The Early History of Amenia - Forgotten Books

INDE! .

The names of th e Early Residents and of the Suba

scribers to the Roll of Honor are placed in alphabetica lorder in th e book, and are therefore left out of th eInd ex.

Adams , E ll sba ,

‘

27 , 37John , 78

Jes lah , 78

Adams ’ Mill s , ‘27 , 78 ,

AGR ICULT UR E , 132

A l len , E luah , 37

E than . 46 . 63 . 67

A llerton , D r Cornelms, 16 , 79

D r. Reuben , 16 , 42 , 62,A rch ibald , 78 , 136David, 78I saac , 34, 78

Jonathan , 78

Samue l , 78A l lswo ' t h , James 13 , 78Amema Precl ' lct . 5

Umon , 18 , 39

Amema,Name of, 45, 46

South , 39Andrews , Kam illa, 62

Roger. 79

Aretson . John , 6

A sbury, B l sh op , 36A s sembly , Membel s of 49A SSOCIATORS , 53

A therton , C 65. 67 . 79James , 78 , 79

Barlow , Eh sh a, 42 , 48, 49 , 50 . 7 0House o f Deacon , IHCap t . Jes se , 136

Barlow , Deacon Moses , 41, 42 , 47 , 79Nathan , 65. 79

l ’o leg 79

Thomas,129

Bap t lst Church ,m N . E 34

Bapt lsms. 42

Barker, Jacob , 110W 1111am , 79, 136

Barret , R ev . John, 40 , 43,

Bartlett . Dame! C . , 62 , 68Beach . J . W 142

Z erah , 120Beebe. John , 47i el l, “

Tm . , 37

Belden Deacon Joseph , 81S ila s , 42Taber, 49

Bened lct , BenJamm, 32, 47John , 65

S amu el , 63Benson , Hon . E gbert . 46,Ben ton , Joel , 129

B lrd , Moor, 127R ev . I s aac , 84

Bloun t , Wm 62

Bockee, J u st lo e. 1

A braham ,

‘

27 , 43, 47, 49, 50, 53Boka . 48Bokee, Jacob , 49 , 56 . 52 , 68, 117

James , 49

1 INDE! .

Bokee, Phenix , 28Bouquet, Henry, 83Bockee on S lavery, 115B ostw1ck, Wm . H . , 49Boughton , Sampson, 6Boughton , Sampson Co . , 14

Gran t to , 15Borad ll , A nne, 107Boyd, John , 19, 42

Hou se of, 144Bradley , Leman , 12 6Brown , T rxstram , 32

Gen . , 44Joe! , 49

Brown son , John , 79Bron son , John , 32Br ush , Jes se, 62 , 63

Col . Henry, 84, 136Co l . John , 50 , 136W l lh am, 63

Bryan t, Amos , 49Buel , Gro ver, 32

Col . Nathan iel , 64Bu rrl t t , R ev . B lackleach , 37Burton , Judah , 62 , 69Bump , Jed ld lah , 42 , 65James , 62Burial Places 145,Cady, 28Camp , E ast, 15, 16, 120Canfield , Judson , 124CANA L SHA RON , 128Can telon , Major D e, 63Can terbury, 79Carmel m Nlne Partners , 30Carpen ter, J . B . , 50

B . Platt, 50Joseph , 63

J ustrce, 115Castl e, Dame! , 42

Glacon , 42Inn of

, 1 19Ch amberlam , 28

Joseph , 42Colbe, 42 , 48 , 62 , 63D r . John , 48, 65D r . W l lh am G . . 114, 12 9Capt . W l lh am

, 53, 62 . 65 68 ,Calvm , 127Conrad, 62

0 11 10 0 11 110 0 , 11CENTE NNIAL , 54Ch l ld , Increase, 62 , 64 , 69

D r. Joseph , 87CHURCH, CITY, 37Church , Hon . Samuel

, 22 , 27CIVIL LIST , 48CITI Z EN‘

S NAME S T O THE PLEDGE ,Clapp ’ s Paten t, 79, 133Clapp , 133Clark , B lsh Op , 141Clem eland, E l i sha , 26Chu tou , Gen . James , 64C IVIL ORGANI Z ATION,45Clark , l am, 13

Ch ne, l eter,John , 42

Cloth D ressmg, 123Coal , Price of, 127

Leh igh , 129Colfax , 24Cochran , R ev . Samuel , 36Golden , C . , 6, 15, 100Coleman, A . , 90

Colh ns, Capt . D av ra, 27 , 77Hon . J . F . . 89

Colh ns, Bu rymg Place of, 146C omm l t tee o t Safety

, 53Conkh n , Henry, 49Na than

,62Congdon , John , 63Conference, M E . , 36Conques t of ! uebec, 46, 106Cook , Joab, 32

S lmeon , 32 , 61 , 62 , 63 67Cornwel l , R ev John , 37 , 38

W B . 50Cotton , Rev D r 26Creed , W m .

, 6

Crosby, D r . Cyrenu s . 49,Crum E lbow, 45, 85, 135Croton Water, 127Cu lver, Backu s , 90

111mm1ngs, R ev . D r 1 41C urt l s, John , 37

Ruth , 146Danbury , Burned 69, 98Dakm , M mon . 2 7 , 34, 90Caleb, 90Darr ow . I saac, 48D ams, 28

R ev . Sheldon,12

M L 110Dawes , W l l h am , 125

R ev . Thomas, 90

Delano, Benjamm , 65Thomas . 4 lDelamater . Claude, 2 9Jacob , 22

Capt . I saac 22 , 23 ,Benjamin , 23 , 42

John , M . D 24Mart in . 23 , 42Co ! . A n thony

, 136

l l ou scs of, 23 , 144Del avergne, D r. . 92 , 139Denton , Benj am ln , 37

Joel , 63Dewey . Jed . , 32Dorr, 24 . 109Doty, Davra, 63—5, 70 139

Reuben ,63 , 65

Samuel . 41E lh s, 42

Dove l . 7Duhot s , Col 64, 68Dunham , John , 110

Samuel , 52 , 126Dutcher, D errlck, 22

E dget , L1eu t . , 63E l h s. 127

Emmott . James , 6E no , S tephen , 91

E varts , IV . M 24

E va: tson , Jacob , 48A dmn

'

al , 92

S laves of, 117Hou se of, 145

E verl t t , D r . , 139

E qu lvalen t Land, 6

Federal S tore, 125

Go 125Bu dge , 125

Ftlkin , Henry 6

Flm t , Jabez , 62 , 69F orbes , Samuel, 126Ford, John ,63Foss , Cyru s , 142Forge , Dunham ‘ s , 91Freeman . Robert , 32 . 63

INDE! .

Gale, Ju stice, 115Galesburgh , 94Garnsey, John , 53, 115Garretson , R ev . F . , 36Gates , Gen .

, 64Gillett, Joel , 27

Gardiner, 2 7 30A bner, 27 , 63 , 78

Graham , A ugu stu s , 6Colonel , 64

Gray, Jeo u th an , 63, 67, 70Samuel , 62 , 69

Gridley, Noah , 126N. , Son , 126Hou se of. 124

Hall,Benj amin , 65

Hamlin , Deacon , 39I saac, 4

Hammond,James , 49

Harri s,Moses , 47 , 62 , 66

Harlem Heights, 136H arlem R iver, 128Harvey, Joel . 52Hatch

, E ben ,42

Lemuel , 62O l iver, 62

Hawley Co . . 6

Haven , E . O . , 141Bishop , 141

Heathcote, Caleb . 5, 6

Hebard, Reuben , 34

Deacon , 34

Robert, 37E l l lal

’

l , 37Herrick , Rufu s , 47 , 64

BenJamm,49

Hessmns , 73 , 101

Hitchcock ’s Corner, 95H i tchcock

, Amari , 42Samuel , 42

l lmch hfie , 124

Hoffman, An thony, 43

Holli ster, A llen , 43

A sa, 37 , 63Benjamin , 27 . 42

Holmes , Jeh osh 26

Ichabod , 63Ho rse Neck . 108HOUSE S . THE OLD ,

144

Hopkins , Gov . 96Benjamin , 55, 62 . 67

Michael . 47 , 48 ,Noah , 32, 62 , 63Reuben , 48 , 56, 62 , 64,

Roswel l , 32 , 43, 52 . 62-4. 115 5116S tephen , 2 7 , 32 , 47 , 7

Weight , 32 , 65, 62 . 67

Hopkin s ’ Inn , 1 17Humphrey, Col . , 65Hurd , A sa , 88

A l len , 88,Hu ll , Gen 84

Huguen ots . 39Hun ting, Issac, 37

Samuel , 125Hun t, A . J 142

A . S , 142Hyde, R ev . E li , 38

Wil liam, 24 107, 109

Independence Fort, 67Mount, 64

I ndepen dency, 31

Indian s, 11 ,

Indians , Pequot, 3 , 11Indian M issmns, 11 , 12

Indian Pond, 11, 13Buri al Places , 13

INCIDENTS OF THE W AR 73Ingraham , George, 37Thomas . 37IRON MAK ING , 126Iron , Price of. 127INN S ANI ) STORES , 119

James , G . D 27Jami son , Dau d , 6Jack son . Dan iel , 18Jarvi s , Samuel , 74Jay, John , 48Jefferson, 94

J « well , W m . , 36

Jesu it s . 12

Jo ti nson , Ju dgc. 78Johnny Cake Furnace 127

J udson , A zariah , 42Judson , 28

Karner Hou se, 26, 98K ellogg, O l iver, 42Ketcham

,Joseph , 64

Kent , Chancel lor, 40Ken t’ s l’ at ish , 40Kidd er, R ey . D r , 142

King, John , 32

Samuel, 32 , 47 52, 73K ingsley, W . , 63, 70

Kingston burned, 75Kinney, Stephen , 26, 37

E l lj d h , 28Henry, 37

Knapp , James , 62Jones , 70

Klock ' s F ield . 36

K u ibloe, R ev . E ben . 39 , 40, 43, 1 16

VV l ll laHl . 40

B l 'jah . 40

John , 40

Joseph . 40

S tephen . 40

Kn i ckei backer .

‘J, 2 1, 22

Knel ss, Mrs 141

Land , Price of, 26, 81, 88Landon , Jona 66

Laselle, Josh 63

Lawyers , 138Lead M i nes , 66LEATHER , 122Leedsv i l le , 27

LEE IJS V ILLE FACTORY, 124Leed svflle l\l l ll ,-1Leonard, l ) 1 . ,

139

Jude e W . H , 50

ex mgton Battle, News of, 51 , 61IBRAR I

’

E S AND SCIIOOLS , 140L ibrary Uni on , 140L i tchfield , 16L i vmgston , 16Furnace of. 127

Manor of, 14, 17Gi lbert, 48Robert, 15, 45Henry, 45Rev . D r. , 41

herd, E ph i aim 62 , 70

iLossmg, B . J ,137iLothr op , 28 41,42

7

Wal te i , 42

{211 13 x 1v . . 17

t .Baltus , 24Lloyd, John , 64

I V INDE! .

Mackey, 62 , 69McDonald , John , 66

A nne 66

Burying Ground , 66M cGregor, Rob Roy,66Map, O ld , 2 1Mann ing, R ev . Dr 35

MANUFACTURE S‘ , 122M cKend rce , Bishop , 26Man he im , 17Marsh, S i las , 47 , 52 , 73

Rev . Cyru s , 100Lawyer, 100

McNei l , John , 65Marshal ! , James , 6Mather. R ev Cotton , 91Mauwee, Eun ice, 10Mead, Job, 32 , 62

Job, Jr . ,62

Nathan , 26Nathan, Jr 32John K 49

Mechan ics , 123Meet ing-Hou se, R ed , 30, 32 ,86

Cou nCi I, 31

Merrick , Pres 142

METHO DI ST SO CIE TY , 35

Middle Di strict, 48

Mili tia, 63 , 68, 74MILLS , 133Milk

,Job

, 47-8Millerton , 5

Miller, D r . J 110Miller, F i te, 112Mile— S tones , 131Mile-Bo ai d s, 131Mitchel l , J 62 . 69

Money, S i lver, 1 2 1Morawan s , 1 1

Mis sion s , 39Morse, Jos iah , 64Mon tgomery , 78 , 48

Nase, Cornel iu s , 21Nase, Henry, 20 , 2 1 , 76John , 2 1

Phil 2 1

Wil li am, 21Robbery ot , 76

New Mi lford , 16, 139Neely . A lex . , 49

M 1 3 , 41Newcomb, 80New L ights , 31 , 38 ,Newman ,

Josh . , 62NINE PAR I‘

NERS ,b ook , 12North Castle 75

Northeast, 13North , Sclah , 124North R iver Presbytery, 33Norwalk , 106Nye, S y lvanu s , 42 , 65

E ben , 50

Hou se of, 144Susan , 141

OBLONG, 5-8 , 10, 15

SOCIETY OF , 39OFFICE RS IN THE W AR , 63O rton , LeV l , 65

O range, Prince of, 92O re Bed , 91 , 126

O sborn , R ev . J . , 33, 44Isaac, 62

! uebec, Conques t of, 100

Paine. A b i aham, 26, 30, 32

A b i ah ani, J i .

, 47 , 49Barnabas , 49 , 61B rmton , 49 , 62 6, 68Ma) a pri sone i , 68E phraim , 47-8 , 55. 61Judge E phraim,Notice of, 71Death of Judge, 73 ,Hou se of J udge, 144l ch abod , 32Josmli , 26, 32, 100, 103R ev Sol . , 31Samu el, 34D r 138

Genealogy of, 100Palat mes. 16, 17

E leonor, 17Palmer, A . W .

, 49James , 34, 74Park , Ru fu s , 124E lij ah B 126

5 Parsonage Farm , 42Paw llng Encampment, 73Peck , R ev . J . M 3 3Pennoyer. Amos , 63 , 67 , 70Jes se . 63, 69John , 2 7

Joseph , 47 65

Perlee, Edmund . 47, 62 , 65Henry 1 361 Perry

,

'

1 h o s W . , 5 0M att , Judge . 73Plas ter, 134Pleasant, Name . 133

PLE DGE , PA l‘

R l O T IC 51Pi tt s , l ’li i l i p . 47Ph i lip ’s Mano r

, 40i P lymouth H i ll , 81Por ter, Job . 27

Dan iel , 27Pos t—Offi ces, 13 )Pos t R iders

, 130Powel , R ev . J 12Power s , Frederi ck 39

Jacob, 62

Peter, 37Ruth , 34Rev . H N .

, 142Popu lationRural , 123

Pi eston Plain s, 40

Prince Edward , 40PROFE SSIONAL MEN

,130

Protestants , Fren ch , 23Pu i i tans, 32 , 39

Rav , S i las, 62 , 69“ Reed, E li akim . 42 , 65

E l ijah . 42

E zra , 42 , 48James , 42 . 62 , 64-6,mS tore of, 120Hou se of, 144Gershom , 42 , 65Josi ah M 126

N . R Hou se of, 144Will iam , 97Samuel , 62S ilas . 62S hncon

, 62Read ing. 106RE CORD . JUDICIAL , 115RE SIDENT S . EARLY , 77Reinke, R ev . A . , 13 , 26

lReynold s , G . G . , 50

INDE! .

Reynolds , Jona , 47Hou s e o f, [45

Redemption is ts . 8 7REL IG IOUSREV O LLT IONARY W A R ,

5 !Revolu tion t ry S o lo i ers, 62R ice , R ev . P 36

RO BBERIE S , 76. 86Rodgers , D r J . , 41

Ichabod , 47Rose, Rev . 1 ) 4 1Ro n ( Zon i ad , 42N icholas , 20 , 42

Son s o i . 20Samuel 42Philip , M ARows , Palatines , 20

R ou li , Joh aii . , 20Rowley, 28Dan iel . 42

ROLL OF HONOR, 53. 55Rudd, Bezaleel, 27 , 62 70R umbou t , 133Rundall , David . 35, 37, 62 , 70

Jacob, 136Ru s sel, Samnet, 136

Sackett, E z ek iel , 42D r . John , 15. 16Richard , 14, 15, 16Children of

, 15Books of, 16Grave of, 145

S t . John , E zra 63S alisbury , John , 27

SEMINARY, AMENIA 57 I4ISaratoga . 67S catacook, 10 , 11, 12Schuyler, Gen . , 70

SETTLEMENTS . FIRST , 14Sed ick, John , 64Senate, Membei s of, 48School s , Common , 140Separati s t s . 3 1 . 32 , 38Separate, M . H. , 38 , 145S LAVERY, 82 , 118S lason , Peter. 52S u th er 'and , DaV id , 63

Roger. 37 62S OLDIERS , INDIVIDUAL,

67Soldiers . 18 12 , 136

of Sharon . 75S pencer . A lexander, 42 , 62 ,

Ambrose, son of, 43Ambrose. Jun . , 44 , 1 36

Mark , 129Spencer Corner, 90Spies, 74S h epherd , Dan i el 63

Jona . , 32 , 34Samuel, 32 , 47Sh erman , W . 49

Sheep in Du tches s , 134S heval i er, Bl ues, 32

Deacon, 34

Peter, 32 ,R ichard , 34

Showerman , A 24

Shunpike . 131Smi th E l ij ah, 63

Gov . , 93 , 96Isaac

, 28 . 49 , 53 . 125

James , 53Joel. 37Lawrence, 125Platt, 49

Sm i thfield SOCIGI) 38

Snyd er Samuel , 20S tebb in s ' C orner, 106S teel W m ks , 14, 127, 133, 136Superv i sors , 47S qua i e, 109

bwd‘

t . E . M . , 50Rev . Job , 38Judah , 5 0, 52 , 65Mose s , 42Reuben , 42Seth , 42

Scythes, Pi i ce of, 127

Taber, i l l iam, 127Tannery, 1 14. 123Tecumtha, 84Te ller, D r . A . , 64T en Mile R iver, 10T en Eyck ,Henry , 6Thomp son, E zra , 66, 85

Ha n nah , 49T IME S , AMENIA , 143T i conderoga,89Toby, E li sha , 42TORIE S IN DUTCHE SS , 75, 86ower Hi ll, 102OW NME ETING,

FIRST, 44.TRAVE L, ROUTE S OF, 131True, Prot . C . K . , 141Trumbu ll , 11Trumbull, 75Turnpike,Du tches s , 131

V an Camp , J 2 2V anei nom , I 27Valley Forge, 69Vermon t, Name of, 46Walworth , Chancel lor, 24, 109Warren , James , 81

S t epli ei i ,afi ; 65 I ! CL-L'l'

Warner. Seth , 63, 67Washburn, M iles , 47Wardwell , A l len , 36W AR OF 1812 , 1 50Wash ington , Gen . , 74W ash i ac, 10 , 14, I5Wassaic Creek, 14Furnace, 126Waterman

, 41 , 42 , 143Waters , Samuel, 63, 64, 115W aan tununck R iver . 14Wakely, R ev . Dr 36W eebu took , 10Well s , Selah , 37

Josh . , 37W estfield Society, 37W estfield , F . A 68W equ agnock . 11

Wheeler, E lljah , 48J . M ,, 97Noah , 62 . 63 , 67Ben son H. , 97T imothy

, 37Thomas , 27Buri al Place, 146

Wheat, 120Whitefield, 32 , 38Willett, Gilbert, 7 , 113

Mar inu s, 68 , 89, 113Wi llson , Robert, 32 , 37 , 125Thomas , 37Winchell , Prof. A lexander, 142Winches ter

,A . , 42

Winegar, Conrad, 19, 40, 47 , 1 15Garrett, 16, 18-9 , 62 , 69Hendrick

, 19

0

V I INDE ! .

Winegar, Hou se of, 144

Samuel S . , 19

U ld ri ck, 16, 19, 145

E ve, Grave of, 146Wolcott, 28, 47 , 133Wolfe, Gen 106

Woolsey, 28

E RRATUM .—On page 88, l ine 6, read two dollars and a half, instead of ten do llars and a half.

Wood , R ev . E\,33

Worthington . Rev . W . , 96Wyoming, 79 , 95, 113

Young , D r Thos 6 106

William , 42

INTRODUCTION .

r

l‘he history of a rural town no t on ly grat ifies a most

reasonable curiosity, but possesses a positive value as asource from which is drawn th e history of th e Stateand there is a peculiar importance belonging to therecords of those town s

,which h ad their beginning at

th e commencement of ou r national life . The people,who laid th e foundations of these small communities,were laying th e foundations of a great nation, and in noage or country, has th e character of a nation been sogreatly formed by the people, in their primary associations . Any carefu l record of these communities willbecome more valuable as it grows older.In making a memorial of th e early settlers of

Amenia, and of their first civil and social institutions,I propose to present only those things, worthy of record,which would soon be out of the reach of any historicalresearch , and without attempting to bring th e recorddown to the present time

,either of th e events of general

interest, or of particular families.

4 INTRODUCTION .

There is no need, in such a work, of describing thosephysical features of th e country

,wnich remain nu

changed,nor of introducing any part of general history,

which may be found in books, accessible to th e ordinaryreader .

Those,in whose interest this work is undertaken

,

need not be told that the sources of information are veryunfruitful . There is a surprising absence of any writtenmemorials of tho se families, wh ich were earliest here .

They were men of toil, and no t literary,or disposed to

keep a record of their uneventful lives and their se

cluded location was so far removed from any scenes ofh istoric interest

,that these memorials

,—which hardly

come up to the dignity of history— will be of interest toonly a few,

besides the residents here,and th e descend

ants of the earlier inhabitan ts.The difficulty of finding exact data, and the desire

to be as accurate as possible,and to be brief

,are the

reasons why so much time and research should be necessary for so small a work . The writer expects to bereminded of some errors, and of many unavoidableomissions .

GEOGRAPHICAL LIMITS .

—O

The Precinct of Amenia was to consist of th e nineeasternmost tier of lots of the Lower or Great NinePartners, and of that part of th e Oblong, lying between

these lots and the Connecticut line . This included thepresent town of Amenia and all that part of the presenttown of Northeast

,south of a line running through th e

northern part of th e presen t village of Millerton . The

town of Amen ia, when organ ized, had th e same geographical limits .

NINE PARTNERS .

The Great Nine Partners Patent was gran ted in1697 to Caleb Heathcote

,and others, and it covered the

territory very nearly, which is now included in thetowns of Clinton

,Pleasant Valley,Washington , Stan

ford, Amen ia, except the Oblong, and th e south part ofNortheast , except the Oblong . This gran t was madebefore the Oblong was ceded to New York, and wasbounded east by what was then th e colony line .

This paten t was divided in to thirty-si x principal lots,

6 THE EARLY HISTORY or AMENIA .

besides nine narrow water lots,wh ich ex tended to th e

Hudson River,across th e southern part of th e town of

Hyde Park , and th e“nine easternmost lots, Nos . 28 to

36,were allotted one to each of th e n ine proprietors . The

south lot in th e t ier,No . 28

,was allotted to Au gustus

Grah am, No . 29 to John Aretson ,No . 30 to Henry

Filkin ,No . 31 t o Caleb Heath cote, No . 32 to James

Emmott,33 t o William Creed , 34 to David Jamison ,

35

to James Marshall, and 36 to Hendrick T en Eyck . The

lots were n early equ al,containing about acres,

varying somewh at accord ing to the quality of th e land .

The Li ttle Nine Partners tract was north of this,and corr esponded nearly with th e towns of Milan , PinePlains

,and th e northwest part of Northeast. This pat

en t was gran ted to Sampson Bough ton and others in1 706.

THE OBLONG.

Th e Ob long, or Equivalent Land , ceded toNew York by Connecticut, after years of controversy,in 1 731— 61

,44O acres— was 580 rods in width , and was

divided into two tiers of squ are lots, called 500 acreseach

,thou gh exceed ing that . It was sold by th e colon

ial government of New York to Hawley Co .,and al

lo tments made to th e individuals of th e Company, and

by th em so ld to emigrants,“ wh o received a guaran tee

of title from th e colonial governmen t.” “ It was thissecurity of title, wh ich caused these

‘

lots to be eagerlysought after by emigrants .” The Crown also gave adeed of these lands to an English company, which eh

deavored to maintain its claim in the English court ofchancery, and the suit was brou ght to an end only bythe Revolutionary war.This land was surveyed and divided by Cadwallader

Colden, Surveyor-General and Lieutenant Governor of

THE EARLY HISTORY or AMENIA . 7

New York,who was one of th e Commissioners . Another ofth e Comm issioners was Gilbert Willett . They becameowners of some of th e land . T h e Oblong lots

,included

in Amen ia, were numbers 43 to 72 .

Th e name Oblong,”

—at first applied to the wh oletract— became after a few years limited to that valleyin Amen ia, of six or seven miles in extent, now AmeniaUn ion and South Amenia .

Th e history of this con troversy is this . In 1664,it

was agreed between th e two colon ies that the boundaryline sh ould run from a certain poin t on Long IslandSou nd no? th-nor tIz-west to the Massachusetts line bothparties then u nderstanding that this line would be parallel to th e Hud son River

,and twen ty miles from it

,

which was th e acknowledged limit of the two colonies .Th is was when the whole country north of Long IslandSound was an unknown land

,and there was great mis

conception of th e points of the compass for this d irection would lead to the Hudson River belowWest Poin t .When this error, which both parties recogni zed, was

made apparen t, it was agreed to rectify i t. But th epeople who had settled on lands defined by that boundary very earnestly desired to retain th elr civil connection with th e Connecticut colony i t was thereforeagreed by that colony to cede to NewYork an equ i valent

in territorial exten t,equ al to th e present towns of

Greenwich , Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien ,an area

12 miles by 8 acres .Th e agreement was completed and su bscribed by

th e Commissioners at Dover* on the 14th of May, 1 731 ,after the entire survey had been made by them

, and

th e monumen ts set up .

Dover is spoken of by th e Comm is s ioners in their rep o i ‘

as a v l ll age, the only oneon

t

th e

dwest S l de cf the Oblong and Ridgefield and New In .i i . A “

. the on ly v illages on th eeas SI e.


The survey was made by runn ing a random linefrom a given poin t to th e Massachusetts’ boundary and

th e true boundary between New York and Connecticutwas found bv perpendicular surveys from this randomline . This accounts for th e fact that the monument s,which mark the boundary line between th e two states,are not in a true line, which has excited a vexatious controversy for so many years and is not even yet settled .

*

T h e Governor of Connecticut, in h is recent mess age, called th e attention of th eLegislature to thi s subject.

ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY.

There was not an unbroken forest here when th efirst settlers came as the fires of th e Indians, in their

pursu it of game, had destroyed the timber on the drylands

, except a few isolated specimens of oak, whitewood

,and wild cherry, some of which attained great

size . On the plains there were scattered small oaks ,wh ich had sprung up after th e fires

,and by th e creeks ,

and in wet lands,there were large button-wood

and black-ash trees and all th e streams were overhungwith a mass of alders and willows . The mountains, i thas been said, were covered with a less dense growthof wood than at presen t . It is evi dent that in th e valleys, th e white wood or tulip tree

,and the wild cherry

h ave given place to other trees, as the elm and that onth e mountains, th e chestnut has greatly increased . T h e

mountains, being burned over also by th e Indians , wereso bare, that the wild deer were plainly seen from th e

valleys below.

