HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER I, concluded ...
The next village north, was in the vicinity of the court-house, and was called Brunnen or Bruna dorf, which signified the town of springs.
There are several springs in this vicinity; and a living one, which issues from beneath the rocks a little distance south-east from the court-house, supplies most of the villagers with excellent water.
The principal or most influential man among the first settlers at this place, was John Lawyer.
Some of his descendants, as also those of some of the Shaeffers and Ingolds, who were also among the first settlers, still reside near the location of their ancestors.
The next settlement was in the vicinity of the present residence of Doctor C. H. Van Dyck, about a mile north of Bruna dorf; and consisted of Johannes George Smidt, (or Smith in English,) with a few followers of the people, for whom he had acted as commissioner at the Camps.
Smith is said to have had the best house in Smith's dorf, which was thatched with straw.
I am not certain that any of his clan are now represented in that section.
It is probable, however, that the Snyders who reside there, may be descended from the first settlers.
Fox's dorf was next to Smith's, north, and took its name from William Fox, its leading man.
He settled about a mile from Smith, in the vicinity of Fox's creek, so called after him.
The Snyders, Beckers, Zimmers, Balls and Weidmans, now residing along, and near that stream, are regular descendants of the first settlers.
Elias Garlock, with a few faithful followers, who, doubtless, adhered to him on account of his great wisdom, which remains to be shown, located about two miles farther down the river, near the present residence of Jacob Vrooman.
This was called Garlock's dorf.
The Dietzes, Manns and Sternbergs, were among the first settlers at Garlock's dorf, whose descendants still occupy the grounds.
The last and most northerly settlement, was called Kneiskern's dorf, after John Peter Kneiskern, its leading man.
It was two or three miles from the last mentioned settlement, and was made along the east side of the river, opposite the mouth of Cobel's kill.
The Kneiskerns, Stubrachs, Enderses, Sidneys, Berghs and Houcks, residing in that vicinity, are decendants of the original settlers.
This, and Bruna dorf, are the only ones of the seven settlements, in which the decendants of the list men or founders, dwell at the present day.
The sectional names of Kneiskern's and Hartman's dorf, are still in use; while the other five have sunk into oblivion.
Among the first settlers at these seven dorfs, were some whose descendants still reside in the county, their first location in but few instances being now traceable.
It is presumed many of them settled at the two most southern, and important villages.
The Keysers, Boucks, Rickards, Rightmyers, Warners, Weavers, Zimmers, Mattices, Zehs, Bellingers, Borsts, Schoolcrafts, Kryslers, Casselmans, Newkirks, Earharts, Browns, Settles and Merckleys, were doubtless among the first settlers.
The whole number of Germans who located in the Schoharie valley in 1711, must have been between five and seven hundred.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II
Having located the pioneers of Schoharie according to their several inclinations, let us see how they were to live.
More or less land was found at each settlement cleared, and with little pains, it was fitted for cultivation.
It has been already shown that their efforts were conveyed in such a manner, that we must presume they possessed very little of this world's gear.
Their all, no doubt, consisted in a few rude tools, a scanty supply of provisions, a meagre wardrobe, and a small number of rusty fire arms: they had to manufacture their own furniture, if the apology for it, merited such a name.
Bedsteads, they for some time dispensed with.
From logs they cut blocks, which answered the purposes of chairs and tables; sideboards, sofa, piano fortes, ottomans, carpets, &&c., were to them neither objects of family pride, convenience or envy.
They endeavored to foster the friendship of their Indian neighbors, and from them they received corn and beans, which the latter kindly showed them how to cultivate.
Within one week after their arrival, four children were born; a fact I think very worthy of record in the annals of this people.
Their names were Catharine Mattice, Elizabeth Lawyer, Wilhelmus Bouck and Johannes Earhart.
In preparing ground for planting, which was done in the absence of plows, by broad hoes, they found many ground nuts, which they made use of for food, the first season.
I have no account of their having been furnished with provisions by the Queen's agent, after they left Albany, and suppose they were left to live on their own resources, and what the country afforded.
The want of grist mills, for several years, they found to be a source of great inconvenience.
The stump mentioned in the preceding chapter, which served as the southern bound of the first Indian purchase, not only answered the Indians, but the first German, the purpose of a corn mill.
By the side of this hollow stump, an upright shaft and cross-bar were raised, from which was suspended a heavy wood, or stone pestle, working on the principle of a pump.
Their corn for several years, they hulled with lye, or pounded preparatory to eating it.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II
Having located the pioneers of Schoharie according to their several inclinations, let us see how they were to live.
More or less land was found at each settlement cleared, and with little pains, it was fitted for cultivation.
It has been already shown that their efforts were conveyed in such a manner, that we must presume they possessed very little of this world's gear.
Their all, no doubt, consisted in a few rude tools, a scanty supply of provisions, a meagre wardrobe, and a small number of rusty fire arms: they had to manufacture their own furniture, if the apology for it, merited such a name.
Bedsteads, they for some time dispensed with.
From logs they cut blocks, which answered the purposes of chairs and tables; sideboards, sofa, piano fortes, ottomans, carpets, &&c., were to them neither objects of family pride, convenience or envy.
They endeavored to foster the friendship of their Indian neighbors, and from them they received corn and beans, which the latter kindly showed them how to cultivate.
Within one week after their arrival, four children were born; a fact I think very worthy of record in the annals of this people.
Their names were Catharine Mattice, Elizabeth Lawyer, Wilhelmus Bouck and Johannes Earhart.
