August 6th marks the anniversary of the 1777 Battle of Oriskany. Fought as an American relief column marched to aid the besieged Fort Stanwix, about 800 Tryon County militiamen and 60 allied Oneida warriors under Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer were ambushed by British, Loyalist, and Indigenous forces (including Mohawk and Seneca warriors). [Read more…] about August 6th Marks 1777 Battle of Oriskany Anniversary
Oriskany Creek
The 1780s Settling of Clinton in Oneida County
The Revolutionary War led settlers beyond the confines of the Palatine settlements in the Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys into what is today the Herkimer village area.
As early as 1776, seven pairs of brothers, from as many different families in Plymonth, in western Connecticut, enlisted under the command of Captain David Smith and were marched west into the Mohawk Valley. [Read more…] about The 1780s Settling of Clinton in Oneida County
Two Kettles Together: Sarah Martin Tyonajanegen
Tyonajanegan, who Europeans called Sarah Martin Tyonajanegen or Two Kettles Together, was a mother of four who took up arms alongside her husband as their Oneida Nation chose to support the colonists in the American Revolution.
Almost nothing is known about her early life, although at least one family historian reports that she was “taken prisoner with her sister Katy from the Shawanoes, & remained with the Mohawks.”
However, she and her husband and his family had significant roles in early New York history. [Read more…] about Two Kettles Together: Sarah Martin Tyonajanegen
The Chenango Canal: An Unrealized Dream
The success of the Erie Cavnal which opened 200 years ago in 1825 caused folks around New York to petition the State to build a canal to their town. At that time roads were typically very rough – early turnpikes were mainly oriented east-west across New York, few went north or south.
Eventually, 16 lateral canals were built off the Erie Canal by the state totaling more than 750 miles and extending to various parts of New York. [Read more…] about The Chenango Canal: An Unrealized Dream