The News, from 1863

Apr 4, 2011 | Tin Horn

Orson Allaben was an educated, principled and influential man. A man with character. Money. And opinions. An early developer of the Village of Margaretville, he was a doctor, a businessman, and, in the 1860s, started a newspaper called The Utilitarian, “A Family Journal, Devoted to the Fireside, the Field and the Town.” The two remaining copies of the newspaper, in the collection of the Delaware County Historical Association in Delhi, show it was also useful in promoting his political philosophy. He was not a fan of Abraham Lincoln, or a supporter of the Civil War. In the issue of September 10, 1863, he put forth an “Apology” that the lengthy list of Army draftees “who have won prizes in the great National Lottery of Messrs. Lincoln, Greely & Co.” took up a page of his four-page newspaper and bumped his “Departments of Political Economy, War News and Editorials” that week. “To some, it will be interesting to learn the names of friends or relatives who have been so unlucky. To those of our patrons the list does not interest, we will pray them to excuse.”

The draft list appeared in numerous other newspapers, including the Bloomville Mirror, which Linda Ogborn transcribed for the Delaware County History and Genealogy website. There were “334 names in the wheel” for the Middletown draft, and 95 names were drawn.

Also in the Utilitarian that week, attorney DeWitt Griffin of Griffins Corners (Fleischmanns) advertised that he was ready to help secure “Bounty, Back Pay and Pensions for Soldiers”; Jonathan Keator of Clark’s Factory (Dunraven) requested the owner of a “large, light red (stray) cow, about ten years old, with a white bag” to come claim her; and David Ackerley, proprietor of the Ackerley House in Margaretville, proclaimed his establishment to be “favorably located for trout fishing in the lakes and streams of Dry Brook, Hardenburgh and Beaverkill,” and to be served by regular mail and stage lines, leaving daily for Delhi and Kingston, tri-weekly for Moresville (Grand Gorge), and twice a week for Colchester and New Kingston.”

We’ll have more from the Utilitarian from time to time.

Winter into Spring

Mar 27, 2011 | Tin Horn

As the new season struggles to overcome the old, it’s worth remembering that ‘twas ever thus. Evidence of this can be found in the diaries of James Thomson, a New Kingston farmer who kept track of his family’s activities from 1838 to 1903, a remarkable 65 years, with only a few lapses. The original diaries are in the New York State Historical Association archives in Cooperstown, but George Hendricks photocopied some of the transcribed diaries, and has shared them with HSM.

Here are some entries from late winter, 1839:

March 9, Saturday.
I drawed some wood. Father, Andrew and John (James’ brothers) have made some Sap troughs (in the days before wooden buckets were commonly made by coopers to catch sap from the maples, farmers would make collection troughs of poplar or ash.)

March 10. Sabbath.
It froze very hard last night and was very cold through the day.

March 12.
Was a fine warm day. We have been getting out flax and Andrew has made a sap neck yoke.

March 18.
Has been warm with some rain, we have split rails. We have been up to the sugar Camp with troughs. 

March 20.
Cloudy with sleet and rain. John and father have been cutting wood at the camp.

March 23.
Was a cool day, we built a arch (stone fireplace) for the sap boilers. The sap ran very fast in the afternoon.

March 25.
The ground was white with snow and it did not melt all day. We have been drawing wood with both teames.

March 26.
A fine day, but cool. We cleaned flax in the forenoon, and in the afternoon we tap(p)ed (maple trees)

March 27,
Clear and warm, we tap(p)ed the rest of the Camp and boiled considerabel of Sap.

 

March 28.
Very warm, I made some Sap troughs and tap(p)ed 16 more trees and built some wall.

March 29 I have been building wall. John has been boiling sap.

March 30
Clear and frosty

April,
the first Month of Spring

April 1
Monday was a very warm day. We have got 125 pails of Sap.

April 2.
We carried 54 pails of Sap in the morning.

April 4.
Very warm and clear. We got 30 pails of Sap. Father has been to the mill and Andrew and me have been drawing stones. 

April 5.
The snow is I believe all in view gone. I have put off my woolen shirt and my fingers are very sore with handling stones.

April 7.
Very warm in the morning, it rained a little and the wind changed to the north and became cold.

April 8.
Cold in the morning, but the sun shone pleasant. I have begun to plow.

Because it was difficult to store maple syrup, farm families boiled it past the syrup stage, into sugar. James does not mention how much maple sugar was made in 1839, but the following year, on March 4, he wrote “Very warm all day. They sugared off 33 pounds of sugar.”

Genealogy Lunch April 2

Mar 25, 2011 | news archive

HSM hosts second Genealogy Lunch

The Historical Society of the Town of Middletown, Delaware County, will host the second in a three-part series of Genealogy Lunches Saturday, April 2 at Fairview Public Library, 43 Walnut St., Margaretville.

The event will begin at 11 a.m. in the library’s Community Room (the former garage). Participants are encouraged to bring a lunch. Beverage and dessert will be provided. Donations to cover the cost of refreshments will be welcomed.

Jean Ackerley, Karen McMurray and Barbara Moses will team up for this genealogy workshop. They will share information about members of the Archibald, Mead and other families.

 

If you have information, photographs, documents or genealogical research sources to share with the gathering, please bring them!

The next Genealogy Lunch will be Saturday, April 16, when Bill and Ann Sanford and Gene Rosa will share information on Sanfords, Rosas, Vermilyeas, Longs, Misners, Todds and other families.

The entire 2011 HSM schedule of events can be viewed at www.mtownhistory.org, where information on the Society’s projects, and features on special topics, can also be found.

Friends of Cemeteries to meet March 19

Mar 10, 2011 | news archive

Friends of Middletown Cemeteries will hold its annual spring planning meeting Saturday, March 19 at 10 a.m. at Fairview Public Library’s Community Room, 43 Walnut St., Margaretville.

This informal group of cemetery lovers will discuss projects that might be accomplished over the coming year in the Town of Middletown and contiguous areas. They include completion of the Arkville Cemetery restoration, inventorying headstones at the Margaretville Annex Cemetery, creation of a cemetery driving tour, development of signage and other projects. There are volunteer jobs for every interest and ability!

Everyone is welcome to bring project ideas and information on cemeteries that need our attention.

Can’t come but want to help? Call 586-4973.