USA > New York > Dutchess County > The history of Dutchess County, New York > Part 41
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Daniel and Stephen Guernsey were in their boyhood playing ball and chasing cows barefooted over their pastures of Stanford. The Butts family were among the ancient settlers of the town. Allison Butts can tell you, if he will, of the cold spring on the ancestral farm, where he quaffed the purest water at many a noontide, and from which runs a stream large enough to turn a mill.
Upton's Lake was at one time quite a pleasure resort for Pough- keepsians, fostered by the managers of the Poughkeepsie & Eastern Railroad.
There are two grist mills at Bangall, one being run by John Knoed- ler, and the other by William Haight. A mill near the Separate is run by a Mr. Mosher; another at the outlet of Hunn's Lake is man- aged by one Schmidt.
The Bordens have a plant at Bangall, established a few years ago, which is doing a thriving business.
There are three stores at Bangall. G. E. Pulse conducts a general merchandise store, as also do Andrew C. Smith and C. Couse & Son, the latter having added a feed department. The postmaster here is Samuel Cox.
Almon M. Harrison is a merchant at Stanfordville, and is also post- master, having received his first appointment under Grover Cleveland in May, 1894.
The Case Brothers are merchants also, doing business at Stanford- ville.
There is a store and postoffice at Stissing, Charles Arnold, post- master.
The following is the list of Supervisors of the town of Stanford from its organization to the present time:
1795 Ezra Thompson
1816-'17 Jehiel Sherril
1796 Joseph Carpenter
1818-'20 Leonard Barton
1797-'02 Zachariah Mosher 1821-'23 Gilbert Thorne
1803-'04 Isaac Huntling
1824 Leonard Thompson
1805-'06 John Thompson
1825-'26 Jonathan Haight
1807-'15 Jeremiah Sherril
1827-'28 Jacob Sisson
459
TOWN OF STANFORD.
1829 -- '80
Leonard Barton
1863
William H. Tripp
1881-'32 Gilbert Thorne
1864
George Peck
1833 Isaac Thompson
1865
Mulford Conklin
1834-'35 Benjamin Conger
1866-'67 Andrew C. Warren
1836 Morgan Huntting
1868-'69
William H. Tripp
1837 -- '38
John Thompson William H. Stewart Harris Smith
1871-'73
Andrew C. Warren Silas W. Germond
1842-'43
Egbert Austin
1875
Silas O. Rogers
1844
Rufus Smith
1876
Oliver K. Smith
1845 Stephen G. Guernsey
1877-'79
Isaac Carpenter
1846-'47
John H. Otis
1880-'82
John W. Butts
1848 '49 Orville Sackett
1888
Andrew C. Warren
1850
Amos B. Knapp
1884-'86
Charles H. Humphrey
1851
Alfred Mosher
1887-'88
Smith Knapp
1852
Henry Rikert
1889-'90
Charles H. Humphrey
1853-'54
1891
Smith Knapp
1855
Ezra Bryan Jacob B. Carpenter C. N. Campbell
1892
George E. Rodgers
1856
1857-'58 E. M. Vanderburgh
1900-'03
George H. Kinney
1859
Isaac S. Carpenter C. N. Campbell
1904-'05
Edwin Coffin
1860
1906-'07
William Stewart
1861-'62 Isaac G. Sands
1908-'09
Willett Hicks
1870
Mulford Conklin
1839-'40
1841
1874
1893-'99
Edwin Knickerbocker
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THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
CHAPTER XXXII. THE TOWN OF UNION VALE.
BY PHILIP H. SMITH.
T HE town of Union Vale was erected March 1, 1827, and in- cludes territory formerly comprised in the towns of Beek- man and "Freedom," now La Grange. Its surface is a hilly upland, intersected by a broad valley extending north and south. This valley is known far and wide as "The Clove," its limits extending beyond the town borders, and was an important landmark in the early history of the region.
The Clove Kill is a tributary of the Fishkill, flowing southwesterly through the town. This territory was a portion of the Beekman Patent, and settlement is supposed to have begun about the year 1716. Oswego and Verbank are hamlets. Among the early settlers we find the names of Livingston, Potter, Abel, Morey, Reed, Uhl, Cline and Wilkinson.
William Coe and Peter Emigh settled on adjoining farms here in 1740. In that year the stone house was built, now standing, on the Emigh homestead, at present in possession of a grandson of William. Many people every season make a pilgrimage to this relic of by-gone days. It is a large, two-story structure, in good repair notwithstand- ing its age. It was built when slaves were employed on the farm. In front of this house, exactly eight feet distant, stood the slave house, with doors opposite. In this latter the slaves lived. A peculiarity of this building was, that although it was the home of the farm slaves, there was not a window in it.
