South of the Mon iitainS

published by The Historical Society of Rockland County 20 Zukor Road, New City, 10956

Vol. 26, No. 3 July-September 1982

— courtesy Kennedy Galleries, N. Y.C.

HOPPER FAMILY HISTORY HISTORY OF 76 HOUSE AN INDIAN LEGEND EDWARD HOPPER: HIS ROCKLAND HERITAGE AND LEGACY

— by Arthayer R. Sanborn

Edward Hopper was born 100 years ago, on July 22, in the small white house that still bears his name on Nyack’s North Broadway. The house, in which he spent his boyhood, was built by his maternal grandparents, John DeWint Smith and Elizabeth Griffiths Smith. When in 1879 their daughter, Elizabeth, married Garret Hopper, the young couple took over and for more than a century, their home has been the Hopper house. In the early 1970’s, the house narrowly escaped extinction. After the last Hopper had died, it became a dilapidated, boarded-up relic, still filled with Hopper memorabilia but an almost certain candidate for demolition. Then a small, determined local group, aware of Hopper’s worldwide fame and of the local and historic influences which had helped to shape it, went into action. Spear­ headed by Jeffrey Arnold, the group included Winston Perry Jr., Robert Kassel, Stephen Leernan. Sterling Norris, William and Dorothea Hope, John Cant. Ruth Diebold, Alan Gussow, Susan Reed, John Moment and Robert Miniciello. They raised the funds to stave off demolition. They did the hard, gruelling hands-and- knees work necessary to restore and preserve the house. By May 1971 they had established the Hopper Landmark Preservation Foun­ dation which the following month was incorporated under the New York State Board of Regents. Soon programs and exhibitions, featuring local artists present and past, brought visitors from all over the metropolitan region to the house — tens of thousands in the last decade. Hopper House is not only a loving memorial to a great artist, but a vibrant symbol of local recognition and commitment to preservation of cultural values. John DeW'int Smith, Edward Hopper’s maternal grandfather, may be called the founder of Hopper House. He selected the site and built the house in 1858. The plot, part of the land of Simon Sickels, was owned at the time by Richard Decantillon and Richard R. Eells. The land cost $1100 and the house $1593. Mr. Smith came from the family who had owned the DeWint House in Tappan. Johannes DeWint, born April 12, 1716, on the Danish Island of St. Thomas, was a wealthy sugar plantation owner. At the age of 30, he bought the DeClark House, built in 1700 by Daniel DeClark, one of the original Tappan patentees. This house, the oldest in Rockland County, sometimes served as headquarters for General Washington. It is a historic landmark but it had been owned through the years by some of Hopper’s relatives. The last of the family to occupy it was Thomas Blanch Smith, John DeWint Smith’s son by his first wife, Eleanor Cornelison Blauvelt. Born in 1835, Thomas exhibited a talent

COV ER PICTURE: This is a photo of one of Edward Hopper's earliest drawings, sketched when nine years of age on the back of his report card for Oct. 23, 1891. 1982 The Historical Society of Rockland County Editor: Mariruth Campbell Chairman of Publications: John Scott Editorial Assistant: Marianne Leese Printed by PRINT SPRINT

2 for and studied art until 1851. Then, turning to medicine, he was graduated from and became a local doctor, living many years in Nyack. The roots of the family had been nurtured centuries earlier — when in the year 1625 Francois LeSueur was born in Challe Mesnil, France, and Andries Hoppen in Amsterdam, Holland. Francois’ family had been well established as cloth makers in Rouen. He and his sister came to Manhattan in 1657. On July 12, 1659, in the Dutch Church in New Amsterdam he married Jannetie Hildebrand. They first lived in Flatbush; in 1661 they moved to Harlem; early in 1663, they moved to Esopus near Kingston. Francois wras a civil engineer. His brother, Eustace, an artist, was a member of the French Academy in 1648 and his paint­ ings hang in The Louvre, as well as in many other museums. Nicholas LeSueur, son of Francois, married twice and had seventeen children. Eventually he moved the family from the Kingston area to Hackensack, N.J., and the name was changed to Lozier. There were many Loziers in the Schraalen- burgh Dutch Reformed Church. Nicholas’ great-grandson, Millebrant, married Elizabeth Campbell on December 15, 1785, in the Tappan Dutch Reformed Church. They had at least seven children. Jacob was an artist whose drawings, dating back to 1830, have been preserved; James was a lawyer in New York; Elizabeth married Joseph W. Griffiths and they became Edward Hopper's maternal grandparents. Mr. Griffiths, born in Ombersly, England, in 1782, emigrated to New York when in his twenties and first worked in a brass foundry on Division Street. Although raised in the Anglican Church, he and his wife, Elizabeth, joined the Mulberry Street Baptist Church. In 1810, with Charles G. Somers, he started the first volunteer Sunday school in this country —at 88 Division Street, New

The Edward Hopper Landmark Preservation Foundation, 82 North Broadway. Nyack.

