Hulett's Landing

I was so excited to visit the hamlet of Hulett's Landing on the northeast side of Lake George while on our history trip in May 2013.  It's a beautiful area on the shore of the lake but away from the more tourist-y areas on the other side of the lake.

My 3rd Great Grandfather William Burgess Sr.'s brother, John C. Burgess and his family were early settlers of this area.

early tintype of John C. Burgess

 John C. Burgess was an early settler in the hamlet of Hulett's Landing. It is located on the east side of Lake George in Dresden township, Washington County, New York about 14 miles to the southwest of Putnam where his John C. lived in his youth. It is a heavily wooded, mountainous area and the lake was the main transportation at that time. There are many islands in Lake George including Burgess Island and Little Burgess Island both near Hulett's Landing. These islands are part of a state park and have campsites on them.

John C.'s son, Hiram was the township enumerator for the 1865 New York state census. He wrote the following about the area at that time:

Pleiades gravemarker

"This town is a very rough mountainous one, poor for farming, poor for anything, with neither town store or post office and we have to go from three to eleven miles to get our mail matter..."

John C. Burgess's first wife was Pleiades Brewster born 14 October 1788 in Becket, Windham, Connecticut. They were married in Pawlet, Rutland, Vermont on 15 October 1815. According to one source they had two daughters named Anna and Louisa. We do know that they had a son named John on 9 July 1821 just 20 days before Pleiades death on 29 July 1821 at age 32 most likely from childbirth complications.

John C.'s next married Achsah Christie Davis. She was listed as a widow so her maiden name is most likely Christie. There were Christie families in Washington county New York at that time. They had eight children.

John C.'s daughter, Emeline married Philander Hulett - the hamlet is named for the Hulett family who first settled there in 1804.

Andrew Burgess

John C.'s son Andrew Burgess was a photographer during the Civil War working with famous photographer, Matthew Brady. Andrew was even more famous for his inventions and patents for firearms. His folding shotgun was unique and is still sought after. The video below tells about the shotgun and  this link tells more about Andrew Burgess and his guns.

John C.'s other children also did well for themselves. Lewis was a merchant in Hague, a town on the west side of the lake. Others stayed in the area and some pioneered in the west. Lewis, Andrew and Emaline had winter homes in Florida. Emeline and Philander Hulett's home in St. Augustine is on the National Registor of historic places.