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CHRONICLES

OF

MONROE

IN THE OLDEN TIME

TOWN AND VILLAGE

ORANGE COUNTY

NEW YORK

BY

REV. DANIEL NILES FREELAND

NEW YORK THE DE VINNE PRESS

1898

"1 & c\ o S^

Copyright, 1898, by Daniel Niles Feeeland.

DEC 1 9 1SD8

€o

^p former bclobcti pari^sljioncr^ of

Sl^onroc, l^ctD iorfe,

aiib nianp otljcr feinb fricnti^ of t^t toton aiiti biliage of

tl^at name, iJotlj) iibing anb ticab,

i^ ttji^ moDc^t \)olmtic

It is a token of grateful appreciation of many kindnesses received hy hoth me and mine, and intended to preserve, for the entertainment and instruction of their children^ the memory of the history, incidents and sayings of 'by- gone age and generation. Wlien I came to Monroe fifty years since, I found then living many venerable people, remarkable for intelligence and clearness of memory, their range of vision extending almost to the War of the Revo- lution. Finding also Iivas standing on historic ground, the thought entered my mind to gather up some of the conversations and experiences of these aged ones before they shoidd be called to the land ^''from whose bourn no traveller returns.'''' From their lips micch of the mate- rial was gathered. It was first a lecture, the very ink of which had almost faded out. But an urgent request la ^

having come from many sources that the material might have more permanent form^ I have consented to give it to the many-fingered printing-press ; and although ^^ of making many hoohs there is no end^^ I ash the indul- gent attention of those more particidarly interested in such a work. For more recent material I have heen in- debted to a number of living friends^ to whom I tender most hearty thanks. In my personal reminiscences I have studiously avoided intrusion into the sanctities of private life ; if alluding to faults, only presenting them as a background to virtues ; if mentioning humorous in- cidents, they are thrown in as a pungent spicery to make the menu more palatable, and playfully present the

features of the Ancient Past.

THE AUTHOR.

Vi

CONTENTS.

Dedication. Introduction.

CHAPTER. PAGE.

I. The Cheesecock Patent 1

II. The Field Book and Survey 11

III. Distribution of the Lands. Maps of Lots . 17

IV. Indians and Indian Nomenclature 20

V. Physical Features 25

VI. Organization of the County of Orange and

Town of Monroe 33

VII. The Early Settlement of the Town .... 38 VIII. War of the Revolution 44

IX. The Story of Claudius Smith 56

X. The Dawn of Peace 63

XI. Home-building in the Olden Time 66

XII. The Iron Industry of Monroe 74

XIII. The Milk Business 78

XIV. Industries of the Home and Farm 81

XV. The Dress of the Olden Time 91

XVI. Courtship and Marriage 96

XVII. Mills and Smithy 100

XVIII. Innkeeping 106

XIX. Merchandizing 110

XX. Schools and Education 116

XXI. Physic and Physicians 125

vii

CHAPTER. PAGE.

XXII. Lawyers and Litigation 132

XXIII. Churches and Clergy 137

XXIV. The Cause of Temperance 156

XXV. Hunting and Fishing 160

XXVI. Militia Training 169

XXVII. The Singing School 172

xxviiL The Debating Society 177

XXIX. Love of Liberty and Patriotism 180

XXX. Biographical Sketches, Military and Civic . 184

XXXI. Early Roads 215

XXXII. Erie Railway 219

XXXIII. Appearance of the Old Village 229

XXXIV. Landmarks of Monroe 237

XXXV. Recent Occurrences . 243

vlli

INTRODUCTION.

TTAYING noticed that other parts of the county -'--'- of Orange have received marked attention, and had their historians and investigators, while the town and village of Monroe seem to have been passed by, we have thought it would be of interest and some- what of the nature of a return for hospitalities re- ceived in said town, to investigate its early records and traditions and throw them into the form of a historic monograph for future preservation and study. The importance of this is evident from the fact that the old people are rapidly passing away, and unless some one should volunteer to gather up what they remember, they soon will have been gathered to the grave, "where there is no device nor knowledge." After a few years the opportunity will have gone irrecoverably. He, therefore, who has been cotem- porary with some of these aged ones is conferring a favor on the future in obtaining their reminiscences and giving them permanent form. The fact that so much must be derived from tradition, and that the historical documents and data are so meager and scat-

tered, makes the task no easy one. When others have preceded us, they have chosen to dwell upon the mis- deeds of its famous marauder, rather than upon the achievements of its better citizens ; and the rudeness of its early population ; and its rocks rather than its progress in wealth, culture and all the elements of modern life. So they have conveyed a false impres- sion of its character and resources, until, indeed, some of its own people have been inchned, in view of our contemplated task, to say, " Can any good thing come out of Monroe ? " Our answer is of old, " Come and see." We purpose now to take compass, chain and knapsack, and endeavor to find some of the ancient landmarks, run some of the old courses and gather up such information concerning Monroe as will tend to reproduce, for the instruction of the present genera- tion, its topography, its ancient manners and such historical incidents as will exhibit its progress to the present day.

When the first survey was made, Charles Clinton noted in his Field Book that the needle pointed to the wealth of minerals which its very rocks contained. So its wealth, historical, archaeological, social, ethical and religious, attracts the needle of our affection, ex- citing our interest and study after years of absence. And now we propose as a labor of love to take com- pass and chain, and revisit the Highlands and Valleys, or Cloves as they were called, reviving personal remi- niscences, verifying historical incidents and bringing to record the results of some original investigations.

CHRONICLES OF MONROE IN THE OLDEN TIME.

CHAPTER I.

THE CHEESECOCK PATENT.

WHEN King John demanded of certain nobles of England by what authority they held theh' lands, they laid their hands on the hilts of their swords. But when any old settler of the town of Monroe was asked a similar question, he answered as promptly, and with as much of right, " By the grant of Queen Anne, in the document called the Cheesecock Patent." But if questioned further as to the reason for the name, and who procured the Patent, and when and how the lands were surveyed and dis- tributed, he could give little information. When we asked the question fifty years ago, Why is so singTdar a name given to that instrument ? we were told a cer- tain English Lord Cheesecock was active in its pro- curement. But in looking over books of heraldiy and English history, we could find no such name, either among the nobility or the common people. We then tried to solve the mystery by connecting it with some dauy product or cheese cook or expert, but it failed to furnish a solution. Then we fancied that

2 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

the lay of the land might afford a clue, in the frequent occurrence of rounded knolls like Woodcock, Pedlar and numerous similar formations in this region, which might be likened to haycocks or even rolls of cheese. But that required too much imagination for the mat- ter-of-fact people who were trying to find a home in the wilderness where they could have hberty to wor- ship Grod and found a new commonwealth. We then turned to the document itself, and found that it grants a certain tract of upland and meadow. Now in the Algonquin tongue the name for upland was Chis^ up — hauli, land, and there it is the Highland Patent. The term " patent " or " letters patent " was applied to a document issued by an authorized party, granting an exclusive right to a tract of land or other property for a term of years. The sovereigns of England were accustomed to issue such letters patent to favorites and friends, parceling out and conferring the lands the government had acquired on this continent, as if feudal lords of the soil. As these lands were imper- fectly surveyed and were acquired some from the In- dians and some from the Dutch government, it is not strange that there should be confusion in the boun- daries and conflict in the grants. This very patent to which we refer was the occasion of no small hti- gation, while the grant on the northeast of it, the Cap- tain Evans patent, had to be recalled.

During the governorship of the colony of New York by Edward Hyde, under the title of Lord Corn- bury, his rapacity and prodigality led him to give out the public domain with a lavish hand. It was through him, and probably at his instance, that the Cheesecock Patent was granted by Queen Anne. A copy of it is in the office of the Secretary of the Province of New

The Cheesecock Patent. 3

York, in the Book of Patents begun a. d. 1695, folio 353-355, recorded at tlie request of William Smith and Co., the 2d day of June, A. d. 1736.

The following is the text of that remarkable docu- ment — a facsimile of its abbreviations, capitals and other peculiarities :

Anne by the Grace of England, Scotland, ffrance and Ireland Queen Defend'' of the faith &c. To all to whom these Presents may in any wise Concerne Sendeth Greeting, Whereas our Loving Subjects Anne Bridges, Hendrick Ten Eyck, Dirick Vandenburg, John Cholwell, Christopher Denne, Lancaster Symes and John Merritt, by their humble petition Prsented to our Right, trusty and well beloved Cousin Edward Viscount Cornbury, Captain General and Governour in Cheif in and over our Province of New Yorke and Territories Depending thereon in America and Vice Admiral of the same &c. in Council Have Pray'd our Grant and Confirmation of a Certain Tract of upLand and Meadow Scituate Lying and being in the County of Orange Called Cheesecocks be Bounded to the Northward by the Patented Lands of Captain John Evans and the Patent of Doctor Bridges and Company to the Westward : by the said Bridges &c^ and the West side of the high hills, called the high Lands to the Southward by the Patented lands of Mr. Daniell Honan and Michaell Howden and to the East- ward by the Christian Patented Lands of Haverstraw and Hud- son's River the which Petition wee being minded to Grant KNOW YEE that of our Especiall Grace Certain Knowledge and meer mo- tion wee have Given Granted Ratified and Confirmed and in and by these P'sents for ourselves our Heires and Successors Doe Give Grant Ratify and Confirm unto the sd Anne Bridges, Hendrick Tenicke, Dirick Vandenburg, John Cholwell, Christopher Denne, Lancaster Symes and John Merritt all and Singular the Tract of Upland and Meadow above mentioned and all and Singular the Hereditaments and Appurtenances thereunto belonging within the Bounds and Limitts above in these presents mentioned and Expressed together with all woods and under woods Trees Timber feedings Pastures Meadows Marshes Swamps Ponds Pooles Waters Watercourses Rivers Rivoletts Runs and Streams of Water ffishing fouling hunting hawking Mines and Mineralls Standing growing lyeing and being or to be used had and enjoyed within the Bounds

4 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

and Limmitts aforesd. and all other Profitts benefitts Privledges Libertys Advantages Hereditaments & Appurtenances whatsoever unto sd. Land and Premises or any Part or Pareell thereof belong- ing or in any wise appertaining in Seven Equal Parts to be Divided (Except allways and Reserved out of this our Present Grant all Gold and Silver mines.)

To Have and to hold One seventh part of the Tract of Land and premises aforesaid with the Appurtenances hereby Granted or meant mentioned or intended to be hereby Granted as aforesaid unto the sd. Anne Bridges her Heires and Assigns forever to the only proper use and behoof of the sd. Anne Bridges her Heires and Assigns forever one other Seaventh part thereof to the sd. Hendrick Tenicke his Heires and Assigns forever to the only proper use and behoof of the sd. Hendrick Tenicke his Heires and assigns forever one other Seaventh Part thereof unto the sd Dirick Van den burgh his Heires and assigns for Ever to the only Proper use and behoof of the said Dirick Vandenburgh his Heires and assigns forever one other Seaventh Part thereof unto the sd John Cholwell his Heires and assigns forever to the only proper use and behoof of the sd John Cholwell his Heires and assigns forever one other Seaventh Part thereof unto the sd Christopher Denne his Heires and assigns forever to the only Proper use and behoof of the sd Christopher Denne his Heires and assigns for Ever one other Seaventh Part thereof unto the sd Lancaster Symes his Heires and assigns for ever to the only proper use and behoof of the sd Lancaster Symes his Heires and assigns forever and one other Seaventh part thereof unto the sd John Merritt his Heires and Assigns forever to the only proper use and behoof of the sd John Merritt his Heires and Assigns forever (Except as is herein before Excepted) TO BE HOLDEN of us our Heires and Suc- cessors in free and comon Soccage as of our Mannor of east Green- wich in the County of Kent within our Kingdome of England Yeildiug and Paying therefore Yearly and every year frome hence- forth unto us our Heires and Succsso"^' at our Custome house at New Yorke to our Collector upon the feast day of the Annuncia- tion of the blessed Virgin Mary (Commonly Called Lady Day) the Rent or Sume of twenty Shillings Currant Money of our Provincee of New York Provided always and these p'sents are upon this Condition that if no Improvement be ah*eady had or made upon the sd Land and p'misses hereby Granted nor any Part or Pareell thereof that then and in such case they the sd Anne

Tlie Cheesecock Patent 5

Bridges Hendrick Tenicke Dirick Vandenburgli John Cholw'^ Christopher Denne Lancaster Symes and John Merritt theire Heires and Assigns some or one of them shall within the time and Space of three Years now next following from and after the Date hereof Settle Clear & make Improvement of and upon the sd Lands and Premisses hereby Granted or of and upon some part or parcel thereof in Testimony whereof we have Caused these our Letters to be made Patents and the scale of our Province of New York to our sd Letters Patents to be Afiixed and the same to be Recorded in our Secretarys Office of our sd Province Wittnesse our Right Trusty and welbeloved Cousin Edward Viscount Corn- bury our Captain Generall and Governour in Cheif in and over our sd Province of New Yorke and Territorryes Depending thereon in America and Vice Admirall of the same &c in Council at our Fort in New Yorke the twenty-fifth Day of March in the Sixt Yeare of our Reigns Annoq Dm 1707

Geo Clarke.

I do hereby Certify the foregoing to be a true Copy of the Original Record Compared there with By me

Lewis A Scott Secretary.

The only terms in the document that need explana- tion are "free and common socage." Socage, we learn, was a legal term derived from the feudal system. It was the fee or consideration upon the rendering of which rights and privileges in land were granted. There were two kinds of socage — free, or common, and villein. The former was a certain fee in money or honorable service ; the latter a certain service that might be base or menial. The socage of the Cheese- cock letters patent was twenty shillings ciurent money, to be paid yearly as prescribed. A manorial grant hke that at Pelham Manor to Lord Pell was without socage, making him lord of the manor with absolute control. The heirs of the old Cheesecock patent, if not originally, yet soon afterward, became lords of the soil by the right not merely of pick and shovel, but of theu' good rifles and swords.

6 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

The original of this patent cannot at present be traced. It is in possession either of some of the heirs, or may be among the records of the Court of Chancery, where so many of its disputed points had to be settled. It must have contained the signatures of the Indians from whom the land at first had to be purchased. The late Peter Townsend stated that he saw the original, and that the Indian signatures were attached to it, with their totems. They were these :

*»»

Meeingomack, his O mark.

Sqawgus Ugh qiad, her 4 mark.

Tephanick, his ^mark.

Onickotop, his ;\ ^ mark.

Ajoaqueae, his / -/ mark.

These appear on a copy in possession of G. R. Conklia, who has it in deeds of lots 2 and 5 of the Cheesecock Patent.

Now there was also a seal attached to the patent. The old seal of Wilham and Mary, according to cus- tom, had been defaced and a new seal brought out to the Governor of the Province of New York by Colonel Nott of Virginia, in 1705. This seal is that of Queen Anne. A copy of it has been furnished us, by the courtesy of William Cowie, counselor in things ar- tistic, and a drawing* executed by the American Bank Note Company is given in this volume.

* See title-page.

The CheesecocJc Patent. 7

The reverse is inscribed : Anna Dei. Gra. Mag. Brit. Fran, et Hib. Regina, Fid. Defen. Nov. Eb. Sig. (Anna, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith. Seal of the province of New York.) On the obverse are the arms of the Stnarts — namely, the usual insignia of Great Britain, with a Greek cross and the legend Semper eadem ("Always the same") below.

The first step toward the securing of this patent was taken in December 13, 1702, when a convention was made with certain Indian proprietors to secure possession of the land. Their names were Maringo- mack, Skawgus Ughquad, Topainick, Onickotapp, and Aighquahaeroe. They were Indians of the Minsies subtribe, whose totem was the wolf. They were a branch of the Lenni-Lenape and part of the Algon- quin nation. They had their villages and tribe or- ganizations and territorial possessions. The several subtribes were known by their totems, such as Wolf, Turkey, Turtle, painted on their wigwams and blan- kets. The chiefs of one of these subtribes agreed in the presence of William Merritt, Esq., one of her Majesty's justices of the peace for Orange County. The document is addressed to all Christian people. " Know ye that we — then are mentioned their names — native Indians, proprietors of a certain tract of land and meadow, situate, being and lying in the county of Orange, called Cheesecocks, bounded to the North by the Patent lately granted unto Captain John Evans ; to the West by the high hills of the High- lands ; to the South by Honan's Patent ; to the East by the lands of Haverstraw and Hudson's River, for a certain sum of money and goods to us in hand paid at and before the enseahng and delivery of those

8 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

presents, by Doctor John Bridges, Hendrick Ten. Eyck, Dirick Yandenburg, John Cholwell, Christo- pher Denne, Lancaster Symes and John Merritt. The receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge our- selves therewith fully contented and paid. We have given, granted, bargained, sold and confirmed, and do by these presents give, grant, bargain, sell and con- firm, for us and our Heirs forever unto the above named Doctor John Bridges, Hendrick Ten Eyck, Dirick Yandenburg, John Cholwell, Christopher Denne, Lancaster Symes and John Merritt, all that certain parcel of land, etc., bounded as above men- tioned. To have and to hold the said, before recited Tract, of upland and meadow unto the said Doctor John Bridges, etc., their heirs and assigns, to the sole and only proper use and benefit and behoof of the same."

This document differs in its terms from the former only in specifying what is included in these general gifts, namely : " Together with all woods, underwoods^ trees, timbers, floodings, pastures, meadows, marshes, swamps, pools, ponds, waters, water courses, rivers, rivulets, runs and streams of water," etc. This docu- ment was signed and sealed at Haverstraw, on the twelfth day of June, 1704. In addition to the signa- tures of the first-named Indians is appended that of Toparonick (his mark). It was also sealed and de livered in the presence of Andrew Myer, Ida Myer, and Nonowitt (his mark).

"Then appeared before me, William Merritt, Esq., one of her Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the said County, the within named Andrew Myer, and Ida Myer, two of the witnesses to the within Deed, and declared upon the Holy Evangehst, that they saw the

The CheesecocJc Patent 9

within Indians seal and deliver the within instru- ment as their voluntary act and deed."

Again it will be noticed that it was " a certain tract of upland and meadow," not mountain alone, as some rival claimants would contend. The boundaries ap- pear quite indefinite. It is bounded on all sides by other patented lands, the only natural boundary designated being the west side of the Highlands. What is meant by these was for a time a subject of dispute. Some of the neighboring patentees would insist that these Highlands were the East Mountains stretching from the Clove to Haverstraw, and that the patent ceased where the western slope of these mountains merged into said Clove. But when the viewers looked down on the rich valleys stretching north and south, and saw mountain ranges bound- ing them on the west, they put a larger construction on the language of the patent, and made it include these Highlands as well. They had this in their favor, that it was a tract of "upland and meadow," and this embraced both. How far west they would have pushed their claim we know not ; but no doubt they would have claimed the western slope of Sugar- loaf and Bellvale Mountains, if it had not been that they met with a point of resistance in a certain Dr. Bridges and the Wawayanda patentees. They were just as ambitious of pushing their claim eastward as the proprietors of the Cheesecock were of extending their claim westward. In after years, when settlers flowed in, disputes ran high with regard to the titles to the lands. A tribunal then had to be appointed, which sat at Greycourt or Greycoat Inn (so called be- cause of its sign of a colonial soldier in coat of gray). This tribunal conceded to the proprietors of this 2

10 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time,

patent their right to the tract from Goosepond Moun- tain and the Great Beaver Meadow, which was Grey- court Meadow, to the Highlands, inclusive, as far as the Haverstraw boundary and the Jersey line.

The patent required this land to be occupied within the space of three years. "We know nothing of its history until the year 1735.

CHAPTER II.

THE FIELD BOOK AND SUEVEY.

A SURVEYOR- named Charles Clinton was em- ployed to survey the lands under the patent. This gentleman had emigrated with his family, a short time previously, to the vicinity of New Windsor. He was afterward known as Lieutenant-Colonel Clinton. His sons were George and James Clinton. His grandson was De Witt Clinton, an eminent statesman and governor of the State of New York.

When Charles Clinton commenced his survey on the river, Haverstraw village seems to have been al- ready begun. For when he started out he warned its inhabitants to show him their boundary, for the eastern boundary he was to find was that of the Chris- tian patented lands of Haverstraw. These people seemed to have rather confused ideas of their own limits, and, hke others, were inclined to push their claims as far as possible. But he terminated the dis- pute by making Monetcong Creek his base, and com- menced running his courses toward the northwest.