In preparing ground for planting, which was done in the absence of plows, by broad hoes, they found many ground nuts, which they made use of for food, the first season.
I have no account of their having been furnished with provisions by the Queen's agent, after they left Albany, and suppose they were left to live on their own resources, and what the country afforded.
The want of grist mills, for several years, they found to be a source of great inconvenience.
The stump mentioned in the preceding chapter, which served as the southern bound of the first Indian purchase, not only answered the Indians, but the first German, the purpose of a corn mill.
By the side of this hollow stump, an upright shaft and cross-bar were raised, from which was suspended a heavy wood, or stone pestle, working on the principle of a pump.
Their corn for several years, they hulled with lye, or pounded preparatory to eating it.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Brown says, the first wheat was sowed in Schoharie in the fall of 1713, by Lambert Sternberg, of Garlock's dorf.
As I have shown the arrival of the Germans to have been two years earlier than the time stated by him, I suppose the first wheat to have been sown in the fall of 1711.
As Schenectada was nearer the Schoharie settlements than Albany, for such necessaries as they required the first few years, they visited the former place the most frequently.
Those who possessed the means, bought wheat there at two shillings a spint, (a peck,) or six shilling a skipple, had it ground and returned home with it on their backs, by a lonely Indian foot-path, through a heavy forest.
It was thus, Sternberg carried the first skipple of wheat ever taken to Schoharie in the berry.
He resided near the present residence of Henry Sternberg, a descendant of his.
On the west side of the river, opposite Garlock's dorf, had been an Indian castle, which was abandoned about the time the Germans arrived; the occupants having removed up the river, to the Wilder Hook.
On the ground within the dilapidated inclosure, the wheat was sowed, or rather planted, (as they then had no plows or horses,) over more than an acre of ground; it was planted within this yard, because it was a warm, rich piece of ground with little grass on it, and being inclosed, would remove the danger of having the crop destroyed in the fall or spring, by deer, which were numerous on the surrounding mountains.
This wheat, which rooted remarkably well in the fall, stood so thin, from having been scattered over so much ground, that it was hoed in the spring like a patch of corn; and well was the husbandman rewarded for his labor.
Every berry sent forth several stalks, every stalk sustained a drooping head, and every head teemed with numerous berries.
When ripe, it was gathered with the greatest care; not a single head was lost, and when threshed, the one yielded eighty-three skipples.
In these days, when the weevil scarcely allows three, to say nothing of the eighty, bushels to one; this statement would perhaps be looked upon as incredible, were not all the circumstances known.
Many procured seed from Sternberg, and it was not long before the settlers raised wheat enough for their own consumption.
For several years, they had most of their grain floured at Schenectada.
They usually went there in parties of fifteen or twenty at a time, to be better able to defend themselves against wild beasts, which then were numerous between the two places.
Often, there were as many women as men in those journeys, and as they had to encamp in the woods at least one night, the women frequently displayed when in danger, as much coolness and bravery as their liege lords.
A skipple was the quantity usually borne by each individual, but the stronger often carried more.
Not unfrequently, they left Schoharie to go to mill, on the morning of one day, and were at home on the morning of the next; performing a journey of between forty and fifty miles, in twenty-four hours or less, bearing the ordinary burden; but at such times, they traveled most of the night without encamping.
It is said, that women were not unfrequently among those who performed the journey in the shortest time - preparing a breakfast for their families, from the flour they had bought, on the morning after they left home.
Where is the matron now to be found, in the whole valley of the Schoharie, who would perform such a journey, in such a plight?
As may be supposed, many of the settlers in Schoharie were related.
Hence, has arisen that weighty political argument sometimes heard, "he belongs to the cousin family."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Brown says, the first wheat was sowed in Schoharie in the fall of 1713, by Lambert Sternberg, of Garlock's dorf.
As I have shown the arrival of the Germans to have been two years earlier than the time stated by him, I suppose the first wheat to have been sown in the fall of 1711.
As Schenectada was nearer the Schoharie settlements than Albany, for such necessaries as they required the first few years, they visited the former place the most frequently.
Those who possessed the means, bought wheat there at two shillings a spint, (a peck,) or six shilling a skipple, had it ground and returned home with it on their backs, by a lonely Indian foot-path, through a heavy forest.
It was thus, Sternberg carried the first skipple of wheat ever taken to Schoharie in the berry.
He resided near the present residence of Henry Sternberg, a descendant of his.
On the west side of the river, opposite Garlock's dorf, had been an Indian castle, which was abandoned about the time the Germans arrived; the occupants having removed up the river, to the Wilder Hook.
On the ground within the dilapidated inclosure, the wheat was sowed, or rather planted, (as they then had no plows or horses,) over more than an acre of ground; it was planted within this yard, because it was a warm, rich piece of ground with little grass on it, and being inclosed, would remove the danger of having the crop destroyed in the fall or spring, by deer, which were numerous on the surrounding mountains.
This wheat, which rooted remarkably well in the fall, stood so thin, from having been scattered over so much ground, that it was hoed in the spring like a patch of corn; and well was the husbandman rewarded for his labor.
Every berry sent forth several stalks, every stalk sustained a drooping head, and every head teemed with numerous berries.
When ripe, it was gathered with the greatest care; not a single head was lost, and when threshed, the one yielded eighty-three skipples.
In these days, when the weevil scarcely allows three, to say nothing of the eighty, bushels to one; this statement would perhaps be looked upon as incredible, were not all the circumstances known.
Many procured seed from Sternberg, and it was not long before the settlers raised wheat enough for their own consumption.
