Notes
Note NI0323 Index
Both she and Louis came from French Huguenot families in the area of northern France[Family Tree of Abigail Sutcliffe.FTW]
Both she and Louis came from French Huguenot families in the area of northern France
Notes
Note NI0332 Index
Notes for Philip Ferree:
INDEX to the WILL BOOKS OF LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 1729 - 1850 page 13 has:
Name: Ferree, Philip Year: 3/3/1753 Book: B Volume: 1 Page: 15
SOURCE: Picture of gravestone. Buried in Carpenter's Graveyard, Paradise Twp., Lancaster Co., PA. Published cemetery indexing. Carpenter's Graveyard, Paradise Twp., Lancaster Co.
He was married to Leah DUBOIS on 2 Jun 1713 in Ulster Co, NY. New Paltz, Kingston, NY. Leah DUBOIS was born in 1687. She was baptized on 16 Oct 1687 in Kingston, Ulster Co, NY. She died on 12 Sep 1758 in Paradise Twp, Lancaster Co, PA.
SOURCE: The Feree Family, p 5-2.
Born - 1687 Steynwiel, Bittingheim, Palitinate Died - 19 May 1753 Paradise, Lancaster, PA Paradise, Lancaster, PA
Philip is reputed to be the first of the Feree gunsmiths. Philip Jr. & Joel became active gunsmiths also. Joel and Jacob made gunpowder for the Continental Army at French's Creek near Kimberton, Chester Co, late in the Revolution. Joel was killed in Allegheny Co in the spring of 1801 by a marauding party of Indians. His scalped & mutilated body was returned to Lancaster Co for burial.
More About PHILIP FERREE:
Burial: May 1753, Ferree-Carpenter Cemetery, Paradise. Lancaster Cp., PA
Emigration: 1709, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., PA
Occupation: Silk Weaver
Probate: July 26, 1753, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania[Family Tree of Abigail Sutcliffe.FTW]
Notes for Philip Ferree:
INDEX to the WILL BOOKS OF LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 1729 - 1850 page 13 has:
Name: Ferree, Philip Year: 3/3/1753 Book: B Volume: 1 Page: 15
SOURCE: Picture of gravestone. Buried in Carpenter's Graveyard, Paradise Twp., Lancaster Co., PA. Published cemetery indexing. Carpenter's Graveyard, Paradise Twp., Lancaster Co.
He was married to Leah DUBOIS on 2 Jun 1713 in Ulster Co, NY. New Paltz, Kingston, NY. Leah DUBOIS was born in 1687. She was baptized on 16 Oct 1687 in Kingston, Ulster Co, NY. She died on 12 Sep 1758 in Paradise Twp, Lancaster Co, PA.
SOURCE: The Feree Family, p 5-2.
Born - 1687 Steynwiel, Bittingheim, Palitinate Died - 19 May 1753 Paradise, Lancaster, PA Paradise, Lancaster, PA
Philip is reputed to be the first of the Feree gunsmiths. Philip Jr. & Joel became active gunsmiths also. Joel and Jacob made gunpowder for the Continental Army at French's Creek near Kimberton, Chester Co, late in the Revolution. Joel was killed in Allegheny Co in the spring of 1801 by a marauding party of Indians. His scalped & mutilated body was returned to Lancaster Co for burial.
More About PHILIP FERREE:
Burial: May 1753, Ferree-Carpenter Cemetery, Paradise. Lancaster Cp., PA
Emigration: 1709, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Co., PA
Occupation: Silk Weaver
Probate: July 26, 1753, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Notes
Note NI0333 Index
Notes for LEAH CORLEA DUBOIS:
[Global HAL.FTW]
SOURCE: The Story of the Feree Family, Emory Schuyler Ferree, 829 So. Mulberry Ave., Brea CA 92621, 1990 p 5-1,2.
Jacques DuBois fled France to Leyden, Holland, his brother Louis fled to Mannheim, Palitinate of Rhine, and then came to America about 1660. He founded the town of New Paltz, New York. His grand daughter Leah DuBois married Philip Ferree, son of Marie Warenbuer, 2 Jun 1712.
She is buried in the Ferree Cemetery in Paradise, Lancaster, PA. [Family Tree of Abigail Sutcliffe.FTW]
Notes for LEAH CORLEA DUBOIS:
[Global HAL.FTW]
SOURCE: The Story of the Feree Family, Emory Schuyler Ferree, 829 So. Mulberry Ave., Brea CA 92621, 1990 p 5-1,2.