3 York. The following year he was called to the ministry of the Newtown, Long Island Baptist Church. In 1813, the Griffiths moved to Rockland County, where as an elder, Mr. Griffiths was instrumental in planting the seeds of the Baptist faith. He was pastor of the Middletown (now Pearl River) Church from 1815 until he retired in 1853. He owned a house and some acres on Orangeburg Road and property in . He worked with the Piermont Baptist Church and was the prime mover in getting 13 people together in 1854 to start the First Baptist Church of Nyack. While never serving there as pastor, he did preach in the Nyack church and was always considered the founder. In 1858, the year the Hopper House was erected, he helped raise the $3,000 to build its first church building a few blocks up the street. The Hoppers were active members of the Nyack Baptist Church, which did have an indirect influence on Edward’s career. Marion Hopper, Edward’s sister, once told an interviewer the first drawing Edward ever did was at the age of five when he came home from church on a Sunday and illustrated part of the minister’s sermon. Later, Mrs. E. M. Saunier, wife of a minister of the Nyack Baptist Church, contacted the American Baptist Mission Church in Paris to assist Edward in finding a room where he lived while he was in Paris. Mr. Griffiths married his daughter, Martha, to John DeWint Smith on May 13, 1852. They went to live in the old Blauvelt house inherited by Aefie Blauvelt Smith from her father. This house, on Blauvelt Road, Blauvelt, was built in 1741 and is pictured in Pre-Revolutionary Houses by R. F. Bailey. Here Edward Hopper’s mother Elizabeth Griffiths Smith, was born April 3, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Griffiths both died in 1860. He left a $20,000 estate, including the farm in Orangeburg and property in New York City. This was divided among his five living children, including Elizabeth. The Hopper family came from Amsterdam, Holland. Its history dates to ancient times, when the name was spelled Hoppe and Hoppen. Jan Claesz Hoppen was schepen of Amsterdam in 1469, councillor of the city in 1483, and burgomaster in 1490. His grandson, Jan, was councillor in 1549 and burgomaster the same year. In one of the windows in the old church in Amsterdam is written: “This church pane has been presented to the church by Jan Claesz van Hoppen, who has been Burgomaster, Schepen and Councillor of the City”. Andries Hoppen, who was born in Amsterdam in 1625. with his wife Geertje emigrated to the New World in 1652. Andries became a general trader and freighter with headquarters in New Amsterdam. He traded in brick, stone, dry goods, shoes, earthen ware and tobacco. With his sloop he went up the North River to Fort Orange and made trips to the Dutch settlement in New England. Because he owned considerable real estate in New Amsterdam, he often mort­ gaged some of his property so he could make purchases. In 1655 he bought a plot of land from Pieter van den Linden on the north side of Bridge Street between Whitehall and Broad, which he used as a warehouse. He also owned a house and lot on the east side of Broadway north of Beaver Street. When Andries died at the age of 33, his widow and five children moved to Hackensack, N.J., where in 1660 she remarried. Andries’ son, Hendrick, who had been baptized in the New York Dutch Church became in 1694 a member of the Hackensack Church. The previous year he had bought a 300-acre farm lying east of Saddle River. Edward Hopper is descended from Hendrick. Hohokus was earlier known as Hoppertown.

4 »*■ a

HOPPER FAMILY ALBUM 1st row (1. to r.) Joseph W. Griffiths, Elizabeth Griffiths, John DeWint Smith, Martha Griffiths Smith 2nd row (1. to r.) Christian Hopper, Charity Hopper, Garrett Henry Hopper, Elizabeth Griffiths Hopper 3rd row (1. to r.) Edward Hopper, Edward and Marion Hopper, Marion Hopper

The fourth generation of Hoppens in America changed the “n” to “r” to make for easier pronunciation. Edward Hopper’s grandfather, Christian, was born in 1826 in Patterson, N.Y. His taste in art ran to calligraphy, some examples of which have survived. On April 17, 1851, he married Charity Blauvelt and to this union, Garret Henry Hopper was born May 25, 1852. Following the untimely death of Christian in 1854, Charity and her two-year old son lived with her father in New York City. Garret Hopper married Elizabeth Griffiths Smith in 1879 at a ceremony at the Smiths' home on North Broadway, Nyack. In 1880, a daughter, Marion, was born to them and two years later Edward was born. Garret followed the family tradition in business by operating a dry goods store on South Broadway, Nyack. He shared with his family some of the interest in art, music and literature which he had inherited from his forebears. From time to time his mother, Charity, stayed in the household, adding her own love of culture and art. Garret died in 1913 and his mother in 1920.