For several years, they had most of their grain floured at Schenectada.
They usually went there in parties of fifteen or twenty at a time, to be better able to defend themselves against wild beasts, which then were numerous between the two places.
Often, there were as many women as men in those journeys, and as they had to encamp in the woods at least one night, the women frequently displayed when in danger, as much coolness and bravery as their liege lords.
A skipple was the quantity usually borne by each individual, but the stronger often carried more.
Not unfrequently, they left Schoharie to go to mill, on the morning of one day, and were at home on the morning of the next; performing a journey of between forty and fifty miles, in twenty-four hours or less, bearing the ordinary burden; but at such times, they traveled most of the night without encamping.
It is said, that women were not unfrequently among those who performed the journey in the shortest time - preparing a breakfast for their families, from the flour they had bought, on the morning after they left home.
Where is the matron now to be found, in the whole valley of the Schoharie, who would perform such a journey, in such a plight?
As may be supposed, many of the settlers in Schoharie were related.
Hence, has arisen that weighty political argument sometimes heard, "he belongs to the cousin family."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Owing to the industry and economy of the colonists, and the richness of the soil, want soon began to flee their dwellings, and plenty to enter; and as their clothes began to wax old, they manufactured others from dressed buck-skin, which they obtained from the Indians.
A file of those men, clad in buck-skin, with caps of fox or wolf-skin, all of their own manufacture, must have presented a formidable appearance.
It is not certain but the domestic economy of the male, was carried into the female department; and that here and there a ruddy maiden, concealed her charming proportions beneath a habit of deer-skin.
It is said that physicians accompanied the first Germans to Schoharie; and that for many years, ministers, or missionaries, under pay from the British government, labored in the different German settlements in the country.
They visited the people; married those whose piece of mind Cupid had destroyed; preached to, and exhorted all.
Their audiences usually occupied some convenient barn in the summer season, and the larger dwellings in the winter.
The want of horses and cattle at first, was much felt by the settlements.
By whom cattle, swine and sheep were first introduced, I have been unable to learn.
The first of the horse kind they possessed, was an old gray mare.
She was purchased at Schenectada for a small sum, by nine individuals of Weiser's dorf; and it is said they kept her moving.
Who the nine were, who gloried in owning this old Rosinante, is unknown; but there can be little doubt that Weiser, the patroon, owned an important share.
It may be asked, whether the people of those settlements, who resided too close together, to admit of lands for cultivation lying between them, did not live as do shakers; who make all their earnings common stock.
With a mutual understanding, each labored for his own benefit, and in order to prevent difficulty, lands were marked out and bounds placed, so that every one knew and cultivated his own parcel.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Owing to the industry and economy of the colonists, and the richness of the soil, want soon began to flee their dwellings, and plenty to enter; and as their clothes began to wax old, they manufactured others from dressed buck-skin, which they obtained from the Indians.
A file of those men, clad in buck-skin, with caps of fox or wolf-skin, all of their own manufacture, must have presented a formidable appearance.
It is not certain but the domestic economy of the male, was carried into the female department; and that here and there a ruddy maiden, concealed her charming proportions beneath a habit of deer-skin.
It is said that physicians accompanied the first Germans to Schoharie; and that for many years, ministers, or missionaries, under pay from the British government, labored in the different German settlements in the country.
They visited the people; married those whose piece of mind Cupid had destroyed; preached to, and exhorted all.
Their audiences usually occupied some convenient barn in the summer season, and the larger dwellings in the winter.
The want of horses and cattle at first, was much felt by the settlements.
By whom cattle, swine and sheep were first introduced, I have been unable to learn.
The first of the horse kind they possessed, was an old gray mare.
She was purchased at Schenectada for a small sum, by nine individuals of Weiser's dorf; and it is said they kept her moving.
Who the nine were, who gloried in owning this old Rosinante, is unknown; but there can be little doubt that Weiser, the patroon, owned an important share.
It may be asked, whether the people of those settlements, who resided too close together, to admit of lands for cultivation lying between them, did not live as do shakers; who make all their earnings common stock.
With a mutual understanding, each labored for his own benefit, and in order to prevent difficulty, lands were marked out and bounds placed, so that every one knew and cultivated his own parcel.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Not long after the Germans settled in Schoharie, the Dutch began a settlement in Vrooman's Land, on the west side of the river, two or three miles above Weiser's dorf.
Adam Vrooman, a citizen of Schenectada - a farmer of considerable wealth, and somewhat advanced in life, took a royal patent for this land, from which circumstance, it was called Vrooman's Land: by which name it is still distinguished.
This patent was executed August 26, 1714.
Previous to obtaining the royal title, Vrooman had received Indian conveyances for portions of the land as gifts.
One of two deeds, which have escaped the fate of most of Col. Peter Vrooman's papers, contains the names of eighteen Indians, inserted in the following order:
"Pennonequieeson, Canquothoo, Hendrick the Indian, [probably King Hendrick of the French war,] Kawnawahdeakeoe, Turthyowriss, Sagonadietah, Tucktahraessoo, Onnadahsea, Kahenterunkqua, Amos the Indian, Cornelius the Indian, Gonhe Wannah, Oneedyea, Leweas the Indian, Johanis the Indian, Tuquaw-in-hunt, and Esras the Indian, all owners and proprietors of a certain piece of land, situate, lying and being in the bounds of the land called Skohere."
The title is for two hundred and sixty acres of land near the hill "called Onitstagrawa;" two hundred of which were flats, and sixty acres wood-land.
