USA > New York > Forts and firesides of the Mohawk country, New York : the stories and pictures of landmarks of the pre-Revolutionary War period throughout the Mohawk valley and the surrounding country side, including some historic and genealogical mention during the post-war period > Part 12
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The other pioneer, Heinrich or Henry, is rather obscure but there is mention of at least four of his children. The first is Capt. Henry, who served as captain of the Fifth Company of Col. Herkimer's Canajoharie Regiment, Tryon County Militia. While in command of his Company at Oriskany he was mortally wounded by a bullet through his lungs. He died almost as he fell. His name appears on the Oriskany Battlefield Monument with two other Diefendorfs -- Johann and John, both of whom were privates.
in ciso site.
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Capt. Henry's will, dated March 24th, 1772, was probated in Albany County, which at that time was the westernmost county, reaching far up the Mohawk. Later this same year Tryon County was created - its boundaries encompassing the western limits of what had been Albany County.
Of the other three children of the first Heinrich, but little is known beyond their names which are given as Jacob 1740- 1816 (who may well have been the parent of the lad Jacob who was carried off in the Indian raid of 1781), Frederick and Barbara.
The census of 1790 lists six families of this name. There is a Jacob Sr., Jacob Jr. and one Jacob; also a John, a John Jacob, and a Rosena.
The home is at Currytown. It is much remodelled and enlarged, the original structure being what is now the rear part of the dwelling.
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وى مهني تريجم
هام
John J. V'rooman-19.3.8
Van Alstyne House Canajoharie
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VAN ALSTYNE HOUSE
Van Alstyne House
HE first mention of this name in the Colony is that of Jan Martense Van Alstyne, son of Martin Van Alstyne of Holland who came to New Amsterdam in 1646. By 1657 he seems to have made his way up to Albany where he owned considerable real estate.
Doubtless some business opportunity presented itself for he sold his property at Albany in 1698 and settled permanently near Kinderhook (about 20 miles below Albany) on the Hudson, where he died. Kinderhook was one of the rapidly growing settlements of that time. His will directed that his son, Abraham, should inherit the farm but the other heirs, brothers and sisters, were each to be reimbursed in cash by Abraham for their share.
One of these brothers was named Martin and he it was who went to Canajoharie and there in 1749 built this house and a mill in partnership with Hendrick Scrembling who had arrived a year previous. The partners were also engaged in the forwarding of freight up and down the river by batteaux, no doubt finding this a profitable adjunct to the milling business, being able to transport their own merchandise in their own boats. Scrembling soon sold his interest to Van Alstyne and it is the latter name which has clung to the old stone house.
The mill was located a short distance above the house on Canajoharie Creek; the significance of the word "Canajoharie" being "The pot that washes itself." The "pot" is a water worn hole about 25 feet in diameter and some eleven feet deep in the bed rock, which at that time was washed clean of dirt and drift by the fall of the water. Through the years the creek bed, which is the bed rock, has been eroded in such a way that a great deal of the flow of water is diverted from the hole which now fills with silt.
The mill was located about two hundred yards south of the house. It was a building with massive timbers completed about 1760 and stood until 1814 when it burned under rather unusual circumstances. A Mrs. Isaac Flint, who lived near by and who was commonly credited with being a witch, was strongly suspected of having something to do with the origin of the fire. That night, on hearing suspicion attached to her, she fastened a rope over a ceiling beam in her
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house, put a noose around her neck and standing on a chair, tightened the rope and kicked the chair from under her. She was found soon after but too late to be questioned about the fire!
The Van Alstyne house is now owned by the Fort Rensselaer Club of Canajoharie, and is used for social purposes. It has been enlarged, maintaining the original lines and appearance on the street side, the addition being placed at the rear overlooking the Creek. The interior has been preserved as far as possible, the alterations being concerned chiefly with the additions. In the upper story under the eaves of the roof, a large room extending the entire width of the building has been set apart, without disturbing its venerable framing timbers for the display of an interesting collection of early Americana gathered almost entirely from the neighborhood.
The house was never palisaded during the war as were so many of these stone houses which answered as forts. It was, however, put in a state of defense and in it many of the meetings of the Tryon County Committee of Safety were held. There were fifty-three Van Alstynes in the service, fifteen being in the First Regiment Tryon County Militia.
