Marist College Land History: Barnard Parcel
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Barnard Parcel
Marist College
By the Barnard parcel I mean the lower section of the farm
purchased by Frederick Barnard in 1817. The upper section
receives its own treatment in the chapter called Winslow
parcel. The Barnard parcel was purchased by the Marist
Brothers in 1905
see note 1
In 1969 this parcel was
transferred to Marist College.
see note 2
As of 2012 the Barnard parcel contains the Lowell Thomas
building, the Dyson building, the Hancock Center, the Kirk
House, Upper New Townhouses, the Foy Townhouses, and the
Lower New Townhouses, situated directly west and below the
Hancock Center. The parcel’s southern boundary is the current
Water Works road and its upper limit is just below the Fontaine
Academic Building
Read the entire essay, or
on item below to go directly to that section.
Owner List
Frederic Barnard (1780 - 1866)
Whaling in Nantucket MA
Whaling along the Hudson River
Children of Frederic and Margaret Barnard
Owners after the Barnards
Owners in 1848 - arrival of railroad
Cordelia and Thomas MacPherson
Marist Brothers in North America
Brother Louis Zepheriny
Search for Novitiate Property
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Interesting Tidbits of Brothers occupancy
End of Marist Brothers ownership
Endnotes
>
acquired
Owner
disposed
1969
Marist College
1908
Marist Brothers
1969
1905
Brother Louis Zepheriny
1908
1897
Gilbert Coddington
1905
1894
Gardiner Yvelin
1897
1892
Cordelia MacPerson
1894
1885
Thomas MacPherson
1892
1883
John Butler & wife
1885
1883
Samuel Hassell & wife
1883
1874
John & Jane Robinson
1883
1868
Alanson & Sarah Swain
1874
1863
William S & Lydia Wright
1868
1850
Stephen Baker
1863
1848
Joseph C Johnston
1850
1847
Charles & Elizabeth Trotter
1848
1843
John W Latson
1847
1841
William S Wright
1843
1841
Samuel & Sarah Oakley
1841
1838
Henry S Richards
1841
1836
Walter Cunningham
1838
1817
Frederick & Margaret Barnard
1836
1813
Peter Morgan
1817
1802
Samuel Slee
1813
1791
Jacobus Palmatier Jr
1802
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1754
Jacobus Palmatier & wife
1791
John & Elizabeth Emmons
1754
Frederic Barnard (1780 – 1866)
Frederic Barnard was a retired whaling
captain from Nantucket Island, which was
his birthplace. He moved to Poughkeepsie
in 1816 with his wife Margaret (Allen)
Barnard. Margaret was an Englishwoman,
born in Milford Haven, near the border of
Wales.
see note 3
The couple had twelve
children. Frederic purchased the 100 acre
estate formerly called Hickory Grove Farm.
see note 4
The deed describes the farm as
lying west of the main road Highland
Turnpike, south of the land of John Pells,
north of the land of Abraham van Anden,
and bordered on the west by the shore of
the Hudson River.
see note 5
Shortly after
purchasing farm, the Barnards sold off a six
acre rectangle at the northernmost section
of the farm to Elijah Martin; this strip stretched from the
Highland turnpike to the Hudson River.
see note 6
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Whaling in Nantucket
Whaling in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth
century was centered near Massachusetts and Rhode Island,
with Nantucket Island a major player. The process involved a
small partnership that provided the funding for the venture.
One of the partners was chosen to select the ship, hire the
captain, outfit the ship and hire the crew. The partners would
receive as their share one half of the cargo of a successful
voyage, but would suffer the loss if the vessel were lost at
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sea. The partner who handled preparation for the trip would
receive a double share. The other half of the cargo would go
to the captain and his crew, with the captain receiving one half
of that one half (or one quarter of the entire cargo) and the
remaining one quarter divided among the remaining crew. If a
captain commanded even a single successful expedition, he
would receive a share which might enable him to retire. In the
early days, a captain might make several voyages. Most of the
whales were found in the North Atlantic at this time. The
whale oil and blubber were prized, especially as lamp oil and
lubricants for metal machinery.
Whaling along the Hudson River
As the supply of whales diminished in the Atlantic, whaling
moved to the Pacific and eventually the Indian oceans. This
entailed sailing the whaling ship around Cape Horn at the
southern end of South America. The length of the expedition
was extended, and whaling trips to the Indian Ocean
commonly took two years. The hazards of rounding the Horn
made the trips risky, so that less and less small groups of
partners were willing to underwrite whaling ventures. The
industry moved towards the Hudson River, where whaling
companies arose in Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh,
Peekskill and Staten Island. To raise enough capital, a
corporate format was used, with investors buying stock in the
company. Frederic Barnard became active with the two
whaling companies in Poughkeepsie, acting as organizer of the
expeditions.
see note 7
His experience at Nantucket Island
made him an attractive choice for the organizer. The vessels
were outfitted along docks just below the current Marist
Campus, on docks near Hoffman Street and Union Landing in
the village of Poughkeepsie. The organizer was not a partner
so he was paid to prepare the ship.
The Hudson River ventures were short-lived. As the number of
investors grew, each investor’s shares lessened, so that
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whaling became unattractive as a financial risk. The industry
practically disappeared shortly after the Civil War with the
discovery of oil in Western Pennsylvania.
see note 8
Frederic and Margaret Barnard lived with their family on the
Barnard parcel for about two decades. In 1836, Barnard sold
his farm to Walter Cunningham, retaining a mortgage on the
parcel.
see note 9
About the same time, Barnard purchased
two adjoining parcels along Cannon Street from Walter
Cunningham and built an imposing home.
see note 10
This
made it simpler for him to get to the whaling company docks.
Children of Frederic and Margaret Barnard
Several of the Barnard children became lawyers, of whom
Joseph Folger Barnard was the most well-known and respected
and George Garner Barnard was the least respected. At least
one of their daughters married a Judge.
Joseph Folger Barnard was born in Poughkeepsie 18
September 1823. He graduated from Yale in
1841, then studied for the law, and was
admitted to practice in 1845. He married
Miss Emily Burrill Hasbrouck of Kingston in
7 January 1862. The couple had two
children, Frederick Barnard (1845– 1939),
who practiced law in Poughkeepsie, and
Maud Barnard Banks (1862 – 1923)
see
note 11
In 1863 Joseph Folger
Barnard began thirty
years’ service as a Justice of the Supreme
Court in the Second Judicial District of the
State of New-York, and for a large part of
that time Chief Justice of the General Term of that department
until his retirement January 1, 1894, having reached the age
limit of seventy years. In 1871 his reelection was supported by
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both the Democratic and Republican parties, evidence of the
respect the officials had for his judgment and impartiality. At
the time of his death in January 1904, Justice Barnard owned
several farms in Dutchess County, and took great pleasure in
supervising them. Justice Barnard was respected for his
fairness, the quality of his decisions, and his work ethic. He
often was the first to arrive at the courthouse and the last to
depart.
George Gardner Barnard (1829 – 1879), on the other hand,
had a more colorful history. He too graduated from Yale in
1847, and studied for law under his brother Joseph Folger
Barnard. He went to California and practiced law there, but
returned in 1856 to New York City to practice law. In 1857 he
was elected on the Tammany Hall ticket as Recorder of New
York City, a position he held until 1860. In November 1860 he
was elected to an eight year term on the Supreme Court, and
was again elected in 1868. He became involved in a messy
railroad dispute over the Erie Railroad. Several of his actions
as judge favored Jay Gould (1836-1892) and James Fisk
(1835-1972). As a result he was impeached by the New York
State Assembly, tried in 1872 by an impeachment court, found
guilty and removed from office. Although never charged with
any crime, he was barred from holding public office in New
York State. Barnard died from Bright’s disease. Viewing was
held at his residence at 23 West 23rd Street with many
notables in attendance. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery,
Brooklyn NY.
Owners after the Barnards
Walter Cunningham was engaged in real estate. Like many
others, he purchased and sold properties; today real estate
agents or brokers usually act as middlemen between grantor
and grantee. In the 19th century, the real estate agent
became an intermediate owner. It is doubtful if Cunningham
ever lived on the Barnard property. Cunningham then sold the
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property to Henry S. Richards
see note 12
who like
Cunningham seems to have been occupied with real estate.
Richards sold the southern 60 acres of the farm to Sarah Bailey
in 1841.
see note 13
In 1844 Richards purchased the Elijah
Martin farm.
see note 14
The net effect of these transactions
was to split the original Barnard farm into two, with Oakley
owning the lower two-thirds and Richards owning the upper
third.
see note 15
During the next four decades there were many short term
owners (Stephen Baker the only owner holding the land for
more than a decade. Most of these were from New York City
or Brooklyn or New Jersey looking for a place in the ‘country’.
The Hudson River Railroad Company Railroad map submitted
to the county officials shows details of the owners as of 1848:
see note 16
The owners north of the waterworks road, in north to south
order were:
Owners from north to south
Length of track in
feet
Estate of James Pell, deceased
624
adjoining Van Schoonhoven
216
James Van Schoonhoven
780
Charles Trotter
1007
James Roosevelt owned land directly north of the Pells parcel.
The division line between Roosevelt and Pells was the
beginning of Hyde Park town. The Pell parcel west of the Hyde
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Park Road became the Newbold estate in 1861. Van
Schoonhoven became the estate of John F Winslow. Adjoining
Van Schoonhoven was probably the farm of Elijah Martin.
The most notable owners before the Marist Brothers were the
MacPhersons.
Cordelia and Thomas MacPherson
Thomas MacPherson was Cordelia’s third husband, so I write
about her first. I don’t know her maiden name, but her first
husband was Gardiner C. Yvelin, who was born in Versailles,
France 21 December 1793. . The couple lived in New York City
and had at least two children Cordelia E Yvelin, born 6 May
1863, and Gardner Yvelin, born about 1874. Given these birth
dates, Cordelia married Gardiner in 1861 or 1862, when she
was 18 or 19 years old and Gardner was in his late sixties. In
the 1850s Gardner G Yvelin lived at 149 Lexington Ave in
Manhattan, New York City and was a fruit importer. By the
1870s the Yvelins were living at 563 Fifth Avenue, again in
Manhattan. Gardner Yvelin died 19 June 1876 and was buried
in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY.
