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History of Orange County
Town of Montgomery
Page 17
Searsburgh.—At this place there was an early settlement made by Johannes Snider, where he owned a large tract of land, situate on both sides of the Dwars Kill. This stream, at the time, furnished a greater water power than at present, in the cleared up condition of the county. At this place be erected a log mill which was known on the town records as Snider’s Mill in 1768. This was the first flour mill in that vicinity. This is in the present town of Crawford. Mr. Snider, being a man of means, built a log church—also known as Snider’s Church, at the above period. The preaching was in Dutch, and the church worn out before the Revolution. The family is Dutch, and settled here as early as 1740.
Pine Bush.—The western boundary of the town, at the time we speak of, was the Shawangunk Kill. On this Mr. Robert Milliken erected a saw mill—called Milliken’s Mill on the town records in 1768. This appears to be the earliest mention of a saw mill on this stream. The following mill, formerly were on this kill, within the breadth though not all within the limits of the town. Beginning at the south, and counting down the stream, we have first, the old flour mill, of Pat. Boice—by whom built we are not informed. It is now the property of Mr. Locy. Next was Milliken’s saw mill—next, Sear’s grist mill—next, Abraham Bruyn's flour mill—and last, Cornelius Slott’s saw and grist mill.— This last is now owned by his son Arthur Slott, who has gathered around him on his own property, a village of a dozen tenements. Saw mills were not used in England till about 1633. That year there was one erected near London, but afterwards demolished, that it might not deprive the laboring poor of employment.
The ancestors of Mr. Slott are among the most ancient in the State. The family is Dutch, came from Holland, and arrived in the city of New York in 1670. This is proved by family records. There were three brothers that came to the country. On arriving at New York, they proceeded and located at Hackensack in New Jersey. After a number of years they removed to Rockland county, New York; and from there to the town of Montgomery in this county, on the Tinbrook, at what is called Slott town. By this time the old generation had died off, and Cornelius Slott, above named, was the active member of this branch of the family. Though understanding several of the mechanic arts he confined himself to agriculture. When the militia were ordered out to defend Fort Montgomery in 1777, Mr. Slott went with his company as an orderly Sergeant. The fort was taken and Mr. Slott made prisoner. He was taken to New York and put in the old Sugar House, where he was confined ten months. When *set at liberty he returned to his farm with a constitution injured by the service and hard and cruel treatment while in prison. He sold his farm in 1785, and moved to the city of New York. In 1790 he moved back to Orange, and made a purchase of the mill site at Pinebush; and in the same year put up a saw mill on the Shawangunk Kill, just below the mouth of the little Peakadasank. In 1791 he erected the grist mill near the present site of Arthur Slott’s mill. When he first settled at this place there was no public road leading to his mill, and he called the commissioners of the town who laid out a road from Hopewell north to his mill, then across the stream to intersect the old Shawangunk road that led to Albany.
Arthur, Johannes and Cornelius Slott of this generation, are children of this old patriot and settler in the town, himself a descendent from the Hollanders above named.
There was a settlement near Graham’s Church that deserves a notice in our paper. The residents were Mr. Abraham Dickerson, father of Mr. Adam Dickerson, John Robinson, father of Isaiah Robinson, and Philip Decker, father of Joseph Decker. The last two were from Holland; the first of Irish descent. Mr. Dickerson had a saw mill on a small stream near his house which was worn out and gone half a century since.
The Valley of the Walkill throughout the town was among the earliest portions settled. This was effected by Germans, Hollanders and a few Huguenots, some of whom came directly to the town on arriving in the country, and others from the settlements previously made in Ulster county. We are not able from any historic records in possession, or distinct reliable tradition, accurately to determine what families in particular are entitled to priority in this work of early population; and shall not, therefore, attempt to assign it to any one in particular, but leave the honors to be equally divided among them—satisfied that when their names shall be known, the county will revere and respect their memory for: their simplicity and virtues, good deeds and early hardships. The families we are about to name were located in the town, made improvements of various kinds, in cultivating: the land, building bridges, making roads, forming congregations and erecting churches before the organization of the Precinct in 1767. All this was the work of time, and we have no doubt that many of them had been in the town twenty or thirty years before the period above stated.
The list is made from the early records of the town, where their names appear in the discharge of various offices, or otherwise named. The spelling of the record is preserved, erroneous as it may be.
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