the Association, was by Rev. W. H. S. Demarest of Walden, who most appropriately responded as follows :
Mr. Borden: On behalf of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association, I acknowledge the cour- tesy and generosity of this gift, and give to you the Association's heartiest thanks. It is quite sure that the thanks will lose nothing of their strength by simplicity and shortness in the words. You have met us here with cordial welcome, and now you have honored your guests in this very graceful act of recognition. A banner for this Association was surely a happy thought, and the actual worth to the Association will not be small. The idea of the banner is of course more its value even than its beauty or its form float- ing before our eyes. That idea is pride in the life those named and numbered under it pursue. Co-operation and unity in the inter- ests of the work; loyalty to the organization formed to promote the community's welfare. The purest and loftiest standard we know is that of the church, of the cross and the crown of Jesus Christ. Then, that of our land, floating above us, stirring our single- hearted patriotism, the flag under which your father and a host from this valley fought, suffered and gloried. Then, why not add the standard of the local and social and indus- trial life? May this floating standard be at least the standard for the highest life and wisest methods and broadest results on the farms, the final source of the country's strength and prosperity. Again, in behalf of the Association, I thank you, and through you the Borden family, for this most appro- priate gift.
In his address of welcome, August, 1899, Mr. William H. Gillespie presented a word- picture of natural advantages of the Wall- kill Valley.
EMBLEM OF THE ASSOCIATION
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We are located in one of the most fertile and lovely valleys in the State. It is exceedingly rich in pastoral advantages; its broad farms and herds of fine cattle browsing in the fields suggest many material advantages. For variety and grandeur of scenery our valley is without a peer in the State.
If you will look to the north you may see the peaks of the grand old Shawangunk mountains. The overhanging cliffs seem to have been hurled together by gigantic hands in some great natural conflict ; their scarred sides are draped in many-tinted mosses and lichens; the summits glow with the deep green of the mountain laurel, and the trailing arbutus, while over all the tall mountain pines wave like the plumes of a warrior host.
To the east of us, just below the hill, our beloved Wallkill dashes her angry waters over the rocky precipice, while only a few feet below she again resumes her placid course to the north.
In the immediate vicinity to the north, west and south may be seen the vineyards, orchards and pasture lands. What more varied scenery can one desire? Upon all this we welcome you to feast vour artistic eye.
We welcome you to the intellectual feast which is about to be spread before you in the form of speeches by our brilliant friends who have so kindly consented to feed us upon this occasion. We welcome you to the musical part with which this feast is interspersed. You are all most heartily welcome to this grove and adjacent grounds. You are also welcome to the use of that beautiful Driving Park for the day through the kindness of the Walden Driving Park Association.
THE GRANDSTAND, AUGUST, 1906
August, 1898, Attorney I. H. Loughran in extending a welcome gave expression to the follow- ing :
You are now in the heart of the Wallkill Valley; one hundred and forty-two years ago it was the habitation of the Indians, who roamed throughout this valley at will, fearing not, but being feared. As to the historic events of the valley, they have been written and rewritten. Yonder, along the banks of the Wallkill, in my imagination, I can see the wigwam of the Indian on the Daniel Has- brouck and Daniel Rogers farms. In my imagination I can see the cabin of Johanas Miller, the first settler, consisting of two crotches, a pole thereon, and timbers reaching to the ground; I can see the good husband with his trusty rifle over his shoulder on Sunday morning, together with his family, starting over the hills and through the valleys, to attend divine worship; altogether I see twelve distinct tribes of Indians settled in and around this vicinity.
But this is of the past: today, and what a change; the sage of the Catskills did not experience
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such a transformation. Where a little hamlet stood, gathered together for self-protection, thousands are now residents thereof. Where the wheat field stood, now is found the fac- tory, with the hum of the machinery and the clang of the ham- mer. Walden and Montgomery we look upon with pride, and are recognized as two of the substantial towns of the county.