Cordelia then married Andrew Boardman, widower, a New York
City lawyer who was born in England around 1824. Andrew
had several children from a previous marriage, and Andrew
and Cordelia had a son. The Boardman residence was in New
York City, but Andrew had developed extensive holdings in
Poughkeepsie. The estate named Cliffdale was located near
Vassar College and Boardman Road, and eventually became
part of the research center of IBM.
see note 17
After Andrew Boardman’s death, Cordelia met Thomas J
MacPherson in New York City through their common musical
interests. The couple was married about 1882; Thomas was
about 11 years younger than Cordelia.
see note 18
They first
lived in Cliffdale, but moved to Hyde Park Road after Thomas J
MacPherson purchased the lower section of the Barnard parcel
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from John H Butler and wife.
see note 19
The Butlers lived in
Jersey City NJ; it is not known how active they were in
maintaining the Barnard parcel along the Hyde Park Road
during their two year ownership period.
The MacPhersons set about renovating the main house. To do
this they took out three mortgages to Cordelia MacPherson.
see note 20
In May 1892 Thomas MacPherson transferred
complete ownership to Cordelia MacPherson.
see note 21
It is
likely that the financing of the purchase and the improvements
were bankrolled by Cordelia’s resources.
Thomas J MacPherson was born in Trenton
NJ. His father, Thomas J, is listed in the 1880
census as a lumber dealer, age 73; both he
and his parents were born in New Jersey..
Thomas’ mother, Ellen, age 64,, was the
daughter of a father born in Ireland and a
mother born in Delaware. Thomas J, our
person of interest, was 24 and listed as a
music teacher. His sister Ella, age 25, was
listed as a school teacher, but later became a
principal and superintendent of schools in
Trenton. His younger brother George, age 22, is listed as a
lawyer. All three children were born in New
Jersey.
see note 22
While still in his teens, Thomas went
abroad to study music, receiving most of his musical training in
London, Paris and Dresden. Before he was twenty years old
he organized vocal classes for men in Trenton. He was director
of the Eight O’clock Club, composed of male voices. He was
also director of the Third Presbyterian Church of that
City.
see note 23
The MacPhersons lived on the Barnard parcel until the Cordelia
died 1893. After her death, Thomas moved to the city of
Poughkeepsie, first at the Hasbrouck house on Market Street,
and later to the Dr. Campbell house on Mill Street until he
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purchased the place at 67 Catherine Street, where he lived
until his death in 1908.
“Mr. MacPherson entered at once upon the work as
choirmaster of the Washington Street M.E. Church. He began
teaching and drilling the various church choirs of the city. In
turn, nearly every choir in town, including those of the Catholic
Churches, came under his instruction…. It was during the
pastorship of Father Nilan at St. Peter’s Church that
MacPherson instructed both the choirs of that church and St.
Mary’s Church.”
see note 24
While working with the choirs, MacPherson identified gifted
private pupils, so that almost every choir in the city featured
the presence of MacPherson students.
MacPherson also founded the Euterpe Glee Club and for fifteen
years was its director. While Cordelia MacPherson was alive,
the Euterpe held concerts in her house, as she was known as a
grand entertainer, and she greeted cordially the poor and rich
alike.
see note 25
After Cordelia MacPherson’s death, the house and property
were purchased at public auction for $35,600 by her daughter,
Cordelia E Yvelin, then living in New York City, acting on behalf
of the estate of Gardiner Yvelin that held the three mortgages.
.
see note 26
She probably bid this high to cover the amount
of the mortgages and prevent others from purchasing the
estate without assuming the mortgages.
In 1897 Cordelia E Yvelin, again acting for the Yvelin estate
then sold the property listed as 50 acres (less some prior
transfers) to Gilbert Smith Coddington of New York City for
$14,500.
see note 27
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Gilbert Smith Coddington died around 1900, so the
Poughkeepsie property remained unoccupied for at least five
years before the Marist Brothers purchased it via the
intermediary of Brother Louis Zepheriny, who acted on the
commission of the Brother Provincial and the superiors in
France.
The Marist Brothers in North America
The Marist Brothers are a teaching order, founded in 1817 by
Saint Marcellin Champagnat in a rural section of southern
France near Lyon, The principal mission activity outside France
was in the South Pacific including Australia, New Zealand, and
Polynesia, areas also developed by the Marist Fathers and two
congregations of Marist Sisters. There had been some
discussion to move to the United States among the Marist
Brothers as early as 1823, and formal invitations to New
Orleans and Saint Louis in 1837, but these were turned down
because of the need for Brothers in the South Pacific region.
However, in 1885, the Brothers opened several schools in
Canada, near Montreal and Quebec. There was a good fit: the
Brothers in France were used to rural environments and the
majority of schools opened in Canada were for French speaking
farming families. Within a short period, the Brothers taught in
40 schools, several of which serviced French speaking families
who had migrated into the United States, lured by employment
possibilities in the mills of New England. The first school
opened by the Marist Brothers in the United States was in
Lewiston, Maine in 1886.
Shortly after, in New York City, a priest had convinced his
superiors that the New York Diocese ought to have a church
concentrating on the French-speaking citizens of the City and
in anticipation of an influx of French Canadians already
reaching into Massachusetts and Connecticut and the rest of
the New England states. Father Tétreault was pastor of Saint
Jean-Baptiste along 76th Street between Lexington and Third
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Avenues. After he oriented the parish towards support of
French speaking parishioners, he was transferred to
Drummondville, Canada, and the diocese asked the Blessed
Sacrament Fathers, with strong French backgrounds, to take
over the parish. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were
attracted to teach in the elementary school. And some Marist
Brothers were imported to teach the upper grades of the
elementary school. The Fathers then asked the Brothers to
open a boarding school along 76th Street. Saint Ann’s
Academy opened in 1892 , the first secondary school for the
Brothers in the United States..
By this time the common route for Brothers to come from
France to Canada was through New York City, then by rail to
Montreal. So Saint Ann’s became a transition station for
immigrant brothers, giving them a chance to learn English to
prepare them for bilingual Canada experience.
The success of the Brothers at St. Jean Baptiste School and
Saint Ann’s Academy led to their being asked to staff other
schools in New York City, all based on instruction in the English
language. Since the Brothers started to recruit candidates for
the brotherhood, they wound up sending these recruits to
French speaking novitiates in Canada. They soon realized that
this would prove unworkable, and decided to look for training
centers in the United States.
The Brothers concentrated on teaching elementary school, with
young men graduating at age twelve or thirteen, By Canon
Law, a young person could not be accepted as a candidate to
join the Brothers until age seventeen. This left a gap during
which young men who showed aptitude and inclination to join
the Brothers, would lose association with the Brothers. The
solution for this gap was to create a secondary school
specifically for potential candidates to the Brothers, even
though most of the students in the school would not become
Brothers. The term for such a school was Juniorate (French
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Juvenat). The logical site for such a Juniorate would be along
the railroad between New York and Montreal. Brother Cecidius,
the Provincial, was too busy to take on this task himself, so the
turned to …
Brother Louis Zepheriny
François Adophe Louis Brochier was born in the city of Lyons,
France, in 1861. His parents were devout Catholics, as were
most of the citizens of this area of Southern France. He joined
the Brothers in 1876, completing his Novitiate and taking first
vows in 1878. He received a one year assignment as cook
(common in those days) and then became an auxiliary teacher
for several years, during which time he studied for his brevet,
which authorized him to teach any of the elementary grades.
He may have received the name Brother Louis Zepheriny at the
time he entered the Brothers, as it was common to receive a
different name upon acceptance. His superiors recognized that
he had extraordinary talent, and sent him to England so that
he could become proficient in the English language, this
preparing him for service in Canada and the United States.
After his year in England, he came to New York City where he
founded Saint Ann’s Academy (now Archbishop Molloy HS in
Queens NY). He had a special devotion to Saint Anne; the
Brothers were in charge of novenas to Saint Anne in Saint Jean
Baptiste Church.
One story about his stay at Saint Ann’s Academy is that he
wanted to import a statue of Saint Anne from Europe. For
some reason, the statue was retained by the Customs Office
for several weeks or months. Brother Zepheriny traveled to
Washington DC to meet with President Theodore Roosevelt.
The President, impressed with Zepheriny’s spunk, arranged for
the statue’s release. It stood in the courtyard of Saint Ann’s
until the school closed in 1957, and perhaps may now be
located at the successor school Archbishop Molloy HS.
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How did he manage to arrange this appointment? I hazard a
guess that he went through Coudert Brothers, the most
prestigious international law firm, who for some reason
handled the legal affairs of the Brothers.
The Search for a Novitiate
After being commissioned to find a suitable location for a
training center/Juniorate, Zepheriny, acting on the advice of
the Redemptorist Fathers from Baltimore, looked in Ulster
County, where he had been told there were properties
available. In 1903, the Redemptorist Fathers had located their
seminary in Esopus along the Hudson River. It is likely that
Zepheriny looked at the vacant Pratt estate and the vacant
Niedlinger estate, both of which figure prominently in the later
history of the Marist Brothers in Ulster County. But he decided
against Ulster for two reasons: the Redemptorists could not
guarantee chaplain service
, and the transportation between
New York and Montreal was better on the east side of the
Hudson River.
see note 32
Zepheriny then turned to his friends among the Jesuits, who
staffed Saint Ignatius Loyola Church, a few blocks from Saint
Ann’s Academy. He was directed to the Rector of the Jesuit
Seminary which had relocated from Ulster to Dutchess. Father
Joseph Haven Richards SJ identified two vacant estates, the
former MacPherson property and the Bech property just below.
The Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 19904-1934
see note 31
indicate that Brother Zepheriny looked at both
sites. He preferred the Bech property, but it was too costly to
consider at that time.
Another legend about Brother Zepheriny is that he alerted his
superiors in France that a property across the Hyde Park Road
of 372 acres was available at a very reasonable price. This
parcel had been purchased by George Bech, son of Edvard and
Elizabeth Bech in 1881. George died in 1886, but Elizabeth
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held on to the parcel until her death in 1900. When his
superiors asked him what he would do with 372 acres, he
replied that the Jesuits had purchased 1000 acres in Hyde
Park. Brother Zepheriny’s suggestion was rejected by his
superiors.
see note 32
The MacPherson property was reasonably priced and available.
