USA > New York > Schoharie County > History of Schoharie County, New York : with illusustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 33
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of them passing entirely over the destined ob- ject. The first shell fired sang in the air like a pigeon, and exploded directly over the house and as its fragments fell upon the roof, Mrs. Richtmyer, an old lady, then in an upper room, who had been an invalid and unable to rise alone from her bed for a long time, was so frightened that she sprang from it, and went below, surviving the effect but a short time. The second fell within the pickets near the well, and while the fuse was burning off and the ball dancing in a mud-hole, every person exposed to its explosion had ample time to gain a respect- ful distance, and it scattered its fragments with- out injuring any one. The third fell through the roof of the main building, and lodging on a pile of feather beds in the chamber, exploded, tearing the beds to pieces, doing little other mischief, except that of frightening Christian Rickard, an old bachelor, who chanced to be in the room, almost to death. The explosion com- pletely filled the room with feathers, and grop- ing his way down stairs, Rickard made his ap- pearance below, where many of the women and
children werc, covered with feathers, and spit- ting out down from his mouth, which sudden fear had caused him to open too widely for such an atmosphere. When asked what had happened, he replied in Low Dutch-" I think the devil is in the chamber, for the feathers fly around so I cannot see."
Through Mrs. Van Slyck, a daughter of Colonel Vroman, Author Simms relates an in- cident that occurred in the Fort that was an- other example of American valor and patriotism, worthy to be inscribed upon our country's tablets of honor. Nicholas Sloughter, who acquired the reputation of a good soldier, had a very sick child in the Fort, and as he was leaving it with a party of volunteers under Murphy, was told that his child appeared to be dying, and he had better remain. " I can do the child no good," was his reply. "My duty is to protect the living as well as the dying." Though it may seem to have been unfeeling in the soldier, yet Duty was his watchword, and domestic cares and affections were sacrificed and laid upon his country's altar, as the price of her liberty and independence.
Parties were sent out from the fort through the day to capture straggling enemies and save property that was being burned by the revenge- ful Tories, but little could be accomplished as the force drew together, and to attack them in the open fields would have been a foolish at- tempt. We find each did their duty well, and those mentioned by the historian Simms, whose descendants are still in the valley were Lieutenant Martinus Zielie, and his cousin Martinus Zielie, Nicholas Sloughter, John Wilber, Major Ecker- son, Timothy Murphy, Peter VanSlyck, Bar- tholomew Vroman, Joachim Folluck, Susanna Vroman, David Elerson, George Richtmyer, Dr. John King and the brave Colonel Vroman.
The old fort and grounds are now owned by David Zeh, whose care of them is commenda- ble, but the ancient walls begin to crack and totter, and soon will fall, and pass from view.
Firing upon the Flag .- We are informed by the grandsons of Martinus Zielie that when the flag of truce advanced from General Johnson's ranks, towards the fort, that Zielie himself fired upon it, as he stood by the side of Murphy.
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When Woolsey reprimanded him for so doing Murphy shouted " You be damned." When the act was repeated by Murphy he swore he would blow "his (Woolsey's) damned brains out before the flag should enter."
When Zielie fired upon the flag, he did so by Murphy's order, the latter withheld his own to repel the Major if he made an attempt to carry his threat of " running them through" with his sword if they repeated the act. The second time the flag advanced, Murphy was maddened to a high pitch and fired upon it himself, at the same time daring Woolsey to attempt to execute his threat. By the side of Murphy and Zielie stood Elerson and Bartholomew Vroman, either of whom would have dispatched the Major if he had attempted to injure Murphy. Martinus Zielie died near Auburn, N. Y., November 2, 1833, in the eighty-ninth year of his age. His children removed to Wisconsin and Iowa, and ever regretted, as they had a right to, the absence of the father's name in history in con- nection with the events of the 17th of October, 1780.
Zielie Family and House .- At what particu- lar time the Zielie family came to the Schoharie valley, we are unable to learn for a certainty, but at some time previous to 1732. They were Hollanders, and children of Peter Zielie and Cornelia Dawen, who first settled upon Long Island, at a very early date. We find two brothers, Peter and David, who came to the valley about the year 1725, were the first ones bearing the name in Schoharie. Peter married Anna Ackerson the 4th of June, 1724, and David married Engeltie Vroman, daughter of Peter, as noticed in Chapter XIII. The former had ten children and the latter seven.
