REFORMED CHURCH, GREENWICH, N. Y,

REFORMED CHURCH, GREENWICH, N. Y,

rt I S T O ^{R, IT}

OF THE

TOWN OF GREENWICH,

FKOM THE

EARLIEST SETTLEMENT,

TO THE

CentennialAnniversaryof our National Independence: including also, an Oration deliveredby Hon.D. A. Boies, at G-reenwich,

N.Y., July4tli, 1876.

COMPILED BY ELISHA P. THURSTON.

8ALEM, N. y

n. D.MORRIS,BOOKANDJOB PRINTER, 1876.

>',u-*" ^'''

^-^'/v , ,

^

Eutfred accordingtoA<'tofC'oiigresH, inthfyear1S77,

EV ELTSHAP. THURSTOX,

:lieClerk's OiVn-e of tlieDistrictCourt of tlieNorthernDistrictofNeir York.

INTRODUCTION

1 In presenting this little work to the people of Greenwich and vicinity, theauthor has onlyto say, that in the collation of facts concernino- the earlier events of the locality now

claimingthename of the"Townof Greenwich,"he hasbeen obliged to throwout muchwhich has been handed down as truthandhasgiventradition onlywhereit seemedm absolute conformity withestablished facts. To ascertain the measure of credence which may properly be given to the legendary historyof atown, requiresmuchtimeand research,combined with judicial discrimination. The author in compiling this pamphlet, has labored faithfully toeliminate theerrorswhich have grown into the unwritten history of the town, and to which manycling tenaciously. Hehasgiven, as far ashe has been able to obtain them, all important matters connected withthetown'shistory, of whichauthentic recordshave been kept, as fully asthe plan of his work permitted. There are

somethings, in regard to which competentauthorities differ.

In such instances, the views of both parties are given in thesepages, with such comments and estimatesof conflicting probabilities as have presented themselves to the bestjudg- mentof tlieauthor. Formanyof the facts thatmake upthis

IV.

sketch,hefeelshimselfunderobligationsto severalresidentsof thisandadjoining towns. Particularly he desires to express hisheartfelt thanks to Rev. J. O. Mason,of Greenwich, and AsaFitch, M. D., of Salem,fromwhommuchvaluableinfor- mationhas been obtained.

Conscious that the scope of this work renders impossible the elaborationof manymattersof whichthedetailsmight be interesting, the author yetfeelsconfidentthat hisfirsthistorical efi'ort will not prove valueless to the community for which

itwasprepared.

Greenwich, N. Y., August20, 1876.

HISTORY OF GREENWICH.

CHAP. I.

Description oftheTown—TheSaratogaPatent—Early Seitlenunts bythe Dutch—The Log Fort—Itsdestruction—Retirementof^the DutchSettlerstoAlbany duringthe French andIndian War-

Other Patentsfro7nwhichthetownwasformed.

The townof Greenwichissituated in the southern half of the county of Washington, with the Hudson River as its

Western boundary,theBattenkill formingits line of division from Easton and Jackson onthe South, whileitadjoinsSalem on the East and Argyle and Fort Edward on the North, to completeitsboundary^lines. The town isabout twelve miles in .length from east to west, with an average width of five milesandcontains about 26,000acres of excellentland,which^is somewhat rolling in its topographical aspects, but forms, nevertheless, oneof themost beautiful, aswellas themostfer- tilelocalitiesintillssection of NewYork state. A^prominent

featureinthetopographyof the localityisBald Mountain, sit-

uated in the northern portion of the town. This mountain hasanemmenceof 912feetabovetide-w^ater,isamileormore

in length, and is made up of a superior quality of bluelime- stone. Itforms oneof arangeof hillsrunningnorththrough thecountyinto Hampton and thence to Vermont. Eminent

geologistshavestudiedtherockscomposingthismountain,but

6 HISTORY OF GREENWICH.

are as yetscarcely agreed as to wliat strata its formation he- longs, as it presents many peculiarities not elsewere observa-

l)le; and thiselevation has become, accordinir to Dr. Fttch, (from Avhose publishedwritini^s these particulars are gleaned),

"Classic ground^to the votaries of science." Thismountain

isthemostconsiderable elevation in the town, although some of the minoracclivities stand out with picturesque boldness.