And to whom shall we give all this praise? First to God, for the earth is God's priceless gift to man, then to the tiller of the soil, for he hath made it possible for us to obtain our sustenance, and our enjoyment unmolested from these fertile valleys, these verdant hillsides and refreshing streams. A writer has said, "happy, thrice happy is the man who can claim it as his birthright or by adoption, and around its enchanting bowers, draw near to nature and to nature's God."
Nine years ago a few of the representative men of the town of Montgomery met for the purpose of organizing an associa- tion, not merely for the purpose of having a pleasant time, but for the purpose of aiding by concentration of thought, the far- mer and the businessman of the Wallkill Valley, that each S. V. SCHOONMAKER might know the other better, and that by an interchange of thought, be the means not only of benefiting themselves but the vaney in which they reside.
At first it struggled for an existence, as all similar organizations do, but by choosing their officers and directors carefully, men of life and of energy, men that had made a success of their own private affairs, and having as their chief adviser and secretary, one, who, knowing the needs and necessities of the farmer, gave both of his time and strength toward the upbuilding of the Association, until today it is known far and wide as the most successful farmers' organiza- tion in the State.
John H. Reid was born in Vennan in 1861. He took his college and theological course at Yale, graduating in 1890. He spent the first years of his ministry in Colorado, returning to Massachusetts.
In 1896 he went abroad and studied at the Universities of Edin- burgh and Oxford, and afterwards traveled with his wife on the continent.
On account of ill health he gave up the active ministry in 1892 and became owner and publisher of the Walden Citisen. He has been a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association for three years.
JOHN H. REID
Everett B. DuBois was born in the town of Shawangunk, April 22, 1862. He lived one mile north of Wallkill until 1883, when he purchased a farm south of Galeville, N. Y. He followed farming until 1898.
In politics Mr. DuBois is a staunch Republican. He held the office of assessor of the town of Shawangunk for thirteen years. In 1898 he was appointed postmaster at Wallkill, N. Y., which office he is still holding.
Mr. DuBois is interested in every public welfare and by his un- tiring efforts the present water system of the village was installed; also the Wallkill fire department, he having the honor of being the first chief.
In 1883 Mr. DuBois married Ida McElnone. There are two chil- dren, Kathryn C. and Ida Mae.
Samuel Vail Schoonmaker, son of John Schoonmaker and Mary A. Vail, was born in Newburgh on the 13th of March, 1867. He was educated in the Newburgh public schools and at the Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire. In August, 1885, he entered the employ of Schoonmaker & Weller as a clerk. In 1891 he entered the partnership of Remillard & Co., retiring in 1895. He again became connected with Schoonmaker & Weller as a clerk, and on January I, 1898, purchased the interest of Mr. A. Y. Weller in the business and the name of the firm changed to John Schoonmaker & Son. Mr. Schoonmaker married Miss Lillian W. Wardell of Philadelphia on February 1, 1899. They have two children, John, aged seven, and Samuel Vail, Jr., aged five. Mr. Schoonmaker is a member of the
E. B. DU BOIS
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Newburgh City Club, Lawson Hose Company, Arkwright Club of New York, a trustee of the First Presbyterian Church, trustee of the Newburgh Savings Bank, a director in the Wallkill Valley Far- mers' Association and a member of the Newburgh Business Men's Association. He is a progressive and public spirited citizen and is interested in everything that tends to the advancement and betterment of Newburgh and the surrounding country.
The Saratoga Farm, on the forks of the Goshen and Middle- town roads, is one of the noted landmarks of the Wallkill Valley. It is the locality selected by the earliest settlers on the east bank of the Wallkill, and close to the famous spring now on the Miller farm. In those early days a log church was erected opposite the pres- ent residence of Mr. Bryson, and for many generations the dead were buried beneath its shadows. Mr. Bryson tenderly cares for those sleeping generations, protecting the grounds from all in- truders.
