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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superseded in rank by his appointment as Brigadier General.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:
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"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.