The census of 1790 gives the following families of this name in the Canajoharie district :---
Abraham Van Alstyne 2 males, 1 male under 16 yrs., 3 females, 0 slaves John Van Alstyne 3 males, 3 females, 0 slaves
Martin A. Van Alstyne 1 male, 1 male under 16 yrs., 3 females, 0 slaves
Martin C. Van Alstyne 2 males, 1 male under 16 yrs., 4 females, 0 slaves
1 male, 4 females, 1 slave
Abraham C. Van Alstyne Cornelius C. Van Alstyne 4 males, 1 male under 16 yrs., 4 females, 0 slaves Nicholas C. Van Alstyne 1 male, 4 males under 16 yrs., 2 females, ? slaves
John Van Alstyne 1 male, 3 males under 16 yrs., 2 females, ? slaves 2 males, 2 males under 16 yrs., 2 females, ? slaves 1 male, ? males under 16 yrs., 4 females, ? slaves
Martin G. Van Alstyne Philip Van Alstyne
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John J. Vrooman-19 1X
Fort Frey Palatine Bridge
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FORT FREY
Fort Frey
ENDRICK FREY of Zurich, Switzerland came to America in 1688 and located first along the Schoharie Creek in 1689 with a "location ticket" from Governor Dengan, entitling him to 100 acres. His stay in that valley was not for long; indeed it is probable he never actually settled there for he is credited with owning 300 acres of land at Palatine Bridge where he did take up residence. This land has come down through the family to the present day. He secured it from the Indians who evidently had forgotten the transaction for they granted the same land to Cornelius Van Slyke, some twenty odd years later, as indicated by the following conveyance dated Jan. 12th, 1713, which covered some 2000 acres :-
"in consideration of ye leve, good will and affection which we have and do bear toward our loving cozen and friend Capt. Harmon Van Slyke of Schenectady, aforesaid, whose grandmother was a right Mohaugs squaw and his father born with us in the above said Kanajoree . . . it being his the said Harmon Van Slyke's by right of inheritance from his father."
and witnessed by "Lea Stevens interpreter to ye above deed." This land included the Frey tract. However, there seems to have been no trouble over the error for Van Slyke deeded that section of the land in question back to Frey.
The first building Hendrick Frey erected was a small log dwelling in part of which he conducted a trading post. This crude little hut, on the edge of the wilderness some 40 miles west of Schenectady, was the only home in this part of the Valley, and to it the English came in 1701 and occupied it as an outpost. They palisaded it and remained until 1713, the closing year of Queen Anne's War.
In 1739, his trading business no doubt in a flourishing condition, Hendrick Frey replaced his log structure with a stone building on the identical site of the former building and there it stands today as pictured two hundred years later. Being a stone structure of simple, quadrangular outline there has been little need of alteration or repair, and beyond the replacement of wood trim, porches, and similar details, it is almost entirely in its original condition. The loopholes are still to be seen in its walls, but unlike its predecessor, the log trading post, it was not
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palisaded. It was used again as a Fort by the English during the French and Indian War of 1754-1760. Under the building, in the stone faced basement, are the old fireplaces, placed there for more security as well as physical comfort against the bitter cold of those long winter nights. Here Frey and his garrison of English soldiers must have sat many an evening, sipping hot grog and listening to the howling of wind and wolves. Later this basement was used as quarters for the family slaves.
Hendrick Frey, Jr. (1713-1763) was born in this house and it was he who became one of the original patentees of the Stone Arabia grant. It was also the early home of the patriot, Major John Frey, the brother of Hendrick Jr. Both boys were educated under the tutelage of Rev. Dunlap at Cherry Valley, but how widely separated were their later lives! Hendrick married a daughter of General Herkimer and in the face of what must have been terrific pressure from both wife and family, he became a Tory while Major John became a prominent Colonial officer at the very outset of the War.
Major John Frey married Anne Shoemaker, a daughter of Gertrude Herkimer, an own sister to the General. Major John had already seen active military service under General Bradstreet and later also served as a Lieutenant with Sir William Johnson at Niagara and then he was but 19 years old. At Oriskany, Major John fought beside General Herkimer and barely escaped with his life. He was wounded in the arm, taken prisoner, and carried to Canada where he was held for the better part of two long years.
