Transcription
CATALOG NUMBER VC 3125 [ENTRY CROOKED THEN UPSIDE DOWN IN
CATALOGIT]
OBJECT NAME Journal entry
DATE (1810-1840s?)
Possible after 1832 re: Lewis estate “modern stile” after 1832 fire?
AUTHOR unknown
RECIPIENT
MEDIUM paper, ink
PEOPLE Captain Requa, Mrs Conklin, Mrs Gardener (likely Gardiner),
[M??] Requa, Mr N
Frost [&] W Frost, Captain Travers, Mrs [J?] Requa, [Machael?],
Freeborn Garretson, Miss Sally Hamilton (murder victim), Mr
Woodbeck, Verplank,
PLACES Stony Point, Albany, Hudson River, Verplancks Point, “the
highlands and the horse race”, Peekskill, Verplancks dock, Captain Travers dock, Buttermilk Falls (but on Hudson, perhaps Highland Falls?), West Point, fort Putnam, Cold Spring, Newburgh, Fishkill, “Wapingers” Creek, “New Barnegats”, New Marlborough, Poughkeepsie, New Paltz, Hyde Park, Freeborn Garretson’s “situation” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildercliff), Morgan Lewis’ “situation” (Staatsburgh, https://parks.ny.gov/historic-sites/staatsburgh/details.aspx ), Mr Livingston’s? “yellow house” (? Clermont), New York City, Albany, West Camp or “Elecks” tavern (possible Eligh’s tavern, West Camp House?), “Caatskill”, Hudson, Albany, Athens, Saratoga, “Cocksackie”, Kinderhook, [New] Baltimore (NY), Westerlow, Mr [Woodbeck] home, Verplank home,
New Baltimore: https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/introducing-new-baltimore-a-hudson-river-shipbuilding-community
KEYWORDS sloop Conductor, trip up Hudson River to Albany, description of
perspective different estates from River, author “went to work” on
the boat (author?), talk of sailing, lime kilns, flock of geese, ran
aground near Hudson, engaged “pilot” to conduct sailboat up to
Albany after Baltimore, beautiful road from New Baltimore to
Westerlo,
At half past two on the afternoon of the 18th of September we s-[crooked image] / sail on board the sloop Conductor Capt Requa bound for Albany with [?] / [snug] breese from the NW _ Pafsengers Mrs Conklin, Mrs Gardener, [M??] / Requa Mr N Frost [&] W Frost and myself – Had a fine view of / the different situations on the banks of the Hudson. Crugers Dyckman / Brotherson’s VerPlancks & Dennings had a fair prospects of Stony Poi-[??] / the point of itself is nothing when we view it as it is but when / we reflect that it was held by the English and considered a very / important post — I fancied to myself that I saw our poor American / soldiers destitute of almost every thing but courage climbing up the rocks / after fording the creek and planting the American [couler?] on the top / O how ought we to prize our liberty so dearly it was bought /
With such thoughts as these my mind was occupied for a considera / ble time Mr [J W F?] gave me a faithful detail of the different / transactions that happened in the time of the revolution about / this place I think the English must have parted with these places / very reluctantly well they might these points seem to be the key / to all the country above _ _ _ Verplanck’s point shows very well / from the river two or three houses, a dock for the Stem Boat to / stop at presume the country along on the west shore seems / to be extremely rocky and barren high mountains [ahead] —--
The Ladies begin to fear the highlands and the horse race / as they call it —-- at half past 5 in the afternoon we / arived at Capt Travers’s dock [^ Peekskill] where we staid until 1 oclock / in the morning in which time I had an opportunity to call on / Mrs [J?] Requa with whom I took tea and staid till eight in the / evening when I went on board and went to work till twelve / when I went to bed and slept sound till morning
Thursday morning 13th arose at sunrise found we had started and got / almost to Buttermilk falls which we soon pafsed and came to West / Point another place celebrated for being one of the principle posts in / time of the revolution I have to lament my not having had an / opportunity of landing it would have been a satisfaction to me / to have only stept my foot on shore I was informed by our male / pafsengers who went that there is a fine plain and some elegant / [page tilted - uses] that are not to be seen from the river we hauled along side of / the dock as the tide was against us and thought have lain there / until it [served] however in this we were thwarted by the coming / of two men who told us it was contrary to their orders so we / hauled off and anchored close by
[END OF PAGE 1]
We came to here between 8 and 9 and laid till 11 oclock at which time / we set sail with a fair wind which wafted us round the point / most beautifully there are buildings such as arsenals and others / with which I am not acquainted on the greatest eminence / stand fort Putnam which must have been a great deal of labour / but no more of this —- Sailed with the breeze up through / mountains almost entirely composed of rocks and stones came to / Cold Spring landing two or three dwellings and a store comprises / the village — Next that we saw worthy of notice was Old / Antony’s nose which certainly has the appearance of a mans face / New Cornwall is a small village stands on the W side of the river and has nothing very particular in is appearance New / Windsor also stands on the west has about 7 [?] buildings including / two churches — The next is New Burgh on the W a most beauti- / ful place fine brick houses and stores it appear’d from the river / to be [^ laid] out in streets 5 or 6 of which leads back in the country several / sloops were lying at the warves and it appears to be a place of consid- / erable business – Fishkill stands on the E directly opposite NB / not many buildings near the dock fine level land round for some / distance — Wapingers Creek on the E several houses nicely painted / New Barnegats on the W [lime] [kilns?] five or six houses one or two / store houses – New Marlborough on the W small place —----- / Barnegat on the E [lime] plenty it appears to be the whole business / of the inhabitants to burn lime more kilns than houses – [Macheal’s?] / situation very pretty on the E - Pokeepsie the E most beautiful / place houses so very neatly painted but the greatest part of the / village stands back from the river how far I could not learn — / N Paltz on the W two docks some distance apart 4 or 5 houses at each —- Hyde Park on the E small landing place though very / pretty country very green just above this place on the E stands / Mr Freeborn Garrettson’s situation which is very handsome it / stands on a considerable eminence and has a commanding / view of the Hudson A little higher up stands Morgan Lewis’s / dwelling built of brick in modern stile and most elegant surrounded / with [trees?] almost _ leaving this a little on stands a very pretty / house belonging to a gentleman in N York a summer residence I / suppose the most elegant yard in front I ever saw so very green / with here and there a small tree reaching almost down to the / river – But above this still on the same side stands by far the most / elegant house I have seen yet near red hook it is a yellow wooden / building and very large on a rise of ground with a gentle slope / off in front down to the river where [the] [are] docks and summer houses
