Three Rivers
Hudson~Mohawk~Schoharie
History From America's Most Famous Valleys

History of Montgomery and Fulton Counties, NY
F. W. Beers & Co. 36 Vesey Street, 1878

THE HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY

CHAPTER V.

THE MOHAWK VALLEY IN 1757-GROWTH OF POPULATION-CIVILIZING THE SAVAGES-CREATION OF TRYON COUNTY.

The settlement of the Mohawk valley previous to the conquest of Canada progressed but slowly. A description of the country given by a French authority in 1757, furnishes the following interesting representation of the state of things at that date, in the present territory of Montgomery county, after mentioning that the road was " good for all sorts of carriages," from Fort Kouari, about opposite the mouth of West Canada Creek, in the town of German Flats, Herkimer County, to Fort Cannatchocari, which was at the upper Mohawk castle, in the town of Danube, and same county, and was a stockade fifteen feet high, and one hundred paces square :

"From Fort Cannatchocari to Fort Hunter, is about 12 leagues; the road is pretty good; carriages pass over it; it continues along the banks of the Mohawk river. About a hundred houses, at greater or less distance from one another we found within this length of road. There are some situated also about half a league in the interior. The inhabitants of this section are Germans, who compose a company of about 100 men each. " Fort Hunter is situated on the borders of the Mohawk river, and is of the same form as that of Cannatchocari, with the exception that it is twice as large. There is likewise a house at each curtain. The cannon at each bastion are from 7 to 9 pounders. The pickets of this fort are higher than those of Cannatchocari. There is a church or temple in the middle of the fort; in the interior of the fort are also some thirty cabins of Mohawk Indians, which is the most considerable village. This fort, like that of Cannatchocari, has no ditch; there's only a large swing door at the entrance.

" Leaving Fort Hunter, a creek [Schoharie] is passed, at the mouth of which that fort is located. It can be forded and crossed in batteaux in summer, and on the ice in winter. There are some houses outside under the protection of the fort, in which the country people seek shelter when they fear or learn that an Indian or French war party is in the field.

" From Fort Hunter to Chenectedi or Corlar is seven leagues. The public carriage way continues along the right bank of the Mohawk river. About 20 to 30 houses are found within this distance separated the one from the other from about a quarter to half a league. The inhabitants of this section are Dutch. They form a company with some other inhabitants on the left bank of the Mohawk river, about 600 men strong." The above having sketched the south bank of the Mohawk, the writer, beginning at the west, thus describes the corresponding distance on the north bank :

" After fording Canada creek, we continue along the left bank of the Mohawk river and high road, which is passable for carts, for twelve leagues, to Col. Johnson's mansion. In the whole of this distance the soil is very good. About five hundred houses are erected at a distance one from the other. The greatest number of those on the bank of the river are built of stone,.and those at a greater distance from the river in the interior are about half a league off ; they are new settlements, built of wood. " There is not a fort in the whole of this distance of 12 leagues. There is but one farmer's house, built of stone, that is somewhat fortified and surrounded with pickets. It is situate on the banks of the river, three leagues from where the Canada creek empties into the Mohawk river. The inhabitants of this country are Germans. They form four companies of 100 men each.

" Col. Johnson's mansion is situated on the border of the left "bank of the river Mohawk ; it is three stories high, built of stone, with portholes crenelees and a parapet, and 'flanked with four bastions, on which are some small guns. In the same yard, on both sides of the mansion, there are two small houses. That on the right of the entrance is a store, and that on the left is designed for workmen, negroes and other domestics. The yard-gate is a heavy swing gate, well ironed ; it is on the Mohawk river side ; from this gate to the river there is about 200 paces of level ground. The high road passes there. A small rivulet coming from the north empties itself into the Mohawk river about 200 paces below the enclosure of the yard. On this stream there is a mill about 50 paces distant from the house ; below the mill is the miller's house, where grain and flour are stored ; and on the other side of the creek, 100 paces from the mill, is a barn in which cattle and fodder are kept. One hundred and fifty paces from Col. Johnson's mansion, at the north side, on the left bank of the little creek, is a little hill on which is a small house with port holes, where is ordinarily kept a guard of honour of some twenty men, which serves also as an advanced post.

