Showing posts with label New York History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York History. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

You just never know what you'll find!

Doing family history research often results in surprises. Such was the case recently when I was just fooling around seeing what might be "new" in the way of Elting family history information. This is what I found: a letter from Oscar Elting to his nephew Warren B. Keator, son of Lavina (Elting) and Calvin Keator of Rosendale, Ulster County, NY. The 1867 letter was offered for sale on the http://www.artfact.com/ Internet auction site. It requires membership so I don't know if the letter has been sold, or if so, the amount of the purchase price. 

From the auction details:

Letter, dated December 16, 1867, Fort Selden, NM, and cabinet card offered from the Eric C. Caren Collection on September 15, 2011.

Oscar Elting(1831-1902) was a native of New Paltz, NY who served in the 1st New York Cavalry through the Civil War and then joined the 3rd U.S Cavalry as a career officer. His first posting as a second lieutenant was to Fort Selden in Apache country, and he was quickly put to the test : "18 days after my arrival here, had a fight with the Apaches which I will briefly describe. At 3 1/2 o clock p.m. about 75 attacked a few soldiers guarding a herd...within half a mile of this post. My company was quickly in the saddle and in pursuit and after a chase of 15 miles and fighting them in three mountain ravines we recaptured the whole herd, killed 3 indians and dismounted 13 savages...The last Indian was killed at sundown by a detachment of 5 men under my immediate command, this detachment being the advance party...I secured his scalp besides other trophies...It was a close desperate and exciting chase, our cavalry fighting them from behind rocks and driving them until night came on."

For those who do not  have a copy of my book, Answering the Call! An Elting Military Tribute, this is a brief description of some of the information I included about Oscar:

  (His name was actually Stewart Oscar Elting and that is the way he appears in Jim Elting's genealogy book under his number: 1533).  Oscar was the son of Abraham Jacobus and Jane Vernooy (Bevier) Elting. Born August 1, 1831 in Ulster Co., NY and died November 6, 1902 in Burlington, Vermont of a heart attack. Buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. He married Fanny Barton Stewart and had three children. Oscar was an 1861 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, NY. Since there are at least 900 pages of Capt. Elting's military records in the National Archives, (too expensive for my research budget for the book) I listed the information that was submitted to the government for his pension request in which his service locations and dates were detailed. According to that list, he joined his unit on November 2, 1867 and reported to Fort Selden. Of course official records also show him as a prisoner of war in June 15, 1863 having been captured at Winchester, VA. Either those records are incorrect or whoever (probably his widow) failed to mention his having been a prisoner of war when filing on his pension on January 14, 1903, a few months after his death. The full records would probably, but not necessarily, solve this mystery.

In Answering... I focused more on the health and injury issues of Civil War era Elting soldiers and Oscar's list is one of the longest. Indeed, the Angina Pectoris that killed him after retirement was reported by his physician to have been service related based on Oscar's prior testimony of "hardship and long service."

Lest anyone feel "uncomfortable" with my reporting Oscar's battle with the Apaches, I repeat here a portion of the disclaimer in my book:  "There was no attempt...to glorify---or to denounce---anyone, or any action. This is simply a tribute to those descendants of Jan and Jacomyntje Elting who served in this nation under the laws and politics of their time..."  Family history is just that---history.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Feeling the Pain

Feeling the Pain
By Grace Elting Castle

Over the years I’ve found books here and there that looked as if they might have a bit of historical information that could be included in a family story.

Recently I’ve re-read Palissy the Potter; The Huguenot, Artist, and Martyr and was touched once again by the pain that our ancestors endured as a result of the battles between those labeled “infidel” (Huguenots especially) and the Roman Catholics in France.

This book, written by C.L Brightwell, was published in 1858 by Carlton & Porter of New York. My copy is missing a few pages, has some mottled, some dirty, pages, but the words are important and drawings are exquisite.

There are those who like to remind us that “The Eltings were not part of the original New Paltz Patentees. That our ancestors weren’t “Huguenots.” For some that is true, but for others it is not. For those descendants of Roelif and Sarah Elting, for instance, it is only partially true. The “Huguenot blood” of ancestor grandmother Sarah (DuBois) Elting flows from her father, Abraham, the Patentee, and his father, Louis DuBois, the leader of the New Paltz Patentees. Many subsequent marriages mixed the “Huguenot” and Dutch family bloodlines until few of the descendants of Hudson Valley families can claim to be without “Huguenot” descendancy.

So I share these following quotes and thoughts for the benefit of all who seek to know more about our shared heritage.

