A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter I, continued ...
I am indebted to the Rev. Courtney Smith, formerly of Warrensburgh, for the following reminiscence of Father Paul.
"I remember Paul, but my memory goes back to its extremest limit to authenticate his image."
"I must have been a wee bit of a boy, but on some public occasion, I have no idea what, which drew the public together, at the public house kept where the Mohican House is now kept, I seem to have been permitted to be there with my father or older brothers."
"While there, as I remember distinctly, a canoe came in from the lake, with a single man in it of medium height, somewhat stoutly built, and with the black hair and copper complexion of an Indian."
"He landed and walked up the bank with much deliberation and gravity of manner."
"It was the Indian preacher Paul, so I heard it remarked, and I deemed myself most fortunate in having seen him."
* * * * * *
"He had acquired a respectable education in some New England institution, I am much inclined to think it was in Connecticut, and was regularly licensed to preach."
"How, or when he found his way into the Bolton settlement I cannot say, but at a very early period he came among those few families in the wilderness."
"They were many of them from New England, with all the New England appreciation of the gospel, and its institutions."
"As yet they were without a minister, and Paul coming with the requisite credentials, was invited to address them on the Sabbath, on the theme of religion."
"He did so, and they were edified."
"He assisted them in burying their dead, and consoled them in their afflictions, and became much respected."
"But alas!"
"The appetite which characterizes his race ruined him."
"By an occasional indulgence in drink his appetite became fatally masterful."
"The fire-water burnt out his self respect, and he went down to the degradation of the drunkard."
"Of course the people discarded him as a public teacher, and poor Paul disappeared from the scene."
In a memorial commemorating a funeral among the early settlers, the Rev. Reuben Smith wrote concerning him.
"The dreadful habit increased, and at length our good deacons were obliged to tell him that it would not be for edification that he should officiate in public any longer."
"He wept, tried reformation several times, fell again and again, and at length seemed to give up the attempt."
"He still clove to religion, however, in some sort, and even tried to preach in another connection."
This was the Baptist Society, which, through the ministrations of Elder Bates, elsewhere alluded to, had attained a substantial and prosperous footing in the north part of this town.
Father Paul officiated in a desultory sort of way, for several years, sinning and repenting, attempting reform and falling again, as many an one has done before him.
On one occasion (my informant is Mr. Ralph S. Stebbins of Caldwell); "he made one of the most humble confessions ever beard out of the mouth of any human being."
"It was before his church brethren, and to use his own words, 'his bosom was literally drenched with tears.'"
"A vote of forgiveness was unanimously given."
At length, besotted with this vice, he abandoned his sacred calling, and gave himself up to the thraldom of his appetite.
After dragging along a miserable existence for some years in his hut on Frenchman's point on the shore of the lake, about the year 1816 he revisited with his wife, the scenes of his childhood and youth in Connecticut.
On his return, be coasted leisurely along in his canoe, through Long Island sound, and up the Hudson as far as Kingston point, near Rondout, where he was taken sick and after a brief illness, died and was buried.
It is supposed that his wife returned to her friends in Connecticut.
It is estimated that he was about seventy years old at the time of his death.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Holden's History of Queensbury
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter I, concluded ...
Sampson was married to a young and very pretty white girl of Whitehall.
As the story goes, she was crossed in her affections in some way, and in a paroxysm of anger, declared that she "would marry the first man that asked her even if he was a negro."
The speech came to Sampson's hearing, and before her temper had opportunity to take counsel of her judgment, he proposed, and she took the irrevocable step, which alienated her for life from her kindred and race.
Two sons and one daughter named Christiana, were the fruit of this union.
The latter was married to an Indian named Jaqua (called Jakeway); and is believed to be now living among the wilds of Putnam or Dresden on the east side of Lake George, opposite Sabbath Day point.
Sampson died of inflammation of the lungs, at his cabin on the north bank of Smith brook in the north part of Caldwell, and was buried in a ground on the Harris farm, now belonging to Judge Edmonds in Bolton.
Phebe married a man by the name of Wales, and, as their daughter and only child was taken care of, and brought up by the grandparents, it is assumed that the child's mother must have died during its infancy.
James, while in a state of semi-intoxication was brutally drowned by a gang of rustic ruffians in McDonald's, since Garfield's bay, Lake George.
It was on a town meeting day, and the waters of the lake were chill; under some pretext he was inveigled into the lake, or pushed in, and as he endeavored to grasp the only boat at hand, these human brutes would push it beyond his reach, until he was exhausted, and with Indian stoicism, he folded his arms and sunk to rise no more.
The question of homicide was investigated by a grand jury, but no indictment was presented. - Hon. William Hay.
Benoni was a soldier in the regular army, in the war of 1812-15, and died while in the service.
Jonathan or Daunt as he was called, and Henry died at our county poor house.
This completes the family record, so far as I have been able to trace it.
This brief narrative, being chiefly a compilation from conflicting accounts, preserved in family traditions, or the memory of the oldest inhabitant, is doubtless faulty in many particulars.
Faulty and imperfect as it may be, it is probably all that will be gathered concerning the last resident Indian family of this town.
For a principal portion of the facts herein recorded I am indebted to the late Judge Hay of Saratoga Springs, and Mr. Ralph Stebbins of Caldwell.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter I, concluded ...
Sampson was married to a young and very pretty white girl of Whitehall.
As the story goes, she was crossed in her affections in some way, and in a paroxysm of anger, declared that she "would marry the first man that asked her even if he was a negro."
The speech came to Sampson's hearing, and before her temper had opportunity to take counsel of her judgment, he proposed, and she took the irrevocable step, which alienated her for life from her kindred and race.
Two sons and one daughter named Christiana, were the fruit of this union.
The latter was married to an Indian named Jaqua (called Jakeway); and is believed to be now living among the wilds of Putnam or Dresden on the east side of Lake George, opposite Sabbath Day point.
Sampson died of inflammation of the lungs, at his cabin on the north bank of Smith brook in the north part of Caldwell, and was buried in a ground on the Harris farm, now belonging to Judge Edmonds in Bolton.
Phebe married a man by the name of Wales, and, as their daughter and only child was taken care of, and brought up by the grandparents, it is assumed that the child's mother must have died during its infancy.
James, while in a state of semi-intoxication was brutally drowned by a gang of rustic ruffians in McDonald's, since Garfield's bay, Lake George.
It was on a town meeting day, and the waters of the lake were chill; under some pretext he was inveigled into the lake, or pushed in, and as he endeavored to grasp the only boat at hand, these human brutes would push it beyond his reach, until he was exhausted, and with Indian stoicism, he folded his arms and sunk to rise no more.
The question of homicide was investigated by a grand jury, but no indictment was presented. - Hon. William Hay.
Benoni was a soldier in the regular army, in the war of 1812-15, and died while in the service.
Jonathan or Daunt as he was called, and Henry died at our county poor house.
This completes the family record, so far as I have been able to trace it.
This brief narrative, being chiefly a compilation from conflicting accounts, preserved in family traditions, or the memory of the oldest inhabitant, is doubtless faulty in many particulars.
Faulty and imperfect as it may be, it is probably all that will be gathered concerning the last resident Indian family of this town.
For a principal portion of the facts herein recorded I am indebted to the late Judge Hay of Saratoga Springs, and Mr. Ralph Stebbins of Caldwell.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
The wilderness and lake region of Northern New York, was the common hunting ground for various tribes, where, during the unknown centuries preceding the discovery of the New World, divergent nationalities redressed their grievances and wrought out their forest feuds to their bitter end.
It therefore naturally followed that the more important and often visited localities, would be honored by two or more names, having varying significations according to the accidents and events, often of a transitory character, from which they were derived.
The corruptions and changes which the Indian terminology has undergone in its transitions through the not over grammatical speech of Dutch, French and Yankee traders and adventurers, have contributed largely to impede the labors of the ethnologist, and added difficulties in the way of reaching just conclusions as to the derivation and meaning of words.
To harmonize and systematize this nomenclature has been utterly impossible, and therefore in each case authorities and references have been given, leaving the reader to his own inferences, and devolving upon the originals the responsibility of errors and mistakes.
Where two or more authorities have differed, I have usually taken those nearest the sources from which the names were derived.
Until within a comparatively recent period, there were two noted Indians of the St. Francis tribe, who had their homes and hunting grounds in the great Adirondack wilderness.
Their names were Sabele and Sabattis, and over a quarter of a century ago, they were severally reputed to be upwards of a hundred years old, both hale, and with wonderful memories of the past.
From them years ago were obtained a portion of the names included in the following list, which with two exceptions are now given to the public for the first time.
In the few instances where exact references are not given, the memoranda have been mislaid.
ABENAKIS, ABENAKIES. - A name according to Drake signifying "Men of the East," and originally or formerly applied to all the tribes on the coast of the continent, but afterwards restricted to the Aborigines inhabiting Nova Scotia, the territory embraced in the present state of Maine, and a part of Canada. - Early Jesuit Missions by Rt. Rev. Wm. I. Kip. According to Schoolcraft the name signifies "the east land, or place of light." The St. Francis Indians who occupied so conspicuous a place in our border annals during the old French war, were an offshoot or colony of this tribe. Sabele and Sabattis, some of whose descendants are still living in the northern wilderness, were also of this clan or sub-tribe.
ADAGEGTINGE, ADAGUGHTINGAG. - A brook in Davenport, Delaware Co., N. Y., one of the tributaries of the Susquehanna. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, pp. 490, 497.
ADIQUITANGE. - A branch of the Susquehanna river in Kortright, Delaware County, N. Y. (probably the same stream named above). - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 487.
ADIRONDACK. - Tree Eaters. A name given in derision to the Algonquins by the Iroquois. - See Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. IV, p. 899.
ADIRONDACK. - A once powerful tribe of Indians of this name dwelt along the Canada shore of the St. Lawrence river. According to Schoolcraft the name signifies "Bark-Eaters." It was a detachment of this tribe, headed by two distinguished chiefs Yroquet and Ochasteguin, that accompanied, Samuel Champlain in his first voyage of discovery through the lake that bears his name, and fought a battle with a party of Iroquois on the headland at Ticonderoga.
AGANUSCHION. - "Black mountain range, as the Indians called this Adirondac group." - Lossing's Hudson, etc. Vide Aquanuschioni.
AGIOGOCHOOK. - The White mountains of New Hampshire, of which the English name is a literal translation.
ALLNAPOOKNAPUS. - Indian lake in the northern wilderness. - Sabele.
ANDIATOROCTE. - The place where the lake contracts. A name applied to Lake George. - Dr. O'Callaghan's New Netherland.
