From New York City to Yonkers along the Hudson River

This upper landing of the Hudson River Day Line has a beautiful location and is a great convenience to the dwellers of northern Manhattan. On leaving the pier the steel-arched structure of Riverside Drive is seen on the right. The valley here spanned, in the neighborhood of 127th Street, was once known as “Marritje Davids’ Fly,” and the local name for this part of New York above Claremont Heights is still known as “Manhattanville.” The Convent of the Sacred Heart is visible among the trees, and Trinity Cemetery’s Monuments soon gleam along the wooded bank. Among her distinguished dead is … Read more

From Newburgh to Poughkeepsie along the Hudson River

Newburgh, 60 miles from New York. Approaching the city of Newburgh, we see a building of rough stone, one story high, with steep roof—known as Washington’s Headquarters. For several years prior to, and during the Revolution, this was the home of Jonathan Hasbrouck, known far and wide for business integrity and loyalty to liberty. This house was built by him, apparently, in decades; the oldest part, the northeast corner, in 1750; the southeast corner, in 1760, and the remaining half in 1770. It fronted west on the king’s highway, now known as Liberty Street, with a garden and family burial … Read more

Along the Hudson River in New York City

Our historic journey fittingly begins at Desbrosses Street, for here, near the old River-front, extending from Desbrosses along Greenwich, stood the Revolutionary line of breastworks reaching south to the Grenadier Battery at Franklin Street. Below this were “Jersey,” “McDougall” and “Oyster” batteries and intervening earthworks to Port George, on the Battery, which stood on the site of old Fort Amsterdam, carrying us back to Knickerbocker memories of Peter Stuyvesant and Wowter Van Twiller. The view from the after-deck, before the steamer leaves the pier, gives scope for the imagination to re-picture the far-away primitive and heroic days of early New … Read more

Hudson River Steamboats

An accurate history of the growth and development of steam navigation on the Hudson, from the building of the “Clermont” by Robert Fulton to the building of the superb steamers of the Hudson River Day Line would form a very interesting book. The first six years produced six steamers: Clermont, built in 1807 160 tons Car of Neptune, built in 1809 295 tons Hope, built in 1811 280 tons Perseverance, built in 1811 280 tons Paragon, built in 1811 331 tons Richmond, built in 1813 370 tons It makes one smile to read the newspaper notices of those days. The … Read more

From Kingston to Catskill along the Hudson River

Rhinecliff, with its historic Beekman stone house, is on the east bank of the river opposite Kingston. The old mansion, on the hillside, above the landing, was built before 1700 by William Beekman, first patroon of this section. It was used as a church and as a fort during the Indian struggles and still preserves the scar of a cannon ball from a British ship. Ferncliff, a mile north of the Beekman House, is the home of John Jacob Astor, formerly the property of William Astor, and above this Clifton Point, once known as the Garretson place, the noted Methodist … Read more

Early Settlement of the Hudson River

In 1610 a Dutch ship visited Manhattan to trade with the Indians and was soon followed by others on like enterprise. In 1613 Adrian Block came with a few comrades and remained the winter. In 1614 the merchants of North Holland organized a company and obtained from the States General a charter to trade in the New Netherlands, and soon after a colony built a few houses and a fort near the Battery. The entire island was purchased from the Indians in 1624 for the sum of sixty guilders or about twenty-four dollars. A fort was built at Albany in … Read more

Geology of the Hudson River

In addition to various geological references scattered through these pages the following facts from an American Geological Railway Guide, by James Macfarlane, Ph.D., will be of interest. “The State of New York is to the geologist what the Holy Land is to the Christian, and the works of her Palæontologist are the Old Testament Scriptures of the science. It is a Laurentian, Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian State, containing all the groups and all the formations of these long ages, beautifully developed in belts running nearly across the State in an east and west direction, lying undisturbed as originally laid down. … Read more

From Croton River to West Point along the Hudson River

Croton River, known by the Indians as Kitchawonk, joins the Hudson in a bay crossed by the New York Central Railroad Croton draw-bridge. East of this point is a water shed having an area of 350 square miles, which supplies New York with water. The Croton Reservoir is easily reached by a pleasant carriage drive from Sing Sing, and it is a singular fact that the pitcher and ice-cooler of New York, or in other words, Croton Dam and Rockland Lake, should be almost opposite. About fifty years ago the Croton first made its appearance in New York, brought in … Read more

From Albany to Saratoga along the Hudson River

A pleasant tour awaits the traveler who continues his journey north from Albany, where the Delaware and Hudson train for Saratoga is ready at the landing on the arrival of the steamer. A half hour’s run along the west bank gives us a glimpse of Troy across the river with the classical named hills Mount Ida and Mount Olympus. Two streams, the Poestenkill and the Wynant’s Kill, approach the river on the east bank through narrow ravines, and furnish excellent water power. In the year 1786 it was called Ferryhook. In 1787, Rensselaerwyck. In the fall of 1787 the settlers … Read more

From Catskill to Hudson along the Hudson River

Leaving Catskill dock, the Prospect Park Hotel looks down upon us from a commanding point on the west bank, while north of this can be seen Cole’s Grove, where Thomas Cole, the artist, lived, who painted the well-known series, the Voyage of Life. On the east side is Rodger’s Island, where it is said the last battle was fought between the Mahican and Mohawk; and it is narrated that “as the old king of the Mahican was dying, after the conflict, he commanded his regalia to be taken off and his successor put into the kingship while his eyes were … Read more

Chenango County, New York Genealogy

This collection was extracted from the History of Chenango and Madison Counties, New York. The genealogy data we’re providing below is specific to the Chenango County portion of the book, except for the Native American History. It presently contains only the towns of Afton and Sherburne.

