ANTI-RENT WAR

 TAGHKANIC

COLUMBIA COUNTY,

NEW YORK

By Capt. Franklin Ellis ²²⁶

¹⁸⁷⁸

     ^{This town was the scene of much violent excitement during the anti-rent troubles of 1844, and although no actual conflict of arms occurred, for a long time the people were so greatly stirred up that such an event seemed imminent.  In the month of November a meeting was held, at which the "Taghkanic Mutual Association" was formed.  John I. Johnson, president; James M. Strever, George I. Rossman, Peter Poucher, Samuel A. Tanner, and George I. Finkle, vice-presidents; Philip B. Miller, treasurer; Anthony Poucher, recording secretary; and John Bain and James M. Strever, executive committee, were the officers of the association.  The meetings were held principally at the house of James Yager, at Taghkanic, and the members generally appeared in fantastic disguises, made of bright-colored calico, with their faces painted in Indian style or screened by hideous masks.}

     ^{After the killing of W. H. Rifenburgh, at a meeting at Smoky Hollow, in Claverack, wiser counsel began to prevail, and hot blood was cooled by the appreciation of the true tendencies of the movement.  The association was abandoned, and the opponents of the rent system adopted other and better means to accomplish their aims.}

     ^{It was during this time of turmoil that the destruction of buildings by fire and the killing of animals by shot or poison marked the bitter feelings engendered by the mischievous harangues to which the anti-renters were treated by the demagogue speakers.  The buildings on the Livingston property at New Forge were several times unsuccessfully fired, and two stacks of hay in near proximity were burned to ashes.  A large barn owned by Lapham & Miller, of West Taghkanic, was burned, and an unsuccessful attempt was made on the barn of Mr. Stephen Ham, about a mile east of West Taghkanic.  Two attempts were made to burn the buildings of Robert H. Bush, who had in some manner incurred the bitter hatred of the reckless incendiaries; and at one of these times a guard was stationed to watch the house-door while the fire was being started, with instructions to shoot down whoever appeared to put a stop to the nefarious operations.  No one appeared, however, and the infernal machine which they depended upon to set the fire going became smothered by its own smoke.}

     ^{The incendiaries employed to do this work were Alexander Decker and Perez Allen.  Allen, upon their being arrested, turned State's evidence, and was released.  Decker was put upon "jail limits," and suddenly disappeared.  It is generally believed that he was spirited away by person connected with the anti-renters, against whom he was able to give damaging evidence, and that he was foully murdered to insure his silence.  The Finkle family were the most conspicuous among the anti-renters of this section.  Joseph W. Finkle and his sons were very troublesome, and had numerous conflicts with the officers of the law who were sent to serve legal processes upon them.  In these encounters they invariably came off victorious, secured and burned the papers, and in some cases caused the officers to beat a precipitate retreat and pursued them for some miles.  At one time the sheriff's posse, composed of a force of New York city roughs, who were employed for the express purpose of conquering these hitherto invincible Finkles, came to the house and were admitted to the room where the family was.  As soon as the business of the visitors became known a fierce fight began, and in a short space of time the New Yorkers were whipped and put to flight.  Three of the young Finkles were afterwards convicted of perjury, and sentenced to Sing Sing prison.  During their imprisonment the father died, and was buried in the Lyall cemetery in the town of Copake.  On the unpretending monument that marks his resting-place is the following inscription:}

     ^{"In memory of Joseph W. Finkle, died Sept. 7, 1849, aged 76 years, 11 months, & 16 days, whose death was caused through perpetual grief by the false imprisonment of three of his sons, Peter Finkle, Calvin Finkle, John I. Finkle, who ware all three falsely condemned & sentenced for a term of years to Singsing prison, in order to quail thare noble spirits, blight their patriotic zeal, constrain them to renounce thare honest integrity of honesty, & submit to oppression, frauds, & fudal sistoms."}