The property the family possessed lay around the present old stone house, called the "Zielie house," and during the Revolution, it was in the possession of Peter U, (sometimes written Peter W.), and afterwards became the property of his brother, Johannes. When Johnson and Brant's forces came in sight of the village, the Zie- lie family were at home, and each member hastily caught up some article of furniture, and ran to the fort. An old negro, then a slave, belonging to the family, took down a looking-glass he knew
was highly prized by them, it having been brought from Holland many years before, and ran for dear life. Being rather clumsy, he tripped, fell upon the glass and cracked it. It was pre- served, however, and fell into the hands of Mar- tinus Zielie, brother of Peter, above mentioned, and upon his removal to Cayuga county, and his children to the distant west, it was taken along, and now can be seen at the home of Hiram Zielie, a grandson of Martinus, in Webster City, Iowa. The glass fell from the frame a few years ago, and broke in several pieces, but the largest was placed in a neat oval frame, and is much prized by the family. Colonel Peter W. Zielie, was the Peter U. above referred to, and lived after the war upon the farm now occupied by Hezekiah Swart. He had but two children, both daughters. Cornelia married Johannes Becker, son of Johannes, the owner of the stone fort. Upon the death of Mr. Becker, by drowning, she married VanEpps. The other daughter, Elizabeth, married Tunis Swart. Not having a son, the Colonel adopted his nephew, Peter Swart, the father of Mrs. J. M. Scribner, the late Tunis Swart, of Schoharie, and Peter Z. Swart, Mrs. George Danforth, and Mrs. Benoni Spaf- ford. The old German clock, owned by Colonel Zielie, is now in the possession of Mrs. Scrib- ner, and is a relic of great worth. Its move- ments are as "good as new," after a continued use of at least, one hundred and twenty-five years, if not one hundred and fifty. It was re- cased, as were many others in the valley, by one " Vogel," who was a dealer in clocks, (and un- doubtedly the first "jeweler " in the valley,) for many and long years ago. The Low Dutch Beckers, of Middleburgh, the Zielies, Swarts, Eckerson and Vroman families, became wonder- ously mixed up in marriage, as will be seen by noticing each family lineage. These families were, in early times, the aristocrats of the val- ley, having come here with abundant means ; but through the losses occasioned by Indian and Tory invasions, they were reduced to a level with their German neighbors, which. doubtless miti- gated in a measure, the ill feeling that was early sown and nourished towards each other.
The Borst Family .- Besides the families al- ready mentioned, that were early settlers, and
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of which descendants may still be found, were the Borsts. They came as early as 17 13 or 17 14, and were Germans. The head of the family we believe to have been, Jacob, whose sons were Joseph and Jacob, of Cobleskill, and Peter, of this town. They settled where James W. Davis now resides. Peter built a grist-mill a short time previous to the Revolution, which stood till the year 1795. That year the present " Davis mill" was built, and is now an interesting relic of other days. The frame is chiefly pine, and so well constructed that, upon the abutments being washed away a few years ago, the building sagged but one-half of an inch. The flooring was also pine, split out of large pine logs, to the thickness of three inches. One Forsyth was the builder, and tradition says he was assisted by one hundred men, in its erection.
Peter's son Peter, called "Tauty," followed him in the milling business, who was brother to Michael, the inn-keeper near the Reformed church. The second Peter's son, Peter P., was also a miller, and brother of Milton Borst, now of the Cobleskill mill. William and Peter, sons of the last Peter P., are now owners of the mill above, of late years known as the "Borst ınill." Mr. J. W. Davis pur- chased the old "Borst mill" property in 1858, after it had been in the Borst family's pos- session, at least one hundred and thirty years, and he is anticipating a gala day when the cen- tennial year of the present structure arrives. During the war, this immediate neighborhood was in sympathy with the royal cause, and the old mill was left standing to furnish supplies, and to it, the citizens of all principles were com- pelled to come, after the Eckerson mill was burnt. One of the family lived upon the farm now owned and occupied by Peter Zeh, and was true to the colonial cause. When Johnson's army was marching down the valley, on the 17th, Colonel Vroman dispatched Joseph Borst, a son, then a lad of fourteen, to Albany on horseback for assistance, but he did not return until the next day, and another messenger was sent as soon as the force left the valley.
