Hogeboom, Stephen, 1744-1814, Account Book of Tax and Labor Records in Claverack, Columbia County, New York, 1786-1827

Item — Box: P-000148

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Consists of an account book of tax and labor records kept by Stephen Hogeboom (1744-1814) from 1786 through his death in 1814 and continued by his descendants until 1827. The account book contains Columbia County, New York, tax records for the years 1786 to 1790, and detailed personal accounts for Hogeboom and the people he hired or conducted business with in the area surrounding Claverack, New York, from 1811 to 1818. These personal accounts include documentation of African American men and white women of the Claverack area who performed farm labor, cleaning, weaving, and other work for Hogeboom. While many entries document payment to laborers, some entires likely pertain to trafficked labor of people enslaved by Hogeboom's white neighbors. These entries generally document workers' names, tasks, and rates of pay. Some names of African American laborers whose work is documented in detail include Henry Constine, Thomas Carr, Joseph Hallinbeck, George Witbeck, Henry Borgardus, and Peter Vroman.

The account book also includes an 1810-1813 account for future president Martin Van Buren, which deals with hay. Tax records indicate monies apportioned and received for various districts such as Kinderhook, Kings, Hillsdale, Livingston, Claverack, German Camp, and Hudson.

Dates

Creation: 1786-1827

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use.

Biographical / Historical

Colonel Stephen Hogeboom (1744-1814) was a Dutch American colonist born in Columbia County, New York, to Colonel Jeremiah Hogeboom (1711-1784) and Janetje Van Alen (1720-). Hogeboom moved to Claverack in his youth and acquired large tracts of land from Claverack Creek to the Hudson River, which he leased, sold, and used for agriculture, and on which both enslaved and paid laborers worked. He served as a lieutenant-colonel of the Albany County Regiment during the American Revolutionary War and was later active in local politics, serving as a member of the 14th, 16th, and 19th sessions of assembly; the Constitutional Convention in 1801; and in the New York State senate for four years. He was also a judge, Claverack's town supervisor in the late 1780s, and ex officio on the county's Board of Supervisors.