USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > The history of Kingston, New York : from its early settlement to the year 1820 > Part 22
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The farmers, too, had their husking bees. As soon as the corn was brought into the barn and severed from the stalk, neighbors were called in to aid in husking. The barn being as well illumi- nated as practicable by candles, after the ordinary farm work of the day was finished, the gathering of the neighboring friends com- menced, and the work began. The jug, or flowing bowl, was fre- quently passed around, the evening enlivened with songs and stories, and not infrequently followed by a hot pot-pie supper at mid- night. The farmer could the next morning contemplate a large pile of corn severed from the husks and ready for the market. Everything of that kind in those days had to be done by hand and without the aid of any of the labor-saving machinery of the pres- ent time, and hence the need of extra help outside of the ordi- nary working hours.
By a law passed in 1743, the southern part of the county of Ulster was divided into three precincts, and an additional super- visor given to the corporation of Kingston and Manor of Foxhall. So that thereafter the town of Kingston, including Foxhall, was represented by two supervisors in the county board during the ex- istence of the colonial Government.
In March, 1753, the trustees became very much troubled in re- gard to questions that were raised in reference to the legality and jurisdiction of their local court, as the sheriff refused any longer to execute their processes.
They then appointed Messrs. Evert Wynkoop and Jan Eltinge a committee to go and consult with counsel in the city of New York, and if their counsel considered the charter defective, then they were to endeavor to get an explanatory charter. The report of the committee is not given, but it appears not to have been sat- isfactory, for in May they sent the same committee to consult with the chief justice in regard to the validity of their alleged power to hold a town court under the provisions of their charter, and if they had not the right what proceeding should be taken by them to acquire it. The response they received was against the validity of the charter, and in April, 1754, they sent another committee, Evert Wynkoop and Peter E. Elmendorf, to New York to pro-
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cure an " explanatory charter." Although the trustees continued their efforts for many years to procure the charter amendments, they were not successful. But still they went through the form every year, until the formation of the State Government to desig- nate their local court and elect an officer to serve processes, etc. Each year they passed a formal resolution to indemnify him against any suits that might be brought against him on account of the service and execution of such processes. But the trustees do not appear ever to have been called upon to respond for any damages.
In the year 1750, owing to the call for building lots in the vil- lage, it became necessary for the trustees to lay out some additional lots. They appointed a meeting to be held on the 6th day of Oc- tober, 1750, " sun an hour high," at the house of Cornelius Elmen- dorf (corner of Maiden Lane and Fair Street), to see in what man- ner the house lots along the Armbowery should be laid out, and also to locate a burying-ground for the slaves. (Any trustee not attending was to be fined a pint of wine.)
At that time, without doubt, St. James Street was located, and the burying-ground for colored people designated and laid out, on the west side of Pine Street, about two hundred feet south of St. James Street, where it is now covered by a lumber-yard. It was used as a burying-place for over one hundred years.
On the 6th of October, 1736, the trustees resolved to build a dock at the landing where most convenient for the wood to be drawn, and appointed a committee to see whether "there was wood enough behind the island of Moses Cantine toward the Steep rocks." It is supposed that the dock thus authorized was the first regular dock built, and was located at Ponckhockie, where the Tremper Dock was afterward built, and which was obliterated when some of the present ship-yards in that vicinity were erected.
On the 30th day of May, 1739, permission was given by the trustees to Cornelius Delameter to build a mill on the west side of . Rondout Creek above the Twaalfskill, "so far in the Creek that a sloop can come up to it." That, it is thought, must relate to the building of a mill below the falls at the place now called Eddyville.
It is not on but above the Twaalfskill that the mill was located, and there are no falls in the creek below Eddyville, which is at · least a mile above the Twaalfskill.
On the 27th day of November, 1754, the trustees determining to send to England for a fire-engine, appointed Petrus E. Elmendorf to attend to it, and directed that eighty pounds in cash be handed to him for that purpose. It could not be procured in this country
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by reason of the English prohibition against the establishment of manufactories on this side the water.
The engine was received in the spring of 1757, and at a meeting of the trustees held on the 15th of May, of that year, it was put in charge of William Eltinge " to take care of the same, and to clean and grease the same, and keep the same in good order, until March next for twenty shillings."
