Pittstown`s Town Offices Located in the Historic Tomhannock

NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
Pittstown’s Town Offices Located in the
Historic Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Church
Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Church 2012, courtesy Jesse Ravage
Congratulations to Pittstown for its handsome new town offices and thanks to Paul Wiley and the town
board for their successful initiative to save the church building and provide a wonderful space for the town
offices!
The Pittstown town offices were moved to the Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Church in
Tomhannock in January of 2014. It was the culmination of many years of negotiations.
Paul Wiley, long time member and officer of the Pittstown Historical Society, came up with idea that
the town should purchase the church. He knew that the town needed more office space. And, as a member of
the United Methodist Conference he was aware of the fact that the church was no longer functioning (the
Conference had stopped holding services there in 2010).
Councilwoman Verna Hansen explained how the purchase of the church evolved:
“Paul Wiley came to the town board in 2010 with a vision of having the town purchase the vacant
Tomhannock Methodist Church. He felt that a good use for the building would be to convert it into town
office space, especially since the addition had been built with a grant from former Senator Joseph Bruno's
office. With Paul’s persistence in dealing with the United Methodist Conference, which moved to Syracuse
from Saratoga during this time, the town was able to purchase the vacant church building. Then, because the
Methodist Conference wanted to recognize Paul for his work in many capacities with the Methodist Church,
the town received $16,000 out of the $25,000 purchase price to be used for the maintenance of the
Tomhannock Cemetery. Paul deserves many thanks for his vision for a building that will benefit the residents
of Pittstown for years to come.”
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Immediately after purchasing the building, it was repurposed to accommodate the town offices. The
offices were situated in the addition on the back of the church with rooms in the lower level leased to the Pittstown
Historical Society for its collection and the Pittstown Food Pantry. Only minor changes were made to the central
meeting hall in order to preserve the integrity of the original space.
Noting how intact the building was historically, the town enlisted preservation consultant, Jessie Ravage,
to draft an application to NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to have the church listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. In March of 2014, the application was accepted. Excerpts from the
application, a very thorough examination of the building and its history, are provided below.
Excerpts from the Nomination of the Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal
Church to the National Register of Historic Places
(A copy of the complete nomination is available upon request from the Pittstown Historical Society)
Description:
The church retains the strict symmetry typical of Greek Revival-style churches constructed in the mid1800s throughout the region.
The interior retains much of the form and structure of the
original construction period in 1845 with alterations carried out in
1871 and 1896. Repairs undertaken in 1927 introduced further
superficial alterations. The original social rooms constructed in 1855
to the rear of the building were replaced ca.1980 with a two–story
frame addition built partially on land acquired from the neighboring
property on the east boundary. (Note: This section now houses town
offices.) For much of its history, the church was associated with the
house on the next lot west, which was used as a parsonage until the
1930s. The house and lot were sold in 1960. A non–adjoining
cemetery lot was acquired in 1843.
The main church is a single, nearly square room lit by the
three pairs of windows in the side walls. The dais is set off by a
curving balustrade with vase finials set on the posts at each end. The
curving front edge of the dais is dressed in a hardwood molding
Announcement of church services, 1909, collection PHS
matching in character the other such finishes in the church.
It appears that the belfry is a later change, but its construction using hewn timber for all but the braces
indicates that it is actually older than the church.
The church is furnished with folding auditorium chairs fixed to the floor. These have cast iron supports
labeled “Grand Rapids School Furn. Co.” and curved plywood seats and backs pierced with a five–pointed star
within a circle and wood armrests. They are arranged in an arc with a center aisle and two side aisles radiating
from the dais in the center front, or north end, of the hall.
The building rests on a massive and deep fieldstone foundation, which affords a full–height basement
underneath the entire building.
History:
The Methodist Episcopal Church was officially organized in America at the Baltimore Christmas
Conference in 1784.(1) The sect’s roots lie primarily in Anglicanism, or the Church of England. It has its genesis
with a group of students at Oxford University in the 1720s, who felt called to help those marginalized and often
overlooked by the established church, among them workers in the growing industrial centers, convicts, and the
very poor. John Wesley (1703–1791) and his younger brother Charles (1707–1788) are the names most associated
with what would become Methodism later in the century. The Wesleys embraced Arminianism, a belief that all
people could attain salvation promulgated by the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). This belief was
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considered heretical by traditional Calvinists—among them Puritans and later Presbyterians. Arminism, became a
central tenet of the new sect that emerged. Its name, “Methodism,” was first applied as a taunt, but John Wesley
defanged the taunt by adopting it as his own.
