Revolutionary Trials

During and after the Revolutionary War, Congress made several categories of pension available to those who served. There were invalid, widow, and service pensions based on need. As with all government entitlement programs, a certain amount of red tape, backpeddling, and confusing rules ensued. Sometimes many, many pages of handwritten statements and depositions were filed for just one case.

Recently, some of these records (previously available on microfilm) were scanned and made available on the service Footnote. com; we are in the process of finding and retrieving these records on Warwick's men (who mostly served with Col. Hathorn's regiment), because they give details on the individuals, their families, and acquantences, that were otherwise unrecorded. They also give details on what exactly Hathorn's men were up to during the war. Hardcopy of these will be made available at the library.

In the meantime, here is one transcribed example. Azariah Ketchum's house on Church St. is now a museum of the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick. He was the master carpenter for the Old School Baptist Meeting house.

Deposition for Revolutionary War Pension of Azariah Ketchum
National Archives Publication No. M804 Pension No. 16,316
Transcribed by S. Gardner, 2007

State of New York
Orange County

On this fourth day of December 1832 personally appeared in open court before the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the said County (being a Court of ?) now sitting Azariah Ketchum of Warwick Orange county and said State aged seventy seven years, who being fist duly sworn according to law, doth on his Oath, make the following Declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. That he entered the service of the United States, under the following named officers, and serviced as herein stated.

Deponent saith that he was born in Bedford in West Chester County, in said State, on the 18th day of February in the year 1755, as he believes, and as he has often read the same in his father’s family Record. That deponent was living in said town of Warwick where he first entered the services of the United States. Saith that in the month of April as he believes, in the year 1776, he volunteered in the company of Militia commanded by Captain John Wisner, Asa? Wisner being Ensign and belonging to Colonel John Hathorn’s Regiment, and as a corporal in the said company, was mustered for one month; was marched to fort Constitution on the side the Hudson River, where his company was attached to or commanded by Colonel Newkirk; at this place deponent was employed with his company in building said Fort, up to the end of the month, Deponent further saith that he volunteered and served two months at Fort Montgomery, in the same summer (1776) under Captain John Minthorn, Lieutenant Nathaniel Ketchum & George Vance—his Regiment commanded by Colonel John Hathorn. Deponent further saith that in the same Year he was a volunteer in the company of Captain William Blain in Colonel Nicoll’s regiment and served one month at White Plains—saith that he was in the Battle and fought the Brittish Troops on the 28th day of October of that Year, was personally acquainted with and was there under he Orders at several times, of Generals Putnam and George Clinton. Deponent saith that in the winter of 1777 he served as corporal three months under Captain John Minthorn, laying or being stationed at Chloster near the Hudson River. During the same year deponent saith that he served as a corporal under Captain Daniel Gore at the Susquehannah out along the Indian frontier for the space of five months. Was a volunteer under the command of Captain Minthorn four months at West Point in the year 1778, and also one month at Ramapo. Was marched to and lay one month at New Windsor and Fishkill in the year 1779, being as deponent saith in the month of November. Deponent further saith that in the Year 1777 he was ordered under Lieutenant Nathaniel Ketchum and marched to New Windsor, thence to Esopus or Kingston and from thence went as an escort to continental Waggons from Boston to Easton in Pennsylvania. This service deponent believes lasted about two months. Saith that he was stationed one month at Goshen to guard the prisoners there, at the time the Notorious Claudius Smith and his band were executed. Deponent further saith the he served as Corporal aforesaid under Captain John Minthorn two months at different times on the Minisink frontier. Also under the same Captain and in Colonel John Hathorn’s Regiment deponent served three months at other periods at Haverstraw and West Point. Beside frequent excursions which he performed with his fellow soldiers in arms in ?illegible word? the depredations of the Tories who haunted and robbed the Wig inhabitations along the River towns. Deponent declares that the whole time which he faithfully served his country in the Revolutionary War and in the capacity of corporal in the Militia, amounted to more than two Years. Saith he, deponent, never received any written discharge from the service. Deponent further saith that he is acquainted with John C. Murphy, a clergyman who resided in his neighborhood and who will testify as to his belief of his having been a solder of the Revolution ?known? from general reputation as to his credibility. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.

(signed) Azariah Ketchum.

In open court the day and year aforesaid
Asa Deming, clerk

Yikes! UFOs in Warwick!

Recently, the classified documents of "Project Blue Book" were made available through the commercial database, Footnote.com. The records and case files relating to investigations, were collected by the Office of Special Investigations, of sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs). Here is are partial transcriptions of what a search for Warwick turned up!