The instrument closed as follows: "In testimony whereof, we, the three races or tribes of the Maquase, the Turtle, Wolf and Bear, being present, have hereunto set our marks and seals, in the town of Schenectady, this two and twentieth day of August, and in the tenth year of her Majesty's [Queen Ann's] reign."
"Annoque Domini, 1711."
Eighteen wax seals are attached to the conveyance, in front of which are arranged, in the order named, the devices of a turtle, a wolf and a bear, the former holding a tomahawk in one of its claws.
The other deed alluded to, is dated April 30, 1714, and contains the eight following names: "Sinonneequerison, Tanuryso, Nisawgoreeatah, Turgourus, Honodaw, Kannakquawes, Tigreedontee, Onnodeegondee, all of the Maquaes country, native Indians, owners and proprietors, &&c."
The deed was given for three hundred and forty acres of woodland, lying eastward of the sixty acres previously conveyed, "bounded northward by the Onitstagrawa, to the southward by a hill called Kan-je-a-ra-go-re, to the westward by a ridge of hills that join to Onitstagrawa, extending southerly much like unto a half moon, till it joins the aforesaid hill Kanjearagore."
This instrument closes in the manner of the one before noticed, except that each Indian's name is placed before a seal to which he had made his mark.
The ensigns of the three Mohawk tribes, are conspicuously traced in the midst of the signatures.
One of the two witnesses to both deeds was Leo Stevens, a woman who acted as interpreter on the occasion of granting each conveyance.
Both deeds were duly recorded in the secretary's office of the province.
March 30, 1726, Adam Vrooman obtained a new Indian title to the flats know as Vrooman's Land, executed by nine individuals of the nation, "in behalf of all the Mohaugs Indians."
Some difficulty had probably arisen, in consequence of his holding more land than the first deeds specified.
The new title gave the land previously conveyed with the sentence, "let there be as much as there will, more or less, for we are no surveyors;" and was executed with the ensigns of the Mohawk nation - the turtle, wolf and bear.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Not long after the Germans settled in Schoharie, the Dutch began a settlement in Vrooman's Land, on the west side of the river, two or three miles above Weiser's dorf.
Adam Vrooman, a citizen of Schenectada - a farmer of considerable wealth, and somewhat advanced in life, took a royal patent for this land, from which circumstance, it was called Vrooman's Land: by which name it is still distinguished.
This patent was executed August 26, 1714.
Previous to obtaining the royal title, Vrooman had received Indian conveyances for portions of the land as gifts.
One of two deeds, which have escaped the fate of most of Col. Peter Vrooman's papers, contains the names of eighteen Indians, inserted in the following order:
"Pennonequieeson, Canquothoo, Hendrick the Indian, [probably King Hendrick of the French war,] Kawnawahdeakeoe, Turthyowriss, Sagonadietah, Tucktahraessoo, Onnadahsea, Kahenterunkqua, Amos the Indian, Cornelius the Indian, Gonhe Wannah, Oneedyea, Leweas the Indian, Johanis the Indian, Tuquaw-in-hunt, and Esras the Indian, all owners and proprietors of a certain piece of land, situate, lying and being in the bounds of the land called Skohere."
The title is for two hundred and sixty acres of land near the hill "called Onitstagrawa;" two hundred of which were flats, and sixty acres wood-land.
The instrument closed as follows: "In testimony whereof, we, the three races or tribes of the Maquase, the Turtle, Wolf and Bear, being present, have hereunto set our marks and seals, in the town of Schenectady, this two and twentieth day of August, and in the tenth year of her Majesty's [Queen Ann's] reign."
"Annoque Domini, 1711."
Eighteen wax seals are attached to the conveyance, in front of which are arranged, in the order named, the devices of a turtle, a wolf and a bear, the former holding a tomahawk in one of its claws.
The other deed alluded to, is dated April 30, 1714, and contains the eight following names: "Sinonneequerison, Tanuryso, Nisawgoreeatah, Turgourus, Honodaw, Kannakquawes, Tigreedontee, Onnodeegondee, all of the Maquaes country, native Indians, owners and proprietors, &&c."
The deed was given for three hundred and forty acres of woodland, lying eastward of the sixty acres previously conveyed, "bounded northward by the Onitstagrawa, to the southward by a hill called Kan-je-a-ra-go-re, to the westward by a ridge of hills that join to Onitstagrawa, extending southerly much like unto a half moon, till it joins the aforesaid hill Kanjearagore."
This instrument closes in the manner of the one before noticed, except that each Indian's name is placed before a seal to which he had made his mark.
The ensigns of the three Mohawk tribes, are conspicuously traced in the midst of the signatures.
One of the two witnesses to both deeds was Leo Stevens, a woman who acted as interpreter on the occasion of granting each conveyance.
Both deeds were duly recorded in the secretary's office of the province.
March 30, 1726, Adam Vrooman obtained a new Indian title to the flats know as Vrooman's Land, executed by nine individuals of the nation, "in behalf of all the Mohaugs Indians."
Some difficulty had probably arisen, in consequence of his holding more land than the first deeds specified.
The new title gave the land previously conveyed with the sentence, "let there be as much as there will, more or less, for we are no surveyors;" and was executed with the ensigns of the Mohawk nation - the turtle, wolf and bear.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Vrooman's patent was bounded on the north by a point of the Onitstagrawa and the Line kill, and on the south by the white pine swamp, (as a little swamp near the present residence of Samuel Lawyer was then called) and a brook running from it, and embraced a good part of the flats between those two bounds from the hill to the river, excepting the Wilder Hook: where dwelt many of the natives, and where, as before stated, was their strongest castle.