The large stone residence on the crest of the hill overlooking the primitive little "Fort" is the Colonial type home of Henry Frey, 2nd. The building was erected in 1808 and commands a beautiful view of the River from its snug setting in a grove of characteristic old locusts. The ground about the house falls away on all sides save to the northward where the road approaches it along a natural grade.
Major John was a member of the Tryon County Committee of Safety and served in many capacities and on numerous special committees during the war. The records of 31 of these meetings have been preserved, the last being dated November 24th, 1775.
Records of subsequent meetings have been lost. Major Frey was present at the meeting of this Committee of Safety held in the house of Gose Van Alstyne on October 26, 1775, when a motion was
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FORTS AND FIRESIDES OF THE MOHAWK COUNTRY
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"Moved and Resolved, unanimously, that three members of our Committee shall be sent to Sir John Johnson, to ask him, whether he will allow, that his Inhabitants of John'stown & King'sborough shall form themselves into companies according to the Regulations of our Continental Congress to the Defense of our Country's Cause "
Major John's loyalty to the cause of the Colonies was never questioned but he was often interrogated regarding the politics of his brother, Hendrick, during those formulative days. In his brother's defense he had this to say:
"As to my brother Hendrick . . . it must be conceded he was in a trying position. He was an intimate friend of Sir William Johnson and an executor of his will, as well as the appointed guardian of Mollie Brant's children."
and with this explanation in mind it is easy to understand there were powerful arguments on both sides, which must have made any decision of Hendrick's a . difficult one.
John J. Vrooman-1938
Ehle Homestead Nelliston
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THE EHLE HOUSE AND MISSION
The Ehle House and Mission
N the edge of the wilderness over two hundred years ago, Domine Ehe budt his house for his parishioners and his Indian neighbors. And i would be particularly fitting to see it restored and dedicated to the public as a memorial to the man whose efforts made possible the founding of the several churches in this section of the Valley.
The old building cannot be seen from the highway, though a State marker indicates its location. It stands across the field toward the River but under the hill, perhaps a fourth of a mile from the road, just east of Nelliston. The building was located beside the old Indian trail through the Valley. And here, in front of the house, this trail crossed the River at what came to be known as Ehle's Ford. The ford is now submerged by a deepened waterway and the Indian Trail in its metamorphosis became first the "King's Highway" with its lumbering four horse stages and its plodding ox carts, then a carefully graded right of way adorned with ribbons of steel over which flies the "Twentieth Century Limited."
Jacobus Ehle, who built the original building, now almost totally in ruins, was a Palatine German, educated at Heidelberg and ordained in England in 1722. In this same year he migrated to America. There are records of his preachings in the small settlements of the Hudson Valley as he made his way toward Albany. The next year, while living at Albany, he married Johanna Van Slyke of Kinderhook.
Soon after the marriage the couple left for Schenectady and then on to the Schoharie Valley, where they seem to have stopped, at least temporarily. But it was not for long as the Domine was soon preaching at the outposts of the upper Mohawk Valley, and in order to be nearer them, left the Schoharie Valley and took up his residence here, building first a log house in 1723 to be replaced in 1729 on the same site by the present one story stone building now so nearly in ruins. From here he made his way up and down the Valley and to the northward to the little settlement at Stone Arabia, where he founded the Stone Arabia Reformed Church in 1723. Six years later he founded the Palatine Church, the original building being of logs.
In 1752 Domine Ehle's son, Peter, born in 1729, built the addition to the eastward, larger than his father's building, also of fieldstone but two stories in
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height and with a cellar below. The brick needed for the flues as well as the interior wood trim were brought up the River in batteaux from Schenectady. The house was used as a Mission, a dwelling and a tavern, or better say, a shelter for traders and trappers off the River, and also as a place of defense, for the building is loopholed, as were practically all the buildings of this age in the Valley.
The domine was well thought of by the Indians to whom he devoted a great deal of his time, not only as a preacher and instructor but as a sincere and helpful friend. Because of this he was always warned of the approach of raiding parties of hostile French and Indians and so he and his family had time to escape.