The structure of the new sect was codified in America soon after the Revolution, a time when few
Anglican ministers remained in the former colonies. The Methodist Episcopal Church adopted much of the
structure and especially the liturgy of the Anglican Church, but it allowed lay people to act as ministers and leaders
of classes rather than requiring ordained ministers to preside over meetings. This eased the establishment of
religious societies in remote, sparsely populated places where roads were poor, the work of farming all-consuming,
and ordained ministers rare. The relatively unstructured nature of church hierarchy allowed for small societies in
numerous locations, and Methodist Episcopalianism rapidly became popular in frontier regions in the post–
Revolutionary period. They often met in houses, barns, and in the open air. As an example of the popularity of
Methodism, during the first half of the 19th century, at least eight Methodist Episcopal churches were organized in
Pittstown alone.(2)
Sources disagree in some details about the beginnings of Methodism in Pittstown, but in broad strokes they
are largely similar.(3) Reputedly, Darius Dunham preached the first Methodist sermon in the area in 1789 when he
was en route to a newly formed society on the Cambridge Circuit at Ashgrove about 20 miles distant. By 1791,
Tomhannock gained its own preaching appointment. People gathered for services at the home of Samuel Rowland,
and his record of preachers’ pay is used to support the claim that that was the beginning of the Tomhannock
society.(4)
The hamlet of Tomhannock was known
early on as Reed’s Hollow for Joseph Reed’s tavern
built in 1805.(5) The 1854 Rogerson Map of
Rensselaer County shows two millponds in the
vicinity of the hamlet and a densely packed row of
houses. Its location on the creek and the Northern
Turnpike (opened about 1800) led to its early
development as a local service center as well as a
gathering place for religious observance. The
turnpike connected the Hudson River and towns in
southwestern Vermont in the early 19th century.
Writing in 1880, Sylvester noted that although not at
the center of Pittstown, Tomhannock was “more
easily reached than any other [place] from all parts
In front of the Tomhannock Church, undated, collection PHS
of the town and by common consent town meetings
have been held here for about 70 years.”(6) They still are today.
During the 1790s and early 1800s, Methodist Episcopal societies at Cooksboro (formed 1791) and
Schaghticoke (formed 1789) were part of the Cambridge (New York) Circuit.(7) Tomhannock soon also became a
“preaching place” on the Cambridge Circuit, and in 1794 its class numbered 15. This number had dropped to eight
two years later, and then to five during the years between 1798 and 1801.(8) In 1810, Pittstown was assigned the
Reverend Thomas Skeel, who lived in Hoosic, as its circuit rider through the efforts of Simon Newcomb, Jr.(9)
Under Skeel’s leadership, the class was reorganized on the 3rd of February 1811, and the society’s numbers rapidly
swelled to more than 100.(10) Such a crowd could hardly be accommodated in the Tomhannock school, and buoyed
by their success, the society inaugurated a subscription fund two weeks later on 18 February, 1811, to build a
church. Names on the donor list included Newcomb, Snider, Reed, Wallace, Stover, Anderson, Follit, Williams,
Putnam, Harrington, Gifford, Carpenter, Brundige, Brownell, Yates, Weatherwax, Akin, Filkins, Wiley, Banker,
Norton, and Anders.(11) By the end of the year they had built one at a cost of $1,000.(12) The deed for the threequarter-acre (6 rods or 99 feet x 9 rods or 149.5 feet) parcel previously owned by Solomon Tinsler in the
hamlet of Tomhannock on the north side of the turnpike where the new building stood was executed on the 18th of
March in 1812.(13)
(continued on Page 4)
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PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
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The 1811 church was surely a frame structure. It had the
unaccustomed luxury of a stove and piping paid for by a special
subscription of $48.50 raised by the church women.(14) There was a
parsonage “located near the corner of a woods,” but a log cabin south
of the village replaced this first house early on.(15) In June 1818, the
church acquired a larger parcel (3.93 acres) from Elihu Hoag for
$150.(16) The deed descriptions shows that this lot was some distance
off the main road, and in May 1823, the trustees bought the lot
adjacent to the west boundary of the church lot in the hamlet from
Hewlitt and Martha Hoag for $500. This half–acre parcel
encompassing a house and a shop became the parsonage lot.(17) Hoag
had bought the house and shop lot a few months earlier from Charles
Parsonage, undated, collection PHS
and Abigail Hoag for only $400 (18), and only paid the church $300 for the larger, more distant lot, which probably
indicates a trade to allow the parson to be closer to the church.(19) By 1814, the Tomhannock church was the center
of the recently established Pittstown Circuit and provided the home for the circuit preacher, who served churches
in Cooksboro, Schaghticoke, Pittstown, and Millertown.(20) In 1843, the church bought from Mynard and Phebe
Groesbeck the 1.5–acre lot farther east on the Northern Turnpike for use as a graveyard.(21)
In 1845, the trustees of the Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal church undertook replacing the 1811
building. No source provides a reason. Everett Hughes, pastor in 1964, suggested that the old church burned
because early records appeared not to survive.(22) The centennial leaflet prepared in 1945 appears, however, to
refer to a minutes book with information predating the new church and does not mention a fire, which would
surely have been a momentous event for the society. A fire might, however, explain the use of brick—an unusual
material for constructing an entire building in Pittstown—for its replacement in 1845. But, equally, the
Tomhannock church was the central church of the circuit, and it may have seemed appropriate to build this
important edifice of a material suggesting both permanence and competence in an area where frame buildings were
typical.