He divided the mountain into great lots running parallel with the northwest Mne, and numbered them from one to seven. These contained five or six thou- sand acres apiece. The mountains south he divided into lots running at right angles with the former, and

11

12 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

running to the Jersey line. The smooth land in the valley was subdivided into smaller lots containing 150 acres apiece. He carefully recorded his surveys in a field book, and kept a sort of journal of each day's labors and incidents, sometimes mentioning the state of the weather — a storm, for instance ; his stopping to repair a wigwam ; his having to dispense with horse and carry his provisions on his back. Most of the time he had an assistant or two ; but at one time was without a chain-bearer, when he paced the ground with his watch in his hand, reckoning a minute equal to two chains. He was very exact and careful in his surveys, considering the nature of the ground he had to traverse. He proves his work from time to time, correcting errors. At one place he al- lows a hnk in each chain on account of the uneven- ness of the ground, calculating it will measure that much less when the land is cleared.

In surveying large lot No. 3, he says : "I selected an object in a very thick beaver dam, took a tree a considerable distance forward, and in my way went to a tree that I observed to be in the line. I set the compass again, being in some doubt about the tree I had taken, and when the needle settled I could not take my former tree. I then took a back sight to the station I had left, and my compass would not agree to it. Then returned to the said first station and set there again. Found the same tree I had formerly taken to be in the hne according to the position of the needle, by which (I inferred) there was something at or near that station that attracted the needle. Here set the compass a piece forward and took a back sight and found a variation of 10°. Went again back to said first station and set the compass a few yards for-

The Field Booh and Survey. 13

ward in the line, and found I had there but 6° varia- tion ; and a piece further I found I had but 2°. I could not find either iron ore or lodestone near this place, nor many rocks. It appeared a plain ridge. This is the first place I observed that minerals or ore in the earth will attract the needle. Dr. Golden hav- ing sent his son with me to make remarks on this cui'iosity (accounts of which I have given you), there- fore will take no further notice of it here."

This same fact he records in connection with other parts of the survey, in one instance mentioning that he ran the line by guess rather than by the needle. He speaks of iron discovered by the Indians near where the O'Neill and Mount Basha mines are at present. Lot No. 18, where the Greenwood Iron Works are, he designates as suitable for iron works. At Tucseto he calls attention to the fall of the watercourses and their suitableness for manufacturing purposes, but cautions in one place against raising the water too high, for fear of spoiling a fine swamp suitable for meadow. When such lowlands were the only re- source for forage, they were considered of a value far beyond what they are estimated at present unless carefully drained and cultivated.

When he is surveying lots 68 and 69 he speaks of a high mountain which he calls Mount Bashon, and the pond near by, but he does not name the pond. Mom- basha may be only a corruption of Mount Bashon. The Long Pond he names as such. The body of water north of it he calls the Pond with a round island in it ; so that it is more properly Round Isl- and Pond. The pond commonly called Duckcedar is Tuxseto on the earliest map of the region. The origin of the name is probably Indian.

14 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

Bald Hill, near the present village of Monroe, is so called in the Field Book, probably from some outcrop of slate rock on its side, free from timber, giving it the appearance of baldness.

Lot 43, containing 276 acres, was situated " on a sudden bend of the ' Ramerpo.' " It contained " 100 acres of barren and very bad stony land in ye N. E. side of it, and in ye N. W. end. The rest of it is good land. There is some low land and good swamp in some places upon ye River. I take it to be equal to any other middling lot, for it has plowland and meadowland sufficient for a settlement." This and lot No. 16 are the site of the present village of Mon- roe, while the bend of the Ramapo has been enlarged into the village mill-pond.

Over on the ridge not far from Hazard's Pond he came to land which he pronounced very poor. He was seeking some tract suitable for a parsonage. But one evening he broke off, dissatisfied, and said he should seek for land somewhere else. Shortly after- ward he happened upon a piece which he numbered 24, a lot of 150 acres, which he selects for a parson- age, and calls it " a choice good lot." This was held by the Presbyterian Church in this place as a glebe until the year 1804, when it was exchanged for a part of lot 16 at the village of Monroe, containing 58 acres.

A few additional extracts from the Field Book will not be uninteresting. For the selection of many of these items I am indebted to the courtesy of Civil Engineer Fred. J. Knight.

Page 306, Clinton says : " Being all abused by the rain, he built a wigwam."

Page 301, he mentions his first observation of the

The Field Booh and Survey. 15

influence of iron ore on the needle. This was in lot 4, one of the large mountain lots, afterward Green- wood. He finds similar traces of iron in lots 9 and 10.

Page 321, he refers to a meadow which had been "dammed by beavers." When he came to lot 54 he fomid a negro named Solomon Peterson, who had built a hut there. Here, near a swamp, he had cleared a piece of land. The entire lot comprised 263 acres, and on it were two free negro settlements. (See page 269, lot 54.) This is the Samuel Webb place.

In surveying lot 61, he came upon the cabin of Casper, a free negro, settled here by Hendrick Nan- derhnden near a heap of stones, in a cleared field, near a brook named Paskak. Page 222, on lot 62, he comes on the settlement of Ari King, purchased from this same Nanderlinden, and with improvements made by the latter. This is the Jeptha Clark place, and 61 is the Samuel Bull place. In running the line at lot 69, he came upon the stone house and cleared land of Abraham Hoppers. These lands he formerly pur- chased from Dr. Johnston. "I did not run the line lest he should stop us, by what we were informed of others. Therefore to avoid an unnecessary quarrel we did not mark it." This lot is in what is known as Dutch Hollow. The small stream through it was called Saddle River. Through it ran the road from Goshen to Ramapo.

He mentions an Indian settlement on lot 52, the place of the late Dr. G. M. Roe, where peach and pear trees were seen. On page 234 he alludes to corn- fields. Several times he took refuge in wigwams, which also he repaired. Indian paths are mentioned, some indistinct, crossing the Clove to Wawayanda, Haverstraw and Ramapo. In lot 64, easterly from

16 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

Bull's mills, was another Indian settlement. He lodged at wigwams near Sugarloaf. On pages 338 to 345 he speaks of the road from Goshen to Stirling, and on page 34 of a path from Hazard's to Ramapo, " scarce noticeable it is so seldom used."

The surveyor laid out the tract in fourteen large lots, containing about 5000 acres apiece, and 106 smaller lots containing 150 acres. A part of these lots was included in the county of Rockland when that county was organized. Lot 43, on a bend of the Ramapo, which he speaks of as barren, is the site of the village of Monroe.

Lot 44 was the Letts farm, in which was a round island with a hassocky point running down to it.

Lot 61, the S. S. Bull farm, contained a pond which he designates as Second Pond. Mombasha is simply the pond near Mount Bashon. Lot 35 is the I). V. Howell place, on which was a great Bald Hill well timbered on the northwest side, while the rest was barren. This was the late glebe of the Pres- byterian Church. The first lot set apart for that pur- pose was the farm of the late Andrew YanValer, which was so stony in one spot that an Irishman declared the old de'il was carrying stones in his apron and spilled them out to spite the deacon.

The copy of the Field Book from which these ex- tracts have been made was the property of the late David Lynch. It is now owned by Major T. B. Brooks.

CHAPTER III.

DISTEIBUTION OF THE LANDS. MAPS OF LOTS.

AFTER the survey tlie lands were allotted to the X\. members of the company owning the patent. We find different names from those of the original patentees. Now they are reduced to six, and are as follows: John Chambers, Philip Livingston, John McEvers, Catherine Symes (wife probably of Lan- caster Symes), William Smith and James Alexander. Chambers and Livingston were members of the Legis- lative Council, as was also William Smith, who was at one time Chief Justice, and then Governor of the State, in 1701. The family seat is in the neighborhood of Haverstraw. James Alexander was also called Lord Stirling because of a claim upon an earldom and estates of that name in Scotland. He owned a beau- tiful estate at Ringwood, was one of the company forming the Stirling Iron Company, and was father of Lord Stirling, who took such an active part as a general officer in our War of Independence.

We would remark in passing that the map-makers of the county have not done this town nor themselves justice in their attempts to represent the boundaries of the patent. In the map published in 1859 by Corey and Bachman of Philadelphia was the first serious mistake. The surveyor seems to have mis- 3 17

18 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time,

taken the scale of the old map of the patentees. He started out by making his lots too large on the east, which had the effect of pushing them all bodily the distance of about two lots or more too far to the west. When he came to lay his map of the patent on his map of the town, " the bed was shorter than that he could stretch himself on it, and the covering narrower than that he could wrap himself in it." The result was that he had to omit the whole tier of lots that touch the foot of Sugarloaf and Groosepond Mountains, while he was forced to change the entire shape of others. Hence the map is useless so far as finding the location of lots and patent lines is con- cerned, and is in constant conflict with all the ancient deeds and surveys of the place. The atlas of Orange County published by Baskin and Burr of Newburg repeats the errors, and unfortunately puts them in more permanent form. It is hoped that some one of Monroe's own sons will some day make the needful correction and produce a map of the town worthy of its ancient reputation.

The map published in this volume is a beginning of better things. It is a facsimile of the handiwork of Civil Engineer Fred. J. Knight, made expressly for this work.

In glancing over the old maps and noticing the dis- tribution of the lots, we find that a large proportion of them, some forty-five, are marked with the name of William Smith. He bought the Cholwell and the Ten Eyck portions, each being the one half of a seventh of the patent, and still another similar por- tion audited to J. Berger and wife. This circum- stance explains the origin of the name given to that part of the tract, namely, Smith's Clove, Upper and

■i^

Distribution of the Lands. Maps of Lots. 19

Lower. It is an error to suppose tliat it derived its name from the famous cowboy of that name who put the bar sinister on its fair escutcheon.

At the time the survey was made, other parts of the county of Orange had been cleared, and a numer- ous population was flowing in upon them. In 1731, which was a few years earlier, there were 1969 persons in the county. New Windsor was occupied about that time, Newburg was laid out in 1719, while Christo- pher Denne, one of the Cheesecock patentees, located a residence for himself on the Otterkill as early as 1712, and sent Sarah Wells, an adopted daughter, under the care of three friendly Indians and several young carpenters, with cows and dogs and imple- ments, upon a sloop, by way of the river, to New Windsor, to proceed across the country to his settle- ment. He and his wife started the next day, and came by way of the Ramapo, at whose falls he stopped, reaching the Otterkill one day later than Sarah Wells and her escort. Shortly after she met with a young English mason named William Bull, from Wolverhampton, to whom she was married at Grreycourt Inn, by Friends' ceremony. They after- ward located on a tract of lai^d purchased from Chris- topher Denne, on the Wawayanda Patent, built a stone house still standing, and called the place Hamp- tonburgh. Here they raised a family of twelve chil- dren, from whom sprang the several branches of the BuU family which settled in different parts of Monroe and Chester, and helped develop the wealth, enter- prise and intelligence of those towns.

CHAPTEE TV.

INDIANS AND INDIAN NOMENCLATUEE.

AT the time of the survey this section of country J\. was a wilderness inhabited by the aborigines and a few white men who seem to have squatted upon the land. Clinton several times mentions his meeting with the settlements and wigwams of the former. He took refuge more than once in wigwams, some of which were deserted, which he repaired. He found a settlement upon the Dr. Gr. M. Roe place, on which were growing peach and apple trees. Another settlement was at Sugarloaf , where he spent a night. These Indians were friendly. Hendrick Hudson found them so when his little ship, the Half Moon, ascended the Hudson River, until his crew gave them fire-water, and quarrels occurred, and then war. They danced their war-dance, or MnteJcaue, on the top of Shawangunk or Dans Kammer. After several mas- sacres of the whites about Kingston, the Indians were subdued and a treaty of peace was made.

The Indians of this region were of the Algonquin family, the Lenni-Lenape or Delaware tribe, and the Minsies subtribe. The dominion of the Delawares extended from Kingston to Georgia, south, and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Their castle was at Philadelphia. North of Kingston were the Six Tribes. East of the North River were the Mohegans, also a

20

Indians and Indian Nomenclature. 21

branch of the Algonquins. Their language was a very perfect one, although unwritten. Rev. George Ehot was the first to reduce it to writing. He found it difficult, because he desired to inculcate Christian and moral ideas, and had to build up his words of many syllables to clothe them, especially in translating the Scriptures. Thus, to express repentance it required nine syllables, and sinful lusts could be appeased with no less than thirty-three letters.

The Algonquins had musical ears and softened the gutturals and harsh consonants into such euphonious words as Wyoming, Wissahickon, Minisink, Manhat- tan, Monongahela, Mamakating. They had stronger expressions for the rugged features of nature, as Schunemunk, Shawangunk. It is of interest to trace the meaning of some of these Indian names ; for, like other geographical names, they sometimes reveal a bit of history, ethnography or sociology. Thus, Wyo- ming means " broad fields " ; Coxsackie means " owl hooting " ; Minisink, " many islands " ; Seawanhaka, " place of wampum-making " ; Manhattan, " bad chan- nel," referring to the East River; Shawangunk is " white man's mountain." Shunam was a contemp- tuous expression for the white man ; Schunemunk signified " the mount of the signal-fires," because the Indians had a castle or pahsaded fort on the east end. Onk always means " high land," and auk and haka signify " place," while pogh signifies " stream " or "river" : thus, Potomac is the "river of the tomahawk." Ramer is "many"; hence Ramer-po is "the many- watered."

Mombasha has been one of the moot points in Monroe history ever since the first survey. Clinton gives us no help, for he simply mentions a pond with

22 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

a high mountain near by, which latter he designates Mount Bashon. Most historians so call the pond or lake. Even the Heine Club accepts that designation. Mombasha then becomes a corruption. But we re- mind the advocates of this theory that Dr. Eager mentions the burial of an Indian brave at Mombacus somewhere in this vicinity. A learned German schoolmaster translated the word, "King of Min- erals." Ruttenber makes basha mean "death," and derives the name from a battle or a cemetery. Some- times we have leaned to the opinion that the female sachem Basha Bashika, whose name is given to a kill or stream further west, may have been the Debo- rah of this region. But further researches give as its meaning, "the ensign of bloody battle," mom meaning " pain, agony," and basha, " the ensign of battle." See " Dictionary of the Delaware Language," by M. S. Henry, in Franklin Library, Philadelphia, Pa. Tuxedo is another obscure name. The vulgar pro- nunciation is Duckcedar. Dr. Eager claims this is correct, and the vulgar have corrupted it into Tux- edo. He says it was so named because of the ducks and cedars that abound there. Others suppose it to be of Spanish origin, like Toledo, even claiming there is an estate on Long Island with similar name. But the difficulty is, there was no Spanish settler in the region. Clinton calls it " Tucseto," and so do the earlier maps. Let us try our Indian measuring-line upon it. Tuck, in Algonquin, and even in Chinook jargon, means " fresh water." Thus the North River was called Mohicannituck, the "flowing water of the Mohegans." Pawtuxet is applied to the falls of the Merrimac, and means "leaping fresh water." The terminal in Tuxedo we regard as a verbal one, and

Indians and Indian Nomenclature. 23

means '^ flowing," so that Tuxedo, according to onr theory, is the "lake of clear flowing water" : rightly named because of the cascade by which the water entered it, and the natural fall mentioned by Clinton by which it left it. Chnton speaks of its fine water- power, and a valuable meadow that must not be over- flowed by raising the water too high.

The term " Cheesecock," applied to the patent, yields even more satisfactory results if regarded as an Algonquin word. Residents of Monroe once imagined it was borrowed from some English Lord Cheesecock, but there was no record of any such person. When we apply our etymological test to it, it gives a different result. Chis in Algonquin is "high," and kauk is "land." Thus, Pas kauk is "burnt land"; Montauk is "the land of the oaks"; Mount Kis ko or kauk is " the mountain of upland." So Cheese cock, or better, Chis kauk, is the Patent of the Highland, as its very contents demonstrate.

The Indians of this tract were generally disposed to be friendly, so long as the white man kept his word with them ; and we read of no complaint under the Cheesecock Patent ; but under the Minisink Patent the Indians were not paid for their lands which early began to be settled. Wrongs under the Penn Treaty exasperated this same tribe, the Min- sies or Lenape, who had their fort at Philadelphia. Hence the incursions upon the frontier settlements along the Susquehanna and Delaware up to Port Jervis and beyond. Minisink suffered terribly. Homes were burned, women and children butchered, cattle driven away, till the region was nearly depop- ulated. Block-houses were built to protect the few who were brave enough to resist. At the close of

24 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

the French and Indian War the Indians were paci- fied by paying them for their lands, and they re- mained friendly until the Revolutionary War, when the Tories stirred them up, and the English sent agents among them to engage their arms against the patriotic frontiersmen. During the years 1778 and 1779 the whole frontier was ablaze with the flames of war. The Tory element gave it peculiar horror, because neighbor betrayed neighbor, and even brother a brother. Brant and his Tory allies had their camp at Oghkawaga, now Binghamton. They per- petrated the twin massacres of Wyoming and Mini- sink, deeds of cruelty burned into the memory of the nation. The latter of these raids aroused the whole region about Minisink, and an expedition was promptly fitted out to punish the savages. They were under the command of Colonel Hathorn and Lieutenant-Colonel Tusten. The brave band plunged into the forest as far as the mouth of the Lacka- waxen, and there fell into an ambush prepared by Brant and the Tories. The Spartan band fought bravely till ammunition failed, when the scene closed with a butchery from which only about thirty es- caped. This was the historic battle of Minisink, commemorated by a monument at Goshen containing the names of the brave martyrs of Liberty. The date of the battle was July 22, 1779.

Monroe, being situated so far from the frontier, did not suffer directly from these incursions of the In- dians. The strain upon Monroe and drain of men was in the direction of the Highlands, where the fiercest struggle was with the flower of the English army, which was doing its utmost to control the navi- gation of the Hudson.

CHAPTER V.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

BEFORE we speak of the early settlement of this tract, it is well to glance at some of its physical features, and see what inducements it held out to settlers, and how they were hkely to shape their des- tiny ; for the very character of a people depends upon theu' environment. The hues of the Patent were so indeterminate on account of the contiguity of other patents, that they had to be settled by arbitration, both on the northwest and along the Jersey line, where a "gore line" was claimed reaching to Tuxedo. But when these lines were adjusted it left the town nearly the shape of a trapezoid. The three rectangu- lar sides impinged, on the southeast, upon Rockland ; on the northwest, upon Cornwall, and Highland on the north, touching Blooming Grove, and on the west Warwick, the apex just reaching the Jersey line. The tract consists of " upland and meadow," as the Patent describes it. The valley of the Ramapo en- ters on the south — the only direct route on this side of the Highlands near the river to the north. The valley widens at Greenwood, and divides into two, called "Cloves" — the Upper and Lower Smith's Clove. These are hemmed in by lofty mountains : Highlands to the southeast; Schunemunk to the north- 4 25

26 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

west ; Bellvale Mountain on the west ; and Southfield Mountains on the south. These valleys swell up into knolls and ridges with noble prospects and inviting sites for homes and hamlets. The mountains break from ridges to single peaks between which nestle vales as quiet and restful as many in Scotland. Indeed, the region has been called the Trosachs of America, be- cause so like the same in Scotland.

In travelhng through this region, scenery of sur- passing beauty strikes the eye of the tourist ; and if he be an artist, he will want to place his easel or use his kodak. But his aesthetic taste will not seldom revolt at the uncanny names which the early settlers gave to lakes beautiful as Windermere or Loch Katrine. The entire water system of the town is remarkable. The Indian Ramapo, or " many waters," well expressed the fact. The stream of that name rises in the Round Island Pond, a most beautiful sheet of water, where the Indian youth raced their canoes to win their dusky brides ; but now the re- sort of their fair successors from every part of the county. The wooded island called Chestnut Island, and the sunny sloping shores, offer sites for cottages and villas of rare beauty. This spot is really the water- shed of the level portion of the town ; for the Long Pond, or Walton Lake, as it has been more euphoni- ously called, lies but a few feet away, and yet sends its waters through Craigville and Chester, furnishing a mill-seat for the former, and domestic supply of water for the latter, and then empties into Murderer's Creek, now Moodna, and so reaches the Hudson far away from the water of its neighbor, the Ramapo. This latter furnishes seats for many mills and fur- naces, so great is its fall. It receives the waters of

Physical Features. 27

Mombasha at Southfield, where it affords valuable mill-power. This lake is about two miles from Mon- roe village. While it is pictiu*esque in surroundings, it presents the remarkable phenomenon of floating islands which break away of their own accord and carry their masses of tangled bushes wherever the wind steers them. The abundance of fish in this and other lakes invites the disciple of Izaak Walton to cast his line and lot here.

