"LOST THOMAS" CLEMENT FOUND
Thomas Clement (b. 1733) was dubbed ’Lost Thomas’ by many of our family genealogists. That nickname no longer applied when we found and proved him to be our ancestor in 2021. His grandmother, Catherina Iskenius Clement, along with her two adult sons, Moritz Ernst and Johannes Peter Clements, had emigrated onto a manor near the Hudson River in southwestern Dutchess County, New York. The family came to America from Flammersfeld, Germany, located not far from the Rhine River. Darius Clement, Sr., of Dryden, New York, was a grandson of Moritz Ernst Clement and always maintained that his father’s name was Thomas Clement.
Thomas was of the age to have served in the seven years French/Indian War of 1757, and was possibly a participant in it. His death occurred probably in 1775; cause, etc. later on in his story. He was the father of Darius Clement, Sr., of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York; the grandfather of Thomas Clement, 2nd (husband of Betsey Foote), and the great-grandfather of Darius Salem Clement.
This early Clement ancestor, Thomas Clement, has plenty of documentation. He was born in the year 1733, at Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York. His parents were Moritz Ernst Clements and Maria Elizabeth (Zyn) Sine, who emigrated to New York, U.S.A. from Germany with their families. Thomas has long been styled by his descendants as ‘lost’ Thomas, but not any more. You can now welcome him to your pedigree charts and family histories.
Our Clement paternal generations look like this:
Johann Huberich Clements, b.1672.
Moritz Ernst Clements, b.1700.
THOMAS CLEMENTS (I), b.1733.
Darius Clement, Sr., b.1771.
Thomas Clement (II), b.1792.
Darius Salem Clement, b.1834.
Darius Albert Clement, b.1869.
Raphael Clement, b.1899.
Moritz Ernst Clements, emigrated from Germany to New York, America, together with a brother, Johannes Peter and their mother, Catherina Elizabeth Clements in the year 1726. Her husband, Johann Huberich Clements, had died in Germany in 1709, in connection with the great freeze in Europe in that year.
When our Clements ancestors landed in America, their name ended with an “s”. However, in Darius Sr’s. will, it appears as Clement, the same as the original French spelling of ‘Clement’, and has remained that way in his line of descendants.
CONFUSION UNRAVELED.
Sons of Johann and Catherina Iskenius Clements:
Moritz Ernst Clements, b., 1700, is the father of our Thomas Clements, b.1733.
Johannes Peter Clements, b.() is the father of the cousin, Thomas Clements, b.1737. The 1737 Thomas has mistakenly been used by earlier family genealogists.
These two Thomas Clements were born in Dutchess County, New York. They were first cousins. Our Thomas Clements was born in 1733, the eldest child of Moritz Ernst and Maria Elizabeth (Zyn) Sine Clements. His cousin (the other Thomas), was born in 1737, a child of Johannes Peter and Maritze Mey Clements. It seems the boys were ‘buddies’ when growing up. As adults, both Thomas’s lived in Dutchess County, New York, but in different precincts. Their parents held regular extended family gatherings. They were grandsons of Johann Huberich and Catherina Elizabeth Iskenius Clements. Moritz and Johannes Peter’s parents were Johann and Catherina Clements.
(Note: To distinguish the two Thomas Clement cousins, the year of their birth is being placed after their name to avoid confusion).
WHICH THOMAS IS OURS?
1. Thomas Clement (b.1733), is our ancestor. He is the son of Moritz Ernst and Maria Elizabeth (Zyn) Sine Clements. Thomas Clements (b.1733) was born at Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York. Cortlandt was on a very large Manor where he grew up, starting near the Hudson River. This Manor was on the east side of the Hudson. At age twenty one in 1754, Thomas left his family home and purchased land in Southern Precinct, located in the Oblong of Dutchess County, New York, bounded by Connecticut on the east. He was taxed in Southern Precinct from June 1754 through 1769 and in Southeast Precinct in 1775. He did not move from one precinct to another, but instead the names of the precincts were changed.
2. His younger first cousin, Thomas Clement (b.1737), is NOT our ancestor. This Thomas was the son of Johannes Peter Clements, the younger brother of Moritz Ernst Clements. Each of them had a son named Thomas Clements. Not realizing that, the mix-up happened when someone put the wrong Thomas (the cousin, b.1737) on our genealogy charts, not knowing about our true ancestor, Thomas Clements (b.1733). We hope you correct any chart to show these proper connections, along with our ancestor's large family.
Our Thomas (b.1733), appears in the book, “SETTLERS OF THE BEEKMAN PATENT”, by FRANK J. DOHERTY. However, he is not in the index. Instead Thomas was placed in the main text titled, “Other and Unplaced Clements.” On that page it showed that Thomas was the son of Moritz Ernst Clements, and Maria Elizabeth Sine. It also included his complete tax record. I was able to find his birth year on a different but reliable record.
Another reliable record was the “Member Register” at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, New York. This church was Lutheran, showing Catherina and her son, Moritz Ernst, (Aaron). Catherina (the mother), and her two sons, Moritz Ernst and Johannes Peter Clements, were baptized very soon after arriving in America in 1726. They emigrated from Flammersfeld, Westwald, Germany, located in the wealthy Rhine River Valley. A few weeks later Catherina’s son, Johannes Peter, was baptized, his name being placed on the same record. Her two sons were adults when baptized.
Thomas’ younger sister, Hannah Clements, married into a Lamoreaux family, the record showing the
names of her parents, grandparents, siblings names and birth dates. Our Thomas Clements was listed as born in 1733.
