Elias Hasbrouck,
Woodstock's First
Supervisor
By Richard R. Heppner, Woodstock Town Historian
Two years before George Washington took the oath as the first President of the United States, another "founding father" was making history of his own. Always a bit ahead of the rest of the country, Woodstock's first supervisor, Elias Hasbrouck, took office on June 5, 1787. As Hasbrouck convened the first town meeting at his home in Lake Hill, he found himself at the helm of a town that was decidedly larger than the Woodstock we know today. Established by legislative act in April of 1787, the new town covered approximately 450 square miles, stretching to the west branch of the Delaware River in the west, to Windham in the north. In fact, since 1797, the county of Greene and five new towns have been created from the Woodstock that Elias Hasbrouck once governed.
In addition to Hasbrouck's election as Supervisor, a number of other Woodstockers added their names to that first "administration." John Row, from one of Woodstock's foremost Tory families during the Revolution, became the first Town Clerk. Also assuming office were: Petrus Short, Samuel Mowers, and William Snyder, Assessors; Zachary Short, Collector; Andries Riselar, Bemet Lewis, Overseers of the Poor; Samuel Mowers, Petrus Row, Constables; William Snyder, Hendrik Krom, Commissioners of Highways; Aurey Newkirk, John Carl, Hendrik B. Krom, John Longyear, Overseers of the Highway. (Note: Original spelling of names taken from Sylvester's History of Ulster County as presented in Louise Hasbrouck Zimm's paper to The Woodstock Historical Society, "Pioneer Life In Woodstock," July 8, 1930)
Elias Hasbrouck came to Woodstock, ultimately, by way of New Paltz and Kingston. Born in May of 1741, Hasbrouck was the youngest of eight sons born to Solomon and Sara Hasbrouck. Like many Huguenots, Solomon's father, Abraham Hasbrouck, had left France in the wake of ongoing religious persecution. After first going to Germany, Abraham set out for a new life in America in 1675. Marrying the former Maria Deyo in 1676, Hasbrouck and his associates were the recipients of a land patent in 1677 from then Governor Edmund. They would call the newly granted land New Paltz.
In the early fall of 1757, a young Elias Hasbrouck was apprenticed to the Livingston family. According to his apprenticeship papers as noted in L. H. Zimm's Captain Elias Hasbrouck 1741-1791 (Publications of the Woodstock Historical Society, September 1951), Hasbrouck was to "keep his masters secrets, refrain from cards, dice and matrimony and, in return for his work, he was to learn the art and mystery of a merchant." The Livingstons, of course, were one of the "first families" of the Hudson Valley; having acquired a large portion of land within the Hardenburg Patent. Included within those holdings was the land that now comprises the Town of Woodstock. In fact, it was Robert Livingston who originally named the area "Woodstock." It would seem logical, therefore, to believe that it was through his association with Livingston that a young Elias first encountered the land that would, thirty years later, become his home.
By the mid-1760s, Hasbrouck had indeed learned the "art and mystery" of being a merchant and was operating a shop in Kingston. Yet, even though the French and Indian War was behind them, and Lexington and Concord were still a decade away, business conditions were, at best, unstable for colonial merchants such as Hasbrouck. A letter from a business associate in New York, Henry Remsen, points to such instability: "Goods of all sorts are rising very fast in England, many articles will certainly be higher in the fall The parliament have passed an act to prohibit our trading with any of the Neutral Islands, which obliges us to Ship our produce to the English Islands only, & will bring the produce of our Government very low & occasion a great rise in Sugar &c." (Zimm)
As political and economic conditions between England and her American colonies deteriorated over the next few years, speculation of separation soon became reality. In 1775, the promise of war would be fulfilled and, like many in the Hudson Valley, the tentacles of conflict would reach out and ensnare the Kingston shopkeeper directly. Following the outbreak of hostilities at Lexington and Concord, Hasbrouck, along with more than 200 other citizens from New Paltz and Kingston, declared his support for the colonial cause by affixing his signature to the Articles of Association. Derived from the Continental Association, which had been signed earlier by members of Congress meeting in Philadelphia, the Articles of Association expressed the alarm and concern of the signers over the raising of taxes and the "bloody" events being played out in Massachusetts. Vowing never to become "slaves," the local signers "under the ties of religion, honor and love to our country" pledged "to adopt and endeavor to carry into execution, whatever measure may be recommended by the Continental Congress"
Despite hopes for reconciliation with England, as also expressed in the Association document, the seeds for revolution had been firmly planted. And, while the Continental Congress was still a year from signing a far more important document, the lives and futures of men such as Elias Hasbrouck had already been fundamentally altered. In June 1775, Hasbrouck received a commission as Captain in the Third Regiment. Following the recruitment of his own company, Hasbrouck and his men moved north to Albany to join with General Richard Montgomery. Under a plan devised by Washington, and approved by Congress, Montgomery and Benedict Arnold were to move north against Montreal and Quebec as part of an ill-fated campaign to invade Canada.
