I would like to add a little more information to my original query. The John Kronkite family in Cornwall, Orange County, from about 1800 or before, up until about 1870, is a branch of the Kronkite family that William Thompson Howell referred to several times in his writings. In his 1905 New York Times article, describing his wanderings in the Hudson Highlands, Howell says:   “In this clove, now so wild, generations of inhabitants have lived over a period much longer than a century. Fifty years ago there were five houses and a flourishing brickyard. Building stones were being quarried from the granite on Storm King and may be seen to-day in New York City. A quartz vein was being worked and its product shipped to glass works at Kingston, N. Y., and two fairly productive iron mines were in operation for a time. Heavy lumbering was carried on, and one of the sights of passengers on the afternoon boats was the operation of a great log slide hundreds of feet down the side of Cro’ Nest into the Hudson.   “……..Back from the river, on a beautiful knoll, flanked by two mountain brooks, sleep many of the early toilers in this secluded valley……………   “Nearly all the stones bear the quaint inscriptions familiar to frequenters of old-time graveyards, and throw interesting light on the life of the residents of the beyond. Among these, the leading spirits were the Cronks, who conducted the old brickyard.”   We know definitely of three family members buried in the old cemetery on a knoll overlooking the Hudson. According to her grave marker, Harriet Rogers, first wife of John Cronk, died January 26, 1829, aged 43 years, 7 months and 8 days. She died the day her daughter, Harriet, was born. Her stone reads:   “Twenty-four years of her last days were spent     In serving Christ the Lord; She lov'd the place where Christians went   To hear God's holy word. Look on, spectators, now and see     Your sister laid in dust; As she is now, so you must be;    God's Word declares you must. She sleeps beneath the silent clod,   Her soul in heaven, we trust, Till Gabriel sounds the trump of God   To wake the slumbering dust.”   Then, in 1834, little Lydia Jane, daughter of John S. Cronk and his second wife, Lydia Ireland, died on July 10, aged 3 years and 3 months.   “Dear Lydia Jane, thy lovely charms    Thy parents's souls possess; Thou art calle'd away to Jesus' arms    Forever there to rest, Dear Lydia Jane, thy sparkling eyes    Just open'd to see earth's toys, When Jesus calls thee to the skies    To reap eternal joys.  How short on earth thy stay has been    Thy weeping parents say. So all the pleasures we have seen    Are subject to decay.”   And Catherine, daughter of John S. and Harriet, died December 21, 1839, aged 19 years, 4 months and 23 days.   “This marble stone placed at my head, Shows where I sleep among the dead. Not twenty years below the sun Before my glass of life had run. May God be praised that in my youth I sought, I found, and loved the truth, That when my body sunk in death I praised the Lord with latest breath. Now you who o'er my ashes tread, Sigh and say poor Catherine's dead. Know that she lives and reigns above, And shout for Joy redeeming love.”   Howell says, “A friend of the writer, visiting this cemetery one occasion, struck with the wild beauty of the spot, spoke on the poetic fitness of burial in so peaceful and secluded a sleeping place.” Although we have been able to discover quite a lot about the family, we have been unable to trace their exact ancestral line. Any information, clues, hints, suggestions, or even wild guesses will be sincerely appreciated! Thanks so much. Carol and Gary

What lovely and very moving is this work of Howell's I thank you for sharing. My mother in law, daughter of Emma Conkwright, a lovely little woman, would have so enjoyed this bit of nostalgia. SKIP2MLOU > Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 05:21:22 -0700 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [DUTCH-COLONIES] Kronkhyte-Cronk families of Orange Co., NY query > > I would like to add a little more information to my > original query. The John Kronkite family in Cornwall, Orange County, from about 1800 or before, up until about 1870, is a branch of the Kronkite family that William > Thompson Howell referred to several times in his writings. > > > > > > In his 1905 New York > Times article, describing his wanderings in the > Hudson Highlands, Howell says: > > > > “In this clove, now so wild, generations of > inhabitants have lived over a period much longer than a century. > Fifty years ago there were five houses and a flourishing brickyard. > Building > stones were being quarried from the granite on Storm King and may be > seen > to-day in New York City. > A quartz vein was being worked and its product shipped to glass works at > Kingston, > N. Y., and two > fairly productive iron mines were in operation for a time. Heavy > lumbering was > carried on, and one of the sights of passengers on the afternoon boats > was the > operation of a great log slide hundreds of feet down the side of Cro’ > Nest into > the Hudson. > > > “……..Back from the > river, on a > beautiful knoll, flanked by two mountain brooks, sleep many of the early > toilers in this secluded valley…………… > > > > “Nearly all the stones > bear the > quaint inscriptions familiar to frequenters of old-time graveyards, and > throw > interesting light on the life of the residents of the beyond. Among > these, the > leading spirits were the Cronks, who conducted the old brickyard.” > > > > We know definitely of three family members buried > in the old > cemetery on a knoll overlooking the Hudson. > According to her grave marker, Harriet Rogers, first wife of John Cronk, > died January 26, > 1829, aged 43 > years, 7 months and 8 days. She died the day her daughter, Harriet, was > born. > Her stone reads: > > > > “Twenty-four years of > her last days > were spent > > In serving > Christ the Lord; > > She lov'd the place > where Christians > went > > To hear God's holy > word. > > Look on, spectators, > now and > see > > Your sister laid in > dust; > > As she is now, so you > must be; > > God's Word declares > you must. > > She sleeps beneath the > silent clod, > > Her soul in heaven, > we > trust, > > Till Gabriel sounds the > trump of > God > > To wake the > slumbering dust.” > > > > Then, in 1834, little Lydia Jane, daughter of John > S. Cronk > and his second wife, Lydia Ireland, died on July 10, aged 3 years and 3 > months. > > > > “Dear Lydia Jane, thy > lovely charms > > Thy parents's souls > possess; > > Thou art calle'd away > to Jesus' > arms > > Forever there to > rest, > > Dear Lydia Jane, thy > sparkling eyes > > Just open'd to see > earth's toys, > > When Jesus calls thee > to the skies > > To reap eternal > joys. > > How short on earth thy > stay > has been > > Thy weeping parents > say. > > So all the pleasures we > have seen > > Are subject to > decay.” > > > > And Catherine, daughter of John S. and Harriet, > died December 21, > 1839, aged 19 > years, 4 months and 23 days. > > > > “This marble stone > placed at my > head, > > Shows where I sleep > among the dead. > > Not twenty years below > the sun > > Before my glass of life > had run. > > May God be praised that > in my youth > > I sought, I found, and > loved the > truth, > > That when my body sunk > in death > > I praised the Lord with > latest > breath. > > Now you who o'er my > ashes tread, > > Sigh and say poor > Catherine's dead. > > Know that she lives and > reigns > above, > > And shout for Joy > redeeming love.” > > > > Howell says, “A friend of the writer, > visiting this > cemetery one occasion, struck with the wild beauty of the spot, spoke on > the > poetic fitness of burial in so peaceful and secluded a sleeping place.” > > Although we have been able to discover quite a lot about the family, we have been unable to trace their exact ancestral line. Any information, clues, hints, suggestions, or even wild guesses will be sincerely appreciated! Thanks so much. > > Carol and Gary > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message