10 THE EARLY HISTORY or AMENIA.

There were but few of th e largewild an imals only

few deer, and an occasional otter in t he creeks, andve ry rarely a wolf.The principal stream ,

called in Dover, th e Ten

Mile River,”

and . l n Amenia, th e Oblong River,

”

was called by the Indians the W eebu took,*

and itslargest tributary from th e west in this town was calledby them the These streams were stockedwith herring, and were frequen ted by great numbers ofminks, and were th e resort and breeding place of wildducks .

W eebu took s ign ified Beau tiful Hun ting Ground .

’ Th is i s th e in terpretationgiven by E un ice Mauwee, grand-daughter of the Ch ief, G ideon Mauwee, of th e Scatacooktribe of Ind ian s , in Ken t, Conn . I t was shewh o attained th e age of 102 years .

1' T h e Indian word Wassai c i s understood to S ign ify “D ifli cu lt , or requ iring hard

labor, perhaps on accoun t of th e difficu lty of acces s to th e stream in its rocky chasm . In

1703, i t was wr i tten W ash i ack . T h e v illage ofWassaic was s o called in 1843 .

THE INDIANS .

When the firs t settlers came, they found severalscattered remnants of th e Pequot Ind iansfi“ who hadtheir hunting grounds up and down these valleys .

They had a village in th e northeast part of th e town,

on th e west side of Indian Pond, called W equ agnoch ,

a settlemen t called Ch ecomico ,near Pine Plains

,and at

Scatacook,in Kent, Conn , there was a considerable

tribe. There was constant intercourse between thesedifferent settlemen ts, and frequen t migrations from one

to th e other .

The remarkable labors of th e Moravian missionariesamong these Indians began in 1 740 , and were attendedwith very eviden t success, but th e missi onaries were soannoyed, and their people , by th e officers of th e coloni al governmen t that in a very few years they weredriven out of th e state t These worthy christian laborers were charged with being Jesuits, and emissaries of

That they were Pequots i s generally accep ted, on th e authori ty of th e accura teh i s torian Trumbul l .

1 T hese exiles wen t first to Beth lehem Pei 'ri under the friendly care of th e Brethren and thence to Canada.

12 THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA .

the French,a most odious and unreasonable imputation .

It may be some palliation of this excessive jealousy,

that th e missionaries Were foreigners,and that this was

a period of ou r country’s h is tory when the French in

Canada were sending their emissaries— especially th e

Jesu its— to the Indian s on ou r n orthern borders to excite them against th e English and th e colon ies thoughthere is no reason now to believe that th e influence ofthese em i ssaries extended to the scattered and feeblebands of Indians in this part of th e state . It shouldbe noted also that it was no t by th e local authorities

,

that th e missionaries were disturbed, for they were heldin high esteem by their English neighbors .

*

There was not only no outbreak here between th eIndians and th e whites, but they lived in perfect friendship

,and th e rights of th e Indians were fai thfully

guarded by th e stronger and more sagacious party .

After th e Ch ristian Indians had been driven out bythe state, th e S catacooks of Connecticut con tinued theirannual excursion s through th e valleys of Amen ia til lafter the beginning of th e presen t cen tury , and un ti lthe las t remnan t of the tr ibe h ad sunk in to id lenessand intox icat ion t

After th e dispersion of th e Indians , one of th e Moravian missionaries— R ev . Joseph Powell— min isteredto a congregation of th e early settlers at th e stationin Amen ia, near Indian Pond, where h e died in 1 774 ,

He was buried there, with some of his people, on th efield of his labors, in th e burying ground of th e brethren

,near their house of worship . Here also t he monu

A v alu able and pleas ing h is tory of these Moravian m is s ionaries was prepared byR ev . Sheldon D avrs in 1858 , t h e original manu script Journal ort h emiss ionaries h avmg thenrecentl y been dis covered in th e his tori cal arch ives of th e Brethren at Bethlehem .

1 A t a p lace by th e r iver, called th e Nook , near S ou th Amen ia, th e Indian s wereaccu stomed to hold their noi sy p ow-wows . There were a few Indian W igwams near th eoutlet of Sw i ft’ s Pond .

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FIRST SETTLEMENTS .

MR . SACKETT .

Mr. Richard Sackett* was here several years beforeany other settlemen t was made, though the preciseyear when h e brought his family is no t known . Th e

place now known as th e “ Steel Works,”

on th e Wassaiccreek and. th e Harlem Railroad, was th e place where h emade his settlemen t, which is said to have been previou s to 1 711 . In th e Colonial Records, we read“ March 11

, 1 703, Richard Sackett petitioned government for license to purchase (of th e Indians) a tract ofland in Dutchess coun ty

,east of Hudson ’s river

,called

W ash iack.

”Oct . 20

,1 703, License granted .

”Nov .

2,1 704,Patent to Richard Sackett Co . for said land,

contain ing about acres, or thereabouts .” April

10,1 706, Patent to Sampson Boughton Co . for a trac t

of land j oin ing on north side of above patent, and extending eagt to th e colony line of Conn . and W aant i

nunk river,and north to th e manor of Livingston .

”

*'

He I s cal led by trad ition “ Cap tain ” Sackett, bu t in all the old publ ic documents , heis ment ioned as ‘ Mr.

” Sac ek tt .

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA. 15

Mr . Sackett was a resident of New York city,when

h e obtained th e license and paten t of 1703 and 1 704 . In

1 711 and 1 712 , h e was one of the commissioners withMr . Robert Livingston , in settling th e Palatines

,at

East Camp, or Germantown . This occupied so much

of these two years, that h e could no t have Spent muchof his time at his new home at W ash iack.

T he paten t of 1704 acres,or thereabouts

must have been covered by the Great Nine Partners ’

Gran t, which was made May 2 7 , 1697, making Mr .Sackett

'

s subsequent title invalid .

Th e paten t of April 10, 1 706, to Sampson Boughton

Co . ,was that of Little Nin e Partners, and Mr . Sackett

was one of th e n ine .

In 1 726, Mr. Sackett made application to th e Con

necticu t Legislature for license to purchase of the Indians a tract of land in th e west part of th e town ofSharon . But his petition was den ied , though repeatedseveral times .

He was never able to main tain his title to any of theOblong lots, nor could his heirs , though his son— D r

John Sackett— attempted, in 1 750, under th e gran t ofacres, to hold some of these lands against Lieu t .

Gov . Golden and others .*

Mr . Sackett died 1 746, and was buried on th e hill,not far from his place of residence ,

in a little cemetery,

now greatly neglected . There is no stone to mark his

graveflL

He had three son s and two daugh ters .;t To his son ,

D r. John Sackett,h e gave

,by his will

,th e homestead,

Lot No . 45 of th e Oh 'ong, which was nearMr. Sackett s place, was al lotted to Gov .Colden ,wh o made th e survey of th e Oblong, and was given by him to his son , A lexanderColden ,who, in 1750 , re-surveyed lots 45, and 46.

1 Barnabas Paine, E sq . says in hi s manuscrip t that h e had several t imes vi s ited th egrave ofMr . Sackett i n that p lace, bu t now no s tone can be found therewhich iden tifies th egrave.

I T h e ch i l dren ofMr. Sackett wereR ich ard, John , Jos iah Crego,Mary and CatherineT h e las t of th e family that left here grand son s ofMr. Sackett,wen t to R ennselaer Co .


orch ardfi“and meadows

,and improved lands , and also

his books .1‘ To his son Richard , h e gave two hundredacres of land

,above his equal share, “ as being his

eldest son . These bequests o f land Show Mr . Sackett’s

Own estimate o f his titles,some of which

,at least, proved

to be empty.

It may be supposed , that Mr . Sacke t t, being muchassociated w i th Mr. Livingston ,

and observing his success in acquiring a large landed es tate, was en couragedto enter u pon a S imilar course . There i s nothing . h ow

ever,in th e history of these transactions th at appears

unworthy of an honorable man . Go v . Hun ter,in 1 71 2 .

-to th e Home Governmen t— commends Mr . Sackett ’sdiligence and industry

,

”and says , and h e well d e

serves a reward , to which I humbly recommend him .

”

At th e time Mr . Sackett established h is family in

Amen ia,there was no t another white family in th e

coun ty nearer than Poughkeepsie , and th e whole population of Dutchess cou nty

,then including Putn am,

was

on ly about 450 . There was no settlemen t in the ad

j oining county of L i tchfield , in Connecticut, except inWoodbury and New Milfordd;

THE WINEGARS .

In 1 724, Capt . Garret Winegar came to AmeniaUnion from th e East Camp

,now Germantown , in Co

lumbia county,on th e Hudson river . His father, U l

drick W inegar,then seventy-two years old, came with

him . They were of those Palatines, who were forcedout

,destitute, from th eir native country, in th e in terior

Th i s orchard was celebrated long after.—One tree i s left.

1 These books , s ome ofwh ich were on subjects of National H istory, sh ow th e l i terarydi sposition of th e family. Theywere presen ted by D r . John Sackett to D r . Reuben A llerton ,

and after his death they were taken by his son , D r. Cornel iu s A llerton .

1: There were twelve fam il ies in New Milford in 1712


of Germany, out of revenge by Louis ! IV ., and were

befriended by th e English government, which gave themlands in th is new coun try, and for some time a freesubsistence .

“ T he Elec tor Palatine,th e head of th e

l ittle state , having deserted th e cause of France ,orders

were given to lay waste his coun try . The cruel edictwas fearfully executed ; two cities and twenty-five villages were reduced to ashes

,and their innocen t inh ab i

tan ts were left to perish by cold and hunger.

”

A par t of these people, brought to America by th efriendly ships of Great Britain , were placed at th eCamp, where six thousand acres of land were divided totheir several families, and they were supplied also bythe royal boun ty of Queen Anne* with presen t subsistence, with horses and cattle, and all those implementswhich are necessary for th e successful prosecution oftheir future industries . It was expecte d that therewould be some return to the government for thesefavors in th e produc t ion by th e colon ists of naval stores

,

hemp,tar

,pitch

,and pine lumber .

T h e six thou sand acres now th e town of Germantown was a part of th e manor of Livingston

,and was

released to th e Crown by Mr . Livingston for this pu rpose, that i t might be th e home of these refugees .Many of th e Palatines were located in other parts ofth e statefr

This settlement was made in 1 710 and in 1 724,Mr .

Winegar, probably through some discon ten t, was led toseek a home in this unoccupied region . T he cause of

One of th e royal gifts of ! ueen Anne was a church for their worsh ip .1 T h e Upper Palat inate was a small s tate, lying on both s ides of th e Rh ine, having

Manheim for i ts capital . In 1674, t h e whole of i t was rendered almos t desolate by th etroops of Lou i s ! IV . ,

who h ad no better motive th an that th e invaded provmce wa 8 part of‘th e empire W i th which h e was then at war

,an d next , that th e inhabitan ts were almos t all

Protes tan ts . A bou t I’alat i nes,wh o had sought refuge i n E ngland, were sen t toAmerica by t h e Brit i sh government i n 1710 . They were mostly German Reformed, orPresbyterian .

18 THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENI A .

disconten t was this . T he colon ists complained of u nreasonable exaction upon their productive industry

,and

that th e royal boun ty of food was unjustly withheldfrom them by the commissioners

,some of whom seem

to have made too great a profit out of these subsidies .It is a reasonable conjecture that Mr . Winegar’s

acquain tance with Mr . Sackett at the Camp may haveled h im to come to Amenia

,and it is eviden t th at h e

was actuated by a spirit of independence and enterprise,

and no t by any desire for speculation .

He entered upon land at Amenia Un ion— where h ebuilt his house— wi thout any title, except from th e In

dians, and afterwards, when the Oblong was confirmedto New York

,and surveyed ,

he received a title from th eproprietor of those lots at a reasona b le price .

In 1 739 Mr . Winegar pu rchased of Dan iel Jackson300 or 400 acres of land in Connecticut

,adjoin ing his

own , and removed in to th e house built by Mr . Jacksonon th e h ill above th e site of th e brick factory, thus becoming a citizen of th e town of Sharon . He h ad builta mill at a place above th e presen t mill sites of th eplace

,which was the first mill in this part of th e coun

ty, and th e first building erected in th e town of Sharon .

T h e character of Mr. Winegar for honesty was proverbial . He lived on th e most friendly terms wi th th eIndians

,by whom h e was regarded with th e greatest re

spect,and whom h e several times defended against the

injustice of their white ne ighbors and it is said that h egave his children charge at his death that they shouldnever allow th e Indian s to go from their doors in wan tof food .

It is worthy of note that there is no men tion of any

block-house, or any defense agai nst th e Indians, put upby these early settlers, notwithstanding they were su r

TE E EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA . 19

rounded by large numbers of them, and were isolatedfor many years from any other white settlement s whilein Li tchfield , between 1 720 and 1 730, there were fivehouses surrounded by palisades, and “

soldiers werestationed there to gu ard the inhabitants while at workand at worship on the Sabbath .

Mr . Winegar died in 1 755 in th e midst of his enterprises . He made provision in his will for his fourteenchildren

,and also made special and kind mention of his

servant Tom .

” His father, Uldrick Winegar, h addied in 1754

,aged 102 years . Their graves and those

of many of their descendants,are in that well—chosen

burial place near Amenia Un ion .

Hendrick Winegar,* th e oldest son of Capt. Garret,had his residence for several years near the foot of thewest mountain

,and in 1 761 h e built th e large stone and

brick house a short d istance west of Amenia Union .

He was th e ancestor of th e families of that name inKen t

,Conn .

Uldrick, another son ,was th e grandfather of Capt.

Samuel Snyder Winegar, Conrad Winegar,another

son ofGarret, was a magistrate and pu blic-spirited citi z en in the town . His an tique and quain t-looking Oldhouse

,which stood near the rocks in rear of Samuel

Hitchcock’s house, remained till about 1820 . His onlyson , Gerh ard , or Garret, th e grandfather of Garret H. ,

was an officer in th e Revolution,and died before the

close of th e war . Esq. Winegar held a valuable tract ofland

,extending from the highest poin t of th e east

moun tain to that of th e west . Th e wife of Capt . JohnBoyd and th e wife of Col . Colbe Chamberlain weredaughters of E sq. Winegar .

One of th e daughters of Capt . Garrett Winegar was

He was called Ensign Winegar.

*3


th e wife of Nicholas Row, Sen . Another was the wife

of D r . Thomas Young, who will be men tioned again .

Lieutenan t Samuel Snyder, who was one of th e Palatines

,and came here with them ,

was th e brother-in-lawof Garret W inegar, and his wife was the daughter ofHenry Nase .

His house was where John D . Barnum lives . He

was 95 years old when h e died in 1808 . Here is nowplanted by him

,the first pear tree grown in this

part of th e land .

THE ROWS .

Th e Rows were also Germans, and are supposed tohave been also of the Palatines, and to have come tothis place soon after th eWinegars and previous to 1 731 .

See old map of Nine Partners .Johannes Rou h d ied in 1 768

,aged 72 years . He

lived where th e brick house now stands built by HenryMorehouse . He was the father of Nicholas, Sen .

, and

William . Th e sons of Nicholas, Sen ., were Nicholas ,

Jun .,Samuel, Conrad, and Garrett The sons of Nich

olas, Ju n .

,were William , Nicholas, John ,

'Henry, Conrad

, and Gilbert. His wife was th e daugh ter of JohnLovel . Of th e other sons of Nicholas, Sen . , Conradlived where Walter Sherman does, and Garret built th eHilliard house

,a stone building where Shadrack Sher

man ’s house now stands.Th e old houses

,built by these early settlers, of which

there were as many as seven or eight near Amen iaUn ion

,at the beginning of th e present century, were

objects of special interest.

One of th e daughters of Nich olas Row, Sen .,was th e wife of Benjamin Delamater.Another was the W ife of Capt . W il l iam Young .



Philip, Sen ., resided, who was th e father ofHenry, John ,

Ph ilip, Corneiliu s, an dWilliam . Henry,the oldest of

these, being a tory, emigrated to Nova Sco t ia after theRevolutionary war . The others occu pied four contiguous farms in that beautiful agricu ltural district .

K NICKERBACKER AND V ANDUSEN.

It appears that these families were in th e south partof th e town at an early period and also that Jacob V anCamp and Derrick Du tcher were in the north part ofDover

,previous to 1 731 fl’

There is a deed,written in the Dutch

,or Holland

language, of th e date of 1 711 , from Herman Knickerbacker to Corneiliu s Kn ickerbacker . I t appears to beof land occupied by V an Dusen

,and th e house of V an

Dusen was a short distance east of Geo . T . Beld ing ’sIt was about 1 720

,th at V an Dusen , Kn ickerbacker

and Dutcher purchased land in Salisbury of th e Ind ians,

supposing, as h as been said,th at their purchases were

within th e provin ce of New York .

T h e first h ighway from Salisbury was from W ea

tague throu gh Lakeville, Ore Hill, Sharon Valley,Sackett’s Farm to D overfi showing the in tercourse ofthese Dutch families .

DELAMATERS .

Capt . Isaac Delamater settled where Samuel Sherman lives previous to 1 740 . He came here from Kingston , Ulster county , wh ere the family had lived severalgenerations . His fath er was Jacob

,and his grand

father was Claude,who came to America after 1645 and

before 1650 .

T h e old map shows th e hou ses of Jacob V an Camp and Derrick Dutcher near Plymouth H i ll .

H istorical Addres s of Hon . Samuel Church , of Sali sbury, Connn at the CentennialAnniversary of that town in 1841 .

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA.

They were Huguenots, and like a large portion ofthat excellen t people, made their escape from persecution* in France, first to Holland , and thence to America,and thus became iden tified in that country and in thiswith th e Hollanders . It is a striking fact, and exempli

fied in the subsequen t ch apters of this history, tha t somany of the early settlers of Amen ia were brought hereby their love of freedom .

Capt . Delamater died April th e very dayafter the battle of Lex ington ,t and was buried in hisown field . He was also a magistrate, and though manyquaint things were said and done by this excentric justice

,l i is in tegrity and good sense were never questioned .

It is an accredited tradition that in judicial cases of importance h e consulted h is wife

,wh o some times sat bv

his side in court .

He had been cap tain of a companv of colon ialtroops in th e French war

,and took special in ter

est in military affairs,calling th e young men of h is

district toge ther to his own hou se for instruction in

military ar t .

Capt . Delamater was a large land owner, and gavefarms to his sons . Martin remained at the homestead .

Benjamin built a stone house north of Horace Reed ’s .John (B onnes) built a m i ll at Leed sville— th e first in thetown— and also, in 1 761 , h e built the brick h ou se,I nowthe property of Myron B . Ben ton . Isaac

,Ju n .

,lived

on th e farm now owned by Newton Reed, where h ebuilt a house

,which is now a part of th e residence of

th e present owner,and which is now th e oldest build

ing in th e town of Amenia . Mr . Delamater owned also

I t i s recorded in hi story that French Protes tants sufi‘

ercd martyrdom, andwere driven from the k ingdom .

1' T h e hou se buil t by Mr. Delamater was of bri ck, and was burned about 1819 .

I J . M . D . seen on the face of the wal l stands for John and Mary Delamater.


th e farm of Edward E . Cline . John Delamater,of

Leedsville,was th e grandfather of John Delamater,

M . D .,LL . D .

,who was a distinguished physician and

surgeon, and who was professor in th e medical institutions of Pittsfield ,Mass ,

Fairfield ,N. Y ., and Cleveland,

Ohio . He died in Cleveland in There were sev

eral other physicians in th e family tBesides the families named above, all of whom emi

gra ted from the North river, there was one Baltus Lot,who lived awh ile in th e north part of this town and on

the public lands in th e town of Sharon,and Adam

Showerman is men tioned as being about the same time

in that part of the town . These were supposed to havecome also from near th e Hudson River .

There were several Du tch families settled on the

Housatonic in Salisbury previous to this, and before anysettlemen ts were made there by th e New Englanders .

D r. John Delamater’s mother was E l izabeth Dorr, a descendan t ofWilliam Hyde .of Norwwh , Conn . , and con sequen tly is n amed i n that remarkable genealogy, prepared byth e late Chancellor Reuben Hyde Walworth .

t E x -Gov . Todd, of Oh io, i s a descendant of John Delamater. E x -Presui entColfax and Wm . M . Evarts are also members of this family .

FIRST SETTLERS FROM NEW ENGLAND .

T he first important immigration to these new land sfrom other parts of New York and from New Englandwas no t till ab out 1 740 . The Nine Partners’ land hadbeen in market for some time and was sold at first inrather lai ge tracts . Th e Oblong lots were brought intomarket in 1 781 and attracted many immigrants fromConnecticut and Massachusetts .From 1 740 to 1 750 , th e immigration was evidently

large, from th e significan t fact that about 1750 the popu lation was sufficien t to encourage th e people to institute public worship in three different places .In th e j ournal of Abraham Reinke, one of th e Mo

ravian missionaries who preached at “ N ine Partnersand Oblong

,

”in 1753, h e says

“ The people camehere five years ago in expectation of bettering their fortunes by th e purchase of cheap farms, and for the


enjoymen t of religious liberty .

” 96 This shows that byhis estimate a considerable portion of th e people camehere about 1 748 . It also gives a significan t in timationof th e spirit of th e people in their jealous regard fortheir religious rights . T he opportunity to obtain fruitful lands at a moderate price was very attractive . Th e

better lands Were easily cleared and brought immediate returns . Th e title was assured, and th e price wasmoderatedAmong th e earliest of the first settlers from New

England were Hezekiah King and Abraham Paine . Itwas somewhat previous to 1 740

,as Mr . King died in

1740, and h e had bu ilt a house a little west of Amen i aUn ion

,afterward called th e Karner House

,

”

The house was bu ilt in th e style prevailing in Connect icu t at that time , high in fron t and very low in th e

rear . T he t imber was whi t e wo od,wh ich indica ted its

early s tructure ,as all th e oldes t h ouses were of tha t

t imberl Abraham Paine , of Can terbury, set tled in th enorthern part of th e town ,

as it is,and also Joshua

Paine,Jeho shapha t Holmes , and Elisha Cleaveland .

About 1 740 Nathan“

Mead came from Horse Neck,or

Greenwich , that hive of th e Meads,

and purchasedwhere th e fam ily are still in possession . StephenKinney from New Preston iset t ledfin 1 740 near the Separate ,

so called , where his family is still represen ted .

from ,illhfilll

‘

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llmciiii iii?2331531133to accommodate th e church frame to th e Cl V l l s tate. These historic facts had so much connect ion W ith th e settlement of Amen ia that W i thou t s ome reference to them we shall misunderstand one of th e es senti al elemen t s in th e s omal his tory of th is peop le.

1 T h e price of new land then was a dollar and a half per acre. In 1760 i t was abou ttwo dollars and a half per acre.

1 A large number of th e firs t hou ses bu i l t by settlers were commodiou s s tructure's,

and of pleasmg architectural appearan ce. Therewere but few log hou ses . T h ewhitewoodwas v ei y su i table ior bui lding. T h e t wo—stOI y house bui l t by Jed i d iah Bump was covereden tirely W ith S iding from one tree.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA . 2 7

Elisha Adams was th e first residen t in that part of th etown called Adams

’ Mi lls,and the first in th e west part

of Lo t 32 of Nine PartnersBenj amin Hollister from Sharon settled in 1 741 near

Leedsville, where some of his family are in possession .

Joel Gillett came to th e Delavergne farm in 1 742 .

Gardiner Gillet t lived north of where Hiram Coop

er’

s residence now is,and on a road now discon tinued .

Abner Gillett was here previous to 1 748 , probably as

early as 1 742 . He owned th e farm of Geo . D . James .About 1 742 , Capt . Stephen Hopkins,

‘

OfHartford,Conn .

,

purchased a tract of land about a mile north of th epresen t village of Amen ia , and including th e land on

which th e Old R ed Mee t ing House stood . He pu r

chased th e nor th half of lo t 3 2 of N ine Partners, and

appears to have purchased th e right of Isaac V anernom

who had bought of John Salisbury . There had beensome improvements made by Salisbu ry.

” i s StephenHopkin ’s house was southwest o f th e old buryingground, and was reached in late vears by a lane, andwas the residence awhile of Henry Ingraham .

Thomas Wheeler came from Woodbury in 1 749 tolands which are held now by his descendan ts . Danieland Job Porter came also that year . Simeon Dakinfrom near Boston removed to the north p art o f th etown about 1 750 , and also Bezaleel Rudd, and Spencer .

Captain David Collin settled on th e place now occu

pied by his great grandson . John Pennoyer removedfrom Sharon in 1 749 to Oblong lot, No . 62 . In th e

northwes t part of th e town Abraham Boeke e,from New

York,settled on land purchased by his father in 1 699 ,

two years after th e purchase of t he Nine Partners ’ tract

T h e dwel ling of Sal isbury is shown on th e old map , mentioned on page 21 , thoughth e location 18 not perfectly exact, nor th e name . This Sali sbury was probably th e one re

teri ed to in Judge Church ’s H i s torical A ddres s . He was not a land—owner there nor here.


—land now held by his descendan t, Phenix Bockee .

Elij ah Kinne was on a farm north of th e City . It wasa little later than t hese dates that Isaac Smith and

others immigrated to that part of th e town .

In the southeast part of the town,some of th e ear

liest settlers were Davis, Rowley, Bump , Cady, K napp,

Woolsey,W oolcott, Mitchell, Curtis, Lot li rop ,

Judson ,

Delano,Doty

,and others

,of whom a part were known

there on ly a few years . Those families from Connect icut and the Cape . who became th e permanen t residen ts,th e Barlows

,Swifts

,Chamberlain s, Reeds, Clines ,

Hitchcocks,and others migrated to their new homes

here in th e years from 1 755 to 1 769 .

These and th e early settlers in th e other parts of th etown

,will be noticed in a subsequen t part of this work,

and it will be more conven ien t for th e compiler and for

th e reader to have th e names of th e families arrangedin alphabetical order, rather than in th e order of the

date of their settlemen t .T he formative period of th e town

’s history was an

eventful epoch also in th e history of th e colony . Th e popu lation of th e colony was rapidly increasing. In 1 746, th e

population of Du tchess coun ty was and in 1 756, i twas and th e population of th e colony of New

York wasThere was war between England and France, and

great activity in th e military service, and th e men were

trained by their service in th e French war for that na

t ional s truggle which was to come . There was also agreat agitation of religious questions arising out of th e

revival of religion under th e min istry of Edwards and

others .


30 THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA.

institutions of religion ,an d united in that form of chris

tian fellowship,which indicated their love of freedom ,

and which was th e model of th e then future free insti tutions of ou r coun try .

T he Republican form of ecclesiastical governmen t,adopted by so many of th e churches in America , was

not patterned after th e form of th e civil governmen t ofthis coun try, which is much more recen t . It seemsmore prop er to say that th e form of church governmen twas th e model of ou r c ivi l government . It is consisten twith th e teachings of history to say that th e adoptionof a republican form of ecclesiastic al government by thechurches at th e time of th e Reformation in France,Switz erland ,

Holland,Scotland

,and partly in England , pre

pared th e people for ch oosmg th e same form of governmen t for th e S tate .