Jacques DuBois fled France to Leyden, Holland, his brother Louis fled to Mannheim, Palitinate of Rhine, and then came to America about 1660. He founded the town of New Paltz, New York. His grand daughter Leah DuBois married Philip Ferree, son of Marie Warenbuer, 2 Jun 1712.
She is buried in the Ferree Cemetery in Paradise, Lancaster, PA.
Notes
Note NI0338 Index
Louis and Catherine emigrated Aug. 6, 1661 possibly on the
"St. Jan Baptiste".
Both came from FrenchHuguenot families in the area of northern France that was at the time known as Spanish Netherlands. They lived in the Paltz or Palatinate along the Rhine River before emigrating to New Amsterdam. Land and privilege were confiscated by the ruling Catholic authorities and under King Louis XIV it became government policy to destroy church or public records which would allow a Huguenot to prove any right to inheritance. Louis and Catherine were among the earliest settlers in the Dutch village of Esopus (now Kingston, Ulster Co, NY) along with her parents who had arrived a year earlier (April 1660) on "The Gilded Otter". Louis served on the Duzine which was the governing body consisting of 12 men from the founding families of the New Paltz as it
was known. This area came under Dutch and English influence at different times leading to changes in names, custom, etc. The dealings of this community with the local Amerindians of the Iroquois, Mohawk and other groups is quite well documented.
the date of his arrival in America,
we have just had;what can be known of his European history. His birth at
Wicres, near Lille, the chief town of Artois, in northern France, October 27,
1626. His retiring to the city of Mannheim, in the Palatinate of the Rhine, in
Germany, where he married Catherine Blanchon, or Blanjean, the daughter of a
burgher of that place. October 10th 1655; and the birth there of two sons,
Abraham and Isaac. This little family, doubtless with other French Protestants,
embarked for America in 1660, seeking in the New World,an asylum from royal
and Romish persecution. They sailed, no doubt, from a Holland port,in a Dutch
vessel, to these western possessions of the States-General.At the period in
which they arrived,the whole country was new.How different the Bay of New
York, upon which our ancestors looked in 1660, and the same bay at the
present time And still greater changes have taken place on Manhattan Island.
Then Wall street and Broadway enclosed the quaint,irregularly-built little town,
nestled upon the lower point of the island sloping to the East river, and even
this narrow extent broken by sandhills, marshy meadows and broad, open
ditches.Two hundred poorly constructed houses gave partial comfort to some
fourteen hundred people. The fort loomed up broadly in front,partially hiding
within it the barracks, the governor's official residence, and the Old Dutch
church. A globe-shaped steeple upon the latter seemed to suggest that the
church alone could elevate the world,and the weathercock,upon his high perch,
stood watching for the millennial morning. The flag of the States- General, and a
wind-mill on the western bastion,were notable indications of Hollandish
rule.Wherever else in all that broad and beautiful bay,the eye of our ancestor
rested,he saw only the forest, with possibly here and there an opening among
the trees.
We have not the name of the ship or of his fellow-passengers. Probably
Rev.Hendricus Selyns,afterwards pastor at Brooklyn,and his companion to
America,Rev.Hermanus Blom,were in the company.Blom had preached at
Kingston the previous year and now came to settle there,and thus became the
pastor of Louis DuBois.They came in the same year.But we cannot say that they
came in the same ship.Mathew Blanchon, a brother-in-law,and Antone Crispell
and Hugo Frere, early and intimate friends of Louis,may also have been with
him.
DuBois and his companions must have landed at the company's dock.Some
two blocks from South ferry,near Moore Street.Turning to the left,they would
have passed the White Hall of Governor Stuyvesant and the fort, and entered
the Heere straat the "Lord street", or street of rank,now Broadway, just above
Bowling Green.A little further up they would have found the substantial
residence of the Dutch clergyman,or Dominie,as the Dutch delight to call him
Rev.Megapolensis.Just across the street was the affable inn-keeper, Captain
Martin Kregier,a man of mark,a captain of the militia,a burgomaster,and officer
of the council.His discretion and bravery had full exercise three years after this,
while in command at Esopus.
DuBois may have met other refugees,some of whom came as early as
1628.And he may have found friends at New Rochelle.
DuBois and his companions must now leave New Amsterdam. Governor
Stuyvesant was absent on business,in the summer of 1660, at Esopus and Fort
Orange if his absence occurred at this time, DuBois applied for permission to
go to the upper country to Henrick Van Dyck. The schout fischael, whose
tasteful mansion stood on the Heere straet.Among gardens and orchards,
running down to the North River,and near Dominie Megapolensis.
