Stewart State Forest

According to Explore-Hudson-Valley.com, the 6700 acres of Stewart State Forest was set aside as a buffer zone for an expanded Stewart International Airport just west of downtown Newburgh, NY. The idea was to insulate the noise coming from what was then expected to become NYC's fourth major airport.

Aside from the interesting history of the airport, the Stewart State Forest is now a vast preserve for naturalists and outdoor recreation that is somewhat unique in the northeast. Besides the abundance of flora and fauna, there are also the old farmlands and wide gravel roads of yesteryear. These lands were once occupied by our ancestors, including Gillespys.

• Matthew Gillespy, 1740-1797, had married Jane Neely in 1766, and they had made an agreement with Jane's father, James Neely Sr., to help care for the elderly parents and the Neely farm in New Windsor. The farm of James Neely was located on the north side of Little Britain Rd. (today Route 207) probably between Ridge Rd. and Giles Rd. Matthew lived there probably as early as 1781 (he was an Assessor in New Windsor), and he continued to live there after his wife's death in 1788. The 1790 census shows that Matthew was living near to Henry McNeely, thought to have been a brother of James Neely Sr. Matthew remarried around 1791 and moved to NYC where he became a grocer. Matthew died in 1797 and a subsequent legal dispute involving the Neely farm was eventually decided by the NY Supreme Court in 1814. 
• James Gillespy, (dates uncertain, but I'm speculating ~1739-1810), sold his lands near Gillespie Street south of Pine Bush in 1788 and together with his wife, Mary, subsequently bought 50 acres in Little Britain. The land of James was part of the Andrew Johnson patent, and from the property description, it was also north of Little Britain Road, probably between Ridge Rd. and Maple Ave. -- maybe along a dirt road today called Scofield Lane Trail Orange. I calculate that James and Matthew lived just over 2 miles apart. We can see from the 1790 census that James' neighbors included the names of many officers in New York's Revolutionary military command: Belknap, Moffat, Dubois, Burnet, Scott, Humphrey, Alexander Denniston, General James Clinton, and the widow of Col. James McClaughry. There is, in fact, a historical marker at the corner of the Route 207 and Beattie Rd. to mark the one-time residence of James Clinton. But even though surrounded by NY's military elite, James Gillespy had to mortgage his Little Britain property in 1791, which was later paid in 1794 by John McMickle. We must assume that James Gillespy had moved on by that time.

Still in all, I think we're looking at the heart of some important connections. According to New York Colonial Muster Rolls 1664-1775, Volume 2, pp 736-737, in 1763, Capt. James Clinton's company was enlisted to guard the western frontiers of Ulster and Orange counties; Lieutenants included William Stewart, Alexander Denniston, Matthew Smedes, and James McNeal (likely Neely). Among those enlisted were James Gillespy, age 24 (b abt 1739), born in Ireland, came from Capt. Neely's militia. In the same company was Samuel Gillespy, age 19 (b 1744), born in Ulster, came from Capt. Graham's militia.

What is all this telling us about our Gillespys? We know that Samuel Gillespy and Matthew Gillespy were brothers (by Samuel's will), and I'm building the case that this James Gillespy was also a brother. I would love to wander the woods and meadows of Stewart State Forest to see if the winds of history have some long forgotten tales to tell about this Gillespy family.