So Zepheriny bought it in his own name. This may have been
because the Brothers were not yet incorporated in the United
States, or it may have been to deflect anti-Catholic bias
common at that time. Since the Brothers had no financial
resources, Zepheriny used $7,400 from funds belonging to his
patrimony – money willed to him and owned by him, but
usually not allowed to be used by him. It could be willed to
successors; it might also become available to him if he left the
Marist Order.
see note 33
He was chided for this action by the
superiors in France when they discovered his actions. This
made him more circumspect when he negotiated the purchase
of the Bech property in 1908.
The main house had not been lived in since the MacPhersons,
and was in run down condition. But it had potential for use as
a Juniorate. The large and beautiful rooms inside the building
could be easily adapted to religious use: chapel, classrooms,
dormitory on the top floor.
“The house was said to be haunted. So much so that one day
when Brother Provincial and Brother Ptolemeus came to visit it
, the driver advised them not to buy that house because it was
the devil’s quarters. Our visitors calmed the good fellow by
telling him nicely that that was the very reason why they
wanted to buy it.”
see note 34
The purchase of the MacPherson/Coddington property, about
35 acres, went through on 28 February 1905. Several
Brothers transferred to the property and spent the next year
repairing and remodeling the house for use as a Juniorate.
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The first Juniors came from the French-speaking Juniorate in
St. Hyacinthe, Canada on 21 February. The property was
named Saint Ann’s Hermitage on the urging of Brother
Zepheriny
Three of the first Juniors were sent to St. Hyacinthe, Canada
for their Novitiate, conducted in French. The Brothers realized
it imperative to establish an English speaking Novitiate, and
commissioned Brother Zepheriny to again look at the Bech
estate site. He managed to purchase the Bech property on 27
August 1908.
see note 35
see note 36
Details concerning
this transaction may be found in the chapter on the Bech
parcel. The remainder of this chapter concentrates on the
usage of the Barnard parcel during the Marist Brothers’
ownership.
Besides use as a Juniorate, the Barnard property housed
Brothers who worked on the property (and
later the Bech property), a separate section
for retired and disabled Brothers, and
administrators for the entire United States
Province. During the first twenty years four
Brothers were busy as carpenters
renovating or building. The first major
renovation was a box-like addition to the west end of the
MacPherson house, providing room for kitchen and dining
facilities for the Juniors and for all the Brothers who worked on
the properties, as well as housing for the retirees, disabled,
working Brothers and faculty of the Juniorate. The combined
Bech/Barnard farming operation was based in the original barn
area, with land in the Barnard sector used for plantings and
grazing, raising of pigs and chickens. The Brothers constructed
a silo for the barn.
see note 37
The southern part of the Bech property was dedicated to an
English-speaking Novitiate. The northern section, named
“Central” included the Gate House, Gardener’s Cottage,
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Carriage House and related buildings. This section became the
site for advanced study after the Novitiate years, eventually
leading to the establishment of Marist Training School in 1929.
As early as 1927, the future Superior General
of the Marist Brothers visited the campus and
urged them to provide better housing for the
residents in both the MacPherson house and
the Bech house (then in use as a novitiate).
It is believable that someone from Europe, accustomed to
stone houses, sensed the danger of older wood frame
housing. Later the same Brother was elected Superior
General. In 1939, durng his term as Superior General, the US
Provincial Council submitted a request to build a new provincial
house in Poughkeepsie. At first it was approved, but with the
beginning of World War II, construction was delayed
indefinitely.
This arrangement lasted until 1942, when more space was
needed for the Juniorate. The Brothers purchased 200 acres of
the Payne Estate in Esopus between route 9W and the Hudson
River and moved the Juniorate there. This freed up space in
the MacPherson building dormitories so that the Student
Brothers relocated their dormitory space away from Central.
The Brothers continued to use the chapel, kitchen, and dining
rooms in the older MacPherson house. The infirmary and
retirement groups also remained in MacPherson.
In the early 1950s, Francis Cardinal Spellman urged the
Brothers to abandon housing in the MacPherson building, as it
was a potential fire hazard. (The Novitiate which had been
housed in the Bech house had been relocated to Tyngsboro
MA.)
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Cardinal Spellman was very much aware of a tragic event in
the Chicago diocese which resulted in loss of many lives, and
wanted no repetition here in New York. However, the New York
diocese was not in a position to fund any changes, so the
timetable had to be delayed several years until the Brothers
could gather together the funds for new space.
The Brothers did the construction themselves, starting with the
Chapel of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom in 1953. By 1956 they
built a combination study hall dining room attached to the west
end of the chapel, , and by 1957 had added a three story
fireproof dormitory to the study hall/dining room. This meant
the Marian College operation could move to the Bech campus.
The few remaining retired, disabled, and working Brothers
were relocated to other Marist Brothers sites, so the building
was empty.
A contract to demolish the building was
given to a construction company in Pleasant
Valley. The company obtained a permit to
burn the building, which it did in fall 1957.
This created a spectacular fire directly
across from the Western Printing factory. The wind was
strong, and Harold Spencer, one of the founders of Western
Printing told me that fiery cinders the size of softballs flew over
Route Nine and landed on the factory roof. Luckily no one was
injured. The fire department was slow to respond, which led to
finger pointing in several directions.
see note 38
Interesting tidbits about the Marist Brothers’ occupancy
“March 1909. On the 3rd of this month the very small house
near the Juniorate barns, which served as laundry room, went
up in flames during the night. Everything was burned.
Insurance covered part of the fire. Mrs. Winslow, our neighbor,
sent us $50 to help out”
see note 39
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“July 26, 1910 A magnificent statue of St. Ann, gift of Mrs. F.
Foley, was blessed by Rev. Father Williams, and , in the
presence of the entire Community, was put up near the
entrance to the Juniorate, on a cement pedestal made by Bro.
Titian”
see note 40
The Outdoor Swimming Pool. There was a
small lake between the house and the water
works road. Early photos show a small
island with a wooden bridge. This became
the playground of Brother Legotianus, after
whom the Leo Dormitory is named. He devised a small motor
boat, guided by radio, very early in the history of radio.
In the early 1930s, it was decided to convert this lake into an
outdoor swimming pool. The ground proved to be swampy, so
to pour the base of the pool, springs from old beds were
inserted vertically into the ground, then other springs rested
on the first group in a horizontal manner, and the concrete
base of the pool poured. Two intake sections were left open at
the deep end to accept fresh water from what was thought to
be natural springs. The pool was deep enough to provide
space for a three meter diving board and a lower board. The
pool was maintained by the student brothers, with the help
and supervision of the personnel from the City of Poughkeepsie
Water Works.
During the 1960s and 1970s the pool
proved a popular summer meeting place for
faculty and administrative staff and their
families. In the 1970s the Water Works
repaired some of the pipes leading from the plant towards the
city. The influx of water thought to be natural springs dried
up, with only a small flow, probably from drainage from across
route Nine. The pool did not have toilet or shower facilities,
but the City did not insist it be closed until completion of the
swimming pool in the McCann Center in 1977.
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Electricity. There was a small stream onto the property from
Mrs. Winslow’s property immediately to the north. This stream
is marked on early maps as originating at the northeast edge
of the Ziegler property (just north of the Winslow farm
property east of Route Nine), crossing the Winslow farm, and
then tunneling under route nine. In his estate west of route
nine, Winslow created several small ponds, in one of which he
placed an island in the shape of the Monitor, the warship he
had managed to get built during the Civil War.
see note 41
The enterprising Brother Leo had the Brothers build a dam on
the stream on the Marist property, and used the dam to
generate enough hydroelectric power to light the MacPherson
house.
Brother Leo was a man of many talents. He was named
Provincial of the United States province. Later in life he
became the physics teacher at Marist Preparatory in Esopus.
He taught me physics so well that we never prepared
specifically for the Regents exam. Yet the entire class passed
the Regents.
End of the Marist Brothers ownership
In 1961, the Brothers had transferred
ownership of the property south of the
Water Works Road to Marist College,
basically to facilitate mortgages for the
Sheahan, Leo, and Champagnat Dormitories
but they kept ownership of the property
north of the Water Works. Several plans were drawn up to
encourage faculty housing in private homes, but only Daniel
Kirk, Professor of Psychology carried out the goal. With a 99
year lease from the College, he built a house now called Kirk
House used for the chaplain’s residence.
see note 42
In 1968, the housing pattern for Student Brothers was
changing from large groups to smaller groups. Many of the
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student brothers maintained their residence in Esopus, coming
to the campus as commuters. The Brothers wanted to build
smaller houses, but hoped to use the college as the financing
agent. Paul Canin, the architect for many College projects,
designed two circular buildings, each to house 32 students,
two to a room. The houses were to be located on a bluff now
occupied by the Hancock Center.
During the discussions between Brother
Kieran Brennan, Provincial and President
Linus Richard Foy, the latter raised the issue
of transfer of the land. Kieran on the other
hand raised the issue that the college had
received free of charge an enormous
amount of financial assistance, including donation of the 57
acres of the Bech Property with 90,000 sq ft Donnelly Building,
13,000 sq ft Marian Gym building, Gate House, Gardener’s
Cottage ( St. Peter’s), Greystone, the wooden Marian Building
next to Greystone. Kieran further indicated that he was
experiencing negative vibrations from several brothers that
they had “given away the college”. He suggested that the
College purchase the entire property north of the Water Works
Road. Foy and Brennan agreed on a price of one million
dollars, to be paid in forty annual installments. Kieran could
then use the million figure, and the college could pay it in small
chunks. The college would finance the two student brother
dormitories locally (through the Dutchess Bank – no
government money involved). When the auditors reviewed the
agreement, they insisted that the college list present value the
forty annual payments, so the amount of $232,000 was placed
on the college books. The Brothers would pay rental for the
new houses on an annual basis.
All in all, a win-win situation. It was not to remain static.
The Brothers used the residences for only one or two years,
after which they were converted to regular student housing.
see note 43
Since Gregory and Benoit occupied commanding
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views of the Hudson River, they were demolished to make
room for the Hancock Center
The Marist Brothers transferred ownership of the property
north of the water works road to Marist College in 1969
see note 44
This ends the saga of the Marist Brothers’ ownership of
property now part of Marist College.