AONEO. - An island. Onondaga. A term applied by that clan to the whole western continent, which their traditions state was expanded from the shell of a tortoise. - Schoolcraft's Notes, p. 61.
AONTAGILBAN. - A creek which empties into Fish creek, Saratoga county. Taken from "map No. 221, of the late Fish creek reservation in 1706." - Sec. of State's office.
APALACHIAN. - Endless mountains. - O'Callaghan, Doc. Hist. N. Y., II, 702. This is the true Indian name of the great Alleghany range.
AQUANUSCHIONI. - The united people. A name by which the Iroquois designated themselves. - Drake's Book of the Indians, v. 4.
AREYUNA. - Green rocks. Tupper's lake. - C. F. Hoffman. Vigil of Faith.
ASTORENGA. - The name of the hills at Little Falls. - Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, 78.
ATALAPOSE. - A sliding place. Roger's rock on Lake George. The Indians have a singular superstition, that the witches or evil spirits haunt this place, and seizing upon the spirits of bad Indians, on their way to the happy hunting grounds, slide down the precipitous cliff with them into the lake where they are drowned. - Sabattis.
ATATEA. - (See Cohatatea). A river. The upper Hudson. - Charles Fenno Hoffman.
ATTIGOUANTON. - Lake Huron. - Murray's British America, I, 150.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
The wilderness and lake region of Northern New York, was the common hunting ground for various tribes, where, during the unknown centuries preceding the discovery of the New World, divergent nationalities redressed their grievances and wrought out their forest feuds to their bitter end.
It therefore naturally followed that the more important and often visited localities, would be honored by two or more names, having varying significations according to the accidents and events, often of a transitory character, from which they were derived.
The corruptions and changes which the Indian terminology has undergone in its transitions through the not over grammatical speech of Dutch, French and Yankee traders and adventurers, have contributed largely to impede the labors of the ethnologist, and added difficulties in the way of reaching just conclusions as to the derivation and meaning of words.
To harmonize and systematize this nomenclature has been utterly impossible, and therefore in each case authorities and references have been given, leaving the reader to his own inferences, and devolving upon the originals the responsibility of errors and mistakes.
Where two or more authorities have differed, I have usually taken those nearest the sources from which the names were derived.
Until within a comparatively recent period, there were two noted Indians of the St. Francis tribe, who had their homes and hunting grounds in the great Adirondack wilderness.
Their names were Sabele and Sabattis, and over a quarter of a century ago, they were severally reputed to be upwards of a hundred years old, both hale, and with wonderful memories of the past.
From them years ago were obtained a portion of the names included in the following list, which with two exceptions are now given to the public for the first time.
In the few instances where exact references are not given, the memoranda have been mislaid.
ABENAKIS, ABENAKIES. - A name according to Drake signifying "Men of the East," and originally or formerly applied to all the tribes on the coast of the continent, but afterwards restricted to the Aborigines inhabiting Nova Scotia, the territory embraced in the present state of Maine, and a part of Canada. - Early Jesuit Missions by Rt. Rev. Wm. I. Kip. According to Schoolcraft the name signifies "the east land, or place of light." The St. Francis Indians who occupied so conspicuous a place in our border annals during the old French war, were an offshoot or colony of this tribe. Sabele and Sabattis, some of whose descendants are still living in the northern wilderness, were also of this clan or sub-tribe.
ADAGEGTINGE, ADAGUGHTINGAG. - A brook in Davenport, Delaware Co., N. Y., one of the tributaries of the Susquehanna. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, pp. 490, 497.
ADIQUITANGE. - A branch of the Susquehanna river in Kortright, Delaware County, N. Y. (probably the same stream named above). - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 487.
ADIRONDACK. - Tree Eaters. A name given in derision to the Algonquins by the Iroquois. - See Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. IV, p. 899.
ADIRONDACK. - A once powerful tribe of Indians of this name dwelt along the Canada shore of the St. Lawrence river. According to Schoolcraft the name signifies "Bark-Eaters." It was a detachment of this tribe, headed by two distinguished chiefs Yroquet and Ochasteguin, that accompanied, Samuel Champlain in his first voyage of discovery through the lake that bears his name, and fought a battle with a party of Iroquois on the headland at Ticonderoga.
AGANUSCHION. - "Black mountain range, as the Indians called this Adirondac group." - Lossing's Hudson, etc. Vide Aquanuschioni.
AGIOGOCHOOK. - The White mountains of New Hampshire, of which the English name is a literal translation.
ALLNAPOOKNAPUS. - Indian lake in the northern wilderness. - Sabele.
ANDIATOROCTE. - The place where the lake contracts. A name applied to Lake George. - Dr. O'Callaghan's New Netherland.
AONEO. - An island. Onondaga. A term applied by that clan to the whole western continent, which their traditions state was expanded from the shell of a tortoise. - Schoolcraft's Notes, p. 61.
AONTAGILBAN. - A creek which empties into Fish creek, Saratoga county. Taken from "map No. 221, of the late Fish creek reservation in 1706." - Sec. of State's office.
APALACHIAN. - Endless mountains. - O'Callaghan, Doc. Hist. N. Y., II, 702. This is the true Indian name of the great Alleghany range.
AQUANUSCHIONI. - The united people. A name by which the Iroquois designated themselves. - Drake's Book of the Indians, v. 4.
AREYUNA. - Green rocks. Tupper's lake. - C. F. Hoffman. Vigil of Faith.
ASTORENGA. - The name of the hills at Little Falls. - Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, 78.
ATALAPOSE. - A sliding place. Roger's rock on Lake George. The Indians have a singular superstition, that the witches or evil spirits haunt this place, and seizing upon the spirits of bad Indians, on their way to the happy hunting grounds, slide down the precipitous cliff with them into the lake where they are drowned. - Sabattis.
ATATEA. - (See Cohatatea). A river. The upper Hudson. - Charles Fenno Hoffman.
ATTIGOUANTON. - Lake Huron. - Murray's British America, I, 150.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
BONTOOKEESE. - Little Falls at Luzerne on the Hudson. - Sabele.
CAHOHATATEA. - Iroquois. The North or Hudson river. - Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Annals of Albany, II, 233.
CANADA. - From Kanata, a village. - Dr. F. B. Hough. Josselyn, an early colonial writer, derives this from Can, mouth, and Ada, country. - Drake's Book of the Indians, I, 23.
CANARAGE. - The St. Lawrence river. - Macauley's Hist. N .Y., I, 98.
CANASHAGALA. - An Indian name of a clearing on a south branch of Moose river near Moose lake in Hamilton Co., N. Y. - Simms's Trappers, 188.
CANIADERI GUARUNTE. - A name applied to Lake Champlain. The door or gate of the country. See Canada. - T. Pownal's Map and Topographical Description.
CANIADERI OIT. - The tail of the lake i. e., of Lake Champlain. - Ibid. Also Spafford's Gazetteer, p. 200.
CANKUSKEE. - North-West bay on Lake George. So named on a Map of the Middle British Provinces, London, 1776. See Ganaouske.
CANNEOGAHAKALONONITADE. - The Mohawk river. - Dr. Mitchill, Annals of Albany, II, 233.
CANNIUSKUTTY. - A creek. A tributary of the Delaware river. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 501.
CATARAKOUI. - Iroquois. Great or big lake (vide Cataraqui). - Colonial Hist. of N. Y., vol. x, p. 503.
CATARAQUI. - The St. Lawrence river, signifying a fort in the water. Dr. Hough states that Cataroqui, is the ancient name of Kingston, a bank of clay rising out of the waters. - Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, 181.
CAUGHNAWAGA. - Cook the kettle. - Doc. Hist. of N. Y., III, 1108. The name of one of the Mohawk villages, and afterwards applied to a colony or tribe of praying Indians, converts from the Iroquois. Gallatin in his synopsis supposes it to be derived from Coughnuhwoh her leh, a Mohawk word signifying rapids.
CAYWANOOT. - Isola Bella. The residence of the late Col. Ireland in Schroon lake. - Lossing's Hudson, 52.
CHATIEMAC. - The stately swan. One of the names of the Hudson. Schoolcraft, The Indian in his Wigwam, 122.
CHEONDEROGA. - Signifying three rivers, one of the many names of Ticonderoga. From a map by T. Pownal, M. P., Lond., 1176.
CHEPONTUC. - A difficult place to climb or get around. An Indian name of Glen's Falls. - Sabattis.
CHICOPEE. - A large spring. An Indian name of Saratoga Springs. - Sabattis.
CHOUENDABOWA. - Clifton Park, Saratoga Co., N. Y. - Catalogue of Maps in State Library, p. 205.
COHATATEAH. - Another Indian name of the Hudson. - A. B. Street.
COHETABA. Iroquois name of the Hudson.- Gordon's Gazetteer of N. Y:
COHOES. - From Cahoos, a canoe falling. - Brant. Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y., p. 170. Morgan in his League of the Iroquois, has it Gahahoose.
CONGAMMUCK. - The lower Saranac lake. - Sabattis.
CONNESTIGUNE. - Hence Niskayuna. A field covered with corn. - Gordon's Gazetteer.
CONNUGHHARIEGUGHHARIE. - A great multitude gathered together, Mohawk name for Schenectady. - Stone's Life of Red Jacket, p. 5.
COOS or COWHASS. - The white pine. - Dr. Fitch. Applied to a region of country in the northern part of New Hampshire, sometimes named as the upper and lower Coos or pine regions.
CORLAR. - Lake Champlain was known to the Dutch by this name, and also as the lake of the Iroquois.
COSSAYUNA. - The lake at our pines. Indian name of a sheet of water in Argyle, N. Y. - Vide Dr. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County, in Trans. N. Y. S. Agricultural Soc. For 1849.
COUCHSACHRAGA. - The great dismal wilderness. An Indian term applied to the still wild and unsettled region north of the Mohawk, and west of Lakes Champlain and George. - Pownal's Topographical Description.
COUXSACHRAGA. - "Their hunting grounds (i. e. the Iroquois), are first Coxsachraga, a triangle lying on the south-east side of Canada, or St. Lawrence river, bounded eastward by Saragtoga, and the drowned lands; northward by a line from Regiochue point (on Lake Champlain, or as the Indians call it; Caniaderiguarunte, the lake that is the gate of the country), through the Cloven rock on the same lake to Oswegatchie or la Galette; south-westward by the dwelling land of the Mohawks, Oneidas and Tuscaroras." - Pownal on Colonies, vol. I, p. 267, Lond., 1774.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
BONTOOKEESE. - Little Falls at Luzerne on the Hudson. - Sabele.
