USA > New York > Schoharie County > History of Schoharie county, and border wars of New York > Part 47
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* The particulars of the capture of the two Warners, were obtained from Nicholas Warner in the fall of 1837 : at that time he had a cancer on his mouth, which terminated his existence on the 27th day of July, 1838. He was 91 years old on the 31st day of October preceding his death.
t This ancient town, at a time when England and France were at war, was invaded by 250 French and Indian warriors, who made the journey from Ca- nada in the depth of winter expressly to destroy it. The village, then num- bering about 40 good dwellings, was inclosed by pallisades, and approached by two gates. As the visit of an enemy was not anticipated at that incle- ment season, the gates were both left open, and had been for some weeks. On Saturday night, Feb. 8 1690, the invaders entered the town by the west- ern gate, and separating into small parties, began an indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabitants. Many of the male citizens were killed in the onset; but of those persons who escaped at the eastern gate, some 20 arrived in Albany, more or less frost-bitten, having fled nearly naked in the snow, a distance of sixteen miles, while others perished by the way. Sixty persons, mostly wo- men and children, were carried into captivity, the town all plundered and burnt, except two dwellings. The commanders ordered the casks of liquor found in the place all stove, to prevent the men from getting drunk. A party of cavalry from Albany, joined by a band of brave Mohawks, were soon on their trail, and overtaking them in a favorable place, fell upon their rear and slew 25 of them. The remainder, after much suffering, arrived in Canada with their scalps aad plunder.
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at work in his barn, which, under the circumstances, he left with reluctance, but was kindly greeted by the illustrious guest, who paid him marked attention.
At the dinner table were assembled a respectable number of gentlemen, among whom were Gen. Schuyler, Colonels Ab'm Wemple and Fr. Fisher ; Majors Ab'm Switz, Myndert Wemple, and Jelles Fonda ; Captains Peter Truax and John Mynderson ; Henry Glen, Dep. Com. Gen., and Isaac Truax, then the oldest man in the place. Washington assigned the seat next his own to Col. Fisher .- Isaac De Graff and John J. Schermerhorn.
This was indeed a proud day for " Old Dorp."* Some person publicly addressed the visitor on the occasion, and before return- ing to Albany, he wrote the following reply :
" To the Magistrales and Military Officers of the town of Schenec- tady:
"Gentlemen :- I request you to accept my warmest thanks for your affectionate address.
" In a cause so just and righteous as ours, we have.every reason to hope the Divine Providence will still continue to crown our arms with success, and finally compel our enemies to grant us that peace upon equitable terms, which we so ardently desire.
" May you, and the good people of this town, in the mean time, be protected from every insidious and open foe, and may the com- plicated blessings of peace soon reward your arduous struggles for the establishment of the freedom and independence of our com- mon country.
"GO. WASHINGTON.
" Schenectady, June 30th, 17S2."
The following anecdote originated at Schenectada during the visit of Gen. Washington. He was walking a public street in company with Brower Banker, a respectable citizen, and black- smith by trade, when an old negro passing took off his hat and bowed to him: the great commander immediately returned the compliment. Banker expressed surprise that his companion thus noticed this descendant of Ishmael, observing it was not the cus- tom of the country thus to notice slaves. " I cannot be less civil
*This is the Dutch word for town, and when used within a hundred miles of the place is understood to mean Schenectada : the latter is an Indian word, said to signify Over-the-pines. Albany and Sehenectada were early distin- guished by the Dutch words stadt, for city, and dorp, for town.
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HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
than a poor negro," was his manly reply, as they proceeded on- ward .- Rynier Gardinier.
Some of the necessaries of life rose excessively high during the Revolution, besides being extremely difficult to obtain. Individu- als went from the westward of Albany to Boston to procure salt. In a letter written by Cornelius Cuyler, of Albany, to Robert Snell, Esq., of Tryon county, dated, " Albany, March 5, 1779," I find the following sentence : " Could you not get wheat from the farmers in exchange for salt, to be delivered at Schenectada on your order ? If so, let the farmers deliver the wheat at your mills, and give them a certificate on my brother, John Cuyler, for the quantity they may deliver, and they shall receive salt in pro- portion of six skipples of wheat for one of salt. Cheese was sold from seventeen to twenty cents per pound, and nails used in the Highlands, fifty cents per pound.
