History of Pawling by Helen G. Daniels

Helen Green Daniels (1898 - 1975) composed this fascinating history of Pawling in 1963 while serving as Pawling Town Historian. She left a copy of the document for safe keeping with her friend, Nancy Tanner, and it is printed here with the permission of Helen G. Daniels' son, John Daniels.

Tanner has made Daniels' work available to the Herald for publication so that the entire community can share and enjoy it, and wrote along with this gift, "The elders of a community often pass on to the younger generation the history and culture they want to see respected and perpetuated. When Helen G. Daniels, our revered Pawling Town Historian, gave me the 1963 Historical Facts of Pawling for safekeeping, I was greatly honored. As I turn it over to you in this year of 2007, I recognize that time may leave its mark on me and all citizens, but the historical foundation of Pawling will endure and be broadly shared via your website, HarlemValleyHerald.Com"

Helen G. Daniels had a long family history in Pawling, as the Green family has resided in Pawling since prior to the Revolutionay War, and the Daniels family has resided in Pawilng since about 1875.

According to John Daniels, the Greens owned the family farm in Pawling north of what is now Lakeside Park. Helen Green married Fred "Ted" Daniels. Helen's parents Seward and Jenny Toffey Green sold the family farm in 1920, at which time Helen and Ted Daniels purchased a home on Coulter Avenue, where they raised their children Mary and John.

The Daniels family has lived in Pawling since George Daniels moved from Millerton to Pawling circa 1875, and he married Cora Chapman of Pawling, according to their grandson, George Coulter.

As Coulter recounts the lineage, George and Cora Chapman Daniels' children were Charles, Anne and Fred. George Coulter is the son of Anne Daniels and James Waldren Coulter, and his cousin, Ross Daniels, is the son of Charles and Gwendolyn Thomas Daniels.

John Daniels and George Coulter both said that Helen G.Daniels inherited her passion for history from her mother, Jenny Toffey Green, and that the mother and daughter were very active together in the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The name Toffey is also familiar to those who enjoy Pawling history. John Toffey is buried in the Pawilng Cemetery, and in a ceremony organized by George Coulter two years ago, John Toffey was honored for having been decorated with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in the American Civil War.

Helen G. Daniels' interest in history extended to the field of genealogy, and in her study of the latter, she created genealogical charts for both the Green and Daniels families.

"Historical Facts of Pawling by Helen Green Daniels" is reproduced in pages linked to this article, in .jpg form so that readers may print or download this fascinating document on the history of Pawling.