Enumeration of families who were in this town during the time of the
Revolutionary War, and of those who removed out of it after the war
ended, and of those who now, in 1861, remain in it of those descendants
of those ancients including marriage connections.
First of those of the upper or Peenpack neighborhood, two of whom,
DeWitt and Terwilliger, were no descendants of the first four families.
The names of the heads of those families were the following, to wit:
Capt. Jacob R. DeWitt, Capt. Abraham Cuddeback,
Benjamin Depuy, Esq., Benjamin Cuddeback,
Abraham Cuddeback, Jacob D. Gumaer,
Elias Gumaer, Harmanus Van Inwegen, Esq.,
Cornelius Van Inwegen, Philip Swartwout, Esq.,
John Wallace, Peter Gumaer,
Matthew Terwilliger, Ezekiel Gumaer,
Capt. Abraham Westfall.
Of these, their children, grand-children, and great-grand-children who
had formed marriage connections, and together with these had become
families, the following number have, from time to time, removed from
this neighborhood, to wit:
No. of family
_________________
Name. Of Of Of
parents' grand- great-
children parents' grand-
children parents'
children
Jacob R. De Witt 8 4 0
Benjamin Depuy 7 2 0
Abraham Cuddeback 3 1 0
Elias Gumaer 7 0 0
Cornelius Van Inwegen 6 3 2
John Wallace 3 0 0
Matthew Terwilliger 4 0 0
Capt. Cuddeback 4 8 5
Benjamin Cuddeback 4 14 0
Jacob D. Gumaer 6 1 2
Harmanus Van Inwegen 3 15 0
Philip Swartwout 3 3 0
Peter Gumaer 3 1 0
Ezekial Gumaer 0 1 0
Abraham Westfall 1 0 0
_____________________
62 53 9
62 + 53 + 9 = 124.
This emigration amounts to 124 families and now, in 1861, there remain
30 within the former limits of the neighborhood; gives the amount of 154
families of descendants of the men named and have formed families by
connected marriages. These had their living during the time they
remained in this place from the productions of the small patent of 1200
acres of land, and although it had become reduced to a low state of
cultivation, more of its productions have been transferred to other
people than would have supported another such a number of families.
Emigration commenced about the year 1790 and has continued to the
present time. The families first mentioned of, DeWitt, Depuy, Cuddeback,
Gumaer, Van Inwegen and Wallace, settled on the military lands in the
state of New York at Onondaga and at the Owasco and Skaneateles Lakes at
an early period of the settlement of those lands, and some were among
the first pioneers of the same where they all procured lands and became
farmers in very comfortable circumstances, and many of their
descendants, like their forefathers, have also sold their farms and
removed into the western states to advance their interest for the
benefit of their children. The other families have removed in all
directions from this neighborhood at greater and less distances from it,
but generally into the western part of this state and into Pennsylvania
and different other states.
Of the four first families, who remained permanent residents in this
neighborhood, twelve children became married to non-residents of the
same and founded twelve families, two of which settled in the lower
neighborhood and were among the first settlers in it, five in the State
of New Jersey, four in Rochester and its vicinity in Ulster County, and
one in Orange County, east of Shawangunk mountain. The other children of
those ancients were seven in number, and formed only six families. These
remained in the neighborhood until about the year 1790. From this it
appears that only half as many families of the first descendants
remained in it as what moved out of it, or settled in other places.
Now, if the 12 families mentioned had become settled and remained in
the neighborhood, together with the other six, and increased and
emigrated, in the same proportion of the latter, the amount, after
deducting those of DeWitt and Terwilliger numbering 16, would now be
324 emigrated, and 90 of present residents, and the whole amount 411
families.
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