The society raised $3,300 through subscriptions, the largest individual donation being $300. Roswell
Brown was retained for the masonry work at $1,200. Two men from Cambridge did the carpentry for $1,400.
Presumably, Brown’s work included the brick walls and the limestone and brownstone trimmings. The carpenters
would have built the roof, laid the floor, and probably also framed the deep cove for the ceiling. Their work totaled
$2,600, presumably leaving plastering and possibly pews to be paid for separately. Wood pews would have been
the typical furnishing at this period; they may have been reused from the 1811 building.(23)
The centennial leaflet states that the 1845 subscription figures did not include the steeple “which was
extra.” The tower appears to be an alteration made by inserting between the first and second of the four
heavy rafters the frame of an older tower with fairly tall,
slender proportions constructed using hewn timber. The lighter
rafters of the original roof appear to be simply cut rather than
framed to support the tower placement, and the proportions of
the tower itself appear to be truncated as only a few feet of its
lowest stage projects above the roofline. Its frame indicates that
it was designed with a fairly tall first stage that projected well
above the roof of the building for which it was constructed.
Possibly the tower framing was salvaged from the 1811 church,
Carved marble plaque above the main entry
or it might have been drawn from a different church that was
demolished or remodeled in the 1850s. Hughes states that the bell cost $553.87, but it is unclear whether the tower
preceded its purchase. It seems most likely that the old tower was added to provide a place for the new bell.
The hamlet economy changed in the period after the damming of the Tomhannock Creek in the early
1900s. This action submerged the farms of a number of parishioners, who moved away, and also diminished the
importance of the old Northern Turnpike, now Otter Creek Road, as a through road. The reservoir severed the
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Highway, shifting traffic south onto the old Macadam Road, now adopted as NY 7, and north to the Hoosick
Valley.
In common with many rural areas where population was declining and fewer people attended church, the
Tomhannock congregation was shrinking by the mid-twentieth century. The pastor in 1944 surveyed the area and
found there were 24 Methodist families in Tomhannock. Some time before, the parsonage was rented out rather
than used by a resident minister. In 1960, the Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Society sold the house and its lot
to Charles and Jean Herrington.(24) During the 1980s, the church acquired the adjacent lot on the east side. This
extends north to Otter Creek. This acquisition allowed extra space behind the church and old social rooms, and
during that decade, the old rooms were replaced with the current two–
story back addition. The purchase also afforded land for the two–level
parking area with sections at road grade and one story below.
By 1991, the average attendance at church services had dropped
to just 10 people. In May 2010, the Troy Conference of the United
Methodist Church declared the Tomhannock church abandoned and
recommended that the building and its associated land be put up for sale.
The Town of Pittstown purchased the property in 2012 with the intention
Meeting room, courtesy Ned Pratt, 2011
of using it for town offices and meeting space.
(1)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_Episcopal_Church. These entries in Wikipedia
provide basic information about these topics. The United Methodist Church site, www.umc.org provides information about the relationships between
the United Brethren, a largely German sect founded by Philip William Otterbein (1726–1813) and Martin Boehm (1725–1812), and the Evangelical
Association established by Jacob Albright (1759–1808). These sects joined the Methodist Episcopal Church to form the United Methodist Conference
in 1968).
(2)Arthur James Weise, The City of Troy and Its Vicinity (Troy, New York: Edward Green, 1886): 93–4. (http://www.googlebooks.com).
(3)These include a sermon preached by Rev. J.G. Gooding, “Celebrating the Centennial of Methodism in Pittstown” preached at the
Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Church 27 October 1891 (reprinted in the Pittstown Historical Society Newsletter in Fall 2007), an essay written
at the centennial of the church construction in 1945, and a paper by Rev. Everett Hughes written in 1984 to aid in fundraising to repair the church.
None of these presented citations per se, but Gooding’s sermon refers to primary sources. Being closest in time to the events in question may make
Gooding doubly the most reliable. The 1945 essay states that Lemuel Smith preached en route to Ashgrove, but this appears to be an error.
(4)Gooding, 9. Smith was, according to Gooding, the first pastor at Ashgrove and Dunham the second, who found himself in Pittstown that
evening in 1789.
(5) George Baker Anderson, “History of Pittstown, New York”, from Landmarks of Rensselaer County (Syracuse, New York: D. Mason, 1897).
Found at http://history.rays-place.com/ny/ren-ipttstown-ny.htm.
(6)Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvester, History of Rensselaer County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers
(Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1880): 476.
(7)Gooding, 10.
(8)Gooding, 10. He cites Cambridge Circuit records for these figures.
(9)Everett Hughes, “Historic Tomhannock Church Plans Major Reconstruction,” [1984]. Typescript provided by Paul Wiley, Pittstown, NY
(10)Gooding, 11
(11)Hughes. These names can be located on historic maps through the nineteenth century and in deeds for individual properties in a fivemile radius of Tomhannock. A number of these surnames are also associated with the Pittstown Society of Friends, but without Christian names
provided, it is difficult to determine which households were associated with the different groups and how fluid was the shift between sects. Also of
interest, the list includes names representing different ethnic groups in the town—New Englanders, Dutch, and German.
