HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF MOHAWK
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Chas. H. VanEpps, ensign | 3 days with Lieut. Hansen |
3 days at Bowman's Hill | |
Crownidge Kinkead | 6 days at Caughnawaga |
3 days at Caughnawaga | |
3 days at Johnstown | |
4 days at Cherry Valley | |
9 days at Johnstown | |
Henry Boshart | 5 days at Johnstown |
6 days at Johnstown 1779 | |
George Shank | 6 days (1779) at Johnstown, with Lieut. Hansen |
Cornelius A. Van Alstine | 7 days at Johnstown |
4 days at Johnstown | |
Stephen Manibout | 4 days at Johnstown |
7 days at Johnstown | |
4 days at Cherry Valley | |
John Hall | 7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen |
Richard Collins | 7 days at Johnstown |
Matthew Van Dusen | 9 days at Johnstown |
1 days at Waring | |
3 days at Cherry Valley | |
John Wilson | 7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen |
9 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hanson | |
4 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hanson | |
Barent B. Wemple | 5 days at Johnstown |
3 days at Johnstown | |
4 days at Johnstown | |
Hendrick Fluperd | 7 days at Johnstown |
6 days at Johnstown | |
4 days at Johnstown | |
Jacob Kits | 4 days at Johnstown |
5 days at Johnstown | |
6 days at Johnstown | |
Evert Van Eps | 5 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen |
Sampson Sammons, ensign | 7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen |
7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen | |
Adam Rupert | 7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen |
7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen | |
Cornelius Smith | 2 days at Johnstown |
4 days at Sacondaga | |
4 days at Bowman's Hill | |
2 days at Bowman's Hill | |
3 days at Cherry Valley | |
"Hendrick Wampil, 30 days at different times, at sundry places, agreeable to the account." | |
"Johannes Nare, corporal at three different times, 14 days, Johnstown." | |
Cornelius Putman | 7 days at Johnstown |
"John McDoual, says has has Bin out att all times." | |
"Jacob Shew, 13 days at Fort Plank in Jolinger's place." | |
Jeremiah Crowley | 7 days at Johnstown, with Lieut. Hansen |
John Vechte | days at Johnstown with, Lieut. Hansen |
Conrad Cratsenberg | 7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen |
6 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen | |
7 days at Johnstown with Lieut. Hansen | |
3 days at Cherry Valley, with Capt. Fonda | |
John Huber | 7 days at Johnstown, with Lieut. Hansen |
7 days at Johnstown, with Lieut. Hansen | |
3 days at Cherry Valley, with Capt. Fonda |
Major Fonda, having become wealthy in trade, furnished his house more elegantly than was the rule of the day. It supplied all the richer plunder to the Indians of Johnson's command, when they swept up from Tribes Hill on that May morning which saw such deeds of blood and rapine along this part of the valley. The owner was fortunately absent from home, and his wife and his son Douw had warning in time to escape across the river. The house was fired, and it is said that while it was burning, a music box, connected with a clock in the building, began to play a tune. The savages took the sound for the voice of a spirit, with more reason than the modern spiritists have for so interpreting a monotonous series of raps. Like the latter, the Indians put a favorable construction upon the ghostly communication. A mirror was the most prized of the booty here obtained, at least the most fought for among the plunderers.
Major Fonda built, after the war, on the high ground in what is now the village of Fonda, the house at present occupied by Mr. Peter Lasher. He was a judge of old Tryon county, and was a member of the Assembly at the time of his death, which occurred June 23, 1791. His sword is the hands of one of his great grand-children, Mr. Edward Schenck, of New York city.
Although the old village lay mainly to the eastward of what is now Fonda, there were buildings also on the site of the modern town. The Veeder mill, on the Cayadutta, has been referred to. Alexander White, the last sheriff under the crown, who so hastily vacated his office through the persuasions of a mob at Johnstown, lived on the site of the court-house, and John Fonda occupied the house after the White's removal. Adam Fonda also lived near the creek. Jacob Graff came from Hanover about 1760, and settled as a farmer in what is now the village of Fonda. Here Peter Graff was born about 1763. He saw service during the Revolution, being present at the surrender of Burgoyne. He was afterward a farmer and gunsmith. His brother Phillip belonged to the rangers mentioned in Stone's Life of Joseph Brant. Cornelius Smith and Johannes Veeder lived a little west of the creel and near the river.
