LITTLE BRITAIN-

The following article appeared in the Orange County Post on Thursday, August 15, 1968 on Page 8.



LITTLE BRITAIN--There were many Belknaps in the towns of Newburgh and New Windsor in the early days. In
fact they came before there were towns of Newburgh and New Windsor, when they were together the Precinct of the
Highlands. Information about them has been found in William E. Warren’s BELKNAP FAMILY OF NEWBURGH
AND VICINITY, his article in THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL REGISTER, vol 13
(1859) “The Belknap Family,” E.M. Ruttenber’s HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF NEWBURGH, the SESSION
MINUTES OF THE NEW WINDSOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH which book is on file at Crawford House,
RECORDS OF ROADS OF THE TOWN OF NEW WINDSOR, a list of “Belknap Houses in New Windsor Town
1798” which Mr. Oscar Barck gave to Mildred Parker Seese, and deeds and wills of the Belknap family in Kingston
and Goshen. Yet with all this, understanding the Belknap family is like putting together a jig saw puzzle of which
many of the pieces look alike.

The Belknap family, or Belknappe, is of Norman origin and can be traced back to William the Conqueror (1066) Sir
Robert Belknappe was Chief Justice in the reign of Edward the Third (1373).

In 1637 Abraham Belknap, 1589 or 1590-1643, came from England to America and settled in Lynn, Mass. He had a
daughter and four sons, one of whom was Joseph, born in England in 1630, lived in Boston and was one of the
founders of Old South Church in 1668. He married three time, had twelve children, and died in 1712. One of his
sons was Thomas, born 1670, lived in Woburn, Mass. and married Jane Cheney. He died in 1755. His children were
Thomas, Jane, 1699-, Benjamin, 1702-, Hannah, 1704-, Samuel 1704-1771, a daughter, 1709-1712, and most records
add “and probably Joseph.” Early writers should know, being closer to the sources of information, but there is reason
to think that Joseph was not the son of Thomas of Woburn, but the son of Thomas who came to Newburgh.

It is written that Samuel came to Newburgh about 1755, the year his father died and that Thomas, Benjamin and
Joseph came to New Windsor. But Thomas, as well as Samuel, settled in Newburgh. Samuel Belknap while still in
Woburn bought most of the Baird patent in what was later town of Newburgh for 1500 pounds. The deed is dated
1749. He sold thirteen lots to his brother Thomas in 1754.

No record has been found of Thomas moving to New Windsor. A deed of Jan. 25, 1763 records that Thomas
Belknap Sr. and Thomas Belknap Jr., his son, both of the precinct of Newburgh, yeomen, sold half of lot 8 of the
Baird patent to Robert Beatty. In 1763 and established road from “the Division Line of the Precinct of the Highlands
and the Precinct of the Paltz Kill commonly called and known by the Wallkill road” going on through what was later
town of Newburgh to New Windsor, was changed from going “near a cleared field now in possession of Thomas
Belknap” to “running along a road newly cleared out to the house and barn of Thomas Belknap.” This part of the
road was in the town of Newburgh. All of this proves that Thomas lived in town of Newburgh.

No record of Benjamin’s coming to New Windsor has been found. And as Joseph will be proved to be of the next
generation, it seems safe to say that the men who came this way first, settled in Newburgh, and some of their sons
came to New Windsor.

The following story is recorded in full in the SESSION BOOK. Samuel got in debt to his brother Thomas for 820
pounds. Thomas tried to get Samuel’s sons Isaac and Abel to pay the debt. Samuel was in debtor’s prison, or at
least “detained in city hall.” The sons did nothing about it, and Thomas brought the case against them before the
Session of the New Windsor Presbyterian Church, November 8, 1768, claiming they should no longer have the
privileges of the church. The matter all seemed to hinge on whether the sons had said they would pay or would help
to pay, and the church decided there was no case. They may have come to their father’s help. Anyway, they both
turned out well. Isaac became famous for his services during the Revolution. At first he was captain of a company of
rangers, and later, Assistant Deputy Quartermaster General in the regular service. He had a freight business on the
river and along the coast both before and after the war. As for Abel, he was made an elder in the NewWindsor
church.

Samuel had twelve children, Isaac had sixteen and his brothers had plenty. They filled Newburgh with Belknaps.
Belknap Ridge was in the Meadow Hill region and south of it. Further west there was Belknapville.

Little Britain too had lots of Belknaps. Thomas married Sarah Hill and their children were Thomas, Sarah, Joseph,
John and Jonathan, four of whom came to Little Britain. Benjamin married Hannah Richardson. Their children were
Abraham, Ruth, Isaac, Hannah, Jeduthan, Sarah and Olive. At least three of them came here too.

The rest of this article is about Thomas, son of Thomas, and his farm. He did not marry. As did most of the
Belknaps he fought in the Revolution. Letters signed by Thomas Belknap about 1787 were found by the Cipriani
family in the walls of the Joseph Belknap house, also an order to Thomas Belknap for lumber.

