NEWSLETTER Issue XXV Spring, 2014
Of Cupolas, Lanterns, and Ventilators By Eric Gradoia That thing on the roof, is it a cupola, lantern, or ventilator? Well it all depends on what it's doing there. The function of these features largely depended on their design, construction and how they were incorporated into the building itself. To many of us, any small roof feature crowning a gable or ridge and containing louvers or sash is commonly referred to as a cupola. However, this term has become a catch-all to include elements that historically had very definite meanings.
Pittstown farmhouse, Longwoods Road, (historic photo undated) (bottom right photo is a view from inside the house of the construction of the cupalo)
If you will permit me for a minute to explore the origins of the word cupola, we will find its roots in the Latin, cū"pula little cask, small vault," and Italian, cupo "hollow, concave." Understanding this, its modern definition as, "A rounded vault or dome forming the roof of any building or part of a building," as well as, "A diminutive dome rising above a roof; a dome-like lantern or skylight," makes sense. Even in the first edition of Noah Webster's dictionary (1828), a cupola is defined as, "In architecture, a spherical vault on the top of an edifice; a dome; or the round top of a dome.” While these are all very specific and rather proper, there is little doubt that our 19th century ancestors used the vernacular of this to describe diminutive structures ornamenting the roofs of buildings. In fact, with the rise of Greek Revival and the early picturesque styles of architecture (Gothic Revival, Italianate, Octagons, Second Empire, etc.) by the mid 19th century, various sorts of roof features began to become more fashionable, and as a result, more commonplace.(continued on Page 4)
Cupolas of Pittstown
Otter Creek Road NYS Route 67, Johnsonville
County Route 111 Joslin Lane
Corner of Barton Road and Marpe Road Simmons Road, Boyntonville Page 2 Cupolas of Pittstown
Auclair Way
Corner of Button Rd and Cooksboro Rd Corner of Warren Cemetery Rd and NYS Route 7
Johnsonville, NYS Route 67 Cooksboro Road
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(continued from Page 1) Paralleling these changing attitudes in the style of building was a movement in this country advocating the practice of ventilating structures in order to minimize the effects of "vitiated air.” With the shift away from open fireplaces to the use of stoves and furnaces as a means of heating one’s house, there developed a belief that these types of closed heating apparatuses (versus the open fireplace) spoiled the air during the heating process, thereby producing carbonic oxide, more commonly referred to at the time as vitiated air. The remedy to this foul nuisance was to discharge it from the building, while at the same time allowing fresh outside air into the building; in essence, introducing ventilation into your building. With the emerging popularity of the revival styles in the second quarter of the 19th century, these trends accommodated rooflines with architectural features such as ventilators and lanterns. With respect to ventilators on dwellings, occasionally these were simply included as an architectural embellishment, being more decorative than functional. In some instances, they are there to allow air movement in and/or through the attic. In instances where a ventilator is isolated to solely serving an attic space, their presence may be to draw away the heat in the attic in an effort to make the house cooler. In other cases, a more direct passage of air through the house was allowed for. This could range from grilles and vents located in the walls and ceilings of rooms to simply a door opening to an attic that allowed the passage of air. Whatever the case may be, what was desired was to create a chimney effect that drew cool air into a building at the lower level and exhausted it through the roof of the building. Andrew Jackson Downing, the noted 19th century writer and proponent of the picturesque, was a great advocate of incorporating ventilation into residences of all sizes, both old and new. In The Architecture of Country Houses (1850), Downing, describing a sheet metal ventilator being marketed at the time, went on to explain that, “There is perhaps, but one objection which can be raised to Emerson’s Ventilators…We mean the appearance of the ejector, or exhausting cap which is placed on the roof of the house. This is decidedly unarchitectural and stove-pipe like…We have, however, conceived a very simple means of overcoming this objection…It is nothing more than making the ejector or ventilator top architectural, by placing it in an open cupola, corresponding to the style of the house. In this way, the cupola…may be made as significant and characteristic an ornament of a dwelling house as a chimney top.” This idea of the need for admitting fresh air into a building was not limited to domestic residences, but also, at nearly the same period of time, into barns and outbuildings sheltering livestock. Numerous articles found in agriculturally oriented publications, such as The Cultivator, The American Farmer, The Plough, the Loom, and the Anvil, and similar journals, educated their readers to the problems which may occur as a result of a “tight” barn — one in which little air movement occurs. Many a writer detailed the issues created as a result of housing animals above a manure cellar or finishing