Mr. Bryson on November 18. 1869, married Miss Emma F., daughter of John and Emily Mould. a young lady of charming personality and most gracious manner. Three daughters brought sunshine and happiness to the home circle, Alice, wife of George Bell of Reading, Pa .: Carrie, who in the morning of life passed like a fair lily to the home beyond, and Josepha, who now graces the home circle by her gracious presence.
On the main road leading from St. Andrews to Modena is the home of William H. Dunn, one of the progressive farmers of our valley. A large and well- ALLEN BRYSON Montgomery. N. Y. bred dairy of forty head of cat- tle receive the tenderest care, their every want being anticipated. Mr. Dunn enjoys gathering around his home all the accessories that contribute to the comforts of coun- try life. He is active in the welfare of his locality, has served many terms as school trustee, is an official of the New Hurley Reformed Church, trustee of the Wallkill Valley Cemetery, has held the office of vice-president and director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Asso- ciation. His household is presided over by an only daughter, Miss Anna, and an only son, Chester, completes the family circle.
Adam Fetter, the subject of this sketch, is a well-known citizen of the town of Montgomery, residing near the dividing line of Orange and Ulster counties. Mr. Fetter has been successful in con- ducting a large herd of dairy cows, disposing of their product at the Borden Milk Company's factory at Wallkill. His farm is located on historic ground, near which a regiment of Washington's Continental army encamped during one winter, that they might protect the muni- tions of war from any sudden at- tack from the enemy and yet be in easy access to the defense of the Hudson Valley.
WILLIAM H. DUNN St. Andrews. N Y.
Mr. Fetter takes personal interest in the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association, and has served several terms of three years cach as director of the society.
Director Harry G. Seely, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Seely, re- sides upon one of the sightly elevations before which stretches the wondrous beauty of the Valley of the Wallkill. Few places are more conspicuous than the Seely Ridge Farm. It is noted for its wide and open hospitable welcome to friends and visitors. It was here that the late Mr. Wyland of New York, established a successful stock farm devoted to the horse. The views from the residence are revelations from the landscape of nature. Milk is the main product of this farm of one hundred acres.
Harry N. Smith, who was for nine years one of the directors and for five terms vice-president, resides midway between the villages of Montgomery and Walden. He is engaged in the fire insurance busi- ness, having taken over twelve years ago the Montgomery agency
HENRY G. SEELY Seely Ridge. N. Y.
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established in 1851. He has always been active in church work and takes a deep interest in questions concerning the general welfare of the community.
Mr. Ahrens was born in Giehle, Province of Hanover, Ger- many, October 23, 1865. His parents, John and Kathryne Ahrens, were descendants of one of Germany's oldest families.
Mr. Ahrens came to America in 1884, engaging in the whole- sale grocery business with his uncle. In 1890 he married Miss Ida F. Ahrens of Jersey City. Two lovely daughters grace the home circle, Kathryne, Elvena and Mary Elizabeth.
The extensive plant of John Ahrens, from which all farmers' supplies are sent forth, is the center of East Walden's business interests. Mr. Ahrens conducts a feed, coal and lumber business in connection with what was long regarded as Orange County's model farm, under the guiding hand of the late James Todd, the former owner of the place, from whom Mr. Ahrens purchased it in 1892.
On a sightly elevation on the west bank of the Wallkill River there lies one of the historic farms of the Wallkill Valley, upon which resides the subject of this sketch. Originally a portion of JOHN AHRENS Walden. N. Y. the Galatian pattern, containing one hundred and sixty-two acres, purchased in 1762 by Thomas Clineman for a consideration of three pounds ten shillings, continuing in the Clineman family until 1875, the title passing to the present owner. Mr. DuBois has always farmed on the extensive system, the dairy predominating, while vast stores of high-grade hay has annually increased the revenue of the farm. As the years passed, other farms have been purchased, upon which sons and daughters have found homes. Mr. DuBois stands for what is good in life and has filled positions of trust and responsibility in church and state, and for many years an honored director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Asso- ciation. Mr. DuBois is the eldest son of LeFevre and Rebecca Du Bois.
