General John Hathorn remembered

By Jean Beattie May
To commemorate the disastrous Battle of Minisink of July 27, 1779, the only conflict fought in the Revolution with proximity to Warwick, the Friends of Hathorn House met recently at the historic house on Route 94S for a reading of then Colonel John Hathorn’s report of the battle.

Thanks to the generosity of those attending the event, the “Friends” were able to proceed with the action necessary to form a non-profit organization and get an architect's assessment of the structure.

Their goal is to stabilize and preserve the house in a practical manner with a mix of exhibit space and occupancy that helps pay the ongoing maintenance.

On the orders of George Washington

As colonel of the 4th Orange County Militia Regiment, Hathorn had been ordered to Minisink by George Washington. With him were 120 ill-prepared men from the local Militia.

They were attacked by Joseph Brant, a Mohawk war chief and a captain in the British Army. Forty-eight Militia men died with many others disabled.

Wounded himself, Hathorn returned to his house in Warwick. According to his former neighbor, William Pelton, “Hathorn ran a long way back to his house followed by two Indians who hid in a stack of straw. Hathorn remained in his house for many days, his back against the stone wall between the two front windows. The Indians kept him under watch trying to get a shot at him, until they finally went away, vowing revenge.”

After that Hathorn and his neighbors built a block house on a neighboring farm for the setters to flee to in case of an invasion by the Indians.

Although many of his papers were lost when household help burned it as trash, legends and stories of Hathorn remain to fill in some of the missing details of his life.

A man of many skills
It appears he was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on Jan. 9, 1749 and was descended from a distinguished family. It is said that the poet, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was another branch of the family which chose to add the “w” and the “e” to its name.

A man of many abilities, John Hathorn was trained as a surveyor; he was a teacher, farmer, a distinguished Revolutionary soldier, patriot and statesman, having been elected to the State Assembly eight times, Speaker of the Assembly, a state senator for eight sessions and member of Congress for two terms.

After studying surveying in schools in Wilmington and later Philadelphia, Hathorn came to Warwick sometime before 1770 to make surveys which would establish boundary lines between New York and New Jersey. He was invited to stay with Thomas Welling, whose Pioneer Farm on Route 94S was one of Warwick’s very first homesteads. There he met and fell in love with Welling’s daughter, Elizabeth.

In 1773, John and Elizabeth married. He built their stone house just down road from the Welling farm on what was originally part of the King’s Highway, running from Newburgh to Morristown, N.J., a road connecting General Washington’s two headquarters.

Home for 50 years
One of the distinguished landmarks of the town, the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An outstanding feature still to be seen, but just barely, on the south end of the limestone construction are the letters H, I & E, 1773 embedded in brick (see photo).

Signifying Hathorn, John (I used instead of J) and Elizabeth, ) Ferdinand V. Sanford’s detailed description of the house, presented at the first annual meeting of the Warwick Historical Society in 1907, tells us that “handmade split shingles covered the gambrel roof ... All the hardware including the nails, locks, hinges and casings were hand made in the Hathorn blacksmith shop … Originally the interior of the house contained one big room in front, two bed-rooms in the rear and hall in the south end, on the first floor and four rooms on the second floor . . . Hathorn lived in the house for over fifty years until the time of his death.”

Their eleven children were born there.

The Washingtons were guests
It is said that General and Lady Washington were guests of the Hathorns on several occasion when traveling to and from his headquarters.

When Washington’s army was on the march, it sometimes passed through Warwick where the soldiers encamped in the meadow behind the Hathorn house. Legend tells us that Hathorn was so hospitable that he carried whisky to the soldiers by the pail full. Helping him was his wife who was nearly overcome by the alcoholic fumes.

Hathorn’s 300 acre farm was a model of self-sufficiency and included a tannery, a potash works, a woodworking shop as well as a forge. A retinue of his slaves who were with him from 1800 to 1814 is recorded in the Town Clerk’s office. One of them, Serena Baise, later given her freedom, sometimes visited her old home after it was purchased by Ezra Sanford in 1834.

She liked to tell of Lady Washington’s visit to the house and of the thrill of seeing her jewelry and other belongings which she carried with her.

Elizabeth Hathorn died in 1810, the General in 1825. They were buried in a family burial ground behind the house along with several of their children and servants, but were later moved to the Warwick Cemetery.

The men and women of the Revolution

Today the house stands as a reminder of those early and rugged days and the men and women who lived through and fought in the Revolution. It is a monument that should be preserved and restored.

For further information on The Friends of the Hathorn House, or to learn more about the General and this historic site, please visit their website at hathornhouse.wordpress.com or email hathornhouse.gmail.com.

Jean Beattie May is the Warwick Village historian.