A History of Deerpark in Orange County, N. Y.

ANCIENT FAMILIES

OF THE

PEENPACK NEIGHBORHOOD. THIRD GENERATION. Between the years 1780 and 1800 this generation of the Peenpack neighborhood, of which I am a member, and the second generation of the lower neighborhood, came on the stage of action and commenced their own business transactions, in which we generally followed in the habits of our parents in respect to labor and diet, which continued for some time after the war ended. A change from the moral behavior of our parents was generated among the young people in the time of the war, and rude, vulgar and uncivilized habits had been acquired. After the war ended West India and York rum was introduced into this part of our country after stores became established in it, and farmers generally began to use these liquors in time of harvest and haying, during which time, in the first instance, a dram was taken early in the morning and work commenced and continued until about 8 o'clock, when breakfast was taken and then a bottle which held near a quart was filled with liquor and taken to the field for about six laborers, to last that day. This had been a practice before the war commenced and was considered to be an antidote against people injuring themselves by drinking cold water when the body was much heated by labor; and as those liquors enlivened people and made them more vigorous to perform work during their operation, it was thought to be profitable in that respect. These, and the use of cider, were the first changes in this town, from the habits of the people in the time of the war. USE OF SPIRITS AT FUNERALS AND WEDDINGS. Liquor was used at funerals. The practice was to give each person a dram before entering the house in which the corpse was. This was done by two men who were placed with liquor at each door of the house or each side of one door, and was thought in those times to be an antidote against contagion, and for that purpose a dram was given to each bearer before he performed his official duty. Rum and cider were also used to treat people for their services in assisting in raising buildings after the war had ended. Rum was also used at weddings to treat the friends who attended it. In those anterior times and even within my own recollection, it was customary to invite to a wedding all the young people in this present town and some down the Delaware in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; and people, after the war ended, had not the means to furnish a variety of good victuals for their friends and neighbors who, yet treated them with those liquors, which had a superior estimation in those times to that of the present. They cheered and made lively and sociable the friends and neighbors who collected together, with trifling, if any, evil consequences, for people in those days guarded themselves against drinking so much as to become intoxicated and I have never known of any farmer of the second generation becoming drunk, yet there may have been such instances, and in progress of years it became a custom to make many afternoon frolics with liquor to get different jobs of work done. This led to intemperance and their multiplicity was unprofitable in a neighborhood. The young people sometimes had rude dancing frolics, where their only beverage was rum which was used in different ways, clear, sweetened with sugar, or made into sling, milk punch, eggnog, &c. The quantity of liquor drinked at these frolics, and the rudeness of the times caused many a fist fight, and this fighting became common at other gatherings of people where liquor was drank. The use of those liquors increased and others were introduced, such as gin, brandy and different sorts of wines, &c. All these, generally of foreign manufacture, in progress of time, were kept for sale in stores by the large measure, and in taverns by small measure, where travelers and others who entered the taverns could not only have a choice of the variety of liquors, but also have their palatable taste improved by the infusion of sugar and other articles, whereby slings, milk punch, eggnog, hot toddy and other palatable compositions were made and much drinked in taverns. And in process of time distilleries were numerously erected in this part of our country, and cider and rye whisky, peach brandy, &c. were distilled in great quantities and other liquors were sometimes formed out of these. All of this flooded our country with a great amount of liquors of different kinds, the use of which became so fashionable that the greater part of families generally kept some in their houses to treat therewith the friends and neighbors who should visit them, and occasionally to use it in the family. After some years' continuance of this extravagant use of spirituous liquors, its pernicious effects became apparent, and the writings of those who exclaimed against it, the warnings from the pulpit, and at last the formation of temperance societies had the effect of making the practice of keeping and using liquor in families unfashionable, and it became generally abandoned and many refrained from its use. This was a fortunate change, for all classes of people had become sufferers from the bad effects of those habits which had principally originated from the introduction of the fashion of treating each other with those liquors prepared in the most palatable manner, both at home and in taverns; and I have no doubt that more than one-half of the liquor drank in those days was merely to follow the fashion of the times. Men generally dislike to be different from others. This is a powerful inducement to sway men to conform in a greater or less degree to the customs and fashions of their time, and, when these happen to be pernicious, thousands sometimes become the sufferers from their evil consequences. TREATING VISITORS. About the year 1800, the practice of keeping spirituous liquors and other appendages in families to treat visitors commenced. In 1813, when I commenced housekeeping, I thought it necessary to keep liquor, sugar, &c., in the house to treat visitors, and from that time until temperance societies were formed, I thought I could not agreeably entertain a visitor without having those articles, and if I happened to have none in the house at such time I generally sent out for them. Cider had been a very plentiful and common drink in this neighborhood for many years. Cuddeback and Gumaer had been in the habit of drinking wine in their country, and after settling here, it appears, made early provision to have cider for their drink; for there were apple trees in their orchards and in Van Inwegen's orchard between two and three feet in diameter in the time of the Revolution; and when Gumaer (my grandfather) built his house, before the French war commenced, he