Dutchess County Historical Society Yearbook Vol 021 1936

Year Book Dutchess County Historical Society Volume

21

I 9 3 6

DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETINGS — MEMBERSHIP — DUES ANNUAL MEETING, THIRD FRIDAY IN MAY SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING, THIRD FRIDAY IN OCTOBER MEMBERSHIP Membership in the Dutchess County Historical Society may be had by the election of the applicant at the May or October meeting or at a meeting of the Board of Trustees and the payment of the dues.

Annual Dues Life Membership

$ 2.00 $25.00

These payments carry with them the right to hold office, to vote and to take part in the proceedings of the Society.

Annual dues are payable on January 1st of each year.

Payment of two dollars at date of election entitles a new member to a copy of the Year Book for that current year.

Next payment falls due the succeeding January 1st and covers a copy of the Year Book issued in the year ensuing.

Copies of the Year Book are mailed only to those members whose dues are paid to date.

FORM OF BEQUEST I give and bequeath to the DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Dollars

3

OFFICERS 1 9 3 6 President: W. WILLIS REESE, New Hamburgh, N. Y. Vice-President at Large: JAMES F. BALDWIN, Ph.D., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Secretary: J. WILSON POUCHER, M. D., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Jssistant Secretary: MRS. AMY PEARCE VERNOOY, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Treasurer: MRS. GEORGE B. WATERMAN, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Curator: ALLEN FROST, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. VICE- PRESIDENTS FOR TOWNS J. E. Spingarn Mrs. Samuel Verplanck Jacob Brill William J. Browning Lawrence Belding Cummings Mrs. Edward B. Stringham Mrs. Frank R. Kendall Franklin D. Roosevelt Joseph H. Van Wyck Eugene Van Nest Daniel J. Gleason Miss Martha Akin Taber Mrs. Burnap Jordan J. Adams Brown Miss Annette Young John S. Wilson, M.D. Mrs. Stuart R. Anderson Miss Ethel Douglas Merritt Mrs. Joseph T. Tower Mrs. R. Theodore Coe Lenox Banks Oakleigh Thorne

Town of Amenia City of Beacon Town of Beekman Town of Clinton Town of Dover Town of East Fishkill Town of Fishkill Town of Hyde Park Town of LaGrange Town of Milan Town of North East Town of Pawling Town of Pine Plains Town of Pleasant Valley.

Town of Poughkeepsie City of Poughkeepsie Town of Red Hook Town of Rhinebeck Town of Stanford Town of Union Vale Town of Wappinger Town of Washington 4

BOARD OF TRUSTEES The President, ex-officio The Vice-President at Large, ex-officio The Secretary, ex-officio The Treasurer, ex-officio CLASS OF 1937 John Ross Delafield Mrs. Gerald Morgan

Miss Mary Johnston Elsworth Baltus Barentszen Van Kleeck CLASS OF 1938

George S. Van Vliet Frank V. Mylod

Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds Franklyn J. Poucher CLASS OF 1939

Tracy Dows Frederic Barnard

Edmund Van Wyck Herbert C. Shears CLASS OF 1940

Chester Husted Ross Hasbrouck

Henry T. Hackett Ronald Bogle

5

CONTENTS Secretary's Minutes; October 19, 1935-October 16. 1936

-

Page cJ

Treasurer's Report; October 19, 1935-October 16, 1936

-

11-

-

-

16

-

-

28

-

29

Annual Pilgrimage

-

Supplement to the Year Book of 1936 The Gift of Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Our Palatine Ancestors Helen Reed de Laporte

-

-

-

L.L.B., D.S.M.

-

St. Paul's Church, Tivoli John Ross Delafield, The Bard Family George H. Genzmer

-

-

38

-

68

A Draft-Wheel of the Civil War Sketch contributed by the President of the United States

73

The Mill on the Sprout and the Farmers' Landing Road The Editor

-

74

Old Boundary Lines and Aerial Photography The Editor

-

78

-

81

Dutchess County Men of the Revolutionary Period: Major Elias Van Benschoten J. Wilson Poucher, M. D.

90

-

99

Events on Hudson's River in 1777 (Continued from Year Book of 1935) 21 transcript of British official records contributed by the President of the United States

105

The North Boundary Line of Dutchess County Helen Wilkinson Reynolds

The Congress and the Montgomery Helen Wilkinson Reynolds

6

-

-

-

ILLUSTRATIONS Draft-Wheel of the Civil War

-

Opp. p. 73

Old Boundary Lines As revealed by Aerial Photography

-

Opp. p.

7

OCCASIONAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1916—PAMPHLET: Troutbeck, A Dutchess County Homestead; by Charles E. Benton. Out of print.

1924—COLLECTIONS VOL. I; Poughkeepsie, The Origin and Meaning of the Word; by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds. For further information address: Miss Helen W. Reynolds, 56 Grand Avenue, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 1924—COLLEcTioNs, VOL. II; Old Gravestones of Dutchess County, New York; collected and edited by J. Wilson Poucher, M. D., and Helen Wilkinson Reynolds. For further information address: J. Wilson Poucher, M. D., 15 Adriance Avenue, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 192S—COLLECTIONS, VOL. III; Records of the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York; edited by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Edition exhausted.

1930—COLLECTIONS, VOL. Newspapers printed piled and edited by information address: keepsie, N. Y.

IV; Notices of Marriages and Deaths in at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., 1778-1825; comHelen Wilkinson Reynolds. For further Frank B. Howard, 234 Main street, Pough-

1932—COLLECTIONS, VOL. V; Register of the Reformed Dutch Church at New Hackensack, Dutchess County, New York; edited by Maria Bockee Carpenter Tower. For further information address Mrs. Joseph T. Tower, Millbrook, Dutchess County, New York.

1936—In preparation: COLLECTIONS, VOL. VI; Records of the Town of Fishkill, Dutchess County, New York; edited by William Willis Reese. Publication to be announced later.

1936—In preparation; COLLECTIONS, VOL. VII; Notices of Marriages and Deaths in Newspapers printed at Poughkeepsie, New York, continued. Publication to be announced later.

8

SECRETARY'S MINUTES MEETING OF THE BOARD OF 'TRUSTEES APRIL 11, 1936 A meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Dutchess County Historical Society was held on Saturday, April 11, 1936, in the local history room of the Adriance Memorial Library, Poughkeepsie.

Present: President Reese, Trustees Baldwin, Elsworth, Pouchei, Reynolds and Van Wyck, and the Secretary and the Treasurer.

The Secretary read the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees held on September 28, 1935. These minutes were approved.

The matter of the spring meeting was discussed and it was decided to hold the meeting in the vicinity of Rhinebeck. A tentative date of June 6 was suggested and arrangements for the business meeting and for the luncheon at the Beekman Arms were left with the committee.

It was suggested that Mrs. de Laporte might be willing to address the meeting and tell something about the Palatines who were brought to Rhinebeck by Colonel Beekman. The secretary was instructed to consult with Mrs. de

Laporte on this matter.

It was decided that the annual pilgrimage be held about the middle of September. It was further voted that definite arrangements be left with the Pilgrimage Committee.

It was voted that a resolution, expressing the loss to the society in the death of Mr. John J. Mylod, be sent to the family of Mr. Mylod. Dr. Baldwin was appointed to draw up this resolution.

Mr. Frank V. Mylod was appointed to fill the unexpired term of his father, Mr. John J. Mylod, as a trustee of the class of 1938.

The following new members were elected: Mrs. Frederick H. Bontecou, Miss Fanny Borden, 114r. Robert E. Doughty, the Henry Huntington Library and Art Gallery of Los Angeles, Mr. Thomas H. Ransom, Miss Marion C. Reilly, Miss Nellie Southard, Miss Barbara Swain and Miss Helen Cook.

On motion, the Board adjourned.

J. WILSON POUCHER, Secretary.

ANNUAL MEETING

JUNE 6, 1936 The annual meeting of the Dutchess County Historical Soci-

ety was held on June 6, at 11 o'clock at Rokeby, the home of Mrs. 9

Richard Aldrich, Barrytown.

There' was an attendance of about 125.

Owing to the absence of the President, Dr. Baldwin, VicePresident-at-Large, presided.

The minutes of the semi-annual meeting held October 18, 1935, and of the meeting of the Board of Trustees held April 11, 1936, were read by the Assistant Secretary.

These minutes were approved as read.

The report of the Secretary announced that the society had received by gift and exchange the following items: The New York Historical Society Quarterly Bulletin, New York History, the quarterly of the New York State Historical Association, The Quarterly Bulletin of the Westchester County Historical Society, The bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, Genealogy of Delbert James Haff and wife, Grace Isabel Barse, compiled by Delbert James Haff, The Odell Genealogy, Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine.

The report of the Secretary stated that one member had resigned and that the society had lost the following members by death: Mr. Paul Flagler Cooley, Mr. Thomson E. Goring, Mr. John A. Hanna, a vice-president; Mrs. Arthur R. Hutchinson, Dr. Irving D. LeRoy, one of the founders of the society; Mr. William S. Massonneau, a vice-president; Mr. E. Darwin Morse, a vice-president; Mr. John J. Mylod, a trustee and one of the first members of the society; Mrs. J. Wilson Poucher, 10

Mrs. Frank L. Scofield, Mr. Earle D. Tobey, Mr. E. Lakin Tompkins, Miss Adelaide Underhill.

The Treasurer's report was given by Mrs. Waterman. It was accepted as read and follows these minutes.

Miss Reynolds, for the Year Book Committee, reported that the issue was planned out and that it would be ready for circulation at the usual time following the fall meeting.

Miss Reynolds reported also for the Pilgrimage Committee, that two invitations had been received but that definite arrangements had not yet been made. The matter was left to the Pilgrimage Committee.

A motion was made and seconded that the Chairman cast one ballot to re-elect the present officers of the society and the trustees whose terms expire in 1936. Mr. Lawrence Belding Cummings was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. John A. Hanna, vice-president representing thc Town of Dover. Mrs. Stuart R. Anderson was elected vice-president representing the Town of Red Hook to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Massonneau and Mr. Daniel J. Gleason was elected vice-president representing the Town of North East to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Mr. Morse.

The following new members were elected: Mrs. Harry Arnold, The Rev. Charles Champlin, Mrs. Alexander G. Cummins, Mr. Harold R. Dean, Mrs. Rufus Delafield, Miss Geneva Drinkwatcr,

Mrs. Esty Foster, Mrs. Bertrand J. Harder, Mrs. Burnap Jordan, Mrs. Frank D. Kelly, Mr. Charles S. Mitchell, Miss Anna M. Sewell, Mr. Frank S. Sewell, - Miss Mary Sherman, Dr. Aaron Sobel, Dr. Irving Townsend, Mrs. J. J. Weber, Mr. Jesse D. Wetsel, Miss Lida K. Wiggins, Mrs. Margaret T. Zimmer.

Mrs. Burnap Jordan was nominated and elected as vice-president representing the Town of Pine Plains.

Mrs. Aldrich told the story of "Rokeby", telling something of the purchase of the property, the building of the home, the laying out of the paths and planting of the trees and told about the people who had lived there. She then invited the members to visit the libraries and to ascend the tower to get the view of the river and the mountains with the ravine in the foreground.

Dr. Baldwin read a resolution which he had prepared expressing the loss to the society in the death of Mr. Mylod.

The meeting concluded with a rising vote of thanks to Mrs. Aldrich.

The society re-assembled at the Beekman Arms where about 150 members were served with luncheon and enjoyed a talk given by Mrs. de Laporte on the story of the Palatine settlers in America and especially at Rhinebeck.

Dr. Baldwin expressed the regret of the society that Mr. Reese had been unable to attend the meeting and spoke of the very pleasant time the members had enjoyed on the afternoon of May 22 as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Reese at their home at "Obercreek." The appreciation of the society was evidenced by cordial applause. Dr. Baldwin also regretted the absence of Dr. Poucher who was giving an address at the meeting of the Ulstter County Historical Society.

The meeting adjourned with a rising vote of thanks to the speaker.

AMY PEARCE VERNOOY, Assistant Secretary.

SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING OCTOBER 16, 1936 ing, held on June 6, were read and approved.

The Secretary reported that the society had received by gift and exchange the following items: New York History, the quarterly of the New York Historical Association.

The Quarterly Bulletin of the Westchester County Historical The minutes of the annual meet- Society.

The semi-annual meeting of the Dutchess County Historical Society was held on Friday, October 16, 1936, at the Nelson House, at 11 o'clock. There was an attendance of forty members.

In the absence of the President, the Vice-President-at-Large, Dr. Baldwin, presided.

11

Proceedings of the Ulster County Historical Society.

Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga 1VIuseum.

New York Historical Society quarterly bulletin.

The Secretary also reported that the society had lost the following members by death: Mr. Francis N. Bain Mrs. Theodore de Laporte Mrs. Herbert R. Gurney Dr. George A. Knapp Mrs. Charles Clinton Marshall Mrs. Robert Lincoln Parkinson Mrs. Edward Parris Dr. John E. Patterson Mrs. William F. Sage Mr. A. Allendorph Schoonmaker Mrs. Albert A. Simpson Mr. Merritt H. Traver and that there had been a few resignations.

The Treasurer's report was given by Mrs. Waterman. It was accepted and follows these minutes.

Miss Reynolds, for the Year Book Committee, reported that the volume was in the hands of the printer and would be ready for distribution at the usual time.

Miss Reynolds also reported for the Pilgrimage Committee. She said that those attending had spent a profitable and enjoyable day and that there had been one hundred and four cars in line at the time the visit was made to St. Paul's Church, Red Hook. She felt that an attendance of three hundred and fifty was a conservative estimate.

The Secretary read a letter received from Philip A. Mylod expressing the appreciation of the

Mylod family of the resolution passed by this society on the occasion of the death of Mr. John J. Mylod.

Dr. Baldwin spoke, with regret, of the death of Dr. I. D. LeRoy, one of the charter members and a former treasurer of the society. He moved that a resolution of regret be prepared and Dr. Ashley and Mr. de la Vergne were appointed a committee to draw up such a resolution.

Miss Reynolds spoke of the gift to the society of a photograph of a portion of the aerial map, prepared by the Dutchess County Planning Commission, which had been presented to the society by 1VIr. Charles S. Mitchell, chairman of the commission, and which would be reproduced in the forthcoming issue of the Year Book. She also spoke of a pamphlet, an extract from the minutes of the quarterly meeting held at the Oblong in 1779. Miss Reynolds said that the pamphlet had been printed by Mr. Melbert B. Cary, Jr., at the Press of the Woolly Whale in New York City, following as closely as possible the punctuation and spelling in the original manuscript. • She said that Mr. Cary had presented to the society a sufficient number of copies of the pamphlet so that one might be mailed with each copy of the 1936 Year Book.

Miss Reynolds moved, and it was seconded, that a vote of thanks be extended to Mr. Mitchell and to Mr. Cary for their kindness in presenting these gifts to the society.

The following new members were nominated and elected: 12

Mrs. James S. Bixby The Botany Department, Vassar College Miss Agnes Bower Mrs. Matthew Brinckerhoff Mr. E. E. Brownell Mrs. Charles Champlin Mr. William E. Conklin Mrs. John Ross Delafield Mrs. Ida W. Foote Mrs. Charles E. Griffin Miss Dorothy L. Hawkins Mrs. Walter H. Howard Mr. Moses Lamont Mrs. F. 0. Lindsley Mrs. W. W. Luckey Miss Florence McCaleb Miss Helen M. Mahoney Mr. Albert Reese Mr. G. H. S. Rowe Mrs. G. H. S. Rowe Mr. Anton Semmler Dr. Scott Lord Smith Mrs. Scott Lord Smith Mr. Edward B. Towne Mrs. Barnard D. Van Kleeck Miss Helen Wheeler There being no further business -the meeting adjourned to the dining room where luncheon was serv-

ed to eighty-five members. After the luncheon Dr. Baldwin introduced Mr. George H. Genzmer, Lecturer and Fellow in English at Bard College, who gave a very interesting talk on the Bard family of Dutchess County. Mr. Frederic A. Smith, Clerk of Dutchess County, told of the work being done in his office in the restoration and preservation of old county records. He invited those interested to inspect an historical exhibit which had been arranged in the office, of important maps and other papers of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Mr. Poultney Bigelow, an honorary member of the society, was introduced and spoke a few words of greeting.

The meeting adjourned with a rising vote of thanks to the speakers and a large number availed themselves of the opportunity to visit the office of the County Clerk and inspect the most interestin.,...-, exhibit which had been arranged.

J. WILSON POUCHER, Secretary.

13

Annual Report of the TREASURER of the DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY June 1, 1936 PERMANENT ACCOUNT $ 542.52

Balance to date CHECKING ACCOUNT Balance on hand, October 18, 1935 Received in dues Received from sale of Year Books

$1,492.51 942.00 17.00 $2,451.51

DIISBURSEMENTS TO DATE 1935 Oct. 22—Postage, pilgrimage and fall meeting Nov. 12—Postage and cards Dec. 2—Plates for Year Book Dec. 2—Letter heads and envelopes Dec. 5—Postage and trucking, Year Book Dec. 5—Printing and envelopes, Year Book Dec. 9—Addressing and filling envelopes, Year Book Dec. 9—Editorial work on Year Book Dec. 13—Postage Dec. 18—Printing, postcards and envelopes 1936 Jan. 6—Contribution to Glebe House Jan. 6—Binding, Year Book Jan. 6—Honorarium, Curator Jan. 6—Honorarium, Assistant Secretary Jan. 6—Honorarium, Treasurer Jan. 10—Postage Jan. 18—N. Y. State Historical Ass'n., 1936 dues.

Apr. 28—Bill heads

$ 24.00 4.25 36.22 23.10 17.02 348.12 8.00 200.00 3.00 7.65 120.00 33.65 25.00 50.00 50.00 5.00 3.00 6.85 964.86

Balance, June 1

$1,486.65 Respectully submitted, KATHERINE B. WATERMAN, Treasurer.

14

Semi-Annual Statement of the TREASURER of the DUTCHESS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY October 16, 1936 PERMANENT ACCOUNT $ 542.52

Balance to date CHECKING ACCOUNT Balance on hand, June 1, 1936 Received in dues Received from sale of Year Book and Collections

$1,486.65 172.00 83.50 $1,742.15

DISBURSEMENTS TO DATE 1936 June 2—Photographs $ 3.00 14.25 June 2—Postage, spring meeting 6.00 June 8—Guest ticket, petty expense, spring meeting 50.00 July 2—Honorarium, Treasurer 50.00 July 2—Honorarium, Assistant Secretary 25.00 July. 2—Honorarium, Curator 5.00 July 2—Rental of chairs, spring meeting 5.35 Aug. 23—Printing postcards, spring meeting 13.90 Sep. 9—Printing, program of pilgrimage 10.25 Sep. 22—Collections, Vol. V .20 Oct. 5—Exchange on Canadian check 182.95 $1,559.20 Respectfully submitted, KATHERINE B. WATERMAN, Treasurer.

15

THE ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE Fortune favored the Dutchess County Historical Society in a marked way in 1936 in connection with the annual pilgrimage. The date set for the event was 'Wednesday, September 16th. On the 15th and 17th the weather was grey and damp and disagreeable but, in between, the 16th provided brilliant sunshine and pleasant temperature and over three hundred "pilgrims" joined in a program for which the scenery of northwest Dutchess formed a setting that looked its own beautiful best. By a careful count, which was made about two in the afternoon, there were then 104 cars in line.

The absence of the President, Mr. Reese (who was unavoidably detained), was the source of real regret and it qualified the pleasure of the day. Mrs. Redmond of Callendar House and Miss Ross of Ward Manor were also unable to be present and were greatly missed.

Mrs. Shelley of Maize/and and the rector of St. Paul's, the Reverend Charles Champlin, welcomed the party in the visits made to the house of David Van Ness and to the church and at the Edgewood Tennis Club—thrown open by the courtesy of the President of the Club, General John Ross Delafield—it was obvious that every one enjoyed the luncheon hour.

Three impromptu additions were made to the program at Callendar House.

First, General Delafield gave a short account of the Edgewood 16

Tennis Club (the fourth oldest tennis club in the United States) and of the enviable record for good playing established by the club membership.

Then, the Reverend A. Elwood Corning of Newburgh spoke in behalf of the work of the newly-organized Hudson River Society, which aims to stop quarrying and other destructive activities and to preserve the scenic beauty of the river.

Following Mr. Corning, Miss Angelica Livingston invited the "pilgrims" to visit her home, The Pynes, the property adjoining Callendar House at the north. The invitation was accepted with appreciation to the extent that, on leaving CallendarHo use, the procession entered The Pynes at the south gate and filed by the house, passing from the grounds by the north gate. Lack of time made it impossible for passengers to get out of their cars and visit the house, which is believed to have been built about 1790-1794 and has since those years always been owned or occupied by members of the Livingston family-connection.

The builder is supposed to have been John Reade, whose wife was a daughter of Robert Gilbert Livingston.

Detailed accounts of the several places visited on this pilgrimage (the house of David Van Ness; Callendar House; The Pynes; and DeVeaux Park or Almont) may be found in the book titled Dutchess

County Doorways (Reynolds; 1931) at pages 245, 155, 149 and 86, respectively, while an extended article on Peter De Labigarre, founder of Tivoli, appeared in the Year Book for 1929.

NINETEENTH PILGRIMAGE Wednesday, September 16, 1936 Daylight Saving Time Basket Lunches PLAN OF PILGRIMAGE It is proposed to visit the northwest corner of the county. Three properties (each dating from the 1790's) and a particularly interesting church are the objectives of the trip.

ROUTE OF PILGRIMAGE At 10:15 a. m. pilgrims will assemble at Red Hook.

Arriving at the center of the village, turn toward river; proceed to the first turn to the right (disregarding one short dead-end roadway) ; fall into line behind the leader's car on road running north.

Enter gateway at Maizeland and proceed to house built before 1797

by General David Van Ness.

Assemble in front of house. The story of the house will be told by Miss Helen W. Reynolds and then, through the kindness of Mrs. Leon Shelley, the present owner, Opportunity will be given to go inside.

On signal, re-enter cars.

At 11:15 a. m. (approximately) leave Maizeland.

Follow leader to Callendar House (near Tivoli), the home of Mrs. Johnston Livingston Red17

mond, through whose courtesy pilgrims are received.

At 11:43 a. m. (approximately) due at Callendar House.

Assemble on the lawn south of the house. Miss Helen W. Reynolds will speak on: The Indians; the Hoffmans; Tivoli; and Callendar House.

On signal, re-enter cars.

At 12 :45 p. m. (approximately) leave Callendar House.

Follow leader to the Edgewood Tennis Club.

From 1:00 to 2:00 p. m. (approximately) basket lunches on the grounds of the club. Pilgrims are indebted to General John Ross Delafield, president, and the members of the governing board for the privilege of using the club property on this occasion.

On signal, re-enter cars.

At 2:00 p. m. (approximately) leave the club. Follow leader to St. Paul's Church, which will be open to pilgrims by the kindness of the rector, the Reverend Charles S. Champlin.

General John Ross Delafield, a member of the vestry of St. Paul's, will speak in regard to the interesting memorials within and without the church building.

On signal, re-enter cars.

At 3 :00 p. m. (approximately) leave St. Paul's. Follow leader to Ward Manor.

At 3:15 p. m. (approximately) due at Ward Manor, where hospitality is accorded to, pilgrims by the courtesy of the governing board of the institution.

Assemble on the lawn west of

the house. Miss Helen W. Reynolds will tell the story of the place.

Opportunity will then be given

to go over the property.

From Ward Manor pilgrims will disperse for home at individual convenience.

HOUSE OF DAVID VAN NESS* Many of those who are present here will recall the Pilgrimage of 1931, when a visit was made to Kinderhook, Columbia County. On the afternoon of that day our society went to Lindenwald, the place that once was the home of President Van Buren. But President Van Buren did not build the house called Lindenwald. The original portion of that house, a square structure of brick, two stories high, was erected by Peter Van Ness and there is a connection between that house and this, which we are now visiting, inasmuch as this house at Red Hook was built by David Van Ness, a brother of Peter Van Ness of Columbia County.

David Van Ness moved down from Columbia County to Dutchess, lived a while at what is now called Upper Red Hook, and then in course of time built this house which we are now about to go over.

David Van Ness built this house before 1797 (in which year it appears on a map of this vicinity) but how long before 1797 is not known.

As built, the house at first was a rectangle, two stories in height, and resembled the house of Peter Van Ness near Kinderhook. The fashion for large square brick houses arose in Dutchess County in the 1790's and lasted for some years, during which a number of them were built. Full accounts of several are preserved. Two beside this one are still standing in this part of the county:—one being the home of Mrs. George N. Miller at Rhinebeck, which we visited in 1930, and another the home of Mrs. Richard Aldrich near Barrytown, where we held our spring meeting this year.

When we go inside this house of David Van Ness you will notice that the floor-areas are large and the ceilings high, as compared with those in the houses that were built before 1776. The pioneers planned *An informal talk given by Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds on Wednesday, September 16th, 1936, on the occasion of the nineteenth annual Pilgrimage of the Dutchess County Historical Society.

18

their houses in a way to conserve heat and it is noteworthy that in these later dwellings, which represent a generation of people more prosperous and more sophisticated than their predecessors, a more elegant type of house was built despite the fact that there had been no improvements made in methods of heating. As you look at these handsome old rooms please try to realize what life in them must have been like in winter when open hearth fires of wood were the only source of warmth.

Although additions and alterations have been made to this house of David Van Ness, there are still left original items of 1797. In connection with the main square structure note the front door and its frame; the mantels in the rooms on the right of the door and all the wood trim on the second floor.

But in the front room at the left of the entrance is a mantel brought here from New York after 1882; while the mantel in the back room at the left is in the style of 1830. On the first floor the doors and doorframes and the plaster decorations are of the mid-19th century.

The staircase was originally at the rear of the central hall, from which place it was removed to an ell in an addition that was made to the house in the late 19th century. It has just been re-set in the central hall.

The third story, the front porch, the north veranda, the French windows and the extension at the southwest corner are all more or less recent additions.

David Van Ness, who was living in the square house in 1797, had served in the Revolution as a captain in the Continental Line and as a major in the militia of Dutchess. After the war, he continued in the militia, rising in rank until from 1793 to 1801 he was general of a brigade. He was a member of the Assembly in 1790; a presidential Elector in 1792 and 1812; while in 1800 and in 1802 he served in the state Senate. In 1815 he sold this house and removed to Troy, N. Y., where he died in 1818.

In 1804, while.General Van Ness had his home in this house, the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr took place. Burr's second in the duel was William P. Van Ness, a son of Peter Van Ness of Lindenwald and nephew of David Van Ness. Can you not picture for yourselves the excitement in this house in the summer of 1804? The duel, that occurred on July 7th, was being talked of by the country at large and a member of the immediate family of the owner of this house had been closely associated with one of the principals in the event.

19

When General Van Ness sold this house in 1815 the purchaser was Stephen I. Brinckerhoff of Fishkill (related, through the I3rinckerhoffs and Van Wycks, to all southern Dutchess). Stephen I. Brinckerhoff bought the house in May and in the following October he married Margaret Platt Smith, a daughter of Judge Isaac Smith whose home was the estate called Lithgow, in the town of Washington. The wedding ceremony took place at Lithgow, which is now the home of Isaac Smith Wheaton and where Mr. Wheaton has more than once received this society.