5 Edward Hopper was born into a family steeped in culture and the arts. His mother did drawings at the age of eight. Many of them have been preserved. His great-grandmother’s brother, Jacob Lozier, left some of his works to be passed down through the family. And when Edward began to draw, his family gave him enthusiastic encouragement. As he walked through the boat yards, wandered along the Hudson or rode his bicycle throughout the county, his eyes were gazing on scenes which would be imprinted indelibly on his mind. Through the years these scenes found their way into some of his paintings. Ralph Bedell, one of his boyhood pals who remained a lifelong friend, kept some of the drawings Edward dashed off on old pieces of paper in the attic of his North Broadway house. The boys would climb the ladder and, after a day at school, spend their time drawing. This attic was Edward’s first studio. His youthful years in Rockland have been preserved in some of his early drawings. He did pen-and-ink sketches of his father, mother and sister. Many drawings were done the year following his 1899 graduation from Nyack High School. At the age of 18 he drew such scenes as Shore at Upper Nyack, Deserted House on the Mountain, Old Saw Mill at Clarkstown, Creek at Hogencamps, Culvert at Orangetown, Old Church on New City Road, Church in Nyack, View of Hudson River from Franklin Street. He did several self-portraits, which have been preserved. In 1900 Edward went on a camping trip to Camp Greenwood, Greenwood Lake. He did a sketch of the camp and also sent a drawing in a letter to his parents. Among the works in the enormous bequest left by Hopper’s widow to the Whitney Museum were hundreds of drawings done in Nyack. Included also are many of the drawings and paintings he did as a student just after the turn of the century. One of these is Artist's Studio, a lovely oil of his attic studio