“The early years of the little Reformed Church …were very troublous ones. It was established, in the outset, with great difficulties and imminent perils, and those who ventured to enroll themselves among its numbers were blamed and vituperated with perverse and wicked calumnies. The ignorance and superstitions of that age and country (France) were called into active exercise against the adherents of the new faith, and the vilest slanders were fabricated against them, and accredited even by those who witnessed their blameless lives. Most frequently their meetings for religious worship were held during the hours of darkness, for fear of their enemies…They were even accused of wickedness and unchaste conduct in their assemblies; nor were their wanting some ‘of the baser sort’ who said that the heretics had dealings with the devil, whose tail they went to kiss by the light of a rosin candle. Notwithstanding these things, however, the Church continued to exist, and to grow, and after a time, it made surprising increase…”

“There was in Champagne a small fortified town called Vassy, containing about three thousand inhabitants, a third of whom, not reckoning the surrounding villages, professed the Reformed religion. It happened on the 28th of February 1562, that the Duke of Guise, journeying on his way to Paris, accompanied by his cousin, the cardinal of Lorraine, with an escort of gentlemen, followed by some two hundred horsemen, visited the chateau de Joinville, which was situated in the neighborhood, on an estate belonging to the Lorraines.

“The mistress of the castle was a very old lady, the dowager Duchess of Guise, whose bigoted attachment to the faith of her ancestors made the very name of Huguenot an offence to her. Sorely indignant was she at the audacity of the inhabitants of Vassy, who had no right, she declared, as vassals of her granddaughter, Mary Stuart, to adopt a new religion without her permission…the aged woman urged her son, the fierce Duke Francis, to make a striking example of those insolent peasants. As he listened to her angry words, he swore a deep oath, and bit his beard, which was his custom when his wrath waxed strong.

“The next morning…he arrived at a village not far off the obnoxious town; and the morning breeze, as it came sweeping up the hills, brought to his ears the sound of church bells. “What means that noise?” he asked one of his attendants. ‘It is the morning service of the Huguenots,’ was the reply. It was, in fact, the Sabbath-day, and the Reformers, assembled to the number of some hundreds, were performing their worship in a barn, under the protection of a recent edict of toleration. Unsuspicious of danger, there was not a man among them armed, with the exception of some ten strangers, probably gentlemen, who wore swords.

“Suddenly a band of the duke’s soldiers approached the place, and began shouting, ‘Heretic dogs! Huguenot rebels! Kill,kill!

“The first person whom they laid hands on was a poor hawker of wine. ‘In whom do you believe?’ they cried.

“’I believe in Jesus Christ,’ was the answer, and with one thrust of the pike he was laid low. Two more were killed at the door, and instantly the tumult raged. The duke, hastening up at the sound of arms, was struck by a stone, which drew blood from his cheek. Instantly the rage of his followers redoubled, and his own fury knew no bounds. A horrible butchery followed; men, women, and children were attacked indiscriminately, and sixty were slain in the barn or in the street, while more than two hundred were grievously wounded…”

“An extraordinary effect was produced throughout the whole kingdom by the tidings of this cruel slaughter. Among the Reformed party it created a universal feeling of indignant horror and alarm…Each party flew to arms, after putting forth manifestos asserting the merits of their respective causes. The Prince of Conde hastened to Orleans, which he succeeded in occupying, and there the army of the Huguenots established headquarters. In that town the Calvinist lords assembled on the 11th of April 1562 and after partaking the Lord’s supper together, bound themselves in an alliance to maintain the Edicts, and to punish those who had broken them. They took a solemn oath to repress blasphemy, violence and whatever was forbidden by the law of God, and to set up good and faithful ministers to instruct the people; and lastly, they promised, by their hope of heaven, to fulfill their duty in this cause.

“And thus the fearful work began, and tumult, massacre, battle, and siege prevailed. Every town in France was filled with the riot of contending factions. ‘It was a grand and frightful struggle of province against province, city with city, quarter with quarter, house with house, man with man,’ says a recent historian. ‘Fanaticism had reduced France to a land of cannibals; and the gloomiest imagination would fail to conceive all the variety of horrors which were then practised.’’

The atrocities escalated until they culminated in the St. Bartholomew Day Massacre in Paris on August 24, 1572. Most readers will be aware of that fateful day when the river Seine ran red with the blood of Huguenots. The battles continued throughout the country with more than 100,000 Protestants killed, according to historians.

Brightwell’s book includes these comments about that period:

“I shall never forget, continued Pare, ‘the scene, when the broad light of an August day displayed, in all their extent, the horrors which had been committed. The bright, glowing sun, and the unclouded sky, and magnificent beauty overhead; and at our feet the blood-stained waters of the Seine; and the streets bestrewn with mangled corpses. It was too terrible. To crown the whole, it was the holy Sabbath.”

“…Since the massacre at St. Bartholomew the mobs of Paris had become familiar with blood, and a spirit of increased ferocity prevailed. Assassinations, tortures, and executions were frequent, and the extreme Roman Catholic party, to which the city had, from that time, been heartily attached, was pledged to exterminate the Huguenots.”Though the history is convoluted and told differently, as one would expect, by the Huguenots and the Catholics, in 1585, an edict was issued---at the expense of the Huguenots---“…prohibiting the future exercise of the Reformed worship, and commanding all its adherents to abjure or emigrate immediately on pain of death and confiscation. This was no miserable court quarrel; it affected the interests of all, and touched the liberty, faith, fortune and life of every man.”