The story of this marriage (which links the house of David Van Ness with the house called Lithgow) is touching. The bride had not reached her sixteenth birthday. By tradition, she was beautiful and in the mind's eye it is possible to see that pretty girl in her teens, moving about in the big rooms of this house and up and down the broad stairway. In all her youth and loveliness at the end of two years and a half, she died. From her daughter (born in this house) many of the Thornes of IVIillbrook are descended.

Following Stephen I. Brinckerhoff this house has been owned by the Tellers, the Chamberlains and the Timpsons. Tobias Teller was one of the family that gave its name to Teller Hill, on the Post Road in the town of Hyde Park. William Chamberlain came here from New York City and identified himself with Red Hook in many ways. It may have been during his ownership (1841-1875) that the place was given the name: Maizefield, which so well fits the level area north and west of the house.

Mrs. Thehodore Timpson of New York City, who bought Maizefield in 1882, was a sister of Mrs. Joseph F. Barnard of Poughkeepsie (who will be remembered by some who are here today). In 1900 Mrs. Timpson gave Maizefield to her son, Lawrence Timpson. The marriage of Lawrence Timpon and Miss Katherine Livingston created a tie between Maizefield and the old estate called Clermont, in Columbia County, just as the marriage of Stephen I. Brinckerhoff had related it to Lithgow.

We are here today through the courtesy of the present owner of illaizefield, Mrs. Leon Shelley and we all join, I am sure, in offering thanks to her for the privilege she has extended to us.

20

THE INDIANS; THE HOFFMANS ; TIVOLI ; AND CALLENDAR HOUSE* We stand this morning on high ground,—a plateau overlooking Hudson's river. Beyond the trees at the south end of the plateau the shoreline of the river curves inward, forming a cove. In the river, off the cove, is a small island (the Dutch called it Slypsteen, meaning grindstone). The island and the land bordering the cove have definite traditions of the Indian connected with them.

Old accounts tell of an Indian battle on the island and Indians are said to have lived in a small group along the shore at the upper end of the cove.

That the Indians were here when white men first knew the cove is indicated by the fact that the stream (now known as the White Clay Kill) which enters the river at the cove was first called: Wilden Dutch for "stream of the wild (or savage) men," or, as we would put it: "stream of the Indian."

Furthermore, I was told a few years ago by Mr. Johnston L. Redmond (who then owned this property but who has since died) that in 1888, when the lawn that stretches out before us was being graded, the graves of two Indians were uncovered near the brow of the hill at the south end of the lawn. With the two skeletons were found many arrowheads and spearheads and, across the breast of one of the Indians, was an oblong piece of stone in which two round holes had been made.

The first white people who are known to have lived near the "stream of the Indian" were the Hoffmans, a family which about 1725 took possession of a large tract of land in this locality.

At the upper end of the cove they built a dwelling-house of stone and (on the stream) a mill. On the point formed by the north end of the cove they established a dock or river-landing. At the landing they had a storehouse, where freight to and from the farms of this vicinity was accommodated, and they also conducted a ferry between the point and the opposite side of the river.

In 1744 a deed* referred to this neighborhood as "Yellow Hook."

Perhaps at that time the storehouse had a coat of yellow paint. Later *An informal talk given by Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds on Wednesday, September 16th, 1936, on the occasion of the nineteenth annual Pilgrimage of the Dutchess County Historical Society.

21

(that is, in 1781 and 1785) two deeds** mention a red store which then was standing on the point. How much or how little the color of that storehouse had to do with the name: Red Hook, which attached itself to a large area hereabouts, we do not know. Nor do we know how much or how little the presence here of the Indians in a group had to do with the name.

We do know with certainty, however, that Red Hook is a name not peculiar to Dutchess County. It is found*** on the Delaware river, on Long Island, in Westchester County and in Albany County at dates prior to its appearance in Dutchess. Properly rendered the two Dutch words are: Roode Hoeck, meaning red point or red corner.

It is well to recall, however, that the development by the Hoffmans of this local center of business, with its mill, storehouse, sloop-landing and ferry, was one of the earliest of such centers along the river-front of Dutchess. It flourished until the early nineteenth century, when competition arose with other docks a little farther north and caused its decline and disappearance.

In the 1790's two unusual things occurred in this neighborhood.

The first unprecedented happening was the founding of the village of Tivoli. Not one of the other villages in Dutchess was deliberately and intentionally laid out. All the rest of our villages "just grew" from out of local conditions and circumstances.

Tivoli, on the other hand, was conceived of in the mind of Peter De Labigarre, a man of French descent, who was in business in New York City and who in the 1790's bought a great deal of land here in Red Hook. DeLabigarre carefully made arrangements for the laying out of a model village. After a survey, a map was drawn which provided for residence and business and recreation. The streets of the proposed village were given imaginative names, such as: Flora, Diana, Spring, Peace, Plenty, Commerce, etc., with Zephyr Square in the center.

From a map a copper-plate was made by Saint Memin, a widely known French artist who came to the United States after the French Revolution. Two engravings from that copper-plate are known to exist.

One is in the office of the Clerk of Dutchess County and the other was owned at the time of his recent death by Mr. Johnston L. Redmond. *Records of Clerk of Dutchess County, deeds, 2: 343. **Records of Clerk of Dutchess Countp, deeds, 9: 259, 300. ***year Book, D. C. H. S., 1933 (vol. 18), p. 56.

22

In the Year Book of this society for 1929 there is a detailed article about Peter DeLabigarre and the founding of Tivoli. After the Year Book was in the press and it was too late to add a new item to the article, Mr. Redmond wrote me a letter in which he told me that a Frenchman had just visited Tivoli who, in looking at the engraving made by Saint Memin, had remarked that the city of Bordeaux, France, has a suburb called Tivoli and that DeLabigarre is a characteristic name in the vicinity of Bordeaux. This perhaps may be a clue to the reason for the bestowal on this village of a name otherwise quite unaccounted for.

Unfortunately the village of Tivoli was not built, eventually, in accordance with the plan made for it. The plan never got beyond the paper stage. But the house which DeLabigarre built for himself on • Flora street is still standing and it was known all through the nineteenth century as le chateau de Tivoli. Also still standing is a high brick wall with a postern gate, which (about 1800) DeLabigarre erected in front of his dwelling in European fashion. In 1800 most of the homes of Dutchess were open to the observation of the passerby and this high wail was a noticeable innovation.

The next time that any of the members of this society drive down the main road to the station at Tivoli I am sure they will look with interest at the brick wall at the top of the hill where the road makes a turn and, in so doing, they will give a thought to Peter DeLabigarre who built it.

The other occurrence here in the 1790's which was unusual was the establishment of this country seat which we are now visiting. Country seats were very few in number at that time in Dutchess and this was one of the first to be created.

In 1794 Henry G. Livingston bought the land where we now stand and in that same year built a house, which in January, 1795, he advertised for sale.

The house we see before us today is the house of 1794 in essentials but, in the course of 142 years, sundry alterations and additions have been made. Originally, the house consisted of a central portion, two stories high, covered by a hipped roof, with a flat deck in its center; at each end of the house was a wing, one story high; at the front was a small porch and at the rear a piazza. The roof has been changed; the wings have been raised to two stories; there is now a colonnade across 23

the front; the rear piazza is gone. The floor plan is little' changed but the original trim of the.interior is gone.

Built in 1794, this house was purchased in 1795 by Philip H. Livingston, a grandson of Philip Livingston who signed the Declaration of Independence. He named his new home Sunning Hill and lived here for over thirty years. In 1860, when Mr. and Mrs. Johnston Livingston bought the place, they re-named it Callendar House, in honor of an old estate in Scotland belonging to the Scotch Livingstons.

From 1795 to the present day this place has been occupied by people who have loved it and cared for it and it is one of the conspicuous examples in this county of residential property that has been continuously maintained as such for nearly a century and a half. Certainly Dutchess has reason to be proud of her homes!

We visit this place today through the courtesty of Mrs. Redmond and to her we offer thanks for the privilege.

DE VEAUX PARK — ALMONT WARD MANOR* This morning we visited Callendar House, which has been residential property since 1794.

The land where we now stand was taken up for use as a countryseat a little bit earlier than that of Callendar House. In 1790 John Armstrong, a native of Pennsylvania who had been prominent durink the War of the Revolution, bought four hundred acres and on the site of this present house, built a square brick dwelling, similar to the house of David Van Ness which we saw this morning.

General Armstrong remained here a short time, only, and in 1797 the place was purchased by Colonel Andrew De Veaux, who at once made his presence felt in marked ways. Colonel De Veaux was a colorful individual and did unusual things. Let me tell you his story.

Born in South Carolina, of Huguenot ancestry, Andrew De Veaux grew up amid the traditions of southern plantation-life. When the War An informal talk given by Miss Helen Wilkinson Reynolds on Wednesday, September 16th, 1936, on the occasion of the nineteenth annual Pilgrimage of the Dutchess County Historical Society.

24

of the Revolution came he was one of a large number of the gentry of South Carolina who were loyal to the British Crown. Loosing their plantations by confiscation, a group Of those southern Loyalists removed to the Bahama Islands.

The Bahamas, which lie off the coast of Florida, were a British possession. In 1776, Commodore Hopkins of the American Navy seized the islands but was unable to hold them. And so, Andrew De Veaux— young, handsome and spirited—organized a regiment of Loyalists, put to sea with his command, and took over the archipelago. By so doing he provided security under British sovereignty for the southern families which had fled to the islands and the British Parliament gave him a colonelcy as a reward.

From the Bahamas Colonel De Veaux came to New York City and there, in 1797, he married Anna Maria Verplanck of Dutchess County.

Miss Verplanck's home was the brick house on the Sprout Creek that now is owned by Mrs. Edward B. Stringham and which was visited by this society in 1925.

Five months after his marriage Colonel De Veaux bought the place we are now visiting and lived here until his death in 1812. In the fifteen years of his ownership he made this property and his own name much talked of. On the land attached to his house were thick woods and the woods abounded in old oaks and chestnuts of great size and dignity; Familiar with the plantations of the south, which reflected a tradition of the parks of the gentry in England, Colonel De Veaux treated his trees after the English manner. Applying the principles of landscape architecture he protected his woods, while at the same time he laid out a lawn with the sweep of a great park and cut the trees on it in a way to create groups and vistas. He called his property De Veaux Park.

The house built by General Armstrong was enlarged by Colonel De Veaux by the addition of one-story wings at the north and south, and he decorated the interior elaborately. Three original accounts* have been preserved of the finish he gave to the main drawing-room, accounts which agree in essentials. They all tell of bars of silver applied to the east wall of the room in a design indicating the rising sun; silver balls filled a groove in a cornice near the ceiling; silver stars, half-moons and discs were applied to the casings of doors and windows; and alternating with the pieces of flat silver were ornaments of red leather. The wood *Reynolds; Dutchess County Doorways, p. 87; 1931.

25

trim of the drawing-room was carved ambitiously and in a secondary parlor there was a mantel of white marble, that carried bas-reliefs representing the fortifications captured in the Bahamas by the colonel.

In this house, so unusual for the time and place, Colonel De Veaux lived on an expensive scale. His income was derived from plantations in the Bahamas and the story runs that once in six months remittances were sent him in specie in bags. He would call for his six-months' local bills and, receiving his creditors in person, would pay the bills with handfuls of money drawn from the bags.

He kept handsome horses and drove them both four-in-hand and tandem. In 1800 many residents of Dutchess owned blooded racers and saddle-horses and spanking teams. But four-in-hands and tandems were new in the county.

Also out of the ordinary was the colonel's choice of pets: he is said to have kept kangaroos and monkeys for amusement. Picture those to yourselves, here in quiet Dutchess!

Of Colonel De Veaux, personally, it is related that he was a good neighbor and a devoted friend but that he was capable of strong dislikes.

In 1806 the colonel sold 116 acres of land, fronting the river at the northwest corner of his property, to John Roberts Poinsett of South Carolina, apparently a southern friend who thought to establish a northern home on Hudson's river. Mr. Poinsett did not, however, come to Dutchess to live and the land he bought was later merged again with De Veaux Park but there is a reason why we should know of his temporary association here. He was a kinsman of Joel Roberts Poinsett of South Carolina, who was sent by the United States Government to Mexico on government business, and who, on his return to the -United States, introduced here a Mexican plant, which has brilliant red petals.

That plant, named in honor of its sponsor, is the poinsettia.

De Veaux Park was purchased in 1813 by Robert Swift Livingston of Columbia County, who renamed the place Almont, and who lived here until his death in 1867, in all which years the place was famed as residential property of special beauty.

But, sad to state, the handsome house of the 1790's burned down in 1877 and all the elaborate decorations made by Colonel De Veaux and irreplaceable documents, portraits, furniture, etc., accumulated by the Livingston family were destroyed.

For a long time after the fire the place was closed. Then from 26

1906 to 1913 it was held by non-resident men, who planned to cut the old woods for timber for commercial purposes. Inroads were made on the total growth but the woods were not entirely cleared, for which we are thankful.

In 1915 Louis Gordon Hamersley of New York bought the old estate and, on the site of the original brick house, built the central portion of this present structure. You will be interested to note as you go through the house the carved wood and stone and the wrought iron with which Mr. Hamersley finished it.

Changes occurring in his personal plans, Mr. Hamersley closed the lovely grey stone dwelling. Finally it was purchased by William B. Ward and in 1926 the doors were opened again and the house called Ward Manor.

As constituted now, this property comprises not only the tract that formed De Veaux Park (later Almont) but two other early countryseats, one to the west and one to the north. At the river-front, west of this house, is an island, sometimes spoken of as Magdalen's Island and sometimes as Crugers', on which was the home of the Cruger family for much of the nineteenth century. To the north an estate was laid out in 1795, which was occupied by the Parsons and Montgomery and Barker and Kidd families in succession until later years. Now the three are held in one ownership.

Made up as it is of three former private estates, the property called Ward Manor has behind it a long story of interesting people, who occupied the land in accordance with noteworthy cultural standards. But history is being made at Ward Manor today in a wonderful and a beneficent way. Through the kindness of Miss McIntosh, our hostess, and of the other officers of the institution, we may now go over this beautiful home for aged persons. Miss McIntosh will also be glad, I am sure, to answer questions about other buildings on the property which are devoted to the care of boys and girls.

27

SUPPLEMENT TO THE YEAR BOOK OF 1936 THE GIFT OF MELBERT B. CARY, JR. Members of the Dutchess County Historical Society will find enclosed with each copy of the Year Book of 1936 a small pamphlet, titled as a Supplement. An original manuscript of 1779, owned by Mrs. A. Franklin Swift of Millbrook, Dutchess County (which records an extract from the minutes of the Quarterly Meeting of the Society of Friends, held at the Oblong on May 1-3, 1779) has been reproduced in this way

by Mr. Melbert B. Cary, Jr., of Millbrook and New York, and is presented to the members of the society with his compliments. The pamphlet is an example of artistic work in selected type and stands also as a successful effort to capture the elusive individual quality of an eighteenth century document. Mr. Cary is greatly interested in the history of Nine Partners Patent and particularly in all documents and maps relating to that portion of Dutchess. He would be glad to be put into touch with owners of any such material.

28.

OUR PALATINE ANCESTORS* No matter how beautiful the fore-ground of any picture may be, if the background is not in keeping the picture is a failure. So in any study of the men and women of the past we must consider them against the background of their own times. We must judge them not by the standards of the twentieth century but by their own. Were they better or worse than the men of their own age? If this be true of individuals it is equally true of nations, of the homelands of our early settlers. We must know their European background; the territory whence they came; their struggles to free themselves from the shackles of the dark ages and their struggles and heart-breaks both at home and here. We owe this to our Palatine ancestors. A letter published in London in 1709 answers a few of these questions, the first from whence did they come, these refugees?

"They are mostly Palatinates, part of which country belongs to the circle of the Upper Rhine. It has Alsace, part of Lorraine and Swabia and the south part of the Archbishopric of Treves. Its greatest length is 110 miles and its greatest width 70 miles. 'Tis called the Lower Palatinate to distinguish it from that part of Bavaria called the Upper.

This country is much the pleasantest part of all the German Empire and has been coveted by neighboring princes in all ages. Their hills are covered with vines, their plains and valleys abound with all sorts of corn and fruits and their forests are well stocked with deer and other game."

The Rhine passing through the middle of the country aids their -commerce and their mountains abound with minerals, agate and jasper and gold. They have been the victims of almost 100 years of perpetual war and, the writer adds, I will mention only a few of their principal -cities.

Spiers was taken by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden but its fortifications demolished because he could not fortify them. The city of Philipsburg, the first in the Palatinate, has been taken six times. In 1633 by the Swedes, in 1644 by the Prince of Conde, in 1636 by the Imperialists, by the Germans in 1676 and by the Dauphin on his birth-day Nov. 1, 1688. In 1693 more raids were made against it, when the prince's palace and the churches were destroyed. Worms is reckoned *A paper read by Mrs. Theodore de Laporte before the Dutchess County -Historical Society at a luncheon at the Beekman Arms, Rhinebeck, on June 6, 1936.

29

their second city but is now peopled by the vilest of the French, so none dare live near it.

Manheim and Heidelberg and Frankendale are in ruins, the latter being burned down and the country depopulated. A desert has been made of more than 2000 of their greatest cities and villages, their vines destroyed and up-rooted to make the country uninhabitable. Many have died in the caves and woods of hunger, cold and nakedness. During a few years of peace they tried to rebuild their cottages and restore their devastated country but by the levies imposed by their conquerors and the taxes by their own government they are reduced to beggary.

Manheim and the adjacent territory had become a haven for the French Refugees and those from Spain fleeing from the Inquisition.

They were gladly welcomed by the Elector of Brandenberg, who not only remitted their taxes but furnished wood for houses and transportation for the same but also a sum of money to buy the necessaries. The same favor was shown those Palatines who had been beggared by the French invaders. So well did they prove their worth that in a short time he found his revenues doubled.

Judged by the standards of any country, the decrees of John William, Elector of the Palatinate, for the guidance of his people in their religious affairs is one of the most remarkable papers on record: "We John by the Grace of God, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Lord of Ravenstein," etc., dated Nov. 21, 1705, two years before his death, when the crown passed to the Catholic house of Newburgh. He states that he wishes to be fair to all his people irrespective of their faith or condition. Absolute liberty of conscience without any interferance ; to each over eighteen the right to choose his own faith; the children of mixed marriages to be educated according to the wishes of their parents; such marriage to be permitted but banns published in both churches; Protestants could work on Catholic church and festival days but must not make any disturbance. -Where there were two Protestant churches in the community and no Catholic then the Protestants should keep one and give one to the other faith. Where there was but one, it was to be divided through the middle and each congregation to have their own half, each to have the privilege to add to their own half if they so desired. No public official was to be deterred because of his faith and lastly "We ordain that without regard to their religion the 30

poor and the sick shall be admitted to the hospitals and enjoy full liberty of conscience."

Small wonder that the French refugees named their new settlement in the Walkill valley the New Paltz! But that could scarcely explain why the Quassaick settlement should be called Newburgh.

Let the Palatine refugees tell their own story.

"We, the poor distressed Palatines, whose utter ruin was accomplished by the merciless cruelty of the French, whose prevailing power some years past like a torrent rushed into our country and overwhelmed us at once and being not satisfied with money and food necessary for their occasions not only dispossessed us of all support but inhumanly burned our houses to the ground, drove us and our families into the open fields with the ground for our lodgings and the clouds our covering."

Hewers of wood and drawers of water, Mrs. Lamb calls them.

War was no respecter of persons. A French gentleman writing of the destruction of Spires says "this was the first attacked by the Dauphin— a noble flourishing town—they quartered there 6000 troops and demanded 60,000 crowns. Beggared by the levy they were ordered out and the Efth day the city was burned. Lest anything be left the soldiers were ordered to finish the work. Noblemen and tradesmen, the poor and the rich, began the doleful march I could not behold without feeling almost the same transports of sorrow to see two or three hundred noble women and citizens walking on foot in the midst of an infinite crowd, most of them followed by four or five little children and at least three fourths of them without a penny Without homes, no place to call their own, they have thrown themselves into the arms of Great Britain's charity."

England began to find her burden a heavy one. Ten thousand were already in the camps, more than 3,000 of them children. The people began to complain of the heavy tax, on the ground that the number of their own poor was too great. The committee in charge of the camps replied "If you magistrates would set them to work, three fourths of the poor in England would provide for themselves and till you do so, they having been innured to idleness and the trade of begging, will never , work until the fear of punishment drives them to it. The number of our beggars especially in London is a disgrace. Now I am bold to say that the want of industry and the care to recover it is very ominous to England, where a lazy vagabond and audacious poor are so countenanced

as to threaten our ruin." Another writer says of them "they may be reckoned a blessing rather than a burden to any nation where they will settle." It was never certainly known upon what motives and with what views these people were brought over, says Speyer, writing in 1735; but it is certain that destitute and famished they had perished had not Queen Anne come to the rescue. Camps were laid out, tents furnished and daily rations provided, both by the Queen's bounty and voluntary contributions. They kept coming in until orders were given not to transport any more from Holland." Plans were being considered for placing them in new territory. Five hundred families were sent to Ireland, some to the Carolinas, but the greater part to New York under the direction of the commissary, Dupres and Col. Hunter, Governor of New York, in April 1710.

Then he adds a statement rather strange to the thousands of their descendants today who have always admired their stability and courage, "but it must be observed that being a lazy and unindustrious people two thirds of them perished in a few years."

Two of their leaders stand out boldly: Joshua Kocherthal and John Frederick Hager. It was Kocherthal who planted the first colony at Newburgh.

Among the ten thousand that England had on her hands, every trade was represented. There were one thousand husbandmen and vinedressers, tailors, weavers, smiths and carpenters, bakers and tanners and ten school-masters and three surgeons. Men of brain and men of brawn they were. What better equipment could they have for their struggle with the wilderness? The pen may be mightier than the sword but there are times when the arm that can swing the axe is more essential than the hand that guides the pen.

Arrangements were completed for the new colonizing project.

They were to furnish naval stores for England, to make tar and pitch from trees that could furnish neither.

Gov. Hunter writes to the Board of Trade in May, 1709, of his investigations in regard to the three thousand who were to be brought over, "My objections to the Hudson's River and the Albany river are the falls that make navigation difficult" and most of the lands below the falls being granted away and ye purchasing of (ye) from the present grantees uncertain." He adds, "there are three thousand of them and housing of them very unsertain and no cover to be expected where they 32

are to be planted until they build themselves huts, I presume your Lordships will think it necessary to send with them at least 600 tents."

May 20, 1709, 806 were taken over, of whom 350 were listed sick.

May 27, 1293, of whom 900 were Catholics. In all, 6500 were transported. Over 2000 either died on ship-board or soon after their arrival.

The cost to England up to this time was 136,000 pounds. When they landed they were lodged in tents on Governor's Island. Their passage must be paid, so where the parents had died the children were bound out to the highest bidders. They were as young as three years. Widow Lizard was separated from four of hers. Among those bound out was Johan Peter Zenger, bound to William Bradford the printer, and who won for us the freedom of the press.

They were sent up the Hudson and the Mohawk rivers. They were in a wilderness—no shelter, no garden, no food. Gov. Hunter had contracted with Robert Livingston to feed them until they could realize from their crops; one-third of a loaf of bread per person, equal to a four penny loaf in New York city, and one quart of so-called ships beer per day.

In reference to these contracts of the Governor, Lord Clarendon wrote to Lord Dartmouth on the 8th of March, 1711, "I think it unhappy that Col. Hunter at his first arrival in his government fell into the hands of this Lievingston for he has been known many years in that Province for a very ill man. He has a mill and a brew house on his land and if he can get the victualling of these Palatines, who are so conviently posted for this purpose, he will make a very good addition to his estate . . . . On the whole my lord, I am of the opinion that, if the Fubsistance proposed be allowed, the consequence will be that Levinston and some others will get estates and the Palatines will be no better."

For two years they worked in the woods trying to make pitch and tar. Let them speak for themselves. "Before we left England we were promised five pounds per head, of which we received nothing: of the clothes, utensils and tools sent with us we received but little. We were promised 40 acres of land per person but have none." Not being able to make more than 200 barrels of pitch and tar and with no possibility of making naval stores they were forced to do other kinds of work and their building and improving fell to a private person. In the second year of their abode in Livingston the news came that from now on they must shift for themselves but not out of the Province. This was at the 33

beginning of winter; there being no provision to be had, the people bare of clothes, especially the women and children, they were forced to appeal to the Indians, who said they might settle at Schoharie on lands given by them to the Queen but refused because she could not fortify it. Joyously, all hands fell to work and, with snow three feet deep, in two weeks time cleared a fifteen mile road to Schoharie though almost starved and without bread. Fifty families made the journey, to find when they arrived they should not go on the land unless they be branded as rebels.

Then again their troubles began. Certain "Gentlemen from Albani" demanded that they move on, as the land was theirs by grant.

The "Gentlemen from Albani", to protect whom from the French and Indians 300 Palatines one year after they had landed marched out under General Nicholson, and who were never paid. They were in a justified rebellion. They had agreed to pay back in labor, money expended on them. The contract could not be fulfilled. When they had done their part each one was to receive his 40 acres of land and the same to be tax free for seven years. Of this there was little prospect.

The Rev. John Hager in one of his letters written in 1713 writes, "The misery of these poor Palatines I every day behold has thrown me into such a melancholy that I much fear a sickness. There has been a great famine among them this winter, in so much that they boil grass and the children eat the leaves of trees. I have seen old men and women cry that it should almost move a stone. I have given the bread out of my mouth . . . not being able to behold their extreme want. The knife is almost put to my throat whilst I am in a foreign country without money or friends. They cry out for me: I cannot forsake them for then they would be quite comfortless in this wilderness."

Feb. 29 Robert Livingston released to Gov. Hunter a tract of land containing 6000 acres, "Beginning at a Landing Place called Point Robert, about two English miles to the South of the Manor House."

This land had been crown land and of no use to the government. In behalf of themselves and other settlers Jacob Sharp, Christopher Hagadorn and Jacob Schumacker petitioned that this land might be divided subject to such conditions as are usual. The request was granted and after 40 acres .had been reserved for a glebe for the minister who was also school-master, the petitioners being the .trustees. A London document gives 91 families in the East Camp, now Germantown and 35 in the Rhinebeck Camp in 1718. How familiar the names sound! Haga.34

dorn, Hoffman, Lasher, Kuhn, Pitcher, Burger, Treber. These 126 families were the remnant of the 527 families there in 1711.

Henry Beekman, who was rich in land but poor in settlers, recognized the qualities of these men and induced these 35 families to settle on his patent. A deed for Springbrook reads, "Bounded by the lands of Henry Beekman, laid out for the High Dutchers," dated Nov. 24, 1714, and in another deed dated the same day the name Rynbeck appears for the first time.

A census of Dutchess County taken in 1714 showed 68 heads of families all Hollanders or their descendants. In 1719 when by an act of Legislature the county was divided into three wards, North, Middle and South, the new census showed in the 97 free holders in the North Ward one more than the other two, of whom 52 were Palatines. It is with old Rhinebeck that they are so closely identified and today we hear the distinction between Rhinebeck and the flatts. Indeed when the old German church was the Rhinebeck church, the Dutch church was known as located in the North Ward.

There were no special roads. Foot-paths became roadways and at the junction of the Post Road and the Pilgrims Progress, the first attempt was made to establish a "doorf" or village on the Beekman patent.

This was in 1715. Judge Beekman and his son, Col. Henry, planned it and Karl Neher, Barent Zippish and Joseph Rikert were early settlers.