Moritz’s parents were Johann and Catherina Elizabetha Iskenius Clements. Moritz’s spouse was Maria Elizabeth (Zyn) Sine Clements. Moritz and Maria were the parents of Thomas Clement, b.1733, the eldest of eleven children. His mother, Maria (Zyn) Sine Clements, was the KEY that linked her to her husband, Moritz Ernst Clements. Thomas’ paternal grandparents, Johann Huberich Clements and Catherina Elizabetha Iskenius, were also KEY to the connection. His maternal grandparents were Johann Peter Sine and Anna Gertrude Steinen, emigrants from Germany, to Tappan, Rockland County, New York.
Thomas (b.1733), was paying his taxes right along when it suddenly stopped in 1775. He may have died in 1775, at age 42, as his last tax payment was in 1775. At his death, Thomas’ son, Darius, Sr., wrote that he “Was taken to live with a Quaker family when he was quite young”, according to a letter written to grandson, Darius Salem Clement in Utah. The Clement family were not Quakers, but Thomas’ wife probably was since she lived in a Quaker region of the Oblong, New York (which bounded Connecticut).
It was customary at that time that an orphaned child, as he was, would live with a family, usually a Quaker family, and was given a strict and long-term (until age 18 or 19 when they graduate) general education. In our day, we call it “home school.” Over the years he would be taught a trade, religion, gardening, animal care, economics, financing, etc. He was taught farming and everything that goes with it. In following Darius, Sr.’s adult trail from marriage until death, he used his education in an excellent way. He would purchase farm land, improve it, sell and move on to the next one, repeating that pattern about four times. So when he retired in Dryden, New York, he was financially stable. His father inlaw, Ephraim Griswold, the 2nd, (Rev. War Vet.) was influential as a land trader, like his father. According to some Dryden citizens, Darius was a “Cranky” personality, but we also see that he was well off financially to raise his family of nine children, and care for themselves during old age. He had a granddaughter, Mary Carr Sperry, who came to his home to care for her grandparents. When the grandmother died, Mary stayed to care for her grandfather. At his passing, she and her invalid, Aunt Loretta, eventually inherited his farm in Dryden, according to his Will.
Darius had a very rough childhood. We believe his mother died a violent death at the hands of British soldiers in a raid at Queensbury, New York. Her story below. But Quakers took care of orphaned children, so he was raised by strangers in a strict Quaker family, separated from his older sister, Phoebe.
Back to Thomas: At age 21, Thomas purchased and lived on his own farm located in *Southern and Southeast Precincts, in the south end of the Oblong Patent of Dutchess County, New York, a narrow strip of land 2 miles wide x 60 miles long, bounded on its east side by New York and Connecticut. The oblong shape of land was a trade negotiation between New York and Connecticut’s panhandle. His son, Darius, later said that his father “was an early settler of Dutchess County and that he was a prominent citizen.”
Thomas (b.1733), and Mrs. Clement (whose first name is not known at this time), had two children, Phoebe and Darius.
Darius Salem Clement enquired of his grandfather, Darius Clement, Sr., of Dryden, N.Y., about Thomas Clement, 1st. The information he received in Salt Lake City in about 1854-55, was huge considering he had entirely nothing to go on previously. It consisted of an 8-point outline which provided enough facts to make a biography possible about Thomas, 1st. Darius, Sr. passed away in 1856. He did not mention anything about his mother as he was so young when she died that he could not remember her name or anything about her. Thomas died when his son, Darius, Sr. was age 4 or 5.
Darius Clement, Sr’s 8-point guideline which served in tracking his father, Thomas Clement.
1. “I [Darius], was born 21 February 1771 in Vermont.”
2. “I had a sister, Phoebe, born in 1769.”
3. “My father’s name was Thomas Clement.”
4. “My father was an early settler in Dutchess County, New York.”
5. “My father was a prominent citizen in Dutchess County.”
6. “My father died when I was yet a child.”
7. “When quite young, I went to Dutchess County and lived with a Quaker family a number of years.”
8. “When a young man, I went north to marry.”
OUR CLEMENT ANCESTORS
According to Doherty’s book, “THE SETTLERS OF THE BEEKMAN PATENT”, “The Clements were a German family.” They were German Palatine that came to New York, USA in 1726. They were two brothers, Moritz Ernst CLEMENTS, (b.1700), and Johannes Peter CLEMENTS, (b. 8 Nov. 1702). Their mother, Catherina Elizabeth Iskenius Clements (b.1670-1739), came with them. She was age 56 at the time they emigrated to America; Moritz was 26, and Johannes 24. The home they left behind was in Kescheit, Flammersfeld, Westerwald, Germany in the beautiful and wealthy Rhineland-Palatinate region of southwest Germany. People who lived in the Palatinate were identified as Palatine, which means that many of them came and lived on lands controlled by the German Elector Palatine.
JOHANN HUBERICH CLEMENTS:
Catherina’s husband, Johann Huberich Clements (b.1672 - Mar.7, 1709), was not with his wife and two sons on the emigrant ship in 1726, as he had died in March 1709 caused by the dreadful freeze in Europe. It was a tragedy which lasted from the 6th of January until mid-March of 1709. *His death date attests that he perished on the 7th of March, about a week or so before the thaw began.
