Benjamin Depuy and Philip Swartwout, Esquires, officiated as Justices of the Peace for the County of Ulster before the Revolutionary War commenced, and Anthony Van Etten and Solomon Kuykendall, Esquires, officiated as Justices of the Peace for the County of Orange, also before the commencement of the war, how long previous thereto I cannot determine, but think they must have come into office after the French war ended and before the year 1770. After the decease of Swartwout, Van Auken and Van Etten, which occurred, as has been mentioned, in the time of the war, Harmanus Van Inwegen became a Justice of the Peace of the County of Ulster and Levi Van Etten of Orange County. The former was a resident of the old town of Mamakating, and the latter of the former town of Minisink. Afterwards Peter G. Cuddeback became a Justice of the Peace of Ulster County, and officiated until he removed to Cayuga County. After this time several individuals held the office in succession for the County of Orange, which became so altered, together with an alteration of the towns, as to include the present town of Deerpark in which Cuddeback resided. When the first and second churches of Mahackemeck congregation were built, a bench with a roof over it was made in each of those churches for a seat of such magistrates in time of divine service. [FN] When those civil officers were first introduced into this part of our country they were more highly esteemed than at present, though it did not require as good abilities and as much law knowledge to discharge their duties honorably in former times as at present, in consequence of the great increase of their business and a more general diffusion of law knowledge, also by having become familiarized among the people in a much greater degree than formerly. * * * * * [FN] This was very common in the Dutch Churches in this country at that time. The descendants of the first settlers in the two neighborhoods mentioned have generally settled all their mutual dealings without the process of law, which has so continued to the present time; and before the Revolution the Justices must have had only a mere trifle of business. After the war ended law prosecutions and trials began, and their increase a few years thereafter made a great addition of business for the resident Justices in the towns mentioned, which rapidly augmented until the County of Sullivan was formed and became established out of a part of the old County of Ulster, and a part of the latter added to the old County of Orange, which transferred a great amount of law business from the present County of Ulster into the County of Sullivan.