OSI Report of UFO Sighting--Greenwood Lake, NY
1956/07/14

Report of a UFO at Greenwood Lake.Report made by Robert S. Hermann, S/A (special agent?)Report made at: DO #2, 111 East 16th St., NY NY18 July 1956Investigation predicated upon receipt of a telephone call from (name blanked out), civilian, that he had sighted an unidentified glying object both in the afternoon and in the evening of 14 July 1956 at Greenwood Lake, NY. Such details which WHITE (name not blanked out) could remember, based upon his observation and description of what he had observed, were obtained....White reported that on 14 July 1956 he had twice objserved a flying object in the sky. The observations took place for short periods at about 1630 hours and 2200 hours. The periods of observation were brief. White could not tell whether he had seen the same object in both instances of observation. He descrbed the object seen at 1630 hours as the size of a dime, silver colored, disc shape, and motionless; then it tilted, appeared to have a dome on the top, and disappeared. The object seen at night was also the size of a dime, red in color, of disc shape, and was traveling at high speed; it curved sharply across the sky, and disappeared. Weather condiitons were good for observation, no instruments were used. (name blanked out) advised that his wife (name blanked out, address blanked out), both of Greenwood Lake, New York, could corroborate his observation, in part. When asked if he could be interviewed, replied that a personal interview would take too much of his time.Details, further in text, difficult to read: Identifying information of all observers:1. (name blanked out), civilian, age 32, residing in NY City, portrait painter.2. (name blanked out), civilian, wife of (name blanked out)3. (name blanked out), Greenwood Lake, NY, oil explorer4. (name blanked out), Greenwood Lake, NY, (occupation illegible).

UFO Sighting (Project Blue Book)
1966/11/21

Source--Civilian
Number of Objects--Two
Length of Observation--One hour
Type of Observation--Ground Visual
Course: NE
No photos
No physical Evidence
Location: Warwick, one witness
Conclusion: Astro(S/P) (astronomical body)
Summary & analysis: Observer noted two different similar objects which were like a star. The two objects were pulsating different colors as they moved. Colors observed changed from green to yellow to red. The objects wer ein a slow flight path and no erratic movements. Investigating official commented that the witness was somewhat vague about the diretion of sighting and flight path. The rate manner of movement suggests tha tthe sighting was of astronomical bodies.

A. Description1. Shape: Undefinite at distance2. Size compared to a known object: Size of a star.3. Colors: Pulsating green,yellow, red, etc. on perimeter and red on bottom.4. Number: 25. Formation, if more than one: Appeared to change physical relationship with each other but moved in generally synchornized manner from NW to NE.6. Discernible features: none7. Tail, Trail, or exhaust: none8. Sound: none9. Other features: none

B. Description of Course1. What first called attention of observer to the object: Two odd pulsating lights different than a star.2. Angle or elevation and azimuth when first observed: NW quadrant 30 degrees above horizon.3. Angle or elevation and azimuth upon disappearance: NE quadrant 25 degrees from horizon.4. Desciption of flight path and maneuvers: Slow flight, no erratic movement.5. How did object disapper: Appeared to speed up just prior to disappearance.6. Now long were objects visible: At least 1 hour.

C. Manner of observation1. Ground--Visual2. Optical Aids: Binoculars

D. Time and Date of Signting:1. Zulu time-date group of sighting: 0200Z/22 Nov 662. Light conditions: Clear with full moon.

E. Location of observation: 42 degrees 15' N 74 degrees 22'W

F. Identifying Information on observer: Civilian, Age 30, (name and address blacked out), Warwick NY.An attorney, estimate of reliability: Reliable account of sighting with three other witnesses.

G. Weather and Winds: Clear, and 15 plus vsby, winds calm. No ceiling, vertical temperature gradient: 0 degrees/1000' (Sfc-8000') -2 degrees/1000' (Abv. 8000').

H. Other Unusual Activity: None

I. Interception or identification action taken: none

J. Location of any air traffic: V489 runs from SW to NE almost directly over area of the sighting.

K. Position, title, and comments of the preparing officer: Slow rate of movement and observaer's own comparison to aircraft passing overhead during the period of sighting would make an aircraft unlikely as a stimulus. Rate and manner of movement suggest that sigting was a planet although reported slight path does not coincide. Unusual appearance could stem from sighting through an inversion/ Apparent rapid movement just prior to disappearance of signting and flight path of object.Henry L. Pierce, Capt., USAF, Investigating Officer.

A Bellvale Mountain Ghost Story

Here is a recently discovered story, from the Warwick Advertiser, January 17, 1889:

A Mysterious Treasure Bed

Treasure Seekers at Greenwood Lake Succumb to Fright when the Wealth is almost at Hand—

A Tale of Local Mystery

To persons of imaginative minds and skeptical tendencies the mysterious tales of treasure hunters and the difficulties encountered on their ghostly expeditions are utterly unworthy of belief, and the creations of a weak mind. In fact, in this age of materialism, we are prone to look with pity and contempt on persons who prate of a belief in the mysterious, and point with triumph to the success of the Thirteen Club of New York in dispelling some of our fondest illusions and iconoclastically eradicating even our familiar household sayings, handed down from mother to daughter. The dropping of a fork meant in my boyhood a male visitor to the house; a fallen knife denoted a female. There were many other signs and tokens, but to break a mirror signified dire calamity. Filled with these impressions when young it is a continual combat with many to explain on a purely reasonable basis the many mysterious occurrences brought up by believers in the supernatural in support of their belief, and many a time have most of us wished fo an opportunity to destroy, at one fell swoop, the hydra-headed demon, superstition, and settle the questions so far as we, individually were concerned.