(12)“History of Methodism in Tomhannock,” The One Hundredth Anniversary of the Building of the Tomhannock Methodist Church, Tommhannock,
New York. 1845–1945: [1945]. This leaflet appears to have been written with reference to a minutes book of the church, but the whereabouts of this
source is unfortunately unknown. Photocopy provided by Paul Wiley, Pittstown, NY.
(13)Book of Deeds 6/73.
(14)Hughes.
(15)“History of Methodism in Tomhannock,” 1945.
(16)7/368.
(17)11/22.
(18)11/20.
(19)15/359.
(20) Marie Stanley, “Historic church looks to the future,” The Sunday Record (22 April 1964). Photocopy provided by Paul Wiley, Pittstown,
NY. Everett Hughes provides the date 1814).
(21)61/375.
(22)Stanley.
(23)Ghosts of their placement might be revealed if the 1845 floorboards are exposed. These appear to remain in place under the later
sloping floor, as they can be viewed from the basement.
(24)1082/306
We (the PHS) are looking for more historic photos of the Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal
Church. Please contact us if you have any you would be willing to share with us.
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Saving a New World Dutch Barn
A significant example of early timber framing was preserved in Pittstown in 2014. This is the
story of how and why that occurred.
Annette and Jippe Hiemstra (both of Dutch origin) were considering building a guest cottage on
the property adjacent to their farmhouse on Nickmush Road in Buskirk. They were in the process of
purchasing the lot and planned to replace the house trailer on the property, but still use the existing well
and septic. Their farmhouse dates to 1804, and they wanted their guest house to complement the historic
qualities of their home. It came to their attention that a small New World Dutch barn that was located just
a few miles away was in very poor condition. It occurred to them that this barn might possibly be
reconstructed as their guest cottage. Amazingly, that is exactly what happened!
The barn was first identified as significant by Connie Kheel and Joe Ferrannini, trustees of the
Pittstown Historical Society, when attending a Gibbs family event organized to restore the Gibbs
Cemetery. The property on which the Gibbs barn was situated on Groveside Road had been been owned
in the late 1700s by Job Gibbs and his wife, Louisa Eddy.
The Gibbs barn in 2009
Gibbs barn in 2012 just prior to its disassembly
Twenty one descendants of the Gibbs family had flown in from all parts of America to participate
in a weekend of restoring the Gibbs cemetery, located across the road from the Gibbs house and barns
(article on the event and the history of the Gibbs family was included in the PHS newsletter, Issue XVI,
2009). Bill White, current owner of the historic farmstead, permitted those attending the cemetery
restoration to visit the house and barns, which led to the discovery that the smaller of the two barns on
the property was very special.
Subsequently, architectural historian, Walter Wheeler, confirmed that the little barn was a single
aisle New World Dutch barn.
The Hiemstras visited the barn in 2012 and became enchanted with the possibility of purchasing
it. They enlisted timber framer - Daniel Nimbiole - to undertake the project. Nimbiole said of the project
that he was “thrilled to have saved such a sweet little building from certain doom.”
Agreements were reached in the late summer of 2012 for the purchase of the barn, and by fall of
2012, Nimbiole had carefully disassembled the building (saving and labeling all the principal timbers)
and moved it for storage into a barn owned by the Hiemstras. It was apparent that this was done in the
nick of time. Nimbiole noted that “the structure was not going to last very much longer without major
attention.”
By early summer of 2013, restoration was commenced, and by mid-summer it was completed.
Nimbiole remarked about the barn that “It was a joy to dismantle, repair and resurrect, as too often these
old buildings are left to deteriorate.”
The Hiemstras, delighted with their charming new, yet historic, guest house, spent time
decorating the building and landscaping around it.
Phil Gibbs, principal researcher of the Gibbs family lives in Arizona, but has retained a deep
attachment to his ancestor’s farmstead in Pittstown. While Phil has not yet been able to locate the original
deed for the property, he believes that Van Cortland owned the farm prior to Job and Louisa Gibbs, who
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arrived in Pittstown in 1795. When asked about the restoration of the Gibbs barn, Phil replied, “Being of
Dutch ancestry (my Kuykendall ancestor arrived in New Amsterdam in 1648), I am especially pleased
that it was a Dutch couple who purchased the barn. They did a great job of repurposing and preserving it.
So much of our heritage is disappearing, especially the home on the property built by David Gibbs in
1851”.
Congratulations to the Hiemstras for saving one of Pittstown’s treasures!
