George II, King of Great Britain – The Albany Indian Commissioners

Minute Book 3: 1729-May Part 2: A possible Shawnee and Mohican migration; the French prepare to attack, but where? A Smith for the Senecas.

The next entry In Library and Archives Canada’s digital copy of the original minutes, starts here on p. 284. It contains the minutes of a meeting between the commissioners and two messengers from the Six Nations, who informed the commissioners that three hundred “Makinders and Shawhownus” (probably meaning Mohican and Shawnee) wanted to settle in Iroquoia with their families, a large number of people. The Haudenosaunee asked the English to send one or two representatives to Onondaga to attend a general meeting of the Six Nations, which was scheduled to be held in about a week to discuss this matter. The messengers laid down seven hands of wampum, a sign that this was an official and important matter. The messengers also brought word about news from Kahnahwàke that the Governor of Canada had assembled two thousand troops for a military expedition which he was going to lead in person. The target was being kept secret.

Commissioner Myndert Schuyler went in person to inform the governor about the situation. The Commissioners also dispatched Lawrence Claessen to Onondaga by way of Oswego, with a letter informing the commander there, Captain John Price, to be on his guard. Claessen was told to encourage the group of Mohicans and Shawnees that wanted to join the Six Nations and invite two leaders from each group to come to Albany “and Enter into the Covenant Chain, according to the Promises they made upon their last Treaty with his Excellency.” He was also to find out whether Oswego was the target for the French attack, and ask the Six Nations to help Commander Price to prevent any such attack. Lawrence returned on May 23rd and said that in reality the southern nations were only sending some sachims to renew their old covenants with the Five Nations. He had no new information about the plans of the French.

The Commissioners also sent their own Indian messengers to Kahnawà:ke to find out more about the French plans. On May 14th they returned. Their contact at Kahnawake had told them that the Governor of Canada was definitely planning an attack, even though there was an official peace, because the French King had ordered the governor to take steps to deal with the construction of the fort at Oswego. The French were frustrated because they were losing out to the English in the fur trade, and wanted to prevent furs going to the English either by Oswego or by “Corlaers Lake,” i.e. Lake Champlain. The precise target of the attack was still a secret, but people at Kahnawà:ke expected it to be against either Oswego or Albany. The Commissioners passed this information on to Governor Montgomerie and asked that the Legislature take steps to preserve them in case of an attack.

On May 29th five principal sachims from “the Castle Called Onnah in the Sinekes Land” came to renew the Covenant Chain with the English. They brought the belt of black wampum that was a symbol of their agreement, as well as a silver dollar with a black ribbon attached that stood for the death of King George the First and the succession to the throne of George the Second. They wanted to exchange the dollar for a different token, but the Commissioners would not agree, because it was the same as what had been used to announce the succession to other nations. The sachims of Onnah also asked to have a gunsmith in their castle. The Commissioners agreed to send someone to the Seneca country for the coming winter but not to Onnah specifically. The smith would go to “the Castle called Canassedaha” where the smith’s tools were already located.

“Onnah” is probably the town called “Onaghee,” or “Onahe” located at present day Hopewell, N.Y. “Canassedaha” is probably Kanadesaga near present day Geneva N.Y. See Beauchamp’s Aboriginal Place Names of New York, p. 158-159.

Minute Book 3: 1728-October Part 1: Governor Montgomerie’s First Conference with the Six Nations, Schaghticokes, and “River Indians”

Governor John Montgomerie’s first conference with New York’s native allies began on October first. The records contain two versions. What was probably the official version begins on page 299a of the records and is printed in DRCHNY volume 5, beginning at 5:859. Another version, likely a first draft, begins on page 263 of the records. It is worded a little differently but the sense is the same.

Land at Oswego for the English to Raise Food, Evidence of Haudenosaunee Orchards?

The Haudenosaunee sachims welcomed the new governor in a meeting held before the conference opened. They expressed sorrow over the death of King George I and celebrated the succession of George II in a speech that is interesting because it uses metaphors related to the cultivation of fruit trees, including grafting branches and covering roots, suggesting that these techniques may have been part of their practices during this period. The conference opened the next day with a speech by the new governor, who described his difficult five-month journey across the Atlantic before conveying greetings from the new King of England and renewing the covenant chain in his name.

Governor Montgomerie then asked to have land at Oswego marked off for the English to raise food for the troops. The Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) agreed to this idea, naming Laurence Claessen as the best person to assist with measuring and marking the land. They refused to say how much land they would provide, explaining that they needed to consult with people not present at the conference before they could give a figure. No mention was made of a sale and no deed was signed. The orders given to Laurence Claessen after the conference ended instruct him to carry out a precise survey of “as Large a Tract of Land at Oswego as possible you Can” and bring it back to the commissioners.

