USA > New York > Schoharie County > Gazetteer and business directory of Schoharie County, N.Y. for 1872-3 > Part 8
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How to Judge a Horse.
A correspondent, contrary to old maxims, undertakes to judge the character of a horse by outward appearances, and offers the fol- lowing suggestions, the result of his close observation and long experience :
If the color be light sorrell, or chestnut, his feet, legs and face white, these are marks of kindness. If he is broad and full between the eyes, he may be depended on as a horse of good sense, and capable of be- ing trained to anything.
As respects such horses, the more kindly you treat them the better you will be treat- ed in return. Nor will a horse of this de- scription stand a whip, if well fed.
If you want a safe horse, avoid one that is dish-faced. He may be so far gentle as not to scare ; but he will have too much go- ahead in him to be safe with everybody.
If you want a fool, but a horse of great bottom, get a deep bay, with not a white hair about him. If his face is a little dish- ed, so much the worse. Let no man ride such a horse that is not an adept in riding -they are always tricky and unsafe.
If you want one that will never give out, never buy a large, overgrown one.
A black horse cannot stand heat, nor a white one cold.
If you want a gentle horse, get one with more or less white about the head; the more the better. Many persons suppose the parti-colored horses belonging to the circuses, shows, &c., are selected for their oddity. But the selections thus made are on account of their great docility and gen- tleness.
Measurement of Hay in the Mow or Stack .- It is often desirable, where conveniences for weighing are not at hand, to purchase and sell hay by measure- ment. It is evident that no fixed rule will answer in all cases, as it would require more cubic feet at the top of a mow than at the bottom. The general rule adopted by those who have tested it, is that a cube, each side of which shall measure eight feet, of solid Timothy hay, as taken from mow or bottom of stack will weigh a ton. The rule may be varied for upper part of mow or stack according to pressure.
62
TWENTY YEAR CALENDAR.
Almanac or Calendar for 20 Years.
CB
A
G
F
ED
C
B
A
GF
E
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
D
C
BA
G
F
E
DC
F
E
D
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1
8 15 22 29
Sun.
Sat.
Friď'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
2
9
16 23 30
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
3 10 17 24 31
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
4 11 18 25
·
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
5 12 19 26
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
Frid'y.
6 13 20 27
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Sat.
7 14 21 28
.
Sat.
Frid'y.
Thurs.
Wed.
Tues.
Mon.
Sun.
Jan. and Oct.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
May.
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
August.
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Feb., Mar., Nov.
D
E
F
· G
A
B
C
June.
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
Sept. & Dec.
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
April & July.
G
A -
B
C .
D
E
F
EXPLANATION .- Find the Year and observe the Letter above it; then look for the Month, and in a line with it find the Letter of the Year; above the Letter find the Day ; and the figures on the left, in the same line, are the days of the same name in the month.
Leap Ycars have two letters ; the first is used till the end of February, the second during the remainder of the year.
63
SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
THIS COUNTY was formed from Albany and Ot- sego, April 6, 1795. A small part of Greene County was annex- edin 1836. The session laws of 1801 define the boundaries of the County and of the six towns included in it at that time as follows:
" The County of Schoharie shall contain all that part of the State bounded easterly by the County of Albany, northerly by part of the south bounds of the County of Montgomery, as hereafter described, westerly by a line beginning at the south- west corner of a tract of land formerly granted to John Lyne and running thence the following courses and distances as marked by order of the Surveyor General; south twenty-one degrees and forty-eight minutes west, two hundred and nine- teen chains, to the place where Joshua Tucker formerly resided ; thence south seven degrees and forty-eight minutes west, one hundred and ninety-three chains to the eastermost line of a tract of land known by the name of Belvidere Patent; thence south nine degrees east, six hundred and ninety-five chains to a certain hill known by the name of Grosvenor's Hill; thence with a direct line from the northwest corner of Stroughburgh Patent; thence with a direct line to the most northerly corner of Harpersfield on the Charlotte or Adegataugie Branch of the Susquehanna River; thence south-easterly along the north bounds of Harpersfield to Lake Utsayantho, and southerly by a line formerly run from the head of Kaaters Creek where the same issues out of the southerly side or end of a certain lake or pond lying in the blue mountains to the said Lake Utsayantho, and by part of the north bounds of the County of Greene."