In parts of Stephanie Pain’s poignant account, “People across Europe awoke on 6 January 1709 to find the temperature had plummeted. A three-week freeze was followed by a brief thaw — and then the mercury plunged again and stayed there.…The sea froze, lakes and rivers froze, and the soil froze to a depth of a meter or more [almost 36 in. deep]. Livestock died from cold in their barns, chicken’s combs froze and fell off, trees exploded and travelers froze to death on the roads. It was the coldest winter in 500 years….In France it entered legend as Le Grand Hiver, three months of deadly cold that ushered in a year of famine and food riots. In Scandinavia the Baltic froze so thoroughly that people could walk across the ice as late as April. Bread froze so hard it took an axe to cut it…From all over the country came reports of people found frozen to death. And, with roads and rivers blocked by snow and ice, it was impossible to transport food to the cities.” (Ref: “1709: The Year That Europe Froze, by Stephanie Pain, in her article which appeared in the “New Scientist.”
Johann Clement’s fatherless family was now in dire straits. How would they survive? Even the picture-perfect grape vineyards that once graced the steep banks of the Rhine River flowing through the Palatinate region where his family lived, were all killed by the freeze. What could the people do now in order to ease their suffering and stay alive?
At the turn of the new year of 1710, a body of thousands of German Rhineland-Palatinate refugees headed down the Rhine River, packed in small skiffs to Holland. There, they were transferred to large ships provided by the Dutch, that would carry them across the Channel to London, England. Many were sick, wet, cold and starving; many died from exposure to the elements. They were classified as “Poor Palatines” as they had little to eat and could carry precious little with them. Through the kind actions of England’s Queen Anne, the refugees were received in their pitiful condition. She opened her military stores, set up army tents for them outside the city limits of London and furnished clean water, blankets, hot soups and breads. Physicians were able to treat some of the sick, but because of the large number of refugees, they could not be sustained here for an extended period of time.
So Queen Anne divided them, by sending them to Britain’s different colonies. Ten ships transported 3,000 German Palatines to New York, while thousands of others were sent to the Carolina’s and Ireland, which at the same time strengthened those colonies. In October of 1709, refugees were still pouring into England. The Queen sent word by way of flyers and newspapers, that she could take in no more, and to return home. Catherina may have been among the throng of refugees turned back to return home. The influx had caused England’s own citizens great concern for their own families, and demonstrations flared up in the streets of London for fear that their own country would not have enough food to sustain them. The Palatinate in Germany was almost entirely emptied of its people.
All of that may have directed Catherina from getting involved in a life threatening voyage with her only two living children, for she did not join the 1710 mass migration to America with her own people. In fact, we see that she remained at home in Germany for 17 more years, until her two young boys, Moritz Ernst and Johannes Peter grew to manhood. She then emigrated to New York with them in 1726. It’s uncertain as to how she made a living in Germany during those seventeen years, but looking at the long domestic history of manors, even down to Johann and Catherina’s time frame, it opens the certainty of her family living on a manor as most of the common people did. Johann may have been a supervisor on the manor. In that case, Catherina presumably would continue with the same occupation that she and her husband shared in supporting their family. Living on a manor was a good way of life. The thousands who lived on the manors, which were owned by wealthy land owners, worked the farms in tandem with other families. By staying in Germany, Catherina and her two sons would live a more stable life doing what they were already familiar with. It was here on a manor that her sons learned many things that eventually trained them towards a career and management. By being promoted to the degree of management, a person would be considered a “prominent citizen.” The manors typically sold its products at market. or laid up stores of everything a farm can produce — even grains and garden products. But now the products were frozen stiff and rendered useless. To maintain a normal family life for Moritz and Johannes as they grew up would be difficult, but to this she was obviously capable and determined. Through the medium of correspondence with loving friends and relatives on the American continent, mapping out a long-range plan seems to have won their support whom she and her two sons eventually joined.
THE STRONG POSSIBILITY OF THOMAS’ GRANDPARENTS CLEMENT LIVING ON AGRICULTURAL MANORS IN GERMANY
For centuries, manors existed in every country across Europe and were in continuous practice during the Middle Ages then brought forward to America. In 1697, Westchester County, New York established the semi-feudal system of Manors. The Van Cortlandt Manor and the Philipsburg Manor was established on 86,000 acres by wealthy land owners. These two manors are where Catherina’s two agriculturally trained sons found work and stability in New York. Moritz on the Van Cortlandt Manor, and Johannes on the neighboring Philipsburg Manor.
An article titled, “The Brandenburg Land and Property,” describes manors in Germany:
“A Gutsherr, also a manor lord, owned land and managed it through workers. The farmers of the surrounding area were his subordinates and their affairs were regulated by him or his administrator.”
Families who lived on the large manors had certain benefits, and could work their way up to higher positions. Such a life would provide monetary stability of food, clothing and housing for families. This, of course, was a perfect fit for Catherina and sons, Moritz and Johannes, who went directly onto American manors upon their arrival. This Clement family is believed to have achieved that status in Germany and just transferred their situation to an American manor who was interested in employing experienced men with expertise.
Of course, we now know for certain that Johann and Catherina’s grandson, our THOMAS CLEMENT (b.1733), son of Moritz and Maria Elizabeth (Sine) Clement, was born at the Pierre Van Cortlandt manor in Dutchess County (where Moritz first settled in America), and IS KNOWN to have been a prominent citizen in Dutchess County, New York. This is according to his son, Darius Clement (b.1771) on point #5. When Thomas left the Cortlandt Manor at age 21, and purchased his own farm in the Oblong of Dutchess County, he may have continued as a prominent citizen in some way, as he had excellent, hands on, training.