6 Edward Hopper (seated at r.) with friends, including the Rev. Mr. E. A. Saunier of the first Baptist Church, Nyack. showing his homemade easel holding the oil painting of the Old Ice Pond at Nyack, his palette, paint box and other treasures. Another is Artist’s Bedroom, revealing a self-portrait on the wall. After his student days Hopper did not return to paint many Rockland County scenes, but in some of his most famous paintings he included many bits and pieces of buildings in the area and parts of the Hopper house —a fireplace, windows, gas fixtures, furniture, the stairway. Pretty Penny, the home of Helen Hayes and Charles MacArthur, is the only Nyack house which he painted in his mature years. It was his only commissioned work. Following graduation from Nyack High School, Hopper went to the School of Illustration in New York for a year. Then he entered the New York School of Art, where he studied for five years. During this time he taught some courses at the New York School and conducted Saturday art classes in the Nyack house. While commuting to the city by train he did many drawings. Some of these, too, were preserved by the family. When, in 1906 he wanted to go to Paris to continue his painting and to be exposed to the old masters and the art of his day, he quickly won the encourage­ ment of his parents. His father gave him the money for the trip and his mother, hoping he might accomplish what she had once dreamed of doing, gave him her artistic support. Three trips to Paris enabled him to mature in his work and to become aware of what he really wanted to do with his talent. Unswervingly he continued to draw and paint those things which interested him. although he dabbled in some of the fads, he always came back to the common things amongst which he had grown up —to those simple realisms which kept his interest throughout his life. In 1907 he took time out from his painting in Paris to visit 7 London and Amsterdam. In both cities he visited the museums and the places from which his forebears had emigrated. On July 27, 1907 he wrote his father: “I was in Holland for only four or five days and saw Haarlem and Amsterdam. The Night Watch of Rembrandt in the Museum at Amsterdam is the most wonderful thing of his I have seen. It is past belief in its reality —it almost amounts to deception...” Throughout his life Rembrandt and Hals were among his favorite artists. When Hopper returned from his last trip to Paris in 1910, he moved to New York where he had a room on East 59th Street. He spent little time in Nyack thereafter, although he retained ownership of the Hopper house and of the two houses behind it on Marion Street. His sister, Marion, lived in the Hopper house until her death in 1965 and Edward came annually for a short visit. Marion adored her brother and wanted everyone to know of his reputation so she preserved family relics and memorabilia. At the age of 42 Hopper had his first one-man show at the Rehn Gallery, New York. That same year he married Josephine Nivison, an artist, who had been born in New York. It is highly possible Edward met Jo through a Nyack friend, Edith Bell, a classmate of Jo’s at the New York School of Art. Throughout 42 years together, Jo devoted herself to making it possible for Edward to paint as he wanted. They lived at 3 Washington Square North in Greenwich Village in a stark apartment, 74 steps up from the street. This apartment, which Hopper first rented in 1913, had a skylight through which sunlight came to make possible the paintings which hang in the museums and private collections and which brought him international attention. Hopper was awarded many honors, including a Doctor of Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Chicago and a Doctor of Letters from Rutgers University. When he died in 1967 his funeral was held at the top of the rise in Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack, with only a handful of people to see the sunlight of May sparkle on the river which had beckoned him as a young boy. Surrounded by whispering pines similar to those he had put in some of his pictures, this 83-year old giant of a man was given the peace and quiet of one who had walked the road of fame with humble spirit. Edward Hopper left the world vivid impressions of life in this Hudson River Valley. His houses on canvas depict not only an era, but the spirit of those who made and kept the history of another time. These are the legacies of an artist whose family dates to the early years of this land. As through the years people recount the rare artistry of Edward Hopper, they will know the roots of his past nourished him with a talent which he utilized to the fullest and through which he left the world a rich and lasting heritage. DO YOU REMEMBER EDWARD HOPPER? On Sunday, Sept. 12, the His­ torical Society of Rockland County and the Edward Hopper Landmark Preser­ vation Foundation will at the New City History Center observe I Remember Edward Hopper Day. The program, with Alan Gussow as chairman, is designed to illuminate through personal recollections the many facets of Hopper's life. If you remember Edward Hopper or the Hopper family, contact the History Center director Ralph Sessions for working out details for personally presented, tape-recorded or written material. 8 Photos from Arthayer R. Sanborn collection. Midshipman Captain Walter Nobles of Bardonia was introduced to the member­ ship at the society's first double-header program by past president Robert P. Lewis, Jr., May 16 at a reception following the presentation of James Kralik's “Gettysburg —You Are There". Captain Nobles, son of Walter and Addie Nobles, ranked first in the 1982 graduating class at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis. Among those attending the reception were Captain Valvin Sinclair of the Annapolis class of 1922; Alan Cann, coach of the 1976 county champion­ ship football team on which Nobles served as co-captain; Dr. James B. Parsons, pastor of the Nyack Reformed Church; Arlene W. Clinkscale, superintendent of the Nyack School System; Paul Lankau. Other Sunday afternoon programs included a lecture on antiques by Ruth Brandrup; The Tappan Zee Bridge by R. Donnaruna, assistant superintendent of maintenance for the NYS Thruway Authority with Jerome Shostak's presenting the U.S. Steel Corporation's film of the erection work; The Palisades Interstate Park and the National Parks Systems by Nash Castro, general manager, PIPC. —photo by Paul Eisdorfer y In centerfold: WEST NYACK S MEMORIAL DAY MARKERS DEDICATION AND PARADE PROGRAM was coordinated by the West Nyack Rotary Club and the Historical Society of Rockland County. Sponsors were the Nanuet Bank, the Bank of New York, Dr. and Mrs. Louis Korngold (Colonial Clarkstown ^ marker), the West Nyack Rotary Club (Clarksville marker), West Nyack American Legion Post 1519 (Clarksville Inn marker). Memorial wreathes were placed at the Clarkstown Reformed Church veterans' memorial by the Legion and at the West Nyack Firehouse by the fire company. 9 (above) Old Nyack Turnpike marchers head west to Clarksville Corners; F. (below) at Clarksville marker — Alfred (Jay) Merian of Col. Francis Barber's Gordon Coyle, co-chairman, dedicated the Clarksville Inn marker with (1. to r.) Light Infantry, Continental Line Detached: Anne Jameson, guide; Geraldine the Rt. Rev. Msgr. C. W. Rader of St. Francis of Assisi Church; William E.X Ward, guide; Mitchell Kant of the DeNoyelles Rifles. 95th Infantry. Army of the Vines, co-chairman; the Rev. Mr. W. G. Martens of the Clarkstown Reformed Potomac; at Clarksville Inn, Mr. Merian and Mr. Kant are joined by Thomas Church; the Rev. Mr. D. A. Polifrone of the Church of Religious Science: Isabelle F.X. Casey, county historian; West Nyack Legionnaires Donald Clearwater, K. Saveli, senior historian, who dedicated the Clarksville marker: Stephen John Ryan. Peter Carney: at Colonial Clarkstown. flanking the marker are Mrs. Leeman; State Senator Linda Winikow. Korngold. Dr. Korngold, the Korngold children and Mr. Polifrone. 10 11 QUERIES FOR READERS • Lewis E. Buckley of Knoxville, TN, is searching for records of a Spencer Abbott, born in Rockland County Aug. 26, 1846. Later his family moved to Illi­ nois. • Mrs. John Curry of Richmond, CA, is doing research on the Blanchard families. She hopes to hear from where Anthony and Tamer Blanchard came, where he might have served in the Revolution, the names of their children. • Mrs. Austin W. Gowan of Wilmington seeks the given name of the Judge Cooper from whom an ancestor (Garret Thew) obtained a copy of his birth (Oct. 10, 1758). She seeks also the death date of Alche Cuyper (Kuyper, Cooper), whose last child was born in 1763; Alche was the wife of John Thew, who remarried (Elizabeth Blauvelt) in 1769. And how about information on the parents of Cathatina Van der Werven, mother of Theodorus Polhemus, son of the Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemus?