A club-house has been built on the border of this lake, making it a very popular resort. Mr. Geo. R. Conklin has bought a number of acres in this vicinity, and is building beautiful cottages, so that it is becoming quite a villa. Water-works are built here, for the water of this lake supphes the village of Monroe. A fine road has also been laid out, which will connect this lake with its rival the Tuxedo, and make one of the most picturesque driveways in the country.

Another confiuent of the Ramapo is Wild Cat Brook. It brings down the waters of the mountains below Southfield, over the rockiest of beds, and rushes out near the site of the old saw- works. It is full of speckled beauties, and has given us more than one enjoyable outing. Tuxedo Lake is another source of supply of this remarkable river. Charles Clinton refers to it in his Field Book, speaking of a fine marsh in the neighborhood, and the fitness of the lake to furnish power, but advises not to raise the water too high and spoil the marsh or meadow. He calls it Tucseto.

After passing through various forms of spelling and definition, from the vulgar Duckcedar of Eager to the fanciful Truxillo of Ruttenber, it has settled down to that of Tuxedo, which is the lake of fresh

28 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

sparkling water, full of fish, with picturesque rocky shores adapted to just what it has been made, a park for residences and every rural and athletic sport. It was laid out by Pierre Lorillard in 1885, who fenced it in and stocked it with deer and wild boar, and other game, making it, with its villas, club-house, and church, one of the most beautiful parks on the Atlantic slope.

But we have not begun to exhaust the lake system of Monroe in the mention of these lakes; for the whole region of the Highlands is covered with them. Wherever you drive or walk, they burst upon your view suddenly on a mountain-top, in a forest or dell, where least expected. From Summit Lake up in the northeast corner, there is a continuous chain of lakes all the way down past Grreenwood to the Ramapo, where most of them empty. There are Two Ponds, Echo, Carr, Cedar, Niggar, Cranberry, Slaughters, and others, till we are lost amid their commonplace names. They belong to a limestone region, the waters of which have dissolved out the mineral and left these picturesque basins, beside which mountaineers love to dwell, and sportsmen to camp.

Poplopens Pond is named after a warrior of that name, who had his castle on its banks. The pond flows through a creek of that name, and empties through Buttermilk or Highland Falls into the Hudson. Woodbury Creek rises in Hazard's Pond, now Crom- well Lake, on the banks of which is a fine hotel kept by Ohver Cromwell — a most delightful resort. The stream furnishes the power for the tannery and grist- mill at Highland Mills, flows past Woodbury and joins the Moodna made famous by N. P. Willis' resi- dence and writings.

Physical Features. 29

The geology of Monroe has an important bearing upon its settlement and history. It is one of the principles of physical geography that the physical features of a country largely influence its morals. People of effeminate tastes gravitate toward warm alluvions like the valley of the Jordan, but the men of grit choose more elevated plateaus, where there are flints, sand, lime and iron. Such regions furnish the master minds and heroes of the world. Provi- dence destined this region to be the abode of no mean race. The more mountainous portions of the town would be classified with the azoic period of the world's construction ; the rocks being mostly of the primary class. The Highlands are part of the great Appalachian range which forms the eastern framework of the continent — the earliest with the Rockies to be lifted out of the primeval ocean. Monroe is literally old Monroe,

" Rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun. "

The materials of these rocks are mingled in dif- ferent proportions : feldspar, mica, quartz ; yielding hornblende, gneiss, syenite and granite. Sometimes these materials have scorned admixture, and pushing all rivals aside, have been heaved up and congealed, a splendid crystalline column, as is the case in a remark- able instance with quartz. Beds and veins of iron, magnetic, specular, crystallized and even granular, have also been laid down along with these rocks; iron adapted to every purpose, from malleable cast- ing, for a door-latch, to the sheet-anchor of an iron- clad, or a twelve-inch rifled gun. Beds of limestone were also stored in close proximity to these deposits of iron, while sand for moulding and fire-clay were

30 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

within easy reach. But where is the fuel ? Timber of best grades abounds, but wasteful man demands something more economical. It was the hope of some that coal would be found in some of these strata. A premium offered by the State stimulated the search; but nothing was found beyond a little lignite, after opening a shaft on Pedlar Hill. The sandstone of that locahty is the floor of the coal- measures. Schunemunk is of like formation. On the southwest are coarse conglomerates, which be- come more and more fine toward the eastern extrem- ity; at one spot presenting an upheaved mass of graywacke, as if nature would give an object lesson in quarrying.

Still further east, where the mountain spreads out into a wide plateau, a rocky acropohs lifts its rugged head, composed of coarse conglomerate. On the sur- face of this great stone page nature, with iceberg or glacier, has scratched long lines, which the scientist interprets as the record of prehistoric time. In some instances the flints in this stone pudding are cut directly in half. On the lichens that blacken its sides, giving the spot the name of Black Rocks, are scratched the names of those who have scaled these heights, and left their monogram on the stone page and some of their ashes " in Memory's sacred urn." As we descend Schunemunk on the south, we see the moraines of glaciers fringed with boulders, the lighter of which can be traced far down the valleys, inter- mingled with shell rock, oolite and even with Labra- dor spar, showing that some time in the hoary past, when this planet was fitting up for man's abode, ice and flood swept over these vales and the mountain- tops were covered. These will account for the de- posits of clay, sand, gravel and hmestone. But heat,

Physical Features. 31

as the third factor, was necessary to metamorphose many of these and give ns the beautiful crystals of iron, serpentine, quartz and calc, all of which invite the student of nature. It boasts also some rare min- erals, as brucite, xanthite and spinelles, fine shell impressions, pyrites. One mineral, not found else- where, has been named monroeite. Silver was dis- covered near the Haverstraw border very early and worked ; but as no evidence of it has transpired except the abandoned shaft, it may be set down as a failure. Utility has rather been the motto in laying out Monroe. Here are rocks of every material from granite to statuary marble, and every tint from Pa- rian whiteness, through shades of gray, green, pink, red, to the blackest porphyry. Mica, asbestos and slate abound. Even slate pencils of talc were found on the slopes of Bald Hill by the school-boys of a former generation.

A quarry of mica has recently been opened near Mombasha by the Mombasha Mica Company, from which fine sheets of the mineral are obtained, prom- ising Monroe a new source of wealth. Perhaps it might surprise a stranger to see even the Houser ironstone put to a useful purpose ; but inasmuch as it bids defiance to juvenile jack-knives, it has been found useful for school-house material. There was no lack of good timber in this region for coaUng, fuel, building, or even hoop-poles. These last were long called "Clove wheat." But let us not suppose that it was adapted only to the growth of timber.

The forests were full of trees yielding an abundance of beech nuts, chestnuts and hickory nuts, with vines twining over tree and rock, purple with mid grapes, hedgerow and bush offering their tribute of luscious berries. These forests swarmed with red deer, moose

32 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time,

and squirrel, with flocks of wild turkeys, partridge, pheasant and woodcock; and the lakes and streams were ahve with salmon, trout, pickerel and catfish. Thus it was "a goodly land" from the beginning; offering to the settler at least subsistence at his arrival, even in midwinter, with promise of good in abeyance, to cater to both taste and profit.

Soils of great fertility were laid down here; yes, brought from distant hills to furnish slope and meadow. Here are alluvions of great depth and good grain-lands ; but what the town is best adapted for is grazing. The grasses, like those of the Blue Grass region of Kentucky, contain just those elements which yield fattening and milk-producing quahties. Had the mountains of Monroe been only a mass of rock, like some parts of Scotland, they might have been abandoned to the heather and become great solitary sheep-walks ; or if they had been only pic- turesque vales and quiet nooks, there would have been a temptation to some lord of the manor to make it his park and country-seat. Heaven had a better destiny in store for it : hence mingled rocks and soils so as to invite the plow, scooped out the water-courses to attract the loom and forge, hid away such materials as would bring hither the herdman and artisan, the abhorrence of lordly pretension and elegant leisure. Monroe, from its very physical con- stitution, was predestined to be the home of honest toil and frugal industry. In the vicinity of what was to be the greatest city of the New World, and on the route of its best approaches from west and north, wealth and prosperity ought to be its sure reward, and doubtless will when the wisdom of men is able to master the situation.

CHAPTER VI.

ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY OF ORANGE AND TOWN

OF MONROE.

HAVINGr taken an eagle's view of the land, before we proceed further it is in order to speak of the organization of the county, which preceded that of the town. Orange County was organized in the year 1683, under the reign of Wilham, Prince of Orange, from whom it takes its name. It then em- braced all of Rockland and part of Ulster County. These were first set off in 1691.

The precinct of Goshen was erected in 1714. In 1764 it was divided into Cornwall, Blooming Orove, and Cheesecocks. In 1801 the form and title was changed from precinct to town. The name of Cheesecocks was exchanged for Southfield. On the 6th of April, 1808, it was resolved to drop the name of Southfield and take the honorable and historic name of Monroe. This was done in honor of James Monroe, who, having achieved distinction in the War of the Revolution, where he served as aid to Lord Stirling, had been honored by the government with high diplomatic commissions, and still further was chosen by the people to the Presidential chair. For such distinguished public services his many ad- mirers in this vicinity deemed it fit to honor him 5 33

34 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

still further by naming this historic town after him, and under a name of which it has ever been proud it has won its place in history. The first town meet- ing was held while yet called Cheesecocks, in May, 1799. James D. Secor was chosen clerk, and Michael Hays, supervisor. All the institutions of the town were put in operation in 1808.

The following is the hst of supervisors :

Michael Hay.

Moses Cunningham (6 years). John Coffey (2 years). Abraham Letts (8 years). John McGaerah (1 year). James Cromwell (1 year). James Campbell, Jr. (1 year). James Weygant (9 years). Robert Fowler (1 year). Hudson McFarlan (16 years). Charles Townsend (2 years). Lewis H. Roe (1 year). Morgan Shuitt (33 years).* Chauncey B. Knight in 1864. Edward Seaman (3 years). John Gr. Earl (1 year). Joseph Rake (2 years). Charles T. Knight (5 years). C. Fred. Lamont (13 years).

In the year 1863 a movement was set afoot to divide the old town of Monroe into three towns. A

* Served from 1849-1881. This, we believe, is the longest consecutive period for which any man held an elective office in this State.

Organization of Orange and Monroe. 35

petition was sent to the Board of Supervisors, which was granted at its annual meeting. The names of the new towns were, respectively, Monroe, Highland, and Southfield. Monroe held its new town meeting March 22, 1864, electing Chaiincey B. Knight as supervisor, and a full set of officers. Highland did likewise, choosing its old favorite Morgan Shuitt, with others. The town of Southfield organized in like manner, Josiah Paterson having been elected supervisor ; but the records of the proceedings, for some unaccountable reason, are not in the archives of the town of Monroe. This whole piece of pohti- cal surgery was at length disapproved, and the dis- jecta membra were brought together and reunited be- fore they had grown cold. In 1865 the legislature was asked to overrule the action of the Town Board, and restore the old town to its pristine glory.

But notwithstanding the lessons of the past, we must chronicle a similar triple subdivision at a more recent date.

In December, 1889, the Board of Supervisors, upon representation of the diverse interests of different parts of the town, resolved to redivide the same into three parts. Three new towns were erected — named, respectively, Monroe, Woodbury, and Tuxedo. The lines were run so as to give Monroe 1150 acres; Woodbury, 23,000 ; Tuxedo, 50,000. The fii'st super- visor of Tuxedo is J. Spencer Ford ; the first super- visor of the new town of Woodbury is John A. Pat- erson; and the first supervisor of Monroe is C. F. Lamont ; the second, elected in 1897, is George K. Smith.

Before we drop this subject it is well to remember a few additional facts, namely : that the first subdi-

36 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

vision of the town was made in war times, when it was desirable to get control of a majority in the Board of Supervisors, and it was so carved with a view to that end. The plan failed, so that in a short time even its advocates desired the reuniting of the fragments. When the desire returned in 1889 to divide again, the reason now given was that the town was too large and its interests were too diverse for harmonious government.

The Board of Supervisors resolved that the town should be divided on the old hues, only that the names of Highland and Tuxedo should be substituted for Woodbury and Southfield. This was duly passed upon by the legislature and signed by the governor. Now the boundary Hne between Monroe and Tuxedo had not been clearly determined by careful survey, or at least had not been marked by monuments. Hence when the Heine Club desired to construct a road from Mombasha, where they were constructing a park, to Southfield, it became a practical question, says Mr. A. B. Hulse, how much of this road must be paid for by each town. Hence a question as to the division hne. The men who were with the 1863 sur- veyor said "it crossed Mombasha Pond, but they did not know where." In this emergency, when war seemed imminent, Mr. Fred. J. Knight, the siu*veyor, came forward and established the hne. He pointed out that the line of 1863 must have been a trial or random line, the true hne never having been run. This decided the matter, and to one of her loyal sons was Monroe indebted for the saving of fair Mom- basha to the territory of his native town, " to which," says our informant, " Nature intended it should be- long." But the mountains in which Monroe once

Organization of Orange and Monroe. 37

gloried have been rent from her mantle and turned over to her sister towns. Sic transit gloria !

The town, thus shorn of its ancient proportions, enters upon a new epoch of history, which it is hoped will be as worth chronicling by some futiire historian nourished on its own soil as has been the past.

CHAPTER VII.

THE EAELY SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.

WHILE the emigrants from England and Holland were locating along the WaUkill, the valley of Mamakating and the Neversink, clearing farms, build- ing homes, villages and churches, the rough moun- tain slopes and cloves were passed by and remained a wilderness, undisturbed by white men, except, per- haps, by some Indian trader or trapper, some lover of adventure or traveller, who found that the valley of the Ramapo was the natural and nearest route to Manhattan Island. In course of time, as early as 1742, came a few settlers who staked out their claims and set up their log cabins. These settlers were not the mere overflow of more thickly popu- lated parts of the county, but many of them immi- grants from abroad, by the way of Connecticut and Long Island. Among these were such names as John, David, and Hophni Smith, John Belcher, Robert Brock, Henry Cock, John Bull, Solomon Townsend, A. Cunningham, David Compton, Solo- mon Cromwell, Joseph Davis, John Earl, Alexander Galloway, Wilham Fitzgerald, Elijah Grreen, Samuel Knight, Henry Mapes, Daniel Miller, Joseph Pat- erson, Alfred Cooper, James Wilkes, and Jas. Secor. Others could be mentioned, but these are the most

38

The Early Settlement of the Town. 39

familiar. Some of their name occupy the ancestral acres, but most of the original estates are now held by another generation, who, though just as ancient and honorable in ancestry, yet have come into the town later. The reason why the lands of the Patent were not sooner taken up was that the original pat- entees, being wealthy, did not care to dispose of their lands. Some were held by the same families till after the Revolution. The desire was to hold a pa- troon relation to the settlers like the Van Rensselaer patentees in the more northern part of the State. Having no motive to sell, and no disposition to come and settle themselves, squatters soon came in and gave it an une viable reputation. Such neighbor- hoods naturally attract the lawless and desperate. The broken nature of the country, the numerous caves and inaccessible cliffs,"would afford safe hiding- places for desperadoes and their plunder. But this condition of things could remain only until the more orderly organized themselves into a community, and brought law as well as public opinion to bear upon them. The oncoming of the Revolutionary War de- layed the reformation of morals and the estabhsh- ment of order. The career of Claudius Smith, the notorious cowboy, gave an unsavory reputation to the Clove ; and the recent " History of Orange Coun- ty" even goes so far as to attribute its name to him, whereas it is well known that it received its name long before, from William Smith, one of the original patentees. As an illustration of the reputation which it had early acquired among its neighbors, it is related that when a tramp settler appeared before a Dutch justice over in Warwick, and was warned to leave the town he asked, " Where, then, shall I go ^ " The jus-

40 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

tice answered promptly, " Yy, go to Schmit's Clove." From the nature of the case there would be frequent disputes over the ownership of land and trespasses of cattle, so that lawsuits were of constant occur- rence. Then there were horse races and trainings, accompanied with drinking-bouts, and often rude wrestlings and more serious combats. One of the matrons spoke of a flat rock near the village, where some of these rude contests occurred, when a new- comer would leap from his horse and make the chips fly like a whirligig. As these were days of travel in primitive style, by saddle and stage, there were many public houses encouraging social drinking and treat- ing. Loungers were always hanging around, and neighbors dropping in to hear the news from the city or seat of war; hence there was abundance of idleness and dissipation. On one convivial occasion the revellers literally raised the roof of a well-known tavern, and tried to tear it from its place. But, as is often the case, these wild carousals were not the work of those at home. They naturally attracted those of hke tastes from abroad, and these, feeling less re- straint, would go to greater lengths. One of the old men said " the boys of Sugar Loaf came over to have a lark with the Monroe boys, and we had a good time, but we were the hardest of the lot." Liquor was largely accountable for this condition of things. It was sold at every corner grocery. Their old ledgers to-day bear testimony to the excess to which the traffic was carried. The accounts of the common laboring man show how much of his hard earnings went for liquor. At first it was rum which came by way of the West Indies. Whisky followed when the orchards began to bear. There was a still 0:1 the

The Early Settlement of the Town. 41

Still Brook, near the old village; but the chief source of supply was Blooming Grove, where were many distilleries. The brown jug and demijohn trav- elled back and forth on that road around Pedlar Hill, which might account for its crookedness, and give it the name of the "jug-u-lar vein." The late John Brooks, one of the earliest advocates of total absti- nence, went over to that town and delivered a lecture on the subject. He said they resented it as an im- pertinence. It is well known that neighboring towns were accustomed to look down on the Clove and call it the " Kitchen of the County." It is related that a young couple signified their intention to take up a tract of land in Monroe, rather than remain on the old homestead, with its fertile fields. When the old folks could not prevail upon the young couple to change their purpose, they said : " Well, go to the Clove and live on rye bread the rest of your life." It was one of time's sweetest revenges when the farm they took became a model farm, and the young wife became the boasted bread-baker whose wheaten loaves eUcited the inquiry : " How do you mix your bread to have it always light ? " "I mix it with judgment," was her reply. We cite attention to the jog in the northwest boundary of the town. It re- minds us of the wart on the nose of old Oliver Crom- well, the Protector, and, by the way, progenitor, if we may credit their tradition, of families of that name in Monroe. The artist wanted to omit the wart in his portrait, but he forbade the omission.

The jog originated in a desire on the part of

dwellers on the summit of Schunemunk to attend

town meeting in the more convenient valley on the

southeast. As soon as the town was organized and

6

42 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

requisite officers appointed, the wheels of business were set in motion. The first subjects of legislation were the offering of bounties for the slaughter of wolves and other predacious animals which infested the wilderness and annoyed the early pioneers. Ear- marks were recognized to be placed on stock ; for as soon as swamps and forest were cleared herding and stock-raising were introduced. Then troubles came from the herdmen of neighboring towns allowing their cattle to trespass on the newly cleared pastur- ages ; to prevent which, stringent measures were threatened, if not enforced.

In such conditions of society, htigations would naturally spring up. Not merely would there be diffi- culties concerning the ownership of stock, but trou- bles about boundaries of farms and wood lots, pastures and marshes; for these last were most desirable ranges befpre the plow and more recent grasses had changed the face of nature. But towering above these petty lawsuits, which constituted the entertain- ment of the early settlers, were the disputes over the Patent lines. We have already alluded to the lavish and careless manner in which those lands were given to favorites by royalty. The same lands were some- times given twice, the lines overlapping. So much trouble came about the Evans Patent on the northeast that the Patent had to be recalled. Troubles arose over the Kakiat Patent and the New Jersey State line ; that commonwealth claiming a gore line that ex- tended up as far as Tuxedo. Then the Wawayanda Patent lines were as indefinite as the Cheesecock. Naturally this" interested all along the borders, and aroused such animosity that it became a border war- fare. Commissioners were appointed, and through

The Early Settlement of the Town. 43

the offices of Aaron Burr, who sat with the commis- sion at Greycoiirt in 1801 and helped settle the question, the present zigzag line was fixed as the western boundary between Monroe and Warwick; while Carpenter's Island in the Delaware was made the northwest extremity of New Jersey, where it is marked with a monument which has three sides, one toward New York, another toward Pennsylvania, and the third toward New Jersey. The other extremity of the last-named State's boundary is a bolt in a rock on the Hudson, directly southeast. The line is marked by monuments of square stone every few paces.

