USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
He married Florence, daughter of Ex-Sheriff John W. Kerr, by whom he had two children; one daughter died in infancy, and one son, Donald, survived him.
504
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
CHAPTER XLIII. THE NEWSPAPERS OF ULSTER. By JAY E. KLOCK.
N these days when a man starts a newspaper, he asserts in his "saluta- tory," and sometimes really believes, that he is responding to a popular demand. This was not the case, however, with John Holt, the pioneer editor of Ulster County. He had no illusions and was aware that the people cared not a farthing whether he came here or not. News- papers were not a necessity at a time when it was impossible to gather news promptly and when most men relied upon the Bible and commenta- ries thereon for their mental guidance. Holt was a native of Virginia. He thought in his youth that a business career would suit him, but changed his mind after going to smash in venture after venture. At length he drifted into journalism, beginning in 1766 the publication of the New York Journal and General Advertiser in the city of New York. He seems to have prospered, for he continued the paper in the Metropolis for more than a decade. In 1774 he came out boldly as an uncompromising patriot and removed the king's arms from the heading of his paper. Con- sequently, when the British took possession of New York, it became un- healthy there for Holt. First he fled to Fishkill, and later to Kingston, where he resumed the publication of his paper under the same name on July 7, 1777. At that time Kingston was the third town in the State in population, wealth and importance, yet it consisted of not more than 300 buildings, of which only about one-third were dwelling houses. The telegraph, the telephone and the railroad were undreamed of. The coming of the steamboat was a generation in the future. Half a genera- tion must elapse before the establishment of a stage line between New York and Albany. Considering everything, the prospect of making a suc- cess of the enterprise was poor. Holt admitted editorially that the sheet was not of much account and explained that as yet he had had no oppor- tunity to place himself in communication with public officers throughout the country. He urged his countrymen who heard of anything interest- I
Eng by E & Williams & Bro NY
Jay E. Klock.
505
THE NEWSPAPERS OF ULSTER.
ing to send him word. The contents of the paper were literary and politi- cal, and there is a poem upon the erection of the printing press. Mr. Holt could afford to burst into song in spite of circumstances which would have discouraged a modern printer. He had a contract to do the State print- ing for the government, lately located in Kingston, and the very highest price charged for board was twenty shillings a week. The State printing was a good thing, since as many as 500 copies of important public docu- ments were occasionally ordered. Holt continued his business until the following October, when Kingston was burned, and he removed to Pough- keepsie.
PROGRESS IN NEWSPAPER MAKING.
Since that time, something like one hundred newspapers have existed in Ulster County. It is not the purpose of this article to enumerate them all. A large proportion of them died in their first year, and the mourners were few. Others merged and experienced changes in title. It is suffi- cient to sketch those which have strongly influenced the history of the county or which are now living. In order to understand the progress of local journalism, it is necessary to bear in mind a few general facts. Attention has been called already to the date of establishment of modern methods of transportation and communication. It was between 1830 and 1840 when cylinder presses were first used, before which time cumber- some modifications of the hand cider press were in vogue. The perfecting press of the style used to-day first became known to the general public at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. It is only a quarter of a cen- tury since practical type-setting machines have been obtainable. It is obvious that before the invention of all these facilities the newspaper, in everything but editorial ability, was trivial in comparison with what it is to-day. There is scarcely a paper in Ulster County which does not sur- pass, in its budget of news, the great papers in the great cities a century ago.
THE GAZETTE.
For fifteen years after Holt's departure, Ulster County struggled along without a local newspaper. In 1792 one William Copp started the Farm- ers' Register, but soon abandoned it for lack of patronage. Shortly afterward, plucking up fresh courage, he secured Samuel Freer as a partner and began publishing the Rising Star, which very quickly turned into a falling star, and Copp drops out of the story. Freer was considered
506
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
rich as fortunes went in those days, and he had an ambitious son, Samuel S. Freer, who was destined to be Ulster County's first editor of impor- tance. In 1798, these two men founded the Ulster County Gazette, which continued until 1822. The elder Freer died a few years after the estab- lishment of the paper, but the son carried on the enterprise until he had exhausted the family fortune, and retired to die in poverty. It is hardly necessary to remark that men did not enter the newspaper business in those days to make money. Their motives were a mixture of that strange vanity which yearns to see its thoughts in print, and of that nobler emo- tion which leads men to abandon hope of material prosperity in order to advocate the political and religious principles they hold dear. The Gazette was from first to last an organ of the Federal party. The younger Freer was one of the most vigorous writers of his day-so vigorous that he was fined upon one occasion for expressing his inmost sentiments regarding the Supreme Court. The first half of the week he spent in getting out his paper, and during the latter half he distributed it through Ulster and the adjoining counties, traveling on horseback and stopping wherever he had a chance to argue with anti-Federalists. In spite of his being so bellicose politically, he was extremely agreeable in business matters, as is shown by the fact that he delivered the out-of-town circulation of his rival, the Plebeian, along with his own, until both papers hired a post-rider in com- mon. The issue of the Gazette containing the news of the death of George Washington was carefully preserved by the subscribers, and copies, or at least reproductions thereof, may be found in every State of the Union. No other issue of an Ulster County paper has been duplicated by a later generation.
