Radio Script #1161

Little Talks on Common Things
April 16, 1978

In the Redington Museum of the Waterville Historical Society there is a copy of an old newspaper published in New York State 178 years ago. Today I want to tell you about some interesting items in that paper.

It had not been long in circulation – that Ulster County Gazette – when its issue of January 4, 1800 came from the press, for that issue was Vol. 2, No. 88. Unlike papers of only a short time later, it had no masthead, so we have no clue as to its frequency of publication nor its subscription price. We only know that it was put out by Samuel Freer and Son at Kingston, Ulster County, New York.

That year 1800, the first in the new century, was of course long before the time of the telegraph and the ocean cable. For news from England and other European countries, Americans were wholly dependent on incoming ships. The few newspapers of the day were usually careful to be specific as to how they got such news.

For instance, this paper of January 4 had London news dated October 28 for which it gives its source as follows: “By arrival of the factor from Falmouth, England, we are put in possession of London papers.” One bit of that news was about the war between England and Holland, a brief conflict that was soon over. Another told of fighting between Prussia and Bavaria – at that time two different states that half a century later would become part of a united Germany.

In one column was a box listing the letters uncalled for at the Kingston post office. Another records the last will and testament of Alexander Crawford of Ulster County, citing the executor’s petition for discharge of his completed duties. Ulster was good Dutch country on the Hudson, and in 1800 plenty of Dutch names prevailed. A foreclosure of mortgage involved the small sum of 29 pounds, 4 shillings and 4 pence, but it was an involved obligation that concerned Jacob Elmendorf, Gerith Van Kamen, Abraham Schuyler and Kendrik Krum.

One unusual ad in this old paper was in rhyme. “Luther Andres has this day been opening goods fresh and gay. He has received near every kind that you in any store can find. As I can purchase by the bale, I am determined to retail for ready pay a little lower than ever has been done before. I would not like to rouse your passion, for credit here is out of fashion. My friends and buyers one and all, it will pay you well to give call. You’ll always find me by my sign, a few rods from the house divine.” . The verses are followed by this more prosaic statement: “The following articles will be received in payment: wheat, rye, buckwheat, oats, corn, butter, Flax, ashes and raw hides. But cash will not be refused.”

It seems, as that new century began, the Ulster County Gazette had more news that it found room for. The editor’s· apology said: “The limits of our paper are too narrow for the great variety of foreign news received by the latest mails. So we here give a brief summary. On October 8 the Austro-Prussians were defeated with the loss of several thousand killed, surrounded or captured. They were defeated by the French army on the Rhine.”, “Two Spanish frigates bound from Havana, having on board more than 3 million pounds in gold and silver, besides merchandise, were captured by four British frigates and carried into Plymouth.”

An entire column was filled with notices of sheriff’s sales of possessions of bankrupt individuals. The sheriff of Ulster County was a Worthy Dutchman Peter Ten Broeck. To show what those sales were like, I quote one of the many notices: “By virtue of a verdict issued by the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Ulster, directed and delivered to me, I have levied and taken the goods, chattels, land and tenants of Samuel Terwilliger, which I shall expose to sale, as the law directs, on Thursday, January 23, 1800, at the home of said Terwilliger at 10 o’clock in the forenoon. Peter Ten Broeck, Sheriff.”

Now, to get a glimpse at the way people lived on the Hudson 178 years ago, let us note some of the other ads.

“Abraham Hasbrouck respectfully informs the public that he continues in the merchandising and boating business, and has on hand a general assortment of dry goods and groceries, which he will dispose of on the most favorable terms for cash or country produce. He wants to purchase a quantity of wheat and flaxseed, for which he will pay cash.”

Here’s another: “Samuel Freer has just received an assortment of goods adapted to the season, which he will sell for cash or country produce on very moderate terms.”

Another: “Writing, wrapping and bonnet paper for sale at the printing office.” Does anyone know what was bonnet paper?

Another: “Strayed. A red bull branded P T B on both horns. Any person having taken up the said bull will be thanked by giving information to the printer of this paper.”

Now note this ad: “For sale. A stout, healthy, active Negro wench. Apply to John Schoenmaker, Rochester.”

“Wanted, as an apprentice to the clothier’s business, an active, diligent boy from 14 to 18 years of age. Enquire of William Peters, Marbletown.”

