Deathsled this one is for you

[shelbydoug]

I was out walking my dog and ran across this guy at Holloween. The groundskeeper was pissed because he wasn't cleaning up after his horse.

[deathsled]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, short story by Washington Irving, first published in The Sketch Book in 1819–20.

The protagonist of the story, Ichabod Crane, is a Yankee schoolteacher who lives in Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch enclave on the Hudson River. A suggestible man, Crane believes the ghost stories and tales of witchcraft he has heard and read. He is particularly impressed by the tale of a spectral headless horseman said to haunt the area. Crane is also mercenary; he courts Katrina Van Tassel mostly because she is the daughter of a rich farmer and is expected to receive a large inheritance. Abraham Van Brunt (also called Brom Bones) is Crane's jealous rival, a local favourite and a rash horseman who often plays tricks on the schoolmaster. Late one night as Ichabod Crane rides home from a party at Katrina's home, he is suddenly frightened by a ghostlike headless horseman. The ghost pursues him and hurls at him a round object that he takes to be a head but is later revealed to have been a pumpkin. The schoolmaster is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again.

[shelbydoug]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, short story by Washington Irving, first published in The Sketch Book in 1819–20.

The protagonist of the story, Ichabod Crane, is a Yankee schoolteacher who lives in Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch enclave on the Hudson River. A suggestible man, Crane believes the ghost stories and tales of witchcraft he has heard and read. He is particularly impressed by the tale of a spectral headless horseman said to haunt the area. Crane is also mercenary; he courts Katrina Van Tassel mostly because she is the daughter of a rich farmer and is expected to receive a large inheritance. Abraham Van Brunt (also called Brom Bones) is Crane's jealous rival, a local favourite and a rash horseman who often plays tricks on the schoolmaster. Late one night as Ichabod Crane rides home from a party at Katrina's home, he is suddenly frightened by a ghostlike headless horseman. The ghost pursues him and hurls at him a round object that he takes to be a head but is later revealed to have been a pumpkin. The schoolmaster is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again.

Over rated. The horse can't keep up with the Shelby.

The only thing is you don't want horse manure in your brake scoops. Super natural or not.

Other then that the worst that can happen is he will throw the pumpkin at you?


Did you always get an A on your book reports?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, short story by Washington Irving, first published in The Sketch Book in 1819–20.

... Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch enclave on the Hudson River. ....Crane is also mercenary; he courts Katrina Van Tassel

Lots of my Dutch Swartwout relatives are buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Old Dutch Burial Grounds including a ggetc aunt Catharine (Van Tassel) Swartwout. Yeah we didn't get any of that fortune either.

[shelbydoug]

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, short story by Washington Irving, first published in The Sketch Book in 1819–20.

... Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch enclave on the Hudson River. ....Crane is also mercenary; he courts Katrina Van Tassel

Lots of my Dutch Swartwout relatives are buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and Old Dutch Burial Grounds including a ggetc aunt Catharine (Van Tassel) Swartwout. Yeah we didn't get any of that fortune either.

In a recent survey of local "millennials" a very low percentage knew that New York was originally New Holland and a Dutch colony.



I don't know the story of your family in who is related to who but the big dogs here were the Van Cortlandt's.

They pretty much owned everything from here to there and then some.

At some point after New Holland became New York, they changed the family name to Philips.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some issue with the Brits not caring for the Vans?



The Van Cortlandts made a critical mistake however and bet on the British Crown to prevail in this "little disturbance" out here in the Colonies and lost.

After the "Revolution" was settled and we became the United States the Philips family fled to England and the local holdings of "Torres" were confiscated by the new US Government.



So it may just be that your lineage that decided to stay just had nothing to inherit any more? In those days wealth was in land holdings.

If you haven't already done so, it would be interesting to find out if you are related to the Van Cortlandt's or the Van Wycks? You'd be better off being related to the Van Wyks.

At least there you could claim ownership of the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens and put tolls on it? 


If it makes you feel any better, sometimes I still wear "Vans" sneakers?

[FL SAAC]

Beautiful short and concise explanation.

They say Ichabod may have been a confirmed bachelor or is this just bold parle?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, short story by Washington Irving, first published in The Sketch Book in 1819–20.

The protagonist of the story, Ichabod Crane, is a Yankee schoolteacher who lives in Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch enclave on the Hudson River. A suggestible man, Crane believes the ghost stories and tales of witchcraft he has heard and read. He is particularly impressed by the tale of a spectral headless horseman said to haunt the area. Crane is also mercenary; he courts Katrina Van Tassel mostly because she is the daughter of a rich farmer and is expected to receive a large inheritance. Abraham Van Brunt (also called Brom Bones) is Crane's jealous rival, a local favourite and a rash horseman who often plays tricks on the schoolmaster. Late one night as Ichabod Crane rides home from a party at Katrina's home, he is suddenly frightened by a ghostlike headless horseman. The ghost pursues him and hurls at him a round object that he takes to be a head but is later revealed to have been a pumpkin. The schoolmaster is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again.