THE PLEBEIAN AND ARGUS.
The second important county paper was the Ulster Plebeian, established in Kingston by Jesse Buell in 1802. It was anti-Federal in its politics, and was edited, almost if not quite, as ably as the Gazette. These two papers were small in size and poor in news, but have not been surpassed much by later journals in their editorial and literary features. In 1814 Buell, having left town and founded the Albany Argus, sold the paper to John Tappen, who conducted it until 1831, when he died. The paper changed hands many times during the succeeding years, its various owners being John J. Tappen, Alonzo P. Stewart, Rodney A. Chipp, Solomon S. Hom- mel and William Lounsbery. Meanwhile, the name of the paper had been
507
THE NEWSPAPERS OF ULSTER.
changed twice-first to the Ulster Republican, and then to the Kingston Argus. On May 1, 1864, the Argus became the property of Henry G. Crouch, who conducted it until his death, August 6, 1905, when it passed into the hands of the Kingston Argus Company, of which Leonard C. Crouch is president, Oliver Van Steenburgh vice-president, and Walter Van Steenburgh secretary and treasurer. The Argus is to-day, as it has been always, an advocate of old-fashioned Democratic principles. Mr. Crouch had the distinction of occupying the same editorial chair longer than any other man in this region.
THE JOURNAL.
The next important paper to appear was the Kingston Democratic Journal, from which title the word "Democratic" was soon dropped. Its editor, William H. Romeyn, was a Whig, and afterward a Republican. In 1837 he came to Kingston and started the Political Reformer, and in 1840 bought the Ulster Sentinel, a paper which began in 1826, as a rival to the Plebeian, but which had recently come over to the Whig side. The two papers were consolidated and continued as the Journal. Mr. Romeyn was a strong political writer, of the same school as Messrs. Freer, Buell, Tappen, Hommel, Lounsbery and Crouch. He continued in the harness until 1878, when Charles Marseilles purchased his paper and consolidated it with the Kingston Weekly Freeman, which has since continued to be published under the title, Kingston Weekly Freeman and Journal.
THE FREEMAN.
In 1845 Daniel Bradbury and E. S. Wells started the Rondout Freeman. Bradbury sold out his interest to Robert Gosman in 1846. In 1847 J. P. Hageman bought the plant and changed its name to the Rondout Courier. Mr. Hageman conducted the paper until 1868, when he sold it to W. H. and J. C. Romeyn, who in turn sold it to Horatio Fowkes in 1877. In October of that year Mr. Fowkes commenced issuing a daily edition called the Morning Courier, but both editions were short lived. Mean- while, in 1858, the name Freeman was revived by Van Keuren and Gilder- sleeve in a weekly paper at Rondout. In 1865 Horatio Fowkes bought the property and continued it until 1876, having added a daily edition in 1871 -the Kingston Daily Freeman. In 1876 the Freeman Printing and Pub- lishing Association, consisting of members of the business and editorial
508
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
departments of the paper, secured control of the property and put in a double cylinder newspaper press with a capacity of about 3,500 impres- sions an hour, which was considered a great stroke of enterprise at that time. The Association, however, did not succeed financially, and soon turned the business over to Samuel D. Coykendall. The latter, in 1878, sold the business to Charles Marseilles, of Exeter, N. H., who also failed to achieve success, although he effected a consolidation with the Kingston Journal, as previously noted. Mr. Coykendall resumed the management of the Freeman in 1880, continuing until 1891, when he leased and later sold it to Jay E. Klock, who has since been the publisher. The Freeman be- came a member of the New York Associated Press in 1871, paying a fee of over $9,000, and has had its own leased telegraph wire ever since. The membership fee was over $9,000. In 1894 the paper purchased a Mergen- thaler linotype, which does the work of five hand compositors. Since that time two other linotypes have been added. In 1896 a Web perfecting press was added, which uses stereotyped forms and prints and folds an eight- page, seven-column newspaper at the rate of 200 copies per minute. The Freeman has developed an extensive job printing business and has about fifty persons on its payroll. It has been the official paper of the city and county for more than a generation. Its politics are and have been con- sistently Republican. Its weekly edition, as already noted, is called the Kingston Weekly Freeman and Journal.
