USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 21
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246
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
CHAPTER XVII.
TOWN OF ESOPUS. By CHARLES E. FOOTE.
T HE town of Esopus is located on the Hudson, immediately south of the city of Kingston. It presents peculiar physical features, having a high, mountainous ridge or backbone extending north and south through its center, which reaches a height of 1,000 to 1,600 feet in places. From this ridge eastward toward the Hudson the ground is rolling and undulating; toward the west it is broken and hilly, sloping and terracing down to the valley of the Wallkill and Rondout.
The boundaries are: On the north, the city of Kingston; on the east, the Hudson river ; on the south, the towns of Lloyd and New Paltz; and on the west, the towns of Rosendale and Ulster, from both of which it is separated by the Wallkill and Rondout. It has an area of 19,898 acres.
The titles to the Esopus lands seem to descend from three old patents : the Kingston patent to trustees for the benefit of freeholders and inhab- itants and superseding the Dutch grant, dated May 19, 1664; the New Paltz patent, made to Louis DuBois, and eleven others, dated May 28, 1677, and the Hurley grant, made by Governor Stuyvesant under the original Dutch regime, and later confirmed by the English authorities.
There are many records which give the names of most of the original settlers of what was known as the Kleine Esopus, or Little Esopus, in contradistinction from the larger tract to the north and west to which the name of Esopus seemed generic.
On February 13, 1688, the Trustees of Kingston granted to Claes Westphaelen and Abel Westphalen a tract of land "lying and being upon Hudson's river to the northward of Kalikoon Hook, and so along said river to the bounds of Capt. John Sprague."
This description shows that Capt. John Sprague was already there.
Among the land papers on file at Albany, and dated June 12, 1685, is the "Description of a Survey of 2960 acres of land, lying upon Hudson's River, betwixt the Rondout Kill and the Kleine Esopus and known by the name of Hussey's Hill, including the Kleine Esopus ffly and sunken ffly
247.
TOWN OF ESOPUS.
at the mouth of Rondout Kill, with the two lakes, laid out for Ffrederick Hussey and others by Phillip Welles, Surveyor."
That portion of the original town of Hurley which was on the east side of the Wallkill, and the east side of the Rondout below the mouth of the Wallkill, is in the present town of Esopus. The road list for this section, dated March 28, 1781, gives the following names, which were probably all the male adults living there at that time :
Johannis Hardenbergh,
Io days
Ephraim Keyser,
I days 2
Timothy Telsey,
3
Daniel York,
John Winfield,
6
Johannis York,
2
Benjamin Winfield,
2
Jonathan Hardenbergh,
2
Hendrick Smith,
7
Isaac Hardenbergh,
2
Jonathan Hutchinson,
3
David Turner,
2
Joseph Gee,
3
Jeronemus Burger,
I
Dirck Keyser,
I
Zacharias Sluyter,
6
In 1724 (March 25) Arien Gerretse acquired title to several tracts of land in this region. One was "on the southeast side of the Rondout Creek and both sides of the Paltz Creek (Wallkill), beginning on the south side of a certain creek commonly called Swarte-Kill, where the falls on the Paltz Creek, being the bounds of Coll. Jacob Rutsen ; then along his line and said Swarte-Kill to the northernmost part thereof ; and from thence east to the line of Kingston; then along said line of Kingston to the patented lands of the heirs of Jacob Aerste; then along said land to the patented lands of Mattys and Nicolas Blasyan, so as to run to the land of said Rutsen, and along the same to the first station ; being bounded easterly, to the land of Kingston, southerly by said Coll. Jacob Rutsen, northwesterly by the lands of the said Mattys and Nicholas Blasyan, and the heirs of said Jacob Aertse."
There was also a deed to four acres on the south side of Swarte-Kill by the two falls, and privileges to build two dams there.
It is difficult to determine, except by reference to the other towns, and a comparison of the names with those of the residents after the town of Esopus was created, who the early families were, with some excep- tions; even by this comparison the neighborhoods were in sufficiently close proximity so that the date of individual settlement in what is now Esopus cannot be determined. Certain family names of early settlers may be depended on as early settlers in this region.
Some old election returns are found, showing that Esopus cast votes in 18II: For Lieutenant Governor, Nicholas Fish, 109; DeWitt Clinton,
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THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
19; for State Senator, Elisha Williams, 109; Erastus Root, 20; William Saber, 20.
The Pound was near the house of William I. Houghtaling. It was established about 1812. At about the same period the town offered a bounty of $12.50 "for each wolf killed within the town of Esopus," and required that "the person killing the same must bring the head with the ears on, and make oath to the fact."