A few nights since we were regaled with stories of revolutionary times in the Warwick Valley. The settlers were, of course, arrayed on both sides, and some maintained an appearance of neutrality but were really helping the Continentals or Tories to the full extent of their means and ability. There were some, too, who secretly gave information to headquarters, acting as spies, so that the commanding officers of both armies were ekpt pretty well supplied with all the information they needed. In this valley the site of a house long since gone to decay, which was occupied by a Mr. Smith, is pointed out to the lover of the historical, and he is told how said Smith was watched by his loyal neighbors, tracked through miles of forests, over mountains and across swamps, till, the evidence being sufficiently clear, was taken from his bed at the dead of night by a mob of disguised men, and on being threatened with death, confessed all his perfidy to the patriot cause. His captors decided to send him within British lines, and ordered Smith back to his house to dress himself, for he had been shivering in the damp air in his night clothes. As he turned to enter his house he was shot in the back by some of the mob and died without a groan.

While scouting parties in the Revolutionary days were despoiling house after house under the cover of darkness, the people found it necessary to secrete money and valuables in the most inaccessible places, often in the rocks, down the wells, up the chimneys, etc. Valuable articles and money are recovered year after year and much is undoubtedly still hidden. Many years since an old man came to Greenwood Lake and told a table of treasures hidden at a certain triangular place near the foot of Mount Peter, near the ruins of the house where the aforesaid Smith resided, and from a rude diagram located the spot on Mr. John Hunt’s farm. All the necessary identification marks were there except a certain chestnut tree with a plug in the trunk pointing to the spot. But the stump of a chestnut tree being close by the place located by the ancient stranger seemed to give evidence sufficient to warrant a digging party to attempt the recovery of the treasure. In order to keep the affair secret they agreed to go at nightfall to the spot, and at the time set a half dozen sturdy men assembled.

They had not dug long before their picks struck a huge rock, and while endeavoring to remove it the whole party distinctly heard groans and cries, the clanking of chains and a rumbling as of an impending thunder shower. At firs they were dumbfounded and stopped their work. As they ceased the noise died away. Gathering courage after a short rest they renewed their efforts to dislodge the huge stone. Again the noises, apparently proceeding from under the boulder at one time and then from the air overhead, were heard, and, with one impulse, they dropped their picks, shovels, and crowbars and rushed homeward as on the wings of the wind.

The story of the mysterious occurrences, magnified, of course, by each relator, soon became the popular gossip, but the earnestness and sincerity of the digging party was never questioned, and for years the treasure lay undisturbed, although occasionally in the last thirty or forty years small parties have gathered to dig a little deeper than the preceding party had done, and then when the unearthly sounds grew too weird for mortal ears, rush away pell mell, well provided with a never-ending theme for speculation in their night’s adventures.

Well, during the summer of ’88 (1888) the foregoing was narrated, with numerous embellishments and interspersed with many ejaculations to a few hardy and intelligent young men who were temporarily sojourning with Hon. James Hall at Greenwood Lake. After due consideration a party was formed in no spirit of bravado, with an honest intention of unearthing the mystery surrounding the buried treasure (if treasure and mystery, there were), resolved to go the next night to the spot indicated. The place was not readily found in the inky darkness, and the party fought with the thorns and brambles step by step till, well nigh out of patience, the site of the curried treasure was reached.

The party was then divided. One was to keep watch, one attend the fire to give light to the workers, and two plied the pick and shovel. The accumulated leaves and debris of a score of years was soon dug from the hold, and the excavation proceeded without interruption until a huge rock was laid bare. With crowbars the two study men endeavored to dislodge the rock when suddenly a long drawn and unearthly groan was heard, apparently proceeding from under the earth a short distance away. The men paused in their work, the sentinel went to the spot from whence groans came and the groans died away. After a few moments the party became convinced that as they had seen nothing to frighten them they wouldn’t be frightened, so they built a roaring, crackling fire, and by the light of its flickering flames resumed their work. So long as they were quite no noises were heard, but as soon as the digging was resumed the moans and groans were awful. Flashes of sulpherous light were seen, jumping from bush to bush, stones fell in showers all around them, and the guard, albeit a man of iron nerve, chased the sounds with pistol bullets, only to be rewarded after each shot with a mocking peal of hoarse laughter.