In one instance the warning came almost too late. It was already dark, and they had only time to gather up a few of their most highly prized possessions. These they hastily buried in the forest nearby and fled quickly toward Schenectady. When the danger had passed they returned but because of the darkness and of the haste in which they had secreted their treasure, they were never able to locate the exact spot and it still remains where they hid it. Persistent searching has failed to bring it to light.
The following is a letter from Domine Ehle to the Reverend Lord Beercroft, reporting on his missionary work :-
Canajoharie December 21st, 1749.
To the Most Reverend Lord Beercroft.
Greeting: I greatly desire, most Reverend Sir, that as an act of the greatest courtesy you have this letter laid before the Society :-
As to the situation of my household it consists of a wife and three daughters with an only son. I live apart from Society, leading a secluded life, and hitherto I have converted many among the people with whom I live, baptising their children and uniting them in marriage, since they are without a regular pastor, and for a long time have been prevented from sending for another for the administration of the sacrament.
What pertains to my service among the Indians is indeed very well known, that as long as I have lived here among these Mohawks they have almost always carried on business through me. As I visit their farms and baptize both their children and adults (for it behooves the adults to know on bended knee from memory and to recite the Lord's Prayer and the articles of faith with the Ten Commandments) and going among them with an interpreter I join them in marriage. But let me make mention from the time when Reverend Barclay bade us farewell. Thus it behooves me to mention this, because
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THE EHLE HOUSE AND MISSION
ordained by him: after his departure I had the privilege of attending to all religious matters among the Indians, and from that time also I officiated on this side of (faeram) Sunaxim in the Mohawk Camp.
And in the meantime they often visited me with their children and their relatives as much as they could when there was danger of war, and even we were compelled to flee hence and to seek refuge among our neighbors.
But this I am glad to relate also, that from Camp Oneida quite generally in two villages I converted them. In one village I baptized twenty adults and children and learning that they were not far from our foundation as well as I could by signs and other means of communication, I was able to convert seventeen Tuscaroras, and during those three years in which the Reverend Barclay was away from our upper Camp, I was able also to influence a great number, and I think thirty one signified their desire and that might have been worth while.
But this also must not be forgotten, that in our upper Camp I administered the Lord's Supper with fourteen or fifteen communicants, either Quakers or Quiviguies, and eleven in the Mohawk Camp.
Concerning the other services, I shall write nothing. Granted that in the eyes of the World my services have been in proportion to my slender powers, if rightly and worthily they are reflected upon, I do not doubt that with Divine help your hearts will be moved to approbation.
As to the assistance of my little friend Salarius, helping in my household, if it please them for the fourth time to help him with some gift, they will be treating him as a friend.
In the meantime, my most honored friends, I have no greater desire than to leave you under devine protection, by praying to God continually in your behalf that in his abode, and by his power, He may furnish you more and more with the worthiest gifts, and that finally when these duties shall have been religiously discharged by each one of you, that it may seem good to Him to receive you all in his own good time into His eternal tabernacle, and to bless you with Heavenly joy.
This from his soul, hopes and prays the most Devoted and Most humble servant of you all.
John Jacob Oel.
In 1777, at the age of 92, the good Domine died and was buried in the Frey burying grounds at what is now Palatine Bridge. His son Peter joined the military forces then busily engaged in moving army supplies over the "carry" around the Little Falls. He held a commission as Lieutenant which was signed by Governor Tryon. He also served under Sir William Johnson and later was enlisted in Captain Helmer's Company of the Tryon County Militia at the time of the Revolution. He died in 1807 and his wife in 1821. Both are buried in
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the old homestead cemetery on the hill just eastward of the Turnpike near the Dygert road. Peter had brothers and sisters but the record is not clear as to just who and what they were. There were four children in all, the recorded ones being, besides Peter who was born at Schoharie, two sisters named Elizabeth and Magdalen; these two being born prior to 1730 and almost certainly in this house.
Captain Peter had but one son named Peter P., born in 1768 in the old house. He later married Delia Nellis. When the road was relocated in 1803 and became the Turnpike, Peter P. built a stone house on the new road at its junction with the road leading to Stone Arabia. He was a farmer as his father had been and under his care the amount of cultivated land was greatly increased. The original tract had been a gift of 2000 acres from the Indians to the "Revd's Petrus Van Driessen and Johannes Ehle," which was ratified by the Crown in 1725. Peter P. and Delia raised several children and their descendants are numerous, many of them still living in the homestead neighborhood.
