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BRIEF SKETCH OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF CO. OF
SCHOHARIE N. Y. BROWN
Gc 974.701 Sch6b 1740035
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00863 2801
A Brief Sketch
OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE
COUNTY OF SCHOHARIE.
BY THE GERMANSI
BEING AN ANSWER TO A CIRCULAR LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE AUTHOR BY THE HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK,"
BY JOHN M. BROWN
SCHOHARIE.
Printed for the Author by L. CUTHBERT. 1823.
REPRINTED BY G. W. BELLINGER, Editor of the INDEX, COBLESKILL, N. Y. 1891.
1740035
STATEMENT.
One object in republishing Judge Brown's "First Settlement of the County of Schoharie by the Ger- mans" is to bring into general circulation an im- portant local historical work now nearly extinct. It was only after the most diligent and long con- tinued search that we were able to secure a perfect copy. Any effort to perpetuate and make fa- miliar the early history of our forefathers in this our native home must be worthy, and we appre- ciate the opportunities presented which enable us to help such public benefaction.
Another object is to have opportunity to present our compliments to the 2,600 subscribers to the Cobleskill INDEX. The INDEX was first published in the year 1865, and continued under one man- agement until the year 1873, when the under- signed came into the responsible duties of editor- ship and publication. The fact that the circula- tion of said publication under our management has steadily increased from 800 to 2,600 copies per week, leads us to desire in some way to express appreciation of favors that has made this growth
possible. What better then, at this glad-Christ- mas tide, than to present the compliments of the season to INDEX readers with a copy of history of early settlement of this our native land. This, then, is another object of republication.
Judge Brown was a half brother of Capt. Chris - tian Brown, a gentleman who resided on the James Becker place, about 1} miles North-East of Co - bleskill on the Barnerville road, an officer in the Army who did noble service in the days when the blood thirsty Brant and his followers scalped set- tlers and burned buildings in the early history of Cobleskill. In the year 1771 Judge Brown set- tled upon 300 acres of land located in what is now the town of Carlisle, situate about five miles Northward of Cobleskill. His lot as a farmer was similar to the conditions which surrounded his neighbors. It was only after many years of ex - cessive toil and rigid economy that he cleared his land and his home of troublesome incumbrance of debt. His first wife was Gitty Hager, by whom he become the father of eight sons and one daugh- ter His first wife died in 1796. A few years thereafter he married Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Van Arnein of the Continental Army. No chil - dren were born of this union.
Judge Brown manifested religious convictions and demonstrated deep piety. He was a member of the Reformed church of Schoharie and for years served the organization as clerk and choris - ter. He was regular in attendance. He would journey afoot, oftimes of necessity bare- foot, a dis- tance of 14 miles, following an Indian footpath, which he would strike just below his residence. Such evidences of religious devotion are now un - known.
People are yet living who remember Judge Brown in his old age. In person he was below rather than above medium height, but broad- shouldered and stout. His eyes were blue and deep-set under overshadowing brows. There was a scar upon one cheek, from a wound inflicted by a squaw. . When a lad he was engaged wholloping an Indian boy, when the mother of the dusky con- testant came up just in time to save her son. Pulling up a sapling she belted young Brown over the head, ending the contest and leaving a scar from the wound which lasted until the grave
claimed its own. In old age Judge Brown engag. ed in song and those living who listened remem - ber that the infirmities of age had not so impaired the high strong voice as to make impossible calcu - lations of the power it possessed in the days of its greatest vigor.
Judge Brown had the benefit of only a few
weeks schooling. He was self educated. He spoke English as well as Low and High Dutch and wrote in both English and German. He was de- prived of associations and surroundings which de- velop the mental faculties, yet he wielded a pow- erful influence, and wrote his name high on the scroll of local history. In the year 1795 he was appointed third Judge of the First Bench of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Scho- harie, a position he resigned in 1820. He was a Justice of the Peace. He was three times a can- didate for Member of Assembly, once failing of election by only two votes. He was Captain in the Malitia. He was on a Commission to lay out public roads in the County of Schoharie, and in like capacity helped locate 27 public thorough- fares in what is now the County of Otsego. He was the confidential counselor and adviser of a wide circle of neighbors.