There does not appear to have been a fire company organized at that time to work the engine, but volunteers were to be relied on in case its use became necessary.
In the diary kept by Colonel Abraham Hasbrouck are recorded memoranda of extraordinary storms and unusually severe weather occurring in different years during the eighteenth century, which it may be interesting to notice. It appears also from his diary that there were great swarms of locusts in the several years, 1724, 1741, 1758, and 1775.
He states that "in the month of June, 1724, there was a tem- pestuous shower attended with great wind and very severe thunder and lightning and rain, together with hailstones as large as pul- lets' eggs, to such an extent that the fields were in a short time overflowed with water, and grain, apples, and young fruit trees were destroyed." In June, 1751, there was a shower of a similar character.
In the winter of 1737 there was a great fall of rain, which froze on the trees as it fell, and so loaded them with ice that "thousands of them broke in pieces by the great weight of the ice."
On the 17th and 18th days of May, 1758, there was a very great flood of water, and on the 24th day of the same month there was a storm which he thus describes : "Then we had a tempestuous and violent shower with rain wind and hailstones very large. Wind N.N.E. which destroyed all the rye apples and gardens, and almost. all the fruit trees are damaged. Almost all the glass lights in the houses and church facing to the N.N.E. are beat to pieces and broken. The very apple trees which are but young the bark was beaten loose by the weight and violence of the hailstones that fell. Some fowls of the air were.struck dead by the hailstones that fell upon them."
In the year 1770 there were vast quantities of worms during the month of July, and in 1773 large numbers of caterpillars doing great damage, the caterpillars making special havoc in apple and oak trees.
In October, 1779, there was an unusually great flood, and on the 9th of May, 1781, there was another, which he thus describes : " There was a very high or great flood at Esopus. The Rondout Creek said to be higher than it had been in 88 years past. It was
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about three feet higher than the flood of 1779 in October. It washed away a great deal of land, broke the banks of the Creek, carried away the Mill of Petrus Mynderts and did a great deal of damage, in many places horses and cows were lost, fences carried away etc. etc."
It appears also from other sources that the summer of 1760 was a very remarkable one on account of the great rainfall and freshet. The appearance of the grain before harvest gave promise of very abundant crops, but during harvest they were visited with so much and such frequent rains that the greater part of the wheat was grown, and much of it entirely spoiled. The freshet is thus described in a letter dated August 11th, 1760, written by Charles De Witt, of Greenkill : " But of all the showers of rain that ever I saw, I have seen none to equal that on Saturday the 26th ult, when here fell so much that the water came streaming down the street, or rather rolling wave after wave like a small river. My thoughts were very much fixed on the great foundation of the whole globe, when the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven opened, pouring the water down in such quantities as aged people have not before known. At Twaalfskill it has made great devastation. Old Mr Delametters mill rendered entirely useless, 'till broke down and rebuilt, his son Abram cannot be ready in a short time. Mr John Du Bois fulling mill broke all to pieces. Mr Petrus Smedes mill, in Kingston, the dam broke and gutter gone, £100 will not make that. The whole loss here is very considerable, besides a very melancholy sight to see people's whole dependence of subsistence thrown to pieces. The loss in Mr Dela- metters mill of wheat, brown flour unpacked etc. I cannot guess."
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"This year I think is a very remarkable year worthy of notice, and ought to cause us to reflect on the conduct of our life. It is a very signal visit from the Almighty God, these great rains which have thrown down strong buildings, and the continuance thereof day after day might cause any considerate person to fear that nothing would be left of the harvest the ensuing year ; but blessed be God who has yet in mercy left us plenty. May the judgments and mercies of God excite us to an earnest seeking, and deep humil- iation, before the throne of grace, imploring that God may be pleased to avert heavier strokes to fall upon our guilty heads which we justly deserve."