had an opening left in the back wall of his cider cellar for a gutter to pass through it from his cider press back of the house into the cellar, and this gutter and others led the cider into the different cider barrels in it. From which it appears that the making of cider had become quite a business at that time, and, as it was no salable article, it was generally all drank by the family and visitors and by the Indians. It was a common drink from the time it was made in the fall until spring, when Gumaer made beer to drink in warm weather, for which he had a large brass kettle set on mason work, a long building and other fixtures to make and dry his malt. The use of cider by the white people never made them drunk, but some Indians, if they could get enough to drink, would sometimes get both drunk and abusive, in consequence of which it was generally withheld from them after they had drank enough. In respect to which I will here relate an occurrence. A large, stout Indian at a certain time, came to Gumaer's and asked for a drink of cider. The pewter mug, which held two quarts, was filled and given to him. He drank and set it down by him, which, after drinking a few times, he emptied and asked for more. Gumaer told him he had drank enough, and that he would not let him have more. The Indian, after asking a few times and seeing he would not get more, took the mug and went off with it. Gumaer went to the barn, where his black man, Jack (who feared no Indian), was threshing with other hands, and told him that the Indian had gone off with the mug and that he must go and get it from him. Jack went, overtook the Indian, got hold of the mug, and, after a hard scuffle, got it from him and returned to his work. The Indian also returned and followed Jack to the barn and challenged him to fight. Jack, having felt his strength, did not like to undertake it; but, after some provocation of the Indian, a severe, long and hard fight was had, in which Jack became the conqueror. He had had many a fist fight with the Indians, but said this was the hardest he ever had. The Indians, when they became somewhat intoxicated, would often fight each other, in which they would make great exertions to get hold of each other's heads and try to twist each other's necks. From all of which, it appears, they could drink more cider than the white people and enough to make them drunk, against which the latter had to guard to evade the trouble of their intoxication. They would never revenge injuries which emanated therefrom, but imputed the same to the liquor as the sole cause. After rum was kept in taverns in our neighborhoods a company of Indians from other places sometimes came here to have a drinking frolic, for which they procured rum and selected a place for that purpose at a distance from the dwellings of the white inhabitants, so as not to disturb them, where they appointed two of their number to keep sober to watch and prevent them from hurting each other. To these two men they gave up all their guns, hatchets and knives, who hid them out of the way so that they should not have weapons wherewith to hurt each other; and when all their arrangements were made they began to drink and soon got into a very noisy, turbulent and rude frolic, in which they would whoop, halloo, take hold of each other, scuffle, wrestle and sometimes fight. This they continued till their thirst for rum became satisfied, and after becoming sober, they were dull, stupid and deprived of the liveliness and activity they possessed before they commenced drinking, which had to be restored by abstinence. NO DRUNKARDS AMONG THEM. The first and second generations of the first four families who remained in this neighborhood had the free use of cider for a term of about one hundred years, including the time of the war, in which they could not have it, and during the greatest part of all that time had the means to procure as much other liquor as they craved, and yet not a single individual of them became a drunkard. When they came into company where rum or other spirituous liquors were drank, they would become lively, cheerful and humorous, by partaking of the same, but not as the saying is "under foot." Such instances of sobriety, under such attending circumstances, for such a length of time, seldom occur. We of the third generation, as well as our forefathers, have also been in a like habit of drinking cider during the greater part of our lives, and for many years in the habit of drinking all sorts of spirituous liquors without a single individual of us becoming what is termed a drunkard, but two or three of our class did sometimes become intoxicated and made a considerable approach towards being entirely overcome by the effect of liquor. Such also was the advancement of Gumaer toward those allurements as has been mentioned and there have been rare instances of some of us of sober lives becoming intoxicated. It is now (in 1858) 168 years since this neighborhood was first settled. Take 28 years from this time for the growth of an orchard to make cider, and 140 years remain for the use of its production which must have become plentiful within a less time than 28 years, for the first orchards of Cuddeback and Gumaer and one of Swartwout, which became Van Inwegen's, were on the very best of their river flats and must have had a very quick growth; the trees became large and were between two and three feet in diameter about the year 1780 when they appeared to have their full growth and some limbs began to die. From all of which we have reason to infer that the manufacturing of cider commenced here before the year 1720 and that much of it had been drank here from that time until the year 1840, previous to which its use began to abate and within that time many other spirituous liquors have been used with a mere trifle of intoxication for so long a time. Now, although we and our forefathers received a mere trifle of the bad effects of liquors in this respect, yet the constitution of some of us must have been injured by their use. I, myself, have experienced the bad effects therefrom in respect to my own constitution, which at one time became so weak against its effects that if I drank so as to feel the least alteration from its influence it hurt me. This, however, was not the case with many others; some hard drinking men who came here among us remained healthy and lived to be old. Whether such would or would not have arrived to an older age without the use of liquor is uncertain. Our diets continued to be the same as has been mentioned for some years after the Revolutionary War ended; but the diets of mush, &c., which were eaten with milk, began to be abandoned after different kinds of teas and coffee began to be used, and, after becoming generally used, the milk diets