CORRECTION: A note from Agnes Sickels Smith, whose gift of Revolutionary War swords, pistol and powder horn was listed under recent accessions, gently chides us for stating incorrectly the rank of their original owner. This to straighten the record— "William Sickels was Second Lieutenant in Northern Orangetown Company in 1775 under Capt. Isaac Smith. In May Smith retired and Sickels was commissioned Captain of the company. By 1780 Sickels had retired and John Hogencamp was Captain.

Stephanie Gordone (shown at left) demonstrated the art of embroidering in miniature and Marti Tetler the tech­ niques of pierced lampshade making at the spring open house May 23rd. Other demonstrators included the beekeeper A. W. Rittershausen. the metal and wood worker James R. Vandenberg. the weav­ er Marti Steve, the blacksmith Ernie Ross and the puppeteer Paul Peabody. Marianne Leese talked on growing and using herbs: Ginny McCarthy prepared colonial foods and Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hurley costumed members of a troop of the Brigade of the American Revolu­ tion cooked over an open campfire.

Other participants were Clarkstown Historian Allan B. Heinsohn. who dedi­ cated the Colonial Clarkstown marker: the Historical Society president William F. Eberle: members of the West Nyack Legion post, the West Nyack Fire Company, the Historical Society's guides and the West Nyack Free Library. Serving with Mr. Vines and Mr. Coyle on the program committee were the His­ torical Society director Ralph Sessions, the historian John Scott and the parade chairman Joseph W. Sorce. 12 ANDRE'S PRISON-THE 76 HOUSE A HISTORY (Part Three) — by Howard I. Durie The cellar excavation is about 19 and a half feet in depth by about 47 and a half feet in length and still has a dirt floor. This part of the house and the second floor were not included under the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934. It was then noted on the main floor plan that those areas were “inaccessible,” although it was determined that the height between the cellar floor and the first floor measured seven feet, nine inches. A study of the basement in particular would have substantiated the original depth of the house, of which the surviving west foundation wall is proof. In addition, photographs of the south side of the build­ ing, taken in the first part of the 20th century when the wall was not hidden by ivy, definitely show were where the original wall ended. The original hewn floor beams surviving in the cellar measure 10 by 11 and a half inches with sawn beams three by 12 inches added between. The sandstone fireplace supports survive at each end. Although not of corresponding size, they are both set approximately the same distance from the front wall. The one on the south measures six feet, three inches wide with an opening of three feet, three inches, and is topped with a brick arch. The one on the north, because of its size, confirms the fact it supported a correspondingly large kitchen fireplace with bake oven on the main floor. It measures eight feet, nine inches wide with an opening of five feet, six inches, also topped with a brick arch. The depth of this support is nearly four feet and gives a good idea of the substantial size of the fireplace it originally supported. At some later time the right portion was strengthened by the addition of stone laid up within the arch and doubling the width on that side. Another interesting feature of the basement, partially surviving, are the two cellar entrances spaced under the two outer front windows. These entrances were only a couple of steps down from the ground level in front. Both were topped with an arch of brick. The one to the south can be seen above the floor of the present porch. The north arch was not restored to that extent and the opening in the cellar has been closed. For many years after the house was built no porch extended across the front, only a Dutch “stoep” by the door. The resulting open facade from ground level to roof line then gave the house a more imposing height. The later porch and raised road level changed this considerably. Whereas the DeWint house has a facade of brick and a rough mixture of stone on the other walls, the four walls of the Mabie house were built of sandstone, the sides and rear being of unfinished quality. More finished stone was used on the facade with some narrow courses which may have been typical of that period. The walls are carried to a point three feet, seven and a half inches above the second floor level. This resulted in a shelf of that height at each end of the bed­ rooms. There are no prominent quoins at the front corners as found in later houses. The front door and windows, however, are accented with decorative brick lintels and side borders, called "brick quoins,” thought to be original. The present window sills are restorations. The two original downstairs rooms were commodious in size —each about nineteen and a half feet in depth and over eighteen feet long, div ided by a center 13 hall nearly ten feet wide. These rooms had two windows to the front and one to the left of the fireplace at each end. The parlor also had a window to the west which was later changed into a door when the house was enlarged. Another window was later added to the right of the fireplace. There were outside doors leading from the rear hall as well as the kitchen, both of which have survived. The staircase on the north rear wall of the hall leads to the second floor where there were two smaller rooms of corresponding size. The stairs are enclosed four steps from the floor by a batten-type door on which the old hinges and latch survive. This was probably an original feature and prevented the heat from escaping in winter. This door is similar to the one between the hall and the south room and probably matched others in use at that time. The upper hall, however, surrounds the stair well with a railing on three sides in order for the bedroom doors to be placed for their maximum height. The bedrooms had two windows at dach end. In those days beds were not an item of furniture confined only to bed­ rooms. Quite often a bed was placed in a corner of the kitchen and/or parlor, as a necessity, and where some