“Manorialism was designed to make the regions self-sufficient. The land is divided, and when the lords give permission, people can come to live on a plot of land and farm it.” In 1726, when Catherina, Moritz and Johannes, arrived in New York, they went straight onto manors to live and work in Westchester County, New York. That action proves significant to both of her son’s training previously on a manor in Germany.
The lord of the manor in America took only the best-skilled and dependable people to work for him. Moritz was accepted at the Van Cortlandt Manor, which bordered the spectacular Hudson River, while Johannes was placed on the Philipsburgh Manor, a place near Sleepy Hollow, also near the Hudson, about twelve miles south of Cortlandt. Catherina would be well cared for by her sons. They would worship again with some of her Lutheran friends at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow who had preceded her to New York earlier during the 1709-1710 winter freeze in Europe. She surely must have pre-arranged her family’s coming to the manors.
The Cortlandt Manor was originally 82,000 acres in size. If you work on a manor, your family lives on the manor. The Manors were owned by the lord of the manor, who lived in the big house with his wife and children. The big house would have servants. They would entertain important people and occasionally throw big dinners for the manor workers and their families at the big house.
The wide and picturesque Hudson River was filled with busy river traffic, delivering products to New York City markets, as well as to other smaller markets on the way. That wasn’t enough, so a network of roads were built and buzzed with all sizes and styles of conveyances pulled by oxen or horses. These wagons would be loaded with quality products, coming from the manors and taken to cities, carrying specialties such as bakery goods, garden produce, flour and lumber, honey from the bee houses (as they were called); dairy products packed with ice from the ice house; milk, cream, eggs and cheeses of all sorts; meat products, fresh and cured. The Millers products were several, and the mills were visited so much by customers that a road to it was named Mill Road. The Manor business was a giant business, and the lord of the manor was extremely wealthy. It looks as though Thomas Clement, 1st, may have been a mill operator, since the historical Mill Road is in the same area today as his land was, ie, in the Southeast Precinct of the Oblong, N.Y.
In about 1732, six years after emigrating to New York, Moritz married Maria Elizabeth Sine of Tappan, Rockland County, NY. They settled at Yorktown, New York (on the Cortlandt Manor), and remained there for the rest of their lives. Part of Yorktown was inside the Cortlandt Manor boundary in those days. His brother, Johannes, married 25 June 1727, Marytje Mey. Catherina became the grandmother of twenty grandchildren. Both of her sons had large families: Moritz, 11 children; Johannes, 9 children.
Children of manor occupants were usually born at the manor, as it was their home. Likewise, our ancestor, Thomas Clement (b.1733), was Moritz and Maria’s firstborn, at the Cortlandt Manor, where he grew up under the tutoring of his father, learning skills that would be noticed and promoted later on, making him a successful ‘prominent citizen’. With those skills he would need land to continue their use.
THOMAS’S MOVE TO DUTCHESS COUNTY — EARLY SETTLER
(Early settler, No. 4 on Darius’ outline).
New land patents came available in southern Dutchess County in 1754. At 21, Thomas, the
eldest child in his family left the Cortlandt Manor as a trained worker before acquiring a farm of his own. In 1754, he would truly have been an early settler inside the strip of land named Oblong, in Dutchess County. It was likely hoped that in a few years it would be turned into a productive farm. (fyi: Thomas’s tax record for June 1769 states the word, ‘farm’ next to this particular tax entry).
In 1754, (the year he acquired his farm), the Seven Years French and Indian War broke out which probably prompted a call to arms. Since Thomas was a young man of twenty-one at that time, it’s assumed he was required to report for duty, forcing him to put his farm project and perhaps marriage plans on hold. When the war ended in 1763, it’s presumed he returned home to pick up where he left off. Also, marriage for Thomas,1st, may have happened about 1765-67, age 34. His first child, Phoebe, was born in 1768 at Dutchess County.
In those days, you were a ‘prominent citizen’ if you owned much land and developed a thriving business on it which served its surrounding communities, as Thomas obviously did. (No. 5 on Darius’ list).
A TURN OF EVENTS FOR THOMAS: THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS OPEN IN VERMONT
In 1770-1775, Thomas, a prominent citizen, took his wife, Mrs._?_ Clement, and small daughter, Phoebe, to somewhere in the Vermont Territory wilderness for five years. Vermont was in chaos at that time. It was open to those who were ready to purchase land grants under the name of “THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS” —first come, first serve, patents for sale —directed by King George,ll, of England through Benning Wentworth, of New Hampshire, a managing governor of those grants. Seeing this, Ethan Allen and his brothers and friends (citizens of Vermont) refused to allow ‘Yorkers’ to be in Vermont. They knew that Yorkers wanted to take Vermont, and they were right, as Britain’s King George sent key people to buy it up quickly, by hook or crook, so that England would own Vermont. The king’s big push created a big problem for Vermonters, so the ‘Yorkers’ were not welcome, and were chased out at gunpoint by the Green Mountain Boys, as they had raised a local militia to chase them out, or if they stubbornly resisted, burn them out. From that, we see that there was much destruction, injury and death.
The New England Historical Society says the following about the New Hampshire Grants: “The grants averaged six square miles, the size of a town. Middle-class farmers then settled the land. New York also issued grants for the same land owners. The dispute over the territory dragged on for years. In 1770, the New York Supreme Court invalidated all the New Hampshire grants, and tried to force many of the New Hampshire grantees to buy their land a second time. That infuriated Ethan Allen who formed the Green Mountain Boys Militia to protect the interests of the New Hampshire farmers. The American Revolution put the issue on hold until 1777, when Vermont declared itself a republic.”
