47. David McCarty Stone House

Second Street

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The David McCarty Stone House, erected around 1750. This modest stone cottage is one of three Dutch stone residences that survive in the hamlet, each a tangible link to the community's earliest years of European settlement.

 

Brigadier General David McCarty (1737-1812) was born in Lorient, Brittany, France, and later settled in Coeymans Landing along the Hudson River in Albany County, New York. He married Charlotte Coeymans Whitbeck McCarty and lived in the historic stone cottage on Second Street in Coeymans Landing, a rare surviving example of mid-eighteenth-century stone architecture built circa 1770.


McCarty became a prominent merchant, Revolutionary War patriot, and member of the Albany County Committee of Safety. During the American Revolution, he organized and commanded militia forces that helped defend the Hudson River corridor and protect vital Patriot supply routes. From 1793 until his death, he served as Brigadier General of  New York State troops. He also held public office as a member of the New York State Assembly and as a Judge of the Albany County Court of Common Pleas.


Located near the Hudson River, the McCarty stone cottage occupied an important  strategic position during the Revolutionary era, as Coeymans Landing served as a transportation and supply hub. While no surviving records confirm direct military use of the home, it likely supported militia gatherings and local defense efforts.

Following the Revolution, McCarty's military appointment became the subject of an official inquiry by New York State authorities. Correspondence involving Philip Schuyler and the Council of Appointment reviewed McCarty's wartime commissions, promotions, and militia service after complaints were raised by officers who had been superseded in rank by his appointment as Brigadier General. Letters from the period reflect the political rivalries and tensions

common in post-Revolutionary New York.

One surviving letter from H. Livingston to the Council of Appointment questioned McCarty's prior rank and examined whether he had properly held or resigned earlier commissions before his promotion. The letter also noted dissatisfaction among officers who believed they had been passed over in rank.
McCarty additionally faced accusations during the Revolution from local resident Isaac Larroway, who alleged that McCarty had connections to Loyalist interests. A committee affidavit stated: >

 

"Capt. David McCarty was to be a Colonel in the enemy's service."
As a result, McCarty was ordered to appear before the committee on December 26, 1776, and was temporarily confined. However, after investigation, the committee ultimately concluded:  "...the said information is false and Groundless. Therefore Resolved That the said  David McCarty be discharged from any restraint he is under, and be deemed and taken as a Person who has avouched his attachment to the Cause of America."


Despite the controversy, McCarty remained an influential regional leader throughout his life. He and Charlotte McCarty were later buried in Grove Cemetery in Coeymans, where their legacy remains tied to the early history of the Hudson River Valley and the Revolutionary era. Charlotte Coeymans Whitbeck McCarty was a member of several prominent Dutch-descended  Hudson Valley families whose landholdings and civic influence shaped colonial and early New York history.
Born: 1746, Coeymans
Parents: Andries Whitbeck and Mayke Coeymans Whitbeck
Married: David McCarty in 1771
Died: April 22, 1828, Coxsackie
Charlotte descended from the influential Whitbeck, Coeymans, Bronck, and Van Alen families  connected to the early Dutch patroonship of Rensselaerswyck and the Coeymans Patent along the Hudson River.

 

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