Then again midnight stillness ensued as the entire quartet left their work and formed a searching party. Not a sound of life could be heard save the “nancy-dids,” and after ten minutes’ conference they loaded their pistols and resolved to remove the bowlder from the excavation. Soon as the work began the noises were resumed, only more so. It seems as though a dozen demons had united their energies in clanking chains, flashing lights in the half circle round the working party and groaning in a hoarse, moaning, droning manner, like the wail of a lost soul, or the yowling and crying of some of our well-bred city cats practicing for a concert in a back yard. But, of course, cats can’t throw huge bowlders, rattle chains and produce noises which language fairs to describe. The moans ceased when the workmen halted and began as soon as they resumed.

Finally, the stones and dirt thrown out of the hole began to roll back into it again, and the shovelers saw their work was being undone faster than they could dig and delve. The guard, meanwhile, had formed a cordon, with two loaded revolvers, round the party and pursued the noises from spot to spot, till, thoroughly mystified, and finding their work useless, they resolved to retire in good order and leave the treasure in possession of the owner or owners of the cries, groans, moans, chains and flash lights. Now, if anybody of men of venturesome turn of mind, able to handl pick and shovel, and with a desire to participate in the mysterious, wishes to go through our experience while digging for treasure on Mr. Hunt’s premises, they have our heariest wishes for their ultimate success. So far as we are concerned it would have to be a much greater sum of money than tradition has recorded to attempt it again.

Lenape Connections

The tribe that populated the Warwick area at the time of European colonization were the Minsi, or Munsee, northernmost branch of the Lenapes. Two of the main villages in our town were Mistucky, (eastern side of Rt. 94 and according to early maps, slightly south of the Welling homestead, somewhat towards the mountain) and Quampium, which was at the northern end of Greenwood Lake (now flooded, as the lake was enlarged). There are oral traditions of other sites and exhanges between the colonists and the natives.

Recently we had occasion to try to hunt up the home of the original Wawayanda Indian Deed, given March 5, 1702/3, in order to get the signature of the local chief, Chuckhass. On a microfilm reel at the Goshen Public Library is what appears to be a contemporary copy of the deed, with what appears to be the traced signatures (possibly original). Subsequently the Tate Collection yielded a photocopy of what must be the original document, but alas no note was made of its location-- the signature for Chuckhass is a near match:

In this (copy) document the name appears to be spelled "Cheeckhass", but on the photocopy from the Tate collection, it appears more like the traditional rendering via oral tradition, "Chuckhass". Likely the name's sound was in between, and so rendered differently.

The entire deed can be seen at:
http://www.albertwisnerlibrary.org/~wisner/Factsandhistory/History/Curriculum%20Powerpoint/WawayandaPatentIndianDeed.jpg


On Sept. 23 there will be a great celebration of the opening of the Black Creek historic site in Vernon which has become one of the most significant Lenape heritage site. It is off Maple Grange Rd.. A wonderful website has been done by the Vernon Historical Society:

http://www.vernonhistoricalsociety.com/Black%20Creek%20Site.html

It will be a rare chance for guided tours and nearby celebrations by the Nanticoke Lenape tribe.

Warwick Hosts Big Wigs & Rowdy Soldiers

During the Revolutionary era, Warwick really was on the main road; travellers, troops, officials, and mail that needed to skirt safely by British-held New York City trotted, trundled, plodded, and marched through with regularity. This included George Washington (who stopped...everywhere, apparently), and other troops and officials. Much has been made of Gen. Washington's visit(s) here, and one explanation of his frequently finding Warwick a convenient place to stop is that a member of his Life Guard, Uzal Knapp, had a brother here.

Next week the Historical Society will hold its annual Washington Day Picnic. In honor of that event, we offer these tales of soldiers & travellers, gleaned from the Notebook of W.B. Sayer, recently donated as part of the Florence Tate Collection:

May 20, 1779 Third New Hampshire Regiment under Col Henry Dearborn stopped here for breakfast (This regiment saved the day in the battle with the Indians near Elmira NY under Gen Sullivan.)

Oct. 20 1779 After the Battle at Elmira NY Capt. Phillip Du Bois Beiver? Bevier? & Lieut. Frees of the 3rd Regiment Continental Line under Col. Van Courtland stayed all night here.
Rev. James Manning a Baptist Minister from Providence, RI took dinner here Sept. 12, 1779 with Francis Baird.

In 1777 Col. Daniel Morgan’s men after the Battle of Saratoga NY stopped here (note: documentation not yet confirmed)

The journal of Captain Daniel Livermore says Thursday May 20, 1779:
“This morning the weather still continued rainy necessity obliged us to continue the march, the traveling is extremely bad, and 9 o’clock made a halt at a small village called Warwick, NY, six miles. Here we took breakfast at Baird’s Tavern, from whence we proceeded on the march to Hardiston, NJ 7 miles .”These troops were on the march to join Gen. Sullivan’s expedition against the Indians.