were in a manner wholly abandoned. In these drinks a little milk and sugar was put; molasses also was very plentifully used, and with this, sugar and other articles, many palatable, different kinds of sweet cakes, pies, &c., were made; also, different kinds of spices became fashionable for adding agreeable flavors to some diets. Now, all these are eatables and drinks which we did not have in our early days. In addition to all these we now have different kinds of preserves made with sugar, molasses, and different sorts of fruit, berries, &c., and some other diets we did not have. After tea and coffee had been used for some time, they were preferred by the young people to the milk diet; but some of the older class, who had been habituated to eating buttermilk pop, mush and milk, and other diets, often chose to have these in preference to tea or coffee. Such are the effects of habit. As to our industry and labors for the support of our families and to make advancement, they continued during our lives to be about the same on an average as those of our parents, in which some were more persevering and others less than their respective parents. The inhabitants of the lower neighborhood who were contemporary with our parents, and those who were the same with ourselves, have also continued and progressed in about the same manner as we and our parents have done in the habits of life mentioned. After our manner of living changed, we were from time to time afflicted with ailments and diseases which all have continued to suffer at times, more or less, until the present time; but of late years have not had such mortal distempers in this vicinity as some we had at certain previous periods. PHYSICAL STRENGTH OF FIRST GENERATION. The first generation of the sons of the four families were reputed to have been strong men. It was said that the three eldest sons of Jacob Cuddeback, Benjamin, William and James, could carry 12 skipple wheat (9 bushels), by putting it into four three-skipple sacks, and, placing one under each arm and taking hold with each hand of the top of the others, could, on a barn floor, in this manner carry it from one end of the barn to the other; and that Anthony Swartwout's two sons, Samuel and James, could do the same, and that Harmanus Van Inwegen's son Gerardus, who was a smaller man, could carry it a few steps. Abraham Cuddeback, youngest son of his father, could not do it, nor Peter Gumaer's son Peter, so that only two out of eight were unable to carry it. From which the difference of their bodily strength, and that of those now on the stage of action becomes apparent. The degeneracy of the inhabitants of this neighborhood has not been confined to them alone, but has extended from here down the Neversink and Delaware rivers throughout the Holland Dutch settlements; also from this neighborhood to Kingston. In the lower neighborhood in this town formerly were men as stout as those mentioned. It was said that one man in it could add one more bag of wheat and hold it with his teeth, and carry 15 skipple wheat (11-1/4 bushels). Among the first generation along the Delaware river in the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, were men of equal strength with those mentioned, but not generally as strong. Such was also the case in respect to the inhabitants from here to Kingston. The second generation of the four families did not arrive to as great bodily strength as the first, but still were strong men. All of them, excepting three, were men whose stature averaged about six feet, and their average weight was near 200 lbs. when in prime of life. Two of the three, who were of shorter stature, averaged about the same weight. I have seen the smallest, lightest and weakest man of their whole number with only the use of one hand, take a short three skipple sack, filled with rye, from the ground and put it on his shoulder. There were twelve of these men, and nine of them had families. These had 36 sons, who were all inferior in bodily strength to their respective fathers, and were all smaller and lighter men, excepting a few of the sons of Cornelius Van Inwegen, who were taller and may have been heavier than their fathers, and nearly or quite as strong. All the others were inferior to their fathers, and some much weaker in strength. Such a change in the bodily characteristics of these sons from that of their fathers must have proceeded from their different habits during the time of their respective growths, in which there was some difference, both in respect to diet and other attendants. The first (being the second generation) during their growth had for their eatables bread of unbolted wheat meal and meat soups, thickened with such meal, and they had a great proportion of wild meat of animals, fowls and fishes, which were yet plentiful here at that time. These diets their children did not have during the time of their growth, excepting a meal of fresh wild meat sometimes. They had rye bread and pork and beef, preserved with salt. This meat was generally used for dinner, together with some potatoes, turnips, and other kinds of roots and vegetables. Bread and butter, mush and milk, and other milk diets potatoes, turnips, and other roots and vegetables, were plentiful here during the growth of the first as well as the second of those two classes of people. Now, in addition to the change mentioned, there was another of a different nature, which must have affected in a small degree the growth of the first, and in a great degree that of the latter. This was the effect of the French and Revolutionary wars, in each of which a fort was built at the house of Gumaer, and his neighbors all collected in it, which had the effect of creating more impure air in it than when occupied by one family. This, in the first war, could not hurt the constitutions of the children as much as in the next, because its duration was shorter, and most of them were sent from here to relatives in other places, and there were not as many in the fort as in the last war when the number in it of all classes was about 100 from the time the fort was built in 1777 until the war ended. The walls of the house, both in the rooms below and on the chamber, were all lined with beds, and although the inmates of the house remained healthy, yet the collection of so many people in it, and their beds and bedding, must have created much impure air, especially in the night when the doors were shut and all were in it, whereby the constitutions of the children must have become weakened and their growth retarded, so as to have remained both weaker and smaller than what they would have been if the war had not occurred. This stagnation of growth, which caused the third generation to remain inferior in strength to their respective fathers, did not continue