On the farm is the Emigh family burying ground, in the center of a large cultivated field, with walls broken down, and monument stones of slate slabs taken from the fields, and names and dates rudely chiseled thereon. In a corner of the same field was the burial place of the slaves, but now all evidence of graves has disappeared. The descendants are many of the pioneer Emigh, who redeemed this farm
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TOWN OF UNION VALE.
from the wilderness, whose broad acres are now owned by William V. Coe, grandson of the pioneer settler of the farm adjoining.
William Coe, the neighbor of Peter Emigh, was a tan currier, who had a tannery near David Moore's hotel, and marketed his sides of leather (which took months of soaking in his vats to prepare, instead of a few hours of preparation as at present) in New York, driving over the country to Poughkeepsie or Low Point, and shipping by sloop.
On this Emigh homestead is the far-famed Clove Spring. This is a natural fountain of the purest water, from which flows a stream equivalent to an ordinary mill-race. The spring itself is seventy- five feet across.
The Clove Spring Trout Company, an association of New York gentlemen, have utilized the waters of this spring in the construction of ten ponds, each fourteen by sixty feet, in which are twenty-two thousand trout, assorted into five sizes; the last pond containing two thousand two-pound trout. These are soon to be let loose in the ad- jacent streams, to be angled for when the "law is up." About eighty pounds of fresh beef is ground up daily for their consumption.
The Clove Valley Rod and Gun Club is another association of wealthy gentlemen of sportsman taste, as the name implies. They have leased the old ore mine property for a term of years, and erected a large club house, where they are at liberty to come at pleasure. By a payment of a small annual fee to the farmers they have secured the right to hunt and fish over miles of adjacent territory. The com- pany has lately invested thousands of dollars in the acquisition of rights and in erecting buildings for the use of the club.
The Watts de Peyster Home for Invalid Children is located three and one-half miles east of Verbank. The property of one hundred acres and a large brick and stone building with capacity for fifty children was given by the late General John Watts de Peyster. The Home is open to all children eligible to admission, regardless of race, color, or religious belief. Children between two and twelve years of age having any ailment that is not acute, contagious, or infectious, may be received. Boys may remain until fourteen years of age, girls until eighteen.
The property is held in trust, and the work is mnged by deacon- esses of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It is supported by volun- tary contributions.
462
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The Patrons of Husbandry of the town have a commodious hall, and the society is growing in numbers and strength.
The Ebenezer Methodist Church was built in 1837, the original cost, exclusive of labor, being about $800.00. William Coe, Peter G. Emigh and Jonathan G. Vincent were the original trustees. From the date of the erection of the church edifice to the present time, up- wards of seventy years, the society has enjoyed unbroken services. The pulpit is now supplied by Rev. N. O. Lent, of Lagrangeville.
South of this is a Catholic church, its attendants forming an out- lying mission of the Sylvan Lake Church. Meetings are held here at stated intervals.
The "Old Union Church" at Green Haven, frequently referred to in the ecclesiastical documents of the county, and which was called the "Old Union" as early as 1820, when there was not a house of worship in the present town limits of Union Vale, is described to the writer as a large building for the time, with a gallery at one end, a high pulpit with seven or eight steps leading up to it, and a sounding board poised over the preacher's head. In later years it was used only for enter- tainments. Another "Old Union" stood on the Amos Denton farm, perhaps older than the one at Green Haven. The materials of this were removed to the farm of Vincent Williams, and converted into a barn, where it still stands, good to battle with the storms of a half century to come.
In the early twenties of the last century a great revival occurred in the old church at Green Haven. Farmers took their families a distance of eight and ten miles. The religious enthusiasm reached all over the town of Union Vale. This finally culminated in the erec- tion of the first house of worship in the town, which was of the Chris- tian denomination, and was erected in the field east of the residence of William V. Coe, the site now marked by a gravestone laid flat on the ground. The house was completed in the fall of 1824. About this time a large class of believers had been organized under what they termed the "Christian Liberty Departure," holding their meetings in the "Old Union," just mentioned. Abigail Hoag Roberts came into the vicinity ; she was a preacher and a comforter; crowds came to hear her, and calls for her services came from every quarter. Her work also contributed to the religious awakening throughout the region.
463
TOWN OF UNION VALE.
Soon after the Civil War some of the members of the Clove Ceme- tery Association began to discuss the expediency of having a church edifice at the entrance to the cemetery. It was not convenient in bad weather to hold funeral services two or three miles from the place of burial. They therefore made the proposal that the Christian church be taken down and removed some three miles south to its present loca- tion. This was favorably considered by the church people, and in 1871 or "72 the removal was affected.