All things being in readiness, DuBois, with his wife, children and friends, much
refreshed by their sojourn in the City set out for the upper Hudson.The scenes
were now a constant wonder for the people who had sailed only on European
rivers, where hamlet and castle and city leave scarcely room for farm or garden.
The sloping Eastern Shore, the bald front of the Palisades, the Highlands with
narrower water and towering peaks springing to the clouds from either shore;
the broader bay at Newburg. And, finally,the blue outlines of the Shawangunk
and the Catskills met their gaze. Everywhere were forests, vast and deep. At
long intervals only could be seen the thin smoke of the Indian wigwam circling
among the tree-tops,or a bark-canoe gliding furtively across some darksome
bay; but nothing,in the long. Tedious sail, that bore the most distant
resemblance to their old home beyond the Atlantic.
We must suppose that deep, earnest thoughts crowded themselves upon the
active mind of our ancestor in that voyage up the Hudson.Everything so new,
strange and bewildering.The sky only,of all about him,remained unchanged, and
the stars at night; and as he looked on these he felt that Heaven beyond them
and his Divine Lord and Savior were unchanged and unchangeable.He had fled
from country and kindred for God and liberty. This wilderness was to be his
name and that of his children. He could not forecast the future, but one thing
was sure --
he knew in whom he had believed, and could trust all to Him.
At length the sloop turned her prow into the Rondout creek. The village of
Wiltwyck. In the "Esopus country", as Dominie Blom designated the Kingston
of his day, was now just beginning its permanent growth. History states that the
Dutch established a trading post at Rondout in 1614.Tradition, however, has it
that the first settlers of Ulster county landed at Saugerties, and followed up the
Esopus kill, through unbroken forests, twelve miles, and settled finally at
Kingston, being attracted by the rich alluvial meadows. But this settlement was
twice broken up before the arrival of our emigrants, and so late as 1655 is said
to have been wholly abandoned. Before 1660 it had been reoccupied and put in
some posture of defense.
We have now conducted Louis DuBois and his associates to their first
American home. We must narrate their labors at this place. And the terrible
events through which they were led; all of which show the character of our
Huguenot ancestors and have important relation to the history of New Paltz.
Among the Walloons that came to New Netherland, in the last days of
the Dutch occupation, was Louis du Bois, founder of the Huguenot
settlement of New Paltz, in Ulster county, New York.
Louis was the son of Chretien du Bois, an inhabitant of Wicres, a
hamlet in the district of La Barree, near Lille, in Flanders, where he was
born on the twenty-seventh day of October, in the year 1627. The
province of Flanders was at that time a dependency of Spain; and when,
twenty years later, the rights of conscience were secured by the treaty of
Westphalia to the Protestants of Germany, the benefits of that treaty did
not extend to the Spanish dominions. It was perhaps on this account,
and in quest of religious freedom, that Louis left his native province, in
early manhood, and removed, as numbers of his countrymen were
doing, to the lower Palatinate. This Calvinistic state, which had taken
the lead among the Protestant powers of Germany, from the outbreak
of the Thirty Years’ War, now offered a refuge to the oppressed
Huguenots, and to the Waldenses, driven from their Alpine valleys by
the fierce soldiery of Savoy. Long before this, indeed, a little colony of
Walloons, flying before the troops of Alva, had come to settle within the
hospitable territory of the Palatinate, at Frankenthal, only a few miles
from Mannheim, its capital. Mannheim itself now became the home of
many French refugees, and among them we recognize several families
that afterwards removed to America. Here David de Marest, Frederic de
Vaux, Abraham Hasbroucq, Chretien Duyou, Mathese Blanchan,
Meynard Journeay, Thonnet Terrin, Pierre Parmentier, Antoine Crispel,
David Usilie, Philippe Casier, Bourgeon Broucard, Simon Le Febre,
Juste Durie, and others, enjoyed for several years the kindness of their
German coreligionists and the protection of the good Elector Palatine.
Hither Louis du Bois came, and here, on the tenth day of October, 1655,
he married Catharine, daughter of Mathese Blanchan, who, like himself,
was from French Flanders. Two sons, Abraham and Isaac, were born of
this marriage in Mannheim.
The refugees found much, doubtless, to bind them to the country of
their adoption. They were encouraged in the free exercise of their
religion. The people and their prince were Calvinists, like themselves.