to debilitate in the same ratio, the fourth class, but these arrived to about or nearly the same strength of body as that of their fathers. In relation to health, however, there has been a gradual decline, and people have now become more subject to disease in this town than in former times. The Holland Dutch, who settled throughout this valley, must have had sound and strong constitutions, which their children inherited unimpaired, and the manner in which they were brought up and lived during the time of their growth in this valley must have been very conducive to sustain health and promote strength. CHARACTERS. There are certain predominating characteristics in families which, in some cases, will remain in their descendants from generation to generation for a great length of time, and some of those of the first pioneers have thus continued in some degree in their line of descent up to the present time; and where intermarriages have occurred, of such different characters, they have generally become united in the children and, in some cases, this union resulted in better characters than that of either of the originals, and in others, worse. In respect to the characteristics of five sons of the first families who remained in the Peenpack neighborhood, I will here give a short narration, to wit: Major James Swartwout was a large, heavy, strong, portly and likely man, of a noble and dignified appearance, very suitable for a military officer, and was possessed of a spirit as noble as his appearance. He was very witty, jocose and humorous in conversation (these were Swartwout family traits), and he was too liberal and easy in his business affairs to accumulate property, in consequence of which he became much involved. He was generally consulted in matters of difficulty, in respect to which I will relate one instance, to wit: At a certain time after the fall of a light snow, the members of a certain family who were neighbors to him, discovered apparently the tracks of a person on the roof of the house where no person could walk, which extended from one end of the roof to the other end. This alarmed the family, who thought it ominous of some calamity which would happen to them, and after some conversation respecting it, concluded it was best to send for Major Swartwout, to see what he would think of it. They accordingly got him there, who, on viewing it, concluded in his mind that it had been done by some person, and mistrusted a slave of the family, who kept near them to hear what would be said respecting it. He stepped up to the black man and accused him of doing it, which was denied. The Major told him he had done it and that if he did not own it he would give him a flogging, and still denying, the Major took a gad and gave him two or three whippings before he would own it, and after owning it the Major told him if he would tell how he did it he would let him go. He said he took a long pole and fastened a shoe to the end and therewith made the tracks. This eased the family of their fearful apprehensions. William Cuddeback was a man of somewhat over six feet stature, coarse-boned, muscular and lean. He was strong and very nimble, and could outrun many young men after he was fifty years old. In the French war, after his hair had begun to turn gray, he outran a soldier who thought himself swift. He was very talkative and witty, and I think from what information I have had in relation to him, that he never had his equal in this town for humorous discourse and a display of wit properly and suitably applied. He was characterised as a wise man in his time. Argument was his hobby, and, as there was much of it in his time in relation to the Scriptures, he, although uneducated, became so versed therein that when among strangers he was often thought to be a well read man. He was a disbeliever in the superstitious notions which many people in his time had in relation to witchcraft, &c., and would often tell very laughable occurrences in respect thereto. He was somewhat slack in his business concerns and careless in paying attention to the same, but he always had help enough to manage the business of his farm. Peter Gumaer was a man of about five feet ten inches stature. During the time of my acquaintance with him he was fleshy and fat, and in his younger days was a very persevering business man. He never was a hard working nor an idle man himself, but all his children and slaves performed a great amount of labor. His family produced a greater amount of farmer's productions than any other farmer within 20 or 30 miles distance from his residence, and he had all the necessary fixtures for his different branches of business in the best manner of his time. He would not suffer idleness in his family, and was inimical to it in others. He was a man of good judgment and of an honest and independent principle. Gerardus Van Inwegen [FN] {tn} was a man of about five feet eight or nine inches stature. He was lean, bony, muscular and strong, and had much of the Swartwout jocose and humorous disposition. He was the only son of his father, and was brought up without work, and in his neighborhood became fond of hunting, and did much of it in company with the white and Indian boys of the neighborhood, and in early life became a very skillful hunter and took great delight in it. He continued to follow it through life, and killed more deer, bears and other wild animals and wild fowls than any other man of his time in this vicinity, whereby he not only obtained a very plentiful supply of those meats for his own family, but contributed liberally to those of Cuddeback and Gumaer, his neighbors, and enjoyed a very happy life. He was much addicted to playing tricks on people, and, when any of them happened to be offensive, he could generally end the matter in good humor. (It appears those ancients generally were well calculated to extinguish those offensive occurrences and restore friendship, by means of which they maintained friendly relations with each other and with the Indians.) [FN] Brother of Hannah, wife of Anthony Van Etten, page 59. {Transcribers note: the footnote is hand written} At a certain time he put a mean, dirty trick on a company of squaws and their children, which they discovered in going to a certain place, and immediately laid it to Gerardus, and, on their return, stopped at his house and accused him of it. He asked what made them think he had done it. They told him no other man in the neighborhood would do such a nasty trick; that he was worse than a hog and they would have satisfaction for that trick. After some altercation respecting it, he got a pail of cider and gave them as much as they would drink, which cheered them all up and they went off in good humor, laughing at those who fared the worse. Samuel Swartwout