We are happy to offer some items of genealogy and local history from Herkimer County, NY, and we plan to offer additional items of historical interest soon. |
Now Available for Download |
The Herkimer County chapter in Mather & Brockett's Geographical History of the State of New York (1848). Herkimer County's treatment, which includes a map, is -- and five pages -- slightly longer than average for an upstate county in this work. Short as it is, it's still an important part of the historical record. We also include the section of this book about land grants and patents in New York State. 5++ pages, in PDF format, download now for $2.75.
The Herkimer County chapter Little Falls – A Historical Sketch -- By Hon. Thomas D. Ferguson (1911) -- Herkimer County Historical Society, Papers from Volume IV. This particular paper – a speech that dealt with the history of Little Falls – is a favorite of ours because it is a fine example of local history as practiced a century ago. While we today may take issue with the lack of sourcing of facts in such addresses, we are grateful that the material was collected and preserved for our use today. Standards of scholarship have changed in the intervening years – you will immediately note the absence of footnotes – but the amateur historians back then had the advantage of, first, being chronologically closer to their subjects, and second, often having sources available to them that are no longer available today. 15+ pages, in PDF format. Download now for $3.25.
Native Americans: Herkimer County Historical Society.
Andrustown – A Page from Herkimer
County’s Past, by Dr. Grace M. Norris.
(1911) Herkimer County Historical Society
Papers, Volume IV. This
paper, a speech that dealt with the demise of the tiny community of
Andrustown in a massacre during the Revolutionary War, is still useful
today. This community, which escaped the massacres that afflicted this
area during the French and Indian War due to its remoteness, was not so
fortunate this time. Interestingly, nothing except for two or three
historical markers remains of Andrustown today. 15+ pages, in PDF
format, download now for $3.00. The Professional and Public Service of the Deceased Members of the Bar of the Village of Herkimer, NY, by Hon. Charles Bell (1914). The source was a collection of papers and addresses read before the Herkimer County Historical Society – volume 4 of these papers. The deceased attorneys profiled in the paper are as follows: Gaylord Griswold, Sanford Clark, Matthias B. Tallmadge, Michael Hoffman, Simeon Ford, Lauren Ford, William D. Ford, Aaron Hackley, Jr., Charles Gray, James B. Hunt, John C. Underwood, Ezra Graves, Charles A. Burton, Volney Owen, Clinton A. Moon, Maurice Fikes, Jacob H. Weber, Amos H. Prescott, Samuel Earl, Josiah A. Steele, Robert Earl, George W. Smith, Sidney A. Smith, George M. Wirt, John Dryden Henderson, Edward A. Brown, Abram B. Steele, and Robert E. Steele. Generally the capsule biographies focus on the professional achievements of these men (yes, despite the first names of Lauren and Volney, usually considered female names today, all those profiled are men) rather than on biographical details. 12+ pages, in PDF format. Download now for $2.25.
Marking General Herkimer’s Route to Oriskany, by Charlotte A. Pitcher (1912), The colonists’ victory at the Battle of Oriskany is viewed today as one of the pivotal battles of the American Revolution. More than a century after that battle, a number of hereditary, patriotic, and civit organizations in the Utica/Oriskany area embarked on a project to mark the route taken by General Herkimer and his troops to that engagement with a series of monuments. While sketching out the actual route of the march in more detail than one usually finds in accounts of the battle, the article also describes the efforts of the sponsoring organizations to appropriately mark it and the celebrations that accompanied the unveiling of the markers. 10+ pages, in PDF format. Download now for $2.00.
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Herkimer County was separated from
Montgomery
County in 1791. You may also want to consult our
Montgomery County page for
locations that may have been affected by this transaction. Other counties were subsequently removed from Herkimer County in whole or in part. Please see our separate pages for the following counties: Chenango, Oneida, and Onondaga. |
See also: W. Max Reid's
The
Mohawk Valley: Its Legends and Its History (1907) listed on our
Montgomery County page See also: relevant material in the NYS Canal Commissioners Report for 1878 available for download on our New York State Miscellany page. |
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