250 and Counting

Tag: 1850 deaths

  • Isaac Van Houten–June 4, 1776

    Cover art for June 4, 1776: aerial view of Clarkstown in 2010, looking south. via Wikimedia Commons.

    The Rockland County area of New York State is some lovely country. It’s just north of New York City and, along with adjacent Duchess and Westchester Counties, could be considered the heart of the area where the Dutch settlers came and stayed.

    As a result you’ll find many place names that have Dutch origins. This is why so many places in the downstate New York area (the triangle above NYC) end in “-kill”, because “kill” is dutch for “creek.” Thus, “Fishkill” means “fish creek”.

    At any rate, while not a lot is known about Isaac Van Houten, it’s clear that he almost certainly has Dutch ancestry, given both his name and his hometown along the lower Hudson River.

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  • John Dabney Terrell Sr.–October 14, 1775

    Cover art for October 14, 1775: photo of John Dabney Terrell Sr. via findagrave.com

    Programming Note: Mike came down with a case of electronic laryngitis, so you’re getting me again for today’s episode. But Mike wrote it, so there’s that.

    John Dabney Terrell Sr. was…not one of our best and brightest Americans, but the work he did will lead us to a bigger story some time down the road. Much of what he did laid down the foundation for the event that became known for the Trail of Tears.

    As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was a slave owner who put some of his slave property (ugh, but that was the legal term) in his son’s name to avoid losing them in a pending lawsuit against him.

    That he did all this and chose to be buried in a very Native American fashion is kind of amazing.

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