Tredwell Remsen, The Founder, part 2By Rose Stauber Tredwell Remsen, born in Queens County, N.Y., a farm boy, served four years in the Union Army in the Civil War, was captured, escaped, now suffered greatly from his experience, went west to the Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, in 1871, according to the record. He would be 28 that year.
Nothing in the record or anything else I have found even addresses why he came west. But he did and began living in the area around present Grove. The post office Remsen usually used was Carey's Ferry. The ferry was established in the 1830s by Thomas Carey and was run by the family into the 20th Century. It was a major landmark providing a crossing of the Grand or Neosho River.
When Grand Lake was created in the late 1930s, it covered the ferry site and the Carey Cemetery which was the largest cemetery in Delaware County affected by the lake. All identifiable graves were relocated with permission of the next of kin. Carey Bay is the name of the area now. The first USGS map of the area is available at the Grove Public Library.
Cherokee allotment maps, also available at the library, show the location of the ferry and cemetery and the Carey allotments. From what is now downtown Grove, Carey's Ferry is about three plus miles. Probably not an easy roundtrip for a veteran with problems, but Remsen continued his steady correspondence with the Pension Office. He was always trying to get the pension increased and to get the accusation of having joined the Confederacy taken out of the file.
The correspondence shows that Remsen had a good basic education. His writing is readable and literate, spelling good, and we'll not quibble about some punctuation and capitalization. Remsen married Julia Esther Monroe Feb. 6, 1875. She was the daughter of Simpson F. Monroe and Rebecca Hopkins. The Monroe family was the original owners of the land around Grove Springs according to the Cherokee system. They had gone south for safety at the beginning of the Civil War. Reports say that they returned in 1874, and the Cherokee courts returned their land to them. I'm still looking for that court record. Indications are that the young couple was living near the Grove spring.
In 1880, the Cherokee Nation took an extensive agricultural census. The couple are on it as "Rinson" They have one dwelling, two other structures, one farm, 25 acres enclosed, 33 acres in cultivation, had 200 bushels of corn, and 8 bushels of sweet potatoes, and 1 and a half tons of hay in 1879. Livestock consisted of 11 cattle, 18 hogs, and a horse. Remsen obviously had an interest in schools. An article published in 1937 said that he had taught in three or four schools.
The "Cherokee Advocate" published the schedule for the 1882 Teacher's Institute of the Cherokee Nation. On the schedule was "Discussion – Question—Should we have a text book on morals for our schools." T.S. Remsen was one of two moderators. Mrs. Dova L. Suagee gave an interview for the Indian-Pioneer History in which she said, "My husband hired him (Captain Remsen) as a private teacher and under his supervision, finished his education and later taught a country school . . ."
Not everything went well all the time. The records have yielded a couple of examples. On April 1, 1875, Remsen wrote Col. Bell," Dear Sir, My trial came of yesterday and as I failed to prove that the farming utensils were attached by the Cherokee Nation they are about to send me to Oswego, were I will have to lay in jail, for 3 months before trial, and then probably be convicted, and sent to the State Penitentiary for 3 – 5 years.. Now Col. – I have committed no offense and have stole nothing, yet here I am, on account of Larkins who has sworn Eternal Venjence against myself and you & Barker." The letter went on.
Apparently the trouble was resolved. Ten years later, Remsen appears before the Delaware District Clerk to swear that when he went bond for Julia E. Remsen vs Tabler he was worth the amount, but in the year since he has had to dispose of some of the property to live on, and that at present he is not worth what the bond calls for. The document is signed by Delaware District's long-time clerk, T.J McGhee. My guess is that the dispute involved the Monroe land.
Remsen's major contribution to Grove was to get the post office established, which opened Dec. 27, 1888. He opened a small store, the first in what became Grove, and had the post office in a corner. The application gave the population to be served as "about 200". No more trips to Carey's Ferry which lost its post office that year.
Why do you think Remsen applied for a post office? Remsen became a notary public which undoubtedly must have added to his income without physical effort. Research in the records of that time and place turn up many documents with T.S. Remsen's signature. My Great Grandfather Rose drowned after driving his buggy into a swollen Elk River at Cayuga in1903. An uncashed Mexican War pension check was found in his pocket, turned in to T.S. Remsen who certainly knew the address of the Pension Office to send the check to. It became part of the estate probated at Neosho, Mo. The 1890 Cherokee census showed the improvement in Remsen's property. The census credited him with two dwellings, 100 acres enclosed, 75 acres in cultivation, all with a value of $1,000. He had harvested 600 bushels of corn, six tons of hay, 100 pounds of Irish potatoes and half as much of sweet potatoes, and grown some sorghum cane. Livestock included 15 hogs, 23 cattle, and two horses. The next column will cover the last decades of Cap Remsen's life, his family, and the role he played in the growth of Grove.
Copyright © 2007 Rose Stauber.Labels: Grove History