Some time in the Revolution, Timothy Murphy had charge of a small scout which went to reconnoitre in the vicinity of Oqua- go. While there they took three prisoners, one of whom was a Scotch lad of suspicious character, and soon after started on their return to Schoharie. In the night, the boy escaped, taking along Murphy's rifle-an act not very pleasing to the fearless ranger. Some month's after, the boy was retaken by another scout, and with him the stolen fire-lock. When Murphy learned that the boy was taken, and was approaching as a prisoner, his worst pas- sions were aroused, and he declared his intention to kill him, and armed himself with a tomahawk for that purpose. Elerson, and one or two of his companions in arms, reasoned the matter with him. They told him to imagine himself in the boy's situation, and asked him if he, similarly situated, would have acted differ- ently from what the boy had ? His anger was in a measure ap- peased ; resentment yielded to the force of sober reasoning; and the boy was brought into his presence without receiving any inju- ry. He was afterwards taken to Albany, and sold for the time being. Murphy, speaking of this affair, after the war, expressed his gratitude that he was prevented by his friends from injuring the lad who had stolen his gun .- Elerson, Nich. Warner, Jacob Becker, and Mrs. Van Slyck.
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
A tory, named Jacob Salisbury, was concealed in a house in the present town of Bern, Albany county, in the latter part of the war, for several months. A hole had been cut in the floor, and covered with a trap door, and in a small space dug beneath the floor, the tory concealed himself whenever any of his neighbors, not in the secret of his burrow, were at the house. His object, it is believed, was to act the spy, but having been discovered, he was arrested and imprisoned .- Mrs. Eleanor Feeck.
There is a tradition in Schoharie, currently believed by some, that an attempt was made in the latter part of the Revolution, to capture Timothy Murphy by stratagem. It is said that the hero had a cow, on the neck of which he placed a bell, the better to enable him to find her ; and that an Indian, to gain an interview, took the bell from the cow's neck and placed it upon his own, when he gingled it about in the woods, where the cow sometimes ran, to afford him and his companions an opportunity either to kill or capture its owner. Murphy knew too well whether a cow or an Indian rattled his bell, and driving her home from another part of the woods, he left the ding-dong warrior to make music for his fellows .- Mrs. Angelica Vrooman.
Timothy Murphy, the brave soldier with whom we must soon part company, (whose daring spirit the reader has no doubt been pleased with,) was never wounded in battle, and, I believe, never a prisoner with the enemy. It was his misfortune, like that of many other master spirits of the Revolution, not to have had the advantages of an early education, even such as our common schools now afford. In fact, he possessed not the elements of an education : the art of reading and writing. For this reason, he declined accepting a proffered commission; knowing that he would be subjected to much inconvenience, and be liable to be imposed upon by designing men. Had he been an educated man, he might have made another Wayne or Morgan : but the want of the rudiments of an education compelled him to see others less fitted in other respects than himself, occupying stations of profit and honor. At the close of the war, he became a cultivator of the soil on the farm of his father-in-law, on which his ashes now
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HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
repose. He was a citizen much respected in the county. As a father, he was generous and indulgent to a fault, having been known to bring home, from Albany, for a daughter, some five or six dresses at one time.
Although Murphy could neither read nor write, yet, when mounted upon a stump or some eminence, he could harrangue a public audience with great effect, and for many years exerted a powerful influence in the political ranks of Schoharie county. He was very active in bringing his young friend and neighbor, the Hon. Wm. C. Bouck, from retirement into public notice-was zealous in obtaining for him the appointment of sheriff-and in- directly contributed not a little to his subsequent distinction.
On the 15th day of March, 1784, the ice lodged in the river near Middleburgh, overflowed the flats in the neighborhood of Murphy's residence, where they seldom if ever before had been similarly inundated. Many cattle and sheep were swept off in the freshet and perished. In an attempt to save the family of John Adam Brown, a near neighbor, Murphy waded into the wa- ter amidst the ice, and succeeded in bearing to a place of safety his two sons ; but Brown, and Lana, his only daughter, then about 12 years old, were unfortunately in the lower part of the house and were drowned. Murphy lost his wife (by whom he had nine children) in 1807 ; and married Mary Robertson five or six years after, by whom he also had several children. He died of a can- cer upon his throat June 27th, 1818; the foundation of which disease was supposed to have been laid, while attempting to res- cue Brown and his family in 1784. The Rev. John Schermerhorn preached the funeral sermon of Murphy and that of two other in- dividuals, George Mattice and a colored woman, on the same day.
