James Eldridge Quinlan, who wrote the definitive history of Sullivan County in 1873, mentions very few women in his lengthy chronicle, and provides insight into the lives of none. Perhaps, given the role of women in the age in which he wrote, Quinlan can be forgiven for this shortcoming.

One woman Quinlan does mention is identified only as a daughter of Daniel Litts of the Town of Thompson. Quinlan relates that “the children of Daniel Litts were noted for their great strength. Even his daughters were more powerful than ordinary men. It is said that one of his girls has been known to lift a barrel of cider by its chimes and drink from its bung.”

“In his young days, one of her brothers was considered an expert wrestler, and sporting men from a distance came to measure their skill and strength with his. One of these was a famous wrestler of the city of New York. When he called, young Litts was away from home. Seeing Miss Litts, he made known his business to her. 'What!' exclaimed she. 'Wrastle with mine brother?' and she eyed him as if taking his caliber. 'Why, you are foolish. Go back and save your money, for I can throw you mineself!'”

“She continued to jeer at and banter him and finally dared him to the encounter in such a way that he accepted her challenge. He found her strength, skill, and petticoats too much for his science. Her feet and ankles were protected by the drapery which surrounded them from the advances of his heels but found no obstruction when she attempted to trip him. She sent him to the grass twice with such celerity and force that he retired from her father's dooryard vanquished and crestfallen. He returned to the metropolis without delay, believing that if Sullivan County produced such girls, it was folly to contend with the men.”

This anecdote of Quinlan’s brings to mind another story of women “in combat” from an even earlier period of Sullivan County’s history, a period before the county was actually formed, during which time much of the area remained a hostile wilderness.

The first permanent settlement of Europeans in the region that would later become Sullivan County was the Cushetunk community, established in the 1750s by a group of Connecticut families seeking to escape the overpopulation of their home state. Cushetunk spanned a distance of about 30 miles along the Delaware River, with residents living on both the New York and Pennsylvania sides. Two separate parts of that settlement were fortified by a stockade, designed to provide protection for the entire community in the event of hostilities. The lower of the two forts is replicated today by the Fort Delaware Museum of Colonial History at Narrowsburg, though it was historically located upriver a bit and on the opposite side of the river.  

In 1764, Cushetunk resident Daniel Skinner conceived the idea of rafting timber to Philadelphia to be used in the shipbuilding industry there. This became the region’s first great industry and his vision and hard work allowed Skinner to accumulate some wealth and build for himself and his family a home that was considerably larger and more elaborate than those of his neighbors.

Fifteen years ago, Richard Eldred wrote in the January 2011 issue of the Wayne County Historical Society newsletter, “Abraham Ross, Nathaniel Evans and Phineas Clark and families were all crowded in one log house in the valley while Daniel Skinner had a spacious home a short distance up the valley.  The three men had discussed the possibility of driving Daniel Skinner out of the valley and taking over the logging work. Their wives had urged the men to drive the Skinners out but were disappointed when the men refused to act.”  

Quoting from what has become known as “The Nathan Skinner Manuscript,” written in the early 19th Century by one of Daniel Skinner’s sons, Eldred relates that the three women, Huldah Ross, Sarah Evans, and Mrs. Clark, whose first name is not recorded, decided to take matters into their own hands and in May of 1767, while the men were away on a rafting trip, paid a visit to the Skinner home with the intention of forcibly removing the family and taking up residence there.

The women decided that Mrs. Clark would restrain Mrs. Skinner while the others removed the Skinners’ belongings from the house and replace them with their own, but when the unhappy trio arrived at the Skinner residence, Mrs. Skinner was not home. Her oldest daughter, Phoebe, had been left in charge of the household, and she became the focus of the other women’s plan.

“The women began to move the Skinner things, but Phoebe began putting them back in the house,” Eldred writes. “When Mrs. Clark attempted to stop Phoebe, the girl tripped her and knocked her out. When Mrs. Skinner returned at this time, Huldah Ross hit her with a stone, cutting her head. Phoebe came to the aid of her mother and Sarah Evans to the aid of Huldah. The fight turned into a hair pulling contest which ended when Mrs. Skinner, finding a pile of ashes on the ground, threw them in the face of Huldah Ross, which disabled her. With Mrs. Clark and Huldah out of the fight, the battle ended.”

Peace was eventually established among the combatants, but the story of this brief skirmish has lived on to this day, typically dubbed “the battle of the Cushetunk women.” March is Women’s History Month. Another, more serious, look at a significant woman from Sullivan County’s past next week.

John Conway is the Sullivan County Historian. Email him at jconway52@hotmail.com.