.
.


NEW YORK GENEALOGY EXPRESS

A Part of Genealogy Express
 

Welcome to
HERKIMER COUNTY, NEW YORK
History & Genealogy


 

 

Source:
A
HISTORY OF HERKIMER COUNTY,
including
THE UPPER MOHAWK VALLEY
from the

Earliest Period to the Present Time:
with a
Brief Notice of the Iroquois Indians, the Early German Tribes,
the Palatine Immigrations into the Colony of New York,
 and Biographical Sketches of the Palatine Families,
the Patentees of Burnetsfield in the Year 1825.
also
Biographical Notices of the Most Prominent
Public Men of the County:
with
Important Statistical Information
By Nathaniel S. Benton
---
Albany:
J. Munsell, 78 State Street
1856

TABLE OF CONTENTS

     
Introductory Chapter, 5
CHAPTER I. - Notice of the Mohawk Indians 15
   - Notice of the Mohawk Indians  
CHAPTER II. - 25
   - Early Histor of the German Tribes  
CHAPTER III. - 32
   - Immigration of the Palatines and Events from 1709 to 1722  
CHAPTER IV. - 50
   - Settlement of the German Flats
 - Events from 1722 to 1772		  
CHAPTER V - 65
   - Historical events from 1772 to 1783  
CHAPTER VI. - 109
  - Miscellaneous Incidents from 1783 to the present time  
CHAPTER VII. - 119
   - Forfeited Estates
 - Attainder Act of 1779
 - Treaties of 1783 and 1794		  
CHAPTER VIII. - 129
   - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES of PALATINE FAMILIES  
CHAPTER IX. - 198
   - Erection of the County in 1791
 - Statute Boundaries
 - Titles to Lands
 - Colonial and State Grants
 - Attainders
 - Actual Boundaries
 - Roads, Canals and Turnpikes
 - Newspaper Press
 - Colleges and Academies
 - County Medical Society
 - Poor House Establishment
 - Agricultural Society		  
CHAPTER X. - 257
   - Political History from 1783 to 1855.  
CHAPTER XI. - 285
   - Criminal Convictions and Acquittals in Capital and other Cases from 1791 to 1855  
CHAPTER XII. - 293
   - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES of the Lives of Prominent Men of the County  
CHAPTER XIII. - 388
   - List of Towns
 - when erected
 - Boundaries
 - Local Historical Incidents
 - BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES of the first Settlers
 - Villages and population		  
APPENDIX.  
   - No. 1. Petition of Palatines, Indian deed and order of Council for Burnetsfield grant or patent 473
   - No. 2. List of patents and grants of land in the county, 475
   - No. 3. Sir William Johnson's petition to purchase the Royal Grant 479
   - No. 4. Names of Members of Herkimer County Medical Society 481
   - No. 5. List of Sheriffs, Surrogates, Clerks and County Judges, and Attorneys and Counselors 483
   - No. 6. Names of Electors of President and Vice President, United States, Members of Congress, State Conventions, State Senate and Assembly 486
ERRATA -
     The reader is requested to note the following corrections:		  
   - Page 25, line 3 after the word of there should be a __.
 - Page 25, 5th line from top, for Threidelburgh read Heidelburgh.
 - Page 31, last line, for navigated read immigrated.
 - Page 40, 3d line from bottom, for interest read influence.
 - Page 121, 2d par., line 6, for affairs read offences.
 - Page 124, 2d par. line 7, for retaining read exerting.
 - Page 161, 162 and 193, Col. Ganesvoort's name is misprinted.
 - Page 204, 5th par. line 2, read law of attainder.
 - Page 246, 14th line from bottom, for portion read fraction.
 - Page 271, 12th line from bottom, for states read state.
 - Page 320, 2d par. line 11, for county read country.
 - Page 361, 3d par. 1st line, for cause read care.
 - Page 369, 2d par. for Edward read Edmund.
 - Page 377, 2d par. 12th line, for Merray read Merry.
 - Page 407, note, for John Spinner read John P. Spinner.
 - Page 437, first line, for Klacks read Klocks.
     The letter J frequently occurs in proper names for I; the reader familiar with the names will be able to make the correction.		  

INDEX.