Endnotes
Note 1. Some details during the Marist Brothers ownership may be found in the
chapter on the Bech estate. This relates especially to the information supplied by
Brother Nilus Donnelly and the Annals of St Anne’s Hermitage 1905 – 1934.
Note 2. Deed 21 Jan 1817 liber 26 page 41 Peter Morgan and Elizabeth his
wife to Frederick Barnard
Deed 28 Feb 1905 liber 338 page 376 Coddington estate to Louis Zepheriny
Gilbert Coddington’s cousins, Clifford C and Henry S were executors of the
Coddington estate.
Deed 27 August 1908 liber 359 [age 454 Louis Zepheriny to Marist Brothers
Deed 25 February 1969 liber 1261 page 51 Marist Brothers to Marist College
Note 3. Information about Frederic and Margaret Barnard derived from New York
Times article November 12, 1891, on the occasion of their Judge Joseph Folder
Barnard’s retirement
Note 4. The name Hickory Grove Farm is cited in the archival survey for the Wood
cliff Estate dated September 2009 by Hart gen Archeological Associates, Inc. page 6
Note 5 1817 21 Jan 1817 liber 26 page 41 Peter Morgan to Frederick
Barnard deed recorded with Dutchess County clerk.
Note 6, 1819 1 May 1819 liber 34 page 194 Frederick and Margaret Barnard of
Poughkeepsie to Elijah Martin of the same place.
Note 7. The companies were the Dutchess Whaling Company and the
Poughkeepsie Whaling Company.
Note 8. John D Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, and Oliver Hazzard Payne ran the
Standard Oil organization from their office in Cleveland Ohio. Oliver H Payne later
built an estate in Esopus, part of which was willed to Marist College in 2009. Later
the founders took in another partner, Charles Pratt of Brooklyn NY, who had
discovered a process to ship oil to Europe in a friendly format for lighting.
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Note 9. 1836 liber 61 page 141 Frederic & Margaret Barnard to Walter
Cunningham
1836 Book of mortgages liber 48 page 258 Walter Cunningham to Frederic Barnard.
Later Barnard transferred this mortgage to a group headed by Benjamin Bonney.
Note 10. 1836 liber 61 page 139 Walter Cunningham to Frederic Barnard, main
parcel along Cannon Street
1837 liber 62 page 47 Walter Cunningham to Frederic Barnard, small addition to
Cannon Street parcel
Note 11. Information of children’s names and dates of birth and death obtained
through Chalmers Hall Bache family tree listed in Ancestry.com. Joseph Flogger
Barnard’s siblings are listed as: William Frederick Barnard, Thomas Allen Barnard,
Robert S Barnard, Margaret Allen Barnard, Frederic M Barnard, Martha Barnard,
George Gardner Barnard and John Barnard.
Note 12. Deed 27 Nov 18378 liber 63 page 345 Walter Cunningham of
Poughkeepsie to Henry S Richards of New York City. The sale included all of the
Barnard property except that sold by Barnard to Elijah Martin
Note 13. Deed 9 January 1841 liber 69 page 556 Henry S Richards and wife of
Poughkeepsie to Sarah Oakley wife of Samuel Oakley. Purchase price was $12,000,
but the Oakleys assumed $6,000 of the mortgage originally granted to Cunningham
by Barnard.
Note 14. Deed 6 May 1844 liber 78 page 85 Elijah Martin to Henry S Richards.
Elijah had purchased the farm from Frederic Barnard in 1819 see liber 34 page
194. It was a ten acre lot reaching from the Hyde Park Road to the Hudson River.
Note 15. See chapter on the Winslow property to learn details about the upper one
third of the Barnard farm.
Note 16. Copy of the map furnished by the Hudson River Railroad Company to the
County can be located in the Records Office of the County Clerk, County office
building , Market Street, second floor. The copy is on a roll of paper about 24 feet
long, but may be rolled out along one of the long tables. Individual parcels are
given sequential code numbers. Some parcels have two code numbers, one for the
land above high water, the other for land below high water.
Note 17. The Boardman obituary locates the estate near the “driving park” along
Hooker Avenue in Poughkeepsie NY. Nineteenth century maps place the driving park
near Wilbur Boulevard.
Note 18. The obituary for Mrs. MacPherson indicated that they married about 1887
and then bought the Barnard parcel. This is not consistent with the purchase listed
in the deeds (1885) or the obituary for Thomas MacPherson which indicated that he
came to Poughkeepsie about 1882.
Note 19. Deed 18 April 1885 liber 229 page 559 John H Butler and wife to Thomas
J MacPherson.
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Note 20. Mortgage 7 Sept 1887 liber 197 page 230 MacPhersons to Cordelia
MacPherson
Mortgage 20 Nov 1889 liber 265 page 213 for $6000 MacPhersons to Cordelia
MacPherson
Mortgage 20 May 1890 liber 207 page 314 $ ? MacPhersons to Cordelia MacPherson
Note 21. Deed May 1892 liber 270 page 463 Thomas J MacPherson to Cordelia
MacPherson
Note 22. US Census record 1880 NJ, Mercer County, Trenton for Thomas J
MacPherson lists Thomas’s father, mother Ellen, sister Ella, and brother George.
Earlier census records (1870, 1860, 1850 show older siblings: Sarah H born 1836
and a schoolteacher, Charles K born 1845, Jane or James E, born 1847, Joseph born
1836, and John W born 1838. There is no wife listed in the 1850 census, which
leads me to believe that Ellen was a second wife.
Note 23. The material in this and the following paragraphs is based on the obituary
published February 11, 1890.
Note 24. Quoted from the February 11, 1890 obituary.
Note 25. Euterpe, from the Greek culture, is one of the nine Muses of Apollo. Her
name means "rejoicing well" or "delight". She was born from Zeus and Mnemosyne,
the goddess of memory, along with her other eight sisters. Euterpe is the Muse of
music and lyric poetry. She is also the Muse of joy and pleasure and of flute playing
and was thought to have invented the double flute, which is her attribute. The title
Euterpe Glee Club was in common use during the nineteenth century for men’s
choral groups.
Note 26. Foreclosure deed 24 May 1894 liber 275 page 31 Isaac Bingham, referee
for the MacPherson property to Gardiner Yvelin.
Note 27. Deed 9 October 1897 liber 294 page 11 Cordelia Yvelin to Gilbert
Coddington
Note 28. Information on the Marist Brothers in North America is based on the work
of Brother Leonard Voegtle, fms Go to the Land I Will Show You Marist Press 1995
Volume 1, 1885-1911, New France, New England, New York, 207 pp.. Available in
the Marist College Archives. This was the first of three planned volumes. Brother
Leonard was researching the second volume when he died in 31 March 2001. His
work papers are on file at the Marist Brothers Archives, Marist Brothers, Box 197,
Esopus NY 12429 Attn: Brother Bryce Byczynski
Note 29. The source for information about Brother Louis Zepheriny is derived from
the obituary by Bro. Joseph Belanger found at
http://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/obits/zepherenybrochier
. See also
Brother Leonard Voegtle Go to the Land I Will Show You, pp.95-102
Note 30. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934, translated from the French by
Bro. Joseph L. R. Belanger, fms, Marist College Press, Poughkeepsie NY 12601,
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published 2002. Page 3 Available at Marist College Library Archives.
Note 31. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934 page 10. Available at Marist
College Library Archives.
Note 32. Deed 15 dec 1881 liber 207 page 281 Thomas L Davies, dec’d to George
A Bech 372 acres for $38,000
Deed 18 may 1907 liber 359 page 183 George A Bech Estate & Henry Bream to
Fairview Improvement Co, 372 acres for $13,400 ??? (check this)
Note 33. These are provisions of Canon Law applicable to members of religious
orders.
Note 34. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage, page 4 The earliest photo we have of the
house indeed seems to be that of a haunted or mysterious house!
Note 35. Deed 27 August 1908 liber 358 page 402 Nicholas & Gertrud Jungeblut
to Louis Zepheriny Elizabeth Bech left the property to her granddaughter, the
daughter of Elizabeth’s son Henri Bream. She was married to royalty in Europe,
and commissioned Nicholas Jungeblut to sell the property..
Note 36. During the period 1905 to 1908, the properties were owned in the name
of Louis Zepheriny Immediately after purchasing the Belch property, Brother
Zepheriny transferred both parcel to the Marist Brothers. See deed 27 August 1908
liber 358 page 454 Louis Zepheriny to Marist Brothers.
Note 37 The Surrogate Court papers for Cordelia MacPherson list ends the list of
personal property with a final item: Black cow in barn area, value $26. So we
know the barn was in use during the MacPherson ownership, but the usage was
minimal. Given the influx of Brothers and candidates for the Brotherhood, the
volume of the operation had to be expanded.
Note 38. Gerard Weiss, graduate from Marian College in 1949, was teaching
Spanish at Marian. He managed to take some spectacular photos of the fire.
Note 39. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934 page 17
Note 40. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934 page 22
Note 41. The stream on the Winslow Farm property can be seen entering the
culvert under route nine, near the fence for the road Winslow Gate Road, at the
blinker just north of the regular traffic light near MacDonalds and the Mobil station.
In many cases, these streams emptied into the Hudson. After route nine was built,
the streams retained the right to cross under the road and continue their journey to
the Hudson. The construction of Donnelly Hall encountered such a stream as the
Brothers attempted to pour foundations for the southern half of the circle.
Note 42. Daniel Kirk died in 1984. The house became part of the estate. By terms
of the original lease, the college and estate executor would agree on a common
value for the house, and the college would pay the estate that value, take
possession of the house and terminate the lease.. See release dated 15 July 1985,
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liber 1675 page 209 . The mortgage taken out by Kirk (original principal of 36,500
was paid off at the time of the release, using proceeds of the $100,000 payment
from Marist College.
