• Podcast Episodes
  • Blog Pages
  • About This Site
    • Brother Town
      • Construction Plans
      • In Memoriam
      • Children’s Area
  • History
    • Brothertown Wisconsin
    • A Brothertown Chronology
    • Parent Tribes
      • Montauk
      • Mohegan
      • Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island
      • Niantic
      • Pequot from Mashantucket
      • Pequot from Stonington
      • Tunxis
    • Pre-Brothertown
      • Samson Occom
      • Joseph Johnson
      • Surnames and Tribal Affiliations
    • Brothertown New York
    • Thomas Commuck And His Indian Melodies, Wisconsin’s Shape-Note Tunebook
  • Brothertown links
    • Videos
  • Contact me
  • Current Events
    • Brothertown Events Calendar
    • Samson Occom: The Journey of a Lifetime Limited Edition 250th Anniversary Doll Collector’s Page
      • “Samson Occom: The Journey of a Lifetime” 250th Anniversary Limited Edition Doll Display Sets For Museums and Nonprofits
      • “Samson Occom:  The Journey of a Lifetime” Limited Edition 250th Anniversary Doll
  • Brothertown Digital Historical Library
    • Scrapbook

The Life of the Brothertown Indians

~ Brothertown Indian History, People, Stories and Current Events

The Life of the Brothertown Indians

Monthly Archives: January 2016

The Brothertown Collection

26 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by A Brothertown Citizen in Brothertown History

≈ 1 Comment

 

My Pictures 083Photo taken by Mr. Dennis Gramentz.  Pictured left to right are Jessica Ryan, Jerry Walentoski, Loretta Metoxen, and Caroline Andler in front of a table of some of the items in the collection.

In 2010, the Oneida Nation, on behalf of the Brothertown Indian Nation, purchased, and continues to archive, a collection of Brothertown related artifacts. This purchase was the culmination of a 10+ year effort begun by Brothertown Tribal Genealogist, Caroline Andler, and furthered by Oneida Tribal Historian, Loretta Metoxen.

The collection had been inherited by a Mr. Jerry Walentoski from a friend of his who had inherited it from his own non-native grandfather, Otto Heller. After years of persuading, Mr. Walentoski finally accepted the Oneida Nation’s generous purchase offer and on October 7 a check presentation ceremony was held (see photo at top).

While consisting of hundreds of original documents, photos and artifacts, following are some of the items specifically remembered by Mrs. Caroline Andler.

Orsamus Fowler’s Appointment as Major in the 29th Reg during the Civil War 2-18-1858
Avery Samson Probate 1-5-1852
Many original Land Patents signed by President Tyler in 1842
Rachel Abner and Isaac Dick’s personal inventory 1847
Phebe Fowler’s dementia and her daughter’s legal papers
William Dick appointed as Peacemaker by Gov. DeWitt Clinton, NY 3-6-1822
Edgar Dick’s Notary License 1894
Last Will and Testiment of Harriet Niles
Lawsuit Graves v. Fowler 4-24-1863
Official Election resuls Orsamus Fowler elected Calumet County Treasurer 1852=1854Original paperwork of 1st lawsuit filed by an Indian tribe against the US government
Personal correspondence in several hundred envelopes -including 119 letters written by Brothertown men fighting during the Civil War and writing to relations back home in Brothertown
Correspondence from those still living in Brothertown, NY, detailing how hard life is for them 1850

Hundreds of photos – most named – including many in little red velvet boxes of our Civil War soldiers

Dozens of tiny school and church books
The Court Book
Thomas Commuck’s book of hymns
An original copy of Samson Occom and the Christian Indians of New England
A couple of Stockbridge history books including one telling of those Stockbridge thrown off their land for back taxes and served by John Crosley Hammer, First Sheriff of the new county

Most valuable are the two maps which divided up the Brothertown Township into lots and signed by G.H. Feathersonbaugh on July 13th, 1840

Some later articles
The Baptist celebration which was held in Phillips woods plays written and preformed, speeches, photos of the gathering.

Beautiful marriage certificates preformed in Utica, NY, mostly Fowler and Johnson.

image
**photo of John Hammer’s blacksmith shop from the below referenced Wisconsin Historical Society Magazine

For further information and photos on the over 1000 items in this collection, please see the 2008-2009 winter edition of The Wisconsin Magazine of History Vol.92, number 2 entitled, “The Relocation of the Brothertown Tribe in Territorial Wisconsin”. The magazine is available through the Wisconsin Historical Society and can be found online at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/utils/getfile/collection/wmh/id/49801/filename/print/page/download/fparams/forcedownload**

Another great story about the obtaining of this collection can be found within the Patty Loew book, Seventh Generation Earth Ethics: Native Voices of Wisconsin. In part, Loew recounts the visit of Mrs. Andler’s ancestor, Joseph Johnson, to Oneida in January, 1774 and the quote recounted by Mrs. Andler from the 2010 ceremony with the Oneida Tribe wherein they acknowledged her Johnson ancestor and told us Brothertown that, “We {are} their brothers and will always be protected by them.”

Advertisement

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Brothertown New York Cemeteries

08 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by A Brothertown Citizen in Brothertown History

≈ Leave a comment

“We Keep a Fire For the Dead”

We keep a fire for the dead whose spirits walked before us
Who, shoes exchanged for eagle’s wings, now sing angelic chorus
Though we no longer walk the land in Brothertown today
Our hearts remain forevermore where there our brethren lay
~Megan

According to his 2010 dissertation, Craig Cipolla identified 6 Brothertown burial sites in our former tribal lands in New York. These sites are known as the Niles/Occom, Dick, Skeesuck, Deansboro, Shelley, and Fowler cemeteries. Most of these are now on private property and one needs permission to access them. In his dissertation, Cipolla includes plot maps, photos, and where applicable, inscriptions for all of them except Fowler as he was not allowed to access that area.

image

Photo sent in by Mr Gilley of Deansboro, NY.  This sign is off of Hwy 315.