the outside of one’s barn in a fashion that eliminated all drafts and/or allowed some degree of air to move though the barn. To combat this, it was recommended that farmers incorporate a simple means of allowing fresh air into their buildings while at the same time providing the foul air a means out. As The American Farmer’s Encyclopedia (1860) noted, “No foul air can by any possibility be extracted from the interior of a building, however well arranged it may be, unless an ample supply of pure air is admitted, because it is the force of the entering air that causes the vitiated to be expelled.” The escape route for this vitiated air largely took the form of a simple louvered ventilator added at the ridge of the roof. In instances where these roof features are fitted with sash all around, they are more properly referred to as a “lantern”. Russell Sturgis, the notable architect and editor of A Dictionary of Architecture and Building (1902) defines a lantern as, "Any structure rising above the roof of a building and having openings in its sides by which the interior of the building is lighted. By extension, such an architectural feature whether serving as a means of lighting the interior or not.” In addition to allowing natural light into a building or space, lanterns with their windows open could also serve in the capacity of a ventilator. As with ventilators, occasionally lanterns are strictly decorative, and do nothing more than enhance the outward appearance of one’s residence. More often than not though, lanterns were incorporated into the overall design of the building and allowed natural light into the building. A popular use of a lantern was to light a center stair hall. As these features were commonly located at the center of a ridge line, this Page 4
PPPITTSTOWN HHHISTORICAL SSSOCIETY NNNEWSLETTER Issue XXV Spring, 2014 placement corresponded readily with a center stair. As stair halls tended to be open by nature, and passed through each floor of a building, the incorporation of a lantern was a practical method of allowing natural light into the building, and air to circulate through it. So the next time you travel the back roads of Pittstown, and the area, past barns, farms, and houses, I ask you now, that thing on the roof, is it a cupola, lantern or ventilator?
Pittstown Historical Society News Update Earliest records of the Pittstown government are now transcribed and digitalized! The Town of Pittstown has been holding in its vaults the earliest extant records of Pittstown’s government. The first of two historic records books begins in 1783 and continues through 1799, with some brief additions in later years. The second book spans from 1799 to 1840. Because these records are so difficult to read, their importance has been underappreciated. We are very pleased to report that the earliest ledger has now been transcribed and indexed. Sara Yetto, a freshman at Bennington College, volunteered to spend her Field Work Term in January and February scanning, transcribing and digitalizing this historic ledger. We cannot thank her enough for her work!! The contents of the earliest ledger are as follows: Record of Town Officers (1783 – 1798): The first section lists town officers by year: Supervisor, Town Clerk, Assessors, Poor Masters, Commissioners of Highway, Constables, Collectors, Fence Viewers and Overseers of Highway. From 1783 – 1788, the information is titled as being “Records of Scaghticoke District”, during which time Pittstown was included in the district of Schagticoke. From 1789 on, the pages are titled “District of Pittstown”. Record of Roads (1783 – 1799): The second section lists the new roads that were described and approved by the highway commissioners. These are of particular interest as they list property owners and their neighbors. Record of Marks and Brands (1784 - 1824): The third section lists the marks and brands for livestock that were registered with the town clerk. After 1798, very few marks were listed. Fence Line Disputes and Fines (1845 – 1873): The fourth section records some fence line disputes and fines paid. It is written at the very back of the records book and is unrelated to the early entries. L. J. Welling Comments (April 8, 1922): The final section was written by Lindsley J. Welling, who served as town clerk of Pittstown 1906 – 1931. He pasted two pages onto the ledger of his observations about the “St. Coyk Road”. The second book of records (1799 – 1840) was scanned by Yetto, but has not been transcribed. For digital copies of these records, please contact us at: [email protected]
Pittstown’s Historic Farmsteads Last December, the Howard-Odmin-Sherman farmstead was accepted onto the NYS Register of Historic Places. As of the writing of this newsletter, we are still waiting to hear whether or not it will be accepted onto the National Register. If accepted, it would become the 13th historic farmstead in Pittstown to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This impressive number of documented farmsteads offers a treasure-trove of information about agricultural architecture and practices in the 18th – 20th centuries. Visit our website to read the nominations: http://pittstown.us/historical_society/farmsteadsTable.htm We are also pleased to report that the Town of Pittstown has proceeded with the submission of a nomination to the NYS Register of Historic Places for the Tomhannock Methodist Church. The review is to take place in March.