Friday, January 29, 2010

Family Treasure on E-Bay

A few years ago I discovered a copy of the limited edition book, JOHN ELTING, for sale on e-Bay. I purchased it for a few dollars, probably less than ten. Yesterday, I found another copy of the book listed on e-Bay for sale at $204.00!

Written in 1942 by Victor Elting to honor his 30 year old son who fell down an elevator shaft in Bombay,India during a black-out, the privately-published book was meant to keep alive the memory of a young man with so much promise. Here are Victor's introductory words:

"In the Village of New Paltz, New York, is a little burying ground. It is off the dirt highroad, and is reached by a lane through an apple orchard. The land slopes toward the West, with a beautiful view of the valley of the Wallkill. It is known as "The Elting Burying Ground," and there are buried the bodies and ashes of Eltings of several generations. In one part is a great boulder, on the side of which is a bronze tablet inscribed "Family of Victor Elting." A simple headstone, flush with the sod, records John's mother, "Marie Winston Elting. 1871-1932." Beside it is another, "John Elting, 1911-1941." The big rock was found by John and me on the mountainside one day soon after his mother's death and laboriously transported by modern equipment to be set up as the physical expression in the years to come of the unity of our family and of our love of the countryside.

"This little book is not made of granite, but is offered as a printed word which in the hands of and on the shelves of John's family and friends may serve to keep alive his memory, and by suggestion and reminder renew the joy which they have had in his company. It will be given only to a few, whom he would have wanted to possess it."

When I received the little book from e-Bay several years ago, I wrote an article for "The Historian," official newsletter of the Bevier-Elting Family Association of New Paltz, NY, to share John's involvement in preserving the "Elting Homestead" (now known as the Bevier-Elting House) on Historic Huguenot Street. His dedication to preserving the little stone house and our family's history is a story worth repeating for each generation.

In a future posting, I'll include the article I wrote about John.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Revolutionary War Era to be background theme for "The Gathering"

Don't forget to calendar the August 13-15, 2010 "Gathering" in New Paltz, NY! It's going to be a great celebration of the history of the original families of New Paltz, with a background theme focusing on the the Revolutionary War period.

Registration and activity information will be posted here as it is developed, but it's never too early to make your room reservations in New Paltz or nearby villages. Availability is always limited in the summer and fall in the mid-Hudson River Valley.

The event, with Saturday as the main activity day, is hosted by the Family Collaboration Committee of the Huguenot Historical Society of New Paltz, NY. Most activities will take place on Historic Huguenot Street or nearby venues.

For further information: gecastle@cluesonline.com

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Old New York---Check it Out!

There is a VERY interesting article in the September 2009 issue of National Geographic magazine.

"Before New York, Rediscovering the Wilderness of 1609" discusses the work that has been done to use modern equipment and ingenuity to recreate what New York City looked like in 1609. It's fascinating and helps one to imagine what our Elting ancestor, Jan, found when he arrived there about a half century later.

I had never thought about this topic prior to opening the mail yesterday, and now I can't quit thinking about it!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Answering the Call! An Elting Military Tribute

Answering the Call! is my book honoring Elting descendants who have served in the military during the period between the mid-1600s and mid-2008. There are 224 pages of photos and biographical information on the men (and two women) who represent all the many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of the descendants of Jan and Jacomyntje (Slecht) Elting(e) who have served this nation since before it declared independence from Great Britain!

There is also information on the early history of New Paltz, NY where Roelif Elting, the couple's son, married a DuBois and started an Elting presence in the village that continues today. There's a chapter on early slave activity in the village...including Elting participation.

There are some surprises, including that General George Patton was a descendant, as was Admiral Morton Deyo. Their stories are included. Other surnames range from Bright to Pattou to France, Crispell, Blum, DuBois, Schoonmaker, LeFevre, Gilles, Greeley, Hasbrouck, Fawver, Hite, Houghtaling, Kennoch, Howell, LaDue, Mitchell, Osterhoudt, Peters, Smith, Snyder, VanWagenen, Webb, Wionowsky, Woolsey, Wright, Wygant and Yandeau.

The result of ten years of research, with lots of input and donations of photos and information from Elting(e) descendants, this book is privately published and a limited edition. It's the perfect gift for your family genealogist, historian or history buff!

Order at http://www.cluesonline.com/ while it's still available!!

While you're there, you might also want to order one of the CDs of the Elting genealogy book published by James W. Elting of South Carolina.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

"Gathering" Planned in New Paltz, NY

An August 2010 "gathering" is being planned by the Family Associations of the Huguenot Historical Society of New Paltz, NY. Two independent Family Associations are also joining in the exciting and historical event. The participating Family Associations include the Bevier-Eltings, Crispells, Deyos, DuBoises, Freers, Gerows, Hasbroucks, LeFevres, Magnys, Schoonmakers and Terwilligers.

All descendants of the Patentees of the original New Paltz area, their family and friends, as well as others interested in the Mid-Hudson Valley history are urged to mark their calendars for the August 13-15, 2010 weekend. Registration information will be available in a few weeks.