Diary of Ensign Daniel Gorkin2nd New Hampshire Regiment of Gen. Sullivan’s Expedition 1779.May 20, 1779—To Warwick NY from Chester NY 14 miles.May 21-Rainy day did not march. This place Warwick NY is 4 miles from the New Jersey line.May 22- Did not march.May 23—To Sussex Court House NJ, here are 4 or 5 very good houses.The houses from the North River (at Newburgh NY to this place) are small having large crops of wheat and rye. The men do but little work. The women great shots, marched 22 miles. (The 2d New Hampshire Regiment spent 3 nights and 2 days at Warwick NY—WBS?)

Capt. Daniel Livermore says on Saturday Oct. 3, 1779: The troops leave Sussex NJ at 9 o’clock and march toward Warwick NY about 14 miles and camp. Sunday Oct. 3, 1779 today the troops proceed on the march and encamp near Warwick Church (now 1927 corner of Galloway & Forester Aves. On land that 1927 belongs to Clarence Forshee). Monday Nov. 1, 1779 this day for want of wagons the march is deferred until 12 o’clock. Proceed over the mountains to Pompton. Roads very bad…


Diary of Ensign Daniel Gorkin
2nd New Hampshire Regiment of Gen. Sullivan’s Expedition 1779.
May 20, 1779—To Warwick NY from Chester NY 14 miles.
May 21-Rainy day did not march. This place Warwick NY is 4 miles from the New Jersey line.
May 22- Did not march.
May 23—To Sussex Court House NJ, here are 4 or 5 very good houses.
The houses from the North River (at Newburgh NY to this place) are small having large crops of wheat and rye. The men do but little work. The women great shots, marched 22 miles.
(The 2d New Hampshire Regiment spent 3 nights and 2 days at Warwick NY)

Journal of Major Grant
Journal of Sergant Major George Grand of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment Sullivan’s Expedition of 1779. He writes as follows of the return of the expedition:
Oct. 30, 1779. To Sussex Court House NJ.
Oct 31 To Wallins Tavern
Nov. 1 To Warwick NY.
Nov. 2 Parted with the Western Army
Nov. 3 Marched to Sterling Works.
From this journal it seems the whole Western army was at Warwick NY on Nov. 1, 1779. Oct 17,1779 it was at Easton PA and Gen. George Washington visited it. Oct. 27, 1779 it crossed the Delaware River at Easton, PA.

Gen. Washington passed thro Warwick NY in 1779—The Sussex Independent of Nov. 15, 1912, gives an account of the placing of a boulder on the field near Hamburgh, NJ upon which Gen. George Washington’s troops camped for a night curing their march from Newburg NY to Morristown NJ in the year 1779. John Kays was with Gen. Washington and he stated that they came by way of Warwick NY and Vernon NJ, crossed the Mts. At Sparta, thence to Morristown NJ where they joined G.en Lafayette.

In the fall of 1780 Lady Martha Washington stayed all night here on her way from Newburgh, NY to Mount Vernon (note: documentation not yet confirmed)


July 17, 1782 Gen. George Washington and his two aides Col. Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. and Major Benjamin Walker stopped here and bought 2 shillings worth of grog.

Dec. 6, 1782 Marquis de Chastellux stayed here all night with his aides and said of Warwick:
From his “Travels in North America in the years 1780-82”. The Marquis De Chastellux was one of the 40 members of the French Academy and Major General in the French army service under Count Rochambeau.
Vol. 2, p. 302 (Dec. 6, 1782?) Traveling from West Point NY to Philadelphia Penn. Via Easton he says:
“I still kept skirting this ridge of mountains which separate this country from the Clove—
Warwick NY where I slept a pretty large place for so wild a country, is 12 miles from Chester NY and 28 miles from Newburgh NY. I lodged here in a very good stone inn, kepty by Mr. Smith, the same whose house I had slept 2 years before at Cheat, which was much interior to this (Baird’s Tavern—Sue G.). The American Army having for 2 years past had their winter quarters near West Point NY, Mr. Smith imagined with reason that this road would be more frequented than that of Paramus and he had taken the inn of Mr. Francis Baird at whose house we stopped next day for breakfast. The house had been given up to him with some furniture and he had upwards of 150 acres of land belonging to it, for the whole of which he paid Seventy pounds currency making 100 pistoles. I had every reason to be content with my old acquaintances and the new establishment.
The next morning Dec. 7, 1782 we set out before breakfast and the snow began to fall as soon as we got on horse back which did not cease till we got to Baird’s Tavern. This house was not near so good as the other, but the workmen were busy augmenting it. On enquiring of Mr. Francis Baird, who is a Scotchman (note by Tate: De Chastellux said “Irishman”; WBS said Scotsman was correct.—“Cheat” = Kakiat. Kaceat?), the reason of his quoting his good house at Warwick NY to keep this inn, he informed me that it was a settlement he was forming for his son-in-law and that as son as he had put it in order he should return to his house in Warwick NY. This Mr. Francis Baird had long lived as a merchant at New York City and even sold books, which I learnt from observing some good ones at his house, amongst others “Human Prudence”, which I purchased of him. It ceased snowing at noon and the weather moderated.”