Ellen L. Wiley Collection Room The collection room is now fully furnished, allowing the PHS historic collection to be housed and organized. Many thanks to trustees Joe Ferrannini and Ken Miller who have generously donated multiple shelves and cabinets. They also installed them! The Collection Committee has continued its work in assigning numbers to all objects in the PHS collection under the supervision of Kathy Sheehan, Rensselaer County Historian. Many thanks to Kathy for her assistance! Page 5
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Ann Eliza Bleecker (1752-1783): Life in the Early Pittstown-Schaghticoke District (Part 4)
By Walter Auclair In 1771, nineteen year old Ann Eliza Bleecker and her husband, John, began their new life in the small rural village of Tomhanick in relative security on a farm of probably considerable acreage. Joining them were Ann Eliza’s mother and her half-sister, Susanna Ten Eyck (ten years younger than Ann Eliza), and a close confidante. Nearby in Pittstown, were extensive lands owned by Ann Eliza’s maternal relatives, John and General Philip Schuyler. There was a Dutch Reformed Church they likely attended in the town of Schaghticoke, about two miles west of their home. Services probably were still conducted in Dutch. The Bleecker farm was on the future Northern Turnpike Road, nearly midway between the towns of Sancoick (now North Hoosick) to the northeast and Stone Arabia (now Lansingburgh) to the southwest. Being a well- travelled road, it was about sixteen feet in width and well maintained by land owners along the thoroughfare. Maps show the main road bypassing Stone Arabia and heading southwest directly to the Vanderheyden ferry, the principal route for crossing over the Hudson River to Albany and points due west to Schenectady. It would be nearly twenty years before the town of Troy would be established. There was another major ferry to the south, in Greenbush, going directly to Albany. A few years earlier, in 1765, people from the Bennington area built a road from Bennington to Hoosick and on to Vanderheyden’s ferry to transport crops and potash to Albany and points south. Potash was an important component in the production of steel in the lower Hudson valley. From her letters to her family, we learn that Ann knew her neighbors well, a mix of Europeans originally from Ireland, England, Scotland, Holland (speaking either High Dutch or Low Dutch), France, Germany (speaking several varieties of German), and Switzerland. John most likely hired nearby neighbors to work the farm alongside him. Near the house, there was probably a good-sized plot to raise native crops of potatoes, maize, tomatoes, squash, beans, and pumpkins. Ann Eliza also mentions a flower garden she particularly enjoyed, and a variety of fruit and exotic trees, probably transplanted from New York City. To help with her housework, Ann had two young slaves and an elderly male slave, named Meeker, who most likely split his time between doing gardening chores and helping John with farm work as needed. Ann never mentions in her correspondence what crops John raised, but it is likely that for the livestock (horses and a milk cow), he grew grass hay, maize, and corn (in those days corn meant small grains such as oats, barley, rye, and buckwheat), along with flax. Bartering was the main way people shared their produce with each other – coinage was scarce, paper money not trustworthy, so labor and land trading were important means of commerce. Ann Eliza often wrote about the social life around her in Tomhanick and a more sophisticated and wealthier Dutch society in Albany. She describes balls and parties that she particularly enjoyed, making for much gossip afterward as to who danced with whom and what the women wore. Her correspondence was always humorous and teasing, especially if the person she was writing to was involved in the activities. General Schuyler’s wife, Catherine, was known far and wide as a great hostess and probably helped introduce Ann Eliza, Susanna, and Ann Eliza’s mother to Albany society. The Bleecker family had also been prominent politically in Albany in the mid 1700s. Ann Eliza and John did not lack for companionship in their new home. And Ann Eliza had her books and pen and paper to do what she enjoyed most, reading and writing poems, essays, and extensive correspondence. John Bleecker had a number of civic duties to fulfill as a new citizen of colonial Albany County, other than paying taxes. He had to maintain the public road that passed through the Bleecker property. He also had to join the county militia, “the military force of a nation.” In a long tradition begun hundreds of Page 6