At the first town meeting in 1811 there were 155 votes cast. It was held at the house of William Ellsworth, and John J. Lefevre was elected Supervisor.
The house of William Ellsworth, where the first and some other town meetings were held, was a notable tavern of those days, and for many years before and afterward. It was located about two miles south of Port Ewen, and Widow Gitty Ellsworth secured a tavern license there as late as 1830.
The assessment roll of 1816 shows assessable property amounting to $87,200. Of these, twenty-six persons were rated $1,000 or over, amounting in total to $39,450. Three of the twenty-six went above the $2,000 mark-Jeremiah Houghtaling & Sons, $3,600; Elapahs Van Aken, $2,600, and Garret I. Freer, $2,200.
For a number of years the town meetings were held at the house of Tjerck F. Terpenning, which was a tavern south of Ulster Park, near the Reformed Church. The first meeting held there was in 1813-and that continued to be the place of election, probably without break, until 1833. In 1834 it was held at the tavern of Thomas M. Holt at Ulster Park. It was held there occasionally until 1840, after which it was the regular meeting place for many years and under the management of a variety of proprietors.
The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Kleine Esopus was or- ganized in 1791. The Classis accepted the petition of ninety-three in- habitants, and the church was instituted by the Rev. Stephen Goetchius and a committee of the elders of the church of New Paltz. Two years later the body was incorporated. Until 1799 the church seems to have had no settled pastor, but was supplied by Rev. S. Goetchius of New Paltz, Rev. Mr. Doll, Rev. Mr. Van Horn and others. In 1799 Rev. T. G. Smith was called, and the church has had a regular pastor since that time. Rev. Mr. Smith continued to officiate for about ten years, and was
Charles C. Lang.
249
TOWN OF ESOPUS.
succeeded by Rev. J. R. H. Hasbrouck. The first church building was erected in 1792, and remained in use until 1827, when a fine church was erected which has attracted much attention on account of the beauty of its architecture.
The District school system provided for by the State legislature in 1812 was adopted by the town of Esopus at its town meeting in 1813. Previous to this time the records of educational affairs are extremely meagre, and there is practically nothing to show by what methods the youth of the previous century-and-a-half had received their education. But there must have been schools, as the inhabitants were educated people.
As Esopus did not exist as a town organization previous to 1811, it has no separate records of Revolutionary times. Those who fought in that war, and those who subscribed to the Articles of 1775, who were resi- dents of the territory now comprising Esopus, will be found among the lists from Kingston, New Paltz and Hurley. Most of them may be traced by the names and location of the property as given in the records on file.
In the War of 1812 the following persons enlisted from Esopus :
Abraham Degraff,
John Deyo,
Henry Degraff, Purdy Dickinson,
Tobias P. DuBois,
Theophilus Ellsworth,
Isaac Houghtaling,
Henry Freer,
Samuel Ostrander,
Samuel Lefevre,
Stephen Terwilliger,
John L. Plough,
John B. Van Aken,
Mahlon Thorp,
Thomas Wells,
Charles B. Van Wagner,
William Wise,
John Winfield, Jr.
Henry Ellsworth,
In the Civil War, Esopus furnished about four hundred and twenty- five volunteers, distributed through the various regiments, which were raised either partially or entirely in Ulster, though some were in other organizations. There were twenty-one enlistments in the Navy. The death list from Esopus was heavy and the examples of distinguished bravery numerous. Among the most distinguished of Esopus soldiers was Colonel Daniel Butterfield, who enlisted May 9, 1861, in the 9th regiment, was promoted to Brigadier-General, September 7, 1861, and to Major-General, November 29, 1862.
Other Reformed churches in the town are, one at Dashville Falls, in- corporated in 1833, church built that year and remodeled in 1859; one at Port Ewen, incorporated in 1851, church built the following year;
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THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
another at St. Remy, organized in 1857, as a branch of the first Esopus Church. Among the Episcopal churches are the Ascension church, in- corporated in 1842, and Grace church, in 1845. Among the Methodist churches are one in Port Ewen, organized in 1870, another, in another part of the town, organized in 1845. There is also a Catholic church, organized in 1875.
There are several pretty lakes in the town, one known as Esopus Lake, another as Mirror Lake, which furnish good fishing.
