II. HUGO FREER, Sr. , born Palatinate 1666, died 1732; married 6-7-1690 MARIA ANNA LEROY. Released this property and other lands to his 13 children in 1732. The stone house went to his daughter:

III. REBECCA FREER, bp. 12-4-1715; married 1-19-1735 JOHANNES LOUW, bp. 1-23-1715. It was inherited about 1765 by their son

IV SIMEON LOUW, born 1747; died 1815; married CHRISTINA McMULLEN

V MOSES FREAR obtained the house by Executor's deed dated 6-7-1828 in B. D. 34/447 at a consideration of $1000 including a 4 acre parcel. I believe this is Moses, the son of Elias Frear & Maria VanKleeck, born 8-10-1802, died 11-7-1873; married JANE DuBOIS. He was a blacksmith, who later moved east of the village.

VI. ABIGAIL L. TELLER wife of STEPHEN TELLER, purchased 3 parcels of land from Moses Frear including the 4 acres & homestead on April 6, 1837, B. D. 49/51 for the sum of $2000. Foreclosure of a mortgage resulted in sale to

VII. BENJAMIN VanWAGENEN, by deed April 14, 1842, B. D. 59/282, for the sum of $521 for the 3 parcels. He and his wife Catherine sold to

VIII. ANDRIES DuBOIS, by deed 8-1-1845, B. D. 64/52, for the sum of $1953. He was the son of Andries DuBois and Sarah LeFevre, and he married Elizabeth LeFevre. He died in 1849 and his heirs sold to

IX. SAMUEL D. W. MOREY, by deed April 3, 1850, B. D. 79/210. His wife was related to this branch of the DuBois family. They sold to

X. LEVI DuBOIS, son of Jonathan DuBois & Maria Deyo. He died in 1893 leaving the house to his brother

XI. LEWIS DuBOIS, who married ABBIE MOREY . He died intestate in 1909 leaving as sole heir, his daughter

XII. ANNIE M. DuBOIS, who threw herself into the well of the homestead 7-14-1931, dying intestate. A long partition action ensued, following which the old house and 1/2 acre were sold to

XIII MARGARET A. JAMISON, by deed July 1, 1932, B. D. 560/44. She was niece and heir to the Arbuckle Estate and her death brought about the founding of the Jamison Memorial Fund which has been of great importance in the preservation of Huguenot Street . The homestead and 1/2 acre were purchased from her estate by

XIV JOHN WRIGHT FOLLETTE by deed February 22, 1943, B. D. 632/463.

It was he who restored and modernized the house and sold it to

Most important was their differing attitude toward the Esopus Indians who were their neighbors. The Dutch traders, with or without the assistance of "firewater", were quick to take advantage of the [sic] savages. They expected to make money from them, they considered them mere animals, but were swift to punish when these same animals did not follow white men's ways. The whole series of skirmishes known as the Esopus Wars had a simple be-ginning. The naive Indians had graciously granted the new settlers hunting rights in the territory, just as a modern farmer might post his land for the benefit of the local gun club. The paltry presents received from the Dutch were merely evidence of neighborliness and good faith, certainly not a sale price. In fact, an individual Indian could not sell land, because the tribes owned everything in common. He could merely grant life rights to hunt, fish and farm the land.

Little frictions grew up because the Indians had no understanding of property rights and boundary lines. Nor, unfortunately, were they acquaint-ed with domestic animals. A cow was killed, and immediately the Dutch captured twelve of the finest young braves and sold them as slaves in Barbados. It is hardly surprising that the Indians retaliated. Even so, they sought many times to ransom their young men before they turned to violence.

On June 7, 1663, while the men were working in the fields, the Esopus tribes fell on the "New Village". Hardly so much as a hayrick was left standing and 29 women and children were carried into captivity. Among them were the families of Louis DuBois and Antoine Crispell.

For months the bereaved husbands and fathers, reinforced by Capt. Martin Kregier and his soldiers from New Amsterdam, sought for the captives, but in vain. On July 31st they found the Indian fort near Wawarsing and burned its triple palisades and the cornfields around them; but alas, [sic] savages and captives were gone into the mountains.

Finally, on September 5th, they located the New Fort, a 15-foot palisade not yet completed, near the Shawangunk Kill in the Hogabergh area be-hind the present village of Wallkill. Tradition tells the tale of Basha, the squaw piling wood near the spring which bears her name, who was shot by Louis DuBois before she could give the alarm.

Legend also tells that the Indians, angry at the failure of their attempts to secure the release of their braves from slavery in Barbados, had determined to put their victims to death - that Catrina DuBois had already been tied to the stake and the faggots placed - but that intrepid lady, her faith rising, above her fears, lifted her head and sang the 137th Psalm, "By the waters of Babylon". Her clear voice charmed the Indians, so the story goes, into delaying the burning. More important, it served as a guide through the woods for her husband and the soldiers. The surprise was complete, the fighting was sharp. The Indians lost their chief and 21 killed. 13 others were taken prisoner, while Capt. Kregier lost 3 killed and 6 wounded. But the prisoners were released unharmed. It was on the return journey that Louis DuBois had the opportunity to note fertile plains of the Wallkill Valley and his dream was born. He had passed that way before, had killed an Indian scout near the present Libertyville with his own sword, but only now could he appreciate the beauty of these fields guarded by the "Great Wall" of the Shawangunks. As he continued to live in Hurley his dream grew - a French settlement where they could at last find permanent refuge, but could also retain their language, their customs, and their religion. When the young LeFevre brothers, Simon and Andre, arrived in Kingston, they quickly fell in with his dream, but it was not for 8 or 10 years until the arrival of the Hasbrouck brothers, the Beviers, the Freers, and the Deyos, that it seemed possible of fulfillment, and it was Abraham Hasbrouck who made it a reality.