This patent was given for eleven hundred acres, more or less.
It is said to have contained about fourteen hundred acres: than which very little better land ever was tilled.
He had not designed to settle on this land himself, but made the purchase for a son.
Peter Vrooman, for whom it was bought, settled on it soon after the purchase.
He had quite a family, his oldest son, Bartholomew, being at that time fourteen or fifteen years old.
He had a house erected previous to his moving there, and other conveniences for living.
The first summer, he employed several hands, planted considerable corn, and fenced in some of his land.
In the following autumn, he returned with his wife and children to Schenectada to spend the winter; leaving a hired man by the name of Truax, and two blacks, Morter, and Mary his wife, to take care of the property; of which he left considerable.
Not long after Vrooman returned to Schenectada, Truax was most cruelly murdered.
The circumstances attending this murder, are substantially as follows.
The evening before his death, Truax returned from the pleasing recreation of gunning, with a mess of pigeons, which he told Mary to dress and prepare for breakfast.
Being fatigued, he retired to rest earlier than usual, and soon forgot his cares and dangers, in a grateful slumber familiar to the sportsman.
Mary cleansed the pigeons, and soon after having done so, she unconsciously put the knife into a side pocket still bloody, intending, but forgetting to wash it.
Morter was absent from home during that evening and most of the night.
Mary arose betimes in the morning, with no small pains prepared the savory dish, and waited sometime for Truax to rise.
Observing that he kept his room unusually late, she went to his door and called to him, but received no answer.
She tried to open the door and found it locked on the inside.
As may be supposed, she felt the most lively apprehensions that all was not right.
She could, from some position outside the house, look into his window.
Thither she with trepidation went, when her suspicions were more than realized, and she learned too well the reason he had not risen at his usual hour.
She quickly communicated intelligence of her discovery to the Indians, her nearest neighbors: who, on their arrival at the house, burst open the door of his room.
Horrible indeed was the sight then disclosed.
Poor Truax lay in his bed, which he had sought without the least suspicion of danger, cold and stiff in his own gore; with his throat cut from ear to ear.
Indian messengers were immediately dispatched to Schenectada, to communicate the tragic affair to Peter Vrooman.
About the same time, the bloody knife was discovered in the pocket of the weeping Mary.
On the evening of the same, or early the following day, the messengers returned with Vrooman, and proper officers to arrest the murderer, or whoever might be suspected.
Suspicions were fixed upon the two blacks; and when the fact of finding the bloody knife in the pocket of Mary, and the circumstance of Morter's being absent from home were known, both were arrested, and hurried off to Albany for trial.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
Vrooman's patent was bounded on the north by a point of the Onitstagrawa and the Line kill, and on the south by the white pine swamp, (as a little swamp near the present residence of Samuel Lawyer was then called) and a brook running from it, and embraced a good part of the flats between those two bounds from the hill to the river, excepting the Wilder Hook: where dwelt many of the natives, and where, as before stated, was their strongest castle.
This patent was given for eleven hundred acres, more or less.
It is said to have contained about fourteen hundred acres: than which very little better land ever was tilled.
He had not designed to settle on this land himself, but made the purchase for a son.
Peter Vrooman, for whom it was bought, settled on it soon after the purchase.
He had quite a family, his oldest son, Bartholomew, being at that time fourteen or fifteen years old.
He had a house erected previous to his moving there, and other conveniences for living.
The first summer, he employed several hands, planted considerable corn, and fenced in some of his land.
In the following autumn, he returned with his wife and children to Schenectada to spend the winter; leaving a hired man by the name of Truax, and two blacks, Morter, and Mary his wife, to take care of the property; of which he left considerable.
Not long after Vrooman returned to Schenectada, Truax was most cruelly murdered.
The circumstances attending this murder, are substantially as follows.
The evening before his death, Truax returned from the pleasing recreation of gunning, with a mess of pigeons, which he told Mary to dress and prepare for breakfast.
Being fatigued, he retired to rest earlier than usual, and soon forgot his cares and dangers, in a grateful slumber familiar to the sportsman.
Mary cleansed the pigeons, and soon after having done so, she unconsciously put the knife into a side pocket still bloody, intending, but forgetting to wash it.
Morter was absent from home during that evening and most of the night.
Mary arose betimes in the morning, with no small pains prepared the savory dish, and waited sometime for Truax to rise.
Observing that he kept his room unusually late, she went to his door and called to him, but received no answer.
She tried to open the door and found it locked on the inside.
As may be supposed, she felt the most lively apprehensions that all was not right.
She could, from some position outside the house, look into his window.
Thither she with trepidation went, when her suspicions were more than realized, and she learned too well the reason he had not risen at his usual hour.
She quickly communicated intelligence of her discovery to the Indians, her nearest neighbors: who, on their arrival at the house, burst open the door of his room.
Horrible indeed was the sight then disclosed.
Poor Truax lay in his bed, which he had sought without the least suspicion of danger, cold and stiff in his own gore; with his throat cut from ear to ear.
Indian messengers were immediately dispatched to Schenectada, to communicate the tragic affair to Peter Vrooman.
About the same time, the bloody knife was discovered in the pocket of the weeping Mary.
On the evening of the same, or early the following day, the messengers returned with Vrooman, and proper officers to arrest the murderer, or whoever might be suspected.