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years earlier in England, all males aged 16-50 years were liable for military duty, without compensation. In fact, it could be quite expensive for teen aged recruits. The law was quite explicit: each person must provide himself with a good, serviceable gun to be kept in constant fitness, with a good sword, bandoleer (a belt fitted with small pockets or loops for carrying cartridges and worn against the chest) and horn, a wormer (used to clean inside the gun after firing), a scourer, a priming wool, a shot bag, a charger, one pound of good powder, four pounds of pistol bullets, and 24 bullets fitted for the gun, four fathoms (24 feet) of serviceable match for match lock gun and 4 good flints for the firelock gun. Training consisted annually of four local and one general training day “for all the soldiers within the government.” Bleecker most likely had been a member of the Westchester County Militia, having been born and raised in the French-speaking town of New Rochelle. He joined the Albany County Militia 14th Regiment in 1771 as an “enlisted man.” Leading the regiment was Colonel John Knickerbacker, Colonel Peter Yates, and Lieutenant Simon VanderCook. Leading the 3rd regiment in Albany County was Colonel Philip P. Schuyler. George Washington used many local militias during the Revolutionary War, unified with the Continental Army, to defeat the powerful British Army General Philip John Schuyler (1733-1804), relative of Ann Eliza Bleecker Bibliography Anderson, George Baker, 1897. Landmarks of Rensselaer County, New York. D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, New York. Bachman, Ronald D., 2010. A Fine Commanding Presence: The Life and Legacy of Maj. Michael S. Vandercook (1774-1852) of Pittstown, Rensselaer County, New York. Privately Published. Bellesiles, Michael, 1993. Revolutionary Outlaws: Ethan Allen and the Struggle for Independence on the Early American Frontier. University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville. Bleecker, Ann Eliza and Margaretta V. Faugeres, 1793. The Posthumous Works, In Prose and Verse of Ann Eliza Bleecker, To Which is Added a Collection of Essays, Prose and Poetical By Margaretta V. Faugeres. Reprinted by Kessinger Publishing’s Rare Reprints. Grant, Anne MacVicar, 1846. Memoirs of an American Lady. Nabu Public Domain Reprint. Harris, Sharon M., 2005. Executing Race: Early American Women’s Narratives of Race, Society, and the Law. The Ohio State University Press, Columbus. Hayner, Rutherford, 1925. Troy and Rensselaer County, New York. Volume 1. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., New York. Lord, Philip, Jr., 1989. War over Walloomscoik: Land Use and Settlement Pattern on the Bennington Battlefield – 1777, 1989. New York State Museum Bulletin No. 473. SUNY, The State Education Department, Albany, New York. Murray, Judith Sargent, 1998. From Gloucester to Philadelphia in 1790. Observations, anecdotes, and thoughts from the 18th- century letters of Judith Sargent Murray. Edited by Bonnie Hurd Smith. Judith Sargent Murray Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Reynolds, Cuyler, 1911. Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs. In Four Volumes. Reprinted for Clearfield Publishing Company by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, Maryland, 1999, 2003. Rothenbert, Winifred Barr, 1992. From Market-Places to a Market Economy. University of Chicago, Illinois. Shalhope, Robert E., 1996. Bennington and the Green Mountain Boys: The Emergence of Liberal Democracy in Vermont, 1760-1850. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Sylvester, Nathaniel, 1880. History of Rensselaer Co., New York. Everts & Peck, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Webpages.charter.net/bleecker/Family/Jan.Jansen.Bleecker.doc. Bleecker Family Book.
Mystery Photo Max and Joan Koch, members of the Pittstown Historical Society, wonder how this wonderful, historic photo of their home arrived mysteriously at their doorstep on Nick Mush Road? No clue was left as to who delivered it to them.
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Thomas - Wiley - Abbott Farmstead The Thomas farmstead, which ranks among the most beautiful farmsteads in Pittstown, is located along County Route 111. Nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, it was described in the nomination as retaining “an intact assemblage of historic agricultural outbuildings and a dwelling” surviving in “an intact rural setting”. While now owned by Jill Thomas, the farmstead has a long history of ownership by early Pittstown families, most notably the Abbotts and Wileys. Thomas farmstead, ca. 1960 There is a complex, but “relatively complete set of deeds” for the Thomas farm, wrote historic consultant, Jessie Ravage, in the nomination to the National Register she prepared. While the earliest recorded owner of parts of the farm was Goldsborough Banyer, Provincial