History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 7

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920

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REV. SAMUEL KIRKLAND.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

(Whitefield ?), and, indeed, the ' noblest chapels in the kingdom were open to him.' He obtained large sums of money and much personal distinction. During his subse- quent life he carried a gold-mounted cane presented him by the king. The king, many of the nobility, and persons of wealth and distinction became patrons of the school, and continued their contributions for several years. After his removal to Brotherton he preached and labored with much zeal among his people ; and, also, preached a portion of the time at Stockbridge, in connection with Mr. Sargent. He enjoyed the confidence of Mr. Kirkland, and of Christians generally, in the infant settlements in this section. For some time, it is believed, he was the only ordained minister between the German Flats and Oneida, and was called upon as such to preach, attend funerals, and solemnize marriages by the white settlers.

" He often visited the family of the author's* father, where he was received as a messenger of 'good news.' He was a man of cultivated mind, pleasing address and manners, and in his life and conversation exemplified the spirit of the gospel. Even to this day his name is vener- ated among the descendants of those he taught. He died at New Stockbridge in July, 1792, aged sixty-nine years."

By an act passed Feb. 25, 1789, the Legislature of this State ratified and confirmed the grant made by the Oneidus to the Brothertons, directing that said grant should be called " Brother Town," and that said lands should remain for the " cultivation, improvement, and use of the said New England Indians and their brethren, consisting of the tribes called the Mohegan, Montague, Stonington, and Narragansett Indians, and the Pequots, of Groton, and Nehanticks, of Farmington, and their posterity," without the power of alienation or right of leasing for any longer term than ten years.

These Iodians removed with others to Wisconsin, where they had purchased lands of the Winnebagoes and others in 1821. Since their removal they are reported to have, greatly improved in their condition. They were also de- clared citizens of the United States by an act of Congress many years ago. The report of the Indian agent for 1849 says that in the capacity of citizens they appear advan- tageously, and many of them have filled town and county offices with credit and respectability.

Statistics of the Oncidas .- From the census tables of 1875 it appears that the Oneidas have 220 acres of improved and 19 acres of woodland. The cash value of their farms was placed at $39,050, of buildings $1650, of stock $1730, and of tools and implements $1134. They had 60 acres in plowing, 31 acres in pasture, and 54 acres in mow- ing lands ; and cut 41 tons of hay. They raised 58 bushels of buckwheat, 487 bushels of Indian corn, 886 bushels of oats, 243 bushels of winter wheat, 30 bushels of peas, 662 bushels of potatoes, 570 bushels of fruit, and made 5 bar- rels of cider. Of stock, they owned 11 horses of two years old and over, 10 head of young cattle, 8 cows, and 9 sheep (no hogs reported). Of poultry, they owned $68 worth, and sold $71 worth of poultry and $76 worth of eggs. They also manufactured 1575 pounds of butter. The

weight of their wool-clip is stated at 2250 pounds, from 9 sheep ! One or both of the figures given are manifestly absurd. The clip from nine sheep would ordinarily be about forty pounds.

Indian Nomenclature .- The following list of proper names pertaining to Oneida County, with their signification, is from Morgan's " League of the Ho'-de-no-sau'-nee," given in the Oneida dialect :

O-NA'-YOTE-GA-O-NO'GO : Territory of the Oneidas.

Mohawk River above Herkimer: Da-ya'-hoo-wa'-qua -Carrying-place.

Rome : the same Indian name as the river and same sig- nification.

Fish Creek : Ta-ga'-soke-Forked like a spear.

Wood Creek : Ka-ne-go'-dick-Meaning lost.

Oneida Lake : Gü-no-a-lo'-hule-Head on a pole.

Oneida Creek : Gu-no-a-lc'-huile-Head on a pole.

Oneida Castle : Gu-no-u-lo'-hale-Head on a pole.

Scriba's Creek : Gu-sote'-na-High Grass.

Bay Creek : Te-gua'-no-tu-go'-wu-Big Morass.

West Canada Creek and Mohawk River: Te-ah-d'-ge -- At the Forks.

Trenton Village : Ose'-te-a'-daque-In the bone.

Trenton Falls : Dute-wi'-sunt-hu'-go-Great Falls.

Utica : Yu-nun-da-da'-sis-Around the Hill.

Whitestown and Creek : Che-gu-quat'-ka-Kidneys.

Oriskany and Creek : Ole'-hisk-Nettles.

Paris Hill: Ga-nun-do'-glee-Hills shrunk together.

Clinton : Ku-du'-nis-dig-White Field.