A record of the "Early Settlement of Scho- harie" must have been considered a matter of im- portance or else there would have been no formal request from high authority for publication. Judge Brown must have possessed intelligence, keen observation and good judgment or else the Governor of the State would not have asked him to write upon a subject of such moment to history as the "Early Settlement of Schoharie."
Judge Brown tells in his published work where he was born and when. He died upon the estate, which he purchased when a young man, in the year 1838, aged 93 years. He was buried a few rods from the dwelling where he died, across a brook, on an elevation, beside his wife and a number of neighbors and friends who preceded him. There he rested in perfect peace for 41 years, the chanti- cleer sounding a toscin over his remains at early morn and the patient ox lowing a requium over his lonely grave at eventide On the "4th of
'July," 1879, his remains, as well as those of his wife, were exhumed, and followed by long wind- ing procession, were taken to the Carlisle Cemetery, where with song and patriotic speech, booming cannon and swelling notes from brazen instruments they were tenderly lowered, there to remain until the Great Arch Angel shall "set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot on the earth," and with a mighty blast shall summon every grave to open -the stone from the sepulchre to roll away and the vasty deep to uncomplainingly yield up its dead.
December, 1891.
GEORGE W. BELLINGER,
Editor and publisher of the Cobleskill Index.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The author begs leave to submit the following pages to the public, all written from his own memory; being well aware that it cannot, in every instance, be perfectly correct. But finding that so valuable a part of history as the emigration of the Germans from Germany-their journey- arrival at New York, and their settlement and improvement of Schoharie would be lost, time wearing out memory, therefore hoping and ex - pecting that future generations yet to come, may be benefitted by his labour, is the ardent wish of your humble servant, JOHN M. BROWN.
Carlisle, Schoharie County, Nov. 20th, 1823.
Respected Dear Friend,
SIR :- Very unexpected I. received your circular-letter, pointedly directed to me. I took on myself to answer the compliment; but with pain and reluctance I take up my pen to answer your request-not because I have been an idle observer or spectator of the revolutions of times and events; neither of that I have forgotten what I knew, heard or seen, or has in any wise come to my view or comprehension-but on account of not being a scholar, and that I never had an oppor- tunity of reading a geography in my life; so that perhaps I take not the right meaning of the re- quest, and so make an answer to no purpose, as also that my nature, through the poverty of my parents, is not cultivated to any promising degree.
I was born at the Blue Mountain, Ulster county, in the year of our Lord, 1745, November 5th, old style; lost my mother at 18 months old, then brought up by my grandfather, Matthew Junck, at West Camp, so called, because the first Germans that came over, sent by Queen Anne to
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America, in the year 1712, encamped and Wintered in ground huts the Winter ensuing. My grandfather used to teach a German school three or four months every Winter, until the year 1752, then quit, when I was seven years old. He was the first that taught school among all the Germans in America. He was a very perfect good reader and singer in the German Low Dutch and English, but a very poor writer, and knew no arithmetic at all. IIence I date all my education I ever had.
My father re-married this year at Schoharie, to a widow who owned a small property of ten acres of land, and about 110 pounds in money; sat up his trade of a wheel-wright. He was the first that followed that business in all Schoharie, and also made the first cider-press in the whole town, being now in the year 1753. Schools were then principally taught in the German and Low Dutch.
In the year 1757, then in the French war, my father fetched me up to Schoharie and put me to his trade; with whom I continually lived, and followed his profession until I was twenty-four years old. Schools now began alternately to be introduced in English.
Schoharie then was a part of the county of Al- bany,situated thirty-six miles to the West, without
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even a privilege of a Supervisor, until at or about the year 1765. The Supervisor had to be chosen in Albany, and to be a resident of the Corpor- ation until this time.
