USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 3
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The Pamlicoes, Shawnese, Miamis, Illinois, Ohios, Chippe- ways, Menomonies, Sacs, Foxes, and the Kicapoos, who occu- pied portions of the territory east of the Mississippi, all spoke the Algonquin language.
The Sioux dialect was spoken principally by the Mississippi Indians.
* Mr. Jefferson computed the number of the Powhattan warriors at 2,500, or the total population at 8,000.
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The Wyandot, next to the Algonquin, was the most com- mon language east of the Mississippi. It was spoken by many powerful tribes, amongst which were the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, in the north ; and by the Chawans, Nottaways and Tuscaroras in the south. The latter tribe having been unsuccessful in a contest with the Carolina Indians, were driven from their territory, and emi- grating northward, were kindly received by the Five Nations and incorporated into the Confederacy.
The Cherokee language was principally confined to the southern tribes. The remaining dialects were the Uchee, the Natchez, the Mobillian and the Yamassee, which were spoken only among the southern Indians.
The English settlements in 1664 reached as far north as Maryland on the south, and included Massachusetts and Con- necticut on the north. At this period, Charles the second con- ceived the bold idea of uniting these detached settlements by an offensive conquest. He accordingly made a grant to his brother, James, the Duke of York and Albany, of New York and New Jersey, reaching to the Connecticut river on the east, a part of which territory was then in the peaceable pos- session of the Dutch.
In August of the same year three armed vessels appeared in the harbor of New York, and- demanded the surrender of the town to the English crown. The demand of the English commander was clothed in persuasive and respectful language, offering the most favorable terms to all who were peaceably disposed. As the Dutch were in no condition to offer a suc- cessful resistance, and being withal peaceably inclined, they adopted the alternative, and Governor Stuyvesant was obliged to capitulate. Accordingly, Colonel Nichols, the English commander, immediately assumed the government of the colony, and raised for the first time, the colors of his native country upon the island of Manhattan.
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This accession of territory gave the British exclusive con- trol of the Atlantic coast, from Maine on the north, to Florida on the south. The English remained in peaceable possession of their newly acquired territory until 1673, when, through the treachery of the English commanding officer,* the Dutch again obtained possession of their territory, but which they permanently restored to the English crown by the treaty of 1674.
The importance of conciliating the favor of the Indian tribes, and of preserving the amicable relations existing between them and their predecessors in power, the Dutch, was not overlooked by the English, who succeeded them in the government of New York. In this scheme they were not unsuccessful. A system of negotiations was established through agencies appointed by the crown, with the Iroquois and other neighbouring tribes. Valuable presents, imple- ments of agriculture, art, and war, together with articles of clothing, were freely distributed amongst them with the most satisfactory results. Missionaries were sent to instruct and civilize them-to plant the standard of the white man's God in the rude uncultivated soil of the Indian's soul. Traders, with their stores of notions, penetrated far into their territory, and carried on a successful and lucrative traffic, in exchange for their goods receiving furs and other Indian commodities. From these two sources were derived all the information of the vast unexplored wilderness in the interior portions of the State-of its lakes, its rivers, and the mighty ranges of moun- tains that traverse its surface, except what was gleaned from the natives themselves, until the expedition fitted out by the colonists in 1779, under the command of General Sullivan, which will be referred to in a subsequent chapter. This expe- dition penetrated several hundred miles into the Indian terri-
* Captain John Manning. See Documentary History of N. Y.
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tory, to inflict a salutary chastisement in retaliation of the depredations and cruelties to which the frontier settlements had been subjected for a long period before. The eminent success of this expedition, fitted out as it was, under the fos- tering spirit of the great Washington, and the comparative cloak which for a time it threw around the unprotected pio- neers, occupies already, as it deserves, an eminent page in our national history.