The Clove Cemetery is one of the neatest of rural cemeteries. There are several fine monuments, and the walks and flowering plants are kept in fine condition. A miniature lake is included within it.
Some score or more years ago a little chapel stood in the bend of the road leading from Gardner Hollow to Beekman Furnace. This unpretending house of worship was first erected, I am told, in the town of Beekman. It was moved to this locality where it was used for some time by some people of the Quaker denomination, and was called the little Quaker church. It afterward passed into the hands of another denomination, and was then known as the Union Cuyler Mission. The edifice is now doing duty as an ordinary out-building, "fallen from its high estate."
There are two ore mines here, neither of which is now being operated. One is what is locally known as the "Brown Ore Mine," now a part of the estate of Frederick Mills, of Copake. This was first opened in 1856 by Jeremiah and William Emigh. The other mine is under the management of the Towers of Poughkeepsie when in operation. Only a few years ago a hundred tons of ore were un- earthed daily at these mines. Now, rusted machinery and buildings falling rapidly into decay mark a spot once resonant with the hum of industry.
The Factory Woods were so named because of a factory that once stood on the stream above the Furnace Ford, where carding and spinning were done; a fulling mill was established here at the same time.
Verbank Station is a pretty little village that has sprung up on the line of railroad, with its stores, residences, church and cemetery. The old village lies a short distance from the station on the verdant banks of the stream; hence its name, Verbank. Formerly a cotton mill and a paper mill were operated here; the stream is now harnessed to mills of another sort.
464
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
Some years ago Quaker City, or Oswego, was the home of a fine school for boys and girls. This was subsequent to the closing of the boarding school at Nine Partners. The school was managed by the Quakers; and a church of that denomination flourished here also.
The following is a list of Supervisors of the town of Union Vale from its organization to the present time:
1828
John Wilkinson
1863-'66 David D. Vincent
1829 William D. Williams
1867-'70
Joseph M. Cutler
1830-'31 Allen Butler 1871 Edward Congdon
1832-'34
Stoddard Judd
1872-'79
Wesley Butts
1835-'36
Richard Vincent
1874-'75
Henry L. Campbell
1837
John D. Snedecor
1876
Henry Bostwick
1838-'39
Leonard Vincent
1878
Frederick Hicks
1842
Andrew Northrop
1879
John U. Abel
1843
Richard Vincent
1880-'82
Isaac P. Vincent
1844-'45 David D. Vincent
1883
John W. Ross
1846
Isaac Vail
1884 Samuel D. Brownell
1847-248
Jarvis Hall
1885
Chauncey P. Colwell
1849
Reuben L. Coe
1886-'87
Frank T. Hall
1850
Robert Bennett
1888-'89 Henry Bostwick
1851
Leonard Vincent
1890-'91
John U. Abel
1852
William W. Abel
1892-'93
Rutsen S. Hall
1853
Joseph M. Cutler
1894-'95
David B. Knapp
1854
David D. Vincent
1896-'98 Edwin G. Vail
1855-'56
Wilson Hawley
1899-302 Elsworth L. Winans
1857
Lewis S. Davis
1903-'06
Frank F. Oakley
1858-'60
Daniel W. Odell
1907-'09
George H. Barlow
1861-'62
William R. Bagley
1877 John U. Abel
1840-'41
James Uhle
CLINTON W. CLAPP.
465
TOWN OF WAPPINGER.
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE TOWN OF WAPPINGER.
BY CLINTON W. CLAPP.
T HE town of Wappinger, originally a part of the town of Fish- kill, was erected May 20, 1875, and lies wholly within the limits of the Rombout patent granted in 1685. It is bounded on the north by LaGrange; east by Sprout creek, which separates it from East Fishkill; south by Fishkill, and on the west by Wappinger creek and the Hudson river.
Territorially it is the smallest town in Dutchess County, covering 16,025 acres, but in point of population and industrial activity it is one of the most important.
Wappingers Falls, the principal village. in the town, is situated at the head of navigation on Wappinger creek, about two miles above its confluence with the Hudson, and the same distance from New Ham- burgh, a station on the N. Y. C. & H. R. railroad, with which it is connected by stage. An electric railway connects the village with the city of Poughkeepsie.
The village lies on both sides of the creek, having been made to include the village of Channingville, in the town of Poughkeepsie, by its incorporation, September 22, 1871. The first board of trustees was composed of Samuel Brown, Joseph D. Harcourt and R. W. Nel- son. Matthew Cottam was chosen the first village president.