T h e germ of American liberty was in th e Reformation .

THE RED MEETING HOUSE .

Th e territory afterwards in cluded in the town ofA men ia

,being geographically d ivided into th ree prin

cipal v alleys, there were three congregations organ izedfor public worsh ip , and th ey were all of th e Same order

,

Presbyterianfitor Congregational . Th e oldest— so far

as recorded— of these churches was organize d near thecentre of th e town

,when in May, 1 748 ,Abraham PaineiL

and Gardiner Gillett entered into covenan t,T heLord

having thus begun to build his church here . In July,

1 749 ,‘Sixteen souls more were gathered into chu rch

fellowship .

” They called th e name of th e church Car

mel, in th e Nine Partners . In 1 750, June 14,Abraham

T h e term Presbyteri an was then often app l ied to a Congregational church .

f Mr. Pa ine speaks of h imself as Abraham Paine, son of E l isha Paine, of Canterbury, Conn .

” Thei c i s an accoun t of these families in their alphabetical order.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA . 31 .

Paine,Ju n .

,was set apart to th e work of th e min istry

by solemn ordination by laying on th e hands of th ePresbytery, and by th e power of th e Holy Ghost .

”T h e

ecc lesiastical form of th e church and the doctrines wereagreeable to those in New England at that time

,and

the council called for th e installation of Mr . Paine werefrom Connecticut . The day of th e ordination was observed with solemn fastin on

Mr. Paine does no t seem to have been educated inearly life for the min istry, bu t was invested with th e

offi ce to meet the immediate wan ts of a n ewly-organizedcongregation . One of th e council at his ordination washis father’s brother, Rev . Solomon Paine

,an eminent

minister of Can terbury, Conn .

This society was ‘instituted at a time when in NewEngland th e churches were agitated by th e fiery zeal of

th e NewLights ,”

or“ S eparatists,

”and Mr. Paine , and

a considerable portion of his church , were affected withtheir notions

,which led to some d isagreemen t between

them and th e more conservative of th e congrega tion .

T he Separatists were earnest and conscientious,but

some times u ncharitable and cen sorious,and their disci

pline took cognizance of th e though ts of th e heart,

which were con fessed to one another, and were madeth e subjec t o f censure and rebukeflr

Th e Separatists, or New Ligh ts, differed from otherCongregationalists

,no t in thei r doctr ines ; but in their

claim to have obtained a new spiritual L ight, and tohave reached a higher Spiritual Life. A spirit of u ncharitablen ess was indulged, and they were accustomed

Another brother of h i s father had been an em inen t lawyer, and became a Separaf i s t min ister, and subjected himself for his irregu larit ies in preaching to persecution .

1' T h e record of a conned of th e church of th e R ed Meeting Hou se, at wh ich severalmembers were subjected to di scipl ine for variou s offences , especially for t h e indu lgenceof an An tinomian and party spiri t,” says This solemn assembly con tinued from W ednes

day morn ing i n solemn fasting, lamen tati on , prayer and confes s ion ,from th e ris ing of th e

morn ing ti ll th e stars appeai ed on Saturday n ight . "


to denounce min isters and others as An tinomian,and

unregenerated , and wh en their v iews did no t govern ina church

,they were disposed to sep arate themselves

from it . In their ecclesiastical government,th e Sepa

rat ist held to that Independency, which th e Pilgrimscontended for when they fled from England to Hollandprevious to their coming over to Plymouth .

T h e differences between th e Pilgrims and the P uritan s

,which existed at that time, had no t died out in

New England in 1 740 ,and scarcely now.

They both held fast to th e doctrines of th e Th irtyNine Ar ticles . But th e Puritans

,hoping for th e purify

ing of th e English church , did not sever their connection with it till th ey left for their new home .

T he Separatis ts were also restive under th e subjection in New England of th e church to the c ivil au th ority

,and were prepared to give a high tone to their

independency in their new home , and to assert th erights of individuals and th e equality of all men t

Th e house of worship— which was always known as

th e “ R ed Meeting House ”-was built in 1 758 . Th e

place where it stood is a triangle at th e convergence, of

the highways about a mile northeast of th e village ofAmen ia, and near th e burying ground . It was a building nearly square, two stories, with a gallery on threesides , and was seated with square pews .

This house was bu iltl and afterwards repaired partly

Th is i s th e time when they received th e n ame of Separatis t s .1 One of th e King‘ s ofli cers, i n pursu i t of a deserter here, i n 1761 , s ays of th e peop le

in Nine Partners that “ they are levellers from princlple (Doc. H i s t. , I II . ,I T h e number of those wh o con tribu tod to th e bu i lding of th e church was seven ty—n ine

and th e amoun t con tribu ted was £350-17 17 . Of those who contribu ted to th is workthese names W ill be recogn ized S tephen Hopkin s i s firs t Wi th th e sum of £20 . JoshuaPaine, E li a s Sh eV i lear, and Benjamin Benedict gave each £13 . Samuel Jedidiah Dewey and Roswel l Hopkin s , each £10 . O ther n ames are Robert Freeman , A brahamPaine, Ju n Joab Cook , Grover Buel, Jonathan Shephard , J un . , Samuel Shepard, NathanMead, Jnu . , S imeon Cook , John King, T ri strain Brown . NoahHOpk i i i s. Michael Hopkin s,Ichabod Paine, Sen .

, Ichabod Paine, Ju n Weigh t Hopkin s,Job Mead, Peter Sh ev i lear,Barnabas Paine, Robert Willson , Joh i i

“

Hi ii dman , and Joh n B i 'unson . Their paper i s datedN ine Partners , Feb . 6, 1758 T h e S i te for th is edifice was presented by Capt . StephenHopkins,wh o also gave th e firs t l and for th e Burying Gi ound .

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA . 33

by th e contributions of those no t stric tly adheren ts of

the Congregational polity, and was occupied harmon

iou sly in later years by th e Congregationalists, Baptists

and Methodists .In 1 770, in June, (or July, according to Sedgwick

’sHistory), th e celebrated Wh itefield preached in the Red

Meeting House to th e crowds that followed him from all

th e coun try round .

Elder Elijah Wood, a Baptist, was th e acceptableminister of th e congrega tion several years .

In th e early par t of th e presen t cen tury , th e threedenominations gradually became separated , and eachsustained a separate organ ization .

There is no record of a settled pastor after Mr .

Paine for many years,but there appears to have been

preaching,stated and occasional , and th e ordinances

were administered by pastors of other churches andstated supplies, and therewere eviden tly a large numberof excellent Christian men connected with this congre

gation .

There was mu ch distraction at th e time of the Revolu tionary war

,and afterwards some degree of dissen

sion in drawing th e lines between th e adherents of thischurch and th e o ther denominations .

In 1811 this church was connected with th e Associated Presbytery of Westchester, and in 1815 with th ePresbytery of North River .

In 1815,Rev . Joel Osborn became pastor of the

church , and gave to i t his services one-third of th e time ,which indicates th e feebleness to which it was reduced .

From that period there has been a gradual improvement .

THE BAPTIST CHURCH .

The Bap tist Church in Amenia at its organization in


1 790, appears to have been composed partly of somefrom th e old Congregational church and of others whoh ad been educated in th e Baptist system

,and who had

been members of th e Baptist c hurch in

On the 5th of May 1 790, three brethren related theirexperience and S igned th e covenan t, and on th e 12 thand 19 th three more brethren and several sisters un itedwith them .

”

i‘ On th e 2d of June they chose Reverend

Elijah Wood for their minister, who, on the 2 7th ofJune,

“admin istered th e ord inance of th e Lord’s supper

to them for th e first time .

”

Mr . Wood had min istered to th e Congregationalchurch some years, and it does no t appear that hischange of views and his un iting himself with this new

organization sundered the fraternal relations with th ebrethren of th e old church , or lessened their confidencein him . W e find him invited by th e Society

’s commit

tee— Deacon Sh evalier ,a Baptis t , and Deacon Hebard

,

a Congregationalist— to con tinue his min istrations .

The jealousy and strife ,which after this disturbed th e

two churches, is happily now almost forgotten .

R ev . Elijah Wood was a native of Norwich,Conn .

,

and wen t in early life to Benn ington , V t , where h e waslicensed to preach in a Congregational church . FromBenn ington h e came to Amenia before th e Revolu tionary war and was counted among th e active patriots .He was not a scholar, but was a good studen t and an

acceptable preacher . He was sometimes laid aside byill health , but continued to m i n i ster till his death in

T h e Bapt is t church in Northeast, at Spen cer ’s Corners , was in sti tu ted in 1751 byE lder S imon Dakin , Who came from th e v i cmi ty of B oston ,wh ere h e had suffered someannoyance for his rel igiou s pr inciples . Thi s was th e second Baptis t church organ ized inth e colony of New York , and became one of th e most importan t . I t was sus tained by t h el arge and influential family OI‘ W inch ell

’

s, farmers of en terpri se and wealth .

T h e names of th ose wh o firs t con st itu ted th e church were James Palmer, DavidA llerton , R ichard Sh eval i er, Reuben Hebbard , Jonathan Shepherd, Samuel Paine, DeborahPalmer, Jennet t A l lerton , E l izabe th Holmes , Thankfu l Hebbai d , and Mary Cook . JamesPalmer was l icen sed to preach i n 1791 .


1810 . At the ordination of Mr . Wood,R ev . James

Mann ing, D . D . ,Presiden t of Brown Un iversity

,

preached th e sermon .

In 1816,th is church was greatly revived and en larged

as were th e other churches abou t that time . Rev . Mr .

Peck, who was their min ister two years, seems to h avebeen th e successful agen t in the prosperity of the church

,

though in h is memorandum of it h e manifests his greatmodesty in referring only very slightly to himself.Rev . John Mason Peck was born in Litchfield

,South

Farms,and was trained in the school of industry and

frugality . He came to Amen ia when a young man,and

although his education was limited , he engaged in

teaching awhile and then became minister of th e churchIn 181

°

6,li e

‘ wen t to Philadelphia to complete his education

,an d thence to Missouri, where he spent th e remain

d er of his life in preaching and in the cause of highereducation .

A pleasing memorial of this excellen t man has beenprepared by R ev . Rufu s Babcock

,D . D .

THE METHODISTS .

The Methodist Socie ty of Amenia,which was one of

th e earliest in this part of th e coun try,seems to have

been formed in 1 788 , and numbered eight members ,*

David Rundall being the only male member for severalyears . The first sermon was preached in a privatehouse, half a mile east of Sharon Station , and

'

th e firsthymn sung begins

“ Thou Judge of Quick and Dead .

”

The meetings were held in that house,or in the neighborhood , till th e settlers from Rhode Island removedhere —Wardwell, th e Ingrahams and others— when a

These were David Rundall . hi s W ife Catherine, h i s W ife’s mother, Ruth Powers,W ife of Peter, Ru th Powers ,wife of Frederi ck , and three others .*5


society was formed n ear th e O ld R ed Meeting House .

It is understood th at Mr . Garrettson formed the firstclass but h e did no t preach th e first sermon . CaptainAllen Wardwell was th e first class leader .

T h e late R ev . D r. Wakely cal led that part of Amen iaTh e O ld Methodist Classic Ground . T h e importan tposition of this socie ty at that time may be in ferredfrom th e fact that th e NewYork Annual Conference washeld here . It was in 1808 , and th e sessions were heldin the Round Top School House

,about half a mile

northeast of th e Old Red Meeting House . R ev . BishopAsbury presided and occupi ed th e teacher ’s ch airfi

' with

the school desk before him ,and the preachers sat upon

th e benches of th e pupils . O n th e Sabbath,the Con fer

ence occupied th e Red Meeting House,when the Bishop

preached .

One hundred and three preach ers were sta tio ned at

Con ference . T en were admitted on trial,one of whom

was William Jewett. Fifteen were con tinued on trial ;one of these was Phineas Rice . Eight were o rdainedelders, and one of th e ei ght was Samuel Cochran .

Some families entertained ten or twelve of th e

preachers , and their horses, and th e people were sogratified with th e Conference th at a committee waitedon them with thanks for holding th e session there, and

invited them to come again .

T he first church edifice of this society was built in181 2

,a short distance east of th e residence then of

Thomas Ingraham ,which remained until 1845. T he

New York Con ference met in this church in 1813, whenBishops Asbury and McK endree presided .

At this Conference eighty-six preachers were stat ioned— th e Conference having been divided since 1808 .

Th is chair is preserved as a commemorative rel ic,



presen t church edifice .

* That so many were readyto enter i nto covenan t that year

,and that they

had a name by which they were commonly known,

”

indicate tha t this was a re-organ ization,or a more per

feet organization of a Christian commun ity .

In 1812 , July 7, “ Th e Society unan imously votedthat th e church give th e Rev. Eli Hydei

L a call topreach at the City Meeting-house, Smi thfield Society,with this proviso

,that all proper means be used to

unite th e two societies, and that th e meetings be proportioned at th e two houses as they shall agree .

The other Socie ty ”and House ”

refer to th eSeparateMeeting-house and Society,i which was locatedabout two miles south of th e City .

There are no records whatever or tradition thatshows the origin of that society

,or of its name, or th e

reason of any division among this excellent Christianpeople . Perhaps th e cause of any strife is now happilyforgotten .

It is a reasonable theory,suggested by th e name

,

and by a history! of th e times, that a part of th e churchat th e City became Separatists

,or New Lights

, and

withdrew from th e old church , in th e early history ofth e congregation , when so many of th e churches wereagitated by that schism . Th e conservative and safersen timents”of th e congregation seems to have prevail

derm2$332?sermon by that wonderfu l preacher, George Wh itefield . Every place where h e min i s teredseems to have been remembered, and all wh o heard his discourse rehearsed i t to the gene

L

ration s that came after them .

1“ Rev . E li Hyde came to th is chu rch from Oxford, Chenango coun ty, N . Y . R ev . Job

Swift, D .D . , afterwards of Benn ington , V t . , was m in i ster at th e City in 1782 .

I T h e Separate Meeting-hou se— now stand ing— was buil t some years before th e revolu t ionary war. R ev . John Cornwall, of Cornwall , Conn . , res ided near and mi ni s tered theremany years .

See Con temporary h istory.There were in th e C ity congregations a number of fam il ies from Long Island and

other places in New York,wh o h ad enjoyed a h igh degree of cu l ture and rel igiou s instruct ion , and wh o were ev i den tly on th emoderate s ide in those ag i tations .


ed pretty soon , and harmony was evidently restored, aswe find the leading men of both parties associated inth e interest s of th e. congregations many years previousto the final organ ic u nion ,

THE OBLONG SOCIETY.

Th e congregation in th e Oblong valley was made uppartly by families living in Connecticu t , and th e houseof worsh ip was at Amen ia Un ion

,and situated about

twenty yards west of th e colony line, on th e hill west ofE . Lambert’s store, o n land now owned by Wm . Blith

man . It was a capacious building, with pews and galleries, and with doors on three sides . The roof hadfour Sides

,which terminated at th e top in an ornamen tal

cupola,which gave it th e name of the Round Top

Meeting House It was built previous to andin 1 786 it was taken down and another erected nearwhere th e presen t church edifice of the Society isSituated .

The first preaching there, of which there is any

record,was by a Moravian missionary, as we have seen

in 1 753 . He was a German , and was na turally attachedto th e families of h is countrymen settled here .

The congregation was composed of people of verydiverse origin

,Palatines

,Huguenots

,and Puritans, and

their pastor was from Scotland . But a common desirefor the ordinances of th e. gospel soon u nited them i nto awell-organized society.

The church was organized Dec . 11 , 1759,iL and the

Rev . Ebenezer Knibloe was installed pastor.

Deacon Ebenezer Haml in , who d ied in 1755, bequeathed twenty-four pounds . oldtenor, towards th e worsh ip of God in th e neighborhood where I dwell, v iz . , in or near thenew-erected meeting-house, on th e Oblong, near Sharon (Sedgwick’s

i' In 1859 t h e congregation of Sou th Amen ia held a memorial servi ce in commemora

tion of the one hundreth ann iversary, and a h is torical di scour se was read.


He was from Scotland, and received his education inEdinburgh , and came to this country in 1 752 . It waswhile h e was a studen t of theology at Edinburgh

,that

th e leaders inScotland made that last bold strike in’

beh alf

of Prince Edward th e Pretender, and th e battle ofPreston Plains was fought, which decided the fate ofthat unhappy prince . Mr . Kn ibloe, with some otheryoung men

,went out to witness th e battle, and thus ex

cited th e susp i c i on o i th e governmen t that h e sympath iz ed with th e party of th e Prince , which made itdesirable for h im to flee away .

Mr. K nibloe came to th e Oblong from PhilipsManor

,in Pu tnam county, near Mr. Ken t’s Parish .

”

He was pastor of th e church at Oblong about sixteen years, and th e breach of this relation was broughtabout in consequence of his apparen t loyalty to the

British King at th e beginning of th e Revolutionary war— ah attitude entirely contrary to that of th e Presbyterian ministers of that day. Bu t th e evidence is clearlyagainst the suspicion,

thfough his conscient ious regardto duty

,from which h e could not be driven , and per

haps some tenacity of will , led him to pray in publicfor th e King and Royal family, which was sufficient inthat excited condition of th e public mind to raiseth e charge of disloyalty to his adop ted coun try . Itafterward became the conviction of the people that Mr .

Kn ibloe was not disloyal, and from abou t th e end ofth e war till th e close of his life in 1 785, h e continu ed topreach to th e acceptan ce of th e peopleHr

In answer to th e charge of disloyalty, Mr . Knibloe

says,When I read th e min isterial charge, it was to go

T h e son ofMr .K ent , and th e father of ChancellorK en t,was a friend ofM r. K n ibloe .

1' T h e house which M r. K n ibloe bu i lt for h imself i s abou t half a mile southeast ofAmen ia Un ion . H i s son s were John , Willi am , E l ijah , and Joseph . T h e three fir s t nameddi ed i n t he great ep idemic of 1812 . Mr. S tephen K n i bloe i s his grandson .


forth and preach th e gospel of Jesu s Christ. I look on

i t that governmen t has nothing to do in the province of

religion but to guard th e empire of truth from everypersecu tion ,

and leave th e kingdom of Heaven to its

own Lord .

”I am conscious to myself that I have ever

wished and pray ed for th e welfare,happiness, liberty,

and charter privileges of th e British colonies in NorthAmerica ; likewise for th e deliverance of ou r distressedbrethren in Boston, and a lso for success to attend thearmamen t and military preparations, which have alreadygone forth and are about to march in defense of Amer "

ican liberty .

”

This appears to have been written about th e time ofthe battle of Bunker Hill, when all eyes were turnedtowards Boston .

While th e British army held New York,th e distin

gu ish ed D r . John Rodgers , pastor of a Presbyterianchurch there, left th e city, as many others did, and founda safe retreat in th e countryfi

“ He came here in 1 778 ,and ministered to the people about two years . He wasregarded with th e highest respec t by the people and hisinfluence was in th e highest degree salutary . His biograph er says that through the influ ences of his min istrations in Amenia the congregation was greatly benefitted and improved and th e former harmony restored .

”

Th e Rev . D r . Livingston also spen t some time with thecongregation during the war ; also Rev . David R osefl

L

wh o was pastor of a Presbyterian church on LongIsland .

Th e names of about a hundred and S ixty heads offamilies are recorded, most of whom were parish ionersi

There was nomore s afe retreat than th is , nor any p l ace in th e l and more completely ou t of the way of th e dis turbing effects of th e war.

1 R ev . David Rose was a graduate of Yale.

I T he firs t deacon s in Mr. Kn ibloe‘

s church were Samuel Waterman and MeltiahLothrop . Thomas Delano was elected in 1772 , and Moses Barlow i n 1775.


of Mr . Knibloe, which indicates a population* nearlyequal to the present in the same limits . Th e numberof marriages by Mr . K n ibloe was 320

,and the number

of bapt isms was 581— delightful testimon ies to th e

prosperity of th at generation .

These are some of the members of Mr . Knibloe s

church z— Alexander Spencer, Ellis Doty, Joseph Chamberlain ,

and his wife , Abigail, Meltiah Lothrop,Danie l

Rowley, Silas Belding, and his wife, Samuel Waterman,

and his wife, Isaac Hamlin ,

"

and his wife,Benjamin

Hollister, and wife, Benj amin Hollister, Ju n ., and wife,

Dan iel Castle, and wife, Ezra Reed , and wife, JamesReed, Elijah Reed ,

and wife, Reuben Swift, Steph enWarren

,and wife, Colbe Chamberlain , and wife . m es

BaHOw,and wife, E liakim Reed, and wife

, , MargaretChamberlain ,Priscilla Lovel, Jed iah Bumpas, HannahSwift

,Dorcas Belding, Joanna Barlow, and many

others .Th e leading members of th e Society in 1 786, when

they removed and rebuilt the church edifice, and in 1 796,

when they purchased th e Parsonage Farmfirwere these,James Reed, Moses Barlow, Walter Lothrop, StephenWarren

,Gideon Castle, Eliakim Reed, Elisha Barlow,

Seth Swift, Moses Swift, Benjamin Delamater, ConradRow

,Samuel Row, Nicholas Row , Oliver Kellogg

,

E lisha Tobey, Ebenezer Hatch , Reuben Allerton ,John

Cline, John Boyd,Amariah Winchester, Amariah HitchcOck, Sylvanus Nye,William Young, Samuel Hi tchcock,Ezekiel Sackett, Martin Delamater, Gershom Reed,Jedid iah Bump, and Azariah Judson .

The condition of the congregation,so many years,

T h epopulation ofAmen ia in 1790 was

i In 1796 the Society bought th e farm of E l iphalet Everett— th e west part of J . H .

Cline s farm— 160 acres , for a parsonage, for wh ich they paid £660— $l 650 .


affirms the tes timony to th e value of a pious,learned

,

and stable ministry.

After th e clo se of th e Revolution , there was evi

dently a decline of religion in this congregation,as in

th e others of th e town ,and perhaps from the same

causes, which seemed to be the distract-ing spirit of th etimes and not till about 1812 was there th e beginningof a return to prosperity in these churches .*

After the death of Mr . K n ibloe, several ministers

were employed temporarily, and for short periods, till

1802 , when Rev . John Barnet, A . M . , was engaged foran indefinite time, and his ministry was accep tably con

tinned till 1812, the time of his service including 1802and 1812 .

Mr . Barnet was a native of S imsbu ry,Conn . , and was a

graduate of Yale College , wh ere he was , after th e war,a tutor . He was a thorough scholar, and a succesfulteacher of young men , many of whom h e had under hisinstruction while in Amen iafr

In the revolutionary war,Mr . Barnet was a chaplain,

first in Col . Hopkin ’s regiment of Amenia at Saratoga,and afterward s in the regular army

,where he was highly

regarded by Washington .

Mr . Barnet’s preaching was didactic and logical,

rather than practical instructive to a certain class, butnot effective with th e many. It was unfortunate for th econgregation th at h e did not consider himself th eir pastor,

‘but on ly a hired preacher, and,consequently

,h e

omitted those services of a pastor, which are essentialto the highest succe ss of th e ministry .

creas;J’

Liifints

a ilfs$33? 53333233?particu larly of th e native laboring people, whose place i s fil led by foreigners of oppo si terelig iou s attachmen ts.

f Among th e pup i ls ofMr. Barnet in Amen ia were Abraham Boekee, A llen Holl ister,Perlee, F ish , and several son s of Hon Ambrose Spencer . M rs. Barnet was 9. S i s ter ofJudge Spencer. M r. Barnet d ied at t he residence of h is son in Greene coun ty in 1837 .

*6


A Fourth of July oration by Mr. Barnet in 1812 waspublished also a funeral sermon for Ambrose Spencer,Jun .

,who was killed at th e battle of Lundy’s Lane .

Capt . Spencer had been a pupil ofMr . Barnet in Amen ia,and though very young, was aid to Gen . Brown whenmortally wounded July 25, 1814.

In 1815,th e scattered remains of th e old church

were gathered together, and with considerable additionsa reorganization was effected . R ev . Joel Osborn becamethe pastor

, and from that time there has been a regularsuccession of settled pastors to the present .



several years at Amen ia Un ion ,where h e h ad married a

daughter of Capt . Garret Winegar .

Hon . Egbert Benson,in a Memoir read before th e

N . Y. Historical Societyfi" in 1816, says “ Vermon t

green momztains— and th e town of Amenia— p leasantowe their names to th e fancy of Young

,th e poet. I

mean th e American,and no t th e English Young. He

had a peculiar facility in making English words fromLatin ones .”

Dr. Young was the au thor of a poemd’ called The

Conquest of Quebec ,”in which h e gives an account of

th e provincial troops that were sent from th e severaltowns to aid in that campaign under Wolfe

,which re

su lted in th e capture of Quebec . He was th e friend ofEthan Allen

,i;who resided in Salisbury,! Conn ., while

th e former resided in Amenia,and they were often to

ge ther, and they were also in sympathy in th e violenceof their patriotism and in their religious unbelief .

FIRST TOWN MEETING.

The record of th e first town meeting is this Atth e Annual Town Meeting of th e Freeholders and Inhabitants of th e Precinct of Amenia

,on th e first Tues

day o i April, Anno Domin i 1762 , at th e h ou sell of Ros

P . 126, N . Y . H i s t . Collecti on , Vol . i i.1' Only a few l ines of th e poem are now known .

1 A ppendix to E arly H i story of Vermon t " s ays Of Young. He was h igh ly d i s tingu i sh ed as a philosopher, phi lan throp i st and patrio t, and for hi s eru dit ion and bri l lian cy ofimagination , D r. Young i s supposed to have died in Phi l adelphi a in 1777, leaving in America two accomp l ished daughters . A

i f ! E th an A llen was one of th e three men who bui l t th e firs t blast furnace in S al i sbury,.

[I T h e p lace of th e firs t Town Meet ing, and of th e subsequen t Town Meeti ngs formany years . was near where th e O ld Meeting Hou se s tood . T h e house of Roswell Hopkin sS tood near th e Meeting Hou se. T h e res idence of h i s father, Capt . S tephen Hopk in s , wh owas th e firs t Supervi sor, was further s outh towards th e fair grounds , and was i n lateryears reached by a lane from th e h ighway. M r. Henry Ingraham res ided th ere severalyears . T h e Totten hou se, whereW. P . Perlee l ived, was bu i l t by one of t he son s of Capt .S tephen Hopkin s . T h e Town Meeti ng was held at Capt . A bi ah Palmer’ s firs t in 1 789 . There

L was no h ighway east from Amen ia. Where th e turnp ike now run s there was a swamp .Th ere was a road runnmg east and west across th e h ill nor’th. ofiHi ram Cooper

’s . ,

J1 4 a


well Hopkins, E sq ,Michael Hopkins was chosen Clerk

of said Precinct, and Capt. Stephen Hopkin s was chosenSupervisor.

Samuel Doty and Jonathan Reynolds were chosenAssessors for th e year ensuing .