The daughter of young Borst became the wife of Jacob Becker, and mother of the late David Becker and the present Hamilton, who is the only one left to perpetuate the patriotism of
Jacob's branch of the family. William, a brother of " Tanty," settled in Cobleskill, and was the father of the late Marcus and William Borst, Mrs. William Angle, Mrs. John Zielie, of Sharon, and Mrs. Marcus Sternburgh, of Cobleskill. Michael, for a number of years, kept a tavern near the Reformed Church, and a store where Duryea Beekman's residence stands, and after that removed to Breakabeen, and from there to Cobleskill. His children were John B., Peter M., Alexander, Michael, Jr., Elisha, William, and Mrs. Daniel Dodge.
The Becker Family .-- As we before men- tioned, the first and only Low Dutch Becker that settled in the valley did so upon the farm where the old stone fort now stands. Johannes was the father and came from Schenectady, sometime previous to 1737. He had two sons, Peter and Johannes, Jr. Peter married a Ved- der, of Schenectady, and upon her death, Maria Vroman, daughter of Jonas Vroman. His children were, Henry who married Agnes Eckerson, and settled at " Schoharie Hill," now Prattsville, Adam, Jonas, Mrs. Bignell, and Mrs. John Becker. Johannes married Cornelia, daughter of Col. Zielie and their children were Storm, John and Harmonus. This family was firm in patriotism and did a vast amount of duty through the struggle, and became connected with all the leading families of the valley.
The Loucks Family .-- A few years after the settlement of the Germans, the Loucks family removed from the Camps and settled upon the lands now occupied by John P. Loucks. This family came over from Germany with the immi- gration of 1710, but remained a short distance below the " camps," until, perhaps a final set- tlement of the land difficulties was made.
We are not certain what the head of the family name was, but believe it to have been Philip, and are led to think he possessed con- siderable property for those times. We find he purchased the land at this place of the Free- mire, or Frimire family, who afterwards settled in Cobleskill. The old gentleman also pur- chased lands in the present town of Sharon, upon which his descendants are settled. at the present time, as we will notice in the chapter upon that town. We find there were four sons, Peter,
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Cornelius, Andrew and William. Cornelius set- tled in Sharon, and the other brothers in this town. Andrew was the chorister in the Luth- eran church at Schoharie, to whom Author Simms referred, and his children were Jere- miah, William and Mrs. William P. Loucks, of Sharon. Jeremiah was in the fort upon the 18th of October, and received a wound upon the head. He was the father of Henry J. Loucks, who resides upon the parental farm at the pres- ent time. William the brother retained the old place and was the father of the present owner and occupant, John P. Loucks. William, the brother of Andrew the singer, was an inveterate Tory as were the most of his family. He lived nearly opposite of Henry J. Loucks' present residence. His children were Andrew and Peter, of Sharon, Jeremiah of Middleburgh, and Mrs. John Ingold, Jr., of Schoharie. His children by his second wife were John W., Ja- cob, Henry, William W., David, Mrs. Storm Becker and Mrs. William Borst. The sons nearly all settled in Sharon.
When Johnson invaded the valley in 1780, all of the Loucks' buikdlings were burned with the exception of William's, which proved to be a resting place and supply station for Indians and prowling Tories throughout the war. There were quite a number of families in this neigh- borhood that sympathized with the Crown, and gave needed assistance to the enemy.
The Eckerson Family. First Merchants and Millers .- At some time previous to 1700, three brothers came to America from Holland, Thomas, Cornelius and John Eckerson. They brought with them, the family tradition says, a cargo of goods, but were shipwrecked when near New York harbor and lost them all. Being of a wealthy family they were again supplied with goods and traded in New York Cityfor a while, when John settled upon Long Island, and Thomas and Cornelius wandered to the Scho- harie valley and settled at Weiser's dorf, when quite advanced in years. We think their settle- ment here was about the year 1725, at least as early as that date. They engaged in trade, build- ing a brick store upon the grounds now occupied by the residence of Dr. Linas Wells and a resi- dence nearly opposite. The buildings stood at
the time of the invasion of Colonel Johnson, and were burned. Whether the settlers manu- factured the bricks used in these buildings and the church built in 1737, or not, we are unable to say, but undoubtedly did, as to cart them from Albany or Schenectady, wonld have been a very tedious job, beside being expensive as they had not the roads, or necessary wagons etc., to transfer such heavy articles without great labor and untold inconveniences. As they had other tradesmen it is quite likely they had brick- makers.