Note 43. The new houses were named Gregory after Brother Joseph Gregory
Marchessault, a physics teacher at Marist who died young, and Benoit after Brother
Francis Xavier Benoit, who taught for many years in Marist Training School and
Marian College
Note 44. See deed 25 February 1969 liber 1261 page 61 Marist Brothers to
Marist College
Research on this project was conducted from January 2008 through August 2012 by
Richard Foy, assisted by student assistants Paul Contarino and Kayla Benefield.
most recent revision and spell check: June 15, 2013
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Barnard Parcel
Marist College
By the Barnard parcel I mean the lower section of the farm
purchased by Frederick Barnard in 1817. The upper section
receives its own treatment in the chapter called Winslow
parcel. The Barnard parcel was purchased by the Marist
Brothers in 1905
see note 1
In 1969 this parcel was
transferred to Marist College.
see note 2
As of 2012 the Barnard parcel contains the Lowell Thomas
building, the Dyson building, the Hancock Center, the Kirk
House, Upper New Townhouses, the Foy Townhouses, and the
Lower New Townhouses, situated directly west and below the
Hancock Center. The parcel’s southern boundary is the current
Water Works road and its upper limit is just below the Fontaine
Academic Building
Read the entire essay, or
on item below to go directly to that section.
Owner List
Frederic Barnard (1780 - 1866)
Whaling in Nantucket MA
Whaling along the Hudson River
Children of Frederic and Margaret Barnard
Owners after the Barnards
Owners in 1848 - arrival of railroad
Cordelia and Thomas MacPherson
Marist Brothers in North America
Brother Louis Zepheriny
Search for Novitiate Property
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Interesting Tidbits of Brothers occupancy
End of Marist Brothers ownership
Endnotes
>
acquired
Owner
disposed
1969
Marist College
1908
Marist Brothers
1969
1905
Brother Louis Zepheriny
1908
1897
Gilbert Coddington
1905
1894
Gardiner Yvelin
1897
1892
Cordelia MacPerson
1894
1885
Thomas MacPherson
1892
1883
John Butler & wife
1885
1883
Samuel Hassell & wife
1883
1874
John & Jane Robinson
1883
1868
Alanson & Sarah Swain
1874
1863
William S & Lydia Wright
1868
1850
Stephen Baker
1863
1848
Joseph C Johnston
1850
1847
Charles & Elizabeth Trotter
1848
1843
John W Latson
1847
1841
William S Wright
1843
1841
Samuel & Sarah Oakley
1841
1838
Henry S Richards
1841
1836
Walter Cunningham
1838
1817
Frederick & Margaret Barnard
1836
1813
Peter Morgan
1817
1802
Samuel Slee
1813
1791
Jacobus Palmatier Jr
1802
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1754
Jacobus Palmatier & wife
1791
John & Elizabeth Emmons
1754
Frederic Barnard (1780 – 1866)
Frederic Barnard was a retired whaling
captain from Nantucket Island, which was
his birthplace. He moved to Poughkeepsie
in 1816 with his wife Margaret (Allen)
Barnard. Margaret was an Englishwoman,
born in Milford Haven, near the border of
Wales.
see note 3
The couple had twelve
children. Frederic purchased the 100 acre
estate formerly called Hickory Grove Farm.
see note 4
The deed describes the farm as
lying west of the main road Highland
Turnpike, south of the land of John Pells,
north of the land of Abraham van Anden,
and bordered on the west by the shore of
the Hudson River.
see note 5
Shortly after
purchasing farm, the Barnards sold off a six
acre rectangle at the northernmost section
of the farm to Elijah Martin; this strip stretched from the
Highland turnpike to the Hudson River.
see note 6
return to===>>
main page
top of this page
content list
Whaling in Nantucket
Whaling in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth
century was centered near Massachusetts and Rhode Island,
with Nantucket Island a major player. The process involved a
small partnership that provided the funding for the venture.
One of the partners was chosen to select the ship, hire the
captain, outfit the ship and hire the crew. The partners would
receive as their share one half of the cargo of a successful
voyage, but would suffer the loss if the vessel were lost at
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sea. The partner who handled preparation for the trip would
receive a double share. The other half of the cargo would go
to the captain and his crew, with the captain receiving one half
of that one half (or one quarter of the entire cargo) and the
remaining one quarter divided among the remaining crew. If a
captain commanded even a single successful expedition, he
would receive a share which might enable him to retire. In the
early days, a captain might make several voyages. Most of the
whales were found in the North Atlantic at this time. The
whale oil and blubber were prized, especially as lamp oil and
lubricants for metal machinery.
Whaling along the Hudson River
As the supply of whales diminished in the Atlantic, whaling
moved to the Pacific and eventually the Indian oceans. This
entailed sailing the whaling ship around Cape Horn at the
southern end of South America. The length of the expedition
was extended, and whaling trips to the Indian Ocean
commonly took two years. The hazards of rounding the Horn
made the trips risky, so that less and less small groups of
partners were willing to underwrite whaling ventures. The
industry moved towards the Hudson River, where whaling
companies arose in Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh,
Peekskill and Staten Island. To raise enough capital, a
corporate format was used, with investors buying stock in the
company. Frederic Barnard became active with the two
whaling companies in Poughkeepsie, acting as organizer of the
expeditions.
see note 7
His experience at Nantucket Island
made him an attractive choice for the organizer. The vessels
were outfitted along docks just below the current Marist
Campus, on docks near Hoffman Street and Union Landing in
the village of Poughkeepsie. The organizer was not a partner
so he was paid to prepare the ship.
The Hudson River ventures were short-lived. As the number of
investors grew, each investor’s shares lessened, so that
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whaling became unattractive as a financial risk. The industry
practically disappeared shortly after the Civil War with the
discovery of oil in Western Pennsylvania.
see note 8
Frederic and Margaret Barnard lived with their family on the
Barnard parcel for about two decades. In 1836, Barnard sold
his farm to Walter Cunningham, retaining a mortgage on the
parcel.
see note 9
About the same time, Barnard purchased
two adjoining parcels along Cannon Street from Walter
Cunningham and built an imposing home.
see note 10
This
made it simpler for him to get to the whaling company docks.
Children of Frederic and Margaret Barnard
Several of the Barnard children became lawyers, of whom
Joseph Folger Barnard was the most well-known and respected
and George Garner Barnard was the least respected. At least
one of their daughters married a Judge.
Joseph Folger Barnard was born in Poughkeepsie 18
September 1823. He graduated from Yale in
1841, then studied for the law, and was
admitted to practice in 1845. He married
Miss Emily Burrill Hasbrouck of Kingston in
7 January 1862. The couple had two
children, Frederick Barnard (1845– 1939),
who practiced law in Poughkeepsie, and
Maud Barnard Banks (1862 – 1923)
see
note 11
In 1863 Joseph Folger
Barnard began thirty
years’ service as a Justice of the Supreme
Court in the Second Judicial District of the
State of New-York, and for a large part of
that time Chief Justice of the General Term of that department
until his retirement January 1, 1894, having reached the age
limit of seventy years. In 1871 his reelection was supported by
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both the Democratic and Republican parties, evidence of the
respect the officials had for his judgment and impartiality. At
the time of his death in January 1904, Justice Barnard owned
several farms in Dutchess County, and took great pleasure in
supervising them. Justice Barnard was respected for his
fairness, the quality of his decisions, and his work ethic. He
often was the first to arrive at the courthouse and the last to
depart.
George Gardner Barnard (1829 – 1879), on the other hand,
had a more colorful history. He too graduated from Yale in
1847, and studied for law under his brother Joseph Folger
Barnard. He went to California and practiced law there, but
returned in 1856 to New York City to practice law. In 1857 he
was elected on the Tammany Hall ticket as Recorder of New
York City, a position he held until 1860. In November 1860 he
was elected to an eight year term on the Supreme Court, and
was again elected in 1868. He became involved in a messy
railroad dispute over the Erie Railroad. Several of his actions
as judge favored Jay Gould (1836-1892) and James Fisk
(1835-1972). As a result he was impeached by the New York
State Assembly, tried in 1872 by an impeachment court, found
guilty and removed from office. Although never charged with
any crime, he was barred from holding public office in New
York State. Barnard died from Bright’s disease. Viewing was
held at his residence at 23 West 23rd Street with many
notables in attendance. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery,
Brooklyn NY.
Owners after the Barnards
Walter Cunningham was engaged in real estate. Like many
others, he purchased and sold properties; today real estate
agents or brokers usually act as middlemen between grantor
and grantee. In the 19th century, the real estate agent
became an intermediate owner. It is doubtful if Cunningham
ever lived on the Barnard property. Cunningham then sold the
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property to Henry S. Richards
see note 12
who like
Cunningham seems to have been occupied with real estate.
Richards sold the southern 60 acres of the farm to Sarah Bailey
in 1841.
see note 13
In 1844 Richards purchased the Elijah
Martin farm.
see note 14
The net effect of these transactions
was to split the original Barnard farm into two, with Oakley
owning the lower two-thirds and Richards owning the upper
third.
see note 15
During the next four decades there were many short term
owners (Stephen Baker the only owner holding the land for
more than a decade. Most of these were from New York City
or Brooklyn or New Jersey looking for a place in the ‘country’.
The Hudson River Railroad Company Railroad map submitted
to the county officials shows details of the owners as of 1848:
see note 16
The owners north of the waterworks road, in north to south
order were:
Owners from north to south
Length of track in
feet
Estate of James Pell, deceased
624
adjoining Van Schoonhoven
216
James Van Schoonhoven
780
Charles Trotter
1007
James Roosevelt owned land directly north of the Pells parcel.
The division line between Roosevelt and Pells was the
beginning of Hyde Park town. The Pell parcel west of the Hyde
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Park Road became the Newbold estate in 1861. Van
Schoonhoven became the estate of John F Winslow. Adjoining
Van Schoonhoven was probably the farm of Elijah Martin.
The most notable owners before the Marist Brothers were the
MacPhersons.
Cordelia and Thomas MacPherson
Thomas MacPherson was Cordelia’s third husband, so I write
about her first. I don’t know her maiden name, but her first
husband was Gardiner C. Yvelin, who was born in Versailles,
France 21 December 1793. . The couple lived in New York City
and had at least two children Cordelia E Yvelin, born 6 May
1863, and Gardner Yvelin, born about 1874. Given these birth
dates, Cordelia married Gardiner in 1861 or 1862, when she
was 18 or 19 years old and Gardner was in his late sixties. In
the 1850s Gardner G Yvelin lived at 149 Lexington Ave in
Manhattan, New York City and was a fruit importer. By the
1870s the Yvelins were living at 563 Fifth Avenue, again in
Manhattan. Gardner Yvelin died 19 June 1876 and was buried
in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY.
