This lease began May 1, 1740 and originally belonged to William Cooper with William, John, and Sarah Price named on the lease. It was described as the 6th farm in lot 4, located northeast of the village of Pawling. William Price assigned this lot to Henry Cary [of Beekman's Fields in Dutchess County] for 120 Pounds on March 30, 1751, which was witnessed by John Price and Thomas Cooper. On February 25^th 1759, Henry Cary assigned it to Christopher "Start" for 200 Pounds before witnesses named John Franklin and Zephaniah Eddy, who were neighbors. ⁴

The relationship between the Coopers and Prices is not known. However, there was a Price Cooper, probably the son of William Cooper and Unknown Price, involved in the spy case against Solomon Baker, who was convicted in 1781 of having sided with the British. Testimony was taken involving several men lurking in the neighborhood and hiding out in a cave. They were John Warden, Price Cooper, John Start, William Dunbar, and Samuel Tid. Could this be our John Stark? It seems unlikely since he did serve against the British and received Bounty Land for his service. However, Price Cooper also enlisted later at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Solomon Baker was the son of John Baker, born 1722, probably the son of Thomas Baker of Swansea, Massachusetts who came to Dutchess County in 1729. John Baker paid taxes in Beekman from the years 1745 to 1748. If John was the son of Thomas, John's brother was Josiah who married Charity Eddy, who, as Charity Baker, witnessed the sale of land by Robert Millard to Christopher Stark, Sr. in 1758. Zephaniah Eddy witnessed the assignment of the lease in lot 4 to Christopher Stark, Jr. by Henry Cary in 1759.

However, because Christopher's father, Christopher Stark, Sr., also moved to Dutchess County at about the same time, there is a question that must be answered as to which of these men bought the lease. By 1758, we know Christopher, Sr. had divested himself of all of his property in Connecticut when he sold the land east of Fort Hill to Nathan Niles on January 27^th, 1758. He probably sold all of his Connecticut property as preparations were being made to move to Pennsylvania for Christopher, Sr. had bought one whole share in the Susquehanna Purchase on May 7, 1754.⁵ The purchase of a full share would provide 500 acres of property in the Wyoming Valley, an area located near present day Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on the Susquehanna River. However, the French & Indian War started in 1757 and lasted until 1763, probably delaying plans to move to the Valley until the region was safe for settlement. There was a massacre in the valley by Indians in 1757 which drove many settlers back to Dutchess County and most likely in 1756-58, the family made a decision to move to Dutchess County, New York until the hostilities ended. On July 12, 1758, Robert Millard of Beekman sold 150 acres to Christopher Starks, recorded as “formerly of Groton, County of New London, Colony of Connecticut in New England, yeoman, now of Dutchess County….beginning on the line of lots 3 and 4, SW corner of Ralph Woolman, deceased.”

The property was bordered on the north by the mountain called Purgatory. Witnesses were Charity Baker and Henry Cary. Henry Cary would have been the same Henry Cary who sold the Beekman Lease to the above Christopher Stark in 1759. Henry was also the father of Elizabeth Cary who would marry James Stark, Christopher, Sr.'s son. This property was later sold to Nathaniel Howland on Oct. 12, 1762 and offers proof it was owned by Christopher Stark, Sr. for the deed is signed by Christopher Stark and his spouse, Johanna Stark. Therefore, it would seem reasonable to believe the Beekman lease was made by Christopher, Sr.'s son of the same name, Christopher Stark, Jr., and this is re-enforced by the names "Azell" and William being added to the lease, probable sons of Christopher Stark, Jr.

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Tax list from the region are also revealing. There is a Christopher "Hart" shown paying 3 shillings, and 6 pence in February of 1759. In June of 1759 we find a Christopher Start paid the same amount of tax along with another Start, given name not legible, who paid 10 shillings, 6 pence. Also listed on this June, 1759 list is Aaron Start who paid 3 shillings, 6 pence. The tax record for the Start whose given name we cannot determine is described as "on the farm of Robt. Miller." This would seem to be the Robert Millard from whom Christopher Stark, Sr. bought property in July of 1758 making it likely this Start is probably Christopher Stark, Sr. Therefore, by June of 1759, we would seem to have fairly positive proof there were two men named Christopher Start/Stark living in Dutchess County on two different pieces of property. ¹