It was known as Pinck's Corners, from a family who for seventy years kept a store and in this store was the Stone Church post office, named Monterey in honor of Gen. John A. Quitman, who was born in the old parsonage in 1798. On this corner stood the old German Reformed church, now St. Paul's Lutheran of Red Hook, the first church in the town and county. Early deeds show that this tract of land of four acres on which the church stood was reserved for a church and cemetery when, in 1714, Henry Beekman laid it out for the High Dutchers. It was known as the "German Church Kirche hoeck", built in 1716 and used in common by both Lutherans and Calvanists until 1729, then by the Reformed Protestants. In the old cemetery are 36 graves. On some stones the inscriptions are legible, some have faded, others are unmarked and others gone for ever.

Here was a corner; and the old German church where Johannes Speller and John Frederick Hager preached was the magnet. Here the battle for a name was fought. Beekman wanted to call it Rynbeck; 35

Dominic Hager, Kingsbyrg ; while Domine Speller, indifferent perhaps, called it what it was, "Kierchhoeck." For a century the name adhered to it, but Beekman wrote the deeds and Rynbeck prevailed. As early as 1730 it was the principal settlement. A church, school and tavern, blacksmith and wheel-wright shops were in the vicinity. Ailoul's tavern, now the residence of Mr. J. Edward Wey, was an old stopping place for travellers. It was the town hall, where town business was transacted.

The store was on the corner of the King's Highway, just north of the home of the late Walter Livingston Ten Broeck, and was kept first by R yer Schermerhorn and later by Henry Shop. It was a busy place during the Revolution. In a few years it had all the adjuncts of a small village. In 1737 it was the main business center of the town with the Flatts as a rival. But they had no mill. This difficulty was overcome when Rutsen's mills were built on Landsman's Kill, southwest of the Miller home, near the Church road now known as Pilgrim's Progress.

This was only a short distance from the Sepasco road, then an Indian trail. There were good farms there. Eighmie was the miller and ere long Eighmieville was a busy vicinity. The Rhinebeck road was the oad to market and brought the farmers to Kirche Hoeck. Things ran smoothly until after the Revolution. Then conditions were changing.

The Flatts and the ferry at Kipsbergen hurt Kirche Hoeck on the north.

In 1812 the Ulster and Saulsburg pike was opened with its toll-gates.

This did not appeal to the farmers. A man named Schultz was at the dock known as Rutsens. He improved it, ran a sloop to New York and operated a ferry across the river. No toll was to be paid and business thrived. But the tolls were taken off, business was beginnnig to center at the Flatts and soon only the name, Pink's Corner, remained of what once was.

What did these people bring us? They brought us their church and their school. In 1714 both were at Kirche Hoeck. They brought us a sturdy, dependable rural population strengthened by suffering and hardships to meet the problems of pioneer life. Thrift and economy and a willingness to work were characteristic of them as a people. To the greater opportunities for study and culture they responded. Teachers have gone out from their homes. The Bench and the Bar have been enriched by them. They have cared for our ailing bodies and ministered to sin-sick souls. Let not the words: Hewers of wood and Drawers of water rankle in our hearts. Let us say with an old English writer, 36

"There is as real a necessity to present the nation with industrious people as to recruit the army and the navy. The objection to their poverty is nothing if they be industrious, for 'the industrious hand makes rich and riches gained by industry is an inexhaustible treasure,' for riches may take the wing and fly from their proprietors, as often happens when industry does not prevent it."

HELEN REED DE LAPORTE.

37

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, TIVOLI*

By BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN Ross DELAFIELD A.M., L.L.B., D.S.M. This Episcopal Church was the first in the northern part of Dutchess County. The others in the County at the time of its founding were Christ Church, Poughkeepsie; Trinity Church, Fishkill, and St. James, Hyde Park. It grew out of a local demand, for it seems there were, from an early date, a number of people in Red Hook township who belonged to the English church as organized in America and called the Episcopal Church. It is not easy to learn how many of these communicants there were. The following extracts from "Records of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie," by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds, indicate a considerable number: "Soon after Mr. Van Dycks' settlement as rector (of Christ Church) in 1787, the vestry minutes say on September 4th, 'that Mr. Sands2 attended with an application from a number of gentlemen of the Manor of Livingston for a part of Mr. Van Dyck's services, to the end that a church may be set on foot among them.

Vestry informed Mr. Sands that they agree to spare Mr. Van Dyck one-sixth part of the time if it suits his convenience to attend them.'

"Whether this group of Episcopalians were the same as one at Red Hook is uncertain; the Manor of Livingston is not mentioned again but, on March 24th, 1788, Mr. Van Dyck notified the vestry that 'the Episcopalians at Red Hook also have requested me in their name to apply to you for a further addition of every fifth Sunday if agreeable to you' and, on June 3rd he reported that 'his service at Red Hook has commenced already on Sunday, 1st of June, 1788,' the arrangement being that he was to give there one out of every three of the Sundays he had previously pledged to Christ Church.

This must have been an abortive attempt to found a parish where now is St. Paul's Church, Tivoli. The writer knows of no further efforts there until about 1816, when services were held by the Rev. Henry Anthon and St. Paul's admitted into union with the diocese in 1817."

By 1816 this activity had taken form in a parish or church called St. Paul's Church, Red Hook, evidenced by the election of wardens and vestrymen in September of that year as shown by the following: *This paper formed the basis of the address delivered at St. Paul's Church, Tivoli, on September 16, 1936, by the author, General Delafield.

38

"We Robert L. Livingston, Ebenezer Punderson and John Elsworth do hereby certify that a meeting was held at the house of Garret B. Lasher in the Town of Red Hook, County of Dutchess and State of New York pursuant to public notice, on Tuesday the Seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixteen for the purpose of organizing an Episcopal Congregation agreeable to Law. When Robert L. Livingston was called to the chair, and Robert L. Livingston and Edward P. Livingston were duly elected Church Wardens and Philip H. Livingston,3 Ebenezer Punderson,4 Jacob Shook, John S. Livingston, Joseph Corre, John W. Wheeler, Lemuel Wheeler and Palmer Cook were duly elected Vestryman to hold their offices respectively. until Monday in Easter week next on which in every year the annual Election is to take place—We also certify that at a meeting held on the second day of September in communion with the said Protestant Episcopal Church held at the house of Garret B. Lasher in said Town of Red Hook, it was further resolved that this Religious Association shall be hereafter known by the title and name (in the Law) of the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Paul of Red Hook.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 2nd day of September Anno Domini 1817.

In presence of John ElsRobert L. Livingston (L.S.) worth first interlined before signing and sealing.

Ebenezer Punderson (L.S.) J. W. Wheeler Henry Anthon John Elsworth (L.S.) State of New York Dutchess County ss : Be it known that on the eleventh day of October 1817 before me Cornelius I. Elmendorph one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for Dutchess County personally appeared Henry Anthon to me personally known who being duly sworn doth say that he saw Robert L. Livingston within named execute the within certificate and deliver the same for the purpose therein expressed. Also on the same day appeared before me John W. Wheeler to me personally known who being duly sworn doth depose and say that he saw Ebenezer Punderson and John Elsworth sign seal and acknowledge the within certificate as their proper Act and deed for the purposes therein expressed and that the deponent and Henry Anthon signed the same as witnesses. I having examined the same and finding no alterations, or interlineations therein except those noted Do allow it to be recorded—Cornel. I. Elmendorph.

Recorded the Preceding certificate the thirteenth day of October One thousand eight hundred and seventeen at one O'clock P. M. Peter Cantine Deputy Clerk 39

Recording fees and certificate $0.00 ch'd & Delivered to J. W. Wheeler."

Surviving records show Mary Kimball Baptised in this church December 22nd, 1816, and Jasper Kimball buried in the rights of the church December 13th, 1816. Bishop John Henry Hobart in a report to the diocese in 1816 wrote—"In the latter end of August and beginning of September I visited Poughkeepsie ;—Red Hook where there is a prospect of an Episcopal Congregation being established".

The Rev. Henry Anthon had been ordained a deacon in the Church on October first 1816 and was from that time, and possibly earlier, in charge of the congregation at Red Hook. He attended the diocesan convention at Trinity Church, New York City, on Oct*ober 21st, 1817, Edward Livingston* and Ebenezer Punderson being with him as lay delegates, and the certificate of incorporation of the church was then read and the delegates admitted. October 21st, 1817, was, therefore, the date of formal organization of St. Paul's Church, Red Hook. About this time the report to the diocese showed Communicants 25, Baptisms 6, Funerals 5, Marriages 1. Evidently this was a new church only in name and had existed, though unformed, since the time of the Reverend Henry Van Dyck and before.

The organization of the parish was soon followed by the purchase of land and the building of a church. As indicated in the quotation from the "Records of Christ Church", the strength of the congregation was in the Manor of Livingston so a site in that neighborhood was chosen and by deed dated 20 June, 1818, Nathan Parks, of the town of Red Hook, conveyed to Robert L. Livingston and Edward P. Livingston, *Wardens, and Ebenezer Punderson, Samuel Queen, John Swift Livingston "and others, Trustees of Saint Paul's Church of Red Hook" for a consideration of $150 an acre and a half and twenty six rods at the northwest corner formed by the intersection of the road leading from Upper Red Hook to Red Hook Landing (now Tivoli) with the road that passed the Old Red Church.' The last was the road called the River Road on which still stands the Reformed Dutch Church, the Old Red Church, at Tivoli. On this site the corner stone was laid July 7th, 1818, and, the church building having been completed, was consecrated by the Right Reverend John Henry Hobart, Bishop of New York, on May 27th, 1819. The day was one of especial happiness for in the new *Probably Edward P. Livingston.

40

church at the same service the rector the Reverend Henry Anthon, through whose devoted labors the building came into being, was married to Miss Emelia A. Corre. Reverend Henry Anthon was ordained priest on October 19, 1819, and the entry in the diocesan register goes on to say "The congregation at Red Hook has been recently organized and have manifested much zeal in the erection of their building for worship and have prospered under the assiduous labours of their minister". The building was of wood painted white and was known as the White Church to distinguish it from the Old Red Church which was less than a mile further north on the same road.

The following list of pew holders, though dated 1836, shows the names and the amounts originally subscribed for the building of the church in 1818: 1. Ebenezer Punderson. $100.00.-2. Janet Montgomery.7 $200.00.-3. Edward P. Livingston. $200.00.-4. Robert Swift Livingston.8 $200.00.-5. Joseph Corrie. $100.00.-6. Nathan Park. $75.00.-7. $75.00.-8. $75.00.-9. Philip H. Livingston. $75.00.

—10. Peter T. B. Meyer. $100.00.-11. John C. Stevens.9 $200.00.

—12. John S. Livingston, $200.00.-13. $200.00.-14. Robert L. Livingston. $100.00.-15. The Vestry Pew.-16. John W. Wheeler. $50.00.-17. John Livingston.i° $50.00.-18. $50.00.-19. $30.00— 20. Jeremiah Markman. $30.-21.-22. Jacob Van Sternberg. $30.00.-23.--24.-25. Feroe.-26. Feroe.-27. John Elsw'51r4t1 . $20.00.-28. Lemuel Wheeler, $20.00.-29.-30.-31.

John Scrops.-32.-33. Samuel Queen. $35.00.-34.-35. Palmer Cook. $35.00.-36. Reserved for Clergyman.

The pews sold but where no names were given were probably sold to the persons last named. For example John Swift Livingston seems to have bought pews 12 and 13 for $200.00 each, and John Livingston of Oak Hill bought pews 17 and 18 for $50.00 each. The total subscription for the building of the White Church was therefore $2220.00.

The conditions of sale were designed to keep the control of the pews in the vestry.

"Conditions of Sale: No pew to be sold without a previous . offer in writing to the vestry. An annual rent of 10 % to be paid towards minister's salary. The owner neglecting or refusing to pay for five years to forfeit Pew. Those who subscribe to the minister to be credited for members."

Meanwhile on October 20th, 1818 the representatives of St. Paul's Red Hook at the Diocesan Convention in Trinity Church, New York 41

City, were the Rev. Henry Anthon and lay delegates, Robert L. Livingston and Ebenezer Punderson. The minutes of the meetings of the vestry prior to 1848 are unfortunately lost; however, the occasional mentions in other records of Robert L. Livingston and Edward P. Livingston, as delegates, show that they probably continued as wardens until 1843 when both died.

Here may be found the real strength of the English Church movement in Red Hook and the foundation of St. Paul's Church. The "gentlemen of the Manor of Livingston" of 1787 mentioned above, were the Livingstons of Clermont, and the neighborhood. These were the Chancellor, Robert R. Livingston, and his brothers and sisters and some of his second cousins, from further north, their near relatives and neighbors. The early services had perhaps been held in their houses. The Chancellor died 26th February 1813 leaving his only children, Elizabeth Stevens who had married her third cousin, Edward P. Livingston, son of Philip Livingston and Margaret Maria who had married another third cousin, Robert L. Livingston, son of Walter Livingston of Teviotdale.

These sons-in-law of Chancellor Livingston were second cousins to one another, as well as brothers-in-law. The former made the old mansion at Clermont his principal home, and the latter received and occupied the beautiful house built for himself by Chancellor Livingston a few hundred yards further south. Indeed, this view of the origin of this church is confirmed by the list of pew subscribers given above and by the following entry in the diocesan register of October 4th, 1838: "This is but a summer congregation consisting principally of wealthy families who have country seats in the vicinity, the average attendance during the last season unusually large."

The number of communicants varied between twenty and twentyseven until about 1850. There were, however, marriages, baptisms, confirmations and funerals in every year, of which there is any record. And in 1829 there was mentioned a Sunday School with ten teachers and sixty-five scholars.

A list of communicants made apparently in the year 1868 by the Reverend G. Lewis Platt, then the rector of St. Paul's, is endorsed ''These names from old records prior to 1827". It contains the names of those mentioned in the documents quoted above and in addition the following: 42

Males Communicants Gamaliel Wheeler, Dr." William P. Capron (removed) Simeon Elton (dec.)

Jeremiah Marsh Geo. Benj. Andrews (removed) Parks Spicer (removed) Samuel Capron (removed) John C. Livingston (dec.) 12 John Redder (removed) Ephraim Punderson Frank Punderson.

Females Communicants Mrs. Philip Livingston Mrs. Ann S. Livingston'3 Maria Livingston Louisa Livingston Mary Punderson Ann Corre (removed) Elizabeth Capron Mary Wheeler Mrs. Cooke Mrs. Parks Enice Capron (removed) Alice Capron (removed) Mrs. Corre (removed) Emetia Corre (removed) Lucy Parks Mrs. Myers Elizabeth Punderson Mary Ann Minor Charlotte Corre (removed Mrs. M. Stevens (removed) (She was Miss Livingston) Elizabeth Lasher Mrs. J. Lasher ), Mrs. Hosmer Cornelia Corre Cloe Parks (colored woman) Mrs. Brown Mrs. Margaret Brown" Mrs. Philips Mrs. Elizabeth Montgomery Miss Gertrude Livingston Prudence Punderson 3,

43

There follows a list of communicants beginning in 1837 from whom a few are listed below: 1837—Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Livingston. (She was Elizabeth Stevens Livingston, daughter of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston). Mr. and Mrs. Richard Auchmuty. (She was Mary Allen, a granddaughter of Philip Livingston, the signer, and, therefore, first cousin to Philip H. Livingston and Edward P. Livingston). Mrs. Barton (Mrs. Thomas P. Barton. She was Coralie Livingston, daughter of Hon. Edward Livingston). Mrs. Eugene A. Livingston. (She was Harriet Coleman. He was a younger son of Robert L. Livingston and Margaret Maria Livingston, his wife). Mrs. John C. Cruger. (She was Frances A. Jones).

1838—Mrs. William B. Astor. (She was Margaret Rebecca Armstrong, daughter of Gen. John Armstrong and Alida Livingston, his wife, sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston).

1848—Mr. and Mrs. John Watts De Peyster. (She was Estelle Livingston, daughter of John Swift Livingston).

1849—Miss Astor. (She was Laura Astor who later married Franklin H. Delano). Jacob and Mrs. LeRoy (he was brother of Mrs. John Livingston of Oak Hill). Miss LeRoy. Mr. and Mrs. Levinus Clarkson. (She was Mary, daughter of Edward P. Livingston).

1850—Mr. and Mrs. Clermont Livingston. (She was Cornelia, daughter of Herman Livingston of Oak Hill).

Then as now it was not always easy to have a rector for this isolated and small parish as is well shown by the following: July 6th, 1827.

"Sir: The vestry of St. Paul's Church, Red Hook, being desirous of obtaining the occasional services of the neighboring clergy for the present summer and autumn, and in the hope that it may not be inconvenient for them each to appoint one Sunday, have requested us as a Committee to address you and inquire whether it would be agreeable to you to preach for us on Sunday the 15th July at 11 o'clock A. M. and if not convenient on that day whether you would be willing to name a subsequent one.

A fund has been raised for making a moderate compensation and defraying the expenses of those clergyman who may be able to visit us. Please do favor us with a reply directed to W. H. Wilson,.

Esq., Postmaster, Clermont, N. Y. With much respect we remain your obed't.

Edward P. Livingston E. Punderson J. S. Livingston 44-

J. C. Montgomery15 W. H. Wilson" L. Brown."

This letter was written to the Rev'd Mr. Stebbins of Hudson who 'on July tenth replied that he could not accept as it was Communion Sunday.

A list, in the handwriting of Hon. Edward P. Livingston, dated 5 July 1827, shows to whom these were written, being the Rev'd Mr. Stebbins, Hudson, The Rev'd Mr. Johnson, Hyde Park, The Rev'd Mr. Prentis, Catskills, The Rev'd Mr. Reed, Poughkeepsie, The Rev'd Mr. Brown, Newburgh.

The want of a rector at the White Church was also the cause of the 'uncomfortable controversy between Dominie Andrew N. Kittle of the Old Red Church, who wished to preach at the White Church, and John C. Montgomery, which was carried on in a series of letters.'

The need of a rectory was met by a subscription dated in May 1850.

William B. Astor, $500; John Watts de Peyster, $300.00; John C. Cruger, $200.00; Clermont Livingston,18 $100.00; Robert E. Livingston,19 $100.00; Mary Livingston, $100.00; Eugene A. Livingston," $150.00; Montgomery Livingston,21 $100.00; Jacob R. LeRoy, 22 $200.00; William E. Toler," $100.00; Levinus Clarkson,24 $100.00; Alexander van Rensselaer, $50.00; Edmond E. Elmendorf, $30.00; James Outwater, $25.00. Total: $2055.00.

This rectory, including three acres bought of Henry Staats at $110 an acre, cost the total sum of $2090.75 but lacked a range, wall paper, -blinds, pantry sink, pump, cistern, fences and gate, and barn.

It was evidently intended for the Rev. Henry de Koven who became •the rector in 1848 and who had married Charlotte, the daughter of Jacob R. LeRoy of New York City. The latter became a vestryman of St. Paul's in 1851, and in the same year bought of James Boorman the house then called Sunning Hill and after 1860 renamed Callendar House. On May 24th, 1855, in a deed of the same property to his daughter Charlotte, wife of Henry de Koven, Clergyman, he recited that he had permitted his daughter to use and occupy the property. So the rector had moved from the new rectory to finer quarters. Perhaps this gave rise to -the tradition that he had while wearing lavender kid gloves preached a -sermon on humility.

In the year 1850 Mrs. William B. Astor established St. Margaret's Borne for orphan girls on the easterly side of the Post Road about a mile 45

south of the village of lower Red Hook. The Rev. Henry de Koven had established a mission in lower Red Hook and in 1854 having resigned as rector of St. Paul's he joined in the successful founding of Christ Church, Red Hook. The services were at first held at St. Margaret's Home until the church building was completed in July 1855. Mr. and Mrs. William B. Astor and Dr. and Mrs. Gamaliel Wheeler were among the original communicants of Christ Church which was indeed an offshoot of St. Paul's The minutes of the vestry for May 5, 1854 show that there was at that time a parish school of St. Paul's Church in which Mr. and Mrs. William B. Astor were interested, for it is entered: "Mr. L. Clarkson then presented the keys of the School house adjoining the church to the Senior Warden. The receiving of which being objected to as not belonging to or being recognized as a Parish School by the vestry they were returned."

This matter led to the resignation of Messrs. Levinus Clarkson and William B. Astor from the vestry and of Mrs. Astor as a trustee of St. Paul's Parish School. Indeed the matter may have led to the founding of Christ Church in lower Red Hook. It may also have been one of the things that caused Levinus Clarkson to build the Clarkson Episcopal Chapel on the river road above Tivoli. This chapel was finished and consecrated in 1860 and is still in use as a chapel of St. Paul's Church.

The vestry meeting of 29 May 1866 tells what finally became of the school.

"Gentlemen: The property formerly owned by the St. Paul's Parish School having been conveyed to me by the contributors to the same with the intention that the property should be sold and the proceeds presented to the vestry of St. Paul's Church, Red Hook. Having now disposed of the property I am prepared to pay over to the vestry of St. Paul's Church the amount derived from the said sale if they will please to accept the same and I would request that this letter may be filed with the other papers relating to the church and a copy entered upon the minutes of the vestry. I am gentlemen Very respectfully yours, Clermont Livingston."

"Moved and seconded that the said sum be accepted and that Robert E. Livingston and T. S. Clarkson25 form a committee to receive and invest it to the best of their ability for the advantage of the church." On 3rd 46

September, 1866, the committee reported they had received the $1000 and invested it in a U. S. Bond.

The church did not, however, long remain without a parish school, for in 1854 John Bard," of Annandale, with the consent of the Rev. Henry de Koven, then rector of St. Paul's, decided to establish and support a parish school and mission, in what was then called Mechanicsville (now Madalin or Tivoli). He bought about two and a quarter acres of land there, placed the Rev. James Starr Clark in charge, and, mostly at his own cost, but with help, from some others, built upon it the Ted brick building now known as Trinity church.27 This was a two story building with school rooms on the ground floor and a room and chapel above. This free school prospered and had at one time as many as seventy pupils. John Bard, because of loss of property, withdrew his support in 1867. The school was closed. The Rev. Dr. James Starr Clark then founded his private school called Trinity School, and in 1873 John Bard sold this and other property to Dr. Clark. The latter on May 26th, 1893, made an assignment of all his property to Frank S. Ormsbee for the benefit of creditors.

In the list of rectors following there is a gap from 1856 to 1858; and it is recited in the vestry minute book under date of September 15th, 1858: "That as no election of church wardens and vestrymen has been held in St. Paul's Church, Red Hook, for the two last years; public notice having been read in time of divine service on the two last Sundays" . . . "that an election was called for" . . . .

This document was acknowledged and recorded, and this changed the name of the church from "The Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Paul of Red Hook" as given in the charter of 1817 to "St. Paul's Church Red Hook."

By resolution of the vestry of July 26th, 1859 the salary of the rector was fixed at $800 a year and "in order to insure regular services at St. Paul's Church a proper Clergyman must be engaged and adequately paid." In 1869 the wages of Robert Sagendorf as sexton were raised to $100 a year. By this date the rector's salary had been raised to $1500 a year. By 1865 the White Church was no longer adequate for the congregation and on June 29th of that year the vestry passed a resolution empowering the rector, Wardens, and vestry to appoint a committee "to ascertain if a suitable site can be procured and to solicit subscriptions to a fund for the purpose of erecting a new church edifice."

•

47

At a vestry meeting on October 25, 1866: "The report of the site committee was next received ;—it being that Mr. Eugene A. Livingston as his subscription to the fund for erecting a new church offers to deed to this vestry a lot of land bounded on the south by lands of the said Eugene A. Livingston and on the west by lands of the estate of the late E. Elmendorf containing an acre and a half of land at a valuation of one thousand five hundred dollars subject to a lease to Daniel Queen which lease will expire on the 1st of April 1869. Subject also to the following conditions namely, that no building shall be erected on said lot within thirty-five feet of the public road nor any bell used on said church or premises for the term of twenty-one years from the 1st of April next. Your committee considering the above lot to be in all respects the most suitable for the purpose above mentioned do recommend that the offer of Mr. Livingston be accepted and they also advise the acceptance of half an acre of land offered as part of his subscription to the building funds by Gen. J. Watts de Peyster adjoining the first mentioned lot on the north.

Clermont Livingston Eugene A. Livingston Johnston Livingston."28 The report was unanimously adopted. Vote on the plan—one vote to each $100 of subscription. The subscribers thus to select the plan they wished. Pews to be sold at public sale. No person to have more than two. Deeds to be given and those who paid premiums above the upset prices to have choice of site for a vault. Deeds for vaults also.

Finance committee to raise funds.

Clermont Livingston Frederic de Peyster,29 Jr. Valentine G. Hall," Jr. Subscription for the new church building dated June 1, 1866.

"Robert E. Livingston one thousand five hundred dollars provided there be four other reliable names on the paper for an equal amount. Otherwise one thousand dollars $1500.00 Johnston Livingston, conditioned as above $1500.00 $1500.00 John Swift Livingston ditto $500.00 Mary Clarkson and John C. Livingston $800.00 Clermont Livingston $1000.00 Thomas Streatfield Clarkson $1200.00 The Misses Clarkson"E. H. Ludlow" five hundred dollars to entitle subscriber to a site for vault and pew, to be paid on thirty days notice, without interest, 48

from date September 24, 1866.

William H. Hunt 33 $500.00 E .L. Ludlow34 $500.00 Miss Margaret Clarkson $100.00 Eugene A. Livingston one acre and half of land deed to be delivered on 25 May 1867. $1500.00 J. Watts de Peyster36 one quarter acre of land also $150.00 $650.00.

Daniel Queen $15.00 Frederic de Peyster, Jr. $100.00 On 14, June 1869 there were the following additional subscriptions: T'ho. Streatfield Clarkson and Mrs. T. Clarkson $500.00 Robert E. Livingston $400.00 Mr. and Mrs. Clermont Livingston and sister $400.00 Eugene A. Livingston $200.00 Johnston Livingston $500.00 E. L. Ludlow $100.00 Valentine G. Hall, Jr. $100.00 E. H. Ludlow $100.00 Mrs. Henry B. Livingston36 $150.00 $13450.00 Building Committee Johnston Livingston, Eugene A. Livingston, Tho. Streatfield Clarkson, G. Lewis Platt, Robert E. Livingston.

They also were to value the pews" and to locate the vaults, a map for which was drawn by Giles Cook. Of this committee Robert E. Livingston acted as the architect and drew the plans for and supervised the work.

The building of Christ Church, Red Hook, had taken from the congregation many of those living in the southerly part of the township.

This had further increased the proponderance of the Livingstons and their relatives and near neighbors in the church. The offer of an acre and a half of the new river road made by Eugene A. Livingston was, therefore, accepted and the new church built there in 1868.

From the old White church was brought the small stained glass semicircular window, showing a dove in a glory, and placed in the transept.

The building of the new church and the proposed sale of the old 49

church site required the removal of the remains of those there buried.

For this purpose the vestry bought for $50 from Jeremiah More a lot of land adjoining the Old Red Church.

Brevet Major General John Watts de Peyster was long an enthusiastic supporter of the church. His tastes led him to desire to put monuments and memorials in the building and grounds. For this purpose and not for burials he in August 1874 bought a plot twenty-five feet square south of the church. The monuments in this plot and elsewhere in the church grounds and yard are well preserved.