Suspicions were fixed upon the two blacks; and when the fact of finding the bloody knife in the pocket of Mary, and the circumstance of Morter's being absent from home were known, both were arrested, and hurried off to Albany for trial.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
The day of examination soon arrived, and the prisoners were brought to the bar.
The trial proceeded, and the testimony of the Indians, to whom Mary had first communicated her suspicions of the murder, was heard.
No unsettled difficulty was shown to have existed between the murdered and the accused: indeed, little appeared at the trial to criminate the blacks, more than is already known to the reader.
When the facts, that the throat of Truax had been cut, that a bloody knife was found on the person of Mary, and that Morter had sullenly refused to answer questions during his arrest and confinement, were known to the court, circumstantial evidence was deemed sufficiently strong and lucid to fix guilt upon them: and as the murder had been an aggravated one, the prisoners were sentenced, as tradition says, to be burned alive.
When interrogated by the judge, before passing his sentence, whether they had aught to say why sentence of death should not pass upon them, Mary boldly and firmly declared her innocence, and her ignorance of the real murderer: stating, in a feeling manner, all she knew of the affair; how the knife had been heedlessly put into her pocket after cleansing the pigeons, and forgotten; how much she respected the deceased, and how much she lamented his untimely death; and ended by an appeal to the great Judge of the universe of her innocence of the crime, for which she stood accused.
Morter, on being interrogated, remained sullenly silent; and after receiving the sentence, both were remanded to prison.
On the day of their execution, which had not been long delayed, the condemned were taken west of the city a little distance, where had been previously prepared, a circular pile of pine faggots of a conical form.
In the centre of the pile the victims were placed, and the fatal torch applied.
Mary, still protesting her innocence, called on the Lord, whom she trusted would save her; and prayed that he would, in the heavens, show to the spectators some token of her innocence.
But alas!
The day of miracles had passed; and as the flame surrounded her, she gave herself up to despair.
She expired, endeavoring to convince the multitude of her innocence.
Her companion met his fate, with the same stoic indifference he had manifested from the hour of his arrest.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
The day of examination soon arrived, and the prisoners were brought to the bar.
The trial proceeded, and the testimony of the Indians, to whom Mary had first communicated her suspicions of the murder, was heard.
No unsettled difficulty was shown to have existed between the murdered and the accused: indeed, little appeared at the trial to criminate the blacks, more than is already known to the reader.
When the facts, that the throat of Truax had been cut, that a bloody knife was found on the person of Mary, and that Morter had sullenly refused to answer questions during his arrest and confinement, were known to the court, circumstantial evidence was deemed sufficiently strong and lucid to fix guilt upon them: and as the murder had been an aggravated one, the prisoners were sentenced, as tradition says, to be burned alive.
When interrogated by the judge, before passing his sentence, whether they had aught to say why sentence of death should not pass upon them, Mary boldly and firmly declared her innocence, and her ignorance of the real murderer: stating, in a feeling manner, all she knew of the affair; how the knife had been heedlessly put into her pocket after cleansing the pigeons, and forgotten; how much she respected the deceased, and how much she lamented his untimely death; and ended by an appeal to the great Judge of the universe of her innocence of the crime, for which she stood accused.
Morter, on being interrogated, remained sullenly silent; and after receiving the sentence, both were remanded to prison.
On the day of their execution, which had not been long delayed, the condemned were taken west of the city a little distance, where had been previously prepared, a circular pile of pine faggots of a conical form.
In the centre of the pile the victims were placed, and the fatal torch applied.
Mary, still protesting her innocence, called on the Lord, whom she trusted would save her; and prayed that he would, in the heavens, show to the spectators some token of her innocence.
But alas!
The day of miracles had passed; and as the flame surrounded her, she gave herself up to despair.
She expired, endeavoring to convince the multitude of her innocence.
Her companion met his fate, with the same stoic indifference he had manifested from the hour of his arrest.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
After the execution of this unhappy couple, one of whom, as will be seen hereafter, expired innocent of the crime for which she suffered, the affair died away, and nothing further was disclosed for several years.
Facts then came to light revealing the whole transaction.
At the time the murder was committed, a man by the name of Moore resided at Weiser's dorf.
The Germans at that settlement, which was distant from the dwelling of Vrooman about two miles, it was supposed, envied Vrooman the possession of the fine tract of land he had secured; and by compelling him to abandon, hoped to possess it.
It is not probable, however, that any one of them, except Moore, thought of getting it by the crime of murder.
He conceived such a plan, and conspired with Morter to carry it into execution.
Moore thought if Truax was murdered, Vrooman would be afraid to return for fear of sharing a like fate, and would then dispose of the land on reasonable terms; when he might secure to himself a choice parcel.
Morter was promised, as a reward for participating in the crime, the hand of Moore's sister in marriage.
It is not likely the girl herself, had the most distant idea of the happiness her brother had in store for her.
Amalgamation to Morter appeared in enticing garments.
To pillow his head on a white bosom, and bask in amalgamated pleasure, would, he thought, amply compensate for becoming the tool of Moore.
He therefore resolved to aid him, and it was agreed the deed should be executed in such a manner as to throw suspicion on Mary his wife; who, he intended, should prove no obstacle in the way of realizing his sensual desires.
The circumstance of his wife's having pigeons to dress, seemed to favor the design.
Perhaps he had seen her put the bloody knife into her pocket: at all events, the present seemed to them a favorable opportunity, and they resolved to accomplish the foul deed that night.
Accordingly, at midnight, the murderers approached the house in which slumbered their innocent victim.
