William Cuddeback was a man of somewhat over six feet stature, coarse-boned, muscular and lean. He was strong and very nimble, and could outrun many young men after he was fifty years old. In the French war, after his hair had begun to turn gray, he outran a soldier who thought himself swift. He was very talkative and witty, and I think from what information I have had in relation to him, that he never had his equal in this town for humorous discourse and a display of wit properly and suitably applied. He was characterised as a wise man in his time. Argument was his hobby, and, as there was much of it in his time in relation to the Scriptures, he, although uneducated, became so versed therein that when among strangers he was often thought to be a well read man. He was a disbeliever in the superstitious notions which many people in his time had in relation to witchcraft, &c., and would often tell very laughable occurrences in respect thereto. He was somewhat slack in his business concerns and careless in paying attention to the same, but he always had help enough to manage the business of his farm.
Peter Gumaer was a man of about five feet ten inches stature. During the time of my acquaintance with him he was fleshy and fat, and in his younger days was a very persevering business man. He never was a hard working nor an idle man himself, but all his children and slaves performed a great amount of labor. His family produced a greater amount of farmer's productions than any other farmer within 20 or 30 miles distance from his residence, and he had all the necessary fixtures for his different branches of business in the best manner of his time. He would not suffer idleness in his family, and was inimical to it in others. He was a man of good judgment and of an honest and independent principle.
Gerardus Van Inwegen [FN] {tn} was a man of about five feet eight or nine inches stature. He was lean, bony, muscular and strong, and had much of the Swartwout jocose and humorous disposition. He was the only son of his father, and was brought up without work, and in his neighborhood became fond of hunting, and did much of it in company with the white and Indian boys of the neighborhood, and in early life became a very skillful hunter and took great delight in it. He continued to follow it through life, and killed more deer, bears and other wild animals and wild fowls than any other man of his time in this vicinity, whereby he not only obtained a very plentiful supply of those meats for his own family, but contributed liberally to those of Cuddeback and Gumaer, his neighbors, and enjoyed a very happy life. He was much addicted to playing tricks on people, and, when any of them happened to be offensive, he could generally end the matter in good humor. (It appears those ancients generally were well calculated to extinguish those offensive occurrences and restore friendship, by means of which they maintained friendly relations with each other and with the Indians.)
[FN] Brother of Hannah, wife of Anthony Van Etten, page 59.
{Transcribers note: the footnote is hand written}
At a certain time he put a mean, dirty trick on a company of squaws and their children, which they discovered in going to a certain place, and immediately laid it to Gerardus, and, on their return, stopped at his house and accused him of it. He asked what made them think he had done it. They told him no other man in the neighborhood would do such a nasty trick; that he was worse than a hog and they would have satisfaction for that trick. After some altercation respecting it, he got a pail of cider and gave them as much as they would drink, which cheered them all up and they went off in good humor, laughing at those who fared the worse.
Samuel Swartwout was reputed to have been a very strong man, and naturally easy and very good natured, not easily provoked to anger nor easily scared. He, by hunting and trapping, obtained a supply of meat and some other necessaries for his family. He had a valuable farm, but had no help to work it. Laborers could not be hired. After Depuy married his daughter he brought some slaves from his father's, and, with these, Depuy worked the farm and produced much wheat and other grain. Swartwout was on very friendly terms with the Indians, and when he removed from the residence of his father, he settled, as has been mentioned, among a collection of Indians.
In order to give some idea of Swartwout's boldness and of having been so characterized, I will relate a certain transaction, to wit: A certain Indian in his time had made a false face of a very frightful appearance, which was obtained from him by two or three of the young men. It was said that when it was put before a man's face and a bear skin wrapped around his body, the appearance in the night was very terrifying. They gave the man so dressed the name of Santa Claus. On a certain winter evening this Santa Claus went round among the families and frightened the members of four of them by this imprudent exhibition. After this they concluded to try if they could not scare the fearless Swartwout. Santa Claus went and entered his house. Swartwout sat before the fire, and, on seeing him, rose from his chair, took hold of it, and put himself in a position to strike. Santa Claus, fearing the blow, said, "Uncle Samuel, don't strike." Swartwout told him to go out of the house, or he would split his brains, and added, "If you are the devil, or from the devil, go to where you belong."
These five men and their fathers had to encounter many difficulties to retain the possession of nearly half the land they claimed under the patent against Jersey claimants, and it appears they were well qualified in all respects to counteract them. An account of this is contained in Eager's history.