Schoharie then contained (note in the year 1752, but 104 houses, making up about 125 fam- ilies. The greatest mumber Germans of those aforesaid, and about one-third Low Dutch from Schenectady and Normanskill; altogether by a guess, about 875 souls;) which same ground now occupies 4,638 electors, and 19,323 people. Amazing increase ! At that time the Indians consisted in about a quarter of the whole popu- lation. .They were then outlaws; naturally in- clined to revenge and murder against the white people and among themselves. A squaw shot and killed one, a step-father of Johannes Acker, on a Sunday, when returning out from meeting. They continued in that practice until the com- mencement of the Revolutionary war. In my time I saw one William, a son of Jan, stab and kill another at the house of David Becker in Wi- sersdorp. After this, another stabbed and killed a negro man, a drummer to Capt. Van Arnein's company, at the Helleberg, at the house of Isaac Cole, on a training day. And the very same In- dian shortly after, stabbed and killed an Indian in Cobleskill, in the house of Geo. Ferster, on
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the place where Lambert Lawyer now lives. This was done at the time I lived where I now do.
Schoharie, so called by an Indian name, from a creek by the Indians called Skochalie, which runs from east to west and falls into the Schoharie river, at a place formerly called Wisersdorp, (now the town of Middleburgh,) then down north, till it falls into the Mohawk river, at Fort Hunter now called Caghnawaga.
Schoharie was first inhabited by a French In- dian prisoner, married to a Mohawk squaw. His name was Karigondonte, whose father-in-law sent him there, and gave him land, for fear that the Mohawk Indians would kill him when they got drunk, and gave him land, as the Mohawk bore a great enmity to the French.
Other Indians, Mohawk, Mohegan, Discarora, Delaware and Onidas, flocked to him, so that he increased to a nation to about three hundred strong, and established chiefs among them; who then pretended to be the owners of all that vast territory of land, and granted conveyances thereof.
Queen Anne having intended to settle Ameri- ca, sent her agent to purchase land from the na- tives; for which purpose she sent messengers to Germany to invite people to come over and set-
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tle, and promised that they should have the land they possessed, free. In consequence whereof, many came over, and a purchase was made, be- ginning near little Schoharie creek, at high water mark of the big Schoharie river, and at an oak stump, burned out hollow by the Indians to serve for stamping their corn; where a stone heap was erected, which stands to this day. The Indian seal of a turtle and a snake was cut on the stump (here I must digress a little, and mention that the said stump or stamp block, served the Germans for their first grist-mill) from thence down to the north, including all the low land on both sides of the creek, for the space of about eight miles, con- taining 20,000 acres.
These Indians claimed the right of a different na- tion, as they had now become a mixture of sever. al nations, claimed all the adjoining wild land about Schoharie-began to sell from tract to tract, until nearly at, or about the year 1763 or 64, when they got to be interrupted by the Mohawk nation, who insisted and proved by the hearsay of their forefathers, that they had no right to any more land; as was given to Karighondonte's wife, which was to be measured by the planting of so much corn, as a squaw could hold in her petti- coat; by our measure reckoned about a skipple.
After this time the Mohawk nation claimed all the land till unto the Susquehannah river, and
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down the river as far as a creek called the Scen- evers creek, so called from the name of an In- dian who used to lay and hunt there, and for the very remarkable and unnatural circumstance that happened, namely: he and his father lay on a hunt there, and a deep snow fell, they conclud- ed to return to Schoharie-began their march, and traveled one day-they kindled their fire and slept-the next morning started again; the old man got tired after traveling awhile, turned back again, his son missing his father, returned also. Finding his father at the place they had slept, had kindled the fire again, setting and warming himself-took his hatchet, and knocked him on the head, which caused his death; after which he buried him as he said, under the snow. On this Scenevers creek is now the town of Wooster, belonging to the county of Otsego.
The Mohawk Indians after establishing their claims, began to make several large sales thereof to Sir William Johnson and others, until all was sold, their castles, settlements and improvements only excepted.
These Indians were of a loyal disposition, and assisted Great Britain by all possible means, to conquer Canada in the last French war, and con- tinued so. In the year 1775 they made it fully appear that they were loyal; they proved a dis- pleasure to our Revolutionary war-called it a
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rebellion and disobedience to their King and Father.
At this time an Indian treaty was called of all the Six Nations, to be held at the German Flats; the very place where the court house of the county of Herkimer now stands. Gen. Philip Schuyler was the commissioner for the conven- tion of America, delegated with full power to set- tle an amicable treaty with the Six Nations, wherein it was agreed and particularly stipulated, that the Indians should keep at peace, and not meddle with the controversy. After being three weeks well fed, and receiving many great pres- ents, they retired home. Almost at their arrival they found the King's agents sowing tares amonst them namely, Tory seed. They broke the treaty, and joined the British, excepting only a few: the Oneida tribe remained true to the treaty, and some of them joined the American forces.
