Fort Gumaer, Fort Depuy

Photos taken by Marsha Lockerby Pilger 2009

(the following letter source: LDSFHL#0931482, 0931483 Misc file of Ulster County, NY)

... I will try to give you a discription of the old DePuy house, and the furnitions in it.

The cellar entrance you speak of was the basement, where there was a very large room and bedroom off for slaves, as well as outside slave quarters. The slaves were all freed very early but some stayed on for wages, and they are Mark Depuy to this day about the country.

In that old kitchen was an immense fireplace, with old __(crane?)__, iron forte and kettel and old tip table and side hand with pewter and old dishes. The stair rail was worn by their dear old hands and the steps were so worn it was rather difficult to come down them as they were slippery and where the old rails were high up. The stairs had a lovely turn as it landed on the first floor at the head of the hall, near an old half door with wonderful lock and hinges. This room led to the lean-to you speak of which was always called the back porch. It had a fine corner closet with old dishes where platters set and another old house, they called it. It was used for summer dinning room, never for milk (milking?) cows (?) as that was all done at the farmers house at the east of the old road, now about abandoned, since the back road was made a state road, what is now the state road, was only a road through the woods.

Entering the front door, comes on right and left, a long hall runing through the house. In the hall and old lantern with candle in it hung. A beautiful mahogony table to one side, beautiful old stairs with turn and landing.

At the left a large living room in later years the back part a bedroom, first a wooden partition. Lovely old glass bureau, rocking chair, tripod (?) table, and the dearest little wood stove, made like a house with gables on it, and shovel, thongs and poker of iron.

The parlor at the right had a handsome table, old lampe and various quaint old ornaments; beautiful mirror of gilt with a scounce; magnifcent old desk of mahogony with inland work and collums; and beautiful chair.

The little black bedroom had a four poster bed with ___ and straw and feather bed. Old fireplace with chimney cupboards filled with old glassware, dishes, pewter, and many quaint things. The fireplace had been closed with a board covered with the most wonderful old paper which I used to study when a child. There was and old stove for wood that reguladed itself by - steel cord (?) -- that closed the draft when the wood expanded with heat and opened it when it cooled and contracted. At the extreme east side of the room, or rather south east, there was a door leading to a small hall and an side entrance with transome, the half door you saw. There was a large pantry at the end of hall, and secretary in the corner. From that small hall a door led to the back bedroom which had a four poster bed, with curtains. A fine mirror, a little washstand with hold in the top for the lovely blue bowl and pitcher, the temple pattern (which I have now); a fine bureau, a fireplace, also ____ with firewood; and cupboard at side of the chimney; every closet had china in it.

The choice piece of furniture was in the back bedroom. An old ____, with tall leggs; a wonderful old cabinet with drawers beneath; a very large piece of furniture.

The second floor had a double bedroom on the north end with four poster beds at each side; a piece for each sister to keep her belongings; a ___ sewing table like an hour glass with a sewing ______; a closet filled with old dresses, jackets etc. Between the windows hung a Washington mirror; a little wash stand with a Lafayette bowl and pitcher. beautiful blue, a sceane of LaFayette landing at castle garden in 1824. I have these, also the mirror ____ and many other things.

The south end of the second story was also a bedroom with an attic return and another small room at the end of the hall filled with all the wooden things they used in making flax into linen. I have the sheets, pillowcases, out of the linen made in the place as well as garmets way back to my grt-grt-grt- grandmother with her initials and those of the grand-daughter she gave them to. Linen stockings; wollen blankets with strange yarn corners and many many other things. Even a powder box and puff.

The Markel house on the hill was a DePuy house, but much larger. This man tore down more than half of the house and sold the stone. In fact all the places about these once belonged to the DePuy estate of 640 acres. I have a _____carved by the Indians and given to my ____great grandmother by them because she had always been good to them, and the original DePuy had paid them well for their land, so they were always friendly. There had never been another owner until now and the land had never been mortgaged.

The old house was build where it was because of the excellent spring, but not a very good _____. The Ephriam DePuy place on the old stage road (at the east of the place the main road until lately) a couple of miles north, was an elegant old place. Very large stone house; two stories and half high; fine other building and a beautiful situation standing high from the road and west of the road. Fallen down now.

Arther Emdorfel (?) old house is the large stone house in Stone Ride, where Washington spent a night and the bedroom was always left as he left it, with bed unmade, as he got out of it in the morning. Lovely old tile fireplace, the tiles were brought from Holland. It was owned long ago by a Wynkoop, one of our family, and inlaw married with Lounbery (?) a descendant still living there. William Lonsbury. It is opposite the old Nancy (?) Tack Inn, which was enlarged and rebuilt ____ place.

The old DePuy home that burned was b ack to the northwest of the Markle houses, the foundation was still there when I was a child. I know nothing of the Rest Place. My grandfather Schoonmaker might have. It may be near Rosendale, that was more Dutch in that _______.

If mother and even aunt Katherine had only reckoned to the interest of these things earlier, Aunt Helena, an older sister of Katherines knew all the families about there, and my grandfather Schoonmaker, too, who could speak Dutch, he, as a very young man fought in the war of 1812.

Hoping I have not tired you, and willing to give you any other information in my possession.

Cordially yours,

Marie DePuy Crispell

I should love to show you my old belongings. I

(source: LDSFHL#0931482, 0931483 Misc file of Ulster County, NY)