Sangerfield : Ski'-na-wis-A Long Swamp.

Vernon : Sku-nu'-sunk-Place of the Fox.

Vernon Centre : Skenn-an-do'-wa-Great Hemlock.

Verona : Te-o-nu'-tule-Pine Forest.

Nine-Mile Creek : Te-yu-nun'-soke-A Beech-Tree stand- ing up.

Camden : Ile-stu-yun'-twa-Meaning lost.

Oneida Depot : De-ose-lu-tu'-gaat-Where the cars go fast.

New Hartford : Che-ga-quat'-ku-Kidneys. Gü-nä-doque-Empty Village.

The name of Utica in the various dialects was as follows : Seneca, Nun-du-du-sis ; Cayuga, De-d'-nun-du-du'-sis; On- ondaga, None-da-du-sis; Tuscarora, Yu-nun-na'-rats; Mo- hawk, Yu-none-da'-sis. The signification of each was the same. (There are some discrepancies in Morgan's tables of proper names which we cannot reconcile .- Historian.)

CHAPTER IV.

PROTESTANT MISSIONS.

Andrews-Barclay -- Ogilvic-Occum-Edwards -- Wheelock - Spen- cer-Ashley-Hawley-Averys-Kirkland- Crosby - Williams- Davis-Barnes-Ingals-Fancher.

EFFORTS were probably made to establish missions among the Iroquois nations as early as 1700, but they were only of a temporary character. In 1712, " The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," under the

# IIon. P. Jones.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

auspices of Queen Anne, appointed the Rev. William An- drews as a missionary among the " Mohocks and Oneidas." He resided for a period of six years among the Mohawks, and often visited the Oneidus, but the meagre success of his efforts finally discouraged him, and he asked to be re- called, saying, "There is no hope of making them better; heathen they are, and heathen they still must be."

Subsequently the Reverends Dr. Barclay and Ogilvie, missionaries stationed at Albany, visited and labored with the Mohawks and Oncidas, but with indifferent success. A few of the Indians were persuaded to conform to the outward requirements of the Protestant religion, but the outlook for a general overthrow of their ancient belief was anything but encouraging.

Sir William Johnson, who settled on the Mohawk about the year 1737, took a deep interest in the welfare of the Six Nations, and from the circumstance of being Superin- tendent of Indian Affairs under the crown of England, and the unbounded influence which he possessed over them, he was in a situation to accomplish greater results in almost any given direction than any other white man in the colo- nies.

An Indian missionary school was opened in Lebanon, Conn., uuder the direction of the Rev. Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, in 1748. This school was encouraged and as- sisted by Sir William Johnson, who sent several Indian youths to be educated, among them the young Mohawk chief Thay-en-dan-e-gea, better known as Joseph Brant. The first Indian scholar received at the institution was Samson Occum, afterwards famous both in England and America as the Rev. Samson Occum. He was ordained to the ministry in 1759, and afterwards located as a missionary among the Oneidus, Stockbridge, and Brotherton Indians. He was a Mohegan by birth.

" About the year 1750 several families of Oncidas and Tuscaroras, from Oquago, began to spend their winters at Rev. Dr. Edwards' mission-school at Stockbridge, Mass., and continued to do so for a number of years, and, among others, were there taught by Rev. Gideon Hawley. In 1748, Rev. Elihu Spencer (afterwards president of Dick- inson College, New Jersey) had been sent as a missionary to Oquago, but he was unable to surmount the difficulties of his situation, and returned. On the 22d of May, 1753, Rev. Mr. Hawley, Deacon Timothy Woodbridge, and Rev. Mr. Ashley and wife (the latter as interpreter, having been a prisoner among the Indians) set out for Stockbridge on their way to Oquago for the purpose of re-establishing thie mission at that place, where they arrived June 4, after many hardships and troubles.

" Deacon Woodbridge was induced to make the journey on account of his great experience and wisdom, to aid in arranging questions respecting the mission, and returned in a few weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Ashley did not long remain, but returned to New England. Rev. Mr. Hawley remained several years, and until he was compelled to abandon the mission by the events of the war with France. President Edwards took a deep interest in this mission, and sent his son, a lad of nine years, to learn the Indian language under the care of Mr. Hawley ; but after remaining a year his longer stay was considered unsafe, and he was iutrusted to

a faithful Indian, who returned him to his father, carrying him much of the way upon his back."*

In 1770, Rev. Mr. Ashley was a missionary at Oquago, and he was succeeded by Rev. Aaron Crosby, who was a resident in the years 1775-76, at a salary of $416.66. Mr. Crosby was subsequently (1784) ordained pastor of the Congregational Church at Dummerston, Vt. He died Jan. 13, 1824.t