The Battenkillriver, whichasbefore slated, constitutes ajior- tionof thetownboundaries, formsa feature, of its landscape, in its romanticwindings, that conlribuies not a little to the beaut}^andattractivenessofthelocality. Thestream hasitsrise inDorset, Vermont, andafter acourse of 20 milesenterstiiis state, through which it runs 24 miles to its month. In the townof Greenwich, itpassesthroughEastGreenwich,Batten- ville, Center Falls, Greenwich, Middle Falls (Galesville), and thence to Clark's Mills, where itunites withtheHudson. At thesedifferentpointsit hasbeen themotive powerof tliebus- iness industries of thetown. At Center Falls ithasanatural fallof 17feet,at MiddleFallsoneof about40feet and half a milefartherdown,at " BigFalls,"it hasanabrupt descent of 70feet. Thelastare called " Thefallsofthe Dionondehowa,"

fromthe Iroquoisnameforthe Battenkill. These fallsattract

much attention from visitorsfrom abroad; the overhanging

trees, jagged rocksand bounding waters uniting to maketiie

scenery wildandthrilling. Anotherpoint of attractionisthe beautifullakeknownas "Cossaj^ina,"or togive thetranslation furnished to Dr. Fitch by the Indians, "The lake at our Pines," a name appropriate to the place in early times. It issituatedon the northern border of the town of Greenwich, lying partlyin Argyle and is a pretty sheet of water, highly esteemed by residents of the vicinity as a fishing-ground.

Theisland atitscenter isthe picnic-groveforadjacent towns.

Itsoutlet, "CossayunaCreek," \vhichemptiesinto theBatten- killnear the present residence of ClarkVVoodakd, was in its course, followed by the Massachusetts Indians intheirannual hunting excursions through this section,long before theaxe andrifleof thewhiteman ^haddisturbed the wilderness echoes

The fertility of the lands in this region and the superior mill privileges easily and cheaply attainable, early attracted the attention of enterprising men, Jind patents were issued in

alavishmanner, bythe provincial government of the colony of New' York, always on paymentof fees whichshowedthese officialstohavebeen nounworthy progenitorsof highofficials intltestale at the presentday. Thelirstpatent issuedwhich covere«lanyportionof the presenttown ot Greenwich, ^isthat knownasthe Saratoga Patent,which was granted November

4tli, 1(184, under the provincial administration of Thomas Dongan. The^{granteeswere Cornelius Vandyke,}John John- son Bleeker, Peter Philip Schuyler^(agreat-uncleofGen^Philip

Scliuyler of Revolutionary fame), Johannes^ Wendell, Dirck VVessells, David Schuyler and Robert ^Livinuston Vandyke

sohl a portionof hisshare (that east of the Hudson river),to William IvettlehuynandIvillyan DeRidderin 108."). Thepat- entcoveredtwotowns onthe west side of the Hudsonriver,

andthetownofEaston and a portion of the townof Green- wich, on the east side of that river. "The original grant."

saysDr. Frrcii, " does not appear^tohave been^recorded. The proprietors subsequently applied ^for and Oct. 9th, 1708, ob- tained a renewal of it, in which that portion of the patent fallingwithin tliiscounty, isdescribedasfollows•,

'Andfrom

theLastTerminacion byaStraight Line^tobe drawn East, to the Northside of the Mouthof CieekDionondehowe ^(Batten-

kill), and fromthence continued East Six Miles^intotheWoods ontlieEast Sideof Hudson's Riverand fromthencebyaLine SoutherlyParallel to the course of said Hudson's River and Six Miles Distantfrom the same soe farr Southerly until it

comeOpposite toand bear Six Miles Distant fromtheNorth Sideof the Mouthof SchaachookKill(Hoosic^river)which^is

tlie Bounds of Schaachook Patent Late belonging ^to Henry Van Rensselaer.' (Patents, Vol. 7,p. 375-379) * * * The northeastcornerof thepatent being in thetownof Greenwich nearly two miles north of Center Falls." Atthe timeof the re-issue of the patent, ^its ownership had changed somewhat, theshareof Vandykebeingownedbyhis grandsonCornelius;

DavidSchuyler's shareby Peter and Robert Schuyler; while Johannes Schuyler ownedthe shareof JohannesWendell.

It isprobable ^{that scattering} settlements were made along the banksof theBattenkill, almost immediately afterthis, by Dutchfamiliesfromthevicinity of Albany, aswenotethat in 1709 a militaryroadwas^{built toWhitehall, viaFort}Edward,

8 lIISTOliY OF (iUEKXWiCir.

fromthe northsideof the Btittenkill. In 1731 astockadeand logfortwasbuiltonthe summitof oneof the river hills op- posite Schulcrville, about one mile southof thepresent road learling from that village to Galesville, on the Easton side of the Battenkill, for the protection of settlers residing near thatstream. Thecolony did not extendfar, as Indian incur- sionskept thesettlers ina state ofalmost constant alarm, and, as will be seen, finallycompelled their withdrawal from the neighborhood.

