At the time of the Revolution there was a small settlement at Lower Red Hook landing. Then Lower Red Hook landing became Barrytown on April 27, 1830 with Michael S. Martin as Postmaster. Named after the United States Postmaster General. It is said, when Andrew Jackson was President and the village wanted a post-office, that he would not consent to its bearing the name of Barry, for personal dislikes to General Barry, and suggested another name. But the people were loyal to their old friend, and went without a post-office until a new administration. However, William Taylor Barry was appointed Postmaster General under Jackson on March 9, 1829 to April 10, 1835. So, this makes for a nice story but there is no documents to verify its truth. At Barrytown a major industry was harvesting of ice from the frozen Hudson, for local storage followed by shipment and summer sale in New York City, provided seasonal employment for many. Generally, however, subsistence farming, dairy and fruit growing have for 150 years been the basis of the Town's economy. Recent years have seen a decline in dairy and an increase in the raising of specialty crops or animals, roadside stands and pick-your-own operations. Until the mid-19th Century the principal modes of transportation for both goods and people were the horse and River sloop or steamboat. Although regularly scheduled passenger and freight boats continued to stop at Barrytown until the 1930's, and the Tivoli and Saugerties ferry plied the River until the 1940's, the fate of River commerce was sealed with the opening of the Hudson River Railroad (now CSX/AMTRAK) in 1851. Throughout the succeeding century Barrytown was busy rail depots as well as steamboat landings.
Germantown
Germantown was formed as a district April 1, 1775, and recognized as a town on March 7, 1788. A part of Clermont was annexed, March 2, 1858. That part annexed was almost isolated from the rest of Clermont, and lay north of this town. The first settlement was made in 1710, by German Palatinates, under the patronage of Queen Anne. The first arrival was in 1710. A tract of 6,000 acres, forming the present town of Germantown, was purchased, on the 9th of Sept. 1710, to Robert Livingston by Governor Hunter, for the use of these people. It lies upon the Hudson River, in the south part of Columbia County. The surface is undulating. Roeliff Jansens Kil forms the north boundary of the town. The soil is a rich, fertile loam, sandy in a few places. It was designed to employ them in raising hemp and making tar, pitch, and rosin for the royal navy, and they were furnished with provisions and tools. The enterprise was unsuccessful, and many settlers left. Germantown contains l church and 19 houses and East Camp (German Camp) 17 houses. In 1725 the tract was granted by letters patent to the inhabitants of "East Camp" to be divided equally in fee after reserving 40 acres for the church and school. The first arrival was in 1710 and on the lst of May, 1711, there was 1178 settles in town, and four villages "Hunterstown, Queenbury, Annsberg, and Haysburgh" had sprung into existence. A school was established in 1711. The Reform Protestant Dutch church was founded in 1728, and Johannes Van Driesen was the first pastor.
Clermont
Clermont was erected from the manor of Livingston, March 12, 1787, and organized the following year as a town. It formerly embraced all that part of Columbia County lying southwest of Roeloff Jansen's Kill, except original Germantown. On the 2day of March, 1858, the northwest part of Clermont was annexed to the latter town, reducing its area to a little more than eleven thousand acres. The shape of Clermont is very irregular. It extends from the Hudson, on the west, along the Dutchess County line east to the southernmost bend of Roeloff Jansen's Kill, thence down that stream, forming a narrow neck of land in the southeast, to Germantown on its northwest. North and east are the towns of Livingston and Gallatin. The name was suggested from the country-seat of Chancellor Livingston, located in this town, and has an apparent French derivation.
Livingston
The terriorty which is now the town of Livingston was formerly a part of a tract of land extending from a point south of Hudson River, twelve miles along the river, and eastward to the Massachusetts line, about twenty miles. The general history of Livingston which constituted the orginal town was also covered by the Livingston patents constituting the Livingston Manor. The titles covering the tract were briefly as follows: An Indian purchase made July 12, 1683, by Robert Livingston, of 2,000 acres lying along the Hudson River and Roeloff Jansen's Kill, confirmed by a patent by Governor Dongan, November 4, 1684. A second Indian purchase by him of 300 acres of meadow land in the Taghkanic territory, August 10, 1685, patent issued August 27 the same year. Last, a grant to Robert Livingston by Governor Dongan, July 22, 1686, of all the remaining and adjoining lands of what finally constituted the Manor, the entire tract containing about 160,240 acres. The Manor included the present towns of Clemont, Germantown, Livingston, Gallatin, Taghkanic, Ancram, and Copake. On March 24, 1772, Livingston was formed into a district and in 1786 became a part of the new county of Columbia, and was organized as a town on March 7, 1788. The territory of Germantown was purchased by M. Livingston in 1710, as a settlement for part of the Palatines. The town of Clermont was formed from the Manor in March 1787, and Ancram and Taghkanic (then including the present towns of Copake and Gallatin), in March, 1803. It is situated in the south west part of the county, bordering on the Hudson River. Claverack Creek crosses the north east corner, Kleina Kil (little creek) flows through near the center, and Roeliff Jansens Kil forms the south west boundary. In most of its course this last stream flows through a broad and fertile valley, but near the Hudson River its banks are steep and rocky. The soil is a fertile, sandy loam. Johnstown, (post office Livingston) situated near the center of the town, contains 1 church, a parochial school, and 28 houses. Glencoe Mills, on Claverack Creek, contains a free chapel, 2 saw mills, and 16 houses. Bakers Mills, on Roeliff Jansens Kil, contains a woolen factory, 2 paper mills, a grist mill, and 10 dwellings. Elizaville, Blue Stores, and Linlithgo are hamlets. Settlement commenced soon after the patent was granted. There are 4 (2 Reform Prot., Evang., Luth. and M.E.)churches in town.
