Some criticism of this work has been occasioned through the inclusion therein of biographical sketches; but we are certain that upon calm reflection it will be seen that such objections rest upon no substantial foundation. The narratives of the lives of men and their acts constitute all there is of history. If it be true that all that our county shows in the way of growth and development, is entirely due to the men and women who originally peopled this region, and worthily performed those parts allotted to them in the general scheme of life, during their existence here, it is equally true that their successors who still abide with us, took up the burden where it fell from the hands of the fathers, and most signally continued the work, and carried it forward to success. If the works themselves are deserving of commendation, surely the workers and finishers thereof are entitled to the honor of some mention.
In sending forth this volume, we trust that in addition to its value as a depository of accurate information and useful knowledge, it will also prove an effective instrument in creating a more active public sentiment regarding historical subjects, and especially foster an interest in the annals of our own county.
The editor would be wanting in gratitude did he fail to acknowledge his obligations to the well-known writer, the late Mr. Edward M. Ruttenber. The whole historical field comprising that period prior to the Revolutionary era, has been so carefully gleaned over by that indefatigable and accurate historiographer, that there remains little or nothing that is new, to reward any subsequent investigator into the history of that era, and therefore all who include that epoch in any sketch, must perforce draw largely from the store of valuable materials gathered by him. The editor also desires to return his sincere thanks to our numerous contributors, for their cheerful assistance, and especially for the painstaking care exhibited by them in the preparation of those articles which appear herein, and whose excellence constitutes the chief merit of this work.
That the efforts of myself and associates have fallen short of the high standard we had set up for ourselves at the inception of our labors, we are well aware; but we do at least claim, that we have in some material degree, contributed in this volume to the "rescuing from oblivion and preserving the services which others have performed for God and country and fellow men." If the public by its verdict allows this claim to stand, our reward will be ample and we shall rest well content.
Russel Headley.
Dated, July 14, 1908.
[CONTENTS]
Part I
CHAPTER I-X. [The County of Orange]
{[Chapter I:] County, Precincts And Towns. [Chapter II:] Early Indian Character And Conduct. [Chapter III:] First Settlements And Settlers. [Chapter IV:] Topography And Geology. [Chapter V:] Early Government. [Chapter VI:] Early Military Organizations. [Chapter VII:] French And Indian War. [Chapter VIII:] War of The Revolution. [Chapter IX:] The War of 1812. [Chapter X:] The Civil War. —added by transcriber}
CHAPTER XI. [The Town of Blooming Grove] . . . . . . By Benjamin C. Sears
CHAPTER XII. [The Town of Chester] . . . . . . . . . By Frank Durland
CHAPTER XIII. [The Town of Cornwall] . . . . . . . . . By E. M. V. McClean
CHAPTER XIV. [The Town of Crawford] . . . . . . . . . By J. Erskine Ward
CHAPTER XV. [The Town of Deer Park] . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER XVI. [The Town of Goshen] . . . . . . . . . . By George F. Gregg
CHAPTER XVII. [The Town of Greenville] . . . . . . . . By Charles E. Stickney
CHAPTER XVIII. [The Town of Hamptonburgh] . . . . .By Margaret Crawford Jackson
CHAPTER XIX. [The Town of Highlands] . . . . . . . . By Captain Theodore Faurot
CHAPTER XX. [The Town of Minisink] . . . . . . . . By Charles E. Stickney
CHAPTER XXI. [The Town of Monroe] . . . . . . . . . By M. N. Kane
CHAPTER XXII. [The Town of Montgomery] . . . . . By David A. Morrison
CHAPTER XXIII. [The Town of Mount Hope] . . . . . . By Wickham T. Shaw
CHAPTER XXIV. [The Town of Newburgh] . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER XXV. [The City of Newburgh] . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER XXVI. [The Town of New Windsor] . . . . . . . By Dr. C. A. Gorse
CHAPTER XXVII. [The Town of Tuxedo] . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER XXVIII. [The Town of Wallkill] . . . . . . . . . By William B. Royce
CHAPTER XXIX. [The Town of Warwick] . . . . . . . . By Ferdinand V. Sanford
CHAPTER XXX. [The Town of Wawayanda] . . . . . . By Charles E. Stickney
CHAPTER XXXI. [The Town of Woodbury] . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER XXXII. [The Bench and Bar] . . . . . . . . . . . By William Vanamee
CHAPTER XXXIII. [The Medical Profession] . . . . . . . By John T. Howell, M.D.
CHAPTER XXXIV. [The Schools] . . . . . . . . . . . . . By John M. Dolph
CHAPTER XXXV. [The Churches] . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Rev. Francis Washburn
CHAPTER XXXVI. [Agriculture] . . . . . . . . . . . . . By David A. Morrison
CHAPTER XXXVII. [Journalism] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By W. T. Doty
CHAPTER XXXVIII. [Freemasonry] . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Charles H. Halstead
CHAPTER XXXIX. [Horse Breeding] . . . . . . . . . . . . By Guy Miller
CHAPTER XL. [Dairying] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .