If you are new to the genealogy of Campbell's in New York you may be confused by the fact that some family members say a certain person was born in the Town of Montgomery, Orange County, NY while others say Hanover Precinct, Ulster County, NY. Here is the full history of this area. I refer back to it often myself as it is relatively complicated.
The name of Wallkill has been applied to many places and geographically features in New York. Its usage is often confusing. “Kill” means river in Dutch so it makes sense that the original use was in reference to the Wallkill river which flows northeast from New Jersey until it dumps into the Rondout River near Kingston (Esopus). In the early 1700s the term, Wallkill, was used to refer to the entire river valley area. In 1762 the precincts of Newburgh and New Windsor were formed along the Hudson River and the area west of them was known as the Precinct of Wallkill. From the map below, there was also a early settlement called Wallkill just west of Coldenham (NOT the hamlet of Wallkill of today which sits about 6 miles further down the river.) The center of this settlement was the current intersection of Routes 17K and 208, very close to the present Goodwill church. This church was originally known as the Wallkill church and is referred to often as “the Wallkill Meeting House.”
In June 1767, George Monell advertised the sale of property at this location in the New York Mercury Newspaper. He described the 200 acre farm as “situated near Wallkill Meeting-House, in Ulster County, bounded on the one side by a publick Road leading from Goshen to Esopus [Kingston] and Albany [208/Maybrook/207], and divided by another publick Road leading to Wallkill Bridge and the High-Dutch Settlement [17K].” Remnants of the Monell family still lived near this location at the 1790 census.
In 1772 the Precinct of Wallkill was divided with the easterly portion being named the Precinct of Hanover. This precinct included a village built around a bend in the Wallkill River that was the site of a mill since the early 1700s. In 1750 the owner of the mill and bridge was one James Ward, and at one time the village took on the name of "Ward’s Bridge". In an act of patriotism in 1782 the precinct name was changed to Montgomery as was the name of the growing village near the bridge and mill. In 1788 the term "Precinct" was dropped and Montgomery became a "Town". The major Village within the Town of Montgomery remained Montgomery. Orange County was expanded to include the Town of Montgomery in 1798 (Note that the Campbell/Barkley deed of May 1, 1793 deed says "Town of Montgomery, Ulster County."). The Town of Montgomery was in Ulster County for the census of 1790, but was in Orange County for the 1800 census.
Records showing our relatives living sequentially in Wallkill, Hanover, and Montgomery precincts during 1765-1790 could happen without them actually moving!!
Today the river is still called Wallkill. There is a "Town of Wallkill" that lies to the west of the Town of Montgomery, both in Orange County. To add to the confusion there is a hamlet called Wallkill that sits on the Wallkill River in the Town of Shawangunk, Ulster County. This hamlet should not be confused with the location of the Campbells in 1767.
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| 1779 Sauthier Map. Like most maps of its day, this one was constructed from many others. It is famous for its detail (this is just a portion of the map which covers all of New York). The red lines are the borders of Ulster County. |
The Sauthier map is dated 1779, but appears to capture some of the features of earlier times that were outdated by 1779. It was a map of the entire state of New York constructed from many older maps of the various regions.
The Hudson River is visible on the right with the river towns of Newburgh and New Windsor shown. The Wallkill river can be seen in the middle of the map flowing to the Northeast. In the top left corner the Shawangunk River is seen.
The most interesting feature of this map is that it shows a village called Wallkill at where Route 17K and 208 now intersect. There is no village there now, but it is close to the current Goodwill church, so it was probably a “center” for many years. This is very close to where Joel lived in 1790. The current Village of Montgomery is located where the river makes a sudden turn eastward, just west of Wallkill on this map.
Just to the north of Wallkill is a patent which which is bisected by the road to Wilmanton and labeled "John Alexander." This is about the exact location of the property of Samuel Campbell which was sold in 1793. That property also straddled the road.
Just above the word Wallkill is a plot of land through which a stream meanders and which is labeled with the name “Brasier.” The 100 acre deed that Daniel Campbell witnessed in 1760 was for land that was a part of a grant to William Brauser (Brashier or Brasier). It is in this very area that Samuel had property and perhaps also some of his sons.
The village labeled “Wilmanton” (sometimes spelled Wilemanton) no longer exists. It was just south of the current village of Walden.