was reputed to have been a very strong man, and naturally easy and very good natured, not easily provoked to anger nor easily scared. He, by hunting and trapping, obtained a supply of meat and some other necessaries for his family. He had a valuable farm, but had no help to work it. Laborers could not be hired. After Depuy married his daughter he brought some slaves from his father's, and, with these, Depuy worked the farm and produced much wheat and other grain. Swartwout was on very friendly terms with the Indians, and when he removed from the residence of his father, he settled, as has been mentioned, among a collection of Indians. In order to give some idea of Swartwout's boldness and of having been so characterized, I will relate a certain transaction, to wit: A certain Indian in his time had made a false face of a very frightful appearance, which was obtained from him by two or three of the young men. It was said that when it was put before a man's face and a bear skin wrapped around his body, the appearance in the night was very terrifying. They gave the man so dressed the name of Santa Claus. On a certain winter evening this Santa Claus went round among the families and frightened the members of four of them by this imprudent exhibition. After this they concluded to try if they could not scare the fearless Swartwout. Santa Claus went and entered his house. Swartwout sat before the fire, and, on seeing him, rose from his chair, took hold of it, and put himself in a position to strike. Santa Claus, fearing the blow, said, "Uncle Samuel, don't strike." Swartwout told him to go out of the house, or he would split his brains, and added, "If you are the devil, or from the devil, go to where you belong." These five men and their fathers had to encounter many difficulties to retain the possession of nearly half the land they claimed under the patent against Jersey claimants, and it appears they were well qualified in all respects to counteract them. An account of this is contained in Eager's history. CHARACTERISTICS OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS OF THE SECOND GENERATION. Capt. Abraham Cuddeback was a man of six feet stature and over 200 lbs. weight. He was strong and athletic, and could with ease jump a five-railed post or rail fence. He was very handsomely built, and in all respects a very good looking man. He possessed a great mechanical genius, dexterity and good judgment. When quite young, seeing how shoemakers and weavers performed their work, he commenced and did the shoe-making and weaving for his father's family, and became the best shoemaker and the best and quickest weaver before he was a man grown of any in this vicinity. In the time of the French war his father sent him to Old Paltz, where, and in Rochester, he followed weaving and had no equal in those places. After that war ended the people here generally were destitute of fanning mills, and cleaned their grain with hand fans. He had seen one at Gumaer's and may have seen a few at the Old Paltz. He undertook and made one for his father or himself, and afterwards made several; one for my father, which was done in a good and handsome workmanlike manner, with which was cleaned all the grain of those in the fort at my father's during the Revolutionary War, and thereafter all his own grain during his life. Before the commencement of that war a Mr. John Williams had given him some instruction for laying out the frame work of a house and barn, from which he considered himself enabled to do the carpenter work of such buildings, and did the carpenter work of a house and one or two barns before the war commenced, and after it ended a house and barn for himself and two or three other barns. After the war ended, he made a turning bench, repaired the old spinning-wheels in the neighborhood, turned spools, clevises, &c., for rigging the same. Before the war commenced, the wagons here had all been obtained from Rochester, in Ulster county, some of which were nearly worn out at its end, and a few years thereafter he undertook to contrive how to make a wagon. He said the greatest puzzle he had in mechanical work was to study out rules to make the wheels (of which he was entirely ignorant), but, after thinking over it, he discovered by what means he could make the same. After this he made wagons in a good and workmanlike manner, and in as good style as those which had been obtained from Rochester. He afterwards made pleasure sleighs according to the Kingston fashion of his time, of which there were only one or two old ones in this neighborhood as good and handsome as those which in his time, had been made at Kingston, except painting, which he did not do. He made the best ploughs, and all kinds of farming utensils, of any which were made in his time in this part of our country. He was the greatest marksman at shooting with a rifle and one of the best hunters. And, notwithstanding all these acquisitions and the attention he paid to his farm, he was one of the greatest idlers in the neighborhood, and did often for the sake of conversation visit his neighbors, and when in company of the best informed, would generally introduce subjects to create argument, either in accordance with his own views or contrary thereto, so as to produce argumentation in which he delighted and was the best means of discovering the natural and acquired abilities of his opponent. He said he knew the mental abilities and natural characteristics of nearly all the men who were contemporary with him for a distance of 20 miles down the Neversink and Delaware rivers, and 40 miles toward Kingston. In his time Marbletown was the general market place for the inhabitants in this valley throughout the distance mentioned, and their travel to and from market made a great intercourse of those people, whereby they acquired a general acquaintance with each other. In respect to which I will relate an occurrence. In the commencement of the Revolutionary War, John Westbrook, who lived about 20 miles distant from Cuddeback's residence, was elected captain of a company of militia, and, in saluting him, he was blinded by the discharge of one of the guns, and remained blind. About 15 years thereafter, Jacob Cuddeback, son of Capt. Cuddeback, went to Mr. Westbrook's, and, after speaking to him, asked Mr. Westbrook if he knew him. He said he did not, but the voice was that of Capt. Cuddeback, which he still remembered, and judged from the resemblance of the voice of the son to that of the father, though they had not been together during that time. In addition to what has been said respecting his mechanical acquirements, he became a workman in the business of tailoring. In the commencement of the war there were no men tailors in this town, and he first cut for himself; in sewing his daughter assisted him, and thereafter sometimes cut for others; and in the winters, when all were collected in the fort, he and his daughter did so much at it, especially in cutting and making up of deerskin leather, that he became a good workman and had not his equal here before a Mr. Mather, a tailor by trade, came into the fort. It was said that at a certain time he and his wife took each a pound of frolic flax to spin, which she refused to do for him. He said he would do it himself and beat her. She was one of the quickest spinsters in the neighborhood and thought that impossible, and one morning both commenced on a strife, and he did beat her. At the frolic they exhibited their yarn, and his was adjudged as good as hers. While spinning she lost a little time to suckle a child. If he had ever spun any it must have been when he was a boy. He had not his equal in this town cradling grain. It was said that a few others in their ordinary way of cutting might have been equal to him, but whenever he undertook to race with a man, he made a reserve that his competitor should cut as large a swath as himself and as good, which no one could do, and cut as fast as he could. At a certain time in going with my compass and chain to take the distance across the Neversink river, to determine how long a bridge it would require to reach across it, at a place where it was contemplated to build it, I met Cuddeback, who asked me where I was going to survey. I told him to take the distance across the river, to ascertain how long a bridge it would require to reach across it. He asked me if that could be done. I told him I could do it. This appeared to be new to him and somewhat mysterious. A few days afterwards I saw him again, when he told me that he had discovered how the distance could be taken across the river, and informed me of the manner in which it could be done. He differed some from one of the theories by which it was sometimes done, but embraced the same principle and was as correct to ascertain the distance as that theory generally practiced where the land is level. Having been commissioned captain of a company Of militia at or before the commencement of the Revolutionary War, he had many duties to perform during the same in that official capacity; for which, as well as a mechanic, he had very suitable abilities. He was bold, sagacious, prudent, and tenacious of his honor; he also was humane to those in his power. The following were some of his military services, to wit: He was first stationed at Fort Montgomery to command the men of his company, who from time to time had to take turns to serve as militia soldiers in that fort; and, previous to the attack of the fort, on the day it was made, he was sent with a company across the river to prevent the enemy from loosening the chain which had been put across it. This chain ran through the centre of three successive logs, fastened round it to prevent it from sinking, and was put there to prevent the English ships from running up the river. On those logs the company crossed the river and watched at the end of the chain until sometime in the night after the fort had been taken, when, from some unknown cause, the men became frightened and ran. He followed them a short distance, but could not find any of them. He staid there till morning, and was alone to defend the premises. After daylight he took a distant view of the English shipping; had an invitation to come on board, with a promise of good usage. He went home. At Cochecton, 40 miles distant through the woods from this neighborhood, some families continued to live, and for their own safety kept in friendship with the Indians as long as they dared. In the first instance when danger began to be apprehended of attacks from the enemy, the Committee of Safety sometimes sent Captain Cuddeback with a few men to Cochecton to procure what information he could relative to the Indians, to discover whether there was any danger here of being attacked by them. In these scouts he had to be cautious to evade as much as possible the sight of the Indians, and entered that place secretly in the night, where at one or two houses he made secret inquiry respecting the Indians, and in the same night left the place and returned back, and, in going and returning, tried to discover signs of Indians. After two or three such scouts the Indians made an attack, in 1777, on the family of a Mr. Sprague, and next year on the family of a Mr. Brooks, some of whom they killed and others were taken prisoners. These attacks made the Committee act with vigilance. Persons suspected of being inimical to their country's cause were apprehended and tried. One or more of those at Cochecton were complained of, whom the Captain, with a few men, fetched from that place. In one instance he had trouble to save his prisoner from the revengeful abuse of a Mr. Brooks, one of the family who had suffered from the enemy as mentioned. The prisoner, to reward the Captain for interfering in his favor, presented him with a very handsome powder-horn and bullet pouch. These were used by the Captain during the war and thereafter, together with one of the best of rifles. When the enemy in 1778 invaded the Peenpack neighborhood, the Captain resided at the Gumaer fort and had the command of the men in it. In the first instance he ordered all the pitchforks in the barn to be brought into the fort to prevent its being scaled, and directed the women to put on the spare coats and hats in the house, and each of them to take a pitchfork or other stick and put it on her shoulder. After being so equipped to appear like soldiers, he paraded all the men and the women back of the house and fort in single file, and, after the enemy came in sight, he ordered the drum to be beaten and marched them to the front side of the fort, where they all passed into it in view of the enemy, after which he ordered all the women and children to go into the cellar. Anna Swartwout, a large, robust woman, widow of Major Swartwout, asked permission to stay with the men in the fort to assist them, which was granted. She took one of the pitchforks to help defend the scaling of the fort, in case it should be undertaken. The enemy passed round the east side in open file at a distance out of gunshot; a few guns, however, were fired, but ammunition was scarce and reserved for actual engagement; balls were run the same day. As the enemy passed to where the barn intervened between them and the fort, the Captain and Jacob D. Gumaer went into it to prevent its being set on fire by them. Some of the enemy in passing along the river came to a woman, who had fled, and told her to go and tell the women in the fort that hundreds of Indians would be there before night, and if they wanted to save themselves they must