Benj amin Benedict, Abraham Paine, and MosesBarlow were chosen Overseers of th e Poor .Conrad Winegar was chosen Collector and Constable.

Samu el Shepherd, Rufus Herrick, and IchabodRogers were chosen Constables .Thomas Wolcott and Jonathan Reynolds were chosen

Pound Keepers .Captain Stephen Hopkin s and Samuel King were

chosen to take Inven tories of Intestate Estates for th eyear ensuing .

Miles Washburn ,Benjamin Benedict

,and Roswell

Hopkins were chosen Fence Viewers for th e yearensuing .

Thomas Wolcott, John'

Beebe,Joseph Pennoyer,

Philip Pi tts,Samuel Shepherd

,William Barker,William

Roberts, Edmund Perlee,Moses Harris and Job M ilkwere chosen Overseers of Highways .Also voted that a Fence, four feet and four inches

high,well-wrought and substantial

,shall be deemed

lawful ”

In 1 763,Edmund Perlee was chosen Supervisor.

In 1 764, 1 765 and 1 766, Stephen Hopkins was chosenSupervisor .

In 1767 , Edmund Perlee was chosen .

In 1768 and 1 769 , Ephraim Paine was Supervisor.In 1 770 , Abraham Boekee was chosen Moderator of

th e Town Meeting and Ephraim Paine was chosenSupervisor

,and con tinued to 1 776.

In 1 776, Silas Marsh was chosen Supervisor, and in

48 THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA'

.

1 777 and 1 778, Roswell Hopkins . In 1 779 and 1 780 ,

Dr . Joh n Chamberlain . In 1 781 , Col. Colbe Chamberlain . In I 7S2 and 1 783, Ephraim Paine . In 1 784

,

Isaac Darrow was Supervisor .

Mich ae lHopkinS was Town Clerk till 1 773, whenRoswell Hopkins was chosen and continued till 1 784.

Capt . Stephen Hopkins and Samuel King con tinuedto take Inventories of Intestate Estates for severalyears .The Justices of th e Peace— from th e Crown

,of

course— were Abraham Boka, Ephraim Paine ,Roswell

Hopkins,and Conrad Winegar .

In 1 772 , Ezra Reed, Job Milk, and Elijah Wheelerwere chosen Overseers of the Poor, and are to servefor nothing .

”

CIV IL LIST .

The following named citizens of Amenia have servedin various official positions .Ephraim Paine was Deputy to th e First New York

Provincial Congress in 1 77553“

Jacob Evertson was a Deputy to the N . Y . Provincial Congress in 1 776 .

Ephraim Paine was a delegate in Congress’r under

the Articles of Confederation in 1 784 .

Ephraim Paine was a member of the N . Y. Senatefrom Middle District in 1 779, 1 780, 1 782 , 1 784 and 1 785.

Reuben Hopkins, a native of Amen ia, was a memberof N. Y . Senate from Middle District from 1 794 to 1 797 .

Elisha Barlow was a member of N . Y . Senate fromMiddle D istricti from 1807 to 1810 .

Thi s Provincial Congress convened in New York May 23 , 1775, and adjourned Nov .4, 1775. Col . An thony Hoffma n, Gilbert L ivmgston , and R ichard Montgomery were amongth e delegates from Dutches s coun ty .

1' T h e number of delegates in that Congres s from th i s S tate were seven . Of thesewere E gbert Ben son , John Jay, the.

1: T he Middle D i strict was composed of Dutches s ,Orange, and Ul s ter counties .


Abraham Boekee was a member of N . Y . Senatefrom 1842 to 1845.

Abiah W. Palmer was a member of N . Y. Senate1868— 69 and 1872— 73 .

Edmund Perlee was a member of th e ConstitutionalConven tion of 1 801 .

Elisha Barlow was a member of th e ConstitutionalConven tion of 1821 .

MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY OE STATE OF NEW YORKFROM AMENIA.

Brinton Paine, 1 775— 81 and 1 785— 87 .

Abraham Paine 1 781— 82 .

Barnabas Paine, 1 793 .

James Boekee, 1 794.

Jacob Boekee,1 795— 97 .

Wm . Barker,1 798, 1800 .

Platt Smith,1 798— 99 .

Elisha Barlow, 1800, 1802 .

Benajah Thomp son ,1804

,1808

,1809 .

Benj amin Herrick,1806 .

V'

Cyrenu s Crosby, 1808 .

Alexander Neely, 1810— 11 .

Joel Benton,1814

,

’

15,

’

17, and’

31 .

Isaac Smith,1816.

Abraham Bockee, 1820 .

Taber Belden,1828

,

’

37 .

Joel Brown,1833 .

Henry Conklin, 1833,

’

34,

’

39 and ’

40 .

John K . Mead, 1844 .

Amos Bryant,1840 .

Walter Sherman,1845

,

’

47 .

James Hammond,1848—49 .

Wm . H . Bostwick,1854.

Abiah W. Palmer,1860 .


OTHER OFFICES HELD BY CITIZ ENS OF AMENIA .

Ephraim Paine was appointed First Judge of Dutchess county in 1778, which was also th e first appointment to the office of Judge in Dutchess county after theorganization of the governmen t of th e State of NewYork .

Abraham Boekee was appointed First Judge ofDutchess county in 1846.

Elisha Barlow was one of the Judges of the CountyCourt in 1808 .

Abraham Bockee was Member of the U . S . Congressin 1829— 31 and 1833 3 7 .

Ebenezer Nye was Surrogate of Dutchess county in1821 .

John Brush was Surrogate in 1819 .

E . M . Swift was District Attorney in 1843,and B .

Platt Carpen ter in 1858 .

Thomas N . Perry was Sheriff in 1840, and JudahSwift in 1861 .

Jacob B . Carpen ter was Presidential Elector in 1861,

Hon . W illiam H . Leonard, son of D r . Leonard

,and

a native of Amenia, was elected one of th e Judges ofth e Supreme Court in

.

1859,and was afterwards one of

t he Judges of th e Court of Appeals, and was also Commissioner of th e Cou rt of Appeals .Hon . George G . Reynolds, of Amen ia , is now

,1875,

serving as one of the Judges of th e City Court ofBrooklyn .

Hon . W illiam I . Cornwall,of Cayuga county

,son of

Eden Cornwall, and grandson of Rev . John Cornwall,has been several times Member of th e Assembly and ofth e Senate .

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR .

In th e war o f th e Revolution th e patrio tism of th ecitizen s of Amenia was expressed with promptness and

almost en tire unan imity . On th e 29 th of April 1 775,only ten days after th e ba ttle of Lexington

,a meeting

was held in th e city of New York of those ready t o

oppose th e oppressive acts of th e British governmen t .An Association was formed and a Pledge adopted

,which

was sen t for signatures in to every coun ty of th e S tate .

THE PLEDGE .

Persuaded that the salvation of th e rights and lib

ertiesi

ofAmerica depend, under God, on th e firm u n ionOf its inhabitan ts in a vigorous prosecution of th emeasures necessary for its safety

,and convinced of th e

necessity of preven ting anarchy and con fusion whichattend a dissolution of th e powers of governmen t

, W E,

th e Freemen , Freeholders, and Inhabitants of Amen ia,beinggreatly alarmed at th e avowed design of th e Ministry to raise a revenue i n America

,and Shocked by th e

*7


bloody scene now acting in Massachusetts Bay, do inth e most solemn manner resolve never to become slaves ,and do associate

,under all th e ties of religion

,honor,

and love to ou r country, to adopt and endeavor to carryin to execution whatsoever measures may be recom

mended by the Con tinen tal Congress, or resolved upon

by ou r Provincial Conven tion,for the purpose of pre

serving ou r constitution and of opposing th e severalarbitrary acts of the British Parliamen t

,until a recon

ciliation between Great Br itain and America,on consti

tu tional principles (which we most ardently desire) can

be obtained ; and that we will in all things follow th e

advice of ou r General Committee respecting th e pu r

poses aforesaid, th e preservation o i peace and goodorder and th e

osafe ty of individuals and property.

This Pledge of th e “ Association ” was presen ted toth e citizens of Amen ia for their signatures in June and

July of 1 775, by Roswell Hopkins, Samuel King, andSilas Marsh

,a committee appoin ted for that purpose,

and four hundred and twenty subscribed to the pledge,and on ly six delayed or refused to sign .

Those who persisted in refusing to S ign were JoelHarvey, Philip Row,

Samuel Dunham , Judah Swift and

Peter S lasonfii

T he qualifications in their subscription t o th e pledge

by three of th e justices of th e peace of th e town , showsa scrupulous conscientionsness rather than any wan t ofpatriotism and their regard for their oath of Office

rather gives a seriou s emphasis to their act . IsaacSmith subscribed with this limitation,

I do agree to

th e above Association so far that i t doth not interfere

Mr. Slason never accep ted th e situat ion . He l ived in S ou th Amen ia near hi sbrother-i h -law,

Cap t.Wm

.Chamberlain,

and after th e war, when th e pole was rai sed i nthat part of th e town ,

crowned W ith th e cap of liberty, Mr. S lason was brough t to i t W i th .

a

rope around h i s neck and requ ired to confes s h is loyalty. He kneeled down before th i semblem of th e nation ‘ s freedom and cried ou t Great art th ou , O Baal . ’



to a decision by th e prompt and vigorous measures o fth e Committee . It became eviden t

,however, th at a

most remarkable unan imity of loyal sen timen t pre ’ailedin th e town

,while in many oth er towns of th e cou n ty a

very large number were Open ly hostile to th e action ofth e patriots .

A rude prison , constructed of logs , was used for con

fin ing tories and any other suspected persons . Thiswas built about half a mile east of th e present village ofAmenia* and north of where th e turnpike now runs .

Th e remains of this prison were there a few years ago .

THE CENTENNIAL .

Th e returning Cen tennial of each importan t ac t inth e great drama of th e Revolution is now celebratedwith appropriate ceremon ies

,that there may be kept

alive in th e minds of all th e people a jus t es timate ofth e work of their fathers

,and of th e principles wh ich

were asserted at such a cost . I t is now j ust a hundredyears since th e citizens of Amen ia by this subscriptionput their hand to th e work of the Revolu tion and we

are, at this distance of time, better able to estimate t h e

character of that important act .I t is certain that a very large proportion of those

wh o j oined in th e pledge were well informed on th e

questions at issue and knew th e seriou s natnre of theiraction . This is in timated by th e religious regard th eyhad to their oaths . Th e civil and religions r ights ofindividuals and th e limits of state authorityhad beensubject s of their study all their livesqL Persecution had

T h e reader wi ll bear in mimd that there was no V i l lage where Amen ia now i s no

h ighwaywhere th e turnpike now runs , and that th e central pl ace of publ ic busmess of th etown was by th e R ed Meeting House, near th e burying ground .

1 i t i s recommended by th e General A ssembly of th e Presbyterian Church that a me

morial d i scourse be preached in every Presbyterian church on t h e‘ Sabbath preceding th e

4th of Ju ly. 1876, to preserve th e his tory of th at ch u rch , and to commemorate th e patrio ti smof th e m inisters and chris tian peop le Of th e Revolution . A large number of these membersof th e patri otic league were members of th e chri sti an societies ofth e town .


driven some of them from homes in th e old country,and

others, who had come ou t of New England,had been

educated to a very jealous sense of personal responsibili ty and personal rights . They were no t led in h asteby any political faction to rash excitemen t . They u n

d erstood th e cen tral truth of th e Revolution,

—lhd t i t

was not rebell ion, bu t a p osi tive assertion of r ights which

they had always j u stly held , and a determined resistance to

newly-imposed bonds.

It is no t any less to the honor of their patrioti c V i rt ue. and courage that they did no t foresee th e greatnessof th e end of this incipien t act ; that, wi th the greatleaders of th e people, in th e beginning of th e contest,“ They builded wiser than they knew.

”

ROLL OF HONOR .

Names of the Ci ti z ens of Amenia who subscribed the

Pledge.

The names of those patriotic citizens, wh o did no t

hesitate to show their hands in this seriou s crisis,are

fortunately preserved and are recorded now,as a fit

memorial of their loyal ty and cou rage, which will beregarded wi th just pride by those who recogn ize in

these names those of their ancestors and relatives, andformer citizens of Amenia .

More than three h undred of these n ames are men

t ioned in other records of the town,or are known as

belonging to families then residen ts . One hundred andfifty of these,

or more,were independent

,separa te land

holders .

Several o f the patriots must have been absent .Ephraim Paine was attending th e Provincial Congress .Benj amin and Waight Hopkins had already gone with


Ethan Allen . Reuben Hopkins,Jacob Boekee and

some others, who are known to have been true , are no t

mentioned .

T h e number of names given with those added whichare known ,

making 435, gives some in timation of th epopulation of the town at that time .

T he presen t Spelling of th e names of familiesadopted, as the manuscript in many cases seems tohave been very uncertain .

Thomas Ackley,Abraham Adams,Abraham Adams, Jnu .

,

Elisha Adams,Jonas Adams ,Joseph Adams,William Adams,Jonathan Allerton ,James A llen ,

James Allsworth , Jun .,

William Allswor th ,.

Solomon Armstrong,Cornelius Atherton,

Benj amin Atwater,John Atwater,Levi Atwater,Joseph Backu s,James Barker,William Barker,Elisha Barlow,

Moses Barlow,

Nathan Barlow,

Henry Barnes,Josiah Barnes,James Barnet,John Barnet,John Barnet, Jun .

,

Dan iel Barry,John Barton ,

John Barry,

James Beadle,

Elisha Beardsley,

John Benedict,Samuel Benedict

,

John Benson ,

Joseph Benson,

Ebenezer Besse,Elias Besse,Ephraim Besse

,

James Betts,

Dan iel Blakely,Wi lliam Blun t,Abraham Bockee

,

John Boyd ,

Jared Brace,

Edmund Bramhall,

David Brewster,Ellis Briggs

,

Benj amin Brown,

David Brown,

Moses Brown ,

Zedekiah Brown,

John Bru san,Jun .

,

ohn Bronson,

Lemuel Brush,

Richard Brush,

William Brush,

Ezra Bryan,

Israel Buck,

Jonathan‘ Buck,


Zadock Buck,Grover Buel ,Grover Buel, Ju n .

,

Jedidiah Bump,

Eli Burton ,

, Jsaac Burton ,

Isaac Burton, Ju n . ,

Judah BurtonEbenezer Carter

,

Dan iel Carter,

Gideon Castle,

Colbe Chamberlain .

Joh n Chamberlain,

W illiam Chamberlain,

Increase Child,James Chapman

,

Jeremiah ChapmanEzra Cleaveland

,

Josiah Cleaveland,

John Cline,Peter Cline,Led . Ch .

David Collin , ,

John Collin,

Barnabas Cole,John Connor,Joab Cook

,

Simeon Cook,

Simeon Cook,Jnu .

,

Nathan iel Cook,

Samuel Cornwall,Thomas Cornwall,William Cornwall

,

John Coe,Jabez Crippen ,Benj amin Crippen ,Benj amin Crofu t,Enoch Crosby

,

John Curry,

Elij ah Darley,Mah ew D agget, Jun .,

” Caleb Dakin ,

Isaac Darrow,

Daniel Davidson,

Squire Davis,Isaac Delamater,John Delamater

,

Martin Delamater,

Benj amin Delano,

Stephen Delano,

Joseph Delavergne,Lewis Delavergne

,

ohn Denny, Jun .,

Abraham Denton,

Benj amin Denton,

John Den ton ,

Ben jamin Denton , Jun . ,

Joel Denton ,

Gabriel Dickinson,

Versal D ickinson ,

James Dickson ,

Samuel Dodge,John Dunham ,

Nehemiah Dunham ,

Samuel Dunham , Jr .,

Seth Dunham ,

Benjamin Doty,David Doty .

Joseph Doty,Reuben Doty,Jacob Dorman ,

John Douglass,John Drake,Jacob Elliot,Arch ibald Farr,John Farr,Albert Finch

,

William Finch,

Jonathan Fish ,Asa Fort,Ephraim Ford,James Ford

,


John Ford,

William Ford,

Nathaniel FosterJoseph Fowler,Benj amin Fowler,Elijah Freeman,

John Freeman ,

Robert Freeman,Robert Freeman , Jun .

,

Abraham French,

John Furman,

Thomas Ganong,

Dan iel Garnsey,John Garnsey,John Gates,Nathan iel Gates, Jun .

,

Gerard Gates,Stephen Gates,Nathaniel Gates,Abner Gillett,David Gillett,Gardner Gillett

,

Joseph Gillett,Moses Gillett,Barnabas Gillett,Eleazar Gillson ,

Jedu th aw. Gray ,Joseph Gray,Samuel Gray

,

Joseph Green ,

Timothy Green ,

William Hall,

Richard Hamilton ,

Jason Hammond,Sylvester Handly

,

Dan iel Harvey,Obed Harvey,Obed Harvey, Jun .

,

Moses Harris, Ju n .

,

Samuel Hart,

Abel Hebard ,

James Hebard,Robert Hebard,Benjamin Herrick,Benj amin Herrick

, Jun .

Samuel Herrick,Stephen Herrick ,Stephen Herrick, Ju n .

,

Nathan Herrick,Rufus Herrick,William Herrick

,

Abner Holmes,

E lijah Holmes,Benj amin Holmes

,

Ichabod HolmesJohn Holmes

,

Samuel Holmes,

Benj amin Hollister,

Samuel Hollister.

Noah Hopkins,

Roswell Hopkins,

Asa Hudson,

William Hun t, ,

Jonathan Hun ter,John Howard

,

Samuel Jarvis,

Benj amin Johns,

Ezekiel Joh nson,

Pau l Johnson,

Robert Johnson,

Samuel Johnse n,

Eben Johnson,

John Jones ,Sam uel Jud sonHeath Kelly

,

Simeon Kelsey,

Joel Ketchum,

Samuel King,Samuel King, Jun .

,

William KingElijah Kinney,Ebenezer Kinney

,


Jesse Kinney,Stephen Kinney,William Knapp ,

Zadock Knapp ,

Ebenezer Larabe ,

R ichard Larabe,Joshua Lasell ,Dan iel Lamb ,David Lamb ,

Isaac Lamb ,

T hiel Lamb ,

Ebenezer LatimerElisha Latimer

,

Thomas Lawrence,

Theophilus Lockwood ,Walter Lothrop ,

John Lloyd,

I saac Marks,

Isaiah MarshSilas Marsh

,

William McCu llo ugh .

Dan iel May,

Levi Mahew,

Thaddeus Mann ing .

Obed Matthews ,Benjam in Maxam

,

John McNeil ,Ebenezer Mayo,Elijah Mayo ,James Mead ,

John Mead ,J—

Oh Mead,

King Mead ,Isaiah Mead ,John Mears

,

Abel Merch an t,

John Merchan t,

Job Milk ,

Wright Ml llman,

William Mitchell,Eleazer Morton ,

William Moulton ,

Thomas Morey,

John Mord ack,

Peter Morse,

Abial Mott,

Thomas Mygat t ,Sylvanus Nye ,

Levi Orton,

John Osborn ,

Isaac Osborn,

Josiah Osborn ,

Owen Osterhout .James Palmer

,

Samue l Palmer,

Nathan Palmer,Abraham Paine

,

Barnabas P‘

aine,

Brinton Paine,

David Paine,

Elihu Paine,Barnabas Paine

,Ju n .

Ichabod Paine,

Ich abod Paine,Ju n .

,

James Paine,

Joseph Pennoyer ,

Amos Pennoyer,Ebenezer Park

,

Isaac Park,

Edmund Perlee,

Robert Patrick,

Jonathan Pike,

Nathanie l Pinney,Jacob Powers ,Joest Powers ,Peter Probasco

,

Th orn Pu dney,

Monmouth Purdy,

Elij ah Porter,David Randle

,

Eliakim Reed , Ju nE lijah Reed ,


Ezra Reed,Gershom Reed,James Reed ,Silas Reed,Simeon Reed,Jacob Reynolds .Stephen Reynolds,William Reynolds,Ichabod Rodgers,Ichabod Rodgers, Jun .

,

William Roberts,Silas Roe,Elij ah Roe

,

Garnet Row,

Nicholas Row,

James B . Row,

Bezaleel Rudd,Z ebulon Rudd

,

David Rundall,

Jared Rundall,

Ezra St. John,

Ezekiel Sackett,

John Sackett,John Sackett

,Jnu .,

Richard Sackett,Benjamin Sage,Daniel Sage

,

Rufus Seaton,

Abner Shevalier,

Elias Shevalier,

Peter Shevalier,Richard Shevalier,Solomon Sh evalier,Asahel Sherwood

,

Parrock SherwoodDan iel Shepard

,

Israel Shepard,Jonathan Shepard ,Samuel Shepard,John Seymour,John Scott,

Lemuel Shurtlifi'

,

Abraham Slocum,

George Sornborger,Frederick Sornborger,Samuel Southworth

,

Elijah Smith,

Elijah Smith,Jnu . ,

Isaac Sm ith,Jesse Smith, Jun .

,

Platt Smith,

Thomas Smith ,James Smith , Jnu . ,

Joseph Smith,

Samuel Snyder,Jacob Spicer,Nathan Spicer

,

Elnathan Spalding,Andrew Stevens,Elkanah Stevens,Lot Swift

,

Na thaniel Swift,Samuel Swift

,

Seth Swift,

Bowers Slason,

Matthew Stevens,Joshua Talent

,

John Thayer,

Beriah Thomas,Thomas Thomas ,Samuel Thompson,Samuel Thompson, Jun.

Ezra Thornton,

Joel Thurston ,John Thurston ,Timothy Tillson ,Sh uhal Tyler,John Torner,Seeley Trowbridge,

x David Tru esdel,\Adin Tubs,Benjamin Vann ,



captain of one of th e compan ies,addressed his men .

Fellow soldiers,the time is come to give up ou r liber

ties, or defend them with th e musket . As many of youas are willing to march with me to the scene of action ,

I

will lead,and I will exp ose myself to all th e d angers

and hardships that you will be exposed to . If any of

yo u are unwilling to go you are dismissed . It is addedthat no t one left th e ranks .

SO LDIERS IN THE REV OLUTIONARY W AR .

These are names of th etained

,who were residents

Noah Wheeler ,Simeon Cook

,

Benj amin Hopkin s .

Waight'Hopkin s ,Roswell Hopkins ,Reuben Hopkins .

Noah Hopkins ,Brin ton Paine,Jacob Boekee,Jabez F lin t

,

Jacob Powers,Job Mead ,Job Mead

,Ju n .

,

Moses Harris,William Barker

,

Alex . Spencer, Ju n . ,

Dan iel C . Bartlett,William Blun t

,

David Rundall,

Roger Southerland ,Increase Child

,

Joseph Mitchell,

James Reed,f Judah Burton,

Silas Reed ,

soldiers , as far as now asoero i Amen ia

Simeon Reed ,

Samuel R eed ,Edmund PerleeNathan ConklinLemu el Hatch

,

O liver Hatch ,

Peter Cline,

Jesse Brush ,Elisha BarlowJames Bump

,

Conrad Chamberlain,

Samuel Gray,

William ChamberlainGarre t Winegar

,

Mackey ,Jones Knapp ,

Silas Ray,Barz illa Andrews

,

Isaac Osborn ,

Dr . Reuben Allerton,

Ephraim Lord ,Bezaleel Rud d ,Joshua Newman ,

Isaac Delamater,Colbe Chamberlain

,


David Doty ,John Bened ict,Joel Den ton ,

John Congdon ,

Warum Kingsley ,Stephen Edget ,Amos Pennoyer ,Jesse Pennoyer,

OFFICERS IN THE WAR .

Th e following notices of officers, who were residen tsof Amenia, are comp iled from the Calendar of B istorical Manuscripts, relating to th e W ar of th e Revolution .

July 27 , 1 775, Waight Hopkins was chosen Captain

in a regiment of Green Moun tain Boys u nder ColonelEthan Allen and Lieut .-Col . Seth Warner .

Oct . 1 7 , 1 775,— Th e date of commissions to offi cersin Regimen t No . 6

,of Militia of Dutchess coun ty .

David Southerland , Colonel ,Roswell Hopkin s

,Lieutenan t-Colonel ,

Simeon Cook , MajorRichard D e Cantelon , Major ,Joseph Carpenter, Adjutan t,Dan iel Shepherd , Quarter-master,

F i rst Company .

William Barker,Capt Joshua Laselle, Capt . ,

Job Mead,1 st Lieut .

,Colbe Chamberlain ,

1 Lt .

,

Noah Hopkins, 2d Lieut . , David Doty

,2d Lieut . ,

Abner Gillett,Ensign

,Elisha Barlow

,Ensign

,

Second Company Fou r th Company.

Brin ton Paine, Capt . , Robert Freeman,Capt .

,

Samuel Waters,1 st Lieut .

,Elijah Smith, 1st Lieut.,

Ichabod Holmes, 2d Liet . , Ezra S t . John ,2d Lieut . ,

Jesse Brush , Ensign ,Noah Wheeler, Ensign ,

Major D e Can telon was no t a residen t of Am en ia,

bu t was probably a professional soldier , appointed to

Jedu th an Gray,Asa Hollister,Samuel BenedictJohn Ford

,

Reuben Doty,

Samuel Waters,William Brush

,

Ichabod Holmes .


that regiment for the instruction of the officers and menin the military art.Oct . 1 7, 1775,— Minute Men of Amenia Precinct .

Regimeut under Col. John Van Ness.

James Reed, Major, Increase Child, CaptReuben Hopkins, Adj ., John Lloyd, l st Lieut .,J0 8 . Ketcham,

Jr. , Q . M. , W illiam Blunt, 2d Lieut .,Josiah Morse

,Ensign .

1775.— Officers in Gen . Clinton’s Brigade recom

mended to h im for the standing army.

Col . Graham,Capt. Brinton Paine, Lieut. Hopkins,

1775.— Rufus Herrick was appointed Captain in a

Du tchess county regiment.Apr. 12 , 1 776.

— Officers in Col. James Clinton’s regimcnt of Continentals,

Increase Child, Capt ., John Lloyd, Lieut1776.

— Petition of Officers of Col . Graham’

s regiment

for the appointment of Dr. Abraham Teller to be Sur

geon of said regiment — Morris Graham, Col RoswellHopkins, Lieut .-COL, Wm . Barker, Maj , Reuben Hopkins, Adj ., Elisha Barlow, Capt., Stephen Edget, Lieut . ,Samuel Waters, Lieut ., and others.

Oct ., 1776.— Capt . Edget resigns on account of

sickness.

Dec. 14, 1 776.— In Committee of Arrangements,

Resolved , that Brinton Paine, Esq., be appointed Capt .

in Col . Dubois’

regiment.MOUNT INDEPENDENCE, Nov . 15, 1776.

—LieutenantDavid Doty has obtained leave of Major-Gen . Gatesto j oin the N. Y. troops ; we recommend the said Do ty

as a worthy officer and one th at has performed h is duty

to universal satisfaction as Adjutant and Lieutenant.NATHANIEL BUEL, CO!JOHN SEDGWICK, Maj.