At this treatment a very remarkable instance took place, namely, the yellow fever broke out among the Indians, a sickness they never saw, nor were acquainted with before, and which de- stroyed a great many. The Karighondonte tribe, or Schoharie Indians, with whom I was best acquainted, were hereby almost exterminated. The few that remained, being naturally very
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superstitious, supposed that the Great Spirit was mad with them for not joining their King, so joined the Toriesand went to Canada, from whence they often returned, together with o her Indians -made incursions on our frontiers- killed, murdered, scalped, burnt and took prisoners even their former neighbors with whom they were well acquainted, so that there were but few houses left within forty miles of Albany.
Since I have now so far digressed, I think it not at all amiss, here to relate some remarkable occurrences, namely, that the first Indian that was killed in our Revolutionary war, was by Lieut. Jacob Borst of Cobleskill. The Indian's name was Oness Yaap, a mixed offspring of the Karighondonte tribe. Here I will relate the particular circumstances in detail:
On the first day of June or July, in the year 1776, my brother, Captain Christian Brown, sent his Lieut. Jacob Borst, and brother Joseph on a scout down to the Scenevers Borst,
creek aforementioned, to the Susquehannah river. And as they there discovered noth- ing, returned back as far as the upper branch of the Cobleskill creek, where they were first alarmed by something like the yell of an owl, yet somewhat different; but immediately saw two Indians jumping up the bank of the creek and
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making towards them. Lieut. Borst immediately took a tree, his brother being about fifteen paces behind. The two Indians directly spread, so that no tree would shelter him; if it did from the one it would expose him to the other. He resolved to stand free and wait for them to come up; con- sequently they came, one against him the other against his brother, making great exclamations against them for being in the woods, and so shoot Indians who did them no harm. Joseph Borst replied that they meant not to shoot Indians that would not shoot them. By this time Hansyerry, a son of Seth, (one of the Karighondonte Chiefs) came up to him, seized the muzzle of his gun, gave it a twitch, and knocked open the pan, saying these words: "Yo yenery its hatste," signifying, its good if this begone. Borst, with ready presence of mind, and good resolution, dropped his own gun, and clinched the Indian's piece-took hold and twisted the flint out of the cock, and then replied in Mohawk: "Yo yenery it sagat," that is to say, is is good that this is just so. On this, the Indian clinched Borst with a lion-like fury. Borst not in the least daunted, but with good resolution, also took a rash hold, gave a hearty Indian whoop, which took away half of the Indian's strength, and soon brought him down on his knees. At this time a shot fell behind his back; the Indian almost naked, striving to ex-
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tricate himself from Borst's hands, now slipped loose, run off, leaving his gun in the lodge. Lieut. Borst by this time had finished the best part of his business with the other Indian; ran up to his brother and picked up his gun; shut the pan and aimed at the Indian now in full run, and snapped; so Hansyerry escaped at this time. But in a year and a half after, was killled with his own axe, together with others, and a brother of his named Hanelie, severely wounded, by one Mr. Sawyer and Mr. Cowley, whom they had taken prisoners at Harpersfield, and were about to carry them prisoners to Niagara, who, on the eleventh night arose against their masters, killed three and wounded a fourth, who run off; so they made their escape, and returned back in sixteen days.
Lieut. Borst now also stood in every way ex- posed. Oness Yaap, aforesaid, came up and demanded him to surrender prisoners; he made one step back, and with this cocked his firelock, and replied, "Yaghte," which is to say, no, then drew his trigger shot him through the body and broke his back bone, so left him lay and made off. On this very spot, on the next day, the first battle was fought in our Revolutionary war against the Indians by Capt. Brown with twenty-two of his militia and a Continental Lieutenant, whose name, I am sorry I never was acquainted with,
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together with thirty Continentals. The first had five killed and three wounded; the latter had nine killed, five wounded and two missing, among the first being their valuable officer. This happened one day before the massacre of Wyom- ing. The Indians, by their own account 450 strong, killed and destroyed all the cattle and horses they could not easily take along-burned every building in their reach-remained one day and two nights in the adjoining woods, to dress their wounded and pack up their provision and plunder, and so went off.