It is an interior county, lying south-east of the center of the State, is centrally distant 35 miles from Albany and contains
Schoharie is a name of Indian origin, and signifies " driftwood." To-wos-scho-hor was the Indian orthography, and it has been spelled variously according to the person writing it; as Shoary, Skohary, Shuckary, Schohore &c. At a place a short distance above Mid- dleburgh, the Linekill and Little Schoharie enter the Schoharie Creek from opposite sides, and here drift-wood is said to have accumulated to such an extent as to form a natural bridge, which contained a large amount of timber when the place was first settled by white men ; hence the name.
-
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
675 square miles. The surface is an upland, broken by moun- tains in the south, and by hills in the center and north. A northerly spur of the Catskill Mountains lies along the south border, the highest summits of which are 3,000 feet above tide. From these, irregular spurs extend northward, occupying the greater part of the County. Many of the summits along the east and west borders are from 800 to 1000 feet above the val- leys, and about 2,000 feet above tide. The hills in the north are generally rounded and arable to the summits, but in the center and south, the declivities are steep and in many cases precipitous. The high ridge along the east border and extend- ing into Albany County is known as the Helderbergh Moun- tains. The hills derive their general outline from the underly- ing rocks. The extreme north part of the County is terraced like the limestone region further west. Towards the south the hills are steeper, and in the shaly region they are broken by deep and irregular ravines. In many places the hills bordering upon the streams are 1000 feet high, and in some places very steep.
Schoharie Creek flows north-east through the County, a little east of the center. It receives as tributaries from the east, Fox, Little Schoharie or Stony, and Keysers Creeks, and Plattenkill and Manorkill. From the west it receives Cripple Bush, Cobles- kill, Line, Panther, West and Minekill Creeks. West and Punch- kill flow into the Cobleskill. Charlotte River, a branch of the Susquehanna, takes its rise in the west part, and Catskill Creek in the south-east part, having its source in a swamp called the Vlaie. Utsyantha and Summit lakes are two small bodies of water ; the former being 1,900 feet and the latter 2,150 feet above tide.
The rocks in the County, commencing upon the north bor- der and appearing successively towards the south, are those be- longing to the Hudson River group, Clinton group, Onondaga salt group, Helderbergh series, Hamilton group, Portage and Chemung group, and the Catskill group. Among the limestones are numerous caves, in which are found minerals particularly interesting to mineralogists. " Among the most interesting are stalactites of pure white, translucent and solid, sulphate of barytes, calcite, satin spar, tufa, bog ore, black oxide of mangan- ese, sulphate and carbonate of strontía, fluor spar, carbonate of iron and arragonite. Fossils in great variety, and peculiar to the respective formations, are found in the County. Drift is found scattered over the County to a limited extent, and water- lime is also found. The soils are principally derived from the disintegration of the underlying rocks. In the north the soil is a productive clay loam, and in the center and south it is a
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
clay and sandy loam, the latter predominating on the south hills. The alluvial flats along Schoharie Creek are very fertile.
Agriculture forms the chief occupation of the inhabitants. Spring grains are largely produced, hops are cultivated in the west part, and broomcorn on the Schoharie flats. Dairying is carried on extensively, especially in the south part. Manufac- turing is quite limited and confined to such as is customary in an agricultural region.
. The County Seat is located in the village of Schoharie. The Court House, which for many years had served the people of the County, was burned January 17, 1870. A new one has since been erected on the old site, much better adapted to the wants of the County. It is built of dressed limestone, is 54 by 57 feet in size, and three stories high. The first floor contains the rooms appropriated to the County Clerk and the Surrogate, and a large kitchen where cooking is done for the prisoners confined in the Jail. The second floor is occupied by the Sheriff and his family. The Supervisors also have a room on the same floor. The third floor is appropriated to the Court and Jury rooms, a gallery over the latter affording additional room. The space appropriated to the Court and Bar is elevated a little above the general level of the room, and is inclosed by a black walnut railing. The building cost only about $20,000, but could not be replaced for a much larger sum. The building is considered fire proof, the cornices, domes and pinnacles being galvanized iron. It is said to have cost less than any other building of the same size and character in the State. It was built at the ex- pense of the Town and County of Schoharie jointly.