It was and remains the rule of the vestry that no tablet window, or memorial may be placed in the church or grounds without the consent of the vestry or a committee appointed to pass upon it. Such letters of request were generally entered in the minutes of the vestry and thus show about the date of placing each memorial. The memorials, though consent was given, were not always erected. So on June 11th, 1878, the vestry gave consent that Johnston Livingston and Robert Cambridge Livingston erect a tablet to their father, Robert Cambridge Livingston, on the west wall south of the chancel. But there is now no tablet in that location. It might, however, happen that members of the congregation put up monuments without obtaining such permission. The vestry minutes of August 1 1 th, 1892 show that Gen. John Watts de Peyster had placed two such monuments in his pews, which were numbers 19 and 34. The vestry requested their removal "unless the written consent of the Vestry and Wardens be obtained." A letter from General de Peyster dated October 17, 1892 asks such permission which was promptly granted. The matter did not, however, finally rest there for on October 3rd, 1909 the committee on monuments in the de Peyster pews reported "The Committee appointed to consider the question of removing the monuments erected in the pews belonging to the late Gen. J. Watts de Peyster respectfully report that they have consulted Mrs. J. L. de Peyster and also Mrs. Martin to whom these pews now belong, and find that both Mrs. de Peyster and Mrs. Martin are anxious that both monuments be removed. Further, that it is the wish of Mrs. de Peyster that the monument to Mr. Watts be erected somewhere within the church building when taken away from its present site."

Though a search has recently been made for these monuments they cannot now be found.

50

At a vestry meeting of June 26th, 1876, a letter from Elbridge T. Gerry-38 was read stating that annual elections of wardens and vestrymen were lawful and binding even though not entered on the minutes, and an order of business for vestry meetings was adopted as follows: 1. Appointing chairman if the rector is absent. 2. Reading of minutes of previous meeting. 3. Reading of notice of election.

4. Nominating and electing clerk. 5. Report of Treasurer. 6.

Nomination and election of treasurer. 7. Reports of Committees (Vault; Music and salaries; Building; Repairs; Purchasing; Church, Parsonage, and Sheds). 8. Unfinished business. 9.

New business. 10. Appointing committees and delegates. 11.

Adjournment. 12. Cushing's manual adopted for parliamentary usage.

The building of the new church had left the problem of the rectory unsolved. The old rectory had been sold and for a number of years a rectory had been leased at fifty dollars a year. On 1880 the matter was seriously taken up and the vestry minutes of July twelfth contain the entry: "Whereas certain of the congregation have during the last year bound themselves, their heirs and assigns to pay $50 each a year for five years as a fund to erect a new parsonage and since the first payment will be due the 1st of September proximo; the treasurer is authorized to collect said moneys and to invest it at the best rate of interest possible subject to the approval of Mr. Robert E. Livingston."

The minutes of November 25th, 1895, show that the total subscriptions with interest amounted to $4,667.85 and that the rectory had been completed at a cost of $4,296.15. The furniture for it was donated by Mrs. Valentine G. Hall.

A report at the meeting of July 11th, 1884 shows that the stone wall had then recently been built along the road in front of the parsonage at a cost of $135. And the minutes for June 21st, 1886, show that the old parsonage had recently been sold for $1880 and a Sunday school building completed for $1220.

At a meeting on June 2nd, 1877, fault was found with the rector, Rev. G. Lewis Platt, for having written an article which appeared in a book called Centennial History of the Diocese of New York, in which the church was erroneously called "St. Paul's Church, Tivoli on Hudson."

51

It appears from a treasurer's report made in 1902 that a new organ had been placed in the church at a cost of $1500 which had been raised by subscription: J. H. Livingston" $100, Johnston Livingston, $1000, E. L. Ludlow $100, Mrs. R. C. Livingston $100, E. Schieffelin4° $50, V. G. Hall $25, Geraldyn Redmond4' $50, drawn from general funds $75. The report of the next year shows substantial repairs made at a cost of $1672.15, which was raised by subscription; J. H. Livingston $250, A. L. Clarkson & bro and sister $150, Eugene Schieffelin $100, Mrs. T. S. Clarkson $150, Edward L. Ludlow $100, Johnston Livingston $500, Mrs. R. C. Livingston42 $150, Geraldyn Redmond $150, Lewis Livingston" $50, Mrs. V. G. Hall $25, Geraldyn Redmond $46.90, Cash .25. The work was described in the report: "Owing to the condition of the walls of the church it was found necessary to do much more work than was originally intended. All of the butresses having to be entirely rebuilt. The church entirely repointed and new supports put to all beams in the cellar, as it was found the beams had been attacked by dry rot at the walls" . . . .

The following year a committee of the vestry at the meeting of June 6th, 1903, reported: "The Rev. E. V. Evans, D. D., Rector of St. Paul's Church, Tivoli, N. Y., was taken ill Wednesday March 11, 1903. The next day, Thursday, I saw Mrs. Evans and talked with her relative to his illness from which I learned that during the church service on Wednesday Mr. Evans had acted strangely and seemed filled with ideas and deulsions as to his work and writings." . . .

Dr. Evans after examination by Dr. Pierce and Dr. Edward Livingston Hunt44 was pronounced incompetent and the vestry referred the problem to the Bishop requesting him to declare the rectorship vacant. This Bishop Horatio C. Potter did by letter dated 29 August 1903, addressed to John Henry Livingston as one of the wardens of the church and on this committee, in which he outlined a procedure recommended by Francis Lynde Stetson, the lawyer. A subscription totaling $966.63 was taken up and used to cover the expenses of Dr. Evans' illness and placing him in Bloomingdale. This was in addition to a subscription of $665 for like purpose. On his death in 1906, lot 15 was set aside by the vestry for his burial, and a stone was placed at the expense of the church.

52

An entry in the minutes of the vestry of July 31st, 1904 showed that I. R. Brinckerhoff was then the organist and received a salary of $283.33 a year. By September thirtieth, 1906, C. B. Peeler had become the organist. He resigned October 27th, 1918.

The minutes of July 7th, 1907 show that an extension had been built on the rectory and paid for by subscriptions as follows: John Henry Livingston, $550.00; Thomas Hunt, $384.41; T. J. Feroe, $59.98; Geraldyn Redmond, $700.00; Mrs. Robert E. Livingston, $500.00; Howard Clarkson," $150.00; Johnston Livingston, $550.00; Mrs. Tho. Streatfield Clarkson, $500.00; making a total of $3394.31.

The architects for this extension were Trowbridge and Livingston" and they received as fee for their services $61.55.

Occasionally the vestry had maps of the church property and plots made and the minutes of October 3rd, 1909 contain the statement that C. H. Van Orden had been paid $42.44 for laying out and mapping burial lots.

"The vault committee of the vestry of St. Paul's Church respectfully reports that acting under the instructions of the vestry it has had laid out in the grounds of the Church 15 new vault lots, of which 8 are in a line parallel to Lots no. 20 - 28 on the southerly boundary of the church grounds and 20 feet north of them. The rest, seven in number, are laid out on the northerly line of the church grounds next to the property of the late Gen. J. Watts de Peyster.

All of these fifteen new lots have been plotted out upon the Church map on file in the County Clerk's office at Poughkeepsie and a copy of this map has been given to the Rector.

The Committee has also had plotted out on this map Lot no.

29 sold a few years since to Mrs. V. G. Hall, and furthermore, has had the easterly and westerly lines of the above mentioned lots Nos. 20 - 28 changed from 24 to 25 feet, so that each of these lots is now 25x15 feet. The changes upon the original may have been duly noted, and the map has been re-approved by the Wardens.

John Henry Livingston for the Vault Committee."

Mrs. Etselle de Peyster Hosmer47 submitted the following letter.

"The Wardens and Vestry of St. Paul's Church Tivoli, Gentlemen: I desire to erect an altar and reredos in St. Paul's Church in memory of my father Johnston L. de Peyster and herewith submit 53

the proposed design for your consideration. The altar and reredos will be of stone and if necessary I will put up a brick arch in the cellar of the church to support the additional weight. The inscription would be— In loving memory of Johnston Livingston de Peyster, third son of John Watts de Peyster and Estelle Livingston. Born at Tivoli June 14th, 1846.

Died at Tivoli May 27th 1903. Erected by his daughter, Estelle de Peyster. 'I know that my Redeemer liveth' Job XIX, 25th verse.

The inscription to be placed on the left hand side panel of the altar. All to be built by J. & R. Lamb of New York."

Apparently there was not always agreement about the memorials given to the Church. The minutes of September 30th, 1911, contain the following: "Thomas Hunt48 read a letter from Mrs. Robert R. Livingston. Mr. John Henry Livingston moved that the tall single candle sticks presented by Mrs. R. R. Livingston49 in memory of Robert R. Livingston of Northwood be returned to her persuant to her request in the letter on the table. Mr. W. Forbes Morgan5° seconded the motion which was carried."

This matter came up again on July 30th, 1928, when a resolution was passed to replace these candlesticks on the retable, which was done.

On June 2nd, 1912, the vestry accepted a gift of 100 shares of New York, Chicago & St. Louis R. R. Co. stock from Mrs. Geraldyn Redmond and her sister, the Countess de Laugiers Villars.51 On June 28th, 1925 by letter of May 28th, 1925 Edward de Peyster Livingston donped to the Church five $1000 fourth Liberty Loan U. S. Bonds as a memorial fund to his father, Robert E. Livingston.

The income to be used for repairs to the church inside and outside.

On January 21st, 1926, the vestry received a bequest of $5000 from the estate of W. P. Wainwright52 and added it to the endowment.

In 1922 substantial modifications were made in the Church, a special fund of $2165 having been raised for the purpose. It was done under the supervision of Goodhue Livingston and involved a rearrangement of the front part of the church so as to make a choir. This required the removal of the six front pews and placed the choir next the chancel instead of in the gallery at the back of the church. The new woodwork was well done and this and the new pulpit greatly improved the appearance of the church. Apparently Arthur T. Sutcliff had done some part 54

of the planning, for there is a resolution in the minutes of June 10th, 1923, thanking him for "redesigning the interior of St. Paul's Church."

The gifts of an altar rail and mosaic floor for the chancel made by John C. Livingston and Henry W. Bull in memory of their mother, Mrs. Robert C. Livingston, and of the beautiful chancel window by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hunt, in memory of their children, and of the great transept window by Johnston Livingston Redmond in memory of his grandfather Johnston Livingston. Both these windows were designed

by C. J. Connick of Boston. In 1926 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hunt also presented to the church the embroidered cloths hung on the walls on either side of the altar. With the completion of these memorials the interior of the church came to look about as it now is.

The development of the villages of upper and lower Red Hook with the passing years had made the name "St. Paul's Church Red Hook" inappropriate. Evidently this was already the case in 1887 when the vestry criticised their rector for writing an article for the diocese in which he called the church "St. Paul's Church, Tivoli on Hudson." Indeed, in 1903, in his report to the vestry on the illness of Dr. Evans, John Henry Livingston had written it "St. Paul's Church, Tivoli, N. Y." The vestry finally took steps to have the official name of the church changed to correspond to that in common usage, and on October 28th, 1927, by vote at a special meeting of the congregation called for the purpose the name was changed to "St. Paul's Church, Tivoli, N. Y." The congregation of St. Paul's Church has from the beginning been united not only by feelings of neighborliness, and in most cases kinship, but also by affectionate regard and intimate friendship. It is not strange, therefore, to find in the vestry minutes of September 29th, 1929 a resolution of congratulation to Howard Clarkson, one of the wardens, on attaining his ninetieth birthday on October 14th following.

RECTORS OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH TIVOLI, NEW YORK The Rev. Henry Anthon, D. D., while in deacon's orders, took charge of the parish in 1816; afterwards rector of St. Marks in the Bowery, New York City. The Rev. Nathaniel T. Bruce was rector from 1820 to 1824. The Rev. William Shelton, D. D., afterward in Buffalo, from 1824 to 1828. The Rev. John Grigg, afterward in Buffalo from 1829 to 1835. The Rev. Cicero S. Hawks, afterwards Bishop of Missouri, from 1836 to 1837. The Rev. 55

Revaud Kearny (died 1844) of Missouri, from 1837 to 1844. The Rev. Mr. Bartlett and the Rev. Mr. Sherwood succeeded temporarily. The Rev. John Henry Hobart, D. D., son of the bishop, from 1844 to 1845.

The Rev. John McCarthy, from 1845 to 1846, a chaplain in our army during the Mexican war, who preached the first Protestant sermon in the City of Mexico. The Rev. Henry de Koven, D. D., from 1848 to 1854. The Rev. R. 0. Page, from 1855 to 1856. The Rev. Edwin S. Nichols in temporary charge, summers of '57 and '58. The Rev. G. Lewis Platt, from 1859 to 1895.

The Rev. Alfred H. Brown, from 1896 to 1897. The Rev. Evan Valentine Evans, from 1897 to 1903. The Rev. Richard D. Pope, from 1903 to 1911. The Rev. E. T. H. L. Masse from 1911 to 1912. The Rev Earnest A. Smith, from 1912 to 1916. The Rev. Henry Macbeth, from 1917 to 1933. The Rev. Leland H. Roberts from 1933 to 1935. The Rev. Charles S. Champlin, 1935-.

WARDENS OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH Robert L. Livingston, 1816-1843; Edward P. Livingston, 1816-1843; John Swift Livingston, 1843-1867; Dr. Gamaliel Wheeler, 1843-1850; Clermont Livingston, 1850-1895; Johnston Livingston, 1867-1911 ; John Henry Livingston, 1895-1927; Geraldyn Redmond, 1911-1916; Edward de Peyster Livingston, 19171932; Howard Clarkson, 1928-1930; Frank L. Smith, 1930-; Robert Reginald Livingston, 1932-.

VESTRYMEN OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH Philip H. Livingston, 1816-; Ebenezer Punderson, 1816-; Jacob Shook, 1816-; John Swift Livingston, 1816-1843; Joseph Corre, 1816-; John W. Wheeler, 1816-; Lemuel Wheeler, 1816-; Palmer Cook, 1816-; Nathan Parks, Before 1827-; William H. Wheeler, Before 1825-; Gardiner Chase,53 Before 1827-; John C. Montgomery, Before 1827-; Capt. Lownds Brown, Before 1827-; Judge William Henry Wilson, Before 1827-; Cambridge Livingston, Before 1838-; John R. Livingston, Before 1843-; Edmond E. Elmendorf, Before 1843-1853; John R. Livingston, Jr., Before 1844-; John C. Cruger, Before 1849-1859; William E. Toler, Before 1849-1853; Robert Beverly Tillotson,54 Before 1849-1853; Eugene Augustus Livingston, Before 1849-1870; Clermont Livingston, Before 1849-1850; Montgomery Livingston, Before 18491856; Robert E. Livingston, Before 1849-1888; Levinus Clarkson, 1850-1854; John Watts de Peyster, 1851-1866; Jacob R. LeRoy, 1851-1853; William B. Astor, 1853-1854; Thomas Streatfield Clarkson, 1855-1880; Charles C. Champlin, 1856-1903; Henry B. Livingston, 1856-1857; George G. Barnwell, 1856-1861; Johnston 56

Livingston, 1861-1866; James Outwater, 1855-1861; Walter T. Livingston, 1862-1863; Robert Sagendorf, 1862-1872; Gamaliel Wheeler, 1850-1853; Robert Shook, 1855-1856; Palmer Cook, 1855-1856; A. P. Astrom, 1856-1858; Frederic de Peyster, Jr., 1864-1874; Valentine G. Hall, Jr., 1864-1880; Edward L. Ludlow, 1867-1870; William H. Hunt, 1867-; John Henry Livingston, 1871-1895; Johnston L. de Peyster, 1872-1890; Charles Macniff, 1873-1879; Edward L. Clarkson, 1875-; George Feroe, 18761897; Robert R. Livingston, 1880-1899; Edward L. Ludlow, 18811904; David Augustus Clarkson, 1881-1917; Geraldyn Redmond, 1889-1911; Valentine G. Hall, 1891-1907; Edward de Peyster Livingston, 1896-1917; Robert L. Clarkson, 1899-; Thomas J. Feroe, 1899-1911; Lawrence Timpson, 1900-1909; Thomas Hunt, 1905-1934; Howard Clarkson, 1905-1928; Wm. Forbes Morgan, 1908-1916; Albert Cole, 1909-; Robert Reginald Livingston, 19091932; Walter L. Scott, 1912-1922; William H. Lasher, 19171922; George Moore, 1917-1919; James L. Freeborn, 1919-; Frank L. Smith, 1922-1930; Howland S. Davis, 1923-; Harry Simmons, 1923-; Charles S. Osterhoudt, 1923-; John Ross Delafield, 1927-; Dexter C. Hawkins, 1930-; Fayette G. Fisher, 1932-; Miltimore W. Brush, 1935-.

MEMORIALS IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, TIVOLI, N. Y. IN THE YEAR 1936 Bronze tablet on north wall "In memory of The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston of Clermont. A distinguished member of the Congress of 1776. He held many positions of trust under the government of the Union and State. Minister to the Court of Versailles in 1801. A true and patriotic statesman, philosopher and philanthropist.

This tablet is erected by his grandsons, Clermont and Robert E. Livingston, A. D. 1877."

Marble tablet on north wall "In memory of the Hon. Edward P. Livingston. Born in 1780. Died in 1843. One of the founders and most earnest supporters of this church. For twenty-five years its senior warden. A consistent Christian, remarkable in public life for purity and strict integrity, in social life for courtesy of manner and generosity of feeling.

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.

This memorial is erected by his children, Mary Clarkson, Clermont and Robert E. Livingston, A. D. 1878."

57

The reading desk "Presented in loving memory of Clara Gibson, wife of Rev. George Lewis Platt."

The Great Transept Window "In memory of Johnston Livingston 1817-1911. Warden of this church October 10, 1867. Senior Warden May 11, 1896."

Marble Monument in Transept "John Watts. Vir equanimitatis. Founder and endower of the Leake and Watts Orphan House in the City of New York.

Born 27 August (0.S.) 1749 Died Sept. 3, (N.S.) 1836 Erected by his grandson John Watts de Peyster 1881."

A Tablet back of Chancel outside the Church "Brevet Colonel John Watts de Peyster Jr." Born 1841 Died 1873. Quotations about him from letters of several general officers.

Monument outside the Transept to the Same with crossed cannon.

In the 25'x25' plot south of the church are: a monument to FREDERIC DE PEYSTER JR. Born 1842 Died 1874 and a large monument to Gen. John Watts de Peyster his father and grandfather.

Altar floor of mosaic in the church "In Memory of ROBERT CAMBRIDGE LIVINGSTON and MARIA WHITNEY LIVINGSTON A. D. 1925" The larger double seat in the chancel "In loving memory of GEORGE A. MOORE 1855 - 1918 A Vestryman" A single seat in the chancel 58

"In loving memory of MERLE MOORE 1887 - 1908" The Altar and Reredos "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of JOHNSTON LIVINGSTON DE PEYSTER third son of John Watts de Peyster and Estelle Livingston Born at Tivoli June 14, 1846 Died at Tivoli May 27, 1903 I know that my Redeemer liveth.

Erected by his daughter, Estelle de Peyster Hosmer" The Chancel Window "And He took them in his arms, put his hands upon them and blessed them.

In Memory of HUGH JEWETT HUNT Born February 9, 1889 Died November 23, 1890 THOMAS HUNT Born November 10, 1891 Died December 31, 1892" Small North Window "For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth peace good will toward men.

In Memory of 1835 EDWARD LIVINGSTON LUDLOW 1915 1840 MARGARET TONNELE his wife 1921" Bronze Tablet on the North Wall "In loving memory of ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON of Northwood Born February the 8th 1858 Died April the 16th 1899 Nineteen years a vestryman of this church. Distinguished for loving kindness and gentle courtesy to all. This tablet is erected by 59

his wife and children, Robert Reginald and Laura Suffern Livingston.

I pray thee then write me as one that loves his fellow men."

On a Brass Plate under Tiffany Glass Window "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out his roots by the river.

In loving memory of CLERMONT LIVINGSTON of Clermont Born 4th September 1819 Died 4th November 1895 For over fifty years a warden of St. Paul's.

This window is erected by his only son, John Henry Livingston".

The Font in the Church "In loving remembrance of ELIZA LIVINGSTON FREEBORN From her sister and children Catherine Livingston Fisher Whilhelmina Freeborn James Livingston Freeborn" Tablet on South Wall "In memory of MATURIN LIVINGSTON DELAFIELD of Fieldston, New York and of MARY COLEMAN LIVINGSTON his wife Daughter of Eugene Augustus Livingston of Tivoli, New York He died 5th November 1917 Aged 81 She died 26th May 1922 • Aged 74" Bronze tablet at the end of pew No. 8 "In loving memory of 60

Howard Clarkson October 14, 1839 May 30, 1930" Vaults behind the Church (From south to north) John Watts de Peyster, 1871; Johnston Livingston, 1871; John Swift Livingston Vault, 1867; Louis Livingston Vault, 1871; Robert E. Livingston Vault, 1871 ; T. S. Clarkson Vault, 1871; Clarkson Family Vault; Clermont Livingston, 1774 Vault 1871; Edward H. Ludlow; Family Vault, 1871; Detached Mausoleums J. G. L. 1928 Detached Mausoleums R. C. L. A Brick Mausoleum in a Plot west of the Main Tier of Vaults "Erected by his wife and children 1894 MARY L. HALL ELIZABETH H. MORTIMER VALENTINE G. HALL EDWARD L. HALL EDITH L. HALL MAUDE L. HALL" There are also a number of burial plots with graves and stones.

NUMBERED REFERENCES FOR TEXT 1.—Henry Van Dyck 1744-1804. King's College, 1761; M.A. 1764; D.D. 1792 (Queens College). Admitted to the bar. Practiced, Startford, Ct. Ordained, deacon and priest, 1785. 1785-1787, Milford and West Haven. Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, and Trinity Church, Fishkill, 1787-1791; 1791-1793, Perth Amboy; 1793-1797, Burlington; 1797-1802, Newtown, L. I. 2.—Robert Sands, of Sands Point, Long Island, had married Phebe Carman, the widow of John Rutsen, and lived in the Rutsen house of her fatherin-law at Rhinebeck, which Robert Sands later rebuilt for her two Rutsen daughters and his own children.

3.—Philip Henry Livingston, son of Philip Philip Livingston and Sarah Johnston, his wife. He married Maria, daughter of Walter Livingston. He was, therefore, the older brother of Hon. Edward P. Livingston and brother-inlaw of Robert L. Livingston. He was the fi rst resident owner of Sunning Hill, 61

which he bought in 1795 and gave it the name. When Johnston Livingston bought this house in 1860 he called it Callendar House and it is still known by that name.

4.—Ebenezer Punderson. E. M. Smith in his History of Rhinebeck wrote: "Stephen Holmes Inn" became "Ebenezer Punderson's house in 1802 and the residence of William Benner at Punderson's death about 1836."

5.—John Swift Livingston, son of Robert Cambridge Livingston and Alice Swift his wife. He married Anna Maria Martina Thompson. He was, therefore, brother-in-law to Commodore John Cox Stevens, who had married his sister Maria C. Livingston. In 1815 John Swift Livingston of Columbia County bought the property and house at Tivoli then called Green Hill and lived there till his death in 1867.

2.—This road crossing was for a time called Koedam's Corners.

7.—Janet Montgomery, widow of General Richard Montgomery, who was killed at Quebec in 1775. She was the oldest daughter of Judge Robert R. Livingston and Margaret Beekman, his wife, and therefore, a sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. She lived at Montgomery Place, Barrytown.

8.—Robert Swift Livingston, oldest son of Robert Cambridge Livingston and Alice Swift, his wife.

9.—John Cox Stevens, son of John Stevens of Castle Point, he married Maria, daughter of Robert Cambridge Livingston and sister of Robert Swift Livingston and of John Swift Livingston. His sister Elizabeth Stevens was the wife of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. His estate was Annandale, next to Montgomery Place, Barrytown.

10.—John Livingston youngest son of Robert Livingston, third Lord of the Manor of Livingston. He married Mary Ann, daughter of Jacob Le Roy and Cornelia Rutgers his wife, his estate was Oak Hill near Germantown.

11.—Dr. Gamaliel Wheeler had married Mary Punderson at the Old Red Church on 15 November, 1810.

12.—It is thought this may be intended for Major John R. Livingston of Massena, Barrytown, a younger brother of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston.

13.—She was perhaps Ann Hume Shippen, the wife of Colonel Henry B. Livingston and therefore sister-in-law of Janet Montgomery and of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston.

14.—Margaret Brown was the daughter of Major John R. Livingston and Eliza McEvers his wife, of Massena, Barrytown. She married Captain Lownds Brown of the United States Army.

15.—John Crathorne Montgomery was a son of John Montgomery and Mary Crathorne, his wife. He married Elizabeth Henrietta Philips, daughter of Henry Philips and Sophia Chew, his wife, daughter of Chief Justice Benjamin Chew of Pennsylvania. J. C. Montgomery bought in 1823, 200 acres from the westerly end of Parndon, just south of Tivoli, with the old brick mansion on it.

He called the place Eglinton and lived there till 1835.

16.—William Henry Wilson, of the Village of Clermont, son of William Wilson and Mary Howey, his wife, married Annie Hulme of Lancashire, England. He was a physician and county judge in Columbia County.

17.—The fi rst two of these letters as published are as follows: Eglinton, April 26th, 1827.

Dear Sir: It grieves me exceedingly to be under the necessity of being in the slightest degree instrumental in closing the doors of the Sanctuary against any individual who may feel a desire to worship at its altar; but the peculiar circumstances under which I am placed render it incumbent upon me to address you upon the subject of your intention to officiate on Sunday next in St. Paul's Church.

62

Upon visiting the landing this afternoon, I was greatly surprised to hear that you had requested Mr. Teats to notify the neighborhood of your intention of performing service in the "white church" on the approaching sabbath; and you may readily imagine how vastly my astonishment was increased, when, upon inquiring by whose authority the doors of our church were to be thus thrown open, I was informed that you had introduced my name in such a manner, as to leave the impression upon the mind of Mr. Teats that I had not only sanctioned the measure, but had even requested you to officiate there. Mr. Teats communicated this intelligence almost immediately to Mr. Kerley and to Mr. Chase, together with the impression left upon his mind respecting my agency in the matter; the latter of whom thought it very extraordinary that I should act so diametrically in opposition to the sentiments he had previously heard me express upon the same subject.

You must be aware, that, from the commencement of our acquaintance to the present period, not the slightest allusion has been made to the subject of your officiating in the Episcopal church. I could not, consequently, have conveyed to you my sanction of such an intention of your part, much less could I have been supposed to make it the subject of a request. I cannot, therefore, believe that there has been some misapprehension of your words or meaning. Mr. Wm. P. Moore also is under the impression that you introduced my name in a conversation with him yesterday, or the day before, when you requested him to ask Mr. Parks, to open the church on the occasion to which I have alluded.

The fact is, that neither the wardens nor vestry of an Episcopal church, are authorized, either individually or collectively, to grant permission to any other than an Episcopal minister to officiate at its altar. I am requested

by Mr. R. L. Livingston, Mr. J. S. Livingston, Mr. Chase, Mr. Parks and Mr. J. W. Wheeler, all of the vestry of St. Paul's church, whom I have had an opportunity of seeing to day, to communicate to you, their decided disapprobation of your proposed intention: and I avail myself of the earliest opportunity of apprizing you of our wishes and views upon the subject, that you may adopt the necessary arrangements for preventing a disappointment on the part of the congregation that might be assembled on the occasion.

Before closing this communication, I must repeat how deeply I regret that an obedience to the dictates of duty, thus compels me to pursue a course, which, but for the peculiar circumstances under which I am placed, I would gladly have avoided.