CHAPTER VIII.

WAE OF THE KEVOLUTION.

BUT, pending these boundary disputes, a more seri- ous question disturbed the pioneers of Monroe — the question of national independence. Before the Declaration of Independence the control of the navi- gation of the Hudson was regarded as a most wise strategic measure. Parliament ordered it kept open to their forces, and sent Sir Henry Clinton with a powerful fleet to keep open communication with Can- ada. Congress also resolved upon measures for the obstruction of the river even as early as 1775. The Provincial Legislature concurred and appointed a secret commission. This latter suggested the erec- tion of forts at the mouth of Poplopens Creek, and the stretching of a boom and chain across the river to Anthony's Nose. Forts Montgomery and Chnton were built, the latter being on the south side of the creek and hence in Monroe; a chain was also con- structed with a boom and put in place as suggested. It may be of interest to inquire as to the origin of this chain. The " Encyclopedia of American Biogra- phy " gives credit for the construction of the " famous chain " over the Hudson to Samuel Wheeler, an emi- nent blacksmith of Philadelphia, who, it represents,

44

War of the Revolution. 45

was recommended by General Mifflin in answer to an express wish of General Washington for a person to make such a chain. Mifflin said there was such a man in his command, but he could not do the work there, but could at his forge at Philadelphia. At the Wecaco forge, it is said, the famous chain was made and transported across the State of New Jersey and up the west bank of the Hudson to Fort Chnton, where it, together with a boom, was stretched across the river a haK-mile to the promontory opposite. Now here are two improbabilities :

First. That an order should be given for such a work so far away, when there were iron- works within easy reach : viz.. Forest of Dean, Stirling, New Wind- sor, and Poughkeepsie.

Second. That such a weight of iron in such shape should be exposed to the risk of passing the enemy's lines — a risk greatly enhanced by the vigi- lance of Tory spies and cowboys all along the route. It could have weighed scarcely less than 150 tons. It would have taken fifty ox-teams upwards of five days to accomplish it.

We get a clue to the construction of that chain in Colonel Boynton's " History of West Point." He tells us that a part of it was sent from Lake Champlain, where it had been used to obstruct the river Sorel. The balance was made at the Kemble forge, of iron from the mines of Livingston Manor. Thence it was floated down and stretched across the river from the mouth of the creek that separated Forts Montgomery and Clinton.

These forts were under command of Governor George and General James Clinton. The garrison consisted of about 600, mostly untrained militia.

46 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

They were the yeomanry of the neighborhood, who were mustered as minute-men to defend their own mountain citadels. When the exigencies of home or harvest required, they were permitted to exchange the sword for the plowshare. A system of beacons and signal-fires was agreed upon to call these brave men to their post, and the moment they saw the signal on yonder hills, leaving plow in mid-furrow and bidding adieu to those at home, shouldering gun and knapsack, they joined the hardy band ascending the mountain path.

In October, 1777, Sir Henry Clinton manoeuvered his fleet and forces so as to deceive General Putnam. Not so Grovernor Clinton, who hastily adjourned the legislature, mustered the militia, and occupied the two forts just mentioned. The crafty Briton landed his forces on the east side of the river, then hastily transported them across to Stony Point, where he landed about 4000 men. At daybreak on October 6, the advance-guard, consisting of 500 regulars and 400 Tories, under Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, marched around Dunderberg to the foot of Bear Mountain; while the main column of 1200, under General Vaughan, moved to a position on the right. General Tryon, with the rear-guard, remained in a valley where the force separated. A small force was sent out from the forts to meet the enemy with a single cannon, but were easily dispersed. Campbell's advance attacked Fort Montgomery on the rear, and Vaughan swept down on Fort Chnton. The resist- ance was of the bravest character ; but the garrison was not sufficient to guard such long hues of defense. Surrender was refused, whereupon a bloody scene occurred. Some prisoners were taken, but, hopeless

War of the Revolution. 47

of resisting such an overwhelming force, the re- mainder escaped and made their way to the camp at New Windsor. Among those who escaped were the governor and his brother James Chnton, the latter wounded by a bayonet. The attacking force lost few men, among whom, however, was Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell.

Another memorable hero of that engagement was Colonel Wilham Allison, ancestor of Monroe fami- lies. He was commander of the Groshen regiment, sharing that honor with Colonel Tusten, and taking command alternately. It was Colonel Tusten's turn when the battle of Minisink was fought, where he fell. But it was Colonel Allison's turn when the Enghsh moved to attack Fort Montgomery. His aids were Captains Woodhull, Tuthill, and his own son Lieutenant Micah Allison. When it was known that the British troops were moving up the river, he threw out the signals to summon the yeomanry from the surrounding country, among whom were the minute-men of Monroe. In the fierce conflict that ensued Colonel William Allison was among the hun- di'ed or more prisoners taken, who were imprisoned some in the old sugar-house, others upon a prison ship, the horrors of which will never be forgotten. Which was the place of the colonel's confinement does not appear, but a letter is in possession of Mrs. C. B. Knight, written from Long Island while he was a prisoner under parole. A commission is also in existence making him brigadier-general, signed by Governor George Clinton, and dated 1782, a facsim- ile of which is in the histoiy of the Allison family. His son Lieutenant Allison was among the killed, and no doubt was cast with the rest in a small

48 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

pond in the town of Monroe, and close at hand, where their remains presented a most pitiful spectacle and illustration of the horrors of war. We may state in passing that Colonel Allison had two daughters, Mary and Sarah. The former was married to Dr. William Ehner and the latter to Sheriff W. D. Thompson. Dr. Elmer, of Monroe, traces his de- scent from the former, and Mrs. Chauncey B. Knight from the latter. The Allisons of Chester spring from a collateral branch. After the engagement the chain was taken up by the enemy, a garrison was placed in the forts, and the name of Fort Clinton was changed to Fort Yaughan. The British commander then sailed up the river to Kingston, which he burned. But, hearing of the defeat of Burgoyne, he beat a hasty retreat down the river, withdrawing all his forces from the fastnesses of the Highlands.

Soon occurs another incident of interest to the denizens of this old town. We refer to the construc- tion of the second chain. The importance of ob- structing the river became still more apparent now, because of the ease with which the enemy's fleet had passed the former obstructions and the havoc that had been made with mills, towns and forts, so that Albany was the only city lying between them and Canada. It was apparent, also, that more formidable means must be devised. General Hughes first wrote to Greneral Grates, November, 1777, stating that he, with the Clintons and an engineer, had visited the fortifications on the river, and had decided that forts be erected at " the West Point," and that a chain and chevaux de frise be stretched across to Constitution Island. It was followed by a correspondence between Governor Clinton and Generals Gates, Putnam and

War of the Revolution, 49

the commander-in-cliief . The last so emphasized the necessity as to pronoiince it of infinite importance. Accordingly measures were taken to fortify West Point, and that was selected as the place best fitted to stretch a chain and boom, because the river was narrowest at that point and could be swept by artil- lery on the shore. And still further it had the ad- vantage of being situated at a sharp bend of the river where the vessels would lose the wind and their momentum, and be compelled to tack. Radiere was designated to engineer the fortifications and Deputy Quartermaster-General Hugh Hughes to superintend the chain.

General Putnam, who had command, in a letter to General Washington referred to the former chain as made of " bad kon." With this hint, General Hughes repaired to the firm of Noble, Townsend & Co., whose iron- works were situated at Stii'ling, on a lake of the same name, just over the border of Monroe in the town of Warwick. This extensive plant consisted of 23,000 acres of land, a furnace, forge and anchory. These were established in 1752, before the foundation of the government, and had the honor of making the anchors for the first United States frigate. Deputy Quartermaster-General Hugh Hughes visited Stu'ling February 2, 1778. The traditions of the Townsend family are that the visit was made on Sunday morn- ing and the visitor arrived in a heavy snow-storm. The order was given and the work instantly started. Articles of agreement were drawn, in which the said Noble, Townsend & Co. agree to furnish, on or before April 1 ensuing, a chain, an iron chain * of the f ollow-

* The links of the chain, as seen at Glen Island, N. Y., measure 45 inches in length, 12 inches in breadth, the bar iron being 4^ inches square.

7

50 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time,

ing length and quality : that is, in length five hundred yards, each hnk to be about two feet long, of the best Stirling kon, two inches and one quarter square, or as near thereto as possible, with a swivel to every hundred feet, and a clevis to every thousand feet, in the same manner as those of the former chain. Twelve tons of anchors of sizes needed were in- cluded. For this work the United States government stipulated, through its agent, to pay at the rate of forty pounds for every ton dehvered. In case there should occur some variation in the value of the money, they were to be paid 400 pounds sterhng for the chain. For six weeks, night and day, seven fires were kept at forging and ten at welding. Sixty men were granted furlough from the army to assist in the work. The work was completed within the time contracted for. The chain was divided into sections of ten links each, loaded on ox-carts and hauled to New Windsor, where it was dehvered to Captain Machin to be put together at his forge, thirty miles from Stirling, but the roads part of the way were doubtless very rough. Besides, the weight of the chain, which was one hundred and thirty-six tons, made the task of transportation a formidable one. From the bill of Captain Machin it consisted of iron "wrought into booms, bolts, chains, swivels and bands." The several parts were put together and floated down the river; the boom on April 7, the chain on the 16th, and all was in place on the 30th. General Heath, who properly belongs to Monroe, wrote a description of the chain and its adjustment ; stating that it was fastened to poles about sixteen feet long, sharpened at the end, with a coHar cut in the middle, and secured to the chain by staples. Anchors

War of the Revolution. 51

were fastened at proper distances to keep it from swaying, and great bolts held it to the rocks at either end. He says the chain was fixed with great dex- terity by 280 men, without accident. The boom was placed in front, and consisted of logs put together with lighter links and placed horizontally, so as to break the force of a sailing vessel before it could reach the chain. According to this same wi-iter, it is evident that the structure was swung around in the winter, to protect it from injury by the ice. Now this was the chain that General Ai-nold was said to have weakened, by removing a link, at the time of his at- tempt to betray West Point into the hands of Major Andre. But how he could have removed it for pre- tended need of repair, without suspicion and without destroying its integrity, no one can divine. Of his treachery, however, there is no question.

Benedict Arnold had been a very brave officer, and for valuable services had received many honors. But some disappointments had soured his temper and un- dermined his patriotism. The temptation was pre- sented and the opportunity came. Sir Henry Clinton wanted West Point, the Gibraltar of America, and conceived the idea of resorting to bribery, the force of arms having failed. The time was favorable. Both sides were weary of the strife. Congi-ess was divided ; the treasury empty ; the money depreciated ; the brave men unpaid. A deep cloud rested on the cause, which even the aid of France did but partially alleviate. Then it was Arnold opened a secret cor- respondence with Major Andre, Adjutant-General of the British army. The former wrote under the name of Gustavus ; the latter under that of John Ander- son. It was discovered that Gustavus was no less

52 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

than the distinguished commander of West Point, to which post he managed to secure his appointment in order to carry out his traitorous scheme. Arnold made his headquarters at the Beverly Robinson House, which stands on the east side of the river, about two miles south of West Point. In Arnold's letter of August 30, 1780, the transaction is attempted to be disguised under the guise of a business venture in tobacco to be exchanged for ready money; but some difference in regard to the goods, and delay in obtaining the kind, would postpone the arrangement some days. The money for which this Judas was to betray his country, according to this letter, was 300 pounds sterling. After a number of notes it was ar- ranged that Arnold should meet Anderson at Dobbs Ferry ; but a strange course of Providence frustrated the plan. Nothing daunted, Arnold laid another plan, which came near succeeding. Anderson, or Andre, with Robinson, sailed up the river in the British ship Vulture^ to a point near the house of Joshua Hett Smith, which is still standing, situate two miles from Stony Point. This Smith was son of one of the proprietors of the Cheesecock Pat- ent. He was a man of education and refinement, hospitable, and largely trusted by the officers in the patriot army.

According to his journal, he had a brother in the Clove who lived about three miles from the public road. This brother is supposed to have been the father, Claudius Smith, the famous cowboy. How- ever this may have been, certain it is, both were in sympathy in their opposition to the cause of inde- pendence. Their methods were very diverse, but the animus was the same.

War of the Revolution. 53

The house of Joshua Hett Smith was chosen for the trysting-place of the conspirators. Robinson wrote to Arnold, under pretext of anxiety about his property, arranging the meeting. Washington came with his staff to King's Ferry, met Arnold, who talked about the Vulture^ which was in sight, and also showed Robinson's letter. The commander frowned on the proposal ; yet the traitor took not the warning, but rushed on his fate. After a futile attempt to meet Andre at Dobbs Ferry, he succeeded in his scheme on the night of September 21, 1779. Smith had sent his family to Fishkill. Then, with two of his ten- ants as boatmen, with muffled oars he was rowed to the Vulture. Meanwhile Arnold, with Smith's negro servant, both on horseback, rode to a clump of fir trees, about two miles distant on the shore. Smith brought Andre to the spot, and here the two plotted till daybreak. Afraid of detection, the boatmen re- fused to convey the British officer to his ship ; hence he and Arnold were compelled to seek concealment in Smith's house. After breakfast the firing of artil- lery was heard from the shore opposite, and from the window the Vulture was seen to swing out and di'op down the river. The plotters remained in conceal- ment and close confinement all day. At evening Arnold returned in his barge to the Robinson House, while Smith and Andre crossed to the east side of the river, to try and reach New York. Smith parted from him on the first night and joined his family at Fishkill. Andi'e took the river road, disguised in the clothes of Smith. When about a half-mile from Tarrytown three brave pickets sprang out upon him and ordered him to halt. Upon careful search of his person, they found documents, in Arnold's handwrit-

54 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

ing, giving full details of the disposition of forces about West Point. Neither persuasion nor money moved his brave captors. The commander of the post was incHned to send the papers and prisoner to Arnold; but by a strange dispensation of Providence the letter failed to reach the hands of Arnold, who was quietly awaiting developments. Meanwhile Wash- ington was on his way from Hartford to meet Rocham- beau. He spent Sunday evening with Joshua Hett Smith's family at Fishkill, and rode in the morning to the Robinson House to breakfast with Gleneral Arnold and his family. While seated at table with his host and his family, a messenger arrived with the missing note to Arnold. With coolness he arose with an apology, and repaired to one of the chambers, in- formed his wife of his misfortune, kissed his sleeping infant, and left the house suddenly, as if to cross by his barge to his post ; but instead he was rowed by his boatswain to the Vulture^ which was at anchor below. Washington was surprised that he had not been at the Point, and crossed to the Robinson House, where Lafayette and Knox handed him the papers concerning Andre. Convinced of Arnold's treachery, he exclaimed," Who, then, can we trust ? " That night every garrison and picket was put on the alert. Joshua Hett Smith was arrested, and, together with Andre, was confined at West Point. Both were sent to Tappan and tried. Smith was handed over to the civil authorities, but Andre was condemned to be executed as a spy. While his candor and amia- bility commended him to the mercy of the com- mander-in-chief, who would gladly have spared him, yet the condition of the army and the country con- stituted the military necessity that seemed to demand

War of the Revolution. 55

the execution of this truly brave officer. He was executed at Tappan, on October 2, 1780.

Smith was sent to doshen and confined in the jail ; but afterward escaped, went to England, returned, and died in New York.

Arnold also fled to England. He was seen after- wards by an American party, to whom an English- man said : " He is the only American who has not a friend in his own native land."

CHAPTER IX.

THE STOEY OF CLAUDIUS SMITH.

NOW while these events were occurring in the Highlands, against the dark background was projected another figure that did not lend one re- lieving tint or hne. We refer to Claudius Smith, the notorious cowboy. That title was apphed to ma- rauders who robbed farmers and others of their stock and valuables, and di'ove the former to the British headquarters, at this time at New York. They worked in gangs and robbed the loyal Americans far and near. The valley of the Ramapo was theii* favor- ite stalking-ground, because of its lonely solitudes and caves. Now Claudius was the Robin Hood of this gang. He was of Enghsh parentage, coming into Monroe from Southold, L. I., with his father. It is supposed that he was related to Joshua Hett Smith, of whom we have been writing. His father, David Smith, lived off the village road, on what has been known as the John Goff place. His wife is said to have been Jerusha Rumsey; and whatever may have been her pohtical sympathies, she shows her disapproval of her son's career in his quotation of her words on the gallows, when he kicked off his shoes : " Claudius, you will die some day like the

56

The Story of Claudius Smith. 57

trooper's horse." His father was buried in the old part of the cemetery on the lane, and on the old red tombstone are inscribed these lines :

" Here lies the body of David Smith

" Esq'r whose ahns he

" has Dispersed abroad his

" works and faith is still before his God his name

*' Shall Long on earth remain

" while envies Sinners freat in vain

'' My advice is to both Old and Young

" to make their calling and Election

" sure and to work out their own

" Salvation with fear and trembling

" the Deceased composed this

"work some time before his Death"

Born in April 15 in the Year of

1701 Died in Year 1787

The above is a facsimile of this quaint epitaph, for the elucidation of which we are indebted to a friend who to the zeal for the " ancient past " in Monroe adds the patience of Old Mortahty. He says the capital letters and spelling are exactly the same as on the tombstone. It is interesting as a sample of the learning of the day and the orthodoxy of the old man. The allusion to his "alms Dispersed abroad" savors of the trumpet of the Pharisee. But we for- bear, lest we should be classed with " envies Sinners " who "freat in vain."

As the son of such a father, better things might have been expected of Claudius. But his environ- ment was one of lawlessness. Then he embraced the Tory principle of resistance of the will of the people as expressed in the Declaration of Independence ; adhering like many others to the cause of the so- 8

58 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

called "good King Greorge." While the patriots were fighting for liberty with Briton and his Indian allies, Claudius and his gang were raiding their farms and homes in the Clove. He was a man of stalwart frame, and proud of his stature and strength. On some pubhc occasion, said the late J. Harvey Bull, he boastfully said, " Here I stand hke a pillar of old St. Paul's Church, and I defy any man to move me." Whereupon Ben Havens replied, " I will remove the pillar with my sledge-hammer fist," suiting the action to the word. Claudius lived in a cabin made of plank set perpendicular and hidden in the brush that skirted the roads that crossed opposite to Cunning- ham's mill and what afterwards was the late John Knight's garden. Part of the foundation was plowed up by the latter, and bits of crockery were found. It was a suitable den for the laying of his plots and mak- ing his forays upon the neighborhood and hiding his plunder. Other lawless characters joined his gang, and with them those who claimed to be loyalists sympathized and lent their aid. He had three sons who inherited his cruelty and became his confeder- ates in crime. These rough outlaws would rob their neighbors of their cattle and drive them down the Ramapo valley to Suffern, where they would dis- pose of them to the British army whose outposts were established there. Hence they were called cow- boys. But they were not content to rob from the fields, but broke into dwellings at night or while the men were absent on military duty, terrified the women, and stole food or money if they could find it. Some of his apologists have asserted he stole from the rich and gave to the poor. But it is characteristic of that class of villains that they try thus to atone for

The Story of Claudius Smith. 59

their Heaven-daring crimes. Even Captain Kidd was *' the gentlest man that ever cut a throat or scuttled ship."

The rough nature of the country favored these marauders. The mountains, and specially the Rama- po, were full of caves and dens where they could con- ceal both themselves and their plunder. There was such a cave near Man-of-War Rock ; another, near Indian Kill, which the daughters of the late Peter Townsend called Libalcad, composed of the initial syllables of their respective names. Another hiding- place was somewhere between Monroe and Blooming Grove. The flues of the old Elmer Earl House were another place of concealment. Here in later years a mechanic was driven to madness by the cruel joke of companions, who hoisted a pumpkin cut to represent the face of the outlaw and illuminated by a candle, after the young man had retired for sleep.