A Compromise on Alcohol

Besides discussing the land, the parties renewed the Covenant Chain with each other, exchanged gifts including wampum, and went over issues familiar from previous conferences. The Haudenosaunee asked the new governor to prevent traders from bringing alcohol to their country because it was leading to violence and even murders. He insisted that the traders needed to bring rum to refresh the soldiers at Oswego and asked them not to molest the traders. Eventually they agreed to the use of alcohol at the Oswego Trading House and Montgomerie agreed to forbid the English to take it to the communities of the Six Nations. The Haudenosaunee also asked that the traders sell pure rum rather than mixing it with water. It is possible that the illness that still afflicted the troops at Oswego was related to problems with Oswego’s water supply which could affect rum if the tainted water was used to dilute it.

Who Defends Fort Oswego Against the French?

The governor also asked the Haudenosaunee to protect Fort Oswego against possible French attacks. They responded that it was their understanding that it had been constructed to protect them rather than for them to protect. Eventually they agreed to assist with its defense, acknowledging their experience with French attacks. They urged the English both to make sure that the traders bring guns and ammunition to Iroquois and to keep military supplies on hand at Albany in case of need. Both sides promised to support each other and boasted of their military prowess.

The governor also urged the Haudenosaunee not to join the French and their allies in the war against a “Remote Nation,” probably meaning the Meskwaki (Fox). They asked for cheaper prices for goods and requested Joseph Van Size and Hendrick Wemp to work as smith and armorer in their country, adding that the French smith there was old and going blind.

Anglo-Dutch Farmers Encroach on Schaghticoke Lands

Corn growing near the Knickerbocker Mansion Historic Site at Schaghticoke NY, August 2015

Governor Montgomerie renewed the Covenant Chain in a separate conference with the Schaghticoke and River Indians, for which they thanked him. He urged them to bring back those of their nation who had moved away, but they explained that it was difficult because they had less and less land at Schaghticoke to plant on. They told him that recently their European neighbors had planted on the Scaghticoke’s land, allowed their cattle to destroy Schaghticoke crops, and carried off corn from their fields. The governor asked for the names of the trespassers so he could punish them.

In Library and Archives Canada’s digital copy of the original minutes, the entry for the draft version starts here on p. 263.

Minute Book 3: 1727-September: The Six Nations Will Defend Oswego From Attacks by Native Nations; Problems Continue At the New Fort

The Schuyler brothers (Peter and Philip) returned from Onondaga with Laurence Claessen on September 2d and reported on the meeting there. The Commissioners of Indian Affairs enclosed the report in a letter to Governor Burnet in which they said the trip had met with success, but there is no copy of the report itself in the records. The commissioners immediately sent Laurence back to tell the Six Nations that George II had succeeded George I as King of Great Britain. He was also instructed to prevent the Onondagas from going to war against the Flatheads by telling them that the French were encouraging it in order to get them out of the way and then destroy them. Claessen was also told to encourage the Onondagas to defend Fort Oswego if anyone attacked it and to learn what messages the French had been sending the Six Nations. Guysbert Van Brakel Junior went with Laurence at the commissioners’ expence.

On September 13th, the commissioners met with the Onondaga sachim Teganissorens (written here as D’ Kannasorie) and a Cayuga sachim named Ondariagen, who brought information backed by seven bands of wampum that “a nation Called the Jenontadies who live at le detroit,” (the Tionontaties or Petun) had concluded a peace with the “Waganhoes,” the Iroquois term for Anishinaabeg peoples. The Waganhoes promised to maintain the alliance they had made with New York and the Six Nations and turn down any requests by the Governor of Canada to take up the hatchet against them.

The record of this meeting reveals what happened when the Schuyler brothers went to Onondaga. The Six Nations agreed to send messengers to “the Indians liveing at & near Canada” to tell them that the Six Nations had decided to defend Fort Oswego if any Indian nation attacked it, but the English and the French would have to fight it out on their own if a conflict broke out between them. Teganissorens said that the messengers were about to set out when he left home. The commissioners told them about the death of King George I and the succession of King George II, Laurence’s mission to stop the excursion against the Flatheads, and recent letters exchanged between the governors of Canada and New York.

The commissioners posted three Indians (not named) to Lake St. Sacrement (Champlain) to find out what the news was from Canada. As they wrote to the governor, it made them uneasy that no Indians from Canada had been to Albany, suggesting that the French order not to come there was effective and the French might be planning some mischief.

Fort Oswego continued to have problems. The river was still low. It was expensive to transport provisions and some soldiers had deserted and were in custody. The commissioners thanked Governor Burnet for his support in maintaining the garrison, to which he had sent bedding and provisions. They kept him informed him about the situation and promised to send him an accounting of expenses as soon as possible. At the request of the Palatines who had the contract for delivering provisions to Oswego, Johan Jurch Kast and Johan Joost Petri, the commissioners sent six men to repair the road at the Oneida Carrying Place. Captain Holland went to Schenectady to see the soldiers when they finally embarked in ten batoes along with five men assigned to stay at Oswego, where they would be employed to transport provisions.

Oswego2_DeleryExc — Detail from De Lery map of 1727 showing boats and canoes as well as the new building at the mouth of the Oswego River.

In Library and Archives Canada’s digital copy of the original minutes, the first entry for September 1727 starts here on p. 202.