Secretary of NYS in the 1760s, the first owner of the fully formed farm of 168.9 acres was Nathan Brownell who sold the farm to Jacob Lansing Abbott in 1840 for $11,037. In the 1855 NYS Census, Jacob Abbott and his wife, Lydia Herrington, had 7 children ranging in age from 1 to 16 (including Lester and Augusta Abbott seen in photo on page 9). Ravage’s nomination notes that “Census records from the 1850s through 1875 show that Jacob Abbott was among the wealthiest and most successful farmers in Pittstown.” The Abbotts sold the farm in 1925 to Leonard Wiley, whose father, Isaac, had married Caroline Abbott. Leonard (married to Alice Sherman) deeded the property to one of his sons (Charles M. Wiley) and his daughter-in-law, Florence, in 1948. Over the years, dairy production had become the primary source of income on the farm. But in 1986, Charles stopped milking cows and sold the farm. Like many of the historic homes in Pittstown, the house has undergone numerous changes. Originally designed as a Greek Revival-style house built ca.1800, a south wing was added ca.1840, and a north wing added ca.1870. An Italianate-style porch with decoratively sawn braces adds to the charm of the homestead. Other buildings of significance still existence include: two post and beam constructed barns which form a main barn group built ca.1860-80 and ca.1870-80; a workshop barn built c. 1880 – 1900; and several 20th century buildings (a garage, pole barn, hen house and corn crib). The nomination to the National Register nomination for the Thomas farmstead includes a complete history and description of the property. It is available on the PHS website at: http://pittstown.us/historical_society/HistoricFarms/Thomas-Wiley-Abbott%20Farmstead.pdf Although Jill Thomas has owned the farmstead for 26 years, she still refers to it as the “Charlie Wiley farm”. Her reflections on the farm are included on the following page. Page 8
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Thomas farmhouse, ca. 1940 Lester and Augusta Abbott on the right, 1910
Italianate porch, Thomas house, 2010 Detail Italianate porch, Thomas house, 2010
25 Years on the Charlie Wiley Farm; Reflections by Jill Thomas In 1988, when I bought the Wiley Farm on County Route 111 in Pittstown, it had gone out of the dairy business two years earlier. At that time there were 12 dairy farms nearby (1). Of the original dozen dairy farms, only three are still working dairy farms today. Two former dairy farms now raise beef. During my tenure here; I have rented out the crop land to neighboring farmers (2), resurrected a trout pond whose dam had been destroyed by muskrats, managed the woods and had two forester managed timber harvests. We restored the farmhouse and maintained the outbuildings. Several structures remained as foundations only; they were a sheep barn, horse barn, ice house and a barn across the road from the house which had burned. Fortunately, Charlie Wiley gave me one photo of some of this structure. And he told us wonderful old stories about the farm and family who owned it
Charlie Wiley at age 11 in 1932 Page 9
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with the same amount of land all the way back to 1840. The ownership names on the deeds that I traced back changed, but it was still the same family. The Wiley family is related to Abbotts and Shermans The farm consisted of four Lots from the Pittstown Patent: Lots #132, 133, 134, and Lot 111. The 1840 record of the deed to Jacob Abbott was available from the Land Records of Rensselaer County (3). If you wish to do a deed chain on your property, it can be fun and sometimes amazing. You will need to start by copying your own deed, and noting the sentence relating to the previous deed book number and pages for your property. That is usually just after the description of the meets and bounds of the property (4). The one thing I’ve never been sure about on the farm is: where was the outhouse? Historic photo of the barns at the Thomas/Wiley farm with wood silo on left Acknowledgement: Many thanks to James Kautz whose wonderful carpentry and repair skills have maintained the farm for many years. Footnotes: (1) In 1988, local operating dairy farms were: Backus, Bevis, Cannon, Gifford, Herrington, Norton, Lewis, Luskin, Marbot, Reed, Skott and Wiley (on Otter Creek Road). (2) The land is currently leased for corn and hay to Clifford Lewis and his wife, Joan, who own an adjacent farm. (3) The deed from Brownell to Abbott is: May 26, 1840, Deed Book # 50, Pages 471 & 472, from Nathan Brownell and Aidia Brownell to Jacob L. Abbott. (4) The Land Records are kept in the building adjacent to the Rensselaer Count Court House on the west side on 3rd Avenue in Troy. The staff is very helpful when you do your research, but bring a lot of quarters for the copy machine.