Cordelia then married Andrew Boardman, widower, a New York
City lawyer who was born in England around 1824. Andrew
had several children from a previous marriage, and Andrew
and Cordelia had a son. The Boardman residence was in New
York City, but Andrew had developed extensive holdings in
Poughkeepsie. The estate named Cliffdale was located near
Vassar College and Boardman Road, and eventually became
part of the research center of IBM.
see note 17
After Andrew Boardman’s death, Cordelia met Thomas J
MacPherson in New York City through their common musical
interests. The couple was married about 1882; Thomas was
about 11 years younger than Cordelia.
see note 18
They first
lived in Cliffdale, but moved to Hyde Park Road after Thomas J
MacPherson purchased the lower section of the Barnard parcel
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from John H Butler and wife.
see note 19
The Butlers lived in
Jersey City NJ; it is not known how active they were in
maintaining the Barnard parcel along the Hyde Park Road
during their two year ownership period.
The MacPhersons set about renovating the main house. To do
this they took out three mortgages to Cordelia MacPherson.
see note 20
In May 1892 Thomas MacPherson transferred
complete ownership to Cordelia MacPherson.
see note 21
It is
likely that the financing of the purchase and the improvements
were bankrolled by Cordelia’s resources.
Thomas J MacPherson was born in Trenton
NJ. His father, Thomas J, is listed in the 1880
census as a lumber dealer, age 73; both he
and his parents were born in New Jersey..
Thomas’ mother, Ellen, age 64,, was the
daughter of a father born in Ireland and a
mother born in Delaware. Thomas J, our
person of interest, was 24 and listed as a
music teacher. His sister Ella, age 25, was
listed as a school teacher, but later became a
principal and superintendent of schools in
Trenton. His younger brother George, age 22, is listed as a
lawyer. All three children were born in New
Jersey.
see note 22
While still in his teens, Thomas went
abroad to study music, receiving most of his musical training in
London, Paris and Dresden. Before he was twenty years old
he organized vocal classes for men in Trenton. He was director
of the Eight O’clock Club, composed of male voices. He was
also director of the Third Presbyterian Church of that
City.
see note 23
The MacPhersons lived on the Barnard parcel until the Cordelia
died 1893. After her death, Thomas moved to the city of
Poughkeepsie, first at the Hasbrouck house on Market Street,
and later to the Dr. Campbell house on Mill Street until he
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purchased the place at 67 Catherine Street, where he lived
until his death in 1908.
“Mr. MacPherson entered at once upon the work as
choirmaster of the Washington Street M.E. Church. He began
teaching and drilling the various church choirs of the city. In
turn, nearly every choir in town, including those of the Catholic
Churches, came under his instruction…. It was during the
pastorship of Father Nilan at St. Peter’s Church that
MacPherson instructed both the choirs of that church and St.
Mary’s Church.”
see note 24
While working with the choirs, MacPherson identified gifted
private pupils, so that almost every choir in the city featured
the presence of MacPherson students.
MacPherson also founded the Euterpe Glee Club and for fifteen
years was its director. While Cordelia MacPherson was alive,
the Euterpe held concerts in her house, as she was known as a
grand entertainer, and she greeted cordially the poor and rich
alike.
see note 25
After Cordelia MacPherson’s death, the house and property
were purchased at public auction for $35,600 by her daughter,
Cordelia E Yvelin, then living in New York City, acting on behalf
of the estate of Gardiner Yvelin that held the three mortgages.
.
see note 26
She probably bid this high to cover the amount
of the mortgages and prevent others from purchasing the
estate without assuming the mortgages.
In 1897 Cordelia E Yvelin, again acting for the Yvelin estate
then sold the property listed as 50 acres (less some prior
transfers) to Gilbert Smith Coddington of New York City for
$14,500.
see note 27
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Gilbert Smith Coddington died around 1900, so the
Poughkeepsie property remained unoccupied for at least five
years before the Marist Brothers purchased it via the
intermediary of Brother Louis Zepheriny, who acted on the
commission of the Brother Provincial and the superiors in
France.
The Marist Brothers in North America
The Marist Brothers are a teaching order, founded in 1817 by
Saint Marcellin Champagnat in a rural section of southern
France near Lyon, The principal mission activity outside France
was in the South Pacific including Australia, New Zealand, and
Polynesia, areas also developed by the Marist Fathers and two
congregations of Marist Sisters. There had been some
discussion to move to the United States among the Marist
Brothers as early as 1823, and formal invitations to New
Orleans and Saint Louis in 1837, but these were turned down
because of the need for Brothers in the South Pacific region.
However, in 1885, the Brothers opened several schools in
Canada, near Montreal and Quebec. There was a good fit: the
Brothers in France were used to rural environments and the
majority of schools opened in Canada were for French speaking
farming families. Within a short period, the Brothers taught in
40 schools, several of which serviced French speaking families
who had migrated into the United States, lured by employment
possibilities in the mills of New England. The first school
opened by the Marist Brothers in the United States was in
Lewiston, Maine in 1886.
Shortly after, in New York City, a priest had convinced his
superiors that the New York Diocese ought to have a church
concentrating on the French-speaking citizens of the City and
in anticipation of an influx of French Canadians already
reaching into Massachusetts and Connecticut and the rest of
the New England states. Father Tétreault was pastor of Saint
Jean-Baptiste along 76th Street between Lexington and Third
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Avenues. After he oriented the parish towards support of
French speaking parishioners, he was transferred to
Drummondville, Canada, and the diocese asked the Blessed
Sacrament Fathers, with strong French backgrounds, to take
over the parish. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur were
attracted to teach in the elementary school. And some Marist
Brothers were imported to teach the upper grades of the
elementary school. The Fathers then asked the Brothers to
open a boarding school along 76th Street. Saint Ann’s
Academy opened in 1892 , the first secondary school for the
Brothers in the United States..
By this time the common route for Brothers to come from
France to Canada was through New York City, then by rail to
Montreal. So Saint Ann’s became a transition station for
immigrant brothers, giving them a chance to learn English to
prepare them for bilingual Canada experience.
The success of the Brothers at St. Jean Baptiste School and
Saint Ann’s Academy led to their being asked to staff other
schools in New York City, all based on instruction in the English
language. Since the Brothers started to recruit candidates for
the brotherhood, they wound up sending these recruits to
French speaking novitiates in Canada. They soon realized that
this would prove unworkable, and decided to look for training
centers in the United States.
The Brothers concentrated on teaching elementary school, with
young men graduating at age twelve or thirteen, By Canon
Law, a young person could not be accepted as a candidate to
join the Brothers until age seventeen. This left a gap during
which young men who showed aptitude and inclination to join
the Brothers, would lose association with the Brothers. The
solution for this gap was to create a secondary school
specifically for potential candidates to the Brothers, even
though most of the students in the school would not become
Brothers. The term for such a school was Juniorate (French
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Juvenat). The logical site for such a Juniorate would be along
the railroad between New York and Montreal. Brother Cecidius,
the Provincial, was too busy to take on this task himself, so the
turned to …
Brother Louis Zepheriny
François Adophe Louis Brochier was born in the city of Lyons,
France, in 1861. His parents were devout Catholics, as were
most of the citizens of this area of Southern France. He joined
the Brothers in 1876, completing his Novitiate and taking first
vows in 1878. He received a one year assignment as cook
(common in those days) and then became an auxiliary teacher
for several years, during which time he studied for his brevet,
which authorized him to teach any of the elementary grades.
He may have received the name Brother Louis Zepheriny at the
time he entered the Brothers, as it was common to receive a
different name upon acceptance. His superiors recognized that
he had extraordinary talent, and sent him to England so that
he could become proficient in the English language, this
preparing him for service in Canada and the United States.
After his year in England, he came to New York City where he
founded Saint Ann’s Academy (now Archbishop Molloy HS in
Queens NY). He had a special devotion to Saint Anne; the
Brothers were in charge of novenas to Saint Anne in Saint Jean
Baptiste Church.
One story about his stay at Saint Ann’s Academy is that he
wanted to import a statue of Saint Anne from Europe. For
some reason, the statue was retained by the Customs Office
for several weeks or months. Brother Zepheriny traveled to
Washington DC to meet with President Theodore Roosevelt.
The President, impressed with Zepheriny’s spunk, arranged for
the statue’s release. It stood in the courtyard of Saint Ann’s
until the school closed in 1957, and perhaps may now be
located at the successor school Archbishop Molloy HS.
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How did he manage to arrange this appointment? I hazard a
guess that he went through Coudert Brothers, the most
prestigious international law firm, who for some reason
handled the legal affairs of the Brothers.
The Search for a Novitiate
After being commissioned to find a suitable location for a
training center/Juniorate, Zepheriny, acting on the advice of
the Redemptorist Fathers from Baltimore, looked in Ulster
County, where he had been told there were properties
available. In 1903, the Redemptorist Fathers had located their
seminary in Esopus along the Hudson River. It is likely that
Zepheriny looked at the vacant Pratt estate and the vacant
Niedlinger estate, both of which figure prominently in the later
history of the Marist Brothers in Ulster County. But he decided
against Ulster for two reasons: the Redemptorists could not
guarantee chaplain service
, and the transportation between
New York and Montreal was better on the east side of the
Hudson River.
see note 32
Zepheriny then turned to his friends among the Jesuits, who
staffed Saint Ignatius Loyola Church, a few blocks from Saint
Ann’s Academy. He was directed to the Rector of the Jesuit
Seminary which had relocated from Ulster to Dutchess. Father
Joseph Haven Richards SJ identified two vacant estates, the
former MacPherson property and the Bech property just below.
The Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 19904-1934
see note 31
indicate that Brother Zepheriny looked at both
sites. He preferred the Bech property, but it was too costly to
consider at that time.
Another legend about Brother Zepheriny is that he alerted his
superiors in France that a property across the Hyde Park Road
of 372 acres was available at a very reasonable price. This
parcel had been purchased by George Bech, son of Edvard and
Elizabeth Bech in 1881. George died in 1886, but Elizabeth
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held on to the parcel until her death in 1900. When his
superiors asked him what he would do with 372 acres, he
replied that the Jesuits had purchased 1000 acres in Hyde
Park. Brother Zepheriny’s suggestion was rejected by his
superiors.
see note 32
The MacPherson property was reasonably priced and available.