Finding his door locked, they found it necessary to devise some plan to gain admission to his room without breaking the lock, and, if possible, without alarming Mary, a victim they intended the law should claim.
By some means they gained the top of the chimney, which was not very difficult, as the dwelling was but one story, and sliding carefully down that, they soon found themselves in the presence of their still slumbering victim.
Which of the two drew the fatal knife is unknown; it is supposed one held him, while the other, at a single stroke, severed the jugular vein.
The nefarious deed accomplished, the assassins left the room, and away they sped from the dwelling, fearful alike of their own shadows.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
After the execution of this unhappy couple, one of whom, as will be seen hereafter, expired innocent of the crime for which she suffered, the affair died away, and nothing further was disclosed for several years.
Facts then came to light revealing the whole transaction.
At the time the murder was committed, a man by the name of Moore resided at Weiser's dorf.
The Germans at that settlement, which was distant from the dwelling of Vrooman about two miles, it was supposed, envied Vrooman the possession of the fine tract of land he had secured; and by compelling him to abandon, hoped to possess it.
It is not probable, however, that any one of them, except Moore, thought of getting it by the crime of murder.
He conceived such a plan, and conspired with Morter to carry it into execution.
Moore thought if Truax was murdered, Vrooman would be afraid to return for fear of sharing a like fate, and would then dispose of the land on reasonable terms; when he might secure to himself a choice parcel.
Morter was promised, as a reward for participating in the crime, the hand of Moore's sister in marriage.
It is not likely the girl herself, had the most distant idea of the happiness her brother had in store for her.
Amalgamation to Morter appeared in enticing garments.
To pillow his head on a white bosom, and bask in amalgamated pleasure, would, he thought, amply compensate for becoming the tool of Moore.
He therefore resolved to aid him, and it was agreed the deed should be executed in such a manner as to throw suspicion on Mary his wife; who, he intended, should prove no obstacle in the way of realizing his sensual desires.
The circumstance of his wife's having pigeons to dress, seemed to favor the design.
Perhaps he had seen her put the bloody knife into her pocket: at all events, the present seemed to them a favorable opportunity, and they resolved to accomplish the foul deed that night.
Accordingly, at midnight, the murderers approached the house in which slumbered their innocent victim.
Finding his door locked, they found it necessary to devise some plan to gain admission to his room without breaking the lock, and, if possible, without alarming Mary, a victim they intended the law should claim.
By some means they gained the top of the chimney, which was not very difficult, as the dwelling was but one story, and sliding carefully down that, they soon found themselves in the presence of their still slumbering victim.
Which of the two drew the fatal knife is unknown; it is supposed one held him, while the other, at a single stroke, severed the jugular vein.
The nefarious deed accomplished, the assassins left the room, and away they sped from the dwelling, fearful alike of their own shadows.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
The light of the morrow's sun disclosed the damnable deed.
When the commotion and anxiety of the next day followed discovery, Moore feigned business from home, and kept out of the way until after the arrest of his hardened accomplice.
Not long after this murder was committed, a disturbance arose among the Germans, through ignorance, as will be seen, and many of them left the Schoharie valley and sought a residence elsewhere.
Moore was among those who went to Pennsylvania.
He lived a life of fear for some years in that state, but at length a summons from on high laid him upon a bed of languishing.
As disease preyed upon his vitals, the worm of torment gnawed his conscience.
Sometimes in his broken slumbers, he was visited (in fancy,) by the ghost of a man struggling upon a bed; and as he heard the rattle of his throat as the breath left his body, he saw the fearful gash and the flowing blood.
At other times he saw two persons, whom the crackling flames were devouring; and, as the appeal to heaven for a token of the innocence of one of them rang in his ears, he often awoke with exclamation of horror.
Being past the hope of recovery, and so grievously tormented, in order to relieve in some measure his guilty conscience, he disclosed the facts above related.
Truax was the first white man murdered in Schoharie county; and may be said to have fallen a victim to the unholy cause of amalgamation.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
The light of the morrow's sun disclosed the damnable deed.
When the commotion and anxiety of the next day followed discovery, Moore feigned business from home, and kept out of the way until after the arrest of his hardened accomplice.
Not long after this murder was committed, a disturbance arose among the Germans, through ignorance, as will be seen, and many of them left the Schoharie valley and sought a residence elsewhere.
Moore was among those who went to Pennsylvania.
He lived a life of fear for some years in that state, but at length a summons from on high laid him upon a bed of languishing.
As disease preyed upon his vitals, the worm of torment gnawed his conscience.
Sometimes in his broken slumbers, he was visited (in fancy,) by the ghost of a man struggling upon a bed; and as he heard the rattle of his throat as the breath left his body, he saw the fearful gash and the flowing blood.
At other times he saw two persons, whom the crackling flames were devouring; and, as the appeal to heaven for a token of the innocence of one of them rang in his ears, he often awoke with exclamation of horror.
Being past the hope of recovery, and so grievously tormented, in order to relieve in some measure his guilty conscience, he disclosed the facts above related.
Truax was the first white man murdered in Schoharie county; and may be said to have fallen a victim to the unholy cause of amalgamation.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: ON THE ROOTS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
The Germans had not been long in possession of the Schoharie flats, and were just beginning to live comfortably, when Nicholas Bayard, an agent from the British crown, appeared in their midst.
He put up in Smith's dorf, at the house of Han-Yerry (John George) Smith, already noted as being the best domicil in the settlement.
From this house, (which was in fact the first hotel in Schoharie, and might have been called the half-way house, as Smith's was the central of the seven dorfs,) Bayard issued a notice, that to every house-holder, who would make known to him the boundaries of the land he had taken; he would give a deed in the name of his sovereign.