At elections for trustees, originally, the votes were taken vira coce. In February, 1770, under a law empowering the trustees to regulate annual elections for constables and other officers, a ques- tion was raised in the board in reference to the qualifications of voters, and also the mode of voting. The trustees determined that
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none but freeholders could vote for town officers who have real estate to the value of forty pounds. As to manner of voting it was ordered that the votes should be given in on paper. One trustee was designated to receive it, another to indorse it with voter's name, then to be entered by the clerk and deposited in a box, the clerk's record to give name of voter and persons for whom he voted. When a voter was challenged, a note was to be made of it, and his right subsequently examined. The next year (1771) it was ordered that for trustees and officers named in the charter, all freeholders, freemen, and inhabitants, who have resided in Kings- ton for the space of forty days, could vote and give in their votes by ticket. One trustee was designated to read it to the clerk for entry, and another to put it on a thread and deposit it in a box.
In 1772 the rule was changed so that any one challenged was to prove his right by oath before voting, and each party was entitled to appoint two persons to challenge and inspect votes.
On the 28th of October, 1776, Kingston village was visited by a very destructive fire, which originated in the roof of the dwelling- house of Colonel Abraham Hasbrouck, which was situated in the outside western street of the village, now called Green Street, just below its junction with John Street. There being a very heavy wind the fire spread rapidly, and was soon entirely beyond the control of the inhabitants. It consumed everything inflammable about the house of Colonel Hasbrouck ; it crossed Green Street and destroyed the Van Keuren house and blacksmith shop; it crossed John Street and struck the house of Abraham Low in Crown Street, then in that street destroyed successively in its progress, as stated by Colonel Hasbrouck in his diary, " Abraham Low's house barn and barrack, Johannis Masten's house, Petrus Eltinge's house and barn, where David Cox then lived in a small house, where John Carman had his Silver Smith shop, Jacobus S Bruyn's house and barn, all took fire and consumed, and several other houses in great danger. The loss was very great on the sufferers. Thank God no lives lost, nor any body hurt."
On examining one of the maps of Kingston in a subsequent part of this book, and tracing the route of the fire from Green and John to North Front Street, through Crown Street, it will be seen that it ran over a large territory.
During this century Dutch manners and customs were preva- lent. Although in all official transactions and records the English language was required to be used, still, in friendly intercourse, and in the family circle, Dutch was the prevailing language. The Christian messenger expounded the Scriptures, and exhorted men to repentance, from the pulpit, in that language. Social intercourse was free and familiar, unrestrained by the formalities of the pres-
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ent day. The social gatherings were usually confined to neigh- borly afternoon visits, in which the whole afternoon, until an early tea, was passed in social chat, while the knitting-needle was in- dustriously plied in preparing comfortable coverings for the feet. Large evening parties were not common, and when they were held, the time was not spent in dancing by the young, but in plays of different kinds. Dancing was reserved for the ball-room, with Inusic discoursed on the violin. Occasionally, however, a dance was indulged in at private houses to the music of the "jews- harp" played by one of the colored gentry of the kitchen. Quilt- ing bees were frequent, when, after spending the afternoon at that work, the quilt and frame would be removed, tea discussed, and. after tea the young men would come in to have a jolly time with the girls. Apple cuts were also common in the fall to supply material for apple-sauce and pies for the winter ; then the young people also had a gathering for a good time when the work was done.
Although the social manners and customs of those days were simple, and not burdened with the formalities of the present fash- ionable life, still there were castes and grades in society as strongly marked and as rigidly observed in social intercourse, if not more so, than at the present time.
The holidays-Christmas, New Year, Paas, and Pinxster-were never suffered to pass without notice and the usual observance.
On St. Nicholas or Christkinkle day, which occurred twelve days before Christmas, being December 25th, old style, the fire- place jambs at night were decorated with rows of the children's and slaves' stockings, in expectation of a visit from that liberal old saint.
At funerals, although simple and inexpensive as compared with those of the present day, pipes and tobacco, with some liquor, usually gin, were furnished to the friends in attendance.
Quiet and decorum on the streets were enforced on the Sabbath day ; the penalty incurred by its violator was a season for reflec- tion and repentance furnished him in the court-house yard while enjoying the comfort of the stocks.
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CHAPTER XIII.
THE KINGSTON CHURCH.