So Zepheriny bought it in his own name. This may have been
because the Brothers were not yet incorporated in the United
States, or it may have been to deflect anti-Catholic bias
common at that time. Since the Brothers had no financial
resources, Zepheriny used $7,400 from funds belonging to his
patrimony – money willed to him and owned by him, but
usually not allowed to be used by him. It could be willed to
successors; it might also become available to him if he left the
Marist Order.
see note 33
He was chided for this action by the
superiors in France when they discovered his actions. This
made him more circumspect when he negotiated the purchase
of the Bech property in 1908.
The main house had not been lived in since the MacPhersons,
and was in run down condition. But it had potential for use as
a Juniorate. The large and beautiful rooms inside the building
could be easily adapted to religious use: chapel, classrooms,
dormitory on the top floor.
“The house was said to be haunted. So much so that one day
when Brother Provincial and Brother Ptolemeus came to visit it
, the driver advised them not to buy that house because it was
the devil’s quarters. Our visitors calmed the good fellow by
telling him nicely that that was the very reason why they
wanted to buy it.”
see note 34
The purchase of the MacPherson/Coddington property, about
35 acres, went through on 28 February 1905. Several
Brothers transferred to the property and spent the next year
repairing and remodeling the house for use as a Juniorate.
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The first Juniors came from the French-speaking Juniorate in
St. Hyacinthe, Canada on 21 February. The property was
named Saint Ann’s Hermitage on the urging of Brother
Zepheriny
Three of the first Juniors were sent to St. Hyacinthe, Canada
for their Novitiate, conducted in French. The Brothers realized
it imperative to establish an English speaking Novitiate, and
commissioned Brother Zepheriny to again look at the Bech
estate site. He managed to purchase the Bech property on 27
August 1908.
see note 35
see note 36
Details concerning
this transaction may be found in the chapter on the Bech
parcel. The remainder of this chapter concentrates on the
usage of the Barnard parcel during the Marist Brothers’
ownership.
Besides use as a Juniorate, the Barnard property housed
Brothers who worked on the property (and
later the Bech property), a separate section
for retired and disabled Brothers, and
administrators for the entire United States
Province. During the first twenty years four
Brothers were busy as carpenters
renovating or building. The first major
renovation was a box-like addition to the west end of the
MacPherson house, providing room for kitchen and dining
facilities for the Juniors and for all the Brothers who worked on
the properties, as well as housing for the retirees, disabled,
working Brothers and faculty of the Juniorate. The combined
Bech/Barnard farming operation was based in the original barn
area, with land in the Barnard sector used for plantings and
grazing, raising of pigs and chickens. The Brothers constructed
a silo for the barn.
see note 37
The southern part of the Bech property was dedicated to an
English-speaking Novitiate. The northern section, named
“Central” included the Gate House, Gardener’s Cottage,
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Carriage House and related buildings. This section became the
site for advanced study after the Novitiate years, eventually
leading to the establishment of Marist Training School in 1929.
As early as 1927, the future Superior General
of the Marist Brothers visited the campus and
urged them to provide better housing for the
residents in both the MacPherson house and
the Bech house (then in use as a novitiate).
It is believable that someone from Europe, accustomed to
stone houses, sensed the danger of older wood frame
housing. Later the same Brother was elected Superior
General. In 1939, durng his term as Superior General, the US
Provincial Council submitted a request to build a new provincial
house in Poughkeepsie. At first it was approved, but with the
beginning of World War II, construction was delayed
indefinitely.
This arrangement lasted until 1942, when more space was
needed for the Juniorate. The Brothers purchased 200 acres of
the Payne Estate in Esopus between route 9W and the Hudson
River and moved the Juniorate there. This freed up space in
the MacPherson building dormitories so that the Student
Brothers relocated their dormitory space away from Central.
The Brothers continued to use the chapel, kitchen, and dining
rooms in the older MacPherson house. The infirmary and
retirement groups also remained in MacPherson.
In the early 1950s, Francis Cardinal Spellman urged the
Brothers to abandon housing in the MacPherson building, as it
was a potential fire hazard. (The Novitiate which had been
housed in the Bech house had been relocated to Tyngsboro
MA.)
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Cardinal Spellman was very much aware of a tragic event in
the Chicago diocese which resulted in loss of many lives, and
wanted no repetition here in New York. However, the New York
diocese was not in a position to fund any changes, so the
timetable had to be delayed several years until the Brothers
could gather together the funds for new space.
The Brothers did the construction themselves, starting with the
Chapel of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom in 1953. By 1956 they
built a combination study hall dining room attached to the west
end of the chapel, , and by 1957 had added a three story
fireproof dormitory to the study hall/dining room. This meant
the Marian College operation could move to the Bech campus.
The few remaining retired, disabled, and working Brothers
were relocated to other Marist Brothers sites, so the building
was empty.
A contract to demolish the building was
given to a construction company in Pleasant
Valley. The company obtained a permit to
burn the building, which it did in fall 1957.
This created a spectacular fire directly
across from the Western Printing factory. The wind was
strong, and Harold Spencer, one of the founders of Western
Printing told me that fiery cinders the size of softballs flew over
Route Nine and landed on the factory roof. Luckily no one was
injured. The fire department was slow to respond, which led to
finger pointing in several directions.
see note 38
Interesting tidbits about the Marist Brothers’ occupancy
“March 1909. On the 3rd of this month the very small house
near the Juniorate barns, which served as laundry room, went
up in flames during the night. Everything was burned.
Insurance covered part of the fire. Mrs. Winslow, our neighbor,
sent us $50 to help out”
see note 39
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“July 26, 1910 A magnificent statue of St. Ann, gift of Mrs. F.
Foley, was blessed by Rev. Father Williams, and , in the
presence of the entire Community, was put up near the
entrance to the Juniorate, on a cement pedestal made by Bro.
Titian”
see note 40
The Outdoor Swimming Pool. There was a
small lake between the house and the water
works road. Early photos show a small
island with a wooden bridge. This became
the playground of Brother Legotianus, after
whom the Leo Dormitory is named. He devised a small motor
boat, guided by radio, very early in the history of radio.
In the early 1930s, it was decided to convert this lake into an
outdoor swimming pool. The ground proved to be swampy, so
to pour the base of the pool, springs from old beds were
inserted vertically into the ground, then other springs rested
on the first group in a horizontal manner, and the concrete
base of the pool poured. Two intake sections were left open at
the deep end to accept fresh water from what was thought to
be natural springs. The pool was deep enough to provide
space for a three meter diving board and a lower board. The
pool was maintained by the student brothers, with the help
and supervision of the personnel from the City of Poughkeepsie
Water Works.
During the 1960s and 1970s the pool
proved a popular summer meeting place for
faculty and administrative staff and their
families. In the 1970s the Water Works
repaired some of the pipes leading from the plant towards the
city. The influx of water thought to be natural springs dried
up, with only a small flow, probably from drainage from across
route Nine. The pool did not have toilet or shower facilities,
but the City did not insist it be closed until completion of the
swimming pool in the McCann Center in 1977.
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Electricity. There was a small stream onto the property from
Mrs. Winslow’s property immediately to the north. This stream
is marked on early maps as originating at the northeast edge
of the Ziegler property (just north of the Winslow farm
property east of Route Nine), crossing the Winslow farm, and
then tunneling under route nine. In his estate west of route
nine, Winslow created several small ponds, in one of which he
placed an island in the shape of the Monitor, the warship he
had managed to get built during the Civil War.
see note 41
The enterprising Brother Leo had the Brothers build a dam on
the stream on the Marist property, and used the dam to
generate enough hydroelectric power to light the MacPherson
house.
Brother Leo was a man of many talents. He was named
Provincial of the United States province. Later in life he
became the physics teacher at Marist Preparatory in Esopus.
He taught me physics so well that we never prepared
specifically for the Regents exam. Yet the entire class passed
the Regents.
End of the Marist Brothers ownership
In 1961, the Brothers had transferred
ownership of the property south of the
Water Works Road to Marist College,
basically to facilitate mortgages for the
Sheahan, Leo, and Champagnat Dormitories
but they kept ownership of the property
north of the Water Works. Several plans were drawn up to
encourage faculty housing in private homes, but only Daniel
Kirk, Professor of Psychology carried out the goal. With a 99
year lease from the College, he built a house now called Kirk
House used for the chaplain’s residence.
see note 42
In 1968, the housing pattern for Student Brothers was
changing from large groups to smaller groups. Many of the
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student brothers maintained their residence in Esopus, coming
to the campus as commuters. The Brothers wanted to build
smaller houses, but hoped to use the college as the financing
agent. Paul Canin, the architect for many College projects,
designed two circular buildings, each to house 32 students,
two to a room. The houses were to be located on a bluff now
occupied by the Hancock Center.
During the discussions between Brother
Kieran Brennan, Provincial and President
Linus Richard Foy, the latter raised the issue
of transfer of the land. Kieran on the other
hand raised the issue that the college had
received free of charge an enormous
amount of financial assistance, including donation of the 57
acres of the Bech Property with 90,000 sq ft Donnelly Building,
13,000 sq ft Marian Gym building, Gate House, Gardener’s
Cottage ( St. Peter’s), Greystone, the wooden Marian Building
next to Greystone. Kieran further indicated that he was
experiencing negative vibrations from several brothers that
they had “given away the college”. He suggested that the
College purchase the entire property north of the Water Works
Road. Foy and Brennan agreed on a price of one million
dollars, to be paid in forty annual installments. Kieran could
then use the million figure, and the college could pay it in small
chunks. The college would finance the two student brother
dormitories locally (through the Dutchess Bank – no
government money involved). When the auditors reviewed the
agreement, they insisted that the college list present value the
forty annual payments, so the amount of $232,000 was placed
on the college books. The Brothers would pay rental for the
new houses on an annual basis.
All in all, a win-win situation. It was not to remain static.
The Brothers used the residences for only one or two years,
after which they were converted to regular student housing.
see note 43
Since Gregory and Benoit occupied commanding
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views of the Hudson River, they were demolished to make
room for the Hancock Center
The Marist Brothers transferred ownership of the property
north of the water works road to Marist College in 1969
see note 44
This ends the saga of the Marist Brothers’ ownership of
property now part of Marist College.
Endnotes
Note 1. Some details during the Marist Brothers ownership may be found in the
chapter on the Bech estate. This relates especially to the information supplied by
Brother Nilus Donnelly and the Annals of St Anne’s Hermitage 1905 – 1934.
