Introduction: (Out of the Wilderness)
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Vol. 5: Out of the Wilderness

A History of the Hamlet of Bethel in the Town of Pine Plains, New York


By: Newton Duel, Elizabeth Klare, James Mara, Helen Netter, Dyan Wapnick
1996

§1 Introduction


This is a book about the hamlet of Bethel in the Town of Pine Plains, New York. However, as will be seen, the history of this small, sleepy hamlet holds much significance to the history of the entire region. Many forces were at work here in the early developing years of New York, as wave upon wave of European settlers of diverse nationalities, economic stations, and religious beliefs, each with their own agenda, descended upon the Hudson Valley and determined to make a new life in this wilderness. This was the first section to be settled of what would become Pine Plains, and it was here that its first church was built and the first public burying ground was located. Bethel also has the larger distinction of being the site of the first Moravian mission to the Native Americans of North America, and missionary Christian Henry Rauch is credited as being the first schoolteacher within the present town boundaries.

The story you are about to read is one of courage and survival, yet also of greed, and for some of spiritual rebirth. It is a heartbreaking story of persecution, and of the destruction of one way of life and an entire people and the emergence of another. As with most stories, there are acts of heroism as well as of treachery and deceit. However, it is easy to impose our twentieth century standards of morality on the actions of our forebears from the comfort of our armchairs, and to praise or condemn them for their actions; it is more difficult to try to comprehend what it was like to live in those harsh times and under the most adverse of circumstances, and how it could lead ordinary men and women to think and act as they did.

Therefore, this booklet is not offered as a eulogy for those who suffered here or as an apology for past transgressions, although these sentiments may be felt. Rather, it is hoped that the reader will come away with a better understanding of life in eighteenth century New York and of the conflicts here that shaped many communities such as Pine Plains and which ultimately shaped an entire nation. It is said that the study of history is important because only by an understanding of where we have been can we understand where we are now, and where we are going. We cannot change the past, but we can learn from it. All said and done, the study of history can be very entertaining, too.

For those of us who have worked on this book over the last three years, it has truly been a labor of love, and is presented now for your reading pleasure.

Dyan Wapnick
August 1996
NOTE: Common alternative name spellings and nicknames have been presented in parentheses the first time they are referenced.


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