The Dutch Dominie of the Catskills<br>By David Murdoch

Here is what the New Englander and Yale Review had to say of his book in January 1861:

“In this age of novels, a new work of fiction must possess rare merits to attract a large class of readers. Whether the historical romance before us, based on important scenes in our Revolutionary history, possess sufficient merit, historical or artistic, to lift it, in public estimation, above the great mediocre mass of fiction, which the modern press has sent forth, we are hardly prepared to say. However, it has an attractive subject, and a slight dip into its pages gives us a good impression of its literary and artistic qualities. Its substratum of fact is the Revolutionary history of the region of the Catskills, especially as connected with the bloody exploits of the famous Indian warrior, Brandt, and its aim seems to be to present a picture of public affairs on the quieter scenes of life.” From the New Englander and Yale Review, January 1861 (Vol. 19, Issue 73)

In the Americana Exchange Databasethere is a single reference to this book, Sabin 51435, and this reference makes reference to a second title in the second edition that apparently is not always or even usually present. My copy of the second edition, in its original binding, does not contain the second item, A Sermon...in...Elmira on the...death of Milton Partridge. It can not be by Rev. Murdoch who was at that point dead. There is a second Sabin reference: 51434 that is also inaccurate if it is thought to apply to the same Rev. David Murdoch for it contains a eulogy to Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Elsewhere I found confirmation of his death on June 13, 1861.

Sabin: 51435. MURDOCH. The Dutch Dominie of the Catskills; or, the Times of the “Bloody Brandt.” By Rev. David Murdoch, D. D. New York: Derby & Jackson. 1861. 12mo, pp. 471. C. 51435

Reprinted as “The Royalist’s Daughter and the Rebels. Or the Dutch Dominie of the Catskills. A Tale of the Revolution”. ... Philadelphia: J. E. Potter. 1865. 12mo, pp. 471. Also: ... A Sermon, ... in ... Elmira on the ... death of Milton Partridge, ... Elmira: Fairman Brothers, ... Printers. MDCCCLIV. 12mo, pp. 34.

The story could end here but doesn’t. In searching the internet for additional information on Rev. David Murdoch I was able to find more material about him. What I learned is in effect another story. A Google search led me to the Tri-Counties Genealogy & History Site where I found a David Murdoch reference embedded in a request for information by his great-great-grand daughter. I contacted her and learned about his career in Elmira at the First Presbyterian Church after he left Catskill, New York in 1851.