Early History of Schenectedy, New York and Its First Settlers

This fascinating and comprehensive history of Schenectady and the neighboring Mohawk Valley deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who is interested in colonial history. This work is bursting with biographical sketches and genealogical material relating to the first Dutch settlers in the 1600s and includes accounts of the notorious massacre of 1690, the French and Indian War, Sir William Johnson, the Palatines, Revolutionary battles (including Oriskany and Fort Stanwix), the Erie Canal, the War of 1812, churches and pastors and more. The first two hundred pages present genealogical and historical information about the original proprietors and the early settlers, revealing a great deal about pioneer life in the colony. The appendices comprise a variety of original documents: Van Curler’s letter to the Patroon, from the Rensselaerwyck MSS, dated 1643; a 1714 land patent with detailed descriptions of boundaries and inhabitants; the will of Arent Bradt; a 1673 letter from William Johnson to the foreman of a band of wood cutters; a “List of Ye People Kild and Destroyed” during the massacre of 1690; and a treatise on the friendship between the Plymouth Colony and New Netherlands through the Pequot War, King Phillip’s War and the first Thanksgiving.