THE KINGSTON LEADER.
The first issue of the Kingston Daily Leader, a Democratic newspaper, was dated October II, 1881. The owners of the paper at that time were William H. Fredenburgh, John E. VanEtten, Walter S. Fredenburgh and Rev. John T. Hargraves. After a few weeks Mr. Hargraves' interest in the concern was purchased by the other three gentlemen named, Walter S. Fredenburgh becoming editor of the paper. After three months, John E. VanEtten and William H. Fredenburgh made a bill of sale of the estab- lishment to Walter S. Fredenburgh, who conducted it until May 17, 1886, when, because of ill health, he sold the establishment to John E. Kraft and John W. Searing. Kraft and Searing continued the publication of the Leader until November 1, 1897, when Mr. Kraft purchased the interest of Mr. Searing and organized The Leader Company, Mr. Kraft continu- ing as the publisher and editor. The Kingston Weekly Leader was estab-
509
THE NEWSPAPERS OF ULSTER.
lished during the winter following the establishment of the Daily Leader. The Leader also uses the Mergenthaler linotype.
THE EXPRESS.
The Kingston Daily Express was established June 21, 1891, by Jesse M. Decker, Urban G. Edinger and Isaac T. Mesereau, under the firm name of Decker, Edinger & Mesereau. In 1897, Mr. Mesereau sold his one-third interest in the Express to Louis M. Hoysradt and the firm name was then changed to Decker, Edinger & Hoysradt. In 1903, Mr. Hoysradt sold his interest to Floyd G. Edinger, a son of Urban G. Edinger, and the name of the firm was then changed to Decker, Edinger & Edinger. The Express plant is equipped with electric motors, a steam engine, a double cylinder press and a Mergenthaler linotype machine. It also has a well equipped job printing plant. The Express is independent in politics.
VILLAGE NEWSPAPERS.
The Saugerties Telegraph was founded in 1846 by Solomon S. Hom- mel, who afterward edited the Kingston Argus. Mr. Hommel sold the Telegraph in the early '50's to Freligh & Gates, who sold out to William Hull about the year 1855, and about 1859 or 1860 Mr. Hull sold to Elting & Rosepaugh, who continued the partnership a few years, when Mr. Elting purchased Mr. Rosepaugh's interest and continued its publication until September 16, 1897, when he sold the paper to James T. Maxwell, who organized a stock company known as the Saugerties Telegraph Printing and Publishing Company, who are the present owners.
The Saugerties Post, a daily paper, was founded February 21, 1877, by Edward Jernegan, who continued sole owner until 1880, when he formed a partnership with Arthur L. Hale, who continued with him under the firm name of Jernegan and Hale until 1890, when Mr. Hale sold his interest to Irwin Ronk of Kingston. Mr. Jernegan continued with Mr. Ronk until 1896, when he disposed of his interest to James R. Wood, of Kings- ton, who remained with Mr. Ronk until 1901, when the Post was pur- chased by J. W. Frankel, who soon after sold it to the Saugerties Tele- graph Printing and Publishing Company, who are the present owners. The president of the company is James T. Maxwell, the vice-president Robert A. Snyder, the secretary Joseph W. Frankel, and the treasurer and business manager, Edward Jernegan.
510
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
The Saugerties Telegraph issued a daily paper, called the Daily Tele- graph, with Mr. Jernegan as editor, from September 16, 1897, to April 15, 1901, when it was discontinued to be consolidated with the Daily Post. Both the Telegraph and Post are independent in politics.
The Ellenville Journal was founded in 1849 by Robert Denton. It was purchased in 1857 by S. M. Taylor, who sold it in 1859, but re-purchased it in 1861, since which time, with a few temporary changes, he has con- ducted it. It is Republican in politics.
The South Ulster Press, now the Ellenville Press, was begun in 1870 by Thomas E. Benedict and Brother. When President Cleveland appointed Mr. Benedict Public Printer, these two brothers went to Washington, turning over their paper to their younger brother, Louis R. Benedict, who sold it in 1893 to W. C. McNally, a gentleman who had been prominent in Orange, Wyoming and Delaware county journals for many years. The Press is Democratic in politics and is exceedingly prosperous.