Jan .,1777 .

— Ofii cers recommended for commissionsaccording to their rank in Col. Humphrey

’

s regiment.

Brinton Paine,Major, Edmund Perlee, l st Lieut.,Wm . Chamberlain ,Capt . , Reuben Doty, 2 Lieut.,John McNeil, l st Lieut ., David Doty, Adj

Jan . 7, 1777.— Capt James Reed petitions to be re

lieved from the operation of the ru les adopted in regardto the transportation of flour to the army at the

eastward . Capt . Reed was Assistant Commissary, andwas directed to send flour for the army at the east

, bu t

was hindered by a certain embargo on flour crossingthe colony line . Judah Swift d isregarded these ordersof. the Provincial authorities, and sent, in the night,two sleigh loads of flour to the east by way of K ent.On the Kent road

,near the colony line, the drivers en

countered th e guard, whom they overpowered . Theobject of this embargo seems to have been to preventthe flour going in to the hands of the enemy. Trustypersons received a permit to go with the flour to cer

tain points . and in several cases these persons agreedto bring back a load of salt.Feb . 7— 15

,1776.

— Account of guns delivered to

Capt. Child and appraised by Dr. Chamberlain . C .

Marsh and C . Atherton .

1 Gun of Stephen Warren,Levi Orton

,

Jed ld l ah Bump,u Benjamin Delano,Peter Cline,Nathan Barlow

,

Benjamin Hall,Sylvanus Nye,Gershom Reed ,Eliakim Reed ,

Pistol of Joseph Pennoyer,I—lH

I—li-i

l—‘LHHHl—fi


This is taken from a memorandum found among thepapers of Capt . James Reed . It shows the means to

which Congress was obliged to resort to furn ish fire

arms to th e soldiers .April 2 2 , 1777 .

—Major Brinton Paine is a prisonerin New York , and is no t like to come out . T he

Major tells th e guards that h e is in a just cause,and if

h e gets out h e will figh t them aga in .

’

April , 1 777 .—Th e lead mines at Great Nine Part

ners were explored, with some success , by an agen t ofCongress . Th e lead mines were on th e lands of Mr .

Fish,in Amen ia, and were explored at th e suggestion of

Moses Harris . T h e Commissioners appointed by the

Provincial Congress were Jonathan Landon and Ezra

Thompson ,and they employed JOh n McD onald , an e x

perienced miner from Scotland , who appears to havecome over for th e purpose o f aiding the people in the irstruggle . T h e work at these m ines was con tinu edthrough the season , as reported by Mr . McD o nald wi thgreat particularity . This John McDonald was of th edistinguished Highland family of McD onald s

,and h is

wife was th e grand -daughter of Rob Ro y MacGregor,

one of Walter Scott’s heroes . Mr . McD onald was th e

father of John McD onald ,well known in Dutch ess

county fifty years ago,and of Miss Anne McD onald

,

very extensively known on account of h er position in

Judge Smith’s family . She came with h er father from

Scotland when a child,and on accoun t of th e reduction

of his estate by th e worthlessness of continental mon ey,sh e entered Judge Smith

’s family as a governess . AfterJudge Smith ’s death , Sh e became

,through h er remark

able executive ability, almost th e sole manager of hislarge estate, and con tinued in that position many years .*

T h eMcDonald bury ing ground is i n t h e north-wes t corner of old Amenia, near th eRow S chool-house, Where th e several generation s of th e family in th i s coun try are buried

—r

l

V

THE EARLY HI STORY OF AMENIA. 67

Sept . 1 7 , 1 776.

— Corneliu s Atherton petitions th e N .

Y. Council for th e exemption from military duty of hisworkman ,

engaged in th e manufacture of fire-arms inhis contract with Congress .*

NOTICES OF IND IV IDUAL SOLDIERS .

Captain Cook,says Mr . Paine, was afterwards

deservedly promoted to th e rank o fMajor,and was dis

tingu ish ed for his courage and steadinessi in battlenear Fort IndependenceJ; in It was in this action also that Captain Noah Wheeler and Col . RoswellHopkins were noticed for their bravery, and also privates Amos Pennoyer and Jedu th awGray, who were allfrom Amenia .

”

Five sons! of Capt. Stephen Hopkins were officers .Waight and Benj amin j oined th e Green Moun tain Boys,under Col . Ethan Allen and Lieut.-Col . Seth Warrenand were both killed by the Indians . Roswell Hopkinswas Colonel

, and took part with his regiment ln the battles at Saratoga . Dr. Reuben Allerton was Surgeon ofth e regimen t in that campaign, and it is understoodthat Rev . John Barnet was Chaplain ,

who was afterwards Chaplain in th e Continental army . ReubenHopkins, the youngest of th e brothers, and who wasborn in Amenia in 1 748 , was Adjutant in Col . Graham

’s

regimen t . In th e beginn ing of th e war of 1812 , he wasappointed one of th e eight Brigadier Generals!! of N . Y .

State,being then a residen t of Orange county.

He was engaged at th e S teel Works .1' Mr.

Paine says that “ Major Cook was a tal l, spare man and of s ingu lar stead inessof manner,wh ich gave him th e name among h is neighbors of ‘

O ld S teady .

“

1 Th is was th e Fort Independence near Peek sk il l .One had died .

ll Lossing’

s W ar of 1812 ,” page 366


Captain William Chamberlain was very active amongth e citizens of th e town

,as one of th e Committee of

Safety in th e beg inn ing of th e war ; and in 1 777 be re

ceived .a commission as Captain in Col . Humph rey ’sregiment

,and entered th e army under Gates, and took

part in th e battles at Saratoga, which resulted in th e

capture of Burgoyne .

Brin ton Paine was transferred to th e regular armyin Col . Dubois’ regimen t

,which was in Gen . Clin ton ’s

brigade . Col . Dubois had served in Canada, and h e

commanded th e right wing at the battle of Klock’s

Field,near th e Mohawk

,in 1 780 . In April, 1 777 , Maj

Paine was a prisoner .

In Oct . , 1 777, th e Militia of Dutchess county werecalled to th e defense of the Highlands .

*

Jacob Boekee was a Captain of a company in th e

regimen t under th e command of th e gallan t Col . Marinu s Willett .Moses Harris

,Ju n .

,served in th e dangerous duty of

a Spy,and was greatly confided in by W ashington . He

was rewarded for his services,after th e war, by a gran t

of land in W estfield ,W'

ashington coun ty,N . Y .

,now th e

town of Fort Ann . Mr. Harris resided in th e northwest part of th e town .

Alexander Spencer,Ju n .

,was a volunteer in Ar

h old ’s expedition to Quebec,and died on th e march .

”

i‘

Dan iel C . Bartlett was the son of a Congregationalminister

,who on th e breaking out of th e war gave him

on th e Sabbath his sword ,which h e had newly ground

,

and told him to go and defend his country . Mr . Bartlett wen t with Mon tgomery to Quebec , and was at th e

Th is was th e most peri lou s year of th e war for Du tches s coun ty . T h e enemy werethreaten ing th e passes of th e H ighlands on th e sou th , their armed ves sel s moved up th eHudson

,and Burgoyne’ s army moved slowly from th e north . Ou r Mili ti a were called at

t imes i n both directions to meet t h e lu v aS ion .

1' Sedgwick ’s “ H i s tory of Sharon .

"



Dr . Reuben Allerton was Surgeon at Saratoga,and

as he used to say, dressed th e wounds of friend and

foe .

”

Ephraim Lord was much of the time absent in th e

army,and his energetic wife managed his estate well

in his absence .

Bezaleel Rudd,from the north part of the town

,

wen t with Ethan Allen .

David Doty was a very active officer, and somewhatrestless . He was transferred, as we see in another place

,

from th e Li tchfield county Regiment .

Jedu than Gray and Amos Pennoyer are honorablymen tioned .

Capt . Elisha Barlow was temporarily in th e service .

David Rundall served in two campaigns,one north

and one south,in 1 775 and 1 776.

It is understood that some of th e soldiers from thisvicinity were in fected with that prejudice towards Gen .

Schuyler, which was so unjust to that excellent officerand pure patriot, and which was soon after happilyremoved .

Jones Knapp,who lived many years at Ebenezer

Hurd’s,was in th e regular army through th e war was

present at th e execution of Andre was at th e captureof Cornwallis

,and

,on his way returning from th e south ,

visited Moun t Vernon .

Warum Kingsley ? Doubtful . He was very young .

But h e was present at th e Massacre of Wyoming .

Some of those W hose names are given in th e preced

ing columns were in th e service only temporarily .

*

There were undoubtedly a large number of privates ,who wen t in to the serv ice fromAmenia, whose names are not here, as there are no records within reach ofth e compil er .

and h e is obl iged to draw only from tradi tion and th e very meagre records of fami ly hi s tory ,Th is wil l excuse th e imperfecti ons inth is l ist

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENI A. 7 1

JUDGE PAINE .

Among the civilians in Amenia, who rendered valna

ble services in th e wars, none were more worthy of rec

o rd than th e Hon . Ephraim Paine, wh o was a man ofmarked character in public and private life, and was

one of the first to stir, by his eloquent vo ice,th e patriotism of the people . He was employed from th e beginn ing of th e war —as the Civil List Shows— ih offi cesof very high responsibility and honor, wh ich placed h imby th e S ide of some of th e greatest men of the new re

public ; and h e was equally ready to associate with hisneighbors in th e minor offices of th e town . His incor

rup tible integrity and firmness were not the less heroic

for being accompan ied with Pur itan Simplicity of manners . Judge Paine was not ambitious of place— asS trong men are apt to be— nor was h e dictatorial ; buth e was disposed to be positive and uncompromising

,

which exposed h im somewhat to th e charge of obstinacy . He was very singular in the simplicity of hismanners and habits

,but not boorish

, and his theory ofthe social and political equality of all men,

which h eheld as a religious conviction

,was expressed in a lit

eral and extravagant manner. He held that as all men

are equ al, there Should be no distinctions in dress or

equipage ; h e wore, therefore, th e dress of a laboringman in th e halls of legislation and in th e

‘

house ofworship .

*

It was an aphori sm with him that all men shouldbe treated alike . It is quite probable, therefore , thatthere was sometimes a disregard of that respectful deteerence to men in official and dign ified positions

,which

His clothes were not untidy, bu t coarse and plain, the manufacture of his ownhousehold .


th e rules of polite society require, and it was th e magnan imity of his courtly associates that led them tooverlook these outward faults of his character in theirthorough respect for the unquestioned sound qualitiesof th e man .

Judge Paine’s reli gious character was eviden tlysomewhat tinged by his sympathy with th e Separatists

,

or New Lights, among whom some of his relatives weredistinguished leaders .

I t is un fortunate that th e unselfish devotion to th epublic service and th e purity in private life of this e xcellent citizen Should be less remembered than hi s

eccentricities .Many ludicrous mistakes are told of, which resulted

from Judge Paine’s pla inness of dress

,some o f which

have been magnified and colored in amusing storiesHe was at one time treated as a men ial by th e landlady ,

where h e was to stay during his attendance at court inPoughkeepsie . Th e only rebuke which h e gave to th emortified lady, when Sh e apologi sed for h er mistake,was, Yo u Should treat all men alike .

”

I t is an authentic s tory that a gen tlemen who rodein haste to th e house on public business gave him h is

horse to hold while h e Should go in and Speak to JudgePaine . It is also true that a gentleman was lookingover th e farm

‘

for Judge Paine ,and found a man ditch

ing,and asked h im,

“ Wh ere is your master ? ”

In

Heaven ,S ir

,was his ready and no t irreveren t answer .

Judge Paine ’s education had been wi thout th e aid of

schools,but h is mind was disciplined to a habit of clear

appreh ension and accuracy, which made him on manyoccasions in h is public S ervice a valuable advisor inmatters of finance . I t is proper to say that h e opposed

decidedly th e financial policy of Gen . Hamilton .


There is a notice of his family in its proper place .

In 1 785, Sep . 25,a few weeks after the death of

Judge Paine, th e Poughkeepsie Jou rna l con tained afitting eulogy, supposed to have been from th e pen of

Judge Platt . in A , W”

Judge Paine was a member of th e Senate when hedied .

Silas Marsh,who was called Lawyer Marsh , was

one of th e most active patriots of those in civil life, andMr . Samuel King appears to have been one of th e wisecounsellors of th e time .

There was evidently among the leaders in this town

a high respect for the ch aracter and services of Hon .

Egbert Benson .

INCIDENTS OF THE WAR .

This part of th e country was singularly free from any

disturbance by the near approach of th e enemy,or by

any movemen ts of ou r troops . The people . here,it is

said,heard th e sound of the cannon at th e battle of

Long Island, and they saw the smoke of burn ing Kingston

,bu t it did no t come nigh them .

”Th e nearest en

campment of th e Continental troops, at any time, was atPawling

,in 1 778 . In th e summer of that year a large

number of prisoners— mostly Hessians* —taken at th ebattle of Saratoga th e year before were marched throughthis town on thei r way to Fishkill, where th ey crossedth e Hudson . During all th e time that the British heldNew York . much of th e communication between “

the

Eastern and Southern States was necessarily throughD ii tch ess coun ty . Several notes are made of th e travel

Some of th e Hes s ian s earnestly solici ted th e people to aid th em to escape, andsome succeeded and remained in th i s_country.


through Dover and the south part of Amenia by Amercan and French army officers and others .In th e early part of the war

,a man called at Judge

Paine’s in his absence, and was suspected by Mrs

Paine to be a British spy, and sh e persuaded him topartake of some refreshments, which caused his delay ,

while she sent for two patriots,

*and caused his arrest

He was, however, an American Spy,engaged in his le

gitimate enquiry, and th e Committee of Safety, whoknew him, were obliged to u se some deception in p lanning his escape, in order that his person and real character should not be revealed . He was sen t under guardon his way to Poughkeepsie, but made easily his escape .

A young man , by th e name of Samuel Jarvis,went

from Amenia, leaving his wife and two children here ,and joined th e British army . He went to England af

ter the war, married again, and continued in the mi litary service . After almost an hundred years, his legi timate family here have recovered his estate left inEngland .

Resolu tions calling ou t the Mili tia of Westchester, D u tchcss

,

and A lbany. I n Convention of Representatives of

S tate of New York. Fishki ll, D ec. 21 , 1 776.

W hereas, It appears highly probable that theenemy’s army meditate an attack upon the passes of th eHighland on th e east S ide of th e Hudson River

, and th e

term of enlistmen t of th e Militia under th e command ofGen . Clinton expires on the first of this mon th

,and ,

Whereas, His Excellency Gen . Washington haswarmly recommended to this State to exert themselvesin procuring temporary supplies of Militia,R esolved , That th e whole Militia of Westchester,

Dutchess, and part of Albany be forthwith marched to

T h e men sent for by Mrs. Paine were E lderWood and Mr. James Palmer.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENI A. 7 5

North Castle, in Westchester coun ty , well equipped witharms and ammun ition ,

and furn ish ed with six days ’

provisions,and blankets, and a pot or camp kettle to

every six men ,except such person s as th e field officers

Shall judge cannot be called into service without greatlydistressing their families , o r who may be actually en

gaged in th e manufacture of saltpetre, or of shoes and

clothing for th e army

Resulved,that t he Militia be allowed Con tinental pay

rations, and that such men as cannot furn ish themselves

with armsShall be supplied from the public stores .

”

T he commanders of regiments Were empowered tohire or impress as many teams as were necessary fo rtransportation of baggage .

Commissary-Gen . Trumbull was notified to maketimely provision for the subsistence of said Militia .

Col . Ch evers, Commissary of Ordnance, was appliedto for a loan of small arms for those destitute .

THE TORIES OF DUTCHESS COUNTY .

In 1 777 , while Burgoyne was threaten ing the northern part of th e State

,a considerable body of the Tories

of Du tchess coun ty were collected at Washington Hollow, and made a formidable demonstration of their host ility.

“ An expedition was immediately set on foot tobreak up th e gang .

” A company of fifty or sixtystarted from Sharon , Conn .

, and was joined on th e wayby others till th e party amoun ted to two hundred . Theyhalted for th e n ight a little north of th e Hollow

,and in

th e morn ing made an attack upon the Tories, who fledand as many as could made their escape . Thirty orforty of them were made prisoners, and were sent toExeter, in New Hampshire

,Where they were kept in

*10

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA .

close confinement for two years . No more trouble wasmade by th e Tories here during th e war .

*

ROBBERIES .

In the disturbed cond ition of socie ty, inciden t to th ewar, lawless and rapacious men used the opportunity toindulge their spite, or to gratify their greed in plunder .

In the near vicinity of th e armies, and particularly on

the neutral ground,”th e losses of th e inhabitan ts

, and

th e dangerous annoyances, which were endured frommarauding parties were terrible, and even in this saferetreat, there were instances of robbery .

Philip Nase, Sen .,and his wife, who lived where

their Son, Corneiliu s, afterwards had his h ou sen

L hadlain up and secured in a treasure ch est, a considerablesum of gold and silver money, and other valuable treasures . Four men in th e disguise of British officers andsoldiers

,came one evening, armed with axes , and de

manded the key of their treasure,and threatening

death to the family on any resistance . Th e key wassurrendered

, and every part of th e treasure was carriedoff, and never recovered or heard from again . It is no tbelieved that th e robbers were British officers and soldiers, who would no t have been armed with acres, on

such an expedition .

Th e oldest son of Philip Nase, Sen .,Henry

,was a

Tory of so positive a character that h e left the country,and made his home in Nova Scotia . It is said that, before h e left

,he had concealed in some haste, in th e

n ight,at th e foot of th e mountain , a sum of money

Sedgwick’s H is tory of Sharon .

"

1' T h e house where Mr. Nase l ived. and where the robbery was comm itted,was onth e oppo s ite S ide of th e h ighway from th e hou se now there, and was removed many yearsago.



Elisha Adams was th e proprietor of Adams ’Mill,

” 96

i n the west part of th e town . Th e right to th e millprivileges arid to raise water W i thou t limit was ceded tohim by Judge Johnson . He was the first white se ttleron N . P . Lot 32

,west of th e moun tain . Some of the

family h ave rem ained in th at place till with in a fewyears .Abraham Adams , Ju n is men tioned in 1 765.

Darius Ad ams, 1 765 ; Joseph Ad ams, 1 762 ; JohnAdams

,1 757 .

James Allsworth,Ju n .

, lived in th e northeast part ofth e town .

Isaac Allerton ,of Windham , Conn .

, purchased thefarm of Abner Gillet— now th e James farm— in 1 787 .

Mrs . James was his d aughter, and his son s were Jonathan

,David and Reuben . Jonathan preceded his fath

er,and was a residen t of Amenia in 1 7 75. His wi fe

was Bathsheba Mead . David was th e father of Archibald and Isaac and h is wifewas a Mon tgomery

,a rela

tive of Gen . Mon tgomery . D r . Reuben Allerton pre

ceded his father here a few years , and commenced th e

practice of medicine about 1778, first at Amen ia Centre ,

and in 1 785 h e removed to Oblong,where h e lived

awhile in th e John Reed house,and afterward s till his

death close by th e Presbyterian church— mow of SouthAmen ia . It was probably immediately after th e com

p letion of his medical studies that h e entered th e serviceas Surgeon in Col . Hopkin s’ regimen t

,which was in

1 777 . D r . Allerton was of a gen ial, pleasan t humor,and very spicy wit . He died in 1806. aged 54 . Hiswife was th e daughter of James Atherton . Th e familywas descended in direct line from Isaac Allerton, of th eMay Flower . D r . Allerton ’s son ,

Samuel, and his

Th is m il l was burned, and another one, now rema in ing, was bu i l t i n its place.


d aughter Amarillas are now living at an advanced age .

*

James Ather ton ,from Can terbury, Conn . ,

was a

residen t of Sharon ,where Zalmon Hun t now lives ; then

wen t to New Jersey, and thence removed to Amenia,where he died . He was a gen tleman of excellent learn

ing, and had spent some time as a teacher in NorthCarolina, and retu rned from there on accoun t of his

intoleran t h at i ed of S lavery .

R i dger Andrews lived i n th e so u th part o f th e town ,

near Seth Swift’

S , where h e reared a large family .

Cornelius A therton , son of James , was an iron man

u factu rer, and had a con tract with th e governmen t in

the war to make fire-arms for the soldiers . He removed

in the early part of th e war to Wyoming, and was therewith his family at th e time of the massacre, and escapedwith them with very great difficulty.

Col William Barker was th e father of th e late JohnBarker

,and lived on th e same farm . He served th e

town in several civil offices, and was active in th e military in th e Revolu tion,

and served also in the Legisl ature

,as recorded in its place . His wife was Chloe ,

dau ghter o fMr . John Bronson,and they were married

in 1 763 .

Deacon Moses Barlow and his brother, Nathan ,

came from Sandwich (or Cape Cod), in 1 756, and pu r

chased of Meltiah Lothrop th e farm afterwards th ehome of th e Swifts

,and which they exchanged for the

one where Moses Barlow settled, and which is stillheld, a part of it, by his grandson ,

Franklin BarlownL

Their father, Peleg Barlow,came with them at th e age

of 67, and died in 1 759 . Moses Barlow was th e father

Dr . Corneil iu s A llerton and M il ton A llerton were h is sons Mr s. Thos . Barlow andMrs. Taber Belden were h is daughters .

t T h e Barlow farm was on th e ‘ C lapp Paten t,

‘Oblong Lot No. 47 , and was pur

chased of Mr . Samuel Judson


of Elisha and Thomas and several daughters . Hon .

Elisha Barlow occ upied several impor tant public tru sts,

—as shown by th e Civil List — and was honored forhis integrity and firmness, and was a gen tleman of dign ified manners . He had a numerous fami ly . His old

est son,Thomas, was the father of the Hon . Thomas

Barlow,of Madison county . Peleg, Moses, John, Obed ,

Elisha,and Jesse Barlow were sons of Judge Barlow

,

The Barlows,before they left th e Cape, had been sea

faring men ,and in an experience of the perils of their

business,

resolved to place their fortunes on solidground

,and this led them to their new home . They

came by water toPoughkeepsie , and there has been tothis time a grateful recognition by the family of hosp italit ies received at the Newcombs in Pleasant Valley on

their j ourney here . (How many pleasing episodes wouldbe revealed by the diaries kept by any other of thesefamilies in their in terest ing journeys to their new homes).William Balis

,Esq .

,was th e father of th e late Abiah

P. BaliS .

Daniel C . Bartlett, from Redding, Conn .,bought of

Joel Gillett,in 1803 th e farm now owned by his grand

son ,W . S . Bartlett . His heroic conduct in th e war is

mentioned in its proper place . He was the father ofWilliam and Collins Bartlett, and his daughters wereMrs. John Barker, Mrs. Thomas Paine, and Mrs. WmPaine .

Elihu Beardsly, from New Milford , was living in th eD r . Leonard house, near George H . Swift’s in 1 773 .

He was a tanner . His wife was the daughter of JosephChamberlain .

Ebenezer Benham was one of th e early settlers onTower Hill

,which is in th e southwest corner of th e

town .


Joseph Benson was an early residen t of th e southpart of th e town , where th e family have remai ned inconsiderable numbers .I Zerah Beach ,

Esq .

,resided a few years near South

Amenia, where h e was engaged in trade about 1 790He was one of the leaders at Wyoming, who signed thearticles of capitu lation . O ne of his daughters was thewife of James Warren . It was his grandson who wasthe plain tiff’s lawyer in the great trial at Brooklyn ofTilton against Beecher .Bela E . Benj amin , th e father of Mrs. C . Wesley

Powers, Elijah Park Benjamin ,an d Horatio N . Benja

min,married Louisa, daughter of Elij ah Park .

Caleb Ben ton , of Guilford , Conn .,purchased of

Capt . Lasell, in 1 794, th e place now owned by his grand

son ,Myron B . Benton . He was the father of Joel and

.

0\William . T h e immigrant ancestor of Mr . Ben ton wasEdward Ben ton

,one of the first settlers of Guilford ,

who were, most of them , from th e agricultural countyof Ken t, in England, and were noted for the very neatstyle of their farming . Mr . Ben ton left Guilford

, be

cause of th e very inconvenient division of h is landsthere .

* He paid for his land here 15 or 16 dollars peracre in specie;which h e brought with him on horseback .

When the family removed they came to Poughkeepsieby water in a sloop . Joel Benton ,

Esq . ,was much oc

cupied in public business, and was four times elected tothe Legislature .

About 1 743, Silas Belden,of W ethersfieldfir Conn .,

settled near th e foot of Plymouth Hill, on a large tract

T h e farm lands in th e sou thern part of Connecticu t are, many of them , very inconv en iently di sconnected .

1 T h e ances tor of Mr Belden was one of th e early sett lers in th e ancien t town ofW ethersfield , and we find Deacon Joseph Belden a leading man there in 1706.

8 2 THE EARLY HISTORY or AMENIA .

of land which his father purchased in New York,

*and

which was described afterwards as situated in Charlotteand Amen ia Precincts . The sons of Silas Beld en wereSilas, Ju n . ,

and Lawrence . Joseph Belden was th e son

of Silas,Jr .

, and was the father of Taber Belden , whosehome in th e south part of the town is now occupied by

his son . Th e land of Taber Belden was formerly a par tof th e Kn ickerbocker farm . Taber Belden was twice amember of th e Legislature, and very often served th e

public as a wise counsellor .

BOCKEE .— Soon after 1 750, Abraham Boekee came

from New York,where h e had been a merchant, to NinePartners, and entered u pon land pu rchased by hisgrandfather, in 1699 , and which has been in the p osses

ion of th e family to th e p resen t time . He was one ofth e Colonial justices, appoin ted by the Crown ,

as earlyas 1 761 , at which time h e is men tioned as a Mr . Bo

kayfi a justice of th e peace, at Nine Partners, near aplace called th e City . Th e immigran t ancestor of Mr .

Boekee was Johannes Bockee who came to th iscountry in 1685, and who was of that noble Huguenotstock , that has con tributed so many families of worthand distinction .

” Abraham Boekee, who came to NinePartners

,was th e father of Jacob Boekee and the grand

father of th e late Judge Abraham Boekee . JacobBoekee, a graduate o f King ’s College

,N . Y .

,was Cap

tain in th e Revolutionary war of a company in ColonelMarinus Willet’s regimen t, and was a member of th eAssembly in 1 795 to 1 797, where h e introduced a billfor th e abolition of slavery in this state . His wife was

Mr . Belden purchased th i s valuable tract of land when in New York,and W ith ou t

seeing it . I t remains most of I t i n possessmn of th e fam1ly .

1' Documentary Hi st0 1y,

III 985.

1‘ Boka.

” Th 1s i s th e proper pronunciation and was formerly th e on ly one, Th 1sfragran t old Huguenot name sh ou lo have l tS prope1 sound .


sister of th e late Judge Isaac Smith .

* Judge AbrahamBoekee held several honorable posit ions in c ivil life, asshown in another part of this record . Tho ugh decided

in his political convictions, h e sometimes resisted th edictation of his party , and followed wh at h e conceivedto be right and for th e public welfare . Phen ix Boekee

,

a brother of Abraham , was Lieutenant in th e war of

1812,and died in Po

’

keepsie in 1814 .