Now I must return to the very history of Schoharie.
Queen Anne had caused her proclamation to be carried through all Germany. inviting people to come over to settle the New World, promising there to give them lands gratis, and that they should all be free, or have and enjoy freedom, O ! liberty was sweet -- that they like Abraham of old, left their fathers, friends and relations. And in the year 1710, on New Year's day, started for the unknown land; went down the river Rhine, where they were provided with shipping to Holland, from thence to England, and there pro- vided, so went on to America. They had a very tedious voyage; a great many died, and the re- mainder landed at New York in the year 1712,
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on the 14th day of June, after having been one year, five months and several days on their journey.
New York then went by the name of Monades, so called by the Hollanders. They were then sent up Hudson's river to East and West Camp, so called because the first Germans encamped and Wintered there in ground and log huts. From thence broke up in the next Spring, and went up to Albany, then called Fort Orange. The city, or rather village, was called the Foyck, but by the Indians was called Schogneghtaday, the most of the whole being Indian traders, and altogether of the Low Dutch. From thence, be- ing provided by order of Queen Anne, with pro- visions and tools on their backs, started and travelled by an Indian foot path four days before they reached Schoharie.
Here it will be well to relate, that on the third day there was a meeting, and their whole camp fell a fighting on a hill called Fegtberg until this day; where now is a village in the town of Bern, called Pucker-street. On the fourth, day they were in sight of Schoharie, concluded now to have a general wash-found a brook. and water-then fell to work, and as they were a washing, the lice were a swimming down the brook; whence that brook is called Licekill until this very day.
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Now being safe arrived in the first week, after three children were born, namely: Johanes Earhart, Wilhelmus Bouck and Elizabeth Lawyer. They found the land good, and much of the flats clear, The Indians, who were all the people they found, having shifted, they went to work and planted corn, which they got of the natives; and in working the ground with their broad hoes, they found a potato like root which they called earth acorns; also another they called earth beans, which they cooked or roasted, and so served them for food.
In the fall of 1713 Lambert Sternbergh carried a spint of wheat along the Indian foot path from Schenectady to Schoharie; there sowed, or rather planted it, over more than an acre of ground, which grew well; and the next year he reaped and threshed it, and measured 83 skipple out of it. This was the first wheat ever raised in Scho- harie, and by about 40 years after, it was reck- oned that one year in another, they carried 36,- 000 skipple to Albany.
Now the new inhabitants soon began to think themselves well off. By their industry, and great fertility of the soil, they soon got plenty to eat-wore moggisins-buckskin breeches and jackets of leather, which they plentifully obtained of the Indians. Nine of them owned the first
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horse, which was a gray. But now a new and very great difficulty was felt; they had no grist- mills, no teams, no horses, no roads fit for pas- sage, but Indian foot paths. They stamped and also peeled their corn by help of lye, and then cooked it to eat. Their wheat they carried to Sche- nectady to grind, a space of nineteen miles every man about a skipple to his load. Sometimes there would go twenty in a drove, often men and women together. This they had to do for three or four years until a grist mill was built by one William Fox.
By now, the people began to think themselves very well off. having plenty to eat, began to have stock-used horses-made their own block sleighs for use at home, and wooden shod sleighs to go to Albany; but knew of no British collars, (which were an invention of Schenectady);made a trip to Albany-back again in five days. Their wagons for Summer use, were made of blocks sawed off of a thick water beach tree, which we now call button wood. All was very well now; they had no law to fear, and full as little gospel to trouble them. But as they dwelt in a world of trouble, their peace was of no long direction, for a new one and a mighty great one was born. Ignor- ance may be said was the mother; she brought forth twin upon twin, so that she damped all hopes of their ever doing well in Schoharie any
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more. Some pulled up stakes, of which the Ger- man flats were settled. Others went down to the Susquehannah, and down to Pennsylvania, by which the Mill Creek in Torpehahen has been peopled.
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