Stories Told Over the Years

After passing through Warwick just east of what is now 1927 Forester apartments (Wawayanda House, nearly opposite intersection of Forester Ave. with Colonial Ave.—Sue G.) near where Ms. Thomas Nesbit now 1927 lives, Gen. George Washington passed an old negro who raised his hat and bowed very low, Gen. Washington returned the salute and when asked by his aides why he did so said he "would not be outdone in courtesy by an old negro slave."

During the Revolutionary War while New York City was in possession of the British communication between the Hudson & Delaware Rivers was kept thro Warwick.While Gen. George Washington with his army was lying a new Windsor in 1780, as was his custom at the close of a campaign he send his aid-de-Camp to Mount Vernon VA to escort Lady Washington to the camp. She usually traveled in a plain chariot, accompanied by postillions in White and Scarlet liveries. On her return to Mt. Vernon she passed thro Warwick Ny stopping over night in the fall of 1780 at the tavern. David Christie, then a boy living some 2 miles north of Warwick NY and who afterwards represented us in the Legislature, in after years told the story how he came to the village to get a plow share mended and learning that Lady Washington was about to proceed on her journey, stationed himself in the bushes on the bank of Longhouse Creek near where the First National Bank building stands and saw the grand equipage as it passed bearing the good Martha Washington toward Mt. Vernon.

Payday for Hathorn

John Hathorn was Warwick's leader of the militia during the Revolutionary War, and his home still stands on Hathorn Rd; information about him is available in several sources, yet he remains a sketchy figure because his personal papers were destroyed by the family sometime after his death.

However, he was a literate man and in his roles as community leader, and a New York and U.S. Congressman, he would have written many letters and papers to others. These are slowly being sought out, and this week the Warwick Historical Society was fortunate to obtain one of these manuscripts -- his request for pay for attendance at the New York Legislature in 1783, as the war was winding to a close.

The Society also owns a few of his books-- as Independance was declared and he took on his role as military leader, he purchased a British military manual, printed in 1776:


Other Hathorn manuscripts, including a scan of his report on the Battle of Minisink, and be seen on the Warwick Valley History website.

Home of Inventions

Recently I became aware that Google had made the old U. S. Patents database searcheable by keyword. One of the problems with searching for local patents is that you had to have a patent number for any of the older patents, in order to find it. I don't know how Google's going to sustain developing valuable information like this at a substantial cost and then giving it away for free, but for now, what a great tool: http://www.google.com/patents

I did a search for Warwick and her hamlets and villages, and came up with an amazing number of patents and downloaded them; one day I'll make an index to them, but in the meantime, here's a sampling:

The "most inventingist" Warwickian was James Gillespie, the owner of the Fabric Fire Hose Company, with 16 patents related to fire hoses and equipment. Here's one of them (click on the image to go to the patent page)

There are lots of practical items like:

Shutter closers by W. W. VanDuzer, no. 697297
http://www.google.com/patents?id=jrVMAAAAEBAJ&dq=697297

Knife design by R. L. Shepard, no. 943174 http://www.google.com/patents?id=tgR-AAAAEBAJ&dq=969303

A wrench by J. L. Finch, no. 378299
http://www.google.com/patents?id=_fNZAAAAEBAJ&dq=378299


And lots, lots more! The more recent patents, after 1960, tend to be very high-tech, on behalf of major corporations like Georgia Pacific, International Paper, etc. Don't go crazy trying to find them all, unless you are having fun-- I can make a CD of them on for any Warwick researcher that would like it, just leave a message for me at the library.

Archives Lost & Archives Found

Last Sunday the main house of Borderland Farm on Rt. 94 burned, with tragic results. This house was about 150 years old, and in addition to the terrible loss of a life, and a home, owner Virginia Martin has lost the archival records of her family & the historic homestead, which she had intended to share with the Historical Society. Our condolences to Virginia and the family; the community sorrows with you.

The same week we were notified that the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Veteran's Association had gotten a call from Orange County Community College. They needed to clean out an old garage, and discovered 150 boxes of archives of Warwick's Lehigh & Hudson River Railway. Years ago when the railroad office closed, the valuable archive was transferred to OCCC. It was transfered eventually to the railway museum in Strasburg, PA-- or so it was thought. Apparently only some of the records were transferred, and everyone had forgotten this huge lot of records! Many people don't realize that without the L & HRR, and the commerce, jobs, and wealth it gave rise to, Warwick as we know it would not exist.

For more on the railroad, check out Marty Feldner's web site: http://lhr.railfan.net

Over the next week or so the railroad club will rescue the records and store them temporarily, with the finacial help of the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick and the Carriage House Storage owners, Jack and Janice Hubert. There they'll be sorted and an inventory created, so that a new, secure home that is accessible to researchers can be found.