CAHOHATATEA. - Iroquois. The North or Hudson river. - Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Annals of Albany, II, 233.
CANADA. - From Kanata, a village. - Dr. F. B. Hough. Josselyn, an early colonial writer, derives this from Can, mouth, and Ada, country. - Drake's Book of the Indians, I, 23.
CANARAGE. - The St. Lawrence river. - Macauley's Hist. N .Y., I, 98.
CANASHAGALA. - An Indian name of a clearing on a south branch of Moose river near Moose lake in Hamilton Co., N. Y. - Simms's Trappers, 188.
CANIADERI GUARUNTE. - A name applied to Lake Champlain. The door or gate of the country. See Canada. - T. Pownal's Map and Topographical Description.
CANIADERI OIT. - The tail of the lake i. e., of Lake Champlain. - Ibid. Also Spafford's Gazetteer, p. 200.
CANKUSKEE. - North-West bay on Lake George. So named on a Map of the Middle British Provinces, London, 1776. See Ganaouske.
CANNEOGAHAKALONONITADE. - The Mohawk river. - Dr. Mitchill, Annals of Albany, II, 233.
CANNIUSKUTTY. - A creek. A tributary of the Delaware river. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 501.
CATARAKOUI. - Iroquois. Great or big lake (vide Cataraqui). - Colonial Hist. of N. Y., vol. x, p. 503.
CATARAQUI. - The St. Lawrence river, signifying a fort in the water. Dr. Hough states that Cataroqui, is the ancient name of Kingston, a bank of clay rising out of the waters. - Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, 181.
CAUGHNAWAGA. - Cook the kettle. - Doc. Hist. of N. Y., III, 1108. The name of one of the Mohawk villages, and afterwards applied to a colony or tribe of praying Indians, converts from the Iroquois. Gallatin in his synopsis supposes it to be derived from Coughnuhwoh her leh, a Mohawk word signifying rapids.
CAYWANOOT. - Isola Bella. The residence of the late Col. Ireland in Schroon lake. - Lossing's Hudson, 52.
CHATIEMAC. - The stately swan. One of the names of the Hudson. Schoolcraft, The Indian in his Wigwam, 122.
CHEONDEROGA. - Signifying three rivers, one of the many names of Ticonderoga. From a map by T. Pownal, M. P., Lond., 1176.
CHEPONTUC. - A difficult place to climb or get around. An Indian name of Glen's Falls. - Sabattis.
CHICOPEE. - A large spring. An Indian name of Saratoga Springs. - Sabattis.
CHOUENDABOWA. - Clifton Park, Saratoga Co., N. Y. - Catalogue of Maps in State Library, p. 205.
COHATATEAH. - Another Indian name of the Hudson. - A. B. Street.
COHETABA. Iroquois name of the Hudson.- Gordon's Gazetteer of N. Y:
COHOES. - From Cahoos, a canoe falling. - Brant. Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y., p. 170. Morgan in his League of the Iroquois, has it Gahahoose.
CONGAMMUCK. - The lower Saranac lake. - Sabattis.
CONNESTIGUNE. - Hence Niskayuna. A field covered with corn. - Gordon's Gazetteer.
CONNUGHHARIEGUGHHARIE. - A great multitude gathered together, Mohawk name for Schenectady. - Stone's Life of Red Jacket, p. 5.
COOS or COWHASS. - The white pine. - Dr. Fitch. Applied to a region of country in the northern part of New Hampshire, sometimes named as the upper and lower Coos or pine regions.
CORLAR. - Lake Champlain was known to the Dutch by this name, and also as the lake of the Iroquois.
COSSAYUNA. - The lake at our pines. Indian name of a sheet of water in Argyle, N. Y. - Vide Dr. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County, in Trans. N. Y. S. Agricultural Soc. For 1849.
COUCHSACHRAGA. - The great dismal wilderness. An Indian term applied to the still wild and unsettled region north of the Mohawk, and west of Lakes Champlain and George. - Pownal's Topographical Description.
COUXSACHRAGA. - "Their hunting grounds (i. e. the Iroquois), are first Coxsachraga, a triangle lying on the south-east side of Canada, or St. Lawrence river, bounded eastward by Saragtoga, and the drowned lands; northward by a line from Regiochue point (on Lake Champlain, or as the Indians call it; Caniaderiguarunte, the lake that is the gate of the country), through the Cloven rock on the same lake to Oswegatchie or la Galette; south-westward by the dwelling land of the Mohawks, Oneidas and Tuscaroras." - Pownal on Colonies, vol. I, p. 267, Lond., 1774.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
DIONONDEHOWA. - The lower falls on the Battenkill river near and above the devil's caldron, Galesville, N. Y. - Dr. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County. Also see Calendar of Land Titles, p. 204.
ERIE. - "The Agoneaseah (Iroquois), anciently called this Lake Kan-ha-gwa-rah-ka, i. e., a cap, and latterly Erie, Erige, or Erike, which, according to Hennepin signifies Cats-eye." - Macauley's Hist. N. Y., vol. I, p. 119. Morse in his large Geography defines it as the lake of the Cats.
GAISHTINIC. - The Minci name for Albany. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
GANAOUSKE. - North West bay on Lake George. - Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. x, p. 600. Judging from analogy, this should mean the battle place by the water side.
GA-NA-SA-DA-GA, T. - The St. Lawrence river. So named on Morgan's map of the Iroquois. - League of the Iroquois.
GANOONOO. - The territory comprised in the state of New York. Dr. Hough, in his History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, has it Kanono. The word is Iroquois, and is defined elsewhere as meaning the whole state.
GITCH IGOMEE. - Big Sea Water. The Algonquin name for Lake Superior. - Schoolcraft's Indian in his Wigwam, p. 303.
GLEN'S FALLS. - Mentioned on a French map by M. de Levy published at Quebec, 1748, by the name of Chute de Quatrevignt, Pds. - Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. I, p. 557.
HOCHELAGA. - This name was applied by the Algonquins to the site now occupied by Montreal, and also to the St. Lawrence river. Hough suggests its derivation from Oserake, a beaver dam. - Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181.
HOOSACK. - The place of stones, i. e., a rocky or stony region. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 376. It has also been defined as a basin or kettle. Indian tradition states that the last naked bear was killed at this point.
HOUSATONIC. - A Mohegan compound, probably signifying the valley of the stream beyond the mountain. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
HOUTKILL. - Dutch name of Wood creek. - Doc. Hist. of N. Y., vol. II, p.300.
HUNCKSOOCK. - The place where everybody fights. A name given by the nomadic Indians of the north to the upper falls on the outlet of Lake George. - Sabattis.
HURON. A French appellation bestowed upon the lake bearing this name and also to the tribe of Wyandots living on its banks - Schoolcraft.
INCAPAHCHO. - Lindenmere or the lake of basswoods. The Indian name of Long lake. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
IROCOSIA. - The land of the Iroquois. Northern New York. This term frequently recurs on the older maps and charts of the state.
IRONDEQUOIT. - Derived from a Mohawk term signifying an opening into or from a lake. - Colonial History N. Y., vol. IX, p. 261.
KAHCHEBONCOOK. - The Big Falls on the Hudson, known as Jessup's falls. - Sobele.
KAHCHOQUAHNA. - The place where they dip fish. An Indian term applied to the head of Lake Champlain, the site of the present village of Whitehall. - Gordon's Gazetteer N. Y., p. 758.
KANIADAROSSERAS. - Hence Kayaderosseras, the lake country. - Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. VII, p. 436.
KASKONGSHADI. - Broken water, a swift rapid on the Opalescent river. - Lossing's Hudson, p. 33.
KAYADEROGA. - A name of Saratoga lake. - Butler's Lake George, etc.
KAYADEROSSERAS. - A name applied to a large patent or land grant, a stream and a range of mountains in Saratoga county, N. Y. In the Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, it is variously written Caniaderosseros, Caneaderosseras, Kanyaderossaros, Cayaderosseras. In a letter to the author from the late Judge Hay, he says "Geo G. Scott informs me that his father always stated that Kayaderosseras being interpreted meant the crooked stream, which describes it."
KENNYETTO. - The Indian name of the little Sacandaga or Vlaie creek, a tributary of the Sacandaga. - Simms's Trappers of New York.
KILLOQUAH. - Rayed like the sun. Racket lake. From the Mohawk. Vigil of Faith by G. F. Hoffman.
KINGIAQUAHTONEC. - A portage of a stone's throw or two in length between Wood creek and Fort Edward creek, near Moss street in Kingsbury. - Evans's Analysis, p. 19.
KITCHIGAMMINK. - Great lake. - Gallatin's Synopsi. See Gitch-Igomee.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
DIONONDEHOWA. - The lower falls on the Battenkill river near and above the devil's caldron, Galesville, N. Y. - Dr. Fitch's Hist. Survey of Washington County. Also see Calendar of Land Titles, p. 204.
ERIE. - "The Agoneaseah (Iroquois), anciently called this Lake Kan-ha-gwa-rah-ka, i. e., a cap, and latterly Erie, Erige, or Erike, which, according to Hennepin signifies Cats-eye." - Macauley's Hist. N. Y., vol. I, p. 119. Morse in his large Geography defines it as the lake of the Cats.
GAISHTINIC. - The Minci name for Albany. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
GANAOUSKE. - North West bay on Lake George. - Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. x, p. 600. Judging from analogy, this should mean the battle place by the water side.
GA-NA-SA-DA-GA, T. - The St. Lawrence river. So named on Morgan's map of the Iroquois. - League of the Iroquois.
GANOONOO. - The territory comprised in the state of New York. Dr. Hough, in his History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, has it Kanono. The word is Iroquois, and is defined elsewhere as meaning the whole state.
GITCH IGOMEE. - Big Sea Water. The Algonquin name for Lake Superior. - Schoolcraft's Indian in his Wigwam, p. 303.
GLEN'S FALLS. - Mentioned on a French map by M. de Levy published at Quebec, 1748, by the name of Chute de Quatrevignt, Pds. - Doc. Hist. N. Y., vol. I, p. 557.
HOCHELAGA. - This name was applied by the Algonquins to the site now occupied by Montreal, and also to the St. Lawrence river. Hough suggests its derivation from Oserake, a beaver dam. - Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181.
HOOSACK. - The place of stones, i. e., a rocky or stony region. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 376. It has also been defined as a basin or kettle. Indian tradition states that the last naked bear was killed at this point.
HOUSATONIC. - A Mohegan compound, probably signifying the valley of the stream beyond the mountain. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
HOUTKILL. - Dutch name of Wood creek. - Doc. Hist. of N. Y., vol. II, p.300.