warmth was derived from fireplaces during the winter. Understanding this custom is the answer to the question how people with large families existed in a minimum of space. Bedsteads were then among the most expensive and valued items of household furnishings, usually having carved posters, a canopy, and fancy curtains which were kept closed at night. They were a reflection of a family s prosperity. The ceiling beams in the original kitchen (north room), range in size from seven and a half inches to eight by eleven inches, and are finished. Those in the west portion, now called the “Andre Room", are uncovered, but those in the remaining area have been encased with wood and stained. Quarter-round molding was then added at the corners and where the casing joins the old boards of the upper floor. The beams in the parlor (south room), have been covered with a plaster ceiling. The flooring in the south part of the house has been replaced. That in the north room, however, is original. Some larger boards measure 15 and 17 inches in width and can be seen in the present "Andre Room.” The original kitchen fireplace was removed when the house was enlarged. The smaller fireplace then installed apparently survived into the 20th century, but was also replaced by the present modern one. The fireplace in the south room is largely original and the proportions match the size of the support in the base­ ment. It has side cupboards with paneled doors. The mantel, however, has been replaced. Like the fireplace in the DeWint parlor, this one also was faced with a border of Dutch tiles, some of which survived to the 19th centory. The design and number are not recorded, hut there was at least one row across the top and down the sides. Fireplace tiles were usually five inches square and portrayed Biblical and other figures and scenes in Delft blue. Those in the DeWint house were described as being "a monument of luxury." The Mabie house was, for its time and location in a country village, a "town" residence of quality and substantial proportions. The next chronological source affecting our history is the recording of town residents in "A List of possessions held under New York which fall south of the northwesterly line began on Hudson’s River 89 chains and 60 links south of the old house of Madam Corbets", made in 1769 as part of the involved proceedings during the settlement of the boundary line between the Provinces of New York and New Jersey.2'1 The particular record of the "Orangetown Patent" began at a 14 certain point in the center of Tappantown and continued southerly along present Main Street and into New Jersey along Tappan Road. The “Possessions” then in the town area were: 1. The Court House 8. Myndert Garrebrants 2. The Parsonage House 9. Fredereck Marselius (Rev.) 3. John Haring 10. Hanry Carmer 4. Garret Keaton 11. John Dewint 5. Thomas Outwater 12. Fredericus Blauvelt 6. Jost Mabee 13. Cornelius Myer 7. Casparus Mabee 14. John Ryckman The list took in properties on both sides of Main Street, but the occupants were not all landowners. Garret Keaton’s wife was a member of the Meyer family, and Myndert Garrebrants the father-in-law of Jost Mabie, with whom he may have lived. The Rev. Mr. Muzelius is reported to have occupied as tenant until his death in 1784, a house on the east side of the road. Henry Carmer was father-in-law of John DeWint with whom he probably lived and where he died in 1771. Fredericus Blauvelt was DeWint’s son-in-law and may have lived in the same household. John Haring is also reported to have had a house on the east side of Main Street, so the list represents both owners and occupants. Following the above evidence is another undocumented period of time which runs to 1776. An account of what then took place has to be largely supposition — a conjectural history with as factual a slant as possible. During this time, the hous£ was enlarged with some rearrangement of its former rooms. Coming at such an early period some clues of the rebuilding are apparent, but many details have been lost in later changes. 24 Boundary Papers, Budke Collection, Vol. 29 —to be continued MURDER ON THE MUHEAKANTUCK — by Julian Harris Salomon Accounts of events which took place in the before the days of written history seldom have come down to us. So it is remarkable that we should have the story of one of the many robberies and murders near the banks of the Hudson (and of which “the Brinks” just happens to be the latest example). Anyway, if there were others which occurred ear­ lier than this one, it is not likely we will ever hear of them. Then again, while the more spectacular events of this kind fill the newspapers for a while after they happen, they tend to be forgotten unless some artist or author creates what becomes an oc­ casional reminder. For instance, how many would remember that other big bank robbery in Nanuet if Maxwell Anderson had not made it a part of his play, High Tor? There was still another long-remembered robbery —many years before the Hudson was known by that name and while it was still known as the Muhhea- kantuck, which means “the river of the Mahicans.” They and their relatives, the local Munsee were the people who lived on and near its banks. The way in which that story of murder came down to us is almost as interesting as the story itself. It had been kept alive from generation to generation by being told at many camp and lodge fires in a language which almost became extinct at the death of the last teller. That it was first printed was due to the work of a remarkable man, one of our onetime neighbors, who had a home in the Jersey Ramapos. His name was John Dyneley Prince and he was a professor of Eastern European Languages at Co­ lumbia. He was greatly interested in his Ramapo mountaineer neighbors and it didn't take him long to find out the jargon the older ones were speaking was a mixture of Dutch, English and the Munsee of their ancestors. Back in the early 1900’s Dr. Prince received from one of his former students a text written in the nearly extinct Mahican language. It had been obtained from a very old man who lived near Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. Awayanamough, a young Mahican mother, was hulling and washing