Claudius displayed great cunning and adi'oitness in his depredations. Like Ishmael, "his hand was against every man and every man's hand against him." Some- times he would seek to cripple a neighbor, perhaps on some petty pretext, as when he carried off the still- cap from the distillery of Mr. Bell on the Still Brook. Again, he would break in on the slumbers of some family whose head was absent in the trenches, insult the women, and rob the house of food or treasiu^e and carry off poultry or cattle, as his fancy or need dic- tated. When he had gathered a sufficient number of cattle and sheep in one of his hiding-places, in the shadows of evening he would drive them down the Ramapo pass to Suffern, where the British army had its outposts. He and his band would skulk back again and spend the proceeds in some of his dens, the

60 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

caves or cabins of confederates, in revelry and feast- ing. But such a career could not continue long. His very success in crime encouraged Mm to greater deeds of cruelty. While making a raid in Blooming Grrove with his band, he entered the house of Major Nathanael Strong ; and when that brave soldier re- sisted the ruffian, Claudius deliberately shot him. This was the culmination of his career. The crime enraged the community, and led Governor Chnton to put a price on his head. He now became an outlaw, and was hunted down like a wolf. His brothers and companions were included in the same ban. He was hunted out of the country, fleeing to Long Island, hiding away where he thought himself unknown. But the feet of an avenging Nemesis were soon on his track. Major Brush, of Orange County, hearing of his hiding-place, raised a band and found him at Oys- ter Bay, where he arrested him, took him over to Con- necticut, from whence, by a requisition from Governor Clinton, he was brought and delivered to the sheriff of Orange County, at Goshen, who ordered him chained to the floor of the jail for safe-keeping. He was afterwards tried at the com^t-house at Goshen, January 13, 1779, and executed on the 22d, with five of his companions. It is worthy of mention that a sermon was preached at the scaffold by the pastor of the Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Ezra Fisk, D.D., in the presence of 50,000 spectators. His text was Numbers xxxii, 23 : "Be sure your sin will find you out."

The sermon was very solemn, and from the unu- sual circumstances was calculated to make an indeli- ble impression. He was buried in the grounds of the Presbyterian Church, in the southwest corner, that

The Story of Claudius Smith. 61

being regarded as a sort of public property. Within the memory of some living, a citizen of Goshen who was lame and walked with a crutch broke through, his crutch or cane penetrating the neglected grave. This led to the taking up of the bones, which were stowed in a shop near by. My informant relates that a citizen applied to a well-known blacksmith to make him a carving-knife. The knife was made, but he had no buckhorn for a handle. A happy thought struck him. He went to the spot where the bones of the famous marauder lay neglected, and took a thigh bone and worked out a handle for the carving- knife. A startling instance of poetical irony ! Vig- orous means were taken to exterminate the gang after Claudius' death. One of his followers was shot on Schunemunk; one left his bones whitening over on the East Mountain, above the Ramapo. His son Richard fled to Nova Scotia.

Efforts were made by the credulous to find the treasure of the robber; but, hke that of Captain Kidd, it never materialized. Indeed the people had nothing but Continental money, and but little of that. To illustrate its depreciation, it is related that one of the farmers sold a cosset lamb about this time for 500 Continental dollars to a foraging party.

The disorder and terrorism caused by Tory and cowboy led the commander-in-chief to send detach- ments from the army to guard the roads through the Clove. A cavalry camp was established at Highland Mills, on the Morgan Shuitt farm; another at Monroe, near the bridge, on the D. Knight property. It was on the west side of the stage road, the second lot from the homestead now the residence of Clarence Knight.

62 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

The following are the epitaphs of two noted Revo- lutionary attaches buried near Ringwood, New Jersey, in the Ramapo Valley :

In Memory op

ROBERT ERSKINE, F. R. S.

geographer and surveyor-general to the army of

The United States.

Son of the Rev. Ralph Erskine

Late Minister at Dumfernline in Scotland.

born

September 7, 1735.

DIED

October 2nd, 1780.

Aged 45 Years

And 25 Days.

In Memory of

ROBERT MONTEITH

Clerk to Robert Erskine, Esq.

BORN

At Dumfernline in Scotland,

DIED

December 2nd, 1778, Aged 33 Years.

I am indebted to Mr. Mahlon J. Brooks for these inscriptions. He says that the graves are side by side. The stones are laid flat, on brick-work about two feet high, covering the whole grave. The letter- ing of the two stones is very plain, except the names of the two places in Scotland.

CHAPTER X.

THE DAWN OF PEACE.

AFTER such a storm there is always a ground JIjl. swell. It was some tune before the bitter feel- ings engendered by the contest were allayed. We must not forget that the War of the Revolution was really a civil war. It occurred among subjects of the same government, and was a movement to throw off allegiance to a king and set up a new form of govern- ment. Such a radical question not merely separated neighbors, but divided families. It became an inter- necine war, and that is proverbially bitter. The cruelty of it is illustrated by the career of Clau- dius Smith. Now even this had a sequel after he was executed. Some of the gang who had been in hiding determined to avenge on neighbors their leader's death. They selected Henry Reynolds, a Friend, as the object of their vengeance, because he had been active in giving information against him. He lived in the stone house now standing by the brook on the Gignoux place.

They came at midnight and surrounded the house, which the inmates barred. Finding they could not break in, they cMmbed on the roof and tried to descend the chimney. But one of the ladies opened a pillow and poui'ed the feathers on the fire, which was too much

63

64 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

for them. They then retired, but returned again when Mr. Reynolds was at home. They entered, pre- tending they were commissioned to look for deserters. They took Mr. Rejrnolds, tied him to the lug pole, and hung him in the chimney while they searched for treasure. But his daughter Phoebe cut him down. Then they caught him again and suspended him. They also cut him with their swords and knives, leav- ing him for dead. His daughter cut him down again, and, assisted by other members of the family, dressed his wounds and saved his life. He lived to a good old age (eighty-three years), and showed his scars as honorable mementos of the encounter. The plucky daughter also gave the alarm to the neighbors, who pursued the miscreants, wounding one and shooting another. One, named Kelley, was found dead on East Mountain, and on him were the clothes of Friend Reynolds.

The brave daughter Phoebe was married afterwards to Jeremiah Drake and removed to Sullivan County, where she reared a family, and is mentioned, with an account of her adventures with great interest, in Quinlan's " History " of that county.

The proclamation of peace was hailed by every true patriot and reflecting mind with sincere joy. It is recorded of Peter Townsend, then a young man, that he rode on horseback all the way to New York to see the British fleet evacuate the harbor. Warm wel- comes awaited the return of the brave soldiers to their homes. But these they did not find in a prosperous condition. Buildings had been burned, cattle stolen, fences thrown down, and fields and gardens overgrown with brush and weeds. But the Anglo-Saxon is not one who sits down in despair,

The Dawn of Peace. 65

but has wonderful recuperative energy. He betakes himself at once to rebuild. He starts again the plow. His axe rings through the forest. He lays out new roads and projects new enterprises, looking with hope for their realization in the future. He has had enough of war and ruffianism. He believes in the regeneration of society, encourages home building, immigration, the setting up of the school, the organi- zation of the church and all those institutions that belong to a well-ordered society. He crowds out the lawless, who retire to the mountains. The disloyal find it uncomfortable to remain, and some move to other parts, or learn to hide their pedigree or hold their tongue.

Now come in most of the modern families who engrafted upon the old form a new society, the foun- dation of Monroe of the present.

It is an interesting matter of history that James and Charles Webb came from Goshen in 1798 and bought each 300 acres on opposite sides of Mombasha, dividing it through the middle. Their father was Samuel Webb, who was seven feet in height. He was killed in the Minisink war by the Indians, who boasted they had killed the biggest man in the settle- ment. His brother was also very tall, measuring more than six and a half feet. Samuel Webb, Jr., was the son of Charles, succeeding him in ownership of lands in the east side. He had also a sawmill below the outlet where was an old road soon to be reopened to afford a beautiful drive about the lake and to connect with that from Tuxedo. Cyrenius and the late J. Madison are the sons of Samuel Webb, and they or their heirs still occupy the same tract, now for a hundred years in possession of the family. 9

CHAPTER XI.

HOME BUILDING IN THE OLDEN TIME.

THE log cabin is the prototype of the homes of Monroe. Under these thatched roofs rich and poor ahke rested. By these rude firesides the best of her sons learned their first lessons of life. In one, it is said, the Father of his Country did not disdain to rest. But it was not long before an evolution began. Soon the sawmill arrives, and lumber is drawn for a "lean-to." Then there is a stoop, with rude benches, where the family receive neighbors, crack nuts, and tell the news. But soon comes an honest pride. The log cabin must go. A neighbor of more means has started with a frame house, and so the cabin is con- verted into a stable, and in its place rises the dry- goods box, which is topped out with gambrel roof and two-story piazza ; this again passes through a white elephant period, or "Crazy Jane," at last efflorescing into a Queen Anne with all the modern improvements. Some, however, " to the manner born," conceived, more in accord with the fitness of environment, that in a country of granite rocks stone is the proper ma- terial for the homestead ; hence persons like Harvey Bull, John Brooks, and Dr. Carpenter built their stone mansions, at once enduring monuments of their sturdy good sense and taste. One of these gentlemen

66

Home Building in the Olden Time. 67

would, point to some of the stones of the corner and tell the story of their quanying with loving pride. But let us look outside on garden and farm. Would you know what it cost of toil to subdue a little piece of ground for garden, we call to remembrance a small piece cultivated by Phineas Brooks opposite the Grranite House. Year after year the old man toiled, throwing out the stone till he had a huge pile, enough to macadamize rods of road; and still there was plenty. Asking Sammy Gregory to explain then' origin, he said, " He guessed they growed." But we need not smile, for one of the old furnace-men at Southfield remembered " when Tom Jones' mountain was no bigger than a coal-basket." These pioneers had to content themselves with the simplest and coarsest esculents of the garden, and the humblest modes of taking care of them. It was related of one of the careful dames that she took her turnips to bed with her to keep them from freezing, finding them but poor bed-fellows. The dirt-cellar was soon thought out, and became a necessity. The Hessian had gone home, leaving behind only his curse, the wild dais}^ But his cauliflower and sprouts and Antwerp berries were a better legacy. The love-apple developed into the tomato. The black-bog Irish potato found a friend in the Rev. E. P. Roe, who gave us the perfec- tion of tubers. And since that the cornucopia of the world has been pouring in seeds of plants and flowers from the uttermost parts of the earth. The puckery crab-apple of the Indians has been superseded by the Newtown pippins, dominies, and seek-no-furthers of the orchards. Deacon Van Valer used to say, " Never plant a shade tree when a fruit tree will do as well." His farm was an orchard, and when, nearly eighty

68 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

years of age, a neiglibor laughed at him for continu- ing to plant and graft, he said : " I not merely expect to gather fruit from these trees, but to pick from this ladder which I am making." And he did.

If it was so hard to make a garden, what must it have been to clear a farm? The sturdy woodsman would soon clear up the timber ; but the rocks and boulders with which every rood was strewn were enough to appal any but one of these hardy sons of toil ; particularly when we remember the rudeness of their appliances : the pick, the crow-bar, hammer, wedge, the gunpowder, the oxen, and stone-boat. No dynamite, no stump and rock extractor. But co- operative industry was the order of the times. Stone- bees were made, and neighbor came to the assistance of neighbor.

The good dame did her part in the kitchen, turning out the pot-pie and other appetizing productions of hands well taught in the culinary art. At such times the best stories were told. Toasts were drunk in the old-fashioned cider, for as yet total abstinence was in its cradle. With mirth and jollity the rocks were torn up as by giants; the stones " snaked" towards the limits of the outlined fields, to be broken up on the morrow by the fence-builder, who would rear them into the characteristic fences of the town. Mr. John Brooks buried the stones on his farm in great holes dug for the purpose. But let us hear him tell the story of his labors :

" 'Twas tlius by honest toil I smoothed the rugged soil, For forty years or more, Till orchard, grass and grain Spread o'er the barren plain,

Home Building in the Olden Time. 69

Where nothing grew before. By powder, picks and sledges, By levers, bars and wedges. By prying, splitting, mauling, I brought the rocks to reason, As rebels were from treason, And fitted them for handling ; In fences rough and strong. In fields square and some oblong,

Then took they proper station. As they came struggling through

The rubbish of creation. As each redeemed spot. Grew to a garden plot,

A longer breath I drew, Took courage from the past. And prayed that I might last

To put the hard task through. And now in fact 'tis done As I planned when I begun.

And tho' 'tis true that I Shall ne'er receive the gains, The needful for my pains.

These fields shall never die. Whate'er shall be my fate. E'en up to death's dark gate,

Thro' health, wealth, want or pain.

The fame I fought for most

Will be this honest boast,

I have not lived in vain ! "

John Brooks.

How well expressed! Let the young men who have entered into possession of these ancestral acres learn what they cost, and not be ashamed of the farmer's profession, — for such it is, — nor ever turn away in scorn from the homestead farm even, although the moss covers the roof and the cricket steals in by the hearth.

The implements of the farm were very rude at first.

70 Chro7iicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

For example, the plow used was what was called the "hog plow." It had a rough beam, with share of wood shod with iron that had to he taken to the smithy to be sharpened. It was followed by the Eng- lish plow, which had a movable coulter that would cut the sod and lay it over a curvilinear mould-board in even f iu*rows. What would one of those gray fathers have said had he been told that his grandson would ride behind a spanking team upon a sulky plow of steel, over a carpet-like sod, and lay it smooth as a floor, and another follow after, di'opping corn from a patent planter, to be covered also by machinery ? This was that same maize which they had received from the Indians, who taught them to plant it when the oak leaves were as big as squirrels' ears, and to go to the brook and bring two shiners for each hill of corn. " Succotash" was an Indian term, as was " kintakaue"; and after eating the one the other helped digest it. This was the elementary lesson of that primitive time. But sagacity early discovered that Monroe soil was best adapted for grazing; hence attention was turned to pasture fields. But no cultivated grasses were known till comparatively recent times. Meadows and marshes were relied upon to furnish forage and hay. The hay cut with the scythe was raked by hand, forked upon poles, and carried out or stacked up, till winter brought frozen ground that would bear up team and wain. Mr. Samuel Webb could recollect when the fii'st Timothy Hurd gi'ass seed and red clover were introduced. It was an era in agri- cultural history — a revolution. The marsh is out- shone by the meadow, and the milch cow and sleek steers are seen grazing over the clovered plain. The wooden hay-fork and home-made rake give way to

Home Building in the Olde^i Time. 71

better tools. But for many years scythe, sickle and the clumsy cradle held the field before anything better was thought of. The present generation can remem- ber when the carpenter left his bench, the clerk the counter, and the smith his anvil, to take part in the labors of the hay and harvest field. The country was one vast hive of industry. There was turning the grindstone, the boy's spectre, which kept saying, " Beware of the man who has an axe to grind" ; and whettings that filled the air with clear metallic strains ; hanging of scythes, which Webster regarded as suc- cessfully done when he hung it in a tree; then the march of the peaceful procession across the field, with even step and graceful sweep as well timed as an aria in Handel's " Seasons."

Then came the little army with hand-rakes draw- ing hay or grain into windrows, to be followed by binders if grain, or tossing into hay-cocks or mowing away if hay. All this had to be done by hand, with rude tools and slow ox-teams. It made weeks of frolic and hard work for field hands and wives and daughters ; for all were interested, and not seldom could be seen the fair hands of Ruth bearing, if not the sheaves, at least the basket of lunch for the tired reapers. But how all is changed now! First came the horse-rake ; then the mowing-machine. The last came in 1854. It was the Ketcham machine, cum- brous and heavy, galling the necks of the horses, and unwilling to back down when it struck stump or rock. This gave way to lighter and more convenient inventions, the acme being reached when the reaper and binder came into the field. Then, when the horse hay-lifter and mower followed, the burden of fann- ing was also lifted, and the problem of gathering the

72 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

crops with few hands was solved. Indeed, if such improved machinery had not been introduced, much of the crops during the Civil War must have been ungathered.

Vehicles passed through similar evolution. First, the cart ; then the wagon without springs ; then the spring seat. In these rude, lumbering things they even went to church. Chairs were set in them when a number rode. On one occasion, when at a later period the custom was repeated, after the load had been deposited at the church door one of the little girls in the congregation, seeing the wagon and chairs pass the window, observed that " some one was mov- ing." One of our older citizens remembered distinctly the time when the first springs were introduced and the gossip they occasioned.

Oxen also constituted the earliest beasts of burden. They snaked out the stumps on week-days, and took the family to church on Sunday. Moonlight rides in the one-horse open sleigh were then undreamed of. The patient ox was better adapted to the slow work of subduing the wilderness. Experiences with them were sometimes odd: as when a green son of the Emerald Isle yoked a pair of steers facing each other, and said, "Did yees ever see the loike*?" or when John Fowler's cattle stepped on a large snapping- turtle ; and on another occasion, when he left them yoked to feed near a fence while he went to dinner, and found one of them choked down by a large black- snake. He cut the throat of the ox and dressed the carcass. Attention was largely paid at first to the raising of cattle for market, but this gradually gave way to the dairy business, and the development of the best milch cow has been the aim and effort since.

Home Building iii the Olden Time. 73

The scrubby native animal with crumpled horn had to give way for the coming of the Holstein, Jersey, Alderney, and lastly the chef d^muvre, according to one of oiu' best cattle-raisers, the belted stock. Fifty years ago the butter-producing quality was the aim, when the very bank-notes of Orange County took on a butter hue. But in 1841, when the Erie Railroad was constructed and sent its first train into this region, keen eyes saw the advantage of sending milk to the great city ; and ever since the Monroe farmers have turned their attention to milk.

10

CHAPTER XII.

THE IRON INDUSTRY OF MONROE.

THE surveyor Clinton calls attention to lot No. 3, which he calls " the great iron lot." Twenty thousand acres in this vicinity were sold by James Alexander, Lord Stirling, to a London company who estabhshed the Stirling Iron Works in 1752. The anchory and forge were built over the line in War- wick, but the mines are largely in Monroe. When owned by Messrs. Noble and Townsend the great chain was forged, as we have already described. The Forest of Dean Furnace was started before the Revo- lution, but the fall of Fort Montgomery forced it to close, and now it is an unsightly ruin. Queensboro continued till the War of 1812, when it extinguished its fires. The Augusta works were established in 1783 by Solomon Townsend, for the manufacture of bar iron and anchors; but the plant was removed elsewhere, leaving a picturesque ruin on the banks of the Ramapo. Greenwood Iron Works were estab- hshed in 1811. At the opening there was a proces- sion, each workman bearing the tool of his branch of work. Songs were sung, toasts drunk, speeches made, an ox roasted, and dinner served. Messrs. Robert and Peter P. Parrott were the owners. This furnace

74

The Iron Industry of Monroe. 75

furnished the u'on from which most of the cannon used by the government during the late Civil War were made. Now the fires of this historic furnace have been extinguished; the well-known and respected manager, Mr. P. P. Parrott, is dead; the property has passed into other hands, the scene of toil turned into a park, and its name changed to Arden.

Southfield Iron Works came into the possession of Messrs. WilUam and Peter Townsend in 1827, and have had a memorable record. For seventy years the fires glowed and the huge engine puffed, the molten stream poured forth, and weird figures moved in the lurid firehght, while on every hand were signs of thrift and labor. How sweetly came the sound of tinkling bells across the valley, as the cows of the cot- tagers returned from the mountain pastures ; and how restful the notes of the whippoorwill in the gloam- ing, when around the old homestead played the grand- children of that old couple who knew so well how to "welcome the coming and speed the parting guest "! But the scene is all changed now. Some of the fam- ily return to spend the summers, but the fii*es of the furnace are out, the long breath of the engine is no longer heard, the teams are released, the men dis- charged, and their honored employer and his benevo- lent wife are resting on the chff yonder, whither sturdy hands, not without tears, carried them a few years since.

The scene was a very different one some sixty years ago, when the iron industries of the country flourished, as will be seen from the following lines from the fertile pen of our town poet, the late John Brooks, who was employed as clerk and storekeeper for the Stirling Company about the year 1832 :

76 Chro7iicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

" Mr. Peter Townsend :

I send you by our lazy brawny, Chuckle-head and a Montawney, Eighty-four bars well-wrought and strong, Two tons, one hundi'ed fourteen pounds ; Send us some Indian and some flour Immediately, if in your power. Send us some shoes, we're out of leather ; We can't go barefoot this cold weather. Bill Babcock wants a pair ; also his wife ; 'Tis twelves both wear. Some of our dames do scold and pout, Because our tea does not hold out — Three and a half pounds allowed per week ; For I'm so dumb I've not yet found The art of making from three pound Just sixteen quarters. Must I serve The first that come, just like the rest ? Or will you send a little more ? Three and a half and sometimes four. Send me the news, for I want to know How Adams and Old Hickory go. Some of us will want some money For training ; therefore I'U just dun ye. Two shillings each will pay stage fare, And as much more will keep us there. But send as much as you can spare. The coaling jobs go on right well; But on the forge there lays a spell. And where 'twill end no one can tell ; Tho' now she thumps away like Sheol. Now when you and your better half Are reading this, 'twiU make you laugh. 'Tis childish verse wrote with pot-hooks And trammels. I remain,

Yours, John Brooks."