Photographs courtesy of Connie Kheel
Timber framers Mark Heffernan, Daniel Minbiole, Todd Dayton, 2012
Gibbs barn during reconstruction, 2012
Annette and Jippe Hiemstra in front of the fully
restored Gibbs barn, 2014
Gibbs barn during reconstruction, 2012
Fully restored Gibbs barn, 2014
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PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
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Spring, 2015
The Gibbs New World Dutch Barn and its Cultural Context
Walter Richard Wheeler
I visited the Gibbs barn in July 2012, and measured it with John Ham, who lives in Troy. The
Gibbs barn is one of several of a rare type that have been identified in Pittstown. Typical New World
Dutch barns feature a broad center aisle, with flanking, narrow, side aisles. The center aisle was
historically used for threshing grain, and for storage of equipment. The side aisles housed animals, with
lofts overhead being used for additional grain and tool storage. The Gibbs barn is a single aisle barn, in
all respects similar to a New World Dutch barn, except that it lacks side aisles. Why would such a
building have been constructed?
Traditional Hudson Valley farming practices began changing during the 18th century, in part due
to changes in the cultural landscape; this process accelerated after the end of the Revolution when New
Englanders flooded into New York, bringing new ideas to the area. Technological changes and the rise
of agricultural societies and “scientific farming” also played a part. The period saw an increased
dependence on farm animals and cultivation of multiple crops; refinements to farm structures naturally
followed. While the classic New World Dutch farmstead typically counted only a large barn and one or
more hay barracks and perhaps a summer kitchen among its outbuildings, additional structures, such as
corn cribs, wagon houses, blacksmith shops, etc., were added to older farmsteads as agricultural practices
changed.
In the parts of New York State that were just opening to farming in the post-Revolutionary years,
new inhabitants typically brought along the building forms and framing strategies that were familiar to
them. In New York, most of the new farmers were recent transplants from New England, and so it’s no
surprise that their houses, barns, outbuildings, and land-use patterns typically mimic those which were
familiar to them in their former homeland. In areas where the New World Dutch cultural hearth was well
established, these new transplants frequently utilized a mixture of forms and building techniques,
combining local traditions they were newly encountering with approaches that they brought with them.
The degree to which this creolization occurred was dependent upon the owner (their personal
preferences, sometimes influenced by the degree to which they were socially connected to the local
community), the type of farming they were undertaking, and who they chose as a carpenter/joiner. In the
New World Dutch cultural hearth, this phenomena most frequently occurred in the border counties along
the east bank of the Hudson River. It also occurred in western New York, where families from the
Hudson Valley and New England comingled in areas that were opened to European-American
occupation after the Revolution.
Similarly, when adapting their established farmsteads to new modes of farming, Euro-American
natives of the Hudson Valley sometimes embraced building types not previously familiar to them, having
been exposed to them through neighbors or newly-available agricultural publications. Single aisle barns
appear to be a response by joiners trained in New World Dutch framing traditions to the need to create a
mid-sized outbuilding. The frame of this building type is related to both house and barn frames that were
already common in the area, and the resulting structures appear to have been put to many different uses.
The Gibbs barn is a small structure—18’-1” wide and just over 21 feet long—with seven closelyspaced anchorbeams. The anchorbeams of the barn are of similarly diminutive size, typically measuring
between 7 and 9 inches high and between 6 and 8 inches wide, indicating a probable construction date in
the early 19th century. The wood used in the frame includes oak/chestnut and pine or hemlock. The side
walls of the barn stand about 12’-3” high, with the top of the anchorbeams at about 6’-10” from the
ground surface. The paired rafters are 5”x 4 ½” or so in size, and are pegged where they join at the apex
of the roof. The spacing of the bents—generally about 3’-4” on center—and the size and scale of the
remaining elements used in the frame, are all typical of dwellings built in the late 18th or early 19th
century. It is clear, however, that the Gibbs barn frame was not intended to be used for a house; its lack
of finish and absence of witness marks for the attachment of lath demonstrate that it was not used for that
purpose.
To learn more about Pittstown’s New World Dutch barns, please join us on May 21st for
Walter Wheeler’s talk. (see Spring Lecture Series)
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Land Transfers in 1770s
by Maren Stein
For many years, I have been interested in the Mohican Indians. But it was only a few months ago
that I learned of the existence of these land transfers dating from the late 1700s. I was intrigued and
sought more information about their significance.
A deed search for a Pittstown property revealed two purchases from Mohican Indians in 1772
and 1773. One of the purchases is labeled on Charles Filkin's map as "Shepard" (see page 9). That is
William Shepard, the buyer. The other, 4,000 acres, was probably directly south of that. The story of the
purchases opens the door to more information about Pittstown history before Pittstown and even before
the USA, as well as Mohican history. The central concern of the time was land. The conflict over land
led to wars. The Mohicans were involved there, too.
In our locality, the first land transfers were between the Mohican Indians and the Dutch.
Historian Shirley Dunn has written extensively about the Dutch purchases. Some of the purchases were
legitimate, and some not. The result, in either case, was the destruction of the Indian way of life. As the
more numerous English came into the area, the problems for the Indians became greater. Both the Dutch
and the English were required to buy land from Mohicans as well as Europeans, where applicable,
according to Dunn.
