USA > New York > Albany County > Cohoes > The history of Cohoes, New York, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 2
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"In other parts, where it shoots over in a sheet of water, there is a peculiar circumstance which struck me, and which I will endeavor to explain ; there are every now and then violent explosions of air which burst through the surface of the torrent, and as I considered it attentively on the spot, I explained it as follows to myself : The air which is contained and pent in between the rock and the arch of the torrent must, by the violent motion of this torrent, be heated and rarefied, and if so will of course break out in explosions. The vapors which fly off from this Fall dis- perse themselves, and fall in heavy showers for near half a mile round the place. These Falls the Indians call by the expressive name Cohoes."
Gov. Pownall made a sketch of the Falls at this time, which he took back to England, and there had it painted, engraved and published. One of the original prints, which are now extremely rare, is in the possession of Joseph Chad- wick, Esq., of this city, and is remarkably well preserved.
The title of the picture is as follows : " A view of the great Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk River. The Fall about seventy feet, the river near a quarter of a mile broad. Sketched on the spot by his excellency Gov. Pownall, painted by Paul Sanby, and engraved by William Elliott, May, 1761." A steel engraving of this print, much smaller than the original, forms the frontispiece to this volume. Gov. Pownall mentions another sketch of the Falls, taken when the water was low, and published some years previous by an English traveler named Calm, which he says was an inferior production, and so poorly done as to give the Falls the general appearance of a mill-dam.
11
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1792.
The interruption to navigation before spoken of, was the means of adding considerably to the business of Schenectady, as appears from the following taken from the papers of the Mass. Historical Coll., and dated 1792. "It (Schenectady) stands upon the Mohawk River about nine miles above the Falls called the Cohoes, but this I take to be the Indian name for falls ; its chief business is to receive the mer- chandize from Albany and put into batteaux, to go up the river and forward to Albany such produce of the back country as is sent to market."
It will be observed that of the writers who have been quoted nearly all speak of the Falls in terms of the highest admiration. The Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt, an exile of the French revolution, who visited this place in 1795, does not, however, appear to have been particularly impressed. Concerning the Falls (which he called Yohos, and his translator corrected to Cohoez) he said:
"But the river contains not at present sufficient water to support the Falls. In many places the rocks are quite dry ; but in others they afford a fine prospect. The perpendicu- lar height of the Falls may amount to about fifty feet, and the river is about an eighth of a mile in width. But upon the whole the view is not strikingly wild, romantic or pleasant, though the Falls are much celebrated throughout America."
The following description of this neighborhood, from Travels in the United States and Canada, 1795-97, by Isaac Weld Jr., though giving no new observations in re- gard to the Falls, is worthy of notice as containing a refer- ence, one of the earliest on record, to the existence of a settlement here :
" Early the next morning we set off and in about two hours arrived at the small village of Cohoz close to which is the remarkable Fall in the Mohawk River. * * The ap- pearance of this Fall varies very much according to the quantity of water; when the river is full the water descends in an unbroken sheet from one bank to the other whilst at other times the greater part of the rocks are left uncovered.
12
HISTORY OF COHOES. 1800.
The rocks are of a remarkable dark color and so also is the earth in the banks which rise to a great height on either side. There is a very pleasing view of this Cataract as you pass over the bridge across the river, about three-quarters of a mile lower down."
A very inferior drawing of the Falls (referred to by Moore, see note below) was published by Mr. Weld.
In 1800, the Falls were visited by John Maude, an Eng- lishman, who writes in his journal as follows :
"Cross the Mohawk, over the bridge at the foot of the Cohoes Falls, near which I breakfasted at Forth's tavern. ! After breakfast I visited the celebrated cataract of the Cohoes, and strange to say, I was more pleased with it now that I had seen Niagara, than I was five years ago when I beheld it with disappointment."
The visit of Thomas Moore to the Falls, during 1804, has become famous as suggesting the composition of the follow- ing poem, which is widely known and quoted.
LINES.
"WRITTEN AT THE COHOS, OR FALLS OF THE MOHAWK RIVER."2" " Gia era in loco ove s'udia 'l rimbombo.
Deil acqua . . " __ Dante.