Believe me to be very respectfully, Yours obedient servant, John C. Montgomery.

Rev. M. Kittle, Red Hook.

Red Hook, 26th April, 1827 Dear Sir: I have this moment rec'd your note. It has surprised me exceedingly and I reply to it immediately. By giving you a brief and plain statement of facts, you will instantly observe- how widely you have mistaken my character, and how erroneously the subject must have been misrepresented.

As several persons about the landing had frequently expressed a wish for me occasionally to preach there, and as there was at present no service in the white church, it occurred to me on Monday, as I was going to take the steamboat for Newburgh, to give Mr. Moore a note for E. P. Livingston, stating that if it was agreeable to him and no objections were made, I 63

would (to meet the wishes of a number of persons who had not the means of coming up here) preach at 4 o'clock next sabbath—it being the day of our communion here, and as we of course had no service here in the afternoon. At the landing I saw Mr. Stevens, the agent of Mr. Livingston, on his way to N. York, who informed me that Mr. L. would not be at home until the close of this week. I mentioned it to him, and he assured me, what I could not doubt of, that he knew that it would be not only agreeable but desirable to Mr. L. and that he would acquaint him with it in New York.

Shortly after, I saw Mrs. J. S. Livingston, who expressed satisfaction and pleasure with the arrangement and an intention to attend worship. On my return, I mentioned it to Mr. Teats, with a wish that he should circulate the information that those who wished, might have the opportunity of hearing the gospel.

I did, sir, mention your name, but not as you represent it, but I mentioned you and your family, as those whom (who) I did suppose would be pleased to have occasional services in your neighborhood; nor can I yet suppose you would deny yourself the pleasure and profit of hearing the gospel merely because an Episcopal clergyman did not officiate.

Until the receipt of your note, I was ignorant that any thing in the constitution or rules of the Episcopal church forbid any clergyman of any other christian denomination officiating in their churches. I did believe directly the opposite; as I have myself officiated in an Episcopal church at Catskill.

Nor would I for a moment have listened to a suggestion of gratifying the wishes of a number in this instances, had I known what you state. If, in this case, I have sinned, believe me, sir, it was ignorantly.

That the people may not be disappointed, I have sent word that I will preach at the school house on sabbath afternoon. I do extremely regret that any impression may have been made, that I had any desire to preach in your church; if such is your idea, or of any one, I can only assure you, it is a very mistaken one. My only desire in this case was, to accommodate the neighbours, and I did suppose it would to you and your family have been very desirable. And if, in pressing this supposition, I have been mistaken, or wounded your feelings in the least, I am very sorry for it.

I have written this very hastily, in the midst of company. I will trust to your candor, if it is not perfectly satisfactory, and will only add, that I sincerely hope nothing will occur to mar the friendly attentions I have received from you and your family. very respectfully, Yours friend, A. N. Kittle.

18.—Clermont Livingston was the oldest surviving son of Hon. Edward P. Livingston and Elizabeth Stevens Livingston, his wife. He was, therefore, a grandson of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston. Clermont Livingston married Cornelia, daughter of Herman Livingston of Oak Hill, Linlithgow and resided in the old mansion at Clermont.

19.—Robert Edward Livingston, of Northwood, Cheviot, younger son of Edward P. Livingston, married Susan Maria Clarkson, daughter of Captain James Ferguson de Peyster and Susan Maria Clarkson, his wife.

20. Eugene Augustus Livingston, younger son of Robert L. Livingston and Margaret Maria Livingston, his wife. He was therefore, a grandson of Chancellor R. Livingston. He built himself a house upon the estate Teviot, southerly of Clermont.

21.—Montgomery Livingston, younger brother of Eugene Augustus Livingston, he resided in the mansion built by Chancellor Robert R. Livingston at Clermont.

64

22.—Jacob R. LeRoy, brother of Mrs. John Livingston of Oak Hill and therefore, great uncle of Mrs. Clermont Livingston. His daughter, Charlotte married Rev. Henry de Koven, the rector of St. Paul's and was the mother of Reginald de Koven, the author.

23.—William Edward Toler had married Anna Lind Smith, a niece of James Boorman, president of the Hudson River Railroad, and the latter in 1844 bought Sunning Hill in Tivoli and presented it to her.

24.—Levinus Clarkson, of Potsdam, son of Levinus Clarkson and Ann Mary He married Mary, daughter of Hon. Edward P. LivingVan Horne, his wif.e ston, and was therefore, brother-in-law of Clermont Livingston, Robert E. Livingston, Edward Hunter Ludlow, and David Augustus Clarkson. He called his estate "Southwood". That of his brother-in-law Robert E. Livingston further north was called "Northwood."

25.—Thomas Streatfield Clarkson of Chiddingstone, Tivoli, was the son of David Augustus Clarkson and Margaret Livingston, his wife, daughter of Edward P. Livingston. He was therefore, a nephew of Clermont Livingston and of Robert E. Livingston. He married Mary Whitmarsh and had a son named David Augustus Clarkson.

26.—John Bard of Annandale, son of William Bard of Hyde Park. He married Margaret Johnston. They were amongst those listed as communicants at St. Paul's Church in 1853.

27.—When the name Trinity was given is not now known, but it was in use for the chapel by 1877 when Philip H. Smith wrote the history of Dutchess County in which he called it "Trinity Episcopal Church." On the public auction 18 August 1894 Jacob H. Feroe bought the church property, and on 13 December 1894 conveyed it to "The Rector, Churchwardens and Vestrymen of Trinity Church of the Village of Tivoli."

28.—Johnston Livingston was a son of John Swift Livingston and Anna Maria Martina Thompson, his wife. He married Sylvia Mathilde, daughter of Henry Walter Livingston, of "The Hill" and Caroline de Grasse de Pau, his wife.

29.—Frederic de Peyster Jr. son of Gen. John Watts de Peyster and Estelle, daughter of John Swift Livingston. He married Mary, daughter of Clermont Livingston.

30.—Valentine Gill Hall Jr. married Mary Livingston, daughter of Dr. Edward Hunter Ludlow and Eliazbeth, his wife, daughter of Edward P. Livingston. His estate called, "The Oaks" was part of and just south of that of his father-in-law, Edward Hunter Ludlow.

31.—The Misses Emily and Anna Clarkson had bought the house of Chancellor Livingston after the death of Montgomery Livingston. They called it "Idele".

32.—Edward Hunter Ludlow son of Gabriel Verplanck Ludlow and Elizabeth Hunter, his wife. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Hon. Edward P. -Livingston. His estate, called "Pine Lawn", was the next to Northwood the furtherest north of the five subdivisions of one quarter mile front each on the Hudson River made by Hon. Edward P. Livingston for his children.

33.—William Henry Hunt son of Thomas Hunt and Louisa Gaillard, his -wife. He married Elizabeth Augusta, daughter of Captain Charles G. Ridgely and Cornelia Louisiana Livingston, his wife, daughter of Robert L. Livingston.

In 1863 he bought from the estate of Elizabeth, wife of G. G. Barnwell the southerly part of Chiddingstone the fifth part of land that had been given to Margaret, wife of David Augustus Clarkson and daughter of Hon. Edward P. Livingston. Mr. Hunt named this house and property "Ridgely" after his wife's family.

34.—Edward Philip Livingston Ludlow, son of Edward Hunter Ludlow and 65

Elizabeth Livingston, his wife. He married Margaret Tonnele Hall, sister of Valentine Gill Hall Jr. who had married his sister, Mary Livingston Ludlow, two years earlier.

35.-Major General John Watts de Peyster, of Rose Hill, Tivoli, son of Hon. Frederic de Peyster and Mary Justina Watts, his wife. He married Estelle, daughter of John Swift Livingston.

36.-Henry Beekman Livingston, son of Maturin Livingston and Margaret Lewis, his wife, of Staatsburg. He married Mary Lawrence, daughter of John Swift Livingston and Anna Maria Martina Thompson, his wife. He was, therefore, brother-in-law to Johnston Livingston, General John Watts de Peyster, and Robert Cambridge Livingston, Jr. 37.-While no list of the pews as they were originally assigned in this new church building has been found, the following list made about the year 1925 probably shows them with but a few changes.

NORTH SIDE. No. 1. St. Paul's Church. Removed. No. 2. Estate of Eugene A. Livingston. Removed. No. 3. Estate of T. S. Clarkson. Removed.

No. 4. Mrs. J. H. Livingston . . . No. 5. Estate of Robert E. Livingston . . .

No. 6. Estate of V. G. Hall . . . No. 7. J. H. Livingston . . . No. 8. Howard Clarkson . . . No. 9. Estate of T. S. Clarkson . . . No. 10. Estate of Mrs. Levinus Clarkson . . . No. 11. Estate of E. H. Ludlow . . . No. 12. Mrs. J. H. Livingston . . . No. 13.-15. St. Paul's Church . . . No. 16. Howard Clarkson.

SOUTH SIDE. St. Paul's Church. Removed. . . . No. 18. Estate of Eugene A. Livingston. Removed. .

No. 19. Estate of J. W. de Peyster. Removed. . . . No. 20. Estate of Lewis Livingston (Miss Angelica Livingston). . . .

No. 21. Thomas Hunt. . . . No. 22. Thomas Hunt. . . . No. 23. J. H. Livingston. . . . No. 24. Estate of Robert E. Livingston. . . . No. 25. Estate of V. G. Hall. . . . No. 26 J. H. Livingston. . . . No. 27.32. St. Paul's Church.

SOUTH TRANSEPT. No. 33. Estate of J. W. de Peyster. . . . No. 34. Estate of Johnston Livingston.

These pews were not like the others in the church; and, though given the numbers 33 and 34 were, in fact, a railed in space. Within were placed a comfortable sofa and two or more armchairs. Here General de Peyster and his family and the Johnston Livingstons attended the church services in comfort.

At the remodeling of the church in 1922 this was changed and two of the pews, taken from the front of the church to make room for the choir, were put in the south transept.

In use the pews have been somewhat altered. The fi rst three pews on each side were taken out in 1922 when the choir was placed in the front of the church. Pew No. 5 is now the rector's pew; No. 6 is occupied by Mrs. Robert R. Livingston; No. 9 by J. R. Delafield; No. 21 by James L. Freeborn; No. 22

by Howland S. Davis; No. 24 by Mrs. Thomas Hunt; No. 33 by Miss Angelica Livingston, and No. 34 by Mrs. Johnston Livingston Redmond.

38. Elbridge T. Gerry had married Louisa, daughter of Robert James Livingston, a younger son of Maturin Livingston and Margaret Lewis of Staatsburg. Margaret Lewis was the only child of General Morgan Lewis and Gertrude Livingston, his wife, a sister of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston.

39. John Henry Livingston, son of Clermont Livingston and Cornelia Livingston, his wife. He inherited the old mansion at Clermont from his father and made it his home.

40.-Eugene Schieffelin who after the death of Eugene Augustus Livingston in 1893 bought his house "Teviot".

41.-Geraldyn Redmond son of William Redmond, married Estelle Maude M., daughter of Johnston Livingston. They inherited Callendar House from her father and made it their home.

42.-Mrs. Robert Cambridge Livingston was Maria Whitney, daughter of 66

Henry Whitney. Her husband, son of Robert Cambridge Livingston was, therefore, a grandson of John Swift Livingston.

43. Lewis Livingston son of John Swift Livingston and Anna Maria Martina Thompson, his wife. He married Alice Maude Fox and dying without issue left Green Lawn, Tivoli, which he had inherited from his father, to his brother Johnston Livingston.

44.—Edward Livingston Hunt, son of Carleton Hunt. He had lived much of his youth at Montgomery Place which his father and aunt Louise long held as life tenants.

45.—Howard Clarkson, son of William Bayard Clarkson and Adelaide Margaret Livingston, his wife, daughter of Robert L. Livingston and Margaret Maria Livingston his wife. He married Alice Delafield, daughter of Dr. Edward Delafield.

46. Trowbridge and Livingston; the well known New York architects.

Goodhue Livingston of this fi rm is a son of Robert Edward Livingston and Susan Maria Clarkson de Peyster, his wife, of Northwood.

47. Estelle de Peyster Hosmer, daughter of Johnston Livingston de Peyster and Julia Anna Toler, his wife. He was a son of General John Watts de Peyster of Rose Hill, Tivoli, and she a daughter of William E. Toler, and Anna L., his wife.

48. Thomas Hunt son of William Henry Hunt and Elizabeth Augusta Ridgely. He married Helen Jewett. They bought again his father's estate and house at Tivoli called Ridgely.

49. Mrs. Robert R. Livingston of Northwood, widow of Robert R. Livingston, son of Robert E. Livingston. She is Mary, daughter of Edward Neufville Tailer and Agnes Suffern, his wife.

50. William Forbes Morgan, Jr., son of William Forbes Morgan and Ellie Robinson, his wife. He married Edith Livingston Hall, daughter of Valentine Gill Hall, Jr. and Mary Livingston Ludlow, his wife.

51. Countess de Laugiers Villars was Carola S., daughter of Johnston Livingston of Callendar House and, therefore, sister of Mrs. Geraldyn Redmond.

52. William Pratt Wainwright, son of Colonel William Pratt Wainwright and Cornelia Ridgely Tillotson, his wife. She was a daughter of John C. Tillotson and Maria Livingston his wife, daughter of Robert L. Livingston and Margaret Maria Livingston, his wife.

53. Gardiner Chase was perhaps a grandson of Valentine Gardiner and Alida Livingston, his wife, daughter of Robert Livingston, third lord of the manor. His son, baptized at St. Paul's church in 1825, was named Theodore Livingston Chase.

54. R. Beverly Tillotson, believed to be the son (baptised at St. Paul's Church, September 30th, 1812), of John C. Tillotson and Maria Livingston, his wife; and, therefore, a grandson of Dr. Thomas Tillotson and Margaret Livingston, his wife. R. Beverly Tillotson was probably the Robert Tillotson, Jr., who was listed as a communicant at St. Paul's on August sixth, 1838. There was, however, a Robert Tillotson, Jr., son of Robert Tillotson confirmed at Sr. Paul's on August 26th, 1843. They were fi rst cousins and one or the other may have used the middle name Beverly to prevent confusion.

67

THE BARD FAMILY IN DUTCHESS COUNTY* Among the thousands of French Protestants who in 1685 answered the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by smuggling themselves out of the country was a young native of Montpellier named Pierre Bard.

In London he found asylum with an uncle, a merchant, who eventually employed his nephew on a voyage to Delaware Bay in North America.

Pierre liked the New World so well that he decided to stay and settled at Burlington in West Jersey, where he married the daughter of an English physician and entered the government service. At his early death he had risen to be a judge of the highest court and a member of the governor's council. The little that is recorded of him attests his intelligence, courage, piety, friendliness, and public spirit—traits that were transmitted from father to son in the American family of which he was the founder.

These traits were especially prominent in the four remarkable men —father, son, grandson, great-grandson—who stood at the head of what may with sufficient, if not complete, accuracy be called the Dutchess County branch of Pierre Bard's descendants. Engaged in professional or business activities in New York City, they owned broad estates along the great river in Dutchess, identified themselves closely with the life of the community, and spent their happiest years on their own acres surrounded by their Dutchess friends and neighbors. On the intellectual and religious life of the county they exerted an influence that fortunately is still alive and at work.

The first of the Dutchess County Bards was Pierre's third son, John (February 1, 1716-March 30, 1799). After serving an apprenticeship in Philadelphia under an English physician named John Kearsly, he was actively engaged in the practice of medicine for almost sixty years and was the first president of the Medical Society of the State of New York. Three accomplishments give him a secure if modest place in the history of American medicine. He and his colleague, Peter Middleton, were the fi rst colonial physicians to perform a systematic dissection (1750) for the purpose of instructing medical students. He was *Expanded from an address (made from notes) by George H. Genzmer of the faculty of Bard College before the Dutchess County Historical Society at Poughkeepsie on October 16, 1936.

68

the first physician to report (1759) a case of extra-uterine pregnancy, and his skill and courage in surgery saved his patient's life. Finally, as the first health officer of New York and as surgeon to the British navy in that port, he was a successful pioneer in public health work. His urbane manners, powers of conversation, and contagiously cheerful disposition were famous. His mere presence in the sickroom seemed to impart fresh hope and vitality. In Benjamin Franklin he had a warm, helpful, and enduring friend.

It was through his wife, apparently, that Dr. John Bard came into possession of a large farm, just north of Krum Elbow Creek on the Albany Post Road in Dutchess County, which was already known as "Hyde Park." There he found a snug retreat during the troublous years of the Revolution: thither he returned whenever he could during subsequent years: and there he spent his old age. He was enthusiastic about the possibilities of pomology and forestry in Dutchess County and tried endless experiments on his own grounds, realizing the Ciceronian ideal of old age planting trees for the benefit of generations yet unborn.

Of the distinguished career of his son, Samuel (April 1, 1742-May 24, 1821), only the barest outline can be given here. After receiving the degree of M. D. in 1765 from the University of Edinburgh, then the most famous medical school in the world, he returned to New York and took his place at the head of his profession. In 1767, with the cooperation of five other physicians who, like himself, held medical degrees from European universities, he organized a medical school as a part of King's College. The school was closed during the Revolution, and in 1811 it was separated from Columbia College and became the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which now, for a number of years, has been a part of the vast educational system of Columbia University. It was the second medical school to be established within the territory of the United States. Bard served it as professor, dean, trustee, or president for forty years, and was the most eminent man on its staff. President Washington was one of his patients. Bard made noteworthy contributions to the study of diphtheria and yellow fever, but it was in obstetrics that he won his chief fame. His Compendium of the Theory and Practice of Midwifery (1807) went through five editions.

He lived much, and during his latter years entirely, on the family estate of "Hyde Park." There he continued the lines of work begun 69

by his father and initiated others. He is said to have built the first greenhouse in the county. Even Thomas Jefferson did not excel him in his quest for European trees, shrubs, vines, fruits, and vegetables that could be successfully grown on American soil. He was also a breeder of merino sheep, investigated the diseases to which they were subject, and published a useful Guide for Young Shepherds (1811). In 1806 the Dutchess County Medical Society and the Society of Dutchess County for the Promotion of Agriculture were organized with Samuel Bard as their first president. In 1811 he founded the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. James at Hyde Park.

His one surviving son, William (April 4, 1778-October 17, 1853), after graduating from Columbia College and being called to the bar, would gladly have lived his life on the family estate, devoting himself to his property and to scholarly pursuits, but the decline of his fortune compelled him in 1826 to remove to New York and enter banking. He organized and was the president and actuary of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company. By his writings and his use of the agency system he appears to have done more than anyone else at that time to make the advantages of life insurance generally understood. Among New York bankers he enjoyed a great reputation as a scholar. Disaster overtook him when he was seventy years old. The defalcation of a trusted subordinate jeopardized the safety of the company, and Bard not only lost his personal fortune but was compelled to withdraw from the business. Students of business history, however, now recognize the importance of his achievement in the early development of life insurance.

John Bard ( June 2, 1819-February 12, 1899), like his father and grandfather, was one of the most prominent laymen of the Episcopal Church and was even more interested than they in philanthrophy and education. Through his wife, Margaret Taylor Johnston, who shared equally his enthusiasms and his work, he came into the possession of a considerable fortune. In 1852 or 1853 they bought Robert Donaldson's estate, "Blithewood," on the Hudson in Red Hook township, and restored its former name of "Annandale." Mr. and Mrs. Bard were much concerned for the educational and spiritual welfare of the neighborhood. They built and maintained an elementary school on their estate and were the principal support of another school at what is now 1VIadalin. In 1857 they began the erection of the Chapel of the Holy 70

Innocents at "Annandale." When the edifice was all but complete and the scaffolding still in place, it was destroyed by fire in the night of December 27, 1858. Heavy as was the loss, husband and wife determined to rebuild, and on February 3, 1860, the Chapel was consecrated

by Bishop Horatio Potter. The Chapel has long been famous for the quiet dignity of its architecture, and no less an authority than Ralph Adams Cram has declared it to be the best example of "country Gothic" in the United States. The architect was a young Englishman, Frank Wills, who died a few years after he had prepared the plans for the building.

John Bard's numerous philanthrophies culminated in 1860 in the founding of St. Stephen's College on a tract set off from his estate. For many years the need of a college had been keenly felt by certain leaders in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and Bishops Wainwright and Potter and Bard's uncle, the Rev. John McVickar, urged him to take the first necessary steps. In 1860 actual instruction began under the Rev. George Franklin Seymour, who was subsequently Bishop of Springfield, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Bard were able to gather around them an able board of trustees, including a number of the most noted men in the Hudson valley, and many men contributed to the establishment of the college. The strongest, steadiest influence on its early development, however, was that of John Bard himself, who was chairman of the educational committee of the board and the chief benefactor of the institution. Financial reverses, after the Civil War, compelled him to close his estate and take his family abroad, but he and his wife never lost their interest in their old neighborhood and /he College. They remained members of the board of trustees until their death and are buried in the graveyard adjoining the campus. In 1935, in commemoration of its founder, the name of the institution was changed to Bard College.

A NOTE ON SOURCES. Articles on Dr. John, Samuel and William Bard, with notes on the sources, are in the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. I (1928). Since then Milton Halsey Thomas has published his scholarly monograph, "Doctor Samuel Bard," Columbia University Quarterly, June 1931, for which the article by Harry J. Carman, "The Professions in New York in 1800," in the same number of that periodical, provides an informing setting. Important further details may be gleaned from J. W. Francis, Old New York (1866) ; W. A. 71

McVickar, The Life of the Reverend John McVickar, S.T.D. (1872) ; and Historical Notes of Saint James Parish Hyde Park-on-Hudson, New York (privately published, 1913). For the Bard estates in Dutchess County see the articles by Helen Wilkinson Reynolds—"The Story of Hyde Park", "Place-Names Again," and "Country-Seats on Hudson's River in Dutchess County"—in the Year Book Dutchess County Historical Society for 1928, 1934 and 1935. For the founder of Bard College I have drawn on the materials, too variegated to be listed here, which I have been collecting for a projected book on John Bard and His Circle.

My information about him, his father, and his friends is, however, far from complete. I shall be deeply grateful to any reader of this article who will direct me to sources .that I may have overlooked or have not had access to. Communications may be addressed to me at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson.

GEORGE H. GENZMER.

72

V-4

crs

0

A DRAFT-WHEEL OF THE CIVIL WAR contribution of the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES In the spring of 1936 a gift was made to the President of the United States by a friend who knew the President's interest in local history. The gift was a drawing of a draft-wheel that was used during the Civil War at Poughkeepsie, New York. Before placing the sketch permanently in his collection of Americana, Mr. Roosevelt offered to the Editor of the Year Book the privilege of reproducing the picture in this issue and so a plate from it will be found on another page. Acknowledgement of the President's contribution is made with appreciation.

The original sketch is accompanied by a contemporary written statement, signed by "Provost Marshal Johnson," and the statement recites certain details in connection with the picture. The wheel was used on May 31, 1864, for the second draft in the Twelfth District of New York. It was a cylinder of tin, bulging slightly at the ends, and was placed upon a table of ordinary height. It contained cards (three and one-half by one and three-quarters inches in size), on which were the names of enrolled persons. Besides the table, standing, was Joseph Wild, Commissioner. The cards were drawn from the wheel (through an opening in the side) by a boy who was seated beside the table. The boy, seventeen years old, a son of Joseph C. Harris (Cashier of the Merchants Bank, Poughkeepsie), was blind but to conform to the letter of the law he was blindfolded while he drew the cards from the wheel.

73

THE MILL ON THE SPROUT and THE FARMERS' LANDING ROAD During 1936 new roads have been under consideration in Dutchess and there has been discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of different courses proposed for them. Some interests were best served by one route, some by another. And so the Historical Society would point out that history has merely repeated itself again, inasmuch as the residents of the county were talking in just the same way two hundred years ago.

Here is the story.

In the basement of the County Court House there are filing boxes -which contain a collection of miscellaneous documents of the eighteenth .century, arranged chronologically. And any one interested in the study of early times in Dutchess and who runs through these papers casually will find that most of them refer to petty cases that were tried in the Court of Common Pleas but that occasionally there is an item that throws a flood of light upon the affairs of the first settlers. Such an item is one that has to do with the building of a mill on the Sprout (on the site now occupied by the mill of Edward B. Stringham) and with the opening of a road to connect the mill with Hudson's river.

The document referred to is a petition, dated May 20, 1740, which was addressed to the Court of General Sessions by eleven men, who lived within a radius of the mill-site, and which presents a clear picture of the -problems of the pioneers in that neighborhood. After farms had been cleared and had begun to yield crops for export, a mill was needed to grind the grain, while to get the grain to market a road from the mill to the river was necessary. The land along the Sprout belonged to Gulian (William) Verplanck and so the eleven farmers, above mentioned, asked him to build a mill and said that they would help him to erect it. Their offer of help probably implies the custom of that day, called a "raising", an occasion when groups of friends assembled and assisted an owner to set up a prepared frame.

The mill was duly built but at once difficulties arose. Mill-stones had been brought to one of the landings on the river-front of Dutchffs (probably from Esopus) but, beyond a certain point, there was no road over which the stones could be delivered to the mill and they remained 74

at the river for "some time." From the place at the river where the stones lay the road ran (the petition said) only as far as the dwelling of John Montross, a statement which warrants the inference that its course was from Fishkill Landing to the village of Fishkill and thence to Brinckerhoff and Swartwoutville, for the house of John Montross is still standing on the west bank of the Sprout, a little way north of Swartwoutville but some two miles south of the mill-site.

The eleven farmers who lived north of the house of John Montross charged in their petition that the road commissioners of the district were planning to alter the course of the road in the vicinity of the house of John Montross in such a way as to favor the interests of the commissioners to the inconvenience of the petitioners; and the latter charged also that the commissioners had turned a deaf ear to requests that a road be opened to the mill over a course suited to the needs of the petitioners. it is evident that public feeling was much roused over the matter because the signers of the petition expressed their desire that "the peace and tranquility" of the precinct might be "restored."

The sequel to this petition is to be found in the records of the Board of Supervisors, where, under date of June 2, 1740 (less than two weeks after the petition was drawn up), there occurs the following entry: "Laid out a Road from the House of John Montrosses, thence over the Sprout Creek, and so along over the Plains, to the mill of Mr. William Verplanck, as the stakes were put by Mr. Jacob DuBois and the Neighborhood, pursuant to their Petition, as Witness our hands the date above written. Johannis Ter Bos Larns Losee."

There is still, in 1936, a small bridge over the Sprout, immediately east of the house built by John Montross, and a dirt road runs from the bridge to the main highway (Poughkeepsie-Hopewell), connecting with the same near the mill-site.

However, this stretch of road between the mill and the house of John Montross only served to give the mill an outlet to the river over a long mileage. It is not surprising therefore that an entry in the Book of Roads reveals that in 1741 another road was laid out over a shorter route. This one ran (via the present Myers Corners) to Middle Bush on the King's Highway (the present New York-Albany State Road) and thence to Wappingers Creek, ending at the south side of the mouth of the creek on the shore of the river. William Verplanck, owner of the mill on the Sprout, also owned the river-frontage just described and 75

there he (or his heirs, for he died in 1745) established a dock and storehouse. The property became known as the Farmers' Landing and the road to it from the mill as the Farmers' Landing Road. This development was very profitable to the Verplanck family and to the residents in the neighborhood of the mill and they all did a prosperous business by means of it until early in the nineteenth century.