The following are the inscriptions upon the tomb-stones of Mur- phy and his first wife :
" Timothy Murphy died June 27, 1818; aged 67 years.
" Here too, this warrior sire, with honor rests,
Who bared in freedom's cause his valiant breast Sprang from his half drawn furrow, as the cry Of threatened liberty came thrilling by ; Look'd to his God, and reared in bulwark round
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
Breast free from guile, and hands with toil embrown'd, And bade a monarch's thousand banners yield- Firm at the plough, and glorious in the field, Lo! here he rests, who every danger braved, Marked and honored, amid the soil he saved."
" Margaret, wife of Timothy Murphy, died Sept. 1, 1807, aged 44 years."
Some time in the latter part of the war, possibly when the ene- my were in its vicinity, an incident occurred at Fort Duboise, in Cobelskill, which, in its result, was a source of merriment. John King was one night in a sentry box, keeping vigils for the safety of himself and others, when he discovered some object slowly ap- proaching the place where he was stationed. It was light enough for him to obtain a sight of the object, but not with sufficient dis- tinctness to identify its character ; and supposing it to be a tory or an Indian visitant, he hailed it with the accustomed " Who comes there ?" demanding also the countersign. To the interro- gatories of the sentinel no reply was given, but the supposed foe continued to advance ; and King, already imagining he saw the uplifted tomahawk of a gigantic Indian, leveled his trusty gun and fired. The report echoed upon the midnight air until lost in gentle murmurs among the distants hills, and greatly alarmed the little garrison and several families of citizens, clustered in rude huts within the picketed inclosure for safety. The courageous were quickly armed for an expected onset of a desperate foe. King pointed out, in the uncertain light, to the swolen eyes of his officer and comrades the supposed enemy, evidently weltering in his blood, for his temerity in presuming to approach a post, guard- ed by so trusty a sentinel. The object soon became still, and the silence of midnight was again restored. The inmates of the fort retired to rest-probably, few to sleep again that night; but all to pray for the return of daylight. That light at length came, and. disclosed to the inmates of the fort, whose curiosity was on tiptoe, that the vigilant watchman had actually killed a large-"bull calf." The heedless animal, ignorant of the police of a camp, had strayed from a neighboring field, and was slowly grazing to- ward the wary guard, when he received a bullet which killed him outright .- Marcus Brown.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
Sleep on ! fearless ranger ; the Indian no more Shall dye his coarse blanket in citizen's gore : He has left, aye, forever, the vales where you fought, And his hosts of brave warriors have dwindled to nought.
The vigils you kept in the partizan strife, Protecting the weak from the merciless knife Of mocason'd foes, who at midnight came near, We'll ever remember in green leaf and sear-
And with tears dew the roses that bloom o'er the graves, Of the heroes who saved us-the pioneer braves.
The active operations of the enemy closed with the year 1782, preliminaries for a peace having been agreed upon in November of that year, which was finally ratified on the 30th day of the fol- lowing September. On the 25th of November, 1783, the British troops evacuated New York, and the Americans, under General Washington, entered the city the same day, where they were wel- comed by the friends of the Republic with many demonstrations of joy. Washington repaired to Annapolis, Md., where Congress was then in session, and on the 20th day of December he resigned to that august body his military command, prefaced by a brief and appropriate address, which was handsomely responded to by its president, Gen. Mifflin. Once more a private citizen, the great Washington repaired to his seat at Mount Vernon, followed by the prayers and admiration of every lover of civil liberty upon the habitable globe.
Otthout Van Rensselaer, Esq., of Albany, is said to have been commissioner for disposing of confiscated property in the Schoha- rie settlements. The title of farms (in New York) in the posses- sion of royalists, which had been purchased of patriotic Ameri-
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HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY, ETC.
cans, and not paid for, reverted to the private owner,-while those of active royalists, who held a free title, were confiscated to the government. Nearly all the property sequestered in the present county of Schoharie, was owned in Brakabeen, Rhinebeck, and New Dorlach, more than one thousand acres of which were in the latter settlement.
After the war not a few tories came back to Schoharie, some of whom even boasted of their evil deeds, and if they were not treated like Beacraft, they were looked upon with great suspicion for at least one generation.