Based on the tax amounts paid, the tax records further reveal that Christopher Stark, Sr. paid four shillings in February of 1760. Also paying in February was "Aron" Stark, most likely the son of Christopher, Sr. In June of the same year, Christopher Start again paid the tax.² In 1765, the tax list show Christopher Start, Jr., the Junior clearly describing this individual, paid 5 shillings, and 10 pence. In 1766, a Christopher Stark paid a tax of 1 shilling, the amount indicating this was probably Christopher Stark, Sr. In 1768, we find that there is a Christopher Start who paid 14 shillings, and 7 pence and his son, William Start, also paid a tax that year. Again, the amount seems to reveal this was Christopher Stark, Sr. In June of 1769, we again see the name Christopher Start, Jr. who paid 2 shillings, and 10 pence and his brother, Aaron, who paid the same amount of tax and then another Christopher Start who paid 11 shillings, and 5 pence.

Therefore, from the above analysis of the tax list, one can say with a fairly high degree of confidence that Christopher Stark, Sr. and Christopher Stark, Jr. were living in Dutchess County, New York at separate residences in the years 1759, 1765, and 1769. Why they did not appear on the tax roles each year from 1759 to 1771remains something of a mystery which will need more research. Further more, from the tax roles, we can say Christopher Stark, Jr. paid taxes in February of 1759, June of 1759, 1765, and June of 1769. Although a Christopher Start paid taxes in Pawling in 1771, this would seem be Christopher Stark, Sr.

On January 25, 1768, Christopher Stark, Sr. conveyed his full share of the Susquehanna Purchase to his sons Aaron, James, and William. This deed was made in Beekman Precinct, Dutchess County, New York and was witnessed by Joanna Stark and Christopher Stark, Jr. Clearly, on this date, Christopher Stark, Sr. and Christopher Stark, Jr. are in Beekman.³

On November 5, 1768, the British government signed the Fort Stanwich Treaty, which established a diagonal line across Pennsylvania and opened up territory east of the line for settlement which included the Wyoming Valley. On the same day, the representatives of the "Six Indian Nations" deeded all of the land in the province to Thomas and Richard Penn. Pennsylvania interpreted this to mean all of the land including the Wyoming Valley. The Susquehanna Company, formed in Connecticut, claimed ownership and was determined to occupy the region by sent forty men to the area. They arrived February 6, 1769 and were promptly arrested for trespass by Sheriff Jenning of Northampton County, Pennsylvania and Captain Amos Ogden who had established a trading post at Mill Creek. They were placed in the Easton jail, but some escaped while the rest were released on bail.

In June of 1769, Thomas Walsworth, brother-in law of Christopher Stark, Sr., was among two hundred and sixty men to arrive with Major John Durkee. They erected Fort Durkee on the eastern bank of the Susquehanna and named their town Wilkes-Barre. A Pennsylvania force led by Colonel Turbutt Francis invaded the Wyoming Valley in July with considerable fanfare demanding the surrender of Fort Durkee. The Yankees⁴ declined the Colonel's courteous offer and the good Colonel returned to Pennsylvania without pressing the issue. By September 12, 1769, Christopher Stark, Jr. and his brothers, Aaron, James, and William, had arrived at the Fort. In November, Sheriff Jennings and Captain Ogden, with a large force of Pennsylvanians, captured Major Durkee and drove the Yankees from the valley and destroyed the settlement.⁵

Members of the Stark family regrouped in Dutchess County to plan their next move. Captain Zebulon Butler assumed command of the Yankees in January of 1770 and recruited Lazarus Steward and the Paxtang Rangers to the Yankee cause. He compensated the Rangers with the grant of Hanover Township. The Paxtang Rangers had been outlawed by Pennsylvania and with prices on their heads had openly defied Pennsylvania authority for years. The Rangers arrived in the Valley in February of 1770 and drove the Pennamites⁶ from the Valley. Christopher Stark, Jr. and his brother Aaron returned to the Valley again in June of 1770 to again take possession of the families shares of land.

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Captain Ogden regained temporary possession of his trading post but was forced to surrender in April. Construction then began on the celebrated Forty Fort in Kingston Township west of the Susquehanna. Captain Ogden returned in the fall with a large force and captured Fort Durkee. At this change of fortunes in the settlement, Christopher Stark, Jr. returned to Dutchess County and made no further attempts to settle in the Wyoming Valley.¹ The Yankees recaptured Fort Durkee in January of 1771 and the Pennamites then erected Fort Wyoming nearby. The Yankees then laid siege to Fort Wyoming in July and the First Yankee-Pennamite War ended on August 20, 1771, with the capitulation of Fort Wyoming.

In September of 1771, James Stark wrote from Pawling Precinct² to Captain Zebulon Butler, commanding the Yankee forces in the Valley, "I have hired the bearer thereof, Timothy Pearce, to go on the same right for two months. At the end of two months, I will come and take possession of it myself." On October 23, Aaron Stark arrived to claim his share and October 31, James Stark arrived to claim his share. Early in 1772, James returned to Dutchess County to collect his family, brother Daniel, father Christopher, Sr. and mother Joanna. They returned to the Valley in early spring of 1772. Pawling Precinct deed records show William Stark sold 200 acres (Half share in the Susquehanna Company) to Henry Carey, May 20, 1773. By the end of 1772, the families of Aaron Stark and James Stark had taken up residence in the Wyoming Valley along with their brother Daniel, father Christopher Stark, Sr. and mother Joanna Walworth. By June of 1773, William Stark and his family, along with his in-laws, had moved to the Valley.³ If Christopher Stark, Jr. was attempting to help his brothers settle in the Wyoming Valley beginning in late summer of 1769 through 1771, this may explain why he was not on the Dutchess County Tax List for those years. Note he paid his taxes in June of 1769 and the research of Helen Stark shows Christopher, Jr. and his brothers were in the Valley by September of 1769.⁴

For a period from 1771 to 1781, the whereabouts of Christopher Stark, Jr. can not be found in the records. It is believed many of those who had settled on the Beekman Patent fled to Albany when the British captured New York City, which would explain why many members of the family joined the Albany County Militia as revealed in their Pension Applications.

In 1781, Captain William Shepard's Company was assigned to Colonel Cornelius Douty's Vermont Regiment for four days during the "Alarm at Saratoga." Captain William Shepard, Christopher, and Asahel served in Yates Regiment along with John Price, John Price, Jr., Jonathan Price, John Waldo, Sr., John Waldo, Jr, and Jonathan Waldo and many others. We know that in 1785 "Asel" Stark assigned his pay receipts to William Stark for his time in service in Yates Regiment. Susanna Stark requested that the notes due to Christopher Stark be paid to William Stark in 1785 and 1786. In 1781, John Stark requested that his "honoured Father (Father's name not named but the original envelope bearing the request has the name Christopher Star_ and shows John Stark's order #) receive his pay receipts."⁵

By 1790, William and Asahel were living in Pittstown, Albany County, New York with other men from Dutchess County including John and Jonathan Price. The records suggest the Christopher Stark who was a Lieutenant in Douty's Vermont Militia was the father of William, Asahel, and John and that he had died sometime before February of 1785, the month Susanna, his wife, first sent her son William for his pay. He was probably the Christopher Stark, Jr. in Yates Regiment since Susanna sent her request to Col. John Rensselaer, who was the commander of the Albany County Militia. Other records suggest John Price, Sr. was Susanna's brother and that John Price, Jr. and Jonathan Price were his sons. This would make them Asahel's first cousins and would explain why they were neighbors in Pittstown.

There is no proof of the marriage of Susanna Price and Christopher Stark, Jr., the evidence being purely intuitive from the records. However, we know that the Stark and Price Families were close in Dutchess County, New York, before and during the Revolutionary War, and later in Pittstown Township, Albany County, New York where the 1790 census list Asahel Stark, his brother William, and Jonathan and John Price as neighbors who were probably sons of John Price, Susanna's brother. Timothy Price, another probable son of John, moved to Fulton County, New York near William Stark at a later date. According to the records, Susanna Price was the daughter of William Price and Mary Unknown. Susanna was born September 23, 1729 in Ashford, Windham County, Connecticut. From the records, we know the Susquehanna Company was formed July 18, 1753 in Windham County which may have provided the opportunity for Christopher Stark, Jr. to meet Susannah Price and for them to marry before 1755.

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