Some of th e Boekee family went to South Carolina,and it is a reasonable supposition that th e gallan t Col .Henry Bou qu et, who was distinguished in the war withth e Indians in 1 763, was of the same family, and tha t

h e retained th e original spelling of th e name .

Captain John Boyd was of Irish descen t— probablyScotch-Irish m and came h ere from Orange Coun typrevious to 1769, and he returned and resided thereagain a few years . He married the daughter of Esq .

Conrad Winegar, and resided a little south of Amen iaUn ion

.

in a house which h e built— now standing— whereh e died in 181 7 . He was th e father o f Samu elfil

‘ Gilbert, David and others .Noah Brown was the ' ancestor of many of that name

in th e north part of th e town— now in NortheastLemuel and W illiam Brush, son s of Reuben Brush ,

from Long Island, lived in the west part of th e town,

not far from th e City . Lemuel married Mary Perlee,

and his son s were Perlee, Jesse, Platt, John and Henry .

Jesse was an officer in th e Revolu tionary war .

Gen . John Brush , who was a lawyer in Po’

keepsie,

commanded th e Dutchess county troops . at Har lemHeights,in th e war of 1812 , and was afterwards MajorGen . of Militia .

Jacob Boekee and h is brother-ln-law, Jnag Sm1th , and Judge John son , were veryi n t imate, and dined together once a week at each 0 her’ s hou ses .

1' S amuel Boyd l ived where I . Hunt ing Conkl ing now res ides , on th e l and wh ichcame by 1118 W lfe, a daughter of Judgc Paine .


Col . Henry Brush was Captain of Ohio Volunteers

in th e war of 1812 , and was on his way to Detroit with230 men ,

100 beef cattle, and other provisions,and a

mail,when Gen . Hull surrendered

,Aug . 16, 1812 . C apt .

Brush had arrived at the river Raisin ,and was in immi

nent danger, through th e negligence of Hull to send _a

rein forcemen t, of falling into th e hands of th e Indians ,under Tecumtha . When notified on the 1 7th bv aBritish Officer, with a flag of tru ce

,of Hull’s su rrender

of his army, including his own command,h e refused to

accept th e notice as authoritative, and escaped with h 1sstores to Ohio .

* T he compiler has been informed orally that Capt . Brush purposely allowed th e whiskeyamong his stores to fall into th e hands of the Indians

,

which SO demoralized them that th ey were unable topursue th e retreating party.

Moor Bird was born in NewMarlborough,Mass , in

1 756. H married the daughter of Lou is Delavergne ,

and lives. where his son ,the late Henry Bird, did. His

other sons were Augu stus and Milo . He was of thesame family as Rev . Isaac Bird, who has compiled agenealogy of his family .

Edmund Bramhall married a daughter of DeaconMoses Barlow . He was a carpenter, and built

,before

the Revolutionary war, th e Deacon Barlow house ,

nowstanding .

John Bronson was the father of Mrs. Wm . Barker .D ea . John Brownson died in 1 785

,aged 85.

H

Jed id iah Bump,and his brother James

,came from

Granville, Mass . They were probably of Huguenot descent

,th e original name b eing Ben-pas

,

” then Bumpas

,

”and Bumpus .”

Mr . Bump owned the east half of J . H . Cline’s farm ,

Lossing’

s W ar of pp . 273-290 .



j amin,being excessively persecuted by th e Tories*

which is an evidence of his persistent patriotism— soldhis land there

,and purchased th e lands, which , with

subsequent add itionsnLmade in part th e farm of his son ,

Hon . Morgan Carpen ter, now of Mr . Isaac S . Carpenter .

Benj amin Carpen ter purchased also for his sons,S .

Pugsley and Dan iel,the E vartson farm in Amen ia

,

south of th e City,where Dan iel Carpenter remained till

his death . Dan iel married Z ayde Perlee . Morganmarried Maria

,a daughter of Jacob Bockee .

Daniel Castle, Esq .

,came from Roxbury

,then a part

of Woodbury,Conn . , some time previous to th e year

1 758 , and settled at South Amen ia, where h e was keeping a tavern at that date . He was one of His Majesty

’sJustices of the Peace . Gideon Castle

,his son

,built a

house,where th e South Amenia Post-Office is

,and

afterwards purchased th e James Tanner farm,where h e

remained . He was largely concerned in the purchaseand sale of land . Esq . Castle ’s daughter was the wifeOf Capt . James Reed .

Joseph Chamberlain came from Tolland,Conn .

,in

1 755, and settled on the farm afterwards owned by th eNye family, where h e is supposed to have built th ehouse now on the place . He was buried near th e SteelWorks

,in 1 765. His sons were Colbe, James, Jew

and William . Col Colbe was th e father of Joseph, Con

rad,and Henry . John was a physician of acknowl

edged Skill,and lived awhile in Po ’

keepsie. Capt . Wm .

Chamberlain , th e father of Oliver and James,lived on

th e farm now owned by J. H . Cline, and kept a tavernthere, which was much frequented in the time of th e

Th is was at th e time when th e Tories of Dutches s coun ty put on such a bo ld fron t ,and gathered their forces at W ash ington Hollow . Mr. Carpen ter was three t lmes robbedby them .

1 These lands were pu i chased of Dan iel Sh ipard , Moses Harris, Samuel Pugsley ,Job Sw1ft, Dr . John Mi ller and Others .


Revolution . He was in the battle of Benn ington,Sara

toga and other fields, and h e with his brothers werevery zealous patriots . Th e family possessed a largefund of pleasant humor, which is no t ye t exhausted .

*

Solomon Chase lived in several places in this townand in Ken t . He married th e daughter of JosephChamberlain

, Sen . His son , Stephen Chase, was th eonly surviving passenger in th e celebrated wreck of theAlbion in 1822 . He was on h is way to England to look

'

after an estate . T he Chase family are supposed to havesome hereditary right in a large estate there now .

Ezra Clark was from Lisbon , Conn . ,and was th e

ancestor of that family now in Northeast . He was th efather of Douglas Clark, Esq .

, of Moses, and of E lij ah .

Major Elijah Clark lived near th e outlet of Chalk pond ,and died before middle life .

Solomon Chandler kept a store near Amenia Un ion ,

in 1791 . He lived awhile in th e John Reed house .

Capt . Increase Child,who lived near South Amen ia ,

was an active Officer in th e Revolutionary war. He wasthe ancestor of D r . Joseph Child One of his sonswas Mark Antony Child .

Peter Cline (K lein), a native of Germany, came herefrom Rhinebeck

,in 1 760 . It is understood that h e left

Germany about 1 752 or 1 753 . He was one of thosecalled “ Redemptioners

,

” who paid for their passage toth is coun try by their service here afterwards, to whichthey were bound by th e captain

,who brought them

over. Some noble examples of honor are recorded ofthese men, in redeeming their pledge, and Mr. Cline

’swas a S ingular instance of scrupulous honesty, in thatthrough the dishonesty of the captain, h e was led to

Dan ie l Hebard, Jot . Holh ster, and S amuel S . W inegar married daughters ofCol . Colbe Chamberlain . T he wife of Cap t . W1111am Chamberlam was AbigaII Hatch , ofK en t . H is daughters were Mrs. Solomon Freeman ,Mrs. Roswell Bump , Mrs. Arch ibaldA llerton and Mrs. G ilbert Boyd .


serve out here th e time for his redemption, no twith

standing h e had paid for his passage before h e leftGermany .

Mr . C l i ne bought of Capt . Isaac Delamater, wherehis great-grandson , Edward E . Cline

,now lives, one

half of Oblong Lot, No . 49, for ten dollars and a half

per acre .

He left one son , John Cline, who died in 1845, aged

89, and one daughter, th e wife of Allen Hurd .

Mr . Cline ’s was an example of industry, frugalityand honesty, leading to thrift, and that kind of thrift,which tends to the elevation of character and socialstanding .

*

Major Nathan Conklin , of th e north par t of thetown

,was from East Hampton,

L . I ., from which place

h e came here in 1 781 .

He was a public-Spirited and intelligen t gentleman,

and was frequently Moderator of th e Town Meeting .

Major Conklin purchased his land in Amenia o f

Bru sh fl“

Capt . Benj amin Conklin,th e father of D r . Ebenezer

H . Conklin ,of Amen ia Union , was from Norwalk, Conn

He lived in Sharon many years, and in th e later yearsof his life near Amenia Un ion .

Captain David Collin , father of th e late Capt . JamesCollin ,

and others, was born in Milford , Conn . ,in 1 734,

and came to Amenia previous to 1 764, where h e ac

quired by his industry a fine estate . He was th e son ofJohn Collin , who was born in France in 1 706, and whomigrated to this country on account of religious persecu t ion,

and settled in Milford . He was commander of

T h e sons ofM r. John Cline were Peter , A llen , Ph l lO and E benez ei . Peter removedto O tsego county. One of th e daughters of John C l ine was th e w1fe ofA sa Hurd . Anotherwas th e W ife of Thos . Sw ift . M r. Cl 1ne s wife was Lu cy Ph l l lps,

.f T h e late Capta in John H . Conkl in was th e only one Of Maj or Conkl in ’s son s who

remalned in Amen i a, T h e others , and th e daughters ,wereres ident s ofPoughkeeps1e .


a ship S ixteen years, and was lost at sea at the age offorty years .

*

David Collin married Lucy Smith, and after h er de

cease,Esther Gillet, who was the mother of James .

He was a Lieutenan t in th e French war, and waspresen t at an unsuccessful attack on Fort Ticonderoga .

It was h e whom a company o fmarauders attemptedto rob .

Rev . John Cornwall, father of Eden B . Cornwall,

and grandfather of Hon . W . I . Cornwall,was from

Cornwall, Conn . He lived at th e Separate and ministered the-re, and at th e City, and occasionally at theRed Meeting House .

The highway at th e Separate is on th e boundaryline between Amenia and Stanford, which Is also th eline between Lot No . 22 and Lot No . 32 of the NinePartners . There was placed many years ago near th eSeparate a monument to affirm th e location of this line .

Two stones were placed across, below the surface ofthe earth , where they might be found by one who waspresent .Major Simeon Cook was an influ en tial citizen in

th e earliest years of Amen ia Precinct, and when thewar broke out

,h e was one of the first to put his name

to th e Pledge, and to give himself to the actual work ofth e war . His wife was the daughter of Ephraim Lord ,whose house stood where th e Seminary now is, andafter the death of Mr. Lord

,Major Cook came in pos

Session of the place,and left it to his youngest son ,

Col .Solomon Cook . His other sons were Lot and Simeon,

Jun .

Joshua Culver was married in 1 767, and Joshua

Culver, Jun ., learned the tanner

’s trade of Capt . Wm .

* A complete genealogy of John Col lln,ofM1lford Conn . , has been publ ished byHon .

John F . Coll in , OfHi llsdale N . Y .


Young at Amen ia Un ion . Mr . Culver, Ju n . ,th e father

of Backus Culver, established his business at PinePlains, where h e conducted it with success . Th e familyhave been much iden tified with th e people of Amenia .

D r. Cyrenu s Crosby was the successor of D r . Aller

ton at Amen ia, and was often in public office .

Caleb Dakin lived near Coleman ’s Station,where

his grandson ,Amasa D . Coleman ,

now owns th e sameplace .

* He was th e son of Elder Simon Dakin,who

came from th e vicin ity of Boston, previous to 1 751 , toSpencer

’s CornersnL where h e organized a Baptist

church and was th e p astor many years .

Jonathan Darling lived west of Leedsville .

Isaac Darrow,E sq , owned th e farm

,afterwards

owned by Eli Mills, Esq . He was th e fath er ‘

ofAzariahDarrow,

of South Amen ia .

William Davies was a resident of Amen ia severalyears, and owned large tracts of land in differen t partsof th e town . He came into th e town when a young man

,

and engaged in teaching a school at th e Square, and hadhis home in th e family of Mr . Benj amin Leach

,whose

daughter he afterwards married . While a resident ofAmenia h e built th e brick house, now the resi dence ofAllen W iley, where h e lived a few years, and then re

moved to Poughkeepsie .

Mr. Davies was son of Rev . Thomas,

Davies,a de

voted Episcopal clergyman ,o i whom there is published

a brief memorial ; and ,

th e mother of Mr. Davies was

the daughter of Joel Harvey . Gen . Thomas L . Daviesand W m . L . Dav1es, of Poughkeepsie, are his sons .

Mr. Dak in was t h e father of Caleb Dak in, and of Mrs. Coleman ,and of Mrs. Bari et t . wife of E zra L , Barrett . Caleb Dak in bough t h i s farm of A llen Sage. Jacob Dakin ,

E sq of Northeast, and S imeon Dakin , Jun . , were s on s of E lder S imon Dak in .

1 Spencer Corners , in Northeast, a l i ttle north of th e Old l ine of Amen i a, was so named from Ph il ip Spencer, E sq . , th e father ofHon . Ambrose Spencer, wh o res i ded theremanyyears .


Benj amin Denton ,Esq. , was one of th e earliest set

t lers near th e City . He was th e son of Richard Denton,

who was the fifth Richard Den ton in the family in succession . T h e first of th e five is without doubt th e Richard Den ton , spoken of by R ev . Cotton Mather in thishistory

,as having come from England about 1640 .

Benj amin Denton ’s wife was Rachel Wheeler, whosefamily was from Holland . His son s were John and

Benj amin , Ju n .

Joel Den ton ,th e father of Joel Den ton , Jun .

,was a

landholder in 1 791 .

Capt . David Doty and Lieut . Reuben Doty are men

tioned in th e military record . A large family of thisname were residents of th e southeast part of the town .

Samuel Doty was Collector for Amen ia Precinct in 1 762 .

They were from O ld Plymouth colony,and came to this

town from Sharon .

Capt . Samuel Dunham lived on th e Sturges-San fordplace, and had a forge a Short distance south of Th eNarrows

,using th e water power of that small stream .

He was from Sharon . He married the daughter o f flEphraim Lord

,who had a right in the

aore bed , which

furn ished th e ore for Dunh am ’s forge . This was previou s to the Revolution .

Benjamin Ellis, from Barnstable, Mass . l ived inthe Oblong

,and was engaged with Captain Reed in th e

manufac ture of iron .

Stephen Eno ,Esq .

,was a teacher in this town seve

ral years, and Commissioner of Schools .

* He becamea successful lawyer

,and was a model for th e accuracy

of his knowledge and th e precision of his habits of business. He was a gen tleman of th e old School, and died

S tephen E no was Moderator ofTown Meeting in 1798 . I t was con s idered the h ighest honor to be made Moderator of Town Meetmg.

*12

low price . He was th e brother of D r . Benj amin Delavergne, and was th e father of Henry

,who retained th e

mill,850 . It is said that the emigrant ancestor, who was

of a superior family in France, came to this country inconsequence of having been engaged in a duel .It was D r . Delavergne who built th e dam near th e

road to Kent . It is called to this day Th e FrenchDoctor’s D am,

and th e remains are there . Th e objectis supposed to have been to flood th e lands above in or

der to convert them into a meadow. D r. Benjamin D e

lavergne took a prominent part in th e beginn ing of th eRevolutionary war, and was Major in th e Fourth Regiment of Dutchess Coun ty Milit ia .

Jacob E vartson , a native of New Jersey, came toAmen ia in 1 762 , and purchased the south half of LotNo . 33 of th e Nine Partners ,* about 1 700 acres, and i n1 763 , h e built th e large brick house, afterwards th e res

idence ofMr . Danie l Carpen ter, about a mile south ofthe City post-office . Mr . E vartson

’

s ancestors werefrom Amsterdam ,

in Holland, where they had for threegenerations held th e posi tion of Admiral in th e DutchNavy.tMr . E vartson

,in th e cultivation of his lands and his

domesti c service, had a large number of S laves . He

conducted also a store at th e City for several years .

John Evartson became th e owner of Lot No . 33, and sold th e north half to JohnC lapp an d Henry Frankl in, and th e sou th half to Jacob E vartson .— L ib . 6 . p . 222 T h e por~

trait s of Jaceh E vart son and hi s w ife are now in th e man S ion of th e late Gov . Smith inS haron , and Show them to have been of fine personal appearance .

1 A dmiral E vartson— one of these— received a sword from th e h and of Will iam,

Prince of Orange, afterwards Wi ll iam III. of E ngland, in tes t imony of hi s heroic and loyalcond uch s



Roger Gale resided in th e west part Of th e town asearly as 1776. It was one of his descendants who wen tfi om this town

,and founded and gave name to the town

of Galesbu rgh ,Illinois .

E lisha Gilbert was a citizen of Amen ia in 1 762 , andheld land near th e Eben Wheeler place i n 1 771 . Samu el was th e father of Medad Gilbert .Thaddeus Gilbert was a residen t in 1777 . Eliakim

was th e father of‘Dan iel Gilbert .

Gard iner Gillett, Joel Gillett, and Abner Gillett are

men tioned in another place as early settlers in Amenia .

Richard Gillett married Nelly Elliot in 1 766 . JoshuaGillett married Mary K nickerbacker in 1 768, and livedin th e south part of th e town and east of th e creek .

T he Goodrich family was in the part of the townnow North east .Joel Harvey

,Joel Harvey, Jun . ,

and Obed Harvey,

lived in th e east part of the town,near Sharon valley .

It is supposed that Joel Harvey built th e brick house ,

where Eben Wheeler lives .Capt . Robert Hebard, from Lyme

,Conn .

,purchased

a tract of land (about acres), lying in th e Oblongeast of Ameniaville

,and including a part of Allen W i

ley’s farm . He was th e father of Benj amin , Robert ,

and Dan iel . Deacon Benjamin Hebard was for manyyears a lead ing and valuable member of th e church atth e Red Meeting House . Dan iel Hebard , E sq ,

re

moved to Poughkeepsie . His wife was th e daughter of

Co l. Colbe Chamberlain . His sons were John J Hen

ry,and Edward .

Capt . Isaac Hillard , from Redding, Conn ., lived at

Amen ia Un ion . He was th e auth0 1 of several political

and poetical tract s . One of his political tracts attracted

th e notice of Jefferson ,who sen t to Mr . H . a compli

mentary letter .


Rufus Herrick was chosen Collector and one of th eConstables at th e second Precinct Meeting . StephenHerrick appears on the Town Record in 1 766, and Benjamin Herrick in 1767 . Th e family lived north of thechurch at t he City, where they built th e brick house, nowRobert Hoag’s . Rufus Herrick was an active Officerin th e war of th e Revolution .

Stephen Hitchcock,son of Samuel

,settled first in

Sharon , and afterwards where his son , Homer, resided .

His brother,Amariah

,pu rchased of D r . Chamberlain th eplace, now th e home of Geo . H . Swift

, where h e died .

Samuel purchased near— a part of the same place— thensold to his brother, and wen t to Schodack . Thomaswen t also to Schodack . Solomon traded several years

,

— as early as 1800— at Amenia Un ion,and the place

was called Hitchcock’s Corner .

Th e family was from Norwalk,Conn .

,and had come

to Sharon in 1 752 , and settled on the farm where thelate Southard Hitchcock resided .

Benj amin Hollister settled in th e east part of th etown in 1 741 , on th e farm where Norton Hollister livedand where th e S ixth generation of th e family is now liv

ing Benj amin Hollister, Jun .,built, about 1775,

th e house near Leedsville,where his son , Nathan iel

Hollister, resided . Th e family was from Glastonbury,Conn .

Deacon Asa Hollister, a native of Glastonbury, and

an eminen t christian of the Pu ritan style ,settled on t he

hill,west of Noah Wheeler’s place

,about 1 780 . T he

family were at Wyoming at th e time of th e massacre ,

when his father and brother were killed, and himselfand the other members of th e family escaped . He wasth e father of Rev . Allen Hollister, Asa, and

Timothy .


Ichabod Holmes was an early settler near th e Square .

Capt . Stephen Hopkins, a grandson of Edward Hopkins

,one of th e first settlers of Hartford, and secon d

Governor of th e Colony under th e charter, was born in

Hartford in 1 707 , and came from Harwin ton to Amen ia

previous toTh e part of th e town where h e settled was consid

ered cen tral . Th e Meeting House was built near his

residence, on land given by him for that purpose,and

the Old Burying Ground, which was also given by him ,

was near th e same ,where h e and. all th e early settlers

of that part of th e town were laid . His house was southwest of th e burying ground, and was reached in lateryears by a lane from th e highway .

Mr . Hopkins was the first Supervisor of Amenia in1762 , and was elected also in 1 764 , 1 765, and 1 766. He

died in 1 766, leaving six sons .This was an educated, christian family . Th e distin

gu ish ed part which they took in th e war is recorded inits place . Michael Hopkins was th e first Town Clerk .

and served in that office till 1 773 , when Roswell Hep

kin s was chosen and served till 1 783 and was also Su

pervisor in 1 777 and 1 778 , and h e served also as a mag

istrate more than thirty years . And all of them wereinfluen tial in th e church .

Roswell Hopkins’ house was afterwards the Totten

house,where W . P . Perlee now lives .

Col . Michael Hop kins died in 1 773 , aged 39, and hiswife died in 1 771 . She was th e daughter of Rev . Wm .

Worthington ,of Saybrook, Conn .

, and was th e sister ofGov . Smith ’s mother .

Roswell Hopkins, Esq , removed to Vermont and

died in 1 817 .

He bought Lot 32 Of th e Nine Partners , and took a deed of th e north half dated



old house near Mr. Cooper’

s . He was of an Englishfamily of good standing

,many of whom adhered to th e

royal S ide in th e Revolution . It was a brother of Mr .

Jarvis, who led th e British into Danbury, when theyburned it

,and who, after th e war, wen t to Canada, and

entered into th e service of th e Crown .

Sturges Sandford, a son of Mrs . Jarvis,came to

Amenia with him .

Samuel Jarvis, who is mentioned in another place asgoing over to th e English in the time of th e Revolutionmarried th e daughter of Judah Swift, and was the fatherof Launeelot Jarvis .Thomas Jenks, th e father of William and John Jenks

and others,was a resident of Leedsville

,and owned th e

old house and mill, built by John Delamater . i t Ad dSamuel Judson , from Woodbury, Conn . ,

father ofAzariah Judson

,of Hillsdale, first settled on th e Bar

low farm,and. about 1769 h e purch ased the farm now

owned by J. S . Chaffee. His grave is near the SteelWorks .Simeon Kelsey l i ved at South Amen ia, and owned

th e mill, which h e sold to Capt . Reed in 1 781 . Some ofhis descendan ts are in Sharon .

Stephen Kinney , from New Preston ,Conn .

,settled

in th e west part of the town,near th e Separate

,in 1 740

He was one of the first in th e religious congregationthere . He was th e father of Roswell Kinney

, Sen .,and

th e grandfather of Roswell Kinney, Ju n .

*

Elijah Kinney lived north of th e City .

Hezekiah King was one of th e first settlers fromNew England . He built a house near Amen ia Un ion ,

afterwards called th e Karner House,

”and died in

1 740 . There is a meadow near,called now “ K ing

9

oswel l K inney, Jun father of George K inney and o thers . near th e Separate. wasaccidentally k i l led wh ile in middle l ife.


meadow . The Town Records of Sharon have this entry Deacon Hezekiah King departed this life, Oct .9, There was no church at Am en ia Un ion then

,

and Mr . King was probably connected with th e churchin Sharon . ,

Samuel King lived on th e farm now owned by Mr .

Wiley.

‘

He was evidently an intelligen t and tru stworthy citizen

,and was one of th e patriotic leaders in th e

beginn ing of the war .

Herman Kn ickerbacker died in 1805, aged 93 years ,and was buried in his own field, on land now owned byJoseph Belden . A large number of graves are there offormer residents in that part of the town .

Joseph Gillett died in 1 770, aged 29 . He had married Mary K n ickerbacker in 1 768 .

John King was cotemporary with Samuel King,

They were here as early as 1 762 (from Greenwich

Ebenezer Knapp built a house at th e Steel Works,

and owned th e celebrated orchard of Mr. Sackett . Mr .James Tanner’s farm was a part of th e Knapp farm .

Capt . Joshua Laselle was a residen t of Amen ia asearly as 1 769 . He purchased of William Young th eplace now owned by Myron B . Benton .

Benjamin Leach,a tanner

,resided at the Square ,

and built that substantial brick house,afterwards for

many years a t avern .

D r . Alpheus Leonard was the successor of D r . Allerton i h the practice of his profession . He was a man ofaccurate kn owledge

,and had a happy faculty of illus

trating his lessons to his studen ts in medicine, and

others who came to him for instruction .

Ephra im Lord’s hou se was on the place now occu

L. Of (a . This i s th e oldes t obi tuary rece i d on th e book .

*13


pied by th e Amen ia Seminary and h e owned lands inseveral other places in th e town .

John Lovel,the father of Capt . Joshua Lovel, from

Roches ter, Mass came in to this part of th e country inand se ttled first where Mr. Geo . H . Swift 11 0 W

lives,and in 1 770 removed to Sharon .

D ea . Mel tiah Lo trop lived on th e place which wasafterwards th e home of Judah Swift . That is a

'

par t ofOblong Lot 45

,which Mr . Lotrop and others had

bought of Cadwallader Co lden,He was th e father of

Walter Lath rop,Esq .

,and th e grandfather of Silas ,

Dan iel,and Walter, Ju n . Esq . Lathropt was a man o f

extensive reading .

Silas Marsh,Esq .

,called Lawyer Marsh

,was Son

of Rev . Cyrus Marsh,of Kent

,Conn .

,and brother of

Mrs . Anne Delamater . He lived some years near Sharon Station

,and awhile in th e W inches ter house . He

was an ac tive patriot .

Nathan Mead , of Greenwich , Conn .

,was here as

early as 1 740 ,and h ad purchased th e lands now owned

and occupied by J . Franklin Mead,wh o is th e fifth gene

ration there . Nathan Mead was th e father of Job Mead ,and th e grandfather of Job Mead

,Ju n . These latter

father and son— served awhile in the Revolution .

Th e late John King Mead,Esq .

,son of Job Mead ,

Ju n,,and descendan t of Samu el King, was in

”

th e Leg

islatu re in 1 844.

Thomas Mygatt , th e father of Preston and ThomasMygatt , came from New Fairfield in 1 772 , and pu r

chased th e lands where h e resided, and which are stil lin th e possession of th e family . He was a descendantin th e S ixth generation of Deacon Joseph Mygatt , one

Sed i ck'

s H istory of Sharon .

1' E sq . Lathrop ’s wife was s ister of S tephen Warren .



dent of South Amen ia, among th e,earliest settlers .

Isaac Osborn was a man of some reading and of u nprodu ctive ingenuity . His son

,Melancthon

, wen t into th ewar of 1812 , and , i t is said, was killed in th e battle ofBlad ensbu rgh .

Capt. Nathan Osborn came in to the south part ofthe town after th e Revolutionary war . He was a Tory

,

for which his land in North Salem,Westchester county

,

had been confiscated ; and h e obstinately refused totake th e necessary measures for its recovery

, and diedin poverty .