The earliest missionary to the Iroquois nation, of whom the histories I have perused give any clue, was a Frenchman, Father Simon Le Moine, who commenced, at the instigation of the French Government, in 1674, a journey to their country. The real object of this visit, cloaked as it was, under the guise of propagating the standard of religion, was nevertheless to obtain a knowledge of their strength, of the situation of their strongholds, and if possible, to effect a recon- ciliation between them and the Indians. He was a Catholic priest, and first planted the standard of his faith on Lake Ontario. He was successful in his negotiations with that powerful confederacy, which, as stated in the previous part of this chapter, had carried on a bloody war against the French settlements in Canada, in retaliation of the fatal error of Champlain. A treaty of peace was concluded, and permission given to found a French settlement on the south side of Lake Ontario.
In 1683, three Indians were examined by the commissioners of the British Government at Albany, in relation to the Sus- quehanna country, and gave a description of it as follows :
" That it is one day's journey from the Mohawk castles to the Lake whence the Susquehanna river rises, and then ten days' journey to the Susquehanna castles-in all eleven days.
" One and a half's journey by land from the Oneida to the Kill, which falls into the Susquehanna river, and one day unto the Susquehanna, and then seven days to the Susquehanna Castles-in all nine and a half's journey.
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" Half a day's journey by land and one by water from Onondaga, before we arrive at the river, and then six days' journey from the river.
"From Cayuga one day and a half by land and by water, before arriving at the river, and then five days from the river.
"From Sinnekas' Four Castles three days by land and two days by water ere arriving at the river, and thence five days from the river-in all ten days, which is easy, they conveying their packs in canoes from the river."
During this interview, the Indians expressed a strong desire that some traders should come and establish themselves on the. Susquehanna, to buy their furs. It being, as they represented, much nearer than Albany, as well as much easier of access- as they might then convey themselves and packs by water- whereas they are now compelled to bring every thing hither upon their backs.
About this period, Philadelphia began to attract attention as a trading post. It had been established but the year before (1682,) and now contained one hundred houses, and rapidly growing. The guiding spirit of the miniature colony was the renowned Penn-a Quaker-a man possessing untiring energy of mind; of broad and liberal views-he was eminently cal- culated to ingratiate himself into the favor of the Indian tribes. To this he paid early attention : he had hardly set foot on American soil, ere he commenced a friendly intercourse through the medium of trade, with the Indians in the neigh- borhood of his settlement; an intercourse which the following year he attempted to extend to the Iroquois nation, and thereby divert the Indian trade from Albany. To consummate more effectually his intended design, he dispatched a commissioner combining the necessary requisites of sagacity and address, to purchase the Susquehanna territory.
The announcement of Penn's intention, spread the greatest consternation throughout the northern trading posts, particu-
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larly at Albany, where it was received with a spirit of marked resentment. Trade with the Indians being their only support, any attempt to divert it away would naturally excite their indignation, and they accordingly exerted themselves to frus- trate the plans of the designing Quaker. The territory in question was claimed by the Cayugas and Onondagas, who had four years before conveyed it by promise to the Governor of New York, who at this particular crisis, convened the chiefs of these two nations in a treaty at Albany. The result of this conference was the confirmation of the original purchase, by a sealed instrument. Such is a brief sketch of the origin of the Susquehanna titles, and our limits will not in this place allow us to glance at the various controversies and conflicting claims that afterwards proved serious sources of agitation to the early settlers. The reader is referred to an interesting article in the Documentary History of the State, entitled "Susquehanna Papers ;" and also to a small volume published in 1796, by Croswell, in Catskill, entitled "Susquehanna Title Stated and Examined." Both articles are well worth a perusal.
Having glanced at some of the prominent features that stamp the early history of our common country; and rendered a passing notice to the character of the Aborigines, who were the original proprietors of the soil, we are now prepared to enter upon a more limited field of discussion, and although we may at times digress from our prescribed limits, it is to pre- serve unbroken and unimpaired the common chain that con- nects us with the past.
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CHAPTER III.