From rise of morn till set of sun
I have seen the mighty Mohawk run,
And as I marked the woods of pine Along his mirror darkly shine,
Like tall and gloomy forms that pass Before the wizard's midnight glass : And as I viewed the hurrying pace With which he ran bis turbid race, Rushing, alike untir'd and wild, Through shades that frowned and flowers that smiled, Flying by every green recess
I I have been unable to ascertain positively the locality of this tavern. There was an inn kept by a man named Ford, just this side of Gibbonsville (now West Troy), and on the north side of the river were settled several families of Forts, one at Fort's Ferry, another at the Hotre Maan.
2 " There is a dreary and savage character in the country immediately about these Falls, which is more in harmony with the wildness of such a scene, than the culti- vated lands in the neighborhood of Niagara. See the drawing of them in Mr. Weld's book. According to him the perpendicular height of the Conos Falls is fifty feet, but the Marquis de Chastellux make- it seventy- ix. The fine rainbow which is continually forming and dissolving as the spray rises with the light of the sun, is perhaps the most interesting beauty which these wonderful cataracts exhibit."
13
1804.
HISTORY OF COHOES.
That woo'd him to its calm caress,
Yet, sometimes turning with the wind,
As if to leave one look behind !
Oh ! I have thought, and thinking sigh'd -
How like to thee, thou restless tide !
May be the lot, the life of him, Who roams along thy water's brim ! Through what alternate shades of woe,
And flowers of joy my path may go ! How many a humble, still retreat May rise to court my weary feet, While still pursuing, still unblest, I wander on, nor dare to rest ! But urgent as the doom that calls Thy water to its destined falls, I see the world's bewildering force
Hurry my heart's devoted course From lapse to lapse, till life be done,
And the last current cease to run ! Oh, may my falls be bright as thine !
May heaven's forgiving rainbow shine
Upon the mist that circles me. As soft, as now it hangs o'er thee !
It has been stated, but with what authority I cannot say, that the house occupied by Moore during his stay here, was afterward owned by G. M. Cropsey, and was standing until recently at Northside. In relation to this, the following, published in the Albany Evening Journal in 1859, will be of interest: " About the 5th of June, 1839, Moore received a letter from some person, a resident of the village of Cohoes, which so attracted his notice that he spoke of it to Daniel Webster, whom, on the 9th of June, he met at dinner. The point in the letter of interest now is that the writer claimed to have identified and visited the cottage occupied by Moore when at Cohoes, and the walk near the Falls fre- quented by him." In a letter from Moore to his mother, written from Saratoga, July 10th, 1804, is the following reference to his visit.
"Two or three days ago I was to see the Coho Falls on the Mohawk River, and was truly gratified. The immense fall of the river over a natural dam of thirty or forty feet high, its roar among the rocks, and the illuminated mist of
14
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1811.
spray which rises from its foam, were to me objects all new, beautiful, and impressive. I never can forget the scenery of this country, and if it had but any endearing associations of the heart (to diffuse that charm over it, without which the fairest features of nature are but faintly interesting), I should regret very keenly that I cannot renew often the enjoyment of its beauties. But it has none such for me, and I defy the barbarous natives to forge one chain of at- tachment for any heart, that has ever felt the sweets of delicacy, or refinement. I believe I must except the women from this denunciation ; they are certainly flowers of every climate and here waste their sweetness most deplorably."'
Among the latest descriptions of the Falls in which new points of interest are touched upon, is that of Timothy Dwight, president of Yale College, who was in the habit of making annual tours through this neighborhood. Wri- ting in 1811, he said : " The river was low, but I was better pleased with the appearance of the cataract than at any time heretofore. The face of the precipice was sensibly worn since 1802, and presented more and bolder varieties . to the view than at that time. A great deal of the precipice was naked."
When, with the progress of the present century, the lines of travel in this country became extended, Niagara and other cataracts by their superior grandeur rendered the Cohoes Falls less an object of interest, and the number of tourists thither decreased. To visitors in this neighborhood of later years, other features of the place have seemed more important, and the Falls, once the sole attraction, have re- ceived but passing mention.
1 Memoirs, Journal and Correspondence of Thomas Moore, Edited by the P.t. Hon. Lord John Russell, M. P., vol. I, London, 1853.
15
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1630.
II. COHOES AS A FARMING HAMLET.
THE greater part of the land on which the city of Cohoes now stands was originally in the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, and was purchased from the Indians in 1630. A charter of privileges and exemptions had been granted in the preceding year, for the encouragement of patroons to settle colonies, and Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, a pearl merchant in Amster- dam, and a director of the Dutch West India Company, was one of those who availed themselves of its advantages.