More on Pittstown Civil War Soldiers Chris Kelly, Schaghticoke Town Historian, provided many interesting details about five Civil War soldiers with Pittstown connections at a meeting of the Pittstown Historical Society last fall. Kelly was joined by her husband, John, who wore the uniform and gear of a Civil War soldier (see photo on left). The Civil War soldiers from Pittstown that Kelly researched included: Lafayette Travis, buried in the Millertown Cemetery, was killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. Samuel and Chloe Travis were his parents. Joseph Plant was probably an African-American man, unusual for a soldier in the local area. Born in Virginia, he came to Pittstown after the war and is buried in Elmwood. He served on ships as a cook on the east coast, carrying mail between Florida and Cuba and chasing blockade runners. He also served in the Pacific. Herman Martinett, the son of immigrants was, with his family, a newcomer to Pittstown. The family came here to work in the axe factory in Johnsonville. Three brothers enlisted together. Brother Frederick was killed in a powder magazine explosion at Fort Fisher. Herman is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. Page 10
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Edgar Fields, at 15, was a servant for Mary VanWert of Pittstown, but 3 years later, enlisted in the 89th Illinois Regiment. Records indicate he was a drummer boy. He came back to Rensselaer County after the war and later became a rural mail carrier driving one of the first autos in the valley. He gave his car a new coat of paint every year. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. William McGowan, a powder maker, enlisted with many others in the summer of 1862. After the war, he went back to the powder mills and had moved to Pittstown by 1870. He is buried in St. John's Cemetery in Schaghticoke. The Powder Mill, as detailed by Kelly, had an important role in the Civil War. Note: In recent issues of the PHS newsletter, we listed some information about Pittstown soldiers in the Civil War. The information was based on a report submitted to the NYS Bureau of Military Records compiled by the Pittstown Town Clerk, Peter Abbott, in 1865 - 1866. All town clerks were required to submit reports, but Pittstown's was unusually detailed. Although the report is also available online, the town of Pittstown owns a hard copy of it which is much easier to read. To make arrangements to view the report, contact us at: [email protected] or call Connie Kheel at 518-686-7514
Factors Leading to the American Civil War (Part I) by Kenneth J. Miller
Introduction The sesquicentennial anniversary of the turning point in the Civil War has completed my lifelong odyssey exploring a statement and question posed by my high school teacher: The North, South and West of our country are different. Was this caused by slavery or for economic reasons? The answer lies in the manner and reasons that this country was settled, in the changing view towards servitude, with the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, and with the politics during the expansion of the country to the Pacific Ocean. Settlement, Diversity, Economics and Servitude The east coast of North America was settled by the English, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish and French peoples. Kings granted individuals land, which they didn’t own but was claimed for them with economic privileges that benefited both parties. The early settlers brought their religions with colonization: Catholicism, various forms of Protestantism, and Quakerism. The independence and differences among the 13 colonies evolved into a culture of states’ rights and divisions between the North and South leading up to the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Then, expansion to the Mississippi River took only 33 years to create states with enslaved persons south of the Ohio River and free states north of this river, until the first crisis, the Missouri Compromise. Thirty years later, after the Mexican War, the Compromise of 1850 opened the West. But there was no definitive plan for the territories, and the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854 with self determination finally set the tone for our Civil War. This is our legacy! Labor was needed for these colonies to prosper. Initially, indentured servants were contracted for a period of time in payment for passage to America, and afterwards were given land. Peoples of other races (principally African-Americans) were pressed into service and eventually became the labor source held in involuntary servitude. In August, 1619, twenty Africans were brought to Jamestown on a Dutch ship and sold as indentured servants, not enslaved persons i.e. slaves. And the Netherlands permitted enslaved persons to be brought to its American colony. In 1652, under the leadership of the religious leader, Roger Williams, Rhode Island was the first colony to outlaw slavery. Because slavery was so profitable, it was later permitted, and Newport became a major trading port. The Netherlands permitted (continued on Page 12) Page 11