Now if these lines have httle merit on the score of rhetoric, they are worthy of preservation as giving a picture of the times, and of some of the ens-

The Iron Industry of Monroe. 11

toms in that mining region. Supplies were furnished the families from the company's store. Estimates were made on the basis of three and one half pounds of tea to a family. But as the clerk had not learned the art of making sixteen quarters from three pounds, it was obvious that he must have some more tea, or there must be an unequal distribution. Other touches of humor will be appreciated by those who were fa- miliar with the author and his times.

The last generation witnessed much greater activity in the iron industry than the present. The time was when the mines near by were all worked, the smoke of furnaces mingled with that of cabins in the moun- tams, teams toiled along the roads from Bull Hill, Forshee, Rye, Hogancamp, O'Neal andFrederick mines. But, owing to several causes, a change has come over the scene. The exhaustion of timber, the necessity of using costlier fuel and of penetrating deeper for the ore, have all conspired to produce the present con- dition. When foreign supplies are exhausted and tariffs are better adjusted, the iron-men will again look to these hills, and with better machinery take out the rich metal which the magnet indicates is still stored there.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE MILK BUSINESS.

THE all-absorbing business of Monroe is producing and selling milk. We may say there was a pre- destination for it in the very composition of the soil and in the situation. But it did not materialize until the Erie Railway was organized and laid to Monroe.

The first train ran through in 1841. It created a great sensation at the time, as we describe elsewhere, and opened up a new channel of industry not merely for the town, but the county also. Hitherto the county was famous for butter. Shortly after the opening of the road, Mr. John Milton Bull conceived the idea of utilizing the new means of transportation for the benefit of the farmer, by shipping his milk to New York. It was soon caught up and put in prac- tice. John Milton, Jesse and Ira Bull, in the spring of 1842 started the enterprise. When the business was in its infancy we are told that varied receptacles were employed, such as cans, churns, and tubs.

Cloths were placed under the covers to prevent leakage. The early cans had no handles or fianged lids, but were carried by a bail. We are also told that the brakemen bolted upon bringing the empty cans back, because they were so hard to handle. The farmers were their own collectors. The price began,

78

The Milk Business. 79

as we are informed from the books of a farmer, with one and three quarter cents per quart for summer and two for winter; but went up to four, five, six, and even seven cents during the late war. At first the milk was cooled in troughs, sometimes lowered into wells. The supply of milk was small, so that farmers would borrow and lend or club together. The scarcity of ice rendered it difficult to keep the milk; hence it was shipped twice a day. All kinds of business re- ceived an impulse. New needs were created. Milk- wagons, cans, milk-houses and cooling-tubs, ice- houses and ponds, better cows, better barns and stables, different feeds and new methods of farming, all were in demand. The big churn was out of use, the churning-machine dilapidated, the dog dead, and the very piggery deserted. " Yes," said one old gen- tleman who had been used to the old regime, and who was vexed that a storm or accident had thi'own hun- dreds of quarts of milk on his hands and the good- wife could find no means of disposing of it, "we want a new kind of woman."

It brought a new age, if not a new kind of woman. For ever since the labor of the milking-yard, the handling of heavy cans has fallen upon men ; while she is released to attend to her own realm in home and social Ufe. After the introduction of this new business it was found it was not without its own irregularities. Now it was a combination of middle- men, then an over-supply, again a cut in price on milk or feed ; then an increase in competition from the opening of new roads and widening areas of milk supply. But the great obstacle to the prosperity of the farming community has been the uniform rate of shipment by the railway companies for long and

80 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Tifne.

short distances. A gleam of hope shines in from a recent decision of the Supreme Court, bringing the interstate commerce regulations to hear on the case. To remedy some of the difficulties above referred to, creameries were instituted. Monroe and Turners were early in the field. The Farmers' Creamery, or Monroe Dairy Association, has shown what farmer managers can achieve in conducting a cooperative business. The two other creameries, one for the col- lection of milk, the other for the manufacture of fine cheeses, are built on the lake, and another is conducted at Satterly town by the Neuenswander brothers.

CHAPTEK XIV.

INDUSTKIES OF THE HOME AND FAEM.

OUR sketch would be imperfect if we did not advert to the industries of the home. In the early days of farming, the farm was expected to yield nearly all things needed for subsistence, clothing, and comfort, and the housewife was expected to adapt them to the needs of the household. As in Bible times, " she looketh well to the ways of her household. She riseth while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household. She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands. She layeth her hands to the spindle ; her hands hold the distaff. She is not afraid of the snow for her house- hold, for all her household are clothed in double gar- ments." How true in every particular except the spindle and distaff ! But its more advanced sister is there in the flax and woollen spinning-wheel. All the hnen used for bed, table or clothing was the product of her hands ; sometimes from the hetchelling to the final bleaching. So with the wool. She carded and spun and knit, and sometimes wove. The very name " wife" was derived from weaving, she being the woof; while spinster was from the art of spinning, and was then an honorable name for married and unmarried alike. How the needles flew in those days, verifying

11 81

82 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

their supposed derivation, ' ' ne — idle " ! The travelling tailor would "whip the cat" from house to house statedly, to help make up or cut the garments for the men. Such despatch could sometimes be reached in those days, that it is said that the wool was on the sheep one Sunday morning, when marriage hanns were published, and on the next Sunday, when the couple were to be joined, the same was on the bride- groom. The hides raised on the farm came home in shoe leather. Then the travelhng cobbler came around and shod the family, from father down. The father sometimes tried his hand at cobbling, and on one occasion had not time to trim the sole of his boy's shoe before school, where he called forth the derisive remark, " They be big enough for oxen." But the cuisine must not be overlooked. When we consider the conveniences, it was a marvel. The huge, clumsy fireplace, with its crane and pot-hooks, its hearth and oaken bench, its glowing coals and steaming vessels, was always an object of unique interest.

Before the Dutch oven came, the fowl was hung up by a cord before the fire, and the frying-pan, with its long handle, was propped up by a stick. The oven received special care in construction and manage- ment. It must be heated with good chestnut oven- wood; carefully brushed out when the proper tem- peratui'e was reached ; no ashes must cling to the loaf of bread or cake. What experience and care were required ! Yet out of that oven would come a mar- vellous supply of most delicious brown loaves and cake, sometimes six kinds from the same dough. She was an alchemist, and if she had not found the phi- losopher's stone, she certainly out of that stone shrine of hers brought some masterpieces which the old

Industries of the Home and Farm. 83

men never ceased to praise : pumpkin loaf, succo- tash, crackling, apple pot pie, venison steaks, short- cake, oily koeks, crullers, Sally Limn, and her chef d'ceuvre^ black fruit-cake, the glory of the wedding feast.

The housewife had to manufacture so many things from the very foundation. Her yeast she must ob- tain from her own hop-vine, or bon*ow it from a neighbor over on the turnpike, whose skill is perpetu- ated in the name. Her sweetening comes from the maple-trees, and, at her will, becomes either molas- ses or sugar. Her cider can be converted into vine- gar if she wishes, supplying the place of mother to it. Cider apple-sauce supplied the place of sweetmeats. Her kitchen is a laboratory. Tins shine like silver ; tubs are scoured to marvellous whiteness; churns and butter-tray are sweet as a heifer's breath; and her broom, the work of her old man, constitutes her sceptre, which all have in sacred awe.

Rock-oil had not been struck as yet. Spermaceti was a luxury too expensive for common use. Illu- minating material must be found on the farm. Beef- tallow was utilized. Candles were made by twisting a cotton wick and dipping in melted tallow until they were of sufficient size. These primitive hghts were dim and du'ty, requiring the snuffers and fre- quent attention. They were used in church and home. By them, the family read and the minister wrote his sermon. He gave notice of evening service '' at early candlehght." The thief in the candle and the flickering flame in the socket were often an ob- ject lesson for him in his dimly hghted chapel.

Characteristic featui'es of the hearth in those days were the andirons, innocent of spot; the shovel.

84 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

tongs, and bellows ; the crane, with its row of pot- hooks, so often cited by the schoolmaster as a com- parison for the writing-lesson. Building the fire on such a hearth is a fine art, the very test of a good prospective wife. Back log and top log must be there, and kindhngs rightly laid. The old man may insist upon bringing in the first over the highly pohshed floor with the pony; then there is a small hurricane about his ears, for the ancient housewife, as the mod- em, " went," as was said, " for the last dirt." The wood in order, she will soon have it lit, even if she has to take the axe herself and make better kind- lings. Where is the fire to come from ? If she has no embers from last night, carefully covered up, she must either go to a neighbor's to borrow, or she must draw on some home device.

There were no matches sixty years ago. Flint and tinder-box were necessary articles of furniture. The tinder was of home manufacture — no other than scorched rags. When these were not at hand, the flint-lock gun, hanging over the mantle, was taken down to give a spark. An old lady described to the writer her experience in an effort of that kind, when she pointed the gun up the chimney, fired it, and was thrown on her back by the recoil, her grandsons having loaded it with shot without her knowledge. One was mischievous enough to say, " Lay still, granny ; there are three more loads in it."

Now upon the glowing hearth the skilled housewife will prepare most of her simple repast. The potatoes and roasting ears are pushed into the coals ; the grid- dle is hung on the crane ; the tea-kettle sings a merry song; the baby is crowing in the cradle, ready to spring into the sinewy arms of the bronzed son of

Industries of the Home and Farm. 85

toil when he comes in from the fields or milking-yard ; then when the group gathers about the humble board, parents and rosy-cheeked, sun-kissed boys and girls, — for fashion has not entered there to curse with child- lessness,— when that group is formed and grace is said, Heaven smiles, and out of the Oracle come the words, "Thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands. Happy shalt thou be. It shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine, thy children as olive-plants around thy table."

Come with me to the spring-house, where the milk is conveyed from the milking-yard. Everything is scrupulously clean about the spot. The dames of that day, although not all Wesleyans, remembered John Wesley's aphorism that " cleanliness is akin to godUness." Even the cat and dog had to respect such religion, and wait until the milk was strained, before they received their share. The milk was strained to the last hair ; for the process of setting the milk, skimming the cream, and handhng the par- ticles of butter is sure to bring any lurking speck to light. What a sight are those shining pans, filled with the creamy fluid, set afloat in the silvery pebble- paved spring ! What a curiosity it would be now to see the big churn operated by a machine with in- clined wheel and lever, the motive-power being a huge dog or a sheep ! We knew of a minister visit- ing in a neighboring town, who had never seen the hke, spring from his bed upon hearing the thud of the dasher against the floor and the bleat of the impatient sheep, and actually get out of the window to inquire what it meant, intimating that he thought it some new device of the adversary. The labor of the churn was periodic and not light, as even the dog learned

86 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

and would manage to have an engagement elsewhere on that day. A dog with a log chained to his neck, going for parts unknown, was not an uncommon sight. At such times we have seen the wheel mounted by an Irish hoy, and sometimes a girl; the jolly face peering out through a hole made for it over the machine.

The parlor of the housewife is dainty, with its quaint furniture, first efforts of the family in art, vases of bachelors' buttons, dried immortelles, a hor- net's nest, birds' eggs, sea-shells, fragments of coral, and curios picked up on sea or land, — a place so sacred that it is opened only for a wedding or birth- day party. Her bedroom is not less neat, with its canopied bedstead, valance, small pillows and feather- bed, all of live goose feathers ; and she knows it, for did she not pluck the geese herself ? The covering of that bed is her own handiwork; the wool of the blankets she spun, the hnen she drew from the distaff, the counterpane of blue and white, with her own name woven into it, she carried to the weaver's herself, and every thread in it she had handled. If there is a quilt, you cannot count the pieces ; but she will tell you the history of every one. But come and see her jewels. Like Cornelia, you must wait till they come in from school or field. They are a splen- did lot, assorted sizes and sexes. G-irls counted in that age as well as boys. They are not a pale, nervous crowd, made up by the French tailor and modiste. They are dressed in hnsey-woolsey or calico and homespun ; and yet they have their simple pleasures, content because they know not the glamour of modem fashionable folly. An occasional spinning- bee, or a husking frolic, or a straw ride, with

Industries of the Home and Farm. 87

merry companions, was enough for them. The mother, however, must make a trip to New York once in a while, to eke out supphes which she can- not find on the farm or at the country store. She wants some Bohea, Merrimac prints, a bit of silk or ribbon, an outfit for the daughter ; and she cannot step on the cars or steamboat, but must ride to Corn- wall and take a sloop. She takes butter and eggs to trade with.. She must take mattress and bed-clothes, also provisions. The captain will allow her to boil her kettle over his fire, but otherwise she must care for herself. Neighbors would go in company, and often more than a week would be consumed in sight- seeing and bargaining. Amusing incidents occurred on some of these trips. On one occasion a neighbor was taking a coop of live chickens by sloop to market. The rats invaded his coops and killed the poultry, whereupon he was very loud in his denunciation, and threatened to scuttle the boat and send the whole con- cern to Davy Jones's locker if the loss was not made up to him. On another of these trips the sloop was becalmed, and the captain said that the women had knit up all his wind. They were pretty sure to widen the realm of experience and thought ; for there were few books and papers then — a Bible, catechism, some old vohmae of sermons, a novel, and an almanac would comprise the family library. But the trip would bring a book, a new fashion, or some new re- cipe. The Navarino bonnet came in that way, and the pillow-sleeves and the hoops. But it was not till the railroad was laid that modern fashions and conveniences were adopted. Fifty years ago there were but one piano and one pipe-organ in the village. A sewing-machine came about the same time as the

88 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

mowing-machine. It was rude, and soon got out of order. It was handed over to the minister to repair ; for in those days it was said, " What he did not know was not worth knowing." He paid himself for his work by making with it a pair of overalls, and every seam gave way, it being one-threaded. What rapid strides of improvement since ! A house now without a Singer or a Domestic, a piano or an organ, a steam-heater and a bath-room with hot and cold water, is an exception about Monroe.

If the farmer's wife was such a model of adapta- tion to her sphere, her husband must be no less so. Since

"Adam delv'd and Eve span/'

farming has been not merely one of the most honor- able of vocations, but has required the most of both physical and mental energy. It is not commonly thought so, because in many countries the farmer class are oppressed and so burdened that they have no opportunity to educate themselves or their fami- lies. Then, again. Nature is so beneficent that often a very dull person may be able to " tickle the earth with a hoe and make it laugh a harvest." But here especially there is room for the exercise of the largest intelligence, and the best there is in man. The farmer has to do with soils and fertihzers ; he must bring some knowledge of chemistry to bear on this department. So must he know of plant hfe, its laws and enemies. He has to do with cattle and other farm stock ; he must be a herdman, and know not merely how to care for these in health, but also in sickness. Then he must be a carpenter, and be able to repair his tools and vehicles, and in these days be a machin-

Industries of the Home and Farm. 89

ist, for the implements and appliances of the farm are such now that one must know how to manage a lathe, a windmill, a steam-engine, and sometimes a dynamo. Farming is not the dull round of crass igno- rance, or the amusement of elegant leisure. It is worthy the name of a profession. To do it well de- mands a technical education. But some will acquire this without the aid of the college. An observing mind on the farm will gather up facts, elaborate them by experience, and make his deductions so wisely that even the college-bred is compelled to come to him for help. Monroe had a remarkable illustration in one of its sons, the late John H. Knight, who was chosen to take charge of the New Jersey State Farm, under the superintendence of Professor Cook of Rutgers College. John managed that farm for this institu- tion for years with great success, his experimental knowledge being necessary to verify and illustrate the theories and deductions of the books and the class room.

Mr. Knight returned to his native town to give his neighbors the benefit of the knowledge he had ac- quired, and still further aided the interests of this dairy region by introducing a fine breed of cattle, namely, the belted, or Dutch, breed, realizing what the Monroe farmer has been always studying to find — the ideal milch cow.

It will be of value to some of our readers to present certain facts in regard to the belted cattle just re- ferred to. I am indebted for the following communi- cation to the Hon. A. B. Hulse :

''The Hurd Register of the Dutch Belted Cattle Association states as follows : The original Dutch name, still used in Holland, is Lakenf eld cattle ; lalcen being a sheet to be wound around the 12

90 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

body of the animal. Their breeding dates back to the seventeenth century, when cattle interests in Holland were in the most thrifty condition, and this type and color, being established by scientific breeding, decidedly the highest attainment ever reached in the science of breeding. The historian Motley has well said, ' These are the most wonderful cattle in the world.' "

They were controlled by the nobihty of Holland, and they are up to the present time keeping them pure. They are not inclined to sell or part with them. They have a broad band or belt around their body, in white, while the rest of the body is black, making a very beautiful and imposing contrast. They are above the average size, commonly known as business size. The early importers in the United States were D. H. Haight of Goshen, New York, who made three importations ; the Hon. H. Coleman ; and P. T. Bar- num, our national showman. The Haight importa- tions were carefully bred on a farm in Orange County, New York. The noted Holbert and Knight herds were also estabhshed from this importation by careful selection. These famous herds comprise the founda- tion of most of the thoroughbreds in America. Some of the finest specimens of this noted breed, now in this country, are descendants of the late John Knight's herd. He was not an importer, but a breeder of some of the finest specimens of these cattle ever bred in this country.

CHAPTER XV.

THE DBESS OF THE OLDEN TIME.

THE men wore at the close of the Revohition cocked hat, corded knee-breeches, with stockings and low shoes. These were adorned with buckles at knee and ankle. The wealthy had them of silver, with quaint inscriptions, such as :

" When money 's low the ring must go j If that won't do, the buckles too."

The neckwear was a collar and high black silk or satin stock, that held the head up very prim. The hair was tied in a queue. This, when worn by the school- master, was always a point inviting attack from the average small boy. The vest was flowery, long, and flanked with wide pockets, in which was the inevitable snuff-box, which was constantly offered in comph- ment, and tapped before the delicious powder was ap- plied to the nose. The coat had high collar, and the top-coat long skirts with broad pocket-flaps. One of the elderly ladies said that she remembered seeing one of these old men in such a dress, and as he was a man both of wealth and fine physique, with silver buckles and sometimes a silk dressing-gown, she was much impressed by him. The boy was the man in minia- ture, with modifications ; in many instances the father and older brothers made over. He was a happy boy who was shaken down into his own buckskin trousers to wear the same till they were ready to be cut up

91

92 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

for foot-ball or top-cord. The summer boy belonged to the barefoot regiment. It was his dehght to shed his shoes with the first blue-bird, even though he had to warm his feet on the ground where the cows had lain, inviting her ladyship to rise for his accommoda- tion. A city lady once expressed pity for such a boy, and was about to offer him money to buy shoes, sup- posing it was caused by poverty, but was checked by the remark that he was no waif, but the son of one of the best families in Monroe.

The clothes were usually made in the house, the goods woven sometimes and dyed. Butternut-chips and oak-balls and indigo formed the httle stock of dye-stuffs and gave sufficient variety of tint. The travelling tailor would come at set times with his goose and lap-board, and make up the clothes of the men folks, as they were called. 'Nijah Barton was the travelling newspaper and poet of the time. He would sing of

" The old brown overcoat and apple-tree buttons."

For even the buttons were often home-made. The shoes were made by the travelling shoemaker, who came with lap-stone and last. He was a true disciple of St. Crispin, and knew well how to fit the boy with his Monroe ties, and the young man with his first high boots. Copper-toes and patent-leathers were alike unknown then. This sort of trade itineracy was called " whipping the cat." The shoemaker was as full of story and humor as his itinerant co-laborer.

" Rap, rap, rap ! And he shook his paper cap ; While his lap-stone on his knees Echoed back his ecstacies. "

The Dress of the Olden Time. 93

The dress of the fairer part of creation we approach with more of self-distrust, — probably may show our- selves as much mystified and perplexed as was Mark Twain when he exchanged satchels with a young lady, and opened hers at his hotel, supposing it was his own.