corn in the clear water of a spring that flowed from the rocks at the end of a laurel and brush-covered ravine not far back from the bank of the very wide river. She had been amused by the boldness of a red bird who would, now and then, swoop in and be off with a piece of crushed kernel. As she looked up to follow his flight 16 she caught a glimpse of movement on the river. She dropped flat. From around a bend a dugout with four paddlers came out for a moment from a bay otherwise hidden from her view. Before it turned back she had a good look at the faces of the men and what she saw was cause for great alarm. For all were painted the same, one side red, the other black, so she knew they were Suka Timmeu (Black Wolves), a robber band that had terrorized the villages. She did not stir for a long time and when she did she moved from bush to bush slowly up and around the slope until she was under the great overhanging rock that faced the west and could not be seen from the river. There she found the smouldering fire and peacefully sleeping in his carrier hung from a bough, her little papoose. A few days before, she and her husband Ayro with his two friends, Kackeros and Tomakagh, has left their village back on the creek, taken the long trail over the ridges and come down to the hunting camp near the Muhheakuntuck, a camp they had used many times before. It was winter and their supply of meat had begun to run low. This was an ideal time to set snares, for the light snow revealed the heaviest game runs. So far they had had very good luck. On a high rack in the rear of the shelter were a small deer, six rabbits, two raccoons, a fox, a large turkey, several mallards and partridges. They were close to the limit of what they could carry home. It was nearly dark when the hunters, who had had another good day, returned to the camp. Before they could put down their bur­ dens Awayanamough told her story. Like her they were greatly alarmed. Ayro was sure they would be attacked that very night. He told his wife to take the baby and find a hiding place. In the dark she could not go far but she remembered a small open space made by the fall of a great tulip poplar. The tree was a long wooden cavern into which she crawled pushing the cradle board ahead of her until near the end she came upon a nest of field mice that scattered in every direction. Having been well fed the little papoose slept through all this. At the camp Ayro damped the fire. Then he and the others climbed the slope above the great rock and took a position behind a log. Having no weapons but their hunting bows and arrows they gathered what rocks they could feel and find in the dark. A fine snow fell as they waited for their enemies to come. For a long time the only sound was the occasional hoot-hoot-to-hoo of an owl and the high pitched sassy yapping of a red fox. Then from far off came the long mournful howl of a wolf. Much later there were closer wolf calls and barks like ones coming from a pack which has found a new trail. Again a long silence. Then very close, a long yapping wolf howl. Ayro grabbed Kackeros’ arm. “That wolf! that wolf!” he whispered. “He sang wolf moon song when no moon be in sky." The robbers were upon them. Hunting bows and rocks were no match for ball- head tomahawks, shields and slat-armor. Yet Ayro’s first arrow struck squarely his assailant, whose arms flew wide as he went down. The fight was short, furious and terrible. In her hiding place Awayanamough heard a robber scream, “Ayro you dog, you have bitten my thumb!” All at once the clash and noise of combat died out. Outside her hiding place there were voices. “Certainly we saw a woman. She cannot be far off. Perhaps she is in that hollow log." One of them used a long stick as a probe. It was not long enough and he, being battle weary and in haste to be off, said, “She is not in there.” Taking their plunder and the scalps of their three victims, they moved on. Not once through the night did the woman or her child make a sound. 17 When dawn came she crawled out and fed the child. Taking a short route over the ridges she and Ayro had followed the year before, she came quickly to her home village. Then she and her relatives went direct to the lodge of the sakima and told how her husband and kinsmen had been robbed and killed by the Black Wolves. The old chief said, “This is the end. These depredations must stop.” He sent out messengers, each carrying a string of wampum to proclaim his authority, commanding every man of every band assemble on the council grounds that very afternoon. He also called on the women to prepare much food. Still another message bade the Ee-lee-wah (the society of war leaders) to assemble. These he told to arm themselves and to hide inside his lodge at the edge of the council ground. There too, he bade Awayanamough to conceal herself. By mid-afternoon all the men had arrived and taken their proper places in the council ring. “Eat well,” the sakima urged, “for we have gathered to deal with business of gravest import.” When the sakima had satisfied himself all had had their fill he rose and strode toward the central fire. Standing tall in his warm robe of turkey feathers he looked like some great and fierce mythical bird. He raised his arm to command silence. He threw a bit of tobacco on the fire and raked out a coal from which he lit his pipe. Puffs of smoke were blown to the sky, to the earth and to the four directions. Then he told of all the crimes members of the tribe had suffered in the past few months and how. only the night before, another robbery and murder had taken place. Suddenly, crossing the ring, he stopped at a point where a row of young men were sitting. He addressed their leader and asked, “What is the matter with your right hand?” The startled warrior shouted, “What? I was trapping and a beaver bit me.” Then Awayanamough rushed out and yelled, “You liar, my husband bit you!” Someone let out a war whoop. The hidden war chiefs used their tomahawks and clubs and scalped the robber band. The old sakima raised his arm again and called to the chief of the clan from which the robbers had come. "Go and bury your men. My men I cannot bury. The wolves have eaten them and scat­ tered their bones.”