The New Paltz Independent was started in 1868 by the Independent Association, of which Easton Van Wagenen was secretary. The Associa- tion consisted of about So stockholders. Ralph Le Fevre became editor of the paper in 1869, purchasing it of the Association about two years afterward, and has since remained the editor and proprietor. Mr. Le Fevre has won a wide reputation as the historian of the Ulster County Huguenots. The Independent is Republican.
The New Paltz Times has been from its beginning a Democratic news- paper. It was founded in 1860 by Charles J. Ackert, who conducted it until his death in 1900, except while he served in the army during the Civil War, when it was managed by his wife, who is now the proprietress.
The Pine Hill Sentinel was founded in 1886 by Wilson Bertrand, who sold it in 1890 to U. S. Grant Cure, who has since been its publisher. It is a Republican paper.
The Pine Hill Optic was started in 1892 by E. S. Tompkins, who has conducted it since that time as a Democratic paper.
The Marlborough Record, first called the Pegasus and later the Prog- ress, was started in 1885 by Charles H. Cochrane and E. H. Bulkeley. In 1887 it was purchased by Egbert E. Carr, who conducted it for
5II
THE NEWSPAPERS OF ULSTER.
five years, when he sold a half interest to Charles E. Westervelt, who pur- chased Mr. Carr's remaining interest in 1902, and has conducted it up to date. The Record is independent politically.
The Highland Independent, an independent newspaper, founded in 1887, is conducted by Hector and Miss C. W. Sears.
The Gardiner Weekly, independent, was founded in 1882, and, until a few years ago, was conducted by Hector Sears, who sold it to Charles Slater, the present publisher.
The Rosendale Journal, independent, was started by Marvin E. Parrott in 1899. It was afterward purchased by Isaac T. Mesereau, who has since continued as proprietor.
1
512
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
CHAPTER XLIV. THE MASONIC FRATERNITY. BY HON. JOHN E. KRAFT. KINGSTON LODGE, NO. IO, F. & A. M.
W HEN Kingston was burned by the British Army in 1777, the records of the Masonic Fraternity in Ulster County were destroyed. Consequently there is no written history of the craft in Ulster before that date. A Masonic Lodge existed in Kingston long before the War of the Revolution under a dispensation of the Country Grand Lodge, and was visited by many distinguished brethren from other jurisdictions. When Washing- ton visited Kingston in 1782 the members of the lodge, then known as Livingston Lodge, No. 23, called upon him in a body at the house of General Wynkoop on Green street, and requested him to open a communi- cation of the lodge in due and ancient form, he being a past master of his own lodge at Alexandria, Virginia. The great General complied with their request, and opened the lodge, after which he went to the First Dutch Church, the Consistory of which presented to him their address of welcome, his reply to which, in his own handwriting, is in the vestibule of the present church edifice. During the anti-Masonic excitement which prevailed in this State early in the last century, the copper plate from which was engraved upon parchment the certificates of membership in Livingston Lodge, was buried in the First Dutch Churchyard for safe- keeping, and remained there until about twenty years ago, when it was dug up and presented to Judge Clearwater. It now has a place with other relics of pre-revolutionary Kingston in the Judge's residence on Albany avenue. It is understood that it is his intention eventually to present it to Kingston Lodge, No. 10.
Unfortunately the minutes of the meetings of the Fraternity up to the year 1790 are lost, and therefore Kingston Lodge, No. 10, took the latter date as that of its own organization, with Brother John Addison as its first Master. Records of the regular meetings of Livingston Lodge,
513
THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.
No. 23, however, up to the 26th day of December, 1805, are still in exist- ence. For some reason, not known, the charter of the lodge was sur- rendered until the 28th of August, 1808, when it was reorganized under the name of Kingston Lodge, No. 23, with Brother Moses Cantine as Master. At that time the Hon. DeWitt Clinton was Grand Master of the State of New York, and had on various occasions visited with the brethren in Kingston.
The regular communications of the lodge were held every full moon in a room in the old Court House. It was the rule in those days to have a grand celebration on the 24th day of June, being St. John's Day. The brethren would march to the First Dutch Church, and listen to an eloquent discourse by the minister, and then march over to one of the taverns, where a grand banquet would be spread, after which toasts would be responded to by various brethren.