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(continued from Page 11) enslaved persons to be brought to its American colony. In 1664, Maryland was the first colony to mandate the lifelong servitude of African-American slaves. In 1667, Virginia’s House of Burgesses passed a law stating that Christian conversion does not bring about freedom from enslavement. This law encouraged owners of enslaved persons to convert their slaves to Christianity without fear of losing them. In 1670, as a reaction to the moral issue, a countermeasure was passed which allowed freedom to those African-Americans who were Christians before arriving in the colony. In 1671, Maryland passed a law declaring that conversion is irrelevant to the servitude of enslaved persons. In 1682, Virginia repealed its 1670 conversion law which had limited the importation of enslaved persons. In 1672, the English Royal Africa Company was granted a monopoly on the English slave trade which lasted until 1696. Afterwards, extensive trading was initiated by merchants in the New England colonies. In 1688, a group of Quakers became the first to organize a demonstration in opposition to slavery and the slave trade (the Germantown Protest). Changes continued to occur. But the southern colonies tended towards an agricultural system using enslaved labor, while the North tended toward waged labor. These are only some of the events leading to our Civil War, which Kenneth Davis lists in his excellent book, “Don’t Know Much about the Civil War” (1996). A Compromised Nation is Formed After the war for independence it became clear that a central government was needed for commerce, defense, and general cooperation among the states. In 1787, representatives from the 13 colonies met, took it upon themselves to abandon the Articles of Confederation, and drafted the U.S. Constitution. The legislative branch was to have a senate and a house of representatives. The first compromise that was reached was that each state would have two senators. This would ensure that the smaller states, situated in the north, would not be overwhelmed by the larger ones. Determining the number of representatives was the second compromise, which helped to set the seeds for our Civil War. It was crafted to allow the South to continue with the institution of slavery, and had the added advantage of not considering enslaved persons as citizens, but as three fifths of a person. In Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, it stated that the number of representatives for each state “shall be determined by adding to the Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.” Although not stated, everyone knew that “all other Persons” referred to slaves who were bound to service for life. In contrast, when the Confederate States wrote its constitution in 1861, the status of the slaves in not only the existing states, but also in the territories was very explicitly stated. In Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, it was written that “Representatives ... shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all slaves.” Unlike the U.S. Constitution, which does not use the word “slave”, the Confederate States were very explicit in defining the status of slaves in its “peculiar southern institution” (this term was used throughout the early 19th century because slavery was considered improper). From the Revolution to the Civil War, a series of compromises were made to prevent dissolution of the Union as the nation expanded. The founding fathers thought that slavery would disappear. In Jefferson’s administration, congress passed a law prohibiting the importation of slaves after 1808, as had Great Britain. But two inventions changed the dependence on labor. Turning Point, Industrialization Samuel Slater, who worked in the textile industry in England, brought the designs of the spinning machines to America, having memorized them. In 1790, these first Arkwright machines, began producing yarn in Pawtucket, RI. They were so easy to use, children as young as 4 years old were employed. Then in 1794, Eli Whitney modified a cotton gin which was capable of separating fiber from seeds in the American variety of cotton, which was 50 times faster than by hand. Cotton production was revolutionized in the Deep South, and spinning in the North. In 1790, about 3,000 bales, each weighing about 500 pounds, were produced in America. The number of bales rose to 100,000 by 1801, 400,000 by 1820, and 4 million by the Civil War. Cotton became the greatest source of wealth and was king in the agriculturally oriented South. In the North, sources of energy Page 12
PPPITTSTOWN HHHISTORICAL SSSOCIETY NNNEWSLETTER Issue XXV Spring, 2014 fostered the Industrial Revolution, and enslaved labor gave way to wage labor. The South complained that cotton grown in the U.S. was shipped to the North, and then payment on protective tariffs for the manufactured goods sent south. South Carolina’s Senator, John Calhoun, was most vocal and instrumental in refining the concept of nullification. Rather than nullify this tariff, a compromise was reached. But tariffs continued to vary until 1857, when the lowest tariff was enacted, having received strong support from the South. James McPherson’s, “Battle Cry of Freedom” gives a fast moving account of the rapid industrialization and politics in the first half of the 19th century (2003). Speaking Out The Quakers, the Great Awakening in religion, the mistreatment of African-Americans and slave uprisings all contributed to the abolitionist movement. The northern states began to outlaw slavery. The political tensions between the North and South intensified. Frederick Douglass, William Garrison, the Grimke sisters, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, and Sojourner Truth were just a few people speaking and writing about enslavement. Publications documenting the treatment of enslaved persons greatly increased from the 1830s to the war. When Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, he said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” Balance of Power between the North and South Of the original 13 colonies which became states by 1790, seven were considered northern and would eventually abolish slavery (NH, NY, PA, MA, CT, NJ, and RI) and six were termed southern slave-holding states (MD, DE, VA, NC, SC, and GA). As new states were added to the Union, a balance of power between the North and South was maintained and would remain so until the Civil War. In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance establishing a government in the