HUNCKSOOCK. - The place where everybody fights. A name given by the nomadic Indians of the north to the upper falls on the outlet of Lake George. - Sabattis.
HURON. A French appellation bestowed upon the lake bearing this name and also to the tribe of Wyandots living on its banks - Schoolcraft.
INCAPAHCHO. - Lindenmere or the lake of basswoods. The Indian name of Long lake. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
IROCOSIA. - The land of the Iroquois. Northern New York. This term frequently recurs on the older maps and charts of the state.
IRONDEQUOIT. - Derived from a Mohawk term signifying an opening into or from a lake. - Colonial History N. Y., vol. IX, p. 261.
KAHCHEBONCOOK. - The Big Falls on the Hudson, known as Jessup's falls. - Sobele.
KAHCHOQUAHNA. - The place where they dip fish. An Indian term applied to the head of Lake Champlain, the site of the present village of Whitehall. - Gordon's Gazetteer N. Y., p. 758.
KANIADAROSSERAS. - Hence Kayaderosseras, the lake country. - Colonial Hist. N. Y., vol. VII, p. 436.
KASKONGSHADI. - Broken water, a swift rapid on the Opalescent river. - Lossing's Hudson, p. 33.
KAYADEROGA. - A name of Saratoga lake. - Butler's Lake George, etc.
KAYADEROSSERAS. - A name applied to a large patent or land grant, a stream and a range of mountains in Saratoga county, N. Y. In the Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, it is variously written Caniaderosseros, Caneaderosseras, Kanyaderossaros, Cayaderosseras. In a letter to the author from the late Judge Hay, he says "Geo G. Scott informs me that his father always stated that Kayaderosseras being interpreted meant the crooked stream, which describes it."
KENNYETTO. - The Indian name of the little Sacandaga or Vlaie creek, a tributary of the Sacandaga. - Simms's Trappers of New York.
KILLOQUAH. - Rayed like the sun. Racket lake. From the Mohawk. Vigil of Faith by G. F. Hoffman.
KINGIAQUAHTONEC. - A portage of a stone's throw or two in length between Wood creek and Fort Edward creek, near Moss street in Kingsbury. - Evans's Analysis, p. 19.
KITCHIGAMMINK. - Great lake. - Gallatin's Synopsi. See Gitch-Igomee.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
MAHAKANEGHTUC. - The Mohegan name of the Hudson. - Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Munsell's Annals of Albany, vol. II, p. 233. The name is given by numerous authorities with many varieties of spelling.
MAIS TCHUSEAG. - Massachusetts? "The country on this side of the hills." - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip. N America, Lond., 1776.
MAMMACOTTA. - Dividing the waters, hence Mamacating in Sullivan county. - Gordon's Gazetteer N. Y., p. 719.
MASSACHUSETT. - A hill in the form of an arrow-head. - John Cotton as quoted in Drake's Book of the Indians.
MASTAQUA. - The largest or longest river. A name applied to the Racket river . - Sabattis.
MATTEAWAN. - Derived from Metai, a magician or medicine man, and wian, a skin, the region of charmed furs or peltries. A term applied to the highlands of the Hudson. - Brodhead's N. Y., p. 75.
MESSACHIBIE. - Mississippi? The father of rivers. - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip, N. America.
METTOWEE. - Indian name of the Pawlet river, Wash. Co., N. Y. - Fitch' s Hist. Survey.
MICONACOOK. - A name of the Hudson river. - Sabele.
MINI-SOTAH. - Turbid waters, hence Minnesota. - Drake's Book of the Indians.
MISSISSIPPI. - The whole river. - Gallatin's Synopsis.
MOHAWK. - From Mauqua or Mukwa, a bear. - Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 73.
MOHEGAN. - Mahegan, an Indian term signifying a wolf. - Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. IX, p. 38.
MOOSPOTTENWACHO. - Thunder's nest. Indian name for Crane's mountain, in the western part of, and the highest peak in Warren county. - Sabele.
MUHHAAKUNNUK. - A great water or sea that is constantly in motion either ebbing or flowing. Hence the word Mohican, the name of the Stockbridge Indians. - Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches.
NACHASSICKQUAACK. - A point above the falls on the Hoosick river. - New York Cal. of Land Papers, p. 27.
NACHTENACK. - Waterford on the Hudson. - Ruttenber's Tribes, etc.,p. 399.
NIAGARA. - From Ohniagahra, a neck or strait. - Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y., p. 219. Goldsmith in his Miscellaneous Works, vol. IV, p. 39, note, defines it as meaning thunder waters.
NISKAYUNA. - From Canestagione. The great corn country or place. - Ruttenber's Tribes of the Hudson's River, p. 398. See also vol. IV, p. 906, Col. Hist. N. Y., where it is spelled Canastagiowne and defined as the great maize land.
OHIO. The beautiful river. - Schoolcraft, the Indian in his Wigwam, p. 20. From Oyo the beautiful river. - Kip's Jesuit Missions. See also Col. Hist. N. Y., VIII, 117 and IX, 76, where Io is found to signify great or beautiful.
OIOGUE. - The Indian (Mohawk) name of the Hudson north of Albany. - Hist. of New Netherland, II, 300.
ONEADALOTE TECARNEODI. - The name of Lake Champlain on Morgan's map.
ONDAWA. - White creek, Washington county, N. Y.
ONDERIGUEGON. - The Indian name for the drowned lands on Wood creek near Fort Ann, Washington county, N. Y. It signifies conflux of waters. - From a Map of the Middle British Colonies by T. Pownal, .M. P., 1776.
ONGWEHONWE. - A people surpassing all others. The name by which the Iroquois designated themselves.
ONIGARAWANTEL. - According to Schoolcraft the original name of Schenectady. According to Dr. Mitchill the rendering should be Ohnowalagantle. - Vide Annals of Albany, II, 233.
ONTARIO or CATARAQUI. The beautiful lake." - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip. N. A., p. 31. See also Col. Hist., IX, 16, where it is translated beautiful lake, and IX, 76 where it is rendered Great lake. Hough makes it Onontario, which would change the meaning to Mountain lake.
ORONGUGHHARIE. - A great multitude collected together. The site of the city of Schenectady, originally a seat of the Mohawks. - Gordon's Gazetteer of New York.
OSSARAGAS. - Wood creek, emptying into the head of Lake Champlain. - Top. Descrip. of the Middle British Colonies, Map, T. Pownal, 1776.
OSWEGATCHIE, or OGHSWAGATCHIE with a dozen other different spellings. - "An Indian name," the historian James MacAuley, informed the author, "which signifies going or coming round a hill. The great bend in the Oswegatchie river (or the necessity of it), on the borders of Lewis county, originated its significant name. An Indian tribe bearing the name of the river, once lived upon its banks; but its fate, like that of many sister tribes, has been to melt away before the progression of the Anglo-Saxon."- Simms's Trappers of N. Y., p. 249, note. According to a writer in the Troy Times of July 7th, 1866, it is a Huron word signifying black water. Sabattis defined it as meaning slow and long.
OTSIKETA. - Lake St. Clair. - Pownal's Map of Middle British Provinces, 1776.
OUKORLAH. - Indian name of Mount Seward, signifying the big-eye. - C. F. Hoffman.
OUNOWARLAH. - Scalp mountain. Supposed to refer to that peak of the Adirondacks known as Whiteface mountain. - C. F. Hoffman in The Vigil of Faith.
OWERIHOWET. - Indian name applied to a creek, a branch of the Susquehanna. - Calendar N. Y. Land Papers, p. 501.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
MAHAKANEGHTUC. - The Mohegan name of the Hudson. - Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Munsell's Annals of Albany, vol. II, p. 233. The name is given by numerous authorities with many varieties of spelling.
MAIS TCHUSEAG. - Massachusetts? "The country on this side of the hills." - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip. N America, Lond., 1776.
MAMMACOTTA. - Dividing the waters, hence Mamacating in Sullivan county. - Gordon's Gazetteer N. Y., p. 719.
MASSACHUSETT. - A hill in the form of an arrow-head. - John Cotton as quoted in Drake's Book of the Indians.
MASTAQUA. - The largest or longest river. A name applied to the Racket river . - Sabattis.
MATTEAWAN. - Derived from Metai, a magician or medicine man, and wian, a skin, the region of charmed furs or peltries. A term applied to the highlands of the Hudson. - Brodhead's N. Y., p. 75.
MESSACHIBIE. - Mississippi? The father of rivers. - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip, N. America.
METTOWEE. - Indian name of the Pawlet river, Wash. Co., N. Y. - Fitch' s Hist. Survey.
MICONACOOK. - A name of the Hudson river. - Sabele.
MINI-SOTAH. - Turbid waters, hence Minnesota. - Drake's Book of the Indians.
MISSISSIPPI. - The whole river. - Gallatin's Synopsis.
MOHAWK. - From Mauqua or Mukwa, a bear. - Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 73.
MOHEGAN. - Mahegan, an Indian term signifying a wolf. - Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. IX, p. 38.
MOOSPOTTENWACHO. - Thunder's nest. Indian name for Crane's mountain, in the western part of, and the highest peak in Warren county. - Sabele.
MUHHAAKUNNUK. - A great water or sea that is constantly in motion either ebbing or flowing. Hence the word Mohican, the name of the Stockbridge Indians. - Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches.
NACHASSICKQUAACK. - A point above the falls on the Hoosick river. - New York Cal. of Land Papers, p. 27.
NACHTENACK. - Waterford on the Hudson. - Ruttenber's Tribes, etc.,p. 399.
NIAGARA. - From Ohniagahra, a neck or strait. - Spafford's Gazetteer of N. Y., p. 219. Goldsmith in his Miscellaneous Works, vol. IV, p. 39, note, defines it as meaning thunder waters.
NISKAYUNA. - From Canestagione. The great corn country or place. - Ruttenber's Tribes of the Hudson's River, p. 398. See also vol. IV, p. 906, Col. Hist. N. Y., where it is spelled Canastagiowne and defined as the great maize land.
OHIO. The beautiful river. - Schoolcraft, the Indian in his Wigwam, p. 20. From Oyo the beautiful river. - Kip's Jesuit Missions. See also Col. Hist. N. Y., VIII, 117 and IX, 76, where Io is found to signify great or beautiful.
OIOGUE. - The Indian (Mohawk) name of the Hudson north of Albany. - Hist. of New Netherland, II, 300.
ONEADALOTE TECARNEODI. - The name of Lake Champlain on Morgan's map.
ONDAWA. - White creek, Washington county, N. Y.
ONDERIGUEGON. - The Indian name for the drowned lands on Wood creek near Fort Ann, Washington county, N. Y. It signifies conflux of waters. - From a Map of the Middle British Colonies by T. Pownal, .M. P., 1776.
