A History of Deerpark in Orange County, N. Y.Gumaer, Peter E.
History
A History of Deerpark in Orange County, N. Y.
Gumaer, Peter E.
Deerpark (N.Y. : Town) -- History
* * * * *
FAMILIES OF ____ WESTFALL AND DAVID COLE
were the first settlers on the present farms of Levi and Thomas Van
Etten, Esq.
George Davis and wife, Deborah Schoonover, had one son, Samuel, who
became owner of the ancient grist-mill at T. Van Etten's mill seat.
Very little is now known respecting these four last mentioned ancient
families.
Some of the families in the lower neighborhood, who, by marriages had
become connected with certain families in the Peenpack neighborhood,
are included in the history of the latter and here omitted.
It will be seen by this history of the ancient citizens of the lower
neighborhood that they, as well as the others mentioned, were
farmers, and they have also obtained their livings by the cultivation
of the earth (a laborer's business), and not only provided a competency
for their respective families, but also a surplus for the markets of
our country to support those in other pursuits of life; but there now
are of the present generations of the descendants of both neighborhoods
some in nearly all the different occupations of life in our country.
From the length of time which intervened between the first settlement
nearest at Peenpack and that made in the lower neighborhood, it
appears probable that the latter was prevented by the Indian chief
who resided on the land now of Levi or Thomas Van Etten, Esq.
LONGEVITY OF THE FIRST AND SECOND GENERATIONS.
The ages to which the first and second generations arrived, cannot
all be correctly ascertained for want of records of the times of
their several births and deaths. The only record of which the writer
is in possession, is that of the families of the first and second
Peter Gumaer, relative to the births of their respective children.
These two records are a guide to get into the neighborhood of the
times of the births of the members of the other families, and from
what I have obtained from inscriptions on tombstones and the
information I have had relative to the times to which some of them
lived, I can correctly determine the ages of some of them and within
a few years of others.
It was said of Jacob Cuddeback, by his grandson, Capt. Cuddeback,
that he lived to the age of 100 years and retained his faculties good
to the end of his life. In 1686, when Peter Gumaer was 20 years old,
and he and Cuddeback had to leave France, the latter cannot have been
less than 20 or 25 years of age. It appears he lived until after the
inhabitants of this neighborhood had to buy some land out of Expense
lot number two, in the Minisink patent, for a supply of fuel, rail
timber, &c., which must have been about the year 1766. From all of
which it appears that the age of Cuddeback cannot have been less than
100 years, and that the answer he made to his son William, heretofore
mentioned, near the end of his life, shows that his intellect was yet
good at that time.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account