Who lived on Lot 510?


Sullivan County Atlas Map | New York, Walker & Jewett, 1875.


I'm taking a break from drywall to dip back into our house's history. According to property records, we know there have been at least two other families who have owned this house/property: the Desmonds (1974-2023) and the Hotchkins (??-1974). 

In this post, I'll start with George and Marguerite Hotchkin. They are the earliest family to own the house according to property records. In the section of the Sullivan County atlas above, I've identified our house/property as Lot 510. This map was drawn in 1875, likely before the Hotchkin family acquired the property. So, now I'm asking...who is J.D.? Also what is the method with the naming conventions here...R.Armstrong, Mrs. Van Aken, and Decker? 

I also have to consider J.D.'s exact location. Could that really be the location of the present-day house or is it actually closer to the Wright's cabin (a well-known fly fisher who has passed down the property to his son/our current neighbor)?

To narrow down J.D.'s identify, I looked up the other surnames on the county map via U.S. Census Data (1880 and 1910). On Ancestry.com, when you look up the census data for a specific surname, you can view who else was accounted for, which is likely houses close by. The only name that could be J.D. was James Decker. Further information that led me this way can be found in the Short History of Neversink, which I linked to two posts ago. The Times and the Valleys' short history of Neversink calls out the first known post masters of the town. There was previously a post office at the present day Halls Mills Bridge, which is just off Hunter Road and a 10 minute walk from our house. The post master of that post office was James Decker, and when I looked at all of the families in the U.S. Census Data of 1880, James Decker was the only J.D. that matched. 

While I'm 90% sure that I identified J.D., I realize that I still need to do some digging. Who exactly was James Decker? Did he sell the property to the Hotchkins? How do I find deeds pre-Hotchkin? At some point, Neversink was part of Ulster County so...I need to confirm the exact years Neversink was still part of Ulster County, look up tax or property documents there, maybe do some census data research in Ulster County, and begin to tie things together based on what I find out. 

If anyone has recommendations/guidance on this DIY research journey, I'm all ears. 


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