There were many old taverns or road houses, and among the older boni- faces there were Peter L. Hardenbergh, John Burger, Martinus Schryver, Caleb Merritt, Jacob Weist, William Wise, Gitty Ellsworth and Thomas M. Holt. Among the old merchants were Jonathan J. Lefevre, Israel Hammond, John H. Schryver, Cheney Ames and John P. Sleight. The first physicians were Dr. William Clarke, Dr. Hasbrouck, Dr. Thomas M. Holt and Dr. Morris Wurts. The early lawyers were William H. Irving, John F. Slater, John B. Livingston, Peter R. Decker, Jonathan Sluyter, Benjamin Neice and Marinus V. Wheeler.
Port Ewen, near the mouth of the Rondout, was founded in 1851 by the Pennsylvania Coal Company, which had a coal depot there until 1865 when they removed to Newburg, where they received their coal by the Erie Railway instead of the Delaware & Hudson Canal, as at Port Ewen. This is still a thriving village, with a charming location on the bank of the Hudson, 180 feet above the river. The view is fine, and there are many fine houses, a post-office, stores and shops, with churches and schools. The name was bestowed in honor of President John Ewen, of the Coal Company. South Rondout, further up the creek, is another lively hamlet with a brewery, boat yard, malt-house, ice-house, stores, etc. Sleightsberg is also a hamlet near the mouth of the creek with a boat building plant, stores, coal yard, ferry to Kingston, etc. Rifton Glen is a pretty manufacturing settlement on the Wallkill in the south- western part of the town. It was formerly known as "Arnoldton," be- cause of the cotton mill of B. J. Arnold & Co., built there in 1828. At present, and for many years past, the principal industry has been the extensive carpet factory and woolen mills of J. W. Dimmick & Co., which afford employment to many skilled operators. Ellmore's Corners is an- other old center of the town with a hotel and other buildings.
Ulster Park, formerly known as Amesville, has a post-office, hotel,
25I
TOWN OF ESOPUS.
stores and shops and a railway station near at hand. This is the center of the fertile fruit section where small and orchard fruits of all kinds are successfully and extensively grown for market. Peaches, raspberries, strawberries, grapes, cherries and pears are the leading fruits raised, and many large farms are devoted to them. The fruit industry is also successful in other parts of the Esopus township. The great Pell farm, on the bank of the river, just below, was a place of much note some years ago, which attracted many visitors. This place showed the peculiar adaptation of the Esopus soil and location for fruit-growing. Robert L. Pell was the owner and, being a man of wealth, intelligence and energy, he brought these 600 acres to a high state of cultivation, spending many thousands of dollars in the construction of artificial lakes, islands, underdrains and bridges, and planting large orchards. It was on this farm that the celebrated Newtown Pippin apple was raised to its greatest perfection, and marketed most sucessfully, both here and abroad. He had an orchard of many thousand trees which was cultivated with the greatest skill and care. He was the first man to market American apples in Europe for which he received fancy prices. In fact, it might be said that Mr. Pell created a market for American apples in foreign countries. But unfortunately his methods of careful selection and honest packing have not been faithfully followed in all cases since then, which has weak- ened the demand in those countries, lowered the prices for American fruit, and led to much distrust. The English people went wild over Pell's Newtown Pippin apples, and they have never got over the supreme quality of this fruit since then. The current prices for these Esopus apples in New York was then $8 a barrel and the choicest specimens were carefully packed, 100 in a box, and sold for $8 a box. All im- perfect fruit was converted into cider. Mr. Pell also had a large vine- yard of Isabella grapes, which he grew successfully. Since his death this farm has been neglected, although his fine mansion is still standing, and the large stone warehouse on the Pelham dock where his fruit was stored previous to shipment.
Just below this place is "Rosemount," the summer home of Alton B. Parker, which, with its owner, achieved so much prominence during the presidential campaign of 1904, when he became the Democratic candi- date for President of the United States. The town of Esopus leaped into public notice that year with a single bound, and the place was visited by
252
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
men of prominence and various public bodies from different parts of the country. A fine new railway station was built on the West Shore road at Esopus, and most of the fast trains were stopped there that summer. But the defeat of the Esopus farmer and ex-Judge, who had resigned the office of Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals to accept this hope of reaching the White House, left the old town in its customary placid condition.
The population of Esopus in 1905 was 4,786, 4,516 being citizens. Its area, as given last year was 22,247 acres, and the assessed valuation of taxable property amounted to $1,818,820.
James E. Phinney.
253
TOWN OF GARDINER.
CHAPTER XVIII. TOWN OF GARDINER.
By CHARLES E. FOOTE.
