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Image provided by: Guilderland Public Library
The Altamont Enterprise — Thursday, July 14, 1983 ji .>«* Freedom Born: The American Revolution In The Hellebergh By CAROL DuBRIN ' [NOTE; Several weeks ago the Guilderland School District honor- ed former Town Historian Arthur B. Gregg for all of his efforts in discovering and preserving our local history. I thought it would be appropriate at this time when we are celebrating our nation's inde- pendence to use Arthur's research material and give you a brief resume of that War of Indepen- dence as it affected our area. \Old Hellebergh,\ Arthur's book, is my chief source of information.] July 4,1776, the United States of America was born. But whether it would survive its birth pangs was in great doubt. In fact, the war to make that Declaration of Indepen- dence stick was still being fought with very little tangible evidence of success up until about four months before Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown. The people of the Hellebergh were practical, hardworking farm- ers. Many were not that stirred by cries of \freedom\ when it looked as though the war would be lost. They felt it would be foolish to align oneself with a doomed cause. And so our area probably had more Tory supporters (albeit half hearted ones) than patriots. Here the great war for independence was fought not by great armies clashing in battle, but in raids against individual homes — neigh- bor against neighbor. Our greatest local encounter was the Battle of the Normanskill which really wasn't a/battle at all. It was reported that \a Number of Tories were coming to this Place\ to undermine the safety and security of the local patriot families. The idea was to disarm them, making' them defenseless arid 1 destroying farms, barns and cattle, making them ill-equipped to help the patriots cause. < 33»e Schenectady Committee of Correspondence minutes say that on Aug. 9, 1777 they got word that \a number of Tories had disarmed some of the inhabitants of this place \and they resolved that the militia be kept in the area and on the alert with a \Watch of 25 men be kept up Day and Night.\ On the Uth they received information that the Tories were moving into the Normanskill Valley to continue their mission. A Jacob Schermerhorn was sent out to gather intelligence on their movements. He reported they were at the Nicholas Van Petten (Patten) farm. (The farm was beyond the floodplain of the Normanskill to the right of the road as you head toward Altamont on Eoute 146.) The committee \Re- solved that Major Switz with a Number of the Militia assist Capt. Childs in routing the Tories.\ On the 12th it was reported: \Major Swits (the note taker didn't stick to one spelling) and Capt. Childs have returned and taken the following prisoners: Nicholas Van Petten, Anthony Winne, Frederick Blessing, Jacob Man, Peter Kelly, John Featherly, Bartholomew Vn Aelsteyn, Francis Weaver, Nicho- las Vrooman, Dick Springer and Isaac Wormer in the House and Barn of Nicholas Van Petten.\ Schermerhorn's son years later reported his father had told him a David Springer, \a noted royal- ist,\ was killed. If so, that was the only death. Tradition has it that the Tories, learning of the militia's imminent arrival, hid in the barn beneath the hay. Arthur reports that \several forceful bayonet jabs in the mow brought forth bitter howls of pain and a quick surrender.\ Hardly much of a battle, but it was \won\ and the patriots badly needed some successes. The captives were put in the Albany goal (jail),.Several were released at the intercession of neighbors, well-known patriots Barent Mynderse, Capt. John Greet and , Capt. Jacob Van Arnhem. The latter were our locality's most respected and well-known Revolutionary War officers. . . -% Those suspected of beingfTory sympathizers Were caUed 1 '\'disaf- fected persons.\ Many were re- leased from capture but were banished \across the river\ (the Hudson and on into Connecticut.) There they were considered to be less dangerous. This was probably because at this time Burgoyne was trying to cut the New England states off from the rest of this new nation, practicing the policy of divide and conquer. The route of this \cut\ was to be Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson River and so the patriots' wanted to remove Tory families from this sensitive area. These particular men captured at Normanskill were eventually released on the promise of remain- ing neutral. In actuality Man, Winne, Featherly, Weaver, Vroo- man and even Nicholas Van Petten himself (who had been released in September on paying a 500 pound sterling \Penal Sum\ and bond \for his future good behavior and that his sons take the Oath of Allegiance\ to this new nation) joined the patriot forces. He must have been a wealthy man. Five hundred pounds was an extremely heavy bond in those days. This Battle of the Normanskill became the first \victory\ in a series that foiled the British plan to divide the states. The Battle of Saratoga became the final nail in the coffin. Here again a few stalwart patriots made a big difference. Our army at Saratoga was at the right place at the right time. But they had a severe problem — the lack of a necessary supply — food. Frederick Crounse (his farm is marked on the Altamont-Voorhees- ville Road by a