Openings for employment, if not for enrichment in trade, were afforded
in the prosperous city, where, a century later, Huguenot merchants and
manufacturers were enabled to amass large fortunes. How pleasantly
and fondly they remembered the goodly Rhine-land, in after days, we
may gather from the fact that the emigrants to America named their
home in the wilderness, not from their native province in France, but
from the place of their refuge in Germany, calling it “The New
Palatinate.” In spite, however, of all inducements to remain, Louis du
Bois and certain of his fellow-refugees determined to remove to the New
World; influenced, it may be, by a feeling of insecurity in a country
lying upon the border of France, and liable to foreign invasion at any
moment.
The Dutch ship Gilded Otter, in the spring of the year 1660, brought
over several of these families. Others followed, in the course of the same
year. The little town of New Amsterdam, nestled upon the lower end of
Manhattan island, presented a curious appearance to the strangers.
Inclosed within the limits of Wall street and Broadway, “two hundred
poorly-constructed houses gave partial comfort to some fourteen
hundred people. the fort loomed up broadly in front, partially hiding
within it the governor’s residence, and the Dutch church. The flag of the
States-General, and a wind-mill on the western bastion, were notable
indications of Holland rule.”
Our colonists did not linger long in New Amsterdam. Taking counsel
doubtless of their Walloon countrymen, and obtaining permission from
the governor and his council, they soon decided upon a place of
settlement, and by the end of the year, Matthew Blanchan and Anthony
Crispel, with their families, had established themselves in Esopus; where
before the following October, they were joined by Louis du Bois and his
wife and sons.
The country lying south of the Catskill mountains and north of the
Highlands, on the west side of the North or Hudson river, was known to
the Dutch from the earliest times as Esopus. thither, even before the
settlement of New Amsterdam, the Dutch traders went to traffic with the
friendly Indians; and here, in 1623, the ship New Netherland, after
landing some of her passengers on Manhattan island, stopped on her
way up the river, to lighten her cargo. This picturesque region -- now
included within the bounds of Ulster county -- lay midway between the
two rising towns of New Amsterdam and Beverwyck. Broken by
mountain ranges, the Catskills in the north, and the Shawungunk in the
south; watered by numerous streams, and extensively improved by the
rude husbandry of its savage occupants, the pleasant land must have
attracted the longing view of the Dutch immigrants as they sailed up the
Hudson to the patroon’s colony at Fort Orange. But though a Dutch
fort was built here -- at Rondout, now a part of Kingston -- as early as
the year 1614, it does not appear that any settlement was effected before
the year 1652. Thomas Chambers, an Englishman by birth, was the first
purchaser and patentee of Esopus. He had been engaged with several
others in an attempt to obtain lands near the site of the present city of
Troy; but being dispossessed by the patroon, whose patent covered the
locality chosen for their settlement, the associates removed to this
region, and bought from the Indians a tract of land, comprising
seventy-six acres, on Esopus creek, where the city of Kingston now
stands. But in 1655 the Indian tribes along the Hudson river joined in
attacking the Dutch settlements; and in the consternation that prevailed,
the farmers at Esopus fled, leaving their homes and fields to the
depredation of the savages. On the conclusion of peace, in the autumn
of the same year, they returned. Neglecting, however, to form a village,
suitably protected by stockades and by a fort or blockhouse, as they
were urged by the government to do, the settlers were again disturbed in
1658, and implored the Director Stuyvesant to come to their relief. By
his advice they now laid out a town-spot, the site of Wiltwyck, the future
city of Kingston. The colonists, sixty or seventy in number, went to
work with a will, under the personal supervision of the determined
governor; and in less than three weeks, the place that he had chosen for
the village was surrounded with palisades, a guard-house was built, and
the dwellings of the settlers were moved into the space inclosed. Pleased
at his own success, and delighted with the beautiful land of the Esopus,
the director sailed back to New Amsterdam, “praising the Lord for His
mercy on all concerned,” and cautioning the Indian chiefs to leave the
white men alone, inasmuch as “he could come again as easily as he
went.”
Wiltwyck, however, did not long enjoy repose under shelter of its new
defenses. Another outbreak of Indian ferocity -- stimulated by the white
man's "fire-water," and provoked by the brutality of some of the Dutch
themselves -- occurred in the following year, when a band of several
hundred Indian warriors invested the little town for three weeks. Again
Director Stuyvesant came to the rescue. Partly by force of arms, and
partly through the mediation of other Indian tribes, he succeeded in
bringing the savages to terms; and on the fifteenth day of July, 1660,
peace was concluded.