The locality of the first projected settlement in the county was at the mouth of the Wappinger creek in the year 1659, and, had it been successful, would doubtless have changed the preponderant character of the pioneers. In that year Massachusetts, claiming under her charter the country north of the 42d° of latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific, granted "a plantation in the neighborhood of Fort Orange, to several persons of respectability residing within her juris- diction." With a view to locating this grant, an exploring party
466
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
proceeded during the summer to Beverwyck (Albany), and after ex- amining the east bank of the Hudson, they announced their intention to establish a village near the mouth of the Wappinger creek. As this spot was difficult of access overland from the settled parts of New England, the projectors applied to the Dutch authorities solicit- ing the right of passage through the Hudson. Director Stuyvesant, forseeing the injury which such settlement would work on the Dutch interests in New Netherland, declined the right of free passage, and the New Englanders, after a wordy encounter, abandoned the project.
Among the earliest land-holders within the present town limits were the Van Benschotens, who located in the neighborhood of New Hacken- sack. The name of "Elias Van Benschoten" appears in the list of inhabitants in the county in 1714. An early land transfer in the northeast part of the town bears date of August 15, 1728, wherein Gulian, Mary and Anne Verplanck, in right of their deceased father, conveyed a tract of three hundred acres to "John Muntross" of Dutch- ess County, the consideration being £83. In the same year Stephen Van Rensselaer, a son-in-law of Stephanus Van Cortlandt, who was one of the partners of the Rombout purchase, sold to Gideon Ver Valin 745 acres of land north of the Verplanck tract. Johannes Schurrie was another early settler in the north part of the town. He came, about 1740, from Hackensack, N. J., from which the hamlet of New Hackensack derives its name. He settled on the land which subse- quently became the Diddle, Rowe and Wicks farms, and built three stone houses. The Diddle farmhouse is standing to-day, on which are inscribed the figures 1753.
Others who settled on the Van Cortlandt and Verplanck tracts about the middle of the eighteenth century were Adolphus and Nicho- las Brewer, John Schuyler, Peter Teller, Samuel Bayard, Samuel Thorn and Joseph Vail. Later arrivals were Peter Mesier, John Hughson and the Rev. William Seward.
The Mesier family were natives of France and fled to Holland to escape religious persecution. Pierre Mesier came to New Amster- dam in 1659. His descendants, Adam and Peter Mesier, were mer- chants in New York City, and accumulated much wealth during the Revolution. They were ardent Tories and gave much aid to the British army. Peter came to Wappinger in 1777, and through Matthew Van Benschoten purchased 422 acres of land of Nicholas
467
TOWN OF WAPPINGER.
Brewer, which included the house now known as the Mesier home- stead in the village park at Wappingers Falls. The land was con- veyed to Van Benschoten April 14th, and May 1st, 1777, was trans- ferred to Mesier. When the American army regained possession of New York City, the Mesier property in Barclay and Cortlandt streets was confiscated, and shortly thereafter the Mesier family made their home at Wappinger, where Peter maintained his thrift and added to his estate by other purchases, including the "Yellow' and the "Red" mills on the east side of Wappinger creek with 160 acres of land. He died in 1805, and left his property to his three sons, Mathew, Abram and Peter, Jr., with the provision that they give to each of their five sisters $6,000. Mesier Park and Mesier Avenue perpetuate the name in the village.
Adolphus Brewer was a miller and millwright from Holland. He built the "Yellow" mill at Wappingers Falls, which had a capacity of one hundred barrels of flour per day, and also erected several dwell- ing. He died in early life. His brother, Nicholas, built the Mesier homestead and the old library building. The latter was a large two- story house, and had the appearance of a hotel. It was partially de- stroyed by fire and was replaced by what is now known as the "Smith Block." Nicholas also built the "Red" mill and dock at the head of tide water. Vessels drawing six feet of water could come to this dock. Nicholas Brewer died in 1787. His sons, John D. and Nicholas, Jr., came into possession of his property. Nicholas, Jr., and Henry Ter Boss were shipbuilders and had a shipyard near the present plant of the Gas Company. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of water could come up to this shipyard. Mathew Mesier had a sloop built there for the shipment of flour, and a number of gunboats were built at this yard in' 1812 for the United States Government.
February 28, 1819, a freshet of extraordinary force destroyed many mills on the banks of the Wappinger, and carried away every bridge from Salt Point to the Hudson. The Main street bridge at Wappingers Falls was immediately rebuilt. It was a covered struc- ture with windows on each side. It was replaced in 1852 by a stone bridge thirty feet wide, which in 1884 was widened to sixty feet.