New York in 1770-Total population of the Colony at that period- Tryon and Charlotte counties erected-Their extent-Population of Tryon-First settlement German Palatines-Settlements made by them-Heldeburgh Hills-Origin of the name-Schoharie valley- Its settlement-Settlement at Cherry Valley-Privations of the set- tlers the first winter-Hair-breadth escape from starvation-Suc- cored by a friendly Indian-Nativity of the early settlers-Harper family-Settle in Cherry Valley-Their influence with the Indians -Harpers found a new settlement-Called Harpersfield-Obtain a Patent-Surveyed-Mrs. Harper, the first white woman in the town-Constructs a log-house with her own hands-The first house in Harpersfield-Privations the following winter-Providential re- lief from starvation-Slow progress of the settlement-Reception of new settlers-Settlement in Middletown, before the Revolution- Death of Dumond, by the Schoharie Guard-Brugher shot by the Indians while threshing buckwheat-His son taken prisoner-Re- lease and return of the son to Middletown-Drowned while cross- ing the Delaware some years after-Indian Villages on the East Branch-Milling stories-Indian hunting-grounds-Beaver ; pecu- liarities of the animal-Ancient Apple-trees; anecdotes concern- ing-Pakatakan, an Indian Village-Supposed signification of the name-Tribes of Indians who occupied-Papagouck and Pepacton, other Indian Villages-Historical communication of Dr. O. M. Alla- ben.
" The noblest men I know on earth, Are men whose hands are brown with toil ; Who, backed by no ancestral graves, Hew down the woods and till the soil, And win thereby a prouder fame Than follows kings and warriors' name."
As we have stated in a previous chapter, in 1770, the tide of emigration received a sudden impetus, and the line of the
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frontier settlements began rapidly to recede westward. The river towns, which lay along or near the noble Hudson, were passed by and left to slumber on in comparative obscurity, while the daring and enterprising citizens were lured by the inducements offered them by the forest beyond. At this period, William Tryon was the principal Governor of New York; his name stands last in the catalogue of the provincial rulers, and it is conceded by both friend and foe, that he was endowed with all the attributes necessary to constitute a wise officer and a useful citizen. It is true that it was during his reign in office, that the yoke of foreign dominion was peremp- torily cast aside, and the link which united us to the mother country was severed ; but the causes which opened the door to that eventful struggle in which the goddess of liberty rode tri- umphant over tyranny and oppression, and erected an asylum for the down-trodden subjects of every land, were beyond his or human power to control. It needs but a casual glance at the history of the Revolution and its causes, to convince even the most skeptical that the clouds of political discord had been gathering and accumulating blackness for a long period before the fatal issue came. Wise men of England had descried the star of liberty-the saviour of freedom-rising faintly above the western- horizon-dimly at first, but gather- ing renewed brightness from every wafted breeze-the pro- phecy had gone forth, and the proud aristocrats of England, jealous of their power, and benumbed to every noble feeling of compassion or justice, like Pharaoh of old, had sent forth their impious decrees to conquer by compulsion and force, what kindness and mutual feeling could alone beget : instead of recognizing their brethren across the water as Englishmen, with the same ancestral blood thrilling through their veins- moved by the same impulses and characterized by the same traits-bestowed upon them the epithet of servile subjects. To England this was a fatal step, but they either saw their
3
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error too late, or were too proud to retrace their steps, and the fatal snare they had carefully adjusted for another was sprung literally upon themselves; the same impromptu that caused Englishmen in England to usurp an unjust power, caused Englishmen in America to rebel.
In 1771, New York, although it comprised within its limits the whole of the present State of Vermont, was divided into but twelve counties, viz. : New York, Albany, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Westchester, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, Richmond, Cum- berland, and Gloucester. The total population was but 168,000, of which nearly 20,000 were blacks. Nor was this population anywise evenly distributed throughout the colony. It was in the main confined to Long Island, Richmond, New York, and a half dozen settlements along the Hudson, foremost amongst which were Albany and Kingstown.
