38 HISTORY OF comer made his appearance among them, the most commodious house in the whole settlement was freely offered for his use, until a hee could be made, and a house prepared without any expense to himself. Indeed to such an extent were their pe- culiar sentiments of hospitality carried, that neighbors fre- quently quarrelled which should have the pleasure of accom- modating the new guests/' It is the design of the present chapter to recite briefly the history of the early settlements in the county prior to the Revolution, but of the other settlements made within the lim- its of the county, and especially of those in Middletown, the description which I shall be able to give, will at the most prove but vague and uncertain. How much ever of interest their antiquity may possess, a great portion of their history is buried in oblivion, and the men who first settled there, and all who might have rendered valuable assistance have passed away ; the researches of the antiquarian therefore must prove an almost hopeless task. From the few reliable reminiscences I have been enabled to gather, it appears that at a very early period, a few Low- Dutch families from Marbletown and Hurley, followed up the Esopus or Shandahen creek (the latter being the Indian name, signifying swift waters,) and crossing the hills that divide its waters from the east branch of the Delaware, located them- selves in a small settlement upon the fertile flats that skirt the latter stream. One of these settlers, a Mr. Van Waggoner, settled near the present residence of Colonel Noah Dimmick, to whom the author is indebted for the above information. Another settled a short distance above, by the name of Kittle — this place was afterward familiarly known as the " Kittle Farm." Several other settlers were scattered along at inter- vals for several miles down the river, among whom were Her- manns Dumond, about a mile below Margaretville, on the