Milan
Milan was formed from the Northeast (this town is inclued in the tract know as the "Little Nine Partners"), March 16, 1818. It lies on the north border of Dutchess County, west of the center. Its suface is a hilly upland broken by the deep valleys of the streams. The declivities are generally gradual slopes, and the hills are arable to their summits. Roeliff Jansens Kil crosses the north east corner. The other streams are small and are bordered by fertile intervales. The soil is a clayey, gravelly, and slaty loam. Jackson Corners, on Roeliff Jansens Kil, in the north east corner, contains 1 church and 25 houses (later a school which Gallatin children attendented). Near Jackson Corners was once a cluster of log huts, known as "Straw Hudson". The huts were thatched with straw, which gave rise to the name. The interstrices between the logs composing the houses were plastered with clay. Apertures were left to let in the light, and for want of glass, a little oiled cloth was substituted. The fire-places were large enough to hold a load of wood of moderate size. The lower part of the chimneys were built of stone, laid in clay; the upper portions were generally made of wood. Rock City so named from the rocks which crop out in the adjacent hills and along the streams. Lies near the Rhinebeck line. Has a grist and saw mill and 20 houses. Milanville has 12 houses. La Fayetteville has 16 houses. One of the substanial houses is stilling standing and was once occupied by the firm of Bullock and Bowman as a store. Shookville and Thornville are hamlets. The first settlement was principally made by tenants under the orginal proprietors, about 1760, and a large share of the land is still held by leasehold tenure. The first church (M. E.) was formed about 1790. The census reports 4 (2 M.E., 1 each Christian and Union) churches.
Stanford
Stanford was formed from Washington, March 12, 1793. This town was included in the "Great Nine Partners" tract. It is an interior town, lying north east of the of Dutchess County. Its surface is a broken and hilly upland. The hills are generally rounded, and admit of cultivation to their summits. Slat crops out in numerous places along their declivities, and bowlders and water-worn pebbles are thickly strewn over a considerable portion of the surface. The highest point is Carpenter Hill, in the north east corner. Wappingers Creek, flowing south west through near the center, is the principal stream. Hunns Lake, in the the north east, and Uptons Pond, in the south west, are the principal bodies of water. The soil is a food quality of gravelly and salty loam. A considerable quantity of milk is sent daily to New York City by the Harlem Rail Road. Stanfordville, near the center of the town, contains a gristmill, carriage axle factory, paper mill, 3 churches, and 35 dwellings. Bangall, on Wappingers Creek, contains 2 gristmills, 2 sawmills, a foundry, 2 churches, and 30 dwellings. Attlebury, Stissingville, and Old Attlebury (an immense spring of pure cold water near this place has considerable local notoriety) are hamlets. Smith Thompson, U.S. Circuit Judge, was a native and resident of this town. There are five churches in the town (Orthodox Friends, Hicksite Friends, Christian, Bap., and M.E.).
Pine Plains
Pine Plains was formed from Northeast, March 26, 1823. Extensive plains covered with pines, where the village of that name now stands, suggested the name of the town. It lies on the north border of Dutchess County, east of the center. The surface is a hilly upland, the ridges being separated by broad valleys. Stissing mountain (the highest point), so named after an Indian chief who lived in the "Notch," a short distance below its northern extremity, is in the west part of the town, and is 400 to 500 feet above the valleys. Its declivities are steep, and it is crowned with a mass of naked rock. Roeliff Jansens Kil crosses the north west corner, and the Shekomeko Creek or Cheecomico flows north through near the center. Thompson, Stissing, Mud and Halcyon Ponds lie at the east foot of Stissing Mountain, and Buttermilk Pond and several smaller ones are in the south part. The soil is generally a productive, gravelly loam. Upon draining a small pond one and a half miles southeast of Pine Plains village, a very deep bed of marl, covering six or eight acres, was found. Marl is also found in Halcyon Pond. This town formed a portion of the "Little Nine Patners" tract. Pine Plains, near the center of the town, contains a bank and 3 churches. Hammertown contains an extensive scythe factory (Harris's Scythe Factory) and a dozen houses. Pulvers Corner and Mount Ross are hamletsThe first settlements were probably made about 1740. A Moravian mission was established among the Indians at Shekomeko, 2 miles south of Pine Plains, Sept. 1740. There are 5 churches (Bap., M.E., Presb., Prot. E., and Friends) in town.