leave the fort. This being done made a great scare among them, and some made ready to go out of it. The Captain ordered them all to stay in it, to which they quietly submitted. After the enemy had passed towards Fort De Witt, a little smoke was seen to rise on the roof of Cornelius Van Inwegen's house, which was about 60 or 70 rods distant from the fort. The Captain and Thomas White went and extinguished the fire, which had just begun to burn. It was said by certain Tories, who returned after the war ended, that the enemy had such a good feast of victuals and cider at this house that they concluded not to burn it. The fire must have originated from the act of a single individual, or the burning of the barn. At Fort De Witt the enemy took a station on a hill, in woods, within gunshot of the fort, and fired several volleys against the wall of the house and picket fort. After a few volleys were fired, Benjamin Cuddeback, a brother of the Captain, challenged the enemy to show themselves, and, although they were out of sight, he, with a long Esopus gun, heavily loaded, returned some shots whereby they became about as much exposed to his firing as the inmates of the fort were to their firing. In returning they passed on the west of the other fort where they tried to catch some of my father's horses, which his black man Jack happened to see, who stepped out of the fort and shot, which started both horses and the enemy so as to let the horses go. A fire was returned at Jack, and the Captain pulled him back into the fort. The enemy left, took some of the best horses, plundered and burnt houses and other buildings, and that day went out of the neighborhood. In July, 1779, after the lower neighborhood had been invaded by the enemy, and a corps of militia from Goshen and its vicinity who had volunteered to pursue the enemy arrived in that neighborhood, Capt. Cuddeback and some others out of this town joined in the pursuit, in which the officers, after having proceeded to a distance from the neighborhood into the woods, began to have their consultations in respect to continuing or returning, also in respect to the best place to attack the enemy, in case of undertaking it. The opinions of Captain Tyler and Captain Cuddeback, who were acquainted with the path and woods, were had. Tyler proposed to make the attack where the enemy had to cross the Delaware river, and Cuddeback to make it in the night, where the enemy should lodge for their night's rest; there to fall on them unawares, drive them from their prisoners and plunder, recover these and return homeward with them in the night. Very reasonable objections were made to both these plans by the superior officers; but, in case of attack Tyler's plan was preferred by the officers generally, and was urged, as is well known, by very improper means. In the battle, Cuddeback, with a dress of the color of the leaves, one of the best rifles and other equipments, and a very great marksman, was one of the most important fighting men of the corps, and remained on the fighting ground until after the retreat had commenced, and until he saw he had to run to save his life, when he ran a short distance to one side of the course (the mass of men ran) where he squat down, cocked his rifle and kept ready to shoot any Indian who should happen to look at him, where he remained undiscovered by those who passed him until a large Indian, came slowly walking and looking round, at last turned his face towards him when he shot and again ran, and in coming to steep rocks he slid down the same on his back; and when he came to a good place to hide he again hid and laid down. Here he remained until dark, and from thence in the night started for home. The militia soldiers, like the Indians, fought from behind trees, stumps, rocks, etc. John Wallace, one of Cuddeback's militia company, kept near his Captain at the different stations to which he was from time to time removed by his superior officers. At one of which Wallace received a slight wound, and in the flight made his escape but became separated from Cuddeback, and in returning home hunted through the woods and killed three deer. After Cuddeback had been home three days, Wallace unexpectedly arrived with three deer skins on his back, to the great joy of his wife and two children. Cuddeback commended Col. Tusten very highly, and said he felt sorry for him when he was wounded; that when the retreat commenced he was called to where the Col. and other wounded officers and men were collected in the safest place, and was solicited to try and stop the retreat, but that was impossible; it had become too general. He had to leave them to their fate, or become a sufferer together with them, and made his escape as mentioned. The retreat was caused by a hideous shouting, yelling and firing of guns, which had been undertaken by the Indians as a last resort to put their opponents to flight; and it happened to have the desired effect. Until this occurrence, the men who suffered much in different ways from heat, warm clothing, want of water and wounds, wonderfully sustained themselves for militia soldiers against an enemy who had very great advantages in all respects. Cuddeback, in his domestic concerns, had a great share of indulgence towards his family and domestics, but was uncommonly severe in reproof if any of his children happened to do an act of which he much disapproved, although these never were of a criminal nature. He had an uncommon gift to stigmatize and reprove a bad action. Benjamin De Puy, Esquire, was a man of about six feet stature, not as bony, muscular, and strong as the descendants of the first settlers. He was a persevering business man, but after he had been a few years in this neighborhood he became too fleshy and fat to perform any labor on his farm himself, but still paid a very strict attention to his farming business, the labor of which he managed to have done by his slaves, and sons after they became able to work. He became a Justice of the Peace here of the former county of Ulster, and served many years in that office before, in, and after the war. He also served many years as a Supervisor of the old town of Mamakating. In the commencement of the war he was one of the Committee of Safety. He was the greatest supporter of religious worship in the Mahackamack congregation. He was tender and humane to his wife, children and slaves, and provided a very plentiful living for all of them, in respect to diet and the necessities of life, even to excess. He had a strong memory and retained much of what had transpired throughout this valley from here to Kingston. De Puy was a heavy load on a horse and had about as good luck as Alexander the Great had in obtaining a suitable riding horse for him. This great conqueror had one to carry him