" From Col. Johnson's house to Chenectedi is counted seven leagues ; the road is good, all sorts of vehicles pass over it. About twenty houses are found from point to point on this road. * * * In the whole country of the Mohawk river there are nine companies of militia under Col. Johnson ; eight only remain, that of the village of the Palatines being no longer in existence, the greater part having been defeated by M, de Belletre's detachment. Col. Johnson assembles these companies when he has news of any expedition which may concern the Mohawk river."

The French war had involved the government of New York so deeply in debt that direct taxation was necessitated. Part of a tax list under a warrant sent by the Albany county commissioners to " Mr. John Fonda, Collector for Mohawks," in the summer of 1764, is extant, and reads as follows
NAME---VALUATION---ASSETS.
Sir Wm. Johnson, £167-- £20 17 6
Margrit Flipse, 24 --3
Marte Van O'Linda, 21-- 2 12 6
Lewis Groat, 20-- 2 l0
Davit Pruyn, 20 --2 l0
Isaac D. Graf, 18--2 5
Hans Antes, 17 --2 2 6
James McMaster, 16-- 2
Harme Vedder, 16-- 2
Wouter Swart, 16-- 2
John Johnson, 16-- 2
Peter Young, 13 --1 12 6
John Nukerk, 13 --1 12 6
Hans Klyn, 13--1 12
Daniel Clas,10--1 5
Guy Johnson,10 --1 5
John Have, 10--1 5
Jacob Potman,10 --1 5
Clas D. Graf, 9-- 1 2 6
Harmanis Mabe, 9-- 1 2 6
Cor's Potman, 9--1 2 6
Cor's Nukerk, 9-- 1 2 6
The apprehension and dread of French invasion being removed, the tide of emigration flowed more rapidly into the Mohawk valley ; and the gloom and desolation that had fallen upon the advanced settlements gave way before the promise of a prosperous future. For the improvement of his vast estate Sir William Johnson was active in settling families on the north side of the river. He built a summer residence within the present town of Broadalbin, Fulton County, which was known as Castle Cumberland ; and at the same time a rustic lodge on the Sacondaga river, a few miles-west, which was afterwards called the Fish House. In 1762 he more fully identified himself with the development of his estate north of the river by building and occupying Johnson Hall, at the settlement subsequently named from him Johnstown. Much of his time and attention was taken up with Indian affairs. Various plans were devised by him for christianizing and educating the Six Nations by the introduction of churches and schools among them. He interested himself especially in the elevation of the Mohawks, several of whose young men were sent to the Moor Charity School, at Labanon, Conn., under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Wheelock. It is to be hoped that most of them gave a better account of their opportunities than their school fellow, Joseph Brant, whose name was in after years a terror throughout the Mohawk valley, which he and his savage followers swept with fire and tomahawk.

In the summer of 1763 Sir William Johnson had to exert himself to prevent the Six Nations from joining the league of the western tribes which had been effected by Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa confederacy, for the expulsion of the English, in whose occupancy of the country he forsaw the doom of his race. Without neutrality, at least on the part or the Iroquois, there was no safety for the frontier settlements. Even with an assurance of their neutrality, which Sir William obtained from all but the Senecas, it was deemed expedient to order out the militia, who were sent in companies to the frontier posts, while friendly Indians served as scouts, and ranged the forests from Lake Champlain to Oswego in vigilant search for the prowling foe. Pontiac's conspiracy failed of the support he had hoped from the French; his followers deserted him before they had made the New York settlements feel the vengeance that they visited upon the far western posts.