Note 2. Deed 21 Jan 1817 liber 26 page 41 Peter Morgan and Elizabeth his
wife to Frederick Barnard
Deed 28 Feb 1905 liber 338 page 376 Coddington estate to Louis Zepheriny
Gilbert Coddington’s cousins, Clifford C and Henry S were executors of the
Coddington estate.
Deed 27 August 1908 liber 359 [age 454 Louis Zepheriny to Marist Brothers
Deed 25 February 1969 liber 1261 page 51 Marist Brothers to Marist College
Note 3. Information about Frederic and Margaret Barnard derived from New York
Times article November 12, 1891, on the occasion of their Judge Joseph Folder
Barnard’s retirement
Note 4. The name Hickory Grove Farm is cited in the archival survey for the Wood
cliff Estate dated September 2009 by Hart gen Archeological Associates, Inc. page 6
Note 5 1817 21 Jan 1817 liber 26 page 41 Peter Morgan to Frederick
Barnard deed recorded with Dutchess County clerk.
Note 6, 1819 1 May 1819 liber 34 page 194 Frederick and Margaret Barnard of
Poughkeepsie to Elijah Martin of the same place.
Note 7. The companies were the Dutchess Whaling Company and the
Poughkeepsie Whaling Company.
Note 8. John D Rockefeller, Henry Flagler, and Oliver Hazzard Payne ran the
Standard Oil organization from their office in Cleveland Ohio. Oliver H Payne later
built an estate in Esopus, part of which was willed to Marist College in 2009. Later
the founders took in another partner, Charles Pratt of Brooklyn NY, who had
discovered a process to ship oil to Europe in a friendly format for lighting.
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Note 9. 1836 liber 61 page 141 Frederic & Margaret Barnard to Walter
Cunningham
1836 Book of mortgages liber 48 page 258 Walter Cunningham to Frederic Barnard.
Later Barnard transferred this mortgage to a group headed by Benjamin Bonney.
Note 10. 1836 liber 61 page 139 Walter Cunningham to Frederic Barnard, main
parcel along Cannon Street
1837 liber 62 page 47 Walter Cunningham to Frederic Barnard, small addition to
Cannon Street parcel
Note 11. Information of children’s names and dates of birth and death obtained
through Chalmers Hall Bache family tree listed in Ancestry.com. Joseph Flogger
Barnard’s siblings are listed as: William Frederick Barnard, Thomas Allen Barnard,
Robert S Barnard, Margaret Allen Barnard, Frederic M Barnard, Martha Barnard,
George Gardner Barnard and John Barnard.
Note 12. Deed 27 Nov 18378 liber 63 page 345 Walter Cunningham of
Poughkeepsie to Henry S Richards of New York City. The sale included all of the
Barnard property except that sold by Barnard to Elijah Martin
Note 13. Deed 9 January 1841 liber 69 page 556 Henry S Richards and wife of
Poughkeepsie to Sarah Oakley wife of Samuel Oakley. Purchase price was $12,000,
but the Oakleys assumed $6,000 of the mortgage originally granted to Cunningham
by Barnard.
Note 14. Deed 6 May 1844 liber 78 page 85 Elijah Martin to Henry S Richards.
Elijah had purchased the farm from Frederic Barnard in 1819 see liber 34 page
194. It was a ten acre lot reaching from the Hyde Park Road to the Hudson River.
Note 15. See chapter on the Winslow property to learn details about the upper one
third of the Barnard farm.
Note 16. Copy of the map furnished by the Hudson River Railroad Company to the
County can be located in the Records Office of the County Clerk, County office
building , Market Street, second floor. The copy is on a roll of paper about 24 feet
long, but may be rolled out along one of the long tables. Individual parcels are
given sequential code numbers. Some parcels have two code numbers, one for the
land above high water, the other for land below high water.
Note 17. The Boardman obituary locates the estate near the “driving park” along
Hooker Avenue in Poughkeepsie NY. Nineteenth century maps place the driving park
near Wilbur Boulevard.
Note 18. The obituary for Mrs. MacPherson indicated that they married about 1887
and then bought the Barnard parcel. This is not consistent with the purchase listed
in the deeds (1885) or the obituary for Thomas MacPherson which indicated that he
came to Poughkeepsie about 1882.
Note 19. Deed 18 April 1885 liber 229 page 559 John H Butler and wife to Thomas
J MacPherson.
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Note 20. Mortgage 7 Sept 1887 liber 197 page 230 MacPhersons to Cordelia
MacPherson
Mortgage 20 Nov 1889 liber 265 page 213 for $6000 MacPhersons to Cordelia
MacPherson
Mortgage 20 May 1890 liber 207 page 314 $ ? MacPhersons to Cordelia MacPherson
Note 21. Deed May 1892 liber 270 page 463 Thomas J MacPherson to Cordelia
MacPherson
Note 22. US Census record 1880 NJ, Mercer County, Trenton for Thomas J
MacPherson lists Thomas’s father, mother Ellen, sister Ella, and brother George.
Earlier census records (1870, 1860, 1850 show older siblings: Sarah H born 1836
and a schoolteacher, Charles K born 1845, Jane or James E, born 1847, Joseph born
1836, and John W born 1838. There is no wife listed in the 1850 census, which
leads me to believe that Ellen was a second wife.
Note 23. The material in this and the following paragraphs is based on the obituary
published February 11, 1890.
Note 24. Quoted from the February 11, 1890 obituary.
Note 25. Euterpe, from the Greek culture, is one of the nine Muses of Apollo. Her
name means "rejoicing well" or "delight". She was born from Zeus and Mnemosyne,
the goddess of memory, along with her other eight sisters. Euterpe is the Muse of
music and lyric poetry. She is also the Muse of joy and pleasure and of flute playing
and was thought to have invented the double flute, which is her attribute. The title
Euterpe Glee Club was in common use during the nineteenth century for men’s
choral groups.
Note 26. Foreclosure deed 24 May 1894 liber 275 page 31 Isaac Bingham, referee
for the MacPherson property to Gardiner Yvelin.
Note 27. Deed 9 October 1897 liber 294 page 11 Cordelia Yvelin to Gilbert
Coddington
Note 28. Information on the Marist Brothers in North America is based on the work
of Brother Leonard Voegtle, fms Go to the Land I Will Show You Marist Press 1995
Volume 1, 1885-1911, New France, New England, New York, 207 pp.. Available in
the Marist College Archives. This was the first of three planned volumes. Brother
Leonard was researching the second volume when he died in 31 March 2001. His
work papers are on file at the Marist Brothers Archives, Marist Brothers, Box 197,
Esopus NY 12429 Attn: Brother Bryce Byczynski
Note 29. The source for information about Brother Louis Zepheriny is derived from
the obituary by Bro. Joseph Belanger found at
http://academic2.marist.edu/foy/maristsall/obits/zepherenybrochier
. See also
Brother Leonard Voegtle Go to the Land I Will Show You, pp.95-102
Note 30. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934, translated from the French by
Bro. Joseph L. R. Belanger, fms, Marist College Press, Poughkeepsie NY 12601,
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published 2002. Page 3 Available at Marist College Library Archives.
Note 31. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934 page 10. Available at Marist
College Library Archives.
Note 32. Deed 15 dec 1881 liber 207 page 281 Thomas L Davies, dec’d to George
A Bech 372 acres for $38,000
Deed 18 may 1907 liber 359 page 183 George A Bech Estate & Henry Bream to
Fairview Improvement Co, 372 acres for $13,400 ??? (check this)
Note 33. These are provisions of Canon Law applicable to members of religious
orders.
Note 34. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage, page 4 The earliest photo we have of the
house indeed seems to be that of a haunted or mysterious house!
Note 35. Deed 27 August 1908 liber 358 page 402 Nicholas & Gertrud Jungeblut
to Louis Zepheriny Elizabeth Bech left the property to her granddaughter, the
daughter of Elizabeth’s son Henri Bream. She was married to royalty in Europe,
and commissioned Nicholas Jungeblut to sell the property..
Note 36. During the period 1905 to 1908, the properties were owned in the name
of Louis Zepheriny Immediately after purchasing the Belch property, Brother
Zepheriny transferred both parcel to the Marist Brothers. See deed 27 August 1908
liber 358 page 454 Louis Zepheriny to Marist Brothers.
Note 37 The Surrogate Court papers for Cordelia MacPherson list ends the list of
personal property with a final item: Black cow in barn area, value $26. So we
know the barn was in use during the MacPherson ownership, but the usage was
minimal. Given the influx of Brothers and candidates for the Brotherhood, the
volume of the operation had to be expanded.
Note 38. Gerard Weiss, graduate from Marian College in 1949, was teaching
Spanish at Marian. He managed to take some spectacular photos of the fire.
Note 39. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934 page 17
Note 40. Annals of St. Ann’s Hermitage 1904-1934 page 22
Note 41. The stream on the Winslow Farm property can be seen entering the
culvert under route nine, near the fence for the road Winslow Gate Road, at the
blinker just north of the regular traffic light near MacDonalds and the Mobil station.
In many cases, these streams emptied into the Hudson. After route nine was built,
the streams retained the right to cross under the road and continue their journey to
the Hudson. The construction of Donnelly Hall encountered such a stream as the
Brothers attempted to pour foundations for the southern half of the circle.
Note 42. Daniel Kirk died in 1984. The house became part of the estate. By terms
of the original lease, the college and estate executor would agree on a common
value for the house, and the college would pay the estate that value, take
possession of the house and terminate the lease.. See release dated 15 July 1985,
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liber 1675 page 209 . The mortgage taken out by Kirk (original principal of 36,500
was paid off at the time of the release, using proceeds of the $100,000 payment
from Marist College.
Note 43. The new houses were named Gregory after Brother Joseph Gregory
Marchessault, a physics teacher at Marist who died young, and Benoit after Brother
Francis Xavier Benoit, who taught for many years in Marist Training School and
Marian College
Note 44. See deed 25 February 1969 liber 1261 page 61 Marist Brothers to
Marist College
Research on this project was conducted from January 2008 through August 2012 by
Richard Foy, assisted by student assistants Paul Contarino and Kayla Benefield.
most recent revision and spell check: June 15, 2013