ONGWEHONWE. - A people surpassing all others. The name by which the Iroquois designated themselves.
ONIGARAWANTEL. - According to Schoolcraft the original name of Schenectady. According to Dr. Mitchill the rendering should be Ohnowalagantle. - Vide Annals of Albany, II, 233.
ONTARIO or CATARAQUI. The beautiful lake." - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip. N. A., p. 31. See also Col. Hist., IX, 16, where it is translated beautiful lake, and IX, 76 where it is rendered Great lake. Hough makes it Onontario, which would change the meaning to Mountain lake.
ORONGUGHHARIE. - A great multitude collected together. The site of the city of Schenectady, originally a seat of the Mohawks. - Gordon's Gazetteer of New York.
OSSARAGAS. - Wood creek, emptying into the head of Lake Champlain. - Top. Descrip. of the Middle British Colonies, Map, T. Pownal, 1776.
OSWEGATCHIE, or OGHSWAGATCHIE with a dozen other different spellings. - "An Indian name," the historian James MacAuley, informed the author, "which signifies going or coming round a hill. The great bend in the Oswegatchie river (or the necessity of it), on the borders of Lewis county, originated its significant name. An Indian tribe bearing the name of the river, once lived upon its banks; but its fate, like that of many sister tribes, has been to melt away before the progression of the Anglo-Saxon."- Simms's Trappers of N. Y., p. 249, note. According to a writer in the Troy Times of July 7th, 1866, it is a Huron word signifying black water. Sabattis defined it as meaning slow and long.
OTSIKETA. - Lake St. Clair. - Pownal's Map of Middle British Provinces, 1776.
OUKORLAH. - Indian name of Mount Seward, signifying the big-eye. - C. F. Hoffman.
OUNOWARLAH. - Scalp mountain. Supposed to refer to that peak of the Adirondacks known as Whiteface mountain. - C. F. Hoffman in The Vigil of Faith.
OWERIHOWET. - Indian name applied to a creek, a branch of the Susquehanna. - Calendar N. Y. Land Papers, p. 501.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
PAANPAACK. - The Indian name for the locality covered by the city of Troy. - O'Callaghan's New Netherland, I, 180.
PANGASKOLINK. - Glens Falls, N. Y. - Sabele.
PAPAQUANETUCK. - The river of Cranberries. One of the names of the Ausable river. - Sabattis.
PASKONGAMMUC. - Pleasant or beautiful lakes. A term applied to the three Saranac lakes. - Sabattis.
PATTOUGAMMUCK. - The middle Saranac lake. - Sabattis.
PEELEEWEEMOWQUESEPO. - The Black river. The stream that separates the Mohawk from the St. Lawrence river. - Hough's Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties.
PEMPOTAWUTHUT. - The place of fire, or fire place of the nation. The present site of Albany, and once the chief seat of the Mohegan tribe. - Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches.
PETAONBOUGH. - "A double pond or lake branching out into two." An Indian name of Lake Champlain, which refers probably to its connection with Lake George. - R. W. Livingston, quoted in Watson's Hist. Essex Co., N. Y.
PETOWAHCO. - Lake Champlain. - Sabele.
PETAQUAPOEN. - Indian term applied to the site of Greenbush opposite Albany. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 375.
PISECO. - An aboriginal name for a lake of considerable magnitude in Hamilton Co., N. Y. The Indians speak it as though written Pe-sic-o; giving a hissing sound to the second syllable. It is derived from pisco a fish, and therefore signifies fish lake. - John Dunham. Piseco, says Spafford in his Gazetteer of New York, and which he spells Pezeeko, is so called after an old Indian hermit who dwelt upon its shores." - Simms's Trappers of New York, p. 163, note. Sabattis says that it was called after an Indian bearing that name.
PITTOWBAGONK. - Lake Champlain. The dividing waters between the east and west and north of the Hudson. - Sabattis.
POPQUASSIC. - Indian name of Lansingburgh. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p.375.
QUEQUICKE. - The falls on the Hoosick river. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 27.
QUONEHTIQUOT. - Long river. Corrupted to Connecticut. - Morse's Universal Geography.
RAQUETTE. - "The chief source of the Raquette is in the Raquette lake, towards the western part of Hamilton county. Around it, the Indians in the ancient days gathered on snow shoes in winter, to hunt the moose then found there in large droves, and from that circumstance they named it Raquet, the equivalent in French, for snow shoes in English. This is the account of the origin of its name given by the French Jesuits who first explored that region. Others say that its Indian name Ni-ha-na-wa-le, means a racket or noise, noisy river, and spell it Racket. But it is no more noisy than its near neighbor the Grass river which flows into the St. Lawrence from the bosom of the same wilderness." - Lossing's Hudson, p. 11.
ROTSIICHNI. - An Indian name of Lake Champlain signifying the coward spirit. An evil spirit, according to the legend, whose existence terminated on an island in Lake Champlain. The name was thence derived to the lake.
SACANDAGA, Sagendage, Sackondaga, Sackondago, Sacondaga, Saeondago, Sachondage, Sachendaga (Vide Calendar of N. Y: Land Papers); "is an aboriginal word, which signifies," as the Indians assured Godfrey Shew, much water. Capt. Gill, an Indian hunter, said it meant sunken or drowned lands. - Simms's Trappers of New York, p. 42. In Spafford's Gazetteer of New York, p. 89, it is defined as a swamp, and asserted to be derived from the Oneida dialect.
SANAHAGOG. - The Indian name of Rensselaerswyck. - O'Callaghan's Hist. New Netherland, I, 122.
SANATATEA. - The Hudson river. - Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 69.
SANDANONA. - A mountain near Lake Henderson in the Adirondacks. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
SARATOGA. - Vide General Index to documents relating to the history of the state of New York for seventeen different spellings of this word. See also Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, where it is found spelled Saragtoga, Saraghtoga, Saraghtogue, etc. Morgan renders it on his map in the League of the Iroquois Sharlatoga. Hough, in the Hist. of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, has it Saratake, while Ruttenber, in his Indian tribes of the Hudson, on what authority is not stated, derives it from Saragh, salt, and Oga a place, though he adds that "the name was originally applied, to the site of Schuylerville, and meant swift water," an assertion which greatly impairs the value of the preceding statement. Gordon, in his Gazetteer of New York, p. 671, derives the word from Sah-ra-kah, meaning the great hill side, and states that it was applied to the country between the lake and the Hudson river. An anonymous writer in the Troy Times of July 7, 1866, defines it as a place where the track of the heel may be seen.
SCHAGHTICOKE. - In Spafford's Gazetteer, p. 293, this is derived from Scaughwank and defined as a sand slide, with the statement that the final syllable cook was added by the Dutch. O'Callaghan in his works, quotes about twenty-five different spellings of the word. Ruttenber derives it from Pisbgachticook a Mohican appelative meaning the confluence of two streams, and applied to the Indian village at the mouth of the Hoosick, and also to a settlement on the Housatonic. - Indian Tribes of the Hudson, p. 195. Gordon derives it from Scacoghwank and gives it the same signification as Spafford. - Gazetteer, p. 645.
SCHENECHTADY. - Various spellings. The aboriginal name of Albany, "which signifies the place the natives of the Iroquois arrived at by traveling through the pine trees." - Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Munsell's Annals of Albany, II, 333. Hough, ut supra, makes it Skanatati, Page 33"on the other side of the pines." Stone, in his Life of Red Jacket, p. 5, writes it Scaghnacktada, beyond the pine plains. Spafford translates it, "over the pines." - Gazetteer, p. 100.
SCHENEGHTADE. - Beyond (or at the other side of) the door. - Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. 2, p. 594.
SCHODACK. - "A derivation from the Mohegan word ischoda," a meadow, or fire plain. This was anciently the seat of the council fire of the Mohegans upon the Hudson. They extended their villages along the eastern bank of the stream as high as Lansingburgh, and their hunting grounds occupied the entire counties of Columbia and Rensselaer. - Lossing's Hudson, p. 102.
SCHROON from Skaghnetaghrowahna, or "the largest lake." - Gordon's Gazetteer, p. 453. Written "Scaroon" on some of the earlier maps, and it has been alleged, on what seems a very, slender foundation, that the name was conferred in the latter part of the 17th century by a wandering party of Frenchmen in honor of Madame de Maintenon the wife of the poet Scarron.
SCOWAROCKA. - The Indian name of the northern termination of "Maxonhill," Greenfield, N. Y. - Simms's Trappers of New York.
SENHAHLONE. - The village of Plattsburgh. - Sabattis.
SENONGEWOK. - A, hill like an inverted kettle, familiarly known as "the Potash," on the east side of the Hudson river about four miles north of Luzerne village, Warren Co., N. Y. - Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
SHANANDHOI. - Indian name of Clifton park. - Laws of New York, 1795.
SHATEMUCK. - The Mohegan name of the Hudson river. - Washington Irving. Believed to be derived from a word meaning pelican. The name was applied to the Hudson below Dutchess county. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
SHEEPSHAAK. - An Indian name of Lansingburgh. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 375.
SHEGWIENDAWKWE. - A cascade on the Opalescent river, signifying "the hanging spear." - Lossing's Hudson, p. 32.
SHENONDEHOWA. - Ranging in a north line from Schenectady river, and adjoining the easternmost bounds of Nastigiuna Patent (Clifton Park, Sar. Co., N. Y.). - N. Y. Calendar of Land Papers, p. 82.
SINHALONEINNEPUS. - Large and beautiful lake. A term applied to the upper Saranac lake. - Sabattis.
SKANEHTADE, G. - The west branch of the Hudson river and the river generally. - Morgan's map in the League of the Iroquois.
SKANADARIO. - Lake Ontario. A very pretty lake. - Frontenac, a Poem by Alfred B. Street.
SKMOWAHCO. - Schroon river. - Sabele.
SKNOONAPUS. - Schroon lake. - Sabele.
SQUINANTON. - Cumberland head on Lake Champlain. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 474.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, continued ...
PAANPAACK. - The Indian name for the locality covered by the city of Troy. - O'Callaghan's New Netherland, I, 180.
PANGASKOLINK. - Glens Falls, N. Y. - Sabele.
PAPAQUANETUCK. - The river of Cranberries. One of the names of the Ausable river. - Sabattis.
PASKONGAMMUC. - Pleasant or beautiful lakes. A term applied to the three Saranac lakes. - Sabattis.
PATTOUGAMMUCK. - The middle Saranac lake. - Sabattis.