T HE town of Gardiner is one of the interior towns of Ulster, south of the center of the county. It was created by taking that portion of the original Rochester patent which lies east of the Shawangunk territory, and was organized in 1853. It is bounded on the north by the towns of Rochester and New Paltz, on the east by the town of Plattekill, on the south by the town of Shawangunk, and on the west by the towns of Wawarsing and Rochester. It is hilly in the west along the foothills and slopes of the Shawangunk Mountains, and rolling in the central and eastern portions through which the Wallkill flows. The soil is produc- tive and much attention is given to market gardening for city markets. Strawberries, especially, are produced in large quantities and of most excellent flavor. Much attention is also given to dairying.
The settlement of Gardiner took place previous to its formation and is treated in the historical sketches of the towns from which it was created. It was within this town that the Huguenots, who settled at New Paltz, and the Dutch of the town of Rochester, were brought into most intimate relations. It seems to have been this contact, and the intermarriages between the two races at an early day, which gradually caused the French language of the Wallkill valley to be supplanted by the Dutch. A large proportion of the present population count members of both nationalities among their ancestors, and the names of both are among the leading ones in the town.
Among the earlier settlers of this tract were G. Burnett, S. DuBois, H. L. DuBois, Lewis DuBois, M. Schoonmaker, J. Rutsen, Jacobus Bruyn, and T. Lord. Some of the land was held by speculators for a series of years. John Hoornbeck was an early settler, as were Benjamin and James Hoornbeck. All had families, most of whom intermarried with other families of the neighborhood.
Adjutant Abraham Schoonmaker, of Revolutionary fame (Fourth Reg- iment Ulster County Militia), was another of the early settlers. His
254
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
father, Hendricus, owned a tract of about 2,000 acres in the southern portion of the town, all of which passed on the father's death to Isaac, the oldest son. He, however, at once transferred nine hundred acres to Abraham, who married Sarah Van Wyck, and raised eight sons. At his death the land was divided between them, and all except Albert remained permanent residents of the community.
Another of the first settlers was Matthew Sammons, who owned seven hundred acres, extending from Tuthill to Mark Kill, in which the present site of Tuthill was included. Gustavus, his oldest son, married Maria Terwilliger, and had three daughters and four sons, who married into the Schoonmaker, Hollister, Deyo, and other families, and left numerous descendants.
Sophrine Bruyn owned about two thousand acres and settled at an early date. He had three sons, Jacobus and Sophrine being two of them. Some authorities state that the name was "deBruyn," but a patent issued November 26, 1719, for two lots in Shawangunk, does not justify this claim. The State Index to land papers, records, under date of November 16, 1719, a "Petition of Jacobus Bruyn, praying for a patent for two certain parcels of land laid out for him in the woods upon and near the Shawangunk Creek, being a part of the land formerly granted to Capt. John Evans, since resumed to the Crown," etc.
On this tract Jacobus built a house in 1724, which was located on the west bank of the creek, and for many years was a famous landmark. It was destroyed by fire a few years ago. This property is now owned by U. S. Strait, and the balance of the original tract is in the hands of others, the Bruyn family being represented in the town by descendants of daugh- ters who have intermarried here.
John J. Evans settled early in the vicinity of what is now Rutsenville. He had nineteen children, some of whom settled in Shawangunk, and some emigrated to the newly opened territory westward.
At and near Libertyville, there were located at an early date, the Mer- ritt family, Charles, Jonas and Lewis DuBois. These families held tracts of land in the vicinity, much of which is still owned by their descendants.
In the neighborhood known as Kittleburgh, the LeFevres were the first settlers, and owned a large tract of land, which is still owned by their descendants, who form a large proportion of the residents of the locality.
255
TOWN OF GARDINER.
Among others who settled in the immediate vicinity was one of the Deyo families, which is still there.
The Sammons family has been referred to as owning the original site of Tuthill. In addition, however, there were the Van Keuren family, who lived on the other side of the Wallkill, and Selah Tuthill, for whom the place was named, who bought a portion of Sammons's land.
A tract of seven or eight hundred acres was owned by General Joseph Hasbrouck, who lived in the central portion of the town, and Zachariah Hoffman's land extended from Hasbrouck's to the Shawangunk Kill.
The Mckinstry family has been a prominent one in the town for many years, and still has numerous representatives there.
There was a log school-house at a very early day near Unionville, but there is only tradition as to its exact location or its preceptors. A man named Berry is said to have taught the grandfathers and great-grand- fathers of the present generation, about the time of the war of 1812. There was a school at Tuthill at a later period. Isaac Schoonmaker was the first superintendent of common schools. He was appointed in 1843. Among the early teachers in the town appear the names of C. H. LeFever, Benjamin DeWitt, Isaac Scudder and James Johnston.