Mr. Harp is a resident of historic New Paltz and is engaged in house-furnishing supplies. For many years he has gathered large supplies of old-time mementoes of past generations. At one time he had a large and rare collection of old pewter goods. During recent years Mr. Harp has engaged in the real estate business and made great success in this line, having sold a great many farms to city peo- ple for summer homes. Mr. Harp is a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association and interested in many lines that tend to de- velop the resources of his locality.
The Quackenbos farm at Beaver Dam, known as the Beaver Dam farm, the home of the late John P. Covert, is one of the most de- lightfully located farms in New York State. It is one mile northeast JOHN P. COVERT of Maybrook and two and one-half miles from Montgomery and Campbell Hall each. Mr. Covert, during his life, enjoyed rural life on one hundred and forty acres of as lovely land as lies out-of-doors, and the location of the house and barns is such that they command a view of the country for miles around. The dwelling is almost palatial in its proportions, arrange- ments and surroundings. It has twenty-five rooms and cost thirty- five thousand dollars. The dwelling is surrounded by a beautiful grove of sugar maples. This delightful suburban home was purchased in the spring of 1901 by Mr. A. von Kilch, who is extensively en- gaged in the dairy industry.
Mr. Charles D. Wait is the youngest son of Thomas Wait and Mary (Mould) Wait and was born at the old Wait homestead, two miles east of Montgomery, on the late Newburgh and Cochecton Turnpike. His parental grandfather, Samuel Wait, was a native of England, and his ancestry on his mother's side were of Holland and German origin.
He received his education at the public school at Goodwill and at Montgomery Academy. He was for several years engaged at farming and for the last twelve years has been doing business very extensively at Montgomery in coal, lumber, feed and agricultural im-
JONAS DUBOIS
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plements. He is eminently successful in business and is one of the well-to-do men of the town. He is a member of Goodwill Presby- terian Church and a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Asso- ciation, in which he takes great interest. Recently he joined the army of the Benedicts by uniting in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Sey- mour, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Seymour of Walden. William H. Hallock was born at Highland Mills, Orange County, N. Y .. in 1842. He removed to Washingtonville in 1866, and has since resided there. He is widely and favorably known. For more than twenty-five years he was one of the largest horse and cattle dealers in Orange County, selling each year from three hundred to four hundred horses, and averaging over one thousand head of cattle a year. Dur- ing all this time, and doing this large business, he never had a law- suit.
In 1894 he turned his horse business over to his son, Edward N., and devoted his time and attention to the management of his large landed estate, which comprises five farms containing nearly nine hun- dred acres of choice land. These farms are managed by himself ELTING HARP personally-he employs his laborers by the month, believing that is the best way to employ them, as it gives him the benefit of their whole time. The farm work is laid out by him in advance, and he superintends the doing of it. Mr. Hallock has a hobby on "clearing up" and does not allow bushes to grow along fences or in the fields. He is constantly improving his farms, and says that every one of them produces from two to three times more than it did when he bought it.
He is one of the largest, if not the largest, milk producers in the county-keeps nearly three hundred cows and frequently makes over sixty-five cans of milk a day.
Mr. Hallock has always taken an active interest in agricultural and educational matters and in local affairs. He has been a director of the Orange County Agricultural Society since 1879, and the effi- cient superintendent of the cattle department at its annual fairs for twenty-two years. He has been a member of the Board of Education for twenty-five years, and a trustee of the village of Washingtonville since it was incorporated. He is a member of the State Breeders' Association, a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association, and was recently appointed by Governor Odell one of the State Delegates to the National Farmers' Congress, which met October I, 1901, at Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Mr. Johnson was born at Passaic, N. J., June 4, 1856, and removed to Orange County April 1, 1872, was educated at Chester Academy, and removed to his present home in April, 1882. Mr. Johnson is a CHARLES D. WAIT progressive farmer, having a Holstein dairy of about thirty cows, selected for their good milking qualities. His farm contains one hundred and thirty acres and is located in the environs of the historic village of Goshen, N. Y., made famous by its memorials to the
patriot dead, among which is the Minisink monument. commemo- rating the early settlers who engaged in this Indian conflict. The Wisner monument, erected by Mrs. Wisner in honor of her Revo- lutionary ancestry, and the beautiful bronze and granite tribute in massive proportions unveiled September 5, 1907, a loving tribute from Colonel Thomas W. Bradley of Walden, N. Y., in memory of the fallen heroes of the 124th Regiment, U. S. V. Mr. John- son is a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association and identified with other societies.