THE OLD CAUGHNAWAGA CHURCH
The most interesting feature of old Caugnawaga remained up to 1868, namely, the Reformed Dutch church, the first built in the town and one of the first in the valley, it having been erected in 1763. We are enabled by the courtesy of Harper Brothers to present an engraving of the old church, which appeared in Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution," published by that eminent house. It stood on the western side of the lot on which stands the house of James Lansing Veeder, Esq., which was built about the beginning of this century, and was the parsonage up to 1842, succeeding the original one, which stood further back on the same lot. The church was a massive stone building, about square, with a curb roof. On the north end stood a graceful little open belfry, with a bell-shaped canopy, supported by a circle of posts, and sending up from its apex a slender spire. This structure was added to the building in 1795, and it was suspended what had been Sir William Johnson's dinner-bell, which weighed over one hundred pounds, and was among the confiscated property of Sir John. Two windows, arched at the top, admitted the light on each side. In the gable toward the road, close to the ridge of the roof, was a little circular opening in the wall, while half way down from this to the tops of the windows, were two oval ones, a trifle larger, inclined toward each other at about the same angle as the sides of the roof opposite them, after the fashion common in the ecclesiastical architecture of the age. The entrance was a double door in the middle of the eastern side, rounded-arched like the windows, but having the part within the arch closed up, the doors not extending up to the keystone. Over the latter, and just below the eaves, was an oval tablet of stone, bearing, in Dutch, the inscription, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths." The pulpit stood against the western wall, and a gallery ran around the other three. The church was seated with the square pews of the period, excepting a space at the north end where were placed benches for Indians and negroes. The pew at the left in entering is said to have been sometimes occupied by Sir William Johonson, who contributed liberally toward the erection of the building. In 1842 the church and parsonage, with the glebe of thirty acres, were turned over to the pastor, Rev. Jacob D. Fonda, in payment of $1,300 arrearage of salary. Two years later he sold the property to Rev. Douw Van O'Linda, with the condition that the society might redeem it for $1,300. The church was old-fashioned by this time, however; the star of population was taking its way westward, toward where the courthouse, the depot, and the great hotel had been built; and the members of the society, who had built a new church in the fashionable quarter, never availed themselves of the privilege of recovering their ancient house of worship. Rev. Mr. Van O'Linda opened an academy in it in the latter part of 1844, with Jacob A. Hardenberg, a Rutgers graduate, as principal; but it was kept up only a year or two, and after it had been given up, the building was used as a dwelling. About 1860, it was bought by Henry Veeder, and in 1868 the old church, which Sir John Johnson's barbarians had spared, "was taken down, the stones being used for ordinary building purposes." "It is said that people wept as they beheld the demolition of this sacred edifice, but as they had nothing better than tears to give, tears could not purchase back the property, and therefore it was gone forever."
Hon. Francis Granger, Gen. Harrison's appointee for Postmaster-General, it is said, used to speak pleasantly of attending service at the old Caughnawaga church. One Sunday found him at Caughnawaga, on a journey to the West, with his private conveyance. It was at a time when people did not usually travel on the Sabbath, and having the day before him, Mr. Granger started for the church as the hour of meeting drew nigh. He was in time to take observations of the sacred edifice, and the Sabbath-day customs of the Mohawk valley Christians, about all of which there was to the traveler and agreeable novelty. While he was considering the phenomenon of a church with its rear gable (as seemed, from the steeple being at the farther end), but no door, toward the road, and speculating on the purport of the little eyelet-like windows near the roof, loads of the worshipers were coming in from the country. As fast as the women alighted from the sheepskin-bottom chairs which formed their seats in the wagons, the men, after providing for their teams, repaired to a neighboring bar-room, whither, not to miss any part of the exercises, Mr. Granger followed them. Gravely, as befitting the day, each ordered a drink. Having drained his glass, the thirsty Christian thrust his hand deep in his pocket, and drew forth a long, narrow, leathern wallet, with a string woven in at the neck, rolled up around the coin which it contained. Taking the purse by the bottom, and emptying the cash into his left hand, he selected a sixpence, and, laying it before the landlord, poured back the remainder into the depths of the wallet, folded it carefully up, restored it to his pocket and returned to the church. Thither Mr. Granger also betook himself. An officious usher took him in charge, and, shutting him up in one of the high-partitioned box-pews which occupied most of the floor, left him to pursue his observations. The most noticeable feature of the odd interior of the building was the pulpit, which has a little five-sided coop, perched aloft on a slender support, reached by the narrowest of stairways, and canopied by a sounding-board that completely roofed it over. On the wall, on either side of the pulpit, hung a pole several feet in length, suspended by an iron hoop or ring, from which also depended a little bag with a bell at the bottom. In due time the clergyman entered, and, mounting the slender stairway, seated himself in his little domain, which barely contained him. From his fresh and rubicund face, it would almost seem that his parishioners were contenanced by him in the matter of their Sunday morning dram. Here, thought the visitor, observent of his glowing features, was a light of the church, set in a Dutch candlestick, and covered with an umbrella, to prevent any untimely extinguishment. The congregation entered heartily into the singing, and Mr. Granger thought it might be good worship, though sad music. At the proper stage, the ushers, taking down the scoop-nets from beside the pulpit, went fishing expertly among the worshipers for the collection, tinkling the little bells appended, as if to warn them to be ready with their change. There was need of notice, for getting at the coin was the same deliberate operation as at the tavern. There were the diving for the purse, the unrolling and emptying of the contents; but the observer noted that the burgher's eye scanned his palm for a penny instead of a sixpence. When they had gone the round of the church, the collectors took their turn at the performance, seeming to hear the Head of the Church saying, as of old, "Bring me a penny." The dominie had got well into his sermon, in a commonplace way before he saw Mr. Granger. Then, at the sight of a well-dressed and intelligent stranger in the house, he perceptibly roused himself, and became really eloquent. At the close of the service he had an interview with the visitor, who assured him, in all sincerity, that he was never more interested in a sermon in his life. Learning that the latter was the son of Hon. Gideon Granger, who was Postmaster-General under Jefferson, the clergyman felt the more honored by his presence and compliments, and invited him to the parsonage. Mr. Granger declined, returned to his lodging, and next morning proceeded to Johnstown, where he wished to see Daniel Cady.
When he was in the Cabinet, Mr. Stephen Sammons, who was personally acquainted with him, made application for the establishment of a post office at an unnamed hamlet, three or four miles northwest of Caughnawaga. The Postmaster-General immediately recognized it as a place where he had sad experience of a corduroy road, on his way to Johnstown, one Monday morning, and where he saw a distillery and a store on the corner, which the applicant assured him were there. "We'll call it Sammonsville," said he, and Sammonsville it is. The historian Simms was a regular attendant at the old church about 1838, and played a flute in the choir, of which Dr. Stewart (who played the bass viol) was the leader, and Mrs. Stewart also a member.
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