General Jacobus Swartout was born on 5. Nov. 1734 at Wiccopee, Dutchess County, New York. He was the son of
Jacobus Swartout and
Gieletjen Nieukirk. General Jacobus Swartout and
Aeltje Brinckerhoff obtained a marriage license on 20. Feb. 1760 at New York. General Jacobus Swartout married
Aeltje Brinckerhoff, daughter of
Issac Brinckerhoff and
Sarah Rapalje, on 20. Feb. 1765. General Jacobus Swartout died on 23. Jan. 1827 at Swartwoutville, Dutchess County, New York, at age 92. What's in a name: Swartwout
By IRENE PLAGIANOS
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: May 8, 2005)
More than 200 years ago, Jacobus Swartwout, a brigadier general from the Dutchess County Regiment during the American Revolution, purchased more than 100 acres in Congers.
The land, which the patriots had confiscated from Theodorus Snedecker for selling produce to the British army, became home to generations of Swartwouts and encompassed an area from Rockland Lake to the man-made Swartwout Lake, created in 1880.
Dirk Swartwout, the son of Jacobus, was the first of the family to live on the land, said Robert Protzmann, a member of the Genealogical Society of Rockland County.
Born in 1762 in Fishkill, Dirk Swartwout was given the Congers property, where he was residing, in his father's will. A corporal in the Orange County Militia and an officer in the War of 1812, Dirk was a farmer and a father of eight. He was married to Geesje Polhemus and later to Elizabeth Polhemus, all of whom are buried in the DeBaun-Swartwout Cemetery that still exists at Rockland Lake.
"Dirk was a slave owner," Protzmann said. "But he liberated all his slaves before he died at the age of 90 in 1852."
Two of Dirk's sons, James D. and George, were among the initial founders of Barmore Felter and Co., a predecessor to the Knickerbocker Ice Co., which cut ice from Rockland Lake and was one of the principal suppliers of ice in New York.
According to Robert Knight, the Clarkstown historian, Swartwout Lake was also used for commercial ice cutting and there was at least one large icehouse on the lake between the 1880s and 1920s.
George Swartwout, the son of James D., was born in 1837 in Clakstown and married Marietta Green. He later inherited the family land, but moved to New York City. Though Protzmann was unsure took over the property after George, he said the last male named Swartwout in Rockland was Valentine B. Swartwout, who died in 1991.
Following the military tradition of his ancestors, Valentine Swartwout was a decorated World War II Army veteran and later, Rockland County deputy sheriff. Swartwout, a tugboat captain, was bestowed the Meritorious Service Award for saving the chief engineer of his boat during a massive accident that left him and a number of his crew members stranded in the Atlantic Ocean for hours with only life vests and flashlights, before being rescued.
Chief Harry Stewart of the Rockland County Sheriff's Department remembers Swartwout as an "industrious, unique man that excelled in all that he did."
The Rockland County Police Academy gives an award to the candidate that demonstrates excellence in first-aid techniques and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in Swartwout's name.
A New York City policeman from 1930 to 1950, Valentine Swartwout brought his specialized emergency medical care training to the Rockland County Sheriff's Department, where he began as a part-time deputy in 1951. He also worked at Lederle Laboratories, now Wyeth, as an electrician for 20 years. In 1971, he became the full-time deputy sheriff, a position he held until his death at 84.
The son of Charles and Laura Furman Swartwout, Valentine was a lifelong resident of Congers. Swartwout's wife, Mary Hylas Swartwout, died a number of years ago, and according to his obituary he had two sons, Richard and Charles, both of whom lived outside of New York.
The Swartwout family traces its lineage to Tomys Swartwout, a Dutch settler who first arrived in New Amsterdam, now New York City, in 1652. Translated from the Dutch, Swartwout means "Blackwood," and some members of the family circulate a newsletter called the "Blackwooders" to keep in touch with one another.
Protzmann, a resident of New City, has found that he is related to Eva Alberste Bradt, the wife of Roeloff Swartwout, Tomys' son and the great-grandfather of Jacobus Swartwout, the first owner of the Swartwout land in Rockland.
A retired research chemist, Protzmann said he has been investigating his genealogy for more than 20 years.
"I never liked studying history in school," Protzmann said. "But it's really exciting when it becomes personal."