4.Scollateral evidencegoingto showthatconsiderable settle-

ments were madeon the Battenkill at this earl}' period, and detailing alsothe occurrences that led to their abandonment, we quote the following from an historical sketch of "Old

Saratoga," recently prepared by Gen. E. F. Bullard. After referring tothe construction of the military road,hesays :

"Asthe(Hudson)riverwasnavigablefromStillwaterrapi<ls north tothe Battenkill,about 13 miles,mostofthetravelhere wasbywater,andasthe landingforthenorthtoconnectwith the new road was on the east side of the river, it isevi- dentthatthevillage(Schuylerville orold Saratoga)inthe ear'y part of the kist century,was partly on that sideof theriver.

Thefortat Crown Point was erected in 1731 b}'the French, and soonafterthe English builta fortat ^'Saratoga.' The lat- terwaslocatedonthesecondhigjdand south of themouth of the Battenkill in what was tlix?n -Saratoga, but now in the county of Washington, and was upon the farm now ownedbySimonSheldon, whose ancestors have occupied the same about acentury. In November, 1745,about thirtytwo years beforeBurgoyne's surrender, the villagethencalled Sar- atogawasdestroyedbytheFrench and Indians. In Lossing's history of the Schuyler family, he make-^ thedate November

28, butinStone'shistorj^of the lifeand times of Sir William Johnson, he puts the date at November 17, and the latter

wouldseem tlie more reliable date, as the massacre was the cause of an angrydisputebetween George Clinton, then Goy- ernor,andthe colonial assemblythen insession inNewYork, andthe recordsof that assemblyshowthat it adjourned No- vember 28 At thatperiod it is evident that this was theex- treme outpost of the English on this frontier. The village Consistedof about thirty families and overone hundrcMlper-

sons,niaii}^ of wliom wereslaves. Asthefortwasthenonthe east side of theriver, there can be no reasonable doubt that themainpart ofthe village was yot on the samesideof the river, although theSchuyler residenceand someof the mills, wereonthe west side. This attackwas madeby theIndians andFrenchat thedead hour of night, without warning, and many persons ^killed and109 captured and takento Canada.

Thefort*wasdestroyed; everyhouseburned,andeverybuild- ingexceptone sawmillwhich was* not discovered. We^have

notbeenable to locate that mill,butjudgefromcircumstances

it must have been on the Battenkill, about half amile up streamandeast of the Hudson river where the Clark's Mills

nowstand. Capt. Schuyler waskilledin hisownhousewhile bravelydefending himself, as were many others. Capt. Pe- ter Schuyler was an uncle of Gen. Philip Schuyler, who-ie buildingswereburned by Burgo^^ne 32 years later. In 174G the forton theeastside of the river was rebuilt by order of the legislature,andwasmainlyconstructedoflogsandtimber, ontheheights overlookingthe river, and it was then named Fort Clintonin honor of the governor. This fort should not be confounded with the intretichments, thrown up in 1777, furthersoutii,andopposite Schuylervillewhichthe Americans made tocutoff theretreatof Burgoyne. In 1747, thewar on

*DocTOBFitch,fixesthedateofthismassacreatNovember16,whichis

undoubtedlycorrect,as in adespatchsent to England byGovernorClin- ton,November30, 1745,thefollowingstatement appears: "_Ireceivedan account onthe 19thinst.,by expressfrom Albany,thataparty ofFrench andtheirIndians hadcutoffasettlementInthisProvince,calledSaragh- toge, about fifty miles from Albany, and that about twenty houses withaFort (which the publickwould notrepair),were burnedtoashes, thirty persons killed and scalped,and about sixty taken prisoners."

ItisimprobablethatGovernor Clinton could havereceived the abovede- spatchinNewYork, withintwodaysafterthemassacre, froma distance oftwohundredmiles. Wenmst,thereforefixthedate asNovember16th.

