Coldengham, New York
Store of Cadwallader Colden, Jr.
St. Andrew's Church
On this date, 250 years-ago, there were only two customers at the Colden store. This was quite a change from the record number on the prior day. The shoppers names were Josiah Robison (Roberson, Robinson) and Ambrose Jones.
The surname of Robison appeared 46 times in the DayBook. Josiah Robison accounted for fifteen of those. The surname of Jones appeared fourteen times and twelve of those were Ambrose.
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| St. Andrew's Church Cemetery, St. Andrew's Road, Montgomery, New York. |
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This article is one in a series of a daily accountings of Colden Store transactions. Be sure you read the first installment for an introduction to the store. You should also read this article which appeared in the Journal of the Orange County Historical Society.
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Josiah Robison was not found in the 1779 tax assessment, however there is a 'Siah Robenson' in Shawangunk who could be the same person. In fact, a Josiah Robinson appears in the 1790 census for the Town of Shawangunk.
Ambrose Jones was also not found in the 1779 Assessment. There was a widow Jones and an Ebineezer Jones in the Hanover assessment. Both were tenants of Colden Sr.
Unfortunately we know very little about these two families. What was their nationality? Where did they worship? Where were their farms? With which local families did they intermarry? I am sure some of that genealogical information exists, but it was not apparent from a simple internet search.
Perhaps they were both members of the St. Andrew's congregation? Ambrose Jones was known to be a vestryman at St. Andrew's. Robison lived close to the Grahams who were known to attend St. Andrew's (along with Colden, Galatian, and DuBois).
Technically St. Andrew's Episcopal Church did not receive its charter until two years after this date, July 30, 1770. However, the congregation met as early as 1745 in a temporary log structure with fireplace. It sat where the future church structure would sit and where it is shown on the 1798 Galatian Map.
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| 1798 Map of Montgomery by David Galatian. Yellow Circle indicates location of St. Andrew's. Coincidentally the burial place of Galatian. |
The Reverend John Sayre was appointed to serve this area in 1768 and is said to have lived in the vicinity of the St. Andrew's log structure, but he is not mentioned in the 1768 DayBook of the Colden Store. He also served episcopal congregations in Newburgh and on the Otter Kill. It was Sayre who was successful in obtaining charters for these congregations in 1770.
Money was raised for a new church building in 1772, and was built (by Andrew Graham) and dedicated in 1773. The early officers of the church included Colden, Graham, Galatian, Peter Bodine, Ambrose Jones, Justus Banks, John Blake, and Edward Burne. All of these men are mentioned in the Store DayBook except for Justus Banks. William Erwin was also known to be a member and several are of this family are buried in the old church cemetery. The Erwin surname appears in the DayBook and on the 1798 Galatian map.
Reverend Sayre, as well as many of the congregants, were ardent Loyalists. Sayre, sensing the future turmoil of the revolution, left the area, leaving the church without a rector for sixteen years. In fact, the heyday of the church had been in that short decade prior to the revolution. In 1826, the congregation removed to the village of Walden. The old church was sold to Loton Kidd who apparently tore down the edifice and operated a hotel on the site. Today all that remains is the cemetery as shown in the photo above.
Source: Bodine, Charles, St. Andrew's Church, Walden, New York, 1771-1946.
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