In 1772, two new counties were erected, Charlotte and Tryon, both of which have been since divided and subdivided, and are now recognized by other names. Charlotte was com- posed of the western half of the present state of Vermont, and of the counties of Clinton, Franklin, Essex, and Wash- ington, in this State. Tryon county embraced all the terri- tory west of Charlotte, between that and the St. Lawrence river, and west of a line running through nearly the centre of the present county of Schoharie to Utsayantho lake, which is the source of the west branch of the Delaware river; thence down the west branch to the Pennsylvania line. It embraced the whole State west of these defined limits. From its origi- nal extent, the whole or a portion of the following counties have been erected, viz .: Alleghany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauque, Chemung, Chenango, a part of Dela- ware, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, a part of Schoharie, Schuyler,
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DELAWARE COUNTY.
Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates.
The entire population of Tryon county at its formation did not exceed ten thousand whites, and these were exclusively ยท confined to the eastern portion ; of which it may be said that it contained some comparatively, for that early period, flourish- ing settlements. But the reader will do well to bear in mind the distinction between what was called a flourishing settle- ment at that early period and the present time. It needed not then some rich and favoured section of the State, with its railroads, canals, and all the modern improvements of art- with its fine farms, rich farmers, and flourishing mechanics- with its beautiful and stately edifices ; its numerous churches, academies, and school-houses, to merit that appellation. It was rather where the first phase from a savage state to civili- zation had been passed; where a few pioneers had centred together, and where, by dint of unremitting toil, they were enabled to enjoy some of the necessaries and luxuries of life- where, at the close of day, the hardy, toil-weary, care-worn parents assembled with their children around the wide fire- place in the humble log-cottage, in unalloyed enjoyment- there was then no, the rich and the poor; no the high circle and the low circles ; no superb mansion standing out in con- trast with the humble cottage of the poor. All was unity and harmony; the same feelings swayed every heart-kindness ; the same impulses throbbed every soul-hospitality; every thing beat in unison with the spontaneous sentiments of love. Such is a description of a flourishing settlement in the primi- tive history of our country ; and of such we say a few existed in Tryon county at its formation. The county seat was located at Johnstown, a place of early note, as being the resi- dence of the old baronet, Sir William Johnston, a man of military fame; having distinguished himself in the wars of the northwest, with the Indians. He was also His Majesty's
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Superintendent of Indians Affairs in America, through whose agency treaties were formed, and purchases consummated with the Aborigines.
The earliest settlement in Tryon county, of which I find any record, was made by a company of German Palatines, in the early part of the eighteenth century. About 1709 or 1710, three thousand Palatines landed at New York, many of whom had served in the army of Queen Anne, by whom they were hired of the princes who ruled over them. A large portion of these emigrants were induced by Penn to settle on his lands in Pennsylvania; many settled in New York, where they erected the first Lutheran church in America-settle- ments were made by them at East and West Camp, on the Hudson, and the remaining families emigrated to Schoharie county. The journey from Albany occupied four days; they crossed the spur of the Catskill mountains, which extends through the present county of Albany from north to south ; and which they named in their native tongue, " Heldeburgh," signifying "Prospect Hill;" carrying upon their backs tools and provisions, with which they had fortunately provided themselves. They located in the beautiful and fertile valley of the Schoharie-kill, more or less of which had been cleared, and to some extent improved and cultivated by the Schoharie Indians, who had located there-tradition says-twenty years before.
These settlements continued to spread until the outbreak of the Revolution, when their comparatively prosperous condition was suddenly and fearfully disturbed; when their homes became the theatre of a dark and bloody war. The compara- tively remote situation of the little settlement from the theatre of military operations, surrounded as they were by forests, which formed a shelter and a hiding-place for their savage foe, rendering them the fit subjects of Indian barbarity and wanton cruelty. Devastation and destruction, like meteoric flames,
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spread in every direction. The happy hearths of the settlers became the scene of bloody assassinations. The unholy savage, with fiendish barbarity spared neither young nor old ; the innocent babe and the helpless female were alike sacrificed by the tomahawk or burned at the stake; the well filled barns were given to the mercy of the flames; the cattle butchered or driven away, to furnish sustenance and support to their enemies, presenting altogether a picture surpassing descrip- tion.