And of course we would expect to find this ad; a kind all too common in the old newspapers: “This is the second notice I have given of my wife Hannah, forbidding all persons from harboring or keeping her or in any way trusting her at my account, for I shall pay no debts of her contracting. Matys Viin Steenberg.”

Here’s an odd ad. “Notice. Taken out of the store of Abraham Hasbrouck, about a year ago, an excellent gun marked S.B. Any person having information, so that I may get it back again, will receive two shillings reward. John Weist”

Now, leaving the Hudson, let us note some historical matters nearer home. From Ray Tobey I got some valuable information, hitherto unpublished, about early Fairfield. Many times on this program I have mentioned the Nye-Dimmock Purchase from the Proprietors of the Kennebec Purchase. Nye and Dimmock acquired a whole township of land that is now the Town of Fairfield. That included land on the Ohio Hill Road where Ray Tobey now lives – the ancient Tobey farm and others adjoining it. What I did not know until Mr. Tobey recently informed me, was that those lands were purchased by a land speculator of 18th century Boston named John Lowell. The Nye-Dimmock Purchase was made in 1781, and seven years later most of their lots had been sold. Lowell came later, for most of his sales are dated no earlier than 1803. The Tobey farm was originally 80 rods wide, but in 1823 was divided into ten farms, each 40 rods wide. The Tobey deed says that the land was bounded on the east by a settler’s lot improved by David Emery. David Emery was an ancestor of Senator Margaret Chase Smith. He was a real adventurer who joined Arnold’s Army on its way up the Kennebec in 1775. and accompanied them as far as the Dead River, but returned with Col. Enos’ division when that turned back, an act that Arnold called outright desertion. Emery then enlisted for three years, was with Washington at Valley Forge, and continued in the army until 1780. He spent the remaining 50 years of his life in Fairfield, where he married Abigail Goodwin and was the father of nine children.

It was Ray Tobey’s great-great-grandfather Lemuel Tobey who bought Lot 42 of the Nye-Dimmock Purchase in 1787 and came to Fairfield before the incorporation of the town. He, too, had been a soldier of the Revolution. Ray says that Judge Danforth of Norridgewock used to remind him that Norridgewock was an older town than Fairfield. On the same day Norridgewock was incorporated in the morning, Fairfield in the afternoon.

In 1866 the original Tobey farm was occupied by two of Lemuel’s grandsons, Albert and Harrison. Albert was Ray Tobey’s grandfather. He moved to the house where Ray Tobey now lives – a home that has seen three generations of Tobeys. All this, says Ray Tobey, well known as Fairfield’s distinguished historian, is why he is interested in the Nye-Dimmock Survey and in the almost forgotten John Lowell who bought the Ohio Hill land.

Now, as we close this broadcast, we turn again to the oft-mentioned Waterville pioneer, Asa Redington. At the Redington Museum of the Waterville Historical Society is a plaque on which is inscribed the names of George Washington’s honor guard, one of whom was Asa Redington. Major General Carleton Fisher, author of the History of the Town of Clinton, and of the most authentic account of Fort Halifax, has dug out from the national military records the facts about that honor guard, revealing many details of which we were not previously aware.

A picked group of Revolutionary soldiers of designated height was chosen late in the war to guard the safety of General Washington and his rapidly accumulating official papers. The group was originally called the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard. The first group was disbanded when the Continental Congress granted furloughs to all men who had enlisted for the duration of the war. But a guard for the same purpose was still required. So a new guard was formed in June 1783, consisting of an officer and 38 men. It wore blue coats with red facings, white waistcoats and breeches, black gaiters, and a cocked hat with a blue and white feather. The contingent remained at Newburgh, New York, until November 1783, when the captain received orders to make safe delivery of Washington’s personal papers and baggage to his home at Mount Vernon. Twelve mounted infantry men were selected for that detail, one of whom was First Corporal Asa Redington. The command immediately started with six loaded wagons. Their route was by way of Trenton to Philadelphia, then across the Susquehanna and Potomac rivers to Mount Vernon.

Having completed the duty, the guard returned to West Point. We wonder what happened to the horses, for in his memoirs Asa Redington wrote that he had to walk from Mount Vernon to West Point, where the guard was disbanded.

And with that Revolutionary exploit of a Waterville man, we say goodbye until next week.

Year: 1978