PEELEEWEEMOWQUESEPO. - The Black river. The stream that separates the Mohawk from the St. Lawrence river. - Hough's Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties.
PEMPOTAWUTHUT. - The place of fire, or fire place of the nation. The present site of Albany, and once the chief seat of the Mohegan tribe. - Hoyt's Antiquarian Researches.
PETAONBOUGH. - "A double pond or lake branching out into two." An Indian name of Lake Champlain, which refers probably to its connection with Lake George. - R. W. Livingston, quoted in Watson's Hist. Essex Co., N. Y.
PETOWAHCO. - Lake Champlain. - Sabele.
PETAQUAPOEN. - Indian term applied to the site of Greenbush opposite Albany. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 375.
PISECO. - An aboriginal name for a lake of considerable magnitude in Hamilton Co., N. Y. The Indians speak it as though written Pe-sic-o; giving a hissing sound to the second syllable. It is derived from pisco a fish, and therefore signifies fish lake. - John Dunham. Piseco, says Spafford in his Gazetteer of New York, and which he spells Pezeeko, is so called after an old Indian hermit who dwelt upon its shores." - Simms's Trappers of New York, p. 163, note. Sabattis says that it was called after an Indian bearing that name.
PITTOWBAGONK. - Lake Champlain. The dividing waters between the east and west and north of the Hudson. - Sabattis.
POPQUASSIC. - Indian name of Lansingburgh. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p.375.
QUEQUICKE. - The falls on the Hoosick river. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 27.
QUONEHTIQUOT. - Long river. Corrupted to Connecticut. - Morse's Universal Geography.
RAQUETTE. - "The chief source of the Raquette is in the Raquette lake, towards the western part of Hamilton county. Around it, the Indians in the ancient days gathered on snow shoes in winter, to hunt the moose then found there in large droves, and from that circumstance they named it Raquet, the equivalent in French, for snow shoes in English. This is the account of the origin of its name given by the French Jesuits who first explored that region. Others say that its Indian name Ni-ha-na-wa-le, means a racket or noise, noisy river, and spell it Racket. But it is no more noisy than its near neighbor the Grass river which flows into the St. Lawrence from the bosom of the same wilderness." - Lossing's Hudson, p. 11.
ROTSIICHNI. - An Indian name of Lake Champlain signifying the coward spirit. An evil spirit, according to the legend, whose existence terminated on an island in Lake Champlain. The name was thence derived to the lake.
SACANDAGA, Sagendage, Sackondaga, Sackondago, Sacondaga, Saeondago, Sachondage, Sachendaga (Vide Calendar of N. Y: Land Papers); "is an aboriginal word, which signifies," as the Indians assured Godfrey Shew, much water. Capt. Gill, an Indian hunter, said it meant sunken or drowned lands. - Simms's Trappers of New York, p. 42. In Spafford's Gazetteer of New York, p. 89, it is defined as a swamp, and asserted to be derived from the Oneida dialect.
SANAHAGOG. - The Indian name of Rensselaerswyck. - O'Callaghan's Hist. New Netherland, I, 122.
SANATATEA. - The Hudson river. - Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 69.
SANDANONA. - A mountain near Lake Henderson in the Adirondacks. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
SARATOGA. - Vide General Index to documents relating to the history of the state of New York for seventeen different spellings of this word. See also Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, where it is found spelled Saragtoga, Saraghtoga, Saraghtogue, etc. Morgan renders it on his map in the League of the Iroquois Sharlatoga. Hough, in the Hist. of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, has it Saratake, while Ruttenber, in his Indian tribes of the Hudson, on what authority is not stated, derives it from Saragh, salt, and Oga a place, though he adds that "the name was originally applied, to the site of Schuylerville, and meant swift water," an assertion which greatly impairs the value of the preceding statement. Gordon, in his Gazetteer of New York, p. 671, derives the word from Sah-ra-kah, meaning the great hill side, and states that it was applied to the country between the lake and the Hudson river. An anonymous writer in the Troy Times of July 7, 1866, defines it as a place where the track of the heel may be seen.
SCHAGHTICOKE. - In Spafford's Gazetteer, p. 293, this is derived from Scaughwank and defined as a sand slide, with the statement that the final syllable cook was added by the Dutch. O'Callaghan in his works, quotes about twenty-five different spellings of the word. Ruttenber derives it from Pisbgachticook a Mohican appelative meaning the confluence of two streams, and applied to the Indian village at the mouth of the Hoosick, and also to a settlement on the Housatonic. - Indian Tribes of the Hudson, p. 195. Gordon derives it from Scacoghwank and gives it the same signification as Spafford. - Gazetteer, p. 645.
SCHENECHTADY. - Various spellings. The aboriginal name of Albany, "which signifies the place the natives of the Iroquois arrived at by traveling through the pine trees." - Dr. Mitchill, quoted in Munsell's Annals of Albany, II, 333. Hough, ut supra, makes it Skanatati, Page 33"on the other side of the pines." Stone, in his Life of Red Jacket, p. 5, writes it Scaghnacktada, beyond the pine plains. Spafford translates it, "over the pines." - Gazetteer, p. 100.
SCHENEGHTADE. - Beyond (or at the other side of) the door. - Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. 2, p. 594.
SCHODACK. - "A derivation from the Mohegan word ischoda," a meadow, or fire plain. This was anciently the seat of the council fire of the Mohegans upon the Hudson. They extended their villages along the eastern bank of the stream as high as Lansingburgh, and their hunting grounds occupied the entire counties of Columbia and Rensselaer. - Lossing's Hudson, p. 102.
SCHROON from Skaghnetaghrowahna, or "the largest lake." - Gordon's Gazetteer, p. 453. Written "Scaroon" on some of the earlier maps, and it has been alleged, on what seems a very, slender foundation, that the name was conferred in the latter part of the 17th century by a wandering party of Frenchmen in honor of Madame de Maintenon the wife of the poet Scarron.
SCOWAROCKA. - The Indian name of the northern termination of "Maxonhill," Greenfield, N. Y. - Simms's Trappers of New York.
SENHAHLONE. - The village of Plattsburgh. - Sabattis.
SENONGEWOK. - A, hill like an inverted kettle, familiarly known as "the Potash," on the east side of the Hudson river about four miles north of Luzerne village, Warren Co., N. Y. - Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
SHANANDHOI. - Indian name of Clifton park. - Laws of New York, 1795.
SHATEMUCK. - The Mohegan name of the Hudson river. - Washington Irving. Believed to be derived from a word meaning pelican. The name was applied to the Hudson below Dutchess county. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
SHEEPSHAAK. - An Indian name of Lansingburgh. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 375.
SHEGWIENDAWKWE. - A cascade on the Opalescent river, signifying "the hanging spear." - Lossing's Hudson, p. 32.
SHENONDEHOWA. - Ranging in a north line from Schenectady river, and adjoining the easternmost bounds of Nastigiuna Patent (Clifton Park, Sar. Co., N. Y.). - N. Y. Calendar of Land Papers, p. 82.
SINHALONEINNEPUS. - Large and beautiful lake. A term applied to the upper Saranac lake. - Sabattis.
SKANEHTADE, G. - The west branch of the Hudson river and the river generally. - Morgan's map in the League of the Iroquois.
SKANADARIO. - Lake Ontario. A very pretty lake. - Frontenac, a Poem by Alfred B. Street.
SKMOWAHCO. - Schroon river. - Sabele.
SKNOONAPUS. - Schroon lake. - Sabele.
SQUINANTON. - Cumberland head on Lake Champlain. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 474.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, concluded ...
TAESCAMEASICK. - Indian name for the site of Lansingburgh. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 375.
TAHAWAS. - Mount Marcy, Essex Co., N. Y. The highest peak in the state. "He splits the sky." - The Vigil of Faith by G. F. Hoffman.
TAKUNDEWIDE. - Indian name of Harris's bay on Lake George. So called on a map of the Middle British Provinces by T. Pownal, M. P., Lond., 1776.
TAWALSONTHA. - The Norman's kill, a little below Albany - O'Callaghan's New Netherland, vol. I, p. 78. Otherwise called Towasentha which is "an abbreviation of Toowasentha, the Mohawk word for falls." - Gallatin's Synopsis.
TAWASSAGUNSHEE. - The Lookout hill. An elevation within two miles of Albany, where the Dutch erected a trading post before Fort Orange was built. - Barber's Hist. Coll., p. 46.
TECKYADOUGH NIGARIGE. - The Indian name for the narrows between Ticonderoga and Crown Point, forming the entrance to the lake proper. - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip, of N. A., Lond., 1776. On a map in the same work it is defined as "two points opposite to each other," and applied to Fort St. Frederick, now Crown Point. It is quite probable that the much discussed word Ticonderoga is derived from this term.
TENONANATCHIE. - A river flowing through a mountain. A name applied to the Mohawk river by the western tribes. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
TEOHOKEN. - The pass where the Schroon finds its confluence with the Hudson river. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman. See also Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. VII, p. 10, where it is defined as the forks of a river.
TICONDEROGA. - There are about twenty renderings of the orthography of this word, and wide differences of meaning assigned to it. Those most worthy of acceptance are given herewith. Tienderoga. "The proper name of the fort between Lake George and Lake Champlain signifies the place where two rivers meet," - Colden's Account of N. Y., Col. Hist. N. Y., VII, 795. "Tiaontoroken, a fork or point between two lakes." - Hough's Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181. Morgan, on his map, frequently referred to herein, spells it "Je hone ta lo ga," Teahtontaloga and Teondeloga are both defined as "two streams coming together." The sound and structure of the three words are similar. The definition given by Colden is doubtless correct.
TIGHTILLIGAGHTIKOOK. - The south branch of the Batten kill. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, 303.
TIOSARONDA. - The meeting of the waters. The confluence of the Saeandaga with the Hudson. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
TOMHENACK. - A creek in the town of Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 290.
TOOWARLOONDAH. - The Hill of Storms, Mt. Emmons. - The Vigil of Faith, C. F. Hoffman.
TUSCAMEATIC. - Indian name for Greenbush, opposite Albany, N. Y. - O'Callaghan's Hist. New Netherland, vol. I, p. 330.
WAHCOLOOSENCOOCHALEVA. - Fort Edward. - Sobele.
WAHOPARTENIE. - Whiteface mountain. - C. F. Hoffman.
WAHPOLE SINEGAHU. - The portage from the Upper Saranac lake to the Racket river. - Sabattis.
WAWKWAONK. - The head of Lake George, Caldwell. - Sabele.
WOMPACHOOKGLENOSUCK. - Whitehall, Wash. Co., N. Y. - Sabele.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
Chapter II: Vocabulary of Indian Names, concluded ...