Albany county, extent of, until 1772 64
Affairs in Tryon county 70
Arnold, General, arrives at Fort Dayton 81
Arnold, Gener'l, his proclamation, 81
Andrustown, destroyed by Brant, 85
Aspect of affairs in 1782 105
Asiatic cholera 117
Attainder of Sir John Johnson, Guy Johnson, Daniel Clause, John Butler and John Joost Herkimer 120
Alexander, Caleb, Rev. 231
Academy at Little Falls 233
Agricultural society of county 254
Anti-Federalism of German population 258
Aspect of Political affairs previous to 1846 277
Allen, John, trial and acquittal of 291
Ayers, Stephen, biography of 294
Alfred, Asahel, notice of 390
Alexander, William, notice of 419 419
Arnold, Edward, notice of 419
Attorneys and counselors, list of 485
Assembly, members of 488
Appendix No. 1, Palatine Grant 473
Appendix No. 2, List of Patents 475
Appendix No. 3, Royal Grant 479
Appendix No. 4, County Medical Society 481
Appendix No. 5, Sheriffs, Clerks, Judges, etc. 483
Appendix No. 6, Electors, of President and Vice President, Members of Congress, State Conventions, State Senate and of Assembly 486
Additional note 490
Boundaries of Mohawks' hunting grounds 16
Bravery of Mohawk Indians 17
Bellomont, Lord, and Capt. Kidd 38
Burnet, Governor, first arrival of 38
Burnetsfield Patent, 42
Burnetsfield names of patentees of 46, 45, 44
Belletre, M. de, his account of the destruction of the German Flats in 1757 53, 52, 51
British forces assemble at Oswebo 75
Butler, Walter N., an account of his death 102, 97
British propositions for peace, 108, 106
Biographical sketches of Palatine families 129
 - the Bell family 131
 - Bellinger family 132
 - Casler family 142
 - Editch family 145
 - Folts family 146
 - Fox family 147
Biographical sketches of the Helmer family 147
 - Herkimer family 149
 - Herter family 172
 - Hess family 174
 - Kast family 175
 - Petrie family 175
 - Reelle family 180
 - Shoemaker family 181
 - Smith family 183
 - Staring family 184
 - Teymouth family 193
 - Wooleaver family 195
 - Weaver family 197
Bell, George Henry 131
Bellinger, Christopher P. 134
Bellinger, Frederick 139
Bucktail and Clintonian parties 267
Bowman, John, conviction fo 286
Bennett, Samuel, conviction of 286
 - Buell, Alexander H. 295
 - Burch, Robert 298
 - Brown, Stephen W. 300
 - Brown, Benjamin 301
 - Chapman, Dan 302
 - Cook, Atwater 303
 - Cook, William H. 305
 - Craine, Rufus 305
 - Ellison, Henry 308
 - Frank, John 309
 - Frank, John 309
 - Ford, Simeon 311
 - Golden, David V. W. 313
 - Griswold, Gaylord 314
 - Griswold, Joab 316
 - Griswold, Elihu 317
 - Graves, John 320
 - Holt, David 321
 - Hoffman, Michael 323
 - Hallett, Philo M. 337
 - Hopkins, Henry 339
 - Lansing, Sanders 340
 - Mahon, John 342
 - Manley, Thomas 344
 - Markell, Jacob 346
 - Mills, John 348
 - Myers, Michael 349
 - Petry, William 352
 - Rosecrantz, George 356
 - Smith, Nathan 357
 - Snow, Ephraim 361
 - Tillinlghast, Henry 362
 - Todd, Stephen 364
 - Tombling, Abijah 368
 - Varney, Edmund 369
 - Van Horn, Richard 370
 - Wharry, Evans 373
 - Widrig, George 377
 - Willoughby, Westel 378
 - Woodruff, Chauncy 379
 - Wooster, Sherman 380
 - Wright, Samuel 385
Beardslee, John, notice of 435
Brown, John, notice of 468
Castle, Upper Mohawk in Danube 17
Clarendon, Earl of, his opinion of R. Livingston 47
Croghan, George, Deputy Indian agent 55
Colonial wars from 1689 to 1760 60
Commercial prosperity of the colonies 60
Causes of the rupture with Great Britain 61
Congress, colonial, assembling of 66
Convention, provincial, meeting of 66
Close of the Revolution 105
County Clerk's office burned 115
Condition of county at the close
   of the war of 1812		 116
Court House burned 117
County, when erected 198
Counties Erected from Herkimer 198
Counties, list of first in the state, 199
Canals in the County 212
Clinton, George, Gov. 258
Conduct of the Federal party in 1810 264
Clintonian and "bucktail parties 267
Convention of 1821 268
Convention of 1846 280
Clark, Aaron R., conviction of 285
Chapman, Dan., biography of 302
Cook, Atwater, biography of 303
Cook, William H., biography of 305
Crain, Rufus, biography of 305
Columbia, town of 389
County clerks, list of 483
Congress, members of 487
Conventions, state, members of 487
Corrections to be made by the reader 6
Drusus, the Roman general 31
Daine, Mr., his opinion of M. De Belletre's acco'nt of the expedition against the German Flats 53
De Lancey, Gov., his statement in regard to the French attack on the German Flats, 53