Another serious freshet occurred January 3, 1841. It swept away Given's cotton mill, the print works dam, and a house below the foun- dry. The bridges, however, remained intact.
468
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
In 1832, Mr. James Ingham, a native of Manchester, England, established at "the Falls," a plant for calico printing, now known as the Dutchess Print Works. In 1835 the business was sold to the "Dutchess Company," in which Thomas Garner, who had been Mr. Ingham's agent, was the principal owner. Mr. Garner's associates were D. R. Mangam and L. M. Thorn. In 1866 Mangam & Thorn withdrew and were succeeded by S. W. Johnson. Shortly afterwards Mr. Garner died, and his real estate and business interests were trans- ferred by will to his son, William T. Garner, who was drowned by the capsizing of his yacht in June, 1876. The same year William Bogle assumed the management of the plant, and later became superintendent of all of Garner & Company's interests in Wappinger. In 1898 Mr. Bogle died, and the management of the business has since been in the hands of his son, John Bogle.
The industry has become one of the most important and extensive in Dutchess County. The business received a great impetus with the invention of machines for printing from copper rollers. Originally occupying but a single building of small dimensions, the plant now covers many acres of ground, and new buildings have been repeatedly erected in response to the increased demands for the productions of this concern. Over one thousand persons are given employment, and the daily output averages from twenty-five to thirty tons of calicoes and shirtings.
The Franklindale Cotton Company, whose plant was destroyed by fire in 1885, was also the property of Messrs. Garner & Co., by whom it was purchased in 1844. The site and water power was first utilized by Benjamin Clapp, who bought the site from the Mesiers and erected a building, the lower floor of which he occupied in the manufacture of mahogany veneering. The second floor was rented to Cook & Low, who were engaged in the manufacture of combs, while the upper story was used as a drying room for the print works.
The cotton mill operated 10,000 spindles, and produced 250,000 yards of cloth per week. It gave employment to about 125 persons. Peter McKinley was the first agent after the mill came into the hands of the Franklindale Company, and his brother, Daniel, was superin- tendent. Peter died in 1859, and was succeeded by Matthew Cottam. The plant was under the management of William Bogle at the time of its destruction.
THOMSON E. GORING.
469
TOWN OF WAPPINGER.
The Clinton Company was organized in 1846 with a capital of $100,000, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton goods. Thomas Garner was the principal stockholder. A three-story stone building, 50 by 210 feet, was erected on the site of the "Yellow" flour mill. The capacity of the plant was about the same as that of the Franklindale Company. It was burned June 19, 1855, and never rebuilt. The name, however, exists in the supervision of all the tenement property of Garner & Co., numbering several hundred buildings, which are rented mainly to the operators in the print works.
The Independent Comb Company, composed of Levi Cook and Emery Low, was formed in 1828. The business was later conducted by James Shields, Israel T. Nichols, and E. D. Sweet. They em- ployed at one time about three hundred hands, and the industry became quite lucrative. In 1854 the partnership was dissolved, and the mem- bers of the firm retired. The business finally passed into the hands of Elias Brown, who erected a new building for it at the corner of Fulton and Prospect streets. It was burned in 1868, and immediately re- built. Brown was succeeded by his sons, James and Samuel. Upon the repeal of the tariff during Cleveland's second administration they found that they could not compete with the German-made combs, and the business was discontinued.
The R. J. Stuart Foundry, north of Drake's drawbridge on the Wappinger creek, was originally located at Hughsonville. The in- dustry was established by William Taylor, and has changed owner- ship several times since it was sold to Hunt & Disbrow in 1852. The plant was removed to its present location in 1873.
Sweet, Orr & Company. This firm was founded by James Orr, who was the pioneer of the overall business. He commenced making over- alls in California in 1849, and in 1871, came east and started a small factory at Wappinger's Falls in company with his nephews, Clayton E. and Clinton W. Sweet. The original factory was enlarged in 1876. There were then 250 employees, and a weekly product of 1,000 dozen pairs.
In 1880 there was need of greater facilities for manufacturing, and the firm decided to start an additional and larger factory in New- burgh. Factories were subsequently opened in New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Port Jervis and Joliet, Ill. Main offices and warerooms of the company are situated in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
470
THE COUNTY OF DUTCHESS.
The product now includes coats, trousers, and flannel and outing shirts. Mr. T. E. Goring, formerly superintendent of the Wappinger plant, is now manager of the manufacturing department. Mr. Orr died in 1899, and Mr. Clayton E. Sweet died in 1909. The firm name' is still carried on as originally adopted.
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