Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-04-08
The Quaker's Daughter.

\ TRUE STORY OF THE REVOLUTION.
There is no fairer or richer portion of
Orange county, N. Y, than that lying in
the picturesque vale known as Smiths
Glove. 1t is properly the head of the
Ramapo valley. When the locality was
still wilderness, and the western es-
carpment of the Hudson Highlands was
an unknown and undiscovered region, a
family made their way from Brookhaven,
Long Island, through the trackless area
that lay between the Hudson and the
Ramapo, and became the first settlers in
that part of Orange county. Their name
was Smith, and they gave the name to the
Glove, which it still bears. The date of
this family's coming into the county is
unknown, but when the Revolutionary
war began the head Of the family was an
old man, with number of grown-up
sons. The elder Smith was man of
unsavory reputation, and his oldest son,
Claudius, inherited his fathers ignoble
traits. The Smiths were rank Tories.
Claudius Smith became the leader of a
gang of desperate and bloodthirsty out
laws, and his name was terror to the
patriotic families who were scattered
about the then frontier in Orange and
Sussex counties. Claudius Smiths cow
boys and their deeds of blood were shud-
deringly recounted by the survivors of
those troublous times and their descend
ants for many years after the war was
over, and still afford subjects for many a
dramatic tale. Claudius Smith became
known as the Scourge of the Highlands
He was finally captured by band Of
patriotic scouts, and was hanged in
Goshen in the public square on the 22d of
January, 1779. He was buried at the
foot of the scaffold, and his remains have
never been disturbed.
In the ancient and lonely burying
ground at Neversink Flats, one of the
isolated mountain villages of Sullivan
county, are two graves, long ago over
grown and now almost forgotten. One
contains the remains of Henry Reynolds,
who died in 1880, aged 80 years. The
other is the grave of his daughter, Phebe
Drake, who died in 1853, aged SO. 1t is
q singular fact that the story of Henry
Reynolds and his heroic daughter, the
most intensely thrilling and dramatic, as
it is, of all the recitals that have come
down from the times made perilous BY
Claudius Smith and his murderous band
Of marauders, finds no place of record in
the annals Of Orange county, except a
brief Legendary chronicle, in which a
"Mr. Runnellsn is mention as having
been made victim Of COWBOYS. The
one great story of the lives of Henry
Reynolds and his daughter is related as
follows by an old resident Of Neversink
Flats, whois spending his declining days
with daughter in Goshen. He heard
1t many time from the lips of the par
ties themselves sixty years and more ago,
Henry Reynolds was Quaker. He
was native Of Westchester county. In
1853 he married descendant of Henry
Fowler, an original owner Of the town.
ship of East Chester. Reynolds was ther
in the mercantile business in PeekskilI.
In 1777 he was one Of the sufferers By
the burning of that place by the British
N his property being consumed. He es-
capped with his wife and five children.
and settled in Smiths Glove, Orange
county, not farfrom the present village o.
Monroe. Although Quaker, he was
an ardent defender of the cause of tht
colonies, and even so far trespassed OF
the requirements Of his religion as to joir
the minute men," AS one Of these BRAY,
citizen soldiers he participated in tht
storming of Stony Point, under Genera
Wayne, in 1879. His outspoken senti
ments and active demonstrations in be
half Of the American cause gained fo
him the bitter enmity of his Tory neigh
bors, and several attempts were made o.
his life during the war by Claudiu
Smith and his gang.
After the execution of Smith at Gosher
his followers swore to avenge his deatl
/, by taking the lives Of a large number 0
leading Wings, one Of whom was Henr,
Reynolds. It was not until 1882, how
ever, that what was intended to be th
decisive blow against him was struck
Late one night in July Of that year Rey
nolds was awakened by a loud rapping a
his door. He arose from bed and aske,
who was there
"a detachment of American troop
looking for deserters, was the reply.
Washington's army was encamped i
the Highlands, few miles from Rey
nolds' house, and it was well known tina
number Of deserters were concealed i
the vicinity Reynolds hastily dresse
himself, and opened the door to the SUI
posed American soldiers. They entered
and whilo Reynolds was STOPPING dow
by ths frsplaae - Light ! ehnals, one (