Croydon New Hampshire Genealogy

Croydon 1 Room School House

Croydon New Hampshire Genealogy contains the 1850 census of Croydon New Hampshire as well as the general, church, civil, industrial and military histories of the town, including 261 brief sketches of it’s early residents. This is an eclectic collection of material, some of it is original, while others was extracted from a variety of sources.

Walpole, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

THE early history of anyone town on Connecticut River only is repeated in the early settlements of others located in the same vicinity, in the manner in which families lived, and also in the dangers by which they were beset by hostile Indians. Town lines were no barriers to the friendship that one settlement had for another. There were prominent motives which the early settlers had for a pioneer life. One was to better their condition and make a name for themselves; and the other was to get away from the conventionalities of populous towns into an atmosphere of freedom, … Read more

Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Keene, the county seat, lies in the central part of the county, in lat. 42º 55 and long. 4º 47, bounded north by Westmoreland, Gilsum and Sullivan, east by Sullivan and Roxbury, south by Swanzey, and west by Chesterfield and Westmoreland. The boundaries thus roughly given enclose a beautiful territory of about 22,010 acres, all included within the corporation limits of the charming little city of Keene. We say “little,” for it must be borne in mind that the city is yet in the swaddling clothes of infancy, and despite its large area has a population of less than 7,000 … Read more

Marlboro, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Marlboro is a small irregularly outlined township, lying in the central part of the county, in lat. 24º 54 and long. 4º 49′, bounded north by Roxbury, east by Harrisville, Dublin and Jaffrey, south by Troy, and west by Troy, Swanzey and Keene. It was originally granted by the Masonian proprietors, under the name of Monadnock No. 5, to James Morrison, Jr., and thirty-one associates, May 20, 1752. This history entails tax records, sketches of early industry, churches, military, and benevolent societies, as well as biographies, genealogies, and sketches of the early settlers. History of Marlboro, New Hampshire General History … Read more

Hinsdale, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Hinsdale lies in the southwestern part of the county, in lat. 42º 48′, and long. 4º 32′, bounded north by Chesterfield, east by Winchester, and southwest by the left bank of Connecticut river, the township being triangular in outline. It originally comprised within its limits the township of Vernon, on the opposite side of the river. This land, as it originally stood, was granted by Massachusetts at a very early period. Even after the river had been declared the boundary line between the provinces of New Hampshire and New York, and the township had in this manner been divided, the … Read more

Fitzwilliam, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Fitzwilliam, one of the southern tier of townships in the county, lies in lat. 42º 45 and long. 4º 54′, bounded north by Troy and Jaffrey, east by Jaffrey and Rindge, south by the state line, and west by Richmond. The town was originally granted by the Masonion proprietors, as Monadnock No. 4, January 15, 1752, to Roland Cotton and forty-one others. These grantees, however, failed to comply with the requirements of the charter and thus forfeited their right to the territory, and it was subsequently, early in 1765, re-granted to Samson Stoddard and twenty-three associates. On May 19, 1773, … Read more

Gilsum, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Gilsum lies in the northern-central part of the county, in lat. 43° 1′ and long. 4° 50′. In outline it is similar to that of a carpenter’s square, bounded north by Alstead and Marlow, east by Stoddard and Sullivan, south by Sullivan and Keene, and west by Surry. It was originally granted, under the name of Boyle, to Joseph Osgood and his associates, December 30, 1752. No settlements were made under this grant, through fear of the Indians, until so late a date that the charter was forfeited. This history entails tax records, sketches of early industry, churches, military, and … Read more

Harrisville, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Harrisville lies in the extreme eastern part of the county, in lat. 42º 57′ and long. 4º 59′, bounded north by Nelson and Hancock, the latter in Hillsborough county, east by Hancock and Peterboro, south by Dublin and west by Roxbury and a portion of Marlboro. This is the youngest township in the county, having been incorporated as late as July 2, 1870, its area being made up of territory taken from the southern part of Nelson and northern part of Dublin. The extreme length of the town, east and west, is nearly eight miles, and its greatest width, north … Read more

Alstead, Cheshire County, New Hampshire History

Alstead, Cheshire county, New Hampshire, with an area of 24,756 acres, lies in the extreme northern part of Cheshire county, in 43º 6′ of north latitude, and longitude 4º 48′ east from Washington, bounded north by Sullivan county, east by Marlow, south by Gilsum and Surry, and west by Walpole and a part of Sullivan county. The territory now lying within its limits was originally granted by Gov. Benning Wentworth, probably in 1761. This history entails sketches of early industry, churches, military, and benevolent societies, as well as biographies and sketches of the early settlers. History of Alstead, New Hampshire … Read more