The next settlement made within the limits of Tryon-and which literally speaking, formed the entrance-way to many of the early settlements in the present county of Delaware-was made in Cherry Valley, Otsego county. Glancing over the pages of an ably written work, "Campbell's Annals of Tryon County," we note that in 1738, a patent of eight thousand acres of land was granted to Jacob Lindesay, Jacob Roseboom, Lendert Ganesvoort, and Sybrant Van Schaick, the former of whom having obtained an assignment of the whole patent, the following summer laid the foundation of the future settlement. He was accompanied in the novel enterprise of founding a set- tlement far beyond the pale of civilization by his wife, father- in-law, and a few domestics only. The season had far advanced when they encamped for the first time upon the spot desig- nated to become their future home. They had scarcely suc- ceeded in constructing a rude tenement to shelter themselves from the storm, and to afford protection during the inclemency of winter, ere the ice-bound monarch became their unwelcome guest.
Imagine to yourselves what must have been the condition of this family, who were not only deprived of the little luxu- ries of life, but of neighbors and friends; in the midst of a howling wilderness, over which wild beasts and savage Indians disputed proprietorship, with a scanty supply of provisions, and the snow lying upon the ground full three feet deep. 3*
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Day after day passes ; night after night they await in anxious expectation, but in vain, for a cessation of its severity, to enable them to go to the Mohawk for provisions and aid.
Their situation at last became terrible in the extreme, star- vation stared them in its most hideous form; and the grim spectre, death, seemed already to have impressed his signet upon his victims. In this extremity a kind providence sent them succor in the person of a friendly Indian, who kindly volunteered to go to the Mohawk for provisions, travelling by the aid of snow shoes, and returning with the provisions upon his back. This faithful child of the forest did not desert them until spring dawned upon their unpleasant situation ; his unerring aim supplied them with venison and other wild game, and he frequently visited the Mohawk settlement to procure a fresh supply of meal and flour.
The following year, 1741, the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, who had been prevailed upon by the generous proprietor of the patent to settle in Cherry Valley, induced several families among his acquaintances and friends to locate there also. Among these are the names of David Ramsay, William Galt, James Campbell, and William Dickson, from Londonderry in New Hampshire, to which place they had emigrated from the north of Ireland, some years previously. These pioneers were peculiarly calculated to become the founders of a flourishing settlement-energetic, hardy, inured to toil, and susceptible of endurance. But in their new homes they experienced many privations unlooked for and unprepared for, the story of which deterred many others from following them, and hence, during the ten subsequent years only one or two families came into the valley, and the little germ of a settlement struggled on alone.
In 1754, the enterprising family of Harpers emigrated from Windsor, a town in Connecticut, and purchased a small tract of land in the Valley suitable for the pursuit of agricul-
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tural purposes, and immediately commenced improvements thereon. The category of this family included John and Abigail, the ancestors, and nine children ; the names and for- tunes of most of whom became afterward vitally woven in the frowning struggle of '76, and all of whom fought unexcep- tionally and unreservedly for liberty.
William, the eldest son, was an active member of the Pro- vincial Congress, and when Otsego county was organized in 1792, he was appointed one of the assistant judges, William Cooper, Esq., being first judge. He died in 1817, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, at his residence at Mil- ford, Otsego county, New York.
James, the second son, was a vigilant and bold asserter of American independence.
Mary, the eldest daughter, married John Moore, an efficient and fearless member of the "Tryon County Committee of Safety," and who, with her three daughters, were taken pri- soners at the massacre of Cherry Valley, in 1777; and com- pelled, under the savage protection of Brant, to perform the journey to Niagara. Fortunately for her, she found in the person of the commandant of that fort, a relative and friend, to whose kindness and humanity they were indebted for their subsequent restoration to their home.
John, the next brother in lineal descent, held a colonel's commission during the Revolution, and was particularly dis- tinguished for the humanity which he exhibited on every occa- sion toward those of the enemy who fell into his power, and for that cool, intrepid courage, which several times saved the Schoharie settlements from wanton destruction. It is to him that Harpersfield is principally indebted for its early improve- ments, and from him that that town derived its name.
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