The Farmers' Landing Road is still in use, a dirt road traversing a rural section and so not well known to the general public. It should he remembered however that a mill is still grinding on the bank of the Sprout and the county may well take note of the fact that one business, ,on one site, has for so long been in continuous operation.

Appended below is a verbatim copy of the Petition of 1740, which has been given editorial punctuation in order to clarify the long sentences.

"To the Honble the Judges and Justices of the Court of Sessions to be held for the county of Dutches on Tuesday the 20th of May 1740 The Pettition of sundry Inhabitants of Rombout Precinct in said County humbly sheweth That as your honnrs pettitioners residence was remote from a Grist Mill, Encouraged Mr. Verplanck to erect and build one, and have assisted by labour &c toward compleating the said Mill; to facilitate the same, application hath been made to the Commissioners, appointed to lay out and regulate the highways in this precinct, above a year past, to Lay out a Road towards said Mill (the Transportation of receipts from the River having been expensive & Troublesom for want thereof), and the Mill Stones have been some time at the Landing, which might have •been brought up to the Mill had sd Commissioners layed out said Road •toward sd Mill, there being not any Road Leading that way Laid out farther than the Dwelling house of Mr John Montross, the want of which Renders the Transportation of our grain toward the River side .,or Market difficult and troublesom, to such as Reside to the Northwd of Mr Montross's, and, nothwithstanding the repeated Sollicitations of your honnrs pettitioners, the Commissioners do still neglect the laying ,out sd Road Your honnrs Pettitioners are apprehensive that the Road from 'Cornelis Locys to John Montrosses will be alter'd or turn'd by the said Commissioners, to the great detriment of some of your honnrs pettition76

ers, altho we are humbly of Opinion it cannot be made thereby more comodious but worse, the actions of our Commissioners plainly demonstrating that som have a regard to their particular Interest, rather than the conveniency of the Comodiousness of Roads, which, with the manifest neglect of their Duty, we humbly intreat your honrs to consider, and, as the Law hath Impowrd your honnrs at the Sessions to Redress those EvilIs, by appointing worthy and suitable persons for Commissioners, as to your Honnrs Judgements shall see meet, your honnrs will thereby Restore the peace and tranquility of this precinct and Render a most agreeable service to the publick and your pettioners shall ever pray Peter Monfoort Marten Schenck ? ) Isaac Brinckerhoff Garrett Nooststrant Jacob Brinckerhoff Lawrence Haff" Abraham bloom Theodorus Van Wyck Jacob du booys Hanry Bell HELEN WILKINSON REYNOLDS.

77

OLD BOUNDARY LINES As REVEALED BY AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY In recent months photographs of Dutchess County have been taken from the air under the auspices of the Dutchess County Planning Board.

The surface of the county has been recorded on many plates and the plates put together in series, so that, accurately matched with each other, they form a complete aerial map of the territory. This aerial map • reveals a variety of interesting things and is destined to be practically useful in many ways, one of which ways is as an aid to the study of county history. It would hardly be supposed that an aerial map would provide facts archaelcgical in character but such is the case in this in-stance and one of the stories told by the map may well claim the attention of the Dutchess County Historical Society.

When the photographic prints were matched to cover the portion of Dutchess that borders on the river between Beacon and New Hamburgh a peculiar feature was noted. Starting at the river and running northeastward as far inland as the town of Beekman the pictures show several straight lines, that are definite and distinct, and the observer is led to ask: what are those lines? of what do they consist? why do they exist?

Here is the explanation.

The land in what is now the southern portion of Dutchess was purchased from the Indians by men in New York City who, in 1685, obtained a patent from the government, confirming the title to theit purchase. The patent became known as the Rombout Patent. Before many years had passed the patentees all died and, in 1708, the greater part of their land was partitioned among their heirs. There were three groups of heirs, representing Francis Rombouts, Gulian Verplanck and Stephanus Van Cortlandt, respectively, and the land that they partitioned fronted on Hudson's river between the Fishkill and the Wappingers Creek.* They laid out that tract in three oblong lots, which faced the river and ran inland in a northeasterly direction until they reached the boundary line of a patent held by Henry Beekman. The middle one of those three lots began at a point somewhat north of the (present) rail*There were later partitions which disposed of land south of the Fishkill and north of the Wappingers.

78

road station** at Beacon and followed the river to the approximate vicinity of (the present) Chelsea. This middle lot was assigned in 1708 to the descendants of Gulian Verplanck and they, in 1722, sub-divided the lot among themselves, making three lesser lots.

The division made in 1708 and the sub-division in 1722 necessitated surveys and the establishment of recognized boundaries and, during the eighteenth century, in order to mark those boundaries, walls of stone were built. For the place and time those walls were a remarkable achievement. They were built when the population was sparse, labor scarce and when forests were still thick and hard to penetrate. They were more massive than average field walls and the labor of getting so much stone out of the ground, of assembling it and of piling it in such large quantities was on a scale truly noteworthy.

To ascertain how much of those walls is standing today would require a ground survey, 'which would be difficult and expensive, but not many years back the walls were still in evidence for they were well known to William E. Verplanck (born 1856, died 1928), whose home, —Mount Gulian in the town of Fishkill,—was on the river-bank in lesser lot, number-two (1722), of greater lot number-two (1708) oi the Rombout Patent. Mr. Verplanck grew up on the land and knew its history thoroughly and in his genealogy of the Verplanck family he tells of the great stone walls that outlined the several lots.

Possibly at some places along the courses of the lot-boundaries there may now be fences of wood or no fences at all but the boundaries, as originally marked by the stone walls, show in the aerial photographs because, whether the stone wall is present now or not, the land was developed on either side of the several walls in such a way as to emphasize the lines the walls recorded. The lots esparated by the walls were held by different owners and, when an owner sold a farm or field, the stone walls formed a fixed boundary which determined the shape of many a parcel of land conveyed. A clear pattern on the surface of the ground was thus created and aerial photography has shown that pattern to this generation. **In 1930 W. R. Scofield, civil engineer, of Beacon, who had spent his life making local surveys, told Miss Helen W. Reynolds that the line between lot 1 and lot 2 of the partition of 1708 began at the river, near the old machine shops north of the rail road station, and that in 1930 it was the south boundary of the property of Mrs. Lewis Tompkins. The line of 1708 between lot 1 and lot 2 appears on a map printed at page 509 of James H. Smith's History of Dutchess County.

79

Although it may not be realized by the general public, the outer boundary lines of Dutchess County and the internal civil divisions are none too well recorded on paper or monumented on the ground. An instance of a lack of information regarding the north line of the county is discussed on another page of this Year Book and it is true that the lines of the several townships in the county need to be thoroughly studied and marked in a permanent way. Aerial photography cannot fail to aid these worth-while aims in particular as well as others of different but desirable nature and the intelligent constructive action of the Dutchess County Planning Board in having the aerial map made will be appreciated by all who are interested in the matters the map serves.

H. W. R.

80

THE NORTH BOUNDARY-LINE OF DUTCHESS COUNTY In recent months Chance brought to the attention of the Editor of the Year Book the fact that an alteration was made in the north boundary-line of Dutchess County in the middle of the nineteenth century but that the authority under which the alteration was made was not known nor was an exact date for the transaction available.

Following this discovery, a careful search was made for data that would provide a clear record for the change in the boundary but the search was without conclusive results. It did, however, yield many items regarding the history of the northern portion of Dutchess and it seems desirable to present in the Year Book a summary of those findings inasmuch as the several published histories of the county contain very little of the material.

Originally Dutchess County extended northward to the stream called Roeloff Jansen's Kill, while Albany County ran southward to the opposite side of the stream. Roeloff Jansen's Kill flows on a course • which—in a general way—forms a V and, after a while, the triangle of land that is bounded by the stream on the northeast, the river on the west, and a "line" on the south was subtracted from Dutchess and added to Albany. Ultimately, Columbia County was carved out of Albany and this triangle included in it.

The Manor of Livingston, as created in 1686, consisted of land on both sides of Roeloff Jansen's Kill and so that great grant lay partly in Albany Colinty and partly in Dutchess. It was in order to put the manor all in one county that the triangle, just described, was taken from Dutchess and given to Albany.

After the manor had all been placed in Albany County, it was divided. By the will of Robert Livingston, who died in 1728 (and to whom the manor was granted), the portion of the manor that lay in the triangle was given to his third son, Robert Livingston, the second, who named his estate: Clermont. And so, from 1728 onward, Clermont was the private property that bounded Dutchess in part on the north, running from the river inland for some distance. East of the estate called Clermont, the rest of the Manor of Livingston abutted Dutchess until the state line was reached.

In 1772 "districts" for civil administration were laid out in Albany County and the district adjacent to the north line of Dutchess and coy81

ering Clermont was called "Manor of Livingston." After the Revolution, when Columbia County was set off from Albany, townships were created and the town of Clermont bordered Dutchess, as it still continues to do.

Civil divisions in Dutchess were first set up as "wards,"—North and Middle and South,—with the North Ward bounded by Albany County and (at first) by the undivided Manor of Livingston. Next, wards were abolished and "precincts" laid out, with Rhinebeck Precinct lying in the northwest corner of the county on the line of Albany. By that time the estate called: Clermont had been created and Rhinebeck Precinct marched with it.

Townships replaced precincts in Dutchess after the Revolution and the town of Rhinebeck (equivalent to Rhinebeck Precinct) lay along the county's north line, abutting the town of Clermont in Columbia.

From the town of Rhinebeck the town of Red Hook was soon set off, in the form it still maintains, in the northwest corner of Dutchess.

Title to the land in the northwest corner of Dutchess was first acquired by Peter Schuyler of Albany, who never lived on his property and who finally sold it. The part of Schuyler's tract which borders on the river between the county line and Slipsteen Island passed to the Knickerbocker and Hoffman families and, for a long time, members of those families held "in common" as "undivided land" a strip lying against the county line in the vicinity of the present Madalin and of the Red Church.

Authority for the statement of the foregoing facts is to be found in the following citations from original records. The italics are the editor's.

ORIGINAL RECORDS 1. 1680, Nov. 12. Petition of Robert Livingston for permission to buy of the Indians certain land on the east side of Hudson's river, on Roeloff Jansen's Kill. Granted. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 367).

2. 1683, July 12. Deed from certain Indians to Robert Livingston for several parcels of land. One parcel described in part as: from Roeloff Jansen's Kill. south, along the river, to a place (opposite the Saugerties Kill) called by the Indians Saaskahampka; thence eastward, in towards the woods, keeping the same breadth as on the river bank; to a cripple Bush, called by the Indians Mahaskakook. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, pp. 367, 368).

3. 1683, Nov. 1. Act to divide the Province of New York into counties.

Albany County to be bounded south by Roeloff Jansen's Creek on the east side of the river and by Saw(y)ers Creek on the west side of the river. The Dutchess's County to be bounded north by Roeloff Jansen's Creek. (Colonial Laws of New York, vol. 1, pp. 121, 122).

82

• 4. 1684, Nov. 4. Patent to Robert Livingston for land purchased of the Indians. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 369).

5. 1686, July 8. Patent for the Manor of Livingston. The boundary of the manor is described in part as: from the southermost boucht of Roeloff Jansen's Kill; by a straight line; to a place on the riverside called Sanskahampka, which lies over against the Sawyer's Creek (that being) on the west side of the river. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 373).

6. 1688, June 2. Patent to Peter Schuyler for land in Dutchess. The tract was bounded west by Hudson's river; north by a line, running due east and west; the line began at the river at a place opposite the Sawyer's Creek. (State Library, Albany; Book of Patents 6, p. 325).

Editor's Note.—On September 14, 1750, a petition was filed for a grant of land-under-water in Dutchess County (Calelndar of Land Papers, p. 257) ; described as being on the east side of Hudson's river, beginning at a place called Suskampka, which was the northwest corner of Colonel Schuyler's Patent. No more is heard of the petition.

7. 1691, Oct. 1. Act, confirming the boundaries laid down in the Act of Nov. 1, 1683 (No. 3, above). (Colonial Laws of New York, vol. 1, pp. 267, 268).

8. 1715, Oct. 1. Order to the Attorney-General to prepare a draft of Letters Patent for the Manor of Livingston. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 413).

9. 1715, Oct. 1. Patent for the Manor of Livingston. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 414).

10. 1715, Oct. 1. Map, accompanying the Patent for the Manor of Livingston. (Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 414).

Editor's Note.—The map was drawn from a survey made in 1714 by John Beatty. The survey is recorded in full on the map. 't'he survey states a part of the boundary of the manor as:—from the southermost boucht or bounds of Roeloff Jansen's Kill; northwest, eleven degrees northerly, eleven and threequarters miles; to a dry-gully at Hudsores river; (the gully) called by the Indians Sackahampa; (the gully) opposite to ye Sawyer's Creek; the whole (manor) bounded south by land of Coll Peter Schuyler and by land of Lt. Col. Augustine Graham and Co. The survey made by a meridian compass, varying from the "Artick" Pole eight degrees and forty-five minutes westerly.

11. 1717, May 27. .Act, annexing part of Dutchess to Albany County. The Act recites that, whereas: the Manor of Livingston on the east side of Hudson's river is part in Dutchess County, which renders administration of justice difficult; be it enacted that the Manor of Livingston shall be annexed to Albany County; the bounds of the manor shall end and terminate Albany County on the east side of the river, as the Sawyer's creek doth terminate the same on the west side thereof, lying opposite the one to the other. (Colonial Laws of New York, vol. 1, p. 915).

12. 1719, June 24. Act, dividing Dutchess County into three parts for civil administration,—North, Middle and South divisions or wards. The North Division or ward extended northward to "the northermost bounds and extent of .the county." (Colonial Laws of New York, vol. 1, pp. 1033, 1034-).

13. 1722-1723, Jan. 16. Deed of partition between Peter Schuyler and the heirs of Harme Janse Knickerbocker. (Records of Clerk of Dutchess County, liber 2, p. 398).

Editor's Note.—The deed recites that on June 15, 1689, Peter Schuyler sold a one-half right in one-fourth of his patent to Harme Gansevoort, who in turn conveyed the said right on May 1„ 1704, to Harme Janse Knickerbocker (since deceased).

The tract in which Peter Schuyler sold a right was described as: on the east 83

side of Hudson's river, in Dutchess County, over against Slypsteen Island; beginning at the river, thence due east into the woods to "a line ;" due north on that line to another line; thence due 'west to a place over against the Sawyer's Creek; so as that the north boundary of the tract does not infringe on the south boundary of the Manor of Livingston.

By the deed of partition the described tract was laid out in thirteen lots, with a remainder of it still held "in common" as "undivided land."

Lot number 1 (116 acres), which fell to the Knickerbockers, was in the northwest corner of the tract, bounded west by the river, east by lot 3 and north by a "fountain" (stream) near the line of the Manor of Livingston.

Lot number 3 (116 acres), which also was assigned to the Knickerbockers, was bounded west by lot 1, north by a line "near the Manor of Livingston" and east by "Undivided Land."

Beyond lot 3 the "undivided land" continued east for some distance, abutting the Manor of Livingston.

No deeds have been found out of Peter Schuyler for his share of the above partition. Nor are there deeds into Nicholas Hoffman. But Nicholas Hoffman is known to have acquired largely in this tract and ultimately his heirs held most of the are,'s covered by the deed of partition.

14. 1728. Robert Livingston, fi rst lord of the Manor of Livingston, made his will August 2, 1728. The will was proved October 15, 1728 (Collections of the New York Historical Society for 1893, p. 341).

By his will the testator gave to his third son, Robert Livingston; junior, merchant, of the city of New York, the portion of the Manor of Livingston that lay southwest of Roeloff Jansen's Kill and which the will described as:—beginning at a gully on the east side of Hudson's river, over against the Sawyer's Creek, at a place called by the Indians Saxkahampka; and so runs up into the woods, southeast, somewhat easterly, eleven miles and three-quaretrs; to the southermost bounds, boght or elbow of Roeloff Jansen's Kill; then down the stream to its mouth at Hudson's river; then down the river to the beginning (except two tracts, previously sold out of the above, one for the benefit of the Palatines and one conveyed to Dirck Wessels).

15. 1737, Dec. 16. Act, abolishing three wards or divisions in Dutchess and creating seven precincts. One of the seven new units was Rhinebeck Precinct. which, under the Act, was to contain, among other tracts, the land patented to Peter Schuyler, commonly called Magdalen's Island Purchase. (Colonial Laws of New York, vol. 2, p. 956).

16. 1766, Nov. 14. Deed of partition between the heirs of Harme Janse Knickerbocker on the one hand and Martin and Anthony and Zachariah Hoffman on the other. (Records of the Clerk of Dutchess County, liber 9, p. 236).

Editor's Note.—The tract covered by the above deed was "undivided land," which lay "adjacent to the south side of the Manor of Livingston." Fourteen lots were laid out. Those which marched with the manor were all described as bounded by a line running "north, fifty-seven degrees west."

17. 1772, March 24. Act, to divide Albany County into districts. At the south end of the county a district was laid out and named "the Manor of Livingston," which was bounded by "the north bounds of Dutchess County."

(Colonial Laws of New York, vol. 5, p. 383).

18. 1786, April 4. Act, to divide Albany into two counties. The part of Albany lying south of a certain line to be set off as a new county and called Columbia. (Laws of the State of New York, chapter 28, p. 234).

19. 1788, March 7. Act, to divide the State of New York into counties.

Columbia County bounded south by Dutchess. Dutchess County bounded as follows: east by Connecticut; south by Westchester County; west by Orange and Ulster Counties; north by the Manor of Livingston; and Dutchess to in84

dude all of the Oblong that is north of Westchester. (Laws of the State of New York, chapter 63, p. 744).

Editor's Note.—The mention made of the Oblong in the above Act accounts for a small rectangular piece of land at the northeast corner of Dutchess. The piece extends northward, beyond the rest of the north line of the county, in a way that suggests a chimney rising from a sloping roofline.

20. 1788, March 7. Act, to divide the counties of New York State into towns. (Laws of the State of New York, chapter 64-, p. 748).

The Town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County was described as bounded north

by Columbia County.

The town of Clermont, Columbia County, was described as bounded south by a line (running) from the southermost bend of Roeloff Jansen's Kill, westerly along the north line of Dutchess to Hudson's river.

21. 1798, January. Map of the town of Clermont, Columbia County.

(Documentary History of New York, vol. 3, p. 498).

Editor's Note.—The south boundary of the town is shown on the map as beginning at the river (immediately south of a house marked "Madam Livingston") and running thence south, fifty-nine degrees and thirteen minutes east, to the southernmost bend of Roeloff Jansen's Kill.

22. 1798, January. Map of the town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County.

(Calendar of Maps and Surveys, p. 259; map filed at Albany as number 179, office of State Engineer).

Editor's Note.—The north boundary of the town is shown on the map as running from the southernmost bend of Roeloff Jansen's Kill to the river on a course north, sixty degrees west. This line passes south of the house of "Madam Livingston" and north of the house "of Chancellor Livingston," the two houses standing close to the bank of the river.

23. 1799, March 23. Act, relative to part of the south boundary of the County of Columbia. (Laws of the State of New York, chapter 37, p. 347).

By this Act it was ordered that: a due east line be drawn from the south bank of the Sawyer's Kill on the west side of Hudson's River; continued due east till it meets with a line (that was) settled and established between Robert R. Livingston and Zachariah Hoffman (deceased) and others, as their mutual boundary, so far as it respected them individually; and thence along the same (line) as far as it runs; and thence the same course continued to the southermost bend of Roeloff Jansen's Kill; this to be the south bound of Columbia County and the north bound of Dutchess County.

24. 1801, April 3. Act, to divide the State of New York into counties.

(Laws of the State of New York, chapter 123). Repeats the boundary cited in number 23, above.

25. 1812, June 2. Act, to divide the town of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County.

(Laws of the State of New York, chapter 75, p. 124).

The Act created the town of Red Hook, bounding the same on the north by the south line of Columbia County.

When a comparison is made of the above citations several interesting facts emerge.

First it should be noted that mention is made eight times (numbers7 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 23) of a particular spot on the east side of Hudson's river, which was a boundary-mark and which was directly opposite the mouth of the Sawyer's Creek (on the west side of the river). This spot was the southwest corner of the land of Robert Livingston and the 85

northwest corner of the land of Peter Schuyler. Twice it was described as a gully (numbers: 10, 14) and once (number 13, lot 1) as a "fountain" (meaning spring or stream) ; while five times (numbers: 2, 5, note to 6, 10, 14) it was given the name by which the Indians knew it,— Saaskahampka (etc., five spellings).

Two of the documents (numbers: 2, 6) record that from this place on the riverside the boundary line ran inland on a course due east and it is to be observed that one of those two documents was the deed given by the Indians to Robert Livingston and the other was the patent issued to Peter Schuyler (based on a conveyance from the Indians).

However, on six other occasions (numbers: 5, 10, 14, note to 16, 21, 22) the line from the river inland was described as on a course northwest and southeast, the first of those six descriptions being found in the patent for the Manor of Livingston. Thus there was a discrepancy between the deed the Indians gave Robert Livingston and the patent he received for the manor.

The documents quoted are all general in wording. They are not specific as to courses and distances and so it was possible for differences of opinion to arise as to their meaning. That trouble did occur in connection with the boundaries of private property is indicated by a tradition and also by a direct contemporary statement. The tradition (found at page 384 of the history of Dutchess County published in 1876 by Philip Smith) relates that there was a dispute between Robert R. Livingston (the Chancellor) and Zachariah Hoffman over their mutual boundary,—as between the estate called Clermont, on the north, and land south of Clermont which vvas held by Hoffman under the patent to Peter Schuyler. The Chancellor is said to have claimed title as far south as the Red Church (which stands northeast of the present village of Madalin), while Hoffman's claim extended north of the site of the church. Further—according to the tradition—the dispute was brought to court and a trial held at Germantown, when Alexander Hamilton appeared for Hoffman and the Chancellor acted as his own lawyer.

The decision was in Hoffman's favor.

Tradition of a disagreement between Livingston and Hoffman is lifted from the realm of hearsay into that of a credible statement of fact by a clause in an Act passed by the legislature in 1799, by which Act a part of the south boundary of Columbia County was defined (see above, reference number 23). The clause stated that the county line was to 86

conform to a line reached as an agreement between Robert R. Livingston (on the one hand) and Zachariah Hoffman "and others" regarding mutual private boundaries.

The nature of the question argued between Livingston and Hoffman is disclosed by an oral tradition handed down by descendants of Chancellor Livingston. Mr. Clermont Livingston (the Chancellor's grandson) told his nephew, Augustus Clarkson, and Mr. Clarkson recently quoted the statement to the writer, that the Chancellor considered that the south line of his property began on the east bank of the river cpposite the village of Saugerties (on the west bank), where a stream enters the Hudson.* Zachariah Hoffman believed that the north line of his land began on the east bank of the river, opposite the mouth of a small stream in Ulster called the Sawyer's (Saugerties) Creek. The distance between the mouth of the Sawyer's Creek and that of the Esopus (the stream that flows through the village of Saugerties) is about threequarters of a mile. If two straight lines are drawn on the map of Dutchess, starting at the river, opposite the mouths of the two streams in Ulster, and running thence inland to the southernmost bend of Roeloff Jansen's Kill, they converge to a point and enclose a gore of land.

Title to that gore was claimed by both parties to the suit-at-law.

Inasmuch as Zachariah Hoffman died in 1798 the "agreement" he made with Chancellor Livingston regarding their mutual boundary line must have been reached prior to that year. Maps of the towns of Clermont and Rhinebeck, dated 1798, each show a straight line extending from the river to the V-point of Roeloff Jansen's Kill, which—presumably—was the line of the "agreement."

The straight line on the two maps of 1798 continued to appear on maps until the third quarter of the nineteenth century. It is recorded on a map of 1844 of lands in the town of Clermont owned by members of the Livingston family (on file in the office of the Clerk of Columbia County) and is also on a well known wall-map of Dutchess County published in 1858. But in 1870 a change is indicated,—a bit of land had been subtracted from Dutchess and added to Columbia. On a map *The magazine called Olde Ulster, in its issue for 1913, contains at page 353 an article entitled: The Old Sawyer Discovered. According to this article, Barent Cornelise Vogel (or Volge) had a saw-mill at the mouth of the Esopus Creek in the middle of the seventeenth century and owned a large tract of land in that general vicinity, which tract was loosely referred to as the "sagertie's" ("the sawyer's" or "the little sawyer's"). The article provides data that support the claim made by Chancellor Livingston.

87

dated that year the county boundary began at the bank of the river,_ farther south than before; from which new starting point it proceeded in a right-angled turn until it joined the former straight line. From.

1870 until the present time this change is shown on a succession of maps,* sometimes in the form of one rectangular cut-out, sometimes in two.

The small piece of land thus detached from Dutchess and included in Columbia was occupied by several generations of the Livingston family. Chancellor Livingston, who married in 1770, built a house on it before the Revolution, which house was burned in 1777 by the British, at the same time that they burned Clermont, the house of the Chancellor's mother. The two houses stood only a short distance apart.

After the Revolution the Chancellor built a second house south of his mother's (Clermont having been rebuilt while the war was still in progress). The second house he placed on a site only a few feet farther south than the first and it stood until 1909, when it (like the fi rst) was lost by fi re.

Not long after the erection of the Chancellor's second house the dispute with Hoffman took place. One result of the settlement of the dispute was that the house of the Chancellor was placed in Dutchess county. The line "agreed" on as a settlement ran between his house and his mother's and was made the county line in 1799.

By the will of the Chancellor his house on the Dutchess side of the new line passed to his daughter, Margaret, who had married her cousin, Robert L. Livingston. She died in 1818 and her husband in (1843) and the house became the property of their son, Montgomery Livingston.

It was purchased in 1857 by the Misses Emily and Ann Clarkson and, between 1857 and 1870, the acreage attached to it became part of Columbia County. The purpose of the change was undoubtedly to place all of some private holdings in one county for convenience. But as yet norecord has been found of the exact date of the change nor of the authority by which it took place. Perhaps this summary of the story of the *1870.

1873.

1878.

1888.

1890.

1891.

1893.

1895.

1912.

1932.

Asher and Adams. Topographical Atlas of New York.

Beers. Atlas of Columbia County.

Everts and Ensign. History of Columbia County. Map of County Beers. Atlas of Columbia County.

Beers. Atlas of Hudson River.

Gaylord Watson. Map of New York.

Survey. Dep't. of the Interior. Quadrangle. Edition 1895.

Bien. Atlas of New York.

Century Atlas of New York.

Rand, McNally. Atlas.

88

land will call forth further information, which will supply data now lacking.

The writer desires to express her thanks for the cooperation given her in the preparation of this paper by many friends, among whom particularly are: Mrs. John H. Livingston of Clermont; Mr. Augustus Clarkson of New York; General John Ross Delafield of Montgomery Place, Annandale; Mr. A. J. F. van Laer, Archivist of the State of New York; Miss Edna L. Jacobsen, head of the Manuscripts and History Section of the State Library; Mr. T. F. Farrell, Chief Engineer, Albany; Miss Louise Hardenbrook and Miss Anne Hulme Wilson, both of Columbia County; Mr. Frank R. Hathaway, Deputy Clerk, Columbia County; Mr. Howard H. Disbrow, Highway Department, Columbia County; Mr. George H. Krieger, County Engineer, Dutchess County; and Mr. W. Willis Reese and Dr. J. W. Poucher, President and Secretary, respectively, of the Dutchess County Historical Society.

Access to the records in the office of the Clerk of Dutchess County and to the Barnard Memorial Law Library and the Adriance Memorial Library have been of primary importance in the search.