" Mr. Ashley mentions Reverends Peter and Henry Avery as missionaries among the Tuscaroras, Onondagas, and also at Oquago." The Indians at Oquago were an assemblage of various nations, but mostly Oneidus and Tuscaroras."t

The first permanent Protestant mission in the country of the Six Nations was established by Rev. Samuel Kirkland among the Oneidas at Gu-no-a-lo'-hale, in July, 1766. He had made a preliminary journey in the winter of 1764-65, under the sanction and encouragement of Sir William Johnson, in which he traversed the whole country of the Six Nations as far west as Gi-nun'-du-sa-ga,§ a village of the Senecas, near the present site of Geneva, Ontario Co. At this town he fixed his residence, intending to stay, but circumstances soon compelled him to abandon the idea, and he returned to Connecticut in May, 1766. On the 19th of June he was ordained, and commissioned on the same day as an Indian missionary from the Connecticut Board of Correspondents of the society in Scotland. Under this new commission he returned to the Indian country, and took up his resi- dence, in July, 1766, as before stated, at Gu-no-a-lo'-hule, where he remained, with exceptional intervals, for more than forty years.

As Mr. Kirkland was the most prominent missionary sent out by the Protestants, and as he bore a conspicuous part in many of the stirring events from 1766 to 1800, and was withal a man of remarkable powers and capabilities, not only as a Christian missionary, but as a man of letters, as a diplomatist, Indian teacher and interpreter, a somewhat particular account of' his life and labors is properly included in this chapter. The facts and incidents are gleaned from a great variety of sources, and are believed to be entirely reliable. An account of his connection with the establish- ment of Hamilton College will be found in the chapter de- voted to educational matters. A fine portrait of Mr. Kirk- land is also given. It is a copy of the one prefacing the " Memorial of Hamilton College" published at the Herald office, Utica, 1862.

" Rev. Samuel Kirkland was born at Norwich, Conn., on the Ist of December, 1841. His father, Rev. Daniel Kirkland, was the minister of that part of the town of Norwich which was then called the parish of Newcut, and is now the town of Lisbon. His mother's maiden name was Hannah Perkins. The Kirkland family, as the name indicates, is of Scotch descent, and in this country can be traced back to Saybrook, Coan., in 1635. Among the thirty-six heads of families who were the early settlers of

# Jones' Annals. t Doc. Hist., viii. 551.

# The Indian town of Oquago was situated upon the right bank of the Snsquchanna River, in the present township of Windsor, Broome Co.

¿ From Morgan's League of the Hodenosaunee.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

that place the name of John Kirkland appears, who is said to have come from Silver Street, London."*

He was the tenth in a family of twelve children, and but little is known of his childhood and youth. He first ap- pears as a student at Rev. Dr. Wheeloek's school at Leba- non, in his native State, in 1761, where he was greatly esteemed for his excellent deportment and scholarship.

In the autumn of 1762 he entered the Sophomore class of Nassau Hall, Princeton, N. J., and received his degree at the commencement in 1765, being in his twenty-fourth year. He had previously left college, and at the time his degree was conferred had already entered on his duties as a missionary to the Iroquois Indians. While at the Lebanon school he had made considerable proficiency in the Mohunick dialect, under the instruction of a young native of that nation, a fellow-student.

His earliest journey to the country of the Six Nations was made in the autumn of 1764, when twenty-three years of age. On his way he visited Sir William Johuson at his residence, by whom he was most cordially received, and hospitably entertained until the 17th of January, 1765, when he resumed his westward journey, traveling on snow- shoes. Sir William gave him a speech and a wampum- belt to deliver to the Senecas, and also furnished him with an escort of two trusty Indians of that nation, cach of whom earried upon his shoulders a pack weighing forty pounds.

Upon his arrival at Gu-no-a-lo'-hiile, the principal village of the Oneidas, the Indians, upon learning the objeet of his mission, expressed much concern for his safety, and in- vited him to remain a year with them before visiting the Senecas. He thanked them for their kindness, but told them he must proceed upon his mission unless Providence hedged up his way. On his journey to Onondaga, being unaccustomed to the use of snow-shoes, his ankles beeamue so badly swollen that he was compelled to remain a day at the latter town for rest and recuperation.