" We dressed," said one good dame, " not as we would, but as we could." The working, e very-day garb was a short gown and skirt ; a check apron for the kitchen, and a white one if a neighbor happened in. The big chintz sunbonnet was always at hand, to slip on if there was an errand out in the sunlight; for there was the same care then as now to guard the complexion from tan and freckles, particularly on the part of the younger women. " The young girls wore flats," said a dame of seventy, " and we tied them down over our faces, and carried umbrellas to screen us from the sun." No such famiharity from Dan Sol or any of the mascuhne persuasion was permitted till their preordained alter ego came along. One old man said, " I sat up with her to feed some httle pigs that had lost their mother, and when it got kind of tedious I just kissed her because I thought it had never been offered her before." It must always be remembered that the pink sunbonnet shaded eyes as bright and cheeks as soft and fair, with hands as white and hearts that beat beneath the plain white kerchief as warm as any to-day. Then also was there the same love of dress, the same fickleness of fashion. The old attics reveal to-day some of the quaint articles of costume with which the fair dames appeared on state occasions. Here is an enormous bonnet of straw, that would be as unwelcome at the play as some of the modern plumed aureolas. A

94 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

pair of buckram frames tell tlie story of pillow- sleeves, big as those a missionary's wife found to contain stuff enough to make her child a dress. Then there were gowns of textures oft as dehcate and tasteful, if not as rich and costly, as now, just as varied in pattern and often far more elaborate in adornment; for much of the lace and other trim- ming was made by their own deft hands, which were seldom idle. It is a mistake to suppose that all the artistic fabrics and forms are modem. Silk-weavers seek the antique for beauty of pattern, and costumers revert to Dolly Varden, Mother Hubbard, Marie-An- toinette, and Madame Pompadour when they want to bring out something to astonish.

Now and then a bridal dress has survived the wreck of time, recalling a sentiment which in all ages brings out the best that is in human nature. The veil and wreath were then, as now, the bride's pre- rogative. Perhaps a dainty slipper appears, filled once by some fairy foot that perchance has lost its light- ness. But how it once tripped down the stair, amid the shower of rice, that night she went out a young bride! Among these treasures is a tortoise-shell comb, around which the hair was piled in wondrous folds of rich profusion. One little curl of gray re- mains on a remembered face, a reUc of former beauty not all yet faded. The engagement rings seldom were of diamond, but a plain circlet of gold, on which sometimes was inscribed the couplet :

" I hope in time You may be mine."

The wedding-ring did not often convey a large amount of worldly goods, but it was not the fickle

Tlie Dress of the Olden Time. 95

bauble of fashion to be shifted with every change of fortune, but taken for better and for worse. The miniatures of the olden time reveal many striking forms and beautiful faces. Perhaps the artist flat- tered them. There were no sun-pictures to bring out the imperfections as in more recent days. But life then was just as real as now, having hke virtues and vices, foibles and follies, cares and pleasm'es. As we look upon those who have survived them, we are looking as it were upon veterans who have come through many a conflict, or upon craft that have weathered many a storm. We may smile at their weaknesses and quaint ways, but let us think how it will be with ourselves when the next generation shall be retrospecting our age ; bringing out from the attic our old hats and gowns, our stovepipe hats and flower-garden bonnets of all the colors of the rainbow, our stiff collars and pointed shoes. Some day the college professor will show to the students our clumsy steam-engines and dynamos, and the pop- ular lecturer will set the house in a roar with a de- scription of a modern girl whirling through the ave- nues on a bicycle, in bloomer costume. Our boasted triumphs will seem child's play to the twentieth- century savant.

CHAPTER XVI.

COUETSHIP AND MAEEIAGE.

W

E have read in an old album at Monroe the hnes :

" In vain may old folks scold and watch, And barricade the house ; For surely Love the girls will catch, As cats do catch the mouse."

— Experience.

We must not forget that these wrinkled faces and stooping forms were not always thus. A gleaming eye, a snowy curl, some rehc, ribbon, or jewel, re- mind us that there was beauty then, and tender hearts, and hearts to love as well. There were quiet lanes, and narrow bridges over babbling brooks, where was " only room for twa." And bits of romance would find their way even into lives amid these rugged rocks and humble homes. The big fireplace — what a spot to woo and dream and forecast the future ! The very mode of building the fire was an index of the skill of the hands ; the manner in which it burned an omen of the success of the future wife. The re- plenishment of the fuel and the stirring of the coals gave frequent occasion for mutual help and coopera- tion. The very crackle of the chestnut logs gave a name to the pleasant pastime. When the fire ceased

96

Courtship and Marriage. 97

to need attention, the youth would get out his jack- knife and whittle ; and if the old man should look in, it would be to see if the whittling ultimated in any- useful end. Thus he was carving his own destiny. And the maid would ply her needles and " widden or narrow," take up or drop a stitch, and give her answer to the burning question, according to the form it took, either sock or mitten. Rival lovers would try to sit one another out. A fine horse and buggy or cutter would give opportunity to promote the lover's scheme. With what vim they sang :

"Jingle, bells ; jingle, bells ; jingle all the way : Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ! "

Often it would result in a ride to the parson's, or in a message to bring the parson to her door.

"I want you to marry me to this 'ere gal," said a swain to the minister. " But you seem to have two ; I can marry you only to one." " Oh, well, come into the parlor and I will tell you which one." The choice was made ; the knot tied. Both knelt with their backs to the man of Ood, the groom disclosing a huge pair of brogans from his overcoat pocket. The ceremony over, he said : " I came away without my pocket-book ; I will settle to-moiTOW." It is need- less to say to-morrow never came.

The same minister rode out to a log cabin in the woods, for a similar purpose, and was met at the door by the groom, who was anxious to have the con- tract made as binding as the law allows, and addressed him thus: "Did you bring one of them things? — them, ah — certif 'cat's ? "

He was assured everything was prepared to per- form the ceremony aright. After some confusion as 13

98 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

to their relative places and the proper answers to be given, they were tied together. Then from the lips of paterfamilias came the query : " Sam, did you settle?" Sam settled; and as the dominie called for his horse, it was said to him : " We would like to have you stay to tea, because we have tea things, but you are in a hurry." The next day they expressed regret that he did not stay, for they had two kinds of cake : gingerbread and biscuit.

The marriage ceremony was seldom performed in the church at that day, at least in Monroe, but mostly at the home of the bride, or at the house of minister or justice of the peace. When the marriage took place at home, it was an event that excited the whole neighborhood. There were dressmaking and brewing, baking, and general furbishing for weeks. Cook-books and patterns ready cut and marked could not be bought then. The experienced talent of the parish was called in, and many an original trousseau and novel delicacy was the outcome. When the bride could make her own attire, and her mother cook the entire menu, that was something to boast of. One such feast we recollect, in which there were nine courses, all of home production.

A wedding party was the scene of great merri- ment, seldom of intemperance. The music was fur- nished by native talent. One of the old dancing- masters was of so serious a turn that he would practise on his viohn and read his Bible at the same time. While a wedding was at its highest, the rude boys would come and serenade the couple with horn and tin pan, which they called " riding skimbleton." Sometimes they proceeded to great extremes, such as placing a stone on top of the chimney, or snatching

Courtship and Marriage. 99

food from the stove. A sharp lesson was adminis- tered to them once, when the doctor offered them wine in which tartar emetic had been placed. A very sick crowd was laid out on fence and wood-pile. On another occasion they fired a gun just as the ceremony was in progress. The bride nearly fainted. This time the perpetrators were arrested and fined. And yet weddings and skimbletons continue as of yore.

CHAPTER XVII.

MILLS AND SMITHY.

THE flour and feed mill was needed almost as soon as the country began to be settled. The primi- tive mill was a private one, consisting of a rude, hol- low stone with a rounded one for pestle. With these the com was pounded as the settlers could learn from their Indian neighbors. The bolting was done with a fan, as in Scripture times. Samp and hominy were the common food at first. But soon there would be a longing on the part of some goodwife for some wheat or rye flour to try her hand upon. We are informed of one of the early settlers who walked to the river and brought home a bag of flour on his back. But it was not long before a flour and grist mill was built in the Clove. In the old records it bears the name of Cunningham's Mill. It was built by some one of the Smith family, for the deeds show that Hophni Smith sold the property to Abner Cun- ningham for £480 in 1788. The latter sold in 1806 to Nicholas Knight, yeoman of Smith's Clove. The deed mentions the stone arch of the bridge, a white- oak bush as a monument, the raceway and mill, with house, in lot No. 43 of the Cheesecock Patent. The stump of a white-oak tree is on the south side of the highway to-day.

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Mills and Smithy. 101

The machinery of this mill was mostly of wood. The bolting was done by hand. An old musket was fonnd in the mill, which Daniel Knight undertook to take apart, when the load exploded and injured his eyesight. He was conducting a customer down to the basement when the old man fell. Mr. Knight said: "Did you miss the steps'?" He replied: "I missed the top one, but I hit all the rest." A saw- mill stood a httle west of the grist-mill, and most of the timber of the neighborhood was sawed there. The old dam gave way in a freshet while owned by Daniel and Jeremiah Knight, but was rebuilt with greater strength.

When it came into possession of Chauncey B. Knight the mill was entirely renovated. The wooden machinery was taken out, and the latest improve- ments, even a new wheel, introduced. But the water-power was soon found to be inadequate to the increased dimension of the wheel and heavier ma- chinery, especially in a dry time. This led its owner to build a steam-mill in the village near the depot, which has done its work for more than a quarter of a century, and under the management of Messrs. Chas. Knight and Geo. R. Conklin is doing yeoman service to-day. The scene now is very different from the mill scenes of seventy years ago, when the farmer's boy came on an ambling nag, with a bag of grain divided for a saddle, and the plethoric ends swinging on either side. The dusty miller, after nag- ging him, helps unload and swing the gi'ist within his dusty domain, and then proceeds to toll it before it is emptied into the hopper. Now the farmer drives up with stm'dy team, weighs it on the platform scale, himself with it, and straightway loads a ton or two

102 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

of reed, weighs, drives off and fills his bins at home, from which he feeds his splendid herd with the inde- pendence of a lord of the manor.

It is related that a portly yeoman expressed some surprise that his loaded wagon weighed so much more than he expected. " Oh ! " said his little grand- son, " Grandpa, you forget you were in the wagon, and weighed yourself."

Another well-remembered mill near Monroe village was the old fulhng-mill. It stood on the bank of the Outlet Brook, near the mill-pond. It was the property of Nicholas and afterwards of Daniel Knight. The history of its acquisition is worthy of record. According to the deed, Philadelphia Cock sold to Nicholas Knight her one-half dower right in the property — the fulling-mill and house and 181 acres of land — for the consideration of five shillings. No doubt there must have been some unexplained encum- brance assumed by the purchaser.

Now this mill, after running many years, was over- hauled and put in order by the late Horace Hall. Although he had no previous experience, he repaired it and acquired therefrom a reputation for like work throughout the neighborhood. He lived to tell of it until recently, when he died, September 8, 1892, in his eighty-fourth year.

It is often asked by the present generation. Of what use is a fulling-mill, and what is the process of fuUing?

The wool, after shearing and washing, was brought hither by the good dame who had no conveniences at home, nor sufficient skill, and was further cleansed, bleached, and carded by great cylindrical cards into rolls. It was then ready for spinning, and skilled

Mills and Smithy. 103

housewives preferred to do this with their own deft hands, spinning-wheels being necessary furniture of every well-regulated household. But sometimes circumstances rendered it expedient to have the subsequent processes finished at the mill. It was then woven into cloth or blankets, rolls of flan- nel, or coverlets, which were then put into troughs with fuller's earth or suds and soaked and pounded, then hung on frames with tenter-hooks and dried. When it had been thus cleansed and shrunk, it was folded and laid on an iron table, with a heavy iron plate laid on the cloth, while a powerful screw pressed the plates together until the material had every di*op of moistiu'e pressed out of it and was ready for the draper and tailor.

This was an important industry in the early days, when the shears and knitting-needles were common implements, and great factories and merchant tailors were unknown.

The old house that belonged to the fulling-mill is still standing, just beyond the road across the pond. That road was not there in the days of the mill, but was built about 1858.

The Seamanville mill is an old one. It belonged to Daniel Miller, who is remembered as the person who gave the land on which the old Presbyterian church stood, and the present burial-ground. It had been owned and operated many years by Charles Turner, son of the late Peter Turner. The miU had the reputation of grinding very fine flour. There were a sawmill and distillery on the Still Brook, some of the timbers of which, or the dam, can still be seen. So at Turners there was an old sawmill, and after- wards a grist-mill.

104 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

Highland Mills and Tannery have been in posses- sion of the Cromwell family many years, and have given name and business to the Lower Clove.

Other mills might be mentioned, as, for instance, the fishing-rod and tackle factory of the Messrs. Hall, and the iron bedstead factory at Southfield. Few parts of the country are more favored than this old town with water-power and desirable mill-seats.

The blacksmith was an important individual in a rural community, even in very early times. The plow had to be shod, tools had to be made ; for there were no great factories in those days to turn out tools by steam. The country smith made the hoes and coulters and axes, often the carving-knife and chisel. In such a stony country the horses and even the oxen must be shod. The shop stood by some cross-road to catch customers, and was a mere shanty, but the resort of many a traveller and neighbor. They come with broken wagons and shoeless horses, and as they stand under the grimy shed about the glimmering forge their voices are heard above the ringing anvils and the puffing bellows. Not seldom are important questions of town politics and social ethics settled here. One of Rogers' groups repre- sents the sturdy smith illustrating a siege in which he took part, the parallels of approach being drawn in the scales and dust at the foot of his anvil.

We remember that when our village geologist visited the shop of Wilham Hudson he discoursed learnedly about oxygen and hydrogen. But the man of the leathern apron said, " He need not talk to me about his oxygen and cowdrogen, for I do not believe in them." But he did know how to make an ax or adz, and Hudson's tools were the best in the market.

Mills and Smithy. 105

He could also shape and temper a penknife blade. He had never heard of the spectroscope, yet he would watch the play of color when he was forging an axe, as the color changed from straw to pink and pink to blue, and when the desired tint was reached out he would snatch it and plunge it into oil or water, and produce a choice tool, while he did not pretend to any scientific explanation of the process. He died of apoplexy, in the height of his usefulness.

Cortland Eumsey, of Turners, was another skilled workman of the forge. He could repair even so deli- cate an instrument as a watch.

He also, like many others, felt the hand of Death, before whom the strong bow themselves, while the fairest wither like the flowers of spring touched by the frost.

14

CHAPTEE XVIII.

INNKEEPING.

AMONG the earliest avocations was that of keep- Jl\. ing houses of piibhc entertainment. Their evolution has been the reverse of some others. The ancient caravansary became a hostelry ; that, a cof- fee-house ; then a tavern ; and that a saloon, where only liquors are drunk and drunkards made. At that stage the publican becomes the synonym of sin- ner. But in the early settlement of the country, or before it was settled, and when modes of travel were primitive, there was a necessity for houses of enter- tainment where the traveller could stop and rest his beast and refresh himself. If there was a bar, it was because every one used liquor freely, not even excepting the minister. People travelled then on horseback, or by private conveyance, or by stage- coach, which had its regular routes, canying, besides passengers, the United States mail. Wherever it was convenient for such to stop for rest or change of teams, a hostelry would spring up. All the way from New York, on the great stage route, were such places of entertainment. The Clove was a good day's journey from the city. Starting from Hoboken in the morning, travellers would find it convenient to rest, after fifty miles, at Monroe village ; hence the importance of its hotels. There was one at the old or upper village very early. This old hostelry, ac-

106

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InnJceeping. 107

cording to Homo, was presided over at different times by Brewster Tuthill, Isaac Van Dnzer, Peter Ball, Daniel Vail, Sylvester Gregory, and Hophni Smith. Town meetings and elections were held at the old tavern, and many were the questions outside the ballot-box which were settled in blood between the athletes of the Upper and Lower Cloves and South- field. It would be deemed a very tame election in which three or four of these contests did not occur. It had, for a sign, two men ; some said it represented Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton shaking hands, something that modern bruisers do before they fight, but it is more likely it was the landlord welcoming his guest. When Monroe moved to its present site the hotel went with it, and was kept in the Wilham Sea- man house. Here the old stage would rumble up with the sound of bugle, and while the obsequious landlord would help out the dust-covered passenger, boots would snatch bandbox and bundle, horses would be changed, the mails be delivered, and the whole place be agog. All are curious to see the strangers and learn the news. There are some anxious faces, parents inquiring after absent sons, friends asking in regard to an accident or battle, lovers looking for letters ; but the scene takes on more humorous coloring as Jehu jokes with the boys, or flirts with the barmaid ; or the old bar-room loungers come up to be treated by some politician seeking votes. John Van Buren came thus to Monroe, and apologized for public drinking to the tavern loungers, much to their amusement. The Monroe Hotel was first kept by De Witt McGarrah ; afterwards, at the newer site, by John Goff. It was here, in 1854, at a Fourth of July celebration, that the

108 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

toast was given, '^ The Monroe doctrine, the doctrine of Monroe."

Another hotel stood where the Grranite House now is. This was kept by the father of David Lynch. It had a sign painted by a wandering artist, repre- senting on one side a high-stepping horse, elegantly caparisoned, and ridden by a neatly dressed rider, who, on the air proceeding from his mouth, says, " Am going to law." On the reverse is the same horse, spavined and starved, while the man walks be- side, sajdng, "I have been to law." It probably told the experience of mine host, as of many others. This sign was such a curiosity that visitors were usually taken thither to see this work of an old master.

There was another hotel at the other end of the village, to intercept the traveller from the other di- rection. It stood where Alfred Carpenter's house stands. It is related that the lazy landlord would send a boy to lead a traveller's horse up and down the scrub-oaks when he wanted him curried. There were plenty of such curry-combs in those parts then. It is also related that a lady and her daughter were riding from church on horseback ; they took refuge from a shower under the hotel shed; when the young lady looked down upon her white dress, what was her disgust to see it covered with fleas ! We are glad to say substantial dwellings and happy homes occupy all these sites now. Other routes through the Clove had places of entertainment well known at the time ; such, for instance, as the hotels of John Coffey, George Wilkes, John Galloway, and M. Dickerman.

These were on the lower road, the grand route to Newburg and the river towns. Through this beau- tiful valley rumbled the Albany coaches, carrying

Innheeping. 109

many a celebrity of the State, army, and society. But now all is changed, the splendid trains of the Erie Railway sweeping back and forth, bearing freight and passengers, like the countless corpuscles of an artery, to the great life centres beyond. Nor would a history of public entertainment be complete without mention of Peter Turner, who had the fore- sight to perceive that the Erie Road would have to pass through the Clove, and would need an eating- station within fifty miles of New York ; hence his choice of the location now called by his name. Here he had a sawmill first, then erected a grist-mill ; afterwards he built the hotel at the bottom of the hill. His restaurant was well known by every trav- eller, and was famed for its coffee and crullers. This afterwards developed into the splendid Orange Hotel, which was under railroad management, the moving spirit of which was the late James Turner, son of Peter Turner. This fine structure was burned, and the old hotel and restaurant recovered their ancient and unrivalled fame.

The late George Groff informed me that his father, Michael Groff, kept a house of entertainment on the old Bloomingdale road, just out of New York, before he moved to Central Valley ; and that Thomas Addis Emmet, the Irish patriot, when banished, was enter- tained by him. The best rooms were given up to him and his suite. Mine host and his family took the rooms over the stables. George Goff was born during the time, " hke his Master," as he used to say, "in a stable." Michael Goff afterwards removed to Central Valley, where his son John Goff was born, who bought the hotel at Monroe, one of the best- known in the county. He married Phoebe, the sister of Peter Turner, but left no children to succeed him.

CHAPTER XIX.

MEBCHANDIZING.