Sir William Johnson thus gained opportunity for more constant efforts for civilizing the Indians. In 1767 he drew up an elaborate review of the state of Indian affairs for the English board of trade, recommending various measures for the advancement of the tribes. When a change in the location of the Moor Charity School was talked of, he endeavored to have it removed to the Mohawk valley. He failed in this, but in 1769 he built a church expressly for the use of the Mohawks, both of the upper and lower castles. Mr. Stone quotes a letter from the Baronet to his agent inNew York, in which the latter is directed " to get a ball made and gilt; also a weathercock and all the iron work necessary to fix them. They are to be proportioned to the building, which is a wooden church now a building at Canajoharie of 50 ft. long by 32 wide. Also a bell 13 to 20 pounds in price." Mr. Stone (writing in 1864) adds, " This little church is still standing in the town of Danube, Herkimer County, New York; the same old bell still hangs in the belfry. Tradition states that during the Revolution this bell was carried off by the Indians, who on being pursued cast it into the Mohawk, whence it was afterwards fished out and restored to its place." At this time the Indians of the Six Nations were enjoying the services of teachers of their own race, educated by Dr. Wheelock, at the expense of Sir William Johnson.

The continual increase of population in the Mohawk valley in process of time naturally gave rise to the question of dividing the county of Albany, which originally occupied all but the southeastern part of the State as then bounded, including Vermont. A movement for that purpose, in 1769, failed to meet the approval of the Legislature, and was for the time abandoned. The onerous tax imposed upon the people by their being compelled to go all the way to Albany to avail themselves of the courts, however, caused the project to be revived. A second petition, suggesting an appropriate line for a division, was forwarded to the Assembly early in 1772, by Sir William Johnson, who was the principal mover in the enterprise. The Assembly complied with the petition by the creation of a new county, embracing all of the State west of a line running due north from the Delaware river, through what is now Schoharie County, and along the eastern limits of the present counties of Montgomery, Fulton and Hamilton to the Canadian line. The new county was named Tryon, from the Governor of the colony. Johnstown was designated as the county seat on the loth of May, and measures for the erection of a jail and courthouse were at once taken.

At the formation of Tryon county its white inhabitants were mostly settled along the Mohawk. Instead of townships, it was divided into five large districts. The most eastern district was called the Mohawk, and consisted of a strip of the State between the east line of the county already defined and a parallel line crossing the Mohawk river at the " Noses." The Stone Arabia district extended indefinitely northward from the river between the Mohawk district on the east and on the west a north and south line through the State, crossing the river at Little Falls. With the same breadth the Canajoharie district reached southward to the Pennsylvania line. North of the Mohawk river and west of the Stone Arabia district, as far as settlements extended, was the Kingsland district; while south of the river, extending westward from the Canajoharie district to the meridian of Fort Stanwix and southerly to the Pennsylvania line, was the German Flats district. On the first Tuesday in April each year, the inhabitants of each district were to elect a supervisor, and two assessors and one collector of taxes. This division of districts was made March 24, 1772, the boundaries adopted being suggested by Sir William Johnson. A year later the name of the Stone Arabia district was changed to Palatine.

The creation of the new county necessitated a court and civil officers. Accordingly four judges, six assistant judges, a number of justices of the peace, a clerk and a coroner were appointed by Governor Tryon, all but the clerk being Sir William Johnson's nominees. The first court of general quarter sessions was held at Johnstown on Tuesday, September 8, 1772. The bench consisted of Guy Johnson, John Butler and Peter Conyne, judges; Sir John Johnson, Daniel Claus, John Wells and Jelles Fonda, assistant judges; John Collins, Joseph Chew, Adam Loucks, John Frey, -- Young and Peter Ten Broeck, justices.

The first election in the county occurred pursuant to writs issued November 25, 1772. Colonels Guy Johnson and Hendrick Frey were chosen to represent the county in the assembly, in which they took their seats January 11, 1773.

General Johnson was at this time in command of all the militia in the province north of the Highlands. He took great pride in their soldierly appearance, and was very careful in his selection of officers. Governor Tryon in a tour of the Mohawk valley in 1772 reviewed three regiments of the militia at Johnstown, Burnetsfield and the German Flats respectively, numbering in all fourteen hundred men.

Among the mass of papers left by Jelles Fonda, and now in the possession of the Van Homes of Fonda, is " a List of the persons that are assessed above five pounds, with the sums they are to pay, and the number of days they are to work upon the King's highways, annexed." Though not dated, the document is believed to have been written shortly previous to the Revolution, and furnishes a sort of limited census of the inhabitants of this region, with their relative financial standing. Many names now familiar in the same district will be recognized under the disguise which the orthography of the writer, and perhaps of the times, put upon them. The list is as follows :

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