Thomas being an early settler in Dutchess County, New York, went to Vermont at an untimely time from 1770-1775. His tax records show he was away from New York for 5-years, 1770-1775. We always wondered where he went for that 5-years, now we know. During that time in Vermont, Darius was born in February 1771. Darius did not say where in Vermont that he was born. His father, Thomas, pegged as a ‘Yorker’ (since he came from New York), it’s probable that Thomas and his family were caught in that melee. To escape the dangerous situation his family was caught faced, he undoubtedly headed for the Quaker settlement of Queensbury, New York, for safety and help. Why Queensbury? We believe he still had in-laws and close friends there who had followed Abraham Wing (from the Oblong), in pioneering Queensbury in 1763. It’s probable that Thomas had offered his skills to Wing in building housing for his settlers.
But now, in Vermont, the land grants by themselves was a frenzied activity, as ownership of many purchased patents was criss-crossed — which meant that a patent was sold to more than one person, as sales were carelessly unrecorded. Imagine coming to your new property prepared to begin building only to find another family was already settled on it. Sometimes heated arguments happened over ownership which came to blows, or worse. For example, British Yorkers tried to steal Vermont by hook or crook, so the Green Mountain Boys Militia resorted to driving them out by burning them out, setting fire to many ‘Yorkers’ homes. Thomas Clement was probably not a trouble-maker, yet he was a ‘Yorker’ and ‘had’ to be burned out. If so, his family was in danger and he would high-tail it with his family over to Queensbury, New York, just across the border from Vermont. His wife’s people were settled there and they would be safe.
A POSSIBLE SCENARIO ON THE DEATH OF THOMAS AND MRS. THOMAS CLEMENT
According to the notes of Aunt Nancy Clement (daughter of Darius Salem Clement), records in the Nephi Clement, Idaho family line show little information, but import to know is that Mrs. Thomas Clement died at Queensbury, New York. It seems that the “Old-timers” in that particular Clement branch knew something about her. This information eventually made it to Darius Salem Clement’s collection of notes.
Historically, a sudden attack on Queensbury, NY in 1775 by British General Burgoyne’s troops, followed by Carleton’s Raiders. It seems Thomas’ family was caught in that attack, having come to Queensbury f That event lines up perfectly with Thomas’ presence in Queensbury in 1775, and also Darius’ statement that his father, Thomas, died when Darius was a child. Darius would have been four years old at that time.
Early on, a group of Quakers led by Abraham Wing, “brought the first hardy Quaker pioneers from Dutchess County in 1763,” to settle Queensbury, New York. (Holden History of Queensbury, New York, page 366).“The town was just getting established when the American Revolution broke out in 1775, and once again the area became a victim of war. British General Burgoyne’s troops passed through, pillaging and causing the settlers to flee for their lives downstate; and the town was burned to the ground by Carleton’s Raiders.” (Ref: “A Brief History by Floyd Bennett speaking at Shepard Park”).
Darius and family seems to have been in Queensbury during the British attack on that community. This brings to mind something that was probably a vivid trauma to Darius, as a young boy. In Darius’ later history in Dryden, NY., he was judged by townspeople in Dryden as an ‘angry person’. Obviously no one in Dryden knew of his childhood experience, of his family being caught by British soldiers in a scene of children and parents scattered in frantically fleeing and screaming in chaos trying to find each other, and at the same time keep from being caught and slaughtered. Thomas could not save his over-powered wife from Indians wielding deadly hatchets who had sided with the British Raiders. During this murderous scene, as many children as could be were scooped up by Queensbury citizens and fled south on foot, back to Dutchess County. Phoebe and Darius Clement, ages 6 and 4 respectively, evidently were among them. Thomas must have been one of the men who was mortally wounded in defending the citizens of Queensbury, he having a number of loved ones living there. Darius said of himself, that he was “taken to a Quaker family in Dutchess County to live for a number of years.” Thomas may have made it back to his farm in Dutchess County as his property tax was paid in June 1775. He had been paying his taxes right along when they suddenly stopped in June of 1775.
BACK HOME FROM VERMONT TO THE DUTCHESS COUNTY FARM in 1775
In 1775, Thomas was back from Vermont to his farm in Southeast Dutchess County. His tax record shows that he made his last tax payment in 1775.
Darius did not mention his mother’s name, who died when he was so young he could not remember her, nor anything about her. In 1775, he was 4 years old.
Darius and Phoebe possibly remained with their father until the Revolution broke out in 1775.
Thomas would probably be required to report immediately to his unit in Dutchess County, as many men did. The tax books show he was paying his taxes right along, when his payments abruptly stopped in 1775. Darius said he “was yet a child” when his father died —#6. Thomas may have died in the war between 1775-1777, leaving Darius, age 4-6 years old, and his sister, age 7-9 years old, orphaned.
It was probably at that point that he took his son, Darius, “to Dutchess County to live with a Quaker family for a number of years.”
After Darius graduated from apprentice status in 1791, he went “north to marry” to Westfield (now Fort Ann), Washington County, New York. His sweetheart was Mehitable Griswold; her parents were Ephraim, II, and Martha Smith Griswold, who formerly lived at Nine Partners, Dutchess County, where they seem to have become acquainted with Darius Clement when the two young people met. While living with a Quaker family, he may or may not have attended the Quaker Friends church with his host family, but at times may have been invited to attend church with the Griswold family. There is no evidence that the Griswold’s were Quaker oriented.