historical marker) learned of this need and he arranged a wagon train of food supplies gathered from His own and neighboring farms and brave- ly drove that \train\ right through to our forces in Saratoga. Remem- ber, many if not most of the area residents wefe ° British sympathi- zers. And Joseph Brant, the fierce Mohawk Indian chief (brother-in- law of Sir William Johnson) and a Col: Johnson were leading com- bined British-Indian raiding parties that seemed to be able to strike out of nowhere and depart as quickly, leaving death and total destruction in their wake. But make it to Saratoga he did, ..and return home safely, leaving the army to fight (and win) on a . Stop by SPEEDY PHOTO andI drop off your next roll of 110,126,135 or,disc;color print film for processing and prin iftyur custom quality \Pic- tiifes'': wi|L ok ready in just pnp hour. Reprints dpfte, in 15 minutes. Bring this whole ad in with your order and you will be entitled to 1 FREE 5x7 enlargement from a like negative. Limit one per family. Offer expires 7/30/83. SPEEDY PHOTO 1 HOUR FILM DEVELOPING \While You Wait\ 1796 WESTERN AVE. Westmere, N.Y. 1456-4273 DELAWARE PLAZA ' Delmar f N.Y. 439-0026 minim recti | NOT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANV OTHER COUPONS. JXEOELEmSSU full stomach. After the war, Crounse was rewarded for his heroism by General Steven Van Rensselaer (the \Good Patroon\) in that Crounse was permitted to buy the deed to his land from the general who owned the patent to all area farms. Crounse thereby became the area's only freeholder, a matter of great importance in years to come. As mentioned above, the Mo- hawk Indians were allies of the British. Years before this alliance was strengthened by the inter- marriage of Molly Brant (Mo- hawk) and Sir William Johnson, prominent British leader. Sir William died but Molly, the Brants and surviving Johnsons brought most of the Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca Indians into the war on the English side. Those Indian raids were what added to the terror of the war for our particular section of the country. And most of.our militia was kept busy defending patriot families, stores and farms. General Clinton's papers put Capt. Groot at Schoharie bringing reinforcements and ammunition to the fort there (Old Stone Fort). Clinton graphically describes that scene: \I have buried the dead at Cobus Kill (Cobleskill) which was 14 in number: found five more burnt in the ruins of the Yerry Warier house (George Warner — Arthur's wife Alice's forebears); they were butchered.in the most inhuman manner; burnt 10 houses and barns; horses, cows, sheep; etc., lay dead all over the fields.\ (The British paid a.bounty for enemy, scalps!) Yes to be a patriot in those days was a hard business even if one lived fair from the battlefields. Perhaps it's good to remember the price some paid for our freedoms now when we are celebrating them. Church Hosts 58th Blessing Reunion The 58th annual Blessing reunion picnic was held June 26 at the assembly hall of Helderberg Re- formed Church, Guilderland Center. Fortytwo attended. Family member Mrs. Mabel Conway telephoned from her home m South Carolina and spoke to several \cousins at the reunion. The family business meeting was led by Mrs. Shirley Carman, president. Officers were elected for 1984: Paul Hasbrouck, presi- dent; Wayne: Blessing, vice presi- dent; Louise Gifford, secretary; Jim Bixby; .and Beverly .Marx, recreation. The next Blessing reunion is scheduled for Sunday,. June 24,-, 1984 at the Helderberg ReformedGhurch picnic area. Attending the reunion were Martha Blessing, Myrtle Blessing, Dorothy Tygert and granddaugh- ter, Taraneh Fazeli, Lois Gifford, Doug and Beth Wormer with children, Jason and Jessica, Lou and Sandra Rourke with children Nancy, Katy, and Connie, Ruth Gemlick, Gladys Hasbrouck, Wayne and Kathy Blessing with children Ryan and Jeffrey, George Gifford and daughter Diane, Rena Blessing Gifford, Sylvia Gifford, Bob and Edna Pearce, Jim and Mary Bixby with children Joey, Danny, and Jennifer, Jim and Margaret Bixby, Lois Gray* Clif- ford and Helen Wormer, Soger Keenholts, Anna Blessing Anthony, -Kenneth Anthony, Jr., Jack and Shirley Carman and Margaret Clute. ••' •'•• Gub Announces Flower SfiowWimeh Guilderland Garden Club an- nounces the winners at the club's Vale of Tawasentha standard flower show, June 23-24. Mrs. William Smi won the award for horticultural excellenceand the arboreal award for her double mock orange. Robert Gardam won the . award- -of\ merit, for , his bachelor's- buitonsr... Mrs. Martha Vrooman won the sweepstakes for the most blue ribbons in horticul- ture. :•..; In the design classes, Mrs. James O'Brien won \Picnic in-the Park,\ Mrs. C. D. Harper won \Summer Breeze;''.-Mrs. Douglas Oldham won \Woodland FaijtW-'' Mrs. • Mary Jane Cleary wpn ; VRhapsody in Bloom'',^nd jMrs. Richard Aipsworth worn \Reme/n- ber When. \.The -best ofsh,ow^nJthe design classes was won by,.Mrs. Richard Ainsworth. ,'.; ^*^^+*****+*****+*****+*+t+**«**+*«**0*+»**t***+&4f*f+ ! 8 jbtagagsi: •;> FOREIGN AmjkmnieJiM-i^^'h / AIR CONDITIONING - DISC BRAKE SERVICE^ - ? ' BODY WORK-* WHEEL ALIGNMENT ; ! ' . 34-HOUG USED CARS ;.'.!. « !•'•• i ,' 261 New Karner Rd., Colonie, N.Y. 12205 Mm Cani&.-lt'-' Ifflin't Broke +*+—*€**++*H Antiques ROUTE 146 ALTAMONT, U. Y. 1-12009 (518) 861.6557 inHsNi