After leaving the Rhein-Pfalz where the Huguenot families had found temporary refuge, Abraham had served for a time with the English army and had earned the friendship of Edmund Andros. By 1675, the English government had replaced the Dutch, New Amsterdam had become New York, and Edmund Andros was governor of the colony. Abraham spoke for the little group and out-lined their plans, and in April, 1677, he gained permission for his friends to make their attempt .

The history books have long given credit to William Penn as being the first colonizer to deal justly with the Indians and thus earn peace for his settlement. Penn received his huge grant in 1681, and then, a year later, to stop further difficulty with the natives, he made a treaty purchase with the Indians confirming his title.

However, five years before, this small band of Huguenots first approached the Indians themselves, the actual owners of the land. On May 26, 1677 five chiefs of the Esopus: Matsaysay, Nekahakaway, Magakahas, Assinerakan, and Wawawanis, contracted for the sale of the land to Louis DuBois and eleven others for: "40 kettles, 40 axes, 40 adzes, 40 shirts, 400 fathoms white network, 300 fathoms black network, 60 pairs stockings (half small sizes), 100 bars of lead, 1 keg of powder, 100 knives, 4 kegs of wine, 40 oars, 40 pieces duffel, 60 blankets, 100 needles, 1 measure tobacco, 2 horses (1 stallion and 1 mare). "

This was certainly no bargain by Dutch standards ($24 worth of trinkets for Manhattan) but how well these Huguenots were rewarded! They built the "Redoute" required by the governor, but never, even during the troubled Revolutionary period, was this settlement in danger of attack.

Only after the Indians were paid, as acknowledged on September 15th by 19 braves and 2 women of the Esopus, who thus confirmed the action of their chiefs for their families, did the Walloons sue for a grant from the king, given under the hand of Edmund Andros on September 29, 1677. These old deeds, the first record of a truly honest purchase of land from the Indians, are still to be seen at the museum.

The eleven families: Louis DuBois and his sons Isaac and Abraham, Christian Deyo and his son Pierre, Simon LeFevre and his brother Andre, Hugo Freer, Louis Bevier, the brothers Jean and Abraham Hasbrouck, (Antoine Crispell remained in Hurley) loaded all their possessions upon three ox-carts ("tri-cor") and proceeded to their new home. If this particular tradition were true, the ox-carts must have made more than one trip, judging by the many relics which survive .

Warned by friendly Indians of spring floods on the west side of the river, the Patentees built their log cabins along the east bank, on what is now the south end of Huguenot Street. They established their combined church and schoolhouse at the north edge of the little burying ground, but the land itself was owned in common. The first sale of land to an individual was in 1693, although four years earlier, the first schoolmaster, Jean Cottin, had received the gift of a house and lot.

As the settlement prospered and the log cabins were replaced by stone dwellings a bit further north, which still testify to the superiority of the old-time methods of construction, the settlers were granted homestead lots, but the farm lands remained in common under the control of "The Duzine", a council made up of representatives of each of the 12 original Patentees. At first position on the Duzine was hereditary, but with the growth of the village and the influx of Dutch families, it became advisable to elect these officers from the whole colony. It was not until 1728 that the Duzine authorized the allotment of the first lands to individual ownership. This was done not by deed, but by parole, the "twelve men” signing a bond for the protection of title to these tracts, as recorded in the minute books of The Duzine. The last allotment was made only shortly before the Revolution, and one of the first actions of the new State government was to ratify the acts of this most democratic governing body in colonial history.

There were no really famous citizens of New Paltz, but the story of these simple farmers and merchants is an unparalleled record of justice, dignity and fair dealing toward each other and toward their neighbors, white and red, which might well be of even greater inspiration today than is found in the exploits of those whom the history books call heroes.

For over 70 years the Huguenot Historical Society, New Paltz, N. Y., Inc. has been dedicated to the preservation of the Oldest Street in America with its original houses". Huguenot Street has been designated by the Dept. of Interior as a national Historic Landmark Area. The Jean Hasbrouck Memorial House has recently been cited by the same group as the finest example in this country of medieval Flemish stone architecture. This house has been a museum since 1898.

In the past twelve years, six other stone houses on Huguenot Street have come under control of the Society. Together they make up a unique historic site, an educational experience for this and future generations, and a monument to the integrity, industry, and independence of the founders. Family associations have been formed within the Society, each to maintain its individual homestead and to furnish it with heirlooms cherished by generations of descendants. Membership in either the Society or the family group is open to anyone who is interested in their objectives.

The Freer-Low Family Association was founded in 1962 and now has a membership of over 250. Their hope is that the Freer Homestead will be opened in the near future as a museum. Founding officers were: Frank Freer, Jr., President; Claude E. Simmonds and Harold M. Lows, Vice-Presidents; Mrs. J. Leigh Sheridan, Secretary, and Walter Hasbrouck, Treasurer.