HELEN WILKINSON REYNOLDS.

89

DUTCHESS COUNTY MEN OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD MAJOR ELIAS VAN BUNSCHOTEN Another young man who early and earnestly entered into the conflict of the Revolution and served faithfully and strenuously throughout the long and often discouraging struggle was Elias Van Bunschoten.

He was fourth in descent from Theunis Eliasen who was in Kingston as early as 1671.

1. Theunis Eliasen and Gerritje Gerrits 2. Elias "Van Bunschoten", baptized November 23, 1679, at Kingston, married August 13, 1705, Sara Jans at Kingston. On October 15, 1712, Elias purchased 103 acres of land of "Rimerigh Van Der Burgh, widow of Dirck, and Henry Van Der Burgh her son", at Specken Kill, about two miles south of Poughkeepsie.

About 1715 Sara died and he married Catrina Keyser who was the mother of eight of his twelve children. Among them was: 3. Elias, born April 23, 1717, married November 3, 1748, Jacquemyntje Van Couwenhoven at Hackensack, N. J., and brought her to the house at Specken Kill. They left six children, the eldest of which was: 4. Elias, born October 3, 1749, married Catalyntje Leydt, daughter of Domine Johannes Leydt, who was the first Reformed Dutch minister to be licensed and ordained in America.

As early as May 2, 1775, when open war had begun in Massachusetts, both Elias and his father signed a call for a meeting of the inhabitants of Dutchess to consider what action should be taken. He was one of the fi rst to sign the Articles of Association. Early in June he was active in helping to raise a company for the regiment of Colonel James Clinton. On June 28 he was commissioned first lieutenant of this campany of which his friend and neighbor, Lewis DuBois, was captain.

This regiment, the third of the four New York regiments, was mustered into service in July and became a part of the force raised for the invasion of Canada under General Richard Montgomery. They began their march at once to join General Montgomery and the rest of his army.

One of the officers of this regiment, Major Henry Livingston, Jr., kept a complete journal of the movement of this regiment from the time it 90

left Dutchess County. He says: "Capt. Lewis DuBois and his command arrived just before breakfast at Albany on Sunday, Aug. 28, and ,encamped on the Patroon Grounds". "On Sept. 9, marched Captains DuBois, Billings and Johnson of our Reg't for Fort Ann". "We reached Gen. Montgomery's Camp Oct. 9, near noon. Got our tents pitched and everything settled that afternoon. All I heard of War this day was a few shots thrown in the Evening—for every one we threw Our Enemy generally returned 4." Major Livingston gives a minute account of operations about the upper end of Lake Champlain, very, frequently mentioning Captain DuBois and Lieutenant Van Bunschoten.

Mr. W. H. Van Benschoten says in his book, The Van Bunschoten Family in America, "Whereever Capt. DuBois figures there too in his shadow is our Lieutenant Elias". On October 11, at a council of war it was resolved to erect a battery on the east side of the lake opposite the enemy's forts. "The Gen'l ordered Col. Clinton with 200 of his men to go upon the business. . . . Capts. Nicholson, DuBois, Billings & Denton were pitched upon to go with us." He then describes the difficulty of posting their battery on account of the enemy's fire, but says, "At night Capt. DuBois with a party of 40 men cut off all the Bushes & Trees between our Battery & the water edge & made the Embrasures some-what narrower". The next day they were able to open a heavy fire upon the enemy forts.

When, on November 17, Major Livingston, owing to illness, was obliged to leave the regiment, General Montgomery promoted Captain DuBois to the vacant place and Lieutenant Van Bunschoten was promoted to the place of Captain DuBois.

These New York regiments were enlisted for six months only and in mid-winter when their terms of enlistment expired there was nothing ,else for them to do but re-enlist until spring. They could not have had an easy time fighting their way to Quebec where they arrived in December. They, however, attacked the British on the last day of the year, against a heavy gunfire, and General Montgomery was killed. His little army persisted in the siege of Quebec until spring when the British garrison was greatly re-inforced and they were obliged to retreat and the Canadian campaign was at an end. On June 25, the Continental Congress "Resolved that a colonel's commission be immediately issued to Major DuBois with instructions forthwith to raise a Regiment to serve, three years or during the War and that the Corps of Officers be corn= 91

posed of such as have served with Credit in Canada." On the following day, June 26, 1776, the congress resolved "That the following gentlemen be appointed Officers of the Battalion to be raised under Col. DuBois: their commissions to be given them as soon as their complement of men shall be raised.'" Of these Elias Van Bunschoten is named second on the list of captains.2 Captain Elias, it seems, had already joined Colonel Gansevoort's regiment, the Third New York, as first captain. This regiment, early in 1777, was ordered to Fort Stanwix, or, as it was named from this time, Fort Schuyler, which was the site of the present city of Rome.

They had orders to repair the old fort and to defend it. And how they ciefended it is one of the most heroic episodes of the whole war.

The fort was not yet finished when, on August 3, General St. Leger -with his army of regulars, Tories and Indians appeared before it and demanded its surrender. The garrison had however no idea of a surrender, fighting off attack after attack and even making sorties against the enemies' camps. It was here that for the first time the stars and stripes were raised in battle. The flag was made from the red petticoat of a woman in the garrison, the white shirts of the soldiers and a blue coat of Captain Abraham Swartwout. The siege was kept up until, on August 22, St. Leger and his men left rather precipitately when General Arnold had sent a half-witted Tory into their camp announcing that General Arnold with a strong force was on his way to attack them and relieve Fort Schuyler.

General Arnold, in a letter to General Gates, says: "Colonel Gansevoort and his officers and men deserve great applause for their Spirited conduct and vigorous defence, their duty having been very severe." This successful defence of Fort Schuyler was far-reaching; it prevented St. Leger and his army from joining Burgoyne and was one of the chief factors that led to his surrender. That winter Elias was granted a leave of absence and spent several months at home acting as Captain of Associated Exempts.

On April 22, 1779, he was commissioned major of levies and the next three years were strenuous ones for our Major. These letters from Governor Clinton will explain what was expected from him and how he performed a very arduous task, that of recruiting the several regiments of levies for frontier defence.

92

Poughkeepsie April 27th 1779 Sir; You will immediately convene the Officers appointed for your Regiment, & for whom Commissions are herewith delivered to. you, and assign to them the Regiments of militia in the Counties of Ulster, Dutchess, & Orange which they are respectively to attend,. & receive the Levies which may be raised therein, agreable to my Orders of the 13th Instant, a Copy of which you will herewith_ receive. They will be particularly careful not to receive Deserters from the Enemy, or our own army for this Service, & that the mea they do receive be properly armed & equipped according to Law. .

The Lieut. Colo., who is to command the Regt. & several other officers are not yet appointed. . . .

The most Central Station for yourself will at present be on the frontiers of Ulster County. . . .

As you are to receive your Pay from the Continent, you will make your Returns to the Officer commanding the Department, &._ be particularly carefull, in having your men mustered & Pay Rolls. made out, in due season, you will likewise make monthly Returns. to me; as these Orders are calculated for the command'g Officer of the Corps, you will deliver them over to the Lieut. Colo., as soon as, he shall be appointed & join the Regt. I am &c.

Geo. Clinton.

If any of the Officers decline serving, it must be reported to. the Governor immediately that others may be appointed in their Room.

Major Van Bunschoten.3 Poughkeepsie 15th May 1779 Sir, I am directed by his Excell'cy the Governor to request,. that you will march such of the Levies as are in readiness, to the frontiers of Ulster County wtihout the least Delay, those of Orange, had better rendezvous at Pienpack, & those of Ulster &.

Dutchess at Mamacotting, Shandaken & Laghawagh, at the two. latter of which Places there are Posts ordered to be established.

Colo. Cantine is possessed of his Excell'cy's orders on the Subject.

Dr. John Smedes who is appointed Surgeon to the Regt., will wait on you for medicine, You will, therefore, procure a proper supply for him from the Director of the Hospital at Fishkill who,.

93

as the Regt. is to be paid & subsisted by the cont't, will furnish you, therewith. I am &c.

Robt. Benson.

Major Van I3untschoten.4 Rochester, May 29th, 1779.

May it please your Excellency, On my Journey to Peenpack, I was taken with a great illness, which obliges me to keep my room ever since my return. Having no officers at this place, but the adjutant, makes the Duty very hard to me.. Lieut. Wesbrook at Laghawack dus not incline to serve any longer, then to, he is reliev'd by another officer. Please your Excellency, order one Captain, and Subaltern to this place. Lieut. Ostrander, with fiftyfive Men, have march'd to Albany; at his return I have order'd him to relieve Lieut. McBride, and take Charge of the Levies of Dutchess County, and Lieut. McBride to repair to this place. In pursuance of your Excellencies Orders to me directed, I have taken my Instructions from Coll. Cantine, in fixing the men to Different Posts. They are as follows; Captain Wood with fifty Men, at two posts in Peenpack ; Lieut. Pawling with Twenty five Men, at Mama-Catten ; Twenty Men of Coll. Cantine's at Lunen Kill; Twenty Men at Nepenack ; Fifteen at Wasingl one Sergant, and Twenty Men at the Stores at Brown's; one sergt. and Twelve Men at Van Horn's Mills; Fifty Men at Laghawack ; Fifty Men at Shan-Deaken ; I am, with great respect, Your Excellencies, most Obed't hum'e Serv't E. V. Benscoten.

His Excellency Governor Clinton, Poughkeepsie.5 It seems from the governor's reply two days later that there was considerable difficulty in obtaining suitable officers for the strenuous duties of this frontier service.

Poukeepsie 31, May 1779 Dear Sir, I have rec'd your Letter of the 29" Inst., & am extremely sorry for your Indisposition especially when your Country may require your most active Exertions. Capt. Faulkener has rec'd his Commission and is ordered to join the Levies under your Command; one other Capt., and a Lieut., in Albany County are also commissioned and are to join Colo. Renselaer. These are the 94

only Officers among the many appointed by the Council who have accepted. Colo. Renselaer is appointed to take the Command of one of the Regts., of the Levies but as he is now at Albany and as these Troops will be so distributed along the Frontiers as to render it impossible for two Field Officers to pay the necessary attention- to the different Passes to be guarded, and as the Duty will become more burthensome by Detachments from the Militia, being frequently called out, I have thought it necessary also to issue Major Pawling his Commission as Lieut. Colo., which I have not the least Doubt will be agreeable to you.

As soon as proper Persons can be found for subalterns I will have them appointed, and you will of Course be enabled to relieve Mr. McBride and order him to the Frontiers.

(G.C.) (To Major Van Benscoten) 6 On the same date the governor wrote to Major Pawling: May 31, 1779, Pokeepsie.

Dear Sir, Altho' Colo. Renselaer has accepted of his appointm't to the Command of one of the Regt. of Levies, raised for the Frontiers, considering the Duties these Troops will have to perform and that they will be greatly dispersed by Reason of the different Posts to be occupied by them to give Security to the Frontier Settlem's, I have thought it necessary to issue your Commission also which I have the Honor now to inclose you. You will please, therefore, to accept of it & for the present take under your Command the Levies now on the Frontiers of Ulster and Orange Counties, with such Detachm'ts of the Militia as may from Time to Time be ordered out for the Defence of the Frontiers of those Counties, not hav'g a Colo, to command them. You will follow the Instructions heretofore given to Major Van Bunschoten, and as I have directed Colo. Renselaer to make a Return of the Levies at the different Posts, you will furnish him with a Return of those under your more immediate Command. You will please . to call upon Colo. Cantine for my orders to him, founded upon Intelligence of the movem'ts of the Enemy rec'd yesterday. I have not the least Doubt but the most friendly understanding will prevail between you & Major Van Bunschoten and that proper attention 95

will be paid to him as a Person in whose Bravery & Conduct I have great Confidence. I am, D'r Sir &c.

(G.C.) Pavvling) 7 (To Major Albert About this time, June 1779, the Sullivan expedition against the Indians was being planned and Colonel Pawling with the Levies from the Orange and Ulster Counties frontiers were ordered to join General Clinton's brigade at Otsego but, owing to excessive rains and swollen rivers, they were unable to do so.

The next season, that of 1780, began with Major Van Bunschoten under his old commander, Colonel Lewis DuBois, with his regiment of Levies in the Highlands but later in the season they were rushed to the north-west frontier to cope with Sir John Johnston, Butler and Brandt, who were devastating the settlements of Schoharie County and the Mohawk Valley. Here they defeated Sir John and his army of loyalists and Indians, again making the Mohawk Valley fairly safe from raids.

Again we find Major Van Bunschoten in Dutchess County recruiting from the militia regiments their quotas for the Levies.

Fishkeels 13th May 1781.

D'r Governor, I have just Returned from three days fortague receiving Colo. Vanderburgh Levies.

I beg to no what part of Ulster County I shall derect that part of the Levis to purposed for that Qarter, I have porposed Capt.

Levingston for that Command & beg he may be as ney my post as possible. I am your Excel'cy most Obt : Hbl. Serv't.

E. V. Bunschoten.

His Ex'ly G. Clenton.

N.B. I expose my poverty as to paper.8 Again on July 26, he writes Governor Clinton: Dr Gov'r, I send you a late Return of the Delinquent men of the fore Regts. wich Number will make the one third of the men rased in this Conty which was ordered to Compose part of Colo Willets Regt. I am Your ex'y. Most Obt & Hble Serv't.

E. V. Bunschoten.

Fishkeels, 26th July 1781.

Exc'l'y Gov'r Clinton, His 96

A return of the men rec'd from fore Regts. of General Swartout's Brigade.

Men Men Men Colo. Hopkin's Cota 52 Recd. 42 Delqt. 10 Colo Frares Cota 51 Recd. 39 Delqt. 12 Colo. Vanderburgh Cota 26 Recd. 25 Delqt. 1 Colo Brenkerhoff Cota 40 Recd. 39 Delqt. 1 145 169 24 No late Returns from Colo. Grams Luttontons & Fields Regt.

However Expect; thare is five wonting to compleat.

Fishkeels, 26th July 1781.9 Governor Clinton on August 6 caused the following order to be. issued: Major Buntschoten will immediately proceed to the cornmand'g officers of the several Regiments in Dutchess County who have not yet furnished their full Quota of Levies agreeable to his Excellency's Orders of the 22nd of March last and demand of them in the most peremptory manner that they forthwith cause detachments to be made from the respective delinquent Classes agreable to Law. Such Officers as shall neglect a prompt compliance with these Orders may rest assured that the Treasurer will be direceted to prosecute for the Fines imposed on them by the said Law without further notice. Major Buntschoten will make report to his Excellency, as soon as possible of the result of this Business.'° With the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown the war was practically over except for the raids of Tories and Indians on the New York frontier. Major Van Bunschoten had command of New York Levies under Colonel Marinus Willett, which were active in defence of the Mohawk Valley throughout the whole of the season of 1782 and well into 1783. Colonel Willett in his report of an expedition he attempted in the middle of February, 1783, says: "The lameness of a number of the Soldiers made the work the heavier, and it is much owing to the violent exertions of Major Van Benschoten who had charge of the State Troops, and 'Captain Sheldon who commanded the Rhode Island Detachment that I was enabled in the first instance, to overcome a variety 97

of difficulties that turned up on our March out, as well as on our return to the Articles of peace had been concluded in Paris on November 30, 1782 but Colonel Willett and his men did not learn of it until quite late in the spring of 1783 upon their return to Albany.

The war being ended Major Elias returned to his home and farm on the Specken Kill where he became an extensive farmer and country gentleman. In 1786, however, he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel and took command of the regiment of militia of which his neighbor John Freer had been colonel during the war. This commission he held until 1797 when he resigned." During these years he acted as supervisor, commissioner of highways and held other positions of usefulness to his community. About 1805, through the acts of his oldest son John, he became insolvent and his property which had been quite extensive for that period was practically gone, and he with his wife, Catalyntje, removed to Cooperstown where he spent his last days with his son, Elias.

Just how long they lived after going to Cooperstown, I have been unable to learn.

Elias's brother, Teunis, was the first of the Van Benschoten family which lived on Van Benschoten Hill, a few miles east of Poughkeepsie. and Teunis was an ancestor of John and Elias Van Benschoten, who are now two of Poughkeepsie's prominent business men.

J. WILSON POUCHER. ))

REFERENCES

1. Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. XV, p. 116.

2. Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. 1, p. 424 3. " Vol. IV, p. 764.

Vol. IV, p. 823.

4.

5.

Vol. IV, p. 861.

6.

Vol. IV, p. 862.

7.

Vol. IV, p. 865.

Vol. VI, p. 861.

8.

9.

Vol. VII, p. 137.

10. " Vol. VII, p. 169.

11. Military Minutes of the Council of Appointment of the State of New York, 1783-1821, Vol. 1, pp. 128 and 373.

98

THE CONGRESS AND THE MONTGOMERY CONTINENTAL FRIGATES BUILT AT POUGHKEEPSIE IN 1776 On another page of this Year Book may be found a report, made on October 9, 1777, by Sir Henry Clinton to Sir William Howe, which contains a paragraph that is of especial interest to Dutchess County.

The report is included in the material, gathered from British official records in London, which has been deposited with the Dutchess County Historical Society by the President of the United States and the paragraph in question runs as follows: "About ten o'clock at Night the Rebels set Fire to their Two Ships, Montgomery and Congress, some gallies and other armed Vessels, with their Cannon, Stores, &c., in them."

The two ships referred to by Sir Henry Clinton, the Montgomery and the Congress, were frigates which had been built at Poughkeepsie in 1776 by order of the Continental Congress and which had been intended for Continental service and it seems desirable to state briefly the facts of their history in supplement to the mention that is made of them in the British records presented to the society by Mr. Roosevelt.

The frigates had their inception on December 14, 1775,1- when the Continental Congress appointed a committee (subsequently referred to as the Marine Committee) for fitting out armed vessels. The committee authorized thirteen ships, which ultimately were built at several different shipyards, and which on June 6, 1776, were given names,2 one of the thirteen being designated the Congress and one the Montgomery. These two vessels were constructed at Poughkeepsie, as stated above.

The selection of Poughkeepsie as the place of construction was probably due to several considerations. One was that a site on Hudson's river somewhere above the Highlands was desirable from the point of view of safety; another, that the east shore of the river is lower than the west (on which latter there are fewer beaches) ; and a third reason was that at Poughkeepsie several members of the Livingston family were active leaders in the Revolution.

James Livingston was the owner from the middle of the eighteenth century to his death in 1789 of a large farm3 at Poughkeepsie, which fronted on the river from the foot of (the present) Pine street, southward to a line a little below (the present) Livingston street. On that 99

farm the Continental Shipyard was established, occupying a location on the shore of the river immediately west of the (present) main building of Vassar Hospital. There is no mention of any deed for the site of the shipyard, which seems always to have remained a part of James Livingston's farm; nor has there been found any reference to the payment of rent for it; so it is to be supposed that the use of the site was a contribution to the Revolutionary cause made by James Livingston.

In 1776 the shoreline of the river curved in this locality in a way to form a cove, with a point at the south end of the cove extending into the river. The point is still to be seen and has been known as "Shipyard Point" from the time of the Revolution to the present but the cove was filled in during the nineteenth century to create a straight shore line that is now occupied in part by the DeLaval Separator Company. From the deeds that cover title to the land in this vicinity the inference can be drawn that the north end of the cove was the place where the ships were constructed.

How soon work began at Poughkeepsie after the appointment of the Marine Committee on December 14, 1775, has not been learned. The first reference to it that has been found is under date of February 29, 1776,4 when six tons of iron were at New Windsor in Orange County, ready for transportation to Poughkeepsie for the ships that were being built there. The building of the ships was carried on under the authority and general oversight of the Marine Committee but as it progressed instances occurred when, to expedite it, the Convention of the State of New York, the Committee of Safety of New York and a special Commissioner, Jacobus Van Zandt, all had somewhat to do with it, while at an unrecorded date (prior to February 29, 17766 ) Captain Samuel Tudor and Captain Augustine Lawrence were appointed Superintendents of the actual building operations and stationed at the shipyard on continuous duty.

All through 1776 the building of the two frigates went on but they were not launched until November of that year because of the many delays that were occasioned by the lack of supplies and by troubles connected with workmen. Contemporary records teem with references to plank, timber, iron, cordage, rigging, anchors, cables, tar, lead, guns, gun-carriages, muskets, cutlasses, &c., all of which were needed and never obtained in adequate quantities. Most of the carpenters employed were refugees7 from New York City; their wages were small and usually 100

in arrears and were insufficient to supply the men, themselves, with rations and to support their families, the cost of living having risen greatly.

Put into the water at Poughkeepsie in November, 1776,8 the frigates were taken up the river early in December to be wintered in Rondout Creek. The Congress reached the creek on December 11th and the Montgomery was said, on that date, to be expected there on the 12th.

Explicit orders were given by the Committee of Safety of the State of New York to sound the water at the bar at the mouth of the Rondout and, if the ships could not safely be carried into the creek, they were to be taken with all speed to Claverack dock." Apparently the trip front Poughkeepsie to the Rondout Creek was made under cover of darkness for, on March 15, 1777, the shipwrights and joiners who had been on the Congress petitioned"- for their pay for the services they rendered on the night, three months previously, when they brought the ship up the river.

Although the frigates were launched and had been removed to a place of hiding, they were not finished and not equipped. To provide care for them, the Committee of Safety (acting on the request of the Marine Committee) had on December 4, 1776, commissioned 12 Victor Becker as a Lieutenant of Marines; directed him to enlist thirty men; and ordered this unit to guard during the winter the Congress and the Montgomery and also "such other vessels as (might) be laid up with them."

When the ships left the shipyard a quantity of plank, timber and stores, belonging to the Continental Congress, remained in the yard and "Mr. Stephen Hendricks" of Poughkeepsie was engaged" to visit the shipyard every day in order to see that these supplies were safe. This caretaker was, of course, Stephen Hendrickson (not Hendricks), who for so many years (beginning about 1777) was the proprietor of a well known inn on the site of the (present) Nelson House, Poughkeepsie.

It must not be supposed that, with the removal of the frigates to the Rondout, the shipyard at Poughkeepsie was closed. On the contrary, there are indications that it continued in use for some time. Vessels were brought to it either to be laid up for a while or to be altered or repaired and work was done on rigging and on gun-carriages." While the frigates were being built, fire-rafts were also being constructed in the yard (by order of General Washington) which went down the river to Fort Montgomery in August, 1776.15 And General Schuyler looked 101

to the shipyard for cordage and rigging for his row-galleys" on Lake Champlain.

After being hidden on the Rondout Creek and guarded there in the winter of 1776-1777, the Congress and the Montgomery were brought back to the shipyard in the spring. They are referred to in June, 1777, as then at Poughkeepsie." Captain John Hodge had been made commander of the Montgomery and on June 6, 1777, a letter's was addressed to him at Poughkeepsie by General George Clinton (who was at Fort Montgomery), which letter stated that General Putnam wished the captain to bring his ship as soon as possible to Fort Montgomery, where it would be given guns and men.

On June 15, 1777, General Clinton wrote" from Fort Montgomery to General Putnam that the frigate: Montgonzei y was expected at the fort the next day and, on July 9th, the Montgomery was referred2° to as in the river near the fort. The frigate: Congress was, however, still at Poughkeepsie on July 3, 1777,2' and the date at which she was taken down the river has not been learned. After reaching the Highlands, the Congress was stationed at Fort Constitution, by order22 of General Clinton.

Thus both frigates were in the Highlands when the British attacked the forts. The papers of George Clinton disclose that the ships were sent into the danger-zone by General Putnam, in order that they might help to defend the chain that had been stretched across the river at Fort Montgomery. But the tone of Clinton's comments warrants the inference that in Clinton's judgment Putnam's action was unwise. That Putnam did make a mistake is shown by the tragic fate he brought upon the ships, which were in no condition to perform the service he desired of them. After all the toil and struggle expended upon them, they still lacked equipment and men and they finally were burned by their officers on the night of October 6, 1777 (coincidently with the fall of the forts), rather than that they should be captured by the enemy.

This narrative opened with a quotation from Sir Henry Clinton's report to Sir William Howe on the capture of the forts on October 6, 1777,—which refers to the destruction of the Congress and the Montgomery by "the Rebels"—and it may well close with a quotation from the report" which General George Clinton made to General George Washington regarding the same occurrence, the report being dated at New Windsor, 9 October, 1777. General Clinton said: 102

"I have to add that by some fatality the two Continental frigates were lost, they having been ordered down by General Putnam for the defence of the chain; but, being badly manned, they could not be got off in time, though I ordered the ship Congress to proceed to Fort Constitution the day before the attack, lest she should meet with disaster; and the ship Montgomery, which lay near the chain, having neither anchor nor cables to secure her, it being the ebb of tide and the wind failing, fell down so near the chain, that Captain Hodge was constrained to set her on fire to prevent her from falling into the hands of the enemy. The Congress, unfortunately getting aground on the flat near Fort Constitution, shared the same fate."

Below is appended a list of twenty-three references to original records, as cited above, and a further list of general references that provide details too numerous for inclusion here but which would afford to these interested a vivid mental picture of conditions along Hudson's great river during the critical period of the War of the Revolution.

HELEN WILKINSON REYNOLDS.

TWENTY-THREE REFERENCES CITED ABOVE 1. Journal of the Continental Congress, Vol. 3, p. 428.

2. Ibid., Vol. 5, pp. 422, 423.

3. Reynolds, Dutchess County Doorways, 1931, pp. 97, 197, 198.

4. Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. I, pp. 225, 226.

5. Force, American Archives, 5th Series, Index, Vol. 3.

6. Ibid., 5th Series, Vol. I, p. 1407.

7. Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. I, p. 572.

8. Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 409, 412.

Force, American Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 3, pp. 330, 347.

9. Force, American Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 3, p. 1192.

10. Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 330.

11. Calendar of Revolutionary Manuscripts, Vol. 1, pp. 635, 657.

12. Force, American Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 3, p. 355.

13. Ibid., Vol. 3, pp. 355, 368, 1128.

14. Ibid., Vol. 3, pp. 355, 368, 1128, 1192, 1381.

Public Papers of George Clinton, vol. 2, p. 10.

15. Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. I, p. 282.

16. Force, American Archives, 5th Series, Vol. 3, pp. 204, 205, 206.

17. Public Papers of George Clinton, Vol. 2, p. 33.

18. Ibid., p. 8.

19. Ibid., p. 33.

20. Ibid., p. 93.

21. Ibid., pp. 73, 74.

22. Ibid., pp. 389-395, Vol. 5, pp. 310, 311.

23. Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 394.

103

OTHER GENERAL REFERENCES Force, American Archives, 5th Series Vol. 1, pp. 1407, 1409, 1548.

Vol. 3, pp. 227, 229, 242, 259, 263, 264, 275, 315, 317, 322, 366.

Public Papers of George Cilnton.

Vol. 1, pp. 139-156 (150), 244-245, 254, 314-315, 382.

Vol. 2, pp. 75, 83, 103, 104.

F

104-

EVENTS ON HUDSON'S RIVER IN 1777 As Recorded by British Officers in Contemporary Reports (Continued from Year Book of 1935)

The said reports are on file in the Public Record Office, London, and copies of them, obtained through the courtesy of Lord Halifax and of Ambassador Bingham, have been deposited with the Dutchess County Historical Society by The President of the United States As the Year Book for 1935 was passing through the press the editor received from the President of the United States a second consignment of transcriptions of British government documents in which references occur to the military campaign of 1777 in New York. The President has presented these transcripts to the Dutchess County Historical Society and a list of the items is appended below.