TT seems to be an appropriate time now to revert again to early times, and take a brief review of the progress and transactions of the early settlers and of their descendants, during the colonial period, in the religious field. It is not intended to give a full his- tory of the church, that of itself would furnish material for a vol- ume. But, considering the character of the first settlers, the causes for which they left the luxuries of the Old World for the trials, hardships, and privations of the New, and their object being the enjoyment of that freedom of conscience and religious worship denied them by governments and people on the other side of the water, it is not surprising that the churches organized under such circumstances should have had a great, not to say controlling in- fluence upon the politics and policy of the government and munic- ipalities of the country. It is therefore essential for a complete history that its rise and progress should be briefly noticed.
The early settlers having thus come to this country for con- science' sake and the enjoyment of religious freedom, it is reason- able to suppose that they would be solicitous to procure an early enjoyment of a complete religious organization, with its accom- panying services. They brought with them a precentor to officiate on the Sabbath, with prayer and reading selections from the Bible, with commentaries, and to give instruction in the catechism ; but that only partially supplied the need, the power of administering the ordinances was wanting. The inhabitants, therefore, addressed repeated and earnest solicitations to the mother church in Holland for the establishment of a church. After a time the Classis of Amsterdam listened to their persistent entreaties, and sent Domi- nie Hermanus Blom to them in the year 1659. On the Sabbath following his arrival he conducted the services and preached for them twice. The settlers immediately thereafter organized a church, and tendered him a call to become their pastor. The call or invitation was signed by Willem Jansen, Jan Broersen, Dirck Hendrixsen, Mattys Roelofsen, Albert Goverts, Hendrich Cor- nelissen, Jacob Jansen Stol, Thomas Chambers, Juriaen Westphael, Jacob Jansen Stoutenbergh, Jan Jansen, and Cornelis Barent Slecht.
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Dominie Blom at once signified his acceptance of the call, and returned to Holland in September, 1659, to submit to final exam- ination, receive ordination, and have his call formally approved by the Classis of Amsterdam.
He returned from Holland on the 16th of February, 1660, bring- ing with him his license, of which the following is a translated copy :
" WHEREAS it is indispensably required, that the honour of God and the Salvation of men be promoted to the best of our abil- ities, and for this end religious meetings ought to be instituted and encouraged by the pure preaching of the word of God, the lawful administration of the Sacraments, the publick invocation of the name of the Lord, and what further is belonging to the duti- ful worship ; and whereas the Situation of Esopus in New-Nether- land requires, that a duly qualified person, be sent thither as a lawfully ordained Minister, who can execute there the ministerial functions in every particular part in conformity to the church Government and the word of God, and in unison with the laudable usages of the Reformed Churches in this country and who is able to maintain and defend these, THEREFORE, We, the Ministers of the word of God and Elders of the congregations of Christ, belong- ing to the Classis of Amsterdam, after the invocation of the name of God. and in his fear, with the approbation of the noble Direc- tors of the West India Company, after a faithful examination in the principal doctrines of the Christian Reformed Church -- and after having received satisfactory evidence of the pious life and requisite talents for the ministry of the Gospel, and after he signed the Netherlands Confession, the Christian Catechism and canons of the National Synod, have ordained the Reverend pious prudent and learned Minister Hermanus Blom with the Solemn imposition of hands, to preach there, both on Water and on the Land and in all the neighbourhood. but principally in Esopus, the Holy and only Saving doctrine of the word of God, in its purity, to administer the Sacraments agreeably to Christ's institution, with propriety to give an example to his congregation of publick prayers, to keep them with the aid of his consistory in a good discipline and order, all in conformity to the word of God and the formularies of the Netherland Churches and the Christian Catechism, Soliciting all our Brethren to accept him as a Lawful Brother, and lawfully called Minister of the Gospel of Christ, to honour him for the sake of his Ministry, and to assist him whenever it is in their power. So that he may officiate unmolested and cheerfully, to glorify God's name and the conversion and Salvation of Souls.