On the first day of December, 1821, Kingston Lodge proceeded to the house of Isaac L. Hasbrouck, in the town of Marbletown, and instituted Rising Sun Lodge, No. 336, which existed a few years, and then sur- rendered its charter.
On the 17th of September, 1824, a large number of brethren of Kingston Lodge, upon special invitation, visited Red Hook and took part with the brethren of that village in welcoming the illustrious Gen. Marquis De Lafayette, who stopped there on his memorable trip up the Hudson River.
Kingston and Rondout were naturally much exercised over the building of the waterway that was to connect the Delaware and Hudson rivers. In the old lodge record of 1826 is the following interesting account: "The Lodge was invited by the managers of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company to take part in their canal completion celebration. The invitation was accepted, and the brethren proceeded to Eddyville in carriages, formed in procession after arriving (headed by the Master), proceeded to the tide-water lock, and there laid the cap-stone in due Masonic form, which completed this great artificial channel from the Delaware to the Hudson River. Brother Myer delivered the address upon this occasion, which was extremely able, and listened to by the vast crowd of spectators with marked attention. At the conclusion of these services the members of the lodge and other guests were invited by the managers of the canal on board of a float fitted up expressly for the occasion, and proceeded several miles up the canal. A band accompanied the party and discoursed sweet music
514
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
for the excursionists, and upon their return to tide-water the whole party partook of a bountiful repast provided at the house of Mr. H. Radcliff." This latter entertainment, we think, must have been at the expense of the lodge, as we find by their proceedings the "full moon" following that $75.96 was appropriated from the lodge fund to pay for dinners at Eddy- ville, written in the bold, legible handwriting of John Van Buren, then secretary of Kingston Lodge.
From 1808 to 1829 the work and transactions of the lodge were care- fully transcribed. On the minutes in the latter year, Brother John Van Buren was elected Master. For three or four years, no work was done by the lodge. A few members met each year and re-elected the old officers to their various positions. Although these devoted brethren met secretly and kept the organization of the lodge intact, they kept no record from 1833 to 1850, on account of the anti-Masonic sentiment pre- vailing throughout the country, because of the Morgan trouble. When the unpopularity of Freemasonry died out, the brethren got together on the 13th of November, 1850, and accepted a new charter that had been granted by the Grand Lodge to Kingston Lodge, No. 10, with the Vener- able Brother John Van Buren still its master. Since that time Free- masonry has prospered in Ulster County, Kingston Lodge becoming one of the leading lodges in the State, and several other lodges being organized from it.
In 1854 consent was granted by Kingston Lodge to establish Rondout Lodge, No. 343, fifteen members of Kingston Lodge having signed the application.
On the 19th of June, 1855, a number of brethren of Kingston Lodge who lived in the western section of Ulster County, and eastern portion of Delaware County, were granted a dispensation to organize Margaretville Lodge, No. 389.
During the dark days of the Civil War, Kingston Lodge mourned the death of a number of its members. On the 14th of September, 1862, the lodge in a body attended the funeral at Albany of its illustrious Brother George W. Pratt, Colonel of the 20th N. Y. S. M. He died at Albany from the effects of a wound received at Bull Run, Virginia, while nobly leading his regiment to battle.
In 1863 was celebrated in Kingston one of the greatest Masonic events that had ever occurred along the Hudson River. The brethren had
515
THE MASONIC FRATERNITY.
resolved to celebrate the anniversary of St. John the Baptist. Applica- tion was made for the use of the First Reformed Church of Kingston, in which to have the address delivered, but objection being made by certain ones having control of the church, the matter was not urged, and the brethren determined to erect the speaker's stand in the open air. On the day in question, a large body of Masons, numbering about 450, who had come from Saugerties, Rhinebeck, Poughkeepsie and other river towns, assembled with the Masons of Kingston and Rondout on the Strand, near the Mansion House, formed in procession, and headed by the Rondout band, marched through the upper streets, and halted at the Academy Green. The ceremonies here were impressive. Rev. J. C. Edmunds, acting as chaplain, addressed the Throne of Grace, which was followed by the entire body singing. The orator of the day was the Hon. Darius A. Ogden of Penn Yan, one of the most eloquent and forceful speakers of the times. At the close of the exercises the procession re-formed and marched to the old Armory (now St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church), where a bountiful repast had been spread. Tables had been set the entire length of the building, and there were seated nearly five hundred persons, who participated in the banquet. Toasts were drank, and many eloquent speeches were made.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.