area bounded by the Great Lakes on the north, the Ohio River on the south and the Mississippi River on the west. The government was on an equal level with the original states, but had a ban on slavery. The founding fathers wanted to restrict slavery, not abolish it. Was the territory west of the Mississippi going to permit slavery? In 1803, Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory, which included lands west of the Mississippi bounded by lands owned by Spain farther west and British Canada in the north. Lands south of the Ohio River up to the Mississippi River were claimed by the original states. Until 1820, as many “free persons states” as “slave states” entered the Union. Other than VT, “the free states” were part of the Northwest Ordinance. New “slave states” were formed from claims of land by VA, North and South Carolina, and GA, as well as LA, which spanned the Mississippi River. By 1820, the number of “free states” exactly balanced the number of “slave states” at 11 each. Maine and Missouri were next in line. To maintain the balance of power Henry Clay crafted a solution in 1820 in which Maine would enter as a “free state” and Missouri as a “slave state”. However, the lands north of 36 degrees 30 minutes defined the line north of which lands in the Louisiana Purchase were supposed to be closed to slavery. Missouri was north of this line. This exception became known as the Missouri Compromise. But the remaining unorganized territory would remain free. That lasted until the undermining of the Missouri Compromise in 1850 and its repeal in the Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854. Page 13
PPPITTSTOWN HHHISTORICAL SSSOCIETY NNNEWSLETTER Issue XXV Spring, 2014
SCHEDULE OF SPRING MEETINGS All lectures will be preceded by a brief meeting of the Pittstown Historical Society. Meetings are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following each lecture. For further information about the meetings, contact: Constance Kheel (518)686-7514 or email: [email protected] ______
March 20: Arnold on Arnold: May 18th, 1775, Benedict Arnold Saves America's Revolution Larry Arnold will give a talk on Benedict Arnold. Beginning in the turbulent early stages of America’s Revolution and ending with a man dedicated to a new nation’s ideals (but troubled with his personal character), Larry’s presentation will be on the actions taken by Benedict on one single day - May 18th, 1775. Larry has served for 8 years as a park ranger at the Saratoga National Historical Park and as a board member of the Friends of Saratoga Battlefield and the NYS Military Museum. The meeting will be held at the Tomhannock Methodist Church in Tomhannock at 7:30 PM
April 17: John and Abigail Adams: Portrait of a Marriage Historian James Sefcik’s presentation will focus on the fascinating marriage of John and Abigail Adams. Married for 54 years, they enjoyed a marriage of equals unlike many, if not most, 18th century nuptials. They also exchanged more than 1,100 letters between 1762 and 1801. Sefcik, who is retired as director of the Louisiana State Museum, has had a 30 year museum career. He is currently on the Board of the New Netherlands Institute. The meeting will be held at the Tomhannock Methodist Church in Tomhannock at 7:30 PM
May 15: Hudson River Steamboat Catastrophes: Contests and Collisions The compelling story of the “great white wooden ships” that traveled along the Hudson River will be told by Tom Allison, who has recently published a book on the topic. Allison will tell of the dangers of steamboat travel, and how buying a ticket on a Hudson River steamboat cost many passengers their lives (as well as their wallets and jewelry)! Allison, a retired Congregational minister and teacher, has authored several books. The meeting will be held at the Tomhannock Methodist Church in Tomhannock at 7:30 PM
June 19: Shadow Voices: Northern Women During the Civil War Period An overview of the role played by women from New York State during the 1860s will be the topic of Mike Russert’s talk. Russert will focus primarily on women from eastern New York and their contributions, not only on the home front, but also in the military and in the factory. Russert, a retired teacher, is a member of The Company of Military Historians and the former Coordinator of the NYS Veteran Oral History Program. The meeting will be held at the Tomhannock Methodist Church in Tomhannock at 7:30 PM
PPPITTSTOWN HHHISTORICAL SSSOCIETY NNNEWSLETTER Issue XXV Spring, 2014
View from Otter Creek Road (Thomas farm in distance), 2003, one of the many spectacular views of farmland in Pittstown.
Join the Pittstown Historical Society Visit us at: Pittstown.us or [email protected] Make checks payable to: Pittstown Historical Society, Pittstown Historical Society P.O. Box 252, Valley Falls, NY 12185 Board of Trustees The Pittstown Historical Society is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt not-for-profit organization, dedicated to collecting, documenting, and preserving local history. Officers Contributions are deductible to the full extent of the law. President, Maren Stein 663-5230 $______Annual Dues (please check one)
$10 Individual $5 Senior (65 & older) Vice-President, Joseph A. Ferrannini 686-4637 $25 Supporter $50 Benefactor
Secretary, Paul Wiley $15 Business 753-4854 $______Total (enclose check for this amount) Treasurer, Constance Kheel 686-7514 _____ I would like to volunteer my time Name:______Trustees Walter Auclair ~ 663-5779 Address:______Connie Gilbert ~ 753-4226 Kenneth Miller ~ 753-6334 City State Zip:______Dan Gifford ~ 753- 4672 Email:______
Telephone Number:______
PPPITTSTOWN HHHISTORICAL SSSOCIETY NNNEWSLETTER Issue XXV Spring, 2014
Thomas-Wiley-Abbott farmstead (see article inside on page 8)
PPPITTSTOWN HHHISTORICAL SSSOCIETYOCIETYOCIETY P. O. Box 252
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