Troublesome Youth

A true sign of spring, when the weather warms up all of the teenagers climb up out of cyberspace and begin to wander around, dazed in the sunlight. This can be very annoying for those who are not teenagers any more: loud music, rude observations, and just generally disrupting anything they feel like. In days gone by, some of the worst youth offenders from New York ended up here in Warwick, at the NYS Training School for Boys-- a reform school, now the site of the Mid-Orange Correctional Facility. One of the success stories to come out of the school is that of Conrad E. Mauge' Jr., or "Frenchy" as he was nicknamed then. A few years back we helped a professor from Boston University figure out who the pseudonymous "Frenchy" really was. I've copied the article I did then below, and this photo shows him in 1951.

“Frenchy” is Found

Thanks to the teamwork of several local residents and researchers, the search for “Frenchy” of WVHS in 1950 has been successful. Boston College professor Carlo Rotella was trying to find him for a project involving the book that was written about the boy, “Out of the Burning” by Ira H. Freeman, published in 1960. A pseudonym had been used, and all trace of Frenchy’s real identity had disappeared when Ira Freeman died. Frenchy’s real name was Conrad E. Mauge′, Jr.

Joanne Cheney, librarian at Warwick High School, was able to find his name. It was also verified by several local residents who remembered him. From there his life was traced by the Local History Dept. of Albert Wisner Library.

Conrad arrived at the New York State Training School for Boys here in Warwick in 1949, after a long and hard road as leader of a Brooklyn gang before he was 14.

His arrival at Warwick brought him into a completely alien environment. He had never been in the country, and recalls that he had never had an intelligent conversation until he talked with the State School librarian one day.

Having an I.Q. of 160 and with good behavior at the school, he was sent in a test program to the regular High School with another boy, William Barron. At the public High School he was initially shunned. He says there were only two other African Americans at Warwick High at that time, and even they wouldn’t talk to him because he was from the State School. After a few weeks however, a “Polish girl with an unpronounceable name” invited him to listen to records with her friends. We don’t know who she was, but her invitation was important to his adjustment to a new life and his acceptance at the school.

He excelled in Track, which was his ticket to higher education. From there he went on to finish high school in Brooklyn at the age of 16, and attended Brooklyn College and St. John’s University. He eventually achieved a Ph D.

He ran a recovery center for AIDS and substance abuse victims on his home turf of Bedford Stuyvesant in the 1980’s, and later turned to the study of African religions, publishing several books and articles. One of his hobbies was Calypso music, part of his parents’ heritage from their native Trinidad. His song “Zombie Jamboree” was recorded by the Kingston Trio. He passed away in 1998.

The book "Out of the Burning" is written in first person from extensive interviews with Conrad, and is such a gripping tale of life in Bedford Stuyvesant in the 1940’s and Conrad’s complete change of direction that it reads like a fast paced thriller. The last quarter of the book takes place in Warwick, with vivid descriptions of what daily life was like for the boys at the reform school, and local names popping up from time to time. The Albert Wisner Library has a copy of the book available for checkout--but don’t skip ahead to the Warwick part, or you will miss the true impact of his successes.

Slavery-- A Household Word

Last February we published an article about how scarce information is about the history of minorities in Warwick. Since then some new things have come to light:

As old newspapers are scanned and made available, it becomes possible to recover some of this lost information. This image is from the Orange County Patriot, March 11, 1817. This Garret Post appears to be the same man who owned what is now the Shingle House Museum on Forester Ave.

The most significant find in the last few months is that in the collection of Florence Tate, we found a transcription she did of the old slave births and manumissions register kept by the town. It lists over 100 names of slaves and their owners, and is now posted on the Warwick Heritage Database (go to www.albertwisnerlibrary.org, click on "Local History", and then on the database button, search for "slavery"). These records were kept as a result of the act to gradually eliminate slavery passed by New York State in 1799. It specified that after a certain number of years of service, the slave had to be freed.

War in Springtime

The poet T. S. Eliot says, “April is the cruelest month”, and a generation living though a major war in springtime knows well what he is speaking of. The painful tension between hope at the rebirth of nature, and anguish for our troops and the civilians caught in the storm of battle is something that is difficult to cope with. We are not alone in that struggle. Looking back to another Civil War and the young Warwick men who fought through three springtimes far from home in the most horrific conditions possible, we find that this prior generation came to terms with its experiences.

The “Warwick Boys”, Company D of the 124th Regiment, were mostly young men in their teens and early twenties when they enlisted to fight. A history of the regiment, also known as “The Orange Blossoms”, was later written by Charles Weygant, In recent years Charles LaRocca has authored books and articles on the 124th, as well. But recently a more local view was made available to the Historical Society of Warwick by Tom and Joan Frangos-- a speech given by Capt. James W. Benedict, of Warwick, the leader of Company D. The stone home he grew up in still stands on Colonial Avenue, near the Village line.