Cornelius Eckerson was unmarried, but Thomas was fortunate at least in a financial point of view as well as in influence, to marry the daughter of a wealthy man and government official. His children were four sons and four daughters, namely, Thomas, Cornelius, Tunis, John, Agnes, Mrs. Henry Becker, who settled at Prattsville, Elizabeth, (Mrs. John Zielie,) Maria, (Mrs. Martinus Zielie) and Anna, (Mrs. Silas Gray, of Johnstown,) whose husband was a Colonel of the Revolution, stationed part of the time at the "middle fort." All of these chil- dren, tradition tells us, were married during the war.
Thomas Jr., as he will hereafter be called, married Margaret Slingerland, of Albany. The Eckersons were a business family, and were con- ·
nected with all branches of industry that were started in the valley, as well as foremost in the church. The first mill at this place was built by them, and we find they possessed the present site of Steven's mill, near the stone fort at Scho- harie, at an early date, and we think built the one that stood there in the Revolution. They were large land-holders, and when the Revolu- tion commenced, were very wealthy for people of the frontier. Thomas Jr., was commissioned Major, and proved a loyal and efficient officer. Through some unknown cause, many of the de- scendants of this family have changed the name somewhat, by dropping the son, and writing only Ecker, while others go still farther, and drop the E, and supply with A, making it Acker.
Rev. R. Randal Hoes, a descendant of the family, says : "The founder of the family in this country was Jan Thomaszen, of New York City. About the year 1692, he assumed the sur- name Eckerson, which was retained by his chil-
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dren as the family name. It is variously spelled in the New York Dutch Church records as Echons, Eckens, Eckeson, Etkins and Ekkisse, with several other slight modifications."
It is doubtful whether there was an earlier resident merchant at Weiser's dorf, than Eck- erson. Indian traders occasionally visited the valley, from 1711 to 1740, and supplied the people with such goods as they desired, or which their merchants did not possess. Adam Vro- man, of Schenectady, Johannes Lawyer, and Derick Swart, were early traders, and perhaps the Eckersons sallied out as such, and were led to settle down in the valley, lured by the beauty of scenery and the fair prospects of controlling a lucrative trade.
'The grist-mill they built, stood a few rods below the present Reformed church sheds. A portion of the dam has been discovered of late, by the washing away of the bank, and exposing timbers used in the construction. They were perfectly sound.
The mill was burned by Johnson's force, and re-built soon after the close of the war, but was destroyed by a flood. Part of the dam was used for several years after, for sawing, and still later to run a machine in the manufacture of nails. A freshet, nearly sixty years ago, washed the old mark away.
The son Tunis, died in 1797, at the age of sixty-seven, and was buried in the old grave- yard, beneath a rude stone, upon which his name, age and death are inscribed, and nearly oblitera- ted by the moss of years. Not far distant is a large slab of sandstone, of ancient design, that marks the grave of Cornelia Van Dyke, who was born in 1724, and died in 1772.
Hartman's Dorf .- Of Hartman's dorf, little can be gleaned, beyond what too officious tradition tells. We believe it was settled in the spring of 1713, and was the land spoken of in the petition of 1720, copied in the first chapter of this work, as " they were obliged to solicit all the Indian Kings there adjoining, for more land, which they willingly granted 'em." The first lands purchased or " solicited" of the Indi- ans were where Middleburgh now stands, which proved only enough for the "fifty families" that came with Weiser, who we believe formed two
settlements, one around the first church and one where the present Reformed church stands. As the "remainder of the people " came it became necessary to obtain more land, and consequently, Hartman's and the Feek and Crysler settlements were made.
Tradition tells us through the late Judge Brown that this "Dorf" consisted of about sixty-five houses, also that "here were the first apple trees planted to an orchard in Schoharie by Hans Wilhelm Kernmer." This dorf was named after Hartman Winedecker, a list-master at the camps. Undoubtedly he brought those that were under his supervision there with him to form this settlement. It stood upon the high ground to the south, nearly two miles from Weiser's .town. It is somewhat singular that this and Garlock's dorf, the two largest of the valley, were swept out of existence leaving but a few marks, either by paper or other- wise. It is thought by many that the residents of the settlement went away with Weiser and his followers. If tradition is correct Weiser's settlement consisted of about sixty families at that time, and that number only followed him to Pennsylvania in 1722. Then where did they go? We think as the land which they occupied proved less fertile than the flats, and not perhaps willing to accede to the owners' price, they disbanded and united with their brethren in other dorfs and upon the Mo- hawk, leaving only the Bellinger and Rickard families in the dorf. In this way, perhaps, to- gether with new arrivals from the camps and Germany the Weiser settlement was continued and other dorfs were formed after the exit of I722.
