Sycamore

It's pure coincidence that the beginning of my project coincided with the formation of the Coldengham Preservation and Historical Society. When I attended my first meeting I thought it was a long established organization firmly entrenched in all things Colden but it turns out they're putting together the bits and pieces of information much as I am. Of course, I started from zero and they possess lots of facts that I'm busy gathering but I'm hoping I also contribute and being part of the process is part of the fun. So with the help of my fellow Society members, I gather my clues and see what I can find.

This week, having been given a beautiful hand drawn map and meticulously marked satellite downloads, I went looking for trees. For six months I've been finding and guessing at the ages of trees all over the Coldengham area, looking for specimens that may have existed during the lifetime of Jane. The hand drawn map enabled me to take a few walks in Stewart State Forest on a cold, gray day but failed to produce any of the promised trees. This failure of navigation has led to an invitation to go searching with the map maker "during the January thaw." I'm looking forward to the day. The satellite images brought me to this incredible sycamore that without a doubt, lived at the time of Jane. In fact it's so old I would imagine it was a mature tree when she wandered this area. I've included a portrait of the sycamore, shown here with my fellow tree enthusiast Natalie providing scale.

The Family Name

Since beginning this project last spring I have been searching for remnants of Coldengham. I’ve done research using histories, government records, maps and various letters and papers. I’ve visited known sites on the farm property and guessed at the boundaries. I’ve followed and photographed portions of Tin Brook and have tried to find old trees and other possible 18th c. candidates. I’ve also spent time with Jane Colden’s botanical manuscript and begun researching native plants.

Concurrently I’ve been looking at the farm from the other end of the story and have searched for contemporary traces of the Colden family while cataloguing the transformation of this part of the Hudson Valley. Looking at this land from two directions allows me to work backward as I also work forward through history, piecing together the story of Coldengham/Coldenham.

Adelaide and Jane

Photographic Times was an illustrated monthly magazine devoted to artistic and scientific photography that began in 1871. In Volume XXXII from 1900 there is an article by Adelaide Skeel describing a camera field trip she made to Coldenham in search of the village and farm. Her article contains a description of her trip by trolley, the landscape in autumn and various facts about the activities of the Colden family. The larger part of the piece is a fantasy about a conversation she had with Jane Colden and a visit to the original home including the Cadwallader Sr. library and glimpses of the family coach "with yellow wheels". It seems Adelaide resorted to this device because on first viewing, there was little she could see of historic Coldengham. I can sympathize with her because 110 years after her article, Coldengham is even less visible. I can also thank her because she included a very helpful paragraph she found while reading a local history. It states:

The buildings erected by the Coldens are thus enumerated: "the old stone academy house, Coldenham stone house on the turnpike, long, low house east of stone house at the foot of the hill, house known as the Thomas Colden Mansion north of the turnpike, two dwellings east of the last one named and the dwelling on the hill south of the turnpike, a homestead subsequently deeded by Colden to his son Cadwallader, Jr."

I've already marked my map with the location of the original dwelling south of the turnpike with it's adjacent cemetery and also the stone house on the turnpike belonging to Cadwallader Jr. With the help of Suzanne Isaksen, Town Historian, I've identified the site of the Thomas Colden Mansion and it is now marked at the top of my map forming the most northern boundary of Coldengham I have found.

I've also received recent help from the members of the Coldengham Preservation and Historical Society including Joe Devine who has researched the Colden Canal. The southern two dots on my map represent known canal locations, one of which is located in the current day Stewart State Forest, south of Interstate 84 and the southernmost point of Coldengham on my map.

Adelaide Skeel took her camera with her on her excursion but none of her photographs appear with her article. Perhaps she was so discouraged by the changes she didn't take any pictures. Maybe I should take a hint from Adelaide but instead I'm feeling encouraged as I continue to look for Jane Colden.