From the documents received a few are not offered here in print because space is limited and because they relate to British activities on Staten Island and in New Jersey. The Year Book is however most fortunate to be able to present and to place on record permanently details of the events on Hudson's river in 1777 in the words of British officers who described that which came within their personal observation.

The struggle for the control of Hudson's river was a pivotal one in the War of the Revolution, a fact which students of history realize and understand but the significance of which has not been absorbed by a large portion of the American public. The part played in the Revolution by New England and by the South is much more widely known than is this attempt by the British to take possession of the route between Canada and the Atlantic (via Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson) and, by so doing, to separate New England and the South from each other.

The British campaign in New York was unsuccessful and, by its failure, the outcome of the War of the Revolution may be said to have been decided. In view therefore of the importance of the campaign in American annals, this new material, bearing upon it, is of primary importance and value and the Dutchess County Historical Society may congratulate itself upon having been enabled, through the good offices 105

of one of its members—now Chief Executive of the Nation,—to present tile data to the many who will be interested in the same.

For local readers the most outstanding item contained in the documents here presented is, perhaps, the statement that four-hundred house, barns and mills were burned in the expedition led by General Vaughan from the Highlands northward after the capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery. In Dutchess and Orange and Ulster Counties traditions are still numerous and persistent of instances where buildings were fired -upon or burned down by General Vaughan's forces but the number reported here as actually destroyed is surprisingly large.

Local readers will also note the references to the fate of the frigates: Montgomery and Congress (Dispatch No. 69, enclosure No. 4), which were built at the Continental Shipyards at Poughkeepsie in 1776; to the destruction of Continental Village in the Highlands (Ibid.) ; and to the burning of Kingston (Dispatch No. 71, enclosure; Dispatch No. 74, enclosure) ; while they will find the accounts of the capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery (Dispatch No. 69, enclosure No. 4) very informing.

LIST OF DOCUMENTS Correspondence Letter, Ambassador Bingham to President Roosevelt, September 21, 1935 Letter, Lord Halifax to Ambassador Bingham, July 30, 1935 Letter, Lord Halifax to Ambassador Bingham, August 31, 1935 Letter, Admiral Dickens to Ambassador Bingham, July 31, 1935 Transcriptions Sir William Howe's Dispatch No. 69, dated Philadelphia, October 21, 1777, with the following enclosures: (1) Report on engagements on Staten Island in August, 1777 (2) Report on incursion into New Jersey in September, 1777 (3) Return of casualties in New Jersey (4) Letter of October 9, 1777, Sir Henry Clinton to Sir William Howe, reporting the action in the Highlands of the Hudson October 6-9, 1777. See below.

(5) Return of British casualties, October 6th, 1777 (6) Return of stores, etc., taken by the British October 6th, 1777. See below.

106

(7)

Letter of August 6th, 1777, General John Burgoyne to Sir William Howe. See below.

(8) Note of September 23, 1777, General John Burgoyne to Sir Henry Clinton. See below.

(9) Letter of September 20, 1777, General John Burgoyne to Sir Henry Clinton. See below.

(10) Letter of October 8th, 1777, Sir Henry Clinton to General John Burgoyne. See below.

(11) Letter of September 27th, 1777, General John Burgoyne to Sir Henry Clinton. See below.

Sir "William Howe's Dispatch No. 71, dated Philadelphia, October 25, 1777; with the following enclosure: Report of October 17, 1777, General John Vaughan to Sir 'William Howe. See below.

Sir William Howe's Dispatch No. 74, dated Philadelphia, November 29, 1777; with the following enclosure: Report of October 26, 1777, General John Vaughan to Sir Henry Clinton, with list of stores taken and destroyed in the expedition up the North River. See below.

(ENCLOSURE No. 4 To SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH NO. 69) Fort Montgomery October 9th 1777.

Sir, In the last Letter which I had the Honor to write to your Excellency, I mentioned my Intention, with the small Force that could be spared from the important Post you had left under my Command, to make an Attack upon Forts Clinton, Montgomery &c. Your Excellency recollects the Situation of these Forts, that they are seperated by a Creek which comes from the Mountains, and communicate with each other by a Bridge.

In my Opinion the only Way of effecting it was by a Coup de Main in the unguarded State they then were. The Commodore and I having made our Arrangements, and every proper Jealousy having been given for every Object but the real one, the little Army, consisting of about 3,000 Men, arrived off Verplancks Point, proceeded by the Gallies under the Command of Sir James Wallace. On our Appearance the Enemy retired without firing a Shot, leaving a Twelve Pounder behind them, and Sir James moved up to Peaks Hill Neck to mask the only Communication they had across the River on this Side of the Highlands.

107

*At Daybreak on the 6th the Troops disembarked at Stoney Point.

The Avant Garde of 500 Regulars & 400 Provincials commanded by Lieut. Colonel Campbell, with Colonel Robinson of the Provincials under him, began its March to occupy the Pass of Thunder Hill; this Avant Garde after it had passed that Mountain, was to proceed by a detour of seven Miles round the Hill, and Debouchee in the Rear of Fort Montgomery, while General Vaughan, with 1200 Men, was to continue his March towards Fort Clinton, covering the Corps under Lieut. Colonel Campbell, and apportee to cooperate by attacking Fort Clinton, or in case of Misfortune, to favor the Retreat. Major General Tryon with the Remainder, being the Rear Guard to leave a Battalion at the Pass of Thunder Hill to open our Communication with the Fleet.

Your Excellency recollecting the many, and I may say extraordinary Difficulties of this March over the Mountains, every natural Obstruction ; and all that Art could invent to add to them, will not he surprized that the Corps intended to attack Fort Montgomery in the Rear, could not get to its Ground before five o'Clock, about which Time J ordered General Vaughans Corps, (apportee to begin the Attack on Fort Clinton) to push if possible, and dislodge the Enemy from their advanced Station behind a Stone Breast Work, having in Front for half a Mile a most impenetrable Abbatis, this the General by his good Disposition obliged the Enemy to quit, though supported by Cannon, got Possession of the Wall, and there waited the Motion of the Cooperating Troops, when I joined him, and soon afterwards heard Lieutl. Colonel ,Campbell begin his Attack. I chose to wait a favorable Moment before I ordered the Attack on the Side of Fort Clinton; which was a circular Height, defended by a Line of Musquetry with a Barbet Battery in the 'Centre of three Guns, and flanked by two Redoubts: The Approaches to it, through a continued Abbatis of 400 Yards, defensive every Inch, and exposed to the Fire of Ten Pieces of Cannon. As the Night was approaching, I determined to seize the first favorable Instant. A brisk Attack on the Montgomery Side; the Gallies with their Oars approaching, firing, and even striking the Fort; the Men of War that Moment appearing, crouding all Sail to support us; the extreme Ardor of the Troops; in short, all determined me to order the Attack; General *52nd & 57th Regts. Loyal Americans New York Volunteers & Emidik's Provincial Chasseurs. Grendrs. & Light Infantry 26th & 63rd Regts. 1 Compy.

71 1 Troop dismounted Dragoons Hessian Chasseurs. Royal Fuzileers and Hussr. Regt. of Trumbach.

108

Vaughan's spirited Behaviour and good Conduct did the rest. Having no Time to lose, I particularly ordered that not a Shot should be fired; in this I was strictly obeyed, and both Redoubts &c were stormed. General Tryon advanced with one Battalion to support General Vaughan in case it might be necessary and he arrived in Time to join in the Cry of Victory.

Trumbach's Regiment was posted at the Stone Wall to cover our Retreat in case of Misfortune. The Night being dark it was near eight o'Clock before we could be certain of the Success of the Attack against Fort Montgomery, which we found afterwards had succeeded at the same Instant that of Fort Clinton did, and that by the excellent Disposition of Lieut. Colol. Campbell, who was unfortunately killed on the first Attack, but seconded by Colonel Robinson of the Loyal American Regiment, by whose Knowledge of the Country I was much aided in forming my Plan, and to whose spirited Conduct in the Execution of it, I impute in a great Measure the Success of the Enterprise.

Our Loss was not very considerable excepting in some respectable Officers who were killed in the Attack.

About 10 o'Clock at Night the Rebels set Fire to their two Ships, Montgomery and Congress, some Gallies and other armed Vessels with their Cannon Stores &ca in them.

I have the Honor to send to your Excellency a Return of the Cannon, Stores &c. taken. That of Stores is very considerable this being I believe their principal Magazine.

The Commodore has assisted me with his Advice, and every Effort.

We sent a joint Summons to Fort Constitution, but our Flag meeting with an insolent Reception unknown in any War, we determined to Chastize, & therefore an Embarkation under Major General Tryon, and Sir James Wallace with the Gallies was ordered. They found the Fort evacuated in the greatest Confusion, the Store Houses burnt, but their Cannon were left unspiked. The Commodore immediately ordered Sir James Wallace up the River, and if it should be possible to find a Passage through the Chevaux de Frize, between Polypus Island and the Main, he may probably do most essential Service.

In Justice to Captain Pownal, who commanded the Flat Boats, and the Officers under him, I must mention to your Excellency that that Service could not have been more zealously or punctually attended to.

109

I have the Honor to be your Excellencys most faithful obedient humble Servant (Signed) H. Clinton Lt.Genl.

P. S. October 9th. Ten o'Clock at Night.

Major General Tryon whom I detached this morning with Emericks Chasseurs, 50 Yagers, the Royal Fuzileers & Regiment of Trumbach, with two three Pounders, to destroy the Rebel Settlement called the Continental Village has just returned and reported to me that he has burned Barracks for 1500 Men, several Storehouses, and loaded Waggons. The extreme Badness of the Weather making it necessary to be as expeditious as possible no Account could be taken of the Stores, but I believe them to have been considerable. I need not point out to your Excellency the Consequence of destroying this Post, as it was the only Establishment of the Rebels in that Part of the Highlands and the Place from whence any neighbouring Body of Troops drew their Supplies. Fannings and Bayards Corps marched from Verplancks Point to co-operate with General Tryon, but finding he met with no opposition, they were ordered back to their Post.

(Signed) H.C. (Endorsed) Copy of a Letter From Lieut. General Sir Henry Clinton To General Sir William Howe. dated 9th October 1777.

No. 3.

In Sir Wm. Howe's (No. 69) of 21st Octr. 1777.

(4)

(ENCLOSURE No. 6 TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No. 69) Return of Cannon, Stores, Ammunition &ca., taken & destroyed upon the Expedition up the North River October 6th 1777.

CANNON 6 32 Pounders 3 18 Ditto 7 12 Ditto 9 Ditto 3 110

6 4 3 9

Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto

41 3 2 2

Total, 67 Peices of Cannon.

Two Frigates, built for 30 & 36 Guns, were burnt by the Rebels on the Forts being taken. The Guns aboard them & two Gallies which were likewise burnt amounted to above 30. One Sloop with 10 Guns, fell into our Hands. The whole loss therefore is about 100 Peices.

POWDER 54 Casks 1182 Barrels 12,236 lbs. Exclusive of what was aboard the Vessels.

CARTRIDGES FILLED 1,852 Cannon 57,396 Musket CANNON SHOT 9,530 Round 886 Double-Headed 2,483 Grape & Case Ct. 36.

Qr. 1.

lb.

15 Landgridge.

FOR MUSKETS 1379 lbs. of Ball 116 Do. of Buck Shot 5400 Flints Every Article belonging to the Laboratory in the greatest Perfection. Other Stores, such as Portfires Match, Harness, Spare Gun Carriages, Tools, Instruments &ca. &ca. in great Plenty. A large quantity of Provisions. The Boom and Chain which ran across the River from Fort Montgomery to Anthony's Nose is supposed to have cost the Rebels 70,000 Z. Another Boom which we destroyed near Fort Constitution must likewise have cost the Rebels much Money & Labour. Barracks for 1500 Men were destroyed by Major General Tryon at Continental 111

Village, besides several Store Houses & loaded Waggons, of the Articles c.ontained in which no Account could be taken.

(Endorsed) Return of Cannon, Stores, Ammunition &ca. taken & destroyed upon the Expedition of the North River, October 6th 1777.

In Sir Wm. Howe's (No. 69) of 21st Octr. 1777.

(ENCLOSURE No. 7 TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No. 69).

Copy of a Letter from Lieutenant General Burgoyne to General Sir William Howe, dated Camp at Fort Edward August 6th 1777, with a Note annexed—received from Sir Henry Clinton 7th October.

Sir, I received yesterday the Duplicate of your Letter of the 17th July, and shall strictly observe the Contents. My Progress from Skenesborough hither was very laborious, through a Country naturally difficult, the Roads and Bridges all broken up, and in the Face of the Enemy, who retired nevertheless from Post to Post with considerable Loss in killed and Prisoners, and without any other Troops engaged on our Side than Indians & Provincials, and those have suffered no otherwise than in a few Wounds. I have had the fullest Satisfaction in the Alacrity of the Army, and the Issue has justified my Perseverance in preferring this Route to the retrograde Movement, which it would have been to have taken the more commodious one by Ticonderoga and Lake George. The Garrison of Fort George, in Danger of being cut off by my Movement directly upon the Hudson's River, abandoned, as I had expected, the Fort, and burned the Vessels designed for the Defence of the Lake. The first Embarkation therefore from Ticonderoga, which I had ordered to be ready for that Purpose passed the Lake the Day I took Possession of this important Communication by Land, and the Batteaux which, had I taken the other Route, must have been destined to the 'Troops, were now employed for the Transport of Part of the Magazines, whoch puts me well forward. I have nevertheless been compelled impatiently but inevitably, to give considerable 'Time to pass Artillery, Provision, and 112

Batteaux over so long a carrying Place as 14 Miles, with a small Number of Horses and Carriages respectively to the Work. Your Excellency will likewise see the Necessity of fortifying some Posts in so very long a Communication. I hope however to move to Saratogha (where the Enemy is at present posted, but making Disposition to retreat) in a few Days, but as I have a carrying Place at Fort Miller, and another at Stillwater, I do not apprehend it will be possible to be in Possession of Albany, even suppose the Enemy should not stand a Battle before the 22nd or 23rd. Should the Opportunity of any Stroke offer I certainly, where I can convey necessary Provision only, shall not wait the Carriage of the Tents or any other Baggage. During my Stay here the Indians have done good Service; not a Day passes without Prisoners brought in, some from Miles behind the Enemy's Camp. I have Detachments of seventeen different Nations. There is infinite Difficulty to manage them.

My Effort has been to keep up their Terror, and avoid their Cruelty. I think I have in great Measure succeeded. They attack very bravely; they scalp the Dead only; and spare the Inhabitants. I believe the scalp of the famous Partizan Whitcombe, who killed Brigadier Gordon last year, to be in their Possession. Mr. Arnold professes an Intention to stand an Action some whereabout Albany. I yet hear nothing of Mr. Washington. St.Leger is, I am assured by Intelligence, in Operation about Fort Stanwix. One reason of my Impatience to gain the Mouth of the Mohawk is to favor him. I hope the Difficulties of communica:-ing with your Excellency will soon decrease. I sent a confidential Messenger to you some Days ago, who I hope arrived safe. The Letter you . mention to have been intercepted in a Canteen was not from me, nor to you. It was an Attempt of material Purpose, had it succeeded, without any possible Disadvantage happening from the Discovery.

As I mean Sir Henry Clinton to read this Letter in its Passage, I do not write to him separately, my best Wishes and Affection to him.

I am with every possible Sentiment of Respect and Attachment, Sir, Your most faithful and obedient Servant, (Signed) J. Burgoyne.

Purport of a Dispatch on or about 20th July 1777.

On the 16th Instant the Enemy dislodged from Ticonderoga and were driven on the same Day beyond Skenesborough on the Right, and 113

to Huberton on the Left, with the Loss of 128 Pieces of Cannon, all their armed Gallies and Ammunition, Military Stores and Provision, to a vast Amount.

On the two succeeding Days the Ascendency of His Majesty's Arms was further established by two seperate Actions at distant Places, and against superior Numbers, in which the Enemy's Loss amounted to above six hundred dead upon the Field, above three times that Number wounded, and one Colonel, seven Captains, ten Subalterns, and near four hundred Prisoners.

Of the King's Troops were killed one Major, one Captain, three Lieutenants, one Volunteer Lieutenant of Marines, two Serjeants, 41 Rank and File.

Wounded two Majors—five Captains—ten Lieutenants—one Volunteer-13 Serjeants 142 Rank & File.

Major Grant of the 24th Regimt. was the Field Officer killed.

(Endorsed) Copy of a Letter from Lieut.General Burgoyne to General Sir Willm. Howe dated Camp at Fort Edward August 6th 1777.

In Sir Wm. HOwe s (No. 69) of 21st Octr. 1777.

(ENCLOSURE No. 8 TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No. 69).

Copy of a Note from Lieutt. General Burgoyne to Lieutt. General Sir H. Clinton, dated 23rd Septr. 1777. " I have lost the old Cypher, but being sure from the Tenor of your Letter you meant it to be so read, I have made it out.

An Attack, or the Menace of an Attack upon Montgomery, must be of great Use, as it will draw away a Part of this Force, and I will follow them close: Do it my dear Friend directly.

Yours ever faithfully, J.B. (Endorsed)

Copy of a Note from Lieutt.Genl. Burgoyne to Lieutt.Genl.Sir H. Clinton.

23rd Septr. 1777.

In Sir WmHowe's (No. 69) of 21st Octr. 1777.

114

(ENCLOSURE No. 9 TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No. 69).

Copy of a Letter from Lieutt.General Burgoyne to Lieutt. General Sir H. Clinton dated 20th Septr. 1777 & received the 5th October.

Sir, The Bearer Captain Campbell, an officer of great Merit and full confidence, is charged with an exact Duplicate of my Message to your, Excellency dispatched yesterday by another officer, I request the most speedy answer by Triplicates.

Believe me, &ca.

(Signed) J. Burgoyne.

Copy of an Enclosure received from Lieutt.General Sir H. Clinton with the above Letter.

Conversation with Captn.Campbell sent by General Burgoyne to me.

"He said, he was desired by General Burgoyne to tell me, that the Generals whole Army did not exceed five Thousand Men, that the Consequences of the Battle on the 19th were the Loss of between five and six Hundred Men. That the Enemy were within a Mile & a half of him, that he knew not their Numbers for certain, but believed them to be twelve or fourteen Thousand Men, that there was besides that a considerable Body in his Rear. That he wished to receive my Orders whether he should attack or retreat to the Lakes. That he had but Provisions to the 20th of this Month, and that he would not have given up his Communications with Ticonderoga had he not expected a cooperating Army at Albany. That he wished to know by positive Answer ai soon as possible, whether I could open a communication with Albany, When I should be there, and when there keep my Communication with New York. That if he did not hear from me by the 12th Instant, he should retire.

To which I returned the following Answer by Captain Campbell —vizt.

"That not having received any Instructions from the Commander in Chief relative to the Northern Army; and unacquainted even of his Intentions concerning the Operations of that Army, excepting his Wishes, that they should get to Albany, Sir H.Clinton can not presume to give any Orders to General Burgoyne. General Burgoyne could not suppose that Sir H.Clinton had an Idea of penetrating to Albany with 115

the small Force he mentioned in his last Letter. What he offered in that Letter he has now undertaken; cannot by any means promise himself Success, but hopes it will be at any rate serviceable to General Burgoyne, as General Burgoyne says in his Letter answering the Offer, that even the Menace of an Attack would be of Use." (Endorsed) Copy of a Letter from Lt.Genl.Burgoyne to Lt.Genl.Sir H. Clinton—dated 20th Septr. 1777.

Recd. 5th Octr. 77.

In Sir Wm.Howe's (No.69) of 21st October 1777.

(ENCLOSURE NO. 10 TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No. 69) Copy of a Letter from Lieutt.General Sir H. Clinton to Lieutt.

General Burgoyne. dated Fort Montgomery October 8th 77.

Dear Sir, Nous y voila, and nothing now between us but Gates; I sincerely hope this little Success may facilitate your Operations.

In answer to your Letter of the 20th of Septr. by C.C. I shall only say I can not presume to order, or even advise, for Reasons obvious; I heartily wish you Success and am &ca.&ca.

H. C. (Endorsed) Copy of a Letter from Lieutt.Genl.Sir H.Clinton to Lieutt.Genl.Burgoyne.

Fort Montgomery 8th Octr.1777.

In Sir Wm.Howe's (No.69) of 21st Octr.1777.

(ENCLOSURE No.11 TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No.69).

Copy of a Letter from Lieutt.General Burgoyne to Lieutt.

General Sir H.Clinton—dated 27th Septr.1777 & received at Fort Montgomery October 9th.77.

Sir, Captn.Scott

of

the 24th

Regiment is intrusted with

116

the fullest

Dispatches and Communications necessary to be known by your Excellency. He is an Officer of great Merit, and intitled to the fullest Confidence.

I request you to return your Orders by Triplicate by different Routes, reckoning that your old Cypher subsists.

I am &ca.

J. Burgoyne.

Copy of an Enclosure recd. from Lieutt.Genl.Sir H. Clinton with the above Letter.

"Captn.Scott of the 24th Regimt. arrived on the 9th from Genl.

Burgoyne—Said, that the Army under the Genls.Command, amounting to 5000 Men, consisted of the following Corps. British 2000. Provl.V. 500. Germans 2500.

That the Rebel Army was about 12000, besides a Body supposed to be about 4000, that are hovering about—That the Continental Troops alone amount to the Number of Genl. Burgoyne's Army. Both Armies were encamped a few Miles above Still Water, and the Distance at any one Place, not exceeding a Mile & a half & in many Places not more than half a Mile—The Ground of both Armies very strong. Genl.

Burgoyne can remain in his present Position until the 12th, or until the 16th, should it be certain that the Communication would be open by that Time between the Armies of Genl.Clinton & Genl.Burgoyne ; if liot, it will be necessary he should make good his Retreat to Canada before the Ice sets in.

Genl.Burgoyne begs Sir H.Clinton will give him an Answer conveying the plainest & most positive Meaning, how he should act for the Good of His Majesty; whether he should proceed to Albany, or to make good his Retreat to Canada. He cannot stay longer than the 12th should he be obliged to retire to Canada; nor longer than the 16th should he proceed to Albany. He was obliged to give up the Communication between him 8z the Lakes, on his quitting the Heights of Saratoga. Was he to get to Albany he does not think he could be supplied with Provisions for the Winter, the country there & on the Mohawk River, being much drained, unless the Communication is opened between Albany and New York.

In the Action of the 19th Septr. the British Troops acquired great Honor, tho' no material Advantage was reaped from it: Night coming 117

on prevented it. The Enemy fought with a good deal of Obstinacy.

Our Loss about 530, mostly British, killed and wounded, that of the Enemy about 1200.

Genl.Burgoyne begs Sir H.Clinton will send Duplicates, either in Writing, or verbally, as soon as possible.

Genl.Burgoyne thinks he could force his Way to Albany, but unless assured that the Communication between that Place and New York was kept open, he could not subsist his Army during the Winter."

(Enclosed) Copy of a Letter from Lieutt.Genl.Burgoyne to Lt. Genl.

Sir H. Clinton—dated 27th Septr.1777.

Recd. at Ft.Montgomery 9th Octr.77.

In Sir Wm.Howe's (No.69) of 21st Octr.1777.

(ENCLOSURE TO SIR WILLIAM HOWE'S DESPATCH No.71) On board the Friendship Off (Copy) Esopus, Friday the 17th10.0'Clock Morning.

Sir I have the Honor to inform you that on the Evening of the 15th Instant, I arrived off Esopus, finding that the Rebels had thrown up Works, and had made every Disposition to annoy us, and cut off our Communication. I judged it necessary to attack them, the Wind being at that Time so much against us that we could make no way, I accordingly landed the Troops, attacked their Batteries, drove them from their Works, spiked & destroyed their Guns.—Esopus being a Nursery for almost every Villain in the Country, I judged it necessary to proceed to that Town. on our approach they were drawn up, with Cannon which we took & drove them out of the Place. On our entering the Town they fired from their Houses, which induced me to reduce the Place to Ashes, which I accordingly did, not leaving a House. We found a considerable quantity of Stores of all kinds, which shared the same Fate.

Sir James Wallace has destroyed all the Shipping except an Armed Galley, which run up the Creek, with every Thing belonging to the Vessels in Store.

I enclose you a News paper I found in the Town, but am to inform you that a Messenger arrived at Esopus the 14th Instant at Night, giv118

ing an Account that General Burgoyne, had surrendered himself with his whole Army, and that they were marched Prisoners into Connecticut.

How far we may depend on this Account, Time will shew.

Sir James & myself will push forward the next Tide.

I have the Honor to be, Sir, Your most obedn.Servant, (Signed) John Vaughan.

P.S.Our Loss is so inconsiderable that it is not at present worth while to mention.

(Endorsed) Copy of General Vaughan's Report 17th October from Esopus.

In Sir Wm.Howe's (No.71) of 25th Oct.1777.

(ENCLOSURE TO SIR

W.HOWE'S DESPATCH

No.74)

I had the Honor of proceeding by your Orders with the Troops under my Command on the 15th Inst. and destroyed all the Enemys Vessels and Houses till our Arrival off Esopus on the 17th; and upon my Reconnoitring the Rebel Situation there, I perceived a Battery of 5 Pieces of Cannon with a Breast Work lined with Troops; and also a Work with nine Pieces more, It being proper for me to proceed further up the River, to get every Information possible relative to General Burgoynes Situation, I found it absolutely necessary to dispossess the Rebels of Esopus, in order to secure my Communication with Fort Vaughan, and to prevent the Enemys assembling there in Force to harrass me on our Return—Soon after landing the Troops, they dispersed the Rebels and took their Cannon, but they retired into the Town, and fired out of the Houses, which was a very sufficient Reason for destroying it, but I had a much greater Inducement as the Congress and Mr.Clinton had taken Refuge there that Morning, and its being a Town notorious for harbouring the most rebellious People in that part of the Country.

After reimbarking the Troops I proceeded up the River and detached two people with Letters to General Burgoyne, and had the Honor to transmit to you the Information I received on their Return, and also dispatched the next Day the Messenger that came from General Burgoyne—From the Accounts I had received of his Situation, I found it 119

impracticable to give him any further Assistance; and as M. Putnam had taken post with 5000 Men on my Right, and Clinton or Parsons with 1500 on my Left, I determined to return to Fort Vaughan where I arrived on the 26th Inst. without any thing further material happening; and agreeable to your Directions, ordered the Troops destined for Philadelphia to sail immediately for New York.

I can't be too thankful to Sir James Wallace, Captain Stanhope, and the rest of the Officers of the Navy for their great Attention and Assistance upon that Expedition.

On the other Side, I have given you the best Account I could collect of the Cannon &ca. taken and of the Houses and Stores destroyed.

I have the Honor to be with the greatest Respect Sir Your Excellency's &ca.&ca.

(Signed) John Vaughan Major General.

Fort Vaughan 26th Octr.1777.

Destroyed and taken upon the Expedition under Major General Vaughan up the North River since the taking of the Forts in the Highlands.

Taken.

14 pieces of Cannon 150 Stands of Arms 12 Barrels of Flints 6 Sloops loaded with Provisions of all Kinds &ca. &ca. &ca.

Destroyed 1150 Stands of Arms 44 Barrels of Gunpowder 80 Small vessels 400 Houses, Barns, Mills &ca.

(Signed) Henry Clinton.

(Endorsed) Copy of a Letter from Major General Vaughan to Lieut.General Sir Henry' Clinton dated Fort Vaughan 26th Octr.1777.

In Sir Wm.Howe's Letter of the 29th Novr. No.74.

120