Kalm,theSwedish naturalistwho passedthroughthisregionabout four yearsafterthe occurrence, givesan accountwhichdiffersinsomerespects fromthatgivenV)yGen. Bull.^kd,andmaybe consideredentirelyauthen-

tic, Hesays: "Aparty ofFrench, with theirIndians,concealedthem- selvesbynightina thicketnearthefort. In themorning,someof their Indians, astheyhadpreviously resolved,wentto haveanearerview of thefort. TheEnglishfiredupon themassoon astheysaw thematadis- tance;theIndianspretendedto bewounded,felldown,gotupagain,ran a littlewayand dropped again. About halfthegarrison rushed out to take t*iem prisoners, butassoon a.« they were come upwith themthe Frenchandtheremaining Indianscameoutof thebushes betwixtthefor- tressand the English,surrounded themand tookthemprisoners. Those whoremainedintheforthadhardlytimetoshutthe gates,nor could they

fireuponthe enemy,because theyequally exposedtheircountrymento danger,andtheywere vexedtosee theirenemiestakeand carrythemoff intheirsightandundertheircannon."

10 TTISTOr.Y OF GP.EENWirTT.

this frontiercontinued. At onetime Col. PeterSchuyleroc- cupied this fort, with New Jersey troops. The inhabitants wereincontinual alarm. Sir VVilliam Johnson came upfrom Albanywithanarmy, andpassed thispoint, but did notmeet anylargeforce of the enemy and returned. As soonasany

largeforcewas withdrawn, the defenceless inhabitants would again beleftexposedtothetomakawk. In thefeeble stateofthe colony, the authorities concluded that fall, to abandon the post, andthe storesand amunition were* then transportedback toAlbany andthefortburned, December 1, 1747. Fromthat time forward, forsome years, tliis whole country was aban- doned^totheFrench andIndians,and Albanywasthenorthern Englishoutpost."

In 1732, oraboutthe date of the erectionof thisfort, Wil- liaui Kettlehuyn, a merchantof Albany, before mentionedas apurchaserofa portion of Vandyke'sinterest intheSaratoga Patent, in connection with Cornelius Cuyler, yeoman, also of Albany, applied for a grant of land adjoining that patent, claimingtohave purchaseditthe preceding year oftiie Indians. May6th, 1732,a patent was issued, 850acresbeing givento Kettlehuyn, and 750 acres toCuyler, the lands being situatednear theHudsonandatonlyamoderatedistancefrom thefort. It seemsprobablethat settlementswere made here, butabandoned onthe destruction of the fort. Nopermanent utilization of these lands was thereafter attempted until the closeof theFrenchandIndianwarsin 1763.

January 5th, 1763, Donald, George and James Campbell, three brothers,sonsofCapt. LaughlinCampl)ell, petitioned for agrantof 100,000 acres of land, "_tobe elected inone tract, onornearthe Wood^Creek,betweenthefallsof thatCreek on the north and Battenkill on the South, a line twenty miles from Hudson's river on the east, and that river ontheeast side of LakeGeorgeandasouthlinethence toHudson'sriyer onthewest." Of coursethis w^asconsideredby the Commis-

sioners, an exorbitant demand; but November11th, of that year, a patent of 10,000 acres in the presenttown of Green- wich, just north of the Saratoga Patent, was issued to tlie

Campbellbrothers, theirthreesisters. Rose Graham, Margaret Eustace and Lilly Murray andfour others : Allan Campbell, John Campbell, Sr. JamesCalderand John Campbell,Jr. Dr.

Fitchstatesthatat thecommencement and duringtheRevo- lutionarywar, the patentwassparselysettled by a fewDutch

families, andthatthe landso far as is known,was ownedb)'- tlieeldestof the three brothers, Gen. DonaldCampbell, who espoused the patriot cause, while the other brothers were

tories. Afftr thewar, all traces of the familydisappeared.

Itmaynotbe outof place heretonotethefact, thattwenty- six years before this grant to his sons, the father. Captain LaughlinCampbell, inducedby the proclamation of the gov- ernor of the provinceof New York, offering liberaltermsto settlers, visited thiscounty and was very much pleasedwith the location. Lieut. Gov. Clark,then.acting governorof the province, urged Captain Campbell to found a colony here, promising himagrantof 30,000 acresof land, free from all

charges except those ofthe survey and the king's quit-rent.