Like so many of the old houses this one too has its ghosts. These are the ghosts of soldiers wounded at the Battle of Stone Arabia and brought here to die. Their shrieks and moans could be heard for many years after the war, so the neighbors testified.
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Fort Plain Paris-Bleeker House
John J. Vrooman-1947
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THE PARIS . BLEEKER HOUSE
The Paris-Bleeker House
SAAC PARIS found his way to the little settlement of Stone Arabia about 1737 from the Alsatian city of Strasburg and soon opened a little store and trading post. He must have been a kindly man, not too sharp in his dealings, as some of his competitors were prone to be, and prospered accordingly. His business grew rapidly as did
the number of his friends. Shortly before the war he was the proprietor of a large store doing a flourishing business. From one of his advertisements which appeared at that time he says he will sell-
"by Wholesale or Retail, on very cheap and the lowest terms, in cash or (if required) for credit, or any merchantable country produce."
The merchandise has been "Just imported from London" he states. The number of items listed proves he must have carried a well balanced stock for there was "Silk Damascas, Silk Venetian Poplin . . . Men's Random Thread Stockings . Men's and Women's buckles . . . Tea Kettles . . . Horn-Combs . Muscovadoe Sugar . . . French Blankets with Sundry Articles too tedious to enumerate
When the Revolution was "brewing," Isaac Paris was one of the twelve men who signed the minutes of the first meeting of the Tryon County Committee of Safety held August 27th, 1774, at the home of Adam Loucks at Stone Arabia.
Fort Paris was ordered built by the Committee of Safety in December of 1776 and named in honor of Isaac. It was of solid, hewn timbers with the upper story overhanging the lower on all four sides, thus enabling those above to shoot directly down on the enemy. The fort was torn down after the war and the timbers found their way into several buildings constructed at about that time.
Following the battle of Oriskany in which Isaac Paris was taken prisoner, Moses Younglove, also a prisoner, who, after a long period of captivity, finally
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returned, made an affidavit now on file in the office of the Secretary of State. In it he says-
"Isaac Paris, Esq., was also taken the same road without receiving from them (the Indians) any remarkable insult (except stripping of most of his clothes and all his valuables) until some Tories came up who kicked and abused him, after which the savages, thinking him a notable offender, murdered him barbarously."
On February 14th, 1793, Catherine Paris, the widow of Isaac, was voted a pension by a special act of the State legislature. This was said to be the first pension granted. Catherine spent her last days in Johnstown with a son, Daniel Paris, a prominent attorney who, active at one time in politics, served in the State Senate. This son married Catherine Irving, sister of Washington Irving. Mrs. Paris is buried in the Johnstown cemetery.
Isaac had at least two sons, Peter and Isaac Jr. Peter was killed at Oriskany. Isaac Jr., the second son, 15 years of age when the Battle of Oriskany was fought in 1777, moved from Stone Arabia to Fort Plain to land which had belonged to his father. Along the Indian trail leading southward toward the Susquehanna country and just at the crest of a hill overlooking the Mohawk, he built the house which is still standing, using it for a residence and store. Like his father, he was a very successful business man and made many friends. Trade was very brisk for the war was over and the rich agricultural lands the armies had fought over were now open for settlement. The population grew so rapidly it taxed those already established in business to care for them. Following a severe crop failure in the district south of what is now Utica, Isaac Paris Jr. supplied the settlers with food when starvation faced them. His reply to their appeal was certainly from his heart :---
"No matter about the pay. Your women and children must not be allowed to starve. Take what you need to feed them, and if, at any time in your future you are able to pay for it, it will be well, but your families must not be allowed to starve."
This was in 1789.
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THE PARIS . BLEEKER HOUSE
Those women and children for whom Paris had shown such fine consideration, were the ones who paid the debt. Ginseng, a root which grew wild in their locality, was an item of trade and barter and to get it in sufficient quantity they scoured the country side. And when they sold what they had gathered, they balanced the account.
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