A number of Schoharie Indians, who had escaped the bullets of the rangers, claiming the same privilege as the tories with whom they had acted, also returned to the scenes of their former cruelties. Among them was Seth's Henry, as previously mentioned, Abram, his sister's son, and a few others of notoriety. The former had not been long in Vrooman's Land before he became suspicious of the republicans, and whenever he entered a house he preferred a position where he could look from an open door or window, and anticipate any ominous movement. From this place he started to go to the Charlotte river, was followed by Timothy Murphy, who had kept vigils of his footsteps in the valley, and, as he never reached the place for which he set out, it was currently believed, though not generally known, that his bones were left to bleach in the intervening forest. The writer has no doubt from the inform- ation he has received from Lawrence Mattice, David Elerson, and others, that a bullet from the rifle which sent Gen. Fraser to his long home, also ended the career of this crafty chief, who was one of the most blood-thirsty and successful warriors of the Re- volution.
The Schoharie Indian, Abram, who returned with Seth's Hen- ry, was followed by Peter C. Vrooman, (familiarly known as Ha- zel Pete,) armed with an axe, into the kitchen of Samuel Vroo- man's house, in Vrooman's Land, where he inflicted two blows upon his head, and would no doubt have slain him as he lay upon the floor, had not a slave belonging to the house seized the arm of the assailant, and afforded the Indian an opportunity to effect
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HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
his escape. The Indian had provoked Vrooman's vengeance by boasting of his former deeds, and would no doubt have been kill- ed by the first blow struck at him, had not the missile hit the floor over head, and broken its fall. He was a long time in recover- ing, and is said to have been less saucy afterwards .- Mrs. Van Slyck and J. W. Bouck.
This same Indian, if report is true, tarried about Schoharie for a year or two, and suddenly disappeared. He was at a bee, as a gathering of neighbors is called, when they are assembled to husk corn, draw wood, or manure, &c., as is often witnessed in the in- terior of New York,-the sequel of which usually is, a good warm supper, got up in the best possible style,-on some occasions fol- lowed by a dance. Such bees are common in the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys now, and have been from the time of their ear- liest white settlements. Indeed, they are not confined to the males either : quilting bees, spinning bees, apple-paring bees, and the like, are common among the females, and fortunate, indeed, is that young man's lot who has notice to be present and help " shake the quilt," or remove the rejected parts of the apple, as he some- times has most delectable kissing when the quilt is folded, the ap- ples cut, and the happifying "come Phylanders," and many other nectar originators are fairly begun .- Pardon this digression, kind reader : I was going to say that the Indian Abram was at a bee of some sort at the house of a farmer on Foxes creek, and was not a little intoxicated. " Schoharie John" was there also, and pro- bably not sober enough to "walk a crack," unless it were a curv- ed one. They quarreled; after passionate words had escaped them, the Indian left the house, and was followed in a short time by "Schoharie John." This Indian was never seen again in the settlement, and as a large pile of drift-wood upon the bank of the creek not far distant, was seen on fire the following morning, it was conjectured by some, that possibly Abram's bones might be found in the ashes ; but whether they were or not, or whether suspicion slandered the old soldier who followed him from the house, the writer knows not .- Doct. P. S. Swart, J. M. Swart, and others.
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Most of the Indians who returned to Schoharie after the war, remained about the settlement until fall, when several of their number disappeared in a very unaccountable manner. The fact was, several of them had been met in by places by citizen hunt- ers, and were possibly mistaken for bears. A few disappeared , and the rest took the hint and left the country .- Lawrence Law- yer.
The most common beverages drank by the soldicry in the Re- volution, were flip and kill-devil. The former was made of beer brewed from malt and hops, to which was added sugar and liquor-the whole heated with a hot iron. The latter was made like flip, except that cider was substituted for beer. The price of each was one shilling for a quart mug : half a mug usually serv- ed two persons.
Among the survivors of the Revolution, with whom the author has spent many agreeable hours, is Capt. Eben Williams, a son of Jonathan Williams, of Lebanon, Connecticut. He entered the army under Col. Patterson, of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in 1775, from which time to the end of the war, he was in con- stant and varied service. He was on duty in eleven of the thirteen states and the Canadas. He witnessed the battle of Bunker Hill, but was with the troops at their camp on the main land, where an attack was expected. He also witnessed the surrender of the armies of Burgoyne and Cornwallis.