Coldenham appears as a major settlement and crossroads. Not today. Only the ruins of the Colden Stone Mansion remain.
Little Britain sits to the south of Coldenham. This was the birthplace of George Clinton, first Governor of the State of New York and Presidential candidate. Also Dewitt Clinton was born here, father of the Erie Canal. Dr. Charles Clinton (brother of George) and subject of several other posts was also born here.
A “Campbell Mills” appears to the southwest of Little Britain. This is part of the community started by Lachlan Campbell, a scheming Scotsman who brought indentured servants to America in an effort to restart the feudal system. He returned to Scotland after launching the community called Campbell Hall. Ironically, there were no Campbells that lived there.
New York is one of the eastern states that has "Towns", NOT "Townships." You can read more about New York Legal Entities here: http://www.nyslocalgov.org/pdf/Local_Government_Count.pdf. As an example of how complicated it is, my zip code (10583 Scarsdale) is predominantly in the coterminous Town-Village of Scarsdale, but technically I live in the City of Yonkers.
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ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post! I've been trying to locate Little Britain, where my Crawford ancestors supposedly settled before moving to Washington County NY around the time of the Revolutionary War. My best guess at this point is somewhere around Brown's Pond & the Otterkill Golf & Country Club:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/maps/@41.4624086,-74.2140348,1575m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4
Am I correct in assuming that the stream just near that red border (re Sauthier map) is Modna Creek, and that the road running along that border is Rt. 94? I understand Little Britain Road was a later construction.
Thanks! -Dave
Sorry, Moodna Creek...
ReplyDeleteThose are good questions. You might want to ask the New Windsor Town historian who is very knowledgeable. The red border is the old county border, Ulster to the north and Orange to the south. You are correct that the Moodna flows into the Hudson near New Windsor, but I think the branch you are talking about is actually Otterkill. The road in question goes through Goshen so it is not 94. 94 follows the old "Kings Highway" which went through Chester. The road in question does seem to follow the current 207 (which is also Little Britain Rd?). My understanding is that Little Britain was never a legal jurisdiction, but was just a familiar name to refer to the settlement of the Clinton immigration party.
ReplyDeleteThe red line from the Sauthier map, which you note as the old county border (thanks!), appears to still correspond well to the modern division between the town of New Windsor, and those of Cornwall & Blooming Grove (which makes sense of course). At least until it gets to Hamptonburgh (which wasn't formed until c1830). That much is fairly clear from looking at your notes and some historical topographical maps (at http://historicalmaps.arcgis.com/usgs/ ).
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, the river branches I was focused upon in the Sauthier map are (starting from the Hudson) the Moodna, which becomes Otter Kill Creek forking northward (and Cromline Creek forking to the south). I am just trying to focus in on where "Little Britain" is shown on that Sauthier map, and that is just N or NE of the current Otterkill Golf & Country Club. I will definitely want to follow up with the New Windsor Town Historian, as I am not familiar with the Clinton immigration party or its settlement area. If my Crawfords did settle there I suppose they could have been associated with that party, or perhaps they came in at a later date. Knowing that Little Britain was likely a larger settlement area is useful information. I notice a number of Crawfords noted as "L.B." in that Coldengham daybook, so this has my antennae perked!
As to the road from the Sauthier map, it corresponds well with what's shown in the 1950s map as (from the Hudson) Rt. 94, to Rt. 208, to the N. of Goshen. I'm pretty sure I read that "Little Britain Rd." (Rt. 207) was built rather later than the 1700s, and if that recollection is right it cannot be the road from the Sauthier map.
All that to get my bearings on the "Little Britain" from the Sauthier map... Now perhaps I can get some further info from that historian! Thanks for your blog posts, they have given me leads to consider for my brick wall Crawfords!!
Another map to look at is the Dewitt map of New Windsor in ~1782. You can see Belknap's home on this map which was on Little Britain Rd. It is pretty clear from that map that Little Britain Rd existed. The Clintons, the McClaughreys, the Burnets...they all lived on that road in the 1700s. That map is in my book and is probably in the blog if you search for it.
DeleteOne more thing. The Sauthier map is very difficult to overlay on a modern map. Not all dimensions are accurate.
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