At different times during the next seven years the agents of this gentleman purchased for him tracts of land in this vicinity, until his domain extended twenty-four miles along the Hudson River, and twenty-four miles on each side of the river, east and west, embracing the land which now composes the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and part of Columbia. The northern boundary of this manor was on the line of the Cohoes Falls, running along what was after- ward known as Cohoes Lane and still later as the Boght Road and Manor Avenue. The land north of this manor line, which is now within the city limits, was given by the Indians to Illetie or Hilletie (Alice), the wife of Pieter Danielse Van Olinde. She was the daughter of Cornelis Antonissen Van Slyck, and was a half-breed, her mother being a Mohawk woman. She acted for many years as in- terpretess for the province, and as such was frequently mentioned in the journals of Dankers and Sluyter, before quoted. The Mohawk sachems gave her, in 1667, the Great Island at Niskayuna, and also land at Willow Flat, below Port Jackson and at the Boght, in Watervliet .?
The islands at the mouth of the Mohawk, which were in
' The land northwest of the city, which was settled at an early day by the Van Denberg and other families, was originally included in a patent granted to Peter endrickse De Haas in 1697.
16
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1676.
early years a favorite resort of the Indians - one of their strong holds, Moenimines Castle, being situated on Haver Island - came into possession of Capt. Goosen Gerritse Van Schaick, brewer; of Albany. In 1664, he, together with Philip Pieterse Schuyler, was granted permission to purchase the Halve Maan from the Indians "to prevent those of Connecticut purchasing it." This grant, commonly known as the Van Schaick or Half-Moon patent, included the present village of Waterford, and part of Half-Moon. Its name is derived from the crescent shape of the land lying between the Hudson and the Mohawk at that point.1
Under the terms of the charter it became the duty of Mr. Van Rensselaer to encourage the settlement of the tract of which he was possessor, and in 1630, and succeeding years, numbers of colonists came over from Holland and were provided with good farms and comfortable homes in Fort Orange (Albany) and vicinity. The first settlers in the neighborhood of Cohoes belonged to or were descended from those families and were located on the Halve Maan, at Waterford, or on the Mohawk Flats near Niskayuna - then called Nestigione or Conistigione.
Of the land which is now within the limits of the city, Cohoes Island, afterwards known as Van Schaick's and Adams' Island, appears to have been the part first placed under cultivation. This, together with Haver Island (Haver being the Dutch for oats), which adjoins it on the north, was occupied at an early day, and references to them in the old records are frequent. Capt. Van Schaick, the original owner, died about 1676, and some of his property was dis- posed of by his widow, as appears from the following and other deeds among the early records of Albany county:
" Appeared before me Robert Livingston, secretary etc., and in presence of the after named witnesses, Annetie Lie-
I This tract, it will be seen, was of considerable size, and as many of the farmers living in this vicinity were described in the old records merely as living at the Hutte Maan, it leads to zoute difficulty in preserving the identity of the different families. Waterford was taken off from the original township in 1816, and Clifton Park in 1828.
17
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1680.
vens widow of Goose Gerritse Van Schaick deceased, of the one side, and Jan Jacobse Van Noortstrant of the other side, who declared that they had in amity and friendship made a bargain with each other for the sale of a piece of land lying to the north of the fourth branch or fork [ Spruyt] of the Mohawk River above the colony Rensselaerswyck, being a part of a parcel of land called the foreland of the Half Moon, and by the Indians Mathahenaach, together with about two morgens of cleared land lying on the island which lies directly over against the aforesaid parcel of land, commonly called Haver [Oats] Island, . . . for which two parcels of land Jan Jacobse Van Noortstrant promises to deliver the sum of sixty and six whole beavers,' to be paid in wheat, oats, or other grain, cattle, work, etc., at market prices. . . . Thus done in Albany the 26th of June, 1677, in presence of Mr. Gerrit Banker and Harme Rutgers as witnesses hereto invited."
Van Schaick's Island, however, remained in possession of the family, who, though not residing there, appear to have rented it to different parties living in the vicinity. Thus, Guert Hendrickse Van Schoonhoven, spoken of as belong- ing at the Halve Maan in 1675, had a farm on the island in 1681, as did also Harmon Lieviense or Lieverse, while Rocloff Gerritse Van Der Werken was an occupant of it in 1680.