On the 20th day of May, 1776, he was in the battle of The Cedars, thirty-nine miles from Montreal, on which occasion he be- came a prisoner to the Indians, by whom he was robbed of his clothing. He was kept in confinement ten days, and then ex- changed. He was commissioned as second lieutenant of infantry, in September, 1776. In February, 1777, Col. Patterson was pro- moted to brigadier-general, and Joseph Vose became the colonel of his regiment, which formed a part of the army of Gen. Gates in the fall campaign of that year. Col. Vose, who made a pru- dent, good officer, had been educated a butcher. While marching at the head of his regiment, in the vicinity of Burgoyne's army, to execute a command, a party of Hessians brought two field-pieces
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HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY,
to bear upon them, and a shot striking the Colonel's horse killed it under him, but without halting his men he proceeded on foot, ordering a drummer to bring along his pistols .*
In the fall of 1777, the brigade of Gen. Glover, to which Wil- liams, then a lieutenant of infantry, was attached, proceeded from Bemis's Heights to Valley Forge for winter quarters. On arriving near the residence of Gen. Richard Montgomery's widow, the brigade halted for the night. Mrs. Montgomery was then pleas- antly situated near the Hudson, about midway between Red Hook and Rhinebeck. Col. Shephard, at that time in temporary com- mand of the troops, as a compliment to the widow of so conspic- uous a martyr in the cause, dispatched Lieut. Williams, in the ca- pacity of adjutant, with a major-general's guard, and the compli- ments of the commander, tendering the service of the guard for the night. A major-general's guard consisted of a subaltern offi- cer and twenty men; and a brigadier-general's guard, of a ser- geant and twelve men. As Williams rode up to the door, Mrs. Montgomery (a Livingston before marriage) made her appear- ance. She possessed a genteel form, with a small sparkling eye, and was neatly clad in black. She performed her part of the ce- remony very politely, accepting the guard, and quartering them for the night. The officer of the guard was a gallant young en- sign under Capt. Pillsbury, who was highly pleased with the duty and executed it handsomely. He was enthusiastic, on joining his regiment in the morning, in describing the very hospitable man- ner in which himself and men were entertained.
In the summer of 1778, Lieut. Williams was on duty in New Jersey, and was at the battle of Monmouth. In August follow- ing that battle, Gen. Glover's brigade, consisting of four Massa-
*The sang froid manifested by Col. Vose, while under Gen. Gates, reminds me of another anecdote of the same campaign. Col. Scammel was distin- guished for his courage and activity in the battle of Saratoga, and in the heat of it his cue was nearly shot off by a ball from the enemy. Pulling it off, he threw it down in the direction of the foe, exclaiming with emphasis-"D-n you, take it all !" Col. S. led the van of Washington's army on their march to Yorktown, early in the seige of which place he fell, covered with glory. He was promoted to adjutant-general just before his death .- Jas. Williamson.
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AND BORDER WARS OF NEW YORK.
chusetts regiments, commanded by Colonels Shephard, Wiggles- worth, Bigelow, and Vose, proceeded to Rhode Island to strength- en the army of Gen. Sullivan.
In June, 1779, Jeremiah Miller, his captain, was appointed pay master of the regiment, and Lieut. Williams took the com- mand of the company ; from which time until the war closed, he almost constantly performed the duty of captain. In July, his regiment marched to West Chester county, N. Y., and the follow- ing winter, (known as the cold winter,) Gen. Glover's brigade was cantoned at a place called Budd's Huts, situated three miles east of West Point ; on the road leading from Fishkill to Peeks- kill. The snow was deep while the huts were building, and the water did not drop from the eaves of those rude dwellings for forty successive days. Part of the army wintered the same sea- son three miles back of West Point, in what were called the York Huts. The logs for Budd's huts were brought together by the soldiers with drag-ropes.
In the summer of 1780, Capt. Williams was on duty on the borders of New York and New Jersey ; and in the summer of 1781, in the vicinity of Kings' Ferry, until September, when he marched with the army of Gen. Washington to York-Town. During the siege of that place by the American and French ar- mies, two strong redoubts thrown up by the enemy were carried ; the one on the bank of the river by American light infantry un- der Gen. Lafayette, and the other by French grenadiers under the Baron de Viomenil. To divide the attention of the enemy while the redoubts were being stormed, Col. Laurens, who had recently returned from a foreign embassy, was required, as his first milita- ry duty, to select two trusty captains, each with forty chosen men from Scammel's corps of infantry, (ten from a company,) and march in between the redoubts. Captains Williams, of the Mas- sachusetts line, and Betts, of the Connecticut, were the two offi- cers chosen for this honorable task. A heavy fire was opened from both redoubts and the army in front upon the troops under Laurens ; but it was illy directed, and soon silenced after an en- trance was forced by the forlorn hope : and what is surprising,
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