Inspirited by these fine promises, he sold his estates on the island of Islaand immigratedto thiscountry witheighty-three Scotch families (423 adultsandmanychildren),whoseexpenses he defrayed. Aportionof them came with himin 1738, and othersatdifferent times up to 1740. Imagine the disappoint- mentand chagrin ofCaptain Campbell, when the Governor and Surve3^or-General of the province refused to make the grantwithoutthe largefees,which,in his case,theyhad prom- isednottoexact. Captain Campbellwouldnotsubmitto this extortion, andapplied tothe legislative assemblytor redress, but unsuccessfully,ashesteadfastlyrefusedtoshare theprom- isedgrant withtheavaricious officers of the province. Pur- suing till! matter with spirit, he memorialized the Board of Tradein England, but his means became exhausted beforea satisfactory resultcould be arrived at, and he settledupon a small farm, where he resided (except while servingunderthe

Duke of Cumberlandduring therebellionin Scotlandin 1745) theremainderof hislife, 'i'lie g^^ntingof theCampbell Pat- entinGreenwichto his sons, wastherefore, only anact of tar-

dyjustice to thefamily of the sturdy anduprightScotchman.

The success of his sons, encouraged some of the poor men who camewith iiimto thelocality, to petition also foragrant of land, and March 2d, 1764, Alexander McNachten (Mc.

Naughton), with one hundred and six othersof the original C'anipell immigrants, petitioned for 1,000 acres tobegrantedto

12 HISTORY OF GREENWiril.

each of them ^"tobe hiid out in a single tract between the headof South bay and Kingsbury, and reachingeasttowards

New Hampshire and westwardlyto the mountains in Warren county. Thecommitteeof theCouncilto whom tiiispetition

was referred, reported May 21st, recommending that 47,450 acres should be granted to them, between the Olfct already grantedto Schuyler andotliers (Fort Edward),and the tract proposedto be granted to Turnw and others (Salem). The grant was made out in conformity with the recommenda-

tion of the council, and specifies theamount of land that each individual of the petitioners is- to receive, two hun dred acres being the least and six hundred acres being the mostthatanyindividual obtains. Italso appointsfivemen as trustees, todivide and distribute the lands as directed. By

thesameinstrument, thetractwasincorporatedasatownship, to benamedArgyle, andto have a supervisor,treasurer, col- lector,twoassessors, twooverseers ofhighways,twooverseers of thepoorandsix constables, to be elected annually bythe inhabitantsonthefirstdayof May." DrFitch, furthersays,

*'Itiscommonlyreportedandiscurrently believedto thisday, that thistownwasgranteddirectlyfromthe king. Thisiser- roneous. The charter emanated from the samesource with, andisinallrespects similar to the charters of the adjoining towns." Thisgrant included a largeportion of what isnow

thenorthernhalf of thetown of Greenwich.

Thepatentsthusbrieflydescribedas making up tlie area of thetown, were, withtheexceptionof Saratoga, subjecttothe following conditions under which, at that period, all public- lands w^ere granted, viz: "An annual quitrent of twoshil- lingsandsixpence Stirlingwas imposed onevery onehundred acres,and allminesof goldandsilver,and all pinetreessuit- able for masts for the royal navy, namely ^all which were twenty-four inchesormoreiiadiameter twelve inchesfromthe ground,w^ere reservedto the crown."

CHAP. II.

TheSettlementofthe Town—The Argyle or ''Scotch'" Patentfirst settled—The Pioneer—TheFirst House—Other Early Settlers—

First CivilProcess—Archibald CampbellFirst—Settlement ofthe TefftFamilyin theSaratogaPatent— TheFirstSaw-Mill— Rhode Island Families—Incidents—The First GriM-Mill— The First Public Burying-Ground.

Theclose ot theFrenchandIndian war, rendered thesettle-

mentofhindsadjoining theNorthernHudson, both practicable andsafe. Sh)wlybut surely,the tide ofimmigration setthis way, notonlyfromtheoldworld,butfromthemorepopulous coloniesofthe new. Theforests, that for ages hadsheltered the earthfrom the sun's rays, beganto fallbefore thewoods- man'saxe,andtogive placeto theneeds of a developingciv- ilization. Thestreamsthathad flowed for centuries, rippled onlybytheplungeof the water-fowl, or thebark canoeof the savage, began,intheir restricted and perverted courses, to be the propelling force of unending industries. The land, en- richedin the lapse of time, by the decay of its spontaneous products, responded withgenerouscrops to artificialculture, andafewshort years saw the locality peopled witharaceof strongandsturdymen.

Thefirstman knownto haveattempted a permanentsettle-

mentinthetown,wasone Rogers, a kind of desperado, who

builtontheflatsof the Battenkill,abovethemoutli of Cossa yunacreek, as early as1703or1704(theexact timeof hiscom- ingisnotknown),and livedthere forsome time. Alexander McNachten (McNaughton), Archibald Livingston, Duncan

(-ampbell,and RogerJiced, settled neartheBattenkill asallot-