About Ephraim Griswold, Darius’ future father inlaw, from Dutchess County:
In an online historical article, “Town of Fort Ann”, New York, is the following about Ephraim Griswold:
“In 1790, Ephraim GRISWOLD came into the town looking for water power, and bought a large tract of land in the Southwest corner of the town and in that year, or the following one, he erected a gristmill. Some time afterwards, this mill was moved farther down stream, and in a few years he built a forge for the manufacture of chains and anchors, which was operated by Elisha Forbes, his son-in-law. This was the nucleus of the present Griswold’s Mills.”
Ephraim was a Revolutionary War veteran. When the war ended in 1785, his daughter Mehitable and Darius were young teens. Ephraim remained at Nine Partners, Dutchess County until 1790, when he and his wife, Martha, took their family to Westfield (later Fort Ann, New York). There, in 1791, Darius and Mehitable were married. They farmed at the west end of Westfield for about three years. Ephraim may have given them a piece of his land as a wedding gift to give Darius a start in real estate. Ephraim was a keen land trader (a talent learned from his father, Ephraim Griswold, Ist), who taught it to Darius. In fact, it became Darius’ way of life in making a good living. Darius and Mehitable’s first two children were born at Westfield. Thomas, the eldest named for Darius’ father, was born in 1792, and Olive in 1793. Afterwards, Darius, Sr. moved his family to Brant Lake, a hamlet in the town of Horicon, Warren County, New York. It’s located south of Lake George, New York. Ephraim Griswold, and Martha Smith are found in the 1790, Westfield, New York Census.
MORITZ ERNST CLEMENTS married Maria Elizabeth Sine about 1732. They lived and died in Yorktown on the Van Cortlandt Manor, Westchester County, New York. “Most of Yorktown was part of the Manor of Van Cortlandt, a Royal Manor established by King William III for the Van Cortlandt family”, wrote Huntersville Association on “Yorktown Heights 10598.” The west end of this manor started from the Hudson River, and was originally 86,000 acres that stretched east across Westchester County, New York to the boundary of Connecticut. It seems Moritz was employed at the Van Cortlandt Manor for about 5-6 years prior to his marriage and brought his new bride to that place in about 1732. Yorktown was where Moritz and Maria lived for over 38 years. Moritz and Maria's eleven children were born and raised at that place. Our Thomas, the eldest of their children, was born in 1733 at Yorktown, Van Cortlandt Manor, New York. His father, Moritz, died in Yorktown on 12 November 1770, Westchester County, New York. Maria Elizabeth his mother, died in Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, 9 May 1796. She was born in Tappan, Rockland County, New York, 12 July 1714. Her parents, Johann Peter Sine and Anna Gertrude Steinen, emigrated from the Rhine River area of Germany and settled in Tappan, Rockland County, New York. They sailed on the ship, “Fame”, arriving 1 June 1710, having been driven out of Europe by the freezing winter of 1708-09, in the year that Europe froze.
Of course, Manors were always complete with a mansion. Typically, the manor property was a village that housed the tenants and their families. There were hundreds of workers, perhaps thousands, on the manors. It was the duty of the supervisors to see that everything stayed organized, and that the grounds and cultivated fields were manicured. Following is what a typical manor included:
The village on the manor had a church with a house for the Priest; a large orchard, a dairy farm, a kiln, a bakehouse; a carpenter and a blacksmith, a Tannery, a bee house and more. It was the workers who ran the operations and production of the manors as highly skilled individuals with supervisors. Thomas most likely grew up under the tutorship of his father, doing chores until he graduated to handling and repairing larger machinery such as the flour mill. He would also be tending to livestock, and farming in general. For Moritz to live and work at such a place as this (having been trained in Germany from boyhood to manhood) says a lot about his talents and capabilities —even rising to the position of “prominent citizen” on the manor. That would mean someone bearing a position of leadership.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
When DARIUS made the statement, “MY FATHER WAS A PROMINENT CITIZEN,” it seems his father, Thomas, must have followed in his father, Moritz’s, footsteps. Being trained by Moritz put him in a good place. We might like to think he carried his training to that way of life when he left the manor to build a life of his own in Dutchess County. His parents, Moritz and Elizabeth Maria, never moved away from Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, where they raised their family and died there.
NO TRUTH TO THE RUMOR
It has been erroneously publicized on family group records, that Thomas Clement (b.1737), of Beekman, Dutchess County, New York, was Darius Clement’s father. That could NOT BE TRUE, as Darius clarified that when he said, “My father DIED when I was yet a child.” Therefore, THOMAS CLEMENT (b.1737) cannot be Darius’s father because he DID NOT DIE when Darius was a child, but LIVED to the ripe old age of 87, when Darius was age 53. Additionally, Doherty documented that Thomas Clements (b.1737), died on the 2 March 1824, at Saratoga County, New York. That leaves his cousin, the ONLY OTHER THOMAS CLEMENTS (b.1733), from Southern Precinct, in the Oblong of Dutchess County, who actually did die when Darius “was yet a child.” Darius himself said, “my father died when I was a child).
Thomas Clement (b.1737), the first cousin of our Thomas Clement (b.1733), did not have a son named Darius, nor a daughter named Phoebe, in his large family. We also know that these two first cousins were the only two Thomas Clement’s living in Dutchess County during the entire time that both of them lived there — that is, in these birth years. Moreover, the times and dates of Darius (b.1771), and Thomas Clement (b.1733) fit together perfectly as father and son — while the dates of the cousin, Thomas Clement (b.1737), does not!
