SEARCHING FOR THE WEYANT FAMILY IN NEW YORK’S HUDSON RIVER AND CENTRAL VALLEYS

– by Jonathan Ansley Ward

I am a Weyant.  My maternal grandparents lived in Highland Falls, New York on the banks of the Hudson River.  Growing up, I’d spend some time every summer there. I learned that our ancestors were early settlers of that region. Hearing snippets of family history now and then piqued my interest in discovering more about the Weyant family. Where did they come from, and why did they journey across the sea to settle in a wild and strange land? 

In Europe the 1600’s were a time of ceaseless war.  The Palatine on the western frontier of Germany bordering France was a lovely agricultural region.  In the Thirty Years War the region was the prize sought by contested rulers and their armies devastated the land. Later when armies again moved through the area during the Franco-Spanish war, the Palatine was ravaged. The people of the Palatine suffered; their farms were pillaged; their homes were burned over and over.  The people grew weary of rebuilding in this land of conflict, investing in a future with little hope of a peace and stability.

Among the Palatines was the Weyant family.  They were Lutherans in the flock of Reverend Joshua Kockerthal.  The Palatine Lutherans devised a plan. In early 1708 they left the Palatine and sailed for London.  There they gained the support of Queen Anne.  Initially they were offered land in Jamaica, but they declined upon learning that land up the Hudson River in New York resembled the land and climate of the Palatine. Eventually they were granted a colony about 70 miles upriver.  

What brave and adventurous souls embarked on this journey of settlement. New lives carved from a wilderness awaited, with native Americans and other unknowns to face.  What a gamble! It is recorded that there were 41 Palatines who sailed for the New World in October 1708: 10 men, 10 women and 21 children. Included were the Weyant family: Michael, husbandman, 52; Anna Catharine, his wife, 54; Anna Maria, 13; Tobias, 7; and George, 5.  It took nine weeks to cross the Atlantic and some Palatines did not survive the journey, but thankfully all the Weyants did.

When they arrived in New York, the Hudson River was frozen over so they spent their first winter at the New York settlement on Long Island.  When the ice melted they made their way to their new land.  Eventually, each family was given 50 acres per family member.  The Weyants’ land was bordered by present-day Washington and Renwick Streets in Newburgh. There were, in all, nine family plots of 100 to 250 acres.  In the center were 500 acres of Glebe (church) Lands, which is where the original church was built and the Old Town Cemetery still stands today.  

Michael Weyant lived the rest of his life by the Hudson River; his hope of peace for his family coming true.  He and his sons built the stone house which later became George Washington’s Headquarters and is now a museum.  By the war, his original plot had been sold to the Hasbrouck family who hosted the Colonial leaders.

George and Tobias Weyant were 20 and 22 when their father died. By late 1730 most of the original settlers had sold their lands to seek out more fertile farms in the region, as many Scottish and English families were moving in. Tobias became a Glebe trustee and lived in Newburgh, the town that rose up around the Palatine Glebe. By 1744 George Weyant had moved to a 234-acre farm near Marlborough, New York.

With the changing of Newburgh, Tobias’ four sons, Tobias, Jr., Martin, Berger, and John, were faced with a choice of learning a new trade for town life or moving elsewhere to farm.  Martin acquired choice property and founded the Weigand (Weyant) Tavern which still stands today very near the Old Town Cemetery.  John and Tobias, Jr. both moved to Smith Clove in the Central Valley to farm.  John married Hannah Rider in 1764 and they had four sons, Tobias III, Andrew, John II and George II. 

The late 1700’s brought challenging times to the Hudson River and Central Valleys of New York. A new nation was in the making and to England that meant war.  All citizens were asked to sign a “Revolutionary Pledge” gambling their lives and lands on the American cause.  Not only did they sign the pledge, but the Weyant men left their farms, enlisted in the American Army and fought the British, a major world power at the time. In the Central Valley the Weyants joined the Smith/Woodbury Clove Militia and were called to Fort Montgomery on the Hudson River to fight the British.  Their leader, Captain Francis Smith, was severely wounded in the ensuing battle.  When the cause was lost and the British about to overcome the fort, John Weyant II and his comrade Nathan Miller carried Captain Smith home over the mountains.  They later married Captain Smith’s two daughters on the same day.  After the war, the Weyants returned to their farms. The heroes are all buried in the small family plot along Route 32 at Roselawn Road in Woodbury Clove.