The Indians in our immediate neighborhood were Mohicans, an eastern woodland Algonquian
tribe. From the arrival of the Dutch, the Mohicans had been friendly to Europeans. Dunn credits Dutch
success, in part, to Mohican support. However, the Mohicans found it hard to coexist with European
farms and settlements, as the farms and settlements destroyed the hunting ground. Massachusetts sought
to remedy the situation by creating a mission settlement near Stockbridge for the Mohicans to become
Christian farmers. Many Mohicans, by the mid-1730s, had moved to Stockbridge, where the deed for
land transfer in Pittstown was registered. Please see the image of the mission house
below, still standing. The Mohicans were joined by people from New England tribes,
and the group became known as the Stockbridge Munsee Tribe. Subsequently, they
made a westward journey to seek a new home. After being repeatedly dispossessed,
they reached their present location near Bowler, Wisconsin. Mohicans often return to
the Capital Region to visit the old homeland. Their logo (included here on the right)
symbolizes the "Many Trails" of their journey.
The Indian names on the deeds were names of men who were acting on behalf of the tribe in a
continuing effort to settle various land claims and provide financial support for the tribe, according to
Lion Miles, another noted Mohican scholar. The three men noted on the deeds, all leaders in the tribe
over many years, were Solomon Uhhaunauwaunmut, Timothy Yokun, and Johannis Mtohksin. The latter
was identified by Miles from a butchered transcription of his name in the deeds.
Patrick Frazier, in The Mohicans of Stockbridge, provides many details about the three men.
Johannis Mtohksin had become an authority on land claims. He was involved, for instance, in an appeal
to the Massachusetts legislature for payment of land. He
was also involved in a conflict with the Van Rensselaers.
The name Johannis indicates his connection with the
Dutch. According to Dunn, he sometimes referred to
himself as Corlaer. The first Arendt Van Corlear was the
founder of Schenectady. He had a Mohican daughter, but
it is not known whether Johannis was related. Arendt
Corlear's grandson, also Arendt, had a fur trading post in
White Creek, which was positioned there for trade with
Indians coming from all directions. There were welltraveled pathways and waterways both north-south and
Old mission house, Stockbridge, Mass. Built about 1740 east-west.
(continued on page 10)
by Reverend John Sergeant, first missionary to the Stockbridge Indians
Page 9
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII
Spring, 2015
(continued from page 9)
The Stockbridges were supporters, first, of the English against the French in their battle for
North America. They then supported the Americans against the English in the Revolutionary War.
Included below is a watercolor of a Mohican Revolutionary War soldier, drawn at the time. Mtohksin
was never a soldier, perhaps because of his central role in land claims. Timoth Yokun was a
Revolutionary War soldier and, in fact, died in the war. He was a First Sergeant in William Goodrich's
company. The company included 17 Stockbridges.
Solomon Uhhaunauwaunmut was involved in both the French and Indian War and the
Revolutionary War. In the French and Indian War, he was an Ensign of a company of 50. He was active
at Crown Point and with Rogers' Rangers and, at one point, had command of two companies. Before the
Revolutionary War, he had become head sachem and was active in negotiating about Mohican
participation in support of the Americans. He also negotiated with other tribes about their roles in the
war. Another episode in his involved life saw him visiting England to appeal to the king on behalf of
tribal land claims.
William Shepard was the buyer in the deeds. There were at least two William Shepards in the
colonial Capital Region, one of whom became involved in extensive land dealings in Pittstown in the
1770s. Pittstown also had brothers Hazael and Rufus Shepard. Hazael's house still stands near his grave,
which is located in the Shephard Cemetery along NY Route 67
(between Buskirk and Johnsonville). I have not yet determined if
William is related to Hazael and Rufus. William had a son, Israel, who
served as Pittstown supervisor from 1806 to 1808. It was noted on a
genealogy site that Israel and his wife are buried in Moreau, NY. All
Shepards are listed in various early Pittstown town records. (In 1793, for
example, Hazael Shepard is listed as an Assessor, Collector, Constable
and Poor Master. William served as a Pound Keeper that same year.)
These deeds show us a little bit of what was happening over 275
years ago in Pittstown. We can see the continuing importance of the
lands of Pittstown and the groups and individuals involved with the
lands.
Joseph P. Tustin Papers, Special Collections, Harvey A Andruss Library, Bloomsburg
University of Pennsylvania
Holiday Wreaths Honoring Veterans
While the Vice-President of the Pittstown Historical Society, Joe Ferrannini, takes a break from
his cemetery restoration work (Gravestone Matters of Hoosick) in the winter, he is hardly sitting idle. In
anticipation
of
the
winter
holidays, Ferrannini placed 128
wreaths at the graves of Civil War
and Revolutionary War veterans.
Ferrannini made the wreaths, as
he has in years past, and
positioned them in cemeteries in
Grafton,
Malta,
Greenbush,
Menands and Pittstown.
Ferrannini
intends
to
expand the number every year,
with a goal of one day placing 500
wreaths honoring veterans of the
Civil War and Revolutionary War.