The farm is on Jackson Ave. north. The western half of it is now owned by Mr. Joseph Solowinski. Here his mother,
sisters and he live in Thomas Belknap’s house, enlarged of course.

The farm has had many owners. John Haskell took out the patent of 2000 acres in 1719 and turned it over the same
year to Elizabeth Stollard. She sold 631 acres to John Crawford, weaver, in 1737. He sold 231 acres to Andrew
Todd in 1741 for 69 pounds, 6 shillings. Robert Beatty got possession of some at least of Andrew Todd’s land, the
deed not found, and sold 100 acres to Thomas Belknap, Jr. on January 25, 1763 for 346 pounds. It is of interest to
note that on the same day he bought half of lot 8 of the Baird patent from the Thomas Belknaps. The way the land is
described identifies it as part of John Crawford’s and Andrew Todd’s land, “Beginning at a chesnut oak tree having
the top broken off...standing in the line of the land granted to Andrew Johnston and in the south east corner of the
land released to John and William Markham...” Thomas Belknap added another hundred acres to his farm, this deed
not found.

The road now called Jackson Ave. was laid out in 1771 on a former foot path. It is described in the RECORDS OF
ROADS OF THE TOWN OF NEW WINDSOR. James Humphrey’s sawmill is mentioned “thense northerly crossing
the mill creak where the bridge is erected on the mill dam and so continuing on the east side of a swamp there and on
the west side of a bridge to the New Windsor Road...over the land of John Nicholson Esq. and Thomas Belknap as
the path is now opened and marked, by the house of John Kernaghan, George Coleman and William Robinson to the
northerly line of the precinct....”

By his will made in 1797 Thomas Belknap left his farm to his brother John and freedom to his eslave and
housekeeper, Lanah. He died in 1798.

So Mr. Barck’s list of Belknap houses in New Windsor town 1798 lists it as John Belknap’s. “John Belknap joins
land of Jed. Belknap and Jas. & Char. Kernaghan, stone house 32 x 22 1 1/2 stories, old and middling repair. 1 corn
house 15 x 15 1 old f. barn 30 x 28 200 acres.” Mr. Solowinski has measured the old part of the house for
comparison. He finds a slight difference in measurements but the same proportions. The original house has three
fireplaces and two Dutch ovens. The house was 2000 feet back from the road but by a change in the road the lane is
now only 200 feet long.

John Belknap sold his 200 acre farm in 1805 to Thurston Wood for $7500. His wife Dorcas did not sign off, and
Thurston Wood had to pay her $25 dower rights. Thurston Wood had three sons. Dave D.C., Leonard S. and
Moses. He had added to his 200 acre Belknap farm. In a834 he sold part of his land to each of his sons, they paying
the token sum of $1 apiece. Leonard’s portion was the western part of the Belknap farm including the house.

Leonard S. Wood and Thirza his wife sold to John Youngblood in 1836 for $4500 a farm “supposed to contain 120
acres more or less” with boundaries that identify it -- Kernochan, heirs of David Parshall, John R. Scott, Linus
McCabe, Matthew McDowell. “And also the use and privilege of the road leading from the dwelling house on the
said farm to the main road, David D.C. Wood also to use the lane.”

In 1845 John Youngblood and Eve his wife sold to Job J. Drake for $4500, 100 acres more or less. In 1859, David
D.C. Wood sold five adjoining acres to Job J. Drake. In 1864 Job J. Drake sold the farm of 105 acres to Thomas
Moore for $7000. In 1867 Thomas Moore and Ellen his wife sold to Ezekiel B. Sherwood for $6400 and subject to a
mortgage of $1500 held by Job J. Drake. Ezekiel B. Sherwood and Ann his wife sold to Daniel Halstead in 1869 for
$6947.85. The farm then measured 106.89 acres. Daniel Halstead mortgaged the farm and died. The mortgage was
foreclosed and the farm sold on the Newburgh courthouse steps to the highest bidder, Harriett A. Duryea, April 1,
1892. She sold to Robert A. Moore in 1897 for $3500. Robert A. Moore and Elizabeth his wife sold to Joseph and
Agnes Solowinski, Frank Rosczenski and Frank Godowski, the deed recorded 1921 but the Solowinskis had lived
there since 1909. In 1939 Joseph J. Solowinski Jr. bought part of the property and 1953, the rest of it.

The interesting old house is cherished by the Solowinskis. It is one of the treasure of our Little Britain history and
heritage.

The eastern part of the Thomas Belknap farm was sold by Thurston Wood to his son David D.C. Wood. He lived on
it until his death in 1878. He left no will. His heirs were David F. and Margaret E. Wood. David F. Wood
mortgaged the farm to Joseph R. Wear, perhaps to pay off Margaret, just perhaps. In 1905 the farm was sold by
John B. Swezer, referee to James Wear for $2625. Now it has lost its identity, having disintegrated into a housing
development.

The Thomas Belknap farm should have been mentioned in the Pig Lane article but had not been discovered when that
one was written.

More Belknap article are planned. The above is #32 in the ‘Big’ LITTLE BRITAIN series.


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Created May 15, 2000