Benedict titled his speech “Sherman’s Deffinition of War”(sic) , after the General’s famous rejoinder to a request for a short summary of his experiences: “War is Hell.” It is not written in the restrained, formal language one would expect from an official of his time, but is the impassioned cry of a man wounded in body, mind, and soul, who in later years has come to a kind of balance, if not peace, with the experiences he endured.

We offer here a few excerpts of it, and warn that even though we see graphic images of war in our homes each day, the descriptions are disturbing.

“I followed Burnside across the Rappahanock, on that Pontoon Bridge in front of Fredericksburg on that fateful afternoon of Decr. 12th 1862.

“On yonder frowning heights, the bloody heights of bloody Mayrie; a hundred and fifty black mouthed cannon are vomiting forth through their fiery throats, solid shot and shells, and great chunks of Rail Road Iron into our midst in the vain endeavor to destroy the bridge, thereby severing our Army, and capturing us in detail. From behind the chimneys on yonder housetops, scarce a stone’s throw away, three hundred and fifty Rebel sharpshooters are pouring a deadly fire of leaden hail into our ranks, and at every click of a trigger, at every puff of smoke, at every report of a musket, at every crack, crack, crack of a rifle, some poor fellow down there on the bridge would throw up his hands and with a shriek he would plunge head formost into the icy waters of the murkey Rappahanock, and as his life blood mingled with those cold, dark waters and his spirit rose in great bubbles to the surface and bursting, soared up through cloudland into the presence of Him who gave it, His body floated down the crimson colored waters of the icy Rappahanock. ‘Food for the Fishes.’ ….Burnside, are you crazy? Burnside, are you drunk? Burnside; are you a fool? If you charge those men up against those impregnable works again, the blood of 15,000 of our brave boys in blue will be upon your skirts. But Burnside says Forward, and again those now depleted ranks move forward.

“What about Getteysburg (sic)? Getteysburg, O Getteysburg; Thy hills, and thy valleys, and thy plains are enriched by the blood of nearly 24,000 loved ones. Gettysburg; O Getteysburg! I close mine eyes, What do I behold? A vision comes to me today as plain as was the reality on those awful days of carnage in July 63. Gettysburg; O Getteysburg! I see thy brooks, thy rivulets, thy rills run red with the very best Gore of the Nation.

“I prayed then, and there, that mine eyes might never gaze on such a field of slaughter and carnage again. But God in His Infinite Wisdom, deemed best not to answer that prayer, for in the Wilderness Campaign a scene met my gaze that (if possible) seemed to outdo even Getteysburg.

“On a piece of ground some 3 miles in length and a mile in width, where the contending armies fought for two long terrible days and nights, Neither side giving the other the time or opportunity to care for their wounded, or bury their dead, in places three deep. After the battle I went over a portion of that field, and I believe I could have traversed the entire length and breadth of that ground, and not touched foot to Mother Earth, Just walked on Corpses and dying men, and O, the awfulness of that battle field. Could you have been there and listened to the cries and the groans, the curses and the prayers that fell upon my ears, you would have said, Surely Sherman knows what War is. From all quarters of that battlefield came those piteous cries:

“Water, Water, For Gods sake, give me some water. Others begged of one to hand them a loaded musket that they might put an end to their suffering by their own hand. And the poor fellows died there, and the Wilderness was enriched by the Blood of 20,000 boys who wore the Blue…”

Captain Benedict in this lengthy speech gives descriptions of several of the other major battles in which he participated, and his humanity is found in every anguished sentence and misspelled word as he rushes along in the grip of memory. He concludes,

“Now, I hear someone Ask, did it pay? Yes, I answer, it paid… It struck the shackles from off 4,000,000 Slaves and made them free men and free women… What was the Cost? In money, billions of dollars…What else did it cost this Nation, the North? It cost us 400,000 lives… It made for us 200,000 Widows… It gave to us 500,000 orphans… War is Hell, and I was an Orange Blossom.”

Tate Collection Photos

Long Speech at the Meeting House

This week I've been working on some negatives from the Florence Tate Collection.

This speech on the steps of the Old School Baptist Meeting House appears to have been delivered after a parade. Everyone seems tired and bored, and you can imagine them thinking, "Is he ever going to stop??"

Judging from the other negatives in the group, this appears to be from around 1940.

Boston Tea Party Comes to Warwick

This shot shows the corner of Main St. and Colonial Ave. Baird's Tavern at center, two houses to left of the Tavern is the old Wheeler Mansion which was torn down.

The house on the right of the Tavern is the old Cowdry House, standing where the current Key Bank Parking Lot is. John Cowdry, Sr., moved to Warwick and John Jr. was born here. The family owned the Key Bank/Hoyt home at one time, and had a store just about where this house was built, but the original building was torn down after 1865. (there's a photo of it in the photo book "Days Gone By")

John Sr. as a youth helped dump tea into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party,(his obituary, from 1835, clearly documents this, see below) This shot is from around 1940.

Obituary of John Cowdrey

(as it appeared in the Southern Patriot, Feb. 04, 1835)