ࡱ>    !"#$&Root EntryZ O2y^%@CONTENTS DCompObjVSPELLINGong as well. The plan was that Christopher and Elizabeth Denn would be reunited with Sarah as soon as accommodations were taken care of. Young Sarah, however, was not pleased to say the least with the plan. She indulged in self-pity at the thought that, in her poor luck as an orphan girl, she would now be subjected to tramping along in the wilderness with a motley crew of strange men. She would be without a protective guardian as a proper young woman should have. Christopher talked her into it, cajoling her with the promise that they would be reunited soon and that he would gift to her a hundred acres of nearby bounty land at the end of her services. In this manner, they could continue to be friends and neighbors for life. Sarah Wells assented to the proposal and as Elizabeth Denn was the only female friend she had, she did not want to ever be separated from her. Next came the business of making preparations, packing, etc. Before she knew it, it was time to take a last tea together and then she boarded the open boat; she was on her way with Indian men and carpenters for company& They arrived in New Windsor at Water-Side the following afternoon. They stayed on board that night and set out in the morning with horses packed and one of the Indian guides leading the way with cows in tow. Thus they proceeded with cowbells merrily tinkling along their journey. The Indians up front conversed with each other in their language and the carpenters in back talked as they pleased, but Sarah had no one but herself to chat with. Occasionaly they would stop to let the horses and cows drink and graze the meadow grasses. The Indians would bring her a posy of wildflowers and the carpenters would try to cheer her with friendly talk, but she still felt like weeping. ICHNKWKS DTEXTTEXT1FDPPFDPP4FDPCFDPC6STSHSTSH8STSHSTSH82SYIDSYIDP8SGP SGP d8INK INK h8BTEPPLC l8BTECPLC 8FONTFONT8<STRSPLC 8:PRNTWNPR9H FRAMFRAMZBTITLTITLB,DOP DOP C. She indulged in self-pity at the thought that,Sarah Wells - The First White Pioneer Maid in Wawayanda The Wawayanda was untamed land located in Goshen in Orange County of the New York colony. From it s patent date in 1703 to the spring of 1712, the land was bought and sold under speculation, but no serious developing took place. Christopher Denn was a patentee who decided to venture into it. He had a lot laid out where Otter Creek, a deep and silent stream which was only fordable in dry seasons, connected two miry swampy meadows together. Christopher Denn selected a secluded area on the western side of this plot for himself and his wife Elizabeth to settle on. About two miles south was the wigwam of Chief Rumbout (one of the chiefs who had granted the patent) and about one and half miles east was small Indian village of three of four families who were on friendly terms with Christopher Denn. They were able to converse fairly well and were pleased enough years later to hear that he planned to settle there that they offered to assist him. Denn chose three of the younger Indians to come back to New York with him and introduced them to his family as his friends of the Wawayanda. Now, Christopher and Elizabeth Denn had no children of their own, but Madam Denn had indented an orphan girl who served as a domestic handmaid. This was our direct descendant, Sarah Wells ! She was as close to a daughter as they would ever have and was somewhat thought of as a member of the family. Thus, Christopher Denn entrusted her to be in charge of all of their household belongings such as the bedding, kitchen utensils, etc. for transport up the Hudson River to New Windsor, where the Indian friends would guide her to the chosen location to build their new home. They would have some carpenters and cows and horses aln the late afternoon they reached the Indian village where the young Indians were joined by their elder, a senior Indian man who grabbed his axe and led the way to the west bank of the Otter Creek, opposite of where Christopher Denn chose to build. Here they set camp and Sarah milked the cows while the men laid poles and brush down for bedding, for protection from rattlesnakes. After dinner, they went to sleep. The next morning, the men built rafts with poles they made from trees and slid over the stream to begin building on the spot that Christopher Denn had chosen. Meanwhile, the elder Indian helped Sarah load up her provisions on the raft and transport them across the stream. Here she would camp out for the next several weeks while the construction went on. The men flattened the top of a log which served as dining table. Sarah was assisted by the elder Indian in preparing a mid-day meal for them all. While they ate, she went to the building site and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were almost finished ! It was a cozy wigwam with a bed, a shelf, and the cooking fire in the middle with a hole in the center of the roof for letting the smoke out. The men helped her move in. The next day was one of more leisure, but Sarah did have the cows to milk and the men decided to build a dog pen next to the wigwam. They had an idea for Sarah to make a cake with a sack of flour they had, to celebrate the accomplishment of building the home. Sarah nodded and began work. She was busy baking away when she heard her name called and upon running out, saw Christopher Denn and his wife approaching on horseback. Sarah was so overwhelmed that she cried out in joy and then fainted at their feet ! Sarah recovered and they sat down to chat as she continued baking the cake, making the meal and brewing the coffee. Christopher Denn explained that after she had left, they realized how quiet the house was and how perilous a journey they had sent her on. Out of worry, they decided to come earlier than planned and were glad to see how well she had got on. When it was dinnertime, Madame Denn did not have Sarah serve as usual, but had her sit with them and preside over the meal. Christopher Denn gave each of the Indian men a blanket as a thank you for taking care of Sarah and for their work in building the wigwam. Their new place was dubbed  Denne Hill. Thus, Sarah Wells came to be the first white woman to settle the Wawayanda territory. - From The History and Genealogy of William Bull and Sarah Wells Family of Orange County, New York, by E. McWhorter, D. Booth, P. Seaman, & others, 1983 ndian toin preparing a mid-day meal prt B!x'+^00^1`1N23333(2"'( ) @S t`1n1*23"  "  ""  ""  dTSHdTSH " " tt3436(3dONTTimes New Roman " " "XX*hp photosmart 1115 series!@h߀dBe@RLdf/Beںں\\YOUR-W92P4BHLZG\hp photosmart 1115 series,LocalOnly,DrvConvert+winspoolhp photosmart 1115 seriesDOT4_001F"""ph"$c"` "``""A."@"""ph"$c"` "``"."sarah_wells_story.wps." _" _" _" __ (" )" D. Booth, P. Seaman, & others, 1983 ndian toin preparing a mid-day meal  Z O2Quill96 Story Group Class9qy;)y;)-y;);).y;)7;)?y;)H;).y;)2;)y;) ;)y;);)`y;)d;)y;);)}y;);)y;);)y;);)y;);):y;)>;) y;) ;) y;) ;)y;);)0y;)4;)?y;)C;)Ay;)E;)Gy;)K;)y;);)Ky;)P;)y;);)y;)