Norton Cemetery in Pittstown with wreaths placed by Joe Ferrannini honoring veterans
Page 10
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
Pittstown Land Grants
By Charles Filkins
(continued on page 12)
Page 11
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
Pittstown Land Grants
By Charles Filkins
Schaghticoke Patent
This land was reserved for the City of Albany, but Albany City government took its time before
finally taking possession of it. In the meantime, an individual had purchased the land from the Mahicans
and the City reimbursed him. The City finally sold some farm lots which, when settled, had the first
Europeans in Schaghticoke, Pittstown or Hoosick. This area extended from the Hudson to the west side
of the Schaghticoke Highway Garage on NY Route 67. None of this land was in Pittstown, but east of the
Schaghticoke Patent was the largest land grant in these three towns.
Hosick Patent
Note: Hosick is the spelling used for the Patent, District, Town and other New York State records
before 1827.
In 1684, representatives of four individuals purchased land from the Mahicans. The four were
Maria (Van Cortlandt) Van Rensselaer, her lawyer brother Jacobus Van Cortlandt, Hendrick Van Ness
and Gerrit Teunise Van Vechten. Their 1684 petition to the Governor for land started at the Schaghticoke
Patent and extended out two miles on each side of the Hosick River to a place which is over half way
across the town of Pownal, VT.
Maria Van Rensselaer died in 1689. At some time Hendrick Van Ness gave his brother, Jan, half
of his share.
The first partial survey of the Hosick Patent was in 1724. A surveyor created 28 river flat lots. Lot
28 was south of the Hoosic River at Schaghticoke. Lot 27 was Tiashoke on the north side of the river,
west of the covered bridge between the foot of the hill and the river. More important was lot 22, where
Jan Cornelis Van Ness married Sara Vandenberg. They settled at Sancoick where the Mahicans had their
corn fields at the place that they called Sanchaiek. South of their home was the Walloomsac Ford for the
Indian trail along the east side of the Hosick River.
In 1754, a surveyor was hired to define and divide the Hosick Patent. The 28 river flat lots were
expanded and sometimes merged into larger lots that kept the same numbers. Ultimately, there were 70
lot numbers covering 80,000 acres. Lots 44 - 49, and part of lots 43 and 50, were in Pittstown along the
south side of the Hoosic River. Each lot was assigned to one of the four families because the grantees and
most of the next generation were deceased.
DePeyster
There is a patent along the Tomhannock Creek granted to a DePeyster. I do not have a date but it
had to be early or it would have been swallowed up by other lots. There was great farmland along the
Creek. Today most of this land is under water. A second DePeyster lot was granted in 1743 west of the
north end of the Tomhannock Reservoir.
Schuyler
Land grants with multiple grantees are usually identified by the name of the first name listed on
the grant, in this case a Schuyler was the first name of six grantees. This group was looking for water
power and their lots went along streams. Each of the individuals had two lots.
Lots 1 - 6 started around Boyntonville and extended east along what is now NY Route 7 and
down into Fox Hollow. Another narrow piece went north along Spicer Road and then followed the
Nepamosh Creek north across Nickmush Hill Road on the flat ending short of the Hosick Patent. This
land was along the Pittstown-Hoosick town line, with more land in Pittstown than Hoosick.
The second group of lots is in two clusters. Lots 7 - 9 are on the Deep Kill and a tributary. Lot 7
starts on the Hudson River going east along the Deep Kill. Where the tributaries come from the south
east and northeast are lots 8 and 9. They extend into Pittstown.
The final three lots are on Otter Creek in the area around the Tomhannock hamlet. They are
numbered 10 - 12 west to east. The first two border the Tomhannock Reservoir.
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PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
(continued from page12)
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
Tomhannock Patent
This grant is on the east side on the southern end of the Tomhannock Reservoir. It had two
sections, both of which had an “Expense Lot”. An “Expense Lot” was an identified lot sold to pay the
surveyor.
Sawyer’s Tracts
Isaac Sawyer had a goal after the French and Indian War. He sought land that was not granted
east of the Hudson River and north of the Van Rensselaer Manor. The First Tract was the smallest. It
was south of Schuyler lots 7 and 8. The Second Tract was larger, in the area between Sawyer lots 8 and
9. The Third Tract was the open area east of the Tomhannock and the Schuyler lots 10 - 12 and extended
to the Hosick Patent on the north and east. When granted, the Third Tract was named Pittstown. There
was also a Fourth Tract which was north of the Hosick Patent in the area north of Eagle Bridge and
Buskirk. This was the largest tract by far and was called the Cambridge Patent in the grant.
By the time Sawyer started the petition for the grants, no individual could receive a grant larger
than 1,000 acres. This land total of four tracts was about 64,000 acres. Sawyer was the first to sign the
petition, and he recruited 63 others to sign the petition.