As the great central council-fire of the Six Nations, the Onondagas claimed that the message of Sir William John- son should first be delivered there. The substance of the message was accordingly given them by Mr. Kirkland, and the chief sachem made a suitable reply, after which he em- braced him and all the others shook hands. Departing from Onondaga, he arrived in the evening of the 7th of February, twenty-three days after leaving Johnson Hall, at Gu-mu'-di-su-ga, the capital of the Sender nation. His two guides had been very kind to him, going before and tramping a path, but still he suffered greatly from his swollen ankles. On the day after his arrival a council was convened, and the message and belt of Sir William John- son were delivered. They were cordially received by the chief sachem and principal men of the nation, but there was a small minority which, under the lead of an influential chief, threatened trouble.

Mr. Kirkland was adopted into the family of the chief saehem ; but the house being much crowded, it was arranged that he should reside with a smaller family near at hand. Here he was made quite comfortable and very kindly treated,

but, unfortunately, his accommodating host died very sud- denly a short time after, in the night, though apparently in good health the day before. This misfortune was taken immediate notice of by the disaffected part of the commu- nity, and a eouneil was called, at which they tried to bring about the condemnation and death of the missionary. But under the influence of the principal sachem better counsels prevailed, and from that time forth everything passed along peaceably and harmoniously. But towards the latter part of April famine, that inevitable scourge of the Indian raee, drove him from his labors, and compelled his return to the abodes of civilization. In company with his Indian brother, he returned to the home of Sir William Johnson. The portion of this journey lying between Onondaga and Oneida Lake was made in a bark eanoe. On the route he and his companion called at Fort Brewerton, at the outlet of Oneida Lake, where they enjoyed the hospitality of the command- ing officer. Mr. Kirkland was so nearly famished, and his appetite in consequence so ravenous, that he had to be restrained in his eating, lest he should injure himself. While crossing Oneida Lake they were overtaken by a violent storm, which had nearly proved fatal to them ; but they pulled for the northern shore, and upon running their frail bark ashore it tumbled into fragments under them.

In the early part of May they reached Johnson Hall, and the first salutation of Sir William was, " My God, Mr. Kirkland, you look like a whipping-post !" Here he re- mained about three weeks, when, having become somewhat recuperated, he made preparations to return. Upon Dr. Wheelock's order, Sir William furnished him with supplies for the ensuing scason, and loaned him a blanket, " on condition that he would never return it." His Indian brother accompanied him on his return, and they arrived at Gi-nun'-da-su-ga on the 29th of June, 1765.

" For some time matters went on very pleasantly ; he had acquired such knowledge of the language as to be able to engage in common conversation. His peace was, however, again disturbed by his old enemy, the chief, who insisted that Mr. Kirkland's continuanee would be the destruction of the nation, and announced it as his fixed purpose to put him to death if he did not leave ; and an attempt was made to put this threat into exceution. A subordinate of the chief waylaid him, and snapped his gun at him twice, which fortunately missed fire."+

In May, 1766, accompanied by a chief and his Indian brother, he left the Seneca country, and returned to Leba- non, Conn., where he arrived on the 19th of that month. IIe visited the General Assembly, then in session, where both himself and his Indian friends were treated with distinguished consideration. The Indians were greatly surprised to find such a dense population in the country.

As stated in the beginning of this article, Mr. Kirkland was ordained and commissioned as a missionary to the In- dians, and returned in July, 1766, and fixed his residence at Gu-no-a-lo'-huile, the principal town of the Oneidas, commonly known as Oneida Castle. He settled finally among the Oncidus, because he considered them, in a moral point of view, the noblest of the Six Nations, and

# Jones' Annals.

+ Jones' Annals.

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

the most susceptible of religious impressions. He had observed them closely when passing through their territory, and was competent to form a very correct judgment. A strong friendship had also sprung up between the missionary and some of the chiefs, which, no doubt, had much weight in deciding his location among them.

He commenced his mission work about the first of August, 1766, and continued it, with only occasional inter- ruptions, for over forty years. In the following November he erected a dwelling, cutting and hewing the timber and digging the cellar with his own hands. He cultivated a garden on the same ground, afterwards occupied for a similar purpose by Hon. Timothy Jenkins,

Intemperance was then, as now, the besetting sin of the Indians; and they managed in some way to procure the " fire-water" of the unprincipled white man, who eared nothing for the consequences to the besotted native if he, by the debasing traffic, could increase his gains. This demoralizing habit Mr. Kirkland early set himself to ex- terminate from among the people where he had chosen his life lot. Under his energetic influence eight of the chief men were appointed to seize all the intoxicating liquors which could be found, and destroy or otherwise dispose of them.

