As I mentioned in an earlier post, my great-great-grandfather, James Eldred and his family, wife Polly, and children, twelve-year-old Amelia, ten-year-old Sarah, five-year-old Eliza, Abraham Mulford nine, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (CCP) seven, and Grandmother (his mother, Mary Hulse Eldred Forgeson, … Continue reading
Cochecton In 1754, Connecticut Yankees established Cushetunk and claimed the Delaware River’s west bank for the Colony of Connecticut. Cochecton, (cuh-SHEK-ton), means low land; also called the flats. The land is rich and fertile and full of fish and game. … Continue reading
In 1800, Lumberland (then two years old), had a population of 733, most of whom had lumber-related jobs. Saw-mills operated on various streams. Halfway Brook was said to have had ten sawmills on its nine miles. Enormous amounts of lumber … Continue reading
The Halfway Brook (there is another one in New York) I write about, is in a most gorgeous area called the Upper Delaware River Region, in New York State. This Halfway Brook was the name of a nine-mile stream, before … Continue reading
The bark of the hemlock tree was used in the many tanneries of the area in the nineteenth century. Tannin found in Hemlock bark stops the natural decay and makes the leather flexible and durable, preserving the hide. Hemlock bark … Continue reading
Kill Kill or kille is Dutch for a creek as in Wallkill or Beaver Kill. Callicoon Creek Dutch hunters named the area Kollikoonkill because there were so many Kollikoon or wild turkeys. Delaware In 1610, as Captain Samuel Argall named … Continue reading
Dear Cousins and Friends, I am happy to announce that The Mill on Halfway Brook is ready for its final edit. This means my husband Gary, who designs book covers and book interiors for clients (as well as a number … Continue reading
Fish and eel were plentiful in the Delaware River. The Van Tuyl, Middaugh, Hooker families and others kept a barrel of salted eels for winter meals. Each child’s dinner would be a boiled eel and four buckwheat pancakes. Other families … Continue reading