Districts in Tryon county 66, 67
Declaration of Independence how received 73
Disturbances on account of Mr. Adams's stamp act 114
Danube, town of 391
District Attorneys, names of 486
Stanwix - Enemy approach Fort Schuyler, 76
Estates forfeited, reflections in regard to, 119, 128
Election of delegates to convention of 1821 269
Election, first after new constitution was adopted, 270
Ellison, Henry, biography of 308
Eysaman family, murder of 403
Electors of President and Vice President, names of, 487
Errata, 6
Frederick, Prince Palatine 28
Fort Herkimer, when erected 54
Frontenac fort captured in 1758 59
Fort Dayton, when erected and where located 87
Fort Schuyler destroyed and abandoned 91
Fairfield Medical College 225
Fairfield Academy 228
Federal party in the county predominant 259
Financial policy of the  Democratic party 279
Foster, Nathaniel, trial and acquital of 288
Ford, Simeon, biography of 311
Fairfield, town of 395
Frankfort, town of 400
Fecter, William, notice of 420
Garangula, the Onondaga Indian, speech of 19
German tribes, early history of 27, 26, 25
Germany, religious questions in, adjusted 28
German, tribes originated from Asia 31
German Flats, when first settled, 41
German Flats, destr'd by French and Indians in 1757, 61
Germans informed of the French attack 53
German population of county Anti-Federal 261
Golden, David V. W., biography of 313
Griswold, Gaylord, biography of 314
Griswold, Joab, biography of 316
Griswold, Elihu, biography of 317
Graves, John, biography of 320
German Flats, town of 401
Hunter, Governor, seats the Palatines 34
Houses, number of, between Fort Herkimer and Fall Hill, in 1757 58
Herkimer, General, his interview with Brant, 74
Herkimer, General, his proclamation, 76, 75
Herkimer, General, marches to relieve Fort Schuyler, 77
Hostile feelings towards Indians and Tories 109
Herkimer, General Nicholas, life of 151
Herkimer, John, biography of, 170
Hamilton, Alexander 260
Holt, David, biography of 321
Hoffman, Michael, biography of 323
Hallett, Stephen, biography of 336
Hackley, Philo M., biography of 337
Hopkins, Henry, biography of 339
Herkimer, town of, 407
Hartman, John Adam 409
Hawkins, Christopher, notice of 441
Herreshoff, Charles, notice of 469
Iroquois confederacy, date of 15
Indians abandoned by Great Britain at the close of the war, 17
Indian matrons, influence of, 18
Indian marriages, nature of 18
Insubordination of the Germans 36
Immigration to Schoharie 36
Indian deed of Burnetsfield, note of 39
Indian council at German Flats 69
Incendiary movements of the enemy 80
Indian deed of Burnetsfield 473
Johnson, Sir Wm., his influence 62
Johnson, Sir William and others petition to purchase Indian title to Royal Grant, 479
Johnson, Guy, leaves Guy Park 68
Johnson, Sir John, at Johnstown, 73
Johnson, Sir John, his retreat through the country after the battle at Klocksfield 91
Justices of the Peace appointed 110
Justices of the Peace appointed 114
Journal of the Rev. Caleb Alexander, 235
Journal of the Rev. John Taylor, 240
Judges, list of 483
King Hendrik, the Mohawk, notice of 20
Koekerthal, Joshua, Evangelical minister 33
Little Abraham, the Mohawk 19
Livingston, Robert, victuals the Germans, 35
Livingston, Robert, biographical sketch of 37
Lord Camden's position in House of Peers, 61
Liberty pole, the first erected in the valley 87
Little Falls, mill destroyed at 103
Lands, tracts of, laying in the county, 200
Lansing, Sanders, biography of 340
Little Falls, town of 416
Litchfield, town of 433
Maquaas or Mohawk Indians 15
Mohawks, number of towns and fighting men in 1677 and 1763 18
Mayer, Dr. John, of Eck 27
Motive of the people of the Upper Mohawk valley in adhering to the colonial cause 63
Militia organization in 1775, 72, 71
Militia, insubordination of, 77
Militia organized in 1778 85
Mavor, vicar of Hurley's opinion of the Anglo-Saxon race, 89
Militia organized again 111
Mohawk turnpike company 213
Medical society of the county 243
Mahon, John, biography of 342
Manly, Thomas, biography of 344
Markell, Jacob, biography of 346
Mills, John, biography of 348
Myers, Michael, biography of 349
Manheim, town of 434
Medical society, list of members of 481
New England immigrants, character of, 112
New jail erected 117
New court house erected, 118
New clerk's office erected 118
Newspaper press of the county, 220
Note to chapter X relating to the author, 283
New Graefenbergh, 400