As before stated, but few marks are left of this dorf. The largest portion of the settlement was upon the Bellinger brothers' farm, and principally stood to the east and south-east of their farm buildings. In plowing the grounds the location of many houses can be detected, and various household implements have been found around the original sites. We have been shown a lead spoon that was very much cor- roded, but still retaining its ancient shape. The "bowl" is broader and deeper than those of recent manufacture, and the stem or handle much shorter. The Bellingers have also found
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HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
knives that were nearly destroyed by rust, but of sufficient form to give an idea of their "style" and workmanship. One that undoubtedly has many times divided the venison "steak" and quartered many smoking johnny-cakes for the hungry Palatine, is yet in a good state of preservation, and proves to be of superior temper. The blade is short and narrow, and plainly shows it was a " home-made " article, as well as the spoon. Those relics are of great value, as they are all that is left of the utensils used by the settlers of Hartman's dorf. Several old apple tree stumps still remain that were, ac- cording to Judge Brown, the first trees planted in Schoharie.
The Bellinger brothers assure us that the first wheat sown or planted in the County was in the lot between the barn and highway.
Judge Brown says, in referring to Garlock's dorf :- " Here was an Indian Castle, though on the west side of the Schoharie creek, in which Lambert Sternbergh raised the first wheat that was ever raised in Schoharie." It is evident that Garlock's dorf was not settled as early as this dorf, that it was at least five years its junior, and it is not at all probable that the settlers were five, four, or three years in the valley before they experimented on the raising of wheat. If we are to believe that wheat was first raised at Gar- lock's, we are also to believe it was planted within the pickets of the castle, as stated, but when we consider that the castle was not built until after 1750, it will be seen that the Judge was in error. Lambert Sternbergh may have planted the first wheat, but was a resident of this dorf, and when Kneiskern's dorf was formed in 1728 and 1729, removed there and occupied in part the land upon which the castle was after- wards built, but previous to the removal, hun- dreds of bushels of wheat must have been raised yearly in the valley. The Judge was misin- formed or misunderstood in this case, and with- out doubt the Bellinger tradition that has been handed down from one generation to another is correct.
The amount of wheat received from a skipple (one peck) planted, was eighty-three, as told by Brown and the Bellinger tradition showing that the same "planting" and result of harvest- ing was referred to by both.
But two families that first settled here remain upon the original ground. The Rickard or Rickert family is one, and was quite numerous in that day. As before stated, one family set- tled upon the Reformed church grounds and re- moved to Brunnen dorf with the Schaeffer's. One at least wandered to Pennsylvania with Weiser, and the other settled in this dorf near the mountain. Each family from that day to the present have been independent of each other and long years ago were referred to as the Hartman Rickerts, and Fountaintown Reckerts, and each at the present time trace their ancestry back to those dorfs, and still claim relationship.
The Bellinger Family .- Among the first set- tlers of this town, was a Bellinger family. Three bearing that name, came over in 1710, whose names were Frederick, Henry, and Marcus, and settled upon lands now owned by John I., David and William J. Bellinger. One of the three settled upon the Mohawk, below Spraker's Basin, and one where Utica now stands. Marcus remained here and had one son, Johannes, from whom sprang the present Bellingers of the County. The sons of Johannes were Marcus, Peter and John. The latter settled in Sharon, Peter upon the Cobleskill, and Marcus retained the old homestead in Hartman's Dorf. He was Super- visor of "Schoharie" from 1767 to 1796, through all the forms of government that were in force during those years. His sons were Henry, the father of the present Marcus, and John M., the father of the present brothers that occupy the original homestead as before intimated. His children are David, William J., John I., Alex- ander, Mrs. Alexander Bouck, and Mrs. Philip Richtmyer. Each one of the children had large families, and with few exceptions, their descend- ants possess large estates, it being characteristic of the family to accumulate wealth.
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