The Jail is a substantial stone building in the rear of the Court House.
The first courts were held in a wagon-house of Johannis Ingold, and prisoners were at first sent to the Albany Jail. The first meeting of the Judges, Justices and Supervisors, was held December 16, 1795, and it was decided to locate the County buildings two miles west of the present site, but the location was changed before the buildings were erected. The first build- ings were erected soon after and were burned in 1847. The first Court House was erected under the direction of Joost Borst, Jr., Jacob Lawyer, Peter Snyder, John H. Shafer and William Phrall, Commissioners. Abraham A. Post of Ontario, Alex- ander H. Buel of Herkimer, and William Duer of Oswego, were appointed to locate the present site. The first County officers were William Beekman, First Judge ; who was re-appointed and held the office until 1838; Joachim G. Staats, Clerk; Jacob Lawyer Jr., Sheriff ; and Stephen A. Becker, Surrogate.
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
The Poor House is located upon a farm of 62 acres in the town of Middleburgh. The building is two stories with a basement. The main part is 35 by 26 feet, and the wing 90 by 26 feet. The average number of paupers during the past year has been about eighty.
The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad is located along the valley of the Cobleskill, extending through the towns of Esper- ance, Schoharie, Cobleskill and Richmondville. The elevation of this road where it enters the County on the east, is 700 feet above tide; at Schoharie Creek it is 550 feet ; at Cobleskill, 900 feet; at Richmondville, 1,175 feet, and at the west line of the County, 1,470 feet. The Schoharie Valley and the Middleburgh & Schoharie Railroads connect with the A. & S. R. R. atCentral Bridge, and extend to Middleburgh, via Schoharie Court House. The A. & S. R. R. is now operated by the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, under a lease. The Sharon & Cherry Valley Railroad extends from Cobleskill, along the valley of Westkill, through the towns of Seward and Sharon, to Cherry Valley in Otsego County.
The principal turnpikes in the County in early times were the Great Western, built in 1802 and extending to Cherry Val- ley, and the Charlotte River Turnpike, built in 1809. The latter formed the great thoroughfare to the settlements in Delaware County and adjacent regions. Like many other counties, Scho- harie partook of the plank road mania, but abandoned it after a sacrifice of nearly all the capital invested.
Previous to the settlement of the County by the whites, a number of Indians belonging to the Mohawks, Mohicans, Dela- wares, Tuscaroras and Oneidas, uniting together, formed the Schoharie tribe and took up their abode along the valley of Schoharie Creek. The Mohicans settled near the mouth of the Little Schoharie, in the present town of Middleburgh, while the largest settlement of the others was in the present town of Fulton. Their principal Chief was Karighondontee, who had been a prisoner of the French in Canada, and had married a Mohawk woman. This tribe was subordinate to the Six Nations.
" Besides the village of the Mohegans already located, the Schoharie tribe had several others; one of which was on the farm formerly owned by Alexander Vrooman, on the west side of the river. Nearly opposite that, on the other side of the river, they had another; and a distance of several miles farther up the valley, on the farm of the late Peter P. Snyder, a third. At each of the two former they had a small castle; and at the latter, where they dwelt for many years after the two northern
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
villages were abandoned, they had a burying ground. Those villages were all within four miles of the present site of the Court House. Within the recollection of some now living, twenty-one wigwams were yet standing upon the Snyder farm ; and a few old apple trees still to be seen there, are supposed to have been planted by the natives. Near this orchard many burials are said to have been made at their place of sepulture ; nor, indeed were the manes of nature's children without com- panions, to share the potage taken along at their death ; as a portion of the consecrated ground was set apart for the defunct slaves of the early Germans.
"The fifth and most important village of the tribe, where dwelt Karighondontee and his principal chiefs, was in Vroo- man's land ; where they had a strong castle and a place of burial. This castle was built by John Becker, who received from Sir William Johnson, as agent for the British government, eighty pounds for its erection. It was built at the commence- ment of the French war, and constructed of hewn timber. The Indians held some four hundred acres of land around it, which they leased for several years. Contiguous to this castle, along both sides of the river, could have been counted at one time seventy huts; and relics of savage ingenuity are now often plowed up near its site. An angle of land, occasioned by å bend in the river, on which this castle stood, was called the Wilder Hook, by the Dutch who settled near it, and signified the Indian's Corner."-Simm's Hist. Schoharie.