The oldest of the few villages or settlements in the town is Tuthill, at which was probably located the first post-office. Among those who held the office of postmaster seems to have been Mr. Mccullough, Joseph O. Hasbrouck, James S. DuBois and Mathew LeFever. This post-office was discontinued a generation ago.
Gardiner is one of the newer villages and is located on the Wallkill in the northeast part of the town. Abraham Deyo was the first postmaster.
The Reformed Dutch Church was organized in 1833 with twenty-three members, who were previously members of the churches of Rochester, Shawangunk and New Paltz. The Roman Catholic Church has a congre- gation at Ireland Corners, a handsome edifice, sufficiently large for the needs of the community, which was erected a few years ago, together with a substantial rectory. The parish, under the present charge of Rev. William J. Stewart, appears to be in a flourishing condition.
The names of those serving in the war of the Revolution, who lived in the territory now covered by the town, cannot now be determined except in isolated cases. Among those known are Abraham Schoonmaker and
256
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
Peter Decker. Among those who served in the war of 1812 were the following, but there were probably many others :
Philip DuBois, Samuel Fowler, Peter I. Crispell,
Robert Jordan. Jacob Jansen, Aaron Halwick,
In the Civil War there were one hundred and thirty-six persons from the town of Gardiner, probably a majority of them belonging to the 156th Regiment, although the other Ulster County regiments had a fair repre- sentation, and several enlistments were made outside the county. There were a number of line and field officers among them.
In the early years there were a number of industrial enterprises in the various parts of the town. Among these were a grist mill and saw mill on the Wallkill at Libertyville, built by Charles DuBois at a very early date, and operated by various persons. The saw mill is now destroyed and the old grist mill is used by the Kays Brothers as a knife factory. A grist mill, saw mill and carding mill were built on the Shawangunk Creek by Selah Tuthill. These mills were operated by different parties, including a Mr. Harlow, Jacob I. Schoonmaker, Joseph O. Hasbrouck and Benja- min I. Freer. At present only the grist mill is left, which is operated by Ludwig Brandt. A tannery, established by Daniel Mckinstry, an important industry in the hands of that family for many years, and the grist mill and saw mill of Joseph Stephens in the western part of the town, have been long out of business. The tannery was destroyed by fire. The mills at Galesville have also passed away. George Slaughter operates a creamery at Gardiner. There is also located at that point a factory for making Italian cheese, which is owned and operated by people of that nationality.
Among the early merchants in Gardiner were Selah Tuttle, Daniel S. Tuttle, Selah T. Jordan, Jacob S. Schoonmaker, John B. DuBois, Isaac Schoonmaker, James Jenkins, Luther LeFever, Erastus Mack and Mathew Sammons. John Young and Mr. Mccullough were among the older tavern keepers. The earlier physicians were Dr. Daniel Deyo, Dr. Joseph Hasbrouck and Dr. Samuel J. Sears.
The Wallkill Valley Railway has stations at Gardiner and Forest Glen. The construction of this railway was a most important event of great advantage to the farmers and others of that region.
The first town meeting for the election of officers was held at the house
Anthony H. Lawatsch.
257
TOWN OF GARDINER.
of Stephen Traphagen, May 17, 1853. Abner Hasbrouck was then chosen the first supervisor. Albert Decker is the present representative in the Board.
Abraham D. Bevier served in the State Assembly from Ulster County in 1843.
The leading industry has always been agriculture, and the soil responds well to good cultivation. Fruit is grown to a considerable extent and successfully.
The population of Gardiner in 1905 was 1,437, of which 1,414 were citizens. Three hundred and sixty-one persons voted at the general elec- tion last year.
The total acreage of the town as now estimated is 26,588. The value of taxable property in the town last year was placed at $668,951.
258
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
CHAPTER XIX. TOWN OF HARDENBURGH. BY HOWARD HENDRICKS.
T HIS interior town of Ulster presents some of the most rugged and austere natural features to be found in the county. None but the most experienced mountain farmer would be inclined to locate in Hardenburgh. There are more rock and stone than soil, and there is little reason to believe that Nature ever designed it for an agricultural paradise. Nor has it ever been among the suspected sites of the Garden of Eden. And yet the general topographical features are invested with pecu- liar charm. The towering mountain crags and scattered bits of valley, the wildwood and forests primeval, are dimpled over with beautiful lakes and thickly threaded with purling streams, which abound with trout. And there are wild and picturesque glens where the true artist may revel in his work without recourse to his imagination. There is grandeur in these vast mountain forests, and there is placid beauty in the lovely lakes. Rarely indeed is the contrasting landscape so happily posed as we find it in this wild mountain town.
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