ANOTHER occupation early in vogue was that of J^\. mercliandizing ; first the peddler came through, like Harvey Birch, with his pack of wares. He would spread out his trinkets and gaudy kerchiefs to captivate the servant, with tapes and needles, a tablecloth or dress pattern, for mistress, a jackknife for the boy, or " specs " for the old man. There was more of respectabihty about it then. Indeed, in the old country the peddler was the Christian colpor- teur, conveying secretly the sacred classics to Swiss chalets nestling in deep glens or on dizzy crags. The coming of the travelling merchant was always wel- come, and was rewarded with rest and refreshment. But as wants multiply, something more permanent and expensive is needed ; hence the country store. Look in on its bewildering variety of goods. You can hardly get in, for the boxes and samples of vege- tables and fruits. Your progress is impeded within by cases of shoes and enormous boots. There are showcases containing all sorts of ribbons, laces, em- broideries, with all those little dainty things called notions by the fairer part of creation. Vis-d-vis with them is another, catering to coarser tastes : full of pipes

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Merchandizing. Ill

and snuff-boxes, cigars and tobacco, colored sticks of candy and bull's-eyes. Gaudy prints adorn the coun- ters on one side, while the shelves are plethoric with textures to suit every age and taste, from overalls for father to pinafore for " sis " ; from a lawn for the bride to a scarf for the dominie. In battle array, on the other side, are all sorts of hardware, from a sickle to a razor, a monkey-wrench to a carpet-tack. Further on are groceries, wet and dry : tea, coffee, molasses, vinegar, starch, candles, sugar, bacon, cod- fish, and mackerel. Overhead are all descriptions of tinware and bits of sheet-iron for stovepipe, for the merchant must do some of the work of the tinker. Harness and saddles and horse-blankets are for sale till the harness-maker comes. Then there are seeds and bulbs and plants ; often hay and feed. What a medley of smells, particularly in the cellar, where are the cheese and butter, fish and pork, and oils for paint or illumination!

The store is an attractive place in a country vil- lage. Women come to shop, but men love to sit on the barrels and talk and smoke, or eat crackers and cheese. All the petty happenings of the village are brought to hght and discussed. One old man de- clared that he could not stub his toe behind the barn, or his old cat have kittens, but some one would re- port it.

When Mr. Goff fell into his well, he bet that before he was dry some one would report it.

When political campaigns were rife, discussions would run high, and sharp words be spoken. On one occasion two neighbors were discussing some

question ; one of them said : " You lie under a

mistake." At first the other was ready for a blow ;

112 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

but when he heard the entire sentence he relented, saying : " Next time I want you to put your words a httle closer together." We recollect a man from the mountain coming in and asking if the merchant had any superb cheese. Just then a young man burst into a laugh. " Who is he "? " said the irate customer. When informed he said : " He is a pusillanimous poor creetur'." A young druggist came to town and started business. He was inclined to be somewhat stilted in phraseology, and would talk of things in juxtaposition. Stepping into a store where the late Matthew B. Swezey was busy, he inquired what he was doing. He rephed : "I am extracting the sugar from this barrel, and it is so contiguous to the bot- tom of the barrel, I am rather ambiguous whether I can extricate it." A pebble was handed me by one who had read a little of Lyell or Hitchcock, and an answer desired as to its nature. I described it as a water-washed pebble of milky quartz, veined with graywacke. "You 're mistaken," said he; "it is the petrified fruit of the Lepidodendron." One of the merchants had sent up a pattern of rather gaudy vel- veteen to the house of a Friend, for what was called a waistcoat. Next day his wife returned it, with the remark that it was not comely, as it was " all vanity and moss." " I want some Merrimac calico," said a lady. Several pieces were exhibited. She astonished the salesman by saying : " You call it Merrimac, but I '11 guarantee it was made in this country." One even- ing, when a store was closed, the frequenters of the store brought out a pack of cards and began to play. They were regarded then with such holy horror, that they were played clandestinely, as the very work of the devil. On the occasion referred to the minister

Merchandizing. 113

visited the store rather late. Seeing a hght, he en- tered, when, lo ! the contraband was out of sight, nor would have been suspected, had not one of the old gentlemen naively said : " Well, you nearly ketched the boys playing kiards ! "

The early groceryman sold hquor from his store. Before the temperance reform it was customary so to do. Nor was it a small part of their trade. Then it was considered necessary to take a drop of some- thing for every ailment and almost every stage of duty. The nurse must wash the baby in it ; the old man must take it for his nightcap. The harvesters must have it in the field. The goodwif e must have a little to keep off the megrims, and even the minis- ter did not refuse what he called spiritual refresh- ment. It is not strange to find, upon looking over some of the old books, the frequent repetition of such items as " N. E. Rum, Apple-jack, Brandy and Cider." These, with tobacco, were the largest pur- chases of some of the mountaineers and miners. Whenever there was a little balance over, it used to be said that they took it out in these poisons. But time has wrought a change for the better, and a corner grocery for the sale of liquor belongs to the regions of barbarism or caricature.

The first store in Monroe was at the upper village, and was kept by Timothy Little, who married a daughter of Rev. Mr. Baldwin. His successors were Griffen and Vyle, with Matthew B. Swezey for clerk. When business forsook the upper village and settled around the present site, John McGarrah built the hotel for his son De Witt, and a storehouse for himseK.

It is an interesting fact in regard to the father of 15

114 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

John McGarrah and great-grandfather of Messrs. Theodore and Eugene, that he was a member of the State legislature when the Erie Canal bill was before that body, and that he voted for the bill. But for that enlightened act he was burned in effigy by his political opponents !

On the opposite corner was the store of Matthew B. Swezey, who sold out to Chauncey B. Knight, the former continuing as his clerk.

Grates W. McGarrah built a store at the further end of the village, where, in 1843, he conducted busi- ness till 1847, when he died, much respected as a merchant and beloved by friends.

Henry BerthoK succeeded him, and he was suc- ceeded by the sons of Mr. Gates McGarrah, Theodore and Eugene, who conducted the store in partnership for many years ; it at last closing out with the latter, February, 1896.

Chauncey B. Knight built the brick store on the raiboad corner in 1853, and occupied it until 1858, when he moved across the track and entered upon the railroad business. William S. Howell succeeded him. He took Jesse Strong in partnership. Manning F. Ten Eyck and Horace Swezey were clerks. B. F. Montanye succeeded. Afterward the store was burned, and two handsome brick stores took its place, one built by Geo. Reed, the other by G. W. Conk- lin. These became, respectively, a drug-store and a store for general merchandise. The drug-store was burned, but has since been rebuilt, making altogether a noble block.

In the latter building are offices and lodge-rooms, toilet-room, and water-power for different uses. The department store of Paddleford & Co. is on the main floor.

Merchandizing. 115

The moving spirit of this last enterprise is Greo. R. Conkhn, who with Chas. T. Knight has a feed-store and steam-mill opposite, where from that centre they manage branch establishments at Chester, Goshen, Warwick, and Vernon in a neighboring State ; while they advise with two of Monroe's sons in like busi- ness at Florida, N. Y. Thus this little village has wide-awake business men and appliances. Gilbert Carpenter, also on the diagonal corner, not to be out- done, has placed in his feed-store a telephone ex- change plant by which a dozen neighbors can not merely send orders, but converse privately together, even playing over a piece of music or detaihng a bit of domestic news. Soon he expects to extend his Une so as to take in the wide, wide world.

William Bertholf has his tin and stove store, but from it also go out the wires of the Postal Telegraph, operated by his brother Frank.

Thus Monroe is true to its antecedents, and follows up the footprints and spirit of the scientific minds of the olden time.

Henry Mapes dealt out drugs for many years, but has taken up business of a nature more grave.

John Gregory is worthy of mention. He is the only sur\dving merchant of the ancient past. He is upwards of eighty years of age, and conducted the har- ness business more than fifty years ago in the upper part of the village. About 1870 he built a fine store and dwelling nearer the raihoad, and there has re- sided since. His son Lester has changed the busi- ness, but his venerable father now alone wends his way to post-office and church, to find in this last, as of yore, the rest that comes to the weary. We could speak of others, younger, but they must wait until some new historian is born.

CHAPTEE XX.

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

THE earliest mention of a school in Monroe is of one held in the Presbyterian Church building at Seamanville. After that a log school-house was built just west of the church. John Brooks went to school here. Kinney McManus was the master, and he was a weaver by trade. He knew how to ply the shuttle of education as well, and fasten at least the three R's into the texture of the child mind. Here our poet and philosopher got his first start in education. The stone school-house followed, built of Houser iron-stone, a peculiar rock of thite vicinage, well adapted for the purpose, because the uTepres- sible jackknife could make no impression upon it. Hiram Dean, or Danes, is remembered by some when a dreadful wen had driven him into retirement to a little cabin on Ryder Hill. He was a man of limited education, but a good penman. John Brooks was one of the teachers there ; also his brother Fletcher. The former prided himself, next to scholarship, upon the art of making a quill pen. James Cromwell and John also wielded the sceptre here; also Simpson and O'Strander, David Lynch and Andrew Van Valer, McCuUough and Brewster Tuthill. These were followed by Murray, of whom the wits said :

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Schools and Education. 117

"Nothing was made in vain, since Murray could sing."

The teacher of that day, said one of them," ferruled the scholars, mended pens, set copies, and made his ink of white-oak bark, at the close of the school." He boarded around, and collected his own dues — namely, $12 a month. The school-house was heated by a fireplace. An incident is remembered of the cotton clothing of a little girl taking fire, after which the teacher requested the parents to dress their children in woolen clothes. The text-books were the Eng- hsh " Reader," DaboU's " Arithmetic " and " Colum- bian Orator," and Murray's " Grammar." We have forgotten to mention that he said the teacher would sometimes thresh out several shocks of rye, to eke out a livelihood and keep his hand in good trim for discipline.

Education at that day was compulsory in a differ- ent sense from the present. The master's sceptre was the ferrule, — a rod bound at the end with a ring of iron, — hence called a ferrule, from ferrum^ iron.

The u'on-stone of the school-house was significant, and a type of the ages. Here the lines of Goldsmith well apply :

" There, in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, The village master taught his little school. A man severe he was, and stern to view ; I knew him well, and every truant knew. "

Playing truant was not uncommon in days when education was made so dreary, and was punished with severity. The swimming-pool, the orchard and the woods offered great temptations to the little pris- oners. On the other hand, the hill and toboggan-

118 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

slide and the ball-game had their counter attractions, and many a jolly carnival had the boys and girls to- gether, raising shouts that made the very welkin ring.

Among them were scholars who caught a glimpse of the value of education, and prized the book more than the ball. Despite the obstacles that He along the path of learning, nevertheless, they scaled its heights and enrolled their names in the Temple of Fame. The teacher often had as thorny a road as the scholar. When he had to board out his little stipend he sometimes had hard fare. One we knew was forced to take up his quarters in a log barn, and was tormented all night long by the serenading of the cats that haunted the place. Some made themselves at home anywhere, careful, however, to select the good places, where they were quick to find the apple- bin, nut-closet, and cider-barrel.

Nor was he slow to learn the good qualities of the farmer's daughter, and by and by come and claim her for his bride.

When the district grew larger there was a demand for more room. Then they rose up and built a new school-house, a few rods further south. This time they chose wood for the material. They set it on the roadside, far from the temptation of brook or orchard, and where the milk- wagon could easily pick them up at the close of school. They put a belfry on it, but hung no bell. The oaken benches of the old school-house were exchanged for seats and desks suited to the sizes of the children. But the ABC was still often driven in like nails, as the children sung, and one of the pupils who was polished off there testifies.

But mental, like vital, force is invincible, and out

Schools and Education. 119

of this institute, as one of the teachers dignified it, graduated a goodly company who have done brave work in many walks of life. A remnant of these call themselves " the old school," and deUght to meet occasionally and recall the episodes of school life over the historic cup "that cheers but not inebri- ates." The teachers of this day, too, were strong, enthusiastic, and made the best of the imperfect ap- pliances and methods of the time. At the head we place the name of Brewster Tuthill, a man of strong individuahty and iron will, who would brook no drones in his little hive.

Among the many who taught in that school-house was one who, in the judgment of one of his pupils, excelled them all. This was the Rev. John J. Thomp- son, pastor of the Presbyterian church. He taught five days in the week, and preached on the Sabbath. His pupil says : " As a teacher he could not be ex- celled; as a man, noble, pure, unselfish, living only for the good of others. He was the type of a perfect Christian gentleman."

Daniel Hallock held the post for a number of years, — a man severe, but skilled to rule. Neil Camp- bell brought the fervor of the " canny Scot " to his task, loved his profession, and let his benevolent heart and hand reach to the poor during the plague of the cholera. He exchanged the teacher's vocation for that of merchant, married one of his pupils, and died early. Mr. Hawkhurst made companions of his pupils, took part in their skirmishes and sports, yet maintained all the dignity and authority of the master, and so was reckoned a successful teacher. He afterwards entered the ministry of the Methodist Church.

120 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

Oiir friend Gleorge K. Smith brought the experi- ence of the farm into school hfe and established a reputation as a skilful instructor, securing for him- self the position of school commissioner, which he held for a number of years. He was playfully called Harvey Birch, because during the later years of peda- gogic life " the law of love outlived the rusted rod." With him teaching was not a stepping-stone to some- thing more lucrative, but he pursued his profession till he entered the shade of honorable retirement and cheery companionship, in a beautiful home near the scene of his toils.

Mr. Baker will also be remembered among the teachers of this time, from the circumstance of the change of his name to Knickerbocker, by the State legislature, for personal reasons.

After a while (1857) the district outgrows the yel- low school-house, and the demand comes for more room. Then occurs one of those disturbances of the public mind which always attends the discussion of the question of a new school-house. Some want the old enlarged; others want the old rebuilt on the same site. Villagers want it in the village; some are afraid of the gardens and the noise, and would see it as far away as possible. The stone-age people want it of stone; the wooden, of wood. A compro- mise was effected after a stormy time. A lot was bought from the Presbyterian Church, on condition of building a fence between the lots. The posts were set, nothing further done. The lower story of the building was built of stone, to please the stone- age people, and the upper story of wood, to satisfy the others. The abecedarians were under the care of a lady teacher below, and the grammar classes

Schools and Education. 121

were upstairs, under the care of a male teacher, who was also principal. The method of education takes a stride forward now. It is more analytical. As one of the teachers said, " I teach my scholars to tear sentences all to pieces and get at their construction and meaning." It is now more of a system of edu- cation, drawing from the mind what it knows. In other words, it is taught how to think, the point at which true learning begins. A wide-awake teacher named Kane marked this period of transition from the old to the new. Mr. Robert F. Todd succeeded him. He was a most thorough educator and dis- ciplinarian. He married Miss Louisa McGarrah, entered mercantile business, and has since died. Mr. Greorge N. Greene was a teacher much beloved. One of his favorite phrases for the profession was that of " mental gunnery," or " teaching the young idea how to shoot." He married Miss Mary Ann Seaman, and entered a partnership with her father, William Seaman, in mercantile business in the village.

Myron D. Stewart succeeded Mr. Greene, and left a good record both as a man and teacher. He pos- sessed considerable individuality, mental force and magnetism. He was a good disciplinarian, and yet his scholars loved him. His patriotism was very marked during the troublous times of the Civil War. He was called to be principal of one of the Middle- town, N. Y., schools, where he died at his post at an early age, and loftiest tributes were paid his memory by pupils and comrades of his profession as well as his pastors.

Then a candidate for the school, although a grad- uate of Yale, was refused, on account of his juvenile appearance ; Mr. Kirby was chosen, although he was 16

122 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

still more youthful. He disappointed none. He, after years of service here, was made professor at Cornell, and sometime was geologist to the Emperor of Brazil.

Mr. Owen enlivened his instructions with the pop- ular college songs, and stepped from the birch to the quill, becoming editor of the " Fishkill Journal."

Mr. M. N. Kane was one of the most thorough and efficient of these teachers, a great enthusiast in his school work, and winning the encomiums of many pa- trons. He afterwards studied law and entered upon a large law practice in this village and in Warwick. He showed his appreciation of Monroe by wedding one of the former pupils of the school. Miss Emma Boyd. Mr. Arthur Knox followed his example by marrying Miss Sarah Charlton, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Charlton. He, too, did excellent work as prin- cipal of Monroe Academy. He afterwards studied law, but preferred the profession of teaching, which he has followed at the city of Binghamton, N.Y., with honor and success.

Mr. N. B. Chase was very highly esteemed as an accomplished teacher. After his term here he took charge of a school at Cornwall, N. Y., where his long continuance shows rare staying quahties.

Mr. J. D. Brownell was a scholar of winning mod- esty but high scholarship. He afterwards taught at Chester, N. Y., and turned his attention to the study of medicine, and is reported to have a good practice in Brooklyn.

Mr. A. Magoris must not be forgotten. After a splendid record as teacher, he studied medicine and became a speciahst in his profession, giving atten- tion especially to the ear and eye. His office is at Binghamton, N. Y.

Schools and Education. 123

The Academy had also many lady teachers who are held in high esteem — namely, Miss Mary Ann Seaman, afterwards GTreen; Miss Elizabeth Boyd, afterwards Still ; Miss Elizabeth Webb, afterwards McGarrah ; Miss Elsie Currington, afterwards Smith ; Miss Mary E. Knight, afterwards Conkhn ; Miss Carrie Conklin ; and Miss Sarah Howell, who held her posi- tion as principal of the piimary department for an unexampled term of years, thus showing her ability not merely to be content, but to please. Many are the graduates of the school to-day who hold her in loving remembrance, and are grateful to her for teaching them not merely how to navigate the sea of science, but to honor the needle in the home life. She emulated the example of Dorcas in having her class make up comforts for the poor. She thus showed that she had the right view of education, namely, not merely teaching the three R's, but char- acter-building, fitting them for this workaday world of want and suffering.

Now, in the year 1884, after the usual agitation, it was resolved to abandon the old stone and wooden structure and build a new one out on Main street, on the breezy hiU north of the village. The new building is of comely architecture, commodious, well equipped with convenient class and assembly rooms, handsome fui'niture, and every appliance necessary for the present improved methods of education. It is well lighted, heated, and ventilated. It has been elevated to the rank of a Union Graded Academy, and attracts pupils from suiTounding districts. Its principal, Eichenberg, is one who achieved distinc- tion in one of the schools of the old town, namely, Turners, and therefore may be supposed to be almost " to the manner born." He has an accomphshed staff

124 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

of lady educators, worthy successors of those re- cently mentioned, keeping up the reputation of Mon- roe for a desire to reach a high standard of education. An interesting ceremony of dedication was held, in which the clergy and prominent citizens took part.

One of the speakers said, " Let us call it the Tem- ple of the Wingless Victory ; for as at Athens it was said, Wisdom is now come to stay, and laid aside her wings. And so they built to her the Uttle temple that bears that name on Mars Hill."

CHAPTER XXI.

PHYSIC AND PHYSICIANS.

THE Indians had theii* medicine-men, a strange mixture of empiricism and superstition. They did know the virtues of many herbs, and so far as this part, of their pharmacopoeia was concerned, the practice based upon it was of value in the absence of more scientific knowledge. When the white man came, he had the same need, and even more, for the healing art. Bringing no physician with him, and remote from any, he would have recourse to the Indian to learn the names and uses of the herbs about him, and, if observing, would bring to his aid old remembered remedies, the nostrums of his ances- tors, and add a few discoveries or experiences of his own. Thus there would arise some men, and oftener women, who would be a sort of authority in cases of sickness or disease. The remedies and methods of some of these self-constituted doctors were often absurd and nauseating. One old dame cured bums with powwowing over the patient. Another applied a carrot poultice. Fish- worms dissolved in whisky was their sovereign remedy for fever and ague, but the patient preferred to bait his fish-hook with the worms and take the whisky straight. White-oak

125

126 Chronicles of Monroe in the Olden Time.

bark peeled upwards from the south side of the tree was given as an emetic, and peeled downward as a cathartic. Tansy, feverfew and catnip were favor- ite remedies of nearly every housewife, while hem- lock seed was sown by one at every corner, the minister getting a double portion. Picra was given every spring as a tonic. It came to be associated with the Shorter Catechism, because often adminis- tered together, the result being that both were put in the same category. It was some time before the educated physician came in, and when he did he had no little prejudice to contend with. He often found, instead of taking, they were ready to give advice. It was not unusual for the physician to find his prescriptions superseded by the nostrums of some grandam, or himself bowed out to make way for some charlatan, with his pain-killers and magic madstone and wizard oil. It was a common prejudice to regard the art of healing as a matter of empirical craft, rather than of scientific study and investigation. To some it was claimed it was a divine gift, and, if a seventh son of a seventh son, a touch was sufficient to heal even scrofula. These people knew more than all the doctors. It was enough for one of these magicians to hold a hair of a distant patient to diagnose the disease and pre- scribe unerring remedies. The mountebank once declared officially that quinine would eat away the bones if taken as prescribed by the regular prac- titioner. But there were often well-intended inter- ferences, by visitors or members of the patient's fam- ily, which were exceedingly exasperating at times. On one occasion one of the disciples of ^sculapius was portioning out a powder