The number of warriors of the Schoharie tribe has been va- riously estimated at from 300 to 600. Their coat of arms was a turtle and snake; and they placed figures of these animals on deeds and writings as an evidence of faith. Whenever land was deeded, the trees marking the boundaries bore the charac- teristic emblem of the. tribe. During the wars between the British and French, the Indians adhered to the British. A band of about 200 remained in the valley, at peace with the settlers until the Revolution, when yielding to the tempting offers of the British, they took up arms against their old neigh- bors. Previous to this a pestilence had swept. off the greater part of the tribe, though the whites were not affected by it.
The first white settlement in this County was made in 1711, by German Palatinates. They came over the previous year under the patronage of Queen Anne of England, and settled at the East and West Camps on the Hudson. On arriving in the val- ley of the Schoharie Creek they settled in several villages, or dorfs, as they were called, under the direction of seven men who had previously been their captains or commissaries.
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
" Weiser's dorf, (so called after Conrad Weiser the founder,) was the southern village and occupied part of the present site of the village of Middleburgh. This dorf contained some forty dwellings. They were small rude huts, built of logs and earth, and covered with bark, grass &c. They were built on both sides of the street, which ran nearly east and west, and may have been called Weiser street. Hartman's dorf was the next settlement down the river, and was about two miles north of Weiser's dorf. This was the only one of the settlements called after the Chris- tian name of its founder or patroon, his name having been Hartman Winteker. This flekken (if the largest village in seven merited the name,) is said to have contained sixty-five dwellings, similar in construction to those spoken of in the dorf above. The Germans, (as is the custom of their descend- ants,) built their ovens detached from their dwellings; and thirteen are said to have answered all the good houseswives of Hartman's dorf, the purposes of baking. * * The next village north, was in the vicinity of the Court House, and was called Brunnen or Bruna dorf, which signified the town of springs. There are several springs in this vicininy, and a living one which issues from beneath the rocks a little distance south-east from the court house, supplies most of the villagers with excel- lent water. The principal or most influential man among the first settlers at this place was John Lawyer. Some of his de- scendants, as also those of some of the Shæffers and Ingolds, who were among the first settlers, still reside near the location of their ancestors. The next settlement was in the vicinity of the present residence of Dr. C. H. Van Dyck, about a mile north of Bruna dorf, and consisted of Johannes George Smidt, (or Smith in English,) with a few followers of the people, for whom he had acted as commissioner at the Camps. Smith is said to have had the best house in Smith's dorf, which was thatched with straw. *
* Fox's dorf was next to Smith's, north, and took its name from William Fox, its leading man. He settled about a mile from Smith, in the vicinity of Fox's creek, so called after him. The Snyders, Beckers, Zim- mers, Balls and Weidmans, now residing along and near that stream, are regular descendants of the first settlers. Elias Gar- lock, with a few faithful followers, who doubtless adhered to him on account of his great wisdom, which remains to be shown, located about two miles farther down the river, near the present residence of Jacob Vrooman. This was called Garlocks dorf. The Dietzes, Manns and Sternbergs were among the first settlers at Garlocks dorf, whose descendants still occupy the grounds. The last and most northerly settlement was called Kneiskern's dorf, after John Peter Kneiskern, its leading man.
, 69
SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
.It was two or three miles from the last mentioned settlement, and was made along the east side of the river, opposite the mouth of Cobel's kill. The Kneiskerns, Stubrachs, Enderses, Sidneys, Berghs, and Houcks, residing in that vicinity, are descendants of the original settlers."-Simms Hist. Schoharie.