safely in his great battles and extensive conquests, and De Puy had one which carried him safely for many years and on many bad roads until age rendered him unable to continue his services. The former built a city and named it Bucephala, after the name of his great war horse "Bucephalus," and the latter continued to feed and nourish his horse as long as it lived, and even sometimes with bread. I happened to come to his house at one time just after he had given his horse some bread. He then told me that this horse had never fallen with him in all his travels. He related to me that at a certain time he and some other gentlemen went on a very rough, stony road along Basha's Kill in great haste to arrive in time at a certain meeting; that some of the horses did often stumble, and in one or two instances fell, and that his horse traveled over it without making a single blunder. All his travels on this horse must have amounted to some thousands of miles distance. About one half of his farm was between one and two miles distant from his house, and whenever his laborers worked on those lands he generally went to them on this horse once or twice a day. He had to go every year twice or oftener to Esopus, 50 miles distant, to perform his official duties and to many other places where his civil and church offices called him. The horse was strongly built for carrying, had a slow, easy pace, and was very kind. The continual exercise De Puy had on his horse and sometimes in the wagon and sleigh for doing his business at the mill, stores, blacksmith's, &c., had a tendency to keep him healthy, yet he had a few short, hard sicknesses, but continued to live to a good old age, and in the last part of his life sold the part of his farm which he had retained and was removed by his sons to the town of Owasco, where, and in that part of New York, all his sons and daughters, excepting two, had previously settled and there his mortal life was ended. Philip Swartwout was a large, strong man, upwards of six feet in stature, portly and likely. Captain Cuddeback, who had seen General Washington at Fort Montgomery, said he had never seen a man who resembled Washington as much as Esquire Swartwout; the features of his face, his eyes, forehead, size and form of his body, all he said, had a great resemblance to those of Washington. Swartwout in his business transactions was very persevering and honest. In his public acts he was also honest and persevering to obtain the objects of justice between individuals, and also to promote the welfare of the public. He was a Justice of the Peace of the former county of Ulster before the Revolutionary War commenced, and in its commencement became one of the Committee of Safety. After the decease of his father, August 21st, 1756, he became heir to his estate, which consisted of a good farm, but was so much encumbered by the debts of his father, that he concluded to let the creditors take it. These were relatives of his, who resided at Rochester, in Ulster county. They advised Swartwout to take the farm and they would give him his own time to pay the debts, in consequence of which he obligated himself to pay the debts and took the farm. His oldest boys must have been about 10 or 12 years old at this time. He had one man slave and an insane man lived with him, who remained in the family during life. With this help he commenced to work the farm, and, after his son James became old enough to learn the blacksmith trade, he built a shop, got a blacksmith who, together with James, pursued that business, and the father, with his other sons and slave, worked the farm and made money last, so that he paid all his debts, and had money standing out at interest when the war commenced. Swartwout, as well as De Puy, was a great supporter of religious worship, and paid a strict attention to the preaching of the gospel. Anthony Van Etten, Esquire, was from Rochester or its vicinity, where he had received a good education for his time. His visage and bodily form and size were said to have resembled his youngest son Anthony Van Etten, who was a man of about 5 feet 10 inches stature, and about 160 lbs. weight. He was a blacksmith by trade and became married to Hannah Decker, daughter of Thomas Decker, in 1750, and obtained from him a piece of land, on which he built a house and shop, and entered into the business of his trade, and got an apprentice to assist him. He soon received a great amount of work from the farmers and made money fast. He built the stone house in which his son, Captain Henry Van Etten, formerly lived, and as he became enabled, bought land and obtained the old Van Etten farm, which consisted of some of the best land in this town. He and Esq. Swartwout, who were contemporary, both commenced business with small means, and became the most thriving business men in this town. Van Etten became a Justice of the Peace of the old county of Orange at an early period of his residence in this town, in which he officiated to the end of his life in 1778. His widow survived him many years. She was a short, strong woman of a good constitution, an affectionate mother and agreeable neighbor, sociable and much addicted to humorous conversation, and often told funny occurrences of former times. [FN] [FN] Anthony Van Etten, was a son of Jacob Van Etten, and Antie Westbrook, who were married at Kingston, Ulster county, New York, April 22d, 1719, they both being residents of that county at the time. They had a large family and came with them to the Delaware valley about 1730, taking up a residence at Namenoch, opposite the island in the Delaware now so called, on the New Jersey side. Their oldest daughter Magdelena, married Rev. Johan. Casp. Fryenmuth. From their sons are descended the various Van Etten families of Orange county, N. Y., Pike county, Pa., and Sussex county, N. J. Anthony was born about 1726 at Napenoch, Ulster county, and baptized at Kingston Ref. D. Church, June 12, 1726, At the time of his marriage, August 3d, 1750, he resided at Namenoch, but thereafter with his wife located in what is now the town of Deerpark. The baptismal records of the Maghachemech Church furnish the names of most of their large family of children as follows: Thomas, bap. Sept. 8, 1751; Antie, bap. Jan. 14, 1753; Janneke, bap. April 28, 1754; Margarieta, bap. Feb. 13, 1756; Levi, bap. Feb. 12, 1758; Alida, bap. Aug. 19, 1759; Hendricus, bap. June 14, 1761; Blandina, bap. Sept. 4, 1763; Maria, bap. Nov. 11, 1765; Thomas, bap. Oct. 16, 1768; Jacob, 1774; Anthony, bap. Oct. 29, 1780. Of their sons, Levi married Grannetje Westbrook, and from them are descended most of the families now in Deerpark. Anthony, Jr., married Jemmia Cuddeback, and located in central New York. A. V. E., Jr.

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