The first settlement on this side of the river was some- what later, though the exact date cannot be ascertained, and was made in the neighborhood of the Boght at the northwest of the city.2
! A beaver skin was worth about eight guilders or $3.20 in our currency.
2 " Boght, het boght, is a locality situated within the town of Watervliet. Spaf- ford, in his Gazetteer, snys this word means a cove or bay. This is wrong. The Dutch Dictionary tells us the signification is a ' bend or turn,' so this place. It was settled by branches of the Fort and Fonda families at a very early period ; we re- gret that we have not been able to ascertain the precise time. Exploring and hunting parties from Albany for many years after its settlement made the Boght as well as Niskayuna and Schenectady places of frequent resort. Those Albanians too, dealt in contraband goods, and carried on a trade in fars with the Mohawks at Schenectady contrary to the ordinance of the common council of Albany, and passed through this place and Niskayuna on their way to Schenectady to avoid suspicion."- Prof. Pearson.
3
18
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1767.
During the first half of the eighteenth century the land adjoining the river which now forms the principal part of the city, and a tract near its western boundaries, about a mile from the river, was settled by several families of Lan- sings, and the families of Heamstreet (Heemstraat or Von Heemstraaten), Ouderkirk, Liverse (Lieverse or Lievense), Fonda and Clute ; of whom the Lansings appear to have come from Albany, and the others from Niskayuna or the Half Moon.
The date at which that part of the land which was within the manor was first occupied cannot be definitely ascertained‹ for as it was under the jurisdiction of the patroon, no public record was made of leases or conveyances to farmers. Deeds are in existence, however, of the lands north of the manor line which belonged to the Van Olinde family, show- ing the dates at which they were sold to other parties, and it is probable that all the families above named settled here about the same time. Among the earliest of these transfers was one of a woodland lot of over one hundred acres situated just north of the manor line which was sold by Daniel Van Olinde, eldest son of Pieter and Illetie Van Olinde, to Walran Clut or Clute.
The following is an abstract of the deed :
"THIS INDENTURE, made and Coneluded on the four and Twentieth day of November in the Seventh Yeare of The Reign of our Sovereing Lord George. By the Grace of God of Great Britain franc and Ireland Kise defender of The faith, ete., and In the year of our Lord, one Thousand Seven hundred and Twenty by and Between Daniel Van Olinde of the County of Albany in the province of New Yorke Yeoman of the one part, and Walran Clut of the same county of the other part WITNESSETH THAT HE THE SAID Daniell Van Olinde, for and In consideration of fourty Two pounds of currant Lawfull money of New Yorke to him In hand paid Before the Ensealing and Delivery of This pre- sents the Receipt Whereof he The Said Daniel Van Olinde
19
1767.
HISTORY OF COHOES.
Doth hereby acknowledge and him Self therewith full Satisfied and Contented and Thereof and of every part and parcell Thereof Doth fully and absolutely Exonerate and Discharge The Said Walran Clut his heirs executors administrators and assigns By These presents hath Granted Released and Confirmed . . Bargained and sold and doth hereby sell unto the Said Walran Clute his heirs and assigns for Ever All That Certain Tract or Pacall of Wood Land Scituate Lying and Being within the county off Albany aforesaid on The South Side of The Mohaks or Schaneghiendy River between Cahoos and Canastojoind [Conistigione or Niskayuna] is Bounded, etc. One The East End Thereof by the Great fall caled the Cahoos afore- said and on the West Running along The Line of the manner of Renselaers Wick Till you come by a Kill which is called the boghts' Kly Kuyll or Kly Kill by the land of one Hendrik Rider which land is also (illegible) * transported by the aforesaid Danell Van Olinde Into him The Said Hendrik Rider, and so along that Said Land Till you come again upon The Aforesaid Kly Kill and Then along The Said Kill Till you come To The River aforesaid and So along The Said River To The Cahoos where first begon-provided alwais and for Ever hereafter that he The said Walran Clut and his heirs and assigns Shall Leave one wagon road along the river for The Use of The Neigh- bourhood, It is further agreed by and between the Said Daniel Van Olinde and Walran Clut for theire Self and there heirs for ever that he the Said Clute has free Liberty to build one or more Saw Mills or Grind Mills and To Ly Dams provided that in Case The aforesaid Walran Clute his heirs or assigns Shall come to buld a Saw mill and Saw Loggs out of the right of him the said Daniel his heirs and assigns that Then and In such case he the said Walran Clute his heirs and assigns shall pay to him the said Daniel his heirs and assigns ten Boards yearly and Every year forever, and In case a Grind Mill That Then and In such case he the said Walran Clut and his heirs and assigns shall forever grind for Daniel Van Olinde and his heirs and assigns, for one famaly that Shall Life upon the Land where the said Daniel now Lifes on .