The family in the time of the war, like many othersin Westchester, were several times robbed of theirgoods .

Th e Northrops were an importan t family in th e townof Washington

,and some of them were residen ts of

Tower Hill, in th e sou thwest part of Amen ia . EnochNorthrop

,from New England , was th e father of Samuel,

who settled on Tower Hill,on lands still held by th e

family . T h e sons of Samuel were William,Samuel ,

Benj amin,Nathan and John S . Th e burial place of th e

family is at Lithgow .

Abraham Painefi“son of Elisha Paine, of Canter

bury,Conn .

,settled in Amen ia 1741 or in 1 742 .

Joshua Paine,also of Canterbury

,th e father of

Judge Paine and Barnabas Paine, Sen . , Esq .,came in

1 749 , and purch ased in the east part of th e town , on Lot59 of th e Oblong . He was a farmer and blacksmith .

’

Joshua Paine was nephew of Elisha Paine, of Cant erbu ry, and cousin of Abraham mentioned above . Allth e Paines of Amen ia and. Northeast are descendan ts ofElisha or Joshua mentioned . Ichabod Paine was son

of R ev . Solomon Paine, of Canterbury, and grandson of

A braham Paine took th e firs t s tep s towards th e organ ization of a church ,


Elisha . They were all descendan ts of Thomas Paine,

*

who came to Plymouth from England in 1621 . IchabodPaine and Ichabod Paine Jun . , lived many years northof Wassaic

,on the farm afterwards owned bv Leman

Cook .

Hon . Ephraim Paine was apprenticed in his youthto a farmer, whom h e served with most exemplary fidelity. After th e termination of his apprenticeship h emade a voyage for trade to th e West Indies and to CapeSable

,which gave him th e means of a settlement in life,

when h e came to Amenia in 1 753 . T he house whichJudge Paine built for himself, lately the residence ofMilton Hoag, is still standing by th e turnpike

,

west of th e gate . Th e land h e purchased of TimothyMead in l 772 .i

Barnabas Paine,1 Esq .

,father of Barnabas

,Jun . ,

and of Mrs. Bennet, of Canaan , Conn . , lived where his

son con tinued to reside, which is th e place now ocenpied by S tough ton Moore. He had a knowledge of med

icine, and was called D r. Paine .

Elij ah Park and Ebenezer Park,brothers

,came to

Amen ia from Rhode Island in 1 768 . Their ancestorshad emigrated from England in 1 635

,going first to

Maryland,and thence to Rhode Island . Their resi

dence in Amenia was near th e ore bed at Sharon Station

,called th e Park o re bed .

”

Ebenezer Park removed to Binghamton . iElijahPark

,who was a public-spirited citizen ,

died in 1 795,and his son , Elij ah B . Park

,and his daughters

,Louisa

Jos iah Paine. ofHarwich ,Mass. , has comp iled a genealogy of th e posterity ofTh omas Paine. of E astham , th e imm igrant mentioned i n the text . Abraham Paine, R ev .

Solomon Paine, and Joshua Paine were great-grandson s of Thomas, th e immigran t .“

1 Judge Pa ine sometimes preached in th e absen ce ofa m in ister . There i s a referencein th e old church record of some d i sagreemant between Judge Paine and h is pas tor. I tgrew ou t of no cen surable conduct, bu t ou t of a di sagreemen t i n bibl ical expos ition toop os itively stated .

it Barnabas Paine in a few ins tances spelled h i s name, “ Payen .

”

104 THE EARLY HISTORY oE AMENI A .

(Mrs . Benjamin) and O live, died also in Amenia . Th e

other son s of Elijah removed to Binghamton . Also th efamily of Elij ah B . Park afterward s removed to Bing

h amton ,where t he family is now well represen ted .

George Park, Esq .,brother of Elijah B .

, is living in

Bingh amton

Col . Brinton Paine, who is men tioned among th e

officers of th e war, &c .,lived near th e City on th e Sand

ford place . His relationship to other families of that

n ame does not appear .

Abiah Palmer, father of Abiah W . Palmer, removedfrom Stan ford to Amen ia in 1 789, and immediately took

an active part i n public business . His father ’s residence in Stanford was near th e place where CorneliusPugsley lives .

Edmund Perlee resided at th e City,where h e had a

farm . His father left France, when about fourteenyears old , without th e consen t of his parents, and aftervarious f ortunes s ettled in Amen ia . Edmund Perleeserved in th e R evolutionary war , and afterwards becameMajor-General Of Militia , and filled several importantcivil offices . Several of his sons were in th e war of 1812 9“

Yos t Powerst was born in Naumburg, Germany, in1 731 . About 1 752 , h e emigrated to America , and set

tled firs t in Rhinebeck, whence h e came to Amen iaabou t 1 758, and purchased, at several times, the landsstill occupied , some of them , by th e family . His sonswere Jacob, John ,

Frederick, David, and Peter . Hisdaughter

,Catherine

,was th e wife of David Rundall .

John was th e father of th e late John Powers . Jacobthe son of Yost Powers ,was a soldier in the Revolution ,

E dmund, A braham, and Henry were i n th e serv ice. A braham was severelywounded i n a battle on th e northern front ier . T h e other s ons were Walter and John .

1“ ‘ Yost,’ or

‘‘ Joes t . Th is name i s now represented by Ju s tu s , th e name ofsome of hi s postei i ty.


106 THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIAu

south part of th e town . His place of residence wasPerry’s Corner, previously called Stebbins

’ Corner .

Stephen Ray kept a tavern near th e State line , westof Sharon Valley, in a stone house which h e built . He

was born in England .

John Read,father of Charles and others

,came from

Redding, Conn .,in 1804

,and purchased th e farm near

Amenia Un ion,where the old stone house stands

,and

where h e died in 182 1 . Mr. Read’s father— COL. JohnRead— gave name to th e town where h e lived , which wasthen Spelled Reading .

”

The Reeds, of Amenia, were from Norwalk . In 1759

James Reed was one of a company of Connect icuttroops, who passed through this town on their way toCanada , to th e aid of General Wolfe i n the conquest ofQuebec . While on their way th e company receivednews of th e capture of Quebec, and were ordered to return . Mr . Reed was so pleased with the Oblong valley

,

through which h e le isurely returned,that h e induced

his father, Mr . Dan iel Reed,of Norwalk

,to purchase for

him some landt here, which h e did where th e late PhiloReed, son Of James

,resided till his death .

Th e brothers of James Reed, who removed here afew years later, w ere E z ra,;t who lived where HuldahBump did, Elij ah , who owned th e farm which h e left tohis son , E lij ah , Ju n .

,and Eliakim

,who settled where

his grandsoii , Newton Reed, nowresides Mrs . Warren ,

wife of Stephen Warren,was a sister of the se.

Th e emigran t ancestor of this family was John Reed ,

Th is company of soldiers came up th e west road from Dover, and halted for d innerat th e brook, which comes down from Tower H i ll . Cap t . Reed often referred W i th interes tto that p lace where h e took h i s firs t d inner i n Amen ia . I t was th i s mu s tering of troop s fo rgi at

gampaign, which gave th e poet Young some meident s 111 h is poem ,

T h e Conques t ofu e ec.

"

1' T h e land was 53 acres , which Dan iel Reed purchased Of Joseph Clapp . th e originalproprietor of Oblong Let , NO . 47 , cal led Clapp ’s Patent . He i e th e young man beganW i th h i s ax e on ly .

I E zra Reed and his family went to Hudson and Coxsackie.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA . 1 (17

who came from England in 1660 . He h ad been an ofli

cer in th e army of th e Commonwealth , and came awayat the Restoration . He died at Norwalk

,in 1 730 , aged

97 . It was that par t of Norwalk , called “ Five-MileRiver

,

”on th e west line of the town . Here Mr. Reed

prepared a room in his own house, where public worship was held till th e church of Middlesex was formed

,

now in Darien ,no t far from Five-Mile River. He was

a good spec imen of th e Puritan soldier,who held his

sword in one hand and his bible in th e other .

*

James Reed married th e daughter of Dan iel Castle,

Esq .,in 1 759 , and bu i lt his house on the spot where

Jas . H . Swift’s residence now stands . Th is house wasremoved many years ago, and is now a comforatble

dwelling, a tenan t house belonging to M . F . Winchester .

Eliakim Reed’s sons were Eliakim , Jun ., who wen t

to Greene county, Simeon who settled in Vermon t, Silasand Samuel, who settled in On tario county

,Phineas

,

who lived in Hillsdale, and E z rafrwho remained on th e

h omestead . Eliakim Reed ’s settlement in Amen iawas in 1 7 73 .

Capt . Reed was a man of great sagacity and en terprise, and was very extensively and favorably knownfor his honorable dealing . He en larged his landed es

tate, conducted a store ,and a mill , and a manufac tory

of iron , and , in the time of th e war, of steel . He was

also one of th e first in sus tain ing a religious societv .

Capt . Reed left a good estate to each o f his ten sons an dtwo daugh ters i

H i s sword was preserved by th e fami ly several generat ion s , and they have been abible-reading family .

01 T h e wife of E zra Reed was a descendan t of Wi ll i am Hyde and al so of Capt . George

Den i s on and A nne Borad i l .

I T h e s on s of Capt . Reed were Dan iel,Reuben , S tephen . E l ijah , Amos , Gilbert, Jes se ,Jacob , James and Ph ilo . On ly Reuben, S tephen and Philo died i ii Amen i a . T h e othersremoved to th e western part of th e state. T h e daughters were M rs . No t th i op and Mi s .Rose. They all left families excep t Ph ilo .


David Rundall came from Horse Neck,* while a lad,about 1 770, with an elder brother (Jared to whom h ewas bound apprentice to learn th e tailor

’s trade . Aboutth e termination of his apprenticeship , th e war commenced ,

and h e served two campaigns . He settledfirst north of Henry Peters

,and in 1795 h e removed to

th e place where h e ended his days . David Rundalland Catherine Powers were married D ec . 30, 1 778 .

Roswell Hopkins,E sq.

”He was the father of Jacob

and th e late Col . Henry Rundall,and Mrs. Mesick .

Dan iel Rowley was from East Haddam , Conn .

Bezaleel Rudd and Zebu lon Rudd were in th e northpart of th e town

,as it was ; also Elij ah Roe, Silas Roe,

and Jedu th an Roe .

Philip Row,and others of that family, lived in the

extreme northwest corner of th e town,where the late

Andros Row lived .

Joseph Reynolds was one of th e earlier members ofthe church at th e Red Meeting Hou sefr

Jonathan Reynolds was a citiz en of Amen ia, residingin th e west part of th e town in 1 762 , and was chosenAssessor at the first Town Meeting .

Stephen Reynolds,the father of Dr. Israel Reynolds

and others,resided a short distance north of th e City

church , previous to 1767 , in a hOu se, still remaining ,

which was eviden tly built before th e Revolution .

His father was Francis Reynolds,of Horse Neck ,

and his grandfather was James Reynolds,who died a t

his house on a visit in 1767, and was buried at th e City,at th e age of 93 . The ancestors of th e family camefrom England in th e reign of Queen Anne . Stephen

Horse Neck— now Greenwich— was so called from a neck of land on th e S ound,W here horses were pas tured.

1'‘

uR th and L idia, ch ildren of Joseph and L idia Reynold s, wwere bapti z edIsrael, son of Joseph and L idi a Reynolds, was bap ti z ed


1 10 THE EARLY HISTORY OF AMENIA .

erine,was th e wife of Jacob Bockee . D r. John Miller

twice married sisters of Judge Smith .

Judge Smith was very en terprizing and effi cient inpromoting the in terests of agriculture in Dutchess coun

ty,particularly in th e prod uction of fine wool . He died

in the midst of his en terprises in 1825.

Platt Smith lived in th e north part of th e town,now

Northeast .Mark Spencer, who distinguished himself by his

financial operations with the late Jacob Barker and

Matthew L . Dav is,lived with his father near Amenia

Un ion . Th e fami ly was from Guildford’

, Conn .

El ias Sh evalier died in 1808, aged 95 years . He wasa native of France

,and came to this coun try when a

boy,and was sold, as they called it, for a given time to

pay h i s passage . He came to Amenia when just mar

i ie il,and acquired by h is industry a good estate. He

was a liberal supporter of th e old church in its beginn ing . His sons were Peter,Elias, Ju h .

,Abner

,Richard

and Solomon and h e h ad several daughters . Abnerwas one of th e deacon s in th e Baptist church

Th e old brick house, belonging to Hiram Cooper,was built by th e family, and th e last of them ,

who resided in th e town ,

was Abner second, who removed in1832

, with John Dunham ,to Broome Coun ty . Th e

name is very variously spelled .

Bowers Slason kept a tavern on th e hill east of Shaon Station , wh ich appears to have been a populousneighborhood . Peter Slason lived in South Amenia .

Capt . Roger [Southerland lived in th e west part ofth e town , near Adam

’s Mill . He was th e father ofRodger B . Southerland, who married th e daughter ofIsrael Totten , and lived where W. Platt Perlee now

resides .


Judah Swift settled in Amenia in 1 769 . He wasfrom Barnstable county, Mass ., and moved to this placewith his family by a team of three yoke of oxen He

se ttled on th e farm where his son,Moses, con tinued to

reside . His son , Seth , built th e house where Thomas W.

Swift now resides, and continued there till his d eath .

Samuel Swift and Nathaniel, Son s of Judah , removed toth e western part of th e State . The son of Mo ses Swiftwas Thomas . The sons of Seth were Moses,Henry

,Elea

z er Morton and Thomas W. Henry Swift was a lawyerin Poughkeep sie. E . M . Swift was a lawyer in Dover.The others were residen ts of Amen ia .

Thomas and Timothy S tevens were early residen tsof th e south part of the town . Thomas was th e fatherof the late William Stevens, who removed to th e western part of New York .

Stephen Trowbridge, of Danbury— nowBethel— was

an early resident living north of Perry’s Corner . He

was th e father of Stephen B . and Alexander Trowbridge .

Th e Thompson familyiL came to S tanford about 1 746,

and some of the family soon after came into Amen ia .

Their ancestors emigrated from England in 1 637 . Be

ing Dissen ters , they came t o this coun try quietly to ehj oy freedom in their religious principles, and to avoidth e persecutions and exactions to which they weresubjected .

” Samuel Thompson was a citizen of Ameniain 1769, and Benajah Thompson,

who lived where R . R .

Thompson , Esq ., now resides

,went from this town to

the Legislature in 1804, etc D ea . Se th Thomson livedabout a mile south of th e City P . O .

Israe l Totten resided where W. P . Perlee now lives .

Moses was seven years old when th e family came here, and rode one of th e oxen on

th e j ourney .

1 Enos Thompson Troup , a former Governor ofNew York ,was of th i s fami ly. The

b irthp lace of Judge Smith Thompson i s at th e Square.


He began here as a laboring man , and acquired a goodestate by his personal industry . His wife was EstherWarren, from Norwalk, Conn .

l / Stephen W arren was from Norwalk,Conn . He

owned the farm Of J. T . Sackett,and

g

’ built about th etime of th e Revolution the house now on the place .

His wife was sister of Eliakim and. James Reed . Hissons were Jamfi si Stephen ,

and Lewis . His d aughterswere Mrs. Shubel Nye, M .rs Bishop, Mrs. Munson

,and

Mrs . K etch ill Reed . 5 1 7 , 15

Samuel Waters, Esq ., was a Justice of the Peace

several years . His wife was Eunice Atherton .

Capt . Thomas Wheeler, from Woodbury,Conn .

,

settled, in 1749 , on the place now owned by his greatgrandson

,Erastus W heeler.

Capt . Noah Wheeler, th e son of Thos ,was a posi

tive, energetic man, and of stern pa triotism . He distingu ished himself in battle, at Fort Independence .

His sons were Noah,Wooster, An thony, Newcomb

Dav id, Eben and. Alanson . They were all farmers and

obtained good estates .

Capt . Thomas Wheeler was engaged in the FrenchW ar

,and while serving on the northern frontier was

taken sick and. returned towards home. He reachedFite Miller’s tavern ,

in Columbia county,and died Sept .

1 st,1 757 , at th e age of 44 years .Col . Anthony Wheeler was an active man in political

affairs during th e W ar of 1812 , and was also very efli c

ient in his command of th e 29th regimen t of Militia .

Elij ah Wheeler, the father of William and Cyrus'

W h eeler, was from New Marlborough , Mass . He diedin 1 774, aged 41 .

Robert Willson (son of Robert) came from the northof Ireland

,when quite young, and lived in Connecticu t



Capt . William Young removed to Amenia Un ionfrom -

and set up an extensive tannery . He

built the house which is part of th e tavern ,and after

wards built th e house which became th e property ofDr . Wi lliam Young Chamberlain . Capt . Young wasfrom Orange county. His wife was Helena, dau gh terof Nicholas Row, Sen .

JUDICIAL RECORD .

Th e Justices of th e Peace, previous to the organization of th e Precinct, were Castle , Hopkins , Boekee,Winegar . Smith , Garnsey and perhaps some others .Th e Record, kept with admirable clerical . Skill by

Roswell Hopkins, Esq ., Show the Actions determined

— civil cases— in his official service,which was more

than thirty years, to have been In 1 777, thereis a hiatus in th e Record, which indicates partly th etime when Col . Hopkins was absent in th e war .

This Record Shows us also th e judicial penalties ofthat age ,

and it must no t be entirely hidden that therewere some convictions where th e penalty was “ lashesupon th e bare back .

” These convict-ions were by aCou rt of Special Sessions, held by three Justices . I n

these courts we find associated Samuel Waters,Josiah

Gale,Joseph Carpenter, » of Stanford , James T allmage,

Philip Spencer,&c . ,

some of whom were from othertowns . Th e fine for breaking th e sabbath ,

for drunkenness

,and for a profane oath seems to have been three

shillings,which wen t to th e poor and though th e treas

*15


u ry was no t much helped, these convictions were supposed to b e a proper expression of public sen timen tagainst th e crimes pun ished .

March 24 1 784.— A man was convicted of stealing a

horse,sad dle

,and bridle , and was “

adjudged ” to bewhipt 39 stripes

,and th e court issued a warrant to

Reuben Allerton,C on stable

,who “ immediately

executed th e same .

This is th e on ly case in which th e execution of th esentence is recorded . A part of th e penalty in mostcases was that th e criminal be transported ou t of th ecoun ty .

Th ere is also a record of the marriages by Esq . Hop

kins,which ih 34 years numbered 182 . Many c i tizens

of th e best social position were married by him— Dan ie lShepard, Elijah Park , Dan iel Hebard , Reuben Allerton ,

David Collin,David Rundall

,King Mead, and others .

It is understood that there was a peculiar grace ofmanner in the marriage ceremony of this christianmagistrate .

It will no t be inferred that this pleasant service wastaken out of th e hands of th e clergymen of th e townon ly in a small measure— when it is remembered thatR ev . Mr. Kn ibloe, in 26 years of th e same period oftime married 320 couples .

Th i s was D r. A l lerton , a very humane man . Bu t such was th e law .



years later in troduced in th e Legisla ture a bill for th eabolition of Slavery in this state . This important beginn ing resulted ih th e complete abolition o f SlaveryJuly 4th

,182 7 .

They were no t permitted to make any free and castthem off

,who were no t able to provide for themselves .

There were,therefore, in 1824, a few years before t h e

complete termination of S lavery in this state , 32 S lavesin Amen ia .

DUT OHESS COUNTY,STATE OF NEW YORK — This may

certify that Joel Mandore,a negro man

,formerly a ser

van t of Ezra Reed , and h is wife, now a slave to th e saidEzra Reed, and their son

,Jedu tli anfi" a slave to th e said

E zra Reed , who is d i sposed to manumit th e said slaves ,and it appears to us that th ey are under th e

age of fifty, and of Sufficien t ability to main tain themselves

,and of good moral character .

Certified by us whose names are hereunto subscribed :

I SAAO D ARRow,

Ju stices o fROSWELL HOPKINS

,th e Peace .

ELIAKIM REED,

Overseers of th e Poor ofBARNABAS PAINE

,th e Town of Amen ia .

Amenia,Oct . 13tlz , 1 788 .

Know all men by these presents, that I, Ja‘

cob

Bockee , of Amen ia town , in th e coun ty of Dutchess , andstate of New York , for, and in con sideration of th efaithful service

,and other good causes thereun to, d o

manumit and discharge from my service, or that of myheirs forever, a certain slave ,

named Simon Le Grande .

In witness hereof,I have hereun to set my h and

this eighth day of April,seventeen hundred and n inety

four . JACOB Boc E .

Witness,William Barker .

Th e above is a true record — William Barker,

Town Clerk .

Jed u tli an l ived on th eDarl ing place, nearWassaic, and became a respectable ci tizen .

INNS AND STORES .

I t was th e custom ,almost universal in former days

,

in New England and New York,th at th e Inns

,or tav

erns , were kept by citizens, who were th e most wealthyand respectable of th e people ,

very often by men whohad large farms and possessed th e means o f providingample accommodations . Th e public houses were n o t

then,as now

,located at th e intersection of highways,

and there was no t in the early days of Amen ia anyvil lage in th e town to give local attraction to a tavern .

Dan iel Castle,Esq . , kept a tavern at South Amenia ,

in 1 758 . Roswell Hopkins,Esq .

,was keeping a tavern

when th e first town meeting was directed to be held athis house in 1 762 , and th e town meetings were heldthere in 1 763 , and 1 764, In 1 765 to 1 773, th e townmeetings were held at th e house of Col . Michael Hep

kins . After that year— Mr . Hopkin s having d ied— at

Timothy Green ’s,Major Simeon Cook ’s, Capt . Platt

’s,

Abiah Palmer ’s,and Capt . W ardwell

’

s .

In 1 764, th e following person s in Amenia Precinctreceived license to keep a tavern— Samuel Smith ,

Rob


ert Johnson,Jonathan Reynolds , Edmund Perlee , S te

phen Ray,W idow Eunice W heeler

,Samuel Snider

,

Michael Hopkins . Simeon Wright, Stephen Johns , Ichabod Paine

,Benjamin Hollister , Ju n .

,Dan iel Castle .

In 1 790 , eighteen citizens of Amen ia received apermi t to keep a tavern . Among these were Caleb D a

kin,Abiah Palmer , Stephen Reynold s

,Edmu nd Perlee

,

Jacob E vartson , Elisha Barlow,Zerah Beach

,Noah

Wheeler, Lemuel Brush , and William Davies . Some ofthese were wi thout th e obligation to provide lodgings .

One of th e first s tores established in Amenia wasCapt . James Reed

’s , some years before th e Revolution .

I t was a Shor t distance north of his dwelling,and

th e place is marked n ow by a few locust trees, th e off.

Spring of those plan ted at th e time when the building

was th ere . This store was resorted to for trade by'

people from a distance and over a wide extent of

cou n try .

S tores were kep t also at an early day at th e Square,

and near th e City , a t Neel ey’

s, at D elavergne’

s,and a t

Adam’

s Mills,and near th e R ed Meeting House .

Th e articles of trade were few, as domestic manu fac

tures supplied so many of th e articles now Obtainedwho lly by exchange . Cotton

,that enters so much in to

commerce now,was th en scarcely known , and very few

woollen fabrics came in to trade— no hats,o r Shoes

,or

mi ttens , or any ordinary clo thing . T h e trade was limt ed to a few ar ticles of foreign manufacture, with tea

,

wine and brandy, and th e produc ts of th e West Indies .M u ch o f th e exch ange was by barter, very lit tle

money was used and th a t was S ilver .

Wheat was th e first arti cle of commerce thatbrough t in money ; first , by expo rtation in bulk by wayo f Po

’

keepsie ; and a fter th e mills were perfec ted,it

as manufactured and sen t in flour .


MANUFACTURES .

LEATHER .

Th e important business of making leather was conducted in several places in th e town . It was one ofthose industries which were

,in their location and e x

tent, exactly suited to th e wan ts of the people, who

used th e hides of their own cattle for thei r boots and

shoes and harnesses . They d id not buy or sell to anyexten t . Their leather was in proportion to their beefand veal and mutton ,

and th e bark for tanning was nearat hand . Th e skins were carried to th e tanner

, and

marked with th e owner’

s in itials,and returned to him

after several mon ths . Then they were carried to th eshoemaker , who was often connected with th e tannery,and th e shoes were made to th e measure of each foot .O r

,more frequently

,where there was a large family ,

th e shoemaker whipped th e cat (whatever th atwen t to th e house, and there made all the shoes for th efamily for a year . O ther clothing also was made inthis way .


Th ere was a tannery at Sou th Amenia,established

by Joseph and Gershom Reed one at Amenia Un ion,

by YV illiam Young one at th e Square one nearThomas Ingraham’s, and several others in differentparts Of th e town .

Th e'

trade of tanner and currier was cons idered veryrespectable and remunerat i veu The mechanical trades

W ere all honorable.

CLOTH .

Th e manufactu re of almost the whole of th e clothfor t h e people was in the family . T he wool and th e

flax were of their own production,prepared and spun

by their own hands,and d ressed under their direction ,

and fitted to their measure . Th e need o f a new su i tmust have been anticipated a year, and th e owner mustwait and work for it all that time, before th e suit wouldbe ready to wear . But it did wear.

Every neighborhood had -its shoemaker, and tailor,

and hatter,

“

and other mechan ics, and these were scattered among th e farms, and were no t, as now, clusteredtogether in villages, or driven ,

as many Of them are, en

tirely out of th e coun try . .This explains th e fact thatth e rural population of th e town was greater then thanit is now,

and also th e fact that any given rural district .

was able to sustain a much greater population than in ,

th e present style of commercial l ife . All this wealthof home-manufacture is removed from th e country , and

'

Thi s i s verified by actual coun t In one of th e bes t agricu l tural di s tricts of th etown , we count twelve famili es , on con tiguou s farms , where t he C ll l ld l el l— n l ost ly grownto mai i h ood— numbei ed 32 . In t h e generat ion before thi s . th e children from th e same

5 hou ses numbered 115, all ofwh om reached mature li te . and .h alt‘

ot whom attained old age .

here i s not i n thi s di stri ct Of abou t four m iles i n lineal extent any mechan ic , but awagon

-r, a black smith and a carpen ter.

ough th e older tamilics have sen t their son s and daughters to al l part s of the

l and , and have become great lv dimin i shed in numbers . there are v e t more than twentyfamil ies l ivn ig on lands which their ancestors held a hund red 3 ea i s ago, O i more.

124 THE EARLY HIST ORY OF AMENIA .

the sustentation of the people comes almost wholly fromtheir land . This, on a fertile soil and with high cultu rekeeps up th e wealth of the few, who are necessary toconduct the business Of agriculture

,but on an u npro

pitious soil, the people, without domestic manufacturesand left to agriculture alone for their living, becomeimpoverished, and the population declines in numbersand wealth . This is true of many districts in ourcoun try .

It was a notable advance in the u se of machinerywhen Mr. John Hinchlifi

’

e set u p his carding machineat the Steel Works , in 1803 Wool had previously beencarded by hand

,but now it was brought from a great

d istance to this novel and curious machine, which wasth e first in this part of America .

