The first and second generations of the first four families who
remained in this neighborhood had the free use of cider for a term of
about one hundred years, including the time of the war, in which they
could not have it, and during the greatest part of all that time had
the means to procure as much other liquor as they craved, and yet not
a single individual of them became a drunkard. When they came into
company where rum or other spirituous liquors were drank, they would
become lively, cheerful and humorous, by partaking of the same, but
not as the saying is "under foot." Such instances of sobriety, under
such attending circumstances, for such a length of time, seldom occur.
We of the third generation, as well as our forefathers, have also
been in a like habit of drinking cider during the greater part of our
lives, and for many years in the habit of drinking all sorts of
spirituous liquors without a single individual of us becoming what is
termed a drunkard, but two or three of our class did sometimes become
intoxicated and made a considerable approach towards being entirely
overcome by the effect of liquor. Such also was the advancement of
Gumaer toward those allurements as has been mentioned and there have
been rare instances of some of us of sober lives becoming
intoxicated. It is now (in 1858) 168 years since this neighborhood
was first settled. Take 28 years from this time for the growth of an
orchard to make cider, and 140 years remain for the use of its
production which must have become plentiful within a less time than
28 years, for the first orchards of Cuddeback and Gumaer and one of
Swartwout, which became Van Inwegen's, were on the very best of
their river flats and must have had a very quick growth; the trees
became large and were between two and three feet in diameter about
the year 1780 when they appeared to have their full growth and some
limbs began to die. From all of which we have reason to infer that
the manufacturing of cider commenced here before the year 1720 and
that much of it had been drank here from that time until the year
1840, previous to which its use began to abate and within that time
many other spirituous liquors have been used with a mere trifle of
intoxication for so long a time.
Now, although we and our forefathers received a mere trifle of the
bad effects of liquors in this respect, yet the constitution of some
of us must have been injured by their use. I, myself, have
experienced the bad effects therefrom in respect to my own
constitution, which at one time became so weak against its effects
that if I drank so as to feel the least alteration from its influence
it hurt me. This, however, was not the case with many others; some
hard drinking men who came here among us remained healthy and lived
to be old. Whether such would or would not have arrived to an older
age without the use of liquor is uncertain.
Our diets continued to be the same as has been mentioned for some
years after the Revolutionary War ended; but the diets of mush, &c.,
which were eaten with milk, began to be abandoned after different
kinds of teas and coffee began to be used, and, after becoming
generally used, the milk diets were in a manner wholly abandoned. In
these drinks a little milk and sugar was put; molasses also was very
plentifully used, and with this, sugar and other articles, many
palatable, different kinds of sweet cakes, pies, &c., were made;
also, different kinds of spices became fashionable for adding
agreeable flavors to some diets. Now, all these are eatables and
drinks which we did not have in our early days. In addition to all
these we now have different kinds of preserves made with sugar,
molasses, and different sorts of fruit, berries, &c., and some other
diets we did not have.
After tea and coffee had been used for some time, they were preferred
by the young people to the milk diet; but some of the older class,
who had been habituated to eating buttermilk pop, mush and milk, and
other diets, often chose to have these in preference to tea or
coffee. Such are the effects of habit.
As to our industry and labors for the support of our families and to
make advancement, they continued during our lives to be about the
same on an average as those of our parents, in which some were more
persevering and others less than their respective parents.
The inhabitants of the lower neighborhood who were contemporary with
our parents, and those who were the same with ourselves, have also
continued and progressed in about the same manner as we and our
parents have done in the habits of life mentioned.
After our manner of living changed, we were from time to time
afflicted with ailments and diseases which all have continued to
suffer at times, more or less, until the present time; but of late
years have not had such mortal distempers in this vicinity as some we
had at certain previous periods.
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