THEREFORE, our THOMAS CLEMENT (b.1733 at Cortlandt, New York), WHO DID DIE in the mid 1770’s, when Darius was “yet a child” age 4-6 years old, IS INDISPUTABLY DARIUS CLEMENT’S FATHER. The evidence is in about this subject!
CHILDREN OF MORITZ ERNST AND MARIA ELIZABETH SINE CLEMENTS
1. *Thomas CLEMENTS, (b. 1733), was born in the hamlet of Van Cortlandt Manor, Cortlandt Township, Westchester Co., Province of New York. He may have died at his farm in Dutchess County from wounds inflicted by British soldiers when they raided Queensbury, NY, in 1775, age 42. His son, Darius, was a 4 year-old child when his father, Thomas, died.
2. Hannah CLEMENTS, (b.1737, at Philipstown, in southwest corner of Dutchess Co. NY; d. 11 May 1815).
3. Peter CLEMENTS, (b.1739, at the hamlet of Van Cortlandt Manor, Cortlandt Township, Westchester Co., NY. - d. 22 Jan.1833 in Fredricton, Canada.
4. Catherine CLEMENTS, (b.17 Feb.1741, at Westchester Co., NY. - d.12 May 1766).
5. Maerreyte CLEMENTS, (b.1744, at Westchester Co., NY. - d.unknown date).
6. Johannes CLEMENTS, (b.1746, at Westchester Co., NY. - d.11 Jan.1806).
7. Aaron CLEMENTS, (b.14 Jan. 1748, at Westchester Co., NY. - d. 22 Dec.1836). *Served in Revolutionary War with the Westchester County Militia, Land Bounty Rights, (NY), Third Regiment - Capt. Samuel Haight.
8. William CLEMENTS, (b.1752, at Westchester Co., NY. - d. 26 Jan.1842). *Served in the Revolutionary War with the Westchester County Militia, Land Bounty Rights, (NY); Third Regiment - Capt. Samuel Haight.
9. Elizabeth CLEMENTS, (b.1754, at Westchester Co., NY. - d. 18 Jun.1825).
10. Lawrence CLEMENTS, (b.1757, at Westchester Co., NY. - d. unknown date).
11. Margaret CLEMENTS, (b. 1761, at Westchester Co., NY. - d. unknown date)
MARIA SINE’S PARENTS EMIGRATE TO AMERICA IN 1710
(Note: You may like to read online for the related story: “Palatines to England, Ireland and Colonies.” By Bill Robinson —Research Archives):
Maria’s parents, Johann Peter (Zyn) Sine, and Anna Gertrude Steinen, emigrated in the great wave of Palatine refugees from Germany in scows headed down the Rhine River to Holland, then crossed the channel to England in 1709. It is said that the Rhine was dark with so great a number of scows, carrying only a few things with them. They were weary, cold and hungry, some diseased by the time they arrived at England and many died. Impoverished, they lived in a city of refugee tents outside of London, provided by Queen Anne’s kindness, with only enough food and clean water to keep them alive. But the English government could not sustain thousands of refugees for long, so the Queen and her parliament made a practical plan. At the turn of the year in 1710, 3,000 Palatines were given passage on 10 ships that sailed for New York. Among the passengers were Johann Peter Sine and Anna Gertrude Steinen, who were emigrants on the ship, ‘Fame’, the 14th of June 1710 from Germany to New York, through London, with Captain Walter Houxton. (Ref., Ship passenger list). The remaining Palatines were sent to the Carolinas and Ireland.
MORE INFORMATION
Johann Peter Sine was the son of Wilhelm Sine, called Gerichtsschoffe at Wolferlingen and a widower with 3 sons and 7 daughters in the 1694 Einwohner - Verzeichnisse of Maxsain parish.
Anna Gertrude Steinen was the daughter of Phillip Steinen —inhabitant of Steinback/Grafschaft Wied in parish Dreifelden belonging to Ruckerodt, November 9, 1707 in the Church at Wolferlingen.
BACK TO DARIUS
Darius Clement, Sr., married Mehitable Griswold in 1791 at Fort Ann, New York. Her father, Ephraim Griswold, II, (a Revolutionary War Veteran), was living with his wife, Martha, and children, at Fort Ann, New York at that time. Darius, age 20, was graduated from apprenticeship in a Quaker family. This family may have been known by Thomas, since his farm home was part of a community of Quakers in the Oblong, New York.
Darius arrived at Dryden, Tompkins County, New York, with his wife, Mehitable and their nine children in 1811, where he purchased a farm and lived out his life.
Significant happenings, both local and national, affected Thomas (1733). His life was lived during extremely hard times in a restless and growing America — a life as a land speculator, a pioneer settler, a farmer and prominent citizen in the American Colonies under British rule and heavy taxation. He may have fought in, and lived through the French and Indian War, 1754-63; family tragedy by the death of his wife, leaving two children, who would later become orphaned. In the year 1775, his tax records suddenly ceased and was considered deceased.
*Note: To distinguish both Thomas cousins, the year of their birth was placed next to their name — such as our Thomas (b.1733).
Dutchess County remained intact until 1812 when Putnam County was broken off south Dutchess. But Thomas Clements (b.1733), was long gone before 1812. Therefore, as long as he lived, his farm was NEVER under the name of Putnam County, NY, because he died probably in 1775.