LEEDSV ILLE FACTORY.

After the beginning of the present century, the hazardou s condition of American commerce, and the highprice of imported woolen fabrics led enterprising men

to enter upon asso ciated schemes for the manufactureof woolen cloth . T he Woolen Factory at Leedsvillewas established in 1809 . Rufus Park

,of Amenia, and

Judson Canfield ,of Sharon

,Conn .

,were the principals

in the company. The name “ Leeds ” was suggested byan Englishman

,who was engaged in th e works, and who

had come from Leeds, in England .

Th e peace with Great Britain, in put an end

to the profits of manufacturing woolens in this country,and th e company at Leedsville failed . The property

T h e bel l of th e factory was rung loud and long when th e news of peace arrived,but it was the deat h knell of i ts prosperity.



IRON MAKING.

I t seems probable that th e important business ofmaking iron was begun in Amenia some time before th eRevolutionary war, and wh en the smelting of th e ore

was mostly by the forge . On the small stream thatpasses through -the moun tai ns west of Leedsville, and alittle sou th of th e gap ,

‘ Capt . Samuel Dunh am had aforge . Th e ore used in these works Seems to have been

’

taken from the presen t Amen ia ore bed,

* as Mr . Dun

ham h ad then an interest in the Nine Par tners Lot 32 .

I t is also eviden t that there was a forge at th e S teelWorks as earlv as 1 77O,i

Land the ore for that also Was

taken from the Amenia mines.

It was not till 1825 that t he important works of N;Grid ley Son ,

at Wassaic,were commenced . From

that time th e manufacture of iron and th e prod uct ofth e mines have grown in to large proportions

,and con

tribu ted greatly to the common wealth of the town .

The Furnace at 'Wassaic was begun and built up byJosiah M . Reed,Leman Bradley ,Nathaniel Gridley and

Noah Gridley. T h e s ite fo r th e furnace a few acresand the o re bed had been p

‘ur ‘chased by Elij ah B . Park,and sold to th e abov e par ti es fo r six thou sand dollars .

In'

1825,th e youngest of th ese par ties began

alone among th e rocks,with a single team of oxen ,

the“

construction of works , which have arisen to so much'

importance . It was no t without some doub tful struggles against adverse circumstances that success wasgained . But all these men

‘

to ok hold of their busi nesswith th eir right hand s .

In 1743, a record was made of a right of way to th e ore bed , wh ich Watermangold to Samuel Forbes .

1 H istorical Record


In 1844,th e property came into th e hands of Noah

and William Gridley, and on th e death of William,into

th e po ssession of th e survivor .

There was no house in th e place o r any building ex

cept the remains of an old saw mill near th e furnacedam .

T h e furnace was at first called Johnny Cake Furnace,

” from the local name of a street in the vicinity .

T h e making of plows was one of those trades , whichwere required in every agricultural distric t . T h e plowwas of wood

,and th e wearing part of wrought i ron ,

th e

share bei ng frequently sharpened by th e blacksmith .

Moor Bird was a skillfu l plow maker, and made era

dles also . Th e cast-iron plow was in troduced in th e

early part of this cen tury, and th e first manufacture ofthem in this town was by Mr . Calvin Chamberlain

,at

the City .

,THE STEEL WORKS .

Near th e begi nning of th e Revolutionary W ar,th e

importati on of i ron and steel being cut off, home manufacture was necessarily Stimulated ; when Capt . JamesReed and a Mr . Ellis entered upon the manufac ture of

’

steel, at th e place wh ich has since retained thenameOfSteel Works

, and they prosecuted th e business sometime with success . They obtained th e iron for theirpurpose in pigs from Livingston s Fu i fi ace at Ancram ,

which was ablast furnace,and th e first in thispart ofthe country .

* These effort s at h ome nia' w

nu factu re‘were.

considered patriotic as ‘well as’

Isaac Benton wa s a sk i lled i vo i kinan in th is newly-Organ ized manufacture, and:received a h igh compensat iflon2 T h e price paid fo i coal was twen ty sh ill ings a load ; bu t i t does not appear how manybushel s consti tuted a load T h i pmbe fo i carting iron fi om L ivingstone furnace was tensh illings for twelve hund red which seemed to make a load .

3 . S teel was sold for a sh i l l ing pei pound at retail ; at wholesale i t was s o ld tor i-Z 4 perhundred and i efined s teel at £5 per hundred Captain Reed , i n 1776, purchased Harriscgt li es at 84 sh ill ings perd oz en, pay ing in s teel , and ret ailed them at t en shillings ap iece.

THE SHARON CANAL .

About th e year 182 1 , the New York and Sharon Canal was projected , and many of th e en terprising men o f

Amen ia took a lively in terest in it, though some Of th emore cautious ones looked upon the scheme as v isionary .

This Canal was to be constructed from Sharon Valley,down by the Oblong river

,and by the Swamp r iver

to th e sources of th e Croton in Pawling, and by th eCroton to the Hudson— or from th e lower part of theCroton to the Harlem ri ver. It was also con templatedthat the Canal would be extended north through Salisbury to Great Barrington

,in Massachusetts .

The preliminary survey was made, an d abou t sixtythousand dollars was contributed Th is money was de a

posi ted with a broker in New York,who failed

,which

d iscouraged th e managers, and th e scheme was abandoned for awhile . In 1826

,th e project seems to have

been renewed,and a Report of the Canal Csmmissioners

was made to the Legislature of surveys and est imatesby an engineer employed by th e Commissioners . Th e

estimated cost of the Canal to th e Hudson was


TRAVEL AND POST ROUTES .

The means of travel and communication In th e lastcentury were in strange contrast with the presentThere was no t even a stage coach or mail carriageknown in this part of th e country . T he only post roadin th e State in 1 789 was between NewYork and Albany

,

and th e number of Post-offices in th e State was only 7It was no t till 1823 that the Post-office at Amen ia Un ionwas established, and that was on a mail route whichextended from NewMilford . Conn .

,to Pownal, Vermont,

through Sharon and Salisbury, and the pr1n0 1pal town sof Berkshire coun ty . The mail was carried througheach way once a week, most of th e time in a one-horsewagon . Previous to that, th e letters— th e few that w erewritten— were carried by private hands, and th e newspapers— from Hartford and from Poughkeepsie— werecarried by post-riders on horseback . New York couldno t be reached in less than two days, th e j ourney thereby merchants and others being on horseback . Heavv

goods came by s10 0 ps to Poughkeepsie . The line ofstages which was run between Poughkeepsie and Litch


field, through Amenia, turned a large curren t of travelinto that new channel .Th e Dutchess turnpike

,so useful to th e people of

Eastern Dutchess and Li tchfield coun ties was made in1805

,against the protest of some wh o in Oppositi on

built the “ Shunpike .

”

There is a stone standing by th e road, which leadsfrom the Steel Works to Dover

,and where the stream

comes down from Tower Hill, on which is inscribed“ 183 miles to Boston .

” Another stone is standing nearth e parsonage in South Amen ia

,inscribed 35 miles to

Fishkill 1 79 miles to Boston ,

”29 miles to Pough

keepsie . These were set up in th e time of th e Revo lu

tionary war, while th e British held th e country belowth e Highlands

,and this was one of th e principal routes

between the Eastern and Southern States, by the wayof F ishkill

,where they crossed the Hudson . There

were one or two seasons when salt was brought fromBoston by this route . Officers of th e American armyand of the French army passed this way be tween th eEastern States and the Headquarters on th e

’Hu dson,

The Hessians were marched through th e town on thisroad to Fishkill, where they crossed the river

,when

they were‘

removed from Massachusetts to Virginia in1778 .

In th e early part of this cen tury, mile boards were

placed along th e Oblong road, which told th e distanceto New York . Th e one at Amenia Union said “ 98

miles to N . York .

”Th e measure was probably from

th e Battery, and by a route less direc t than the

present route .

AGR IOULTURE .

Agriculture was th e chief business of the early set

tlers, as i t has con tinued to be of their successors. T h e

two objects wh ich induced their emigrationgto this

newly-Opened field— as we have been told by a cotem

p orary witness— were the enjoymen t of religious inde

pendence and the possession of fruitfu l lands . Theywere not refugees from justice, nor broken merchants

,

nor bankrupt politicians , nor wild adven turers, nor ra

paciou s speculators ; ne ither very poor, no r very rl eh

every one of them expected to gain a subsistence by thhonest labor of his hands . And this productive laborwas directed ch iefly to the cultivation of land and tot hose mechanical trades, which are essen tial to the convenience of an agricultural community. It was veryattractive to them that the title to th e land was withoutdispute, and it also seemed to many of them a healthfulatmosphere of freedom , where there was no interferenceo f the civil authorities with the interests of religion .

Much of th e tillable land was easily cleared, andresponded bountifully to the simplest cultivation .



The production of wheat was greatlv stimulatedabout th e end of th e last cen tury , when ,

owing to th edisastrous wars In Europe , flour bore en ormous prices .Large crops were raised here which brought in an

unusual income .

After th e wheat crop began to fail, atten tion was

turned more to corn,and for a few years to barley

,and

then to oats . About th e beg inning Of this century, th efarmers of Dutchess coun ty began th e u se of plaster,and the cultivation Of grass

,which was followed by an

increased number of fatting cattle and Sheep , and an

improvemen t of th e land . In 1 825, th e producti on Of

fine wool became of general importan ce ,and , in 1835,

th e number of sheep in Amen ia was and in

Dutchess county These statistics are given,

on ly t o compare th e earlier with the later farming ofthese lands ; and not to extend th e history over

‘

th ese

later years .T he price of wheat in 1 776 was five Shillings a

bushel, and that was th e price of a day’ s work in bar

vesting . Butter was ten pence p er pound . Th e wagesof a hired girl at housework or Spinning was five shillings a week . They were no t servan ts as a class, butwere many of them equal in social position to theiremployers .

THE WAR OF 1812 .

The losses to the people Of Amenia by the utter depreciation Of con tinen tal money was not so serious asto those in other places, as only a few here were en

gaged in any business that required much capital but

the demoralizing influence Of the war upon society and

th e disturbance Of industrial pursuits were man ifested

for many years, and it was some time before th e business and social interests of th e people were restored totheir former prosperity .

It is understood that the people of Amenia took an

in telligen t interest in th e great questions which agitatedth e coun try previous to the final ratification of th e Nat ional Constitution, and. in all those national Subjects

,

which awakened SO much discussion and no little dissension previous to th e War of 1812 . All those differencesof sentiment , ,wh ich divided th e nation into two parties,were sharply defined here . The embargo and the otherrestrictions upon commerce were no t regarded as affecting their pecuniary interests

,not being a commercial


people, but they took distinct and positive ground on

those matters of national in teres t, which seemed to dictate a choice between th e British and the Frenchnations in any close p olitical affinity . T h e voters of th etown were almost equally divided on these questions formany years .When war was declared in 1812 , there was only a

partial response here to th e call for men,though there

was no violen t opposition to the measures of the Government . A few men were enlisted into th e regulararmy one or two voluntee r companies were raised , andsen t to New York , and drafts were made from th e u ni

form companies and other militia . Col . Joh n Brushc ommanded th e troops from Dutchess county

,which

were stationed at HarlemHeights . Henry Perlee wasCaptain of one of the compan ies . Jacob Rundall servedas Captain

,and William Barker and Samuel Russell

served under Col . Anthony Delamater . Jesse Barlowwas Captain of a volunteer company and was stationedon Staten Island . Archibald Allerton served as lieu tenan t in a company o f light horse . Of others in th e ser

vice on ly a few names are found by diligent enquiry .

W illiam Snyder, Elij ah Stevens, Russell Stevens, JohnJenks

,Elijah Andrews, Ashbel Porter, Cornelius Jor~

dan ,Isaac Latimer

,Seymour Haskins, Alexander Has

kins,Asa Hollister

,Hezekiah Lewis

,Eben Wheeler,

Solomon Wheeler, Simeon Hall , George Reynolds, Jonathan P. Reynolds, Milton Mason , and Enoch Anson .

Lieut . Obed Barlow died near New York of fever at theage of twenty-one years . Lieut . Phen ix Bockee wastaken S ick and died in Poughkeepsie . Sergeant Dan ie lShepard returned home S ick and died there . ColbyChamberlain returned and died at home. The gallantconduct of Capt . Henry Bru sh is mentioned in anotherplace also the death of young Spencer .


PROFESSIONAL MEN.

There has scarcely been a lawyer in th e townwhohas made th e practice of his profession his chief business, though a considerable number who were nativesof Ameni a, and received th eir early education here

,

have become eminen t at th e bar and on th e bench . Th e

people Of Amen ia have been specially indisposed tolitigation . From th e earliest history Of th e town to th epresent, they have been noted for their freedom fromfamily rivalry, from a desire of pre-eminence in wealthand social p osition, and from ambitious o stentation

,

and for their mutual confidence and good will to eachother . Th is is th e testimony of an eminent lawyer whowen t out from them .

Barnabas Paine, Esq. , was known as Dr . Paine, andhe is supposed to have received a medical education

,

and appears to have been a man of considerable learning . But he was not at any time exclusively occupiedin the practice of his profession .


D r. John Chamberlain was considered a skillfulphysician,

and practiced some time in Poughkeepsie .

D r . Doty practiced some time in the east part of th etown

,and D r . Delavergne, th e “ French doctor

,

” as h ewas called

,lived in the town some years .

D r . Reuben Allerton Was a thoroughly-educatedphysician , and was engaged in an extensive practicewhen h e died at the age of 54

° His son, D r. CorneliusAllerton , spent most of his professIOnal life at PinePlains .

D r . Cyrenu s Crosby was th e successor of Dr . Aller

ton in th e west part of the town , and was a man ofexcellen t attainments .

D r . Alpheus Leonard, from Canton ,Conn who

succeeded D r. Allerton in th e Oblong, was accustomedto h ave under his tuition a class Ofmedical students .

D r . Elmore Everitt succeeded Dr . Leonard .

There has been since their day a succession Of

educated and skillful physicians in the town,who are

remembered by th e present generation .

*18

LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS .

Th e people were from an early day in their historyindebted large ly to their public libraries for the highd egree of intelligence which they attained . In Mr

K n ibloe’

s congregation a library was collected at a veryearly period ,

which was kept at Amenia Un ion . Afterthat a larger and more valuable library was incorporated by th e name O f “ Un ion Li brary ,

” which was keptat Leedsville This was a collection O f th e ' mostins tructive literature in th e language, and th e bookswere read by a large proportion of th e families in the

town . Four times a year was there a “ library day,

”

when all th e books were returned and others weredrawn out . On these occasion s a large company werecollected to attend th e drawing. A public library wasalso inst ituted at Ameniaville of similar literary works .

Th e common schools of th e town were of an excellent character, and were resorted to by all th e families ,where they received a solid, though limited, education ,

and there were some excellent private schools .



Chancellor of the University of Syracuse, Rev . President Merrick , D . D , Rev . J. W . Beach , D . D .

, Rev

Cyrus Foss,D . D .

,Rev . D r. Kidder, Rev. A . J . Hunt

,

Rev . A . S . Hunt, D . D .,Rev. H . N . Powers, D . D . ,

Prof. A lexander Winchell, LL . D .,and many others

,

both teachers and pupils,of whom i t is too nearly cc

temporary to speak .

The present rising condition of Amenia Seminaryspeaks for itself.

THE AMENIA TIMES .

It is not out of place,and

,perhaps

,not out of time

-as illustrating the early tendency Of th e people ofAmenia to intelligent study— to make this record, thatth e Amen ia Times was instituted by the peoplethemselves, and has been sustained by them as a necessary medium of business and literary intercourse . Theconduct of this journal , so long under th e direction andmoulding hand Of one of Amenia

’s sons, has been suchas to reflec t the taste of a cultivated community, andits good name is cherished with a reasonable pride bythe citizens of the town .

*

Th e “ Amen ia Times was established in 1852 .

THE OLD HOUSES .

There are only about ten or twelve o f the O ld dwel~

lings, which were built more than a hundred years ago,th e few visible monuments of that period of o u r history .

An O ld house is in itself a history . It seems to speakto us of th e successive generat ions that have lived and

died there .

Th e house O fMr . Nye’s family is supposed to havebeen built by Joseph Ch amberlai n ,

who died in 1765.

Deacon Barlow ’s house, now belongi ng to AlbertCline

,was built a litt le previous to the Revolution .

Th e house built by Capt Reed, in 1 760, now re

moved , and belonging to Mr . Winchester.

Mr. Gridley ’s R ed Hou se, near Wassaic .

The house which makes a part of th e residence ofN . Reed .

Th e Capt . Boyd house, belonging to G H . Swift.The large stone house, built bv Hendrick Winegar,

in 1 761 .

T he hou se of brick and wood,bu ilt by Johannes

Delamater and Mary, his wife, in 1 761 , now belongingto M . B . Benton .

Judge Paine ’s house, where Milton Hoag livedwhich is almost ready to fall down .



gar, the patriarch of th e family, was buried in 1 754 . atth e age of 102 years . E ve

, th e wife of Hendrick Wine

gar , died in 1 749 . The stone at h er grave seems to bethe oldest which is known in the town . There is a

stone in th e ground near Coleman ’s,where th e Wheel

ers and Collin s and o thers are buried, which is alsodated 1749 . Th e name on this stone is Ruth Curt isand sh e was apparently one of the ancestors of thefamily of Capt . Thomas Wheeler.

Th e Old ground at the City is still th e burial placeOf many families there, although there are some privategrounds within th e bounds of that congregation . The

o ld burying place at Amenl a,which contains so many

honored names is cherished with affectionate care byth e friends

,though they have selected and arranged

with excellen t taste a new cemetery for th e presen t andfuture genera tions .Many there are in these old dwelling places

,who

have no other written memorial than what we read on“

their monumen tal stone,which affirms what has been

already said,that th e unwritten life of this people is

immeasurably greater than all that is written or remembered of them .

But th e brief lines in an old grave-yard have anintensity of historic in terest, which is no t found in any

prin ted volume ; whether we rub off th e moss of onehundred and twenty years, or pause over th e grave ofone so recen tly laid there, that we are unwilling tospeak th e name . W e are touched with the very brevityof th e record , ou t in enduring stone, where it will bestudied , after all these written memorials are forgotten .

THE END .

SUBSCRIBERS TO THIS WORK .

These names are inserted in th e book as a part ofthe history. A large number of the subscribers have ahered itary in terest in th e early residents of Amenia

,

and many others have become in timately connectedW i th th e people of the town by their residence here orby other associations .

Adam ,Wm .

Allerton , Archibald M .

Al lerton ,David

Al lerton ,Mrs . Byron

Al lerton , LoisAllerton

,Orville H .

’ Andrews,Mrs. Henry

Baird, Rev . C . W .

Barlow,Henry

Barlow,Franklin

Barlow,Jesse"

Barrett, OliverB arrett, Rev . Myron

Barnum,John D .

Bartram,Barney

Bartlett,Wm . H .

Bartlett,Wm . S .

Basset t,Joseph

Belden , JosephBenson

,Joseph H .

Benton,Charles E .

Benton , JoelBen ton

,Ezra R .

Benton,Myron B .

Ben ton , 0 . A .

Ben ton , SimeonBennett, John

148 APPENDI! .

Bertine, RobertBird , MiloBoekee, Phen ixBostwick

,Charles E .

Bowdish, Mrs . S . A .

Bowne , Sarah E .

Boyd,John

Boyd , John G.

Bronson Asahel, D . D .

Bryan , EzraBullions

,A . B.

,D . D .

Bumster,James W.

Bump,Julia

Carpen ter, Mary S .

Carpenter, Isaac S .

Carpenter, Jacob B .

Carter,Frederick

Chaffee, Jerome S .

Chamberlain, Rev AlbertChamberlain

,George

Chamberlain,Oliver

Chamberlain,Morton S .

Chase,John H .

Church ,Wm . L .

Clark,Douglass

Clark, EdgarClark, HenryClark

,Lorin

Cline, AlbertCline

,Franklin

Cline,Edward E .

Cline,J . H .

Cline, Mrs . MariaColeman , Amasa D .

Collin ,Mrs. Louisa

Conklin,I Hun t ing

Conklin,Nathan

Conklin, Wm . B .

Conklin , Amariah , M. D .

Crane, George E .

Crane,Mrs . MunroeCornwell,Wm . I .

Cummings, Rev . D r . J .

Dakin,Wm . P .

Darke, CharlesDe Lacey ,Wm . L .

Dedrick, W . JDenn iston

,Rev . James O .

Deming,Ralph

,M . D .

Durant, Mrs. Harriet

Eaton,L . F .

Edgerton , Sheldon

Fitch,Arthur

Fitch , Rev. SilasFlint , Au gustusFlint

,Charles A .

Frissell , Rev . A . C .

Frost, Prof. S . T .

Frost , HyattFry

,Simeon

Gilbert, LorenzoGreene, Louis C . M . D .

Gray, FrankGridley,NoahGridley,EdwardGriffin , TheronGuernsey, D e Sault, M .

Guernsey, JohnGuernsey

,Samuel

Hatch, L . P .

Hatch,Mrs . R . C .

Haskins,John

Hammond,John

Haven,E . O . ,

D . D .

Historical Society, L . I.Hitchcock

,Amariah

Hitchcock, CharlesHitchcock, E . R .


150 APPENDI! .

Perlee, J. H .

Perry, George N .

Peters,Alfred

Peters,Henry

Pitcher,Mrs. Myra

Place, Elizabeth S .

Platt, John I .

Powers, EdwardPowers

,H . N. ,

D . D .

Powers, F.,M . D .

Powers , P . B .

Pray,E . H .

Reed , Mrs . BetseyReed, Miss E . C .

Reed,F . Dana

Reed,Daniel, M. D .

Reed, H . V. D .

Reed , JohnH .

Reed, C . V. A .

Reed,Ira W .

Reed, Horace H .

Reed,James C .

Reed . J . M .

Reed, J . Herber tReed

,Homer H .

Reynold s , Hon . G . G .

Reynolds,Justus

,

Reynolds, Wa rrenRoberts

,Virgil D .

Rockwell, Almira R .

Rockwell, L . E . ,M . D .

Rose,Northrop

Rose, S . P .

Rose, Harvey M .

R ow,Henry

Rundall,David

Rundall,Henry

Ryan, Thomas

St . John , DwightSackett

,L . B .

Sayre, Rev . W . N .

Scott, C . H., Jr.Seeley

,Rev . A. H .

edgwick, C . F .

edgwick, HarrySherman , David H .

Sherman, W alter

Sherman,Shadrach

Sherman, S . W .

Sharpsteen, Mary BarnumSisson, J . B .

Sornberger, PhilanderSoule, J BSmith , Henry W .

Smith , Charles E .

Smith , RichardSmith , Albert C .

Smith,MyronSprague , Col . W. G.

Snyder,Williamtreet , Chaunceytevens

, MiloSwift, Thomas W.

Swift George H .

Swift, James H .

Swi ft , John M .

Tallman,J . P . H .

Tanner , Jas H .

Terret t, Rev . W. R .

T aylor, Henry I .

Taylor,R . B .

Thomson ,W . H.,M . D .

Thorn,J . S .

, M . D .

Treadwell, D . M .

Tripp , Daniel I.

V an Alstyne,Wm.

V an Dyck, Rev . L . H .

V an Dyck, H . H .

Van Dyck, Catherine C .

APPENDI! . 151

Watson,James E .

Wattles,Charles

Walsh,Rev . J. J .

Webster, Benjamin F .

Webster, CynthiaWestfall

,J . W .

Wheaton , HomerWheeler, Ben son H.

IVheeler, HiramWheeler, BurnetWheeler, B . H .

Wheeler, E . E .

Willson, Rev . R . E.

W illson , Barak

h

"l ‘h e Am en i a P in t omae .

A year ago enqu iry was made, at myrequest , of the Departmen t at W ash ington

to obtain the d ate o f the estab i ishment o fLthe Post Ofiice

,at Amenia.

I t was fo r th e pu rpose of mak i ng t he

zrecord in i ts proper place in t he H ist orylo t Amenia. W e have just received the

answer. I t sh ou ld no t be supposed that

i t usually takes so long a t ime fo r red

tape to'

come arou nd . T h e apo logy. tor

d elay ,sent from the Departmen t some

t ime ago , was t hat t here h ad b een someconfuslo n in t he papers Incid ent to a t e

arrangemeu t+semeth ing in i ts effects

like h ou sefc leanlng, I su ppose.

i‘

I‘

give t he d ates, and any one, who

‘

wishes to improve h is H isto ry, can paste

[ i t in. I t alloy s that - il’? establ i shmen t of'

Willson ,Samuel T .

Willson,Israel R .

Willson,Edward P .

Williams , 0 . C .

Wiltsie,Abram

i Wiley,Mrs . Ann M .

Wiley,Allen

Wiley, J . W .

Williamson,Geo . A .

Winegar,Norman

Winchester, Milo F .

Winchester, ErastusWinchell

, Al ex , LL . D .

W oodward , Richard

this post ofi ce wasmuch earlier thanthe l

Ofiice at Amenia Union wh ich was int1823 .

P. 0 . Department W ash ington,JANUARY 26, 1876

T h ompson Nase,Esq. Please find en I

closed informat ion requested .

Amenia,N. Y .,P. 0 . Established 1807

'

PO ST MAS TERS .

Salmon Bostwick , July 1,Ab iah Palmer, May 2 9 , 1 810 .

T h omas Payne, Aug. 23. 1823 .

Jo e! Brown,Apri l 2 6 , 1834.

H iram V ai l, June 18,

1841 .

Elijah D . Freeman, Oct . 2 0 , 18442

Isaac M. Hunt ing, Feb . 2 2,

1849

Hi ram V ai l,

May 2 , 1 849 .

Geo . Conklin, A pri l 6, 1853 .

W il liam H . Grant,

May 4, 1 861 .

Abiah W . Palmer, Apri l 16, 1864.

W . T . Ingerso l, D ec. 2 1,

1 865.

O liver Chamberlain, Oct . 1,

1866.

W . T . Ingerso l, A pri l 2 , 1867 .

Henry I. T aylo r. Feb . 2 , 1872 .

Eugene K emp ton,A ug. 19 , 1 872 .

I'

also ad d a li t t le to our fami ly h istory.

I t is sai d of W ai t Hopk ins that h e was an

officer in Col . Seth W arner’s regiment ,_of ,

Green Mountain Boys, and was killed by'

the Ind ians, b u t we d id not know wh ere‘

»

he was k i lled . I learn new that be t e

moved to Benn ington ,before the war,

and that he was k illed on D imond Island ,

in Lake George. I t was probably in

Sept . 1777 ,wh en an unsuccessfu l at tack

was mad e on a Bri tish garrison. with'

some loss to ou r men, saysMr.

”

Lossing.

I have th is from 0 0 1. J . W . Prat t, a

member o f t he Bennington H ist orical

Society,who h as premi sed us more,and a

who h ad made many enqu iries concernin'

g‘

the early families of Amenia.

Documents

The Early History of Amenia - Forgotten Books