The Germans, ignorant though honest, mistook altogether the object of the generous offer, and supposing it designed to bring them again under tyrannic land-holders, and within the pale of royal oppression, resolved at once to kill Bayard, whom they looked upon as a foe to their future peace; and by so doing, establish more firmly the independence they had for several years enjoyed.
Consequently, early the next morning, the nature of the resolve having been made known the evening before, the honest burghers of Schoharie, armed with guns and pitch-forks; with many of the softer sex, in whom dwelt the love of liberty, armed with broad hoes, clubs and other missiles; surrounded the hotel of Smith, and demanded the person of Bayard, dead or alive.
Mine host, who knew at that early day that a well managed hotel was the traveler's home, positively refused to surrender to his enraged countrymen, his guest.
The house was besieged throughout the day.
Sixty balls were fired by the assailants through the roof, which was the most vulnerable part, as that was straw: and as Bayard had, previous to his arrival, been by accident despoiled of an eye, he ran no little risk of returning to the bosom of his family, if fortunate enough to return, totally blind.
Bayard was armed with pistols, and occasionally returned the fire of his assailants, more, no doubt, with the design of frightening, than of killing them.
Having spent the last round of their ammunition, hunger beginning to gnaw, and the sable shades of evening to conceal the surrounding hills, the siege was raised, and the heroes of the bloodless day dispersed to their homes, to eat their fill and dream on their personal exploits - the invulnerability of their foe, and the mutability of princely promises.
The coast again clear, Bayard left Schoharie, and under the cover of night, traveled to Schenectada.
From there he sent a message to Schoharie, offering to give, to such as should appear there with a single ear of corn - acknowledge him the regal agent - and name the bounds of it, a free deed and lasting title to their lands.
No one felt inclined to call on the agent, whose life they had attempted to take, and after waiting some time, he went to Albany and disposed of the lands they occupied, to five individuals.
The patent was granted to Myndert Schuyler, Peter Van Brugh, Robert Livingston, jr., John Schuyler and Henry Wileman, the purchasers, and was executed at Fort George, in New York, on the third day of November, 1714, in the first year of the reign of George I., by Robert Hunter, then Governor of the province, in behalf of the King.
The date of this conveyance, I think, goes far to prove the settlement of Schoharie to have been as early as the time previously given; as the settlers had been upon their lands several years, and were beginning to live comfortably, previous to the arrival of the royal agent.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
by Jeptha R. Simms - 1845
CHAPTER II, continued ...
The Germans had not been long in possession of the Schoharie flats, and were just beginning to live comfortably, when Nicholas Bayard, an agent from the British crown, appeared in their midst.
He put up in Smith's dorf, at the house of Han-Yerry (John George) Smith, already noted as being the best domicil in the settlement.
From this house, (which was in fact the first hotel in Schoharie, and might have been called the half-way house, as Smith's was the central of the seven dorfs,) Bayard issued a notice, that to every house-holder, who would make known to him the boundaries of the land he had taken; he would give a deed in the name of his sovereign.
The Germans, ignorant though honest, mistook altogether the object of the generous offer, and supposing it designed to bring them again under tyrannic land-holders, and within the pale of royal oppression, resolved at once to kill Bayard, whom they looked upon as a foe to their future peace; and by so doing, establish more firmly the independence they had for several years enjoyed.
Consequently, early the next morning, the nature of the resolve having been made known the evening before, the honest burghers of Schoharie, armed with guns and pitch-forks; with many of the softer sex, in whom dwelt the love of liberty, armed with broad hoes, clubs and other missiles; surrounded the hotel of Smith, and demanded the person of Bayard, dead or alive.
Mine host, who knew at that early day that a well managed hotel was the traveler's home, positively refused to surrender to his enraged countrymen, his guest.
The house was besieged throughout the day.
Sixty balls were fired by the assailants through the roof, which was the most vulnerable part, as that was straw: and as Bayard had, previous to his arrival, been by accident despoiled of an eye, he ran no little risk of returning to the bosom of his family, if fortunate enough to return, totally blind.
Bayard was armed with pistols, and occasionally returned the fire of his assailants, more, no doubt, with the design of frightening, than of killing them.
Having spent the last round of their ammunition, hunger beginning to gnaw, and the sable shades of evening to conceal the surrounding hills, the siege was raised, and the heroes of the bloodless day dispersed to their homes, to eat their fill and dream on their personal exploits - the invulnerability of their foe, and the mutability of princely promises.
The coast again clear, Bayard left Schoharie, and under the cover of night, traveled to Schenectada.
From there he sent a message to Schoharie, offering to give, to such as should appear there with a single ear of corn - acknowledge him the regal agent - and name the bounds of it, a free deed and lasting title to their lands.
No one felt inclined to call on the agent, whose life they had attempted to take, and after waiting some time, he went to Albany and disposed of the lands they occupied, to five individuals.
The patent was granted to Myndert Schuyler, Peter Van Brugh, Robert Livingston, jr., John Schuyler and Henry Wileman, the purchasers, and was executed at Fort George, in New York, on the third day of November, 1714, in the first year of the reign of George I., by Robert Hunter, then Governor of the province, in behalf of the King.
The date of this conveyance, I think, goes far to prove the settlement of Schoharie to have been as early as the time previously given; as the settlers had been upon their lands several years, and were beginning to live comfortably, previous to the arrival of the royal agent.
TO BE CONTINUED ...