IN WITNESS WHEREOF THE parties To These presents
20
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1767.
Indenture have Interchangeabley put their hands and Seald The Day and Year first above writting
Signed Seald and Delivered DANIEL VAN OLINDE [L. S.] In the presence of Mynders Schuyler Justice John De Peyster Evert Wendell.
The farm directly north of this, embracing about two hundred acres, was sold by Daniel Van Olinde to Gerret Lansing in May, 1740. The dates of these transfers and other facts in regard to the matter which are accessible, afford fair evidence that the first general settlement of the place was made between 1725 and 1750.
It is almost impossible to obtain in detail an accurate ac- count of the carly inhabitants ; in most cases there is nothing to show the date at which their farms were, cleared or their houses built, and with one or two exceptions but few facts can be given in regard to their family history. Under these circumstances the history of Cohoes, while it was but a farming community, must necessarily be incom- plete. From records in existence, however, it is possible to identify the different farm houses, some of which still remain, and to give the boundaries of the principal farms as they were held by the original settlers.
In a map of the manor of Rensselaerswyck made for the patroon by John R. Bleeker, surveyor, in 1767, the follow- ing houses appear on the land now included within the city limits, most of them near the river, and the main road, now Saratoga street:
Henry Lansing's, opposite the upper end of Green Island. This house, situated a short distance below the Old June- tion near the canal, is now ocenpied by Lucius Alexander. It has been altered and enlarged from time to time, and the original building is still in good condition.'
1 The property of Henry or Hendrik Lansing was afterwards sold to Jacob II. Lansing who occupied the farm-house for many years. William Lansing, his son. occupied the house on the opposite side of the road, and it is said, kept a tavern
21
HISTORY OF COHOES.
1767.
Lansing's, on the opposite (west) side of the road from the above and a little to the south. This house is said to have been burned, but at what date is not known.
Cornelis Ouderkerk's,1, opposite the lower end of Van Schaick's Island. This house was last occupied by a family named Conaughty, after having been for some years occu- pied as a tavern. It stood on the west bank of the Cham- plain Canal, a short distance below Tighes' brewery near Newark street, and was torn down in 1865.
Derek Heamstreet's," a few rods north of Ouderkerk's. Part of this building, located between the canal and the river, directly east of the brewery, still remains, and is now in possession of John P. Weber. It was partially destroyed by fire, Dec. 2, 1868. The lower part of the building re- mains the same as before, but the Dutch gable roof was burned, and replaced by the flat roof now seen. This, like all the other old farm houses in the neighborhood, was built to last, and none of its material was light or flimsy. The old barn, which stood near the house, was a most massive structure. It was built throughout of the heaviest and best selected timber ; the flooring was of five inch plank hewn by hand, and the roof was covered with four feet cedar shingles, secured by wrought nails. The building was pur- chased some years since by George E. Simmons, and when it was torn down enough material was found in it to serve for the construction of two barns of modern style.
there in the early part of the present century. Descendants of the family, among them Abraham F. Lansing of this city, and Dow F. Lansing of Albany, are yet living.
! The Onderkerk family do not appear to have long resided here, and in accounts which are found in old records they are mentioned as being from the Half Moon. Several marriages between this family and the Fondas are recorded in the middle of the last century, which may account for the fact that the farm afterwards came into possession of the Fonda family. The house was occupied in 1815, by Harmon Fonda, who owned the farm together with his brother Dow 1. Fonda. Their de- "cendants still live in this vicinity, some of them in Watervliet.
2 Derek Heamstreet was succeeded by Charles Heumstreet, who became one of the principal farmers in the neighborhood. He had five sous : Richard, Albert, John,
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