Gallatin
Once part of the Livingston Manor and also the District of the Manor of Livingston, the Town of Gallatin was formed in 1803, consisting of what is now the Towns of Ancram and Gallatin. Albert Gallatin was United States Secretary of the Treasury at the time. In 1814 the town name was changed to Ancram. Then, on March 27, 1830, a north-south line was established across the center of the town and the western section of Columbia County became a new town, called Gallatin. The highest point is Signal Rock (Mattashuk Hill) south of Lake Charlotte. The largest body of water in the town, now called was named Lake Charlotte, pronounced "Sha-lot" (bend in the lake). Charlotte was the housekeeper slave of a Livingston who had a home on the shore. An 1878 history states it was also called Coby's Pond, but it was Lake Charlotte in 1798. When D. McRae Livingston donated the lake and 150 acres to New York State in 1929, he stipulated that the name of the lake be changed to Lake Taghkanic. The state acquired more land shortly after and the Civilian Conservation Corps was put to work in the 500-acre eastern section in 1933, constructing the beach, beach house, cabins and camping grounds. From 1950-1960 the state acquired 1,100 more acres, creating what is now Lake Taghkanic State Park. Roeliff Jansens Kil is the principal stream: its back are and in some places rocky. The present community of Snyderville was originally called Mink Hollow. The manor lord constructed a saw mill on Dove Creek (flowing from Lake Charlotte) for Henry and Philip Mink. Later, Peter and Joseph Weaver purchased the mill property and the settlement became Weaver Hollow. Several generations of Snyders owned the mills even later and in the 1870s they ran an overshot grist mill on the 100-foot falls, another mill for feed and plaster, and a distillery. Snyderville was also called West Gallatin, probably at the insistence of postal authorities. Suydam, named for a local doctor, was once a busy hamlet on the early Ancram and Salisbury road, and contained a famous stagecoach inn. When the post office was established there, it was called the North Gallatin post office. Gallantinville, on the Roeliff Jansen Kill(Roeliff Jansens Kil is the principal stream: its back are and in some places rocky), was the largest settlement and the site of an early log schoolhouse (torn down in its place the Gallatinville schoolhouse was built and referred to as "district No. 9 or the lower Gallatin school") and a Livingston mill built for a Schultz. The grist and flour mill there shipped large quantities of flour to New York City. Also a store and a post office. About a mile and a half from Gallatinville, a furnace for making plows and iron repairs was established by Moses Spaulding in 1840. An eight foot overshot wheel provided water power. The furnace had a series of owners, including Milton Van Benschoten, who purchased it in 1872, enlarged it and made improvements. Then, own by Hicks and Bruce, was abandoned about 1910. Jackson Corners (on the Dutchess County line) and Union Corners (partly in Livingston, Columbia County) were considered hamlets. Some of Gallatin's children went to schools in these hamlets.
References:
Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of New York State, R.P. Smith, Publisher. 8 Sth Salina Street, Syracuse 1860; Columbia County at the End of the Century, A Historical Record of Its Formation and Settlement, Its Resources, Its Institutions, Its Industries and Its People, Two Volumes, Published and Edited under the Auspices of the Hudson Gazette, The Record Printing and Publishing Co., Hudson, New York, MCM; Gneral History of Duchess County from 1609 to 1876, Inclusive, Illustrated with Numerous Wood-Cuts, Maps and Full Page Engravings, By Philip H. Smith, Pawling, NY, Published by the Author 1877, www.redhook.org, Early Settlements in Dutchess County, New York, History of Dutchess County, www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/county/columbia/
Burdick's
Towns they lived in:
Livington, Milan, Copake, Taghankic, LaGrange (Burdick Road/Billings), Newburg, Boston Corners, Ancram, and Gallatin
Wheeler's
Towns I found so far they lived in and states:
New York (Henry's birth-Ulster Co.), Illinois, Connnecticut, New York (after the Civil War): Cario, Greenport, Catskill, Ancram, North East-Millerton
Van Tassel's
From to towns they lived in:
Holland (isle of Texel), Nieuw Amsterdam, Long Island, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Philipstown, Philipsburg Manor, Oscaeana Lake, Cold Spring, Fishkill, Wappinger Falls