Newport, town of, 440
Norway, town of, 447
Oneida Indians driven from their Castles, 17
Oriskany, battle of, 79, 78
Orendorff, William, convention of, 285
Ohio, town of, 453
Order in Council confirming the purchase of Indian title by the Palatines, 474
Popular aspect of the Iroquois confederacy 16
Palatinate of the Rhine, Prince of, 28, 27
Palatinate, character of the people of, 30
Palatines, immigration of, 40, 34, 32
Palatine volunteers to Canada, 36
Palatine settlement attacked in 1758, 59, 58
Palatine settlement destroyed in 1778 88, 86
Policy of bounty land laws considered 116
Petrie, John M. 180
Plank roads in the county 219
Poor House establishment 252
Political divisions and party distinction 257
Political contest of 1801, effect of, 259
Produce, low price of in 1809, 262
Political results of the convention of 1821, 270
People's Friend established in the county 270
Presidential contest of 1824 271
Perry, Samuel, conviction of 286
Petry, Doct. William, notice of 352
Palatines, petition of, for leave to purchase, &c., 473
Patents, list of lands in the county 475
Reformation, outbreak of under, Martin Luther, 17
Rome, see of, determined to crush out heresy, 29
Recapture of New York by the Dutch 40
Remarkable fate of the Palatines 89
Rheimensnyder's bush destroyed 90
Ross and Butler's expedition into Tryon county 98
Royal Grant forfeited and sold 203
Rights of Indian children in recognized 203
Religious aspects of the county 234
Republican party in the state, success of, in1810 264
Republican party split into factions in 1819 265
Republican party, success of, in 1825 275
Review of the political chapter, 282
Rosecrantz, George, biography of 404
Russia, town of 456
Schuyler, Hanyost, sent  to frighten the enemy at Fort Schuyler 82
Shell settlement attacked 93
Shell, John Christian, his bravery 94
Stone's Life of Brant, statement in, corrected 104
Shoemaker, Rudolph I., 182
Shoemaker, Robert 182
Staring, Col. Hendrick 185
Sanger, Jedediah 259
Success of Republican party for 19 years, 262
Success of Federal party in 1819, 1820, 1821 266
Smith, Nathan, biography of 357
Snow, Ephraim, biography of 361
Spinner, Rev. John P. 407
Small, Jacob 414
Salisbury, town of 459
Schuyler, town of 461
Stark, town of 462
Sheriffs, list of 483
Surrogates, list of 483
State Senate, members of 488
Tuscaroras, offshoots of the Iroquois 16
Tranquility of the country 60
Tompkins, Governor, commends the conduct of the militia in the war of 1812 115
Tallmadge, Matthias B. 261
The People's party 272
Tillinghast, Henry, biography of 362
Todd, Stephen, biography of 304
Tombling, Abijah, biography of 368
Town, number of, in county, 389
              Columbia 389
Town, number of,  
 - Danube, 391
 - Fairfield 395
 - Frankfort, 400
 - German Flats, 401
 - Herkimer 407
 - Little Falls, 416
 - Litchfield 433
 - Manhiem, 434
 - Newport 440
 - Norway, 447
 - Ohio 453
 - Russia 456
 - Salisbury, 459
 - Schuyler, 461
 - Stark, 462
 - Warren, 465
 - Wilmurt, 467
 - Winfield, 471
Unprepared state of the country, in 1775, 68
Unadilla and Oghkwaga destroyed 89
Utica and Schenectady rail road 214
Vigilance of British emissaries 74
Van Buren, Martin, his position and policy 273
Varney, Edmund, biography of 369
Van Horne, Richard, biography of 370
Van Horne, Abraham, notice of 464
Voters in the county, number of, 472
Villages in the county 472
Witchcraft, Indians believers in, 19
Weiser, John Conrad 47
Woodworth, Solomon, and party, defeated by Indians 922
Willet's expedition agt. Oswego 105
Western inland lock navigation company 212
West Winfield Academy 234
Wharry, Evans 261
Williams, Robert, desert the republican party 263
Wright, Silas, some notice of 278
Whig party succeed in 1847 281
Wharry, Evans, biography of 373
Widrig, George, biography of 377
Willoughby, Westel, biography of 378
Woodruff, Samuel, biography of 379
Wooster, Sherman, biography of 380
Wright, Samuel, biography of 385
Warren, town of 465
Wilmurt, town of 467
Winfield, town of 471
Yankee pass, story of the 189
Zenger, John Peter, the widow's son 35
Zenger, John Peter, indicted for libel and acquitted 36

 

.

CLICK HERE to RETURN to
HERKIMER COUNTY, NEW YORK
INDEX PAGE

CLICK HERE to RETURN to
NEW YORK
INDEX PAGE

CLICK HERE to RETURN to
GENEALOGY EXPRESS

GENEALOGY EXPRESS
FREE GENEALOGY RESEARCH is My MISSION
This Webpage has been created by Sharon Wick exclusively for Genealogy Express  ©2008
Submitters retain all copyrights