Emma Austin was a sister to my grandfather Charles Mortimer Austin and my great Aunt Aida Austin. This next letter seems to be written from New York City where the Austin Cousins lived. January 1, 1877 Dear brother Lon, Holidays … Continue reading
Aida Austin was the sister of my grandfather Charles Mortimer Austin. In a letter she wrote to her brother Lon, she told about her 1880 Christmas in New York City with her Austin cousins—two of whom she mentioned—Ida and Ad … Continue reading
Partially because of the cholera epidemic in New York City, in 1832, Felix Kyte and his family sought a new location and by the end of the year were living in Lumberland. Cholera must also have been in Lumberland as … Continue reading
In 1832, the Congregational Church of Halfway Brook had been without a pastor for six years—since Rev. Stephen Sergeant had left and gone to the Presbyterian Church. The congregation was meeting in the small school house at Halfway Brook, known … Continue reading
In 1799, Isaac Sergeant helped organize the Narrows Falls Congregational Church, which eventually became the Congregational Church of Eldred. In the early years, the church met in log cabins, barns and sawmills. From 1816 Stephen Sergeant, son of Isaac and … Continue reading
Lord & Taylor, based in New York City, New York, is the oldest upscale department store chain in the United States. Lord and Taylor began in New York in 1826, as a small dry goods store owned by cousins Samuel … Continue reading
Sears Gardner was the Town of Lumberland’s supervisor in 1825, when a school was started for children in the area of Halfway Brook Village and Barryville. James Eldred, was the Town Clerk, Commissioner of Highways, and in July, Town Marshall. … Continue reading
Getting food and necessities for living was quite challenging in Lumberland’s early days. Needed items were purchased from the Village of Newburgh—about sixty miles from Lumberland. The round trip on the Newburgh-Cochecton Turnpike took a week. Farm produce, cattle, and … Continue reading
Many wild animals still roamed the forest, in the 1820s, including bears. Years later, Jacob Stage’s wife, Martha Carmichael, told a story about her grandmother as a young mother. The menfolk had gone some distance to hunt and left Grandmother … Continue reading
In late 1824, Garrett Wilson and three other men purchased Shohola Lumber property in Shohola, Pennsylvania, across from what was then called the River Settlement, now Barryville. Mr. Wilson became the sole manager, and the company was “…constantly engaged in … Continue reading