Fowler Cemetery is one of the larger ones and, according to William DeLoss Love’s book, it is also the resting place of Samson Occom. Love’s book (originally published in 1899) also cites two other Brothertown cemeteries, Tuhie and Dugaway. Unfortunately, the exact whereabouts of these two is currently unknown.

image

If you would like to view or download Cipolla’s dissertion (the photos and explanations of the cemeteries begin around p 131) please go to http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1130&context=edissertations.

To download Love’s book please visit https://archive.org/details/samsonoccomchris00love

Here is reprinted a Brothertown plat map which Cipolla marked with the locations of these Brothertown cemeteries.

brothertown ny cemeteries by cipolla

Above: Map of cemetery locations in Brothertown, New York: A) Tuhie Cemetery (precise location unknown); B) Deansboro Cemetery; C) Fowler Cemetery; D) Dugaway Cemetery; E) Skeesuck Cemetery; F) Shelley Cemetery; G) Dick Cemetery; H) Niles/Occom Cemetery (Map modified from Love 1899).

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

An Engraved Invitation

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by A Brothertown Citizen in Brothertown History

≈ Leave a comment

I have recently been made aware of a few events which may be of interest to our Brothertown family.  I will post updates to the current events page of this site so please check there for subsequent information or feel free to contact me directly.

*First, a group is forming to travel to (formerly) Brothertown, New York this Spring to work on cutting back underbrush and tending to the graves of our ancestors.  If you are available the weekend of May 6th, 2016 and would like to lend a hand please contact me through the contact link on this website.

*Second, Brothertown descendant, Mr Paul Werth of Washington state has tentavily set this year’s Pacific NW gathering for Saturday April 23, 2016.  If you plan on attending please contact Paul directly or let me know and I can relay your information to him.  Also, there is a gathering in MN on the the weekend of April 30th.

*Also of news is a symposium September 9-11, 2016 being co-hosted by Ms Ivy Schweitzer at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.  This symposium is open to the public and all members of our Tribe have kindly been invited by Ms. Schweitzer to attend.

Below is reprinted, in part, a document which explains a bit more about the event.  If you are interested in attending, please let me know and perhaps we can arrange some group travel and/or hotel accommodations.

Digital archives of Indigenous materials have enriched our notions of texts and what counts as Native writing, but raise questions of ownership and control. This workshop and symposium will celebrate The Occom Circle and other indigenous digital archives by exploring the multiple modalities of Indigenous histories and texts and their remediation through digital means. How can archives be turned into living places—that is, how can they serve community interests of Indigenous survivance? How might we understand the multiple literacies of Indigenous communities and how does that reshape our conception of literary history?

The program will offer a keynote address by Tim Powell, Director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR, https://amphilsoc.org/cnair) and Rick Hill, director of the Deyohaha:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Center at Six Nations Polytechnic in Ontario (http://www.snpolytechnic.com/index.php/indigenous-knowledge-centre.) There will be two plenary panels. Confirmed speakers include: Damián Baca (University of Arizona), Jason Lewis (Concordia University), Kim Christen Withey (Washington State University), Gordon Henry (MSU Native American Instituite).

There will be an exhibit of documents from the Occom and Wheelock Papers at Dartmouth, exhibits of recent and ongoing digital archives as well as hands-on workshops teaching DH skills. Attendees will be able to visit the Occom and Eleazar Wheelock papers in Dartmouth’s Special Collections. A tour of the Orozco Murals and a stroll around Occom Pond will be part of the conference activities.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Archives

  • March 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
The Big DayMarch 28, 2023
The big day is here.
Follow The Life of the Brothertown Indians on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 44 other subscribers

Blogroll

  • Discover New Voices
  • Discuss
  • Get Inspired
  • Get Mobile
  • Get Polling
  • Get Support
  • Great Reads
  • Learn WordPress.com
  • Theme Showcase
  • WordPress.com News

Pages

  • “Samson Occom: The Journey of a Lifetime” 250th Anniversary Limited Edition Doll Display Sets For Museums and Nonprofits
  • “Samson Occom:  The Journey of a Lifetime” Limited Edition 250th Anniversary Doll
  • A Brothertown Chronology
  • Blog Pages
  • Brother Town
  • Brothertown Digital Historical Library
  • Brothertown links
  • Brothertown New York
    • Recent Brothertown Articles Appearing In Print
  • Brothertown Tribal Newsletters 1981-2008
  • Brothertown Wisconsin
    • Original Brothertown, WI Tribal Lands
  • Children’s Area
  • Construction Plans
  • Contact me
  • Current Events
  • History
  • In Memoriam
  • Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island
  • Parent Tribes
    • Mohegan
    • Montauk
    • Niantic
    • Pequot from Mashantucket
    • Pequot from Stonington
    • Tunxis
  • Pre-Brothertown
  • Samson Occom: The Journey of a Lifetime Limited Edition 250th Anniversary Doll Collector’s Page
  • Scrapbook
  • Surnames and Tribal Affiliations
  • Surnames and Tribal Affiliations
  • Thomas Commuck And His Indian Melodies, Wisconsin’s Shape-Note Tunebook
  • Videos
  • “Stories of the Brothertown Indians” Podcast Episodes
  • About This Site
    • About Me

No upcoming events

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Life of the Brothertown Indians
    • Join 44 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Life of the Brothertown Indians
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: