MIDDLEFIELD _ In his latest book,
Dominick Reisen of Middlefield moves beyond local history to a
case study of development in central New York, from the mid-1700s until the end of the Civil War.
That book _ ``Middlefield and the Settling of the New York Frontier'' published by Square Circle Press, an independent publishing house based in Voorheesville _ traces the growth of the town in the early days of the republic.
But in researching and writing it, he said he came to appreciate how similar it is to the histories of other towns in the area.
``In that sense, it's more ambitious than my other books,'' said Reisen, the town's former historian, who has written three books about Middlefield.
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A study of towns is a study of people as well as geography, and Reisen writes at length about the Clarke family, beginning with George Clarke, who was lieutenant governor of the province of New York in the early 1700s.
``He used his influence to acquire a lot of land in this area,'' Reisen said. By 1740, Clarke owned more than a 100,000 acres, which he endeavored to settle with tenant farmers.
Clarke's method of development contrasted with that of Judge William Cooper, who a few decades later sold land in relatively small lots in what is now the town of Otsego, Reisen said. But Clarke did try to make his offers of tenancy attractive by waiving payments for the first decade so settlers could concentrate on improving the land.
As settlers came to Middlefield and other parts of the area, they faced many of the same problems.
Although people think of early settlers as self-sufficient, they often did not want to push too far beyond gristmills, sawmills and other signs of civilization that they needed to be successful farmers, Reisen said.
Those who didn't farm, or farm extensively, tended to congregate in the hamlets that still dot the area.
Constant fear of Indian attack also drew settlers together, he said.
``The Cherry Valley massacre is the most horrible, but not only, example of such dangers,'' Reisen writes. ``There is also the frightening story of two-year-old Daniel McCollum ... being kidnapped by an Indian in the spring of 1778," Reisen continued. "He was gone nine years before he was recognized in Lake George and restored to his family.''
In later decades, the area was profoundly influenced by the Erie Canal and railroads, which knitted central New York into more thickly settled areas.
Reisen said he is fascinated by his town and this area of the state although he was born in Patchogue on Long Island and came to Otsego County in 1976 when his family settled in Decatur.
Jan Bartow, president of the Middlefield Historical Association, said Reisen has done much to recapture and preserve local history.
``We're very proud of him,'' he said.
And on the back cover of this latest work is high praise from Brian Carso, a former Otsego County clerk, who writes: ``This wide-ranging study's crucial value to historians ... is the way Reisen uses Middlefield to illustrate the development of the entire region of central New York during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.''
The book is available from bookstores in Oneonta and Cooperstown, as well as at the Middlefield Historical Association and at .