It was at this juncture that Louis du Bois and his companions arrived in
New Amsterdam. The great "Esopus war," which, for many months
past, had convulsed all the settlements, from Long Island to Fort
Orange, with fear, was now over. The prospects of the little colony at
Wiltwyck were brightening; and the beautiful region which Governor
Stuyvesant had found so fruitful, and "capable of making yet fifty
farms," was open to the new immigrants. Lands in the rich valleys of the
Rondout and the Esopus were to be had for the asking. Provision was
made for the religious instruction of the colonists. Hermanus Blom, a
clergyman of the Reformed Church of Holland, sent over expressly to
minister at Esopus, had been, for several weeks, awaiting in New
Amsterdam the result of the negotiations for peace. These, not
improbably, were the considerations that led our Walloons to fix upon
Esopus as their future home. Early in the autumn of the year 1660, they
took their departure from New Amsterdam. The Company's yacht,
which carried Dominie blom to the place of his labors, may have had on
board some of their number. Certain it is, that among the persons
admitted to the Lord's Supper, upon the occasion of its first celebration
in Esopus, on the seventh day of December in that year, were Matthew
Blanchan, with Madeleine Jorisse, his wife, and anthony Crispel, with
Maria Blanchan, his wife.
The spot where, after many wanderings, our refugees at length had
found a home, was happily chosen. It lay but a short distance from that
noble river, whose majestic course and varied scenery must have vividly
recalled to them the Rhine. The plateau upon which the village of
Wiltwyck stood was skirted by Esopus creek. From the banks along
which the palisades protecting it had been constructed, the settlers
overlooked the fertile lands occupied by the farms of the white men, and
by the patches upon which the Indian women still raised their crops of
maize and beans. The beautiful valley of the Wallkill opened toward the
southwest. On the north, the wooded slopes of the Catskill mountains
were visible.
Blanchan and Crispel were soon joined at Wiltwyck by Louis du Bois,
and shortly after by a fourth Walloon family, that of Rachel de la
Montagne, daughter of Jean de la Montagne of New Amsterdam, and
now wife of Gysbert Imborch. Meantime, another settlement had been
commenced in the Esopus country. The "New Village," afterwards
known as Hurley, was founded about a mile to the west of Wiltwyck.
Taught by experience, the settlers took pains to protect their homes
against the attacks of the savages. The houses and barns were built
within a fortified inclosure, where fifteen families formed a compact
community.Blanchan and his two sons-in-law were among those who
removed from Wiltwyck to the New Village. A summer passed by, and
the colonists remained undisturbed. They were, however, by no means
safe from molestation. Stuyvesant's severity in sending some of his
Indian prisoners, at the close of the Esopus war, to the island of
Curacoa, had left a lasting impression of resentment in the minds of the
savages. The building of the "New Village," upon land to which they
still laid claim, was an additional grievance. Underrating either the
courage or the strength of their wild neighbors, the settlers took no
suitable precautions against attack, but on the contrary, with strange
infatuation, sold to them freely the rum that took away their reason and
intensified their worst passions. The time came for an uprising.
Stuyvesant had sent word to the Indian chiefs, through the magistrates
of Wiltwyck, that he would shortly visit them, to make them presents,
and to renew the peace concluded the year before. The message was
received with professions of friendliness. Two days after, about noon, on
the seventh of June, a concerted attack was made by parties of Indians
upon both the settlements. The destruction of the "New Village was
complete. Every dwelling was burned. The greater number of the adult
inhabitants had gone forth that day as usual to their field work upon the
outlying farms, leaving some of the women, with the little children, at
home. Three of the men, who had doubtless returned to protect them,
were killed; and eight women, with twenty-six children, were taken
prisoners. Among these were the families of our Walloons; the wife and
three children of Louis du Bois, the two children of Matthew Blanchan,
and Anthony Crispel's wife and child. The rest of the people, those at
work in the fields, and those who could escape from the village, fled to
the neighboring woods, and in the course of the afternoon made their
way to Wiltwyck, or to the redoubt at the mouth of Esopus creek.