After the war John Weyant I moved his family to Haverstraw in Rockland County.  There he lived out his life by the Hudson.  One of his sons, George, married Catherine Waldron and they are buried in the Waldron Family Cemetery by the railroad tracks in Stony Point.  The family may have moved to take part in the brick industry which blossomed at that time.

Another of John I’s sons, Tobias III had held and worked the family farm while his father and other family members fought in the Revolution. He moved with the family to Haverstraw and later married Jerusala Smith. They had eight children, among them John Weyant III.

John Weyant III and Tobias III moved their families to Doodletown (also called Mountville), New York which is now abandoned and part of Bear Mountain State Park.  Tobias III married Mary Rider and they had three sons, among them King Weyant.  Tobias III is buried in the Herbert Family Cemetery in Doodletown.  The Weyants harvested cordwood there which was used in Haverstraw in the making of bricks.  

King Weyant started carrying freight up and down the Hudson River to fast-growing New York City.  Later he invested in brickyards at Jones Point and Green Cove, not only making bricks but also delivering them to the city. King Weyant married Elizabeth Kessler and they had seven children. After 20 years of working on the river, a friend sold his large farm to King Weyant, and so he moved the family back over the mountains to the Central Valley. The area was then called Queensborough. He later bought more acreage amassing about 1900 acres. Right off the Long Mountain Traffic Circle in Central Valley is King Weyant’s well-marked grave, among other family members.

The Weyants were forced to give up their land in the Central Valley and settle in Highland Falls when the State built the Palisades Interstate Parkway. King’s son Charles Weyant was a businessman, and my Grandfather Chester Weyant was the first mayor of Highland Falls, had an early car dealership and later helped found the Highland Falls Savings & Loan.  My cousin David, a former Savings & Loan officer, has retired to Fort Myers, Florida and I live in Southern California.  Over the last 300 years, the family has multiplied and branched out throughout this country.   

It’s been good to search for my Weyant family roots, highlighting some family members along the way.  One can appreciate and respect their story – how it all began in the Palatine and continued into the New World wilderness.  And in the middle of all that, fighting and defeating the British.  Inspired by those Weyants, I’m proud to be a member of that American family and part of their continuing journey. 

MY DAD

My Dad, Judson C. Ward, Jr., was born in Marietta, Georgia on April 13, 1912 – the same weekend that the Titanic sunk.  His father said, “that was two shipwrecks on the same weekend.” Marietta is now a suburb of Atlanta, but in those days it was country.  They were a farm family with a grocery store on the town Square.  They would take a walk every Sunday on the Kennesaw Battlefield – a battle of the Civil War.  They found 17 bayonets and 1 pistol.  My Uncle Bill fired the pistol up the chimney and my grandmother “beat the hell out of him” but that’s another story.  My father made all A’s in every school he attended, was valedictorian, graduated from Emory University, obtained Masters fro Emory, and then got his PhD from North Carolina. He recalled the end of WWI, people firing pistols into the air on the Marietta town square, and by the time WWII came around he was teaching at Alabama’s Teachers College.  He was about to be drafted when he volunteered into the Army – thinking volunteering would give him a better deal. After serving in various positions he ended up at the US Military Academy at West Point New York, where he taught for the duration of the war and met my mother.  By 1945, he’d risen the ranks to Major – I believe the Army wanted to keep him. 

My Mom was working at West Point as a secretary.  They married in 1946 in the old chapel at West Point. My dad came back to Atlanta where became the Assistant State Education Commissioner, then the President of Georgia Southern University, and later served several “dean” positions at Emory, retiring as the Vice President. Semi-retired, he still served as the Dean of the Alumni until he passed away at 96.  The alumni house is named in his honor.

All those accomplishments are only a small part of the story. My dad was one of the most respected men in his community. He was honest, hard-working, devoted to family, friends and a real neighbor to everyone around. He taught Glenn Memorial Methodist Church’s adult Sunday school class for about 50 years; it’s now named in his honor. 

My father was the calm rock in the sometimes stormy sea of our family home. He never returned anyone’s nastiness; I never recall he ever raising his voice to anyone.  When I think of the word “loyal” the example that comes to mind is Dad – it might have been his greatest quality. I was amazed at his strength in returning kindness for unkindness. 

Of the blessings I’ve had in this world, he’s one of the best. He made this world a better place just by his being in it.  

THE WARD AND ARNOLD FAMILIES OF COBB COUNTY GEORGIA

My father left me a “bankers box” of family research. I’ve added to it. The book can be found on Amazon; just google The Ward and Arnold Families of Cobb County, Georgia. ….. (click above)