The whole number who settled in the County during the year 1711, is supposed to be from 600 to 700. The first settlers came from Albany on foot, with no vehicle of any kind, and not even a horse, but carried all their goods in packs on their backs. Within one week after their arrival, four children were born, whose names were Catharine Mattice, Elizabeth Lawyer, Wilhelmus Bouck and Johannes Earhart. They left Albany on Thursday, sleeping in the open air at night, with fires to keep off the wolves. On Saturday they reached the present site of Knoxville, and through some cause that tradition has failed to transmit, they had a free fight, from which circumstance the place was called by the settlers Fegt Berg or Fighting Hill. As no serious injury resulted from this contest, they resumed their march, and on Sunday arrived at a small creek which forms part of the boundary between Schoharie and Wright. Here they performed their weekly ablution and "while washing, the lice were swimming down the brook, which is called Lousekill to this day." As there were no grist mills, the settlers resorted to the Stump Mortar or went to Schenectady, carrying their grists upon their backs, and in the same manner was the first Skipple of wheat brought to the County in the berry, by Lambert Sternberg, who planted it on a piece of ground on the opposite side of the river from Garlock's dorf, where there had been an Indian castle. It was hoed in the spring like a patch of corn, and at harvest the one Skipple produced eighty-three. The want of horses and cattle was a serious impediment to the progress of the early settlements. The first horse was purchased in Schenectady by nine individuals of Weiser's dorf. Soon after the German settlement was commenced, the Dutch began a set- tlement at Vrooman's Land, on the west side of the river, two or three miles above Weisers dorf. Adam Vrooman of Schenec- tady, obtained a patent of 1,100 acres, more or less, August 26, 1714. The tract was afterwards found to contain 1,400 acres. It embraced the flats along the creek in the present town of Ful- ton, except Wilder Hook, where there was an Indian castle and settlement. Mr Vrooman had previously obtained an Indian title to the land, but in 1726 he obtained a new title of the In- dians, giving all the land previously conveyed, with the sen- tence, " let there be as much as there will, more or less, for we are no surveyors." It was executed with the ensign of the Mo- hawk nation, the turtle, wolf and bear.
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
The Germans and Dutch did not live on the most friendly terms, the former opposing very strongly the settlement of the Dutch in Vrooman's land, as shown by the following letter to Governor Hunter:
" May it Please your Excellency As in duty bound by my Last to you I give your Excy an acct How the Palintines threatened In a Rebelious manner If I should build or manure the Land at Schore that your Excllcy was Pleased to Grant me a Pattent for and In Please your Excellency I have manured a great part of the Land and sowed considerable grain thereon they still drove their horses on it by night. I then hired my sons to go with me and build me a house I was their and was making a stone house 23 feet Squar and had so high so that I lay'd the Beames for the Chambers I having at the same time an Indian house about 200 yards off for myself workmen and negroe to sleep in, but on the 4th day of this Instant in ye night follow- ing they had a Contryvance to tie bells about horses necks and drive them to and fro In which time they pulled my house stones and all. to the Ground the next day I spok with some of them and they used such Rebelious Expressions that was never heard off; but they told me before now they had done all ; they would Run among the Indians John Conradus Wiser has been a Leader of all factions, for he has had his son sometime to live among them Indians and now he is turned their Interpreter so that this Wiser and his son talk with the Indians very often and have made treates for them and have been busy to buy Land at many places which is contrary to your Excellencys Proclama- tion, and has made the Indians drunk to that degree to go and mark of Land with them; and I am no wayes secure of my Life. their for after I came away they went and pulled my son off of the wagon and beat him and said they would kill him or his father or any body else that came their so that my son was forced to come away ; likewise they say they care for nobody John Conradus Wiser and 2 or 3 more has made their escape by way of Boston and have said they will go for England but has left his son which is their Interpreter to the Indians and every day tells the Indians many Lyes whereby much mischiefe may ensue more than we now think off and is much to be feared ; for the time I have been their I have made a diligent scrutiny into all their actions but I dont find a Great many concerned with this Wiser and his son in their disobedient unlawfull and Rebelious Proceedings I am well informed who are their Chiefs ; for those that are good Subjects among them and will not joyn with them are afraid the others will Burn their houses down by their threatening words And please you I could Enlarge much more of their misdemeanors but for fear of troubling yr
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SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
Excellency too much I shall beg your Excellency pardon att this time and ever Remain your Excellencys most Humble and Obedient Servant to Command.
Schenectady July the 9th day 1715. In hast.
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