"High Tor" by Maxwell Anderson Washington: Anderson House, 1937 "A 'Talc in the Hudson River Indian Language" by John Dyneley Prince. American Anthropologist. Vol. 7, No. 1 Jan-Mar. 1905 "An Ancient New Jersey Indian Jargon" by John Dyneley Prince. American Anthropologist, Vol. 14, 1912. 18 PATRONS

Elsa R. Morgan Anna Blauvelt Perry Winston C. Perry IN MEMORIAM Salvatore J. Ciancimino George J. Kneeland Edna McConnell Clark Theodore C. May Florence Forster Lawrence D. Merrow Grace V. Immermann Robert M. Norris Marcel A. Jasinski Lawrence G. Williams

“WITH A SONG IN HER HEART”: Margaret Elizabeth (Peg) Van Orden Faist for many years gave pleasure to many in both New Jersey and New York states. Her lovely soprano voice was first heard on WOR in the early days of radio. She had a good musical background, having studied with one of the finest voice'teachers in New Jersey. Born in Orange, New Jersey, June 14,1902, she came to Spring Valley after her marriage to Robert Faist Oct. 24, 1925. She became soprano soloist at the Dutch Reformed Church of Spring Valley in 1927 and was soloist there for 30 years. Upon retirement, she was presented with an illuminated scroll at a farewell dinner. Just a year ago last Christmas she recalled the Christmas Eve service which was held at the Reformed Church when the choir went up onto the belfry to broadcast Christmas carols. She sang Silent Night and the choir joined in the chorus. Peg spoke of the beauty of the snow-covered village and the lovely sound of voices floating on the clear, cold air. She was a charter member of the Valley Garden Club and exhibited in the flower shows as did her daughter, Ann, and her son, Jack, as children. She was a member of the Historical Society of Rockland County and belonged to bridge clubs. Peg was a descendant of Brigadier General Peter Van Orden, who served in the Revolutionary War. On the maternal side, she was descended from Captain Johannus Van Blarcom, who arrived in Hoboken, N.J. in 1620 from Holland. Another ancestor who came to this country from Holland in the early days of New Amsterdam's settlement was Nicasius de Sille, who was the first counselor to the director general Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland. Nicasius de Side’s grandfather was ambassador to England from Holland when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne. Peg and Bob left Rockland County for Moravia, N.Y. in October 1972 and made their home near their son, John Van Orden Faist, and their daughter, Ann Ackerman Faist. After a long illness, Peg died Oct. 12, 1981. She was a rare and wonderful person, beloved by many friends. —Irma Dempster 19 History Center —20 Zukor Road, New City Open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 12 m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.; at special hours by telephoning 634-9629. Coming events, unless otherwise noted, will be held at the History Center. Memberships, which includes mailed copies of SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAINS are $12.50 (family), $8.50 (individual), $2.50 (student).

COMING EVENTS July 22-Sept. 26 Exhibition: Edward Hopper’s Nyack Years Sept. 12, 2:30 p.m. “I Remember Edward Hopper” program (see p. 8) Sept. 19, 2-5 p.m. Homelands Day Celebration Sept. 30, 8:30 p.m. Annual Theatre Benefit at Antrim Playhouse During September Beginnings of Craft Courses Oct. 2, 1-5 p.m. Fall Open House —rain date Oct. 3 Oct. 10-Nov. 21 Exhibition: The Hudson River Dec. 5-Jan 30, ’83 Winter Festival and 7th Annual Doll House Exhibit CRAFT COURSES PLANNED include fireplace cookery, pierced lampshade making, stenciling, antiques, herbs, miniature embroidery, spinning and weaving, clock repair, edible plants and a children’s colonial-craft day.

All Rocklanders are welcome to represent the land of their ancestors at the 11th annual Homelands Day (Sept. 19) with its special welcome for new citizens. For details, contact Lou Evans, 358-4764.

Our sincerest thanks to the FRIEND who is co-sponsoring this issue because he, like Benjamin Franklin, can say, “/ have ever had pleasure in obtaining any little anecdote of my ancestors. ”

Our sincerest thanks to the GROUP co-sponsoring this issue because they feel, with Edmund Burke, “He only deserves to be remembered by posterity who treasures and preserves the history of his ancestors. ”