[shelbydoug]

Beautiful short and concise explanation.

They say Ichabod may have been a confirmed bachelor or is this just bold parle?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, short story by Washington Irving, first published in The Sketch Book in 1819–20.

The protagonist of the story, Ichabod Crane, is a Yankee schoolteacher who lives in Sleepy Hollow, a Dutch enclave on the Hudson River. A suggestible man, Crane believes the ghost stories and tales of witchcraft he has heard and read. He is particularly impressed by the tale of a spectral headless horseman said to haunt the area. Crane is also mercenary; he courts Katrina Van Tassel mostly because she is the daughter of a rich farmer and is expected to receive a large inheritance. Abraham Van Brunt (also called Brom Bones) is Crane's jealous rival, a local favourite and a rash horseman who often plays tricks on the schoolmaster. Late one night as Ichabod Crane rides home from a party at Katrina's home, he is suddenly frightened by a ghostlike headless horseman. The ghost pursues him and hurls at him a round object that he takes to be a head but is later revealed to have been a pumpkin. The schoolmaster is never seen in Sleepy Hollow again.

He probably realized that the bitch didn't have any money. He sobered up and realized she was ugly AND nasty.

Then this thing with her brother the "pumpkin head man"?  It's cold here too and you have to rake and bag all these leaves in the fall? So he moved to Florida.

His horses iron shoes rusted away from the humidity and he had to shoot it.

Then his house on Biscane got blown away in a hurricane with him in it.

"Some guys have all the luck? Some guys have all the pain?"

That's tough love.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

In a recent survey of local "millennials" a very low percentage knew that New York was originally New Holland and a Dutch colony.

the big dogs here were the Van Cortlandt's. After the "Revolution" was settled and we became the United States the Philips family fled to England and the local holdings of "Torres" were confiscated by the new US Government.

If you haven't already done so, it would be interesting to find out if you are related to the Van Cortlandt's or the Van Wycks? You'd be better off being related to the Van Wyks.

Yep it was the Dutch who conned the Indians out on Manhatten for $24 worth of beads. Albany was Fort Orange still a lot of Dutch place names around though. The Dutch were too small to send armies so they always cut business deals. There was really no big resistance to England taking over. Mine got there early and had acreage in what is now the Bowery (Dutch for farm). They moved up to Tarrytown then across the river into Schoharie County. Once there they became shoemakers instead of farmers. My gg grandfather became the constable and hotel keeper in Lancaster, NY then after the civil war he moved the family to MI.
My ancestors have always been 2nd or 3rd sons or daughters so out of the inheritance sphere. I know a guy who is related to the Van Cortland family. He's doing OK with over 500 apartment units paying his bills. His relatives also owned Fraunces Tavern in NYC during the early 1800s.
There was a lot of name changing when the Brits took over. Last names didn't always exist. I had an ancestor whose name was Jan. He was a ropemaker so he became Jan Landrayer. Another ropemaker named Jan came to town so they changed my ancestor to Jan Saltzberg since that is where he was from. When the Brits took over they started listing him as Jan Salisbury.
A lot went to Britain and Canada after the war. My Barton's went into Canada - they were RI Quakers and wanted to be neutral. They came back into NY around 1830.

[shelbydoug]

I forget the year at this moment but I want to say 1718 when the Brits marched into NYC and just said, "we're taking over". There was no Dutch resistance.

I guess it was at that point that things began to go downhill?


Considering how many Dutch changed or Anglicized their names, something was going on with that?

Martin Scorsese characterized NY at around the Civil War time focusing on the "Five Points" in his film, "Gangs of New York". The feeling was that it was taking 5,000 immigrants a day, mostly Irish due to the potato famine in Ireland.

No passports back then. You just got on a boat and got off wherever it wound up.


NYC has changed so many times since it's inception but stepping back and looking at the bigger picture seems to have either began it's slide downward or accelerated that under British rule?

It became notorious for being the home of British Privateers. i.e., pirates raiding the Caribbean area carrying letters of authorization from the British Governor of NY.

The South St Seaport area was known for cut throat murders daily.


We all now know of the 1619 Project story but do we know as a Dutch Colony at the time that the slave markets were in NYC? New Orleans was still French until Napoleon sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US in 1803.

It' no wonder to me, that the Dutch moved "out'a here" into the countryside at some point.


An interesting fact that I came across not looking for it, in the first US Census credited to 1795, New York City was the "capital of slaves". It had more slaves then anywhere else in the US. By 1800, that had changed.


I have a maternal aunt that decided some 50 years ago to investigate her family tree. She spent a month in the sub-basement of the NYC Public Library, where many of NYC's original records are kept.