There had already been significent growth in population at Southern Oblong by 1754, the year Thomas arrived, since the lumber industry in old Milltown was supported by plenty of water from the east branch of the Croton River to run the lumber mills and flour mills. This was undoubtedly what Thomas was trained to do in his younger years, working by his father’s side at Cortlandt, Westchester County. All things point to Thomas owning and operating a lumber mill. This type of operation would indeed make him a future “prominent citizen” as those mills were highly depended on by families in growing communities.
He was into improving his land just three years when the French and Indian War began. Milling seems to have run in the Clement family as Grandson, Thomas Clement, 2nd, (husband of Betsey Foote), was a sawmill operator for many years in Dryden, New York until his death in 1842. Great-grandson, Darius Salem Clement, of Dryden, NY, was a professional flour mill operator (also having the ability to sharpen the millstones where he worked in Utah. Other Clement descendants were successful farmers, ie, Darius, Sr., Darius Salem Clement, Darius Albert Clement and Raphael Clement.
Phoebe was born in Dutchess County, New York in 1769 on the farm, and went with her parents to Vermont in 1770, at age one. Her little brother, Darius, was born in primitive Vermont on February 21, 1771. They must have been happy parents with their two babies.
But sadly it was short-lived as Mrs. ____Clement would soon need a doctor which could only be found in a settled community, the nearest being Queensbury, New York —just across the border from western Vermont. She possibly developed the fast-moving puerperal disease, common in their day without anti-biotics, and died of childbirth complications. Queensbury was supposedly a place of safety, so being there would also be putting some distance between her family and the Vermont patent violence. It’s thought that she had relatives still living at Queensbury, a major Quaker community built from 1763 to the early 1770’s, when it was first led by Abraham Wing who came from the Oblong.
In 1791, Darius Clement, Sr, went north to marry his sweetheart, Miss Mehitable Griswold, at Westfield (later, Fort Ann), Washington County, New York, who lived with her family. Her mother was Martha Smith; her father, Ephraim Griswold, II, was a veteran of the Revolution, and moved his family to that place in 1791.
Of further interest, Ephraim was mentioned in the history of the “Town of Fort Ann”, [New York], which follows: “In 1791 Ephraim Griswold came into the town, looking for water power, and bought a large tract of land in the southwest corner of the town, and in that year, or the following one, he erected a gristmill. Sometime afterwards, this mill was moved farther down stream, and in a few years, he built a forge for the manufacture of chains and anchors, which was operated by Elisha M. Forbes, his son-in-law. This was the nucleus of the present Griswold’s Mills. In 1808, the name of Westfield was changed to Fort Ann, in memory of the old fort at the village.”
TIMELINE of THOMAS CLEMENT (b. 1733)
1733………….Thomas Clement was born on a manor in 1733 at Cortlandt, Westchester County, N.Y. Here, he was trained in many skills by his father, Moritz Ernst Clement, an emigrant from Flammersfeld, Westwald, Germany. His mother was Maria Elizabeth Sine, born at Tappan, Rockland County, N. Y.
1754…………. He removed to Dutchess County, New York in 1754, age 21. Taxed in Southern Precinct
from June 1754 through 1769 and in Southeast Precinct in 1775. 1768…………Thomas Clement married about age 34, possibly delayed due to being away in the French/Indian war in the 1750’s.
1769………… His daughter, Phoebe Clement was born at the family farm home, on the Oblong Patent in Southeast Precinct, Dutchess County, New York.
1770…………Thomas temporarily leaves Dutchess County and goes to Vermont for five years between 1770-1775. He may have gone to Vermont, to build a chain of sawmills when the New Hampshire Grants kicked in for sale. He probably had a sawmill of his own in Dutchess County at the location of the present Mill Road.Those grants covered New Hampshire and Vermont. His son Darius stated that his father, Thomas, “Was a prominent citizen.” In those days, ‘prominent’ was owning much land and becoming a well-to-do citizen. With that he would become a well-known person, involved in a business of some kind serving people. The land offer was known as the, “American Determinist Settlements North
1770s-1780s — VT.” Thomas took his family with him to the ‘Grants Settlement’ in Vermont” from 1770 to 1775. We know that to be a fact since his son, Darius, was born there on February 21, 1771.
1771…………Thomas Clement’s son, Darius, was born 21 February 1771, in Vermont.
1772…………April 1, 1772, Thomas’ Southern Precinct in Dutchess County, New York was subdivided and renamed Southeast.
1773…………Thomas still in Vermont.
1774…………Thomas still in Vermont.
1775…………Back home to the Dutchess County, N.Y. farm.
Note: Queensbury, New York may be the place Mrs. Thomas Clement died. A thread of information was passed down in the Idaho Clement family records, which read that she died in Queensbury. Thomas’ last tax payment on his farm in Dutchess County was made in 1775. Nothing more is known of him after that date. The Revolution broke out in April 1775, and Thomas returned home to his farm in the Oblong from Vermont in 1775, probably to serve in the Continental Army, as many men did. Darius stated, “My father died when I was yet a child”, (age 4).1776……….. Thomas Clement seems to have died in Dutchess Co. At that point, Darius was 5 years old, and he and his sister, Phoebe, would be orphaned, a very sad and hard thing. In that century, most orphaned children were apprenticed out to a family certified to teach a trade of some kind, and stayed until about age nineteen. This was the case with Darius when he wrote, “I was taken to a Quaker family and lived with them for a number of years.” Darius finished his apprenticeship, age 19, and wrote, “I went north to marry.”