TAESCAMEASICK. - Indian name for the site of Lansingburgh. - Ruttenber's Indian Tribes, p. 375.
TAHAWAS. - Mount Marcy, Essex Co., N. Y. The highest peak in the state. "He splits the sky." - The Vigil of Faith by G. F. Hoffman.
TAKUNDEWIDE. - Indian name of Harris's bay on Lake George. So called on a map of the Middle British Provinces by T. Pownal, M. P., Lond., 1776.
TAWALSONTHA. - The Norman's kill, a little below Albany - O'Callaghan's New Netherland, vol. I, p. 78. Otherwise called Towasentha which is "an abbreviation of Toowasentha, the Mohawk word for falls." - Gallatin's Synopsis.
TAWASSAGUNSHEE. - The Lookout hill. An elevation within two miles of Albany, where the Dutch erected a trading post before Fort Orange was built. - Barber's Hist. Coll., p. 46.
TECKYADOUGH NIGARIGE. - The Indian name for the narrows between Ticonderoga and Crown Point, forming the entrance to the lake proper. - T. Pownal's Top. Descrip, of N. A., Lond., 1776. On a map in the same work it is defined as "two points opposite to each other," and applied to Fort St. Frederick, now Crown Point. It is quite probable that the much discussed word Ticonderoga is derived from this term.
TENONANATCHIE. - A river flowing through a mountain. A name applied to the Mohawk river by the western tribes. - H. R. Schoolcraft.
TEOHOKEN. - The pass where the Schroon finds its confluence with the Hudson river. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman. See also Col. Hist. N. Y., vol. VII, p. 10, where it is defined as the forks of a river.
TICONDEROGA. - There are about twenty renderings of the orthography of this word, and wide differences of meaning assigned to it. Those most worthy of acceptance are given herewith. Tienderoga. "The proper name of the fort between Lake George and Lake Champlain signifies the place where two rivers meet," - Colden's Account of N. Y., Col. Hist. N. Y., VII, 795. "Tiaontoroken, a fork or point between two lakes." - Hough's Hist. St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 181. Morgan, on his map, frequently referred to herein, spells it "Je hone ta lo ga," Teahtontaloga and Teondeloga are both defined as "two streams coming together." The sound and structure of the three words are similar. The definition given by Colden is doubtless correct.
TIGHTILLIGAGHTIKOOK. - The south branch of the Batten kill. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, 303.
TIOSARONDA. - The meeting of the waters. The confluence of the Saeandaga with the Hudson. - The Vigil of Faith by C. F. Hoffman.
TOMHENACK. - A creek in the town of Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y. - Calendar of N. Y. Land Papers, p. 290.
TOOWARLOONDAH. - The Hill of Storms, Mt. Emmons. - The Vigil of Faith, C. F. Hoffman.
TUSCAMEATIC. - Indian name for Greenbush, opposite Albany, N. Y. - O'Callaghan's Hist. New Netherland, vol. I, p. 330.
WAHCOLOOSENCOOCHALEVA. - Fort Edward. - Sobele.
WAHOPARTENIE. - Whiteface mountain. - C. F. Hoffman.
WAHPOLE SINEGAHU. - The portage from the Upper Saranac lake to the Racket river. - Sabattis.
WAWKWAONK. - The head of Lake George, Caldwell. - Sabele.
WOMPACHOOKGLENOSUCK. - Whitehall, Wash. Co., N. Y. - Sabele.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
CIVIL LIST OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
N.B.— The names embraced in this catalogue, are of those only, who have been at some period residents of the town of Queensbury.
UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE.
Emmons, Halmer H., (a) — 1870.
UNITED STATES MINISTER TO SPAIN.
Sickles, Daniel E., (b) — 1869.
(a) Son of Adonijah and Hakriet S. Emmons, was born on the 22d of November, 1813, in the older portion of the dwelling now owned and occupied by J. W. Finch, Esq.
The elder Emmons was a lawyer, editor and postmaster, and an active, influential politician of the bucktail school, also a man of more than ordinary mental calibre and ability.
He was charged with the authorship of the calumnies which reflected so severely upon the public life and character of De Witt Clinton, and incurred the odium and hostility resulting therefrom.
Later on, he removed to Sandy Hill, where, in 1825, he engaged in the publication of a partisan sheet called The Sandy Hill Sun, which afterwards became the rabid organ of the anti-masonic party.
In early youth the son went to Essex Co., N. Y., where he commenced the study of law in the ofiice of Judge Ross.
Following the tide of emigration, the family, in 1838, went west, and settled in Detroit, Mich., where father and son formed a legal copartnership, and at once opened upon a large and remunerative practice.
The death of the elder Emmons in 1843, left the younger to make his own way unaided, from triumph to triumph, through a series of cases involving large interests and widely extended relations, to the very summit of professional eminence and success.
(b) Son of George G. Sickles whose name appears in the town records for the year 1832, and who carried on the mercantile business in the stone store under the hill, from 1831 to 1834.
He afterwards removed to New York, where he opened a broker's office.
The son is remembered by many of the older residents of the village as a bright, active, and somewhat unruly lad, who dominated over his playmates, and gave early promise of a brilliant and controlling mind.
He removed with his father to New York, about the year 1835, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and for many years thereafter was known as one of the Tammany leaders, and an active, indomitable partisan.
Was elected to the Assembly in 1847, to the Senate in 1856-7, and from 1857 to '61 represented the third New York district in the xxxvth and xxxvith Congress.
It was during the first term of his congressional service that he obtained an unenviable notoriety by the assassination of Philip Barton Key.
At the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861 , he an active and cordial support to the government and was largely instrumental in raising the famous Excelsior Brigade.
He and his command won distinguished honors in many severe engagements.
He was several times wounded, and lost his leg in a daring charge made at the battle of Gettysburg, of which great and important action, he has been justly styled the hero.
He was promoted successively to the position of division and corps commander, and was one of the few civilians who attained the distinction of a major general's commission.
After the termination of the war, he again became conspicuous in the arena of politics, aiding largely in the election of Gen. Grant in the heated political contest of 1868.
As a recognition of his distinguished abilities and services, he received the following year the appointment of minister to Spain.
After the Revolution and the declaration of the Spanish Republic, Gen. Sickles very ably represented our government and people in recognizing the new order of things.
In consequence of the Cuban complications, he has recently resigned his position; and his return home will doubtless be welcomed by fresh honors and successes.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
CIVIL LIST OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
N.B.— The names embraced in this catalogue, are of those only, who have been at some period residents of the town of Queensbury.
UNITED STATES CIRCUIT JUDGE.
Emmons, Halmer H., (a) — 1870.
UNITED STATES MINISTER TO SPAIN.
Sickles, Daniel E., (b) — 1869.
(a) Son of Adonijah and Hakriet S. Emmons, was born on the 22d of November, 1813, in the older portion of the dwelling now owned and occupied by J. W. Finch, Esq.
The elder Emmons was a lawyer, editor and postmaster, and an active, influential politician of the bucktail school, also a man of more than ordinary mental calibre and ability.
He was charged with the authorship of the calumnies which reflected so severely upon the public life and character of De Witt Clinton, and incurred the odium and hostility resulting therefrom.
Later on, he removed to Sandy Hill, where, in 1825, he engaged in the publication of a partisan sheet called The Sandy Hill Sun, which afterwards became the rabid organ of the anti-masonic party.
In early youth the son went to Essex Co., N. Y., where he commenced the study of law in the ofiice of Judge Ross.
Following the tide of emigration, the family, in 1838, went west, and settled in Detroit, Mich., where father and son formed a legal copartnership, and at once opened upon a large and remunerative practice.
The death of the elder Emmons in 1843, left the younger to make his own way unaided, from triumph to triumph, through a series of cases involving large interests and widely extended relations, to the very summit of professional eminence and success.
(b) Son of George G. Sickles whose name appears in the town records for the year 1832, and who carried on the mercantile business in the stone store under the hill, from 1831 to 1834.
He afterwards removed to New York, where he opened a broker's office.
The son is remembered by many of the older residents of the village as a bright, active, and somewhat unruly lad, who dominated over his playmates, and gave early promise of a brilliant and controlling mind.
He removed with his father to New York, about the year 1835, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and for many years thereafter was known as one of the Tammany leaders, and an active, indomitable partisan.
Was elected to the Assembly in 1847, to the Senate in 1856-7, and from 1857 to '61 represented the third New York district in the xxxvth and xxxvith Congress.
It was during the first term of his congressional service that he obtained an unenviable notoriety by the assassination of Philip Barton Key.
At the outbreak of the rebellion in 1861 , he an active and cordial support to the government and was largely instrumental in raising the famous Excelsior Brigade.
He and his command won distinguished honors in many severe engagements.
He was several times wounded, and lost his leg in a daring charge made at the battle of Gettysburg, of which great and important action, he has been justly styled the hero.
He was promoted successively to the position of division and corps commander, and was one of the few civilians who attained the distinction of a major general's commission.
After the termination of the war, he again became conspicuous in the arena of politics, aiding largely in the election of Gen. Grant in the heated political contest of 1868.
As a recognition of his distinguished abilities and services, he received the following year the appointment of minister to Spain.
After the Revolution and the declaration of the Spanish Republic, Gen. Sickles very ably represented our government and people in recognizing the new order of things.
In consequence of the Cuban complications, he has recently resigned his position; and his return home will doubtless be welcomed by fresh honors and successes.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
Re: Holden's History of Queensbury
A History of the Town of Queensbury, continued ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
CIVIL LIST OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY., continued ...
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.
Clark, Billy J., 1848 (a)
Cool, Keyes P., 1840
Morgan, Alonzo W., 1864
Mott, Isaac, 1848
Pettit, Micajah, 1808 (Appointed)
Sheldon, N. Edson (b), 1860.
(a) Billy J., son of Ithamar and Sarah (Simonds) Clark, was born at Northampton, Mass., on the fourth of January, 1778.
About the year 1784 his parents removed to Williamstown, Mass., where, for three or four years he enjoyed the benefits of that public school founded by the munificence of Col. Williams, who fell in action at "the bloody morning scout."
At the age of ten he removed with his parents to Pownal, Vt., where his youth, up to the time of his father's death, was passed in the varied avocations of farm boy, clerk and bartender.
His medical studies were commenced at the age of seventeen in the office of Dr. Gibbs of Pownal, where he was soon characterized as a pains-taking, indefatigable student.
In 1797 he removed to Easton, Washington Co., N. Y., where his studies were continued in the office of Dr. Lemuel Wicker, a practitioner at that time of extensive repute and practice.