Meanwhile, the attack at Wiltwyck had been less successful. Parties of
Indians had entered the village in the morning, carrying maize and
beans to sell, and under this pretense, had distributed themselves in the
different houses; when suddenly a number of men on horseback came
dashing through the mill-gate, shouting, "The Indians have destroyed
the New Village " At once, the savages already within the place began
their work of havoc. twelve houses were burned, and but for a timely
change of wind the entire settlement would have been consumed. Some
of the Indians, seizing the women and children, hastened away with
them into the forest; whilst others, stationed near the gates, despatched
those of the men who attempted to enter the town. As at the New
Village, most of the inhabitants were away, at their employments in the
neighboring fields. A few brave men, however, chanced to be at home.
These, though without guns or side arms, soon rallied, and resolutely
facing the assailants, succeeded in driving them out. By nightfall,
Dominie Blom and his companions were joined by the people from the
farms, and by straggling fugitives from the New Village. No time could
be spent in lamentation over their losses. The palisades surrounding the
place had been destroyed by the fire. All night long the colonists toiled
to replace them, or kept watch along the exposed borders. Day dawned
upon a scene of woe and desolation. Seventy of the inhabitants were
missing. Of these, twenty-four had been ruthlessly murdered; while
forty-five women and children had been hurried away into captivity. The
sight of the burned and mutiliated bodies, lying amid the ruins of the
dwellings and in the streets, was scarcely more affecting than the
thought of the living, in the hands of the merciless savages. Among
these were Rachel de la Montagne, and the wife and child of Dominie
Blom.
The tidings of this disaster spread consternation throughout the Dutch
settlements. Director Stuyvesant, always energetic, and ready for severe
measures, was the more disposed to act promptly and resolutely in the
present case, because of the loss incurred by his trusty councilor in the
capture of his daughter. With some difficulty, a force was raised for the
defense of Wiltwyck, and for the rescue of the prisoners in the hands of
the Esopus Indians. Nearly a month elapsed, however, before two
sloops, carrying supplies to the destitute inhabitants, and having on
board a company of Dutch and English soldiers, and of friendly Indian
braves, entered Esopus creek. They were joined at Wiltwyck by a band
of five Mohawks, sent down from Fort Orange, for the purpose of
endeavoring to secure the release of the captives through mediation. In
the meantime, Rachel de la Montagne had made her escape from the
savages, and was ready to conduct the rescuing party to the Indian fort,
thirty miles to the south-west of Wiltwyck, whither the prisoners had
been conveyed. The expedition set forth, under the command of the
fearless Captain Krygier, on the twenty-sixth of July, and on the next
day reached the fort, but found it deserted. The Indians had retreated
with their captives to a more distant fastness in the Shawungunk
mountains. Krygier pursued them, but without success, and after setting
fire to the fort, and destroying large quantities of corn which they found
stored away in pits, or growing in the fields, the party returned to
Wiltwyck without the loss of a man. another month passed before a
second attempt could be made. Information came through friendly
savages that the Esopus Indians were building another fort. So soon as
the weather permitted, and a supply of horses could be obtained,
Krygier set forth again. This time, the enemy was taken by surprise. A
fierce combat ensued; many of the savages were taken, and twenty-three
of the captives were recovered and brought back in triumph to the
settlement. Their absence had lasted just three months. Tradition
represents the pious Walloons as cheering the tedious hours of their
bondage with Marot's psalms. When rescued by their friends, just as the
savages were about to slaughter them, they were entertaining their
captors, and obtaining a momentary reprieve, by singing the one
hundred and thirty-seventh psalm: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we
sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion . . . For there they
that carried us away captive required of us a song."
The worthy Dutch pastor of Wiltwyck gives a touching account of the
grief and anxiety that reigned in the desolate homes from which the
captives had been taken. Every evening the little congregation gathered,
on the four points of the fort, under the blue sky, and offered up their
fervent prayers.
To Louis du Bois, whose entire family were in the hands of the savages,
this season of suspense must have been peculiarly trying. Tradition
states that he was one of the foremost members of the rescuing party.
An instance of his vigor and presence of mind, given by Captain Krygier
in his journal after the return of the expedition, may lead us to credit
this statement. "Louis, the Walloon, went today to fetch his oxen, which
had gone back of Juriaen Westphaelen's land. As he was about to drive
home the oxen, three Indians, who lay in the bush and intended to seize
him, leaped forth. When one of these shot at him with an arrow, but
only slightly wounded him, Louis, having a piece of a palisade in his
hand, struck the Indian on the breast with it so that he staggered back,
and Louis escaped through the kill, and came thence, and brought the
news into the fort."
[Family Tree of Abigail Sutcliffe.FTW]
Louis and Catherine emigrated Aug. 6, 1661 possibly on the
"St. Jan Bapt