Hasbrouck and his men accompanied Montgomery on the journey north to Montreal, whereupon he returned to Ulster County. Montgomery, in the mean time, went on to join forces with Benedict Arnold and attack Quebec. There, disaster struck the American expedition and Montgomery was killed, while a wounded Arnold retreated to Ft. Ticonderoga. Back home, Hasbrouck received another appointment as Captain of the Scouts and Rangers with the duty of protecting and defending the valley's northern frontier.
As the war went on, Hasbrouck also served in a number of other positions. He was a Quartermaster in charge of supplying troops protecting the Highlands, he served on various military court martials, sought out spies and conspirators and, additionally, transported supplies on the Hudson for both American and French troops.
October 16, 1777 found Hasbrouck, along with other outnumbered colonials, acting in defense of Kingston as the British took the war, and their torches, to the heart of Ulster County. The destruction of the city at the hands of the British included the burning of Hasbrouck's own shop located in what is now uptown Kingston. Undaunted, Hasbrouck eventually rebuilt the store where he sold such items, as snuff, beaver hats, spectacles, tea pots and writing paper.
In and around 1785-86, however, Hasbrouck would sell the Kinston store and move to Woodstock. Ironically, in a town that has often had a love-hate relationship with "newcomers," Hasbrouck would find himself at the center of the Town's creation within just two years of his arrival. In reality, however, the name of Elias Hasbrouck had become well respected throughout the area. With a heritage that traced back to the original French settlers in New Paltz, to his early association with the Livingstons and their land, to his many encounters as a merchant with local traders and customers, to his service to the new nation and the Hudson Valley during the Revolution, Hasbrouck was as respected as any man who might have chosen Woodstock as his home during this era. In researching this article, in fact, the only negative mark against Hasbrouck's reputation is a complaint made against Hasbrouck by a young military recruit. As discussed by Alf Evers, it appears that Hasbrouck offered a young man, Issac Davis, a number of enticing "perks" in exchange for his commitment to serve in Hasbrouck's company. Like many recruiters, however, it seems that Hasbrouck did not fulfill all of his promises. Following a complaint by Davis, Hasbrouck's superiors found in the young recruit's favor and provided him with small reward.
At the time of Hasbrouck's arrival in Woodstock, the area was beginning to undergo a period of growth. Part of this growth were efforts at expanding and improving the system of roads that led through Woodstock to the mountains and the valleys beyond. Not wishing to miss an opportunity, Hasbrouck chose as the sight for his new home, the area know the as Little Shandaken Lake Hill. Here, with the intersection of the road that would eventually lead to Shandaken and the Schoharie beyond, Hasbrouck saw the perfect place for a shop and an inn. Unknown to him at the time, however, was the fact that the Mink Hollow home he built for such purposes, would also serve as the first meeting place for the newly formed government of the Town of Woodstock. It would be at such meetings that he and others would lay the groundwork for those of us who live here today. Their work was decidedly different than the "founding brothers" who labored miles away to adopt a constitution and implement an experiment untried in the history of the world. On the local level, it became more of an experiment to organize and a craft a town out of the wilderness as they grappled with laws that would control livestock, govern taverns, raise revenue, and maintain roads and fences. Theirs was the work that would ultimately form the underpinnings that would support the whole.
Elias Hasbrouck, though elected twice as Supervisor, would not see the end of his second term. He died on October 8, 1791. As recounted by Louise Hasbrouck Zimm, it is believed that he "passed away while out hunting and was found sitting against a stump with his gun across his knees." If the story is true, writes Zimm, " it was a fitting end for the old warrior-hunter, whose best years had been spent in dangerous service on the frontier where, at least, through their own efforts, he and his brother soldiers were able to settle in peace." He had lived 50 years and was witness to both the birth of a nation and to the birth of a small town in the Catskills. His life knew the fire of revolution and the tranquility and blessings of the land. As founding fathers go, not bad. Not bad at all.
Sources:
Evers, Alf. Woodstock. Woodstock: Overlook Press, 1987.
McCullough, David. John Adams. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
Zimm, Louise Hasbrouck. "Captain Elias Hasbrouck, 1741-1791," Publications of The Woodstock Historical Society, September 1951.
Zimm, Louise Hasbrouck. "Pioneer Life In Woodstock," Papers read to The Woodstock Historical Society, July 8, 1930.
"Articles of Association, 1775," http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/mlbgen/articles_1775.html
Top Photo: Memorial to Elias Hasbrouck at Woodstock Cemetary (Photo by R. Heppner)