For about one hundred and seventy-five years the Wells family has been identified with the history of Goshen. The home- stead upon which John Wells settled (about 1735), then a wilder- ness tract of land containing two hundred and forty acres, has been successfully managed by the members of five generations, and upon it the subject of this sketch has spent most of his life. The progenitor of the Wells family, from which Charles S. Wells descended, was Hon. William Wells, educated as a lawyer in England. He was born in the year 1608 and emigrated as a passenger on the ship True Love about 1635. Charles S. Wells,
WILLIAM H. HALLOCK
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born in 1852 on the farm where he now resides, was the young- est son of Alfred Wells. His early education was received at "Farmers' Hall Academy" in
Goshen. He has spent most of his life on the farm that he now owns, was one of the active members to form the Grange, No. 975, at Goshen in March, 1903; was master two terms. At the organization of the Goshen Grange Company he was elected president in 1905 and still holds that office. He has continued going forward in the order until now he is a member of the Na- tional Grange, and was sent as ASHER JOHNSON a delegate to the State Grange in 1904, held at Cortland, N. Y. ARTHUR MC KINNEY He was married on February 23, 1876 to Alice, eldest daughter of Samuel Hadden of Chester. Their children are S. Hadden, who married Edith Sinsabaugh in 1900; Clara L., wife of J. J. Stage of Goshen, and John N., at home. Mr. Wells, like his forefathers, has never sought political place or its emoluments. He has always been a careful observer of the advancement of the times and has always given encouragement to all objects of a local nature, leading in any way to the prosperity of the people and the development of the interests of his own town.
One of the most enchantingly situated homes between Walden and Newburgh is Brookside Farm, the home of Arthur Mckinney. Just in front is a bridge that spans the Ten Broeck; grace- fully it curves through the meadows, almost to the very door of the homes as it flows sparkling and flashing in the light, with rippling, bubbling music, as sweet and mild as can be found.
Philip Hasbrouck is of Huguenot an- cestry, and was born in the old stone house, now the "Memorial House" of New Paltz, Ulster County, N. Y., April 1, 1860.
He is the youngest son of Joseph Hasbrouck and Sarah Maria LeFevre, and was educated at the New Paltz Academy and later at the Union Academy, Jefferson County, N. Y.
He moved with his father in 1882 to a farm near Walden, and there engaged in farming.
In the fall of 1893 he was elected Superintendent of the Poor of Orange County, which office he held for nine years.
From 1899 until January 1, 1907, Mr. Hasbrouck was successively engaged in the coal, lumber and feed business of the firm of Hasbrouck & Sloan. He is one of the directors of the Shrade Cutlery Com- pany, holding the office of vice-president of the company, and a director of the Wallkill Valley Farmers' Association.
William T. Snider was born near the village of Walden on the farm where he now resides, and is the son of the late William W. Snider. He attended the lo- cal schools at St. Andrews and Walden. In 1899 he went to Pennington Seminary to prepare for college. He graduated in the classical course with the class of 1901.
Having decided to be a lawyer, Mr. Snider entered the law office of Attorney
PHILIP HASBROUCK
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C. L. Waring of Newburgh, N. Y., as a clerk and is still connected with that office. On the farm he devotes his at- tention to the breeding of registered Holstein-Friesian cattle
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