" The Almighty God, who has called this Minister to the Ser-
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vice of his church enrich him more and more with all talents and the blessings of his Holy Ghost, so that his labours may be crowned with abundant success, to the glory of his name, and salvation of men, and reward and adorn him, at the appearance of the great Shepherd of Sheep with the never fading crown of eternal glory --
" Done in a Classical meeting in Amsterdam 16 Febr. 1660
" In the name and by order of all (was signed) PETRUS PROELEUS, Eccles. Amstelodamensis, et De- putatorum ad causas In- .
dicas Pt scriba"' -
Immediately after his arrival at Wiltwyck, Dominie Blom entered upon the duties of his pastorate. On Christmas Day, the 25th of December, 1660, occurred the first administration of the Lord's Supper in Esopus, and that was when, on that day, he, Dominie Blom, distributed the sacred elements to his little flock, consisting of Anna Blom his wife, Jacob Joosten, Jacob Burhans, Mattice Blanshan and Maddelyn his wife, Antone Crispel and Maria his wife, Andries Barents and Hillitjen his wife, Margaret Chambers, Geertiay Andrise, Roeliff Swartwout and Eva his wife, Cornelis Barent Slecht and Tryntje his wife, Albert Roosa and Weylke his wife.
He appears to have been a man of sincere piety, and especially well qualified for the position he occupied. He soon became very popular, and discharged all the duties devolving upon him with very great satisfaction to his congregation.
In 1661 a building was erected for the church inside of the stockade, at the corner of what is now Main and Wall streets, where the old stone church subsequently stood. It was built of logs, and said to be " substantial and convenient." It was regularly dedi- cated for public worship, and there the ordinances of religion were statedly administered.
The following year the parsonage was built for the Dominie. It must have been a very comfortable and complete building for the times, costing about twelve hundred dollars. It was undoubt- edly built of stone, and the roof covered with Holland tiles, which were in common use at that day for roofs in the mother country, as they appear charged in the statement of the cost of the build- ing. The location of the building is not definitely known, but the writer of the historical sketch in the History of Ulster County must be mistaken in locating it at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Pearl Street. That would place it outside of the stockade. But · the list of old and new surveyed lots (see Chapter II.) in Wiltwyck, made out in 1662, locates the minister's house and lot as No. 4 in
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the list of old surveyed lots ; consequently, it must have been within the old village and within the stockade. Again, Governor Stuy- vesant had just compelled all the inhabitants to build and locate themselves within the stockade as a protection against the Ind- ians ; he certainly would not allow them to locate the dwelling of their clergyman outside of the line of safety. It is true that the Miller map of the stockade, made in 1695, over thirty years subse- quent, locates a building outside of the stockade at about the junc- tion of Pearl Street and Clinton Avenue, which he designates as "the minister's house." That forms no evidence that it was built in 1661. Why it was designated as the minister's house is not known. But it is also thus designated in an official order for its repair at the public expense on account of its being used as a court-room.
Although it is thus improbable that the house outside of the stockade, as shown by Miller on his map, was the minister's resi- dence, the question still remains, if not, What was it? The only plausible answer the writer can give to the question is necessarily mere conjecture.
The treaty of Governor Nicolls with the Indians in 1665, pre- viously referred to, in the third clause required " that a convenient house shall be built where said Indians may at any time lodge without the ports of the said town, in which house the Indians are to leave their arms, and may come without molestation, to sell or buy what they please from the Christians." Thus is a house out- side of the stockade accounted for (Chapter IV., ante).
Then in September, 1669, as appears in the preceding pages (Chapter IV., ante), Governor Lovelace appointed a commission "to go to Esopus and regulate the affairs of that place." That commission, on the 23d of September, made an ordinance whereby the scout and commissaries were strictly enjoined " to repair the Dominies house or town house in Kingston, which now grows ruinous, to prevent further damage, it being of absolute necessity to keep that house in good repair, in regard to the frequent use of it both for religious duties and civil affairs." And the repairs were then further directed to be made at the public expense. This explains the use to which the "Dominie's" (or, in the English clergyman's language, " Minister's") house was put, which, by his map, is located " without the ports of the said town.". It requires no stretch of the imagination to conceive when the great Indian scare was over, that the house designed for their use should also be ap- propriated for some other public purpose ; and may it not have also acquired the synonym of " the Dominie's house" from the ex- hortations made therein by the faithful clergyman from time to time to the assembled natives ?
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