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For the accommodation of his family to whom it belongs Mr Livingston / I understand is the proprietor of this beautiful place _______ / It is now almost night there is coming on a storm and I fear I shall / be deprived of seeing any more of these fine prospects till tomorrow / morning —- It is now dark and rains and blows tremendiously / but thank fortune we are sale along side of the dock what / dock I don’t know some one under the west shore I will enquire / in the morning the name of this good place ____ Our two Mr / [Frosts] have gone on shore to sleep I fear they and Capt Requa will / wish me home if they have not already for my asking so many / questions the names of places owners of houses &c — — —- /
It is now nearly one oclock in the morning and all are snoring / around me the wind whistling through the riging the vessel / rocking too and fro so that I can hardly hold my pen or keep my / seat but I feel no disposition to turn in as we say (for we are / all pretty good sailors) for my mind is roving about sometimes / home sometimes to Albany and the different through which / we shall have to pafs before we get to our journeys end howev- / er I believe it is bedtime so I will retire — — —
The wind appears to raise I can’t goto bed yet it blows almost a / [gall] and not knowing what may happen I think it best to see / the women are very much frightened the vefsel rocks most dreadfully / and I must leave my pen — — — — —- —-
The storm has a little subsided the moon is up and things / appear quite different — — — — —
Fryday morning [28?] got up at sunrise clear morning they call / this place [Eleck’s] Tavern [^ or W Camp] found that we have been in a good / harbour very good dock and house uncommonly so far a tavern /
Sat sail (after calling for the two Frosts) and soon came to Caatskill / where we landed and all went up in the town It stands on the west side of the river a long dock leading out into the river / on the end of which is two taverns one [^ or] two stores several houses / for lumber &c this is the principle landing place I believe considerable / quantity of lumber here the town lies about one mile back from this / long dock it handsomely situated a creek running a little below it over / which is a bridge There are some elegant houses two or three / churches court house and jail The Caatskill bank is a very fine / building of brick there are all kinds of business going on here baking / brewing millinery [mantua] making &c Called for soda water could get / none got some beef and returned to the sloop started on again /
[END OF PAGE THREE]
Head wind not very heavy saw some fine buildings on each side of the river pretty country all along next is Hudson on / the E the handsomest place between NY and Albany reaches / back almost as far as you can see very fine buildings in general / large store houses pretty difficult entrance two channels [^ one] on each / shore a canal cut through from one to the other wide enough for / the ferry boat – – – Athens opposite Hudson lies low level land / along some ways one fine yellow brick house fine garden in front / one church besides a great many elegant houses saw the bri[^d]ge that / Miss Sally Hamilton was thrown under after being murder’d it seems / to be a solitary place a little above the village - - - - - -
Saw a flock of wild geese flying toward the south - Sailed along slowly / until we ran aground within sight of Hudson until eight in the / evening the wind continuing ahead it was thought best not to sail / not knowing the channel until morning an Albany sloop lying close / by also aground got off and took our two gentlemen with [^ them] on to Albany / and from thence I believe they are going to Saratoga [N] [Fr?] having / engaged to meet some company there on Sunday next - - - - -
Went to bed about 9 slept sound till morning - - Arose found ourselves / in the same place still head wind very light pafsengers a little / impatient — At nine in the morning hoisted sail and started on / again came to Cocksackie a small village on the western side of / the river some good houses stores &c make brick here this [^ village] extends / some wars along up the river - - - - Kinderhook on the east nothing / very remarkable in its appearance from the water rather smaller than / Cocksackie - - - - - some beautiful little islands along up the river - - - - -
Pafsed Baltimore on the W side sailed up pafsed by the tide being / against us it was thought best to turn back to Baltimore and get / a pilot to conduct the vesel on to Albany this place is small but / appears to be in a flourishing state very good stone houses in this / place this village being nearer to the place where Mrs Requa was / going she thought best to go from this place after some time we / obtained a wag[^ g]on to convey us our to Westerlow the place of Mr [Rulen’s?] / residence the road leading from Baltimore to the former place is / extremely beautiful I think the largest and smoothest meadows / I ever saw - - - Road throught a beautiful wood about one mile in / length principally pine and maple trees grow to great height and very / straight this place the most delightful one I ever k[^ n]ew the road bordered / on each side with small pine trees very green I cant do justice to this / enchanting place so I will leave it - - - several fine houses on this road / Mr [Woodbeck’s] is a stone building on the left hand V Planks a large brick / house on the right – Crofsed a creek enquired the name of the man who went / out with is [Honiwichs??] this creek we crofsed four times on going the distan[^ ce] / of fourteen miles
[END OF PAGE FOUR]
[END OF DOCUMENT - INCOMPLETE]Transcriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