I remember her "stopping by the house" to talk to my mother about it. Seems that it appeared that my mothers family was directly related to the "Amityville Horror" story.

They (so that means me too) had a direct blood relative from Plymouth, MA, that was driven out as being a "warlock" and he wound up settling in Amityville Long Island.

This is around the time that I had my black Shelby-like cowboy hat. Do you think that's related? 


Yep. It's no wonder Rip Van Winkle moved to the Catskills and slept for 20 years? I get it but those old limestone headstones in that picture do go way back to the original Dutch settlers. Cool and unnerving at the same time.

It does get just a little spooky around here this time of the year. I don't know if the Bass Ale helps or makes it worse? Maybe the spirits think the E85 is some kind of a beverage?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Considering how many Dutch changed or Anglicized their names, something was going on with that?
No passports back then. You just got on a boat and got off wherever it wound up.
It became notorious for being the home of British Privateers. i.e., pirates raiding the Caribbean area carrying letters of authorization from the British Governor of NY.
New Orleans was still French until Napoleon sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US in 1803.
They (so that means me too) had a direct blood relative from Plymouth, MA, that was driven out as being a "warlock" and he wound up settling in Amityville Long Island.

Most people in that period could not read/write. Whoever was making the records wrote down what it sounded like and Dutch to English creates some weird names.
By the 1840s a lot went to Canada because the fare was 1/2 the price of going to NY then they came across the border. A lot of Scots were just "shipped" to Canada when the owners cleared their land because raising sheep was more profitable than farming.
New England was full of smugglers too but the first tax protest was the Culpepper Rebellion in Carolina 1677.
The purchase area had swapped hands between the French & Spanish a couple times. Spain set up St Augustine FL almost 60 years before Jamestown. The second oldest US city is Santa Fe, NM that Spain created along their trail to San Diego in 1607. The Spanish banned owning Indian slaves because the Indians kept attacking to take their people back. Early on Spain had claimed the area but it was the French traders who had set up cities and trading posts with the Indians and trappers.
My pilgrim was Plymouth's money guy. They threw him out because they didn't like the deals he was making. He went to Salem a started the fishing business. They threw him out and he went to NY and back into business with his Dutch friends he had from the time the Pilgrims lived in Holland.
My wife's ggetc grandmother got hung in Salem for witchcraft. On the flip side my ggetc gram got hung on Boston Common for being a Quaker - so much for religious freedom.
I can't figure out why Plymouth gets all the ink. They didn't even hold the first Thanksgiving that was in Virginia a year before the Pilgrims landed.

[FL SAAC]

Guys thanks for sharing all this history,  fascinating to hear about this.

[shelbydoug]

I concentrate on the NY area. I thought that perhaps knowing the history of the area would help in trying to determine what era this spirit is from?

I've been making the wrong offers to it so far. Apparently it does not care for electricity or electrical devices.

In retrospect the black cowboy hat seemed to help. Maybe the blood relationship to a warlock is a significant factor?


John Barnes had similar issues up in the Lake George area. He had a septic tank business and he couldn't stick a shovel in the ground without hitting a gravesite from the "French and Indian Wars". "Drums along the Mohawk" type stuff.

He hates the history of the area as a result.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

John Barnes had similar issues up in the Lake George area. He had a septic tank business and he couldn't stick a shovel in the ground without hitting a gravesite from the "French and Indian Wars". "Drums along the Mohawk" type stuff.

It's amazing how many people were just buried in the back forty during the time period. Cemeteries were for city folk. My ggg grandparents found Indian burials on the land they got in MI. They used it for family and friends and eventually gave it to the township. https://www.homertownship.org/township-cemetery/

[shelbydoug]

John Barnes had similar issues up in the Lake George area. He had a septic tank business and he couldn't stick a shovel in the ground without hitting a gravesite from the "French and Indian Wars". "Drums along the Mohawk" type stuff.

It's amazing how many people were just buried in the back forty during the time period. Cemeteries were for city folk. My ggg grandparents found Indian burials on the land they got in MI. They used it for family and friends and eventually gave it to the township. https://www.homertownship.org/township-cemetery/

...or just out in the woods.

The "old 'Indian' hunting trails" span from NYC north to "into Canada". Roughly the path that the NYS Electric power grid uses and in many cases the old aqueducts.

It isn't unusual to find graves, "where they fell" but with "Native Americans" they generally aren't in the ground, they are up on "cots" above ground which have long ago returned to the wild. You never know though when you will come across some bones?

I'm less then a mile from the main trail. I'm sure they hunted right here and the "spirits" try to intimidate me on occasion.

The vultures still circle above on occasion and the red tail hawks look in the skylight.


A former business partner of mine who was a retired Cop, said "if we dig up bones, as long as there is no unsolved missing persons case on file, we can keep digging."

We had "Manny" but he would get spooked and would run away and we wouldn't see him for a week or so?