About eighty casks of rum were accordingly seized and offered for sale, but with the teachings of the missionary, and the terrible results of its use before their eyes, not an indi- vidual was found to purchase the baneful article, and it was probably disposed of in a summary manner.

His efforts among the savages were eminently successful, and many families and individuals were converted to Chris- tianity ; but his usefulness was circumscribed by his pov- erty. The first pecuniary aid which he received from the home society in Scotland was in 1769, when an order drawn upon John Thornton for £100 was sent him, and James Blain, of Scotland, also sent him £30.

" In the spring of 1769, his health having failed him, he took a short respite to regain it. He spent the sunumer in Connecticut, and on the 15th of September of that year he was married to Jerusha Bingham, the daughter of a re- speetable farmer. She was indeed an excellent woman, and well fitted by her good sense and devout heart to become the wife of a missionary. Shortly after his marriage he returned to his post, accompanied by his wife. As it was necessary to enlarge his house from ten to sixteen feet square, he left Mrs. Kirkland in the family of General Herkimer, on the Mohawk, until he could accomplish it. This being completed, he removed her to her new residence in the latter part of December. Mrs. Kirkland's influence was soon folt in introducing order, neatness, industry, purity, and devotion among the Oneida women.

" In 1770, Mr. Kirkland visited Boston, where he was taken under the patronage of the Boston Board, at a salary of £100 a year as their missionary, and £30 additional in consideration of his great pains and expense in learning the principal dialects of the Six Nations. Through the aid of the Boston Board, seconding the exertions of the Indians, a meeting-house, saw- and grist-mills, and a blacksmith-shop were erected, and farming utensils purchased in the course of a few years. The progress of a portion of the nation in

acquiring the habits and arts of civilized life, as well as in Christianity, was rapid. The correspondence of this period, between Mr. Kirkland and the society in Scotland, shows that his missionary services were highly appreciated by the society.

" Early in the summer of 1770, Mrs. Kirkland started, on horseback, for the residence of her mother, in Connec- tieut, but was unable to proceed any farther than General Herkimer's, at the foot of Fall Hill, on the Mohawk. Here she remained several weeks, and on the 17th of An- gust gave birth to twin sons, named by their father after his esteemed friends, George Whitefield and John Thornton. During her illness she received letters from the celebrated George Whitefield, full of Christian consolation. As soon as her strength permitted she returned to Oneida, to the great joy of the Indians, who immediately adopted the boys into the tribe, giving George the name Lut-go ne-ost, and John that of A-gan-o-nis-ka, that is, Fuir Foce.

" Mrs. Kirkland passed the winter of 1772-73 in Stock- bridge, Mass., and as the turbulent times preceding and continuing during the Revolution now commenced, she did not return to Oneida until after the peace of 1783."*

Mr. Kirkland purchased a small farm in Stockbridge upon which he placed his family, while he himself con- tinued his labors at Oneida. His endeavors were uninter- mittingly directed to keeping the Indians neutral during the contest, and he was in a great degree successful with the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, who not only mostly remained neutral, but the former furnished a respectable body of warriors, who, under Skenandoa, rendered efficient service to the Americans.

The Mohawk chief, Thay-en-dan-e-gea, well understood the influence which Mr. Kirkland wielded on the side of the colonies, and became apprehensive that he might even control the whole body of the Six Nations. The chief was the secretary of Colonel Guy Johnson, who had succeeded his father-in-law, Sir William Johnson, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs; and he set himself to procure the re- moval of the missionary from his position, notwithstanding the friendship that existed between them. A correspond- ence took place between Guy Johnson and the missionary, in which the latter defeuded his position most valiantly, and succeeded in rallying ahnost the entire Oneida nation to his support, which compelled Johnson to abandon his scheme of a forcible removal. It is said by Colonel Stone, in his " Life of Brant," that the chief was so anxious for the removal of Mr. Kirkland that be instigated a dissolute sachem of the Oneidas to prefer charges against him.

In the mean time the Provincial Congress of Massachu- setts had taken steps to open negotiations with the Six Nations, with the view of securing their influence on the side of the colonies. To this end they opened a correspond- ence with Mr. Kirkland, and addressed a letter to him, of which the following is a copy :

" CONCORD, April 4, 1775. " TO THE REV. SAMUEL KIRKLAND :

"SIR,-The Provincial Congress have thought it necessary to ad- dress the sachem of the Mohawk tribe, with the rest of the Six Na- tions, upon the subject of the controversy between Great Britain and the American colonies. We are induced to take this measure, as we

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History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 7

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 920

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920