Once the patent was granted, a small group started purchasing the petitioners’ land. Two of the
64 petitioners joined the small group. Those two petitioners were a Lansing from Lansingburg and a
Wells from Cambridge. These two, plus Sawyer, were joined by Goldsboro Banyer, the Colonial
Secretary of the Province of New York and Alexander Colden, the New York Surveyor General. Late in
the proceedings, Joseph White Jr. apparently bought Isaac Sawyer’s share. These five hired a surveyor
who divided up the land into lots, with each lot granted to one of the five. The lots were usually
rectangles of 140 to 200 acres, with clusters of the same size in different areas.
The surveyor included Schuyler Lots 1 - 6 and 11 - 12 with Pittstown lot numbers. Apparently
parts of Schuyler Lots 2 - 6 were purchased by owners of the Sawyer Tracts, but none of Lots 11 and 12.
There was a provision for the Pittstown and Cambridge Patents to become townships when
settled. However, New York divided Albany County into districts with Pittstown part of Schaghticoke.
Boundaries did not follow patent boundaries. When the districts became towns, Pittstown was separated
from Schaghticoke. There is Pittstown Patent land in Hoosick and Hosick Patent land in Pittstown and
Schaghticoke. The two townships were in the records, but they never were activated.
Shepherd Patent
This land was an oversight on the northern edge of the Pittstown Patent. There was a gap
between the Pittstown Patent and Hoosick Patent. The area included a section of the second official
highway in Pittstown and Hoosick, which passed through East Pittstown on what is now Nickmush Hill
Road and crossed the Hoosic after Marker Road.
Unknown (?)
There is an area west of the southern part of the Tomhannock Reservoir that is not in any grant
that I have found. It has the Tomhannock Patent on the east and Sawyer’s Second Tract on the west.
Pittstown Historical Society News
The Pittstown Historical Society (PHS) signed a five year lease with the Town of Pittstown to
lease the Ellen L. Wiley Collection Room, which is located in the lower level of the new town offices (in
the addition to the former Tomhannock Methodist Episcopal Church building).
Joyce Peckham Memorial Scholarships of $100 were awarded by the PHS to three senior students
who excelled in Social Studies and live in Pittstown. The recipients were Lauren Madigan of Hoosick
Valley Central High School, Alexandria Mitchell of Tamarac High School and Claire Seifert of Hoosick
Falls Central School.
PHS intern, Sarah Yetto, continued her work transcribing early Pittstown documents. She has
completed the transcription of the Pittstown Town Records through 1883 and will proceed to index them
in the coming months.
(continued on page 14)
Page 13
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
(continued from page 13)
The Collection Committee has enlisted the help of Tim Holt to set up a digital program for the
PHS collection. The committee has begun the arduous task of filling out descriptive forms on every item
in the collection. The forms are then being entered into a digital file. Thus, the PHS can rightfully claim
that it has entered the digital age!
An Exhibit Committee has been formed to mount exhibits in the town meeting hall. The exhibits
will be on display in two glass cases purchased by the PHS. It is planned that the exhibits will be changed
seasonally.
An application for an Absolute Charter Charter is being submitted by the PHS to the New York
State Department of Education. The PHS has held Provisional Charters since 1978. We are hopeful that
our application will be accepted, and that our organization will finally receive an Absolute Charter.
The PHS will hold its Annual Business Meeting on April 16th at the town offices at
6:30 PM. The meeting is open to the public and will precede the regular meeting and
lecture which will commence an hour later.
Exhibits on Display at the Town Hall Meeting Room
The first ever exhibit of items collected by the Pittstown Historical Society is currently on display
at the Town Hall. The current exhibit has two themes, “Toys for Boys and Girls” and “Pittstown in
Winter”.
Please stop in and see these interesting items on exhibit. They will surely bring back memories of
"the good old days"!
Page 14
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
Beautiful arrangement of pumpkins for sale on Northern Turnpike Road this fall, 2014
Sign reads: TO THIEVES; SMILE & LEAVE EMPTY HANDED & I WON’T SEND VIDEO TO POLICE
Join the Pittstown Historical Society
Visit us at: pittstown.us
Pittstown Historical Society
Board of Trustees
Officers
President, Maren Stein
663-5230
Vice-President, Joseph A.
Ferrannini 686-4637
Secretary, Paul Wiley
753-4854
Treasurer, Connie Kheel
686-7514
Trustees
Walter Auclair ~ 663-5779
Connie Gilbert ~ 753-4226
Kenneth Miller ~ 753-6334
Dan Gifford ~ 753- 4672
Make checks payable to: Pittstown Historical Society,
P.O. Box 252, Valley Falls, NY 12185
The Pittstown Historical Society is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt not-for-profit organization,
dedicated to collecting, documenting, and preserving local history.
Contributions are deductible to the full extent of the law.
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$10 Individual
$5 Senior (65 & older)
$25 Supporter
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PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Issue XXVII Spring, 2015
View on Groveside Road, after yet another snowfall in February, 2015
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY
P. O. Box 252
Valley Falls, N.Y. 12185
Check Your Mailing Label: The date to the right of your name indicates when your dues were
last paid.