Having obtained the requisite testimonials, and passed the necessary examinations, he obtained a license from the county judge of Washington county to practice medicine.
He commenced his life work in the town of Moreau, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in 1799, where, for forty years, he was the only physician, and supplied a radius of country nearly twenty miles in extent, following the humanities of his calling, achieving a well-earned reputation for usefulness, and that by the popularly appreciated gauge of success, a substantial competency.
Dr. Clark's name will be famous through all time as the originator of the first temperance organization that ever existed.
The date of this important event was in the early part of April, 1808.
In this field of philanthropy, the doctor was an ardent and efficient laborer all his life.
He represented his county in the assembly in 1820, and, as above appears was a member of the New York Electoral College in 1848.
He died in this village on the 20th of September, 1866.
Through his energy and perseverance, a special act of legislature was obtained, incorporating the Saratoga County Medical Society, the first organization of the kind in the state.
(b) Nathaniel Edson Sheldon was the youngest of ten children, the offspring of Job and Joanna C. (Trippe) Sheldon, who migrated from Cranston, R. I., Barnet, Vt., where the subject of this sketch was born on the 28th of September, 1804.
The family record bears the following names back to the original immigrant, viz.: Job, the grandfather, who was the son of Pardon, the son of Nicholas, the son of John, the son of John, one of three brothers who came to this country from Warwickshire, England, in 1634, who settled in Pawtuxet, R. I., from whom the numerous descendants have diverged and settled in almost every state and territory in the union.
While in early youth, Dr. Sheldon's father removed to Delhi, Delaware Co., N.Y.
Here he received the advantages of a good common school education, and being baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church, commenced studying for orders in that communion.
We are not advised as to the causes which led to a change of pursuit in life, but shortly after we find him prosecuting the study of medicine with Dr. Lang in the city of New York, in one of whose colleges he graduated about the year 1831.
After receiving his diploma, he was appointed ward physician in one of the worst and hardest districts of the city.
During the cholera season of 1832 he saw and reported the first case of that terrible scourge in the city.
His superiors scouted the idea.
The next morning seven more were down with disease and three dead bodies in the building.
A medical commission which had been dispatched to Canada to investigate the disease, on examination confirmed his diagnosis, and he was awarded the credit due to his discrimination and good judgment.
At the end of the season he was presented with a massive silver pitcher, which remains as an heir-loom in the family, upon which is engraved the following inscription: "Presented by the Board of Health of the City of New York to N. Edson Sheldon, M. D., for professional services gratuitously rendered to the poor of the Second Ward during the prevalence of the cholera, A.D., 1832."
The following year he removed to Glen's Falls and embarked in practice, and notwithstanding a sharp and sometimes acrimonious competition, he soon succeeded in acquiring a fair proportion of the patronage; the population of the village and town being less than one-fourth what it is to-day.
For nearly twenty years, and until his voluntary retirement from professional cares, he held the position of a first-class practitioner, and the reputation of more than ordinary success.
Even later his professional brethren, in token of respect, elected him president of the County Medical Society.
While pursuing his medical studies, a young English lady, named Elizabeth Goodwin Olive, stopped for a few days' visit at his preceptor's while on her way with an uncle, a clergyman of the church of England, to Canada.
A romantic attachment sprang up between them, and in May, 1834, they were married.
She died on the 30th of December, 1840.
On the 3d of October, 1842, he was again married to Abigal T., daughter of the late John A. Ferriss, Esq.
Soon after, he engaged in the drug and medicine trade, and by strict attention and assiduity he built up a large and remunerative business, and for years has been considered one of the leading and successful business men of the place.
For a large proportion of his life, Dr. Sheldon has been known as an active and influential politician.
Originally a democrat, he with many others came out in 1838 in opposition to that party, and for many years his office was the rallying place and centre where politicians arranged the local affairs of both the whig and republican parties.
In the exciting and important campaign of 1860, whose events culminated in our late civil war, he was chosen one of the electors of the Empire State, and cast his vote for the first term of service of the martyred and lamented Lincoln.
In 1866 he was appointed by the governor, one of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Institution for the Blind at Binghamton.
In the exciting campaign of last fall, feeling that his name was a tower of strength to his party, he was nominated and elected county treasurer, a position which his failing health compelled him to resign early in the present year.
Dr. Sheldon was public-spirited, and has always contributed to the development and advancement of the place.
He has been from the first a stockholder and director in the Glen's Falls and Lake George Plank Road Company, and for many years its secretary.
He was also for a long time one of the trustees of the Glen's Falls Academy.
Conspicuous, however, above all other traits of character, was his sterling honor and integrity.
In the language of one who knew him intimately and well, "he would not have done an unjust, dishonest or fraudulent act to save his life."
He died suddenly at his residence in Glen's Falls, on the 3d of July, 1878.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
A. W. Holden, M.D.
CIVIL LIST OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY., continued ...
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.
Clark, Billy J., 1848 (a)
Cool, Keyes P., 1840
Morgan, Alonzo W., 1864
Mott, Isaac, 1848
Pettit, Micajah, 1808 (Appointed)
Sheldon, N. Edson (b), 1860.
(a) Billy J., son of Ithamar and Sarah (Simonds) Clark, was born at Northampton, Mass., on the fourth of January, 1778.
About the year 1784 his parents removed to Williamstown, Mass., where, for three or four years he enjoyed the benefits of that public school founded by the munificence of Col. Williams, who fell in action at "the bloody morning scout."
At the age of ten he removed with his parents to Pownal, Vt., where his youth, up to the time of his father's death, was passed in the varied avocations of farm boy, clerk and bartender.
His medical studies were commenced at the age of seventeen in the office of Dr. Gibbs of Pownal, where he was soon characterized as a pains-taking, indefatigable student.
In 1797 he removed to Easton, Washington Co., N. Y., where his studies were continued in the office of Dr. Lemuel Wicker, a practitioner at that time of extensive repute and practice.
Having obtained the requisite testimonials, and passed the necessary examinations, he obtained a license from the county judge of Washington county to practice medicine.
He commenced his life work in the town of Moreau, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in 1799, where, for forty years, he was the only physician, and supplied a radius of country nearly twenty miles in extent, following the humanities of his calling, achieving a well-earned reputation for usefulness, and that by the popularly appreciated gauge of success, a substantial competency.
Dr. Clark's name will be famous through all time as the originator of the first temperance organization that ever existed.
The date of this important event was in the early part of April, 1808.
In this field of philanthropy, the doctor was an ardent and efficient laborer all his life.
He represented his county in the assembly in 1820, and, as above appears was a member of the New York Electoral College in 1848.
He died in this village on the 20th of September, 1866.
Through his energy and perseverance, a special act of legislature was obtained, incorporating the Saratoga County Medical Society, the first organization of the kind in the state.
(b) Nathaniel Edson Sheldon was the youngest of ten children, the offspring of Job and Joanna C. (Trippe) Sheldon, who migrated from Cranston, R. I., Barnet, Vt., where the subject of this sketch was born on the 28th of September, 1804.
The family record bears the following names back to the original immigrant, viz.: Job, the grandfather, who was the son of Pardon, the son of Nicholas, the son of John, the son of John, one of three brothers who came to this country from Warwickshire, England, in 1634, who settled in Pawtuxet, R. I., from whom the numerous descendants have diverged and settled in almost every state and territory in the union.
While in early youth, Dr. Sheldon's father removed to Delhi, Delaware Co., N.Y.
Here he received the advantages of a good common school education, and being baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church, commenced studying for orders in that communion.
We are not advised as to the causes which led to a change of pursuit in life, but shortly after we find him prosecuting the study of medicine with Dr. Lang in the city of New York, in one of whose colleges he graduated about the year 1831.
After receiving his diploma, he was appointed ward physician in one of the worst and hardest districts of the city.
During the cholera season of 1832 he saw and reported the first case of that terrible scourge in the city.
His superiors scouted the idea.
The next morning seven more were down with disease and three dead bodies in the building.
A medical commission which had been dispatched to Canada to investigate the disease, on examination confirmed his diagnosis, and he was awarded the credit due to his discrimination and good judgment.
At the end of the season he was presented with a massive silver pitcher, which remains as an heir-loom in the family, upon which is engraved the following inscription: "Presented by the Board of Health of the City of New York to N. Edson Sheldon, M. D., for professional services gratuitously rendered to the poor of the Second Ward during the prevalence of the cholera, A.D., 1832."
The following year he removed to Glen's Falls and embarked in practice, and notwithstanding a sharp and sometimes acrimonious competition, he soon succeeded in acquiring a fair proportion of the patronage; the population of the village and town being less than one-fourth what it is to-day.
For nearly twenty years, and until his voluntary retirement from professional cares, he held the position of a first-class practitioner, and the reputation of more than ordinary success.
Even later his professional brethren, in token of respect, elected him president of the County Medical Society.
While pursuing his medical studies, a young English lady, named Elizabeth Goodwin Olive, stopped for a few days' visit at his preceptor's while on her way with an uncle, a clergyman of the church of England, to Canada.
A romantic attachment sprang up between them, and in May, 1834, they were married.
She died on the 30th of December, 1840.
On the 3d of October, 1842, he was again married to Abigal T., daughter of the late John A. Ferriss, Esq.
Soon after, he engaged in the drug and medicine trade, and by strict attention and assiduity he built up a large and remunerative business, and for years has been considered one of the leading and successful business men of the place.
For a large proportion of his life, Dr. Sheldon has been known as an active and influential politician.
Originally a democrat, he with many others came out in 1838 in opposition to that party, and for many years his office was the rallying place and centre where politicians arranged the local affairs of both the whig and republican parties.
In the exciting and important campaign of 1860, whose events culminated in our late civil war, he was chosen one of the electors of the Empire State, and cast his vote for the first term of service of the martyred and lamented Lincoln.
In 1866 he was appointed by the governor, one of the Board of Trustees of the New York State Institution for the Blind at Binghamton.
In the exciting campaign of last fall, feeling that his name was a tower of strength to his party, he was nominated and elected county treasurer, a position which his failing health compelled him to resign early in the present year.
Dr. Sheldon was public-spirited, and has always contributed to the development and advancement of the place.
He has been from the first a stockholder and director in the Glen's Falls and Lake George Plank Road Company, and for many years its secretary.
He was also for a long time one of the trustees of the Glen's Falls Academy.
Conspicuous, however, above all other traits of character, was his sterling honor and integrity.
In the language of one who knew him intimately and well, "he would not have done an unjust, dishonest or fraudulent act to save his life."
He died suddenly at his residence in Glen's Falls, on the 3d of July, 1878.
TO BE CONTINUED ...